Who Has Truly Believed the Report?

Sep 20

3 min read

What This Teaching Is About

“Who hath believed our report?”

The prophet Isaiah asked this question centuries before Jesus Christ came to the earth. In John 12, we find the question again. Jesus had performed many miracles before the people, yet they still did not believe on Him.

This teaching asks us to consider that same question personally: Do we truly believe the report?

It is possible to hear the Word of God, be familiar with Scripture, witness the works of God, and even profess belief in Jesus while resisting what God has actually said.

This study examines the relationship between believing Christ and believing His Word. It considers what Scripture says about abiding in Christ, receiving the truth, setting our minds upon the things of the Spirit, bearing fruit, yielding to the Holy Spirit, and living according to what we claim to believe.

The question is not simply, “Have I heard what God said?”

The deeper question is, “Do I believe Him?”

What to Expect

This study begins with Isaiah’s question and follows it into the Gospel of John, where Scripture connects Isaiah’s report with the unbelief surrounding Jesus.

From there, we examine what true belief should begin to produce in the life of someone who belongs to Christ.

Throughout the study, we will consider:

the connection between Isaiah 53 and John 12;
Jesus Christ as the Word of God;
the difference between professing belief and actually receiving what God says;
what Jesus means when He tells His disciples to abide in Him;
the relationship between abiding, obedience, and bearing fruit;
why biblical discernment requires attention to God’s Word;
how what we continually give our attention and minds to affects the way we live;
the biblical contrast between the carnal mind and the spiritually minded life;
what Romans 8 teaches about belonging to Christ and having the Spirit of Christ;
what it means to believe what God says about our identity in Christ;
God’s desire for a people who fear Him and keep His commandments; and
the difference between earthly wisdom and the wisdom that comes from above.

Throughout the study, you will also find contextual Scripture reviews, comprehension questions, personal examination, Scripture connections, and journaling exercises to help you consider whether the Word is simply being heard or truly believed and received.

Why This Teaching Is Important

One of the most sobering things about John 12 is that the people were not lacking evidence.

They had seen the works of Jesus.

Yet Scripture says:

“But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.”John 12:37 KJV

That should cause us to examine what we mean when we say, “I believe.”

Biblical belief is not simply acknowledging that Jesus exists. Throughout Scripture, believing God is inseparable from receiving His truth.

Jesus said:

“He that is of God heareth God’s words…”John 8:47 KJV

And in John 15, Jesus describes a life that abides in Him, keeps His words, and bears fruit.

This makes the question deeply personal.

If I say that I believe Jesus, what happens when His Word disagrees with me?

What happens when God’s Word confronts the way I think?

What happens when Scripture challenges an identity I have held onto?

What happens when His truth requires repentance, obedience, surrender, or separation from something I have become comfortable with?

Do I receive what He says?

Or do I continue to make my own thoughts the authority?

The purpose of this study is not simply to ask whether we identify ourselves as believers. It is to examine whether we are receiving, abiding in, and living according to the truth we profess to believe.

Download Lesson PDF:

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/e76189_5c107f9aefbd4b0bb51abe419e45d330/720p/mp4/file.mp4

The question remains: