John 2:1-12 - Stewarding our Schedules

John 2:1-12

And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” (verse 12)

Message: Stewarding our Schedules

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)." 

What the Lord is Saying: In life these days, it seems we are worn out from our leisure. I notice this in my life that rest sometimes, not always is more busy-ness, but simply in a different capacity - visiting family, helping out with grandkids. Often taking actual moments of nothing-ness or simple leisure is not done much. I notice people going to the beach to me seems like actual leisure because there is just sitting and watching. 

This passage in John 2 showcases a miracle Jesus performed. And yet this doesn't seem to be a miracle that Jesus intended to do. Often this seems to be the case with Jesus. He has these purposes, but along the way people have needs and so he sidesteps momentarily His purposes to meet people's needs. People are running to him for healing of themselves while the biggest need is for them to be forgiven. And in this situation people have a need - needing wine because it has run out - and they immediately look to the great provider - Jesus. And Jesus responds, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." Jesus includes the disciples in this response possibly. And yet this version, NASB 1995, is the only one that sort of infers Jesus including the disciples. 

In Jesus saying - My hour has not yet come - he is pausing to have his audience consider and remember that his porpoise on earth is one of larger purpose. And one that is divine. The needs that this woman has is momentary and important to her but he has bigger things that need to be done. Yet he takes care of the need. He doesn’t dismiss it and yet he still reminds people of what is most important. But even more clearly he is saying the time for him to work miracles has not yet come. There is order for all things. There is perfect timing.

It seems I need to be more careful of the distractions that come into my life. My days belong to Him. 

Prayer: Lord - help me to remember each day is a gift from you and belongs to you. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

2 Peter 1:3-8 - The Right Tools

2 Peter 1:3-8

3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Message: The Right Tools

Time: Written by Peter, he being influenced by the writings of Paul to Ephesus (Ephesians) somewhere between 62 and 63 AD. 

What the Lord is Saying: We had a guest speaker this morning at church and he did a message from 2 Peter on Right Tools. He used an example of fly fishing throughout his message to basically talk about the fact that God has given us Christians all the right tools that we need to carry out godliness in our lives. 

As is my pattern, I looked at the text and went back to verse 1 to understand a little bit better the context of this passage. Peter's message is written to those Christians that have the same understanding of faith or belief that he does. 

I noticed verse 1 says this faith is "by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ." I wondered with that verse if Peter is linking God and Jesus or if God and Jesus are separate. On one hand, it sounds like he is stating that Jesus the Savior is God. But could he be stating that faith is of the righteousness of God and the righteousness of Jesus Christ?

In verse 2, he asks that "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." Here again, Peter is mentioning grace and peace because of those (verse 1) having a knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 

Even if Peter is not stating that Jesus is God, he is linking characteristics that are the same of the two - righteousness, grace, peace - all found in the knowledge of God and Jesus. 

Verse 3 - "His divine power." When I read this, that's what made me go back to verse 1 and 2 and think about who's divine power He is speaking about for His is singular and yet so possibly it lends itself to think that verse 1 and 2 and the words of God and Jesus are unified rather than separate. Yet, His divine power could be the last name spoken in verse 2 (remembering that punctuation and verse divisions were added later). But also here we then have Jesus being the one with divine power and God also has divine power. Thus, there is another linkage here with Jesus and God having the same attribute of divine power. 

This here is the point of the pastor's message yesterday morning and initially the first point of the text of 2nd Peter. That to the Christian, the fellow believer and Peter - that through Jesus, his righteousness and our knowledge, those Christians have "everything pertaining to life and godliness." The everything we have is because of the faith we have, the grace, and the peace. This is indeed a compelling statement. We have everything pertaining to life because we have faith "through the true knowledge of Him." 

And later in the text it states therefore, with the qualities mentioned in verse 5-7, namely "moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love -- we are neither useless nor unfruitful." Thus we have everything we need for life an godliness and because of that we will be fruitful and useful. 

This sounds like a promise. This takes me back to verse 4 - "For by these" where these seems to be "everything pertaining to life and godliness." Peter says, "these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature." 

Again, we have everything we need pertaining to life and godliness. We have qualities that we will supply to others and throughout life to be of use and fruitful. Thus, we become divine-like. 

But in this text then is a mysterious statement to me - "He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises." Promises. What are these promises? 

2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness..." There is a promise. 

2 Peter 3:13 says, "But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth." 

We have everything we need for life and being Godly. We are those that have faith and knowledge of God and Jesus. We have been given qualities. We will be useful and bear fruit. We will be divine. And this is all according to His precious and magnificent promises. 

I find this interesting because Peter explains all of these outcomes which we have because of our faith, but doesn't specify the promises, and so his audience must have understood these promises. 

I don't know exactly what these promises are right now. I could look at commentaries and review the different ideas. I suppose for now I will focus on what I know - I have everything I need.

Prayer: God, you have done it. Through faith, I have everything I need to do everything pertaining to life and godliness. I want to discover this Lord. And believe this and trust in this. And help me to share this with others to encourage them. Give us all hope. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

John 17:4-5 - Jesus Prays To Be Glorified

John 17:4-5

4 I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Message: Jesus Prays to Be Glorified

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."  

What the Lord is Saying: The Tabletalk reading for this lesson talks about how Jesus set aside or veiled his divinity on earth multiple times and that is why this speaks to the idea of Jesus being glorified. And so here when He speaks of asking the Father to glorify Himself He is asking God to allow His divine glory to be seen again. 

It was veiled as has fulfilled his mission to provide eternal life to the elect. Atonement is required with the human nature; humanity can suffer, but God cannot. 

Yesterday in Sunday School our teacher asked us to mention things in our faith that remain difficult to understand - and we mentioned many different things. This to me is one of them - understand how the divine nature and human nature work together with Jesus. How can he be both? And when was He both? Other questions were asked like free will and sovereignty. I also mentioned what is the age of accountability. There is also the problem of evil or suffering. 

But with this idea of a human nature and divine one. Could it be that most of Jesus' time on earth or all of it was according to His human nature? And perhaps it was the Father working through Him always even as He did divine things like walk on water or understand what a person is thinking or motivates that person. Even when healing was done, was it God manifesting Himself through Jesus or was Jesus acting according to His nature. So this idea that His divine nature was veiled or set aside does seem congruent. 

Back in John 13:31-32, I saw this idea of the glorification of Jesus for the first time here in John. I saw in that lesson multiple passages that speak of God's glory. And that Jesus was our opportunity to see God's glory. The purpose of our life is to glorify God. In verse 31, "Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him."" Jesus' mission is fulfilled. It mentions that "now" or not earlier, but now is the Son of Man glorified. 

In verse 4, Jesus prays to the Father, "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." Jesus has been perfectly obedience on the earth. In the same way that I myself now live and act and seek to Glorify God on this earth, this is what Jesus did on the earth, in all He did, glorified God on the earth. 

Albert Barnes (1798-1870) states, "He had preached to the Jews; he had given them full proof that he was the Messiah; he had collected his disciples; he had taught them the nature of his religion; he had given them his parting counsel, and there was nothing remaining to be done but to return to God." Thus, he finished the work God had given Him to do. He speaks as if the work on the cross had already been doing because for Him it had been done. 

Verse 5 Jesus prays words to the Father, expressing or asking that God would glorify Himself, would return to Him the divine glory that He possessed with the Father when the world began. These are clear words of divinity and it makes sense that Islam would not accept these words. As it states in verse 5, "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." These words are incredible. And very similar to John 13:31, but adds that Jesus previously had this glory, but his role was probably different. Now His role is to be mediator between God and Man, providing our atonement on the cross. 

What great words of comfort these are and how they explain to me so much of God becoming a man, in order to be an earth mediator between God and man and bring people to eternal life. Yes, Jesus did it all. He came with authority and power, showing us the truth of the Gospel message of salvation and yet also showing us that a full life is in Christ, living in Christ - being born again, embracing the bread of life, the water of life, the temple of Jesus' body, our Great Shepherd who guides us. We are to embrace Jesus, be in Jesus. 

Summary: Jesus now prays that God's glory, which He possessed before the world was, would be returned to Him and that Glory would be with God the Father. 

Promise: Christ has to be glorified in His humanity in order to dwell before God's face as the incarnate Mediator. 

Prayer: O Father God, you are rich in mercy and love towards me. You have given me life, abundant life through the work of Jesus on this earth and His completion of being glorified in the cross at Calvary. You came to bring us all eternal life and living with You as our sustenance is how I am to live now. Thank you that I can experience God's acceptance because of the work You did. And thank you for bringing me alongside You. God, you are to be praised. You are to be glorified. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

John 14:7-10 - The Father Revealed in the Son

John 14:7-10

7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.

Message: The Father Revealed in the Son

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."  

What the Lord is Saying: Jesus continues to answer the questions posed by the disciples, namely Peter at the end of chapter 13 and Thomas at the beginning of Chapter 14. Jesus has mentioned that He is going away - going to prepare a place for His disciples - for us - and He will come again and they will be received. But for now, He is leaving. He confirms in the last passage that He is the way, the truth, and the life. 

And now in verse 7 He remarks that knowing Him (Jesus) is knowing the Father. We know Him because we have seen Jesus. The next disciple, Philip, responds and says to Jesus - "Show Me." Jesus is speaking but the words are not being understood by the disciples. We can read the words today and based upon all that we know, we can understand, but to those disciples at the time they were confused. 

Jesus speaks and provides clarity and confirmation of who He is: (1) that His words are the words of the Father, (2) seeing Jesus is seeing the Father, and (3) the Father is in Jesus. Jesus is not speaking on His Own. He is not independent. He is of the Father and the Father is speaking through Him. The Father and Son are of the same essence while different in their persons. 

Therefore this passage seems to be focused on those words from verse 7, "If you had known Me." The disciples did know Jesus. They knew him as Savior of the World. They knew Him as Messiah. They knew Him, but they did not know Him fully. This is what Jesus is relaying to them and trying to help them understand - a full understanding of who He is and why He came. Though He has been repeating it, they still don't completely understand His power and His office. The equality with God and being sent by God and all that this means is still something they are learning. That God has sent Him and that He must return to the Father and then come back again. He will speak later of leaving and them receiving the power and work of the Holy Spirit (15:26-27). Jesus has been showing them. Even in verse 9 Jesus speaks with a mild rebuke, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip." Peter, Thomas, Philip - there is a growing interest by more disciples - more involved in knowing Jesus. 

Summary: Jesus continues to try to help his disciples understand completely Himself, namely that seeing Jesus is seeing Father and that the Father is in Him. 

Promise: The Father and the Son share the same divine essence; thus, They are identical in Their attributes. If we want to see the goodness, wisdom, power, or any other attribute of God most clearly manifested, we must look to how they are manifested in the life of Jesus. Only by knowing Jesus can we know God.

Prayer: O God, you are rich in mercy and Your ways are complete. I thank You for the understanding You have given me of all You are and yet I know, even now I am learning about You and learning to describe You more fully, even after 40 years of walking with You and calling You my Lord. It remains a process in my life. Give me patience and compassion to others that are still learning this and learning these truths. Help me to be sensitive to where they are at in their lives. Help it not to be an argument or conflict in trying to understand but rather a process of education and learning. We too quickly opt for division and argument in our world. Return us to understanding. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's. 

Various Scriptures - Christology, The Doctrine of Christ, Part 1

John 17:3

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Message: The Necessity of Christology

In John 11, Jesus wept, thus showing us his emotions. This is his humanity, but him being divine is also united with his humanity. Issues related to the natures and person of Christ fall under the heading of Christology. Recently, there has been less about Jesus being God and Man and more about simply knowing Jesus. Many religions hold to an understanding of Jesus, but often define Him differently, so who is the real Jesus? It can't be the Jesus of our imagination. 

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Mark 1:9-11

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Message: Early Denials of Christ's Deity

Heresy is false teaching and scripture warns us that people will seek to lead people astray. Many heresies deny the deity of Christ. The Ebionites (using texts like Mark 1:9-11), up until the 5th century, believed Jesus was the Messiah, but only a man, not divine. Yet, in light of all scripture, Jesus is more than just a man. Arianism believe that the Son of God existed before Jesus and before creation but still believe the Son was created. They say that the Son is the first and greatest creature of God. The Council of Nicaea in 325 said Jesus is the same essence as the Father (after much debate). 

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2 John 7

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Message: The Docetic Heresy

Even in apostles time there was a denial of Jesus having a human nature. Docetism holds that Jesus does not have a real body, but only an illusion of one. 2 John 7 states it is false to deny that Jesus came in the flesh. Christianity born in the Greek world that looked down on the physical world and looked forward to a time with the soul would be released from the body. This thinking mostly went away but still we sometimes get too focused on only defending his divinity and forget to defend his humanity. 

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Matthew 6:24

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Message: The Eutychian Heresy

Eutyches was a 5th century monk. He taught that Christ has only one nature - divine; or one theanthropic nature instead of one person with two natures as Christology teaches. Yet, by teaching it absorbs the human nature, then the divine nature is not fully divine. 2 problems result: many scriptures that speak to His humanity become confusing, like Jesus pretending to be asleep on a boat. Second, how can he be the perfect mediator between God and man, and thus He cannot atone for our sin. 

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Luke 2:52

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Message: The Apollinarian Heresy

Apollinaris, a the fourth-century bishop of Laodicea, early on defended the Council of Nicaea and the full deity of Christ. Later, though, he was opposed by orthodox because of what he taught of Christ's two natures. He said human beings are made up of 3 parts -- a physical body, a “lower” soul that makes us living creatures, and a “higher” soul or spirit that is equivalent to the rational mind that humans possess. Yet scripture grounds humans in two constituent aspects - soul and body. Again, he compromises Jesus's full humanity. He felt in Jesus his divinity replaced the higher spirit. 

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Hebrews 5:9

And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.

