John Lesson 18

Introduction

A very pleasant good day to you and welcome to Let the Bible Speak. Have you ever considered how it is possible for a person to be rich and yet at the same time poor? I asked that question once of a young people’s class, and a little boy feverishly raised his hand and said he knew how it was possible to be rich and poor at the same time. He said you could have a stack of counterfeit bills. Well, he wasn’t quite accurate, though that was a clever answer. Our Lord Jesus Christ talked about some who labor for the wrong things. They labor for the material, and it is possible for us to think ourselves rich when we have a lot of material possessions, and yet in reality be poor.

Because when death comes, we’ll leave everything behind that is material in its nature. Are you rich or are you poor? When you consider your eternal destiny, where will you spend eternity? I hope you have a New Testament that you’ll open with me to the reading found in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. If you’ve been studying with us, you know we’ve been going verse by verse through this grand book that tells us about the deity of Jesus Christ. And we’ve observed in the first few verses of John chapter six, our study already, we’ve talked about how that Jesus works signs or miracles that prove that he is the Son of God. In the sixth chapter of John, we’ve observed how that as he was teaching the multitude, uh a total of five thousand men, the scripture says, plus women and children, that uh he when they began to be hungry, time had passed, that they hungered, and yet there was no food available.

Jesus took five loaves and two fishes. That is really a small lad’s lunch. And he was able to feed the multitude of five thousand men, plus women and children, and yet twelve basket pools were left over. This sign convinced many that he is the Christ, the Son of God. As verse fourteen of John 6 says, they they responded, This is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world. Jesus worked miracles or signs, signs that no man could do except God be with him. And this sign is certainly taught that Jesus had power even over quantity. It was not just a little thing that he did, but rather he could feed so many and yet take up even so much afterward. But also in the sixth chapter of John, we talked about how that he was able to walk on water.

He had power over nature. Whenever the multitude came to take him by force after Jesus had performed this sign of feeding them, they would take him by force and make him their king. Jesus departed off into the mountain. Jesus did not come to be an earthly king. And he would not allow the multitude even to make him a royal king, that is on earth. And he departed from them. And when night came, his disciples began to get in their boat, and they rode their boat back across the Sea of Galilee, and over in the third watch, something probably between uh uh three to six a.m., our way of reckoning time, they were about three to four miles out on the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus came walking to them on the water.

He not only had power over quantity, but he had power over nature. The signs that are recorded in the Gospel of John are all different in their nature. They’re all different in that that uh there’s a different type of miracle. But Jesus was not confined to one kind of miracle. He worked several different kinds of signs, proving that in fact God was with him. But now, in our study today, we hope you have a New Testament, and I’d like for you to begin the reading with us in John chapter 6, verse 22, where the scripture says the day following, that is, after he had walked to them in that night on the water, the day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea, saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereunto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone, albeit there came other boats from Tiberius nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks.

And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when cameest thou hither? Well, in this text we find simply the natural events that occurred after Jesus had fed the multitude, there was a great deal of excitement, and word spread, no doubt, about the power that he that he had. And when they came the next day looking for him again, they were unable to find him. They realized that the boat which his disciples were in was gone. They knew Jesus hadn’t gone with them, but where was he? And as they began to search, many of them even got into their own vessels, and they went back across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, and finding him, their question was, How did you get here?

1. They Searched for Him for the Wrong Reason

Of course they were amazed. They didn’t see him walk in the water, and they knew he hadn’t gotten in the boat, but how did you get here? There’s a great lesson to be observed really in this, and first of all, that is that the multitude did right by searching for Jesus. The multitude went searching for the Lord, and we ought to be searching for the Lord ourselves today. But as we shall observe in this text, they searched him for the wrong reason. As verse 26 says, Jesus answered them and said and said, Verily, barely I say unto you, you seek me not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. They sought him for the loaves. We ought to seek the Lord, but not simply for the material or the physical advantages.

You see, in Matthew chapter 7 and verse 7, the scripture says, Seek and ye shall find. Ask and it shall be given you. Knock and it shall be open unto you. If we’re searching for the Lord, we can find him. He is near or nigh unto all. And even in John chapter 7 and verse 17, the scripture says that they that will to do his will shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God. I am convinced that God has given us a Bible inspired by God, revealed that is from heaven by the Holy Spirit. But it is a book that common man can read. You and I can understand it. We do not have to be a very intelligent person and a well-educated person in some seminary in order to read and understand the word of God.

But he has given it so that we may know the truth by which we can be saved. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. But if we’ll go searching, we can know the doctrine. But if our attitude is wrong, no matter how much we may read, how many times we may go to worship with people, if we do not have the right attitude toward the word of God, we’ll never really find the Lord. You see, they went searching, Jesus said, not for the miracles. Not because they were convinced that he is the Christ, the Son of God, but they went searching for the loaves. And there are those even now who search for the loaves and the fishes, so to speak.

In fact, I would am sorry to say that there are many denominations today that influence crowds and draw people by providing loaves and fishes. There are many churches that that have lost sight of what the real purpose and the mission of the Lord’s church is. You see, Jesus Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 25 says. The church, or God’s people, is a body that that has been purchased by the precious blood of Christ. It therefore has a spiritual purpose. It was purchased by the blood of Christ. We’re made members of it by a spiritual birth, and it has a spiritual destiny, heaven itself. Therefore, when we look at what the Bible says about the church of the Lord and its mission, whatever its mission is, it has to be worthy of the blood of Christ.

In fact, when you look at the language in first Peter chapter two and in verse five, the Bible there says ye as living stones or lively stones are built up into a spiritual house to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable acceptable to God by Christ Jesus. The church is a spiritual house, and its primary mission and function is to offer up sacrifices unto God. You see, the church being the pillar and the ground of truth, first Timothy chapter three and verse 15 says, it has that responsibility of preaching the gospel of Christ to save men’s souls. Far too many today have gotten the work of the church mixed up with being something more like a a social house. They think of uh of a church as being a nice uh pleasant community experience, a good place in the neighborhood to go and meet other people uh and to to find people uh uh that you like to be with.

And many churches have built their family life centers or their fellowship halls, and and actually more time is spent in socializing in food and frolic than in feeding upon the word of God. First Corinthians chapter eleven and in verse twenty two, the apostle Paul reproved the church at Corrent for making a social feast out of a time when they should be gathering for spiritual worship. He said, Have you not houses to eat and to drink in? Would you you shame the house of God? You have homes to eat and to drink in. The social activity should be centered around the home life. There are certainly a lot of good things in our life that are right and proper for us to do. It’s right and proper for us to have a job and to earn some money to provide for our family.

But it’s not the work of the church to be in business, that is simply the making of money as you might in the economic world. It’s right and proper for us to have political activities in in our s in our communities and in our states. But the church is not a political institution. The church is that which Christ loved and gave himself for.

2. Labor Not for the Meat Which Perisheth

Look again at this text in John chapter 6 and verse 27. He said, Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you. For him hath God the Father sealed. You see, what Jesus said in this passage is that these people, the multitude who came after him, were seeking the wrong things. And he said, You’re seeking that which simply provides for the feeding of your bodies. But you ought to seek for those things that have to do with eternal life. You ought to seek those things that are spiritual. I ask you, what draws you to Christ? What draws you to the church that you may go? Is it because they have a nice, pleasant atmosphere?

Is it because of the things that please the eye and the sound that pleases the ear, or the things, the activities? You know, a lot of times people come and say, Well, what kind of activity do you have for the young people? When they really ought to be asking, what kind of Bible teaching do you have for our children? What kind of Bible food will you be giving to those of us who are adults? Is there an emphasis upon the word of God here? Or is there an emphasis upon the satisfying of the flesh? Jesus said, labor for the meat that endureth to everlasting life. Romans 1 and verse 16, Paul said, I’m not ashamed of the gospel of God. It’s the power of God to salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also the Greek.

You preach the gospel, that’s God’s power to save. And furthermore, in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 1, he talks about how some are going to come with a different gospel. He said, Don’t believe every spirit. Try the spirits, whether they be of God for many false prophets gone in the world. I tell you today, there are some false prophets who are feeding people the wrong thing. They’re not giving them the word of God. But I raised the question earlier how is it possible to be rich and at the same time poor? Well, that’s when we get our values mixed up. Jesus here talked about the things that really are of great value. When he said, labor not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat that lasteth or endureth to everlasting life.

Are you rich? How do you count your riches? What are the true valuables in your life? You may be a millionaire, you may be a billionaire, and yet be poor. You know, Jesus said in Matthew 6, verses 19 through 21, lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth consume, where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rusteth consume, where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Everything you have in a material way is going to be left behind. In fact, in Luke chapter 12, verses 15 through 21, Jesus there said, Beware of covetousness. A man’s life consisted not of the things which he possesseth.

And then he taught a parable about a rich fool, who thought only in terms of building bigger barns and providing for now, and saying to his soul, Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But when his life was taken, he certainly presented as a fool. You can’t take the material with you. Those things that are of greatest value have to do with eternity, your soul being prepared for eternity. Jesus said in Matthew 16, 26, what doth it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Are you prepared for eternity? Have you labored for that which is enduring to everlasting life? Or are you thinking more about the here and now? Really, in first Timothy chapter six, verses six, who eight, the apostle Paul said, Godliness with contentment is great gain.

We brought nothing into this world, it is certain we can carry nothing out, but having food and raiment, let us therewith be content. Let us be truly rich by being rich toward God. We’re going to pause for just a moment. We’ll come back and we want to talk about saving faith, as Jesus said in verse 29, that believing is a work of God. I hope you’ll stay with us.

3. Belief Is a Work of God

After Jesus had admonished the multitude for searching for him for the wrong reason, and had exhorted them to labor not for the meat that perisheth, that is material things, but rather for that which endureth to everlasting life. They then responded by saying, John 6 and verse 28, then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Then Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he hath sent. That’s a tremendous passage. It’s sometimes overlooked. But you notice the expression there, Jesus said, This is the work of God. Belief is described by our Lord as a work. I say that is significant because in our generation of time there are so many preachers who have made finding salvation so easy, as though man has to do absolutely nothing other than just want to go to heaven.

But Jesus Himself taught that one must obey him. In fact, he left us that example. Hebrews chapter 5, verses 8 and 9, the scripture says, Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered, and became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Yet there are those who see any work or any uh message that includes working or obeying God, that that would nullify grace. And we often hear people say, No, salvation is by grace, and they imply that it is by grace only, that it is a gift that is given by God, and man absolutely must do nothing. But the scripture nowhere says we’re saved by grace alone, any more than it says we’re saved by faith alone.

A faith that saves is a faith that obeys. Faith that saves is not alone. And grace that saves is not alone. In fact, the Bible teaches that we’re saved by grace through faith. Look at Ephesians chapter two. In verses eight through nine, there the apostle says, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. The provision of salvation is by God’s grace. The provision of salvation, notice, is by God’s grace, and we have done nothing to deserve it. In fact, in verse nine, he says not of works lest any man should boast. There is nothing that man has done or can do of a meritorious nature that causes him to deserve the salvation that is given by God.

But let us not read Ephesians two and verse nine and draw the conclusion that man absolutely has to do nothing or must do nothing in order to be saved, because salvation, our gift from God depends upon our obedience of God. God forces salvation on no one. He wants everyone to be saved, and since he is no respecter of persons, man has some part in whether he’s saved or not. God’s grace is for all people. But the salvation that many men receives is on the basis of man’s obedience. Now, it is true that we cannot be saved by works, that is of a meritorious nature. For example, the Bible describes different kinds of works, and in Romans chapter three and verse twenty eight, there he talks about the deeds of the law of Moses.

And he says, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. The context in Romans chapter 3 is discussing a difference between salvation through the system of faith by the gospel of Christ and salvation by the system of the law of Moses. And he says, by the deeds of the law, nobody can be justified. You see, no one can live a perfect life. And since the law of Moses would not forgive sins, the blood of bulls and the goats could not take away sins, Hebrews 10 and 4. Therefore, by the law of Moses, by its deeds, a man is left in sin. A man cannot be saved by keeping or be justified by keeping the law of Moses. Here we’re justified by faith, and not with a mixture of the law of Moses and the gospel of Christ.

But also in Romans chapter 10, verses 1 through 3, the apostle talks about how that there are men who have their own way of righteousness, and by men’s righteousness we cannot be saved. Paul says, Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved, for I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. When we do not submit ourselves to the righteousness of God, that is the commandments that God has given, we may go about and do a lot of things that we call righteousness. A lot of things in the name of Jesus Christ, and be religious.

But if it is not commanded in the word of God, it is of men. And men by their own righteousness cannot be saved. We’re saved by the grace of God, the gift given by him, provided by him, not of works on our part that it was provided, but solely by grace it has been provided. But it is we’re saved by grace through faith. Now, let’s look again at that great passage in Ephesians 2 and verse 10 that we were reading from a moment ago. For in Ephesians 2 and verse 10, that passage continues by saying that we are saved by grace through faith, and not a works lest any man should boast, but it says we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works.

Those who are saved are saved because they are doing good works. But notice the kind Ephesians 2 and verse 10, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. The kind of works that God has ordained, are the kind of works that we must walk in if we are to be saved. We must do what God says and the way God said do it. You know, when we come to the Bible, the Word of God, we’re finding what is God’s will. We do not find in this book that you can buy your way into heaven. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn’t buy salvation. We don’t find in this book that you can go give your life as a sacrifice.

You may offer it or to some kind of a burnt offering, but that won’t save you. If you’re going to be saved, it’ll be by doing what God said and the way God said do it. And really that’s the understanding of this passage in John 6 29, when Jesus said belief. That’s the work of God. You want to know what God has ordained? The work God has ordained, and it doesn’t contradict salvation by grace, but rather it complements, it is involved in salvation by grace. The work God has ordained is to believe. But saving belief is a kind of belief that turns to God’s word and finds out what He wants us to do. And then saving belief is not alone. That is, it will obey what God said and the way God said do it.

4. If We’re Going to Do the Work of God

Let’s read a passage that really says that. In Titus chapter 2. In Titus chapter 2, verses 11 and 12, the scripture says, For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. Now, if we walk in the works God hath ordained, we’re going to walk in the works that grace teaches us. Did you notice the language? We’re saved by grace. But the grace that God has provided, the salvation God has provided by grace, teaches us to do some things. And what does it say? It says that we ought to deny ungodliness and worldly lust. That means we’ve got to repent. We’ve got to quit doing things that are worldly and ungodly.

And then it says we must do some things. There is obedience. We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. That means we do what God said in the way God said do it. Or as our passage in John 6.29 says, if we’re going to do the work of God, and that’s what faith is, then we will believe. Belief is a work of God. You see, faith itself comes by hearing the word of God. The work God has ordained is that we come to his inspired work. Romans 10 17, so then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But furthermore, if we’re going to do the work of God, we not only will hear the message, we will believe it.

Jesus said in Mark 16 and 16, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned. If we’re going to do the work of God, we will repent. We’ll deny ungodliness and worldly lust. Or as in Acts 2 38, Peter said, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for all the remission of sins, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. If we hear the word, believe in Christ, repent of our sins, we must confess Christ. As Romans chapter 10, verses 9 and 10 teaches us, that with a heart, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with a heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with a mouth confession is made unto salvation. So the work of God, believing, says, I will hear the word, and I’ll respond to it, even confessing Christ to be the Son of God. But also we will be baptized. As first Peter 3 21 says, the like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us. Not the wash, the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. You see, baptism is the answer of faith, a good conscience. Galatians 3 26 and 7 teaches how that we are buried into Him, that by faith we become the child of God. And he said, As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.

5. I Am the Bread of Life

You see, the work of God is belief, and we put on Christ as we are baptized into Him. Have you done the work of God? Have you put on Christ even in baptism? In John chapter 6, when Jesus made this statement then, he continued by saying in verses 30 through 35, when they said, therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then that we may see and believe thee? What dost thou work? Our fathers did eat man in the desert, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world.

Conclusion

Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Once you come to Jesus and believe on him, that’s where true life really can be found. He is the bread of life. Until our next study we bid that the grace and peace of our Lord be with you.