”My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." John 10:27-33
Isn’t it odd how a person can read something over and over, yet never really understand the full impact of the text. Oh sure, we can grasp certain aspects of it, and even explain the meaning behind it; but to say we understand everything it is saying is something that man will never be able to do. Why? Because we are human beings, fallible, capable of committing errors and failing to attain the desired end or goal. God however, is infallible, and perfect in all wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, God can say a simple word, just one, and contained within that word is all the truth of God. For if it came out of Him, then it must be part of Him.
Much like a drop of water taken from the vast ocean. When examined by the most scientific ways we find that contained within that single droplet is every chemical that is in the waters from whence it was taken. Scaled down perhaps, yet still they are all there. In this fact of the wonders of the creations of God, lies the mystery of the oneness of the Almighty. As in our text above Christ declares that He and the Father are ONE. Not ”agree in one," or even ”be as one." No! They ”are (now, then, and forever) one." Just as the drop of water contains everything the vast ocean does, so too, does the Son of God.
While in the days of His flesh Jesus Christ declared that: ”I proceeded forth and came from God." (John 8:42) Therefore within Jesus Christ burned the fire of God, the spirit of the Holy One of Israel. For Christ said, without hesitation or doubt, that He ”proceeded forth and came from God."
Many Christians today argue over whether this verse says that Jesus and God are the same (meaning that Jesus Christ is the revealed name of God) or that He and the Father merely think and act as one (leaving Jesus Christ a different and distinct person away from the Father). Those that believe the latter shout that those that are Jesus Only (as they have been dubbed) are taking what Jesus said out of context and missing the meaning between the lines. Yet, the Jews of Jesus’ day understood completely that there was no hidden meaning that had to be searched out and found through much labor, rather, He used ”great plainness of speech" (II Cor. 3:12) and by this they knew that He declared that He was God.
”And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (I Tim. 3:16) |
