8/31/2021
What in the world is God doing?
In the beginning God created all things for His own pleasure which is to dwell eternally among righteous people. (Genesis 1:1; Revelation 4:16; 21:6-8) He had created man with the ability and freedom to make decisions and being allowed to do so, man knowingly disobeyed God thereby forfeiting his righteousness and moving the entire human race from God’s kingdom to Satan’s. (Genesis 2:17; 3:6; Romans 5:12)
God has allowed Satan to function temporarily as the Prince of this world in a futile attempt to prove his superiority to God and establish his own kingdom as the superior one. (John 14:30; Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 20:10) God’s eternal plan, which He set in motion in the beginning, was not defeated, though. At the time of man’s fall He promised to provide redemption for man which He accomplished through His Son Jesus Christ. (Genesis 3:15; John 3:16)
His eternal plan includes the provision for believers in Jesus Christ to spread that information to all nations thereby producing the righteous people among whom He will spend eternity and for equipping and enabling them for the task. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Matthew 7:24; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Ephesians 4:11-12; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, 9:8)
As the true Kingdom Builder and the would-be kingdom builder carry on their work among the human population God is allowing Satan to function as the prince of this world, a role that will end in eternal disaster, while He continues to build His eternal kingdom. With Satan, a liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44), acting as the prince of this world things are rapidly moving from disarray to chaos as he increases the tempo of his work in an attempt to beat God’s deadline.
While it may look as though Satan is winning the contest, that is only because God is allowing him every opportunity to prove himself superior so that his failure will result in the undeniable superiority of God, providing the focus of the eternal worship of His kingdom members. (2 Timothy 3:1-15; Revelation 4:1-11; 20:10; 21:6-8)
Chaos, yes. God, non-existent, uninterested, lost control, ABSOLUTELY NOT! He’s just giving Satan an opportunity to make an eternal fool of himself and proving His own worthiness to be eternally worshiped by both men and angels through the demonstration of His magnificent grace.
Man, as he has been from the beginning, is still free to make decisions, both good and bad. The only reasonable one is to follow Jesus by faith thereby transferring membership from Satan’s kingdom to God’s, otherwise we default to Adam’s decision in the garden of Eden. (John 3:16-18)
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07/27/2021
The Christian Uniform
We are familiar with the practice of using uniforms to identify members of certain groups such as military, law enforcement, delivery drivers, etc. During His final meeting with His disciples prior to His crucifixion Jesus gave them a uniform for His followers to wear so that they might be properly identified. This would become important as they carried out the assignment He would be giving them—to “be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35; Acts 1:8)
It is extremely important in today’s world. Truth has been under severe attack and for anyone who is seeking the truth about their relationship with God it is difficult to know where to find it. The church has come under attack along with other institutions so they don’t even know if they can find the truth there. It is going to come down to the witness of individual believers and many who profess to be such are not truthful. (Matthew 7:21-23)
True believers must be faithful to be in uniform at all times not mistaking like for love. Like is a way of feeling and love is a way of acting. We must act in such a way as to be identified as followers of Christ and possessors of spiritual truth. It’s called “love”.
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07/27/21
Reading the Bible Story
The Bible tells the most important story ever told. The random way in which we tend to read it and the way that we use it, as though it were a dictionary or encyclopedia, tend to blur the story. It is such a large Book that to read it from beginning to end takes a long time and the task tends to dominate the story. Not only that, but the inclusion of poetry, prophecy and instructions have their impact on the flow of the story. These things are not bad, but we need to acknowledge them and understand how it all fits together so that it may fulfill its purpose.
The story flows basically from Genesis through Esther, then to the gospels and the book of Acts. I have put together a reading plan that will first give the reader an overall picture of the story, where it begins and how it concludes. Then it moves in to explain why things are taking so long and how to prepare for the conclusion. Only after this do we follow the story from beginning to end, then read the commentary books and finally the book of Revelation.