Message: The Nestorian Heresy

Docetism, Eutychianism, and Apollinarianism did at least believe Jesus has one nature. Nestorius, the fifth-century bishop of Constantinople not only confessed two different natures in Christ but also two different persons. He said the humanity of Jesus does not belong to the Son of God, but rather simply to the human person. Thus, a human died. And so when a miracle was performed, it was the divine nature acting independent of the human. Once again, though, we are left with an insufficient atonement, one that is only fully human or only fully divine, but not sharing in those essences. 

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Luke 1:41-43

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?

Message: Cyril and Nestorius

Cyril, a bishop of Alexandria wrote to Nestorius asking him to recant his position, which led to the Council of Chalcedon in 451. He asserted theotokos toward Mary meaning, "God-bearer" meaning that Jesus had a divine nature that was pre-existent in Himself when He was born. Nestorius rejected this title, preferring Christotokos or "Christ-bearer." He did not intend to deny his divinity, but Christotokos is not enough to preserve the divine nature. Nestorius did not believe Jesus could undergo suffering and change, but Orthodox Christianity does not believe this about Jesus. When Jesus suffered, it was only according to his human nature that He suffered. It is true that the divine nature did not suffer, only Jesus' human nature suffered. Christ died as a man in order to pay for the sins of other human beings. And yet His divine nature remained unchanged. 

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Acts 20:28

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Message: The Chalcedonian Solution

In 451, in the City of Chalcedon, the Roman emperor Marcian wanted to settle these debates of Jesus' humanity and divinity and those denying His true union in the one divine person of the Son of God. There we received our standard definition that in Christ we have a perfectly united divine nature and human nature that is without confusion and mixture an each nature retains its own attributes, thus the hypostatic union - Christ is one person with two natures. He may act according to His divine nature or according to His human nature, but the same Christ acts no matter whether He is exercising His divine attributes or His human attributes.

Summary: We need to clearly understand that Jesus has two natures in one person: divine and human. We distinguish these two natures, but do not separate them. There is no division. It is important to understand the error to better understand the truth. 

Promise: Thank you Lord for those individuals that came before us, that went through a process of vetting out the true nature and we can stand firm in this belief today. 

Mark 5:21-43 - The Divine Nature of Christ

Mark 5:21-43
When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. One of the synagogue officials named Jairus *came up, and on seeing Him, *fell at His feet and *implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.” 24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.

A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

While He was still speaking, they *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?” But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, *said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They *came to the house of the synagogue official; and He *saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. And entering in, He *said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.” They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He *took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and *entered the room where the child was. Taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that something should be given her to eat.

Message: The Divine Nature of Christ

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word immediately used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

Overview of this Series

Tabletalk for this day states - Christianity is all about Christ, who He is and what He has done. Christ alone is head of the church; Christ alone is worthy of adoration; Christ alone saves.

In this study celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation (which was actually back in 2017), the Reformers sought to return people to Christian orthodoxy, echoing statements like the Definition of Chalcedon.

The Chalcedonian definition is a declaration of Christ's nature, adopted in AD 451 at the Council of Chalcedon. This was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451, at Chalcedon, a town of Bithynia in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey (on the north-western shore) and now Chalcedon is a district within Istanbul. The purpose of the Council was to come against the heresy of Eutyches. What Eutyches was saying at the time is hard to define, though it seems that he was stating that Jesus was not fully human. The Council was led to convene because of the talk that erupted and the off-shoots of this heresy. Heresy is making a statement that has been revealed by God and confirmed by the Church in which the person refuses to be corrected.

This definition stated that Jesus is one person who possesses two natures, a divine nature and a human nature, truly God and truly man. A nature is that which makes something what it is, those attributes that define it. The divine nature is marked by divine attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, self-existence, eternity, and so on, thus to have all the attributes that make God who He is. Thus, we are saying Jesus possesses every attribute that God possesses and is therefore truly God. The following study will talk of the Human nature of Christ.

Today's Lesson

For example, today's passage states in verse 23 that a daughter of a man is at the point of death. In Matthew 9:18 records that "My daughter has just died." In Mark, the man stated that she was taking her last breath and by the time of Matthew's record she had died. What Jesus does then is give life to this girl as stated in Mark 5:41, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" Genesis 1 records God creating life and now here Jesus is creating life.

Thus, in this situation is the first example of how it was recorded that Jesus, the man, also had a divine nature - giving life to this girl. 

Promise: Many respect Jesus, but only few see him as Lord and King and truly God and worthy of our worship. Jesus is the God incarnate creator.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the truth of Your word and that Your ways have been confirmed throughout history. Thank you for men that saw a need to convene regularly to declare who You are and re-confirm who You are through clear definition. Help me Lord to continue to better understand You through Your word. Help me Holy Spirit to see Christ for who He really is and help others to know the same.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of April is about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April was about salvation by grace alone; March about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January was about the doctrine of God.

Tabletalk - May 2017 Articles

Which Laws Apply? - RC Sproul writes to discern which Old Testament laws continue today - why do we still have the law now that we are under the new covenant? 3 reasons - it reveals the character of God, the law functions to restrain us from sinning and helps us to understand what is pleasing to God. The Law can be broken down into 3 different types - moral, civil, and ceremonial - and some parts of the law do not apply to new covenant believers. The reformers in the 17th and 18th century made a distinction between divine natural law and divine purpose. Natural law -- meaning laws rooted and grounded in God's own character. Divine purpose is defined as laws that may have a purpose or culmination as described later. An example of this is some dietary laws that may not continue today.

God's Sovereignty and Glory - Derek W. H. Thomas (senior minister of First Presbyterian Columbia SC) - The phrase 'God is sovereign' remains a puzzling phrase to me. I understand that it is true but it is often remarked when all in life seems puzzling and hard to answer. Here it is defined as - 'nothing happens without God's willing it to happen, willing it to happen before it happens, and willing it to happen in the way it happens."

Today it is April 1, 2020 and we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, so in response to 'why this virus,' one might simply respond with "God is Sovereign." Maybe every time that word is used I think more needs to be said. Or maybe I continue to struggle with God's Sovereignty and Man's free will, no matter how many time's I look at it.

Obviously, we live in a world that is trying to say that man is in control. Even when nature (whatever that means) seems to be in control, this infers God is not in control. And society seems to be saying that because there is evil, God cannot coexist because otherwise why would a loving God allow evil. So the author begins with the idea that because God is sovereign, all that has been created was a free action of God.

Now the author provides a caveat - God's power is not absolute in the sense that God can do anything. He quotes from 2 Timothy 2:13 - God is faithful, for he cannot deny Himself. 

But then he switches back to say that some people think that God does not know the future and what will occur. These folks say God can change his mind and they use verses like Genesis 6:6-7 in which God says He was sorry he made man (in anticipation of the Flood) and I Samuel 15:11 - in which the Lord says he regrets making Saul king. Yet the reformer would turn to Proverbs 16:33 to quote Solomon - The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord - thus confirming the reformer view that no event happens that is a surprise to God.

Thus, I connect the last two points together to say that 'God can't go against His nature and do anything, yet whatever does happen, it is never a surprise to Him. So aside from the fact that an event that is occurred is outside His nature, He still knows it will happen.

But then I must also circle back to the first thought of "nothing happens without God's willing it to happen" and wonder then if this means that God willing it and God behind behind it by His power are separate? I press on.

The Author goes on with further evidence that we believe God is sovereign by us praying for someone's salvation which means we believe God is in charge of a person's salvation. And we thank God for a person's salvation, for my salvation, while also realizing that my friend may be judged and not have Christ as their savior - thus be separated from God for eternity. The author's point is rather simple here - 'Give God all the glory for what has occurred.'

And so now he stops the principles and says this leads us to 4 questions - evangelism, ethics, civic power, and evil -- that we as humans can't help but ask questions and yet we are challenged to not reason this way - because we see the verse every decision is from the Lord we also hear Jesus' words Go therefore and make disciples. Thus, decisions from the Lord come about through the work of people. Though we start to think our works don't really matter - don't; don't go there. Instead, keep listening to God and His word. There are ethics in that man is accountable to God, to other people (including government) for man's actions -- man is culpable (deserving blame) in transgression, praiseworthy (deserving reward) in obedience. Civic power or government leadership is also the work of God. All of this leads into the question of 'why evil?" If every decision is from the Lord - is evil one of his decisions? The reformers say "no." God is not the author of sin. God causes all things, but evil is not a first cause, but second cause. He says, God himself cannot do evil. Thus, there must be some difference between willing something and doing something. The Lord wills it, but man does it and man is responsible. Yet, right now are we saying this COVID19 is man's doing?  It is not God's plan, but it happening is not a surprise to God. Instead of asking why, let's ask what we can learn from it.

Biblical Authority - Stephen Nichols (President of Reformation Bible College) - He draws a parallel between Luther translating the New Testament and putting forth a series of sermons that expound the Word of God, and Ezra, as recorded in Nehemiah 8, unrolling the scroll of the Law, reading it in front of a great crowd gathered, and the people read, interpreted, studied and worshiped.

The article is thus about sola scriptura or "the sufficiency of Scripture as our supreme authority in all spiritual matters." The criticism to Luther is two-fold- the idea that 1500 years of church history is out the window and the criticism that the church is not even necessary.

But Luther and we today still need tradition. In 2 Timothy 2:2 it states, "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." Paul trained Timothy and trained men who trained others. Thus, the church is a training ground. But traditions need to support the centrality and prominence of the Word of God. And we need teachers to help us understand His word. Thus, church was needed and is needed today.

Justification by Faith Alone - W. Robert Godfrey (President and Professor of Westminster Seminary California) - Justification by Faith Alone is the key theme of the Reformation. Why is it still a problem today for people to accept and why do we continue to discuss it? The conclusion is that people are not content with Christ alone and His grace alone. The key tenets of it are objective and subjective; objective in that we are actually made right with God by the work of Christ, which the sinner receives by faith alone; subjectively, understanding this brings peace with God and growing confidence in living for God. In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself...For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:19-21).

Salvation is of The Lord - Steven Lawson (Founder and President of OnePassion Ministries) - Every aspect of man's salvation is from God and is entirely dependent upon God. We contribute sin. Each member of the Godhead has a part to play, working together as one God to rescue those perishing under divine wrath.

Total Depravity: Adam sinned - polluting his mind, affections, body, and will. By this sin, death entered the world, fellowship with God broken. Adam's offspring, all the way to me, inherited same fallenness. Apart from grace, our minds are darkened by sin, unable to understand the truth. Our bodies are dying. We are unable to choose good. All are under the curse of the Law; no one seeks after God.

Unconditional Election: God's story - before Adam sinned, God had already decreed salvation for sinners. He chose a people to be saved, according to His love, not according to their goodness. Each one chosen by the Father to be conformed to the image of His Son, to sing His praises forever. The Spirit brings the elect ones to faith in Christ.

Definite Atonement: Jesus comes to earth. This was decreed by God, always. Under the law, he lived, but in perfect obedience to the Law, and thus He fulfilled all the righteous demands of the law, thus being perfect in righteousness and transferring this righteousness to man. The transfer occurred after Jesus bore the wrath of God. God calls His people, but Jesus must redeem them through his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus reconciles God to man. Jesus saved all for whom He died.

Effectual Calling (Irresistible Grace): The Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world to apply salvation to those chosen and redeemed. The Spirit convicts sinners, removes the unbelieving heart of stone at the appointed time, replacing it with a heart responsive to God. Eternal life is implanted, the gifts of repentance and faith proceed and the fruit of righteousness follows for these chosen ones.

Preserving Grace: Once converted, no believer will fall away. Every believe is kept eternally secure by all three persons of the Trinity.

Lawson states one cannot accept some of these doctrines and reject others. My perspective is these are difficult concepts to accept, not so much understand. But, effectual calling stated the way it has been is simply a tough concept in light of preaching the gospel, doing evangelism, even follow up and works of the church. I'm making progress, but I'm not quite there.

God's Covenant People - Sinclair Ferguson (Scottish theologian and assistant minister at St. Peter's Free Church of Scotland, Dundee and visiting professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary since 2017) - In this article, Ferguson wants to show that the covenants which began at the time of Noah, mirrored what was of Adam and continued, and though it is thought at times they are only spoken of in Hebrews, he believes that Jesus upon saying "new covenant in my blood" is saying that Jesus Himself is the covenant and therefore throughout history people have been defined, united and shaped by this covenant bond. Thus the Bible doesn't simply represent different types of people groups, but in a way we are all the church and we need to remember this as we read and study.

The Courage to be Reformed - Buck Parsons (editor of Tabletalk, copastor of Saint Andrews's Chapel in Sanford, Florida) - An understanding of Reformed Theology by people has a way of transforming them, some to new life in Christ and others feeling like their new life in Christ wasn't really new till they understood Reformed Theology. That God saves us, not man saving himself, that all we did was sin and that was enough to completely condemn us, that God is sovereign over all, that God works all of history for His glory. These tenets can be life transforming.  

Absorbing and Applying God's Word - Robert Ingram (previous editor of Tabletalk, now headmaster of Geneva School in Winter Park, FL) - Quotes from a Horse and A Boy by CS Lewis, "To hear is to obey." Concern: we are now disconnected to obedience because of modern educations focus on knowing, then doing. The Bible is not written to enhance life or a manual to repair our brokenness. We are too focused on knowing first, but obedience needs to precede this and true understanding and knowledge will come after we are obedient. Calvin states, "All right knowledge of God is born of obedience." 

Passing Down the Truth of God - John MacArthur (pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA) - We are to hold on to the truth and faithfully pass it to the next generation. He starts with an example - running a relay in college. He was 2nd man in 4 man relay and in the finals, the 3rd man just decided, "I don't feel like running today." 2 Tim 2:2 - what you have heard, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Find someone who knows less than you and teach them. Don't break the chain. 

Will Beauty Save the World? - R. Albert Mohler Jr. - There is a difference between the beautiful and the pretty. Magazines that airbrush models may be pretty, but certainly not beautiful. In Dostoevsky book the Idiot he says that beauty will save the world. Are the works of God in Christ beautiful? At creation, creation was very good. The Hebrew word also carries the connotation beautiful. We often separate teh good, the true, and the beautiful, but the Christian worldview reminds us that the good, the true, and the beautiful are inseparable. If something is beautiful, it is good and true. The cross of Christ may not be pretty, but it is certainly beautiful. 

My Utmost for His Highest - November 14 - Discovering Divine Designs

I being in the way, the Lord led me.… — Genesis 24:27

We have to be so one with God that we do not continually need to ask for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God, and the natural life of a child is obedience — until he wishes to be disobedient, then instantly there is the intuitive jar. In the spiritual domain the intuitive jar is the monition of the Spirit of God. When He gives the check, we have to stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind in order to make out what God’s will is. If we are born again of the Spirit of God, it is the abortion of piety to ask God to guide us here and there. “The Lord led me,” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design, which, if we are born of God, we will credit to God.

We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the culture of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never allow that the haphazard is anything less than God’s appointed order, and be ready to discover the Divine designs any where.

Beware of making a fetish of consistency to your convictions instead of being devoted to God. “I shall never do that” — in all probability you will have to, if you are a saint. There never was a more inconsistent Being on this earth than Our Lord, but He was never inconsistent to His Father. The one consistency of the saint is not to a principle, but to the Divine life. It is the Divine life which continually makes more and more discoveries about the Divine mind. It is easier to be a fanatic than a faithful soul, because there is something amazingly humbling, particularly to our religious conceit, in being loyal to God.

My Thoughts

• The mark of a mature Christian is not having to ask God to be led as obedience is natural as I become a true child of God. Children obey. 
• I need to see God's divine design in all the details of life, not only the grand ones. 

I John 4:19 - Is Grace Resistible?

I John 4:19
We love, because He first loved us.

Message: Is Grace Resistible?

Time: The author of this epistle never identified himself by name, but Christians since the beginning of the church have considered this letter authoritative, believing it was written by John the apostle. A date of about AD 90, with John writing from his exile on Patmos, ends up being the best proposition. John focused on three issues: the zeal of the believers, standing firm against false teachers, and reassuring the Christians that they have eternal life.

What the Lord is Saying:

Is Grace Resistable? Is it possible to resist God's grace?

The western church condemned Pelagius and his teaching at the Second Council of Orange in AD 529. Also struck down was semi-Pelagianism. Augustine, Pelagius and the French monk John Cassian lived during the late 4th and early 5th centuries. John Cassian and semi-Pelagianism steers a middle ground between Augustine's view of grace alone and Pelagius view of works. This view affirms grace as a need for salvation, yet still denies original sin and the depravity of man. Thus, grace is necessary but humans take the first step toward God. People need grace to be saved, but this grace does not take the initiative in salvation. Augustine meanwhile says that no sinner can seek God of their own accord. The only people who seek Him are those who He first sovereignly and effectually are drawn by His sovereign grace.

Thus, the dividing line is whether there is synergy in divine grace - God and human beings working together toward regeneration. But John Calvin and Augustinians say that divine grace is monergistic in regeneration where only God brings about the new birth of believers. We love, because He (God) first loved us. God guarantees that His elect will love Him. He will overcome their resistance to Him.

Promise: If God reveals his love to man then they can't reject him. There is glorious love and beauty of our Creator.

Prayer: Thank you for loving me God. Thank you for calling me to be with You, to be Yours for all time.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of April is about salvation by grace alone. March was about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January is about the doctrine of God.

Genesis 50:15-21 - Flowing Together

Genesis 50:15-21
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. 21 So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Message: Flowing Together

Time: Genesis is the first book and Moses is credited as authoring. The book spans 2400 years of time. It was originally written in Hebrew.

What the Lord is Saying:

Ephesians 1:11 states, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will. Formerly God's inheritance was extended to Israel though it was expected that the Gentiles be ministered to as well. Israel did not minister to them. Now the inheritance is more broad. It is to Jew and Gentile and Paul makes this clear multiple times in his letters. Jesus made this clear as he often condoned the acts of the Jewish leaders of the day. The Church has been predestined to be part of God's plan for His people or God's welcoming of His people. The Gentiles were always meant to be part of His inheritance.

And this will of God to His church, to His people - all people - Jew and Gentile comes about after the counsel of His will. God works in the same way throughout all the instances of life. He adopts his children to his own. He is always holy, wise, and good. He doesn't operate the way we do, often by emotion. His plan is eternal and He continues to work it out. God has a sovereign decree. God is active and He actively controls all in creation. He actively works out all things in His way. He is the first cause and He works through our choices. Yes, we have free will but He works through our free will choices. There is a conflict in our world between these two. Christianity records that we are pre-destined by God. Determinism states that previous events determine future actions. God says there is free will and free will decision work out for His purpose. Atheism says there is no free will as man does not have a choice in how he responds in life.

Often in life we make choices based upon what we think is important at that time. God does not force us to act against our desires. We do what we most want to do, most of the time. Although Paul records that we often do what our new nature in Christ believes we ought not to do. We tend to do things based upon whatever will bring us health and safety. If a robber points a gun at us and asks us to give over our wallet or he will shoot, we give over the wallet. In that moment, life is more important than money. Thus, we respond in order to preserve life. And as Paul records often our decisions do not always match God's desire for us. 

In the telling of Joseph and his brothers who sent him off to be a slave in Egypt. His brothers wanted to see Joseph suffer. God however desired good for Joseph. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. Thus there is a flowing together in life of man's choices and God's decree.

Promise: The doctrine of concurrence tells us that both God and human beings make things happen according to their respective places in God's decree. It does matter what we do.

Prayer: Our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Thank you for helping me understand You better and this life in which I live and breathe. Lord, help me see that my choices matter. I pray that I would honor you in all things. Thank you for continuing to work out my life, for keeping me alive. I am thankful for that, for having another day with my wife and kids and being able to see them grow and develop and my influence on their lives and what You are doing. You do work all things out. It is hard to see other people suffer, but I want to continue to trust in You and constantly evaluate my life. Lord, grant me wisdom to know where you are leading me in my life.


Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with March being about the sovereign providence of God and looking at how the Bible reveals His control over all things.

John 14:26 - Divine Begottenness and Procession

John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Message: Divine Begottenness and Procession

Time: While John does not admit to have written this gospel, there is ample evidence from others that he did. It was most likely written in Ephesus around 85-95 AD and is the fourth gospel. John provides a Jesus more clearly as the Son of God. John cites Jesus' seven "I Am" statements, mentions many miracles of Jesus, signifying Him as God's Son. He is the Son of Man and atoned for our sins and the Son of God with eternal implications in rising from the dead.

What the Lord is Saying:

Today's Tabletalk devotional starts with a discussion about the notion that each person has a human nature that includes a mind, a body, and a will, but each person's nature is different from one another. While we each have a human nature, our individual attributes are distinct. However, in regards to the three persons of the Godhead, the three persons do not have three different minds, but have one identical mind. And this is the same for every other divine attribute.

The question then is what makes each person of the Trinity different. The Bible teaches that (1) the Father is unbegotten, (2) the Son is begotten, and (3) the Holy Spirit is procession.

Regarding the Son, John 1:18 says, No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. In John 3:16 Jesus says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."  Begotten and derivatives of the Greek word are used multiple times in Scripture to talk about a special relationship between a Father or Mother and a son or daughter. John is the only Gospel writer to connect the relationship between Jesus and the Father. It talks of one being the only child of another. Yet both the Son and the Father have always existed. Even though He is begotten of the Father, his existence is the same as the Father.

Regarding the Holy Spirit, John 14:26 says the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name. Begottenness is the unique quality of the Son, procession is the unique property of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. There was a distinctive relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Father and the Son before time began. This passage talks about the special purpose of the Spirit - as a teacher and a reminder of all that Jesus has said. But the Spirit is also said to be sent by Jesus in John 15:26, though this verse speaks still primarily it would seem as coming from the Father. When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me. Thus there is debate as to whether the Spirit proceeds from the Son.

The difficult in these explanations is that we use human words or human explanations to explain eternal beings that are infinite, immutable and incomprehensible. Man is a created being and his words are created in order to communicate and they have limitations. I think of the word Love and all that it encompasses. Love can mean so many different things and sometimes the word Love does not convey the entire story. Scripture attempts to describe the relationship between these 3 persons of the Godhead and based upon all of the Words we have there is a natural conclusion to show that they are all divine and all of the same mind and attributes. Yet, as we work on describing this we fall into difficulties of explanation.

Purpose: It is important to study about God and His nature to help give us a further glimpse at who God is. Knowing this moves us to worship Him for His greatness and thus fulfill the purpose for which we were made.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for wisdom from the ages and how people have studied your words and come to conclusions that help me to better understand You. Lord, you have ministered specifically to me and spoken specifically to Me in a way that I struggle defining at times in my life. I don't understand it fully but I knot it to be true in me. I do thank you for these words from various individuals and thank you for breathing life into these words that I read. I continue to trust You and while there are questions that come up in my mind at times I continue to have peace that you are God, that Jesus you are God, that Spirit you are God and my mission on this earth is to glorify and testify of You. You have made me to be a person of relationship. You are eternal and creator and yet there is a closeness with You. Continue to help me to be clear in that understanding and communicating this to others.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.