The Gospel According to St. John

Quote:

From: HansC
To: Goober_JIL
Date: 4/30/2006 11:16:05 AM
Subject: RE: permission

Hi, Goober.

You can use anything, that I write however you want to. I'd post myself on your site, but I'm really swamped. You've probably noticed that it takes me a little time between posts, because it's tough right now for me to find the time that I need to put them together. I just started work graveyard, plus lots of OT, and there just doesn't seem to be enough time.

But, as I do find time I will press on. Thank you for the encouragement.

Hans

all of HansC's material will be posted in it's entirity, unedited, and in quotes.

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

The Gospel According to Saint John

Writing on the Gospel of John, Martin Luther said, "This is the unique, tender, genuine chief Gospel. Should a tyrant succeed in destroying the Holy Scriptures and only a single copy of the Epistle to the Romans and the Gospel according to John escape him, Christianity would be saved".

I know that when I talk to sinners about God, John's Gospel is one of my chief foundations and in it is found the basic simple Gospel of God's redemptive love.

It is probably the portion of Scripture that more people have come to know Christ through, than any other section of the Bible.

Saint Jerome said, "John excels in the depths of divine mysteries".

This Gospel touches the very heart and nature of Christ to a greater extent than the other three Gospels. Its special emphasis is on the deity of Christ.

That's why in reference to John's Gospel, Saint Augustine says, "Saint John not undeservedly with reference to his spiritual understanding compared to an eagle, has lifted higher, and far more sublimely that the other three."

In the medieval world, Saint John was symbolized by the eagle, due to his grand views of Christ in his writings. In medieval art, frequently when we see an eagle, it is a symbolic reference to John.

The Gospel of John is strikingly different than the other three and was the last one to be written, probably sometime between 85-95 A.D. To a large extent it focuses more on the things Jesus said, rather than what He did, and is a more reflective work than the others which are more in a narrative style.

Many Christian scholars believe that it is the most important book ever written. Often when people first come to Christ, they are given one book to read first, and it often is the Book of John.

The purpose of the Gospel was spelled out by John when in chapter twenty he says, "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".

John weaves together the sayings, statements, miracles and events of his Gospel to build a case for the deity of Christ. That is his chief focus, Christ's divinity.

He wrote this work long after the other Gospel writers had passed away. He was alone left of all the Apostles, and knowing that he must also go home soon, left the world with a final glimpse beyond the veil of glory.

In his work, John takes us down the labyrinthine halls of eternity long gone by, across immeasurable time, beyond the incomprehensible vastness of space, beyond anything the mind of man can conceive, and out of these mists of untold ages steps the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, God eternal, the Alpha and Omega.

Go back in time as far as your mind can conceive, and out from beyond the conceivable steps the inconceivable , the man of no origin, no beginning, no end, the living Word, the Lord of Glory.

This Gospel is in essence the upper room for believers, where Christ takes us aside and reveals things to us that the world may not know.

It can be a difficult work to study in depth, yet God has not called us to be geniuses of God, but rather children of God. Jesus didn't say that we had to be seminary graduates to serve and understand Him, He merely asked, "Do you love me?"

Paul in writing to the Philippians said:

3:10
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death

Know Him....

Knowing Him is what it's all about. Knowing Him is not the same as knowing doctrines about Him. It says know Him , not speculate about Him.

Paul at the end of His life and work stated that his purpose was to know Him. Our salvation is based upon our relationship with Christ, not on our relationship with any other organization.

The Gospel of John is all about knowing Him. Let us focus our study and lives on knowing Him more and more. And with that let's begin.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

JOHN,1
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD

1.) Jesus Christ is God

1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God

In the beginning..

The Gospel according to John opens with an echo of the opening verse of the Bible, "in the beginning" when time began. When we go back to the very beginning of all time and creation , the Word was already there. He was before all things. He Himself has no beginning.

This unique name for Jesus, the Word, is only used four times in the New Testament and only by John.

the Word...

This term in Greek is one we commonly hear and it is LOGOS. In the Greek this means "word" or "reason". In the ancient Greek world the philosopher Heracleitus thought that the Logos of God was the reason for the existence of all things in the universe.

The philosopher Plato, believed that the Logos of God was the highest form of the unchanging good. When John wrote his gospel the writings of both of these men were in wide circulation.

To the Greek mind, there were two worlds, the one we live in, which was a world of shadows, copies and unrealities, while the other world which was the real world, held true reality. To the Greeks the unseen world was the real one, while the seen world was only a poor copy or reflection of a greater unseen reality.

