JanMary

Q5. (John 1:18) What does it mean that Jesus is the “Only God” or the “Only Begotten God”? It means He is the second Person of the Triune God...the only God. He has always existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit. At the appointed time, He came down from Heaven and was born of a Virgin with the untainted blood of His Father. (meaning He was not created...He is Creator God along with the Father and the Holy Spirit (as shown in Gen 1:26 Elohim....Plural, Triune "Let US make man in OUR image.") Does the Apostle John seem to make a distinction between God the Father and God the Son? I love how the Amplified renders V18: No man has ever seen God at any time: the only unique Son or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom (in the intimate presence) of the Father. He has declared Him (He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen: He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known.) John is saying the Three distinct persons are One God. What does all this mean for our understanding of the Trinity? God is FATHER, Jesus is the WORD of the Father Who became (flesh) the visible expression of the Father on earth. The Holy Spirit is the PERSON and the POWER of the Triune God Who was sent to indwell believers after Jesus the Son ascended to Heaven following the Resurrection. He is now the expression on earth of the other Two Persons of the Triune God in Heaven, and He is everywhere at once...like the air or the atmosphere. It's no wonder to me that the Church is so impotent in the world today, as the Holy spirit's purpose is ignored or denied due to either fear or ignorance. Jesus said we will do the works which He did and even greater works....but that is possible only as we allow the full power of His Holy Spirit to live out His life in and through us.

Q4. (John 1:14) Why is the idea of God “becoming flesh” so important to the basis of the Christian faith? Jesus "came down" to become One with us...to experience physical life and it's frailties and temptations....yet overcame the world, the flesh and the devil on our behalf, so that in Him we are forgiven, cleansed and righteous and can now live with Him for eternity. In the flesh He became the perfect, spotless sacrificial lamb on our behalf...none other than His sinless flesh dying in our place would have satisfied the wrath of God toward sin. What would Christ’s life, crucifixion, and resurrection mean if he were only pretending to “become flesh”? It would mean He is a deceiver, no better than the devil and we would be doomed and forsaken in misplaced faith. Praise God, He does not lie! And we now can clearly see who the deceiver is...the devil, the father of lies. In what ways have you personally experienced his grace? As a new believer I only wanted to "talk" to Jesus...wanted nothing to do with the Father, and told Him so. The first area of grace in my life was to show me that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit are One....He revealed the loving Father to me. ("If you've seen Me you've seen the Father" "I only do what I see My Father doing" "I and the Father are One") Until then I saw the Father as a mean, finger pointing, white haired old man watching for me to make a mistake. The Father is now "Papa" to me. (Abba) Jesus is the Person of Grace....I've experienced Him and His love and forgiveness every day for nearly 42 years of walking with Him. He delights me every day with His Presence, His truth, His gifts and the "winks" and "hugs" He sends to cheer me and brighten my days. In what ways has his truth changed your life from what it was? Before He tracked me down and opened His arms of love to me, I wanted to die nearly every day. The abuse and neglect from childhood had taken such a toll that I didn't want to get out of bed in the mornings. I was timid, depressed, self absorbed, with a poor self image, felt like a victim, could neither give nor receive love, saw no hope and no future and could not imagine living to old age in the hellish existence I experienced. He has been transforming me (as He promises to do for each of His own) step by step from glory to glory. I have a renewed mind, a purpose for living (to glorify Him, to share Him with others, to enjoy Him and to love Him with the love He has first given me and to love others, to reflect Him, to pray for others and for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven.... and to bring Him joy) He brought me out of darkness into His wonderful LIGHT and filled me with JOY and HOPE! How I praise and thank Him for all that He has done and continues to do!

Q3 (John 1:12-13) What does it mean to “receive” Jesus? When we receive Jesus it means the Holy Spirit has brought us to the place of understanding that we need and want to have salvation and eternal life, and we say "YES" to His invitation. What does it imply to “believe in” Jesus? Many believe that Jesus existed on earth, exists in Heaven, is the Son of God, but it's head knowledge alone. To believe in Jesus in the way the questions is asking means that we know Him personally, believe in Him experientially, belong to Him. What is the spiritual relationship to God of those who receive and believe in Jesus? Those who receive and believe in Jesus are sons and daughters of Almighty God....He is our Father, Jesus is our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit dwells within us as Guide, Comforter, Strengthener, Standby, Helper, Friend, and Who empowers us in the Fruit and Gifts of the Spirit, and to live the Christian life. Of those who do not? Those who refuse His gift of eternal life and forgiveness, are dead spiritually, and will die the second death after being judged for their sins, and sent to hell for eternity, apart from the presence of God.

Q2. (John 1:7-8) What did it mean that John was sent to “testify” to the light? John was sent from God to prepare the way for his cousin Jesus whose public ministry on earth was about to begin, as was prophesied in Mal. 3:1 "Behold I send My messenger and he shall prepare the way before Me..." In what sense are you put here with the purpose of “testifying” to the light? I'm here to enjoy God and to share His love and message with others....He is the Light of the world...I'm to reflect His light to those still in darkness. How are you doing in this regard? My mission field has become quite limited at present due to circumstances, but I share whenever I have opportunity. I have the gift of encouragement and see others "light up" when He is lifted up and they are refreshed in their discouragement....I believe that is also being a light. Regarding testifying to the light: When I had been a believer for only a few weeks and knew little about the Bible, I had a roll-over car accident with my two little children in the car with me. Just before we hit black ice and skidded across 3 lanes of freeway in heavy commute traffic, then spun in the muddy median and rolled, our car lit up inside brighter than looking at the sun, and I "saw" the accident happen, heard the screech of the metal twisting, and saw blood on the back seat where my children were strapped. I was supernaturally at peace in that blinding rainstorm and wondered if I should pull to the side of the road and stop to avoid what I had just seen happening. Before I could do so, a mighty invisible hand cleared the steady stream of trucks and cars aside as I slid sideways through the the space He cleared. When we stopped, I was lying on the roof in the backseat area and as I looked up at my children hanging upside down from their car seats, the blood I had seen in the vision was there on the seat from a cut on my daughters arm. I sustained a back injury, but that is a story for another time as it was healed miraculously. ...After the accident I called the Minister of the church we had attended before we moved and asked him what that all meant...that I had seen and heard the accident happen before it happened and what the bright light was that my children had excitedly cried "What is that bright light, Mommy?" as the chrome inside the car glistened while it was dark outside the windows. He didn't really answer my questions, but said "May you always be a Light-bearer". (I also had no idea what that meant at the time)....But since then I have endeavored to be a Light-bearer wherever I am. What happened to John the Baptist? What might happen to you if you testify clearly? What might happen to the people to whom you testify? John was beheaded. If the rapture doesn't come first, ISIS may behead me for refusing to renounce my faith. The same might happen to those to whom I testify. I know that Christians are being beheaded in Syria and Iraq and tortured and persecuted in other countries as well. I pray for courage and boldness for each of us to keep on being His Light in the darkening world around us! Paul Said: "To be absent from the body is to be present with Christ" That is our promise and our future, no matter how we die if we are in Christ.

Q1. (John 1:1-3) According to the Apostle John, is Jesus fully God? a. Yes, He is. Fully God (Co-Creator, with God the Father and the Holy Spirit), was always and is now God forever) and fully man. (He was hungry, He became weary, He wept, etc.) What does it mean that Jesus is the “Word”? b. Jesus is the essence of God's revelation as He lived in this world....the Word become flesh, or the Logos. What does this say about him and his ministry?. c. He came down from Heaven, born of a virgin (no sinful blood in His veins since a child's blood comes only from the father, none from the mother, and His Father is God), was born to die as the perfect sinless sacrificial lamb for the sins of all mankind, to arise from death and ascend into Heaven seated at the right hand of the Father....After living on earth in fulfillment of the prophecies of His first coming as the suffering servant to save mankind (whosoever will may come). He showed us the Father (the Father and I are One...If you've seen me you've seen the Father....I only do what I see the Father doing...) He fulfilled the Law (since the Law was only a mirror to show us the impossibility of being Holy through our efforts) and the prophets (lived out all pertaining to His first coming and will fulfill all concerning His second coming when He returns to earth as reigning Messiah and King). He opened the door to eternal life and gave birth to His Bride...the Church.

Good Christians sometimes disagree about this question. Remember to be loving in your answer. Q3. (1 Corinthians 13:10) When do you think the “perfect” comes? (See my “Excursus” before answering.) Since the Lord alone is perfect,and sinless, and none of us will ever be until we see Him face to Face, I believe it's when we are in His Presence. How do you support your interpretation? The gifts while we are on earth help to fill in blanks, and the "holes" in our souls from wounding or neglect from those around us, and are encouragement from Him through someone with "skin on" while we are still "broken" and in process of complete redemption. They also demonstrate our need for one another...we're never to be "an island" unto ourselves. With Him we will be complete and will live in perfect unity...the gifts will no longer have any use then. I love Paul's explanation in v12: When the perfect comes ..."but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood by God. (amplified) That seems clear to me that in the presence of Jesus, the All Perfect One, the gifts will be obsolete, because we will all be like Him in character since our sinful, fallen nature and flesh will have been left behind, the "veil" of incomplete understanding and knowledge will have been removed and our full maturity will have been accomplished...His finished masterpieces!