John 12:49-50 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.… I. HIS PROFOUND HUMILITY. "I have not spoken of Myself." As if He had said, I take no credit for the thoughts that I have addressed to men: they are not the flashes of my own genius, or the conclusions of my own reason. I am not their fountain but their channel. A teacher is great and divine just in proportion to his humility. Alas! the vanity of preachers has become proverbial. II. HIS CONSCIOUS DIVINITY. "But the Father which sent Me," etc. No man is a true spiritual teacher who is not conscious that the thoughts he utters are not his own but God's. (D. Thomas, D. D.). Parallel Verses KJV: For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. |
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