The Gospel According to the Apostle called John
I personally love the 4 Gospels dearly. I read all of them at least twice every year.
While the entire Bible points towards Jesus, the Gospels provide a unique perspective on the person Jesus and who He is exactly!
Imagine 4 different people from different backgrounds writing about one man—Jesus, to different people even as they viewed from their individual lens. Yet, their assertions on the character of Jesus tallied.
*Matthew*: His target audience being Jewish believers emphasizing that Jesus is truly from the lineage of Abraham and indeed the promised Messiah.
*Mark* writing to the Roman believers (who valued power and influence), highlighting Jesus as the one sent to serve the world 🥹
*Luke* detailing Jesus as the Savior of ALL Mankind to the Greek Gentiles. ðŸ˜
And my dear *John* writing to us; *the universal church of Christ*, putting it to all of us point blank that Jesus is indeed God!
I am completely amazed by the themes of each gospel and how it had to be each of them who wrote what book
I mean Who better to write to the Gentiles that this Savior is for ALL mankind and not the Jews alone if not Luke who himself was a gentile and had received this same salvation himself. A perfect witness! 🥹ðŸ˜
One lovely thing to hold on to as we read John is the Identity of Christ revealed, and in turn our own identity in Him.
The gospel according to John is not just another book of what Jesus did on earth. It is not a history book. No! It is Christ revealed in All that He is to us.
You can literally count the number of miracles in this book. John was not focused on the miracles or feel good things Jesus did. His focus was Christ Himself; who He is, His presence in our lives and the transformation that brings.
Last time we read the book, I saw how John was able to map out the relationship between humanity and the divine. We see clearly here what the arrival of Christ meant for human relational proximity to God.
And I say this always that John could only have known this because he was viewing from the lens of love.
So yes, from this one who is loved to all of us who are loved, I pray we encounter Jesus as we go through the pages of this book. We see His love clearly. We see exactly when He comes and what this now means for us
Amen
John 1
1. *The Beginning*
*_In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God._*
John 1:1 NKJV
*_“In the very beginning the Living Expression was already there. And the Living Expression was with God, yet fully God._*
John 1:1 TPT
In the beginning!
Remember the gospels are about Jesus.
My beloved John was going to write about Jesus and he didn’t start from a stable in Bethlehem. Nah..
For us to come to the understanding of Christ and that He is God bringing Eternity to us, we’d have to start from Eternity past.
The book of Genesis (the Bible more like) literally begins with this same opening: IN THE BEGINNING
This is what the world knew: the beginning that was the beginning of this cosmos. And then John comes to pull the curtain back further
Like you know a beginning o but there is a beginning before that and inside of this first beginning before the one man knows, the word already *was*
The Greek word used for *was* here is *Ä“n* which implies continuous and ongoing existence in the past.
He didn’t say the word was made in the beginning
He said the word was
This carries Jesus beyond the starting point of man’s understanding of God
And it is such a case opener for the man that wants to tell us that Jesus is God.
PS I am amazed at the sheer intelligence of these men.
1. *The Word*
was the word..
Which word?
The one that is alive. You see, the Bible is not just letters, a novel compilation or a greatly written book
far from it!
It is a full pointer to one person: *The word* (Christ Jesus)
The passion translation calls this word *The living expression of God Himself*
*The Word* : God revealed in human form
*The word*: God expressing Himself to mankind
*The word:* God’s way of telling the world about Himself
Because nothing really suffices when it comes to describing God.
Nothing makes a perfect description of God outside of God, nothing does justice.
The only way God could describe Himself to us all is through Himself
*The word*; The exact replica of God ; God Himself.
*The Word*; *Jesus*; The Christ; Son of God; God Himself!
TPT says the living expression was there with God in the beginning and was yet *fully* God
AMPC says the word was *God Himself*
Again, John 1:1 is arguably one of the most brilliant communication piece in the Bible (for lack of better words)
First, John’s audience is the universal church
Jews, Greek, everybody
He took one “word” and married two completely different worlds.
