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Archive for the ‘Gospels’ Category

Gospel of John (John 1:5 – more on the light)

Posted in Bible, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, Gospels, John, Light, New Testament, tagged , , , , on April 4, 2011|

John 1:5  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John uses the contrast of light and darkness is several places in his gospel.  In John 3:16. he writes, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.

The condemnation is already upon those who love darkness.  The reality is that those who love and practice evil don’t want light to expose them or their deeds.  They prefer to hide in darkness.  But from whom do they hide?  From the God who created them.  It has been so from the beginning.  If we go back to Genesis 3:8, we read:  “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  9 ¶ Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”  10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”    You know the rest of the story, but the point here is that those who violate God’s rules, seek to hide from God.  It is this desire to hide from God that makes darkness their friend.  They hate the light.  It reminds them of the God they have rejected.

The good news is that just like Adam and Eve, God seeks after those who live in darkness.  He would that none would perish.  It is from darkness that many of us were plucked.  As children of God, we bring His light into dark places.  The light in us will dispel the darkness around us.  That is why Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16

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Gospel of John (John 1:2)

Posted in Bible, Gospels, Jesus, John, New Testament, tagged , , , , , on March 12, 2011|

He was in the beginning with God.

  • Why does God repeat Himself here? – For emphasis, to make sure we get it.  As a mother, I am prone to repeat the things that I fear may result in injury or trouble for my child if she forgets them.  So it is with God.  He knows that we have this propensity to want to deny Him, His role in creation, Him as the point of origin for our lives, our very breath.  To help us get it, He repeats Himself.
  • What does this verse tell us about the relationship between Jesus and God? – It tells us that they are co-equals.  Jesus was not created.  He pre-existed creation as God, the Father, did.
  • What did Jesus say about this? – “O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”  (John 17:5)
  • Why is this important? – Most cults include as part of their teaching that Jesus was not a co-equal with God, that He is something less than God.  This is a heresy.  Knowing what God has said in His word will allow us to answer those who lie about the deity of Christ.

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Gospel of John (John 1:1)

Posted in Bible, God, Gospels, Jesus, John, Names of God, New Testament, the Word, tagged , , , , on March 11, 2011|

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

  • When is the “beginning?” –  Was it creation?  Was it the “bang?”  Was it you in the goo?  It doesn’t matter where you place the time marker, God was there.  He was in the beginning.
  • Who is the Word? – JESUS!  We know this because of Rev. 19:11-13.  It would be entirely within the meaning of this verse to read it as follows:  “In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.”   Jesus = God.    The ‘Word” or “logos” is a name given to God, to Jesus the 3rd person of the Godhead.
  • Why is this important? – As we discussed in the last post, one of the main purposes that John has in his gospel is to establish the deity of Christ.  If Jesus Christ was not God, then He has no power to save or redeem.  If, however, He was God, as He claimed with words and proclaimed through His actions, then every man and woman must choose whom they will serve, the gods/idols of this age or the one true and living God who came, suffered bearing the sin of the whole world, died, was buried in a tomb and on the third day, rose again (the tomb is still empty today).

I have set before you life and death,  blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.

—- Moses (Deut. 30:19-20)

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Gospel of John (Further Introduction)

Posted in Bible, God, Gospels, Jesus, John, Knowing God, Luke, Mark, Matthew, New Testament, tagged , , , , , , , on March 10, 2011|

The gospel of John represents one piece in a four-part testimony of the life of Jesus.  This is important because the Bible requires that there be two witnesses to establish a fact.  The use of four gospels each based on testimony of eye witnesses makes the totality of the gospels very credible.  The fact that each of the gospels is not identical to the others adds to the overall credibility.

If one were to interview four eye-witnesses to any event in history, each of them would emphasize different facts and provide a different presentation of the information depending on their audience.  That is exactly what we find in the gospels – four unique but internally consistent testimonies of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, a real man who lived a real life in Israel.

Looking at all four gospels, we see that each is addressed to a different audience, for example, the Gospel of Mark is written with a gentile (primarily Roman) audience in mind.  Little detail of Jewish history or culture is included.

The Gospel of Matthew is written to the Jewish reader.  Matthew starts off with a very detailed genealogy of Jesus and emphasizes  Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah.

The Gospel of Luke was written to a gentile audience.  In as much as Luke was a physician and educated in Greek, he writes a more detailed, carefully researched gospel focused on Jesus as the Son of Man a Savior sent to save the lost sinner.

The Gospel of John was written with a strong emphasis on the deity of Jesus Christ.  John wrote to encouraged believers and to call unbelievers to faith in Jesus Christ

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Gospel of John (Introduction)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, Gospels, John, New Testament, tagged , on March 9, 2011|

As we begin our study in the gospel of John, it is important to consider the context of this gospel and how it fits with the other eye-witness accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus.

First, let us consider where we find the Book of John in the Bible.

