Grace Bible Church
Basic Training in Doctrine
Pastor Joseph P. Sugrue
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Many unfortunate things happen to us in this life so that God may manifest His work.
This is a reference to God the Father, author of the divine plan, who knew in eternity past that this man would be blind and that he would have +V.
The works of God represent His grace provision.
God is perfect; His plan is perfect – origin of grace. Therefore in the framework of the perfect plan of God, God must work.
2 Cor 12:7 And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me — to keep me from exalting myself!
2 Cor 12:8 Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
2 Cor 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
The man is hopeless, helpless useless but the grace of God will meet his need. In meeting his need God the Son is manifest for what He is – the light of the world.
It is the purpose of the Trinity to work through grace, and only through grace, because grace reveals the perfection of His character.
“as long as it is day” refers to the period of the incarnation, which has approximately 6 months to go.
The night refers to the three hours when he bore our sins on the cross. Darkness covered Golgotha – Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33.
When darkness covered Golgotha no one worked except Christ, and He worked by being the recipient of divine judgment.
God’s grace is God’s light. This man was in darkness, but when his eyes are open he is going to see the Lord and believe.
John 1:4-5
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:17
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
The only reason that his faith will be efficacious is because Christ is going to go into utter darkness that no man has ever experienced.
Matt 27:45
Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.
God is always going to come through in His timing – immediately or gradually, but don’t put God in some metal box and think He’s going to deliver in the same manner all the time.
It takes determination to follow the command of Jesus to make it all the way to the pool blindly, even though he doesn’t know him as Savior yet.
We are going to see the thinking of an unbeliever who has positive volition at God consciousness, but hasn’t received the gospel yet (pre-gospel) and the thinking of the unbeliever who is steeped in religion.
We are called by God. Christ comes to us; we do not seek Him out. No unbeliever inherently knows where Christ is or who Christ is as the God man.
The Pharisees (not God) made it illegal to spit on the Sabbath or to make clay, and Christ did this right on the steps of the temple.
Ps 146:8
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous;
They can’t deny the genuineness of the miracle. It’s happened and they can’t refute that. So they’ll discredit the people involved.
This is different from the first interrogation. They want him to renounce any gratitude for what Jesus did because of their Sabbath rule.
He chooses to call Jesus a prophet because he still doesn’t know who He is. It’s the highest office he can think of.
They try three ways to discredit.
1. Is this your son?
2. Was he born blind?
3. How does he now [temporarily] see?
1. Is this your son? Yes
2. Was he born blind? Oh yeah.
3. How does he now [temporarily] see? We don’t know. Ask him.
Why were they intimidated? They would have been kicked out of the temple. This meant excommunication which meant social and economic ostracism.