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| John 1:43-51 |
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Lesson # John 1:43-51 Study Material - John 1:43-51 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. John 1:43-51 43 The next day He purposed to go forth into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me.' 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' 46 And Nathanael said to him, 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him,' Come and see. ' 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!' 48 Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' 49 Nathanael answered Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.' 50 Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.' 51 And He said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.' We meet now Philip, a name again of Greek origin, (friendly, neighborly, fond of horses), are the meanings of the name Philip, a regular social butterfly as it were, but with no direction, and often times required counsel from Andrew and others. Philip was one who lacked security in a sense. Jesus went out and found Philip. Jesus new that Philip was positive and he sought him out. Sometimes people will be positive toward God, but they will not seek out God on their own, or they will begin the process but they need encouragement to continue. Christ knows us all as He demonstrates in the interaction with Nathanael later. Christ knew what was needed for Philip. Philip knew some doctrine. He readily identified Jesus. He knew who He was, Philip knew who He was the son of, Joseph, so he knew of the birth of Jesus and His home, and he knew of the prophecy given by Moses and other prophets. John sent Andrew to Jesus. Peter was recruited by Andrew, Philip was recruited by Jesus Himself, now Philip found Nathanael. Nathanael thought he was in privacy but Jesus reminds him that Jesus saw him when he was in his private place under the fig tree. So there are many ways that people can be called to Christ. Each of us will have our opportunities to recruit people to Christ. We do not have to go looking for them. We do not have to harass people on the street and become a nuisance to others. God knows those who will be positive, as well as those who will not, and He will place each of us in the situation of recruiter. Philip had some extensive knowledge about the prophecies of Christ, and so did Nathanael, but Nathanael lacked knowledge about Nazareth, so he rejected the association about Nazareth out of his own ignorance. Many people will doubt simply because they do not know, or understand, so they take the attitude of 'show me'. This is not a bad attitude if one has an open mind and is willing to see the proof, which Nathanael was, but if one has a closed mind and rejects things out of ignorance, and refuses to look at the proof, then he is a fool. Nathanael was willing to see the proof, and Jesus put him in his place immediately. 'A true Israelite'. Not all Israel is Israel. Only those who believe in the Savior are true Israel. Many of the Pharisees were Jews, but unbelievers. They rejected Christ, so they were not true Jews. They defeated themselves by their unbelief. The race they held so close to their heart, and a heart full of arrogance, was not their in reality. The bloodlines were Jewish, but the soul was not. There was no guile in Nathanael, no deceit, no game playing. He prayed in private and not in hypocrisy in public to impress the public. He was open minded and willing to see the truth and willing to accept it when it was presented. How did Jesus know him? Jesus knows us all, even before we came into existence. God knows us before we know Him. God provides us with the information we need in order to bring us to faith in Him. For some it is simple information. For others, the road is filled with hardships and sever hits between the ears with a board before we see the truth. God uses what is necessary to open our eyes. Our own stubbornness is sometimes our worst enemy and barrier to the truth. Nathanael recognized Jesus as the teacher, the source of all instruction, as the Son of God in the flesh and therefore the savior mentioned by Philip, and as the King of Israel, the descendent of David and heir of the Davidic dynasty. Oh, Nathanael means gift of God, to perceive, to see, to obtain. He listened and learned and received the gift which God gives to us all when we believe in Christ, which is eternal life, and of course much more. See the blessings chart on the Index page. The heavens are constantly opened with all manner of traffic of angels ascending and descending not only on Christ, but Jacobs ladder, which represents the angelic activity in support of every believer. You have helping you a battalion of angels, guardian angels, a division of 10,000 angels as Paul describes them, all assisting us in our daily lives. Makes you feel kind of crowded! But we live our lives uninterrupted and without coercion. We have free will and are free t make our own decisions whether right or wrong. Yet the traffic between heaven and earth continues without a hitch regardless of the direction of our individual lives. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
