Weekly Bible Study: 27th April 2008

kelly1

Edited by PDN -

Kelly1 has agreed that we should run this as a new thread each week. The new title is designed to be more user-friendly for Christians of all traditions, but we will continue to focus on the Gospel reading for each Sunday as followed by the Catholic Church.

kelly1

John 14:15-21

15 If you love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever. 17 The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while: and the world seeth me no more. But you see me: because I live, and you shall live. 20 In that day you shall know, that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father: and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John is fascinating as always. Plenty to meditate upon there...

God bless,
Noel.

kelly1

Jesus refers to keeping the commandments in verses 14:15, 14:21 and 15:10.

To me this is the very essence of Christianity. i.e. Learning to do God's holy will. This is what Christianity is all about. Nobody can love Jesus and remain in sin. When we do God's will, we form a bond of friendship with Jesus. We graft ourselves, the branch, onto the True Vine and recieve life and joy to the full.

But that's that hard bit about Christianity, isn't it? Doing away with our own will and putting God first? It's a huge challenge. Loving God means radically changing our lives for the love of God. We have to forget our selfish wants and live for the love of God and neighbour. It takes courage to give up our old ways and to trust that God will fill the void with something greater.

I always feel closest to the Lord when I really go all out to do His will. I can feel the Spirit at work within me.

God bless,
Noel.

Puck

I know what you mean. It's important to remember though that this obedience is as a result of the loving relationship we have with God. If we forget the love of God as motivation to love Him in return (which includes obedience) then we end up turning that relationship into a job, we become Pharisees. We can't ever forget the grace of God.

John says elsewhere: "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

kelly1

Puck wrote: »

I know what you mean. It's important to remember though that this obedience is as a result of the loving relationship we have with God. If we forget the love of God as motivation to love Him in return (which includes obedience) then we end up turning that relationship into a job, we become Pharisees. We can't ever forget the grace of God.

John says elsewhere: "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

I would qualify that by saying that God's grace doesn't automatically make us do His will. There has to be co-operation and it's very easy to reject God's grace. It's free will again...

BrianCalgary

Great from the standpoint that we are asked to keep God's commandments and then told that we are not in this alone.

Give up self and concentrate on God and communicate with Him.

Tough but doable.



PS Kelly: I love this approach. How about a different thread each week?

kelly1

BrianCalgary wrote: »

PS Kelly: I love this approach. How about a different thread each week?

Yes makes sense in order to avoid overlapping weeks. Could end up in a right kerfuffle

PDN

The word paraclete is a transliteration of the Greek παράκλητος.

It has various shades of meaning including a Counsellor, a Comforter, or an Advocate who pleads your case.

I see this passage as important in understanding how the early Church developed the doctrine of the Trinity to explain New Testament teaching. The Paraclete is, in this passage, clearly portrayed as personal - not as some impersonal force. Yet He is 'another' Paraclete - distinct from Jesus Christ Himself.

I understand that Muslims claim that Mohammed was the promised Paraclete.

santing

PDN wrote: »

I understand that Muslims claim that Mohammed was the promised Paraclete.

Some comforter, Mohammed! The Lord Jesus clearly states:
Joh 14:16-17 ESV And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth...
What I like of this passage is again the closeness the Lord Jesus shows that we have: "You are in me and I am in you." He is always there for us, He is in us, and the Spirit is there to guide us and comfort us! We are not orphans, left behind without a leader here on earth, Christ is still with us.

Soul Winner

kelly1 wrote: »

Jesus refers to keeping the commandments in verses 14:15, 14:21 and 15:10.

To me this is the very essence of Christianity. i.e. Learning to do God's holy will. This is what Christianity is all about. Nobody can love Jesus and remain in sin. When we do God's will, we form a bond of friendship with Jesus. We graft ourselves, the branch, onto the True Vine and recieve life and joy to the full.

But that's that hard bit about Christianity, isn't it? Doing away with our own will and putting God first? It's a huge challenge. Loving God means radically changing our lives for the love of God. We have to forget our selfish wants and live for the love of God and neighbour. It takes courage to give up our old ways and to trust that God will fill the void with something greater.

