Father

John 10:25-26,37-38 – Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep…Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even 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 14:11 – Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

John 17:20-21 – “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Application:

• ·         “The works of my Father” are the kind of works of compassion that the Father Himself does.
• ·         Jesus reference to his works may have been referring to the evidence of His whole manner of life—all He had done in the Father’s name.
• ·         Miracles were only a part of Jesus’ works.
• ·         Faith includes believing that Jesus is one with the Father.
• ·         The unity of believers should have an effect on outsiders, to convince them of the mission of Christ.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Apart

John 10:35-36 – If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Application:

• ·         Jesus testified to the complete authority and reliability of the Old Testament.
• ·         Jesus is making an argument from the lesser to the greater: If there is any sense in which humans can be spoken of as “gods”, how much more may the term be used of Him whom the Father set apart and sent!
• ·         “I set you apart” means I consecrated you.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

You Are Gods

John 10:31-34,38 – Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’?... But if I do them, even 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 8:59 – At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Psalm 82:1-2 – God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”: “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?

Exodus 22:28 – “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

Application:

• ·         When Jesus declares “I am”, there are only two possible responses: to reach for a rock or to fall at His feet.
• ·         Miracles were only a part of Jesus’ works. It was Jesus’ quality of life, not people’s inability to explain His marvels, that He also spoke of.
• ·         In the language of the Old Testament—and in accordance with the conceptual world of the ancient Near East—rulers and judges, as deputies of the heavenly King, could be given the honorific title “god” or be called “son of God”.
• ·         A ruler was God’s representative.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

One

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

Deuteronomy 6:4 – Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

John 17:20-21,23 – “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

John 6:35 – Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 8:58 – “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Application:

• ·         Jesus and the Father are one in essence or nature, will and purpose, but they are not identical persons.
• ·         The truth revealed to Israel that God is one and that this one God created all things, sustains all things and governs all things stood in radical opposition to all the religions of the ancient Near Eastern world.
• ·         Israel could live serenely in the knowledge that all things and all times were under the rule of one divine King, whose ways are righteous and whose purpose with her and through her is salvation for humankind—from sin and judgment and every evil that has burdened human life.
• ·         The unity of believers should have an effect on outsiders, to convince them of the mission of Christ.
• ·         Unity is connected not only with the mission of Jesus but also with God’s love for people and for Christ.
• ·         Jesus did not say “I was” but “I am”, expressing the eternity of His being and His oneness with the Father.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

No One Can Snatch Them

John 10:29 – My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

John 17:11-12 – I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

Application:

• ·         The Father’s power is greater than that of any enemy, making the sheep completely secure.
• ·         The unity is to be like that between the Father and the Son.
• ·         Christ’s power is adequate for every need.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

I Know Them

John 10:14-15,25-28 – “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep…Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

John 6:39 – And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Application:

• ·         “I know…my sheep know” is a deep mutual knowledge, like that of the Father and the Son.
• ·         Eternal life is Christ’s gift.
• ·         The sheep’s security is in the power of the shepherd, who will let no one take them from Him.
• ·         True believers will persevere because of Christ’s firm hold on them.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

I Did Tell You

John 10:25-26 – Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.

John 8:58 – “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

John 14:11 – Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

Application:

• ·         Jesus did not say “I was” but “I am”, expressing the eternity of His being and His oneness with the Father.
• ·         Saving faith is trust in a person, but it must also have factual content.
• ·         Faith includes believing that Jesus is one with the Father.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV