From the Father (John 7:25-8:30)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:04.919 I feel free to turn with me if you like, but to John, 2 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:11.550 Chapter Seven, Verse Twenty Five, and I'm going to be reading into the 3 00:00:11.630 --> 00:00:16.429 next chapter, through eight, verse thirty. I'll tell you now that I'm 4 00:00:16.469 --> 00:00:22.859 I'm struggling a little bit knowing how to approach the section and actually much of 5 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:28.379 John. There are so many good ways to think about this material. There's 6 00:00:28.420 --> 00:00:34.500 things in which these long speeches or sermons or teachings, how you might want 7 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:39.130 to think about that, that Jesus is giving, and it's very I'm finding, 8 00:00:39.130 --> 00:00:43.210 at least at the moment, difficult to break them up in a way 9 00:00:43.289 --> 00:00:47.850 that is helpful. So I've not preached through John Before. I hope you'll 10 00:00:47.850 --> 00:00:52.719 be patient with me as we maybe allow a little bit of experimentation as we 11 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:57.799 go forward, not with God's word, but just with perhaps the form in 12 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:03.430 which these are in the order in which things are presented. Nevertheless, I 13 00:01:03.549 --> 00:01:07.390 sort of always default to reading a lot of scripture and trying to be really 14 00:01:07.390 --> 00:01:12.269 clear about it. So that's what we'll do today and and I'm anticipating in 15 00:01:12.390 --> 00:01:17.670 the coming weeks as well. John, and now I'm getting into it a 16 00:01:17.709 --> 00:01:19.540 little bit. I will read it a moment, but just to prepare you. 17 00:01:19.659 --> 00:01:23.260 One of the things that John Does and Jesus does is he he brings 18 00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:29.379 up these themes again and again and again. I'm it's not the same as 19 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:34.290 Romans, where you have this sort of one thing always leading to the next. 20 00:01:34.450 --> 00:01:42.049 There are things that are recapitulated or brought back again, and what I 21 00:01:42.209 --> 00:01:46.530 want to do is help you to see those things so that as we read 22 00:01:46.689 --> 00:01:49.120 the Scripture and as you read on your own on that, you will learn 23 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:56.439 to see them for yourselves as as we go through this. So that's my 24 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:02.310 intention going forward. So let's go ahead and read now John Chapter Seven, 25 00:02:02.750 --> 00:02:12.669 Verse Twenty Five, and I'll read through chapter eight, verse thirty. I 26 00:02:12.870 --> 00:02:20.580 will be skipping the section at the beginning of Chapter Eight and I will explain 27 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:23.060 that a little bit later. Like I said, lots of lots to handle 28 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:27.740 here, but we'll do our best. All right, let's give let's let's 29 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:32.050 give our attention to God's word. John Seven, verse Twenty Five. Some 30 00:02:32.169 --> 00:02:37.610 of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, is this not the man they seek 31 00:02:37.689 --> 00:02:42.729 to kill? Or speaking of Jesus? There and here he is speaking openly 32 00:02:43.090 --> 00:02:46.080 and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the authorities really know 33 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:50.919 that this is the Christ, but we know where this man comes from, 34 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:53.159 and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from. 35 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:00.229 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, you know me and 36 00:03:00.389 --> 00:03:04.310 you know where I come from, but I have not come of my own 37 00:03:04.349 --> 00:03:07.270 accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 38 00:03:08.310 --> 00:03:12.710 I know him, for I come from him and he sent me. 39 00:03:13.780 --> 00:03:15.819 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on 40 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:21.580 him because his hour had not yet come. Yet many of the people believed 41 00:03:21.620 --> 00:03:24.900 in him. They said, when the Christ appears, will he do more 42 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:30.689 signs than this man has done? The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things 43 00:03:30.729 --> 00:03:35.650 about him and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 44 00:03:36.370 --> 00:03:39.090 Jesus then said, I will be with you a little longer and then I 45 00:03:39.210 --> 00:03:43.719 am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will 46 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:47.879 not find me. I where I am, you cannot come. The Jew 47 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:52.120 said to one another. Where does this man intend to go that we will 48 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:54.599 not find him? Does he intend to go out to the dispersion among the 49 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:59.909 Greeks and teach the Greeks what does he mean by saying you will seek me 50 00:04:00.069 --> 00:04:02.710 and you will not find me, and where I am you cannot come? 51 00:04:03.830 --> 00:04:06.870 On the last day of the feast, the Great Day, Jesus stood up 52 00:04:06.870 --> 00:04:11.300 and cried out if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 53 00:04:11.340 --> 00:04:15.819 Whoever believes in me, as the scriptures has said, out of his heart 54 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:20.899 will flow rivet rivers of living water. Now this he said about the spirit 55 00:04:21.620 --> 00:04:27.529 whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the spirit 56 00:04:27.689 --> 00:04:31.730 had not yet been or had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. 57 00:04:32.689 --> 00:04:35.970 And when they heard those are these words, some of the people said 58 00:04:36.209 --> 00:04:41.839 this really is the prophet, others said this is the Christ, but some 59 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:46.040 said is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has Not the Scripture said that 60 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:49.720 Christ comes from the offspring of David and comes from Bethel, him, the 61 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:55.069 village where David was. So there was a division among the people over him. 62 00:04:55.430 --> 00:04:58.629 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on 63 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:01.910 him. The officers then came to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who 64 00:05:01.949 --> 00:05:05.910 said to them, why did you not bring him? The officers answered, 65 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:12.100 no one ever spoke like this man. The Pharisees answered them. Have you 66 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:15.379 also been deceived? have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 67 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:19.740 But this crowd, but this crowd that does not know the law, 68 00:05:20.100 --> 00:05:26.209 is a cursed Nicodemus, who had gone to him before and who was one 69 00:05:26.209 --> 00:05:29.810 of them, said to them. Does our law judge a man without first 70 00:05:29.850 --> 00:05:32.490 giving him a hearing and learning what he does? They replied, are you 71 00:05:32.730 --> 00:05:39.439 from Galilee to search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee? Now, 72 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:44.600 Chapter Eight, verse twelve. Again Jesus spoke to them, saying I am 73 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.879 the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but 74 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:51.910 will have the light of life. So the Pharisees said to him. You're 75 00:05:53.110 --> 00:05:58.629 bearing witness about yourself. Your testimony is not true. Jesus answered. Even 76 00:05:58.670 --> 00:06:01.990 if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I 77 00:06:02.189 --> 00:06:05.939 know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not 78 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:10.939 know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to 79 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:15.139 the flesh. I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, 80 00:06:15.339 --> 00:06:18.449 my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but 81 00:06:18.689 --> 00:06:24.410 I and the father who sent me. In your law, it is written 82 00:06:24.449 --> 00:06:28.129 that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears 83 00:06:28.170 --> 00:06:31.209 witness about myself, and the father who sent me bears witness about me. 84 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:38.079 They said to him, therefore, where is your father? Jesus answered you. 85 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:41.959 Neither. You know, neither me nor my father. If you knew 86 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:45.920 me, you would know my father also. These he words. He spoke 87 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:48.949 in the Treasury, as he taught in the temple, but no one arrested 88 00:06:49.029 --> 00:06:54.790 him because his hour had not yet come. So he said to them again, 89 00:06:54.829 --> 00:06:59.269 I am going away and you will seek me and you will die in 90 00:06:59.389 --> 00:07:03.019 your sin. where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews 91 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:06.939 said to him. Will he kill himself, since he says where I am 92 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:12.660 going, you cannot come. He said to them. You are from below, 93 00:07:12.699 --> 00:07:16.930 I am from above. You are of this world. I am not 94 00:07:17.410 --> 00:07:21.089 of this world. I told you that you would I and your sins, 95 00:07:21.170 --> 00:07:27.610 for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. 96 00:07:28.410 --> 00:07:31.279 So they said to him. Who Are you? Jesus said to him, 97 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:35.560 just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much 98 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:40.959 to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is 99 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:44.000 true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him. 100 00:07:45.069 --> 00:07:47.310 They did not understand that he had been talking to them about the father. 101 00:07:48.310 --> 00:07:51.350 So Jesus said to them, when you have lifted up the son of man, 102 00:07:51.629 --> 00:07:55.949 then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on 103 00:07:56.069 --> 00:08:00.579 my own authority but speak just as the father taught me, and he who 104 00:08:00.699 --> 00:08:03.819 sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I 105 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:09.339 always do the things that are pleasing to him. As he was saying these 106 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:18.009 things, many believed in him a man. So I hope you can see 107 00:08:18.089 --> 00:08:24.810 why I read this long passage. I'm Jesus begins by saying there are these 108 00:08:24.850 --> 00:08:30.800 questions surrounding Jesus. Who is this person? They think they know where he's 109 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:35.120 from. He's from Galilee, but even that they're confused about sort of Jesus's 110 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:39.679 physical or his incarnation. The place of his incarnation is at Bethlehem. Is 111 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:43.909 a Galilee. They're confused even on that point. They are even more confused 112 00:08:43.950 --> 00:08:46.110 about these things that he's saying. I am not of this world, I 113 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:50.230 am from above and where. They're not confused. And they hear that he 114 00:08:50.350 --> 00:08:56.740 is saying things about his divinity. They are mad, they want to kill 115 00:08:56.740 --> 00:09:01.940 him, they want to arrest him, and these are themes that Jesus brings 116 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:05.779 up in the beginning, he develops and then he returns to again at the 117 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:09.730 end of this section. I wrote. I'm sorry, I read for I 118 00:09:09.889 --> 00:09:15.250 know where I came from. I know where I'm going. This language about 119 00:09:15.649 --> 00:09:20.850 that Jesus comes from the father that Jesus is sent from the fathers, is 120 00:09:20.210 --> 00:09:24.720 our truths that I want to spend some time on in the next coming weeks. 