John 8:51 Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.
All of these Bible verses in this section titled Eternal Life all say the same thing. Jesus tells the people if they believe and keep His words they will never see death, but have eternal life. Death - which death was Jesus talking about? Before Jesus came and started His earthly ministry, believers in God would die and go to a place called Sheol. This is where both believers and non-believers would go, to await the Last Day. We know this from the teaching of Jesus, concerning the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. (Luke 16: 19 - 31). This teaching also agrees with what the Old Testament taught. In Sheol, God was not present, this is brought out in Jesus' parable because the rich man appeals to father Abraham and not God, for righteous ruling; and Abraham gives it. God is the judge, this teaching is consistent in both Old and New Testament teaching. Sheol is the Hebrew word for place of the dead, in Greek, the word is Hades. Hades in the Old Testament was a place for both good and bad to go; but in the New Testament only refers to where the bad dead go. I will go into this more in detail when I teach on Jesus Words from the cross. This is where the change in definition of Hades changes. This closes this section on Jesus Said concerning Eternal Life. The next section is entitled The Pre-eminence of God. Stay tuned.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
84th Post Jesus Said on Eternal Life Con't. - John 6: 54
John 6: 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
From the location of this passage, we know Jesus has been teaching approximately a little over a year at the time this took place. Jesus has fed the 5,000 and walked on water. Jesus had gathered a large following by this time. Then Jesus says they have to eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life. Deuteronomy chapter 28 lists the promises and curses that God would lay on the Children of Israel depending on whether or not they followed God or fell away. Part of the curses is that Israel would resort to cannibalism if they fell away from God. Jewish history says that this happened to both North and South Kingdoms because of their unbelief. Notice Deuteronomy deals with the physical and Jesus was talking about the Spiritual, the Jews misunderstood just like Nicodemus did in chapter 3. Jesus was setting up the idea of Communion, the people could not get their heads around this concept. This concept will come again in Chapter 15 of John. Jesus is giving you the tools to have eternal life. 1. Was to believe 2. Was to do 3. is to eat His Body and Drink His Blood. Jesus is laying out what is required to walk with Jesus. How is your walk? Have you made a decision yet? Still need more information and time?
From the location of this passage, we know Jesus has been teaching approximately a little over a year at the time this took place. Jesus has fed the 5,000 and walked on water. Jesus had gathered a large following by this time. Then Jesus says they have to eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life. Deuteronomy chapter 28 lists the promises and curses that God would lay on the Children of Israel depending on whether or not they followed God or fell away. Part of the curses is that Israel would resort to cannibalism if they fell away from God. Jewish history says that this happened to both North and South Kingdoms because of their unbelief. Notice Deuteronomy deals with the physical and Jesus was talking about the Spiritual, the Jews misunderstood just like Nicodemus did in chapter 3. Jesus was setting up the idea of Communion, the people could not get their heads around this concept. This concept will come again in Chapter 15 of John. Jesus is giving you the tools to have eternal life. 1. Was to believe 2. Was to do 3. is to eat His Body and Drink His Blood. Jesus is laying out what is required to walk with Jesus. How is your walk? Have you made a decision yet? Still need more information and time?
83rd Post Jesus Said on Eternal Life Con't. - John 6: 47
John 6: 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
This passage goes along with the previous post John 6: 40. Belief, is only possible if the Holy Spirit has decided to turn on the switch God has placed in each and every one of us before birth. It happens this way so that we as humans can not take responsibility for our coming to Christ. We have no grounds on which to boast. Belief is required first, then we are to start to walk according to God's Word. When we do this, our life starts to change. Your friends that you had before you accepted God will start to fall away, unless they also are walking according to God's Word. They may not go away quietly, but they will go away just the same. As your walk gets stronger in God's Word, you will find you have less and less in common with them; and maybe even feel uncomfortable, or even fight when you are with them. They have not changed, you have. Your priorities will change and your idea of what is fun or important will also change. It is at this time that you are liable to backslide. You start to become afraid of how you are changing. This is normal and you need to stay focused on God. You do this by attending Bible Study, and Church regularly. If you keep your eyes on the prize and persevere until the end you will have everlasting life. It is up to you.
This passage goes along with the previous post John 6: 40. Belief, is only possible if the Holy Spirit has decided to turn on the switch God has placed in each and every one of us before birth. It happens this way so that we as humans can not take responsibility for our coming to Christ. We have no grounds on which to boast. Belief is required first, then we are to start to walk according to God's Word. When we do this, our life starts to change. Your friends that you had before you accepted God will start to fall away, unless they also are walking according to God's Word. They may not go away quietly, but they will go away just the same. As your walk gets stronger in God's Word, you will find you have less and less in common with them; and maybe even feel uncomfortable, or even fight when you are with them. They have not changed, you have. Your priorities will change and your idea of what is fun or important will also change. It is at this time that you are liable to backslide. You start to become afraid of how you are changing. This is normal and you need to stay focused on God. You do this by attending Bible Study, and Church regularly. If you keep your eyes on the prize and persevere until the end you will have everlasting life. It is up to you.
82nd Post Jesus Said Eternal Life Con't. - John 6: 40
John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
This passage is in line with what the Old Testament teaches. Jesus Said in His Sermon on the Mount "I did not come to do away with the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill." The teaching is pretty clear, see and believe in the Son (Jesus) and you will have everlasting life. What about us? We were not born at the time of Jesus, are we left out of this promise? Certainly Not! Jesus made this plain when He met Thomas in the upper room after His ressurection from the dead. Jesus told Thomas "have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed." (John 20:29). The evidence is strong and true. If you have been following this blog from the first post; you have seen Jesus' words and deeds. I am trying to use this blog as a way of explaining these passages further than what was discussed on Sunday Night. The choice is yours. Only you can decide if the evidence is strong enough for you to believe. This study is still at the beginning of what Jesus taught, we will be looking deeper as time goes by. The parables are the last of Jesus teachings we will look at and we will look at most of them at that time. I hope this study has been a help to you so far, and has strengthened your walk with Jesus. God Bless You.
This passage is in line with what the Old Testament teaches. Jesus Said in His Sermon on the Mount "I did not come to do away with the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill." The teaching is pretty clear, see and believe in the Son (Jesus) and you will have everlasting life. What about us? We were not born at the time of Jesus, are we left out of this promise? Certainly Not! Jesus made this plain when He met Thomas in the upper room after His ressurection from the dead. Jesus told Thomas "have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed." (John 20:29). The evidence is strong and true. If you have been following this blog from the first post; you have seen Jesus' words and deeds. I am trying to use this blog as a way of explaining these passages further than what was discussed on Sunday Night. The choice is yours. Only you can decide if the evidence is strong enough for you to believe. This study is still at the beginning of what Jesus taught, we will be looking deeper as time goes by. The parables are the last of Jesus teachings we will look at and we will look at most of them at that time. I hope this study has been a help to you so far, and has strengthened your walk with Jesus. God Bless You.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
81st Post Jesus Said On Eternal Life Con't - John 6:27
John 6: 27 "Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." This passage takes place not to far into Jesus earthly ministry. Jesus' message is new considering the person is required to labor for the food that leads to eternal life. The Old Testament teaches, that you need to go to the Temple 5 times a year and bring sacrifices to the Temple. Jesus adds to this saying that you also need to pay attention to Jesus and do these things instead as part of the new covenant in His Blood. Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, "I did not come to do away with but to fulfill, the Law and the prophets". Jesus was speaking with authority and asks that you do what He says because He represents God the Father. In the Old Testament you were required to go to the Temple. Jesus says come to Me and receive Spiritual Food. It is the Spiritual Food that I give that will lead to eternal life. This is a new teaching, starting here in the Gospels. Jesus is telling the people they are required to walk with Jesus (God) daily to get their fill of this Spiritual food. This is a new teaching. Jesus during His ministry is going to tell them about the importance of talking to God daily. This is something we are supposed to be doing if we are Christians. We need to spend time with God everyday. How is your walk?
80th Post Jesus on Eternal Life Con't - John 5: 39 - 40
John 5: 39 - 40 This passage is further rebuttal to the previous post and passage John 5: 24. The Jewish leaders were looking for ways they could have eternal life in the Scriptures, the way they were going about it was all wrong. They were looking for ways they could earn eternal life. They did not understand, what is required is a personal relationship with God by submitting your whole life to Him. The Jewish leaders were doing it all on their own understanding, not on understanding God. Before you start calling those people dumb, look at your relationship with God. We are the same as them, we tend to make the same mistakes. Why don't we help others who are in need? We say we don't want to get involved. God is jealous, He wants you, and all of you. Not just what of yourself you are ready to share. The Jewish leaders thought they were sinless. Since they were sinless, why did they need a Messiah? So they never looked for the Messiah to save them. This is why they did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. They instead searched the Scriptures and found all of the apocalyptic verses and studied only those, because they thought the Messiah was to come to throw the Romans out of Israel. Their own understanding again, not God's. Are you suffering from the same thing, trying to find God through your own understanding? Ask God to come into your heart and give you His understanding. He will ,if you will!
Monday, June 7, 2010
79th Post Jesus Said about Eternal Life Con't - John 5: 24
John 5:24 This passage comes from the beginning of John toward the beginning of Jesus ministry.
Chapter 5 begins with the healing of the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda healed on the Sabbath. The Jews plot to kill Jesus, Jesus tells them He gets His Authority from God the Father. Jesus is consistent in His defense of Himself whenever attacked. If anything His defense of Himself is getting stronger. This is the passage mentioned above: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." John 5:24. Jesus is speaking of the same things, He told Nicodemus in chapter 3 concerning rebirth. The message is not that difficult to understand, if you believe My words are true by the signs (miracles) I perform, then you know that I come from the Father (God); and you will have eternal life. This is the first step in rebirth of the Spirit. Just like natural birth is the start or our human life, Spitirual birth is the start of our eternal life. To understand this concept you would have to know Jesus parable of the seeds (Sower). Matthew 13:18-23; Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8: 11 - 15. In this parable the Sower throws his seed and it falls on all sorts of soil. The hearers heart is the soil, what kind of soil the hearer has depends on what he does with the seed. The second part of Spiritual rebirth is doing what you have heard. If you are doing this then your faith in Jesus is alive and depending on how you hear and how you are implementing what you hear, is how healthy your eternal life is. Only you and God know how you are doing. Look at your life, if you need to make some changes, there is still time to get right with God. He loves you and is waiting for you to come back.
Chapter 5 begins with the healing of the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda healed on the Sabbath. The Jews plot to kill Jesus, Jesus tells them He gets His Authority from God the Father. Jesus is consistent in His defense of Himself whenever attacked. If anything His defense of Himself is getting stronger. This is the passage mentioned above: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." John 5:24. Jesus is speaking of the same things, He told Nicodemus in chapter 3 concerning rebirth. The message is not that difficult to understand, if you believe My words are true by the signs (miracles) I perform, then you know that I come from the Father (God); and you will have eternal life. This is the first step in rebirth of the Spirit. Just like natural birth is the start or our human life, Spitirual birth is the start of our eternal life. To understand this concept you would have to know Jesus parable of the seeds (Sower). Matthew 13:18-23; Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8: 11 - 15. In this parable the Sower throws his seed and it falls on all sorts of soil. The hearers heart is the soil, what kind of soil the hearer has depends on what he does with the seed. The second part of Spiritual rebirth is doing what you have heard. If you are doing this then your faith in Jesus is alive and depending on how you hear and how you are implementing what you hear, is how healthy your eternal life is. Only you and God know how you are doing. Look at your life, if you need to make some changes, there is still time to get right with God. He loves you and is waiting for you to come back.
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