John chapter 1. We are going
to be in John chapter 1 all day today. This chapter, the entire chapter
and various portions of the chapter, the Lord really blessed it to
my heart. It just opened up. I saw our
message. And then I saw our Bible study,
and then I saw the evening message, all right here in John chapter
one. I pray the Lord will make it a blessing to all of us. This
is a very special place to be. Every word in the scripture is
a special and precious word, but John one is a very, very
special chapter. It's a glorious chapter. Over the course of these three
messages today, we're going to touch on some verses in one message
and we'll spend some time on verses in another message. And
that's what we're going to do this morning. Verses 11 to 13,
we're going to touch on them tonight, but we're going to spend
some time on them this morning in this Bible study. All day
long, we're going to look at God's operation of salvation
all day long. God's operation of salvation,
the order of it, the means of it, the outcome of it. The focus all day long is going
to be God's operation in his work. His work of salvation. And that is the saving of His
people. And that's what I want to stress.
His people. That's where we're going to start.
We're going to start by seeing in this Bible study that God
purposed the work of salvation for His people. That's where
we're starting. God chose a particular people
to save. It's a people that he calls his
elect. He calls them his elect. And what I want us to really
see in this is only God's elect will be saved. And had God not chosen to elect
a people, nobody would have been saved. That's what I want us
to say. Only God's elect will be saved. And had God not chosen to elect
a people, nobody would have been saved. Nobody. Election, this
word election, this is one of the sweetest declarations. If you want to talk about love
and kindness and goodness and mercy, Election is one of the
sweetest declarations that a sinner, a true sinner, I'm talking about
a true sinner, not a self-righteous person, but a true sinner. This
is one of the sweetest things a true sinner has ever heard.
Election is the sweetest truth. It is a precious kindness from
God to a sinner. from God to a sinner. Election
is God choosing to save a sinner in spite of the sinner. That's
what election is. It's God choosing and purposing
to show goodness and kindness and mercy and love to a sinner
in spite of that sinner. We can see that in this first
verse that we read, all right? John 1 verse 11, it says, speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ, it says, he came unto his own and his own received him not. Boy, what a verse. What a verse. He came unto his own. And his own received him not. Election is God choosing to save
a sinner in spite of the sinner. That's what it is. The reason
that we confidently know that had God not chosen to save his
people, nobody would be saved. The reason we know that is because
no one. No one, not one soul on this
earth wanted him. Not one soul desired him. Not one soul received him. He came unto his own and his
own wouldn't even receive him. Life came. Salvation came, redemption
came to the ones that he chose to save, and they didn't want
him. They did not want him. More accurately,
it should be said, we did not want him. More accurately, that's
what needs to be said. We did not want him. Turn with
me over to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, the heading at the
top of my page says, The Humiliation and Sufferings of Christ. That's what it says at the top
of the page there in the Old Testament. The Humiliation and
Sufferings of Christ. This is speaking of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And somebody could say, well,
how could Isaiah, who lived hundreds of years before Christ even came
to the earth, how could he be speaking of Christ? Christ hadn't
even come yet. How could He be writing of Christ?
Every word in the Old Testament is concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's all. Genesis 1.1 is talking about
the Lord Jesus Christ. In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So right here in Isaiah 53, this is speaking of Christ. In verse
one says, who hath believed our report? Whose report? The report
that God gave to his prophets and God gave to his apostles,
the report written in this word, as we read the word and the flesh
of man says, I don't believe that. That's what man, that's
the first instinct of man. I don't believe that. I don't
believe that. Well, here's the question. It goes out. Who hath believed
our report? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him
as a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground. Speaking of
Christ coming, being born into the world, growing up. He hath
no form nor comeliness, meaning he looks like every other man.
And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him. He is despised and rejected of
men. That's amazing. A man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. And we, and again, Isaiah wasn't
even on the earth when the Lord was here. Why does he say we,
we speaking on behalf of every child of God, every man and woman
ever born. We hid as it were our faces from
him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. But verse six
says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone
to His own way. Not the way God says, I wanna
go the way I wanna go. I wanna believe the way I wanna
believe. And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. So we can clearly see that God
chose to have mercy on His people in spite of them. In spite of
them. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13 says,
we were chosen to salvation. through sanctification of the
Spirit in belief of the truth. So go with me back to John chapter
1. John 1 verse 11 says, He came
unto His own, and His own received Him not, did not want Him, would
not have Him. He came unto His own, and His
own received Him not, But as many as received Him, as many
as were forced to receive Him, thank God, this is where thank
God comes into play. As many as against their own
will were forced to receive Him. Irresistible grace, that's what
it was when He came. Man tried to resist it. Grace
came and man tried to resist him, but it was irresistible.
To the ones he came to, irresistible. Verse 12 goes on to say, to them
gave he the power. That means the right or the privilege
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. That means they were arrested.
They were apprehended. They were laid hold of. They
were caused to come. That's what happened. Look with
me at Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13 verse 47, it
says, for so hath the Lord commanded us saying, I have set thee to
be a light of the Gentiles that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord And as many
as were ordained to eternal life, believed. As many as were ordained
to it, ordained from before the foundation of the world, as many
as were ordained to it, believed. Had they not been ordained to
it, they wouldn't have, but they were. So they did. And that's what verse 13 tells
us back in John 1. Go back with me to our text.
John 1. Verse 11. He came unto His own,
and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him. And I want to point out that
that does not say accepted. as many as accepted Him. It says
as many as received Him. You can receive something whether
you want to or not, whether you accept it or not. As many as
received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name. Verse 13 says, which
were born. Born people talk about being
born again being saved being why I'm born again I have a lot
of people tell me that I'm a born-again Christian Which were born all
right? This is why they received him
This is what their election was unto it says which were born
that means given life That's what it means born which were
saved, which were redeemed. Verse 13 says not of blood, meaning
man's blood, their own blood. Now he just said some did receive
him and some did not. Some did and some did not. What
this tells us is, number one, everybody is not going to be
saved. That's a stark truth, isn't it?
Everybody's not going to be saved. The reality is none, I'm looking
at a whole room full of people who would not, none would receive
Him. None. None would. None will. None will receive
Him outside of Him choosing to receive them. You know what John
said? He said, we love Him. We love
Him because He first loved us. We're just responding. David
said in Psalm 27, after you said, seek ye my face, my heart cried
unto thee, thy face, Lord, will I seek? I seek Him. only because
he sought me first. I'm just responding to him. When
he says, come, I come. So none did receive him. None would, none will outside
of him choosing to receive them first. And that's the first thing
we need to understand about salvation. It's only to those that he chooses
to save. Salvation is not to everybody.
It's not in a family tree. It's not in a nationality. It's
not in any type of pedigree. I'm not saved just because my
parents were saved. I'm not saved just because I
was born into a nation that calls itself a Christian nation. Look
with me at Romans 2. In type and in picture, the Jews
represent God's people, God's chosen people. But Romans 2 verse 28 says, He's
not a Jew, meaning a spiritual child of God. He's not a Jew
which is one outwardly. He's not a Jew just because He's
a Jew. He's not a child of God just
because He was born into that nation. He's not a Jew which
is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward
in the flesh, that mark of being set apart. But he's a Jew, which
is one inwardly. And circumcision is that of the
heart in the spirit and not in the letter, whose praise is not
of men, but of God." What does that mean? That means men are
not made to be children of God by way of their nation, by way
of their tradition, by way of their religion. God chose who he would have mercy
on. God chose who He would call to
Himself. And in Revelation 5, verse 9,
He said it was a people out of every tribe, every nation, every
kindred, every tongue on this earth. So back in John 1, verse 13 says, receiving Christ,
receiving life, being made to be a child of God. He said, it's
not of blood. It's not because of anything
about a man. Race, place, face, not anything
about a man. Verse 13 says, nor of the will
of the flesh. It's not because of anything
about a man. It's not because of anything
in a man. It's not because of His will. People talk about man's free
will. They talk about man's decision.
You got to make your choice and you got to make your... It's
not because of man's decision. It's not of the will of the flesh. As a matter of fact, if you look
at John chapter 5, it says over in John 5 verse 40, John 5 verse 40, the Lord himself
said concerning sinful man, he said, you will not come to me
that you might have life. You will not. Verse 41, he said, I received
not honor from men. I don't, I don't receive honor
for men. God receives honor from his spirit
in man, crying out for man, creating a new creature in man. Verse 42, he said, I know you
that you have not the love of God in you. He said, I'm coming
in my father's name and you receive me not. If another shall come
in his own name, him you will receive. You'll receive another
man who comes in his own name with his own way and his own. But he said, you won't receive
me. Who is he speaking to right there?
He's speaking to everybody. Every man, just listen to this.
Okay. This is Romans three verses 10
and 11. This says, As it is written, there is none
righteous. No, not one. There is none that
understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. So it most certainly is not in
the will of the flesh. And back in John 1, verse 13
says, nor of the will of man. which
were born, not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man." Any other man, any other woman. Like a
grandmother thinks she can pray her grandchildren into heaven. Or a sorely mistaken religious
man, you know, who just takes so much pride in thinking he
can lead somebody to Christ. I just led him to Christ right
there, and you know, I just, it's not in that. That's not
how it works. or a foolish, lost preacher,
poor preacher standing in a pulpit, he thinks he's a soul winner.
That's what he thinks he's doing. I'm out there winning souls for
the Lord. God's chosen people are not born
to eternal life of their own blood. They're not born of the
will of the flesh. They're not born of the will
of another man. How were they born then? The
end of verse 13 says, they are born of God. They are born of God. It is a
work that God does start to finish. It's a glorious work. It's a
surprising work to the one it comes to and everybody around
them. Look who the Lord saved. Boy,
I wouldn't have thought it would have been them. They are born of God. God does
it start to finish. This is what we're gonna see
all day. Our message is second verse, same as the first. And
that's the same thing for tonight. Don't turn, but 1 Corinthians
1.30 says, of God are you in Christ Jesus? I must be in Christ. You must be in Christ. How do
we get there? Of God are you in Christ Jesus?
That means it's of God. The birth of life into being
a child of God, that birth was by the will of God and by the
blood of God. It's not man's blood, it's not
man's flesh, not man's will. It was Christ's flesh and Christ's
blood and Christ's will. born of His Spirit, washed in
His blood. This is my story. This is my
song. That birth came through the incorruptible
seed of God. That's how it comes. When you
get to the conclusion of the whole matter, this is all that
can be said. Here's, we could just say this
one thing and walk out. Salvation is of the Lord. Period. No buts about it. In spite of
us. If we add anything to that, it's
this. In spite of us. Most certainly without our help
in any way, shape, or form. Of God are we in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. Let him say, God did it. Amazing
grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. We're going to expound, Lord
willing, we'll expound on that all day today. I want to close
this Bible study with the last few verses of 1 Peter 1. Turn
with me over there to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1 verse 22, Seeing you
have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another
with a pure heart fervently, being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and
all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth,
and the flower thereof falleth away. But the word of the Lord
endureth forever. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you. Amen. All right, you're dismissed.