The notion of the option to choose evil as necessary for God to create beings with a free will has been offered by some to explain why evil exists in a world created by a holy God of infinite power. At first glance, it looks like a reasonable explanation for the existence of evil. But, is moral evil as necessary for free will a biblical idea?

God’s Perfect Freedom

To begin, God is infinitely and eternally free and has never had the option or desire to choose evil. Yet, God is the freest being in and beyond the universe. Also, we will never be more free than in heaven where no evil or the option to choose it will exist. Heaven would be ruined by the presence or possibility of evil.

Set Free in Christ

Also, Christ set us free from the power, penalty, and ultimately the presence of moral evil; He did not set us free to have the option to choose it. “Having been set free from sin, [we] have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18 ESV). In Christ we have become “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). Truly, “If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Our situation has been infinitely improved in Christ, but not by the option to choose evil.

More Freedom or More Problems?

The choice of evil not only cannot improve one’s situation, it reduces true and biblical freedom. For instance, imagine yourself in a nice restaurant. You open the menu and see many excellent and tasty choices. What you don’t see on the menu are cat box pizza, rotten eggs, or dirt casserole. Now ask yourself, were you cheated? Would you complain to the waiter that your menu excludes pizza sprinkled with used kitty litter? I hope not. Would you be more free with the option of disgusting choices on the menu? Does the choice of something that will taste terrible, make you sick, or even kill you improve your situation or make you more free? Absolutely not.

True Freedom

Biblical freedom involves the ability to choose the best thing, not the ability to choose evil or that which hurts us and dishonors God. Our situation is not improved one iota by the option to choose things that destroy us and others. When Christ set us free, He empowered us to choose the things which benefit us and others the most, to choose the best of the best—to choose Christ. We were born in sin with the ability to choose evil, but Christ set us free to choose Him. We look forward to the day when evil is banished forever, and the infinitely good and free God dwells with His children made holy and free in Christ. There we will freely love and be loved by the infinitely excellent and lovable God. We shall be like Christ and we shall be free.

Next Up: Is Evil Required to Know Good?

© 2015 Craig Biehl, www.pilgrimsrock.com

Scripture clearly teaches that God displayed His glory in the person and saving work of Christ. In fact, nowhere is God’s glory more clearly seen than in Christ. Does it follow, then, that evil is necessary for God to display His glory? After all, Christ displayed His glory by saving sinners. To answer this important question, we need to distinguish between two entirely different things, namely, God bringing good from evil, and God doing evil that good may result. The former is true while the latter is blasphemy.

Absolute Independence or Dependence on Evil?

To begin, God’s glory as dependent on evil makes God dependent on that which is most contrary to His character to accomplish His purpose to display His glory. Put another way, it says that God is independent and needs nothing, except evil; He needs evil to accomplish His will. After all, God displays His infinite glory by saving evil people. Yet, again, we must distinguish between God bringing good from evil and God doing evil to produce good.

Evil for Good or Good from Evil?

Christ displayed God’s infinite excellence by bringing infinite good from infinite evil. Yet, Scripture strongly condemns those who say “let us do evil that good may come” (Romans 3:8). God is perfectly righteous and cannot do moral evil for any reason. “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4 ESV).

A Holy Mercy and Sovereignty

Imagine God unjustly condemning billions to eternal suffering to display His goodness to a few. The thought is repugnant in light of God as holy and righteous. “As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). Does a mass murderer display goodness by sparing a few, or does someone beating an innocent animal display his good character by dressing the wounds? Are you impressed with such “goodness”? Is this really God’s glory? In attempts to understand God’s sovereignty and holiness in light of the existence of evil in the world, we should always remember that God’s sovereign rule is a holy rule; God’s foreordination of all things is a holy foreordination. God’s holiness makes His power and rule good and beautiful. Satan’s power is evil and ugly precisely because it is unholy.

A Guilty God and Upside-down Gospel?

Moreover, if God does moral evil to produce good He would be guilty of that which He condemns in others; His critics and despisers would be correct in their accusations against Him. Christ’s redeeming work would be a mockery of God’s excellence if He suffered for that which God is blamable, produced by God’s dependence on evil. The Gospel would be turned on its head and the glory of God tainted beyond repair. Satan’s ongoing blasphemies would have merit and Adam and Eve would have been correct in affirming the serpent’s lies. God commanded Adam and Eve to not eat of the tree lest they die. But did God secretly want them to sin and die, along with the billions Adam represented? Was the serpent correct in calling God disingenuous with malicious motives in His command to not eat of the tree? The thought is blasphemous. Are we really to doubt God’s word as Satan would have us do? May it never be!

Mystery and Perfect Righteousness

In the end, the refusal to accept mystery in light of God’s perfect excellence creates great problems and leads to a denial of God’s perfections. In Christ we have God’s glory on vivid display, including His holiness, righteousness, and infinite hatred of evil. Christ endured infinite suffering that God might be just in justifying the ungodly (Romans 3:21-31). God could not compromise His perfect justice one iota to save a single soul. He upheld His righteousness in saving sinners at infinite cost to Himself. Therefore, God has provided all we need to know His perfect character. We can rest in His infinite goodness, while speculation beyond what He has revealed will lead us astray.

© 2015 Craig Biehl, www.pilgrimsrock.com

October 11, 2015

Having served as a pastor for over 38 years, I’ve seen many people who serve the Lord for reasons that are sometimes noble, but yet inadequate to sustain them over the long haul. Some are so-called “laymen” (although I hate that term), while others are full-time pastors, church workers, or missionaries. But they serve the Lord for inadequate reasons.

Sometimes people serve because they want to help advance Christ’s kingdom. That’s a noble, but inadequate reason for serving Christ. Some pastors serve the Lord because they love studying theology and teaching the Bible accurately. While that is a vital task (Titus 1:9), by itself it’s an inadequate reason for serving Christ. Sometimes pastors and others in the church serve because they genuinely want to help people with their problems. Again, that’s a noble, but inadequate reason for serving the Lord. Sometimes people serve because they get a sense of satisfaction from serving. While it’s legitimate to be pleased when God uses you, that’s also an inadequate reason for serving.

On a carnal level, some serve the Lord because it makes them feel important when they help people and those people sing their praises. But these people often get wounded and quit serving when they don’t receive the applause that they think they deserve. Some pastors serve because they like being the center of attention. Some enjoy the power or the feeling of importance that comes from being in leadership. The worst pastors are in the ministry to get rich at the expense of the people they are supposedly serving or to prey on the women who look to them for spiritual leadership. The Bible strongly condemns such evil men (2 Pet. 2:14-15).

In our last study, I asked the question, “In whose life are you having a spiritual impact?” I pointed out that every member of Christ’s body should be serving Him by helping make disciples. But beneath the question, “Are you serving Christ?” is the more fundamental question, “Why do you serve Him?” What is your motivation for serving? In our text the Lord Jesus drills home to Peter and to us the foundational motive for serving Him:

Loving Jesus because He has graciously forgiven all your sins is the foundational motive for serving Him.

Behind that statement are the two great commandments: to love God and to love others. If we love God because of His love and grace toward us, we will serve Him by loving others. So loving Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who gave Himself on the cross to rescue us from God’s judgment, is the essential motive for serving Him. If that motive is not central in your heart, you will burn out or blow out in your service for the Lord.

This short exchange between the risen Lord Jesus and Peter represents Peter’s public restoration to his apostolic ministry. On the day Jesus arose, the angel at the empty tomb told the women (Mark 16:7), “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” Those words, “and Peter,” would have rang in Peter’s ears and lifted his depressed spirit after his miserable denials of his Lord. I think that Peter would have asked the women, “Did the angel say, ‘and Peter’?” It assured him that the Lord had not rejected him because of his failure. That same day, Jesus met privately with Peter to reassure him and restore him personally (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5). But now the risen Lord restores Peter to his apostolic office in front of these other six disciples.

Peter had denied the Lord three times and so three times Jesus repeats the essential question, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” These three questions hit Peter like repeated hammer blows to drive the point home. Three times, the third time with grief because it reminded him of his threefold denials, Peter affirmed, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” And, three times the Lord responded to Peter’s affirmation of love, “Tend My lambs. … Shepherd My sheep. … Tend My sheep.” The point is, loving Jesus because He has forgiven all your sins is essential for serving Him.

To paraphrase Paul (1 Cor. 13:1-3), you may be the world’s most eloquent speaker, but if you don’t love Jesus you’re just a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. You may have impressive spiritual gifts and great theological knowledge and faith that can remove mountains, but if you don’t love Jesus, it’s all worth nothing. You may give away all your possessions and even suffer martyrdom, but if you do it without love for Jesus, it profits you nothing. Love for Jesus is the essential motive for all you do for Him.

