Tag: His Word

The Deeds of Your Father

~ iolaHC ~ Leave a comment

John 8:41-47 You do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, you would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? even because you cannot hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. Which of you convince me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God hears God’s words: you therefore hear them not, because you are not of God. 

‘You do the deeds of your father’ the fact that one does the deeds of the devil proves that one is of the devil (1Jn. 3:8). Since they had sought to kill Jesus, He accused them of being the offspring of satan who was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:41-44).

The Jews answered Him that they were not born of fornication. They said that they were not idolaters, but that God was their Father. Idolatry refers to spiritual fornication or a violation of the spiritual and covenant marriage between God and Israel (Jdg. 2:17; Isa. 1:21; Hos. 1:2; 4:12; 2Ch. 21:11; Eze. 16:1-63).

Jesus told them that if God were their Father they would have loved Him. They would not persecute Him if they were of the same Father that He was.

They couldn’t understand Jesus because they cannot hear His Word; it exposed their hypocrisy and condemned their sins, so they were determined not to hear just as others today who refuse to change from a sinful life.

Jesus explained that they were of their father the devil whose lusts they will do (Greek word for lust is epithumia) which means desires, craves and longing for. Satanic lusts are like those of men but much stronger because of being agitated by spirit forces. Fallen angels and men are capable of misusing their creative faculties in deeper and deeper degrees of sin and rebellion as time goes by.

‘He was a murderer from the beginning’ this refers to the death of the whole human race by sin (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 5:12-21; Heb.2:14). Death comes through satan and he kills those who fell away from God’s protection because of their sin.

Satan walked in truth for a time until he decided to rebel against God and this was before he ‘abode not’ or rebelled against truth (Eze. 28:11-17; Isa. 14:12-14). This was before Adam’s day for he was already a fallen creature when he came into Adam’s Eden (Gen. 3:1-24). The rebellion caused the flood of Lucifer (Gen. 1:2; Jer. 4:23-26; 2Pet. 3:5-8). He chose to reject all truth in his period of probation as the Jews were doing here (vv. 39-47). When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own falsehood, for he is a liar and the father of lies and liars. When we believe lies, we reject the Truth (Word = Jesus) and make satan our father.

Jesus asked the Jews that if they couldn’t convict Him of sin, error, or falsehood, why did they not believed what He said? The fact that they didn’t hear God’s Word proved they were not of God.

Believe on Him

~ iolaHC ~ Leave a comment

John 6:36-40 But I said unto you, That you also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father give me shall come to me; and him that come to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which see the Son, and believe on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 

‘That you also have seen me, and believe not’ Jesus explains to the Jews that God, and not Moses, gave the bread to the Israelites, but the Jews have seen Him multiply bread and do all kinds of signs and they still refuse to believe (trust) in Him. They only followed Jesus from sensual motives (John 6:26-27).

The thirteenth New Testament prophecy is constantly being fulfilled in ‘All that the Father gives me shall come to me, and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out’ When one ‘comes to’ it means to come in faith, repenting and turning to Christ with a whole heart, giving up sin, and consecrating himself forever to God and His Word and His will (Rom. 10:9-10; 2Cor. 7:10; 1Jn. 1:9; Acts 2:38-39; 3:19).

The fourteenth New Testament prophecy – ‘And this is the Father’s will… that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day….that every one which sees the Son, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day’ – is being fulfilled and will be completely fulfilled in the resurrection (1Thess. 4:16-17; 1Cor. 15:23, 51-58).

The ‘last day’ is used six times of which five times refers to the last day of redemption of the righteous when their bodies will be fully redeemed (John 6:39-40, 44, 54; 11:24), and of the last day when the wicked will be resurrected and judged (John 12:48; Rev. 20:11-15).

I Am the True Vine

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I am the true vine …I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bring forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.  John 15:1a, 5 KJV

Jesus Christ as the true vine brings forth good fruit in us, as we are washed and cleaned by His Word 15:3 that create a pure heart in us as we walk in the light. Then and only then, do we form a unity with Christ as He is IN us – His Word – and we are IN Him: representing Him by living the word.  As a believer is fruitful he is purged to produce more fruit, if he is fruitless he will wither and be removed. The Father does this, not man. 15:2,6 No man is able to pluck one branch from God’s hands, but if we say that God cannot cut off any branch that is fruitless, then we limit God and make the dead, fruitless, and useless branches to be more powerful than He is.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. If a man abides not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:4, 5-7 KJV

We are commanded to remain in Christ, to abide in Him, because we are powerless to produce fruit otherwise and will be cast off if this fruitless-condition remains! The ‘abiding’-status is also a condition for Asking and Receiving!  For when we remain in obedience to the Word, we can ask what we want and it shall be done, with the purpose that the Father will be glorified.  14:13; 15:8  Without glorification of God, others cannot be drawn unto Him and that is why it is so important that our lives always give Him glory!

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  John 14:13 KJV

I choose to be purged so that I can be more fruitful and to be “in Him” to be clean; I will always “abide in” Christ and He in me to produce fruit; I will have His words abiding in me so that my prayers can be answered and the Father will be glorified as I produce much fruit!