The document examines the theological concept that salvation is solely based on faith in Jesus Christ and not on human works. It discusses various Bible verses to clarify that true faith is a non-work, meant to be received as a gift of grace from God, and emphasizes that no one can see God except through Jesus. Additionally, it addresses the synoptic problem in the Gospels and the identity of John the Baptist in relation to Jewish expectations of the Messiah.

1. John 1:18-51
John 1;18-51, Isn't believing/receiving a work;? No
one has seen God; seeing God; the Synoptic
Problem; “the Jews”; Elijah or John the Baptist;
Jewish Baptism; Bethany/Bethabara; “the Lamb of
God”
Great shot of downtown Anchorage this week. Dimitry Surnin photo.

2. BIBLE IN FIVE
Pastor Dave Kooyers
Valley Bible Fellowship
Box 433
Boonville CA 95415
http://www.slideshare.net/dkooyers
www.ValleyBibleFellowship.org
(707) 895-2325
God bless you as you examine His Word,
Your servant in Christ, 2Cor. 4:5
These Microsoft PowerPoint presentations are provided "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ"
(Ephesians 4:12-15). To help Christians to "to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ." So that "we are no longer...tossed here and
there...by every wind of doctrine." They may be downloaded and modified free of charge.
Matthew 10:8 …Freely you received, freely give.

3. John 1:12, Followup
Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the
worlds were prepared by the word of God, so
that what is seen was not made out of things
which are visible. 3

4. John 1:12
“Isn't believing/receiving a work?”
• Question: "How can salvation be not of works when faith is required? Isn't
believing a work?"
• Answer: Our salvation depends solely upon Jesus Christ. He is our
substitute, taking sin’s penalty (2 Corinthians 5:21); He is our Savior from sin
(John 1:29); He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The
work necessary to provide salvation was fully accomplished by Jesus
Himself, who lived a perfect life, took God’s judgment for sin, and rose
again from the dead (Hebrews 10:12).
• The Bible is quite clear that our own works do not help merit salvation. We
are saved “not because of righteous things we had done” (Titus 3:5). “Not
by works” (Ephesians 2:9). “There is no one righteous, not even one”
(Romans 3:10). This means that offering sacrifices, keeping the
commandments, going to church, being baptized, and other good deeds are
incapable of saving anyone. No matter how “good” we are, we can never
measure up to God’s standard of holiness (Romans 3:23; Matthew 19:17;
Isaiah 64:6). 4

5. John 1:12
Isn't believing/receiving a work?"
• The Bible is just as clear that salvation is conditional; God does not save
everyone. The one condition for salvation is faith in Jesus Christ. Nearly 200
times in the New Testament, faith (or belief) is declared to be the sole
condition for salvation (John 1:12; Acts 16:31).
• One day, some people asked Jesus what they could do to please God: “What
must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus immediately points them to
faith: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28-
29). So, the question is about God’s requirements (plural), and Jesus’ answer is
that God’s requirement (singular) is that you believe in Him.
• Grace is God’s giving us something we cannot earn or deserve. According to
Romans 11:6, “works” of any kind destroys grace—the idea is that a worker
earns payment, while the recipient of grace simply receives it, unearned. Since
salvation is all of grace, it cannot be earned. Faith, therefore, is a non-work.
Faith cannot truly be considered a “work,” or else it would destroy grace. (See
also Romans 4—Abraham’s salvation was dependent on faith in God, as
opposed to any work he performed.)
5

6. John 1:12
Isn't believing/receiving a work?"
• Suppose someone anonymously sent me a check for $1,000,000. The money is
mine if I want it, but I still must endorse the check. In no way can signing my
name be considered earning the million dollars—the endorsement is a non-
work. I can never boast about becoming a millionaire through sheer effort or my
own business savvy. No, the million dollars was simply a gift, and signing my
name was the only way to receive it. Similarly, exercising faith is the only way to
receive the generous gift of God, and faith cannot be considered a work worthy
of the gift. True faith cannot be considered a work because true faith involves a
cessation of our works in the flesh. True faith has as its object Jesus and His work
on our behalf (Matthew 11:28-29; Hebrews 4:10).
• To take this a step further, true faith cannot be considered a work because even
faith is a gift from God, not something we produce on our own. “For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent
me draws him” (John 6:44). Praise the Lord for His power to save and for His
grace to make salvation a reality!
6

7. Let's read John 1:19-28
John 1:1-18, Was John's Prologue
7

8. John
Believe And
Live
Elmer Towns, Mal
Couch and Ed Hindson,
Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary
Series, page viii
8

9. John 1:18
No One Has Seen God
• NAU John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time;
the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the
Father, He has explained [explain, interpret, tell, report,
described] Him.
• This Greek word for “explained” (ἐξηγήσατο) is
only used by John here, and this form only 2 X’s in
NT.
• NAU Acts 15:14 "Simeon has related [explained,
declared, described, reported] how God first concerned
Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a
people for His name. 9

10. No One Has Ever Seen God
• Gen 32:28 Then the man said, "Your name will no
longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have
struggled with God and with men and have
overcome.”… 30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for
he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has
been preserved."
• Gen 35: 9 Then God appeared to Jacob again… 13
Then God went up from him at the place where he
had talked with him.
• Gen 35:10 God said to him, "Your name is Jacob…
• Face to face? Angel of the Lord?
• 2nd. Person of the trinity? Because… 10

11. John 1:18, Many IN OT Saw God
• NAU Genesis 16:13 Then she called the name of the
LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God who sees";
for she said, "Have I even remained alive here after
seeing Him?”
• NAU Genesis 18:10 He said, "I will surely return to
you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your
wife will have a son.”…13 And the LORD said to
Abraham… I will return to you…17 The LORD said,
"Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, …
20 And the LORD said, "The outcry of Sodom and
Gomorrah is indeed great…
• NAU 1 Samuel 3:21 And the LORD appeared again at
Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel
at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. 11

12. John 1:18, Many IN OT Saw God
• NAU Exodus 34:5 The LORD descended in the cloud
and stood there with him as he called upon the name
of the LORD. 6 Then the LORD passed by in front of him
and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God… 8 Moses
made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.
… 10 Then God said, "Behold, I am going to make a
covenant… will see the working of the LORD, for it is a
fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.
• NAU Joshua 5:14 He said… as captain of the host of
the LORD." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and
bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to
say to his servant?"
12

13. John 1:18, Many IN OT Saw God
• NAU Exodus 24:9 Then Moses went up with Aaron,
Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet
there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as
clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out
His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and
they saw God, and they ate and drank.
• NAU Exodus 33:11 Thus the LORD used to speak to
Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his
friend… 19 And He said, "I Myself will make all My
goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the
name of the LORD before you… 20 But He said, "You
cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"
13

14. John 1:18, Many In Bible Saw God
• 1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God; but if
we love one another, God lives in us and his
love is made complete in us.
• NAU Judges 6:12 The angel of the LORD
appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is
with you…… 14 The LORD looked at him and
said, "Go in this your strength… Have I not sent
you?”
• NAU Judges 13:22 So Manoah said to his wife,
"We will surely die, for we have seen God.”
14

15. John 1:18
Many Saw God The Son
• John 14:7 "If you had known Me, you would
have known My Father also; from now on you
know Him, and have seen Him.“
• NAU John 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been
so long with you, and yet you have not come
to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has
seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us
the Father ‘?
• John 6:46 "Not that anyone has seen the
Father, except the One who is from God; He
has seen the Father.
15

16. How do we reconcile this?
• NAU John 1:18 No one has seen God at any
time…
• James White explains from the Greek grammar
that “seen God" infers "God the Father” (Dr. James
White, "Prologue of John,” sermonaudio.com)
• God the Father has not been seen!
1
6

17. How do we reconcile this?
God the Son has been seen!
• NAU Isaiah 6:1 …I saw the Lord sitting on a throne,
lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the
temple. 2 Seraphim … 3 And one called out to
another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of
hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." … 5 Then I
said, "Woe is me… For my eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of hosts."
• NIVO John 12:41 Isaiah said this because he saw
Jesus' glory and spoke about him.
• NJB John 12:41 Isaiah said this because he saw his
glory, and his words referred to Jesus. 1
7

18. How do we reconcile this?
God is Spirit!
• NAU John 4:24 "God is spirit…
• 2 Cor. 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit… [Psalm 145:18]
• We cannot see Spirit with our eyes.
• NAU 1 Timothy 6:14…our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will
bring about at the proper time-- He who is the blessed and
only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who
alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable
light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and
eternal dominion! Amen…
• Revelation 17:14 …the Lamb… He is Lord of lords and King of
kings…
• NAU Exodus 33:20 But He said, "You cannot see My face, for
no man can see Me and live!” 21 Then the LORD said,…stand
there …in the cleft of the rock …23 "Then I will take My hand
away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be
seen." 18