1. Loving Jesus is at the heart of a relationship with Him.

When Christ saves you, it’s always on a personal basis. The good shepherd “calls His own sheep by name” (John 10:3). If Jesus has saved you, it’s not because of anything in you, but rather because your name was written in the Lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8; 17:8; 20:15; 21:27). Jesus died on the cross for you because He loved you (Gal. 2:20). He desires your love in response to His great love for you. Thus…

A. Loving Jesus from the heart is the main thing to focus on in your relationship with Him.

Jesus’ repeated question to Peter hits each one of us: “Do you love Me? Do you love Me? Do you love Me?” It reminds me of the Lord’s rebuke to the church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:2-4):

“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

They were doing well in many areas. They were working hard for the Lord. They would have protested, “Lord, look at how we’re serving You!” But He said to them, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” They were holding to sound doctrine and putting false teachers out of the church. That’s essential, because without sound doctrine, we may be following a false gospel which is no gospel at all, or a false Christ of our own making (Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Cor. 11:4). But sound doctrine alone is hollow if it does not rest on genuine love for Jesus. The Ephesians were persevering and enduring hardship for Jesus’ sake, which is commendable; but only if it is done out of love for Jesus. The Lord said, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

The Ephesians probably could have added, “But Lord, we’re faithful in church attendance, we celebrate communion often, and we give generously to Your cause!” But Jesus said to them, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

At this point, I need to comment on the familiar point that John uses two different Greek words for “love” in this dialogue. The first two times that Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love Me?” He uses the Greek verb agapao. Peter replies using the Greek verb phileo. But the third time, Jesus uses phileo and Peter replies again with phileo. Based on this, some argue that Peter’s love doesn’t come up to the higher word that Jesus uses, so finally the Lord comes down to Peter’s lower word. But the problem is, sometimes the two words are used synonymously (John 3:35; 5:20; 11:5, 36; 16:27) and some scholars argue for opposite nuances of the two words. And Paul elevates phileo to a very high plane when he says (1 Cor. 16:22) that if we don’t phileo the Lord, we are accursed.

Generally (but not always) agapao refers to God’s love for people or our love for Him, whereas phileo is used of love between people. Agapao has the notion of committed love that sacrifices itself for others: Christ’s love for us; a husband’s love for his wife; the church’s love for one another (Eph. 5:2, 25; 1 Cor. 13). But John often uses synonyms for stylistic variation. In our text, he uses two different words for “know,” two for “feed,” and two for “sheep” (Colin Brown, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology [Zondervan], 2:542-543). For these and many other reasons, hardly any scholars see any practical difference in John’s use of these two words in our text (see D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans/Apollos], pp. 676-678).

Our love for the Lord must encompass both aspects of agapao and phileo. It’s like my love for Marla. Over 41 years ago, I committed myself to love her exclusively until death parts us. That agape commitment is the basis for the phileo relationship that we have built over the years. And while our relationship is not built on feelings, but rather commitment, I do have strong feelings of love for her. If the feelings were never there, something serious would be wrong with our relationship. The same should be true of your love for the Lord. It’s based on commitment, it consists of a growing relationship, and it often involves strong feelings.

But don’t wrangle about words and miss the main point: loving Jesus from the heart is the main thing to focus on in your relationship with Him. Peter’s comment (John 21:17), “Lord You know all things; You know that I love You,” shows that it’s not enough to say or sing that we love Jesus. Anybody can do that. Rather, love for Jesus must come from the heart, which only God knows. So the question arises, “How do I develop and maintain genuine love for Jesus from the heart?”

B. Loving Jesus from the heart is the result of experiencing His abundant grace.

When Peter first encountered Jesus’ power in the miraculous catch of fish, his immediate response was to cry out (Luke 5:8), “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” When you encounter Jesus’ purity and power, you instantly recognize your own sinfulness. But Jesus graciously responded to Peter on that occasion (Luke 5:10), “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” John 1:42 records that when Andrew brought his brother to Jesus, “Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).” (Cephas and Peter both mean “rock.”) By God’s grace, Simon the sinful man became Peter the rock.

So Peter experienced the Lord’s grace when he first met Him, but here he experiences it again. Jesus underscores His grace by calling Peter by his original name, “Simon, son of John.” It reminded Peter of who he had been when Jesus first met him. In the upper room, Peter had boasted that even if the other disciples denied Jesus, he wouldn’t (John 13:37; Matt. 26:33). But although all the disciples fled in fear when Jesus was arrested, Peter had failed worse than the others by denying three times that he even knew Jesus. When Jesus asks (John 21:15), “Do you love Me more than these?” He was probably referring to Peter’s earlier boast. But then, rather than removing Peter from his apostolic office, the Lord graciously restores him and entrusts the care of His sheep to him. So Peter painfully knew his own sinfulness and failure, but he also knew God’s forgiveness and grace.

