The Strand Study Bible

JOHN

1756 JOHN suffering to occur, it is humans that are selfish, ungodly, cruel, and immoral. Therefore, we have no right to blame God for our suffering. 7. understanding that death has no power but the power given to it (Acts 2:22-24) Although the Jews and the Roman soldiers acted freely when they rejected and crucified Jesus, they were not in charge of the universe. God was, is, and always will be, and He used their rebellion to accomplish His goal (Psa 2). M.R. De Haan II in How Much Does God Control ? Notes:

God is all- powerful and so involved with what happens that not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from His will (Mt. 10:29). He is in control of history. Paul declared that “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings” (Acts 17:26). He also declared that the rulers of nations, bad as well as good, receive their authority from God (Dan. 4:17; Rom 13:1). 2

NOTE – There are three great truths in God’s Word that will help us to cope with life’s troubles: 1. God sees us in tough times, not always through tough times Think again if you think you’re more special to God than the people in the Hall of Faith were (Heb 11:32-40). 2. Obeying God in the little things (like going to church, witnessing, being faithful to give and to pray and to read) means trusting God through the big things (Acts 13:13 & 15:36-38 and Lk 17 :1- 9 -10) 3. Trusting God in the tough times means trusting in the most important thing about Him ( Psa 145:2 ) The greatest attribute of God is His omnipotence; His sovereign power to control all of life, including ours. 14:1b Faith in the work ( Rom 1:20b – point #6) of the Triune Godhead ( ye believe in God, believe also in me ) is what settles hearts. Dr. Richard Swenson in More Than Meets the Eye notes: The more we understand about God’s power, the less we worry about our weakness. The more we trust in God’s sovereignty, the less we fret about our future. 3 14:2a According to Jesus, believers are promised mansions … yet what are we building (I Cor 3:12-15)? 14:2b For the believer everything will be all right in the end ( I go to prepare a place for you ), and if it’s not all right… it’s not yet the end. 14:6 CHRIST , our Sanctuary (Tabernacle - Rev 21:3), is and always has been the only WAY to God (Psa 77:13). 14:9 In essence, what Christ was saying was, “I am your picture of God” ( he that hath seen me has seen the FATHER ). The SON OF GOD is the visible expression of the invisible Godhead, for in Christ men saw God ( Isa 9:6 , Phil 2:6 a and Heb 1:3 ). 14:12 According to John 20:30 & 21:25, Jesus performed more miracles while here on earth than could be recorded on paper. Of all the physical and natural miracles that our Lord performed, the greatest miracle (without a doubt) would be that of raising the dead. Only four other men throughout biblical history were able, by God’s power, to raise someone from the dead: (1) Elijah raised the widow of Zaraphate’s son (I Ki 17:22) (2) Elisha raised the Shunammite’s son (II Ki 4:34-35) (3) Peter raised Dorcas (Acts 9:40) (4) Paul raised Eutychus (Acts 20:12) Unlike our Savior, who alone was able to raise multitudes from the dead (Lk 7:14-15 & 8:54-55, Jn 11:43-44 and Mt 27:52), including Himself (Jn 10:18 & 11:25-26), these four men were only able to raise one person each. If raising the dead is the greatest miracle (physical and/or natural) that one can perform, and Jesus promised His followers that they would do “ greater works than these ” (including raising the dead), then there is only one other work greater than that of raising the dead physically, and that is raising the dead “spiritually.” There is no greater miracle. According to John 10:41, John the Baptist never performed one miracle during his lifetime, yet our Lord called him the greatest man born of woman. Why? Because John was a fulltime witness for Jesus. Sadly, many, if not most Christians, would rather see a physical and/or natural miracle than they would a changed life due to the experience of the miraculous new birth ( Jn 3:3 b ). 14:15 Falling in love is not a choice; staying in love is. Jesus said: “ If you love me (if you want this relationship of ours to last), keep my commandments (you must choose to do so). Our Lord never asks us to decide for Him; He asks us to yield to Him –to choose to stay in love with Him by keeping His commandments. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: You fall in love by chance; you stay in love by choice 14:16 This word ( another ) is the Greek word αλλον ( allon ) and means “ another of the same sort. ” It is different from the word ‘ε τ ερ ο ν ( heteron ), which is also translated “another” ( Gal 1:6 ). According to Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Vol. I), allon and heteron have a difference in meaning. Whereas allon expresses a numerical difference and denotes “another of the same sort,” heteron expresses a qualitative difference and denotes “another of a different sort.” Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words notes: Christ promised to send “another Comforter” ( allos , another like Himself, not heteros ). 4 Thus, the HOLY SPIRIT is God and worthy of our worship, just like the FATHER ( Jn 4:20-25 ) and the SON ( Mt 2:1-2 and Jn 9:35-38 ) are.

1 Lucado, Max. Fearless , Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson, 2009. Print. 2 De Haan II, M.R. How Much Does God Control ?, Grand Rapids, MI, RBC Ministries, 1994, 2001. Print. 3 Swenson, Richard. More Than Meets the Eye , Colorado Springs, CO, NavPress, 2000. Print. 4 Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words . Old Tappan, NJ, Fleming H. Revell Co., 1940. Print.