This video is about the everlasting hope that is found in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Why do millions of people around the world celebrate Easter? What evidence is there that Jesus Christ is alive today? Discover the answers to these questions and much more. Please share this video with those you want to see in heaven.
Scriptures are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted. Pictures are used with permission from Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing/ www.Freebibleimages.org, www.Goodsalt.com, or they are creative common licenses.
We are living in a day when much hatred and division centers around the color of one’s skin or the political party with which one associates. The truth of the matter is that one’s skin color or political party is not what drives these conflicts. I believe the apostle Paul would want us to understand that behind these divisions and hate there is an unseen enemy who knows our histories and our weaknesses, and he is bent on getting us to fight one another instead of taking a stand against his kingdom of darkness. This foe would like nothing more than for people to think he does not exist.
But the apostle Paul would have us believe otherwise. In his letter to the Christians in the city of Ephesus he concludes with ways to protect themselves from spiritual attacks. He instructs his Christian readers (including you and me), to wear the whole armor of God so we may stand against the “wiles” or deceitful methods of the devil (Eph. 6:11). He wants us to understand that our battle is not with “flesh and blood” (i.e., human beings regardless of their skin color or political differences, etc.), but with the kingdom of darkness (Eph. 6:12). Therefore, we are to take up the whole armor of God so we may stand against the enemy “in the evil day” when all of hell attacks us (Eph. 6:13).
Just as a soldier needs to know the strategies of his enemy, so Christians need to understand the schemes or “wiles” of the devil (Eph. 6:11). Some of the “wiles” of Satan may include the following: [1]
Deception: Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he deceived Eve with bad doctrine (1 Tim. 2:14). Hence, Christians are to wear the belt of truth to expose Satan’s lies and replace them with God’s life-giving truth (Eph. 6:14a).
Deviation: The devil wants to conform us to his world system and cause us to deviate from God’s will (Eph. 2:1-3; I John 2:16; 5:19b). He wants us to lower our standards of righteousness by tempting us to open our lives to a little sinfulness or worldliness. He may whisper in our ears, “It won’t hurt you to try that. Everyone else is doing it. Go ahead and do it. It’s fun.” This is why we need the protection of the breastplate of righteousness (Eph. 6:14b).
Division: The book of James informs us that the kind of wisdom that causes strife, envy, and self-seeking (power struggles) in our homes, churches, and workplaces originates from hell, and it is earthly, sensual, and demonic (Jas. 3:14-16). Therefore, we need to wear the sandals of the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15).
Doubt: Satan caused Eve to doubt God’s Word (Gen. 3:1). This is one of his primary attacks against Christianity as a whole and the individual Christian in particular. Anderson writes, “When the Age of Reason rose up, European scholars discounted anything supernatural, which included a written revelation (the Bible) from a supernatural being (God). Thomas Jefferson swallowed the poison of doubt and decided to create his own New Testament by pulling the miracles of Christ out of the Gospels. If we doubt whether the Bible is God’s Word, why should we live by it or obey it?”[2] Hence, we need to take up the shield of faith to renew and strengthen our faith in the Lord and His Word (Eph. 6:16).
Disillusionment: Satan tries to put thoughts in our minds to make us think that his thoughts are our thoughts. When Job encountered severe trials, Satan used Job’s wife and friends to encourage Job to give up on God. They reasoned that any God-fearing believer assumes God will bless him for his obedience, not realizing that is the essence of legalism. We can never put God in our debt (cf. Rom. 4:4; 11:6). The other misunderstanding is to look at our trials as curses instead of blessings. God’s plan for our Christian growth is to mold us and sculpt us into the likeness of His Son. Often trials are the best ways to get us there. But the devil will try to give us thoughts that are contrary to God’s thoughts. And so, we are to wear the helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:17a).
Discouragement: One of the “devices” (noēmata) of Satan is extreme sorrow or discouragement over our failures (cf. 2 Cor. 7:7-11). When the Christian community treats a repentant Christians like a leper, his discouragement may cause him to give up completely. Satan will use discouragement to keep a believer from reading or memorizing the Bible. Hence, we are to take up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God (Eph. 6:17b).
Paul addresses six pieces of armor in the order that a Roman soldier would put them on (Eph. 6:14-17). The first three pieces of armor are introduced with the verb “to be.” The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of peace we have with us all of the time [3] (“having girded… put on… shod…” – Eph. 6:14-15). [4] This is the state we are always to be in. But the last three pieces of armor – the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit – we are called to take and use as needed [5] (“taking … take…” Eph. 6:16-17). [6] Today, we will look at the second of these last three pieces of armor, “the helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17a).
The Location of the Helmet
The placement of the fifth piece of armor is very significant. After putting on his belt, breastplate, sandals, and taking up his shield, the Roman soldier would put on his helmet to protect his head, especially his brain, because injury to one’s head can be lethal.
And the world recognizes this. Whenever we are in a situation that could be dangerous to our heads and brains, we are often required to wear a protective helmet. For example, construction workers wear a hard hat to protect their heads from falling debris in a construction area. Motorcyclists wear a helmet to shield their brains from serious injury in case they are in an accident. Those who refuse to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle are flirting with tragedy because the likelihood of being killed in an accident increases significantly when a motorcyclist does not wear a helmet. [7]
In American football,[8] a player wears a helmet to absorb the impact of colliding with another player so that the brain is not injured. Because the understanding is, if the brain is injured, bodily function is impeded. When you have players, whose heads are constantly absorbing violent collisions on the playing field, experiencing concussion after concussion, the brain can be severely damaged. And if the brain gets damaged, bodily function is impaired.
The apostle Paul is saying in Ephesians 6:17a that the mind must be protected to absorb the shocks of being hit in the spiritual realm by the enemy. If our minds are not protected from these blows, our spiritual lives can be greatly impaired.
Some of us know people who have contracted a debilitating disease known as Alzheimer’s whereby the brain is not able to function as it once did. And it progressively deteriorates over time so that the person is not able to care for themselves. The worse the brain problem gets, the less the person with Alzheimer’s can control.
The less control you and I have in our Christian lives is because spiritual Alzheimer’s has set in. The mind is no longer functioning as God wants it to, impeding the soul from doing what it should, which results in the physical body being out of control.
The apostle Paul is saying that Christians are to have a helmet on in this spiritual battle which takes place in the invisible realm if we are to have victory. Paul is dealing with a context of us being under attack.
In an American football game, the quarterback is the leader on the football field. He is calling the play and setting the agenda, and he is always under attack. The defense is always trying to get to him, sack him, knock him down, move him out of the pocket, confuse him, and intimidate him so they can make him ineffective and inefficient.
Sitting high above the quarterback in a booth is an offensive coordinator(OC). The OC’s job is to assess the schemes of the opposing team and speak to the quarterback about what he ought to be doing in light of those defensive schemes. In view of the attacks of the opposing team, the OC gives plays to the quarterback through a technological wonder called a one-way radio system in the quarterback’s helmet. So, with his helmet on, the quarterback receives instruction about how he is to function in light of the attack he is facing.
The reason why the OC is the one who gives instructions to the quarterback is because he is sitting high and looking low. He has a bird’s eye view up there in the booth of how the enemy is attacking down there on the football field. He can analyze the enemy’s movements so he can inform the quarterback through his helmet, what the deliverance ought to be for the pressure he is now under.
The apostle Paul says we are to put on the helmet which means our minds are to be properly programmed. If the mind is improperly programmed, then it will function improperly. That is, if we are thinking wrong, then we will act wrong, and experience spiritual defeat amid the spiritual battle (cf. Prov. 23:7).
Our spiritual enemy is attacking us on the field of life. God wants us to put on the helmet of salvation so He can speak to us in our minds because He is seated high above everyone and everything else (cf. Eph. 1:20-21). God can see the field of life better than we can see it. He can examine it better than we can. God knows the enemy’s schemes and He knows how to overcome them.
But we must wear this helmet of salvation so God can protect and direct our thoughts.[9] Our thoughts are a very important part of our whole person and being. Satan wants to control our minds. He wants to put his thoughts into our minds and deceive us into thinking that his thoughts are really ours so we will live life his way, rather than in the way God has prescribed in His Word. The Devil engages in mind control. Once he is successful in doing this, he wants to torment us with these thoughts, causing us to experience defeat instead of victory.
This part of a Christian’s person comes under severe attack in spiritual warfare. Satan wants to control our thoughts. He wants to put his thoughts within our minds as he did with Peter (cf. Matt. 16:21-23). [10] Many times, these can be hideous thoughts. Thoughts that are totally foreign to what we would normally think.
For example, a Christian may have intrusive thoughts about murder. He or she may suddenly think about murdering their own family, their loved ones, members of God’s family, or even themselves. Should this surprise us that he who “was a murderer from the beginning” would give us these kinds of thoughts (John 8:44)?
One Christian man shared with a Christian counselor that he suddenly had thoughts crowding into his mind that he was going to molest a little child. Thoughts that were totally foreign to this man. These thoughts caused the man to initially think he was going crazy until he understood that Satan is eager to put his thoughts into this man’s mind.
The Devil delights in giving us thoughts to curse God, to tear up our Bibles, to engage in uninhibited sexual activities that are repugnant to God. He may introduce nagging thoughts to us that tell us what a terrible person we must be. Thoughts that say, “I’m dumb, I’m ugly, nobody loves me,or I can’t do anything right.” There is no limit to the kinds of wicked thoughts that our enemy will introduce to us.
What do we do with thoughts like this? First, we need to understand that these thoughts may come from the kingdom of darkness. Secondly, we need to take up our helmet of salvation to resist these thoughts. All of us need a resistance prayer to respond to Satanic, intrusive thoughts. A prayer that goes something like this: “In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I come against the power of darkness that just put that wicked thought in my mind. And I command you to leave me and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.”
We are not to accept these intrusive thoughts as our own. Especially if they are foreign to our common way of thinking. Some power of darkness is trying to convince us that we are a terrible person. If Satan tells us we are a terrible person, we must confront such an accusation with the truth. For if we are a child of God through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone (John 1:12), we are not in any sense a terrible person. We are a “saint” in Christ (I Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1b; Eph. 1:1b), forever “sanctified” or set apart positionally from our sin and shame through the “once for all” sacrifice of Jesus Christ (cf. I Cor. 6:11b; Heb. 10:10, 14), so there are no grounds for accusation or condemnation (Rom. 8:31-34). Hence, those wicked thoughts do not belong to us. And we are privileged to wear our helmet of salvation.
We must be tenacious in resisting these thoughts from the kingdom of darkness. Satan will not give up easily. So, we must persist in resisting these wicked thoughts. Don’t stop with one resistance. Each time a wicked thought comes into your mind, continue to pray, “In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I come against the power of darkness that just put that wicked thought in my mind. And I command you to leave me and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.”
The first way Satan tries to control our minds is through what James calls being double-minded: “6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Jas. 1:6-8). Satan will do his best to make a Christian a spiritual schizophrenic with two minds. With our mind we want to love and serve the Lord, but also with our mind many times we want to toy with the things that are not of God. Instead of relying solely on God’s wisdom (Jas. 1:5), the double-minded believer wants to rely on human wisdom. He wants to act independently of God. James warns us that this is an “unstable” existence.
A divided mind is a very serious emotional state; but it is even more serious spiritually. We need to pray like King David prayed, “Unite my heart to fear Your name.” (Psa. 86:11b). David wanted God to bring a unity or single-mindedness to his heart, so the Lord was the center of everything in his life.
A second way the Devil attempts to control our minds is through a carnal mind. A carnal mind is an enemy of God. The apostle Paul tells us this in Romans 8. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:5). When Paul speaks of the carnally minded here (“set their minds on the things of the flesh”), he is referring to a believer who places himself under the law to try to become holy as Paul had tried to do only to experience spiritual defeat (cf. Rom. 7:4-25).
“While striving for holiness under the law, Paul had focused on the commands (e.g., ‘lust’) so that his mind-set was fleshly: ‘I must steer clear of all lust.’ This fleshly orientation doomed him to commit the very sin he sought to avoid.
“Simply put, if one lives with a fleshly orientation—even if it is the result of a vigorous effort to keep the law—he is going to fail because he has the wrong mind-set.” [12] [emphasis added]
“6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Rom. 8:6-7). These two mind-sets, “to be carnally minded,” or “to be spiritually minded,” are polar opposites. The first mind-set is in the sphere of “death” and results in “death.” But the “spiritually minded” believer experiences “life and peace.”
“The trap into which a Christian falls when he is principally concerned with the law itself is that he cannot escape a preoccupation with the spiritual deadness within and around him. The mind-set of the Spirit, however, lifts his preoccupations to the level of supernatural life and peace.” [13][emphasis added]
Carnal mindedness is described in Galatians by Paul when he writes, “19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…” (Gal. 5:19-21). Carnal mindedness focuses on the fleshly desires of our sinful nature. The longer a Christian sets his mind on his sinful flesh, the more likely his fleshly mind becomes a demonically dictated thought process. Satan uses this carnal mindedness to control a believer’s thoughts.
The third way Satan will attempt to control our thoughts is through his version of “God-is-our-enemy–thoughts.” The Devil enjoys putting thoughts in our mind that say, “God is your enemy.” “God is not playing fair with you.” “He could make it different, but He is not.” “You ought to get angry with God.“ “If God truly loved you, He wouldn’t let you go through so much pain and suffering.” When we have thoughts like that, do we know where they are coming from?
God cannot be anything but good (Psa. 106:1), gracious (Psa. 111:4), holy (Isa. 6:3), just (Isa. 45:21), kind (Joel 2:13), loving (I John 4:8b), merciful (Ps. 103:8), and righteous (Psa. 11:7). Regardless of what we are experiencing, God is Who He is because He cannot be anything but that.
But Satan will come along when life is not what we hoped it would be, and he tries to rule our mind with wicked thoughts about God being our enemy. And these thoughts can easily make us angry toward the Lord.
Fourth, the Devil can also try to rule our minds through deceiving, lying thoughts. Such was the case with Ananias and Sapphira. Satan filled their hearts to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land they sold for themselves (Acts 5:4, 8-9). It cost both of them their lives.
Whenever we are tempted to lie, we can be assured that Satan is involved in that temptation. Jesus said the devil “is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
Fifth, Satan will also try to control our minds through fearful thoughts. The Bible tells us the that our “adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8b).
“Do you know how a lion uses his fearsome roar to frighten his prey? I’m told that the old male in a lion pride goes upwind of a herd of gazelles or whatever and lets out a roar. The terrified animals take off in the opposite direction, where the rest of the pride is waiting to gobble them up.
“If we were to hear a lion roar, most of us would run. If he roared again, we would run again. Pretty soon we’re being directed by fear.” [14] [emphasis added]
In the verse prior to I Peter 5:8, Peter writes, “…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (I Pet. 5:7). We can cast all our cares or concerns upon God because “He cares for you.” This phrase can be translated, “You are a matter of concern to God.” [15]
Christians who are engaged in intense spiritual warfare, especially those who facing Satanic frontal attacks, may conclude, “God doesn’t really care about me. If He did, He wouldn’t let me languish in this terrible bondage.”[16] [emphasis added]
If we believe God doesn’t care about us, we will be plagued by all kinds of fear. Satan loves to put us in bondage to fear. He will even use violent fear and panic to immobilize us.
But at the moment we feel that panic and fear, is the moment to use our helmet of salvation and pray, “In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I command the wicked power of fear to leave my presence and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.” God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). The helmet of salvation enables our thoughts to be our own and to be like those of Christ.
Thoughts that are projected into our minds by the enemy need to be recognized quickly and decisively! We need to understand this. We don’t have to accept those thoughts from Satan as our own.
For example, one Christian young man was deeply troubled. Every time he began to pray to God, thoughts would enter his mind that said, “Pray to Satan…Pray to Satan… Pray to Satan.” He was tormented by these thoughts so much so that he became convinced he was going crazy. But once he understood where these thoughts were coming from, and resisted them, he was totally set free from those intruding thoughts. [17]
The Person of Salvation
This fifth piece of armor is called “the helmet of salvation.” What is salvation? The Bible informs us that salvation is a Person. David wrote, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (Psa. 27:1). The Hebrew word translated “salvation” is yeshu’ah. Yeshu’ah is the Old Testament word for “salvation,” and its basic meaning is “deliverance.” The English word Jesus, which means “God is salvation,” is also derived from this Hebrew word. Hence, David is saying, “The Lord [Yahweh] is my light and my Jesus [Yeshu’ah].” (Psa. 27:1). Salvation is a Person.
This is why Simeon prayed in the temple as he held the Baby Jesus in his hands, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation…” (Luke 2:29-30). Christ is our salvation. He is a Person.
Thus, when we put on our helmet of salvation, we are putting on the Lord Jesus Christ to protect our mindsfrom the intruding thoughts of Satan and also to fill our minds with His thoughts. [18]
The Lord Jesus is much greater than the Devil. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father in the heavenly places, “far above all principality and power and might and dominion,” including Satan and his demonic armies (Eph. 1:20-21). Jesus sits in a position of authority and power that is far greater than the kingdom of darkness and we are seated next to Him (Eph. 2:5-6).
The apostle John tells us that this same Jesus indwells us: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you [Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit] is greater than he who is in the world [Satan].” (I John 4:4; cf. Gal. 2:20). Hence, we do not need to fear nor succumb to Satan’s attacks because Jesus in us is far greater than the Devil and his demonic armies who are in the world.
The Greek word translated “salvation” (sōtēria) in the New Testament basically means “deliverance.”[19] The apostle Paul refers to this helmet as “the hope of salvation,” that is, the hope of deliverance (I Thess. 5:8b). Why? Because Satan wants to convince us that our situation is hopeless. If we conclude that our situation is hopeless, that we are trapped in our bondage and there is nothing we can do, then we only have two choices: We can either abandon ourselves to the sin or get ready to check out of this life. [20]
The type of deliverance Jesus provides is determined by the context. As our “Salvation” (Psa. 27:1), the Lord Jesus provides three types of deliverances as they relate to our spirit, soul, and body (I Thess. 5:23).
Our Past Salvation
The first type of salvation is our past salvation (a.k.a. justification) whereby our spirit is delivered from the penalty of sin forever when we believed in Jesus for His gift of salvation (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9). When we were born again by believing in Jesus (John 3:3-18), we received “a new spirit” (Ezek. 36:26) that “was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:23-24) and was “perfected forever” (Heb. 10:14). Our spirit “cannot sin because” it “has been born of God” (I John 3:9).
Satan wants to steal the assurance of our past salvation. Since he knows we cannot lose eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:35-40; 10:28-29; 11:25-26; et al.), he tries to rob us of our assurance that we are God’s child. He may put hideous thoughts in our minds and then accuse us, saying, “No true Christian would never entertain such wicked thoughts.”
Satan will use false teachers to try to steal our assurance of eternal life. The apostle John addresses this in his first epistle. John’s readers were being told by the antichrists (false teachers) that Jesus was not the Christ Who guarantees a future resurrection and never-ending life to all who believe in Him. But John refutes this by saying, “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.” (I John 2:25). Instead of listening to the falsehoods of the antichrists, John redirects his readers to the unchanging “promise” of God which guarantees “eternal life” to all who believe in Jesus (cf. I John 5:1, 13; John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 6:35-40, 47; 11:25-27; 20:31). This is the message they heard from the beginning of their Christian experience. This is how they began a personal relationship with God. Assurance of eternal life is found in God’s promises, not in the lies of false teachers which denied that eternal life is through simple faith in Jesus.
There is much confusion today about assurance of salvation. Some insist that assurance of going to heaven is based on our performance and whether we measure up to certain tests concerning the quality of our Christian experience. [21] But if we look to our performance or experience, we will never be certain we have eternal life because we always fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23; I John 1:8, 10). Whenever we take our focus off Christ and His finished work on the cross (John 19:30), we are more likely to doubt our salvation. Even on our best day, we still fall short of God’s glory.
John wants his readers to look to the unchanging promises of God for the assurance of their salvation.“God’s promises don’t change. That’s why the promises of God are the foundation for our assurance of salvation. People who want to teach that 1 John is a book of tests to determine whether you are a Christian or not have gone completely against what John himself uses as his source of assurance: the promises of God.”[22]
Why does John remind his readers of their secure relationship with Jesus? “These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.” (I John 2:26). John did not want his readers to be deceived by the false teachers who tried to undermine their assurance of salvation. Knowing they have eternal life simply be believing in Jesus for it would enable them to effectively resist these antichrists who taught John’s readers they were not genuinely saved because they lacked a secret knowledge which only the false teachers could give them to have eternal life. John understood if a Christian doubts his or her salvation they are more vulnerable to losing their fellowship with God and the apostles. Hence, I believe John would agree with the apostle Paul, that Christians must take up the helmet of salvation, so they do not lose the hope of their past salvation.
Our Present Salvation
The second type of salvation is our present salvation (a.k.a. sanctification) whereby our soul is being delivered from the power of sin as we hear the word and do what it says (Phil. 2:12; Jas. 1:21-22). Just as we were justified and reconciled to God through faith in Jesus’ death, so now we are to be saved from the power of sin (God’s present-day wrath – Rom. 1:18-32) through faith in Jesus’ resurrection life (Rom. 5:9-10). This is a lifelong process called discipleship which begins at conversion and ends when we go to be with Jesus in His heaven (John 8:31-32; 13:34-35; 14:1-3; 15:1-8).
Reimer writes, “To really understand your identity, you have to properly divide soul and spirit. Your spirit has been made new. You are a new creation in Christ. You have received a new spirit and a new heart (Ezek. 36:26). Your spirit has been perfected in Christ. You have received every spiritual blessing you need in the heavenly realms (Eph. 1:3). You are adopted into the family of God (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:15). You are heirs of God…
“These are all the claims of Scripture for who you are in Christ. Your spirit has been purified, purged, renewed, born again, and transformed. But your soul… well, that can still be a bit of a mess.
