Monthly Archives: February 2015

Appointed To Be The Son

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APPOINTED TO BE THE SON

He also said, ‘In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish but you remain; they will wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.’

To which of the angels did God ever say, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’?

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? (Heb. 1: 10-14)

God spoke, yes! He spoke through the prophets and through His Son, but there is also no doubt that He spoke to the Son. Why was it so important that He speak to His Son? What did He say? The writer used seven quotes from the Psalms to authenticate His Son and to set Him apart as superior to the angelic beings.

1. He is superior to angels in His status as a son. He shares the nature and essence of the Father. He is an exact replica of the Father, revealing the Father to the human race in human form. He is also the Father’s heir – the right of a son to receive everything that belongs to the father. As God’s Son, it is His role to ‘continue the house’ through His own life and through those who would believe in Him (verse 5a).

2. He is connected to the Father by the intimate father/son relationship. As a son, Jesus is submitted and obedient to the Father. As His Father, God is the one who has strength and authority and supports and upholds His Son and delegates His authority to the Son (verse 5b).

3. As God’s Son, He is the object of the angels’ obeisance. They bow to Him as superior to them in both essence and function. At His birth they announced His arrival on earth, and called all mankind to worship Him. (Verse 6)

4. Angels have an inferior role and position in God’s unseen realm. They are spirit beings who serve God around the throne and across the universe (verse 7).

5. By contrast, the Son rules on the throne of God’s kingdom with justice and righteousness which are the hallmarks of His reign. God’s nature, among many other attributes, is joy, The Son manifested that joy in His human nature by being the most joyful person who ever lived. He was ‘anointed with the oil of joy,’ the Jewish way of expressing the exuberance of His joyful nature (verse 8, 9)

6. The Son is eternal. Unlike the universe which He created and which is running down like a clock and will soon be spent and discarded, He is ‘olam – to the horizon’ which never ends. The universe is temporal – it will come to an end, but not the Son (verse 10-12).

7. Jesus is at the Father’s right hand – symbolic of the seat of power and authority. To no angel did the Father ever give the mandate to rule, as He did to the Son. Angels have no greater role than to serve (verses 13, 14).

As the Son of Man, Jesus came to serve, but He came to serve as the Son. In His service He enhanced and furthered the work of the Father. As a twelve-year-old He declared that He was to be about the Father and, at the end of His earthly life, He affirmed that He had completed what He had come to do (John. 17: 4).

In spite of the evidence of Scripture, there are those who deny and reject the truth that Jesus is the Son of God. It is this fact upon which the whole of Christianity rests. If Jesus is not the Son of God, everything He said and did falls flat. The entire superstructure of our faith stands or falls on this. Is He indeed, the Son of God?

There can be no greater authority than God the Father Himself. It is He who spoke the words of affirmation and authority, both in the testimony of Scripture and from His own mouth at the moment of Jesus’ baptism and on the Mount of Transfiguration. What did He say?

As soon as Jesus was baptised, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ (Matt. 3:16, 17)

After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them. . . While he (Peter) was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’ (Matt. 17: 1, 2, 5)

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Superior To Angels

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SUPERIOR TO ANGELS

For to which angels did God ever say: ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father’? Or again, ‘I will be His Father, and He will be my Son’? And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship Him.’ In speaking of angels He says, ‘He makes His angels spirits and His servants flames of fire.’ But about the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. (Heb. 1: 5-9)

What is this writer saying? All these quotations from the Psalms, which his Hebrew readers would know very well because they would recite and sing the Psalms regularly as part of their worship, we pointing to one person – Jesus, the Messiah. Why was he so bent on proving the Son’s superiority to angels?

Although there is no evidence that the Jews ever worshipped angels, during the intertestamental period, i.e. the 400 years between the last book of the Old Testament and Matthew, it seems that they did invoke angels,

Who were the angels and what part did they play in God’s scheme of things?

