The Gospel of John

Father
God the Father perfectly cares fur us, giving us all we need -- though we may not agree with him regarding what those needs are. He promises us that we don't have to worry about having enough food or clothes because he knows what we need before we ask. God has also given us every spiritual blessing - something of much more value to our lives than any kind of physical possession.

As children of God, we can expect to be disciplined if we err. And we shouldn't be discouraged when this happens because discipline shows that God loves us. Just as good parents teach their children not to do things that will hurt them, so our Father in heaven teaches us what is best for us.

Abraham
Abraham's birth name was Abram, which means "exalted father"; but when God promised to make him into a great nation, God changed his name to Abraham, which means "father of many." Today, more than three billion followers of Christianity, Islam and Judaism all point to Abraham as their ancestor.

Children
Do you like kids? If so, you probably delight in watching them discover their world. Their minds and eyes are wide open as they accept your words as truth. Jesus Christ taught that people should have faith in him like a child has faith in a parent.

When we believe in Jesus Christ, we become children of God. He disciplines us as children because he loves us as his children (see Hebrews 12:7-11). Children of God will go to live with him when they die or when Christ comes again.

Jesus
Jesus was born approximately 5 B.C. in the town of Bethlehem, Israel, to a virgin named Mary, who was descended from King David. Raised in Nazareth by Mary and her husband, Joseph, Jesus lived the ordinary life of a carpenter's son. Those who knew him didn't yet know that he was also God's Son. At age 30, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and tempted by the devil into the desert. He then began healing, teaching and performing miracles throughout Judea. He called people to believe in him as the only way to God.

Truth
What is truth? God is truth. Everything he says we can believe. There is no deception, no hypocrisy, no half-truth in God. Our finite minds can't fully comprehend God or understand all his mysteries, but he is everything he says he is: the all-powerful, just, loving Creator of everything that exists. How do we know right from wrong? God alone, because he is truth, provides an accurate standard for ethics and morality. Whatever he does and commands us to do is right. Anything God hates and forbids us to do is wrong.

God
When you look at your watch, you know that an intelligent person designed it. It didn't just come into existence by itself. What about your wrist - isn't it more complicated than your watch? Didn't an intelligent person design your wrist too? We call the One who designed these things God, our Creator, the One who spoke the word and created the universe.

God has spoken to us in terms we can understand. The Bible is the record of his revelation - what he wants us to know about himself. God also became flesh and blood in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is 100 percent human and 100 percent God. Want to know what God is like? Study the life of Jesus Christ in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Belong
These days we can buy memberships to everything from health clubs to the British aristocracy––proof of our intrinsic desire to either fit in with those like us or be associated with those we wish to emulate. Belonging is a key Biblical concept as well. In the Bible, God spelled out which land belonged to which people, who belonged to which family, and what belonged to God himself. This usually prevented conflict and, at the same time, clarified owners' rights and members' benefits.

Murder
For most of us, the command, "Do not murder," does not significantly restrict our planned behavior. Nevertheless, it has important implications. Because God gave us life, the Old Testament law levied harsh penalties on those who took life unnecessarily: Those who killed must be killed. However, a person who killed another accidentally could flee to a city of refuge, where the person would be protected from vengeance until a trial could be held. This provision is an illustration of God's mercy.

Lying
Remember Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who longed to become a real boy? Though he tried so hard to become human, his habit of lying kept getting in the way. In the Christian life, sins such as lying often interfere with a good relationship with God. While we may not take lying seriously, it is a sign of a depraved, or corrupt life without Christ. When we purposely deceive people, we change our allegiance from God to Satan, who is called the "father of lies" (John 8:44).

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Believe
Beliefs dictate who we are and how we live our lives. To believe in something is to have faith in it. Though it may seem feeble to accept something on faith rather than fact, we all believe many things on different levels without being experts through experience or knowledge. A Christian's life is a demonstration of grounded belief in action.

Guilt
We all know the basis of our justice system: "Innocent until proven guilty." We've also all heard people say, "I feel so guilty!" True guilt is a fact, not a feeling. A person may "feel guilty," but he or she may not have done anything to "feel guilty" about. When an offense is committed, that violation may prompt police sirens, a mother's angry reprimand or just a nagging worry in the back of the mind. Guilt may trigger memories of a dark past or be part of a daunting present. If not dealt with properly, the looming, heavy feeling of guilt can hang on us for a lifetime.

Sin
Sin is a tough three-letter word to get one's brain around. It is a term loaded with lots of distasteful and challenging connotations in our world. Everyone sins, but no on e wants to talk about it. Bluntly put, sin is choosing our own will over God's will.

