Without a healthy vine, there are no branches and no fruit.
Jesus made every effort to teach us that he was everything we needed to sustain our spiritual life. He is our strength and support. He is the way in and the path to life.
John records for us seven times that Jesus said he is something key to our salvation.
Jesus said “I am …”
the bread of life (John 6:35)
the light of the world (John 8:12)
the door (John 10:9)
the good shepherd (John 10:11)
the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)
the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)
the vine (John 15:5)
Today, review these passages in their full context and consider how much more priority we should give Christ in our lives.
Bible Study. The way to find the truth (Acts 17:11)
They didn’t take time to find out where Jesus was born. (John 7:42)
They said no prophet ever came from Galilee. (John 7:52)
When I read about the crowd dividing over who Jesus was, (John 7:40-52) I can’t help but think how people are still the same. Why is it that so many choose sides on an issue without doing an actual investigation?
Since the Pharisees involved in this account knew that the Christ was supposed to come from Bethlehem, (Micah 5:2) we can tell they were only making an assumption that Jesus was born in Galilee. They also forgot that Jonah was from Galilee, (2 Kings 14:25) so we can see their logic was faulty from the beginning.
Using that faulty logic, they concluded that Jesus could not be the Christ.
We have hundreds of denominations of Christian churches. We have thousands of congregations within the denominations further dividing the Scriptures in incorrect ways. All of these based on incorrect conclusions from study or lack of study.
Christianity is not a religion we are born into. We have to hear it and believe it. (Romans 10:17) We have to study it diligently. (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV) We have to verify what we are taught. (Acts 17:11)
Yes, Christianity is a lot of work. The reason we have so many that are missing the mark, honestly or not, is because we have failed to give it the diligence required.
From Paul’s writing, we can see that division in the church was never intended. (Ephesians 4:1-6) If our task is to read and understand God’s word, why would we allow divisions among Christians to stand without proper and honest Bible study together?
Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834–1890) – The Sermon On the Mount
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. – John 6:29
This is a key verse to debate those who teach the “faith only” doctrine. Those who have allowed themselves to believe that there is nothing one can do to be saved have overlooked this verse.
There is also a difference in believing “in him” and “believing him.” If we are to believe in Christ, we have to trust that what he said is the way of salvation. Finding ways around his teaching is contrary to the spirit of what Jesus was about. A number of the followers turned away in John 6 when they started figuring this out.
Jesus marveled at man’s disbelief. (Mark 6:6) His villagers even used the fact that he was born among them and therefore could not possibly be worthy of his claims.
Not believing in God makes us equal to the animals
Not believing is contrary to human nature
Not believing leaves man without hope
Not believing closes the mind to the evidence of God
Faith takes a lot of work. It is how we separate ourselves from the world. It is how we decide to set priorities for “spiritual bread” over the physical bread.
As we make our daily choices – let’s pay more attention to which bread we are working for by choosing to enrich our faith.
Love is much more than an attribute of God – it is the ultimate description of the Divine.
God is omnipotent – all powerful!
God is omniscient – all knowledgeable!
But nowhere does the Bible say, “God is power,” or “God is knowledge.” These are attributes, wonderful and incomprehensible to be sure…
…but what God is, is love.
After all these centuries no better definition of God can be found than to say along with John, “God is love.”
Nobody can explain the spark of life, apart from God.
Our very existence, our very life, is due to God’s infinite love and His “breath of life.” The atheist does not deny God so much as he denies himself.
Life demands the God of heaven to explain it.
1. God’s Love is Incomprehensible
The apostle Paul prayed that we “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth” of God’s love that surpasses all knowledge. (Ephesians 3:18-19)
The love of God and Christ cannot be fully fathomed. Probably because we could never possess that kind of love. It is difficult to understand how God could do what He did.
Would you die to save the worst sinner you have ever known?
Christ did!
2. God’s love is unconditional
God’s love predates any performance on our part.
…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8
He will still love us even if we do not respond to that love in order to be saved.
God waits.
3. God’s love is constant
No matter what happens, God loves you. Look at what Paul said about the strength of God’s love:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present nor things to come,
nor powers,
nor height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8: 37-39
4. God’s love is sacrificial
The greatest verse in the Bible on the subject of love is also the greatest verse on the subject of giving.
Combine the greatest gift of love with the greatest example of love and what do you have?
For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son….. – John 3:16
5. God’s love is compelling
Here is Paul’s instruction and personal testimony:
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all… – 2 Corinthians 5:14
And John’s:
“We love because He first loved us. – 1 John 4: 19
This is the greatest reciprocal relationship of life!
No wonder John says, “God is love.” (I John 4:8, 16)
Healing the son of a royal official – 1752 – Joseph-Marie Vien (1716 – 1809 )
The healing of the nobleman’s son is more than a lesson on having faith. (John 4:46-54) It is a lesson on how to act if you really have that faith.
When Jesus said “Go,” the nobleman went – after dragging his feet a little. He eventually had to accept that Jesus could heal his son from a distance. He braced himself and went on his way home like Jesus told him.
What if Jesus had gone with him instead? Would the nobleman’s faith have grown at all?
Sometimes our prayers are answered far differently than we expect…
That’s because God works in his way and his time – not ours.
Giacomo Franceschini – Gesù e la Samaritana al pozzo – 17th or 18th century
Sometimes we know too much for our own good.
It’s just an attitude issue though. We see the disciples with a little attitude when they passed through Samaria. (John 4:1-42) Notice how the Samaritan woman understood who she was with and began spreading the word immediately.
She had no predisposition of entitlement or wisdom. She just knew she was with the Christ (John 4:29)
The disciples were not impressed that Jesus was talking to her. (John 4:27) As their tradition would have it, they were too far above these people socially to even bother with them. Yet here was their teacher having cordial dealings with her.
The contrast is that the disciples were in direct contact with Jesus and his teachings, but they still had doubts throughout his ministry. The Samaritan woman had no doubt.
It is a lot like the Parable Pharisee and the Tax Collector. The way we approach any given situation – our general attitude – has everything to do with what is in our heart.
