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Thru the Bible #38
First John
Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.
164 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
49 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
J. Vernon McGee
484 books67 followersJohn Vernon McGee was born in Hillsboro, Texas, in 1904. Dr. McGee remarked, "When I was born and the doctor gave me the customary whack, my mother said that I let out a yell that could be heard on all four borders of Texas!" His Creator well knew that he would need a powerful voice to deliver a powerful message.
As a student pastor, Dr. McGee's first church was located on a red clay hill in Midway, Georgia. It was there that he received his greatest compliment: "It was from a country boy wearing high buttoned, yellow shoes. After a morning service he came to speak to me. He groped for words, then blurted out, 'I never knew Jesus was so wonderful!' He started to say more but choked up and hurried out of the church. As I watched him stride across the field, I prayed, 'Oh, God, help me to always preach so that it can be said, I never knew Jesus was so wonderful.'"
After completing his education (earning his A.B. from Southwestern University in Memphis, Tennessee; his B.D. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia; his Th.M. and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas), and after pastoring Presbyterian churches in Decatur, GA, Nashville, TN, and Cleburne, TX, he and his wife came west, settling in Pasadena, where he accepted a call to the Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian Church. He recalls this period as the happiest in his life, with a young family and a young congregation whom he loved.
Dr. McGee's greatest pastorate was at the historic, Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles, where he served from 1949 to 1970. There he began a daily radio broadcast called "High Noon Bible Class" on a single station.
Dr. McGee began teaching Thru the Bible in 1967. After retiring from the pastorate, he set up radio headquarters in Pasadena, and the radio ministry expanded rapidly. Today the program airs on over 400 stations each day in the United States and Canada, is heard in more than 100 languages around the world and is broadcast worldwide via the Internet.
As a student pastor, Dr. McGee's first church was located on a red clay hill in Midway, Georgia. It was there that he received his greatest compliment: "It was from a country boy wearing high buttoned, yellow shoes. After a morning service he came to speak to me. He groped for words, then blurted out, 'I never knew Jesus was so wonderful!' He started to say more but choked up and hurried out of the church. As I watched him stride across the field, I prayed, 'Oh, God, help me to always preach so that it can be said, I never knew Jesus was so wonderful.'"
After completing his education (earning his A.B. from Southwestern University in Memphis, Tennessee; his B.D. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia; his Th.M. and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas), and after pastoring Presbyterian churches in Decatur, GA, Nashville, TN, and Cleburne, TX, he and his wife came west, settling in Pasadena, where he accepted a call to the Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian Church. He recalls this period as the happiest in his life, with a young family and a young congregation whom he loved.
Dr. McGee's greatest pastorate was at the historic, Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles, where he served from 1949 to 1970. There he began a daily radio broadcast called "High Noon Bible Class" on a single station.
Dr. McGee began teaching Thru the Bible in 1967. After retiring from the pastorate, he set up radio headquarters in Pasadena, and the radio ministry expanded rapidly. Today the program airs on over 400 stations each day in the United States and Canada, is heard in more than 100 languages around the world and is broadcast worldwide via the Internet.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 17, 2020
First sentence: It is generally assumed that the Gospel of John is easy to understand. Often you hear the cliche, “The Gospel of John is the simple gospel.” And the simplicity of the language has deceived a great many folk.
I am reading the Bible in 2020 using the daily M'Cheyne (Robert Murray M'Cheyne) plan. I thought it would add a layer of substance to in addition to the four chapters a day, to also read commentaries for those chapters. For that I am using Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. But the plan goes through the New Testament (and Psalms, I believe) twice. So now that I've finished Henry's commentary for the New Testament, I am tackling the New Testament commentary section of J. Vernon McGee's series.
This is not my first time reading J. Vernon McGee. I've read probably twenty or so of his commentaries. (Most recently his volume on 1 Corinthians.) I honestly can't recall if I've read his volume on the Gospel of John before.
Overall, I like his laidback, casual, straightforward, tell it like it is approach to teaching Scripture. There is something so grounded and down to earth about him. Each reader is "his" friend. It's hard not to feel like he is a friend too.
One of the things that I love about McGee's commentaries is that he just speaks timeless truths. He almost always leaves me thinking!!! IF I was reading this in a traditional book format, I would probably find myself underlining, putting stars, putting exclamation points, and a couple of AMENS. (With only a few question marks or zahs thrown in.)
Quotes:
We will never grow spiritually by singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” umpteen times at Christmas. John won’t take us to Bethlehem because he wants you and me to grow as believers.
John takes us down the silent corridors of eternity, through the vast emptiness of space, to a beginning that is not a beginning at all. “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1).
The Christian who has come to a knowledge of Christ and faith in Him doesn’t need to have the Virgin Birth gone over again; he already believes that. Therefore, when he comes to the Gospel of John, he finds sheer delight and joy unspeakable as he reads and studies it.
The Gospel of John is for those who already believe. When you come to chapters thirteen through seventeen you can write a sign over it, For Believers Only and you could put under that, All Others Stay Out. I don’t think that section was ever meant for an unbeliever.
Man does not know God; man is in rebellion against God; man is in sin that blinds him to God. In the Lord Jesus Christ there is life, and the life that He gives is the light of men. In fact, His life is the only thing that can kindle light in the heart of an individual. An unregenerate man has no spiritual life within him. This is the reason that when you present to him Jesus Christ, he says, “I don’t get it. I don’t understand that at all.”
A great many people do not seem to recognize that unbelief and atheism go naturally with the natural man.
Obviously atheism precludes the possibility of being Christian, yet unbelief has moved into our seminaries and pulpits across the land. The world does not know Him.
Some people treat the church and the cause of Christ as something so cheap that at times it becomes necessary to sound an alarm.
There are two things that we need to note here. One is that we must be born again. The other is that the Son of Man must be lifted up. They are related. It takes the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ—He must be lifted up. Since He has been lifted up, since He bore our penalty, the Spirit of God can regenerate us. And we must be born again—that is the only way God can receive us.
It doesn’t say that God’s love saved the world, because the love of God could never save a sinner. God does not save by love, friends. God saves by grace! “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).
But God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever (you can write your name in here and I can write mine) believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Notice that with the word believe is the little preposition in which means to believe in Christ. That is, we trust Him as the One who bore the penalty for our sins. This is a personal thing. We must each believe that He died in our place and in our stead. My friend, you must believe that He died for you.
The world is lost. You and I live in a lost world, and we’ll not wait until the final judgment to see that we are lost. Our position is something like a man who is in prison being asked whether or not he will accept a pardon. That is the gospel. It is not telling a man that he is on trial. He is already condemned. He is already in prison waiting for execution. But the gospel tells him a pardon is offered to him.
You can influence someone that no preacher can reach. In fact, nobody else can reach that individual but you. You have that influence over that individual. Be very sure that you bring him face to face with Christ.
Although I don’t find Him on every page, I believe He is on every page of the Pentateuch. He says, “Moses … wrote of me.” I think He is on every page of the Bible.
Friend, the mission of Jesus was not to restore our physical bodies. He wants to be Lord of our hearts.
Man has always felt that if he could just work at it, he could be saved. Man feels thoroughly capable of working out his own salvation. He feels competent to do it, and he feels that God must accept his works.
There is a theological argument that rages today on election or free will. There are some people who put all their eggs in the basket of election. There are others who put all their eggs in the basket of free will. I’m not proposing to reconcile the two because I have discovered that I cannot.
Election and free will are both in this verse. “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me” states a truth, and that is election. But wait a minute! “And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” is also true, and “him that cometh to me” is free will. I don’t know how to reconcile them, but they are both true.
The Father gives men to Christ, but men have to come. And the ones that come are the ones, apparently, whom the Father gives to Him. You and I are down here, and we don’t see into the machinery of heaven.
We have the right to be the judge of others provided we meet the requirement. That requirement is sinlessness. May I say to you, my friend, I don’t know about you, but that takes me out of the stone-throwing business.
One is not lost because he is a murderer, or a liar, or a thief, or an adulterer, or because he has borne false witness or committed other sins. A person does these things because he is lost and does not believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ forgives sins. He is the Savior. He died for the sins of the whole world. Any person who comes to the Lord Jesus Christ is forgiven.
The truth shall make you free. The truth is that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He is the Truth. First we come to Him as our Savior. Then as we go on with Him, we know by experience that we are free. We are free from the penalty of sin—we don’t need to lie awake at night worrying about going to hell. He doesn’t even ask us to live the Christian life. He asks us to trust Him and let Him live His life through us. When we yield to Him, we are free.
It is our responsibility to get out the Word of God, and there our responsibility ends. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to open the heart of the listener and cause him to obey the Word. We should present the Light of the World to people, but the Holy Spirit must open the eyes.
It may be true that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but after a man is sick, it’s pretty important to get that pound of cure for him.
God has created you and me for His glory. He did not create us that we might try to be a somebody down here. He created us for His glory. If we miss that, we miss the entire purpose of our creation.
Unless the Son of God, by means of the Holy Spirit, opens our eyes so that we can see spiritual things, we will remain blind as bats.
May 21, 2014
Bible commentary on the Gospel of John by McGee. It was good. Looking forward to the second volume. You are his sheep if you hear his voice.
May 17, 2022
Vernon McGee‘s books are his radio broadcast messages of the Through the Bible radio show. These messages were transcribed into books for the listeners and then for readers. They should not be considered a commentary on the entire Bible in any sense of that term. These messages are devoid of any attempt to present a theological or technical commentary on the Bible- ( from intro of the book) with that said, I thoroughly enjoy these messages!
The gospel of John is generally thought of as the easy to understand or the simple gospel. Mr. McGee says do not be fooled although simplistic in words is complex and thought. He states that the gospel of John is for those who already believe. The gospel of John gives more about the resurrection of Christ then any of the other gospel writers.
A nontechnical semi commentary on the Gospel of John- The Gospels Matthew and John are my two favorite gospels to read- Vernon is concise and insightful in explaining some of the complex, deeper verses, parables, miracles- his writing is like a teaching sermon. He gives you the cultural background, and what was going on politically, economically, during that period of time-
December 7, 2020
First sentence:
I am reading the Bible in 2020 using the daily M'Cheyne (Robert Murray M'Cheyne) plan. I thought it would add a layer of substance to in addition to the four chapters a day, to also read commentaries for those chapters. For that I am using Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. But the plan goes through the New Testament (and Psalms, I believe) twice. So now that I've finished Henry's commentary for the New Testament, I am tackling the New Testament commentary section of J. Vernon McGee's series.
This is not my first time reading J. Vernon McGee. I've read probably thirty or so of his commentaries. Most recently 2 Peter.
I really am LOVING McGee. This has been the best idea--to correspond my Bible reading with commentary reading.
Quotes:
Some expositors consider the epistles of John to be the final books written in the Bible. Certainly John’s epistles are the last which he wrote.
Persecution was not the enemy of Christianity. The danger to the Ephesian church was not persecution from the outside but seduction from the inside.
Christianity was not in danger of being destroyed; it was in danger of being changed. The attempt was being made to improve it, give it intellectual respectability, and let it speak in the terms of the popular philosophy.
“In the beginning was the Word” means that you can go back in the past as far as you want to, put down your peg anywhere, and Christ comes out of eternity to meet you. That is big stuff; it is bigger than my little mind can comprehend.
“The eternal life that John is talking about is none other than Jesus Christ. If you want a definition, eternal life is a Person, and that Person is Christ. It is so simple that even you can grasp it. You either have Christ, or you don’t have Christ. You either trust Christ, or you don’t trust Christ. If you do trust Christ, you have eternal life. If you don’t trust Christ, you don’t have eternal life. Now, since that’s eternal life, do you have eternal life?”
If you want to know the truth, I am totally depraved. Without the grace of God for salvation, I would be nothing in the world but a creature in rebellion against God, with no good within me at all. God has made it very clear that He finds no good within man.
My friend, whom do you think you deceive when you say that you have no sin? You deceive yourself, and you are the only person whom you do deceive. You don’t deceive God. You don’t deceive your neighbors . You don’t deceive your friends. But you sure do deceive yourself.
After we confess our sins, what does God do? He cleanses us. In the parable, the Prodigal Son came home from the far country smelling like a pigpen. You don’t think the father would have put a new robe on that ragged, dirty boy, smelling like that, do you? No, he gave him a good bath. The Roman world majored in cleanliness, and I am confident that the boy was bathed before that new robe was put on him. The next week he didn’t say, “ Dad, I think I will be going to the far country and end up in the pigpen again. ” Not that boy.
Sin is a terrible thing. God hates it and now you hate it. But confession restores you to your Father.
We cannot add anything to a finished work. What Christ has done is all we need for salvation.
Well, commandments are the Word of God, but the Word of God is not all commandments. It is more than that. I hope you see the distinction. There are commandments in the Word of God, but the Word of God is not only, commandments. The Word is the expression of the will of God, either by commandment or otherwise. In the Word of God you have His complete revelation to us about His will for our lives.
The written Word reveals the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is the Bread of Life and the Water of Life. We will famish if we don’t feed upon Him.
If you are going to be able to defend yourself against the Devil, you will have to have a good knowledge of the Word of God. The reason so many believers are succumbing to the sins of the world is that they are not studying the Word of God. You eat three times a day — you need physical food to be strong — and, believe me, you need spiritual food to be strong also.
God’s child must hate sin. This light view of sin which we have today is simply something that is not quite scriptural. I am afraid that there are many church members who are just taking it for granted that they are children of God because they are as active as termites in the church — and they have just about the same effect as termites.
All I have ever emphasized in my ministry is the Word of God. I just have one tune that I play — I just have one message that I give. I hope it doesn’t get too monotonous but, my friend, the Word of God is the only thing which can clean up your life even as a believer , and it is the only thing which will keep it clean. This is something very important to know.
I am reading the Bible in 2020 using the daily M'Cheyne (Robert Murray M'Cheyne) plan. I thought it would add a layer of substance to in addition to the four chapters a day, to also read commentaries for those chapters. For that I am using Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. But the plan goes through the New Testament (and Psalms, I believe) twice. So now that I've finished Henry's commentary for the New Testament, I am tackling the New Testament commentary section of J. Vernon McGee's series.
This is not my first time reading J. Vernon McGee. I've read probably thirty or so of his commentaries. Most recently 2 Peter.
I really am LOVING McGee. This has been the best idea--to correspond my Bible reading with commentary reading.
Quotes:
Some expositors consider the epistles of John to be the final books written in the Bible. Certainly John’s epistles are the last which he wrote.
Persecution was not the enemy of Christianity. The danger to the Ephesian church was not persecution from the outside but seduction from the inside.
Christianity was not in danger of being destroyed; it was in danger of being changed. The attempt was being made to improve it, give it intellectual respectability, and let it speak in the terms of the popular philosophy.
“In the beginning was the Word” means that you can go back in the past as far as you want to, put down your peg anywhere, and Christ comes out of eternity to meet you. That is big stuff; it is bigger than my little mind can comprehend.
“The eternal life that John is talking about is none other than Jesus Christ. If you want a definition, eternal life is a Person, and that Person is Christ. It is so simple that even you can grasp it. You either have Christ, or you don’t have Christ. You either trust Christ, or you don’t trust Christ. If you do trust Christ, you have eternal life. If you don’t trust Christ, you don’t have eternal life. Now, since that’s eternal life, do you have eternal life?”
If you want to know the truth, I am totally depraved. Without the grace of God for salvation, I would be nothing in the world but a creature in rebellion against God, with no good within me at all. God has made it very clear that He finds no good within man.
My friend, whom do you think you deceive when you say that you have no sin? You deceive yourself, and you are the only person whom you do deceive. You don’t deceive God. You don’t deceive your neighbors . You don’t deceive your friends. But you sure do deceive yourself.
After we confess our sins, what does God do? He cleanses us. In the parable, the Prodigal Son came home from the far country smelling like a pigpen. You don’t think the father would have put a new robe on that ragged, dirty boy, smelling like that, do you? No, he gave him a good bath. The Roman world majored in cleanliness, and I am confident that the boy was bathed before that new robe was put on him. The next week he didn’t say, “ Dad, I think I will be going to the far country and end up in the pigpen again. ” Not that boy.
Sin is a terrible thing. God hates it and now you hate it. But confession restores you to your Father.
We cannot add anything to a finished work. What Christ has done is all we need for salvation.
Well, commandments are the Word of God, but the Word of God is not all commandments. It is more than that. I hope you see the distinction. There are commandments in the Word of God, but the Word of God is not only, commandments. The Word is the expression of the will of God, either by commandment or otherwise. In the Word of God you have His complete revelation to us about His will for our lives.
The written Word reveals the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is the Bread of Life and the Water of Life. We will famish if we don’t feed upon Him.
If you are going to be able to defend yourself against the Devil, you will have to have a good knowledge of the Word of God. The reason so many believers are succumbing to the sins of the world is that they are not studying the Word of God. You eat three times a day — you need physical food to be strong — and, believe me, you need spiritual food to be strong also.
God’s child must hate sin. This light view of sin which we have today is simply something that is not quite scriptural. I am afraid that there are many church members who are just taking it for granted that they are children of God because they are as active as termites in the church — and they have just about the same effect as termites.
All I have ever emphasized in my ministry is the Word of God. I just have one tune that I play — I just have one message that I give. I hope it doesn’t get too monotonous but, my friend, the Word of God is the only thing which can clean up your life even as a believer , and it is the only thing which will keep it clean. This is something very important to know.
June 6, 2015
Another good commentary by McGee. His approach is simple and direct, which I like. I like him more since I know Hico, Texas, is his home town. No wonder he's so folksy in many of his illustrations.
One of my favorite breakdown of Bible books was:
Romans - how we come out of the house of bondage
Ephesians - how we enter the banqueting house
Hebrews - how we approach the throne of grace
I John - how we approach the divine presence
"I believe in the security of believers, But I also believe in the insecurity of make-believers."
"...great influence upon the turn which I took in the ministry to become an expository preacher rather than to get up and give little sermonettes to Christianettes as a preacherette."
"There is an offense of the cross, but we ought also not to magnify the offense by making ourselves objectinable and obnoxious."
"For some reason, God's people have always been credulous and gullible. There are many believers who fall victim to what Dr. A. T. Robertson called 'the latest fads and spiritualistic humbuggery.'"
"At the age of 20, we do not care what the world thinks of us. At 30 we worry about what the world thinks of us. At 40 we discern that it wasn't thinking of us at all."
"I have watched how God has dealt with troublemakers in the church. I've not only seen Him remove them by death, but I've also seen Him set them aside so that they were of no more use in the service of God at all."
One of my favorite breakdown of Bible books was:
Romans - how we come out of the house of bondage
Ephesians - how we enter the banqueting house
Hebrews - how we approach the throne of grace
I John - how we approach the divine presence
"I believe in the security of believers, But I also believe in the insecurity of make-believers."
"...great influence upon the turn which I took in the ministry to become an expository preacher rather than to get up and give little sermonettes to Christianettes as a preacherette."
"There is an offense of the cross, but we ought also not to magnify the offense by making ourselves objectinable and obnoxious."
"For some reason, God's people have always been credulous and gullible. There are many believers who fall victim to what Dr. A. T. Robertson called 'the latest fads and spiritualistic humbuggery.'"
"At the age of 20, we do not care what the world thinks of us. At 30 we worry about what the world thinks of us. At 40 we discern that it wasn't thinking of us at all."
"I have watched how God has dealt with troublemakers in the church. I've not only seen Him remove them by death, but I've also seen Him set them aside so that they were of no more use in the service of God at all."
June 25, 2014
McGee is very easy to read and very accurately presents a concise interpretation off each passage. This is a great resource for those just starting out with commentaries for bible study. He gives easily digestible illustrations and keeps it very simple. If he chases a rabbit it is always relevant even if a touch preachy. A very sound source which is useful to the beginning student and the master scholar.
June 21, 2014
Basically I would give this book 3.5 stars- good, sound book but not exceptional- not even as good as some of McGee's others [but in saying that let me say a 3.5 on McGee is better than most authors on the same subject].
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews