John 8:41-47 - Children of the Devil

John 8:41-47

41 "You are doing the deeds of your Father." They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." 42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on my own initiative, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears the words of God, for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God." 

Message: Children of the Devil

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)." 

What the Lord is Saying: These are hard truths that Jesus is conveying in these verses I have been reading. He continues (from chapter 7, verse 14) to communicate the base teaching of:

• believing in Him, 
• he being the one sent from the Father, and 
• by believing we have eternal life and we will minister to people. 
• We will be a light to the world. 
• Your sins will be forgiven. 
• We are to abide in His word and we will be free. 
• Love Me. 

He is hammering theses truths home to them. Jesus only wants what is best for us. And yet the blinders of our being are being held up. We are accustomed to believe and think about life a certain way and in a way, throughout all of those moments, I think Jesus is communicating that we are missing the point. 

As I study scripture and these passages, I continually see these contrasts of thought. And today is one of those contrasts as Jesus compares His words and what He wants to the desires and ways of the devil. He makes it clear that if we are not of the Father and if we are not believing in Jesus, then that person is of the devil and abides by the devil's ways (verse 44). 

I also see in verse 47 how those who are not of God do not hear the words of God. This reminds me that I should not be so surprised when the world is not practicing spiritual truths. Because Scripture tells me that people who are not of God will not hear the words of God. 

I have been reading Bono's (from the musical group U2) biography of sorts called Surrender. And in the most recent chapter he remarks that he does not have much patience for people that preach towards him. He thinks rather that the preaching that we should do in our lives should be more about how we are living our lives. And in a way that is true, for people do have a hard time hearing God's words that are not of Him, and so yes, our lives should be lived in a Godly manner and those lives then will be a witness. But, I don't agree completely in this. I think in ways we need to find more palpable ways to communicate truth. And yet there are many that are zealous in their proclamation and have success. So maybe what is important is that we need to communicate repeatedly, in many different ways and forms. 

Coming back to this text, it is on the heels of the Jews commenting in verse 33 that they are Abraham's offspring and so being made free is something that they don't think they need. And so it is important to communicate to them, and that is what Jesus does, to help them see that they can't simply defend their lineage as the means to gain God's acceptance. The reality is they are sinners. And in Jesus they are made free (verse 36). And like Abraham, we need to align ourselves with God and Jesus is from God so we need to accept Him. 

Summary: If we are not of the Father and if we are not believing in Jesus, then that person is of the devil and abides by the devil's ways.

Promise: For those that reject Christ, our response should be not to hate them but to pray and plead with him to believe. 

Prayer: Thank you Father for the understand I have of You being the Father of all and for sending Your Son to be my Savior and Lord. I believe in You Jesus. And I am confident of the salvation I have in Christ and the peace that this brings. Make me humble and help me to always be a light to those that are in the darkness. Give me patience and understanding. Help me to never condemn. Help me to look down upon, but to simply live my life and plead for people to come to know You. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.