TABLETALK - March 2018

I continue in my daily studies to be guided by Tabletalk magazine. 2018 was a study on the Gospel of John and its straightforward presentation of the person and work of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, and other doctrines. 

• January 2018 (July 4, 2023 - July 23, 2023) John 1:1-2:22 - The preexistence of Christ, the ministry of John the Baptist and the person of Christ. 
• February 2018 (July 24, 2023 - August 10, 2023) John 2:23 - 3:36 - Regeneration and our need to believe in Christ for Salvation
• March 2018 (August 13, 2023 - September 30, 2023) John 4:1 - 5:29 - Christ is the incarnate Son of God

Chapter 4

Jesus Meets a Woman in Samaria - Jesus encounters a Samarian woman at the well, an outcast by many Jews simply because of her ancestry, and Jesus asks her for a drink. Eternally Satisfying Water - Jesus lets the Samaritan woman know that living water is eternal life and for her to receive she must ask. Debating Theology with Jesus - The woman's sin of being with a man not her husband is exposed by Jesus and Jesus points to her a time when worship will be different and salvation from the Jews. How God Must Be Worshiped - True worship is not at a building though this is not bad, but true worship is God's Spirit speaking to our spirit and walking in the truth of the will of God and His nature. Meeting the Messiah - The Samaritan woman knows the Messiah will be coming and Jesus states that He is the Messiah.  The Samaritan Woman Bears Witness to Jesus - After the Samaritan woman has an encounter with Jesus, she goes back to tell others and they come out to see Jesus. The Food that Sustained Jesus - The greatest delight (real food) of Jesus is to do the will of God who sent Him and complete-accomplish-perfect that work. The Work of Sowing and Reaping - The one who sows and the one who reaps bears fruit, and the harvest is ripe, for seeing many arrive to life eternal. The Savior of the World - Many Samaritans put their faith in Jesus and they proclaimed Jesus Savior of the World. Ministry in Galilee - There are those that reject Jesus, but in Galilee a royal official asks Jesus to heal his dying son and believes Jesus that He has healed his son even prior to see the results. 

Chapter 5

Healing at Bethesda - Jesus picks a man out from the crowd at the pools of Bethesda in Jerusalem and heals the man, allowing him to get up and walk. The Lame Man's Greater Need - Jesus tells the lame man, after he has healed him, that still his greatest problem remains - sin and how the man responds to it. The Father and the Son's Sabbath Labor - Jesus is accused by the Jews (Pharisees) of being equal with his Father (God) by doing something only He can do - do work and heal someone on the Sabbath. Father and Son Together - Every work of God is from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Life from Father and Son - The Father has life in himself while the Son has life in himself which the Father gave him. This eternal life given to those in the light results in deeds of righteousness and one day all of our deeds will be judged ultimately resulting in eternal life or judgement. 

Who is My Neighbor and Why Should I Love Him - David Owen Filson (Pastor of teaching at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN) 

Loving Ourselves - Deepak Reju (Pastor of biblical counseling and family ministry at Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC) 

Loving our Family - Joel R. Beeke (President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor of Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan) 

Loving the Church - Jonathan Leeman (Editorial director of 9Marks and an elder at Cheverly Baptist Church in Washington, DC)

Loving our Communities - David S. Apple (Director of Mercy ministries at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia) 

Loving the Unlovely - Dan Matsche (Prison chaplain with Good News Jail and Prison Ministry) 

Christ and the Love of Neighbor - JR Vassar (Lead pastor of Church at the Cross in Grapevine, Texas) 

The Patience of Job - Dr. James L. Harvey III - 

And They Followed Jesus - Steffen Mueller 

The Courage of Holy Conviction - Jon D. Payne

The Suffering in Sacrifice - Rebecca VanDoodewaard - Question: Is it wrong to suffer or weep over a mate who is departing home to preach the gospel? Case in point: Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, pouring his Heart to the Father on the eve of making sacrifice on the cross. Despite doing a work agreed upon at the beginning of time, it is not easy work. Jesus has sorrow and states, "“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (John 17:39) When called to sacrifice, there may be suffering with it. We can honestly take this to God. Giving can be painful. But we still have a greater longing for God's will - Thy Kingdom come. We love even when it hurts. 

Processed Religion - Kevin D. Gardner (Associate editor of Tabletalk magazine, resident adjunct instructor of Reformation Bible College) 

The Slow Burn of Bitterness - Nancy Guthrie (Author, teacher, and conference speaker; she and her husband, David, host Respite Retreats for couples who have faced the death of a child)

Resisting the Spirit of the Age - Matthew P.W. Roberts (Minister of Trinity Church in York, England) 

Various Scriptures - The Doctrine of the Trinity

I Timothy 1:17 - Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

2 Corinthians 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 

Titus 2:1 - But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. 

Isaiah 55:8 - For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. 

John 10:30 - I and the Father are one. 

What the Lord is Saying: Tabletalk now takes a moment in this months lessons to speak more of the Trinity. 

"Many people believe the doctrine (of the Trinity) is a contradiction because it refers to both a oneness and a threeness in God....but the way in which God is one is not the same as the way in which God is three. It (is true that it) would be a logical contradiction to say that there is one God and there are three Gods or that God is one in essence and three in essence. However, the doctrine of the Trinity asserts neither option. Instead, it says there is only one God in whom are three personal subsistence or that God is one in essence and three in person - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." 

Subsistence is an interesting word. To define it, the Webster dictionary states, "as in existence or the fact of being or being real." In a sentence...believes in the subsistence of a soul as a separate entity from the body. A human being is one person and yet has a soul and body and each is a subsistence. Another definition of subsistence is an individual instance of a divine essence. 

The Westminster Confession 2.3 states, "In the Unity of the God-head there be three persons, of one substance, power and eternity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding: The Son is eternally begotten of the Father: the Holy Ghost is eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son."

Trinitarian personhood is not human personhood. “Person” carries with it the linguistic baggage of human personhood connected to human essence. There is a personal property of each that distinguishes Him from another person. And yet in this distinguishing this does not result in three gods. John 1:18 states, "No one has seen God (the Father) at any time; the only begotten God (Jesus/Son), who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained/declared."  They still have the same essence (Incomparable or "no one like thee (2 Samuel 7:22)", Inscrutable (impossible to understand-Isaiah 40:28), etc.). 

Monotheistic religions (Islam, Judaism, Christianity) have a common belief that there is only one God, but differ in defining the person of God, in other words, there are differences in defining the essence of God as it relates to persons. Christianity does not teach that there are multiple divine essences, but that this divine essence belongs equally to three distinct divine persons. The Father, Son and Spirit are fully equal, and none is more or less God than the other. Each person of the Trinity does not have His own unique mind, will, or power. They all have the same mind, will, and power; thus, all of the same essence "homoousios". 

Psalm 110 is an interesting text. It reads in verse 1, "The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Looking at the words for Lord and their Hebrew word meanings, it reads the "Lord" (Yahweh) and my "Lord" (Adonai) and this points us in the direction of the Trinity. Jesus quotes this as recorded in Matt. 22:41-46 as He speaks to His opponents, letting them know He is more than a mere human. 

2 Corinthians 13:14 is another text in the New Testament that implies that all three persons of the Trinity God are divine - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 

We can have a clearer understanding of the Trinity when looking at some alternate beliefs (heresies). God is simultaneously Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Modalism is a heresy that says that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one God and one person. The Holy Spirit is God in action, Jesus is Savior and God the Father is creator. Thus, God reveals Himself in different ways or modes. Another alternate idea is Arianism with the idea that Jesus Christ is not equal to the Father by nature, but He is the first creation of God. One prevalent group believing in Arianism today are Jehovah Witnesses. 

I must admit, I have a hard time concluding this study. I feel like I could go on a lifetime trying to study it and understand it. I could look at all of the names of God and compare them one to another. I could look at all of the different attributes of God, again comparing them one to another. And yet, I need to conclude this and continue with my study of other material and then as I do, I will discover more of this subject and what it means. 

Summary: The Trinity is the understanding that God's essence or the way we describe Him is one. But it is explained further in the expression of 3 persons - Father, Son, and Spirit. Each has the same divine essence. The Father is not the Son nor either the Spirit. They are distinct and yet of the same attributes. Let me continue to discover and understand this. 

Promise: Even though we do not fully understand the Trinity, we can still affirm it. It is taught so we can still believe in as we are still comprehending it. God is one in essence and there in person. We do not know fully how that can be; nevertheless, it is the only formula that allows us to affirm everything that scripture says about God. In other words, our Bible sets us up to conclude in a trinity. So it is not something we just force to believe, but the way the Words of God are written cause us to conclude this. And yet we still seek to understand it more fully.

Prayer: Lord, you are good and Holy. Your ways are true and right. I need You every day in every way. I want to know You as You really are. And yet I know that is impossible. So I strive to know you to the best of my ability. There is a little bit of joy that every day I get to know you better and more. I thank you for all the people that have come before me to learn of You and know You and that they have written down their understandings for me to learn from as well. I thank you for the people that you have placed in my path today that are writing today of these subjects of You. Lord, it saddens me that we often don't give you the praise and glory throughout our lives that you deserve. Help me to balance out my days in such a way that will honor You and yet doing things that I enjoy. Sometimes Lord, I just want to do nothing but study and yet you have placed people in my life that I can encourage and even help educate with Your word. Lord, strike the balance in my life so that I know when to keep studying and when to get busy applying and get busy living. 

