As I begin this plunge into the Gospel of John I want to share some facts with you. John was written by John, the other half of the Sons of Thunder, and the earthly son of Zebedee. These two brothers were usesd in an incredible way by Jesus as they traveled on Jesus' "earth" mission. In John's we can immediately see who Jesus was and that was the. Son of God and also God. The following verses help us realize what it means to give your heart Jesus and what it means when we study the Word of God.
John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it. When we think beginning, think the start. Jesus was there at the beginning and He has always been. Jesus is everlasting and in that everlasting we see other parts of who He is come into focus for those who are born again. Everlasting (def) "Everlasting," in strictness, is that which endures forever; either that which has no beginning and will have no end (in which sense it is applicable to God only), or that which, having a beginning, will have no end, but henceforth will exist forever. Jesus in the beginng means He always has been and without end or eternal. Verse is the Word and when we read the Word of God Jesus is the one speaking to us at our deepest level. The way Bible study works is Jesus deepens our level of understanding to the point of discovering the "mysteries of God." WOW!
Jesus promised a helper and that helper is the Holy Spirit. When we are born again in the Spirit we are a new creation and we learn to realize what it means to follow Jesus because the Word of God and the Holy Spirit help us to deepen our faith. When our faith deepens we make better choices and are drawn to a very close relationship with our heavenly Father, to the point we are allowed to know Him as Abba Father, which is a close and intimate relationship. Religion can never deepen this intimate relationship because our human filter will not allow it because it does not see possible. The Apostle Paul had this understanding and He got it from spending time with Jesus before he even began his missionary journeys. Paul was "powered" by this great truth and this awesome relationship and he spoke to the extent of such a relationship when writing to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2: 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
John said this in verses 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. Just as much as the Jews would not accept Jesus as the Messiah, Paul was immersed in his acceptance and allegiance to Jesus as the Son of God. The gospel of John is rich in helping all believers realize that Jesus is the Word of God, the Son of God, and He is God and has always been! Just the words in verse 3 say so much for each of us and help us realize Jesus became man to redeem and make us right to deepen our relationship at the deepest level and thus live the abundant life. John 10: 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. When we make only converts and not disciples we confuse and hamstring those new converts because they have the Holy Spirit and do not know how to respond to the Spirit, and before long they don't respond and become spiritual drifters with not purpose or vision. They actually become believers without the realization of the light that is coursing through their being. Verse 5 speaks to who Jesus is in our dark world where it says 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.
Jesus set everything in motion and He sets everything in motion for all those who are born again. Paul gives this instruction to all of us in Romans 12: 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conformto the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We are confident. Not in ourselves. We are confident in our Savior, Jesus, who has always been and always will be and is the light of the world and shines that light through us to this lost and dying world. Jesus is my confidence, my Savior, my Lord and his light is shining in the darkness as much now as from the beginning. We must have confidence that "He's got this!" You may say, "Got what?" EVERYTHING!! He has existed from the beginning and His wisdom is imparted to us, but we must access that wisdom and let the Holy Spirit how to live it out. Don't trust your human reasoning, but trust His Word because it is HIM, Jesus! Do you want to get to know your Savior? Read the Word of God and He will speak intimately with you and show you great and mighty things. The Psalmist knew first hand how to explain what I have been writing today and here is how he says it. Psalms 147: 1 Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! 2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
You know who that is? THAT MY JESUS, MY SAVIOR, MY LORD, MY CONFIDENCE!! He has unlimited power and gives us access to Him and His power, just believe.
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David Warren
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