Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Speaker: Pastor Joe Sugrue
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
They won’t even mention our Lord’s name but they acknowledge that John has borne witness. They use the perfect tense of the verb meaning that even they understood that John’s ministry was always to communicate the Lord’s person and purpose.
MAT 9:14
Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
HOS 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. (NIV)
HOS 6:6
I’m after love that lasts, not more religion.
I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings. (TMB)
Some of the disciples of John identified themselves with the Pharisees and not with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through Israel’s rejection of the Lord as Messiah, He has been taken away from Israel for a time in which the Church-age is inserted. The only hope for the Jew in the CA is to cross over from friend to bride by faith in Him.
Israel will not be with the bridegroom again until the Millennial reign and until then Israel mourns legitimately.
The objective of the plan of God is to glorify God and not the glory of individual believers. When one member is promoted the other members rejoice because God is glorified.
“John answered” –
apokrinomai
[apo = preposition of ultimate source;
krinomai = to give a discerning answer] =
to give an answer based on knowledge.
He had Bible doctrine in His human spirit. He had divine viewpoint minus mental attitude sins.
“A man” – anthropos, homo sapien, a generic term; this applies to anyone, including the religious crowd.
“Can receive nothing” – the general principle.
“Can” and “receive”
Can – dunamai = to have the power, ability. A man has the ability to receive nothing. Present tense – this is always true. A man does not have the ability to receive anything except from God – “unless it is given to him from heaven.”
If God doesn’t promote you then you are to be relaxed and free from mental attitude sins, and have inner happiness, inner peace, inner power, and inner blessing. God isn’t going to promote all believers and if God doesn’t promote you, you are not promoted.
“Except it be given” – perfect passive subjunctive.
Perfect tense = divine promotion is permanent and has great spiritual repercussions.
Passive voice = divine promotion is based on the principle of grace.
Subjunctive mood = divine promotion is potential, depending upon God.
Josh 3:7
Now the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you.”
1PE 5:6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
John says to the religious crowd that they are complaining about the type of success that Jesus is having but no one has this type of success unless it comes from heaven.
John’s job is to remain faithful and to be stabilised in doctrine, oriented to grace. Promotion is in the hands of the Lord.
PRO 28:20
A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.
LUK 16:10
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.”
JOH 15:5
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Sent – per-pass-part – apostello = to send freely.
In the perf tense it means he was sent in the past, before the Christ with the results that he fully performed his mission.
John recognized this and said, “I am the friend of the bridegroom.”
“It is my business to lead the bride to Him.”
“He has heard His voice and his joy is fulfilled.”
Fulfilled – perfect tense of pleroo =
1) to fill up a deficiency,
2) to filly possess,
3) to fill with a certain quality,
4) to fully influence.
Increase – pres-act-inf – auxanein = to keep on growing; to enlarge.
Decrease – pres-pass-inf – elattoo = to be made less or inferior in dignity; to lose reputation.
PRO 1:5 a wise man will hear, and will increase learning.
PRO 9:9 teach a man with integrity and he will increase in learning.