WE KNOW YOU HAVE A DEVIL
Wednesday – April 17, 2019, Nisan 12, 5779
Greetings and welcome back to this wonderful Bible Study of the Book of John dear saints of God. If you are reading this on Facebook please take a moment and hit the “like” and “share” buttons to expand the reach of this Ministry. Thank you so much for doing that, the Lord sees, and He honors those who honor Him. As we prepare to dive into this day’s study take just a moment to ask the Lord to teach you what is most vital and tell Him you will be diligent to implement it into your thoughts, words, and actions. Now, let’s read our primary Bible text aloud.
John 8:51-54 (KJV)
51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
As we move into verse fifty-two, we see a repeat of the reaction observed in verse forty-eight. They are convinced that He has a devil for they don’t recognize a thing He is telling them. As I have pointed out before they are getting their information from the same original texts however one is pure and one is unimaginably corrupted. I hope you know the pure is what Jesus is teaching and the corrupted is what the Jews (pharisees, scribes, and doctors of the Law) are teaching. One is speaking with a living voice (logos), and the other with a dead voice from dark knowledge. When we were studying verse fifty-one and the word “saying” which is the Greek word ‘logos’ I failed to point out that the root word is ‘legō’. I find this interesting for Legos are a very popular product with all age groups and each piece is a building block. Each Word of God is a building block for us in the Kingdom of God. The carnal, natural, conversation of the listening audience that day continues and Jesus continues His spiritual instruction. Concerning not seeing or tasting death they argue that Abraham is dead as are the Prophets so Jesus has no idea what He is talking about. As we move forward let’s take a look at verse fifty-three in the Amplified Translation.
John 8:53 (AMP)
53 Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, and all the prophets died! Who do You make Yourself out to be?
Jesus has been telling them for eight chapters who He is yet they can just not get their head around it. The problem is that they have such a corrupted mind by the traditions of men and the doctrines of demons they cannot recognize the Truth. Their hearts are hard by choice. They choose not to prove the Word and instead received the traditions of men and the lies of Satan as the Truth. What have you chosen, what have I chosen? Are we choosing to prove the words we are hearing or are we an all comer’s hearer? That is to say we are letting anything and everything into our mind, affecting our thinking, our words, and consequently our actions. In this way we frame our lives. Whatever our lives consist of right this minute we framed over a period of time by our thoughts, our words, and corresponding actions. Each of us need to look at our lives and ask if it looks like the Word of God, the life of God, or is it full of the curse? Who is responsible for your life? Is God responsible? Is the devil responsible? No, neither God or the devil is responsible, it is us dear saints. If we are in the “God is in control” or “the devil is busy” camp, here is a news flash. God gave each of us freewill and although the devil(s) truly are busy neither they nor God can do anything we don’t allow. We in fact invite God or the devils into our lives with our thoughts, words, and corresponding actions. Isn’t it about time we took God at His Word and started thinking it, speaking it, and doing it without exception? Couple that with walking by faith, in love, paying very close attention to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and we will burn with compassion for people, sneer at the devils, and fully harness the power of the Kingdom of God.
The Jews that day have asked Him who He made Himself out to be and He launches into a discussion of honor in verse fifty-four. The Jews think He, Jesus, values Himself to highly. The level of honor we accord a person has to do with the value we assign to the person. Jesus makes it clear that He is not honoring Himself, but another is honoring Him. We have seen this discussion before. He clearly tells them that His Father is the one honoring Him the one and same whom they refer to as their God. I think we can clearly see that they are just getting more and more riled up. Have you ever noticed this in the modern Church? Jesus has repeatedly told His audience that they are of their father the devil and He is of His Father, who is God. The Father is a co-equal person of God. They are not examining His Words and giving them consideration but rejecting them outright. How often do we do the same? I will pick up with a discussion of honor tomorrow, the Lord willing.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it by faith in Jesus name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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