Recent Posts

READ:

John 15:5a

^5a I am the vine, ye are the branches.

EXHORTATION:

First and foremost, we need to observe the sharp distinction that Christ has drawn between the vine and the branches. The branches are not to be confused with the vine, and the vine is to be regarded as very different from the branches. Likewise, the words, “I am” and “ye are” also point to the contrast that Christ wanted us to take note of.

Though there is a firm connection between the vine and the branches, they are never to be considered the same in essence and function. The “branches” can never be the “vine”. There is an absolute necessity for the branches to acknowledge their dependence on the vine. Branches cannot live or function without the vine.

Christ is the vine and believers are the branches. The branches should never assume themselves to be the vine. It is satanic to blur or disregard this very significant distinction that Christ has made here. Ignoring this distinction that Christ has drawn between the believers and Himself is tantamount to Eve’s error when she yielded to Satan’s lie that “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5)!

There should not be any confusion or doubt regarding the fact that we are only the branches, while only Christ is the vine. To humbly acknowledge our inability to exist as the branches without the vine is an important step to spiritual growth and fruitfulness. Only then shall we see the necessity to abide in Him always, and appreciate and appropriate that vital union which Christ has offered to us.

Secondly, it is important to note that these words of Christ, which emphasise the distinction between the vine and the branches, also affirm the relationship that exists between them. He assuredly says to all those who genuinely trust in Him that they are to Him like the branches which are joined to the vine. Here the Lord portrays a picture of a firm and abiding union between His people and Him.

The Lord is most delighted to encourage us to abide in Him, so that we may be nourished with His love, grace, wisdom and strength. It is His utmost pleasure that we abide in Him and grow as fruit-bearing branches. He does not want us to be like the withering branches. Let us joyfully yield ourselves to abide in the Lord, just as the branches that abide in the vine.

READ:

John 15:1

¹I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

EXHORTATION:

The metaphor “vine” that Jesus used to refer to Himself was not an unfamiliar one. Since the land of Israel abounded in vineyards, the illustration was very striking and comprehensible. Moreover, the Old Testament Scriptures on many occasions used “vine” as a metaphor for the nation of Israel. The Jewish people were referred to as God’s vineyard or God’s vine which He had planted (Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:8-16; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 19:10). In those passages, God was the Vinedresser who cared for the vine, Israel. So, Jesus was not introducing a new idea by using the metaphor of a vine and its branches.

But God’s vine, Israel, degenerated and bore no fruit. God, the Vinedresser, grieved over the tragedy of Israel’s fruitlessness. According to Jeremiah 2:21, the Lord God lamented Israel’s corruption, saying, “Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?” Israel had forfeited its privilege as God’s vine to bear fruit for God’s glory.

No longer does blessing come through a covenantal relationship with Israel. Now there is a new vine, and it is the true vine. Jesus proclaimed that He is that “true vine”. Jesus used the word “true” to describe what is spiritually authentic, and thus eternal, heavenly, and divine.

The figure of a vine was chosen to depict a close, permanent, vital union between the vine and the branches. In the rest of John 15, Jesus referred to the believers as the “branches”. He said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Like the branches that depend on the vine for nourishment, support, strength and vitality, believers ought to completely and continually depend on Christ to bear spiritual fruit.

Many who claim to be Christians are fruitless because they fail to depend on Christ. Instead of being attached to the “true vine”, they are tied to a bank account, education, popularity, fame, personal skills, possessions, relationships, carnal pleasures, etc. But none of these things can sustain believers in their spiritual life in order to be fruitful.

The true vine is Christ, and we must live in Him to be always fruitful.

READ:

John 14:6b

^6b I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

EXHORTATION:

These words were spoken by Christ as the answer to Thomas’ question, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). Thomas raised that question upon Jesus’ statement that He was going to prepare a place for them in His Father’s house, and that He would come again and receive them to be with Him where He would be. Thus Jesus, with these words, intended to drive away any doubt in the disciples’ minds as to how one could get to the Father in heaven. That was where Christ said He would be going.

The Lord Jesus Christ does not merely show the way to the Father in heaven, but is Himself the way. There are not many ways to God, as many claim in these days. For Jesus not only exclusively said, “I am the way,” but also emphatically declared, “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Not for a moment did Jesus give the notion that there are several ways to God. Christ is the exclusive and perfect way to God. It is the clear teaching of God’s Word that Jesus Christ is the only access to the Father because He is the only One from the Father who has given His life to redeem us from our sins and reconcile us unto God (cf. Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5).

According to Jesus, He is the way to God because He is also the truth and the life. Jesus is the truth because he reveals the Father and His will unto us (John 1:18). His words and His deeds show us in an exclusive way what the Father has given Him to say and do. Jesus had said in John 5:19, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” In John 8:29, He said, “I do always those things that please him.” He alone is the truth that leads us to God.

Christ is also the life that God promises. Only Christ offers us eternal life in heaven. In His prayer to God, Jesus made this exclusive statement: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:2-3). Christ is the Way which we ought to follow; He is the Truth which we ought to trust; and He is the Life which we ought to hope for. Christ is the sure way, the infallible truth and the everlasting life.

READ:

John 11:25b

^25b I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.

EXHORTATION:

Oh, with what great authority Christ spoke those words! Take note that He said “I am”, and not “I will be”. No human being could speak in such a manner, except the One who came down from heaven. Those are the words of the self-existing God, the Great “I AM”. He alone has the power to give life and to bring one back from death unto life.

Jesus spoke those potent words while he was conversing with Martha, whose brother Lazarus had been dead for four days already. When Jesus said to her, “Thy brother shall rise again”, she replied, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:23-24). At this juncture, Jesus wanted Martha to realise that resurrection, whether future or present, occurs as He wills. Martha had not yet fully perceived that the power of resurrection is with Him. Therefore, Christ here specifically told her that He is “the resurrection”. In other words, Christ is the principal cause of resurrection, i.e. the power unto resurrection abides in Jesus Christ.

In John 5:28-29, Jesus said, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

Not only is Christ the resurrection, He is also the life. Here the word “life” refers to the life which the dead shall have upon the resurrection, even the eternal life which shall follow. Note the order: first resurrection, then life. This is because resurrection opens the door to eternal life in heaven. Both the resurrection and the life are rooted in Christ.

Jesus also said: “he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”. Only those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ can have the hope of eternal life beyond the grave. Death is a grim reality to anyone who rejects Christ’s claim as the resurrection and eternal life; he has no hope of the glorious life in heaven. One’s death ends all opportunities one can have to be sure of one’s eternal blessedness. So, as Jesus said in the next verse, “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:26). While a man is alive, he should believe on Christ; then he shall have the hope and power of heavenly life in him.

Sermon Text: Matthew 24:5, 11, 24
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 8th June 2025

Sister Diana Koh is fondly remembered by the Pastor, Elders, Preachers, Deacons, members, and friends of Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church as a dear sister in the Lord who gave her very best in service to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. With diligence, unwavering faith, and thankfulness to God, she served for about 19 years as a devoted member of this church and a pillar in the administrative matters in the church office. 

“Her own works praise her in the gates”—Proverbs 31:31.

From the first day she took her post, she served, not for applause or recognition, but for the glory of God. Her hands were steady, her heart was loyal, and her presence brought order and peace to every task. In quiet strength, she fulfilled the work behind the scenes with excellence. 

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant... enter thou into the joy of thy lord”—Matthew 25:21.

Through seasons of joy and trial, Sis. Diana Koh was steadfast. When others grew weary, she pressed on. When things needed to be done, she did them. Her commitment was not out of duty alone, but out of love for Christ and His church. 

In her last few years, she endured many afflictions of advanced age. Now, her struggles and labour in this world have ended, and her name is called in heaven. She has entered the joy of her Lord. We rejoice that she now stands in the presence of the One she served so well—her Saviour, her reward. 

We thank God for lending us Sis. Diana Koh, such a precious vessel whom He has sanctified and strengthened to be part of Gethsemane B-P Church. 

“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord... that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them”—Revelation 14:13.

Q&A with Sis. Diana Koh

(Published in our Church’s Silver Jubilee Book)

How long have you been in Gethsemane?

By the grace and mercy of God, He led me to our Pastor, Rev. Prabhudas Koshy, sometime in early 1999. Pastor Koshy informed me that he needed an office assistant to work for Gethsemane BPC. He briefed me on the nature of the work. He also informed me that Gethsemane BPC did not have an office then and should I accept his offer, I would have to work from home. After much prayer, I agreed to his proposal and started work on 1 April 1999.

How has Gethsemane benefited you as an individual?

By the providence of God, I count it a privilege to serve in Gethsemane BPC alongside Pastor Koshy. He is very knowledgeable in theology and a skilful writer. I enjoy my work very much, especially because the exposure I get through my work is very edifying to my soul. There are many opportunities to learn the ropes and I am still learning new things every day.

Can you recount one blessing God has bestowed on Gethsemane over the years?

O the blessings of His good providence! When we needed a church office urgently, God led us to a small office unit for rental in one of the attics of a row of shop houses near Kallang MRT. That was the first church office of Gethsemane BPC. That enabled Bro. Lok Kwok Wah who joined us in the year 2001 to co-labour with Pastor and me from one location. This was the time when Pastor Koshy decided to produce the Bible Witness magazine. We occupied this office for more than three years until God gave Pastor Koshy the burden to look for a bigger office to accommodate the increasing ministries of Gethsemane BPC and the expansion of the Bible Witness Media Ministry.

