Tag: The Father

No One Can Come, Really?

On By TimIn Exhortation, John 061 Comment

No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:44

I had a hyper-Calvinist quote this to me recently. He then gets on his preacher mode and says: “There are several arguments/interpretations of this verse.”

The first point, is that logical fallacy. He is building a straw man he will dutifully attempt to destroy. He pitched it this way: “(B)ut the truth is simple. Coming here is believing(.)”

This kind of thinking is very flawed. But it is the kind some use to prop up the fatalism expressed in their understanding of this verse. Oh, they may argue and say this is determinism. But that is the proverbial lipstick on the pig of fatalism. It may be dressed up, but it is still fatalism.

The fallacy exists because their beliefs do not reconcile. Truth always reconciles.

Simply put… Coming is coming… And believing is believing. Neither are compulsory, and coming doesn’t mean one believes. That is why the conjunction exists between the two separate ideas. One comes to Jesus, and one must believe, too. They are not the same. Simple elementary school language lessons reveal this. But the tricksters are taught to use flowery religious language to obscure the truth.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me shall never hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:35

Jesus is speaking to a crowd that was already drawn to Him by the Father. He is explaining that point to them. They were in His presence on account of the Father’s drawing. And they came to Him at least twice, according to the context. They came to Him, saw Him, and even spoke with Him. Yet something is missing.

But I told you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.

John 6:36

Yet oddly, they don’t believe. So Jesus debunks the reformers’ fatalism the right there. Jesus goes further. He upends the idea that coming is believing. And frankly any other reformed notion centering on the text in John 6.

All whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and he who comes to Me I will never cast out.

John 6:37

Reading the entirety of John 6, it is clear that all of those that came to Jesus that day were not ever turned away by Him. They left of their own accord and in disbelief.

For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who has sent Me, that of all whom He has given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.

John 6:38–39

Jesus is telling them that if they don’t believe Him, it’s on them. Because all things are given to Jesus, He’s not going to lose any… And He alone has the power of resurrection. This should not be a surprise to anyone who knows and honors the Father Who has the power of life and death. There is not a human that Jesus will not raise… Some to life, others to perdition, and He has already told them that in another place before they came to Him in Capernaum.

“Do not marvel at this. For the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

John 5:28–29

But just because one comes to the Son and even sees and hears Him… Does not mean one has eternal life. One must do something with what they see and hear.

This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:40

In case you are not able to understand exactly what Jesus is saying, the Jewish folk present at that time did. Their reaction is recorded for our edification.

The Jews then murmured about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

John 6:41–42

They know His claim is to be the very God of their Fathers. They struggled at that because of the legalism inherent in their beliefs. They could not quite grasp the truth, even though their Scriptures plainly spoke it. A Son is given. He shall be called Mighty God, Everlasting Father. He is rightly expecting them to expect Him, God in flesh!

Jesus therefore answered them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:43–44

In other words: You are here in My presence because I, the Father have drawn you here. I Am (He,) because nobody else raises people from the dead.

It is written in the Prophets, ‘They shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and has learned of the Father comes to Me.

John 6:45

You should know this!

Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God. He has seen the Father. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in Me has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. The bread which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

John 6:46–51

It’s necessary that you do something, other than just coming to Him, seeing Him, and hearing Him.

Don’t let a reformer (whether Calvinist or Arminian) twist this text to say something it does not. They will try to teach it is from a god with stingy grace only available to a few chosen people, the rest this God sends to perdition. What this text is showing, and the entire macro level view of John 5 through John 6 is the lavish and extravagant love of the Father to save anyone who wants it.

To understand takes one back to the lesson of the loaves from when Jesus fed these people earlier. Though all of them ate until they were glutted there were twelve baskets left over. The extravagance in providing for their needs left nobody wanting, and what is leftover is not wasted.

Ardent, Vehement, Yet Fully Tender and Intimate

On By TimIn 1 John 02, Love2 Comments

Brothers, I am writing no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning. Yet a new commandment I am writing to you, which holds true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

1 John 2:7–8

I am thinking over the things that were discussed at a recent meeting meeting. It was a many-faceted, yet casual talk over biblical doctrines on marriage, divorce, gender, and sexuality. These tend to be sensitive subjects. Of course, questions came from the audience considering hypothetical situations. Some of those questions seemed to drift off-topic.

These personal situations and concerns seem to be directed toward the symptoms of a deeper problem. One that, a proper foundation may provide answers even before questions come. John did just that in his first epistle as will be shown. He is going to demonstrate the differences between love and lust. (The latter has a broader application than most consider.)

