John 8

I've been reading through a chapter a day in John so that I can focus on a bit at a time and meditate on the things that really speak to me. Yesterday, I was in chapter 8, and was struck once again by who the Lord is and what He has done for me. In verse 23, Jesus says to the Pharisees, "And He said to them, 'You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am ("He" is in my translation, but not in the original text), you will die in your sins.'" Again in verses 28-29, He says this same thing again and expounds: "Then Jesus said to them, 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am (He), and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.'" I was struck by what the Lord was saying here. First of all, it is absolutely essential that we recognize and trust in the deity of Christ. I will discuss that a little more later, but He says right here that if we do not believe that He is who He says He is, that He is "I AM" (the NAME of God), then we will die in our sins. The second thing I noticed was that in Christ we have access to God the Father, and by the power of Christ in us, we can have the same testimony: The trust that the Father does not leave us alone because we do the things that please Him. This seems like a bold statement, but consider another verse in chapter six of John: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." If we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the God-man, and we rest in His complete and finished work on the cross, then we have the Lord with us ALWAYS, and we are doing that which pleases Him.

In verses 34-36, Jesus says to them in this discourse on His nature: "Jesus answered them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.'" We were slaves to sin, but when we come to the Son, He "sets us free"; gives liberty to the captives; so that we are no longer slaves. But there's more..."But as many as received Him, to them He gave the RIGHT (emphasis mine) to become children of God, to those who believe IN HIS NAME (emphasis mine)..." (John 1:12), and "and if children, then HEIRS - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together" (Romans 8:17). The Lord doesn't just set the slave FREE, He adopts the slave as His own child and then gives the slave the same inheritance as His own Son: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Verse 58 is probably my favorite verse in the book of John. Whenever I watch "The Gospel of John", it just gives me chills when this line is spoken because of the power of what Jesus is saying: "Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." And this is the power of these words, of this entire chapter, and the reason why if we miss this, we miss everything: If Jesus ISN'T God, then He has NO power to save us, to set us free. ALL authority has been given to Him because HE IS GOD; God in flesh, come to redeem us who are in the flesh from the power (the strength) of the flesh and of death. "Whom the Son sets free, you are free indeed!" This is only true BECAUSE He is God. No mere created being has this kind of power and authority, because, as some correctly stated, "only God can forgive sins." Now, as Christians who believe that Jesus IS God, we have the living Christ living within us, and He gives us power and authority to do IN HIS NAME, only what He tells us to do, NOT what we decide to do FOR Him. If the Lord gives us something to do, we can do it in confidence, knowing that it is not us doing it, but the power of the living Christ within us supplying what we need to accomplish what He commands.