Coming to Jesus as a guilty sinner and receiving not judgment and rejection, but forgiveness and grace, is the source of loving Him. When the sinful woman anointed Jesus’ feet with her tears and anointed Him with perfume as He dined with Simon the Pharisee, Jesus said that she loved much because she had been forgiven much, but the one who is forgiven little, loves little (Luke 7:47). It’s not that anyone is forgiven “little,” in that we all have sinned repeatedly and flagrantly. But not all realize how much they’ve been forgiven. Like Simon the Pharisee, many think that they’re basically good people who don’t need much forgiveness. Such people love Jesus little. But when God opens your eyes to the depths of your sin, but then says, “Your sins are forgiven,” you love Jesus much. So to keep fervent in your love for Jesus, remember how much you’ve been forgiven. His grace fuels the fire of love for Him.

C. Loving Jesus requires that we be restored when we have sinned against Him.

Peter denied Jesus by a charcoal fire; here the Lord restores him to ministry by a charcoal fire (John 18:18; 21:9; the only two times this noun is used in the NT). Peter had denied Jesus before others three times; so three times Jesus asks Peter to confess his love for Him before others. Peter had boasted that he was a notch above the other disciples in his commitment to the Lord. But now he is humbled, so that he doesn’t say, “Yes, I love You more than these,” but simply (John 21:15), “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” Looking back on your sin is always humbling, but necessary.

Although the Lord knew that His questions would cause Peter to be grieved, the Lord also knew that grieving over our sins is a necessary part of being restored from those sins to a place of useful service for Him. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). No one can properly serve the Lord who shrugs off sin as no big deal. And no one can have the deep love for Jesus that sustains ministry who doesn’t appreciate the awful price that He paid to redeem us from our sins. So when we do sin, we need to confess it to the Lord and feel the grief that our sin causes Him.

But the Lord doesn’t restore us just so we can enjoy our relationship with Him, although that is primary. The result of our love for Jesus is that we will serve Him:

2. If you love Jesus, serve Him by feeding His sheep.

In other words, if your cup is full to the brim with His love and grace, slop it over on those around you. Three times the Lord drives home to Peter that if he loves Him, he is to tend or shepherd His sheep. We learn:

A. Jesus has a flock and He wants those who love Him to feed and shepherd His flock.

“Tend” means to feed a flock (Matt. 8:30; Luke 15:15). To “shepherd” refers to all of the activities of that job, including feeding, guarding, guiding, and caring for the well-being of the flock. The word “pastor” means “shepherd” and is used interchangeably with “elder” and “overseer.” Later Peter reflects the Lord’s charge to him when he writes (1 Pet. 5:1-3),

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.

Shepherding the Lord’s flock is primarily the job of the elders in each local church. Paul exhorted the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28), “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Some of you men in the church should desire the office of elder or overseer (1 Tim. 3:1) because you love Jesus and therefore you love His sheep. A man should not be appointed as an elder before he begins to shepherd the flock. Rather, he should be engaged already in shepherding the flock, and then the church recognizes that the Holy Spirit has appointed him as an elder.

The main job of a pastor should be to feed God’s flock from His Word. Paul stipulates that some elders are to be supported financially so that they can labor hard at preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17). He says that the elders must “be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:9). The sheep are vulnerable to attacks from deceptive false teachers, who try to lead them astray from the truth (Matt. 7:15; 2 Cor. 11:13-15). A pastor who doesn’t feed the flock on sound doctrine is not doing his job!

B. Jesus’ sheep belong to Him and are precious to Him because He gave His life for them.

Three times Jesus refers to the church as His: “My lambs, My sheep, My sheep.” They don’t belong to any pastor, but to the Lord. And since they belong to the Lord, who bought them with His own blood, pastors should be diligent to care for each one and love each one because each one is precious to Jesus.

It always bothers me when I see Christians despise or put down other Christians. Granted, some of the sheep can be obnoxious! Yes, they can be self-centered, stubborn, and difficult to be around. But if Jesus loved them enough to die for them, then we all have to love them, too. They’re His sheep!

But you may be thinking, “Thankfully, that’s your job, not mine! I’m not called to be a pastor.” But not so fast!

