John 8:31-36

February 2, 2014 The more I study the story of the adulteress the more I understand John 1: 16-17: of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Theres such a stark contrast between Moses and Christ and Law and Grace. Moses and the Law are death. Theres no escaping it because theres no way to measure up to it. Cursed is everyone who doesnt do whats written. Cursed is the adulteress, cursed are the Pharisees, cursed are the Jews, cursed are the Gentiles, cursed are you, and cursed is me. Were all in the same boat and equally hopeless. But then the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Of His fullness have we all received. You see, this woman deserves to be stoned and, according to the Law, she HAS to be. But she has received of His fullness! He can say to her, Neither do I condemn you because shes covered by the blood; it is by grace through faith so that whosoever may come to Him and find pardon. And the people listening have mixed reactions. Of course, the Pharisees dont believe, but theres a good group of folks who do: Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; His word is this: Believe that I am He. If a man or woman goes on believing that and wont be persuaded otherwise, then he or she is Christs disciple. Now, think of the honor here: Christ could have said that He only wants the best disciples. His disciples are the ones who keep themselves the purest. They have clean hands and pure hearts. Theyve never bowed down to any idol and they avoid all sin. Maybe theyve memorized the Law and go to great lengths to keep it. But no. Anyone who goes on believing in me is my disciple. These are the people who will learn from Him and follow His ways. Its not the perfect, but those who by faith walk after Him. This is the grace part of John 1:16 17. The Pharisees loved the Law. They loved to show everyone how well they kept it and they loved to punish anyone who didnt do the same. But Jesus brought grace; He loves to give it freely to His own so that we may partake of His divine nature and enjoy the love of the Father as His beloved children. We have received of His fullness, so the Father is as pleased with us as He is His own Son!

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And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Here is the truth found in Johns first chapter and it corresponds to Go and sin no more. To a child of God this is sweet gospel doctrine. I know all about my own weakness. Its not just a few minor mistakes; its not even a bunch of really big ones. I know that in reality Im utterly helpless. If God explained to me how to be righteous I couldnt understand it. If He gave me medicine to cure my sickness I couldnt swallow it. If He threw me a life-preserver I couldnt reach for it. I am dead in my trespasses. I am a slave to sin. And so, when He preaches glad tidings to those who sit in darkness (believe and receive!) we shout at the freedom found in Him. We who were dead are made alive. Our chains are gone. We can now bear good fruit unto God because we died to the Law and to sin in Christ and we also live in Him. Our lives are hidden in Him. When we sin, says Paul, its no longer we who do it but the sin living in these bodies (Rom. 7:17). But there are a great many who do not believe they are bound by sin and such is the case for the remaining Pharisees amongst the temple crowd:
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They answered him, We be Abrahams seed,

Dont miss this because its going to be answered in a second. They figure theyre in line for all the promises made to Abraham and his descendents. and were never in bondage to any man: Theyve never had a slaves cuffs on their wrists. Theyre thinking in an earthly way again, arent they? And this means they dont understand what Hes saying: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. These Pharisees may not have ever been bound physically, but spiritually they are truly slaves. Slaves had no right to the family name. They had no inheritance, no land, and no guarantee of even being in the house for any amount of time. But those who believe on Him receive power to be called the sons of God (Jn. 1:12). Fast forward to Galatians four:

Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ (Gal. 4:1-7). Dont miss those last six words. The Pharisees are heirs of God through Abraham. Their best hope is in a dead sinner. Abrahams hope, as well see at the end of this chapter, was on Christ! Sinners (even if they are elect) are slaves to sin. But we are united with Christ; we are adopted by God and called His sons. This isnt the American understanding of adoption. This is the ancient Jewish understanding in which the child was counted fully as a descendent of the father. When Jacob adopted Ephraim and Manasseh he said to Joseph, They will be reckoned as mine just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. Anyone born after them will be yours (Gen. 48:5-6). And when it came time to divvy up Jacobs land Josephs sons each got a portion (Josh. 14:4)! They were legally entitled to it because they were the adopted sons of Jacob. The Pharisees are slaves and the slaves get nothing. But Christ is the Son and anyone who believes in Him is given power to be a son. The sons receive the inheritance through The Son as co-heirs with Him. This is the gospel and the promise. Believe on Christ! newgracebaptistchurch.wordpress.com