John 10:26-30 (WEL) “But you do not believe because you are not my sheep, just like I said to you. 27 “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 “I give eternal life to them. They will not perish, ever, nor will anyone seize them out of my hand. 29 “My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to seize them out of my Father’s hand. 30 “The Father and I are one.”
V26 “But you do not believe because you are not my sheep, just like I said to you.
How do we know who is sheep or not? Sheep believe and non-sheep do not. It is the character trait of Jesus’s sheep is faith.
It is not that God created a class of humans so he could damn them for eternity. The verse teaches that those who believe are sheep and nonbelievers are not.
V27 “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
Believers listen to God’s words, respect God’s words, believe God’s words, live by God’s words. Jesus says that He recognizes them and cares for them because they are sheep. Following Jesus means the sheep recognize Jesus as the shepherd and do what He says.
His voice is the Scriptures—John 18:37, Matthew 13:23, and Jeremiah 7:23.
The voice of demons is also heard by too many—1 Timothy 4:1.
Listening involves physical hearing, paying attention, comprehending, and obeying (if required). The others have physical hearing but block it out, ignore it, and/or do not acknowledge it.
The Jewish leaders reject God voice for they hear the sound but it is blocked out.
V28 “I give eternal life to them. They will not perish, ever, nor will anyone seize them out of my hand.
Eternal life is a gift, not a right; it is not earned; it is not from birth in a certain type of family. Faith is the condition God demands, just like Abraham believed God’s words, so we must be God’s words, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Compare Romans 4:1-5.
Eternal life means they will not perish or be snatched from God’s hands. Perish means the punishment of not listening and obeying God’s voice. All that is left is the punishment of eternal wrath from God.
V29 “My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to seize them out of my Father’s hand.
The reason is that God is supreme. He is greater in every area of life. The Father gave Jesus those who believe.
Jesus is God the Son and places Himself under the authority of God the Father as in Matthew 26:42.
V30 “The Father and I are one.”
Are one refers to God’s essence. God’s essence is the stuff that God is, a spirit (John 4:24), and the character traits of God. The character traits of God are divided into two categories: communicable and noncommunicable. Communicable traits include love, hate, anger, kindness, patience, humility, peace, truth, etc. Both God and humans have these traits. The noncommunicable traits belong to only God and include omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, life, eternal, etc.
All the stuff the God is (God is a spirit) and character traits of God the Father are exactly the same as the stuff and character traits of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God is one God in three persons.
We learn:
- Jesus is the giver of eternal life to those who believe and trust in Him.
- Jesus is God.
Questions:
- Have you believed and placed your trust in Jesus for salvation from God’s wrath?
- Do you believe that Jesus is God?