19. How do we reconcile this?
God is big!
• NAU Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD, "Heaven
is My throne and the earth is My footstool…
• NAU Jeremiah 23:24…declares the LORD. "Do
I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares
the LORD.
• NAU 1 Kings 8:27 "But will God indeed dwell
on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest
heaven cannot contain You, how much less
this house which I have built! [2 Chronicles 2:6, 6:18,
Acts 7:49, John 1:14]
19

20. How do we reconcile this?
The Son of God has come!
• NAU Colossians 1:15 He [Son] is the image [eikon]
of the invisible God, the firstborn [prototokos, root is,
protos… first in time or place] of all creation.
• NAU Deuteronomy 5:24 …the LORD our God
has shown us His glory and His greatness…God
speaks with man, yet he lives.
• NAU 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of
God has come, and has given us understanding
so that we may know Him who is true; and we
are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God and eternal life.
20

21. How do we reconcile this?
The Son of God is God!
• NAU Hebrews 1:1 God, after He spoke long
ago to the fathers in the prophets… 2 in these
last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He
appointed heir of all things, through whom
also He made the world. 3 And He is the
radiance of His glory and the exact
representation of His nature, and upholds all
things by the word of His power. When He had
made purification of sins, He sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high,
21

22. John 1:1-18
Was John's Prologue
Let's read about John the Baptist’s
interrogation by "the Jews” John 1:19-28
22

23. John 1:19, Introducing the Synoptic Problem
Synoptic Problem, By Michael Kok, Ph.D.
• “John stands out from the other three New
Testament Gospels. John passes over Jesus’ birth,
his temptation in the wilderness, his appointment
of the apostles, his exorcisms, his ethical teachings
in the Sermon on the Mount or Plains, his
transformation with Moses and Elijah, his words on
the bread and cup at the last supper, or his
ascension into heaven. Meanwhile, John narrates
multiple journeys to Jerusalem and Jesus delivers
lengthy speeches about his own identity in contrast
to the aphorisms and parables in the other 23

24. John 1:1-19, “the Jews”
• NAU John 1:19 This is the testimony of John,
when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
• John uses the phrase “the Jews” 60 X’s in the
Gospel of John. More than any other book of
the Bible. He almost always uses it to refer the
enemies of the Jesus Christ, the Jewish
leadership, never racially, or speaking of just
the people.
2
4

25. John 1:20, “the Christ”
• NAU John 1:20 And he confessed and did not
deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ.”
• NAU Luke 3:15 Now while the people were in
a state of expectation and all were wondering
in their hearts about John, as to whether he
was the Christ,
2
5

26. John 1:21
“Elijah” or “the Prophet”
• NAU John 1:21 They asked him, "What then? Are
you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the
Prophet?" And he answered, “No."
• NAU Malachi 4:5 "Behold, I am going to send you
Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and terrible day of the LORD.
• NAU Deuteronomy 18:15 "The LORD your God
will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses]
from among you, from your countrymen, you
shall listen to him. 2
6

27. John 1:22
Who are you John?
• NAU John 1:22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we
may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say
about yourself?”
• Good question!
• NAU Matthew 11:14 "And if you are willing to accept it, John
himself is Elijah who was to come.
• NAU Mark 9:11 And they asked Him, saying, "Why is it that the
scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 12 And He said to them,
"Elijah does first come and restore all things [ain't happened yet].
And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He should
suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 "But I say
to you, that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him
whatever they wished, just as it is written of him." 2
7

28. John 1:23, “I am A VOICE”
• NAU John 1:23 He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE
CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT
THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet
said.”
• 5456 φωνὴ, phone {fo-nay'}
• Meaning: 1) a sound, a tone 1a) of inanimate
things, as musical instruments 2) a voice 2a) of
the sound of uttered words 3) speech 3a) of a
language, tongue
2
8

29. John 1:25, Jewish Baptism
• NAU John 1:25 They asked him, and said to
him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are
not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
• The Jewish priests would baptize for
ceremonial cleanliness, and Gentile converts
to Judaism would baptize themselves. John the
Baptist is doing something different.
2
9

30. John 1:26, Baptism
• NAU John 1:26 John answered them saying, "I
baptize in water, but among you stands One
whom you do not know.
• NAU Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been buried
with Him through baptism into death, so that as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory
of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of
life.
• John the Baptist was the greatest Old Testament
saint (Matthew 11:11), and he baptized Jesus with
a Jewish baptism.
3
0

31. Genesis 1:10 Exodus 7:19
miqveh, Jewish Baptism
31
<04723b> ‫ֶה‬‫ו‬ ְ‫ק‬ ִ‫מ‬miqveh )876c(
Meaning: a collection, collected mass
Origin: from 6960b
Usage: collecting(1), gathering(1), reservoirs(1).
Notes: 1 Or canals
a Exo 8:5, Exo 8:6, 16; Exo 9:22; Exo 10:12, Exo
10:21; Exo 14:21, Exo 14:26

32. John 1:27
“He who comes after me”
• NAU John 1:27 "It is He who comes after me,
the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to
untie."
• NKJ NKJ have “coming after me, is preferred
before me”
• The “is preferred before me” is only found in
the Masoretic text. So it is not included in any
other manuscripts or modern translations.
32

33. John 1:28, Bethany
• NAU John 1:28 These things took place in
Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was
baptizing.
• YLT NKJV KJV John 1:28 …Bethabara beyond
Jordan…
• 962 Bethabara… Meaning: “Bethabara = "house
of the ford" 1) a place beyond Jordan, where
John was baptising. This may correspond to
Bethbarah (fords of Abarah), the ancient ford of
the Jordan on the road to Gilead…”
• 2 Bethany's existed, the one near Jerusalem
(11:1), and this one "beyond the Jordan"
3
3

34. Bethany
Beyond
the
Jordan:
John 1:28
34

35. Bethany Beyond the Jordan: John
1:6–51
• Uncertainty has surrounded the exact location of “Bethany beyond the Jordan.” Recent archaeological investigations on
the east side of the Jordan River have revealed that Wadi el-Kharrar could be the site. Wadi el-Kharrar is located near the
Jordan River about six miles (10 km) east of modern Jericho. Archaeologists have ascertained this area was revered as
the place of Jesus’ baptism from shortly after His crucifixion and resurrection. Christian pilgrims mention the site in their
writings until the time of Joannes Phocas in AD 1185. It is also clearly identified on the famous Madaba Map, a sixth-
century mosaic found in St. George Greek Orthodox Church, once a Byzantine Church, in Madaba, Jordan.
• In Wadi el-Kharrar, numerous springs, one of which is even named “John the Baptist,” join together and flow into the
Jordan River. Remains of Christian churches from the Roman and Byzantine periods have been identified. Greek
Orthodox monks who occupied portions of the area between the 12th and 18th centuries revered it as the location of
Jesus’ baptism.
• The Bible explains that John was teaching at “Bethany beyond the Jordan” before Jesus came to him to be baptized.
John’s teaching resulted in a large following, but John had collected his share of critics as well. The Bible states people
came from as far away as the Galilee to watch, hear, be taught and baptized. We read that among the crowd who came
to see and hear John were Sadducees and Pharisees, undoubtedly from Jerusalem (Mt 3:5), who debated and tested
John’s message.
• When asked if he was the Messiah, John made it clear he was not. He then explained he was baptizing “with water for
repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Mt 3:11)*
• At this point, we twenty-first century folks might ask, “Why would Jesus need to be baptized?” If you are Christian, you
know Jesus was not a sinner and did not need to be baptized as a “remission of sin” as is done in the modern Church.
But, ritual water immersion during the period of the Gospels was used for different reasons, purification being only one
of several. For example, a person could undergo baptism as a way of identifying with a particular doctrinal perspective,
such as John’s. The Apostle Paul tells when individuals came to John for baptism, he “told the people to believe in the
one coming after him, that is, in Jesus” (Acts 19:4). Jim Martin provides the following explanation:
35
Don't squint

36. Let's read John 1:29-34
"The next day” John testifies further of
the Christ, The Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world 36

37. John 1:29, “the Lamb of God”
• NAU John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming
to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world!
• John specifies that the Lamb takes away “the sin”
these words are singular in the Greek. The definite
article affirms that he is referring to a specific “sin.”
I'm convinced it refers to Adam's sin. Jesus, “the
Lamb of God,” will restore all things, the entire
planet.
• Here John introduces the sacrificial death of Jesus
Christ. He did not introduce him as the Messiah,
King of Kings, Lord of lords, but “Lamb”.
3
7

38. John 1:30, Before Jesus?
• NAU John 1:30 "This is He on behalf of whom I
said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher
rank than I, for He existed before me.’
• John was at least six months older than Jesus;
NAU Luke 1:36 "And behold, even your
relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in
her old age; and she who was called barren is
now in her sixth month.
• John is giving testimony of the eternal Word of
God.
3
8

