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Word
of Encouragement
Vol.
V, Issues 1-7 are the continuing study from Vol. IV:
‘God’s
Covenant House: A Sketch of God’s Construction Project’
Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 8
My Way, or His Way?
Philippians 2:1-11
"I did it
my way," sang the incomparable crooner Frank Sinatra. Sinatra's
song is an anthem for all people who desire to put themselves first
above everyone else, to make a name for themselves and to seek their own
will. "My Way" is an anthem for those who do
whatever they wish, whenever they wish, to whomever they wish, and desire
to do it their way. If there is one thing we all notice in our lives
with children. You may have to teach a child to sit up straight in
their chair or to learn their ABCs, but you never have to teach a child how
to put themselves first and to desire their own way above all others!
Jesus says that
the first will be last, and the last will be first (Matt. 20:16). One of the hardest things for us to do is to put others
first, ahead of ourselves. We desire so much to do it our way, that
we do not often thing about "HIS WAY". However, the Apostle
Paul teaches us in Philippians 2 concerning "HIS WAY", and that
the reason why we are to strive against our own selfishness and desires is
because Christ Jesus, the Eternally Begotten Son of God, did not consider
it "beneath himself" to take upon human flesh to come down to us
in order to reveal the Father's love to mankind (v. 6).
Paul says that
Christ Jesus was not like the first Adam who "grasped" or
reached out for the pleasing fruit that supposedly would make him wise and
equal with God (even though he was made in God's likeness). Our Lord
Jesus was content with making himself nothing, by putting
on Adam's human nature so that he might represent his people as
the Great Servant of God. Because of His perfect obedience to His
Father, God raised him up from being a mere servant, and seated him as King
at his right hand and gave to him the Name that is above every name!
Philippians 2:1-11 So if there is any encouragement
in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any
affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same
mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do
nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more
significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to
his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have
this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in
the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7
but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in
the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
The Apostle Paul says that in light of the example
of service and humility set by Jesus, and the fact that we have been united
to Jesus Christ by faith, we are to practice unity, love, and being of one
mind in Christ (v. 2). We are to avoid as God's people rivalry and conceit
(which feed off one another), but to strive by His grace to be humble, and
to count others more significant than ourselves (v. 3). Paul then
goes on to say that we are to look out first for the interests of others
(v. 4). But how? We are so focused upon ourselves, and doing it
our way!
Ever since man fell in his heart because of the
temptation of the serpent and desired to be "like God", in the
sense of being equal with God, man has not been satisfied with being a
creature of the Creator. Rather, man has sought to build his own
kingdom and make a name for himself rather than calling upon the name of
His Creator. Many years ago, Cain after he had killed his brother
Abel for worshipping God in Spirit and truth, sought to establish his
rights and his name upon this earth. Long before Frank Sinatra, Cain
did it "My Way" rather than God's way. In fact, when he had
a son, he built a city and decided to name it Enoch, the name of his
son.
Genesis 4:17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore
Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name
of his son, Enoch.
The teaching here is that man from the beginning has
wanted to leave a legacy and to set up the Kingdom of Man, or City of Man
based upon man's achievements rather than by God's grace (Genesis 4).
In contrast, Seth a child of the promise (Gen. 3:15; 12:1-3; Gal. 3:16-29)
has a son named Enosh and at this time men begin to call upon the Name of
the LORD (Gen. 4:26) That is, the Kingdom of God (or City of God)
will be built alongside the City of Man. All through
Redemptive-History there are those who desire to make a name for
themselves, to be famous, to be equal with God, and there are those who
humbly submit to the LORD their Creator as the true creature they are, call
upon his name, and receive the salvation that only he can provide!
Later at the Tower of Babel, man
again begins to make a name for himself. This time the creature
decides by his ingenuity and technological prowess, that he will storm the
gates of God's heaven!
Genesis 11:4 Then they said, "Come, let us build
ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a
name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole
earth."
God comes down
and disperses the languages and sends the proud men to different places
upon the earth. From these examples from Scripture, we see that since
the fall of man, man the creature has had a strong longing not to be merely
"like God", that is, made in God's image (Gen. 1:26-28), but
man's folly has been the desire to be "LIKE GOD", that is, equal
with him.
In Philippians
2, the Apostle Paul teaches Christ's people that Christ came down to reveal
God to us and that he made himself a servant so that he might die on behalf
of the creature's hubris (v. 8)! On the Day of Pentecost, Christ sent
the Spirit of God to unite his people as one and to begin to work in them
that which was good and pleasing according to God's will (Phil.
2:13). The Spirit of God helps the people of God to put others
first. He helps us in our weakness to begin to understand literally
that the way up, is truly down and that if we want to be great, we must
"descend into greatness" focusing other men's attention on Jesus
Christ!
We're called to
be servants of the Living God by His grace! In Christ, God teaches
his people that we can truly be "Like him" but that it will be a
transformation of who we are through the work of the Holy Spirit, so that
we will be like Jesus! God teaches his people that placing others
first and considering others more significant can be a challenge for fallen
creatures, but that by God's grace and the help of His Spirit he is
committed to our change; He is committed to making us servants who walk
together in love and unity.
It is interesting
that in Jesus' descent to the earth in order to save a people, he was given
a great Name. He was given the Name above every name and all of the
creaturely men, who in their pride tried to make a name for themselves,
will not have their own names written in the Book of Life, Christ will not
know them, and they will submit and confess to their LORD and CREATOR that
He is LORD...but it will be too late. Now is the time to submit to
our Lord Jesus by faith, calling upon the only Name under heaven given so
that men might be saved (Acts 4:12)! It is really
about "HIS WAY", and his way is through service to one another,
as we consider one another more significant and important than ourselves!
Word of
Encouragement
Quote of the Week
This week's quotation is from John Owen. Owen was
a faithful pastor and theologian who lived in the 17th century in England
(1616-83). He was a prolific writer and a master theologian of God's
grace. His complete works are available as a sixteen volume
set. The two volumes to begin with if you are interested
in reading Owen (and you should be!!) are 'Sin and Temptation'
(Vol. 6), 'The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (Vol. 10).
Below is a quotation from John Owen's excellent volume
entitled 'Meditations on the Glory of Christ'. Owen died as this book
was being printed. As Owen believed and has taught many Christians
after him:
"A continual view of the glory of Christ
will have the blessed effect of changing us more and more into the likeness
of Christ. Perhaps other ways and means have failed to make us
Christ-like. Let us put this way to the test."
John Owen
"Let us now consider the love of the Son, which is
full of compassion. Although sinful creatures, we were capable of
being recovered. God chose us as a way to express his divine goodness
and love. Christ took our flesh and blood, not the nature of angels
(Heb. 2:14-18).
He looked forward with great delight to the salvation of mankind which
would bring such glory to God.
His willingness and delight in taking human nature were
not lessened by the knowledge of the great difficulties he would have
to face. In order to save us, he would have to continue until his
soul was sorrowful to death. But this did not deter him. His
love and mercy rose like the waters of a mighty stream, for he says:
'Behold, I come; I delight to do your will, O my God' (Psa. 40:7, 8).
So a body was prepared for him, to give effect to the immeasurable grace
and fervent love he had for mankind.
Now when we think of the glorious love of Christ, we
find there is in his divine nature the love of God the Father. But
there is more, because when he exercised his love he was human also.
The love in the two natures is quite distinct and yet comes from the one
person, Christ Jesus. It was an act of inexpressible love when he
took our human nature, but it was an act of his divine nature only.
His death was only an act of his human nature. But both were truly
his acts, as we read in 1 John 3:16: 'By this we know love, because he laid
down his life for us.'
I would urge you to prepare your minds continually for
heavenly things by meditating seriously on the glory of the love of
Christ. This cannot be done if the mind is always full of earthly
thoughts. Do not be satisfied with general thoughts of the love of
Christ but think of it in a more detailed way."
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Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 9
Dead or Alive?
When each of us are born, we are born in
Adam. We live in Adam
and are alive to our sinful flesh in
Adam (Rom. 5:12-21).
When we believe, we are united to the LORD Jesus Christ. We are
born again by faith in Christ. Then, we live in Christ and are alive to our
Lord in Christ so that
we might obediently respond to him in gratitude. In fact, when we
are united to Jesus Christ by faith we have truly passed from
death to life. As Jesus teaches in John 5:24:
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears
my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come
into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
How do we
define death? How do we define darkness? Both death and
darkness are the absence of something. In order for either of
these to exist, something vital must be absent. In the case
of death, there is no life; there is an absence of life. In the
case of darkness, there is no light; there is an absence of
light. Jesus has come as our Lord and in him is life and that life was the light of men (John
1:4). Jesus comes to restore the true life that was lost by the
fall of man into sin. By His Spirit, Jesus unites us with himself
because He is Life (John 7:37-39). If we do
not have Christ, our lives are without life and light. We are
dead! Christ's absence in a person's life is already a judgment
upon them as created beings, unless by God's grace they are raised to
new life, united to Jesus, and become part of the new creation (2 Cor.
5:17).
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Jesus came to unite his people to himself and to give
them life, and life more abundantly. In this union with Christ we receive
life from Jesus and we are enabled to die to our sins. As Paul
teaches Christ’s people in Romans 6:3-5: “…Don’t
you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
into his death? We were therefore
buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ
was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may
live a new life. If we have
been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly
also be united with him in his resurrection.”
In the Christian life we desire to grow in
Christ-likeness. One of the
helps for our growth process is to seek to better understand
Paul’s teaching of the reality of our being united to Jesus Christ
in his death and in his resurrection (and even ascension!). Christ lived a perfect life on our
behalf, he died for our sins, he was raised to life in his resurrection,
and he was exalted to God’s right hand in his ascension. What we should continually stress
as Christ’s people is that we have been united to Jesus
Christ by His Spirit so that all that Jesus did in his life, death,
resurrection and ascension is communicated to His people by faith.
Notice how Paul speaks in Ephesians chapter 2 concerning of our
resurrection from death to life:
Ephesians 2:1 And you did he make alive, when
ye were dead through your trespasses and sins...we also all once lived in
the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest: -- 4 but
God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5
even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), 6 and
raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places,
in Christ Jesus: 7 that in the ages to come he might show the
exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus
Meditate upon those verses from Ephesians. How
do you see yourself? Are you the living
dead, or the dead living ?
That's a very important question to answer! As we understand who we
are in Jesus Christ, so we realize that we have died with him and
have been raised to new life in
him. As we meditate
upon this great union with Jesus Christ, we are given strength and enabled
to die to our flesh, resisting its direction and domination, and
realizing that Christ has freed us, united us to him, and given us the
liberty to live our lives for him as his people. The Apostle Paul
says in Galatians 5:1 that it is for freedom that Christ has
redeemed us!
Christ has united us to himself so that we are a part
of him, and all that he has accomplished for the Father on our behalf has
been given to us! All that he has accomplished for us is also
communicated to us as a means of grace to encourage his people in their
perseverance in this life. The means that Christ uses are His Word,
the Sacraments, prayer and fellowship (cf. Acts 2:41-47).
What is the greatest gift that the Father could give
to you? What is it that if you
had, you think you could successfully live for Christ, living a life of
repentance and turning daily to God the Father for direction? You have all that you need as
Christ’s people! You
have been united really and
spiritually to the Living Christ, the One Who is King over the
Heavens and the Earth! You have
been raised from the dead, united to Jesus Christ, seated with him in the
heavenlies in order that we might walk as a people who have life in him!
Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
afore prepared that we should walk in them." Believe this good
news and respond in grateful obedience to your Living Savior for what he
has done for you! As Revelation 20:6 says, if we are united to Jesus
we have already participated in the first resurrection and we reign with
Christ...NOW!
Revelation 20:6- "Blessed and holy is he
that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death
hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall
reign with him..."
Knowing we are resurrected now and seated with Christ
now, causes us to better know who we are as Christ's people and to
greatly anticipate the time when Jesus will return and fully resurrect us
in our glorified bodies (Rom. 8:18-25).
Are you the living
dead, or the dead living ?
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Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 10
The Apostle Paul's Prayer of Power
The prayers of the Apostle Paul teach us a
lot of truth about who we are in Jesus Christ. After Paul
speaks in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3-14 concerning the great
Trinitarian work of God in our salvation, he begins to pray
specifically for the Ephesian Christians that their knowledge of
Christ might be a powerful life-changing knowledge of God's
truth. Pastor John Owen once said that he desired above all
things not merely to know the truth of God's Word, but truly to know the power of the truth
of God's Word. This should be the same for all
of Christ's people.
In Ephesians 1, Paul begins his
prayers based upon the truth of how God has called a people to
himself and the deep and precious truth of how he saved us all.
In fact, Paul ends his theological praise in verses 3-14 with the
profound truth that believers are sealed with the promised Holy
Spirit. We have a portion of the Spirit now and know Christ,
but we await our full inheritance, so in the meantime, Paul prays for
the Christians so that they will know Christ -- better! That
is, he prays that Christians may know not merely the truth of Christ,
but the power of this truth in their lives.
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Ephesians 1:13-23 13 In [Christ]
you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy
Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we
acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
15 For
this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your
love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks
for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of
wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having
the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope
to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable
greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working
of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he
raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the
heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and
power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this
age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things
under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
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Notice a few important things about Paul's prayer here
in Ephesians 1. First of all, he "never ceases to give thanks
and remember the congregation in his prayers". Paul put into
practice what he preached. He prayed unceasingly for
others! Oftentimes we find only the time to pray for ourselves (if
we find the time to pray at all). Secondly, he prays specifically
for the Christians to grow in particular ways. He doesn't merely
say: "Lord, bless the Ephesians", or "Lord, be with the
Ephesians", or other famous generic prayers for others.
Rather, the Apostle Paul prays specifically that
the same Father of glory who has graciously saved them will
give the believers a spirit of wisdom and revelation in their
knowledge of Christ (v. 17). That is, Paul wants the
Christians to know how God saved them (vv. 3-14), but also how God is saving them, or presently and
powerfully making them more like Christ as he gives to them all they need
for life and godliness.
Thirdly, Paul wants the Christians to know their hope
to which he has called them (v. 18a), the immeasurable greatness of his
resurrection power in us who believe (vv. 19-20), and the power of Christ
in their lives as the Head of the Body, the Church for whom he died (vv.
20-22). There is a good weakness and a bad weakness. A good
weakness is the kind Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 12, where through
this weakness that God has brought into our lives, we know we can still
say "though I am weak, yet I am strong". In this good
weakness, we know that it is through our weakness that God's strength is
perfected.
However, the bad weakness that we have as Christians
is to fail to know who we are in Christ. That is, it is weakness of
a lack of true understanding of the power we have because of the Spirit
of God who indwells us. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead,
dwells within us! (vv. 19-20). Christ has been raised above all
authority defeating all of our our enemies sin, hell, and the
Devil! When Christ sat down at God's right hand he sent to us His
Spirit to be with us and to transform us all.
Paul wants the Ephesian Christians and Christians
today, to know the immeasurable greatness of God's power to us who
believe (v. 19). Because of the victory of Christ over sin, hell
and the Devil in his resurrection and ascension, we have the same victory.
The power of Christ is given to us and we respond by faith and gratitude
in the daily dying to sin, wrestling against the sinful tendencies that
constantly want to throw us off our walk with Christ, and knowing that we
have the ability truly to resist and to stand firm in the victory of
Christ over sin and the Devil (notice Paul's development of this in
chapters Ephesians 4-6, when he speaks of "walking in the
Spirit", "keeping in step with the Spirit", "putting
on our new man", "resisting the Devil", and "standing
firm in the full armor of God".
As Christians, we should pray for one another.
Additionally, we should pray
specifically for each other. Even when we do not know
other's specific prayer requests, we do know that we all struggle with
"bad weakness" and so we all need truly to know the power
of God's truth in our lives. Also, we should pray this prayer of
Paul for ourselves so that we might really know the power of God's
Word, the power of what it means for us to be raised from death to life in
Christ.
Our greatest enemies, sin, death and the Devil have
been defeated. In fact, Christ has led these in a triumphant
procession, publicly showing to all the world that his resurrection and
ascension has placed him high above all authority, power and dominion,
not only in this age, but also in the age to come (vv. 21-22; cf.
4:8-10). Because we are Christ's people, we can be assured that we
have been raised from the dead (John 5:24) and that we have a great
power of resisting sin and the influences of the Devil that lead us all
to death.
We are seated with Christ in a truly victorious
position (Eph. 2:5-6)! We have been seated with Christ in the
heavenly places and although we do not fully see our inheritance, we have
a great hope as we all await patiently and expectantly the return of our
glorious Savior!
As Christians, we have so much to be thankful
for! God's immeasurably great power should be exerted toward us who
are sinners, deserving only of God's wrath! Yet because Jesus
Christ took the powerful blows of God's wrath because of our sin, in
order to defeat death and the Devil, and to offer a satisfaction to God
for our sins; because of this grace shown to us while we were yet
sinners, God's power is given as a blessing to help us, to raise us to
life, and by His Holy Spirit he powerfully lives within us so that we can
resist sin NOW, and gratefully and obediently live for Christ! This
truth should lead us from a "bad weakness" of falling into
sinful patterns to a "good weakness" of humility, awe and
reverence because our God, who is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28), has come
to dwell within us who are united to Jesus Christ!
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Word of
Encouragement
Quote (s) of the Week
This week's quotations are from Cyprian and Pastor
William Perkins. Cyprian was a Latin church father who converted
from paganism a little more than 12 years before he was martyred for his
faith in Jesus in AD 258. He has had a great deal of influence in
what was a very short ministry. Perkins was a Puritan preacher
and pastor at Cambridge in England,
who died in 1602.
In these quotations, both men are
encouraging us to have abundant hope concerning the Day of
Christ's return. Cyprian teaches us to "meditate on the
future life" as Calvin put it so well, and Perkins encourages all
people in this world to give heed to the fact that Jesus said: "I come
shortly." As the people of God, are we watching soberly and
alertly for Christ's return? Do you anticipate it? Our constant
struggles with our sins can cause us to cling all the more tighter to
Christ's forgiveness and awaken our our desires to hope passionately
for the Day when we can permanently put off our flesh and be like him- -
fully redeemed! These struggles with sin and difficult frustrations
in our life help us to be homesick for our true home!
In the day-to-day, never ending blinding blitz
of lightning-fast bandwidth, bustle, busyness and buzz, do not
allow yourself to forget to be hopeful of heaven. Meditate on the
future life. Take time to think about heaven and your future
home. Think on your Savior and the reality that he is awaiting you.
Cyprian of Carthage
"Let us consider, beloved brethren, that we have
renounced the world, and are passing our time here as strangers and
pilgrims. We embrace the day which assigns each to his home, which
restores Paradise and a
kingdom, us who have been plucked from the world and set free from worldly
snares. Who would not hasten home? Paradise we
count our fatherland, and the patriarchs our fathers (Heb. 11). Why
should we not hasten homewards to salute our parents?
There the mighty multitude of dear ones await us- -the
crowd of parents, brothers, sons, longs for us, already secure of their own
safety.... How great the joy to us and to them, of beholding and
embracing each other! What the blessedness of these celestial realms;
without fear of death, and possessed of an eternity of life, how supreme
and abiding the joy and felicity!
There the glorious choir of apostles; there the crowd of
exulting prophets; there the innumerable throng of martyrs crowned because
of victory in conflict and suffering; the compassionate rewarded, who,
obeying their Lord's command, transferred their earthly inheritance to a
heavenly treasure-house. To these, brethren most beloved, with eager
desire let us hasten, longing to be speedily with them and with
Christ. These our desires and purposes, let our God, and our Lord
Christ, behold, who will give the larger reward of His glory to those who
after Him have had larger desires for it."
William Perkins
"The daily persuasion of the speedy coming of
Christ is of notable use; for, first, it will daunt the most desperate
wretch that is, and make him tremble in himself, and restrain him from many
sins. And if a man belong to God, and yet be a loose liver, this
persuasion will rouse him out of his sins and make him turn to God; for who
would not seek to save his soul, if he were persuaded that Christ is now
coming to give him his final reward?
Secondly, if a man have grace and do believe, this
persuasion is a notable means to make him constant in every good duty, both
of piety to God and of love towards his brethren. Thirdly, this
serves to comfort any person that is in affliction and painful struggles;
for, when he shall believe that which Christ has said, I come shortly, he cannot but think
but that his deliverance is soon at hand; for at His coming He brings
perfect redemption to all His people."
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Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 11
Incarnational
Infiltration
During wartime, a very strategic maneuver
is to infiltrate the enemy's people and get inside the enemy's
gates, so that the opposition can be defeated from within his own
territory. This is exactly what our God, the Divine Warrior
does in his gospel warfare against Satan the deceiver and enemy
of our souls.
When we think of Paul's letter to the
Philippian Christians, we rightly think of such things as
rejoicing in Christ and how we ought to live our lives in
Him. Additionally, we should also notice the letter's focus
in chapter one on how the gospel infiltrates the enemy's
territory. Before we read our passage from Philippians
chapter one, let us be reminded that Paul was a prison in Caesar's
dungeon in his household, the Praetorium in Rome. He is
in chains and possibly facing death soon. He is writing the
letter of rejoicing in Christ to Christians who live in the Roman
Colony of Philippi,
a retirement community for former faithful Roman officers and
soldiers. This is important to keep in mind.
Paul takes up his pen to encourage the
Philippian Christians to know their union with Christ and with each
other (2:1-5); to be reminded that they are to pray and praise God
for his kindness and mercy (4:4-7); to think on certain things
because of Christ, knowing his peace, and to know how we can be content
in Christ Jesus because he supplies all of our needs according to
his riches in glory (4:8-19). He also tells these
Christians who live in this Roman Colony that they are now
ultimately citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven
(3:20-21).
Because of this new identity and citizenship, regardless of their
privilege at one time of being Roman citizens, or citizens of the
kingdom of man, they are now highly privileged members of the
Kingdom of Heaven and await a greater inheritance because of their
service in Christ's militant army.
The hope Paul writes to this Colony of
Heaven who still lives within a colony of Rome is that the
gospel has infiltrated not only Philippi, the retirement home for
faithful soldiers of Rome, but the gospel has even infiltrated the
great House of Caesar himself! Paul is in chains faced with
possible death, and yet in his weakness the gospel is infiltrating
the enemy's territory! The gospel of the LORD Jesus
Christ, the King of Heaven, has infiltrated lord Caesar's house, the
king of Rome. In other words, we have the very strategic
invasion and onslaught of the Kingdom of God,
militantly storming the enemy's gates with the good news of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Notice what Paul writes to the
Philippians:
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Philippians 1:12-21 12 I want you
to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to
advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known
throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my
imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers,
having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more
bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach
Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The
latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of
the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry,
not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.
18 What
then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ
is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for
I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus
Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my
eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that
with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body,
whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ,
and to die is gain.
The LORD Christ has made himself known not
merely in the dark dungeon of Caesar's Palace, but He has made himself
known to the dark of hearts of great and mighty warriors of Caesar who
now loyally serve the LORD Christ in the same way they formerly served
lord Caesar (vv. 12-14). The palace guard were especially
faithful, tried and true warriors of Caesar, who were selected
personally by Caesar himself to guard his house! These were the
men he entrusted with his very life. These men were those who had
been especially faithful to Caesar in their adoration and worship of
him. They were fully devoted and loyal to him!
Yet now, with the coming of the gospel
through Paul, a man chained by Caesar because of his LORD, these loyal men and
guards of Caesar are changing their loyalty to the only one whose Name
is above every name (2:8-11). These men who had once professed
"Caesar is Lord", and bowed their knee to him in service, are
now proclaiming the Name above every name, saying "Jesus is
LORD", and bowing their knee to the Living
God! Paul, who seems to be a very weak servant and
ambassador for Jesus because of His chains is actually showing
forth the great strength of God in weakness! In fact this was
Paul the servant of the One who considered equality with God not
something to be grasped at, but made himself nothing, coming as a
human servant and becoming obedient unto the weakness of death so
that He might be raised to great power as Lord over all!
This instructs us today as well!
Wherever you have been placed as a servant of Christ, you are there to
infiltrate the darkness by living as the children of light! You
are to be a light to the world (Matt. 5:14), knowing that Christ is
recapturing hearts through you! He will give you strength to
withstand the persecution, pain, and even possible death, by knowing
that by our life and deeds we make Christ known. It may be through
our weakness, affliction and in our humility (and it probably will
be), but Christ will be preached through us because he is faithful to
his Word! We want to ask God to help us to be able to say as
well: "For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain."
Can you say this? This is a hard
concept for us all who are so busy living for ourselves! God uses
our weaknesses to perfect his strength and make himself known to
sinners. Be encouraged! No matter the difficulty you are
facing, whether it is persecution from unbelievers or literal death
threats, stand firm in the Lord Christ and his victory. It is his
gospel you are proclaiming, it is HE you are wanting others to
know! We were once part of the blind and obedient servants of the
evil one! But God, who is rich and mercy set us free, saved us by
grace, and filled us with His abundant life! If you are in a
difficult marriage with an unbelieving spouse, or in godless workplace
where every one is out to get ahead of you and they especially despise
you because of your beliefs, Rejoice because of the power of the
gospel, and that you are in an extremely strategic position as a
soldier of the Living Christ!
Remember that God has always used
infiltration in order to make soldiers of the
cross "wise as serpents" and "gentle as
doves". The reason for this mission of assault was to make
Christ known through his people and the preaching of the gospel.
When Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the Kingdom
of Heaven,
he sent them on a strategic infiltration of the enemy's territory.
Matthew 10:7-20 7 And proclaim as you go,
saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8 Heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without
paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold nor silver nor
copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, nor two
tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11
And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it
and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house,
greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come
upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14
And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off
the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15
Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment
for the land
of Sodom
and Gomorrah
than for that town.
16
"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so
be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men,
for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their
synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and
kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19
When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or
what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in
that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of
your Father speaking through you.
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Through the power of Christ in their weakness (Matt. 10:17-19), the disciples
were going forth to infiltrate the enemy's territory. They went
forward with the preaching of the gospel despite the opposition from the
enemy because the most important territory to be infiltrated by
Jesus is the human heart. Christ sends forth the declaration
and proclamation of His Gospel in order that by His Spirit men's hearts
might be infiltrated by God's precious grace and be captured in order to
serve him faithfully (Matt. 6:24; 2 Cor. 4:1-6; Eph. 2:5-8).
In the letter of Philippians, Paul tells the
Christians at Philippi to rejoice because of Christ's great faithfulness
in making the gospel known whether through sincere hearts, or those
trying to hurt Paul (Phil 1:14-16). Regardless, Paul says Christ is
preached and in this he rejoices! Why? Because he knows the
awesome and unbelievable power of the gospel of Jesus Christ for those
who are in bondage to sin, death and the devil! He knows that this
gospel will powerfully deliver and redeem those who believe even when it
comes from a man in chains!
Although God has many times infiltrated Satan's
strongholds with the gospel, the greatest infiltration of the Living God
was the incarnational
infiltration spoken of in Hebrews 2:10-18. Jesus
Christ became flesh, a little lower than the angels, so that he might
destroy he who held the power of death, that is the devil! Jesus
infiltrated the stronghold of Satan and overcame all of his temptations
and snares, including the cross. In fact, through the bloody and
heinous cross, Christ became weak so that those who believe upon him
might be delivered and stand strong and firm in him! Through
Christ's death on behalf of sinners and through his glorious
resurrection, Christ opened up the way for the greatest march against
Satan's kingdom.
Christ in his resurrection led captives captive and
was seated far above every diabolical and demonic principality and power,
not only in the present age, but also in the Age to come (Eph. 1:20-23;
4:8-10; Col. 2:8-15; cf. Rev. 20:1-11). Christ took the supreme
throne as the God-Man, and on the Day of Pentecost, Christ sent forth His
Spirit to deliver captive hearts and brutally assault the kingdom of
Satan
(the City of Man)
with the good news of His redemption. The infiltration and the
assault on Satan's kingdom continues as the Church Militant continues her
march, standing firm in the full armor of God, knowing that our enemy's
time is short as we walk as children of light (Eph. 5:6-14), and await
the day when we shall crush Satan once and for all under our feet!
The Apostle Paul ends the Book of Romans with these
precious words that remind us that the enemy has been successfully
infiltrated and the result is that he has lost the battle that began
in the Garden of Eden because of Christ's glorious victory over him!
Romans 16:19-20 19 For your
obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to
be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
As the Church Militant we say together that we
look forward to the Day of Christ, when the God of peace will crush Satan
under the glorified human feet of the Church Triumphant!
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Word of
Encouragement: Special Edition II
A Special Booklist
Some have appreciated the book recommendations from the past issues of
Word of Encouragement. Below is a list of ten good books to purchase
(or to place on your "wish list"), followed by a place to buy
them at a fair price (the link will take you directly to the book
information). These are the books I highly recommend because I have
read them, or am currently reading them. In the future, I plan
to send more.
Book List of Exceptional Reading :
Click below to purchase the books
of choice!
(1) The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation-
Vern S. Poythress.
A simple to understand and consise guide for the Book of
Revelation. Can you understand the Book of Revelation?
"Yes!" This is a very Christ-centered and Biblical book of
one of the more difficult books of the New Testament.
(2) For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering
the Riches of God's Word, Vol. 1-2- D. A.
Carson. An excellent two-volume set of devotions keyed to Robert
Murray McCheyne's Scripture Reading Plan. The devotions are full of
Christ and you will read through the Old Testament in one year, and two
times through the New Testament and the Psalms.
(3) Recovering Mother Kirk: The Case for Liturgy in the
Reformed Tradition- D. G. Hart. Whether you
agree with everything Dr. Hart says or not, you cannot deny his rich historical
and biblical case for the Regulative Principle in our worship. Dr.
Hart is insightful, humorous, and extremely thought-provoking. To
avoid reading his writings, especially this collection of wonderful essays
on worship, is to miss a deep Reformed blessing from the perspective of one
who wants to see Christ as LORD in the worship of God!
(4) Covenant Worship: Reconsidering the Puritan Regulative
Principle- R. J. Gore, Jr. An
excellent book considering the consistency of worship from Calvin's
perspective. Mr. Gore compares Calvin's views of worship and the
Puritan Regulative Principle. If you are interested in reforming
worship, you cannot overlook this consise volume!
(5) Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace: The Gospel in
the Lives of Isaac and Jacob- Iain
Duguid. Perhaps one of the best shorter treatments of the lives of
Isaac and Jacob that I have read in some time. Not only does Dr.
Duguid write with insight and passion, he is reveals the gospel of Christ
in the lives of these two sinful, yet redeemed patriarchs. This is
part of the series known as 'The Gospel According to the Old Testament'.
(6) A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times-
Kim Riddlebarger. Get this book- -NOW! If
you have many questions concerning the end times, and you are quite
confused, Dr. Riddlebarger takes you through the important agreements and
disagreements between the schools of millennialism. It is a clearly
written book with exceptional exegesis of the Scriptures having to do with
the end times. Even if you do not know what 'Amillennialism' means,
you should consider this book!
(7) The Practical Calvinist: An Introduction to the
Presbyterian and Reformed Heritage- Edited
by the Rev. Dr. Peter A. Lillback. This is a book of essays on our
great heritage in the Reformed faith. It is a collection of essays
dedicated to my former professor Dr. D. Clair Davis (who I am privileged to
call 'friend'), who has taught at Westminster Theological Seminary for over
30 years. If you are new to the Reformed faith, or someone who wants
to have a nice collection of exceptional essays, this book is for you!
(8) After Darkness, Light: Essays in Honor of R. C. Sproul-
Edited by R. C. Sproul, Jr. Who has not been affected biblically and
theologically by R. C. Sproul in the twentieth century? If you
haven't yet, you surely will! Dr. Sproul has led many evangelicals to
a better understanding of the doctrines of grace. We are all thankful
for this! This collection of essays will aid us in being Reformed and
always reforming!
(9) With Reverence and Awe: Returning to the Basics of
Reformed Worship- D. G. Hart and John R.
Muether. If I haven't said it before, everyone ought to read D. G.
Hart! He is leaving his mark on the twentieth century as a man
standing for our great and ancient faith in the Reformed tradition.
This book continues his legacy, yet it is written so clearly and can
provide a nice study for Sunday Schools and those wanting to better
understand the distinctives of Reformed worship. You see, being
Reformed is being Biblical, and the Biblical teaching when consistent
should lead us to consistent worship of the Living God. Add to this
the wonderful John Muether and you have an excellent read! Not only
that, but Miss Margaret highly recommends it and says you need to read it!
(so "nuff said").
(10) The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary- J. G.
Vos. Question: What is the chief way to understand the Larger
Catechism? Answer: To read J. G. Vos' extremely clear commentary on
the (overlooked and underread) Westminster Larger Catechism. For those who
would like a one-volume, handy, theological volume to study, this would be
a good one (another good one is A. A. Hodge's Commentary on the
Confession). If you are someone studying for licensure or ordinations exam,
or someone trying to better understand the overview of the Bible (also read
his father's 'Biblical Theology for an overview), or studying for Sunday
school class, or someone studying for devotion, this book is for you!
It is quite indispensable as a commentary on the catechism and now after
years of being out of print, P&R has seen fit to bless us! I hope that
this volume will help us to return to our confessional roots as a people of
God who are part of a great and long heritage of saints! 'Take up and
read!'
Rejoicing in Our Union with
Christ,
Pastor Biggsman
P.S. If you would like to be on the list for upcoming
and recent books published, you may subscribe to Westminster Theological Seminary Bookstore's monthly
newletter. If you subscribe, please tell them that you
learned of this from Charles R. Biggs at 'A
Place for Truth'!
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Do you remember the famous song in 1977 called
'Blinded by the Light'? Manfred Mann's Earth Band recorded this song
and it became one of the most famous songs of the 1970s.
Incidentally, the song was written by Bruce Springsteen and it is listed
as number 82 on the list of the 500 greatest Rock and Roll songs of all
time. Do you remember how everyone sang different lyrics when the
song came on the radio? No one was for sure what they were singing
about! The song is still the subject for many fans who
are still trying to figure out just what the song is about.
Without going into all the detail, one thing from the
song you can pick up is that Bruce Springsteen was trying to communicate
through the lyrics problems that come from being foolish and the
danger of doing what is wrong. One of the lines says: 'Momma always
told me not to look into the eye of the sun....but Momma that's where the
fun is." Many others speculate that the song was about a
drug-induced spiritual "enlightenment". Well,
whatever kind of light was blinding Manfred Mann's Earth Band and
"The Boss" in the song, today's study will take us back many
years before the 1970s to a day when a blind man was enabled to see and a
group of men who had their sight were 'Blinded by the Light'. And
this all happened because the Light of the World made himself
known to poor sinners like us! Today's study is from John 9.
John 9:1-41
John 9:1-5: And as [Jesus] passed by, he
saw a man blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him,
saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be
born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither did this man sin, nor
his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 4
We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night
comes, when no man can work. 5 When I am in the world, I am
the light of the world.
For one man it had been pitch black darkness all of
his life. He had never seen his
mother or father. He had never
seen his friends, nor those in his community. As a child he would have been provoked
and teased by children who he would never see.
Dark, dark, dark…Always night, always shut off
from seeing what is around him. He
can feel the heat and warmth of the sun, but he had never seen anything
around him lit up by the sun.
This man was blind from birth with no means to
support himself. He was a constant
embarrassment and reminder to the community of their failure to help the
hurting and the weak. A poor,
blind beggar, a weak, blind vessel who Jesus uses to reveal a greater darkness, a greater problem of
the community. The problem of
blindness in the heart.
For the other men, they had the privilege of light all
of their lives under the Law and the Prophets. They had many times learned from their
mother and father the truth of the Old Testament and the hope of Messiah
they so desperately anticipated!
Light, light, great light all of their lives! They had walked with friends to the
synagogue and graduated eventually into being the great and respected
teachers of their community.
These men were in the light of God’s Word
literally since their birth. They
were supported through the means of being God’s teachers of the
Word. They were respected by the
community. Yet they were
desperately blind both to the beggar and his needs, as well as to the
very Light of the World himself.
The very One they were taught concerning, the very Messiah Who
they taught the people about, was standing right before them and all they
could see was a satanic trickster, a fake, a breaker of God’s
Sabbath Law, and One Who needed to be silenced and put to death.
Pitch black darkness in all of the lives of these men because of
sin…Yet Jesus comes to give sight to those who walk in
darkness! He is the Light of the
World!
In John 9:1-5, when the disciples first get a glimpse
of the blind beggar and see him for the first time they ask Jesus a
faulty theological question of whether this man or his parent's sinning
was the cause of his blindness. Jesus answers (as God answers Job's
"friends" in Job 38-42) that his blindness was so that the
works of God might be manifest in his life and God would be glorified
(John 9:1-5). In other words, Jesus says that the reason why he is
blind is so that others might see God's glory in his being made to
see. Concerning the theology question asked by the apostles, sin
may be the ultimate reason
for our physical sickness, but we cannot say that just because someone
suffers a physical ailment it must be due to their sin. In this
case, Jesus says that it is so that God may be glorified. Now,
notice how Jesus heals this man:
John 9:6-12 6 Having
said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva.
Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, "Go,
wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and
washed and came back seeing. 8
The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were
saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some said, "It is
he." Others said, "No, but he is like him." He kept
saying, "I am the man." 10
So they said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered, "The
man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to
Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and received my sight." 12 They said to him,
"Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."
Jesus's signs and miracles in the Gospels are always SIGN-ificant - -that
is, they point away to the reality of the Kingdom of
God
being present in Jesus Christ. Jesus's SIGN-ificant signs were to show all of the world that
he was the Messiah, the Great King and that the restoration of all things
was beginning in his ministry. In light of these signs and the
reality of the Kingdom of
God
manifesting itself in Jesus, men everywhere were to repent, turn to God
and be forgiven by Jesus.
In the restoring of the blind man's sight, Jesus reveals
himself as the Creator (vv. 6-12). As God in Genesis 2:7 reached
down into the mud and breathed life into Adam who was made in his image,
so Jesus reaches down into the mud to restore the sight of this blind
beggar made in God’s image, who is blind ultimately because of
Adam’s sin. As Jesus restored the sight lost, you may recall
the evil Deceiver and the Master of Illusions from Gen. 3:1-7.
After God had created all things good and made man in
his image Satan visited the Garden of Eden, and he tempted Adam and Eve
with fruit which would supposedly “open their eyes” and
“give them sight”.
They should have already known that they indeed had sight. The only sight that mattered, the only
true sight in reality, was the sight God gave in the revelation of
His Word to them. All other
so-called “sight” would in actuality be
“blindness”, and thus it would lead to shame. Read the
account of this sad incident from Genesis 3:1-7
Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any
other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the
woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the
garden'?" 2 And
the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees
in the garden, 3 but
God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the
midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you
die.'" 4 But the
serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil." 6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a
delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one
wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her
husband who was with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves
loincloths.
This kind of diabolical deception not only
happened back in Biblical times. The Deceiver and Master of
Illusions is alive today and is busy for he knows his time is
short. Even today, Satan offers “sight” to those
who are spiritually blinded. Think
of all the various branches of the New Age Movement and how they all
claim to have “spiritual insight”, “sight”, or
think that God has revealed himself to them in some kind of dream or
near-death vision of light.
