Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher - Jim Rickard Thursday, January 20,

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

Memory Verse 2 Tim 2:4, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”

John 16:1-6 The Importance of Preparedness

John 16:3 Religious Ignorance of God Leads to Persecution

“They will do” - POIEO, Future, Active, Indicative, 3 rd PP. Predicative of impending persecution and the reasoning for them.

They are the arrogant, self- righteous, legalistic, religious crowd, as Saul (a.k.a. Paul), was prior to his conversion. Acts 7:58; 8:1-3; 9:1-5

OUK GINOSKO – Aorist, Active, Indicative, 3 rd PP. “To come to know, recognize, perceive, etc”. Experiential knowledge

These persecutors have a lack of knowledge; they are ignorant as to knowing God the Father and the Son on a personal basis.

Principles: 1. GINOSKO refers to experiential knowledge, suggesting the knowledge of personal faith.

2. While the world may have a lot of knowledge about Christ, it does not have this personal experiential knowledge of Him because it does not have faith in Him.

3. John 15:21 utilized OUK OIDA, which refers to an objective knowledge (i.e., comparing prophecy to His ministry).

4. In John 15:21 it was the perfect idea of “possessed knowledge” rather than the present aspect of “acquiring knowledge.”

5. It had the sense of a continued completed state, “I know”, versus, “I have come to know” (through experience or event).

6. In John 16:3, GINOSKO refers to that experiential knowledge which comes from continued intake and application of God’s Word in faith.

7. Therefore, these persecutors have neither objective nor experiential knowledge of God or Jesus Christ.

8. They are ignorant on two fronts, objectively and experientially.

John 16:3, “And these things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.”

Principles: 1. Just as in John 15:21, persecutions come out of the world’s ignorance and hatred.

2. “They” specifically refers to unbelieving religious Jews.

3. John’s Gospel speaks often of the relationship between obedient faith and knowing God.

John 1:10-11, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”

4. Jesus explained to Nicodemus why those who did not believe on Him were condemned. Their rejection of Him placed them under God’s condemnation, John 3.

5. They rejected Him because He was the Light; they loved darkness, (self- righteousness), because the Light revealed the true evil of their deeds. John 3:18-19

6. Logically, all Jews should have recognized Jesus and believed on Him since they knew the prophecies, John 15:21.

7. It is not only intellectual knowledge that brings the knowledge of God. It is the result of faith, an attitude of humble obedience to His Word.

8. Their ignorance was that they voluntarily, actively, and freely chose to ignore the righteousness of God. Rom 10:2-3

Grace Fellowship Church Thursday, January 20, 2011 Tape # The Importance of Preparedness Religious Ignorance Leads to Persecution Upper Room Discourse, Part 461 John 16:3; 15:21; Acts 7-9; Rom 10:2-4 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2011