John is referencing the old commandment…

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:18

The new commandment is now very much central to the teaching Jesus gave. It is not just to love each other, but to love others in the selfless, steadfast way the Father loves the Son. It is the same way Jesus loves us. That is, even to the point of dying for others.

Somehow the latter part is missed by a majority of Christians these days.

Whoever says he is in the light but hates his brother is in darkness even until now. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:9–11

John is using words that may be unsettling to some. But to be indifferent and even dismissive towards another is to walk in darkness. It is difficult to come to terms with that. Darkness tends to blind us, just as Paul instructed in the first chapter of his epistle to the Roman church. That principle is that sin suppresses the knowledge of God. Sin blinds indiscriminately. That is why the counsel is to be circumspect.

I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake.
I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I am writing to you, little children,
because you have known the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.

1 John 2:12–14

I find it apropos that John is calling out to men… Fathers and young men. He is not questioning their Christianity at all. He is challenging them to a different way of abiding as a real-life epistle that others may read.

Look again, John uses a rhetorical device of repetition. This is to emphasize the importance of what he is writing. Not just that, he is drawing laser-focused attention to his audience… Men!

Why?

We think that love and hate are opposites. Indifference actively opposes love. As does dismissiveness.

The kind of love John is speaking of is commonly understood by the Greek word used… Agape. That Greek term is used in the Septuagint to translation the Hebrew word ahab. Both terms are meant to convey a sacrificial and unconditional, ardent and vehement inclination of the mind toward others. It comes with tenderness and fullness of affection. It is an act of the will, meaning one chooses to love others not because of who they are or even what they do. Love sacrifices self for the well-being of others.

This is what John is calling Christians to. It is severely absent these days, and waning more every day.

As an aside, Hebrew has some peculiarities that draws attention. One of those is about that Hebrew word ahab. This word construction has nuances that are staggering. The proto-Hebrew used symbols as representing letter sounds. These figures were not unlike Egyptian hieroglyphics. These symbols were combined to make words. Yet each individual pictogram in itself conveys meaning. (I know scholars tend to dismiss this as hokey.) But knowing the meanings behind those pictograms can help us grasp the meaning of a Hebrew word.

The first letter of ahab is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet aleph. It was drawn like the head of a bull. With that, the letter generally coveys the idea of head or first, as in leader. The last letter of ahab is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is beth. It is drawn Like an upside-down v, symbolic of a tent. Think Bethlehem, which means house of bread. Taking the aleph and the beth together is a familiar Hebrew word, ab. Ab is the Hebrew word for father, generally considered the leader of the house.

That’s fascinating. But insert the Hebrew letter heh between the aleph and beth to make ahab. Heh means breath. God added heh to both Abram’s and Sarai’s name. It can also mean the very essence of something, like breath is to life. Taking that together ahab is the essence of the Father.

God is Love.

But you knew that. My hope is for you the reader to understand the astounding love lavished on us by the Father. Nothing is ever wasted with Him.

Since we are to be about our Father’s business. We are to lavish that kind of love on others.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1 John 2:15

Here is where John drives the point to home. It is the age-old conflict between God’s program… Love; and the enemy’s program desire from flesh. That was the trick used to get Eve, awaken desire in her flesh. Desire is not necessarily sexual.

For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:16

The desire of the flesh is to satisfy itself. Hunger makes us want to eat. That is why fasting is important, as it teaches us that we can master desire by will.

The desire of the eyes is the basis of not just sexual sins. It is really based in coveting. Wanting something that is not ours.

That’s what the world does. That’s the enemy’s program.

Love is an act of the will.

Lust or desire is caving into the wants of the flesh.

The English language tends to be very precise, but these two words as used contemporarily, are not. They come with sensual baggage, and are often confused and conflated, as if they go together.

In English, lust almost always is used in a sexual nature. This adds confusion with the word love, too. This is especially true in conversations about marriage, divorce, gender, and sexuality.

Yet the way the Bible uses them is in a stark contrast. It is simple.

Love always seeks to sacrifice self to what is best for others. Just as Jesus did for us.

Lust (or desire) seeks what is best for self with little and often no regard to others.

I think that when questions arise about marriage, divorce, sexuality, gender identity, and even personal relationships… They should first be sorted. Is it love or lust?

I think any questions will almost always be answered there.

The Surprising Way God Reveals Himself

On By TimIn Holy Spirit, Isaiah 48, Jesus, The Father, Triune God1 Comment

Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there I am. And now the Lord God has sent me and His Spirit.

Isaiah 48:16 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Perhaps what is present here is clear to you. In this portion of Isaiah, the prophet is speaking the words of God. He identifies Himself in the previous context as “I am the First, and I am the Last.” (Is 48:12)

Clearly, we can identify the One speaking in First Person here as God. We also know from other Scriptures in this portion of Isaiah this Person is the Maker, and He also ascribes Himself as Redeemer, Savior, and the Lord of Hosts. If we could identify the Person speaking by New Testament names, it’s Jesus!

If that is not clear, read the last line…

“And now the Lord God has sent me and His Spirit.”

One Person sent at least one other Person. I say that because it is clear in the text. Whether His Spirit is a person is not clear, but from the context it is hinted at.

What is apparent in reading through Isaiah, is there are two distinct Persons ascribed to God. The One speaking, Redeemer, was sent by the Lord God. And if the identity of the One sent is not clear, the next verse remedies that.

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way that you should go.

Isaiah 48:17 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

The first sentence tells you Who is speaking, and He gives not one, not two… not four… But three attributions to Who He is. Then He sums that up with the name of God YHVH.

Do not let anyone tell you the doctrine of the Trinity was made up by some New Testament “church fathers.” It is right there in the text. The old rabbis knew it, taught it and then suppressed it after Christ’s ascension.

I Am the Lord, I Will not Share my Glory with Another

On By TimIn Isaiah 42, Jesus, Luke 21, Sovereign, The FatherLeave a comment

I am the Lord, that is My name;
and My glory I will not give to another,
nor My praise to graven images.
See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.

Isaiah 42:8–9 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Here is God telling us yet again Who He is.

In the former post, we saw how Jesus quoted the verses before these and said they have come to pass in the very presence of His audience.

My Glory I Will not Give to Another

There are teachings that abound that deny Who Jesus Christ is. Some declare Him to be just the brother of Satan — another created being. Other teachings say He is Michael. Suffice it to say, those are wrong. It is because of these very words. God doesn’t share His glory with another.

In this Messianic prophecy, the identities of the Father are established. We’ve also witnessed from previous posts that the identity of this Chosen Servant, this Messiah is Jesus. We’ve also understood that Jesus is the fulfillment of the calling of Israel. The two ideas are so intertwined that Jesus really is the True Israel.

But here, we are given a bit of information that when coupled with Jesus’ own words… He is clearly God.

When Jesus spoke these words, He lifted His eyes toward heaven and said:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may also glorify You. As You have given Him authority over all flesh, He will give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.

John 17:1–5 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

In the words of Jesus, as He prays, He tells us He shared the glory with the Father.

It is the Son Who reveals the Father. We see the glory of the Father as Jesus went to the cross, and was glorified by being raised up doing the veg thing the prophet Isaiah wrote hundreds of years in advance.

There is an assent to the prohibition of graven images. God won’t share the praise given to them. It is an encouragement to us to understand Who Jesus is in the rightway. Not running afoul of the command to not praise idols.

Former things have come to pass, and as we read this it encompasses some of the things prophesied of this Servant.

But… There is only One God Who can tell you of something before it happens. He wrote it in Isaiah as a pattern for us. We see the pattern partially fulfilled. But more is yet to come.

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Luke 21:27 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

He is yet to come in great glory. For some, it will be a blessing. To the whole creation that awaits redemption, it will be a blessing. But for many, this will be a day of dread.

Is this You?

On By TimIn Eternal Security, Fruitfulness, Hebrews 06, SalvationLeave a comment

For land that drinks in the rain that often falls upon it and bears a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. But land that bears thorns and thistles is rejected and near to being cursed. Its destiny is to be burned.

Hebrews 6:7-8 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

This is a parable. The land that drinks in the rain is those who readily hear the Word of God and welcome it. Such may even serve in church, soup kitchens or volunteer for other worthy causes. You see, we can receive God’s Word and we can serve others. We can spend a lot of our time volunteering and helping others. The parable offers a caveat.

The crop is the service you do. In order for it to be blessed, it must be done with the proper motivation.

The rain and fruit must be useful for Whom it is cultivated. That is, it must be useful for God. In other words, think of it like this:

For the heart that receives the Word of God readily, and serves because their faith solely for salvation is in Jesus, and they do it for Him… Those receive the Holy Spirit and eternal life.

In other words, there is no other way to know the Father than through Jesus. You cannot know the Father by doing any of the Old Testament commandments. You cannot be doing it by going to confessional or adhering to the dictates of some organization like the Watchtower or Latter-Day Saints. The only way to know the Father is through Jesus.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”

John 14:6-7 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Those that don’t have the former, a heart cultivated by Jesus to receive the truth of His Word and bear fruit for Him… Are rejected and near being cursed. If that is you, as you read this, there is still hope for you.

Acknowledge that Jesus is God.

Believe (the Bible says in your heart) that He is God, that He lived on earth as recorded, He died to forgive your sins and He rose again and lives today.

Confess it aloud with your mouth!