Think of the drug-induced "light",
"sight", "insight", and "creativity" that
many well-meaning folk have believed that they possessed (this may be
closer to what the 1970s Manfred Mann song is about!). Some "enlightened" and
"brilliant" professors have used their great philosophy and
logic to deny the existence of Jesus Christ. They think they have been
"enlightened" but their "light" is truly
hopelessness, anguish, angst and the pain of eternal death masked as
something meaningful and educated.
Remember, Satan is the master-counterfeiter and he can even counterfeit
the light of God- - and yet it is really darkness (2 Corinthians 11:14). This “sight” Satan offers
is shameful and leads to death because it prevents others from seeing the
truth of Jesus Christ! Never forget what the Apostle Paul says in 2
Corinthians 4:3-6:
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 3 And even
if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are
perishing. 4 In their
case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to
keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who
is the image of God. 5
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with
ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said,
"Let light shine out of darkness,"
has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
I love John 9:13: "They brought to the Pharisees
the man who had formerly been blind." The man who had formerly been blind.
There is no doubt about the fact that he now has sight...but they cannot
see what is truly happening. Instead, in John 9:14-34 they
humiliate the poor soul by asking him to testify concerning how he
received back his sight. They use their flawed interpretation of
the Law to condemn Jesus for giving sight to the man. They say that
Jesus cannot be from God because he is healing on the Sabbath, and to
heal on the Sabbath is to break the Sabbath in their estimation.
The man formerly blind is now interrogated
concerning his knowledge of Jesus, and he has been given the privilege of
speaking of the LORD Christ before the crowds even though he doesn't have
the rich theological training that the Pharisees had. After a time
of interrogation, the Pharisees cast the man out of their presence
because he doesn't answer them according to their intimidation, and
because he just didn't see the events in the same way the Pharisees saw
them. The man formerly blind neither understands all of the
theological nuances of the Pharisees' issue with healing on the Sabbath,
nor why they are so dead set about calling Jesus a sinner,
but at the end of the day he only knows one thing: "I once was
blind but now I see" (9:25). This reminds us of an earlier
passage in John 3:18ff:
John 3:18-21
18 Whoever believes in [Jesus] is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment:
the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because
their deeds were evil. 20
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to
the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is
true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds
have been carried out in God."
We don't want to miss the implications of this passage
in John 9:13-34. The Pharisees who were
teachers of the light, could not see Jesus, the Light of the World and
Messiah, because in reality they were blind. The Pharisees judge
both Jesus and the blind beggar as both being sinners (9:16, 24,34), yet their
sins are keeping them from truly seeing the truth. Think about yourself as a
Christian, particularly when you were a new believer! When you became a Christian some in
your family, many of your friends, judged you- -they interrogated you in
your beliefs! For many of us they still come with their
doubting smirks on their face, teasing us that “we have seen the
light”! But they cannot see
the hope of Jesus that we see!
The reason they cannot see the Jesus that we see is because
He has restored our sight, but they are blinded by the light. Let
me illustrate. Imagine yourself on a pitch dark road at 2AM in the morning. Suddenly, a great tractor trailer
with headlights on bright drives up to where you are on the
road. You face the burning bright
lights face on. They
blind you! Yet if you were to turn
around, with your back to the lights, you would be able to see much
around you. You would not be
blinded, but you would have sight!
Many are like this illustration. When we tell of them of the grace and
love of Jesus, the light of our joy and countenance overwhelm their
sin-sick, dark lives. They
are blinded by the light! They do
not understand (as the Pharisees do not understand), that if they truly
want to see, they must submit to the Lord Christ, turn from sin, and
because of their union with him, they are enabled to see all things so
clearly! As Calvin says in his commentary on 1 Corinthians (in the
context of discussion the wisdom of God): "It is the blindness of
the human mind and heart, which, surrounded by light, sees nothing."
Finally, notice the final words between Jesus and the
man how had formerly been blind in John 9:35-41. This is a
precious dialogue!
35 Jesus
heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do
you believe in the Son of Man?"
36 He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may
believe in him?" 37 Jesus
said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to
you." 38 He said,
"Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, "For
judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and
those who see may become blind."
40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things,
and said to him, "Are we also blind?" 41 Jesus said to them,
"If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say,
'We see,' your guilt remains.
Jesus asked: “Do you believe in the Son
of Man?”- The blind beggar says to him: “Lord,
I believe”. The
Pharisees who had lived literally in the light of God’s truth all
of their lives say: “Are we also blind?”, meaning
only physically blind, and Jesus directs his criticism to their greater
problem: “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now
that you say, ‘We see,’ and so your guilt remains.
The man was born both physically, as well as
spiritually blind from birth. The
Pharisees were born physically with sight, but were spiritually blind
from birth. We are all born
spiritually blind and need the light to shine in our hearts so that we
might see the glorious truth of the gospel and have the “eyes of
our hearts” enlightened.
Jesus does a “Satanic-Reversal”. He restores true sight that was lost in
Eden, and
allows those who think they can see to continue still in their blindness. God comes through the gospel
of Christ Jesus and comes into the deep and dark corridors and caverns of
our cold hearts to warm them and to say to them: “Let their be
light” (2 Cor. 4:6) and “Arise, Shine for the Light has
come" (Isaiah 60:1-2).
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of Man? Can you say that you “once were
blind, but now you see”? Are
you blind and so receive sight through Christ? Or, can you see and so reject Christ in
your blindness. If you can see
because of the gospel penetrating your heart, then live as children of
light!
As Christ’s people, we are the light of the
world! We shine in the darkness
wherever we have been placed in this world. We are called by God to live as
children of the light (Eph. 5:6-16).
But how? The Apostle Paul
teaches us in Ephesians 5:6-16:
Ephesians 5:6-16 6 Let no one deceive you
with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon
the sons of disobedience. 7
Therefore do not associate with them;
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as
children of light 9
(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and
true), 10 and try to
discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take
no part in the unfruitful works of darkness,
but instead expose them. 12
For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in
secret. 13 But when
anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes
visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise
from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." 15 Look carefully then how
you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
16 making the best use of the time, because the days
are evil.
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Expectations. How many times have your expectations
of others gotten you into big trouble and disappointment?! You had
high expectations of another, yet when that person did not live up to your
expectations you grumbled, felt anger, were discouraged, and decided that
you would think twice about expecting anything from someone again. We
all become disillusioned (and oftentimes demanding!) when we have
expectations of others and they do not come through.
This is even true of our expectations of God.
Sometimes, in God's mysterious providence, he does what he knows to be best
for us, yet we do not understand. We have expectations that we think
God should live up to, but we have yet to begin to understand that God's
ways are so much higher than our ways! Remember, as the Apostle Paul
teaches, that "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered
into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love
him." We should be cautious of placing high expectations on
others, but when it comes to God, I think we need to be reminded that our
so-called "high expectations" are not high enough! Today,
we shall look at the high expectations of the crowd when Jesus rode on a
donkey into Jerusalem in John
12:12-23. [The next few studies will be taken from Jesus' final
week of ministry.]
John 12:12-23: The next day the large crowd that
had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13
So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying
out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even
the King of Israel!"
14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is
written, 15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" 16 His
disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified,
then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had
been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he
called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to
bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was
that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said
to one another, "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world
has gone after him." 20 Now among those who went up to
worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to
Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and
asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip went
and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And
Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified.
Jesus had healed Lazarus. Jesus had truly given
back life to a man who had been defeated by death. He had called him
forth with the power of a divine command, "Lazarus, Come forth!"
and Lazarus came forth alive. Many in the crowd placed their
hopes in this life-giver. They had high expectations for what this
one could do for the people! The crowd who had witnessed and heard
about Lazarus thought this must be Messiah. This Jesus must be the
one we have been awaiting, the One to deliver us from Roman rule and
oppression! The crowd had very high expectations of Jesus.
So, when the crowd heard Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they
went to meet him, proclaiming "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" (12:18). If Jesus could
raise the dead, heal the sick and give sight to the blind, he must be the
long expected Messiah who could deliver the people. And what a
wonderful time to do it! It was Passover, and many people had come
from miles around for the yearly sacrifice offering for the sins of the
people! The people had high expectations of Jesus, so they paved his
way with palm branches, singing Psalm 118 to him as he rode on the humble
colt of a donkey.
Despite the crowd's expectations however, Jesus was
riding the colt of a donkey into Jerusalem so that he might lay down
his life for his people, and die as the final Passover sacrifice that
year. Even though Jesus had given life to Lazarus, he was now going
to offer up himself, to be raised up in a death on a cross. Jesus had
come to lay down his life for the sins of his people. Jesus loved his
people so much that he was willing to die for sins in Jerusalem, to
ride a humble donkey into Zion, so
that he might overthrow the great spiritual powers of this world in his
being lifted up. Jesus had come to deliver men from bondage to sin
rather than those in bondage to Rome.
Although Jesus was going to his death, he described what
he was about to do in his laying down his life as the "hour for the
Son of Man to be glorified" (12:23).
God-fearing Greeks (in contrast to the Pharisees who are plotting to take
his life, 11:45-57) had come to Jesus, revealing to all that the time had
now come for all of the world to be drawn to the Son of Man by faith.
When the people in the crowd sang "Hosanna!" to the
Lord as he rode, and declared him their King, they did not know fully at
that time that they were celebrating the True King who was going to be
lifted up and crucified in order that he might be glorified in his
resurrection and ascension. Jesus would take the throne and
receive the glory that belonged to him since the foundation of the world
(John 17:3) and he would draw both Jews and Gentiles unto himself. When
the Holy Spirit came after Jesus had been glorified, so many things in
Jesus' ministry were better understood, as Jesus said that they
would be (John 16:12- "Many things I have yet to say to you, but
you cannot bear them now.").
One of the things that is better understood by us today
is that the expectations of the crowd were not too high, but too low.
This was indeed the Messiah, the King who would reign over heaven and earth
and draw all nations to himself. However, this was the King who loved
his people so much as to lay down his life for his servants who did not
deserve it. Jesus considered his people worth laying down his life
for. Although faced with anxiety and a great deal of anguish knowing
he was to face the terrible wrath of God on behalf of sinners, Jesus said
"Not my will, but yours be done."
The expectations of the crowd thought he was a mere
political messiah who would deliver them from earthly threats, but Jesus
exceeded all expectations! He destroyed the power of death, hell, and
the devil so that those who believe upon the Son of Man may be saved,
reconciled to God, become a New Creation, and one day inherit the earth,
and reign with Jesus the Almighty King! Many of those in the crowd
who yelled "Hosanna!" that day as Jesus rode into Jerusalem would
later become disillusioned and demand he be put to death. In
fact, some of the same people would yell "Crucify Him!"
in a matter of days, because Jesus did not live up to their mere
earthly expectations and hopes.
The crowd's expectations were not high enough. In
fact, they were quite low! Through Jesus' death, he was highly
exalted above all rule, power and dominion, and every name that can be
named not only in this present age, but also in the age to come (Eph.
1:20-23). We can truly say as Christians: "Hosanna! Blessed is
He who comes in the name of the LORD!" because of what Jesus has done
for those he loves through his death! With extremely high
expectations we can live by His Spirit knowing that He will indeed return
for us, but this time on a great white charger (Rev. 19:11-16).
Christ's name is "Faithful and True" and he will deliver us
completely from sin, death, the devil, and the miseries of this present
age. When he returns we shall not escort him into Jerusalem, but
he will call us to be with him (1 Thess. 4:16, 17), and he will escort us
into the New Jerusalem! God's ways are truly higher than our
ways. We should never be demanding of our Gracious God, but should
always allow Him to fulfill our expectations in a way that will
glorify Him and be for our good!
So, are your expectations too high? Or perhaps,
they are too low! With God all things are possible! Believe.
Next Study: Jesus' Final Week of Ministry
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Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 14
Jesus' Final Week of Ministry, Part II
"The Glorious Servant-Savior"-
How Great Thou Art Not!
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How
great thou art NOT??!! We sing "How Great
Thou Art" to the LORD God Almighty and to Jesus who reigns above
the heavens and the earth. Yet there was a time when his
disciples might have sang: "How Great Thou Art Not" when he
stooped to reveal himself as a Glorious Servant-Savior on the night
of the Passover Supper. Jesus did this to demonstrate his love
and to show us the meaning of love as it is revealed by God.
The reason we can sing "How Great Thou Art!" is because
Jesus became "not so
great" in order to save those whom he loved!
John 13
Jesus withdrew. The Jewish leaders
were plotting against Jesus in order to kill him (John
11:47ff) and many had turned against him (John 12:37ff), so
Jesus withdrew with his disciples from the multitudes in order that
they might celebrate the Passover Supper together before he laid down
his life. Jesus wanted to show the disciples an illustration of
what it means to truly love one another.
Jesus is about to explain to his disciples
the rich teaching of the ministry of the Holy Spirit before he
leaves them in John chapters 14-16, but first he wants to display the
extent of his love for his own in his service in John 13.
The disciples had heard Jesus' teaching
throughout the last two years of their lives. Much of what
Jesus had said and done had stunned them beyond belief. If they
were going through a photo album, reflecting back on his ministry in
his final days, they would have remembered Jesus' talk with
Nicodemus by night (John 3), and how he had told him that God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes
upon him shall never perish but have everlasting life. They
would have remembered the afternoon when they caught Jesus talking to
a Samaritan woman at a well and how amazed they were that he was
showing such mercy to one such as this (especially since she had two
social demerits against her: she was a Samaritan and a woman!)
(John 4).
They would have remembered
the incident when many were miraculously fed, and
followed him to be fed again, but Jesus told them that he was
the True Bread from heaven, and that they must eat his flesh and
drink his blood, and many ceased to follow him (John 6). They
would have remembered Jesus telling the crowds that he was the
Resurrection and the Life (John 7), He was the Light of the World
(John 8), and they would have even remembered the day when he said to
the Pharisees and teachers of the Law that "Before Abraham was,
I Am" to everyone's shock and disbelief (John 8).
The disciples had experienced some great and
memorable times with Jesus. They had seen him do so many
wonderful things as he proclaimed the good news that the Kingdom had
come in him! For the disciples, surely it was a precious
memory when Jesus spoke of his love for his own, who he called
his sheep (John 10), and how he ultimately displayed his power and
love for Lazarus in his resurrection (John 11). As Jesus' time
had come for him to lay down his life (John 12:23ff), these
memories must have come rushing back to them like vivid
photographs.
Yes, Jesus had done some amazing things in
giving salvation, healing, and life to the dead in the last couple of
years. But what the disciples were about to witness while
they were reclining around the table was the unbelievable, the
unfathomable, the truly remarkable, the true extent of Jesus' love
for his own. Because of John's Gospel, we have a peak into this
amazing scene where the Glorious Servant-Savior demonstrates his love
and sets an example for others to follow. Read John 13:1-19:
ESV
John 13:1-19: Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew
that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father,
having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into
the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus,
knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that
he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from
supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it
around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and
began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel
that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who
said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" 7 Jesus
answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but
afterward you will understand." 8 Peter said to him,
"You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him,
"If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." 9 Simon
Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and
my head!" 10 Jesus said to him, "The one who has
bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely
clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you." 11 For
he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of
you are clean." 12 When he had washed their feet and
put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them,
"Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You
call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If
I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought
to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an
example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly,
truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is
a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you
know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am
not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the
Scripture will be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel
against me.' 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes
place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.
The disciples had witnessed the glory of
God in Jesus, but they had yet to experience the majesty and glory of
God in such a "shameful" and almost embarrassing way.
Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah was showing the extent of his
glory and love by stooping even lower than when he took upon human
nature. Jesus was stooping to the lowest, most menial place in
the world of men in order to wash the dirty feet of his
disciples. Jesus Christ the Messiah is showing how love is
demonstrated in his further descension to help poor sinners with
dirty feet.
The disciples (we!) would have been very
embarrassed by this for their Teacher and Master to wash their
feet. In fact, Peter speaks (as he many times does for the
group) and is downright shocked and offended by the idea: "You
shall never wash my feet!". A student is not greater
than his Master, Jesus taught them. What was probably
going through their minds was, "If the Teacher is performing the
menial servant task of a mere slave, then what must be our position
in the world?" (If they were thinking this, they would be
getting the idea of his illustration!). The students are not greater than their
master. The Master is making himself a common house-slave,
doing the job that even the lowest of the slaves would have been
embarrassed to perform in their culture. What causes the
lowliest among men to blush, caused the Glorious Servant-Savior to
use as an example of true love!
Jesus sets a pattern for all of his
disciples to follow. All those who would call on the Name
of the Glorious Servant-Savior are called to serve; they are called
to die. Jesus bids us to come and follow him, Jesus bids his
people to come and die! As his disciples, we are
all to follow him as the lowliest of men, so that we might
be identified with the glorious, suffering, Servant-Savior.
Jesus tells his disciples that this is how you will know my
love for you, and this is how you will display your love for each
other. This is how far God stoops to love and to teach his
own. This is his love that he would come to us- - not as the Great and Powerful King,
who indeed he was, but he would come as a Servant-Savior. This
Servant-Savior had recently ridden into Jerusalem
on a gentle colt of a donkey, and this Servant-Savior would wash his
disciples' dirty feet, then he would lay down his life for those whom
he loved!
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As Jesus
the Great Messiah went down on one knee, laid aside his outer garments,
took a towel and tied it around his waist in order to show love to the
disciples, there was one disciple in the room who had decided in his
heart to betray him. As God in Jesus Christ was serving and
loving his disciples, the devil is provoking the evil intent already in
Judas' heart so that he might betray him, showing his true hatred for
God.
As Jesus
stoops to serve, Judas rises up to betray. What is so amazing in
this scene is that Jesus washes Judas despite the fact that he knows he
will betray him. The Great "I AM", LORD of Heaven and
Earth (13:19) is serving sinful
men by washing their feet and showing them the cleansing they so
desperately need. Jesus is illustrating that in order to
truly show our love for others, we must first become their servants,
their slaves, no matter how "great" we are! Jesus
doesn't stop with washing feet with water. On the night of the
Passover Jesus spilled water in cleaning his disciple's feet, the
following day, Jesus will spill his own blood in order to permanently
cleanse his people from their sins and give them new hearts!
This
passage is a reminder for all of God's people. As Christ's
servants, we are not greater than our Master! If our Master
showed his love in serving those who were sinful and undeserving, so
should we! Even those who betray us, abuse us, speak about us in
evil ways, we must be reminded that we are not greater than our Master
(you know who they are!). That means that we do not deserve a
better lot in life. We should not have
expectations that others should treat us with dignity and
respect. We should be reminded that we have the wonderful
privilege of sharing in the sufferings of Christ as well as the resurrection
and glory of Christ our Master (Rom. 8:28-39; cf. Phil.
3:9-12).
Jesus the
King of Heaven and Earth came to die for sinners like us! He was
the Living God incarnate. Jesus took upon himself a human nature
to represent us before God. He emptied himself of his glory so
that he might achieve the humiliating, the unbelievable,
unfathomable task of being a Servant-Savior. It was through
Jesus' service and in his death that he was fully glorified and
received the glory he had with the Father since the world began (John
17:3). It was because of Jesus' stooping extremely low that
he reaches out his human hand of grace to poor sinners so that we might
take the hand of Almighty God and be glorified so that we could live
with him for eternity. What Jesus did was to set an example for
all of those who would call themselves his disciples! Jesus bids
us to come and die, so that we might truly live! Jesus bids us to
come and serve, so that we might reign over heaven and earth with him
in eternity.
But how competitive
and proud we are even in our ministries to others. We do not
often look like Jesus in stooping down on bended knee to serve our
brothers and thus show them love. Oftentimes, we compete with one
another in an effort to attain greatness. Here Jesus our Master
serves others to demonstrate love, and many times we are so unloving
and proud to one another. We must remember that as Christ's
disciples we should continually repent of our proud and puffed up
hearts. We must remember that in order to show forth our love, we
must serve. Think about what Jesus was doing in this illustration
for all who minister in the Name of the Glorious Servant-Savior.
He was
about to teach them about the Holy Spirit in John chapters 14-16, a
rich and deep theology of the Spirit. Yet, first by the power of
the glorious Holy Spirit, he first serves them. There is a
pattern worth noticing. Jesus stoops to serve on bended knee in
order to show love, before he teaches others. We often want to
share with others the truth we know and understand from Scripture, but
we must first serve others and thus love others before we truly have a
right to teach them.
Our Master
set the example for all of those who would minister and serve in his
name as his disciples. He showed that we must serve, then we can
teach. If we truly want to teach, we must first learn to
serve. What a beautiful illustration of Christ's love and how
this still exposes the depth of our pride and lust for fame and a great
name. Jesus turns our mere earthly goals upside down by reminding
us here that the last shall indeed be first, and the lowly and humble
shall be the ones who are exalted. In other words, Jesus teaches
that the way truly "up" - - that we so desperately want
to attain - - is ironically, "down". We must descend if we are going to be
great!
Many years
before this incident of foot washing when Jesus withdrew from the
crowds to serve his disciples, the Prophet Isaiah had spoken of Messiah
who was to come as having no form or majesty that we should look at
him, and no beauty that we should desire him (Isaiah 53:2). This
Jesus who stooped to be a Servant-Savior was doing a most embarrassing
thing for his disciples when he washed their feet. Yet, we
are all stunned when we realize this is the King of Glory, the Creator
of Heaven and Earth, and Risen Lord and King who is powerful and
majestic and who reveals himself and his love to his own as a common
foot washing slave! The disciples had truly beheld Jesus'
glory (John 1:16-18), but never
quite like this on the night he stooped to wash the feet of dirty
sinners. What glory to behold! And now we all sing
together: "How Great Thou Art!"
Meditate
upon the glorious Servant-Savior as you read Isaiah 53:1-5:
Isaiah 53:1-5 Who has believed what they heard
from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For
he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry
ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no
beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and
rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as
one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him
not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our
sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our
iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his stripes we are healed.
Next Study: Jesus' Final Week of Ministry, Part III
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"A Big 'Ol Bad Case of the Blues"
"Let not your hearts be troubled!" Alone
in this world again! Lonely. Lonesome. These are words that
remind us that our relationships in a fallen world will always end.
When a loved one dies, a friend moves away, we are reminded of the
shortness and the dearness of all our relationships. Every memory
of a departure can bring tears to our eyes. We all long for the day
when there will be no separation, no distance between, no loneliness and
fear because of being left alone in a cold and uncaring world!
Whenever I say "goodbye" to my wife in the
morning, or put her on a plane to travel, I am always reminded of the
feeling of what it means to be alone. We know it will happen with
all our earthly relationships unless Jesus comes back first, but
when it happens it hurts us more than we can imagine.
Once in awhile, I enjoy listening to the
Blues. The Blues are a distinctly American kind
of folk music that resonates with all who have ever been alone or
have had their hearts broken in this life. One immensely popular
blues artist from the 1950s musically illustrates our
human emotions revealed in the blues: "I got a feeling called
'the blu- u- ues, O Lord, since by baby said goodbye. I don't know
what I'm gonna do- o- o, but sit down and cry- y- y, O Lord."
The main problem with the blues as a type of music is that although the
songs deeply express our pains and emotions in this fallen world,
they never offer to us a cure. The blues as a music correctly
reveals the reality that our hearts do not want to despair and to be
alone without love, but they never point us to where we might find help
from the "big 'ol bad case of the blues". But
Jesus does offer hope here in today's study from John 14.
John 14
Jesus had gathered the most unlikely twelve men
together to be his apostles and witnesses. By his love, he had
unified and brought into the same close fellowship and bond those least
likely to ever be a family. If the truth be known as a group, they
had about as much in common as two nuns, three Harley riders, and Yoko
Ono at a Star Trek Convention. They were different, yet the Master
had brought them together through his love and forgivness.
In the last few hours with his disciples, he was
telling those close to him on this earth that he was leaving them.
Jesus was telling them his final words as he was about to leave them
alone again here in this world. In just a matter of hours, Jesus
would be lifted high upon a cross being crucified shamefully as a common
criminal, while his disciples would helplessly look on with absolutely no
power whatsoever to help him. This would be the separation and the
leaving of one that would ultimately bring an unending, unbelievable, and
inseparable homecoming for all those who would believe.
On the one side of Jesus as he spoke his final words
was a tax collector named Matthew called to be his apostle, who
would have been despised by Jews because they worked for Rome and
gathered taxes from his own people. On the other side of Jesus was
a zealot named Simon who had it made his practice to mete out justice and
kill Roman soldiers one by one in the streets as he blended among the
crowds, thus disappearing from the sight of the law. Two others
listening to Jesus were brothers named Andrew and Peter who had been
fisherman all their lives and had never experienced such grace, mercy and
tenderness in a relationship with another before.
This Jesus was extremely dear and special to them
all. He had done what no one else could do in unifying this small
band of sinners. And Jesus who had brought them together was now
physically leaving them so that he could accomplish their salvation, as
well as the salvation of all who believe, in laying down his life for his
own. Who would unify the disciples after Jesus left? Who
would teach them to love and obey God and answer their deepest questions
concerning their ministry? Would they all stay together?
Remember, Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples, had already betrayed
Jesus and Jesus had foretold that Peter would disown him that very evening.
Let us read some of these final words of Jesus from John 14.
ESV John
14:1-31: "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe
also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were
not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will
take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you
know the way to where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him,
"Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the
way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7
If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now
on you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said to
him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you
still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to
you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me
does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the
Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 12
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also
do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because
I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this
I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If
you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 15 "If you
love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17
even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and
will be in you. 18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I
will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see
me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me,
and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them,
he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and
I will love him and manifest myself to him." 22 Judas
(not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest
yourself to us, and not to the world?" 23 Jesus answered
him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will
love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever
does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is
not mine but the Father's who sent me. 25 "These things I
have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper,
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you
all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world
gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them
be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I
will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am
going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And
now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take
place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you,
for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but
I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I
love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
The disciples had some final questions,
and Jesus had some final words to answer them. What Jesus
wanted them to know was that in order to accomplish their salvation and
to take the throne that rightly belonged to him, he had to surrender up
and lay down his life and die. Then he would take the throne at the
right hand of God. Yet, although he would be physically at God's
right hand, they would never be alone. For His Holy Spirit,
"Another Helper", would be sent to dwell with them and
miraculously in them (14:16-17).
It is important to understand that Jesus had to
accomplish His Work as Messiah by laying down his life, taking upon
himself the sins of his people, undergoing the wrath of God, then to be
resurrected and glorified in order to receive the Holy Spirit in all His
fullness, so that he might pour out his Spirit on his disciples.
The Apostle John would understand this more fully later and he would
write in chapter 7 of his gospel:
ESVJohn
7:37-39: On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and
cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his
heart will flow rivers of living water.'" 39 Now this he
said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive,
for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet
glorified.
John records that the Spirit of God was not fully
given until after Jesus had been glorified! On the Day of
Pentecost, Jesus pours out His Spirit on all flesh so he might fully
dwell in his people, the New Temple of God (1 Cor. 6:15-19 cf. Ezekiel
40). Before Jesus departed, he wanted his disciples to know that it
was good and necessary for him to physically leave them, so that He might
come by His glorious Spirit to inhabit and indwell his people. The
Holy Spirit of God truly unites Christ's people to himself so that the
Apostle Paul can say in Colossians 3:1-4 that our life is hidden
with Christ in God.
ESV Colossians
3:1-4: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are
above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set
your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4
When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear
with him in glory.
The Apostle Paul elaborates on this close bond
Christ's people have because of the Spirit uniting us to Jesus
Christ. In Ephesians 2:4-8, Paul tells of the wondrous grace and
mercy of God in our salvation and regeneration and how we are resurrected
and truly seated with Christ in the heavenly places, all because of his
rich mercy and grace to us in Christ!
ESV Ephesians
2:4-8: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which
he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made
us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- 6 and
raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in
Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the
immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God...
Jesus knew the disciples would be concerned and
worried as he was about to lay down his life for them. He knew that
they would fret, that they would face difficulty and persecution because
of being associated with him, for keeping company with him. So, before
he leaves them physically, he tells them that he will not leave them
alone! Another way of looking at these final words of Jesus in his
final hours is to understand that he was trying to tell them that he must leave them in order to truly be with them.
The purpose of Jesus' leaving was in order that
he could die for sins and be raised from the dead so
that all of us who love him could go and live with him
permanently and forever (John 14:1-6). He told his disciples (and
we are reminded today!) that He is the Way to this permanent
place in the New Heavens and the New Earth where those who love
him will be in the presence of His Father, the Truth concerning the
love and care of His Father, and the Life that would be given to all of
us who believe in Him by His Father.
The Holy Spirit would also help the disciples
to be reminded of Jesus' words to them. In fact, we have a
written, inspired, infallible New Testament today where we read the very
words of Christ because the Spirit of God came and reminded the disciples
everything that Jesus had spoken to them (John 14:26). The Holy
Spirit was not only the Counselor and Helper for them while awaiting
their full inheritance in heaven when they see Jesus face to face, but He
is the one who unites them as well as us to the Lord Jesus Christ by
faith. Yet even though he told his disciples these truths, what was
still ringing in their ears was that they would be left alone
again. Apart from all the other things Jesus was saying to them the
main thing that they were hearing was that Jesus was leaving.
We all are lonely at times in our
lives and get the blues here in this world. Depression
caused by loneliness and sorrow is one of the greatest causes of strife
in the young as well as the old in our day. We know what it feels
like to be alone in this cold and dark world. We have all felt the
miseries and pains of losing a loved one, or having someone abandon us to
be alone. How do we deal with this pain as Christians? We
must be reminded that in many ways we are closer to the Lord Jesus Christ
today than even his apostles were when he was here in the flesh.
How can this be? It is just because of the fact that the Holy
Spirit unites us to Jesus Christ and makes us partakers of all Christ accomplished
in his work for us. All of the salvation he earned on our behalf,
all of the favor and forgiveness he earned for his own because of his
love for them, is all ours because we have been united to Jesus
Christ. When we are regenerated or made a new creation in Christ
when we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us, to
teach us concerning the truth of God, and to make us more like the
glorious Savior who has gone away so that we might be near to him
forever!
Jesus is telling his disciples and us today in his
final hours and final words that he must leave this earth in order for us
to enter heaven. He must die so that we might live. He must
separate from us so that the Spirit might unite us with him. This
was a sad time for the disciples, but in a few days they would realize
how much of a glorious time it was. Jesus had to distance himself
by ascending to the right hand of the Father so that by descending in His
Spirit to his own we might be brought truly near to Him!
One of the disciples named Philip wanted Jesus to show
him the Father (John 14:8). It is interesting that Jesus tells him
when he has seen him, he has seen the
Father. The Father and the Son are equally divine so
that both are God but Jesus is telling him further that they have seen
the Father in what the Son had done in the Spirit here on earth (John
14:7-15). He then goes on to tell them that when the Holy Spirit
comes they will do greater works than what he has done. How can
this be?
Jesus was telling them that when the Spirit of God
comes, all the world will see and hear the Father living in and speaking
through those who are Jesus' disciples while still in this world.
Even though general revelation clearly and sufficiently reveals the
Living God so that men are without excuse (Rom. 1:18ff), the special
revelation of God by the Spirit through Christ's people will show forth
the wonders of God in changed lives, and in the obedient lives lived in
the service of Jesus, even though they do not see him but walk by
faith in His Spirit (John 14:15). The obedient servants of Jesus in
this world, all of us who serve the Living Christ, reveal the Lord Jesus
before a proud and hurting world of sinners.
It's been a long time since Jesus departed, and we
know that he promised he would return for his own (John 14:3). Yet
it is so difficult during the wait. Christians struggle and are
persecuted by those who do not love him nor know the Holy Spirit (John 14:17). Many
surround us daily saying "Where is this coming you're always talking
about?" (cf. 2 Peter 3:3-11). But we must be reminded that the
Lord is patient not wanting any of His people to perish, but for all to
come to repentance. Jesus gives the blues to his people the day he
left to die for us. But those blues he gave to us cause us to long
for heaven and to be homesick for our true home and sweet Lord! The
blues we feel in our waiting for him to return are good feelings of a
true and heavenly homesickness and longing that only the appearance of
Christ can satisfy.
There is hope for the lonely! There is good news
for the despairing and troubled! Jesus says
"Peace". Jesus says "Know my peace when you are
lonely and in despair". We must remember that he is indeed
with us, he indwells us by His Spirit and although we walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, his rod and staff will guide us over
into the promised land to be in his presence forever! Before Jesus
goes he gives his disciples a permanent cure for our lonely hearts and
all of us who have the blues at times. He says, "Peace be with
you; my peace I give to you. Don't let you hearts be troubled,
neither be afraid" (John 14:27).
Jesus wants us to be obedient to his call and
his commands, showing forth his love while he is gone. Our command
is to love the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit by obeying him and
loving him from the heart. Our hearts will be troubled and there
will be times when we are all afraid, yet Jesus is truly with us and has
permanently taken care of our "big 'ol bad case of the
blues". He has earned for us an eternity with him, in his
glorious presence in heaven forever!
The faith that first took hold of Christ when you
heard the good news of the gospel is the faith that sustains you
as you walk by faith and not by sight in the power of Christ's
Spirit. You don't see him, yet you know that he will come
back. So, we wait for our Jesus patiently, expectantly, alertly,
enthusiastically, obediently, lovingly, hopefully, and peacefully.
Give your "Big 'ol bad case of the blues" to
Jesus and find that his peace is with you and meditate upon the fact
that he is near to you today by His Spirit! The reason he has left
was not to abandon us as orphans, but to prepare a place to dwell
eternally with the Blessed Father as children of the Living God!
Next Study: Jesus' Final Week of Ministry, Part
IV
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Word of
Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 16
Jesus' Final Week of Ministry, Part IV
"THE
GUILTY CREATOR" - Part One
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If anyone in the
Roman culture had cared or understood, the newspapers might have covered
it. If they had cared, the headlines of the story might
have read:
CREATOR JUDGED GUILTY BY HIS CREATURES TODAY!
But in the Roman
culture at the time, no one neither cared nor understood about this
judgment and sentence passed on the Son of Man, as many do not care or
understand it in our time. Nevertheless, the Apostle John gives us
an account of what it was like to be on the "inside" and to be
a witness to the event. It is truly unbelievable that the Creator
of Heaven and Earth would subject himself to a judgment by his creatures
because he loved them enough to be judged "guilty" by them, so
that he could secure their everlasting salvation with him! Yet God
has allowed himself to be judged time and time again in his infinite
patience and mercy! Think about it.
Why Do Bad
Things Happen to "Good People"?
"That's not
fair!" "I can't believe this is happening to me!
What have I done?" "How can bad things happen to good
people?" These are exclamations and questions we have all
had! And then we blame God for what has happened against our will
in our tiny little self-centered kingdoms! Have you ever noticed
that when anything bad happens to so-called "good people",
whether in our individual lives or in major events throughout the world,
God is always the one who is blamed! We pronounce God "guilty"
for allowing such things!
It has always
been this way. Philosophers and all those who belong to the Kingdom of Man reveal their boastful arrogance and
thoughtless pride when they declare that God is guilty for all the mess
and misery here in this world. The reason why many people today
claim they do not believe in God is because they think he is either unloving or he is not powerful and thus weakly trivial
and inadequate to help them in their judgment. And so they continue
to rebel against the Living and so-called Guilty Creator, adding to the
mess and misery in this world and continuing to pass judgment upon Him
despite the fact that He is the only One to save them! (Anyone remember
C. S. Lewis' 'God in the Dock' essay?)
Yet we must
remind all those who take it upon themselves to judge God Almighty, it
was not God's fault that there is sin and misery in the world! God
is not guilty for the mess and misery- - man is! It was God's great
love for sinners that provoked the heart of God to be judged "guilty"
of sin so that while we were yet still sinners and his enemies, we might
be made his children. God is
guilty!! God is guilty for loving ungrateful,
selfish, idolaters, who are unholy, unloving, rebellious
Law-breakers. God is guilty for loving us. And for that
reason we must remember to "be still and know that He is
God". As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 3, let all the
earth keep their mouth shut and know that we are the guilty ones for all
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Apostle John
allows us access to the important event of God being judged guilty in
John 18. As you read, be reminded that Jesus is pronounced
"guilty" by both the Jews and the Gentiles in the Sanhedrin and
Rome respectively.
John 18
John 18: When Jesus had spoken
these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron,
where was a garden, into which he entered, himself and his disciples. 2
Now Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus
oft-times resorted thither with his disciples. 3 Judas then,
having received the band of soldiers, and officers from the chief
priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and
weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were
coming upon him, went forth, and saith unto them, Whom seek ye? 5 They
answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he.
And Judas also, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When
therefore he said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell
to the ground. 7 Again therefore he asked them, Whom seek ye?
And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 8 Jesus answered,
I told you that I am he; if therefore ye seek me, let these go
their way: 9 that the word might be fulfilled which he spake,
Of those whom thou hast given me I lost not one. 10 Simon
Peter therefore having a sword drew it, and struck the high priest's
servant, and cut off his right ear. Now the servant's name was Malchus. 11
Jesus therefore said unto Peter, Put up the sword into the sheath:
the cup which the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? 12 So
the band and the chief captain, and the officers of the Jews, seized
Jesus and bound him, 13 and led him to Annas first; for he was
father in law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
14 Now Caiaphas was he that gave counsel to the Jews,
that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. 15 And
Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that
disciple was known unto the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into
the court of the high priest; 16 but Peter was standing at the
door without. So the other disciple, who was known unto the high priest,
went out and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. 17
The maid therefore that kept the door saith unto Peter, Art thou
also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not. 18 Now
the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a
fire of coals; for it was cold; and they were warming themselves: and
Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.
19 The high priest therefore asked Jesus of his
disciples, and of his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, I have
spoken openly to the world; I ever taught in synagogues, and in the
temple, where all the Jews come together; and in secret spake I nothing. 21
Why askest thou me? Ask them that have heard me, what I
spake unto them: behold, these know the things which I said. 22 And
when he had said this, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with
his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? 23 Jesus
answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if
well, why smitest thou me? 24 Annas therefore sent him bound
unto Caiaphas the high priest. 25 Now Simon Peter was standing
and warming himself. They said therefore unto him, Art thou also one of
his disciples? He denied, and said, I am not. 26 One of the
servants of the high priest, being a kinsman of him whose ear Peter cut
off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? 27 Peter
therefore denied again: and straightway the cock crew.
28 They lead Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the
Praetorium: and it was early; and they themselves entered not into the
Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. 29
Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation
bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and said unto him,
If this man were not an evildoer, we should not have delivered him up
unto thee. 31 Pilate therefore said unto them, Take him
yourselves, and judge him according to your law. The Jews said unto him,
It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: 32 that the
word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying by what
manner of death he should die.
33 Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium,
and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34
Jesus answered, Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell it
thee concerning me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own
nation and the chief priests delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my
kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should
not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 37
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus
answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and
to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the
truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate
saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out
again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find no crime in him. 39
But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover:
will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 40 They
cried out therefore again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now
Barabbas was a robber.)
The Sanhedrin have
decided that they know Jesus is a permanent threat to them as long
as he lives, so they continue to work out their judgment upon Messiah-the
Christ, with no fear nor trembling about what it is they're doing.
In the account of Jesus' trial and sentencing, He is literally
handed back and forth on this day to be judged by the Jewish people as
well as by the ruling Gentiles. This was the day when the Kingdom of Man, represented in the Sanhedrin and in Rome, would put to death the Son of Man.
A lot happened in the
dark that night under the light of the full moon as Jesus was betrayed by
Judas and arrested for the crime of revealing the Living God to
sinners. Lot's of trouble, deception, as well
as revelation happened that night. Jesus had finished praying
his prayer of the High Priest and Prophet of God for His people, and he
was about to enter the presence of God, not to receive His Father's
blessing, but to receive his curse on behalf of sinners (John
18:11). Jesus was about to shed his precious blood in the Most Holy Place in Heaven.
The next day of Jesus'
trial and execution was when the unthinkable happened! The Creator
of Heaven and Earth was judged and sentenced to death by His creatures
whom He had made because of his love and grace and desire for
glory. He would be glorified, but not through His creature's obedience,
but through the death and resurrection of His Eternally Begotten Son who
represented the creatures who were his own chosen out of the world.
In the judgment,
sentencing, and execution of Jesus is the rejection of the Sanhedrin (the
Jews), the Romans (Gentiles), as well as some denial and rejection from
those whom he has called "friends" (the Apostles). Woven
into John's narrative of Jesus' mock trial and judgment is Peter's denial
of Jesus. While those who hate Messiah are judging him and accusing
him falsely, Peter whom he loves, had prayed for, and called
"friend" is denying that he knows him - - not to a
strong Roman Centurion, but to a young, weak maiden around a fire.
Yet Peter is later restored, because Jesus had prayed for
him!
Jesus' Final
Words and Testimony Concerning Himself
Jesus had told his
disciples that he must leave them and it was for their good (John
14). He had told them of the close living union with the Son
of God and how because they remain in him they will bear much fruit
that will last (John 15:1-16). Jesus had encouraged them that no
matter how intense and terrifying the persecution and judgment they
receive from the hands of unbelievers, they were to rest in his peace and
know that he had overcome the world (John 16). Jesus told his
disciples several times of the true judgment of the world in those who
reject him (John 3:16-36), and the judgment of the Holy Spirit because of sin (John
16:8-11). Jesus tells his disciples that the forces of the world
system at the disposal of the Evil One has been ultimately defeated and therefore they
are not to fear as they represent the Son of Man before the eyes of the
world (John 12:31; 16:33; 17:15).
Then he prays for them
as their Great and Holy High Priest and Prophet of God (John 17).
Jesus, knowing he is about to offer himself up as a sacrifice for sins,
knowing his time has come, takes the time to pray for His own. In
Jesus' prayer, he prays for the Father to be glorified, for the Son of
Man to be glorified with the glory he had from the foundation of the
world (John 17:1-5), for his disciples to be set apart or sanctified by
God's Truth and kept in the world, but protected from the Evil One (John
17:6-19), and he prays finally for the Church, those who would believe
upon his name because of the witness and testimony of the disciples (John
17:20-26).
This High-Priestly and
Prophetic prayer of Jesus we should constantly remember as the people of
God that all of these prayers have
been answered. God always hears and grants the
prayers of Jesus and thus he has given his people the privilege of
praying in His NAME (John 14:13-14; 15:16). Notice Jesus also says there are some he is not praying
for. He is not praying for the world, but specifically for those
the Father has given to him out of
the world (John 17:9). This reveals the tender heart of
Jesus and his love for those who he has loved with an everlasting
love!
What care do you have
that you cannot take to Jesus in His Name? Don't ever forget you
have a privilege in this New Covenant time period that those before the
resurrection and ascension of Jesus did not have! Christian, you
can pray in Jesus' Name- -the Name above all Names- - the Name of the
Lamb of God, the Savior of your soul, the Great I AM who came in the
flesh- - JESUS! Call upon the Name of the Lord and you will be
saved -- and you will continue to be saved from all of your cares and
troubles as you walk with Him. He is nearer to you now than he was
even to the Apostles in the days of his flesh (John 14:16-20; 15:1-8).
Jesus prays before the
face of God in John 17 and in John 18 he stands before the face of sinful
men as the fulfillment of his prayer begins to unravel and unfold in time
and space. This was the way for God to be glorified (John
17:1-5). Jesus, the Son of Man, Judge of Heaven and Earth stands
before the Sanhedrin, the 'Court of Moses', or the court of those who sit
in Moses' seat (cf. Matt. 23:1ff). The Sanhedrin were organized as
those who took their instructions from Moses and taught the people the
teachings of Moses and the Old Covenant. Their main
"calling" was to teach and make known the Old Covenant to
prepare the people for Messiah, the Christ. Yet when the Messiah,
the One greater than Moses stands before them, they judge him as guilty
and a threat to the people in what he has said and done in the Father's
Name! Irony of ironies! The Sanhedrin wouldn't heal a man on
the Sabbath, wouldn't believe when they saw Jesus' miracles, and would
not worship him when he claimed to be the Great "I AM", but
they would judge and kill when they got the opportunity to silence Jesus
who has come not only to fulfill the Law of Moses and the Prophets, but
to ultimately be treated like Moses and the Prophets by the people!
The Guilty
Creator Judged by the Sanhedrin
In this scene before
the Sanhedrin (John 18:19-24), the long-awaited Messiah of Israel is being judged!
The Sanhedrin was made up of Pharisees, Saduccees and Scribes, those who
were "authorities" in the understanding of the Old
Covenant. He came to his own, but his own received him not (John
1:9-11)! Let this grip you. Those who were schooled in the
Old Covenant Law, those who had memorized all of the Old Covenant
writings in their original languages, were judging the very One who they
had supposedly placed all of their hopes in. The Messiah, king of
his people, was standing before those who had given their lives to
interpret and explain the Scriptures that spoke of him (John 5:24ff; cf.
Luke 24:26-49) and rather than having eyes of faith so that they could
see him, they blindly judge him.
Yet, what we must keep
in mind is that there is a lot going on in Jesus' last days that men do
not realize they are doing to fulfill the plan of God in securing the
salvation of his people. For instance, in John 11:45ff, Caiaphas
the High Priest says that one must die for the nation of Israel, not realizing he was prophesying as High
Priest that year. Mary anoints Jesus' feet with expensive
perfume which would prepare his body for death and burial, even though
she realized it not (John 12:1-11). The people who had heard Jesus
had raised Lazarus from the dead shouted "Hosannas", not
realizing they were fulfilling Zechariah 9 (John 12:16). The Sanhedrin had no earthly idea that
even though they were judging Jesus unfairly, they were sentencing him as
the one who would take the sins of law breakers on himself, so that those
who believe might live. In other words, their judgment was unjust,
but God's judgment upon Jesus was just because he became the sin-bearer
of many, but they did not understand this. The Apostle Peter sums
it up this way in his "Pentecostal" sermon:
Acts 2:22-24: "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of
Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and
signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know- 23
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge
of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not
possible for him to be held by it.
This reminds us that
God's ways and thoughts are so much higher than our ways and
thoughts! None of the people, neither Jews nor Gentiles, would have
been able to put the Creator to death had they not been given their
strength and authority from God (John 19:11). The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace of whom Isaiah
prophesied and the people of God waited in expectation for him to
come to them, was being judged by sinners who had no right to speak to
him because of his greatness and majesty, much less to judge him
according to the Law of Moses that they themselves had not, nor could
keep!
It gets worse
though. The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, and Prince of Peace was slapped by a sinful creature (John 19:22) because he didn't answer the High Priest in
the way he thought he deserved. It must be remembered, even before
the Son of Man is handed over to common pagans to be spat upon, beat with
whips, and crucified, he was slapped in the face by One who had sat under
the special revelation of God's mercy and grace in the Holy
Scriptures! Notice how Paul explains this after Jesus' resurrection
from the dead:
Acts 13:26-31: "Brothers, sons of the family of
Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the
message of this salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem
and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the
utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them
by condemning him. 28 And though they found in him no guilt
worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29
And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him
down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised
him from the dead, 31 and for many days he appeared to those
who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his
witnesses to the people.
None of them would
have been able to put the Creator to death had it not been his plan from
the foundation of the world to secure the salvation of those he
loved. And what love! As the people of God, think today of
Jesus undergoing a slap on the face from sinners who had had the kind and
merciful revelation of God given to them. Think of his great love
for us! We don't know whether the one who slapped him ever came to
believe in the Christ and to have this and many other sins washed away,
but we all know how we have in our own ways done much worse than merely
slapping God in the face! Many of us lived lives in pursuit of sin
and rebellion, rejecting every opportunity and moment of grace held out
to us by God's gracious hand before we came to believe in the Son of Man
who died for us. As Augustine wrote: "In some
mysterious way, God loved us even when he hated us"
(paraphrase). The Apostle Paul sums this up well in Romans 5:6-11:
Romans 5:6-11: For while we were still weak, at the right time
Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a
righteous person- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to
die- 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have
now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from
the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are
reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that,
we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received reconciliation.
None of those judging
Jesus, neither Jew nor Gentile, fully knew the extent of what they
were doing in "ridding the world of Jesus". For when they
were judging him, they were ultimately judging themselves for he was the
only hope of salvation for the world. Therefore, if sinners
judge the only Savior of sinners, there is no hope nor an Advocate to
mediate for them before the Holy Living God!
Jesus had no Advocate,
no defense attorney as he is judged before the Sanhedrin and Rome, yet he
underwent the judgment so that He could be an Advocate for sinners like
us before the throne of grace before the face of Almighty God (1 John
1:8-2:2). Those who judged Jesus, who never repented of their sins,
as well as all those who judge Jesus as anything other than the Savior of
sinners, Judge and King of the world, will find that they are without an
Advocate and Counselor on the Day of the LORD! The Apostle John sees
this in a vision toward the latter part of his life. Read only if
you can bear it!
Revelation 6:14-17: The sky vanished like a scroll that is being
rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15
Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the
rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in
the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to
the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of
him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17
for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"
It is a very bad day
when the only decision a person can make is between facing the wrath of
the Lamb or having sharp and heavy rocks crush their bodies. With
all seriousness, this is the a devastating and fearful position to be in,
perhaps best described as the proverbial "rock and a very hard
place".
People have complained
against God's goodness and power when difficult times of misery came into
their lives. People have faced serious decisions and been in
bad places before in life, but none quite like this! Behold the
Lamb of God who comes this time not to take the sins of man, but to
mete out justice and serve up the terrible wrath of God that sinners have
been storing up to be poured out on them for this day! The Apostle
Paul describes this judgment to come for both Jews and Gentiles in Romans
2.
Romans
2:4-11: Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance
and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to
repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart
you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's
righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will render to each
one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in
well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal
life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the
truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9
There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does
evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor
and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11
For God shows no partiality.
Behold, the Lamb who
sits on the throne in the Book of Revelation is not smiling
affectionately at sinful mockers and scoffers as he
calls them too himself, he is pursuing them with vengeance and
wrath! Fade to black. Woe be to the Kingdom of men on that
day! Woe be to those who have no advocate before the Father in
Christ Jesus! They will be sentenced to eternal punishment in hell
where the worm does not die and the flame is never quenched (Isaiah
66:24ff; Matt. 23:33; 25:41-46; Mark 9:48; Rev. 18-19). The Lamb is pronouncing all unbelievers
"Guilty"! But those who have trusted in him, we have been
pronounced "not guilty" because He has clothed us in his
righteousness and with glorious white robes stained by the blood of the
Lamb, who was slain from the foundation of the world! Praise
God! Let his people cry: "Maranatha. Come, Lord
Jesus!"
Reflect upon this poem
concerning "the Guilty Creator":
"God, guilty you
are!
Stained with the sins
of your people who
judge you;
shown forth to the
world as feeble
and poor!
Yet, gracious and
glorious you are!
For your guilt,
O God is not
your sin;
but your constant love
for undeserving
sinners!
Guilty?
Yes!
But guilty of love for
hopeless creatures
like me!"
Tomorrow's
Study-
Part II:
THE GUILTY CREATOR Judged by Rome!
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 17
Jesus' Final Week of Ministry, Part IV
"THE
GUILTY CREATOR" - Part Two
What a night it had
been for Jesus before the Sanhedrin! He had been betrayed by Judas,
denied by a close friend, tried in a court at night and this was
forbidden according to the rules of the Sanhedrin. He had been
falsely accused, questioned with no witnesses, and had no advocate before
the Jewish court who decided that he was guilty and that he must be
handed over to Rome for final judgment. Jesus had said
nothing in private, but had spoken and taught in synagogues. In all
that Jesus had done and said, they failed to see or hear anything.
They were deaf, dumb, and blind spiritually (John 12:37ff).
In the previous study,
Jesus was judged by his own in the Sanhedrin rather than being received
as their King and Messiah. Before Pontius Pilate, God undermines
the Kingdom of Man by His humble submission to death
and crucifixion! Today's study continues the trial of Jesus as he
is rushed from being judged by the Sanhedrin and handed over to Pontius
Pilate.
The Creator
Judged by Rome
Immediately, the
scene changes from the Sanhedrin and Jesus is quickly taken to
the home of Pontius Pilate, the Governor of Judea and upholder of Roman Law. He tells
the Jews to judge this man according to their own law. And suddenly
the Jews who hate Rome and Roman rule are now are seeming to
be good and upstanding citizens of Roman Law. They say:
"Why we cannot put a man to death!" (John 18:31), but they imply in their response that they
have already decided Jesus' fate and judgement: He is to die (John 18:32;
cf. 11:45ff). Pontius Pilate is not at all interested in the Jewish
Law or their way of life, but they have gotten him involved and now he
must do something to appease the Jewish court so as to ultimately keep
Caesar happy (cf. John 19:12ff).
Pilate asks Jesus about
himself. You can imagine him looking on this common Jewish man with
perhaps a disinterested pity. It seems that Pilate senses something
innocent, something even great about him (cf. John 19), yet the
glory of God is cloaked in human flesh and only seen with eyes of faith
(John 12:37-42).
Pilate interviews him and asks "Are you the King of the
Jews?" Jesus replies that he is a King, but his Kingdom is not
of this world. Our words often mask our power struggles, the real
intent of our questions and remarks (as the Postmodern scholars rightly
point out to us all). What Pilate is asking him is this: "Are
you a threat to me?" "Are you a threat to Rome?" Jesus knows this. So the
way Jesus answers is particularly pointed in his response.
Jesus says in essence
my Kingdom is from another place, or my servants would fight. Jesus
came into Jerusalem a city under Roman rule, as a King humbly
sitting on a donkey's colt. Jesus is telling Pilate that HE IS A
KING, no, he is THE KING, and he will be a threat one day, but not
now. For now, this King will lay down his life for his own so that
he might secure their salvation and overthrow all kingdoms of men that
set themselves up against God! Pilate wants it straight: "Do
you have any plans to pursue the overthrow of Rome?" Jesus says ultimately: "I am
not a threat to you or Rome, Pilate." By now, Pilate must have
been very confused! He could have said to Jesus: "The people
of your kingdom are handing you over to me so that you might be
dethroned, unseated from your throne. What kind of servants do you
rule?" Pilate must have thought that it was about time that
the insurrection of the Jews was directed toward their own and not once
again to Roman rule!
The Creator of Heaven
and Earth who will come again to judge was on that day going to be
mockingly made a King with a crown of thorns. He did not look
like a King, he didn't fight and demand his rights like a King, but he
entrusted himself to His Father so that he might be delivered over to
death and to be judged "not guilty" in his resurrection!
Since the Tower of Babel, the Kingdom of Man, in an effort to make a name
for themselves and to undermine the rule of God Almighty, have tried to
storm the gates of heaven in order to dethrone and unseat the King of
Heaven! Here, man finally has God "in his
clutches", because the King has laid aside his glory and
his throne to enter the governing representative of the Kingdom of
Man. Jesus has entered Pilate's palace to ultimate "give
himself up" so that he might defeat once and for all the power which
oppose the LORD and His Anointed One! Psalm 2 captures the ongoing
opposition of the Kingdom of Man to God's rules and sovereignty!
Psalm 2: Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, 3
"Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from
us." 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds
them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 "As for me, I
have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." 7
I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;
today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the
nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9
You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a
potter's vessel." 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be
warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are
all who take refuge in him.
Jesus, the Anointed
One of God, says he has come to witness to the Truth. Jesus
revealed the truth of the Kingdom of God in himself. Rather than asking
"What is truth?" Perhaps the better question would have
been "Who is truth?" because the Way, Truth, and the Life was
standing right before Pilate that day. Close, we might say, but not
close enough. Pilate, although he found no guilt in Jesus, did not
humbly bow on bended knee before the Son of Man, the King of Heaven and
Earth, begging of him his grace and clemency to save him from the wrath
to come! Rather, Pilate would commit the King to the crowd,
and allow him to be crucified. The Kingdom of God in Jesus will only be seen with eyes of
faith. Jesus does not deny that he is a King, but he is a king who
rode a donkey's colt of peace to declare salvation to all those who
believe. Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to declare peace to the Jews
and to the Gentiles, yet both of them end up judging them. The
whole kingdom of man passes judgement on the Kingdom of God!
We usually are not as
quick to judge Pilate as we are the Sanhedrin when we compare the two
groups. The Apostle John probably did want us to feel the irony of
a Roman treating Jesus with more respect than his own people.
However, Pilate is just as guilty, and all of the hand washings in the
world can never cleanse the blood from his hands as he held out his
blood-stained,yet authoritative hands to say "Behold, Your
King" to the crowds (John 19:1-11). All of the signs that read
"Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (John 19:19) were written
with hands of spite and unbelief rather than hands of faith who gripped
hold of the Savior's garment, bowing before him so that he might have
forgiveness of sins and life. This is Rome's representative and there "is no other
king but Caesar" according to Rome (even the Jews later claim to know and
abide by this truth!).
So, at the end of the
day, Pilate did not show mercy or understanding to Jesus. He pitied
him, scoffed him, mocked him as much as anyone else. He was just
the type who even in their rebellion against God do not have neither the
backbone nor the courage to be truly opposed and openly rebellious
in their defiance of the Living God because somewhere inside of them is a
heart of fear, and a knowledge written on their hearts that they will be
judged (cf. Romans 1:18ff; Acts 17:26ff). Not like the members of
the Sanhedrin who had learned to push down and suppress this fear of God
by a false righteousness of their own making, thinking somehow that no
matter what they did, God was pleased as punch with them and the very
"bees knees" in the mind of God. Yet, the test of their
heart is revealed when Jesus is brought out to them and they request for
Barabbas to be released rather than Jesus!
A robber for a
Savior! A Savior for robbers! A Savior for sinners. You
must understand this! Barabbas had been a Jewish zealot, brigand,
or robber whose sole purpose in life was to overthrow Roman rule.
Now, Jesus who is supposedly the King of the Jews, is being handed over
to Pilate rather than this zealot. From Pilate's perspective as a
Roman, he must have been very confused that day!
At the end of the day,
whenever Jesus is revealed to men, whether it be in the flesh as it was
on this day, or in his word when the days of his flesh are revealed to us
in all his saving glory, men make a conscious decision based on how
God has worked in their hearts prior to that moment. We don't see
the work of God in men's hearts, nor do we see the thoughts of men's
hearts, but what we do see is the fruit of those sinful hearts.
Here in the final moments of Jesus' life, we glimpse the sinful and
dead branches broken from the vine rather than the fruitful branches
of faith.
On that memorable and
terrible day of Jesus' judgment, the hearts of both Jews and Romans were
revealed. Yet, the same Messiah would be the One who will unite
both Jews and Romans by grace through faith as one people in Him, as
those who would not be sentenced on the Day of His Judgment, but be those
who will inherit Eternal Salvation and be crowned with an imperishable
Crown of Righteousness (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
The Creator was
judged, bled and died a just as well as an unjust death that day.
He died a just death on behalf of sinners. He was the Lamb of
God whom God placed all of the sins of his people upon his back.
