Wednesday, December 7, 2016

12-7-2016 Vol. 14 Part 36 The Gospel of John (John 8:35-47)

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Proverbs 19:20-29
20  Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.
21  Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
22  What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.
23  The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
24  The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
25  Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke a discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.
26  He who robs his father and drives out his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace.
27  Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28  A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
29  Penalties are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.
Father God, help us to prepare our hearts this Christmas Season. I pray Lord that with the hustle and bustle of this season, all will keep you in the foremost part of their mind, because it is all about YOU! In Jesus name we pray.  Amen!
Gospel of John 8:35-47 NKJV
Last week’s lesson was about the sin nature and being a slave to sin. Anyone that practices sin is a slave to the creator of sin, the devil. A slave to sin does not belong to God’s family. This week we have more of Jesus attempting to convince these leaders that He is the long awaited Messiah.
35  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever..
And a slave does not abide in the house forever; This phrase means a slave or a servant of sin has no place in the family of God, just like a slave has no inheritance in the family they are serving. If a slave or servant isn’t faithful to their master, they will be rejected; it is the same with a sinner.
But a son abides forever; Meaning an individual that has given their heart to Jesus and is living for Jesus; belong to God’s family as long as their faith remains in the Cross of Christ.
36  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
The Son of course is Jesus the heir of all things and He has the right and power to redeem mankind of their sinful state of being. He and only He can deliver a person from the bondage and dominion of sin; a state of freedom not from the chains of earthly master and monarchs, but from the bondage of sin.
37  "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
Here Jesus even agrees with His listeners that they are descendants of Abraham, but yet they do not know Him. They don’t know His doctrine; the principles of what He is teaching; they had no room in their heart for His doctrine. They heard with their mind only, in fact they hated what Jesus was teaching and therefore sought to kill Him. They were so filled with pride, and prejudice, and false notions, that they would not receive his truth.
What is so sad today is that the world is the same as the Jews of Jesus time. People believe, but only with their mind. What is necessary for salvation is to believe with the heart through repentance. A person needs to push aside pride, heritage, customs, and religion and accept the Word of God in totality with their heart, and deny the teachings of self and man devised denominational religion.
38  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."
I speak what I have seen with My Father; Time after time Jesus tells these people who He is and where He came from, yet it falls on deaf ears because they practice a religion of death.
And you do what you have seen with your father; Here Jesus is telling these Jews that even though they are descendants of Abraham, they do not conduct themselves as children of Abraham. Abraham listened to God and obeyed; his faith was in God, but these people obey the Devil; their faith was in self righteousness, deceit, lies, etc.
39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
These Jews were persistent and what they were claiming was true physically meaning heritage, but not spiritually. Speaking spiritually, if these Jews practiced what Abraham did, they would recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Abraham loved God, had faith in God, and looked for God’s Son to come. He had a spiritual relationship with God that these Jews didn’t have, if they would have, they would have believed what Jesus said.
40  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.
But now you seek to kill Me; If these people really knew Abraham and the relationship and disposition Abraham had with God, they would have been able to see the sinful life they were living. Jesus also knew what was in their hearts by making this statement.
A man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; All that Jesus was teaching was truth not just because He heard it from God, but also that He is God.
Abraham did not do this; What Jesus is referring to here is that the attitude and conduct of these Jewish people would not have been the attitude and conduct of Abraham if he had been present. Therefore they couldn’t be his children, spiritually speaking.
41  You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God."
You do the deeds of your father; Jesus is plainly saying, that they were doing the deeds not of Abraham, but rather the Devil, which was obvious to all who truly followed the Lord.
Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God; This phrase could be taken several ways. 1.) Were they referring to Jesus possibly, did they know Mary was pregnant before Joseph married her? 2.) Were they referring to themselves since Jesus was accusing them of not being like Abraham so Abraham couldn’t be their father? 3.) Or were they speaking figuratively, that they were not the children of idolaters like those of the past; idolatry being called fornication in Scripture; spiritual idolatry; but that they were the holy seed of Israel, and children of the prophets, who had retained the pure word, and the true worship of God?
Most likely they were referring to 2 & 3 because of the conversation that was taking place. Things haven’t changed much in 2,000 years, still today many people practice spiritual adultery/fornication. They say they are believers, but yet they practice idolatry and following man’s doctrine and not the Word of God.
42  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father; What Jesus is referencing here is a spiritual birth; being Born Again.
You would love me; In the previous verse these Jews stated, “The only Father we have is God Himself.” If they were Born Again the love of God would be in their hearts and they would know who Jesus is. The Holy Spirit would be convicting these people and the hatred they had in their heart would be changed to love. In a regenerated heart, love of Christ is always implanted: it is a fruit of the Spirit, which always comes along with the super abounding grace of God in conversion. Where there is no love of Christ, there can be no regeneration: such a person is not born again; nor is God their Father.
Also those who reject the Bible cannot be friends of God. If they loved God, they would love Him who came from Him, and those who bears His image.
For I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me; Here again Jesus restates where He came from, who sent Him, and who He is.
43  Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.
Why do you not understand My speech; Jesus asks a question here and proceeds to answer it.
Because you are not able to listen to My word; Actually what this phrase is referring to is this; they had no spiritual discernment and understanding of the doctrine of Christ, which showed them to be carnal natural men, and not regenerate ones as the children of God are. So they had a dislike to what Jesus was teaching and could not bear to hear it.
Again it is no different today than it was two thousand years ago. The unsaved will argue about the meaning of scripture, for instance, forgiveness. Many believe they don’t have to forgive or can’t find it in their heart to forgive so they base their faith on the mercy of God and that He will forgive them for not forgiving. Scripture states: Matthew 6:14-15 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Colossians 3:13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 1 John 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. Scripture is quite clear on forgiveness.
The reason why sinners do not understand the Bible and its doctrines is because they cannot bear the truth, which was the disposition of these Jews. They detest some if not all scripture and their hatred produces unbelief and a disposition to quibble over scripture and to pervert the truth. They take an obstinate stance that it shall not be applied to their life. Therefore, they embrace false doctrine, and choose error rather than truth, and darkness rather than light. A disposition to believe God is one of the best attitudes for understanding the Bible.
44  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do; What this phrase is saying about these leaders is that they are portraying the characteristics of the devil. They have the temper, disposition, and spirit of the devil. They are influenced by him, imitate him, and therefore called his children. 1 John 3:8-10; Acts 13:10
He was a murderer from the beginning; Satan is a lair, deceiver, murderer; and the one that caused death to come about. He deceived Adam and Eve resulting in the sin nature which brings about spiritual death unless one is Born Again. Genesis 2:17 Physical death also came because of the devils deception Genesis 3. Because he was the cause why death came into the world, he can be called a murderer from the beginning.
Satan has in all ages deceived men, and been the cause of their spiritual and eternal death. His work has been to destroy. It was by his instigation, also, that Cain killed his brother, and is the instigator of all murders for all times. As the Jews plotted to kill the Saviour, they showed that they had the spirit of the devil.

