All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
S.O.A.P. Bible Study #2
Greetings all,
I will continue to try something on TheNET. I would like to see if we can engage in a Bible study using the forums. I hope to simulate a small group setting, but realize that there will be lag time. Here are the parameters that we will work with ... and this is open to everyone.
1) We are attempting to work our way through the gospel of John.
2) We will not tolerate negative comments made about a person or persons.
3) We are using the S.O.A.P. approach which = Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer.
... 3a) Scripture text from the Gospel of John using KJV (no copyright attached)
... 3b)Observations about the particular text. What is being said, what is going on, who is involved and what might be the points being made?
... 3c) Application of the text/teaching to our lives today.
... 3d) Prayer pertaining to that which we have sought to discern.
4) It is appropriate to ask questions along the way.
5) I operating as the facilitator and teacher of this online group/class, but want the open participation of others.
6) At the end of each week (Friday's) I will close the current one and start a new one.
This Week's Scripture to discuss:
Joh 1:19-51 KJV And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? (20) And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. (21) And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. (22) Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? (23) He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. (24) And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. (25) And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? (26) John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; (27) He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. (28) These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. (29) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (30) This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. (31) And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. (32) And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. (33) And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. (34) And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. (35) Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; (36) And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! (37) And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. (38) Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? (39) He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. (40) One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. (41) He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. (42) And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. (43) The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. (44) Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. (45) Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (46) And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. (47) Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! (48) Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. (49) Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. (50) Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. (51) And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Scripture - John 1:19-51
Observation
Application
Prayer
Views: 343
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ribbon on
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(32) And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
I have seen drawings about this verse. The drawings show a dove flying over the man who is suppose to be Jesus. Was the spirit a dove or just flew from the sky like one? To me this is saying the spirit came down like a dove not that it was one.
42) And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona : thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone
Why did Jesus change the brothers name to Cephas? Is it just because the meaning of the name fit Simon better?
Wouldn't it have been awesome to have witnessed this day of Jesus being baptized and seeing the spirit descending over Him?. The spirit, was it Gods spirit?
Thank youin advance for your answer..
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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Janie,
Great questions. I feel the same way about your questions as you have stated about mine -- they really help with focusing. Sincerely. Hugs & Prayers.
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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As we look at verse 32 we see that John the Baptist was attempting to describe what He saw. There are times when people like Ezekiel and John (the apostle), to name two, saw things that human words could not fully describe, yet they are tasked with reporting, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what they had just witnessed. The image of a dove gives the idea of purity/holiness (white) and gentleness which are two attributes of God. I do not believe He saw an actual dove, but that which looked "like" a dove. We also do not know if anyone else saw the Spirit descend like a dove. My guess is that they did not, but we are not told either way.
Names, especially in Biblical days, tended to tell you something about the person (i.e. where they are from, vocation, etc). This is an opinion, but it would appear that Jesus changed his name to identify him as one of the main pieces upon which He was going to build His church. Jesus is the cornerstone (most important). Peter is one of the first to be used at set as a stone in the erection of the church which is set upon the Cornerstone (Jesus).
Looking back with the view we now Have, and if we had that knowledge with us, it would have been awesome to witness the baptism of Jesus. Unfortunately the only person that we are aware of that truly recognized Him is John the Baptist who then bore witness to Jesus as the Son of God.
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Not forgotten, just no one posted a prayer. I trust that the discussion led to prayer even if none were posted. This is a new method (SOAP) for most and will take a little time to get into the flow of things.
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Oh. I guess I thought, as leader, you would close with a formal prayer. Yes, I'm sure many prayed silently, for wisdom and understanding.
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Permalink Reply by Charles Burwell on
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My favorite (and most informative) part in this section of the scriptures is John's evaluation of himself in the whole scenario.
1) He mentions that he is unworthy to even unlatch the shoe laces of the One who is coming. (who he later identified as the Son of God.. At the same times he states that he received this revelation from 'He who sent me to baptize with water'. We may reasonably assume that this was God or a messenger from God.
2) He also tells the Pharisees , in verse 23 that he is "the voice crying in the wilderness ' Make ye straight way of the Lord' as said the prophet Esaias'.
While he recognized that he was a fulfillment of a great prophesy he was , at the same time, unworthy to be the basest of servants compared to He who was coming.
He had a wonderfully balanced perspective of who He was in the grand scheme of things. A lesson to us that no matter what even 'great' thing God may choose to do through us we are still only servants compared to the 'Son of God'.
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I ran out of computer time so I had to resign on.
Another thing that , I believe anyhow, is a good lesson to learn is the example of Philip's approach to Nathanael.
When Philip came to Nathanael with the amazing thing that he had discovered concerning the Messiah he was challenged with a somewhat bigoted skepticism ( can any good come out of Nazareth?). Instead of trying to argue or debate with his brother he simply invited him to "come and see".
This supports (at least to my way of thinking) that it is not our responsibility to debate and argue the gospel , but to simply present the gospel and invite people to 'come and see'. It is God's responsibility , as Jesus did when Nathanael came to Him) to convict , convince and/or persuade the person.
I share the opinion of C.H. Spurgeon in this matter. He was once invited to America to give a series of lectures to defend the validity of the gospel message. Spurgeon refused and replied (maybe not an exact quote) "The Word of God is like a lion, it does not need to be defended it simply needs to be released (proclaimed) and it will 'defend' itself.
We many times turn people away by trying to 'argue them into the kingdom when we simply , and of course prayerfully, proclaim the gospel to them and allow the Holy Spirit , who is infinitely more qualified than we , to convince, convict and/or persuade them.
I believe that John the Baptist and Philip were both excellent example of people who allowed themselves to be lead by God and definitely knew their standing in the plan of God.
We proclaim and God convicts. In my mind it is as simple as that.
God bless
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Charles,
I read something interesting recently that ties into what you have said. If you take a seraphim and a earthworm and were to compare them you would find the simple earthworm to be (for illustration purpose) on the law order of creation in its simplicity and the seraphim on the high order o creation. The distance between the two would be vast ... yet measurable as both are created. If, on the other hand your were to take the seraphim (or man) who is on the higher order of creation and compare him to God you could not measure the difference, for one is created and the other ever-existing and self-sustaining. It is a view of God like John's (or even greater) that we need today. Too often we find people attempting to bring God down to our image when we need to aspire to see Him (as best we can) in all His splendor and glory. Instead of attempting to lower Him we need to raise our eyes, minds and hearts towards Him.
Jesus descended to earth to raise man up ... man attempts t ascend to heaven to bring God down (A bit of a stretch on my part, but done so in order to make a point ... I hope).
Lord Bless,
LT
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Permalink Reply by Mary O on
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I ask God to open our understanding to these scriptures. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Two disciples followed Jesus, it's like people are drawn to Him. When Jesus witnessed to the disciples, he said something like follow me or come and see. And I like the part where Jesus told Nathanael about seeing him under a fig tree. Nathanael was so amazed, but Jesus told him that he would see greater things than these.
Love and God bless,
Mary
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Verses 19-23, the priests and Levites from Jerusalem did not recognize John the Baptist, they asked him several times "Who are thou?". I was thinking that except John had come first and been that voice crying in the wilderness, how would they have recognized Jesus? John bare record of who he was and that the spirit descended and remained on Jesus.
The bridegroom's best friend is the one who alerts everyone that the bridegroom is coming. Jesus and John are best friends and family.
Love, and God bless,
Mary
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