Mark 4:13
13 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
Jesus was saying that this parable of the sower is the key to understanding all His parables. The interpretation that Jesus gave of this parable provides a model for interpreting all His parables.
Mark 4:14
14 The farmer sows the word.
Jesus wasn't teaching on farming. He was using some truths about farming to illustrate how God's Word works.
It's interesting that He used a natural example like a seed. This is because people can't cheat on sowing and reaping. If He had used a social example like school, people beat the system. They don't pay proper attention in class, but they can cram for the test and pass. They never learned the material. They just figured out a way to cheat. People can't cram for a harvest. They can't wait until the night before a harvest and sow their seeds. This natural system is governed by the unchangeable laws of seed, TIME, and harvest.
This parable illustrates some of the unchangeable laws of how God's Word works. The whole world operates from seeds. There would be no animal, plant, or human life without seeds. Likewise, the whole kingdom of God is dependent on the Word of God. God's Word is to His kingdom the way the world is totally dependent on seeds.
Mark 4:15
15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
Mark 4:14 makes it clear that the seed represents the Word of God. The ground represents people's hearts. There are four different types, or conditions, of hearts represented in this parable.
The first type of heart is one that has no desire toward God's Word. The Word never gets inside of the heart but lays on the surface where it's easily stolen away by the devil.
This same parable was recorded in Mt 13:3-23. In Mt 13:19, Jesus said that Satan has the ability to steal this Word from those who understand it not. Therefore, understanding is the first step in getting God's Word down on the inside of us. This is why we teach children on a level they can understand. Without understanding, Satan has complete access to steal the truths of God's Word from us.
The only one of these four types of ground, or hearts, where Satan has free access to steal away the Word is this first one where there is no understanding. Therefore, understanding is the first step in getting the Word of God to germinate in us.
Mark 4:16
16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
The second type of heart condition described in this parable is one where a person understood the Word and was excited about it, but that person didn't take the time to get God's Word rooted inside. Therefore, the Word did germinate, but it couldn't produce fruit because it didn't have a good root system.
Roots develop underground, out of sight. Most people want the visible results of fruit, but they don't want to develop the root system necessary to produce and sustain the fruit. A seed that germinates in shallow earth will put all its energies into growth above ground, because there is nowhere else for its growth to go. So, at first, it looks better than the seed that is putting its effort into building a good root system. But when the sun starts drying out the plant, the root system isn't there to sustain it, and it will wither and die.
Most people don't like the root-building process. They want to experience the benefits of the Word that are visible in their lives, but they don't want to just spend time alone with God in His Word, letting that Word get rooted and established in them. So, there can be visible results in a person's life who only listens to someone else minister the Word. But when things get tough, only the Word that has personal roots in our hearts will bear fruit.
As a plant must establish a strong root system to sustain its growth, so we must become rooted and grounded in God's Word (Eph 3:17; Col 1:23, and 2:7). Too much attention on visible growth will cause us to become impatient and not take the time to become firmly established in the truths of God's Word. This will always result in fruitlessness.
A seed planted in shallow soil will germinate and grow faster than a seed planted in deep soil. The seed in deep soil will put all of its energy toward the roots first, while the seed in shallow soil has no choice but to put its effort into the growth of the plant above the ground. The plant in shallow soil will look like it is far ahead of the other seed for a while, but that will not last. It soon withers and dies, while the seed with roots grows and brings forth fruit.
Likewise, some Christians get very excited over the promises of God's Word but make the mistake of not getting firmly established in those truths before they "jump out on a limb" with them. This kind of people withers away when the heat is on. We can't live off of someone else's commitment to the Word; we must have root in ourselves (Mr 4:17).
Was living in Chicago in the early 1970’s and in 72 they started to build the Sears Tower. Worked for a bank just three blocks from the Sears Tower and a few of us used to sit across the street on some steps and eat our lunches and watch them build this magnificent building. At this time they were still working on the foundation which took about nine months. One day there was a group of men who were sitting by us who were debating why the foundation was taking so long. They were speculating that maybe there were not enough laborers, union problems, inspection problems, financial problems. Actually it was none of those things, you see the taller the building the deeper the foundation and the longer it takes. The other aspect is that if you’re an eighth of an inch off on the foundation by the time you reach six stories the building would be three and half inches off. The foundation must be perfect and that is why it takes time. If you’ve reached a certain level in your life and things are not fitting it is because you built your life on an imperfect foundation. The only perfect foundation is Jesus Christ.
Notice that afflictions, persecutions, and tribulations are instruments of the devil and are used to stop God's Word from bearing fruit in our lives. They are not good things that God brings our way to improve us. They are instruments of Satan. These things are designed to take our attention off of God's Word, thereby stopping the Word from taking root in us. It's like the runners who spend all of their time in the grandstands arguing with the hecklers over the way they're running the race. They may win an argument, but they will lose the race. We must not let anything distract us from meditating on God's Word day and night, for then we will make our way prosperous and then we will have good success (Jos 1:8). By consistently putting God's Word in first place in every area of our lives, we will let that Word become so rooted in us that nothing can get it out.
Time in God’s kingdom becomes our ally, it matters to our growth process. If one thinks in the flesh that you are running out of time, than that thinking and way of life is earth like. You may be saying to yourself “I’m running out of time”, and start taking short cuts in your progress. All you end up doing is circumventing the Lords hand in your life. Time with God is on your side.
Mark 4:17
17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
Afflictions and persecutions aren't blessings from God. They come against us from the devil in an attempt to steal away the Word of God. Notice that they come for the Word's sake. Persecution isn't personal like we think. It's all about the Word.
If you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps the loudest got hit. That's the way it is with persecution. Those who persecute us the most are the ones that are under the most conviction. It really isn't about us but about the conviction of the Holy Spirit, which they are resisting. Look at Saul on the road to Damascus (Ac 9).
Mark 4:18
18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
Notice that the seed was scattered everywhere. This was not the type of planting where furrows were made and the seeds evenly spaced. This was sowing where the seeds were just thrown everywhere. Likewise, God's Word is supposed to be given to everyone. We don't just pick a few here and there to share the Word with. We need to give it to everyone. It's true that not everyone will receive, but that's not our business. Our job is to sow everywhere. It's up to the individuals whether or not they receive. We shouldn't make that decision for them. We need to give them that choice. There is always one great aspect to a parable even though there may be many lessons that are taught to us. The great aspect in this parable is Grace, that seed is sown to all forms of ground no matter if they returned fruit or not, the seed is sown indiscriminately. The seed is not bigoted, and neither should we. Grace given to anyone is not determined how good or bad a person is, or nationality, color of skin, how educated one is, how rich or poor, or what stature in society that one exists, Grace is given to all of us.
Mark 4:19
19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
The point being made by this third type of ground is that we only have so much attention. If we want fruitfulness, we need to focus on the Word and not other things that can occupy us. Just as the earth only has so many nutrients and weeds take nourishment that could be going to the desired plant, so all the things of this world will steal energy from us that could be going into the Word of God.
Notice that these aren't necessarily bad things. We have to be occupied with the affairs of this life to a degree. But there has to be a proper balance among job, family, leisure, and the Word. We don't strike this balance once and are through with it. This is something that constantly varies based on our seasons of life. The only way to maintain the proper balance is to maintain a vibrant relationship with the Lord. He will reveal to us any time we begin to be too focused on something other than Him (Php 3:15).
Flew into Newark Liberty Airport one day and took a limo to where I was going. We pulled up to a light and there was a bebopper on the corner with a big old honking radio on his shoulder with music up high and dancing to the beat. It came to my mind about who owned who, did he own the radio or did the radio own him. You see if he owned the radio than why did he have to take it wherever he went? A lot of times the things we own tend to own us.
Mark 4:20
20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
The strength of the laser lies in its focus. If the focus is diffused, the laser ceases to be powerful. Likewise, the power of the Christian is amplified by a single focus (Php 3:13). The way to destroy a man's vision is to give him two.
What made this good ground? Did it have more than the other types of ground? No! It had less. It had less weeds and fewer rocks to drain the nutrients. So for our hearts to be good ground doesn't take more. It takes less--less occupation with the things of the world and more focus on the Lord. So Less is More. Even among those who were fruitful, there were varying degrees of fruitfulness. But this wasn't dictated by the person who sowed the Word. It's all about the condition of the soil it is sown in.
God's Word is an incorruptible seed (1Pe 1:23) and has the same potential in every situation. It's not the Word that is the variable, but rather the condition of the heart that is receiving it.
This should really encourage you. We may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer and not have all the talents and abilities that others have. But if fruitfulness is all about having less, than we can do that. Thank You, Jesus.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Violence is the Physical Step of Angry Rhetoric
If you live by the sword you will die from the sword.
As we look back to Tucson Arizona and the rhetoric that has been discussed, we all took a step backwards and contemplated what it all meant. Lives were taken, was there more than just one person to blame. Had it been the climate of discontent and the angry rhetoric that has been tossed about in the past few decades? Is all this a precursor to worse days ahead? We should reread Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from the Birmingham Jail. This should be required reading by everyone once a year. It is rich with ideas of non-violence and using rhetoric that lifts up and not tears down. It is full of profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life.
Broadly speaking, non-violence has meant not relying on arms and weapons of struggle. It has meant direct participation of masses in protest, rather than reliance on indirect methods which frequently do not involve masses in action at all. This letter defends positions vigorously and with conviction, but with civility. Scripture tells us to always be ready to make a defense for the hope we have in Christ, which leads to the convictions we carry and yet to “do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:15-16 ESV).
That is why our nation more than ever needs the spirit contained in Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” That is why more than ever, we should reread it. We Christians should take another cue from Dr. King: “Love even for our enemies,” he said in a sermon, “is the key to the solution of problems of our world.” To speak the truth in love may entail, as it did for Dr. King, long-suffering as well as courage on our part. But love does not retaliate. Real love follows the example of Jesus, who “when He was reviled, He did not revile in return, when He suffered, He did not threaten,” but entrusted Himself to His heavenly Father (1 Peter 2:23 ESV).
Violence as a way of achieving justice is impractical and immoral, but also mindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Our nation has frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones. Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: it seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. As Dr. King said “the ends don’t justify the means, for the means represents the seed and the ends represent the tree.”
Dr. King has been the moral guide of our time, if there was a prophet ever sent to our nation he was the man. But where did Dr. King learn this from, did he just snatch this out of thin air? Dr. King was also a Baptist Minister, he had studied, learned, and preached from the Bible. I believe it was his encounter with God that made him into what he eventually became. He felt after his release from the Birmingham jail that God had knocked on his door, which God was showing that non-violence and the direction that he was taking was a path that God wanted him to take. Dr. King describes this encounter in the book “A testament of hope: the essential writings and speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.”.
Even though the Bible does not directly say to not use violence, it does so indirectly. In the sermon on the mount in Matthew chapter five Jesus says “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Contrary to many people's understanding, the Law wasn't given so that we could keep it and earn relationship with God.
The Law was given to show us that it was impossible to have relationship with God by our good acts. The Law showed us how sinful we were so that we would quit trying to earn God's favor and call out to Him for mercy.
In these verses, Jesus was simply amplifying the impact of the Law by going beyond actions to the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Old Testament law had said not to do these things. Here, Jesus was saying that if we have embraced them in our hearts, we are guilty of the same transgression as if we had done them. God looks on the heart and not just the actions. In Matthew chapter twelve Jesus further reveals for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. That is where we are with rhetoric, it starts in the heart and will eventually work its way to our actions. Our actions will follow our heart.
In Luke chapter nine Jesus directs His disciples to go out and preach the kingdom of God, heal the sick, and bless whatever home they stay in. Jesus told them not to take a staff, bag, bread, money, or extra coat. He was trying to show the disciples how to trust and rely on God and that He would take care of all their needs. In Luke chapter ten Jesus then appoints seventy two others to go out and do the same. He directed them the same way He told the twelve disciples. When the seventy two returned they announced how powerful that God worked through them that even evil fell like lightning from heaven.
If we depend on God, He will provide all that we need. In Second Corinthians chapter ten, the apostle Paul says “Though we walk in the flesh, we don’t war in the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. But mighty through God.” In Ephesians chapter six Paul iterates “the war is not against flesh and blood”, if we are coming against the flesh it is the wrong war. Non-violence fits perfectly here.
Jesus continued to show the disciples in a very real manner all that He was trying to teach them, and in this way He showed them the path to non-violence. In Luke chapter twenty two it looks like Jesus was giving the disciples a contradiction in what He told them in chapter nine and ten of Luke. “Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered. He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment." The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords." "That is enough," he replied.”
This was not a contradiction but Jesus showing the disciples in a very real manner that the consequences of following Jesus, depending upon Him, that all their needs were going to be taken care of. Using the world’s ways and using violence was going to cause more violence to come. In Matthew twenty six the guards, Judas, and a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people had come for Jesus and violence was taken up. “With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear”. "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
Jesus was teaching that violence begets violence. In contrast Jesus who used no violence, showed that depending upon Him that everything was going to be taken care of. All of this starts in our hearts. The vitriolic rhetoric that has been used the last few decades has invaded every aspect of our life here in these United States. This rhetoric has laid seeds that we are experiencing today and seeing the fruit of the tree in our government, schools, churches, and in all aspects of our lives. We need to quit planting those seeds, it starts in our hearts. Non-violence does not seek to humiliate or defeat but to win friendship and understanding. The aftermath of violence is bitterness, anger and in the end death, the aftermath of non-violence is reconciliation, peace and in the end redemption.
As we look back to Tucson Arizona and the rhetoric that has been discussed, we all took a step backwards and contemplated what it all meant. Lives were taken, was there more than just one person to blame. Had it been the climate of discontent and the angry rhetoric that has been tossed about in the past few decades? Is all this a precursor to worse days ahead? We should reread Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from the Birmingham Jail. This should be required reading by everyone once a year. It is rich with ideas of non-violence and using rhetoric that lifts up and not tears down. It is full of profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life.
Broadly speaking, non-violence has meant not relying on arms and weapons of struggle. It has meant direct participation of masses in protest, rather than reliance on indirect methods which frequently do not involve masses in action at all. This letter defends positions vigorously and with conviction, but with civility. Scripture tells us to always be ready to make a defense for the hope we have in Christ, which leads to the convictions we carry and yet to “do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:15-16 ESV).
That is why our nation more than ever needs the spirit contained in Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” That is why more than ever, we should reread it. We Christians should take another cue from Dr. King: “Love even for our enemies,” he said in a sermon, “is the key to the solution of problems of our world.” To speak the truth in love may entail, as it did for Dr. King, long-suffering as well as courage on our part. But love does not retaliate. Real love follows the example of Jesus, who “when He was reviled, He did not revile in return, when He suffered, He did not threaten,” but entrusted Himself to His heavenly Father (1 Peter 2:23 ESV).
Violence as a way of achieving justice is impractical and immoral, but also mindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Our nation has frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones. Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: it seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. As Dr. King said “the ends don’t justify the means, for the means represents the seed and the ends represent the tree.”
Dr. King has been the moral guide of our time, if there was a prophet ever sent to our nation he was the man. But where did Dr. King learn this from, did he just snatch this out of thin air? Dr. King was also a Baptist Minister, he had studied, learned, and preached from the Bible. I believe it was his encounter with God that made him into what he eventually became. He felt after his release from the Birmingham jail that God had knocked on his door, which God was showing that non-violence and the direction that he was taking was a path that God wanted him to take. Dr. King describes this encounter in the book “A testament of hope: the essential writings and speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.”.
Even though the Bible does not directly say to not use violence, it does so indirectly. In the sermon on the mount in Matthew chapter five Jesus says “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Contrary to many people's understanding, the Law wasn't given so that we could keep it and earn relationship with God.
The Law was given to show us that it was impossible to have relationship with God by our good acts. The Law showed us how sinful we were so that we would quit trying to earn God's favor and call out to Him for mercy.
In these verses, Jesus was simply amplifying the impact of the Law by going beyond actions to the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Old Testament law had said not to do these things. Here, Jesus was saying that if we have embraced them in our hearts, we are guilty of the same transgression as if we had done them. God looks on the heart and not just the actions. In Matthew chapter twelve Jesus further reveals for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. That is where we are with rhetoric, it starts in the heart and will eventually work its way to our actions. Our actions will follow our heart.
In Luke chapter nine Jesus directs His disciples to go out and preach the kingdom of God, heal the sick, and bless whatever home they stay in. Jesus told them not to take a staff, bag, bread, money, or extra coat. He was trying to show the disciples how to trust and rely on God and that He would take care of all their needs. In Luke chapter ten Jesus then appoints seventy two others to go out and do the same. He directed them the same way He told the twelve disciples. When the seventy two returned they announced how powerful that God worked through them that even evil fell like lightning from heaven.
If we depend on God, He will provide all that we need. In Second Corinthians chapter ten, the apostle Paul says “Though we walk in the flesh, we don’t war in the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. But mighty through God.” In Ephesians chapter six Paul iterates “the war is not against flesh and blood”, if we are coming against the flesh it is the wrong war. Non-violence fits perfectly here.
Jesus continued to show the disciples in a very real manner all that He was trying to teach them, and in this way He showed them the path to non-violence. In Luke chapter twenty two it looks like Jesus was giving the disciples a contradiction in what He told them in chapter nine and ten of Luke. “Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered. He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment." The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords." "That is enough," he replied.”
This was not a contradiction but Jesus showing the disciples in a very real manner that the consequences of following Jesus, depending upon Him, that all their needs were going to be taken care of. Using the world’s ways and using violence was going to cause more violence to come. In Matthew twenty six the guards, Judas, and a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people had come for Jesus and violence was taken up. “With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear”. "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
Jesus was teaching that violence begets violence. In contrast Jesus who used no violence, showed that depending upon Him that everything was going to be taken care of. All of this starts in our hearts. The vitriolic rhetoric that has been used the last few decades has invaded every aspect of our life here in these United States. This rhetoric has laid seeds that we are experiencing today and seeing the fruit of the tree in our government, schools, churches, and in all aspects of our lives. We need to quit planting those seeds, it starts in our hearts. Non-violence does not seek to humiliate or defeat but to win friendship and understanding. The aftermath of violence is bitterness, anger and in the end death, the aftermath of non-violence is reconciliation, peace and in the end redemption.
The Importance of Words
Psalm 138:2
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
(KJV)
Think of how powerful the name of the Lord is. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord (Php 2:10-11). Yet God has exalted His Word above His name. A man's name is only as good as his word. This gives us tremendous comfort that the Word of the Lord is sure (Psalm 19).
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The word "quick" means "to live." The Greek word ENERGES from which "powerful" was translated means "active, operative." The NIV translates this as, "For the word of God is living and active."
The Greek word TOMOTEROS from which "sharper" was translated means "comparative of a derivative of the primary temo (to cut; more comprehensive or decisive than 2875, as if by a single stroke; whereas that implies repeated blows, like hacking); more keen." This word is stressing the ability of God's Word to cut through the hardest heart in a single stroke.
Only the extreme sharpness of God's Word can separate between soul and spirit. Our souls and spirits comprise our hearts, and they function as one. Only under the intense scrutiny of the Word of God can we distinguish between them.
The relationship between soul and spirit is like the relationship between joints and marrow. The marrow of the bone is where blood (the life-giving force) is produced. But all the bones of the body are joined together by joints. Without joints, our bodies would not be able to function the way they do.
Likewise, our born-again spirits are the life-giving parts of us. But our spirits are connected to our bodies by our souls. The life that is in our born-again spirits cannot reach our bodies except through our souls. Therefore, the renewing of our minds is essential to release the life that is in our spirits.
John 1:1 (KJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 (KJV)
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the Word of God. The Greek word that was used here is "LOGOS" denoting "the expression of thought--not the mere name of an object" (W.E. Vine). Jesus totally expressed the thoughts of the Father and was manifest in a physical form so all the world could read them. Heb 1:3 says Jesus was "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person."
It is also appropriate for Jesus to be called the Word of God because the physical body of Jesus was produced by God's spoken word, not the usual means of a physical relationship between man and woman (Lu 1:38).
The Greek word used here for God is "THEOS" and denotes deity as an object of worship. This word is used 1,338 times in the New Covenant. Only 13 times is the word used to express anything but eternal deity. Here, the word reveals Jesus as God in the flesh (Joh 1:14 and 1Ti 3:16). The Scripture attests to Jesus' divinity (Isa 9:6-7, Mt 1:23, and 1Jo 5:20). God the Father called Jesus God (Heb 1:8). Jesus forgave sins (Mr 2:5 and Lu 7:48), which is a power that God alone has (Mr 2:6-7). Jesus received worship (Mt 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, and 17), which is reserved for God alone (Mt 4:10 and Re 22:9). The term "Christ," which is used 569 times in the New Testament, further establishes the divinity of Jesus (Mt 16:16).
Words are important, it has made the heavens and the earth, society though says that sticks and stones may break your bones and names will never hurt you. Society is wrong, names do hurt, negative words tear down. Positive words help and build up.
Your words are important, God has made us in His image. Since God uses the word to accomplish History, so must we. It starts with your thoughts which turn into your words which turns into faith actions.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
The Irrelevancy of the Church
Colossians 3:1-2 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
It is my conviction that local churches hold the key to world evangelization. The early apostles, told to go and make disciples, instinctively went and planted churches where discipleship could take place in a community of love cared for by called and gifted elders. The promised out pouring of the Holy Spirit galvanized them into action. Soon they gained the reputation that they were turning the world upside down!
The world view of the average man or woman in the West has been radically transformed in the past century, making the modern mission field look very similar to the one which Paul and the early apostles encountered as they travelled among the nations. Christendom, with all its vague endorsement of Christian values, has gone. Secularism rules, some times urged on by aggressive atheism. The church has to rediscover its early zeal, power and gospel clarity. Local churches will need to be seen as relevant to this generation, providing genuine answers, not merely religious platitudes.
A fragmented society, characterized by individualism and loneliness, needs to discover churches in which groups of people have discovered genuine answers, know how to relate in love and trust, and have found God in terms that can be understood and embraced with joy.
Can God be known? Can He be experienced? Are there people on the planet who are genuinely experiencing Him? Few enquirers into Christianity anticipate that they will meet such people. They tend to regard us as merely religious types who have opted out from the real world and embraced a pre-set formula of rules and regulations. Most are unaware of churches filled with people who themselves were formerly unbelievers but who have encountered God, experienced the lavish out pouring of His Spirit and been built into loving communities.