121 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:30.559 Who is Jesus? That's the question of of this passage. And as 122 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:35.240 some reject him, you know what he says. They die in their sins, 123 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:41.350 and those who accept him, those who trust him and believe in him, 124 00:09:41.950 --> 00:09:48.110 he promises eternal life, forgiveness of sins. I am the light of 125 00:09:48.190 --> 00:09:56.659 the world, the Lamb of God. Now, one of the things that 126 00:09:56.700 --> 00:10:01.419 it's helpful to know about the gospel of John as we begin to approach this 127 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:07.730 section and then also reflect on things that we've considered in chapter five and six, 128 00:10:07.690 --> 00:10:11.169 is that John is one of the best books. I'll say it's the 129 00:10:11.370 --> 00:10:16.409 best book anywhere of all time for you to learn and understand the doctrine of 130 00:10:16.409 --> 00:10:20.960 the train unity, for you to understand who Jesus is as the son in 131 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:26.799 relation to the father? Did you hear that language over and over and over 132 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:31.720 again? Perhaps there are things that Jesus said that you went what? How 133 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:37.269 could that be true? How can he be denying, for example, that 134 00:10:37.389 --> 00:10:41.470 he's able to do this thing or that thing while he's God, or how 135 00:10:41.590 --> 00:10:46.149 can he say that he and the father have the kind of relationship that he 136 00:10:46.590 --> 00:10:52.059 describes? We'll talk about that. We'll talk about that in detail, because 137 00:10:52.340 --> 00:10:56.179 one of the things that John is telling us is that it's very important for 138 00:10:56.259 --> 00:11:03.659 us to understand these things. The doctrine of the Trinity, what we understand 139 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:09.009 about God's nature is father, son and Holy Spirit, is one of the 140 00:11:09.049 --> 00:11:13.049 things that is hinted at in the Old Testament, like many things in the 141 00:11:13.090 --> 00:11:18.090 Old Testament, but is revealed in this very full way in the New Testament 142 00:11:18.129 --> 00:11:22.320 and one of its greatest expressions, perhaps the greatest expression, is here in 143 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:28.600 the gospel of John. So it's worth spending time on this, especially since 144 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:33.149 this is the book we are are working through and trying to understand better who 145 00:11:33.190 --> 00:11:37.870 god is and what he's doing in our passage is an example of this. 146 00:11:39.389 --> 00:11:43.429 All though, the language about father and son. Notice how this question about 147 00:11:43.629 --> 00:11:48.340 who are you, Jesus, is only answered in reference to his father. 148 00:11:48.379 --> 00:12:00.779 Jesus is understanding of himself and his expression or his teaching about himself is in 149 00:12:01.100 --> 00:12:07.370 this language. In this way, you might go back to the beginning of 150 00:12:07.409 --> 00:12:11.570 John and remember this is how it all started. John wants us to understand 151 00:12:11.850 --> 00:12:20.080 that our eternal life is to be understood in the person of Christ, and 152 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:24.639 the person and work of Christ is to be understood in relationship to the father. 153 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:31.549 That's what it means to be a Christian. John One in the beginning 154 00:12:31.750 --> 00:12:35.549 was the word that speaking of Jesus, and the word was with God, 155 00:12:35.990 --> 00:12:43.789 and the word was God. Those say two different things and both of them 156 00:12:43.830 --> 00:12:48.500 are true. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made 157 00:12:48.580 --> 00:12:52.460 through him and without him was not anything made. That was made in him 158 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:56.899 was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines 159 00:12:56.980 --> 00:13:03.049 in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it. One of the things 160 00:13:03.129 --> 00:13:07.809 that we will be tempted to do when it comes to really anything. Any 161 00:13:07.929 --> 00:13:11.370 doctrine in found in scripture, but especially this one concerning the doctrine of God 162 00:13:11.960 --> 00:13:16.679 or what we might say, feel aology proper than and and the trinity in 163 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:22.000 particular, is that it will be very tempting to always want to sort of 164 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:26.590 tie it down to just one thing. What's the one thing that I need 165 00:13:26.710 --> 00:13:31.509 to know to get this right? And I'm not saying that simplification isn't important, 166 00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:37.590 and we do say things. God is one in three persons. That's 167 00:13:37.590 --> 00:13:41.460 about as short as you can get it. But there will always that you 168 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:46.779 will never be able to say one thing that says everything, and that will 169 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:52.899 be somewhat frustrating to you. If understanding God as he has revealed himself in 170 00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:58.570 this way is is new. There's a lot of information, a lot of 171 00:13:58.730 --> 00:14:01.009 data points, you might say, a lot of things to take in and 172 00:14:01.129 --> 00:14:05.529 put together. How does it all fit? Well, might be encouraging to 173 00:14:05.570 --> 00:14:11.120 you to know two things. One, you're not alone. This is something 174 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:16.600 that every Christian works with and in the history of the Christian church God has 175 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:22.720 given people, I'm bright minds too, and and and and perseverance to study 176 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:26.509 the word and to come to greater and Claire, greater clarity about this. 177 00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:33.269 And as certain heretics have risen up and to deny the central truths of scripture. 178 00:14:33.669 --> 00:14:37.940 God has empowered his church to learn better and teach more clearly the things 179 00:14:39.059 --> 00:14:43.139 that are in the scriptures. And so, for example, when we recite 180 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:46.620 the apostles creed and the nicene creed, one of the things that we're doing 181 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:52.500 is we're standing upon the theological work that has gone before us. We're not 182 00:14:52.659 --> 00:15:00.690 doing it uncritically, we're not doing it in a way that is not submissive 183 00:15:00.769 --> 00:15:03.409 to the word of God. The word of God is over it all and 184 00:15:03.570 --> 00:15:07.960 determines it all. But nevertheless, I'm trying to say is we're not having 185 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:13.879 to totally start from scratch. I'm God has preserved by his spirit of faithful 186 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:18.080 witness in the world that we might learn and grow im not just here in 187 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:24.990 this body but even across a time as well, learning from people in the 188 00:15:26.110 --> 00:15:31.309 past, walking together in the Lord in these things. The second thing that 189 00:15:31.429 --> 00:15:35.580 I think is encouraging, and is, I think, even more encouraging than 190 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:41.419 what I just said, is that it shouldn't be any surprise to you that 191 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:46.220 you can't wrap your minds around who God is. If good, if understanding, 192 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:50.490 