He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
Spoken to the Jews and Pharisees as part of His self-revelation as the Light of Life, it means that those who belong to God hear and accept God's words in the message of His Son, while refusal to believe the truth He spoke from God shows they are not living as God's children and have no connection with Him. If they had been open to God's love they would have recognized and loved His sent Son, yet though none could convict Him of sin they did not believe because He told them the truth, and in rejecting Him they pronounced judgment on themselves. Hearing God's word marks a person as belonging to God while refusing to hear it shows the person is not of God, and God's word is the test for whether a spiritual message is true and for distinguishing the spirit of truth from the spirit of error. The way His word is understood, received, heard, and reported depends on the spirit dwelling in the heart, so those whose hearts are filled with prejudice or love of worldly pleasures have no place for it, and Satan stands by to present it to their understanding in a false light. Mere assent to truth or a form of godliness is not hearing, but when a person looks to Christ as the illuminator of the soul and seeks God for himself, the Holy Spirit conveys the truth as a living divine power to the obedient heart and brings forth a faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
Setting and Plain Meaning
The saying belongs to Jesus' self-revelation as the Light of Life given in John 8:12-59 and continued in John 9. It was spoken to the Jews and Pharisees, and it means that those who belong to God hear and accept God's words in the message of His Son, while refusal to believe the truth Jesus spoke from God shows they are not living as God's children and have no connection with God. If they had been open to God's love they would have recognized and loved His sent Son. Yet though none could convict Him of sin, because He told them the truth they did not believe, and in rejecting Him they pronounced judgment on themselves.
Christ spoke it when His words were misinterpreted because truth was not palatable to His hearers. They could not understand His speech because they could not hear His words. Hearing God's word marks a person as belonging to God while refusing to hear it shows the person is not of God. God's word is the test for whether a spiritual message is true and for distinguishing the spirit of truth from the spirit of error.
Why Many Do Not Hear
Those who reject the truth for the very reason that the truth is told show by that rejection that they belong to their father the devil and are carrying out the devil's desires, and those who follow Christ will encounter in their own lives the same rejection that Jesus encountered. The darkness that prevents souls from hearing does not come from God, for God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all, but darkness is a shadow produced by something intruding and coming between the soul and God. How God's word is understood and received, how it is heard and how it is reported, depends on the spirit dwelling in the heart, so that hearing aright depends on the condition of the heart. Those who listen to God's message of reproof and warning or of encouragement while their hearts are full of prejudice fail to grasp its true meaning, even though it was sent to be a savor of life unto life, because Satan stands beside them to set everything before their understanding in a false light.
Those who belong to the world and love its pleasures have no room in their hearts for these divine words, and those who turn toward worldly pleasures and customs and toward the worldly spirit are walking away from God rather than hearing Him. Those who treat God's word as if it were the word of the enemy, and who call His warnings to His people faultfinding and accusing, reveal the same spirit that Satan stirred up in the unbelieving Jews who declared Christ's words and works to be of satanic origin. Closing the eyes to light and the ears to evidence shuts the door of the heart, so that whatever God sends cannot be received and is called darkness. After the Lord has made His will known, persistent unbelief leaves the Spirit of God able to do no more, and further light and evidence only draw out more stubborn resistance, placing such persons exactly where Pharaoh stood. The same condition exists now, when people who are not imbued with the Spirit of God cannot take in what needs to be said, and a view of God's infinite majesty and holiness brings a deep sense of their lack of spiritual understanding and of their need for plain, direct, decided testimony.
Hearing Aright in Life
Simply agreeing with truth, having a name on the church books, or keeping a form of godliness while the heart is not in unity with Christ and not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not hearing, for a heart encased in self-righteous armor lets truth glide off unwounding. True hearing comes when a person looks to Christ as the illuminator of the darkened soul, seeks God for himself, hearkens to the suggestions of the Holy Spirit, and breaks away from the trammels of sin. Then the Holy Spirit takes the precious truth as it falls from the lips of Jesus and conveys it as a living, quickening, divine power to the obedient heart, awakening every faculty, touching the heart, and bringing forth thanksgiving and praise and a faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
Those who hunger and thirst for divine knowledge hear aright and obtain the precious blessings God designs to convey, because their minds are under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and when hearts are purified from selfishness and egotism they are in harmony with the message God sends, with perceptions quickened and sensibilities refined, for like appreciates like. Those who refuse truthful words from God's messengers but readily believe and spread slander against them show by that response that they are not listening to God. Those who yield themselves wholly to God are wholly His and are free in Christ Jesus.
