The difference between having a relationship with God and knowing you have a relationship with God. John 10:38-442

John 10:30 "I and the Father are one.”

 

John 10:31 The Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

 

John 10:32 Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"

 

John 10:33 The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You [lie: they want to kill Him because He violated their pet taboos for the Sabbath], but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."

 

John 10:34 Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'?

 

Psalm 82:6. We have a quotation. “In your law” refers to the Old Testament scripture, which is in contrast to all their made up taboos about the Sabbath that are not in the Law.”

           

In Psalm 82:6 this is addressed to those who were the judges of Israel. We know this from Psalm 82:2.

 

The principle of logic is a very simple one. If men representing God could be called gods, how much more the true Son of God could be called “God.”

 

All Jesus is doing is showing them that logically they have no right to try to execute Him without a trial because in Psalm 82:6 men were actually called gods, the reason being that they had one of the functions which belongs to God but was delegated—judging.

 

John 10:35 "If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),

 

“and the scripture cannot be broken” - in this case it is a reference to the Old Testament scripture.

 

The word broken here is an aorist passive infinitive of luo - in no point of time can the scripture be broken. Passive voice: it receives this protection. The infinitive indicates that this is God’s purpose and Jesus is arguing from an irrefutable source, a source which they recognise.

 

Jesus makes an issue out of their own law.

           

John 10:36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world,' You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

 

Now the Lord changes the issue from freedom under the laws of divine establishment to the freedom given to the human race to be saved because of Him.

 

It is because of Him that believers are set free because He is the one who was sanctified (hagiazo) which means to set apart.

 

In the aorist tense hagiazo means that the Lord was set apart by God in eternity past to be the Savior of the world. Once set apart then He was sent into the world, which is a reference to time, at the virgin birth, with one goal in mind - deliver the world from death, i.e. victory in the AC.

 

He was sent into the world to accomplish that which He was set apart for, and that was to be the unlimited atonement; to redeem mankind, to propitiate God the Father, to reconcile fallen man to perfect God, and to therefore sanctify and justify everyone who would believe in Him for eternal life.

 

John 10:37 "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

 

Works refers to miracles that were foreordained for Him to perform. (prophecy?)

 

The virgin birth, the town, the time, that He would perform miracles, were all prophesied in the OT. They should have seen their Messiah is what He was saying, but if they don’t then fine, “do not believe Me.”

 

You don’t believe Me, fine, but you have no right to stone me. Save yourself from this evil.

 

The Lord is protecting their free will. It is clear here that no one is forced to believe or not believe so there is no double predestination.

 

God protects man’s free will and the Jews are going to need it because they only have 40 years before their nation is destroyed.

 

They have been trying to rationalize His miracles and His message because the message and the miracles are irrefutable evidence that He is the Messiah.

 

So what is it in man that would rather rationalize so that they can believe a lie and reject the truth which is presented clearly right to them?

 

Arrogance, pride, and self-absorption destroy your own freedom. 

 

John 10:38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. "  

 

“But if I do”, the positive side - in other words, ‘If I do present the credit cards or the miracles.’

 

This is present linear, which means He has presented a number of them.

 

He says, ‘Even though you do not believe what I am saying you have a choice of two things by which you can come to the truth’: a) the message; b) the miracles.

 

He says, ‘If you don’t believe me, believe what I do.’

 

One way or another if they listen to what Jesus says they are hearing the message from God Himself.

 

But if they do not listen to what Jesus says and believe the miracles they are accepting the testimony of the Old Testament scriptures.

 

So there is a written testimony and the spoken testimony and they both cover the same ground. The miracles also witnessed to who and what Christ was, i.e. to Israel.

           

Why?

           

“that” introduces a purpose clause; “may know” - aorist active subjunctive of the word ginosko is used twice here. It means to know from the experience of learning.

 

The first time it is used it is an aorist active subjunctive and correctly translated, “that you may know.” This is phase one knowledge/information.

           

“and understand” - again, ginosko. This time it is a present active subjunctive. It isn’t believe, as the KJV has it, but it is ‘that you may know and keep on knowing.’

 

This second ginosko, again translated “understand” in the NAS, applies to the way of life of the believer, after salvation.

 

Here is the issue. ‘If you don’t believe what I say when I say that I am the Son of God, when I say that I am the only hope, when I say that I am the only saviour, then believe my miracles.

