Daily Lesson for Tuesday 24th of December 2024
Read John 1:4-10; John 3:19-21; John 5:35; John 8:12; John 9:5; John 11:9-10; and John 12:35. What great contrast is present here, and why is this contrast so foundational to understanding truth?
The world is in darkness; it shuns the light and cannot, on its own, find its way to the true God, the personal God of Creation, revelation, and Redemption.
Image © Phil McKay Goodsalt.com
“Never can humanity, of itself, attain to a knowledge of the divine. ‘It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?’ Job 11:8. Only the spirit of adoption can reveal to us the deep things of God, which ‘eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man.’ ‘God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 412.
Only Jesus Christ “has declared Him,” the Father (John 1:18, NKJV). The Greek verb is exēgeomai, which means “to interpret,” “explain,” or “exposit.” John presents Jesus as the heavenly Messenger, the One who explains what it means to know God. Only through Jesus can we truly know God.
Read John 8:42-44. How does Jesus describe the false foundation on which the religious leaders of Israel had based their faith?
Those who do not stand in the truth speak from their own resources. They “see” the meaning of a text only from a human perspective. By contrast, we must accept that Christ is the light of the world and follow Him in our interpretation of His Word. In contrast, the devil speaks from “his own resources” (John 8:44, NKJV). If we are not careful and are not surrendered in faith and obedience to God, we are in danger of doing the same thing: reading the text based only on our own desires, wants, and perspectives, which is much easier to do than we might realize.
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How do you respond to truths that “step on your toes,” as opposed to how you should respond to those truths? |
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