Bluegrassrivals

Christmas may be over.... But that doesn't mean that we can forget about Jesus.

John ch. 14 (KJV)
1 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 - In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 - And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

4 - And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

5 - Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

6 - Jesus saith unto him, I AM THE WAY, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 - If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8 - Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 - Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

10 - Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11 - Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

12 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13 - And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 - If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 - And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 - Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 - I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19 - Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20 - At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

21 - He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

22 - Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

23 - Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

24 - He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

25 - These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

26 - But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

27 - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

28 - Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

29 - And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

30 - Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

31 - But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.


Verse 6 takes every other "religion" (and I use that word loosely) and proves them wrong. Jesus didn't say I am one way... or I am a way. He said I AM THE WAY There is no other Heaven or Paradise that some other "religion's" talk about. Jesus is THE ONLY WAY!

Verily, verily translated means Truly, Truly.

Agreed. I've always hated it when I hear preachers say things like there is no god like our God. He is the Most High so, they are obviously right about that but, a more accurate way to convey the message is that there are no 'other' gods.

Jesus started the narrative 7 chapters earlier in John when He declared Himself to be the "LIGHT OF THE WORLD". He had come to earth to show men that He was the "WAY", and not the orthodox church of Israel. He therefore had to draw clear distinction between Himself and the church, of whose leaders He said were "of their father the Devil". The church very predictably rejected Him in that day and yet, in a bit of irony, that very same rejection is still happening today. People like to think that had the Lord come during our day we would have accepted Him with gladness. Men still hold forth their wisdom as superior, as so called scholars on the science channels attempt to debunk everything from the virgin birth to rationalizing that the Red Sea crossing was really not so big a deal because the water would have been ankle deep at the most. And, folks like Bill O'Reilly confidently declare the Bible is "full of allegory" and his running buddy Bernie Goldberg is just as positive when he says the Bible is "full" of errors and mistakes. Notice that the Lord Himself broke with the orthodox church of Israel, without a word of regret. His Word is final and those who would tweek it a bit here and there are just as far in the dark as the vilest of men. In other words, there was no mixing of accepted church knowledge during Jesus' day and God's truth. Neither will there any mixing of man's conventional wisdom of our day and God's truth be allowed.

So, in this day as in the day when God literally walked among men, those who truly experience the miracle of knowing God, will come to know Him through His Son's unspeakable gift on the cross. But, it is impossible to understand the one true way apart from understanding. And, understanding is accomplished through Christ Who is "THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD." And not just for matters of eternal life, I mean, just consider for one minute the enormous amount of time that man has been willing to waste trying to disprove the existence of God. True knowledge never contradicts God or any part of His Word.

One of my favorite bible verses is John 14:6.

I love the Gospel of John, what a truly amazing revelation of the character and person of God! Jesus is God but, man wasn't ready to accept that fact when our Lord walked this earth. In point of fact, men still reject the Lordship of Jesus to this day. However, He made it clear that He is God in John.
John 14:8-9 (KJV)
"8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me [I]hath seen the Father[/I]; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"
So, if you want to know the personality of God, all you must do, is read the four Gospels. For example, I read where Jesus was mad and overturned the money tables in the temple of God. I read where Jesus told the members and leaders of church of that day, that they were "of their father the devil." And after that, He separated Himself from the orthodox church, there was no compromise with the Lord Jesus. Further, the God of this universe will not be reasoned with at the Judgment, man will conform to His law and His Word or, he will suffer eternal damnation.

Be that as it profoundly is, here is a point that I find to be even more incredible. It's one thing to accept the fact that Jesus and the Father are One. (of course, the Holy Spirit is the last member of the Holy Trinity, but, that is a different conversation) However it is quite another thing, to consider what the Lord says, regarding those who accept Him as Lord and Savior from among the countless billions who will have lived on this earth. Speaking only, of them alone mind you. There is a certain notable status given to God's own. And no, God does not consider everybody born into this world to be His child. Only those who "by grace through faith" accept the sacrifice of His Son on the cross in order to reconcile sinful man to Him, are His children.
John 17:20-22 (KJV)
"20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they (the saved) all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:"

So, I feel it is reasonable to make the following observation from John. Jesus said that He and the Father are One and further, that the saved are one with He and the Father. Not only is Jesus our God, our Creator, our Savior, and our Sacrifice. We who are His are One with Him, the Father and the Holy Ghost. That's a pretty remarkably high calling if you ask me. And it is a calling that demands all Christian men to stand up and speak out against sin and speak up for the Glory of God. Amen?

TheRealThing Wrote:I love the Gospel of John, what a truly amazing revelation of the character and person of God! Jesus is God but, man wasn't ready to accept that fact when our Lord walked this earth. In point of fact, men still reject the Lordship of Jesus to this day. However, He made it clear that He is God in John.
John 14:8-9 (KJV)
"8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me [I]hath seen the Father[/I]; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"
So, if you want to know the personality of God, all you must do, is read the four Gospels. For example, I read where Jesus was mad and overturned the money tables in the temple of God. I read where Jesus told the members and leaders of church of that day, that they were "of their father the devil." And after that, He separated Himself from the orthodox church, there was no compromise with the Lord Jesus. Further, the God of this universe will not be reasoned with at the Judgment, man will conform to His law and His Word or, he will suffer eternal damnation.

Be that as it profoundly is, here is a point that I find to be even more incredible. It's one thing to accept the fact that Jesus and the Father are One. (of course, the Holy Spirit is the last member of the Holy Trinity, but, that is a different conversation) However it is quite another thing, to consider what the Lord says, regarding those who accept Him as Lord and Savior from among the countless billions who will have lived on this earth. Speaking only, of them alone mind you. There is a certain notable status given to God's own. And no, God does not consider everybody born into this world to be His child. Only those who "by grace through faith" accept the sacrifice of His Son on the cross in order to reconcile sinful man to Him, are His children.
John 17:20-22 (KJV)
"20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they (the saved) all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:"

So, I feel it is reasonable to make the following observation from John. Jesus said that He and the Father are One and further, that the saved are one with He and the Father. Not only is Jesus our God, our Creator, our Savior, and our Sacrifice. We who are His are One with Him, the Father and the Holy Ghost. That's a pretty remarkably high calling if you ask me. And it is a calling that demands all Christian men to stand up and speak out against sin and speak up for the Glory of God. Amen?

This...:Thumbs: