July 12th, 2020
“Possessed”
Message Text: John 8:42-47
Call to Worship: Psa 112
Aux. text: Matthew 7:15-20
Service Orientation: We reflect our spiritual DNA just as much as we reflect our physical DNA. What “possesses” you controls you.
Bible Memory Verse for the Week: “He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” — John 8:47
I do not know who first originated the popular phrase “the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man,” but I suspect that it is a product of nineteenth-century liberalism. I know that it is not a proper expression of true Christianity. The phrase sounds good. It suggests that all men are really brothers despite their differences and that all worship the same God regardless of the different names they give to him. But that is just not true, and both the Word of God and history refute it. The true picture is presented in the verses to which we come in this study. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 2, 655-6)
Background Information:
- As is clearly evident from this entire passage, Jesus believes that the devil actually exists and that he exerts a tremendous influence on earth. To our Lord the prince of evil was not a figment of the imagination but a grim reality! (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 61)
- (v. 42) Biological Israel had always regarded God as their Father (Ex 4:22; Dt 32:6; Isa 63:16; 64:8; Mal 2:20). But, God always regarded those who trusted Him and obeyed Him to be true “sons of Israel”.
- (v. 42) All over the OT there is repeated the fact that God was in a special way the Father of his people Israel. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 27)
- (v. 43) The whole might be paraphrased as follows: “Why do you not recognize the meaning of my phrases, as your constant questions and exclamations and insults so clearly indicate? It is because, through ill will, you cannot bear to hear the truth or message conveyed by these phrases.” Their minds are beclouded through bias! You cannot–you cannot–you cannot (see 3:3, 5; 5:44; 6:44; and now also 8:43), that is the sad state of the sinner; especially, of that man who hardens himself against God’s oracles. (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 59)
- (v. 43) The “cannot” here is a moral inability. It is like “No man can come unto Me,” and “His brethren could not speak peaceably unto him” (Jn 6:44; Gn 27:4). It means, “Ye have no will to hear with your hearts.” (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 132)
- (v. 44) Origen remarks, “It was not one man only that the devil killed, but the whole human race, inasmuch as in Adam all die. So that he is truly called a murderer.” (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 133)
- (v. 44) “Truth” seems to stand for all righteousness and holiness, and conformity to the mind of God, who is “Truth itself.” This verse, and Jude 6, are the two clearest proofs in the Bible that the devil fell, and was not created evil at the beginning. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 133)
- (v. 46) Jesus’ challenge “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” would have been impossible for anyone else to utter. No human being could risk making that challenge without many flaws in his character being made known. The verb “prove” (elenchei) implies more than an accusation; it is a conviction on the basis of evidence. Had Jesus not been sinless, someone in the hostile crowd would eagerly have charged him with at least one sin. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 97)
- (v. 46) Jesus proved he was God in the flesh by his sinless life. He was speaking the truth, but they refused to believe. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 186)
- (v. 46) They accused Him of some of the worst of crimes–gluttony, drunkenness, blasphemy, sabbath-breaking, confederacy with Satan, and what not. But their accusations were malicious groundless calumnies, and such as every one that knew him knew to be utterly false. When they had done their utmost by trick and artifice, subornation and perjury, to prove some crime upon him, the very judge that condemned him owned he found no fault in him. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1001)
- (v. 46) It is impossible to envisage any other figure in history making such a claim. In the light of their inability to point to any sin in him their continuing failure to believe in him is shown for the sham it was. If there was no sin, then he was indeed speaking the truth and if he was speaking the truth then they should have believed. (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 413)
- As Jesus nears the cross, this battle with the evil one becomes more deadly and more open. Even His most intimate friends are used by the devil in the struggle in their moments of weakness and confusion. (Roger L. Fredrikson, The Communicator’s Commentary: John, 162-3)
The questions to be answered are . . . Who or what “possesses” you? How can you tell? What are the implications of who or what “possesses” you?
Answers: Your spiritual fruit reveals your spiritual DNA. Jesus tells us that you will hear and respond to what “possesses” you.
There are two humanities. There are only 2 families (there are two humanities). One under the power of the personal God and one under the power of the personal forces of darkness and evil. And all of us are in the latter family until, by the new birth, we’re transferred into the former. That’s what Jesus says. (Tim Keller; Two Families)
There are two kinds of DNA possible to be at the heart of a person’s soul. Either (2 Pt 1 says the Divine Nature) the Holy Spirit, God’s DNA; or else, as Jesus talks about here, the DNA of the force of darkness: dishonesty, pride, resentment. (Tim Keller; Two Families)
Cultural differences are superficial compared to the distinction Jesus makes. (Tim Keller; Two Families)
I do not want merely to possess a faith. I want a faith that possesses me. (Charles Kingsley as quoted by Simon Guillebaud, Choose Life, 365 Readings for Radical Disciples, 11-23)
Here is what a slave master is. A slave master is someone who has no boundaries and someone who beats you up if you fail. You see we often say, “O my boss who is here in New York City is a slave master. Well, you don’t know what a slave master is. A slave master has no boundaries and they can do anything they want to and they do. And when you fail a little bit, they beat you.
And how do you know whether your family, how do you know whether your career, how do you know whether your school, is a slave master or just a family, a career or a school? The answer is . . . You can’t say no to them. They are slave masters. You work too hard. You can’t stop them. If you are enslaved in a relationship that means you can’t say no. You can’t walk away. You’ve got to have them. They are your significance, your self, your security. Same thing with making money. Same thing with your career.
This isn’t just a job, not just money, this isn’t just school, this isn’t just a relationship; they are slave masters. And if you don’t live up . . . They beat you. (Tim Keller sermon, “By the Blood of Jesus” 15:21 into the sermon)
No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude. There is no such thing as an entirely free man conceivable. —Phillips Brooks (1835- 1893), Perennials.
There is nothing wrong with people possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess people. — Billy Graham
The Word for the Day is . . . “Possess”
Which possesses you? Who is your spiritual father?:
- The God of Truth (Jn 8:26 see also: Nm 23:19; Dt 32:4; Ps 31:5; 33:4; 43:3; 86:11; Isa 65:16; Jn 8:26; 14:6; 17:17; Rom 3:4; Ti 1:2; Heb 6:18; Rv 15:3)
Now the Jews had a very wonderful way of thinking of the Spirit of God. They believed that he had two great functions. He revealed God’s truth to men; and he enabled men to recognize and grasp that truth when they saw it. That quite clearly means that unless the Spirit of God is in a man’s heart he cannot recognize God’s truth when he sees it. And it also means that if a man shuts the door of his heart against the Spirit of God, then, even when the truth is full displayed before his eyes, he is quite unable to see it and recognize it and grasp it and make it his. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 30)
Because the author of Scripture, the Holy Spirit (2 Pt 1:21), resides within each child of God (1 Cor 3:16), he or she is in a unique position to receive God’s illumination (1 Cor 2:9-11). The Spirit of truth not only provides insights that permeate the head, but also provides illumination that penetrates the heart.
Clearly, however, the Holy Spirit does not supplant the scrupulous study of Scripture. Rather, He provides us with insights that can only be spiritually discerned. In this way the Holy Spirit helps us to exegete (draw out of) rather than eisegete (read into) Scripture. He only illumines what is in the text; illumination does not go beyond the text. (Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity In Crisis, 221)
- Murderous Satan: The father of lies. (Jn 8:44; see also: Gn 2:17; 3:1-5; 4:1-8; Acts 5:3; 13:10; Rom 5:12; 2 Cor 2:11; 4:4; 11:14; Eph 6:11; 2 Thess 2:9; Rv 12:9; 20:10)
The main way Satan deals with you is lies or falsehoods in your heart. . . . He is the father of lies. That is how he controls you. (Tim Keller; Two Families)
In the beginning the devil confronted Eve with cleverly crafted lies that led to death (Gn 2:17; 3:1-5). His lies and that death have plagued humankind since (Rom 5:12). So murder and lies come from the devil. (Gary P. Baumler, The People’s Bible: John, 133)
It was through a lie that the devil brought about death (see Gn 3:1, 4). Hence, Jesus links these two: the devil is both murderous and mendacious. (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 60)
The devil murders goodness, chastity, honor, honesty, beauty, all that makes life lovely; he murders peace of mind and happiness and even love. Evil characteristically destroys; Christ characteristically brings life. At that very moment the Jews were plotting how to kill Christ; they were taking the devil’s way. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 29)
Every lie is inspired by the devil and does the devil’s work. Falsehood always hates the truth, and always tries to destroy it. When the Jews and Jesus met, the false way met the true, and inevitably the false tried to destroy the true. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 29)
It has been said that Satan builds a man up so that he can tear him down. The Lord tears a man down so that He can build him up! (Rick Joyner, There Were Two Trees in the Garden, 119)
Satan is the enemy of your soul. (Cory Demmel, Cape Christian Church, Cape Coral FL, 1-26-20)
Satan’s realm of influence is in the human soul—the center of the mind, will, and emotions. The only power the devil has in this world is the power we turn over to him through our choices and actions. When we rebel, when we sin, when we follow our fleshly desires rather than the Holy Spirit, we empower the kingdom of darkness. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 46)
Let us note how murder and lying are specially mentioned as characteristics of the devil. They are sins most opposite to the mind of God, however lightly regarded–and lying especially–by man. An indifference to the sin of lying, whether among old or young, rich or poor, is one of the most unmistakable symptoms of an ungodly condition. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 135)-
The devil utters falsehood as naturally and spontaneously as God utters truth; if “it is impossible for God to lie” (Heb 6:18), equally it is impossible for the devil to speak the truth–even when he chooses to “quote scripture for his purpose.” The children of God, then, will be characterized by their love of the truth; the children of the devil by their refusal to accept the truth. Jesus does not say, “although I speak the truth, you do not believe me,” but “because I speak the truth, you do not believe me”; in view of the spiritual lineage of his opponents, the fact that what he said was the truth was sufficient reason for them to reject it. (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 202)
To do its worst, evil needs to look its best. Evil has to spend a lot on makeup. Hypocrites have to spend time polishing their act and polishing their image. “Hypocrisy is an homage that vice pays to virtue.” Vices have to masquerade as virtues–lust as love, thinly veiled sadism as military discipline, envy as righteous indignation, domestic tyranny as parental concern. And this is so whether the masquerade takes the form of putting on an act or making up a cover story. Either way, deceivers learn how to present something falsely, and they exert themselves to make the presentation credible. Even Satan, who looks heroic to rebels, must masquerade “as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14) in order to look merely plausible. This infernal embarrassment (Satan must appeal to our God-given appetite for goodness in order to win his way) suggests a significant feature of evil: to prevail, evil must leech not only power and intelligence from goodness but also its credibility. From counterfeit money to phony airliner parts to the trustworthy look on the face of a con artist, evil appears in disguise. Hence its treacherousness. Hence the need for the Holy Spirit’s gift of discernment. Hence the sheer difficulty, at times, of distinguishing what is good from what is evil. (Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be, 98)
His great aim and object is to ruin us for ever and kill our souls. To destroy, to rob us of eternal life, to bring us down to the second death in hell, are the things for which he is unceasingly working. He is ever going about, seeking whom he may devour.–He is a liar! He is continually trying to deceive us by false representations, just as he deceived Eve at the beginning. He is always telling us that good is evil and evil good,–truth is falsehood and falsehood truth–the broad way good and the narrow way bad. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 125)
It was the devil who first tempted man in the old Genesis story. Through the devil sin entered into the world; and through sin came death (Rom 5:13). If there had been no temptation, there would have been no sin; and, if there had been no sin, there would have been no death; and therefore, in a sense, the devil is the murderer of the whole human race. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 29)
A lie is opposed to truth (1 Jn 2:21), and accordingly the devil is here described to be,
[1.] An enemy to truth, and therefore to Christ. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1000)
If people hear a noise at night, they cry out “The Devil. The Devil.” And they run. But, they carry around the Devil in their hearts all day. For when you have a proud spirit or resentment you are under his power. He is setting you in a precarious place. Why not run from your pride saying, “The Devil. The Devil.” Why not run from your resentment and grudge saying, “The Devil. The Devil.” (William Grunnall quoted by Tim Keller; Two Families)
“From the beginning” will possibly refer to the murder of Abel (cf. 1 Jn 3:12), more probably to the fact that it was through Satan that Adam became mortal (Rom 5:12 ff.; cf. Wis 2:24). Satan thus became the murderer of the whole human race. (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 411)
What are the implications of what possesses you?:
- Your natural hearing is towards your evil “possessor”. (Jn 8:43, 47; see also: Ps 81:11-13; Isa 30:9; 42:20; Jer 6:10, 17-19; 7:13, 24-27; 11:8; 13:10; 17:23; 44:5; Ezek 3:7; 12:2; Zech 7:12-13; Mt 13:1-23; Mk 4:1-24; Lk 8:1-18; Jn 6:44; 10:16; 12:39-40; Acts 16:14; Rom ch 6; 8:1-17; 1 Cor 2:12-14; 2 Cor 3:14-16; Gal 5:16-25; 2 Tm 4:3-4; 1 Jn 4:6)
The reason the people didn’t respond to Jesus’ teaching was that they belonged to another. Their family association was wrong. Jesus said, “You belong to your father, the devil.” And because of this family tie, they were inclined to carry out their father’s desire, just as Jesus carried out his Father’s desire. The devil is a murderer and a liar. He seeks to deprive life and distort truth. The Jews were merely demonstrating the truth of the adage “Like father, like son.” (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 96)
Does the Word of God speak to us in such a way that it penetrates and has an effect on our lives? If it does not, that may be an indication we are not in a state of grace. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 253)
Far from abiding in Jesus’ Word, the Pharisees could not even listen to it. Here is unshakeable proof that they were not born again but were still lost in their sins.
This is the point that the great Augustine labored his entire life and his ministry. He argued that the fall left man morally impotent. Fallen man does not come to the Word of God because he has no taste for the things of God. By nature the things of God are foreign to him. He doesn’t want God in his thinking. He refuses to have anything to do with Him. He has no desire for the things of God. By nature his desires are only wicked continually. That’s why God has to change the disposition of a person’s heart before he will ever respond to the Word of Christ. The Spirit has to set him free. (R.C. Sproul, John: An Expositional Commentary, 153-4)
These unbelieving Jews did not understand the way Jesus was speaking because they could not listen to his message. Hearts hardened in unbelief cannot relate to God’s Word. (Gary P. Baumler, The People’s Bible: John, 133)
People who believe lies eventually cannot recognize the truth when they see it. Those Jews did not believe Jesus because he told the truth. He didn’t fit their false ideas of a political Messiah. He didn’t conform to their false religion of work-righteousness. (Gary P. Baumler, The People’s Bible: John, 133)
“Why do you not understand what I say?” Jesus already knew the answer to this question–but he asked the leaders so he could answer for them. They did not understand because they had already made up their minds about him, and thus could not hear and accept what Jesus had to say. Understanding was not the problem; being willing to hear and accept it as the truth was their barrier. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 184)
God can never entrust His kingdom to anyone who has not been broken of pride, for pride is the armor of darkness itself. (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds, 17)
Victory begins with the name of Jesus on your lips, but it will not be consummated until the nature of Jesus is in your heart. (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds, 18)
Although our own evil tendencies (1:14) and the desires battling within us (4:1) are the immediate sources of our problems, to give in to those internal desires is to yield to the devil (see Mt 4:1-11; Lk 22:31; Jn 13:2, 27). Satan knows that as long as he can stimulate human pride, he can delay God’s plan, even if only temporarily. But as powerful as Satan is, his only power over believers is in his powerful temptations. The devil can be resisted–and our resistance will cause him to flee. Conversely, a lack of resistance will practically guarantee ongoing harassment by Satan (see also Eph 6:10-18 and 1 Pt 5:6-9). (Bruce Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary; James, 101)
True discernment emerges out of a tranquil and pure heart, one that is almost surprised by the wisdom and grace in the voice of Christ. Remember, our thoughts will always be colored by the attitudes of our hearts. Jesus said, “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Mt 12:34). He also said, “Out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts” (Mk 7:21). Again He said, “the pure in heart…shall see God” (Mt 5:8). From the heart the mouth speaks, the eyes see, and the mind thinks. In fact, Prv 4:23 (NKJV) tells us to diligently guard our hearts for “out of [the heart] spring the issues of life.”
Life, as we perceive it, is based upon the condition of our heart. This is very important because the gifts of the Spirit must pass through our hearts before they are presented to the world around us. In other words, if our hearts are not right, the gifts will not be right either.
When the heart has unrest it cannot hear from God. Therefore, we must learn to mistrust our judgment when our heart is bitter, angry, ambitious or harboring strife for any reason. The Scriptures tell us to “let the peace of Christ rule [act as arbiter] in [our] hearts” (Col 3:15). To hear clearly from God, we must first have peace. (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds, 81-2)
A man can stop his ears to any warning; if he goes on doing that long enough, he becomes spiritually deaf. In the last analysis, a man will only hear what he wishes to hear; and if for long enough he attunes his ears to his own desires and to the wrong voices, in the end he will be unable to tune in at all to the wavelength of God. That is what the Jews had done. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 28)
Were He to lie, they’d love Him. And were He to tell them what they wanted to hear, it would be a lie. He can only speak the truth, since He is the Truth. Since these Jews are by nature, children of the LIAR, they hate His SELF-REVELATION of the Truth. One day anti-christ will come saying things they want to hear and they will receive him, thus identifying their true parentage. (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 158)
The application of this doctrine, for the conviction of these unbelieving Jews: You therefore hear them not; that is, “You heed not, you understand not, you believe not, the words of God, nor care to hear them, because you are not of God. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1002)
What we have received is a gift of grace, unearned in any way. We need to understand that man’s free will is free only in that God never compels anybody to sin. The sinner is not free to do either good or evil because his corrupt heart, formed by Satan’s dominion, always inclines him to sin. Man is enslaved by that heart, a bondage that can be broken only by God’s merciful intervention. (Emailed from Carole Jacobus 8/17/10)
The word “hear” (an Hebrew idiom) signifies to receive and believe–compare Jn 9:27; 10:3; 12:47; Acts 3:22, 23, etc. And why was it that these Jews “could not hear” His Word? It was because they were children in whom was no faith (Dt 32:20). It was because they had no ear for God, no heart for His Word, no desire to learn His will. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 457-8)
Hearing God’s Word is an attitude of heart. We speak now not of the Divine side, for true it is that the Lord Himself must prepare the heart (Prv 16:1) and give the hearing ear (Prv 20:12). But from the human side, man is fully responsible to hear. But he cannot hear the still small voice of God while his ears are filled with the siren songs of the world. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 458)
Every member of God’s family is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and in virtue of this receives with affection, reverence, and obedient regard the words of his heavenly Father, by whomsoever they are brought; hence, the reason why you do not receive My words is because you are not His children. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 460)
They were continually misunderstanding, misinterpreting, and stumbling at the expressions and language that He used in teaching them. Did He speak of “bread”? They thought He meant literal bread.–Did He speak of “freedom”? They though He meant temporal and political freedom.–Did He speak of “their Father”? They thought He meant Abraham.–How was it that they so misunderstood His language and dialect? It was simply because their hearts were utterly hardened and closed against the whole “word of salvation” which He came to proclaim. Having no will to listen to and receive His doctrine, they were ready at every step to misconstrue the words and figures under which it was conveyed and placed before them. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 131-2)
(v. 45) “Truth” is an abstract that is difficult for people to know and appreciate. Pilate had become so enmeshed in politics that he no longer knew what truth was (18:38). Jesus told the Jews that because they were children of their father, they didn’t know what truth was. They lived in a world of lies, distortion, and falseness. In a sense, truth was a foreign language to them; their native language was lies. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 96-7)
- Your motivations, desires and affections are governed by what “possesses” you. (Jn 8:44; see also: Ps 37:4; 40:8; 62:4; Prv 11:23; Acts 5:3; 13:10; Rom ch 6; 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-25; Eph 2:1-22; 4:27; 2 Pt 2:18-22)
Your life will always move in the direction of the dominant images you allow to reside in your mind. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 60)
Jesus not only makes this charge but also proves it. Identity of inner passions and desires establishes spiritual descent: they are constantly desiring (present continuative tense) to carry out the wishes (desires, yearnings) of the devil; so he must be their father. The devil desires to kill and to lie, and so do they. (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 60)
We are never more like the Devil than when we are filled with pride. — Pastor Les Smith
Here is why the world and the Devil are so powerful: Because they give us exactly what we want. —Voddie Baucham
It is beyond argument that a man who has never been instructed in philosophy or in any branch of learning is a creature quite inferior to the brute animals. Animals only follow their natural instincts; but man, unless he has experienced the influence of learning and philosophy, is at the mercy of impulses that are worse than those of a wild beast. There is no beast more savage and dangerous than a human being who is swept along by the passions of ambition, greed, anger, envy, extravagance, and sensuality. Therefore, a father who does not arrange for his son to receive the best education at the earliest age is neither a man himself nor has any fellowship with human nature. (Richard M. Gamble, The Great Tradition, 363-4)
By nature we are Satan’s willing slaves, volunteers in the kingdom of darkness. By nature we love the darkness rather than the light because we want to do the desires of Satan. That’s what sin is. Sin is not simply making bad choices or mistakes. Sin is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God. Paul made this very point to the Ephesians: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom we also once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Eph 2:1-3). This is a picture of the bondage from which Jesus delivered us; a bondage of desiring to carry out Satan’s wishes. (R.C. Sproul, John: An Expositional Commentary, 154)
The children of God will so love the truth that they will believe in Jesus; the children of the devil will be so characterized by lies that they will not be able to accept the truth, precisely because it is the truth. (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, 353-4)
Every man who tries to destroy the truth is doing the devil’s work. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 29)
If the word of the kingdom do not bring forth fruit, the blame is to be laid upon the soil, not upon the seed, as appears by the parable of the sower, Mt 13:3. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1002)
No experience can enter into a man’s mind and heart unless there is something there to answer to it; and a man may lack the something essential which will enable him to have the experience. A man who is tone deaf cannot experience the thrill of music. A man who is color blind cannot fully appreciate a picture. A man with no sense of time and rhythm cannot fully appreciate ballet or dancing. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 30)
These unbelieving Jews were not, of course, the only members of Satan’s spiritual family; in his first epistle John wrote that any “one who practices sin is of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8). And unless the Lord opens his or her heart to respond to the truth (Jn 6:44; Acts 16:14; 2 Cor 3:14-16), no unbeliever will listen to it. Instead, “wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Tm 4:3-4). Having been duped by Satan’s schemes (2 Cor 2:11; 4:4; Eph 6:11), and having participated in his work, all unrepentant sinners will share in their father’s condemnation (1 Tm 3:6). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John, 372)
For as we are called the children of God, not only because we resemble him, but because he governs us by his Spirit, because Christ lives and is vigorous in us, so as to conform us to the image of his Father; so, on the other hand, the devil is said to be the father of those whose understandings he blinds, whose hearts he moves to commit all unrighteousness, and on whom, in short, he acts powerfully and exercises his tyranny; as in 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2, and in other passages. (Calvin’s Commentary on the Gospel of John, 350)
When someone is bent upon murder, they are thereby disclaiming descent from the true God, and are silently claiming instead that they belong to the forces of darkness. However we imagine the devil, it is clear that there is a force which opposes God and his good creation, which drives people to commit acts of destruction and murder, and which regularly invents lies–the “religious” ones are often the most effective–to excuse such action, and even to make it appear noble and right. (N. T. Wright, John for Everyone, Part One, 127)
If they were the children of God they would love Him, and if they loved Him they would most certainly love His only begotten Son, for “he that loveth him that begat, loveth him that is begotten of him” (1 Jn 5:1). But they did not love Christ. Though He was the image of the invisible God, the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, they despised and rejected Him. They were the bond-slaves of sin (v. 34); Christ’s Word had no place in them (v. 37); they sought to kill Him (v. 40). Their boast therefore was an empty one; their claim utterly unfounded. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 457)
- Your actions are governed by your “possessor”. (Jn 8:44; see also: Ez 33:30-32; Jn 14:24; Mt 13:1-23; Mk 4:1-24; Lk 8:1-18; Acts 5:3; Rom ch 6; 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-25; Eph 2:1-22; 4:27; 2 Pt 2:18-22; 1 Jn 3:8-10)
A person’s actions reveal what is in his or her heart. In a later letter John wrote, “Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning” (1 Jn 3:8 NRSV). (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 184-5)
Nothing more clearly indicates that we have succumbed to the devil than the words that come out of our mouths. When we complain about our lot in life, when we allow our conversation to be filled with whining and self-pity, we violate an important biblical principle I mentioned in an earlier chapter: never speak words that allow the enemy to think he’s winning. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 92)
The kind of people who have been so transformed by their daily walk with God that good deeds naturally flow from their character are precisely the kind of people whose left hand would not notice what their right hand is doing–as, for example, when driving one’s own car or speaking one’s native language. What they do they do naturally, often automatically, simply because of what they are pervasively and internally. These are people who do not have to invest a lot of reflection in doing good for others. Their deeds are “in secret” no matter who is watching, for they are absorbed in love of God and of those around them. They hardly notice their own deed, and rarely remember it. (Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, 192)
If the enemy can get you to lose hope, he can get you to stop living by faith. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 16)
Satan is above all things “a liar,” and the Lord was saying that those who follow the devil are characterized by deceit. They deceive themselves about their own hearts. They deceive themselves about life. They deceive themselves about Christ. They deceive themselves about God. They deceive themselves about the way of salvation. But the ultimate deception is to imagine you are a child of God when you are not. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 254)
Jesus was saying to the Jews: “You have gone your own way and followed your own ideas; the Spirit of God has been unable to gain an entry into your hearts; that is why you cannot recognize me and that is why you will not accept my words.” The Jews believed they were religious people; but because they had clung to their idea of religion instead of to God’s idea, they had in the end drifted so far from God that they had become godless. They were in the terrible position of men who were godlessly serving God. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 31)
They believe the Bible about certain things, but not everything. They start thinking they can be a Christian but live the way they want to live instead of following the Bible. That kind of self-will and stubbornness is what the Bible calls idolatry. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 47)
On the one path Satan makes his promises. But he is the father of lies, and his words cannot be trusted. He is offering wisdom, as he did to Eve in the garden–“you will be like God, knowing good and evil”–but the wisdom of Satan leads to folly in spiritual things. He is offering love, but the end is hate. He is offering that which is pleasant–“all the kingdoms of the world and their glory”–but the end is torment for those who follow him.
On the other path stands Jesus with his promises. In one sense they are the reversal of Satan’s promises. He says, “You are blind!” But he gives sight, and wisdom follows. He has a message of hate. “I hate sin,” he declares. But he will turn you from sin and draw you to himself with a great love. Finally, he warns about torment. He has more to say about hell than anyone else in the Bible. But he offers pleasantness to those who follow him. All his ways are “pleasant” and all his “paths are peace” (Prv 3:17). (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 2, 660)
“You do the devil’s lusts, the lusts which he would have you to fulfil; you gratify and please him, and comply with his temptations, and are led captive by him at his will; nay, you do those lusts which the devil himself fulfils. Fleshly lusts and worldly lusts the devil tempts men to; but, being a spirit, he cannot fulfil them himself. The peculiar lusts of the devil are spiritual wickedness; the lusts of the intellectual powers, and their corrupt reasonings; pride and envy, and wrath and malice; enmity to that which is good, and enticing others to that which is evil; these are lusts which the devil fulfils, and those who are under the dominion of these lusts resemble the devil, as the child does the parent. The more there is of contemplation, and contrivance, and secret complacency, in sin, the more it resembles the lusts of the devil. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 999)
When men speak a lie they borrow it from the devil, Satan fills their hearts to lie (Acts 5:3); but when the devil speaks a lie the model of it is of his own framing, the motives to it are from himself, which bespeaks the desperate depth of wickedness into which those apostate spirits are sunk; as in their first defection they had no tempter, so their sinfulness is still their own. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1000-1)
Worship Point: Worship the God of life and light Who created you to be “possessed” by Him so you might enjoy a blessed life.
To be satisfied by the beauty of God does not come naturally to sinful people. By nature we get more pleasure from God’s gifts than from himself. (John Piper, When I Don’t Desire God, 9)
Whenever we sustain a spiritual atmosphere of praise and thankfulness, a climate of God’s presence begins to form. Conversely, whenever we sustain a spiritual atmosphere of sin and iniquity, a demonic climate takes shape. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 38)
Any religious experience that fails to deepen our love for our fellow Christians may safely be written off as spurious. (A.W. Tozer, Man: The Dwelling Place of God, 130)
Your church is a place of power. Don’t forsake the place of power. When the enemy tells you ten reasons to stay home, that’s when you should start getting ready to go even faster, knowing that God has a word to strengthen you that you may not hear anywhere else. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 21)
If this experience has served to humble me and make me little and vile in my own eyes it is of God; but if it has given me a feeling of self-satisfaction it is false and should be dismissed as emanating from self or the devil. (A.W. Tozer, Man: The Dwelling Place of God, 128-9)
To a Pharisee, the service of God was a bondage which he did not love but from which he could not escape without a loss too great to bear. God, as the Pharisees saw Him, was not a God easy to live with. So their daily religion became grim and hard, with no trace of true love in it.
It can be said about us, as humans, that we try to be like our God. If He is conceived to be stern and exacting and harsh, so will we be!
The blessed and inviting truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings, and in our worship of Him we should find unspeakable pleasure. (A. W. Tozer, Whatever Happened to Worship?, 28)
The devil is an enemy to life, because God is the God of life and life is the happiness of man; and an enemy to truth, because God is the God of truth and truth is the bond of human society. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1000)
Gospel Application: Our sin brought about curse rather than blessing as we are “possessed” by Satan. Jesus died to redeem us from that curse. Jesus offers us a spiritual bone marrow transplant so we can have a new DNA and become a new creation. (Acts 10:38; 26:18; Rom ch 6; 8:1-17; 1 Cor 15:21-22; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 5:16-25; Eph 2:1-22; Rev 21:4-5)
Our relationship to God the Father is determined by our relationship with God the Son and vice versa. (Gary P. Baumler, The People’s Bible: John, 132)
This kind of teaching comes like a freight train against the basic beliefs of American culture. We’re told that God has many faces and that we can choose to believe in Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, or any of those avatars, as well as Jesus. In fact, it doesn’t matter what we believe, just as long as we’re sincere. Not so, according to Jesus. If we reject Christ, we reject the Father. We cannot have the Father and not have the Son, and we cannot have the Son and not have the Father, because the Father sent the Son. (R.C. Sproul, John: An Expositional Commentary, 155)
If doctrine becomes our emphasis, we are being led astray. We are not changed by doctrine; we are changed by seeing Jesus (2 Cor 3:18). Anointed teachings are essential for the nourishment of the Christ that is being formed within us, but whenever a truth becomes our focus, it will distract us. For this reason Satan often comes as an angel of light, or “messenger of truth.” Truth can deceive us. Only in the Truth, Jesus, is there life. He did not come just to teach us truth; He came to be Truth. (Rick Joyner, There Were Two Trees in the Garden, 81)
Spiritual Challenge: Look for the “dark” areas of your life that remain “possessed” by Satan. Bring them into the Light and allow Jesus to transform (purify, sanctify, change) you. (Expulsive Power of a New Affection by Thomas Chalmers) (Prv 23:19; Acts 28:27-28; Rom ch 6; 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-25; Eph 2:1-22; 4:27; 6:10-18; Col 3:5; 1 Pt 5:8; 2 Pt 2:18-22; 1 Jn 3:8-10)
The devil can traffic in any area of darkness, even the darkness that still exists in a Christian’s heart. (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds, 15)
Every time you refuse to forgive or fail to overlook a weakness in another, your heart not only hardens toward them, it hardens toward God. You cannot form a negative opinion of someone (even though you think they may deserve it!) And allow that opinion to crystalize into an attitude; for every time you do, an aspect of your heart will cool toward God. You may still think you are open to God, but the Scriptures are clear: “The one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:20). You may not like what someone has done, but you do not have an option to stop loving them. Love is your only choice. (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds, 70)
We must realize that it is not Satan who defeats us; it is our openness to him. To perfectly subdue the devil we must walk in the “shelter of the Most High” (Ps 91:1). Satan is tolerated for one purpose: the warfare between the devil and God’s saints thrusts us into Christlikeness, where the nature of Christ becomes our only place of rest and security. God allows warfare to facilitate His eternal plan, which is to make man in His image (see Gn 1:26). (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds, 50-1)
Let us recognize before we do warfare that the areas we hide in darkness are the very areas of our future defeat. Often the battles we face will not cease until we discover and repent of the darkness that is within us. If we will be effective in spiritual warfare, we must be discerning of our own hearts; we must walk humbly with our God. Our first course of action must be, “Submit…to God.” Then, as we “resist the devil…he will flee” (Jam 4:7). (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds, 16)
Modern research has pretty much shown, that if you are under the influence of another power, a big part of that power over you is your denial that you’re under it. A big part of being out of control is denying that you’re out of control. That’s what leads you to being out of control. And the first step of being back under control is to admit that you’re not under control. (Tim Keller; Two Families)
The human heart is heretical by nature and runs to error as naturally as a garden to weeds. All a man, a church or a denomination needs to guarantee deterioration of doctrine is to take everything for granted and do nothing. The unattended garden will soon be overrun with weeds; the heart that fails to cultivate truth and root out error will shortly be a theological wilderness; the church or denomination that grows careless on the highway of truth will before long find itself astray, bogged down in some mud flat from which there is no escape. (A.W. Tozer, Man: The Dwelling Place of God, 162)
We will never possess true discernment until we crucify our instincts to judge. Realistically, this can take months or even years of uprooting old thought-systems that have not been planted in the divine soil of faith and love for people. To appropriate the discernment which is in the “mind of Christ” (see 1 Cor 2:16), we must first find the heart of Christ. The heart and love of Jesus is summed up in His own words: “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” (Jn 12:47). (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds, 73-4)
The careless heart is an easy prey to Satan in the hour of temptation; his principal batteries are raised against the heart; if he wins that, he wins all, for it commands the whole man: and alas! how easy a conquest is a neglected heart! It is not more difficult to surprise such a heart, than for an enemy to enter that city whose gates are opened and unguarded. It is the watchful heart that discovers and suppresses the temptation before it comes to its strength. (John Flavel, Keeping the Heart, 33)
Do not forget who made you. God created you with storms in mind. He designed you to be weatherproof. Let the winds blow; let the storms rage. You are going to make it through in Him. You are His child, and He cares for you. He wants to see you succeed. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 19)
When you are going through an attack, you don’t need deadbeat friends who want to drag you down even further. You need to be around spiritual giants who have fought the good fight of faith and are still standing. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 22)
The devil knows the power of atmosphere. That’s why most people are enticed into the wrong atmosphere first before they are ever tempted to sin. The enemy knows that if he can get you in a wild club or party scene, you are much more prone to sin than you are in a library. What’s the difference? Atmosphere. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 26)
The religious leaders were unable to understand because they refused to listen. Satan used their stubbornness, pride, and prejudices to keep them from believing in Jesus.
If we fill our life with distracting and conflicting messages from the heroes we follow, the books we read, the songs we listen to, and the movies we watch, we will discover that it is harder and harder to “hear” God speaking at all. He has not stopped communicating; we are just listening to other voices. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 185)
If you are nursing grudges, if you are nursing notions of your own self-importance, if you are nursing notions of your own self-pity; right now your heart may not be in too bad of condition. But, what will it be like 2 million years from now?
. . . If anything is true about Christianity, this is true. And that is 2 million years from now, everybody in this room will still exist, you will still be conscious, and you will still be a person. But, after 2 million years, which kind of DNA (who you are really living for) will have finally expressed itself. (Tim Keller; Two Families)
All depression of mind and melancholy, come from the Devil. And especially this thought: That God is not gracious. That God will have no mercy.
Whosoever thou art, possessed with such heavy thoughts, know for certain that they are the work of the Devil. God sent His Son into the world not to fright, but to comfort. Therefore, be of good courage and think that henceforth, thou art not the child of a human creature, but of God, through faith in Christ, in whose name thou art baptized. Therefore, the spirit of death cannot enter into thee. He has not got right unto thee. Much less can he hurt or prejudice thee. He is everlastingly swallowed up through Christ. (Martin Luther as quoted by Tim Keller; Two Families)
Christianity advocates the love of one’s enemies, while nature requires that we hate our enemies since they are obstacles to our individual will to power. Thus Christianity dilutes the vital energy of strong men by subverting their natural biological instincts. These men are emasculated by inserting “God” into the equation. Christianity succeeds in provoking a hatred of the earth and earthly things. (R.C. Sproul, The Consequences of Ideas, 165)
Untruth becomes division, spreads disorder, pits brother against brother, and finally kills both by word and deed, as Cain killed his brother Abel. (Roger L. Fredrikson, The Communicator’s Commentary: John, 162)
Always remember there are two times in your life when you are especially vulnerable to temptation: when you have nothing and when you have everything. Stay close to God in both the good times and the bad times. (Jentezen Franklin; The Spirit of Python, 12)
It is quite difficult to break the power of religious self-deception, for the very nature of faith is to give no room for doubt. Once a person is deceived, he does not recognize that he is deceived, because he has been deceived! For all that we think we know, we must know this as well: we can be wrong. If we refuse to accept this truth, how will we ever be corrected from our errors? (Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds, 30)
Spiritual Challenge Questions:
- Can you change your affections, your desires, or your DNA just by willing it? Doesn’t it take some outside influence or event to change your affections, desires or DNA?
- Why is having a change in who you are necessarily an “outside” job? In what ways is becoming a Christian a lot like a bone marrow transplant?
- Why were the Pharisees and religious leaders UNABLE to hear Jesus? What does that say about their freedom?
- What makes a person truly free (not the superficial and erroneous definition of freedom circulating today “Freedom = doing what I want”)?
So What?: Your destiny is controlled by your spiritual DNA, your “possessor”. Your ability to deal with your problems is dependent upon how well you know what is lying at the root of those problems. You are naive if you think you alone can address the evil in your problems outside of Christ. Who or what “possesses” you at the core of your being? (2 Pt 2:18-22)
If you think you can deal with any evil with strictly human means, you are naive! (Tim Keller; Two Families)
It will be simplistic for us to look at our problems and think that we can handle them without God. If what Jesus Christ is saying is true; then there is not just only impersonal evil in the world there is also personal evil. And that means that every problem you’ve got is multi-dimensional. One of the big difficulties we’ve got is that people look at our problems: They look at a slum, they look a mental hospital, they look at these evils and say, “Our problems are only human. So, what we need is education, therapy, we need social planning.”
And by the way, that’s all true. But, here is the point. Let’s use Shakespeare. What Hamlet said. “There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, then are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
This is what the Christian has to say. The fact is, that when you look at your problems, “There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, then are dreamt of in your philosophy.” There is always personal evil involved with the impersonal. There is always Demonic involved along with the human. Always! They are always put together. (Tim Keller; Two Families)
The Devil can certainly move somebody to do good deeds, in order to keep control, in order to make that person feel smug and self-righteous.
No, no, no! Don’t look at your good deeds. Look at the DNA at the heart of your soul. What is the one language of your heart? Who do you live for? Who’s calling the shots? Down deep is it the one who says, “You are my Lord and Master” I will do Your will: promptly, joyfully, willingly? Or is it down deep in your heart {the voice} that says, “God if You want to be my God, fill out these forms in triplicate, answer my top three prayers, explain three or four things that happened in my life and maybe I’ll serve you this year. And, I’ll see how it goes. I might even give you a lease with an option for one more.”
Which kind of DNA is operating in your heart toward Him? (Tim Keller; Two Families)
As John, the apostle of love, warns, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn 4:1). It is particularly important to “test the spirits” because Satan’s foremost strategy of spiritual seduction is to disguise himself as an angel of light (cf. 2 Cor 11:14). His slickest slogan is “Feel, don’t think.” (Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity In Crisis, 296)
The valley of the shadow of death holds no darkness for the child of God. There must be light, else there could be no shadow. Jesus is the light. He has overcome death. –D. L. Moody (Simon Guillebaud, Choose Life, 365 Readings for Radical Disciples, 3/19)
Satan wants the believer to forget that he is risen and exalted with Christ, that he is now, in his spirit, united with Christ on the throne with all enemies under his feet. If we are held in bondage to demons of fear, sickness, disease, or limitation of any kind, it is only through ignorance of what Christ has done for us, or by forgetting who we are in Him. (Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne, 91)
It is so easy to be wrong about our spiritual state when we have a godly heritage. The blessing of that heritage can become a curse. Many of us believe we received Christ as children. However, it does not necessarily follow that, because our parents have fondly recounted our infant conversion so often that we can describe it as if we remember every detail, we have truly been converted. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 253)
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations–these are mortal, and their life is ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit–immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously–no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner–no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ were latitat–the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden! (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, 273-4)
In the Western world, this rejection of sin began with the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers rejected the biblical God and quickly denied human sin as well. The French social philosopher Rousseau said, “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains,” because society has enslaved him. Freud took this one step further and taught that humans are simply animals. The bottom line? There is no sin, no soul, no conscience; we are simply manipulated by forces beyond our control. In other words, Freud said, we are not responsible for our actions. Society or some other influence outside of ourselves compels us to do what we do. This denial of sin can lead to utopianism, whose proponents say, “Give me power, and I’ll create a good society so good people can life well.” But utopianism always leads to tyranny, as utopians Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao demonstrated. (Charles Colson, The Good Life, 248-9)
“The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” — Jesus in John 8:47
JESUS:
POSSESS ME!
