7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Key Observation:
In teaching us about John the Baptizer, John the apostle also has much to teach us about Jesus.
Devotion:
In this portion of John, we are introduced to John the Baptizer, but even in the introducing him,the glory is passed on to the One. I find it appalling that so many scholars will not read their Bibles, but take their doctrines from others. Here the Bible is most plain, and it is said many times: “that all men through him might believe”. In every decent sense of the word, Christ died for the sins of the world. Let’s look at some of the scriptures which tell us so:
1) that all men through him might believe (J. 1:7)
2) which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (J. 1:9)
3) that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life (J. 3:15)
4) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes
(J. 3:16)
5) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, (J. 3:36)
6) We know that this man really is the Savior of the world (J. 4:42)
7) whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life (J. 5:24)
8) For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world
(J. 6:33)
9) For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall
have eternal life, (J. 6:40)
10) Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him (J. 7:38)
11) I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death (J. 8:51)
12) I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved (J. 10:9)
13) and whoever lives and believes in me will never die (J. 11:26)
14) But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself (J. 12:32)
15) I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay
in darkness (J. 12:46)
16) For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. (J. 12:47)
17) I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing
(J. 14:12)
18) the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father
has commanded me. (J. 14:31)
19) when he comes he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness
and judgment. (J. 16:8) (Jesus is describing the job of the Spirit here. Notice that
the Spirit is convicting the world.)
20) He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of
the whole world. (1J. 2:2)
Jesus is both the author and finisher of our faith; I am certainly not maintaining here that our calling and election do not have much to do with our salvation. Rather, I am trying to show that men are responsible before God to believe, and they will be judged for not believing. God made the offer to all; not all partook of his offer, and God, being God, also says He both foreknows and predestines us. Many verses in John show that Jesus was very aware of the hearts of the men whom He was talking to, and that He did know that many would not come to him.
But that in no way means the offer of salvation is not to the whole world. Notice in the above verses words like world, whoever, and anyone appear again and again. His offered atonement is unlimited, that is it is a bonafide offer to the world. But the sacrifice of the Son is limited to those who believe. Thus it is also a limited atonement, meaning that it is effectual only for those who will believe.
Tomorrow I will list the verses from John which show that, at the same time Jesus was offering himself to the world, He was very cognate of how He would be treated and rejected. But today, let’s focus on this verse: “For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. (J. 12:47)” One day God will be perfectly justified to judge the world, for has He not offered to rescue it?
Joy To The World!
1. Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King.
Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and heav'n and nature sing.
2. Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
3. No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as the curse is found.
4. He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, and wonders of His love.
Lyrics: Isaac Watts
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