Themes in the Gospel of John
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit
Lesson #11 for December 14, 2024
Scriptures:John 14:10,24; 16:7-11,27-28; 17:1-26; Genesis 3:7-9.
- John 13-17 records Jesus’s final farewell message to His disciples before His crucifixion. Surely, His disciples were in panic mode when He said that He was going away and that they could not go with Him. But, He did not leave them without any help.
John 14:26: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.”—American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation* (2nd ed.,John 14:26). New York: American Bible Society [abbreviated as Good News Bible].†‡ [Has it been shown by the Bible writings that the disciples were able to “remember all that I have told you”?]‡
- Starting in the first chapter of John, we have references to all three Members of the Godhead.
[From the Bible study guide=BSG:] All three members of the Godhead are mentioned in John 1 (John 1:1–4, 14, 18, 32–34). For centuries humans have tried fully to understand the nature of the Godhead, but because we can’t, many reject the idea. How foolish, though, to reject something just because we can’t fully understand it or because it doesn’t fit within the narrow limits of human reasoning.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon, December 7.‡§ [Was it really possible for Jesus to have been fully divine and fully human at the same time?]‡
- John 17:3 tells us that eternal life means knowing God. What does that mean to you? What does it mean to know God? Following our study so far, has it been made clearer to you how Jesus related to His Father and to the Holy Spirit? There was a time when Father, Son, and Holy Spirit appeared and were seen or heard together.
Matthew 3:16-17: 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and alighting on him. 17Then a voice said from heaven, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.”—Good News Bible.*†
- How can we understand God? Who saw and/or heard those words recorded in Matthew 3?
[BSG:] John says that if you want to understand God, you must look at Jesus and what has been revealed in the Word [the Bible]. This approach opens to us a whole new world of relationships—among the Three Members of the Godhead, between the Members of the Godhead and humans, and among humans themselves. This … lesson looks at how the Gospel of John presents the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but now within the context of the farewell discourse (John 13-17).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon, December 7.†‡§
- What did God have in mind when He created human beings? Genesis 1 tells us that all three Members of the Godhead participated in creation. In particular, God’s purpose for creating humans was that we should live in loving harmony with Them and with one another.
[From the writings of Ellen G. White=EGW:] All heaven took a deep and joyful interest in the creation of the world and of man. Human beings were a new and distinct order. They were made “in the image of God,” and it was the Creator’s design that they should populate the earth.—Ellen G. White, The Review and Herald,* February 11, 1902, Article A, par.1; Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary,* vol. 1, 1081.4.‡ [Satan cannot reproduce, and he is jealous!]‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p821.21288&index=0]‡
- It is important to remember that this world and humans were created after sin entered the universe. When Adam and Eve were created and the tree of life was in the Garden of Eden, the tree of knowledge was also there with Satan, awaiting his chance to tempt them. (SeeRevelation 12:7-12 andGenesis 3:1-5.)
- Genesis 1:26-27 tell us that God created us to be like Them and to have an eternal relationship with Them, living forever in peace, harmony, and righteousness.
- In order to have love, we must have freedom. (See the handout: “Love” on theox.org.
https://www.theox.org/images/uploads/bbk/KHart_BTGG_PDF_Gnrl_Love_16.pdf)
- Unfortunately, Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan and ate the fruit in rebellion against God. Eve, and then, Adam chose to eat the fruit and showed that they, perhaps without realizing it, transferred their trust from God to the talking serpent. They chose to trust the lying serpent in the tree instead of their loving heavenly Father.
- Ultimately, God must somehow restore to human beings the eternal life that He planned for Adam and Eve. So, how is that possible?
- At that point God had three options: (1) Let them perish because of their sins; (2) Forgive them and let them continue to live in the garden, thus proving that His statement that sin leads to death was NOT ultimately true (Genesis 2:17); (3) Design a plan whereby human beings could be won back to trust and dependence on God.
- Let us take a quick look at what God the Father has done as described in the Gospel of John: (1) The Father sent the Son to be the world’s Savior (John 3:16-17; 6:57). (2) The Father gave to the Son the right to judge the entire universe (John 5:22,30). (3) The “bread from heaven” and the “words that I have spoken” came/come from the Father (John 6:32; 14:10,24). (4) Jesus assured His disciples that those who “hear” the Father will come to Jesus (John 6:45).
- In order to get forgiveness in the Old Testament, a sacrificial system was set up in which people had to go to the temple, ask for the assistance of a priest, and sacrifice an animal.
- However, Jesus made a startling announcement: One can ask for forgiveness and salvation directly from the Father! Essentially, He said: “I do not need to ask the Father on your behalf, because the Father Himself loves you, and you love Me and have believed that I came from God.” (SeeJohn 15:16; 16:23-27.)
- The coming of Jesus, His life, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension were God’s answer to that ultimate question. That offer of salvation is available to all who are willing to accept it on God’s terms. (John 1:14-18)
- Using various kinds of language in passages such asJohn 1:1-2; 5:16-18; 6:69; 10:10,30; and 20:28, Jesus asserted that He and the Father are One and that Their work is identical. Ellen White emphasized that idea.
[From the writings of Ellen G. White=EGW:] Had God the Father come to our world and dwelt among us, veiling His glory, humbling Himself, that humanity might look upon Him, the history that we have of the life of Christ would not have been changed in unfolding its record of His own condescending grace. In every act of Jesus, in every lesson of His instruction, we are to see and hear and recognize God. In sight, in hearing, in effect, it is the voice and movements of the Father.—Ellen G. White, Letter 83, 1895,* par. 25 [Letters and Manuscripts,* vol. 10, 1895, Letter 83, par 25.] [10LtMs 1.2160].†‡ Compare That I May Know Him 338.4.
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p14060.5690031&index=0]‡
- As we have already noted, Jesus repeatedly referred to Himself in the Gospel of John as the I AM, followed by various descriptions. I AM is the Hebrew or Aramaic word for the personal name of God.
- Jesus used these statements and then effectively said: “If you believe in My words, you will be doing what God wants you to do. But, if you are not sure about believing My words, at least you should believe because of the works that I do.” (SeeJohn 10:36-38 as follows.)
John 10:30,36-38: 30 “The Father and I are one.”…
36 “But I have a witness on my behalf which is even greater than the witness that John gave: what I do, that is, the deeds my Father gave me to do, these speak on my behalf and show that the Father has sent me. 37Do not believe me, then, if I am not doing the things my Father wants me to do. 38But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, you should at least believe my deeds, in order that you may know once and for all that the Father is in me and that I am in the Father.”—Good News Bible.*† [Jesus had healed a blind man!]‡
- Jesus is the only One who can finally, and ultimately, give us eternal life. We know that because of what Ellen White wrote.
[EGW:] Still seeking to give a true direction to her [Martha’s] faith, Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. “He that hath the Son hath life.”1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer’s assurance of eternal life. “He that believeth in Me,” said Jesus, “though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Christ here looks forward to the time of His second coming. Then the righteous dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living righteous shall be translated to heaven without seeing death. The miracle which Christ was about to perform, in raising Lazarus from the dead, would represent the resurrection of all the righteous dead. By His word and His works He declared Himself the Author of the resurrection. He who Himself was soon to die upon the cross stood with the keys of death, a conqueror of the grave, and asserted His right and power to give eternal life.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 530.3.†‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.2593&index=0]‡
- Philippians 2:5-11 make it very clear that Jesus came to this earth, submitting Himself to all the terrible things the Devil did to Him, and finally, died on the cross a traitor’s death, in order to teach us the truth about God and His love for us. Jesus’s death showed that the term, God’s wrath, is not God’s anger but rather separation from God as the sinner at the end will desire.
- Jesus is our opportunity to learn about the Father. Of course, many people do not understand and even reject that idea.
[BSG:] In the context of the cosmos, an atheist wrote, “In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.” What does the Bible teach, which shows just how wrong this man is?―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Monday, December 9.‡
- Obviously,John 3:16 completely refutes that atheist’s argument!
2 Corinthians 5:21: Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.—Good News Bible.* [Sin separates us from God. SeeIsaiah 59:2.]‡
- Jesus knew the Father. However, while on the cross, Jesus could not see or communicate with the Father. On the cross, Jesus was experiencing what sinners in the end will choose, eternal separation from God.
[EGW:] …. All His life Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the Father’s mercy and pardoning love. Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. But now [on the cross] with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father’s reconciling face. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour [sic-Br] in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt. [And this separation from God is what killed Him!]
Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour [sic-Br] could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.
With amazement angels witnessed the Saviour’s [sic-Br] despairing agony. The hosts of heaven veiled their faces from the fearful sight. Inanimate nature expressed sympathy with its insulted and dying Author. The sun refused to look upon the awful scene. Its full, bright rays were illuminating the earth at midday, when suddenly it seemed to be blotted out. Complete darkness, like a funeral pall, enveloped the cross. “There was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.” There was no eclipse or other natural cause for this darkness, which was as deep as midnight without moon or stars. It was a miraculous testimony given by God that the faith of after generations might be confirmed.
In that thick darkness God’s presence was hidden. He makes darkness His pavilion, and conceals His glory from human eyes. God and His holy angels were beside the cross. The Father was with His Son. [Satan and his host were there!] Yet His [the Father’s] presence was not revealed. Had His glory flashed forth from the cloud, every human beholder would have been destroyed. And in that dreadful hour Christ was not to be comforted with the Father’s presence. He trod the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with Him.
In the thick darkness, God veiled the last human agony of His Son. All who had seen Christ in His suffering had been convicted of His divinity. That face, once beheld by humanity, was never forgotten. As the face of Cain expressed his guilt as a murderer, so the face of Christ revealed innocence, serenity, benevolence,—the image of God. But His accusers would not give heed to the signet of heaven. Through long hours of agony Christ had been gazed upon by the jeering multitude. Now He was mercifully hidden by the mantle of God.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 753.1-754.1.†‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3718&index=0]‡
- Jesus and His Father are One and have been since the beginning. We have seen that demonstrated by His words inJohn 10:30; 14:10; 3:16-21.
John 10:30: “The Father and I are one.”—Good News Bible.*
John 14:10: “Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you,” Jesus said to his disciples, “do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work.”—Good News Bible.*
John 3:16-21: 16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its saviour [sic-Br].
18 “Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God’s only Son. 19This is how the judgement works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil. 20All those who do evil things hate the light and will not come to the light, because they do not want their evil deeds to be shown up. 21But those who do what is true come to the light in order that the light may show that what they did was in obedience to God.”—Good News Bible.*‡ [We judge ourselves by our response to truth!]‡
- Think about your relationship with God in light of our studies so far in this series. We have tended to emphasize that we human beings need to be committed to the truths taught by God. But, how much did God commit to us? Think of the life and experiences of Jesus.
- Having studied something of what John said about the true picture of God, think of all the strange and bizarre images or persons that people have worshiped down through the generations. Jesus was determined to set the record straight and to teach us the truth about God the Father. Imagine the price He paid to do that.
John 1:10-13: 10 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. 12Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God’s children. 13They did not become God’s children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father.—Good News Bible.*
- Think of these final words—as represented by Ellen G. White—that Jesus spoke to His disciples on that last evening which they had together.
[EGW:] …. The Saviour [sic-Br] was deeply anxious for His disciples to understand for what purpose His divinity was united to humanity. He came to the world to display the glory of God, that man might be uplifted by its restoring power. God was manifested in Him that He might be manifested in them. Jesus revealed no qualities, and exercised no powers, that men may not have through faith in Him. His perfect humanity is that which all His followers may possess, if they will be in subjection to God as He was.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 664.4.†‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3274&index=0]‡
- As we have seen, God, when He created our world and our first parents, certainly had planned that things would work out better. However, He knew in advance what was coming. Jesus came to this earth and lived that incredible life to see if He could restore a relationship with us that would lead to healing and salvation. He is the Way; He is the Truth; and He can lead to eternal life. What does the death of Jesus tell us about our relationship to the Father and to Jesus?
- As we have already noted, Ellen White in Letter 83 in 1895 (as quoted in Item #16) and That I May Know Him page 338 stated that if the Father had come instead of the Son, the results would have been no different at all. This, of course, is represented by the fact that Jesus repeatedly said that He came to tell us about the Father.
- The word Father appears 136 times in John and 18 times in the three letters of John. That is more than one third of the entire uses in the New Testament. (See Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Tuesday, December 10.) Jesus lived the life of the Father as closely as it was possible as a human being.
- Jesus said that if we are not sure if we should believe His words, we should believe because of what He was able to do in cooperation with the Father. (SeeJohn 5:36-38.)
- Jesus repeatedly said that what He taught is what He had learned from His Father. (SeeJohn 6:40-44; 7:16; 8:38; 14:10,23; 15:1,9-10; 16:25-28.)
[BSG:] Jesus’ claims about His relationship to the Father are astonishing. He asserts that all of His teachings are the teachings of the Father; that all He says He had personally heard from the Father; that belief in Him is the same as belief in the Father; that both His very words and His works are all of the Father; and that He and the Father are united in loving and working for the salvation of humanity. What a powerful testimony to the closeness of Jesus to His Father in heaven!―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Tuesday, December 10.‡
- Why do you think that almost all the Jewish religious leaders were so opposed to Jesus? Did they have any idea who He really was? Some of them clearly discovered it and eventually learned the truth about Him. Of course, Jesus could not be judged based on external appearances!
Acts 6:7: And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests [mostly Sadducees] accepted the faith.—Good News Bible.*‡ [See alsoActs 15:5.]‡
- Does Jesus intend for us to actually live lives following His example? Is that possible?
- What did Jesus teach us about the true God versus all the pretenders?
- Let us look briefly at the role of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Jesus. As we know, many did not accept Jesus’s teachings.
- The work of the Holy Spirit is spelled out adequately inJohn 3:5-8; 6:63; 14:26; 15:26; and 16:7-11.
John 14:26: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.”—Good News Bible.*† [How does this work?]‡
John 15:26: “The Helper will come — the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God and who comes from the Father. I will send him to you from the Father, and he will speak about me.”—Good News Bible.*
- The most important function that the Holy Spirit has done for us was to inspire the writers of the Bible. The Holy Spirit also makes sure that the inspired records (the Bible) have been preserved and correctly represent what He spoke to the prophets and apostles.
[EGW:] The Comforter is called “the Spirit of truth.” His work is to define and maintain the truth. He first dwells in the heart as the Spirit of truth, and thus He becomes the Comforter. There is comfort and peace in the truth, but no real peace or comfort can be found in falsehood. It is through false theories and traditions that Satan gains his power over the mind. By directing men to false standards, he misshapes the character. Through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit speaks to the mind, and impresses truth upon the heart. Thus He exposes error, and expels it from the soul. It is by the Spirit of truth, working through the word of God, that Christ subdues His chosen people to Himself.
In describing to His disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sought to inspire them with the joy and hope that inspired His own heart. He rejoiced because of the abundant help He had provided for His church. The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.
Of the Spirit Jesus said, “He shall glorify Me.” The Saviour [sic-Br] came to glorify the Father by the demonstration of His love; so the Spirit was to glorify Christ by revealing His grace to the world. The very image of God is to be reproduced in humanity. The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection of the character of His people.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 671.1-3.†‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3303&index=0]‡
- Do we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in deciding what is right? What is true? And what we should do in every situation?
- Sometimes, life on this earth does not seem to go well. The Devil is determined to make life as difficult as possible for faithful Christians. Think of the Devil’s actions as He heard Jesus giving His disciples some final instructions and the promise of the Spirit. Notice these words from Ellen White:
[EGW:] At all times and in all places, in all sorrows and in all afflictions, when the outlook seems dark and the future perplexing, and we feel helpless and alone, the Comforter will be sent in answer to the prayer of faith. Circumstances may separate us from every earthly friend; but no circumstance, no distance, can separate us from the heavenly Comforter. Wherever we are, wherever we may go, He is always at our right hand to support, sustain, uphold, and cheer.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 669.4.‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3295&index=0]‡
[EGW:] …. We cannot use the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the Spirit God works in His people “to will and to do of His good pleasure.”Philippians 2:13. But many will not submit to this. They want to manage themselves. This is why they do not receive the heavenly gift. Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their demand and reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train. It is given according to the riches of the grace of Christ, and He is ready to supply every soul according to the capacity to receive.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 672.1.†‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3309&index=0]‡
- Jesus knew that despite their faults, the disciples eventually would be victorious with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
[EGW:] …. He knew that the life of His trusting disciples would be like His, a series of uninterrupted victories, not seen to be such here, but recognized as such in the great hereafter.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 679.2.†‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3346&index=0]‡
- The Holy Spirit gives life. He is the “Helper.” SeeJohn 14:26 andJohn 15:26 in Item #37.
John 6:63: “What gives life is God’s Spirit; human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God’s life-giving Spirit.”—Good News Bible.*
- The Holy Spirit is a “Person” like God is a Person.
[EGW:] …. We need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds.—Ellen G. White, Manuscript 66, 1899,* par. 4. (From a talk to the students at the Avondale School.) [Manuscript Releases,* vol. 7, 299.2]; Evangelism* 616.5.†‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p62.1502&index=0]‡
- What are the functions of the Holy Spirit?
[BSG:] The Holy Spirit is the active agent in the dynamic process of spiritual conversion, a process described by Jesus as being born again. Even at the beginning of his Gospel, John addresses this vital issue of the new birth, which is “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13, NKJV). This miraculous event takes place by the agency of the Holy Spirit’s stirring influence in the human heart.
It is the Holy Spirit that awakens the conscience to the urgent need for salvation and convicts the heart of the truthfulness of all that the Father and Son say and do. Besides being our Comforter, or the One who sits next to us to bring comfort, the Holy Spirit specializes in conviction. We should be thankful when we experience a beneficial dose of guilt because it is a clear sign that the Spirit is active in our lives, wooing us to make things right.
Other functions of the Holy Spirit, alluded to in John’s Gospel, are found inJohn 16:8–15. To begin with, the Spirit convicts our consciences with guilt regarding the sin that plagues us and that must be removed from our lives. Second, He convicts us of righteousness and of the joy of doing what is right instead of what is selfish. This righteousness, both imputed and imparted, comes only from the “Sun of righteousness” through the ministry of the Spirit. Third, the Spirit convicts us of judgment, which is sure to come. This conviction should lead us to repent and be ready for Christ’s soon coming. The conviction of the coming judgment should hasten our coming to the Father in true repentance and reformation. Fourth, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth as it is in Jesus. In our witnessing to others, Jesus brings to our memory the things we need to say at the right time (Luke 21:14, 15). Fifth, the Spirit glorifies Jesus in honoring His words and will.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 147.†‡§
- The Holy Spirit specializes in conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Has He been trying to speak to you? How do you respond when you get convictions from the Holy Spirit? Do we respond immediately when the Spirit speaks?
- How does it make you feel to realize that Jesus is and has been praying for you since His time on this earth? He prayed very personally for Simon Peter.
Luke 22:31-32: 31 “Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you turn back to me, you must strengthen your brothers.”—Good News Bible.*†
- Jesus also prayed for Jerusalem, despite the rebellion of its people.
Matthew 23:37: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times have I wanted to put my arms round all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!”—Good News Bible.*
- How do you understand the following verse?
Hebrews 5:7: In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save him from death. Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him.—Good News Bible.*†
- Would it be appropriate for us to pray with loud cries and tears?
- Jesus’s final prayer before His arrest, trials, and crucifixion is found inJohn 17:1-26.
[BSG:] “ ‘This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God’ ” (John 17:3, NKJV), not God, whoever we think He is. “ ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me, . . . and they have kept your word . . . and know in truth that I came from you’ ” (John 17:6, 8, NRSV). “ ‘Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth’ ” (John 17:17, NKJV).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Thursday, December 12.‡§
- Notice specifically what He said in His prayer about His relationship with His Father and His relationship with us.
John 17:10-12,21-23: 10 “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and my glory is shown through them. 11And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one. 12While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me. I protected them, and not one of them was lost, except the man who was bound to be lost — so that the scripture might come true….
21 “I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one: 23I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.”—Good News Bible.*†
- In this lesson we have talked about the relationships among Jesus, His Father, and especially the Holy Spirit.
- Jesus challenges us to live lives following His example. How would our lives be different if we actually did that? Today, can the Holy Spirit help us to live lives following the pattern of Jesus?
- Do you believe that it will be possible when we get to heaven to give God the Father a hug? What about the Son? Or, the Holy Spirit?
©2024, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version. †Bold type is added. ‡Brackets and content in brackets are added. §Italic type is in the source. [sic-Br]=This is correct as quoted; it is the British spelling.
Last Modified: November 10, 2024 Email: Info@theox.org