John & 1,2,3 John | Lecture 2 : BC301-John-20260814

Sorry for the delay. Um yeah, hopefully everything will work and um yeah, if you could thanks for your patience people who are online and thanks for your patience those of you who are in the class. Uh if you could just somehow make this thing stand. you know, it keeps falling. Okay. Yeah, I think it's it's all right. Yeah, as long as I can manage. Yeah. So, if I'm audible, uh we can get started. We'll uh begin today with a word of prayer. All right. Yeah. Thank you. Thanks, Lord. We're committing our class into your hands today. Even as we are beginning the first chapter of the gospel of John, we invite you to come Lord and speak to us in our hearts. Prepare our hearts oh Lord so that we'll be receptive to spiritual things and the truths which you wish to share with us. So we pray Lord that our entire class uh will go smoothly and well and that we'll not have any uh any other technical glitches. Thank you Lord in Jesus' name. Amen. Yeah. So I promise that next time onwards we will not have any complications if for some reason I don't know that it's just been bad our first session and this session but yes in future hopefully we will not have any more issues. Uh so let's get started with our um gospel of John. So if you have your Bibles, you know, keep your Bibles open at the first chapter of uh John. And um we see mainly three things over here in this prologue. We talked about that last time, right? Uh where our entire gospel is divided into three uh main uh four main sections. uh the prologue which is like an introduction which is just the first 18 verses and then you have the Jesus public ministry and then you have his private ministry and then lastly his uh you know um crucifixion and resurrection. So uh we are looking at the prologue today and that would be the first 18 verses. The way John wrote these 18 verses when we look at the grammar that is used, the Greek grammar which is used in those uh 18 verses uh scholars say based on that that most probably he wrote it in such a way that it can be sung like a hymn. So um in those days when um you know they wanted something to be byhearted when they wanted people to uh really uh learn and absorb something they would write it out in such a way that it's easy to memorize. So and many of these things which they memorize they would put a tune to it and they would sing it. And so they say that scholars say that based on the on the kind of uh writing style that is used in these first 18 verses most probably the prologue was in the form of a of a hymn of a song and the people would actually sing it in the early church. So uh if John wanted them to buyart it and know it then probably what he has had to say in these 18 verses was very important you know. So um what are the three main things that he talks about here in this prologue? Firstly, he establishes the fact that Jesus is divine. The first three verses are devoted to that. He wants to make it very clear that this Jesus is uh no divine and equal to the father. So then then in the verse four onwards for the next few verses he talks about how Jesus is the light and how Jesus is the life. And the third main thing uh he gives a list of reasons why this Jesus is you know should not be rejected that he is far superior to all uh other leaders from the past and so he should not be rejected. So these are the three main things and so every time the church would sing these 18 verses it was a reminder to them that this Jesus whom they have chosen to follow. He is God. He is light and he is life. I mean without light and life no one can even live. It's not even possible to have a life without light and life you know. So um so that was established in the in this hymn which they would sing. And then there are a few uh main reasons why it is so important not to reject this Jesus because everything you know your entire life revolves around this Jesus. So we will look at these first 18 verses and uh you know look at these truths in a deeper way. So um we know the opening statement I mean most of us know it by heart you know John 1:1. So John uh John chapter 1:es 1 and 2 is where he begins by saying in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and moreover not just the word was with God in fact he was God. Uh so uh and then in verse two he says he was with God in the beginning. So um most of us are familiar with uh the word used over there. The Greek word used over there. That's the Greek word logos. So in the beginning was the logos and the logos was with God and the logos was God. Why did he specifically use this Greek word? Because the readers of that time would have been familiar with this term logos. It had a special significance. It had a special meaning. And um um um both the Greek Greek people of that time and the Jewish people of that time were familiar with the idea of word logos. Um both the Jewish and Greek communities believed that in the very beginning you know before things came into being there was just darkness and emptiness um all all over the universe you know that's in fact stated in your Genesis 1:es 1 and 2 if someone could very quickly turn to Genesis 1 1 and two and look at how the you know the earth is described at that time uh in right in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. What was the condition of the you know earth at that time? >> In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep and the spirit of God was however hovering over the waters. >> It says here that the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep. So both the Jewish people and the Greek people believed that in the very beginning there was nothing. It was just empty and it was dark. And in the Greek belief system you know um they believed and in fact there was one particular Greek philosopher who promoted this idea. Uh he a man named Heraclitus. Okay that would be H E R A C L I T U S. one of those Greek