JOHN LESSON 25


     We will begin this lesson in John 8:31.

     V-31, "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye
continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;"

     Jesus says to them (Jews), if you believe, discipline yourself,
and walk in my ways, you will truly be my followers.  The only way any
of us then, or now, can walk in God's ways is to know what His will is
for our life.  The way to find out what that will is, is to read His
Word (Bible).  The secret of life everlasting is in His Word.  To be
His disciple, we must make Him our Lord, as well as our Saviour.

     V-32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free."

     One of the names Jesus is called by is the Truth.  He is the Way,
the Truth, and the Life.  Jesus is, also, the Word.  If you study His
Word (the Bible), then you will know the Truth.  That Truth does set
you free from the bondage of sin.  Jesus, also, is the Light.  If the
Light shines in your heart, it does away with darkness (sin).  We are
told that in the end times, there will be false Christs who are
deceivers, Matthew 24:24, "For there shall arise false Christs, and
false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that,
if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."  There is
only one way not to be deceived, and that is by being full of the Word
of God; so that if they change even one word, you will be aware of it.

     V-33, "They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in
bondage to any man:  how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?"

     You see, these people are caught up in the flesh, and cannot see
the things of the Spirit.  They are Abraham's descendents in the
flesh, but are not Abraham's descendents in the Spirit.  In Galatians
3:28 & 29 we read, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus."  V-29, "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's
seed, and heirs according to the promise."  You see, not those who
have Abraham's flesh are his heirs, but those who believe.

     V-34, "Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin."

     You cannot be the servant of sin and the servant of God all at
the same time.  In Luke 16:13 we read, "No servant can serve two
masters:  for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else
he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God
and mammon."

     V-35, "And the servant abideth not in the house for ever:  but
the Son abideth ever."

     We cannot take on sonship as long as we are a servant to sin.  We
either belong to God as His son (or daughter), or else we serve sin.
This is like oil and water.  Sin and God cannot, and will not mix.  We
belong to God or Satan:  there is no in between.  If we belong to God,
we are His sons and heirs of Abraham's promises.

     V-36, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed."

     Romans 8:2, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

     V-37, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me,
because my word hath no place in you."

     These are physical descendents of Abraham.  They are still
thinking of flesh, and not Spirit.  The Word of God is Life.  You
cannot have Life without the Word, because they are the same."

     V-38, "I speak that which I have seen with my Father:  and ye do
that which ye have seen with your father."

     Jesus says, here, that His Father is not the same as their
father.  Since Jesus is teaching the opposite of them, then it is
obvious that they do not have the same father.

     V-39, "They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father.
Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the
works of Abraham."

     The works spoken of here is Abraham's belief.  Abraham believed,
and it was counted unto him for righteousness.  Genesis 15:6, "And he
believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." You
see, Abraham believed in the Lord.  These people (Jews) pretending to
be Abraham's descendents, did not believe in the Lord.

     V-40, "But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the
truth, which I have heard of God:  this did not Abraham."

     God does not teach to kill, and they want to kill Jesus.  Abraham
did God's will.  When God said move, he did.  He lived in tents after
leaving Ur of the Chaldees, because he moved when God directed him.

     V-41, "Ye do the deeds of your father.  Then said they to him, We
be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God."

     Killing is of Satan, not God.  You tell the father by the
children he bears, whether their deeds be good or bad.  Perhaps, their
mother was married and they were not bastard children, but the
fornication here is spiritual, not physical.  They believe d their
Father is God, but God is Spirit, not physical.



     V-42, "Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would
love me:  for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of
myself, but he sent me."

     If God were your Father, you would not be wanting to kill me.
The Father is the source of Jesus' power and wisdom.  Jesus was with
the Father in heaven.  Jesus was the Word of God in the beginning.
Jesus' home is in heaven.  Jesus was just on a mission when He came to
earth.  His mission was to save the lost, even at the cost of His
flesh.

     V-43, "Why do ye not understand my speech?  even because ye
cannot hear my word."

     This is an affront on these Jews for not knowing the Word of God.
They really do not understand the Word of God, which they professed to
know.  The Word is Spirit and Life, and they have neither.  They do
not understand His Word.

     V-44, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your
father ye will do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode
not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaketh
a lie, he speaketh of his own:  for he is a liar , and the father of
it."

     This is a statement here that their conduct is not in keeping
with God the Father.  Their words and deeds actually rebel against the
Truth.  They are enemies of all that is good, which is not compatible
with love of the Father.  Just as Lucifer rebel led against the
Father, so they have rebelled against the Son.  Jesus accuses them of
being spiritual sons of Satan, because they do evil instead of good.
They lie, lust for power as Lucifer did, and want to kill.  These are
not fruits of God, but Satan.

                                 Notes



















                          John 25 Questions


1.  How would these Jews, who believed on Jesus, be His disciples
    indeed?
2.  What shall make you free?
3.  How can you know God's will for you?
4.  Truth sets you free from what?
5.  Matthew 24:24 says who might deceive many?
6.  Who were they bragging was their ancestor?
7.  Quote Galatians 3:28.
8.  "And if ye be __________________________, then are ye Abraham's
    seed, and heirs according to the promise."
9.  "...Whosoever committeth sin the ________________________________
    of sin."
10. Luke 16:13 says no servant can serve __________________________
    __________________________________.
11. In verse 35, "And the servant abideth not in the house for ever:
    but the __________________________
abideth ever."
12. Who must set you free for you to be free indeed?
13. What has made us free from the law of sin and death?
14. What is Jesus saying about their father in verse 38?
15. "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the ___________
    of Abraham."
16. What was counted unto Abraham for righteousness?
17. They told Jesus, they be not born of ______________________.
18. Jesus told them, "If God were your Father, ye would ____________
     ______________________."
19. What was Jesus' mission on earth?
20. In verse 44, Who did Jesus say was their father?

                                 Notes