Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "holiness"
The Lord of the Beings
He must increase, but I must decrease [John 3:30].
When I was a young tyke in Christ circa 1978, a Christian lady who made it a practice to encourage me gave me a gift. It was a small metal placard which sat on the desk or bookshelf. Inscribed on it were the words of John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. I’ve spent over thirty years struggling with this issue, wrestling with the Lord in prayer to make it so. I suspect I’ll be doing the same until I am promoted to eternity.
This is not to say the Lord hasn’t changed me one iota. Indeed, when I think back to the days before I was born again and then compare that person with me now, there is no comparison. The old man most assuredly is dead on the cross with Christ, and the new man now lives. I AM in Christ the righteousness of God (cf., 2 Corinthians 5:21).
This is my standing before the throne of God (i.e., justification), but it is not my actual state (i.e., sanctification). The same truth applies to every son of Adam the First, so long as his address is this side of eternity. What varies with each of us is the extent of our actual state, and even that is in a constant state of flux. Some of us were born again, and then we left it at that. Our state, then, is that of a spiritual newborn. It is sad to remain in the crib our entire lives, sipping from the nipple, being burped, and having our diapers changed. What a drain on the church and an affront to the name of Christ!
Others of us have fed on the Word of God every day from the beginning of our new life in Christ; sat as His feet alone with Him as He taught us His Word; learned to hear His voice instead of depending on man’s words about Him; and made our way through the entire Bible on a regular basis. After all, the Bible is the Christian’s spiritual food, in contrast to books about the Bible. We learned to personally relate to the Lord Jesus on a daily basis, allowing Him to transform us into His image.
Those are the two extremes for Christians. On the one hand we have the newborn babies, on the other the mature men and women of God. I don’t fit at either extreme, but I cannot state exactly where I do fit because that knowledge belongs to the purview of Christ alone. Only Christ can know my heart. You can’t, and for that matter neither can I. We can know to an extent, but not specifically.
At times I see more Christ in me and am humbled by it. I see Him doing His work in me and through me to others and am excited by this. During such times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the mature man of God.
Alas, but there are those other times, those pesky rascals who embarrass anyone who has an ounce of spiritual maturity. Such times would be equivalent in natural life to the crying baby in the crib who needs his diaper changed, or the refractory teenage urchin at his best. During those times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the newborn baby.
What to do? Hmm. That’s a toughie. Not! The Apostle Paul afforded us the answer when he taught the Philippian saints,
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude [Philippians 3:13-15].
Yes, He must increase, but I must decrease. The word must is intensive and demanding. It allows for no exception and brooks no indolence. It requires a regimen of spiritual exercise and discipline on a consistent basis, much like that of an athlete.
So what say ye? Will it be increase or decrease? Better yet, who will increase and who will decrease? This applies to every Christian throughout his or her entire lifetime. After all, it is the act of growing up in real spiritual life. It never stops until we are dead to the world and alive in eternity.
I personally don’t like to see me in the mirror. I much prefer to see the Lord Jesus in the mirror. Sometimes I get my preference. What I try to do is get it more frequently with more regularity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
When I was a young tyke in Christ circa 1978, a Christian lady who made it a practice to encourage me gave me a gift. It was a small metal placard which sat on the desk or bookshelf. Inscribed on it were the words of John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. I’ve spent over thirty years struggling with this issue, wrestling with the Lord in prayer to make it so. I suspect I’ll be doing the same until I am promoted to eternity.
This is not to say the Lord hasn’t changed me one iota. Indeed, when I think back to the days before I was born again and then compare that person with me now, there is no comparison. The old man most assuredly is dead on the cross with Christ, and the new man now lives. I AM in Christ the righteousness of God (cf., 2 Corinthians 5:21).
This is my standing before the throne of God (i.e., justification), but it is not my actual state (i.e., sanctification). The same truth applies to every son of Adam the First, so long as his address is this side of eternity. What varies with each of us is the extent of our actual state, and even that is in a constant state of flux. Some of us were born again, and then we left it at that. Our state, then, is that of a spiritual newborn. It is sad to remain in the crib our entire lives, sipping from the nipple, being burped, and having our diapers changed. What a drain on the church and an affront to the name of Christ!
Others of us have fed on the Word of God every day from the beginning of our new life in Christ; sat as His feet alone with Him as He taught us His Word; learned to hear His voice instead of depending on man’s words about Him; and made our way through the entire Bible on a regular basis. After all, the Bible is the Christian’s spiritual food, in contrast to books about the Bible. We learned to personally relate to the Lord Jesus on a daily basis, allowing Him to transform us into His image.
Those are the two extremes for Christians. On the one hand we have the newborn babies, on the other the mature men and women of God. I don’t fit at either extreme, but I cannot state exactly where I do fit because that knowledge belongs to the purview of Christ alone. Only Christ can know my heart. You can’t, and for that matter neither can I. We can know to an extent, but not specifically.
At times I see more Christ in me and am humbled by it. I see Him doing His work in me and through me to others and am excited by this. During such times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the mature man of God.
Alas, but there are those other times, those pesky rascals who embarrass anyone who has an ounce of spiritual maturity. Such times would be equivalent in natural life to the crying baby in the crib who needs his diaper changed, or the refractory teenage urchin at his best. During those times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the newborn baby.
What to do? Hmm. That’s a toughie. Not! The Apostle Paul afforded us the answer when he taught the Philippian saints,
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude [Philippians 3:13-15].
Yes, He must increase, but I must decrease. The word must is intensive and demanding. It allows for no exception and brooks no indolence. It requires a regimen of spiritual exercise and discipline on a consistent basis, much like that of an athlete.
So what say ye? Will it be increase or decrease? Better yet, who will increase and who will decrease? This applies to every Christian throughout his or her entire lifetime. After all, it is the act of growing up in real spiritual life. It never stops until we are dead to the world and alive in eternity.
I personally don’t like to see me in the mirror. I much prefer to see the Lord Jesus in the mirror. Sometimes I get my preference. What I try to do is get it more frequently with more regularity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Dawn in the Desert – Part 1
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship [Romans 12:1].
It is dawn in the camp of Israel out in the wilderness. The tent of meeting is prominently constructed in the center of the camp. The wall of curtains around the entire tabernacle worship structure sets apart this area from the day-to-day functions in the rest of the camp.
Around the outside of the wall of curtains are four camps:
1. the priests on the east
2. the Kohathite clan on the south
3. the Gershonite clan on the west
4. the Merarite clan on the north
These four camps encompass the entire tribe of Levi. The Levites are camped in that location according to the precise instructions of the Lord. The Levites, you see, keep the other tribes of Israel from approaching the Lord’s ministry at the bronze altar and inside the tent. The Lord chose the tribe of Levi to be His priests and ministry servants. The other Israelites were excluded by the Lord.
And speaking of the bronze altar, it was located before the doorway to the tent of meeting. Its purpose was to provide an appropriate instrument for the blood offerings which the Israelites presented to the Lord. The priests alone could sprinkle the blood on the altar. The priests alone were permitted to enter the tent to minister inside. These were the Lord’s choices, and His alone.
Well, every morning and evening a whole burnt offering was offered up on the bronze altar. These offerings were Old Testament types of the “living sacrifice” which the Apostle Paul made reference to in Romans 12:1.
But there was one significant difference to the whole burnt offerings of the Old Testament and the living sacrifices of the New. Allow me to portray a whole burnt offering, so that we may better understand this distinct difference.
Normally when an Israelite presented an offering to the Lord, he brought it to the priest at the bronze altar. He then laid his hands on the animal’s head to identify the animal as representing himself. Then the Israelite offerer slit the throat of his substitute sacrifice.
The animal, you see, represented the offerer. It died in his place. Even more, he killed himself vicariously, in acknowledgment that he is sinful and unable to approach the holy Lord. He deserved death for his sins, but he availed himself of this method of approaching the Lord, a method which the Lord Himself authorized.
In the case of the continual burnt offering which we are examining, an individual Israelite didn’t present it to the Lord. The morning and evening whole burnt offerings were on behalf of the entire congregation of Israel. So who was to lay hands on the offering and kill it then? Hmm. Now that’s a toughie.
We’ll stop and ponder the question a bit, as we sit with Jesus a while. Tomorrow we’ll share the answer. See you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
It is dawn in the camp of Israel out in the wilderness. The tent of meeting is prominently constructed in the center of the camp. The wall of curtains around the entire tabernacle worship structure sets apart this area from the day-to-day functions in the rest of the camp.
Around the outside of the wall of curtains are four camps:
1. the priests on the east
2. the Kohathite clan on the south
3. the Gershonite clan on the west
4. the Merarite clan on the north
These four camps encompass the entire tribe of Levi. The Levites are camped in that location according to the precise instructions of the Lord. The Levites, you see, keep the other tribes of Israel from approaching the Lord’s ministry at the bronze altar and inside the tent. The Lord chose the tribe of Levi to be His priests and ministry servants. The other Israelites were excluded by the Lord.
And speaking of the bronze altar, it was located before the doorway to the tent of meeting. Its purpose was to provide an appropriate instrument for the blood offerings which the Israelites presented to the Lord. The priests alone could sprinkle the blood on the altar. The priests alone were permitted to enter the tent to minister inside. These were the Lord’s choices, and His alone.
Well, every morning and evening a whole burnt offering was offered up on the bronze altar. These offerings were Old Testament types of the “living sacrifice” which the Apostle Paul made reference to in Romans 12:1.
But there was one significant difference to the whole burnt offerings of the Old Testament and the living sacrifices of the New. Allow me to portray a whole burnt offering, so that we may better understand this distinct difference.
Normally when an Israelite presented an offering to the Lord, he brought it to the priest at the bronze altar. He then laid his hands on the animal’s head to identify the animal as representing himself. Then the Israelite offerer slit the throat of his substitute sacrifice.
The animal, you see, represented the offerer. It died in his place. Even more, he killed himself vicariously, in acknowledgment that he is sinful and unable to approach the holy Lord. He deserved death for his sins, but he availed himself of this method of approaching the Lord, a method which the Lord Himself authorized.
In the case of the continual burnt offering which we are examining, an individual Israelite didn’t present it to the Lord. The morning and evening whole burnt offerings were on behalf of the entire congregation of Israel. So who was to lay hands on the offering and kill it then? Hmm. Now that’s a toughie.
We’ll stop and ponder the question a bit, as we sit with Jesus a while. Tomorrow we’ll share the answer. See you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Dawn in the Desert – Part 2
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship [Romans 12:1].
The person presenting an animal offering to the Lord at the bronze altar was the one who killed the animal. The daily whole burnt offerings were presented on behalf of the entire congregation of Israel. So who killed those animals? That’s a toughie.
Not! As in the case of the individual Israelite presenting his offering, so too with the offerings on behalf of the entire congregation. The Lord determined every single detail. The Lord micromanaged the entire process. This is because man’s approach to the Lord is always on the Lord’s terms. Man gets to contribute nary a thing to the method of approach.
So, then, what were the Lord’s instructions for presenting the continual burnt offering on the bronze altar every morning and every evening? Just this, that His designated agents, the priests, were to present the offering on behalf of the entire congregation of Israel. After all, that is why the Lord set them apart from the other tribes of Israel in the first place.
The priests stood between the Lord and the Israelites. They represented the Lord to the Israelites, and they represented the Israelites to the Lord. A fine arrangement for a covenant based on law. The Law demanded that man be perfect. An Israelite demonstrated his perfection or lack thereof by perfectly obeying every last detail of the Law of Moses.
Failure to perfectly obey the Law in all its minute details 24/7/365 exposed the Israelite as a lawbreaker, a sinner. The wages of sin is death, so the Israelite had to die. He couldn’t approach the holy Lord.
Which was where the animal sacrifices came in. The Lord employed this temporary expedient to permit the Israelite to kill himself in effigy, so to speak. After he died for his sins by means of a substitute offering, the penalty for his sins was paid and he no longer needed to die for them. Hence he was enabled to approach the holy Lord, there no longer being any sin on his accounts payable ledger.
Much of what I’ve explained applied specifically to the sin offering, not the burnt offering. However, every blood sacrifice (i.e., animal sacrifice) was killed before being offered on the bronze altar. This implied that sin first was judged before any other aspect of man’s relationship with the Lord was implemented.
So the priest killed the lamb—the continual burnt offering was always a lamb. Next the priest cut the lamb into its constituent parts and placed the parts on the bronze altar. The parts remained there all day, burning until they were entirely consumed. The entire animal, minus the skin, was consumed by the fire of the bronze altar. The skin represented the sin nature, which can never be presented to the holy Lord.
Whew! Offering blood sacrifices on the bronze altar is hard work. Let’s take a breather and return tomorrow to continue our labors. Now let’s be refreshed in the prayer closet with our Lord.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The person presenting an animal offering to the Lord at the bronze altar was the one who killed the animal. The daily whole burnt offerings were presented on behalf of the entire congregation of Israel. So who killed those animals? That’s a toughie.
Not! As in the case of the individual Israelite presenting his offering, so too with the offerings on behalf of the entire congregation. The Lord determined every single detail. The Lord micromanaged the entire process. This is because man’s approach to the Lord is always on the Lord’s terms. Man gets to contribute nary a thing to the method of approach.
So, then, what were the Lord’s instructions for presenting the continual burnt offering on the bronze altar every morning and every evening? Just this, that His designated agents, the priests, were to present the offering on behalf of the entire congregation of Israel. After all, that is why the Lord set them apart from the other tribes of Israel in the first place.
The priests stood between the Lord and the Israelites. They represented the Lord to the Israelites, and they represented the Israelites to the Lord. A fine arrangement for a covenant based on law. The Law demanded that man be perfect. An Israelite demonstrated his perfection or lack thereof by perfectly obeying every last detail of the Law of Moses.
Failure to perfectly obey the Law in all its minute details 24/7/365 exposed the Israelite as a lawbreaker, a sinner. The wages of sin is death, so the Israelite had to die. He couldn’t approach the holy Lord.
Which was where the animal sacrifices came in. The Lord employed this temporary expedient to permit the Israelite to kill himself in effigy, so to speak. After he died for his sins by means of a substitute offering, the penalty for his sins was paid and he no longer needed to die for them. Hence he was enabled to approach the holy Lord, there no longer being any sin on his accounts payable ledger.
Much of what I’ve explained applied specifically to the sin offering, not the burnt offering. However, every blood sacrifice (i.e., animal sacrifice) was killed before being offered on the bronze altar. This implied that sin first was judged before any other aspect of man’s relationship with the Lord was implemented.
So the priest killed the lamb—the continual burnt offering was always a lamb. Next the priest cut the lamb into its constituent parts and placed the parts on the bronze altar. The parts remained there all day, burning until they were entirely consumed. The entire animal, minus the skin, was consumed by the fire of the bronze altar. The skin represented the sin nature, which can never be presented to the holy Lord.
Whew! Offering blood sacrifices on the bronze altar is hard work. Let’s take a breather and return tomorrow to continue our labors. Now let’s be refreshed in the prayer closet with our Lord.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Dawn in the Desert – Part 3
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship [Romans 12:1].
The whole burnt offering represented the offerer—in the case of the daily morning and evening offerings, the entire congregation of Israel was represented. Because it was entirely consumed in the fire of the bronze altar, it typified that the offerer was entirely offered up to the Lord.
The sin offering was presented to typify the Lord’s judgment on the offerer’s sin. That wasn’t the main thing portrayed by the whole burnt offering. Rather, by presenting to the Lord a whole burnt offering, the offerer signified his whole (or total) dedication to the Lord. The Israelite’s entire being was devoted to the Lord. Nothing was left out, except, of course, the sin nature (typified by the skin, which was not burned on the bronze altar).
Let’s refresh our memories as to what this study is about. We are assaying Paul’s exhortation to the Christian to present himself to the Lord as a living sacrifice. Is the issue starting to lose its fuzziness and come into focus now? The Israelite of old symbolically presented himself to the Lord wholly, entirely, by means of the Lord’s whole burnt offering ritual. The ritual typified this on the part of the Israelite.
The Word of God for the Israelites (i.e., the Law of Moses) authorized this process as legitimate. The Israelite believed the Word of God to him (i.e., faith in the Word of God); so he performed the ritual precisely according to the Lord’s directions (obedience to the Word of God). The priests stood between the Israelite and the Lord to insure nothing was done in contradiction to the Word of God. This was the Lord’s way under the Old Covenant.
Under the New Covenant we don’t present animal substitutes on a bronze altar. The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s once-for-all perfect offering. The Lord Jesus fulfilled the entire Law on man’s behalf. This included fulfilling the spiritual truth behind every different type of offering. The cross of Christ is the antitype of the bronze altar, where the Lord Jesus was offered up to God on man’s behalf.
The eternal Son of God took upon humanity and became one of us. He remains God’s Son still, but at a point in time He also became true man. He is the God-man. He is the only way to reunite God and man, even as He did so in His own Person.
When He became a man, the Lord Jesus temporarily set aside His prerogatives of deity. He didn’t stop being God: He temporarily stopped exercising His power and authority as God. Instead He walked in His human body, living according to the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hurray for Jesus! All hail our King! Let’s bow before Him now. We’ll continue this topic on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The whole burnt offering represented the offerer—in the case of the daily morning and evening offerings, the entire congregation of Israel was represented. Because it was entirely consumed in the fire of the bronze altar, it typified that the offerer was entirely offered up to the Lord.
The sin offering was presented to typify the Lord’s judgment on the offerer’s sin. That wasn’t the main thing portrayed by the whole burnt offering. Rather, by presenting to the Lord a whole burnt offering, the offerer signified his whole (or total) dedication to the Lord. The Israelite’s entire being was devoted to the Lord. Nothing was left out, except, of course, the sin nature (typified by the skin, which was not burned on the bronze altar).
Let’s refresh our memories as to what this study is about. We are assaying Paul’s exhortation to the Christian to present himself to the Lord as a living sacrifice. Is the issue starting to lose its fuzziness and come into focus now? The Israelite of old symbolically presented himself to the Lord wholly, entirely, by means of the Lord’s whole burnt offering ritual. The ritual typified this on the part of the Israelite.
The Word of God for the Israelites (i.e., the Law of Moses) authorized this process as legitimate. The Israelite believed the Word of God to him (i.e., faith in the Word of God); so he performed the ritual precisely according to the Lord’s directions (obedience to the Word of God). The priests stood between the Israelite and the Lord to insure nothing was done in contradiction to the Word of God. This was the Lord’s way under the Old Covenant.
Under the New Covenant we don’t present animal substitutes on a bronze altar. The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s once-for-all perfect offering. The Lord Jesus fulfilled the entire Law on man’s behalf. This included fulfilling the spiritual truth behind every different type of offering. The cross of Christ is the antitype of the bronze altar, where the Lord Jesus was offered up to God on man’s behalf.
The eternal Son of God took upon humanity and became one of us. He remains God’s Son still, but at a point in time He also became true man. He is the God-man. He is the only way to reunite God and man, even as He did so in His own Person.
When He became a man, the Lord Jesus temporarily set aside His prerogatives of deity. He didn’t stop being God: He temporarily stopped exercising His power and authority as God. Instead He walked in His human body, living according to the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hurray for Jesus! All hail our King! Let’s bow before Him now. We’ll continue this topic on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Dawn in the Desert – Part 4
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship [Romans 12:1].
The eternal Son of God temporarily laid aside His prerogatives as God. He took upon Himself humanity, becoming a man of like nature with us. He eternally is God. At a point in time He became a man, and He now remains a man forevermore. At the same time He is still God.
As a man Jesus walked the earth without exercising His prerogatives of deity. Instead He obeyed the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is one way the Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law for man.
We too are to be born again, and then we are to live in our human body according to the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Guess what? When we describe this arrangement, we are expressing the definition of the whole burnt offering! Hallelujah! Our study is bringing us to a better understanding of the whole burnt offering.
But under the New Covenant we don’t present burnt offerings on a bronze altar. So how does all this understanding affect us today? Just this, that we are to present our body to God as a living sacrifice. Don’t you remember? And this brings us to the distinct difference between the whole burnt offerings of the Old Covenant and the living sacrifices of the New.
Muse upon the scenario we portrayed back in the wilderness in the camp of Israel. It’s dawn and the morning burnt offering is being presented to the Lord at the bronze altar. The priest did what again to that little ol’ lamb? He invited it home to meet the family? No, that wasn’t it. He fed it to the big bad wolf? Not even. I got it! He took it to the movies? Naw. Still not the right answer.
Okay. So you tell me the correct answer. What did the priest do to the lamb of the continual burnt offering? Ah, I see by the look on your face that you remember what we discussed. Yes, that’s right! The priest slit the lamb’s throat, then cut the poor thing into its constituent parts and burned them to smithereens on the bronze altar.
That was the end result of the burnt offerings under the Old Covenant. Now do you see the difference between that and the living sacrifices under the New Covenant? Yes, you got it right again! Praise the Lord! The Old Covenant whole burnt offerings were killed, while the New Covenant whole burnt offerings (aka “living sacrifices”) are presented to the Lord alive and breathing. A significant difference, wouldn’t you say?
But not so fast! The real and true burnt offering—the antitype (the Lord Jesus)—did die on the cross (the bronze altar). Even more, any true Christian also died on that cross “in Christ”. He is our substitute whole burnt offering, just as He is our substitute sin offering and every other type of offering. We don’t live because of our own righteousness. We live because He died for our sins and then imparted to us His righteousness.
I like it! Thank you, Jesus. Let’s go to Him now and do just that. We’ll finish our subject in the next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The eternal Son of God temporarily laid aside His prerogatives as God. He took upon Himself humanity, becoming a man of like nature with us. He eternally is God. At a point in time He became a man, and He now remains a man forevermore. At the same time He is still God.
As a man Jesus walked the earth without exercising His prerogatives of deity. Instead He obeyed the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is one way the Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law for man.
We too are to be born again, and then we are to live in our human body according to the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Guess what? When we describe this arrangement, we are expressing the definition of the whole burnt offering! Hallelujah! Our study is bringing us to a better understanding of the whole burnt offering.
But under the New Covenant we don’t present burnt offerings on a bronze altar. So how does all this understanding affect us today? Just this, that we are to present our body to God as a living sacrifice. Don’t you remember? And this brings us to the distinct difference between the whole burnt offerings of the Old Covenant and the living sacrifices of the New.
Muse upon the scenario we portrayed back in the wilderness in the camp of Israel. It’s dawn and the morning burnt offering is being presented to the Lord at the bronze altar. The priest did what again to that little ol’ lamb? He invited it home to meet the family? No, that wasn’t it. He fed it to the big bad wolf? Not even. I got it! He took it to the movies? Naw. Still not the right answer.
Okay. So you tell me the correct answer. What did the priest do to the lamb of the continual burnt offering? Ah, I see by the look on your face that you remember what we discussed. Yes, that’s right! The priest slit the lamb’s throat, then cut the poor thing into its constituent parts and burned them to smithereens on the bronze altar.
That was the end result of the burnt offerings under the Old Covenant. Now do you see the difference between that and the living sacrifices under the New Covenant? Yes, you got it right again! Praise the Lord! The Old Covenant whole burnt offerings were killed, while the New Covenant whole burnt offerings (aka “living sacrifices”) are presented to the Lord alive and breathing. A significant difference, wouldn’t you say?
But not so fast! The real and true burnt offering—the antitype (the Lord Jesus)—did die on the cross (the bronze altar). Even more, any true Christian also died on that cross “in Christ”. He is our substitute whole burnt offering, just as He is our substitute sin offering and every other type of offering. We don’t live because of our own righteousness. We live because He died for our sins and then imparted to us His righteousness.
I like it! Thank you, Jesus. Let’s go to Him now and do just that. We’ll finish our subject in the next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Dawn in the Desert – Part 5
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship [Romans 12:1].
The born again person died to sin “in Christ” on the cross. He rose out of the tomb “in Christ” and now lives the new resurrection life “in Christ”. Christians don’t have their own righteousness. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
What all of this means is that we can now, because we are already born again, present our body to God as a living sacrifice. We already died for our sins “in Christ” on the cross. We now live His new, righteous life because we rose out of death “in Christ”. Christ died and now lives. “In Christ” we do too. Hence we are free to live as whole burnt offerings to God.
Yes, the blood offerings were killed and remained dead. But that was the Law’s judgment on sin. In the New Covenant we are not under Law but under grace. Jesus already paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind by dying on the cross for us. He fulfilled the Law for us. In doing so God’s righteousness was upheld. Sin demands death for its wages.
But death couldn’t hold Jesus. Three days later He rose out of death in newness of life, in resurrection life. Sin and its penalty was left in the tomb. Sinners remain dead in the tomb. A new creation, eternal and without sin, came out of the tomb. Saints come out of the tomb.
Now those who are born again (aka “saints”) are alive and able to live entirely for God. We are free to do so, but we can refuse to do so. I have to willingly present my body as a “living sacrifice”, as a whole burnt offering, to God in His service. You too have the same choice to make. But do not be mistaken. No one has this choice to make until they are first born again as a new creation in Christ Jesus.
So are you born again? If not, you can become so right now. Simply look by faith to Jesus on the cross and recognize that He died for your sins there. Identify yourself on the cross with Him. This fulfills the Old Covenant part where the offerer slit the throat of his substitute offering.
Ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you for your sins, sins which led Him in love to willingly die on the cross so that you might live in Him. By faith believe He does forgive you because the Word of God teaches this is so.
Then by faith in the Word of God come out of the tomb in newness of life “in Christ”. Go forth and live the resurrection life which He freely bestows on you, no longer a slave to sin but now a willingly bond slave to righteousness.
Ah, you have just presented yourself to God as a living sacrifice. Congratulations. The journey is a lifelong one and the going frequently encounters rough winds and vicious waves. But not to fret. The Lord is on your side. What can man do to you?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The born again person died to sin “in Christ” on the cross. He rose out of the tomb “in Christ” and now lives the new resurrection life “in Christ”. Christians don’t have their own righteousness. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
What all of this means is that we can now, because we are already born again, present our body to God as a living sacrifice. We already died for our sins “in Christ” on the cross. We now live His new, righteous life because we rose out of death “in Christ”. Christ died and now lives. “In Christ” we do too. Hence we are free to live as whole burnt offerings to God.
Yes, the blood offerings were killed and remained dead. But that was the Law’s judgment on sin. In the New Covenant we are not under Law but under grace. Jesus already paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind by dying on the cross for us. He fulfilled the Law for us. In doing so God’s righteousness was upheld. Sin demands death for its wages.
But death couldn’t hold Jesus. Three days later He rose out of death in newness of life, in resurrection life. Sin and its penalty was left in the tomb. Sinners remain dead in the tomb. A new creation, eternal and without sin, came out of the tomb. Saints come out of the tomb.
Now those who are born again (aka “saints”) are alive and able to live entirely for God. We are free to do so, but we can refuse to do so. I have to willingly present my body as a “living sacrifice”, as a whole burnt offering, to God in His service. You too have the same choice to make. But do not be mistaken. No one has this choice to make until they are first born again as a new creation in Christ Jesus.
So are you born again? If not, you can become so right now. Simply look by faith to Jesus on the cross and recognize that He died for your sins there. Identify yourself on the cross with Him. This fulfills the Old Covenant part where the offerer slit the throat of his substitute offering.
Ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you for your sins, sins which led Him in love to willingly die on the cross so that you might live in Him. By faith believe He does forgive you because the Word of God teaches this is so.
Then by faith in the Word of God come out of the tomb in newness of life “in Christ”. Go forth and live the resurrection life which He freely bestows on you, no longer a slave to sin but now a willingly bond slave to righteousness.
Ah, you have just presented yourself to God as a living sacrifice. Congratulations. The journey is a lifelong one and the going frequently encounters rough winds and vicious waves. But not to fret. The Lord is on your side. What can man do to you?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Just Say No To Drugs – Part 1
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds [Titus 2:11-14].
A TV commercial used to run regularly during prime time each evening. For the life of me I cannot even venture a guess how long ago it was. Memory isn’t what it used to be.
Anyway a public disavowal of illegal drug usage was in full swing. In a failed effort to dissuade the young folks—and the not so young too—from using drugs, the government put out these commercials on the TV during prime time. They were actually done quite well.
I remember how one of the commercials popped up on the screen, showing a skillet with an egg in it. The egg sizzled loudly as it fried. After several seconds of watching that scene—the delay being for effect and creating anticipation, you see—a voice brusquely announced, “This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?”
Effective in making a point, don’t you agree? Well, the real point I want to draw from those anti-drug commercials is what followed next. All of these anti-drug commercials ended with the same catch phrase, “Just say no to drugs.”
The reason I recall those anti-drug commercials at this time is simple. Many many moons ago a youth pastor at a church where I interned had a good take on Titus 2:12. In the New International Version the verse is translated, “It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions”. Taking his cue from the anti-drug commercials, he noted that Titus 2:12 is his anti-drug verse. Being a youth pastor he regularly taught and exhorted the youth not to do drugs.
Whenever I read Titus 2 anymore, I remember that good brother. He had a knack for ministering to young folks. Youth pastors require a special gift from the Lord, if they are to be effective with teenagers under their care. He was good at his ministry, and I for one appreciated him for it.
In this study we won’t employ Titus 2:12 as our anti-drug Bible verse. We want to tackle verses 11-14 as a group and enjoy the smorgasbord of scrumptious delectables afforded therein. So let’s wash our hands, sit at the table, say grace, and get to eating!
But now we will call it a day and go visit with Jesus a spell. See you tomorrow, and we won’t be showing anymore commercials.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
A TV commercial used to run regularly during prime time each evening. For the life of me I cannot even venture a guess how long ago it was. Memory isn’t what it used to be.
Anyway a public disavowal of illegal drug usage was in full swing. In a failed effort to dissuade the young folks—and the not so young too—from using drugs, the government put out these commercials on the TV during prime time. They were actually done quite well.
I remember how one of the commercials popped up on the screen, showing a skillet with an egg in it. The egg sizzled loudly as it fried. After several seconds of watching that scene—the delay being for effect and creating anticipation, you see—a voice brusquely announced, “This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?”
Effective in making a point, don’t you agree? Well, the real point I want to draw from those anti-drug commercials is what followed next. All of these anti-drug commercials ended with the same catch phrase, “Just say no to drugs.”
The reason I recall those anti-drug commercials at this time is simple. Many many moons ago a youth pastor at a church where I interned had a good take on Titus 2:12. In the New International Version the verse is translated, “It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions”. Taking his cue from the anti-drug commercials, he noted that Titus 2:12 is his anti-drug verse. Being a youth pastor he regularly taught and exhorted the youth not to do drugs.
Whenever I read Titus 2 anymore, I remember that good brother. He had a knack for ministering to young folks. Youth pastors require a special gift from the Lord, if they are to be effective with teenagers under their care. He was good at his ministry, and I for one appreciated him for it.
In this study we won’t employ Titus 2:12 as our anti-drug Bible verse. We want to tackle verses 11-14 as a group and enjoy the smorgasbord of scrumptious delectables afforded therein. So let’s wash our hands, sit at the table, say grace, and get to eating!
But now we will call it a day and go visit with Jesus a spell. See you tomorrow, and we won’t be showing anymore commercials.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Just Say No To Drugs – Part 2
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds [Titus 2:11-14].
Let’s continue our study of the anti-drug Bible verse. When reading Scripture we would be benefited to note the actors on the stage of the text. There are several in Titus 2:11-14. We will acquaint ourselves with them as they make their appearance.
The first person we meet enters stage right during the first seven words: “For the grace of God has appeared”. God is the star of this story, as He is in all of Scripture. Life isn’t about me, or about you, or about the family cat. Life for everyone revolves around God.
The word “grace” appears in the New Testament constantly. We need to understand what it means, if we want to know what God has to teach us. The grace of God has appeared. What is that anyway?
The word “grace” refers to a free gift. In our study it refers to a free gift from God specifically. He gives it to us because…because…well, just because He wants to. His love is His motivation. God is love so He does things like that.
Man hasn’t earned this free gift. Otherwise it wouldn’t be free, and it wouldn’t be a gift either! Nor does man receive this free gift because he deserves it. I am not so sweet a darling that God felt compelled to give me His grace. It doesn’t work like that! Nor am I so smart or strong or successful or whatever.
God gives me His grace because He is love. I don’t even enter the picture until I receive it. Up until that time God’s grace alone is on the stage.
So God’s grace, His free gift, has made an appearance on the stage of world history. Okay, then what is this free gift, this grace of God which has appeared? Well, first of all it isn’t a “this” or a “which”. God’s grace is a “Who”. In the context of Titus 2:11-14 we should recognize the “Who” as three Persons. The three are:
1. God the Father
2. God the Son
3. God the Holy Spirit
“How do you reckon those three Persons comprise God’s grace, based on Titus 2:11-14?” you are no doubt champing at the bit to ask me.
And an insightful query it is too. I’ll be happy to oblige you with an explanation, as we make our way through the text.
But it’ll have to wait for our next study. This one’s over, as is the day. I need time alone with Jesus before I retire. Don’t you?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Let’s continue our study of the anti-drug Bible verse. When reading Scripture we would be benefited to note the actors on the stage of the text. There are several in Titus 2:11-14. We will acquaint ourselves with them as they make their appearance.
The first person we meet enters stage right during the first seven words: “For the grace of God has appeared”. God is the star of this story, as He is in all of Scripture. Life isn’t about me, or about you, or about the family cat. Life for everyone revolves around God.
The word “grace” appears in the New Testament constantly. We need to understand what it means, if we want to know what God has to teach us. The grace of God has appeared. What is that anyway?
The word “grace” refers to a free gift. In our study it refers to a free gift from God specifically. He gives it to us because…because…well, just because He wants to. His love is His motivation. God is love so He does things like that.
Man hasn’t earned this free gift. Otherwise it wouldn’t be free, and it wouldn’t be a gift either! Nor does man receive this free gift because he deserves it. I am not so sweet a darling that God felt compelled to give me His grace. It doesn’t work like that! Nor am I so smart or strong or successful or whatever.
God gives me His grace because He is love. I don’t even enter the picture until I receive it. Up until that time God’s grace alone is on the stage.
So God’s grace, His free gift, has made an appearance on the stage of world history. Okay, then what is this free gift, this grace of God which has appeared? Well, first of all it isn’t a “this” or a “which”. God’s grace is a “Who”. In the context of Titus 2:11-14 we should recognize the “Who” as three Persons. The three are:
1. God the Father
2. God the Son
3. God the Holy Spirit
“How do you reckon those three Persons comprise God’s grace, based on Titus 2:11-14?” you are no doubt champing at the bit to ask me.
And an insightful query it is too. I’ll be happy to oblige you with an explanation, as we make our way through the text.
But it’ll have to wait for our next study. This one’s over, as is the day. I need time alone with Jesus before I retire. Don’t you?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Just Say No To Drugs – Part 3
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds [Titus 2:11-14].
In the context of Titus 2:11-14 we should recognize God’s grace as three Persons. The three are:
1. God the Father
2. God the Son
3. God the Holy Spirit
Let’s assay how this is so.
To begin with observe what occurred when God’s grace appeared: it brought salvation to all men. And there are the second and third members who make up the cast of this movie. The third part of the cast is a group, “all men”. Who does that include? Well, you show me a human being from the past, present, or future, and I will show you someone who is included!
To recapitulate, “God” is the first member of the cast and “all men” make up the third addition to the cast. But wait a sec. How did we go from first to third? Where is the second member of the cast?
You will recall that I identified the “grace of God” as a Person, or rather three Persons to be exact. That is where the second member of the cast comes in. This second member was already present when Paul wrote the words of Titus 2. He appeared already, you see. When He appeared He brought salvation to all men. In fact He continuously brings this salvation to all men.
Is this starting to ring a bell? We are of course pointing to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and to His ministry at the cross and empty tomb. Jesus is the Son of God, one of the three Persons of the Godhead. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men”. That is a direct allusion to Jesus Christ the Son of God. He appeared (past tense), and He is continuously “bringing salvation” (present tense).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” [John 3:16]. God’s love is for “the world”, or as it is worded in Titus 2:11 “all men”. The world consists of all men, or all humans.
However, only those who believe this truth from the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “have eternal life”. The “have eternal life” part is worded in Titus 2:11 as “bringing salvation”. If we have salvation, we have eternal life, and vice versa too.
Titus was one of Paul’s closest associates. Paul went around the Mediterranean world sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When people believed they were born again. Paul organized the believers into local churches.
One place Paul did this was on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Crete was south by southeast of Greece and south of the Aegean Sea. The Aegean Sea is the body of water between today’s Asia Minor and Greece.
I’ll give you a pass on the geography lesson. We need to pause now and reflect on what we’ve been taught. Jesus calls us. Let’s accept the invite.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In the context of Titus 2:11-14 we should recognize God’s grace as three Persons. The three are:
1. God the Father
2. God the Son
3. God the Holy Spirit
Let’s assay how this is so.
To begin with observe what occurred when God’s grace appeared: it brought salvation to all men. And there are the second and third members who make up the cast of this movie. The third part of the cast is a group, “all men”. Who does that include? Well, you show me a human being from the past, present, or future, and I will show you someone who is included!
To recapitulate, “God” is the first member of the cast and “all men” make up the third addition to the cast. But wait a sec. How did we go from first to third? Where is the second member of the cast?
You will recall that I identified the “grace of God” as a Person, or rather three Persons to be exact. That is where the second member of the cast comes in. This second member was already present when Paul wrote the words of Titus 2. He appeared already, you see. When He appeared He brought salvation to all men. In fact He continuously brings this salvation to all men.
Is this starting to ring a bell? We are of course pointing to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and to His ministry at the cross and empty tomb. Jesus is the Son of God, one of the three Persons of the Godhead. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men”. That is a direct allusion to Jesus Christ the Son of God. He appeared (past tense), and He is continuously “bringing salvation” (present tense).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” [John 3:16]. God’s love is for “the world”, or as it is worded in Titus 2:11 “all men”. The world consists of all men, or all humans.
However, only those who believe this truth from the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “have eternal life”. The “have eternal life” part is worded in Titus 2:11 as “bringing salvation”. If we have salvation, we have eternal life, and vice versa too.
Titus was one of Paul’s closest associates. Paul went around the Mediterranean world sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When people believed they were born again. Paul organized the believers into local churches.
One place Paul did this was on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Crete was south by southeast of Greece and south of the Aegean Sea. The Aegean Sea is the body of water between today’s Asia Minor and Greece.
I’ll give you a pass on the geography lesson. We need to pause now and reflect on what we’ve been taught. Jesus calls us. Let’s accept the invite.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Just Say No To Drugs – Part 4
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds [Titus 2:11-14].
Paul dispatched Titus to Crete to organized the leadership in the churches on that island. Later he wrote Titus the letter we know as the the New Testament Epistle to Titus. This letter contains Paul’s instructions to Titus about what he should do to set the churches on their feet spiritually. We are studying a part of it today.
At the time Paul penned the words of Titus 2:11-14, Jesus Christ had already ascended into heaven, likely more than 3½ decades prior. Paul noted that the grace of God appeared bringing salvation, a reference to Jesus. That was past tense at the time Paul wrote.
Then Paul continued in the present tense with verbs like,
• instructing
• live
• looking
Jesus had been in heaven for decades. He wasn’t on earth “instructing us”. This brings us to the fourth member of the cast of this movie. This Person is the One on earth “instructing us” during this Church Age. Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce to you the Holy Spirit.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God as identified by those words has a Son, so the reference is to God the Father. He is the first Person noted. “All men” received the second mention. God the Son then made His appearance.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, ascended into heaven. Ten days later on Pentecost He sent the Holy Spirit to give birth to His Body on earth during this age, the Church.
It is through the instrumentality of the Church during this Church Age that the Gospel of Jesus Christ goes out to “all men”. We know the specifics of the Gospel because it appears in the Bible. We can understand the Bible because God the Holy Spirit lives inside the born again person. This indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the new life, eternal life, which Jesus grants us by means of the Gospel.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit entails many avenues of work. He teaches us the Word of God, leads us as we share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, and comforts us in our distress. He it is Who, to employ the words of Titus 2, “instruct(s) us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age”.
The Holy Spirit also keeps us focused on eternity and our heavenly home, so that we are always “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus”. This additional aspect of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is crucial to the previous aspect.
We will learn all about it in our next study. For now let’s allow Jesus to build what we’ve eaten today into our hearts and minds.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Paul dispatched Titus to Crete to organized the leadership in the churches on that island. Later he wrote Titus the letter we know as the the New Testament Epistle to Titus. This letter contains Paul’s instructions to Titus about what he should do to set the churches on their feet spiritually. We are studying a part of it today.
At the time Paul penned the words of Titus 2:11-14, Jesus Christ had already ascended into heaven, likely more than 3½ decades prior. Paul noted that the grace of God appeared bringing salvation, a reference to Jesus. That was past tense at the time Paul wrote.
Then Paul continued in the present tense with verbs like,
• instructing
• live
• looking
Jesus had been in heaven for decades. He wasn’t on earth “instructing us”. This brings us to the fourth member of the cast of this movie. This Person is the One on earth “instructing us” during this Church Age. Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce to you the Holy Spirit.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God as identified by those words has a Son, so the reference is to God the Father. He is the first Person noted. “All men” received the second mention. God the Son then made His appearance.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, ascended into heaven. Ten days later on Pentecost He sent the Holy Spirit to give birth to His Body on earth during this age, the Church.
It is through the instrumentality of the Church during this Church Age that the Gospel of Jesus Christ goes out to “all men”. We know the specifics of the Gospel because it appears in the Bible. We can understand the Bible because God the Holy Spirit lives inside the born again person. This indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the new life, eternal life, which Jesus grants us by means of the Gospel.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit entails many avenues of work. He teaches us the Word of God, leads us as we share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, and comforts us in our distress. He it is Who, to employ the words of Titus 2, “instruct(s) us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age”.
The Holy Spirit also keeps us focused on eternity and our heavenly home, so that we are always “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus”. This additional aspect of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is crucial to the previous aspect.
We will learn all about it in our next study. For now let’s allow Jesus to build what we’ve eaten today into our hearts and minds.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
