True Disciples, the Son’s Authority, and the devil’s Children John 8:30-47
From Jesus’ declaration, “I AM the Light of the World,” to His proclamation as the I AM of the Old Testament, the First and the Last of Isaiah as well as Revelation, we continue in John 8:30:
“As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." 33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" 34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
37 "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father." 39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father--God."
42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand (GR., intimately know) My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. (GR., comprehend or understand His word) 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."
“Fickle Faith”
Our culture’s philosophy is to follow that which will give you the most enjoyment and happiness; people in general tend to “go with the flow” and follow what has been labeled as “feel good philosophies”: If it makes you feel good, it must be good. Paul later warned against those who found themselves being tossed by every wind of doctrine, and in verse 30 of our text, those who believed in Jesus actually had “fickle faith”, not saving faith. This was demonstrated clearly in the fact that they did not meet Jesus’ standard spelled out in verses31-32. They did not ABIDE (or continue) in Jesus’ Word; They loved Jesus one minute and wanted to kill him the next.
It is easy to be attracted to someone’s teaching, especially if it is something new or charismatic, but there is a life and death difference between having an attraction or a “good intention” toward Jesus, and ABIDING in His Word. If you are abiding in Jesus’ Word it means that you desire to obey what He teaches. You want to understand it better, and yes, practically speaking, you have a desire continue to STUDY His Word. Abiding means continuing to be grounded. The written Word IS the tool that God uses to speak to us so to truly be a disciple of Jesus means that you WILL read and study His Word, because you have the desire to abide and obey Him more than anything else in the world. Your desire is to have a meaningful relationship as a disciple of your Lord and Savior. Those who turned quickly on Jesus lacked a faith which was sufficient for a relationship between disciple and Lord. Their “fickle faith” vacillated between trust and unbelief.
One of the fruits of saving faith is obedience to the Word of Jesus; disobedience is the fruit of “fickle faith”. How could you believe in the One that you desired to kill? Not producing Godly FAITH-fruit is evidence of NOT being a disciple. It doesn’t mean that you have to try harder to improve a faith relationship: Listen- the test of saving faith is that it DOES abide, it does Love, it does forgive, because it is God-given.
The reality is that they were UNABLE to understand Jesus because they had not received saving faith from God. Jesus asks a question, like He often does, in which He is expecting an answer and then gives it Himself: In verse 43 He asks: “Why do you NOT understand My speech? (Then He gives the answer!) Because you are not able to listen to My word.” It is impossible for you to understand and obey because it was spiritually IMPOSSIBLE without God granting the gift of faith; They had not received the gift of saving faith which is born of God, and not of good intentions. In 47 Jesus makes it clear: “He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” In other words, you do not believe because you don’t belong to God; you are not one of His children. He has not saved you!
Sons or Slaves
In our passage, Jesus makes a real-life example in being a SON or a SLAVE. Once again He gives evidence. In verse 33, the Jews replied: "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" I would call THAT response a response of “blind faith”, in other words, they really did not have a clue about true faith nor the condition of sinful and fallen man. They denied being slaves to “anyone” let alone slave to sin. In essence, they had always been in bondage physically and were in bondage to Rome even as they spoke, but more seriously was their blindness to their sinful and disobedient hearts, and their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah sent from Heaven. Anyone who sins habitually is a slave to sin and the bondage of human beings is not political or economic but rebellion against the Holy God. It is the refusal to accept Jesus the Son as God Incarnate.
The very fruit of their hearts showed their bondage to sin: They wanted to kill Jesus. (vs. 40) If they truly loved God the Father as they claimed, then they would love the Son. Jesus was trying to tell them that they had no eternal home with the Father because they were still slaves and their actions proved it. A Slave had no security for the future; a slave could be sold at any time because he was not part of the family, but a Son would remain all the time. Jesus was actually telling them; “I am the Son in my example here, and if you believe in me as the Son of God, you can be adopted into my family. If your spiritual father truly
WAS Abraham, you would be obedient by faith, even as Abraham was, and you would know and understand the claims I am making and the fruit of your life would be obedience: You would be obedient to the things of God, but you are not.