The biblical marks of the church universally and its expressions locally are many (for example, the Word, sacraments, discipline, discipleship, mission/evangelism, love), but their overarching purpose is to reflect, or mirror, the glory of God to the cultures of the earth. Or, to put it another way, the purpose of the church is to serve as an outpost of Jesus’ kingdom that makes the invisible kingdom visible by the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit. The church belongs to God as his self-chosen means by which to serve and save the world through the gospel message to the glory of God.
Religious idolatry uses God for health, wealth, success, and the like. In this grotesque inversion of the gospel, God is used for our glory, as if not only are we supposed to worship ourselves, but God is also to be a worshiper of us. This kind of false gospel preaching is evident whenever Jesus is presented as the means by which an idolater can obtain his idol. Examples include Jesus being presented as the one who promises to make you rich, happy, healed, joyfully married, and parentally successful.
The trouble always begins with the erosion of confidence in the inerrancy, authority, sufficiency, and cross-cultural timelessness of Scripture. Once that dam is breached, there is no way to determine where the ensuing flood of error will surge. Still, for many younger people who comprise the next generation of Christianity, the early indicators are that we will see an ongoing increase of support for sex outside of marriage in all forms (gay, straight, and bisexual) as an acceptable Christian practice, with the endorsement of pastors who put cool before Christ. In the name of “love” and “community,” there is a trend away from preaching and practicing personal repentance of one’s own sin while only addressing institutional sin of others. This is what happens when we think too little of Scripture and too much of our own reason, as with Rob Bell's teachings.
People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
It is my conviction that local churches hold the key to world evangelization. The early apostles, told to go and make disciples, instinctively went and planted churches where discipleship could take place in a community of love cared for by called and gifted elders. The promised out pouring of the Holy Spirit galvanized them into action. Soon they gained the reputation that they were turning the world upside down!
The world view of the average man or woman in the West has been radically transformed in the past century, making the modern mission field look very similar to the one which Paul and the early apostles encountered as they travelled among the nations. Christendom, with all its vague endorsement of Christian values, has gone. Secularism rules, some times urged on by aggressive atheism. The church has to rediscover its early zeal, power and gospel clarity. Local churches will need to be seen as relevant to this generation, providing genuine answers, not merely religious platitudes.
A fragmented society, characterized by individualism and loneliness, needs to discover churches in which groups of people have discovered genuine answers, know how to relate in love and trust, and have found God in terms that can be understood and embraced with joy.
Can God be known? Can He be experienced? Are there people on the planet who are genuinely experiencing Him? Few enquirers into Christianity anticipate that they will meet such people. They tend to regard us as merely religious types who have opted out from the real world and embraced a pre-set formula of rules and regulations. Most are unaware of churches filled with people who themselves were formerly unbelievers but who have encountered God, experienced the lavish out pouring of His Spirit and been built into loving communities.
The biblical marks of the church universally and its expressions locally are many (for example, the Word, sacraments, discipline, discipleship, mission/evangelism, love), but their overarching purpose is to reflect, or mirror, the glory of God to the cultures of the earth. Or, to put it another way, the purpose of the church is to serve as an outpost of Jesus’ kingdom that makes the invisible kingdom visible by the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit. The church belongs to God as his self-chosen means by which to serve and save the world through the gospel message to the glory of God.
Religious idolatry uses God for health, wealth, success, and the like. In this grotesque inversion of the gospel, God is used for our glory, as if not only are we supposed to worship ourselves, but God is also to be a worshiper of us. This kind of false gospel preaching is evident whenever Jesus is presented as the means by which an idolater can obtain his idol. Examples include Jesus being presented as the one who promises to make you rich, happy, healed, joyfully married, and parentally successful.
The trouble always begins with the erosion of confidence in the inerrancy, authority, sufficiency, and cross-cultural timelessness of Scripture. Once that dam is breached, there is no way to determine where the ensuing flood of error will surge. Still, for many younger people who comprise the next generation of Christianity, the early indicators are that we will see an ongoing increase of support for sex outside of marriage in all forms (gay, straight, and bisexual) as an acceptable Christian practice, with the endorsement of pastors who put cool before Christ. In the name of “love” and “community,” there is a trend away from preaching and practicing personal repentance of one’s own sin while only addressing institutional sin of others. This is what happens when we think too little of Scripture and too much of our own reason, as with Rob Bell's teachings.
People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Are You in Trouble (Afflicted)?
James 5:13-16
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James spoke about the persecution of believers by the ungodly rich. He had admonished them to patiently endure this suffering. Now he is giving them practical ways to do that. If you are afflicted, pray. Don't pray against your persecutors but pray for them. Get into the presence of the Lord, and you will find fullness of joy and pleasures beyond your persecution (Ps 16:11).
If we are merry (Greek: cheerful), sing psalms. This is great instruction. And we should not just sing psalms only when we are cheerful, but we should sing psalms when we are discouraged to cheer ourselves up. A merry heart does good like a medicine (Pr 17:22).
They had doctors in James' day. Yet James didn't tell the believers to call for the doctor or those who practiced holistic medicine; he told them to call for the elders of the church and get prayer, and the prayer of faith would heal the sick. This is very contrary to the normal practice of the average church today. If believers in the typical church today asked their elders to pray for them, most elders of the church would ask them what the doctor says about their sickness or would send them to a doctor. This is not what this scripture is instructing us to do.
This is not to say that it's sin to go to a doctor. If it hadn't been for doctors, all the Christians would have died because they certainly haven't been trusting God for healing. But this is saying that the first line of defense against sickness is the prayer of faith. Believing God for our healing shouldn't be something we do as the last resort or only in combination with what the doctor can do. We ought to turn to the Lord first.
When asked, the elders of the church should anoint the sick with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over the sick person. As revealed in the next verse, if this is done in faith, the Lord will heal the sick and forgive any sin that may have occasioned the sickness.
The oil that we anoint the sick with is symbolic. It symbolized the power of the Holy Spirit. It had no healing power. The power to heal the sick is our faith in the finished work of Christ.
Prayer doesn't save the sick; it's the prayer of faith that saves the sick. Prayer without faith isn't true prayer.
The Greek word "SOZO," which was translated "save" here, is related to the same Greek word that was translated "salvation" hundreds of times in the N.T. (Mt 8:17). The fact that this verse substitutes "infirmities" and "sicknesses" for the words "sorrows" and "griefs" in Isa 53:4 makes it clear that when Isaiah said "with his stripes we are healed" (Isa 53:5), he was speaking of the physical healing of our bodies. Jesus provided for physical healing as well as forgiveness of sins. The very word "save" (Greek - "SOZO") is translated "made whole" in reference to physical healing in Mt 9:22, Mr 5:34, and Lu 8:48. Jas 5:15 says the prayer of faith shall save (Greek - "SOZO") the sick. Many scriptures mention the healing of our bodies in conjunction with the forgiveness of our sins (Ps 103:3, Isa 53:4-6, and 1Pe 2:24). Healing is a part of our salvation, just as much as the forgiveness of our sins. This shows that biblical salvation isn't limited to forgiveness of sins but includes physical healing.
The mention of forgiveness along with healing suggests that sins can be an inroad of sickness into our lives. Jesus made this same connection in ( Joh 5:14). Jesus showed that sin causes the tragedies that come into our lives. Although it isn't always our personal sins that bring these problems (Joh 9:1-3), the sin of someone is always at the root of the problem. (Example: Herod killed the infants (Mt 2:16). The infants and their parents didn't occasion this by anything that they did. It was the fear that raged in the heart of Herod that caused this mass murder.)
When it is our own personal sins that are involved, these "worse things" come upon us for two reasons. (1) It's the judgment of God upon sin (Le 26:15-16; De 28:61; Ps 66:18, 107:17-18; Isa 13:11, 59:2, 64:7; Ro 2:8, and 6:23), or (2) it is Satan and his forces freed to work in our lives because of sin (Pr 5:22; Joh 8:34, 10:10; Ro 6:16; 2Ti 2:26; 1Pe 5:8; and 2Pe 2:19). Problems, diseases, etc. are never God blessing us (De 28:1-14 contrasted with 28:15-68) or God's method of correction (Joh 15:3 and 2Ti 3:16).
As born-again, New Testament believers, we will not come under this punitive judgment of God (Na 1:2; Ro 5:9; 1Th 1:10, and 5:9). Jesus bore that judgment so we wouldn't have to (Isa 53:4-6, 11; Ro 5:8-10; 1Co 15:3; and Ga 3:13). Therefore, the reason sin is still damaging to us as New Testament believers is that it looses Satan to work in our lives (Ro 6:16).
Jas 5:15 makes a link between sin and sickness (Joh 5:14 as mentioned above). Now this verse is telling us how to disconnect that link. We confess our sins one to another. This isn't encouraging what some do when they confess to a priest. No man has any power to forgive our sins but God only (Mr 2:7 and Lu 5:21). Jesus is the only mediator between God and man (1Ti 2:5). This is just saying we need to humble ourselves and admit our faults and turn from them. This is what true repentance is. But those who refuse to humble themselves but persist in their sins block their own healing.
Are you in trouble, are you sick? Disconnect the link, pray, humble yourself by confessing and repenting (turning from sin to righteousness in Christ), and you shall be saved (healed).
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James spoke about the persecution of believers by the ungodly rich. He had admonished them to patiently endure this suffering. Now he is giving them practical ways to do that. If you are afflicted, pray. Don't pray against your persecutors but pray for them. Get into the presence of the Lord, and you will find fullness of joy and pleasures beyond your persecution (Ps 16:11).
If we are merry (Greek: cheerful), sing psalms. This is great instruction. And we should not just sing psalms only when we are cheerful, but we should sing psalms when we are discouraged to cheer ourselves up. A merry heart does good like a medicine (Pr 17:22).
They had doctors in James' day. Yet James didn't tell the believers to call for the doctor or those who practiced holistic medicine; he told them to call for the elders of the church and get prayer, and the prayer of faith would heal the sick. This is very contrary to the normal practice of the average church today. If believers in the typical church today asked their elders to pray for them, most elders of the church would ask them what the doctor says about their sickness or would send them to a doctor. This is not what this scripture is instructing us to do.
This is not to say that it's sin to go to a doctor. If it hadn't been for doctors, all the Christians would have died because they certainly haven't been trusting God for healing. But this is saying that the first line of defense against sickness is the prayer of faith. Believing God for our healing shouldn't be something we do as the last resort or only in combination with what the doctor can do. We ought to turn to the Lord first.
When asked, the elders of the church should anoint the sick with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over the sick person. As revealed in the next verse, if this is done in faith, the Lord will heal the sick and forgive any sin that may have occasioned the sickness.
The oil that we anoint the sick with is symbolic. It symbolized the power of the Holy Spirit. It had no healing power. The power to heal the sick is our faith in the finished work of Christ.
Prayer doesn't save the sick; it's the prayer of faith that saves the sick. Prayer without faith isn't true prayer.