What is one challenge you have witnessed God helping Gethsemane to overcome, and the lesson you have learnt from it?

I would say, it was the need of greater and stronger faith in God’s promises and unfailing guidance that God has helped Gethsemane to possess. For example, when Gethsemane BPC needed a bigger office, in the year 2003, we launched out enthusiastically to look for a building to purchase. After many months of ‘house hunting’ exercises, we found several potential places but the asking prices were beyond our means. Under the leadership of Pastor Koshy and the Church Session, the whole church was led to seek the Lord in fasting and prayer.

The Lord increased our faith. Members and friends of the church followed Pastor’s call not to rely on loans. Instead, they learned to give cheerfully whatever the Lord had enabled them to give. We asked in faith from the Lord whatever additional funds we needed. Within the short space of three months, God moved the hearts of His people (including brethren from sister churches) to give generously and sacrificially to the Building Fund. God provided more than what we needed—over $600,000 was given to purchase the office unit, which cost $545,000. This is our present Church Resource Centre. We secured the property in October 2003. It was a great lesson of faith, which we would always remember in the face of our many needs in the ministry.

How do you think Gethsemane has grown over the past 25 years?

Gethsemane BPC’s membership has increased gradually according to God’s will over the past 25 years. The consecration and unity in the leadership is the strength of Gethsemane BPC.

What is your prayer for the future of Gethsemane?

Praying that God will continue to sustain and nurture both the leadership and members of Gethsemane BPC so that they will become mature Christians to glorify His name.

Sis. Diana Koh was called home to be with the LORD on Monday, 2nd June 2025.

READ:

John 10:14

¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

EXHORTATION:

The Lord Jesus Christ, for the second time in John 10, refers to Himself as “the good shepherd”. It is His joy to repeatedly affirm that He is “the good shepherd” of His people, the church. He is also referred to as the “great shepherd” (Hebrews 13:20), and “the chief shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4).

The church, the body of believers, is tenderly attended to by the Lord Jesus Christ. He guides the church through His voice in the Scriptures. All Scriptural commandments, promises, rebukes, corrections, instructions, doctrines are for their protection and guidance. John Calvin, the great reformed theologian, remarked in his commentary: “Hence it follows, that they who reject the guardianship of so kind and amiable a shepherd are exceedingly ungrateful, and deserve a hundred deaths, and are exposed to every kind of harm.”

As “the good shepherd”, Jesus knows His sheep. His knowledge extends to all genuine believers. Not one of them shall be overlooked or lost in the crowd. Each one of them is individually known and named. In John 10:3, He spoke of the true shepherd as one who “calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out”. Our omniscient Shepherd knows us. No matter where we live in the world, He knows us and deals with us as His sheep. He recognises and cares for every sheep of His flock.

The word “know” here is used in the sense of affectionate regard or love. It implies His knowledge of their characters, their conditions and their circumstances. He knows their needs, their dangers, their fears, their struggles and their infirmities; as such, He knows how to attend to them according to the riches of His grace. His loving kindness as their Shepherd will defend and aid them at all times.

This assurance of His loving knowledge of His people is not a temporary one. It is a permanent assurance. He will lead His people now and forever. Even if it be through the valley of death, He will be with us and lead us into the eternal home He has prepared for us (Psalm 23:4).

Furthermore, Christ’s sheep know Him as their Shepherd, for He said that “I … am known of mine.” His sheep are happy to acknowledge Him and follow Him always. Let every believer joyfully say, “The Lord Jesus is my Good Shepherd, and I will follow Him all the days of my life.”

READ:

John 10:11

¹¹ I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

EXHORTATION:

Whenever Jesus Christ refers to Himself as the Shepherd of His people, He takes ownership of them and undertakes to see to their care Himself. He is not like the hireling, who does not feel responsibility for the sheep and whom Jesus contemptuously spoke of in John 10:12, “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.”

The life of a shepherd was a very difficult one. He had to endure the heat of the day and the cold of the night. There were many dangers too. In Bible times, lions, wolves, jackals, panthers, leopards, hyenas and bears were common in the countryside. We read in 1 Samuel 17:34-37 of how David fought with a lion and a bear while tending his sheep. Furthermore, we also read of how Jacob experienced much labour and toil as a shepherd, according to Genesis 31:38-40.