the Lord and may one who made everything in this world and all that 193 00:15:50.570 --> 00:15:58.090 you say see in it and experience and it simply by saying things like let 194 00:15:58.210 --> 00:16:02.850 there be light. If you could just sort of understand that, by a 195 00:16:03.250 --> 00:16:06.039 person on one day saying you know, the one thing you need to know 196 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:11.279 is this. Okay, I got it, we wouldn't be worth shipping the 197 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:18.230 true God. We struggle to understand the most basic things about math or philosophy 198 00:16:18.549 --> 00:16:26.309 or basic skills, car mechanics or any I could list a lot of things 199 00:16:26.309 --> 00:16:30.230 for myself, but you have your own issues all together. We struggle right 200 00:16:30.269 --> 00:16:33.539 with not Gregory of Nancy ensus makes this great point. He says we don't 201 00:16:33.539 --> 00:16:37.980 even understand our own nature, why we do the things we do, where 202 00:16:38.019 --> 00:16:44.139 we came from, exactly how everything is working. People talk about this all 203 00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:48.009 the time, especially in an age that's filled with neuroscience. You know, 204 00:16:48.769 --> 00:16:52.169 what is the mind? Where is it held? I mean these are great 205 00:16:52.809 --> 00:16:59.169 we don't understand ourselves and we're daily living out our own lives. What makes 206 00:16:59.210 --> 00:17:03.799 us think that with, you know, one or two theological punches that will 207 00:17:03.880 --> 00:17:07.160 have, will be able to knock this problem down and be able to go 208 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:14.000 home? It just doesn't work like that. God is incomprehensible. His ways 209 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:18.869 are not our ways. He is far beyond anything that we can imagine, 210 00:17:21.029 --> 00:17:27.670 and so we approached this topic with humility, both wanting to learn the lessons 211 00:17:27.789 --> 00:17:33.660 that he is teaching us, not running away from them in false modesty or 212 00:17:33.779 --> 00:17:37.900 pride or something like that. We submit ourselves to the lessons and yet we 213 00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:41.779 remember who our teacher is and we remember that the things that he is telling 214 00:17:41.819 --> 00:17:51.210 us are awesome and beyond us in many ways, certainly beyond what he he 215 00:17:52.049 --> 00:18:00.200 gives to us. So with that perspective, as we approach these very weighty 216 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:06.079 issues, remembering that we are coming to them because they are a benefit to 217 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:10.720 us, because God himself has revealed to them to us. Let's look at 218 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:15.549 some of the particulars of this passage. I'm going to start by briefly mentioning 219 00:18:17.069 --> 00:18:22.789 two and then mind my way into the third. So the two are just 220 00:18:22.950 --> 00:18:29.619 reminders of what we've some two things. We've already covered two themes that come 221 00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:33.059 up in this passage and have come up before and we'll continue to come up 222 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:37.859 in the next few chapters. The first one is that the world and Jesus 223 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:44.490 are at odds. Says if you knew who I was, you would know 224 00:18:44.609 --> 00:18:48.690 who the father was, because I am from above and you are not. 225 00:18:51.089 --> 00:18:53.529 You are from below. You are of the world. I am not of 226 00:18:53.690 --> 00:18:56.119 the world. And this comes up in a lot of ways. I won't 227 00:18:56.119 --> 00:19:00.240 get into it again. We've talked about this before. Just to say one 228 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:06.640 sentence. The world either ignores Jesus or wants to rule him. The True 229 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:11.630 Disciples of Jesus follow him, they take his lead. The world does not. 230 00:19:12.430 --> 00:19:17.069 The world either says we don't want anything to do with you, or 231 00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:22.269 they say find you're here, but on our terms. Jesus in the world 232 00:19:22.269 --> 00:19:26.019 are at odds. Number two. The second truth that we fought about and 233 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:30.259 we I want to recall your minds, is that the world comes to these 234 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:34.339 conclusions about Jesus because they judge him by appearances. Right. This is what 235 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:40.529 we thought about last time. or Jesus says don't judge by appearances, but 236 00:19:40.690 --> 00:19:44.930 this is exactly what the world does. They look at Jesus through their blindness 237 00:19:45.009 --> 00:19:48.730 and bad assumptions. Right, you heard about this last time in here too. 238 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:56.000 We he's from Galilee. We know who this guy is. How could 239 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:59.200 he could he be the Christ? How could he be the Christ? And 240 00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:06.599 nicodemus right screws up his courage a little bit, comes out as one of 241 00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:08.589 these leaders, one of the Jewish leaders, and he comes out he says, 242 00:20:08.630 --> 00:20:12.509 hold on, guys, maybe two or three witnesses before we come to 243 00:20:12.589 --> 00:20:18.269 any conclusions, Hark's conclusions about who Jesus is. And what's their response? 244 00:20:18.390 --> 00:20:21.980 They say, good point, Nicodemus. No, they say, are you 245 00:20:22.180 --> 00:20:26.460 from Galilee? To right, they attack him and they accuse him of being 246 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:33.700 this backwater whatever, that Jesus that they're assuming Jesus is too. We know 247 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:36.769 him. Oh, are you like him now? Just you know, so 248 00:20:36.849 --> 00:20:41.609 much for being a leader of the Jews, Nicodemus right. So they are 249 00:20:41.650 --> 00:20:47.529 assuming all kinds of things about him. Their way of understanding. This is 250 00:20:47.609 --> 00:20:49.599 true of all of the world, not just the Jewish leaders and the people 251 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:55.640 who are all mixed up at this time. The world's way of understanding itself 252 00:20:55.880 --> 00:21:00.519 and the ways in which it lives and the God who made it all is 253 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:07.470 inconsistent. It's full of blind spots and sin and error. When the light 254 00:21:07.750 --> 00:21:14.109 shines, people in the world hide in the darkness. All this to say 255 00:21:14.789 --> 00:21:22.180 their theology is bad. It's really bad. They are they have the revelation 256 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:29.180 of God this final glorious revelation of God, the thing that all of human 257 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:33.769 history is being built up to, the reason that God all are preserved people 258 00:21:33.769 --> 00:21:38.930 after the flood, is right now. Is Right in front of them and 259 00:21:40.130 --> 00:21:48.519 they can't see it, because what they believe about God is a mess and 260 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:56.200 what they believe about Jesus is a mess, and because it's lodged so deeply 261 00:21:56.319 --> 00:22:00.119 in their hearts and in their minds, they're unwilling to submit to correction. 262 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:06.029 They just throw accusations out against him. Jesu, Jesus, their only savior, 263 00:22:06.230 --> 00:22:11.789 is right in front of them. He's telling them about who he is 264 00:22:11.190 --> 00:22:18.539 and what God is doing for them, and he remains their enemy. Don't 265 00:22:18.579 --> 00:22:25.259 let this happen to you. There are a lot of people today who want 266 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:30.369 you to believe the one thing that John is telling you. You must believe 267 00:22:32.250 --> 00:22:37.650 that Jesus is the son of God. Now, I'm not just making that 268 00:22:37.769 --> 00:22:41.490 up. John says this in Chapter Twenty, verse thirty. He says these 269 00:22:41.769 --> 00:22:45.519 are written, this is the the end of the Gospel. He says, 270 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:51.240 these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 271 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:56.759 son of God, not so that you can check a box and say Orthodox 272 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:03.430 doctrine, check, but so that, by believing, you may have life 273 00:23:03.430 --> 00:23:11.630 in his name. That's what pastor John Wants. These are written so that 274 00:23:11.750 --> 00:23:15.700 you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and 275 00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:21.220 that by believing, you may have life in his name. So you can 276 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:27.410 see, then, I hope, why theology matters a huge amount right, 277 00:23:27.890 --> 00:23:34.049 that Jesus is the Christ and he's this promised Messiah who's not just another Elijah 278 00:23:34.089 --> 00:23:41.089 or another Moses, some great, well equipped and anointed man of God. 279 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:49.400 He is that, but he's also the son of God. To understand that 280 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:57.309 and then to believe that is to have life. This is, with no 281 00:23:57.549 --> 00:24:07.230 exaggeration, a life or death matter. And so now I've wound our way, 282 00:24:07.990 --> 00:24:11.180 hopefully, to this point. That Jesus that I want to focus the 283 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:17.619 rest of our time on. This one that Jesus makes that he comes from 284 00:24:17.660 --> 00:24:26.769 the father and he is sent from the father. Next time I anticipate thinking 285 00:24:26.769 --> 00:24:30.609 about his next statement that he will go to the father. These are two 286 00:24:30.650 --> 00:24:36.690 things he says a few times in this passage. So what does Jesus mean 287 00:24:36.849 --> 00:24:40.440 when he says he comes from the Father? Does he mean when he has 288 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:45.000 says he's sent from the father. Well, helps to enter into our thinking 289 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:48.920 by remembering what this passage with the context of this passages, and you remember 290 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:55.269 that it started back in chapter five when Jesus healed this crippled man on the 291 00:24:55.309 --> 00:25:00.710 Sabbath, this day of rest in which no work should be done. So 292 00:25:00.829 --> 00:25:04.910 he heals this man on the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders confront him and they 293 00:25:04.950 --> 00:25:08.740 ask him, why are you doing this? Why are you working on the 294 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:15.180 Sabbath? Why are you causing this man to quotation marks for those are listening, 295 00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:18.460 work on the Sabbath, as he was heeled and picked up his bed 296 00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:27.569 and walked away. Jesus's response was this. This is a theological grenade right. 297 00:25:27.970 --> 00:25:37.039 He says, my father is working until now and I am working now. 298 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:41.759 It's hard to express how much Jesus packs into these few words and essentially 299 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:45.759 he's saying I'll say three things. One, he's saying this is sort of 300 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:51.269 the argument God is allowed to work on the Sabbath. We all sort of 301 00:25:51.470 --> 00:25:55.190 recognize that. True, God did rest from his works of creation. However, 302 00:25:56.190 --> 00:26:00.309 even on Saturdays, God continues to preserve and govern the world, it's 303 00:26:00.349 --> 00:26:06.579 creatures and all its actions. This common sense and was granted by Jewish rabbis 304 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:11.339 and others. Second, or, I'm sorry, still on that first point, 305 00:26:11.380 --> 00:26:15.859 not only does God continue to preserve the world, but we also believe 306 00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:21.490 that he's doing that in a way to establish this everlasting kingdom that he has 307 00:26:21.609 --> 00:26:26.650 promised in the Old Testament and is bringing forth in Christ. He does that 308 00:26:26.849 --> 00:26:30.410 even on the day of rest. So that's one point. One God is 309 00:26:30.450 --> 00:26:34.640 allowed to work. That's acceptable in in this way, in this way. 310 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:41.319 Second, Jesus says that God is his father, a statement that would have 311 00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:45.960 sounded a little weird, scholars think, to Jewish ears, because the fatherhood 312 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:49.309 of God is something that comes up in the Old Testament, but not a 313 00:26:49.470 --> 00:26:53.430 lot and not in the not nearly at the level and in the ways that 314 00:26:53.470 --> 00:26:59.390 we have in the New Testament. Nevertheless, it could be excused for thinking, 315 00:26:59.430 --> 00:27:03.180 well, yes, of course we're all God's children, especially as his 316 00:27:03.420 --> 00:27:08.980 dependence and especially as his special chosen child, Jacob Israel, this one born 317 00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:21.210 and and special and God ordained ways. But notice that when you say or 318 00:27:21.329 --> 00:27:26.609 pray our father, who's in heaven, no one accuses you of making yourself 319 00:27:26.650 --> 00:27:30.720 equal with God. Right, it's never happened to me anyway, probably never 320 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:33.920 happened to you. When you say I pray to my heavenly father, no 321 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:38.119 one says, are you serious? Are you making yourself equal with God? 322 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:44.390 So why do the Jews say that? The kicker is the last sentence. 323 00:27:45.589 --> 00:27:51.950 He says I am working, by saying that he was doing the same work 324 00:27:51.990 --> 00:27:56.910 as of same work as God, which of course no one does except God, 325 00:27:57.700 --> 00:28:03.980 preserving the world, etc. He, Jesus makes it clear that his 326 00:28:03.539 --> 00:28:10.099 sonship is not like yours or mine or Adams or Jacobs or David's. He 327 00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:15.009 what he is saying is that through him, or sorry, that he's saying 328 00:28:15.130 --> 00:28:19.970 that this work that he is doing comes through him as the son from the 329 00:28:21.250 --> 00:28:26.799 father. The he is equal with the father in the work that God does. 330 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:34.160 That's quite a statement. The he is equal with the father in the 331 00:28:34.519 --> 00:28:40.559 power of God. And he adds to this. We won't go back and 332 00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:41.710 look at it, but he might remember that. He adds to this the 333 00:28:41.829 --> 00:28:47.150 work not only of preserving the world or maybe even healing and things like that. 334 00:28:47.509 --> 00:28:51.630 But Jesus goes on to talk about Resurrection, the power of Resurrection and 335 00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:55.710 the power of Judgment. These are things that only God can do and Jesus 336 00:28:55.740 --> 00:29:03.380 says I am working, my father works and I work. So it's hard 337 00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:11.049 for me to underestimate how powerful this sounded to them, but it's pretty clear. 338 00:29:11.650 --> 00:29:15.569 The scriptures tell us that after they heard this, they wanted to arrest 339 00:29:15.609 --> 00:29:19.089 him and they wanted to kill him. Here is Jesus, this Galilee and 340 00:29:19.250 --> 00:29:27.839 whom they knew, saying that he was God and God's son. Now this 341 00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:33.559 is a challenging idea even for the Christian mind that has been introduced and thought 342 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:37.319 through and maybe read through John or heard sermons on the trying nature of God. 343 00:29:37.990 --> 00:29:41.869 You can imagine the kinds of questions that would have been whispered in the 344 00:29:41.910 --> 00:29:48.589 market market places. Jesus is teaching these things in the temple, things like 345 00:29:48.509 --> 00:29:52.940 he's crazy. What kind of pride would it take for somebody to say that 346 00:29:53.019 --> 00:30:00.500 they are God? Or How can God have a son? We're not gentile 347 00:30:00.579 --> 00:30:03.900 pagans that believe in Pagan Miss God doesn't even have a wife. How can 348 00:30:03.940 --> 00:30:08.529 he have a son? Or if if God had a son, wouldn't that 349 00:30:08.609 --> 00:30:14.890 get make God mutable and changeable? Would that create a second god? But 350 00:30:15.009 --> 00:30:18.769 God is one. Jesus himself says that there is only one true God. 351 00:30:19.529 --> 00:30:22.440 So how can he be saying that he's the son of God? Or if 352 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:26.920 he did out of a son, he certainly wouldn't be God, would he 353 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:32.200 may be a demigod, a half a god, an elevated man. He 354 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:36.910 certainly does amazing works, but and I can accept that he's the promised Messiah, 355 00:30:37.029 --> 00:30:41.230 but how can we say that he's actually divine? Besides that, we 356 00:30:41.349 --> 00:30:42.869 know this guy, we know his parents, we know where he's from, 357 00:30:42.990 --> 00:30:49.420 his brothers, his sisters, he was born, he has a body. 358 00:30:51.940 --> 00:30:56.539 How can he be God, God when he is so clearly a man? 359 00:30:57.779 --> 00:31:04.970 And we could keep going. This is hard stuff and indeed people have all 360 00:31:06.049 --> 00:31:10.690 kinds of ideas and speculations about who Jesus is and what these things could possibly 361 00:31:10.769 --> 00:31:14.609 mean. have been accepted or suggests? Well, both accepted, but I 362 00:31:14.690 --> 00:31:22.599 meant to say suggested. Now I intend to overwhelm you a little bit for 363 00:31:22.759 --> 00:31:30.359 the purpose I made at the beginning. We can't approach Jesus, the divine 364 00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:33.029 creator of all the world, and we and say, Oh yeah, no 365 00:31:33.150 --> 00:31:37.309 problem, I can understand you, I can understand what you're all about. 366 00:31:38.549 --> 00:31:41.950 My mind is so great, my soul is so enlightened. This is no 367 00:31:42.069 --> 00:31:48.859 problem for me. We ought to have a sense of fear at the greatness 368 00:31:48.900 --> 00:31:52.140 and the grandeur and the Majesty of God, not just the things that God 369 00:31:52.259 --> 00:31:57.619 has done, but of God himself. And, as I said before, 370 00:31:57.660 --> 00:32:00.890 you might also be tempted to just walk away from all of this, and 371 00:32:01.089 --> 00:32:06.609 there is some wisdom in that. There is great mysteries here and there are 372 00:32:06.730 --> 00:32:09.089 things that can't be known, can't be figured out, because they're not revealed 373 00:32:09.170 --> 00:32:15.240 to us, and you would be right to say that it's impossible to remove 374 00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:20.359 all the mystery. But you would be wrong to walk away, because what 375 00:32:20.519 --> 00:32:27.680 is John say? These things have been written so that you may know that 376 00:32:27.799 --> 00:32:31.150 Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing him, 377 00:32:31.190 --> 00:32:35.990 you may have life in his name. To walk away from them and 378 00:32:36.109 --> 00:32:38.190 say I don't want anything to do with this, I'd rather just sort of 379 00:32:38.309 --> 00:32:45.380 believe in assumptions or my abstractions about Jesus or just keep an open ended question 380 00:32:46.180 --> 00:32:50.779 is to walk away from God when he's saying I am wanting to tell you 381 00:32:51.099 --> 00:33:00.210 these things so that you can have life. So what does John say? 382 00:33:00.769 --> 00:33:05.250 What is Jesus saying? He doesn't say that we believe in Jesus as a 383 00:33:05.329 --> 00:33:13.279 demigod or second God or no God. He doesn't say that Jesus is a 384 00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:17.119 mask or a different form of the father, that the father sort of moves 385 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:22.440 and shifts into these