VERILY, VERILY GREAT TRUTHS
JOHN 8:51
Introduction:
“Verily, verily” at the beginning of a discourse means “surely, truly,” or “of a truth.” At the end of a discourse it means “so it is, so be it,” or “may it be fulfilled.” It was a custom, which passed over from the synagogues to the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed, or had offered up solemn prayer to God, the others responded “Amen,” and thus made the substance of what was uttered their own.
There are 25 occurrences of the expression “verily, verily,” all in the Gospel of John. The word “verily” is used in other places, but in these 25 verses the word is doubled calling attention to an important thought that the Lord wants to convey to His hearers.
I. REGARDING SALVATION
A. You must be born again, John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
B. How you are born again, John 3:5, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
1. The hearing of the Word of God, John 5:25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”
a. Those dead in sin, Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”
b. Hearing the Word brings faith, Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
2. The believing of God’s Word, John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
a. You have eternal life immediately, John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
b. You shall never come into condemnation, John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
c. You have passed from death to life, 1 John 3:14, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
C. Believing in Jesus Christ, John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”
II. REGARDING SIN
A. “I tell you the Truth (verily, verily) about sin, John 8:34, “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
1. The servant of sin, Romans 6:16, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
2. But thank the Lord you obeyed the truth, Romans 6:17-18, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
B. Sin had made us the enemies of God, but we were reconciled to God by His Son, Romans 5:10, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
1. We have been declared righteous, Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
2. The problem of our justification was resolved by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross, Romans 3:25-26, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
III. REGARDING UNBELIEF
A. You did not believe Me, Jesus said, John 3:11, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.”
B. Nicodemus was religious but had no knowledge of spiritual things, John 3:9-10, “Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?”
1. Paul speaks of his ignorant unbelief, 1 Timothy 1:13. “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”
2. Nicodemus came to know the truth and believed on Jesus Christ and was at the Lord’s burial, John 19:39-40, “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. 40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.”
CONCLUSION:
There is much more regarding the expression “verily, verily” in the book of John. We have only touched on a couple of area of these great truths.