John 2 – Part 1: “Transforming Grace”

“This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” John 2:11

In every marriage ceremony, there is always at least one mistake. For example, a young couple, very much in love, were getting married. Sue, the wife to be, was very nervous about the big occasion and so the pastor chose one verse that he felt would be a great encouragement to them. The verse was 1 John 4:18 which says: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

Rather unwisely, however, the pastor asked the best man to read it aloud and to say that the pastor had felt that this was a very apt verse for Sue and that he would be preaching on it later in the service. The best man was not a regular churchgoer. Hence, he did not know the difference between the gospel of John and the first letter of John. As instructed, he introduced his reading by saying that the pastor felt this was a very apt verse for Sue. Instead of reading 1 John 4:18, he read John 4:18, which says, “You have five husbands and the one that you now have is not your husband.”

There is no such thing as a perfect wedding. There are always going to be problems – some of them small and some of them large. In John 2:1-11, we come to look in on a wedding that had a big problem. They were quickly running out of wine. And once they ran out of wine, the celebration would be over. The joy would be gone, and they would be running on empty.

I would imagine that there are some of you reading this who are running on empty. You thought that you had enough resources to carry you to the end of your journey, but your reserves have just about been depleted. Your joy is just about gone. It’s going to take a miracle to renew the supply of joy in your life. Jesus wants to work a miracle in your life. He wants to restore your joy so that you will have more than enough to make it the rest of the way.

Let’s look at the first of Jesus’ many miracles in John 2:1-11. It took place at a wedding. And this miracle is a picture of Christ’s transforming grace. As we look at this miracle, we will discover how we can experience the transforming grace of Jesus Christ and His overflowing joy. The first four principles apply to Christians, the last one applies to non-Christians.

REALIZE THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM (2:1-3a). 2:1: “On the third day” after Philip and Nathanael met Jesus [1] (John 1:43), “there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee.”

“John’s specific reference to days in chapter 1 and here is unusual for him. On the first day, John the Baptist gave his veiled witness to Jesus (1:19-28). The second day he gave his open witness to Jesus (1:29-34). The third day John’s two disciples followed Jesus (1:35-42). The fourth day Philip and Nathanael met Jesus (1:43-51). On the third day after that, the seventh day, Jesus did His miracle at Cana.” [2]

The exact location of “Cana of Galilee” is difficult to determine today.Some say it was located at Kefr Kenna about three and half to four miles north of Nazareth, [1] and others believe it was at Khirbet Kana (“ruin of Cana”), a site about nine miles north of Nazareth (see map below).

Regardless of what location one thinks is correct, the fact that it was near Nazareth, the region of Jesus’ upbringing (Matt. 2:22-23; 21:11; Mark 6:1-4; Luke 2:39-40, 51-52; 4:16; et al.) means it was quite likely the wedding of a close family member or friend which would explain why “the mother of Jesus was there” in a proactive role at the wedding feast. [5]

The name “Cana” [6] means “the place of needs.” [7] There would be some special needs at this wedding feast that would require Jesus’ personal attention.

A “wedding” in Jesus’ day was different than they are today in the West. “Marriages in the ancient Near East were arranged by the parents, a contract was prepared, vows were spoken in the synagogue, tokens were exchanged, and then the man and woman returned to their respective homes. Although legally considered married, they lived apart during a betrothal period, which lasted no less than two months and could be as long as a year.

“At the end of the waiting period, the groom would take to the streets with his friends, usually at night, in a torch-lit procession from his home to the bride’s, in a grand parade accompanied by pomp and color and singing. After speeches of goodwill and blessings pronounced over the couple, the groom took his bride home, where family and friends feasted for as long as a week. The groom’s family was expected to provide enough food and drink for everyone.” [8]

Instead of getting married and going off by themselves, the newly married couple were surrounded by their friends and family for the first week of their married life. How would you like to have your mother-in-law watching your every move after getting married? During that week, they had a huge celebration. The parents of the groom were responsible for providing all the food and drink that would be needed for the celebration.

2:2: “Both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding” celebration. The disciples with Jesus probably included Philip, Peter, Nathanael, and the apostle John (1:35-51), and possibly others. [9] One reason why Jesus may have been invited to this wedding is because Nathanael was from “Cana of Galilee” (John 21:2), and he recently came to faith in Jesus (John 1:49). [10] The fact that Jesus received an invitation to a wedding and accepted it shows that He was not a recluse. He participated in the normal affairs of human life – including celebrations. [11]

Jesus liked to go to parties and hang out with sinners so He could draw them to Himself by giving them the love and acceptance they longed for (cf. Matt. 9:10-11; 11:19; Mark 2:15-17; Luke 5:27-32; 7:36-50; 15:1-2; et al.). The religious community marginalized these broken sinners, but Christ treated them with dignity because they were like precious pearls in His sight (cf. Matt. 13:45-46). Jesus sought the unsaved so He could save them from their sins and give them eternal life (Luke 19:1-10). Christ had a reputation as a “friend of …sinners” (Matt. 11:19). For Christians to be more like Jesus, we must go where lost sinners gather (Matt. 4:19; Mark 16:15; I John 2:6). This does not mean we participate in the sinful behaviors of lost people – God forbids drunkenness (Ephes. 5:18) – but we can still go and point people to the Savior.

2:3: John informs us that “they ran out of wine” at this wedding feast. Jews did not get drunk at these celebrations—drunkenness was considered a disgrace.

“Though the Old Testament condemns drunkenness (e.g., Deut. 21:20-21; Prov. 20:1; 23:19-21; 31:4-5), wine is often spoken of in terms of celebration, blessing, and joy (e.g., Ps. 4:7; 104:15; Prov. 3:9-10; Songs 1:2; Isa. 25:6; 55:1).” [12]

But at this wedding feast, they were running short of wine. To the Jewish people, wine symbolized joy. Running out of wine at a wedding banquet in the first century was so serious that lawsuits could be brought against you by the offended guests.

“The loss would not only have brought shame and social disgrace, however, but also financial embarrassment, since grooms had a legal responsibility in that culture to provide a suitable feast for their guests.” [13]

“Our bridegroom stood to lose financially—say, up to about half the value of the presents Jesus and his party ought to have brought.” [14]

The presence of wine stated that this was a special day and that all the guests were special guests.

“To fail to provide adequately for the guests would involve social disgrace. In the closely knit communities of Jesus’ day, such an error would never be forgotten and would haunt the newly married couple all their lives.” [15]

I can imagine that the bride was getting anxious about this time! I can hear her saying to her mother, “My wedding day is not supposed to be like this! I’m supposed to be filled with joy. But instead, I’m worried about what everyone is going to say or do when they discover that we have run out of wine.”

Maybe you have had similar thoughts. “My marriage is not supposed to be the mess that it is. Parenting isn’t supposed to be filled with so much stress. Christianity is not supposed to be like this. I’m supposed to be overflowing with joy – or so I’ve heard – but nothing seems to be going right. My joy is gone.” You may not know where your joy went. You just woke up one morning, and the supply had been completely drained. Some things have come along that you didn’t anticipate that have stolen your joy. Maybe some people have come into your life, and by their attitudes or actions, they have depleted your joy. Perhaps you have overbooked your schedule and lost your joy as a result. Sometimes we can lose our joy because of sinful choices we have made.

Mary may very well have been the one responsible for planning and coordinating this wedding feast. It would have been embarrassing for her to admit that she had messed up and not planned on enough wine. Embarrassing or not, she was willing to admit that there was a need. She said to Jesus, “They have no wine” (2:3b).

That is what we must do too. We are to admit that there is a need – that we are running out of joy. When you come to church on Sunday mornings, you may feel like everyone is expecting you to have a smile on your face and act like the world is a friendly place, and that all is okay in your life. When someone asks how you are doing, the expected response is “Fine.” But that may not be the case. And you have got to be willing to admit that to God. And you’ve also got to be willing to admit that the reason you are missing that joy in your life may be because of poor choices on your part or circumstances beyond your control. Your joy may be lacking because of the decisions of others. Whatever the case, it may be embarrassing or out of control, but your joy cannot be restored until you deal with the leak that is draining it dry. Once you admit that there is a problem, then you can do something about it.        

RELEASE THE PROBLEM TO JESUS (2:3b-4). That is what Mary did. 2:3b: When she realized that there was a problem, she took the problem to Jesus. She said to Him, “They have no wine.” She didn’t try to solve it in her own strength as we often try to do. The fact that Mary came to Jesus indicates she believed He could resolve the problem. After all, He was a caring Person Who would do whatever He could to solve the problem. Being a compassionate Person, He would try to help the groom, who was responsible for the food and drink (2:9) to avoid unnecessary embarrassment and legal consequences. [16]

This tells us that Jesus is concerned with the everyday things in life that we face. This family may not have exhibited a lot of wisdom in how they planned for the wedding celebration, but the wisest thing that they could have ever done was to invite Jesus. The very presence of Jesus at this wedding opened the possibility to a miracle.

And you know something? Jesus is also here with us today. The Bible tells us that “Christ died for our sins … was buried, and that He rose again the third day…  and that He was seen.” (I Cor. 15:3-5). Jesus is alive today and His power is available to everyone who believes in Him (Ephes. 1:19-21). With Jesus’ presence in our lives, there is enough power to resolve whatever problem we may be facing and build a life that is filled with joy.

 When Mary came to Jesus and communicated the problem to Him, His response toward her may seem cold and harsh to us in the twenty-first century. 2:4: When Jesus said to Mary, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?” He literally says,What to Me and to you, woman?” [17] This may seem disrespectful to our modern ears to address one’s mother as “woman,” but this was an acceptable term in that day (cf. John 19:26; 20:15). It did not have negative connotations. [18] In the culture of first-century Galilee, it was very polite, much like addressing a woman as “Ma’am.” [19]

When Jesus said this to His mother, He was telling here, “Dear woman, your maternal authority does not extend into the realm of My Messianic work.” Unlike the Catholic view of Mary, Jesus did not submit to her maternal authority, nor did He worship her. Nor should Christians. [20]

These words of Jesus constituted a Semitic idiom that is difficult for Westerners to translate (cf. Judg. 11:12; 2 Sam. 16:10; Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:24; 5:7; Luke 4:34; 8:28). [21] What do we have in common? meaning: Your concern and Mine are not the same; [22] or Madam, that concerns you, not Me; [23] or Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? [24] captures the spirit of the question. Jesus was saying in effect: We are not on the same page. He was not dishonoring His mother. He was explaining to her that He would handle the situation, but in His heavenly Father’s time and way. Jesus’ obedience to His heavenly Father was more important than His obedience to His earthly mother [25] (cf. Matt. 12:48-50; Mark 3:33-35; Luke 8:19-21).

In addition, Jesus told Mary, “My hour has not yet come.” [26] Literally these words read, “Not yet is come the hour of Mine.” Christ says His “hour” [27] or “time” [28] has not yet come (2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20) or has come (12:23, 27; 13:1; 16:21, 32; 17:1) several times in John’s gospel.

“Jesus’ ‘hour’ refers to the cross (cf. 12:27-28; 13:1, 31-32; 17:1; 19:27), His focus throughout His ministry. Jesus does not say that His hour would come prematurely if He does this miracle. Rather, in light of the fact that He actually performs the miracle, He must be indicating that He will do only those things the Father has given Him to do, and only at the proper time (cf. 4:34).” [29]

When Jesus’ “hour” finally did come, He met the need of the entire human race by dying on the cross (19:17-30). Mary was requesting that He meet a need immediately (2:3). Perhaps Jesus referred to His hour not yet having arrived to help Mary realize that the meeting of needs was something He needed to control. Just as it was not yet time for Him to die, so it was not yet time for Him to meet this pressing need for wine. [30]     

There may be times when we bring our requests to God for what we think would bring joy into our lives – but God’s response seems cold and harsh. It seems like the windows of heaven are closed. But the response that Jesus gave to Mary was to let her know that she was no longer in control. He was no longer under obligation to do what she wanted when she wanted it. He was now obligated to fully obey His heavenly Father, not His earthly mother.

When it comes to asking God to do certain things in our lives, God is under no obligation to do things our way or in our time. He commands us; we do not command Him. God knows better than we ever could what will bring us the most joy and when is the most beneficial time for Him to answer our requests. God does miracles and He answers prayers, but He does it in His time and in His way.

There is one prayer that Jesus will always answer with a “yes” as soon as that prayer is offered up to Him. That is the prayer for forgiveness. After King David had sinned against God, he prayed to Him, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:1-2). Notice that David did not ask God to forgive him according to David’s goodness or righteousness, but according to God’s “lovingkindness” and “the multitude of” His “tender mercies.” That is called grace – receiving what we do not deserve.

As believers in Jesus, we still sin after we are receive eternal life as a gift (I John 1:8, 10; 5:13), but all God asks us to do when we do sin is “confess our sins” to Him “and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9).Confessing our sins restores our fellowship or closeness with God after we have sinned against Him.

If your joy is gone, or if you have never found joy because you are living a life that is contrary to what God says, then come to Jesus as you are. He will work the miracle of forgiveness.He will fill you with His joy.

RESPOND TO JESUS WITH TOTAL OBEDIENCE(2:5-7). Inviting Jesus to the party made it possible for the supply of joy to be renewed and refreshed. But the simple fact that Jesus was there did not bring the joy. It did not replenish the wine. To have your joy restored, you must be willing to do whatever Jesus tells you to do.

After Jesus gave His mother a mild rebuke (2:4), Mary did not resist or nag Him. Instead, she instructed the servants to cooperate with whatever Jesus told them to do. 2:5: Mary says to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”At that moment, Jesus ceased to be a guest and became the One Who was in control of the whole wedding celebration.

Mary “did not understand what He would do or when, but she had confidence in His compassion and ability. She demonstrated admirable submission and faith toward Jesus. She allowed Jesus to take charge and solve the problem, and she pointed others to Jesus, not to herself. Previously she had approached Jesus as His mother and had received a mild rebuke. Now she approached Him as her Lord and shortly received satisfaction (cf. Matt. 15:21-28). In this she provides an excellent example for Christians.” [31]

And at that moment, a miracle began to happen. It is easy for us to be willing to have Jesus as a guest in our lives, but are we willing to turn over the controls and “do whatever Jesus tells” us to do? Only then will we see Christ do miracles in our lives.

I greatly admire Mary because she is the mother of the Messiah. For those of us who respect her, it is important to listen to what she told the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (2:5). What does Jesus say to do to have everlasting life? He says, “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Christ does NOT say, “whoever… accepts Him/ is baptized with water/ confesses Him/ follows Him/ gives his life to Him/ invites Him into his heart/ keeps His commandments / obeys Him/ prays the sinner’s prayer/ repents/ submits to His Lordship/ surrenders to Him/ turns from his sins or is sorry for his sins, etc.”   

Jesus simply says, “Whoever believes in Him.” To “believe in” [32] Christ means to be persuaded that He is speaking the truth and is therefore worthy of your trust. [33] Do you believe Jesus was speaking the truth when He said, “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”? And He is therefore worthy of your trust to do just that? If so, you now have everlasting life as a free gift, and Christ guarantees you will never “perish” in hell, but “have everlasting life” both now and forever. Jesus comes to live inside of you through His Holy Spirit (cf. John 1:12; 7:37-39) so that His joy and love can fill your life to the brim (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5:22)!

Since the Lord Jesus used the word “believe” more than any other words to express what a sinner must do to receive everlasting life (John 3:15-16; 5:24; 6:35, 40, 47; 11:25-26, et al.), Christians submit to His Lordship when we use the word “believe” when we evangelize the lost. It is not submitting to His Lordship when we refuse to use the word Jesus used most in evangelism and substitute it with words that are more popular with others. Our sinful nature does not like someone else to tell us what to do and how to do it. So, when Jesus instructs us to use the words “believe” or “faith” with His own example (and the example of other Christ followers in the New Testament) when inviting a non-Christian to respond to the gospel, and we use other words or phrases that confuse instead of clarifying the only condition for obtaining eternal life, we are saying to Him, “I know better than You, Lord. I will use some other phrase or condition that everyone else is using.” We are refusing to submit to God when we neglect to use the words He uses most (“believe” and “faith”) in evangelism (see comments on 1:7b) and replace them with words that are either used far less in the New Testament for evangelism or they are not mentioned at all in God’s Word. When it comes to evangelism, Christians are called to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ by using the words God uses most in evangelism – “believe” and “faith.”     

Failure to submit to Christ’s Lordship in this way is extremely costly for the unsaved person who hears Christians use unclear cliches and substitutes in place of the words “believe” and “faith.” It is costly because these non-Christians are more likely to miss the only condition for receiving the gift of eternal life – believe in Christ alone for eternal life.

Can you imagine standing before the Lord Jesus at the Judgment Seat (cf. Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10) and being asked by the Lord why we refused to use the words He used most in evangelism? This will be a very painful experience for the Christian who refused to submit to Christ’s Lordship in evangelism (cf. I Cor. 3:15; Gal. 1:6-9).

2:6: John informs us that there were “six waterpots of stone.” “Stone pots did not absorb moisture and uncleanness like earthenware vessels did, so they were better containers for water used in ceremonial washings.” [34]

“The Jews” would use the water in these stone waterpots for ceremonial “purification.” They would come to the pots and let water run over their hands. It wasn’t a matter of sanitation but of ceremony. It did nothing to clean them physically or spiritually. It was simply an outward show.

“The Jews washed before eating in order to cleanse themselves from the defilement of contact with Gentiles and other ritually defiling things, more than from germs. They needed much water since they washed often (cf. Matt. 15:1-2; Mark 7:3-4).” [35]

An outward show, then or now, has never been able to produce joy. Simply coming to church and going through the motions will not produce joy in your life. They will put you in the place where you can find joy and put you around the people who will help to enhance your joy. But if you hear God’s Word without doing His Word, you will become even more miserable than you were to begin with (cf. Matt. 7:24-27; James 1:22-21). If we say the prayers but refuse to listen to God’s Spirit as He speaks to us, then our prayers will only produce emotional and spiritual conflict in us. If we read the Bible with no intention of obeying it, then we will only provoke guilt within ourselves.

The fact that there were only “six waterpots of stone” suggests that there was something lacking. “In Scripture six is often an incomplete number. That there were not seven pots suggests that something was lacking. The stone waterpots were used for ceremonial Jewish washings: according to the manner of purification of the Jews. This may represent the legalistic works-salvation thinking of pharisaic Judaism (cf. 4:28; 5:39-47). If so, this miracle has meaning on two levels: It gives evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, and it shows the error of pharisaic Judaism’s soteriology.

“The waterpots show that Judaism without the Lamb of God was incomplete. No permanent purification could be given apart from the coming of Jesus’ hour (cf. Heb 10:1-19).” [36]

2:7: The word “them” refers to the servants to whom Mary had previously spoken (2:5). When they heard Jesus speak, they responded in obedience. They began the process of filling the stone waterpots with water. Each of these stone pots held between “twenty or thirty gallons” of water “apiece” (2:6). That’s up to one hundred eighty gallons of water!

“This would provide more than 150 gallons (580 liters) of wine. That’s enough for 2400 one-cup servings.” [37]

It would have taken a lot of time and energy to accomplish this task. Trip after trip to the well to draw water and pour it into the pots. And we don’t know how far it was to the well. It would have been tempting to do a half-hearted job. After all, Jesus only said to “fill” the jars with water. He didn’t say how far to fill them. And “fill” is a word that can be interpreted in many ways depending on how hot it is and how late in the workday it is. Anything over halfway is full, isn’t it? That’s what potato chip companies seem to think. But these men didn’t think so. When Jesus told them to fill the jars, they took Jesus’ words quite literally, and they filled them all the way “to the brim,” just shy of overflowing. This was more than enough to meet the need that this newly married couple had encountered. [38]

Christ’s command to “fill the waterpots with water” and when the servants did, “they filled them up to the brim” (2:7), “suggests something about the overflowing nature of the wine Jesus provided at the wedding, and of the life it represents. Jesus gives life to the brim to those who believe in Him. And this life is not merely unending life in the kingdom of God. It is a life that is brimming with potential (cf. 10:10).”

Do you want God’s joy in your life? To receive that joy, you might even be willing to be obedient to God – to a certain extent, right? But are you willing for your obedience to reach all the way to the brim even when the obedience that Jesus asks for doesn’t make sense to you? Or when it requires more work than you had originally intended on giving? Or when it forces you to rearrange your priorities and your schedule like these servants had to do? You see, the amount of joy that you experience is in direct proportion to the amount of obedience that you give. The greater your obedience, the greater your supply of joy will be. Jesus said, 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love… 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:10-11). When Jesus tells you to do something, never do it halfway because Jesus wants to give you joy to the full.

I don’t know where the brim is for you, but I know that to get there, you must do whatever Christ tells you to do even when it doesn’t make sense. Even when it is inconvenient or painful. It will require hard work. It won’t be easy. You must ask yourself; “How badly do I want the joy that God has to offer?”

RECOGNIZE THAT IF IT MATTERS TO YOU, IT MATTERS TO JESUS (2:8-10). 2:8: The servants took the water that had been drawnout from the stone pots and presented it to “the master of the feast” [39] or headwaiter/chief steward. [40]

“The architriklinos [headwaiter] was originally the superintendent of the dining-room who arranged the couches and tasted the food, not the toastmaster [sumposiarches].” [41]

As far as we know, Jesus had not told the servants about the miracle that He was going to perform. To them, they were carrying a cup full of water not wine. But when the master of the feast tasted what was brought to him, he got a mouthful of wine that was better than anything he had ever tasted before. 2:9-10: Calling “the bridegroom” aside, “the master of the feast” observed that it is a universal custom to serve “the good wine” first and then the “inferior” wine “when the guests have well drunk” [42] and their sense of taste has become less discerning. John is not suggesting that Jesus created more wine for drunken guests. He is simply emphasizing the supreme quality of wine that Jesus created out of water. 

Some Bible teachers have insisted that the wine Jesus created was no more than fermented grape juice diluted with water so it would not be able to cause drunkenness. [43] But the word for “wine” [44] here is the word for fermented juice of the grape. [45] Paul uses the same word for “wine” when he writes, “Do not be drunk with wine [oinos]” (Ephes. 5:18). Why would the apostle Paul command Christians not to be drunk with wine if the wine in question was so diluted with water it could not cause drunkenness!?! It makes no sense. If the apostles Paul or John wanted to refer to unfermented grape juice, they would have used a different word for “wine.” [46]

“The same Bible that condemns drunkenness (Ephes. 5:18) and cautions against a misuse of alcoholic beverages (Prov. 23:29-35; I Tim. 3:3, 8) recognizes wine as one of God’s gifts (Ps. 104:15; Eccles. 9:7).” [47]    

God created the grape from which the wine is made (Ps. 104: 14-15). But God is not to be blamed for peoples’ misuse of His gifts. Each human being is responsible for their own sobriety.

The fact that Jesus created something that people could abuse is not surprising. Humans have consistently abused God’s good gifts whether it be food, drink, marriage, or sex. Fortunately, that does not keep God from giving these gifts, nor does it make Him responsible for our abuse of them. [48]

“Some may conclude that the wisest course of action for a present- day American Christian is to avoid the use of alcoholic beverages. Others may decide on a moderate use of alcohol in celebration (Gen. 14:18; I Chron. 12:39-40; John 2:1-11), worship (Exod. 29:40; Deut. 14:23; Matt. 26:27; I Cor. 11:25-26), or during intimate moments (Song of Sol. 1:2, 4; 4:10; 5:1; 7:9; 8:2; Eccles. 9:7-10). Both decisions are biblically acceptable and defensible.” [49]

Some keys in dealing with differences of opinion among Christians concerning alcohol consumption or other issues that the Bible does not clearly state are right or wrong, include:

  • Receive or accept one another even though you may differ about what your Christian liberty permits you to do, because God accepts you both in Christ (Rom. 14:1-5a).    
  • Be convinced in your own mind what would please God regarding the practice of your Christian liberty (Rom. 14:5b-8).   
  • Do not judge one another for your differing practices because only Jesus Christ is qualified to judge you, since He is Lord of the living and the dead (Romans 14:9-13a).
  • Show love to one another by not using your Christian liberty to hurt one another (Rom. 14:13b-23).

The words of the master of the feast demonstrate that transformation miracle has taken place whereby Jesus created out of plain water a superior wine to any previously served (John 2:10). We will discover in John 3 another type of transformation miracle when Jesus gives His gift of eternal life to a sinner who believes. [50]

When the servants obeyed Jesus, this tells me that it is our job to fill the waterpots, but it is Jesus’ job to change the water into wine. For example, in your marriage, it is your responsibility to love and serve your spouse, but it is Christ’s responsibility to change him or her. Don’t try to do something that only Jesus can do. He alone can change the personality and habits of your spouse. Trust Him to do what you cannot. It is our responsibility to share the gospel with people, but it is Jesus’ job to convert them. Simply share the truth with those without Christ and let the Holy Spirit convict them of their need for Him.

A miracle happened on that day in Cana of Galilee. This is such a beautiful picture of grace here. Initially, it appeared that Jesus was going to refuse to replenish the wine. But as He listened to His mother and looked into the faces of the wedding party, He reconsidered. People are more important to Jesus than schedules. Jesus changed His plans to meet the needs of some friends at a wedding feast. His first miracle was motivated not by famine or terrorism, but by concern for friends who were in a bind. Christ not only cares about the major difficulties in our lives like death, disease, and disaster, but He also cares about the smaller things in life like running out of punch at a wedding reception, having a flat tire, a toothache, or a grouchy boss, or even losing a contact lens. [51]

If we are to experience Jesus’ transforming grace, we must realize that Jesus Christ cares as much about the little things in our lives as He does about the big things. So, go to Him with what concerns you. Make your relationship with Him your top priority, and He will fill your hearts to overflowing with His peace and power so that you may have a joy-filled life. The miracle at Cana reminds us that Jesus’ grace cannot be exhausted.

This miracle could not have happened without the request of Mary as she admitted the problem. It couldn’t have happened without the presence of Jesus for them to bring the problem to Him. It couldn’t have happened without the willingness of the servants to work hard to do whatever Jesus commanded them to do. And it couldn’t have happened without Jesus’ concern for the little things in life. But these principles apply to those who have Jesus in their lives. This last principle is for those without Christ.

RELY ON JESUS FOR ETERNAL LIFE(2:11).  Mary’s initial request was fulfilled – not in her timing or in her way – but the result was far more than quenching thirst or saving from embarrassment. The result was eternal. 2:11: The apostle John informs us this miracle was the “beginning of signs at Cana.” John uses the word for “beginning,” [52]rather than for “first,” [53]  to alert his readers to the Word Who was “in the beginnng” with God the Father (1:1-2) [54] and now begins to “manifest His glory” which is “full of grace and truth” (1:14). The word translated “signs” [55] is used throughout John’s gospel to refer to the supernatural miracles of Jesus (2:11, 18, 23; 3:2; 4:48, 52; 6:2, 14, 26, 30; 7:31; 9:16; 11:47; 12:18, 37; 20:30) which are designed to signify something about the Person of Jesus Christ. [56]

By saying this miracle was the “beginning of signs at Cana,” the apostle John assures us that Jesus did not perform other miraculous “signs” before this one. He did not make clay pigeons as a young boy, touch them, and cause them to fly away as some of the writings in the apocryphal (uninspired) gospels claim. [57] For example, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas written in the second century A.D., has misled other false religions like Islam to repeat such erroneous claims. [58]

Christ’s “disciples believed in Him” because of what they saw. We don’t know for sure which disciples these were, but if they had never believed in Jesus before, they now had eternal life (cf. John 3:36). If they were already saved, this miracle simply reconfirmed the conclusion the disciples had drawn from their previous conversations with Jesus in John 1:35-51.

 Two miracles happened on that day. The first was the changing of water into wine so that a celebration could continue for the rest of the week. But the second was the changing of fallen sinners into forgiven saints so that a celebration could continue for the rest of eternity. You tell me. Which was the greater miracle? This first miracle of Jesus is a beautiful picture of salvation. Let’s look at some WAYS THIS MIRACLE IS LIKE SALVATION:

1. IT HAPPENED AT A POINT IN TIME. IT WAS NOT A PROCESS. It did not take Jesus days or weeks or years to change the water into wine. It happened in an instant. Likewise, the moment you believe in Jesus Christ, you become a child of God forever (John 1:12).   

2. IT HAD PERMANENT RESULTS. The wine never turns back into water. Likewise, when you become God’s child the moment you believe in Christ, you can never stop being His child no matter what you do from that time forward (John 6:35-40; 10:28-29).

3. IT WAS A TOTAL CHANGE. Just as the transforming grace of Christ can change water into wine, so Jesus’ grace can change sinners into saints, “set apart” from their sin and shame forever (Ephes. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Heb. 10:10, 14)). God’s grace transforms you into a new person in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). No longer are you defined by your sin and shame. You are defined by being in Christ. Now when God looks at your life, He sees the perfection of His Son (2 Cor. 5:21; Ephes. 1:6). Only God could do this.

4. IT BENEFITED OTHERS. The making of water into wine not only benefited the couple and rescued them from a legal and social disaster, but it also benefited all the guests. Everyone enjoyed its taste. Likewise, when Jesus Christ gives you eternal life, He starts a new work in your life. His forgiveness enables you to forgive others. His love enables you to love others. His self-control enables you to control your tongue and temper. His patience allows you to be patient with others. His generosity enables you to be generous with others. See how this can benefit not only you, but the people in your life?

5.  IT WAS A TOTAL WORK OF JESUS – NOTHING ELSE. Could the servants change the water into wine? Of course not. Only Jesus could and He did! Can we get ourselves to heaven? Never. Only Jesus can do that when we believe in Him.

There is no such thing as a perfect wedding. There is no such thing as a perfect life. How are you going to respond when things don’t go the way that they are “supposed to,” and they threaten to steal your joy? Do you want Jesus’ kind of joy today? Then you’ve got to…

1. REALIZE that you don’t have it right now.

2. RELEASE to Jesus whatever is robbing you of joy.

3. RESPOND to Jesus with total obedience. Do whatever He tells you to do.

4. RECOGNIZE that if it matters to you it matters to Jesus. Go to Him with what concerns you. And if you are not sure you will go to heaven when you die you need to…

5. RELY on Jesus alone for eternal life.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, many of us may find ourselves lacking joy because of the problems we now face. Problems that may be the result of our own decisions or the decisions of others. As Mary did, we now release our problems to You to make something beautiful out of them. Thank You for reminding us that it is our job to fill the waterpots, but it is Your responsibility to change the water into wine. Please take all that we have, including our obedience, and use it for Your glory. Your grace transforms lives, even when it comes to the little things in our lives that no one else thinks is important. You are a kind and caring Lord Who not only sees the little things in our lives, but You also do something about them. Knowing this, motivates us to come to You in prayer. Thank You for showing us an even greater miracle than changing water into wine. Your grace transforms guilty sinners like us into forgiven saints. This great salvation is not because of our deservedness, but because of Your goodness to us. And no one, including ourselves, can undo what You have done for us and in us. Your salvation is permanent and unchangeable, and it is designed not only to benefit the recipients, but also the people around them. Use us our Lord and our God, to spread Your transforming grace throughout this world one person at a time. To You be all the glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Footnotes:

[1] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 68; Blum, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Gospels, pg. 557.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Robertson, A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Kindle Location 51614; Swindoll, Insights on John, pg. 55.

[4] Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary, pp. 62-63.

[5] Swindoll, Insights on John, pg. 55.

[6] Kana

[7] Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary, pg. 62.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 183.

[10] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 69.

[11] Ibid., pg. 68.

[12] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2203.

[13] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 69.

[14] Ibid., cites J. Duncan. M. Derrett, Law in the New Testament (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1970), pg. 238.

[15] Ibid., cites Merrill C. Tenney, “John.” In John—Acts. Vol. 9 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), pg. 42.

[16] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 70.

[17] Ti emoi kai soi, gynai?

[18] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 70 cites Derrett, Law in the New Testament, pp. 89-90.

[19] Swindoll, Insights on John, pg. 56.

[20] Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary, pg. 64.

[21] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 70.

[22] Ibid., cites R.V. G. Tasker, The Gospel According to St. John: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries series (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1960), pg. 60.

[23] Ibid., cites The New Scofield Reference Bible, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein, William Culbertson, et al. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967), pg. 1125.

[24] Ibid., cites Charles C. Ryrie, The Miracles of our Lord (Dubuque, Iowa: ECS Ministries, 2005), pg. 15.

[25] Ibid., pg. 71.

[26] Oupō hēkei hē hōra Mou

[27] hōra

[28] kairos

[29] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 183.

[30] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pp. 71-72.

[31] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 72.

[32] pisteuō eis

[33] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 816-817.

[34] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 72.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 183.

[37] Swindoll, Insights on John, pg. 57.

[38] Zane C. Hodges, Faith in His Name: Listening to the gospel of John, (Corinth, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2015), pg. 42. 

[39] The Greek word translated “master of the feast,” is architriklinō.

[40] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 183.

[41] Robertson, A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Kindle Location 51871.

[42] The Greek word methuō in the passive voice means “to drink freely” or “to get drunk.” (see Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary, pg. 65).

[43] Norman L. Geisler, “A Christian Perspective on Wine-Drinking,” Bibliotheca Sacra 139:553 (January-March 1982):46-56.

[44] oinos

[45] Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary, pg. 66; Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 701.

[46] The Greek word trux refers to unfermented grape juice (see Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 701.

[47] Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary, pg. 66.

[48] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 75.

[49] Added additional Scripture to Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary, pp. 66-67.

[50] Hodges, Faith in His Name, pg. 43.

[51] Max Lucado, He Still Moves Stones: Everyone Needs a Miracle (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1993), pg. 135-141.

[52] archē

[53] prōtos

[54] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 184.

[55] sēmeiōn

[56] Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary, pg. 68.

[57] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 77 cites Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord. 10th ed. revised (London: Macmillan and Co., 1874), pp. 44-49.

[58] The Qur’an states that Jesus created a bird from clay and breathed life into it (Sura 5:48-49, 113). See Qureshi, No God but One: Allah or Jesus? pp. 176-179.

John 1 – Part 1: “Who is Jesus Christ?”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

From the opening section of the gospel, John addresses this question, “Who is Jesus Christ?” John focuses upon the central fact of our Christian faith: Christianity is not about philosophy; it is about a Person.

While other world religions focus upon rules and regulations, Christianity focuses on a personal relationship with Christ. That is why Jesus Christ is the most widely acclaimed individual in human history. More books have been written, music composed, pictures painted, and dramas performed about Jesus than any other person. Why?

Why did other great figures come and go? Why do others fade into the annals of history but Jesus Christ looms as large in modern society as He did two thousand years ago? Why is He the most powerful Personality to ever appear on this planet? That is the question John answers in these first few verses: Who is Jesus Christ?

We are going to examine the first five verses of John’s gospel in this chapter, and in so doing, we will answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” in these verses and as we uncover who Jesus is, we will be challenged as to why we should believe in Him. Let’s examine three reasons why we should believe in Jesus for eternal life; why we should trust in Him alone to get us to heaven.

BELIEVE ON JESUS BECAUSE HE IS GOD (1:1-2). John begins his gospel in an unusual way. Unlike the writers of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who begin their accounts of Jesus in an historical context, John opens his gospel in eternity. Unlike Matthew who begins his gospel with the genealogy of Abraham and Mark who begins with the story of John the Baptist, or Luke who starts with a description of John and Jesus’ birth. John moves beyond human history. 1:1a: Do the words, “In the beginning” sound familiar to you? They take us back to Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” John starts with God. In the Bible, you cannot go any further back than God, and that is where John begins, in eternity past with God’s eternal purpose.

And what does he tell us? 1:1ab: “In the beginning was the Word.” The term “Word” [1] is used by John to refer to the Person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 17). A Word expresses a message. Jesus was God’s message to the world.  He was and is the perfect expression of God.

What does the Bible tell us about the Word? 1:1ab: HE IS ETERNAL. In the beginning of time and space, the Word already “was.” [2]  The Word really had no beginning. There has never been a time when “the Word” was not, because He is eternal. The Word has existed from all eternity. At creation, the Word was already present. He is not a created being as some false religions teach. He has no beginning because He is eternal.

1:1c, 2: HE IS RELATIONAL. The phrase “and the Word was with God” refers to the Word being “with” God the Father in a “face-to-face” relationship. 1:2: “He was in the beginning with God.” Jesus Christ has always enjoyed a personal relationship with His Father. They had perfect fellowship with one another. The word “with[3] also distinguishes the Word from God the Father. Jesus is separate and distinct from His Father. He has a separate identity. Jesus is a Person, not a principle or Star War’s force. Because Christ is eternal and relational, we can conclude that He desires eternal relationships with those He created.

1:1d: “and the Word was God.” [4] The Word was not “a god” as some false religions mistranslate. The Greek grammar does not allow this. [5] The Word is GOD. These last five words are some of the most important words in all the Bible concerning who Jesus is. He was and is God. Whatever God the Father was, the Word was. Everything that makes God-God, the Word possesses. Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. When you look at Jesus Christ, you are looking at God in human flesh. Only God can give us life that never ends.

 “In other words, the Father and Son are not two distinct gods. Rather, the Son shares the divine nature. Theologically speaking, the Father, Son, and Spirit are co-equal members of the Trinity. Our one God (see Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:6) exists in three co-equal Persons (see Matt. 28:19).”[6]

Christianity has always taught and believed there is only one God. The difference between our monotheism and other monotheists is not on the number of gods, but on the concept of God’s Personhood. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that the one God exists as three Persons. This is not a self-contradiction as some charge because person is not the same as being. Your being is the quality that makes you what you are, but your person is the quality that makes you who you are. For example, we are humans. That is what we are. That is why we are called human beings. But what we are is not the same as who we are. If someone asks, “Who are you?” I would not respond by saying, “A human.” That answers the question of what I am, not who I am. Who I am is Jeff; that is my person. What I am is a human; that is my being. Being and person are separate. [7]

Unlike a human being, which has only one person, God has three Persons. He is one being, Yahweh, in three Persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. He is more than able to exist like that because He is God. If we say God must have only one Person, like humans, then we are making God in our image. Who are we to limit God? It is up to God to tell us who He is, and He has in the Bible. [8]

Our human reason alone cannot dictate or even decipher the nature of God. God is far greater than we can possibly conceive and more complex than we could ever hope to grasp. We are in no position to determine the intricacies of God’s nature. If He were to inform us He is one Being in one Person, we are obligated to believe Him. If He tells us, “I am one Being in three Persons,” who are we to say no to God? As believers in revelation, we must turn to divine Scripture to learn about God. [9]      

Both the Old Testament (Gen. 1:2, 26; Deut. 32:6; Psalm 2:6-7, 12; 45:6-7; 139:7-12; Isaiah 9:6; 11:2-3; 63:10, 16; Zech. 4:6; Mal. 2:10) and the New Testament (Matt. 3:16-17; John 14:16-17, 26; 2 Cor. 13:14) teach about the distinction between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each Person of the Trinity is equal in every way having the same divine nature, yet distinct in their tasks and relations to humanity.

We see in the chart above that the Father is God, but He is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the Son is God, but He is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is God, but He is not the Father nor the Son. All three Persons of the Trinity have the same divine nature. They are one being, yet they exist eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Constable writes, “There is probably no fully adequate illustration of the Trinity in the natural world. An egg consists of three parts: shell, yolk, and white. Each part is fully egg, yet each has its own identity that distinguishes it from the other parts. The human family is another illustration. Father, mother, and child are all separate entities—yet each one is fully a member of his or her own family. Each may have a different first name, but all bear the same family name. Light, when passed through a prism, is seen to be composed of three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. Similarly, the person of God, when revealed in Scripture, is seen to consist of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Hydrogen dioxide can be water, ice, and steam and still be H2O.” [10]

Another example of the Trinity is seen in every human being. First Thessalonians 5:23 tells us that every human is comprised of three parts: “spirit, soul, and body.” While each part is fully human, each part is separate and distinct from the others.

The Word is “with” God (separate from Him), yet at the same time, He is fully God. So, John informs us that the Word is God. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to Him. Who is Jesus? He is God. Believe in Him. He wants you to spend eternity with Him in His heaven (cf. John 14:1-3).

BELIEVE ON JESUS BECAUSE HE IS THE CREATOR (1:3). Not only was the Word present at creation, He was also the agent of creation. 1:3: “All things were made through Him.”  Does John say that all things were made through evolution? (Pause). No! All things were made through Christ (cf. Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2)! Everything that exists owes its existence to the Word. He is the Creator. Apart from Him, there is no existence. Jesus Christ created this universe. I believe in the Big Bang alright. God spoke (BOOM) and the universe came into being (Gen. 1-2).

Through Jesus all things “were made,” [11] but He always “was.” [12] Any being “not made or created” or not brought into being because He already existed is God. Three times John uses the word “made” (1:3). Anything that is made has a beginning. At some point in time it did not exist, and then it began to exist. John wants to establish that the Word already existed when He made all things. The Word never had a beginning because He is God. [13]

This is very important to understand because in John’s day to the present, there have been many false religions and teachers who insist that Jesus Christ is not God because He had a beginning. They teach that Christ was the first created being by God who then created everything else. For example, Arius, a third century false teacher, was fond of saying, “There was a time when He [Jesus] was not.” [14]

Swindoll notes that “this teaching continues today as official doctrine for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and both organizations have translated John’s prologue to suit their theologies.” [15]

John refutes these false teachings at the beginning of his gospel. But the apostle also wants to emphasize that the Creator knows our inner workings better than anyone; He knows our needs and what it will take to reach us.

A doctor had hired a new secretary. She was pretty and thin. Part of her responsibilities was mailing out the bills to all the doctor’s patients. The doctor began to notice that it was taking more time than should be necessary for her to fulfill this task, and so he observed her one day. He discovered that rather than using the wet sponge to seal the envelopes, she was licking each one. This took a long time. The doctor asked her to use the sponge instead of licking each one, but the new secretary said that she would rather do it the other way. The doctor tried all kinds of motivations to try and convince her to do things his way. He tried telling her how much quicker it would be, he told her that her mouth wouldn’t get so dry. He even tried switching the type of envelopes that he used to one of those kind that had nasty-tasting glue. Nothing worked.

One day, a patient came to her window to pay her bill and noticed that the secretary was licking the envelopes. She said to her, “Did you know that each envelope has about 1 ½ calories?” The secretary immediately stopped and began using a wet sponge. Sometimes it takes a woman to communicate in a woman’s language. Likewise, it takes the Creator to communicate in His creation’s language. Christ spoke to us with love when He took our place and punishment on the cross for our sins (cf. Rom. 5:8; I John 4:9-10).

BELIEVE ON JESUS BECAUSE HE IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF ETERNAL LIFE (1:4-5). John moves now from creation in general to the most significant element of creation – people. 1:4: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Christ created you and me so that we could enjoy a personal relationship with Him. The word “life” [16] in the gospel of John can refer to physical life (1:3) and spiritual life (1:12). Most often it refers to eternal life in John (3:15-16,36; 4:14, 36; 5:24, 39; 6:27, 40, 47, 54, 58, 68; 10:28; 12:25, 50; 17:2-3). Jesus defines eternal life as knowing the only true God and His Son, Jesus Christ personally in a forever relationship (17:3). Jesus was God’s way of meeting us where we were to take us where we could never go.

Before we come to know Jesus Christ, we are merely existing. We get up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home from work, eat supper, watch TV, and go to bed. Then we repeat the same cycle the next day. That is merely existing. We don’t start living until we enter a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by believing or trusting in Him alone for His gift of eternal life.

When the Bible says, “the life was the light of men” (1:4), it is referring to the hope (“light”) that Christ’s message of eternal (“life”) brings to people in darkness. Also, when we enter a relationship with God (“life”), we become aware of God’s holiness and righteousness (“light”). Life is the foundation for growth in the light (cf. I John 1:5-10).

1:5: John contrasts “the light” of God with “the darkness” of sinful humanity. The word “comprehend,” [17] can also mean “overtake.”[18] The darkness of this world cannot overcome or extinguish the light of Jesus Christ. This contrast between light and darkness represents spiritual conflict. The light of Christ has and will overcome the darkness of sinful people.

“John did not view the world as a stage on which two equal and opposing forces engage in battle; he was not a philosophical dualist. He viewed Jesus as superior to the forces of darkness that sought to overcome Him but could not. This gives humankind hope. The forces of Light are stronger than the forces of Darkness. John was here anticipating the outcome of the story that he would tell, specifically, Calvary. Though darkness continues to prevail, the Light will overcome it.” [19]

“Because of the temptation of Satan, humankind has fallen into the darkness of sin (see Gen. 3). He has blinded the minds of people to keep them from seeing the glory of Christ (see 2 Cor. 4:4). But Jesus has come to bring illumination so that people can see things as they truly are. John’s Gospel shows us how Jesus was continually rejected; nevertheless, the darkness did not overcome His light (1:5). Though His enemies crucified Him, He was actually glorified in His death on the cross (see 13:31-32) and victorious in His resurrection, resulting in the provision of salvation for all people (see John 3:16; Rom. 5:18; 1 Tim. 2:6; Heb. 2:9; 1 John 2:2).” [20]

Remember, John is writing this gospel after the resurrection. He knows that Jesus Christ could not be overcome by the spiritual darkness of this world. He is the winner. The light shines (continually) in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it. A single light penetrates fifty miles of darkness. Darkness cannot overcome light.

Christian author Max Lucado tells the story about a tribe of people who lived in a dark, cold cave: “The cave dwellers would huddle together and cry against the chill. Loud and long, they wailed. It was all they did. It was all they knew to do. The sounds in the cave were mournful, but the people didn’t know it, for they had never known life.

But then, one day, they heard a different voice. “I have heard your cries,” it announced. “I have felt your chill and seen your darkness. I have come to help.”

The cave people grew quiet. They had never heard this voice. Hope sounded strange to their ears. “How can we know you have come to help?”

“Trust me,” he answered. “I have what you need.”

The cave people peered through the darkness at the figure of the stranger. He was stacking something, then stooping and stacking more.

“What are you doing?” one cried, nervous.

 The stranger didn’t answer.

 “What are you making?” one shouted even louder.

 Still no response.

“Tell us!” demanded a third.

The visitor stood and spoke in the direction of the voices. “I have what you need.” With that he turned to the pile at his feet and lit it. Wood ignited, flames erupted, and light filled the cavern.

The cave people turned away in fear. “Put it out!” they cried. “It hurts to see it.”

“Light always hurts before it helps,” he answered. “Step closer. The pain will soon pass.”

“Not I,” declared a voice.

 “Nor I,” agreed a second.

“Only a fool would risk exposing his eyes to such light.”

The stranger stood next to the fire. “Would you prefer the darkness? Would you prefer the cold? Don’t consult your fears. Take a step of faith.”

For a long time, no one spoke. The people hovered in groups covering their eyes. The fire builder stood next to the fire. “It’s warm here,” he invited.

“He’s right,” one from behind him announced. “It’s warmer.” The stranger turned and saw a figure slowly stepping toward the fire. “I can open my eyes now,” she proclaimed. “I can see.”

“Come closer,” invited the fire builder.

 She did. She stepped into the ring of light. “It’s so warm!” She extended her hands and sighed as her chill began to pass. “Come, everyone! Feel the warmth,” she invited.

“Silence, woman!” cried one of the cave dwellers. “Dare you lead us into your folly? Leave us and take your light with you.”

She turned to the stranger. “Why won’t they come?”

“They choose the chill, for though it’s cold, it’s what they know. They’d rather be cold than change.”

“And live in the dark?”

“And live in the dark.”

 The now-warm woman stood silent. Looking first at the dark, then at the man.

“Will you leave the fire?” he asked.

She paused, then answered, “I cannot. I cannot bear the cold.” Then she spoke again. “But nor can I bear the thought of my people in darkness.”

“You don’t have to,” he responded, reaching into the fire and removing a stick. “Carry this to your people. Tell them the light is here, and the light is warm. Tell them the light is for all who desire it.”

And so, she took the small flame and stepped into the shadows.”[21]

Why should I believe on Jesus? Because He is the only source of eternal life. He gives forgiveness instead of fear… grace instead of guilt… cleansing instead of condemnation… mercy instead of misery… life instead of death… hope instead of despair.

One thing we will be constantly reminded of in John’s gospel is that the message of Jesus demands a response: a response of belief or unbelief. Ninety-nine times in the Greek Majority Text John uses the word “believe.” [22] The biblical meaning of the word “believe” conveys absolute certainty. When studying the gospel of John, we discover that saving faith consists of three components: [23]

1. KNOWING THE GIFT OF GOD AND THE GIVER OF THAT GIFT. I cannot receive a gift until I know about that gift and the giver of that gift. This is why Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10). Before she could ask for the gift of God from the Giver of that gift, she needed to know what the gift was and the identity of the Giver. What is it that the apostle John wants a lost person to know about the gift of God?

a. The gift of God is eternal life (4:14a).

b. Eternal life is knowing God personally forever through Jesus Christ (17:3).

c. Eternal life cannot be lost because the believer can never thirst again for it (4:14b). How is this possible? When a person believes in Jesus, He digs a well in the human heart that continuously meets the needs of the one who drinks from it. But Jacob’s well was in the earth and the drinker of it must return again and again (4:12). Men dig wells in the earth, only Jesus Christ can dig a well in the human heart so that it gushes up into everlasting life. Jesus’ well never runs dry.

What is it that the apostle John wants a lost person to know about the Giver of the gift of God?

a.  He is Jesus Christ (4:16-26).

b.  He is fully God (John 1:1, 34, 49; 5:16-47; 6:69; 8:57-59; 11:27; 20:28)

c.  He is fully man (John 1:14; 4:6; 11:35; 12:27; 19:28)

d.  His death and resurrection (John 2:19, 22; 3:14-15; 12:23-24, 27-33; 10:11, 17). Jesus’ death and resurrection are called the gospel in I Corinthians 15:1-8. His death and resurrection make it possible for Him to offer eternal life as a free gift.

2. A CONVICTION ABOUT CHRIST’S PERSON AND WORK. The information received about Jesus must be accepted as true. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world’” (John 11:25-27). Martha believed – she was convinced Jesus was speaking the truth. The most basic meaning of the Greek word translated “believe” [24] is “to consider or be persuaded something is true and therefore worthy of one’s trust” [25]  and the word translated “faith” [26] is the “state of believing on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted, trust, confidence, faith.” [27]

Charles Pittman, a trial lawyer for over 40 years writes:

I dealt with evidence all the time; I know something about evidence. I have examined the evidence: Jesus died – He was killed by professional executioners; He was buried in a tomb which was sealed, guarded and made secure as possible on Pilate’s orders; the tomb was empty which is undisputed; no dead body was ever produced; Jesus was seen alive by many people at different times and places over the next 40 days. The evidence convinces my mind that Jesus is God, He died taking the punishment for my sins, and God raised Him from the dead. Based on that truth, I chose or exercised my will to believe in Jesus and to trust Jesus and Jesus alone to forgive my sins and grant me eternal life in heaven.” [28]

Unlike Pittman, however, many people have heard of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but they are not convinced that they really happened.

3. TRUSTING IN JESUS ALONE FOR EVERLASTING LIFE. The two Greek words translated “believe” [29] and “faith” [30] include the idea of “trust.” [31] The gospel of John emphasizes this often by placing a preposition after the word “believe.” [32]  For example:

“Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life.” John 3:36

“Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life.” John 6:40

“He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” John 6:47

“Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” John 11:26 

When an unsaved person understands that Christ died for his sins and rose from the dead and even accepts it as being true, yet still trusts in his good works to get him to heaven, his faith is not saving. Saving faith understands that Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead, is convinced that this is true, and personally chooses to believe or trust in Christ alone for the free gift of eternal life.

For example, I remember a woman, named, Michelle, in our church plant in Des Moines, Iowa, having her car break down during the summer on her way to work. It looked like she would be late for work. But then along came a lady from Missouri who offered her a ride. What did Michelle do? She was convinced this woman could get her to work, so she trusted that woman, a person, to get her to work. When Michelle offered to pay her, she refused to take her money. Michelle’s trip to work was free.

Likewise, God is asking us to believe or trust a Person – His Son, Jesus Christ, to give us a free ride to heaven. It is free to you and me, but it cost God the life of His Son. That is what believe means. When you believe in Jesus to get you to His heaven, you are telling God you are depending on His Son alone to get you to His heaven.

John’s gospel demands a response to Jesus Christ. Will I believe in Christ alone to get me to heaven, or will I reject Him and spend eternity separated from God? To reject Christ is to turn from God Himself, the Creator of the world. To deny Christ is to continue in spiritual darkness and death. Only Jesus Christ offers everlasting life freely. Do you have a personal relationship with the Creator God… the only One who guarantees eternal life to those who believe in Him? If not, why not begin a never-ending relationship with Him today? Simply take Christ at His Word when He says in John 5:24: “Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me, has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” What does Jesus say you must do to obtain eternal life? “Hears … and believes.” Hear His promise of eternal life and believe Him to give it to you. You will never regret doing this.  

If you believed or trusted in Jesus alone to give you everlasting life, you can tell God this through prayer. But remember, praying a prayer is not what gets you to heaven. Only believing in Jesus gets us to heaven. This prayer is a way of telling God you are now believing or trusting in His Son alone. You can say this to God:

Prayer: Dear Jesus, I come to you now as a sinner. I cannot save myself. Nothing I am or do makes me deserving of heaven. I believe You died for me on the cross and rose from the dead. I believe You alone can guarantee me everlasting life, a judgment free future, and passage from death into life. I am now trusting in You alone Jesus (not my good life, my prayers, or my religion), to save me from hell forever and give me everlasting life. Thank You for the eternal life I now have and future home I will have in Your heaven. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

When you believed in Jesus, the Bible says you can “know” that you have eternal life. “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13). The Bible does not say you may “think” or “hope” that you have eternal life. It says you can “know” with absolute certainty that eternal life is yours.

Prayer of thanksgiving: Precious Lord Jesus, thank You for revealing that You are the eternal God, the Creator God, and the only Source of life that never ends. Therefore, we can trust You not only to get us to heaven, but to meet our needs here on earth. Because You are our Creator God, You have the power to take care of all of our needs. You have the ability to change us from the inside out as we learn to trust and obey You. Thank You for walking with us on this journey called life. You are an amazing Friend! Always full of grace and truth. Always faithful and trustworthy. There is no one like You in the whole universe! We bow our hearts before You and worship You, our Lord and our God! We love You, Jesus. Thank You for loving us more than we ever thought possible! In Your name we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.

ENDNOTES:


[1] Logos

[2] ēn

[3] pros

[4] kai Theós ēn ho Lógos

[5] The translation of John 1:1c, “And the Word was God” (kai Theós ēn ho Lógos), is based on the Greek rule of grammar (Colwell’s rule) which states that the definite predicate nominative, “God” (Theós), in front of the verb “was” (ēn), will not have the article. See E. C. Colwell, “A Definite Rule for the Use of the Article in the Greek New Testament,” Journal of Biblical Literature 52 (1933), pp. 12-21. In Koine Greek, word endings determine the subject. But since both “Word” (Logos) and “God” (Theos) have the same ending, John added the article (ho) to Logos to identify it as the subject of the sentence.

[6] Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B&H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1746.

[7] Adapted from Nabeel Qureshi, No God but One: Allah or Jesus? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016 Kindle Edition), pp. 55-56.

[8] Ibid., pg. 56.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, 2023 Edition, pp. 23-24.

[11] egeneto

[12] ēn

[13] Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on John, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary Book 4 (Tyndale House Publishers, 2014 Kindle Edition), pp. 20-22.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid., pg. 21.

[16] zōē

[17] katalambanō

[18] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pp. 519-520; cf. Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach. The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 179.

[19] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 27 cites David J. MacLeod, “The Creation of the Universe by the Word: John 1:3-5,” Bibliotheca Sacra 160:638 (April-June 2003):187-201.

[20] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 1747.

[21] Taken from https://maxlucado.com/woodcutters-wisdom-and-other-favorite-stories/.

[22] pisteuō – John 1:7, 12, 50; 2:11, 22, 23; 3:12(2), 15, 16, 18(3), 36; 4:21, 39, 41, 42, 48, 50, 53; 5:24, 38, 44, 46(2), 47(2); 6:29, 30, 35, 36, 40, 47,  64(2), 69; 7:5, 31, 38, 39, 48; 8:24, 30, 31, 45, 46; 9:18, 35, 36, 38; 10:25, 26, 37, 38(3), 42; 11:15, 25, 26(2), 27, 40, 42, 45, 48; 12:11, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 44(2), 46, 47; 13:19; 14:1(2), 10, 11(2), 12, 29; 16:9, 27, 30, 31; 17:8, 20, 21; 19:35; 20:8, 25, 29(2), 31(2).

[23] R. Larry Moyer, You Can Tell It! Seminar On Personal Evangelism Instructor Manual, EvanTell, Inc., 2003, pp. 13-17.

[24] pisteuō

[25] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 816-817.

[26] pistis

[27] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 818-819.

[28] Used with permission from an email from Charles Pittman on November 6, 2012.

[29] pisteuō

[30] pistis

[31] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 816-19.

[32] Ibid. Bing states that “after noting every use of pisteuō in the gospel of John (pisteuō eis with accusative –  John 1:12; 2:11, 23; 3:15,16, 18a, 18c, 36; 4:39; 6:29, 35, 40, 47; 7:5, 31, 38, 39, 48; 8:30; 9:35, 36; 10:42; 11:25, 26a, 45,48; 12:11, 36, 37, 42,44 [twice], 46; 14:12; 16:9; 17:20), pisteuō with dative – John 2:22; 4:21, 50; 5:24, 38, 46 [twice], 47 [twice]; 6:30; 8:31, 45, 46; 10:37, 38 [twice]; 12:38; 14:11a),  pisteuō hoti – John 4:21; 6:69; 8:24; 11:27, 42; 13:19; 14:10; 11a; 16:27, 30; 17:8, 21; 20:31a, pisteuō absolutely – John 1:7, 50; 3:12 [twice], 15, 18b 4:41, 42, 48, 53; 5:44; 6:36,47, 64 [twice]; 9:38; 10:25, 26; 11:15, 40; 12:39; 14:11b, 29; 16:31; 19:35; 20:8, 25, 29 [twice], 31b), pisteuō with neuter accusative (John 11:26b),  Schnackenburg concludes, ‘In many texts, pisteuō eis is on the same footing as a hoti-clause…’ and ‘Often the absolute pisteuein means the Johannine faith in the fullest sense…’ Thus one should not so easily delete the soteriological significance of pisteuō plus hoti – in John. This is the construction found in clear salvation verses like John 8:24, ‘believe that I am He,’ and 20:31, ‘believe that Jesus is the Christ’. Likewise, pisteuō plus the dative without a preposition is used in a clear salvation verse, John 5:24, “believes him who sent me” (NIV).’” (Dr. Charlie Bing, “Lordship Salvation: A Biblical Evaluation and Response. GraceLife Edition, 1992, pp. 18-19). The Biblical evidence shows that to “believe in” and to “believe that” are used interchangeably by John for saving faith.

I John 5 – Part 2

“This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth.” I John 5:6

Like lung cancer which attacks the body’s air supply, the two primary lungs that the enemies of Christ or antichrists have attacked in the body of Christ are God’s Work (I John 5:6-9) and God’s Word (I John 5:10-13). 1 Today in our study of I John we will look at the attack on God’s Work.

Last time in our study we looked at the single act of faith in Christ at the moment of our salvation which is the victory that has overcome the world that is blinded to the gospel and opposed to people getting saved (I John 5:1-5; cf. 2 Cor. 4:3-6; 11:2-3). Just as faith provided our first victory over the world at our conversion, it can also continue to provide victory in our daily Christian lives as we rely on Christ Who lives in us through His Spirit (Gal. 2:20).

John then expounds upon the object of saving faith, namely “Jesus… the Son of God” (5:5b). The Person and Work of Jesus was vehemently attacked by false teachers during the time of John’s writings. One of those false teachings that the apostle John had to deal with was spread by Cerinthus who taught that Jesus was merely a man and the divine Christ descended on the human Jesus at His baptism but left Him when He hung on the cross to die. Thus, according to Cerinthus, only the human Jesus died and rose from the dead, not the divine Christ. 2

The apostle John refers to “Jesus… the Son of God“ (5:5b) in verse 6: This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth.” (I John 5:6). The “water” refers to the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River which inaugurated the public ministry of the Messiah-God (cf. Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). 3 The “blood” represents the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross when darkness covered the land, the earth quaked, and the temple veil split in two (Matt. 27:45, 51). 4

When John says, “it is the Spirit who bears witness” he is referring to the role that God the Holy Spirit had at Christ’s baptism. Matthew informs us that when Jesus came up out of the water, John the Baptist saw “the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon” Jesus (Matt. 3:16). John wants his readers to understand that the Spirit of God is not the same as the divine Christ. The Holy Spirit was a “witness” to Jesus at His baptism (I John 5:6b), but He remains a distinct Person not to be identified as the Christ. 5

In addition, the Holy Spirit’s “witness” is reliable “because the Spirit is truth”(5:6c), much like the statement, “God is love.” The very nature and character of the Spirit is to be truthful so His testimony can be trusted. 6 John affirms that the Spirit is reliable—He “is truth” – and this is because His testimony follows the Biblical law of verification which required two or three witnesses (cf. Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; John 8:17-18). 7

We also know from Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism that God the Father spoke from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (3:16-17). Not only did the God the Holy Spirit testify at Christ’s baptism, but so did God the Father.

“The Holy Spirit was not the divine Christ coming upon Jesus, the man. The Spirit was distinct from Christ and came upon the God-Man, Jesus Christ.” 8

Considering I John 5:6 and other verses in I John, we can ascertain what the antichrists believed about Jesus. They claimed that Jesus was not the “Christ,” the Messiah-God (cf. I John 2:22). They may have taught that He was a spirit being, rather than fully God and fully human, who descended upon Jesus at His baptism but abandoned Him to die alone on the cross (I John 5:6). Hence, according to these false teachers, the work of the Cross was not a sufficient sacrifice offered up by God’s Son, but the death of a mere man which had no saving value. 9

According to this false teaching, those who believed that Jesus is the Christ would then be believing a falsehood. Hence, they were not born of God, as the apostles taught that they were (I John 5:1). This was a serious challenge to Christianity. If the false teachers believed Jesus is not the Son of God (cf. 5:5), then there was no victory over the world through faith at conversion (cf. 5:4-5). Nor was there any hope of continued victory over the world in their Christian lives. 10

John refutes such false notions and establishes that saving faith is found in one Person, “Jesus Christ,” Whose public ministry began at His “water” baptism and ended when His “blood” was shed on a cross for all the sins of the world. The apostle then writes, “For there are three that bear witness: 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” (I John 5:7-8). 11 Through Christ’s baptism (“the water”) and His death on the cross (“the blood”),God gave testimony to the truthfulness of His Son and His mission. The third witness is “the Spirit,” Who confirms on the inside what God does on the outside. 12

The Spirit’s witness may be thought of as coming through the prophets (including John the Baptist). The Spirit’s witness, then, was augmented by the historical realities involved in ‘the water’ and ‘the blood.’ Both the baptism and the crucifixion of Jesus are strongly attested historical facts (cf. John 1:32-34; 19:33-37). All three witnesses (‘water’ and ‘blood’ are personified) ‘are in agreement’ that a single divine Person, Jesus Christ, was involved in these events.” 13

“Behind John’s words stands the fact that at the baptism God declared, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Matt. 3:17). John the Baptist personally ‘bore witness’ to this event (cf. John 1:32-34). In addition, the crucifixion was foreseen by the Scriptures (cf. John 13:18; 19:24, 28, 36, 37) and was attested by apostolic witnesses (John 19:35; 21:24, note the words ‘we know). Thus, the water and the blood are fully attested in their own right, both by divine testimony and by witnesses.” 14

“In a court of law, the Holy Spirit would be put on the stand as a character witness; the water and the blood would be entered as Exhibit A and Exhibit B. All three gave credibility to the Person and Work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If a case among men is established by the word of two or three witnesses (Matt. 18:16), then two or three divine witnesses should be even more reliable: the Spirit, the water, and the blood.” 15

In the next verse John will look back at the testimony mentioned in 5:7-8 and forward to the witness of God in 5:11-12: “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.” (I John 5:9). The phrase, “If we receive the witness of men,” refers back to the requirement of two or three witnesses for the statement to be considered valid (5:7-8). The idea is since we do receive human testimony as valid under certain conditions, how much more are we to receive “the witness of God” which is far “greater.” 16

“A basic principle of God’s Word is that a ‘matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses’ (2 Cor. 13:1; see Deut. 19:15). The tragic truth is that in spite of the threefold testimony God has provided (5:6-8), too many believe man rather than God.” 17

In John’s day (and ours) many people believe the false teachers’ witness (man’s) instead of God’s witness (the Spirit, water, and blood) concerning the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s baptism (“the water”) and His death on the cross (“the blood”),God’s “Spirit” bore witness to the identity of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, so that whoever believes in Him may have everlasting life and complete forgiveness of their sins (I John 5:10-13; cf. John 3:14-16; 20:31; Acts 10:43; Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14).

Unfortunately, today we have many teachers who deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (I John 2:22; 5:5-8) or they deny He paid the full penalty for all our sins (John 19:30). Regarding the latter, there are people who trust their good works alone to get them to heaven and basically are saying that Christ failed to pay any of their sin debt when He died on the cross, so they must pay it all with their good works. There are others who trust Christ plus their good works who are saying that Jesus only paid part of their sin debt, but they must pay the remainder. Those who fall in these two categories are listening to the testimonies of humans instead of the testimony of God.

God testifies that Christ paid our sin debt in full so all we must do is believe or trust in Jesus alone (not our good works, good life, or religion) for His gift of eternal life (I John 5:1, 9-13; cf. John 3:14-16; 19:30; 20:31). John writes, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (I John 2:2). The word “propitiation” refers to the satisfaction God the Father felt when Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins (John 19:30). God’s holy demands were satisfied when He looked at the “Righteous” One’s nail-pierced hands on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty we deserved (“death” – Rom. 6:23b) in full when He took our place on the cross.

Those who are trusting in their good works or in Christ plus their good works to get them to heaven, are telling God the Father that Jesus’ death on the cross failed to pay their sin debt in full. However, since God was forever satisfied with His perfect Son’s payment for the sin of the world (Isaiah 53:11; John 19:30; I John 2:2), we must also be satisfied with what satisfies God. God cannot accept anything we do as payment for our sins because He has already accepted His Son’s payment for all our sins when He died in our place on the cross.

Please understand that although Jesus Christ died for all people (I John 2:2; I Tim. 2:5-6), not all people will be saved and go to heaven. We must believe the gospel of Jesus Christ which says Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead so that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16b; I Cor. 15:3-6). If you are not sure you have eternal life and a future home in Jesus’ heaven, Christ invites you right now to believe in Him alone for His free gift of eternal life.

To “believe in” (pisteuōn eis) Jesus means to be persuaded that He is speaking the truth and is therefore worthy of your trust. 18 If you are convinced Jesus is telling truth in John 3:16 and is therefore worthy of your trust, then believe or trust Christ alone (not your good life, prayers, or religion) to give you His gift of everlasting life. When you believe in Christ for His free gift of eternal life, you can be just as certain of heaven as the people who are already there. Knowing we are going to heaven is not a guess; it is a guarantee from Jesus Christ (John 14:1-3).

Another way the enemies of Christ attack God’s work is seen in its assault on God’s work in creation. The world teaches that we arrived by chance into this world and only the evolutionary forces of the natural world created human beings.

Anderson writes, “It’s interesting, but the Ph.D.’s in biology on our university campuses won’t even come to the debates on evolution anymore because they realize their theory is more religion than science.” 19

“It always amused me that they call evolution a theory and treat it like a fact. According to the scientific method, it doesn’t even qualify as a good hypothesis. Why? Because in the scientific method we must begin with an observation. And the most important observation for evolutionary theory has never been made—a positive mutation from a lower species to a higher. Of course, for evolution from the primordial mess to human mass we need tentontrillion positive mutations going from lower to higher. We have never observed even one. For Newton to come up with his law of gravity, he first observed the apple falling from the tree. Positive mutations, which are very rare, within a species do not count.” 20

But the Bible is clear that God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1), including human beings (Gen. 1:26-27). We know that Jesus believed in the Genesis creation account (Matt. 19:4-5) and so did the prophet Malachi (Mal. 2:15) and the apostle Peter (2 Pet. 3:4-5).

The day is coming when there will be an unprecedented judgment by God upon the world known as the Tribulation period (Rev. 6-19). Prior to John’s description of this severe judgment, there is a parenthetical break in heaven where we discover why the Lord will judge the earth. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:11). God’s severe judgment of the earth will be just because everything belongs to the Lord Who created the earth and all its inhabitants. The Creator has every right to do with His creation as He desires, especially if it has rejected Him. 21

You do not have to face this severe judgment on the earth. God promises to remove His church consisting of all who believed in Christ for eternal life prior to the Tribulation period (Rev. 4:1-4; cf. I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-5:11; John 14:1-3; et al.).

If you do not know for sure you have eternal life, take God at His Word when He says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” (I John 5:13). This one verse is written to “you who believe in the name of the Son of God.” Do you believe in the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, Who died for all your sins and rose from the dead, proving His claims to be God are true (cf. John 20:31; Romans 1:3-4; I Corinthians 15:3-6)? If you do, the Bible guarantees “you may know that you have eternal life.” It does not say you may “think” or “hope” or “guess” you have eternal life. It says you may “know” with absolute certainty that eternal life is yours. Because Jesus Christ is “the truth” (John 14:6) and cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18), you can be confident He will keep His promise of eternal life to all who believe in Him (cf. John 3:15-16).

Do you now know for sure you have eternal life and a future home in Jesus’ heaven? If you do, you can tell God this through prayer.

Prayer: Dear Lord God, thank You so much for providing a threefold witness to Your Son, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, Christ’s water baptism, and His shed blood on the cross for all my sins. I acknowledge that I have been deceived by false teachers in the past regarding Jesus’ true identity and the way to heaven. Thank You for revealing the truth to me about Your Son. I now come to You as a sinner who cannot save himself. I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, Who died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead. As best I know how, I am now believing or trusting in the Son of God, Jesus Christ alone (not my good life, my religion, or my prayers), to give me everlasting life and a future home in His heaven. Thank You for the everlasting life I now have and that I will not have to face the terrible judgment that is coming upon the world during the Tribulation period. Please use me now to tell others about Jesus and His free offer of everlasting life so they may also escape the coming Tribulation judgment and the horrific eternal judgment that will follow. In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. David R. Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? (Grace Theology Press, 2013 Kindle Edition), pg. 238.

2. See Zane C. Hodges; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 602; Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on 1 John, 2022 Edition, pg. 109 cites Zane C. Hodges, The Epistles of John: Walking in the Light of God’s Love (Irving, Tex.: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999), pg. 219, footnote 10.

3. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 602; Zane C. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (David C. Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 4045 to 4050.

4. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019, pg. 2951.

5. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 602.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 238.

9. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 602.

10. Ibid.

11. The NKJV of I John 5:7-8 reads, For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.It is important to acknowledge that the words from “in heaven” (5:7) to “on earth” (5:8) are “well known because they were first introduced into an early printed edition of the Greek New Testament by Erasmus. They then became part of the KJV, but they are not found in the vast majority of the surviving Greek manuscripts of 1 John,” (Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 602). Hence, these words are omitted in the text.

12. Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2951.

13. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Kindle Location 4054 to 4059.

14. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 603.

15. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 239.

16. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 603.

17. Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2951.

18. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 816.

19. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 239 cites personal interview with Kirby Anderson, Trinity Pines, TX, November 17, 2001.

20. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 239. 21. Ibid., pp. 239-240.

Revelation 14 – Part 2

“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.” Revelation 14:6

After receiving revelation about Satan’s two wild beasts (the World Ruler and the False Prophet) who will triumph during the last half of the Tribulation period (13:1-18), the apostle John receives revelation that describes both what happens on earth to those who refuse the mark of the beast (14:1-5) and what happens to those who receive the mark of the beast (14:6-20).

Last time we discovered that the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, was standing triumphantly on Mount Zion in Jerusalem on earth at the end of the Tribulation period along with the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who faithfully proclaimed Jesus’ gospel message to the ends of the earth during the last three and a half years of the Tribulation when the beast ruled without mercy over the earth (14:1; cf. 7:1-8; Matthew 24:14). Because of their faithfulness to Christ to the end of the Great Tribulation, these evangelists will be richly rewarded by King Jesus in His eternal Kingdom (14:2-5; cf. Romans 8:17-18; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 2:25-27; 3:21).

In another scene of John’s vision on earth (14:6-13), the apostle hears four announcements that provide motivation to remain faithful to God and resist the beasts during the last half of the Tribulation period. God’s angels will make the first three announcements (14:6-12), and a voice from heaven will declare the fourth (14:13). 1

John records the first angel’s proclamation: “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.” (Revelation 14:6). This first angel is “another angel” like the archangel Michael (12:7), the closest specific angel in the context. 2 The phrase, “flying in the midst of heaven” (πετόμενον ἐν μεσουρανήματι), literally says, “flying in mid-heaven,” meaning in the sky between heaven and earth. 3

This first angel proclaims, “the everlasting gospel” to all earth-dwellers (14:6a). Unlike the message of the Beast and the False Prophet, which is evil and temporary, this message will be good (euangelion = God’s good news for humans 4) and eternal. It is “everlasting” because “it has eternal significance.” 5 “The ‘new’ [and false] religion of the Beast and False Prophet just described in Chapter 13… will blaspheme the God of the Two Witnesses as a vengeful, evil deity that is out to destroy earth’s environment and inhabitants. The angelic message will counteract these deceptive lies.” 6

This gospel proclamation is also universal in extent. It is not just for one nation, one people group, one ethnicity, or one language group, but for “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (14:6a). Why? Because the judgments of God are impacting the entire world during the Tribulation, so the inhabitants of every nation need to hear the truth about what is happening to them instead of the lies of the Beast and the False Prophet.

The content of this “everlasting gospel” is given in the next verse. “Saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’” (Revelation 14:7). It is important to understand that this gospel message is not the same as the saving message the apostle John gave us in his gospel. That message said all anyone must do to have everlasting life is believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31; cf. 1:12; 3:15-16, 36; 4:10-14; 5:24; 6:29, 35-40, 47; 7:37-39; 11:25-27; et. al).

This gospel message being proclaimed by the angel during the last half of the Tribulation period will counter the falsehood and deception of the Beast and False prophet who will blaspheme God, saying He is an unfair and vengeful god who delights in punishing people (14:7a). The gospel message of this angel will call unbelievers to “fear God and give glory to Him” because the reason for all this worldwide death and disaster is that “the hour of His judgment has come” (14:7b). 

When people on the earth understand why all the calamities are taking place during the Tribulation, they may be more likely to believe in Jesus for His gift of everlasting life. 7 These earth-dwellers are also to “worship” God because He “made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (14:7c). God is worthy of worship because He is the Creator, and He has the right to judge what He has created (cf. Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 33:6-9; 146:6). “When people refuse God’s authority and set themselves up as God, He has the right to judge them.” 8

However, if people will worship and give thanks to their Creator, God is more inclined to give them more truth (Romans 1:18-23),including the gospel of Jesus Christ which saves them from eternal judgment (Romans 1:15-16; cf. John 3:36; I Corinthians 15:1-8). This also relates to those who have never heard the gospel before.

I sometimes get asked, “What about those who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ? How could God punish them in hell if they have never heard about Jesus?” I believe the best answer is no one is without excuse because God has given every human being some degree of revelation from Him. He has given us general revelation in creation (Psalm 19:1-6) and special revelation in the Bible (Psalm 19:7-14). God has given all humankind evidence that He exists through the things He has made, so no one is without excuse. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Those who respond positively to general revelation by worshiping their Creator instead of His creation, will receive more specific revelation concerning God’s Son, Jesus Christ, because God “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

An example of this is seen in Acts 10. A man named Cornelius had never heard of Jesus, but he was seeking God. 1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion… 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.” (Acts 10:1-2). God answered Cornelius’ prayers and sent the apostle Peter to him to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to him and to those close to him (Acts 10:9-48).

Cornelius’ piety (“a devout man …who feared God”), generous giving (“who gave alms generously”), and persistent prayer (“prayed to God always”) did not save him. His fear of God and righteous works did not give him “peace” with God (10:35-36). All his devotion to God, prayers, and alms giving were expressions of his restlessness to be right with God. The apostle Peter correctly perceives this, so he speaks of Christ “preaching peace” (10:36). After declaring Jesus’ death and resurrection to Cornelius (10:39), Peter invites this religious man to “believe” in Christ for the forgiveness of his sins (10:43). And Cornelius did along with his relatives and close friends, and then they were all baptized (10:44-48). What Cornelius could not find in fearing God, prayers, and alms giving, he found in the name of Jesus Christ! Only the name of Jesus Christ has the power to save and forgive all our sins.

There are many people in the world today like Cornelius. They do not know about Jesus Christ, but they are responding positively to what God has revealed to them. They want to know the true and living God Who created the universe. And God is sending people like Peter to them, no matter where they live, so they can hear and believe the good news of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection and live forever with Him in His heaven!

In the future Tribulation period, God will send this first angel to point the unsaved world to the true God and Creator of the universe. If people will respond positively to this message, and fear God, the Lord will send His Jewish evangelists to them to preach the gospel of Christ’s coming kingdom so they can enter His eternal kingdom by believing in Jesus alone (cf. Mark 1:15; Matthew 24:14; John 3:5-16).

What you think or believe about what might happen to those who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ does not mean you are not responsible to God on judgment day. Since you are reading this article, you are now responsible for how you respond to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Someone once said, “Many things in the Bible I cannot understand; many things in the Bible I only think I understand; but there are many things in the Bible I cannot misunderstand.”

For example, a verse we cannot misunderstand is John 3:36: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” We can live forever with God in His eternal kingdom if we believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Or we can experience the wrath of God forever if we do not believe in God’s Son. For those who have not heard of Jesus yet, if they respond positively to the revelation God has given them, God will make sure to send a messenger to them to explain the gospel of Jesus Christ. “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33). To Him be all the glory both now and forever!

Prayer: Lord God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and the earth, we praise You for Your eternal plan of redemption through Jesus Christ! No matter what age we live in, salvation has and always will be through faith alone in Your only perfect Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for telling us You will send this first angel to proclaim the everlasting gospel to the world during a time of horrific judgments on the earth. Even amid the outpouring of Your wrath, You still desire that people will be rescued from eternal condemnation. O Lord, please lead us to those like Cornelius, who are responding positively to what You have already shown them, so we may share the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection with them before it is too late. Your Word tells us that You desire all people to be saved (I Timothy 2:3-4) and that none should perish in hell (2 Peter 3:9). Because Jesus is “the way” to heaven (John 14:6), not one of many ways, we must go wherever You lead us to reach those who are perishing without Christ. Thank You for entrusting us with Your gospel. May we be found faithful to share it wherever You lead us. In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Tom Constable, Notes on Revelation, 2017 Edition, pg. 157.

2. Ibid.

3. Bob Vacendak; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach, The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pp. 1530, 1551.

4. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 402.

5. Constable, pg. 158.

6. Vacendak, pg. 1551.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

How Can I Cope with Stress? (Video) Real Solutions to Real Problems – Part 1

This is the first video in a series entitled, “Real Solutions to Real Problems. You will learn how to cope with stress by discovering how to apply biblical principles from the life of Jesus Christ.

All Scriptures are from the New King James Version Bible unless otherwise noted. Digital images are used with permission from backpew.com by Jeff Larson, Goodsalt.com, Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org, Arabs for Christ / FreeBibleimages.org, Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org, www.LumoProject.com, GoodSalt / goodsalt.com, or they are creative common licenses.

Revelation 4 – Part 4

“The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne.” Revelation 4:10

Bob Wilkin writes, Businesses use various incentives to motivate people to do their best work. For people in sales, there are three types of prizes: cash, merchandise, and trips. Top managers are given cash bonuses as well as promotions, increased base salaries, and stock options.

“Christianity offers incentives too. One of these is eternal reward. Although there are rewards now for the believer, most of them won’t be given to us until after this life is over and we appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. This may mean waiting decades to receive them. Thus, the length of time these rewards will last once we receive them, makes a difference as to how motivated we will be to obtain them and how meaningful they will be to us once we do.

“Of those who believe in eternal rewards as an idea distinct from eternal salvation, there are three views concerning how long rewards last: a few minutes, a thousand years, or forever.” 1

In today’s study of Revelation, we will discover just how long Christ’s rewards will last for the Christian. When the apostle John was caught up through an open door in heaven to enter God’s throne room, he saw God the Father sitting on a glorious and majestic throne surrounded by twenty-four elders representing the church (Revelation 4:1-4). John also saw four living angelic creatures around God’s throne whose worship focused on God’s holiness (“holy, holy, holy”), power (“Lord God Almighty”), and eternality (“Who was and is and is to come!”) (Revelation 4:5-8).

Next John writes,9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne.” (Revelation 4:9-10). Some Bible students read these verses and conclude that Christians will immediately give back their rewards (“crowns”) to Christ after receiving them at the Judgment Seat. They reason that the casting down of crowns before God’s throne shows that all glory, honor, and power uniquely belong to God. If Christians were to hold on to their eternal rewards, they would be robbing God of the glory, honor, and power that uniquely belongs to Him. 2

This interpretation, however, fails to recognize that the casting down of crowns is in the middle of a verse that begins in verse 9 with the word, “Whenever…” The crown-casting in verse 10 is not an unrepeatable event. It takes place repeatedly. Undeniably, every time the living creatures say, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (4:8b), then the twenty-four elders, representing the church, cast down their crowns. And according to the first half of verse 8, the living angelic creatures “do not rest day or night…” This crown-casting clearly does not refer to something believers do once immediately after the Judgment Seat of Christ. This is an ongoing event in which Christians along with angelic beings participate.

While all glory, honor, and power come from the Lord Jesus, this in no way suggests He will not share these with others. Indeed, He promised to share these blessings with believers who persevere (compare Matthew 16:27; 2 Timothy 2:12; Hebrews 1:9; 1 Peter 4:13; Revelation 2:26; 3:21). Allowing humans to have some measure of glory, honor, and power in no way diminishes Christ’s glory. If it did, Moses’ face would never have shone. Elijah wouldn’t have been taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and flaming chariot. David would never have been king of Israel. The Lord Jesus would not be called the Son of David. He would not have promised the Apostles that they would rule over the twelve tribes of Israel. He wouldn’t have given Adam and Eve and all of mankind dominion over the earth. And so on.” 3

The Lord Jesus commands believers: 19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20). The heavenly treasure that Christ distributes is permanent. Moths and rust cannot destroy it and thieves cannot steal it. It is eternal.

The apostle Paul also states in I Corinthians 9:24-27 that Christians are to run in such a way as to obtain an “imperishable crown,” not a perishable crown (9:24-25). This refers to an eternal reward, not a temporary one. If our rewards only lasted a few minutes or a thousand years (as some teach), they would not be imperishable. But an imperishable crown is forever!!!

The apostle Peter spoke of eternal rewards for believers when he referred to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:4). Peter’s readers were believers (1:2, 23; 2:7), who were experiencing persecution (1:6). Their faith would pass the test only if they persevered (1:7a). In that case they would gain “praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” in the form of eternal rewards (1:7b). 4

Imagine standing before the throne of God after appearing before the Judgment Seat of Christ in heaven. Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, you would then bow down before God’s throne with other church-age believers. But because you did not live in such a way on earth to earn eternal rewards (cf. I Corinthians 3:15), you have no crowns to cast down before God’s throne. What might that feel like for you to watch other believers cast crowns before God’s throne when you have no rewards to give back to the Lord God Almighty? Prior to the new heavens and earth (Revelation 21-22), believers will be able to experience sadness and shame due to the loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (cf. Matthew 22:11-14; 25:26-30; I John 2:28-3:2). Since they will have glorified resurrection bodies, they will be even more sensitive to sin and shame at that time (I Corinthians 15:50-54). They will still be saved, but they will experience the painful loss of rewards “as through fire” (I Corinthians 3:15).

Whenever the twenty-four elders, representing the church, cast down their crowns before God’s throne, they will say, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11). Throughout all of eternity, rewarded church-age believers will be able to honor the Lord God Almighty by casting their crowns before His throne and acknowledging His worthiness to “receive glory, honor, and power.” Why? Because God “created all things,” including every believer in His church. All of us “exist” because of God. Everything that exists owes its existence to the Lord God. He is the Creator. Apart from Him, there is no existence. We are not the product of evolution as our atheistic society teaches. God spoke our universe into existence (Genesis 1-2), and He sustains the universe and all that is in it through the power of His word (cf. Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-3). We will worship Him throughout eternity as our magnificent Creator God!!!

One of the greatest joys of our Christian lives is to help lost people on earth come to know their Creator God by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them so they can worship Him in heaven throughout eternity!!! This is why Jesus told a hurting Samaritan woman at a well, 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24). The God Who created the universe, including you and me, is seeking true worshipers to worship Him “in spirit” with their hearts and “in truth” with their heads. God created us to have our spirits connect with His, to have our hearts filled with the truth of His Word. Perhaps that is why you are here to read this article. You are seeking the God Who made you, and you may not even realize it yet.

Like the Samaritan woman who tried to satisfy her thirsty soul with romantic relationships, you may say to yourself, Could I be one of those whom God seeks to worship Him? But how could I ever approach the infinite and eternal Spirit who desires my worship? My own spirit is soiled by the sinfulness of my life. And it is hopelessly dried up by the emptiness of dissatisfying relationships.”

Jesus had freely offered the Samaritan woman living water that gushes up into eternal life (John 4:10-14). Life that would bring her into contact with the living God, washing away the emptiness of her life. All she had to do was know Who was offering her eternal life as a gift and then ask Him for it (John 4:10). As Jesus interacted with her and disclosed all she had done and still loved her, she came to believe in Him as the Christ, the Son of God (John 4:25-26, 28-30, 42; 20:31).

What about you? God created you to have a personal relationship with Him forever (John 1:1-5, 12; 17:3). All He asks is that you know the gift of eternal life that He is freely offering you (John 4:10-14) and its Giver, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world (John 1:1, 14; 4:15-26, 42; 11:25-26). The way you can receive His gift of eternal life is to believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31), Who died in your place on the cross and rose from the dead (John 2:19, 22; 3:14-15; 12:23-24, 27-33; 10:11, 17; 19:1-20:18). The moment you believe this, you “have everlasting” (John 3:16) which can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29).

Prayer: Almighty Creator God, we come into Your presence with a sense of awe and thanksgiving. Thank You for Your Word which gives us a heavenly perspective amid a world that often seems so out of control. Because You are our Creator, You know us better than we know ourselves. You know what it takes to bring us into a personal relationship with Yourself. Thank You for Your free offer of eternal life through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. The moment we believe in Jesus, we become members of Your family forever and we can worship You as our Creator God throughout eternity. As our Creator, You understand what will motivate us to live for You on earth after we become Your children. More than ever, we appreciate the eternal rewards You offer to us for living a life that pleases You. Knowing that these rewards last eternally, increases our motivation to live for You now so we may honor You throughout eternity with them. Thank You, our Lord and our God for giving us these eternal incentives. In the matchless and mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Robert N. Wilkin, The Road to Reward: A Biblical Theology of Eternal Rewards Second Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, 2014 Kindle Edition), pg. 52.

2.  Joseph Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition (Grace Theology Press, 2018 Kindle Edition), pg. 1016.

3. Wilkin, pg. 53.

4. Ibid., pg. 54; Dillow, pp. 215-217.

Thank God for His highlight reel of Jesus

“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” John 21:25

When we were living in the Philippines, I was not able to watch my favorite sports teams in America play their games live on TV because of the time difference. But I always tried to watch the highlight reels of their games so I could see the most significant plays.

The apostle John has given us a highlight reel of Jesus Christ in his book. He did not include all that Jesus said and did, but he included the most significant things we need to know to fulfill his evangelistic purpose (John 20:31).

As we come to the end of the gospel of John, the apostle John concludes with an afterthought of his book that affirms the truthfulness of his gospel. He writes, This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.” (John 21:24). The author of this gospel is none other than “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20). 1 The phrase “these things” refers to the entire gospel. 2 John is testifying that what he “wrote” is “true.” All that we read in the gospel of John is based on his eyewitness testimony.

Some believe that the phrase “we know that his testimony is true” was written by someone other than John. There are scholars who view the “we” as the elders of the Ephesian church where John traditionally served late in his life. 3  Others think that they were influential men in John’s church, though not necessarily in Ephesus. 4  Another view states this is an indefinite reference similar to “as is well known.” 5

It is better to see this phrase referring to John as he uses the editorial “we” to affirm the accuracy of what he has written. The editorial “we” is a rhetorical device used to refer to the author’s self. Using the first person plural, as authoritative people sometimes do, is something the apostle John does with regularity (cf. John 1:14; 3:2, 11; 20:2; 1 John 1:2, 4, 5, 6, 7; 3 John 1:12). 7  In favor of this view is also the use of the first person singular in the next verse (“I suppose…”).

Before we look at the last verse of this incredible book, let’s glance at the prologue of this gospel (John 1:1-18). “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.“ (John 1:1). John began his gospel with “the Word,” Jesus Christ (John 1:1, 14-17), Who is “God.” He informs us that all things were made through Him” (John 1:3; cf. Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2). The Person of Jesus Christ cannot be contained in this world because He is its Creator God. As God, He is independent of creation. He is not dependent on anyone or anything to sustain Him.

But John also wants us to know that “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14). Jesus humbled Himself by becoming a human being without ceasing to be God (John 1:1; 14; Philippians 2:6-8). This is why John refers to Jesus as “the only begotten Son” (John 1:18). The phrase “only begotten Son” does not mean Jesus had a beginning like a baby that is birthed by his parents, as many false religions teach today. The compound Greek word translated “only begotten” is monogenḗs, which literally means “one (monos) of a kind (genos)” or “unique kind.” 8Jesus Christ is the only one of His kind. He is fully God (John 1:1-3) and fully Man (John 1:14). This is the message of the gospel of John.

The writer of this gospel, the apostle John, goes to great lengths to show Jesus’ deity (John 1:1, 34, 49; 5:16-47; 6:69; 8:57-59; 10:30-33; 11:27; 20:28; et. al). Jesus was unlike any other Person who has walked on this earth. In the Old Testament, the phrase “I AM” is how Jehovah God identified Himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-14). “I AM” is also how Jesus identified Himself to the people of Israel. He makes several “I AM” statements in the gospel of John: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35), “I am the door” (John 10:9), “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:14), “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25), “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), “I am the true vine” (15:1). Each one of these staggering statements attested to the fact that Jesus was and is God.

Jesus also claimed to be equal with God and to be God Himself (John 5:17-18; John 10:10-33). This is why His enemies wanted to kill Jesus for blasphemy (Leviticus 20:10; cf. John 5:18; 8:59; 10:31-33; 11:8). For example, when Jesus said, “He and the Father are one” (John 10:30), the Jews understood Him to claim to be God. They said, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God” (John 10:33).

Did Muhammed, the founder of Islam, orBuddha, the founder of Buddhism, or Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, or Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, or Charles Taze Russell, the founder of Jehovah Witnesses, or Ellen G. White, the co-founder of Seventh Day Adventist, claim to be equal with God? No!Jesus Christ not only claimed to be God, He proved He was God through His works (John 1-12), the greatest of which was His resurrection from the dead (John 20:1-18; cf. Romans 1:3-4)!

John also goes to great lengths to show Jesus’ humanity (John 1:14; 4:6; 11:35; 12:27; 19:28; et. al). Jesus had brothers and sisters like you and me (John 2:12; 7:3, 5; cf. Mark 6:3). Christ ate food and got thirsty just like you and me (John 19:28; 21:12, 15; cf. Matthew 9:11; 11:19; Mark 2:16; Luke 7:34). He experienced physical fatigue and even slept (John 4:6; cf. Matthew 8:24; Mark 4:38; Luke 8:23). Why? He became a man without ceasing to be God so He could understand what it is like for you and me to have family, food, and fatigue. The God of the Bible is not some distant uncaring deity like the religions of the world. He understands our needs and He came to earth to meet our most fundamental needs to be seen, safe, soothed, and secure.

When John says that Jesus was “is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18b), he is referring to Christ’s very close and intimate relationship with God the Father. The word “bosom” (kolpos) refers to the upper part of the chest where a garment naturally folded to form a pocket. The picture here is that of a son resting his head on the chest of his father, experiencing a very close and intimate relationship with him. Jesus had the closest and most intimate relationship with God the Father. He knows the heart of God the Father better than anyone because His head often rested upon His Father’s chest in eternity past.

Who better to tell others what a Person is like than the One who is closest to that Person and has known Him the longest in an intimate relationship!?! There is no one more qualified to tell us what God is like than the only begotten Son of God who has known God the Father forever in the closest of relationships with Him.

This is why John then says, “He has declared Him” (John 1:18c). The word “declared” (eksēgéomai) is where we get our English words, “exegete” and “exegesis” from. It means “to set forth in great detail, expound.” 10  In seminary, we learned to “exegete” or explain God’s Word, the Bible. We were taught to “read out” of the Bible God’s intended meaning through a grammatical, historical, and literal interpretation instead of “reading into” the Bible our own biases and assumptions.

God the Son, Jesus Christ, has “exegeted” or “explained, interpreted, or narrated” what God the Father is like. Jesus is more qualified than anyone else to explain what God the Father is like because He, being God, knows God the Father longer and more intimately than anyone else.

Understanding the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the God-Man, will help us understand why John concludes his book with the following words: “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” (John 21:25). John is telling us that he did not record everything “Jesus did.” He wrote selectively about the life and ministry of Jesus on earth. 11In other words, John gave us “a highlight reel” of Jesus!12  This highlight reel makes all others look pale in comparison.

Take for example a highlight reel of the greatest sports figures in history. None of them – whether it be Mohammed Ali, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Jim Brown, Tom Brady, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Pele’, Florence Griffith Joyner, Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, or Ronda Rausey – can come close to what Jesus Christ has done.

The Lord Jesus has loved people perfectly, giving His life for the sins of the world (John 1:29; 3:16; Romans 5:8). By His grace He has forgiven people perfectly no matter how badly or often they have sinned (John 4:1-29; Acts 10:43; Colossians 2:13-14; I Timothy 1:14-16). He has given eternal life freely to all who believe in Him (John 3:16). He has granted a forever relationship to the religious (John 3:1-18). Christ has saved from hell forever all who have trusted in Him (Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9). He has transformed sinners into saints the moment they believed in Him (I Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 1:1, 13-14). Jesus has given hopeless people a purpose for living (Romans 8:28). He has granted contentment to those who could not find satisfaction (Philippians 4:11-13). He has given those who have greatly failed a second chance (John 21:15-17). He has bestowed peace upon the troubled (John 14:27; 16:33; Ephesians 2:14-15). And Christ Jesus has never lost one person He has saved, and He never will (John 6:35-40; 10:28-29).

No sports figure, politician, Hollywood celebrity, or philanthropist can do what Jesus Christ has done and continues to do. His life and ministry make Him unique. His highlight reel is superior to all others even though it does not include all that Jesus ever did.

“But God providentially determined that what we have in Scripture is enough. You don’t need to know everything that Jesus did and said. But, John says, you do need to ‘believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name’ (20:31). Amen.” 13  

But John did say if all that Jesus did on earth “were written one by one… the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” To date, countless books have been written on what little was actually recorded in the gospels about Jesus Christ. “Jesus is surely the most written-about person of all time—and rightly so!” 14 When you consider the thousands of historical books, theological books, religious books, scholarly books on the gospels, testimonial books, and articles about Jesus Christ, the numbers are endless! Isn’t that what we would expect from Someone Who is uniquely God and Man!?!

There is no end to the books written about Jesus Christ because He is still working in peoples’ lives today – giving them His life freely through believing in Him (John 3:16; 10:10b) so they can experience His life abundantly as they learn to follow Him as a disciple (John 10:10c; cf. 8:31-32; 13:34-35; 15:1-8; 21:15-23).  

For me, the gospel of John is one of the greatest books of the Bible because it repeatedly shows God’s grace and truth through the Person of Jesus Christ. It also tells us over and over again what one must do to have eternal life now (John 3:16; 17:3) and a future home in heaven (John 14:2-3). It tells us to simply believe in Jesus alone for His free gift of eternal life (John 1:12; 3:15-18, 36; 4:10-14; 5:24; 6:35-40, 47; 7:37-39; 9:35-38; 10:24-29; 11:25-27; 14:1; 20:31; et al.). Jesus did not say, “whoever behaves.” He said, “whoever believes…” (John 3:16). Believe in Him alone and He will give you His never-ending life so you can experience it abundantly in your daily life.

Prayer: Father God, thank You for the gospel of John which gives us all we need to know to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that believing we may have life in His name. There is no one like You, Lord Jesus. There is no one who forgives and loves us like You do. Thank You for revealing Yourself to us through the gospel of John. Please enable us to share this life-changing book with a lost world so they may discover the radical love you have for them and come to believe in You alone for Your gift of eternal life. Getting right with You, Father God, is based upon believing, not behaving. May Your Holy Spirit convict people of this profound and simple life-changing truth. And may those of us who have eternal life through Jesus, experience His abundant life as we learn to follow Him as His disciple. In the matchless name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Archibald Thomas (A. T.) Robertson, Robertson’s Word Pictures in Six Volumes, (The Ephesians Four Group, 2014 Kindle Edition), Kindle Locations 78628-78629).

2. Edwin A. Blum, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Gospels, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, (David C Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), pg. 705.

3. Tom Constable, Notes on John, 2017 Edition, pg. 402 cites Brooke Foss Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John: The Authorised Version with Introduction and Notes 1880 (London: James Clarke & Co., Ltd., 1958), pg. 306. .

4. Ibid., cites Rudolf Bultmann, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Translated by G. R. Beasley- Murray, R. W. N. Hoare, and J. K. Riches. Oxford: Blackwell, 1971), pp. 717-718.

5. Ibid., cites C. H. Dodd, “Note on John 21, 24,” Journal of Theological Studies NS4 (1953):212-13.

6. Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach. The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 570.

7. Constable, pg. 402.

8. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 658.

9. Ibid., pp. 556-557.

10. Ibid., pg. 349.

11. Wilkin, pg. 570.

12. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1834.

13. Ibid.

14. Wilkin, pg. 570.

Who is Jesus Christ? Part 2

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:3

Not only was the Word present at creation (John 1:1), He was also the Agent of creation. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). Does this verse say that all things were made through evolution? No! All things were made through Christ (cf. Colossians 1:16)! Everything that exists owes its existence to the Word. He is the Creator God. Apart from Him, there is no existence. Jesus Christ created this universe. The Word is our CREATOR GOD.

I believe in the Big Bang alright. God spoke (BOOM) and the universe came into being (Genesis 1). Through Him all things “were made (1:3),” but He always “was” (1:1). The Creator knows our inner workings better than anyone; He knows our needs and what it will take to bring us to Himself.

A doctor had hired a new secretary. She was pretty and thin. Part of her responsibilities was mailing out the bills to all the doctor’s patients. The doctor began to notice that it was taking more time than should be necessary for her to fulfill this task, and so he observed her one day. He discovered that rather than using the wet sponge to seal the envelopes, she was licking each one. This took a long time. The doctor asked her to use the sponge instead of licking each one, but the new secretary said that she would rather do it the other way. The doctor tried all kinds of motivations to try and convince her to do things his way. He tried telling her how much quicker it would be, he told her that her mouth wouldn’t get so dry. He even tried switching the type of envelopes that he used to one of those kind that had nasty-tasting glue. Nothing worked.

One day, a patient came to her window to pay her bill and noticed that the secretary was licking the envelopes. She said to her, “Did you know that each envelope has about 1 ½ calories?” The secretary immediately stopped and began using a wet sponge. Sometimes it takes a woman to communicate in a woman’s language.

Likewise, it takes the Creator to communicate in His creation’s language. The Creator of the Universe loved you and me so much that He became a Man without ceasing to be fully God (John 1:14) so we could approach Him. Jesus came to us to speak our language so we could understand Him. Christ spoke to us with love when He took our place and punishment on the cross for our sins (cf. Romans 5:8) and rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:4-6).

Think of how our Creator God, Jesus Christ, must have felt when He came to earth? The Bible tells us, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him” (John 1:10). The Creator of the world came into the world and the world did not even know He was here. The world He made ignored Him.

Imagine how He felt as He inhaled the air He created and walked by the Sea of Galilee that He had made. As He ate the fish He spoke into existence and spent time with the people He had created, how must He have felt when no one thanked Him for the air they breathed and the Sea that provided their food and livelihood? It must have hurt for Him to go unrecognized. But it gets worse.

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). Not only was the Creator ignored by the world in general, He was rejected by His own Jewish people. Unlike the world, the nation of Israel knew He was here, but like the world they didn’t care. They turned away from their Creator and Messiah. No doubt this deeply hurt the Lord Jesus. But did He give up on the world and the nation of Israel? Does He give up on us when we ignore Him or turn away from Him?

Even though the world did not know Jesus as its Creator (1:10) and His own Jewish people rejected Him as their Messiah-God (1:11), Christ did not stop loving them. He still offers salvation to individual Gentiles and Jews who would receive Him by believing in His name. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). Notice that the way to receive Christ is to “believe in His name.” In New Testament times, a name represented a person. Jesus Christ is the One who died for our sins and rose again. The moment you believe or trust in Jesus alone to make you God’s child, you are born into God’s family forever.

Please understand that when the Bible says you must receive and believe in Christ, that does not mean you must simply accept Him as a Person like you would accept me as a person. Accepting me as a person will not get you to heaven. Accepting as history that Jesus existed, died and rose again will not get you to heaven. Some people accept Christ’s death and resurrection as an historical fact but are still trusting in their own works to get them to heaven.

Picture a large boat filled with refugees from Cambodia coming across the Pacific Ocean. It begins taking on water and lifeboats become a necessity. Three passengers find themselves in different situations. The first passenger has no knowledge that lifeboats save and, therefore, never steps into one. The second passenger understands that lifeboats save, but for some reason refuses to step into one. The third passenger not only understands the ability of a lifeboat to save, but actually steps into the lifeboat and in so doing relies upon it to keep him from drowning.

Which of the three is saved? Yes, the last passenger. He not only had the knowledge, but he uses it. A person is saved when he or she understands the ability Jesus Christ has to save and acts on that knowledge by trusting Christ alone. You are not saved simply by understanding Christ died and arose or even accepting His death and resurrection as a fact of history while relying on your own good life to get you to heaven. You become a member of God’s family when as a sinner deserving of hell, you trust Christ alone to get you to heaven.    

Maybe you have ignored God all of your life like the world did. Perhaps you have turned away from His loving attempts to draw you to Himself much like the nation of Israel did when He walked on the earth. Please understand that Jesus still loves you and offers you a personal relationship with Him forever. All He asks is that you “believe in His name” – His Person – and He will place you in God’s family forever!

Just as Jesus never stopped loving the world or the nation of Israel for rejecting Him, so when non-Christians initially reject the message of the gospel from us, we must not stop loving them or exposing them to the gospel. Christ never stopped loving me the first time I heard and rejected the gospel and I am eternally indebted to Him for that! The least I can do is show the same kind of patient love toward unbelievers who need to hear the gospel more than once before they believe it.

Prayer: Precious Lord Jesus, I bow before You as my Creator God. You know me so intimately and thoroughly because You created me in my mother’s womb. You know me better than anyone, and yet You still love me unconditionally. Thank You for making me, me! Thank You for everything about me. Thank You for never ceasing to love me even though I used to ignore You or even reject any of Your attempts to love me. Because You are my Creator God, You have the power not only to take me to heaven when I die, You also have the power to take care of all of my needs. You have the ability to change me from the inside out as I learn to trust and obey You. Just as You never stopped loving me even though I rejected Your initial attempts to share Your gospel message with me, help me not to give up on those who initially reject my attempts to share Your gospel message with them. Help me to show the same kind of patient love toward others who need to hear the gospel as You have shown to me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.