Jews
A yellow star stitched on a jacket declares a person's Jewish identity in Germany during World War II. It was not the fist time that being a Jew carried a death sentence, nor was it the first time that the Jews emerged victorious from a plot for their worldwide extermination.

Jews are the physical descendants of Abraham through his grandson Jacob, the father of the Israelites. The label "Jew" came into use after the Babylonian captivity. The stories of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther highlight God's protection of the people in the midst of great danger and opposition.

Right
International laws stand to protect the dignity, basic freedoms and governmental immunities due each person because of his or her humanity. Sadly, despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, people still face persecution. Christians, though we live in this flawed world, are ultimately under God's rule and protection. Our rights as God's children guarantee freedom from sin's bondage and immunity to spiritual death.

Samaria
Samaria applies both to a region and a city. This hilly area belonged to the tribe of Ephraim (see Ephraim) and half the tribe Manasseh (see Manasseh). the city of Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel for about 75 years until the northern kingdom collapsed in 721 B.C. under Assyrian attack.

In New Testament times, the larger Jewish population scorned samaritans because they were descendants of mixed marriages and had strayed from mainstream Jewish teachings. Jesus Christ's stop in Samaria and his conversation with a Samaritan woman were, therefore, particularly significant. Jesus also told a story about a Samaritan who stopped on the road to help a robbery victim after two Jewish religious leaders had passed by without offering aid.

Possessed
Demons are a reality though we don't readily discuss them in this scientific age. Demons are able to torment and afflict people. Such attacks are sometimes called "possession."

However, demons only have power in the lives of those who are not close to Christ. Our Lord is more powerful than demonic forces; in fact, they are afraid of him. By belonging to Jesus Christ, we have the upper hand, for he has given us the power to exorcizes demons by using the name of Jesus Christ.

Honor
We set apart those whom we honor: red carpets are rolled out, flashy medals are given and achievements are celebrated. Honor is reserved for the worthiest individuals and organizations, and by honoring them, we openly demonstrate our respect and esteem for them.

As Christians, the most important person we can honor is God himself. He tells us that showing kindness to others and living a morally upright life are ways to honor him. We also honor God by humbly acknowledging his power and our dependence on him.

We also honor the Lord through honoring others - including our parents, a command that made God's "top ten list," the Ten Commandments.

Seek
Sometimes people say that they are trying to find themselves. But as Christians, we cannot find our identity without first seeking God. After we "find" God by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and turning from our former sins, our seeking continues as we ask him for direction in our lives and seek to know him better. How do we seek God? We pray and expect him to answer, and we read his letters to us, the Bible.

The Bible says that if we seek God, we will find him. That's a great guarantee. God is not hiding or trying to elude us. In fact, the Bible says he is pursuing a relationship with us! But we have to look for him or we won't recognize his advances. If we are busy pursuing wealth, God's revelations of himself to us. But if we look and don't give up, his activity in our lives will be unmistakable.

Glory
Millionaires, Olympic athletes and superstars excel in shrewdness, strength, talent, beauty, discipline and sometimes just plain good luck. Thus they enjoy the kind of adoration many people crave. But the Bible reminds us that even the greatest human honor and splendor will fade away. Alexander the Great's conquests are legendary, but only crumbling artifacts remain of his empire. God alone is perfectly and eternally glorious by his very nature. Scripture calls him the "King of glory" (Psalm 24:7-10). He is, and always has been, magnificent, powerful and holy. Everything he does demonstrates his glory, and nothing can detract from it.

Judge
In the Bible, the book of Job tells of a man who's loyalties to God were tested when God allowed him to be stripped of his wealth, children and health. Job's friends thought they had the answer: Job must have done something wrong. Why else would God do this to him? They were judging Job's heart, and they were wrong. In fact, God had allowed bad things to happen to Job to prove how righteous Job was. Judging someone is easy; love takes a whole new kind of heart, the kind Jesus has and gives to his followers.

Word
God's Words are powerful! God spoke, and everything that exists in our universe was created. His written Word, the Bible (see Scripture), flawlessly teaches people about God and the way to follow him. God's message through his prophets to his people, the nation of Israel, was often called, "the word of the Lord." God's Word is also displayed in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word of God in human form. He is complete communication of who God is, and he is the revealer of how to follow God.

Words can bring either healing or destruction. God has entrusted his people to carry his Word to all peoples, instructing them and guiding them in the ways of God. Because of this great responsibility, a Christian's words should exemplify Christ's words. God desires for his people to build each other up and encourage each other with words modeled after Christ's words.

Death
Death has many faces in our culture, most of them ugly. There's a reason for that: Death was not part of God's plan. When God created us, he intended for us to live forever in perfect harmony with him. But when Adam and Eve sinned, death became a fact of life because the consequence of sin is death. Sin and death separate us from God because God's holiness cannot permit even the smallest imperfection to enter his presence. Those who don't know God are alienated from his love, guidance and spiritual protection all their lives. Physical death seals the sentence of permanent separation from him.

