Scripture reading:
(31) The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.
(32) He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no-one accepts his testimony. (33) The man who has accepted it has certified that god is truthful. (34) For the one whom god has sent speaks the words of god, for God gives the spirit without limit. (35) The father loves the son, and has placed everything in his hands. (36) Whoever believes in the son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.
Observations:
(1) Jesus is not like us.
It is helpful in understanding the above passage to remember from the previous passage that it is John the Baptist who is speaking. In the previous passage, we saw how John saw Jesus as far above himself. John had to remind his own disciples that he was not the main event of the Christian message – that honor belonged to Jesus.
In this passage, John explains a little about why Jesus is so special, and why he himself was incomparable to Jesus.
Simply put, Jesus is from heaven, whereas John (like us) was from earth. As god’s son, Jesus had been given God’s holy spirit in full. God had given Jesus everything he had – completely divine power, divine character – everything.
John the Baptist was a man from earth. God gave John some spiritual strength and insight – enough to fulfill his mission on earth.
But John did was not given everything that god has and is – Jesus was.
In a similar manner, whilst I believe that we are given sufficient spiritual strength and insight to fulfill our mission as god has allocated for us, we are not given all of god’s power and strength.
Jesus, and only Jesus, is given the holy spirit in full, and that is because he and only he came down from heaven.
(2) God has love within himself.
“The father loves the son.” (v35)
Consider this sentence for a moment.
Here, we see a critical aspect of the nature of our god - he has love within himself.
In order to understand this, it is helpful to understand the trinity concept. The trinity concept is one which is not always easy to understand or explain, and I will freely concede that it is not a topic which I understand particularly well myself.
But what it boils down to is this – our god is a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional god.
Our god operates as one full and complete unit, but there are three different dimensions to this unit – God the father, Jesus the son and the holy spirit.
Now each different dimension serves its own distinct purpose and function within the unit of god. But none operates in isolation. Instead, all three operate together as one unit in absolutely perfect and complete harmony and congruency.
Now then, when we see that god ‘loves’ Jesus, we see that one part of the trilogy of god loves another.
What this means is that god, by his nature, has perfect and complete love within himself. Unlike us, he does not need to receive love from external sources. No, rather, he has love fully contained within him. It’s inbuilt into him, it’s who he is.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Thank you, that you are not like us.
We come from the earth, we were born in earthly bodies and are of this world. But you did not come from earth, you came from the riches and glory and splendor of heaven. We, with our earthly bodies, heart and mindset, simply cannot comprehend or put into words the extent of your greatness and love. Nor can we contemplate just what it would have taken for you to leave heaven for awhile and take the form of a lowly man on earth.
But we must be ever thankful for what you did, and the great sacrifice you made because of your love for us.
And lord, in love, we worship your character. As we have seen, you are the source of love and you have love within yourself, by your nature. We can only look at your nature and praise your wondrous glory.
In your great name we pray and worship.
Amen.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Understanding your place before god (John 3-22:30)
Scripture reading:
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. 24(This was before John was put in prison.) 25An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew[a] over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him."
27To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ[b] but am sent ahead of him.' 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must become less.
Observations:
Back in 2000, I was best man at a friend’s wedding.
I was truly honored to have been given this role, and it was an absolute pleasure to play a small part in their special day.
But as much as I was given an honorary role, the day was not about me, nor was I in any way the main focus. My role and the source of my joy, was to share in the occasion – not to steal glory for myself.
That was where my joy was, and I had to be (and was) content with my role.
I believe that every Christian has been allocated a role to play in the advancement of god’s great kingdom, and John’s example here demonstrates two important points about the attitudes with which each of us should adopt in our approach toward the fulfillment of our roles.
(1) Jesus is the central focus of the Christian faith.
It was Jesus who died for our sins, not us.
Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, not us.
He is the reason for our salvation. He must get the glory, not us.
Our role in the advancement of the kingdom of heaven is not to seek glory for ourselves. Nothing which we do in terms of building up the kingdom of heaven should be done for the purpose of seeking to glorify ourselves.
Instead, our goal should be to honor and glorify Jesus, our savior. We must seek to lead people to Jesus, not simply impress them with our theological knowledge or some other aspect of our religious life.
Our goal should be to see others worshiping and glorifying Jesus, not us.
(2) We must fulfill our roles with contentment and joy.
Whatever specific roles and tasks we are given in the advancement of the kingdom, we should fulfill those roles in a joyful manner.
In the case of John the Baptist, his main role was to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. When Jesus came, John’s mission had been accomplished and his joy was complete.
We, too, should serve the lord with a joyous and thankful attitude, and we should truly rejoice when we see the results of our service to the kingdom. When someone comes to Jesus the first time, our hearts should be filled with joy. When we see others praising the lord, we should overflow with happiness. When we hear stories of god turning people’s lives around, we should be filled with gladness and satisfaction.
Prayer:
Lord, let us never forget, that Christ and Christ only is cornerstone of our faith.
Forgive us, lord, for when we try to seek glory for ourselves. Forgive us for when our hearts are not truly set upon you or the advancement of your kingdom.
Set our hearts only on you, lord.
Lord, mould our hearts to have an attitude of joyful servitude. Let us never think of service to your kingdom as a chore – although sometimes it will not be easy. Let us always see service to your kingdom as our mission, and let us rejoice when we see the results of your kingdom being built up in heaven.
In your great name, Amen.
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. 24(This was before John was put in prison.) 25An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew[a] over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him."
27To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ[b] but am sent ahead of him.' 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must become less.
Observations:
Back in 2000, I was best man at a friend’s wedding.
I was truly honored to have been given this role, and it was an absolute pleasure to play a small part in their special day.
But as much as I was given an honorary role, the day was not about me, nor was I in any way the main focus. My role and the source of my joy, was to share in the occasion – not to steal glory for myself.
That was where my joy was, and I had to be (and was) content with my role.
I believe that every Christian has been allocated a role to play in the advancement of god’s great kingdom, and John’s example here demonstrates two important points about the attitudes with which each of us should adopt in our approach toward the fulfillment of our roles.
(1) Jesus is the central focus of the Christian faith.
It was Jesus who died for our sins, not us.
Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, not us.
He is the reason for our salvation. He must get the glory, not us.
Our role in the advancement of the kingdom of heaven is not to seek glory for ourselves. Nothing which we do in terms of building up the kingdom of heaven should be done for the purpose of seeking to glorify ourselves.
Instead, our goal should be to honor and glorify Jesus, our savior. We must seek to lead people to Jesus, not simply impress them with our theological knowledge or some other aspect of our religious life.
Our goal should be to see others worshiping and glorifying Jesus, not us.
(2) We must fulfill our roles with contentment and joy.
Whatever specific roles and tasks we are given in the advancement of the kingdom, we should fulfill those roles in a joyful manner.
In the case of John the Baptist, his main role was to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. When Jesus came, John’s mission had been accomplished and his joy was complete.
We, too, should serve the lord with a joyous and thankful attitude, and we should truly rejoice when we see the results of our service to the kingdom. When someone comes to Jesus the first time, our hearts should be filled with joy. When we see others praising the lord, we should overflow with happiness. When we hear stories of god turning people’s lives around, we should be filled with gladness and satisfaction.
Prayer:
Lord, let us never forget, that Christ and Christ only is cornerstone of our faith.
Forgive us, lord, for when we try to seek glory for ourselves. Forgive us for when our hearts are not truly set upon you or the advancement of your kingdom.
Set our hearts only on you, lord.
Lord, mould our hearts to have an attitude of joyful servitude. Let us never think of service to your kingdom as a chore – although sometimes it will not be easy. Let us always see service to your kingdom as our mission, and let us rejoice when we see the results of your kingdom being built up in heaven.
In your great name, Amen.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Light Shinning in the darkness (John 3-19:21)
Scripture reading:
(19) This is the verdict – light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light, because there deeds were evil.
(20) Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds may be exposed. (21) But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
Observations:
(1) “This is the verdict” (v19)
At first, this passage may appear to contradict what Jesus said in verse 17 (refer preceding study).
In that verse, Jesus specifically stated that his first coming was not intended as a means of judgment (it was intended as a means of calling those who believe in him to salvation). So why then is Jesus now using the term ‘verdict,’ a term commonly associated with judgments?
What does Jesus mean – this is the verdict?
The way I interpret it, Jesus is making a discernment based upon how men have responded to him to date.
Let’s consider the context of the passage. Jesus is now in Jerusalem. Up until this point, we have seen a variety of responses when people have been confronted with Jesus, the light of the world. (refer next point).
Some have responded positively, recognizing him as the messiah and savior. These included John the Baptist as well as the disciples.
Others, including many Jews in Jerusalem, have not, refusing to accept the authority of Jesus (refer John 2:12-25). In the preceding passage, Jesus refers to such people as being ‘condemned already,’ by virtue of their refusal to acknowledge him as god’s son and their savior.
I believe the ‘verdict’ is not, in my opinion a final judgment, but rather a discernment of Jesus based upon responses to him to date.
(2) “Light” (v19)
It is interesting to see the description which Jesus assigns to himself in this passage.
So far in the book of John, we have seen Jesus refer to himself as ‘the son of man” (v13) and implicitly, but not explicitly, as god’s son (v16,17). Now, in this passage, we see Jesus identify himself simply as ‘light,’ (v19).
So what does this description of ‘light’ say about the identity and character of Jesus? What does the term ‘light’ actually mean in this context. Let me give a few thoughts.
· The source of life.
In Science terms, the sun, the soul source of light on the earth, is the source of all life. Without the sun, no forms of life could exist.
In scriptural terms, Jesus is the light of the world. He is the author and giver of all life, and without him, no life can exist, physically or spiritually.
Jesus is life.
· Goodness.
Light is sometimes contrasted with darkness in a similar manner to the way that goodness is contrasted to badness. Light, is taken to mean ‘goodness’ in such contrasts, whereas ‘dark’ signifies badness.
Jesus is the light. Jesus is who is good. Indeed, Jesus is great beyond all possible comprehension.
· Transparency.
Darkness is a place where things can be kept in the shadows, where issues which people do not want to deal with can be hidden, where no one need see your dirty laundry.
Light, in contrast, is a place which is transparent. There is no place for hiding in the light – everything is on show. The pure holiness, righteousness, sinlessness of Christ was laid out in plain sight for everyone to see throughout his time on earth.
He kept nothing hidden. He was completely transparent.
(3) Come out into the light.
Honesty is the best policy – at least that’s what we are told, and it is a wise saying.
Yet personally, this is not always so easy to follow, and a tempting response to having done the wrong thing is to cover our own tracks any way that we can – hoping that no one finds out.
I think this tendency produces a barrier toward receiving salvation through Christ. In order to accept god’s peace offering on the cross, we first have to come to the point where we acknowledge that, at least some point in our lives, all of us have sinned against the lord.
(19) This is the verdict – light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light, because there deeds were evil.
(20) Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds may be exposed. (21) But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
Observations:
(1) “This is the verdict” (v19)
At first, this passage may appear to contradict what Jesus said in verse 17 (refer preceding study).
In that verse, Jesus specifically stated that his first coming was not intended as a means of judgment (it was intended as a means of calling those who believe in him to salvation). So why then is Jesus now using the term ‘verdict,’ a term commonly associated with judgments?
What does Jesus mean – this is the verdict?
The way I interpret it, Jesus is making a discernment based upon how men have responded to him to date.
Let’s consider the context of the passage. Jesus is now in Jerusalem. Up until this point, we have seen a variety of responses when people have been confronted with Jesus, the light of the world. (refer next point).
Some have responded positively, recognizing him as the messiah and savior. These included John the Baptist as well as the disciples.
Others, including many Jews in Jerusalem, have not, refusing to accept the authority of Jesus (refer John 2:12-25). In the preceding passage, Jesus refers to such people as being ‘condemned already,’ by virtue of their refusal to acknowledge him as god’s son and their savior.
I believe the ‘verdict’ is not, in my opinion a final judgment, but rather a discernment of Jesus based upon responses to him to date.
(2) “Light” (v19)
It is interesting to see the description which Jesus assigns to himself in this passage.
So far in the book of John, we have seen Jesus refer to himself as ‘the son of man” (v13) and implicitly, but not explicitly, as god’s son (v16,17). Now, in this passage, we see Jesus identify himself simply as ‘light,’ (v19).
So what does this description of ‘light’ say about the identity and character of Jesus? What does the term ‘light’ actually mean in this context. Let me give a few thoughts.
· The source of life.
In Science terms, the sun, the soul source of light on the earth, is the source of all life. Without the sun, no forms of life could exist.
In scriptural terms, Jesus is the light of the world. He is the author and giver of all life, and without him, no life can exist, physically or spiritually.
Jesus is life.
· Goodness.
Light is sometimes contrasted with darkness in a similar manner to the way that goodness is contrasted to badness. Light, is taken to mean ‘goodness’ in such contrasts, whereas ‘dark’ signifies badness.
Jesus is the light. Jesus is who is good. Indeed, Jesus is great beyond all possible comprehension.
· Transparency.
Darkness is a place where things can be kept in the shadows, where issues which people do not want to deal with can be hidden, where no one need see your dirty laundry.
Light, in contrast, is a place which is transparent. There is no place for hiding in the light – everything is on show. The pure holiness, righteousness, sinlessness of Christ was laid out in plain sight for everyone to see throughout his time on earth.
He kept nothing hidden. He was completely transparent.
(3) Come out into the light.
Honesty is the best policy – at least that’s what we are told, and it is a wise saying.
Yet personally, this is not always so easy to follow, and a tempting response to having done the wrong thing is to cover our own tracks any way that we can – hoping that no one finds out.
I think this tendency produces a barrier toward receiving salvation through Christ. In order to accept god’s peace offering on the cross, we first have to come to the point where we acknowledge that, at least some point in our lives, all of us have sinned against the lord.
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