Tag Archives: equality with God

A PARTNER’S PATTERN

Bible Study, ,

Philippians 2:6-8 NLT
[6] “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

How humbling to read the story of Jesus in Paul’s summary! How insightful of Paul to present the life of Jesus from heaven to earth as a ladder down which He stepped through the process of humbling Himself to the greatest humiliation at the hands of his tormentors… down from His glorious position… down from heaven’s privileges…down from His place of honour and power, down, down, down, far lower than any other human had ever stepped. The lower He stepped, the greater His humiliation…down to becoming human…a slave…nothing! A criminal, a prisoner, a corpse!

This, said Paul, is the template we must use as the measure that shapes our attitudes in this life. No matter how much we humble ourselves, no matter how much we are humiliated for His sake, we will never reach the depths to which Jesus sank for us.

What was it that led Jesus to choose this descent from heaven’s glory to death on a Roman torture stake? What motivated Him to accept this path above His place in glory?

How often we hear, read, that it was Jesus’ love for us, lost humans, that caused Him to leave heaven and come down to die for us! Perhaps it was but, far greater, if we dare compare, was His love for the Father that kept Him steadfast and on track, from the throne to the cross.

This love for the Father, and His determined purpose to preserve the unity between them, dominates His story in John’s gospel. John, above any other gospel writer, records in Scripture something of the intensity of Jesus’ love for God. Partnership, unity, submission, obedience, delight and pleasure, nurtured, fostered, and bolstered by hours in prayer when others slept, are all entwined in His love for the Father. Not one shred of His own will or personal desires interfered with His absolute commitment to the Father’s will, down to the shedding of His last drop of blood. Even the agony He anticipated as He faced the horror of the cross could not deter Him from His obedience to God.

How can anyone match this template of love and oneness with the Father, yet Paul calls Jesus’ followers to imitate Him. Although it may never be possible for anyone to come close to such a commitment, Paul holds this example before us as the ideal. The writer to the Hebrews urges us to do the same.

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.”

If Jesus did this for us for love of the Father, we too are called to serve one another for love of Jesus. Peter had to face this test…

John 21:15 NLT
[15]”After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.”

We may never be called to suffer as Jesus did but, even in the routine of our lives, He calls us to do everything for love of Him. He has sheep to feed and lambs to tend and we are His hands and hearts that do it for Him.

If we hold His template before us and carry out our duties for His sake, we will also hear His commendation at the end of time…

Matthew 25:34-40 NLT
[34]“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. [35] For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. [36] I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ [37] “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? [38] Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? [39] When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ [40] “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ “

The secret is simple…we must fasten our inner eyes in Him and trust in the promise of God’s grace to do what, in our own strength, we cannot do. This is the partnership that drives all partnerships, being so joined to Him that we live and move as one.

We must not dread or avoid suffering of whatever kind we are called to endure and treat it as our enemy. We must embrace it as a friend and partner with it as our ally because it’s through suffering that we are refined, purified, and made holy for our eternity with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in their eternal realm. Together with the Holy Spirit’s ministry in us through the Word, we learn to win the war against the flesh, our greatest, most powerful enemy, through our tests and trials, and…our love for Jesus provides our passion to overcome.

OPTIONS! 2

Christian Life, ,

Let’s first examine a different way of understanding life. Despite what we experience with our senses, in the world there is an unseen realm, in which two kingdoms operate. The Bible calls them, “the dominion of darkness,” ruled by a powerful spirit being who tried to dethrone God and take over, and “the kingdom of light” which is God’s realm and government in the universe.

Isaiah 14:12-14 NLT
[12] “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. [13] For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. [14] I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ “

The kingdom of light is the kingdom of God. This is the realm of God’s government over all creation. After His victory over Satan, sin, and death, God the Father gave Jesus, the Son, authority over the universe and the title, Lord.

