GLEANINGS — November 10, A.D. 2013                                                                                                               "Father of Lies"

"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (John 8:44)

How dreadful to know that these severe words of the infallible Lord Jesus were spoken directly and specifically to certain of His fellow human beings some two thousand years ago! How dreadful should they be to all who love and practise lying (cf. Revelation 22:15)!

Not only are those words dreadful, but they give us a profound revelation about the origin and nature of falsehood. The devil is the arch liar, and from him all lies trace their lineage. How is this so?

satan, that serpent of old (Revelation 12:9, 20:2) bore false witness of God when he tempted Eve, and Adam with her, to eat of the forbidden fruit. He cast aspersions on God's character and twisted His words, even as many false teachers of today misrepresent God and twist Scripture, God's word, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). The Bible also describes the evil one as the deceiver of the nations of the world (Revelation 20:3,8). Behind false religions are demonic forces; behind widespread false belief systems such as evolutionism we discern the scheming work of the devil.

Therefore, knowing that all men (except Himself), in the person of our representative federal head Adam, fell into sin...into the ways of the lying devil...the Lord Jesus rightly accused those men to whom He spoke of being children of the devil. Under the Holy Spirit's inspiration Paul likewise refers to the unbelieving world as "children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3).

Therefore knowing that satan attacked Jesus in the wilderness with temptation, we should not be surprised that his spiritual children continued that attack by bearing false witness against Jesus:

"Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward." (Matthew 26:59,60)

And likewise they attacked the martyr Stephen: "They also set up false witnesses who said, "This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law..." (Acts 6:13)

Jesus Christ not only bore witness to the truth (John 18:37) but He IS the truth (John 14:6)! Like Stephen, those who are Christ's know the truth...as the apostle John wrote, "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. (1 John 5:19). 

And like faithful Stephen (Acts 6:5) we are to both forsake the deceitful ways of the devil and proclaim truth (cf. his sermon, Acts 7). For as John goes on to write, "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." (1 John 5:20)