John 1:6-14
6There came a man having been sent from
God, name to him, John. 7This one came for a testimony, so that he should
testify concerning the Light, so that all should believe through him. 8That one
was not the Light, but so that he should testify concerning the Light.
9He was the true Light, which enlightens
every person coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world came
to be through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11He came to
His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12But as many as received Him, He gave to
them authority to become Children of God— to the ones trusting in His name, 13who were
begotten, not from bloods, nor from a will of flesh, nor from will of a man,
but from God.
14And the Word (the Expression of Divine
Logic) became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as
of an only-begotten (uniquely-begotten) from Father, full of Grace and Truth.
Good Day Child of God! “Father? Your Will Be
Done!” We have to start with the fact that the end of the nine verses above sum
up the entire Ministry of Jesus, and God’s Will for Mankind. The primary reason
Jesus came to us was to explain His Father’s Will, that is, to become Alive in
Grace and Truth.
The Apostle John had to have written this
Gospel well after his leaving Jerusalem, and we know that because the Church at
Jerusalem had Jesus’ brother James as leader. James didn’t believe in Jesus
while He was alive, and then his belief system mixed Law and Grace. Actually it
mixed Judaism and the Father’s Will for mankind. The Apostle John new better,
and wrote His Gospel in a way that show that it was Grace from the beginning.
Today’s
easy lesson: While our verses above
introduce John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist at the same time
introduces Jesus declaring which of the two is the Messiah. Why do you suppose
he would do that? There are three reasons John the Baptist explained Jesus’
superior position to his own. One, John the Baptist was well known, well
respected, and was fearless. Two, John was baptizing teaching people to cleanse
themselves of sin was not a Temple matter, a Jewish matter, but in fact a
relationship issue between mankind and God. Three, he needed to fulfill
prophecy.
Jesus, hardly known, His ministry yet to start
in any important manner, and as John recognizes Jesus from the distance,
announces Who He is to those following him. In fact John the Apostle goes
beyond that and explains that Jesus is for everyone. Most of us don’t catch
that phrasing, it is easy to read right over it and not notice that Jesus did
not bring His message for the Jews alone, but for all mankind.
What is
the message for you? The religion of Judaism began sometime between the last
Book of the Old Testament, and the birth of Christ Jesus. When we get into
Jesus’ earthly ministry we will see Jesus savage the Jews, more specifically
their leadership. The message? If you believe your church, your pastor, indeed
your religion is going to provide a ticket to heaven for you, you are dead
wrong. The Father wants you to Trust in Him, His Son’s work on your behalf, and
build a personal relationship by allowing the Father to lead and you follow. If
you are a Child of God, the Holy Spirit is in you. You will be protected,
loved, and cared for in all the ways that you need and want if you will just
allow God His Place in your life. That place is you submitting to His Will, not
the other way around. Then you will see Grace in action, and you will be a person filled with peace, love and joy. Have a
Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete NT: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
