Part One: Learning from Jesus: John 3:22

Day 1: Read the following notes, which have to do with the questions and lecture from yesterday s class, and answer questions 1 and 2 at the end of the notes. Part One: Learning from Jesus: John 3:22 Following His confrontation with the Jews in Jerusalem, Jesus went out into the Judean countryside to spend time with His disciples (John 3:22). From John chapters 1 and 2, we know that His disciples had only been with Jesus for a short time. Surely it was vital that they spend some time away from the crowds that had begun to surround Jesus. They had so much to learn from Him and so much to learn about Him. It was the beginning of a process that would not be finished until the day they stood before Him in Heaven. How gently He must have revealed Himself to them. How lovingly He must have shown them what He was willing to do in obedience to His Father s will. Yet all the while He was also teaching them the demands of God wrapped in a cloak of gentleness and love. It is no different with us today. God s purpose for us is that we be increasingly transformed into the likeness of His Son, which will result in a greater holiness, a greater love, and a greater power than we have ever known. God does not put limitations on our transformation, but we do if we fail to go into the Judean countryside to spend time with Jesus. Just as Jesus had to be purposeful to get time alone with His Father, if we are to learn from Him and to learn about Him, we also must be purposeful in finding time to be alone with Jesus. It is why God calls us to study His word and to commune with Him in prayer. The invitation is His, the response is ours. While it is likely that we have spent enough time with Jesus to know that He tells us, Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13), have we spent enough time with Him to know that His next sentence is, You are my friends if you do what I command (John 15:14)? While it is likely that we have spent enough time with Jesus to know that He tells us,...unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:5-6), have we spent enough time with Him to know that He also says, If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever the Spirit of truth... (John 14:13-15)? While it is likely that we have spent enough time with Jesus to know that He 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 (John 3:16), have we spent enough time with Him to know that He also says, Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him..if anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me (John 14:21-24)? 1

Jesus took our sins upon Himself and suffered the punishment that we were due. Let us know that not only did our sins cause His death, they also caused His separation from His Father as He cried out,...my God, My God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46). It is a pain that is impossible for us understand, but it was pain He willingly endured for us. Since He was willing to do this for us, is it any wonder that He wants us to spend time with Him? Indeed, how can we possibly be transformed into His likeness if we do not know what His likeness is? Indeed, how can we possibly be obedient to His commands if we don t know what His commands are? If Jesus showed His love for us by taking our punishment upon Himself, surely we can show our love for Him by being obedient to His commands, which He will teach us if we spend time alone with Him. Part Two: Learning of the New Life: John 3:23-26 When John s disciples began to complain that everyone was leaving John and going to Jesus, God gives us a picture of the sons of man. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized...an argument developed between some of John s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan the one you testified about well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him (John 3:23-26). Even though John s disciples had been baptized for the repentance of sins, they were not sons of God. They were still sons of man, full of jealousy, and failed to understand spiritual truths that were evident in John s testimony about Jesus. Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel (John 1:29-31). If we study the Old Testament we will quickly see that even those who are in God s honor roll of faith (Hebrews 11), failed to obey God s command to...be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy (Leviticus 19:2). However, they were not baptized with the Holy Spirit and therefore continued to be sons of man and did not have the precious promises of God that ensure His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires (2 Peter 1: 3-4)....for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with every- increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). But we have this treasure in earthen vessels to know that this all- surpassing power is from God and not from us (2 Corinthians 4:7)....In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:3-6)....The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the devil s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God s seed remains in him; he cannot go on 2