I will try to explain it:
- For the Jewish man, the word of God is not abstract. They had an understanding that God literally spoke the world into being.
Infact, the Jews in a way had interpreted God revealing Himself through His word.
You’d find a lot of expressions of “Then the word of the Lord came to me” in the Old Testament
What John was saying to the Jews is that if you say the word of the Lord came to you when God reveals something to you, and if Jesus is that word then Jesus is truly how God reveals Himself to men
Kai
- The Greek philosophers know Logos as the ultimate mystery of the universe. The Greeks looked at the universe and saw order, mathematics, and logic. They concluded there must be an invisible or supreme reason holding everything together. They called this force the *Logos.*
The Word
The Logos
Now John is here telling them that the Logos you know already exists but haven’t figured out, the person is Jesus o.
Double enter there for real ðŸ˜
*All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.*
John 1:3 AMPC
You know we already established that John’s purpose for this book is to declare Jesus as God to everybody.
I feel like we need to pause right here
You see this first 3 verses? They explain so well the concept of *The Trinity*
If you’ve struggled with understanding the Triune God then I need you to follow this book very well.
*The Triune God*
John 1:3 states explicitly that *ALL* things were made and came into existence through Christ (the word)
This statement puts Jesus at the scene of Creation not as one of the things created but as the Creator itself.
If we go to Genesis 1, it says:
In the beginning, *God created*
And John is saying that Jesus was there at the beginning. Not just that, Infact all things were made and came into existence through Him then still came back to say that nothing was made without Him. What John was doing is slamming the door shut on any doubt.
It is either you are created or you are creator
John has established for us here that Jesus was not created
Places Him at the scene of creation and then tells us that ALL things were made through Him (the earth, the angels, heaven, space, time). All things!
The Apostle Paul will echo this later in Colossians 1:16
Ati Visible things o, invisible things
Thrones, dominion, rulers, authorities
He’d assert that these too are not excluded from All things
*God, in three persons, blessed Trinity*
I feel like where the problem starts for us believers and we enter into error on the Trinity is first that we want to explain how water entered the coconut.
I can try to explain to you the concept of the Trinity but I cannot explain it to you like a 2 yr old or the why and how of the Trinity
The why and how is a mystery and 2 years old don’t understand mysteries. Them go use question kill you ðŸ˜ðŸ˜‚
I’d have to demystify God to break down why He is three in one or how He became three in one.
I say this because it is in trying to rationalize or logicalize the divine that we then begin to add our own.
Because God is creator and uncreated, we will not be able to break down certain things to the granular. We cannot explain how He became who He is because this means He will have to have a start. Who knows His start?
_*Back to the Trinity…*_
God; The Father
God; The Son
God; The Holy Spirit
ONE GODHEAD; three distinct persons
Jesus is God but Jesus is not the Father or the Spirit
John 1:1 says the Word was *with God*
The Greek word used there was *_pros_* which means face to face intimacy.
You cannot face to face yourself
This is proof that Jesus is not the Father
When Jesus Himself said “I and my Father are ONE”, He didn’t mean they are the same persons
If they are the same person, then he’d be a liar when He was saying “I go to my father” or “I have come to do the will of the Father who sent me”
If they were same persons, Jesus was selling us bobo then
*God the Father and God the Son (the Word) are two distinct Persons. They are not the same person playing different roles but they are one GOD.*
John 1:1 says *The word was God*
This verse establishes plainly that while they are distinct Persons, they share the exact same divine essence, nature, and being. Jesus is not a "lesser" god or an angel, He is fully God.
This verse 3 also eliminates *Modalism* and *Arianism*
Arianism claims that God created Jesus first and then Jesus created everything else. But John stated clearly in verse 3 that *nothing was made without Him*. There is a reason he went this further after all things were made through Him.
There is no scene where anything or anyone was being created that Jesus wasn’t there as creator too.
Jesus is God; *uncreated and eternal*
Again, we cannot explain how God came to be. He just IS.
We’d have to demystify Him to do this.