C. Jesus wants to use every believer to help feed and shepherd His sheep.

Granted, shepherding the sheep is primarily the job of the elders. But the elders can’t possibly do it alone. The “one another” passages in the New Testament show that shepherding the Lord’s flock is the responsibility of every maturing member of the church. Older believers should shepherd those who are younger in the Lord. Husbands must shepherd their families and feed them from God’s Word. Mothers should teach their children the ways of the Lord. If you’re further along than another believer, then you have something to contribute to him or her. You can teach the newer believer how to feed himself from God’s Word. You can warn him of spiritual dangers that he may not be alert to. Even if you’re both at the same place spiritually, you can help each other grow in following Christ.

After the Lord delivered the Gerasene demoniac, he wanted to accompany Jesus. But even though he was a brand new believer, the Lord told him (Luke 8:39), “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” Luke adds, “So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.” So if you love Jesus because He has changed your life, you have something to contribute to others.

D. Love for Jesus is the foundation for serving His sheep.

Yes, you should love the sheep because Jesus loves them and gave His life for them. But sometimes the sheep aren’t all that lovable. Your love for Jesus has to undergird your service to His sheep or you’ll get hurt or disgusted and quit serving. Love for Jesus is what keeps you going when the sheep are ornery or stubborn or disagreeable. I’m not serving the sheep for what they can give me. I’m just a sheep dog, and sheep dogs don’t get much from the sheep, except hassles and manure! In our case, we serve as sheep dogs because we were in the dog pound, headed for extermination, when the Shepherd rescued us and put us into service. While we want to help the sheep, we serve them because we love the Shepherd and want to please Him. He asks you, “Do you love Me?” If you answer, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You,” He replies, “Tend My lambs.”

Conclusion

One of the main reasons that I felt called to be a pastor was that I couldn’t shake the implications of Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” I thought, “If Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, and I love Christ, then I need to love His church and give myself up for her.” Love for Jesus who first loved me has kept me serving His flock, even though every week I feel overwhelmed by my inadequacy for the task.

Not everyone is called to be a pastor. But Jesus asks everyone who has experienced His love at the cross, “Do you love Me?” If you answer, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” His reply is, “Tend My sheep.”

Application Questions

1. How can someone whose love for the Lord has grown cold renew it (see Rev. 2:1-7)?
2. Should a pastor who has fallen into gross immorality ever be restored to ministry? If so, when? Cite biblical support.
3. While sound doctrine is absolutely essential, it can be abused. How? How can loving Jesus and His flock prevent this abuse?
4. Agree/disagree: While shepherding God’s flock is primarily the job of the elders, all believers should be involved in the task. Practically, how does this take place?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

October 25, 2015

When Marla and I have flown from Flagstaff to Phoenix, we have enjoyed looking down on all the trails in Sedona where we have hiked. When you’re hiking on a trail, you see details that you can’t see from the air. But when you fly over a trail, you see the big picture in a way that you can’t see from the ground.

We been “hiking” through John for the past two years, enjoying the details along the trail. But before we move on, I thought that it would be helpful to do a final flyover, getting the big picture of the whole, especially for those of you who were not here when I did an introductory flyover back in February, 2013.

John begins his Gospel by speaking of Jesus, the eternal Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John ends his Gospel describing the encounter between the risen Lord Jesus and seven of His disciples, calling Peter (and through him, all disciples) to follow Him.

John’s Gospel is a testimony or witness to Jesus Christ. It begins with the testimony of John the Baptist to Jesus as the Light (John 1:6-8). John ends with an affirmation of the trustworthiness of his own testimony to Jesus (John 21:24): “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.”

The crucial question that John answers is, “Who is Jesus?” John’s answer (John 20:31): “He is the Christ, the Son of God.” But John also wants us to know who we are and what we should do in light of who Jesus is. John clearly states his purpose for writing (John 20:30-31): “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” To sum up:

The Gospel of John is a selective, reliable testimony that shows us who Jesus is, who we are, and how we must respond.

I’m going to divide this into John’s method and his message:

John’s Method:

1. The Gospel of John is a selective, historical, symbolic, and purposeful testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

A. John is a deliberately selective testimony.

We’ve already seen this in John’s purpose statement for writing, where he acknowledges that Jesus performed many other signs which His disciples witnessed. John repeats this in the final verse of his gospel (John 21:25): “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” In other words, John did not intend to write a comprehensive biography of Jesus, but rather a selective account for the purpose of leading his readers to the personal faith in Jesus that brings eternal life.