Although the angels are mentioned throughout Scripture, ‘every reference is incidental to some other topic. They are not treated in themselves. God’s revelation never aims at informing us regarding the nature of angels. When they are mentioned, it is always in order to inform us further about God, what He does and how He does it. Since details about angels are not significant for that purpose, they tend to be omitted.’ (https://bible.org/article-god%E2%80%99s-ministering-spirits)

What we do learn, however, is that angels are created beings, they are spirit beings, and they are mere creatures. There are holy angels who do God’s bidding and there are fallen angels who are allied to the devil, the chief of the fallen angels and who will perish with him when Jesus comes as Judge.

Why did this writer then, take pains to explain to his readers that Jesus is superior to angels?

The purpose of the author, in stringing seven quotes from the Old Testament together was to overwhelm his readers with the evidence that Jesus is superior to the angels by virtue of His relationship to the Father. He is the Son of God as opposed to angels who are only servants, ministering spirits who do His bidding.

Jesus is God’s chosen Son, in the Davidic line, with authority to rule in righteousness over the kingdom of God. He is also the object of angelic worship which makes Him superior to angels. His reign is eternal over this world and the entire universe.

His readers must take heed, therefore, that they recognise Jesus for who He is. From the prophetic utterances of God through the prophets and the confirmation of prophecy through the revelation of Jesus in history, there can be no doubt that He is the Son of God and therefore has a supreme position in God’s scheme of things.

What are the implications for us?

1. Since Jesus occupies the place of supremacy over all creation, He must, of necessity occupy a supreme place in our lives as well. He takes precedence over every person and every circumstance that touches our lives.

2. Jesus has all authority and holds all power in the universe. We must submit, therefore, to His authority in all things and trust Him to order our circumstances to fulfil His will in our lives, both good and bad.

3. He alone is to be worshipped, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit as the triune God. He has been given the name above all names and the place of highest authority by the Father. We are to honour and live for Him and through Him alone.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

God Spoke And Still Speaks

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GOD SPOKE AND STILL SPEAKS

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He also made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs. (Heb. 1: 1-4)

The letter to the Hebrews is a treasure; it contains many gems of truth to encourage us. At the same time, it is a thoroughly Hebrew book, steeped in the traditions of the Old Testament and giving us many insights into its religious thought and practice. What was the intention of the writer, and why did he write it?

We know that Jesus was a Jew, born into a pious Jewish family and raised as the eldest son of Joseph and Mary, a young couple who were faithful to their responsibilities as Jewish parents and who gave their Son every opportunity to became a faithful Jew Himself.

But Jesus was much more than the eldest son in a Jewish family. He was also uniquely the Son of God. His upbringing in a human family served its purpose for a season, but had to give way to His greater person and purpose as the Son of God. He did not come into being at His conception in the womb of Mary. That was the beginning of His mission on earth, but before He came to earth He was always God.

God has always spoken. Creation is His silent voice (Psa. 19: 1-4) and still speaks an eloquent testimony to His power and divine nature. (Rom. 1: 20) He also spoke through His chosen vessels, the prophets. Who were they? They were ordinary humans who were chosen and called into a unique relationship with Him. They were His messengers to His people and to the surrounding nations who needed to hear God’s warnings.

The prophets were God’s confidantes. He shared His secrets with them. (Amos 3: 7)He told what would happen before it happened so that His word would be proved true. He took them into His confidence so that they could pray His purposes into being as His partners and representatives on the earth. They were to declare His word to His people as warnings and encouragement to keep His people on track with Him. (Jer. 23: 22) It was their responsibility to heed His word and stay with Him in the fulfilment of His purposes.

The prophets were also God’s representatives to the kings. They accompanied the kings on their journey as rulers of His people. They were beside them in times of crisis, giving them God’s instructions, directing them through times of trouble, rebuking and correcting them when they lost their way, and teaching them the word of God so that they would rule wisely according to God’s ways.

But the prophets were only men. Their ability to represent God to the people was limited by their humanity. God’s plan was to send a representative to the earth who was an exact replica of Himself. In the fullness of time, He sent His Son (Gal. 4: 4) who was exactly like Him, ‘the radiance of His glory’ to speak for God and as God. As His obedient and submissive Son, Jesus had the authority to speak what the Father spoke because He was in perfect harmony with the Father.

He spoke for the Father in His words and actions, but most eloquently through His death through which He made atonement for the sin of the world and reconciled the human race which was alienated through sin, to the Father.

Jewish Christians were having second thoughts about leaving their Jewish religion and trusting in Jesus as their Messiah because of persecution. The Jews were tolerated and left to pursue their religion in peace but Christians, whom the Jews rejected as well as the Roman government, were hated because they challenged the emperor’s claim to deity.

The writer to the Hebrews informed them that to do that was to deny who Jesus was and what He had done and to leave the plan of God unfinished if they rejected their Messiah. Jesus is God’s last word – because He is God’s Son. God speaks through Him as the completion of everything He has to say. If they rejected Him, God the Father had nothing more to say and likewise, to us.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Connected!

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CONNECTED!

With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.   (1 Peter 5: 12-14)

Is this writer the same rough and ready fisherman who put his foot in his mouth every time he opened it? What a long way Peter has come since the days when he walked with Jesus on earth!

As we have moved through this letter, we couldn’t help feeling that there was a strong connection between Peter and Paul. So many of his thoughts and expressions echoed Paul’s that it was almost as though they had spent hours together honing their understanding of the gospel entrusted to them. We know that Peter had read many of Paul’s letters because he mentioned them in his second letter.

Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3: 15-16)

After his initial suspicion, Peter had a high regard for Paul. Whether or not they actually spent time together, he was able to read his letters which he regarded as inspired, putting them in the same category as ‘the other Scriptures’.

Silas, if he was the same Silas who accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey, was also a link. We have no idea how Silas came to be with Peter when he wrote this letter. Was he Peter’s scribe? Did he help Peter to form his ideas in the Greek language which was not Peter’s first language? Scholars have noted that Peter’s Greek is the most complicated of all the New Testament writers. Where did he learn to write Greek like that?

And what about Mark whom he also mentioned in his final greeting? He called him ‘my son’, obviously indicating a very close association with him. Mark’s Gospel is based, according to New Testament scholarship, on Peter’s preaching which Mark may have recorded or he may have had access to Peter’s written notes, upon which Matthew and Luke based their gospels.

All of this clues point to an interconnection between the leaders in the early church. This is remarkable, considering that there was no technology to keep them in touch, and that they ministered to groups of people across the Roman Empire which spanned the whole Mediterranean area, without the luxury of motorised vehicles or air travel. They had to get around by ship or on foot and letters were delivered by hand, not even by ‘snail mail’!

Who was the ‘she’ and where was ‘Babylon’? ‘She’ could have been any prominent and well-known Christian woman or even a group of believers who resided in ‘Babylon’ and who were known to Peter’s readers. Why did he not mention her name or identify them? We don’t know. It may have been for security reasons.

Where was ‘Babylon’? Was it a cryptic title for Rome? The ancient city of Babylon no longer existed at that time. Did the spiritual leaders of that day already recognise in Rome some of the characteristics of the city of Babylon where God’s ancient people had suffered under Babylonian captivity? The church was, in a sense, in captivity as well because of persecution at the hands of Roman rulers.

‘Babylon’ in the book of Revelation is a pseudonym for the counterfeit church or the bride, the scarlet woman, the great prostitute who was a counterfeit of the bride of Christ. The church was in the world just like the Jews were in Babylon, and even there God protected them and restored them to their own land.

Whatever Peter meant by his words, we are comforted to know that God protects His church in the midst of the pain and suffering we experience as part of this world system.  He will rescue and restore His people to their own ‘land’; the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He returns to restore everything to its original purpose.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Stand And Resist

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STAND AND RESIST

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5: 8-11)

‘Spiritual warfare’ is a very current topic in the Christian world. There are all kinds of weird and wonderful teachings around regarding spiritual warfare; we have international prayer movements that teach and write about spiritual warfare; we even have people who regard themselves as specialists on spiritual warfare – generals, they are sometimes called!

But what is ‘spiritual warfare’ if there is such a thing in the Bible?

Unfortunately, many of the ideas about so-called ‘spiritual warfare’ are gleaned from the Old Testament – things like identifying ‘Jezebel’ and other kinds of spirits, identifying principalities and powers and pulling down strongholds, doing Jericho marches and prayer walks, dealing with gates and altars etc., etc. We have to ask, ‘How legitimate is this way of dealing with the devil? Is this the teaching of the New Testament?’

Both Peter and Paul did not deny the existence or the activity of Satan. He is powerfully at work in the world through unbelieving people. But what power or influence does he have in the lives of believers and how do we deal with him and his minions?

Firstly, for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He rose from the dead and who live by the truth, Satan has lost the power to deceive. Jesus exposed and defeated him through the cross (Col 2: 15) If not, then He died in vain. When He cried out, ‘It is finished!’ He meant it. Believers have been ‘rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’ (Col 1:13, 14)

As long as we believe and live by the truth, he has no power to touch our lives any longer. The only power he has is the power we give him when we believe his lies and open ourselves to his influence. We are immune from his wicked schemes. So what does he do? He tries to trick us into believing that he still has the power to harm us. Peter and Paul’s answer to his lies? Stand! Stand! Stand in the truth! Don’t fall for his lies. Don’t believe what he insinuates. Resist him by submitting to God and standing firm in the faith.

It is true that our struggle is against principalities and powers, not human beings. They are the agents through which the devil works. It is true that the devil is always trying to destroy us, like a roaring lion on the prowl for prey but, as long as we are aware of what he is up to, and do not allow him to lure us into his ways, we have nothing to fear. We are protected by the power of God’s name. (John 17: 11)

But what about so called warfare against the devil in the world? Are we not supposed to engage the enemy on behalf of the lost? Yes, we are, but not in the way that it is being done. We must take our pattern from the New, not the Old Testament. It is not the so-called spiritual warfare prayers that rescue people from their wicked ways but the power of the truth.

The city of Ephesus is a case in point. When Paul went to Ephesus it was the seat of the worship of the many-breasted goddess Diana, or Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, of wild creatures and of birthing. She was called ‘great’ to distinguish her from all other lesser goddesses of the same name. She had the attributes of Ashteroth, the female counterpart of Baal.

How did Paul deal with Diana-worship? Did he lead prayer marches around the city? Did he hold prayer meetings to discern the identity of the principalities and powers over Ephesus and pray ‘powerful’ prayers to pull down strongholds? Did he pray at the gates of the city? No, he did none of these things. He preached Jesus. And the result? People turned to the Lord; they burnt their books on witchcraft; Diana lost her power and the silversmiths, led by Demetrius, lost their business and set off a riot against Paul.

Jesus told His disciples at Caesarea Philippi, the ‘red light district’ of Israel, where Pan was worshipped by people having sex with goats, that there where the devil’s practices were rife, He would build His church and not even hell itself would be able to withstand it. How would He do that? By placing His yoke, His way of understanding and applying God’s teachings, on the very people whose yoke was the yoke of Satan.

Come on, people of God. Let’s get real. Let the Bible teach you, not those who have invented their own theories and now consider themselves experts. We do not need to be taught how to do spiritual warfare. Every time we obey the word of God and live by the truth, we defeat the devil. Every time we share the message of Jesus and someone turns to the Lord, he loses another battle.

If we spent as much time sharing our faith with others by our lives and lips instead of learning how to do spiritual warfare and engaging in these futile activities, the kingdom of God would be advanced more powerfully than it is right now.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.