The Greek word "SOZO," which was translated "save" here, is related to the same Greek word that was translated "salvation" hundreds of times in the N.T. (Mt 8:17). The fact that this verse substitutes "infirmities" and "sicknesses" for the words "sorrows" and "griefs" in Isa 53:4 makes it clear that when Isaiah said "with his stripes we are healed" (Isa 53:5), he was speaking of the physical healing of our bodies. Jesus provided for physical healing as well as forgiveness of sins. The very word "save" (Greek - "SOZO") is translated "made whole" in reference to physical healing in Mt 9:22, Mr 5:34, and Lu 8:48. Jas 5:15 says the prayer of faith shall save (Greek - "SOZO") the sick. Many scriptures mention the healing of our bodies in conjunction with the forgiveness of our sins (Ps 103:3, Isa 53:4-6, and 1Pe 2:24). Healing is a part of our salvation, just as much as the forgiveness of our sins. This shows that biblical salvation isn't limited to forgiveness of sins but includes physical healing.
The mention of forgiveness along with healing suggests that sins can be an inroad of sickness into our lives. Jesus made this same connection in ( Joh 5:14). Jesus showed that sin causes the tragedies that come into our lives. Although it isn't always our personal sins that bring these problems (Joh 9:1-3), the sin of someone is always at the root of the problem. (Example: Herod killed the infants (Mt 2:16). The infants and their parents didn't occasion this by anything that they did. It was the fear that raged in the heart of Herod that caused this mass murder.)
When it is our own personal sins that are involved, these "worse things" come upon us for two reasons. (1) It's the judgment of God upon sin (Le 26:15-16; De 28:61; Ps 66:18, 107:17-18; Isa 13:11, 59:2, 64:7; Ro 2:8, and 6:23), or (2) it is Satan and his forces freed to work in our lives because of sin (Pr 5:22; Joh 8:34, 10:10; Ro 6:16; 2Ti 2:26; 1Pe 5:8; and 2Pe 2:19). Problems, diseases, etc. are never God blessing us (De 28:1-14 contrasted with 28:15-68) or God's method of correction (Joh 15:3 and 2Ti 3:16).
As born-again, New Testament believers, we will not come under this punitive judgment of God (Na 1:2; Ro 5:9; 1Th 1:10, and 5:9). Jesus bore that judgment so we wouldn't have to (Isa 53:4-6, 11; Ro 5:8-10; 1Co 15:3; and Ga 3:13). Therefore, the reason sin is still damaging to us as New Testament believers is that it looses Satan to work in our lives (Ro 6:16).
Jas 5:15 makes a link between sin and sickness (Joh 5:14 as mentioned above). Now this verse is telling us how to disconnect that link. We confess our sins one to another. This isn't encouraging what some do when they confess to a priest. No man has any power to forgive our sins but God only (Mr 2:7 and Lu 5:21). Jesus is the only mediator between God and man (1Ti 2:5). This is just saying we need to humble ourselves and admit our faults and turn from them. This is what true repentance is. But those who refuse to humble themselves but persist in their sins block their own healing.
Are you in trouble, are you sick? Disconnect the link, pray, humble yourself by confessing and repenting (turning from sin to righteousness in Christ), and you shall be saved (healed).
Friday, April 29, 2011
Opposition to the Gospel
OPPOSITION TO THE GOSPEL
Matthew 10:34, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
MATTHEW 10:34-42
This statement seems like a contradiction to some prophecies concerning Jesus and some of Jesus' own statements concerning peace, as well as what was written of Him in the New Testament Epistles. However, the peace that Jesus purchased was peace between God and man. We have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). We are exhorted to take this peace and extend it to all men, but it is also made very clear that not all men will receive it.
Peace can only come when we relate to God on the basis of faith in what He did for us, instead of what we do for Him. A person who is thinking that he must perform up to some standard to be accepted by God will have no peace. That puts the burden of salvation on our shoulders, and we can't bear that load. We were incapable of living holy enough to please God before we were saved, and we are incapable of living holy enough to please God now that we are saved (Heb. 11:6). We were saved by faith, and we have to continue to walk with God by faith (Col. 2:6). Not understanding this has made many Christians, who love God, unable to enjoy the peace that was provided for them through faith in Jesus.
The Gospel will always produce opposition from those who don't receive it. This "sword of division," even among family members, is not God's will, nor is it God that causes it. But, it will inevitably come, and Jesus was simply preparing His disciples for that time. As much as we would like everyone to receive the good news, we must not think it is strange when even our loved ones don't receive it. Jesus was rejected by His own, and we will be also. We must remain faithful to continue preaching the Gospel, for there are others who will receive. Keep sharing the "Good News!"
Matthew 10:34, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
MATTHEW 10:34-42
This statement seems like a contradiction to some prophecies concerning Jesus and some of Jesus' own statements concerning peace, as well as what was written of Him in the New Testament Epistles. However, the peace that Jesus purchased was peace between God and man. We have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). We are exhorted to take this peace and extend it to all men, but it is also made very clear that not all men will receive it.
Peace can only come when we relate to God on the basis of faith in what He did for us, instead of what we do for Him. A person who is thinking that he must perform up to some standard to be accepted by God will have no peace. That puts the burden of salvation on our shoulders, and we can't bear that load. We were incapable of living holy enough to please God before we were saved, and we are incapable of living holy enough to please God now that we are saved (Heb. 11:6). We were saved by faith, and we have to continue to walk with God by faith (Col. 2:6). Not understanding this has made many Christians, who love God, unable to enjoy the peace that was provided for them through faith in Jesus.
The Gospel will always produce opposition from those who don't receive it. This "sword of division," even among family members, is not God's will, nor is it God that causes it. But, it will inevitably come, and Jesus was simply preparing His disciples for that time. As much as we would like everyone to receive the good news, we must not think it is strange when even our loved ones don't receive it. Jesus was rejected by His own, and we will be also. We must remain faithful to continue preaching the Gospel, for there are others who will receive. Keep sharing the "Good News!"
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
God's Word Above His Own Name
Ps 138:2
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
(KJV)
Think of how powerful the name of the Lord is. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord (Php 2:10-11). Yet God has exalted His Word above His name. A man's name is only as good as his word. This gives us tremendous comfort that the Word of the Lord is sure (Ps 19).
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The word "quick" means "to live." The Greek word ENERGES from which "powerful" was translated means "active, operative." The NIV translates this as, "For the word of God is living and active."
The Greek word TOMOTEROS from which "sharper" was translated means "comparative of a derivative of the primary temo (to cut; more comprehensive or decisive than 2875, as if by a single stroke; whereas that implies repeated blows, like hacking); more keen." This word is stressing the ability of God's Word to cut through the hardest heart in a single stroke.
Only the extreme sharpness of God's Word can separate between soul and spirit. Our souls and spirits comprise our hearts, and they function as one. Only under the intense scrutiny of the Word of God can we distinguish between them.
The relationship between soul and spirit is like the relationship between joints and marrow. The marrow of the bone is where blood (the life-giving force) is produced. But all the bones of the body are joined together by joints. Without joints, our bodies would not be able to function the way they do.
Likewise, our born-again spirits are the life-giving parts of us. But our spirits are connected to our bodies by our souls. The life that is in our born-again spirits cannot reach our bodies except through our souls. Therefore, the renewing of our minds is essential to release the life that is in our spirits.
John 1:1 (KJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 (KJV)
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the Word of God. The Greek word that was used here is "LOGOS" denoting "the expression of thought--not the mere name of an object" (W.E. Vine). Jesus totally expressed the thoughts of the Father and was manifest in a physical form so all the world could read them. Heb 1:3 says Jesus was "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person."
It is also appropriate for Jesus to be called the Word of God because the physical body of Jesus was produced by God's spoken word, not the usual means of a physical relationship between man and woman (Lu 1:38).
The Greek word used here for God is "THEOS" and denotes deity as an object of worship. This word is used 1,338 times in the New Covenant. Only 13 times is the word used to express anything but eternal deity. Here, the word reveals Jesus as God in the flesh (Joh 1:14 and 1Ti 3:16). The Scripture attests to Jesus' divinity (Isa 9:6-7, Mt 1:23, and 1Jo 5:20). God the Father called Jesus God (Heb 1:8). Jesus forgave sins (Mr 2:5 and Lu 7:48), which is a power that God alone has (Mr 2:6-7). Jesus received worship (Mt 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, and 17), which is reserved for God alone (Mt 4:10 and Re 22:9). The term "Christ," which is used 569 times in the New Testament, further establishes the divinity of Jesus (Mt 16:16).
Words are important, it has made the heavens and the earth, society though says that sticks and stones may break your bones and names will never hurt you. Society is wrong, names do hurt, negative words tear down. Positive words help and builds up.
Your words are important, God has made us in His image. Since God uses the word to accomplish History, so must we. It starts with your thoughts which turn into your words which turns into faith actions. It's up to you!
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
(KJV)
Think of how powerful the name of the Lord is. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord (Php 2:10-11). Yet God has exalted His Word above His name. A man's name is only as good as his word. This gives us tremendous comfort that the Word of the Lord is sure (Ps 19).
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The word "quick" means "to live." The Greek word ENERGES from which "powerful" was translated means "active, operative." The NIV translates this as, "For the word of God is living and active."
The Greek word TOMOTEROS from which "sharper" was translated means "comparative of a derivative of the primary temo (to cut; more comprehensive or decisive than 2875, as if by a single stroke; whereas that implies repeated blows, like hacking); more keen." This word is stressing the ability of God's Word to cut through the hardest heart in a single stroke.
Only the extreme sharpness of God's Word can separate between soul and spirit. Our souls and spirits comprise our hearts, and they function as one. Only under the intense scrutiny of the Word of God can we distinguish between them.
The relationship between soul and spirit is like the relationship between joints and marrow. The marrow of the bone is where blood (the life-giving force) is produced. But all the bones of the body are joined together by joints. Without joints, our bodies would not be able to function the way they do.
Likewise, our born-again spirits are the life-giving parts of us. But our spirits are connected to our bodies by our souls. The life that is in our born-again spirits cannot reach our bodies except through our souls. Therefore, the renewing of our minds is essential to release the life that is in our spirits.
John 1:1 (KJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 (KJV)
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the Word of God. The Greek word that was used here is "LOGOS" denoting "the expression of thought--not the mere name of an object" (W.E. Vine). Jesus totally expressed the thoughts of the Father and was manifest in a physical form so all the world could read them. Heb 1:3 says Jesus was "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person."
It is also appropriate for Jesus to be called the Word of God because the physical body of Jesus was produced by God's spoken word, not the usual means of a physical relationship between man and woman (Lu 1:38).
The Greek word used here for God is "THEOS" and denotes deity as an object of worship. This word is used 1,338 times in the New Covenant. Only 13 times is the word used to express anything but eternal deity. Here, the word reveals Jesus as God in the flesh (Joh 1:14 and 1Ti 3:16). The Scripture attests to Jesus' divinity (Isa 9:6-7, Mt 1:23, and 1Jo 5:20). God the Father called Jesus God (Heb 1:8). Jesus forgave sins (Mr 2:5 and Lu 7:48), which is a power that God alone has (Mr 2:6-7). Jesus received worship (Mt 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, and 17), which is reserved for God alone (Mt 4:10 and Re 22:9). The term "Christ," which is used 569 times in the New Testament, further establishes the divinity of Jesus (Mt 16:16).
Words are important, it has made the heavens and the earth, society though says that sticks and stones may break your bones and names will never hurt you. Society is wrong, names do hurt, negative words tear down. Positive words help and builds up.
Your words are important, God has made us in His image. Since God uses the word to accomplish History, so must we. It starts with your thoughts which turn into your words which turns into faith actions. It's up to you!
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