like Israel, the adulterous wife of Jehovah – also to be reunited with her Lord. Then Joseph:- who in hundreds of ways is a glorious type of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The accuser may go away rebuked by this, that God has justified us; the judge may go away rebuked by this, that the Lord Jesus has died - has already suffered the judgment, and His work has been accepted to the full in heaven itself; the executioner may go away rebuked by this, that all the malice of earth and hell together shall never drag us away from the firm embrace of our God.
If we are walking by faith, as risen with the Lord Jesus Christ, Satan, the world, and the flesh are under our feet. -J.N.D.
Our Father disciplines us that we may be more fully free from the old nature, and find everything in the Lord Jesus.
I bring you into the desert to learn what you are, and what I am; but it is as those I have brought to Myself!' He gives us a place with the Lord Jesus, but then shows us what He is and what we are.
When we come to see that all the old nature was taken down into the death of the Cross, and in Christ Jesus we are completely clear of its penalty and power, it is then that we begin to welcome the work of the Cross upon all that of which the Holy Spirit convicts us.
You can be sure that you are in the will of God when He keeps you dependent upon Himself, walking in the Holy Spirit, and abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The life of the Lord Jesus is revealed as His death works in us (2 Cor. 4:11, 12), and as in weakness and nothingness we look to him (2 Cor. 3:18). -A.M.
The life of the Lord Jesus is revealed as His death works in us (2 Cor. 4:11, 12), and as in weakness and nothingness we look to Him (2 Cor. 3:18).” -A.M.
For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:11)
Jesus paid the price for sin and He broke the power of sin when He died on the cross.
They believed in God – but now they must believe in the Lord Jesus.
Son of God
Imagine John’s dismay when He saw the sinless Son of God on Whom the Spirit was to rest coming to him to be baptised in water. “I need to be baptised by You,” he protested. But God always has His reasons and all that Christ did was under the guidance of the Spirit of God and in perfect harmony with the will of the Father – and for God’s glory. Jesus reassuring His humble herald said to the faithful John, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness,” and so He was baptised.
Sinner’s Saviour
There were a number of reasons that Jesus said, “Allow it for now,” and perhaps the most poignant reason was that He had come to this earth to be the sinner’s Saviour.
Kingdom of Heaven
The baptism in water of Jesus was also a marker that pointed to the beginning of His public ministry.
Spirit Baptism
Were John and Jesus alone when He was unveiled as the Christ or were there other onlookers?
Unique Role
It is a beautiful picture of the triune Godhead uniting on the banks of the Jordan to encourage the Lord Jesus as Son of God and Son of Man to fulfil His unique role as Prophet, Priest and King – as He took His first step on the road that led to Calvary. Let us never be content to skip through the pages of Scripture without a deeper look into the gracious soul of our Saviour – Who gave His life as a ransom for you and me.
Look into the book of the Revelation: great multitude, which no man could numberten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.The number cannot be expressed in human language and they have been gathered since the travail of the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus derived much strength from this knowledge of purpose with which His life was bound up.
Jesus Christ was maintained in God strength all the way through, because He was dominated by the sense of His mission, because He kept firm His purpose.
We have got to know as definitely as the Lord Jesus knew, that we are in God purpose.
If we are truly to bear witness of the Lord, this old adage had a valued point, for it is only as we look to Jesus and know Him that we can bear witness of Him.
This newness of life does not involve strenuous effort in our witnessing of Jesus – for is it not in Him that we should live and move and have our being.
Jesus said, I, if I am lifted up will draw all men unto Myself.
Many have been on our position in Christ rather than the circumstances of life; looking away from the world and looking to the Lord Jesus Christ.
A man who waited God’s time. We read the following in Luke 2:26 and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. It is a truly fearful thing for anyone to see death before seeing Christ Jesus.
Pray and Praise
For you tarnish your life with much fretting. You spoil your walk with much worry. Fretting and worry crush the treasures that the Lord has to offer, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, confess your faults and your needs, and His peace that surpasses understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
Love As He Loved
The Lord Jesus wants each of His children to be united in love – united in Him..
until we all come to the knowledge of the Son of God. For God is love and love is of God and we are to be one in Him – united in Him. We are to love as Jesus loved us – to love others as His love flows through us.
Looking to Jesus
Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
While others may bewail that: the Lord delays His coming, remember the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him: He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Calvary’s Victory
The life-walk of Paul illustrates his relationship to his Lord, Jesus Christ.
Initial prideful, bitter hatred of all who followed Jesus of Nazareth, was exchanged – replaced, with such a deep love of his Master, as reflected in his penmanship.
Blood of Jesus
We read that it was “neither by the blood of goats or calves, but by His own blood that Jesus entered in once into the holy place – having obtained eternal redemption for us. The blood of Jesus did not cover for our sins.
The Perfect Man
Only God’s eternal Son was good enough to pay the incredible price for humanities sin, but God is Spirit and without the shedding of human blood – is no forgiveness of sins. He had to lay aside His glory, leave His heavenly abode and become the Son of Man. And so at God’s appointed time Jesus was born – as the innocent and perfect Man. Only the blood of an innocent and perfect Man was sufficient to pay the price for sin.
Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah and the Saviour of the world, but during His earthly ministry, we are reminded that He only came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
The loose-living woman at the well in Samaria warranted death by stoning under the Law, yet was offered living water by the Messiah,rather than words of condemnation.. and by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ she was given eternal life.
It was the Lord Jesus Himself Who said... to the man, or woman, who has..
‘Divine’ Appointment
Here was her modern-day, appointment that day – just as Jesus had His divine appointment that other day, at Samaria’s well.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true in His Son Jesus Christ.
A Believer’s Appointment
Jesus, needs must go through Samaria, for there was a woman.
Rachel needed to go to Ontario hospital, for there was a man. And we too need to go where God sends us, for there are many men and many women… The Lord Jesus is coming back – and he is coming soon..maybe today..
Jesus Christ
The central character of God’s never-ending love-story features the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the fulfilment of the past – and the promise of the future.
We read that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, but it required the Creator breaking into His own universe to achieve the impossible – a Man, born of a human mother, Who was Son of the Most High God..
forever. And he validated His redeeming role, for she was to call His name “Jesus“..
All in All
When Christ is not a Christian’s fullness, that one is filled with self, not Christ. When Christ is not all in all to the body of Christ, it becomes an empty vessel. When the Lord Jesus is not preeminent in our lives, we fail in our ministry.
He told of all the things Jesus began.
He told of all the things which Jesus began to do and to teach, until He was taken Acts 1:1
No wonder the Lord Jesus wept over the old creation in Jacob – Israel: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kill the prophets, and stone them that are sent out unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
the Church – through whom He will work for the new man in Christ was to become the mystical body of the Lord Jesus Christ – until it is no longer I that lives but Christ – that lives in me.
God set a guard over the tree of life until man could resume his role as king – until His Man, (the Man Christ Jesus) would govern the earth through God’s heavenly sovereignty.
This will be the time when the earth is filled with the glory of God; a time when the lion will lie down with the lamb; a time when Christ is set on God's holy hill of Zion as Lord of lords; a time when His people Israel will be the head of the nations and not the tail; a time when Satan is bound for a thousand years and Jesus Christ is King of kings.
All things are moving towards the kingdom rule of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth.
World System
In Revelation, we read: the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God and His Christ – so why did Jesus say His kingdom was not of this world.
Heavenly Rulership
Jesus had said to Herod, My kingdom is not of this world system, for a reason.
King Jesus will reign on “the throne of David” in His earthly Kingdom.
King Jesus will reign from “My throne” in His heavenly Kingdom, for He must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet. 1 Corinthians 15:25
So that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:7
Principle of Consecrated
The principle of consecration is that God might use that one as a sign –‘His sign.’ Not only as a sign of His immeasurable grace in the ages to come, but here and now, in the corner of the field where He has planted you. And every consecrated saint points in one-way or another to Jesus Christ.
Jesus: Set Apart
The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect example of a life, consecrated to God. He spent His earthly walk living His life through the power of the Father.. Every work He undertook, each word He spoke, was a sign of consecration to God. His was a life that signified the infinite wisdom, power and sovereignty of God, His was the life exemplifying God working in and through a man – He was a Man set-apart to God.
Thy Will Be Done
Paul reminds us: let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus… Philippians 2:5 Isaiah prays: have Thine Own way Lord – Thou are the Potter , I am the clay.
Spiritual Blessings
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. God the Father chose you and me in Christ before the foundation of the world. God preordained that we are to be adopted as His sons because of the Lord Jesus. God has blessed us with abundant blessings, in and through His beloved Son.
Heit was that needed to visit Jerusalem to rehearse these principles to the apostles. He was required to inform those who walked with Jesus three and a half years of new revelation, and throughout Paul’s epistles we see the great doctrines on which our faith rests.
Godly Challenge
All he writes is for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. His writings give us the bedrock upon which to stand and to live for God, in this evil day. The godly wisdom he wrote is directed at a Christian’s growth and sanctification, and we in this generation do well to study carefully his instructions and warnings. He writes to the saints in Christ Jesus – to those that are set apart unto God.
No, though sadly some believers do worry that they are not truly born again. Get once and for all the gospel truth ever firmly fixed in your mind and heart.. believe… just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you are saved – forever. No, the majority of truths in Paul’s epistles are for the saved man or woman, so that we can live the life that is best for us, as directed by the Holy Spirit.
Godly Love
Jesus initially touches on the secret that was given to Paul and expounded by him:- You must love the Lord your God with all your HEART – and Paul tells us HOW. You must love the Lord your God with all your SOUL – and Paul tells us HOW. You must love the Lord your God with all your MIND – and Paul tells us HOW. Paul tells us how our thinking and thought processes must love and trust the Lord.. with every part of your being.
Godly Focus
When Paul’s heart and soul and mind was set on the Lord Jesus, his life was one of victory, joy, faith and love... despite life’s circumstances.
The Lord Jesus was the central thought on Paul’s mind.
A single mind is one that places the Lord Jesus in His rightful place.
The Apostle Paul
And Paul tells us how to achieve this:- set your thoughts and your mind and your heart on the Lord Jesus..
look to Jesus, knowing that the return of the Lord is at hand..
Give thanks in all things knowing that all things work together for good. And Paul says that if you do this… the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Wise Instructions
Have you noticed something here – every instruction starts with a thought, and every thought allows you a choice… FIRST: Set your thoughts and your mind and your heart on the Lord Jesus. If you choose to set your mind on Christ, you will experience inner peace.
The peace of God is freely available to every believer in the Lord Jesus.
The Perfect Law
The perfect Law became our tutor to lead us to Christ, so we may be justified by faith. It was Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a leader of the Jews who came to Jesus by night. Like all religious leaders he was a man who was separated unto legal righteousness. He knew every nuance of the Law and at this time he was the main teacher in Israel.
Imperfect Man
No doubt he studied the Scriptures diligently thinking that in so doing he would earn eternal life and yet these very writings testified of Jesus in Whom abides eternal life.
Secret Disciple
Nicodemus was a man with the veil of the Law shrouding his heart – but the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ shone down on this needy man – that dark night. And later we discover him to be a secret disciple – at the tomb of his Lord.
Impossible Standard
The reality that the Law, in which Nicodemus trusted was related to the flesh, must have been shattering to this religious-minded Pharisee – this esteemed teacher. Though the Law was God’s benchmark for the man that is born of the flesh it was an impossible standard to keep – but the new life in Christ, which is a gift of God’s grace to the one that believes, is a new work of God in man – a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Spiritual Life
Man must be born of the Holy Spirit – if he is to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. The spiritual life of which Christ spoke is something entirely separate from the Law. The spiritual life is rooted in grace and truth, which comes to us from Jesus Christ.
Jesus had told his Jewish brethren that He would return at a very special time.
Jesus would only return to set up His kingdom when Israel repented of their sins, acknowledged their offense, and called on His name: for I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Matthew 23:39
But a day is coming when this world’s kingdom will become the kingdom of Christ – and the Lord Jesus Christ will reign over His people – forever and evermore.
Judas Replaced
They selected Matthias to replace Judas – the one that betrayed Jesus with a kiss, for they knew that the twelve were to sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Promised Messiah
For three long years, Jesus had taught the disciples of the coming kingdom of God.
For the one who has placed their trust in Jesus for salvation, and rested their eternal destiny on His finished work at Calvary, the Bible is the divine authority, upon which our lives should be founded.
Singular Sufficiency
For those who have trusted Jesus as Saviour, Scripture is singularly sufficient for all we need to live as God requires.
Indeed to understand God’s plan for our live, we need to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Word, for we live in a world which is no friend to Jesus, the enemy of God and antagonistic towards His children – but His grace is sufficient.
The life and ministry of the Lord Jesus took place before today’s Church Age started.
Refreshing Times
This final prophet of Israel witnessed to the fact that Jesus was the Son of God.
Messiah’s Mark
Jesus lived His whole life under the shadow of the Law.
Prophet, Priest, King
In former times God had spoken to Israel through the prophets, priests, and kings, but Jesus came to announce Himself as Israel’s final Prophet, Priest and King.
Israel’s Messiah
The beautiful words and works of the Lord Jesus are worthy of our regard and study, but we must never forget that His ministry was primarily to the lost sheep of Israel.
A Future Church
He fulfilled biblical prophecy – identifying Himself as the anointed One from God, yet we see an occasional glimpse of God’s future plans for His future church. He was fully God, and He was fully Man but He lived His life as an example to us all. He adhered to the Law of Moses for Jesus lived all of His life before Calvary’s cross.
Convicted of Sin
Were God dealing with us as sinners, the Spirit would use the law as a schoolmaster, for the Law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, and we all fall short of God’s law. The law exposes our sins and contrasts it with the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus:- personal sins, faults and transgressions, filth and foulness would be our fallen focus. He would convict us of sin, of righteousness and judgment.
The judgement we deserve was poured out over Christ, Who bore our sins, and we have been declared righteous by God, and because He is righteous, we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
No Condemnation – in Christ
We are sinners saved by grace and there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But we are sinners saved by grace and there is no condemnation – there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus the Lord.
Close Presence
Directly we begin to speak to Jesus, we must know Him to be literally present. Even though it appears that His presence is veiled, there comes an answering voice which shows that He is in the shadow..
We stand by revelation, God who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
By knowing the Lord Jesus in this inward way, by revelation.
That the LIFE of JESUS might be made manifest in our mortal bodies - 2 Cor. 4:11.
It is God who hath shined in our hearts... in the face of Jesus Christ, therefore you can go through and survive.
Nothing can carry us through but the revelation of the Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit in our hearts; an inside knowledge of Him - not mental assent to a creed or a doctrine, but a living, vital reality in our very being.
In other words, we are immediately going to come up against that force of antagonism to stop what has come in through the death and resurrection and exaltation of the Lord Jesus, the heavenly thing.
Jesus had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.Hebrews 2:17
Romantic Nonsense
There has been much romantic nonsense written about the early life of the Lord Jesus, but Jesus lived a hard life and yet a simple life in the little despised village of Nazareth. There have been many false gospels written about the time that God in His wisdom chose to keep Jesus hidden from our view – with a few, thought-provoking exceptions.
Veiled Life
In the main, God chose to veil our view of Jesus, until the time of John the Baptist’s ministry, when Jesus started to walk in and out among the disciples of John. And yet there is much that we know of His character – His spirited zeal for the Lord – His love for the Scriptures of God and His humble dedication to His Father in heaven.
Carpenter’s Son
One thing that we do know is that the Lord Jesus spent His teenage and early adult life in submission to His parents and learning the trade of His adoptive Father – Joseph. Is not this the carpenter’s son?
And Jesus did not do many mighty works in His hometown, because of their unbelief.
And James and Jude, in their respective epistles, identified themselves as servants of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Willing Service
At the age of 12, Jesus had understood that He must be about His Father’s business – and His willingness to labour at the wooden bench of His earthly father demonstrates a determination to complete the eternal business of His heavenly Father’s calling.
We read that Jesus set His face as a flint to go to the cross as the time drew near.
But the young Jesus also set His face as a flint to carry out His Father’s work of salvation..
Jesus did this for you and He did this for me, so that He could be like His brothers and sisters - (US).
Picture of Jesus the Carpenter courtesy of Nathaniel Vargas
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him (Col. 2:6).
While they firmly grasp the truth, justified by faith,' they have hardly noticed the larger truth, the just shall live by faith.' They have not yet understood what a perfect Saviour the Lord Jesus is, and how He will each day do for the sinner just as much as He did the first day when they came to Him.
They know not that the life of grace is always and only a life of faith, and that in the relationship to the Lord Jesus the one daily and unceasing duty of the disciple is to believe, because believing is the one channel through which Divine grace and strength can flow into the heart of man.
For we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake (2 Cor. 4:5).
As we keep our eyes upon the Cross for the old, and upon the Lord Jesus Christ for the new, all that will remain for others to see will be not I, but Christ.
This is the way in which believers live who do not know or who do not recognize the fact of their union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
To be occupied with self is to be defeated and to have failure and live in sin; but to be occupied with the Lord Jesus will mean victory.
Now to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly, beyond all that we ask or think, according to the Power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.
That power at work in us is the Spirit of God, Who is conforming us to be like Jesus.
When Jesus lived on earth, He could not do many mighty works in His hometown, His power was limited by unbelief, because the people didn’t believe Who He was. The people didn’t believe what He said. The people didn’t believe His word.
Far More Abundantly
Let us take God at His word. Let us believe in the rich resources of our reliable Father. Let us trust Him to supply us with the above-all abundance and riches of His grace, for in Ephesians 3:20-21 we read: Now to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us to Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever AMEN and AMEN.
God’s Decision
The Father could not have conceived of anything more to save the children of men. He foreknew all that would trust in Jesus and chose them before the world began.
He gave us a glorious inheritance and made us joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is not the consecration of our old man' with its instincts and resources, his natural wisdom, strength and other gifts, to the Lord Jesus for Him to use.
The presenting' spoken of is the outcome of my knowing my old man to have been crucified (Rom. 6:6), and my reckoning myself alive unto God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11).
Nuns renounce the world, but they are not engrossed in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
While Ephesians 1:5-6 tells us that: Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
And Romans 5:1 tells us: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Preordained Acceptance
But God preordained that all who believe in Jesus are fully accepted in His beloved Son. The peace and love and acceptance of God is only through His beloved Son. Without assurance of this precious fact, many live a life of daily dissatisfaction. Without confidence in His Word, many spend their years in constant mistrust. If the failing beauty of a wife doesn’t influence the ardour of a devoted husband, how much more God’s never-failing acceptance is of the believer in Christ. God’s acceptance of you and His acceptance of me is based on one thing – the finished work of the Lord Jesus, on Calvary’s cross: being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
You are accepted in the Beloved. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, Who has loved us and given [us] everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17. For you are accepted in the Beloved.
worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3)
Failure to live the Christian life is due to one's utter inability, but it is all governed by the Father.
It is a wonderful moment for the believer when we by faith occupy our standing in the favor of the Father - when we know that we are received by Him in all the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We think of the Lord Jesus - His perfections, His suitability to divine favor, His infinite acceptance with the Father - and by faith, we have access into the favor of which He is so worthy. -C.A.C.
To find that we are objects of consideration to the Lord Jesus is an infinite solace, and it brings Him before our hearts in such a way that we are sustained above the consideration of ourselves.
There is an infinite difference between self-improvement and growing in the Lord Jesus, nourished and cherished by Him.
Instead of being elated by our own improvement, or depressed because we cannot effect it, we are to be occupied with the grace and beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ, in which we are thus made to share.
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).
Now the way out is to be found in a clear-cut recognition of the fact that, as Paul says in Romans 8:1, There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.' Let appearances, voices and feelings to the contrary be what they may, still this is a fact.
It is a wonderful thing to have the consciousness that we are in living union with the Lord Jesus in heavenly glory, knowing our position in that risen sphere, participating in all that constitutes His life in the blessed circle of love and rest where He lives unto the Father.
In this stage of spiritual development there are continual discoveries of the old man which makes that old self more and more repulsive, and there is also the presentation of the Lord Jesus again and again in which the soul finds increasing delight.
This fact prepares one to see that the death of the Lord Jesus severed us from our old man, and that the Lord Jesus is now our Christian life.
Fruit is not produced by making fruit an object, nor by thinking of fruit; it is the outcome of having the Lord Jesus as one's object, of thinking of Him.
They have thereby learned the grace and sympathy of the Lord Jesus, and they have been the subjects of so much tender interest and consideration flowing from the spiritual affections of His saints, that they have been conscious of infinite gain and enrichment.
It is a real loss for the attention of believers to be turned from the spiritual dealings of the Lord Jesus with His own, and from all that is the moral result of those dealings, to be concentrated upon the thought of bodily healing and self-centered experiences. -C.A.C.
There is a great difference between going to the Lord Jesus in our troubles, as to the best Physician and Friend, and knowing Him as the One who loves me best, the Bridegroom.
Time and again God divides Satan against his own evil self – to smite himself, for Jesus asks is if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?
Our Substitute
As our substitute, Jesus went to the cross alone.
As our substitute, Jesus paid the price for our sins alone.
As our substitute, Jesus suffered the penalty for our sins alone.
Our Representative
As our representative we went to the cross with Him – together. As our representative our old-man was crucified together with Jesus. As our representative our old, Adamic self and sin-nature died together with Him. As our representative He took us to the cross and we are in Him Who is the last Adam.
Death no longer has dominion over Christ, for the death that Christ died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God – likewise, you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The object of our meditation is: Jesus Christ in heaven as our Sufficiency.... Our Lord Jesusresources came from His Father when He was here on this earth.
That means: all the resources upon which the Lord Jesus lived are at our disposal.
If we live in heavenly union with Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, the same resources are at our disposal.
Let us remind ourselves of the Word which is at the basis of our meditation: i>The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.That means that all the resources which are in Christ are available for us.
All in All
It is all about Jesus. It is all about Him because He is all in all – all in earth and the heavens too. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament show His handiwork. There is no one to view the splendours in the far reaches of the universe..
Spiritual Blessings
Should not I who am a child of God, chosen before the foundation of the world.. should not I, as one of His chosen ones, lift up the Lord Jesus? Should not I who will demonstrate His grace to heavenly powers in eternity.. should not I thus lift up the name of Jesus? Should not I similarly sing forth His praises through my voice and my pen?
Should not I who have been predestined to adoption by Jesus Christ to Himself – should not I rejoice in Him, according to the good pleasure of His will?
He has Raised us together in Christ Jesus.
He has made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
I make no apologies for once again centring this devotional on -“Christ” Some years ago my son was challenged by students and staff at his Bible college:- “don’t you have anything else to talk other than Jesus?” he and his friends were asked. ”What else is there to talk about, but JESUS” was their very wise reply…
Gift of Grace
Prayer is a gift of God’s wonderful grace to His children, which is open access to Him. Access to the throne of God is a free gift of grace to all who trust in Jesus Christ.
Complete IN Christ
May we pray in unhindered fellowship with God, May we be properly clad in the Lord Jesus Christ. May we pray aright in spirit and in truth – in the power of the Holy Spirit, that we may be effective in the intercessory battle of the ages – a battle already won that is soon to be concluded – IN Christ.
Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.Romans 13:14
They have failed to put on the Lord Jesus and are working in the power of the flesh.
Heavenly Deposit
The indwelling Spirit was given as a deposit – that we can live godly in Christ Jesus..
Colossians 2:9 So all we need to do is to appropriate His life in us – to allow Him to live through us. that you may be filled with all the fullness of God for your life is hid with Christ in God so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Ephesians.3:19
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. (Philippians 3:8 NIV)
The believer, having received the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,' comes under the influence of the law' of that Spirit (Rom. 8:2).
The operating principle of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' ever works in the direction of profound self-judgment, and of the consciousness that we have in the Lord Jesus not only righteousness, but a divine Source of satisfaction and strength.
And thus it makes the one in whom it operates free from the law of sin and death.' It gives the consciousness that divine goodness is an unfailing resource for our hearts, and that all the treasures of that goodness are stored up in Christ Jesus, that we may learn them there, and find the life of our spirits in the growing knowledge of Him. -C.A.C.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' made me free from the law of sin and death' - not the life,' but the Spirit of life,' - not our effort, but divine strength; not self-occupation, but occupation with Him in whom we are before the Father, and in whom the divine favor rests upon us full and constant, because on Him it rests. -F.W.G.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2).
There is the substitution of the power of the Spirit for the power of a right will and human effort, the substitution therefore of occupation with the glorified Lord Jesus Christ for occupation with spiritual growth; for then and thus alone is growth obtained. -F.W.G.
and His grace continually draws you and me: that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus – that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church, to the principalities and powers in heavenly places.
A Never-ending Gift
The death burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus demonstrates God’s amazing grace.
There was no worse a wretch than me when I gave my life to Jesus – no worse a past.
And I now see the hand of Father God in my life, from creation, through Jesus’ coming and resurrection to His saving grace.
My Testimony
When I gave my life to Jesus during the Billy Graham crusade event in Chesterfield in 1984, I remember being blown away by the fact that not only had my sins been forgiven and I had the assurance of eternal life but I had a direct line to Father God.
What a friend we have in Jesus ALL our sins and griefs’ to bear What a privilege to carry EVERYTHING to God in prayer
Crucified For Me
I believe that when our Lord Jesus Christ walked amongst us knowing full well what His fate would be that He also had to draw on his Father’s Grace, when for instance He was tempted by Satan in the dessert..
The clearest evidence I see of Father God’s Grace abounding in Jesus’ life is in the run-up to His death on the cross, in particular when He said ‘Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do’! Not only was He willing to die that horrible death on the cross for their sins and ours, but by His Father’s Grace, He was also able to forgive them, then and there – as He was crucified.
In dying on that cross our Lord Jesus Christ, as He had promised, reconciled us to Father God in the forgiveness of our sins and the assurance of eternal life with Him and His Father – and the promise that He was leaving His Holy Spirit with us to live in us and amongst us until we die or until He returns.
Easter Reflections - STUDY
3rd word from the cross
When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother: “Woman, behold thy son!”John 19:26
A Fervent Love
Stripped of all and in poverty of spirit, one would think that He’d no more to give. He had already bequeathed to all who hung Him on the Tree, the Precious Pardon of God Almighty - to a dying world. He had graciously bestowed on His companion in punishment... The Promise of Paradise, Today… to a dying man. But there before Him, in dumb disbelief and paralysed in their agony, were two of those, beloved of Him. Standing in that little group of mourners were two who had been His beloved companions:- When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, 'Woman, behold thy son!' Then saith He to the disciple, 'Behold thy mother' – and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
High Standard
The literal translation of this verse in Luke begins:-“watch ye, then – in every season..” And the verse continues :- “praying…” Jesus sets an incredibly high standard – watching in every season and praying. Paul also sets a seemingly unreachable goal – pray without ceasing.
Standing Firm
A watchful prayerfulness and a prayerful watch is linked is with patient endurance, and patient endurance is linked with standing firm in Christ. Patient endurance is to do with standing firm in the evil day, Paul warns us to:- “Stand therefore … and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13 And the Lord Jesus Himself in this same context earnestly exhorts us to:- Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is” And He tells us:- “Take heed – See, I have told you all things beforehand.”
God’s Example
Kneeling down before the twelve, the Lord Jesus washed the feet of all His disciples.
He modelled the only way that mankind can live a godly life – in Christ Jesus.
Jesus was a godly man; a man of faith; a man that trusted God in all things.
He walked in spirit and truth and humbly said, Thy will not mine be done. Jesus was indeed the example of godliness – a man who walked by faith.
Man of Faith
Christ Jesus our Lord also lived by faith and Christ Jesus our Lord pleased God.
Christ Jesus our Lord was God’s chosen and ultimate example of a man of faith.
Christ Jesus our Lord was our worthy example and the perfect example of godliness. And Christ Himself lived in unfailing dependence upon the Father in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Perfect Example
Though 100% God, the Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect example of a Man that lived by faith.
The little Lord Jesus was born with the “Divine Nature from Above” – the “DNA” of the Holy Trinity: for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form.
Complete in Him
And the impossible reality in the lives of all who believe in Jesus, is that we are complete in Him, and the divine nature from above, the “DNA” of Christ Jesus is ours by birth and adoption, for we are His precious people; a holy nation – God’s special possession.
Our Prepared Body
A body was prepared for the Lord Jesus, though the overshadowing work of the Holy Spirit.
Like Jesus
And the Helper that Christ sent was to be just like Himself – and to be with us forever.
Our Advocate
Jesus was the Paraclete / Paracletos while He was on earth – for His disciples.
Christ’s Replacement
Today we have our indwelling Paraclete / Paracletos – to come alongside to help. No wonder Jesus said, It is expedient for you that I go away: because if I do not go away, then the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I do depart, I will send Him unto you.
Inner Ministry
I doubt the disciples could have imagined that Christ, going away as He did, would have resulted in something even better for them– for the Lord Jesus could only walk beside His disciples – while the Holy Spirit indwells the very heart of a believer. This intimate, inner ministry of the indwelling Spirit, surpasses our wildest thoughts.
Holy Mystery
Let us wonder at the mystery of the divine Person that has chosen to take up residence in our heart and become our Teacher, Advisor, Advocate, and Instructor and Who is leading and guiding us into all truth and most importantly – is at this moment conforming us into the image and likeness of the lovely Lord Jesus Christ, Himself.
Faithful to the End
Paul discovered that no privation or prison cell, no threat or torture, no impoverishment or lack was able to separate him from the love of Christ Jesus.
Indeed, he was able to say with confident assurance, I am persuaded that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus..
It was proclaiming Christ Jesus the Lord that was Paul’s ministry.
Christ Crucified
But down through the centuries so much Christian work excludes Christ. Proclaiming a mission statement is too often the abortive work of a ministry. Publishing a programme has become the norm in much evangelistic work. Preaching anything and everything except the only thing of importance.. that I might preach HIM – that I might preach Christ – that I might preach Christ Jesus and Him crucified.
It’s all about Jesus and keeping Him the centre of our heart and life.
Resist or Submit
The glory of the Son of God is demonstrated in the life of the Lord Jesus, and with our permission… He will change each of us to be like Him.
God has spoken to us in His Son – and it behoves us to listen carefully to His voice. Knowledge of the Holy is only truly translated to us through one medium – the glory of God is only fully expressed through the person of Jesus Christ.
The creative power of God gives light and life and hope to a believing soul, and God points to Jesus, when He declared: hear Him, from His fiery throne.
First, God leaves the choice of believing in Him to the unsaved individual: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved from your sins..
Israel’s Messiah
Jesus knew that His work on earth was almost finished and that in the near future He would leave His disciples to return to His Father’s throne in glory, in heavenly places. Jesus had been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to prepare them for the coming kingdom and much of His words, works, signs, and miracles were a witness to the Nation that He was indeed Israel’s Messiah, Who was promised by the Father.
Luke 19:14. And throughout the gospel, there are little glimpses where Jesus was seen preparing and training His disciples for the dispensation of Grace – the Church-Age.
Jesus knew that the cross loomed and that the resurrection would follow.
Jesus told them that He would go to the Father’s spacious, heavenly home where He’d promised to prepare a place for them – so that one day He would return and take them there to be with Himself.
Prophecy Proclaimed
Jesus put it very concisely.
The promise of the Lord Jesus was something that was to take place in the future. The promise to the disciples was to be something entirely new for the Church age.
For 2000 years the Spirit has taken up residence in the body of all who trust Jesus as Saviour – He takes up permanent residence the moment a man or woman puts their trust in Jesus.
The moment they place their trust in Jesus they are baptised into the body of Christ – and in John’s gospel, Jesus promises the Spirit will abide with us and will be in us.
Seeing the blackness of my heart provides the perfect backdrop for the bright and shining glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is my life.
When I see this, those very conditions magnify before my soul the greatness of His salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is what is perfect and absolutely for God's satisfaction and delight in the Lord Jesus, and it remains unaffected by what I find in myself.
The secret of being like the Lord Jesus is, that we are to count ourselves dead to the old and alive in the new.
We are to give up our self-efforts after likeness to Him; we are to distrust our own strength as much as we distrust our own weakness and our own sin; and instead of striving to live like the Lord Jesus, let Him live through us, as He greatly desires to do.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).
As believers we rejoice in the fact that the Lord Jesus died for us, but few are affected by the fact that He arose for us.
The Lord Jesus on the Cross removed the barriers which separated me from God - my guilt, my sin, the law; and He dealt with my enemies - the world, the flesh, the devil.
These six things were dealt with, so that we need no longer be in bondage through fear and that we may come boldly to the throne of grace. - Have we given a hearty assent to these things which the Lord Jesus did for us?
Lying Influences
Circumstances of life and wickedness in the world may seem to scream the reverse, but you must never base your faith in Christ Jesus on your feelings – nor must you allow the circumstances of life to influence your trust in God.
Feeling or Faith
Feelings will lie, and circumstances can fabricate the truth of God’s word. Your faith is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness – and because you are in Him, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to you.
Looking away (from all that will distract) to Jesus (Heb. 12:2, Amp.).
Since we are morally coloured by the human company we keep, whether high or low, think of the importance of continually associating with the Lord Jesus on high, and having Him as the centre of our love and interest (2 Cor. 3:18).
He had learned from experience that goodness is not caught by pursuit but by association; not by struggling to obey laws and rules, but by living in the Lord Jesus' presence.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, is the Bible’s clear instruction, for there can be little or no stability in the Christian life when this truth is doubted – but until this is resolved in a believer’s heart there can be little spiritual growth.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved..
for whosoever believes on Him – the Lord Jesus Christ, will be saved.
If there is anything added to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, it is extra biblical.
It is Jesus Himself Who promised that both He and the Father would keep us safe. And Paul tells us that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption..
Eternal Life
God, the Son, tells us that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will have eternal life.
It has not dawned upon them that at the heart of these very circumstances they are to find the Lord Jesus, find His grace sufficient, find the life more abundant. -L.E.M.
My Father was not looking for any good in me, and had the Lord Jesus Christ before Him, the perfect and infinitely acceptable Object of His heart.
The Holy Spirit baptizes us into the Lord Jesus, and fills us with Him.
Since this position in the Lord Jesus is unchangeable, and eternal, the baptizing work of the Spirit is not repeatable.
The Holy Spirit gives a living knowledge; His light is the light of life; He is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.' We see the Father and the Son as seeing us.
In other words, love, petition, listening to the Father's voice, receiving the love and peace of the Lord Jesus, fellowship, are invoked in this knowledge. -A.S.
This Life is not something apart from the Lord Jesus, and we can never think of His standing in need of some improvement, nor of the possibility of something being added to Him to make Him complete, or more complete.
Why Delay
Jesus loved Mary and Martha dearly – so why would He delay their cry for help? Daniel was beloved of the Lord – so why did he have to wait for an answer? God was the friend of Abraham – so why the unendurable delayed promise?
– Do You see any rebellion in me – as in my independence as I seek to go it alone? Do You see any areas in my life that you choose to sever with Your holy scalpel? Do You have areas in my life that You desire to perfect? Do You see an area in me that needs to be conformed into the image of Jesus?”
The product of Christian suffering is a likeness to Jesus:- that Christ be formed in you - that Christ be formed in me.
Fruitful Reward
Jesus told us in John 15, be fruitful and multiply. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away. Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit.
Perfect Person
The Lord Jesus was the personal, physical presence of the perfect person on earth.
Physical Representatives
The Church, which is His Body, is the only physical representation of God on earth today, and God has chosen the Church, in Him, before the foundation of the world.” While the Lord Jesus was on earth, we read many stories of His life and His work.
Members of His Body on earth today are relationally joined to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus the law of an effective and life, service, and prayer is a oneness with Him – a oneness with Jesus - a oneness with Christ, that we only do, but surely do what He does.
This will demand a considerable shifting of all undertakings in the name of Jesus and will require that nothing is done until the mind of the Lord has been made known.
Man’s 2 Natures
As children of God we were given a new life in Christ – a baby life that needs to grow. Our life should be a fruitful, victorious life that matures into a spiritual believer – a life submitted to the Spirit, so it may be conformed into the image and likeness of Jesus. But we still have a sin nature that seeks to gain supremacy over our new Christ-life. We were freed from its power over us, at the cross, but it remains our deadly enemy.
2 Opposing Natures
The more we feed one of these two bitterly opposing natures, the more it grows and develops – and the stronger it becomes the greater its capacity for good or for evil. The new life in Christ, we received at salvation, is the very life of Jesus Christ, that was breathed into us by God’s Spirit, so we could grow in grace and spiritually mature.
In this way the new life in Christ will have a chance to grow and mature, and gradually be conformed into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus. If we ignore the clear guidance in scripture on how to live a spiritual life, that’s pleasing to God, and submit to the old sin nature, we place ourselves back under the bondage of law.
Put on the New
Let us put to death the deeds of the body, so our new life in Christ can grow: for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. Let us not copy the behaviours and customs of this world, but rather let us submit to the Spirit, so that God can transform us into a new person..
All sharing must be motivated and governed by life: the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:2).
The Holy Spirit came to reproduce the Lord Jesus in the lives of men and women.
All our activities and efforts and energies and expenditures; all our sacrifices, our movements and our teaching: everything that has become a part of Christianity' has to be measured by the one rule - is it resulting in the reproduction of the Lord Jesus Christ in the lives of men and women, so that it is demonstrated from heaven that He is as truly here in this world now as ever He was in history? -T.
They may be present and they may be valuable, but the Spirit's object is something far greater - to form the Lord Jesus Christ in us through the work of the Cross.
In the long run it is what we are, and not simply what we say or do - and the difference lies in the formation of the Lord Jesus within.
Plan of God
Jesus gives beauty in exchange for our brokenness. He gives light in exchange for our thickest darkness. He gives hope in exchange for our deepest despair.
Who Was To Come
Jesus was made a little lower than the angels.
Equal With the Father
Consider Jesus – the eternal Son of God; the One Who is Equal to God; the One Who was in the beginning with God; the One Who Is and Who Was and Who Is to Come.
But consider Jesus, Who in humbleness of will and in graciousness of spirit, cried.
A Sublime Gospel
This was the first and most sublime gospel sermon ever preached: “Behold……” This magnificent proclamation, is the model for all teachers and ministries. “Behold……” This final forerunner of the Messiah pointed to the Lord Jesus and cried, “Behold……”
All in All
Each lonely, prophet’s voice in the wilderness pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God. Each inspired, prophetic utterance points to Jesus in history: and Jesus of the future.
But Jesus in not only the Alpha and the Omega..
Jesus inhabits all time and eternity, and as a blood-bought believer His Spirit indwells you and He indwells me.
Witnesses and Watchmen
We are to stand as a witness, to bear witness of the Light. We are to proclaim the Word Who was made flesh, and dwelt among us. We are to point to Jesus the Saviour, Who was full of grace and truth.
Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe.
Jesus put Himself to open shame so the world could 'Behold the Man'.
Look and Live
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so that all could behold it and live, and now Jesus was lifted up on the cross – so that ALL could look and live. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up – for all that look will live.
Wise and Foolish
Those who love Jesus, behold Him as precious Saviour; glorious Lord; gracious God – commanding rapt admiration, profound thanks and eternal praise and worship.
[God] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6).
There aren't many truly happy Christians simply because there aren't many who really abide in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I must not only see my position in the Lord Jesus, but I must come near to the One who set me there.
For some time after I knew the Saviour I used to think of Him as One who had lived and died on earth long years ago, and I well remember the day when I knelt down with a dear brother who prayed that we might know the Lord Jesus as a living Person in heavenly glory, and it dawned upon me that there was a present Object for my heart in heaven.
Our hearts will never be satisfied until that glorified Lord Jesus becomes our Object bright and fair. -C.A.C.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
Light of Christ
The light of Christ has been given to every single man who has entered the world. Not one member of the human race has ever been excluded from God’s gracious gift. Though now crowned with glory and great honour, Jesus tasted death for everyone. By God’s grace alone every man and woman has an opportunity to receive eternal life.
Many do not wish to know Him, for men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil – and many of His own people do not want Jesus as their King.
Bridge of Faith
In a world, (or in a man), that does not know the Lord Jesus Christ – He cannot reign as king, nor can He impart righteousness to those who do not believe in His name. Condemnation is removed from ALL those that trust in the Lord Jesus Christ – BUT ALL who reject God’s free gift of grace are already condemned – because of unbelief. There is a great divide between the two which can only be bridged by faith.
Eternal Life
This is eternal life that they might know Thee – the only true God and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent. It is that simple, and yet how many reject God’s grace. The shocking reason that men turn their back on God’s free and gracious gift of salvation is wrapped up in the notion that man can produce his own righteousness.
Condemnation is the fruit of unbelief in Christ Jesus – resulting in eternal separation.
Such thinking enlarges the gaping void and widens the great divide between all who believe in Christ Jesus our Lord – and those that condemn themselves through unbelief.
God made His gospel simple and clear – believe on the Lord Jesus OR remain condemned. The redemption message is clear – salvation is of grace… through Christ Jesus..
John and Romans
The two books of the Bible considered as the clearest and best explanation on how to be saved, are to be found in the gospel of John – and in Paul’s epistle the Romans. Both men, in their own unique writing style and language, explain that God’s gift of saving grace for all men, is simply by believing on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. John says that grace came through Christ and whoever believes on Him will be saved. Paul reminds us that salvation comes through faith alone – that it might be of grace. But one issue confuses and confounds many people – the issue of repentance.
Gospel Teaching
Some consider that unless a sinner believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in addition, goes through the process of repenting of all their sins – they are not properly saved. Many believers are told by certain teachers and preachers that unless they repent of every sin they have ever committed – then they cannot be properly forgiven by God. But this goes against the teachings of both John – the beloved disciple of the Lord and the apostle Paul, who was called as God’s special witness to the gentile nations.
By Believing
John wrote his gospel so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God – and that by believing we might have life, but he NEVER uses the word ‘repentance’. Paul in his letter to the Romans gives step-by-step instructions on how we are justified, sanctified and glorified by grace, through faith – but only uses the word ‘repentance’ a couple of times..
Should we not repent of our sins? Indeed, we should ‘repent’ of our sins, but repentance has to be understood as being an integral part of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ – and not an addition to faith.
The modern teaching adds repentance as a work – as an extra requirement – as an addition that has to be added to the finished work of the cross – if man is to be saved, which would require a sinner to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ AND also repent.
Finished Work
When anything other than believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is added to the finished work of the cross, it means that Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary was insufficient – and the only way to resolve this issue is to apply the correct meaning to the word – repent. Remember – the correct meaning ‘repent’ – is to ‘change…’ We must not use the incorrect meaning of the word’ repent’, which is often taught as going through a process of listing all our sins – as an addition to believing on Christ.
True Repentance
In the process of turning to Christ – obviously we TURN FROM our sins. In the process of turning to Christ – unquestionably we REPENT of sins. An integral part of believing on the Lord Jesus must include scriptural repentance… a change of mind..
a change of attitude – a change of heart. An integral part of scriptural repentance must include believing on the Lord Jesus… salvation – a gift of God – by grace alone – through faith alone.
The Spirit's purpose is to bring the well-meaning believer down into defeat, wretched and ready to realize, I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord (Rom. 7:25).
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10).
If we have the Lord Jesus Christ risen and in heaven as our Object, we shall prove the power of His resurrection, not only in lifting us up when we are conscious of our exceeding short-comings, but in strengthening us to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus' (Phil. 3:14).
Faith is man’s response to the promises of God and God expects us to trust Him. But biblical faith can only be biblical faith if Jesus is central to our belief.
It is vital to believe in God, but His saving plan is only possible through Christ – so only those that believe in God, and Jesus Christ Whom He sent, are saved.
Saving Faith
If we believe on Jesus as saviour then we are saved – period.
Trusting in Jesus Christ as saviour is sufficient, for God seals you as His child, and at that point, we enter an entirely new and exciting relationship with God.
If we don’t believe on Jesus as saviour we are not saved and condemn ourselves.
The Lord Jesus never fails us under any conditions.
When the Lord Jesus was on the Cross there were no mighty deeds to be seen, yet Calvary did more for the world than all the great deeds in Galilee.
An increasing number of the Lord's people are seeking to enjoy the power of the Lord Jesus' life by accepting the fact of their union in His death as expressed by Paul, That I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed unto His death' (Phil. 3:10).
On the human side, man is conscious of doing only what he actually does: he chooses as an act of his own volition to receive the grace God offers in Christ Jesus.
Growing In Grace - STUDY
For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.Galatians 3:26
Positional Truth
We are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus and this verse can also be translated: it is through faith in Christ that all of you are sons in union with Christ. These believers knew about their heavenly heritage and their position in Christ, for in the next verse we read: for as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ.
This same gracious blessing is reinforced by Paul both to the Corinthians and Romans: for by one Spirit were we all baptised into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit, 1Cor.12:13 or do you not know that as many of us as were baptised into Christ Jesus, were baptised into His death?
We do not have to do anything for these truths are completed in us by the Spirit. In Romans 6 Paul tells us we were baptised into the death of Christ Jesus and this talks about our identification with Christ’s death.
Unfolding Plan
Prophets of old down through centuries continued to magnify revelation of God, while in these last days the Word Himself is disclosed to our understanding. The Word of God - the Lord, Christ Jesus.
Body Ministry
The body of Christ is to reach its full stature - even the fullness of Christ Jesus.
We are all being fitly framed together - conformed into the image of the Lord Jesus.
And the Lord Jesus prayed that His body would have the same oneness and fellowship, 'that they all may all be one; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me'.
both individually and corporately, until we come to a unity in our faith – and deeper knowledge of Christ Jesus.. until we are all mature in the faith – until the body of Christ reaches its full stature, even the fullness of Christ Jesus.
“Walking in dependence upon the Holy Spirit, He leads up our hearts to where we are in the Lord Jesus.
It is thus that we learn that the Spirit who has renewed our spirit must also sustain our new life; that we depend entirely on divine grace and strength, not merely to bring us to the Lord Jesus, but to keep us abiding in Him where He is.” -A.M.
The whole purpose of salvation is that men and women may grow in the deeper stable characteristics of the Christian life - that they might be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. -G.D.
It is the consuming desire of the Lord Jesus to reincarnate Himself in the believer. -R.P.
Jesus said, ” I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.John 6:51
Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life..John 10:10
Jesus said, “Abide in ME..John 15:4
Jesus said, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while..”Mark 16:31
Food for the Human Heart
No bread that is grown on earth will furnish food for the human heart. No nourishment for the body can suffice the deep need of the believer’s soul. Jesus alone can satisfy the longings and desires of the hungry man, for He is the Bread of LIFE.
“I Am that Bread of Life” said Jesus, “come to Me and you will never hunger.” How is Christ the Bread of Life?
but Jesus is the Life and the Way and the Truth and He alone can suffice.
Jesus has given those who believe Life – and Life more abundantly.
Time is short : Jesus is coming again soon. Take time with Him : Embrace the moment. Delight in your lonely solitude : That I may know Him : Take time with Him : Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while..
JESUS is all you need:I Am the bread of lifeI Am the living breadI Am the light of the worldI Am the door of the sheepfoldI Am the good shepherdI Am the resurrection, and the lifeI Am the way, the truth, and the lifeI Am the vine and ye are the branchesI Am Alpha and Omega,I Am the beginning and the endI Am the first and the last.I Am the root and the offspring of David,I Am the bright and morning starREST IN ME : ABIDE IN ME : FEED ON ME
Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it (Matt. 26:26).
The Lord Jesus is not going to break' anything in our lives that does not require breaking.
How often we have murmured under trial only to see later the preparation of the Lord Jesus of our hearts that we might be His ministers of comfort in an hour of need in the life of another (2 Cor. 1:4).
All that would be used of the Father in the hands of the Lord Jesus to meet the needs of the hungry-hearted must first be made a blessing by Him.
This process is necessary because of our tendency to think more of working for the Lord Jesus than becoming a channel for the outflowing of heavenly bread to broken hearts on every side. -H.R.
A barren life means barren service, and no amount of self-effort will ever make up for that!Not I, but Christ.' The Lord Jesus does not ask that we should work for Him, but He intends to work through us.
In the one I slave and work worthily for Him, and constantly feel the barrenness of a busy life; in the other I let His life flow through me in all His glorious effortlessness, and rest in the assurance that the Lord Jesus at work cannot fail.
The one is a life of endeavor, always being keyed up to do something greater; the other is a life of faith always looking to the Lord Jesus to reveal the next step and then give the enablement to carry it out. -H.G.
When the believer truly sees Calvary he says, There, through the work of the Cross, I died with the Lord Jesus unto sin.
When the believer truly sees Pentecost he says, There, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I was baptized into the risen Lord Jesus.
He is freed from condemnation because of the Blood shed, and he is set free from the law of sin and death by the indwelling Spirit that he received when he came to the Lord Jesus.
The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2). ...hath made me free....' Let me walk in it; let me enjoy it, and I am free.
We are to find out in Romans 6, through the gracious teaching of the Spirit of truth, all that happened to the Lord Jesus there on the Cross.
The Lord Jesus presses on our hearts that He brings us into association with Himself.
He hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus' (Eph. 1:3).
Not only is my blessing in heaven, but I need the Lord Jesus' power to enable me to rise above the sense of my infirmity down here; for this world, instead of contributing to me, makes me feel my weakness and need, and that I must rise out of it to find and enjoy my blessing.
God forbid that I should glory, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14).
Difficulties and trials are inevitable as we travel through life, but how important for Christians to understand the cause of sin, the effects of sin, the consequences of sin and how to live godly in Christ Jesus.
Jesus reminded us that: in this world we will have tribulations but be of good cheer, He says, I have overcome the world.
We do not become sinless when we believe in Jesus, we become saved.
There is nothing more beautiful than a life that has Jesus as its focus.
There is nothing more needful than a life that simply rests in Christ Jesus.
When we abide in Christ, we have simply appropriated the riches of God’s grace – and the end result is a simple, beautiful, purposeful life that keeps Jesus central.
There is nothing more beautiful than a life that has Jesus as its focus.
There is nothing more needful than a life that simply rests in Christ Jesus – and a life with Him as central, is a life that’s simple, beautiful, purposeful, and fruitful.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.Luke 2:52
Young Jesus
From Bethlehem’s crude stable to His temporary sojourn in Egypt, little is known of Jesus, other than that the death of Christ was Satan’s evil plan from the start of His life.
And following the visit of the eastern sages and His early years in the little town of Nazareth, all we are told was that the child Jesus, grew both spiritually and physically.
Sinless Life
Oh, there are many false and spurious legends that have grown up surrounding the early life of the Lord, with untrue and foolish stories of childhood miracles He did – but all are erroneous and blasphemous and are the product of a vivid imagination. But what we do know is that the Boy Jesus lived a sinless life, which is equally true of the many silent years of His childhood as it is of His three intense years of ministry, for He was God and He was Man – not just for 3 years but throughout His whole life.
Learned Obedience
What we also know, however, is that the Lord Jesus learned obedience in His early years.
was the initial response of Nathaniel when he first heard of Jesus, for this little, insignificant, Galilean town was despised – but how different Nathaniel’s post-resurrection realisation..
that Jesus was Lord and God.
Two Natures
But from His very conception and birth, Jesus was both fully God and fully human: for unto us a Child is born (to Mary) – unto us a Son is given (the Son of the Father).
Unique Person
In one sense the birth and life of the Child Jesus was like any other child, for He was conceived and born into a world of sorrow like any other man and His life was one of toil and poverty.
Trustworthy Saying
This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
God’s Christ
It is by God’s doing we are in Christ Jesus and eternally united with Him, and to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ - the power of God and Christ -the wisdom of God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption 1Corinthians 1:24
One With Christ
God in His grace has united us together as one – with Christ Jesus.
God's thought for us is that One, no less than His Son Jesus Christ, in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form, should be our fullness.
For we worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3).
In time, his O wretched man complex is replaced by I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 7:24, 25). Christ-confidence is the basis for the healthy Christian's walk.
If He did, you would not be free from your self-confidence; you would not learn to fight the good fight of faith and thus obtain the victory which the Master has won; you would not learn to say the Lord Jesus only,' but you would still continue to say Jesus and I.'
Worldly Thinking
The common thought among worldly, pagan thinking is that all roads lead to God. In actual fact, there is only one way that leads to the Father, and it is Jesus Christ.
Jesus Himself clearly stated, I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.
Christ is the answer to each hurting heart, for the spilt blood of Christ alone can address each need and comfort each heart – the shed blood of Jesus alone can calm each cry and heal each hurt.
Christ our Righteousness
Because we trust in Christ, He is our righteousness, our holiness and redemption. We have nothing at all to boast about, except in the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Far be it from any of us who are His children to boast except in the cross of Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me – and I to the world. Galatians 6:14.
Spirit of Comfort
Truly Jesus is a great Comforter - our wonderful 'Paraclete'. Wikipedia tell us it mean 'Advocate' or 'Helper' and it generally refers to the Holy Spirit.
And what a precious Comforter He is - sent to indwell all those that believe in Him - sent to do the work of consoling and strengthening all who trust in the Lord Jesus.
Christ Our Comforter
But the Lord Jesus Himself is also the great Comforter.
The Lord Jesus Himself was the first Comforter - for at His departure Jesus told those that He loved so dearly, And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.
We then have a new position, and that position is the glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
The believer must never lose sight of this fundamental truth: that the basis of his fellowship with the Father is not his own personal holiness, or what the Lord Jesus is in him, but his judicial position before the Father, or what the Lord Jesus is for him.
Most look to get victory in order to get peace, but it is peace already made by the Lord Jesus' work and risen life that is ours.
Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. . .
This letter to the Hebrews sets forth the all-inclusive revolution or reconstitution which God made when He brought His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world that is, the religious revolution.
That is if it came into the heart by the Spirit's power with the effect of a revelation in the same way as the Apostle Paul came to see who Jesus of Nazareth is, then a Christian-Judaism, or Judaistic-Christianity (which Christendom so largely is) would be impossible; as it became in his own case.
That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers,Hebrews 2:11
and Boaz the close relative of Naomi and Ruth became their “kinsman redeemer.” And Boaz prefigured the Lord Jesus Himself, Who became our “kinsman redeemer”
The Church
That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing hymns to You in the congregation.
the Church. Is this not a stupendous truth? Is this not something that should rejoice our very beings? Jesus, the One who makes people holy and those who are made holy (that’s you and me) are of the same family with the same Father – so He is not ashamed to call us brothers.
Death Defeated
But there is MORE – Since we all have flesh and blood in common – Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—i.e.
High Priest
And there is even MORE- Jesus had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful High Priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of His people. What grace that God should send His only begotten Son to be our kinsman-redeemer. What grace that the eternal Son of God should set aside His deity to be born as man and clothe Himself in human flesh – so that we could be redeemed by His blood.
He (the Holy Spirit) shall glorify Me (the Lord Jesus) (John 16:14).
No; in order that the Lord Jesus may have His place.
Those souls are to be residences' of the Lord Jesus.
Not at all; but so that the Lord Jesus shall have a larger place.
No matter what the Spirit does, He has one all-inclusive object and end - the glorifying of the Lord Jesus Christ: that is, the giving of Him His place, and then filling all things with Him.
The Holy Spirit's filling is intended to be a filling of all things with the Lord Jesus Christ. -T.
Oh, that the Spirit might be held in honor as the One to fill us with the very life of our Lord Jesus Christ! -A.M.
One Foundation
If a ministry is dependent on the name of its leader it is doomed to fail. If Christ is replaced by a man, woman or denomination, a death knoll has sounded, for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” 1Corinthians 3:11
He is revealed within His cross; death; resurrection; ascension; glorification: We need to realise that there is a Man in heaven sitting on the throne of God, and that man is Christ Jesus the Lord, the head of the Church.
Jesus was crucified outside the city wall, spurned and rejected by those He came to save.
Jesus remains spurned, rejected, ignored, knocking – outside the door of the ‘church’
Jesus said, I, if I am lifted up will draw all men unto Myself” John 12:32
Foundation and Capstone
We need to realise that there is a Man in heaven sitting on the throne of God, and that Man is Christ Jesus our Lord – the Head of the Church – and He alone is the foundation and capstone of all that is called Christianity.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:5).
The enemy who would occupy us with ourselves, or the Comforter who would occupy us with the risen Lord Jesus?
The spirit of death, or the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus?
We may love as Jonathan, and follow as Ruth, but until we know that we are united to the Lord Jesus Christ in glory, we will not be free enough from our own interests, to take up His.
They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and the first and supreme factor in the virtue of that Blood in all these directions, is its untainted sinlessness, the nature of the Lord Jesus.
We receive by faith the virtue of that precious Blood; that is, the perfection of the Lord Jesus can be put to our account.
As to the internal Cross, while not so obvious, it is still a fact that we are to be always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh (2 Cor. 4:11).
The saved man's relation to the Lord Jesus has been made contractual instead of personal.
The death of the Lord Jesus was not only an atonement for sins, but a triumph over sin.
We are not only to take by faith the fact that the Lord Jesus died for us to pay the price and penalty of our sins, but we are to appropriate by faith the fact that He also took us to the Cross with Him.
So the story of the pathway of faith begins with Calvary and our identification with the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. -G.M.
And it simply means that in the Cross of the Lord Jesus, the natural life and the reasoning of the natural life, or the self-life the willing of the self-life, the desiring of the self-life has been cut off by the Cross.
Saints seek to use Him rather in order to get through their circumstances, instead of seeing in the circumstances the mold in which they are to be taught the strength and power of the Lord Jesus.
“Let us walk in the light as He is in the light, so that we may have fellowship one with another, knowing that the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1John 1:7 – and so that He may be glorified in our bodies.
The apostles gathered themselves together to Jesus, and told Him all things.
The beloved John who cried out: Behold the Lamb of God… the one who had pointed many of these same men to the One that stood among then – he had been slaughtered in an orgy of lust and crudity, and so they gathered themselves to Jesus. Should not we in like manner gather ourselves to the Source of all calm? Should not we similarly flee to the Lord and rest under the pinions of His love? Should not we cast all our burdens upon Him – for He cares for you too?
Anxiety of Many
Sadly, in this increasingly dark world, many lives are in a state of unbroken anxiety. Other fret and fume, while others search relentlessly for unachievable answers. To be perfectly at rest amid the hurly-burly of daily life is a secret worth knowing. It is only achieved in a life abandoned to the Lord – a life that trusts His Word. Looking away from the raging world and fixing your eyes upon Jesus. It is achieved by the one that will come to Him – and rest.
Focus of Rest
'But how you ask. 'How do you reach the rest that He has promised you?' Turn away from the visible, if you would possess the invisible. Take time with the Lord Jesus and gaze on His loveliness. Fix the eyes of your heart on Jesus and away from the world’s ugliness. Turn away from your own efforts and from faith in yourself, and allow Him to occupy your thoughts until He is resting within your heart. Come away from all else and set your heart, your thoughts, your mind on Jesus.
The apostles gathered to Jesus, and He said to them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.
And that means that God sees us as perfect – just as Christ Jesus is perfect, for He looks at us through Christ, Who has removed all sins, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.
Jesus Himself our perfect example was perfected in life – through obedience. Hebrews tells us that by His being made perfect: Jesus became the author of eternal salvation..
One old saint explained the fact of being 'complete in Him', this way:- First, the Lord Jesus is the source of our Christian life – we were born into Him.
and we can rebel or we can submit. We can remain a babe in Christ – OR we can mature in the faith. We can get stuck feeding on the milk of the word – OR we can start to eat strong meat. We can grieve and quench the Spirit’s work in our lives – OR we can grow in grace. All these are vital principles of the Christian life – and all these truths are foundational gospel facts and Jesus is coming back very soon – are you ready?
FIRST: the Lord Jesus Christ is the source of our Christian life.
The riches of the fullness of the revelation of the mystery of our Christian faith, is seen in the lovely face of the One perfect human personality of Jesus Christ.
John 14:9 The second part is His process of conforming you into the likeness of Jesus – moulding us to become like Christ: that Christ may be seen in me – that Christ may be seen in you.
The Cross for our cursed strength; the Lord Jesus for our blessed weakness.
It is absolutely essential in forming the character of the true servant of the Lord Jesus.
All had to be broken in order to be made whole - to be emptied in order to be filled - to learn that, of themselves, they could do nothing, in order to be ready, in the Lord Jesus' strength, for anything and everything. -C.H.M.
In the latter we have the surrender, but it is not to get, or to attain; it is because he has entered into what is his; he has accepted the wondrous fact of his death with the Lord Jesus, and of the Spirit's presence and ministry.
Oh, the depth of the riches of the grace of the Father – for it pleased Him that in Christ, all fullness should dwell. “Consider” the place of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the esteem of the Father.
Consider Jesus
See fullness of God dwelling in Him.
Consider Him
This is my Precious Jesus. This is my Glorious Saviour. This is my Cherished Brother. This is my Beloved Bridegroom. This is my Lord and this is My God – Consider HIM.
Forgiven by the Lord
The gentle handmaiden of the Lord is in equal need of His grace and forgiveness, but once forgiveness is bestowed, ALL condemnation is eternally removed, forever: for there is therefore now NO condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake (2 Cor. 4:11).
The indwelling Lord Jesus is the source of our life of liberation; the Cross is the means to it.
It is on this basis alone that the life of Jesus will be manifested in our mortal flesh (2 Cor. 4:11).
Crucifixion was a lingering death, and while we stand once for all upon the fact of God, which is eternal and unchangeable, when our Lord Jesus Christ went to the Cross He took more than our sins with Him; He took our old man and dealt with the source of all our sin, and dealt with it satisfactorily.
The Holy Spirit has to work into us the death of the Lord Jesus Christ in all its wonderful power and purpose. -G.W.
You may not need to be emancipated from anything like Judaism or legalism, but the principle is this, that for all increase, progress, enlargement, growth, and maturity, it is essential that there should be in the heart a continuous unveiling of Jesus Christ, and you and I will never get to the end of that unveiling.
It is possible for some of us to say with truth that this year we have seen more of the meaning of the Lord Jesus than in all the previous years of our lives.
It is the most blessed and most wonderful thing to be able to recognize that there is a growing revelation of Jesus Christ within; you see more and more of what He means from God standpoint, and as that is so, there comes this increase of the Lord Jesus... the fruit of the Spirit love.
An increase of the revelation of Jesus Christ in the heart is an increase of the love of the Lord Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit.
There is more joy in the Lord Jesus today than ever, because you are seeing more of what He is.
There is no place for learning the tender sympathy of the Lord Jesus, and the blessings of the Father's love and patience and care, as in the trials of the wilderness journey.
True, we must first have reached by faith the Canaan to which we have already come in the Lord Jesus.
Then we find that this world is not the sphere in which the Father can bless us fully; but that there is no place where our own heart is more thoroughly learned, and the heart of the Lord Jesus, as in the wilderness journey. -F.G.P.
When the Holy Spirit fills us, it is to place the Lord Jesus on the throne of our hearts.
Ours is the choice - not I, but Christ (Gal. 2:20); His is the work, for He is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:2).
We all know how our Lord Jesus, ere He could receive the new life from the Father in glory, and the gift of the Holy Spirit through whom He could impart His life to His people, had first to give up the life He lived upon earth.
When we have apprehended our death-position with the Lord Jesus (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20, etc.), we may have failed to see the on-going conformity to His death (2 Cor. 4:11; Phil 3:10, etc.).
We may rely upon the fact that we died' with the Lord Jesus, and assume that it is entirely wrought in us at once, not realizing that the fellowship of His sufferings' follows the apprehension of identification.
We are not to think that our exalted position in the Lord Jesus, seated with Him in heavenly places, frees us from the need of further application of the Cross.
We are invincible, more than conquerors through Him who loved us, only as we are brought into ever deeper conformity to the Lord Jesus' death unto sin.
All Circumstances
God uses all life’s circumstances, including years of carnality, to perfect His saints. Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
James 1:3, but God permits the tempter’s trials to beat us sorely as He did with His beloved Son – for Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Let us run the race set before us with patient endurance: looking to Jesus.
that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent. John 17:3
Normal Christian Life
To have Christ living in me and I in Him is what the Christian life is all about. It is a mirror of the life that flows between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father, Just as You are in Me and I am in You, were the words that fell from His lips.
We are to be in the same union with Christ as Jesus is with His heavenly Father.
We must face the fact and we must seek help from God always to bear in mind that we are going to have a path of suffering if we are in fellowship with the Lord Jesus.... There has to come a point when we sit down and do some calculating and come to a definite conclusion on this matter that, although very often we may not be able to see that our suffering is because of our relationship to Him (the sufferings are so manifold and diverse, and very often they look as though they have no relationship at all with our Christian life) at the same time, whether we can discern it or not; the fact remains that the pathway of the child of God, of the fellow of Jesus Christ, is the pathway of suffering.
Satan is not going to become our friend while we are friends of Jesus Christ.
which plunged the human race into death, so that the transgression of one man resulted in the condemnation of the human race. The gift of salvation that was freely bestowed on us through one Man:- Christ Jesus, so that by the obedience and righteousness of one Man, many were made righteous – for by His death and resurrection the consequences of sin were done away with.
So that the Holy Spirit's way with us is to bring us into living, actual conditions and situations, and needs, in which only some fresh knowledge of the Lord Jesus can be our deliverance, our salvation, our life, and then to give us, not a revelation of truth, but a revelation of the Person, new knowledge of the Person, that we come to see Christ in some way that just meets our need.
Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24).
Full assurance as to our eternal security in the Lord Jesus is the basis for the ever-deepening experience of our identification with Him.
The offender has been removed from His eye by a Man - the Lord Jesus Christ, and He can receive us on the ground of the Man who glorified Him in bearing our judgment.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto the praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7
Bedrock of Glory
Christ in His humility, touched the bedrock of what is valued by God. Jesus in His poverty, exemplifies the foundational load-stone on which to build. But too often we are flattered by the foolish fluff and flitter of this fading world – wooed by its temptresses and enticed by its fatal attractions.
Jesus said: My kingdom is not of this world – not of this age.
Trump of God
The angels announced the birth of Jesus two thousand years ago with songs of great joy.
When I plant my feet on that fact and say, No, as for me, I stand in the Lord Jesus as my life,' its governing power is broken.
Our having been crucified with the Lord Jesus was to make the body of sin of none effect while we live by faith, but the old man can become active and dominant in the walk of the believer when faith becomes dormant and inactive.
It is not the Father's will that sin should have dominion over any child of His; all died with the Lord Jesus, all were united with Him in crucifixion, but few enter into the joy of the freedom of the sons of God, because they do not believe His Word.
It may take a day or a month, I do not know how long, but I do know that when any child of God will believe and begin to express that faith in thanksgiving, day by day thanking Him for the fact which one may not yet have experienced, the Holy Spirit will lead that one into a glorious personal realization of his identification with the Lord Jesus in His death, burial, resurrection and ascension. -L.L.L.
They who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17).
Covenant Theology, at the utmost, is forgiveness of sins and divine favor enjoyed; and all that concerns their position in the Lord Jesus is ignored, or alas!
We are come to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant' (Heb. 12:24).
We are not come to the new covenant, but to Jesus the Mediator of it.
Once we see that the Lord Jesus saves individuals with the purpose of making them His disciples, we will aim to be more thorough in our witnessing and subsequent soul-winning.
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.2 Timothy 3:12
Oft-times God, Who loves us with an everlasting and incomprehensible love, seems careless and aloof… causing the voice of the Spirit, not only to whisper in our ear: Hast thou considered my servant Job?” but Hast thou considered my servant Jesus?
The Church IS in a mess and God’s character disgraced for lack of knowledge. Never let us forget the truth of Scripture – Jesus has already gained the victory.
Truth of Scripture
Jesus has already gained the victory.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12).
In faith we apprehend the growth truths; in fact the Lord Jesus apprehends us for growth in those truths.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).
Every aspect and detail of God's will and God's way and God's end is a matter of knowing the Lord Jesus.
The Christian life here is meant to be one of continuous growth and development and progress, but that only takes place as we come to know more, and still more, of the meaning of the Lord Jesus.
And at this time we are just looking at the Lord Jesus from one of the many angles, or points of view, which is this particular aspect of His significance: that He, in His Person and in His work, stands related to an eternal, heavenly order.
When the Lord Jesus says: Abide in Me it sounds so simple and so ordinary, but it contains all this history, and this great principle and truth: If you get out of your environment you are exposed to all the poisons and all that creates spiritual disease.
Thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine (1 Tim. 4:6).
There the believer shared the death of the Lord Jesus; for when he became a believer, the life he received was life in Christ, that is, life out of death, resurrection life, newness of life'; and the relation to sin and the law which Christ had, became those of the believer!
Hear His Voice
He will mark out our stops and cause us to rest beside still waters. He will call us aside into a quiet place, and cause us to rest awhile. Jesus said to His disciples: Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile for there were many comings and goings, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. Mark 6:31He will not leave us forever in the valley of darkness.
The Lord Jesus, you know, makes two offers to everyone.
All the powers of Deity which already wrought together in the accomplishment of the first part of the eternal purpose, the revealing of the Father's likeness in the man Christ Jesus, are equally engaged to accomplish the second part, and work that likeness in each of the Father's children. -A.M.
To do the same work as the Lord Jesus, I must have the same life.
As ye have, therefore, received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him (Col. 2:6).
The church is a living body that is in a functional relationship with Jesus – her Head.
The Lord Jesus Christ shows us the nub of this principle within His own godly life.
Imparted Life
The risen life of Christ is to be the inner experience of all that are born from above. The resurrected life of Jesus is to be the vital expression of the Christian’s new life. Because Christ rose from the dead His risen life is imparted to all who trust in Him.
Spirit and Truth
The risen life of the Lord Jesus is to be the same risen life indwelling each of us... living life in submission to the Spirit – a life that says, Thy will not mine be done.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
For a believer who is not yet established in the risen Lord Jesus, it is a temptation to go to the promises of the Old Testament for comfort.
The Lord Jesus has poured out His blessed Spirit that we believers, while on earth, might walk in that spirit of life and liberty that prevails in heaven where Christ is.
Transformation
We need to keep our eyes fixed on the beautiful attributes of the Lord Jesus – for as we dwell on Him, so we begin to be transformed into His likeness.
God’s Anointed
The Lord Jesus is the Messiah of God – God’s anointed; His appointed; His chosen. He was ordained of God and all things in heaven and earth are placed under His feet.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation and focus of all that God has ordained.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the centre and circumference of all that God has purposed, and God has fixed Christ Jesus as the horizon of our view – the sphere of our being.
He reaches into throne-room of heaven, yet bends down to touch all things on earth. He delves into the deepest; most intimate and secret areas of our very beings. The Lord Jesus is indeed God’s chosen – His anointed; His appointed; His Son.
God’s Messiah
I wonder what impact this fact has on you – or if familiarity has diminished its truth. I wonder if any of us have honesty trawled the depth of exactly Who this Jesus is. I wonder if we’ve seriously considered how we should live in the light of this truth, but we would do well to develop an apprehension and understanding of Who He is.
The Lord Jesus is the Messiah of God – His anointed; His appointed; His chosen. He was ordained of God and all things in heaven and in earth are placed under His feet.
Union With Christ
As Christians, we are rightly related to the Lord Jesus – through believing in Him.
Representative Man
God has set-up the Lord Jesus as our representative man – He is God’s standard for mankind. Jesus Christ is appointed as our set norm – the perfect pattern for all of humanity. The likeness of Christ is to become the established and universal guideline for man.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation and focus of all that God has ordained – and we would do well to receive a fresh understanding of Who He truly is.
Centre and Circumference
The Lord Jesus Christ is the centre and circumference of all that God has purposed, and we would do well to learn more of Him and to go deeper into Him – for God has foreordained that we are to be conformed into His likeness. And He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of God’s Being, and He holds everything together by the might of His powerful word.
So how do we who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus heed Paul’s warnings?
Their life was to be lived in entire dependence upon God and not on self or others. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him. Colossians 2:6
more is added. For those who take to heart and apply these truths to their lives, there is more, for just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him.
False Doctrines
We have all read how the faithful servant is charged to feed God’s people. We have all noticed how often we are warned of false doctrines in these last days. We have witnessed God’s prophesied, unstoppable march towards false doctrine, yet in these days of increasing apostasy, few voices are pointing to Jesus.
Final Revelation
The full revealing of the Godhead finally came through Jesus.
Jesus; the brightness of the glory of the Father.
Jesus; the express image of the person of God.
Jesus; Who upholds all things by the word of His power.
Jesus; Who through His death and resurrection purged us of our sin.
Jesus; Who is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Jesus; the only begotten Son of God.
Jesus is the One Who is the full revelation of the Father.
The Lord Jesus
He it was Who was with the Father from eternity past. Jesus was brought forth to be born of a pure virgin.
Jesus assumed our very nature.
Jesus expressed, in a human body, the character of God.
Jesus spoke the words of the Father through a human voice.
to His children. He may reveal Himself in a blinding flash, as He did to Paul on the road to Damascus. He may unveil His magnificence in the quiet dawning of understanding, but it is He and not man that uncloaks His truths and enlightens the heart. This knowledge and understanding that is revealed in the person of the Lord Jesus, enlightens the mind; sanctifies the soul; and rejoices the heart.
Intimacy with Christ
It is not a knowledge and understanding about the Lord Jesus.
It is to know Jesus - to know Him intimately.
Promises of Christ
The Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell those that believe in Him. He promised that the Holy Spirit would show us all things. He promised that His Spirit would guide us into all truth. He promised that His Spirit would open the Scriptures to us… as we live and move and pray and in the Spirit – as we allow the Spirit to instruct and to correct – as we offer ourselves a living sacrifice to Him – as we abide in Him and He in us.
Spiritual Maturity
We are exhorted on many occasions to be maturely established in the faith. We are encouraged to press on to the high calling of Christ. We are entreated to gain spiritual perception and godly discernment. We are enjoined to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus.
Wise Words
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things that are ahead, I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13,14 “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” Philippians 3:12ff
Christian Growth
The Lord Jesus does not give the charge, Be a shepherd to My lambs … to My sheep, on hearing Peter’s self-confident affirmation of undying loyalty.
and personally know, love and need Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent.
Perfect Sacrifice
Christ Jesus is the eternal Son of the Father and the unique Son of Man.
Christ’s Obedience
But just as mankind was judged a race of sinners through the disobedience of Adam – so also those that are saved by the blood of the Lamb have been made judicially righteous through the obedience of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Just as the whole human race was imputed with the sin of the first man Adam – so also those that have trusted Jesus as Saviour have the new-life of Christ breathed into them by the Spirit of God – and they are imputed with His righteousness.
It was our kinsman-Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who by His death and resurrection was qualified to become the Last Adam – the final federal head of God’s new and perfect creation in Christ.
And just as we have been born in the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the Lord Jesus Christ – Who is our heavenly Man.
But now in Christ Jesus ye who once were far off are made near by the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13).
Until we know our position in the risen Lord Jesus, we can never really face up to the sinfulness of our old nature.
But hidden with Christ in God, we can both face up to and face away from the old, looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter [marg.] of our faith (Heb. 12:2).
God sets me in nearness to Himself in the Lord Jesus; and as I learn my nearness to Him, I am prepared for the exposure of my natural distance from Him, and I am, through grace, morally apart and sheltered from it (Rom. 8:9), at the very moment when I see it.
As a consequence I rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh' (Phil. 3:3).
Two things mark spiritual growth; one is a deeper sense of the sinful old nature, the other is a greater longing after the Lord Jesus Christ.
The sinfulness is discovered and felt as the power of the Holy Spirit increases; for many a thought and act passes without pain to the conscience where the Lord Jesus is less before the soul, which will be refused and condemned as the knowledge of the Lord increases in spiritual power within. -J.B.S.
When the Lord Jesus Christ is enjoyed, things unlike Him drop off like fading leaves.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing … in Christ.Ephesians 1:3
Heavenly Blessings
In Ephesians, we read blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: for He has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.
From the moment we trusted Jesus as Saviour, all spiritual blessings became ours.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing - in Christ.
It is only as I know what the Lord Jesus is to the Father in glory that I can in any degree truly estimate my own acceptance in Him: Had He my sins laid on Him?
For as He is now accepted, so am l; and therefore it is the Gospel of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We think of the Lord Jesus - His perfections, His suitability to divine favor, His infinite acceptance with the Father - and by faith we have access into the favor of which He is so worthy. -C.A.C.
God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.Galatians 6:14
Anything we deem necessary to bring us close to Jesus, can become a hindrance!
2 Aspects of Faith
It was Paul that recognised this failing in the Galatian Christians and cried out, O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
In true sanctification, the only reality is the Lord Jesus Himself.
Internal Hypocrisy
Oswald Chambers puts it this way:-'There is only one thing – and that is our relationship to Jesus Christ.
The spiritual cure for triviality, is a new note of greatness born of the realisation of what it cost Jesus to produce His salvation in us – a sanctified life.
So let us grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We are to let the love of the Lord Jesus be seen in us. We are to let the Spirit of exhortation work through us for the benefit of others. And always it is to be carried out in the spirit of humility.
In Matthew 22, Jesus says: have you not read what was spoken unto you by God, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, I am the God of Isaac, and I am the God of Jacob.
Fruit & Root of Sin
In verse 20 Paul reminds these Roman believers that before they believed in Jesus, they were also slaves to sin.
But the good news is that this slave relationship to sin is broken the moment we trust in Jesus: so that we would no longer be enslaved to the sin-nature.
But he also tells us that that the gift of saving grace and eternal life also came from one Man: our Lord Jesus Christ.
For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.Galatians 1:11-12
Twelve Apostles
Matthias was the man that replaced Judas Iscariot to become Christ’s 12th apostle. All these disciples including Matthias, were eye-witnesses of Christ’s life and death. They all were with Him the entire time that Jesus travelled in Judea and the Galilee.
Personal Witnesses
These disciples knew Jesus as a Man and they were personal witnesses of all He did. These apostles knew Christ as God incarnate and worshiped Him as Saviour and Lord. They listened to the sermon on the Mount as Jesus taught of His coming kingdom. They were party to His discourses, warning of a coming time of tribulation and trouble.
Eye Witnesses
These men were eyewitnesses of all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day that He was taken up to heaven.
Church-Age Truth
The mysteries of the Church as the body and bride of Jesus Christ came from Paul. The necessity of grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone were all from Paul’s pen. The task of unveiling many church-age mysteries were also entrusted to this apostle.
For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:11-12
Scripture Truths
In Galatians 5:6 we read that: in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor un-circumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.. while in Romans 5:16 we read: therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace.
Faith is needed for a life that is being conformed into the image of Jesus, for though it is by the power of the Holy Spirit – it is accessed through faith.
Jesus tells us that: as the Father has loved Me, so I love you, abide in My love.
Faith is simply trusting God to do what God has said. Faith is acting, walking, or praying on the basis of what God has said about a matter. There may be many so-called “faiths” that unregenerate man follows, but there is only one God in Whom faith can placed, and this is non-negotiable: one Lord, one faith, one baptism into the Lord Jesus, by believing in Him.
One Christ
There is only one realm in which faith can be exercised – through trusting Jesus. Only the born-again believer can function in the sphere of faith.
Only a regenerate man has had the breath of life breathed into him by the Spirit of life. Only a believer in Jesus is able to function on the spiritual plane – by faith. Only a new man in Christ, who has passed from darkness to light can act by faith. Faith is simply believing God. Faith is simply trusting God to do what God has said, and faith comes by hearing which comes through the Word of God.
the salvation of the soul – spiritual maturity: And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1Thes.5:23
When you are in faith you will find that the Lord Jesus does not remove the pressure from off you until you are asleep in it, until you are able to take it quietly.
The fickle crowds so soon forgot the kindness and goodness of the Lord Jesus, allowing themselves to be carried away by base and false accusations, so that they cried out against the one whom they had formerly extolled and praised.
But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew what was in man.John 2:24-25
“What would Jesus do..?” – we ask ourselves… He would love them and He would forgive them… we tell ourselves.
And a half-truth is no truth if the whole truth is not supplied, Jesus would indeed love them, but Jesus would also correct them.
Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.Luke 23:34
yet had they known the fuller consequences, Jesus would never have been crucified, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.1 Corinthians 2:8 But the Lord Jesus had to die if we guilty sinners were to live. Had the Lord of glory not died our sins could not have been forgiven.
What Think Ye
Christ’s substitutionary death at Calvary paid the price for the sin of the world. His precious pardon was prayed over every guilty person, Jew and Gentile alike. Forgiveness is Father-heart of God’s great love towards every guilty sinner – believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is the only requirement – What think ye of Christ?
Devotional Study - FEAR NOT
Life and Living
Jesus tells each of us not to fear the things of this life..
Jesus said:- Come to me, Fear Not – I will strengthen you – YES I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
to live with Him in the eternal ages that are to follow: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church (that is through you) to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
death and dying are terrifying, if we don’t know Jesus, but what hopeless pitch-blackness lies beyond the icicled fingers of death.
is a free gift, bestowed freely on all that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ.
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved… Acts.16:31.
and had to hear the stark words of Jesus saying: The kingdom of the heavens …. (the heavenly part of the inheritance) will be taken from you and given to a nation/ generation bearing the fruits of it.
as long as we are His own – For I am persuaded that neither death nor life….. nor things present nor things to come…. can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
STUDY in PRAYER
If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.1 John 1:7
Plan of Redemption
Every member of the human race is a sinner – so all are under God’s condemnation, but God’s plan of redemption was so designed that sin could be eternally forgiven – the Lord Jesus willingly took the punishment to forgive the sin of the whole world.
Free Gift of Grace
God’s wrath and condemnation for the sin of the world was poured out on Christ. All that man has to do to receive this free gift of grace is to believe on Jesus Christ – simply believing puts us in union with Christ and places us into the family of God.
God’s Judgement
Jesus bore the sins of the world for sinner and saint alike.
Whoever believes in Jesus Christ is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Blood of Christ
So if our sin is already forgiven – what does it mean when John tells us that: the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin?
Permanent Union
The union we have with Christ when we first believed is eternal and can’t be broken. When we trusted Jesus as Saviour all our sins – past, present and future were forgiven – and we were placed in everlasting, permanent and unbreakable union with Christ.
Intercession is fruitless without a heart filled to overflowing with the love OF Jesus.
Intercession is fruitless without a heart filled to overflowing with love FOR Jesus.
if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom, and revelation in the knowledge of Him; having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know... (Ephesians 1:17,18)
The Testimony of Jesus has as its essential law: spiritual illumination and revelation through the Word.
The Testimony of Jesus can never be something static, something that you take up and say: This is the Testimony of Jesus and then put it into a formula.
The Testimony of Jesus is something that has been revealed.
The Testimony of Jesus is: i>I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.Stephen died for that Testimony.
John’s gospel is a wonderful record of the wonderful life of his wonderful Jesus.. and much can be learned through his inspired penmanship.
Final Revelation
But John is given the astonishing and final Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ: 'which God gave Jesus, to show His servants things which must shortly take place.
In Christ
Jesus tells his disciples: 'all things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father..
Easter Reflections - STUDY
6th word from the cross
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, 'It is finished': (Telelestai)” and He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
The Greatest Man
Jesus - is the greatest Man that ever walked this earth.
Jesus paid it all in full.
When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished (Telelestai).
Our one responsibility, that of concentrating upon the Lord Jesus, has a three-fold result: (1) fellowship with Him; (2) growth in His image; (3) ministry of life to others.
All my ability to act for the Lord Jesus here depends on my conscious identification with Him where He is, not where He was for me; though as I receive power from Him I walk here even as He walked; His life is manifested in me. -J.B.S.
Foreknown by God
'The called' are those predestined to be conformed into the image of the Lord Jesus. 'The called' are also predestined for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. 'The called' are predestined according to the purpose of God’s will... but before we were predestined we were foreknown by God.
God foreknows the free-will choices that every man will ever make, and God will never coerce or override man’s volition regarding his choices. Salvation is a free gift of God’s grace to whosoever will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Firstborn Among Many
In His omniscience, God foresaw those that would believe in the Lord Jesus.
Reginald Wallis:
“God says in effect, ‘My child, as you reckoned on the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation, now go a step farther and reckon on His representative work for your victory day by day.’ You believe that the Lord Jesus died for your sins because God said so.
McConkey:
“Because He died ‘death hath no more dominion over Him,’ and because of our union with Him ‘sin shall not have dominion over you,’ even though it is present in you. Our ‘reckoning’ ourselves dead to sin in Jesus Christ does not make it a fact – it is already a fact through our union with Him.
But now in Christ Jesus ye, who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.Ephesians 2:13
Sinner or Saint
There is no more hopeless and helpless state than to be an unbeliever in this world, but there is no more eternally glorious hope than to be a believer in Christ Jesus.
Grace of God
When we see sin as it truly is we begin to understand what God’s grace is., for now, in union with the Christ Jesus, we who once were far away have been brought near, by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, God’s promises are ours – His Word is ours and Christ Jesus is our own Saviour. Spiritual blindness is replaced with spiritual knowledge, understanding, and light.
Brought Near
Every barrier to God is lifted and every blockade to redemption has been removed, for in Christ Jesus, we who were far off have been brought near, by the blood of Christ. Simply believing in Christ has lifted every shackle with which we were bound.
Jesus gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.Galatians 1:4
Jesus Christ reached God’s standard of perfection – for us.
The Lord Jesus Christ paid the penalty price in full – for us – so that we could be made the righteousness of God, in Him.
His death lifted the penalty-curse of the law for all who believe on Christ Jesus.
who shall deliver me from this body of death? Then he finally understood that victory over his sin nature was found in Christ: but thanks be to God Who has given me the victory IN Christ Jesus my Lord.
In Him we are delivered from the sin-nature and placed in eternal union with Jesus. This is the fact of life – the fact of abundant life – the fact of eternal life.
Jesus gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father – and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom: to Whom be glory forever and ever.
Too few realize that their death on the Cross separated them from the entire principle of law, and that their resurrection united them to the Lord Jesus, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:12)
The certainty and the assurance that was right at the root of his Christian life and service came because of this one thing: he'd seen everything in Jesus.
Everything... in Jesus.
We have often said here that there was no power in this world that could have turned that rabid, fanatical Jew, Saul of Tarsus, into a Christian and a lover of Jesus of Nazareth.
No power in this world that could have done that, but just seeing Jesus Himself in this way and that did it, that did it!
The way of an escape, the way of enlargement, the way of endurance is to see Jesus.
Just as the Lord Jesus came into this world where this old humanity was and came into it not to ally Himself with it but to take it into death by the Cross, even so He now by the Holy Spirit, in regeneration, comes into us where there is this old fallen life and not to ally Himself with it, but to hold it in the place of death by the same means - His Cross. -N.D.
But may it never be mine to boast of anything but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world! (Gal. 6:14, Wms.).
If we are born into the Lord Jesus by sheer grace, surely He can manifest Himself in us on the same principle.
It is this quiet expectation and confidence, resting on the Word of the Lord Jesus that in Him there is an abiding place prepared, which is so sadly wanting among Christians.
Abiding in the Lord Jesus is not a work that we have to do as the condition for enjoying His salvation, but a consenting to let Him do all for us and in us, and through us.
As it was the Lord Jesus who drew thee when He said Come,' so it is the Lord Jesus who keeps thee when He says Abide.' -A.M.
And complete every activity of your faith, so that the Name of our Lord Jesus might be glorified in you (2 Thess. 1:11b, Wms.).
When the Lord Jesus has once died and risen, He is through with sin forever.
We can cry triumphantly, when we know: I died unto sin with the Lord Jesus on the Cross, two thousand years ago!
Sin has no claim on me in the Lord Jesus, and cannot have dominion over me, as I yield myself to my Father in this wonderful new revelation of yielding myself to God, as one who is alive from the dead' (Rom. 6:13).
Thus will we begin to find how true and how tremendous is the deliverance that is in the Lord Jesus for us.
There is no way to a full abiding fellowship with our Father, but through the rent veil of the flesh; through a life with the old man crucified in the Lord Jesus.
When we finally understand that the Lord Jesus is our life, we, with Paul, no longer think in terms of things.
The Lord Jesus before our souls in the power of the Holy Spirit - the glorified Lord - is our Father's means for bringing us into conformity with His beloved Son.
But then it is through the chastenings of His hand, through the trials and sufferings of our path, that He weans the hearts of His own from other objects, that the Lord Jesus Christ alone may fill the vision of our souls. -E.D.
It is well to read and get knowledge, but unless you are in communion with the Lord Jesus, you will not grow in likeness to what you admire, as recorded in the Word.
And I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord (Phil. 3:8).
Having at least reached the point of utter despair in ourselves so that we cease even to try, we put our trust in the Lord Jesus to manifest His resurrection life in and through us, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit' (Rom. 8:4).
I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord (Rom. 7:25).
It is a part of the calling of saints to show men how to suffer: how, even in the midst of the hard and bitter experiences of life, the Lord Jesus is sufficient to give joy and comfort. -H.F.
But this is just the beginning of that deep work of the Cross which is to deal with the carnality of our cherished affections, our spiritual comforts, our dearest friendships, our creeds, and our denominations, our devotion to which prevents the dying of the old man that makes impossible whole-hearted devotion to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. -J.M.
Without association with the Lord Jesus in His death, the believer must abide barren, sterile, and unfruitful. -F.J.H.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Begone, Satan (Matt. 4:10).
But take heart fellow believer, the trials of your faith will be found unto praise, honor and glory at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:7).
As to the Gospel and the work of the Lord Jesus, I do not find that it is adequately apprehended that the benefits conferred by the Father is far beyond the need of the sinner.
As Christians we are going to be controlled by one of two powers: the self-life, or the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Do not seek to shatter the mirror which reflects your soul's lack of beauty; rather welcome the truth, and believe that next to knowledge of the Lord Jesus nothing is so important as the knowledge of self. -N.G.
There is nothing in self worth holding on to; it ought to be handed to the Cross; we have submitted ourselves to such a life as that, and our Father is going to give us every opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to hold the old nature in the place of death, with the glorious end in view that our Lord Jesus will have the preeminence. -F.M.
I wonder, do you know Him? Do you know Jesus? More and more I see how important the words of Jesus are:- for we need to have faith as a little child..
faith that believes God’s Word without reservation – faith that trusts unreservedly and needs no other proof. My little granddaughter knows not to be afraid, because Jesus is alive.
She has learned from her cradle that Jesus is coming one day in the clouds for her.
Who is Jesus?
And the Life of Jesus – thus lived was the life laid down in sacrifice.
The life of Jesus became thus acceptable as the sin offering. The life of Jesus became the burnt offering – a sweet savor to the Lord - casting out upon the sea of humanity gifts: “Oh that men would praise the name of the Lord: for His name alone is exalted: His glory is above the earth and heaven”.
This same Lord Jesus Christ – has sought me out – because He loves me so dearly.
Image of God
This Lord Jesus Christ is the very image of the invisible, indivisible God. This Lord Jesus Christ is the effulgence of God’s glory and grace and love. This same Lord Jesus Christ searched me out to bestow on me the unimaginable. He lifted me up out of the miry clay and seated me with Himself in the heavenlies.
His glory is above the earth heaven - Just give me Jesus.
Price for Sin
So when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem us all, so that we might receive adoption as sons. To deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ renders Calvary as a sham and charade, for there is none good..
Man alone had to be the perfect sacrifice. It is equally heretical to deny that Jesus was fully God as to deny He was fully Man.
The Lord Jesus did not come in just as a rescuer of man and of man lot.
While the direction is toward ourselves redemption, sanctification, glorification, and so on or toward anything less than the Son Himself, we have not got God dynamic for accomplishing His work, and therefore it becomes necessary, as the sufficient, the adequate basis of the Holy Spirit operation, that there should be a revelation of Jesus Christ in the heart, for it is in relation to Him and what God has purposed concerning Him that all the energies of God are released and made active.
Let a man renounce himself, and see himself as crucified with Christ, and soon another Himself - the Lord Jesus Christ - will take the central place in the heart, and quietly bring all things under His sway.
It is a great thing to offer the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour to sinful man, but it is still greater to express Him in a world where He is rejected. -J.B.S.
Messianic Prophecies
It was Matthew who delighted to quote fulfilled Messianic prophecies in His gospel. This former tax-collector thrilled to link the Lord Jesus Christ with prophecies of old. This disciple of the Lord Jesus trawled the Old writings and linked them with the New. This apostle of Christ, uncovered prophetic Scripture and secured them in his writings.
Much in his gospel demonstrated the legitimate Messiahship of Jesus – to Israel. Matthew took the prophecies of Old and certified their fulfilment in the New. He was a writer who saw what was hidden in the Old – and revealed it in his Gospel. As the old maxim goes: The new is in the old concealed.
God Incarnate
Matthew's historical record showed the genuine, genealogical supremacy of Jesus Christ.
He also gave many indications that this man Jesus was God Incarnate – God with us.
God With Us
He wrote of Isaiah who cried out to Israel – the Lord Himself will give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel – Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us – God manifest in the flesh. John called Him the Word made flesh, while Mark writes of the beginnings of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God – and Matthew calls Him Emmanuel.
Revelation of Christ
Scripture is replete with passages in the Old Testament that are all fulfilled in the New. The Bible is full of the attributes of God that are attributed to the Lord Jesus Christ too. God Who never changes in Malachi is Jesus!
Attributes of God
Jesus is Omnipotent – for all power has been given unto Him. Jesus is Omniscient – for He knew all men and what they thought. Jesus is Omnipresent – for He promised to be with us to the end of the age. Jesus is Creator – He made all things; and nothing was made without Him. Jesus is Saviour – I, even I, am the LORD; and beside Me there is no Saviour.
Jesus is the first and last; the beginning and the end – the Alpha and Omega.
Attributes of Christ
The Lord..forgiveth all thine iniquities – and Jesus also forgives sins. The Lord our God is One – yet Jesus and the Father are One. God is glorified – but now all men should glorify and honour the Son.
God is the Holy One of Israel – and Jesus is the Holy One Who did not see corruption.
Honour the Son
And John says men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father, and just as God is the Judge of the earth so the Lord Jesus Christ is Judge of the whole earth – for Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.
On the one side, no one is going to get anything from God apart from Jesus Christ.
On the other side, in Jesus Christ we have all that God ever wants to say....
We have nothing apart from Jesus Christ, and we need nothing apart from Him.
May the Lord Jesus just impress our hearts again with these things!
Companions of this heavenly calling and of Christ will go into the hard school and have to learn many hard lessons, but in learning them they will come to understand how great is their inheritance in the Lord Jesus.
Now that may sound like a very terrible thing to say, especially to you young Christians who are not far inside the door, but be perfectly clear about it; the Lord Jesus never deceived anybody about this, never at all.
So the Lord Jesus has not left us in any doubt about this.
All the communications of God and Heaven to man are by way of Jesus, the new Israel.
All God's thoughts in the past ages are taken up in the Lord Jesus in the first place.
All that was ever intended by God concerning Israel and was lost by them, is carried on in the Lord Jesus, and then transferred by Him to His companions and the companions of the heavenly calling the new Israel, which is spiritual.
Hence this Letter contains this word of warning and of exhortation: Because this is the fullness and this is the end, be sure that you give heed.... To come into touch with the Lord Jesus is more than coming into touch with a teaching: it is coming into touch with a living, active Person.
But the best that I can hope is that this has just opened a window, and that as you look through it you are seeing one thing how superior is Jesus Christ to all else, and how superior is the dispensation into which we have come, and how superior are all the resources at our disposal to all that ever was before!
Be not afraid, neither be dismayed; for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:5
What a Friend we have in Jesus
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Is there trouble anywhere?We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer.Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Study - GOD, All I Need
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession… for we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14
Our great Helper in prayer is the Lord Jesus Christ, our Advocate with the Father, our Great High Priest, whose chief ministry for us these centuries has been intercession and prayer.
They manifested in sweeping beauties of the rainbow – and Jesus said, I am the Light of the world..
New Testament Light
The beloved disciple also affirmed that Jesus was indeed that wonderful light – the true light which lighteth every man that comes into the world John 1:9 – and he further commands us to: walk in the light, as He is in the light 1 John 1:7 while the Lord Jesus Himself proclaims: I am the LIGHT – of the world.
Glorify The Father
Let your reflected LIGHT (which is the Lord Jesus indwelling His sanctified chosen ones…..)
Let your reflected light so SHINE before saved and unsaved men of the world (and so reflect the beauties of the Lord – the lovely Jesus Christ) Let your reflected light so shine before men that the people of the world may SEE your good works (not the works of your own flesh or the Law which are produced through self-effort) Let your reflected LIGHT so Shine before men that the people of the world may see your good works (the works which came from Christ) Christ Who is the Light of the World and Christ, Who is the Hope of the ages…until CHRIST be formed in you……Let your reflected light so shine before men that the people of the world may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Jesus said, Martha, Martha, you are caring and troubled about many things but ONE thing is needful – and Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken from her.
Mary’s need of Jesus, was placed before everything – above all in her whole life.
Where are the other NINE? For the ONE whose grateful thanks dropped like fresh dew on the ears of Jesus – there are many more who take the free gift, that cost God so much and simply, walk away.
But once spiritually cleansed… once purified by the blood of the Lamb and born again Jesus, at the last supper, exemplified – in action, the ongoing need for purity.
But I cannot overcome on my own and by my own, feeble efforts, for Jesus said, without Me, ye can do nothing.
Secret of Rest
F.B.James puts it this way… Jesus is the Teacher of the secret of rest.
Come unto me, ye weary,And I will give you rest.O blessed voice of Jesus,Which comes to hearts oppressed.It tells of benediction-Of pardon, grace, and peace,Of joy that hath no ending,Of love that cannot cease.
And they said, BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.Acts 16:31-32
God did not love the world system that is currently under Satan’s rule for Jesus plainly tells us, My kingdom is not of this world. John 18:36 It was man, for whom God set about implementing His glorious plan of salvation.
believe on Jesus; believe that He died and was buried and rose the third day to pay the price for our sin.
Salvation of Man
There is only one place in Scripture where the question is actually asked, What must I do to be saved..? and the answer is given clearly and simply, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. The spirit of man which was born dead in trespasses and sins is saved simply by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as our sacrifice for sin. But our initial salvation (our salvation of the spirit) is of course the first step on a life journey for the salvation of the soul of man, for once we have been eternally saved we are told by Paul, in Philippians 2:12, that we must work out our own salvation. This aspect of salvation is called sanctification and is ongoing throughout the whole of our whole Christian life.
Singular Salvation
But salvation is also a single thing for at the point of initial salvation – the salvation of the soul and the body is automatically secured. Although there are three aspects to salvation it is the initial salvation of the spirit, where we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that secures forever the salvation of the body, soul, and spirit – eternally.
The essential condition for salvation is simply to believe that Jesus died for my sins and that by His death and resurrection He paid the full price for my sins – and all I have to do is to believe on Him. I cannot win my salvation or buy salvation for myself.
Believe! BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
through time and into eternity, for as the apostle Paul reminds us, no foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11 How it must please the heart of God when believers can be described like Gauis – a man of truth.
you will lose your life (you will lose your soul) Luke.17:33 Should a believer choose the broad way, he would be eternally saved, for eternal salvation is the free gift of grace to all who trust in Jesus as Saviour… eternally saved but choosing to live your own self-life and not His Christ-life.
Way of the Cross
There are a few who seek to follow Christ in the way of the Cross, where Christ remains their first love and remains as the focus of their heart, for as Jesus said, if you lose your life (your soul) for My sake, you will find it… for many are called but few are chosen, and I have chosen you. If I sincerely and earnestly progress along the path of Christ… the way of the Cross, my experience in life will be patterned after His life and my earthy walk will reflect His earthly walk, and I shall discover that as I try to spend my life for others, I shall not be able to spare myself.
For the life that follows the path that Jesus walked – for the need is not the call, and the urgent is not the important – If I am to follow the path that Christ trod before me – then I must follow the way of the Cross.
Final Prophet
It seems that Christ may have been going in and out among those that would one day become His disciples, ever since the intrepid prophet of God stormed onto the scene. Whenever it was that John and Jesus met in the waters of the Jordan River, it would be so memorable an occasion that it would be forever engraved upon John’s memory.
Miraculous Birth
The two men as youngsters had no doubt heard of the miraculous birth of the other and whether or not they had become intimate in those intervening years, John was to be stunned by the revelation he had from Almighty God – when the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended on Jesus – and rested upon Him, and “This is My Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased, rang in his ear.
“O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come”, were his caustic words of contempt. But one day, this greatest of all prophets, who had baptised many (who in poverty of spirit had repented of their sins), was suddenly overwhelmed by the grossness of his own wickedness when the Lord Jesus walked into the water – to be baptised by John. It was in abject humility of heart and wretched bitterness of spirit that John must have whispered, “It is I who need to be baptised by You – how can You come to me?”
The one, can incubate pride while the other can foster independence from God. And both result in a believer being removed from God’s best purpose in their life. But God can correct many decades of dormant growth in a stunted Christian life, and God can reverse the worldly ways of a saint’s fleshly independence from Him… if the believer changes his mind, and looks to Jesus and away from all else… if the repentant believer approaches His majesty in genuine humility of heart.. if the man or woman of God sincerely recognises his own lack and need of God.
Rom.8:28. There may be ramifications for seeking fast-track spiritual development, and there may be consequences for a paucity or lack in a spiritual life, but there will also be reward… if that one earnestly seeks God in his lack, indifference, disinterests or rebellion, for God has a purpose for all that are blood-bought saints in Christ Jesus – but He chooses to do it His way, and will often wait many years for our compliance.
While others may bewail that “the Lord delays His coming”, remember the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him: He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
And God in His perfect grace and consummate love made Himself known, in and through the person of the lovely Lord Jesus Christ – the Word made flesh.
Knowing Him
But how few want to know Him. How very few want to know the Lord Jesus.
Many seek to interpret His words and calculate the meaning behind His proclamations, but only a very small remnant worship at His feet and honestly want to know Him. There were very few that sat at the feet of the Lord Jesus – gazing upon His beauty at His first coming. And there are still very few whose deepest desire is to know this Perfect Man – this Divine Omnipotence. And yet to know Him should be the deepest desire of every blood-bought child.
Paul An Example
I look at Paul – the man who had a One-to-one teaching from the Lord Jesus Himself.
