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The Pursuit of God

The Pursuit of God
Words of Faith 12-12-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 10
[34] Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? [35] If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came--and the Scripture cannot be broken-- [36] what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? [37] Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. [38] But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."

Jesus did not give up. Even in dealing with those who carried stones against Him, Jesus responded to objections and even pleaded with them to reconsider based upon the testimony of miracles in His life and His obedience to the Father. This pursuit by God is a marvelous thing!
This is an interesting text mainly because of the phrase “I have said you are gods.” Some false religions claim that we are all gods or are becoming gods. This is in no way what Jesus was saying.
The response of Jesus sounds cryptic to us because Jesus was using a method of Rabbinic argument to try and break through the hard hearts of the religious people.
Psalm 82 speaks of God as the true Judge and of men, appointed as judges, who were failing to provide true judgment for God (Ps. 82:1-7). This term “gods” in Psalm 82:1 and 6 refers to these human judges. In this sense, God said to the Jews, “You are gods.” In no way does this speak of a “divine nature” in man.
Jesus argued that if in certain situations (Ps. 82:1, 6) men were called “gods” meaning “human judges” then the religious people could not logically accuse Him of blasphemy for calling Himself God’s Son since He was under divine orders (set apart) and on God’s mission (sent into the world).
The wonder here is that even though these religious people were reluctant to believe Jesus’ words and had even carried stones to hurt Him, God was giving them miracles, which he was doing through Jesus. These signs were given so that by pondering their significance they still might recognize Jesus’ oneness with the Father.
Jesus had said “the Father is in Me, and I in the Father”. Even Nicodemus, a religious Pharisee, had recognized this for he said, “No one could perform such miraculous signs if God were not with Him” (3:2).
How marvelous is the pursuit of God! While we are still sinners, even when we are stubborn. When we close our minds and hearts to Him and even when we carry along stones to defend our ideas, God is there to gently persuade us.
Through the testimony of Scripture, miraculous signs and the witness of His Spirit, the Lord woos us gently to receive His grace and the truth of the Gospel.

Thank You, Lord for pursuing me. Thank You for not giving up. Thank You for embracing me with Your love and grace. Thank You for breaking through my stubborn resistance. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.