2017-05-05
Good Morning Dear Ones,
In this segment of our “Knowing God” messages on “The Church,” I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to examine how Christ fulfills prophecy. EPH 1: 22-23 reveals Christ’s position. “And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills everything in every way.” This wide-sweeping statement could only properly describe Christ. We who believe genuinely are His, and we make up the church. David, inspired by God, writes, in PS 8: 5-6, “You [the Father] made Him [Christ] a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned Him with glory and honor. You made Him Ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under His feet.” This statement is repeated in HE 2: 6-9 and gives further revelation on His importance. “In putting everything under Him, God left nothing that is not subject to Him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to Him. But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” Wow! This is so personal to each of us who believes, because Jesus gave His physical life, so that we, (the church-His body) can be saved, eternally forgiven, and justified before the Father.
If we look into the connections between the Psalm above (in the OT), we will see it foreshadows what we read in EPH (in the NT). EPH 2: 14-15, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death, He might destroy him who holds the power of death---that is the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” My daughter was a hospital nurse, and one day she told me there is a huge difference between a believer and one who has no faith in the face of the death of a loved one. She commented that those without faith grieve with a feeling of hopelessness and fright at the thought of what just happened. On the other hand, believers understand that the soul of the departed goes to heaven and that one day the soul and body will reunite there. They know that their loved one is now in the company of the Lord Jesus and all believers who departed for heaven before him. Furthermore, they know that with strong, genuine faith in Jesus, they themselves will one day be reunited with their loved one and the Lord. She is herself a wonderful believer and her words reminded me to feel that physical death is a kind of “promotion” to a better place. This is part of what it means when it is said that Christ conquered death; “death has been swallowed up in victory” [1COR 15: 54b]. Be sure to consult HE 10: 13-14 for a deeper understanding. When I counsel young people about to get married, I usually refer them to EPH 5: 21-25. While I won’t write out the whole citation here, I will say this: It tells wives to submit to their husbands, while at the same time telling husbands to love your wives just as Christ loves the church and gave His life for it. This is crucial to an understanding of Christ’s approach to loving the church and how the married couple need to learn to interact with each other. Remember that this is the same Lord, the Good Shepherd Who “knows His sheep and will lay down His life for them” [JN 10: 14-15].
IS 2: 4-5 gives a deeper meaning to believers in Jesus Christ. “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” No one but the Lord Jesus could fulfill this prophecy. Let’s look into more prophecies Isaiah gives us.
IS 9: 5, “For unto us a child is born, a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And, He will be called “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace.” IS 11: 1-2, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.” Let me close with urging you to read IS 53: 1-12. These unspeakably poignant and beautiful words could only refer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your mighty throne in humble reverence for You. You are an awesome God, the only One Who fulfills the prophecies about You in the Bible, the only One Who can face all the challenges mankind does and remain perfect and totally obedient to the Father. In our imperfections and with our many weaknesses we come to You today to acknowledge that You alone could give Your physical life for the salvation of those who believe or will believe in You. We humans are many variations of cultures, appearance, habit patterns, and languages. However, we are all one in the body of Christ. We don’t want to waste a drop of the blood You shed for us. We ask that You remain with us and continue to guide us, opening our heads, hearts, and hands to the Holy Spirit. We offer You our genuine thanks and praise for the many blessings You bring to our lives. In the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’ve been led to write a summary of things learned from EPH and to go on to issues involving a believer’s relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s my honor to mention how faith in Jesus Christ fills my life at this point. From sheer spiritual and emotional emptiness, my Lord has, inch by inch as I was ready for it, taken me to the opposite. He would agree that I was a hard nut to crack. I didn’t make it easy for Him. While not proud of this, it is necessary in such an introspective moment to be honest. There were times when I foolishly blamed Him for some problem I had or I asked if He even existed. There were times when I shook my fist at him in utter exasperation, because I had suffered a disappointment or things didn’t go my way. Over the years, I have learned that His way is best for me and that He might be closing one door in my life, only to be opening another, more important one. This happened when I had to withdraw for singing in a choir for ten years, so that I could learn the skills I needed, to influence more people than ever for Him. History repeats itself, and these issues are not applicable only to me. I can testify that in the times I obeyed the Lord, the fulfillment I now have in my faith was never better. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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