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Learning To Be A Son – Chapter One – Sonship God’s Original Design

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LEARNING TO BE A SON

CHAPTER ONE

Sonship – God’s Original Design

God’s dream was to create a family, sons and daughters who would resemble Him and be one with Him and who would be His vice-regents to rule over the earth. His plan was that all people would be His children. Even when Adam fell and was driven from God’s presence in disgrace, he was still God’s son, just as the prodigal in Jesus’ story remained the son of the father even when he rebelled and left home.

The father in the story did not disown him. He waited for his erring son to return and welcomed him home with joy because his lost son had been found. No matter how far God’s human family runs from Him, we can never be “unborn” because, as the offspring of Adam, whom Luke described as “the son of God”; (Luke 3:38), we are all sons and daughters of God.

Paul acknowledged this by quoting a Greek poet in Acts 17: 28 – We are all His offspring.

The older son was equally “lost”, not because he ran away but because he was estranged from the father by having a slave-mentality. Like the Pharisees who despised “sinners”, the older son refused to rejoice when his brother returned home because he was more concerned about his brother’s behaviour than his standing as a son.

God had reasons for creating the human race. Apart from His desire to give His love to a family, He had to sort out an issue with Satan. God created the angelic host to be “sons of God’, but Lucifer, the highest of the angelic beings who became Satan, had designs on God’s throne. He was evicted from God’s presence and thrown down upon the earth. It was his plan to entice the human race away from love and loyalty to the Father to exert his rule over the earth through them.

Through the nation of Israel, it was God’s intention to reveal His true nature to the entire human race and to prepare them to receive His Messiah who would redeem humanity from slavery to the devil and restore and reinstate them into the family of God. Israel failed to fulfil its mission, but God always preserved a faithful remnant through whom He would send His Son.

Through judgement and discipline God dealt with Israel’s waywardness. He never gave up on them because Israel was His firstborn “son”. From the beginning He had planned and promised that He would send His Messiah to rescue them from bondage to sin.

But God’s promises to Israel extended beyond the boundaries of one nation. God’s love was for the whole world. His promises were made to the Gentiles as well. Not only did He call Israel His son; Egypt and Assyria, symbolic of the worst of Israel’s enemies, were to be included in the promise of blessing (Isa. 19: 24-25).

Can it be, then, that God has included the whole world, even those who reject Him and worship false gods, in His family? The Scripture concludes that all are potentially the sons of God, sons by birth and relationship but estranged from God through sin, rebellion and unbelief. Those who have received Jesus and believed on His name have been given the right to become children of God experientially (John 1:12), but the door is open for everyone to take their rightful place as His children through His mercy and forgiveness in Christ.

Through Jesus He set up His rescue plan so that those who are at enmity with Him may be reconciled through Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. Those who refuse His offer of mercy must accept the consequences of their choice, but it is their choice, not God’s that they face eternal judgment and destruction instead of the love of God’s eternal family.

 

A Divine Partnership

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A DIVINE PARTNERSHIP

‘And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.’

After the Lord had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word with the signs that accompanied it. (Mark 16: 17-20)

That was a lot to swallow for eleven men who had just emerged from the most traumatic time of their lives. No grief could have compared with the grief of losing their Master in such an unexpected and violent manner. Oh, He has warned them it was coming alright – more than once – but they had refused to take Him seriously. When it happened, they were devastated and traumatised into numbness and unbelief.

Then, on top of that, He rose from the dead, reversing their emotions and overwhelming them with joy with as much shock as the grief that had hit them like a freight train when He died. They could hardly keep up with the events of the forty days after He came back to them. Perhaps they thought that He would stay with them this time because death could no longer affect Him but no, He came and went with such unexpectedness that they were left bewildered and even more alone than before His death.

But there was a progression in His appearances and instructions. He was conditioning them for a major shift in both their understanding and experience. Just as He had promised, He would finally withdraw His physical presence from them forever but He would not leave them fatherless. Although there is no record of the Spirit’s coming in Mark, (he left that for Luke to tell in the sequel to his gospel), what followed Jesus’ ascension was eloquent testimony to something far more supernatural than just their proclamation about His death and resurrection.

How else can we explain the things that accompanied their preaching? Miracles just don’t happen unless God is actively confirming His promises to them and working with them in a divine/human partnership which has one goal in view, to authenticate their story with supernatural confirmation. But there had to be a bridge between the natural and the supernatural – faith!

Who were the “those who believe”? It could refer to one of two groups of people or to both; those who believe and are baptised whom Jesus said would be saved, or those who believe and do all the things He said they would do. The one would follow the other.