Plato in his writings spoke of the many unseen mysterious of this unseen world and expressed the hope that someday a LOGOS from God would come forth and give men clarity and understanding.

the Word was with God...

The Greek of this ( pros ton theon) could be rendered as "face to face with God". This shows the Word as a distinct person, and yet having "face to face" fellowship with another distinct person. The Word here was "with" God, that is to say, he is shown to have a conscious personal existence distinct and separate from God.

Jesus tells us that:
John 6:46
"Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him." (LIV)

and the Word was God...

And yet, in spite of being distinct and separate from God, the Word is none the less inseparable and associated with Him.

Yet, lest we think that the Word is less than God, we are told that the "Word was God". Actually literally it reads, "And God was the Word", the subject and predicate are reversed in the closing thought thereby underlining and placing greater emphasis that the Word while being distinct is none the less God, eternal.

This distinctness yet none the less is not the distinctness of two totally different beings, as if there were more than one God, but of fellowship within a divine plurality, and speaks of the absolute unity of God.

In this we see, that the Lord Jesus is the Lord of Eternal Glory, the living Word. Jesus is God Almighty, Jesus is God Eternal.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

2.) Jesus Christ is the Creator

1:3
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus is the creator of all things, He spoke the worlds into existence. He does not have a beginning, but rather gave a beginning to all things. He was the one who created Adam and Eve and walked in the Garden with them. He was the one that hung the stars in their paths.

Christ who died on the cross was the creator all things.

Colossians 1:16-17
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

All stars, all galaxies, all angels, all powers, all thrones, were created by Jesus Christ. They were created by Him and for Him.

He Himself has no beginning, no ending, He is the Alpha and Omega, the Lord of Glory.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

3.) In Him was ZOE

1:4
In Him was life; ....

In Him was LIFE...

The term used here is ZOE, and refers to not just biological life, but rather to the very LIFE of God Himself. In this context here, ZOE is used as a reference to eternal LIFE.

This eternal LIFE, this ZOE, whatever else it may be, is clearly more that life which simply lasts forever. ZOE is more than just duration of life, but also speaks of a certain quality of life.

Jesus has in Him, the very eternal LIFE of God. This is one of the key words and themes of the book of John. When we read in John's writings the term "life", we need to pay attention. He is actually talking about ZOE, and not regular human life, but rather LIFE.

Jesus is the eternal Word of LIFE made manifest in the flesh. Jesus offers men and women, ZOE, the entering into the very LIFE of God.

I John 1:1-2
That which was from the beginning, which we have listened to, which we have seen with our own eyes, and our own hands have handled concerning the Word of Life--
the Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness, and we declare unto you the Life of the Ages which was with the Father and was manifested to us--(Weymouth)

John again declares Jesus to be the Word of LIFE made flesh. He is the LIFE of the Ages, and has always been with the Father from the beginning. This LIFE was manifest, and was seen by men. This means that man can know the truth of God.

The Word of LIFE has stepped into the world of fallen man and given unto man a true revelation of God. Man by this is able to know the truth of God.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Gr***Br*

"He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." John 1:10-13

Our identity as children of God is an eternal identity. Many people identify themselves by their occupations; anything from being an Athlete to a Zoologist. Some identify themselves by their denomination. Or worst yet, some identify themselves by their worst sin. i.e. alcoholic, thief, etc. While our occupations, denominations or struggles may change, our identity in Him will not. That is one of the many great messages from the Gospel of John.

Grace and Peace

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

Hey Gr***Br*, I really like what you said about identity, that was most excellent, I'm going to make it a point to remember that golden nugget.

4.) The Light of the World

1:4
..and the life was the light of men.

The LIFE was the light...

In the natural world, when the sun sets, it gets dark and hard to see, yet the physical darkness that comes with the setting of the sun is nothing compared to the spiritual darkness that engulfs this lost world.

This fallen world is encased in total spiritual darkness twenty-four hours a day, and nothing man can do on his own can penetrate that darkness.

Into this dark fallen world steps the Lord of Glory, the Word of LIFE, and with His advent sheds light to darkened, lost, fallen man.

Without light we can not see, there is no vision, things seem gray, hidden, indistinct, hard to make out. With the dawn of light, those things which were unclear, hard to see, of uncertain form, become clear. The light shows things for what they are.

Jesus, the Light of the World came to give man a true revelation of God.

1:5
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

the light shineth..

In the Greek here, the verb, shineth, (phaino) is in the present tense, and designates that Christ who is the Light continues to shine eternally as the Light of men.

comprehended it not...

The darkness here refers to the lost spiritual condition of fallen man. Man in his doubt, sin, separation and unbelief was not able to comprehend what was happening.