John 5:25-29 - Life From Father and Son

John 5:25-29

25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, 29 and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. 

Message: Life from Father and Son

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: Jesus in the previous lesson I did and verses I read spoke of why He does what He does and that is He is doing what the Father is doing. I studied Jesus and the Father and how He (Jesus) and the Father are one and carry out the same purpose. But also the statement that to believe in Jesus is to have salvation, to be in the kingdom of God and to have eternal life. 

As I continue to study, these passages are in red letter in my Bible and yet they often seem instead like the words of John or his commentary on Jesus. And yet verse 19 records Jesus speaking and Jesus does consistently refer to himself as the Son or the Son of God. But it has always baffled me how Jesus speaks when he speaks of himself. But perhaps he does this when he is referring to himself as deity rather than as merely a man. We know he was sent to earth to live like a man and yet he continued to have the characteristics of God. 

Jesus states in verse 25 that people that have died previously, when they hear the voice of the Son of God (Jesus) they will shall live. Jesus pronounces his authority and that His voice causes people to live. I think also of John 10:27, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." I love that verse because it really speaks of the fact of Jesus and His people and the special bond between the two. 

This is significant as I also consider texts from the old testament that speak of the Lord being the author of life.  In Genesis 2:7 the Lord says he made Adam a living creature ("Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."). Psalm 90:2 says that God is from everlasting to everlasting ("Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."). Often, I am asked questions about the trinity, and so when I read that Jesus raises the dead to life and gives eternal life to all who believe in Him, and there is an understanding that he is creator as well in the beginning (John 1:3), then as creator, and the one who gives life, I can conclude that Jesus and the Father are of the same substance. In other words, God. And yet, I realize there are many that study the Bible and don't come to this same conclusion. 

It is noteworthy in this passage of a transfer or giving of life from the Father to the Son. As such there is a difference or distinctiveness between the two or the idea that while God they (Father, Son, Spirit) are distinct and separate. Verse 26 records that the Father has life in himself and gave the Son to have life in Himself. So the Father and Son both are keepers of life - creation and resurrection. Augustine wrote, "The Father has life in himself, which none gave him, while the Son has life in himself which the Father gave him." 

Jesus has authority to judge. The Father gave him this authority. These passages seem to speak of those who have died, are in the tomb (28) and upon hearing the name of Jesus, they shall live. 

In all these verses the granting of life or the calling forth of life is as a gift. There is not any mention of it being earned or in exchange for works of righteousness. 

Verse 29 is a little perplexing at first ready for it almost gives the idea that those who upon hearing Jesus (and here in verse 28 and 29 it gives notice that all will hear him, though saved or not) but that those who hear his voice and have done good deeds will result in resurrection of life while those who did evil deeds will result in resurrection of judgment. 

Charles Ellicott, a Church of England 19th theologian wrote about this and i thought it was interesting:

Those who, working out the truth, come to the light now, that their deeds may be manifested, because they are wrought in God, shall in the final testing, when the secrets of every heart shall be revealed, rise unto the resurrection of life, to dwell in eternal light. Those who, practicing evil, choose the darkness now, shall in that final testing, when whatsoever has been spoken in the darkness shall be heard in the light, rise unto the resurrection of condemnation (Acts 24:15), bound in chains of darkness, and be cast into outer darkness. 

I like how this is described. People will come to the light. I think of John 3:20-21, "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” The person in the Light has deeds that are wrought (made) in God. Ellicott infers an initial test and final test.  Initially, a person comes to the light and then have deeds that follow (Eph. 2:10) and those deeds occur because they are made in God. With God in us, deeds will follow. And yet there is final testing in which the secrets of every person revealed. 

This reminds me of Romans 2:5-8: 

5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.

Once again, these verses speak of this final test or judgment when all of our deeds will be judged. Those who did good because the Light was in them and therefore the good they do is from Him, then those will have a result of the resurrection. Each person will be rendered according to their deeds. Eternal life or Wrath, indignation, judgment. 

Whatever one thinks of hell, what we know for sure is that there is a wrath or judgement that is coming for all. 

Summary: The Father has life in himself while the Son has life in himself which the Father gave him. This eternal life given to those in the light results in deeds of righteousness and one day all of our deeds will be judged ultimately resulting in eternal life or judgement. 

Promise: John Calvin writes, "The faith which justifies us is accompanied by an earnest desire to live well and righteously." As such works show who we are in Christ and whether we are authentic. 