 

If you believe my works then you are going to know that I am the saviour’ - that’s the first ginosko, the aorist active subjunctive of ginosko says that you will know Me. This first one represents the saving faith of the unbeliever who comes to know Christ as the Savior.

 

The second ginosko is a present active subjunctive. The present tense means to keep on knowing Me as that Lord and Savior and so you will follow me.

 

This is the continued accumulation of knowledge and understanding about the person of Christ through doctrine. It is then that you will follow Him and it is then, at least at SSE, that you will begin to truly understand something that will change your life completely.

 

The Church age believer has a relationship with the Father and the Son just like the relationship of the Father and the Son.

 

But so you are clear here, we have the knowing of the gospel followed by the knowing of doctrine as a potential. Both verbs are in the subjunctive meaning both are a potential; they depend on your free will.

 

And then what will doctrine teach you?

 

“that the Father is in me and I in him” - no verb here. This is relationship.

 

There is a relationship between the first and the second persons of the Trinity, and the person who believes in Christ enters into that relationship.

 

The first person becomes our Father and the second person becomes with us the joint heir - we are in union with Him; He is the heir of the Father; we are joint heirs with Him.

 

Salvation enters us into a relationship with the trinity and doctrine opens our eyes to that relationship and causes us to develop it and cherish it within ourselves.

 

What is Christianity? It is a relationship with God.

 

What is the ultimate for the Christian? It is to think, live, and breathe like an adult son of God. That is the ultimate relationship with God in time.

 

I want to point out something here very carefully so that you are sure that you understand.

 

At the moment of salvation you are entered into this relationship (that’s the first ginosko). But at the time you do not even remotely understand its reality or its benefits.

 

But with a daily dose of doctrine over a period of time (that’s the second ginosko) you will come to know and understand the reality of that relationship.

 

I will give you two passages that show this.

 

EPH 1:11

also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,

 

ROM 8:28

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

The difference is that in ROM 8:28 we know it. Therefore when faced with tragedy and adversity we know that it will work together for good and so we have a relaxed mental attitude, no mental attitude sins, faith rest, a personal sense of destiny, and we remain in the plan of God.

 

The person minus doctrine does not know and apply by faith that a certain tragedy will ultimately work out for his good and so he gets arrogant and emotional. This breads mental attitude sins of fear and doubt, worry and anxiety. They are then outside of the plan of God and do not bring glory to God in their circumstances.

 

Their only solution is to rebound and to continue learning doctrine until they are fully convinced.

 

ROM 8:38-39

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

John 10:38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. " 

 

 

 

John 10:39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.

 

They did not try to stone Him, they want to seize Him now. The word take in the KJV is piazo. It means to arrest Him. They now want to take Him to court.

 

As a matter of fact Jesus is tried six times before the crucifixion. Three of them are in a Jewish court and in all three there is malfunction. Then three times in a Roman court, and the Romans were honest in their law procedure.

 

For example, Pilate says, “I find no fault in Him.” According to Roman law He was absolutely innocent. But because of political expediency Pilate condemned Him anyway. That condemned Pilate, but Rom went on for another few hundred years.

 

Roman law to this day says Jesus Christ was innocent.

 

Here we have the wall of fire protecting Jesus, not that He fears the court but it isn’t the right time. He postpones the meeting with the Sanhedrin.

 

John 10:40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.

 

 

 

Verse 40 - Jesus separates Himself from religion. This is the doctrine of separation. There is a time to stay and teach and then there is a time for separation. The mature believer understands the timing of each.

 

            As a result of the separation, notice what happens.

 

John 10:41 And many came to Him and were saying, "While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true."

 

John 10:42 And many believed in Him there.

 

“many believed”, aorist tense, point of time. They believe and were saved, and that was it.

           

The seven credit cards of Messiah

           

In the first twelve chapters of John the whole emphasis is Jesus presenting the credit cards [works, divine good]. In chapters 13-21 He presents His message and completes His work [the cross].

 

1.       The turning water into wine - John 2:1-11.

2.       The healing of the nobleman’s son - John 4:46-54.

3.       The healing of the lame man - John chapter 5.

4.       The feeding of the five thousand - John 6:1-14.

5.       Walking on the sea - John 6:16-21.

6.       The healing of congenital blindness - John 9:1-14.

7. The resuscitation of Lazarus from the dead -- John chapter 11.