John omits any mention of Jesus’ birth. He does not cover Jesus’ baptism, His temptation by Satan, the transfiguration, the Lord’s Supper, Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, or His ascension. Writing toward the end of the first century, John probably assumed that his readers had access to the other gospels, as well as to the Book of Acts. Here is a broad outline that we have followed, centered on the idea of “belief”:

1. John 1:1-18: Prologue: The Son of God, the object of belief: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

2. John 1:19-12:50: Testimony for belief in the Son of God: “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41).

A. John 1:19-4:54: Initial belief in the Son of God.

B. John 5:1-12:50: Subsequent unbelief in the Son of God.

3. John 13:1-17:26: The Son of God’s teaching for His followers, that they might believe: “Believe in Me” (John 14:1).

4. John 18:1-19:42: The tragedy of unbelief in the Son of God: “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).

5. John 20:1-31: The triumph of belief in the Son of God: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

6. John 21:1-25: Epilogue: The consequence of belief in the Son of God: “Tend My sheep” (John 21:17).

B. John is a historically factual testimony.

Although as I will mention, John is symbolic, it is not a myth or fable. John emphasizes that he and the other disciples were eyewitnesses of the events that he reports. Other than having an a priori bias against miracles, there is no reason to doubt John’s testimony. Skeptics sometimes say, “If I saw a miracle, then I’d believe.” But that’s not true. John makes it clear that being present as a witness of some spectacular miracles does not automatically result in faith in Jesus. Those who saw the lame man whom Jesus healed did not believe in Jesus, but sought to kill Him (John 5:1-18). The religious leaders who talked with the man born blind, whom Jesus healed, did not believe in Jesus as a result (John 9). After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, some reported it to the Jewish leaders. Instead of repenting and believing in Jesus, the leaders plotted how they could kill Him (John 11:46-53).

We’ll look in a moment at why otherwise rational people reject these factual accounts of Jesus’ miracles. But the point here is that John wasn’t making up fabulous stories. He was reporting what he and many other witnesses saw happen. These historically verifiable accounts testify to who Jesus is.

C. John is an obviously symbolic testimony.

John is full of symbolic words and events that cause you to think about the deeper meaning of what he is saying. This does not negate the factuality of what John reports. Rather, John wants us to look beyond the words or events themselves to discern their true significance with relation to Jesus. John uses the word “signs” to refer to Jesus’ miracles: they point us to something deeper. Out of hundreds of miracles that he could have chosen, John picked seven signs, not counting Jesus’ resurrection and the miraculous post-resurrection catch of fish (John 21:1-14): (1) Changing the water into wine (John 2:1-11); (2) healing the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54); (3) healing the lame man by the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9); (4) feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-14); (5) walking on the water (John 6:16-21); (6) healing the man born blind (John 9:1-12); and, (7) raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-46).

In at least three of these miracles, their significance is obvious, because Jesus tells us. After He feeds the 5,000, Jesus proclaims (John 6:35), “I am the bread of life ….” Before opening the eyes of the man born blind, Jesus asserts (John 8:12), “I am the Light of the world ….” Before He raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus told Martha (John 11:25), “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.”

These are three of seven “I am” claims that Jesus makes in John. The others are, “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7); “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14); “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6); and, “I am the true vine” (John 15:1, 5). Obviously, Jesus is not literally bread or a door or a vine. Rather, these symbols tell us something important about who Jesus truly is.

John uses many other words that are loaded with symbolic significance: “life” (e.g. John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6; 20:31); “the new birth” (John 3:3-7); “light” and “darkness” (e.g. John 1:4, 9, 3:19; 8:12; 12:46); “the world” (78 times, e.g. John 1:10; 3:16; 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 17:15, 16); “witness” or “testify” (14 times as a noun, 33 times as a verb, e.g. John 1:7, 8, 15, 19, 32, 34; 3:26; 5:31-34, 36, 37, 39); “truth” (25 times, e.g. John 1:14, 17; 5:33; 8:31-32, 40, 45-46; 14:6); “sent” (33 times, e.g. John 4:34); and “hour” (e.g. John 7:30; 8:20; 12:23).

