John 1:12

John 1:12, says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on His name."   Verse thirteen adds, "Which were, born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of me, but of God."  Christ came to save all.  Yes, He went first to the Jews, not so they would alone be saved, but so they could share the gospel with all people.  When Christ calls us to Him, it is not so we can keep salvation for ourselves.  We, as His people, have a responsibility to share the gospel with all people.  The Jews, God's chosen people, failed to accept Him because He wasn't what they wanted.  They wanted worldly power, but Christ offered the power to become sons of God.  When we begin to feel weak in the eyes of the world, remember we have the power of being a child of God.  The only way the world can defeat us is if they defeat our Heavenly Father.  We were all born into this world, whatever state it may be in.  That makes us a human, no better or worse than any other human.  It does not make us a child of God.  Now, I personally believe that until we reach the age where we know right from wrong and choose the wrong that we are His.  Sin, our sin, is what separates us, and choosing Christ as our Savior is what restores us.  I have heard some people say that they are a Christian, but they don't believe in the idea of being born again.  Since that is the cornerstone of salvation, you cannot be one without the other.  As a follower of Christ, we are born again by faith in Christ.  My will, my power, my abilities, will not save me.  Only the will and power of God can save me.  His will is for all to be saved, but the choice belongs to each individual whether they will be or not.  In order to be born again, we must confess our sins.  If we say we are a Christian, but we have never done anything to need forgiveness for, then we make either ourselves or God a liar.  Only One has ever lived Who needed no forgiveness, and that was Jesus, the Christ. 

John 1:7

John 1:7 says, The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.  John the Baptist was there to prepare people to get ready for the coming of Christ, the Messiah, and then have them follow Christ.   He came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. Some people even thought John might be the Messiah. When people are hungry for hope, they will look to anyone for that hope.  John the Baptist was a good man to listen to, even to follow, but he was not the Messiah.  Today, people follow religious leaders as if they were the answer to life's problems themselves.  If they do not point you to following Christ and away from following them, then something is wrong. Verse eight continues, He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  Verse nine says, That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  Again, everything we teach must be founded in the Bible, so we must know what it actually says.  Jesus was and is the true Light of the world. We, like John the Baptist are sent, as followers of His, into the world to bear witness to that Light. Verse ten adds, He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  Verse eleven continues, He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  When Jesus was in the world, a world made by Him, the world did not acknowledge Him.  He had a few who believed and followed, but even they did not understand Who He really was until after His death, burial, and resurrection.  We today need to understand Who we really follow.  He is not just a man Who walked and taught and died and rose again over two thousand years ago.  He was and is the Creator of this world, and He has promised that He will be with those who put their faith in Him in an even more powerful way through the Holy Spirit.   We need to claim that Power.  John the Baptist boldly proclaimed the coming of Christ in the corrupt and evil world in which he lived.  Even the leaders of God's people refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.  Today, we have religious leaders who are more concerned with maintaining their status than with sharing the gospel with all people.  We need to be more like John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness of lost people, make ready the way of the Lord.  If we truly believe the end is near, we need to be witnessing to as many as we can instead of withdrawing in fear and anguish.  Our commission was not to withdraw and hang on, but to go and witness.  Jesus came to the Jews first and they did not receive Him.   

John 1:3

John 1:3 says, All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  John tells us that through the Word, Christ Himself, everything was made.  He was not just with God but was the Creator of everything.  I am not sure there are any words to accurately describe the Trinity, but again, there is but One God, manifested as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We in the church today are guided by the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is not a replacement for the God of the Old Testament or for Jesus.  God is all Three, and all Three are God.  John was declaring Jesus the Creator of all things.  He spoke into being all things, except man who was created from the dust in the image of God, and woman who was created from the rib of man.  If anyone states that we are no different than any other animal, they are wrong.  Some religions believe that Jesus was not the only begotten Son of God, but that He had a heavenly father and mother, who had a heavenly father and mother.  We can never allow that belief to become acceptable in Christianity.  God did not say "I became," but "I Am."  God always was, before anything else. He is without beginning or end.  He is the One Who created and sustains the universe.  Verse four adds, In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  Verse five continues, And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.  Christ came to bring life, everlasting, meaningful life, to mankind and to be a Light unto the world.  Until a person accepts Christ as a personal Savior, life is without meaning. We stumble around in darkness looking for hope and purpose.  Through Christ, we find light and meaning in life.  Verse six concludes, There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  Then John told about John the Baptist, who was beginning to have people follow him, some even thinking he might be the Messiah.  When people are hungry for hope, they will look to anyone for that hope.  John the Baptist was a good man to listen to, even to follow, but he was not the Messiah.  Today, people follow religious leaders as if they were the answer to life's problems themselves.  If they do not point you to following Christ and away from following them, then something is wrong.

