Notes: John 6:39 (cont'd) To John 10:27

(*Last day)

(See John 5:28 above)

In John 6:39-40 and John 12:48 the original Greek word (hemera: G2250) translated as the last "day" does not have to mean the last 24-hour day, but can refer figuratively to a much longer period of time (e.g. see the original Greek of 2 Corinthians 6:2; 2 Peter 3:8, and John 8:56). John 6:39-48 and John 12:48 will occur in the last period of time of this present earth, but they will not occur on the same 24-hour day (Revelation 20:5).

(See the "2 judgments" part of Matthew 12:36 above. Also, see Hebrews 1:2 below)

~

(Re: Is there one future resurrection, with one future coming of Jesus?)

See section 3 of John 5:28 above.

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*John 6:45 / *Jn. 6:45 -

Nonelect people can never come to Jesus Christ (as in John 6:45b), because they can never hear and learn from God the Father (John 8:42-47).

(See Romans 9:11 below)

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*John 6:47 / *Jn. 6:47 -

See John 3:16 or John 3:36 above.

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*John 6:51 / *Jn. 6:51 -

(Re: The "permission" section of Proverbs 26:2 above)

Here "if" refers only to the choice of whether or not someone will eat the true manna (the divine flesh) of the bread of Communion (John 6:31-38,51-58, Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:27-30). John 6:51 does not refer to any choice of whether or not someone is elect (Romans 9:11-24), or to whether or not someone will go through the future Tribulation (Matthew 24:9) of Matthew 24 and Revelation chapters 6 to 18.

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*John 6:53-57 / *Jn. 6:53 -

(Re: *Communion)

John 6:53-57 shows that all Christians, for their ultimate salvation, must eat the bread of Communion (Matthew 26:26), and drink the wine of Communion (Matthew 26:27-29), which actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:27-30), in some spiritual manner (John 6:63).

(See also the sections under 1 Corinthians 11:29 below)

~

(Re: For John 6:53-57 to be accomplished physically, would Jesus have to carve off portions of His physical flesh, and drain portions of His physical blood, and present them for physical consumption?)

John 6:53-57 does not have to be that graphic, but can be understood by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). That is, when Jesus Christ says of the bread of Communion: "This is my body" (Matthew 26:26), He can mean it.

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*John 6:63 / *Jn. 6:63 -

(Re: Literal vs. symbolic)

John 6:63b is not contradicting that Jesus Christ's words can be literal. For example, Mark 10:33-34 was fulfilled literally (Luke 24:39). So "spirit" does not mean "symbolic".

~

(Re: Spirit vs. flesh)

John 6:63 means that flesh by itself cannot give us eternal life. John 6:63b is not contradicting that Jesus Christ's words can refer to the flesh. For example, Mark 10:33-34 was fulfilled in the flesh (Luke 24:39). So "spirit" in John 6:63 does not mean "wholly apart from the flesh".

Compare how obedient Christians can be called "spiritual" even while they are in fleshly bodies (Galatians 6:1).

~

(Re: Means that Communion is spiritual flesh and blood?)

The bread and wine of Communion are Jesus Christ's physical flesh and blood, but the manner by which the bread and wine become His flesh and blood is spiritual, by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). Otherwise, the bread and wine would cease to appear and taste as bread and wine.

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*John 6:64 / *Jn. 6:64 -

(Re: Judas)

John 6:64 does not require that Judas was never a Christian, or even that he was not a Christian at the time that John 6:64 was spoken. For it is possible for someone to be a Christian at one time, but then betray Jesus Christ later (Luke 8:13). And even John 6:70 does not require that Judas was not a Christian at that time. For even devils can be believers (James 2:19). Also, John 6:64 included a wider group than just the twelve apostles. For it included many people who stopped following Jesus at that time (John 6:66), while Judas continued to follow Jesus at that time.

(See also Hebrews 6:4 and John 6:70 below)

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*John 6:65 / *Jn. 6:65 -

This means that no person can believe in Jesus Christ unless God the Father grants that person the miraculous gift of Christian faith (Ephesians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 3:5b, Acts 13:48b, Romans 12:3b, Hebrews 12:2). The nonelect can never believe in Jesus Christ (John 8:42-47, John 10:26, Matthew 13:38-42).

(See also Romans 9:11 below)

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*John 6:70 / *Jn. 6:70 -

(Re: *Judas)

Even though Judas the apostle was chosen/elect/saved/empowered like the other apostles (Luke 6:13-16, Mark 6:7-13, Matthew 19:28), he still subsequently became a devil (John 6:70-71) who would ultimately become unsaved (Mark 14:21), because he wrongly employed his free will to begin to love money more than Jesus Christ (John 12:3-6, Mark 14:3-11; cf. 1 Timothy 6:10, Matthew 6:24).