D. John is a profoundly simple testimony.

On one level, John is simple enough for a child to understand, yet on another level, John is so deep that you can study it all your life and never get to the bottom of its riches. Children can understand the simple message of John 3:16 so as to believe and be saved: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” And yet the theological concepts which that verse raises are deep enough for scholars to debate: Does God love everyone in the world equally? If so, why didn’t He devise a way of getting the gospel to everyone? What does it mean that Jesus is God’s “only begotten Son”? What does it mean to believe in Jesus? What does it mean to perish or to have eternal life? The same could be said of many texts in John that on one level are fairly simple, but on another level are deeply profound.

E. John is a deliberately purposeful testimony.

We have already seen that John’s purpose is that his readers may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that we may have life in His name (John 20:31). In other words, John didn’t write so that you could say, “How interesting!” and go on with your life as usual. He didn’t write so that scholars could write volumes debating his meaning or theology. He wrote so that everyone who reads his testimony about Jesus would personally believe, receive eternal life, and spend eternity in heaven, not in hell. So his purpose is the most serious purpose that you could imagine! Don’t leave John’s Gospel without applying it!

Thus, the Gospel of John is a selective, historical, symbolic, and purposeful testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

John’s Message:

2. The Gospel of John reveals who Jesus is, who we are, and how we must respond.

A. The Gospel of John reveals who Jesus is: God in human flesh, the Christ, the only Savior of the world.

There are three parts of this:

1) Jesus is God.

John opens with this essential truth (John 1:1): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He quickly adds that Jesus is the Creator of everything (John 1:3), “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” This means, of course, that contrary to the Arian (or Jehovah’s Witness) heresy, Jesus Himself could not be the first created being. Three lines of evidence establish the deity of Jesus: His words, His works, and the witness of others to Him.

*Jesus’ words show that He is God. He told Nicodemus that He had come down out of heaven and that whoever believes in Him has eternal life (John 3:13, 15). No mere man or created being could make such a claim. When the Jews accused Him of making Himself equal with God, Jesus didn’t correct them, but rather went on to make a string of claims that only God could make (John 5:18-29). He said that all will honor Him, even as they honor the Father (John 5:23). All who believe in Him have passed out of death into life (John 5:24). He claimed to have life within Himself and to be able to give it to whomever He wishes (John 5:21, 26). He claimed to have the authority to judge all people (John 5:22, 27). He claimed that someday He will speak the word and all who have died will come forth, either to eternal life or to judgment (John 5:28-29).

He also claimed (John 10:30), “I and the Father are one.” He said (John 14:9), “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Many other claims, such as to be the bread of life, the light of the world, and the resurrection and the life, are clear claims to deity.

*Jesus’ works reveal that He is God. As already mentioned, John selects seven signs (or miracles), plus Jesus’ resurrection and the miraculous catch of fish (John 21:1-14), to show that He is God. As Paul later contended (1 Cor. 15:1-19), if Jesus is not risen from the dead, the entire Christian faith is worthless. As I said, it’s not just the miracles themselves—other men of God performed some amazing miracles—but also the significance behind the miracles, that testify to Jesus’ deity. He not only fed the 5,000, but He also claimed to be the bread of life who gives eternal life to all who eat His flesh (John 6:35, 54). He not only opened the eyes of the man born blind, but He also claimed to be the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:1-41). He not only raised Lazarus from the dead, but He also claimed to be the resurrection and the life, able to give life to all who believe in Him (John 11:25).

*The witness of others to Jesus shows that He is God. It is remarkable that John, a Jewish monotheist, a man who knew Jesus intimately as a man during His three-year ministry, would begin his Gospel by affirming that Jesus is God! He also reports the witness of John the Baptist to Jesus as the Light (John 1:7-9; see, also, John 5:33-35). Nathaniel testifies (John 1:49), “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Peter confesses (John 6:69), “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” At the climax of John, the formerly doubting but now believing Thomas exclaims (John 20:28), “My Lord and my God!”

2) Jesus is human.

As John 1:14 declares, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us….” Jesus often refers to Himself as “the Son of Man,” a phrase from Daniel 7:13-14 that emphasizes both His humanity and His deity (John 1:51; 3:13; 6:62). John shows that Jesus was weary (John 4:6), hungry (John 4:8, 31, 33), and thirsty (John 19:28). He had genuine human emotions (John 11:35; 12:27). And He was subject to death (John 19:30). As God in human flesh, Jesus is the only one who could bear our sins. Thus …

3) Jesus is the Christ, the only Savior.

