Trials - The Bridge to Your Breakthrough
There are some reasons to think Peter wrote 2 Peter just after Paul was executed at Rome (2 Peter 1:14), probably 67AD.
INTRODUCTION: Not until a Christian understands the purpose and value of trials will he attain to the life of an overcomer. Christians through the ages have asked, "Why do Christians have to bear afflictions and face trials?" This is especially true of young Christians. Some have despaired because they did not know the answer and could not understand.
1. Sources of Trials
A. One's own faults and failures
"For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:" 1 Peter 2:20-21
B. From Satan by permissive will of God (Job 2:3-6)
C. Directly from God
Providential
"But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." Phil 1:12-14
Appointment of God
"...that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know." 1 Thess 3:3-4
2. Reasons for Trials (Those whom God uses most are usually tried the most.)
To test our faith (Genesis 22:1) Abraham & Isaac.
To work patience (Romans 5:3, 4; James 1:2, 3)
"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole." Job 5:17-18
Yields fruit of righteousness
"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Heb 12:11
Glorifies God
"Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:16-17
Produces praise, honor, glory
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love." 1 Peter 1:6-8
3. CONCLUSION: When the Christian comes to the realization that this world is not his portion and that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in Him, then he is in position to have the right outlook on life. Christ did not say that Christians would not have afflictions, but He did teach that "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17).
"But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" Acts 7:55-56
"And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city." Rev 22:12-14
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
We Always Need God's Power
We Always Need God’s Power
Campbell
The Christian who neglects the Holy Spirit is like a lamp that's not plugged in.
“The sufferings brought by the heat, or
cold, or any other inconvenience, the heavy weight of grief or sorrow, may be
considered as the eternal decrees of Providence which sends suffering for your
own good and proportions it to your strength. In this way, God’s fatherly love
and tenderness for you will become evident. It is apparent in the opportunities
that He gives you to serve Him in the way that is most pleasing to Him.” Lorenzo
1. The world runs on POWER.
Some like the JWs teach that the Holy Spirit
is “just a power like electricity.” The
recent power outage shows us how much we NEED the POWER. The same is true in the church.
“...having a form of godliness but denying
its power. And from such people turn away!”
2 Tim 3:5
The form and power of godliness are a package deal. We normally do not have form of
godliness without the power.
Outward forms may be carried on doctrinally but be without power or
conviction. As faith without works is a
form without substance, just so is religion without power. This is a stern warning to us who are
committed to proper form.
“Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18
in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all
things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thess 5:16-22
God The Holy Spirit is to be actively
present in the life of the church. Note
Stephen. "You stiffnecked and
uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your
fathers did, so do you.” Acts 7:51
2. Spiritual power is God’s Promise.
“And while more than 150 specific works of
the Holy Spirit are mentioned in the NT, let’s not forget that without the
Spirit there could be no Bible - OT or NT.
Kendall declares that the greatest work
is the Bible itself, having inspired those who wrote it (2 Peter
1:20-21).” J.Taylor
It is the Spirit’s Bible.
Copyright every word.
Only His thoughts are uttered.
Only His voice is heard.
“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father
upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power
from on high." Luke 24:49
“For thine is the kingdom, and the POWER,
and the glory forever. Amen.” Matt. 6:13
3. Spirit Power For Christian Living.
Note Paul.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know
what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts
knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the
saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27
Therefore, honor The Spirit by asking Him
(God) to help you fall out of (worldly) fear and into love with Him. He is your Comforter/Helper, Guide, Enabler,
Renewer, Refresher.
“Love has been perfected among us in this:
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we
in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in
love. We love Him because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:17-19
“My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke
in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we
count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and
seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and
merciful.” James 5:10-11
“While I may
stand at the coffin of my first wife and doubt the love of God, it is
impossible for me to do so when I’m kneeling at the foot of the cross.” J.M.Hicks
“Precious in
the sight of the Lord Is
the death of His saints.” Psalms 116:15
Thursday, July 5, 2012
THE JOURNEY HOME
The Journey Home
“And He has made from one blood every
nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their
preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they
should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and
have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His
offspring.' Acts 17:26-28
Come home, come home,
It's supper time,
The shadows lengthen
fast.
Come home, come home,
It's supper time,
We're going home at
last.
[from old song]
In the Parable of the Sower, thorns and thistles - the cares
of life - overcame some. But all can be
refreshed by the Holy Spirit of God.
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the
Lord,” Acts 3:19
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one
who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
John 6:37
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who
sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise
him up at the last day." John 6:40
1. Jesus taught parables to show God’s love and call to us.
“And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son
abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free
indeed.” John 8:35-36
Our world of Time is “on the job
training for Eternity.” Zion
“It is written in the prophets, 'And
they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and
learned from the Father comes to Me.” John
6:45
2. The lost son journeys home.
The father runs out to meet the lost son who is bringing
himself back home. God ran to meet us by
sending the Eternal Word as Jesus the Human One (Son of God).
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the
unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made
alive by the Spirit,” 1 Peter 3:18
“It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your
brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found." Luke 15:32
3. God forgives us.
The prodigal is the Gentile world. The older brother is the Jews. God loves them both.
"There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One
owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with
which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them
will love him more?" Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom
he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."
Luke 7:41-43
In this parable our Lord means: by the creditor, GOD, and, by
the two debtors, Simon and the woman who was present. Simon, as a Pharisee, is
the debtor who owed only fifty denarii. The woman, is the debtor who owed five
hundred denarii. Both were insolvent (could not pay). Simon, the religious Pharisee, could no more
pay his fifty to God than this poor woman her five hundred. And, if both were not freely forgiven by
God’s mercy, both must finally perish. Having NOTHING to PAY, he kindly FORGAVE
them both.
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you
may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [paraclete] with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And
He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for
the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2
“The Father, by raising Him from the dead, and setting Him at
His own right hand, has once for all accepted Christ's claim for us. Therefore
the accuser's charges against God's children are vain. "The righteousness
of Christ stands on our side; for God's righteousness is, in Jesus Christ,
ours" [LUTHER]. —Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Bible Commentary
Friday, June 22, 2012
TO DO A JOB
Christ Has Commissioned His Saints To Do A Job
“And
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me
in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.” Matt 28:18-20 (NKJV)
“The
Church is the People united by the unity of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit.” [1 Cor. 12:13.]
“The
ekklesia is called to embody Jesus Christ, as a bride, a house, a body, and a
family. This is God’s Eternal Purpose.”
Christ
the Lord: Jesus Christ received “all power in heaven and on earth.” And what
did He do with it? He shared it. He delegated His apostles to extend His
Kingdom to all nations, promising to be present with them and to act through
them. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that He is the Lord. Instead of constricting the lives of His
subjects through oppression and arrogance, He expanded their horizons. He gave them a meaning and purpose far beyond
anything they could have ever come up with on their own. Through obedience to
Christ, these eleven Galileans have become collaborators with the Blessed Trinity,
ambassadors of God Himself. Such is the generosity of the one who is our
Lord. [compare 2 Cor. 5:19-21.]
Making
disciples cannot be done in the strength of man, but only in the power of
God. The Christ raised up from death is
the power in our Christian life and mission.
His Resurrection is not past/future, but NOW - always present with us
and in us! Note Paul: “always carrying
about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may
be manifested in our body.” 2 Cor 4:10
(NKJV)
How
ironic was it that the chief priests and Pharisees, so eager for glory and
influence, passed up the chance to be given such an exalted role! Having closed
their eyes to Christ’s light over and over again, they ended up blinding
themselves completely to the truth. They refused to accept even the very sign
they had twice asked for – the sign of Jonah [Matt. 12:38-40]. “But you will not come to Me that you might
have life.” [John 5:39-40.]
Christ
the Teacher: The Incarnation was God’s saving invasion into this fallen world.
The Church is the extension of that invasion throughout all time and space.
Christ came to reunite God and men, to lead us back into communion with the
holy joys of the Christian life. “That
the world through Him might be saved” [John 3:16-17].
By
putting His power behind the Church’s effort of baptizing, teaching, and making
disciples, Jesus teaches us the proper scale of values. Christ is focused on building His Kingdom,
which consists of human hearts united to God through friendship with Him. And
where human hearts are united to God, they will also be united to one another.
If
building that Kingdom was and is Christ’s primary concern, it needs to be ours
too. “But seek first the kingdom
of God
Christ
the Friend: Baptism inaugurates the
soul’s life of grace, its life of intimate friendship with God. When we are
baptized, we inherit individually Christ’s promise to be with us “until the end
of the age.” When fire penetrates iron, the iron becomes fiery hot without
ceasing to be iron. Just so our human
nature, body & soul, in its union with Christ becomes like God without
ceasing to be human.
“Spirit of adoption” [Romans
8:15-16]. He sustains us throughout our
difficult and wonderful earthly pilgrimage. He is with us through his
Scriptural Word. And He is with us by being always within us. We have become
temples of the Holy Spirit, as Paul put it [1 Cor 3:16]. God has taken up His dwelling in the very
core of our being.
Jesus is
saying: “I will not leave you comfortless.
