"There Is One God And One Mediator Between God And Men, The Man Christ Jesus" 
1 Timothy (2:5)

I Am From Above, I Am Not Of This World

 


 

I Am From Above, I Am Not Of This World

Not of this world

 

When We Distort The Truth To Support a Lie

 


 

Was Jesus claiming to be God? No!

Some say Jesus is claiming to be God “from above” and “not of this world” (John 8:23) however that is not what Jesus said nor was signifying.

 

(John 8:23) “And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.”

(John 8:24) “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”

 

All one has to do is continue reading (John 8:25-28)

 

(John 8:25)  Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.

(John 8:26)  I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he (God) that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him (God).

(John 8:27)  They understood not that he spake to them of the Father (God).

(John 8:28)  Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father (Godhath taught me (Jesus), I speak these things.

 

 

“I Am From Above”

Christ was “from above” and “not of this world” because God was his Father (who was from above), and Christ manifested the wisdom and character that were of God or that were divine. First and foremost, we must always remember that God was with Christ (John 8:29) and in Christ (John 14:10 “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”) but God was not (His Son) the Christ and that is a big difference to understand and keep in mind (John 8:28; 14:10, 24).

A man who “loves the world” is “from beneath,” or “earthy,” but one who has “the love of the Fatherdwelling in him is “from above.”

 

Note: Jesus told Nicodemus, if he were to inherit the kingdom of God, a person must also be “born from above,” (Here John uses the word Spirit – John 3:6). This experience Jesus calls being “born again” (John 3:7). Such an individual is begotten by the word of God (1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 3:9-10), by wisdom that comes from above (1Cor 2:6-7, 12:8; James 3:17). The character that will develop is molded in him by the Word thus he becomes “one” with God, as did Jesus (John 17:21-22) so that he can claim to be “from above” though he was never literally in heaven.

See also: (Rom 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”) Although the word declares that we are sons of God yet we are not gods in the literal sense.

 

 

That is the sense in which Christ’s words are to be understood. He was “not of this world” in the same sense as John exhorted believers to be “not of this world” (1 John 2:15). Those of us who follow Christ are expected to look beyond the earthly things of this world to the glory yet to be revealed and to become mentally and morally changed by the influence which is “from above.”

 

 

 

 

“I Am Not Of This World”

What Jesus meant in (John 8:23) means the same in (John 17:14, 16). Here the same figure of speech is given and Jesus equates himself with his disciples “THEY are not of the world, EVEN AS I am not of the world” Yet here we do not misunderstand the same statement made by Jesus or claim that the disciples were literally from another world.

 

(John 8:23) “And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.”

(John 15:19) “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you”

(John 17:14) “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world”

(John 17:16)  “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

 

If Jesus was proclaiming that he was literally from another world then why do we not proclaim Jesus claiming the same for the disciples in (John 17:14-16)? The reason we don’t is that we know “other” scriptures exist that must also harmonize when considered and not conflict. The statement is true but the context in which it was spoken clearly cannot be applied in the manner which we have been proclaiming.

John illustrates this speaking manner of Jesus again in several other passages. (John 10:36 & John 17:18)

 

(John 10:36) “Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”

(John 17:18) “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”

 

Note: Of course, we dare not touch (John 10:36 – “…I said, I am the Son of God“) and try to argue that it meant Jesus said he was God in this verse. What we have been doing to Jesus is exactly what the Jews did to Jesus, falsely accusing Jesus of declaring himself to be God.

 

See also: ( Understanding Translation and Transliteration  &  The Translation History Of The Bible )

 

 

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