All posts by Luella Campbell

THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS

Apologetics, ,

1 Timothy 3:16 NIV
[16] “Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” Hu

First, a Bible “mystery” is different from all other mysteries.

Meta defines a mystery like this…

Definition
1. “Something unexplained or unknown”: A mystery is an event, situation, or phenomenon that cannot be fully understood or explained, often due to a lack of information or evidence.
2. “Enigmatic or puzzling”: Mysteries often involve enigmatic or puzzling elements that challenge our understanding or interpretation.
3. “Intriguing or thought-provoking”: Mysteries can be intriguing or thought-provoking, inspiring curiosity and encouraging exploration or investigation.”

These definitions are inadequate and incomplete to explain Biblical mysteries.

“A “mystery” in the New Testament is something that had at one time been hidden but is now revealed to God’s people.” (gotquestions.com – article: What is the mystery of God referred to in the Bible?)

“The apostle Paul used the word mystery 21 times in his Epistles. In each case, the “mystery” involved a wonderful declaration of spiritual truth, revealed by God through divine inspiration. A mystery is that “which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 3:5). (gotquestions.Com – article… What is the mystery of God referred to in the Bible?)

Revelation of the mystery of godliness answers the question, “How can a holy God accept and have fellowship with sinful people?”

God has a way for sinful humans to approach Him and be acceptable to Him that was hidden from the beginning of time but has now been revealed.

“The Bible tells us that the mystery of God is Jesus Christ: “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2–3). (gotquestions.com article… What is the mystery of God referred to in the Bible?)

Who JESUS is and what He did He do that is the key to our understanding of the reason God has freely forgiven our sin and accepted us into His family as His beloved sons and daughters?

Let’s examine, step by step, wha Paul said about the mystery referred to in this passage of Scripture…

1 Timothy 3:16 NIV
[16] “… He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”

“He appeared in the flesh… “

Despite all the objections to the historical reality of Jesus, there is enough secular evidence to authenticate the Bible’s witness that Jesus is a real person who was born in Bethlehem and died by crucifixion in Jerusalem, not a mythical figure of someone’s imagination.

However, He was more than a mere human.

Jesus claimed to have been pre-existent before He was sent by the Father.

John 3:13 NIV
[13] “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.”

John 16:28 NIV
[28] “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

How did Jesus prove that what He said was true? He affirmed in His human life everything that the prophets wrote about Him before it happened…

Luke 18:31-33 NIV
[31] Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. [32] He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; [33] they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

…and He was and did everything they prophesied.

Luke 24:6-8 NIV
[6] “He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: [7] ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” [8] Then they remembered his words.”

Luke 24:25-27 NIV
[25]” He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

So, how was the truth of Jesus’ claims about Himself vindicated?

… was vindicated by the Spirit…

Romans 1:4 NIV
[4] and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Jesus could not raise Himself from the dead. Death could not hold Him only if He spoke the truth. The resurrection of Jesus has been attacked and tested by unbelievers who have had to reach the conclusion that it is impossible to disprove the resurrection. (Frank Morrison – “Who Moved the Stone?”)

… was seen by angels…

Why is it important to for Paul to  testify that angels saw Jesus after His resurrection? Angels were the messengers who told the women  who came to the tomb that Jesus was alive. How did they know? Who would believe their testimony if the were not eyewitnesses?

The angels were the ones who sat in the tomb in the very spot where the body of Jesus had been lying. His body was gone. He had risen. They had seen Him.

… was preached among the nations…

Jesus gave His disciples the commission to take the good news of salvation to all the nations of the world. Poised to leave them to return to the Father, He instructed them…

Matthew 28:18-20 NIV
[18] “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you… ”

…and promised that He would always be with them.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In the first generation after His return to heaven, the apostles, and especially Paul, despite massive resistance and persecution, took the gospel to the known world. Since then, the message of Jesus has been preached and believed throughout the generations and on every continent on earth.

Mark 16:20 NIV
[20] “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”

… was believed on in the world…

There is no need to verify the power of the gospel to impact the lives of every person who has believed the message. Since faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the message of Jesus, the Bible has been translated into most languages on earth. Through the internet, every person who has a cellphone has access to a free copy of the Scriptures in some language they can understand and read.

… was taken up in glory.”

Acts 1:8-9 NIV
[8]” But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” [9] After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”

As much as the disciples were witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, they also saw Him return to heaven. His ascension was a visible event so that they could testify to the world that they saw Him go.

Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised, the apostles interpreted and wrote the Scriptures that give us understanding of all the events surrounding Jesus’ life and death on earth.

Mark 16:19 NIV
[19]  “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.”

Paul gave his readers a resume of the all that Jesus accomplished by His life, death, and resurrection as the solid ground for believing and receiving a new life. Jesus is the “mystery of godliness” revealed, the only way to be freed from the sin that condemns us, and to live new lives of trust and obedience to Jesus through the power if the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Romans 5:1-2 NLT
[1] “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. [2] Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – CONCLUSION

Bible Study, ,

Hebrews 13:1-3 NIV
[1] “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. [2] Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. [3] Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”

Having concluded his masterful explanation of the gospel of Jesus in the Old Covenant, our writer dumps his readers into the middle of New Covenant living…loving one another because God loves us! There is no better way to show the world that we are citizens of another realm than to love one another.

When we identify with each other and stretch out a helping hand in the worst of circumstances, we are echoing what God did in Christ for us. We demonstrate, in this way of life, that we understand what grace is and what grace does. Instead of running from faith in Jesus because of the cost, we dig in there and stand together in our suffering because we believe in a great future.

Hebrews 13:4-6 NIV
[4] Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. [5] Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” [6] So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Not only are we, as believers, characterised by our love for one another but also for our faithfulness to God’s standards.

Marriage and money…two requirements that separate God’s people from the world. The world has made a mockery of sex and marriage. From the world’s point of views, sex is for entertainment and marriage a noose! When things go wrong and the consequences bite, it’s all God’s fault!

And as for money…it’s a good servant but a terrible master. Fascinating that Jesus made a significant point. It’s not that we love we serve but that we serve what we love. Just like marriage! The world says, “Marry the one you love (and get out when you don’t love her any more).” The Bible says, “Love the one you marry. You’ll stay faithful if you do.”

When we keep these two requirements in their correct perspective, remembering that God had promised grace to obey, we build our lives on a solid foundation…confidence in the promise of God’s presence. This should be enough to steady us no matter what happens.

Hebrews 13:5-6 NLT
[5] “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” [6] So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”

So, if stuff happens, and stuff did happen to these readers, (and stuff will happen to us), God is still there. The Roman government imposed impossible restructions on them to force them to quit their faith. For example, Rome demanded that they confess that Caesar was Lord before they could buy or sell at the markets. They stood firm and took the consequences.

As Father, God was committed to their care over and above anything humans could do to them. All they had to do was to remain in that realm of faith and obedience. God would take care of the rest.

So, how would they remain in God’s realm of promise and care?

Hebrews 13:7-14 NIV
[7] “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. [8] Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. [9] Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. [10] We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. [11] The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. [12] And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. [13] Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. [14] For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Remember! How easy it is to go astray when we forget the things that hold us steady and on track!

Remember your leaders. Sheep are in danger without a shepherd. People get lost without leaders. Some leaders take their followers to hell, others are worth following because their destination is heaven. Follow and imitate those who are leading you in the right direction.

Remember Jesus. He never changes. If you stick with Him, you’ll be okay.

Remember what Jesus did. Animals didn’t take away sin, Jesus did. By offering His own blood, He did what no animal could do. Although He was disgraced and died outside the city like an outcast, He is the one who made atonement for our sins. Let’s go to Him because He is the only one who can save. No matter what the world does to us, our eternal destiny is safe if we hold onto Jesus even in suffering.

Remember our destiny. Jesus promised to take us to the Father. When we follow Him, we can be sure we’ll reach the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the home of the Father.

How do we say on track?

Worship!

Hebrews 13:15-17 NIV
[15] “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name….”

There is only one we are to worship. Praise, thanksgiving, and gratitude keep us focused on the object of our true worship.

Serve!

[16]”And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased…”

Serving God’s family is serving the Lord Himself.

Follow!

[17] “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.”

Spiritual leaders have great responsibility. They are the earthly representatives of our heavenly model, Jesus.

Our writer concludes with miscellaneous instructions and greetings and a magnificent benediction which wraps up the gospel in a great prayer…

Hebrews 13:20-21 NIV
[20] Now, may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, [21] equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

That’s is, dear readers! God has done it all for us and He will keep doing in us whatever we need in this life to take us to our eternal destination.

Fear, gone! Sin, gone! Judgment, gone! Only hope, promise, and joyful celebration for what is past, is now, and is yet to come!

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – 24

Bible Study, ,

Hebrews 12:18, 22-24 NLT
[18] “You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai….
[22] No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. [23] You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. [24] You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.”

In a grand crescendo of comparison and celebration, our writer shows his readers how vastly different is the destiny of those who remain faithful to Jesus from those who go back to the law and into slavery.

What constitutes the difference between the environment and atmosphere of worship at Mt Sinai and Mt Zion? Is it not uncertainty and fear versus confidence and joy?

Since the law given at Sinai demanded obedience, and disobedience was punishable by death, the people had no guarantee of ever satisfying God’s holy standards. How could they achieve the righteousness of God when all they had to offer, according to Isaiah and Jeremiah, was the “filthy rags” of their own self-effort?

Isaiah 64:6 NLT
[6] “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.”

Jeremiah 17:9 NLT
[9] “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”

As they wrestled with the unfaithfulness of God’s people, both Isaiah and Jeremiah recognised the futility of trying to get people to obey God. It would never happen because people are rotten to the core. There had to be another way.

Mt Zion speaks of the seat of God’s government. Who occupies the throne? None other than Jesus Himself.

Psalms 2:6-7 NIV
[6] “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” [7] I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.”

The writer has already triumphantly declared…

Hebrews 2:9-11 NIV
[9]”But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. [10] In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. [11] Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”

What a difference! The onus of perfect obedience to God’s law was shifted from sinful humans to the perfect representative human, Jesus Himself. No longer are humans judged for disobedience. Jesus was judged in our place. Since He perfectly satisfied all God’s holy standards and then died as though He had broken them all, He was elevated to the position of King in Zion.

Psalms 2:5-6 NIV
[5] “He rebukes them (the rebellious rulers) in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, [6] “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

Philippians 2:8-11 NIV
[8] “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! [9] Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Therefore, we have every reason to live our lives in joyful celebration because Jesus did everything for us to restore us to fellowship with the Father. We join with all the angelic hosts in heaven and all the saints who have gone before us to rejoice in God our Father, Jesus our Saviour, and the Holy Spirit our Helper, because we have been freed from sin to enjoy glory forever.

Just think of it! On which mountain would you choose to worship? On Mt Sinai, a place of fire and smoke, laws and commands, judgement and fear…or Mt Zion, in joyful and confident celebration, together with God’s entire family of people and angels, all because of Jesus,

Hebrews 12:24 NIV
[24] “… Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

Why Abel? He was the first victim of murder, the epitome of sin, his blood stolen from him and demanding vengeance for that which his brother did to him… murder, the outcome of Adam’s rebellion aginst God.

Jesus’ blood was also the result of murder but.. His blood was not taken by force but given willingly for us. For what purpose? Mercy, not vengeance! Blood for blood, God’s justice fully satisfied.

Hebrews 12:25-27 NIV
[25] “See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? [26] At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” [27] The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.”

To refuse this gift and this promise of eternal life will have serious and everlasting consequences. When God came down on Mt Sinai, the earth shook and the people trembled in fear. How much greater will be the fear of those who refuse God’s grace when He shakes the universe at the end of time! Without the gift of eternal salvation, those who are not secured by faith in Jesus will go out with the trash!

Hebrews 12:28-29 NIV
[28] Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, [29] for our “God is a consuming fire.”

There can only, ever be one appropriate response to this great salvation that God has achieved for mankind, to worship Him with gratitude and awe. Anything else will put unbelieving humans into fiery judgment and eternal loss.

To be continued…

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – 23

Bible Study, ,

Hebrews 12:18-21 NIV
[18] “You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; [19] to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, [20] because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” [21] The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

How awesomely frightening is the description of Israel’s meeting with God at Mount Sinai! Even Moses, who been with God and spoken with Him face to face on this mountain many times, was shaking with fear. This was a side of God he had never seen in those times that he had gone up the mountain to converse and commune with Him. Even his meeting with God at the burning bush did not affect him as did this occasion when He came down to cut covenant with His people.

Why did God pull out all the stops to reveal His majestic glory to His people? Did He want them to experience the full fury of His holiness and power so that they would have no doubts about the nature of the one who was calling them into covenant with Himself? It seems that He came to them in physical manifestations that would forever imprint on them the grandeur of this God in contrast to the gods of Egypt that they had chosen to worship.

Tragically, they quickly forgot the terrifying plagues that obliterated all the so-called power of their fertility gods. They wanted gods that they could see and feel and touch. They wanted gods like themselves that they could understand and manipulate to suit their demands!

The God who had chosen them as His treasured possession was incomprehensible. They could not push Him around, or call the shots. He, not they, was God and they must understand this, once and for all. They must know that He required unquestioning obedience in return for which He would treat them with unfailing faithfulness.

This God whose presence, if not form, was so vastly different from the gods they had known in Egypt that they could only submit, if only temporarily, to His unseen presence and His covenant requirements. However, these same people, who stood at the base of the mountain and felt the hot breath of their God in their faces, could say, in one moment…

Exodus 19:8 NIV
[8]… “We will do everything the Lord has said.”

…and, in the next, demanded…

Exodus 32:1 NIV
[1]…“Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

How is it possible for people to be so fickle?

Our writer had to remind those Jewish believers who were tempted to retreat into Judaism to avoid persecution, that they would be taking a backward step from forgiveness and grace, from celebration and joy, into the darkness and uncertainty of strict laws and an uncompromising Law Giver who would never condone disobedience and failure.

Which scenario would they prefer? They had once been alongside those who had trembled with fear at Mount Sinai. They had felt the fear of failure and the threat of divine judgment. They had known the weight of a guilty conscience and the uncertainty of not knowing whether they had done enough to satisfy their God’s demands.

They had also felt the relief of forgiveness and the power of new life in Christ. Did they really want to go back into the old way of burdensome laws and rituals?

So, they should reflect on the choice they were tempted to make. They were once participants of the terror of Mount Sinai. Now they were among those who enjoyed the wonder of Mount Zion, the city of God, where all the hosts of heaven and the redeemed children of God are gathered together to celebrate the grace and mercy of God through Christ.

With which gathering do you identify?

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – 22

Bible Study, ,

Before we continue to the conclusion of this letter, we must ask, in what way is Jesus the model we are to follow? Since it was the issue of suffering that tempted the readers to return to Judaism, we must examine the nature of the suffering that tempted them to give up and go back.

We will find, in the life of Jesus, what His greatest test was in the course of His life on earth. The readers of this letter faced the same test above all other temptations, not to sin as in giving in to fleshly lusts but to sin by turning their backs on Jesus, their only hope of salvation.

Jesus suffered in two ways, according to Scripture. First, He was rejected by His own people.

Isaiah 53:3 NIV
[3] “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”

John 1:10-11 NIV
[10] “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. [11] He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

The Hebrew word for rejection, “chadal”, comes from the root meaning “vacant”. To call and treat someone as vacant is the worst form of insult. This attitude calls in question the very essence of who that person is, a human created in God’s image. In this case, mere humans were treating Jesus, the Son of God, as vacant, empty, and utterly worthless. Everything humans did to Jesus was the fruit of that rejection.

Jesus came to earth to redeem sinful humanity from slavery to the very choices and behaviour that caused their enslavement. To do this, He had to allow Himself to be sacrificed for us. He had to subject Himself to being treated as “vacant”, to give Himself for the very people who dismissed Him and His mission with contempt.

So, the second part of His suffering was temptation. In what way was Jesus tempted?

Since the issue, for the readers of this letter, was giving up, was the greatest temptation Jesus ever suffered, in the face of rejection, the temptation to give up, to abort His mission and return to the Father empty-handed?

At the start and at the finish of His public ministry, Jesus was under severe pressure to give up on His Father’s will for Him…which was to go to the cross. In the wilderness, the devil tried to get Him to break the unity between Father and Son by acting on His own. Jesus resolutely stood His ground by putting Himself under the authority of the Father and His Word.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, faced with the horror of His impending death, again Jesus was under pressure to give up. His own people’s rejection would inflict on Him the worst that humans could do to another human, let alone to their own God. The struggle was so intense that perspiration poured from Him like blood from a mortal wound.

Luke 22:44 NIV
[44] “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was LIKE drops of blood falling to the ground.”

How did Jesus react to this pressure? What did He do with the temptation to take the easy way out?

1 Peter 2:23 NIV
[23] “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

Hebrews 2:17-18 NIV
[17] “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. [18] Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Jesus’ experience was suffering of the worst kind. Insulted by His own people, knowing that He would be flayed to within an inch of His life, tortured, and crucified, He had to choose…to give up or to go on?

What was Satan’s motive behind the temptation to give up?

There was one overriding consideration, one thing Jesus would never betray…the love that bound Him and the Father together. To His enemies, He testified…repeatedly,

John 14:30-31 NIV
[30] “I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, [31] but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”

Satan was desperate to get Jesus to break with the Father. If He could get Jesus to act alone, He would win the greatest victory of all…destroy the unity in the Trinity! His aim? To replace Jesus as king!

Jesus refused to give up. His love for the Father despite His suffering would be the very testimony to the world that He had overcome the devil! Love was the superglue that held Him to the Father’s will. Nothing, not even the worst that man could do to Him, could break that bond.

And so, for us the test is…how strong is the love that binds us to Jesus? The way we handle this test will determine the reality of our love.

1 John 4:10, 19 NIV
[10] “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…
[19] We love because he first loved us.”

Peter failed in the moment of his testing.

This “good news” is about the power of real love, the power of God’s love for the world that gave His Son, in the first place, to die despite what the world did to Him. The power of Jesus’ love for the Father kept Him steadfast to the end…and for us, God’s love for us and our response of love for Jesus is the same superglue that holds us to Him as it held Father and Son together.

John 17:23 NLT
[23] “I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

Love and unity…the key to perseverance that guarantees our victory.

The Holy Spirit in us is the guarantee that love for Jesus will keep us glued to Him no matter how badly we are treated because of Him and how much we are tempted to abandon our loyalty to Him to save our skin.

Romans 5:3-5 NLT
[3] “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. [4] And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. [5] And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

This is the pattern, the model we are to follow.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
[1] “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. [2] We do this by KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Those who went before us clung to the hope of reaching God’s heavenly city. They refused to give up despite their suffering.
We, too, have that city in view, a celestial city that will be our eternal dwelling place with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, if we don’t give up.

To be continued…