Living the Meaning of a Name
Article by Dr. Les Hollon, Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church
The disciple John is the one and same person described as: John the Apostle; brother of James; fishing partner of Peter & Andrew; son of Zebedee and Salome; the beloved disciple.
I believe the Apostle John is the same John who received “the Revelation” that became the New Testament’s closing book and became a respected leader in Ephesus who disciple many people in the Christian faith. John was the closest disciple to Jesus and can give us a closer look into the inner Messiah. John shared the relationship of what Jesus said and how those words shaped what He did.
John was as common a name in Jesus’ day as it is in our day … which is meaningful because John means “believed by God.” John the Apostle was referred to in the New Testament as the beloved disciple because he lived out the meaning of his name. John beautifully loved Christ which enabled him to love people as Christ loved people.
By distinctly listening to Christ, John was able to write the distinctive Gospel which bears his name. And in John 3:16 he showed us God’s heart and delivered for us the most beloved verse in the New Testament: “For God so loved the world that He gave us…”
By distinctly following Christ, John became known as “the Elder” who led the early church to be formed around Christ’s love. He wrote the Epistles which bear his name and empowers us to know “God is love” and that “perfect love casts out fear.”
By distinctly serving Christ, John stood up to the false leadership of Emperor Domitian, endured exile on the island of Patmos, and wrote the Revelation. John showed us how Christ is “the Alpha and the Omega, beginning and the end, all that ever was, is, and ever will be.”
John shows us how we may all live as “the beloved by God.”
Pastor Les Hollon
The Word of Life
The Request of James and John
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
“We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.
The Word of Life
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
Walking in the Light
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
This article was written by Les Hollon, Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church. For more information about God and your place in His world, contact Dr. Hollon, click over to Trinity Baptist Church.
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