“Your soul can have hurts and bitterness. Your soul can still have sin and demonic strongholds. Your soul can have fears and faulty beliefs about who you are. Your soul can still feel condemnation and shame.
”Sanctification, or the process of becoming like Jesus is simply becoming who you already are. You have to work out in the realm of the soul what has already taken place in the heavenly realms through the work of Christ in your spirit.
“Your soul is where your mind, your will, and your emotions still hold sway over the reality of your daily existence. For example, you may know cognitively that you are loved, but because you grew up in an abusive home, or because of your own sinful behaviors, you don’t feel loved. You don’t act as if you are deeply loved. Your soul still feels shame, you may even feel unlovable, and you feel distant from God. Until you deal with the issues of your soul, you will not experience the fullness of God nor the intimacy with Him for which your heart longs.
“Working out your identity is learning to become who you already are. This battle for your identity is a critical part to your spiritual maturity.”[23] [emphasis added]
Satan wants to deceive us into thinking that the power of sin has not been broken in our lives. That we are still slaves to sin. He loves to whisper lies that say, “You can never change.” “This isn’t that bad.” “God gave you this desire, so use it.” “Everyone else is doing it.” “You deserve to feel pleasure.” “You cannot cope with your pain without doing this.” “God doesn’t want you to experience this because He knows you will become more like Him knowing good and evil, etc.”
The Bible describes the victory Jesus has already won for us, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Col. 2:15).
“It is more natural to view the principalities and powers here as the defeated foes, driven in front of the triumphal chariot as involuntary and impotent witnesses to their conqueror’s superior might.” [24][emphasis added]
“The picture, quite familiar in the Roman world, is that of a triumphant general leading a parade of victory…. To the casual observer the cross appears to be only an instrument of death, the symbol of Christ’s defeat; Paul represents it as Christ’s chariot of victory.” [25] [emphasis added]
The death of Jesus did three things to the spiritual rulers of darkness. It disarmed them, displayed them, and dethroned them.
How did Jesus do this? [26] Jesus “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Col. 2:14). When a person was executed under Roman law, the sentence was attached to the accused’s cross (see John 19:19). But Jesus took our sentence away, effectively nailing our certificates of debt to His cross. He paid our penalty in full (John 19:30); He died for our guilt and shame. God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Satan now has no legitimate grounds to accuse us of wrongdoing before God because Jesus already paid our sin debt to God in full. That is why Paul writes, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Col. 2:15). A fallen angel is no match for the Son of God, Who took away Satan’s power. Satan is the accuser of Christian brothers and sisters (Rev. 12:10). He accused Job (cf. Job 1:9-11; 2:4-5) and Joshua the high priest (Zech. 3:1). But in light of the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, Satan’s accusations are empty now.
If somebody has a gun pointed at you, whether or not it’s loaded is a huge deal. The devil doesn’t want us to know that his gun has been emptied by the cross of Christ. Now, if we don’t know that, we are still going to cower and run, living in fear and shame. But we don’t have to listen to the devil any longer. Though he is right about our sin, our sin debt has been paid by Christ in full. We are free to live for God now. Satan still has power, but he no longer possesses final authority in our Christian lives.
Thus, when the devil tempts us to sin, we can respond by saying,“Jesus has already broken the power of that sin through His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:10-11). Therefore, it has no power over me.”
Our Future Salvation
Our third type of salvation is our future salvation (a.k.a. glorification) whereby our physical body is delivered from the presence of sin when Jesus comes back for His church (I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:8b-10; I John 3:2-3). The apostle Paul writes, “And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (I Thess. 1:10). The Greek verb translated “delivers” [ruomenon] means to “rescue from danger.”[27] This deliverance or rescue is from the Tribulation “wrath to come” on earth (cf. Rev. 6:1-18:24) which is the theme of this epistle [28] (cf. I Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-5:11, 23). How does Jesus deliver Christians from this coming Tribulation wrath on earth?
Paul explains in First Thessalonians 4:13-18. The apostle does not want his readers, including us, to be ignorant concerning believers who have died lest we “sorrow as others who have no hope.” (I Thess. 4:13). Paul understands that an ignorant believer can easily become a hopeless believer. [29] He then provides the order of events in the Rapture or sudden removal of the church from the earth.
First, we see the return of Christ in the air with Christians who have died. “For if [or since] we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” (I Thess. 4:14). The rapture of the church is just as certain as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At one point in time the death and resurrection of Christ were prophecy. But now they are history. We can believe the Rapture with equal certainty.
When Paul refers to “those who sleep in Jesus,” he is talking about Christians who have died (cf. John 11:11-12). What happens when a Christian dies (see pic)? His spirit goes immediately to heaven, but his body “sleeps” in the grave. “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5:8). To be absent from the body in death is to be present with the Lord Jesus in heaven.
The second event is the resurrection of the bodies of Christians who have died. “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.” (I Thess. 4:15). The bodies of Christians who have died will be resurrected first by Jesus, so that their spirits, which are now with Christ, can re-enter their bodies permanently in resurrection. Notice that Paul included himself in these verses – “we who are alive and remain…” He expected to be “alive” when Jesus returned. He believed the Rapture could take place at any time and so should we.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (I Thess. 4:16). In the Rapture, it is the Lord Jesus Himself that is coming, not the Holy Spirit or God’s angels. There will be a magnificent sound much like a shout, like the voice of an archangel and like the sound of a trumpet all in one, and only those who have placed their trust in Christ as their Savior will hear it. For the Bible says, “The dead in Christ will rise first.” Only those who are “in Christ” through believing in Jesus, will respond to this sound. Those who have not believed in Jesus Christ will be left behind.
Notice that Christians who have died will return with Jesus (I Thess. 4:14b) and receive a glorified resurrection body (“the dead in Christ will rise first” – I Thess. 4:16b) that is incorruptible (sinless) and imperishable (eternal), like the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. I Cor. 15:35-51; Phil 3:20).
Next is the removal of living Christians. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:17a). The words “caught up” are from the Greek word haparzō which means “to snatch up or take away suddenly.” [30] Paul describes it like this: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet… the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (I Cor. 15:52). In the time it takes you to blink your eye, the Lord will snatch all believers in Jesus off the earth to meet Him in the air – not one will remain behind.
Finally, we see the reunion of both living and dead believers with the Lord in the air. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:17). This sudden removal of all Christians from the earth is intended to comfort believers in Jesus. That’s why Paul writes, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (I Thess. 4:18.) If the rapture is at the middle or end of the seven-year Tribulation period of intense and unusual suffering on earth, there would be little comfort and encouragement in this. But the prospect of Christ coming at any moment is a much greater comfort.
Paul alludes to putting on “as a helmet the hope of salvation” (I Thess. 5:8c). The Greek word translated “salvation” (sōtērias) in First Thessalonians is not deliverance from everlasting punishment in hell, but deliverance from the Tribulation wrath on earth. “9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” (I Thess. 5:9-10). Christians will not go through the Tribulation because “God did not appoint us to wrath.” Thus, this “salvation” is deliverance from God’s Tribulation wrath on the earth via the Rapture of the church “through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our precious Lord’s death (“Christ, who died for us”) guarantees that all Christians will be caught up to be with Jesus, “whether we wake or sleep,” spiritually (I Thess. 5:10; cf. I Thess. 5:4-7). Knowing and believing this truth acts as a protective helmet against Satan’s attacks. The Devil wants us to doubt that we will be delivered from God’s coming wrath through the Rapture of the Church. He has convinced many Christians that they will go through the Tribulation period. Some believers think we are now in the Tribulation.
Satan wants us to conclude that Jesus is not coming back in our lifetime because he understands that we will then be more likely to live his way instead of God’s way. Jesus warned of this faulty conclusion when He told the parable of the faithful servant who became an evil servant (Matt. 24:45-51). Christ spoke of “a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household” (Matt. 24:45). If that servant remains faithful in light of his master’s soon return, his master “will make him ruler over all his goods” when he comes back (Matt. 24:46-47).
But Jesus warns, “If that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’” he will be in danger of mistreating “his fellow servants” and living a self-indulgent life (“eat and drink with the drunkards”), resulting in a severe rebuke (“the master of that servant… will cut him in two,” cf. Heb. 4:12-13) and intense grief (“weeping and gnashing of teeth”) over the loss of eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Matt. 24:48-51; cf. Matt. 25:30; I Cor. 3:15; I John 2:28). [31]
Even though it has been nearly twenty centuries since Jesus ascended to heaven, no Christian should dare to conclude that Jesus “is delaying His coming” for His church. That is what Satan wants us to do. He knows that if we lose sight of the nearness of Christ’s return, we will also lose hope.
The helmet of salvation provides hope for the believer. The hope that one day all the projected thoughts from the powers of darkness will be removed forever when the Christian is given a new resurrection body which will no longer be subject to sin and death.
The promise that Jesus Christ could return for His church at any moment is one of the greatest reasons for us to live for Jesus now. Focusing on Christ’s any-time-return “purifies” us inwardly so we can have confidence and not be ashamed before Him when He appears (I John 2:28; 3:2-3).
Conclusion
Satan does not want us to put on the helmet of salvation because…
He wants us to live in the past filled with our sin and shame. But when we put on the helmet of salvation, the Lord Jesus instructs us to learn from the past, not live in the past because He has delivered our spirit from the penalty of sin forever the moment we believed in Him for His gift of salvation (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9; 4:23-24; cf. Ezek. 36:26).
He wants us to believe that we are still slaves to sin who can never change. But when we put on the helmet of salvation, Christ tells us that we can change because our soul is being saved from the power of sin which was broken through Jesus’ death and resurrection (Rom. 6:10-11). We must simply hear and do what Christ tells us (Jas. 1:21-22).
He wants us to doubt Jesus will return for His church in our lifetime so we will lose hope and live under his control instead of God’s. However, when the helmet of salvation is put on, we become watchful for Jesus’ soon return for His church when our physical bodies will be saved from the presence of sin forever (I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-5:11; I John 3:2-3). Focusing on Christ’s any-time-return “purifies” us inwardly so we can have confidence and not be ashamed before Him when He appears (I John 2:28; 3:2-3).
As with the other pieces of armor, we put on the helmet of salvation through prayer (Eph. 6:18).
Prayer: Father God, I recognize that my mind is a particular target of Satan’s deceiving ways. Thus, I cover my mind with the powerful helmet of salvation which protects and directs my thoughts, so my life is filled with hope. Thank You for the assurance that my spirit is saved from the penalty of sin forever when I put my faith in the Lord Jesus alone for His gift of salvation. I praise you for Jesus’ death and resurrection which broke the power of sin. By Your grace I pray for my soul to be saved from the power of sin as I yield to the Holy Spirit’s power to obey what Your Word says. And thank You Lord for the hope that my physical body will be saved from the presence of sin when Jesus gives me a new glorified resurrection body when He comes back for His church. Please show me any thoughts I am entertaining right now that are from the enemy. In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I come against the power of darkness that just put that wicked thought in my mind. And I command you to leave me and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Adapted from David R. Anderson, Position and Condition: An Exposition of the Book of Ephesians (Grace Theological Press, 2017 Kindle Edition), pp. 369-370.
[3] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.
[4] The first three verbs in Greek (perizōsamenoi… endysamenoi… hypodēsamenoi… ) are aorist middle participles which means they have already been put on by the soldier or Christian.
[5] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.
[6] The Greek verb translated “taking…” (analabontes) is an aorist active participle, meaning the Christian is taking the shield of faith as needed and the last Greek verb translated “take…” (dexasthe) is an aorist middle imperative which is used of the last two pieces of armor and means for oneself to take them up as needed.
[7] Retrieved on March 5, 2025, from an article entitled, “Motorcycle Helmet Laws and Safety Statistics 2024,” at lawtigers.com. The article states that “in states with universal helmet laws, 55 percent of motorcyclists killed in 2021 were not wearing helmets, compared to 9 percent in states with universal helmet laws.”
[8] The following lengthy discussion about the use of a helmet in American football is adapted from Tony Evan’s video message entitled, “The Helmet of Salvation,” on youtube.com.
[9] Many of the following paragraphs are adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.
[10] For a more detailed treatment of Matthew 16:21-23, see “Spiritual Warfare – Part 2” in Ropp Update & Reflections (July 2024).
[11] Much of this section is adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.
[12] Zane C. Hodges, “Romans,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1045.
[17] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on BRMinistry app.
[18] The first three paragraphs of this section are adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.
[19] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 985-986.
[21] Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? 2013 Kindle Edition, pg. 15 cites John MacArthur, Jr., Saved without a Doubt (Colorado Springs: Cook Communications, 1992), pp. 67-91; Tom Constable, Notes on I John, 2022 Edition, pg. 46 cites James Montgomery Boice, The Epistles of John (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979); John F. MacArthur Jr., The Gospel according to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988); John R. W. Stott, Basic Introduction to the New Testament, 1st American ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964); and Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 2 vols. (Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1989).
[22] Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? 2013 Kindle Edition, pg. 128.
[23] Dr. Rob Reimer, Soul Care: Seven Transformational Principles For A Healthy Soul (Carpenter’s Son Publishing, 2016), pp. 37-38.
[24] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Colossians, 2023 Edition, pg. 61 cites F. F. Bruce, “Colossians Problems,” Bibliotheca Sacra 563 (July- September 1984):198-199.
[25] Ibid., cites Curtis Vaughan, In Ephesians-Philemon. Vol. 11 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978), pg. 202.
[26] The following three paragraphs are adapted from Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 2701-2702.
[27] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 907.
[28] Robert Wilkin, “I Thessalonians,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1463.
[29] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2727.
[30] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 134.
[31] Hal Haller Jr., “Matthew,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 179-182.
With tensions escalating in our world today, you may be wondering how much longer you will be able to live here on earth. This VIDEO explains from the Bible what you must do to go to heaven, whether you have 60 seconds or 60 years to live. Please share this video with those you want to see in heaven. Thank you.
Note: The Acts 16 pictures belong to Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org. The movie clip of hell is used with permission from the makers of The Free Gift movie.
“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19
This is one of my favorite verses in the book of Isaiah. The promise of 43:19 must have reminded Isaiah’s Jewish readers who were captives in Babylon of the exodus from Egypt, when God saved their forefathers from bondage and led them through the Red Sea and the “wilderness.” But this exodus from Babylon would be even better because it would restore the Jews to their homeland from which they had been expelled because of their sins. “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” implies that even though the trip from Babylon back to Israel would lead through treacherous territory, God would go ahead of His people and make a way.
The Lord is reassuring us that He will do a “new thing” which shall “spring forth” unexpectedly like a sprout in dry soil. He wants to make a road in “the wilderness” of our wanderings and turn the “desert” of our spiritual dryness into “rivers” of life.
Are we convinced that our past sins are preventing us from moving forward into the new year? Do we feel dried up spiritually and that God has given up on us? Are there obstacles in our lives that seem impossible to overcome? Do not give up. God promises to do something new in our lives! God can make a way where there seems to be no way.
As we begin this new year, let’s remember that “the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8). None of us will truly be alone in 2024. There is no place we can go in this new year where God is not already there. He “goes before” us. And not only that, “He will be with” us. While that may sound too good to be true, He also promises He will never abandon (“leave”) us nor reject (“forsake”) us. So, we do not need to live in “fear” or discouragement (“dismayed”) because our great and gracious God goes before us, is with us, and guarantees never to abandon or reject us. No matter how inadequate we may feel, God is always more than adequate for anything we may face.
I wonder what may be in our lives that simply cannot co-exist with the new thing that God wants to do? Are we willing to approach God in faith and pray to Him, “Lord, I don’t know what’s going to happen in this new year – but I want to join You in the new thing You are doing!”?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for a new year that is set before us. Please help us open our hearts in faith to the new thing You are wanting to do in our lives. Show us if there is anything in our lives that cannot co-exist with the new thing You are wanting to do in and through us so we can release it to You. Some of us may feel stuck in our Christian lives. We may feel lost wandering through life without any purpose or direction. Others of us may be spiritually dried up and in need of refreshment from Your rivers of life. Please make a way where there seems to be no way. Lord, we are encouraged by Your promise to go before us. There is no place we can go this new year where You are not already there preparing the way for us to go. Thank You for guaranteeing that we will never be alone in this new year because You are with us, and You promise never to abandon us or reject us. Thank You Father for this reassurance which bolsters our faith and diminishes our fears. In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18
As I have shared the gospel with others one of the disturbing questions among non-Christians is how can a loving God send anyone to hell? To many people this seems like a major contradiction. One minute, preachers will talk about God’s love and forgiveness. Then they turn around and talk about hell – a terrible place of torment and unending fire where people want to die but they are unable to. How can God claim to be such a pro at love and forgiveness and then turn around and send someone to such a terrible place of agony and suffering?
How do you respond to this question? Let’s turn in our Bibles to John 3:16-21 where Jesus is having a conversation with a religious leader named Nicodemus. We have been doing a verse-by-verse study of the gospel of John. This book helps us see the major emphasis of Jesus’ ministry. While Christ was on earth, He was not scaring people out of going to hell with bad news; instead, He was inviting people to heaven with good news. Jesus spoke more about hell more than anyone else in the Bible, but that was not the major emphasis of His ministry. He did not earn His reputation as a “friend of sinners” by being harsh. He earned it by being loving and kind and extending His love and forgiveness to people like all of us. Jesus’ message and ministry were not trying to scare people out of hell; but inviting them to receive the gift of eternal life so they could live with Him in heaven.
GOD’S LOVE WANTS ALL PEOPLE TO LIVE WITH HIM IN HEAVEN (3:16-17). 3:16: We looked at this verse in the last chapter. God loves the entire world – over 8 billion people! How do we know this? Because He “gave” His only perfect Son to die on a cross. Why did Jesus have to die? Because God is holy and perfect. The fact that God is holy and perfect demands that He must punish sin (Ps. 5:4-5; 11:5; 45:7; Prov. 6:16-19; 8:13; Isa. 6:1-5; Rom. 6:23b; Heb. 1:9). A “slap on the wrist” is not enough. Due to its awful nature, sin is punishable by death. Not physical death – but eternal death or separation from God (Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:15).
Fortunately for us, God let His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, who never knew any sin – no wrong thoughts, bad words, unkind attitudes, or evil actions – die on a cross where you and I should have been punished (2 Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 3:18). Christ took our place on a cross. The nails that should have been driven through our hands and feet, were, instead, driven through His. Keep in mind, Christ didn’t have to suffer for your sin – He loved you enough to do it. When God brought His Son up from the grave on the third day, He was providing proof that He could now extend forgiveness and eternal life to “whoever believes in” Jesus. There is no sin that Christ cannot forgive and no person that He will not accept if he or she comes to Him on His terms.
The word “should” communicates the fact that the verbs “perish” (apolētai) and “have” (echē) are in the subjunctive mood, which expresses a condition. [1] Christ is guaranteeing that “whoever believes in Him” will “not perish” in hell but “have everlasting life” both now and forever.
3:17: This is the heart of God. God the Father’s purpose in sending “His Son into the world” was not to “condemn,” but that the world might “be saved” through Jesus. Condemnation and salvation in this verse are parallel to perishing and everlasting life in 3:16. The salvation and condemnation Jesus speaks of here are eternal. [2]
Some people confuse Christianity with religion. They think God sent Jesus to earth to make us miserable. They think Christianity is a bunch of dos and don’ts. “Don’t drink… don’t cuss… don’t smoke… don’t chew… and don’t run around with girls who do.” They perceive God to be sitting up in heaven just waiting to hit them with His holy hammer when they mess up. But this verse tells us the very opposite. God did not send His Son into the world to “condemn” us, but to cleanse us. He did not come to rub our sin in, He came to rub it out.
Imagine for a moment one of your children when they were small, playing in the road. You see a fast-moving car approaching. You know you can’t reach them in time. Running toward them you yell, “Get out of the road and come here!” It is important at that moment that your child trusts you and responds. Are you trying to ruin their fun? No, you are trying to save their life. God knows that we are all in danger. We are in danger of spending eternity separated from Him. The Bible calls it the second death and it is racing toward all of humanity (Rev. 20:6, 11-15). For that reason, God sent His Son to die on a cross, as a sacrifice for our sins. He has paid our penalty if full (John 19:30). All He asks in return is that we believe or trust in Christ alone for His gift of eternal life.
God doesn’t want any human being to spend eternity in hell. In fact, Jesus tells us that hell was intended for the devil and his fallen angels: “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”(Matt. 25:41). Since God did not want us to spend eternity in hell, He sent His Son to die in our place so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
I like how author Max Lucado describes God’s love: “One of the sweetest reasons God saved you is because He is fond of you. He likes having you around. He thinks you are the best thing to come down the pike in quite a while… If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. And the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem? Face it, friend. He’s crazy about you!”[3]
If God is so crazy about us, then why would He send anyone to such a horrible place as hell? Please hear this – God doesn’t send anyone to hell. People send themselves there.
GOD’S LOVE ALLOWS PEOPLE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL (3:18).3:18: “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (emphasis added). Three times Jesus uses the word “believe” in this verse to indicate that believing in Him is all that is necessary to escape eternal “condemnation.” No other condition is required to be rescued from this everlasting condition. Why then do Christians so often teach that more is required? Do they know better than the Lord Jesus Christ about what it takes to escape such a horrendous fate!?! Of course not. But Satan knows his fate and he wants to deceive as many as possible to join him in the lake of fire forever.
A person “who believes in Him is not condemned” now or in eternity because Jesus took his or her condemnation when He hung on a cross. The believer “shall not come into judgment” because Christ already took the judgment of God on Himself when our sins were placed upon Him (John 5:24; cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 3:18).
When a person refuses to believe in Jesus Christ, they are rejecting God’s offer. They are condemning themselves.[4] When a person refuses to believe in Christ alone for the free gift of eternal life, they are in essence saying to God, “I reject what Jesus Christ did in my place as my Substitute.” Therefore, God has no choice but to let us pay for our own sin through eternal separation from Him in what the Bible calls hell or the lake of fire (Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:15). Those who go to hell are going there of their own choosing because they have rejected Christ and His free offer. God has not rejected them; instead, they have rejected God.
Suppose God blessed you and your spouse with a little boy. You love that little boy so much that you would do anything for him. Forbid the thought, but suppose that when your little boy is twenty-one, he begins a wayward life and eventually murders someone. Your state sentences him to die by lethal injection. Suppose that you could walk into his cell the morning he is to be executed and offer to take his place. That’s how great your love is for him. In so doing, you explain that he can be a free and forgiven man. Much to your surprise, he pushes you aside, walks to the table, and receives the punishment for his horrible crime himself. Did you not love him enough? Would you accept the accusation, “If you really loved your son, you wouldn’t have allowed that to happen”? Hardly! You did not reject him; he rejected you.
This is why the Bible puts the responsibility where it belongs when it says, “He who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (3:18b).
“Salvation from sin and judgment is free for the taking. But if you reject the miracle cure that the doctor offers you, don’t blame him when you succumb to your fatal illness.” [5]
Why would someone reject Christ’s free offer of everlasting life? Why would someone choose hell instead of heaven? The answer is in verses 19-20:
PEOPLE LOVE THEIR SIN MORE THAN THE SAVIOR (3:19-21). Jesus explains. 3:19:“This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” The presence of God’s light – His truth- forces people to make a choice – to either believe in Christ or reject Him. The reason people reject Christ’s offer of a free gift is because they love their sin more, and they want to stay in the darkness because it hides their sinfulness.
Let’s be honest – sin is fun. Sin feels good. Sin initially appears attractive. But sin is like a black widow spider. The bite of the female black widow spider can be deadly to humans. But the black widow gets its name because after the male has mated with the female, she kills and eats him. Sin has somewhat of the same effect on us. It is attractive and pleasurable, but in the end, it can devour us forever.
For example, suppose a person is unwilling to come to Christ because he is afraid of what God might do with the sins he enjoys? If that man so enjoys his immorality or drug abuse or overeating and, in fear of what God might do, is unwilling to come to Christ, he needs to examine Jesus’ words: “29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”(Matt. 5:29-30).What does Jesus mean here?
Let me explain where I’m at in my understanding of this passage. Alcoholism, drug abuse, pornography, and sexual addiction are examples of sins which dominate the lives and thinking of millions upon millions today. People turn to such things because of inner pain. The sinful addiction provides a temporary distraction. However, it does not eliminate the pain. In fact, it takes more and more of the addictive behavior to keep masking the pain.
People can also turn to things like sports, work, home decorating, shopping, recreational activities, and hobbies to distract them from inner pain. These things, although morally neutral in moderation, can so dominate a person’s time and attention as to become idolatrous and sinful. Evangelist Larry Moyer writes: “Have you ever met a man whose hand was so involved in business that there was no time to think about spiritual things? Or a woman whose eyes were so focused on a neat or new home that she neglected spiritual matters? Christ’s warning to a person in that position was: None of those are worth eternal separation from God. Such a person would be wise to cut off the hand with which he works or to pluck out the eye with which she focuses on a new home.”[6]
No one can come to faith in Christ unless they see their need for Him. People with sinful addictions often cannot see that need unless they hit bottom and give up the addiction. Turning from sins is not a condition of salvation. However, for some it may be a practical necessity – not to clean up their lives, but to be able to see their need and come to faith in Christ. Jesus is telling us in Matthew 5:29-30, that nothing is worth going to hell over. What your “hand” touches and what our “eye” sees – does it keep us from believing or trusting in Christ alone for eternal life? We would be wise to cut off the “hand” or pluck out the “eye.” It is far better to be here with “one… hand” or “eye” than separated from God in hell with two hands or eyes.
Some people won’t let God love them because they will be exposed for what they really are – sinners in need of God’s love and forgiveness. This is especially true with religious people like Nicodemus. They live their lives being basically good, but if an invitation to trust Christ alone for salvation is given, they won’t respond because they are afraid their image will be shattered. They will be exposed and that is just too much to risk. But friends, love is risky. We take a risk receiving God’s love through Jesus Christ and we take a risk expressing our love back to Him.
3:20: The words “everyone practicing evil,” can apply to Christians and non-Christians. [7] The phrase “come to the light” “is a flexible expression that refers to association with the light. Even unbelievers can associate with the light. John 6:60-64 states that some of His disciples did not believe in Him. They came to Him and followed Him, but they did not believe in Him.”[8]
Non-Christians who refuse to come to the light offer many excuses for not believing in Christ. “Some cite the presence of hypocrites in the church. Others claim inability to believe some of the truths about Christ or the gospel. [Many say that they cannot accept the fact that God permits so much suffering in the world.] These are merely attempts to conceal a heart in rebellion against God. The ultimate reason people do not come to Christ is that they do not want to.” [9]
Both Christians and non-Christians “will only come to the light ifthey are willing to allow the light to expose their evil deeds. This happened often as Jesus preached to crowds. He revealed wrong attitudes and wrong actions. People would not come to hear Him if they were unwilling to have their evil exposed.”[10]
We all dislike being shown that we are wrong. I feel that way myself. I don’t like to admit I am wrong. This verse is saying that this normal human reaction is part of our sinful nature. That is why nobody wants to change. Nobody wants to admit he is wrong. When the Republicans are in power, they try to convince the Democrats they have been wrong, but they won’t admit it. When the Democrats are in power, they try to convince the Republicans they have made the wrong choices, but they won’t admit it either. Nobody wants to admit they are wrong. That is why it is so hard to change.
If you are a Christian and you have drifted away from God, you don’t like to be around believers who are walking with the Lord because it exposes your sinfulness, and you start to feel uncomfortable. That is the Holy Spirit convicting you. It is not the committed Christian doing that. It is God inside of you nudging you to come back into the light. So, what do we do? We withdraw from committed believers and hang out with those who have no commitment to Christ. One of the ways we can tell that we are walking in darkness is by our lack of time with committed Christians. At first, we miss a Sunday. And then another and another. We don’t want to be exposed to the light of God’s Word because then we will have to face our sinfulness.
One night, after he had gotten ready for bed, Beverly Dillard’s husband went out to the driveway to retrieve some work papers from his car. Since it was dark, he figured no one would see him make the quick run in his underwear. And he probably would have made it, too—if not for the motion-sensor light, which illuminated him, just as he reached the car door. Christian, you may try to live in the dark for a time, but eventually the light of God’s Word will detect your sinful activity and expose it. Don’t get caught without the covering of God’s forgiveness. Be honest with the Lord and confess your sin so you can resume walking in the light with Jesus without being afraid of exposure (cf. I John 1:9).
The next verse is not distinguishing believers from non-believers as many mistakenly assume.It is distinguishing believers who confess Christ openly, like John the Baptist (3:22-36), and secret believers, like Nicodemus (3:1-20). [11] 3:21: The phrase “comes to the light” refers to the person “who does the truth.” He comes to the light “that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God,”meaning that they have “been produced by God.” This verse is referring to Christians. [12] Verse 20 referred to both Christians and non-Christians. But this verse refers specifically to believers. And it is saying that if we will do (not just say the right words but start doing) the right things, despite our dislike of being shown to be wrong – if we are willing, in other words, to begin to obey the truth even though it means we have to admit we have been wrong – then we will find ourselves being drawn to Jesus, for He is the Light. And if we are doers of the truth of God’s Word, then we will openly identify with the light of Jesus Christ so that our works can be seen as being produced by God’s grace working in our lives.
When we are living the way God wants us to live, we will have more boldness to openly confess Jesus Christ before others whether they know the Lord or not; whether they are receptive to Christ or not. But when we are not living in a way that pleases the Lord, we are less likely to openly identify with Him because we are feeling guilty and ashamed.
John the Baptist is a believer who “does the truth and comesto the light” by boldly expressing his convictions about the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:15-18, 29-34; 3:22-36). Jesus is warning Nicodemus, who came “by night” (3:2), to come to Him “by day” now [13] by boldly confessing Christ which would be contrary to many of the other believing Pharisees (cf. 12:42-43).
TO SUMMARIZE: How can a loving God send anyone to hell? He doesn’t. People send themselves to hell by rejecting God’s free offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Why? Because they love their sin more than the Savior.
Some of you reading this may be afraid to come to Jesus Christ because of mistakes in your past that still haunt you. You are afraid He will condemn you instead of cleanse you. There is no wrong too great for Jesus Christ to forgive. When I came to Christ as a filthy sinner back in 1979, I was met with compassion, not condemnation. Christ forgave me and accepted me as His own when I believed in Him for His gifts of eternal life and forgiveness. And He helped me to put all my wrongdoings behind me. For the last forty-four years, I’ve been living in forgiveness. If He forgave me, He will forgive you, too. One of the most exciting things about the Christian life is not simply knowing I have been forgiven and I am going to heaven, although that is enough. But since I have come to Christ, I know He is with me all day every day. Disappointments don’t seem nearly as big, and bad days don’t seem nearly as bad with Him there.
Years ago, a young man had a verbal argument with his father and left home. He continued to keep in touch with his mother, and wanted very badly to come home for Christmas, but he was afraid his father would not allow him. His mother wrote to him and urged him to come home, but he didn’t feel he could until he knew his father had forgiven him. Finally, there was no time for any more letters. His mother wrote and said she would talk with the father, and if he had forgiven him, she would tie a white rag on the tree which grew right alongside the railroad tracks near their home, which he could see before the train reached the station. If there was no rag, it would be better if he went on.
So, the young man started home. As the train drew near his home; he was so nervous he said to his friend who was traveling with him, “I can’t bear to look. Sit in my place and look out the window. I’ll tell you what the tree looks like and you tell me whether there is a rag on it or not.” So, his friend changed places with him and looked out the window. After a bit the friend said, “Oh yes, I see the tree.” The son asked, “Is there a white rag tied to it?” For a moment, the friend did not say anything. Then he turned, and in a very gentle voice said, “There is a white rag tied to every limb of that tree!”
That, in a sense, is what God is saying to us in John 3:16-21. God has removed the condemnation and made it possible to come freely and openly home to Him. Will you come home to the Lord now? God does not want any human being to spend eternity in hell. He loves us too much to send us there. We send ourselves to hell by refusing to believe in Christ to get us to heaven. We can run every stop sign, ignore all the warnings, discount all the pleas to change our minds about whatever is keeping us from trusting Christ, and we can choose the path toward destruction. Sunday School teachers can tell us, TV evangelists can preach to us, pastors can warn us, Christians on social media can share with us, the Bible on a hotel nightstand can inform us, but it is our choice to ignore every warning, or we can take them to heart.
