Gentlemen, this month we’ll be reading John 11.
Oh, it’s good chapter.
It’s about the glory of God.
-Even when things go really wrong.
-Even when God is not quick to fix things.
-Even when God is criticized.
It’s about trusting God and sooner or later we’ll see the glory of God.
First, from John 3:31, “He who comes from above is above all.”
Second, from John 3:33, “God is true.”
And third, from John 3:29, “The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.”
Sometimes it is good to simply see and ponder and think about the greatness, the glory, and the wonder of God.
It has wisely been said that the humankind struggles with keeping what we love in the right order.
What is meant is that we drift toward loving things.
And we drift towards loving ourselves.
And we drift towards not loving our wife or kids or parents or closest friends as we should. There’s truth in this.
John 3:19–21 takes it one step further saying humankind “loves darkness rather the light.” And there’s truth in that too.
Loving the right things in the right order is tough. Our desires and impulses and weaknesses are terribly, horribly strong. They often rule our lives.
There’s no magic wand to fix this, but there is an understanding that can be mighty helpful.
Make God BIG and darkness will be disliked. Make God small and darkness will be enjoyed.
What is Jesus referring to when He says, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” What does He mean by water and spirit? What’s the water? Most theologians do not think it is the water of physical birth or baptism. Most of them think it refers to Ezekiel 36:25-27.
Why does Jesus connect the Holy Spirit to wind, and what is His point? Most theologians think Jesus is referring to Ezekiel 37:8-14. They think Jesus is saying that the new birth is far more a God thing than a human thing. We don’t control the wind and we cannot control God. God is in charge of the wind and He is in charge of saving people.
What are the heavenly things in verse 12? Most theologians believe Jesus is referring to what He says from verse 13 to 21.
John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”
This is one of the BIG truths about reality.
We live in a created world. The creator reigns and rules and governs EVERYTHING.
Nothing exists, nothing breathes without the creator saying so.
We are created beings (in His image amazingly!) and everything we have and will have comes because God says so. Or said differently, everything happens for two reasons. To make us into the image of Christ, and to display the glory of God.
That is a lot to think about. That is one of the wonders of wonders.
The conversation Jesus has with Nicodemus seems uneven at best, or confusing at worst. What I mean is that the dialogue seems to be missing something.
And that is probably a right perception. Many of the conversations Jesus has with people are a condensed version of larger conversations.
Yet the writers of the four gospels, who being led by the Holy Spirit, wrote down exactly what God wanted to be written. This is one of the reasons we study Scripture, to dig deep and think hard about the words we do have from God.
Though the conversations seems shortened, we can still get the gist of the dialogue.
Nicodemus does not yet grasp that it is the Holy Spirit who changes the hearts and minds of people. It is a rebirth. Nicodemus, and most of Israel, believed that Jewish heritage and Jewish law-keeping was the way to God.
Jesus is saying that is not so. AND that it has NEVER been so. The way to God is first and foremost God seeking the lost, then the lost seeing their great need for God, and then the reborn treasuring God for his grace and mercy and love (or the great Old Testament term, “The steadfast love of God.”) that they love and treasure and seek and desire God with all their heart.
Note Jesus’ words about the wind and the Spirit. It’s all a God thing. The rebirth is a God thing. It is God-initiated and God-fulfilled. He will seek and save the lost. If we seek God it is because God has sought us first.
This month we’ll be reading John 3.
It is one of the most we’ll known chapters in the Bible, AND it is a chapter full of depth and wonders.
The two Nicodemus paragraphs have layers of learning and is left unresolved. What is Nicodemus’s final response?
The whole John 3:16 paragraph has such needed truths.
The two John the Baptist paragraphs teach us to be like John the Baptist.
The final paragraph is one to read and re-read (and re-read again and again) slowly letting it sink in.
It’s not a simple chapter. It has a few things to unravel. It has a few things hard to do. And it has a few things that are high and lofty and can give us great depth and even greater insight.
Enjoy!
Learning about God Himself is the most important thing to learn as a human.
There are things to learn about God from the three parts of John 2.
In the miracle of turning the water into wine we learn that God is social, that despite us being sinful and flawed mankind is near and dear to His heart. That’s the kind of God we have. He likes us, despite ourselves. You are liked and enjoyed by God. Let THAT sink in. He does not hate us. We are not an annoyance. God loves and cherishes and is devoted to His creation.
We also learn that God has a time for everything and way of doing everything. He is, after all, God. And by definition, His ways are always superior to ours. This is GOOD. There is security in knowing and believing that. Our God is wise, exceedingly smart. And His ways of doing things is ALWAYS good. Today (everyday!) rest a little easier that God’s work in your life is GOOD and is being done in perfect, flawless, mouth-dropping wisdom. Trust THAT! Believe THAT!
More to come.
This is something GOOD to know about what to expect from your pastor and elders
Jesus says something interesting in John 2:19.
But Romans 8:11 seems to contradict that.
But Galatians 1:1 seems to contradict both of those.
What gives? And what’s the issue?
Who raised Jesus from the dead is the issue? Was it Jesus (John 2:19), or the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11), or God the Father (Galatians 1:1)?
How do we reconcile this? What’s the answer? All three raised Jesus from dead. The trinity was all involved in bringing Jesus back from the dead.
That’s a good and surprising thing to learn.
The very last sentence in John 2 reveals two things about God.
He knows us quite well. He knows the depth of our sin and selfishness. He knows everything. Every. Single. Thing.
Second, He loves us despite ourselves. He blesses us regardless of sinfulness. Grace. Truly. Is. Amazing.
The eighth paragraph of this, starting with, “Here we must be…”
The Men's Bible Reading Idea 