(See also the "NOSAS" section of Hebrews 3:6 below)

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*John 7:16-18 / *Jn. 7:16 -

This does not contradict the divinity of Jesus Christ.

(See John 14:28c below)

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*John 7:20 / *Jn. 7:20 -

This means that the people thought that a demon had made Jesus crazy (John 10:20), in the sense of what we today would call paranoid, for thinking that the Jews wanted to kill Him. In fact, the Jews did want to kill Him (John 5:16-18, John 7:1,25, Matthew 26:4, Luke 22:2).

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*John 7:37-38 / *Jn. 7:37 -

(Re: Full preterism?)

John 7:37 explains that it was referring to the last day of a Jewish feast. And John 7:38 does not require that Jesus Christ's Second Coming has already happened, for it simply refers to the giving of God's Holy Spirit to Christians (John 7:39).

(See Hebrews 1:2 and Acts 1:11 below)

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*John 7:38 / *Jn. 7:38 -

This refers to the giving of God's Holy Spirit to Christians (John 7:39) in the measures in which this giving began in the first century AD (John 20:22, Acts 2) and continues on today.

(See paragraphs 2-3 of Mark 16:16 above. Also, see section 2 of Mark 16:16 above)

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*John 7:39 / *Jn. 7:39 -

(The Holy Spirit was not yet given)

This did not mean that the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit was completely unknown before John 20:22 and Acts 2. For verses like Luke 1:15, Luke 1:41, Exodus 31:3, Isaiah 63:11, and 1 Peter 1:11 show that it was experienced by some individuals before John 20:22 and Acts 2, and even in Old Testament times. So John 7:39 must mean that the Holy Spirit was not yet offered generally to all believers, as He is under the New Covenant, as was prophesied in the Old Testament (Joel 2:28-29, quoted in Acts 2:16-18).

John 7:39 could also mean that the measure of God's Holy Spirit offered since Acts 2 was not given before that time. For even before Acts 2, on the day of Jesus Christ's physical resurrection, when He first appeared to His apostles, He gave them some measure of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). But He still told them to wait for what would happen later in Acts 2 (Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8).

Acts 2 was the "baptism" of the Holy Spirit for the disciples (Acts 1:5), which is different than the baptism in water.

(See Mark 16:16 above)

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*John 8:3-11 / *Jn. 8:3 -

Even though under Roman rule the Jews were not allowed to execute people (John 18:31), they still sometimes went ahead and executed or attempted to execute people for religious reasons (Acts 7:57-60, Acts 14:5,19, John 10:31-33, John 8:59, John 11:8, Luke 4:29). In cases where individuals were popular, the Jewish leaders were careful not to do this, or publicly even harm or speak against such individuals, lest the Jewish leaders be stoned by the people (Luke 20:6, Acts 5:26). Also, Jesus Christ did not tell the people not to stone the woman caught in adultery because they were under Roman rule. Instead, He told them to go ahead and stone her, so long as they were without sin (John 8:7). And even though Jesus was without sin (Hebrews 4:15b; 2 Corinthians 5:21), He still did not stone her, but showed her mercy (John 8:11, John 1:17). Let us do the same.

--

*John 8:11 / *Jn. 8:11 -

(Re: Baptism)

The woman caught in adultery, who called Jesus "Lord" (John 8:11), could have already been baptized, but then backslid into adultery.

(See Mark 16:16 and Luke 23:43 above)

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*John 8:23 / *Jn. 8:23 -

(Re: *Preexistence? / *Origen)

John 8:23, John 3:31, and 1 Corinthians 15:46-47 counter the mistaken, Gnostic idea that we preexisted as spirits (either in heaven or on a prior, purely-spiritual earth) and then came to the present earth to be conceived and born in physical bodies. For John 8:23, John 3:31, and 1 Corinthians 15:46-47 show that only Jesus Christ came down from heaven to the present earth, while we are all from the present earth, and our first existence is in our present, physical bodies.

(See also Luke 24:39 above)

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*John 8:31b / *Jn. 8:31b -

(Re: Is it possible to be a Christian without believing the Bible?)

No, for a "Christian" is another name for a disciple (student) of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26b). And Jesus said:

John 8:31b . . . If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed . . .

~

(Re: OSAS?)

Note that John 8:31 does not say or require "continue unto the end", for Christians can continue in Jesus Christ's Word for awhile, but then later fall away (Hebrews 6:4-8).

Compare the sower parable.

