Apply Within

Guest (Male): Jesus says if God were your father, you would love me.

Guest (Male): I wish we could have been sitting in the crowd watching the faces of these Jewish leaders. If God were your father, you would love me. And clearly, the crowd goes, "They don't, they sure don't. Everybody can see it."

Announcer: Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the Word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply His Word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse-by-verse through the Bible. We see the simplicity of salvation as our study of John continues in chapter 8, verse 37. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: So we take up here in chapter 8, verse 37. He's still teaching them. They're still badgering Him, but He patiently and lovingly continues to teach them. So lesson for me, lesson for you, lesson for us. We are the believers. We are the ones saved by grace through faith. We are the ones who should be patient. And Jesus sure is.

Jesus says this: "I know that you are Abraham's seed. But you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you." Hear that? "I know that you're Abraham's seed." All that means is I know you can trace your lineage back to Abraham. Basically, I know that you are direct descendants of Abraham. Good for you. But you're wanting to kill me, because my word has no place in you. You don't have my word there. "I speak that which I have seen with my father. Now here it comes. You do that which you have seen with your father."

Jesus—let me paraphrase it, put it in American. Jesus says, "Yes, you are direct descendants of Abraham. You are the seed of Abraham, true. But you're out to kill me, a son of Abraham, right?" He is the promised one, He said, when He mentioned Abraham before. The promise that God gave to Abraham, right? Not just Isaac, but through Isaac, Jacob, and through Jacob, etc., all the way down to Jesus Christ, Messiah.

So basically, that's what the language means. You're seed of Abraham, that's true, but you're out to kill me, a son of Abraham, proving you are not spiritual descendants of Abraham. "God is my father, but He is not yours," He says. "My word has no place in you," simply meaning this: you could believe if you listened and wanted to, but you are choosing to reject. You are choosing not to hear this.

Now, I know as Christians, chances are great you have shared with someone and you know what you're going to get. Many people say, "I'm not a believer." "Well, let me tell you what the Bible says. The Bible says, for God so loved the world." And they go, "Yeah, okay, hold it. I know that. I don't really believe that stuff." No, they don't know it. They may have heard it, but they have no idea what it means. And they don't want to keep listening because something might happen to them.

So He's basically saying, "My word has no place in you," meaning this: you're rejecting my words, you're rejecting the message. You don't like the message, you don't want the message, and you want to kill the messenger—me, He says. And if you reject His words, if you reject His message, everyone, you have rejected Him, right?

I didn't think that as a young man when they were witnessing to me. They said, "You want Jesus?" and I thought, "No, give me another week to think about it." I had just rejected Him right then and there. I kind of was rejecting the word because I didn't know what it all meant, didn't want them shoving it down my throat, you know how Christians are. And so I was rejecting Jesus without even realizing.

He says this, Jesus does: "I speak the things that I hear from my father." I love that. I wish I only spoke the things I heard from my father. How about you? But I add little things to it, you know. "I speak the things I hear from my father." He's saying this: "This is what the Father in heaven says and I'm repeating it to you. I'm telling you His words."

And in contrast to me, though you say you're Abraham's children, in contrast to me, you do the things you've learned from your father. Again, He says, "Your father is not God. Your father is not really Abraham spiritually. You're descendants of him, but he's not your father. God is not your father." Well, I don't know how many choices these guys think they have, but if God's not your father, we can speculate. But don't, because we're going to learn in a minute who their father is.

Verse 39 says this: "They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father." Jesus saith unto them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. Plain and simple. But now you seek—you are looking for a way—to kill me. And a man that told you the truth, by the way, which I have heard of God. Abraham didn't do this. Abraham didn't act like you guys at all." Or let me flip it around. You're not acting anything like Abraham. Clearly, he's not your father.

He says, "You do the deeds of your father" (Verse 41). Then they said to Him, "We be not born of fornication (sexual sin). We have one father, God is, even God. God is our father. So you quit saying he's not. Neener-neener." They're arguing. They're arguing with God Almighty in the flesh. They are arguing with Him.

And I know that sounds weird until you—if all of our prayers were opened up and God let everybody hear them. God says, "What are you doing here?" "Well, I'm hiding from my own life. I'm trying to protect me for You. I'm serving You, and I'm the only one in Israel that's done it. They're going to kill me if I get loose from here. What do You mean, what am I doing here?"

We do that to God too. "Bob, what are you doing?" "Well, I'm just, you know, I'm serving." "No, what are you doing right here?" Well, you're not going to say nothing because now that's unholy, right? "If you don't know, you're not really God. Who is this?" Look at how they argue with Jesus. He just said their father is someone else and it is not God Almighty. They are not children of God.

These are spiritual leaders. These are the most religious that Israel has to offer. They're the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the doctors of the law, the scribes, and the lawyers. And they're in there. There's the crowd as well, yeah. But especially you'll see the Jews, that would be the leadership. They're the ones that really want to get Him put to death here.

They argue back right away. They say, "You're wrong. You are wrong. Abraham is our father." And so Jesus again says it plainly. "You may be the descendants of Abraham, but Abraham is not your father. Abraham would never think this way the way you're doing. He would never want to be put to death like you're putting to death or planning to put to death. That's not Abraham. You've got nothing to do with Abraham."

You're looking to kill me, and He says, "And why? Because I'm the one telling you the truth." If Jesus didn't love them, He could lie to them, I guess, right? But instead, He wants them to be all right, so He tells you and me and them the truth. Come to me. You are lost. You are in dire straits. You are in need. Come to me.

Come to me all of you that labor and are heavy-laden. Can you admit that you're sick and tired of being sick and tired of being sick and tired? Can you admit that it's just not going well no matter what you try to do? Can you admit that maybe, just maybe, you ought to let God do it? They won't admit that. Jesus says, "No, you're looking to kill me. Why? Because I told you the truth."

He says that is something Abraham did not do and basically would not do. And Jesus states it plainly, without giving them their dad's name, He says, "You're doing the deeds of your father," suggesting once again—well, basically saying out loud they have a different spiritual father than He does. Now it gets ugly. Ugly—let me rephrase that—uglier. These people are mean. They're bitter. They're jealous. They're hateful. They despise this Jesus. They have no idea who He is. They've just determined He's not Messiah, and we're just going to destroy this guy.

But listen to this. Now their feelings are hurt even more. Oh, God forbid. How many times have I heard people say to me, "Don't make me angry," like that's supposed to scare somebody? They got angry. They say this: "We are not illegitimate children. We be not born from sexual sin." You know what that's an innuendo or insinuation toward Jesus about?

There's a lot of rumors that Jesus' mother, Mary, may have been pregnant before she married Joseph. It was a miraculous pregnancy, but a lot of people didn't buy that, right? And so Mary sort of dealt with that her whole life. Jesus—you'll see it mentioned just a few times through scriptures—that many weren't sure who His family really was, kind of thing. So it's an insult to Him. "We are not illegitimate children. God is our father." That's a spit in the face or slap in the face, if you will, isn't it?

And I love Jesus, it doesn't slow Him down one bit. I think maybe, if you look at the original language, they may have been not just insinuating, but they may have been taunting Him even a little bit. Let's see if we can get this guy rattled or riled. "We're not illegitimate children (hint hint, wink wink). We know who our father is. Our father is God."

Well, look at verse 42. Jesus said to them—and I like this because as you look at His language, He's not now frustrated and angry and even got so mad He's got tears in His eyes and He's ready to punch out the first guy with the biggest beard. That's how we picture Him, and that's not what's happening here. He is so calm.

He says, "If God were your father, you would love me. You guys hate me. And if God were your father, you'd love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I by myself, but He sent me." It wasn't my idea. My Father sent me. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He said, "My Father sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear or grasp my word. You are of your father (here it comes) the devil. And the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he abode not in the truth ever because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks about his own, for he is a liar and the father of it."

Okay, now I think it's pretty clear. And now they're going to be mad. I think they were mad before. "And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not." Literally, you refuse to believe me. "Which of you convinces me (in other words, can convict me or prove) any sin in me? And if I say the truth, why do you not receive it? Or why do you not believe me?"

"He that is of God hears, listens to, takes in God's word. You therefore listen—hear them not—you hear them not because you are not of God." "I proceeded forth," came straight from the Father, in other words. He's the one who sent me. The reason that you don't understand my speech is because you can't hear my word, the Word of God. Spiritually, they would not hear it. They wouldn't listen and they could not grasp the things that He was saying.

Remember I said it earlier? He said He was the bread from heaven. They were thinking loaves of bread. He's speaking spiritually. He said He was the water, that water that out in the wilderness, that rock. And they were thinking that He thinks He's a glass of water or something. It was spiritually, everybody. He speaks spiritually, they understand physically.

First Corinthians chapter 2—I know that you know this, but if you want to write it down or remember—First Corinthians 2:14. The natural man (that's you and me, anybody that's not saved, you and me before we were saved, anybody that's not born again), the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him or her. Neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.

I could read the Bible before I got saved and it didn't do a whole lot for me. They'd say, "Well, read this and read this." I didn't even know where to find it. But I do know—I do remember something clearly—the night I got saved, I went and I started reading the Bible and some of that stuff just started—it made sense to me. Now that I was born again. You start reading your Bible, you're going to be amazed at how much it makes sense to you. People say, "Well, you're brainwashed." No, no, no, your head's clear. You can see clearly now again, spiritually clear and you understand. They couldn't do it.

Jesus now makes it as plain as day. Now there's no denying who their father is, and this is not pretty. "You are of your father the devil. The accuser of the brethren, the slanderer, Satan, the devil. The false accuser." As we catch ourselves accusing others, think it through. We don't really need to do the devil's work for him. He's plenty good at it himself. The devil. You're of your father the devil. "Your spiritual father is not the Lord God in heaven," He says to these people. "Your spiritual father is the devil himself. You are children of the devil."

How can he be their father? Well, Jesus has already explained it: by imitation, right? We come to the Lord, God begins to mold us and make us into the image of His Son. We've got a long way to grow, but we're growing and more and more and more like Jesus. The followers of the devil imitate the devil. That's what He's already told them. "You do the works of your father. The one that you follow, the one that you belong to, you start acting like him."

"And the lusts of your father you will do." Not you might do if you don't straighten up, turn around—you will do it. You will walk like, talk like, act like, and think like your father the devil. And they are, right there in front of Jesus, they are. The devil—and Jesus now helps us to understand what He is telling them about themselves. He says, "The devil was a murderer from the beginning." You think, "Really?" Well, think about to the garden.

The devil brought death to Adam and Eve and therefore all mankind. He's a murderer from the beginning. He brought the death. He tricked her into sinning, being hit it on his own, and now the curse comes—death. There was no death before the sin in the garden. You will think like, act like, talk like, be like your father the devil. He was a murderer from the beginning. He did bring death to Adam and Eve and then all of their kids—me and you.

He is a liar. And the language is He never stands in the truth. Why? Because there is no truth in him at all. God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all. Satan is dark; there ain't no light there. He is a liar and he is the father of lies. "And because I'm telling you this, because I tell you the truth, you refuse to believe me," He says. "You refuse to believe." And He challenges them. "Can anyone of you prove me guilty right now of any sin?"

Not one of them could. Except they've said two or three times now, "He's blasphemed." Not one of you can prove me guilty of any sin. The answer is no, you can't. "Then why do you refuse to listen to me? He that is of God listens to God's word. You therefore do not hear them because you are not of God."

So put it together. If you listen to the Word of God, if you are willing to open your heart and listen, you will believe. You will listen, you will hear the Word of God. Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Say we not well that you are a Samaritan and have a devil?" Well, now there is a mature statement. They're so mad now, they're calling Him half-breed—a Samaritan—and they're calling—saying He's demon-possessed.

Now, you know, can they go any lower from there? Not much further. I mean, you're already down in the trash. They don't have a good argument for what He says. They can't sit down and work through it. They're just plain losing it here. And they said, "Yeah, we sure were right when we said that you're a Samaritan and you're demon-possessed."

And Jesus answered without being angry at them. Look. "I don't have a demon." Good answer. "You're a half-breed and you're demon-possessed." "No, I don't have a demon. But I honor my father and you dishonor me." I'd say that's dishonoring Him, wouldn't you? "And I seek not my own glory. There is one that seeks and that judges." Who's that one that seeks and judges? His Father in heaven, right? God Almighty.

He says, "I don't seek my own glory. There is one that seeks and judges. Truly, truly," verse 51, "I say to you, if a man keep my saying, he or she—that individual—shall never see death." Now you know He's talking spiritually, don't you? He didn't say they'd never physically die. He said they will never see death—that's the second death, separation from God for all eternity.

Well, the Jews don't know that because, remember, everything He says confuses them anyway. They don't hear anything spiritually. They said then—the Jews said—"Now we know you're demon-possessed. Abraham is dead, and the prophets, they're all dead. And you say if a man keeps your sayings, he'll never die?" "Are you greater than our father Abraham which is dead, and the prophets are dead? Who do you think you are?"

And Jesus answered, "If I honor myself, my honor means nothing—it's nothing. It is my father that honors me, of whom you say He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I should say I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you." Well, that's a polite way to say you're liars, but it's nice. "I'd be a liar like unto you, but I know Him and I keep His word, His sayings. Your father Abraham, he rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and he was glad."

Then the Jews said to Him, "You're not even 50 years old yet, and you've seen Abraham? You're going to tell us that now?" And Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, absolutely for sure, without question, before Abraham was, I am." He called Himself God. Then they took up stones to kill Him. Why? They're just so mad they couldn't control—no, He just said "I am God Almighty" in human flesh. "I am co-equal with God." To them, that's blasphemy. That goes against the law, the Mosaic covenant.

So they take up stones to throw at Him to kill Him, but Jesus hid Himself. How? Well, it says He walked out of the temple going through the very center of them and He passed by. So all He did was just walk through. "No thanks, don't hit me today. See ya soon. Have a nice afternoon." And just walked away.

Put it all together. What they realized is that Jesus is claiming to be greater than their father Abraham. Now that's just—now you're stepping on toes. Remember He's already said, "I'm down here because my Father wanted me to come. My Father sent me. I want to do this, and I'm obeying my Father." He's going to go to the cross.

Announcer: Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is a radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9 and 11 a.m. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. and a Monday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. You can download today's message in its entirety at northcountrychapel.com/studies. That's northcountrychapel.com/studies.

If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho, 83854. Or call us at 1-800-572-8851. That number again, 1-800-572-8851. Our mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Download it to listen to full-length studies, watch the livestream of our services, or to find out more about church events.

If you have been blessed by the teaching or have prayer requests that you would like to share with us, write, email, or call us as well. Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse-by-verse on Apply Within, sponsored by North Country Chapel. God bless you.