2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I am led by the Spirit to go on discussing the details we are given in the Scriptures of God’s plan for us. In yesterday’s message, we saw how Christ was qualified to be the perfect sin-sacrifice for us, because 1) He was born of a virgin, and thus didn’t inherit the original sin from Adam [MT 1: 18], and 2) He never gave in to the temptation to sin offered by Satan [MT 4: 1-11]. We know that Satan never had any power over Him. In a later message, I will write more about the significance of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness, but for now suffice it to say that every effort that Satan made to cause Christ to sin didn’t work. For now, let’s look at some very revealing citations that give us insight into God’s plan.
To begin, we know that Jesus was aware that the reason God sent Him was to carry out His plan to save mankind. JN 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life.” JN 3: 33-36, “But whoever accepts His message confirms by this that God is truthful. The One Whom God has sent speaks God’s words, because God give Him the fullness of His Spirit. The Father loves His Son and has put everything in His power. Whoever belies in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God’s punishment.” Later when Christ took His message to the Samaritan women and He is dealing with His disciples, He reveals His purpose in JN 4: 31-34. “In the meantime the disciples were begging Jesus, ‘Teacher, have something to eat!’ But He answered, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’ So the disciples started asking among themselves, ‘Could somebody have brought Him food?’ ‘My food,’ Jesus said to them, ‘is to obey the will of the One Who sent Me and to finish the work He gave Me to do.’” Of course, the disciples had no idea what Christ was referring to at the time, but the Lord knew. We see this again in LK 18: 31-34 when Christ refers a third time to His impending death. “Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ‘Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of Him, insult Him, and spit on Him. They will whip Him and kill Him, but three days later he will rise to life.’ But the disciples did not understand any of these things; the meaning of the worlds was hidden from the, and they did not know what Jesus was talking about.”
This knowledge of His mission on earth was not shared only with the disciples. JN 12: 27-33 shows us how Christ shared it with crowds listening to Him too. “’Now my heart is troubled-and what shall I say? Shall I say, ‘Father, do not let this hour come upon Me’? but that is why I came-so that I might go through this hour of suffering. Father, bring Glory to Your name!’ Then a voice spoke from heaven, ‘I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again.’ the crowd standing there heard the voice, and some of them said it was thunder, while others said, ‘An angel spoke to Him!’ But Jesus said to them, ‘I was not for My sake that this voice spoke, but for yours. Now is the time for this world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me’ (In saying this He indicated the kind of death He was going to suffer).” Through John’s words in JN 14: 6, 9, and 11, Christ’s identity as God’s Son with God’s power and authority can’t be mistaken. “Jesus answered him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by Me…[and to Phillip, He says] Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father…Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.’”
When we examine what Satan does, we see absolutely no connection to the Father. Satan operates as his own boss, relying on his own attitudes which translate to evil action. His followers all do the same thing. He has completely disconnected himself from God’s wisdom and perspective. Any followers he has do the same. On the other hand, read the words in Christ says in JN 16: 32-33 and the beginning of the prayer for His disciples which follows in JN 17: 1-5 to see just how different His approach is. “’The time is coming, and is already here, when all of you will be scatter, each one to his own home, and I will be left all alone. But I am not really alone, because the Father is with Me. I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to Me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!’ After Jesus finished saying this, He looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come. Give glory to You. For You gave Him authority over all mankind, so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave Him. And eternal life means to know You, the only true God, to know Jesus Christ, Whom You sent. I have shown Your glory on earth; I have finished the work You gave Me to do. Father! Give Me glory in Your presence no, the same glory I had with You before the world was made.’” Our faith in Christ lets us know that He tells only the truth. That is why His own words reveal Who He is, from where He came, and the truth of His part in God’s plan. Can there be anything more important to each of us in deciding whether we will place our trust in Him and obey His commands?
PRAYER: O Lord, through King Solomon, You have given us some words to help us put perspective on Who You are and ultimately Who the Son is by understanding how the OT foreshadows the NT. PR 16: 1, “We may make our plans, but God has the last word.” PR 16: 6, “Be loyal and faithful, and God will forgive your sin. Have reverence for the Lord and nothing evil will happen to you.” PR 17: 3, “Gold and sliver are tested by fire, and a person’s heart is tested by the Lord.” Dearest Lord, David’s words in PS 8: 4-8 were originally written about man, but because of the connection between the OT and NT, they can be applied to the Son of Man as well. “What is man, that you think of him; mere man, that You care for him? Yet You made him inferior only to Yourself; You crowned Him with glory and honor. You appointed him ruler over everything You made; You place him over all creation: sheep and cattle, and the wild animals too; the birds and the fish and the creatures in the seas.” When the Day comes that Christ wrests dominion over earth from Satan once and for all, and we believe it will come, everything that David said long ago in this psalm will surely apply to Him. We need only read Isaiah’s words in IS 6: 9 and 11: 1-9 to see the truth of that. And so, Dearest Abba, we repeat the words David said from the depths of our hearts, words from PS 8: 9, “O Lord our God, Your greatness is seen in all the world!” We come before You today to confess our sins and to in profound humility offer You our worship, adoration, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. Your presence in our lives is our greatest blessing. We love You and yield our lives to Your leadership and to serving You with joyful hearts. In Christ, amen.
In tomorrow’s message we will look at the significance to God’s plan of His own people not recognizing Who their Messiah is at the time of His physical death. There are some great lessons for us today in the citations which reveal this part of God’s plan. In the meanwhile, we each need to realize that if our Deity didn’t love His children, there would be no plan for their redemption, no great sacrifice made, and no continual presence and availability of Him in our lives. We are truly blessed by the Lord Who loves each of us so very much. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn