Lesson 35: Favorites of The Almighty; John 1:11

INTRODUCTION: In John 3:16, the Bible says God loves the whole world so much that He sacrificed His only begotten Son on their behalf. This seems to imply that God has no favourites. But the opening section of John 1:11 says that He come unto His OWN… Does that mean that there are some who are not His own? Is God the Father of all? If He has some favourites, how did He choose them? How can I become one of them? These and similar questions will be answered as we continue our study of John 1:11.

Let us start with the question: Who are His own? Who are the Israelites? Who is Israel? Why did God choose the Nation of Israel? Why did God choose Abraham? How can I become a favourite of God?

The children of Israel were originally the special favourites of God – Matt. 10:5-6, Rom. 9:1-5. Others are as dogs to God – Matt. 15:22-27, Rev. 22:15, Phil.3:2-3, Israelites are the descendants of Israel who was formerly Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, Genesis 32:24-28. God chose Abraham because he was:
(a) peace loving – Genesis 13:8,
(b) Self sacrificing, Genesis 13:9-11, John 10:17, John 3:16,
(c) Ready to give his best, his all to God – Hebrew 11:17, John 3:16,
(d) Obedience even if a lot of pain is involved Gen. 17:24, Gen. 12:1-3, Phil.2:8.

CONCLUSION:If we want to become a favourite of God, we should learn from Abraham to be peace loving, self-sacrificing consecrated and obedient, always remembering – Matt.20:16.