Stone
What are the two most famous stones in the Bible? The first is the small, smooth stone that 14-year-old David put into his slingshot. With it, God allowed him to defeat Israel's enemy by killing the Philistine bully Goliath ( 1 Samuel 17:48-49). The second is the large stone that the Roman soldiers rolled across the door of Jesus' tomb to make sure the body would remain there. It didn't work; Jesus rose from the grave anyway and defeated death, humankind's enemy.

Greatness
The Bible teaches us that God thwarts those who try to raise themselves up to greatness in people's eyes. It also teaches that those who humble themselves before God will be raised up by God to true greatness. You might think of God's path toward greatness as similar to the law of gravity, except in reverse: "Whoever goes up must first come down".

Temple
After Jesus' death and resurrection, god no longer dwelt in a building made by human hands, but in the believing human heart. Because the Holy Spirit lives in each believer our very own bodies are his temples. Today a church building is not the temple, but it is where many "temples" of the Holy Spirit gather to worship God weekly.

Keep
Keep watch. Keep control. Keep the faith. Will these things be lost if we don't maintain them? Basically, yes. For instance, God keeps watch over us no matter where we are or what we are doing. He cares for us and faithfully protects us so that we are not lost to danger or to evil.

Hidden
When looking at an optical illusion, our eyes have to adjust and be at the right distance before we can distinguish the shape behind the various colorful patterned blotches. The picture is always there; it's just unseen until the correct moment of focus. When anything is hidden or out of our direct range of perception, it still exists; it just hasn't been revealed to us. There is no such thing as an unsolved mystery with God. He is all knowing. The Lord will lead us to what he wants us to learn, and he will one day make known what he may presently be hiding (see Deuteronomy 29:29).

Tongue
Our tongues can spread deadly poison or bring healing and strength. Hurtful words can lead to gossip (see Gossip), which can tear down someone's reputation. But one word can also calm an enraged person. We are warned to control our tongues because of the incredible power they wield. Destroying other people, especially those within the church, goes against the love God tells us to show other.

Listen
Biblical listening is done more with our hearts and wills than with our ears: As soon as we understand God's Word, we are to obey it. Jesus Christ said that those who hear and obey God's word will be blessed (see Luke 11:28). We see a good model of listening in Psalm 119. The writer earnestly sought understanding so that he could obey (see Psalm 119:34). Though God usually speaks to us through inaudible means-we read the Bible to understand him-he truly does listen to us. When we pray, he hears both our words and the emotions and needs behind them.

Angel
Sorry to squelch your superhero dreams, but you will not morph into "Angel Man" upon your death. As appealing as it might seem to us, humans do not become angels when they die.

God specifically created angels to be his assistants. Their job description includes: worshiping God; relaying messages to people; protecting people; administering encouragement, guidance and punishment to people (on an as-needed basis); and fighting the true forces of evil.

38. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

39. “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. 40. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.
41. You are doing the things your own father does.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. The only Father we have is God himself.

The Children of the Devil

42. Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46. Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47. He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.

The Claims of Jesus About Himself

48. The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

49. “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51. I tell you the truth, if a man keeps my word, he will never see death.”

52. At this the Jews exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if a man keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54. Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57. “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59. At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Topic: Wisdom for Life
John 8:44 - 47

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The contrast between Jesus and Satan (see chart "There is simply no comparison!" on p.1224) shows why our mind is a battlefield. Jesus is the truth, the giver of abundant life. Satan is the father of all lies who comes to rob us of life. From the first conflict in the Garden of Eden, Satan's strategy has been to distort the truth and lead us to question God's words. Satan didn't need to demonstrate his power to Adam and Eve. Simply believing his lies led to their spiritual death.

We also are vulnerable to the enemy's clever mixtures of truth and deception. The pages of history reflect the variety of ideologies that Satan has used to cause people to doubt God. Sometimes these false ideologies deny the existence of God; sometimes they distort his true nature. In every case, they lead to a devaluation of humanity, creation, art, morals and knowledge.

Thankfully, Satan does not have the last word. Jesus' sacrificial death has disarmed Satan's power over us. If we cling to the truth (what God says about himself), we can stand up to the father of lies and be guaranteed to win!

What lies has Satan used to undermine your faith? Combat them by immersing yourself in the Scriptures. Think through how you can get more of God's Word into you life.

READ FURTHER:
Genesis 3:1-13; Matthew 4:1-11;
2 Corinthians 10:3-5

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THE STARTING POINT STUDY BIBILE New International Version
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