Prayer: O Lord, my Lord, How Majestic is your name in all of the earth. You are eternal God and have granted me life through the gift of Jesus and granting him life. I have this eternal life because of my belief in You Jesus and that my deeds follow - to show Love and truth and compassion and forgiveness to others. Thank you for Your Word and the richness of it and the time it take me to understand and study it. Stamp it on me Lord, helping me to defend my faith and encourage others. Thank you for granting me eternal life, the assurance now, but also the reality which will come at your judgment. Gather more into your flock. Thank you for gathering those in my family, but gather more, like Derek and my Dad, as well as each person that crosses my path. Selfishly I desire all to come to know you. I do not want to be away from any for eternity. I praise You and glorify Your name always. 

 

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

John 5:19-24 - Father and Son Together

John 5:19-24

Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing, and greater works than these will He show Him, that you may marvel. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father, He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, Truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 

Message: Father and Son Together

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: [Note: Well, I've done it again and that is it has taken me a while to get to the next lesson, not yet getting to a message now for the month of September. I was asked to give the message in Sunday School and it had me focused every day for the last 7 days on that message and preparing for it. I did it on Psalm 23. Before that, had computer issues in the house and couldn't log on to the internet and had work troubles in the morning with us not meeting lineup and trying to understand that. Always something. So now I am back to the lessons.]

In my Open Bible (NAS), this section (v.19-30) is called "Equality with God in Power." This has been an interesting chapter for me. Reading Chapters 3 and 4, the main idea I saw was the promise of eternal life that we have for believing in Him, Jesus Christ. And then in chapter 5, after Jesus heals a man with paralysis, the Jews are watching Jesus and commenting on what he is doing and what they are not liking.  It is interesting because as I study this passage it doesn't seem like we even really know the salvation of the man who Jesus has healed. Granted Jesus does try to get the man to focus on his sinful life, even stating that sin causes destruction upon man (v. 14). 

I sort of think at first, how did we get here that Jesus would need to share these words. In verse 16, after Jesus has been doing these things, this healing of the man on the Sabbath, but also that the man was walking around with his pallet on the Sabbath - the Jews of the day don't like it and begin to persecute Jesus or come against Him. Jesus defends himself with the fact that Father God and himself are working in the same way at the same times. 

And then Jesus continues to expand on this. 

Jesus does what the Father does. Jesus sees the Father work and He does the same. 

The Father loves His Son.

The Father raises the dead and gives life. The Son does the same. 

All judgment is given to the Son. 

The same honor given to the Father is given to the Son. 

Eternal life is given to those that believe Jesus has been sent by God. 

This passage appears to be a great basis for the view of Trinitarianism and inseparable operations. The premise of this doctrine of inseparable operations is that the Father and Jesus and the Spirit are not working separately from one another but are working together. Jesus is not another agent or another active agent, instead the work of the three persons of the trinity are works together. They flow from the Father, through the Son, and then in the power of the Holy Spirit. If they were separate, then scripture would take on an entirely different meaning. 

I think what is often difficult about the Trinity for us is how we see ourselves - separate human bodies, each person taking on a role. We want to see three different forms doing three different things. But this is not the Trinity. The sacrificial love shown by the Son is the love of the Father, and the same love the Spirit pours into our hearts. 

A father and mother may love their child, but those loves are distinct. They may appear to be the same but they are not the same love because they are coming from two different persons. But the persons of the Trinity are the same and so the love is the same love. I think of water is maybe a parallel idea. Water is a substance we know, but this water can be born in 3 different forms - liquid, ice, and steam. The water is the same, but it manifests itself differently. The only difference in this analogy is these three can't work in tandem. So there is still a difference between that and the Trinity. God the Father loves us, the son carries out that love through sacrificing Himself on the Cross, and the truth of that love is communicated to us by the Spirit. 

And so this passage speaks clearly of the Father and the Son and what they do is of the same substance - activity, judgment, miracles, honor - and yet separate, but together, and of the same kind. Another way of saying this is every work of God is from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Salvation comes to us from the Father through the mediation of the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Augustine of Hippo says in a sermon on this passage that the Father does "every work whatsoever by the Son; so that not any works are done by the Father without the Son, or by the Son without the Father." 

Summary: Every work of God is from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. 

Promise: We can never achieve the same kind of unity with our Creator that Jesus has, but we can ask God to give us a heart that wants to do only what He calls us in His Word to do. 

Prayer: O Lord, I come before you and speak to you my Heavenly Father and yet acknowledge that the work of Jesus and the Spirit is the same and thank you for your equality and the same work that is being done in creation and even in my life. You are Holy and True. Thank you for staying faithful. And being faithful to me always. Give me strength this day to glorify You always in all ways, in everything I do. 

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