Monthly Archives: November 2025

JOUN’S GOSPEL…KNOWING GOD – 4c

Bible Study, ,

It seems that John had taken seriously Jesus’ instruction during His last hours with them in the Upper Room. Jesus had told them that loving Him equated to keeping His commandments. He gave them His new commandment to love one another as He had loved them.  

The question is…since we love Jesus by obeying Him, in what tangible ways can we love one another as evidence of our love for Him? Does the Bible give us the ways in which we can love each other in God’s family?

Across the New Testament letters, there are many instructions to help us fulfil this commandment. 

  1. By meeting one another’s needs

John wrote…

“This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead….If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬, ‭14‬, ‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This instruction is for everyone and specially for those who have enough to meet their own needs and some left over to help others in need. 

  1. By serving one another through our spiritual gifts

Spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit are a great way to show our love for each other. In every church group, there are a variety of spiritual gifts spread across the congregation. These are gifts that can minister to many different needs in the family of God. 

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Not everyone has the same gift, so, by using our gifts, we can together contribute to the life and health of Christ’s body. 

  1. By building up one another’s faith and encouragement to do good works 

“But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith…”

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Faith and good works are an essential part of our everyday lives. We live by faith, not by sight or feelings. Good works are the ways of serving each other, led by His Spirit, especially by using our spiritual gifts. 

  1. By doing life together

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Doing life together is the way God’s children are a witness to His life in us. This means participating together in all the ups and downs of ordinary life by protecting the love and unity that binds us together. 

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Without the witness of the Holy Spirit’s power in us to overcome our natural selfishness, the preaching of the gospel of Jesus is hollow and unconvincing. Love and unity in Jesus’ body are the best witness to the truth that Jesus came from heaven to save us. 

  1. By praying for one another

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There are many encouragements to pray for one another in all circumstance. How better can we love one another than by identifying with each other at God’s throne of grace?

  1. By identifying with one another’s suffering

“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬ NLT

We can link this encouragement together with prayer as the best way to identify with each other in suffering. 

We can’t do all of these things all of the time especially because we are separated by time and distance. However, we are encouraged to do what we can, when we can, to whom we can, especially in our local fellowship. We can also go global with our prayers and financial support when we can. 

Since we are children of God, led by His Spirit, we can ask Him to show us ways to obey Jesus’ command to love one another that will witness to His presence in and among us. 

There may be other ways in which we can love each other but these samples give us insights into the closeness of God’s family and the need to support and protect one another against the ravages of the sin nature in us and the sinfulness of the world around us. 

JOHN’S GOSPEL…KNOWING GOD – 4b

Bible Study, ,

“No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In essence, as we have learned, knowing God is eternal life. What does knowing God mean? 

The Hebrew word for knowing in the context of knowing God is “yada”.  Among many uses in its context, “yada” means knowing as in sexual intimacy. 

“Now Adam had sexual relations (yada) with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

To know God, then, is to be in spiritually intimate union with Him.  Love is the core of this union.  

How can we know the love of God?

I have expanded the answer to this question in a longer meditation to be posted. 

Let me summarise here. Both Paul, in Ephesians 3 and John in 1 John 4, have thrown some light on knowing God  through experiencing God’s love. Paul explains both the role of faith and the work of the Holy Spirit in enabling us to know and experience God’s love which is  revealed in Jesus. 

John shows us how God’s love,  made known to us through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, is the root from which the fruit, our love in response to His love, grows. 

However, the real fruit of knowing God in Christ is about loving one another. We cannot show our love to God in any way because we cannot add anything to who He is, not even by loving Him. Jesus said that the only way we can love Him is by obeying His commandments. 

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus gave His disciples only one new commandment. 

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Throughout the New Testament, this commandment to love one another is repeated and fleshed out in detail and included in the greatest commandments of the New Covenant. 

 “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, John concludes…!

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God….Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬, ‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God made knowing Him simple…Love His children, and He will continue to reveal His love to you.  

Jesus prayed…

“I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me…I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭23‬, ‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

JOHN’S GOSPEL…KNOWING GOD – 4a

Bible Study, ,

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The incarnation is a both a marvel and a mystery. God the Son left heaven for a season, became a man, lived among His people and was crucified for being who He said He was, the Son of God. 

He came for various reasons, all melted into one purpose, to reunite heaven and earth to be God’s dwelling place with His people. 

Why did Jesus come to earth? 

First, He came to reveal the nature of the Father. Over time, and through the sin of God’s people and, consequently, God’s discipline, the children of Israel had lost the sense of God’s love. They had become slaves to a strict disciplinarian rather than sons of a loving Father.  

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Second, Jesus came to reconcile God’s children, estranged through rebellion, to the Father, through His death as an atoning sacrifice for sin. 

“…God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them…”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Third, Jesus came to destroy the enmity between Jew and Gentile, creating a new race…

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ NIV

with a new identity…children of God. 

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Fourth, Jesus came to restore all of creation to God’s original plan. 

“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Fifth, Jesus came to unmask and destroy the devil’s work. 

“The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sixth, Jesus came to restore God’s nature in us. 

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?…They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬, ‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Seventh, Jesus came to restore the kingdom of God on earth. 

“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Eighth, Jesus came to give eternal life to all who believe in Him. 

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Everything Jesus came from heaven to do can be summed up in this one great truth…eternal life. 

What is eternal life? In His prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus gave us the essence of eternal life…  

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Knowing” in the Bible is about union, in the deepest and most intimate sense of the word. This union is expressed in the intimacy of a husband and wife united in body to symbolise their union in heart and purpose. 

““My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.””

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭21‬, ‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

For this union Jesus prayed and for this union we, God’s children,  must yearn and desire because this life, eternal life, has already begun in us and will be perfected in glory.  

To be continued…

JOHN’S GOSPEL…GRACE AND TRUTH – 3b

Bible Study, ,

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus came from heaven equipped with GRACE and TRUTH to deal with humanity’s real problem, our inability to overcome our natural bent towards sin. Since Jesus is God, and grace and truth are who He is, He came to give us what came from His own nature, His grace and truth in abundant measure. 

Let’s look at what grace and truth are and what they do. 

Jesus’ passion is to show us His undeserved favour…His goodness freely given to us without merit. This is GRACE. 

David learned…

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭8‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God is gracious. It is His nature to show us His favour even if we don’t deserve it. Instead of punishing us for our sin, God the Father punished Jesus in our place. Now He can lavish His favour freely on us because there are no obstacles in the way. 

“Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭5‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let’s think of God’s grace as His attitude of favour towards us no matter who or what we are, or what we do. His grace…His favour…is like the conduit through which everything He does to and for us flows. Whenever we need  help for our weakness, God responds because of His grace. 

The second part of who Jesus is TRUTH. Who He is, who we are, and what He has done for us, is what He came to give us. We desperately need truth because we live in a world that believes that we don’t need God. Our natural bent is to believe that we can be our own god, live for ourselves, and do as we like without consequences…and the mess we are in is the result. 

The god of this world is a deceiver. He deceived Adam into believing that he, Adam, was in charge, could do as he pleased, and set his own standards…and Satan deceives every human on earth to do the same. The world is in a mess because people live and do as they like, loving and serving themselves in place of God. Human suffering is the outcome of this terrible lie. 

Jesus came to show us and to tell us that loving, trusting, and serving God and one another is the truth and the real purpose of life. When we replace deception with truth, we are on the road to experiencing God’s love, joy, and peace even in our suffering. 

Now let’s link the grace and truth Jesus brought with what Paul said about our suffering. 

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Suffering is part of life in this fallen world, from which we cannot escape. How can we deal with suffering, understand the reason for suffering, and learn the way to live so that suffering doesn’t overwhelm us?

First, let’s look at how and why we suffer. Paul distinguished the two parts of us, our “outside me” and our “inside me”. Our “outside me” is our flesh, both our physical bodies and our sinful nature. Our “inside me” is our spirit where the Holy Spirit lives and rules. 

Our “outside me” is corrupted and perishing. Our sinful nature pulls us toward sin through our evil desires. Our sinful nature is at war  with our spirit, always wanting its own way. We suffer through the conflict between flesh and spirit, when we follow our flesh and say and do the things that damage us and others. Guilt, shame, and fear of punishment are the feelings that torment us. 

