Saying they were the spiritual children of God (John 8:41) meant that these Jewish authorities knew the will of God and did the will of God. In other words, they thought and acted in the same manner they believed God would. Otherwise, the relationship between man and God has no meaning, because God didn’t physically beget human children. The Jewish faith isn’t anything like the Greek religion, where gods rape one another, kill one another and show themselves as having the same lusts as mankind. However, although they understood a child of God is one spiritually, Jesus told them their statement that they were children of God couldn’t be true. Had they really been God’s children, they would have loved Jesus, for he had come to them from God as his physical representative. Jesus came willingly to witness to them, because God had sent him (John 8:42). Therefore, how could they be God’s children, if they didn’t believe the very one God had sent to them? Then Jesus asked: “Why don’t you understand my speech?” and immediately he answered his own question, saying: “Because you cannot hear my word!” (John 8:43).
The Greek word for speech is lalia (G2981). The same word is used to identify Peter as a Galilean, because of the way he talked (Matthew 26:73). The Pulpit Commentary tells us that this same Greek word “is used for any manifestation of sound: a voice, the babble of children, the cries and songs of beasts or birds…” If one listens intently one can understand what children want. They may be hungry, want to be held, desire a toy etc. When a beast cries out or a bird chirps out its song, they may be announcing their fear, identifying their territory, courting a hopeful mate, or they may simply be at play etc. So, if the Jewish authorities listened intently to Jesus, rather than seeking to find fault, they would have understood his claim of origin (cp. Matthew 25:73 above) and his purpose.
The Greek word logos (G3056), which is translated word in the text, denotes reasoning power. Beasts and birds don’t communicate with words, so they have no advanced communicative reasoning power, but humans do. Yet, Jesus’ enemies couldn’t understand his speech, because they were of the flesh, and he of the spirit (John 3:6). Jesus reasoned with them, but God wasn’t speaking to them (John 6:44-45) to draw them to Jesus, because they weren’t putting themselves in a place where they would listen to God. Instead of listening to Jesus’ speech (John 8:43), and knowing his origin (cp. John 3:1-2) and believing God sent him with a message (cp. John 3:11-12), they sought for an opportunity to seize him and kill him (John 7:25). How could anyone behaving in such a manner be willing to listen for what God might tell him?
When folks begin with a certain worldview of the spirit world, it is difficult for them to see another worldview of spirits, when spirits are the subject of a discussion. Gentiles came out of the Greek worldview of the spirit world, and mistakenly read that worldview into the Bible, when it mentioned Satan and demons etc. Therefore, since this wasn’t corrected, many folks, even today, seem to believe that, when the Jewish authorities stubbornly rejected Jesus’ claim to his origin, he then resorted to an ad hominem slur, telling them they were of their father the Devil (John 8:44).
Nevertheless, the Bible never once speaks of an evil spirit being called the Devil or Satan. Those words mean slanderer (devil) and enemy (satan). In other words, the words describe the spiritual mood of human persons. For example, when two of David’s friends offered him evil advice, he called them his adversaries (2Samuel 19:22), and the same word translated adversaries is translated Satan in 1Chronicles 21:1 for no apparent reason other than the worldview of the translator.
In the case at hand, Jesus was referring to Adam, he was the father of lies. He lied to Eve about God, and in doing so, he not only murdered her but, in effect, the entire human race. Adam murdered humanity, and the Jewish authorities were murdering the very nation they led, because they refused to listen to the very one God sent to them to save them. Jesus claimed they would rather believe what the slander (the flesh/Adam) said against him than the truth he offered them.
Jesus concluded by saying because he tells them the truth, they don’t believe, and why? Not one of them was able to prove any of the lies (slander) they said about him, because Jesus told the truth and was able to support his claims. His miracles proved God was with him. Only those who are of God are able to hear him (cp. John 6:44-45). Yet, these men, these leaders of the nation, cannot hear him, because they’d rather believe lies (John 8:45-47).
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22 responses to “You Are of Your Father, the Devil!”
Whether of not the spirit (ruach) is feminine or not, I am unable at this point to verify. However, even if it were feminine, the fact that man is composed of body, soul and spirit (1Thessalonians 5:23) implies that the ‘spirit’ of God isn’t a distinct person. I’m not a Trinitarian, so your argument is unconvincing, at least for me.
I haven’t witnessed thunder and lightening bringing anything into existence, so, once more, your argument is unconvincing. However, as for the Son of God, according to the text the Son is eternally generated. In other words he is before time. In fact, the word of God says that God brought the ages (time) into existence through the Son (Hebrews 1:2). So, we have no record of the Father being older than the Son. Of course, one is able to imagine what he or she wishes, but at the end of the day we have no record of the Son coming into existence.
Yes I can understand how a Non Trinitarian would not be convinced of a Trinitarian explanation to how the Son of God became flesh in the fullness of time, born of a woman engaged to a man to reconcile all humans to their divine parents who work as ONE. In my observation, thunder and lightening occur during storms. With them, comes a fresh fragrance to the earth and forests burst into flame. Fires make way for new grasses, herbs, and shrubs to provide food and habitat for animals and birds and open space to let sunlight through to the ground.
But you weren’t speaking of how the Son of God became flesh. You were speaking of how the Son of God came into existence.
Indeed, but this doesn’t explain how in your previous comment that thunder and lightening brought the Son of God into existence.
There are actually many versus that ‘are referred to” in support of the concept of Satan and the devil. However like end times eschatology, they presented without context. Here is one that is compelling ( Luke 10:17-18 “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.”) and just one more:
(2 Peter 2:4 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment.”)
OK, just one more! (Ezekiel 28:14-17
You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.)
I know you are familiar with all of these scriptures and I don’t want to burden you with this. But it is easy to see where the concept comes from particularly if you take these scriptures out of context and in a literal sense.
Thank you for your clarification of the time problem for the wilderness temptation.
I have always considered the masculine reference to be generic, much like we use ‘mankind’ Having stated that, it seems to me to be a non issue. Yet if we are to believe the scriptures he ‘created’ male and female.