Spoken to the Jews and Pharisees as part of His self-revelation as the Light of Life, it means that those who belong to God hear and accept God's words in the message of His Son, while refusal to believe the truth He spoke from God shows they are not living as God's children and have no connection with Him. If they had been open to God's love they would have recognized and loved His sent Son, yet though none could convict Him of sin they did not believe because He told them the truth, and in rejecting Him they pronounced judgment on themselves. Hearing God's word marks a person as belonging to God while refusing to hear it shows the person is not of God, and God's word is the test for whether a spiritual message is true and for distinguishing the spirit of truth from the spirit of error. The way His word is understood, received, heard, and reported depends on the spirit dwelling in the heart, so those whose hearts are filled with prejudice or love of worldly pleasures have no place for it, and Satan stands by to present it to their understanding in a false light. Mere assent to truth or a form of godliness is not hearing, but when a person looks to Christ as the illuminator of the soul and seeks God for himself, the Holy Spirit conveys the truth as a living divine power to the obedient heart and brings forth a faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
Setting and Plain Meaning
The saying belongs to Jesus' self-revelation as the Light of Life given in John 8:12-59 and continued in John 9. It was spoken to the Jews and Pharisees, and it means that those who belong to God hear and accept God's words in the message of His Son, while refusal to believe the truth Jesus spoke from God shows they are not living as God's children and have no connection with God. If they had been open to God's love they would have recognized and loved His sent Son. Yet though none could convict Him of sin, because He told them the truth they did not believe, and in rejecting Him they pronounced judgment on themselves.
Christ spoke it when His words were misinterpreted because truth was not palatable to His hearers. They could not understand His speech because they could not hear His words. Hearing God's word marks a person as belonging to God while refusing to hear it shows the person is not of God. God's word is the test for whether a spiritual message is true and for distinguishing the spirit of truth from the spirit of error.
Why Many Do Not Hear
Those who reject the truth for the very reason that the truth is told show by that rejection that they belong to their father the devil and are carrying out the devil's desires, and those who follow Christ will encounter in their own lives the same rejection that Jesus encountered. The darkness that prevents souls from hearing does not come from God, for God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all, but darkness is a shadow produced by something intruding and coming between the soul and God. How God's word is understood and received, how it is heard and how it is reported, depends on the spirit dwelling in the heart, so that hearing aright depends on the condition of the heart. Those who listen to God's message of reproof and warning or of encouragement while their hearts are full of prejudice fail to grasp its true meaning, even though it was sent to be a savor of life unto life, because Satan stands beside them to set everything before their understanding in a false light.
Those who belong to the world and love its pleasures have no room in their hearts for these divine words, and those who turn toward worldly pleasures and customs and toward the worldly spirit are walking away from God rather than hearing Him. Those who treat God's word as if it were the word of the enemy, and who call His warnings to His people faultfinding and accusing, reveal the same spirit that Satan stirred up in the unbelieving Jews who declared Christ's words and works to be of satanic origin. Closing the eyes to light and the ears to evidence shuts the door of the heart, so that whatever God sends cannot be received and is called darkness. After the Lord has made His will known, persistent unbelief leaves the Spirit of God able to do no more, and further light and evidence only draw out more stubborn resistance, placing such persons exactly where Pharaoh stood. The same condition exists now, when people who are not imbued with the Spirit of God cannot take in what needs to be said, and a view of God's infinite majesty and holiness brings a deep sense of their lack of spiritual understanding and of their need for plain, direct, decided testimony.
Hearing Aright in Life
Simply agreeing with truth, having a name on the church books, or keeping a form of godliness while the heart is not in unity with Christ and not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not hearing, for a heart encased in self-righteous armor lets truth glide off unwounding. True hearing comes when a person looks to Christ as the illuminator of the darkened soul, seeks God for himself, hearkens to the suggestions of the Holy Spirit, and breaks away from the trammels of sin. Then the Holy Spirit takes the precious truth as it falls from the lips of Jesus and conveys it as a living, quickening, divine power to the obedient heart, awakening every faculty, touching the heart, and bringing forth thanksgiving and praise and a faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
Those who hunger and thirst for divine knowledge hear aright and obtain the precious blessings God designs to convey, because their minds are under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and when hearts are purified from selfishness and egotism they are in harmony with the message God sends, with perceptions quickened and sensibilities refined, for like appreciates like. Those who refuse truthful words from God's messengers but readily believe and spread slander against them show by that response that they are not listening to God. Those who yield themselves wholly to God are wholly His and are free in Christ Jesus.