God caused Jesus to suffer and to experience his awful wrath because of
sin -- not his own-
- but the sin of those whom he loved! The judgment was also unjust
because sinners have no right to judge a perfect Messiah, the Son of Man
himself! So on the cross that day was just as well as unjust
judgment. Yet, the Creator who died as a sacrifice for sinners took
into himself the depths of God's cup of wrath so that he might offer a
cup of blessing to all those who would believe! Paul describes our
condition and the glorious God who is just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus in
Romans 3.
Romans 3:23-26: ...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put
forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was
to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had
passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness
at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the
one who has faith in Jesus.
Because Jesus was
"not guilty" before the Living God, the Father would
look upon His Son and would say "Arise, my Son, up from the
dead!". In Jesus' resurrection, before the Living God, the
courts of heaven, and every principality, power and authority, not only
in this age, but also in the age to come, Jesus was pronounced "NOT
GUILTY" and opened up the way in his via dolorossa (way of
suffering) to the ultimate and final way to God! Jesus, the
Son of Man, opened up the way into a New Creation so that those who
believe and love him may spend eternity with him in everlasting
glory. The Apostle Paul sums Christ's entire work for his own in 1
Timothy 3:16:
1 Timothy 3:16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of
godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen
by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken
up in glory.
Those who believe in
Jesus shall never be judged "GUILTY" by the Living God, because
Jesus was judged "GUILTY" in their place! What grace and
fantastic love to sinners who only deserve and have only merited an
eternal sentence of judgment away from the presence of God. Through
Jesus, he has opened up the way for God to ultimately dwell with man
(Rev. 21:1-7). Through Jesus' judgment, the Father has
permanently established Christ's Kingdom over all kingdoms as he
said he would do! Notice in the following Old Covenant as well as
New Covenant passages how God's Kingdom would be set up contrary to all
who oppose him! God is Sovereign and reigns over the kingdoms of
man.
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will
set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be
left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and
bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever...
Daniel 7:27
And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under
the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions
shall serve and obey them.'
Revelation
11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices
in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom
of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."
Let the people of God
say: "God's ways and thoughts are indeed higher than anything we can
imagine. Glory be to the Lamb who sits upon the throne!"
God has undermined and overthrown all the principalities, powers,
authorities, and rulers who set themselves up against God and His
Anointed One! The Anointed One has sat down at the right hand of
God and placed all rule, authority, dominion, death, hell, and the devil
under his feet.
Next Study:
Jesus' Final Week of Ministry, Pt. V
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 17
Jesus' Final Week of Ministry, Part IV
"THE
GUILTY CREATOR" - Part Two
What a night it had
been for Jesus before the Sanhedrin! He had been betrayed by Judas,
denied by a close friend, tried in a court at night and this was
forbidden according to the rules of the Sanhedrin. He had been
falsely accused, questioned with no witnesses, and had no advocate before
the Jewish court who decided that he was guilty and that he must be
handed over to Rome for final judgment. Jesus had said
nothing in private, but had spoken and taught in synagogues. In all
that Jesus had done and said, they failed to see or hear anything.
They were deaf, dumb, and blind spiritually (John 12:37ff).
In the previous study,
Jesus was judged by his own in the Sanhedrin rather than being received
as their King and Messiah. Before Pontius Pilate, God undermines
the Kingdom of Man by His humble submission to death
and crucifixion! Today's study continues the trial of Jesus as he
is rushed from being judged by the Sanhedrin and handed over to Pontius
Pilate.
The Creator
Judged by Rome
Immediately, the
scene changes from the Sanhedrin and Jesus is quickly taken to
the home of Pontius Pilate, the Governor of Judea and upholder of Roman Law. He tells
the Jews to judge this man according to their own law. And suddenly
the Jews who hate Rome and Roman rule are now are seeming to
be good and upstanding citizens of Roman Law. They say:
"Why we cannot put a man to death!" (John 18:31), but they imply in their response that they
have already decided Jesus' fate and judgement: He is to die (John 18:32;
cf. 11:45ff). Pontius Pilate is not at all interested in the Jewish
Law or their way of life, but they have gotten him involved and now he
must do something to appease the Jewish court so as to ultimately keep
Caesar happy (cf. John 19:12ff).
Pilate asks Jesus
about himself. You can imagine him looking on this common Jewish
man with perhaps a disinterested pity. It seems that Pilate senses
something innocent, something even great about him (cf. John 19),
yet the glory of God is cloaked in human flesh and only seen with eyes of
faith (John 12:37-42). Pilate interviews him and asks "Are you the King
of the Jews?" Jesus replies that he is a King, but his Kingdom
is not of this world. Our words often mask our power struggles, the
real intent of our questions and remarks (as the Postmodern scholars
rightly point out to us all). What Pilate is asking him is this:
"Are you a threat to me?" "Are you a threat to Rome?" Jesus knows this. So the
way Jesus answers is particularly pointed in his response.
Jesus says in essence
my Kingdom is from another place, or my servants would fight. Jesus
came into Jerusalem a city under Roman rule, as a King humbly
sitting on a donkey's colt. Jesus is telling Pilate that HE IS A
KING, no, he is THE KING, and he will be a threat one day, but not
now. For now, this King will lay down his life for his own so that
he might secure their salvation and overthrow all kingdoms of men that
set themselves up against God! Pilate wants it straight: "Do
you have any plans to pursue the overthrow of Rome?" Jesus says ultimately: "I am
not a threat to you or Rome, Pilate." By now, Pilate must have
been very confused! He could have said to Jesus: "The people
of your kingdom are handing you over to me so that you might be
dethroned, unseated from your throne. What kind of servants do you
rule?" Pilate must have thought that it was about time that
the insurrection of the Jews was directed toward their own and not once
again to Roman rule!
The Creator of Heaven
and Earth who will come again to judge was on that day going to be
mockingly made a King with a crown of thorns. He did not look
like a King, he didn't fight and demand his rights like a King, but he
entrusted himself to His Father so that he might be delivered over to
death and to be judged "not guilty" in his resurrection!
Since the Tower of Babel, the Kingdom of Man, in an effort to make a name
for themselves and to undermine the rule of God Almighty, have tried to
storm the gates of heaven in order to dethrone and unseat the King of
Heaven! Here, man finally has God "in his
clutches", because the King has laid aside his glory and
his throne to enter the governing representative of the Kingdom of
Man. Jesus has entered Pilate's palace to ultimate "give
himself up" so that he might defeat once and for all the power which
oppose the LORD and His Anointed One! Psalm 2 captures the ongoing
opposition of the Kingdom of Man to God's rules and sovereignty!
Psalm 2: Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, 3
"Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us."
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in
derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and
terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 "As for me, I have
set my King on Zion, my holy hill." 7
I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;
today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the
nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9
You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a
potter's vessel." 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be
warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are
all who take refuge in him.
Jesus, the Anointed
One of God, says he has come to witness to the Truth. Jesus
revealed the truth of the Kingdom of God in himself. Rather than asking
"What is truth?" Perhaps the better question would have
been "Who is truth?" because the Way, Truth, and the Life was
standing right before Pilate that day. Close, we might say, but not
close enough. Pilate, although he found no guilt in Jesus, did not
humbly bow on bended knee before the Son of Man, the King of Heaven and
Earth, begging of him his grace and clemency to save him from the wrath
to come! Rather, Pilate would commit the King to the crowd,
and allow him to be crucified. The Kingdom of God in Jesus will only be seen with eyes of
faith. Jesus does not deny that he is a King, but he is a king who
rode a donkey's colt of peace to declare salvation to all those who
believe. Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to declare peace to the Jews
and to the Gentiles, yet both of them end up judging them. The
whole kingdom of man passes judgement on the Kingdom of God!
We usually are not as
quick to judge Pilate as we are the Sanhedrin when we compare the two
groups. The Apostle John probably did want us to feel the irony of
a Roman treating Jesus with more respect than his own people. However,
Pilate is just as guilty, and all of the hand washings in the world can
never cleanse the blood from his hands as he held out his
blood-stained,yet authoritative hands to say "Behold, Your
King" to the crowds (John 19:1-11). All of the signs that read
"Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (John 19:19) were written
with hands of spite and unbelief rather than hands of faith who gripped
hold of the Savior's garment, bowing before him so that he might have
forgiveness of sins and life. This is Rome's representative and there "is no other
king but Caesar" according to Rome (even the Jews later claim to know and
abide by this truth!).
So, at the end of the
day, Pilate did not show mercy or understanding to Jesus. He pitied
him, scoffed him, mocked him as much as anyone else. He was just
the type who even in their rebellion against God do not have neither the
backbone nor the courage to be truly opposed and openly rebellious
in their defiance of the Living God because somewhere inside of them is a
heart of fear, and a knowledge written on their hearts that they will be
judged (cf. Romans 1:18ff; Acts 17:26ff). Not like the members of
the Sanhedrin who had learned to push down and suppress this fear of God
by a false righteousness of their own making, thinking somehow that no
matter what they did, God was pleased as punch with them and the very
"bees knees" in the mind of God. Yet, the test of their
heart is revealed when Jesus is brought out to them and they request for
Barabbas to be released rather than Jesus!
A robber for a
Savior! A Savior for robbers! A Savior for sinners. You
must understand this! Barabbas had been a Jewish zealot, brigand,
or robber whose sole purpose in life was to overthrow Roman rule.
Now, Jesus who is supposedly the King of the Jews, is being handed over
to Pilate rather than this zealot. From Pilate's perspective as a
Roman, he must have been very confused that day!
At the end of the day,
whenever Jesus is revealed to men, whether it be in the flesh as it was
on this day, or in his word when the days of his flesh are revealed to us
in all his saving glory, men make a conscious decision based on how
God has worked in their hearts prior to that moment. We don't see
the work of God in men's hearts, nor do we see the thoughts of men's
hearts, but what we do see is the fruit of those sinful hearts.
Here in the final moments of Jesus' life, we glimpse the sinful and
dead branches broken from the vine rather than the fruitful branches
of faith.
On that memorable and
terrible day of Jesus' judgment, the hearts of both Jews and Romans were
revealed. Yet, the same Messiah would be the One who will unite
both Jews and Romans by grace through faith as one people in Him, as those
who would not be sentenced on the Day of His Judgment, but be those who
will inherit Eternal Salvation and be crowned with an imperishable
Crown of Righteousness (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
The Creator was
judged, bled and died a just as well as an unjust death that day.
He died a just death on behalf of sinners. He was the Lamb of
God whom God placed all of the sins of his people upon his
back. God caused Jesus to suffer and to experience his awful wrath
because of sin -- not his own-
- but the sin of those whom he loved! The judgment was also unjust
because sinners have no right to judge a perfect Messiah, the Son of Man
himself! So on the cross that day was just as well as unjust
judgment. Yet, the Creator who died as a sacrifice for sinners took
into himself the depths of God's cup of wrath so that he might offer a
cup of blessing to all those who would believe! Paul describes our
condition and the glorious God who is just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus in
Romans 3.
Romans 3:23-26: ...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put
forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was
to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had
passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness
at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the
one who has faith in Jesus.
Because Jesus was
"not guilty" before the Living God, the Father would
look upon His Son and would say "Arise, my Son, up from the
dead!". In Jesus' resurrection, before the Living God, the
courts of heaven, and every principality, power and authority, not only
in this age, but also in the age to come, Jesus was pronounced "NOT
GUILTY" and opened up the way in his via dolorossa (way of
suffering) to the ultimate and final way to God! Jesus, the
Son of Man, opened up the way into a New Creation so that those who
believe and love him may spend eternity with him in everlasting
glory. The Apostle Paul sums Christ's entire work for his own in 1
Timothy 3:16:
1 Timothy 3:16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of
godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen
by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken
up in glory.
Those who believe in
Jesus shall never be judged "GUILTY" by the Living God, because
Jesus was judged "GUILTY" in their place! What grace and
fantastic love to sinners who only deserve and have only merited an
eternal sentence of judgment away from the presence of God. Through
Jesus, he has opened up the way for God to ultimately dwell with man
(Rev. 21:1-7). Through Jesus' judgment, the Father has
permanently established Christ's Kingdom over all kingdoms as he
said he would do! Notice in the following Old Covenant as well as
New Covenant passages how God's Kingdom would be set up contrary to all
who oppose him! God is Sovereign and reigns over the kingdoms of
man.
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will
set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be
left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and
bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever...
Daniel 7:27
And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under
the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions
shall serve and obey them.'
Revelation
11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices
in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom
of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."
Let the people of God
say: "God's ways and thoughts are indeed higher than anything we can
imagine. Glory be to the Lamb who sits upon the throne!"
God has undermined and overthrown all the principalities, powers,
authorities, and rulers who set themselves up against God and His Anointed
One! The Anointed One has sat down at the right hand of God and
placed all rule, authority, dominion, death, hell, and the devil under
his feet.
Next Study:
Jesus' Final Week of Ministry, Pt. V
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Word
of Encouragement
Quote of
the Week
The
question being asked today in
many Christian congregations is 'How does God grow his church?'
Part of the answer for this question is finding out how to grow
Christ's Church both qualitatively
and quantitatively, or how to help the people of God to
mature in Christ and how to be a light that shines in the community of
the congregation, drawing more people to join in the worship and
praise of God in fulfillment of the Great Commission (Mt.
28:18-20). This week's quote concerning preaching and the growth of
the local congregation comes from the late Dr. James M. Boice. It
is an essay he wrote entitled the 'Foolishness
of Preaching'. Dr. Boice's quotation is from a
collection of essays edited by Joel Beeke, from a book entitled 'Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching' published
by Soli Deo Gloria publications.
2 Timothy 4:1-6: I charge you in the presence of God and of
Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his
appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in
season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete
patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people
will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will
accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4
and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the
work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Introduction
In the time period in
which we all live, many preachers, teachers and members of Christian
congregations get discouraged when their flock doesn't grow as quickly as
"Pastor Bob's Church" down the street. Some congregations
don't immediately show an increase right away and the preachers and
members think that maybe they should "try something new" [This
is what I call the 'Hagar Principle'
from Genesis 16: Rather than trusting God, we foolishly devise our own
schemes]. Some of the comments go like this: "Well, Pastor Bob
started using an overhead with Powerpoint for his sermons and that got
the people in." Or, "Pastor Bob has some really upbeat
music and the worship doesn't feel like church, you know what I
mean!?" Or, "Pastor Bob used a film clip from 'The
Matrix' the other day in the worship service to illustrate his
point! He'll do anything to make Jesus relevant!" But the
real question is "Is Pastor Bob preaching and teaching the Word of
God?" If so, to God be the glory! But many times this is
not the case in our day.
In a
culture of entertainment a flock does not easily feed upon exegesis
and exposition. They want something "exciting and easy"!
As pastors, teachers,
and members of Christ's church, we should encourage each other with the
hope that God has not abandoned his flocks. He promised he would
never leave them nor forsake them (Heb. 12:8ff). Our Heavenly
Father knows our frustrations and anxieties in a world that doesn't
appreciate preaching, or the Word of God, but is drawn to entertainment
and the easy over exegesis and exposition.
However, we are to be
faithful as God has given us grace. Paul tells Timothy in 2
Timothy 4:1-8 that regardless how nervous, weak, fearful, or young he
may be, he is to preach the Word at all times and in all
opportunities! Paul encourages Timothy that his main task is not to
worry about numbers, or how many people Pastor Bob has in his
congregation (or how big Pastor Bob's building or worship center is),
but he is to be faithful because the Righteous Judge holds out a
crown for all those preachers, teachers and members of Christ's flock who
faithfully proclaim and support the preaching and teaching of the
Word. Furthermore, we are reminded all through the Book of Acts
that it is the Lord who adds to the congregation through the faithful
preaching of the Word.
Acts 2:47:
Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as
should be saved.
If you are a member of a faithful congregation of Christ's people and
you have a pastor and/or teacher who preaches the Word faithfully,
honestly, clearly, passionately, then call them or write them an
encouraging note today. Tell them that you appreciate their
faithfulness to Christ and his Word! If you have the privilege of
sitting under the faithful preaching and teaching of God's Word you are
among the few in this world. As a member of a congregation, you may
wonder why Pastor Bob is gaining more people in his congregation, but remember that your pastor is being faithful by faith, and faithful preaching and teaching is an
exercise of faith like everything else in the Christian life
where all of us rely on God's grace, and depend upon his mercy
extended to us. The faithful preacher or teacher
relies on God's grace and depends on God's Sovereignty and providence as
he seeks to remain faithful to God's Word in a culture of
entertainment. Thus the reason why, whether you live in a Greek
culture or our own, preaching is still foolishness!
Hebrews
13:7ff (various verses): Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you
the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate
their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do
not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the
heart to be strengthened by grace....Obey your leaders and submit to
them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to
give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for
that would be of no advantage to you.
Encourage one another today as your congregation in Christ seeks to
sit under the Word, sup on the Word, suffer in this world because of the
Word, and sacrifice sometimes numbers due to faithfulness to the
Word. Remain confident in Jesus Christ who has promised to be
faithful to you! The size of the congregation matters not!
What matters is that when Jesus Christ returns he will indeed find strong faith on the earth
(cf. Luke 18) because His people have been nourished, strengthened and
matured by the faithful preaching of His Holy, Infallible, and Inspired
Word!
Dr. James
Montgomery Boice
"Preaching is the
primary means of growth for the local church. There is a great deal
of debate about this in our day, but it is the preaching of the Word that
God most uses to build up a church, not only numerically but above all
(and far more importantly) in spiritual depth and understanding of the people
who make up the congregation...
Many things are talked
about as necessary for the health and growth of the church today.
People talk about certain programs being essential. They are
important. We have such a diversified culture that people have
their own individual problems; the family is fragmented, and the kind of
reinforcement along Christian lines that ought to take place in homes
does not take place. The church is trying to minister specifically
at that point.
Still, if you think
back historically, say, to the time of the Great Awakening in this
country, you will realize that at that time the churches had hardly any
programs at all, at least nothing that we would recognize as
programs. There were no youth groups, no graded Sunday schools, no
bowling leagues, no baseball teams. But those churches were
healthy. Why? Because they had faithful preaching of the
Word.
Do you know what is
said to be the single most important factor for the growth of a church in
California? The size of the parking lot! If
you have a big parking lot, your church becomes a big church. So
what you have to do, you see, is to get as much land as you can right off
the bat.
But what is
essential? It is the preaching and teaching of the Word of God,
because as that is done God the Holy Spirit speaks through that Word to
the hearts of Christian people (and unbelievers too) and provides not
only the numbers but the kind of leadership in character and commitment
that is necessary if a church is to go forward. When that happens,
you can change all sorts of things. You can be deprived of a lot,
but the body, which is the true church, is there and grows.
I do not think it is
too much to say that preaching really is an essential means, perhaps even
the most important means, of grace. If that is the case, then we
should be very careful in our Christian life to expose ourselves to the
best teaching and attend the best churches available."
-James M. Boice,
'Foolishness of Preaching'
Update: New sermons and articles available at A Place
for Truth. Visit Tom Graffagnino's art and poetry page
under 'Resources' (excellent work by an exceptional artist who also
is a Christian brother). Also, some of my articles have been
published at 'Third Millennium Ministries', a ministry of Richard Pratt
in Orlando, FL
(www.thirdmill.org).
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Word of Encouragement
Quote
of the Week
Passing on
the Christian Faith through our Worship
Marva Dawn is an excellent church
musician and theologian. Her books such as 'Reaching Out without Dumbing Down' are
tremendous resources for developing a God-centered theology of worship.
She emphasizes two very important truths in this particular book:
(1) Worship must be God-centered.
That is, God is the object as well as the subject of all of our worship.
We are not the audience- -God is. God is not passive as audience, but is
ever active by His Spirit in changing us through the worship.
(2) Worship is primarily for the
community of God's people, it is only secondarily
"evangelistic" in nature. Worship is the response of the
people of God to what he has done for us in Christ. God is involved in
building up, nurturing and maturing the community of believers in our
worship. In other words, the community worship of God's people develops
character and Christ-like behavior. Below is a very helpful quotation on
passing on the Christian faith by educating the Church to understand what
true worship in Spirit and Truth IS. Is your worship of God, God-centered
or focused more on you? Do you think of the worship of God's people as
building community? Have you bought into thinking worship is primarily
evangelistic?
Marva Dawn:
"We can only pass on the faith
if it has nurtured our character to be its carriers and if we are part of
a community, the Church, that has carried the faith down through the
ages. Worship is a crucial key, for in worship we experience the presence
of the self-giving God to create and nurture our faith. Worship forms us;
all the elements of the service develop the character of believer in us.
And worship forms the community if it unites us in common beliefs,
traditions, renewal, and goals...
...The major reason why tradition
often grows stale is that we have failed to educate worshipers to know
why we do what we do and who we are as a community carrying the faith
together....The problem for many who don't like worship is that they
don't understand it. We have not taught the meaning of symbols, the
reason for certain actions or responses, the value of doing things in
certain ways...To appreciate genuine worship, no matter what style or
form, requires training, sensitivity, and patience with mysteries of God
that are beyond our ken. Worship that is too easy cheats us. It deprives
us of the grandeur of an infinite God.
Our narcissistic
[self-loving] culture makes it difficult for many to get outside of
themselves, to appreciate ideas and ideals that are larger than they are.
Worship must, therefore, be invitation- - invitation to the profound Joy
of the presence of God, to involvement in a community of praise, to
disciplines that nurture personal and corporate growth in character.
The invitation of worship is most
often accepted because of the model of others. Almost 60 percent of
citizens in the United States attribute their current religious beliefs to
the example of their parents. Because so many children in our culture are
raised in homes that do not set the example of spiritual devotion, the
Church must encourage its more mature members to provide mentoring to
families, fathering or mothering for children in single-parent
households, extra teaching and time beyond Sunday school and catechism
instruction. The whole community must always be in a process of growth to
become more grounded in the faith it seeks to pass on and to practice its
proclamation."
- Marva Dawn, 'Reaching Out without
Dumbing Down', pgs. 149-50.
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Romans 5:19-21:
For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the
one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now
the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace
abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in
death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It's worse than we think. Our sinful condition is worse
than we realize. Our sin problem is deep, and we need a real
and permanent solution. God comes into our lives by His Holy Spirit,
causing our hearts to live, giving us eyes to see his glory and
goodness, and to begin the work of transforming us into the image of
Christ. Why does he do this? What have we done to deserve
such love toward us? Absolutely nothing.
We all have a need of cleansing from sin. We have a need of
constant confession and constant forgiveness. We have a ongoing
need for grace. Will we ever learn that we never earned grace, or
in any way deserved anything God did for us in our salvation? Will
we ever learn that all of our best works as Christians will never earn us
more favor or more of the grace of God than we do not already
have as part of our incomparable riches in Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:18-22)?
In this passage from Romans 5:19-21, the Apostle Paul teaches us that
even though we as fallen people have a great and deep sin problem of the
heart because of Adam's disobedience, God has provided a great and
gracious solution in Jesus Christ. It is grace that abounds into
our lives where our sin increased! It is the superabundant grace
that God has provided to his people so that they might live godly and
grateful lives for him. As verse 19 says: It is "by the One
Man's obedience the many will be made righteous". There is
only One Who has obediently earned God's favor. For us, it is all of grace!
We will sin in the Christian life (Rom. 7:14-26;
1 John 1:7ff), but thanks be to God for Christ and his ongoing grace to
us. In the famous hymn called 'Amazing Grace' by John Bunyan, the
second verse teaches us this great truth of grace beginning the process
of our salvation and being continually applied as we go through life, so
that we might one day be like Jesus our gracious Savior. John
Bunyan writes:
"'Twas grace that taught
my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that
grace appear the hour I first believed."
Do you know of this great and glorious grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ? The One who truly offers free, precious grace and
forgiveness to you without asking absolutely nothing in return? Do
you believe it? I know it is hard to believe, that is why the
Apostle Paul goes on in Romans 6 to explain that it truly is all of grace
and we should live grateful and obedient lives because we have indeed
been set free from sin and the burdens of the Law we could never
bear. Do you believe it is all of grace, or are you trying to
compete with the "One Man's obedience" of Romans 5:19?
Do you know what it is to live a life full of Christ's grace that
superabounds? Do you know the freedom of being set free from the
"dos and don'ts" of the Law, so that by grace you can rest
freely in all that Christ did and did not do on behalf of those who
believe? Know this: Christ has set his people free by grace alone through faith, it is
NOT OF WORKS, so that no man can boast. It is all of grace, grace
is all you need, and all that superabounding grace will lead you safely
home to his side in heaven!
"Thro' many dangers,
toils, and snares, I have already come; 'tis grace has brought me safe
thus far, and grace will lead me home."
Praise be to God for his superabounding grace to those He loves!
Rest in Christ's work of loving his Father with all his heart, soul, mind
and strength, and his neighbor as himself! Rest in Christ's love
for you and the ongoing work of His Spirit powerfully granting you
assistance to continue by His grace to his side in the New Heavens and
the New Earth! Rest in Christ's love as he continues to deeply go
where no man has gone before into your heart, uprooting all evil, sin,
idolatry, and wickedness. Rest in Christ's love as he knows you
better than you will ever know yourself, and he loves you despite your
failures and sins. Rest in Christ's love and grace held out to you
as you live gratefully and joyfully for him knowing your truly
forgiven! Praise be to God!
Jesus says to you who haven't learned of this superabounding grace and
want to find rest:
Matthew 11:28-29: Come to me, all who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon
you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 20
"The Long Winter of Our Discontent"
Philippians
4:8-20: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of
praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and
received and heard and seen in me- practice these things, and the God of
peace will be with you. 10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that
now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed
concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am
speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am
to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how
to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of
facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all
things through him who strengthens me. 14 Yet it was kind of
you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves
know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no
church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except
you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my
needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek
the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received
full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from
Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice
acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply
every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20
To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
As American Christians
we tend to seek out happiness and healthiness as the main goals in
our lives just as much as anyone else. There is nothing wrong
with having creaturely comforts, or of being happy and healthy, but we
want to learn to be satisfied and truly happy in what God provides for
us. God provides for different people in a variety of ways.
As Philippians 4 teaches, we want to learn by his grace to rest content
in what God provides for us, and to be thankful.
Being content can
be so very difficult in our consumeristic culture today. We
are constantly bombarded with advertisements, magazines, and catalogs
reminding us of what we do not have.
The main purpose of these catalogs and advertisements is to show us what
we do not have and to spark a desire to obtain that which we do
not have. I am told that we are tempted by an average of 1,500
advertisements on a daily basis! How do we as Christians rest
content and become satisfied in what God gives and provides for us when
advertisers are working overtime to get our attention and make a
sell?
As long as we think as
Christians that happiness will come with one more product, or one more
material wish fulfilled, we will never be truly happy. We can only
be content and happy by knowing who we are in Christ Jesus and the
incomparable great privileges that we already have and abundantly possess in Christ Jesus! The reality is that we have
all we need, but if we don't believe it, it will do us no good. The
reality will be the same, but if we don't believe it, we will continue to
buy, buy, buy, while remaining discontent, dissatisfied, and ultimately
disconnected from the needs of others around us each and every day!
What does the Apostle
Paul say in Philippians 4 about contentment? Paul says we ought
to meditate upon God's thoughts and reflect on his constant
mercy and provision to his people (4:8-13). Paul was
thankful that the Philippians provided for his needs while he
was imprisoned, but he tells them that he had already learned to rest
content in God, who ultimately provides for all of his needs even
before they sent to him the money he needed. In others words,
his trust was in the Living God watching over him.
Paul believed
that God knew ultimately what it was he needed even before he asked
(4:10-14). As Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6,
we need to learn to seek first the Kingdom of God, because all of our needs will be
provided. God knows our needs even before we ask of him. He
is already working through others to provide for us! God who
promised us ever to be with us and never to forsake us is the God
who sees all of our cares and concerns, and will always be there no
matter how dire the need. In fact, Paul reminds the Philippians
that God will supply every need according His riches in glory in
Christ Jesus (4:19).
In verse 14, it is
almost seems at first glance that Paul is rude to the Philippians for
their gift. He says: "Yet it was kind of you to share in my
trouble." Paul had told them that he had learned contentment
before they provided the gift. He was thankful for the gift, but it
was not the gift, or receiving the thing he so desperately needed that
caused his contentment. Rather, it was his trust in the God Who
provides. What he wants to teach them, as well as us today, is that
it is not when we receive something
that should make us content. Rather, it is the God
Who constantly cares and watches over us, no matter how our situation
seems. Paul says: "I can do all things through Him who gives
me the strength." The focus in this verse is on the kind and
generous Living God and not on the particular circumstances he happens to
be going through at this point in his life. In other
words, our constant meditation and foundation for our
contentment ought to be in what we already
have in Christ Jesus, and not in what we do not
have.
Another important
truth to learn about contentment from this passage is that contentment is
learned
(4:11ff). Paul had learned the secret of being content in Jesus
Christ. He had learned through many painful and difficult
experiences that Christ would never let him down (4:12; cf. 2 Cor. 12). As we believe God and
grow in Christ Jesus, we learn more and more of the faithfulness of God
through our experiences. This walking with Jesus and seeing his
constant faithfulness to us helps us to be able to learn that he is
faithful.
Paul knew that Christ
saved his life, preserved his life, and had provided for him spiritually,
and so he knew he would also provide for all of his earthly needs.
Have you learned the secret to be content? Or are you constantly
focusing on and seeking after what you do not have? Have you
considered how God has provided
for you. In other words, have you focused upon what
you do have in Jesus,
rather than looking merely at what
you do not have? In this world, there will always be
those who have more than us, as well as those who have less.
Why do we so desperately choose to look only at those who have
more? Shouldn't we be focusing on those who have less?
Paul was in prison and
he was writing a letter to the Philippian Christians, encouraging their
growth in Christ. Even though he had many needs at the time, he was
ministering to others rather than merely thinking about what he did not
have. Paul was reaching out to meet the needs of others rather than
being concerned about himself. Think about it. Paul is
illustrating the grace of God in how God provides for his own
through each other (4:9). After teaching them their attitude of
mind (4:8), Paul is now instructing the believers how to
think concerning one another. He had told them in Philippians
2 that their focus should be on Jesus who considered others better than
himself, and here is he is illustrating that reality to the Philippian
congregation.
Another important note
is that if the Philippian Christians had been merely focusing on what
they did not have, as we American Christians so many times do, they would
not have sent a gift to Paul. Notice how in these verses of
Philippians 4 the Lord God is showing how he provides for us by teaching
his people to be others-centered and focused on their needs above our own
(Phil. 2:3-6). It is extremely difficult in our time as Christians,
particularly in our consumer driven culture, to avoid the draw and lure
of discontentment.
The next time you get
a catalog from a department store mailed to your home to "remind you
of the sale" or to "let you know the new products
available", think before you look. The catalogs are designed
to appeal to your desires for more, more more. The catalogs
and advertisements achieve their purpose when they say quite loudly and
in living color: "Look what you don't have!" "Look
what you need!" "Look at what lifestyle or acceptance you
have been missing!" Don't buy into the consumerist mentality,
but think of God's grace and mercy to you already! Count your many
blessings, as they say, so that the consumerist buzz will not win the day
and you will come to realize the great riches of the Lord Jesus Christ
and how we can truly learn to be content in him.
Is there anything in
this world better than the life eternal we have in Jesus Christ? Is
there anything in this world that we actually need as American
Christians? So many things we want perhaps, but are we actually in
need? No! Many of us are not. We are empty and trying to fill
little holes in our soul with merchandise and "things".
At the end of the day however, the only Person who can truly satisfy
these longings and little holes is Jesus Christ. He can provide us
with contentment in Him. Then we can look up and see the needs of
those around us: From blind consumer, to the seeing servant of
others!
As Christians, when we
do not see the many blessings that God has provided for us in our lives
and so desire and want more, we are blind to those who have needs around
us every day! And that's not just the "way it is".
By Christ's Spirit, let us ask God to change our hearts. Let us ask
God to help us to be content in only knowing Christ better, being
partakers in the fellowship of his sufferings, resurrection, and glorification
one day. Let us meditate upon the future life when we shall be with
the Lord Jesus forever and all of our discontent shall come to an end
permanently.
Ultimately, let us all
be thankful that Jesus was not content to stay at the right
hand of his Father, but made himself nothing, so that we
might live and reign with him. We all have dreams and we
all have desires, but may God make our one great desire to know
Christ better and the satisfaction that comes with this personal
relationship. Let us be reminded that Jesus says where our
treasure is, there is also our heart. This means that wherever our
hearts are directed, in whatever and from wherever we find
contentment, this is our treasure; this product or thing is our treasure
and what our heart loves the most.
May we continue daily
to ask the Lord Jesus to forgive us of our consumeristic mentality and to
continue to work in us an undivided love and loyalty for Him, knowing
that we truly will be able to find contentment when we rest in him.
God has truly provided for his people according to his riches in Christ
Jesus. May we be able to say: "Thanks be to God for his
inexpressible gift" to us in Christ Jesus! Amen.
Meditate on the words
of the Apostle Paul from 2 Corinthians 9:7-15
7 Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And
God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all
contentment in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
9 As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has
given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10 He
who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and
multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity,
which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the
ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints,
but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By
their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your
submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the
generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while
they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of
God upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Word of Encouragement
Quote
of the Week
Does God Really Care?
The question
many people ask in essence concerning God is: "Does God
really care for me?" As Christians, we truly can be confident
that God knows every hair on our head and watches over us in detail on a
daily basis (Luke 12:7). He knows what we need and when we need it
(better than we will ever know ourselves. cf. Matt. 6:8;
25-34). God is faithful and the Scriptures teach that all
we will ever need, God will supply before we ever even ask him. and
according to his abundant and rich surplus (Phil. 4:13-19). We are to seek first the Kingdom,
and all of our earthly needs will be met (Matt. 6:33).
But do we believe
this? Imagine if I told you that every single event in your life
had meaning and purpose and was for God's glory and your good?
Imagine if no matter how bad the situation looked (as well as felt), we
believed that God was truly working all things for the good of those he
loved? Imagine if we truly believed and lived consistently with the
truth that "If God be for us who can be against us?"
Imagine.
Well, the Bible
teaches God's people that we are to trust and rest in God's
gracious providence and in his love for us as his people. Providence is from two Latin words: "Pro" and
"Video". The Latin word "Pro" is simply
translated "for" or "on behalf of", and
"Video" is the word we use for a tape we watch on
television. So, simply put, providence means that God is for us, sees beforehand our
situation and our need, and he is determined to watching over us and
keeping us in perfect peace as we trust him (Isaiah
26:3).
This week's quotation
is from a short study by Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield. He was a
great teacher and preacher at Princeton Seminary in the late 19th
and early 20th century. This quotation is taken from his study
entitled: 'God's Providence Over All'. Warfield's Shorter Writings,
Vol. 1 and 2, edited by John Meeter, have recently been republished in
hardback by P&R Publishing. It is worth your while to obtain
these volumes before they go out of print again. Would that more
modern Christians would read B. B. Warfield! Here is his
quotation. Think and meditate upon God's faithfulness to his
people!
B. B. Warfield
"'We cannot be
robbed of God's providence.' This was one of the sayings current in
the household of Thomas Carlyle, apparently much on the lips of that
brilliant woman, Jane Welsh Carlyle. In it, the plummet is let down
to the bottom of the Christian's confidence and hope.
It is because we
cannot be robbed of God's providence that we know, amid whatever
encircling gloom, that all things work together for good to those that
love him. It is because we cannot be robbed of God's providence
that we know nothing can separate us from the love of Christ - -not
tribulation, nor anguish, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor
peril, nor sword.
'For over us there
curves the infinite
Blue heaven as a
shield, and at the end
We shall find One who
loveth to befriend
E'en those who faint
for shame within his sight.'
Were not God's
providence over all, could trouble come without his sending, were
Christians the possible prey of this or that other fiendish enemy, when
perchance God was musing, or gone aside, or on a journey, or sleeping,
what certainty of hope could be ours? 'Does God send trouble?'
Surely, surely. He and he only.
To the sinner in
punishment, to his children in chastisement. To suggest that it
does not always come from his hands is to take away all our
comfort.
'These severe
afflictions
Not from the ground
arise;
But oftentimes
celestial benedictions
Assume this dark
disguise.'
The world may be black
to us; there may be no longer be hope in man; anguish and trouble may be
our daily portion; but there is this light that shines through all the
darkness: 'We cannot be robbed of God's providence.' So long as the
soul keeps firm hold of this great truth it will be able to breast all storms.
A firm faith in the
universal providence of God is the solution of all earthly
troubles. It is almost equally true that a clear and full
apprehension of the universal providence of God is the solution of most
theological problems. Most of the religious difficulties with which
men disturb their minds, rest on the subtle intrustion into our thinking
of what we may call Deistic postulates, and would vanish could but the
full meaning of God's universal providence enter and condition all of our
thinking.
It is because we
forget this great truth that we vex and puzzle ourselves over
difficulties which seem to be insoluble, but which cease to be
difficulties at all so soon as we remember that God's providence extends
over all.
- B. B. Warfield,
Selected Shorter Writings, Vol. I, pg. 110-111.
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 21
"The Real World and the Real Word"
Throughout history,
both believing and unbelieving philosophers have pondered such
questions as these: "How can we know anything for
sure?" "How can we know and understand this world and
ourselves?" "Is there any real knowledge to be obtained
about God in this world?" "Where do we start in our
knowledge of God- -his creation? Ourselves? or His
Word?"
Psalm
19 answers these questions as it reveals God's instruction and
revelation to his creatures in both the real world and in his real
Word. Psalm 19 teaches us that there is a constant revelation of
God going on around us in the real world and a final revelation of God
that is found in the real Word. Both are sources for understanding
and knowing the Living God who made heaven and the
earth, as well as the key to understanding our purpose,
mission, existence and being as his created beings. As you
read Psalm 19 notice how God "preaches" or
"proclaims" his revelation continually through His World and in
His Word.
Psalm 19
1 TO THE
CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID. The heavens declare the glory of God, and
the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out
speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no
speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4 Their
measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end
of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which
comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man,
runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the
heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden
from its heat. 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the
soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the
precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of
the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the
LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and
righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than
gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the
honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in
keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his
errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back
your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over
me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
David the Psalmist praises the glory of God revealed in God's
world and in God's Word. In verses 1-6, the Psalm focuses on
God's real world which he created for his glory, and verses 7-14 show
God's revelation in His real Word. The first part of the Psalm points
our attention to God's general revelation in nature and in creation,
while the second part points our attention to God's special revelation in
Scripture.
God's creation was created for his glory and man's good. The
creation all around us is the theater of God's glory revealed. Just
as when we visit an auditorium and are surrounded by the music of an
orchestra, or as we go to an art museum and are surrounded by great works
of art, so every day of our lives we are surrounded by the majestic
handiwork of God our Creator. The heavens declare and the sky
proclaims God's revelation to all people in this world! As the
Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 1, even the power and attributes of the
Living God are seen in what he has made so that all people are without excuse
who do anything other than praise him in adoration and wonder.
Notice that both the creation and the Word of God, the Real World and
the Real Word are speaking, proclaiming and literally preaching the
truth concerning God. Both reveal God in all his majesty. The
creation is the context in which God savingly reveals himself through his
word. No one can know Christ died for their sins by looking merely
at trees, lakes, the sky and the heavens, but the Word of God teaches us
this saving revelation and confirms clearly what we have glimpses of
all around us. The real world reveals God sufficiently and
clearly, and shows forth his existence and the real word teaches Christ
and Him crucified for sinners. As one theologian in the past put
it, the world shows how the heavens go, while the Word shows how to
go to heaven!
