Who is the Father of Lies? John 8:42-47

John 8:42-47 

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Jesus again cites the inexorable connection he has with the Father. Just using the language of "Father" in such a personal way was totally foreign to the Jews of his day. He says that by rejecting him, they are in effect saying God was not their Father. 

"Jesus again made the remarkable claim that He and His Father were and are so close in nature that if one truly lives as if God is their Father, they would also love Jesus. There is no room left for the person who says, “I love God but reject Jesus.” (Guzik)

At this point Jesus is understandably frustrated with them. This is about the third time he has clearly stated these things, and they are still not getting it. Jesus chalks it up to the fact that the devil is deceiving them. Jesus gives explicit teaching about the devil and his desires and strategies. Jesus condemns the devil in the strongest of terms calling him a murderer, a liar, and the father of lies.  

“This verse is one of the most decisive testimonies for the objective personality of the devil. It is quite impossible to suppose an accommodation to Jewish views, or a metaphorical form of speech, in so solemn and direct an assertion as this.” (Alford)

If anyone supposes that the devil is just someone people made up as the personification of evil, they have not read Jesus' words here in a straightforward and logical way. It is a very serious accusation Jesus is making that they in fact, "Belong to the devil"! We see at the heart of the devil's every strategy is lies. We saw it in the garden of Eden when he said Adam and Eve, "Did God really say you could not eat of the tree of the knowledge of God and evil. Surely you will not die!" (Genesis 3:1-4)

Jesus is telling him the truth about who he is and where he came from, but they are denying all of it because they are believing the lies the evil one. One of the most important reasons for you to be in the bible daily is to continue to put into your mind the truth of God's word. The more you know the truth from the scriptures, the easier it will be for you to spot the enemy's lies. 

He concludes by saying that the reason they don't not hear or believe Jesus' words is because they do not belong to him. How we handle God's Word, and specifically the revelation of Jesus in His Word, will show whether we belong to God or not. And, of course, we need not only to hear God's Word but put it into practice.

How do you consistently put God's truth into your mind?  What are the ways that the devil tries to get you to believe in his lies? What is the result of either trusting and acting on the truth or falling for one of the devil's lies? What is the fruit of those decisions in your life? 

Take some time to think about how you handle God's truth through God's Word. Does it clearly show you and those who around you who you belong to?

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