39. John 1:31
Didn’t Recognize Him
• NAU John 1:31 "I did not recognize Him, but so
that He might be manifested to Israel, I came
baptizing in water.”
• Some of my cousins went to Papua, New Guinea
for 30 years. Others I had not seen in 20 years.
Scripture does not say how Long John was in the
wilderness. The context here though is
concerning Jesus being the Lamb of God/ Son of
God who takes away the sins of the world, and
that apparently had to be revealed to John. Even
Jesus’ own brothers and sisters did not recognize
him as Messiah until after the resurrection.
3
9

40. John 1:32
The Spirit Descending As A Dove
NAU John 1:32 John
testified saying, "I have
seen the [definite article]
Spirit descending as a
[simile] dove out of
heaven, and He
remained upon Him.
40
• The Jerusalem Post / JPost.com
• The Dead Sea by Chief Eran Yerushalmi

41. Let's read John 1:35-51
Four more disciples follow Jesus
John the Baptist fades out of the scene 41

42. Translated
• NAU John 1:38 And
Jesus turned and
saw them following,
and said to them,
"What do you
seek?" They said to
Him, "Rabbi (which
translated means
Teacher), where are
You staying?"
42

43. John 1:49, The Son of God
• NAU John 1:49 Nathanael answered Him,
"Rabbi, You are the [definite article] Son of God;
You are the [definite article] King of Israel.”
• NAU John 5:18 For this reason therefore the
Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him,
because He not only was breaking the
Sabbath, but also was calling God His own
Father, making Himself equal with God.
4
3

44. In conclusion;
Go forth and
be like John
the Baptist,
humbly
proclaiming
the Lord Jesus
Christ
And not so
much like
these guys!
44

45. THE END
45

46. John 1:18
Many Saw God The Son
• NAU 3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what
is evil, but what is good. The one who does
good is of God; the one who does evil has not
seen God.
• NAU John 6:40 "For this is the will of My
Father, that everyone who beholds the Son
and believes in Him will have eternal life…
46

47. Introducing the Synoptic Problem
Synoptic ProblemBy Michael Kok, Ph.D.
• John stands out from the other three New Testament Gospels.
• John passes over Jesus’ birth, his temptation in the wilderness, his appointment of the apostles, his exorcisms, his ethical
teachings in the Sermon on the Mount or Plains, his transformation with Moses and Elijah, his words on the bread and
cup at the last supper, or his ascension into heaven. Meanwhile, John narrates multiple journeys to Jerusalem and Jesus
delivers lengthy speeches about his own identity in contrast to the aphorisms and parables in the other Gospels. I play a
scene from the Gospel of John movie to give students a sense of John’s distinctiveness.
• If John relies on some different sources or traditions, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke sound quite alike, so much
alike that scholars call them the “Synoptic” or “viewing together” Gospels (syn = together, opsis = sight). To account for
the similarities, I explain to students that there must be literary contact between the Synoptic Gospels.
• I usually confront two objections when I make this point:
• 1. Since the Gospels retell the sayings and deeds of the same historical individual, is it surprising that the memories of
Jesus that they narrate overlap a great deal?
• 2. Could not the Holy Spirit have supernaturally empowered the Gospel writers or evangelists to precisely record the
exact same details about Jesus?
• On point #1, I do not doubt that the earliest churches told and retold stories about Jesus and some of their oral accounts
became included in the Gospels. Yet while eyewitnesses may recall the “gist” of an event, they do not agree word-for-
word in recounting what each one experienced individually. Not only is there a high level of verbatim agreement at
some points in the Synoptic Gospels, one author even repeats another author’s explanatory aside:
47

48. Introducing the Synoptic Problem
Synoptic ProblemBy Michael Kok, Ph.D.
• John stands out from the other three New Testament Gospels. John passes over Jesus’ birth, his temptation in the
wilderness, his appointment of the apostles, his exorcisms, his ethical teachings in the Sermon on the Mount or Plains,
his transformation with Moses and Elijah, his words on the bread and cup at the last supper, or his ascension into
heaven. Meanwhile, John narrates multiple journeys to Jerusalem and Jesus delivers lengthy speeches about his own
identity in contrast to the aphorisms and parables in the other Gospels. I play a scene from the Gospel of John movie to
give students a sense of John’s distinctiveness.
• If John relies on some different sources or traditions, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke sound quite alike, so much
alike that scholars call them the “Synoptic” or “viewing together” Gospels (syn = together, opsis = sight). To account for
the similarities, I explain to students that there must be literary contact between the Synoptic Gospels.
• I usually confront two objections when I make this point:
• 1. Since the Gospels retell the sayings and deeds of the same historical individual, is it surprising that the memories of
Jesus that they narrate overlap a great deal?
• 2. Could not the Holy Spirit have supernaturally empowered the Gospel writers or evangelists to precisely record the
exact same details about Jesus?
• On point #1, I do not doubt that the earliest churches told and retold stories about Jesus and some of their oral accounts
became included in the Gospels. Yet while eyewitnesses may recall the “gist” of an event, they do not agree word-for-
word in recounting what each one experienced individually. Not only is there a high level of verbatim agreement at
some points in the Synoptic Gospels, one author even repeats another author’s explanatory aside:
• So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the
reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains (Matthew 24:15-16).
• But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in
Judea must flee to the mountains (Mark 13:14).
• When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then those in Judea must
flee to the mountains (Luke 21:20-21; Luke explicitly interprets the cryptic imagery in the light of the Roman sacking of
Jerusalem).
48

49. MUMMY MASK MAY REVEAL OLDEST
FRAGMENT OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK
JAN 20, 2015
• The Story: A text found on papyrus used on a mummy mask may be the oldest copy of a gospel known to exist—a
fragment of the Gospel of Mark that was written during the first century, before the year AD 90. Until now, the oldest
surviving copies of the gospel texts date to the second century (the years AD 101 to 200).
• The Background: In 2012 Daniel Wallace, a New Testament scholar at Dallas Theological Seminary, mentioned in a public
debate that researchers had found a fragment of the earliest copy of the Gospel of Mark. This weekend, another scholar,
Craig Evans, a professor of New Testament studies at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, reconfirmed the
existence of the fragment.
• This text was written on a sheet of papyrus that was later reused to create a mask that was worn by a mummy. Although
the mummies of Egyptian pharaohs wore masks made of gold, notes LiveScience, ordinary people had to settle for masks
made out of papyrus (or linen), paint, and glue. Given how expensive papyrus was, people often had to reuse sheets that
already had writing on them.
• Scientists have developed a technique that allows them to remove the text from the mask without harming the ink on
the paper. The gospel fragment is one of hundreds of new texts. "We're recovering ancient documents from the first,
second and third centuries. Not just Christian documents, not just biblical documents, but classical Greek texts, business
papers, various mundane papers, personal letters," Evans told Live Science.
• Evans also told Live Science that the text was dated through a combination of carbon-14 dating, studying the
handwriting on the fragment and studying the other documents found along with the gospel. Because of a nondisclosure
agreement, Evans said he can't say more about the text's date until the papyrus is published later this year.
• Why It Matters: Andreas J. Köstenberger and Justin Taylor have argued that the evidence suggests the exact date of 49

50. Earlier New Testament texts have
been found recently.
• Here is a summary of these recent finds, given in Bible & Spade, Vol 28 No 2
(Spring 2015), page 48:
• Matthew 12 – 150 AD – the previous oldest copy of anything from Matthew was
P45, dating from 250 AD
• Mark fragment – 81-89 AD – the previous oldest New Testament fragment was
from John, dating from 125 AD
• Luke 2 – 140 AD – the previous oldest text of Luke was P75, dating from 175-225
AD
• Romans 8-9 – 100 to 199 AD – the previous oldest text was P46 – dating from 200
AD
• 1 Corinthians 9 – 150 AD - the previous oldest text was P46 – dating from 200 AD
• Hebrews 1 – 100-199 AD - the previous oldest text was P46 – dating from 200 AD
• Hebrews fragment – 100-199 AD - the previous oldest text was P46 – dating from
200 AD
• And... this is said to be ‘the tip of the iceberg’ (much more is coming!).
50