Because the real world that God has created reveals him in his
glory, then we as modern Christians should be concerned, at least
cautious about how little time we spend looking at, meditating upon, and
looking at God's revealed glory in creation. What I mean is that in
any given day, we are often more attentive to the inorganic and
mechanical, over the organic and the living creation of God. On any
given day, we most of the time spend more time in virtual reality than we do in real reality, that is reflecting
upon and living in God's world, his creation. Because of our being
spellbound by the newest gadgets and electronic devices, we often forget
about seeing and reflecting upon God and His attributes in his creation.
I'm not being too extreme in saying that we as humans usually spend
more time on an average day surrounded by the creations of our own
hands, rather than surrounded by the handiwork of God Almighty.
Think about the fact that electronic alarm clocks wake us up each
morning, rather than the sunlight or the birds these days. We then
listen to music from our electronic stereos, while eating our microwaved,
easy-to-prepare breakfast, while watching the clock tick on the wall
telling us when we must leave. We can turn on our headphones to
play our favorite CDs or tapes while we ride our bikes in nature or take
a walk in the world. We spend much time in our cars, listening
to stereos and CDs, living in traffic, and traveling on cemented
roads and expressways, rather than a nice ride through the woods (of
course, we cannot get to work that way).
Then when we go to our jobs, we look at our PC screens while doing our
work. Glancing momentarily out the window of God's world and
creation, only to return back to our lit up PC screens in order to
do our job. We surf the net in cyberspace rather than taking up
space out in the woods, or in God's creation most of the time.
When we are not doing this, many of us are looking at a TV screen,
experiencing the surround sound ambience of feeling like we are somewhere
other than where we truly are in God's world (Heck, with surround
sounds of birds, streams, and reality in Dolby Digital 6.1 EX,
who needs to experience the actual world?!).
As modern people, we simply spend a lot of our time in a virtual
reality of our own making, rather than the real reality of God's making.
If the creation, if the Real World proclaims God's goodness and reveals
him to all men, then something has to be changing within us as we
withdraw more and more from the environment in which he created for man
to live! Think about it.
As the people of God, we should be aware of this tendency to spend
more time in virtual reality than real reality! It will have an
impact on how much we depend upon the toys of our own making to help us
to survive and to daily uphold us rather than being reminded of the power
and majesty of God revealed in his creation.
As we spend time in God's real world, we should also seek after the
knowledge that God's real world can teach us. Education and study
should be important for us in an age of anti-intellectualism and
cyber-selfishness, where the only person who truly matters is the person
who can fix my electronics, program my computer, write code, hook me up
to the network, and provide me a DSL and ISDN so that I might download,
upload, and unload faster than a bullet from a gun in a virtual reality
of my own making. In a culture where Microsoft Certification is
more important that knowing Homer (not the guy on the Simpson's), Plato,
Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and Van Til, we as Christians should
exert a special effort to study God's creation and to learn more about
God and ourselves, just for the sake
of learning!
Because God has created all things in the real world for our good and
his glory, this is an encouragement to all people to study and be
educated simply for the sake of education. That means that when we
think about study or learning, we should remember that we are plumbing
the depths of God's creation in his real world in order to find out
information concerning ourselves, but also to see God and to
know him better as well! God has placed great potentials and
possibilities in his real world, so that through study and understanding we
might come to know more about God and His world.
Yet many times Christians look at study and education as functionally
and pragmatically as the unbeliever who is trying to suppress the
revelation of God found in his study and pursuit of knowledge.
Oftentimes, Christians get caught up in asking the question "What
college or program of study will bring me the most reward, get me the
best job, help me to make the most money?" Rather than asking
these functional and pragmatic questions, we should ask "What
education or program of study has God given me an interest in to pursue
so that I might glorify Him and serve my neighbor.
The fact that the real world reveals the real and Living God is reason
enough to study for the sake of study and to be educated for the sake of
education itself in a particular field of interest. God has made us
all different and given to us differing interests and so we study and
pursue education to know God better in his world, yet we also want to
serve our neighbors and our community and in doing this we will glorify
God. Why do you study?
Do you study? Why do we want to learn more things? Why should
we be interested in the different fields of knowledge?
Because all that we study, all that is revealed in creation that gives to
us our different fields of study, is given to us so that we might know
God better as well as to know ourselves as humans created in His image.
Let us look at a few ways that study and education can help us to
glorify God and to know him better. Are you interested in the way
God has providentially ordered, arranged, and watched over this
world? Perhaps history would be something interesting for
you. Do you find yourself wondering how different parts of God's
creation or matter can be broken down into microscopic elements?
Perhaps chemistry would be fascinating as a pursuit of study. Do
you find yourself interested in how man has written stories about his
existence, his different problems, and wanted to vicariously visit
different times and places around the world to walk in other's
shoes? Then perhaps literature would be interesting for you to
pursue. Do you find yourself pondering questions about beauty,
goodness, truth, existence, and being? Maybe you would enjoy
philosophy.
Historically, Christians have had a rich education in the liberal arts
or humanities because they knew that God had created all things well and
they were interested in knowing foundationally a little bit about a great
variety of subjects in God's real world. Why? Because God's glory was revealed in these areas
and after God created all things, he looked upon what his hands had made
and he said that it all was very good! This is still the
reason why we should pursue learning and education today, just for the
sake of learning and education. Learning and education
was not a result of man's pursuit for more money before the fall (or
merely learning how to do one thing like produce a nice Power Point
presentation and write HTML code). Learning and education was the
result of pursuing a great knowledge of God and man, and then passing
this knowledge on to the next generation of people in order that God
might be glorified. Learning and education was to be fully human
and real as image-bearers in God's world.
But all of the facts that we learn in creation need to be rightly
interpreted. If you have not thought about it yet, you must be
aware that all facts are interpreted
facts. This means that we should study and know God's
world, but we must seek to rightly interpret his real word and for this
task we need God's real Word.
Now that we have looked at the importance as Christians of living
among God's real world and fully learning in God's real world, it is
important to stress how we are to fully understand the world in which we
live since the fall. The fall of man brought sin and blindness in
man's heart. The creation was cursed and man was no longer able
fully to acknowledge God's glory in creation. Rather, as Romans 1
teaches, man began to suppress this reality so that he might live in
God's creation as he pleases without restraint and according to his own
law. Man became a law unto himself. Therefore, when
considering God's real world, we must also remember the interpretive key
to understanding this world through God's real Word.
God's real Word teaches man of his sinful condition and of his need of
a Savior. This real world clearly reveals that God is indeed
powerful and is the Great Judge of sinful man. Although the
creation shows God's attributes and power, the real Word specifically and
clearly spells this out. Although the Law of God is written on our
hearts so that we know what is right and wrong and how we are to live in
the real world, the real Word of God specifically and clearly spells this
out for us so that what we knew within ourselves subjectively might be
confirmed for us objectively by the Living God.
As human beings made in God's image yet fallen, we have a tendency to
pervert and skew the data of God's existence we find in our
understanding of the real world. We not only make up our own rules
for living contrary to God's Word, we also make up alternate "real
worlds" through our skepticism, unbelief, doubt, as well as
substances of our own making such as the abuse of drugs and
alcohol. We use God's world functionally and pragmatically so that
we can prosper and so that we can rule in our tiny kingdoms with the
great end goal of taking over the world (if we were all honest enough to
admit it).
Fallen man wants to conquer certain intellectual domains, now genetic
engineering in these recent days, so that we as men can fully rule and be
in control our own worlds and destinies. The Tower
of Babel incident is not
merely something that happened back in Old Testament days, the same
intent that caused man to make a name for himself at Babel,
and the ongoing desire and attempt to dethrone God (Psa. 2), is the same
intent and purpose for which many live pursuing today!
Fallen man wants to deny the real Word that is pure,
enlightening, bringing true wisdom and understand to us (Psa. 19:7-9):
The law of
the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is
sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the LORD are
right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous
altogether
Man seeks to deny God while living in his real world. It is so
sad that fallen man is so blind without the real Word that they cannot
see their useless and weak plight against the Living God. Some men
actually use their great learning and education as tools to deny the
existence of God. Why? Because they know that if they affirm
his existence, they must also humbly submit to him as LORD and judge and
they must live according to his real revelation in his Word. So,
they use God's intellectual gifts and abilities given to them; they use
the energy and the breath; they use the tools that God has provided for
them to continue a great war against the Almighty. They use all of
the gifts that God has given to them in the real world and in their
humanity made in God's image in order to deny him. All the while
fallen man does not realize that he must rely upon the Living God in
order to deny him. In other words, all men need God in order to try
and act as if they do not need him.
Yet it was in this real world that God so loved that he became a human
being, the Real WORD in order to redeem fallen man, to glorify him, and
to bring about the restoration of all creation. God's real
world was the place, the context in which God humbled himself to come and
reveal truly and finally the Real Word. The Apostle John says in
chapter 1 of his gospel:
John
1:1-4,14: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All
things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that
was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of
men.... 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and
we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of
grace and truth.
This is a powerful statement of God's love and concern for those whom
he loved in His real world. Because of our inability and blindness
to see fully the saving hand of God and cry out to him in belief through
merely his creation, God came into his creation, the real world as a man
so as to truly reveal the Living God through His real Word. The
very Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. IN Jesus Christ
we find true life in God's real world as well as truth. The Word
has revealed God's glory and he is full of grace and truth. The
grace he extends to us as we look to him by faith as the Son of God who
died for sinners. The truth of God is manifested and revealed
clearly in who he was and what he taught to us concerning God and who we
are! Those who receive his grace begin to understand his truth.
Many in Jesus' time and our time today allow their minds, their
intellects, their stubbornness, to get in the way of believing the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Many say that if God will just prove his existence
to them, THEN they will believe. But that is wrong. In fact,
the creation constantly and clearly speaks and proclaims God's existence,
yet many deny it. The Word of God became flesh and revealed clearly
God's truth, yet many denied it. What more can God do? He has
revealed himself in the real world and in the real Word, yet men deny his
existence and trample upon his grace and goodness.
As Aurelius Augustine ("St. Augustine") said
many years ago, we must believe in order to fully understand. We
should look to Jesus Christ by faith, knowing that in our seeking God in
Jesus Christ, we will come to a better understanding and knowledge of God
as well as of ourselves. Let not your pride hold you back from
believing. Do not wait for so-called "proof" before you
believe. Remember, as Jesus taught in the story of Lazarus and the
rich man that even if someone rises from the dead men will not believe:
27 And he said, 'Then I beg you,
father, to send him to my father's house- 28 for I have five
brothers- so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place
of torment.' 29 But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the
Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham,
but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 He
said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will
they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"
Jesus tells them a powerful statement that we must all keep in mind
when witnessing the gospel to fallen men and sinners: "If they do
not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if
someone should rise from the dead." That means that if they do
not believe and heed the real Word of God (Moses and the Prophets), then
they will not believe anything else. God has given his final and
Real Word for us to know and interpret all things rightly, including the
revelation of Jesus Christ risen from the dead. The Word of God is
sufficient for our life and salvation. Because God has clearly
revealed himself in the real world as well as the real Word, all men are
without excuse if they do not believe!
Repent, and believe the good news that Jesus has come into this world
to save sinners! Christians be careful that you live in God's real
world, while being obedient by his grace to his real Word. As we
seek better knowledge and education, by his grace may we be able to say
with the Psalmist in Christ:
May the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart be
pleasing in your sight, our LORD, our ROCK AND REDEEMER.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Oftentimes in the
Christian life we have our concentration and focus on everything around
us in our lives BUT Jesus. We focus in on our difficulties, ill
moods, and financial circumstances that are challenging for
us. We focus in on other people's sarcasm, abusive words, difficult
temperaments and personalities rather than focusing in on Jesus our
precious and gracious Savior. What has taken your focus off
Jesus? Is there a constant circumstance or person that seems to
cause your focus on Jesus to blur? When we do not have our focus on
Jesus Christ, He becomes very blurry in our life and our problems
and difficulties seem to come into focus. Just as we focus in on
our subject when taking a photograph, so we must by faith focus in on
Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, as Hebrews 12:2 teaches us
to do.
Hebrews
12:1-4: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so
closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider
him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you
may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against
sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
The author of the Hebrews wants us to be encouraged that Jesus has
been tempted in all of the same situations as we are, yet he was without
sin. He truly can sympathize in our temptations and struggles to
focus and to fix our eyes on the Living God in a world of sin and misery
(Heb. 2:14-18; 4:16-18). Jesus focused his
eyes on the goal of saving a people for himself. Jesus fixed his
eyes on the joy that set before him in a people who would be redeemed and
for his own possession (Hebrews 2:10ff). Jesus became man so that
he might set his eyes and focus on the Living God, obediently laying his
life down for sinners and was exalted and seated at God's right hand
(12:2). Jesus wants to offer us grace and help to focus our eyes on
Him!
As Christians we truly need help in looking to Jesus. Jesus is
the One who went before us as the founder, experiencing difficulties and
humiliation in this world. Jesus is also the One with us along
the way (Heb. 13:8), and as the Perfecter of our faith will see to it that
although our focus is blurred at times, we will get to the New Heavens
and the New Earth to be with him no matter how difficult the journey may
seem at times. He is faithful.
During difficult and trying times, we can begin to take our eyes,
our fix, our focus off of Jesus and to fix our eyes
and focus on something or someone else. Every time we are tempted
to do this, let us fix our eyes and our focus once again on our Savior
who will never leave us nor forsake us. As the author the Hebrews says
in 12:1, the Christian life is a race that is run with endurance.
Endurance is built up over time as we learn to focus and to fix our eyes
on Jesus over time. We learn to endure by looking to him for help,
for assistance, for grace and mercy in our time of need.
We not only should look back to God's faithfulness to us in the past
(as Hebrews 11 teaches us to do), but also to be reminded that according
to these verses, God is faithful to us in the present, as well as the
future because of the perfect and completed work of Christ on behalf of
those whom he loved.
Jesus has made it to his destination, completing his work for sinners
and returning to the right hand of the Father. He is preparing a
place for us there so that we might be with him forever! One day
when Jesus returns, all of the things that causes our faith
to get out of focus, will totally be removed from this world.
Because Jesus has made it to his destination at the right hand of the
Father in his life, death, resurrection and ascension, we know that we
will make it to our destination as well.
Are you despairing and troubled by your health? Focus not on your poor
health but on Jesus who comforts you and will never leave you
alone. Are you troubled by a financial need? Focus your eyes on
Jesus who will supply all of our needs according to His riches in
glory! Are tired and weary from the journey? Focus your eyes on
Jesus who will give you strength, and be perfected through your
weakness. Are you troubled by other people, surrounded by those who
persecute you and trouble you? Focus on Jesus who suffered, bled,
and died at the hands of sinful people so that he might offer to us his
grace in our journey and hope in our eternal salvation.
Where is your focus? Focus on Jesus and the problems and
difficulties will begin to blur before the Great and Mighty Jesus who is
your present help in times of trouble!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Baltimore, Maryland
crbiggsman@comcast.net
"A Place for Truth": www.APlaceforTruth.org
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Word of Encouragement
Vol. V, Issue 24
"Two Criminals, One Hope"
It had been an
exhausting, exasperating, and extensive imprisonment for his crimes
against Rome! These
were his final hours and they were full of anguish and suffering.
During his imprisonment and pain, he remembered times in his
past. He remembered the good memories of his youth, as well as the
evil things he had done.
He was now being
nailed upon a cross. The nails
were hammered into his flesh, cutting and breaking bone, then fastening
him tightly, painfully, and uncomfortably to a wooden cross. As he felt his blood pour out, he felt
his life slipping away. All the
hopes, the dreams, the future itself was to be dashed in the next few
moments. His life was to be taken.
But in God’s
great mercy and in His unbelievable sovereignty and grace, when this criminal was crucified, he was
crucified- - not alone, nor totally without hope- - but he was crucified
next to God in the flesh, who was also dying.
Luke 23:32-43: Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be
put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that
is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on
his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said,
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And
they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood
by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved
others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!"
36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering
him sour wine 37 and saying, "If you are the King of the
Jews, save yourself!" 38 There was also an inscription
over him, "This is the King of the Jews." 39 One of
the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not
the Christ? Save yourself and us!" 40 But the other
rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the
same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we
are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing
wrong." 42 And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingdom." 43 And he said to him,
"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Men around the
three crosses yelled at Jesus to “save himself and others”. They wanted to see Jesus save
himself from going the way of the cross as the sons of the Evil One. The crowds bitterly and angrily cried
out as the two criminals and Jesus slowly suffered relentless,
excruciating pain upon the three crosses.
One of the criminals looked in his pain and railed at him to save
himself along with the unbelieving crowds. The other criminal took a
long look at Jesus, but he didn't see a weak fool, a fake, or a
liar like the rest of the crowd.
He saw hope.
He saw life. He saw salvation not merely from the cross
(as the other criminal), but salvation from his sins.
One criminal was merely sorry he had been crucified and wanted
to be released, while the other criminal who believed, was sorry for his
sins against God that had placed Jesus upon the cross with
him.
The criminal made
his confession of faith in Jesus while hanging bloody on a cross,
barely able to speak from his parched mouth he exerted the little energy
he had to rebuke the other criminal and to put his faith in Jesus!
This criminal who believed knew that his crucifixion was
exactly what he deserved for his sins, and the one in the middle was the
only hope if he was going to be saved! But what did the criminal
see in Jesus that others did not?
The criminal saw
with eyes of faith: the justice of God (vv. 40-41), the mercy of God
(v. 42), and the grace of God (v. 43).
Because of this
revelation of grace to a dying criminal on a cross, he received the
forgiveness of his sins. Although he suffered justly for his sins
as a criminal, He sought Jesus Christ the Only One Who was not suffering
justly for His Own sins on the cross! He said to the other
criminal: "...We are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this
man had done nothing wrong."
The criminal learned
humility (v. 42) in his death as he humbled himself by faith by looking
to Jesus for salvation. The criminal shows repentance (v. 40-41)
because he knows he has done wrong, but asks Jesus to remember him.
He turns from his sins to face Jesus and his grace!
The Son of God
offers fellowship and communion to the humble and repentant criminal:
“Today you will experience bliss in my paradise”. In other words: “You will be with
me!” This covenantal promise was extended to all who believed
like Father Abraham. Then in the final moments, the Life Giver gave
His own life for this dying criminal. The un-guilty for the
guilty as a sacrifice of laying down his life for another who was
undeserving of his grace. This was one of the few sinners who actually
saw Jesus transfer his sins
upon himself when he confessed his transgressions against Almighty God!
This gave a dying man
the hope he had sought all of his life.
The hope he had tried to obtain through criminal activity and
building treasures on earth. He found the hope he had so
desperately sought in the dying Son of God. He had heard this dying
man on the cross offer him eternal life and hope even with his last
remaining breath. With his last remaining strength, dying for the sins
of the world, Jesus held out his hand of grace once again to one who was
undeserving of his grace.
We must understand
that none of us deserves the grace of God given to sinners by grace alone
through faith! All of us like the criminals next to Jesus deserve
to be punished a far worse death than crucifixion. We have all
merited and earned the wrath of God as what we truly deserve from a
Just and Holy God. Yet, when we turn from our sins to look to
Jesus we are saved. Jesus took the wrath of God upon himself on the
cross so that all undeserving sinners might look to him and be
saved. And our great hope as well, no matter how great our sins
have been, is that we shall be with him in paradise too!! This is
the hope of all who believe and put their hope in the Savior who died and
rose again!
2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to
be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness
of God.</ | |