Admittedly, some shepherds were very careless in the discharge of their duty. Because of their neglect, the flock was greatly ruined. In Zechariah 11:15 and 17, they were referred to as “foolish” shepherds and “idol” (i.e. idle) shepherds. But the Lord Jesus is not like any other shepherd of the people. He is “the good shepherd”. As the Good Shepherd, He tends to His people with love, mercy, concern and faithfulness. Above all, the reason why He is “the good shepherd” is that He “giveth his life for the sheep”.

When the Lord Jesus Christ came to this world to seek His lost sheep, He foresaw that He would die for the sheep. Jesus spoke those words prior to His death on the cross. His death to be the Saviour of His sheep was neither accidental nor unforeseen. The Lord Jesus could have saved Himself, but He entertained no thought of and made no attempt at escape. He asked for no legion of angels to rescue Him. Instead, He gave Himself willingly to die for the sheep. He died in the stead of the sheep.

So Christ died a vicarious death, the just for the unjust, which saved the sinner from the doom he deserved. It was not for His own but for our advantage that He died. By His sacrifice, He not only redeemed us from the curse of the law and the power of sin, He also secured for us eternal life. Thus, He is “the good shepherd”, and there is none like Him.

READ:

John 10:9

⁹ I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

EXHORTATION:

Jesus was explaining His relationship with His people using the parable of a shepherd and his sheep. In the earlier section of this chapter, Jesus spoke of the sheep in the fold and the shepherd entering the fold through its door (vv. 2, 3a). Then He spoke about the shepherd and his sheep leaving the fold through the door (v. 3b), with the shepherd leading them into the pasture (v. 4). Now in our verse, Jesus describes a midday scene where the sheep had been led out from the village fold to the grassy slopes to graze and to the brook for a refreshing drink.

Now, we should not think of Jesus as the door of the fold, for in this parable, the shepherd had already left the fold and come to the pasture. Rather, we must perceive the door as representing the entrance to a wooded thicket somewhere in the pasture, where the sheep would enter to find shade and water. So here, when Jesus referred to Himself as the door, He is referring to Himself as His people’s provider and protector.

Perfect safety for the sheep lay in their being led into the pasture by the shepherd. Without him, they would not be brought into the safe pasture. The shepherds shouldered the responsibility for locating safe pastures for their flocks, a task not always easy in that semi-arid land with many wild beasts. Likewise, only through Christ can anyone enter into eternal salvation and enjoy all the subsequent spiritual blessings.

So Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved”. When people put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, they are led into everything God has prepared for them in the realm of salvation. Christ becomes their Shepherd, and He assumes the responsibility for supplying all their needs. Thus, Jesus Christ is the door not only to salvation, but also to spiritual nourishment. So He said that His people “shall go in and out, and find pasture”, like the sheep. Their spiritual growth will occur when nourished by Christ through His Word.

That’s why Paul said in Acts 20:32, “I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” If we “go in and out” along life’s journey according to His Word, we shall be spiritually well-nourished and strong all through our earthly journey.

READ:

John 8:12b

^12b I am the light of the world.

EXHORTATION:

These words of our Lord Jesus Christ indicate that the world is in darkness. The darkness that covers the world is moral and spiritual darkness. Darkness symbolises ignorance, iniquity, error, superstition and everything that opposes truth and godliness. People are living in the darkness of spiritual ignorance and moral corruption. In John 3:19, Jesus said, “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” People are said to love darkness more than light when they are more pleased with error than truth, more preoccupied with sin than holiness, and more enamoured with the world than Christ.

By his own cravings and passions, man is pushing himself further and further into spiritual and moral darkness. Though he tells himself that he is seeking the “good life”, he is falling further into the bleakness of a stark moral darkness. That darkness seems even darker today. Some sit in darkness of sorrow and fall into darkness of hopelessness. Others sit in darkness of loneliness for a long time and slip further into dark pits of emptiness and worthlessness. Their life seems to spiral down relentlessly into dark, bottomless pits. Many, in seeking better and brighter days, are sucked right into deeper darkness. They plunge headlong into the dark grip of alcohol, illicit sex, drugs, devil-worship and the ultimate darkness of suicide, which is nothing but a great plunge into eternal darkness.

But there is light as Jesus declares unto us, “I am the light of the world”. Christ came to this world to give us the light of His salvation, grace, forgiveness, righteousness, joy, peace and hope. Jesus assured us in John 8:12 that “he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” He will drive away the darkness that had filled our souls, and cast the light of His glory into our hearts.

When those who lived in darkness come to Him, their sins, ignorance, foolish thinking and suchlike shameful realities will be exposed. If they would humbly acknowledge their sins and repent, and turn fully to the light of Christ and His wisdom, they can be assured of a bright and cheerful life. As Luke 1:78-79 declares about Christ, “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”