51. Genesis 1:10 Exodus 7:19
miqveh, Jewish Baptism
51

52. Light and Darkness in Jewish
Tradition
• http://r.a.d.sendibm1.com/73uct9uzmzf.html
• For a long time it has been mistakenly thought that the ideas expressed in these three verses of John's prologue are
unique to Christianity. It was erroneously believed that this statement constituted nothing less than a ground-breaking
departure from Judaism. However, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it is not until verse 14 “and the Word
became flesh,” that an innovative idea, though not contradictory to Judaism, was first introduced. What we read in these
first three verses should enable us to clearly understand that the author of this Gospel was a committed Jew,
entrenched in the rich concepts of the Judaism of the Second Temple period. His deep Jewish consciousness is evident as
he structures his prologue thoroughly within the Israelite interpretive traditions of the time.
• First, the author roots his narrative in the foundational verses of the Torah – “In the beginning God…” (Gen. 1:1) and
“…God said.”
• Therefore, the notion that the Gospel of John is a Christian document, set in opposition to Judaism, makes no sense in
the light of John's own priorities. For John, perhaps even more than for the other Gospel writers, everything begins with
the Torah. Secondly, the idea of the Word (Logos/Memra) of God possessing extraordinary qualities and functions in
relationship to God Himself, was not new to Second Temple Judaism. For example, Philo, an Alexandrian Jew who was
roughly contemporary with Jesus, but probably never met him, wrote: “…the most universal of all things is God; and in
the second place the Word of God.” (Allegorical Interpretation, II, 86); “…the shadow of God is His Word, which He used
like an instrument when He was making the world…” (Allegorical Interpretation, III, 96); “This same Word is continually a
suppliant to the immortal God on behalf of the mortal race, which is exposed to affliction and misery; and is also the
ambassador, sent by the Ruler of all, to the subject race… neither being uncreated as God, nor yet created as you, but
being in the midst between these two extremities…” (Who is the Heir of Divine Things, 205-6)
• To visit the Jewish Gospel of John website click here - www.JewishGospelOfJohn.com
• Philo of Alexandria was not the only Jew in the first century who had a highly developed concept of the Word (Logos) of
God. The Jerusalem Targum, in translating and expanding the original Hebrew of Genesis 3:8, states: “…they heard the
voice of the Word of the Lord God walking in the garden… and Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the Lord
God among the trees of the garden” (Jerusalem Targum). When translating Genesis 19:24, the same 52

53. salvation prayers, Question: "What
is the prayer of salvation?"
• Question: "What is the prayer of salvation?"
• Answer: Many people ask, “Is there a prayer I can pray that will guarantee my salvation?” It is important to remember
that salvation is not received by reciting a prayer or uttering certain words. The Bible nowhere records a person’s
receiving salvation by a prayer. Saying a prayer is not the biblical way of salvation.
• The biblical method of salvation is faith in Jesus Christ. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Salvation is gained by faith
(Ephesians 2:8), by receiving Jesus as Savior (John 1:12), and by fully trusting Jesus alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), not by
reciting a prayer.
• The biblical message of salvation is simple and clear and amazing at the same time. We have all committed sin against
God (Romans 3:23). Other than Jesus Christ, there is no one who has lived an entire life without sinning (Ecclesiastes
7:20). Because of our sin, we have earned judgment from God (Romans 6:23), and that judgment is physical death
followed by spiritual death. Because of our sin and its deserved punishment, there is nothing we can do on our own to
make ourselves right with God. As a result of His love for us, God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus lived a perfect life and always taught the truth. However, humanity rejected Jesus and put Him to death by
crucifying Him. Through that horrible act, though, Jesus died in our place. Jesus took the burden and judgment of sin on
Himself, and He died in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus was then resurrected (1 Corinthians 15), proving that His
payment for sin was sufficient and that He had overcome sin and death. As a result of Jesus’ sacrifice, God offers us
salvation as a gift. God calls us all to change our minds about Jesus (Acts 17:30) and to receive Him as the full payment of
our sins (1 John 2:2). Salvation is gained by receiving the gift God offers us, not by praying a prayer.
• Now, that does not mean prayer cannot be involved in receiving salvation. If you understand the gospel, believe it to be
true, and have accepted Jesus as your salvation, it is good and appropriate to express that faith to God in prayer.
Communicating with God through prayer can be a way to progress from accepting facts about Jesus to fully trusting in
Him as Savior. Prayer can be connected to the act of placing your faith in Jesus alone for salvation.
• Again, though, it is crucially important that you do not base your salvation on having said a prayer. Reciting a prayer
53

54. Bethany
Beyond the
Jordan: John
1:6–51
54

55. salvation prayers, Question: "What
is the prayer of salvation?"
• Question: "What is the prayer of salvation?"
• Answer: Many people ask, “Is there a prayer I can pray that will guarantee my salvation?” It is important to remember
that salvation is not received by reciting a prayer or uttering certain words. The Bible nowhere records a person’s
receiving salvation by a prayer. Saying a prayer is not the biblical way of salvation.
• The biblical method of salvation is faith in Jesus Christ. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Salvation is gained by faith
(Ephesians 2:8), by receiving Jesus as Savior (John 1:12), and by fully trusting Jesus alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), not by
reciting a prayer.
• The biblical message of salvation is simple and clear and amazing at the same time. We have all committed sin against
God (Romans 3:23). Other than Jesus Christ, there is no one who has lived an entire life without sinning (Ecclesiastes
7:20). Because of our sin, we have earned judgment from God (Romans 6:23), and that judgment is physical death
followed by spiritual death. Because of our sin and its deserved punishment, there is nothing we can do on our own to
make ourselves right with God. As a result of His love for us, God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus lived a perfect life and always taught the truth. However, humanity rejected Jesus and put Him to death by
crucifying Him. Through that horrible act, though, Jesus died in our place. Jesus took the burden and judgment of sin on
Himself, and He died in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus was then resurrected (1 Corinthians 15), proving that His
payment for sin was sufficient and that He had overcome sin and death. As a result of Jesus’ sacrifice, God offers us
salvation as a gift. God calls us all to change our minds about Jesus (Acts 17:30) and to receive Him as the full payment of
our sins (1 John 2:2). Salvation is gained by receiving the gift God offers us, not by praying a prayer.
• Now, that does not mean prayer cannot be involved in receiving salvation. If you understand the gospel, believe it to be
true, and have accepted Jesus as your salvation, it is good and appropriate to express that faith to God in prayer.
Communicating with God through prayer can be a way to progress from accepting facts about Jesus to fully trusting in
Him as Savior. Prayer can be connected to the act of placing your faith in Jesus alone for salvation.
• Again, though, it is crucially important that you do not base your salvation on having said a prayer. Reciting a prayer
55

56. Dr. Eli at eteacherbiblical.com
• ISAIAH PROPHECY
• In Isaiah 40:3 we read: “ ‫ֹול‬ ֣‫ק‬‫א‬ ֵ֔‫קֹור‬‫ר‬ ָּ֕‫ב‬ ְ‫ד‬ ִ‫מ‬ ַּ‫ב‬‫ּו‬ּ֖‫נ‬ַּ‫פ‬‫ְך‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ֣‫ד‬‫ָ֑ה‬‫ְהו‬‫י‬ּ֙‫רּו‬ ְ‫ַּש‬‫י‬‫ה‬ ֵ֔‫ב‬‫ֲר‬‫ע‬‫ב‬‫ּ֖ה‬‫ל‬ ִ‫ס‬ ְ‫מ‬‫ינּו׃‬ ֵֽ‫אֹלה‬‫ל‬ ”
• The first part of the sentence can be translated either as “voice calling in the wilderness”
or as “voice of the one calling in the wilderness.” The Judeo-Greek Septuagint Translation
takes the second option, imagining a particular person (Φωνὴ βοῶντος). It translates the
original Hebrew as “voice of the one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the
Lord, make straight the paths of our God”. This translation decision by the Jewish sages of
Alexandria was accepted by the gospels (Mark 1:3).
• QUMRAN INTERPERTATION
• Qumran (or Dead Sea Scrolls) community was persuaded that it was not John the Baptizer,
but their secluded community that was the fulfillment of this Isaianic prophecy (1QS 8.12b-
16b). Their entire religious life was a response of protest to what they saw as corruption of
the Jerusalem Temple (in this they agreed with the early Jesus followers). John’s emphasis
on the water purification ceremony, his priestly origins, his ascetic life-style, his near
identical missional statement, his dietary practice, his apocalyptic message as well as his
general location argue that his ministry first developed in association and later in direct
opposition to the Qumran community.
56

57. http://www.dts.edu/media/archive/?PersonID=
91444ce4-cfab-48e1-9bd6-da2526fd41e0
• J. Dwight Pentecost
• Introduction to Series
• What John Says about Christ (John 1)
• The Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)
• Christ the Light of the World (John 8:12; 9:5)
• I Am the Door (John 10:7, 9)
• I Am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
• I Am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
• I Am the Way (John 14:6)
• I Am the Truth (John 14:6)
• I Am the Life (John 14:6)
• I Am the Vine (John 15)
• Truths About Christ 57

58. • http://www.dts.edu/media/
58
Click on browse by speaker,
Choose which speaker,
Choose a recording
Sovereignty and Prayer (Matthew 7:1-12) from
the previous list was not there

59. John 17, What in the World Are We
Doing Here?
• http://www.dts.edu/media/play/what-in-the-
world-are-we-doing-here-j-dwight-
pentecost/?audio=true
• What in the World Are We Doing Here?
• J. Dwight Pentecost on August 29, 2003 in DTS
Chapel
• Dr. Dwight Pentecost, senior professor of
Biblical Exposition, addresses the Lord's
commission for today's believers from John
17:13-18. 59

60. http://www.dts.edu/media/play/follo
wing-him-pentecost-j-dwight/
• Following Him
• J. Dwight Pentecost on September 1, 2011 in
DTS Chapel
• Dr. Dwight Pentecost, Distinguished Professor
Emeritus of Bible Exposition; Adjunct Professor
of Bible Exposition, DTS, reflects on what it
means to abide and follow Him.
60

