His Love Ministries
Episodes
Sunday Jan 28, 2018
JOHN 1:4-8 LIFE, LIGHT, AND A WITNESS
Sunday Jan 28, 2018
Sunday Jan 28, 2018
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
In this section of scripture John begins to tell us that Jesus is the source of all life, not only physical, but spiritually also. He lets us know that this life is the light or the holiness, righteousness, purity, and truth of man and that this Logos (THE WORD "Jesus Christ") is the one who supplies the truth that shows us that our way of living is not the way God wants us to live. But the darkness (ungodliness, unrighteousness, impurity, and lies of man) can not understand the holiness of God, nor can it defeat Him. He also shows us that John is the witness that was testified of in Malachi 4:5 and that he came to tell us who Jesus is. John is not the light but was sent to bear witness (legal courtroom witness) so that we might believe in Him Jesus Christ who was sent to be the Savior of the World. John 3:16
1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
John uses the word life 36 times in this Gospel
It means our Spiritual and eternal life imparted as a gift through belief in Jesus
He is called "the Life" and "the Light," because he has in himself life and light, and gives them to his creatures at his pleasure;
Ephesians 2:5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved.
In Scripture light means biblical truth, holiness, or purity and darkness refers to error, falsehood or sin and wrongdoing
1: 5 Jesus was the light that shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. Jesus Christ overcame darkness.
The forerunner of Christ
Verse 6 - Sent from God –That man was John the Baptist, with the beginning of John’s ministry thus ended the 400 years of silence between the Old Testament and New Testament during which God had given no revelation. Matthew 3:1, 3:1-6, Mark 1:4, 1:2-6, Luke 7:20, 1:5-25, 1:57-80
Malachi 3:1"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.
Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"
Verse 7 - Witness…bearwitness-The terms reflect the courtroom language of the Old Testament where the truth of a matter was established on the basis of the multiple witnesses Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15.
John witnessed regarding Jesus as Messiah and The Son of God-
That all through him might believe- refers to John as the one who witnessed to Christ to produce faith in Jesus Christ as Savior of the World.
1:8 - He was not that light- John the Baptist was the agent of belief and Jesus was the object of belief.
John’s role as a person and his ministry were important. Matthew 11:11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
But he was merely the announcer of Jesus Christ. Many years after John’s ministry and death some still failed to understand John’s subordinate role.
Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." 3 So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. 4 Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
Wednesday Jan 24, 2018
30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL JOHN 12 THE BEST GIFT FROM MARY
Wednesday Jan 24, 2018
Wednesday Jan 24, 2018
In John 12 Mary takes a very costly perfume, breaks the bottle and pours it all out on Jesus and wipes His feet with her hair. First of all, she gave her best and greatest gift when she poured out her costly perfume, probably worth $20,000 - $25,000 at our rate of exchange today. This was probably all her wealth and savings she had in this world. Then, she also used her hair which speaks of a woman’s glory. She humbled herself and anointed Jesus for His burial with her perfume and her hair. How about you, are you giving Jesus your best, your all, and humbly bowing down and worshipping Him?
Sunday Jan 21, 2018
JOHN 1:3 JESUS CREATED IT ALL
Sunday Jan 21, 2018
Sunday Jan 21, 2018
John 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
In verse 3 Jesus is shown as God’s agent in creating everything in the universe.
Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
In this week's message I speak to the issue of Jesus creating everything and all of the wonderful ways our world works together as a created world, the beauty and order of it all. I remember the food chain the solar system, and the hydrological cycle from my school days, but it comes alive when you see the beauty and wonder of it all by looking at it through the lens of the Bible. I like to go to a site called creation moments.com; you can sign up for a daily email that will help you to see the world through the lens of creation rather than the lie of evolution which could have never happened. When you see a watch you know someone made it, it is the same with everything in our world and universe, without a creator it would not exist and it amazes me how you could see all of this and believe that it just HAPPENED. Read this below, it is a creation moment and you can get the flavor of what I am saying!
Ice Age or Greenhouse?
