Simmons John

Eternal Love
1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4245-4964-1
Verlag: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 112 Seiten

Reihe: The Passion Translation

Encounter the Heart of God! The Word is not just dead letters; it is the Living Expression of God, Jesus Christ. The Word came with skin on as the Perfect Man and the living manifestation of the glory of God. The Gospel of John is all about this beautiful Christ and believing! This book reveals that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, the Savior, the King, the true Anointed One, the Living Bread, and the Loving Shepherd. Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us the history of Christ, but John writes to unveil the mystery of Christ. Here, Jesus is seen as the Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd, the Kind Forgiver, the Tender Healer, the Compassionate Intercessor, and the Great I Am. Who can resist this Man when He tugs on hearts to come to Him? To read the gospel of John is to encounter Jesus.

DR. BRIAN SIMMONS is a passionate lover of God. After a dramatic conversion to Christ, Brian knew that God was calling him to go to the unreached people of the world and present the gospel of God's grace to all who would listen. With his wife, Candice, and their three children, he spent eight years in the tropical rain forest of the Darien Province of Panama as a church planter, translator, and consultant. Having been trained in linguistics and Bible translation principles, Brian assisted in the Paya-Kuna New Testament translation project. After his ministry overseas, Brian was instrumental in planting a thriving church in New England (U.S.) and currently travels full time as a speaker and Bible teacher. He is the lead translator of The Passion Translation®.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Simmons, Brian

Leseproben

One

1In the very beginning

God was already there.

And before his face

Was his Living Expression.

And this “Living Expression”

Was with God, yet fully God.

2They were together—face to face,

In the very beginning.

3And through his creative inspiration

This “Living Expression” made all things,

For nothing has existence

Apart from him!

4Life came into being

Because of him,

For his life is light for all humanity.

5And this “Living Expression”

Is the Light that bursts through gloom—

The Light that darkness could not diminish!

6Then suddenly a man appeared

Who was sent out from God’s presence,

A messenger named John.

7For he came to be a witness,

To point the way to the Light of Life,

And to help everyone believe.

8John was not that Light

But he came to show who is.

For he was merely a messenger

To speak the truth about the Light.

9For the Light of Truth

Was about to come into the world

And shine upon everyone.

10The Creator entered into

The very world he created,

Yet the world was unaware.

11He came to the very people he created;

To those who should have recognized him,

But they did not receive him.

12But those who embraced him,

And took hold of his name

Were given the authority

To become who they really are—

The sons of God!

13He was not born

By the joining of human parents

Or from natural means,

Or by a man’s desire,

But he was born of God.

14And so the Living Expression

Became a man and lived among us!

And we gazed upon the splendor of his glory,

The glory of the One and Only,

Who came from the Father overflowing

With tender mercy and truth!

15John taught the truth about him,

When he announced to the people,

“He’s the One! Set your hearts on him!

I told you he would come after me,

Even though he ranks far above me,

For he existed before I was even born.”

16And now out of his fullness we are fulfilled!

And from him we receive

Grace heaped upon more grace!

17Moses gave us the Law,

But Jesus, the Anointed One,

Unveils truth wrapped in tender mercy.

18No one has ever gazed upon

The fullness of God’s splendor,

Except the uniquely beloved Son,

Who is cherished by the Father

And held close to his heart.

Now he leads the way to the place

Of honor at the Father’s side!

19There were some of the Jewish leaders who sent an entourage of priests and temple servants from Jerusalem to interrogate John. They asked him, “Who are you?”

20John answered them directly, saying, “I am not the Messiah!”

21“Then who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”

“No,” John replied.

So they pressed him further, “Are you the prophet Moses said was coming, the one we’re expecting?” “No,” he replied.

22“Then who are you?” they demanded. “We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something about yourself—anything!”

23So, John answered them, “I am fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy: ‘I am an urgent, thundering voice shouting in the desert—clear the way and prepare your hearts for the coming of the Lord Yahweh!’”

24Then some members of the religious sect known as the Separated Ones questioned John, 25“Why do you baptize the people since you admit you’re not the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet?”

26–27John answered them, “I baptize in this river, but the One who will take my place is to be more honored than I, but even when he stands among you, you will not recognize or embrace him! I am not worthy enough to stoop down in front of him and untie his sandals!” 28This all took place at Bethany, where John was baptizing at the place of the crossing of the Jordan River.

29The very next day John saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized, and John cried out, “Look! There he is—God’s Lamb! He will take away the sins of the world! 30I told you that a Mighty One would come who is far greater than I am, because he existed long before I was born! 31My baptism was for the preparation of his appearing to Israel, even though I’ve yet to experience him.”

32Then, as John baptized Jesus he spoke these words: “I saw the Spirit of God appear like a dove descending from the heavenly realm and landing upon him—and it rested upon him from that moment forward! 33And even though I’ve yet to experience him, when I was commissioned to baptize with water God spoke these words to me, ‘One day you will see the Spirit descend and remain upon a man. He will be the One I have sent to baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34And now I have seen this revelation fulfilled with my own eyes! I can tell you for sure that this man is the Son of God.”

35–36The very next day John was there again with two of his disciples as Jesus was walking right past them. John, gazing upon him, pointed to Jesus and said, “Look! There’s God’s Lamb!” 37And as soon as John’s two disciples heard this, they immediately left John and began to follow a short distance behind Jesus.

38Then Jesus turned around and saw they were following him and asked, “What do you want?” They responded, “Rabbi (which means, Master Teacher), where are you staying?” 39Jesus answered, “Come and discover for yourselves.” So they went with him and saw where he was staying, and since it was late in the afternoon, they spent the rest of the day with Jesus.

40–41One of the two disciples who heard John’s words and began to follow Jesus was a man named Andrew. He went and found his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Anointed One!” (Which is translated, the Christ.) 42Then Andrew brought Simon to meet him. When Jesus gazed upon Andrew’s brother, he prophesied to him, “You are Simon and your father’s name is John. But from now on you will be called Cephas” (which means, Peter the Rock).

43The next day Jesus decided to go to the region of Galilee. There he found Philip and said to him, “Come and follow me.” 44(Now Philip, Andrew, and Peter were all from the same village of Bethsaida.) 45Then Philip went to look for his friend, Nathanael, and told him, “We’ve found him! We’ve found the One we’ve been waiting for! It’s Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth, the Anointed One! He’s the One that Moses and the prophets prophesied would come!” 46Nathanael sneered, “Nazareth! What good thing could ever come from Nazareth?” Philip answered, “Come and let’s find out!”

47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said, “Now here comes a true son of Israel—an honest man with no hidden motive!”

48Nathanael was stunned and said, “But you’ve never met me—how do you know anything about me?”

Jesus answered, “Nathanael, right before Philip came to you I saw you sitting under the shade of a fig tree.”

49Nathanael blurted out, “Teacher, you are truly the Son of God and the King of Israel!”

50Jesus answered, “Do you believe simply because I told you I saw you sitting under a fig tree? You will experience even more impressive things than that! 51I prophesy to you eternal truth: From now on you will see an open heaven and gaze upon the Son of Man like a Stairway reaching into the sky with the messengers of God climbing up and down upon him!”

  1:1 The first eighteen verses of John are considered by most scholars to be the words of an ancient hymn or poem that was cherished by first-century believers in Christ.

  1:1 The Greek word used here and...