(See Luke 8:4 above. Also, see Hebrews 6:4 below)

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*John 8:32 / *Jn. 8:32 -

(Re: Means that knowing any particular truth will always make you free from something?)

The context (John 8:31-36) is that knowing Jesus Christ, who is Himself the truth (John 14:6), can make people free from slavery to sin (John 8:34-36, Romans 6:16-23).

But John 8:32, just by itself, might also have a wider application, in that knowing other truths could help us to get free from bondage to other things. For example, John 8:32 could include the meaning that knowing the truth that the rapture (the gathering together) of the Church to Jesus Christ will occur after the future Tribulation of Matthew 24 and Revelation chapters 6 to 18 (Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8) could help us to get free of a horrible fear of the Tribulation. For the post-tribulation-rapture view requires that one face one's fear of the Tribulation head-on and overcome that fear (cf. Revelation 2:10), while the pre-tribulation-rapture view allows one to smother over that fear with the false hope of a pre-tribulation rapture, while that fear continues to fester in one's subconscious nonetheless (cf. Hebrews 2:15).

(See the "Dangerous" section of Matthew 24:31 above)

Of course, the benefit of knowing the post-tribulation-rapture truth can be short-circuited by those who think that God must physically protect them perfectly during the Tribulation. This false hope of mandatory, miraculous physical protection is no less an attempt to smother one's fear of the Tribulation than the false hope of a pre-tribulation rapture.

(See Luke 10:19 above)

Letting the post-tribulation-rapture truth "sink in" is a perfect image of what we must let happen. For those who refuse the post-tribulation-rapture truth, and hold onto the pre-tribulation-rapture false hope, could be like those who, even though they love the Word of God, the Holy Bible, they "have no root in themselves", and so will become "offended" in tribulation (Matthew 13:20-21, Matthew 24:9-10), possibly even to the point of committing apostasy (Isaiah 8:21-22; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:3), to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Hebrews 6:4-8, John 15:6; 2 Timothy 2:12).

Just as it takes time for the root of a plant to grow, since it has to gradually work its way down through the soil and pebbles, so it takes time for the post-tribulation-rapture truth to work its way down through the fears and worries of our souls, and replace them with a root of fearlessness, courage, and determination, so that we might endure the future Tribulation with patience and faith to the end (Revelation 13:10, Revelation 14:12-13, Matthew 24:9-13).

Many who hold the pre-tribulation-rapture view, especially those who do so out of the utmost fear (whether they realize it or not), could be horribly blindsided when they realize that there is not going to be a pre-tribulation rapture, that (at some point in our future) they are in the Tribulation and will have to suffer through all of it. They could totally freak out at this, and their faith could completely fail.

But nothing requires that this has to happen to someone just because they hold to the pre-tribulation-rapture view. There will no doubt be some people who hold to the pre-tribulation-rapture view who, faith-wise, will do just fine in the Tribulation. They will simply think: "Oh, well. I guess I read it wrong. No big deal. The Church has always had to suffer tribulation. May God see me through this". And they will knuckle down and endure the Tribulation with patience and faith to the end.

They could even put to shame some people who held to the post-tribulation-rapture view but who will nonetheless falter in their faith during the long suffering of the future Tribulation, despite their previous warnings to those who had held to the pre-tribulation-rapture view (cf. Job 4:3-5).

(See also Matthew 7:24 and Matthew 24:31 above)

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*John 8:34-36 / *Jn. 8:34 -

(Re: *Filthy rags / *Holy / *Holiness)

On their own, Christians are not good enough to earn their salvation (Romans 3:10). But if they continue to abide in Jesus Christ (John 15:4-6), they can become good enough to earn their ultimate salvation (Matthew 25:21, Romans 2:6-7, James 2:24, Philippians 2:12b; 2 Corinthians 5:9). For while Christians cannot do good apart from continuing to abide in Jesus (Romans 3:12, John 15:5b), if they do continue to abide in Him, they can do good (John 15:5, John 5:29, Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Timothy 6:18; 1 Peter 3:11; 3 John 1:11, Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 6:8, Hebrews 13:16, Luke 6:35).

Also, Jesus has made it possible for Christians not to sin (John 8:34-36, Romans 8:2-14, Romans 6:1-23; 2 Corinthians 7:1), even when they are tempted to do so (2 Peter 2:9a; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Corinthians 9:27, Romans 8:13, Galatians 5:16). So they can become perfectly holy before God (2 Corinthians 7:1, Romans 6:22, Hebrews 12:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:7, Ephesians 4:24). And Jesus has made it possible for Christians to repent and confess their sins to God, and be completely forgiven, if they nonetheless wrongly employ their free will to commit a sin (1 John 1:9). They will lose their salvation ultimately only if they continue in a sin without repentance (Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27, Luke 12:45-46).

(See also Luke 17:10 above, and Hebrews 10:26 below)

--

*John 8:42-47 / *Jn. 8:42 -

This refers to the inability of nonelect individuals to ever believe in Jesus Christ, because they are not of God, meaning that they are not His elect. For only elect individuals can come into belief in Jesus Christ (Acts 13:48b).

(See Romans 9:11 below)

~

(Re: Pharisees / Jews)

John 8:42-47 does not mean that all Pharisees or Jews are nonelect. For some are elect. For example, Saul/Paul the Pharisee and Jew (Acts 23:6, Acts 22:3) eventually repented and believed in Jesus Christ and His Gospel (1 Timothy 1:12-17). Paul did so, just as every elect person eventually does so at some point during his or her lifetime, because he was elected (chosen) by God before he was born (Galatians 1:15), just as all elect people were (Romans 9:11-16).

~

(Re: Are we all *brothers and sisters?)

That depends on who you mean by "we". If you mean all we Christians, then, yes, we are all brothers and sisters (Matthew 23:8b). But if you mean all we humans, then, no, we are not all brothers and sisters, insofar as God does not consider nonelect individuals to be of His family, but the children of the devil (John 8:42-47, Matthew 13:38-42). Or, if by "we" you mean all we creatures, whether human, animal, or other, then, yes, all we creatures are brothers and sisters insofar as we all have God as our Creator (Colossians 1:16, John 1:3).

(See also Mark 16:15 above)

~

(Re: If God is our *Father, then who is our *Mother?)

While God is the Father Creator of all of us (Malachi 2:10), our ultimate mother would be matter, in the sense of "Mother Earth". Compare the Latin word for mother: "mater".

(See also Genesis 2:7 above)

--

*John 8:44 / *Jn. 8:44 -

Jesus Christ saying that the devil was a liar and a murderer from the beginning could mean from his beginning as the devil, "Satan" (Revelation 12:9), not from his beginning as "Lucifer" (Isaiah 14:12).

And/or, Jesus Christ saying that the devil was a liar and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44) could mean from the beginning of the Adamic human race in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:7-8).

(See section 2 of Revelation 13 below)

--

*John 8:44b / *Jn. 8:44b -

(Re: Is *dishonesty in anyone's nature?)

Dishonesty is in Satan's nature, for "there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44b). Satan can sometimes persuade even Christians to lie, even to God (Acts 5:3-11). Also, lying is in some humans' own nature (e.g. Titus 1:12-13). Indeed, it is in the fallen nature of all of us to some extent. For lying is in the nature of all of the wicked (Psalms 58:3). And all of us are wicked before we become Christians (Romans 3:9-10, Romans 3:23-26).

Also, lying is in the nature of intelligence agents. For they must almost-continually lie to keep their cover, and to keep intelligence secrets. They think that this is okay, because they think that the end justifies the means. But it does not (cf. Romans 3:8). And "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

But this does not have to be their fate, if they repent from their lies (cf. 1 John 1:9), leave their present work, and work a job which does not require dishonesty.

But even law enforcement agencies allow their agents to lie in order to entrap suspects during questioning. And yet these same agencies, at the drop of a hat, will charge anyone who lies to them, even if he makes an honest mistake in what he says regarding some past event which he does not remember that clearly. So this does not encourage anyone to say anything when questioned. Better to keep the right to remain silent. For we are innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until threatened to speak to prove our innocence, especially to prove our innocence against lies, which are Satanic (John 8:44b).

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*John 8:48 / *Jn. 8:48 -

The Jews who said John 8:48 no doubt said it because they were offended by what Jesus Christ had just told them in John 8:42-47, which was what He would tell them again later in John 10:26.

--

*John 8:51 / *Jn. 8:51 -

This means that Christians need to obey to the end Jesus Christ's New Covenant/New Testament commandments (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3) -- such as those He gave in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:19 to 7:29) and in the epistles of the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 14:37; 1 Thessalonians 4:2) -- if Christians are not to lose their salvation in the end (Matthew 7:26-27, Matthew 25:26,30). For the ultimate salvation of Christians will depend on their patient continuance in obedience and good works to the end (Romans 2:6-8, Hebrews 5:9, James 2:24).

(See also Ephesians 2:8 below)

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*John 8:52 / *Jn. 8:52 -

The Jews said John 8:52 because they did not understand that Jesus Christ was speaking of obedient Christians never tasting the second death, the eternal suffering of the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8). When Jesus said: "If a man keep my saying" (John 8:51), He meant if Christians obey His commandments (John 14:15,21-24). For if they do that, then they will ultimately obtain eternal life (Romans 2:6-8, Hebrews 5:9, Matthew 7:21), instead of being cast into the eternal suffering of the lake of fire and brimstone (Matthew 25:41,46, Revelation 20:10,15, Revelation 14:10-11, Mark 9:45b-46).

