“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you abide in
my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free.' They answered him, 'We are offspring of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, "You will
become free'?" Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone
who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house
forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be
free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill
me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen
with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.' They
answered him, 'Abraham is our father.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were
Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but
now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from
God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father
did.' They said to him, 'We were not born of sexual immorality. We
have one Father--even God.' Jesus said to them, 'If God were your
Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not
of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say?
It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the
devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a
liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe
me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not
believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why
you do not hear them is that you are not of God'" (John 8:31-47, ESV).
Again, our place, the City of Legazpi, is threatened by the eruption of Mayon Volcano.
Who among you have seen or experienced before its eruption?
And more number of times you have watched the awesome or fearsome
(depending where you are watching it) sight, when you stayed in this place
for a longer time.
Sometimes, I would crack a joke to a visitor in our place that he could only
say that he came and stayed in Legazpi, if he witnessed the eruption of
Mayon. (Of course, I said that to encourage him or her to visit us again.)
Perhaps, we could also say that to know something about Jesus and think we believe in him does not mean we really believe and we are now His followers. We need to abide in His Word, according to Jesus.
So today, we have our topic… ABIDE IN THE WORD…, as we focus on our text (John 8:31-47).
Jesus said, “You are truly my disciples, if you abide in my Word.” But, as we abide, as we stay, remain or hold to His Word, we also experience blessings. What are those?
We are familiar with the writer of the Gospel of John. He was the Apostle
John, who described himself in the book as the disciple whom Jesus loved.
He wanted to emphasize it, that he mentioned it five times throughout the book.
Just before our text, John related that Jesus was speaking to the Jews. And many believed in Him (verse 32).
The falsity of their belief, however, was pointed out by Jesus in verses 31-
47, as recorded by John. Their belief was self-generated that they were just
living a sinful life. According to Jesus, their spiritual father was the devil and
their intention was to harm, even to kill Him. Actually, they could not
understand what He was saying, for they were not interested in it. They
didn’t really believe Him, for they had not believed what He said.
But, if we study carefully the same verses, we could also learn some
blessings of those who abide in the Word of Jesus -- the Word of God. What are those blessings?
I – Blessing of KNOWING JESUS AS LIBERATOR (vv. 31-36).
We read verses 31-36, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in
him, ’If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, ’We are
offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it
that you say, “You will become free”?’ Jesus answered them, ’Truly, truly, I
say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not
remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets
you free, you will be free indeed.’”
According to Jesus, there were Jews who believed in Him. He pointed out
to them, however, that human belief of that kind would not qualify them to
be His followers. He told them, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my
disciples…” If they wanted to become His true followers, they needed to
abide, remain, or continue on His Word or teaching.
And what would happen, if they would abide in the Word of Jesus? They
would know the truth. Did you notice what the truth would do to them? The
truth would set them free.
But the Jews countered that they were always enjoying liberty. They
boasted that they were children of Abraham and never been enslaved.
However, Jesus explained that he who practiced sin -- the thought in the
Greek is living a life of sin -- is not actually free. A person was a slave who
did not remain in the Word. A true child of Abraham, one who remained in
the Word, is the one really free. And only Jesus could grant this kind of
freedom.
The Jews during the time of Jesus boasted they were descendants of
Abraham. For he was a man who enjoyed liberty, so they claimed they
were also free. They even erroneously declared they were never been
enslaved. But before they entered the Promised Land, actually, they
suffered slavery in Egypt. And when they had their own kings, they were
enslaved by various nations. As they were talking to Jesus, they were
under the dominion of the Roman government. They were not free.
But Jesus did not point out that error. He went on to cite the real reason
why they were in bondage. They were living a life of sin. No amount of
human strategy or will power could liberate them from such slavery. Only
Jesus can.
He said, “… if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” And we
experience the blessing of knowing Jesus as Liberator, if we abide in His
Word. Through Him, we can live in liberty. We can free ourselves from the
life of sin. We can still commit sin. But it will not be our way of life.
So, believers or lovers of Christ, do you enjoy the blessing of
knowing Jesus as Liberator?
To be blessed of knowing Him as Liberator would also mean that you
experience living in moral liberty.
God has delivered you from the domain of darkness and transferred you to
the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom you have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14).
If Jesus has liberated you, you are no longer enslaved in the darkness of
sin. You are now free to desire, plan, or practice what is pleasing to God.
You enjoy living in moral liberty.
Abide in the Word. Be blessed of knowing Jesus as Liberator. Invest your
time in reading, studying, meditating what God has been saying. And you
will enjoy also living in liberty. Jesus has liberated you from desiring and
doing the darkness of sin. He has given you freedom to find pleasure in
practicing the things in the kingdom of light.
What is another blessing of abiding in the Word?
II – Blessed of KNOWING JESUS AS LOVABLE (vv. 37-42).
We read verses 37-42, “’I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you
seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I
have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your
father.’ They answered him, ’Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ’If
you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham
did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I
heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works
your father did.’ They said to him, ’We were not born of sexual immorality.
We have one Father -- even God.’ Jesus said to them, ’If God were your
Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not
of my own accord, but he sent me.’”
The Jews with human generated belief boasted they were in the bloodline
of Abraham. But they would not allow the words of Jesus to settle in their
mind and heart. So, their desire was not just to inflict harm, but even to kill
Jesus. Though they claimed that God was their Father, but Jesus said to
them:
“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am
here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me” (verse 42).
Obviously, their faith was not real. They didn’t really believe Jesus. God
was not their Father.
What did Jesus imply? They didn’t really know Him. They didn’t know how
lovable He was. True believers loved Him.
Almost all the churches today see the need to love Jesus. No religious
person will say he hated Jesus. But could we really love Him, if we don’t
truly know Him? Could we really love Him, if the love that we confess does
not come from genuine faith?
A certain pastor would say almost every Sunday service, “I love Jesus.” And he would tell his congregation to confess it also. But the kind of Jesus
he knew and believed in is one who would leave you, if you commit a
serious sin. His picture of the Savior is one who could loss from His hands,
whom He saved. When he mentioned the name "Jesus," his understanding
was a Savior unable to save other sinners, whom He wanted to save! His
idea of Jesus is one who suffered for your sins and could give you
forgiveness, but not repentance and righteousness. The Jesus in his mind
is one who could just require faith from us, but would not graciously give it
to us. Would you really love that kind of Jesus?
But, those who abide in His Word, whose heart has always place in His
Word, God could make Himself known to them. In 1 Samuel 3:21 states,
“And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed Himself to
Samuel at Shiloh, by the word of the Lord.”
If we have more time for God’s Word, Jesus could intimately make Himself
known to us. He is not only the Sovereign Savior, but Supremely Lovable.
Believers or lovers of Christ, do you really love Him because you intimately
know Him?
Is your faith in Him God-given and so your love for Him blossoms from that
faith?
If you truly believe Jesus, not only God becomes your Father. You will also
experience the joy of loving Him. As Peter wrote the believers, “Though you
have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you
believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory”
(1 Peter 1:8, ESV).
Abiding in God’s Word would help us, not just be blessed by knowing the
Attractive qualities of Jesus, but we would always remember His words: “As
the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (John
15:9). He went on to say that if we keep, we guard, we don’t let go of His
Word, so we ultimately put it into practice, including His commandments
that’s how we abide in His love. And one of His commandments is that we
love one another, as Jesus has loved us.
Abiding in the literal or written Word is abiding in the Personal Word, Jesus
Christ and abiding in His Love.
Do you abide in Christ and His words abide in you? If so, you will be
blessed not only of knowing Him as Lovable, but to experience the joy of
loving Him, the joy of obeying His commands, the joy of loving fellow
believers, even your enemies.
What is the next blessing of abiding in the Word?
III – Blessing of KNOWING JESUS AS THE TRUTH (vv. 43-47).
We read verses 43-47, “’Why do you not understand what I say? It is
because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil,
and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and
the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which
one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not
hear them is that you are not of God.'"
Jesus described the Jews, who were not abiding in His Word, they could
not understand what He said, because they were not really interested in
His Word. They were more interested to act on the desire of their spiritual
father -- the devil -- who was a liar from the beginning.
And because Jesus spoke the truth, they did not believe Him. They could
hear audibly His words. But they could not appreciate them and had no
desire to practice them. As if, they could not really hear them. They are
deaf spiritually. For they do not belong to God. God was not their father.
Jesus was implying to the Jews they ought to believe Him and in what He
was saying. For He was not only trustworthy and truthful. He Himself was
the Truth.
Today, many believe Jesus like the Jews before. But they don’t abide in His
Word. They don’t believe in what Jesus is saying. Perhaps, they believe
some parts of them.
They could believe Him as the Savior. But they could not acknowledge Him
as their Lord.
Others could love Him, just like how they love their cellphone. They could
not agree with Him to love Him above anyone or anything else.
Judas could believe Jesus, He was a great teacher. But, perhaps, he could
not believe that Jesus was God. Otherwise, he would not be stealing from
the moneybag and would refrain to betray Him.
As I related earlier, there were even Bible teachers, who could not agree
with other declaration of Jesus. Some could not believe His words that the
believers are safe in His hands. Some do not believe, when He said that
only few find the way that leads to life. They insist in their human reasoning
that God is love and so, ultimately, He will give eternal life to everyone.
But those who abide in His Word are blessed of knowing that Jesus as the
Truth. They believe that His Word is Truth. So, they believe all of it, not just
a part of it.
Believers and lovers of Christ, do you enjoy the blessing of knowing Jesus
as the Truth? So rejoice also that His Word is the Truth. Not only it will set
us free -- free from the life of sin, but enjoy in desiring and doing the
commands of God. His Word could bless us in experiencing the joy of
Christ Himself. He said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy
may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).
Jeremiah declared, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your
words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by
your name, O LORD, God of hosts” (Jer. 15:16).
Does God’s Word bring joy in you and delight your heart?
The Word of Truth should also define the Jesus whom you ought to believe
and love. No matter how eloquent a Bible teacher would present a kind of
Jesus he wanted to portray, prefer how the Apostles pictured Jesus.
And as you are blessed by knowing the Jesus as the Truth, stick on His
explanation or interpretation of the Written Word. Reject the human way of
reasoning in understanding God’s Word. Set aside even your own feeling
or understanding of God’s Word.
Abide in the Word. Invest your time both with the Jesus -- the Personal
Truth and the the Bible -- the Written Truth.
Consult the Source of Truth whatever is your decision. Refer to Jesus and
His Word whatever is your reaction, or when there’s temptation.
CONCLUSION:
As we close, Jesus also said in John 15, verse 4: “Abide in
Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you unless you abide in Me.”
Abiding in the Word is not different from abiding in Christ. Why do we abide
in Him?
We love God, because He first loved us. We choose to follow Christ,
because He had chosen us first. We abide in Him, because God grafted us
in the Vine -- Christ. And as we remain, stay, continue to be in it, we
experience the blessing of knowing Christ as Liberator, of knowing Him as
Lovable and of knowing Him as the Truth. And Christ -- the Vine will
produce the fruit that we bear or display in our life.