This pattern of reading, I feel, gives one a better understanding for the Bible and the lessons to be learned from it. Why didn’t God put it together this way? Even though it seems difficult at first, once one has an overall picture of the Bible story, the commentary books—poetry, prophecy, epistles—and the Revelation, are much more meaningful in the positions they occupy.
God’s design is for children to be taught the Bible in the family setting and for it to be reinforced with its proper application explained and demonstrated in the church setting. We have gotten away from this today so we need a way to get back to it with a good understanding of the story and the purpose for which God gave it to us—to prepare us for the conclusion. It is toward that end this I offer this reading plan.
In order to more clearly understand the Bible as a story I suggest the following Bible reading plan:
Before reading each time ask God to show you what He has for you and don’t try to understand everything the first time but obey those things which God shows you this time.
Genesis 1:1-2:25 Here we learn how things began.
Revelation 21:1-22:21 Here we see how things will conclude.
Genesis 3:1-24 This passage describes the sin that caused the delay.
Revelation 20:1-15 This tells us what sin leads to.
John 3:15-18 But there is a way for us to avoid the judgment.
Genesis 4:1-Esther 10:3 Described here is life leading up to and under the Old Covenant with Israel promising blessings for obedience. (Exodus 19:5)
John 1:1-Acts 28:31 In the New Testament we read of life leading up to and under the New Covenant which God made with Jesus and provides remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
Job 1:1-Song of Solomon 8:14 Thoughts of righteous men under the Old Covenant are seen here in Hebrew poetry.
Isaiah 1:1-Malachi 4:6 God’s thoughts under the Old Covenant as revealed through prophets.
Romans 1:1-Jude 1:25 In these short books we have Instructions for living under the New Covenant.
Matthew1:1-Luke 24:53 These three books contain additional accounts of things from Jesus’ life on earth.
Revelation 1:1-22:21 In this final book we have the yet future final revelation of Jesus Christ.
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12/04/2020
Faith and prayer
At this point in our study of Jesus’ teaching on prayer we need to take a little side trip and consider the role of faith in effective prayer.
Faith is an essential ingredient of effective prayer but we must understand what faith is for it to be of influence in prayer. My understanding of biblical faith that “it is always a response to something God has said.” “Believe” is the verb form of the noun “faith” and the word “trust” expresses the concept of believing God or having faith in God. It is complete reliance upon God. The first occurrence of the concept in the Bible is found in Genesis 15:6. God had just told Abraham that he would have as many descendants as there are stars. Abraham responded by, “believing in the Lord” and God’s response to Abraham was that He, “counted it to him for righteousness.” The sequence was that God promised something, Abraham took Him at His word and acted upon it, God fulfilled His promise.
In my studies on the biblical teaching on prayer I have yet to find an example of God answering a prayer that originated in the mind of the one praying. Effective prayer always begins with God and His kingdom work, never with our personal desires for something that will make our life more enjoyable or easier.
Abraham was saved by faith which was His response to what God had promised. Hebrews 11:1 identifies faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” That is to say that faith makes us confident of what God has promised and proves what He promised to the extent we act confidently on it. Following the statement in Genesis 15:6 that “Abraham believed in the Lord and He counted it to him for righteousness” we see Abraham following God’s instructions regarding preparations for an offering to the Lord which would become the inaugural sacrifice for the covenant God made with him regarding the provision of a land, a nation, a name, and a blessing for all the families of the earth which is still in the process of being fulfilled.
Where does faith come from? Hebrews 12:1-2 explain that Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith” and refers to His work on the cross and ascension to the right hand of the throne of God in association with it. Within this context it seems clear that faith is associated with salvation and is something that only true believers possess.
The tenth chapter of Romans, which speaks of calling “upon the name of the Lord” to become saved, tells us that faith is essential to salvation and comes by hearing and that this hearing involves the word of God. It seems to be adding up to say that the same faith that is essential to answered prayer is that which results in our salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that we are saved by grace through faith and that this faith is a gift from God. Jesus taught that, “No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” This would seem to indicate that faith is given to us as a part of the process by which God draws us to Christ for salvation. In Mt 21:21-22, Jesus said, “if you have faith, and doubt not, you shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if you shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done, and all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”
So, then, effective prayer originates with God’s communication of His will to us which prompts us to trust completely in Him to accomplish His will even when, and especially when, it involves us. This will result in action on our part which will usually require God’s provision of something we lack.
At the close of His ministry, Jesus spoke of faith and prayer in association with ministry responsibilities. (Jn 14:12-14; 16:23-27) Here He used the expression, “in my name” indicating requests made in connection with their obedience to His commandments (14:21). We must understand our responsibilities as believers in evangelizing the world and discipling converts. Effective prayer will be required which will require faith on our part which will require God to have spoken something specific for us to obey.
God speaks, we take Him at His word an act on it, praying for His necessary provision, He provides what we need which results in the fulfillment of His kingdom will. There is more yet to be understood about prayer and we will see that unfolding through His indirect teaching and examples, then with the teachings and examples of His disciples.
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12/01/2020
Persistence in prayer Lk 11:1-13
Shortly after the return of His newly commissioned disciples from their first assignment, Jesus had been praying when “one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. They had apparently realized the importance of prayer to ministry and may have had in mind that He would teach them a prayer that they could repeat as was the custom of their rabbis and perhaps John also.
Jesus’ response to that request, however, was to repeat the Lord’s prayer which he had taught in the Sermon on the Mount but without the closing statement regarding God’s resources for answering, plus a parable He had taught on another occasion relative to persistence.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had taught the Lord’s Prayer as an alternative to vain repetitions but here He adds the teaching that persistence is desirable. What is the difference between vain repetitions and persistence? Desirable persistence, as Jesus taught it here involves a specific request for the benefit of someone else, or for ministry purposes. The sample request that Jesus used is for three loaves of bread for a friend in need, but in verse 13 He indicates that the Father will give the Holy Spirit. In verses 11-12 He had been making the bread/stone, fish/serpent, egg/scorpion comparisons to indicate that one does not usually give a gift of lower value in response to a specific request. In verse 13, He indicates that the Father’s response is even better than our usual response would be. He will give even the Holy Spirit (the ultimate good thing) in response to our request for it. There will be no skimping on His part.
So, what He seems to be teaching is that an unselfish request made with ministry in mind will be answered generously by God, even though we may have to ask several times before He answers. As I make this statement, I realize that I may have introduced a new concept to the subject of prayer and that is, “with ministry in mind”. I include that idea because Jesus began His teaching by saying, “When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. THY KINGDOM COME. THY WILL BE DONE, as in heaven so in earth.” Jesus teaching on prayer is directed toward His disciples and the responsibility they are being prepared for regarding the gospel and God’s provision for their success in that endeavor. Necessities are in view here, not personal pleasure, although we need to hold the issue of personal pleasure open until we have studied more extensively on prayer. The New Testament teaching on prayer unfolds from Jesus’ direct teaching, to His indirect teaching and examples, to the apostolic teachings and examples. This is one of the aids we have to help us understand the New Testament—a three layered study, Jesus’ teaching, how His disciples applied it, and how they taught it to their followers.
What Jesus seems to be teaching us through this story is that even when we are asking for something He has promised, we may have to keep asking for a while until He answers. This seems to serve as a testing period to consider if we are praying as He has taught us to. Paul had some things to learn while asking the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh. He writes, “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
So far, I see that the Lord’s response to our prayers may be either “yes”, or “no”, but I don’t see, “wait a while.” What I do see is that in the absence of either a “yes” or “no” answer we should continue asking as long as we have not concluded that we are asking amiss. (James 4:3)
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Jesus’ teaching on effective prayer:
We will begin our study on prayer with Jesus’ first teaching and move in chronological order through His direct teaching on the subject. Then, Lord willing, we will consider His indirect teaching and move on to apostolic teaching and examples.
The first positive statement Jesus made, after teaching against praying for the purpose of being seen by man and against vain, repetitive prayers, was that we should address God as “Our Father who art in heaven.” God’s primary address in the Old Testament was LORD, indicating His authority, now it is FATHER, indicating our relationship with Him. Having now fulfilled His promise of Genesis 3:15, He is to be addressed and requests made within that relationship.
As personal as this relationship is, we are not to address Him as Dad, Daddy, or even, my Father, but “our Father which art in heaven.” We are now a part of an eternal family, all of whom are involved by His grace alone. We are individuals united together in our relationship to Him and our praying is to be done in that spirit and with His eternal purpose in mind—“hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” Toward the end of His life, Jesus, having expressed His feelings to the Father prayer, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
Praying with God’s will at the forefront of our minds our requests should include: Sustenance, Forgiveness, and Guidance. We should be aware of and acknowledge the context within which effective prayer is offered—”Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.” James would later write, “ask in faith, nothing wavering.” We can do that because God’s kingdom and power and glory are “forever”. They do not fade, nor are they even threatened really.
Effective prayer is offered by one who is a spiritual child of God and is offered with His work and will in view making requests within what He has promised to give us and with confidence that He will answer affirmatively.
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Prayer is a significant concept in the mind of man and even more so among followers of Christ.
One of the first things one needs to know is “to whom should we pray?” and the next is, “will my prayers be answered?” and if so, “under what conditions will they be answered?”
Jesus answered our basic questions about prayer when He taught the Lord’s Prayer in His sermon on the mount. He began by saying, “ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven.” In other words, we are to address our prayers to God.
That takes care of the first question, now for the next, “Does God answer all prayer?” The popular answer to this question is, “yes”, but the biblical answer to this question is found in several places including the following: The prophet Isaiah answers this question in chapter 59 verses 1-2 where he writes, ”the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” The prophet Zechariah wrote in 7:13, “as He cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts.” King David wrote in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
So, the answer to this question goes contrary to popular opinion which gives rise to the second question, “Does God answer everyone’s prayer even though He does not answer every prayer?” The Bible also answers this question in several places. In 1 Kings 21 wicked king Ahab was in trouble over his head with his neighbors, but “it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.”
The Ninevites also experienced God’s answer to prayer when they repented. “God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” (Jonah 3:10)
In the New Testament we read that, “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
So the answer to our initial questions about prayer is that we are to pray to God and that the first prayer that God will hear from any of us is the prayer of repentance which He will always hear.
Once one has repented of their sin and entered into a Father/child relationship with God, how should we pray? I know that’s an extremely important question because the Bible spends so much time answering it. Lord willing, next post we will begin looking at some of the biblical teachings on prayer.
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Jesus introduced himself in terms of who He is and how that enables us in our lives.
11/03/2020
Jesus’ final metaphorical use of the “I Am” statement in John’s gospel identifies Him as the “True Vine” and connects that with His Father being the Husbandman—the vine dresser. He has repeatedly identified God as the one who determines who becomes Jesus’ followers. Particularly in 6:37, 39, 40, 44, 45, 57, 65. This does not, however, exclude anyone who will believe on Him.
God created man with the ability to make choices, both good and bad. Having given us that ability, He does not override it. Notice in Genesis 22:12 God said to Abraham just as he reached for the knife to slay Isaac, “now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son.” In reality, God knew from the very beginning what Abraham would do, but He did not disallow him the opportunity to choose whether to be obedient or disobedient.
God has determined that “whosoever believeth in Him shall have everlasting life” and He knows who will believe, but He still awaits our decision, including all who do and excluding all who don’t, even though it is His desire that all be saved. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)
“As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself . . . no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” (v. 4) Once again Jesus follows His I Am statement with a statement of how this benefits us and here He kind of pulls it all together. “I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman, ye are the branches.” (v. 1, 5) In verse 16 He says, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.” His parting words in Acts 1:8 were, “ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” What He has been saying about Himself with these “I Am” statements is that who He is will be the essence of our relationship with Him and our resource for pursuing what our relationship with Him is all about during our time here on earth.
Salvation brings us into a relationship with Jesus and God which is an integral part of God’s eternal purpose. That purpose is seen in its fulfilment in John’s views of heaven in Revelation 4, 5, 21-22. There we see vast numbers of people and angels serving/worshiping God. He has desired to dwell among righteous people since creation, but due to the entrance of sin, has had to purchase them through the blood of His only begotten Son. It is our responsibility to make this known throughout the world and among all people groups. That is a huge job but He was able to ascend to heaven leaving it to a small group of uneducated men because of their relationship with Him and what that relationship involves.
Jesus repeatedly identified Himself in terms of who He is, not what He did or will do although those are significant elements of our relationship with Him. Who Jesus is governs our relationship with Him in every aspect and provides everything we need in order to glorify the Father.
Who Jesus is not only provides us direct resources, it also provides us access to the Father for “whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name.” (15:16) Notice that this information falls within the chapter that deals with the concept of vine/branches and fruit bearing. Prayer is not just a provision for making our lives better it is for enabling us to fulfill our mission. Lord willing prayer will be the focus of our next set of blogs beginning in a few days.
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It’s not what you know but who you know that counts.
11/2/2020
After describing His Father’s house and the preparations He is making for His disciples there, Jesus went on to explain how to get there. Belief in God and Himself will result in His return for us and transport to that eternal residence.
In John 14:6 He explained that, “I am the way, the truth and the life” indicating His involvement in our salvation from beginning to end. He is completely and exclusively involved, but that does not in any way exclude the Father. He said, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” . . . “the Father that dwelleth in me, He it is that doeth the works.”
While it is still not within human understanding how the Father and the Son can be separate yet one, the best explanation I can think of is that they are separate and identifiable persons but are one being. He repeatedly uses the same identity as God used at the burning bush to identify Himself to His followers. He is Jehovah as is the Father.
One thing we need to understand about salvation is that one does not have to know and understand everything about God but must be willing to accept what we don’t know by faith. Jesus said, “I am the truth”. God said, “whosoever believeth in Him should . . . have everlasting life.”
“Believe” in this case means to “rely completely upon”. There is no plan B for salvation. Jesus said, “I am the way” and not only am I the way, I am also “the truth”, (that is the reality) and I am actually “the life.” He neither adds, nor allows for the addition of a0nything else. HE IS OUR SALVATION! We must rely completely on Him for life and in life.
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Resurrection is not just something that happens to us.
10/31/2020
In a conversation with Martha about her brother’s death, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26) He then went on to demonstrate the reality of this be raising Lazarus.
Again, we see that Jesus is not simply interested in establishing who He is theologically, but wants people to know that who he is benefits them by bringing them into eternal life with He and the Father. Jesus did not just simply exist as a theological entity but exists as God in the flesh, come to be our substitute in death that we might have eternal life. His mission was not just to teach this truth but to make it real to all who will believe.
He said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He was not simply empowered by God to give us eternal life, but He is both the cause and reality of that life and guarantees it through resurrection. This one with whom we enter into relationship at salvation is not just a very close friend, or even just a family member, but He is the life that we have and will see us through death, resurrection and into the Father’s presence for eternity.
It’s not just that He is able to do this, but that this is at the very essence of who He is. He is the life which we live as believers. They should be lived unselfishly and unreservedly for His pleasure. Remember, He is repeatedly identifying Himself the same way God did to Moses at the burning bush—I Am! He is the eternally self-existent one. He owes nothing to anyone except to His own character. He must be true to Himself and He will be as He always has been. By God’s grace He is my resurrection and my life!
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The truth about salvation is personal and permanent, not just theological.
10/30/2020
Jesus used the analogy of a sheepfold to teach two truths about who He is in terms of personal benefit to “whosoever believeth on Him.” The first is that He is the door by which, “if any man enter in, he shall be saved”. In the garden of Eden, Adam forfeited our spiritual safety but God’s immediate response was to announce His plan to provide redemption back into it through “her seed”. Jesus is that seed and the only means of entry back into the safety of a family relationship with God.
Today man is spiritually hungry and Jesus is the bread of life. He is in darkness and Jesus is the light of the world. He is outside God’s fold and Jesus is the door by which “any man” (v. 9) enter in he shall be saved from spiritual hunger, moral darkness, and endless otherwise unanswered questions.
But, it is not just a theological proposition, Jesus is also, “the good shepherd.” (10:11) the shepherd is a living, breathing, caring, acting being. “The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep”. He knows his sheep and is known by them.
Salvation is not just a change of status with God but entrance into an active, caring, permanent relationship. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
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10/29/2020
We live in a dark world—all around us search frantically for truth but lack the facility to find it being in spiritual blindness. This is not a new issue. Paul wrote nearly 2000 years ago, “when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (Romans 1:21)
Jesus Christ as “the Light [that] shines in the darkness” (1:5); “the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man”. (1:9) However, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light . . .” (3:19)
John introduced Jesus as “the Word” (1:1) later explaining that, “In Him was life and the life was the light of the world” (1:4). Jesus himself said, “I am the light of the world.” “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” (8:12) The world sells products based on their benefit. Jesus said, “Be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8) Christianity is to be “sold” based on the benefactor. Jesus is the light of the world. He doesn’t provide the answer, He is the answer!
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Believe, life, and light are prominent words used by Jesus in introducing Himself.
10/28/22
John the apostle introduced Jesus in theological terms while John the Baptist introduced Him in practical terms, now we will observe Jesus’ introduction of Himself in personal terms. Seven times John records Jesus as using the expression “I am” metaphorically and each time he follows it with a statement of how it personally benefits someone other than Himself.
This life that Jesus is, is eternal life and eternal life is what life as we now experience it is all about. In John 6:35 Jesus said to the crowd who had been fed with the little boy’s lunch, “I am the bread of life” but He didn’t stop having made the statement, He went on to explain the significance of this by saying, “he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” He went on to explain that this was His mission and that it would be completed all the way to the resurrection of the believer into eternity. (6:27, 37-40)
Jesus has a lot to say about salvation in this chapter. Salvation comes about as the Father draws one to Himself (v. 44, 65) and whom He draws shall never be cast out (v. 37) but will be raised up at the last day (v. 44). Jesus is the only source of eternal life (v. 47, 53) and he who “eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day” (v. 54) and “dwelleth in me, and I in him.” (v. 56)
One cannot help but notice the closeness and permanence of the relationship which is formed through belief in Him. Throughout this conversation with the unbelieving crowd, (v. 36) Jesus seems to be holding a sense of despair at their unbelief and a strong desire to overcome it as He repeats Himself often and focuses on the certainty of salvation for those who believe and seems to be feeling a sense of loss on His and the Father’s part.
As I study this chapter I can only sense the deep desire Jesus and the father have for eternal fellowship with righteous people, people who are hopelessly loss in heir own right, but may come unchangeably into fellowship with the Father and Son by Grace.
Jonathan Edwards sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” certainly described God’s attitude toward sin, but not at all towards the sinner. John 3:16 begins, “For God so loved the world” and ends with a statement of how it personally benefits all who believe. This is the message of Jesus, He came for our eternal benefit desiring strongly that we receive it. This is where evangelism effectively begins.
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“Full of grace and truth”
10/27/2020
John was not talking about any of this year’s American political candidates when he wrote that He was “full of grace and truth”, he was talking about Jesus. We could sure use some of that around here about now couldn’t we. That’s why I think we need to focus more on Jesus then, perhaps, we who take His name would take on more of His character.
1:15-34 It is interesting to note that John began his gospel by introducing Jesus himself, then telling us of John the Baptist’s introduction of Him, then devotes the rest of the book to Jesus’ introduction of Himself.
John introduced Jesus as “the word, with God in the beginning, God, creator of everything, the embodiment of life and light, in the world but unknown by them, rejected by the Jewish people, made flesh, dwelt among us, and full of grace and truth”.
John the Baptist introduced Him as: “preferred before me, was before me, cometh after me, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, and the Son of God”. John the Baptist focused more on what Jesus did than who He was. He said that Grace and truth came by Jesus the Christ, using the title Christ for the first time in this gospel thus indicating that His coming was fulfillment of God’s promise of an anointed one. He takes away the sin of the world and baptizes with the Holy Ghost thereby preparing His disciples for carrying on His mission after His descent to the right hand of the Father.
The gospel writer’s introduction was more theological whereas the evangelist’s introduction was primarily practical. At 1:29 the record begins shifting to Jesus activities and arguments. I would like to look first at His arguments, that is, what He had to say that indicated how He saw Himself, then Lord willing we may take a look at how His activities helped identify Him.
Over the years I have learned and/or been exposed to several ways of presenting the gospel to the unsaved and invariably they begin with the bad news, man’s sin. I find it very significant that John begins with the solution rather than the problem. I have come to believe that in our evangelistic enthusiasm, we have been doing a less than adequate job of presenting Jesus. Where should we begin in fulfilling our commission to “preach the gospel to every creature”? The obvious answer is to begin with “the gospel” that is, “the good news”. Let’s start focusing our lives and speech more on Jesus, especially in these troublesome days. The world needs some grace and truth.
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Who is Jesus that we should think He has all the answers?
10/26/ 2020
John 1:1-5 Speaking emphatically, John begins his presentation of Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of God” through whom one who believes might have life,0 with a very relevant and powerful statement. He identified Jesus as “the word”, a statement that was being used by philosophers and others wanting people to believe that they had the answers to life’s most serious questions. They had the word on the subject.
Jesus, according to John, not only has the word but is Himself the word and explains why it is appropriate for him to use that expression of Jesus. He was already in existence when everything else was created, in fact, it was He who did the creating and He did it not only as a companion of God but as God.
That’s right, John is saying that Jesus is the answer to life’s most serious questions because He is life’s creator. He is not dependent on any outside source for life for Himself or for us. This fact accounts for His authority on all man’s questions. Light exposes things that exist in darkness for what they really are. I use my nighttime walking around the house without a light on as an illustration of this. If you’ve ever kicked a table leg while walking in darkness you will remember very vividly how it felt. Had we turned a light on it would have exposed that table leg as something to be avoided and with that knowledge we could have avoided significant pain.
Spiritually, Jesus exposes painful things so that we can avoid them and their consequences. There is nothing darkness can do to prevent this because of who He is—God the creator of everything.
1:6-8 John makes a short introduction of John the Baptist explaining that while he too was sent from God and was a light of sorts, he was not Jesus.
1:9-14 This Jesus who is the answer to everyone’s questions was coming into the world, in fact He was already in the world but even though made by Him, it failed to recognize Him. Even the Jewish of whom He was born into the flesh did not receive Him as who He is.
This failure to receive Him by the Jewish people, those people with whom God had made a covenant about 1400 years earlier, did not result in the failure of His mission. All who did receive Him, through believing in Him, as who He really is were given the power/authority to become the sons of God. These people did not do this all on their own but came to this situation by the will of God.
I don’t like to leave this passage of scripture at this point because there is so much here. When we consider the events of the garden of Eden and all that had transpired from then until the time of Jesus’ coming it is somewhat overwhelming to think God would do this for the likes of us and then when we add our own sinfulness to this, it is overwhelming.
Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-10 that it is by grace that we are saved through faith and even that is not of ourselves but a gift from God. As we get to know Jesus through the gospel of John, the grace of God just grows and grows in our spiritual understanding.
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10/25/2020
The gospel of John is one of the most relevant books of the Bible for today. At the end of the Old Testament Israel was in turmoil much as we are today. At that time God sent Jesus as the solution to their problems. God sent Jesus to be the solution to today’s problems as well.
One of the major questions of today is, “What is happening to life as we have known it?” “Will we ever return to normal?” To answer these questions correctly we must understand life itself.
At the time John wrote his gospel, philosophers, religious leaders and others wanting to be heard on the questions of life were claiming to have “the word” on the matter. It is not insignificant that John introduced Jesus as “the word”. He was and is the answer to all man’s most basic questions. Jesus is what life is all about.
In 20:31 John explained his Purpose for writing by saying, “many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
I have highlighted the words believe, Jesus, and life because they represent themes that John develops in presenting Jesus. Even though we think of the gospels as historical books about the life of Jesus, John presents him through a selected group of “signs” that Jesus did.
While I’m sure other people proposing their ideas as “the word” would have wanted to be believed, John is asking his readers to believe Jesus’ words rather than his own. Why should we believe Jesus’ words? John answers that by the way he, John the Baptist, and Jesus Himself introduce Him. The tell Who He is, where He came from and why He came.
Lord willing, next post we will begin looking at how John introduced Him.
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10/24/2020
In spite of the continuing attacks on truth there will always remain one reliable source of truth, the Bible (Mt 5:18) which has been entrusted to those who have decided to follow its teachings. It’s a terribly large book, though. How does one go about understanding it? God calls and equips some to be pastors and teachers to help us understand what we need to know perform our own particular ministry within the church. (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Even though age related issues hinder me from being engaged as a full-time pastor these days, that remains my calling and orientation so I have chosen to utilize this platform as my pulpit. I pray that it will help you in your service to Him.
Here’s how I recommend you begin reading/studying/learning the Bible.
First, understand that the Bible tells a story. It is the story of mankind from the time everything began until the introduction of things which will follow and why everything is progressing toward that end.
When you read, interpret it read this way:
Take it as it reads, don’t try to make it mean something other than the obvious unless it tells you to.
Scripture is its own best interpreter. We should first seek interpretation within the Bible before seeking interpretation elsewhere.
Try to understand it just as the original recipients would have understood it in their time, place, language, and circumstances.
Then consider the kind of literature you are reading. For example, we should distinguish between narrative and instruction. Narrative tells us what did happen where instruction tells what should happen. Three simple rules apply here:
Teaching passages should interpret historical passages
Clear passages should interpret obscure passages
Deliberate teaching should interpret incidental teaching.
It is always a good idea before we begin reading/studying scripture to ask God to show us what he has for us at this time and don’t expect to understand every aspect of what you are reading/studying the first time through.
Lord willing, next post we will begin considering the gospel of John. It is truly relevant in today’s world situation.
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posted 10/23/2020
There is in the world today a contest between truth and personal opinion. This is nothing new. It started in the garden of Eden the moment Satan entered the picture. The truth as God had spoken it to Adam was, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” In Satan’s very first conversation with Eve, he said, “you shall not surely die.” Following that conversation, Eve concluded that, “the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise.” “She took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat.”
Eve substituted personal opinion for truth with disastrous results. God’s word is truth. People following personal opinion rather than truth today will experience equally disastrous results.
The Bible tells us that we are all under a death penalty apart from Jesus Christ and that we may find the truth that will set us free in Him and we may know that we have eternal life. (Romans 3:23; 6:23; John 20:31, 8:32, 3:16-18; 1 John 5:13) Why would anyone hold to their personal opinion when the truth of God is so readily available?
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Walkin the Walk 