Whoever is of God

John 8:39-47
The Pharisees, claiming to have, first Abraham (vs. 39), then God (vs. 41)- see their confusion/delusion?- as their father, in reality have the devil as their father (vs. 44).  What a stark contrast to their original thinking of their heritage.  Obviously we would believe Jesus knowing he has the truth and sees the unseen, as opposed to believing the Pharisees.  But it is not intentional that they have served the devil, but unintentionally they have served him through their rejection of the truth (vs. 44-45).  Jesus warns them that they will indeed seek after him but will not find him (vs. 21).  Does this not seem to contradict his promise in Matthew 7:7-8?  He promises to those that seek, they will find, the same wording as in Jeremiah 29:13.  He clarifies their error in this passage, alluding to the fact that they seek him, not for truth's sake, but out of their selfish desire, using reason and intellect.  This is why he tells them that where he is going they cannot come (vs. 22), because he is from above and their seeking is from below (vs. 23).  Their pursuit of him is of this world and he is not.  Where he is from and where he is going cannot be ventured to by ways of earthly means, such as reason and comprehension.  Only faith can travel to Jesus' destination (vs. 24).  The proof is their rational approach to his words, stating that he could not possibly be who he says or thinks he is because it does not make sense.  In fact, it is humanly impossible (vs. 52, 57).  And since he does not appeal to their understanding they reject him and his teaching, and in so doing reject the Father (vs. 19, 47, 54-55) and truth itself (vs. 44-45, 55).  And Jesus makes it painfully clear that to reject his teaching, any part of it, is to reject the very truth of God and to begin serving the devil.  It is because Jesus is relating to us God's words, not his own (vs. 38, 40).  The Father has revealed himself in the Son, glorifying himself in the Son (vs. 50).  The Pharisees could not see this glory because they did not believe in Jesus.  Jesus' teaching held no influence in their lives because they believed that they were serving God despite their rejection of his authority and teaching.  So what about us today?  Do we not fall into the same position?  Have we not embraced some of Jesus' teaching and rejected others?  Is this not to deny both Son and Father, yes, even truth itself?  Jesus equated this to offspring of Satan himself.  We must understand that to reject any of Jesus' teaching is to reject God.  We cannot claim to serve God and follow him and "be saved", while ignoring any of Jesus' commands.  We today have fallen into the same trap of rejecting his hard words and tough commands because we cannot bear them.  And we cannot bear them because we neither know him, nor the Father (vs. 43, 47).  We cannot see the glory of the Father in the self-denying teaching of Jesus.  Let us end our pretending and our pretenses and begin to confess that we have accepted from Jesus what we understand, and have rejected from him what we do not (vs. 37).  Let us also confess that to do this is to choose the enemy as our father instead of God.  Let us begin to admit that we are from below and he is from above, and where he is we cannot go, though we may have attempted such an assault.  And let us allow him to impart to us the belief, the faith that will allow us to find him when we seek him, and to truly set us free, that his words and his teaching may find a place in us, because we have a new Father.  And this truth alone, this knowledge alone is truly freeing (vs. 36).