John 1:1

 

John 1:1, says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  At the beginning of the world, the Word, Christ, already existed.  In the beginning does not mean that God suddenly appeared at some point.  God has always and will always be.  Verse two adds, The same was in the beginning with God.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the Three in One, have always been and will always be. The Christ we serve as our Savior did not come into existence a little over two thousand years ago.  He always has been.  Neither is He a second God, but He is God. Though He would become a man during His ministry on earth, He did not cease to be God.  Though I cannot explain the Three in One nature of God effectively, I can accept in faith that it exists.  Though we speak of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as being different Beings. They are not.  There is but one God, shown to us in three different manifestations.  We must never try to make the three into different Gods.  I have heard people say they believe in Jesus as their Savior but want nothing to do with the God of the Old Testament.  We must realize and acknowledge that they are the same.  Since the beginning, Christ has been God.  There is no Old Testament God Who is not the New Testament God.  So, as His followers, even if we cannot totally understand the nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the One true God, we must accept the fact by faith.  Jesus, our Redeemer, always was and always will be God.

Acts Review Continued

In the Book of Acts, we have the record of Paul's many missionary journeys and the gospel going to the Gentiles by his work.  We also find Paul eventually in Rome as a prisoner.  If we are going to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ, we must be willing to face imprisonment if necessary.  The Book of Acts tells us about the disciples spreading of the gospel to the world around them, but it also tells us of disagreements in the early church, so we shouldn’t be surprised if there are disagreements in the church today.  They resolved their disagreements and the work of the church continued effectively, and if we have disagreements, we must do the same.   

Acts Review comtinued

The Book of Acts tells us of many miracles that the disciples did through the power of the Holy Spirit.  We are told of the escape of apostles after they had been put in a common prison under guard by a miracle from God.  If we are doing God’s work, we will never be confined forever, even if we are in this lifetime.  We learn of the appointing of the first deacons to do the administrative tasks in the church so that the apostles would be free to prepare and preach.  This is still the purpose of deacons today.  We are told about the martyrdom of Stephen, one of the seven deacons, and of a young man named Saul, who would later become known as Paul, consenting to his death.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are all guilty crucifying Jesus and persecuting His followers, whether we are doing it actively or not.  We learn of Paul’s later conversion on the Damascus road as he was on the way to persecute Christians and the great Change the at came over him.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we should be forever changed and become zealous about reaching others with the gospel. 

Acts Review

The Book of Acts tells us of the beginning of the spreading of the gospel and the growth of the early church.  It was written by Luke.  It starts with the disciples being told to wait for the coning of the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter Who was to be with all Christians after Jesus was no longer with them physically. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord today, we don’t have to wait for the Holy Spirit to come, because He immediately indwells us.  No one gets any more or any less of the Holy Spirit.  They were warned against just standing gazing into heaven where Jesus had ascended, and we today should not just be standing and gazing into heaven looking for his return.  We are told of the need to replace Judas and their doing so with Matthias, who followed them from the beginning.  When one church leader dies, we certainly need to replace them.  We have a record of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and the disciples being able to speak to people in their language which the disciples had not known.  We’re told that this was a fulfillment of a prophesy in Joel about sons and daughters, servants and handmaidens prophesying in the last days.  There truly is no male or female spiritually in God’s view, but all are called to do God’s work.  We learn about Peter boldly proclaiming Jesus Christ, who had been crucified by the religious leaders, being the coming Messiah and the only way to salvation, even though it mad them angry.  We can only tell the truth about Jesus Christ, no matter how it makes people feel.  Acts tells us that the believers had everything in common, meeting the needs of all.  We usually don’t want to accept this as a literal statement about how we as believers should live today. We are also told of Ananias and Sapphira selling some property and claiming to give it all to the disciples and lying about it by keeping part of the money for themselves, and their death because of it.  It wasn’t the amount given that caused their death, but their lying to the disciples and God about it.