And does not stand in the truth; The KJV states this as, “and abode not in the truth.” The meaning of this phrase is that at one time Satan abided by the truth, but then rebelled, and since that time he is a deceiver of the truth.
Because there is no truth in him; There has been no truth in the devil since his fall.
When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it; Satan is the originator of the “lie”; consequently, his entire kingdom of darkness, in totality, is built on the “lie”. He is the father or originator of falsehood. As the Jews refused to hear the truth which Jesus spoke, so they showed that they were the children of the father of lies.
45  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
The attitudes and actions of these leaders clearly identified them as followers of Satan. They may not have been conscious of this, but their hatred of truth, their lies, and their murderous intentions indicated how much control the devil had over them. They were his tools in carrying out his plan; they spoke the very same language of lies. Satan still uses people to obstruct God's work and when he uses people, the truth cannot be heard, seen, or comprehended. (Genesis 4:8; Romans 5:12; 1 John 3:12)
46  Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?
Sin, meaning immorality in life or of any imposture, corruption, or falsehood in doctrine. The argument of our Saviour is this: A doctrine might be rejected if it could be proved that the one delivering it was an impostor; but if you cannot prove this of Me, you are bound to receive my words. Again this shows their true state of spirituality.
47  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."
A person that has a personal relationship with God hears God. Any Born Again person knows this is true. After a person is regenerated there is a communication channel that is opened up that was never heard before. It is an awesome thing.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner.  I confess my sins to you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness.  I believe that only you can forgive sin.  I commit my life to you and ask you to come into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life.  I believe that you died to set me free from my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my Savior.”  I believe this and have faith you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.” 

(John 3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)