The Bible is divided into to sections:  the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Each Testament is divided into further sections.  The Old Testament has five sections:  the books of the law, the books of history, the books of poetry and wisdom, the major prophets and the minor prophets.

Similarly, the New Testament can be divided into five sections:  gospels, history, Pauline epistles, general epistles and the book of Prophecy.

The book of John is found in the first of the five sections of the New Testament.  It is one of four gospels, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  The author of the book is, not surprisingly, John.  What may be surprising or confusing, as I have found from teaching the ladies in the jail, is who this “John” is.  He is NOT John the Baptist.  John the Baptist was  not a major play in the ministry of Jesus.  His own words describe what happened to his ministry when Jesus showed up on the scene, “He must increase and I must decrease.”  That is exactly what happened.

John, the author of the Gospel of John, was an apostle and a disciple of Jesus.  He was very young at the time Jesus was alive, and he lived to a very old age.  He is also the author of four other books found in the New Testament:  1 John, 2 John, 3 John and the book of Revelation.

In our next post, we’ll consider how the gospel of John fits into the four-gospel picture of the life of Christ.

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INDEPENDENT NO MORE (Part 2)

Posted in Bible, Dependence on God, Devotional, God, Gospels, John, New Testament, Walking with God, tagged , , , , on August 31, 2010|

THE LIE OF INDEPENDENCE AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Independence from God is never equivalent to freedom.  It is in total dependence on God that we have freedom – freedom from sin, freedom from fear, freedom from worry and anxiety and most-importantly, freedom from judgment – the judgment of a holy God due sinful man.  All men are sinful.  The Bible teaches that none are righteous and that the wages of sin is death.  The only true freedom is that which comes from God.  Only He can promise a genuine and lasting freedom.

When I was sixteen, I obtained the first key to my “independence” from my parents.  I started working at the Jacksonville Pharmacy in Jacksonville, Maryland.  You might have a hard time understanding what a coup that really was.  Practically everyone in our loosely-defined town went into that Pharmacy at least once a week.  Some came in every day or evening on their way home from work.  It was a hub of activity and community news.

It was that $3.35 per hour that gave me my first real “independence” (so called).  From that point forward, I purchased my car, my gas, my insurance, my incidentals, etc.  I thought of myself as independent even though I was only 16 and still living at home.  I thought I was independent, but looking back now, I can see I really wasn’t totally free of dependence on my parents for the roof over my head, health insurance, food and other expenses of everyday life.

I can draw a parallel to my spiritual life.  During my college years, I turned from my relationship with God to assert my independence from His restrictions.  (I now see them as cords of love.)  I took on sin and tried to be its master.  I think you can guess how that ended.  It mastered me.  I sinned well and with frequency and depravity and thought little of God.  I had become “independent”, a place I would never recommend.  It was a place filled with emptiness and despair and darkness so heavy it can push all the air out of your lungs.  Independence from God was a place of slow death of my soul – a death that would have gone on for eternity, a death that would have separated me from God forever.  It is a law of nature that independence brings death.  What happens to the flower cut from the stem?  The branch cut from the tree?    Death.  Life is found and sustained only with connection to the vine.

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (Jesus speaking)

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Give it all . . . hold nothing back

Posted in Bible, Gospels, Jesus, John 6, New Testament, Surrender, tagged , , , , , , , on July 8, 2010|

Do you remember the story of the loaves and the fish in John 6?  Although it is a familiar story, it is worth taking a closer look at exactly what was happening.

We are told a boy had 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish.  Apparently the boy gave them to the disciples.  The disciples gave them to Jesus.

Observations:
  • The disciples gave it all (5 loaves and 2 fish) to Jesus.
  • Jesus took it all from them.
  • Jesus gave thanks for all to the Father.
  • The Father blessed it all.
  • Jesus gave it all back to the disciples to give out to the 5,000 sitting on the ground.
  • The people were filled by what they received – there was no want.

So how does this apply to me, to you?  I need to give all that I have (or get from anyone) to Jesus.  I need to hold nothing back as a safety net or back up in case of future need.  It is in the giving of it all that I show my total trust and surrender to God.

Jesus will take all that I have and God will bless it.  The little I had will be multiplied.  Jesus will bless it and divide it – break it to make it useful for others.  Passing through the hands of the Savior, what little I had will become plenteous and abundant.  Giving it back to me after blessing it and breaking it, Jesus wants to help to distribute it.  It is not mine any longer because I gave it all to Him.

May He who has done exceeding abundantly above and beyond what you can think or imagine take what you have and cause it to nourish many.  May you hold nothing back!

Thank you Father that you love us enough to require everything of us.  Thank you that you do not desire us to have any confidence in our own abilities or supplies.  Thank you that we are children of the Most High God, so our every need will be met through Your provision.  May You multiply what we have for Your glory!

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