John 7:14-18 ESV
“About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, ‘How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?’ So Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.”
What I like about the beginning of this passage of Scripture is not only that Jesus actually had the freedom to teach in the temple, or in the temple courts, but how he shared, in essence, that we can have learning that doesn’t come from Bible colleges or Bible seminaries, and that learning can be sanctioned by God because it comes from him and not from the thinking of religious philosophers. For so many people today put too much stock in Bible college and Bible seminary degrees, as though what they have is superior to all else. But that is of man and not necessarily of God at all.
So, what Jesus shared here should serve as an encouragement to all of us who are lacking in formal education but who get our biblical education via the word of God and the Spirit of God, who is guiding us into all truth. But this is not to say that we get everything right, so that is why it is important that we test what each other says and that we compare what is said to the teachings of the Scriptures, in their context. And it is critically important for all of us that we do not rely on what other humans tell us the Bible teaches, but that we are students of the Scriptures, but the Scriptures in context.
Okay, so back to what Jesus said… Jesus gave glory to God the Father for all of his learning, even though Jesus, himself, was, in reality, God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But he was also fully human, for he lived in a flesh body. So, in essence, since he did claim to be God, when he said that his teaching came from God, it did come from Jesus, too, but not from the human flesh of man. And I think that was his point, that all that he was and had and knew came from God and not from human flesh. His learning didn’t come from man, but from God.
For, in reality, just because someone has a Bible college or a seminary degree, it does not mean at all that the person is in relationship with God/Christ and that he is hearing from God. In fact, so much of these educational institutions today are filling people’s minds with things not really of God but are of man. And yet so many professing Christians are raising up those who have these degrees or this kind of religious education, and especially if they have the title “Reverend” in front of their names. And so they believe them even if what they are telling them are lies and not truth.
So, what Jesus said here is critically important that we understand. For, he said, “If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.” That is very profound! So many professing Christians are not discerning truth from lies, and they are buying into the lies over the truth, because their will is not, in truth, to do God’s will. And that is why so many of them are accepting these diluted and altered “gospel” messages which are teaching that they don’t have to obey the will of God, and that they don’t have to forsake their sins.
But continuing… Jesus then said, “The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.” Now this is not saying that we will get everything absolutely right. Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand everything that Jesus said, and sometimes they took him more literally when he was speaking more figuratively. But the message, to me, is that those who are genuinely desirous to do the will of God, and who are seeking the glory of God, are going to be people of integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness.
But those who speak on their own authority, or on the authority of other humans, and not on the authority of God, and not out of a desire to do the will of God, but out of selfish ambition, they are those who cannot be trusted to speak the truth of God’s word. And if we are at all discerning, we should be able to pick up on this by listening to what these people are teaching, whether it is from God or from human flesh. Who is glorified? God? Or the flesh? Is this about loving and serving God? Or is the focus totally on what God will do for us, regardless of what we do in return?
And now the message here is also that if you are someone who is listening to the Lord, and who is teaching truth, and who is calling for biblical repentance and changed lives and for walks of obedience to the Lord in holy living, as Jesus did, and as his NT apostles did, you should expect to be treated like Jesus was, too. You should expect to be hated and rejected and to be accused falsely of what you did not do. You should expect that people might even associate you with the devil and not with God, and that they might want to see you dead rather than alive. But give it all to Jesus!!
When I Go Home
By G. M. Eldridge
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes…” Revelation 21:4
In the moment He appears
And the light from heaven shines,
I’ll forget ev’ry fear,
Ev’ry pain I’ll leave behind.
Then I’ll see Him as He is
And I’ll know Him as I’m known.
Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.
Ever present is the tho’t
That a moment waits for me
When unworthy as I am,
His glory I will see.
I will empty all my praise
Before my Father’s throne.
Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.
If the trial I endure,
And your presence I can’t find,
Be near me, Lord, I pray,
Bring back unto my mind
That your promises are firm
And I’m never on my own.
Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z98Zvr1CyXg
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