Genesis 8:22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease. It is interesting to look at scientific predictions made, say, a generation ago. Here is one that appeared in the December 1977 issue of Science Digest predicting our future climate. This article pointed out that the world's climate is already cooler than at many points in recorded history. It said that at one time Greenland was actually green and England was a major producer of wine. The article noted that while a few scientists think the Earth is warming, most climatologists agree that Earth's climate is definitely cooling. Some even say that we may be in for a new Ice Age. The words "Ice Age" evidently caught the media's attention. Some listeners will recall the same message given on radio and TV. The certainty of evidence for a cooling Earth is interesting in light of the same certainty, a quarter century later, that the Earth is heating up! And notice how both predictions are working from almost the same temperature records. The article noted the reason for this early fear: the winter of 1976-77 was especially cold and snowy for much of the northern hemisphere. Then, a decade later, after a warmer summer or two, we hear about a runaway "greenhouse effect." Our best response is to remember the Lord's promise to Noah that the seasons, seedtime, and harvest will continue until the end of the world. Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I ask that You would protect me and all who are Yours from the fears which so terrify a world which neither knows or regards Your promises. Help Your people to be lights in the midst of this darkness. Amen.
Wednesday Jan 17, 2018
30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL JAMES 2.14-26 TRUE FAITH VS FALSE PROFESSION
Wednesday Jan 17, 2018
Wednesday Jan 17, 2018
In this section of Scripture we will see the difference between the true children of God and the false professors. Many people say they belong to God, but Jesus tells us here that if we were truly His children then our walk will match our talk. It is easy to say you are a follower of Christ; it is another thing to have that ring true by the way you live and talk day in and day out. The Bible always matches saying and doing together. James 2:14 says what does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? In other words if you say you have faith, but are not backing it up by working for God, then you are not really saved. He says can this kind of faith save him. It is a question that is asked with the implied answer of no it cannot and will not. He puts it this way in James 2:20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:14-26 says there are three kinds of faith, one is a dead faith that talks the talk, but cannot and will not walk the walk because it is not real. One that is demonic, they say they believe in God, but the demons also believe and tremble. Then there is Dynamic faith, that is true saving faith which believes that Jesus Christ’s work on the cross alone is sufficient to get them into heaven and works for God because they love Him. It is one demonstrated by a love for those who cannot help themselves and by living a pure life by the power of God.
Monday Jan 15, 2018
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN INTRODUCTION
Monday Jan 15, 2018
Monday Jan 15, 2018
The Gospel of John is God’s premiere evangelization book. It is written by the disciple that Jesus loved using seven key signs that show that Jesus is God. He uses seven witnesses and the seven I am statements that Jesus gave us while He was here on earth. John does not give us any genealogy, no birth narrative, no manger scene, he just cuts to the heart of the matter when he introduces the book with the statement that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. And if that is not enough in verse two he repeats the fact that He was there in the beginning with God. Folks, this book is written that we know that Jesus performed these signs and that we might believe as it states in Chapter 20:30-31. I don’t know about you, but I am excited about getting into this book and seeing all that God has in store for us as we learn about who Jesus really is and why He came to this earth for 33 years.
It was written by the disciple that Jesus loved. He was the most intimate with the Lord Jesus.
John 13:23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.
He also wrote 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John and the Book of the Revelation.
John was one of the “inner three” disciples of our Lord. Only Peter, James and John were allowed to accompany Jesus into the house of the synagogue official, whose daughter had already died before Jesus arrived (Mark 5:35-43; Luke 8:49-56). Here, apparently, John first witnessed our Lord’s power over death.
John’s life is an illustration of the grace of God.. John had no status in life as a fisherman nor was he an educated man, even by the standards of that day (see Acts 4:13). He certainly did not possess any qualities or education that impressed the scribes and Pharisees. He was a volatile fellow, a “son of thunder.”
It focuses on Who Jesus is and Where he came from
Shows the central fact that Jesus is the whole reason of Christianity. More music has been written, more pictures painted and more drama written about him.
It is a Spiritual Gospel because:
It Supplies unique material not included in the Matthew, Mark, or Luke. Over 90% of the material in John’s Gospel is unique to John, not to be found in the other three Gospels.
His Gospel helps with the understanding of the other three Gospels
Most thorough study of Jesus and it has the most material on the Holy Spirit.
John’s Gospel does not include …
Jesus’ genealogy
an account of our Lord’s birth
any events in our Lord’s childhood
It has two purposes:
It is evangelistic or written to bring people to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ
The word believe is in this gospel 100 times
John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
The simple word, belief, or to believe. There’s no greater writer than John in understanding the nature and the essence of belief. It’s equated to following God. Belief is an action, followed by some type of command. Belief is hearing, belief is worship, belief is obedience and belief is commitment in John’s language. So John is trying to explain to us belief; unlike maybe the way some of us have accepted, belief is a point in time thing. If you’re here today and you’ve trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you’ve put your faith in Him, you believed in Him for this gift called eternal life. We typically talk about that as a point in time, right? There was a point in time when you did that. At a certain age, you heard a message, a retreat, a camp…you came to a point in time you believed. John, however, uses the words every single time (100 times in his Gospel) as a verb, never a noun. And I think the deliberate reason John does this: Yes, there’s a point in time when we believe, but there’s a living, an on-going activity of faith, to have a life of faith in Jesus Christ. To believe in Him means more than “Yeah, I believe in Jesus.” It means more than an intellectual agreement. It means more than quitting a cognitive place, “Yeah, I believe in Him.”
It’s an active, vital relationship.
So what’s the Gospel of John about? It’s a message of grace to the heart of man. It’s the good news of Jesus Christ to hopeless people who are desperate for hope. Do you know any hopeless people?
It is apologetic: Written to convince the readers of Jesus true identity as the Incarnate God-Man. Or God in human form.
He is God, the Creator of the Universe, who has no beginning—1:1-3
He is God come in human flesh—1:14
He is infinitely greater than John the Baptist, the greatest prophet—1:19-28
He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world—1:29-36
He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the King of Israel—1:40-51
Shown by the 7 miracles in the book, 1 after He is raised from the dead
John makes a great contribution by the use of “signs” which attest to our Lord’s deity and claims to be Israel’s Messiah.
The Seven Signs - John uses a Special Word for sign that means a miracle with a Message
Turns water into wine (John 2:1–12)
Jesus is the source of life.
Heals a nobleman’s son (John 4:46–54)
Jesus is master over distance.
Heals a lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–17)
Jesus is master over time.
Feeds 5,000 (John 6:1–14)
Jesus is the bread of life.
Walks on water, stills a storm (John 6:15–21)
Jesus is master over nature.
Heals a man blind from birth (John 9:1–41)
Jesus is the light of the world.
Raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:17–45)
Jesus has power over death.[i]
In addition, there are the “seven witnesses” of John …
John the Baptist “This is the Chosen One [literally, “Son”] of God” (1:34)
Nathaniel “You are the Son of God” (1:49)
Peter “You are the Holy One of God!” (6:69)
Martha “You are the Christ, the Son of God” (11:27)
Thomas “My Lord and my God!” (20:28)
John “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (20:31)
Jesus “I am the Son of God” (10:36; see also 4:26; 8:58)
Finally, there are the seven “I AM’s” of John …
“I AM the bread of life” (6:35)
“I AM the light of the world” (8:12)
“I AM the door for the sheep” (10:7; cf. v. 9)
“I AM the good shepherd” (10:11, 14)
“I AM the resurrection and the life” (11:25)
“I AM the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6)
“I AM the true vine” (15:1; cf. v. 5)
Jesus was actually sacrificed at the same time the Passover Lambs were being sacrificed.
Explain
Chapters 1-12 - Show Us Jesus is Lord - The signs of the Son of God – 3 Years time
Chapters 13-17 - How to Grow In Christ – The Secrets of the Savior – A few hours
Chapters 18-21 - The Supremacy of Christ – Victorious over Sin and Death - A Few Weeks
Wednesday Jan 10, 2018
30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL ROMANS 1:25-32 OUR SOCIETY IS IN A DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF SIN
Wednesday Jan 10, 2018
Wednesday Jan 10, 2018
Romans 1:25-32 says because we worship things rather than Him our society is in a downward spiral of sin. The crime rate for women in our country is rapidly growing upward, as our society forgets God, He leaves us to have our own way. Romans 1:26 says even the women are involved in homosexuality along with the men. When women fall to the same level of sin as men, our society has really left God to the point that even though they know that God will judge them they don’t care and they not only continue to sin, but egg others on to do the same thing.
Monday Jan 08, 2018
1 JOHN 5:13-21 HOW TO HAVE THE ASSURANCE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO HEAVEN
Monday Jan 08, 2018
Monday Jan 08, 2018
I John 5:13- Purpose of Writing The Epistle
1John 5:14
1) Confidence of freedom from shame at the rapture, 2:28,
2) Confidence of a clear conscience in prayer, 3:21-22, and
3) Confidence at the judgment seat of Christ because our love resembles God’s love, 4:17.
Principle: God is accessible to the believer.
Confidence in prayer is for those who are born again yet many experience frustration in prayer. They can trust God for eternal life but they cannot trust Him for this life. We trust God for a life without end but we do not trust Him to meet our financial needs.
We have a general faith in God but very little confidence in Him. We know that we place confidence in God if we have an effective prayer life.
Matt. 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Eph 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Application: Our right of asking God for petitions and intercessions is unconditional. Our right rests on the person and work of Christ. That is why we come in Jesus’ name.
John 14:24 “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
The Christian today has access to the God of the universe because Jesus broke the barrier between God and the Christian. The Christian has uninhibited boldness in prayer because of the work of Jesus Christ.
Heb. 4:14” Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
that if we ask anything
“If we ask” presumes expectation. Since the Christian is certain that he possesses eternal life (5:13), he can be confident that God answers prayer.
Principle: We must know the will of God to have confidence in prayer.
because God did not answer their prayer. They assume that prayer fails to meet their needs.
Some Christians use prayer as a genie that persuades God to do what they want. If they rub the genie the right way, they get what they want. This is a parody of prayer. By this they make outlandish demands on God that they believe is their right. God promises to meet our needs, not our “greed”. This is praying “according to our lusts,”
James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Genuine prayer prays in God’s will and according to God’s nature. Prayer outside God’s will is an insult to His integrity. There is a wide range wherein we can pray. We pray for what God requires, not what we desire.
Prayer is not an endeavor to move God to see things our way. It is not an attempt to change God’s values or standards. God is not willing to give His child something that is not good for him. God wants to give what is in the best interest of the child of God. God does not pander to self-gratification.
Phil. 4:19” And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Our prayers must align themselves with the will of God and be consistent with the character and plan of God for the universe. Jesus said, “Not my will but Yours be done”.
according to His will,
God always answers prayer that is asked “according to His will.” God reveals His will in the Word of God. God answers prayer according to certain standards. For example, we must ask in Jesus name (John 14:13; 15:16) and be in fellowship (John 15:7; 1 John 3:22) for God to answer prayer. Another condition is to have confidence that God hears and responds to prayer.
there are many prayers God never hears.
Psalm 66:8 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.”
1 Peter 3:7 “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.”
1 John 5:15 “And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
When a child of God believes God’s promises in prayer, God moves His hand for that believer.
Application: God has certain ground rules for answered prayer. Here are a number of qualifications to answered prayer:
Praying in Jesus name (prayer that is consistent with His person and work and based on that authority), John 14:13-14; 16:23-24
Abiding in fellowship (the Spirit-filled life), John 15:7; Ps 66:18; James 4:3
Ask in faith, James 1:5-8; Je 33:33
Ask according to God’s will, 1 John 5:14
God never violates Himself to answer our prayers. He will not contradict His holiness to answer prayer.
Matt. 7:11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
Prov. 15:8, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.”
Prov. 15:29 “The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.”
Luke 11:1 “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
Luke 18:1 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…”
Acts 6:4 “…but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
1 John 5:16 “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death
John continues his discussion on prayer in this verse but he extends the issue to praying for those in spiritual need.
The object of prayer in this verse is a believer out of fellowship. The word “brother” clearly indicates that the person in need is a Christian (2:9-11; 3:14-15; 5:1). The words “a sin” indicate that the issue at hand is a specific sin or an identifiable sin.
The person who prays about this situation must “see” the sin for himself.
which does not lead to death,
The idea of “death” here is not spiritual death but physical death. Some Christians die prematurely because of protracted unconfessed sin (1 Cor. 5:5; 11:30).
Principle: Some Christians die physically before their time.
Application: Christians begin eternal life at the point of salvation and can never lose that salvation at any future point.
John 10:28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
John 17:11 “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.”
However, Christians can lose the experience of abundant living. John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
There are a number of occasions of the “sin unto death” in the Word of God. Ananias and Sapphira are cases in point (Acts 5:1-11). God sentenced them to death for misrepresentation of the facts. Paul assigned a Christian living in incest to death should he not repent (1 Cor. 5:1-5).
Moses committed the sin unto death by striking the rock (Nu 20:8, 12). Achan committed the sin unto death by hiding condemned garments in the book of Joshua. He and his family were put to death for this.
Many Christians do not die in bed. God does not allow them to live out their full amount of years. God jerks them up short and takes them home to be with Him. He takes them home with a dishonorable discharge. That is a miserable way to go home to meet God. God saves their soul so as by fire. He saves some people by the skin of their teeth.
1 Cor. 3:15 “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
James 5:14 “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
1 Tim. 5:24 “Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. 25 Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.”
1 John 5:17
“All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.”
All unrighteousness is sin,
“All unrighteousness” is an occasion for intercessory prayer except for the sin unto death (5:16).
5:18-20 Final Assurances
1 John 5:18 No one born of God Sins
“We know Principle: Once it was natural to sin but now it is unnatural.
1 John 5:19 - We are Of God
1 John 5:20 - Son of God has come and given us understanding Heb 1 – Son has spoken to us in these last days.
Thursday Jan 04, 2018
30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL JAMES 1.19-27 BE SWIFT TO HEAR
Thursday Jan 04, 2018
Thursday Jan 04, 2018
Hi, I'm Marty McKenzie with His Love Ministries. James 1:19-27 says that we should be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. That we need to lay aside all sin and receive the truth that is able to save our souls. Many of us are like the man who looks in the mirror, we see that something is wrong, but don’t do anything about it. We are not only to be hearers of the Word, but doers. He says if we are not doers and our faith is not expressed by good works, we are deceiving ourselves and are not saved. So where do you stand?
Wednesday Jan 03, 2018
1 JOHN 5:6-12 THE WITNESS OF GOD
Wednesday Jan 03, 2018
Wednesday Jan 03, 2018
If you want a witness from God, if you want to be one of God's witnesses who echoes God's testimony, there isn't really a better place to go than right here.
The witness of God concerning His Son, says verse 9 It is our faith in Him that overcomes the world. We must believe in the true Son of God, the true Christ, the eternal one.
in chapter 2 verse 22, "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, this is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son...that is the equality between God the Father and God the Son. Whoever denies the Son doesn't have the Father, the one who confesses the Son has the Father also." One's Christology is critical, one's right view of Christ is essential to salvation. Again in chapter 3 John affirms this. Verse 23, "This is His commandment that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ." Chapter 4 again, verses 1 and 2, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, tests the spirits to see whether they're from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God and this is the spirit of antichrist."
chapter 4 to verses 9 and 10 we read: "By this the love of God was manifested in us that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Understanding and believing the truth about Christ and His redemptive work is absolutely critical. Chapter 5 verse 1, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." And what is our faith? Verse 5, "Believing that Jesus is the Son of God." his is the witness of God concerning His Son. This is the testimony of God. Down in verse 10, "The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself." That is if you believe Jesus Christ to be who the Father says He is, you have received God's testimony. The one who does not believe that Jesus is who God said He is, makes God into a liar. And so we have in this text this most important theme of the witness of God. God here summarizes His testimony concerning His Son. John here is elaborating on a single statement that he made in his gospel, John 20:31, "These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you might have life through His name." That was the purpose for which he wrote the whole of the gospel of John the great "I Am" titles that compose so much of that gospel. And, of course, the gospel of John starts with the great statement that” In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
If you want to know the testimony of God, don't listen to the Jehovah's Witnesses, listen to God's true witness recorded through the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and most notably John, whose purpose is to write things that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and believing have life through His name.
What does "water and blood" mean?
That is not any divine statement, that's a very physical, very human affirmation that this person was dead.
Then there's a second view that has gained some popularity that this refers to the two ordinances of the church. Water, referring to baptism; and blood, referring to the communion service...baptism and the Lord's table. that doesn't give any divine witness either because that's a function of the church. That's not a God-given witness, that's a church witness, isn't it?
And I would say something else, as well. In the baptism of Christ He identified with sinners, didn't He? He identified with sinners. You see, baptism was baptism of repentance. It was baptism of repentance. He didn't have anything to repent of. But there in that most unique way He told John, "You have to baptize Me." John said no, the reverse is true. And He said, "No, you have to baptize Me. I need to fulfill all righteousness." And there He was in His baptism identifying with sinners and defining the reason He came. And the Father gave witness, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
And the second divine testimony was given at His blood, as it were, or at His death, that at the end of His ministry...at the end. That too defined His ministry because as He had identified with sinners in going into the waters of a baptism of repentance, He fully identified with sinners at the cross by taking their punishment. Those are tremendously defining events, two monumental experiences bracketing His ministry of redemption. And so the Father says, "I gave testimony at His baptism, testimony at His death."
sometime after 90 A.D., a serious heresy had already developed which said that Jesus was God's Son at His baptism, but not at the cross. . This is part of the developing of Gnosticism. We've seen how they believe that spirit was good and matter was evil, and so they denied the full doctrine of the incarnation that God, the good Spirit, could ever take up permanent residence in a human being, was unacceptable to the dualism of their thinking. They did allow the Christ's Spirit to come down at the baptism, stay awhile and then go away. They could not involve God in flesh in any permanent way and certainly not in the sufferings of death.
Verse 7, "And it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is the truth," or, "Because He is the Spirit of Truth." The third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, gives witness from the Father of the Son because He's the Spirit of Truth. He always speaks what is true. Doesn't just mean that but it does mean that.
verse 8 then says, "For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood and the three are in agreement."
we find the very same thing here in chapter 5 verse 13, to know you're saved you have to know you believe in the Son of God. The name of the Son of God means all that He is...all that He's done. And so belonging to Jesus Christ, belonging to God starts with believing in Jesus Christ Anything else is antichrist and cuts one off from salvation and eternal life.
Now the question is, what is it that brings us to this conviction? What is it that brings us to this faith? What is it that brings us to this believing? And the answer is, the witness of God. verse 17 of Matthew 3, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." The Father is perfectly pleased with the Son. bore witness saying, 'I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven and He remained on Him.'"
Matthew chapter 27, verse 45. "From the sixth hour, darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour." Supernatural darkness, verse 51, "Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." That cannot be done by men, far too high, far too heavy. And the earth shook." God literally shook the planet. "And the rocks were split and the tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the tombs. After His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many."
verse 54 says, "Now the centurion and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became frightened and said...what?... 'Truly this was the Son of God.'" Not only did the centurion say it but those who were with him said it. There's no other conclusion. This was the Son of God. Here was God's testimony at the cross. And you could also say that the Father's testimony was given at the cross by the fulfillment on the cross of the Old Testament pictures. For example, Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 He was smitten of God and afflicted, that's why He said, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
All right, God then gave His testimony. Why did He give it?
verse 11, let's look at the purpose for God's testimony, very simple. "And the witness is this..." Here's the reason for the witness. "The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life." the reason that God gives this witness is because God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. So if you don't have the witness of God that brings you to believe in His Son, you don't have eternal life. Eternal life, zoe aionion, is life in God's Kingdom, the next life, eternal life, life after this life.
It's always about eternal life. We've talked about the witness of God and the purpose of that witness.
Let's talk about a response to God's witness. And with this we'll back up to verse 10 and then look at verse 12 just briefly. What should be our response?
Verse 10, "The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself. The one who does not believe God has made Him a liar because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son." You who believe have received an eternal life and you have a lifelong grip on Jesus Christ, you will never let go. "Those who went out from us went out from us because they never were of us, but you hold on to life through faith in Jesus Christ."
verse 12. "He who has the Son has the life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life."
Is that simple enough? If you don't have Christ, you don't have life.
John 1:12 is a good place to end. "As many as received Him, as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." If you haven't received Him, Jesus Christ, believed in His name, you have not been saved. All of that the Father's testimony through these three great confirming categories of evidence. And the end result is if you believe, you embrace the truth and you are saved and you are given eternal life. If you don't, you make God a liar because you will not believe. It's as simple as this. If you have the Son, you have eternal life. If you don't, you have no eternal life.