Good morning. Today were
looking at the Gospel of John. I love the Gospel of John – you feel like you're
right there with Jesus. The other Gospels are like they are just simply
reporting what happened. John likes to use what is known as the historical
present. He uses present tense verbs to talk about things that happened in the past.
The difference would be like some joke that started: A man went into a bar and
said to the bartender ... versus A man goes into a bar and says to the
bartender ... In the second, you feel like you're right there in the bar with
them. One of the most powerful verses in the Bible: in the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then verse two: He
was in the beginning with God. Here we are again with infinity in the past.
When the beginning came, the Word and God we're already there. Before time was
– God is. Remember that in Greek when you say something is something else, it
does not necessarily mean they are the same. It does not mean that Jesus and
the Father were the same when it says that the Word was God. That was one of the
heresies from 1000 years ago. Also the first verse means that Jesus was not
created, which of course is another heresy. Verse three emphasizes this: all
things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that
has come into being. Jesus did not come into being, because He always was. Of
course this is really impossible for us human beings to truly understand. In
Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. We are in Him who is life,
and this life is in us. Today just like then the world is in darkness and they
do not comprehend the light. Father thank You that Your life and light are in
the reader. Wherever he/she goes, Your light and life will shine through him/her
and the world will see and know that You are God in him/her.
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
Comments
Post a Comment