Philippians 2:6-11 NLT
[6] “Though he was God, he (Jesus) did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. [9] Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This was the final nail in Satan’s coffin. Satan has always tried to deceive people into believqing that he is Lord. He wants to be in charge. So he tells them what to do but hides the consequences until it’s too late.

In God’s kingdom, light rules. Nothing is hidden in darkness. God has told us everything we need to know about sin, righteousness, and judgment.

1 John 1:5 NLT
[5] “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.”

“Light” and truth are the same thing. God is light…truth, so everything He says is true. When Jesus came to earth, He was God’s Word in human form. He came to be the light for everyone born into the world.

John 1:4-5 NLT
[4] “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

What is John saying? He is telling us that Jesus came to reveal the truth about God and us. By doing so He showed us by His words and actions, who is really in charge. He defeated the devil in the wilderness, He drove out demons who tormented people, He rose from the dead to reveal His power over the devil’s final weapon, death. He promised to raise those who believe in him to eternal life.

John 11:25-26 NLT
[25] “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. [26] Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

Now, the point is, everyone born into the world is dead to God’s rule in their lives. Sin has cut them off from God because they are born with Adam’s nature to sin.

Ephesians 2:1-2 NLT
[1] “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. [2] You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.”

The problem is that, among all the choices people have to make, life in the dominion of darkness offers only the options available in that kingdom.

Let me illustrate. If you live, say, in America, you cannot choose to do what is available only in South Africa. You cannot visit a game park in America to see African wildlife in the wild. You will see bears and wolves, but not lions and elephants.

So, life in the dominion of darkness offers you only those choices that are part of Satan’s rule, ways that will damage you and eventually kill you, i.e., cut you off from the source of life and light forever. Your options are limited to doing wrong.

However, when God transfers you into His kingdom through faith in Jesus, you come under His government, in this life. He gives you the opportunity to choose to do what is right as well as to do what is wrong.

Why didn’t He remove the option of making wrong choices now, in this life? It would save us so much trouble if we weren’t obliged to choose between right and wrong.

That’s the point! God does not want robots. He wants people to love and worship Him by choice, not because we have no other option. So, He left the old sinful nature in us to train us for His eternal kingdom by choosing to serve Him and others instead of indulging ourselves. He also gave us a new nature, alongside the old, His own nature of righteousness and holiness…and He gave us His Word and His Spirit to help us overcome the old sin nature we always followed. By learning to do the right thing, we confirm the righteousness Jesus gave us by His perfect life. We no longer believe Satan’s lies and do what he says because…

Satan is not Lord; Jesus is Lord.
Satan said Adam would not die if he disobeyed God. He did die and so do we all.
Satan says sin is nice and don’t worry about the consequences. So much for that lie!
Satan says that to be happy we must scratch every itch. Lies again! Happiness is not about self-satisfaction. It’s about serving God and others first.

And so we can go on. Now we have two sets of options…believe the Lord or believe the devil. If we believe the Lord and do life His way, the outcome is peace in our hearts…real, lasting peace. He has our backs and we can call on Him at any time, anywhere for both the wisdom and the strength to make the right choices.

Philippians 4:6-7NLT
[6] “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
[7] Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

This option has a solid foundation in truth.

Hebrews 10:20-22 NLT
[20] “By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. [21] And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, [22] let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

Follow the devil’s options and you’re on your own and the consequences are real.

Can you see, then, that all the diagnoses the clever boffins make about what they call “disorders” but are really the consequences of sin, and their treatment are useless? Tranquillisers will never forgive sin. Only the blood of Jesus, through faith in Him, will cleanse our guilty consciences and give us peace.
That takes care, permanently, of the many “disorders” doctors treat which, in the end, only bring in the money!!!

JESUS AND HIS INTIMATE COMPANION

Christian Life, ,

JESUS AND HIS INTIMATE COMPANION

What was Jesus’ relationship to the Holy Spirit? As unique as His relationship was with the Father, so unique was His relationship with the Holy Spirit. In the Trinity they were equal in essence and in glory. He was one with the Spirit as He was with the Father, but in His earthly life and in His mission, He was completely submitted to the Spirit.

At no time during His earthly life did Jesus ever become less that God. He was, and will always be, the God-man. However, He chose to veil His glory and power as God and live as a true man through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death – even death on a cross. (Phil. 2: 6-8)

The Holy Spirit was God’s agent to energise and empower Jesus for His life on earth as a human being and as the Son. Everything pivoted around His relationship to the Father as a perfect son. Where Adam failed, Jesus had to succeed because He was to undo what Adam did by a life of obedience to the Father and by His sacrificial death as our substitute. Whether His work was accepted by the Father or not depended entirely on His qualification to be a perfect Son and an atoning sacrifice by His perfect obedience.

The Holy Spirit was His hands-on companion from His conception to His resurrection. Without the same submission and obedience to the Spirit as to the Father, His life and work would never accomplish what God sent Him to do. We would assume, then, that Jesus loved the Holy Spirit as fervently and passionately as He loved the Father. He did everything in tandem with the Holy Spirit. Just as He and the Father were one, so were He and the Holy Spirit one – so that He could say.

I will ask the Father and He will send you another Counsellor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth . . . I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. (John 14: 16-17a; 18)

Jesus spent the last hours before His passion preparing His disciples for the momentous event when the Holy Spirit would come to replace Him as His “other Comforter”. How did He know what He was like, and what He would do? Had He not lived in intimate union with Him from birth?

Jesus was a man, as human and vulnerable as the rest of humanity. He needed the power of God to live His life in obedience to the Father as surely as we, fallen human beings do. He was like us in every way. The Spirit was the Father’s representative to empower Him to do what the Father commanded Him to do. He had to rely on the Holy Spirit to energise Him just as we do. He had to learn to be a Son, though not by trial and error, as we do. He could not afford to live in error or unbelief because He would have been instantly disqualified from being a perfect lamb. He learned obedience through obeying in the midst of suffering.

Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him . . . (Heb. 5: 8-9)

The Holy Spirit came upon Him at His baptism in visible form. He was His close companion throughout His public ministry, pouring life and power through Him to accomplish God’s will. Jesus submitted to His leading no matter what the Spirit wanted Him to do. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. He followed where He was led and did what He was led to do without questioning or wavering.

Just as we can do nothing without Jesus (John 15: 5) so Jesus could do nothing without the Spirit. He acknowledged Him as the source of His power. The Pharisees accused Him of driving out demons by the power of Beelzebub. This was ludicrous! How could a kingdom divided against itself hope to stand?

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand . . . If I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matt. 12: 25; 27-28)

He disclosed the source of His power. It could not possibly be the power of the devil because the devil was a murderer from the beginning (John 8: 44). He was no restorer. His role was to do as much damage to people as he could, not to get rid of the very demons who were wreaking havoc in people’s lives.

We can only conclude, then, that the love and the unity Jesus experienced as the second person of the Trinity and that He enjoyed before His incarnation did not change and was not interrupted during His earthly interlude. Because of His love for the Father and the Holy Spirit, He willingly subordinated Himself to the will of the Father and to the authority of the Holy Spirit over Him as He navigated His journey from His conception to His resurrection.

Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the Holy Spirit’s role in His life as the Ebed Yahweh, the Servant of the Lord, perfectly expressed Jesus’ attitude to the other members of the Godhead.

. . . And He will delight in the fear of the Lord. (Isa. 11: 3a)

As the Son of God, Jesus lived His earthly human life not under obligation to, but in the delight of the fear of the Lord. It was the motivation for His obedience – because He was passionate about the Father. He expressed His reverence for and awe of the Father and the Holy Spirit by implicit and unquestioning obedience, and willing submission to their will and leading.

His testimony about Himself was absolutely and unquestionably true:

I and the Father are one.

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