My salvation - 3 Documents: Part 3

In my Junior year of college, I reconnected with someone I had known from High School.

Brenda was the friend of my H.S. sweetheart, Vicki. I knew her from H.S. but not well.

I was doing Freshman orientation (helping Freshman get oriented ... not taking it myself). In this function, I would tour groups of students around the University of Cincinnati campus. Brenda was in one of those groups. I had not seen her in two years and I had not even remembered her name.

Brenda and I began to date and she invited me to her Church - Westwood Baptist in Cheviot Ohio. She also gave me a small white King James version Bible. She encouraged me to read the Gospel of John.

God used this Scripture to work salvation in my soul. I saw myself as a sinner, I came to understand that Jesus is God, and I trusted Him as my Savior and Lord.

Here are some neat things about the Gospel of John:

I. It records the "I am" sayings of Christ:

1. John 4:26, "Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”"
   
2. John 6:20, "But He said to them, “It is I (lit. "I Am"); do not be afraid.”"
   
3. John 6:51, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven"
   
4. John 8:24, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins"
   
5. John 8:28, "Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things"
   
6. John 8:58, "Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”"
   
7. John 10:7, "I am the door of the sheep"
   
8. John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd"
   
9. John 10:36, "‘I am the Son of God’"
   
10. John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me"
    
11. John 15:1, "I am the true vine"
    
    

Articles on the "I am" in John:
Catholic Resources
Leader U
Voice of Jesus

Here's the conclusion from the 2nd article: "Now that we have briefly examined both groups of the "I AM" sayings, from a historical, literary, lexical, syntactical, structural and theological approach, we conclude that the "I AM" sayings prove the deity of Jesus the Christ. And that when Jesus uttered these solemn words, He sought to convey the astounding fact of his divine nature--as did the Apostle John when he recorded these life-giving words."

II. John's gospel records 7 miracles:

1. The conversion of water into wine at the Cana wedding, Jn.2:1-11.
   
2. The healing the Nobleman's son, Jn.4:46-54.
   
3. The healing the paralytic man at the pool of Bethesda, Jn.5:1-39.
   
4. The feeding of the 5,000, Jn.6:1-14.
   
5. Walking on the sea, Jn.6:15-21.
   
6. The blind from birth healed at the pool of Siloam, Jn.9:1-41.
   
7. The raising of Lazarus, Jn.11:1-44
   

III. Christ's diety is clearly portrayed in the Gospel: John 1:1-3, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."

IV. Eternal life is so simply stated in John's Gospel. See my earlier post The Certainty of Eternal Life

V. The purpose of the Gospel: John 20:30,31, "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name"

I was not a student of the Scriptures in November 1969, but I read the Gospel of John. One night in my bedroom in Delhi Ohio, I believed on Christ as Savior and Lord. I claimed the simple promise of John 3:16 and was saved.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"