God gives us strength to overcome the pull of our old nature through His grace. When we acknowledge that we cannot win the battle on our own, and we call on His name, He strengthens us to resist temptation as we trust in Him. 

How does this work?  This is where TRUTH comes into play. Our “inside me”, said Paul, is being renewed by exchanging the lies we believe and live by for the truth  that Jesus is Lord and died for us. For example, if we continue to believe the lie that God punishes us when we sin instead of believing the truth that Jesus died to pay for our sin, that we are no longer under condemnation, and that suffering is discipline, not punishment, we will continue to live in guilt, shame and the fear of punishment. 

However…when we believe the truth that God loves us and disciplines us for our good…

“There is no fear in love. But perfect  love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…we exchange fear for love, and insecurity for confidence in God’s love for us.  

When bad things happen to us, or when we clash with another person, our natural reaction is to react out of our emotions. We worry, we fear, we get angry, we want to retaliate etc., all the reactions of the “outside me”…the selfish me that wants to defend or protect the “me”. 

If we, instead, stop and allow truth to guide us…the truth, for example that God works in all things for our good because He is restoring the image of Jesus in us, we can rejoice in God’s grace in the situation rather than react sinfully out of our sinful nature. 

Th Apostle Paul gives us a clear example of how this works. He 

was severely persecuted for preaching the gospel…by the Gentiles and the Jews. He also suffered many hardships in his life as an apostle of Jesus. 

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Armed with truth, Paul was able to overcome his bad feelings and turn suffering into celebration because GRACE had provided God’s strength to overcome. 

Simple…but not always easy. God has given us a way to escape sinning. We can also change suffering into celebration if we believe the truth and conquer our sinful desires. The answer is…

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When we turn our hearts towards God instead of dying of self-pity, God’s grace kicks in. Thanksgiving is the great antidote to the “bacteria” of PMS, the Poor-Me-Syndrome which leads to the disease of depression.  

So, GRACE, to give us strength for our weakness, and TRUTH to renew our minds, are all we need to overcome who we are in Adam and move us into the realm of who we are in Christ…and Jesus came armed with both. 

To be continued…

JOHN’S GOSPEL…GRACE AMD TRUTH – 3a

Bible Study, ,

John‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬, ‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

John’s next statement is profound, wonderful, and mysterious! Instead of presenting a birth narrative of the Son of God, he made an announcement that links heaven and earth from outside of time into time. God became man, left heaven’s glory for a human existence, and locked Himself, for a season, into all the limitations of humanity and earth. 

John also stated Jesus’ purpose. 

Phase one of God’s dealings with His people was to set up His standard for both a relationship and for fellowship with Him…the Law. His covenant with Israel, given at Sinai and mediated through Moses, had a twofold intention…to set the boundaries around God’s holiness and to show His people the reality of their sinfulness. 

God’s holiness and Israel’s sinfulness were the great barrier between God and Israel and could only be overcome by sacrifice. Hence, sacrifice was the focal point of Israel’s worship. 

God’s moral law, written in the conscience of every newborn baby, was fleshed out in the ceremonial law. What do I mean?

Jesus said that the law of God is summed up in two commandments…love the Lord your God and love your neighbour as yourself. 

“One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭35‬-‭40‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul instructed his Roman readers…

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 

The ceremonial law was intended to regulate people’s behaviour towards God and their fellow Israelites. In this way, they would learn to love God and one another. However, the people of Israel discovered that it was impossible for them to obey these two commandments perfectly. They were persistently rebellious against God’s commandments, expressing their rebellion in their defiance of the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” 

Every infringement of God’s law had an animal sacrifice to deal with the guilt of disobedience to the ceremonial law. However, no sacrifice could cover the transgression of God’s moral law which was a matter of the heart. 

“The Holy Spirit was showing by this (the tabernacle and its sacrificial system), that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, John indicated that Moses and the law of God were only the first part of God’s revelation of Himself and His way of salvation for Israel first and then for the whole human race. There had to be another and better way for man to approach God. 

Jesus came to earth as fully human and He was, therefore, obligated to obey the same law that God gave to Israel. Unlike His  people, He obeyed the law perfectly and then died as the punishment for disobeying the law. In this way He not only fulfilled the law but also did away with the law as the way of satisfying God’s holy standards. 

To be continued…