SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/20/2016 9:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Their Claim to be Abraham’s
Physical Children
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: John 8:37-38
Message of the verses: “37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek
to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 "I speak the things which I have seen
with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.’”
Let us
begin by looking back at John 8:33 “33 They answered Him, "We are
Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it
that You say, ’You will become free’?”
Jesus is answering their claim in verse 37 recognizing that they were
Abraham’s physical descendants. Let us
look at a few other verses that go along with this: “Luke 13:16 “"And this woman, a daughter
of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she
not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"” Luke 19:9 “And Jesus said to him, "Today
salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.” Acts 3:25 “"It is you who are the sons
of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to
Abraham, ’AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’” Acts 7:2 “And he said, "Hear me,
brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he
was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.”
Acts 13:26 “"Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among
you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.” “Romans 11:1-2 “I say then, God has not
rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a
descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” “2 Cor. 11:22 “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are
they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.”
Jesus knew
that these people, who were physical descendants of Abraham believed that their
entrance into God’s eternal kingdom was based on this fact, but Paul tells us
that not all Israel is Israel, and of course he was speaking about the Israel
which did not believe and those who did believe. “6 But it is not as though the word of God
has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor
are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but:
"THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED." 8 That is, it is not
the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the
promise are regarded as descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise:
"AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON." 10 And not
only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man,
our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done
anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would
stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to
her, "THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER." 13 Just as it is written,
"JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED’ (Romans 9:6-13).”
One of the
reasons they believed this falsehood was because of the covenant of
circumcision, for once again physical circumcision means nothing for salvation,
but the circumcision of the heart is what is needed, for that happens when a
person is saved.
Now the
actions of these people showed that they were only physical descendants of
Abraham, and not spiritual descendants, and as we looked at Romans chapter
nine, and this truth goes on through chapter twelve we see that not only the
heart of Jesus was broken, but so was Paul’s in so much as he wrote “1 I am
telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in
the Holy Spirit, 2 that I
have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were
accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen
according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as
sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple
service and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ
according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” Steven in Acts chapter seven felt the same
way as he said right before the Jews killed him “Then falling on his knees, he
cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against
them!" Having said this, he fell asleep.”
Of course he must have heard these very same words from the mouth of
Jesus as He died on the cross and said “Father forgive them for they know not
what they do.”
MacArthur
writes as he concludes this section and comments on verse 38: “The Lord continued by explaining the logical
implication of their hard-heartedness: ‘I
speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the
things which you heard from your father.’
Jesus spoke to them of heavenly realities, of the divine truth that He
also could reveal because He heard it from the Father…But they rejected Jesus’
words and instead did ‘the things which’ they ‘heard from’ their ‘father.’ In the same way that Jesus’ conduct proved
His Father was God, the conduct of Jesus’ enemies proved that their father was
not God—but was actually the devil (cf. v. 44).
“Thus they
did not truly know Him, nor did they understand the words that He spoke. And because they did not know Him, they did
not know His Father either. As He had
earlier told them, ‘You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would
know My Father also’ (8:19).”
Yesterday our
Pastor, who was led by the Spirit of God not to give a Father’s Day Message,
instead spoke about the killings that went on in Orlando. In his sermon one of the things that he said
that the blame for the deaths of those 49 people could be blamed on Satan, and
those, even though they do not know it, are children of Satan, similar to what
Jesus told these Jews. Jesus goes on to
talk about Satan later on in this chapter when he says “"You are of your
father the devil, and you
want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth
because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature,
for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).” I am thankful for our Pastor and for his
message as the truth was told in it. (www.firstbaptistelyria.org)
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am thankful for the following “But if some
of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in
among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree
(Rom. 11:17).”
My Steps of Faith for
Today: I am thankful for the rich
spiritual blessings that went on yesterday in our Sunday school class.
Memory verses for the week:
(2 Corinthian 12:9-10, and Psalm 119:27) “9. And he said ‘My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is perfected in weakness,’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather
boast in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10. Therefore I am content with weaknesses,
with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s
sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Psalm 119:27 “Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will
meditate on Your wonders.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “That he might be in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).”
Today’s Bible question:
“Who said ‘Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on your right hand,
and the other on the left’”
Answer in our next SD.
6/20/2016 10:30 AM
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