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*John 8:59 / *Jn. 8:59 -

(At / Epi)

In the original Greek, this verse uses "epi" (G1909) in its sense of direction ("towards"), not in its sense of position ("on").

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*John 10:5 / *Jn. 10:5 -

This refers to the general case. It is not contradicting that it is possible for some of Jesus Christ's sheep to follow false teachers (Acts 20:29-30; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4).

(See Matthew 24:24 and Matthew 18:12 above. Also, see paragraphs 2-5 of section 2 of 1 Timothy 3:15 below)

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*John 10:9 / *Jn. 10:9 -

This means the same thing as John 14:6; that Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved (John 3:36, Acts 4:12; 2 John 1:9). Also, John 10:9 does not mean that individuals become Jesus' sheep by entering His fold. For elect individuals are Jesus' sheep even before they enter His one fold (John 10:16), which is His one Church (Ephesians 4:4-6), which is Israel (Revelation 21:9,12). Elect individuals are elect even before they get saved (Romans 11:28). They get saved because they are elect (Acts 13:48b).

(See also John 3:16 or John 3:36 above. Also, see Romans 9:11 below, and the "NOSAS" section of Hebrews 3:6 below)

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*John 10:10b / *Jn. 10:10b -

See "John 10:10b" under 1 Corinthians 15:1 below.

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*John 10:11,14-15 / *Jn. 10:11 -

See section 2 of 1 John 2:2 below.

~

Jesus Christ's sheep whom He died to save (John 10:11,14-15) are elect individuals (1 Peter 1:2; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 4:1), those who are able to believe in Him (John 10:27) and who will believe in Him at some point during their lifetime (Acts 13:48b), as opposed to nonelect individuals, who can never believe in Him (John 8:42-47) because they are not His sheep (John 10:26).

(See also Romans 9:11 below)

--

*John 10:16 / *Jn. 10:16 -

Jesus Christ's sheep "not of this fold" (John 10:16) are elect Gentiles, who through faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel are brought into "this fold" (John 10:16) of Israel (Ephesians 2:12,19, Romans 11:17,24, Galatians 3:29). So all Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, become "one fold" (John 10:16), which is Jesus' one body/the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13), which is Israel (Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10). This requires that the Gospel be preached to everyone (Mark 16:15), not just to Jews.

(See Romans 1:16 below, and the "Tribes" section of Romans 11:17 below)

--

*John 10:17-18 / *Jn. 10:17 -

See section 2 of 1 John 2:2 below.

~

John 10:17-18 meant that Jesus Christ had the power to resurrect Himself physically from the dead, which pointed to His divinity.

(See paragraph 4 of Mark 13:32 above. Also, see John 1:1,14 above)

--

*John 10:19 / *Jn. 10:19 -

Here, "these sayings" would be what Jesus Christ had just said in John 10:1-18, which many of the Jews thought was crazy (John 10:20), simply because they did not understand what He was saying (John 10:6). Similarly, some people today could think that a Biblical Christian is crazy, simply because they cannot understand what he, or the Bible itself, is saying (cf. Matthew 10:25, John 15:20).

(See also 1 Corinthians 2:4 below)

--

*John 10:26-27 / *Jn. 10:26 / *Jn. 10:27 -

This means that those who are Jesus Christ's sheep (elect individuals, of whatever ethnicity) will hear His voice in His Word (the Bible), and will eventually believe in Him at some point during their lifetime (Acts 13:48b), while those individuals who are not His sheep (nonelect individuals, of whatever ethnicity) cannot ever hear (accept) His Word and believe in Him (John 8:42-47). Elect individuals come to Jesus Christ and get saved from hell only because they had previously been given to Jesus by God the Father (John 6:37). And they come to Jesus only by God the Father drawing them to Jesus (John 6:44). Christian faith is a miraculous gift from God (Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65; 1 Corinthians 3:5b, Romans 12:3b, Hebrews 12:2). Elect individuals believe and are initially saved by God's choice, not their choice (Romans 9:16, John 1:13, John 15:16). But the ultimate salvation of elect individuals will depend on their choices subsequent to their initial salvation (Hebrews 10:26-29, Hebrews 6:4-8, Matthew 25:26,30). For salvation does not take away free will.

(See the "NOSAS" section of Hebrews 3:6 below. Also, see Romans 9:11 below)

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