In the Gospel of John, Jesus is always talking about “eternal life.” “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life,”24 he tells the crowd that is following him. “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”25 “Eternal life” is often interpreted to mean living forever in heaven after we die, but Jesus uses this term in a more urgent way, to mean the abundant life we receive when we live in the “unending presence of God.”26 Because God is the Creator of life, God is the only true Source of life. Jesus informs the crowd that he has come to bring them back to the Source of life, and they can partake in this abundance right now. If they will only drop their preoccupation with finding life in other places, if they will only stop trying to stockpile life for themselves, if they can only trust Jesus, then they will find life that is more abundant than they could ever have imagined. Of course, the crowd cannot obtain the life that Jesus offers without help. John Wesley understood...
The Gospel of John, the last of the four gospels in the Bible, is a radical departure from the simple style of the synoptic gospels. It is the only one that does not use parables as a way of showing how Jesus taught, and is the only account of several events, including the raising of Lazarus and Jesus turning water into wine. While essentially the gospel is written anonymously, many scholars believe that it was written by the apostle John sometime between the years 85 and 95 CE in Ephesus. The basic story is that of a testimonial of one of the Apostles and his version of Jesus' ministry. It begins by telling of the divine origins of the birth of Jesus, then goes on to prove that He is the Son of God because of the miracles he performs and finally describes Jesus' death and resurrection.
John focuses on the profound meaning of the life of Jesus, whom he saw as the
John Edwards viewed God’s relation to people to be judgmental and merciful to those who he chose needed mercy. Edward preaches that if you are chosen by God and given his mercy then you will be accepted in Heaven and states this in his writings by saying, “And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners…”. Whereas Anne Bradsworth wrote in a
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)
There is a story in the bible of a rich young man who asks Jesus what it takes to have eternal life. Jesus begins by telling the rich young man to obey all the commandments. The rich young man claims he has already done so and asks what else he needs to do. Jesus answers the rich young man, saying, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give it to the poor. Then come follow me.” (Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30) This encounter is the only recorded account of Jesus being asked, specifically and directly, what it takes to have eternal life.
On the issue of predestination Wesley held that “God has decreed that those who believe will be saved; those who do not believe will not be saved” (p. 174, Abraham). Wesley went ever farther in the “God makes the decree, but the decree does not exclude genuine human agency and freedom; indeed, it builds the exercise of such freedom into the very content of the decree” (p. 174, Abraham). He held that if one would come to God that they should have no doubts about their salvation. God has a drive for our salvation but it is an active choice that we must make, even those God knows what the decision will be from the very beginning.
The New Testament teaches about who Jesus is and what he did on the earth. John wrote the last of the four gospels which recount Jesus’ life and what is to come. The gospel of John is somewhat different from the other three gospels, in that it is more symbolic and less concrete. For example, John expresses Jesus as the Passover Lamb when Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not. This gospel is showing that Christianity is moving away from the long-practiced Jewish traditions. John’s gospel can be laid out into four parts: the prologue or the incarnate word, signs of the Messiah with teachings about life in him, the farewell teaching and the passion narrative, and the epilogue or the roles of Peter and of the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Gospel of John is arguably the most
Wesley did not insist on "any particular understanding" of the atonement, but emphasized that "salvation was based on the whole life of Christ."
...Today as a Christ follower, we will never be satisfied if our life is not bearing lasting fruit because we are not fulfilling the purpose for which we were “grafted “into the Vine. Let’s examine the “fruit” of our lives. Is it the kind of fruit that reveals the character of Christ? Let’s not settle for fruitless Christianity. God will do the work of making us fruitful – we must only abide, surrendering our lives to His mission of making disciples of all nations through us. The whole notion of mission is to stretch out to work the work of evangelism not through hierarchy, sovereignty, rather through humbleness, hospitality, affection love for the others. That is what Jesus who portrayed as the one who we do not deserve to untie His sandals straps in the first Chapter of John, later become feet washer, intimate with humanity leaving His equality with God.
Throughout their lives, many Christians, as well as nonbelievers, have heard the story of the three wise men who journeyed from a far distance to see the birth of Jesus Christ. Author T.S. Eliot, however, tells the story from a different perspective, one of the magus, in his work, “Journey of the Magi.” In this, Eliot describes the long and arduous adventure these three men embarked upon while simultaneously adding in additional allusions to the life of Christ. All of these images combine to compare and contrast the realities of both life and death in the context of Jesus’s birth and Christianity. By doing so, Eliot has created a new and fascinating experience for his readers by bridging the gap between the worlds of life and death.
Jesus is the the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Him. He sends out labourers into the harvest. We are all gathered together into one in, by, and through him. A practical unity of all believers is a worthy endeavor, as a witness to Christ, and to the end that all may be saved by faith in Him.
While both the Gospel of Matthew and John tell of the global reordering plan for the world, each does so in a unique way. The Gospel of Matthew is able to show the reordering of the world by focusing on the aspect of Jesus as a teacher and the results of this; while the Gospel of John shows the reordering occurring as God works through Jesus showing signs to the people of who he is, focusing on the belief this brings to people. “But all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). Through this verse, we see the reordering in effect, as all who receive him and believe in him have the power to become children of God.
e.g. when he became flesh he was the logos, when he was tired at the
Salvation, in Christianity, is defined as the state of being saved from sin or evil (Merriam-Webster). The word salvation is mentioned in one hundred and fifty-eight different verses in the Bible (The Holy Bible: KJV). It is written in John 3:16 that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” According to that verse, God loves us so much that he gave the life of his only Son so that we could obtain salvation from the sin and evil within the world. The verse also explains that by believing in God and that God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins we can have life everlasting in heaven with him. Numerous times salvation and the Christian faith can seem confusing to those who are not Christians. However, as the verse John 3:16 explains, salvation is in actuality simple. Hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of the one true God, repenting of sin, and confessing that Jesus Christ is God’s son who was sent to die on the cross for the sin of all mankind is how we can obtain salvation and have eternal life in heaven.
I believe in the three types of grace that John Wesley believed in and preached on. These three types of grace given by God are Prevenient, Justifying, Sanctifying Grace. God’s grace is free and open to anyone. The first type of grace, prevenient, “it is an elemental form of grace found in everyone.” It is the spark that exists within us that opens humans up to the concept of God. Humans don’t ask for Prevenient Grace, it just exists. “That is the significance of Prevenient Grace. God seeks us before we ever seek