The other widely known error of the Trinity is *Modalism*. This one is more accepted
It was this heresies that came up in the body of Christ about the Trinity and the council of Nicea (325 AD) gathered to debunk them
About 300 Bishops sitting together studying the Bible, John 1 as part of their texts, establishing that these 2 views are indeed errors
For if Jesus was created, our salvation falls completely apart.
*Random*: I love what they did with that meeting. They crafted the Nicene creed as an official statement of Faith for everybody to be reading.
My take is that the body of Christ should go back to this creed
I grew up an Anglican and my first shock in the outside world was that Christians didn’t understand the trinity.
What then do we believe?
God from God
Light from Light
True God from True God
Begotten NOT made
Of one substance with the Father.
Kai ðŸ˜
See the danger of it doesn’t really mean if some people are not getting it is heavy.
It means
If Jesus is not God, all of us who worship Him are practicing idolatry o
Sebi it’s kuku in our eyes that people are promoting God and intentionally removing the name Jesus. That agenda has a purpose
All of us must be grounded and know what we believe.
Question: There’s God the Father in Heaven
God the son which is Jesus
So is the Holyspirit not God living inside of me 🙄🙄🙄🙄?
🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣
Answer: Yes.
There is God, the Father
God, the son (Jesus )
And God the Holy Spirit
God, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit *who is in you*, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”
I Corinthians 6:19 NKJv
Contd.
Again, the beautiful mystery of the Godhead is *One God, existing eternally in three distinct Persons, bound together by perfect love.*
*God in three persons*
*The What*
When we say God, we are talking about *what* God is (essence, nature, being) and there is only ONE God. God has only one Nature. It is why you cannot also say Jesus has a different character to God (this one is another teaching on its own)
*The Who*
Inside that one God, there are three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit.
The Father is not the Son.
The Son is not the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not the Father.
They are completely distinct from one another, yet they never disagree, they never fight, and they are completely equal in power and love.
3. *In this word there was life*
*_In Him was life, and the life was the light of men._*
John 1:4 NKJV
Jesus is not just the giver of life, He is life!
It is through Him that life flows to men. He is not giving life outside of Himself, this is who He is. It is why all who come to Him and referred to as *In Christ* have life
Note that, it is not just any type of life we are talking about.
He is Life that extends forever.
In the original Greek language, 2 words are used for light:
Zoe and Bios
Bios is biological life (your heartbeat, your DNA, your physical body).
While Zoe means the absolute fullness of life: spiritual life, eternal life, and the very uncreated life of God Himself.
*Zoe* is the life mentioned in this chapter
Inside of Jesus is Zoe, the absolute fullness of Life
So you can have Bios yet lack Zoe
It is also why scripture says that Christ has come that we may have *life in abundance*
Fullness of life
Purposeful human existence
It exists only in Christ
And this life is *Light* to the people of the world.
Notice the precise order John uses. He does not say the light became life. He says the life became the light of men
This means you cannot truly see or understand God until you receive His life first.
*Let’s go back to what Light is*
Light is clarity, understanding.
Put everyone in a dark room, turn on the light and people begin to see clearly.
This is what Jesus is to us
Our *see God clearly lens*
light is also understanding
*Jesus became our understanding of God*
This is why He came
We want to understand God? We head to Jesus
Oh myyyyyy
Vs 5 says darkness could not comprehend it
Every understanding of God outside of Jesus is shut in darkness because there is really no understanding outside of Christ.
You try to know God outside of Christ? You end up with more confusion. The results will not tally. You will have a misrepresented God.
Outside of Jesus, *No one* knows God because Jesus is God!
And this is why every other religion that tells you they serve same God as you lie
No one who doesn’t know Christ has Zoe because Zoe is in Christ Jesus
And if you don’t know Christ? You don’t know God
C’est fini
Again, I need us to pay attention to John’s message
He is saying to us that *JESUS IS GOD*
There are religions that believe Jesus exists but as one of the prophets
Or a messenger from God
Jesus is the son of God
Jesus is God
Jesus is not a messenger or prophet
You must get this and believe it
4. *JOHN; Sent from God*
*There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.*
John 1:6-8 NKJV
I have been thinking about John the Baptist since Monday when we started John 1
Infact, I started my Bible study that day with him.
What a man 🥹🥹🥹🥹
John, who lived in the wilderness
Eating just locust and wild honey
Wearing only rough camel’s hair with a leather belt
John had no care for himself, except that he was sent.
It was enough for him that he was sent and he lived all of his life preparing for that mission.
I actually cried when I was here on Monday
John’s mission had an expiry date
He had a specific window of time to introduce Christ and he came in right at that time
He made good use of it
He left every other desire to ensure this that the witness of Christ does his work
He didn’t marry
He didn’t build a house
He didn’t even build a following for himself
John the Baptist was aware of destiny: that he was a man sent from God who came to this earth for only one reason *to witness* and witness he did!
And this is why it breaks my heart so much when we talk about the execution of John the Baptist and attribute it to a spiritual failure on his end
John did not die because he did something wrong; he died because he did everything right. He was executed precisely because he refused to compromise his integrity as a witness for God.
John died fulfilled!
We are so bold in the body of Christ actually
We don’t understand persecution and what this body must endure until the second coming of Christ
How did we even arrive at this for John? How?
The same John that Jesus said this of:
"Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen *no one greater than John the Baptist*."
Same John?
Again, the problem is that we don’t understand what it means to be sent for a purpose
The Greek word used for "sent" here is apostello, which is where we get our modern word Apostle or Missionary.
John did not wake up one day and decided to preach in the wilderness because he felt like it.
He had a literal, divine commission. He was backed by the full authority of Heaven.
And John died having fulfilled this mission!
John’s entire life purpose is summarized in one word: *Witness* (the Greek word is martyria, from which we get the word martyr).
A witness in a courtroom doesn't invent the truth. They don't try to be the center of attention. They don't perform the miracle. A witness simply stands up and says, "This is what I saw, and this is what I know to be true."
And witness John did.
And this brings me to us all preaching the gospel,
You are not *the light*, you are not the understanding of God.
Stop pointing men to you (probably unintentional).
This is what most leaders in the body of Christ are doing today. We are raising disciples of ourselves.
“I pray men come to know God through me”
Erhm... the only way they come to know God is through Christ actually so for this your prayer to come to pass, you will have to point men to Christ, both with words and the way you live.
You have to intentionally do it o.
Your "this way to Christ" must be loud
All of the apostles, this was the mission. Even the Holy Spirit (also God), points us to this Christ.
Because there is no other perfect revelation of God outside Jesus.
Question 2: Are we not given same assignment?
Why, is it so easy to / do we deviate from the assignment assigned to us
?
Answer: Yes, we have all been called to witness Christ
I think one of our greatest undoing is our love for the pleasures of this world.
*What are we willing to let go for this Jesus?*
Some of us cannot stop listening to Asake
I’m going too far, some of us still listen to naira Marley and Burnaboy
If they ask you, you will say it is not sin. It’s just abdgehegarrwcec
Was eating normal food a sin?
But look at John
Lived in the wilderness
Fed on locust
Se you people know what locust is
That’s a man that had no love for the world
Our problem is that we love the world more than we love the one who has called and sent us.
Our second greatest problem is that we deny the problem above which makes it more difficult to seek help from God.
5. *Sons; those who believe*
*_But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:_*
John 1:12 NKJV
*_But some people did accept him. They believed in him, and he gave them the right to become children of God._*
John 1:12 ERV
For as many that accept that Jesus is God and believe *IN* Him, they get the automatic right to becomes sons of God
They are not called to first behave like Him. No, they just believe and they are sons.
Of course, they will end up behaving like Him, but first, they believe.
You don’t behave your way into a family, you are born into your family.
Your behavior is a natural byproduct of first the DNA of your family and your upbringing.
You will go to a family and see that all of them drum or they have a special gift of dancing or they are intelligent.
Again, you are born into a family, you do not behave your way into it.
*“They became God’s children, but not in the way babies are usually born. It was not because of any human desire or plan. They were born from God himself.”*
John 1:13 ERV
This!!!
Oh my God ðŸ˜
*I am born from God Himself*
Omo! Such a full flex
Very big flex to call God father, very big flex!
You’ve been called son
And it’s not just that they called you son o, scripture says you’ve been born from God Himself!
Never think of yourself as less
There should be no doubt about this
Wear your sonship badge
Enjoy all the privileges that come with being son.
So many believers do not enjoy these earthly privileges.
God wants you to enjoy them
Isaiah 9 vs 6-7 (MSG) says there is no limit to the wholeness the Messiah brings.
Dear son,
Stop limiting yourself
There are no boundaries in this new status
There are no limits for the ones called sons
Live as son
Know your right as son
Live your privileges as son
Should the son of a cloth seller be found wearing rags? *Never*
So son, live as son!
Take your time to know who you are as soon
Then go ahead to live it
*“who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”*
John 1:13 NKJV
See how John breaks it down
This birth didn’t happen by:
- Human blood (You didn't inherit it from your earthly parents' good genes).
- The will of the flesh (You didn't earn it through your own hustle, willpower, or self-control).
- The will of man (No pastor, church, or religious leader voted you into the kingdom)
It was from God Himself. The exact same Zoe (divine life) that we read about in verse 4; the very uncreated life that has been flowing through the Trinity from eternity past
Again,
Live as son
Know your right as son
Love your privileges as son
6. *Once dwelt amongst men and now Lives in sons*
*_And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth._*
John 1:14 NKJV
Omo! ( x 1000000 plix because what ðŸ˜)
This is the most mind blowing thing ever
John takes the eternal, uncreated Creator Word from verse 1; the same One who spoke time, space, and angels into existence and says He did the unthinkable
Let’s recap a little bit abeg
God decided to reveal Himself directly to man cos we had some distorted view of Him, we really didn’t know Him.
God came and became flesh
John does not say the Word "appeared" as flesh, or "dressed up" like a human. He says the Word *became* flesh.
The Greek word used for flesh here is *Sarx* and it means a normal actual human body, fragile, weak. It can get tired, hungry, sweat, bleed, feel pain, be killed, die. No odeshi
I need you to think of how mind blowing this is
*The One who holds the universe together by the word of His power suddenly had to learn how to walk as a baby. The One who feeds the whole world had to cry for milk.*
My God ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
When the Bible says “We do not have a high priest that does not understand” this is it
Jesus crawled as you did
He learnt to walk as you did
He learned to talk as you did
He probably bed wet as I did 🥹ðŸ˜
God pitched His tent with humans
He had done this before in the Old Testament using the tabernacle. It was terrifying, not everyone could access it also
It was hidden behind thick veils
Now, God decided to pitch a new tent
And this time, *it is not made of goat skin and gold threads. It is made of human skin and bones.*
ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Like the Almighty God moved into this our messy world
Lives in this my tiny fragile heart
I carry Him everywhere
The Almighty God! 🥹
If I’m walking round this streets of Lagos that is smelling, He is walking it with me too
Kai ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
7. *Pleroma; From His fullness*
*For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.*
John 1:16 AMPC
John in this verse moved from who Jesus is to what Jesus gives us
The Greek word John uses for fullness is *pleroma.* It means a condition of being totally filled to the brim, with absolutely no room left over. It is a cup that is permanently running over.
So the grace, the spiritual blessing, the favor
All of it is permanently running over
My God!
How then do we have this and assume we can live in any form of lack?
That scripture says we have *ALL* received
All of us
Not some of us
Jesus is not a shallow well that might dry up if we drink too much
You are drawing from an inexhaustible source
He has an infinite reservoir of peace, joy, power, and life
All manner of spiritual blessings
This is what it looks like for those of us born of God: Unlimited Access
You don’t get to beg for crumbs or live on a tight spiritual budget
I need this scripture to plunge you into remembrance of who you are as son and all that is accessible to you
Declare it upon your self and go draw from your well that never runs dry
Draw Grace to do
Draw wisdom
Draw the spirit of might
Draw strength
Draw healing
Everything you need, it is inside of your heritage
Take it!
*No one ever before gazed upon the full splendor of God except his uniquely beloved Son, who is cherished by the Father and held close to his heart. Now that he has come to us, he has unfolded the full explanation of who God truly is!*
John 1:18 TPT
*“No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. [Prov. 8:30.]”*
John 1:18 AMPC
Look what the *The AMPC* says: He has brought Him where He can be seen.
*The MSG* says Christ has made God plain as day!
*TPT* says He has unfolded the full explanation of who Hod truly is
Kai! 🥹🥹🥹
He has declared God!
Jesus has declared God
In the original Greek, this is the word exēgeomai, which is where we get our English word *exegesis!*
*Jesus is the ultimate exegesis of God.*
He is the walking, talking, breathing explanation of the Father's heart.
Christ is God brought to man to be seen exactly as He is!
Christ has interpreted God completely
Stop looking for extra sheet
Stop looking for dimensions to God outside of Christ
You will lost and I am not even joking.
"Seven book of Moses"
"10 book of kini kan"
I say you will lost.
Stay with Christ
He is more than enough
He is all the God that you need to know
Let your hunger for more be in Christ
Whatever you can’t reconcile with the image of Jesus, it is not God!
“But my pastor talk, PRems said”
Jesus is the blue print
Let every man be a liar and God alone be true
God is plain as day already, in Christ
And if you ever find yourself wondering, "What does God think of me? Is He angry? Is He loving?" you don't have to guess anymore.
You just look at Jesus. Jesus is the exact, uncompromised, love-filled picture of who God is
8. *The Lamb of God and His witness*
Again, I’m back to John the Baptist
This man did not just guess who Jesus was or assumed
He received an undeniable, supernatural sign from Heaven: the Holy Spirit descending like a dove.
The dove symbolizes peace
True peace between God and humanity, that is what Jesus brought.
*“And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.””*
John 1:34 NKJV
Do you know what it means to be the first earthly witness of Christ?
Angel Gabriel spoke to Mary
God spoke from Heaven
But John was the first person on earth to tell other people on earth that see the Son of God!
What an honor!
The image before me is those videos we show of special guests in church before we bring them up on stage
Imagine a papa Adeboye coming to my church
It is my pastor that will do the announcement with all honor and joy
They will not give member like me 😂
Look at the privilege John had
Such an honored man
John didn't live to see the cross, the empty tomb, or the day of Pentecost.
He spent his entire life running a specific race, just one thing: pointing away from himself and toward the Messiah
And the exact second he officially stamped Jesus as the Son of God, his earthly shift was complete. If John had died right after this on the spot, he’d have lived completely.
This is what a successful assignment looks like
And my question to us is this
What is your assignment?
Are you living it?
John ran
Oh my
We all need to learn how to carry a vision from that man
If there is anything, my admiration for John spiked with this current study. And I’m challenged as one sent to the world by my Christ
I am very challenged
9. *Followers of Christ*
“_*The next day John was there again and had two of his followers with him. He saw Jesus walking by and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two followers heard him say this, so they followed Jesus.”_*
John 1:35-37 ERV
The last time we read the book of John, I found out for the first time that Andrew was actually a follower of John the Baptist.
The spirit told John about Jesus
And what did John do?
He told the people following Him about Jesus
He pointed them directly to Christ and he did hands off
That was how Andrew followed Jesus
His oga (John the baptist) showed him the true Oga
John never stopped talking about Jesus
He pointed men to Christ
This also showed John’s heart
He understood ministry and his purpose in all of this
He pointed Andrew to Christ
Andrew sweetly asked Jesus where He stayed and followed Him home
Something amazing to see here is that *Jesus’ very first disciple came from John the baptist* 🥹🥹🥹
Then Andrew went back home and called his brother *Simon Peter* to also come and see.
Vs 41 says that was the first thing Andrew did. He went to call his brother.
*Simon Peter*, the first pope and earthly bishop of the body of Christ
First to preach Jesus at the start of the church
The leader of the early church
The detailing is so amazing
So so amazing
Again, stop tighting the gospel to your chest, preach it. Spread it.
10. *The one who existed in the beginning knows the end from the beginning*
*_Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas.” (“Cephas” means “Peter. ”)”_*
John 1:42 ERV
Peter’s name was not Peter
His name was Simon but we all call him Peter today
John pointed Andrew to Jesus and Andrew brought his brother, Simon
And immediately Jesus saw Simon, He changed his name to Peter (Cephas which means *The rock*)
*“So I tell you, you are Peter. And I will build my church on this rock. The power of death will not be able to defeat my church.”*
Matthew 16:18 ERV
You see this encounter in Matthew 16 and John 1, it didn’t just happen.
Peter declaring Christ as Messiah and Jesus telling him the church will be built upon this rock wasn’t coincidental.
Christ knew Peter from the very beginning
And it is amazing how he called him by his kingdom name the very moment he met him
The very first day Jesus met Simon, Christ called Him by His destiny; *Peter, The Rock!*
Even when Simon Peter’s identity in life did not tally
I’m not even sure Peter understood any of this
But Christ knew him
Infact, it is by divine providence that his brother Andrew was a follower of John
God is detailed
He is indeed Alpha and Omega
There is nothing coincidental about your life
Nothing!
God is very much intentional about you
It didn’t just happen that it was Andrew that was with John at the time Jesus passed by.
Nothing happens by mistake
Those details of your life that do not make sense to you?
God knows
Just rest in this!
*On new Identities*
Jesus did not just give Simon Peter a personal name or pet name
*You will be called Peter*
This is what you are to me, *the rock* and this is what men will call you.
This is what you identify as from henceforth!
God has called you righteous and *this is what you will be called*
He has called you complete, forgiven, enough, perfect!
This is what you will be called
God is very intentional about what He calls us
It doesn't matter who we are right now
He calls us by our finished product
He has called you saved and freed!
You will not accept any other name outside what God has called you.
No please.
You will also not call yourself any other thing outside this
God is big on names
There is so much in a name
Your identity is hidden right there in it
So I ask:
*What do you call yourself?*
I do not care what your reality is o
Peter was rock even when his faith shook and he was sinking inside water
Peter was rock still even when he denied Jesus
Peter had been rock before he met Jesus because God had given him that name from the beginning
And this is it really!
God has called you that name from the beginning
Even if you do anything outside of this name, you will remind yourself that you are righteous
You will remind yourself what God has called you
Then you will go ahead and live accordingly
The one who knows the end from the beginning has given you a name, own it!
Live it!
Random extra for me in this chapter is that Andrew followed Jesus home on the first meet
What kind of man was Jesus?
Which kind aura be thattttt
*Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the law. The prophets wrote about him too. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph. He is from Nazareth.”*
John 1:45 ERV
11. *The fulfillment of Prophecy*
See the excitement Philip used to call Nathanael
Just look at
He saw the word being fulfilled right before their eyes and he ran to his town to call his friend
"Come and see who we found"
Guys, we are in the middle of another fulfillment of that which has been written before now
We are in the last days
We are in the days when the spirit of God will be poured upon all flesh
Even for our nation, we are experiencing a shift
We are right here in the middle of prophecies said of old
What is your reaction to times such as this?
Are you still waiting for the last days in the future?
Do you believe it is here already?
*Then he said, “Believe me when I say that you will all see heaven open. You will see ‘angels of God going up and coming down’ on the Son of Man.”*
John 1:51 ERV
*"Believe me when I say you will see heaven open"*
I sense so strongly that this is a word for now
It feels like Jesus said that directly to us
The response of my heart is this:
*In my lifetime, I, Olúrèmà will see Heaven open. My eyes will see prophecies fulfilled in my generation*
Amen
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