The Greek term for perceived here is "Katalambano" and means to grasp, comprehend, put out, seize. The darkness of unbelief just can not take it in, it can not grasp the Light.

It also implies a hostility between light and darkness, with the darkness being unable to put out the light. Although, in some parts of the world, including America it sure is trying.

Often when we tell people who are in a lost condition the need of a Savior, they just stand there like an old cow at a new gate, they just can not comprehend the reality of the situation.

Many times when people do come to the Lord, they suddenly see it. They will often say things like, "I don't know how I could have been so blind?" It takes, God to enlighten us.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

5.) Jesus Christ is the True Light

1:9
He was the true Light, which doth enlighten every man, coming to the world; (YLT)

true Light..

In the world at John's time Greek philosophy had been ingrained into the thoughts of the people of the Roman empire. John was presenting his Gospel to a Greek thinking world.

To the Greeks, the world was divided into two realms, the real, true and genuine yet unseen realm of divine light and form, and the seen world which was not the true, unreal and merely a reflection of the true.

To the Greek mind what John is saying is that Jesus is not just a reflection of the light, but is in Himself the real, true and genuine light. He is the world of reality stepping across the dark chasm and entering into the world of shadows to reveal the true and real light.

which doth enlighten every man..

Now that the Light is here man can know the truth of God. Every person will be judged in light of that Light.

Jesus, the Light of the world brings to us both a revealing light and a guiding light. He both reveals to us our true condition, and guides our steps.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

6.) Jesus the Unknown

1:10
in the world he was, and the world through him was made, and the world did not know him (YLT)

Many people find it hard to believe that Jesus is God the creator. Yet, that is exactly what the light of the Word reveals to us. Many will accept the fact that He was a great moral teacher, or even a prophet of God. Some will even insist that He is the Son of God, but certainly not God Almighty, the creator.

All Bible based religious groups, have statements on Christ, yet many of them make Jesus a created being, which He's not. To them He is still unknown.

In one sense, Jesus is one of the best known figures in history, yet on the other hand, most people don't know who He really is, namely, God the creator.

1:11
to his own things he came, and his own people did not receive him; (YLT)

The creator came into His own created world and was unrecognized for the most part. He came unto His own special chosen people, the Jews, and for the most part was unrecognized.

Why? Because the world lies in darkness and can not comprehend the light.

Many of the people that rejected Him, were the most educated in the world, many of them had a tremendous understanding of the Scriptures, and yet they still rejected Him. Unless a person has an open heart and a sincere desire to know the truth, the Spirit will not open their spiritual eyes.

Many today think that if they would have been around back then that they would have been one of the ones that recognized and chose to follow Him.

Yet, many of these same people today, do not recognize the move of God's Holy Spirit in the world today.

I find it amazing how many well educated Christian ministers, scholars, commentators, teachers and just plain Bible students, while being well versed in the Holy Scriptures, do not recognize the Holy Spirit when He is in manifestation.

And yet, they would have us believe that they would have recognized Christ when He was here, all the while being unable to recognize His Spirit, which is here.

God's Spirit today is coming to His own and many are not receiving or recognizing Him.

I came across one Christian scribe, who commented that he was longing for and looking forward to the time of the end, when the Anti-Christ will be causing trouble and that he was looking forward to God using him and speaking through him at that time.

Yet, further in his writings, he completely rejects the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the world today.

It's always amazed me how some can have lots of faith in regards to what God did in the past, and even a lot of faith of what God will do in the future, yet, when it comes down to experiencing God's supernatural manifestations today, they don?t believe a thing.

Many religiously educated people back then failed to recognize Him, and today, many of the religiously educated also fail to recognize His Spirit today.

Blindness is still rampant among the Biblical scholars of today, even as it was in Christ's day.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

7.) Receive Jesus

John 1:12
as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:

Yet not all rejected Him, there was a remnant whose hearts were in a place that allowed the Spirit of God to reveal to them the Living Word.

Receiving Christ is an act of the will. It is a person responding by faith to the Word of God.

Receiving Christ involves repenting and turning to God and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience.

We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.

God is not so concerned with the exact formula of our prayer in receiving Christ, but rather in the condition of out heart. When a person prays the prayer to receive Christ, they pray something along the lines of this simple prayer.

Father I came to you in the name of the Lord Jesus, I need You. Your Word says that "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out". I am coming to you.

Your Word says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

I believe in my heart Jesus Christ is the Son Of God. I believe He was raised from the dead, and I give Him my life and confess Him now as my Lord.

Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life.

In Jesus name, amen.

(I know that we are all Christians here, but still thought it a good idea to review the "sinner's prayer", in case an opportunity to pray with someone else comes along)

If you've never prayed a prayer along this line, and this prayer expresses the desire of your heart then stop for a moment and invite Christ into your heart right now.

Revelation 3:20
I am now standing at the door and am knocking. If any one listens to My voice and opens the door, I will go in to be with him and will feast with him, and he shall feast with Me. (WEY)

We have right here the whole truth of salvation, as far as our part is concerned. It is as simple as inviting Jesus into your life and declaring Him as your Lord.

God has given this to us in the plainest most simple terms possible. People often try to turn the simple Gospel message into a great difficultly. Yet, Jesus spoke in very simple terms.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

8.) By My Spirit

1:13
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (KJV)

not of blood..

A person's natural birth is of no consequence when it comes to God. Even if your parents were two of the best Christians in town, they can not give you eternal life. Even if you entire family is the most respected family in the church, and your grandfather is the pastor, that will not give you eternal life.

Often children from stanch Christian families seem to think that because their family is a solid Christian family, that somehow makes them a Christian.
Often, the parents, because they are such pillars of the church simply assume that their children are saved because they have always taken them to church. Yet, salvation is not automatic, it is not by blood.

Only God can confer the salvation of the new birth.

nor of the will of the flesh...

A person can not simply make themselves a Christian. A person can not simply give themselves salvation.

No amount of prayer, fasting, meditation, good works, charity, will ever lift up man by his spiritual bootstraps. All the meditation, of the eastern religions are of absolutely no avail, they are totally useless.

There is nothing that man can do by his own power to escape the darkness of this fallen world and the eternal consequences of that fall.

People can not enlighten themselves. There is absolutely nothing that man can do to give themselves eternal life, it is the gift of God, and not of works.

A person can not save themselves, they must come to Christ as a sinner, repent and receive Christ as their savior. There is no other way. It is not by trying to be better, but rather by receiving Christ that we receive eternal life.

Receive Christ and God will make you a new creature in Christ.

nor of the will of man...

No person can make you a Christian. Some people imagine that some minister can confer salvation upon them by baptism or some other sacrament.

These sacraments, while good, can not of themselves save you. A person, "MUST BE BORN AGAIN".

No man can save you, that is by the hand of God alone. Only God can impart eternal life into a fallen human spirit. Only God can give to man ZOE.

but of God...

A person must have a personal relationship with God through Christ, nothing else will do. Who your family is, is of no concern. It doesn't matter who's in your family tree.

It also doesn't matter what personal efforts you are making towards spiritual enlightenment. All your good deeds, and acts of kindness, while being nice, still won't save you.

It doesn't even matter what the priest or preacher in the local religious organization says about you.

What matters is what God has to say about you. It's God opinion, that matters. If He says you?re his Child, then that's settles it.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

9.) Jesus Christ is Man

1:14
And the Word came in the flesh, and lived for a time in our midst, so that we saw His glory--the glory as of the Father's only Son, sent from His presence. He was full of grace and truth. (WEY)

The divine, eternal Word became a person, and lived the life of a man. Jesus is God and Jesus is man.

The Bible never shies away from expressing the dual truths of the full eternal deity of Christ and the complete humanity of Christ.

Nothing could be more mortal and human than the cruel death on the cross, yet nothing could be more divine than the earth growing dark at His death, the tearing of the veil, and the final triumphant when He burst the chains of death by His glorious resurrection.

In the incarnation, Christ temporarily divested Himself of His rights , glory, powers and privileges as God

Jesus laid aside the expression of His deity, however he did not lay aside the possession of His deity.

He never at any time stopped being God, however, while on earth he ministered as a man. And as a man He was dependent on the Spirit. The reason you don't see Jesus performing any miracles before His anointing was that He had not yet received the power to do them.

He stripped Himself of all His rights and power as God to walk the life of a man. In this self imposed weakened state, He was dependent upon the Holy Spirit for understanding, wisdom and knowledge.

While Jesus never stopped at any time being God, He did not minister as God, He ministered as the Son of Man, that is as an anointed man.

Philippians 2:6
Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God , possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God ,God?, did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained,
But stripped Himself of all privileges and rightful dignity, so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being (AMP)

The Greek term for "being" here is "huparcho" and conveys the idea of existing or subsisting. This is essentially stating that Jesus existed as God prior to His incarnation.

Another Greek term used here is "Kenoo" and means to empty. While always remaining God, Jesus emptied Himself of His divine prerogatives, power, glory and privileges.

The greatest truth in the Bible is that God so loved us that He became a man, set aside His divine rights, lived life as a man, and then chose to die a humiliating death on the cross for humanity.