61. • http://www.dts.edu/edia/
61
Click on browse by speaker,
Choose which speaker,
Choose a recording
Sovereignty and Prayer (Matthew 7:1-12) from
the previous list was not there

62. • http://www.dts.edu/media/archive/?PersonID
=91444ce4-cfab-48e1-9bd6-da2526fd41e0s
62

63. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=lW4i-sz8yv8
• Published on Oct 2, 2015
• Overview of the book of John. Suitable for
young and old. Recorded by Dr. Andy Woods
October 02, 2015. Andy is a professor of Bible
and Theology at the College of Biblical Studies
in Houston, Texas, USA. He also the Senior
pastor of Sugar Land Bible Church. For more
videos visit
http://bestmin.org/biblestudyvideos/
63

64. “the Jews”, The Jewish Gospel of John:
Discovering Jesus, King of All Israel,
Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg
64

65. One Central Purpose Of John's Gospel

66. Why study the book of John?
• John is the best-selling biography of all time.
• John is specifically written for the best purpose
of all time, NAU John 20:31 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.
66

67. New post on DR. RELUCTANT
The Divine Logos (Pt. 2)
by Paul HeneburyPart One
The Roles of the Logos
• New post on DR. RELUCTANT
• The Divine Logos (Pt. 2)
• by Paul HeneburyPart One
• The Roles of the Logos
• Although the wording is brilliantly simple, an examination of the Prologue furnishes for us a great deal of help concerning what might be called the “roles” of the Logos. To begin with, the prologue places in front of us these facts:
• The Logos is a Person (1:3, 4, 14).
• Ÿ There are three relations of Christ the Logos recorded in these opening verses. First, there is His relation with the Father “In the beginning” (1:1-2). Second is His relation to the world (1:3, 10). The third relationship of theLogos is that
which He bears to humankind (1:11-14).
• Ÿ The Logos was active with (Gk. pros) God (the Father). Ridderbos says that this designation “is intended as an indication not only of place but also of disposition and orientation.”[1] Thus, in all respects the Eternal Logos was and is to be
identified with God (1:1-2), though not the Father but the Son (1:18).
• Ÿ This means that God, in the Person of the revealing incarnate Son (1:14, 18), is the Subject of John’s Gospel.
• In addition to the above, three readily identifiable roles can be located within the Prologue. They center upon the great schemes of creation, revelation, and redemption.
• Creation[2]
• The link with creation is established right off with the very first words of John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word” The Apostle is taking the reader back to the creation account in Genesis 1:1ff., and showing that theLogos was directly
involved in the creative process. To those who assert that John’s stress is not upon creation as such, but upon the pre-existence of theLogos prior to the creation, we do not think we are forced into a choice between the two. The Genesis
narrative implies a creatio ex nihilo doctrine which would necessitate a complimentary doctrine of Divine pre-existence and perlocutory action. John is telling us that the Logos is this same creative God (1:1-2).
• Then in the third verse comes a clear statement about the creative role of the Logos: “All things were created by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” (1:3). The Logos is a Person (N.B., “by Him…without Him”), not
an organizing principle or a personified divine utterance. He is the cause of the ontological status of everything, and nothing which came into existence in the creative week owes its being to anything else.[3]
• Along with His work as Creator, the Logos is also the Upholder of that creation. The necessary imposition of the curse after the fall meant that God’s providential care of the world was mitigated by the consequential out-workings of sin in
history. The world-system (kosmos) in its pride and rebellion does not recognize its Creator, even when He stands before them (1:10). Mankind may not want to acknowledge its Maker (Rom. 1:18-22), but it remains true that without the
power of the Logos, there would be no light or life (Jn. 1:4), for as Gerhaardus Vos stated, “By universal consent the furnishing of life and light to the world belongs to the very essence of theLogos' task.”[4]
• Hence, John is restating a function that had already been confirmed before he wrote (cf. Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:2-3). The power behind the vast spiraling galaxies, the fiercely burning stars in their motions, and the numberless operations of our
planet – including all life, is not Matter, it is the Word! This world was created by Him and is sustained by Him (1:3-10). He is thus both what Vos termed the “organ of omnipotence”[5] and the Framer of Reality (and, therefore, of
Meaning).[6] We shall let Vos sum it up for us:
• “The normal relation to the world by Him who acted as the Mediator of creation, was such that thereafter the world and mankind were dependent for their life and light on Him. He was the Logos in providence, just as He had been
the Logos in creation.”[7]
• Revelation
• The Prologue also calls our attention to the Logos as revelation. As the Author of the life and light of men (Jn. 1:4, 10), He has fashioned them in the image of God, and in so doing has constituted men and women in such a way that man
himself reveals his Maker. Perhaps nobody has pointed this out better than Cornelius Van Til. He paints a striking picture in order to get his point across:
• “Even when man, as it were, takes out his own eyes, this act itself turns revelational in his wicked hands, testifying to him that his sin is a sin against the light that lighteth every man coming into the world…Creatures have no private
chambers.”[8]
• Because mankind is in spiritual and therefore epistemological darkness, they do not acknowledge the Logos of God (Jn. 1:4-5; 9-11). Unless men realize this there will always be a chasm between man’s own self-identification and a right
understanding of his true significance and purpose. The great lexicographer Cremer makes the point that Christ is “Him in whom had been hidden from eternity, and specially from the beginning of the world, what God had to say to
man.”[9] The Logos is “the true Light” because He is the one who has placed the sense of creatureliness inside of us; the realization of which we seek to suppress and to run from (Jn. 1:5, 10-11; Cf. Acts 17:28; Rom. 1:18-20).[10] This is why
Van Til can write:
• By the idea of revelation, then, we are to mean not merely what comes to man through the facts surrounding him in his environment, but also that which comes to him by means of his own constitution as a covenant personality. The
revelation that comes to man by way of his own rational and moral nature is no less objective to him than that which comes to him through the voice of trees and animals. Man’s own psychological activity is no less revelational than the laws
of physics about him. All created reality is inherently revelational of the nature and will of God.Even man’s ethical reaction to God’s revelation is still revelational.[11]
• One of the transformations wrought by the new birth is that God, “has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Col. 1:13); so that we who were partakers of darkness, are now “light
in the Lord.” (Eph. 5:8; cf. 1 Thess. 5:5). Thus, as the Psalmist has it, “In Thy light we shall see light” (Psa. 36:9). This brings us to the third aspect of the Prologue’s description of the Logos, the redemptive function.
• Redemption
• The revelation of God is not given for the purpose of condemnation only (cf. Jn. 3:17). The most astounding truth in the Prologue is that the eternalLogos, “was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” (Jn. 1:14), and that He was “the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn. 1:29). Vos expressed it well:
• “The unique feature of the Prologue consists in this, that it views the cosmical function of the pre-existent Christ as a revealing function and places it in direct continuity with His revealing work in the sphere of redemption.”[12]
• This is an important point as it emphasizes the fact that Christ as the Logoswas active in revelation prior to His incarnation, but that His assuming human form (en morfh) was “in direct continuity” with that prior activity.[13]
• Read more of this post
• Paul Henebury | 1 December 2014 at 4:40 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/p8lMv-X9

68. Andy Woods has a series on John
• Andy Woods
• 9 hrs · iOS · Edited ·
• Are you confused about what the Bible means
by the term "kingdom"? Then this sermon
entitled "Clarifying Kingdom Confusion" from
John 18:33-36 is for you.
• SermonAudio.com - Media Player
68

69. Genesis 1:1, Space, Time, and
Matter
• THE AMAZING FIRST VERSE OF THE BIBLE - You
MUST see this film!
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV0hUldr
Yp4&ebc=ANyPxKqAoP_-
OUMbUerKeDpUm01I-
EcRTf1bSPFuNccHcV6pf1GbawOzm0v2-
0UlewsLop9uqcFx-wGKRL4UkF5lWLciq-pBPQ
69

70. 70
John, Believe And Live, Elmer Towns, Mal Couch
and Ed Hindson, Twenty-First Century Biblical
Commentary Series, page
John, Believe And Live, Elmer Towns, Mal Couch and Ed
Hindson, Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary
Series, page

71. 71
John, Believe And Live, Elmer Towns, Mal Couch and Ed
Hindson, Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary
Series, page

72. 72
John, Believe And Live, Elmer Towns, Mal Couch and Ed
Hindson, Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary
Series, page

73. Trinity, CREATED FOR
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER
• Dear Friend of Creation,
• “And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’,” Genesis 1:26.
• Last year I wrote about my conversation on a plane flight with a young American rabbi who was returning home after
spending quite a few years in Israel. He and I talked the whole flight about “mysteries” of the scriptural text –
particularly the text of Genesis 1:1.
• He explained how the Hebrew of the opening text of the Bible was an amazing arrangement of words-within-the-words,
which spoke of the six day creation and of the seventh day for completion and rest. The total number of Hebrew words
in Genesis 1:1, for example, is 7. (If you want the details again, you can find the May 2015 letter on our website.)
• During our conversation he brought up another puzzlement to many rabbis. A direct translation of Deuteronomy 6:4, the
beginning of the most important quotation in Jewish prayer service, is “Hear, O Israel (Shema Y’israel): the Lord our God
is one Lord.” The puzzlement is about why the name of the Lord needs to be stated three times in the verse? Why not,
for example, just say, “The Lord is one.” Or say, “The Lord our God is one”. But instead we read, “The Lord our God is
one Lord”, mentioning His name three times.
• Of course, as Christians, we have the revelation that God is actually one God in three persons – a “blessed trinity” which
explains the often plural rendering of the one true God so mysterious to Jewish rabbis – such as in Genesis 1:26 quoted
above. And it explains the often thrice-repeated declarations about God such as in Deuteronomy 6:4 above, or in Isaiah
6:3, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts….”
• God is a triune God, a triune Creator – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore, God is a relationship of three within a
perfect unity. “How can that be?” – many would ask. The answer is beyond the scope of this letter, but it is a paradox
reflected also in mathematics. No educated person has a problem with 1 x 1 x 1 = 1. Indeed, all creation is a reflection of
its Maker – even mathematics.
• Our Creator is in a relationship called the Trinity. And He created us in His image to be in relationship with Him and with
other people. This is the biblical revelation from the very first chapters. Furthermore, God gave man the commission to
rule over the rest of creation in what is known as the “dominion” mandate, and to fill the earth with His progeny – more
living beings, made in the image of God.
73

74. The Four Faces of Jesus, by Jack Kelley
• The Four Faces of Jesus
• Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014Israel
• Old Testament
• Past Featured
• Prophecy
• A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
• Scoffers and skeptics often ask, “Why four gospels” Couldn’t Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have agreed on their stories and written just one?” Liberal scholars further confuse the issue by calling Matthew, Mark and Luke the
“synoptic” gospels claiming that Mark wrote his first and the others all relied on it in developing their accounts. Then there’s the “Q” document theory holding that an undiscovered “quelle” (Latin for source) document upon
which all the writers relied for their information was actually the earliest gospel account.
• Remember that these hypotheses are advanced by critics who dispute the Bible’s supernatural origin and whose primary goal is to deny the importance of literal interpretation. They prey on our ignorance so their opinions are
easily put to naught when we discover the underlying purpose of the four Gospels. First we need to understand that none of them was written solely to provide an accurate historical account of the life of Jesus. Each is directed
at a specific audience with events portrayed in such a way as to be meaningful to that audience. The role of Jesus, the use of phraseology, the inclusion or exclusion of events, and the emphasis on first and last miracles are all
meant to underscore the point of the particular gospel. I’ll show you what I mean.
• Who Was He?
• Matthew was written to the Jews. His purpose was to demonstrate who Jesus was; presenting overwhelming evidence that Jesus was Israel’s long awaited Messiah: The Lion of Judah, the King of Israel. The genealogy in
Matthew begins with Abraham and runs through King David (Matt 1:1-17). The most frequently used phrase in Matthew’s Gospel is “it was fulfilled.” There are more references to events foretold in Old Testament prophecy and
fulfilled in the Life of Jesus in Matthew than in any other gospel account. Partial copies discovered in the caves at Qumran suggest that Matthew may have originally been written in Hebrew. The first miracle in Matthew, the
cleansing of a leper, was highly symbolic for Israel. Leprosy was viewed as a punishment for sin, and cleansing a leper signified taking away the sin of the nation. Matthew’s gospel ends with the resurrection signifying God’s
promise that David’s Kingdom would last forever.
• What Did He Do?
• Mark’s gospel is actually Peter’s account and was written to the Romans. His purpose was to portray Jesus as the obedient servant of God. Since no one cares about the heritage of a servant there is no genealogy in Mark. The
most frequently used phrase in Mark’s Gospel is “straight away” sometimes translated immediately, so Mark is called the snapshot gospel, giving us picture after picture of Jesus in action. The first miracle is the casting out of a
demon, demonstrating that the God whom Jesus served was superior to all other gods, a matter of great importance in Rome’s polytheistic society. Mark’s gospel ends with the ascension, signifying that the servant’s job was
finished and He was returning home.
• What Did He Say?
• Luke’s account portrays Jesus as the Son of Man, a title Jesus often used of Himself, and was written to the Greeks. It presents the human side of Jesus and emphasizes his teaching. Greeks were famous for their story telling
form of oratory, so the most frequent phrase in Luke is “and it came to pass.” Most movies of the life of Jesus rely primarily on Luke’s gospel because of its flowing narrative form. Luke’s genealogy traces Jesus all the way back to
Adam, the first man (Luke 3:21-38). Since the Greeks, like the Romans, were a polytheistic society, Luke used the casting out of a demon as his first miracle, and ended his gospel with the promise of the Holy Spirit, uniting man
with God.
• How Did He Feel?
• John wrote to the church describing how Jesus felt about peoples’ reaction to His ministry. His gospel is the most unique, based upon 7 miracles, 7 “I Am” statements and 7 discourses. John pays little attention to chronology,
sometimes placing events out of order (like the Temple Cleansing in Chapter 2) for their effect in presenting Jesus as the Son of God. John’s gospel covers only about 21 days out of the Lord’s 3 1/2 year ministry. 10 chapters are
devoted to one week and 1/3 of all the verses in John describe one day. His genealogy begins before time and identifies Jesus as the Eternal One Who was with God and Who was God (John 1:1-2). The most frequently used
phrase in John is “Verily, verily”, or truly, truly. His first miracle was changing water into wine, an act of enormous symbolism by which He “revealed His Glory and His disciples put their faith in Him” (John 2:11). John’s Gospel
ends with the promise of the 2nd Coming. So why four gospels? Because no single one is big enough to contain all of the attributes of Jesus. It took all four to show His four faces as The Lion of Judah, the Obedient Servant, the
Son of Man, and the Son of God. Trying to put all four perspectives into one account would have left us hopelessly confused. Understanding all of Who Jesus was and is requires reading all four Gospels.
• Let’s Get Mystical
• In views of the Throne of God four powerful figures called cherubim are shown guarding the throne. Sometimes it appears that each of the four has a different face, and sometimes it seems that all have four faces, but the faces
are always those of a Lion, an Ox, a Man and an Eagle (Ezek. 1:10 & Rev 4:7). When the Jews camped in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, they were instructed to set up in 4 sub-camps, one for each point of the compass with
the tabernacle in the center. The first was called the Camp of Judah and included Issachar and Zebulon. Members of those 3 tribes would look for the ensign of Judah, a flag with a large lion embroidered on it, to locate their
campground. It was always due east of the tabernacle. The second camp was named after Ephraim and included Manasseh and Benjamin. It was positioned opposite the camp of Judah to the west of the tabernacle. Ephraim’s
flag depicted the figure of an ox. The third camp was headed by Reuben and included Simeon and Gad. Reuben’s flag showed the face of a man. They were located south of the tabernacle. The fourth camp was that of Dan with
Asher and Napthali included and was located in the North. Dan’s flag pictured a large eagle.
• Looking down from above, God would see the camp of Israel with the tabernacle in the Center and the 4 sub-camps around it. The large flag waving in the East pictured the Lion, and opposite it in the West was the Ox. To the
south was the face of a Man and in the North was the Eagle. Some say God was modeling His throne in the Camp of Israel with the tabernacle representing His throne in the center, the four flags representing the four faces of
the cherubim and the four sub-camps extending along the four points of the compass, forming a cross.
• Some also see the four gospels symbolized in the four flags; the Lion for Matthew, the Ox for Mark, the Man for Luke, and the Eagle for John. In this view the tabernacle is seen as a model of Jesus, at the center of the four
gospels.
• How you see these models, or if you see them at all, is secondary to my main purpose in writing this. My main purpose is to encourage you to delve into all four gospels. It’s really the only way to get a good look at the four
faces of Jesus.
• http://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/tough-questions-answered/the-four-faces-of-jesus/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gracethrufaith+%28GraceThruFaith%29

75. http://archive.org/details/Dr.MalCouchJohn
-introduction
• http://archive.org/details/Dr.MalCouchJohn-introduction