Saved? What does that mean? Saved from what? In our modern-day thinking and preaching, we imply that we are saved from hell. Is that what Jesus meant? Salvation is far more than a rescue plan from hell. Life, from the Biblical point of view, is a journey, like Israel’s migration from Egypt to the Promised Land. God has given directions for the way to keep us from getting lost in the wilderness – His Word. If we stay on the path by obeying His instructions, we will reach our destination which Jesus said is the Father.

Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ (John 14:5-6)

Salvation is, in its simplest definition returning to God’s way so that we can reach our destination. God has placed landmarks on our journey, opportunities to imitate our Master so that we can become like Him in being merciful and generous to those who cross our path. Salvation, then in the journey, the process by which, through the Holy Spirit we are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus.

This includes both the opportunities to bring healing to others and God’s protection from the deadly intentions of the devil. The Holy Spirit in us is Jesus’ personal presence, His “other self”, not to give us spiritual “goose bumps” but to get the job done. We will encounter obstacles on our journey – situations which could harm us and prevent us from continuing and reaching our goal. Our confidence in our divine “partner” will see us through and enable us to demonstrate the reality of God’s kingdom here and now, just as Jesus did during His time on earth as a both a Jewish rabbi and the Son of God.

If we really get it, this is not big deal. We are not here to show how gifted we are, or to elevated ourselves with titles instead of getting on with the job. Like Jesus, we are here to serve and to lay down our lives for the sake of others. Recognition and accolades are not the incentive or the purpose but getting the job done by showing how real God’s ways are by cooperating with the Holy Spirit in showing the world who God the Father really is.

That takes confidence in Jesus to make good on everything He promised.

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.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Watch this space. My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master, will soon be on the bookshelves.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

Dead And Alive

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DEAD AND ALIVE

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet. He pleaded earnestly with Him, ‘My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her and she will be healed and live.’ (Mark 5: 21-23).

Jairus – who was he? One of the synagogue rulers, according to Mark. He was an important man in the community, one of the religious ones. What was his attitude towards Jesus? Was he like the other religious leaders – knew all the answers and had no room in his thinking for what Jesus brought? He, no doubt, taught the children who came to school at the synagogue. He drilled them in the ABC of the Torah. Was he as arrogant as the rest, rejecting Jesus and His compassion in favour of obeying rules?

Something happened to change everything. His only child, a twelve-year-old girl became deathly sick. All his religion and his scruples went out the window. He had no answer for this crisis, but he had seen and heard the effects of Jesus’ presence in the village. People he knew who had chronic conditions and were not permitted in the synagogue, arrived on the Sabbath, healed, whole and beaming with joy.

Jesus! His name rippled around the community and He happened to be in town! Jairus just had to get to Him before his daughter died. He rushed after the crowd, pushed his way through the jostling mob and fell at Jesus’ feet, breathless, sobbing and pleading for a hearing. In spite of the noise and the turmoil around Him, Jesus bent down to listen.

Then something happened – an interruption that sent Jairus into an agony of impatience . . .

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said. ‘Why bother the teacher any more?’ overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’ He did not let anyone follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly (Mark 5: 35-38).

The interruption delayed Jesus. Jairus was in an agony of impatience. If He didn’t get to his house immediately it would be too late. “Come on, Jesus. Hurry up! Don’t you realise this is urgent?” Then he saw the contingent from his home and he knew. She was dead. His heart broke. He was shattered. Too late!

Jesus heard the news but seemed unperturbed. With a quiet word of encouragement, “Don’t be afraid, Jairus. Just trust me,” He followed the people to Jairus’ home. What a carry-on met Him there. Wailing and crying enough to wake the dead!

He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.’ But they laughed at Him. (Mark, 5: 39).

That was a sudden change of mood. Crying because the child was dead and then laughing at Jesus because they thought He didn’t know what He was talking about. Professional mourners – that’s what they were – hired to weep and wail when someone died. Jesus was irritated with them. What was the point of all the noise? It would not bring the dead back to life. Perhaps it was their way of “sitting shiva” – mourning with the bereaved parents.

After He put them all out, He took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with Him, and went to where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum!’ (which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up).

Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave them strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat (Mark 5: 40b-43).

Why the secrecy? How were they to keep quiet about what happened when their dead child appeared at the door? Everyone would demand to know how this miracle happened. What were they supposed to say/ “No, she wasn’t dead, only asleep or in a come!” Who would believe them?

There are some interesting intricacies to this story which I shall explain tomorrow.

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.

 

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

 

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

 

Check out my new blogsite at www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

Living Stones

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LIVING STONES

As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-5).

Peter’s short letter is a treasure chest of spiritual jewels. How amazing that it was written by a relatively uneducated ex-fisherman!

The first thing this says to me is that it was the Holy Spirit, not Peter’s level of intelligence, that gave him understanding of the truths about the God-man he lived and walked with for three and a half years. Jesus promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would lead them into all truth. What an encouragement for ordinary believers that we can receive revealed truth from God without the need for superior education or intelligence!

Theologians do not have the monopoly on understanding God’s word – in fact sometimes their ability to reason, rather than the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, leads them and us into confusion.

From the day of Pentecost onwards, Peter recognised Jesus in the Old Testament Scriptures. His quote from Isaiah 28:16 comes in the middle of a prophecy against Ephraim – the northern kingdom of Israel which was in perpetual rebellion against God. Like the nations of which David wrote in Psalm 2, Ephraim had thrown off God’s yoke. They refused to obey Him, choosing idols in His place and living the ungodly lives of the pagans around them.

God’s word to the nations who rejected His rule (Psa. 2) was the same word to His own people who had similarly scoffed at Him and gone their own way:

To the nations David wrote:

He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain’ (Psalm 2:5-6).

To His own people God said:

‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic’ (Isaiah 28:16).

And so Peter quoted:

For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame’ (1 Peter 2: 6).

God has only one answer for rebellious nations, rebellious children and His own obedient children – Jesus, the Messiah. He is the cornerstone of His temple built of living stones.

In ancient building practices, the cornerstone was the principal stone placed at the corner of the edifice. The cornerstone was usually one of the largest, the most solid and the most carefully constructed of any in the edifice. Jesus described Himself as the Cornerstone that the church would be built upon, a unified body of believers, both Jew and Gentile. (http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-Christ-cornerstone.html)

To believers, Jesus is the precious stone that holds the temple together. Everything we do as Christ’s body is based on Him.

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. . . (1 Peter 2: 7a).

No so to the unbeliever. To them He is the stone over which they stumble and who will crush them on the Day of Judgement. To the believer He is the Rock on which they can depend. He holds everything together and, through Him we are built into a temple in which God dwells through His Spirit. To the unbeliever He is the terrifying Rock of Judgment.

But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ and ‘A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for (1 Peter 2: 7b-8).

Our union with Jesus as individuals guarantees our place in the temple of God, the place He has chosen for His dwelling forever. No longer does He live in a temple built of stone. That was only a picture of His intention to make His people His permanent home. His temple, built of living stones, is the place where He is the centre and where He is honoured and worshipped perpetually by those who love Him.

Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. ‘They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and will be their God. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ (Revelation 21:1-4).

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.

 

The Picture On The Box

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THE PICTURE ON THE BOX

“Against hope, Abraham in hope believed, and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised. That is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:18-22.

Faith, hope, love – three words that are often linked together in the Bible. Paul has already defined faith – “calling into being things that are not.” Love is not clearly defined in Scripture, but could be something like this – “meeting the needs of others at our own expense.” But hope?

According to Paul, faith and hope are closely linked together. It is because of our hope that we believe what God has promised. Biblical “hope” is very different from worldly hope which expresses both desire and uncertainty; desire because it is what we want to happen, but uncertainty because we have no solid ground for hoping that it will happen.

Biblical hope, on the other hand is based on what God has promised – sort of like the picture on the box. If you enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles, you’ll understand what I mean. You buy the puzzle because you like the picture. Then you find a suitable place to build it, spread out the pieces and begin to put them together. From time to time you study the picture to make sure that you are following it correctly because you want the end result will look exactly like the picture on the box.

That is the idea of hope. God has made a promise; you keep that promise in mind as you begin to pray, trust God and thank Him for the fulfilment of His Word. Hope is the picture in your imagination of what God has said He will do. Then you watch as God begins to put the pieces together to build the “puzzle”. At first it doesn’t look anything like the completed picture, but faith keeps seeing the picture and trusting God for the outcome.

Hope does not focus on the impossibility of present circumstances. Abraham was fully aware of his and Sarah’s age and the unassailable reality that it was impossible, humanly speaking, for them to have a child. Fact is fact! Sarah was long past menopause, No amount of wishing or willing could change that! Even though people lived much longer in their day, they were both past the age of childbearing. That was it!

Abraham could have given up hope on that fact alone. Instead he set his mind on what God had said rather than what was. That is hope.

From a hymn of Charles Wesley (1707-1789) came these words:

“Faith, mighty faith the promise sees,                                                                                                And looks to that alone;                                                                                                                      Laughs at impossibilities,                                                                                                                    And cries, “It shall be done.”

Hope sees, not circumstances but the ability and reliability of the one who has promised. If a human being had made the same promise to Abraham as God had made, he would have laughed at him. Of course that person had no power to follow through on his promise. But God? The crux of the matter?

“…being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised.”

Why was Abraham “fully persuaded”? Because his faith had grown through believing and obeying God in the process of time. How does faith grow? By following the Lord one step at a time and watching Him work in response to our obedience. Faith grows when it is anchored to our hope as we keep the picture of the puzzle firmly in our imagination.

Acknowledgement

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