The Grands Letter (Jn/GLJ)
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D. on January 12, 2020 6:50 pm (CST)Dear Grands,
John 1:6-8, “There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.”
Names are primarily the designations of specific people. “George, come here immediately!” If there is but
one “George” in your family, you know immediately who is intended by that solicitation. If you were calling a
“George” in my family, I can count six “Georges”: George William, George Wayne, George Wallace, George Henry,
George C., and just plain George. Which George do you want?
It’s somewhat the same with the “Johns” in the Bible. We have John Mark, John the brother of James (i.e., the Apostle), and John the Baptist. John Mark went by Mark, thus we have only two Johns, if we think of John Mark
simply as “Mark.” John the brother of James (i.e., the Apostle John) is the author of the Gospel of John, as well
as 1ST, 2ND, 3RD John, and the Revelation.
John the Baptist has no direct, relational affiliation as what we know today as the Baptist Church. Literally, he
should be known as “John, the baptizing one.” He was, however, a first cousin of our LORD Jesus Christ, and
was divinely selected to be Jesus’ forerunner. Think of it like this: the Vice President of the United States generally
speaks first and introduces the President. John the Baptist came on the scene first to introduce the LORD Jesus
Christ to everyone. He came as a preliminary witness to the Light in order that all might believe through him.
It is not the calling of any believer to be the primary witness of the LORD Jesus; yet, it is the calling of every true
believer to witness to others of that same LORD! And we are to bear witness to Him through our dedicated lives
that all (that is, everyone!) might believe upon Him as their Savior and LORD. I’ve led some people to faith in
Jesus, who said of me, “He saved me!” No, I never saved anyone. But, I have had the privilege of sharing my
faith with some who then came to know Him!
If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, you have this responsibility, too. We are not “saviors,” but we are
to be witnesses. We are not responsible for whether others accept Him, but we are responsible whether we tell them how! Tell someone this week! You’ll be amazed at how good you feel just knowing that you have obeyed the King of Kings and LORD of Lords! God bless you!
Heartily in Christ Jesus,
(Dado III)
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America
“We never know that God is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”