John Chapter 1 Discussion Page 9

Can you remember the samaritan woman at the well? When she met Jesus and what he said to her? But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. This is the same water you are asking about. The moving water you question is the same water that is in the words of Christ. When you believe these words, you will become that same fountain producing a life filled with anticipation and wonder. Knowing that the one at the well ,who told you whatever you did is the Christ the son of the living God!

Hey Diana,

Baptism is now done of the spirit. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

1 Corinthians 12:13 KJB "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost."

Acts 11:15-16 KJB God Bless you. You can find me on Facebook with anymore questions.

I've seen people use a swimming pool for baptisms. A hot tub too.

I was already Baptized by the Holy Spirit, but I went to a church to be baptized in water to show the spirits that were bothering me; that I belonged to Jesus forevermore. I wasn't ever going "back to Egypt". (Sin). It's not mandatory; But I felt really free of the past me, after I did it.

Some families really make a celebration when a family member is water baptised. It's a moment of joy that lasts forever.

I don't think I believe in baptizing infants. They get told all their lives that their salvation is a done deal; but they suffer lives of sinfulness, drugs, and more. Believing that all is fine with what they are doing. Some even commit suicide.

Just like me, you have to learn what it means to be born again into Christ and experience the Baptism of the Holy Spirit: who instantly comes inside to indwell the Temple of God inside of us. It's up to us not to grieve Him or to quench His Presence.

Jesus said you can curse me or even my Father; but DO NOT BLASPHEME the Holy Spirit! Of whom you are Sealed, unto the day of redemption. People can wantonly sin away their day of Grace. The Holy Spirit tried to pull us out of the fires of hell, but people do what is in their hearts.

If you are sitting on the Throne of your own heart, and worshipping Yourself, without any regard for other people... you may be self-deceived.

As my friends in Church say: get your business straight with God!!

We KNOW things aren't right between us and God. So turn around, and walk back to Your Father and REDEDICATE your life to Him! Before it's too late. Google a prayer of rededication and mean it this time. Get on your knees and put him on the throne of your heart.

He's coming back any day now! Be ready. Time is SHORT. All the signs are appearing as Jesus said in Matthew 24.

Mishael

Diana, the Bible doesn't suggest that. However, when the John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River, no doubt there would have been some flowing of the waters. The river begins on the slopes of Mt. Hermon passes through the Sea of Galilee & empties into the Dead Sea indicating that depending on the amount water coming down Hermon, there could have been some movement of water at John's baptism.

The more important aspect is that water baptism (Gk. baptizo) should be done as inferred by the Greek word, i.e. the person is to be dipped/submerged. Though for various reasons of age or infirmity, a symbolic sprinkling could be done I suppose. And it is preferable to be performed in public, at least most important in those early days, as it becomes both a personal witness ( 1 Peter 3:21) & a public witness, as the baptizee was then marked out as a Christian. Nowadays, it's common to perform it in the privacy & safety of a Church building, but in the early days, there were implications when one changed from one's religion to a new relationship with the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

Does the Bible state anywhere that baptism is done in free-flowing water? Such as a creek or river?

Comments by Alex about John 1 v 13 KJV Its talking about his NAME sake which is the H.G. that comes in his Name ,Jesus said that which is born of the spirit is spirit and is NOT born by the Will OF ANY MAN,but only by the will of God via that good seed planted in our hearts.We were ALL born by the will of some MAN,Its only the H.G. our new innerman only that is born in US via the seed of CHRIST. He is not a flesh and blood being but a spritual being as Jesus said that which is born of the spirit is spirit thats the H.G. the child of Promise HIS NAME SAKE. John is speaking of the H.G. his name sake etc which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of Man,but only by the will of God, He took of the twain ( Jew and Gentile ) and made 1 new man which is the H.G. our new innerman,neither circumcision nor uncircumcision but a new creature which is the H.G. OLD but NEW INNERMAN THE ONLY THING THAT PLEASES GOD. Is a new creature.GB

Another thought on your question "did god create sin" For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. This is romans 8. What we see,and hear, the whole creation is subject too. Referring to it as vanity, here today gone tomorrow!

God is perfect and cannot look on sin. Sin, is anything that is outside of himself, anything that is not holy. Sin was introduced through the disobedience of man. Darkness was upon the face of the deep! He said let there be light. The light divided the darkness. The darkness was never sin nor could be. He took the darkness and made it light! Christ was is in the Father even today , Christ is the light of the world , in Him is no darkness at all. Your sin is obliterated when you you except him as your savior and Lord! Your sin is forgiven and you are now found once again where you should be . In Him the creator of you and me! Thanks be to Christ!!

Isaiah 45:5-8 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded theeThat they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

This particular scripture ( John 1:1) reminded me how personally God knows us. I am overwhelmed and grateful to know such a powerful God.

Movies like "It's a Wonderful Life", with Clarence trying to win his wings. I love that movie.

Google, 'angels with wings'. Some do, but not all.

Thank you for providing this service!

Such a blessing to me!

God bless each and everyone involved and responsible!

I think we can take the Matthew 4:18-22 to be the actual calling of the men to follow Him.

The John 1:40, 41 shows that Andrew & Simon Peter were only introduced to Jesus. Andrew of course was one of John the Baptist's disciples who went after Jesus to find out where He was going to stay the night.

Then in John 1:43 ff, Philip & Nathaniel follow Jesus on the following day( Mt 4:18 & Jn 1:43), which could tie up with the day that the other men were called in Matthew chapter 4.

John says that Andrew followed him and told Simon Peter about him and they followed him.

The other scriptures say they were in a boat and he called them and they immediately left the boat and followed him. How do these relate to aone another?

"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him:

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness."

As Freddieo has said, "God's Word is the most precious Gift given to us" in line with His Gift of His Son & His Spirit. Within His Word we read of Who God is, His dealings with people, His Plans for us now & in the future, His Words of help, guidance & comfort for us, & many more things. Those who don't read (& study) the Bible, are missing out on so much for their Christian walk & in knowing their God & Saviour.

We can just read through its sacred pages, but must do it carefully, quietly & seeking the Spirit's help in understanding & applying what we read to our lives. Or, for those who have more time & desire, to study the Scriptures in depth so that much more can be learned which will strengthen their faith & also help others in spiritual need.

God's Word is truly God speaking to us - it's alive, it's current, it's His speech to our hearts personally. When we read or study it, what we do is to allow God to communicate with our spirit & mind & direct our lives. So many believers languish for want of knowledge ( Hosea 4:6 says that "God's people are destroyed (or, in a spiritual desert of ignorance & defeat) for lack of knowledge"). Also, as we read the Bible, wicked spiritual forces are thwarted from interfering with us as they can't bear to be under the sound of God's Word.

We have no excuse today as the Bible is freely available in many translations but so many forsake it. In some countries in the past (& present) where Christianity & the Bible were forbidden, believers, able to find small discarded portions of the Bible, hung onto them, guarded them & read them over & over again, memorizing these few pieces from the Word & found spiritual sustenance from it.

2 Timothy 2:15, 16: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness." May the Lord help you & encourage you as you take time to read His Word.

Minnie, Paul in 1 Timothy 3:5, gives a long list of the condition of people's hearts 'in the last days'. Now these last days refers to the time after the establishment of the Church, post resurrection & ascension of Jesus Christ. Ever since that time, the moral & spiritual depravity of mankind has grown worse, as we even have evidence of it now. And we will see more of it, in the way people treat one another, no fear or remorse in inflicting pain or death on innocents, people who are full of themselves & prefer to put others down so they are raised up to be admired, given over to pleasure & satisfying the flesh instead of loving God & finding their delight in Him, etc.

So Paul is reminding young Timothy to watch for these evil traits developing in people & to turn away from them, i.e. not to get caught up in their godlessness or even to be accepting of some of their behaviour. So in verse 4, he speaks of those who are "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God" & continues on in verse 5: "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof...". So some of these same people who love worldly pleasure more than God, will also make themselves appear to others as good Church-going folk. And this would be so easy to accept since we can never know the full character of a person. But these same 'spiritual frauds' who may talk of God, go to Church or even read the Bible, will ultimately reveal that there may be substance but no Life or spiritual Power behind their lives (i.e. no true repentance, no re-birth, no Holy Spirit).

This word from Paul I don't believe is given for Timothy or for us to go around casting judgement on people. But when this is evident (especially in the Church), we need to be aware of it (as the Church leader also), & either give gentle correction & guidance to the one living a double life, but if they shun correction, then Church discipline is in order (see a similar instruction by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13).

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Jesus came to this sin cursed world to die for everyone. God gave his son up to die for a world of people that only see themselves as their own boss. Thinking that Jesus play no part in their live. Glory to God, our Lord and saviour. On judgement day let be ready to enter into heaven. Comment for st John 1

Having the word of god ,must be the most precious gift one can have in this life! Reading Jesus words is like sitting next to him. When you see the truth it will definitely set you free from sin and hell. You will see that the world does not understand the things of God nor can they. Because of these things I will thank Him and pray always .

Why did Paul say "People will have a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof"

I want to more know the Holy bible so that I can help many of my country citizen and others to more know God.

Thanks Stanjett. I've not been able to work out how to go back to a comment I made earlier & make a correction to it. Sometimes, on other 'chat or forum' sites there is an Edit button, but not here. How is it done? Thank you.

Only you can delete what you have posted.

Thank you for your questions, M. Fridy; I hope the answers you get here & other comments elsewhere are helpful to you in your understanding of God's Holy Word.

To answer your next question: it was James, in his epistle chapter 1 verse 22, who wrote "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

As you read the Scriptures, this truth is threaded throughout the teachings of Jesus Christ & His apostles, and of course, today every message given to the people must also have a challenge to believers to not just listen & accept the Word given, but to also perform it in their lives & for others. But there were many in those days, as now, who delighted to listen to sound words & comforted themselves in having heard God's Word preached & their belief in it. But after exiting the 'building', those words they heard earlier did not equate to acting upon them.

