- Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
This is an important verse in regards to the question of salvation. I have talked about this in my previous post that we must guard ourselves against antinomianism while shunning legalism.
In this verse in John’s gospel, Jesus first mentions that we must believe in the Son to have eternal life. There is no question about how we are saved. We are saved by believing in Jesus. Now, faith in Greek is pistis. It means “to be persuaded.” Therefore, faith for us is God’s work. It is God’s divine persuasion for us. God inbirths faith in us through his persuasion.
Now, what are we persuaded of? We are persuaded of Jesus’ saving work on the cross for our sins and His lordship over us.
On the other hand, “whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
In this verse, the phrase translated as “does not obey” in Greek is apeitheó which means “refuse to be persuaded.”
Therefore, whoever refuses to be persuaded by God will not see life but the wrath of God remains on them. The wrath of God refers to his constant, fixed disposition against someone or something considered by God as unjust, and evil.
We, sometimes, think that evil means being someone like “Hitler” or someone who commits a heinous crime. However, the Bible’s definition of evil is much more broad. Unbelief itself is sin, therefore evil. Romans 14:23 says, “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” This means anything we do that does not proceed from His persuasion(faith) is sin. Consequently, this also means if we are not careful to listen to God’s voice, or hear from God’s word, we may be doing things in our own ways which, of course, is sin and evil.
Therefore, faith and obedience are very closely linked. Faith inevitably leads to obedience. This is why you cannot be a believer and antinomian at the same time because a true believer will obey the commandments of the Lord.
Believers are people who have been divinely persuaded (therefore through the Bible or God’s word) to follow God’s commandments. Therefore, pistis (faith, God’s persuasion) leads to obedience. Inversely, if we see someone who pays careful attention to God’s word and follows His teaching as written in the Bible, we can see that that person is divinely persuaded by God or has faith.
Faith can only come from hearing (therefore, being persuaded by God).
Romans 10:17
- “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
On the other hand, someone who does not read the word of God nor pays any careful attention to His teaching, therefore does things according to what they think is right rather than what God says is right but claim to believe in Jesus, what are we to say about this? They refuse to be persuaded by God because they refuse to read or hear from God’s word. As we learned above, those who refuse to be persuaded by God will not see life but the wrath of God remains on them.
We must remember Jesus’ words in the sermon on the mount. Matthew 7:16-23:
- You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
- “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Jesus is not son of God but a prophet.
ReplyDeleteMatthew 21:11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
There are no 3 in 1 God (Father is God, Son is God and Holy ghost is God.) but One God.
Mark 12:29 O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.
Matthew 4:10 "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.
Thank you for your comment. I left a reply below. I also thought I'd share what Jesus said in John 10:28-30
Delete"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
Hi, yes many people thought he was just a prophet, or son of David, Israelites' ancestor.
ReplyDeleteOne chapter later, hear what Jesus said regarding this.
Matthew 22:42-46
42 “What do you think concerning the Christ? Of whom is He son?”
They(people) say to Him, “Of David.”
43 He says to them, “How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying:
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I place Your enemies
as a footstool for Your feet.”’
45 If therefore David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?”
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day to question Him any longer.
Also, here's what God said, when He created us in his image in Genesis.
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Also, Genesis 3:22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
Yes I agree, it is such a mystery, how can God be one and three at the same time. There's three persons but one God. It is called the teaching of Trinity. Imagine before the creation of the world, if there was just one person of God, how can there be love? If you think about it, love is only love if there is someone whom you can love. For example, if there was only you living in this universe, how can you show love? The Bible says there was three persons, yet one God. Perfect harmony and perfect love within Trinity.
Listen to God the Father talking to God the Son with God the Holy Spirit present when Jesus was baptised.
Matthew 3:16
And immediately, having been baptized, Jesus went up from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and alighting upon Him. And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I was well pleased.”
God sent Jesus to the lost sheep of Israel only but not for whole mankind.
ReplyDeleteMatthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Jesus himself is not God when is said to the Israel. The word (our)so he is a human being like us. As I said the earlier which I sent to you he is a prophet. God word to Jesus cannot be contradicted. If any verses found to contradicted is not from God. It is fabricated verse from someone else.
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.
Jesus himself can do nothing but the will of God when is alive at the time of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
John 5:30-31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
Jesus said another Spirit of Truth will to come.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you things to come.
Hi,
DeleteI understand you are familiar with the scriptures, so I thought I'd share more Bible verses to show that Jesus is indeed God. And you're right, God is one. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one and they have one name, one God.
Jesus was primarily sent to the lost sheep of Israel before His crucifixion, but Jesus also witnessed to other ethnicities such as Samaritan (John 4), Syrophoenician (Mark 7:26), and Roman centurion (Matthew 8:8, Luke 7:2) among other ethnicities.
Also, Jesus said there are more sheep other than Israelites.
John 10:16 "And I have other sheep(all of us) that are not of this fold. I must bring them (all of us) also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
After his resurrection, Jesus commanded his disciples.
