{"id":4412,"date":"2021-03-29T19:10:34","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T19:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/?p=4412"},"modified":"2021-03-29T19:10:34","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T19:10:34","slug":"to-keep-you-from-falling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/to-keep-you-from-falling\/","title":{"rendered":"To Keep You From Falling"},"content":{"rendered":"

26\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBut\u00a0when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father,\u00a0he will bear witness about me.<\/span><\/span>\u00a027\u00a0<\/sup>And\u00a0you also will bear witness,\u00a0because you have been with me\u00a0from the beginning.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

16\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.<\/span><\/span>\u00a02\u00a0<\/sup>They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed,\u00a0the hour is coming when\u00a0whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.<\/span><\/span>\u00a03\u00a0<\/sup>And they will do these things\u00a0because they have not known the Father, nor me.<\/span><\/span>\u00a04\u00a0<\/sup>But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. (John 15:26-16:4a)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most important responsibilities we have as Christian men is to make sure that those who are under our care are provided for. This includes making sure arrangements are made if we are going away on a trip, and of course preparing for our death as well. The fact is that we will die, and part of loving those under our care, namely our wives and children, means that we will do what we can to make provisions and arrangements in the event of our departure by death. This could include monetary provision, living arrangements, caretakers, assets, or so much more. And of high priority as Christian men, doing what we can to make sure spiritual arrangements are in place in the event of your death, for example, making sure your children will receive caretakers who keep them in a good church and continue to give them a Christian education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus does this very thing for His disciples, as Jesus knows that the hour of his death and departure is coming. Jesus has been preparing His disciples for the day when He must depart to where they cannot follow. Jesus loves and cares for His disciples, so He ensures that provisions are made for them, for when He is physically gone away from them. The chief provision that Jesus has arranged for, of course being the eternal decree of God, is the sending of the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, the one whom Jesus will send, who proceeds from the Father, that bears witness about Christ. Jesus makes sure that His disciples are not left without a Helper, a Comforter, indeed the Spirit of Truth. Jesus does not wish to leave His disciples without divine help and power, knowing what it is they will face in the coming years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Coming Helper and a Coming Hour (v. 26 & 16:4)<\/b><\/p>\n

There are two things that are approaching the disciples, in their lifetimes, in this text. One is the coming Helper, of whom Jesus speaks and will send. The other is the coming hour mentioned in 16:4, referring to the coming time of persecution the disciples would undergo. These things of course happened to the disciples in their lifetimes, as we documented in the book of Acts. Certainly the coming Helper and the coming hour of persecution correspond to one another. This is the provision of Jesus wherein He prepares His disciples to face and endure this persecution by sending them the Holy Spirit to be their Helper, and Comforter, and Spirit of Truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

In saying these things to His disciples, Jesus is prophesying the future, the near future of His disciples. They will be cast out of the synagogues and they will be killed by those who think that in doing so they are offering service to God. This is certainly not the prediction of the future the disciples probably wanted to hear. But Jesus does not say this as if He were an unconcerned and detached prophet. He says these things out of concern and care that His disciples be prepared for what is coming to them. Furthermore, He does not simply tell His disciples these things and so leaves them to figure it out for themselves. Jesus provides for this difficult future by also sending The Helper, who will be with them, and will comfort them, and will give them words to say when they need them, and will testify to them of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

While these things were things specifically coming to the disciples, and indeed which they did receive, it does not mean that there is no relevance here for us. Of course the Holy Spirit is not just the possession of the disciples, but it belongs to every believer in Christ. As Ephesians 1:13 tells us, <\/span>\u00a0\u201c<\/b>In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit\u2026\u201d Indeed every Believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit, and we always have the Helper with us, to Help and comfort us, and to testify to the Truth, and to Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

John 15:26 is certainly helpful to us, for we know that He is a Helper, given to us from God. We know that the Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. This helps us in our lives in times of needing to discern between what is of God and what is not. Is it true? This helps us discern what is and isn\u2019t the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not bring error into the Church, He does not bring chaos or confusion into the Church. He does not bring disorder and uncertainty. He is the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, and He bears witness about Jesus Christ. There are people all the time who will tell you that The Holy Spirit has revealed something to them, and you listen to it, and whatever it is is man-centered, and devoid of anything about Christ, and you can know that that is not from the Holy Spirit. At best it\u2019s from their own imaginations, at worst it’s from a demon.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what about the persecution that Jesus told His disciples would come upon them, and indeed did come upon them? Certainly we will not all be put out of the synagogues and put to death by those who think they are serving God in doing so. Certainly there have been many Christians throughout history that have been in these extremely similar situations as the disciples underwent. I think specifically of some of the persecutions that went on around the reformation era. There were Christians who were excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church and burned at the stake for teaching and spreading various things from Scripture that undermined the Roman Catholic Church, and of course, as the Roman Catholic Church persecuted such individuals, they proclaimed and believed they were doing it as true service to God and His Church. But what about for those of us who do not undergo such things? We have mentioned it several times the last couple of weeks, but just because we do not undergo a certain intensity of persecution, does not mean we do undergo real persecution. It could be small things like being an outcast among your relatives. And we know that we are promised trials in this life. And though Jesus has not told us specifically what we will face in our lives, as He did in this instance for the disciples, He indeed not only knows, but God has ordained whatever comes to pass, and Jesus who is our Great Master, Teacher, and Shepherd, will provide for us in our persecutions. We also have The Helper, to Help us, in whatever it is that we face. If the Holy Spirit can help the disciples in the very intense persecutions that they faced, He can Help us in ours. So whatever it is that we may face, we can be comforted in knowing that we don\u2019t face it alone. We don\u2019t face it without help. But Jesus Himself is with us by His Spirit, in whom we have divine help and power.<\/span><\/p>\n

I love what John Gill says, <\/span>on the fact that Jesus says that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you, \u201c…which (their remembrance) might serve greatly to confirm them in the faith of him as the omniscient God, and the true Messiah, and encourage them to depend upon how veracity and faithfulness in his promises; that since the evil things which he spoke of came upon them, so they might hope, believe, and expect, that all the good things he had assured them of, should be accomplished…\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You will Witness and They Will Persecute (v. 27 & 16:2-3)<\/b><\/p>\n

So not only does Jesus promise His disciples a coming Helper and a coming hour of persecution, He also tells them they will bear witness about Christ, and that they will be persecuted by those who do not know Christ, or the Father. Indeed as you read throughout the book of Acts and see the bold witnessing of the apostles before kings and governors and rulers, it can only be explained by the help and power of the Holy Spirit, as it was these same disciples who scattered and ran in fear and one who indeed denied Christ on the night when He was betrayed. They witness of Christ because they know Him and were with Him from the beginning, and this will draw the ire of those who will persecute them, doing so because they know not Christ, or the Father. Jesus pinpoints the bottom of the issue of persecution here. It is that those who persecute, do so because they know not God. This of course is not speaking about the fact that they know God exists, rather this is the relational knowing, of knowing and loving God through the Son, and in union with Him, and having spiritual life in Him. Instead they are spiritually dead and blind. As Calvin says, \u201c…they who oppose us are destitute of reason.\u201d It is not out of knowledge and reason that they persecute Jesus\u2019 disciples, but it is from ignorance and blindness.<\/span><\/p>\n

This fact helps the disciples and any believer when undergoing persecution from such ignorant ones. It helps knowing that but not for the grace of God, there go I. Just as the apostle Paul himself once breathed out murderous threats and gave approval to the killing Christians, because He did not know the Father or the Son. But then Christ arrested him, opened his eyes, that he might know the Father and the Son, and go from the persecutor to the persecuted. Knowing the fact that those who persecute us are sinners in need of the grace of God, helps us love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. And it helps us endure. They know not God, and we do, and do not know God because we were smarter or more intelligent or able than they were, but only because of the sovereign and effectual grace of God in our lives. What made the disciples any better? They were once rough fisherman and criminal tax collectors. But Jesus called them, according to His own good purposes and made the Father and Son known to them and sent to them the Holy Spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

So it is that in the face of persecution from those who know not the Father or the Son, the disciples that do know Him will testify and witness about Christ with the Holy Spirit. This is the power and the point where the persecutors can become the persecuted. Indeed at times God ordains to send persecutors and haters of God to persecute Christians, so that Christians might be witnesses to Christ and so convert the persecutors, so that they might know Christ. How many stories do we know of prison guards who were converted because of faithful Christians who witnessed Christ while in prison? It was Paul and Silas in Acts 16 who kept the Philippian jailer from killing himself and he was converted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Faithful Christians witness about Christ in the face of persecution from those who know not Christ. Part of this persecution that specifically the disciples would face is that they would be cast out of the synagogues. This may not seem like a big deal to us, but it was a big deal, for it was similar to being excommunicated and treated as an apostate and heretic. And the synagogues, for the purpose, were supposed to be a good thing, in their time, promoting true religion. But of course by this first century the synagogues became filled up with apostates and demons. In Revelation 2 and 3, in the letters to the seven first century churches, to two of them, Jesus comforts these churches, who are being persecuted by those who call themselves Jews, and He calls them a synagogue of Satan. So there is the irony in that one is considered an apostate if thrown out of the synagogue, yet it was the synagogues that were the true apostates, the synagogues of Satan. You can recall a few chapters back here in John\u2019s gospel, the Jews said that anyone who confessed that Jesus was the Messiah would be cast out of the synagogue. So right then and there they are officially excommunicating their very Messiah from their synagogues. That is anti-Christ. Yet you see in Acts, the apostles try to go and preach and teach in the synagogues, and of course as Jesus said, they were put out of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

But if these are synagogues of Satan that have excommunicated Christ, then as Calvin says, \u201c…nothing is more desirable than to be driven out of that assembly from which Christ is banished.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As difficult as being put out of the synagogues would be, it was the synagogues that would be destroyed and judged by God. God would visit them in that generation with a hot and righteous anger and judge them with a fierceness that had never been seen. Being cast out of such Christ-hating synagogues means that though the disciples would still die as martyrs, it would not be God\u2019s judgment on them. Rather, those who persecuted them would be judged. The synagogues that cast Christ and the apostles out, would in fact be cast out by Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

If we are going to be faithful witnesses to Christ, there will be institutions, and people, and places that will cast us out. This could be various religious institutions that are devoid of Christ, it could be corporate jobs, it could be various government entities, or friend groups, or family members. Now, it may be that you are being an unrepentant sinner acting like an unbeliever and deserving of excommunication. But it is also true that faithful Christians will come to a point of being cast out of these places because of their fidelity to Christ. And in such a case, we thank God, that He has rescued from such a place, for any place or entity that rejects Christ, will be judged and destroyed. This is similar to the instruction Jesus gave to the Christians of His generation in Jerusalem in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. They are told when they see a certain sign, the abomination of desolation, that they are to flee on the rooftops immediately, out of the city, for the city was then about to be destroyed and judged for its rejection of Christ, and in instructing them to flee, they were rescued from the judgment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus Will Keep Them From Falling (16:1)<\/b><\/p>\n

This brings us to the center point of our passage in 16:1.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is one of the main purposes in all of Jesus\u2019 preparations He has made for His disciples and prepared them for. He has said these things to keep them from falling away. Jesus knows that the more intense the persecution, the more tempting it will be to turn away from the faith, for temporal relief. In another place Jesus says that in the last days, referring to the last days of their generation, the last days of the Old Covenant era before it was destroyed, that false prophets and false Christ\u2019s would appear and lead many astray, and even the elect they would try to lead astray.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus recognizes that the greatest danger facing the disciples is not death, but apostasy. The greatest danger facing us is not death, but apostasy. Jesus did not tell them that He has said all these things to keep them from dying. He did not say that He has told them all these things to keep them from becoming martyrs, or to keep them from persecution. Rather, He has said these things to keep them from falling away. Falling away from the faith is more deadly than death itself. The greatest threat to the church of Jesus Christ is not persecution and martyrdom, but false teachers and false doctrines, and thus apostasy. If you believe that, then you can endure whatever persecution comes your way.<\/span><\/p>\n

But should we depend upon our own strength in enduring trials and persecutions, and should we rely upon our own power in resisting false teaching and apostasy? Never would that succeed. Never should we attempt such a thing. The beauty of the words of Jesus, is that it is Jesus Himself who keeps His people from falling away. It is Christ Himself who holds us fast in the fast of intense trials and persecutions. Jesus says, \u201cI have said all these things to you to keep\u00a0 you from falling away.\u201d It is Christ who keeps them and us and all His disciples from falling away. If we know ourselves, we know that we are not strong in our own flesh to resist sin, let alone endure intense persecution. As Martin Luther says in A Mighty Fortress, \u201cShould we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the Right Man on our side, the Man of God\u2019s own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We need the Helper. We need the Holy Spirit. We need Christ Himself – His Word and His power. My friends, these are the provisions that Christ has made for us. He Himself holds onto us with His Words to keep us from falling away.<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon whom is your faith looking? Do you look to yourself, your own strength, your own wisdom, your own good ideas? If so you will certainly fail and fall away. Let us look only to Christ – let us look only to His Words. Therein we find that these Words He has spoken to us He has spoken in order to keep us from falling away. Many Christians may fear falling away. They fear they would deny Christ in certain persecutions. If you are looking to your own strength to determine whether you will endure, then you should indeed fear falling away. But if you are looking to Christ, you will not find your own weakness and infirmities there. You will look and see the One who has all power and authority and strength and ability and care to keep you from falling. You will see strong arms that are not too short to save. You will see broad shoulders that bore the sins of the world on His back upon the cross as the sacrificial Lamb of God. You will see One who endured the greatest and most intense persecution and trial that anyone will ever know. You will see the One who cares for you and has provided everything that you need. You will see One who rides forth on a white horse with a sword coming out of His mouth to conquer the nations. You will see one that upholds and vindicates His people. If you look to Christ, there you will see one who is able to keep you from stumbling and present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click HERE for sermon audio.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

26\u00a0\u201cBut\u00a0when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father,\u00a0he will bear witness about me.\u00a027\u00a0And\u00a0you also will bear witness,\u00a0because you have been with me\u00a0from the beginning. 16\u00a0\u201cI have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.\u00a02\u00a0They will put you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":4413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,25,27,30],"tags":[42,1511,205,274,382,1510,526,557,562,1482,615,678,679,687,699,711,765,1114,1172,1231,1258,1278,1377],"class_list":{"0":"post-4412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"category-faith","9":"category-gospel","10":"category-preaching","11":"tag-42","12":"tag-1511","13":"tag-bible","14":"tag-christ","15":"tag-disciples","16":"tag-falling","17":"tag-from","18":"tag-god","19":"tag-gospel","20":"tag-helper","21":"tag-holy","22":"tag-jenkins","23":"tag-jesus","24":"tag-john","25":"tag-joshua","26":"tag-keep","27":"tag-lord","28":"tag-sermon","29":"tag-spirit","30":"tag-text","31":"tag-to","32":"tag-trinity","33":"tag-you","34":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/falling.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4331,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/a-helper-to-have-forever\/","url_meta":{"origin":4412,"position":0},"title":"A Helper to Have Forever","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"January 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"15\u00a0\u201cIf you love me, you will\u00a0keep my commandments.\u00a016\u00a0And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another\u00a0Helper,[a]\u00a0to be with you forever,\u00a017\u00a0even\u00a0the Spirit of truth,\u00a0whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and\u00a0will be[b]\u00a0in you. 18\u00a0\u201cI\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/01\/helper.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4468,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/when-the-spirit-comes\/","url_meta":{"origin":4412,"position":1},"title":"When the Spirit Comes","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"May 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"8\u00a0And when he comes, he will\u00a0convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:\u00a09\u00a0concerning sin,\u00a0because they do not believe in me;\u00a010\u00a0concerning righteousness,\u00a0because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;\u00a011\u00a0concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world\u00a0is judged. 12\u00a0\u201cI still have many things to say to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/Peter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/Peter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/Peter.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/Peter.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4457,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/jesus-his-disciples-moses-and-elijah\/","url_meta":{"origin":4412,"position":2},"title":"Jesus & His Disciples, Moses, and Elijah.","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"May 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cI did not say these things to you from the beginning,\u00a0because I was with you.\u00a05\u00a0But now\u00a0I am going to him who sent me, and\u00a0none of you asks me, \u2018Where are you going?\u2019\u00a06\u00a0But because I have said these things to you,\u00a0sorrow has filled your heart.\u00a07\u00a0Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/elijah.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/elijah.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/elijah.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/05\/elijah.gif?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3945,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/if-you-believed-moses-you-would-believe-me-john-530-47\/","url_meta":{"origin":4412,"position":3},"title":"If You Believed Moses, You Would Believe Me; John 5:30-47","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 30\u00a0\u201cI can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and\u00a0my judgment is just, because\u00a0I seek not my own will\u00a0but the will of him who sent me.\u00a031\u00a0If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.\u00a032\u00a0There is\u00a0another who bears witness about me, and\u00a0I know that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/11\/download.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3064,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/martin-luther-on-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":4412,"position":4},"title":"Martin Luther on the Holy Spirit","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"September 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There is much confusion in today's world on the person and the work of the Holy Spirit. Not only is there confusion but evangelicalism is inundated with clearly false teaching on the role of the Holy Spirit. The other night I was reading Martin Luther's Smaller Catechism and was struck\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/faith\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2017\/09\/martin-luther-9389283-1-402.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3832,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/what-is-in-the-sons-hands-john-331-36\/","url_meta":{"origin":4412,"position":5},"title":"What is in the Son’s Hands? John 3:31-36","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 31\u00a0He who comes from above\u00a0is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and\u00a0speaks in an earthly way.\u00a0He who comes from heaven\u00a0is above all.\u00a032\u00a0He bears witness to what he has seen and heard,\u00a0yet no one receives his testimony.\u00a033\u00a0Whoever receives his testimony\u00a0sets his seal to this,\u00a0that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/08\/dy9ctpk.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/08\/dy9ctpk.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/08\/dy9ctpk.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/08\/dy9ctpk.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/08\/dy9ctpk.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/08\/dy9ctpk.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}