different persons, though he says that he is the son. 386 00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:30.829 We know that not. We know that not because we base God or 387 00:33:31.029 --> 00:33:37.309 not because we judge God on our own experiences or our knowledge from reasons, 388 00:33:37.390 --> 00:33:40.700 from a bullow, but we do it by receiving heavenly wisdom, that is 389 00:33:42.259 --> 00:33:47.859 from above. We allow him to break us, in a way, our 390 00:33:47.900 --> 00:33:55.289 assumptions about him and ourselves, to reframe our knowledge, our experience, our 391 00:33:55.369 --> 00:34:04.170 ideas from the word that is from above. We do he is teaching us 392 00:34:04.210 --> 00:34:08.610 not to judge by appearances, but to judge from him, who is true, 393 00:34:08.690 --> 00:34:13.800 as Jesus puts it, he's telling us what we ought to think, 394 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:16.599 he's telling us what we want to know, and that's exactly why the Jews 395 00:34:16.679 --> 00:34:22.320 react by wanting to kill him. He's undermining their lives, he's undermining their 396 00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:30.110 their strengthen themselves and their pride in themselves. Some people choose to ignore him. 397 00:34:31.190 --> 00:34:36.949 What will you do when you hear Jesus's words when he reveals himself as 398 00:34:37.030 --> 00:34:39.300 the son of God, will you ignore him? Will you walk away? 399 00:34:39.340 --> 00:34:46.380 Will you try to rule him? He already rose from the dead, so 400 00:34:46.460 --> 00:34:52.409 you can't murder him. My suggestion is that you serve him, that you 401 00:34:52.610 --> 00:34:58.409 worship him, that you follow him that and that you may have life in 402 00:34:58.530 --> 00:35:04.929 his name. What's in all this context, this stirring and this brewing and 403 00:35:05.010 --> 00:35:09.320 these questions and this Sabbath event and these things that Jesus is saying, with 404 00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:14.199 murder in the air, that Jesus now says, the things that we have 405 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:20.239 heard this morning, that he says I have not you know me, but 406 00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:25.110 you also don't know me. Sure, you know I'm from Galilee, but 407 00:35:25.309 --> 00:35:31.590 where? But but you don't recognize where I have truly come from, or 408 00:35:31.750 --> 00:35:36.139 that I have also come from. And, as Jesus says, that I've 409 00:35:36.219 --> 00:35:39.579 not come on my own accord, but I come from the one who sent 410 00:35:39.739 --> 00:35:46.219 me. I'll close by thinking about what this means. What does Jesus mean 411 00:35:46.300 --> 00:35:50.650 when he says that he comes from God? What does Jesus mean when he 412 00:35:50.730 --> 00:35:57.530 says that he is sent from God? Number One, he does not mean 413 00:35:57.929 --> 00:36:01.650 that there are two gods when we confessed in the nicecene creed this morning that 414 00:36:01.769 --> 00:36:07.400 he is a very god, of Very God. We do not mean that 415 00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:15.840 sort of one God, birth forth another God. No, and we know 416 00:36:16.079 --> 00:36:22.630 that because Jesus says himself in Chapter Five, and he calls us to quote, 417 00:36:22.710 --> 00:36:29.869 seek the glory that comes from the only God. So how is Jesus 418 00:36:29.989 --> 00:36:35.860 revealing himself? Not as a second God, because there is one God. 419 00:36:37.780 --> 00:36:40.619 John Four, for says that. Similarly, in John Seventeen, three Jesus 420 00:36:40.659 --> 00:36:44.820 says, and this is eternal life, right, whenever you hear that, 421 00:36:44.940 --> 00:36:49.369 your ear should perk up. And this is eternal life. That they he's 422 00:36:49.489 --> 00:36:53.210 praying to the father and he says that they know you, the only true 423 00:36:53.369 --> 00:37:00.650 God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. These verses and others 424 00:37:00.730 --> 00:37:04.639 like it, teach us that there is one God. Jesus himself says it 425 00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:14.079 not true, not to that's what Jesus teaches. Second he also tells us 426 00:37:14.119 --> 00:37:21.269 that his will is God's will, his power is God's power, his Authority 427 00:37:21.550 --> 00:37:28.670 is God's authority. In other words, he is God. We've seen that 428 00:37:28.829 --> 00:37:34.380 in his miracles, in his Sabbath explanation. Is An authority to teach and 429 00:37:34.619 --> 00:37:37.659 is a statements about bringing judgment and Resurrection, things that only God can do 430 00:37:38.219 --> 00:37:44.179 that he attributes to himself as having the capability of doing, and not just 431 00:37:44.369 --> 00:37:49.010 saying it but actually doing it too. In these things and many other ways, 432 00:37:49.050 --> 00:37:55.369 he teaches us that he is the one, true only God, not 433 00:37:55.530 --> 00:38:01.159 a second God. The only God, though, Jesus has a human nature, 434 00:38:01.280 --> 00:38:06.320 and we know that. Why? That is because Jesus, the son 435 00:38:06.480 --> 00:38:13.190 of God, added humanity to his divinity in order to save us men, 436 00:38:13.309 --> 00:38:17.670 right nice in creed. For us and for our salvation, he became man. 437 00:38:20.789 --> 00:38:22.750 Yes, he's truly man, as the people see, but he is 438 00:38:22.789 --> 00:38:28.739 also fully God. He in fact, he goes so far as to say, 439 00:38:28.900 --> 00:38:32.659 and it is absolutely true, that it is impossible to know the father 440 00:38:34.380 --> 00:38:36.780 without knowing him. He says, if you knew me, you would know 441 00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:39.460 the father, one and the same. You know the father, you know 442 00:38:39.659 --> 00:38:46.610 me. You want eternal life from the father. It's from me. Eternal 443 00:38:46.769 --> 00:38:52.289 life from God comes to us by believing in him. So now you can 444 00:38:52.329 --> 00:38:58.239 see why in Chapter Seven people say no one ever spoke like this man. 445 00:39:00.519 --> 00:39:07.679 So number three, Jesus is both calling God his father, or he is 446 00:39:07.760 --> 00:39:14.469 both identifying himself as the only true God and also saying that he is the 447 00:39:14.630 --> 00:39:20.230 divine son of the father. John Sixteen. You know this verse when he 448 00:39:20.269 --> 00:39:24.059 says to Nicodemus, who reappears in our chapter, God so love the world 449 00:39:24.179 --> 00:39:32.619 that he gave His only begotten right that we would have eternal life by believing 450 00:39:32.659 --> 00:39:37.969 in him. So Jesus said? Does Jesus says? He's. He doesn't 451 00:39:38.010 --> 00:39:44.570 say I am the only true God, the father. He says I am 452 00:39:44.690 --> 00:39:52.289 the only true God, I am the son of the father. Number Four. 453 00:39:52.639 --> 00:39:57.840 People will then be tempted to say, since there can't be two gods 454 00:39:57.880 --> 00:40:01.199 and since Jesus is clearly divine, perhaps the father and the son are the 455 00:40:01.239 --> 00:40:07.429 same person. This is the ancient heresy of modalism. It's still around. 