God was willing to become a man and die for you, are you willing to live for Him?

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

10.) Jesus Christ is Immanuel

1:14
And the Word came in the flesh, and lived for a time in our midst, so that we saw His glory--the glory as of the Father's only Son, sent from His presence. He was full of grace and truth. (WEY)

Word came in the flesh...

We have seen how the Greek mind had the concept of the LOGOS, as the powerful dynamic Word, which was the agent of creation, the guiding and directive force of the universe.

The Greek mind had been taught by the philosophy of both Heraclitus and Plato to think along these lines.

What really amazed them in John's Gospel was that John states essentially that, this divine LOGOS which created the World, the very reason which controls the universe, had become a person. That was what was so shocking and new to the Greek mind.

That God could and would become a person, that the LOGOS which was outside of time could step across the worlds and enter as a man. Eternity stepped across the abyss and entered into time.

Many false cults will often overemphasize one aspect of Christ. Many of them focus on Christ's humanity and down play His deity. It is with these half-truths that they snare many a soul away from the Kingdom. Yes, Jesus was fully human, but none the less He is Immanuel, God with us.

I John 4:2-3
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit who doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist,

Jesus is God eternal in the flesh. He is the eternal creator, the Lord of Glory, become a man. He is Alpha and Omega without beginning and without end. Every group or religious organization, that denies the full deity of Christ in the flesh is not motivated by the Spirit of God, but according to John is actually motivated by the spirit of antichrist.

Some religious people today teach that Jesus is not God, that is to say they teach that Jesus is not deity. This goes against what the Scriptures plainly teach.

The deity of Christ is the core, heart and soul of Christianity. If Christ's deity can be successfully challenged then all we are left with is a hollow shell of a religion.

Lots of people have religion, but that's not enough to get you to heaven, thank God we have Jesus.

If Jesus is not God, then He is also not Lord, and if He is not Lord then His name means nothing, and as believers in Him we have nothing. Many people think that Jesus was a good moral teacher, others think that He was a prophet showing people a way unto God.

Yet, as Christians, we know who He really is, He is Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (KJV)

Thank God, however, we know who our redeemer is, He is the Lord God Almighty, Jesus, eternal God. He is Immanuel.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

11.) Jesus Christ is Truth

1:14
And the Word came in the flesh, and lived for a time in our midst, so that we saw His glory--the glory as of the Father's only Son, sent from His presence. He was full of grace and truth. (WEY)

the Word came in the flesh..

Some people think that God is playing "Hide and Seek", no He's not, He plainly reveals Himself in the Scriptures to those that seek Him.

He became flesh so man could know Him. The most miraculous revelation of God to man is the incarnation when He became a man.

It would seem that if God did become a man, that the life of that man would be a most amazing life and that that life would affect more peoples lives than any other life and profoundly change the course of human history. Jesus did that and more.

He was full of grace ..

The fact that God became a man and died for humanity was not something that humanity deserved, it was an act of love and grace on the part of God.

He did not have to offer us salvation, yet because of His love for us, He came and died for us.

Romans 5:15
...infinitely greater is the generosity with which God's grace, and the gift given in His grace which found expression in the one man Jesus Christ, have been bestowed on the mass of mankind. (WEY)

God's gift of grace finds its expression through Jesus Christ, alone. There is no other way to God. His grace is infinitely greater than the sin of the fallen nature. He is able to redeem us completely, due to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

and Truth..

Some think that there is an element of truth in all religions, and there may be some accurate statements, yet if they don't have Jesus, they don't have the Truth.

So, what is truth?

God's Word as revealed in the Scriptures is The Truth. The Word of God, however, is Spirit and not ink, paper and leather, yet it is by the Scriptures, the written Word of God, that we have access to the spiritual Word of God. In a sense, you could say that we need to get to the Word behind the Word.

Now, the Scriptures are God's revelation of His will, plan and purpose to the world. Yet, still in a sense a person needs to get a revelation of that revelation. That's were the Spirit of God comes in, He binds the two together.

The veiled spiritual living Word of God is unveiled to us by the Spirit of Truth through the written Word of God.

As we look into this, let us hold this principle in mind, namely, that: the Spirit of God through the written Word of God reveals and unveils unto us, Christ the Living Word of God.

Let's see this principle played out in Scripture.

Luke 7:22
Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

Jesus, the living Word could have just said "Yes, I'm the one.", rather, He chose to validate Himself to John and his guys by Scripture. He was judged to be the Word of God in the light of Scripture, the written Word. We are also called to walk in the light of the written Word. There is something special about the written Word.

John 5:39
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me

Christ, the living Word, calls out to "search the Scriptures" . Amazing. We are to search the Scriptures to unveil the living Word. The written Word is our guide to the living Word, to doctrine, to all things. The Scriptures are what we use to determine what is or is not the Word. The living Word will always refer us back to "it is written. " Doctrine, tradition, ritual etc. are always to be evaluated in the light of the written Word.

1:17
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (KJV)

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

12.) A Voice Crying In the Wilderness

1:22-24
They said therefore to him, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said."

Who are you.?

Many people make a great deal of fuss over themselves. Many preachers come across as great man and great voices, and in a small sense they may be, yet all we have is from God, and humility is in order.

We all are called to be voices, but He is the Word, and our voices are called to give forth that Word.

John was a perfect example of what all true servants of the Gospel should be, only a voice, a pointer to the King. The last thing that John wanted was for people to follow him. He was merely preparing the way for the light of Christ.

Often people will follow after a man, and the man may indeed have his ministry from God, yet at most he is to be a voice in the wilderness pointing people to Christ.

What do you say about yourself.?

We often like to say a lot about ourselves. A lot of preachers like to talk a lot about themselves, yet here John, has very little to say about himself. He has completely forgotten himself in the service of his King.

Often when it comes to spiritual matters people often run to this great preacher or that great theologian, yet what really matters is, What does God's Word say on the subject?

Let's learn to look to the Word.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

13.) Behold, the Lamb of God.

1:29
On the morrow John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 'Lo, the Lamb of God, who is taking away the sin of the world; (YLT)

the Lamb of God..

All the multitude of lambs that were slain for a temporary atonement down through the ages, now find their fulfillment in the Lamb of God.

The lambs that were sacrificed on the altars of the fathers could never completely pay the price, and what they could not do, now the Lamb of God has come to do.

Genesis 22:8
And Abraham said: 'God will provide Himself, the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.

my son.

Indeed, God did provide Himself, as the Lamb. The creator, Himself came to die for the creation.

who is taking away ..

This term here is in the present tense, the Lamb came to bear away the sin of the world.

the sin of the world..

Not just limited to the Jewish people, but of the entire world. It does not say "sins", but rather sin, singular. Christ not only died for the acts of sin which we have committed, but for redemption from the very nature of sin.

That's why when a person receives Christ, they are not a forgiven old creature, but rather a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away.

II Corinthians5:21
He has made Him who knew nothing of sin to be sin for us, in order that in Him we may become the righteousness of God. (WEY)

Jesus died for the very nature of sin, so that when we are placed into Him upon receiving Him, we can become the righteousness of God in Christ.

Revelation 5:6
Then, midway between the throne and the four living creatures, I saw a Lamb standing among the Elders. He looked as if He had been offered in sacrifice, ...(WEY)

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

14.) What Seek Ye?

1:38-39
And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), where abideth thou? He saith unto them,Come, and ye shall see.

Jesus turned.

Although the two disciples followed at a distance, they had not approached Jesus. Then Jesus takes the first step in calling them into a closer relationship with Him.

When we came to Christ, it is He who has already called us, we are merely responding to the call. He waits for us with out stretched arms.

What seek ye ?..

Jesus has a way of asking the most simple, yet fundamentally basic questions of life. What were they looking for? What are we looking for when we come to Christ?

Where they looking for power, prestige, a career, fame, position, a military leader, a political leader, safety, material possessions, what exactly where they looking for? That's what Jesus asked them.

That's also what he asks us. What exactly are we looking for?

At times, I've had good success in praying for sick people, and people will ask me to pray for them. I point them to Jesus, He's the healer. When doing this I often notice that some people seem to want the healing more than the Healer.

It becomes evident that they are more concerned about temporal things rather than spiritual matters.

I think it's good to sometimes stop and ask ourselves, What am I looking for?, What am I doing? Why am I doing what I'm doing? What is it that I'm trying to do with my life? What am I seeking?

where abideth thou?

Good answer. They wanted to know Him. They wanted to know where He abideth. Actually, Jesus had only temporary dwellings, His real abiding was in the bosom of the Father. To their answer Jesus says:

Come, and ye shall see. ?

This Jesus says to all that seek Him with the right motive. The two disciples, stayed the night talking with Him, and then were convinced that He was indeed the Messiah, the King of Israel.

Often, people will speculate over whether or not Jesus really is who His servants claim Him to be.

Yet, let them, if they seek God with sincerity spend some time with Him and then they will know themselves that He is exactly who He says He is. A little sincere time with Jesus, will settle a lifetime of speculation from a distance.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

15.) Tell Them

1:40-42
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John's exclamation and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah!" --that is to say, the Anointed One. He brought him to Jesus (WEY)

first found his own brother...

I think that one of the signs or fruits that we have been born again as a member of God's family is the desire to let others know about Christ.

Has He really won your love and affection? Then there will naturally well up within you a desire to bring others to Christ. The Holy Spirit inside of us, inspires us to bring others to Christ.

It isn't just the job of the preacher to tell others about Jesus, we are all called to be ambassadors and representatives of Christ. We are all called in a sense to be "voices in the wilderness" of this world.

1:43
The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

Follow me...

Jesus went out, searching for those men who would be the pillars of His church. He found Phillip. At a simple request from the master, Philip dropped everything and went after Jesus.

He didn't ask, why, where are we going, what's in it for me, he just obeyed. Jesus calls us to follow Him.

1:45-46
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

And Nathaniel said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

Come and see....

Notice that Philip didn't get into a long theological debate with Nathaniel, about who Jesus was, he simply stated , who Jesus was, and that if Nathaniel wanted to know the truth of Philip's ascertains, he should, "come and see".

We can spend a lot of time arguing with sinners about who Jesus is, but unless they "come and see" on their own, it is fruitless.

Our message to sinners should be a simple, "come and see". People will express doubts, they may say, "Can it really be true that Jesus is the Savior?" or " Is Jesus really, the creator, who died for humanity?".

To this we say, "Come and see". Come spend some time at His feet yourself. Walk with Him a ways with a sincere heart, let Him speak to you. Come and see.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

16.) Jacob's Ladder

1:51
"I tell you all in most solemn truth," He added, "that you shall see Heaven opened wide, and God's angels going up, and coming down to the Son of Man."

you shall see Heaven opened...

In a sense, Jesus is here saying, "you ain't seen nothing yet". Which is true. No matter how many experiences we have had with God, we ain't seen nothing yet?.

There is so much more for all who are a part of the heavenly family. Regardless of whether we stay on this side of the veil or pass over to the other side, we will one day see Jesus split the sky wide open. And then there are the wonders of heaven, like Jesus said, you ain't seen nothing yet.

At the core of this verse is the idea that those who have received Him, will over time receive more and greater experiences.

One day we will all see Him return, and take care of business.

From the Old Testament we have the story of Jacob's ladder, and here Jesus brings up that image, by implying that He is Jacob's ladder.

Jesus is indeed the one and only stairway to heaven. He Himself is the true connecting bridge between earth and heaven. Christ is the connection to God and only by Him can a person connect with God.

Jesus is both, the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is connected to man by His humanity and He is connected to God by His divinity. He is fully in both realms and bids us to cross over unto the other side "in Him".

Genesis 12:12-13
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

And, behold, the LORD stood beside him, and said: 'I am the LORD, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac.

Jesus stands besides Jacob, and gives him the revelation of the heavenly ladder. He gave Jacob a revelation of Himself, and then He expands upon that revelation to Nathaniel in John 1:51.

While He gave the revelation first to Jacob, then to Nathaniel, by putting it in His written Word, He gives all of us that same revelation.

Revelation 19:11
I saw the heaven opened, and behold,..

In his opening book John writes, "you shall see heaven opened", in his closing book he writes, "I saw heaven opened". Yes, all those who confess Him as their Lord will indeed see heaven opened and He and it will be glorious.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

JOHN,2
The First Miracle

17.) Jesus of Nazareth

In the incarnation, Christ temporarily divested Himself of His rights and powers as God

He never at any time stopped being the Son of God, however, while on earth he ministered as a man. And as a man He was dependent on the Spirit. The reason you don't see Jesus performing any miracles before His anointing was that He had not yet received the power to do them.

He stripped Himself of all His rights and power as God to walk the life of a man. In this self imposed weakened state, He was dependent upon the Holy Spirit for understanding, wisdom and knowledge.
While Jesus never stopped being the Son, He did not minister as the Son of God, He ministered as the Son of Man, that is as an anointed man.

Philippians 2:6
Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God , possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God, God?, did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained,
But stripped Himself of all privileges and rightful dignity, so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being (AMP)

Jesus gave up a lot to come here for us. He put aside the throne of glory, to live the life of man. He needed to receive from His Father the ability to perform miracles, He needed to pray often and listen to the Spirit for guidance. He left His "all-knowing" aside and become a Spirit dependent man.

Acts 10:38
God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with strength and ability and power

It was at his baptism that Jesus received from His Father the "strength, ability and power" to perform His ministry.

At that point, He had to follow the lead of the Spirit as a Man.

Matthew 4:1
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit

I've run across some cults that teach that Christ did all kinds of miracles when He was a child. That kind of teaching is a dead give away that they are not following God's Word.

Luke 4:14
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

Notice how a fame went out about Him after He received His anointing of power?

What did Jesus say about His baptism? One of the first things that He said about His baptism was this:

Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord

Christ said, "He hath anointed me". As God, Christ is the anointer, yet, as the Scriptures teach, Jesus set aside, His rights, power and privileges as God. As a man, He needed the anointing.

With the anointing of power that Jesus received at the baptism in the Jordan, Jesus moves into His ministry. So begins His earthly ministry and the first miracle.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

18.) Jesus is the Answer

2:1
And the third day a marriage happened in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there,

Here begins the official start of Christ's earthly ministry. This wedding has echoes of another wedding that will take place one day. Jesus inaugurated His ministry at a wedding and He will also inaugurate a new day with the wedding feast of the Lamb.

It is thought by many commentators that Mary was here because the wedding was of Mary's sister Salome, who was John's mother. That would make John, Jesus' cousin after the flesh. Mary, Jesus mother was John's aunt.

2:2
and also Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage;

Inviting Jesus to the party seems like a smart move. When we have something going on in our life it's a good thing to invite Jesus. A Jewish wedding is a real joyous fest, I've been to several Jewish celebrations, and there is a real sense of joyous celebration about them.

Jesus was a man of sorrows, yet He is also a man of great joy. The joy that the world gives will one day run dry, yet the joy that He gives will last forever. Yes, He will be with us in our times of sorrow, but He will also be with us in out time of joy.

2:3
and wine having failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him,
'Wine they have not;

Notice Mary's response, she turns to Jesus for a solution. More so than any other person, Mary knew who He was and that He was the answer.

Wine in the Bible is a type of joy. Yet, without Jesus all joy will eventually fade.

For the wine to fail at a wedding was more than just a minor social embarrassment, but actually a terrible humiliation for the bride and groom on the day of their wedding. Not a good way to start off a wedding.

Some liken this giving out of wine at the wedding as a suggestion Israel had departed so far from God that what was left were mere empty cisterns of ritual and ceremony void of God's Spirit. Christ came to remedy the wineless situation. Jesus is the answer to empty religious cisterns.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

19.) What Ever He May Say

2:4
' Jesus saith to her, 'What -- to me and to thee, woman? not yet is mine hour come.'

Jesus was always cognizant of His mission and He often spoke of His "hour". Here He says His hour has not yet come, other times it states that the people in the temple could not lay hands on Him because His' hour was not yet come. Then when He was facing the crucifixion, it says that he knew His hour was come. Christ had a mission and a purpose and kept that mission and purpose always before Him.

Some people are surprised with what they seem the hard word He gave to His mother, but it only comes across that way in some English translations, in the language and culture of the times it was a perfectly respectful way to address a parent.

Many Bible commentators believe the wedding was for one of the children of Mary's sister, Salome. I think that Mary was looking out for her sister, and turned to Jesus because she knew that He was the answer. She was right.

2:5
His mother saith to the ministrants, 'Whatever he may say to you -- do.'

The servants came to Mary with the problem. Salome, the groom's mother and Mary's sister had other things going on and was not yet wise to who He was, although Salome would later be with Mary at the foot of the Cross.

Notice that Mary instinctively turns the servants requests over to her son. In other words, Mary draws the focus away from herself, and turns the focus on Christ.
What good advice Mary gives to the servants. 'Whatever he may say to you -- do.'

Notice the absolute faith and trust that Mary has in Jesus, although she may not understand it completely yet, and she did not know what Jesus was going to do, she was certain that he would do the right thing.

Doing what Christ asks is where the blessings lie. We need to get it into our heart that we will do as Mary recommends and do whatever He may say.

Hans

_________________
God understands me. why don't you?!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: HansC

20.) Jars of Stone

2:6
And there were there six water-jugs of stone, placed according to the purifying of the Jews, holding each two or three measures.

It has always struck me that this is a lot of wine. These were large jars. Depending on how we measure, these jars could hold between 108 and 180 gallons of wine. That's between 500-750 bottles of wine. When was the last time you were at a celebration, drank all the wine and then went and got another 700 bottles?

Notice that these jugs were for the Jewish purification rituals, yet they were empty. This speaks of the emptiness of the old rituals at the time of His coming.

2:7
Jesus saith to them, 'Fill the water-jugs with water;' and they filled them -- unto the brim;

To the brim, Jesus was going to get every bit of wine. He could have said, half-way. This also leaves out the possibility that something else could be added in. Jesus wants us to be filled to overflowing, without any outside added ingredient.