You never have to be alone. I am the one who knows you better than you
know yourself and loves you with an infinite, crucified, unconditional love,
and I am your constant companion. None of the restrictions of human friendship
(time, space, disloyalty, miscommunication, selfishness, etc.) apply. You are
wholly mine, and I am wholly yours. The perfect family of the Trinity has
adopted you into our midst; such is the love of your incomparable Friend.” [compare John 15:15-17.]
Christ in
My Life: “Lord, I believe in Your
presence and Your power, and I want to walk in Your light. I want to be the
saint You made me to be. Only saints do anything for Your Kingdom, and only
Your Kingdom will last forever. Show me, Lord, the way I need to go. With the
knowledge of Your heart, make my heart wise…building up the Church, expanding
Your Kingdom, leading others to Your friendship… You have given me a share in
this mission! Thank You for calling me to follow You. Teach me to put things in
this perspective. Lift up my eyes from
the mud of the earth. I hope in You, Lord, my Savior and King…”
Church - The Bride of Christ
The
Bride of Christ - Forever Young
Jesus told His disciples to “wait for the promise of the
Father” (Acts 1:4-8). The soul of the
Church of the Gospel is God’s Holy Spirit.
She is clothed with His power, sustained by His vow of fidelity.
“Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the
dead, And Christ will give you light."
Eph 5:14 (NKJV)
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church
and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the
washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious
church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be
holy and without blemish.” Eph 5:25-27
(NKJV)
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage
of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it
was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen
is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed
are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he
said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." Rev 19:7-9 (NKJV)
“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out
of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a
loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be
with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more
pain, for the former things have passed away." Rev 21:2-4 (NKJV)
1.
First, “The Church is alive… and the Church is young!”
Unlike merely natural organisms, which grow to maturity, flourish,
and then slowly decay and die, the Church continues to grow. The [One
Spiritual] Church as a whole never grows old, never stops branching out,
bearing fruit, and expanding. The Holy Spirit is the Soul/Bishop of the Church,
and the Holy Spirit constantly surges forth from within the heart of the Church
and gives rise to new saints, new fellowships, new outreach efforts, new faith
communities, new religious faith and apostolic institutes… This is the history
of the Church, and this is the present moment of the Church, and this will be
the future of the Church. The life of
the Church is not bureaucratic, but organic. The ever-flowering newness of the
Church flows from within, like new branches growing from the trunk of a tree or
a new season of fruit ripening on its limbs.
2. The Holy Spirit Will Never Contradict Himself
“Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit
of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by
the Holy Spirit.” 1 Cor 12:3 (NKJV)
“By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does
not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God....” 1 John 4:2-3 (NKJV
a) The Holy Spirit will never contradict Himself.
Private devotions, apparitions, new congregations and associations
– if these are truly from the Holy Spirit, they will harmonize with the life
and history of the Church.
b) Times of being shaken and poured. Titus 3:6
“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not
escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we
turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth;
but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the
earth, but also heaven." Heb
12:25-26 (NKJV)
New movements of the Holy Spirit within the Church may arrive as a
new [renewed] experience of God’s grace more quickly than some in the Church
can approve them. But an authentic new movement or devotion will always be
recognized, before its official approval, through its obedience to the Church’s
legitimate authority. It will always submit to that authority, throughout the
entire process of investigation, because that authority is also an expression
of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s guiding action within the body of the
Church, and the Holy Spirit will never contradict Himself.
c) Growth brings Change brings Renewal.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you
have come to need milk and not solid food.” Hebrews 5:12 (NKJV)
THIS I BELIEVE
I believe in the sun even when
night or fog covers the earth.
I know that the sun is there!
My hope is kept alive by faith.
That is enough, and I am assured.
The Holy Spirit of God reaches far beyond
my field of vision, the things I can see.
He - The Spirit - gives life to the Church.
He is at work at the heart of the world.
When things seem to be hopeless,
HE is the hope!
Come Lord!
Fathers - Bless Your Children
Fathers - Bless Your Children
1. Jesus The Example.
“Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth
“This verse contains the history of thirty years. It describes the
growth of our Lord as a natural, human growth (compare Luke 1:80); for, though
Jesus was truly divine, he was also perfectly man. To try to distinguish
between the divine and human in Jesus, is to waste time upon an impracticable
mystery which is too subtle for our dull and finite minds. His life expanded like other human lives. He
learned as other boys; he obeyed as other children. As he used means and waited
patiently for growth, so must each individual Christian, and so must the
church. Though the latter is a mystical body, and animated by the Holy Spirit,
it must nevertheless make increase of itself before coming to the perfect
man—Eph 4:16.” —McGarvey, Four-Fold
Gospel
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother,"
which is the first commandment with promise: "that it may be well with you
and you may live long on the earth."
And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them
up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
Eph 6:1-4 (NKJV)
“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for
what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which
all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who
corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in
subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but
He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the
present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of
righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:7-11 (NKJV)
“Speak blessings upon your children. Of all the tools God gave you to raise a
child, the most powerful is your tongue.
Use it for good.” Hayford
“The power of words is not evident just when God uses them in
creating. It is also evident in His ways
that teach us how to live within that creation.
All the Father’s laws are essentially God’s guidelines for making life
“work” in the realm He has created for man’s fruitfulness and fulfillment.” Hayford
2. The Many
Ways
The first order of blessing is reflected by the simplest things we
might do, which, though seemingly ordinary, carry an immense weight in telling
children they are loved, cared for, valued and being “looked over” (rather than
overlooked).
Remember those childhood experiences when you simply sensed the
approval or care of a parent or loved one? We can learn from the ultimate
Father by noting how He blesses us with His attentions in distinct ways that
parallel our warmest memories as children when someone blessed us in simple yet
affirming ways:
An arm over the shoulder or an embrace in a time of disappointment
or fear (see Deut. 33:27)
A pat on the back or a firm steadying hand at a crucial moment
(see Ps. 139:5)
A whisper in the ear, giving quiet assurance or secret
instructions (see Is. 30:21)
A snug tucking in bed when surrounded by the darkness of night
(see Ps. 127:2-3)
A kiss on the cheek or being dandled on a parent’s knee (see Ps.
103:13; “pities” is translated from the Hebrew word rawcham, which means “to
tenderly love or caress”).
However, the most affirming are those blessings that come in
words:
(1) words that affirm and
approve;
(2) words that commend and
compliment;
(3) words that specifically
speak love and affection;
(4) words that invoke hope
and self-confidence; and (5) words that answer pain and disappointment with
support and faith.
The fountainhead blessing in the Bible is found in Numbers
6:24-26. This is the blessing God ordained that the priests of Israel use to speak blessing in His name over
His own children, whom He called “the children” of Israel
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying,
'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel Israel
Saturday, May 12, 2012
A Human Mother
JESUS HAD A HUMAN MOTHER
1. God’s
Act in Christ Jesus to put the world right with Himself.
The
overriding theme of the Old Testament portion of the Bible is the living God,
the strict Judge, punishing the sinner, loving the penitent and guiltless and
evoking fear and awe, utterly ethical and moral, the Righteous One leaping out of
those pages and demanding our obedient response. If God is truly righteous, and if we are
truly to let God be God and let His righteousness be revealed in a world of
tragedy and suffering and moral failure, there is only one way in which this
can happen. There is only one way in
which a fully personal and truly just God can achieve His purpose in such a
world as this. That is, by Himself
bearing the suffering of the world and the consequences of our
transgression. How can He be the just
God of the Bible unless He suffers more than any man in total innocence?
“For He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24
2. HE
came as the Son of a human mother.
“Now a
great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon
under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor
and in pain to give birth.” Rev 12:1-2
“She bore
a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was
caught up to God and His throne.” Rev
12:5
For unto
us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His
shoulder. And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Luke
wrote to tell us of God’s Great Plan centered in Jesus. Luke 1:1-4,26-35; 2:4-7.
3. Jesus
the Messiah who was promised.
“He first
found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah"
(which is translated, the Christ).” John
1:41
Messiah =
Christ = Anointed One. "The Spirit
of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the
poor;” Luke 4:18; Isaiah 49:8-9; 61:1-2
God’s
Plan was for God the Son to come into our world in human form (The Human
One).
“And
because the children are flesh and blood, he took a body himself and became
like them; so that by his death he might put an end to him who had the power of
death, that is to say, the Evil One; And let those who all their lives were in
chains because of their fear of death, go free.” Heb 2:14-15 (BBE)
Furthermore
HE remained God all through, and the human generation in Time did not in any
way detract from the divine generation in Eternity. “For in Him dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily;” Col
God’s
Plan for Mankind was in place before Creation.
Eph. 1:3-4. This Plan centered
around Jesus and a human mother. As Eve
was the first mother, Mary became the ‘God-bearer” (theotókos) as the mother
through whom God the Son took flesh & blood. "Behold, the virgin shall be with child,
and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is
translated, "God with us." Matt 1:23
“And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
“And I
will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15.
This is a
promise of God’s Messiah, the Seed of the Woman, who would and did bruise the
head of the Serpent.
“Now to
Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.
He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your
Seed,’ who is Christ.” Gal. 3:16
Christ
Jesus is the one-and-only Seed - Seed of the Woman and also Seed of
Abraham. “Christ is God and God is
Christ.”
“But
Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the
confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” Hebrews 3:6.
In
claiming Christ Jesus we also claim God.
Note 1 John 2:22-23. “He who has the Son has the Father also.”
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