I always feel closest to the Lord when I really go all out to do His will. I can feel the Spirit at work within me.

God bless,
Noel.

Can we do all this wonderful stuff in our own strength? If not then how do we do it? And if we can do it in our own strength then why do we need Jesus?

Splendour

Soul Winner wrote: »

Can we do all this wonderful stuff in our own strength? If not then how do we do it? And if we can do it in our own strength then why do we need Jesus?

Plenty of people live very 'christian' lives but in fact are not Christian. Think of all the wonderful people working in the third world etc. who could show many a Christian a thing or two about how to keep the second commandment!IMO I think God uses people be they Christian or not to get his work done. The only difference is that Christians recognise they are being used by God for his work.

'If you love me you keep my commandments'
In todays society there is plenty of evidence of the second commandment being kept, but we have sadly, forgotten about the first (and most important) commandment...

Húrin

Splendour wrote: »

'If you love me you keep my commandments'
In todays society there is plenty of evidence of the second commandment being kept, but we have sadly, forgotten about the first (and most important) commandment...

I don't see a great amount of neighbour loving in our individualist society. Even less so at the political level, as Europe fortifies its borders and encourages food to be grown for cars, not people.

Soul Winner

Splendour wrote: »

Plenty of people live very 'christian' lives but in fact are not Christian. Think of all the wonderful people working in the third world etc. who could show many a Christian a thing or two about how to keep the second commandment!IMO I think God uses people be they Christian or not to get his work done. The only difference is that Christians recognise they are being used by God for his work.

'If you love me you keep my commandments'
In todays society there is plenty of evidence of the second commandment being kept, but we have sadly, forgotten about the first (and most important) commandment...

Paul talks about this very thing in Romans 2:17-29

"Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God."

The people who usually brag about how much they keep the law are usually the ones who break it most but they can never see themselves in this light because their focus is too attuned to the performances of others. "Take the beam from your own eye and you will see fit to take the splinter from your brother’s eye", springs to mind. This blindness puts them in a very serious condition before God, because it is the hardest condition God can save people from, because to save someone from this condition that person must first see that they need saving, but they can’t do this because they are absolutely convinced that they are ok and don’t need saving. This parable explains this condition best. They can never truly repent of their own sinful ways. They are like peacocks parading around with their self righteous feathers in full view to all but they can never see their exposed rears because their so called righteousness is blinding them from it. This lack of sight is the sin God hates the most, because Jesus condemned it the most during His earthly ministry, and it’s the hardest for Him to forgive because it is rarely if ever repented of. Fleshly sins are easy for God to forgive because they are usually recognised for what they are and repented of quickly, some quicker than others depending on the carnality of the individual who commits them. But spiritual sins like pride are like really tough tough nuts to crack and when they do eventually crack they tend to smash to pieces. God usually leaves these poor souls alone. They are never bothered by Him at all. They are truly lost and will never ever know it.

Splendour

Húrin wrote: »

I don't see a great amount of neighbour loving in our individualist society. Even less so at the political level, as Europe fortifies its borders and encourages food to be grown for cars, not people.

I was referring to people being aware of less well off countries than ours. There are more charities now than there ever were, but as in our own little individualist worlds you are absolutely right we have become extremely greedy with regards to acquiring 'stuff'.
Still though, in my life I am fortunate enough to see alot of neighbourliness, but not too much Godliness...

kelly1

Soul Winner wrote: »

Can we do all this wonderful stuff in our own strength? If not then how do we do it? And if we can do it in our own strength then why do we need Jesus?

My view is that God's grace never forces us to do anything. We must co-operate with grace before it's of any use to us. That's why I don't subscripe to OSAS. We all the the free will to use or abuse God's grace. But without grace we wouldn't love God in the first place or even try to do His will.

kelly1

Matthew 28:16-20

16 And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And seeing them they adored: but some doubted. 18 And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. 19 Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

Asiaprod

kelly1, please keep all these in one thread. Thanks.:)

kelly1

Asia, it was PDN's idea to split out the threads. The idea seems to be a flop anyway.