Would you turn with me to John
chapter 8? While you're turning there, I
want to announce what I'm going to be speaking on this evening. I'm going to be speaking out
of 1 Corinthians chapter 14 on the meaning of words. And I want to encourage everybody
to hear this message. I believe it to be a very important
message, the meaning of words. Now look in John chapter eight, let's read verse 47 together. He that is of God, heareth God's
words. You, therefore, hear them not,
because you are not of God." I have entitled this message,
Of God. Of God. Now what does it mean to be of
God? I need to ask that question because
not everybody is. He says to these people in no
uncertain language, you're not of God. That's why you don't
hear my words. You're not of God. Not everybody
is of God. So what does it mean to be of
God? Some people are not. As a matter
of fact, many people are not. Look what the Lord says in verse
44 of John chapter eight. He says to these people he's
speaking to, you are of your father, the devil. You're not
of God. You're of the devil. That's what
he says. Now, what does it mean to be
of God? Turn to 1 John 4. I want you
to see this distinction the scripture makes in this thing of being
of God. I want to be of God, don't you? Whatever that means.
I want to be of God. 1 John 4. Verse 2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is what? Of God. And every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not
of God. And this is that spirit of antichrist
where if you've heard that it should come and even now already
it's in the world. Ye are of God, little children,
and have overcome them, because greater is he that's in you than
he that's in the world. They are of the world, therefore
speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are
of God. He that knoweth God heareth us.
He that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit
of truth and error. This thing of being of God. Now, I want to give you a bunch
of phrases from the Bible that speaks of being of God. This will give us some idea how
big this subject is. Now, being of God, before I give
you these, being of God speaks of origin. It's where I'm from. Being of God speaks of possession,
to whom I belong. Being of God speaks of relation. like a son of God or a daughter
of God. That's what being of God is referring
to. Now you listen to these statements from the scripture that will
give us some idea of how big this is. We read in the Bible
of the doctrine of God, the grace of God, the love of God, the
wrath of God, the counsel of God, the righteousness of God,
the power of God, the church of God, the truth of God, the
judgment of God, the goodness of God, the glory of God The
gift of God. The law of God. The word of God. The will of God. The promise of God. The children of God. Heirs of God. The mercies of God. The knowledge of God. the wisdom
of God, the sight of God, the life of God, the fullness of
God, the mystery of God, chosen of God, the foreknowledge of
God, the paradise of God, the mystery of God. the throne of
God, the seal of God, the great day of God, the true sayings
of God, the supper of the great God, the right hand of God, being
born of God. That's a lot of words. I realize
that. But can you see what an emphasis the scripture makes
of this thing of being of God? He that's of God, heareth God's
words. You therefore hear them not because
you're Not of God. Now, to be of speaks of origin. I'm from Ashland, Kentucky. That's
where I'm from. I'm of Ashland. You want to know
what made me? I'm from Ashland, Kentucky. If
you go to Ashland, Kentucky, you'll figure out something about
me. That's a bad thing, I guess, but it's a good thing, too. I'm
of Ashland, Kentucky. That's where I'm from. That's
my origin. Now, if I'm of God, I'm from God. He is my origin. He is where I come from. My beginning is found in Him. To be of God speaks of possession. If I'm of Him, that means I belong
to Him in a way that not all men do. Turn to John chapter
10. You're there in John 8. Turn to John chapter 10, verse
24. Then came the Jews round about
him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If
thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you,
and you believed not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not, because
you are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me." Now you see
this thing of possession. He says, you fellows are not my
sheep. That's the reason you don't believe. He doesn't say,
You're not my sheep because you don't believe. He says, you don't
believe because you're not of my sheep. You don't belong to
me. You're not my particular purchase
possession. To be of speaks of a relationship. I am the son of Charles and Sharon
Nybert. I come from them. I'm their son. I'm of them. If I'm a believer,
I am a son of God. Not everybody's a son of God.
He says to this crowd in this same chapter in John 8, you're
of your father, the devil. You're not of God. You're of
your father, the devil, and the less of your father, you'll do.
He was a murderer from the beginning. He was a liar from the beginning.
He abode not in the truth. He goes on to describe him. But
God's people are his particular possession. We're sons of God.
And the scripture makes this distinction regarding Isaac and
Ishmael, the child of the promise and the child of the flesh. Galatians
4.29 says, Ishmael, who represents salvation by works, was born
after the flesh, but Isaac was born after the spirit. Now there is a clear distinction
the scripture makes between those who are of God and those who
are not. Now this is a big subject. It's infinitely above and beyond
anything our puny brains can get a hold of. So I pray that
God will be our teacher as we consider this glorious, awe-inspiring
subject of God. Am I of God? I want to know.
