SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/1/2016 8:02 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Jesus is the Only Door to the Fold
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: John 10:7-10
Message of the verses: “7 So Jesus said to them again, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, I am
the door of the sheep. 8 “All who came before Me are thieves and
robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 “I am the door; if anyone enters
through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 “The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life,
and have it abundantly.”
We better
quote from the first paragraph of John MacArthur’s commentary to understand
where we are going now: Here Jesus
changed the metaphor slightly. In the
first figure of speech, He was the Shepherd; here He is the Door to the
sheepfold. This is the third of seven
statements in John’s gospel where ‘I AM’ is followed by a predicate nominative.” Since I cannot remember seeing these
highlighted words I looked it up to help me understand what MacArthur is
talking about. “A
predicate nominative or predicate noun completes a linking verb
and renames the subject. It is a complement or completer because
it completes the verb. Predicate nominatives complete only linking
verbs. The linking verbs include the following: the helping verbs is, am,
are, was, were, be, being, and been; the sense verbs look, taste,
smell, feel, and sound; and verbs like become, seem, appear,
grow, continue, stay, and turn.”
As
we looked at the first figure of speech in our last four SD’s we understand
that Jesus’ teaching was not understood by the religious leaders and so He give
them the figure of speech in these verses as John begins verse seven with “So
Jesus said to them again.” Jesus goes on
to say “Truly, truly, I say to you I am the door of the sheep.” We not only see the words which show that He
is God “I AM” in this verse but he begins with the words “truly, truly” and we
have learned that this means that Jesus is telling them a statement of notable
importance.
Jesus
is using a metaphor that all who were listening to Him would understand, but
since most of us are not shepherds we really have to dig to find out what He is
talking about. MacArthur adds “Sometimes
the shepherd slept in the opening of the sheepfold to guard the sheep. No one could enter or leave except through
him. In Jesus’ metaphor He is the ‘door’
through which the ‘sheep’ enter the safety of God’s fold and go out to the rich
pasture of His blessing. It is through
Him that lost sinners can approach the Father and appropriate the salvation He
provides; Jesus alone is ‘the way and the truth, and the life; no once comes to
the Father but through [Him]’ John 14:6; cf. Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 1:30; 3:11; 1
Tim. 2:5). Only Jesus is the true source
of the knowledge of God and salvation, and the basis for spiritual security.”
Jesus
then talks about the false spiritual leaders when He says “All who came
before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.” Sometime ago I came across what Charles H.
Spurgeon had to say about the word “all” as it is used in the Scriptures. What I am about to quote has to do with what
is called “limited atonement” but as we look at it we will find out how this
word “all” is best understood in the Scriptures. When Jesus says in verse eight that “all who
came before Me are thieves and robbers” one may think that He could be talking
about all of the prophets of Israel, but we know that there were many true
prophets in the nation of Israel, beginning with Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon,
Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel to name only a few. “Now, beloved, when you hear anyone laughing
or jeering at a limited atonement, you may tell him this. General atonement is
like a great wide bridge with only half an arch; it does not go across the
stream: it only professes to go half way; it does not secure the salvation of
anyone. Now, I had rather put my foot upon a bridge as narrow as Hungerford,
which went all the way across, than on a bridge that was as wide as the world,
if it did not go all the way across the stream. I am told it is my duty to say
that all men have been redeemed, and I am told that there is a Scriptural
warrant for it—“Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due
time.” Now, that looks like a very, very great argument indeed on the other
side of the question. For instance, look here. “The whole world is gone after
him.” Did all the world go after Christ? “Then all Judea went and were baptized
by him in Jordan.” Was all Judea, or all Jerusalem baptized in Jordan? “You are
of God, little children,” and “the whole world lies in the wicked one.” Does
“the whole world” there mean everyone? If so, how was it, then, that there were
some who were “of God?” The words “world” and “all” are used in some seven or
eight senses in Scripture; and it is very rarely that “all” means all people,
taken individually. The words are generally used to signify that Christ has
redeemed some of all sorts—some Jews, some Gentiles, some rich, some poor, and
has not restricted his redemption to either Jew or Gentile.” I guess we get a free lesson here on what
Spurgeon has to say about limited atonement along with the word “all.”
Jesus goes
on to talk about the true sheep not hearing the false prophets and spiritual
leaders in the rest of verse eight. He
then goes on to talk about the truth that He is the door as He add this promise
“If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved,” and He is talking about
salvation from sin so they would not end up in hell. I want to quote another section from John
MacArthur here as he talks about the phrase “go in and out” here which I am
having trouble understanding. He writes “Christ’s
sheep will experience God’s love, forgiveness, and salvation; they will ‘go in
and out’ freely, always having access to God’s blessing and protection, and
never fearing any harm or danger. They
will find ‘pasture’ as the Lord feeds them (cf. Ps. 23:1-3; Ezek. 34:15) on His
Word (cf. Acts 20:32).” I guess it is
best to remember we are talking about a metaphor here. Jesus then contrasts the true sheep of His
with the thieving false shepherds, of some He was actually talking to at this
time. Remember what He said to these
false shepherds in John 8:44 “"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.” These false sheep He was talking
to He says about them that they “only came to steal and kill and destroy” the
true sheep, but in contrast Jesus states that He “came that they may have life
and have it abundantly.” MacArthur
writes “Perissos (‘abundantly’)
describes something that goes far beyond what is necessary. The matchless gift of eternal life exceeds
all expectation (cf. John 4:10 with 7:38; see also Rom. 8:32; 2 Cor. 9:15).”
John 4:10
and 7:38 “10 Jesus answered and said to
her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ’Give Me
a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living
water."” “38 “He who believes in
Me, as the Scripture said, ’From his innermost being will flow rivers of living
water.’"”
Romans 8:32
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will
He not also with Him freely give us all things?” 2 Cor. 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His
indescribable gift!”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Sometimes it is good to dwell on this magnificent
gift that our Lord Jesus Christ has provided to me and to all who have believed
on Him for salvation.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: As our communion service for
the month of August is coming up I want to prepare for it by thinking about the
wonderful, magnificent gift that Jesus has provided for me.
Memory verses for the week:
(Romans 6:5-6) “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of
His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection; 6. Knowing
this, that our old self was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin
might be done away with so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “The one the builder rejected” (Luke 20:17).
Today’s Bible question:
“What statement of Jesus gave reassurance to the nobleman’s faith?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/1/2016 9:24 AM
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