I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Christ is the door of the sheep and the only entrance into God's fold, grace, kingdom and the heavenly rest, and no ceremony, system or other way can take His place as the means of justification and peace with God. He stands in contrast to thieves and robbers who climb up another way to steal, kill and destroy, and to the hireling who flees when the wolf comes, for as the good shepherd He knows His sheep, gathers other sheep to make one fold, and lays down His life of Himself to give abundant life. Whoever enters through Him will be saved and brought into the fold with access to the Father, which means pardon and justification by His all-sufficient sacrifice and being saved from sin through repentance and faith unto obedience and holiness. To go in and out and find pasture is to receive safety, care, provision, spiritual nourishment, strength, hope and peace in Him. As the ladder joining earth and heaven He bridges the gulf sin made so fallen people may return to God, a salvation provided through Him alone from Adam onward as revealed in types, prophecy and teaching.
The Door and Context
Christ is the door of the sheep and the only entrance into God's fold, into grace, into His kingdom, and into the heavenly Canaan, so that everyone who comes through Him is saved, brought into the fold of grace, and given a place among His people. No other way leads in, for all are invited to enter through Him alone. Ceremonies, systems, or other ways cannot take His place as the means of justification and peace with God, and those who set them in His place try to climb up by another way. From the earliest times entrance has been found through Christ as revealed in types, symbols, prophecy, teaching, and miracles.
The saying belongs to the contrast between the true shepherd who enters by the door and those who climb up some other way as thieves and robbers, whom the true sheep did not hear. All that ever came before Him by another way are thieves and robbers. This stands against the thief who comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, while Jesus comes that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. His care contrasts with false shepherds who harm or abandon the flock, for He gives life abundantly and lays down His life for the sheep.
Unlike the hireling who owns not the sheep and cares not for them and flees when the wolf comes, leaving them to be caught and scattered, Jesus as the door is the good shepherd who gives His life for the sheep. He knows His sheep and is known by them as He knows the Father. He has other sheep not of this fold whom He must bring to hear His voice, so there will be one fold and one shepherd. He lays down His life of Himself, with power to lay it down and power to take it again by the commandment received of His Father, and therefore the Father loves Him.
The shepherd and sheep picture is one of the illustrations from daily life, from facts of life and experience familiar to His hearers, by which Christ taught immortal, spiritual truth. It shows His openness to the influences of nature and His delight in gathering spiritual teaching from the surroundings of daily life. Like the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, and the sower and the seed, it has something to interest every mind and appeal to every heart, so that the daily task is brightened and uplifted by constant reminders of the spiritual and the unseen.
The door means Christ is the ladder joining earth and heaven, repairing the separation caused by sin. By His righteousness He bridges the gulf sin made between earth and heaven, making the way to heaven known to the fallen race. Through Him the separation is overcome, so fallen people may return to God, return to allegiance and commandment-keeping, enter heaven, journey toward the mansions He has prepared, and find rest. Through Him people are saved, restored to communion with God, and given access to the Father, with the Father looking upon sinful people through Christ as humanity's substitute and surety.
Christ Himself is the Door to all truth, from whom comes all science that is of any value and all knowledge essential to enable people to become children of God, opening to them the widest fields of usefulness. Although He could have astonished the world with the most startling revelations of science which would have occupied minds until His second coming, this was not His mission. Such a rich feast of science placed before human minds would have been used to gratify unholy ambition, while many do not appreciate this true knowledge but seek in education for something regarded as wonderful.
Saved by Entering In
Christ is the only entrance into God's fold, and everyone who comes through Him is saved and brought into the fold of His grace. Whoever enters through Him is saved, belongs among His sheep, receives a place among His people, and goes in and out to find pasture. Through Him people are saved and have access to the Father, and those who come to Him may journey toward the mansions He has prepared for the fallen race. Ceremonies or other systems cannot take His place as the means of justification and peace with God, and those who set them in His place try to enter by another way.
Salvation through Him means pardon and justification by His all-sufficient sacrifice for sin, and being saved from sin rather than allowed to remain in it. The sinner receives pardon through repentance for breaking God's law and faith in Jesus, and receives grace to live in obedience. Everyone, including scribes and Pharisees, can be saved only by entering through faith in Jesus Christ, and through Christ the sinner can return to the Father and walk the path of holiness.
Through Him people may be saved, find rest, and enter restored communion with God, for He is the ladder joining earth and heaven that repairs the separation caused by sin. As humanity's substitute and surety He makes it possible to return to allegiance to God and keep His commandments, and the Father looks upon sinful people through Him. He is the only way of salvation and the only door of hope through whom sinners may enter and have life.
Salvation has always been through Him alone, from Adam onward, and not through any other. From the earliest times people have found entrance through Christ as revealed in types, symbols, prophecy, teaching, and miracles. Before His coming, patriarchs, prophets, and faithful people looked forward to Him and showed their faith through sacrificial offerings. Those sacrifices pointed to His sinless offering and ceased at the crucifixion, when type met antitype, and their ending did not abolish God's moral law.
His love opens the gates of Paradise to the life God offers. Those who recognize the love revealed in His sacrifice are moved to share His spirit and devote themselves to serving Him.
Pasture, Fold, and Following
To go in and out and find pasture is to enter safety, care, and provision through the only entrance into the fold of grace, where no ceremony or system can take the place of justification and peace with God. Whoever enters belongs among the sheep, in contrast to false shepherds who harm or abandon the flock, for the true shepherd gives life abundantly and lays down his life for the sheep. In him restless longings are stilled, for he gives spiritual nourishment, strength, hope, and peace, so that the heart no longer needs restless diversions to be satisfied. Children who heed his voice are protected from danger and vicious practices within the safety of his fold, and the pure pleasures found in him strengthen body and mind rather than bringing remorse or harm.
The healed man cast out of the synagogue for witnessing to Christ's power was entitled to the Lord's pasture, for Jesus as the true shepherd sought him and gave him a place within the fold where his sheep are safe and find pasture. Going in and out and finding pasture happens in church relationship in the fold of the church, where those converted under Christ and his apostles were brought in as stray, lost sheep found. The fold is where the Master directs through undershepherds, pastors and teachers, in the church instituted with delegated authority and power and the inspired oracles to carry forward the work on earth. As sheep know their shepherd's voice and press close together to go where he leads when he calls them back, so followers understand his call and keep close together following where he desires them to go. Sheep and lambs need care and protection, those who stray are to be sought and saved, and grace and strength are supplied for this work.
Religious leaders may exercise authority yet fail the flock when they leave the people unfed, and the scribes and Pharisees, though holding authority over a people like sheep without a shepherd, deserved censure as thieves and robbers because they left the sheep unfed. Those who guide the church should give modest instruction, practice the Word they teach, and humbly remain open to its light and understanding. The contrasting image of entering the fold and then taking away its help portrays Dr. Maxson as spiritually blind and as a false guide who exploited the trust and resources of the Rural Health Retreat. All are invited to enter through the only entrance to salvation and the heavenly Canaan, since no other way leads in, and the lost sheep's return to the fold is a life of following with self-denial and sacrifice. As the welcoming door into the fold, his example teaches that one who confesses wrongdoing and pleads for another chance should not be shut out or denied hope.
Christ is the door of the sheep and the only entrance into God's fold, grace, kingdom and the heavenly rest, and no ceremony, system or other way can take His place as the means of justification and peace with God. He stands in contrast to thieves and robbers who climb up another way to steal, kill and destroy, and to the hireling who flees when the wolf comes, for as the good shepherd He knows His sheep, gathers other sheep to make one fold, and lays down His life of Himself to give abundant life. Whoever enters through Him will be saved and brought into the fold with access to the Father, which means pardon and justification by His all-sufficient sacrifice and being saved from sin through repentance and faith unto obedience and holiness. To go in and out and find pasture is to receive safety, care, provision, spiritual nourishment, strength, hope and peace in Him. As the ladder joining earth and heaven He bridges the gulf sin made so fallen people may return to God, a salvation provided through Him alone from Adam onward as revealed in types, prophecy and teaching.
The Door and Context
Christ is the door of the sheep and the only entrance into God's fold, into grace, into His kingdom, and into the heavenly Canaan, so that everyone who comes through Him is saved, brought into the fold of grace, and given a place among His people. No other way leads in, for all are invited to enter through Him alone. Ceremonies, systems, or other ways cannot take His place as the means of justification and peace with God, and those who set them in His place try to climb up by another way. From the earliest times entrance has been found through Christ as revealed in types, symbols, prophecy, teaching, and miracles.
The saying belongs to the contrast between the true shepherd who enters by the door and those who climb up some other way as thieves and robbers, whom the true sheep did not hear. All that ever came before Him by another way are thieves and robbers. This stands against the thief who comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, while Jesus comes that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. His care contrasts with false shepherds who harm or abandon the flock, for He gives life abundantly and lays down His life for the sheep.
Unlike the hireling who owns not the sheep and cares not for them and flees when the wolf comes, leaving them to be caught and scattered, Jesus as the door is the good shepherd who gives His life for the sheep. He knows His sheep and is known by them as He knows the Father. He has other sheep not of this fold whom He must bring to hear His voice, so there will be one fold and one shepherd. He lays down His life of Himself, with power to lay it down and power to take it again by the commandment received of His Father, and therefore the Father loves Him.
The shepherd and sheep picture is one of the illustrations from daily life, from facts of life and experience familiar to His hearers, by which Christ taught immortal, spiritual truth. It shows His openness to the influences of nature and His delight in gathering spiritual teaching from the surroundings of daily life. Like the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, and the sower and the seed, it has something to interest every mind and appeal to every heart, so that the daily task is brightened and uplifted by constant reminders of the spiritual and the unseen.
The door means Christ is the ladder joining earth and heaven, repairing the separation caused by sin. By His righteousness He bridges the gulf sin made between earth and heaven, making the way to heaven known to the fallen race. Through Him the separation is overcome, so fallen people may return to God, return to allegiance and commandment-keeping, enter heaven, journey toward the mansions He has prepared, and find rest. Through Him people are saved, restored to communion with God, and given access to the Father, with the Father looking upon sinful people through Christ as humanity's substitute and surety.
Christ Himself is the Door to all truth, from whom comes all science that is of any value and all knowledge essential to enable people to become children of God, opening to them the widest fields of usefulness. Although He could have astonished the world with the most startling revelations of science which would have occupied minds until His second coming, this was not His mission. Such a rich feast of science placed before human minds would have been used to gratify unholy ambition, while many do not appreciate this true knowledge but seek in education for something regarded as wonderful.
Saved by Entering In
Christ is the only entrance into God's fold, and everyone who comes through Him is saved and brought into the fold of His grace. Whoever enters through Him is saved, belongs among His sheep, receives a place among His people, and goes in and out to find pasture. Through Him people are saved and have access to the Father, and those who come to Him may journey toward the mansions He has prepared for the fallen race. Ceremonies or other systems cannot take His place as the means of justification and peace with God, and those who set them in His place try to enter by another way.
Salvation through Him means pardon and justification by His all-sufficient sacrifice for sin, and being saved from sin rather than allowed to remain in it. The sinner receives pardon through repentance for breaking God's law and faith in Jesus, and receives grace to live in obedience. Everyone, including scribes and Pharisees, can be saved only by entering through faith in Jesus Christ, and through Christ the sinner can return to the Father and walk the path of holiness.
Through Him people may be saved, find rest, and enter restored communion with God, for He is the ladder joining earth and heaven that repairs the separation caused by sin. As humanity's substitute and surety He makes it possible to return to allegiance to God and keep His commandments, and the Father looks upon sinful people through Him. He is the only way of salvation and the only door of hope through whom sinners may enter and have life.
Salvation has always been through Him alone, from Adam onward, and not through any other. From the earliest times people have found entrance through Christ as revealed in types, symbols, prophecy, teaching, and miracles. Before His coming, patriarchs, prophets, and faithful people looked forward to Him and showed their faith through sacrificial offerings. Those sacrifices pointed to His sinless offering and ceased at the crucifixion, when type met antitype, and their ending did not abolish God's moral law.
His love opens the gates of Paradise to the life God offers. Those who recognize the love revealed in His sacrifice are moved to share His spirit and devote themselves to serving Him.
Pasture, Fold, and Following
To go in and out and find pasture is to enter safety, care, and provision through the only entrance into the fold of grace, where no ceremony or system can take the place of justification and peace with God. Whoever enters belongs among the sheep, in contrast to false shepherds who harm or abandon the flock, for the true shepherd gives life abundantly and lays down his life for the sheep. In him restless longings are stilled, for he gives spiritual nourishment, strength, hope, and peace, so that the heart no longer needs restless diversions to be satisfied. Children who heed his voice are protected from danger and vicious practices within the safety of his fold, and the pure pleasures found in him strengthen body and mind rather than bringing remorse or harm.
The healed man cast out of the synagogue for witnessing to Christ's power was entitled to the Lord's pasture, for Jesus as the true shepherd sought him and gave him a place within the fold where his sheep are safe and find pasture. Going in and out and finding pasture happens in church relationship in the fold of the church, where those converted under Christ and his apostles were brought in as stray, lost sheep found. The fold is where the Master directs through undershepherds, pastors and teachers, in the church instituted with delegated authority and power and the inspired oracles to carry forward the work on earth. As sheep know their shepherd's voice and press close together to go where he leads when he calls them back, so followers understand his call and keep close together following where he desires them to go. Sheep and lambs need care and protection, those who stray are to be sought and saved, and grace and strength are supplied for this work.
Religious leaders may exercise authority yet fail the flock when they leave the people unfed, and the scribes and Pharisees, though holding authority over a people like sheep without a shepherd, deserved censure as thieves and robbers because they left the sheep unfed. Those who guide the church should give modest instruction, practice the Word they teach, and humbly remain open to its light and understanding. The contrasting image of entering the fold and then taking away its help portrays Dr. Maxson as spiritually blind and as a false guide who exploited the trust and resources of the Rural Health Retreat. All are invited to enter through the only entrance to salvation and the heavenly Canaan, since no other way leads in, and the lost sheep's return to the fold is a life of following with self-denial and sacrifice. As the welcoming door into the fold, his example teaches that one who confesses wrongdoing and pleads for another chance should not be shut out or denied hope.