sinning, because he has been born of God (1 John 3:8-9). We must never forget that there was no promise of growing in holiness made to the giants of the faith in the Old Testament because these promises were not made until the Son of God appeared to destroy the devil s work. Thus, we see that these men of God, who were never more than sons of man, committed sexual immorality and murder, lied, and deliberately disobeyed God s commands. How often have we held up these very men and their sins as an excuse to go on sinning or as proof that, like them, we too will go on sinning? Let us know that it is not to be so with those who have become sons of God. May the Holy Spirit give us ears to hear what He is saying to us. Soon after Jesus disciples were baptized with the Holy Spirit, God said to them, Go, stand in the temple courts...and tell the people the full message of this new life (Acts 5:20). The good news of the Gospel is that through Jesus Christ we are given new life as we are born of God. Our new life is not equaled by anything the world has to offer because it is only a son of God who is set free from the power of sin, from the penalty of sin, from every fear, from every doubt, and from the power of Satan, whose intention is to steal, kill, and destroy everything God has to offer us, has given us, and intends to give us. Therefore, it is only a son of God who is no longer condemned to keep on sinning every day of his life (Romans 8:1). Is there any wonder then that God can only be well pleased with His Son and with all those who are increasingly being transformed into His likeness (Matthew 3:17)? This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). This is the message of the new life that is ours through Jesus Christ. Is this the message we hear today? If it is, then the world will see a difference between the sons of man and the sons of God. If this is the message we hear today, then we will not despair if we slip and fall into sin because we will repent and get up in full assurance that we will not go on sinning, not because a son of man is capable of being holy as God is holy, but because the son of God has the promises of God that He will make His son holy as He is holy. Our part is to believe without wavering in the promises of God, remembering that Jesus says,...according to your faith will it be done to you (Matthew 9:29). Let us never again allow Satan to tell us that because we have not seen God s promises as a reality in ourselves or even in others we will go on slipping and falling into sin for the rest of our lives and can never be holy as God is holy. Let us refuse to listen to Satan who keeps adding to and taking away from the word of God when he tells us that we will go on sinning every day of our lives. If we believe what Satan tells us then we are calling God a liar. Let us know that if we get down on ourselves when we slip and fall into sin and wallow in a pit of despair it is because we do not believe that...no matter how many promises God has made, they are Yes in Christ. And so through him the Amen is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 1:20-22). Part Three: Learning to Spread the News of the New Life: John 3:27-35 In Song of Solomon 5:9, the friends of the beloved ask, How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others that you charge us so? It is 3

the same question that the world asks us today. Only those who are born of water and the Spirit are able to say, He is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem (Song of Solomon 5:10 and 16). Jesus, our beloved, is better than others because He is above all others, just as John the Baptist said,...the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard...the Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands (John 3:31-35). Jesus is the Word of God who became flesh (John 1:14). The Word was God,...and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men (John 1:1-4). The full message of the new life begins with this truth. If the truth of the divinity of Jesus is left out, then it is not the full message of the new life and would never be left out by God or by any of His sons. When John s disciples failed to understand God s revelation of His Son, they complained that everyone was going to Him to be baptized, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples (John 4:2). When John heard his disciples complaint, he replied, A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom s voice. That joy is mine, and it is complete. He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:27-30). If this is what John said about himself and about Jesus, how much more forcefully must we, who through Him have become sons of God, speak? John s joy was complete because He was the friend of the bridegroom, who was coming to claim his bride. Our joy is complete if we know our bridegroom and hear His voice. It will be a natural outflow of our joy to desire for Jesus to become greater and for us to become less. It is the application of...if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it (John 16:24-25). If our joy is complete then the natural outflow of our joy will also be to Go, stand in the temple courts...and tell the people the full message of this new life (Acts 5:20). If we are aware of spiritual conditions in the United States and in Europe, we know that conversions to Jesus Christ are becoming less and less. Conversion is defined as the act of converting; the state of being converted; the change in character, form, or function; the spiritual change from sinfulness to righteousness; the change from one religion, political belief, viewpoint to another; a change of attitude, emotion, or viewpoint from one of indifference, disbelief, or antagonism to one of acceptance, faith, or enthusiastic support, especially such a change in a person s religion; etc. (Dictionary.com). Conversion to Jesus includes all of these definitions and cannot be explained to another unless they are a reality in the one who is doing the explaining. Thus, a question we must ask is, Are there so few conversions because there are so few who have truly been converted? Indeed, if we are born of the water and of the Spirit so that we are now sons of God, can anyone fail to see the natural outflow of the new creation we have become? Will we not testify with great power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus when much grace is upon us (Acts 4:33)? Will those who have become sons of God be 4

restrained by fear of offending from saying Whosoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God s wrath remains on him (John 3:36)? The answer to all the questions is If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (2 Corinthians 5:13-15). Isn t this what John meant when he said, He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:30)? Jesus lived, died, rose from the dead and ascended to the right Hand of God the Father so that those who believe in Him might have the abundant life life lived to the full, peace of mind, freedom from worry and the joy of Christ year in and year out, day in and day out, hour by hour and minute by minute. Jesus made these promises to people who lived over two thousand years ago. He was Prophet, thus He knew what lay ahead for them. He knew that in a few short years they would be persecuted for the sake of His Name. They will put you out of the synagogue: in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God (John 16:2). The early believers saw the fulfillment of His words. They were stoned; they were thrown into pits filled with lions; they were sewn up in the skins of animals and tossed into the arena where wild animals mauled them for the enjoyment of the spectators; they were crucified; they were beheaded; they were tied to poles and set on fire. Jesus knew, and yet He promised them abundant life, a life of fulfillment, peace and joy. While Satan, our arch enemy, still prowls the earth today seeking to steal, to kill, and to destroy, Jesus still promises us abundant life even as we are surrounded by those who call right wrong and wrong right. As we enter into this time of intense study that will take time and require perseverance and effort, let us know we are locked in a fierce battle for the eternal lives of our children, our loved ones, our friends, and each person on earth and each person who is yet to be born. May our Father through Jesus, who is our very life, send the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth as we study the life of Christ in the Word of God, which is our offensive weapon, our sword, in the struggle for the souls of men. As we continue our study, we will see how God is using what He is teaching us to make His promise of abundant life a reality in us. As we begin our second semester of study, let us ask our Father by the power of the Holy Spirit to empower us to boldly Go, stand in the temple courts...and tell the people the full message of this new life (Acts 5:20). May it be the natural outflow of the birth of the sons of God who have abundant life because of the joy that comes as they become less and Jesus becomes greater. 1. What was helpful to you from the lecture or the notes? 5

2. What was helpful to you from your discussion time? III. EARLY MINISTRY IN JUDEA: From the public appearance in Jerusalem to His return to Galilee C. Two Days in Samaria 2. In Samaria: John 4:1-42; Part One Memory Verse: Go, stand in the temple courts...and tell the people the full message of this new life (Acts 5:20). Day 2: Read John 4:1-42, John 14:10, and memorize Acts 5:20, which is our verse for the week. 3. Why do you think Jesus was able to be so bold in what He said in this passage and throughout His ministry? 4. Say your memory verse. Question for thought: tell what you think the new life (or life in the ESV translation) we have in Christ is. 5. What do think is meant by the full message of the new life? 6. What will the results be if: a. we do not tell the people the full message of this new life, b. if we do not know what the full message is or c. if we have not experienced the new life in Christ? 6

Day 3: Read Matthew 10:5-6, 15:21-28 with John 4:9 and John 4:19-20. 7. From John 4:1-5, what circumstances did God use to get the message of His gift of living water to the people of Sychar? Can you think of unpleasant circumstances that have opened the door for you to tell the full message of the new life that is yours in Christ? 8. From the verses we just read why was Samaria an unusual place for Jesus to be? 9. Question for thought: read Matthew 10:14-15, Matthew 19:16-22, and Luke 23:8-9. What do you think Jesus could have done that would have made His message more acceptable to the Jewish leaders and to others who are mentioned in these passages? 10. Can you think of a time when you watered down the Gospel either by words or actions to make Jesus or yourself more acceptable to others? Day 4: Reread John 4:10, John 4:13-18 with John 7:37-39. 11. From John 7:37-39, what is the gift of living water that Jesus was offering the Samaritan woman? 12. From John 4:10, what does Jesus say the woman must do, and how is this explained in Luke 11:5-13? 13. From John 4:15-18, why do you think Jesus let her know that He is aware of her sexual immorality as soon as she asked for the water, and from what we read in Luke 11:5-13, what application, if any, do you think this has for us? 7

14. What do you learn about the free gift of God in Revelation 22:17, and then go back and read Revelation 22:10-19 making a list of all you learn about what Jesus said regarding the fate of men and their right to the tree of life. Day 5: Read Acts 5:32, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19-20, and 2 Corinthians 7:10. 15. After what we have been reading about the free gift of living water, why do you think Peter said, We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32)? 16. Question for much thought: from John 4:15-18 and the passages we read for today, what do you think happens if we fail to see that the gift of God is free, and if we fail to see that it is given to those who obey Him? 17. From John 3:5-8, what do you think happens to us when we receive this free gift of God? 18. Question for thought: what difference has the Holy Spirit made in your life? Please be specific. Day 6: Reread John 4:7-18 and skim quickly over Matthew 5-7. If you have subtitles in these three chapters, you can just focus on them. 19. What changes do you think Jesus was expecting the Samaritan woman to make in her life? 20. What do you think would have happened if she had not made these changes? 8

21. From your quick glance at Matthew 5-7, what are some of the changes you think Jesus might have expected in your life when He asked you if you wanted to partake of the free gift of the water of life? 22. Question for thought: What do you think will happen if we do not live the new life that Jesus expects of us when He offers us the gift of the Holy Spirit? Use any verse in the Bible you chose, but answer the question with Scripture only. 9