philosophers especially him and many of the others they declared that when the time in the beginning when everything was empty and dark and formless there was a power there was a force which existed at that time not a person just a impersonal power or force and that force was intelligent and it was called the logos. So in the Greek belief system there was uh they believed in something called an you know logos which was just an impersonal intelligent power you know like wind is a power right it's not a person but you can feel its force you can feel its power when it's moving so in the same way these Greek people they believed that in the beginning there was this impersonal intelligent force a power that was named as logos. So here in his opening statement what John is trying to say to the Greek people is you know you people believe in a logos which existed in the beginning you know what this logos is not just a power it's a person it's an actual person and his name is Jesus so he takes what they know about the beginning and he connects it to the truth and he says this logos that you believe in it's not just a power it's an actual person it is Jesus that is what he is hoping to establish in the in that opening statement. Now this is something which would have had meaning even for the Jewish people who are reading this statement because um by the time you know Jesus uh came along Hebrew was uh not spoken much. It was more their um religious language at home and in their everyday interactions. they would all be mainly talking in Aramaic. So even Jesus in his home, he would be talking in Aramaic. That was that had become the common language of that time. But when they would go to the synagogue on Saturday there, you know the the scroll would be read out in Hebrew and then even the leader who was standing and preaching maybe he would preach in Hebrew. Uh you know so Hebrew was more the religious language but not the everyday language. And then when it came to official matters where you know you're having business interactions and you know come you know conducting trade and all in the marketplace there you would use the Greek language because that was like so it's something like our setup over here you know in our country at home we have our mother tongue but then when we are you know interacting in the marketplace uh you know with outsiders we will either use Hindi or we will use English and then of course in in churches depending on which church we go to we'll either have English or one of our regional languages. es. So it was something like that. So um so a few hundred years before Jesus came along, people began to translate the Hebrew scriptures into Aramaic so that people will be able to easily understand what the scriptures are saying. So at that time when the translation was being done uh they avoided using the word God in many of the verses um and instead they substituted and put in the word the the wording mera of Yahweh me a mera that's supposed to mean word the word of Yahweh let's take an example you know in Genesis 1:3 you know right in the beginning Genesis 1:3 it says and God said let there be light. That would be your Hebrew wording. But in the Aramaic translation, it says, "And the mera of Yahweh said, let there be light." So in many places where the word term God was used, they substituted this other phrase mera of Yahweh, the word of Yahweh. Um just to take another one example Genesis 3:8 where it says then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God. But then when you look at the Aramaic translation there it says they heard the voice of the mera of Yahweh. They heard the voice of the word of Yahweh. So the Jews also were familiar with this concept of the word of Yahweh. So John is telling the the Jewish readers, he's telling them, you know what, this this term that you're so familiar with, the word of Yahweh, it's not just an idea. It's not just a concept. It's an actual person. This word of Yahweh is an actual person. So this opening statement, it made sense to the Greek people. It made sense even to the Jewish readers of that time. And um you know we have this um thing which is told to new believers. We generally tell new believers you know start with the gospel of John. But actually the gospel of John has got such heavy theology packed into it. Especially right in the first chapter that probably gospel of John is not what we should be recommending to a brand new believer who knows almost nothing about the Christian faith. Maybe we should actually choose Luke because you know Luke is writing to Theophilus and he wants to explain in the simplest terms to this gentile person Theophilus about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. So maybe we should recommend Luke to new believers or even Mark because Mark is very simple. He just wants to give a account of the miracles that Jesus did and in and then the way he helped people. John on the other hand has got a lot of thick you know theology packed with um important foundational truths which we need for our you know our belief our trust our faith. Um so yes if someone can can handle John then yes maybe we can recommend John to them. Uh but you know Luke or Mark would be simpler for a brand new believer. So right here in his first opening statement in itself, John is making a point. He's addressing the Greeks telling them that their logos is actually a person named Jesus. And he's telling the Jewish people, this mera of Yahweh, this concept that you guys are so familiar with, it's not just a concept. This word of Yahweh, this mera of Yahweh is an actual person and we need to place our faith in him. So that is why in your John 1 uh verse two he says he was with God in the beginning. He doesn't say it was you know with God in the beginning. It's not just a force. It is a it's a person. And in verse three he says through him all things were made. So this word of Yahweh is not just a word which God speaks. It's a person and it's this person this word who has made all things. without him nothing was made that has been made. So in these three verses um John establishes that Jesus is a person. He's not just a concept or a force and he is the one who has created all things. There are also two other main theological truths which we see established in these in in these opening verses. Um it says over here uh that the word was with the god in the beginning. So here in this right in this opening sentence uh John is you know bringing out this truth that our god is triune. He is one god in three persons. Because over here he says in the beginning was the word and the word was with God which means God the father is separate and the word is separate. There are two separate persons. And where when when exactly are these two persons uh you know being where where are they being placed? They are being placed in the beginning. And what does Genesis say about you know in the beginning? In the first two verses, Genesis 1:1-2, it says, "In the beginning, who was there?" It says, "The spirit of God was hovering over the waters." So, in the beginning, according to the Old Testament, the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And now here in your, you know, John 1:1, he is saying God was there and the word was there. And the word is a person. So if you look at these Genesis 1 1:2 and John 1:1, you know, it kind of establishes the fact that we worship a God who is one, but he is in three persons. We see the spirit of God being mentioned in Genesis 1:1-2. And we see God the father being mentioned in John 1:1. And the word is being presented as a separate person equal with God. And that is Jesus. He is mentioned as the third person of the trinity. So John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1-2 when combined are bringing out the truth that our God is triune. Okay. So this is one very foundational truth which John is establishing. So can you see we've not even crossed the first two verses and already there's so much that you know John is bringing out in these two verses. Another important thing which he brings out in these two verses, he says not only was the word with God, he was God. In other words, Jesus is equal with the father. He is not lesser than the father, he's completely equal with the father. And um this is a truth which again and again, you know, Satan has tried to um suppress. He doesn't want people to believe in the full divinity of Jesus. And one example that we have from our current day would be the Jehovah witnesses. They witness and they say that Jehovah, you know, the Yahweh is only God the father and he is the he's the true God and Jesus according to the Jehovah Witnesses, he is just a lesser being that that God the father created. So um you know um yeah uh those of you who you know who can um who would like to know these things in greater depth uh why do the Jehovah witnesses you know why do they say that uh only God the father is God and that Jesus is something lesser they give the you know the argument they give is from the original Greek Bible you know if you if you know the original Greek Bible Bible was written in the um you know originally the the New Testament was written in the Greek language. Uh all the gospels were written in Greek. The letters which these uh you know uh Paul and the others wrote they all wrote it in the Greek language. So the Jehovah witnesses they will point to John 1:1 in the original Greek Bible and they will say look at the way the verse has been written. If you look at this verse, they'll say when it talks about God, it uses the definite article. And then when it refers to Jesus, the word, it does not use the definite article. That's the argument which they present. What exactly is a definite article? In case you don't, you know, you're not familiar with your grammar. What is a definite article? Anyone knows what a definite article is? Um, if I were to say to you, sit on a chair, uh, is an indefinite article. But if I say to you, sit on the chair, the is a definite article. A chair, indefinite article. The chair is definite article. That's just basically your grammar. So, what these Jehovah witnesses will say is, look at the way John 1:1 is written. when it's talking about God, it says the God. But when it talks about you know word being God, it doesn't use the word the over there. Okay? So that's basically the argument which they present. But you know in case someone comes up with that argument with you, you can be able to prove to them that it's a very very weak argument. Okay? So we will actually look at this. I mean after all you know we are looking at the truths of our word. So it's important for us to know this. So if if at all anyone says to you you know uh the definite article is not used for Jesus then we know we will clarify that and we will explain um how we are supposed to understand this. So you know if at all you have any doubts about what is there in the original Greek wording you can always go to Bible hub that's basically your Bible hub. So if you type in your Google search Bible hub, it automatically takes you to that website. You know, you have that website Bible Hub where you can look up the original Hebrew wording of the Old Testament and you can look up the original Greek wording of the New Testament. So if you were to go to your Bible hub and look at the exact words which are there for your John 1:1, this is basically what you will read over there. The first portion of the verse, you know, if you were to literally do a word byword translation of the Greek, the first portion of the verse is basically going to sound like this. Okay, the first portion of John 1:1 word was with the God. The Greek wording used over there is word was with thorn ton the god. Word was with the god. And then the second portion of that verse it will say and God was the word. It doesn't say the God was the word. It just says God was the word. So based on this the Jehovah witnesses will say look the definite article is being used for God the father because it says word was with thorn teonon the god. But then when you read read the second portion it just says and god was the word. So which means the second god must be a small G. The first you know portion has a capital G but the second portion should just be used with a small G. That is the argument they present. Why is this a weak argument? Because ancient Greek was not as technical as our modern Greek. Sometimes they would use the definite article. Sometimes they would not use the definite article. John was not thinking grammatically when he wrote the gospel at that time because at that time uh Greek grammar was not as rigid and as fixed as it is today. So when John was writing he was just using the the the language of that time the ancient biblical Greek that was used at that time and at that time the Greek was not as technical as it is now. And so in some places he uses the definite article. In some places he does not use the definite article. And uh we see examples of that right in the first chapter itself. Let's look at John 1:6. You know in John 1:6 it says there was a man sent from God whose name was John. Over there he does not use the definite article for God. But then we all clearly know it's referring to God, the living God. There was a man sent from God. Look at verse 13. Verse 13 talks about believers, you know, who have accepted uh Jesus. So it what does it say about them? It says that they are born of God. And again over there, the definite article is not used. It doesn't say the God in the Greek. It just says God, but we all know that it's referring to God. Verse 18 is a is a powerful example because it says no one has seen God at any time. Here it's most definitely talking about the living God and it says that no one has seen God and over there in your verse 18 in the Greek the definite article is not mentioned but it's clearly referring to God the living God. So if you look at the Jehovah Witness Bible in those places they have you know definitely used capital G they don't seem to have any problem even though the definite article 'the' is not mentioned they still use capital G in their Bible their Bible is called um new world translation so in in their you know in their Bible new world translation wherever it's convenient they will use capital G and wherever they don't want to accept the divinity of G's is they will automatically use small G. Now that's double standards, right? If you want to stick to the rules of grammar, then stick to the rules of grammar and apply it everywhere equally. Okay? So because they are also aware of the fact that in those days grammar was very flexible. It was not fixed and rigid and technical the way it is today. Uh so um when John was writing and you know and the word was God even though he is not using that uh technical definite article he definitely is indicating the fact that the word Jesus is also God and he is equal with God. So in your first three verses um you know he establishes that this Jesus he is God and he says through him all things were made which means that Jesus himself was not made through him everything was made. So in the same way God the father was never created. He was always there. God the son also was no was never created. He was always there and it was through him that all things were made and without him nothing was made that has been made. So we have looked at the first three verses establishing the divinity the divine nature of Jesus. We'll move on into the next uh uh next maybe four verses which talks about Jesus as being life and light. So we are into verse four now. So in verse four it says in him you know it's talking about this word Jesus in him was life and that life was the light of all mankind. And the word being used over here for life. You may be familiar with it. You know Zoe. Have you heard of that term Zoe? That's the term that is used over here. So it's saying over here in him in this word in this Jesus in him was Zoe. And that Zoey was the light of all mankind. Now again this word this Greek word used over here Zoe that also has got spiritual significance. Now back then in those days you know when people used to talk Greek at that time Zoey was just an ordinary word I mean it just basically means somebody who's alive I mean if you're alive and you're breathing you know your oxygen is going in oxygen is coming out your heart is beating then basically Zoe will be used for you have life you have Zoe but when John took this word and he began to use it in his gospel and then the other writers also the other you know um New Testament writers when they began to use this word they gave this word a special significance. So when in the Bible when the word Zoey is mentioned, it's not just talking about life as in no know you're alive. Your heart is beating and you're able to breathe. It's not talking about that. It's talking about divine eternal life. So in the New Testament, wherever the word Zoey is used, it has a special significance. It's talking about divine eternal life which we have. And so here John is making this statement and he is saying you know in this Jesus in this word was Zoey and that Zoey was the light of all mankind. Um so the statement that he's making is that if you have Jesus with you then you have divine eternal life. If you don't have Jesus with you yes you'll still be breathing. you know oxygen will come in go out go in and out and your heart will still be beating but you will basically have suk that's the other Greek word that that would be p s u c h e you know like you know with Peter in uh John 13:37 Peter says to Jesus I will lay down my life for you he says he's talking about his physical life uh over there the word suk is used p s u c h e So over there Peter says I will lay down my suit for you. My life that is just your physical life which you know which which is based on whether your heart is beating whether you can breathe or not. But this other word Zoey is reserved in the New Testament for divine eternal life. And so John is making a statement and he's saying, you know what, if you people don't have Jesus with you, you don't even have Zoey. You don't even have divine eternal life, you are spiritually dead people. And only a person who has Zoey in them, they have the light of all mankind. If you don't have Zoey, if you don't have divine eternal life inside you, you're actually living in darkness. You may have a lot of wealth, you may have influence, you may have power, but the point is you're in darkness. You don't even have any light in your life. So in him, in this Jesus, there is divine eternal life. And if you have divine eternal life, then you have light in your life. Otherwise, you are in darkness. Why why is it so important to have this light? Because he explains in verse five, the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Now with verse five, there's a little bit of a complication, you know, depending on whether you're reading NKJV or whether you're reading NIV. Um, anyone over here has NKJV? If you do, can you just quickly read out verse five for us? John 1 vers5. What does it say about the light? No one has the NKJV here >> and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness not comprehend it. >> Yeah. It says uh the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. Now comprehend is just a very very big word which means to understand. Okay. So it's saying the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not understand it. But in your NIV uh it says the darkness has not overcome it. The Greek word used over there is kata lambano. You don't really need to know the Greek word but the point is that particular Greek word can be translated in multiple ways. uh that Greek word can mean to obtain something that Greek word can mean to overtake or overcome something and that Greek word can also mean to understand something okay so over here looking at the context of these verses the NIV is probably the best translation because it's talking about how the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it the darkness cannot overtake it so there's a very important important truth that John is establishing over here. He's saying you know what if you have this Jesus then in him there is Zoe life and this Zoey life becomes the you know the light for all mankind so he's making a statement and saying if you have Jesus in your life even if everything around you in your world is dark inside you you have life and you have light and this light is so powerful it will begin to overcome all the darkness that is surrounding you. So it's a very important statement that he's making over here because in you know many of these uh people in John's time these believers were living in very tough and dark times. They were wondering whether they'll be able to even survive. And so the assurance he's giving is don't ever worry if you have this Jesus then you literally have Zoe divine eternal life in you and this eternal life will turn into a bright light which will overcome every area of darkness which is attacking you. You know if this if this if you if you're suffering in the area of health declare and say to yourself I have Jesus in me and he is the light of all mankind and this light will overcome the darkness. This light will overcome the sickness which I am facing. If you're in a financial situation where you know you're you you you you're suffering due to lack of money you can declare and say in me is Zoey life the divine eternal life and this Zoey life is the light of all mankind. So and this light cannot be shut down by the darkness. This light overcomes overtakes the darkness. Therefore, because I have his Zoey life in me, these finances will change. My situation will change because the light will overcome, overtake the darkness. And that is the reason you know Jesus says in your uh John 16:33, someone can read out the promise which Jesus makes to us, you know, in John 16:33. I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but take heart. I have overcome the world. Jesus doesn't say you know all your problems will just disappear rather Jesus says in this world as long as you're living over here in this world you will have trouble. But take heart don't get discouraged you know don't don't uh don't feel sad. Why? because I have overcome the world. So this Jesus who has overcome the world, if you have him with you, then you have the Zoey life in you and the Zoey life will become a bright light which will overcome and overtake every area of darkness which comes to attack you. You don't have to stay under the control of that darkness like the poor people of the world, you know, and you don't have to be suppressed by the darkness. You can declare and say I have Zoe life in me which is the light of all mankind and this light will overcome the darkness. So you begin to pray, you begin to claim what is yours. You begin to declare the verses the Lord is bringing to you regarding your situation and you will see the darkness being overcome by his light because the Lord has himself declared to us take heart. Don't be discouraged because I have overcome the world. And so in your verses 4 to9, you know, John kind of emphasizes that he talks about how this Jesus is actually the light. If someone could read out those verses, verses 6-9, which talk about Jesus being the light of all mankind. >> There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testifying concerning that light so that through him all might be all might be believed him. He he himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. It says here uh that Jesus is the true light. Okay. Verse 9 it says that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. So every baby that is being born into the world they can have light in their life only if they are following this true light. There are many false lights available. You know you have the false light of power and wealth. You have the false light of leaders who claim that they can help you and save you. You have the false light of uh uh you know maybe fame and popularity. Those are false lights because when the darkness becomes strong enough those lights will get you know quenched. But this true light Jesus no darkness can ever put him out. So that is why he's called the true light you know in he's being compared against all the other false fake lights. He's the one true light who can give light to every man coming into the world. So we have seen in the first three verses that John establishes Jesus as divine. In the next four or five verses he talks about Jesus being life and light. And now he's going to talk about some important things which we should know recognize about Jesus. And because of which we should never ever make the mistake of rejecting Jesus because all kinds of people would have read these verses. So John is trying to communicate to them how important how central Jesus is to everything. If you don't believe in this Jesus, you have nothing. So he gives a series of maybe two three points about why Jesus is so important and why you should place your faith in him. So we look at the first point. The first point that he makes in verses 10 to13 is that without this Jesus you will not even become a child of God. You may be thinking that you're a great child of God. But if you don't have this Jesus you are not even a child of God. You don't even belong to Jesus God's family. And so when when you die you'll end up in hell. You'll end up in the other family which is not even a family you know because I don't think Satan really believes in families. So anyway uh you know so so it's a very dangerous place to be. So he he says in these verses verses 10 to13 about how you need this Jesus to at least become a child of God in the first place. You know, so verses 10 to uh to 13, if you could read out, >> he was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him, he came to that which was his own, but his wound did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become child of God. children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband's will but born of God. So he says those who believe in the name of this Jesus they are the only ones who will be given the right to become children of God. So all the other people will just be born of blood. They'll be born of the will of the flesh or the will of man. But they'll not be born of God. Why does he say Cespino specify these terms over here? Because you see the Jewish people had great pride in their ancestry. They would say we are the children of Abraham our father. We are the descendants of Moses. So they had great pride in who they were. So here Paul is, you know, not Paul. Okay, John. Um because I keep covering Paul's letters, that man's name keeps coming out. John, John is the writer over here. John says, you know, being born of blood is not going to make you a child of God. You may have Abraham's blood in your bloodstream, but that is not going to make you a child of God because it is trust in Jesus, belief in Jesus which which makes you a child of God. So on judgment day, God is not going to ask you who is your ancestor, whose blood do you have in your bloodstream. That's not the question he's going to ask. He's going to ask you did you believe in Jesus as the son of God. That's a simple you know thing requirement. So he says the person who you know those who were born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God. The only way you can be born of God is you have to believe in the name of this Jesus. So point one, okay, why we should really accept this Jesus and not reject him. Second, he makes a very uh what would have been for them a very shocking statement. Oh, we don't have time for any shocking statements because we are at 9:49. Okay, we will save our shocking statement for next class. Okay. So, um, now even as we just went through these 13 verses, you know, you're beginning to kind of get the depth that is there in your in John's words, every sentence, he's wanting to hit a mark. He's not just simply talking for the sake of talking. Every sentence has got weight. So, maybe we should not be recommending this gospel to a brand new believer. They'll wonder what on earth is going on. Maybe you can, you know, direct them instead to Mark or to Luke, which gives a more simpler account. But if you are somebody who's already familiar with the Lord and you are, you definitely need to grow in the Lord, then this is the gospel that you would look at because here is where he's giving you meat. You're not getting baby milk anymore. Okay? So people who are going to be attending this class, remember, you're now at a stage where you're not going to be given baby bottles. Now you're going to be given solid meat. So you need to pay attention. You need to pull up your shoulders and say yes I'm now you know becoming grown up. I'm in the third year and now there are truths being given to me you know which I can convey to others and change their lives. Okay. So with that attitude ah yes I can see all my students alive and active and enthusiastic over here and even our online students over here. Isn't that amazing? The Lord has something special in his heart for us. Okay. The bell rang very quickly. Small prayer. Lord, we just thank you so much, oh Lord, for the truths that you are revealing to us through your word. We pray that these truths will go deep, deep, deep inside and they'll start begin to begin working in us and they will change us into people who are strong and powerful in you because no darkness can ever overcome us, Lord. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Yeah. >> Amen. Thank you, ma'am. >> Thank you.