“Christ” refers to God’s Anointed One, the one promised in the Old Testament as the Son of David who would bear our sins and eventually reign over all the world (Psalms 2, 110; Isaiah 53). John the Baptist announces (John 1:29), “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” The jubilant Samaritans proclaim (John 4:42), “This One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

But why do we need a Savior? Why not just someone to be our moral example? John’s Gospel not only reveals who Jesus is, but also who we are:

B. The Gospel of John reveals who we are: sinners in need of a Savior.

The reason that the Jews needed a sacrificial lamb was to atone for their sins. Jesus is that lamb, not just for the Jews, but for the whole world. John begins by testifying, however, that the world did not know Jesus (John 1:10). Even His own Jewish people rejected Him (John 1:11). The reason is plainly stated (John 3:19-20), “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

As I have often mentioned, “Savior” is a radical word. You don’t need a savior if you’re doing okay by yourself or if you just need a little help. You only need a savior if you’re helplessly lost and unable to do anything about your desperate condition. Nicodemus was a good religious man, “the teacher” in Israel. Yet Jesus told him (John 3:3), “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In John 5:24, Jesus talks about those who believe in Him as having passed “out of death into life.” Those who are dead in sin cannot do anything to save themselves. They need a God-sent Savior, and Jesus is that Savior.

So John tells us that Jesus is God in human flesh, the Christ, the only Savior. He shows that we are sinners who love darkness rather than light; dead in our sins, needing new life from God.

C. The Gospel of John reveals how we must respond to this testimony about Jesus: Believe in Him, grow in Him, and serve Him.

1) We must believe in Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 does not say that God so loved the world that He saved everyone. Rather, it clearly limits salvation to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Those who do not believe will perish. John’s purpose in writing (John 20:31) is “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” The verb “believe” occurs 11 times in Matthew, 14 times in Mark, 9 times in Luke, and 98 times in John. Clearly, John wants you to believe in Jesus so that you may have life in His name!

Such saving faith is not generic; it has specific content: You must believe the truth about Jesus: that He is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior who died to pay the penalty for your sins. Saving faith also involves personal commitment to Jesus Christ. It’s not enough to believe intellectually (John 6:64, 66; 8:31-58). You must personally trust in Christ as your only hope for eternal life.

For example, you probably believe that airplanes can fly. You’ve seen them fly and you know that they’re very safe. But that sort of belief won’t get you anywhere. To get to a destination, you have to commit by getting on board. To get to heaven, you must commit your eternal destiny to Jesus. You trust in His shed blood to pay the penalty that your sins have incurred. You don’t trust in your good deeds or anything else, but only in Jesus Christ.

2) We must grow in Jesus Christ.

John shows that belief in Jesus Christ is both initial and ongoing (John 1:50; 2:11; 11:15; 14:1; 20:8, 27). Our faith in Him grows stronger as we abide in Him and obey His commandments (John 15:1-11). Just as knowing another person is a process, so knowing Christ requires time spent in His Word, learning to obey His commandments, and deepening your love for Him (John 14:21, 23). Growing in Christ is a lifelong process that begins when you trust in Him as your Savior and Lord.

3) We must serve Jesus Christ out of love for Him.

This is obvious in the analogy of the vine and the branches, where Jesus says that we are to abide in Him and bear much fruit (John 15:2, 5, 8). It is also the point of John 21:15-17, where Jesus restores Peter by asking three times, “Do you love Me?” and by responding to Peter’s affirmation of love by commanding, “Tend My sheep.” Jesus didn’t save us to live for ourselves, but to glorify the Father by bearing much fruit.

Conclusion

John’s Gospel gives us the wonderful news that God loved us and sent His Son to die for our sins. But it also warns us that some who saw God’s Son, heard His teaching, and witnessed His miracles, still did not believe in Him. Some of Jesus’ disciples turned away from Him because they could not accept His hard sayings (John 6:66). Some of the Jews seemingly believed in Jesus, yet they were still of their father, the devil (John 8:31-58). Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, was a devil who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (John 6:70-71; 12:4-6; 13:21-30; 18:2-3). John gives us these negative examples so that we will not make the same eternally fatal mistake! John draws the line in the sand: Believe in Jesus Christ so that you will not perish, but have eternal life!

Application Questions

1. What are some of the lessons that you’ve learned from our study of John? How will you use John in ministering to others?
2. Why is the matter of Jesus’ identity crucial for saving faith? Can a person who denies His deity be saved?
3. Some argue that if you say that saving faith involves commitment, you’re adding works to faith. Why are they dead wrong?
4. Why is Jesus’ bodily resurrection essential to the Christian faith?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation