160. Easter! We Are Risen! We Are Risen Indeed! Ephesians chapters 1 and 2

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

The above title may need some explanation! Surely the emphasis at Easter should be upon Jesus Christ who was crucified on that first Good Friday and rose from the dead on that first Easter morning! Of course it should be. He was the first to rise from the dead and was seen by many in His resurrection appearances.

However what we fail to see, even as mature believers, is what God did for us in the Resurrection of Jesus.  Paul puts it plainly in Ephesians as he describes the resurrection of Jesus and then goes on to show that believers are to see themselves as risen with Him in His resurrection.

First of all he focusses on Jesus’s resurrection in Eph 1:19-21. These verses are packed with meaning.  We can see that when we examine some of the words used in this passage. There are a large number of words describing God’s power at work in the resurrection of Jesus. If we place the original Greek New Testament word after each of these power words we get some idea as to the power of God involved.  For example “what is the immeasurable (huperballō)greatness (megethos) of his power (dunamis) toward us who believe, according to the working (energeia) of his great (kratos) might (ischus) 20  that he worked in (energeō) Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21  far above all rule (archē) and authority (exousia) and power (dunamis) and dominion (kuriotēs), and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

We will look at each of these words in turn to appreciate what Paul was describing in the resurrection of Jesus.

“Immeasurable” (huperballō) is used by Paul in other verses to describe the surpassing glory of God (2 Cor 3:10); the surpassing grace of God  (2 Cor 9:14); the surpassing riches of His grace Eph 2;7,  and in Eph 3:19 the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

“Greatness” (megethos), found only here in the N.T.  is one of the many cognates of (megas) meaning “great”.

“Power” (dunamis) the origin of our English word “dynamite” is often used of God’s almighty power. In the plural it often refers to the miracles or mighty works of God.

“Working” (energeia) is usually used of God at work in power.   It is used in a verb form in verse 20. Thus  the “working” (energeia) of God in verse 19, “worked (energeō) in Christ.” Verse 20

“Great” (kratos) can mean dominion as well as might or strength. Is used with the next word (ischus) in  Eph 6:10  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

“Might” (ischus) is usually used of God’s might. However it is also used of believers who are to love God with all their “strength”.  This strength needs to come from God Himself as 1Pe 4:11 implies. “… whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies.”

“Rule” (archē) can mean first in position or in time. It can mean “from the beginning” and it can also refer to authority figures. These authority figures include earthly rulers or authorities. But a deeper meaning is seen in the following verses where there is a reference to spiritual authorities, Eph 3:10 “… the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” Eph 6:12 “ For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”  Col 2:10 “ and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” Col 2:15  “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Jesus is not only the first in power but He rules over every other power.

“Authority”  (exousia) means having the authority to exercise power or control. Jesus is the head over all authorities. Col 2:9 “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”

“Power”  (dunamis) we looked at in verse 19.

“Dominion” (kuriotēs) is found only 4 times in the New Testament. However Col 1:16 shows that Jesus Christ exercises dominion because everything was created by Him and for Him, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

Jesus now sits at the Father’s right hand in glory, having been raised by the Father to do so. He rules over all. He is Lord of the universe.  All are to live in submission to Him.

Well, where does the truth behind our title “Easter. We Are Risen” come in? It actually comes in the next chapter. Eph 2:4-7, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, (5)  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–(6)  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7)  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  

What incredible truths lie in these verses.  Paul emphasises that in the words he chose to highlight those truths.  He describes our unity or identification with Christ using three verbs in particular. The first is “made us alive together with. “ This translates the one Greek word (suzōopoiéō) which is made up of (sún) meaning “together with”, and (zōopoiéō) meaning “to make alive”.  The reference is to the fact that when we believed in Christ we were raised from spiritual death to spiritual life through our faith union with  Christ.

The second verb is no less spectacular. It is translated  (6)  “and raised us up with him” . It is the combined word (sunegeírō) which comes from (sún) meaning “together with”, and (egeírō) “to raise” . That is, “to raise together with.”  God wants us to understand that our faith union with Christ is such that when He raised up Jesus from the dead, He also raised us up with Him.

The third verb  is rather mind-blowing.  It is translated as “seated us with him.”  Again it is a single combined word (sugkathízō) which is made up of (sún) meaning “together with” and (kathízō) “to set or sit down.” God seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  When God raised Christ to glory at His right hand, He seated us with Him in the heavenlies,  through our faith-union with Christ.

So how are we to see ourselves as believers in the light of these verses? Well naturally, I am to see myself typing out this article in my home on the Eastern coast of Australia. A 500 metre walk eastwards could have me stepping into the Pacific Ocean and striking out to sea towards South America. The first part of the vision I have painted is true as I sit in my study. (I have no intention of swimming to South America.)

But God would have me see another vision of myself as a believer. That is sitting now with Christ at His right hand. I don’t feel as though I am sitting there in the heavenlies at the moment but that is what God wants me to believe and act upon.

What does it mean then that we are now “seated with Christ” in the Heavenly places? I think the following may be true.

1). We are in the place of acceptance with God. The Bible teaches that God accepts all those who accept His Son as their Saviour and submit to Him as their Lord. We are accepted  in the Beloved. We can never be more accepted than we are now. More useful? Yes! More available? Yes! But never more acceptable.

2). We are in the place of honour before God. God honours all those who honour His Son. There are few in the world who bother with Jesus at all. Most people ignore Him or reject Him or see Him as irrelevant. I believe the Lord loves those who embrace His Son in love.  What higher honour could there possibly ever be than to be exalted to the right hand of God, as Jesus was. AND we are sitting there with and in Him.

3). We are in the place of authority. Our prayers can have power. Jesus has overcome the powers of darkness and we have the victory in Him. We can speak to the powers of darkness from the authority Jesus has delegated to us, to bind or dislodge evil powers.  Not in our own strength or power, but only always from the delegated power we have in Him.

So we celebrate another Easter with its wonderful message that Jesus died to take away our sins on Good Friday and rose again from the dead on that first Easter Day, the victor over sin and death and evil. Soon we will observe His Ascension to remind us of when He rose from the dead and returned to the Father.

But what joy, what blessing, what a privilege to know that God sees us, not just sitting at our desks in our places of abode but as abiding in Christ, sitting with Him now in the heavenly places. We don’t have to do spiritual or mental gymnastics or soar into the heights of hyper-imagination to make it become real to us. It is real! He has told us so! We should live in such a way by being enlightened and empowered by His Spirit to know His wisdom, to experience His strength and grace and to work out in our everyday lives what He is working within us, to His glory.  (Phil 2:12-13)

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! (And we are too in Him! God said so!)

Blog No.160. Jim Holbeck.  Posted On Monday 6th April 2015

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159. BEWARE OF INSULTING THE PROPHET JESUS!

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

How do you insult someone? Most dictionaries have definitions which are similar to this one, “When you speak to or treat someone with disrespect.” It seems to imply that you can only insult people who are alive. You can insult someone by treating them with disrespect.  The disrespect might be seen in voicing an unfavourable opinion of the character of the person.  The disrespect might also be seen in failing to respect and value what the person stands for. It could be ignoring or devaluing the achievements people have accomplished in life.

So can we insult Jesus? If we believe what the Bible tells us, the answer has to be “Yes!”  for it shows that He alive in today’s world. He has risen from the dead and lives evermore.  He may not normally be seen (though people of all nations and backgrounds through the ages testify that they have had visions of Him) but He has promised to be with His people when they gather in His name. He is alive and keeps everything else alive as well, for the Bible declares that He sustains this world that He Himself has made.

You insult someone when you take no notice of what they have said to you. Especially when that person has told you how to live a life that is full of meaning and purpose. You also insult people by failing to appreciate the significance of what they have done in life and what implications it had for you personally.

Well, how do we answer the question as to whether we have personally insulted Jesus? There are a number of questions that need to be answered as we look at this situation.

1).           Was Jesus A Prophet?

There is no doubt that Jesus saw Himself as a messenger sent by God. There are over 50 verses in the Gospels where Jesus states that truth.   We look at just a few of them from the four Gospels.

For example when Jesus was sending out His 12 disciples He told them to expect that some might accept their message and others would not.  Those who did accept them by accepting their ministry would in fact be accepting Jesus who had sent them. Not only that but they would be accepting the Father who had sent Him into the world.  A serious response was required from those who were going to hear a serious message from God Himself through their lips. Mat 10:40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

 When His disciples were arguing among themselves about who was the greatest among them, Jesus took a child and put him into the midst of them saying, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Mark 9:37. What was needed was humility, the sort of humility that honoured even a little child. Such was His attitude to children. Such indeed was the attitude of the Father who had sent Him.

Jesus explained His ministry in the synagogue in Capernaum as He read from the scroll offered to Him. After He had read it, He went on to interpret its meaning. Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” God had anointed Jesus by His Spirit to be His Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ.  His ministry would be conducted under the anointing of God’s Holy Spirit.  Under that anointing, all He said and all He did as God’s sent messenger would originate in God Himself. He taught this in John 14:10-11, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” His words came from the Father. Jesus spoke them out. His works were a demonstration of the Father working through Him as His chosen messenger.

So it appears that Jesus was certainly a messenger from God but was He a prophet? It appears that He saw Himself as a prophet.  In Mat 13:57, when Jesus was being rejected by many in Nazareth, He said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own household.”  His own hometown and His own household  had just failed to honour Him.  John in his gospel recorded that Jesus left Samaria to go to Galilee. He added these words, John 4:44, “For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honour in his own hometown.”  Jesus recognised that He was indeed a prophet sent from God.  So did John.

 This is further illustrated in Luke 13:32-33. Jesus was warned by some Pharisees that Herod was planning to kill Him. He told them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.”  He WAS a prophet. He WOULD die in Jerusalem.

2).           Did Others See Him As A Prophet?

There are a number of verses which indicate that Jesus was seen to be a prophet by His contemporaries.  On one occasion the chief priests and Pharisees had been exposed to His teaching. They correctly assumed that He was speaking about them in His parables. Matthew adds, in Mat 21:46, “And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.”  The perception of the general population was that He was a prophet.

 When Jesus raised a widow’s only son from death, the onlookers were amazed and said, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”  Lk 7:16. For them that could be the only explanation for such an outstanding miracle.  Similarly when Jesus fed the 5000 those who witnessed the miracle concluded,   “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Others were amazed at His teaching especially at the time of the last day of the feast.  After He had taught, many of His hearers remarked, “This really is the Prophet.” Jn 7:40.

Later when a blind man was asked who it was that had healed him, he said, “He is a prophet.” Jn 9:17. Even at His death, the guards mocked Jesus, “Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” Mat 26:67-68. It indicates that the concept of Jesus as a prophet was firmly established during His ministry.

 In coming articles we will look in more detail at what it means for us today that Jesus is a prophet. And also at what challenges that truth presents for us in a world that largely ignores Him and is insulting Him as a living Person in a world that so much needs Him, His wisdom, His grace and His strength.  As the title warns us, BEWARE OF INSULTING THE PROPHET JESUS! When we come to realise that He is not only a prophet, but also the Creator of this universe, the Sustainer who keeps it going, the Redeemer who came to give His life for the life of the world and ultimately will be the judge of all the peoples of the world, then He has to be taken seriously as a living Person today. Not to take Him seriously is to insult Him.

Blog No. 159.  Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Sunday 15th March 2015.

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158. Sermon on Mark 1:21-27. “The Authority of Jesus in His Teaching and in Releasing People From Bondage to Evil Spirits”   

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

Jesus overcame all the temptations and assaults of the devil in the wilderness. As He began His ministry He was about to help people through His authoritative teaching and in exercising His authority in setting them free from the powers of darkness. He began His ministry with the news that the kingdom of God had come in Himself. That meant that He would be operating with real Kingdom power and authority in the various aspects of His ministry.

 1).        THE AUTHORITY IN JESUS’ TEACHING. 1:21-22

The authority in Jesus’ teaching came from God, (Mk 1:21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. (Mark 1:22)  They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

  • People recognised that His message wasn’t a second hand message telling people what other scholars had written.
  • They were amazed at the authority with which He spoke. It was a call from God through Jesus, for people to act upon the Word of God.
  • (It’s amazing that humans in their free-will can close their ears and their minds and their hearts to Jesus and to the living God.)

 2).        THE AUTHORITY IN JESUS’ MINISTRY. 1:23-24

A man with an unclean spirit interrupted His teaching. (Mark 1:23)  Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, (Mark 1:24)  and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

  • It was the demon, or the evil spirit speaking through the man. It’s as though the demon was challenging Jesus’ authority, for the words can mean, “Why do you interfere with us?” or ” mind your own business.”
  • Evil spirits recognised who Jesus was. This one called Jesus “the Holy One of God.” But Jesus never let the truth about Himself be declared by the powers of darkness. (Mark 1:25)  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” (Mark 1:26)  And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
  • A spiritual power encounter took place. Jesus commanded the spirit to “be muzzled”, to be silent, and to come out of the man and it came out.
  • The people were again amazed. (Mk 1:27) They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching–with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
  • What an exciting, scary time for those who were there. Here was kingdom authority and kingdom power in action.

The late Professor C.S. Lewis saw 2 dangers as we read a story like this.

a).           To deny the existence of the powers of darkness. Yet the Bible tells us that humans can be held captive by the devil. 2Tim 2:26  … they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. AND for the Gentiles like us, Act 26:18  to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

b).           The other danger is to have an unhealthy interest in them, and in so doing, give them more power than they really have.