Am I somebody that would be described as being of God? Now, what I
want to do is give you seven scriptural aspects of being of
God and look at the one evidence the Lord gives of being somebody
who is of God. Now, first of all, to be of God
means to be united to Jesus Christ. Now, let me show you that in
the scripture. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. If I'm of God, that means
I'm united to Jesus Christ. United means one. Not two real close together,
it means one. Both he that sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified are
all of one. I'm united to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now look in 1 Corinthians 1.
And here's what this means. Verse 30. But of him, of God,
Are you in Christ Jesus? And if I'm in Christ Jesus, that's
what it means by being united to Him. That means whatever He
does, I do. Who He is, I am because I'm in
Him. Where He goes, I go because I'm in Him. What He did, I did
because I'm in Him. I'm united to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Of Him, of God, are you in Christ
Jesus? And look what it says next. Who
of God is made unto us. wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. I love that verse of scripture.
Now, if I'm of God, that means I'm united to Christ. That means
that I am the very wisdom of God in him. He's made into me.
How wise is Jesus Christ? Now how wise is He? How fit for
fellowship with God is Jesus Christ? You don't feel very fit
for fellowship with God, do you? Is Christ so? Yeah, He's infinitely
fit for fellowship with God and I'm the very wisdom of God in
Him. If I'm united to Him, that means
He's made to me wisdom. He's made to me righteousness.
How righteous is Jesus Christ? Being united to Him, that's how
righteous I am. I'm the righteousness of God
in Him, and this is most real. He's made unto me sanctification.
He's made unto me holiness. How holy is Jesus Christ? That's
how holy I am. He's made unto me holiness. He's
made unto me redemption. He's made unto me complete deliverance
is what that means. When Christ walked out of that
grave, when He walked out of that tomb, how delivered was
He? How secure was He? Well, he was completely delivered.
He was completely secure. And that's how the believer is.
He's made unto me, being united to Him. And here's my hope. My
hope that I'm going to stand before God and be accepted. It's
because of my union with the Lord Jesus Christ. He's made
unto me all of these things. So, first to be of God is to
be united to Christ. Now, second, turn to John chapter
1. John chapter 1 verse 12. But as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name, which were born. This is how they became
sons. This is what made them sons.
They were born. They were birthed, which were
born not of blood, Not of the will of the flesh, not of the
will of man, but of God. Now do you hear what that verse
of Scripture is saying? Born of God. Birth by God. This birth, this spiritual birth,
this new nature that a believer gets, it doesn't come as a result
of blood. I'm not a Christian because my
mom and dad were. I'm not a Christian because of
some earthly tie. It doesn't come because of the
will of the flesh. It doesn't come because a bunch
of men got together and started praying for you. We're going
to pray men to heaven. didn't come that way. It didn't come
as an act of man's free will. Free will, the notion that God
loves you, Christ died for you, God wants to save you, died for
everybody, wants to save everybody, but it's up to an act of your
will as to whether or not you'll be saved, that's the biggest lie
that's ever been told. You weren't born of the will of man. If you're
born, you're born of God. Not of the will of the flesh,
not of the will of them, but of God. And if you're a believer,
you know that. I won't get any argument on this
issue from any believer. You know that if you have a spiritual
life, God gave it to you. You're just sure of that. You
were born of God. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Thirdly, First, to be of God
means to be united to Christ. Secondly, to be of God means
to be born of God. Thirdly, to be of God is to actually
possess the very righteousness of God. You make good on that
in the scripture. Turn to Philippians 3. Philippians 3, now that's a big
statement. You mean if you're of God, that means you actually
possess the very righteousness of God? That sounds almost blasphemous.
Well, it would if it wasn't in the Word of God. But this is
what the Bible teaches. Look in Philippians chapter 3,
verse 8, "...Yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss.
For the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but
dumb, that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having my
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is what? Of God by faith. Now here's where my boldness
comes from. Here's where the boldness of every believer comes from.
I don't come in my own righteousness, which is of the law. I don't
come saying I ought to be accepted because I obeyed the law. No,
I don't come that way at all. I come in the very righteousness
of God. Now, is this real or is this
figurative? This thing of having the very
righteousness of God, is this just religious talk and high-sounding
religious phraseology or is this real? Well, here's where I'll answer that
question. How really was the Lord made sin? Did He really
die or did He figuratively die? He really died, didn't He? He
really died for one reason. He was really made sin. The sins
of the elect were placed upon Him. He was really made sin,
and He died under the wrath of God as the sin-bearing substitute. He was really made sin. And just as truly as He was really
made sin, everybody He died for as a substitute, they really
made the righteousness of God in Him. You see, He took my sin,
in His own body. And He took His righteousness
and gave it to me. It's called substitution. And
every believer, everybody that's of God really has the very righteousness
of God. So to be of God is to actually
possess His righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For
He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. Fourth, to be of God is to have
God in you. That sounds powerful, doesn't it? Or mysterious. To be of God means you have God
dwelling in you. Turn to 1 John chapter 4. Verse four, ye are of God, little children
and have overcome them because greater is he that's in you than
he that is in the world. Now, why do I overcome? Why do I persevere? Why do I
believe? Because greater is He that is in me than he that is
in the world. In spite of all these obstacles,
the world, the flesh, the devil, still greater is He that's in
you than he that's in the world. If you're of God, if I'm of God,
that means the one whom the heavens cannot contain dwells within
my heart. That's an amazing concept, isn't
it? The one whom the heavens cannot contain, infinite in majesty
and glory. He lives, he lives by his spirit
within my heart. If I'm of God, that means God
actually dwells in me. Colossians 1.27 says, Christ,
where? In you. The hope of glory. God dwells within. So to be of God is to have God
in you. Fifth, to be of God is to see God. It's to see God. Now, how do you see Him? God's
invisible. He's invisible. So how do you go about seeing
Him? First, let me back this up with scripture. Turn to John
6. Verse 45. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore,
that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me,
not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God. He hath seen the Father." Now,
if I'm of God, that means I see Him who is invisible. Now, how
can you see Him who is invisible? Well, the only way you can see
Him is by faith. You know that. But doesn't Scripture say we walk
by faith and not by sight? I see Him who is invisible. Everybody
that is of God sees God. Now, what in the world does that
mean, to see God? I'm making a claim that I see
God. I see God. What's it mean? Well, first of
all, I see Him in His creation. When I see this beautiful world
we live in, when I see the mountains, when I see the stars, the sky,
when I see a beautiful red rose and smell it, when I see an insect. It doesn't matter what it is
regarding all this creation. When I see this creation, you
know what I see? I see God. God made this. I don't have any
more doubt about that than I do in my own existence. God made
this. I see God in this creation. But
not only do I see God in this creation, I see God in providence. You know what that means? That
means everything that happens, He's in control of. God did it. I don't care what it is, God
is the first cause behind all things. Shall there be evil in
the city, and hath not the Lord done it?" I don't care whether
it's a good thing, whether it's a bad thing, whether it's sickness,
whether it's health, whatever it is, God's in control of it.
And so, whatever happens in Providence, I see God. You see God? You really believe that He's
in control of everything. You know, He's God. There's not even
another option. He's God. But not only do I see
Him in His creation in Providence, here's where I most especially
see God. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father. I see God in the Lord
Jesus Christ. I have no... Jesus Christ is
God. I see God in seeing the Lord
Jesus Christ. I see God. He is God. And I see God in the cross. When
I see the Lord Jesus Christ by faith on the cross, I see this
is God. This is God hanging on the cross.
This is God putting away sin. This is God saving His people. I see God. Our Lord said, He
that has seen me has seen the Father. So to be of God is to
see God. Now, six, those who are of God
do righteousness. Would you turn with me? 1 John
chapter 3, those who are of God do righteousness. Now what in the world does that
mean? Now I have to ask that question because as far as the
way I feel, do I ever feel like I do righteousness? I'm preaching
this sermon to you right now. Do I feel like I'm doing righteousness?
No, I don't. When I pray, do I feel like I'm
doing righteousness? No, I don't. Lord, have mercy
on me, the sinner. Have mercy on the chief of sinners.
When I read the Bible, do I feel like I'm doing righteousness?
No, I don't. I pray for God to give me eyes
to see, but sin is always there. And I never feel like any act
of mine or even any thought of mine is righteous, as far as
the way I feel. No, I don't see it as righteous.
And I'll tell you what, if you see anything you do is righteous,
you're blind as a bat. You have no spiritual life. You
don't have a clue. Every believer knows what I'm
talking about. I don't have to convince you of this. You know
that you're a sinner. But now let's go on reading what
1 John chapter 3 verse says. 1 John chapter 3 beginning in
verse 8. He that committeth sin is of
the devil. For the devil sinneth from the
beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that
he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born
of God doth not commit sin. For his seed, God's seed, remaineth
in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Now this
is talking about the new nature. This is talking about what every
believer is given at the new birth. You're given the very
seed of God. Now, what God birthed, can that
see Him? Obviously not. What God has birthed
cannot see Him. This is talking about the holy
nature that every believer possesses. Now, can I see it? Do I believe it's there? Yes,
I do. By faith, I believe it's there
because God tells me it is. He that's born of God doth not
commit sin, he can't sin, for his seed remaineth in him. Verse
10, in this the children of God are manifest and the children
of the devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness
is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." You
see, the doing of righteousness is of God. And what is this doing
of righteousness? It's every act performed by the
new nature. It's the doing of righteousness.
It's every act performed by the new nature. John put it this
way in John chapter 3 verse 21. He said, he that doeth truth
cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that
they are wrought in God that God did them. Now here's what
this means. I myself do believe the gospel. I do. And I know it's because God worked
it in me. I know that's why I have faith.
I don't have any question about that. I myself, I do love and
adore Jesus Christ the Lord. He's the Lord of my life. He's
my husband. He's my shepherd. He's my all
in all. He really, I love Him. And I
know why I love Him. He caused me to. It's His work
in me. everything that's spiritual in
me. It's Him. It's Him. He is the one who does
this and I believe that. It is God that worketh in you
both to will and to do. His good pleasure. Listen to
this scripture from Galatians 2 20 Paul said, I live Yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me." To be of God is to do righteousness,
the works of the new birth. And then to be of God, seventh,
here's the seventh thing, to be of God is to confess the gospel.
You're there in first John, turn to first John chapter four. I've
already read this once, but let's look at it again. To be of God is to confess the
gospel. All who are of God confess the
gospel. Now, when you confess, that means
you plead guilty. That's what it is to confess.
It's to plead guilty. You don't keep this quiet. No,
you confess openly. You confess. This, like Paul
said, this I confess to thee. I'm not trying to cover this
up. This I confess to thee. After the way which they call
heresy, so worship I the God of my Father, believing all things
which are written in the law and in the prophets. So to be
of God is to confess. Now look here in verse 2 of 1
John chapter 4. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God. Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. Now, let's think about this for
a moment. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh. Well, first of all, what's that mean? Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh. Well, when I say that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh, first I say that He was before He came. I confess He's the Eternal God.
He didn't begin when He began in Bethlehem. No, He's Him who
is of old, who never began. I confess that He was before
He came. In other words, I confess He's
God. I confess He's the Eternal God. He was before He came. And
I confess that He came in the flesh. God became man. God became flesh. Jesus Christ
is the God-man. And He did what He came to do.
He came to keep the law in the flesh. He came as a representative
man. He represented somebody. He kept the law for somebody.
He died for somebody. He justified everybody He died
for. He accomplished salvation for
everybody He did it for. And I confess this. I confess
He's God. I confess He came in the flesh and He did what He
came to do and I confess that He is everything. I confess that. He came in the flesh and He did
what He came to do. I confess that He saved everybody He died
for. I confess. Right now I'm confessing
Him and by His grace I'm willing to die for this. This is a gospel
worth dying for. My life isn't worth anything
anyway. This is a gospel worth dying for. It's the only hope
I have that He came in the flesh. He was before He came. And he
did what he came to do. That's my confession. That's
the confession of every believer. We confess this and to not confess
it is to be not of God. Every spirit that confesses not
that Jesus Christ is coming to flesh is not of God. In conclusion, now we see what
it means to be of God. That's a big subject, isn't it?
Speaking of scriptures, we see what it means to be of God. Now
here's the last question I want to ask. What is the one evidence that the Lord Jesus gives of
being of God? He only gives one evidence here.
Let's look back in our text in John chapter eight. Not everybody's
of God. And we see who is of God. What
is the one evidence that our Lord Jesus Christ gives of being
of God? Look in verse 47. He that is
of God, what? Heareth God's words. And he says to this crowd that
didn't hear them, that rejected his words, he says, you therefore
hear them not because you are not of God. I love the way the
Lord speaks, don't you? I mean, he doesn't leave any
room for doubt. You know exactly what he's saying.
He that's of God, heareth God's words. And the reason you fellows
don't hear him is you're not of God. Now listen to me real
carefully. I know everybody who is of God will hear this message
as God's words. How do you know that? Because
he that's of God, heareth God's words. I want to give you a living illustration
of this, and this is a familiar passage of scripture. To hear
God's words is to believe God's words. It's to bow to God's words. It's to love God's words. Turn
to John chapter six. Verse 59. These things said he in the synagogue,
as he taught in Capernaum. I would advise you and read John
chapter six. It's a wonderful, wonderful sermon.
And it's the words of God. As a matter of fact, in that
one sermon, our Lord clearly outlined what we call the doctrine
of grace. Total depravity. Unconditional election. Limited
atonement. Invincible grace. The perseverance of the saints.
They're all in John chapter 6. Let me back that up in the scripture.
Total depravity. Verse 44. No man can come to
me. Utter inability. No man can come
to me except the Father which has sent me. Draw him and I'll
raise him up at the last day. Unconditional election. Verse
37. All that the Father giveth me.
Every single one of them shall come to me. All that the Father
gave him, every one of them is going to come. That's the elect.
Verse 39, limited atonement, Christ's effectual redemption
for his elect, verse 39. And this is the Father's will
which is sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should
lose nothing. I'll save every one of them,
but raise it up again at the last day. Verse 54, irresistible
Verse 44, irresistible grace. No man can come to me except
the Father, which has sent me, draw him. He draws him invincibly.
And I raise him up at the last day. You see how grace is the
message here. Now let's look in verse 59. These things said he in the synagogue
as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples,
when they had heard, they said, this is a hard saying. Now these
are people who claim to be his followers. They said this is
a hard saying, this is a harsh saying, this is a difficult saying.
Who can hear it? Who can be expected to listen
to such teaching as this? When Jesus knew it himself that
his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, doth this
offend you? What and if you shall see the
Son of Man ascend up where he was before? Now what our Lord
is saying is if you're offended now by what I've said, You're
really going to be offended when you see me assume my rightful
place as a king of kings and lord of lords. And you'll see
the same words coming out of my mouth from the throne of God.
At that time, you won't see me just as a mere man the way you
see me now, but you'll see me as the God man. You're offended
now, you'll really be offended then. Now look what it says in
verse 63. It is the spirit that quickens, that gives life. The
flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto you,
what are they? They're spirit and they're life. Do you find his words, spirit
and life? The very words of God. And remember, he that's of God,
heareth God's words every time. The words that I speak unto you,
their spirit and their life, verse 64, but there are some
of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And
he said, that's why I said unto you that no man can come to me,
except it were given unto him of my father. Now, he looked
at these fellows who said, these are hard sayings. We don't like
these sayings. He said, you can't believe unless God gave you the
grace to do it. He'd have to give it to you for
you to believe. That's exactly what the, there's no mincing
of words by our Lord here. I mean, it's just, what are you
gonna do with it? What are you gonna do with it? Is it God's
words to you? Well if it is, you'll bow. You'll
bow. If you reject it, it's because
you're not of God. It really is that simple. Verse
65, he said, therefore said I to you that no man can come to me
except it were given unto him of my father. From that time,
many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.
Now they claimed to be his disciples, but they said, after hearing
this, I'm not gonna have anything to do with this anymore. I've
had enough, that's it. And they walked no more with
him. So obviously they were not true disciples. They were disciples
in name only, in word only. God had never done anything in
their heart, so they wouldn't have done this. Many of his disciples,
they went back and they walked no more with him. Then said Jesus
under the 12, verse 67, Will you also go away? You know, there's something about
that that just. Tears me up. He looks at his disciples. After
he watched the crowd leaving 5000 people left him. And he
looked at the 12 and he said, you fellas want to leave too?
I'm not. Your Lord doesn't have any unwilling
disciples. If you fellas want to leave, there's the door. It's
wide open. Will you also go away? Verse 68. Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, where would we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. These words that these other
fellows find harsh sayings, we find them the very words of eternal
life. What was our text? He that's
of God, heareth God's words. You therefore hear them not,
because you're not of God. Now, Peter speaks as the spokesman
of every believer. Then Simon Peter answered, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Back to the law? Back to our
works? Back to the world? No. Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure. that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. And I'm saying with Peter, I
believe, if by his grace I do, but I believe and I am dead sure
that I'm a Christian. I'm not even going there right
now. I am dead sure that he is that Christ, the son of the living
God and every believer in his heart says, that's exactly what
I believe. Now, he that's of God, here's
God's words. And everyone who is of God cries
from their heart, salvation is what? Of the Lord. Let's say that together. Salvation
is of the Lord. Let's pray.