76. John 1:1,
• ….Ray Pritchard
Keep Believing Ministries
Dallas, Texas
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
Hebrews 10:5-7
•
I’m sure most of us are familiar with the famous poem by Clement Moore that begins this way:
’Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
In many homes this has become a Christmas tradition. I remember hearing it read at school when I was a little boy, and I’ve heard it read many times since then on various Christmas TV specials. I’ve never tried to memorize it, but I’m sure I know most of it by heart anyway.
It happensthat I am writing these words on ChristmasEve. In just a few minutes we will make our way to churchfor the Christmas Eve service. While is quite true that we do not know the exact day of Christ’s birth (see When Was Jesus Born?), we take one day each year to celebrate the fact that hewas born. I ran across these words that put the birth of Jesus in very personal terms:
Little Jesus wast Thou shy
Once and just as small as I?
And what did it feel to be
Out of Heaven and just like me? --Francis Thompson
If we take the words of Clement Moore (minus St. Nick) and combine them with Francis Thompson, we are presented with a very good Christmas Eve question:
What was happening in heaven as Jesus was being born on the earth?
We know of course about the angels and the shepherds and we know about Caesar’s decree that led to Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. We know about the manger and the Wise Men and the star that led them from the east. We even know about Herod’s evil plan to kill the baby Jesus. But here is a part of the Christmas story we may not know.
Christmas According toJesus
What was on our Lord’s mind as he was being born?
You may be surprisedto know that the Bible actually gives us an answer to that question. Hebrews 10:5-7 gives us a prayer of the baby Jesus as he was coming into the world. It is the declaration of the eternal Son of God as he stepped out of heaven and entered this world through a virgin’s womb.
This is the Christmasstory accordingto JesusChrist. We know Luke’s version and Matthew’s version. In Hebrews 10:5-7 we get the Christmas story from the lips of Jesus Christ. This is what he was thinking on the “night before Christmas” 2000 years ago.
Hebrews 10:5-7 quotes Psalm 40:6-8 and applies it directly to the coming of Christ. If we want to know what Christ was thinking before he was born, these verses provide a glimpse:
Therefore, as He was coming into the world, He said:
You did not want sacrifice and offering,
but You prepared a body for Me.
6 You did not delight
in whole burnt offeringsand sin offerings.
7 Then I said, “See—
it is writtenabout Me
in the volume of the scroll—
I have come to do Your will, God!”
What does our Lord emphasize in these verses?
He Did Not Begin at Bethlehem
They tell us first of all that our Lord’sexistence did not begin at Bethlehem.Verse 5 stresses that fact when it attributes these words to Christ “as he was coming into the world.” They speak to us of the preexistence of Christ in heaven. When I was a young man, I heard a preacher explain this great truth by speaking of the “councils of eternity.” He meant by that the divine agreement among the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit that the Son would enter the human race and offer himself as Savior.
Our Lord did not “begin” at Bethlehem. As the 2nd Person of the Trinity, he had no “beginning.” That’s what Jesus meant when he declared, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
Someone asked me recently why the birth of Christ is recorded only in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark and John. The answer goes back to the purpose ofthose two gospels. Markwants to emphasize Christ as the great servant who came to give his life for others. In that context it does not matter where a servant comes from, only who sent him and how he serves others. By contrast John’s gospel goes back to the
ultimate beginning, far beyond Bethlehem. It starts with the eternal preexistence of Jesus as the true Word of God:
“In the beginningwas the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
There are many mysteries to all of this, but let us remember one important fact. Christmas marksthe human birth of the Lord Jesus,but it does not markthe beginning of his existence. As the Son of God, he existed with the Father long before he was conceived in Mary’s womb.
He Came to Take Away Our Sins
Second,he came to replace the failed Jewish system of animal sacrifice. Verse 5 says it very explicitly: “You did not want sacrifice and offering.” That would have come as a shock to the Jewish priests who for centuries had offered bulls and goats as God had prescribed in the Old Testament. They did that because they sincerely believed that is what God wanted from them. They were not wrong in what they did, but
they did not understand the truth of Hebrews 10:4, “For it is impossible for the blood of bullsand goats to take away sins.” Drop down to verse 11 and you can grasp the futility of the old system:
“Every priest stands day after day ministeringand offeringthe same sacrificestime after time, which can never take away sins.”
Priests in the Old Testament spent their days in a routine of sacrifice and offerings--one after the other, morning, noon and night, day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out, year after year, decade after decade, century after century. During the 1500 years from the time of Moses to the time of Christ, tens of thousands of lambs and goats and bulls were offered on the altar before God to
make atonement for the sins of the people. That’s what he means when he says “day after day” and “time after time” the same sacrifices were offered.
Suppose you took all the blood offered on all the Jewish altars,
Over all those centuries,
Offered by priests doing God’s will,
Obeying God’s law,
Sincerely doing what God told them to do,
Sacrificing bulls and goats until there was a
River of blood flowing from the altar.
What does all that animal blood amount to?
How many sins could it forgive?
Not one!
That’s a shocking fact, a stunning reality, and a sobering truth.
In 1709 Isaac Watts wrote about this in a hymn called “Not all the blood of beasts”:
Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain
Could give the guilty conscience peace
Or wash away the stain.
Then he gives the gospel answer in the next verse:
But Christ, the heav’nly Lamb,
Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they.
That’s entirely right. Jesus came to do what the animal sacrificescould never do. He came to deal with our sin once and for all.
We can see this in Hebrews 10:5, “You prepared a body for me.” On one level this means that Christ’s birth was no afterthought in God’s plan, but the fulfillment of all the promises made in the Old Testament. At a deeper level it means that his body was prepared for him so that years later he could offer himself as the once-for-all sacrifice for sin when he died on the cross.
Just as the lamb was prepared for sacrifice,
Jesus comes as the Lamb of God to take away our sin….

77. John 1:1, 14, Special/General Revelation
• Question: "What is general revelation and special revelation?"
Answer: General revelation and special revelation are the two ways God has chosen to reveal Himself to humanity. General revelation refers to the general truths that can be known about
God through nature. Special revelation refers to the more specific truths that can be known about God through the supernatural.
In regard to general revelation, Psalm 19:1-4 declares, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after
night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” According to this
passage, God’s existence and power can be clearly seen through observing the universe. The order, intricacy, and wonder of creation speak to the existence of a powerful and glorious
Creator.
General revelation is also taught in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Like Psalm 19, Romans 1:20 teaches that God’s eternal power and divine nature are “clearly seen” and
“understood” from what has been made, and that there is no excuse for denying these facts. With these Scriptures in mind, perhaps a working definition of general revelation would be
“the revelation of God to all people, at all times, and in all places that proves that God exists and that He is intelligent, powerful, and transcendent.”
Special revelation is how God has chosen to reveal Himself through miraculous means. Special revelation includes physical appearances of God, dreams, visions, the written Word of God,
and most importantly—Jesus Christ. The Bible records God appearing in physical form many times (Genesis 3:8, 18:1; Exodus 3:1-4, 34:5-7), and the Bible records God speaking to people
through dreams (Genesis 28:12, 37:5; 1 Kings 3:5; Daniel 2) and visions (Genesis 15:1; Ezekiel 8:3-4; Daniel 7; 2 Corinthians 12:1-7).
Of primary importance in the revealing of God is His Word, the Bible, which is also a form of special revelation. God miraculously guided the authors of Scripture to correctly record His
message to mankind, while still using their own styles and personalities. The Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). The Word of God is inspired, profitable, and sufficient (2
Timothy 3:16-17). God determined to have the truth regarding Him recorded in written form because He knew the inaccuracy and unreliability of oral tradition. He also understood that the
dreams and visions of man can be misinterpreted. God decided to reveal everything that humanity needs to know about Him, what He expects, and what He has done for us in the Bible.
The ultimate form of special revelation is the Person of Jesus Christ. God became a human being (John 1:1, 14). Hebrews 1:1-3 summarizes it best, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers
through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son … The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his
being.” God became a human being, in the Person of Jesus Christ, to identify with us, to set an example for us, to teach us, to reveal Himself to us, and, most importantly, to provide
salvation for us by humbling Himself in death on the cross (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus Christ is the ultimate “special revelation” from God.
Recommended Resource: The Moody Handbook of Theology by Paul Enns.
• GotQuestions.org via icontact.com

78. John 1:1, One God, One Christ
• CCC2782, 795, 1689 Becoming Christs, capital "C", diety,
priests are divine, CCC460, shared divinity
• CCC 2782 We can adore the Father because he has caused us
to be reborn to his life by adopting us as his children in his
only Son: by Baptism, he incorporates us into the Body of his
Christ; through the anointing of his Spirit who flows from the
head to the members, he makes us other “Christs.” (1267)
• God, indeed, who has predestined us to adoption as his sons,
has conformed us to the glorious Body of Christ. So then you
who have become sharers in Christ are appropriately called
“Christs.”34… CCC 2783 Thus the Lord’s Prayer reveals us to
ourselves at the same time that it reveals the Father to us….
“Our Father,” so that you may merit being his son.37

79. John 4:42, 10:38, 16:30, 1:10, Know
• No other New Testament book (NAU) has more uses of the word
“know” than the book of John. Only the book of Ezekiel has more
uses (6 more in NAU). However Ezekiel has 394 verses. John has
the greatest concentration of the word “know” in the entire Bible.
John wants us to know certainly;
• NAU John 4:42 and they were saying to the woman, "It is no
longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have
heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of
the world."
• NAU John 20:31 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.
• NAU 1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in
the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have 79

80. John
Believe And
Live
Elmer Towns, Mal
Couch and Ed Hindson,
Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary
Series, page viii
80

81. 81
John, Believe And Live, Elmer Towns, Mal Couch and Ed
Hindson, Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary
Series, page

82. Study the Gospel of John with Dallas
Theological Seminary – for free.
• http://courses.dts.edu/register/gospel-of-
john-
registration/?utm_source=facebook&utm_me
dium=newsfeed&utm_content=dtsdonors&ut
m_campaign=gospelofjohn
• The next eight blue slides are from DTS;
82

83. Is the “Sinner’s Prayer” Essential to
Salvation?
by R. Larry Moyer, President / CEO, EvanTell, Inc.
• Gospel presentations often conclude with a prayer. You may have heard it called the “sinner’s prayer”. In that prayer, the person trusting Christ acknowledges he is a sinner
placing his faith in Christ to save him. Some prayers have clearer terminology than others. The question is, “Is that prayer essential to salvation?”
• Let’s back up. What did Christ accomplish on the cross? He satisfied the wrath of a holy God against our sin. As He died as our substitute, He declared, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
Through His death and resurrection, He paid for all the wrongs we have done. Our sin account was paid in full. That is why God can now extend eternal life as a gift – completely
free of charge. Christ did not make the down payment for our sins. He made the full payment. A gift though can be rejected or received. So how does one receive the gift of
eternal life?
• The answer to that question can be found in the book God specifically wrote to tell us how to receive eternal life – the book of John. We are told in John 20:31, “But these are
written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” Ninety-eight times in the book of John, the word “believe”
is used. John 1:12 reads, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” John’s best known verse reads,
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) The word believe means to
trust. Acknowledging that I am a sinner, I must come to God recognizing that His son took the punishment for my sins and rose again, and trust in Christ alone to save me. A
person who deeply impacted my life with the clarity of the gospel said, “The message behind the gospel is: ‘Be satisfied with the thing that satisfies God.’” Only when I am
satisfied that His Son’s death and that death alone accomplished my salvation, am I eternally His. I acknowledge to God, “If you cannot take me to heaven, I am going to hell. You
and you alone are my only way to eternal life.” At that second, we are as certain of heaven as though we are already there. Eternal life begins at that moment and will culminate
in His presence. Jesus’ promise was, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” (John 6:47) So what part does saying a prayer have to do with salvation? Absolutely nothing. We
are not saved by saying a prayer. We are saved by trusting Christ. That’s why Christ could look at the thief on the cross and say, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me
in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Nothing is ever said of the thief “saying a prayer”. There on the cross as he hung alongside of the Savior of the world, he believed in Christ as his Savior.
Hence Christ said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today, you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
• That does not mean saying a prayer at the moment one comes to Christ is wrong. Such a prayer has two advantages. One is that it cements in the person’s mind what he is doing
(and probably did at least 30 seconds before he prayed) – trusting Christ. Secondly, having verbalized it to God, such a prayer encourages one to verbalize it to others. God does
not need to be informed. He is fully aware of what the person doing – trusting Christ. But having expressed his decision to God encourages the new convert to now express it to
others.
• Several things are important though. One is that in leading people to Christ, we need to make clear that saying a prayer does not save. Explain to them that it is trusting Christ that
saves. Prayer is only how they tell God what they are doing. That is why if I sense the non-Christian is prepared to come to Christ I ask, “Would you like to pray right now and tell
God you are trusting Christ?” If they respond positively, I then say, “Now before we pray, let me explain something. Saying a prayer does not save; it’s trusting Christ that saves.
Prayer is only how you tell God what you are doing. But if right now you want to trust Christ, here is how you express that to God. Why don’t you pray aloud with me as I pray?” I
then lead them in prayer, phrase by phrase as they tell God what they are doing. If you have made it clear that saying a prayer does not save, after they have verbalized to God
what they have done, here is what should happen. Suppose you ask them, “If you stood before God and He were to ask you, ‘Why should I let you into heaven,’ what would you
say?” They ought to respond, “I have trusted Christ to save me,” not, “I said a prayer.” Also, it is important not to confuse the gospel or a clear presentation of it with an unclear
prayer. If you lead them in prayer, here’s the kind of prayer to use.
• Dear God, I come to you now. I know I’m a sinner. Nothing I do makes me deserving of heaven. I now understand Jesus Christ died for me. He took my place and punishment and
rose again. Right now I place my trust in Christ alone to save me. Thank you for the gift of eternal life I just received. In Jesus name, amen.
• The “sinner’s prayer” is not essential to salvation. Trusting Christ saves. If you use a prayer in leading people to Christ, make certain you use it in a way that enhances and not
confuses their understanding of salvation.
83

84. John 1:12
Isn't believing/receiving a work?"
• Question: "How can salvation be not of works when faith is required? Isn't believing a work?"
• Answer: Our salvation depends solely upon Jesus Christ. He is our substitute, taking sin’s penalty (2 Corinthians 5:21); He
is our Savior from sin (John 1:29); He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The work necessary to
provide salvation was fully accomplished by Jesus Himself, who lived a perfect life, took God’s judgment for sin, and rose
again from the dead (Hebrews 10:12).
• The Bible is quite clear that our own works do not help merit salvation. We are saved “not because of righteous things
we had done” (Titus 3:5). “Not by works” (Ephesians 2:9). “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). This
means that offering sacrifices, keeping the commandments, going to church, being baptized, and other good deeds are
incapable of saving anyone. No matter how “good” we are, we can never measure up to God’s standard of holiness
(Romans 3:23; Matthew 19:17; Isaiah 64:6).
• The Bible is just as clear that salvation is conditional; God does not save everyone. The one condition for salvation is faith
in Jesus Christ. Nearly 200 times in the New Testament, faith (or belief) is declared to be the sole condition for salvation
(John 1:12; Acts 16:31).
• One day, some people asked Jesus what they could do to please God: “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus immediately points them to faith: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28-29). So,
the question is about God’s requirements (plural), and Jesus’ answer is that God’s requirement (singular) is that you
believe in Him.
• Grace is God’s giving us something we cannot earn or deserve. According to Romans 11:6, “works” of any kind destroys
grace—the idea is that a worker earns payment, while the recipient of grace simply receives it, unearned. Since salvation
is all of grace, it cannot be earned. Faith, therefore, is a non-work. Faith cannot truly be considered a “work,” or else it
would destroy grace. (See also Romans 4—Abraham’s salvation was dependent on faith in God, as opposed to any work
he performed.)
• Suppose someone anonymously sent me a check for $1,000,000. The money is mine if I want it, but I still must endorse
the check. In no way can signing my name be considered earning the million dollars—the endorsement is a non-work. I
can never boast about becoming a millionaire through sheer effort or my own business savvy. No, the million dollars was
84

85. "How can salvation be not of works when
faith is required? Isn't believing a work?"
• Question: "How can salvation be not of works when faith is required? Isn't believing a work?"
• Answer: Our salvation depends solely upon Jesus Christ. He is our substitute, taking sin’s penalty (2 Corinthians 5:21); He
is our Savior from sin (John 1:29); He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The work necessary to
provide salvation was fully accomplished by Jesus Himself, who lived a perfect life, took God’s judgment for sin, and rose
again from the dead (Hebrews 10:12).
• The Bible is quite clear that our own works do not help merit salvation. We are saved “not because of righteous things
we had done” (Titus 3:5). “Not by works” (Ephesians 2:9). “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). This
means that offering sacrifices, keeping the commandments, going to church, being baptized, and other good deeds are
incapable of saving anyone. No matter how “good” we are, we can never measure up to God’s standard of holiness
(Romans 3:23; Matthew 19:17; Isaiah 64:6).
• The Bible is just as clear that salvation is conditional; God does not save everyone. The one condition for salvation is faith
in Jesus Christ. Nearly 200 times in the New Testament, faith (or belief) is declared to be the sole condition for salvation
(John 1:12; Acts 16:31).
• One day, some people asked Jesus what they could do to please God: “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus immediately points them to faith: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28-29). So,
the question is about God’s requirements (plural), and Jesus’ answer is that God’s requirement (singular) is that you
believe in Him.
• Grace is God’s giving us something we cannot earn or deserve. According to Romans 11:6, “works” of any kind destroys
grace—the idea is that a worker earns payment, while the recipient of grace simply receives it, unearned. Since salvation
is all of grace, it cannot be earned. Faith, therefore, is a non-work. Faith cannot truly be considered a “work,” or else it
would destroy grace. (See also Romans 4—Abraham’s salvation was dependent on faith in God, as opposed to any work
he performed.)
• Suppose someone anonymously sent me a check for $1,000,000. The money is mine if I want it, but I still must endorse
the check. In no way can signing my name be considered earning the million dollars—the endorsement is a non-work. I
can never boast about becoming a millionaire through sheer effort or my own business savvy. No, the million dollars was
85