John
by Paul D. Fisher
The gospel of Jesus Christ, penned by the apostle John, was the last of the gospels written. John wrote this epistle by the inspiration of God in part to refute the gnostic heresy that claimed that Jesus was not God in the flesh. This gospel starts with a strong affirmation of Jesus the Word being God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). If this was not enough to convince anyone who believes the Bible to be the inspired word of God we find in John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Another false doctrine that has plagued mankind is also defeated in John’s gospel and that is pre-millennialism. As Jesus stood before
Pilate, as recorded in John 18:33-38, Pilate plainly asked Him if He was a king and Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.”
Jesus stated that His kingdom was of a spiritual nature and not physical and this is where believers in pre-millennialism differ with God’s Word. Only a small part of what Jesus did on this earth is recorded, because as
John stated the world could not contain the whole!

Faith Is Power

by Kevin Rhodes

Is a key any good if it never opens a lock or turns a switch? Is a car useful if it is never driven? Does a faith save if it does not act? That is right. Just as a key must be used before it is of value and a car must be driven before it becomes useful, faith must act before it is profitable in one becoming a child of God. This idea may seem strange to you at first because of what you have heard all of your life, but this is the biblical teaching concerning faith. In
John 1:12, the apostle expresses this very thought. It is often ignored since it is not what most want to believe, saying, “But as many a received him, to them gave he power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Let us examine this verse both for what it says and what it does not say. First, we will note that the individual must receive Jesus Christ to be eligible for what follows. This reception comes when one hears the word of God proclaimed and believes the message (1 Thess. 2:13). This must be the case, not only because of this verse, but also because faith cannot come by any other means (Romans 10:17). Second, we find that the “them” referred to in the second clause is speaking of all those who believe onthe name of Jesus Christ. The apostle John has used this as an apposition to further describe those who received Christ. Third, we see the part which causes most problems. God gave these believers the power or authority to become sons or children of God. Their belief did not give
them this right by itself. In the first century, and today, one must obey the Lord and be baptized (Mark 16:16) to become a saved, born-again child of God (Galatians 3:26-27).

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