James gives some examples of this, but to quote two: a. Js 1:26. There will always be a few believers that have 'a loose tongue'. Their words may be harsh, arrogant, backbiting, quarrelsome or foul. He may know his Scriptures & have a Christian demeanour & smile, but his heart is hard & unresponsive to the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul said, "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt..." ( Col 4:6).

b. Js 1:27. In those days, as now, there were many suffering great hardships & particularly widows & orphans, who were not given care, as they might receive these days. There was no one to help them. Some believers then might have also ignored these vulnerable people preferring to spend more time in discussing biblical doctrines & issues. James says that the Gospel of Love requires them to go out & minister to these needy ones & show them Christ's love in action rather than be smug in their homes & fellowships discussing God's Love & other issues. Both are important, but Action, rather than Words in the ear, are far more important which God requires of us.

Question

Who urged us to be doers of the word, not only hearers?

and why?

As mentioned before, "such & such" meant that 'anything that David could have desired'. It's understood that even for David, God would only give him 'such things' that were needed for David's reign or for his blessing & spiritual prosperity. Now in the example of David's sins, David saw Bathsheba bathing & desired her. He took it upon himself to engineer wicked events so as to acquire her. What God is saying to him is that "if you ask Me then I will provide you that which is right & proper".

So I see that the same principle can be applied to believers today. We have the same God Who wants to shower us with His blessings to the end that our lives will be enriched & He would get the Glory. Yet, too often we ask irresponsibly & with the wrong motives & we don't receive. "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." Js 4:3.

Or, sometimes we may ask not knowing the Will of God: "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." 1 Jn 5:14,15.

This is why, whenever we ask of God, we must really examine our motives, the request we make, our faith, the Will of God & the Purposes of God. If we find that we don't receive our request, then it isn't that God hasn't heard us, but we have asked ignorantly (i.e. that which is not permitted by Him for that time). Maybe we have prayed earnestly for someone & not for our own needs. We may have got despondent because that loved one hasn't recovered or has died & we believe God didn't answer my prayer. Yet we don't know His Plans & His Will for that person & for us; He wants us to lovingly trust Him for the outcome - His Answer. And yes, we need to be in His Will, in the Spirit, & to honour Him with our request, so that His Answer, whatever it may be, will always be acceptable to us.

How can we relate 2 Samuel 12:8 with today's modern time.

Go back and get my such and such? Does this mean what the Lord has for me its for all I have to do is ask him for

whatever I want as long as I am in his Will?

On JOHN 1:12

By nature every person is born in sin through the sinful seed of their natural fathers and conditioned therein ( 1 Peter 1:23). For that reason and in order to become a son of God, which are born of God, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, a person must be 'Born Again' ( John 1:12,13; 3:3-7; 1 John 3:9; 5:4).

By attending a man-made institution a few hours a week ( Acts 7:48; 17:24), does not mean that a person can make a claim that they are followers of Christ and 'Born Again'. That is falsehood, as in truth they follow after an image of a false god and a false Christ ( Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Gal. 4:8; Rev. 12:9). This is how Satan has transformed Himself into an angel of light ( 2 Cor. 11:13-15).

Only through 'True Repentance' will God be able to reveal Himself, and adopt you as His sons and daughters ( Rom. 8:15,23; 2 Cor.6:18; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5; Hebr. 12:5; 1 John 3:1).

The word 'Repent' means a lot more than what people by nature have been conditioned to believe. It is the key principle of all the teachings of Jesus Christ and the axiom (basis) of the Word of God and a prerequisite and primary requirement for the salvation of mankind. It actually means the changing of spirits - to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God ( Acts 26:18).

For a better understanding and the 'spiritual truth' of what it means to repent, and learn how and by whom mankind has been deceived ( Rev. 12:9), and what people must do to be reunited with the true and living God, we invite you to seek Him according to the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive ( John 14:17).

You need not that any man teach you ( Isaiah 54:13; 6:45; 1 John 2:27), It is only by revelation of God that you will come to know Christ ( Daniel 12:4,9; Amos 3:7; Matthew 16:17; Luke 2:26; Romans 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:10; Gal. 1:16; Eph. 3:3,5; Rev. 1:1). It is a narrow way that leadeth unto 'Life', and few there be that find it ( Matthew 7:14).

Please delete the Song of Solomon 12:8 reference. I didn't add it there but was quoting your 2 Samuel 12:8.

"such & such" could be translated as "other things that you could have desired".

You may remember that in the previous chapter, David did an abominable thing by committing adultery & murder. God sent Nathan the prophet to David to remind him of the evil that he had done (through a story of a rich man taking a lamb from a poor man to feed a visitor of his). The object of that story was that David was like that wicked heartless rich man by doing what he did to Uriah & his wife Bathsheba. So 12:8 is part of the word against David, that he could have had anything he wanted (= such & such), but he chose wickedly by doing what he did to that husband & wife.