American Loon

All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

From Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 39 to 42:

Q39. What is the duty which God requireth of man?
A39. The duty which God requireth of man is obedience to His revealed will.

Q40. What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
A40. The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the Moral Law.

Q41. Where is the Moral Law summarily comprehended?
A41. The Moral Law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments.

Q42. What is the sum of the Ten Commandments?
A42. The sum of the Ten Commandments is, “to love the Lord our God” with all our heart, all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves.

Today we will go through John 1 verses 35 to 42. John the Baptist is just about to complete his task as defined by God and spoken by the prophets so long ago (Isaiah 40:3). This chapter is also where Jesus begins his ministry and starts to gather his disciples.

35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,

36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
Charles Spurgeon, known as The Prince of Pastors and also known to be able to speak, without microphones (this was the late 1800’s) to large auditoriums and everybody could hear him. Here is a charming story that relates to verse 36. “Spurgeon once tested an auditorium in which he was to speak that evening. Stepping into the pulpit, Spurgeon loudly proclaimed, “Behold the lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.” Satisfied with the acoustics, he left and went his way. Unknown to him, there were two men working in the rafters of that large auditorium, neither one a Christian. One of the men was pricked in his conscience by the verse Spurgeon quoted and became a believer later that day!”

It is very interesting how God uses us in our everyday lives. Our job is not to deliver salvation, but to bring the True Word (John 17:17) to an unbelieving world. As believers, it should show, by our actions and our words. We have the ability, through the Grace of the Lord, to say or do something that will cause an unbeliever to wonder at where this example of faith or good works is coming from. You really need to think about this and how it relates to your life. John the Baptist understood his role as herald to the Lamb of God. His example, his life, was used by God to show people their sin and repent, for that is the first act of a believer. Repent and forsake your sin, and then pursue Christ like your life depends on it.

37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
The implication may be that they went after Jesus to examine Him more closely because of John’s testimony. These guys knew the scriptures and when they heard “Lamb of God”, that was good enough for them to follow this Jesus to see for themselves. They eventually dedicated their lives to Him as true disciples and apostles when Jesus called them to permanent service after these events. At this point in the narrative, John the Baptist fades from the scene and the attention focuses upon the ministry of Christ.

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?”

The strongest and most prevailing argument with an awakened soul to follow Christ, is, that it is he only who takes away sin. Whatever communion there is between our souls and Christ, it is he who begins the discourse. He asked, What do you seek? The question Jesus put to them, we should all put to ourselves when we begin to follow Him, What do we design and desire?

39 He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

Come and see. They think of a visit later, it may be, on the following day. He bids them come at once. Then, as now, he was willing that they should come at once and enjoy the full opportunity which they desired of his conversation. Jesus is ever ready to admit those who seek him to his presence and favor.

40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

From MacLaren’s Expositions:
There are many ways by which souls are brought to their Saviour. Sometimes, like the merchantman seeking goodly pearls, men seek Him earnestly and find Him. Sometimes, by the intervention of another, the knowledge of Him is kindled in dark hearts. Sometimes He Himself takes the initiative, and finds those that seek Him not. We have illustrations of all these various ways in these simple records of the gathering in of the first disciples. Andrew and his friend, with whom we were occupied in our last sermon, looked for Christ and found Him. Peter, with whom we have to do now, was brought to Christ by his brother; and the third of the group, consisting of Philip, was sought by Christ while he was not thinking of Him, and found an unsought treasure; and then Philip again, like Andrew, finds a friend, and brings him to Christ.

41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).

From Gill’s Exposition
He first findeth his own brother Simon,…. Either before the other disciple, or before he found any other person: after he and the other disciple departed from Christ, being affected with the grace bestowed upon him, and his heart warm with the conversation he had had with him, and transported with joy at finding the Messiah, goes in all haste in search of his relations, friends, and acquaintance, to communicate what he had seen and heard, in order to bring them to the knowledge of the same; for such is the nature of grace.

42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Cephas – This is a Syriac word, meaning the same as the Greek word Peter, a stone. The stone, or rock, is a symbol of firmness and steadiness of character – a trait in Peter’s character after the ascension of Jesus that was very remarkable. Before the death of Jesus he was rash, headlong, variable. Yet when Christ had ascended, Peter became what Christ had wanted in him:
Matthew 16:18
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Let the Grace of the Lord flow through you and take pleasure in the fruit of the spirit that has been your allotment. Your life truly does depend upon it.

All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ

From Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 35 to 38:

Q35: What is sanctification?
A35: Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

Q36: What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A36: The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. 

Q37: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
A37: The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection. 

Q38: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
A38: At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgement, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity. 

Last week’s bible study concerned John the Baptist’s declaration of he being unworthy to untie the sandal of the One who is coming. I also introduced you to the Bereans who were known to hear what was said and go search the scriptures to see if the word that was spoken was true. True in as much as scripture is concerned. Not the truth as we know it today; we are seeing displayed before our very eyes on whichever media you choose. People, sometimes church people declaring statements of this or that, obviously not true, but since they say it is “their truth”, we must accept it as such. The very thing the Judaizers did to those who Paul was teaching the True Word to. 

A Judaizer taught that, in order for a Christian to truly be right with God, he must conform to the Mosaic Law. Circumcision, especially, was promoted as necessary for salvation. Gentiles had to become Jewish proselytes first, and then they could come to Christ. The doctrine of the Judaizers was a mixture of grace (through Christ) and works (through the keeping of the Law). This false doctrine was dealt with in Acts 15 and strongly condemned in the book of Galatians.

We find this in our day as such. They say abortion is Women’s Healthcare and so vital that Planned Parenthood was allowed to remain open, but churches were closed due to COVID.

They say that Black Lives Matter, but when you add “all” to that statement, they become incensed that you have changed “their” truth and will condemn you and call you a racist.

Truly nothing is new under the sun and that is very true in this supposed postmodern world. Which really means a post truth world. So it is very important to be like the Bereans and search through the scriptures to find out what is really true. An interesting side note; Monday morning, when going through my usual reading of Grace Community Church’s devotionals, the first thing I encountered was mention of the Bereans. And I have had this happen many times. I will have something that I am compelled to research and then up it pops in these devotionals from John MacArthur’s church. Now, you may nod your head internally and say to yourself, “sure that happens to you, but that never happens to me.” And if this is the case, I would ask yourself why that is? Maybe you just consider it a coincidence. This would happen when you have drunk in the world to such an extent that you believe in this thing that was brought to us by satan. It is a cousin to luck. Also an invention of satan. Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. Or maybe you have eyes to see but cannot see the beauty of Providence. You need to pursue the scriptures to remove the scales from your eyes and notice the beauty of God working in your life. Obey God and you are blessed, disobey God and you are cursed. It’s a binary choice and a free one too.

So we will pursue John 1 verses 29 to 34. 

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! 

Let’s look at what John said. Where did his reference of “the Lamb of God” come from?: We know of the sacrificial lamb that was killed, and the blood sprinkled over the door in the time of Moses to save the firstborn of all the Hebrews when God destroyed the first born of Egypt.

We know that the lamb is the Passover animal sacrificed once a year in memory of that night when death passed over the Hebrew homes because of the blood of the lamb. This is saying then “This is your Passover sacrifice” speaking of Jesus. The blood of the animal could do nothing but cover the sin. 

The precious blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, does away with sin. In fact, not for just that occasion, but for all of eternity. “Taketh”, means to continually take away. It is so interesting how every little word is so important in Scripture.

John the Baptist used the expression “the Lamb of God” as a reference to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to atone for the sin of the world.  This “sin” spoken of is in the singular form. The use of the singular “sin” in conjunction with “of the world” indicates that Jesus’ sacrifice for sin potentially reaches all human beings without distinction. John makes clear however, that its efficacious effect is only for those who receive Christ.

Jesus took on sin on the cross, and sin (for the believer), died on the cross. Not just covered, but done away with. Animal’s or man’s blood could never do away with sin.

Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” The blood had to be pure from God, Himself.

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 is saying this is the one I was talking about. That is the Messiah, He is greater than I am”.

31 I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”

John knew that Jesus was a relative of his in the flesh, because John’s mother and Jesus’ mother were cousins. Although John was Jesus’ cousin, he did not know Jesus as the “Coming One” or “Messiah” (verse 33).

In the Spirit, John knew that Jesus was the promised Christ (the Messiah). Manifest means, in this instance, to render apparent (to be made visible). John’s job is to make the coming of Messiah apparent to His people, Israel.

To prepare them for meeting their Messiah, John is baptizing them, cleansing them from their sins. You cannot walk in the Light without confessing your sins. And where is that truth found?

I mostly use the NASB for bible reading and research, but this version of the text in New King James I think says it best: 

John 1: 7-10
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 

At the baptism that John is speaking of, a voice from heaven saying “This is my beloved Son” (Matthew 3:16-17). The thing John would have us see here is the Spirit remaining.

We can see here the Father (voice from heaven), Son of God (Word), and Holy Spirit (dove), present at the baptism of Jesus. They are all in agreement.

God had previously communicated to John that this sign was to indicate the promised Messiah, (verse 33), so when John witnessed this act, he was able to identify the Messiah as Jesus.

33 I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 

Note that Matthew chapter 3 tells a little more about this baptism of the Holy Spirit.

“But Jesus answering said to him “Permit it now; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” The “He” permitted Him.

Christ was here identifying Himself with sinners. He will ultimately bear their sins; His perfect righteousness will be imputed to them (2 Cor. 5:21). This act of baptism was a necessary part of the righteousness He secured for sinners. This first public event of His ministry is also rich in meaning.

1. It pictured His death and resurrection, Luke 12:50;
2. It therefore prefigured the significance of Christian baptism;
3. It marked His first public identification with those whose sins He would bear, Isaiah 53:1-12;
4. It was a public affirmation of His Messiahship by testimony directly from heaven.

The baptism of Jesus is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Not just because of the Holy Spirit descending, or the voice from heaven, but on all knowledge of Jesus and on what God had told him, John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God.

Although, in a limited sense, believers can be called “sons of God ( Matt. 5:9; Rom. 8:14). John uses this phrase with the full force as a title that points to the unique oneness and intimacy that Jesus sustains to the Father as “Son.” The term carries the idea of the deity of Jesus as Messiah. 

That is our primary lesson of today. The last thing I will share with you is a carry over from my conversation with Delroy from last week. I said that I believe that God is at work with all believers’ lives. Those that God has given up to their sins I don’t know. And that is a mystery that none can know with certainty. We become two lumps of clay yammering of supposed inside knowledge of the Master Potter’s thinking. Anyway, this story, found by my wife on FaceBook is delightful and confirming:

My grandfather was Harry T. Shepard.  He was a trick rope and horse back rider in the Will Bill Cody “Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World Show” and known as “Handsome Harry.”  He was a horse riding, trick rope entertainer.  He had an accident and fell off of his horse one day and broke his leg.  He was recuperating in Lyndon, Kansas where he saw a picture of my grandmother in the window of the photo shop.  He said in his heart, “I am going to marry that girl.”  The town was having a box supper, where eligible girls secretly prepared a supper and put it in a box to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, the buyer not knowing who prepared each box.  Then each buyer got to have dinner with whoever prepared the box.  Grandpa bought my grandmother’s box, and the rest is history.  They married in April, 1917 and were happily married until my grandfather passed away in July, 1975, 58 years.  They were a wonderful Christian example for our family to follow.  Every single person in their lineage are Christians down to their great, great grandchildren.  There are no “accidents that just happen” and my grandfather didn’t  just fall off of that horse for “no reason”.  God had a plan and He made it happen just like He planned.  Praise God!

Isaiah 55:11

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Go forth and do the Will of the Lord and love one another as He commanded us. Amen.