My friend, it is still not too late. You can settle this issue right now. Simply take God at His Word when He says, “He who believes in the Son is not condemned” (John 3:18). If you are persuaded that Jesus was speaking the truth in this verse and is therefore worthy of your trust, you can tell God this through prayer. But remember, praying this prayer is not what gets you to heaven. Only believing in Christ alone for eternal life gets you to heaven. This prayer is simply a way of telling God you are now trusting in His Son.
Prayer: Dear God, thank You for showing me that my sin created a barrier between You and me. Thank You for loving me so much by sending Your only perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer the penalty of my sin by dying in my place on a cross and rising from the dead so that barrier could be permanently removed. As best as I know how, I am now believing or trusting in Jesus alone (not my good life, my religion, or my prayers), to forgive all my sins and rescue me forever from eternal condemnation. Thank You for the forgiveness and freedom from eternal condemnation I now have. In Jesus’ mighty name, I pray. Amen.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 186.
[3] Max Lucado, Charles Swindoll, Anne Graham Lotz, Henry & Richard Blackaby, The Glory of Christmas: Collector’s Edition (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999), pg. 55.
“1 Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars; 2 She has slaughtered her meat, she has mixed her wine, she has also furnished her table… 13 A foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple, and knows nothing… 16 she says, …‘17 Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’” Proverbs 9:1-2, 13, 16-17
Proverbs 9 contrasts two feasts and their fates or destinies. The first feast is offered by God’s wisdom which is personified as a dignified and responsible woman of character and wealth who has prepared an incredible banquet in “her house” with “seven pillars” (9:1). The “seven pillars” suggests wisdom’s industriousness and her house’s spaciousness and stability. Some suggest that the “seven pillars” refer to the seven days of creation alluded to in the previous chapter (8:22-31) [1] or to the fullness of the Holy Spirit (Isa. 11:2; Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6). [2] The number “seven” indicates perfection and fullness in the Bible, so its use here could indicate wisdom’s sufficiency.
Lady Wisdom has butchered (“slaughtered”) animals and cooked their “meat” and diluted (“mixed”) “her wine,” having “furnished her table” with the finest utensils and decorations (9:2). Lady Wisdom then “sent out her maidens” to invite people to her banquet and she herself “cries out from the highest places of the city” where the invitation could be heard by many (9:3). Anyone (“whoever”) who is naïve or gullible (“simple”) and “lacks understanding” is invited to “turn in” to her house and “eat… and drink” what she has prepared for them (9:4-5). She beckons her listeners to “forsake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding” (9:6).
Lady Wisdom’s rival, Folly, is personified as a harlot (prostitute) inviting the naïve or gullible (“simple”) and “him who lacks understanding” to a sensual feast of “stolen water” (illicit sex – cf. 5:15-16) and “bread eaten in secret,” which only offer immediate pleasure (9:13-17) in contrast to wisdom’s long-term satisfaction (9:6-9). Though Folly’s invitation seems appealing and attractive, the end result is death – “hell” (Sheol) refers to the grave (9:18). This suggests that sexual immorality is the height of folly.
All of us desperately need God’s wisdom so we need to RSVP immediately to Lady Wisdom’s invitation and partake of her mind-blowing banquet She has prepared for us. Accepting Lady Wisdom’s invitation will keep us from dying an untimely death that Folly’s invitation would lead to. [3]
Satan has prepared his banquet to distract or draw us away from God’s. Satan’s party is hosted by Folly who is rowdy (“clamorous”), naïve or gullible (“simple”), and “knows nothing” (9:13). She is easily accessible (“she sits at the door of her house, on a seat by the heights of the city”) and heard (“to call to those who pass by”) (9:14-15). Although Folly’s feast appears “sweet” and “pleasant,” it will kill us if we respond positively to its invitation (9:7-18). Her guests are in the grave and will not come home from this party. [4]
In this Proverb, Solomon pictures a young man (“who is simple… and… lacks understanding”) being invited to two different parties. This young man is strutting his stuff down the street with testosterone spewing out both ears. He is an easy sexual target. Lady Folly could represent anything that is sexually enticing such as a porn site, hookup/dating site, strip club, massage parlor or even a neighbor’s wife that is irresistible to him. And Lady Folly knows it. This guy is an easy victim. As Solomon watches he knows what is about to happen. [5]
The young man fails to connect the choice to eat at folly’s appealing banquet table with the deadly consequences (9:17-18). Such is the case with many men today who are addicted to porn and sex. Satan is destroying their lives and relationships with those closest to them. But there is hope.
God has given us this Proverb to alert us to the many life-giving blessings of His wisdom and the death-dealing blight of folly. Accepting Lady Wisdom’s invitation to sit at Her banquet table will overwhelm us with God’s goodness and grace (9:1-11). It is there that we will enjoy “the fruit of the Spirit” which is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23) and experience the abundant life the Spirit gives (cf. Rom. 8:5, 6b). Accepting Lady Folly’s invitation instead of Wisdom’s may feel good at first (as porn and illicit sex usually do), but the consequences are deadly (9:13-18).
May each of us guard our hearts from Satan’s deceptions and embrace God’s invitation to sit at His life-giving banquet table where we can enjoy close fellowship with Him and the life and peace He gives. Like a godly woman who has gone to great lengths to provide a delicious meal for those she dearly loves, so God has gone to great lengths to provide a smorgasbord of life-giving blessings for His dearly beloved children (cf. Ephes. 1:3-14).
If you are struggling with shame because of recent failures, please know that to eat at God’s banquet table, you do not have to have a perfect track record. None of us do (Rom. 3:23). That is why God has given His only perfect Son to be our Substitute Who died on a cross in our place for all our sins and rose from the dead so “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; I Cor. 15:1-6). If you have trusted Christ alone for His gift of everlasting life, your seat at God’s banquet table is ready for you to take your place so you can feast upon the life-giving blessings God has prepared for you.
Bob George shares a great story to illustrate how unnatural it would be to attend Lady Folly’s banquet when we can enjoy a grace-filled banquetwith the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ:
Imagine that you owned a fine cafeteria. One day, you hear this tremendous commotion out in the alley where the garbage dumpsters are. You open the back door to see what’s going on, and you see the most pitiful-looking human being you have ever seen in your life – me – fighting with several stray cats over food scraps in the dumpster. I am a virtual living skeleton. It’s obvious that I am living on the edge of starvation, and probably have been for a long time. There is nothing about me to provoke liking or affection in you, but you are moved to pity.
“Hey, hey!” you yell. “Get out of the garbage. Don’t eat that stuff! Come over here.” I trudge over to you, half-seeing you through hopeless eyes.
“Listen,” you say, “I can’t stand to see you eating garbage like that. Come into my cafeteria and eat.”
“But I don’t have any money,” I reply.
“It doesn’t matter,” you say. “My chain of restaurants has done very well, and I can afford it. I want you to eat here every day from now on, absolutely free of charge!”
You take my arm and lead me inside the restaurant. I cannot believe my eyes. I have never seen a cafeteria line before. With huge, unbelieving eyes I stare at the spread: vegetables… salads… fruits… beef… fish… chicken… cakes… pies…In my wildest dreams, I have never imagined that such things could be.
I look at you intently. “Are you saying I can eat anything I want?”
“Yes, anything.”
“Really, anything I want?” I ask again.
“Yes, I said anything you want,” you answer.
Then slowly, with a gleam in my eye, I ask, “Can I eat some garbage?”
What would you think of me? You would think I was insane, wouldn’t you? In the faceof all that delicious food, all I can think of to ask is whether I can eat garbage. But that is exactly how I feel when people ask if they can sin because they are under grace!
…The Christian world is obsessed with sin. It’s all we talk about. Most of our preaching and teaching is directed toward getting people to quit sinning. Are you ready for a really shocking statement? The goal of the Christian life is not to stop sinning! To use the analogy of the starving man, most Christian teaching is like a person following a starving man around saying, “You stay out of the garbage! Do you hear me? Don’t eat the garbage! You stay out of there!”
Look, when you’re truly hungry, you’ll eat anything – even garbage. What should you do? I promise you: If you will get that man into the cafeteria line, and he begins experiencing what real, good food is like, he won’t be nostalgically dreaming about the garbage out back.
…Why should I ever wallow in the garbage when the Lord has laid a banquet table for me? [6]
Lady Folly constantly invites us to feast upon her garbage every day in our sexualized society. Her garbage is disguised to look very appealing and attractive. But in the end, it leads to death. Lady Wisdom’s banquet is filled with life-giving blessings that God has prepared for His children to enjoy daily. Will you join me as I renew my commitment to sit at the Lord’s banquet table daily to feast upon His manifold grace?
The choice seems obvious, doesn’t it? But our enemies – our sinful flesh, Satan, and this fallen world – constantly seek to draw us away from God’s best to a feast that offers temporary pleasure that always leads to miserable consequences. Will we choose garbage or grace? Together, let’s choose God’s grace and sit at Lady Wisdom’s banquet table.
Prayer: All-wise Father in heaven, thank You for preparing a mind-blowing feast for us to enjoy at Your banquet table in contrast to Satan’s counterfeit feast that leads to death. Thank You for making us aware of the life-giving benefits of Your feast and the deadly consequences of Satan’s sensual feast. Unfortunately, we do not always apply Your wisdom to our lives. We have let our hormones influence our decisions instead of You and Your Word. Please forgive us for ignoring Your wisdom and yielding to our fleshly desires. Thank You for Your amazing grace that forgives and cleanses us for our past foolish choices so we may take our place at Your grace-filled banquet table. We need Your grace to enable us to feed our hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit’s teaching from Your Word so we can enjoy the many blessings You have already given to us in Christ. In the matchless name of our Savior and Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Proverbs, 2023 Edition, pg. 65.
[2] Ibid., pg. 66 cites Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon Vol. 1 Translated by M. G. Eason. Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament Reprint ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d.), pp. 197-198.
[3] Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1295.
“2 Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye… 5 That they may keep you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words.” Proverbs 7:2, 5
The man who “keeps” or obeys God’s “commands” will “live” and experience God’s protection in his life. The phrase “the apple of your eye” refers to the pupil which is the most sensitive and carefully guarded part of the human body (7:2a). When God’s “law” becomes our most important focus, when it is what we pay the closest attention to (7:2b), it will “keep” or guard us from the many allurements of “the immoral woman” and “seductress who flatters with her words” (7:5). God’s Word instructs us to…
1. Avoid where and when the sexual temptation is waiting – “the path to her house in the twilight… in the black of the night” (7:7-9). Establish guardrails that keep you from being tempted such as no searching online when you are alone at night, lock up your digital devices using internet filters to give you accountability when accessing the internet, avoid massage parlors, strip clubs, bars, etc.
2. Avoid women online or in person …
Who dress seductively – “attire of a harlot” (7:10a)
Whose hearts are “crafty” or secretive/deceptive (7:10b)
Who are defiant (“loud and rebellious”) against God’s Word and the sanctity of marriage (7:11a)
Who are promiscuous – “her feet would not stay home…” (7:11b-12)
Who are overly aggressive, sensual, and shameless – “she caught him and kissed him; with an impudent face she said to him…” (7:13)
Who minimize wrongdoing by referring to their religious activity (“I have peace offerings with me; today I have paid my vows”) and entice men with a meal in her home (the animal sacrifice usually included leftover meat which must be consumed the same day in her home – 7:14; cf. Lev. 7:15)
Who seek to build your ego up with flattery – “So I came out to meet you, diligently to seek your face, and I have found you” (7:15)
Who seek to entice with you with a sensuous description of their bedroom – “I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon” (7:16-17)
Who proposition you – “Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love” (7:18)
Who reassure you of your safety from their husband – “For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey; he has taken a bag of money with him, and will come home on the appointed day” (7:19-20)
Who disarm you with their “flattering lips” (7:21)
3. Avoid seductive women online or in person because…
They will lead you to far-reaching consequences including bondage and death – “Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life.” (7:22-23)
We are living in a very sexualized society today whereby pornography is very accessible, affordable, aggressive, anonymous, and appealing. Solomon’s description of the seductress is much like the digitalized pornographic women online. Satan uses the beauty of women (in person and online) to entice Christian men away from God and His design for purity in marriage and family, so he can “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10a) their lives today (1 Pet. 5:8).
Solomon concludes these warnings by inviting us to listen to his advice (7:24):
Guard your heart. “Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways” in your imagination or fantasies (7:25a; cf. Matt. 5:28). We are already in danger if we are fantasizing about having sex with a woman outside of marriage. When we are tempted to fantasize about her, turn to the Lord and pray for her salvation (if she is not a believer in Jesus), or for her purity (if she is a believer). Reach out to a brother in Christ to confess your struggle and pray with each other (Jas. 5:16).
Guard your body. “Do not stray into her paths” (7:25b). Avoid where the seductress is waiting for you whether it be online or in person. Do not go or stay near to someone (online or in person) who resembles the immoral or seductive women that Proverbs 7 describes. Ask God what your first step must be to do this. Locking up your digital devices? Getting a flip phone? Changing jobs or locations? Joining a men’s recovery group that deals specifically with porn and sex addiction?
Guard your future. “For she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death” (7:26-27). No matter how “strong” we think we are, we must take seriously the consequences of yielding to her seductive ways. To be in “her house” and in her bed in our thoughts or in person will place us on a fast speedway to “hell” (Sheol) or the grave. If we pursue sin long enough and hard enough it will lead to physical “death.” Possible causes of death could be punishment from an angry husband, from poverty, from STDs, or from spiritual and emotional anguish.
While King Solomon wrote Proverbs 7 warning of the allurements of seductive immoral women, he did not follow his own advice later in life. The Bible tells us, “When Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David” (I Kgs. 11:4). Even though God had warned Solomon not to marry foreign wives because they would turn away his heart after their gods (11:2), Solomon disobeyed the Lord and “had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart” (11:3). Solomon did not just worship their false gods, he also built worship centers for the people of Israel to worship the false gods of his foreign wives (11:7-8). As a result, God “became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded” (I Kgs. 11:9-11).
Solomon’s sexual immorality led to widespread idolatry. In many ways, viewing pornography is idolatrous. What is an idol? An idol is turning to something or someone other than God when we are anxious, bored, depressed, exhausted, lonely, self-doubting, stressed, or even wanting to celebrate. More and more Christians are turning to pornography [1] instead of the Lord to medicate or celebrate their feelings. Pornography is an idol that is destroying the sons and daughters of God around the world.
As long as we are living in these fallen physical bodies, there will always be the danger of being seduced by immoral women in person or online which can cause us to fall away from the Lord our God. Solomon ignored God’s design for marriage (one wife for life or until the death of one’s spouse – Gen. 2:24; cf. Mark 10:6-12; Rom. 7:2-3; I Cor. 7:10-11), and married hundreds of wives and had hundreds of mistresses.
May none of us think we are beyond the reaches of sexual immorality and the idolatry that often accompanies it.
In Solomon’s case, it is better to do what he says, not what he did. We must guard our hearts, our bodies, and our futures from the dangers of sexual immorality (Prov. 7:24-27). God the Holy Spirit can empower us to do this as we yield to Him in the context of a recovery community of believing brothers in Christ (Rom. 8:10-11; 2 Tim. 2:22).
No matter where we may find ourselves in our dealings with sexual temptation, there is always hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is not uncomfortable with our sin or shame. He already knows about it, and He wants us to approach His throne of grace with confidence or boldness because He understands and is sympathetic towards our weaknesses (Heb. 4:15-16). Satan wants to convince us that God is against us and condemns us (Rev. 12:10).
Jesus tells us that His heart is “gentle and lowly” (Matt. 11:29), not condemning (cf. John 3:17). When in the temple, Jesus read Isaiah 42:3 which described the coming Messiah: “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench.” (Matt. 12:20). Jesus, the Messiah, will not treat those of us who are “bruised” with sin and shame harshly (“break” them). He comes along side of us to strengthen and heal us with His presence rather than step on us to advance His own plans. He will not “quench” what little hope (“smoking flax”) we have left inside of us. He wants to rekindle our love and passion for Him and for life itself. He does this with His gentle and gracious presence in our lives which heals our wounds and replaces our shame with dignity.
God says He is for us and demonstrated this by giving us His best – His only perfect Son – when we were at our worst (Rom. 5:8, 10) – to take our condemnation when He died in our place for all our sins and rose from the dead (Rom. 8:31-32, 34). If God gave us His best when we were at our worst, how much more will He do for us now that we are His beloved children!?!
Prayer: Father God, thank You for addressing sexual temptation and sin in these verses. Christian men are being sexually assaulted by the enemy in our society today. Most if a not all of us have mobile devices where we can easily access the allurements of seductive women via online pornography without anyone knowing about it but You. Before it is too late, please Father God, rescue us, redeem us, and restore us to close fellowship with You through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Heal the pain that often drives us to turn to sexual sin. We all have wounds that need Your healing touch. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for being gentle and gracious with our brokenness and shame so we can let down our guard and permit You to heal our wounds and replace our shame with dignity. Please break the chains that keep us bound to our shame. Help us set our minds on the things of the Holy Spirit Who reminds us that You are for us and not against us. The proof? You gave us Your best (Jesus) when we were at our worst (Your enemies), so that now as Your beloved children we can expect Your best for us daily. Please transform our ashes into beauty so we may proclaim the praises of Him Who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Statistics indicate that 60-70 percent of men, 50-58 percent of pastors, and 20-30 percent of women in evangelical churches are sexually addicted – see Jeremy & Tiana Wiles, Conquer Series Study Guide Volume 1 (Stuart, FL: KindgomWorks Studios, 2017), pg. 21.
“27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts; so shall I meditate on Your wonderful works. 28 My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to Your word. 29 Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me Your law graciously.” Psalm 119:27-29
The Lord has been teaching me a lot about shame the past few years. Having grown up with shame-based lies in America and having served as a missionary in a shame-based country for several years, this issue of shame has weighed heavily on my soul. In this devotion I will address shame in a Christian’s life.
It is important to understand that shame is not from God. When God made the first man and woman, they were naked and unashamed before the Lord and one another (Gen. 2:25). Even after Adam and Eve sinned, God did not come to condemn them with shame, He came to cover their sin and shame (Gen. 3:9-21). For example, when Adam told God, “I was afraid because I was naked” (3:10). God replied, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat” (3:11)? God never told Adam and Eve they were naked. This was the natural consequence of their sin. Satan also reveals our shame to us when we sin (true shame) or don’t sin (false shame). His accusations against believers produce shame in their lives. The Devil uses shame to isolate Christians from God and one another. Like a roaring lion who focuses on those who are isolated and weak, Satan focuses on believers who are alone and weak (cf. I Peter 5:8).
Guilt says, “You did something wrong.”Shame says, “You are wrong.” Satan uses shame to condemn us and keep us from drawing near to God and one another.
In my devotions this morning, the Lord led me to revisit some verses I wrote about 3.5 years ago to help me overcome my battle with shame. The Psalmist writes, “Make me understand the way of Your precepts; so shall I meditate on Your wonderful works” (119:27). We need God to help us “understand” or discern the pattern (“way”) of His commands (“precepts”). Take time to invite God to help you understand how to apply His Word to your deep struggle with shame. The Lord wants us to focus (“meditate”) on the “wonderful works” He is doing deep inside of us rather than on our sin and shame. Shame tends to focus on behavior and external reformation. God’s grace and truth focus on the heart and inward transformation. Before God can change our behavior, He must change our hearts (cf. Mark 7:14-23).
As God leads me to deal more deeply with my shame, I discover that my “soul melts from heaviness” (119:28a). The word “melts” (dalaph) means “to drip or leak because cracks are not mended.” The idea is that our soul is broken and unable to retain what God gives us. Shame keeps us from believing the truth about God’s love and acceptance of us. As a result, our soul is broken and weighed down with the “heaviness” of sadness and shame. And a cycle of shame develops whereby we mess up, confess our sins, and then try harder, only to repeat the same sin because we continue to believe the shame-based lies that fuel our shame. And we stay bound to this cycle of shame. We cannot break this shame cycle until we deal with the wounds that the shame-based lies are attached to. It takes God’s Spirit to heal these wounds to our souls.
Few things are more unbearable than the heaviness of shame. It is a burden that God never intended for people to bear. Yet Satan will use shame to keep us from becoming the people God intended us to be. What is God’s remedy for this weight of shame in a Christian’s life?
“Strengthen me according to Your word” (119:28b). We do not have the strength to overcome this weight of shame on our own. Only God has the power necessary to win this battle. The word “strengthen” (qum) means “to arise or stand up.” In the context, this refers to God giving us the ability to arise from the depths of our sadness and shame by means of His “word.” The strength we need to overcome shame comes from the truth of God’s Word. If we do not make our home in God’s Word (cf. John 8:31-32), we will not win this battle with shame. No amount of determination, willpower, or “trying harder” will overcome the weight of shame. We must invite God’s Word to do that for us. How?
“Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me Your law graciously” (119:29). Shame is based on lies the enemy has attached to past wounds in our lives. Lies that say:
• “I am bad or unworthy.”
• “No one could love me as I am.”
• “I cannot depend on others to help me.”
• “I am defined by my sin and shame.”
We must ask the Lord to expose and remove the pattern (“way”) of lies that keep us enslaved to the weight of shame. And then ask Him to “grant me Your law graciously,” not harshly. The only verse of the Bible where Jesus specifically describes His heart reads, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt. 11:29). Jesus says His heart is “gentle and lowly” (humble), not harsh and proud. Our pride can lead us to deal harshly with ourselves and others. But Christ invites us to “learn from”Him how to deal gently and humbly with ourselves and others so we “will find rest for” our “souls” in our discipleship relationship with Him. So, ask the Lord Jesus to gently replace the shame-based lies in your soul with His liberating truth. Truths that say:
• “I am loved and cherished by God.” Psalm 27:10
• “I am totally loved by Jesus just as I am.” Romans 5:6, 8
• “I can depend on others to help me through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
• “I am defined by the Light and Love of Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:2, 8
I want to share a “Lies versus Truth” exercise that is adapted from Michael’s Dye, The Genesis Process: For Change Groups Books 1 and 2 Individual Workbook (Michael Dye/Double Eagle Industries, 2012), pp. 222 -228.
With your mentor or with a group of accountability partners, review some of the most common false beliefs or lies listed below and their corresponding truths. There are blank spaces at the end where you can write in the lies you believe and their corresponding truths that are not on the list. Say each lie to yourself and only focus on the ones that FEEL true. You will know if your heart believes it is true because it will feel true. Even if it doesn’t make sense, go with the feeling. Replacing the lies with the truth is how real healing takes place. The truth is a Person, Jesus Christ (John 1:14; 14:6), not a concept or a Book. Jesus can supernaturally speak truth into our limbic system (right brain where lies are inserted) in a way that no one else can because He is full of truth and is the truth (John 1:14; 14:6; Heb. 4:12-13). Faith in Jesus’ truth produces healing, and faith comes from hearing a personal word from God (Rom. 10:17).
For each lie your heart believes, say the lie to Jesus. Ask Jesus to tell you what is true. He may bring to your mind a Scripture with which to replace the lie. Meditate on that truth until the lie does not feel true anymore. Ask Jesus if there is anything else He wants to share with you. Say the lie again and see how true it feels. If it still feels true, you may need to meditate on the truth some more or even ask for help. Pray and ask the Lord to heal and seal off any wounds, demonic influences, and behaviors that the lie created. God may show you that you need to forgive the person who caused this lie to be attached to the wound he or she gave you.
Lie
Truth
1. God cannot be trusted
God cannot lie and is always faithful (2 Tim. 2:13; Tit. 1:2; Heb. 6:18)
2. God is out of control with His anger
God is slow to anger and gracious (Ps. 145:8)
3. I am alone and unloved
I am cherished and loved by God the Father (Ps. 27:10)
4. God could never love me
God has always loved me (Jer. 31:3)
5. Nobody would love me as I am
God loves me just as I am (Rom. 5:6, 8)
6. I am bad because of what was done to me
I am precious to Jesus because of what was done to Him (Matt. 13:44-45; I Cor. 6:19-20)
7. I am unwanted
I am chosen by God (Ephes. 1:4)
8. God is against me
God is for me, not against me (Rom. 8:31-32)
9. Someone has or will condemn me
In Christ I am free from condemnation (Rom. 8:1, 34)
10. I am going to be separated from the love of Christ because I’m so unworthy
No one and nothing can separate me from God’s love in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:35, 37-39)
11. I do not have what it takes
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
12. I am defined by my sin and brokenness
I am defined by the light of Jesus Christ (Ephes. 5:8)
13. My past is a hitching post
My past is a guidepost (Ezek. 18:14, 17)
14. I am what I do or what others say about me
I am what God says about me (I John 3:1-2; 5:1)
15. I am a sinner because I sin
I am a saint (one declared righteous by God) who sins (Ephes. 1:1; I John 1:8, 10)
16. My behavior tells me what to believe about myself
My belief about myself determines my behavior (Prov. 23:7)
17. Whatever I do, it will never be good enough
In Christ, I am good enough (2 Cor. 5:21; Ephes. 1:6)
18. I must be perfect to be safe
I am hidden with Christ in God, forever safe and secure (Col. 3:3)
19. I am a disappointment
I am a delight to God (Ps. 17:8; Zeph. 3:17)
20. God won’t be there when I need Him
God is always available to help me (Ps. 121:1-4; Isa. 41:10, 13)
21. I should never be angry, anxious, depressed, or lonely
Anger, anxiety, depression, and loneliness are signals to draw close to God. (Ps. 4:4-5; 42:5; 72:21- 26; 2 Tim. 4:16-17)
22. Failure is the end of the world
Failure is an opportunity to learn (Ps. 37:23-24; Luke 22:31-34; Heb. 12:11)
23. No one understands me
Jesus understands me because He made me (Ps. 139) and walked in my shoes (Heb. 4:15)
24. I could never be forgiven
I am totally forgiven in Christ (Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14)
25. I am a loser
I am a winner seated next to Christ (Ephes. 1:20-21; 2:5-6)
26. I am a mistake
I am God’s masterpiece (Ephes. 2:10)
26. I cannot change
All things are possible with God (Matt. 19:26)
27. If I am not in control, something bad will happen
When I yield to Christ’s control, I can have peace (John 16:33; Phil. 4:6-7; cf. Isa. 26:3)
28. I cannot cope without alcohol/anxiety/chemicals/food/sex/ shopping
I can cope through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
29. I need people’s affection and approval to be complete
I am complete in Christ, lacking nothing (Col. 2:10)
30. Christians cannot be trusted
I can learn to trust Christians who are safe (John 13:34-35; Gal 6:1-2)
31. I must be liked and loved by everyone
I am likeable and loveable, but not to everyone (Isa. 53:3; John 15:18-19)
32. Sex with a beautiful woman is the greatest sign I am loved
Christ’s dying in my place for all my sin is the greatest sign I am loved (Rom. 5:8; I John 4:9-10)
33. I am worthless
I am worth fighting for (Exod. 14:13-14; 2 Chron. 20:15, 17)
Prayer: Precious Father God, please give me the understanding and discernment to permit Your Word to speak to my deep struggle with shame. Help me focus on the wonderful work You are doing inside of me rather than on my failings and shortcomings. I confess that my soul melts from the heaviness of my sadness and shame. Please strengthen me as only You can with Your Word so I may arise out of this pit of shame. I pray Your Holy Spirit will expose and remove the shame-based lies that keep me bound to this cycle of shame and replace them graciously with Your liberating truths from Your Word so I may become the person You created me to be. Replace my false identity that is based upon shame-based lies with my new identity in Christ that is based upon Your Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God wants us to know that we are far more than what we have been told by Satan and other people. No one has the power to define us but the One Who created us and redeemed us. [1] God takes a lot of time in the Bible to tell us who we are when we become His children through faith in Jesus (John 1:12; I John 3:1; 5:1). The phrase “in Christ” or “in Him” is used 120 times in the New Testament and refers to how God sees us after we become children of God by believing in Jesus. Seeing ourselves through God’s eyes is what I will refer to as our new identity in Christ. To begin to understand your new identity in Christ, review the list of entries below that describe how God sees you from the moment you believed in Jesus for His gift of everlasting life (John 1:12; 12:36; 2 Cor. 5:17; Ephes 1:13-14):
I am never alone (Deut. 31:6, 8; Isa. 41:10; Heb. 13:5)
I am the apple of my Father’s eye (Ps. 17:8; Matt. 6:26; 10:29-31)
I am a delight to God (Ps. 18:19; Zeph. 3:17)
I am cherished and loved by God (Ps. 27:10)
I am hope-filled (Ps. 27:13; Jer. 29:11; Rom. 5:5)
I am helped, not helpless (Isa. 41:10, 13)
I am always loved no matter what (Jer. 31:3; Rom. 5:8; 8:38-39)
I am precious to Jesus Who gave up everything to redeem or purchase me (Matt. 13:45-46; I Cor. 6:19-20; I Pet. 1:18-19)
I have everlasting life and will not be judged for my sins (John 5:24)
I am free from bondage to sin positionally (John 8:31-36)
I have the power of the Holy Spirit inside me (Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:11; Gal. 5:22-23)
I have peace with God through faith in Jesus (Rom. 5:1)
I have hope because the love of God was poured out in my heart through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5)
I am dead to sin (Rom. 6:2, 11; I Pet. 2:24)
I am set free from the power of sin (Rom. 6:2-11)
I have the Spirit of adoption by whom I cry out to God, ‘Abba (Daddy/Papa), Father.’” (Rom. 8:15)
I am free from accusation in Christ (Rom. 8:33)
I am free from condemnation in Christ (Rom. 8:34)
I have an eternal inheritance from God (glorified resurrection body/eternal dwelling on the New Earth) that cannot be taken from me (Rom. 8:17a; Gal. 3:26, 29; Ephes. 1:14; cf. John 14:1-3; I Cor. 15:35-58; Phil. 3:21; Rev. 21-22)
I am more than a conqueror through Christ Who loved me (Rom. 8:37)
I can never be separated from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-39)
I have the mind of Christ (I Cor. 2:16)
I am a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)
I am reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18)
I am an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20)
I am good enough in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21)
I can change because Jesus now lives inside me through His Spirit (Gal. 2:20; cf. Rom. 8:11)
I am redeemed from the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13; I Pet. 1:18-19)
I am a saint (one declared righteous) at the core of my being, not a sinner (Ephes. 1:1; I John 3:9)
I am chosen or wanted by God (Ephes. 1:4a; Col. 3:12a)
I am holy and without blame before God (Ephes. 1:4b)
I am totally accepted by God in Christ (Ephes. 1:6)
I am totally forgiven in Christ (Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14)
I am sealed by the Holy Spirit Who guarantees my safe and secure delivery to God in heaven (Ephes. 1:13-14)
I am seated in a position of authority and victory next to Jesus in the heavenly places far above all other authorities (Ephes. 1:20- 21; 2:5-6)
I am God’s masterpiece, not a mistake (Ephes. 2:10)
I have been brought closer to God through the blood of Christ (Ephes. 2:13)
I have instant access to the Father by one Spirit (Ephes. 2:18)
I am a holy temple where the Holy Spirit now lives (I Cor. 6:19; Ephes. 2:21-22)
I am defined by the light of Jesus Christ, not by the darkness of my sin (Ephes. 5:8; cf. John 12:36)
I have what it takes in Christ (Phil. 4:13)
I am delivered from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Col. 1:13)
I am complete in Christ, lacking nothing (Col. 2:10)
I am safely & securely hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)
I am dearly loved by God (Col. 3:12a; I John 3:1)
I am credited with Christ’s holiness and therefore I am accepted by God (Col. 3:12a)
I am God’s child born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God that stands forever (I Pet. 1:3, 23)
I am a special person to God (I Pet. 2:9)
I have the Greatest One in me because greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world (I John 4:4)
I overcame the world when I believed in Jesus (I John 5:1, 4)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Retrieved on June 13, 2023, from Hanna Wong’s excellent devotional, “Greatly Loved,” on the YouVersion Bible app (www.youversion.com). Download Hanna’s excellent 5-day plan entitled “Greatly Loved” at https://www.hosannawong.com/greatlyloved to unlock who you truly are in 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 “agod” 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.
[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.
[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.
[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/.
[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.
