Dear Explorer,
Read John 5:19-23
Remember the Circle Model of Jesus? We talked about it on Day 33. Here Jesus describes His relationship with God. He says that He (Jesus) can do nothing by Himself. It is God who is doing it.
What things have you seen so far in this study that the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus to do?
He knew what people were thinking. He healed and did other miracles like healing and making wine. He taught with great wisdom. He was guided and shown what direction to go.
John 5:21 says that Jesus raised the dead through God's power. But notice the last phrase, what does it say?
I believe that Jesus is saying that He gives Living Water (eternal life, forgiveness, Himself) to whomever He wishes.
John 5:23 states that if you love God and really want to obey Him, then you must accept Jesus – because God sent Him! There's no way to separate the two from each other!
Growing up, I hated it when my brothers would tell me what to do. But if they said, “Mother told me to tell you….” I knew better than to disregard their words. Why? Because if they were telling the truth (and that was debatable), I wanted to stay in compliance with my parents' wishes because I loved them and wanted to obey.
Read John 5:24-27
Jesus is talking about spiritual life here – not physical life. Once you invite Jesus to fill your inner core, you begin your new life immediately. And you are assured that this life will continue for all eternity. Forever without an end!
Now, our bodies will die a physical death, but our SELF will live forever in a new body. We'll learn more about that as we continue our study.
So, in actuality, the very minute you ask Jesus to come into your empty core, your eternal life begins and has no end! Cool, huh?
Read John 5:28-30
Jesus reminds His audience that there will be a judgment even for those who died before He came.
Jesus here again, referred to Himself as the Circle filled with God's Holy Spirit. He states, “By myself, I can do nothing!”
Maybe a better picture than the Circle is the picture of a hand in a glove. The glove is like our physical BODY. The hand represents God's Holy Spirit inside of the glove. How much can the glove do without the hand?
Jesus said that He seeks not to please Himself, but to please the One who sent Him.
Looking back over the past 24 hours, who did you seek to please?