Jesus, as THE Son, has the position, the power and authority to grant freedom. Jesus said in verse 31 “"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The Truth is Jesus Himself. (the verb tense is future [you WILL know and you WILL be made free]: we realize the Truth of salvation by faith and we know in part now, but full, redemptively and physically in the future. Remember the “already” and the “not yet” characteristic of the Kingdom of God.) 36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” The Son is the one who has always and WILL ALWAYS abide in the house of the LORD and He is heir to all its domain and all that it entails. He can grant freedom because He has the rights to do so as THE unique One and Only sent from the Father. It is Christ’s High Majesty of Heaven that grants life and brings freedom by faith from first to last to those whom God has chosen and drawn to the Son.
Children of God or of the Devil
We see that Jesus makes a stark comparison between the Children of God and the children of the devil. First Jesus demonstrates the meaning of true saving faith. Then He basically says the same thing with an example the listeners would understand, that of Sonship verses slavery, and then He clarifies who are the Children of God and who belong to their father, the devil.
“Adoption as Sons” of God is an act by God to bring a sinner who is lost, dead in the grip of slavery to sin and in the grave into His family. When a child is adopted, they didn’t used to have a say in the matter…they are adopted, not by flesh or blood, but by the desire of the parent. When they are adopted they become an heir of all that the Father has, even though they previously had no rights as a son. When God adopts sinners into His family, they become heirs along with Jesus the Son and they are entitled to all that Jesus offers: New life in and through the rights of the Son: forgiveness of all past sins, freedom from eternal death and freedom from the sins that bound you to death. Believing in the Lord Jesus as the only one who can save means that you will be a True Disciple and that you will follow Him all the days of your life and you will continue to follow Him, because you have been adopted into His family.
Look at verse 37 again: "I know that you are Abraham's descendants,(Jesus is referring to their physical heritage here, not their spiritual heritage) "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.” “My word has no place in you.” This is a very important phrase; Jesus is saying: “Even though you are physical descendants of Abraham, God’s Word “finds no room” (My Word is “not operating in your heart and life”. This is the actual heart-condition of those who have not been saved! Those who have NOT been saved do not truly believe in the Son and their lives are cluttered with treasures that have no spiritual or eternal significance. They are void of THE Truth in their hearts and lives, and the fruit of their lives speaks to the treasures of their hearts.
The Jews thought that their religious privilege and position entitled them to a righteous standing before God but neither their blood heritage nor their “doing” guaranteed them a right attitude, a righteous heart, nor entrance into God’s Family, His Kingdom. Only Jesus could do that then…and now.
The devil “murders” by lying and deceiving people into believing that he offers happiness and contentment-that he brings freedom, when in essence he steals their lives and holds them in bondage to unbelief. Those who do NOT HEAR, who do not understand, do not submit, believe, obey, and or continue to follow God through the Lord Jesus are not of God. They have been deceived by the devil and are still his children. They are not of God.
There is a great chasm between those who believe and those who do not believe. The only bridge to that chasm is Saving Grace and Faith which is extended by God alone. He alone saves, but He delights in Mercy and He saves those whom He has chosen to be His…and what a glorious reality it is to hear and know that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of God the Father. Let us live our lives humbly and consistently by to His Glory by the Power of His Spirit. Hallelujah!
I. Those who “believed” had “fickle faith”. (8:30)
A. They did not ABIDE (continue) in Jesus’ Word.(8:31)
B. “Fickle faith” is NOT sufficient for a disciple/Lord relationship.(vs. 31)
C. Disobedience is the fruit of “fickle faith”. (vs. 39)
D. They were UNABLE to understand Jesus because they had not received faith from God. (43, 47)
II. Jesus makes a real-life example of being a SON or SLAVE.
A. The hearers denied being slaves to sin when in essence, they had always been in bondage. (33)
B. IF you love God the Father you WILL love Jesus the Son.
C. A Slave could be sold at any time but a Son would remain all the time.
D. If their spiritual father WAS Abraham, they would be obedient to the things of God.
E. The SON has the position and authority to grant freedom. (31, 32, 36)
III. Jesus makes a stark comparison: Children of God or of the devil
A. “Adoption as Sons” of God and Heirs with Christ brings freedom; Life in Christ (Believing) means True Discipleship.
B. God’s Word “finds no room” (it does “not operate”) in those who do not believe in the Son: Religious privilege does not guarantee a right attitude to the things of God.(vs. 37)
C. Those who do not hear (do not understand, submit, believe, obey, and continue to follow) are not of God.