Jesus Christ did not become a man for 33 years only – but a man forever. When the eternal Son of God was born in Bethlehem, as the perfect Son of Man, He became a fully-fledged member of the human family in a human body – with a human nature, which He will retain throughout the eternal ages to come.
I remember you always for these three things: your work of FAITH, your labour of LOVE, your patience of HOPE in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father .1Thessalonians 1:3
Because He knew your heart would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And every jot and tittle of scripture has been written for a purpose: that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name.
Living By Faith
Faith – Trust – Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ has two important elements: 1) a past, and saving faith in Him, so that you might be saved and live. 2) a present and sanctifying faith, as you are being conformed into His image.
Jesus tells us: it is better for you that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
John 17:17 – and Jesus came crying: I am the Way and the Truth and the Life..
And that Hope has a name – it is “The Blessed Hope” – the Lord Christ Jesus: looking for that blessed hope – looking unto Jesus.
Looking for the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Jesus told us that: in this world you will have tribulation, John 16:33.
James 5:7 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Phil.3:20 He will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body – according to the working by which He is able, even to subdue all things to Himself.
Adoption as Sons
Through His love He predestined us to adoption as sons, through Jesus Christ.. and He did this according to His kind intention and gracious will – and He did this to the ultimate praise of the glory of His grace. Oh!
Ransom Paid
It was paid in full by the blood of the lamb – the willing Sacrifice Who paid our debt. We were released from Satan’s clutches with a ransom, paid in Christ’s own blood. The ransom price for our freedom was the life of the Lord Jesus – His life for ours.
Jesus Christ alone is the God of our Salvation – and He it is, that causes all things to work together for good to them that love God – to them that are the called according to His purpose.
Jesus Christ is the centre of the eternal purposes of God, and in His grace, we have been called according to that incredible, infinite, eternal, glorious plan.
Law of Death
The truths that Nicodemus learnt on his night visit to Jesus Christ were staggering. During an evening conversation his long-held religious values had been fragmented. The requirements of the Mosaic Law were impossible – unattainable to mortal man! The notion of a new birth with a new life – was beyond the concept of human reason!
Call to Repent
Jesus was not sent to the righteous but to call sinners to repent – but what the pious Pharisees had not grasped was that there are no righteous men – except God’s Son. Jesus was not sent to save good people but to call sinners to change their hearts – and the whole life-philosophy of Nicodemus was being challenged to the core.
A New Creation
Jesus wasn’t sent to teach a race of fallen sinners how to live under the perfect Law. He was sent to reveal that only a new life, with a new nature can satisfy the Father.
Jesus didn’t come to show unrighteous people how to live under the Mosaic Law.
A New Life
No surprise that Nicodemus did not understand all these concepts that Jesus taught – for the new life in Christ was a mystery – a mystery, which from the beginning of the world was hidden in the heart of the Father, Who created all things by Jesus Christ. The mystery of the new life in Christ was hid from saints and prophets of old. This was a mystery that had been hidden from ages and from generations – and yet it was a mystery which would one day be made manifest to his saints – to you and to me.
Reality of Christ
Christians all have the peace of God since the Lord Jesus became our Saviour, but there is a peace in the heart that comes from harmonising all internal conflicts, where the heart and conscience and will combine to become truly unified with Him.
Such peace finds the bond-slave believer..looking intently upon Jesus – and kneeling in complete surrender and total submission at His feet.
Chambers Comment
Oswald Chambers puts it this way:- “There are times when our peace is based upon ignorance, but when we awaken to the facts of life, inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus.
His words are ever “spirit and life.” Have I ever received what Jesus speaks, when He said: “My peace I give unto you”? This is a peace which comes from looking into His face and realising His un-disturbedness.
Then look up and receive the un-disturbedness of the Lord Jesus.
If you allow anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you, you are either disturbed or you have a false security.
Chamber’s conclusion:- Are you looking unto Jesus now, in the immediate matter that is pressing and are you receiving from Him peace?
When one confers with Jesus Christ the perplexity goes, because He has no perplexity, and our only concern is to abide in Him.
Isaiah. 26:3 and Jesus said:- Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give unto you.
Perfect Man
Jesus is fully Man; the perfect Man; the representative Man – He is God’s Man.
Jesus is God’s standard for mankind.
Jesus Who walked this earth with nowhere to lay His head is God’s pattern for all.
God’s Image
Jesus is God’s Man.
Pre-ordained Plan
From the moment that man sinned God instigated His perfect, pre-ordained plan, that He had purposed before the foundation of the world – that His Son would be all in all. What we now see is Jesus, Who was given a position “a little lower than the angels“; and because He suffered death for us, He is now “crowned with glory and honour.”
Tasted Death for ALL
By God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for ALL – every member of the fallen race of man, And as part of God’s plan to bring many sons to glory – God made Jesus (Who was made perfect through what He suffered) the leader and pioneer of our salvation.
Christ’s Peace
Sinners who trust in the only begotten Son of God are given peace WITH God and believers who live in fellowship with the Father receive the prefect peace OF God – indeed, as the time drew ever closer for the Lord Jesus Himself to leave His little flock, He said, Peace I leave with you..
True Peace
Humanity craves peace in the world and we all desire perfect peace in our hearts and yet all that the world terms peace is superficial and shallow, for the restless heart of man can find no true tranquillity without the perfect peace that comes from above. Genuine peace is not simply the cessation of conflicts nor it is the absence of disputes but peace is a oneness with our Saviour, for true peace is being united as one with Christ Jesus.
Peace is found at the foot of the cross, for peace is in a Person – and that Person is Christ Jesus, our perfect Prince of Peace. The peace of God is also a gift of grace that is freely available to every believer who has learned to walk the pathway of peace – for the peace of God which passes understanding floods into the hearts of all God’s children, whose mind is stayed on Him.
Life-Giving Peace
Peace with God and the peace of God stretches through time and into eternity, for all who trust Christ as Saviour and learn to keep the eyes of their hearts looking to Jesus for it was our Saviour who calmed the ocean of God’s wrath against a sinful world, which He procured for us by His sufferings and death on Calvary’s cross. He broke down the middle wall of hostility that divided Jew from Gentile and the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom announcing that the gaping void between a holy God and sinful man had been spanned by the blood of the Lamb – for by Hs death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way, through the curtain which is His body.
For the sinner, it’s a choice to believe in Christ Jesus as Saviour.
In Christ
But Jesus said, I have told you about these things that will happen in this world, so that in Me, you may have peace.
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham… Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus Who is called the Messiah.Matthew 1:1
Jesus, when He began His ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as it was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli...Luke 3:23
Matthew’s Genealogy
Matthew started his gospel (whose targeted audience were the Jews) with a royal genealogy that started at Abraham and ended with Joseph, the husband of Mary. It was a regal lineage that traced Jesus’ ancestors through the great kings – David and Solomon and terminated with the Messiah’s adoptive father, Joseph the carpenter.
The antecedents in Luke’s gospel were still of David’s royal line but through Nathan, his son – and travelled down through a second kingly line to Mary the mother of Jesus.
Hundreds of prophecies were fulfilled to the letter in Jesus, Who is called – Messiah.
Biblical Prophecy
Like all descendants of Abraham and David, Jesus had a right to the throne of Israel, but unlike all of David’s other descendants, Jesus alone fulfilled biblical prophecy.
The numerous prophecies surrounding Him identified Jesus as the promised Messiah:- He was born of a virgin in the little town of Bethlehem and grew up in Galilee.
Two Genealogies
He was raised from the dead on the 3rd day and ascended to the Father in heaven. Hundreds of prophecies were fulfilled to the letter in Jesus, Who is called – Messiah. Like all descendants of Abraham and David, Jesus had a right to the throne of Israel, and two unbroken genealogies were recorded in Scripture to affirm His legitimacy. But why was there a need for two genealogies for the Lord Jesus Christ? Would not one illustrious genealogical table have fulfilled all the criteria?
God’s Wisdom
But God’s plans and purposes cannot be thwarted by the enemy, although at times, Satan in his foolish pride must have smugly thought that God had been outwitted! But David had a son called Nathan – through whom was born the mother of our Lord.. and Luke records the legitimate and un-cursed lineage of Christ Jesus – the Saviour.
The Cure
Jesus was indeed the adopted son of Joseph the carpenter and His adoption gave Him legal right to sit on the throne of David through both His earthly parents.. but no curse could fall on the Lord Jesus, for He was not Joseph’s biological son. God is not surprised by what we do or how history plans out.
Now Jesus Himself, when He began His ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli – the father of Mary.
The infinite fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ is the wonderful purpose of God.
Infinite Fullness
God is continuing to work out His eternal purpose in each of our lives. We may not know what our role is now – but we all have a part to play. His dealings may be beyond our understanding but let us trust Him and live by faith, for the infinite fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ is the wonderful purpose of God. Christ in you the hope of glory – until Christ is all in all.
He did all according to God’s eternal purpose, from the foundation of the earth – the plan, which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: Eph.3:11
I watched some similar clips of 4 years olds, 7 years olds and other minor ‘preachers’ – infants and children given the pulpit, who were evidently considered ‘gifted’ – and yet the Lord Jesus Himself waited until he was 30 before starting His public ministry.
For 30 years the Lord Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
God marked you out before the ages began, to be made just like Jesus: to be conformed into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Now here is the key to success… Take your eye off the circumstances of life and rest them on the Lord Jesus.
Your position in Him is pre-eminent: God raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
The Saviour
Jesus Christ has many wonderful names, many beautiful titles, many eternal qualities but perhaps the most excellent and precious of all is that of Saviour – Redeemer. The sin of one man separated the race of humanity from the holiness of God for we are told in the Word of God that sin had separated fallen man from a righteous God, and without a Saviour to save us from our sins – that separation is eternal.
The payment for our sins is eternal separation from God, but He gave His unique Son through Whom comes life. Eternal life is God’s gift – Salvation is God’s gift – Jesus Christ is God’s special gift. The gift of salvation was no afterthought on the part of God.
Eternal Salvation
Salvation that came through the Man Christ Jesus was not a finite redemption but an eternal salvation.
Beloved of God
Jesus is Son of God and Son of Man. He is Seed of the woman. He is Beloved of the Father. He is Begotten of the Father before all worlds.
Learning Christ
During the earthly walk of the Lord Jesus it was learn of Me – follow Me, but once seated on the right hand of the Father it is 'learn Christ' – to learn Him..
God set the standard and pattern for life in the Lord Jesus.
Jesus said, “I have made known to them Thy name, and will make it known; that the love with which Thou hast loved Me may be in them and I in them.” John 17:26.
Divine Purpose
God knows the end from the beginning and He knows all who will trust in Christ. God predestined all who would believe in Jesus to be conformed into His image. God was well-pleased with the Lord Jesus, Who is His only begotten and beloved Son, and it's God’s divine purpose is that His children are made in the likeness of Jesus Christ. We are to all to be conformed into the image and likeness of God’s dearly beloved Son, and it is the Holy Spirit Himself that is to do this amazing work in the life of a believer.
See and Learn
The first work of the Holy Spirit in the life of all believers is to reveal Christ Jesus in us.
The Spirit is to communicate with our human spirit and educate us about Jesus.
Such a man or woman lives a life that becomes occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ.
His Fullness
The effect of this move of the Spirit in a Christian is that we are filled with His fullness, for when a man or woman is occupied with Jesus they get more and more like Him – and yet a life overflowing with Christ only scratches the surface of all that He is.
To Know Him
At the start of his life, we are told that it was God’s pleasure to reveal Christ in Paul, but at the end of his life, Paul longed to know the Lord Jesus more and more and more, and throughout his ministry, it is Paul’s longing that we also come to know Him more.
Paul was a man whose life was governed by the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus his Lord. Paul was a man that longed that we also should know Christ – in an intimate way.. that you may to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:19
Let us willingly submit to His work within so that we become more and more like Jesus.
The Lord Jesus is preeminently our example in that He could move in any circle, and He did so deliberately, publicans and sinners, all classes, He moved amongst them, but His power over them was in His basic difference from them.
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.John 1:17
Face of Christ
The Law was indeed given to Israel through Moses, but the unfailing love of God and His everlasting faithfulness is seen reflected in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. The beauty of grace and truth is contrasted with the stark reality of the Mosaic Law, for the Law was given by Moses – but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
The beloved apostle in his gospel is unveiling the qualities and attributes of the Lord Jesus, one by one – as he reveals that: in the beginning was the eternal Word of God.
The Cross
But God in His love and mercy sent grace and truth through the incarnate Word.. so that all that believe in His name would not perish – but have everlasting life. The expression of God’s grace is seen in the gift of His Son and His work on the cross, so that by believing on the person of Jesus Christ we may have life in His name.
God’s Grace
Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them death – so the marvellous grace of God now rules instead, giving us right-standing with God and resulting in eternal life – through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Law requires works, which could never reach the perfection required of God.
but grace and truth has come to us all through the lovely Lord Jesus Christ, so that by simply trusting in the name of Christ Jesus we might be given life – through His name.
Christ’s Name
All that Christ is and all that Christ has done is reflected in the beauty of His name. All that’s of grace, that’s been given to man – is on account of the merit of Jesus – for the Law was given by Moses – but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Truth + Grace
The Law of Moses, though perfect was given to man through a fallen member of a sinful race. Grace and truth, was the gift of God to condemned sinners, thru Jesus Christ our Lord. Grace without truth – would have rendered the righteousness of God as void. Truth without grace – would have rendered the salvation of man as impossible.
Love of God
What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that He should shower on sinful man the grace and favour that we do not deserve and cannot earn- but in His perfect life the Incarnate Word of God, in His sinless body on the tree, met all the righteous requirements of the Law – to free us from condemnation so that we might have LIFE. The law indeed was given to Israel through Moses, but the unfailing love of God and His everlasting and faithfulness - is only seen in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect (mature), establish, strengthen, settle you (1 Pet. 5:10).
But when we begin to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, we are able to face up to the awful facts concerning the old man and his condemnation at the Cross.
Showers of Grace
Grace, grace and more grace is what is showered on all that believe in Jesus Christ. Grace for salvation, grace for this life, grace to mature, grace in the ages to come.
Sufficient Grace
Grace and truth came through the Lord Jesus – as does love, joy, peace, and hope, and we have access to all the grace of Christ..
it was by the free, undeserved favour and sovereign riches of God’s grace alone. And so it is with us, for it is all of grace – the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But as we abide in the risen Lord Jesus, that new ground of our position, His life will be manifested in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23).
We are raised in Him (Eph. 2:6); we are complete in Him (Col. 2:10); we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Him (Eph. 1:3); the entire work regarding us is not done in us but in the Lord Jesus - the Father has done all in His Son.
If you stand on the ground of what the Lord Jesus is (abide), you will find in your growth that all that is true of Him is becoming true of you; but if you remain on the ground of what you are in yourself, you will find that all that is true of the old man is true of you in life and walk.
The purpose of Paul, in Romans Six, is to show how completely the believer is identified with the Lord Jesus when He died unto sin.' To enter fully into the meaning of that death is to see that He has emancipated us from any further dealings with our old master, sin.
The believer is privileged thus to take his position in the risen Lord Jesus, who is now alive unto God.' From that ground he is henceforth to regard sin. -E.H.
My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19).
We have but to see in the Word what He has accomplished on our behalf in the Lord Jesus, and then quietly rely upon Him, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3).
Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone (Eph. 2:19, 20).
Our Lord Jesus is indeed the perfect example of these two graces..
Ah, but in Acts.10:34 we read that God is no respecter of persons, while Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that: His rain falls on the just and unjust alike, Matt.5:45. And so for us, we ought to be kind and good to all that we meet. Goodness only needs a little opportunity to act.
The God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after ye have suffered awhile, make you mature, establish, strengthen, settle you (1 Pet. 5:10).
No matter what we may encounter in this life, we who belong to the Lord Jesus have this definite knowledge - our Father will use it all in love as an instrument in the carrying out of the glorious purpose to which He has destined us.
Oh, what lessons there are for all to learn, who also travel the believer’s path in this world, as we accept the deep and unanswerable questions in our lives, and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
God breaks the heads of Leviathan – that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan – which deceiveth the whole world.. I will break the pride of your power – and – Jesus said… It is Finished…Ps.74:14 Rev.12:9 Lev.26:19 John 19:30
Father’s Will
Jesus said, 'when you pray say, THY will be done.
Jesus said, I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which sent Me.
And Jesus Himself tells us, through, the pen of the apostle John, he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne.
Such examination will launch you deeper – into eternal intercession with the Lord, For Jesus ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25 -and so should we….
Our Father purges us on the principle of we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake.' In service you are sure to find some kind of pressure on you.
Woman at the Well – Full Study
And Jesus must needs go through Samaria..
Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well:John 4:4
This picture is a poignant reminder that Jesus became wearied by life’s demands.
And as we trace His earthly path, here is one of His experiences that we can understand – Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, rested on the well.
Jesus said: My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness – your weakness…2Cor.4:9.
Woman at the Well – Full Study
And Jesus must needs go through Samaria.
Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well.
And there cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, 'Give me to drink'.John 4:7
He is Close
How close are you to Jesus?
And Jesus was close to her. Jesus was just there, waiting for her – just as He is close to you, in all the chores and duties that fill each of our lives... He is waiting for you, as you set about the menial tasks of each daily round.
He Waits
This woman went on a little local errand to draw water from a public place, but before she returned, she had met Jesus and had been refreshed.
Before she went home, Jesus met her at the very point of her deepest soul need.
He Knocks
As we flap and worry and fret and concern ourselves with accumulating difficulties, Jesus sits and waits.
As we plan strategies to meet all the heavy burdens that cause so many heartaches... Jesus sits and waits.
As we desperately try to determine how to cope with life’s mounting troubles; as we look for any form or escape from the downward spiral of the world’s affairs, Jesus waits and He waits.
found Jesus waiting for her.
Path of Obedience
No-one finds the Lord Jesus in the path of disobedience... He waits for us to come to Him He waits for us to obey His voice. 'Give Me..
Point of Need
Jesus met this woman in the form of a weary, way-worn, and thirsting traveller.
Jesus took time and won His way into her confidence.
Jesus took time to get her trust and to find a way into her heart.
Jesus made Himself known to this woman through the garb of a tired, thirsty man..
and Jesus refreshed her soul, and Jesus revealed the glory of His personality to her.
Jesus offered her His love and His forgiveness..
Different Ways
Jesus approaches each of us in different disguises and many unrecognisable ways.
Acceptable Words
Of the lovely Lord Jesus, we heard:- Never a man spake like this man, and they wondered.. at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. John 7:46. Let us abound in purity of thought and graciousness of speech – by the power of the Holy Spirit in all we say and think and are.
Spiritual hunger and thirst are fulfilled in the Lord Jesus, while at the same time they are enlarged for more of Him.
It is as we take the Lord Jesus by faith into the affections of our hearts that we make spiritual progress.
The head may be filled with general theological information without producing one spark of heart-affection for the Lord Jesus, and the soul remains in a state of spiritual emaciation.
But the spiritual mind, the subdued heart, the lowly spirit, will say, and that without a single particle of reserve, Let me only enjoy the sweet company of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ in my trial, and I ask no more.
Heaven is With JesusJesus tells us: I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Heaven is where the Lord Jesus is and He reminds us of this many times.
Jesus said: this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Him Whom Thou did send – even Jesus Christ, your Lord.
Jesus said: Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me, may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
This was the earnest will of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, whilst walking this sin-soaked world.
Come, Lord Jesus,
If we keep Christ as the centre of our focus we will overcome the stresses of life, for everything will fall into perspective.
Maranatha – even so, come Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20.
[God] hath raised us up together; and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6).
In the first stage of our Christian life we seek to bring the Lord Jesus down to our level, for our use; later on we learn to take our position in Him at His level, for His use.
The desire of many and the tendency of all is to connect the Lord Jesus with ourselves on this earth, instead of accepting that we are in living union with Him in heaven.
If you do not know your union with the Lord Jesus in heaven, you cannot come out in the power of the heavenly Man to act from Him on earth, to be descriptive of Him.
Very little abiding growth and fruit can be known by the believer until he accepts the fact of identification (Rom. 6:6), and to it responds by an attitude of faith (Rom. 6:11), thus yielding himself to the Holy Spirit for the life of the Lord Jesus to be manifested in and through him (Rom. 6:13). -G.W.
Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.John 1:3
Easy as A B C
Union with Christ or being placed in Christ, is as simple as A-B-C, for it is a result of simply trusting in Jesus as Saviour.
And John expounds the personal, intimate relationship we so long for, and he tells us how to maintain fellowship with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
John reminisces of his own intimate fellowship with the eternal Son, Jesus Christ.
John saw Him, heard Him and touched His Lord, and delights to tell us that we too can enjoy like-sweet communion.. precious communion and he continues: truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Today, the Lord Jesus is the Living Water that is poured into our hearts by faith – and today He is the Rock of our salvation, from Whose side poured blood and water.
By not resting on anything, even the Spirit's work within, but on what the Lord Jesus has done entirely outside you.
In the Lord Jesus alone, the Father finds that in which He rests; and so it is with His saints.
The more you see the extent and nature of the evil that is within, as well as that without and around, the more you will find that what the Lord Jesus is and did, is the only ground at all on which you can rest.
When the eye is turned away from the Lord Jesus, darkness must set in.
He finds all his springs in the Lord Jesus.
It is having the Lord Jesus as our Object which alone gives us the power of truth.
When we have anything of our own as an object, so far we slip aside, for the Lord Jesus alone is the full truth.
The present application of God’s Word, enables us to live a godly life in Christ Jesus.
Christian Believers
Christian believers are citizens of heaven and residents of the heavenly Jerusalem, and we eagerly await our Saviour from heaven – the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians have been saved with a view to realising this heavenly inheritance – a heritage and position that is currently being occupied by satanic usurpers.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us in heavenly places … in Christ.Ephesians 1:3
Hope in Christ
It was God’s purpose to redeem us through the blood of Jesus and to forgive our sins, and He purposed this heavenly blessing in accordance with the riches of His grace.
He brought us out of darkness into the glorious light of the great gospel of Christ, for we are God’s handiwork and are created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God in His grace has prepared for us to do in advance.
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us in the heavenlies … in Christ. Ephesians 1:3
He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion... and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:20,21; 2:6)
When the Lord Jesus gets the complete mastery as Head in our lives, then all independence of action, and life, and all self-will, self-direction, self-seeking, self-glory and self-vindication will go.
A Study:- Man’s Nature and Destiny
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.Philippians 3:21
Heavenly Places
We come to Jesus as saviour.
And what more glorious reminder of our future inheritance than the words of Paul, who writes: for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20,
Jesus Himself told us that: in the world, ye shall have tribulation, but He continues: but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. John 16:33
Christian Challenge
And Paul reminds us how we are to live each day of this life: brethren, he writes, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Phil.3:13, and THEN comes the challenge: therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind. Philippians 3:13ff
But now in Christ Jesus ye who once were far off are made near by the Blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13).
To know the Lord Jesus is to love Him; and to love Him is to insist on being with Him; to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).
Our growth is wrought out in our lives down here; but it is formed up there in fellowship with the Lord Jesus, where our affections and minds get into the condition to be manifested down here. -J.N.D.
Every blessing is now connected with the Lord Jesus at the right hand of the Father.
They do not know the Lord Jesus in glory.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19)
As we walk in the Spirit, worship in the Spirit, and pray in the Spirit, we shall come to know, not the Spirit, but the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus explicitly said, He (the Comforter) shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
It is to walk in communion with the Father, in dependence upon the Spirit, having the Lord Jesus as my one object.
Walking according to the Spirit is occupation with the Lord Jesus.
When the believer looks to the Lord Jesus, depends upon Him, draws all he needs from Him - if the Lord Jesus is his all, then the believer walks in the Spirit. -A.C.G.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2)
Christ Jesus
The man or woman that has been placed in Christ is indeed blessed beyond compare..
for hidden within Christ is a great treasure trove of all-wisdom and all-knowledge. Christ – the third person of the trinity was made man and became God incarnate. Christ was Son of Man Who was born – yet He was the Son of God Who was given. The fullness of deity dwells in Christ – and in Him is all wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:9 All that God is and all that God knows is present in the person of Christ Jesus.
Essence of God
The essence of all that is God is discovered in the fullness of the Lord Jesus. The essential attributes that are unique to the Father are exclusive to the Son.
With our finite minds, we are incapable of understanding the essence of the infinite God – nevertheless, all the wisdom and knowledge of God is hidden in Christ in its entirety. Man, a fallen creature was incapable of meeting and communing with a holy God, but God in His mercy and love revealed Himself, in Christ Jesus – in His fullness.
First
Since we received Christ Jesus the Lord we are to continue to depend on Him.
Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him.
Christ’s Heritage
Jesus came to His own heritage but His own people received Him not….' John 1:11 Jesus came to redeem His rightful inheritance, bequeathed to Him by the Father.
Christ in You
How – how could Jesus make such astonishing claims, and then go away into heaven?
John 17:17 And Jesus said:- 'Lo I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age.' And Jesus said:- 'I in them, and Thou in Me – that they may be made perfect in one.' John 17:23
From the very start, all Jesus did was in the power of the Holy Spirit.
From the very beginning, all Jesus did was in the light of the cross.
There is more in the Lord Jesus, in the Father, in the Spirit, in heaven to give us rest and peace and joy, than in the whole universe to disquiet, trouble, or grieve us. -G.V.W.
The darkness of this place will in time turn us to the light of His face - the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).
I pity no one now who has a room where he can find himself isolated from everyone, to be with the Lord Jesus where He is; where he can have his feathers oiled, to come out and face all the roughness here. -J.B.S.
If I am risen with the Lord Jesus, I must occupy myself with Him where He is, or I shall fall back to the things out of which He has risen; and the very fact that I am in the scene where He is not makes it the more necessary that I should be fellowshipping with Him where He is.
He must see himself according to God's own Holy Word, as crucified with the Lord Jesus, dead, buried, raised and made to sit in heavenly places with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
It is to know the Lord Jesus – Who will reveal the Father to us unsparingly…
This is Christ’s prayer for all that are His:- that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Precious Promise
Peter wrote: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness – through the knowledge of HIM that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these, ye might be partakers of the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:2-4.
We go all the way to Calvary in faith and there find ourselves identified with the Lord Jesus in His death and resurrection.
Where would souls be put if they were simply and definitely instructed in Christ Jesus and Him crucified and risen; connected by faith with the living One, who was crucified, and whose death terminated man in the flesh? -J.B.S.
Easter Reflections - STUDY
5th word from the cross
Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, saith, I thirst.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.John 19:28ff
A Simple Ministry
Here our Lord Jesus Christ cried out, I thirst.
come and drink from the living water? Was this offer of comfort a call to the heart to be comforted by the eternal Comforter? For whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones…. shall in no wise lose his reward. Who can forget that great cry on that last day – that great last day of the feast of Tabernacles – Jesus stood and cried, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. John 7:37.
If we are not living near the Lord Jesus and are not where we should be, we neither have an appetite for spiritual things, nor can we feed upon Him who is the living Bread.
Will of God
Throughout His life, Jesus has one purpose for living – to do the will of the Father.
We have brief glimpses to show that Jesus came into the world to do God’s will.
Luke writes to tell us that the young Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. Luke 2:52 Christ never deviated from His sole life’s mission – to carry out His Father’s will.
We read in the book of Hebrews, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book – Hebrews 10:7 Oh yes, from Genesis to Revelation we discover that it all points to Christ Jesus – the God-man Who emptied Himself to become like one of us - to show us how to live.
Jesus replied, Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am?
His sinless life and perfect example demonstrated that in Him we too can live godly.. not in our own strength, for in ourselves dwells no good thing. But in His strength and power and sufficiency we CAN live godly in Christ Jesus.
but so that He could become our LIFE in US – so that in HIM we too can live godly in Christ Jesus.
One Purpose
Throughout His life, Jesus had ONE purpose for living - to do the will of His Father.
The various trials and grievous pain are but for a little while, so that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to the praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7
ow seeks to smite them with Christ’s forgiveness and the love of Jesus..
Wrath of God
John knew these children were sinners, both in practice and by nature. He knew the blessings of forgiveness and grace of God were freely open to all, but he also knew the only sacrifice for sin rested on the spilt blood of the Lord Jesus. John knew He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities – for the wrath of God was poured out on Christ to pay that price for all sin.
John drank deeply of the love and forgiveness of His Jesus, and so we read: I write unto you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven you – for HIS name’s sake.
Jesus Himself told us that: in this world, ye shall have tribulation… but that was not the end of the sentence, for He continues, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
So let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. How do we access this perfect gift of perfect peace? God will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on JESUS: because he trusteth in Thee.
Difficult Choice
As we draw ever closer to the fast-approaching return of the Lord Jesus, our heart fluctuates between His glorious appearing in the clouds.. and concerned thoughts in our heart about our readiness to meet Him.
foreigners and ambassadors in a strange land, for our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We search here and there for relief, instead of searching out the Person of Jesus, for He alone knows the answers to all our investigations and questionings.
Binding Truth
The Lord’s return for His little flock is Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus, and the greatest joy will be to see Him as He is and to be made like unto Him – and these truths are as binding on the heart of God as the blood-drenched cross.
God in His mercy and wisdom gave His only begotten Son to be Son of God and Son of Man, with a threefold ‘name’:- Lord – Jesus – Christ.
Person and Purpose
Lord Jesus Christ: given to identify His person and to define His purpose.
Lord Jesus Christ, given to designate a believer’s relationship to Him.
Jesus: His given name: you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins (Saviour) and Christ the anointed Messiah of God: His occupational name and title that announces His vocation (Messiah).
The Lord Jesus Christ was manifest in the flesh for a threefold purpose.
“Jesus”
When we refer to Him as ‘Jesus’ we recognise His humble earthly position.
We thrill that He shall be called ‘Jesus’, the name given by heavenly instruction: He shall be called ‘Jesus‘, a name so wonderfully expressive of His humanity.
I believe that reflecting upon the Lord Jesus Christ is the most beneficial medicine known to man – just reflecting on our Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is the knowledge of the Lord Jesus that matures the soul.
Our Father chooses His opportunities to teach us these things, and when He has accomplished this work the special communications of His wisdom and love no longer continue, for He desires we should walk by faith, according to what we know we possess in the Lord Jesus.
Source of Supply
We should fly to the Word of God to seek out and discover the goodness of God. We should look only to Jesus for He is the One, and only source of all supply – but all too often we try to dig our own cisterns of water – to satisfy our own thirst.
Important Focus
We are told to lay aside every weight and every distraction and fix our eyes on Jesus. We are reminded to set aside the sin of disbelief that so easily torments and frustrates us. We’re encouraged to run with patience the race set before us and keep Him in focus. We are clearly told to look away from the urgencies of life to the important One.
We are to look unto Jesus - but Why?
Bread from Heaven
We are told to run the race and we are told to aim for the goal – the finishing post. Jesus Himself gave us the directions we are to follow within the written Word..
Jesus said to them: “I am the Bread of life: he that comes to Me shall never hunger; and he that believes on Me shall never thirst” John 6:35 But He also warned us against adopting the ways and traditions and doctrine of men..
Watch and Endure
Jesus is coming to take us to be with Himself soon, but we know not the day or hour.
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has began a good work in you will complete it, until the day of Jesus Christ.Philippians 1:6
Gracious Father
Just as the vessels of the Temple were set apart and sprinkled with blood, so we are set apart and sprinkled with the blood of Christ Jesus.
until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.
The former enables the patient tenacity of trusting faith in Christ Jesus.
The latter excites the diligent works of a growing love for Jesus Christ, and they intertwine as His banner of love, over those that trust in His name.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!
God’s Building-Blocks
God’s building-blocks of grace and glory are erected in the amazing book of Ephesians. We move from one marvellous level of grace and glory to the next glorious peak. We are permitted to fine-tune the incredible truth of who we are in Christ. And it is all by God’s grace, through faith in Christ Jesus.
Now you know you have a living bond with the Lord Jesus, you are linked with Him in spirit, and a new interest altogether is awakened in your heart; it is with Him you are occupied. -J.B.S.
The Lord Jesus by His death has undertaken to remove all my unsuitability.
Hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6).
Remember: the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin 1 John 1:7 – past, present, and future, but confessing our sin restores us into fellowship with the Father.
Cleansing Blood
But how does the blood of Jesus cleanse all sin?
You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ.1 Peter 2:5
Stunning Truth
When we first trusted Christ as Saviour we became a part of the household of God. When we initially believed in Jesus, the Spirit took up abiding residence inside us, and we became part of the family of God – and we became His permanent habitation.
Day by day, God is constructing His temple of living stones, into a holy habitation: you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5
Love was the reason that the Lord Jesus followed the path of obedience.
Training Programme
From start to finish the Lord Jesus lived in submission to the will of the Father.
Like Christ, we too can learn obedience when love becomes our motivating factor - as we learn to diligently do His will out of love for our Saviour – as in love for the Lord Jesus we submit to His leading in willing obedience.
So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were travelling with the Lord Jesus, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us.Acts 1:21-22
Christ’s Silent Years
Many long years had passed from the day that the young Jesus was lost in the temple. Many silent years rolled by from that memorable day when Jesus returned home to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph, his parents, and lived in humble obedience to them.
But as Jesus grew into manhood, in that little town of Nazareth, there was another youth that was maturing into the office to which he had been born – John the Baptist.
Elizabeth and Mary
We know that John the Baptist and Jesus were relatives for we read that their mothers were cousins – one was from the house of Judah and one of the lineage of Levi. John was of the priestly line while Jesus of Nazareth was of the house of king David. Both were called of God and filled with the Spirit.
Both John and Jesus had godly mothers that taught their sons the things of God.
Isaiah 40:3 John was preparing the highway for God’s King – Jesus.
Where was Jesus?
But what of the Lord Jesus..
as John the Baptist was calling the nation to repentance? Where was Jesus when the Baptiser stormed onto Israel’s tranquil wilderness scene? What was Christ doing when John began proclaiming his challenging message? Where was Jesus when John crashed onto the scene dressed in coarse camel hair – and with a leather belt tied round his waist – eating locusts and wild honey?
John’s Baptism
Well, it seems that Acts chapter 1 gives us a clue as to the whereabouts of the Messiah. It seems that a hint is offered when a replacement for Judas is being considered. We read in Acts chapter 1: We must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were travelling with the Lord Jesus – beginning from John’s baptism.
Humble Submission
It seems that for a little time at least; the Lord was among the followers of John! He had humbled Himself for many silent years under the authority of His parents, and He seems to have spent some time learning from the ministry of the Baptist. What a wonderful example we have in the silent years of our developing Saviour. Though little is written of His life and learning there are many little clues that demonstrate that the Lord Jesus lived His entire childhood and early adult life in humble submission to those that were in authority – as He waited for God’s timing when He would continue His long, painful..
Each a precious portrait of the Lord – an old testament type or character, of the Lord Jesus.
Full Testament
All tiny glimpses of the completed type of the lovely Lord Jesus, Himself.
He must truly become our Master as well as our Saviour. We are thus called to commit ourselves, spirit, soul, and body to God. We are to commit ourselves to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely.. and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Full Identification
Because we are in Christ, we are committed to God as was the Lord Jesus.
Be Ready
My “right hand” may be the thing that makes me delightful to other people.. and yet Jesus said, “If your right hand causes you to stumble in your walk with me then cut it off!” The maimed stage is only for a season – but remember- we are in the season of the Lord’s return.
And remember that Jesus is coming at a time you think not, 'Therefore be ye also ready..
Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know Me?” Jesus asked him.
God Incarnate
In thought and word, action and attitude, Jesus Christ was the manifestation of God.
Jesus Christ was God incarnate.
The Incarnation
The mystery of the incarnation will never be fully understood by the mind of men. The incarnation is a fleeting glimpse at a shadow of the mystery of Almighty God. Yet the miracle of the incarnation is believed by all who trust Jesus as Saviour. The incarnation is the greatest revelation of the way to reach the Person of God.
Wrong Perception
For over three years the disciples had walked by the way, and talked to the Lord Jesus.
Christ’s Sojourn
They missed the miracle of the mystery of Who Jesus of Nazareth truly was.
Once we learn the truth of our union with the Lord Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit's indwelling, any attempt to imitate Christ will be seen for what it is: unscriptural, and futile.
Our Father is going to teach us, mainly through personal failure, that the life we live is the life of our Lord Jesus alone.
The Church's real ministry is not multitudinous public services, so-called, but the forming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the lives of His people; the reproduction of Christ; epistles made alive by the Holy Spirit, to be seen and read of all men. -C.A.F.
There is no answer to infidelity like the life of the Lord Jesus displayed through the Christian.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies … IN CHRIST.Ephesians 1:3
Permanent Relationship
When we first believed in Jesus we were placed in a permanent relationship with Him. The old former life in Adam was forever replaced with our new, eternal life in Christ. We who were dead in trespasses and sins were made fully alive and given His life.
Body of Christ
The Holy Spirit baptises us into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Destiny of Christ
We share in the DESTINY of Christ He raised us up together, and seated us together in the heavenlies – in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:6
Heirship with Christ
We share in a joint-HEIRSHIP with Christ, reserved in the heavenlies that’ll never fade God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading - kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:4-5 And the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ - provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:17
Hebrews 5:8-10 We are all living stones, being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 We have been made a kingdom of priests to the glory and power of God His Father, forever and ever!
It is the little group of words: ‘in Christ’ : ‘in Him’ : ‘in Christ Jesus’. And it is also found in the phrases: ‘in Whom’, ‘by Whom’ and ‘of Whom’.
This little, almost insignificant term cradles in its arms a most powerful meaning. 'In Christ' indicates a close, intimate, living union with our resurrected Saviour – Jesus. 'In Christ' is a positional truth that is found in Scripture, and applies to all Christians.
It was Jesus Who told his disciples of the forthcoming union with Himself.
In Christ
As believers, we are going to spend eternity with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Thus it will be a sharing of life, through which others will be born and will grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.2 Corinthians 13:14
down and initiating reconciliation of man to Himself. (Jn. 1:14; 2 Cor. 8:9)A..It is God’s Abundantly giving us more than we could ever expect or deserve. (Jn. 1:16; Rom. 5:17; 2 Cor.9:8; Eph. 2:7; 1 Tim. 1:14)C..It is about God Caring enough to send Jesus to die in our place. (Eph. 1:7; 2 Thess.2:16)E..It is about being Eternally unendingly, unconditionally accepted in Christ. (Eph.1:6; 2 Tim.1:9; Titus 3:7)
Strombeck’s Definition
Grace was once defined by Strombeck as: “the unmerited abounding provision of the unrestrained operation of God’s infinite love through Christ Jesus on behalf of man – especially he who depends on Him.”
This outpouring of God’s infinite love is possible only because Jesus Christ, by His death, fully satisfied the demands of God’s justice.
As grace came by Jesus Christ – only those who receive Him as Saviour are ‘under grace’.
Earthly Responsibility
We have a heavenly future but currently, we have an earthly responsibility to be one – to live in unity one with one another – to reflect the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are not expected to copy what Jesus did or try to be like Him in our own strength.
We have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation:- in the knowledge of Him That the God of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of Him. Ephesians 1:17
Gifts of God’s
Our salvation comes to us as a gift of God’s grace, and it is all due to the Lord Jesus.
But godly living and righteous acts are similarly gifts of God – through Christ Jesus – for it is God Who works in us both to WILL and to DO – to His good purpose.
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever.
He set about a lifelong process of conforming us into the image of the Lord Jesus.
Name of Jesus
This is a lesson that so many Christians simply fail to understand or to apply, and the result is a life that is lived in defeat instead of a victorious life in Christ.
Just remember, whatever you do, whether by speech or action, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
But our heritage and destiny in the Lord Jesus Christ is to be conformed to His image - not at the loss of our individual personality, but by the gain of His nature and character.
Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6).
Second Advent
Jesus told us that on that day, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come – for Israel will repent.
Then Israel will look on Jesus, Whom they have pierced – and mourn bitterly.
But Jesus their Messiah-King will set up His kingdom..
That one thought centers in His Son, Jesus Christ, and therefore the very essence of revelation, and the very heart of spiritual enlightenment is that you see Christ in all those thoughts and ways of God as they are expressed in His Word and in His activities.
It is no longer a day of the week it is a divine Person. (If the Seventh Day Adventists saw that, the whole of their system would go in five minutes!) No, Jesus is God's Sabbath.
Oh yes, Jesus is the Sabbath, and if we live in Him we shall not spoil the Sabbath.
Oh, this is a mighty thing that the Lord Jesus has done!
O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken Luke 24:25 Jesus said 'you have no power at all against Jesus, except it were given you from above' John 19:11
There is only one Man that can claim I AM God – and that is Christ Jesus His Son.
Beloved of God
Every child of God is in Christ and every believer has been accepted because of Him. We are in Christ and we are accepted by God and we are loved because of Jesus.
Perceptions of Jesus
Many can talk about Christ in eloquent sermons and beautiful, expressive speeches.
Many see His life as a model to emulate, and His works as an ideal to imitate. Many regard the belief system that has built up around Jesus as one worth following. Many see His epistemology as truth worth seeking out – knowledge worth acquiring.
Person of Jesus
But Jesus is not a religion or a belief system.
Jesus is not a problem solver.
Jesus is not an ideology or someone to try to emulate in the flesh.
Jesus is not epistemology, nor any other philosophy - nor is he a morality to apply.
Jesus is God - God, MY Saviour.
And Jesus is Man - My Lord and My God.
And Jesus is personal.
Description of Jesus
All our knowledge ABOUT Jesus is of minor effect if we do not know Him personally.
All our study about the Lord is of little significance if we cannot describe Him as... my Jesus, my Saviour, my God, my King.
Knowledge of Jesus
Can you describe Him in these glorious and intimate terms?
Worship of Jesus
All He wants from you is permission from a humbled, seeking heart..
Philippians 2:3 He who says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same manner as He walked. 1 John 2:6 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith..
Example of Christ
YES, Jesus….
Jesus healed… all who were oppressed by the devil. Why?… for God was with Him.
– for He did only those things He saw the Father doing. He spoke to the world only ‘those things which I have heard of Him’. Jesus is our worthy example. Leaving an example that we should follow in His steps.
Humility of Christ
He asked not that they served Him, but that He served them. So He washed His disciples' feet, demonstrating that the Servant of all is the Chief of all. Jesus went about doing good – that’s all – just doing good.
HOW? Well, Jesus said – without Me, you can do nothing. But Praise the Lord..
Pre-Eminent
The Lord Jesus is pre-eminent in all things.
The glory of the Lord Jesus surpasses men’s imagination, and holy is His Name.
Fully Man
As fully Man – He was born as Jesus of Nazareth - the carpenter’s ‘Son. He started life as a Seed in the virgin’s womb – begotten of the Father and born. As the God-Man, He is the unique Person of the Trinity – the Christ of God.He is appointed Heir of all things – Judge of all men – Pre-eminent among people.
The glory of the Lord Jesus surpasses men’s imagination, and holy is His Name.
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
An Example
Paul who throughout his life spread the gospel in every part of the known world, reached toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. He wrote…. I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind I reach forward to those things which are ahead.
He said, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Our Intercessor
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us, therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and HIGH PRIEST of our confession, Christ Jesus… Who ever liveth to make intercession for us.
How to Pray
And Jesus Himself has already told us that: I pray for them.
Divine Wisdom
Did you get that??? In Jesus are all the treasures of divine wisdom..
K.R.R.Y
K – Know your old man is crucified with Him –R – Reckon yourself dead unto sin –R – Reckon yourself alive unto God – through Jesus Christ our LordY – Yield yourself to God.Romans 6:3-14
the reality of the redeeming death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Biblical Instructions
And in Romans 6:3-14 we read KNOW ye not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into his death?
For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. So RECKON ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, and also RECKON yourselves alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Moment by moment I’m kept in His loveMoment by moment I’ve life from aboveLooking to Jesus, ’til glory doth shineMoment by moment O Lord I am Thine
Are we truly looking to Jesus moment by moment and kept in His love?
Where is Jesus
Let us reflect on yesterday’s busyness.
Where is Jesus in all our engagements – and in the midst our mundane activities?
Is it Jesus we desire – or do we just enjoy the emotional thrill that sweeps over us?
Is it Jesus Who influences our thoughts, every waking moment?
Moment by moment I’m kept in His love;Moment by moment I’ve life from above;Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.
Dying with Jesus, by death reckoned mine;Living with Jesus, a new life divine;Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine,Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.
Never a weakness that He doth not feel,Never a sickness that He cannot heal;Moment by moment, in woe or in weal,Jesus my Saviour, abides with me still.
Moment by moment I’m kept in His love;Moment by moment I’ve life from above;Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.
With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.Gal.4:4
Born of God
The Lord Jesus came from glory and He returned to glory. He left His throne of glory to come to be with us – (to be with man). He laid aside His glory so that He would be like us – (to be like man). He was born of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
to all who believe on Jesus.
God Made Man
Why – why do we have to believe on Jesus? Why believe on Him? Why not just believe on God the Father? Surely that’s enough? Is not the Father’s love great enough and sufficient to save us from our sins? No!
Strangers and Pilgrims
Dearly beloved, writes Peter: I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, for you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods, while Jesus Himself implores us: abide in Me.
It is not so much the existence of God – but what think ye of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Inflexible Religiosity
In John Chapter 8 we read that as Jesus was talking many Jews believed in Him.
And addressing those Jews who believed on Him, Jesus said to them:- if ye abide in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
All of Nothing
With Christ it must be all or nothing – there can be no middle ground. Either Christ is absolute truth or you buy into the pagan, relative mindset. Either Christ will set you free – or you are entrapped and in bondage. When you analyse all the arguments, you must conclude that there is one issue – what think ye of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Absolute Truth
Jesus says to all: if ye abide in my Word, then are ye My disciples indeed, and ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.
And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent (John 17:3).
The heartbreaking knowledge of self brings a life-giving compensation, which is knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The needs generated by the realization of the sin of self produce the necessary motivation and hunger which cause us to focus upon the Lord Jesus and become conformed to His image.
Many a new believer has obtained relief in his conscience from his sins, because of faith in the Blood of Jesus Christ; that is, he does not see further than Romans 3.
It is one thing to believe on the Lord Jesus, to be born again, to be saved.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2).
Satan, sin, self, the world, and the law-all have been fully dealt with by the Lord Jesus on the Cross.
“It is not by renunciation, or effort, that we are morally apart from sin and self and the world, but by our death on the Cross with the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Believers today seek the blessing and power of Pentecost apart from a personal crucifixion with Christ, and the result is a counterfeit experience.
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14).
Christ’s Deity
There have been many sects and cults that deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not a new issue but one that goes back to the early church fathers and apostles.
Cults and Sects
“Spiritists” consider that Jesus, being more ‘divine’ than other men is absurd, while “Jehovah-Witnesses” declare Him as a lesser god – a son of God, but not equal with God.
“Unitarians” do not embrace the biblical Trinity, while “Christian Science” exponents state that Jesus was not Deity and equal with God, but a lesser created being – a son of God.
Many Christian sects and antichrist cults, declare that there is no scriptural evidence of Christ’s claim to Deity, but unless the Lord Jesus was God, there is no Christian faith.
Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” Isaiah 40:3 And John the greatest prophet born of woman, pointed to Jesus as he quoted Isaiah: “Prepare the way for the coming of the LORD!
Psalm 68:18 And quoting this passage in holy writ, Paul, the apostle to gentiles declared of Jesus: When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.
Source of Truth
There have been many sects and cults that deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us in our hearts revere, Christ Jesus, as Lord and God, and always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Woman in Labour
Isaiah, Jeremiah and others described their own life-testimony as a woman in labour, and Jesus likened the end-time tribulation to a period of intense and painful labour: – a woman, in labour, has sorrow because her hour has come.
the pain of that time will birth the millennial reign of Jesus – the Jewish Messiah. And their time of mourning will turn in to great joy and so all Israel shall be saved: for as soon as she has given birth, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
Time of Tribulation
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus, and Paul never experienced physical childbirth.. but painted a beautiful picture in the spiritual realm from its physical counterpart.
the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
There is an entirely baseless sentiment abroad which assumes that every teaching of the Lord Jesus must be binding upon the believer during this age simply because He said it.
The blessed position of a Christian is, that he has died even to the best things of the world, religious and otherwise, and he is alive to the highest things in the presence of the Father; for the Lord Jesus Christ is his life, in whom he is hidden (Col. 3:3). -W.K.
We realize our privileges and possessions in the Lord Jesus by faith; we enjoy them by the Spirit.
Bread of Life
Jesus claimed to be the Bread of Life, and all who eat of Him will live... but this truth was a difficult statement for many of His followers to accept and from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked with Him no more. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
In our fuller illumination by the Spirit of Truth, we understand the words of Christ, but to His disciples, this teaching of Jesus was shocking, disgusting, horrifying..
Word of God
Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but what exactly does this mean?
Well, it means that Jesus Himself is the Way and the Truth and the Life!
This is never done by chasing after a man or a ministry – for there is bias in all. But just like the Bereans, we should search the Scriptures to discover what they really say, Jesus said I am the TRUTH.
Two Instructions
Jesus said during His earthly walk, take My yoke upon you and learn of Me.” Paul later challenged us when he was sharing about the risen Lord to “learn Christ”.The indwelling Spirit of Christ is to be our life in everything that we do. There is an enormous change and challenge between these two instructions.
Earthly Life
During His earthly walk, the disciples were encouraged to learn about Jesus. They were to watch His walk; to witness His character; to observe His attitude. They were to obey in His commands, abide by His teachings and they were to hear Him. During Christ’s earthly walk, His followers were challenged to learn about Jesus.
Before they could 'learn' Christ they first needed to learn about the Lord Jesus.
Identify with Christ
During His earthly walk, Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew, take my yoke upon you and learn of Me.” Mattew 11:29.
To learn Christ is a life that delights to say to the Father, Thy will be done. To learn Christ, is a life that is continually, and evermore occupied with Jesus.
Theological teaching since the Reformation has not set forth clearly our utter end in death with the Lord Jesus on the Cross.
The fatal result of this error is to leave the law claimant over those in the Lord Jesus, for the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth' (Rom. 7:1).
All these require, not self-occupation, but occupation with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God (Phil. 1:11).
It goes without saying that Christianity is a vertical relationship with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If the need of man were the sole measure of His grace, then man only would be thought of, the work of the Lord Jesus would be simply for man, and the power of God expended merely in rescuing man and securing his relief.
When I have rest in the Lord Jesus, then I begin to find all my joy and strength in Him, and I occupy myself with Him.
Unto him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end.
Not faith in the power of faith – but faith in Jesus, the Son of Man.
Not faith in the power of prophecy – but faith in Jesus, the Son of Man.
Not faith in the power of positive thinking – but faith in Jesus, the Son of Man – not faith in the power of your Christian walk – but faith in Jesus, the Son of Man.
Trinity of Demands
“Therefore,” ….we are exhorted: therefore let us lay aside every weight, and let us lay aside the sin (of unbelief as demonstrated in earlier chapters) let us lay aside this sin which so easily ensnares us – lack of trust in God and let us run with patient endurance the race that is set before us…” But this trinity of demands has its focus on a person – the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man Let us look to JESUS….
We are to look to the Lord Jesus – and to look away from the world.
The act of looking towards Jesus incorporates turning our back against all else.
Lay Aside Unbelief
When we look to Jesus, we have no option but to lay aside all that hinders our walk. When our faith is the Lord we have to remove our trust in ourselves and in the world. When we trust the Lord, we look away from the circumstances of life and rely on Him, alone.
Sanctifying faith is living our life by faith in Jesus.
Only weeks before Calvary the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive out the demon in the boy ?” and Jesus replied:- …because you have so little faith…”
Maturing Faith
The leper had faith, that pleased the Lord. The woman had faith, that pleased Jesus. The centurion had faith, that pleased the Lord Jesus, but only later did the disciples saving faith mature into sanctifying faith.
By Faith
Let us have faith like Joshua and Caleb, who by faith received their reward. Let us have faith like the leper, the centurion, and the woman – saving faith in Jesus – and sanctifying faith through Jesus, as we look to Him.
Hebrews 4:16 And Jesus reminded us that men ought always to keep on praying and not to lose heart in the process – for God is willing and able to answer all our cries for help and our impossible pleas.
Man of Prayer
Paul was a great example of a man that prayed to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He prayed that they would be kept safe from savage wolves who would seek to scatter the flock of God, and he prayed that: He who began a good work in them would continue – until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
Spiritual Example
There is no better example of a spiritual Man of prayer than our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Time and again we discover Jesus rising early in the morning and finding Him in a solitary place as He drew close to His heavenly Father.
Spiritual Choice
We are the children of God and we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus, and one of the most precious gifts that we have received is the privilege of prayer.
Paul is telling the Galatians that they should be growing in the grace of Jesus Christ, but despite their position in Christ and union with Him – they reverted to infancy!
On the death side, we are to receive deliverance from sin's power through the Spirit from the Cross; on the life side, we are to receive growth through the Spirit from the Lord Jesus.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2). -G.G.
That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh (2 Cor. 4:11, ASV.).
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
By the body of Christ on the Cross believers were made dead to the law (Rom. 7:4), in order righteously to be joined to Another, even the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Hence there is only this left for us - to die to the law, and be joined to the risen Lord Jesus in a resurrection life absolutely beyond the sphere of the law. -W.R.N.
The law is for the man who departed from God - that man has been removed from God's sight in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I rejoice that now by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' I am free from the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2).
This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent.John 17:3
hast thou not known me, Philip? Yes, Jesus had to tell him that he did not really know Him at all.
Gentle Reproof
Jesus loved Philip with a godly love that is impossible to understand. Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another as I have loved you..
Know or KNOW
Philip 'knew' the man, Jesus of Nazareth.
Oh yes, Philip knew a lot about the Lord Jesus – but as yet he did not 'know' Him.
He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6).
It is akin to a seed: the life of the Lord Jesus within must grow; and it would be against the laws of nature and grace alike if we expected from the babe in Christ the strength that can only be found in the young man, or the rich experience and stability of the fathers.
The process of conformity to the Lord Jesus' image is going on day by day in the growing believer's life.
As the maturing one gets a larger vision of his perfect Pattern through the daily study of God's Word, he takes higher ground along the line of that blessed revelation, so that his life is a progressive growing up into the Lord Jesus in all things. -R.P.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).
First, the believer understands that he has a right to be free in the Lord Jesus because of the finished work of the Cross; then he sees that same work of the Cross as his means to be free.
When we truly hate ourselves, we are prepared to rejoice in the blessed fact that we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus - that sin in the flesh was condemned (not forgiven) when He died unto sin, that our whole history as in the flesh closed before the Father in His Son's death - and that this is our title to be free.
I have now a righteous title to have done with myself because I have died unto sin in the Lord Jesus' death.
To prepare me for this I learn the necessity for death in my own experience, but the death of the Lord Jesus is my title to be free.
The Lord Jesus will make it His business to keep us alive and fruitful, if we will make it our business to rely upon Him.
On the Cross, by the Spirit, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
If ministers and teachers of God's Word would set saints free and establish them in the Gospel, let their preaching and teaching be based upon the sixth and seventh of Romans, the central theme of which is our union with the Lord Jesus in death and burial; and our resurrection and ascension with Him into newness of life; where not the law, but grace, reigneth; where not the letter but the Spirit, moveth the heart and life of the believer.
deadness that shuts out so much that is fair and sweet and good and gentle – but Jesus came to give God’s light and He came to guide us into God’s peace.
Then may we set our affection on the things above where the Lord Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father; and though the secret power is unseen, faith in Him will lift our spirit into the clear light where He is. -H.F.W.
We stand there in all the sweet savor and perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is not a question of correcting this or that, but of heavenly things in the Lord Jesus separating our hearts from things on earth.
When we look from heaven, and work from heaven downwards, earthly things soon dwindle, and the praise of their disappearance returns not to ourselves in any way, but to the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus is at the Father's right hand, and He is there as our Life.
The believer is placed before the Father according to the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ, and is, according to the Father's eye and heart, as His Beloved - nothing less. -J.B.S.
Life’s Paradox
The Christian walk is one huge paradox: Success comes through failure. Life springs out of death. Hope arises out of despair. Joy is born out of pain: For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” 2Cor.4:11
Profound Words
Paul sums it up in these profound words: Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own.
But one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
a sweet smelling savor. (a burnt offering) The Lord Jesus Christ offered up His life – as a 'sacrifice of praise' to the Father. He lived His life as a Burnt Offering. A burnt offering is just another word for a voluntary, non-compulsory sacrifice.
It is essential that we grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for three reasons: (1) that our Father may be glorified; (2) that the Lord Jesus might be manifested in us; (3) that the Holy Spirit might have a suitable instrument through which to win and establish others.
Paul had one great consuming purpose to be brought to birth by his sufferings for the Galatians, and that was the living expression of the Lord Jesus Christ in them.
Numbers were still good in Galatia, activities well maintained and zeal unabated, but the Lord Jesus was being crowded out - and that is the greatest tragedy possible. -H.F.
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (2 Tim. 1:9).
Die Daily
As we learn to die daily to all that is of self we begin to bear in our body His death in us. As we sacrificially yield all we are to the cross, Christ’s life starts to be formed in us, and in the measure that the Lord Jesus starts to increase, so the old 'me' must decrease.
I cannot conceive anything more satisfying or cheering to the heart than the consciousness that I may not only draw near, but that I draw near in answer to the thought and interest that the Lord Jesus has about me, and that I draw nigh to enjoy myself in His presence where there is so much thought and interest about me.
By means of the Word, look to the Lord Jesus in faith.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).
Those who open their hearts to the Lord Jesus let in heaven’s love and divine joy.
The Only One
The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the only Way to God.
Hidden Peace
One of the saddest verses that I find in the Bible is in Luke chapter 19, where Jesus says, if only you had known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:42.
that made me want to “recognise” the season when I would meet my Jesus.
Looking to Jesus
Today, the same sad truth is evident throughout Christendom.
Many are yearning for the rapture instead of looking to Jesus.
As A Little Child
More and more I see how important the words of Jesus are..
Jesus is Alive
My little granddaughter knows not to be afraid because Jesus is alive. She has learned from the cradle that Jesus is coming one day in the clouds for her. At two and a half, she had learned to trust in a way that I would wish to trust.
Come, Lord Jesus
There are many saints at the other end of the age spectrum with faith as a child.
And give you His peace this night... and every day and night, and every night and day until Jesus comes.
Looking to JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our faith…”
Hebrews 12: 2
Safe Journey
Any mariner knows that a fraction of a degree off-course and he misses his port. He may be 99% correct but that 1° is crucial to his safe arrival at his destination. If he sets his course towards a movable marker his journey will end in disaster. If he anchors his vessel to drifting wood, he will meander across a sea of confusion. If this is physical reality – how much more must this be true in the spiritual realm?
It is a book that councils the Christian to maintain their trust in God and look to Jesus – and it gives four interrelated and progressive steps towards spiritual maturity.
FOURTH:- We are to travel towards the goal of our calling, steadily looking to Jesus.
We are single-mindedly to keep the eyes of our heart firmly fixed on the Lord Jesus – and we can only do this as we trust His Word, in every aspect of our lives.
A Study:- Man’s Nature and Destiny
Image and Likeness
The triune God created man in His own image with body, soul, and a spirit, and in His grace God gave fallen man a threefold life-experience with his Creator:- salvation, sanctification, and service, and it is all through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fallen man comes to Jesus for salvation: for He shall save His people from their sins, Matt.1:21. As we abide in Him and He in us we are sanctified by His Spirit, for we are being conformed into His likeness.
And so the seed of the woman passed from Adam to David, through Nathan to Mary the mother of Jesus.
The kingly line of Christ passed from Abraham to David, to Solomon to Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was commanded to call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.
Name Above All
What a glorious Name is this Name that is above every name: that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.
Never can we fathom the depth of the privilege bestowed on believers: but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 2Cor.4:7 The glory of Jesus Christ, Who walked the earth, is now hidden in the Church, which is His Body, and the epistles tell us again and again that we have a choice.
True contentment in all of life’s trials only comes from Jesus and not from self.
God in the person of Jesus came to be like us so that we could one day be like Him.
JESUS → your salvation, Who came to save you from your sins.
God is faithful, by Whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.1 Corinthians 1:9
Consider Jesus
When we are tempted to base our love and faith on temporal things:- on passing events or fluctuating feelings – on human schemes or hopeful speculations… just consider looking away from the temporal to the eternal. Consider looking away from the earthly to the heavenly. Consider looking away from the terrestrial to the celestial. Consider the immutability of God’s promises and prophecy.
Word of Truth
In John chapter 15 the Lord Jesus tells us to: abide in Me, and I in you. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Divine Sustainer
Just gaze on, Jesus the true Vine and divine Sustainer, Who pleads:-abide in Me, Rejoice in the Father, the heavenly Husbandman – the surety of our growth and fruiting, Who removes those unfruitful areas in each precious life… to bring forth fruit, more fruit, much fruit.
Just gaze on Jesus and rejoice in the Father, Who challenges every jot and tittle of the life of the believer – until He produces.
Abiding in Christ
A life of entire consecration, to the glory of His name. A lesson of perfect conformity, to the nature and character of the lovely Lord Jesus.
Love One Another
This is My commandment… that you love one another – as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for a friend. These things I command you, that you love one another. Jesus said, THIS is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you… by this shall all men know that you are My disciples.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus (I Pet. 5:10).
But if you do not feel the divine drawing and hunger for God, cry to Him that He will give it you; and ever remember that the desire for hunger is the beginning of hunger, and that you cannot feed upon the Lord Jesus Christ until you are spiritually hungry. -H.
Error, false teaching, and heresy have always been a major means by which the Devil has sought to destroy the testimony of Jesus, but when he brought in the weapon of what is known as Modernism, or Higher Criticism, he used a double-barreled gun.
Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.
No ministry of the servant of Jesus Christ can be a triumphant ministry unless there is a deep, strong, abiding love.... Love is going to solve our problems and to bring us into victory; but apart from a sufficient love, the problems of human make-up, the many differences of disposition and character and all that goes to make up a company, and the continuous drain and strain, with all the pressure that comes from the enemy, will present a problem, a perplexity and a paralyzing task....
If our affections are true to the glorified Lord Jesus, they will make this world a wilderness to us but if our affections do not make it a wilderness His government will.
One of the great secrets of growth is the looking upon the Lord Jesus as gracious.
But, dear friend, this is not the question: the real question is, whether God is what we shall like Him to be, whether the Lord Jesus is all we could wish.
make you perfect [complete, mature] in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:20, 21).
Thanks and Praise
Yet mixed with diligence and obedience, thanks and praise is a highly potent weapon.. as exemplified in the lives of many saints of God – and even proved in my own!! – as evidenced in a number of passages in the pages of Scripture and beautifully demonstrated in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself.
Thankful Intercession
Jesus Himself is the best example of simple trust, deep love, and unfailing obedience.
Trusting Obedience
Today, as for the Lord Jesus, we live the life of sorrow and suffering.
Attributes of Deity
All aspects and attributes of deity reside within Jesus, and has always been a fact.
All the fullness of the absolute, infinite, and essential Godhead dwells in Jesus. Nothing present in the essence of God is absent from the essence of the Lord Jesus. All that God is – is in Jesus Christ and everything in God dwells within His body.
Identified With Christ
Everyone who hears the gospel and believes in Jesus is placed in Him immediately. Anyone who trusts God, to take care of all our sin, is immediately placed in Christ – dead to self and alive to Christ – identified with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Union with Christ
He is taken out of the kingdom of darkness and placed into Christ’s kingdom of light. He is removed from His place of death and baptised into the body of the Lord Jesus. He is removed from being in Satan and is placed in permanent union with Christ.
By Grace Thru Faith
By grace, God has given us a share in all the essential essence of Jesus Christ.
Point of Need
The Lord Jesus had a wonderful way of meeting with people at their point of need. He offered living water to the Samaritan woman at the well and promised that He would become in her a fountain of living water springing up unto everlasting life. To the hungry crowd He was the Bread of Life.
Series of Questions
But to Nicodemus He was an honoured Rabbi, a teacher from God, for he recognised that no one could perform the miracles that Jesus did unless God were with Him.
But under cover of darkness this respected teacher of Israel came to learn from Jesus. Yet the truths that he was to hear, dumfounded him – provoking a series of questions.
Startling Picture
But as with the woman; the hungry; the hurting and lost – Jesus met his specific need. He used the book of Moses and the wilderness wanderings as a startling picture. As Moses raised the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up – so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish – but will have eternal life.
Guilty Sinner
He could not have understood there and then, that the full weight of all humanity’s sin was to be poured out over Jesus.
Death Penalty
Christ patiently started to open the eyes of this blind leader of the blind, who himself must come to terms with the truth that the penalty of the Law for ALL – is death. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness – Jesus too must be nailed to the tree so that all who look to Him in faith, will be saved.
But those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of Jesus.
Life Eternal
We will never know when Nicodemus finally came to an understanding of what Christ was teaching him, when he came to Jesus by night.
Delayed Expectation
How lost, forgotten and misunderstood is the truth of His soon and mysterious return. How insignificant, misrepresented, twisted and ignored is the return of our sweet Lord Jesus. How sad that His return for His precious chase virgin has become so meaningless. How blinded are the eyes of believers who focus on the unreality of today..
Promised Seed
Oh, Jesus came at His appointed time through the womb of a virgin – the first time.
And Jesus will come at His appointed time in the clouds for His bride – the second time.
Heb.10:39 'Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ', Titus 3:13 Jesus questioned: 'when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?' Luke 18:8.
Jesus also said: 'But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail and when you have returned to Me..
Growing In Grace - STUDY
Spiritual Communion
The Apostle John delights to remind us that as children of God, who have entered into eternal union with Christ Jesus, we also have the right to enjoy intimate fellowship with the Father on a daily basis.
Verse 7
But John continues that we as believers can walk in the light, and in verse 7 we are given three steps:- First, if we walk in the light, as He is in the light. Second, we have fellowship one with another, and Third, the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Let us seek to walk in the light and He is in the light so that we too may enjoy fellowship one with another enjoy sweet fellowship with our heavenly Father, for indeed... our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Beloved, the Cross was intended only to make the Lord Jesus all, and in all, for us; and is it not true that, because of the way that the Lord has dealt with us, the way in which He has applied the Cross, planting us into that death and burial, we know Him in a way in which we never knew Him before?
The increase of the Lord Jesus in and to us is by the way of the Cross.
It is a painful process, but it is a blessed issue; and those amongst us who may have had the greatest agony along this line would, I believe, testify that what it has brought to us of the knowledge and riches of the Lord Jesus has made all the suffering worthwhile.
So the work of the Lord for us and the work of the Lord in us, by the Cross, is only intended in the Divine thought to make room for the Lord Jesus.
This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom thou hast sent.John 17:3
This Disciple
Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me? This disciple had been with the Lord Jesus for three years. He had seen His beautiful life..
Knowing Jesus
Surely after such a length of time this disciple should have known His Lord?
How this must have saddened the heart of the Saviour to say to him: “hast thou not known Me?” Yet Jesus had to tell him that he did not really know Him at all.
What a caution of us to take note of our spiritual journey with Jesus.
Impossible Command
Jesus loved Philip with a godly love that is impossible to understand.
Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another as I have loved you, and yet His gentle reproof to this precious disciple was: “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me?”
Jesus of Nazareth
Philip KNEW the man, Jesus of Nazareth. He knew He was the son of Mary, brother of James and Jude. He watched this performer of miracles with incredulity and he listened to the lovely words that poured like healing oil from His lips and agreed that: never a man spake like this man, and they wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.
He observed his glorious character His compassion and His grace. Oh yes, Philip knew a lot about the Lord Jesus – but as yet he did not KNOW Him.
We need to be close to the Lord to really get to know Him, We need to bathe ourselves in intimate fellowship and communion with Jesus.
To be willing to accept crucifixion with Christ, to leave all yourself, your plans and your longings, your abilities and your possessions, all of them at the Cross, so that you only trust and love and live for the Lord Jesus, hurts a great deal.
While both are essential, it is far more difficult to get to know the old man than it is to know the Lord Jesus.
And there is nothing that can deliver us from it but that entire willingness to die to the old man, which comes when by faith we understand that we have died in Christ Jesus. -A.M.
If you come to feel, through ever-recurring misery and defeat, that unless Another shall lead you into the land of fruitful obedience your whole Christian career will be a spiritual and moral chaos, then perhaps you are ready to venture your all upon your union with the Lord Jesus in His death and resurrection.
I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord (Rom. 7:25).
We are more disposed to be occupied in telling the Father what we are in ourselves, than to allow Him to tell us what we are in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Father has to come in and detach us from that which is our natural center, that He may link our affections with another Person - even with the glorified Lord Jesus Christ - and make Him everything to our hearts, so that our association with Him may be known, and may become the deep, abiding joy of our souls. -C.A.C.
The freedom is so entirely in Christ Jesus, and the maintenance of our living union with Him is so distinctly and entirely the work of divine power, that it is only as we see that the Spirit dwells within us for this very purpose, and know how to accept and yield to His working it, that we can really stand in the liberty with which Christ has made us free. -A.M.
The Father has left us as much dependent upon the Lord Jesus' work for our deliverance from the power of sin as for our forgiveness!
It is wholly because we died with Him on the Cross, both to sin and to the whole legal principle, that sin's power for those in the Lord Jesus, is broken. -W.R.N.
Have not some given up hope that words like I have been crucified with Christ,' the world is crucified to me,' baptized into His death,' dead unto sin and alive unto God in Christ Jesus' should have become truly intelligible and helpful?
Another wrote: 'all the powers of Deity which have already wrought together in the accomplishment of the first part of the eternal purpose, (that is, the revealing of the Father’s perfect likeness in the Man Christ Jesus) are equally engaged to accomplish the second part – and work that likeness into each of God’s children.'
Paul in his enthusiasm for the Lord Jesus cites four-length breadth, height, and depth.
A Holy Temple
He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near, for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So now, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in Whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a Holy Temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
In love.. so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
The depth of God’s grace excludes none that call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for God’s love stoops to the pit of death to encompass all who trust in His only Son.
Height of God Grace
The height of God’s grace reaches into heavenly places where we are seated with Christ. The height of God’s grace is found in Christ Jesus our heavenly Lord and King.
has raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus – far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come – so that in the ages to come He might show forth the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
I am His body and soul and spirit, and we read: now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Thess.5:23
My Beloved
Let us, like them, lay aside every weight, and the sin of unbelief which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us: looking unto Jesus..
When it comes to seeing self for what it is, there can be no pampering; when it comes to seeing the Lord Jesus Christ for who He is, there can be no disappointment.
Easter Reflections - STUDY
4th word from the cross
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying:- 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani – that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?'Matthew 27:46
Eternal Light
Jesus’ sinless body was wrapped in a gloom of death, so that WE might be eternally clothed in garments of life.
The loss of the Father’s presence, for the first moment, since time and eternity kissed each other, was for our Lord Jesus, a loss so overwhelming, that human and angelic minds can only wonder.
for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are no longer the criminals deserving death.
For HIS sake there is now no condemnation for we who are in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And Jesus said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness, and then he suffered Him.Matthew 3:15
Person of JesusJesus is the substance of the Father. Jesus was begotten before the world was made.
Jesus, the substance of the mother.
Jesus, born into the world.
Jesus, perfect God and perfect man.
Jesus, Son of God and son of Mary.
Jesus, the name above all other names.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus... sweetest name I know; fills my every longing – comforts my every heartache.
Life of Jesus
His life was in sharp contrast with those around Him.
Walk of Jesus
Day by day He walked His Father’s will, as He laboured at the work-bench in the little carpenter’s shop; as He tramped the dusty way through city and villages, in Galilee and Judea.
Offering of Jesus
This life thus lived was a life laid down in sacrifice.
Walk With Jesus
And now we take up the mantle that fell from His shoulder, and walk the walk that Jesus walked, and talk the talk that Jesus talked, and love the love that Jesus loved – and suffer the sufferings that Jesus suffered.
For we have been crucified with Him and we are risen with Him– and we are made to sit with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus our Lord.
True Image
Denominations and individuals alike envisage the God in whom they trust, and all too often the image that emerges is a distortion of the truth. All too often His resemblance has its poisoned roots in our early life. Role models we should trust and ached to believe in, let us down. Teachings of the church we attended or avoided..distorted God’s character, and over time, plus the input of life, God emerges – masked by our own imaginings. There are probably as many perceptions of God as there is sand on the seashore. But there is only one true character and likeness of God – the man Christ Jesus.
Truth of God
Recently as I ‘happened’ across this short video. In it there are 0ne hundred names of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. One Hundred examples of the truth of Who God undeniably is. If we were to take just ONE name each day and prayerfully focus on that truth… if we were to reflect on ONE attribute daily – in gratitude, honour praise and thanksgiving… if we were to meditate on ONE characteristic each day – in deepest humility of heart, I believe any and all of our distortions would be replaced with a deeper knowledge and understanding of Him.
This is My God
This Is My JESUS. This is My God. This is My King. This is My Jesus -the Faithful and Genuine Lover of MY Soul. This is My Jesus – My Beloved,
Since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.2 Peter 3:17-18
Grow in Grace
But – praise God this dear apostle, Peter, continues with the next verse. He explains in simple terms how this is achieved… 'but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Peter 3:18 We grow in grace and mature in the faith when we fix our eyes on the Lord, and the mature believer is the one that will not be overwhelmed by life’s circumstances.
Jesus the Man, came into maturity through child-training – through suffering.
And this I know – Jesus reached maturity through suffering, deep suffering – and too many Christians fail, for they want a cushy life on a feather-down pillow, but those that reach true maturity will be ones willing to participate in His lot.
Jesus said, love as I have loved you, and His love was expressed in intercession.
but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also l am apprehended of Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12).
At first, we consider the shocking revelation of self the greatest of calamities; later, we realize that it is the pathway to the blessed revelation of our life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Before we can take on the likeness of the Lord Jesus, we must see ourselves and know how we look; we must be brought into the place where we are not dismayed nor cast down when we discover how little we are conformed to His image.
I certainly do count everything as loss compared with the priceless privilege of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Phil. 3:8, Wms.).
There are many in the Church that do not love the Lord with all their heart and mind. Some have failed to listen to His voice and have left their first love – the Lord Jesus, and like Nehemiah, we too need to pray for the Church – to intercede on their behalf.
(God) hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6)
We are to settle down to live and grow precisely where we have been re-born: in Christ Jesus above.
Do we not often thus become occupied with the circumstantials of worship rather than with the Lord Jesus - the substance?
Are we not often false to Him in questioning our title to draw near, because we find distance in our own hearts, as if it was the warmth of our affections, instead of the Blood of the Lord Jesus, which brought us nigh? -W.K.
Our being perfectly cleansed by the Blood of the Lord Jesus, the Holiest of All is our place before the Father, and it is so simply upon the ground of what His sacrifice has effected.
Our dwelling place is in the light, not by reason of our subjective condition, but because the Lord Jesus has made the position ours by the putting away of our sins, and by bringing us to the Father. -H.F.W.
The heart must enter into something more than the look behind into those waters of judgment, out of which the Lord Jesus rose, having left our sins, and death, and judgment forever!
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil (Heb. 10:19, 20).
New Creation
Jesus did not die to repair or remodel the old 'me', pure and desirable though the exterior may be.. but full of dead men’s bones on the inside.
Jesus did not die to restore or overhaul the old 'you'. He will only create and build and train and sanctify the new life.
Oh wretched man that I am Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thanks be to God, Who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.Romans 7:25
Natural Man
However hard man tries, it is impossible for him to keep the requirements of the Law. One only has to be born as a son of Adam to be condemned to death – eternal death. Natural man / unsaved man is dead in his sins and born under condemnation. No wonder the disciples asked Jesus in astonishment – Who then can be saved? No wonder Paul warned the Galatians of the Law’s restrictive nature, when he said: before faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Galatians 3:23
Way of the Cross
Paul had discovered the answer was Christ – the way of the Cross – the only Way. His elated cry was: thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. And this is how it works!!! Christ lived a perfect life and by fulfilling all the requirements of the Law, He was able to go to the cross and become the one and only Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. This broke the power of death in His life and hence Christ rose from the dead.
Gift of Grace
God’s condition for salvation was to believe – believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation was His free gift of grace to everyone, who would believe in His beloved Son. And one thing that happens to a believer is that he becomes a new creation in Christ.
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord !!
the promised life of grace upon grace is a free gift to all who receive Christ Jesus, but He must be received.
Jesus must be received as the Redeemer of the world – the perfect Sacrifice: to THEM and them ALONE He gave the power to become Sons of God – even to them that BELIEVE on His Name.
Two Minds
God has a will for each of our lives and it is to make us exactly like His Son, and as we submit to the Spirit’s work within us, so we become more like Jesus – but in this flesh, we have two minds that are seeking supremacy in our lives.
And we are to become kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one other – just as God in Christ Jesus also has forgiven each of us. Ephesians 4:32.
Put On The New Self
We are to lay aside the old self, with which we were clothed in our old life, and put on the new set of clothes we received when we first trusted the Lord Jesus.
The Holy Spirit Himself takes responsibility for our experience, leading us in paths where we encounter, in body, heart, or spirit, that measure of the dying of Jesus' that will mean enrichment of our ministry.
So many rest content with the thought that their sins are pardoned, and that they are in the path of life, but know nothing of a personal attachment to the risen Lord Jesus Christ as their life, or of faith that lives in the invisible and walks with the Father.
We are all-new creations in the all-new Man, Christ Jesus.
The Gospel is that you were under the judgment of death, and that the Lord Jesus has borne that judgment.
If there were true apprehension of the work of the Lord Jesus on the Cross - that He so bore the judgment on man that all the man who had offended against God has been judicially removed to His infinite satisfaction, and that He who saved us from death is now our Life - there would be a wonderful testimony to the grace of God.
The Reformers failed because they did not see that as faith alone could save, and place man outside himself in the Lord Jesus, he must not return to that which through grace has been crucified.
The Lord Jesus is the answer, but the Cross is needed to clear the way for Him.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
Nevertheless, the test of having the Spirit of Truth, and of not being a prey to fanaticism, is that the soul is attracted and subject to the Lord Jesus Christ - and this cannot be without faith produced and nourished by the Word of Truth. -W.K.
In the same way you also must regard yourselves as dead in relation to sin, but as alive in relation to God, because you are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11, Wey.).
It is true that there is the hunger to be devoted, and to be like the Lord Jesus, long before one's acts and manner corroborate the hunger, and make it a fact; but the more the hungers which grace has generated in your heart are given a place, the sooner will they become experiential facts; and the more the Lord Jesus has His throne within you, the more you will rejoice in Him, and have no confidence in the flesh' (Phil. 3:3).
I know so little of the Lord Jesus,' one may say, and this may be true; but every grace that is in Him is in every saint, though not developed.
If walking in true lowliness and manifesting that measure of the Lord Jesus in which we have grown, there will be certain progress. -W.K.
Once the Holy Spirit instills within our hearts the hunger for God's very best, all must and will become secondary to this supreme goal: . . .the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).
Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:7, 8).
That word, blameless,' may be translated unimpeachable' or unaccusable.' In other words, when we stand at last at the judgment seat of Christ, God Himself is going to see to it that no charge can stand against any believer, because the Lord Jesus Christ has atoned for all our sins with His own precious Blood.
We have to look at ourselves and see how far we are devotedly following the Lord Jesus, with full purpose of heart - how we can say, This one thing I do'; but we must take care at the same time not to get into legal bondage by this standard.
At first the heart hunger for maturity in the Lord Jesus is personal, subjective - and necessarily so.
Our joy in the Father's presence, as He Himself and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, are made manifest to our hearts, gives us the character of the joy of true fellowship one with another. -H.F.W.
If our eyes are upon the Lord Jesus, and we follow with steadfast hearts as He leads us, we shall find that He leads us by the right way and brings us through all the exercises we need in order to form our souls in the appreciation of Himself, and of all those blessed things which are brought to pass in Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Christian's very life, and the Holy Spirit dwells within our spirit to manifest Him, to work out all that is in Him and to reproduce Him in us.
It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to the Lord Jesus.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10).
This will demand a considerable sifting of all undertakings in the name of Jesus, and will require that nothing is done until the mind of the Lord has been made known.
The Holy Spirit uses this revelation, along with what He exposes in his own heart, to teach him to abide in the Lord Jesus; safe from the sin of others, as well as his own.
The experience can be a very painful one, but it is most necessary for us to find out that everyone else but the Lord Jesus is a failure.
You will only be conformed by continually looking upon the glory of the Lord Jesus; for they who live looking and beholding, though they know it not, are being changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.' -E.I.
To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).
No, it will only be as Jesus of Nazareth comes into touch with us and we with Him.
If there are any reading these lines, who have never in the first place had their eyes opened to see, so that the result is Life eternal for knowing is only another word for seeing, and Jesus said, This is life eternal, that they should know Thee the only true God, and Him whom Thou didst send, even Jesus Christ (John 17:3); that they should know another word for seeing if you have not yet entered into Life, received eternal Life, remember that it will not just happen to you; it will not simply happen.
On the other hand,it shows us that His being there, and our being in spiritualunion with Him, means that for all spiritual purposes andresources, we also are in the heavenlies in Christ.... Let us ask the Lord to give us a real, spiritual, quick, living apprehension of this great truth concerning our Lord Jesus, the great realm of the new creation into which we are brought, and let us apply it, practice it, put it into operation from day today.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms..
with every spiritual blessing – in Christ Jesus Ephesians 1:3
Door of Praise
The door of praise is flung open with a glimpse of the One Who has blessed us. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is the One deserving of our praise.
We are about to meet our gracious benefactor – the God and Father of Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father – for He has blessed US.
Propitiation Price
It was in the heart of the Father from before the world began to redeem mankind. The propitiation price for sin was agreed – in the eternal council chambers of God. This was according to the eternal purpose that God has realised in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God’s Glory
His Glory was in the mind of the Father when sin’s eternal sacrifice was selected. His Son was the one and only means to secure God’s satisfaction for sin’s payment. Blessed be the God and Father ..Who predestined us for adoption to sonship, through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.
God’s Blessings
God the Father is to be blessed for the blessings He has bestowed upon us all, and we are blessed to be the recipients of His so great salvation – in Christ Jesus.
And the Lord Jesus was the willing Son, Who only did all that the Father said.
Gift of Grace
Nothing that is in ourselves could ever qualify to be the beneficiary of God’s grace. Reconciliation with the Father is the free gift of God’s grace to those who believe. Salvation and all the blessings that accompany it is only given to those who believe: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ – and thou shalt be saved.
Our Saviour
And that free gift of grace to believers opens the floodgates of God’s rich blessings. All who trust God’s Word are blessed to call God’s Son – OUR Lord Jesus Christ.
All who put their faith in His finished work can call Him – MY Jesus; MY Saviour.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… Who has blessed US.
Our Father
Blessed be the God and Father of OUR Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed US in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing – in Christ Jesus OUR Lord, our Lord.
The hypostatic union, combining the undiminished attributes of the Godhead with the perfect human nature of the Son of Man – became Jesus… Son of God and Son of Man, so that as our kinsman-Redeemer He would save His people from their sins.
Before His cross His incomparable, innocent life prepared the Lord Jesus to be our perfect Sacrifice – our kinsman-Redeemer – so that we could be saved from our sins.
Obedient in Life
The Lord Jesus had lived His whole life in the world of men.
His miraculous conception, His humble birth in Bethlehem – His simple life in the little town of Nazareth where He laboured as the Carpenter, all prepared our Lord Jesus for His work on the Cross and equipped Him to become God’s sacrifice for our sin.
The Lord Jesus lived His life and died His death in humble obedience – learning to say, Thy will, not Mine be done.
Jesus truly is our perfect example.
Great High Priest
His life of obedience qualified the Lord Jesus to become our great High Priest, and as such, He sits at the right hand of the Father carrying out His high priestly ministry on behalf of all who are part of His body – all who believe on His name. As our great High Priest, He comforts and succours all those who are weary and heavy-laden and who come to Him for rest.
The Lord Jesus Christ lived a sanctified life – a life set apart to God – a life separated from the world, so that all who trust in His name, could also be truly sanctified.
Christ’s Replacement
While Jesus lived in the world He was all these things to his little band of followers, But when He ascended on high, He sent the Spirit to replace His physical presence.
When the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, to baptise the Church into Christ and to fill them with His fullness, He took up permanent residence in each believer’s heart – and Jesus promised He is to guide us into truth and train us in all godly living.
Sent From God
Jesus told His disciples that: the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything that I have told you.
Word of Authority
God’s Word silences the fool who in His heart announces, there is no God.. for, in the beginning God……” And for those that trust Him, there is one God, in whom are all things... and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. 1Cor.8:6
Today men seek signs or clamour for visions, or fret to hear the audible voice of God. But Jesus said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ Luke 16:31
Oh, to be such a people, chastened and emptied of self, for the Holy Spirit by His energies to display the moral glories of the Lord Jesus in us and so through us.
The Second Man
Dominion over God’s beautiful earth was lost by the first man, to a rebel angel, Satan – but God in His grace and mercy pre-ordained that a second Man – the Man Christ Jesus would become the last Adam, Who would regain the crown and reestablish the riches and glories of the kingdom that was forfeited to the enemy of God, by the first Adam.
The first man – Adam, in his disobedience to God had placed himself under Satan’s authority... while the second Man – the Lord Jesus, in His obedience to God, must also be made a little lower than the angels that He Himself created – if humanity was to be redeemed by His life-giving blood, and regain Man’s God-given rulership of the earth.
Penalty of Sin
But praise be to God that the penalty of sin was paid for in full – through the sacrificial death of Christ Jesus..
Through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the second Man, we’ve been set free from slavery to Satan and to sin – and have become servants of our God.
Presence of Sin
And the wonderful hope that is set before us is that the presence of sin in our lives will be forever removed in the ages to come, when the Lord Jesus Christ – the last Adam, comes to take us to be with Himself into our eternal home – and we shall see Him as He is and we shall be clothed in glorified bodies – like unto His glorious body.
It is Christ Jesus our Lord.
And God raised us up and seated us together with Him in heavenly places – in Christ Jesus.
Through the Man Christ Jesus, humanity has regained the position of authority as God’s representative on earth – to rule and reign and have dominion over the birds and the fishes – the animals and all that God has created.
The Man Christ Jesus
And for a second time, the glory and honour that was tasted so briefly by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden has been regained by God’s true representative Man – Christ Jesus our Lord.
The God-given rulership of His creation has been restored to the human race, and returned to the only perfect representative Man – the second Man – the last Adam – the Man Christ Jesus, by means of His sacrificial death on the cross. So that we also may enjoy sweet fellowship with our Creator God..
for our spirit communes with the Spirit of God – in and through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies … IN CHRIST.Ephesians 1:3
Fully Alive
When we first believed in Jesus we were placed in a permanent relationship with Him. The old former life in Adam was forever replaced with our new, eternal life in Christ. We who were dead in trespasses and sins were made fully alive and given His life.
One With Christ
The Holy Spirit baptises us into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 Who made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21
God raised us up together, and seated us together in the heavenly realm, in Christ Jesus.
Heirship
We share in a joint-HEIRSHIP with Christ reserved in the heavenlies that’ll never fade. God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:4-5 And the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
Hebrews 5:8-10 For we are all living stones, being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 We have been made a kingdom of priests to the glory and power of God His Father forever and ever!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies … IN CHRIST.
Price for Sin
When the Lord Jesus died on the cross His death paid the price for all sin, so that all who believe on Him would receive forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
When the Lord Jesus rose from the dead He broke the power of death forever, so that the sting of death and hell is eternally removed, for all who trust in Him.
All- Sufficient
The wonders of Christ sufficiency should stagger the mind and humble the heart. There is nothing we can do to get right with God except believe on the Lord Jesus – but those that accept His free gift of salvation discover Him to be sufficient.
STUDY - Character and Attributes of GOD
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places – in ChristEphesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places – in Christ.
You get to the heart of everything in the case of the Lord Jesus when you recognize that the one question which constituted the testing ground of His life was: Will this Man act alone, speak alone, choose alone, decide alone, move alone?
In the case of the Lord Jesus there was all thetime an underworking to get Him to adopt the contrary course, toact without inquiry of His Father, without direct leading fromHis Father; to act in His individual capacity as though He wereHis own Master, as though He had not to make appeal elsewhere.
May I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world (Galatians 6:14).
For my own part, my coveting, my praying is more than for anything else, a fresh and mighty captivation of the Lord Jesus, a captivation of Christ.
Such a seeing, a grasping, an apprehending and being mastered by the Greatness of the One to Whom, by the grace of God, we have been united, called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ.
May our hearts, more than even our minds, be mastered by this Man Jesus Christ and we be His abject slaves in worship and adoration.
The Lord Jesus was in our place of death and judgment; we are in His place of life and glory.
Romans Eight describes the experience of the believer who knows what it is to be in Christ, and who is being made free experientially from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Not changed or forgiven but utterly condemned in the death of the Lord Jesus.
Where sin brought us, love brought the Lord Jesus - even to death; and His death is the end before God of all that we were as children of Adam - men in the flesh.
Looking to Jesus
Abraham, Job, Hannah ‘et al’ each had to be brought to the end of themselves. Each had to wait until they were ready to hear the Lord’s gentle knock and quiet voice, Each learned to patiently endure so that patience could have its perfect work in them.
If we want to be like that great cloud of faithful witnesses who trusted God, let us lay aside every weight – let us lay aside that sin of unbelief which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patient endurance the race that is set before us… Looking to Jesus.
Pattern for Life
The Lord Jesus Christ is our pattern for life and living – God’s representative man. He lived a life in submission to the will of the Father – Thy will, not mine be done.
He lived a life being guided by the Spirit of God, walking in spirit and truth. And the Lord Jesus Christ learned obedience through the things that He suffered.
Learned Obedience
The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated the way God designed us to live our lives.
He maintained close fellowship with God; His food was to do His Father’s will; He listened to the guidance of the Spirit and laid aside His glory for a season. The Lord Jesus Christ learned obedience through the things that He suffered.
Standard for Life
The Lord Jesus Christ illustrated the way that God ordained that man should live.
Willing obedience to the will of God was a vital lesson that He came to teach us all - and the Lord Jesus Christ learned obedience through the things that He suffered.
Obedience is a necessary step towards being conformed into the image of Christ. Obedience frees us from the bondage of sin to the liberty of life in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:16 – and Lord Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered.
Representative Man
The Lord Jesus Christ came as our pattern.
I do not cease to pray for you, 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…..
Spiritual Insight
How he prayed for an increase in their knowledge and understanding of Jesus – an understanding of the incredible greatness of God’s power to us who believe.
Spiritual Inheritance
Paul also prayed that we would know who are in Christ – know our position in Him.. permanent position that is as secure as the eternal Lord Jesus Who placed us there.. union with Him that guarantees our adoption as sons and our an eternal heritage – a union so intimate that we are part of His body – and He indwells our mortal frame.
a fellowship so blessed that we can commune with our Lord – and be one with Him – a communion so special that the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from all sin.
I pray 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 – that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those he called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
Spiritual Strength
Sometimes we misunderstand the reason that Paul prays for our spiritual strength. Often we pray for strength so that we may be successful in our work or ministry. Sometimes we pray for special strength in one particular aspect of our physical lives, but Paul prays for strength for us so that we may be rightly related to the Lord Jesus – for when we are rightly related to Him, everything falls into place.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, AMEN
The moment came when the Lord Jesus could say, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you' (John 14:27).
But the death of the Lord Jesus is - judicially, and for faith - the end of that man, and the Christian walking in the Spirit owns him no more.
Thus walking, the peace of the Lord Jesus becomes an experiential reality in the heart of the believer.
The more clearly we enter, by faith, into objective truth, or what is true of us in the Lord Jesus, the deeper, more experiential and practical will be the Spirit's subjective work in us, and the more complete will be the manifestation of the moral effect in our life and character. -C.H.M.
Seeing one's identification in the Lord Jesus' death, burial, resurrection and ascension is the necessary foundation for spiritual growth to maturity.
So many do not as yet see the application of the death of the Lord Jesus to their old man.
All believers see that the Blood of the Lord Jesus screens them from the judgment of God; but most do not as yet see that they are dead unto sin' in the Lord Jesus; that their old man was crucified with Christ'; that not only have their sins been put upon Him at the Cross, but they themselves, as sinful children of Adam, have been personally identified with Him in His death unto sin; that God pronounces them dead and risen with Him.
We are to hold by faith the position which the Father has given us in the risen Lord Jesus, and abide therein, occupied with the interests of our Father and not our own.
Jesus said, I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it..Matthew 16:18
Body of Christ
All believers are baptised into the body of Christ the moment they believe in Jesus. The day of Pentecost was when Spirit baptism happened to the Jewish believers.
One hundred and twenty lovers of Jesus were suddenly placed into Christ and filled with the Spirit of God.
Feast of Pentecost
Jesus Himself declared that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not be able to prevail against her – nothing could overpower His Church and nothing conquer it. And from that day on the Church of Christ started to grow in the power of the Spirit. 3000 Jewish believers were put into Christ on that momentous feast of Pentecost – all were baptised into His Body and all were empowered by the Holy Spirit.
To be perfect means to be whole; to be healthy; to be mature; to be complete... just as the Lord Jesus was perfect – the perfect God-Man, Who lived a perfect life.
In Christ
But God sees you and God sees me through the lens of the beloved Lord Jesus.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:6,7
Grace to you and peace from Jesus Christ….Revelation 1:4
Christ’s Peace
He not only bestows on us peace WITH God as we nestle in His forgiveness, that glorious 'new-birth' peace with God the Father….and endows us with the peace OF God, which protects and guards our hearts and minds… but also by His grace, He lavishly supplies us with His OWN peace… the peace of God that surpasses understanding – the peace of Jesus.
It is a great comfort, during our growing up in the Lord Jesus, to know that He is our perfect provision, and that He provides the perfect processing.
As with the seed that is buried once for all, but then disintegrates through a gradual process that sets free the new life, even so does the Father deal with our old man by delivering it to death with the Lord Jesus once for all, and then bringing about its mortification in detail through the circumstances of life, until the power of the flesh has lost its hold. -L.T.
Alive unto God in Jesus Christ, our Lord (Rom. 6:11)
Until the believer's faith is firmly established in the fact of his position in the risen Lord Jesus, he will not be able to rest in Him during the process of his position becoming his condition.
This is his perfect and unalterable position; his sins are gone before God; his person is accepted by God - all complete in the Lord Jesus Christ.
It can very seriously affect his fellowship, his worship, his testimony, his usefulness, his spiritual enjoyment, the glory of the Lord Jesus as involved in his practical career.
As ye have, therefore, received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him (Col. 2:7).
Let us be very watchful that the inner life, communion with the Lord Jesus, be the true source of our activities.
The Lord Jesus longs for fellowship with us.
Nearness to the Lord Jesus is the instinct of divine life, as we see in the first question of the two disciples who followed Him, Where dwellest Thou?' Why is not this the first question now?
Because there is not simple devotedness of heart to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:3a).
You are unable to live out of resources in yourself - you must not act as though your life is separate; the Lord Jesus must be the fountain.
Monks renounce much, but they are not engrossed with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Look at the Lord Jesus firmly and fixedly, never letting your gaze wander elsewhere; and whatever temporal objects come between you and your Lord, look right through them, as through a mist, and fix your eyes and heart upon Him and Him alone.
If we are learning thus from the Lord Jesus, we honor and please Him incomparably more than by anything we think to confer upon Him.
In a word, it is that which flows from being associated and occupied with the Lord Jesus.
There may be clear views, correct notions, sound principles, without any fellowship with the Lord Jesus in glory; but an orthodox creed without communion with Him will prove to be a cold and barren thing. -C.H.M.
I proclaim not myself, but Christ Jesus as Lord and Master, and myself your bondsman for the sake of Jesus (2 Cor. 4:5, Cony.).
One of the true tests of one's spiritual growth is in one's influence: affecting others that they not only begin the Christian life but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
In the heat of controversy or under unjust criticism, haste of temper, slowness to forgive and forget, quick words and sharp judgments, often reveal an easily wounded sensitiveness, which proves how little the Spirit of the Lord Jesus has full possession or real mastery of the life. -A.M.
The Lord Jesus does not give the charge, Be a shepherd to My lambs. . .
When thou art restored, strengthen thy brethren.' There is nothing in all this world nearer and dearer to the heart of the Lord Jesus than His sheep, His lambs: and hence He could not have given Peter a more affecting proof of His confidence than by committing to his care the dearest objects of His deep and tender love. -C.H.M.
And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men (Lk. 5:8, 10).
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord” (Phil. 3:8).
“It is feared that when we speak of being here for Christ it is often the thought of our service or conduct that is prominent, and therefore it is well to be reminded that there is something over which the Lord Jesus is more concerned than He is over our conduct or our service.
It is in this school that we acquire the ability to comfort others; so that our personal affliction or personal comfort work unto the same end, even the profit of others for we are their servants for Jesus’ sake.” -J.L.H. 221
It is by occupation with, and contemplating the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are brought, by the enablement of the Holy Spirit, into fellowship with our Father; enabled to enter into His own thoughts concerning, and even to share His own affections for that blessed One who now is seated at His own right hand. -E.D.
The whole testimony of the Father now is to what the Lord Jesus is in heaven. -G.V.W.
We only touch the positive blessings of Christianity as we reach the Lord Jesus Christ in glory.
When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, except Jesus only (Matt. 17:8).
How few can say, The Father has shown me wonderful things lately about the Lord Jesus Christ. -J.B.S.
If we are not happy it is because we have lost sight of the favor given us in the Lord Jesus.
In our foolishness we turn to the world or look into our own hearts, instead of keeping our eyes upon the Lord Jesus, the risen and exalted Man in whom the Father has given us His favor. -C.A.C.
The Lord Jesus Christ, as Man, has glorified the Father on the earth.
The Father rests in that; as Man having accomplished redemption, He has passed into the heavens, now to appear in the presence of God for us.' It is the glorified Lord Jesus who gives abiding rest to our souls, and not what our thoughts about ourselves may be.
Faith never thinks about that which is in ourselves as its ground of rest; it receives, loves, and apprehends what the Father has revealed in His Word, and what are His thoughts about the Lord Jesus, in whom is His rest. -J.N.D.
There should be a progression in one's faith from objective facts about the Lord Jesus to personal fellowship with Him.
It is sad to see the Lord's people, even many who pass for spiritual, who have very little concern about the Lord Jesus Himself.
They can talk much about His work, but show very clearly that the Person of the Lord Jesus has never really won their hearts.
But to find in the Lord Jesus Christ what the Father saw in Him when He said, This is My Beloved Son in whom is all my delight,' this place in the purposes of the Father all too few seem to have found.
It is a proof of immense favor from the Father if in our heart's estimation the Lord Jesus is fairer than the children of men.' It is easy to sing hymns, and to use the most precious expressions in Scripture in a sentimental way, but it is another thing for our hearts really to find rest and satisfaction in the moral perfections of the Lord Jesus. -C.A.C.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only object for faith, the only One that satisfies us, as indeed He is the Father's object; and if we have got but one mind with the Father about Him, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. -W.K.
If you are walking in the Spirit, the Lord Jesus is the Object before you; when you are walking in the flesh, yourself is your object. -W.K.
Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3).
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19).
Hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6).
our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him' (1 Thess. 5:10).
What I press now is the right that we have to be in the place, and that it is not only that I delight to be there, but the ineffable thought is that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ delights to have me in His place, sharing His joys. -J.B.S.
It is only in the combination of both that there can be a true study of the Lord Jesus, and conformity to Him.
But now in Christ Jesus ye who once were far off are made near by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13).
To share what we have may minister temporarily to the physical; but to minister to the spiritual in an eternal way we must share what we are, and that calls for growth in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Ephesians 1:3
To be a leader one must be a dependent one, a led one; one who is looking away (from all that would distract) to Jesus, who is the Leader and the Source of our faith (Heb. 12:2).
Position in Christ
Our POSITION is the glorious, and unchangeable union we have with the Lord Jesus.
Justification and Sanctification
In Hebrews 10:10 we read:- we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all, while in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 we read:- May the God of peace himself make you holy in every way.
Since then you are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God and let us grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ... for in Christ we all are “quickened,” “raised up,” and “made to sit” together with Christ For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12).
To know our position in the Lord Jesus is necessary so that we may understand His ways and rest in His means.
The first step is, we believe that the Lord Jesus was sent of the Father; second, that in the fulness of His work we are justified; third, we make His acquaintance, fourth, we come to see Him in heaven - we know our association with Him there, and His rest here, fifth, we learn the mystery, the great things we are entitled to because of being in His Body, His Bride; sixth, that we are seated in heavenly places in Him; seventh, we rejoice in wonder and in praise in the knowledge of Himself. -J.B.S.
working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:20, 21).
Or, we can abide (rest) in the risen Lord Jesus, the Source of our new nature, and thereby become the glad recipients of His life and liberty, as depicted in Romans Eight.
The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
Of God are ye in Christ Jesus' (1 Cor. 1:30).
Never look at yourself as though you were not in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
We should be spared years of struggle and failure if we learned at once - as the converts did in the days of Paul - that we ourselves were taken through the death of the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus is all that we need for all that we are.
They who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17).
His walk is determined by the fact that he has been placed with the Lord Jesus in a position of immeasurable ascendancy.
He has been made to sit together with Christ in heavenly places in order that, having received an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, he might reign in life by one, even the Lord Jesus.
Two Distinct Factions
The human race is divided into two camps – two parties – two distinct factions. Every member of the human race is either connected with Adam or with Christ. Initially, every person is connected with Adam from the moment we are born.. but those believing in Jesus are removed from Adam and put into Christ – forever. Those that move from Adam to Christ are born again into a new life.
Born Again
The choice depends on whether or not they choose to trust Christ as their Saviour. Those choosing to trust in Jesus are immediately transferred from Adam into Christ – they are born again into a new and abundant life and are given eternal life.
But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to many through this other Man - Jesus Christ.
But even greater is God’s wonderful gift of grace and His gift of righteousness - for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death – now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:12-21
Intercessory Prayer
How we long for loved ones to be drawn by the Holy Spirit to a saving faith in Jesus, and our intercessory prayers can often have a part to play: for no man comes to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him John 6:44.
Pray of Thanks
We need to be thankful in prayer – thanking Him for the answer that is to come: we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, Col.1:3.
Pray for Labourers
We need to pray that God will raise up those to minister to the lost, the hurting and the bereft: pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Matt.9:38 We need to follow the lovely example of Jesus – Who Himself needed time to pray: for Jesus would withdraw to a desolate place and pray. He went out to the mountains to pray, and all night He continued in prayer to God.” Luke 5:16
hath quickened us together with Christ and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus' (Eph. 2:6).
It has come these days with new light and power that the first thing we have to see to as we draw near to God day by day is that our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Men of Prayer
Jesus demonstrated man’s need to be in prayerful communion with the Father. Paul exhorted us to pray without ceasing and prayed himself with many tears.
Unnamed Saints
120 waiting disciples joined in constant prayer as they awaited Pentecost; and Stephen reflected His Lord word, praying – “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” What more need I say of Aquila, Priscilla, Muller, or ‘praying Hyde’ or myriads of unnamed saints – who similarly are part of God’s royal priesthood.
High Priestly Intercession
Just contemplate the enormity of what is being outlined in these few short verses. Christians are afforded a portion in Christ’s ever-continuing High Priestly intercession. Believers are chosen to join in interceding with their High Priest – our Lord Jesus: and the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. Rev.8:5
Paul makes us aware that all aspects of our weaponry are encompassed in one Person. Every piece of spiritual armour is fixed and founded on Christ Jesus our Lord.
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him (Col. 2:6).
For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us, (taking paths which He prepared ahead of time) that we should walk in them - living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live (Eph. 2:10, Amp.).
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3, ASV).
God predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His willEphesians 1:5
Plan of Salvation
Salvation was determined upon one thing – believe on the Lord Jesus Christ: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
Predestination stems from God’s foreknowledge of all who would trust in Jesus.
The Church
All that believe on the Lord Jesus are foreknown of God and predestined by Him – predestined to adoption as sons – predestined to be conformed into the likeness of Christ.
The Church is predestined to be adopted as God’s sons, through Jesus Christ.
The Church is also predestined to be conformed into the image of God’s Son – simply because God knew in advance that each one would believe in Jesus.
Grace Thru Faith - STUDY
Grace Thru Faith- study [24]
Period of Preparation
There must be a long and deep period of preparation, in the man and woman of God, if that life is to shed abroad the attributes of the Lord Jesus in thought word and deed..
This negative processing of His, finally brings us into His positive promise of Philippians 1:6 – being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Let the same disposition be in you which was in Christ Jesus.
Our stand and attitude from the beginning of each day is to be a settled matter as we rest in our risen Lord Jesus: the death of the Cross separates me from the enslavement of sin and self, and I continually abide in my new life, Christ Jesus.
We do not deserve to be forgiven, but the Lord Jesus deserves to be trusted.
Yes: the Lord Jesus has been to God about them.
If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
We must travel through these processings, for the simple reason that if the Lord Jesus is to be everything, the old man must be nothing, and it is often times a long journey to reach this point in the history of the soul.
There remains, then, no remedy but that which the Father has provided - condemnation, crucifixion, death with the Lord Jesus. -G.M.
Easter Reflections - STUDY 2nd word from the cross
Jesus answered him and said, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.”Luke 23:43
Words of Forgiveness
I wonder what touched the heart of this criminal – this malefactor and thief, who sharply rebuked his fellow-convict to call out: Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. Did this dying man hear the gracious words of forgiveness..
a promise that is 'Yes' and 'Amen' in Christ:- Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved… For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved – except Jesus, for Jesus saves… Jesus, remember me..
Despite the agony of death and the load of sin He bore, Jesus gave life to this dead soul.
That day that criminal on the cross heard the Word of Jesus.
For those who have never placed their trust in the Lord Jesus, today is the day to do it.
For those who believe Jesus as Saviour and Lord, is still 'today'. Today is still the day to listen to His voice.
Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:10 NLT)
Just as a sinner is taught to rest in the Lord Jesus' shed Blood for his forgiveness, so must the saint rest in the Lord Jesus for his deliverance from the power of sin and the grip of the law - yes, and from himself, also.
Therefore we should not be in bondage to sin, for he that hath died (and that is everyone who is in the Lord Jesus) is justified (or released) from (the power of) sin' (Rom. 6:7); and we are now under grace, which does not demand righteousness of us, for the Lord Jesus was made unto us righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).
He evermore learns to abhor himself as he sees the sinfulness of the old man within, only to delight himself the more in the Lord Jesus who is his life. -W.R.N.
When the devil takes you into the heights, he always shows you the kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them; when the Lord Jesus takes you up, He is always transformed before you.
He cannot touch our life in its channel, for the risen Lord Jesus is its channel, and he cannot touch Him.
Only then does he, in his failure, cry out, Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Rom. 7:24, 25) comes back the reply.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
Great will be the day when you come to realize that the sole reason for the existence of your Bible, your soul and your spirit is to glorify - and share - the Lord Jesus Christ.
By not resting on anything, even the Spirit's work within, but on what the Lord Jesus has done entirely outside you.
In the Lord Jesus alone, God finds that in which He can rest concerning us, and so it is with His saints.
The more you see the extent and nature of the evil that is within, as well as without, the more you will find that what the Lord Jesus is and did, is the only ground at all on which you can rest.
It is what the Lord Jesus did there that counts, and what He did becomes a growing force in the life of the believer when it is seen, and rested in by faith.
We shall never know the fact of the Lord Jesus' victory in our lives until we are prepared to count upon His work on the Cross as the source of our personal freedom from the dominion of sin and the old man within.
On the contrary, we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake.' I say this that you may not think it strange when the collar which you have rightly accepted becomes trying or difficult to you; for surely if it be service it must be so; the servant must be more or less a sufferer.
Word of Hope
Let us lift up our voice and sing with the sweet Psalmist of Israel who reminds us to hope in God, and to hope in His Salvation, and to hope in His Word. Let us delight in the reassuring words of the apostle to the Gentiles, who excites us that our hope, our joy, and our crown of rejoicing, is rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming to set up His kingdom. Our rejoicing is in Christ – in Christ alone.
God of Hope
We read: Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews.6:17-20
Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace (2 Thess. 2:16).
We have no longer conscience of sins before God, because He Himself has taken them away before His eyes; we know that being united to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has fully glorified God in that which concerns our sins, we have been made the righteousness of God in Him.
But the Lord Jesus, who is our life, never was, nor ever is, passive.
The Lord Jesus has passed into the heavens, now to appear in the presence of the Father for us.' It is the Lord Jesus who gives abiding rest to our souls, and not what our thoughts about ourselves may be.
Faith never thinks about that which is in ourselves as its ground of rest; it receives, loves, and apprehends what the Father has revealed, and what are His thoughts about the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is His rest. -J.N.D.
It is as knowing the Lord Jesus to be precious to our souls, with our eyes and hearts being occupied with Him, that we will be effectually kept from being taken up with the vanity and sin around.
It is not in thinking upon my own sins that will humble me, but thinking of the Lord Jesus and dwelling upon the excellencies in Him.
It is well to be done with ourselves and to be taken up with the Lord Jesus.
We are entitled to forget ourselves - we are entitled to confess and forget our sins - we are entitled to forget all but the Lord Jesus.
Only One is worthy of all our thoughts and words and ways, even the Lord Jesus Christ. -W.K.
We need to have our eyes opened to the fact of our union with the Lord Jesus.
Believers may be in bondage because of deception or ignorance of the full scope of their inheritance in the Lord Jesus, or because they have not, according to Romans 6:11, reckoned themselves dead to sin and alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord. -F.J.H.
The secret is to learn the truth of our identification with the Lord Jesus so thoroughly that reckoning and its resultant growth will come as a matter of course, just as in our justification.
He grasps the rescue rope flung to him by the right hand of Omnipotence, and with humble thankfulness sets out to learn how he can reckon himself dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
When he looks at the Cross he sees there the fact that not only did the Lord Jesus die for him, but that he himself was taken down into His death, in order that the practical reality of His resurrection life might transform him into the divine likeness. -J.C.M.
And let ever again a quiet, hopeful, gladsome faith hold itself assured that all you need for a holy life will most assuredly be given you out of the holiness of the Lord Jesus.
Hard as it is for the believer to finally come to rest concerning his spiritual birth, it seems to be even more difficult for him to simply rest in the Lord Jesus for his life and service.
Not only does the Lord Jesus live in us, but He becomes the motivating Object of our life as Christians.
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice – (Telelestai – Finished), He said: Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit, and having thus said, He gave up the ghost.
Work of Redemption
Here Christ’s is the last utterance fell from the lips of the Lord Jesus.
Wicked Satan did what he could against Jesus..
But remember... when Jesus died on the cross, the work of the cross was finished, yet when He died on the cross, the plan of redemption was not yet fully complete.
And for three days and nights as time caught up with eternity Jesus rested His Spirit in the arms of the Father.
The Greater Glory
The Lord, Christ Jesus, the Author, and Finisher of our faith, despised the shame for the greater joy before Him.
The Holiest of All
nd the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Put off your shoes from your feet: for the place where you stand is holy ground.
Resurrection, we repeat, is the answer to death in all its forms and aspects: God's answer in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Having said that, let us proceed to note that the next thing revealed in the New Testament is that this supreme truth in Jesus Christ is the birthright of every one born into God's spiritual family; the heritage of every truly born-again child of God.
It is not something in the future for believers, but for the moment when they believe on the Lord Jesus and receive Him.
After His resurrection the Lord Jesus never again appeared to the world.
Resurrection union with the Lord Jesus means that we are not involved in the death that is all around us.
This is a very important lesson to learn, how to be in Life in the midst of death.... In the resurrection of the Lord Jesus we are delivered from the curse that is, from the death which works vanity and we have been brought into the place where we can go right through to the Divine end, the full realization that vanity no longer rests upon us.
And all that’s required of us is to know Him – believe Him and act on His Word, And in the Lord Jesus Christ we have the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Know Believe Live
And that One Way is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ – God’s own living Word. The general principle is simply... know the Word, believe the Word, and live by the Word. 1) Know God’s Word – Gain knowledge, and develop a deep desire to know Him. 2) Believe God’s Word – Trust Him implicitly and believe the truth of His Word. 3) Live God’s Word – apply His Word daily to all you are and say and think and do.
And yet He chose to reveal Himself to those who believe in Christ Jesus.
We have got to see everything in the light of the Person, Jesus Christ!
You may not grasp the point but it is of infinite importance because all progress in the Christian life and all power in Christian service comes from not the grasping, the apprehending, and the enjoyment of salvation as such, but seeing Jesus!
Because, you see, Jesus is the sum total of ALL Divine fullness.
I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. (Ephesians 3:14,15)
That is what is happening in this dispensation.... The revelation above all revelations of God in the history of the world is the revelation in which we are now living; the revelation of the Father, brought to us by the Son, Jesus Christ.
ot the Law of Moses, for though perfect, the Law given to Moses kills. Perfection can never be reached by the efforts of sinful man, that Law points to Christ, for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Her mind was diverted for Him. Mary’s mind was focused on the Lord Jesus.
No doubt I shall find lovely confidence in the Lord in respect of His government of this world, the comfort of forgiveness, the happy confidence of integrity of heart, and remarkable prophecies of Christ; but where shall I find heavenly hopes, or my union with the glorified Lord Jesus, or even the out-flowings of divine grace, as manifested in His person on earth, or the blessed affection which flows from hearts acquainted with these?
John 16:33 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution in this world. 2 Timothy 3:12 Satan has blinded the hearts of those that are perishing and lost in their sins, but the venom of Satan’s spiritual realm is specifically targeting two creations – Israel – the old creation in Jacob; and the Church – the New Creation in Christ.
So we, as believers, have been already brought by Jesus Christ our Head, in His death and resurrection, into the heavenly places,' and to us have been given all things that pertain unto life and godliness' (2 Pet. 1:3).
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.Romans 7:25
I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.Philippians 4:13
Roman Road
We should know, understand and apply the law of life in Christ Jesus, and Romans 6 is a vital passage, which describes this victorious Christian life, but is founded on an understanding of the previous chapters.
The reason most Christians have to go through the Romans chapter 7 experience, is by living under the wrong law – living under the destructive law of sin and death rather than the liberating law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
I, Jesus, have sent My angel to attest these things to you for the churches.
God Incarnate
Were Jesus not fully God He could never have become our Saviour nor could He have imputed us with His own righteousness or given us the free gift of eternal life – for only God is good and perfect and sinless and eternal.
But united in this one Person was undiminished deity and true humanity – the Word made flesh – the Lord Jesus Christ.
Indeed, there are numerous passages where we discover that the Lord Jesus Christ is linked with the house of David.
Throne of David
In Romans we read that Christ was made of the seed of David – according to the flesh, while the Luke reminds us that Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem, the city of David.
Christ’s genealogy listed in Luke links the Lord Jesus through Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer of Ruth, who was to become the grandmother of king David – while in Acts we read that Christ, Who was raised from the dead was anointed to receive the faithful covenant blessing made to David. Luke tells us that Christ is to one day sit on the throne of David, while in Acts we read that He was promised the sure mercies of David.
Root and Stem
Truly the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the lineage of His famous and beloved father, King David is chronicled in many passages of Scripture and yet we know that David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: The LORD, (the God of Israel) said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. Jesus Christ was both the Son of David through His genealogy as recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke and David’s Lord – for He was also the only begotten Son of God.
Fully God
Oh yes, the eternal Son of God in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ had every right to proclaim in the book of Revelation, I Am the Root and the Offspring of David …and I hold the keys of David – for Christ was both David’s Son and David’s Lord. Were Christ not undiminished deity combined with true humanity….
were Jesus not fully God, He could not have been our Saviour nor could He have imputed us with His own righteousness or given us the free gift of eternal life – for only God is good and perfect and sinless and eternal.
Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us looking to Jesus…Hebrews 12:1
– the Lord Jesus.
Standard of Patience
The Lord Jesus is our pattern and example of patience – our model and our standard. His life is a true example of perseverance, tolerance, long-suffering – and patience.
Christ’s Patience
There was an enduring patience, and a patient endurance, seen in the life of Jesus!
We can run with patience the race that is set before us, if we look to Jesus.
God-Man
God made the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was the second person of the eternal Trinity, to come in the likeness of human flesh, through the pure Seed of the fallen woman.
It is essential for the believer to see that his old nature has been completely rejected by God at Calvary, and that as a new creation he is fully and eternally accepted in the Lord Jesus.
Through the victory won on Calvary we enter into newness of life; and as the old nature seeks to assert its supremacy, each uprising of it must be handed over to the Lord Jesus Christ, that He may deal with it.
For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh (2 Cor. 4:11).
The Lord Jesus was not passive; the Apostle Paul was not passive; nor is the believer passive who seeks to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
Under the Mosaic law-system, love for others was to be in the degree in which one loved himself; under grace it is to be in the degree in which the Lord Jesus has loved the believer and given His life for him (1 John 3:16). -L.S.C.
If you only know the work of the Lord Jesus you are prepared to make sacrifices, but if you know Him as your life then you are ready to suffer for Him.
To a large extent, we will be pawns of the devil until we stand on the specific facts of the Bible and assert, I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and am a new creation in Him on the basis of the finished work of Calvary.
It is not your death that entitles you to it, but the Lord Jesus' death.
There is not a single shade that was between us and the Father, but the Lord Jesus has removed in His death. -J.B.S.
The great work of the Lord Jesus was wrought on the Cross to bring us to the Father; His death and His Blood, His ascension and sitting on the Throne; all mean one thing - our being brought nigh to dwell in the Father's presence.
The Lord Jesus stood where I was, and now I stand where He is, and that is the only place I have before my Father.
Justification
Many teachers consider discipleship as integral to the initial stage of salvation… making discipleship a requirement of salvation – an add on to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ..” But salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Discipleship, like sanctification, is a term that must be seen in its proper context so that we can understand what the Lord Jesus meant when He challenged His followers:- “Whoever does not come after Me and carry his own cross – cannot be My disciple.” “Whoever does not forsake all he has and come after me – cannot be My disciple”
God may use an unbeliever to forward His sovereign plans and purposes, as He did with Pharaoh – but they can never be conformed into the image of the Lord Jesus. They can never gain spiritual understanding and maturity for that is the unique right and privilege of the body of Christ.
It is a beautiful, free gift of grace, which is extended to all who trust on Christ Jesus. It is only the believer in Christ that can be sanctified and set apart unto the Lord – BUT not all Christians are prepared to progress along the path to spiritual maturity – not all Christians grow in grace, and many simply remain in spiritual infancy all their lives. Only believers can be set apart to God – but not all will identify with the cross of Christ. Only believers can grow in grace – but not all will take up their cross and follow Him. Only believers can become TRUE disciples of Jesus – but not all believers will become disciples.
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life – through His name.John 20:31
John even wrote his gospel to show that Jesus, the Word made flesh and Son of God, is the Messiah, Who died for our sins so that we might live, by simply believing on Him.
Believe in Christ… believe on Jesus..
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
He shows us that salvation is all by God’s grace, which came through Jesus.
When anything is added to, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” it is not of grace.
Adding to Grace
When man is required to add something to the cross of Christ, it nullifies His work, but many, many ministries today are adding to the simple gospel message of GRACE. If we are told we are to believe AND do something – it is adding to Christ’s cross. John tells us that as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God – even to them that believe on His name… believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith of Abraham
But what does it actually mean to ‘believe’ – to ‘believe on the name of Jesus’? Well, Paul cites Abraham as a man of faith – an example of one who believed God.
By Grace – Thru Faith
To have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is to believe what God has said about Him.
To trust in Jesus Christ is to depend on what God says about His Son in His Word.
Being born again is not believe and be baptised – but believe on the Lord Jesus. Paul tells us that if it is not by faith – then it is not of grace.
Lordship Salvation
Some ministries say that in order to be saved you must make Jesus Lord of your life.
They say that if you do not make Jesus Lord of your life, you are not properly saved – Or that if you stray from this path into carnality you have lost your eternal salvation.
Making Jesus Lord of your life is good.. but not a requirement of scriptural salvation.
To make Jesus your Lord is part of spiritual growth but must never be added to the simple gospel of salvation, which is a free gift of God – to all who believe on Jesus.
Some people add works of the flesh, works of the Law – self-imposed rules or Church regulations and a variety of ‘add-ons’ to the basic gospel of salvation by grace – through faith in Christ Jesus, while others insist on actions relating to eating or drinking – places of worship or times and seasons – spiritual fruit or gifts of the Holy Spirit.
But the gospel of John was specifically written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life – through His name.
There is no work involved in our receiving the Lord Jesus for life, and there should certainly be no self-effort involved in the manifestation of His life in and through us.
˜Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Cor. 15:57).
The Father has left us as much dependent on the Lord Jesus' work for our deliverance as for our forgiveness.
It is to prevent the Lord Christ Jesus, the anointed of God, to return as King of kings.
Multitudes followed Jesus for what He would give them or do for them.
A woman with an issue of blood – a blind-deaf mute– a dead girl’s mum and dad – and because of their faith in Jesus mountains were moved in their lives.
True Trust
Today there are multitudes that believe in Him for saving grace – and praise God, and hallelujah – many are born-again through belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He knew and trusted Jesus – and that was sufficient for all he needed.
Can the devil and His principalities say: “Jesus I know..” and “Paul I know..
Satan’s Goal
His final downfall is prerecorded but his present activity is viciously cruel. The god of this world system has one main objective, one goal, one aim – it is to prevent the Lord Christ Jesus, the anointed of God return as King of kings. His main focus is to rob the spiritual believer of his or her true fighting power.
Resisting Satan
Are we man enough or woman enough to stand to the end and have faith in Jesus?
Lack of Love
The Lord Jesus told us of a scarcity of one vital element as the day approaches.
Jesus told us that there would be a lack of love in the body of Christ.
Protective Garments
Every piece of armour signifies the Lord Jesus.
Let us be like the Thessalonian believers, who Paul remembers with affection for... your work of Faith, your labour of Love, and your patience of Hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,” 1 1Thessalonians 1:3
And yet this deceptive seed can grow and blossom.. in the heart of many a careless saint. As soon as my eyes are taken from the face of Jesus, I also fall prey to this cantankerous disease. How can I search out and rid myself of this bane.. in the life of all who would live Godly? How can I root out this evil that seeks to separate me from the One Who is my Sustainer?
Pride versus Humility
As Pride elevates Self, so humility looks away from self and gazes on Jesus.
Bold Statement
The eternal Son of God became the incarnate Word and was made flesh by being conceived of the Holy Spirit in a virgin’s womb and was born into the human race in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ – the only begotten Son of the Father – so that He could claim of His renowned ancestor, before Abraham was I AM. The religious leaders of the Jews knew without a doubt that Jesus of Nazareth was making the bold pronouncement that He was God – for He had dared to use the sacred name of God in reference to Himself, I AM – before Abraham was..
But Jesus was hidden and left the temple.
And so it was that the time was accomplished that Christ was born as a son of Abraham: the father of Isaac who was the father of Jacob, from whose loins came forth the Jewish nation – and through whom was born the Messiah of Israel – the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through Isaac
For sixty-odd years Israel has laid claim to the Land by virtue of their descendency from Abraham and Isaac, while Islam has similarly declared ownership of the same land – falsely claiming it was promised to them through Abraham and Ishmael – but Christ is the promised SEED of Abraham through Isaac, and only through Jesus Christ will Israel be finally settled in their promised land and find true rest, while all the nations who trust in the true Seed, Jesus Christ will be blessed.
Role of Israel
It was Joshua who led Israel into the promised land of rest, so many centuries ago and it will be the Lord Jesus Christ Who provides the true millennial rest in His coming glorious kingdom – a future time when Israel will be the head of the nations and not the tail.
Humanity of Christ
The eternal Son of God became the incarnate Word and was made flesh by being conceived of the Holy Spirit in a virgin’s womb and was born into the human race in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ – the only begotten Son of the Father.
As the son of God and Son of Man, the Lord Jesus could rightly claim of His renowned ancestor, before Abraham was I AM….
The Cross alone provides death to self and life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God forbid that I should glory, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world (Gal. 6:14).
What becomes us now is to have the Lord Jesus before us, and not the correction of the old man.
It is plain that if you are clear of the domination of the old man you can have no man before you but the Lord Jesus, and the more sensible you are of how ready the flesh is to intrude.
alive unto God through Jesus Christ, our Lord (Rom. 6:11b).
Idolatry is anything we trust in for deliverance, in the place of Jesus and His grace.
Nothing can ever remove us from the love of God which is In Christ Jesus – nothing, but we can either choose to remain in constant fellowship with the Lord..
You seek Him to search out any rebellious attitude where self reigns supreme – and you admit to yourself that you left your first love, the Lord Jesus.
Jesus said in John 15:5 “Without Me ye can do nothing …..” “Yet” you argue, “I can do many adventurous, bold, brash, and fearless things!
There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus, for we are accepted. 2.
Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).
Our past will plague us until we acknowledge that we are now clear of Adam and safely hidden in the risen Lord Jesus - newly-born creations in Him.
Regret for a sinful past will remain until we truly believe that for us in the Lord Jesus that sinful past no longer exists.
In the Lord Jesus he died, and in Him he rose, and he is now seated in Him within the circle of the Father's favored ones.
The knowledge of our union with the Lord Jesus is what will deliver the believer from all that is low and feeble, and will lift him to a life of joy and peace.
The believer shares the Lord Jesus' Cross knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him' Rom. 6:6); His death:- ye died and your life is hid with Christ in God' Col. 3:3); His burial:- we were buried with him by baptism into death' Rom. 6:4); His resurrection:- as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we' Rom. 6:4); His ascension:- made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus' Eph. 2:6). -F.J.H.
There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).
Aid to Growth
Scripture from prophecy to poetry, from history to science point to Him, and on that road to Emmaus in Luke 24 we read that: beginning at Moses and all the prophets, Jesus expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:27.
and I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness – which is from the law, but that righteousness which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.
Jesus said that He had glorified the Father by finishing the Fathers work… I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.
He shall not cry nor strive, nor let His voice be heard in the street.' There are very few servants of the Lord Jesus who, Samson-like, could kill a lion without letting everybody know of it.
But the Lord Jesus made no parade; He would not have His good deeds blazed abroad.
It was better that Jesus went away, so that His Spirit could become an internal presence.
Work of God
Jesus said: this is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29 Believe in Him for the forgiveness of your sins – believe Him that through life’s trials you are being changed into his likeness..
Your Service to God must reflect His only Standard of Good – the Lord Jesus..
Only our new life, has been made alive by the imputed life of the sinless Lord Jesus. His sinless, righteous life has been given, by grace, to ALL who believe on His name.
Abide in Him
May our new, born-again life in Christ be progressively sanctified. May our new, born-again life in Christ be practically sanctified. May our new, born-again life in Christ be set apart unto God, for only as we abide in Him will we grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
but in these last days He has spoken to us by his Son –Jesus, the Word of God.
And let us keep looking to Jesus, Who is the founder and perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, and despised the shame.
May the Lord Jesus in His Word be more simply the Object of our hearts in this evil day. -J.B.S.
I find that the Lord Jesus loved me and gave Himself for me when I was in a most unattractive state; but He makes me suitable to Himself, and I am so assured of the permanency of His love and of my association with Him that my heart is free to study Him.
To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6b).
In Christ you also, when you HEARD the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and BELIEVED in Jesus, were SEALED with the promised Holy Spirit.Ephesians 1:13
Scripture alone provides the truth of the when, where, why, and how of our 'sealing'. 'In Christ you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Jesus, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.' Ephesians 1:13
Down Payment
We are placed into the body of Christ the moment we first trust Jesus as Saviour. First, we had to hear the gospel of truth, for faith comes by hearing the word of God. Then we had to believe the gospel of truth and all who believe in Christ are saved – and through believing in His name we were given the right to become His children.
placed into the body of Jesus Christ. You were permanently in-dwelt by the Spirit and you were sealed by Him too.
Purchase Price
The purchase price of the life of every believer was the perfect life of the Lord Jesus. He bought us with His blood for He was the only purchase price for you and for me.
Purchase Possession
You and I and all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are His purchased possession.
Seal of Certainty
God’s seal is an expression of the certainty of our protection from evil. God’s seal is an expression of the certainty of our promised inheritance. God’s seal is an expression of the certainty of His ownership of our lives, for we are His purchased possession – bought with the blood of Jesus Christ – Who bought us with His own blood... Who bore our sins in His own body and Who redeemed us from the curse of the law and became our purchase price.
Grace Thru Faith - STUDY
Jesus – All in All
Jesus is the Source and Sound - the Wellspring and Completion of our faith.
Jesus is the Alpha and Omega - the Beginning and End of our hope.
Jesus is the Starting and Ending - the Genesis and Revelation of our love. Jesus is the First and Last - the Origin and Objective of our life.
Jesus is the Root and the Stem - the Plan and Purpose and Goal of all – for we are complete in Jesus.
God, Himself, has made each and every blood-bought child complete in Him. For of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30
Amazing Grace
Jesus is indeed our Source and Sound..
for we are complete in Jesus. We are complete in Him.
Sins are ungodly attitudes that mar our witness. When believers sin we should immediately confess that particular sin to the Father – and God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness. In 1 John 1:7 we read that the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. Every sin we carry out is a violation against God – and it needs to be confessed.
for there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Since He is both my God and my Father, and since all of the hardships He takes me through are specifically designed to conform me to the image of the Lord Jesus, how can I help but trust Him and rejoice in His faithfulness?
That I may know Him (Phil. 3:10).
It takes us years of trial and error to finally realize that nothing outside the Lord Jesus Christ can fully satisfy and rejoice our hearts.
We which live are always delivered unto death.' The more you enjoy the Lord Jesus who has been refused here, the more you are practically severed from all here. -J.B.S.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.Hebrews 12:2
Look to Jesus
Admit your pain and fear to the Father. He desires to carry you through your anguish of soul.
There is nopoint in Jesus saying: When He, the Spirit of truth, iscome, He shall guide you into all the truth, if we couldget there by our own intelligence.
The Holy Spirit must always present to me the Lord Jesus Christ, that I may grow and have peace. -J.N.D.
Spiritual power is not the miraculous or the spectacular, but rather the consistent manifestation of the characteristics of the Lord Jesus in the believer's life.
All this is the work of the Spirit, of whom the Lord Jesus said, He shall glorify Me' (John 16:14).
Thirdly, the Lord Jesus as the constant object of the affections of the heart, for the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart is to fill it with contemplation of and fellowship with the Lord Jesus in glory.
Even if we are totally unable to obey and cannot even exercise faith, a day comes when the resistance has vanished and we are trusting the Lord Jesus in simplicity of heart.
Our union with the Lord Jesus is a union of life.
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6).
To have life is not enough: the life of the Lord Jesus demands the death of the flesh, if that life is to be fully developed and become fruitful in us.
In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk! (Acts 3:6 NLT)
The members of the new heavenly Israel are people who have been delivered from self-interest into God's interest, who have been put on their spiritual feet by Jesus Christ and are walking in strength in the way of the Lord.
This poor man was delivered because he knew his own helplessness and he believed what Jesus said.
He believed on to Jesus Christ, which means that he believed out of himself.
Obey God’s Word
It was the Lord Jesus Himself Who set this president for desiring spiritual food. He tells us: My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.
Peter tells us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and we grow by living in Him and He in us, by assimilating His life into ours.
Living For Christ
A Christian life that takes on board the words of Jesus and the instructions of Paul lives in the spirit of Christ; works in the spirit of Christ; prays in the spirit of Christ and has his being in the Spirit of Christ. But it means an uncomfortable daily examination of the carnal self.
Not knowing one another after the flesh does not mean that all that realm will cease to exist for us, but it does mean that we shall look beyond that realm and we shall steadily seek grace and the help of the Holy Spirit to cultivate and develop a determination to look through what we are by nature to what there is of the Lord Jesus and of the Holy Spirit in one another, and keep our eyes upon that.
This is a love that chose you before the foundation of the world: Father, I will that they also, whom You hast given Me, be with Me where I am – and Jesus means you.
Old Testament Types
Joseph who is a wonderful ‘type‘ of the Lord Jesus said to his brothers: you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
He so loved you so much that He sent Jesus.
But many fall at the last hurdle and lose their faith: So I urge you like Joseph, Job and Jesus to say, Thy will be done in my life – to Your praise and Your glory forever and ever – Amen.
Return of Christ
Jesus said:- behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. (Ephesians 1:3 NLT)
With many Christians, it may be almost thought that the Lord Jesus was but the introduction to Moses.
That His death procured the payment of sin's debt, so that the debt being paid, the believer might be in a position to keep the law, and that, accordingly, the law, and not the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,' might be the believer's rule of life. -H.F.W.
Eternal Union
I believed in Jesus as a child, but don’t remember the day I trusted Him as saviour.
Ephesians 4:5 God wants us to become spiritually mature: so grow in grace, and grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18.
Walk in the Light
For if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Oh, truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
God’s Grace
Paul’s epistles give descriptive details of the riches of God’s grace towards believers. He details over and again our position in Christ – our privileges and our possession. He desires that our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is firmly fixed on truth and not on the philosophies of man.
Positional Identity
We must be aware of the importance of our positional identity in Christ Jesus. We must recognise that we have been sanctified through Christ – once and forever.
We must have confidence in the heavenly position to which we have been elevated. We must understand the eternal plan and purpose that God has for each of His own. We must rejoice in our spiritual blessings and glorious identity in Christ Jesus. We must renounce all the lies that the enemy uses to undermine our faith in God.
Be rooted and grounded and built up in Him - strengthened and established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness and bubbling over with gratitude to our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
I can only remind you again of what a large place that has in the Word of God: be strong, be strong in the Lord in the strength of His might, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Subject of Scripture
Jesus said to those that rejected Him, You search the Scriptures: because you believe they give you eternal life, but the Scriptures point to Me!– John 5:39 All scripture points to the Lord Jesus Christ – science, prophecy, life, and death must all have Christ as the one, unique focal point.
We are all like Martha – bothered, worried, and troubled about by many things, and like her, all our botherings become hindrances in our relationship with Jesus.
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.
We are to pair away everything that diverts us away from knowing Jesus.
But remember..what Jesus said, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and bothered about many things.
We need to ask Jesus to show us the encumbrances in our own lives – and tell Him that with His guidance we are willing to lay them all at His feet.
For Their Sakes
In the case of John 15:13 our thoughts immediately fly to the Lord Jesus. He died on the cross, uttering the words: “it is finished“, so that we might live.
What a challenge to each of us – to see the willing submission of the Lord Jesus.
Often when a believer finally sees his identification with the Lord Jesus in His death and resurrection, as set forth in Romans Six, he will then seek to experience it by self-effort.
As our Substitute He went to the Cross alone, without us, to pay the penalty of our sins; as our Representative He took us with Him to the Cross, and there, in the sight of God, we all died together with the Lord Jesus.
It is the Holy Spirit who will make these great facts real and true in our experience as we depend upon Him; and so the plague of our hearts will be stayed, and we shall go on to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. -J.C.M.
However, for the Lord Jesus to be fully manifested, it is going to involve a lifetime of the Holy Spirit's deep dealing with the more subtle and deadly characteristics of the self-life always delivered unto death (2 Cor. 4:11).
By the daily supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ' (Phil. 1:19), the believer united to his Risen Lord grows continually to a more perfect knowledge and likeness of his Creator,' and grows up after the image of Him that created him, in the sphere where Christ is all, and in all.' The child naturally grows up in the likeness of his father, and the new life communicated to the redeemed grows up in the likeness of Him who is the Creator of the new creation if so be that the death with Christ is unflinchingly recognized, and old things' are truly allowed to pass away to make room for the growth of the new man, which is after God . . .
Christian Call
Being a believer in the Lord Jesus is not a popular calling. The true Christian soon discovers his lot is no easy option, for Christ was crucified by the world, and the world loves the Lord of Life no more today than it did 2000 years ago. His pure standards are different and shunned by the masses. His Godly objectives are counter to the self-seeking nature, and despised – despised and rejected of men, and so He became acquainted with grief. While men of the world serve themselves and please their selfish selves.
This is the task of all who would follow in the footsteps of the Messiah… For all who live godly will suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12 and Jesus prayed: the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. John 17:14
If I am independent of the winter, it is evident that I have mastered it, and not it me; and if I have done so, through the strength of the Lord Jesus, I am relieved though in no human way.
It is a wonderful thing to be so satisfied with the Lord Jesus' company, that we can be tranquil about everything.
Stamford Wrote…
Stamford wrote of the apostle Paul: 'There was a ‘supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ’ for Paul, and that made it possible for Christ to be magnified in Paul.
New Tests
'This is the explanation of so much that we cannot otherwise understand—this plunging of us into new tests where only a fresh supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ will meet our needs.
The answer is in Jesus Christ my Lord. Romans 7:24
STUDY in PRAYER
By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way.Hebrews 10:20
Remain in Christ
Teach me Lord to REMAIN IN CHRIST– teach us to remain in His love and guard and keep ourselves in the love of God; to expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ – Who will bring us unto life eternal.
Pray for Fellowship
Teach me, Lord, to be in FELLOWSHIP with You - the one only true God Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, splendour, majesty, might and dominion, power and authority, before all time and now and forevermore – Amen.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort… Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Every one was carried out to the letter – in and through the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal Son of God took upon Himself human flesh and became the perfect Son of Man – but had the Man Christ Jesus been anything but fully human, He could never have fulfilled this plethora of prophecies that authenticate – to the letter, His descendancy from His father Abraham and His legitimate right to the throne of David:– His anointed position as Israel’s coming Messiah and their rightful King.
Prophesied Redeemer
Had the Lord Jesus been anything but fully human, many of the prophecies of Scripture would have remained unfulfilled for only as man’s Kinsman-Redeemer, Who was like unto His brothers in every way – (and yet was without sin), could the Lord Jesus Christ have become our Saviour, and obediently carry out the demands of a holy God, in submission to His Father – and in so doing give His life as a ransom for many.
It is considered by some of the finest mathematical minds that the odds of Jesus fulfilling all 300 Old Testament prophecies is immeasurable – indeed it has been calculated that the probability of only 8 prophecies being fulfilled by one man is a ratio of 1:28 which is 1 : 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Christ’s First Advent
The inerrant Word of God authenticates to the letter the fulfilment of every single prophecy of Christ’s first advent, but had the Lord Jesus not been fully Man as well being undiminished Deity, many of those prophecies could never have found their true fulfilment in Christ – for the Messiah of Israel must be born of the seed of a woman – He must be the offspring of Abraham.
Micah’s Prophecy
It was Micah who announced, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth the One to be Ruler in Israel, while Matthew in his gospel (written predominantly to the house of Israel), gives the beautiful detail of the birth of the Lord Jesus, Who was to be called Immanuel – God with us..
and that His adoptive father was to call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
It was Matthew, who when quoting Isaiah chapter 11, writes of Christ Jesus as the Shoot, Who springs from His ancestor Jesse, the father of king David – describing the humble home in Nazareth and the early childhood of our Lord Jesus in great detail – for the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon Him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord... and He delighted in the fear of the Lord.
Every one was carried out to the letter – in and through the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The answer is in the resurrection.... Resurrection is not to be only something that happened with Jesus, but it is something that has happened in us and taken place inside of us.
It is not just history and tradition, it is experience.... We have not only to believe that Jesus rose from the dead, but we have got to be alive ourselves with Him in that resurrection and on that ground.
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus expounded to them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself.Luke 24:27
Mum, he said excitedly down the phone: it all points to Jesus!
Damascus and Emmaus
The carnality of self is thus revealed so we may grow into maturity of Christ, but in the believers’ infant years we know little or nothing about self, and little enough about the Lord Jesus Himself.
Here we have the central and basic reality of true New Testament Christianity, of the Church and the churches Jesus on the right hand of God.
There was an implicit call to the Church of Jesus to leave the Temple and all that went with it and to move into the greater, the fuller, and the abiding reality.
God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory, – in Christ Jesus.Philippines 4:19
All-Sufficient God
For God is able to make all grace abound to YOU, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9 God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory, in Christ Jesus..
God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14).
It cannot be too frequently emphasized that for the believer, the ground or basis of prayer is the death of Jesus Christ - the victory won by the Son of God on Calvary, just as the ground and basis of His intercession at this moment is His propitiation on the Cross.
He only keeps within the compass of His living Son in manifestation.... Let us ask the Lord to create in us a passionate ambition to express the Lord Jesus more than anything else.
Not to preach great truths, to be preachers, teachers, or anything like that as such, but to express the Lord Jesus, that out of Himself, His own presence, His own measure, His own nature, our opportunities for preaching, if we are going to preach at all, will come, not because we can talk, but because it is known that we have something of the Lord.
And may it not be that that was the thing about the Lord Jesus that carried such weight, for He spoke as One having authority, and not as the Scribes (Matt. 7:29).
But grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.2 Peter 2:18
All believers are to become like Jesus.
But growth only takes place as we submit to the indwelling Spirit and He appeals to our God-given volition, to grow in grace and in a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18.
to put all sin away, which is achieved by living, walking and growing in grace – by becoming more like Jesus.
May we who have ears to hear what the Spirit says in His Word, listen carefully to all that He says – and to apply it in our lives, as we grow in grace and in a knowledge of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
I had gone ‘forward’ at a Billy Graham crusade, despite believing in Jesus before.
I sang of Jesus to old ladies that were housebound.
Believing the Truth affects the eternal soul of man, through time and eternity, for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid – which is Jesus Christ.” 1Corinthians 3:11 How it pleased the heart of the apostle John who was able to say of Gaius, for I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.” 3John 1:3
Spirit of Truth
When we start to really recognise Truth, for Who He is - the Lord Jesus Christ, we begin to recognise the deceitfulness in our own hearts.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:6-7
one fixed on Jesus the Author and Finisher of faith.
Unsaved Sinner
The unsaved sinner is the one that is justified by the blood of the Lord Jesus. We are justified and made righteous by the remission of our sins through Christ’s blood.
a time when the Lord Jesus comes for His bride – at the rapture… a time when the 2000-year long Christian dispensation is completed.
For without the blood of Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sin, and without the blood of Christ, there is no communion with God.
Overcoming the Enemy
Without the blood of Jesus, no one can defeat Satan, sin, and death.
The blood of Jesus is often only seen in the context of forgiveness of sins, but there is more that this cleansing flood has achieved in a believer’s life.
Progressional Steps
Well, one salty saint sees this as our progress, he writes:- The First step is that we believe that the Lord Jesus was sent of God.
Rooted in Love
And after all of this… what then? The interesting this is, that over these years I have observed it all comes back to one thing… LOVE. Firstly, our relationship with the Lord Jesus is by faith. Secondly..
that faith without love is really very ineffective. Thirdly, every promise in Revelation 2 and 3 brings you back to loving Jesus. Fourth, every crown we can gain has its roots in love. Fifth – there is nothing we can do of ourselves. All these are vital principles of the Christian life. All these truths are foundational Gospel facts.
The bottom line is that Jesus is coming back soon – are you ready?
Jer.31:3. God loves you with an everlasting love and Jesus loves with an everlasting love. Our Lord did not pray for the world that the world might be saved… He prayed: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me John 17:21 AND… that He loved them. John 13:1
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame. (Hebrews 12:2)
The church has no existence in the thought of God apart from the revelation of Jesus Christ, and it is judged according to the measure in which Christ the Son of God love is in evidence by its existence.
Controversies with God will divide, but those artificial things, those things resultant from man activity and his projecting of himself, insinuating of himself into the interests of God, those things cannot abide where there is an adequate inward revelation of the Lord Jesus; they cannot be.
These two things are before us: one, because of the revelation of Jesus Christ in our hearts we have a passion for Him; on the other hand, because of the absence of asufficient revelation of Christ in our hearts we are out for other things which we would say are in His interests, and for Him, but which can never, never satisfy God heart.
Hell is dead set against the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Everything begins with this, the revelation of Jesus Christ within.
Law of Faith
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…” Acts 16:31 Then once saved we are to live by the law of faith, we are to stand by faith; walk by faith; live by faith; pray by faith.
Not the theological Christ; not the doctrinal Christ; not the Christ of the letter, much less the Jesus of history; but the Christ of eternity in all the meaning of His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into the Throne of God revealed in the heart by the Holy Spirit.
The point is, have I recognized that the Cross of the Lord Jesus was the smashing and ending of me, good and bad, so that I am not holding up before the Lord anything?
Kingdom of God
Jesus had been with the disciples for three wonderful years, but He was leaving. He was to return to heaven after He had paid the full price for the sin of the world. The disciples knew He was their Messiah.
Crucifixion Revealed
But now they discovered that Jesus is about to leave them and had talked of His death. He had told them He would be betrayed and crucified and that He would rise again, This was not the expectation that this little band of followers had of their Master.
Jesus said that they would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Gospel of the Kingdom
For three years the coming kingdom had been the wonderful gospel Jesus had taught.
The gospel of the kingdom was here – how could Jesus say He was going away? And they continued to believe this to be the case for much of the book of Acts.
Paul was to be God’s revealer of the great doctrinal truths of predestination, election, justification, sanctification, glorification, and our heavenly position in Christ Jesus – but the wider plan of God for the Church age was waiting to be opened up by Paul.
Peter’s Boast
Yet Peter wanted to know where the Jesus was going, and when Jesus simply told him that he could not follow Him, Peter demanded to know why… “Lord, why can I not follow You right now?” and then boasted, “I will lay down my life for You…” And the confused Thomas joined in, for we read that Thomas said.. “Lord, we do not know where you are going.
Christ’s Omniscience
Jesus in His omniscience knew that He was to be despised, rejected, and crucified.
Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him; Peter deny Him – and the Jews crucify Him.
Why did Jesus know that He would be raised from the dead?
Trust in Christ
The disciples all loved their Lord, but there was much they did not understand.. and so the Lord Jesus had to comfort them saying, Let not your hearts be troubled – you believe in God – then believe in Me – believe in ME
But God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world (Gal. 6:14).
The Lord Jesus carried out the work of the Cross as to our eternal position.
But may it never be mine to boast of anything but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world! (Gal. 6:14, Wms.).
As this great principle opens up to us, it will help us to understand how in our life, and in our fellowship with the Lord Jesus, it is impossible for us to share the fulness of His life until we have first in very deed surrendered ourselves every day as having died to sin and the world.
The fellowship of the Cross is to be the life of a daily walk - His taking the form of a servant, His humbling Himself and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross; this mind that was in the Lord Jesus is to be the disposition that marks our daily life.
Have this mind [attitude] in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:5, ASV).
We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus.... (2 Timothy 1:9 ESV)
Bright Morning Star
Jesus is not only the Light that lights every man that comes into the world, He is the Day-Spring Himself - the Bright Morning Star.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure.His power no boundary known unto man;For out of His infinite riches in Jesus.He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
Your statement of faith may include the fact that you believe Jesus died and rose again, ascended to heaven, and is at the right hand of the Majesty on High, but how are you going to prove your statement?
Reducing the whole matter to these two points that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and is Lord of all you have still to prove your statement after you have made it.
Thus the resurrection and the lordship of Jesus are bound up with this expression which is called the testimony.
How, then, will you prove that Jesus has conquered death?
If the full deity of Jesus Christ were to be false..
Accept the deity of Christ, and the Bible becomes an intelligible and ordered revelation of God in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Son of God
Those who believe in Christ’s equal deity with the Father declare as truth, that the virgin-born babe of Bethlehem, Who lived as the biblical Jesus of Nazareth and died on a cross – was pre-existent in uncreated eternity and became fully human as the infinite God of the universe and Creator of all things – the Son of God and 2nd person of the Holy Trinity.
Whole Hope
One godly saint of old wrote these words for posterity: With all possible conviction and faith I confess my Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, on Whom my whole hope of eternal life and present rest and strength depends – in the proper and ultimate sense, we say – He is God… eternal; all-holy; almighty; One from eternity and to eternity, with the Father and the Spirit… forever and ever Amen.
The consciousness of Jesus Christ every day was of His union with His Father, the oneness that existed between them: As Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee (John 17:21).
The consciousness of the Lord Jesus was of the very closest union with God as His Father, and that was because the very life of God was in Him.
Jesus came to bring it in His own person: not to talk about union with God, but to live out a life of union with God and to bring His disciples into the same union.
The one new man is a corporate, spiritual entity, who are entrusted with Christ’s work. Jesus said of those that make up this one new man, “and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” John 14:12
Jesus came as the Head of a new creation of man – and was the ‘firstborn’ of many sons.
Jesus said I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.
John 10:10 And the life that Jesus offers is a perfect life, an abundant life, an eternal life.
The one new man is a corporate, spiritual entity who are entrusted with Christ’s work. Jesus said of those that make up this one new man, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” John 14:12
As the laws which mould the stars and move the gigantic orbs of Saturn and Uranus in their tremendous circuits, shape the dewdrop that glistens at the end of a blade of grass, so should everything in the Christian's life be regulated by the principles which lie in the Person and Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is as our hearts are under the sway of that grace which is ministered to us through the Lord Jesus Christ, and as we are knit to Him in affection, that we touch and taste a new life, and are severed in heart from all that constituted the life of our old man.
But it is very important that we should recognize that foreverGod has bound up everything with His Son, and that nothingwill ever be had or enjoyed apart from Christ, while for thispresent life that is only by faith in the Lord Jesus.
You can never make men and women Christians by inviting them to make certain decisions, to assent mentally to certain propositions of Christian doctrine, though perfectly true as to the Person and work of the Lord Jesus.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3 NIV)
When Jesus told them, “I AM,” they backed away and fell to the ground.John 18:6
Attacking the Gospel
It is becoming increasingly popular and ‘politically correct‘ to water down the gospel! It is getting progressively unfashionable to teach that Jesus Christ is fully God. It is considered far too exclusive to declare Jesus as the one and only way to the Father. It’s also a ‘crime against humanity‘ to teach much that’s contained in the Word of God. Attacks on biblical truth are undertaken in many sects, cults, and government bodies.
Christ’s Deity
Scripture witnesses to the deity of the eternal Son - a coequal member of the Godhead. Scripture endorses the unique nature of Christ - and His Oneness with God the Father. Scripture is its own interpreter, and the authority of Scripture cannot be broken. Oh, there are many passages in Scripture that witness to Jesus Christ as God Incarnate.
And Paul qualified this by stating that:- Jesus Christ was God, manifest in the flesh.
Eternal Life
There are many Old Testament passages that testify to Jesus Christ as the Eternal Son of God. It was Micah who stated that His origin is from long ago – from the days of eternity. The Psalmist tells us that His throne was established from all eternity, while Isaiah proclaims, You LORD, are our Father – You are our Redeemer from of old.
And Jesus Himself had power to give eternal life – the almighty power of God.
Oh, there were many times He professed to be the eternal, omnipotent God of Israel. And during His time on the earth Jesus told the Pharisees, “Truly, truly, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.” …the exact words that the Lord God applied to Himself when He spoke to Moses at the burning bush, revealing Himself as, “I AM that I AM.”
No man takes it from Me, He cried, I lay it down Myself – I have power to lay it down I have, and I power to take it again – and His coming kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Jesus Christ Is Eternal – and in John 10:28, Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
Claim to be Eternal
If Jesus Christ isn’t eternal, he has no authority or power to give “eternal life”.
Micah states that Jesus Christ is “from everlasting“, which is exactly what Psalm 93 and Isaiah 63 say about God!
In John 8:58 He told the Pharisees, “Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I AM.” The term “I AM” are the exact words that God used in Exodus, in reference to Himself! Jesus certainly professed to be the eternal God of the Bible – many times over.
Consequences of Unbelief
Jesus is clothed with many unique names and attributes of deity throughout Scripture.
If the deity of Jesus Christ were to be false, man’s hope of salvation would be over.
The more simply devoted you are to the Lord Jesus, who is worthy of all devotion, the more fragrance there will be in all your ways; for it will be manifested that you are not seeking yourself, not wincing because your rights are invaded, or that you are not as much cared for as you are entitled to be.
Nothing can be so divinely beautiful on earth as a believer so transformed by the Spirit of God, that he is in heavenly manners here on earth; so that he does not in any of his ways deny the Lord Jesus Christ; but in the most trying hour of his history upon earth the Lord can say of him, thou hast a little power, and hast kept My Word, and hast not denied My Name.' -J.B.S.
It seems that when the Lord Jesus chose His twelve disciples there was, at the back of the choice and back of the purpose of having a company of men always with Him the intention of showing and expressing what the character of the Firstborn is so far as relationship to other members of the Family is concerned.
To put that in another way: if we study the characteristics of the Lord Jesus in relation to His own when He was here on the earth, we have a good example of what family characteristics are in the thought of the Father.
For instance, take the imperfections, the shortcomings, the weaknesses of the twelve and see what the attitude of the Lord Jesus was toward them.
The Lord Jesus was not dealing with an easy company, but a company which might often have provoked despair.
Jesus said, the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?John 18:11
Baptism of Suffering
We cannot do good to another, save at a cost to ourselves. The afflictions we bear are the price we pay to bear each other's burdens. He who would be the helper must first be the sufferer. He who would seek to help and save, must first bear the pain and the cross. We must drink of the cup that Jesus drank from.. and be baptised into the baptism that He was baptised in.
Jesus said, the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
Full Forgiveness
Jesus is the only one Who could proclaim God’s full forgiveness.
He proclaimed full and free pardon instead of pronouncing the required penalty, and in the brief prayer He taught His disciples, Jesus included forgiveness.
Jesus loves us so much that He is at the Father’s side... interceding for us.
All that we pass through is that we may get a fresh view of the Lord Jesus, or a deepening of a former one; but often we are so occupied with ourselves and the circumstances, that we fail to behold the glory of the Lord.' -C.T.
Precious Privilege
But to be careful about nothing is to cast aside all the worry that destroys our lives. To be anxious about NOTHING means to cast all your care upon the Lord Jesus.
To be careful for nothing – means to trust Jesus in everything and all-things.
The Gentile never was under the law; and being set in the Lord Jesus Christ, now that he believes, he stands on other ground, to which the law does not apply.
alive in Christ.' I am identified with the Lord Jesus dead and risen.
What an indignity religion puts on every Person of the Godhead alike, on the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ, when it drags souls back to the dread distance of Judaism. -W.K.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
That which has been chosen before the foundation of the world and which has been foreordained unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, has been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.
Commander in Chief
Christ Jesus is Commander-in-chief of both the visible and invisible universe. Christ has been awarded authority over all heavenly and earthly power and rule. All things have been placed under His feet and He has been anointed as Head.
A Man in Heaven
There is a man in heaven that is seated on the throne of God – the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is a man of flesh and bone in the celestial sphere – Christ Jesus our Lord, and He is the Head of His Body, which is the Church – and we are His Body.
So the Church is one with her Lord and Saviour – Jesus Christ the second Adam.
Perfect Law
The perfect Law was engraved on stone but is unable to beat with a heart of pure love. The faultless Law cannot empathise with our weakness or understand our difficulties. The letter of the Law may be perfect, but is insufficient to reveal the Father’s love. The ministration of law came through Moses, but fullness of grace came via Jesus.
Glory of God’s Grace
The ministration of grace can never fail, for Jesus Christ is infinite, and He is perfect. He is perfect in His Being and Work; His Word and His Ways.
Face of Jesus
The glory of God’s grace is a lantern that illumines the whole of Christ’s character. His Grace becomes a platform, upon which every perfection of Deity stands, and the fullness of the glory God’s grace, is reflected in the face of Jesus Christ.
The Law was designed to point people to Christ. God did not have to send the Lord Jesus Christ as the Word made flesh, to modify the original plan He had purposed for man… Grace was God’s plan from the beginning.
Grace and Truth
The fullness of God’s grace was in the heart of our gracious God when He purposed, before the foundation of the earth, that the WORD would become flesh and dwell among His people, so we could see the glory of God’s grace, reflected in the face of the lovely Lord Jesus – glory as of the only Son from the Father – full of grace and truth.
But how the Lord Jesus demonstrated this grace of humility through His earthly ministry - Even from His lowly stable birth; His status as a refugee in Egypt; His gracious attitude towards His earthly parents; His long years of hard toil in a common, little carpentry shop.
Learned Humility
How the poor, ridiculed, betrayed, and rejected Lord Jesus was meek and lowly.
How the Lord Jesus learned humility through every facet of His wonderful life – a life that demonstrates the glorious truths of humility.
Lonely Road
Should not we, who seek to know Him more and more, follow in His path - HIS path of humility; HIS walk of suffering; HIS trail of rejections and pain? Should we not submit to the penetrating eye of the Holy Spirit in our life - asking Him to identify pride and self-interest, that so readily tracks our earthy walk? Should we not seek Him, where He is found – on the lonely Road of Humility? Should not we seek to cover ourselves with humility as Jesus did – covered with the cloak of humility; clothed with the garment of grace.
Jesus said that in the last days that the love of most would grow cold and many would turn away from the faith, betraying and hating each other.
Spiritual Eyes
When God conquers us and takes all the flint out of our nature... when we get deep visions into the Spirit of Jesus, then we see, as never before. We see the great rarity of gentleness of spirit in this dark and un-heavenly world. The graces of the Spirit do not settle themselves down upon us by chance.
was the gospel reality to the Philippian jailer, and John the Baptist and Jesus both proclaimed the gospel of the coming Kingdom. I am the Resurrection and the Life..
And in the coming of the Lord Jesus, Who is the anointed One – the Christ of God, we have a species represented, (in Christ) – we have that type manifested, (in Christ) – we have God’s nature displayed in human flesh, (in Christ).
All this the consequence of Jesus Christ – Who is Son of God and Son of Man.
Let us fall on our face and tremble – when we recognise who we are In Christ Jesus.
And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen John 21:2
The eternal Son became the incarnate Word and the very body of our Lord Jesus Christ became the residence of God – the Temple of the Lord – and the apostle John tells us that they saw His glory, as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Only those who do not trust Jesus as Saviour – by faith, remain spiritually dead. All who do not believe in God’s Son by faith – condemn themselves through unbelief. All who do not believe in Jesus Christ by faith – separate themselves from God.
The Bad News
The bad news of the biblical gospel is that all have sinned and are deserving of death. All have missed the mark – all are separated from God – all are sinners to the core. All are spiritually dead – all are without hope and without God in a world of sin. But only when the bad news of the gospel is seen in its proper context – where sin separates man from God forever – does the good news of the gospel come into view. So what is the good news of the gospel of salvation that is open to every man? What is the good news for those that believe in Jesus Christ – the Son of God?
His Word
Well, there’s a specific person – the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was fully God and fully Man.
Our Response
There is also a specific work – that Jesus Christ undertook for our Salvation.
Goodwill of God
The proclamation of peace on earth did not speak of goodwill among men towards each other – but spoke of the Goodwill of God towards all those who would trust in His only begotten Son as Saviour… to men of goodwill – for the peace of God can only come to man, through the blood of Christ Jesus – our Lord.
Kingdom Gospel
But this is the kicker….. Irrespective of their being faithful or not they would one day witness to the world. Jesus Himself told us in Matthew 24 that the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all nations – and then the end will come.
Jesus Himself said: for I say unto you, among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.
Paul also reminds us that John’s ministry to Israel was a baptism of repentance, for John called the people to repent of their sins, turn to God and to believe in the One Who was to come after him – that is, Jesus, for the Kingdom of Heaven was near.
Peter's emphasis, is on our own walk with the Lord Jesus.
Not through self-effort of self-striving but in submission to the Spirit, looking to Him each moment of the day, moment by moment walking in spirit and truth, as we wait for Jesus.
And the Lord Jesus is the sum of that Divine Light.
If only our eyes were opened to see the significance of the Lord Jesus, what a tremendous difference it would make, how we should be emancipated.
The glory of Jesus Christ which He had with the Father before the world was, the glory of the Son is that; that He has this sole Divine prerogative, right, power and ability to bring Light.
We first come to know something of the Lord Jesus' love by what He did for us; but that is only the basis for coming to know His love in what He is to us.
And the preparation for this is to come personally under the influence of the blessed attractiveness of the Lord Jesus.
As with the seed that is buried once for all, but then disintegrated through a gradual process that sets free the new life, even so does our Father deal with our old nature by delivering it to death with the Lord Jesus once for all, and then bringing about its mortifying in detail through the circumstances of daily life, until the power of the old man has lost its hold on us. -L.T.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:5).
The maintenance of that sort of thing is because of a failure to perceive what the Lord Jesus has brought in.... Why, then, perpetuate a thing which God has dismissed in the Cross and, by keeping to the lower, fail to reach the higher?
It is their traditional system which is simply barring the way to spiritual revelation, whereas the Cross of the Lord Jesus represents the liberty in the spirit for God to lead into the fullness of His Life and Light.
Here were a people that had received light concerning the true nature of fellowship with God in Christ that the Lord Jesus had taken the place of the Temple and the priesthood and the sacrifices and the ordinances... and even the Sabbath.
The Letter to the Hebrews was written just to save them from that peril and to tell them more fully about the great change that had come about in the Cross the work of the Lord Jesus... to tell them that one system, the earthly representation, had passed and the other, the heavenly reality, had come in.... To know the Lord in Life, we must be free from the grave clothes of outward systems.
The Lord Jesus put all that away in His Cross; it is all gone.
But since the cross, the old creations in Adam and Jacob must both believe in Jesus if they are to become the new creation in Christ
Spiritual & Carnal
The spiritual man is a believer in the Lord Jesus..(a new creation in Christ) but he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
But we have the mind of Christ. 1Cor.2:13. But so also the carnal man is a believer in the Lord Jesus: and I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 1Cor.3:1
Both spiritual and carnal are coheirs with Christ Jesus.
There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus – but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
The church which is revealed to us in the New Testament is always on high ground.... In Ephesians, it is n the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.It is a great power to be on high ground, it is a great defensive, protective factor; the enemy can do little with you if you keep up there and refuse to come down.
Jesus returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.Luke 2:51-52
Childhood to Youth
And as He returned home with His bewildered parents this Holy One of God, slips from our sight for many a long year, as He learned His trade at the carpenter’s lathe. And Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.
And His mother treasured up all these things in her heart – and pondered them. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and with man.
Faithful and True
His titles are as numerous as the stars and His designations are eternally glorious. His attributes are without measure and His unchanging character is faithful and true. His name is wonderful; He is altogether lovely; He is my beloved, and He is our saviour – and to know Jesus as saviour is the only thing worth knowing in time and into eternity.
Person of Christ
The person of Christ is in history pre-eminent and His work on the cross is finished. From the genesis of the world to His final revelation the supremacy of Christ is central. From eternity past to the ages to come the centrality of the Lord Jesus is predominant.
that Christ Jesus the only begotten Son of His love was to be born of woman… born under the Law to redeem those under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Centrality of Jesus
To know Christ as Saviour is to know Him as Son of God and Son of Man.
To know Jesus as saviour is the only thing worth knowing in time and into eternity.
From eternity past to the ages to come the centrality of Jesus is predominant.
And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist; you have heard that he is coming, and he is already in the world now.1 John 4:3
He could never have become our Substitute Saviour. Jesus Christ, though fully God throughout His sojourn on earth was indeed fully man. His ancestry through both His adoptive father and human mother is listed in the Bible.
His body became weary – His soul sorrowful, His spirit was committed to the Father and He was filled with compassion. From a biblical standpoint the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ is unquestionable. Denial of the true human nature of Jesus Christ (together with denial of His deity) – are probably the two most vital components in the whole of the Christian faith.
Unique Person & Work
The two natures of Christ is a simple concept and yet it contains a profound reality. Without the two natures of Jesus Christ humanity has no Saviour and no Salvation, but by faith in the unique person and work of Jesus Christ – as Son of God and Son of Man we are given the free gift of life – eternal life – abundant life – by God’s grace.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever – Amen.
May the fluctuating fancies of the flesh help us to rest in the immutable God – the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Same yesterday, today, and for the eternal ages to come.
Son of God
There have been many religious leaders, but none have been like Christ Jesus. There have been many teachers and preachers, but none compare with the Lord. There have been many men that have had many disciples, but none are like Jesus, There have been many great orators, but no man has spoken the way Jesus spoke.
Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God and Son of Man.
Godly Wisdom
The words from His mouth were words of wisdom – for no one spoke like Jesus spoke. Other great orators often modify what they say – or they speak out of turn.
Humble Servant
And though fully God and fully human in His singular body – He laid aside His glory, and took upon Himself the form of a servant and humbled Himself – to die on a cross. No one but Jesus could have taken the sin of the world upon His manly shoulders.
There have been many men who have influenced many people, but the Lord Jesus is unique in the kingdom on men for He alone lived a sinless life – a life pleasing to God.
but Jesus Christ stands alone – for He is the incomparable Christ.
Submitted Life
Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God and unique Son of Man.
Jesus Christ is the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely. He walked a path of righteousness – He lived the only sinless life in a world of sinners. He lived each day of His life in submission to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. His life exemplified the only way a man can live a life that’s pleasing to God.
Now, to come into a livingrelationship with the Lord Jesus is to come, sooner or later, tothe impasse of the incomprehensible, and we just have to say:Lord, You are beyond me!
However magnificent a gift we receive from family or friends, it pales to insignificance in comparison with the inexpressible gift of Christ Jesus, the eternal Son of God – for God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes on His name, would not be condemned (as he justly deserves) but be given eternal life.
Our spiritual blindness has gone and God’s wrath is removed for there is now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus – for we are accepted in the Beloved. We were once spiritually alienated from God and without hope in the world, but all enmity with God is washed away and we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Thanks be to God for His indefinable gift!
We are forgiven forever – cleansed; made whole and ministers of a new covenant. The death and resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord has paid the price for our sin..
Jesus, Who was made lower than the angels for a while, is now crowned with glory and honour for He suffered death, so that by God’s grace He tasted death for everyone. Thanks be to God for His inconceivable gift!
God’s Inexpressible Gift
Through Christ Jesus we possess life – eternal life – abundant life. We are part of the body of Christ and made saints of the Most High. We are become ambassadorship of Christ on earth and have a heavenly citizenship. We are joint-heirship with Christ and have an inheritance held in trust for us by God.
We are called with a very great purpose, not just even to get out of Egypt and the clutches of the devil, but with an object, a tremendous object, nothing less than the infinite fullness of God Son, Jesus Christ, and an eternal vocation.
Peter orders us to know and grow in our knowledge of Him….and in grace, in 2 Peter 3, and Jesus instructs us that to know that God is life eternal, in John 17.
STUDY - Character and Attributes of GOD
Jesus – Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.Hebrews 12:3-4
Jesus tells us, I have overcome the world.
‘Tis Jesus, the first and the lastWhose Spirit shall guide us safe homeWe’ll praise Him for all that is pastAnd trust Him for all that’s to come.
Sacrificial Lamb
And so God sent His Son into the world to reconcile man back to Himself. God Himself took on human flesh to become humanities perfect kinsman-redeemer: and The LORD laid on Him the iniquity of us all. God placed the accumulated sin of the whole world on His beloved Son – Jesus became that sacrificial lamb.
You and I, dear friends, individually, and if we belong to a company of the Lord's people, that company, will only make progress toward that full, ultimate end of God in Christ if we have a spiritual vision of Jesus Christ.
Although as to His circumstances the Lord Jesus was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, yet He had a joy always before His eyes.
He demands nothing from this world, but in the life of the Lord Jesus he contributes to it, of the grace that nourishes and comforts him outside it. -J.B.S.
He comes to us out of an open heaven which the Son of God has opened for us.... The Lord Jesus said: i>When He, the Spirit... is come, He shall guide you into all the truth.And John confirms this in saying: i>The anointing which ye received... teaches you concerning all things.That is represented by the angels ascending and descending.
It cannot understand that our Lord Jesus was willing to accept exactly the same basis of life with its limitation in which we live, although without sin.
Just as the sin of one man, (Adam) resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act of the one Man, (Christ Jesus) resulted in justification and life for all people.Romans 5:18
God’s grace dictated that He would give His only Son to pay the price for all sin.. and the ONLY requirement of man was to believe that Christ died for their sin – and the ONLY way to be free from condemnation was to believe on Jesus Christ.
The ONLY way to be free from condemnation is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
What grace God showed to man, that Christ Jesus has paid the penalty for humanities sin.
Instead of the LAW being the criteria for perfection that man must attain, the life of Christ Jesus was to be God’s standard – and He was to do it all for us, – and the ONLY requirement of us is to believe that Christ died for our sins, and rose again the third day.
New Life of Christ
Punishment from ministration of condemnation was completed at Calvary – and the ONLY requirement is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, for there is no condemnation for those that believe in Christ Jesus – for those that are ‘IN Christ’.
And there is now NO CONDEMNATION to those that are in Christ Jesus.
Free Gift of Grace
But what of those that of their freewill have chosen not to believe in Christ Jesus?
What of those that have refused to accept that Jesus paid the penalty for their sins?
Unbelief Condemns
Man is not now condemned because he broke God’s Law but because of unbelief - unbelief in the Lord Jesus Christ – the Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world.
Man is not condemned because he sinned, but because he did not believe… because he did not believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God. Jesus Christ warned the hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees that they would all die in their sins, for though outwardly righteous, their hearts were riddled with unbelief. The Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem for in rejecting Him they rejected His grace, and in rejecting His grace they placed themselves under condemnation.
But the sin of this age is not the breaking of the Law of Moses... but the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ.
Today the work of the Spirit is to conform the saved Christian into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ – for we are not under the Law but under grace.
Rules for the Church
Some Christians mistakenly adhere to Israel’s Law, but Paul argues that: we are not under law but under grace, Romans 6:14. and yet we are not exempt from a godly code of living, which Paul calls: the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus Romans 8:2. and which is seen in Romans 8.
and this is love for God: to obey His commands, and His commands are not burdensome. 1John 5:3. Never forget that: the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
The Lord Jesus knew that at a certain time He could notact, could not speak; He had no movement of the Spirit inquickening, no Life to do so at that time; in His spirit therewas no movement of Life; the law was not active in the positiveway.
Die to Self
Turn away from your foolish boasting and dismount your elevated self-image, and put on Christ and Christ alone – nailing Self to the blood-stained tree. For no man has known God at any time, save the Lord Jesus.
Day by day we are being conformed into the glorious likeness of the Lord Jesus.
The first part was the revealing of the Father’s perfect likeness in the Son:- He that has seen Me has seen the Father.” John 14:9 The second part is His process of conforming you into the likeness of Jesus. Moulding us and conforming us to become like Christ – often through suffering.
Christ Himself, when He was here, never failed to let people know that when they entered that door, or that straight and narrow way, they were in for trouble.... Now that may sound like a very terrible thing to say, especially to you young Christians who are not far inside the door, but be perfectly clear about it; the Lord Jesus never deceived anybody about this, never at all.
So the Lord Jesus has not left us in any doubt about this.
The Spirit has come to bring all that to an end by applying the Cross, in which it was all brought to an end in the Person of the Lord Jesus; to work out the meaning of the Cross in our lives, so that everything that belongs to that kingdom of darkness is removed: so that in the end, with us too, there is no darkness at all.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).
We will not learn truth aright excepting in the deepening knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
We have that which is lovely and full of blessing in the Lord Jesus; but if we are to know it as such, to prove its truth, to enjoy it practically, it must be in taking these things as connected with Him. -W.K.
The Lord Jesus Himself, and not even truth about Him, must be filling our hearts if we are to grow.
It is a happy and necessary thing to understand the Word of God, but, with that Word treasured, the aim of the believer's affections should be, That I may know Him.' Desires after the Lord Jesus, desires to live with Him in heaven now, and to manifest Him on earth, make the growing believer separate from the world, and separate him unto the glorified Lord. -H.F.W.
These four simple words “The Lord Jesus Christ.” They combine to represent perfection.
JESUS – the Name that is above every name and sweet music to the sinner’s ear. CHRIST – the anointed of God entrusted with the world’s greatest Mission. Christ is not a title of His essential divinity – though He is very God of very God.
His Love
This same Lord Jesus Christ sought me out, because He loves me so dearly. He sees my ugliness and yet He calls me Beloved! He understands my faults and failings and yet He has chosen me to be His bride! He knows my heritage..
He is The Lord Jesus Christ.
This Lord Jesus Christ is the very image of the invisible, indivisible God.
This Lord Jesus Christ is the effulgence of God’s glory and grace and love.
Greatest Mystery
This same Lord Jesus Christ searched me out to bestow on me the unimaginable. He lifted me up, out of the miry clay and seated me with Himself in the heavenlies.
Intimate Fellowship
I was not just selected to be His friend, not just to be a fellow worker. He did not just choose me to be a work partner in some divine business – staggering and privileged though such a position would be. He desired intimate fellowship with me, a cherished bosom closeness with Himself. “Joined to the Lord… one spirit.” 1 Cor.6:17. To achieve this the Lord Jesus Christ was sent, Who was the effulgence of God’s glory.
This Man that is the very image and likeness of the invisible, indivisible God – this Lord Jesus Christ, Who chose to share His glory with the likes of me… was mocked and jeered at, spat upon and despised – all to meet my terrible sin – all for Love of me and all for Love of you too.
Condescending Love
Herein lies the infinitude of God’s condescending love towards me. Herein lies the inexplicability of God’s gracious love towards you too – in that while we were yet sinners… while we were dead in trespasses and sins, Christ died for you… (and me to) so that we could be one with Him.Romans 5:8. Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Let this mind of Christ be in me as well.
Moral Perfection
There is talk of one brilliant Brahmin scholar who was determined to bring the person of the Lord Jesus into disrepute and who spent the best part of eleven years searching Scripture to highlight the weakness of the person of Christ and the failings of His beautiful character and moral perfection – only to be brought to his knees, in faith.
Good and Gracious
Even those who pride themselves on being intellectually superior to those who trust Christ as Saviour are happy to applaud the Lord Jesus as a good and a gracious man.
Qualities of Christ
The qualities of the Lord Jesus can be seen reflecting from the faces of many people.
Altogether Lovely
But every good and perfect attribute is combined in the person of Jesus Christ.
Right Relationship
All these people were in right relationship with the Lord and each of these characters displayed a characteristic that pleased the Lord – a godly disposition that was precious in His eyes – a quality that is dear to the heart of our God. God laid His hand on each of His people in a unique way and God took time in each life to develop in each one a peculiar and distinctive quality that was a dim reflection of His own perfect grace – one that would be seen in the face of Jesus Himself.
Perfect Standard
The Lord Jesus is our ‘standard.’ He is the One true and only ‘benchmark’ for life.
Godly Reminders
The life we live depends on the thoughts we think, as a man thinks so is he. Proverbs 23:7. Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus Philippians 2:5.
A Challenge
I challenge us all to begin today to consciously take every thought captive, and we will discover that we have taken the first step away from bondage into the mind of Christ Jesus, and the life of His freedom.
Willing Preparation
It is rarely welcomed, as it means preparedness to come to the very end of yourself. It is frequently aborted, as it means a willingness to be crushed and broken before Him. Jesus said: they hated me without a cause – they hated both me and my Father. John 15:25. Jesus also said: the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, John 17:14. Jesus said again: take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek, Matt.11:29
by suffering His humiliation in this world. Jesus said: be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
It trains us to renounce ungodly living and worldly passions so that we might live sensible, honest, and godly lives in the present age, as we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus the Messiah.Titus 2:11
Expanse of Grace
It is God’s grace that warns of the dangers of unrighteous living and worldly lusts. It is the grace of God that trains us into righteous living and worthy, godly conduct. It is His grace that bestowed upon us our Blessed Hope and the riches of His glory, as we wait for the glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
It trains us to renounce ungodly living and worldly passions so that we might live sensible, honest, and godly lives in the present age, as we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus the Messiah.
Final Revelation
God may gracious illuminate the mind of man from His own Spirit-revealed revelation, but God’s revelation to man is an open secret in the scriptures of God: for God, spoke in many ways and means, in time past to the fathers, by the prophets, Hebrews 1:1 But God’s last and final revelation came through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Critical Question
The mystery of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ resides within His own nature, “What think ye of Me?” was the critical question Jesus asked His disciples.
He knew what men considered Him to be – the reincarnation of some past prophet: ”But who do you say that I am?” was His question, “what think ye of Me?” Each one of us needs to consider Jesus. Each of us needs to be equipped with a right thinking of Him.
And yet these holy and godly abstractions are condensed into concrete reality.. in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He asks His simple yet searching question, “what think ye of Me?”
Generating Centre
We are expected, by faith, to listen to His Word and to accept His explanation, for Jesus is the only medium, the only link – the only channel to the Father.
But this is to distort the simple fact that God was manifest in the flesh in Jesus, so that He might become the generating centre of all Who believe in His name.
Heart Submission
Jesus proclaimed ‘I and My Father are One” – for “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 The believer is one with Christ when His Spirit resides within.
Many make great effort to emulate and copy the life of the Lord Jesus.
Central Citadel
Any aspect or attitude of our lives which are not of Christ have their roots in Self, but the central citadel and supreme stronghold of Christianity is Jesus Christ alone, The very person of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be the central focus of our hearts.
This mystery of righteousness encompasses the redemptive work of Christ Jesus.
Jesus became the Captain of our salvation to demonstrate how to live godly in Him. He was made in the image of man, that He might destroy the works of the evil one.
Great is the mystery of godliness Praise the Lord – for He wills that all are saved and come to faith in Jesus.
Rom.3:10 - save the man, Christ Jesus. Paul told us to set our hearts on things above Col.3:1 For minds can become overburdened with the cares of this world.
Jesus. Jesus is the only one that we should seek to concentrate our hearts upon. Jesus: the substance of the Father. Jesus: begotten before the worlds. Jesus: the substance of the mother. Jesus: born into the world.
Perfect Name
Jesus: perfect God and perfect man.
Jesus: Son of God and son of Mary.
Jesus: the name above all other names.
What does JESUS mean to you?
What does that name - the name of JESUS, really mean to you? What does JESUS..
Perfect Redeemer
Jesus: that wonderful name, that name above all names. Jesus: that awesome name, the name at which every knee shall one day bow.
Jesus: that precious name, the name in which the saints call upon and pray.
Jesus: that redeeming name that being interpreted is God our Salvation.
Jesus - His name will be called Wonderful. Jesus - His name will be called Counselor. Jesus - His name will be called Mighty God. Jesus - His name will be called Everlasting Father. Jesus - His name will be called Prince of Peace. Jesus - And they shall call His name Immanuel - He shall be God with us.
Jesus, the anointed One - God incarnate.
Jesus - love made flesh and tabernacling with man. Oh that men would praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted. His glory is above the earth and heaven.
To know Him and to love Him..to know Him more, to love Him more. To go deeper and deeper into a knowing of the One, that is called JESUS.
Momentarily draws back the shrouded curtain of darkness - and glimpse JESUS...
The Sweetest Name
How sweet the Name of JESUS soundsIn a believer’s ear!It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,And drives away his fear.
Jesus!
Final Reflection
Take time, believer, to reflect on every aspect of the name of Jesus - Prophet Priest, and King... Who for love of you set aside His glory to become one of us, that you might one day be seated with Him in heavenly places.
Signs, sensations, impacts, can be psychically produced by the use of the most orthodox New Testament language and doctrine, even the Name and the Blood of Jesus may be employed in terms and language.
Kinsman Redeemer
Jesus is equal in every respect with the Father and the Spirit – with one exception.
The Lord Jesus Christ became man.
God-Man
All power in heaven and on earth has been given to this unique God-Man, Christ Jesus, Who ascended to heaven, and at this moment is sitting on the Father’s throne in glory.
Two Natures
Jesus has two separate natures in one body - His nature as God and His human nature. This personal union of two natures is where undiminished deity is uniquely united with true humanity, remaining together in one person forever and without confusion. This “hypostatic union” took place so that you and I might be saved from our sin.
In Hebrews, we read that Jesus is also the radiance of the glory of God and His exact imprint.
Jesus alone, as the second member of the Trinity.
Jesus came to earth to bring us back into fellowship with God – Father, Son, and Spirit.
The Lord Jesus Christ
Only a perfect Man Who was made in the image and likeness of human flesh could atone for the collective sin of mankind – and God alone is perfect.
Only Jesus Christ was good enough to pay the price of sin and to die for you and me – and God has given all power and authority into the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Spirit’s Ministry
In the book of Acts, we discover the Lord Jesus ascending into heaven but the promised Holy Spirit was sent to be an ever-present help and comfort in this church age.
The work of the Spirit in our lives is to conform us into the likeness of Christ Jesus.
Christ’s undiminished deity is uniquely united with Christ’s true humanity, and remains together in one person – Jesus Christ, forever and without confusion.
Eternally Divine Nature
The reason that the eternally divine nature of the second person of the Trinity joined with the fully human nature of the person of Jesus Christ, is so that by His identification with us – we could come into harmony and communion, with the Father.
Centrality of Christ
This truth is awe-inspiring for though Jesus is one complete person, His two natures are without change, without confusion, without division, and without separation.
The bottom line is that the Lord Jesus is to be the focal point of our love and worship.
Truth in Philippians
Philippians 1: 5-10 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.
For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth — and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. AMEN.
While an end is written large in the Cross, and while that end is to be accepted as our end indeed, so that there can be no more of anything so far as we are concerned, Jesus lives!
Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin BUT reckon yourselves to be alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 6:11
Yes, in Romans 6:11 we read: Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin BUT reckon yourselves to be alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What glorious words – ALIVE in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Word of Life
Jesus said: he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life..
Galatians 2:19 Jesus said: because I live, you will live also. John 14:19
Not at all!You can have all the interest in Christianity without beingin the kingdom.This is what the Lord Jesus said, in effect, and in otherand more concise words, to Nicodemus.
To Nathanael the Lord Jesus said, Henceforth (our old English word is hereafter, but I think many people have mistakenly thought that means the after life) ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
That open heaven for the Lord Jesus was the anointing.
The Lord Jesus is becoming more and ever more wonderful in your own heart, because God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).
Heavenly Mission
And we, who were purchased with the precious blood of Jesus Christ have now become the people of God, and have been entrusted with a heavenly mission – yet with the privilege of sonship comes the responsibility to show forth the perfections of God to a dying world – to tell forth the greatness, excellence and perfections – of His name.
Reformer
Jesus is often proclaimed to be the greatest of all teachers – and indeed He is. His philosophies are applauded by many and His profound words are often quoted. His moral instructions have positively influenced much of today's legal regulations. His ethical code and compassionate nature is copied and applauded by many bodies. His message and morals can be traced to all areas of society and religious reform.
God Incarnate
No one spoke such gracious words as Jesus spoke – or acted as kindly as He did.
No one taught like Jesus, or gave instruction like He did – for He was God incarnate.
While Christ walked the earth, the Old Testament pointed to the person of Jesus.
Pre-Cross Pointers
Down through the centuries it was the prophets that pointed to the man Christ Jesus.
Most of the four gospels were presenting Jesus... the Messiah King as being present.
Post-Cross Pointers
The epistles point us back to the Lord Jesus – His death, burial, and resurrection.
They show Jesus as the Seed promised to Abraham – Who will reign in great power. They identify Christ as the fulfilment of so many Messianic prophecies and promises.
Christ’s Mission to Israel
Jesus came to present Himself to Israel as their anointed Messiah and promised King.
In Matthew, Jesus said, I will build My Church..
Though Jesus is Scripture’s central character.
Bible doctrine was given through others. It is Christ about Whom Scripture teach – but He was not the expositor of His Word. Jesus Christ is the subject of Scripture – yet others penned church teachings.
Church Doctrine
The Church in embryo was hinted at by the Lord Jesus – I will build My Church, but it was Paul who was given the responsibility of unfolding God’s plan for us.
Moses and Paul
Just as Moses was God’s mouthpiece in the old – so Paul was His agent in the new. Just as Moses gave Israel their Law – so Paul unveiled doctrine for the Church. Just as Moses pointed Israel to Christ – so Paul points the Church to the Lord Jesus.
You never do touch the Lord Jesus in His death in any new measure without knowing a new measure of resurrection Life.
When the Lord Jesus by His Spirit brings us in a further measure into the meaning of His death, let it be settled with us, once and for all, that that is in itself a new measure of resurrection Life.
He has known power, popularity, reputation, position, possession, and he says the knowledge of Christ Jesus is excelling all that.
What a precious ministry for them to thus roll away the stone away and proclaim, 'Don’t be afraid, Jesus is ALIVE!!' What a thrill to proclaim to Mary, Who Stood Weeping He‘s Alive.
Message of Hope
But also – that all who sleep in Jesus shall rise.
Jesus saith unto her.. 'Mary'.
Amazing Privilege
What an amazing privilege, we have to share in His sufferings. What an awesome dispensation to have His resurrection power inside of us. What an astonishing truth to discover that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us, But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies, by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.
But unless Christ is also Man – unless Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer, there would be no salvation – for the price of sin must be made by a perfect MAN. The teachings of His incarnation and atonement for sin is impregnated in Scripture.
Unique Son
Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God and Son of Man – the chief among 10 thousand.
Easter Reflections - STUDY1st word from the cross
JESUS SAID…
Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Forgiveness – God First Act
These were the first words spoken by the Lord Jesus on the Cross. Forgiveness was the first thought on the mind of the crucified Saviour. Forgiveness was the first response of God to sins committed in the Eden. Forgiveness is an unfathomable grace that is deep in the heart of God.
Everlasting Forgiveness
There is now no condemnation to we who are in Christ Jesus the Lord .. None – None – NONE. What a lesson in gracious forgiveness are these precious words – precious words from our precious, forgiving Saviour. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Horrors of Death
God is love but He is also just and righteous and He can never wink at sin. The cost of sin is very high and the only acceptable payment is the blood of Christ. Only the blood of Jesus can atone for sin while maintaining God’s truth and honour.
I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you.... (Ephesians 3:1)
But as Paul could say My tribulations for you, which are your glory (Eph. 3:13), or The prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles (Eph. 3:1), so the measure of limitation in the Lord is the measure of enrichment in His people.
I wonder if Paul had any idea that his prison meant his continuous expansion of value to the Lord Jesus through nineteen hundred years?
The Spirit of Life that raised Jesus from the dead, was Paul’s total dynamism.
Abandoned to Him
Paul established the only principle, upon which the prisoner of Christ can stand – complete and utter imprisonment and abandonment to the Lord Jesus and His will.. so that every word that is spoken – is as from Him.. so that every step taken is guided from above – so that every undertaking shall be out from Him and not of ourselves.
Grace Thru Faith - STUDY
Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus.Philippians 1:6
The temptation to shortcut is especially strong, unless we see the value and submit to the necessity of the time element; in simple trust resting in His hands - “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus.
In the words of the Lord Jesus: When tribulation or persecution ariseth... he is offended (Matthew 13:21).Clearly, then, if you and I are going to persevere to the end we must have a greater power than that of our natural emotional life.
This word translated 'constraineth' is the same one used over the arrest of Jesus when it says: the men that held Jesus (Luke 22:63).
Meat of the Word
Indeed, there is today a famine for the ‘hearing’ of the meat of the Word of God.. as hungry sheep rush to and fro feasting on much that is harmful to their souls – desiring to know God’s purpose for their lives, while imbibing the doctrines of man. What is God’s will and purpose for the lives of all His disciples? God’s will is clearly stated in Scripture: This is the will (the purpose) of God, even your sanctification 1Thes.4.3 This is the will, of God concerning you that in everything give thanks 1Thes.5:18. This is the purpose of God …that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom He sent.
And despite the mess, we make of our lives, as did the first Adam, God’s original purpose will be completed in Christ Jesus, Who is the second Adam. It is finished
for you are accepted. His plan, purpose and will for your life is that Christ is formed in you – that we are conformed into the image and likeness of Jesus, Rom.8:29
How this mind-set is so contrary to the one that God desires His own to seek after: Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5 ..a mind that trusts Him explicitly despite the unbearable and the unimaginable – a heart that trusts Him implicitly and rests all questions in His understanding.
But this I do know – there is One Who is the Answer to all life’s ills and wrongs, All questions and every answer is bound up in one Person – the Lord Jesus Christ.
One Answer
There is only one answer when faced with the troubles of life and His name is Jesus – and this He promised: I, if I am lifted up, will draw all men and women to Me to save and forgive and to heal the hurt.
John 12:32 There is only One God, Who was sent to heal all brokenness and pain in life, and His name is Jesus.
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 2:2,3 NIV)
Now may the Lord give us the grace to take our share in the sufferings as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, to be strengthened with the grace that is in Christ Jesus, to bear the testimony of the Lord.
Personal Love
Christ’s love is a precious love – betwixt Him and His Church. It’s a penetrating love – between Christ and His Body. It’s an intimate love, that flows from the Son to His own darling dove. It was for the Church that the Lord Jesus gave up His life. It was for this pearl of great price – the Lord gave all to purchase her for Himself.
Joint-Heirs
All glory and authority in heaven and on earth have been given to the Lord Jesus, and yet He tells the Father that, glory has come to Me through them! Christ loves the Church corporately and every living stone is precious in His sight. They are so precious that He rejoices over them with singing. But Christ also loves each member individually..
Christ’s love for the Church is a profound mystery indeed, but it is YES and AMEN in Christ Jesus.
bringing Salvation to all people. The keynote of Isaiah’s forty years ministry was – Salvation is of the Lord, and his message called for Israel to repent of their sins… to return to the Lord and be saved., and this truth is confirmed multiple times in Scripture – that Jesus Christ is God.
Eternal Attributes
Every eternal, almighty attribute of the Godhead was glimpsed in the Lord Jesus.
Wonderful Counsellor
Jesus is indeed Wonderful for He is the chief among ten thousand.
Mighty God
Jesus is indeed the Mighty God for He rescued us from the cesspit of sin – reuniting us with our Creator God, by the shedding of His blood – for we were dead in our trespasses and sins – but Jesus came from heaven to seek and save that which was lost.
Eternal Father
Jesus is indeed the Eternal Father, and unlike human parents whose life fades and passes away like the grass of the field – eternal means forever and ever – Amen. He has promised never to leave us or abandon us as orphans.
Prince of Peace
Jesus is indeed the Prince of Peace, for by His death He made peace with God on our account and clothed us in His robe of righteousness.
Service of God
There are many that claim to be in the service of God. Many that claim to be doing mighty works in the Name of Jesus, but thank God that true ministry is not to be judged and assessed by man – but please God that we will all judge and assess our own hearts and motives.
Spiritual Accountability
The Lord Jesus Himself is the guide-stone of effective spiritual ministry. The Lord Jesus Himself shows the way to examine spiritual accountability: “The Son can do nothing of Himself…” John 5:19 “The Father doeth the works…” John 14:10 “The Father speaketh the words…” John 12:49 “My Father worketh until now…” John 5:17 And when Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the gospel, He told them:-.
that it is only and exclusively the indwelling Holy Spirit -that must lead and guide: “Without Me”, Jesus warns and pleads… “Without me ye can no do nothing”.
Effective Work
Yes –the Lord Jesus is the one way that your ministry can be spiritually effective, and it is the only way that mine can be spiritually effective too. But it requires a daily dying to self – and a moment by moment living to Christ.. Is it worth the pain now for the glory that will follow…?
Fellowship Formula
Although union with the Lord can never be broken, lost or removed for all who are in Christ Jesus, fellowship with God and sweet communion with Him can be broken, when sin rears its ugly head in our lives.
God’s Standard
But there is only one standard for sin and that is God’s standard, which is His Word – and Jesus is the perfect example of His standard.
The sin barrier that separated us from God is removed forever, to those who are in Christ Jesus.
We are one spirit with the Lord Jesus by the one and only Holy Spirit.
I can always know when the Holy Spirit is leading me, because He ever occupies me with the Lord Jesus.
True, He may have to call attention to my own condition, but if He does, He turns me to the Lord Jesus, not merely to convict me, but to relieve me. -J.B.S.
Spiritual growth is the Holy Spirit engraving the Lord Jesus on a man's heart, putting Him into his thoughts, his words, and his ways, just as the Law was engraved upon stones.
Just so, the Lord Jesus Christ is the object of the believer's life. -J.N.D.
but we have the mind of Christ. 1Cor.2:15-16, so: let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Spiritual Man
The spiritual man is identified as one that has the mind of Christ Paul exhorted us: let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, and by implication this is not a past state but one to which we should strive.
Jesus said: I am the bread of life.
Jesus told us that men always ought to pray and not lose heart and Paul told us to pray without ceasing so that His mind may be formed in You.
Remember: one thing is needed, which is to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and all these things will be added to you.
Come to Me...
Martha missed out on sitting at the feet of Jesus and communing with her Lord.
Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.Philippians 2:5
The Mind of Christ
The spiritual man is the one who has the mind of Christ, and Phil 2:5 exhorts us to: let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
permit this mind to be in you, that was in Christ Jesus.
EITHER→ believe on the Lord Jesus Christ→ and you will be saved→ saint.
OR→ don’t believe on the Lord Jesus Christ→ and you will not be saved→ sinner.
Salvation is an unbeliever’s choice: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, Who made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
How bothered they were by the huge stone barrier, that blocked their way to Jesus.
gazing on the bloodied, beaten body of the Lord Jesus, after He gave up the ghost… WHO would have thought that His, was the greatest victory in the history of time and eternity? Your victory, is as sure as His – as you stand and wait and watch in loving, trusting obedience, even as He requires each of us, so to do.
Was not the life of the Lord Jesus Christ the inspiration for Paul’s “Supreme Good”
He reminds us that Jesus said: “I did not come to destroy but to fulfil the Law and the prophets”.
“Jesus said: I am meek and lowly in heart”.
and in John 13:5 we read: “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel and girded himself.
And great multitudes came unto Him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down His feet, and Jesus healed them all.
Consider His guilelessness: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, Who told us in John 14:10 “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?
Consider His Person
Consider Christ Jesus: “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Consider Jesus – for love will cover a multitude of sins.
My determined purpose is that I may know Him. (Philippians 3:10 AMP) There are few words in his writings which reveal how committed to the Lord Jesus this man was.
Here is a man who has had a revelation and knowledge of Jesus Christ greater than any other man up to that time.
Christ’s Humility
Only once did Jesus refer to His own deep humility of heart and poverty of spirit, when He said: “I am meek and lowly in heart” Matt.11:29 But throughout His earthly journey, in action and attitude, humility streamed forth.
Practical Sanctification
God wants all his children to be sanctified and set apart unto Him, just as the Lord Jesus Christ sanctified Himself unto God – but He will never force His will on any of us. God desires all His children to say willingly, Thy will, not mine be done, just like the Lord Jesus Christ – but He will never violate our volition, should we choose to refuse.
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself (through practical sanctification, during the present age) – just as the Lord Jesus Christ is pure.
A Study:- Man’s Nature and Destiny
Right Relationship
Christianity as a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, and is liberating.
All By Grace
We come to the Lord Jesus – for salvation (which is all by grace. We live in the Lord Jesus – for sanctification (which is all by grace). We work for the Lord Jesus – in service (which is all by grace)
It is not those that believe about Him – but those that believe in the Lord Jesus.
Sons of God
Jesus said: I am come that those who believe in Me may have life, and have it more abundantly.
Time is Short
Every day that passes is a day closer to the return of the Lord Jesus for His church.
His return is closer than it was last year, last month, last week or even yesterday, The return of Jesus is nearer than the day on which we first trusted Him as Saviour.
Increasing Urgency
This should also be a time when we examine our own relationship with Jesus. We can scarcely exhort others to be spiritual ready if we are ill-prepared ourselves. We can hardly encourage others towards preparedness if we have become careless. We cannot draw alongside others aright, unless we are in fellowship with the Lord – and the urgency increases as we see the day of His return approaching.
Are you, through a living, clear, inward, experimental relationship with the Lord Jesus, building a structure which comes out of that inward spiritual knowledge?
I think it is quite clear that the Lord Jesus carried in His heart a great longing and a prayer for the glory that He once had.
In the seventeenth chapter of his gospel, he records that great prayer of the Lord Jesus: Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was (vs. 5).
That opens a window and lets us see that the Lord Jesus had a consciousness of His eternal glory past.
It was like that with the Lord Jesus the answer to His own cry.
The “grace-promise-faith” way is described in Scripture as a ministry of life: the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Law is called a ministry of death and its source is the old sin nature, (the flesh), while grace is described as a ministry of life, and its source is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Jesus, as the Truth, is contrasted with Satan, the liar.
We must also remember that Jesus foretold the passing away of that entire temporal system, with Jerusalem as its center and representation.
With His foreknowledge of the passing of the earthly, temporal and material things; places, systems, fixed locations, and outward forms, the Lord Jesus put the whole matter of survival upon Himself as the constituent of a spiritual structure against which the very powers of hell would not prevail.
Jesus said: – I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Matthew 16:18
For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.Galatians 1:11
Lord Jesus
The book of Acts was written by Dr. Luke and is a sequel to the gospel of Luke. Both books were written to a man called 'the most excellent Theophilus'.
Luke’s gospel informed Theophilus about the life and the work of the Lord Jesus.
Luke is a book about all that Jesus BEGAN to do and to teach. Acts is a book about all that Christ CONTINUED to do and to teach.
Continuing Acts
The Acts of the Apostles would be better entitled 'The Continuing Acts Of Jesus'.
It explains the unfolding work of Christ Jesus in the embryonic Christian Church – for Jesus said I will build My Church.
Final Instructions
In chapter 1 it summarises the gospel of Luke and Christ’s ascension into heaven. It also confirms the certainty of the resurrection and its many infallible proofs. It reviews the final instructions that the Lord Jesus gave before His ascension. It details the topic about which Christ spoke to His followers – the kingdom of God.
It touches on the instructions Jesus gave to the apostles He chose – through the Spirit.
They were standing on the threshold of a new era – the times of the Church, for Jesus said I will build My Church.
The book of Acts shows us how the Lord Jesus Christ started to build His Church.
For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ – for Jesus said I will build My Church.
Unique Nature
The unique nature of the Lord Jesus Christ is a topic requiring deep exploration. Without His pre-existence as God He could never have become incarnate Man. He’s singular among the children of men for His birth was not the start of His origin. He’s unique within the Triune Godhead for He was the ONE Person Who became Human. Jesus Christ was the convergence of time with eternity. Jesus Christ was the harmonising of deity with humanity. Jesus Christ was the convergence of heaven with earth.
Unique Priest
He had neither beginning of days nor end of life, but has become High Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek – He is now the eternal High Priest of the Most High God. He came forth from the Father and He returned back to the Father to resume His eternal Sonship, but He returned in the body of a glorified Man : the Man Christ Jesus.
Word Made Flesh
Today God continues to speak to us, and He speaks to through His Son, the Word of God. Today God continues to speak to us, through the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God. You diligently search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life, but the Scriptures point to Me; John 5:39
Believe: believe in the Name of the Lord Jesus and have faith in His Word. Trust: just trust in His love.
Consider Jesus.
That the church will be totally leavened, as Jesus warned us. That there will be a famine for the hearing of God’s Word. That believers will run to and fro looking for a teaching that tickles their ears, and that Christ Himself asks that haunting question: will I find faith on the earth?
The mode of acquiring a new, redeemed nature from the 2nd man is a spiritual birth. As Jesus told Nicodemus: marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.
Perfect Sacrifice
Jesus demonstrated a sinless life.
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Purchase Price
You have been purchased with a price: the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is working out His perfect plan in you..
who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” and then in jubilant cry, I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And then we can rejoice with Hosea: Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and He will heal us; he hath smitten, and He will bind us up.
Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life.
When Jesus Christ announced: I AM is the truth, He was telling us that all things proceed from Him, and in Him, everything is rooted and grounded.
And all who profess Christ crucified and own Him as the truth upon which their lives are founded, should maintain their steady gaze upon the singular Person of Christ Jesus.
A Shattering Statement
When Jesus made His earth-shattering statement: I am the way and the truth and the life, He was informing us that only through His perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection, can we ever become reconciled to God and united with Him, for only through Jesus can we live a God-breathed life in spirit and truth.
Inexhaustible Supplies
Jesus told His disciples: all things that the Father has are Mine.
The man Christ Jesus has access ‘all things’ – to the inexhaustible supplies of the Father, and through Him we have become God’s children, and have the like-same access: for God Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?
All Things in Christ
All grace and all truth came through Jesus Christ alone, for He is the truth, the one truth, and the only truth..
He has given us His light in our hearts – the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, Whom the Lord Jesus sent into the world to be WITH us and IN us – and Who, has been given the responsibility of guiding us into all truth.. as we submit to His leading – as we surrender every area of our lives to Him.
Cleansing Word
When we walk in in the light as He is in the light, we commune with Him. When we walk in in the light as He is in the light, we fellowship with Him and with one another. When we walk in in the light as He is in the light and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7.
For Peter reminds us:- for you are a chosen race; a royal priesthood; a holy nation; a people for his own possession; that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him – who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians4:6.
Picture of waterfall courtesy of Flick Aspheric.lens
Woman at the Well – Full Study
And Jesus needs must go through Samaria.. Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well.
Jesus saith unto her, ‘Give me to drink’ – and Jesus answered and said unto her:-“Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again:..”John 4:13-14
Empty Promises
How true a statement Jesus said to the thirsting woman: Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.
There are vast numbers who profess to believe in the atoning virtue of the death of the Lord Jesus, but who do not see aught therein beyond the forgiveness of their sins.
The one in which we only know the Lord Jesus as Saviour from Egypt, in His work on the Cross for atonement and pardon.
Trust in the Lord
And Paul’s cry of joy proclaims, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ, for Paul knew, just as Job knew that my Redeemer Lives. .es- there are 5 things that Satan is using to demolish and utterly shatter Your own faith, and they are: infirmities..
Truths to Remember
Jesus said: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:28. While Paul told Timothy to: Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Tim6:12 Job confessed: Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” And in 2Tim.1:12 he wrote: But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until the Day of Christ. While in Phil.1:6 he said And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ
Remember, Child of God, there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus – none.
Look to Jesus
I once spent three solid weeks from dawn to dusk..
He draws us closer to Himself – until with Paul we can say… This one thing I do: this ONE thing... Focus on Jesus – loving Him with every fibre of your being.
Look to Jesus – determined to obey His will from the heart.
Seek to know Jesus – that your entire life, in thought word and deed, glorifies Him.
but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians. 3:13, 14.
Picture of Man courtesy of imagebase.davidniblack.com
World System
How important it is that we take to heart the words of the Lord Jesus.
The Lord’s future world empire is to reflect the will of God and the rule of heaven, and Jesus taught them saying, Thy kingdom come.
Heavenly Citizen
The Lord Jesus Christ is to rule and reign with those that overcome..
This current world system is not where we should be placing our hope – for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Saviour – the Lord Jesus Christ Philippians 3:20. Scripture informs us that the love of many believers will grow cold. The Bible tells us that many Christians will forsake Him for alternative truths. The Word of God warns that the Church will be leavened at the time of His return.
but none of us know the date and time that the end of our life will be, but from the moment of believing faith, we were accepted by God, through Jesus.
Jesus consecrates Himself to the will of the Father, crying: not as I will but as Thou wilt.
Fleeting Time
As blood-bought believers and servants of the Lord Jesus, we have the rest of our lives ahead of us, and yet we too are at the very door of our departure from earth... as for man, his days are like grass.
Grace Thru Faith - STUDY
Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.Philippians 1:6
before they began to know the Lord Jesus as their life and ceased trying to work for Him and began allowing Him to be their all in all, and to do His work through them.
apprehending that for which also we are apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” Philippians 1:12
Israel’s Messiah
Jesus came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel who were waiting for their Messiah.
Jewish Messiah
What did it mean? Jesus had been sent to Israel – and those early days of Christianity were Jewish. The disciples were Jewish, and all Jewish men were to visit Jerusalem thrice yearly. They were to visit during Passover, Tabernacles and Pentecost – the feast of weeks. On that special day of Pentecost – Jews from all over the world were in Jerusalem.
Peter wanted to show that Jesus was the Messiah, promised in so many oracles to Jews.
He appealed to the Jews to take note that Jesus of Nazareth was a Man, accredited by God, Who demonstrated His Messianic credentials by His miracles, wonders and signs.
He wanted the nation of Israel to know that God sent Jesus, Whom they crucified, both Lord and Messiah.
Wonderful Prophecy
That wonderful prophecy from Joel appeared to begin on that day of Pentecost – when Peter called the nation of Israel to repent of their sins and turn back to God as did John the Baptist, Jesus and the apostles during Christ earthly life. That wonderful prophecy from Joel will have its full and final fulfilment on that amazing future day, when the Jews shall look on Him Whom they have pierced – when Israel as a nation cries, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.
They preserved the teachings of John the Baptist, Jesus and His disciples – to Jews:- the gospel of the kingdom – the gospel of the coming Jewish Messiah.
For He Who has begun a good work in you will complete it in the day of Christ Jesus.Philippians 1:6
He promised to perform a good work in you until the day that Jesus comes to take us home.
And so rejoice in whatever circumstances of life you find yourself, for He Who has begun a good work in you will complete it at the day of Jesus Christ Jesus.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
The Lord Jesus does not look upon us as being in this country, in that country and in another country.
The Jews were exclusive and said: 'We are the only people and our country is the only country.' Jesus went outside those frontiers and touched the world outside....
In the Lord Jesus every earthly division is removed.
That is a miracle.... This Life is eternal Life; it is timeless; it knows no space; everything is present when Jesus is present.
The first step of 'believe on the Lord Jesus Christ', is so precious and so simple.
It is simply - believe on JESUS – and you will be saved:- Jew or Gentile, male or female – young or old – bond or free – great or small.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will b saved… period.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ..
It is a lack of knowledge of how to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
Rebellious Heart
Israel is a prime example of a people that heard but did not listen – until they reached a point of prideful rebellion, where Jesus had to say: hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive Matthew 13:14 and Isaiah 6:9.
The first step is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ ..
Living Faith
Living your Christian life in the wonderful freedom of Romans Chapter 8 – where we read: There is therefore now no condemnation..to them which are in Christ Jesus (that is to them which are living their lives in Christ Jesus, and not living in the failure of the old man of Romans 7) There is therefore now no condemnation..
Liberating Gospel
It seems that most believers stop their pursuit of salvation when they are saved. Truly salvation is the liberation from sin and the loosing from bondage. Salvation is the free gift for all that believe in Jesus Christm Who died and rose again..
Trials, Tests, Temptations
We know that Jesus Himself walked this same way that we are treading, and was in every respect was tried, tested and tempted as we are – yet without sin.
Jesus said: these things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full – (today) For the joy of the Lord is your strength – for today.
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.Luke 24:27
Primary Consideration
Whatever prime issues we have in life, the Lord Jesus should be our top priority, For when He is our primary consideration, other issues inevitably fall into place.
Centrality of Christ
We find the Lord Jesus to be the focal point of the prophets and psalms.
We locate the Lord Jesus as the centre of all prophecies..
There prevails a notion that the Lord Jesus was keeping the law for us and establishing our righteousness when He was here below.
Now His life was necessary to vindicate the Father and His holy law, as well as to manifest Himself and His love; but the righteousness that we are made in Christ is another thought altogether - not the law fulfilled by Him, but the justifying righteousness of the Father founded on the Lord Jesus' death, displayed in His resurrection, and crowned by His glory in heaven. -W.K.
The Ten Commandments require no life of prayer, no Christian service, no evangelism, no missionary outreach, no Gospel preaching, no life and walk in the Spirit, no union with the Lord Jesus Christ, no fellowship of saints, no hope of salvation, and no hope of heaven. -L.S.C.
Attitude of Humility
So what is godliness and what does it mean to live godly in Christ Jesus?
Humanity was endowed with a free-will to submit to God’s rule OR to reject Him – man can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation OR remain in condemnation.
Godly Living
By GRACE we were saved – when we first trusted the Lord Jesus as Saviour.
For both time and eternity, all is summed up in John 17:3: And this is life eternal. . . [to] know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ.
The marvel of divine grace is that not only has everything according to the heart of God been secured for me through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, but that I, a child of Adam, should be, not only in peace with God where I was under His judgment, but that I am transferred from Adam to Christ, and I am to have Christ formed in me now.
For He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Heavenly Home
And yet our feet are dusty – polluted with the sin and filth of this world, for we are ever yet journeying towards our heavenly home. The Father is there and seated on His throne of grace. At His right hand is seated the Son of His love – the Man; the perfect Man; the Man Christ Jesus - seated on the throne with the Father.
If we walk after the flesh, instead of after the Spirit, this may call for His loving rebuke and chastening (child training); but that in no way interferes with the precious truth of our continual acceptance and position in the risen Lord Jesus Christ, by whose one offering we have been perfected forever.
If we have the Lord Jesus, we have all - without Him, we have nothing.
The God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect [mature], establish, strengthen, settle you (1 Pet. 5:10).
And so we read that Jesus said: I and the Father are One.
It was Philip who said to Jesus: Lord, show us the Father, but Jesus had to remind him yet again, he who has seen Me has seen the Father.
This is one of the great mysteries of life – a mystery that man needs to explore – a mystery that is revealed in the face of the Lord Jesus.
Be amazed at the supernatural grace of the Lord Jesus Christ towards you: for Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her….
And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written, one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
The Lord Jesus is the perfect example of a life, consecrated to God.
Jesus spent His entire earthly walk living His life through the power of the Father. Every work he undertook – every word He spoke, was His sign of consecration to God.
Maybe in the physical, but predominantly and principally in the spiritual… “Ye are My witnesses .” the Lord Jesus tells us. Being His witnesses does not necessarily mean going out and talking. Being a consecrated man or woman – being a sign, may not mean what you think. It may not mean becoming a missionary or starting a ministry… though such may certainly be a part of the sanctified life.
Christ’s Mind
It means in everything we do – living the Life of our Lord. It means in all that we say – that we say everything as from Him. It means the Lord working out His will and purpose in our lives with no opposition. Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus… Have Thine Own way Lord – Thou are the Potter, I am the clay. Thy will not mine be done – to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus said, ”My strength is made perfect in your weakness.” Do not pray for tasks equal to your power.
Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. . .
If we keep in mind that the Lord Jesus is our Sanctification, the seemingly difficult subject will clearly unfold for us day by day.
The Christian life is nothing short of the life of the Lord Jesus (Col. 3:4).
That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh' (2 Cor. 4:11).
The common conception of sanctification is that every area of the life should be holy; but that is not holiness, it is the fruit of holiness: holiness is the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we are conscious of pride we fancy that humility will meet our need, but the answer to pride is not humility, it is the Lord Jesus, and He is the answer to every need.
The Father will not give you humility or patience or love as separate gifts of grace; He has given you the Lord Jesus, and if you simply trust Him to live out His life in you, He will be humble, patient, loving and everything else you need.
We are to believe what God has revealed through His Word... His living Word and His written Word - The Lord Jesus Christ and the Scriptures.
Hear Him
In times past God spoke through His prophets, but in these last days, God has spoken – through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hear Him. By faith Able… By faith Enoch….
God has spoken… through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look away from all other empty sources of assistance in this world.
Look to Jesus
Look to Jesus the Author and the Finisher of faith, for faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God. HEAR HIM.
There is a distinctness between the operation of the Spirit of God in bringing me unto the Lord Jesus, bearing witness to me of God's love, and of the efficacy of what Christ has done - and His operation in my soul to produce the image of His Son.
If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine (1 Tim. 4:6).
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).
The actual need of most believers today is not an experience, but a true apprehension of what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross for us and of our present day union with Him.
Nowhere in Scripture is it taught that there is a sudden leap to be taken from carnality to spirituality, or from a life of comparative unconcern as to godliness to one of intense devotion to the Lord Jesus.
Within the inner ‘being’ of man are two continuously conflicting camps:- the old sin nature (the flesh or self-ego) is gained from the old birth in Adam, while the new life in Christ (the spirit of life in Christ Jesus) comes from our new birth.
All believers are born-again the ‘grace-promise-faith’ way, for salvation is simply: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved – by grace thru faith, which is a done deed.
We read in Ephesians 1:5-6 ‘Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved'.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created being, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our Father would be free to favor us with far more of His riches in Christ Jesus if we would keep more in mind that grace is unmerited favor - so that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy (Rom. 9:23).
The saint is not only a new creature to grow into the likeness of the Lord Jesus, but he has to watch and beware lest the things he has to do with should in any way minister to another will in him, which would divert him from God to himself.
worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3).
It is to have my blessed home in the Lord Jesus, where I can go in and shut the door and be with my Father in secret, and be at peace when all outside is trouble. -A.M.
Growing In Grace - STUDY
Christian Desire
Many Christians desire union and communion (or fellowship) with our Lord Jesus, but feel they do not enjoy it as they desire.
Those who believe on Jesus for salvation are saved, and brought into union with Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Blocking Communion
So sin grieves and quenches the work of the Spirit within the believer, and sin blocks communion and fellowship with God, and with the Lord Jesus Christ.
One made its appeal to the limited resources of the natural man and conditioned his life on the earth; the other sets aside the natural man, secures a whole new creation in Christ Jesus, and counsels that new being in his pilgrim journey to his heavenly home.
for ye are all one (new creation) in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28).
Hence it is essential that we understand that the Lord Jesus Christ is our life; He is not a legal example to emulate, but the source of life from which we grow.
We shall in our praises weave with them what the Lord Jesus has done, suffered, and won for us; but the primary thought in our hearts is, not what we have gained, however true, but what He has been for us and what He is for us, yes, what He is in Himself. -J.B.S.
There is usually only occupation with the Lord Jesus for the relief of the conscience, and if so, where does it stop?
I know of no arguments, and I am acquainted with no power, that will move the heart to devotedness except the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Himself and His love.
It is possible to read books by the score, and to listen to the most faithful and blessed ministry for years on end, and yet never know the Lord Jesus as a present loving Object in heavenly glory.
We have a new Person before us as the Object of our faith and affections; and as we drop ourselves and have the Lord Jesus as our Object, He is formed in us.
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6).
The truth is, we have a position in heaven and the Lord Jesus is now our life there; and if this be not simply enjoyed, there will be an effort to modify the desolation here, and an inability to interpret the various inroads which death makes on us.
Where He is, is my home - there I feed and rest; but here, on earth, I am learning to set aside in death everything in me which hinders the manifestation of the life of the Lord Jesus. -J.B.S.
The reason there is so little growth is that there is so little occupation and fellowship with the Lord Jesus where He is.
Jesus the Jew
Jesus was born a Jew and lived His life in full accordance with the Jewish law, for the law, promises, prophecies and salvation must all come through the Jews. And so on the eighth day, after the custom of the law, Jesus was brought to the temple, and there He was seen by Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
Jesus the Messiah
Simeon was just in his dealings with men and devout in his living towards God.
Jesus the Saviour
The just shall live by faith..
Jesus the Lamb of God
And for his remarkable, child-like faith, Simeon was one to hold and bless the infant Jesus.
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comforts; Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. by His Comfort. flowing through us.
As we explore these scripture passages, may we exhibit a teachable spirit, so that we grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11,12 NIV)
You cannot systematize the Cross of the Lord Jesus, you can only go on your knees and worship, conscious that you see something really far beyond your power to compass.
When the Lord Jesus came, and in Himself gave some interpretation to the law, some light upon the law, which did not fall within the compass of their system, there was no room for Him, there was no room for God in His own law.
Watchful Readiness
Such thoughts may raise the eyebrows or bring a wry smile to the face, and yet we are told: while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” This caused Jesus to ask: Could ye not watch with Me one hour….? Scripture most certainly does imply a tarrying of heavenly Bridegroom, yet it’s the wicked servant who says in his heart, my Lord delays His coming.
We wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, Who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Being Ready
The warning to be ready should rejoice our hearts and be an encouragement, for God has outlined in His Word all we need to ensure we are ready and prepared – and loving Jesus and trusting His word is the most important step in being ready.
A Heavenly Ministry
Jesus, our great high priest is even now ever living to make intercession for us. Christ Himself is praying for the fulfilment of God’s plans in each of our lives, indeed our Lord Jesus Christ is even now praying for us – interceding for US!!! – and we have been called as priests, to participate with Christ in His high office: for we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people for His possession. 1 Peter 2:9
Old Testament Example
Christians are a chosen priesthood, to work in union with Jesus.
Peter’s Protest
Peter started to argue with Jesus, and protested, “You will never wash my feet,” But Jesus answered him…”If I WASH thee not, thou hast no part with me.” – note that the word used for wash is the Greek language is nipto If I NIPTO thee not, thou hast no part with me.
‘Nipto’ and ‘Louo’
Jesus continued… “He that is WASHED needs not save to WASH his feet but is completely clean.” – note that there are two different Greek words for the word wash – nipto and louo. He that is washed (LOUO) needs only to wash (NIPTO) his feet, to be fully clean. Then Christ concludes, “if I wash thee not thou has no part with Me – no fellowship with Me.”
Jesus was here explaining that Peter was saved… he had been washed – (LOUO) – but Peter needed to have his feet washed! Peter needed daily cleansing… ongoing washing – (NIPTO)
Peter’s Washing
Peter, like us was saved, because He believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. He was washed and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb – He was LOUO.
God’s Foreknowledge
In His omniscience, God knows in advance every person that will choose to believe. God’s grace is extended to everyone and all we have to do is to believe in Jesus. And God has plans for everyone, who freely chooses to trust in Christ as Saviour. God foreknew all who would drink of the waters of life and become His child, and before the world was made He had plans for all those – who would believe on Jesus.
Man’s Freewill
And God decided ahead of time that the ones that would choose, of their own free-will, to trust Jesus as Saviour would be conformed into the exact image of Jesus Christ.
God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for all mankind, so that anyone who trusts in the name of Jesus, would not perish but have eternal life.
And the ones He knew ahead of time would believe (in Jesus)…………. He also predestined to be conformed into the image of His Son.
And the ones He predestined to become like Jesus He also called. And the ones that He called He also justified – and the ones He justified He also glorified. It seems that in the eternal council chambers of God, before the world was created, God determined that all who freely chose to trust in Jesus would one day be glorified.
Grace through Faith
Well, every part of salvation is a gift of God’s grace that is accessed by faith. God does it all and we contribute nothing – all we had to do was to freely believe. Once we believed that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God Who died to pay the price for our sins…..
In His omniscience, God knew in advance each of us that would choose to believe. God foreknew we would drink of the waters of life and become His children – and before the world was made He had plans for us, and for all who believe on Jesus.
A New-Life in Christ
As His children we were given a new LIFE in Christ – a baby life that needs to grow into a mature spiritual believer -– a life that will be fruitful – a victorious life – a life that will be conformed into the image of Jesus during the time we live on earth. But we also have a sin nature that seeks to gain supremacy over the new Christ-life. Oh!
we have been freed from sin’s power over us – but while on earth it still lurks. And this is the thing… just as we chose to believe in the Lord Jesus to be justified – So too we have a choice when it comes to sanctification during our time on earth.
Lifelong Process
God wants all his children to be sanctified and set apart unto Him, just as the Lord Jesus, who learnt obedience during His life as He grew in favour with God and man.
Jesus Christ set Himself unto God, but He will never force His will on you or me.
Practical Sanctification
God desires all His children to willingly say, Thy will, not mine be done, as did the Lord Jesus.
But God will never violate our volition should we choose to refuse. Everyone whom God in His omniscience knew would choose to believe in Jesus Christ for their justification are predestined to be glorified at His glorious return..
But while we have the choice – let us walk in spirit and truth and allow the Holy Spirit to do the good, sanctifying work of conforming us into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.Matthew 28:19
And as Christ’s forerunner, John pointed Israel to their Messiah – Jesus Christ, He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Spirit and Baptism
The two other baptisms John spoke of were connected with the Lord Jesus – Spirit and fire.
Church Age Baptism
As church-age believers, we are baptised by the Spirit into Christ the moment we believe that Jesus is our Saviour and that He died for our sin and rose the third day. We are to grow in grace and become true followers – true disciples of the Lord and water baptism is a beautiful outward demonstration of a beautiful internal change.
Scripture Truth
Disciples of Jesus are called to make an outward profession of water baptism.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.Acts 16:31
God in His mercy, sought to manifest Himself fully in the last days, through Christ, God in His grace towards us, opened our understanding of Himself, through Jesus.
In Christ Jesus
All God‘s works were performed through the Word – the Word Who became flesh. All God’s blessings and healings – flow through faith in the Man, Christ Jesus, for in Him all things were made and by Him, all things hold together.
Knowing Jesus
What an astonishing few years the twelve disciples had as they walked with Jesus. They thought they knew their Lord as they walked with Him and listened to Him..
Faith in Jesus
For 3½ years the very revelation of God walked this earth, but He was not accepted. He came unto His own creation and His own people did not receive Him, but as many as did receive Him to them He gave the power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.
must be translated into faith in Christ Jesus the Lord.
Offended in Christ
It was not their unbelief in God. It was not their unbelief in the coming expected Messiah. They believed in God and they believed in the expected Messiah, but they were offended in Him – in Jesus – in God’s revelation of Himself.
God Incarnate
What an astonishing few years the twelve disciples had as they walked with Jesus.
In The Faith
Do you trust in the Lord, Christ Jesus, and in Him alone?
“According to your faith (in the One Revelation of God Himself) be it unto you.” “According to your faith (in the Lord Jesus Christ) let it be to you.” “Be of good cheer, your faith (in the Son of Man) has made you well.” “Go your way; your faith (in the Son of God) has made you whole.” “Great is thy faith (in Me).
Tough Lessons
But Saul of Tarsus met Jesus and had to be taught some of life’s toughest lessons. He learned that his own wisdom; knowledge; charisma and ability counted as nothing. He learned about faith: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1Cor.2:5.
He slowly grasped that his dear, sweet, precious Jesus was beyond conception, and Paul launched into eternity with the deepest desire of his heart expressed - That I may know Him.
Paul… a man fully submitted in total brokenness to his Christ – Paul a bond-slave of Jesus.
God has an eternal purpose in all of life’s trials and troubles – an unbroken, uninterrupted, unparalleled purpose from eternity to eternity - that in the ages to come God might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
God and Man
Eternal God became incarnate Man, and the Man Christ Jesus has two comings.
No condemnation now I dread;Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;Alive in Him, my living Head,And clothed in righteousness divine,Bold I approach th’eternal throne,And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
that each arrives at his own deeper understanding of Paul’s exhortation:- that through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus – so that the Life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” 2Cor.4:10
Author and Finisher
Let us in this life accept His child-training – His chastening – our sufferings: looking unto Jesus, Who is the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the suffering of the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb.12:2. Yes, Jesus..
He knows that conformity into the image of the Lord Jesus is all we need, for in Him is all peace and patience; in Him is gentleness, humility, and grace.
And He will in His kindness and favour place the future into blessed perspective – as you press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God – in Christ Jesus.
His Light
But if our eyes are on Him, our vision is unimpaired and we walk in His Light: and if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1John 1:7
They are unmistakably linked to the any-day return of our Lord Jesus for His own.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.Acts 16:31
But the criteria for entrance into the gates of glory will never rest on my own merit. There is one reason and one alone that God flings wide the gates to His kingdom.. and that is trusting in the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. This is eternal life – that they know God and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent. Heaven’s admissions policy is to know God and His only begotten Son – our Saviour.
Only Way
It all centres around believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, for apart from Calvary there is no forgiveness of sin – no salvation – no heaven. Man’s assumption is inevitably that I must win my way to heaven by my good deeds. God’s criteria is believe on the finished work of Christ crucified – and nothing else. The one point men seem to forget is that we are all sinners and estranged from God. Sin is the one thing that separates man from God.
God’s Way
But God has set out the one and only and exclusive way to be united with Him:- believe on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you will be saved.
BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and your sins are forgiven. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are not condemned. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are given eternal life. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are put in union with the Lord Jesus. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are forever in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are no longer separated from the Father.
God’s Word
There is nothing that I can do to save myself – all I can do is believe on the Lord Jesus. There is no other way to reach God except through the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. It was D.
Jesus took our place and the punishment we deserved was poured out upon Him.
This understanding grows into wonderment... that Jesus became my substitute.
He explains how Jesus us the Federal Head of an entirely new creation – in Christ – for the old fallen creation in Adam have the sentence of death upon their heads, but the new creation in Christ has the free gift of eternal life in their hearts.
Faith is needed for a life that is being conformed into the image of Jesus, for maturing and sanctification is by the power of the Holy Spirit..
New Testament Faith
Paul, that great apostle to the church, reminds us to live by faith and not by sight, demonstrating that in this church age our badge must be faith – faith working through love: for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Jesus said: as the Father has loved Me, so I love you.
Should we not believe what the Lord Jesus clearly tells us in and through His Word?
while Paul reminds us Christ is the power of God, and the WISDOM of God – Christ Jesus, Who of God became to us WISDOM and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 1Corinthians 1:24,30
Genesis of Wisdom
For as Paul tells us:- the wisdom of God is Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus displayed God’s righteous ways and God’s moral actions.
Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea.. behold, there came WISE MEN from the east to Jerusalem.Matthew 2:1
Miracle of Life
The birth of a child is a wonderful, mysterious event, a miracle of human life. The birth of Jesus was the most wonderful birth that occurred in this world. His birth was accompanied by so many remarkable and astonishing events.
How Jesus, creator of the universe loves us – is mind-blowing. How we are accepted in the Beloved shatters the imagination – but it is true, for His Word says it – and His Word is truth.
Discovering Jesus
He indwells us when we come to Him and we are born again.
The Magi travelled hundreds of difficult and perilous miles to discover Jesus. We ought to reckon no toil or sacrifice too great for the excellency of knowing Him.
You can keep Him hidden; you can bury him in the safety of your current understanding – or you can gaze at Him through the spiritual eyes of heart, counting all things loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.
Words of Christ
We read of the Lord Jesus that His speech and language was so very gracious. His words were filled with truth but they were also caring, kind and full of grace.
The Lord Jesus spoke the truth in love when He challenged the woman at the well. He spoke the truth in love to the man born blind – to Nicodemus – to Simon Peter.
Mature Body
Jesus only said those things that He heard the Father say and we should be the same.
n the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk and he leapt.
All this can be if we will go the way of this man, and say, es, this has gone on long enough and it has to end, and to end, so far as my giving diligence is concerned, at once, and I do most truly by the grace of God take a deliberate and definite faith attitude toward the Lord Jesus for my complete deliverance and the setting of me upon my feet for His glory, for His praise!I think there will be an issue, and I think it will be e, leaping up, stood upon his feet, praising and glorifying God.May it be so with every one of us.
witness to the Light – witness to Grace. Grace and truth came by Jesus, the light of the world, and John testified of Him. John was sent to witness of Christ – the light to men, Who was full of grace and truth.
Christ’s Witness
John, whose name means: God is gracious, bore witness of Jesus: God is salvation. John was to point to the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. John was a witness to the grace of God – that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. John was sent as a moon to reflect the Son – the only true Light of the world.
Sacrifice for Sin
Though acknowledged by the Lord Jesus as the greatest of all men born of women. John was the one who testified that he must decrease – but Christ must increase. John was not the Light, but he witnessed about the true and only Light of God. John did not bring Grace, but he was to testify of the One Who was full of Grace. John could not forgive sins, but pointed to the Messiah, the only Sacrifice for sin.
The beloved disciple wrote his gospel of John so that we may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing – may have life in His name.
This message to the ‘circumcision’ was to testify to the fulfilment of God’s promises – the King had arrived: the kingdom was near… repent and believe on Christ Jesus.
to bear witness about Jesus – the Word of God made flesh; the Messiah and King of Israel; the Saviour of ALL the world – the Light that illuminates every man that comes into the world… so that all might believe – through Him.
to bear witness about Jesus:- the Son of – God; the Messiah of Israel; the Light of the world, Who was full of grace and truth, that ALL might believe – through Him.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.Romans 8:1
He that believes on Him (Jesus) is NOT condemned.
Again in Romans Chapter 8 we read about condemnation, and this time Paul is addressing believers: therefore there is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus… and some translations add: who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
Access or Estrangement
The immovable barrier between God and man was demolished by the Man, Christ Jesus.
The veil of the temple, separating man from God, was torn asunder by the Lord Jesus.
Every offering made to God was pointing to the ultimate sacrifice – the Lord Jesus.
Historical Point
But Jesus told the woman at the well: an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.
But ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11).
Paul testified, I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12).
So, while the believer's realized sanctification appears painfully meagre, at most a thin line of light, like the crescent of the new moon, yet he sees it ever complemented by the clear outlines of that rounded wholeness which is his in the Lord Jesus, and into which he is to be daily waxing till he grows to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ' (Eph. 4:13) -A.J.G.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23).
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.Matthew 4:1
However, God permits the tempter’s trial to beat us sorely as He did with the Lord Jesus: Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted – of the devil.
Our High Priest
The trials Jesus faced were needful to demonstrate the qualities of the last Adam.
Being made perfect, Jesus became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.
Our Intercessor
Sometimes the temptations Jesus faced came through His earthly relatives.
Sometimes His temptation came through direct taunts and attacks from the tempter. Sometimes His trials came via a subtle suggestion from His family or a dearly loved friend. Throughout His life, Jesus was enticed to leave His path of total dependence on the Father..
Satan’s Trials
We too often receive the same set of trials and tests that Jesus Himself faced. We also face trying and testing days as we watch our familiar world crashing.
But the Lord who prayed for Peter continues to pray for all His disciples – for Christ Jesus, Who died–and Who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 8:38,39
All To Do With Him
God’s faithfulness to you has nothing whatsoever to do with you, but it has everything – absolutely everything to do with the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is nothing so good or worthy that can gain an unbeliever His acceptance – except believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. It never has and it never will depend on man – it all depends on Him.
Jesus reminds us, ‘without Me you can do nothing’. And Paul questions, ‘who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ?’
Whenever we see the lovely Lord Jesus, He’s imparting blessings to the needy.
“This Blessed Hope” is in a Person – the One upon Whom all hope rests… “…the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour – Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13 “Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when He comes.” Luke 24:43 “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” Rev.19:9 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.” Rev 22:14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.
Sanctification Scriptures
In 1 Peter 1:16 we read Be holy, for I am holy, and in John.17:17,19 Jesus prays: Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
And in 1Thessalonians 5:23, Paul prays: Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We were justified in Jesus the moment we believed and trusted Him as Saviour and Lord.
Little by little as we are being conformed into the image of Jesus.
Sanctification Prayer
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But it is the love of the Lord Jesus that would lead us on, through the judgment of ourselves and ways, into deeper communion with Himself to be better representatives of Him here in whose likeness we shall soon appear.
The latter is not easily learned; the former is the fruit of light; the latter is never acquired but as there is practical grace and love - the activity of the Lord Jesus' nature in me by the Spirit. -J.B.S.
Paul was an example of a mature man of God who was prepared to consider the privileges of this world as insignificant and inconsequential, by comparison with the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as his Lord.
But his urgent message to the Christians in Philippi, was to press on to the end for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let us, therefore, keep living by that same standard to which we have attained, and press on to the finishing line, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus - for His name's sake and for His greater glory.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the exact image of the invisible God, Who existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.
And Jesus in His humanity Jesus knew what was in men's hearts, and did not entrust Himself to them - for He knew all men
Although Jesus chose to live and work and say and do only those things that He heard from the Father..
Jesus knew what men were thinking and He would not commit Himself to any of them, since He knew all about them - for He knew all men.
They saw the many signs and miracles that Jesus did, and most followed Him for the wrong reason. But Christ knew their hearts.
Jesus knew whether their professed faith was from a genuine heart of real repentance towards God and a desire to live godly, or if it was simply a counterfeit faith, that was following after Him for selfish motives.
a new nature that reflects the perfect character of the Lord Jesus, in His humanity - as we grow in grace and mature in the faith.
Once a man or woman has trusted the Lord Jesus as Saviour, he embarks on a race through life to the finishing post.
Once a person has been born again, they are to grow in grace and in a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Once we are justified and placed in the family of God, we are called by our Father to sanctification, which is a lifelong process in which we press on towards the goal of our heavenly calling so that we may gain the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
But the call of God for all His children is a life that is being conformed into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus; a life that is seeking to live godly in Christ Jesus, until it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me: And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Let us run the race that is set before us and press on towards the goal of the upward call of God - looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Though we were dead in our sins, at enmity with God and eternally separated from Him, in His grace and love He stooped down in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and rescued us from slavery to sin and the eternal death sentence under which we were all placed.
When we sit quietly and consider these words and the awesome and weighty meaning behind them, all we can do is fall at the feet of our Saviour and worship Him: To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever.
They are cravings of our heart and passions of the flesh, which cause an internal battle within and prevent the Spirit from continuing His work in our lives of conforming us into the image and likeness of Jesus.Like Peter, we have seen the glory of Christ and are part of God's chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, so that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.
We are reminded by the Lord Jesus that in this world we will suffer trials and pain, but we also know that those who fellowship in His suffering will receive a wonderful, heavenly reward.
Paul encourages us to be patient in affliction and to share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, while James instructs us to consider the trials and suffering we go through as a great joy, knowing the testing of our faith produces endurance, which in turn brings our hope and trust in the Lord to its completion.
He met with the resurrected Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, which was a biblical requirement for apostleship.
Paul's authority came directly from God... not through men, which is why he so often referred to himself as Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, called and chosen by the will of God - as he did in his introductory remark in Ephesians.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, he began, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus.
His words were not designed to exalt his person, position, or status, for his collective writings emphasise that our great salvation is only because of the amazing grace of God and His unfathomable mercy that saved us through faith in the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In some of his writings, Paul had to stress his divinely appointed calling and apostleship because there were those that challenged his authority, but the Ephesian Christians were spiritual men and women whom Paul identified as, faithful in Christ Jesus.
How privileged we are to have such ready access to the writings and instructions of Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.
His earnest desire was that they continue to obey the Lord Jesus, in thought, word, and deed, and be sprinkled with His cleansing blood.
Peter would never forget the love that Jesus showed to him, when he denied his Saviour three times, and no doubt the heart-desire of this aging apostle was to obey His command to feed the sheep of Christ's pasture that were in his care, and to nourish the little lambs in His flock.
He urged them to fix their hope completely on the grace they received when they first heard, believe the glorious gospel of grace, and understand their salvation was through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
We are blessed beyond compare because, in obedience to God's Word, we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was full of faith and power, and Stephen performed great wonders and miracles among the people, causing many to come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The assembled company had plotted to kill Jesus, just as they slaughtered prophets of God before Him because He did not line up with their ill-conceived notion of the coming Saviour.
Just as they rejected Moses, they rejected Jesus and handed Him over to the Gentiles to be crucified.
But Stephen, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of the Father, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.
There are many passages in both the Old and New Testaments that describe Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, but here we see Him STANDING at the right hand of the Father.
In the Psalms, the Gospels, and the book of Hebrews, Jesus is always pictured SITTING at the right hand of God until He returns to earth to complete His mission: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.
And yet as Stephen was being martyred, Jesus stood up - and Stephen said, Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
There are those that wonder if Jesus was standing in support of Stephen or standing in opposition to those who were stoning him.
Some suggest that this gesture was to welcome the first Christian Martyr into God's presence, while others think Jesus, our heavenly Mediator, was pleading Stephen's case before the Father or fulfilling His promise to confess Stephen before His Father in fulfilment of Matthew 10: Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father Who is in heaven.
Is it possible that Jesus stood up at this point because He was prepared to return to earth to make His enemies His footstool; to bring in everlasting righteousness; to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.
Is it possible that Jesus might have been ready to return and consummate all things... but that Stephen prayed - and his prayer caused the Lord to withhold His wrath for a season - to postpone Christ's return for a further two thousand years as the grace of God began to flood the Gentile world?
We are to stop being bottle-fed with the simple justification truths of Scripture and are to start to wrestle with the tougher aspects of our Christian faith, where we learn obedience by the things that we suffer, through a process of ongoing sanctification - where we are being conformed into the likeness of Jesus, Himself.
The sudden shock of hearing that Jesus was leaving to go back to the Father, must have been desperately disturbing for the disciples, but Jesus quickly started to explain that although they could not go with Him at that time, their physical separation from Him would only be temporary.
Jesus was going to prepare a heavenly abode for each one of them, and unless He went away, the many benefits that were planned for believers and the glorious mysteries surrounding the Church which would be later revealed through the apostle Paul, would not be able to be realised.
And in this chapter, Jesus begins to explain to His disciples some of the things which would happen between the time of the Cross and the coming kingdom; between Calvary and the Millennial rule of Christ; between the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and His triumphant return as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Although the disciples must have been bewildered by the suddenness of this disclosure, Jesus assured them He would be with them in spirit and in truth, and He also promised to send another Helper to guard and guide his children, a Teacher to guide them into all truth, a Counsellor to be with them in times of difficulty and danger, a Comforter to comfort them in their sorrows, a Helper to help in times of trouble.
Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirt of truth Who was already with them but would one day dwell in all who believe.
Though they did not understand all that He told them until later, Jesus gave them further reassurance by telling them that because He lived, they also would live.
At the time, they did not understand that within hours, Jesus would be nailed to the Cross to die the death that we all deserve.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He broke the power of sin and death in the life of all who would one day place their trust in Him.
But Paul knew that no matter what life threw in his direction: All things work together for good for those that love the Lord Jesus and are called according to His good purpose.
God never changes, and He has promised: When you pass through the waters, I will be with You. Fear may blind our eyes to the precious promises of God and cause faith to falter, but we are called to look to Jesus in every difficult, dangerous, or distressing circumstance of life, for fear and faith are incompatible bed-fellows.
The revelation of the mystery hidden from long ages past, which was made known through the prophetic writings, but which has now been revealed, is Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, the Redeemer of mankind, the hope of glory.
And Paul was the chosen vessel to unfold the mystery of God's will to all who would believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour.
But for now, having had the mystery revealed to us in the beautiful face of Christ, let us say with Paul: To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever.
No one but Jesus used the words verily, verily I say unto you, for these were words that carried authority, a greater authority than any earthly jurisdiction – a sovereign command that was directly from God.
Jesus wanted to get across the eternal truth that He was the door of the sheepfold; the only Good Shepherd; the one Way to God; the revealed Truth of God and everlasting Life that only comes from God – for He is God in the flesh.
Jesus had come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and explained in detail that He was the Good Shepherd Who alone could save His people.
But despite the clarity of His teaching and the beautiful word-pictures He painted for them, His disciples did not understand what Jesus had been saying to them and so He repeated the truth to His disciples: Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
The literal truth of fallen man and what he is and what he needs is similarly written in the holy Scriptures, all of which point to man's need of a Saviour, and all of which point to Jesus as that Saviour.
We are the sheep and Jesus is the door of the sheep-pen, which leads to life eternal.
And Jesus is the Good Shepherd of the sheep Who leads and guides, protects and feeds the sheep that belong to Him.
He longed to go and be with Jesus, Whom he loved so dearly.
The longer he lived in this mortal coil, the greater would be his opportunities to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified, buried, risen, ascended, and seated on the right hand of the Majesty of High.
Although he used different words, Paul said in this verse - THY will Lord Jesus, not my will be done - for Your sake and for the sake of those for whom You died.
John testified, concerning Jesus, and declared to those who questioned him, He is the One Who is coming after me.
They were to repent of Israel's idolatry and believe in their heart on the One Who would come after him - the Lord Jesus Christ - the Holy One of Israel.
Those who refused his baptism of REPENTANCE, and would not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, would one day have to undergo God's terrible baptism of FIRE.
Jesus taught His disciples about this same, spiritual baptism, the night He was betrayed. He told them, The Holy Spirit resides WITH you and He will be IN you.
In Acts chapter 1, only 10 days before the Day of Pentecost, Jesus reminded them of this truth.
The Mighty One about Whom John spoke, began to baptise those who turned from their sin and believed on the Lord Jesus, on that unique, Day of Pentecost.
The Baptism of Fire is yet to take place in the lives of those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus was the Son of the Highest Who was sent from heaven, by God.
Jesus came to save the souls of lost men and women, but the people were more interested in seeing Him perform mighty signs, wonders, and healing miracles.
They were more interested in Jesus feeding their bodies with bread and fish than having their souls nourished with the spiritual food from above.
The peoples' fascination with Jesus caused the Jewish leaders great consternation.
Jesus did not fit into their paradigm or their plans and so they needed to smear His image, ruin His reputation, and expose Him as a Messianic imposter.
The proud Pharisees and the sanctimonious scribes asked why Christ's disciples violated their tradition by eating bread with ritually unclean hands, but Jesus knew their nefarious plan.
You disregard the command of God, but keep the tradition of men.' Yes, Jesus accused these religious leaders of totally invalidating God’s command in order to maintain their unscriptural, man-made traditions.
There were many such traditions that these pious people valued above God's Law, but their teachings were leading the people astray and Jesus summoned the crowd to Himself to explain that nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him, just as religious ritual and Jewish traditions can never cleanse the sin-stained heart of fallen man.
The heart of man is evil continuously and can only be cleansed from above - by grace through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus went on to explain that a man's heart is defiled by what comes out through his thoughts, motives, words, and imaginations, Sin is conceived in the human heart, it takes root in the human mind, and is finally put into practice through human action: For from within the human heart come evil thoughts, which are translated into sexual immoralities; thefts; murders; adulteries; greed; evil actions; deceit; promiscuity; stinginess; blasphemy; pride, and foolishness.
Throughout His earthly life, the Lord Jesus honoured His Father by doing only those things He heard from Him.
And Jesus refused to participate in the unscriptural traditions of the elders which laid heavy burdens on the people and violated God's holy Law.
We too are to walk the walk that Jesus walked - in spirit and in truth.
And we discover they were cousins.John was the charismatic forerunner of the Lord Jesus, and he powerfully proclaimed the arrival of Israel's Messiah-King.
He identified Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, and he warned that the kingdom of heaven is near and that Israel must repent of their sin and return to the God of their fathers.
The combined hatred of the religious court, which was overseen by Caiaphas the high priest of Israel, pronounced Christ guilty of blasphemy, and yet the One that stood before them was Jesus of Nazareth, the promised king of the Jews and prophesised Messiah of Israel..
Christ Jesus the Lord, stood before this Roman governor..
Jesus died and was buried and rose from the dead..
The day of Pentecost was the beautiful birthday of the Church when the Holy Spirit (Whom Jesus had promised to send only a short time earlier), was poured out on all the believers who had faithfully gathered all-together in one place, as instructed by the Lord Jesus.
He not only witnessed to the fulfilment of many Old Testament prophecies that pointed to the Lord Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, but explained that Jesus of Nazareth Whom they had crucified, was both Lord and Christ, and indeed King of the Jews.
Both Psalm 16 and 132, were used in Peter's Spirit-filled monologue to authenticate Jesus' claim to be Israel's King and the Messiah of God, and David (both king and prophet of Israel), prophesied that one of his descendants would be raised up to sit on his own throne which Peter pointed out spoke of Christ's glorious Resurrection from the dead, for David was assured that God would not leave the body of this promised descendent in the grave to decay into dust, nor would He allow His flesh to see corruption.
The truth of the gospel that Peter taught on that day, caused over 3000 men of Israel to repent of their sins and to be born again into the newly formed Body of Christ. But Peter was to astonish these fledgling believers, and those that were listening to his teaching even more, by announcing that this same Jesus was not only resurrected from the dead as David foretold, but He had ascended into heaven in power and great glory and been exalted by God to sit at His right hand where He is now seated on God's heavenly throne.
And Peter further explained that having been raised up to this exalted heavenly position by the most high God, the Lord Jesus also received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit which had just been poured out on all the believers who were all-together in one place, as promised by the Lord Jesus, only a short time earlier.
And one day, Jesus will return to fulfil the promise given to David; that a descendent will be raised up to sit on his throne forever.
But until that time, the Lord Jesus remains seated in heavenly glory at the right hand of the Father, until God makes His enemies His footstool.
BUT praise be to God that there is one Mediator for all men and all women; the Man, Christ Jesus, indivisible and eternal, the incarnate God Who became the sacrifice to pay the price for all men and all women who would believe on His name.
But the plain Word of God still shines as a light in a dark world, proclaiming the eternal truth that there is one God and one Mediator between God and man - the Man, Christ Jesus.
God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, became fully human, for God alone was good enough to pay the awful price for sin.
It was on Calvary's Cross that the full force God's wrath was poured out on the Lord Jesus Christ... the perfect Lamb of God and sinless Son of Man Whose lifeblood was shed to take away the sin of the world and to pay for the price of my sin, your sin, and the sin of the world.
He wanted to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in every area of life.
He longed that those who were dead in their trespasses and sins would be attracted to Jesus, and find their great salvation in His Person and work.
He prayed that he would be emboldened to preach the gospel of God, according to the might of His great power, and Paul longed that the Lord Jesus would be glorified in his body - in thought, word, and deed, whether by the life he lived or the death that he died.
Paul was a man who knew that nothing in heaven or earth could separate him from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.
Remaining in Christ or abiding in Him, was a theme that the Lord Jesus introduced to His disciples just before His death and Resurrection, and it is a subject that is picked up by Paul and is evident within each of his letters.
Christ is fully God and fully Man, uniting holy deity with perfect humanity; and fruitfulness in the life of a believer results from the very life of the Son being reproduced within the life of the Christian.Throughout His earthly life, Jesus did not rely on His attributes of deity nor His human abilities to live His life, but He set an example of how every born-again child of God must live if his life is to be fruitful and glorify the Father.
Just as Jesus rested in His Father so we are to rest in Him - to abide in Him - and He in us.
The abiding about which Jesus speaks is not a one-sided relationship.
The Lord Jesus shared the glorious picture of mutual abiding as the time for His crucifixion drew ever closer.
His disciples had heard that Jesus was the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that He was going away to prepare a place for them in His Father's house.
He gave them a glimpse into the future where the Holy Spirit of Christ would be with them and dwell in them and that the fruit they produced would be from HIM and glorify HIM - just as the fruit that Jesus produced was from His Father and glorified His Father in heaven.
When we are able to submit to Christ, as He commanded, then we will produce the fruit of righteousness that gives glory to our Father in heaven through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Timothy was sent to find out how the believers there were getting along, to establish them in the faith, and give them spiritual support and godly encouragement.Paul rejoiced when Timothy returned with the joyful tidings that they were being established in the faith and well-grounded in the Word, despite the many difficulties and distresses they were facing: May the Lord cause you to increase in your faith and abound in your love for one another and for all people, was Paul's heartfelt prayer for them all, just as we also do for you.Paul continued in prayers and loving intercessions for the saints at Thessalonica, beseeching God the Father Himself and Jesus our Lord to direct and govern their ways.May we be like Paul, and remember to lift up our fellow Christian brothers and sisters in continuous and loving prayer and heartfelt intercessions.
Let us pray that their hearts would be also established in the Lord and blameless before Him and that they would walk in holiness before our God and Father, encouraging one another as they look for the any-day appearance of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
As the day for Christ's betrayal and crucifixion drew ever closer, the various schools of Judaism conspired to indict the Lord Jesus under a civil or religious statute.
They plotted together to make a prolonged attack on the Lord Jesus Christ, in an attempt to condemn Him to death, under Jewish or Roman law.
And so, one day, they tried to trick Jesus with an ill-considered argument about a hypothetical woman who married seven brothers, successively - each marriage following the death of the former brother.
Their aim was to make a mockery of the doctrine of the resurrection and to cause Jesus to appear foolish and uneducated.
And he asked Jesus the long-debated question: Of all the commandments, which command is the most important?
Whether he was collaborating with Christ's critics, or desiring to receive an honest answer to this all-important question is unclear, but it gave the Lord Jesus a beautiful opportunity to reiterate the most important commandment that God had given to Israel, through Moses - a command which had been ignored and violated by these pious, legalistic, religious leaders - who had not only ignored God's message of repentance, but had also rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, Whom He had sent.
The question that this earnest, young scribe asked the Lord Jesus, is a question that should be on the heart of all who have a reverential fear of God and a desire to do His will: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, and this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent.
May we read, mark, learn, and understand from all sections of Scripture, how to live godly lives in Christ Jesus.
May we learn from the failures of past mistakes so that we may progress from one stage of glory to the next, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour.
The book of Ezra along with all Scripture, demonstrates that God's plans and purposes for the redemption of the world, through our Lord Jesus Christ, can never be thwarted and that He will use whosoever He chooses to fulfil all He wills.
And in a brief word to His captors, Jesus encapsulated all the majesty, dominion, glory, and power of almighty God, when He proclaimed, I AM in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus knew all that was about to take place and asked who they were looking for.
They answered Him, Jesus the Nazarene.
And Jesus boldly declared, I am He or, I AM.
The Roman soldiers and Temple guards had come to arrest Jesus, with swords and staves and horses, and our Lord identified Himself as the Person for whom they were seeking, but He did so by using the very name of God.
Jesus identified Himself to this company of soldiers and Temple guards with the words spoken to Moses at the burning bush - I AM.
Jesus spoke the name the Lord God Almighty used, with authority.
No surprise that as soon as Jesus said to them, I AM, that they all went backward, and fell to the ground.
Jesus of Nazareth is the everlasting God Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He is all that we will ever need - for He is our Kinsman-Redeemer, Who gave His life as a ransom for many, so that all who trust in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Let us never forget Who the Lord Jesus Christ truly is.
God chose to use the sacrificial system He gave to Israel as a daily reminder that we are all fallen creatures who need to acknowledge our sin and confess Jesus as our Saviour.
The Lord Jesus Christ came as the fulfilment of every precious animal sacrifice that was slain on the altar of the Lord.
Every animal sacrifice was another reminder that we are sinful creatures and every drop of blood that was shed, was a picture of the Lord Jesus Himself, Who would come to earth, at God's appointed time, to be the full and final sacrifice for the sin of the world - so that ALL who believe on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
The sacrificial offering of Christ was so different by comparison with those earlier animal sacrifices, but they acted as a shadow - a shadow that was cast on the pages of history that became a heavenly reality when Jesus Christ offered Himself as the sacrifice for sin.
No surprise that the writer to the Hebrews emphasises the value of Christ's sacrifice and the glory of the Lord Jesus: WHO... having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.
The Lord Jesus is not only a prophet like Moses and the King from David's royal line, He is also the heavenly High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
But as soon as Christ Jesus had offered Himself as the full and final sacrifice for sins, He sat down on God's right hand.
As we recognise the truth that Christ's sacrifice was made once for all and forever... and that by faith in Him our sins are not simply covered but fully forgiven, we can rejoice with exceeding great joy that the Mosaic Law, the Feasts of the Lord, the various priestly ceremonies and bloody sacrificial offerings of the Old Covenant, were true shadows of the glorious reality that was manifest in Christ Jesus Who has saved us from our sin and seated us together with Him in heavenly places.
And here, as Jesus nears the end of His time on earth, this theme of illumination is reiterated: I have come as Light into the world so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all, and Jesus was sent by the Father to give light the Gentiles and to enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Jesus did not simply point us toward the light, but identified Himself as the true, heavenly Light.
Jesus used the illustration of light in much of His earthly teaching, and the apostle John and other New Testament authors frequently referred to Christ as 'the Light Who came into the world' and we rejoice to know that darkness can never overcome Him.A thick darkness has enveloped this fallen world system due to man's sin, and the eyes of every soul born into this sinful race, is shrouded in a deep blackness that can only be removed by the true Light of God Who came into the world in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.
Without Christ, the deep darkness of man's inner soul remains blinded to the truth of the glorious gospel of grace, which points to Jesus as the true Light Who alone lights the hearts and minds of all who believe on Him.Two thousand years ago, heavenly Light shone out of the darkness and by God's grace, the beauty of His Light and Life has shone into our hearts and given us the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ.
While He was in the world the Lord Jesus remained the Light of the world, but those who have been born from above have been instructed to walk in the light as He is in the light, and have been given the responsibility to be salt and light in a fallen world by pointing the way to Christ.God's Word of truth continues to unfold Christ's Light into our hearts and into the lives of those who have trusted His sacrificial work on the Cross and glorious Resurrection.
I think this must be one of the most grievous things that the Lord Jesus had to go through in His ministry, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
And for three years the Lord Jesus proclaimed that He was their promised Messiah and that the promised time of restoration had arrived.
Jesus was the Word made flesh Who came to pay the price for the sin of the whole world, and He authenticated His mission and ministry through His many prophesied signs and wonders..
Paul then goes on to explain that in Christ we are dead to sin and released from the bondage of the Law, alive in Christ, and set free by the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus so that we may live our lives to His praise and glory.
Paul traces the great plan of redemption from the first man-Adam to the last Adam-Jesus; from the old creation in the flesh to the new creation in the spirit; from the old sin nature to the new life in Christ; from the curse of the Law to the freedom of grace, and points out that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone and not by personal merit or through works of the flesh.
The Lord Jesus knows that the human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and that an attitude of materialistic, money-orientated consumerism will degenerate into greed, covetousness, double-mindedness, and a divided heart, for we cannot serve mammon and God at the same time.
It is the misguided love of money that is rooted in all sorts of evil attitudes and ungodly actions, and so we are instructed by the Lord Jesus Himself not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
All who have trusted in the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus as Saviour, and His glorious Resurrection from the dead, have this special relationship with our Lord, for the Church has been chosen to be His Bride.
For the time being, we are separated from our heavenly Bridegroom, but a day has been appointed when the Lord Jesus shall descend from heaven with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and we shall hear the voice of our Beloved saying, Arise my love, my beautiful one, and come away - come up here.
What a beautiful love story we discover in the Song of Solomon, and what reassurance it gives us to know that despite His long delay, the time is coming when we shall be with Christ Jesus forever.
And yet, for the love of you and the love of me, Jesus stepped out of eternity in order to be born as a baby and to die on the Cross as the Saviour of mankind.
The Lord Jesus Christ achieved this on Calvary's cross when He became our sin-substitute.
Jesus, the sinless Son of Man was the one and only offering, acceptable to God, in payment for the sin of the world - the Innocent for the guilty.
It was out of intense love for His Father and a deep love for the Church, the Lord Jesus gave Himself freely; willingly; voluntarily and joyfully, to be our Kinsman-Redeemer.
Jesus gave His life cheerfully - for the JOY that was set before Him.
Should we not willingly submit to all that God is using to carry out His sanctifying process in our lives, so that like the Lord Jesus we too will become a sweet fragrance to our heavenly Father.
Moses is lifted up in the book of Hebrews as a prime example of faithfulness, for we read: Now Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant, and the Lord used Moses as a testimony of those things which were to be spoken of later.Just as the Law is a schoolmaster which steadfastly points us to Christ and His New and better Covenant, so Moses was a faithful servant whom God used as a trusted sign-post to point us to the coming Messiah, for he testified of those things which were to be spoken about later - the revelation that was to come through Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man.Moses bore witness of the good news of man's redemption which would come through a greater Prophet than he, a greater Priest than Aaron, and a greater king than David.
The inferior Aaronic priesthood and the glory that Moses received, stands in stark contrast with Christ's superior Priesthood after the royal order of Melchizedek, for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ is acknowledged to be vastly superior to that of Moses, the great prophet and leader of Israel.Moses was commended as a faithful servant in all God's house, and he faithfully built the Tabernacle of the Lord after the heavenly pattern, but the One that was to come was the Son of the most High God, Who was Himself the Builder of the eternal House of which Moses was caretaker.The earthly tabernacle was simply a shadow of the heavenly Temple and universal kingdom to come, which Christ Himself would build.
Moses was a faithful servant who was obedient to his earthly calling to Israel, while the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son: He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.The work that was carried out by Moses, the servant of God, was simply a dim representation of Christ, the eternal Creator Who is seated in heavenly places and Who is functioning as Son over God's whole House.In every respect, the status and position of Christ is far superior to Moses, who simply testified of the Saviour Who was to come.
While Moses took care of God's physical 'house' in the wilderness, the Lord Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all.
May the lives we live be a testimony of the riches of God’s grace towards us, and may we reflect the beauty of Jesus in the words that we say and the things that we do.
Replacement theology is one of many Satanic deceptions that seeks to rid the world of the people of Israel, for God has decreed that ONLY when Israel cries in unison, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord, at the end of the coming seven-year Tribulation, that the Lord Jesus will return to set up His promised kingdom, and every eye will see His return.
And the privileges that the Church has received, is to provoke the nation of Israel to jealousy so that they too will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ - for JESUS is salvation to Jew and Gentile alike.
God's plan to set up Christ on the throne of His Father David still stands - for salvation comes through Jesus, the promised SEED of the woman, the promised SEED of Abraham, the promised SEED of David.
And despite Israel's rejection of their Messiah and the crucifixion of Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth and King of the Jews, God is faithful to His promises and will not set aside the people He chose to be the nation through Whom the Saviour of the world would be born; the nation to Whom the Scriptures were given.
Whether the brothers and sisters to whom he was writing were new into the faith or well-weathered, seasoned saints, they were often referred to as 'little children', for all had been sinners saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, all had their sins forgiven through His shed blood, and all had been given eternal life as God's free gift of grace.
And this is equally true of the Church today, for when Christians set their thoughts of their hearts of Christ Jesus, they are flooded with an inner peace, an inexplicable peace, a perfect peace that only comes from above.
Yes, indeed, God gives the one who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour peace with God and He will keep the believer in Christ Jesus covered in His own perfect peace, by giving us the peace of God which transcends human understanding.
Let us ensure that the thoughts of our hearts are fixed on the Lord Jesus moment by moment as we take every thought captive to Him, for God has promised to keep in perfect peace all who trust in Him and fasten the eyes of their hearts upon Him.
God has justified all that believe on the Lord Jesus, and is in the process of conforming each and every one into the image of His perfect Son.
The enemy will accuse you of sin and try to dislodge your trust in God's holy Word, but GOD is the one that has forgiven your sins forever – past, present, and future, and flung them all into the sea of His forgetfulness, simply because you trusted in the Lord Jesus.
The enemy will try to flood your mind with doubt and try to discredit the character of God, but God is faithful and true, His Word is forever sure, and all who are believers have been accepted in the Lord Jesus.
No wonder Paul encourages us to rejoice in the Lord always, for there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
He has promised to be with us in every situation of life... and all God wants from us is to trust His Word, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and hold fast to His many precious promises.
After Jesus and His disciples had partaken of the Last Supper, Judas, who had been indwelled by Satan, left the Upper Room and returned to the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus into their hands.
Jesus was not the Saviour he had expected and earlier in the day he had agreed to betray his Master into the hands of the Jews for 30 pieces of silver - the price of a slave in Old Testament times.
Knowing that his hour had come, Jesus took His followers into the Garden of Gethsemane where He agonised in prayer as the time for His sacrificial offering on the Cross drew ever nearer.
The other disciples were also confused, and although Jesus warned them to watch and to pray with Him, lest they fall into temptation, they were overcome with weariness and sorrow.
For hours Jesus agonised in prayer, knowing that the hour of His death drew ever closer: Father, He prayed, If it is Your will, take this cup away from Me.
The cup Jesus was about to drink was His crucifixion, where the full force of God's wrath would be poured upon the Son of His love.
But there was no other way to redeem fallen mankind and so Jesus also prayed, Not my will but Thine be done.
The Lord Jesus submitted Himself to His Father and willingly walked to the Cross for us - for without the shedding of His blood there would be no remission of sins for this fallen world.
In the dead of night, as Jesus finished praying, a great many people approached Him led by Judas - the betrayer.
He came to Jesus and identified Him with a kiss.
Temple officials and Roman soldiers came with swords and staves and horses to arrest Him and drag Him off to face many false trials and be accused by false witnesses, but Jesus said to them, While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me.
For over three years Jesus had been teaching and preaching openly in the Temple and across the entire nation, but they did not arrest him on those occasions because they feared the peoples' reaction.
Jesus was popular with the people because He healed the sick, taught them many things, told some good stories, and had fed them with bread and fishes - but His betrayal by one of the men that had accompanied Him throughout His ministry, emboldened the Jewish leaders to arrest Him.
Jesus did not resist arrest because He knew why He had come into the world.
But Jesus continued to speak of His accusers, with some strong and sad prophetic words: But this hour and the power of darkness are yours.
Jesus came into the world to redeem mankind.
Not only did these cowardly people come to arrest Jesus under cover of darkness, but they were acting under the evil influence of Satan and the wicked powers of darkness.
The purity and truth of the Lord Jesus is contrasted with the polluted lies of those that came to arrest Him under the cover of darkness.
He had come to understand that the gospel of God and the message of the Cross is foolishness to those that are lost, but to us who are being transformed into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus, it is the power of God.One of Paul's fellow-workers was a dear saint called Tychicus.
He reminded them that Jesus appeared to James and the other apostles and that He ate and drank with them.
Like Jesus, we are to be raised spirit, soul, and BODY.
If Christ had not been raised from the dead, then everything about the glorious gospel of grace, and our faith in the Lord Jesus would be false and worthless!!
Let us give thanks that He is the first-fruits of those who are asleep in Christ - for since by a man (the first Adam) came death, by a Man (Christ Jesus our Lord - the last Adam) came also the resurrection of the dead.
The marriage union is an important one... for we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and Christian marriage should be a mirror-image of our intimate union with Christ.
And goes on to explain, It was added because of transgressions - and it was added until the Seed, (Whom Paul identified as the Lord Jesus Christ) to Whom this promise had been made, had come.
The Law is not contrary to the promise that God gave to Abraham - for the Abrahamic covenant still stands, and Paul further explained how long the Law was to be implemented: from the time it was given to Moses until the Seed (Jesus Christ the righteous) was sent.
Jesus died in our place to pay the incalculable price that the Law demands from each of us.
Jesus took the punishment that the Law passes on all who fail to live by it and He became a curse in place of us.
Jesus was made sin in our place and Jesus died in our stead, for the wages of sin is death.
Today the Man Christ Jesus is seated at the right hand of God Father in heaven, in preparation for the day when He will return in power and great glory, for He alone is the Almighty God.
This position of honour is extended to the Lord Jesus Christ alone, for He alone is worthy, He alone is God Almighty, He alone died and rose again to conquer Satan and sin, death and hell.
God speaks to us through His Word - His living Word (the Lord Jesus Christ), and His written Word (the Holy Scriptures), and God has called us to hear Him because faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God.
The scribes and Pharisees had already failed to hear the Word of God, and accused the Lord Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan.
And the huge crowds that followed Jesus were also in danger of missing the glorious Person and Presence of God incarnate, by failing to hear the truth of Christ's Word.
And may the living Word, Jesus Christ, be the focus of our lives as we seek to live our lives to glorify Him.
The Lord Jesus not only died to pay the price FOR us our sins, but He also died AS us and in the place of us.
Everyone who would ever trust in Jesus as Saviour is considered by God to be His seed, His spiritual seed, and while the Lord Jesus walked this earth we were reckoned to be IN Christ so that when He died, we died IN Him so that we might die to those sins and live righteously.
The Lord Jesus not only died FOR the sin of the whole world, but also on behalf of all believers, by His death on the Cross and separation from the Father on our behalf.
The Lord Jesus condescended to not only die for our sins but take the cruel punishment in His body.
The Bible, from beginning to end, points to Jesus, and this power-packed little book which details the terrible apostasy that is going to overtake the Church in the last days, similarly points to the Lord Jesus as the one and only person who can keep any of us from stumbling so that we may be presented to Him as a pure, chase virgin at His return.There are so many dangers today of which we need to be aware – not only of yielding to temptation and falling into sin, but being able to identify and avoid the influences of false teachers and apostates that are infiltrating the Church today, where an increasing number of false doctrines and teachers are flooding Christendom with another gospel.
The book concludes with a lovely section that encourages us all to remain in the love of God, to build ourselves up in the most holy faith by means of the indwelling Spirit, and to keep our hearts and minds focussed on the Lord Jesus, watching for His any day return.We cannot keep ourselves from stumbling, but Christ can, and so we need to dig deeply into His Word.
Jesus knew the Jews were seeking to kill Him, and so He deliberately delayed His journey to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. He remained in Galilee until the last possible moment.
However, the Jew's bitter hatred for Jesus had reached boiling point, and they sought to kill Him, which was the reason He delayed His journey.
In this verse we read: Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near, and although Jesus delayed His journey to Jerusalem following the taunts of his brothers, we read that Jesus did eventually go up to the Feast of Booths, but He went quietly because His time had not yet come.
The ministry of Jesus began to widen as news of His amazing miracles and healings began to be spread abroad.
As time passed however, hostility towards the Lord Jesus started to develop and increasingly His message and ministry was rejected, causing Him to begin teaching His faithful followers through parables.
Faith in God and believing in Jesus Christ Whom He sent was the important issue.
During His early ministry, there are many examples where Jesus stated that a miracle occurred because of someone's faith.
It was because of her faith in Jesus that the woman with an issue of blood was healed.
It was by faith that blind Bartimaeus received his sight, and when Jesus saw the faith of the four men bringing their sick friend to Him, He healed the paralytic man.
Perhaps the most heart-breaking rejection the Lord Jesus experienced was in Nazareth - the place where He grew up as a child.
He had lived there with His family, served the local community with His carpentry skills, and attended the Jewish synagogue throughout His early life, but had to experience terrible rejection on two occasions because the people of His hometown did not recognise the Prophet that was in their midst - they did not have faith in Jesus.
The second time He was rejected by the people of Nazareth was in this passage, when Jesus interrupted His preaching itinerary to once again visit His hometown during His Galilean ministry.
The local people had known Jesus since childhood and had not forgotten that He was 'the son of Joseph - the carpenter'.
They recognised Who Jesus was, but instead of honouring Him as a famous Rabbi who was graciously visiting His hometown with His disciples, they reverted back to branding Him as 'the carpenter'.
This was a deliberate slur on the characters of both Jesus and His mother as it implied that He was as an illegitimate son and a charlatan.
No doubt with sadness in His soul, Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honour, except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.
Jesus was the Prophet who was greater than Moses, the King who was greater than David, but He was despised and rejected by those He came to save.
And so we read that Jesus was not able to do any miracles there because of their lack of faith - except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.
The trigger point for the Times of the Gentiles that coincides with Nebuchadnezzar's dream, continues to tick towards the second coming of God's Anointed - when Jesus Christ the Righteous is crowned King of kings and Lord of lords.
God told us the end from the beginning so that we would know that JESUS is that Stone that is cut without hands.
JESUS is the Rock of our salvation, and whosoever shall fall on this Stone shall be broken before the Lord (i.e.
For three days and nights, the Lord Jesus was buried in the securely guarded tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, but on that astonishing resurrection morning, long nights of weeping turned to joy and laughter as, first the women and then various individuals and groups of disciples, were visited by the risen Lord Jesus Christ - Who revealed Himself to those He loved and to those that loved Him.
Even the apostles Peter and John had witnessed the empty tomb... but the possibility that Christ had risen from the dead was preposterous to these people - despite Jesus Himself telling them that He would be handed over to the Gentiles, be crucified, and rise again on the third day.
They must have been a picture of dejection but were equally astonished that a newcomer had not heard about Jesus of Nazareth - the powerful prophet, handed over to the Romans by the chief priests... to crucify.
No surprise that Jesus responded, O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
But how gracious Jesus was to these two troubled souls, for He then opened up the Scriptures to them and gave them an exclusive Bible study on His mission and ministry, His Person and Work, His death and His Resurrection, and God's entire plan of salvation for the redemption of mankind.
And Jesus asked them pointedly, Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and then enter into His glory?
No wonder their hearts burned within them and their hope was reignited as Jesus taught them: And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scripture.
Jesus lovingly chided these two distressed disciples, but He then graciously explained ALL that the Old Testament was teaching about Himself.
Starting with Genesis and the first five books of Moses and no doubt touching on many of the prophesies and promises that we hold dear, Jesus taught them all that the Old Testament prophets had written, concerning Himself.
No doubt, Jesus graciously gave a full review of the fall of man and God's plan of redemption through His promised Seed.
These men walked with Jesus on the way and heard the Scriptures opened up to them by the Lord Jesus Himself.
But we also read in Scripture - blessed are those that have not seen the risen Lord Jesus, walked with Him by the way, or pushed their fingers into the wounds in His hands, and yet have believed.
If salvation is gained any way, other than by grace through faith in the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, then Christ died in vain!
These dear believers had come to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus, but had turned from the truth of the gospel of grace to the beggarly elements of the Law by starting to add various rites and rituals into this fellowship of believers.
Jesus had just finished telling His confused disciples that He was going away to prepare a place for them in His Father's house, but that He would not leave them comfortless but send the Holy Spirit to be with them and to live inside them.
Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus had told them that the Holy Spirit would be sent to them from Father after His departure (and we know that He came at Pentecost).
In that day when the Church is born and the Spirit is sent, Jesus told them, you will know that you are in Me (i.e.
There is only one Saviour that can rescue us from the terrible, eternal consequences of our fallen state, the 'God-Man' Christ Jesus.
But by grace through faith in the death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, God delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
Jesus was transfigured in front of the three disciples who were part of His 'inner circle', not long after Peter had made the earth-shattering confession, You are the Christ the Son of the living God.
For the first time in His life and ministry, the Lord Jesus gave this little group of men a taste of the heavenly glory that He had with the Father before the world began, a peep in the eternal glory that He had set aside, in order to live and die as our Saviour and Lord.
The wonderful spectacle of Moses and Elijah speaking to Jesus on the heavenly mount must have rejoiced their heart, but I am sure that nothing could transcend the awe and wonderment they must have experienced when a cloud appeared from above and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son: hear Him.
It was while Jesus was praying at His baptism that the voice of God was heard authenticating Him as My beloved Son, in Who I am well pleased, while the Spirit of God descended upon Him in bodily form - like a Dove.
It was following His unique baptism that we read: When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, (the husband of Mary) the son of Eli... and thus, Luke recorded Christ's entire earthly lineage back to Adam, who was identified in Genesis as the son of God.
While Matthew brings his genealogy through the official royal line of king David and king Solomon to Mary's husband, Joseph, who became the legitimate step-father of Jesus, Luke makes it clear that Joseph was presumed to be the father of Jesus, even though he traced Christ's lineage back through his mother, Mary, to king David's other son - Nathan.
In this distinctive manner, the Gospel of Luke prepares the reader for the hypostatic union of a holy God with perfect Man in the Person of Jesus Christ - the beloved Son of God and true Son of Man: And Jesus was about 30 years of age when He began His ministry.
In this verse, we read that the Lord Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age when He began His ministry, which shows the critical importance God places on sound preparation and serious training before a man is equipped for an important ministry.
But whichever is correct, we discover that like the Levitical priests, David the king, and others that God has used mightily, Jesus had to go through many years of preparation and training before He was ready to fulfil the ministry for which He had been appointed.
May we grow in the grace and in a knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as He prepares and equips us for the work that He has for us to do.
In this section, Zechariah gives many insights into God's judgement on apostate Israel, His punishment of the Gentile nations, and the return of the Lord Jesus to set up His kingdom.
Their blinded eyes would be opened to the truth and they would recognise that Jesus... the One Whom they crucified... was indeed their promised Messiah sent from God.
We see him reestablishing his teaching about the return of the Lord Jesus for His Church-age saints, together with the circumstances surrounding the Rapture of the Church.
His immediate answer was, Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
Gold, silver, precious stones and crowns are identified as the rewards which are given to celebrate the work of faith, the labour of love or the steadfastness of a believer's hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, and each crown is received in the presence of God the Father.
In Corinthians, we read of the Imperishable Crown, which is given to those who have run the race of life and obtained this award because of their obedience to God's Word, as they looked to JESUS the Author and Finisher of their faith.
The Crown of Righteousness, is given to all those who long for the soon return of the Lord Jesus, and cry out 'Maranatha' - COME Lord Jesus.
It is given to those who do not rely on their own righteous covering but on the righteousness of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus came to give us life and to give it more abundantly, and The Crown of Life, is awarded to those who have patiently endured persecution, and undergone unjustified sufferings and trials, during their life, while the Crown of Glory, is given to pastors and teachers who have been faithful in shepherding the flock of God.
It seems that the Crown of Rejoicing, is the reward for the soul-winner - the one who wins souls for Jesus.
May we be diligent to tell others of the good news of the gospel of grace and rejoice with them in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we cast our crowns before HIS feet.
They did not understand that the Law of God, the Prophets of Israel, the Psalms, and the Feasts-days were all pointing to Christ, and that 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' had set them free from 'the law of sin and death'.Today, as in those early days of Christianity, there is still much confusion about the 'gospel of God' and there are many attempts to add law to grace, and works to faith.
Indeed, Scripture labels Jews as 'the Circumcision' to identify their physical link to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to differentiate them from 'Uncircumcised Gentiles'.HOWEVER, as Abraham was also the father of FAITH, Paul identifies ALL believers, both Jew or Gentiles, as 'the True Circumcision' who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh.
May it never be that I would boast in anything, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Praise God that we have been called to worship the Lord in spirit and truth; to worship in the Spirit of God; to glory in Christ Jesus our Lord and put no confidence in the flesh.
Jesus claimed deity, eternality, omniscience, and equality with the Father on many occasions, and the Jews of His day knew exactly what Christ meant when He called God His Father and referred to Himself as the Son of Man, when He forgave sins, or identified Himself with the holy name of God (I AM).
Stoning was the irreversible sentence passed on all who would dare to blaspheme the true and living God - and this was their primary accusation against the Lord Jesus.
And in declaring Himself as the Son of God and Son of Man, the Lord Jesus was professing a truth that had its roots in eternity past; a fact that was sanctified by the Lord God of Hosts; a truth that was practiced in the earthly life of our Saviour - that Christ was and is and is to come, God Almighty.
Jesus did not deny that He was God, but he certainly challenged their outrageous accusation of blasphemy against Him for He alone has the God-ordained right to claim the honour of Deity, Messiahship, and equality with the Father, for He is the incarnate Word of God.
He is the righteous Judge, Emmanuel (God With Us), before Whose throne every knee will one day bow and to Whom every tongue will one day confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
But a life of faith cannot be founded on the shifting sands of doubt and disappointment but needs to be secured to the changeless foundation of Jesus Christ, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever - for HIS steadfast love never ceases.
and Jesus answered by quoting 'the Shema': Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one, Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength, substituting the word 'mind' for the word 'strength'.
John was the forerunner and Jesus was the Lord about whom Malachi prophesied.
John pointed to Jesus Who was the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
John was the messenger who proclaimed God's Message, and it pointed to Jesus.
Jesus was the Anointed of Israel Who suddenly came to His Temple and overturned the money tables and Who fiercely accused them of desecrating the Temple, My Father's House is a House of prayer for all people and YOU have made it a den of thieves.
JESUS was the pure Message from God as well as the Messenger of the New Covenant, in whom Israel delighted.
However, for those who believed, the Lord Jesus was sent by God at the appointed time.
He is JESUS, the Good Shepherd of the sheep, Who knows those who are His, and Whose voice is recognised by the sheep of His pasture.
It is not in a shepherd's job-description to die for the flock in his care, but Jesus came to die for His sheep.
Jesus stressed His identity as Israel's Good and Gracious Shepherd.
Jesus came to His own people, but Israel announced, we will not have this Man rule over us, thus causing their promised kingdom to be postponed - for a season.
Let us make time to get to KNOW the Lord Jesus intimately and to be made more and more like Him.
Jesus may have been the Son of God through Whom heaven and earth were created, but He also came into this world as the Son of Man, the suffering Servant of Jehovah Who would give His life as the ransom price for the sin of the whole world.He had come to set up God's kingdom on earth, but His own people rejected Him and He finally set His face as a flint towards Jerusalem and the Cross.
It was at that time that the Lord Jesus began in earnest to prepare His little band of faithful followers for His shocking betrayal, false accusations, unjust trial, cruel death, and glorious Resurrection.Over and again, His disciples failed to comprehend the serious nature of Christ's repeated prediction of His fast-approaching betrayal and death, and it became necessary for Jesus to speak plainly about the severe self-discipline His followers would require if they were to stand fast in the evil day and not be sifted as wheat by the enemy, nor emotionally tossed about by the terrible things they were soon to face.A simple, immovable, childlike faith in Christ Who had come as God's anointed King, His promised Messiah, and Kinsman-Redeemer, was essential as the days grew darker: Whoever receives Me, Jesus said, receives Him Who sent Me.Petty differences of colour or creed were to be laid aside, and a unity in the faith was to be established by those who acknowledged Jesus as Lord.
When Jesus came the first time, the people were to believe on Him Whom the Father had sent.Knowing the dangers of disunity among believing brethren, the serious consequences of unbelief and the necessity to be steadfast in the day of trouble, Jesus set out the relentless self-discipline His disciples needed if they were to be kept from falling.
Jesus was not advocating for His followers to start amputating their arms and legs or gouging out their eyes or tongues, but emphasising the terrible effect of sin on an individual life.Temptation to sin is not suppressed by self-mutilation, nor is it arrested by physical dismemberment, for the seat of sin is the heart and mind, not in the hand, foot, or body-member that perform a sinful act.
However, the opposite is true of those that reject the Lord Jesus and spurn His goodness.
Praise God that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus - their sins are remembered no more and they are accepted in the Beloved and covered in His perfect righteousness - by faith.
as we look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
How important therefore that we are alert, and watchful against the enemy of our soul - not only for ourselves but on behalf of all our brothers and sisters in Christ - so that together we keep looking to Jesus - our blessed Hope.
But how few even turn to Scripture to discover the principles and practices of what it really means to live godly in Christ Jesus?
Jesus told us that in this world we will have tribulation, for we are in the world but not of it, and He also assured us that His victory on the Cross is our victory too - but that victory may look very different from the soft, easy life and trouble-free existence they perceive this to mean.
Indeed, he even exhorts us to consider our various trials as a joy and blessing from our Father, while Paul warns that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution - but that God Himself will comfort us in our suffering and pain so that we can comfort others in their suffering and pain.
It was our Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, Who was to be born of Mary the betrothed wife of Joseph the carpenter, through whom this heavenly blessing was to be accomplished.
Jesus was not begotten of Joseph, although he became His legal, earthly father.
Jesus was the only begotten Son of His Father in heaven.
The Lord Jesus was conceived not of flesh, nor of the will of man, nor from the physical seed of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
It is the strength of the Lord Jesus Who sustains those who do not rely upon their own abilities.
It is then that the spiritual battery is regenerated and renewed by Christ's limitless power, enabling us to run the straight race - and in His strength, to run in such as way as to win the prize, for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Jesus Himself fulfilled this legal requirement for He was God's Passover Lamb, and for four days before He was crucified on Calvary's Cross, He was examined.
Jesus was questioned, tested, and scrutinised unrelentingly, by Jewish leaders, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, but He was found to be unblemished.
Nevertheless, they hatched a plan to kill the Lord Jesus and paid Judas Iscariot to betray the Master he had followed from the beginning.
Jesus was seized by a mob in the Garden of Gethsemane and brought into the house of the high priest at the dead of night where he was unlawfully questioned.
There He was mocked and beaten and at daybreak, the elders incited the people to riot... and both the chief priests and scribes conspired to label Him guilty... and together they hauled Jesus before the Sanhedrin.
The entire assembly were stirred up in heated anger and brought Him to Pilate, the Roman governor, to determine whether or not Jesus was guilty and deserving of death.
This was the first time that Jesus was brought before Pilate who quickly realised the Man before Him was innocent of the crimes of which He was accused.
And Jesus answered him and said, It is as you say.
Jesus was indeed the king of the Jews, but He was not like others who had used violence to stir up the people.
Pilate knew that Jesus posed no political threat to Caesar or his empire.
Four days of relentless questions that were designed to trick Jesus into committing an unlawful act or making some treasonous statement against Rome had failed.
The Jew's attempt to have Jesus legitimately condemned to death for blasphemy, treason, rioting, and insurrection, failed utterly... for He was the spotless Lamb of God, the perfect Passover Lamb, the sinless Son of Man.
God in His grace, made provision for man's redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ Jesus the Righteous, is that Blessed Hope.
Jesus Christ demonstrated the supreme superiority of His person, work, ministry, status, office and sacrifice, over everyone and everything, through His death on the cross.
He was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ - God's promised KING from the house of David and the Lord's anointed HIGH PRIEST, after the order of Melchizedek.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the three original patriarchs of the Jewish nation, and their history began when Abram was called by God to leave the Ur of the Chaldees, and to go into a land which God would show him.The genealogy of Abraham and the ongoing history of his descendants, continues into Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and can be tracked throughout the writings of holy men of God whom the Lord used to pen the Old Testament Scriptures.Israel's lineage can be tracked to Jesus, His disciples, and the early Church.
They are the dry, lifeless bones of Ezekiel 37, which will only live again by the power of the Holy Spirit of God when they acknowledge their sin and receive Jesus as their Messiah-King.In this verse early in Exodus, we discover: All the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt The twelve tribes that make up the whole nation of Israel, are all descended from those twelve sons of Jacob.Reuben and Simeon were the two eldest children who shamed their father by their ungodly actions.
May we never forget that those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse them will themselves be cursed, for salvation comes through the Jews – for salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ, our God and our Saviour.
Jeremiah reminds the faithful remnant of believing Israel (and also those of us that are saved by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord), of the wonderful fact that the Lord examines the heart and gives to each what they deserve, based on what they have done, by faith: I, the Lord search the heart.
Before time began, God determined to gather all things together in Christ, unite everything together in Him, to sum-up and bring into one final whole, all things in Jesus Christ the Messiah of God.
Jesus was fully aware of His own personal timeline when He stepped out of eternity onto the earth.
How important therefore to keep our focus on Jesus and to train the eyes of our hearts on heavenly things that are true and honest, just and pure, lovely and wholesome, godly and of good report.
How true it is that you become like the person with whom you spend time, and whatever has captivated your heart inevitably reflects attitudes and behaviours in life, (whether good or evil), and too often it is not a pretty sight. We are warned not to habitually be immersed in the world but to set our minds on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make Him the central focus of our thoughts.
If we would just turn our spirit and soul towards the Lord Jesus, we would automatically have to turn away from the things of this world.
May we turn from the things of this world in willing submission to God's child-training programme, so that like the Lord Jesus Christ, we may live in spirit and truth, walk in the light as He is in the light and love others as He loves us - until in all things we can say, Father, Thy Will Be Done in me.
Whether Jew or Gentile, all men are guilty sinners and under God's eternal judgement UNLESS they are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Although the Lord chose the Jewish race to be His people through whom the Messiah would be born, their birthright did not provide any exemption from God's directive that salvation, which is a gift of grace, received by faith alone in Christ Jesus alone as detailed in Scripture.
Although Israel was identified as God's chosen nation through their covenant agreement with the Lord and the sign of circumcision given through Abraham - salvation for Jew and Gentile alike is given by God's grace - through faith in Christ Jesus.
The most amazing revelation of Jesus Christ was given to the apostle John, when he was banished to the inhospitable Isle of Patmos.The final chapter in God's plan of redemption is played out in graphic detail, until the Lord Jesus, the supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, bursts through the clouds accompanied by the armies of heaven, with King of kings and Lord of lords, written on His robe and on His thigh.Once the evil Beast and blasphemous False Prophet have been cast alive into the fire burning with brimstone, and Satan is bound and thrown into the bottomless pit, John turns his attention to the people he sees, enthroned in heaven.
They refused to take the 'Mark of the Beast' and they were martyred for their faith: And I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast, nor his image, nor had received his mark upon their foreheads or on their hands.Following the Rapture of the Church, the wrath of God will be poured out in full measure on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, Jew-loathing, sinful world.
It is the start of the 'Day of the Lord' which covers the seven year Tribulation period and the subsequent thousand year Millennial Kingdom, when God Himself, rather than fallen man, will rule and reign on earth through Jesus Christ, the righteous God-Man.
However, all those who rejected God’s offer of salvation before the Cross and throughout the Church-age, as well as during the 7-year Tribulation, will be confined in hell for a further 1000 years and must partake in the SECOND resurrection – the terrible resurrection of all unbelievers at the Great White Throne of the living God, which will result in eternal separation from God.Let us increase our efforts to tell the good news of the gospel of Christ to as many as we can, before the great and terrible Day of the Lord, for the Word of God through the revelation of Jesus Christ will not fail.
Jesus taught that false Christs, false prophets, and ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing would arise and mislead many - even the elect of God.
And here, in his last known epistle, Paul writes to encourage Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and to serve Him faithfully... relying on God's sufficient grace alone, which only comes through union with the Lord as we abide in Him and He in us.
The crowds thronged the Lord Jesus, for they were astonished by the many mighty miracles and great healings that He was performing.
Even the unclean spirits recognised Who Jesus was and declared: You are the Son of God.
But the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians hated the Lord Jesus, for He was undermining their authoritarian monopolies and hypocritical practices - for Jesus spoke as one having sovereign authority - but it was a different sort of authority than that which was seen in their religious leaders.
Despite John's testimony that Jesus was the One Who was sent from above..
and in spite of Christ's Own prolonged announcement of His Messianic credentials and heavenly authority, the Lord Jesus was accused by the Jewish leaders of His day..
and made one with Jesus Christ - our heavenly Lord and earthly brother. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit in this way is to reject the one and only means of salvation, for He is the One Whose witness points to Christ Jesus as Saviour - .
This was the point in His life that Jesus began to speak in parables..
It was at this critical point in His ministry that His mother and young brothers came to see Jesus.
How shocking that even His own family did not understand Who Jesus was and Why He was here.
But Christ Jesus had been sent by His Father in heaven to carry out God's holy will and to fulfil the Father's precious plan of redemption.
and Jesus Christ, Whom He had sent - BY FATIH - and it is God's will that having trusted in Christ for salvation that we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord - which is our spiritual worship.
Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost, for He is a gracious God Who searches us out before we would ever consider searching for Him - and yet in Christ are the words of eternal life.
And the gift of God that the Lord Jesus spoke of to this woman-at-the-well is His free gift of salvation, which is openly available to all who will accept God's gracious offer of redemption and be cleansed of their sin, by faith in Christ.
Let us seek to share the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ with those that are dead in their sins and without hope in the world, knowing that every day that passes is a day of grace when lost souls may come to a saving faith in Christ Jesus our Saviour.
We do not have to grovel for meager scraps at the bench of an unbelieving judge, for we have free and open access into the throne of grace and the riches of His love in Christ Jesus so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Every high priest from Aaron onward, was a representative of the final and ultimate High Priest, our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because of His earthly walk, the Lord Jesus is able to sympathise with all our weakness, all our disappointments, all our rejections, and all our temptations.
Every piece of armour that the Christian is given in the spiritual battle of the ages in which we are engaged, points to the Lord Jesus Christ.
As the writer of Hebrews states: For the Word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and every portion of Scripture points to the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the living Word.
It was the Sword of the Spirit that the Lord Jesus grasped when He was tempted of Satan in the wilderness.
With such a weapon as the Sword of the Spirit, the many examples of Jesus Himself wielding that weapon so effectively, and the promises pertaining to the Word, let us all buckle on the armour that God has provided, and firmly grasp hold of the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, in both our heart and our hands so that we too may be able to stand firm in the evil day against the devil's wicked schemes.
Jesus is claiming, 'every single verse points to Me, for I am the One in Whom are the Words of Life.
I Am the Word made flesh - I Am Emmanuel - I Am the One that is more precious than fine gold, and I Am the One that is sweeter than honey that drips from the honeycomb.' Yes, it is JESUS to Whom the Word of God points.
JESUS is the eternal Word.
He is the Word of Life, the Word of Truth, the Word of Peace, and the Word of Hope - for it is Jesus Who is sweeter to the taste than the very sweetest honey that is dripping down from an overflowing honeycomb.
May we find the daily nourishment for our soul in the sweet person of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
We are not called to walk the same ancient path to which Israel was called, but we are required to be faithful to our calling, to walk in spirit and truth as outlined in the Word of God, to grow in grace and in a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to mature in the faith that we have been taught.
He illuminates our minds with truth, inspires our heart with spiritual understanding and gives godly discernment to all who have been saved by trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As His ministry progressed, Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God would come.
Jesus had already claimed to be Israel's King and had identified Himself as their Messiah through prophetic signs, miracles, teachings, and preaching.
The prophet John had identified Him as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, but legalism and false perceptions of their coming Saviour blinded the religious leaders to the truth of the gospel of God, and in chapter 17, Jesus starts to address their questions on the kingdom in order to correct their false perceptions.
They would only discover the kingdom of God by coming to a knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord - Who was sent to save the world from sin and Satan, death and hell - and Who stood in their very midst.
The Millennial Kingdom of God, about which these Jews were asking, can only happen when the nation of Israel repents of their sin, returns to the God of their fathers, and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Kinsman-Redeemer - and Jesus addressed this issue in this dialogue.
Jesus taught His disciples many things that would happen during the dreadful 'Day of the Lord' which would precede His coming, earthly kingdom, and in verse 26, He describes the wicked state into which the world will sink as the time for His return draws closer: Just as it was in the days of Noah, we read, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.
Those who go through the Great Tribulation will witness this progression of evil, but what of those in the Church Age who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
And the prophesied wickedness during the Tribulation period will wax worse and worse until Jesus is ready to return in power and great glory, to set up the glorious kingdom of God.
In the penultimate verse of Ephesians, Paul is offering a familiar and well-loved salutation to his brothers and sisters in Christ: Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.Peace, love, and faith are three spiritual qualities that are sprinkled in unfettered abundance throughout Paul's writings, and yet they retain a freshness each time they are bestowed on God's children of faith.Only once in the New Testament, is this phrase peace be to the brethren, used.
Indeed, the peace of God which passes all human comprehension, is a gracious gift from our Heavenly Father which is promised to all His children through Jesus Christ our Lord, for it guards the heart and mind of all who cast their cares upon Him.God's peace is the gracious gift that under-girds our going out and our coming in, and every man or woman of faith in Christ, is promised that heavenly peace will garrison our heart and mind in every difficult circumstance or troublesome situation.
The peace of Jesus is also our precious portion, for our dear Saviour bestowed His heavenly peace on each one of us when He said, Peace I leave with You.
MY peace I give unto you.The amazing love of God, binds us together in worship and praise to our Heavenly Father Whose loves for us is so profound, that He gave His only begotten Son to become our substitute for sin, while the supernatural love of Jesus is such that while we were yet sinners, Christ died on our account so that we might be forgiven of our sin, receive a new life in Him, become united with Christ and abide with Him forever.Faith, enables us to worship in spirit and truth.
It empowers us to carry out the work that God has prepared for us to do and it emboldens us to engage in the spiritual warfare of this age, effectively: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and satanic powers, who prowl around, seeking to destroy our ministry and taint our testimony.Peace and love with faith, comes directly from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The first covenant was in effect from the time that it was given through Moses, right up until the day that Jesus Christ was crucified on the Cross... when the New Covenant was cut in His blood - the New Covenant of which we are ministers.
The New Covenant of God will one day be fully ratified when Israel, as a nation, acknowledges Jesus as their King.
However, Paul clearly uses Hagar to represent that Old Covenant of Sinai, the earthly seed of Israel, and the earthly Jerusalem below, while Sarah symbolises the New Covenant, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the spiritual seed of God, through Christ Jesus our Lord - for we are all members of His Body, and ministers of a New and better Covenant.
The closer that the Lord Jesus drew to the cross, the more we see His teaching begin to shift away from His early mission, where He came only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel as their faithful Shepherd..
in order that we may know and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing in Him we may have life in His name.
But before this was to happen the Lord Jesus was to offer His life on the cross, as a ransom for many.
As Christ's ministry progressed the apostle John incorporated a number of signs that would give clear and irrefutable proof to the nation of Israel that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah - and that by believing in Him they might have life in His name - and have it more abundantly.
The first sign was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee, when Jesus turned water into wine - for this was the point where we read that His disciples first believed in Him.
The second and third signs were connected with healing those that were sick, for as Isaiah prophesised - the Lord God anointed and qualified Christ Jesus to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, the helpless and the afflicted.
And we read that many believed in Jesus - and many followed Him.
His fifth sign was the feeding of the 5000 men, which demonstrated that Jesus was the living bread..
Who came down from heaven to feed the hungry and to give refreshment to those that were tired and thirsty - for Jesus proclaimed: He who comes to Me will never be hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.
And it is following His fifth sign, where Jesus walked on water, stilled the storm and rescued those that were perishing..
As the Jews of His day started to reject the biblical signs that authenticated Christ's messiahship, the Lord Jesus began to give a much more graphic teaching on Who He was and why He had come: I am the bread of life.
Jesus was the true bread from heaven.
It was by His death as a perfect man that Jesus paid the price for sin..
They profess to know God and can deliver motivational speeches, but in their lives they deny the Lord Jesus by twisting truth which disqualifies their profession of faith.
And Paul also mentions the astonishing and immediate judicial changes that take place in the life of every man and woman, who trusts in the death, burial, and Resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
Let us not be drunk with wine or controlled by any other substance or emotion that discredits our Heavenly Father, but let us go on being filled, day by day, with the Holy Spirit of God so that we may manifest the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in our lives, today and throughout the rest of our time on earth.
The Lord Jesus was soon to demonstrate how deep that love was for all who receive Him as their redeeming sin sacrifice, for greater love has no one than this, that the Man Christ Jesus, God incarnate, would lay down His life for His friends.
And there is a legitimate reason that we are called upon to live godly in Christ Jesus, to walk in spirit and truth, to submit to the teaching and training of the Holy Spirit, to learn obedience through suffering: To love one another as Christ loved us, for by this all people will know that you are my disciples.
God knows that disobedient Israel will one day return to His open arms of love, for they are like a flock of straying sheep without a shepherd and the wounds and pain that have been inflicted due to centuries of idolatry and apostasy will be over, when they acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
It is always a joy when a man or woman trusts in Christ as their Saviour and sets out on their life-journey with Jesus at the helm, but what a thrill it must have been for Paul when Titus, his true son in the common faith, was ready to take on full responsibility for the establishment of the Christian churches throughout the Isle of Crete.
Titus was an uncircumcised Greek who heard Paul preaching about Jesus many years before and responded to the gospel of grace by faith.
He was not only Paul's son in the faith, but became a loyal and trusted friend and a fellow bondservant of Jesus Christ.
And so, early in his greeting to Titus, Paul writes the encouraging truth that has become the privilege of all God's children: Grace and peace to you, from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Saviour.
His peace resides deep within our inner man and is our ever-present possession - when we look to Jesus and focus the eyes of our minds upon HIM.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, we also believe that God will resurrect ALL Christians who have fallen asleep in death.
Christians have obtained salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and are not appointed to wrath, but these concerned believers thought that the Day of the Lord had already started.
The Christians in Thessalonica were fairly new believers, but Paul had made sure that he taught them the full counsel of God, including prophecies about the Rapture, the Great Tribulation, the coming man-of-perdition, and the terrible wrath of God that will be poured out on a world that rejected Him and refused to be saved by faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus ate His final Passover meal with His disciples, and they sang a hymn together on the night that He was betrayed.
He predicted that Peter would deny Him before the cock crowed the next morning, and together they walked to the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in great agony of soul.
But how dearly the Lord Jesus would have loved to have had their prayer-support at this crucial time.
And so we read, And going a little farther, Jesus fell facedown and prayed, 'My Father!
How gracious it was of Jesus to single out the blustery, self-confident Peter, who had just proclaimed his undying loyalty to his Lord, and yet was soon to face the greatest sorrow of his entire life, when he deserted the Lord he loved and denied Him three times.
Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, Whom to know is life eternal, and let us take heed to watch expectantly for the Lord's soon return - and also to watch with Him, in His continuous ministry of prayer and intercession.
Jesus, the Lamb of God and Shepherd of Israel had come to set up His eternal kingdom on earth BUT He was despised and rejected by those He came to save: We will not have this Man rule over us, was Israel’s final pronouncement, Crucify Him!
But God in His grace has designed this 7-year Tribulation Period to be the tool that will bring His errant nation, Israel, back into the loving arms of Jesus, the King of the Jews and God of Israel.
And they will live in peace and prosperity under Jesus' protection.
Our faithful God is the one who fed the hungry multitude, provides comfort for the broken-hearted, gives succour to the weak, strength to the weary, hope to the afflicted, and salvation to all who trust in Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins - for while we were yet sinners, God in His grace provided a Kinsman-Redeemer to save His people from their sins.
Our good and loving God supplies all our needs, according to His riches in glory, through Christ Jesus our Saviour.
Though we may be afflicted on all sides... pressured, perplexed, and persecuted for righteousness sake, we have not been forgotten or abandoned by our Heavenly Lord... for Jesus is with us always and forever, even to the end of the age.
Though we live in the war-zone of this fallen world system, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... and the peace of God which guards our hearts in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
They include all unbelievers who are dead in their sins, enslaved by Satan, at enmity with God - as well as many religious legalists and pious Judaisers who insist that we are still under the Law of Moses and not under the Law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus.
By faith, we are no longer under God's condemnation because we trusted in the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
It was at the Cross where sin, Satan, hell, and death were defeated and a New Covenant with Israel was made through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus.
The New Covenant with Israel was ratified at the Cross, but will be fully implemented after that nation has called out to Jesus as their Messiah to save them. 'Hosannah' they will cry. 'Save us, in the name of the LORD'.
And their Messiah Jesus will come in the name of the Lord a second time, to save His people from their sins.
Throughout His earthly life, the Lord Jesus ignored the unscriptural traditions of the elders and would knowingly violate the unbiblical customs of the Scribes and Pharisees, and disregard their man-made rituals and manufactured ceremonies.
But in every respect, the Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law of God which was given to Israel through Moses, and He kept the statutes of the Lord in order to remove the curse of the Law from those who would believe on His name and trust in Him for salvation by grace through faith in His sacrificial work at Calvary.
Both at the start and the end of His ministry, we discover the Lord Jesus cleansing the Temple of God from the many ungodly practices that had been implemented over the years.
Jesus had just washed the feet of His confused disciples, in an act of gracious love.
No one can love as Jesus loved by their own imperfect human effort, however hard we try, for the love of man is but a faint reflection of the glorious Son of Righteousness.
And as the Seed of the woman and Son of the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ became Man.
Jesus purchased a pardon for every member of the human race, conquering sin and death, and then elevated all that would believe on His name to be children of God and joint heirs with Christ.
Throughout His life, Jesus proclaimed Himself as The Eternal Word made in human flesh.
In Revelation, the Lord Jesus identified Himself with three synonymous titles which alone are assigned to God Almighty.
I AM the First and the Last. In making this staggering announcement, it is clear that Jesus Christ is claiming equality with the Almighty God of the Universe, for He quotes directly from Isaiah, who wrote, Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and His Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last, and there is no God besides Me.'
There are those that deny the supreme Deity of Christ and His equality with the Father and Holy Spirit... labelling Him as a lesser and inferior god... suggesting that, like us, the Lord Jesus is also a created being.
This is my God and this is your God - this is Jesus, Who alone demands our worship and praise.
We need to consider the rich promises that have been poured out on us so lavishly, and we need to reflect, with thanksgiving, on all that the covenant of grace - into which we have been brought, means - through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the one to Whom every Passover lamb points - for just as these Passover lambs were slain their firstborn sons, so Jesus came to die in the place of sinful man. He was sent to redeem His people from their slavery to sin so that by faith in Him, they would LIVE.
We know that JESUS was to be the perfect Passover Lamb.
Jesus is our spiritual food and we who partake of His body and blood by faith, will LIVE.
Paul pointed us to JESUS as our Passover when he wrote: Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Just as the blood on the doorposts of the Israelites in Egypt was a physical sign of their faith in God's Word, so a heart that has been sprinkled with the shed blood of Christ by faith in His sacrificial death on the Cross, is the spiritual sign that we have passed from death to life - from slavery to the freedom that is in Christ Jesus.
The Lord Jesus lived his life, from start to finish, in the way that God ordained that mankind should live from the beginning.
When we die to self and all that the sin-soaked nature of our old life in Adam represents, we are enabled, by the Spirit of God, to live in newness of life, through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let us reckon ourselves dead to sin and all that the old sin nature represents and let us reckon ourselves alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord - so that by His power we may love the Lord our God with all our heart - and in His name, add to that godliness, brotherly kindness, and progress from brotherly kindness to the divine love - that is ours in Christ Jesus.
where Jesus is introduced to the Jewish nation as Israel's promised Messiah and rightful King.
We discover that John the Baptist was identified as the last and greatest of the Old testament prophetic voices - who cried in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight - for we read in Matthew that Jesus was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
The Shepherd of God's people is fully and finally revealed in the face of Jesus Christ - and the 66 chapters of Isaiah seem to be a beautiful unfolding of this never-ending story of GRACE.
The four Gospels combine to describe glimpses of His betrayal, His arrest, and some of the cruel treatment Jesus received at the hands of sinful men - yet He allowed Himself to be led as a lamb to the slaughter and opened not His mouth, and in so doing, fulfilled all things which were prophesied of Him in Scripture.
Those Roman soldiers could never have imagined the part they would play in the glorious story of the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, as they crucified 'Jesus of Nazareth - the King of the Jews' on a wooden cross outside the city gates of Jerusalem, and divided up His garments amongst themselves, by casting lots.
The Lord Jesus is the perfect manifestation of the grace of God, and on one specific day in the little synagogue at Nazareth He stood up to proclaim His revolutionary mission: that He was the promised Messiah of Israel and that He had come from God to address the enormous humanitarian problems on earth.
Jesus revealed that He would deal with poverty, sorrow, bondage, suffering, and oppression.
Jesus had come to set up His glorious kingdom on earth.
Let us live godly in Christ Jesus, as we look for His any day return in the clouds.
There should be no inner murmurings or resentments, but rather our work should flow from an inner being that delights to be of service, and seeks to undertake all that we do enthusiastically and with blessed goodwill, as though we were doing it all for the Lord Jesus Himself.
From this moment forward, whatever we do, whether in word or deed, let us undertake to do it with a pure heart and seek to do it as unto the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through Him.
Like King David, this apostle was encompassed about by many enemies and had to experience some severe hardships, and yet he learned the secret of total dependence upon the Lord and had come to appreciate that the grace of the Lord Jesus is sufficient for every eventuality.
Jesus had warned us that without Him, we can do nothing and once Paul understood the deeper meaning of this, he boasted in his own weaknesses while rejoicing that through Christ he could do all things.
But the 'new life in Christ' is imparted to all God's children, making us part of a new 'spiritual' creation, through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Every common task to which we place our shoulder and each Christian duty to which we are called, can only be successfully discharged as we rely on the Lord Jesus Christ for guidance and strength.
Faith in Christ saves us from God's righteous judgement and His baptism unto death becomes our death - NOT the removal of the filth of the flesh for the forgiveness of sin, which we received by faith in Christ, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who is our righteousness.
Jesus is our heavenly High Priest and at least a quarter of the book of Hebrews is devoted to this glorious topic.
The former things were a dim shadow of the vastly superior priestly office and greater ministry of God's new and permanent priesthood... and Christ Jesus is the superior heavenly High Priest.
The sanctuary, sacrifices, feasts, festivals, and all the priestly activities connected with the Old Covenant, were a dim and distant shadow of all that it represented - for all things which are written about Christ in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, point to JESUS and His unique sacrifice on the Cross.
Only the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who became a Man and paid the ultimate price for the sin of the world through His sacrificial death, was sufficient to pay the price of sin.
Slowly it helps to conform us into the image and likeness of the lovely Lord Jesus, as we develop in godly discernment and wisdom from above.
Righteousness, peace and the joy of the Lord is an inner loveliness shining through the one who is loving the Lord Jesus, and seeking His kingdom first.
The second chapter of James confirms an important Christian principle that Jesus established in His Sermon on the Mount - mercy will be extended to those that show mercy, while the merciless man will face God's judgement.
Jesus explained this truth to his audience in Matthew: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Jesus did not say blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain salvation, nor is James implying that believers that demonstrate a lack of mercy will lose their salvation.
Salvation is a free gift of God's grace to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
May we grow in grace and in a knowledge of our Lord and Saviour so that we may become more like Jesus Who is full of compassion and of great mercy.
Not only was the penalty for our sin paid in full, by grace through faith in the death, burial, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also its suffocating power has been broken.
His righteousness endures forever.Jesus Himself reminded us that HE is the Sower and God is the One Who provides the good seed in its season, for us to sow.
And in this passage, we are given the many elements of unity that are ours in Christ Jesus - our one and only Lord and Saviour.
The authority to call Him Father is for those that believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
As many as received the Word-made-flesh - Jesus Christ the righteous - were given the right to become children of God.
Others like to twist this verse to imply that every human being is automatically a child of God or that all religions worship the same God, making Him Father of all people - but this is a false teaching for the Bible declares that ONLY those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ receive the right to become children of God - even to them that believe on His Name.
and reunified under the sovereign rule of the Almighty, through the Lord JESUS - His anointed King and promised Messiah.
Christ Jesus is the one that is being described here..
There are many that like to say that God has replaced Israel with the Church, but those pronouncements do not heed the truth of the Word of God, Whose promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus and Whose Word stands fast for ever and ever.
And yet this was not the attitude of the Lord Jesus Who set side His heavenly glory in order to be made in the likeness of sinful man.
Jesus looked to the needs of others before He considered Himself.
During His sojourn on earth, the Lord Jesus was still omniscient, still omnipotent, and even still omnipresent, but He emptied Himself of His positional equality with God and veiled His divine glory within human flesh - a Body that God had prepared for Him in the womb of His earthly mother.
Jesus was fully human yet fully God - the unique God-Man.
This was the one and only 'hypostatic union' of God and Man, uniting the humanity of Jesus with the divinity of God in one unique, individual Person.
There is no more worthy example of selfless humanity and gracious humility than our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
And Jesus is the example that we are called upon to follow, but a road which is often thwarted by our selfish smugness and our self-absorbed pride.
We are challenged daily to let this mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus, and to choose to follow the path of the Cross by setting aside our own natural inclination to place self on the throne of our lives and, in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and by means of the new life of Christ, to empty ourselves of 'Self' and become a servant of all, for His sake Who loved us so much that He died that we might live.
Just as Abraham was justified by grace through trusting the Word of the Lord, so we too are justified by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, the living, incarnate Word of God.
However, in this Church age, all those differences have been removed: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus, our Lord. All who have trusted in Christ as Saviour are equal in the eyes of our Heavenly Father, saved by grace through faith in God's only begotten Son.
There is now no condemnation for all who are in Christ Jesus.
We have all received the new-life of Christ which is being transformed by the Holy Spirit, day by day, into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
We have been made privileged ambassadors of God with a heavenly citizenship and life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Saviour.
Though we all have our own unique gifting from God and recognise the distinctions between male and female in the various ministries to which we may be called, we are all members of the Body of Christ and as such: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus, our Lord.