Lesson #19

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John

September 21, 2015

Lesson #01

January 13, 2010

Lesson #02

January 13, 2010

RETURN TO SYLLABUS

JOHN 8:31-59
Lesson #19
FREEDOM IN TRUTH

• Memory verse: John 8:32

• In our previous lesson, we learned that Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. That means there is no other truth except in Jesus Christ. This lesson continues to expound the thought that light is truth.

• Read Joh 8:31-37 The light of truth
• Verse 30 tells us that many people believed in Jesus at this point, but did they really believe? Did they simply have head knowledge without heart faith? To test their belief, in verse 31, Jesus gives them the consequence of heart faith. If they truly have heart faith to believe in Jesus, they will continue with Him.
• “…If ye continue in my word.”

(31)

• Heart faith in Christ will produce a desire to continue with Him.
• Heart faith in Christ will produce a thirst for the Word of God.
• Then why do we see so many Christians who are not interested in Bible study?
• A believer in Christ who is not interested in reading and studying the Bible is one of two kinds of Christians:
• A believer in name only:
• This is the person who is not really born again. He has only made a verbal belief in Jesus without faith in his heart. He may think he is a believer, but in fact, he is really a non-believer.
• A carnal believer:
• This is the person who is born again but allows the things of the world choke out the seed of the Word of God (Mat 13:3-23)
• Remember the floor plan of the tabernacle in the wilderness. In the Holy place was the table of showbread and the golden candlestick.
• To draw closer to the Lord we must nourish ourselves spiritually on the bread of the Word of God and receive the light of truth.
• In other words, applying the truth of the Word of God to our lives brings us God’s light.
• It is not enough just to learn and study God’s Word, we must apply it to our lives so that we see God change our lives.
• Every believer who is a leader in the church must exemplify some interest in Bible study. (2Tim 2:15) A person with half a truth is a greater danger than a person who knows nothing.
• “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

(32)

• To know the truth is to know Jesus Christ personally, for He is truth. (36)
• The light of God’s truth in His Word makes us free. Free from what?
• Free from the penalty of sin and death. (Rom 6:18, 22 Rom 8:2)
• The believer gradually learns, through applying the Word of God to his life, how to live a life free from sin.
• Free from the Old Testament Mosaic law. (Gal 5:1-3)
• In this New Testament age, we live under grace and not the bondage of the Old Testament law.
• Freedom and bondage:

• “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man.”

(33)

• These men were certainly blind for they were currently under the heel of Rome. Their forefathers had been in bondage in Egypt and Babylon. However, to their credit, they never surrendered their Jewish spirit or their unique identity.
• Jesus referred to spiritual bondage under sin of which all humans are under bondage until they come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• We know Jesus referred to spiritual bondage under sin because in verse 34 he mentions the bondage of sin, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”
• Read Rom 6:6-14
• The true children of Abraham are those who have faith in Jesus Christ.
• Read Gal 3:26,29)
• “And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.”

(35)

• What does this verse mean?
• The servant in a house is not a permanent member of the family, while a son in the house has a permanent position in the family.
• The Jewish leaders were servants in God’s temple. That work did not give them eternal life no matter how long and how hard they worked. Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ gives a person the eternal position of a son of God.
• The Jews did not know that even the temple was going to be destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans and they would have no position of authority, no task to perform, and no temple.
• “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

(36)

• If truth sets you free (32) and Jesus sets you free (36), then Jesus and truth are the same. Truth is personified in Jesus Christ.
• Through Jesus Christ, the believer can live in victory over sin.
• Summary:
• What can we learn from this passage about truth and freedom?
• Personal pride can blind a person to the truth of God.
• The religious leaders were blind to God’s truth.
• Lineage and family tradition does not guarantee that a person will learn the truth.
• Lineage from Abraham and Moses did not guarantee that all Jews would know the truth. (37)
• Truth is God’s light to the world through Jesus Christ and His Word..
• Truth put into practice results in freedom.
• There is freedom from the bondage of sin only in Jesus Christ.
• Read Joh 8:38-50 Spiritual fatherhood
• The question is, who is your spiritual father?
• A child imitates his father.
• The Father of Jesus Christ is the eternal God.
• The father of the Jewish leaders is Satan. (38, 44)
• The Jews claimed that Abraham was their father.
• They thought that the righteousness of Abraham was passed on to them by genetic means. They are thinking about human lineage and not thinking spiritually.
• If they were thinking spiritually, they would know that faith is necessary to be a child of God, and that righteousness cannot be passed from generation to generation. God has no grandchildren.
• Instead of true faith in their hearts, they had murder in their hearts.
• The test of love:
• It is possible to determine a person’s spiritual father by the actions he imitates. (39)
• Read 1Joh 5:1-5
• Love is the test of being a child of God. (42)
• Read 1Joh 4:7-8, 20-21
• A born again child of God will love others because he imitates his heavenly father.
• The test of words:

• “He that is of God heareth God’s words…”

(47)

• It is possible to determine a person’s spiritual father by the truth that he is able to receive from God.
• Only believers in Jesus Christ can receive and understand God’s truth.
• Since only believers hear God’s words, then how does a non-believer get saved?
• It is only by a special illumination through the Holy Spirit that convicts a person’s heart of sin. (compare Joh 14:17 with Joh 16:8)
• The response of the Jewish leaders: (48)
• The religious leaders could not find any sin for which Jesus was guilty.
• Therefore, they resorted to empty ridicule.
• They called him a Samaritan. This was like calling a person illegitimate. Because of the extreme hatred between the mixed-blooded Samaritans and the Jews, this was the worst thing you could call a person.
• They said he had a demon, but gave no proof.
• What do we learn in this passage about the devil? (44)
• Satan is the father of lies, a deceiver, and destroyer.
• Satan is the father of lusts, sin, and murder.
• There is no truth in Satan.
• Read Joh 8:51-59
• A tremendous promise:

• “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death”

(51)

• This is an offer of eternal life.
• To what “saying” does Jesus refer?

• “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again.”

(Joh 3:3)

• Skeptical questions by the religious Jews:
• The religious leaders saw this offer of eternal life as prideful presumption. They challenged him with skeptical questions.

• “Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead?”

(53)

• The answer is, yes. Jesus is greater than Abraham.
• “…and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?”

(53)

• Abraham and the prophets died, so how can Jesus offer so great a promise as eternal life to anyone not as great as Abraham?
• If Abraham and the prophets could not give eternal life, what makes Jesus so special?
• The obvious answer is that Jesus is the Son of God, God in the flesh, the giver of life. He, therefore, has the power and authority to give eternal life.
• Jesus’ response: (54-56)
• Jesus is not filled with presumptuous pride. He does not heap honor upon himself. It is God, the Father, who honors Him. (54)
• If the religious leaders knew God, they would know these things. They are ignorant of God. To claim that they know God when they do not, makes them liars. If Jesus denied a personal relationship with God, the Father, He would be a liar. (55)
• “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.”

(56)

• What does this verse mean? Did Abraham ever see Jesus Christ? Yes.
• Read Joh 1:18
• No one has seen God, the Father, but Jesus Christ was declared to the Old Testament saints. How?
• Through visions, theophanies, types, prefigures, and prophecies which all pointed to Christ.
• Read Luk 20:38
• God is a God of the living. Even though Abraham was dead physically, he was alive spiritually and in the presence of the Holy Trinity.
• “Before Abraham was, I am.”

(58)

• Jesus does not use the past tense of the verb, I was. He uses the present tense, I am. This means He was alive when Abraham walked on the earth.
• This phrase, “I am”, is a statement of deity that God said to Moses at the burning bush.
• The religious leaders understood very well, this statement of deity, for they immediately reacted with anger and attempted to kill Him for blaspheming God. However, God would choose the time and the place for the death of His Son. (59)
• What new things do we learn in this passage about: Jesus Christ?
• Jesus had complete control when his enemies confronted Him.
• Jesus defended His word but not his reputation.
• Even when the religious leaders verbally attacked Him with anger, vicious names, and dishonor, He did not retaliate or defend himself personally.
• Because Jesus was without sin, (46) He speaks truth and is, therefore, God in the flesh.
• He reveals His eternal deity in the name, I am.

HOMEWORK
John 9:1-41
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of Joh 8:31-59
• How does your spiritual life stand in contrast to the religious leaders?
• How obedient are you to Christ’s words?
• How well do you apply God’s Word to your life?
• How free are you in Jesus Christ?
• If you lack anything in the above three questions, you may want to study this lesson again.
• Preparation for Joh 9:1-41
• Read Joh 9:1-41
• What was the cause of the illness?
• Was faith and obedience involved in the healing? How?
• Why did Jesus use water and clay to heal this man?
• How did Jesus minister to the patient spiritually?
• Does God hear the prayers of non-believers? (Joh 9:31 and Luk 18:13)
• What does verse 39 mean?
• What does this passage teach about:
• Spiritual blindness?
• Unbelief?
• Sin?
• Memory verse: John 9:5