456 00:40:08.269 --> 00:40:12.710 You can find it, for example, in well lots of different places. 457 00:40:12.829 --> 00:40:15.989 It also exists. This error exists in other forms, like in UNITARIANISM, 458 00:40:16.030 --> 00:40:20.949 which denies the divinity of the son, the very thing John tells us that 459 00:40:21.030 --> 00:40:25.420 we have must believe. Denies the divinity of son and unsurprisingly, also denies 460 00:40:25.579 --> 00:40:31.539 the Trinity, hence the name UNITARIANISM. Now there's this different I different ideas 461 00:40:31.579 --> 00:40:36.730 with modalism, but the ideas that God basically puts on different mass so you 462 00:40:36.849 --> 00:40:38.690 can for example, he's the father and the Old Testament, the son and 463 00:40:38.730 --> 00:40:44.409 the New Testament and then the spirit after pentecost. In other words, that 464 00:40:44.489 --> 00:40:47.929 the distinctions between the father and the son and the spirit are in name only 465 00:40:47.969 --> 00:40:54.559 right. They are not actual distinctions. It's just a way of God talking 466 00:40:54.639 --> 00:41:00.800 or revealing himself. What's the problem with that? It's a biblical problem, 467 00:41:02.039 --> 00:41:07.309 not a problem with the Bible, but the Bible reveals the problem with this 468 00:41:07.510 --> 00:41:10.469 thinking. That's why I'm trying to say the problem is one that God does 469 00:41:10.550 --> 00:41:15.989 not lie. And true, he's very clear about the distinction between the father 470 00:41:15.150 --> 00:41:22.380 and the son, that it's real. God is one person who exists in 471 00:41:22.659 --> 00:41:28.980 three persons. God is one. What is is? I I'm sorry, 472 00:41:29.019 --> 00:41:31.820 I think I said God is one person. God is one in nature, 473 00:41:31.820 --> 00:41:39.530 essence substance, and he exists in three persons and these three persons relate to 474 00:41:39.730 --> 00:41:50.039 one another as father, son and spirit. And you can hear the real 475 00:41:50.280 --> 00:41:54.519 distinctions between the father and the son and versus, like I come from the 476 00:41:54.760 --> 00:42:00.079 father. He doesn't say that the son is the father, he says that 477 00:42:00.119 --> 00:42:05.510 the son comes from the father. There's even a difference in in authority. 478 00:42:05.590 --> 00:42:10.269 He says that he is sent. Other verses make this distinction as well. 479 00:42:10.630 --> 00:42:15.309 I came not to do my will, Jesus says, but the will of 480 00:42:15.349 --> 00:42:22.099 him who sent me. Or you know neither me nor my father. You 481 00:42:22.179 --> 00:42:28.980 hear the distinctions. Or I declare what I have heard from him, or 482 00:42:29.500 --> 00:42:32.210 I have nothing, I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just 483 00:42:32.369 --> 00:42:37.289 as the father has taught me, or I can do nothing on my own 484 00:42:37.010 --> 00:42:40.889 or as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I 485 00:42:40.929 --> 00:42:45.360 seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. So 486 00:42:45.440 --> 00:42:52.920 if we are to take the divine Jesus at his word, then we must 487 00:42:52.920 --> 00:42:59.230 affirm all of these things, that he is truly God and that he is 488 00:42:59.429 --> 00:43:04.750 the son of God, who is distinct from the father. This tells us, 489 00:43:04.829 --> 00:43:13.420 then, that God is indeed one in three persons. In conclusion, 490 00:43:13.539 --> 00:43:17.380 what do we make of all of this heavy stuff, big stuff, things 491 00:43:17.460 --> 00:43:23.460 that's hard to wrap our minds around. Why does it matter even? Well, 492 00:43:23.500 --> 00:43:28.369 the most important thing it does is it affirms for us. It it 493 00:43:28.769 --> 00:43:34.170 it affirms for us the divinity of Christ. Why in the world would you 494 00:43:34.210 --> 00:43:38.369 follow Jesus as a religious, moral man. If he's a liar and a 495 00:43:38.570 --> 00:43:45.960 blasphemer walking around saying that he's the son of God doesn't make any sense. 496 00:43:50.679 --> 00:43:54.750 But if Jesus is who he says he is, then we throw himself at 497 00:43:54.750 --> 00:44:00.550 our feet, not hesitantly, not worrying that we might be committing idolatry by 498 00:44:00.590 --> 00:44:07.469 worshiping this man from Galilee, but we throw ourselves at our feet because he 499 00:44:07.869 --> 00:44:13.380 is not just a man from Galilee. He is the incarnate son who has 500 00:44:13.500 --> 00:44:20.539 been sent from the father, who was not created but has existed from all 501 00:44:20.900 --> 00:44:30.170 time, Having Been Eternally Begotten as a son. We bow before him because 502 00:44:30.250 --> 00:44:39.039 he is God and we give him all honor and glory and praise. The 503 00:44:39.159 --> 00:44:45.760 second thing is that Jesus comes and is sent for a reason. If you 504 00:44:45.800 --> 00:44:50.239 don't know it by now, I don't know what to tell you. You 505 00:44:50.360 --> 00:44:53.150 haven't been listening at all. He comes and he sent for a reason. 506 00:44:53.269 --> 00:45:00.989 And what is the reason? To give us eternal life. The revelation of 507 00:45:00.150 --> 00:45:06.030 God in the Sun reveals not just something about his nature, but about his 508 00:45:06.389 --> 00:45:14.380 love and his will for you, that you might belong to him. and 509 00:45:15.539 --> 00:45:20.380 Jesus says to them where I am coming, you cannot go. But remember 510 00:45:20.420 --> 00:45:24.530 he says that to he says it's to unbelievers who are refusing to hear God, 511 00:45:25.170 --> 00:45:29.849 who refusing to submit to God. But what does he say later on? 512 00:45:30.010 --> 00:45:31.130 I didn't read it, but what does he say later on to the 513 00:45:31.210 --> 00:45:37.000 disciples? He says, I'm going to a place to prepare it for you, 514 00:45:39.559 --> 00:45:45.679 to established, to get ready this kingdom for you that I am going 515 00:45:45.760 --> 00:45:52.309 to give to you because I love you. He doesn't bar the door against 516 00:45:52.349 --> 00:46:00.630 us, to those who believe they enter into life. That's why it's important 517 00:46:00.670 --> 00:46:07.340 to know him as the son, to understand who he is in his divine 518 00:46:07.380 --> 00:46:12.099 nature, to worship him as he truly is, to depend on him for 519 00:46:12.539 --> 00:46:20.329 everything. And so I have nothing more to say other than to admonish you 520 00:46:20.369 --> 00:46:22.329 to do that, to exhort you to do that, to beg you to 521 00:46:22.570 --> 00:46:28.250 do that, to give yourselves all the in fall a, completely and in 522 00:46:28.409 --> 00:46:35.920 every way to Jesus. He is our perfect savior, he is everything, 523 00:46:36.920 --> 00:46:42.320 everything that the father has has been given to the son, that the one 524 00:46:42.400 --> 00:46:46.269 who would die on the cross for us, would save us and we would 525 00:46:46.269 --> 00:46:52.269 have life in him. So, hearing these things, let's turn to the 526 00:46:52.389 --> 00:46:58.030 Lord in prayer and ask for him to save our souls and to cause us 527 00:46:58.070 --> 00:47:01.500 to persevere into the very end, looking to Jesus, the author and Perfector 528 00:47:01.579 --> 00:47:02.380 of our salvation,