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples (all of us) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Notice, Jesus sends his disciples to make disciples of all nations who are other sheep that Jesus is bringing, so that they will be one.
Also, Jesus said baptise them in the "name" (singular, not plural "names"). One name of God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Again in Acts1:8, Jesus says “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (all of us).”
And I share the Bible verses, that Jesus is indeed God.
John 1:1 says:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD."
And that Word is:
John 1:14 "And the WORD BECAME FLESH and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, a glory as of an only BEGOTTEN from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Also, John 12:37 says Isaiah saw Jesus in Isaiah 6.
John 12:37-42
37 Although so many of His(Jesus's) signs had been done before them, they did not believe in Him (Jesus), so that word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, that said:
“Lord (Jesus), who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord (Jesus) been revealed?”
39Because of this, they were not able to believe, for again Isaiah said:
40“He has blinded their eyes,
and has hardened their heart,
that they should not see with the eyes,
and understand with the heart,
and turn,
and I will heal them.”
41Isaiah said these things because he saw His (Jesus) glory and spoke concerning Him (Jesus).
42Nevertheless, indeed many even of the rulers believed in Him (Jesus), but on account of the Pharisees they were not confessing, so that they might not be put out of the synagogue.
Isaiah 6 shows the Lord (One God. Father and Jesus are one) in his glory.
Isaiah 6:1-4
1In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord (Father and Jesus are one) sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD (One God; Father and Jesus are one) of hosts;
the whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD (Father and Jesus are one. ONE GOD) of hosts!”
Jesus is not just a prophet because he was alive before Abraham, rightly so.
DeleteJohn 8:58
"Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
"I AM" is the designation used by God. Just as in Exodus 3:14, "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
In Revelation 22:1, 3, throne of God and the Lamb (Jesus) is one.
"And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Jesus)."
3 And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him (Father and Son).
God the Father and God the Son, Jesus are one. They are one. One God is the Alpha and the Omega.
God the Father says in Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says Lord God, the One being, and who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.
God the Son, Jesus says in Revelation 22:12, 13 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each as is his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Jesus died for our sins before the creation of the world. God planned to give Himself for us.
Revelation 13:8 And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb (Jesus) who was slain.
Jesus is not just a prophet. He is more than that He is one God (Trinity), King on the throne (Isaiah saw, Revelation shows the throne of God and Lamb, prophet(yes, but more than a prophet), great high priest, Bridegroom of the church, Teacher, the Lamb (who died for our sins), the Alpha and Omega (the beginning and the end.)
Yes, Jesus can do nothing on his own, because He is not separate from the Father. Father and Son are one. The son of a dog is a dog. The son of a chimpanzee is a chimpanzee, what about the son of God?
Also, the Spirit of Truth proceeds from the Father.
John 15:26 But when the Helper (Holy Spirit) comes, whom I(Jesus) will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
John 16:13 The Spirit shall not speak of himself but whatever He shall hear He will speak. Because the Spirit proceeds from the Father, and the Father, Son and Spirit are one.
Mark 12:29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
I hope these Bible verses will clearly show you that Jesus is indeed God. Father and Son are indeed one. There is only ONE GOD. Our God has ONE NAME. That is why we baptise new believers in the (ONE) NAME of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen (truly).
Thank you for sharing, Luke :)
DeleteI also would like to mention that God gives us rock hard evidence that Jesus is God through the resurrection! (Acts 17:30-31, Romans 14:9)
And it explicitly states in John 1 that the WORD became FLESH. He was WITH GOD in the BEGINNING. Hence, Jesus is God, yet He is not the Father nor the Spirit, but was originally the WORD. In which, when the WORD became flesh is when Jesus was given the title, "The Son of God."
Hi Luke. My name is Kemi. From Nigeria. I came upon your site when looking for Hangul materials. Imagine my joy when I saw you are a christian too. Nice to meet you brother. With much joy. Thanks
ReplyDeleteCant wait to finish my Korean learning so I can be exposed to the christian songs and books in south Korea. You can check the Nigerian songs too. Just google steve crown(we wait on you and you are great), sinach (all her songs), nathaniel bassey etc. Good job and Ill read more of your posts and comment as appropriate.
#IloveJesus
Hello , am a Caucasian American lady who can across your website after falling in love with kdrama's , love them so much that decided to take up learning the Korean language,and especially hearing the words when they are sung in ost soundtracks on the kdrama's. Never could have imagined to be so beautiful. Listen to them every day. Currently on my 33 kdrama, haven't been disappointed yet. Married a Chinese, Hispanic American, my sons a part Chinese , so I have a natural interest in Asian culture and people. But the most important topic that was discussed was your belief in Jesus, and your interpretation, only the Holy Spirit can discern the truth living in our hearts. Thank you for your website , the best for learning Korean, and your love for the truth. Am happy to have found it. Take care your friend Diane
ReplyDelete