His warnings are relevant today, for there are many who have gone too far in both extremes, and lost the balance of Scripture.

 3).        THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS OVER THE POWERS OF DARKNESS TODAY

Where does that place us today regarding the powers of darkness or of evil?

People can come under various degrees of control by the powers of darkness.

  • Deception and oppression when people still function, but with difficulty, right through to the extremely rare cases of demon-possession when the person seems to be out of control.
  • I don’t believe we’re to go on witch-hunts trying to find demons to cast out. Rather we are to rest in the confident assurance that if anyone has been adversely affected by the powers of darkness, they can be set free.
  • We see that in practice in the gospels as we see Jesus at work,
  • We see it too in Paul’s teaching, where he states that the powers of darkness have been dealt a mortal blow. For example, he reminded the Colossians that when Christ died on the cross, He not only died to take away sins so that we can be forgiven, but He also disarmed the principalities and powers. (Col 2:13)  And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14)  erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15)  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
  • The cross was the placarding, the public proof, that He had defeated the powers of darkness. They no longer have the power they had. Victory is ours through the victory He won on the cross.

So the cross of Christ shows me at least these three things.

  1. It shows me how much God hates sin because only His Son could come to die to take it away.
  2. It shows me how much God loves you and me, that He was willing for His Son to die for us so that we could be forgiven.
  3.  It shows me that the supernatural powers of evil were defeated once and for all on the cross of Calvary.

But it also reminds us that you and I only win the victories in our own lives over the power of evil, by calling on the name of the victorious Christ, and by allowing Him to strengthen us by His resurrection power through His Holy Spirit within us.

 4).        LIVING UNDER JESUS’ AUTHORITY.  HOW WE CAN WALK IN VICTORY?

We think not only of healing for ourselves but for our family, (siblings, children and grandchildren) our neighbours, our friends, our enemies. We want them all to be healed by God to become the people He wants them to be. We need to pray for them and for ourselves:-

  • To have their eyes opened to the truth about God. Paul wrote in 2 Cor 4:4) In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

–  Satan has blinded the minds of all our loved ones, our friends and our enemies who are not yet Christians so that cannot understand how wonderful God is.

–  As unbelievers they may be KIND people socially but they are also BLIND people spiritually. We need to pray that God would open their blind eyes to enable them to know Him and to serve Him.

  • To be set free from the power of evil. God said through the apostle John, 1Jn 5:19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. People may not realise it but they are in the devil’s power. We need to pray for all our loved ones that that they might be set free from the power of evil in their lives to know and experience God’s power in their lives.

STEPS WE CAN TAKE TO BE SET FREE.

There are three main steps to freedom in this area. We need to take them ourselves and to pray that God will work in the lives of all our loved ones so that they too will take the same steps to freedom.

i).         The first one is repentance.

  • God commands us to repent of all known sin in our lives by confessing it before Him and asking for His forgiveness and turning to follow Him.

ii).        The second step is renunciation.  The word means to forsake, to cast off.

  • If we have tapped into supernatural powers through our own wrongful activities, it’s to say, “I’m handing all this over to God. I no longer want any part of it. I’m renouncing it, forsaking it.”
  • It is saying to God, “I don’t want anything to do with the powers of darkness. Please set me free by the power of your Holy Spirit.”

iii).       The third step is to give yourself completely to the Lord, so that He can do in your life what He wants to do as He minsters to you in Kingdom power.

  • It means asking Christ to be the Lord of every part.
  • It means asking Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit, so that you live by the power of the Spirit of God.
  • It means allowing Him to set you free of any wrong supernatural power in your life.

Let me encourage you with the truth that no matter what people’s involvement has been with the powers of darkness, Christ by His Spirit has the power to set them free.

Let me close by leading us in a prayer of repentance and renunciation, and asking the Lord to begin the process of setting us (and others we pray for) free to belong completely to Him.

 A PRAYER FOR FREEDOM FROM THE POWERS OF DARKNESS

“Lord Jesus Christ, I thank You that when You died on the cross, it was to enable me to be forgiven.

I thank You that it also showed Your victory over all the powers of darkness. I want to be free from all that may have bound me in the past, and be released to fulfil Your plan and purpose for me.

I repent of being associated with the powers of darkness in any form, whether it be through my own personal involvement, or through the involvement of members of my family or other people.

I renounce everything to do with the powers of darkness, and I want nothing to do with them. I want you to set me free. 

Lord Jesus, I accept You as the Lord and Master of every part of my life.

Please heal me in body, mind and spirit by the power of your Holy Spirit.  

I thank You by faith for the victories and release I now have.

May Your Spirit lead me and empower me to live for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Posted by Jim Holbeck on Monday 3rd March 2015

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157. Sermon on Mark 1:29-34. “Taking Advantage Of The Opportunities For Receiving God’s Blessing and Healing.”

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

Isn’t it sad to think that something was available for you and you missed out on receiving it? It can happen in every area of life. Sometimes we fail to act on the opportunities that are open before us.

It can happen in relationships

I heard two older folk who had known each other for decades sharing together. One was a man whom many women adored but had never married. The other was a gracious and beautiful woman who had become a widow early in life. She had remained single for many years but remarried much later in life. Her second husband had now become virtually a “vegetable” (but still a very much loved person) in a care facility. The woman said to the man in my presence, “Did you know when we were much younger I was hoping you might marry me one day?”

The man was taken aback. He was silent for what seemed like an eternity. Then he spoke with some obvious feeling of regret, “Why didn’t you ever tell me that you might be interested in me? I would have done something about it.” There was silence for some time following. One wonders how their lives might have been different if they had known how they felt about each other and expressed it much, much sooner.

It can happen in the spiritual areas of life

James wrote, “You have not because you ask not.” He states a general principle that God wants us to ask Him for what we need. He respects our free-will and will not force on us what we are not ready to receive.

The writer of the hymn “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” saw it in terms of missing out on peace by not bringing all our concerns to God in prayer. In the hymn there are these words, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” We need to act on the opportunities we have to receive the grace of God.

In this passage in Mark there are 2 accounts of opportunities being taken to receive healing from Jesus.

1).        Healing for a woman with a fever. (Peter’s Mother in law)

Jesus had returned from the synagogue in Capernaum to Peter’s house where they found Peter’s mother in law ill with a fever.  She may have been delirious and not have been in a fit condition to reach out to Jesus for healing.  However whether she asked for healing or whether Peter and the others brought her need to Jesus, Jesus was invited to heal her. We read how Jesus took her by the hand and restored her to greater health so that she was able to get up immediately, and make them a nice hot cuppa.

Tonight in this service you have an opportunity to reach out to Jesus for healing or blessing and to be confident He is present to heal and to bless. We love to pray for God’s blessings on those with needs. Or it may be that you’re here to receive prayer for someone who is unable to be present because of distance, or because they are too ill to come to the service. It’s our privilege to join our faith with yours and to pray with you for God’s blessing on that other person. We hear almost every week of wonderful answers to prayer as we together pray for those “out there.” Like the people in Peter’s home, we simply join together to tell Jesus about the one who is sick, and leave it to Him to reach out to them in His love, and in His way and in His time.

Did you notice the immediacy of the healing? Very often those ill with a fever take ages to get up and get going. Peter’s mother in law was up and serving them all in no time at all. It doesn’t always happen as quickly as that, but it can. You and I have to be willing to receive God’s healing whether it comes in one week, one month or in one minute.

2).        The Sick Of Capernaum

Good news can sometimes travel as fast as gossip. Within hours of the man being delivered, and of Peter’s mother in law being healed, people came to the home where Jesus was, bringing all their sick and those with evil spirits. In fact the whole town was outside to see what was going to happen.  They witnessed many being healed and delivered of evil spirits.

We’re not told whether it was the people who brought the sick, who had faith, or whether it was the faith of the sick folk themselves. It would appear that those who were sick and were able to make it on their own got there, whilst those who weren’t well enough to make it, were brought by others.  What is true is that all the people who came took advantage of the opportunity that was provided to be healed, and wonderful healing took place.

Canon Henry Twells was right to describe this incident in the words of a hymn, “At even when the sun was set , the sick O Lord around Thee lay, O in divers pains they met, O with what joy they went away.”

(Many of us who have been involved in the Healing Ministry have seen both of these things happen. A sick person manages to come for prayer, and prayer and the laying on of hands is ministered, and the person receives a healing from God. Or it may be that someone has come and asked for prayer for another person who was too ill to be present.  Hands were laid on the person who brought the request, and prayer offered for the other person. Later the first person came back to thank God for the healing that flowed in the life of that other person at the time of the prayer or sometime later.

I will never forget one woman who came forward for prayer at a healing service. When I asked her what she would like the Lord to do for her, she replied, “Would you please lay hands on me for Elizabeth.” I knew Elizabeth was at home with terminal cancer, and too ill to come to a service. We prayed with the laying on of hands on Elizabeth’s friend. We discovered later that at exactly that time Elizabeth was instantly healed as she lay in her bed at home.  We can only imagine her husband’s surprise when he woke in the morning to find his wife not in bed beside him. And then an even greater surprise and utter delight to find her well and cooking his breakfast in the kitchen, something she had not been able to do for months. Like Peter’s mother in law she was healed and able to function immediately. She remained healed.

Whichever way healing takes place, it is still the same God who brings the healing. The risen Christ is the Healer, and He can heal the person who is present, or the person who is geographically distant.  The reason is, that though you and I can only ever be in one place at one time, Christ isn’t limited like we are. He can be there for them in their need. In love and in Kingdom power.

  1. The Secret Of Jesus’ Ministry

Let’s notice what happened just a few hours after Jesus ministered in Capernaum. Mark says that He went out in the early hours of the morning to a deserted place to pray. Here was the secret of His ministry on earth, the time He spent in prayer with His Heavenly Father.

You see it here and at other significant times in His ministry.

  • After the feeding of the 5,000. (Mat 14:23) After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
  • After He had healed a leper. (Luke 5:16) But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
  • Before he chose the 12 apostles. (Luke 6:12) One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
  • His prayer life touched His disciples who wanted to be able to pray like He did. Luke 11:1, He was praying in a certain place and after he had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord teach us to pray as John taught His disciples”.
  • On the road to Caesarea Philippi as Jesus prayed on the Mount of transfiguration, waiting for God to reveal to the disciples who He really was as the Son of God, and the Messiah. (Luke 9:18) Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” Only then did Peter come out with the revelation of God, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
  • On the Mount of transfiguration, they saw Who He was for those moments as the veil was lifted and they saw His pre-existent glory. (Luke 9:28)  About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.  29)  As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
  • At Gethsemane as He faced the choice of going on to suffer on the cross for our sins, or whether to turn from the cross. (Luke 22:41) He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not my will but yours be done.”

At all the significant moments of His life, Jesus prayed.

  1. Jesus was focussed on the will of God not just on prayer

He was praying to His Father when suddenly He was interrupted. His disciples who followed Him told Him that everyone was looking for Him. His response may seem surprising. Instead of returning to Capernaum and continuing His teaching and healing ministry there, He told His disciples that it was now time for Him to leave to go to minister in other towns.

Jesus wasn’t wrapped up in Himself and in His own spiritual growth. He wasn’t resentful that the time of prayer had been ended abruptly. For Jesus, prayer wasn’t just an end in itself. His prayer was His way of keeping in the centre of the will of God for Him that he might know the Father’s will for Him and receive power to do it.

He recognised that it was now to move on, not to bask in the adulation of people He had helped. Nor was it to stick to a good thing that was happening in that place. (Mark 1:38)  Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else–to the nearby villages–so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”(Mark 1:39)  So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. His prayer had opened the will of God to Him. He realised that it was now time to move on to minister elsewhere.

A Reflection on the reading

The opportunity to receive the Lord’s healing had only been offered for a short time in Capernaum on that occasion. Then the opportunity was gone. But praise God, many took advantage of it and knew the Lord’s touch on their lives.

   What if, what if there had been some in Capernaum who heard that Jesus had the power to heal but didn’t act upon it? Some could have said the same sort of things that people say today and fail to come to Him for healing.

  • Some could have said, “I’m always suspicious about healing ministries. There are some funny people involved in healing ministries so I’ve heard. I don’t want to get involved with some weirdos. I’ll just hang back a bit and wait to see if the people who receive prayer actually live through it.”
  • Or others could have said, “I’m still working out my theology of healing, to see whether the Scriptures actually indicate that healing might be a possibility in today’s world.”

That’s not a bad attitude in some ways, for we need to search the Scriptures to see whether these things are so. But when are we going to be convinced?  The religious leaders and scholars of Jesus’ day saw first hand His healings. They were confronted with Lazarus, a man whom Jesus had raised from the dead, yet they still wouldn’t believe. In fact their unwillingness to believe in Jesus’ healing power made them look away from the proof before their eyes, and made them try to wipe out both Jesus and Lazarus.  Such is the strength of religious prejudice.  It refuses to be convinced and tries to destroy the evidence. It often tries to do so through character assassination.

What are the factors that would inhibit anyone from receiving prayer for healing?

Hopefully, not unbelief or religious prejudice. They are major blockages to receiving the grace of God. But there could be other factors.

  • Fear of what people might think is one factor. “What would my friends in my church say if I was prayed for and got healed? They mightn’t like it!”
  • Or pride. “I don’t need other people to pray for me. I’m a mature Christian!” You may also need to be a humble one, letting God minister through other people to you.
  • Or it could be that you would feel a hypocrite for asking for help from God, when you’ve not really had much time for Him up to the present. It’s true that God wants to be the Lord of your life, but it’s possible to give your life to Him and ask for help at the same time.

The opportunity to ask Jesus into your life, to be your Saviour and Lord, or to receive prayer for healing and blessing, is here now. But I don’t know, and you don’t know, how many other opportunities you will have. Certainly in Jesus’ day, there were many who missed out on His blessing. Don’t be among those who had the opportunity but missed out. Be encouraged by this fact, that God loves you and wants to bring you blessing, more than you want to receive it. Take advantage of the opportunity you have now in this service and ask for prayer for God’s blessing and healing.

(From a sermon preached at a Healing Service in Sydney several years ago.)

Posted by Jim Holbeck on Monday 2nd March 2015

Posted in Sermons and articles on the Gospel of Mark | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

156. Galatians 2:20. The New Life. Part 3. The Presence Of God In His People 

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Jim Holbeck

In previous articles we have looked at some spiritual gems in Paul’s letter to the Galatians and especially the wonderful truths in Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. However there are other passages in the New Testament which also speak of the presence of God among His people. We will consider some of them below before we move on from the Gal 2:20 passage. Indeed Paul goes on later in Galatians to spell out even more about the presence of God in human lives.

 1).   The Presence Of God In Believers Was Taught By The Apostles

Galatians 3. Receiving the Holy Spirit. In the epistle to the Galatians St Paul reminded his readers that they had received the Holy Spirit when they had responded by faith to the gospel message. He asked them, Gal 3:2 “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” They knew the answer. It was the latter. They had to go on in the Spirit rather than go back to living as they once had. Now they were meant to be relying on the Holy Spirit to guide and empower them. So he rebuked them, 3 “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” The flesh had no power to bring them to maturity. Only the Holy Spirit of God within them could do so.

Galatians 5. Walking by the Spirit. In chapter 5 he exhorts them to go on in the Spirit, or to walk by the Spirit, Gal 5:16  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. They had a choice to make. They could live by the lusts of their lower nature (the flesh) or they could live under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The flesh and the Spirit were opposed to each other, 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. God through Paul wanted them to be guided and directed by His Spirit and not revert to legalistic living, 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The false teachers in their midst were trying to seduce them to observe the law. The time had come for the Galatians to reject the false teaching and to walk in the way God wanted them to walk, in the way of the Spirit.

 Galatians 5. The “fruit” of the Spirit. Paul now describes the contrast between the two ways of living by referring to the “works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit”. The “works” were all the nasty things not characteristic of God such as “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” 5:19-21. Those who lived in this way would not inherit the kingdom of God, 5:21. Paul then describes the “fruit of the Spirit” in Gal 5:22-23 which is to characterise the people of God. We note that “fruit” is (karpos) a singular word rather than “fruits” in the plural. The fruit is the outward evidence of the life within.

The outward evidence of God’s life and character is seen in the fruit produced in the believer’s life. The fruit consists of  “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.” The first three parts of that fruit were qualities that Jesus said He would share with His disciples. For example, Jesus had said of His love, Jn 15:9  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.  Jesus had said of His joy, Jn 15:11  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. He had said of His peace, Jn 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. The other parts of the fruit of the Spirit were recognizable in the way in which God Himself had dealt with His people over generations.

 What a different world it would be if everyone manifested the fruit of the Spirit! Imagine everyone around you (including you) being characterised all the time by those fine characteristics. It is only possible, as Paul wrote, when those who belong to Christ “crucify the flesh with its passions and desires.  If the Spirit had brought the Galatians life, then they should “keep in step with the Spirit.” 5:24-25. (“Keep in step” is from the Greek word “stoicheo” meaning to “walk in rows”. Paul also used it in Romans to remind his readers that they needed to walk in the footsteps of the faith that Abraham had walked in.) It meant that Christian living had to do with allowing God to guide them by His Spirit and also allowing Him to express Himself through the lives of His people as the outward fruit or expression of His inward presence.

Ephesians 2:21-22. God Present In His Temple. Paul wrote about the church in verses 21-22, “in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place (Gk. katoikētērion)[i] for God by the Spirit.” God dwelling in His church as He once was considered to dwell in the temple. But this temple is made up of living stones as Peter wrote of believers in 1Peter 2:5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The church is the body of Christ made up of individual members. What is true for the body is also true for each individual. They become part of the temple God is building and in whose presence He comes to dwell by His Spirit.

God indwells His people. He indwells every individual believer because each individual’s body is a temple and part of the temple in which Christ lives by His Spirit. (See 1 Cor 3:16, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells (Gk. oikeo) in you?”  “In” is the preposition (“en” the usual word for “in”). God’s Spirit lives in His people. See also 1 Cor 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Again the Holy Spirit is said to be “within” (Gk. “en”) the believers. They had a responsibility to glorify God through the bodies in which Christ lived by His Spirit. Even though they were indwelt by the divine presence they still had to play their part in allowing Him to express or manifest His presence through them. (It makes one wonder how much more about God would be known in the world today if His people had set out to glorify Him for every moment of their lives.)

Eph 3:16-17. The Presence Of God In The “Inner Being” And “Hearts” Of Believers. Paul prayed for Christ to dwell in the inner being of the Ephesian believers. He reminded them of the reality of the presence of God within them by telling them what he prayed for them. In Ephesians 3:16-17 he said he prayed that they might be “strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” The Spirit of God would indwell and inwardly strengthen their inner being (Gk. ésō anthrōpos = inner man), and Christ would dwell in them.

It is interesting that Paul in verse 17 uses the word (katoikéō) for “dwell”. It means to make a permanent home. He is praying that Christ might make His permanent home within them. There may be a sense here that Paul is suggesting that he wants Christ to feel at home in His home, in their hearts. They would have realised that Christ did live within them. He wasn’t going to leave them. However they needed to welcome and accommodate His presence. They also needed to understand that they had to open every area of their lives to Him so that He could manifest His presence and power in and through each part of their lives.

 Eph 3:19. To Be Filled With The Fullness Of God.  Paul told the Ephesians that he prayed for them that they might be “filled with all the fullness of God.” It is a scary thought that ordinary believers could be filled with all the fullness of God. However finite human beings cannot comprehend or contain the infinite. Even Solomon who built a house for Yahweh to dwell in had to acknowledge that the house he had built could not contain God, 1Kings 8:27, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!”

 The phrase in Eph 3:19 is “filled (eis) all the fullness of God.” (eis) is a preposition normally meaning “into” rather than “with” or “by”. Humans cannot contain the fullness of God. But they can be filled into the measure of His fullness, meaning to the capacity of their human ability to receive that fullness. It may be better to consider “fullness” not in terms of quantity, but in terms of the presence of God. To the extent that they opened to their lives to Him, He could manifest the reality of His presence through them.  

 Colossians 1:27. The Mystery. “Christ In You, The Hope Of Glory. Paul was not a mystery writer but he did expose the truth about a mystery which God Himself had revealed. It was the mystery concerning the gospel or good news for the Gentiles. As Gentile believers they belonged! To God! Through faith in Christ! As he put it in Col 1:27, To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. What an amazing truth that God had a place for the despised Gentiles in His eternal purposes. The place He had for them was to be present among them and indeed to live in their hearts. As A.T. Robertson wrote, “the idea of (en) here is “in”, not “among”. It is the personal experience and presence of Christ in the individual life of all believers that Paul has in mind, the indwelling Christ in the heart as in Eph 3:17.[ii]

 Col 2:9-10. Filled by or with Christ. “For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, 10 and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. Christ is filled with the all the fullness of God. Then comes verse 10 whose literal translation is “and you are in Him having been filled.” It is uncertain whether Paul means that Jesus is the instrument by whom they are filled or whether He is the sphere in which they are filled.  Whatever it is, they are filled to whatever capacity they are able to be filled with His presence as human disciples. Having Him in His fullness within them meant that they did not need anyone else or anything else to be made complete.

2).   The Presence Of God In Believers Was Experienced By Believers

2 Corinthians 4:10-11. The presence of Christ was seen in Christian people. They experienced His presence. Paul wrote in 2 Cor 4:10-11 about that experience, that he and other believers were “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” The more that they died to sin, the more the life of Jesus within them could be recognised in and through their lives. “Manifested” is from Gk. (phaneroo) meaning to appear or to make visible. When believers are dying to themselves, it allows Christ to manifest the reality of His presence in and through their human bodies.

What an encouraging and challenging truth for today! People today can see Jesus! In the lives of His followers! Hopefully by the grace of God, the Christ they see will be the Christ of the New Testament and not a pale reflection or a distorted image. Jesus hasn’t changed. But it behoves all believers to reflect Him faithfully as they live in the fishbowl of this world.  How wonderful it would be if newcomers to the faith were to say to us, “I was attracted to Jesus because I saw Him in you and I decided to follow Him myself!”

 3).  The Presence Of Christ In His People Brings Him Honour. Php 1:20-21

Philippians 1:20-21.   as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. “Honoured” is (megalunō) meaning to magnify or exalt. Paul wanted to live in such a way that Christ would be exalted in and through his body. If death were to come, Paul wanted to honour Jesus through His death. What Paul desires is that others see Christ in him and through him, no matter what might happen to him. It makes us ask the question, “Am I living for my own glory and honour or do I want Jesus to be always honoured and glorified through my life and through my death?”

 In verse 21 we see the godly motivation behind Paul’s life. Paul declares that Christ meant everything to him. His life was centred around Christ. He was totally committed to Him. He wanted Jesus to be seen in and through him for every moment of his life. Even to the point of his death. Death for him would not be loss. It would be a gain. It would introduce him to a life in perfect union with Christ for ever. He was torn between two important desires. To remain on earth to help fellow believers or to be with Christ, Php 1:22  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. Paul saw it as a win-win situation. His life would bring glory to God. So too would his death. For the sake of others he was willing to forego an earlier entrance into the totality of the presence of God.  On earth he could help others grow to maturity.

 We close with the words of our text from our original text in Gal 2:20-21, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Paul the new creature in Christ, had opened his life to God, so that Jesus might be seen to be alive in him and through him.  We too need to be so committed to Him that He may be magnified and exalted in our lives as well. 

[i]       The only other reference to this word in the New Testament is in Revelation 18:2 where Babylon is described as a “dwelling place” for demons.  What a contrast with the concept of the presence of God dwelling in human lives.

[ii]     AT Robertson, in “Word Pictures In The New Testament” article on Col 1:27.

Blog No 156. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Tuesday 29th July 2014

Amazon Kindle books authored by Jim Holbeck:

  1. The Searching And Knowing God Who Loves And Cares: Reflections on Psalm 139. 
  2. The Godly Reward for True Humility. Studies in St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians.
  3. Click on :-  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=holbeck
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155. Galatians 2:20. The New Life.  Part 2. Christ Lives In Me

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Jim Holbeck

Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”   In the previous article we saw that Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20 that he had come to the end of his old life (“crucified with Christ”). As a new creation in Christ he had turned from his old life with all its privileges and sin. He had turned to Christ to receive Him as his Saviour and to enthrone Him as Lord. He expressed that difference in this verse. He described his new life in this way, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” He was now living a life in which the indwelling Christ could live His life in and through Him. Paul was then a willing human instrument in whom Christ could live and through whom He could minister, as Paul made himself available to Him.

This way of thinking about the presence of God as living in His people was not something entirely unexpected.  There were prophecies about this in the Old Testament. We will look at one of those prophecies. We will also look at similar concepts in the teaching of Jesus which describe the presence of God in His people.

The Presence Of God In Believers Was Predicted In The Old Testament

There were a number of passages in the Old Testament which predicted that a closer relationship with God was to happen. However we can sum up many of the elements of those passages as we look at one passage in particular in Ezekiel 36:26-27.  Ezekiel was describing a new covenant God was to make with His people. It would bring a deeper intimate relationship between Yahweh and His people. His Spirit would be in them and would make them more sensitive to Him. He would also motivate and empower them to walk in His ways. Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

  (We note here how similar a concept it is to Paul’s teaching in Php 2:12-13, in which he describes God’s presence in His people motivating and empowering them to do God’s will. “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”) (See my previous article for more on this verse.)

 The Presence Of God In Believers Was Foretold By Christ

  1. Christ Foretold That Believers Would Be Indwelt By The Spirit Of God  Jesus spoke of Himself in John 14:16 as praying to the Father to provide Someone to take His place when He finally departed from His disciples. He told them, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another[i] Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

We note here the different terms that are used to denote the presence of the Spirit. In verse 16, the Spirit was to “be (Gk. eimi) with” them or “remain (Gk. menō) with” them forever (both verbs are to be found in ancient manuscripts). In verse 17 the Spirit was to remain (Gk. menō, same word as in verse 16) “beside” them. “Beside” is another Greek word (para). It means to be to the side of someone or something. So the Spirit was to be located at or in their presence. Then comes another expression later in verse 17. This time the Spirit was to be “in” (Gk. en) them.

Summing up all these different terms we see that God’s presence by His Spirit was to be a permanent presence (with= meta) them forever. It would be an immanent, close by presence (para= beside). It would also be an intimate presence (en = in). One could not think of a more comprehensive description of the presence of God with His people. His presence by His Spirit would remain with them forever.  His Spirit would remain beside them. His Spirit would actually indwell them.

Christ Foretold That Believers Would Be Indwelt By His own presence. Jn 14:20  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. In stating this truth Jesus was showing the intimacy of the relationship between the Father, Himself and His disciples. In fact the same preposition (en = in) is used to describe the intimacy of these three relationships. How marvellous it is to realise that Jesus is “in” His people in the same way as He is “in” the Father, and they are “in” Him.

 A similar expression is found in John 15. Though the disciples would be .joined in union with Christ, they would still need to seek to deepen that union. How? By consciously learning to abide in Christ or to remain in close fellowship with Him. Jesus taught in John 15:4 “Abide[ii] in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

 There was no doubt that Jesus would play His part in abiding in His disciples. However they needed to play their part in maintaining a close relationship with Him. How? By abiding in Him and by abiding in His word (and obeying it as a mark of their love for Him). Such a commitment would pay great dividends in answers to prayer, John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Abiding in Christ and in His word places one within the will of God. Prayers prayed according to the will of God will be answered in His way and in His time.

 Christ Foretold That Believers Would be Indwelt By The Father And The Son. In John 14:16-17 Jesus had stated that those who obeyed His commandments would be those who loved Him. Such people would be loved also by His Father. In John 14:23 Jesus repeated, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” But He also added, “My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

“We” here refers to both the Father and Jesus. The phrase “make our home with them” in verse 23 is interesting in that it uses some of the words already used in John 14:16-17. The word “home” in the Greek original was (monḗ) which is the noun form of (menō) to “remain”. In addition, the word for “with” them is the word (para) also used in 14:17 to denote the closeness of relationship. So you have this amazing comment from Jesus that both He and the Father would make their home with the disciples. It is little wonder that A.T. Robertson suggests, “If the Holy Spirit “abides” (menei, Jn14:17) in you, that heart becomes a temple (naos) of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 3:16.), and so a fit dwelling place for the Father and the Son, a glorious and uplifting reality.”[iii]

These predictions from the lips of Jesus were fulfilled after Jesus had risen from the dead and ascended to heaven. There He had received the gift of the Holy Spirit. He then poured out this gift on His disciples. This happened on the day of Pentecost. As Peter declared on that day, Act 2:32 “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”

Not only that but the promised gift of the Holy Spirit would be given to all those who put their trust in the risen Christ. As Peter also said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39  For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:38-39.

Praise God that those of us who were once “far off” have been brought near through the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13). Praise God too that we have been indwelt by His Spirit and belong to the children of God throughout the world.  PRAISE GOD!

[i]     Verse 16, “another” is “allos” meaning another of the same kind, rather than “heteros” meaning another of a different kind.  The promised comforter would be someone just like Jesus Himself.

[ii]    In John 15:4-7, the word for “abide” is the same Greek word (menō) also used in used in Jn 14:16-17.

[iii]    AT Robertson, in “Word Pictures In The New Testament” article on John 14:17.

Blog No.155. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Sunday 27th July 2014

Amazon Kindle books authored by Jim Holbeck:

  1. The Searching And Knowing God Who Loves And Cares: Reflections on Psalm 139. 
  2. The Godly Reward for True Humility. Studies in St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians.
  3. Click on :-  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=holbeck

 

 

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154. Galatians 2:20. The New Life.  Part 1. “Crucified with Christ”

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Jim Holbeck

Gal 2:20  “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”  Whatever did Paul mean by this statement? As you read his epistles you gather that he saw himself as being in a faith–union with Christ, so that what happened to Christ, happened to Him. It is the same for all those who are “in Christ” and who were “chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:3). This includes their being crucified with Christ, dying with Him, being buried with Christ in baptism, being raised with Christ and being seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

Paul meant then in Galatians 2:20, that he had come to the end of his old life (“crucified with Christ”) in which he was living his life apart from Christ. As a new creation in Christ he had turned from his old life with all its privileges and sin and had turned to Christ to embrace Him as Saviour and Lord. It was as though the old Paul had been crucified. His old life with all its angst against Jesus and his followers had come to an end and he was now a new man with new attitudes. But before we go on to explore the newness of the new life, we need to look at a bit longer at what this crucifixion with Christ means.

In this verse 20 Paul used the word (sustauróō) a compound word derived from (sun = with ) and (stauroṓ = crucify) to denote this crucifixion with Christ. But it is helpful to see that it is in the perfect tense in the Greek original. That tense signifies a past action with a present abiding result. It is as though Paul is saying that his radical change in life was a permanent redirection of his life. It was as though the old Paul (or the Paul of old) had come to the end of his former way of living. He saw himself as having been crucified with Christ and would always remain crucified with Him, for ever.

Romans 6:6. We gain more insight when we see how this phrase (“crucified with’)  is used elsewhere in Paul’s writings. For example in Romans 6:6 Paul wrote, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin”.  This is a bit more specific. Paul described what was crucified as being “our old self.” The phrase is (palaios anthrōpos) which is literally, “the old man”. We might describe it as “the person I once used to be” or “what I was of old”.  Again the word is (sustauróō) for “crucified with”. This time Paul is speaking in the plural, “we”. It is in the aorist tense that denoted a past action, but it was an action that had impacted significantly on the believers.

Paul adds to this, the purpose and the result of that crucifixion with Christ. The crucifixion was to break the power of sin in believers’ lives, “that the body of sin might be brought to nothing”. The “body of sin” of course refers to human bodies capable of committing sin. The human bodies of the believers had lost the power they once had to enslave believers to sin. Why? Because a new and greater power had come upon them when they received the promised Holy Spirit into their lives.  The believers now had a choice. They could walk in their old ways or they could walk in the new way of the Spirit. Paul gives the result of that empowering, “so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin”. A new power had enabled new choices. They had been inwardly motivated to make the right choices. As they continued to live by faith in that way, it would mean that their body of sin was no longer victorious in their lives. Or as Paul wrote in the next verse, Rom 6:7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Galatians 5:24. A similar expression is used in this verse to describe the victory in believers’ lives over sin.  Paul wrote, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The term “the flesh” is used to describe many things in Paul’s writings. However here it seems to refer to fallen human nature characteristic of all peoples, as the following words indicate, “with its passions and desires”. The flesh no longer governed the life of the believer for as Paul shows in the next verse, they could be governed by the Spirit, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”5:25. The Spirit could lead believers to walk in God’s ways and could also empower them to do so.  The Spirit enabled them to have victory over the flesh as they continued to walk in step with the Spirit.

 Galatians 6:14.  “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” In this verse there is a change in wording though the essential message is the same as in the above verses. Here the word is simply (stauroṓ = crucify). There are two crucifixions mentioned. The first crucifixion mentioned in the verse is the crucifixion of the world to Paul. The attraction of the world to Paul had been broken. It no longer had the power over him it had had in the past. The second crucifixion was the crucifixion of Paul to the world.  He had changed though the world had not. He had been strengthened through his conversion and by receiving the Spirit of God into his life to be able to resist the lure of the world.

Paul was not boastful of his new attitude to the world or of his victory over sin.  He simply boasted that the change had been wrought through what Christ had done on the cross and to his commitment to the victory attained there, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. That has been the boast of every believer ever since! Jesus’ victory on the cross brings victories into the lives of His people as they continue to trust in Him

Blog No.154. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Friday 25th July 2014

Amazon Kindle books authored by Jim Holbeck:

  1. The Searching And Knowing God Who Loves And Cares: Reflections on Psalm 139. 
  2. The Godly Reward for True Humility. Studies in St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians.
  3. Click on :-  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=holbeck

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153. Galatians 2:8. God At Work.  The Secret Of Christian Ministry

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Jim Holbeck

Galatians 2:8  (for he who worked (Gk. energéō) through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked (Gk. energéō) also through me for mine to the Gentiles) (“GK” stands for the Greek word in the original Greek text of the New Testament).

It would be nice if every church could have a Noticeboard with the words printed on it, “Caution! God At Work Here!” However some folk might be a bit reticent about having such a sign. They could think that it might be hard to point to some indication of outward divine activity in their particular church life. Nevertheless it should be a true statement. God has been at work through His people over generations.  It may be that we simply fail to recognise what He is doing amongst His people. He really is at work, as He was once at work in and through Peter and Paul.

1). God At Work In And Through Peter And Paul

Galatians 2:8. “for he who worked (Gk. energéō) through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked (Gk. energéō) also through me for mine to the Gentiles).”  Paul was emphasising that it was the same God (Yahweh) who was at work in both Peter and himself.  Their ministry might be to different people (Peter to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles) but it was the same God empowering them to do what they were doing.

However this divine working in humans was not limited to Paul and Peter . Others can be and are the recipients of God’s work in them. We see that especially in Philippians 2:12-13.

2).  God At Work In And Through His People

Philippians 2:12  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out (Gk. katergázomai) your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13  for it is God who works (Gk. energéō) in you, both to will and to work (Gk. energéō) for his good pleasure. (See my previous articles numbered 024 and 065 for more detailed discussion on these verses). We note here though that the word for “work out” in verse 12 has the meaning to bring to fruition, to accomplish, to complete a task.

God at work! In His people! But they have to work out in practice what He is inwardly working in them.

Paul certainly followed his own advice. When he reminded the Romans about his ministry he wrote, Rom 15:18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished (Gk. katergázomai) through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed. Paul had been working for God while God had been working in him.  What Paul accomplished was what God was working in him. What God was working in him Christ accomplished through Paul as Paul sought to “work out” in practice, the implications of his salvation.

 3).  God At Work Through You And Me

It is an exciting truth to discover that we are not left alone to work for God using our own resources.  He wants to accomplish His will through His people. So He works within them (as we see in Philippians 2:13) to give them the willingness and the ability to do His will. Like Paul our only boast will be in what Christ accomplishes through us as we willingly offer ourselves to Him to fulfil His purposes.

How wonderful to know that when we are motivated to live for God it means that we are responding to His working within us. Even more wonderful to know is that He empowers us to do what He has inwardly motivated us to do.

A Prayer asking God to work in and through us to His glory

Lord God, I thank You that You are at work within me as I seek to live for You. I thank You too that You motivate me and empower me to live in a way that brings You pleasure. I open every area of my life to You so that You can do in me and through me whatever You wish. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I may know what it is You want me to say and to do in every circumstance of my life. I ask this so that the name of Jesus may be glorified in every moment of my life. AMEN

OR a shorter prayer

“Heavenly Father , please empower me by Your Spirit to enable me to work out in my life everything that You are working within me. Amen

Blog No. 153. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 21st July 2014.

Amazon Kindle books authored by Jim Holbeck:

1. The Searching And Knowing God Who Loves And Cares: Reflections on Psalm 139. 

2. The Godly Reward for True Humility. Studies in St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians.

Website. Click on :-  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=holbeck

 

 

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152. Galatians 1:3-4.  The Jesus Who Sets Us Free

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Jim Holbeck

Galatians 1:3, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”

We notice three wonderful truths in this passage.

1).        Jesus Gave Himself For Our Sins

The Lord Jesus Christ “gave Himself for our sins.” What does it mean that He “gave Himself”? We may be familiar with the words described as “the gospel in a nutshell” in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. The truth in that verse is that God gave us His Son to die for us on the cross. The wording here is different. It states that Jesus “gave Himself” rather than God gave Him. He willingly came into the world with the intention of giving Himself up to death on a cross.

The Lord Jesus Christ “gave Himself for our sins.” There is great significance in Paul’s use of the term “for” which is “huper” (“on behalf of” or “for the sake of” ) in the Greek New Testament. It may be helpful to see my previous articles Nos 147 and 148 showing how that word is used in the New Testament.  They will show that His giving of Himself cannot be ignored. In some way our sins necessitated His giving Himself. We now see why.

 2).    Jesus Gave Himself  … To Deliver Us From The Present Evil Age

There is a connection between “our sins” and “the present evil age.” It is because we are sinful by nature and we live in a sinful age and environment. In brief there is sin within us and all around us, always. But God has done something about it through the death of His Son. Jesus died to bring victory in two ways. Through His giving of Himself He made forgiveness of sins available to all who received it through receiving Him. So they are delivered from the penalty due to them because of their sin. But there is a dynamic element in this as well. His giving of Himself made it possible to those who embraced His death to have victories over the power of evil, even as they lived by the power of His Spirit in the present evil age.

The same expression “gave Himself” is also found in the following two verses. They express similar truths but each verse adds a little more meaning to the overall message of Jesus’ death on the cross. They add to our understanding of the meaning of the term that Jesus came to “deliver us from the present evil age”.

i).   1 Tim 2:5-6.For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6  who gave himself as a ransom  for all …. . The word for “ransom” here is (antílutron). It is the only time it is used in the New Testament.  It refers to the payment of a price to bring freedom. Jesus gave Himself to bring freedom to those who were in bondage. The prefix “anti” is seen by many to denote an element of substitution. In other words He bore the punishment that sinners should have borne for their own sins. He did it for their sake so that they might become free.

There are other references to “ransom” but they come from a similar word, (lutron). Mat 20:28  even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” AND Mar 10:45  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In seeking to serve His fellow humans Jesus sacrificed His life to set them free.

The verb form of “lutron” is lutroō translated as “redeem”. It is used of Jesus in Luk 24:21  But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. The travellers on the road to Emmaus were joined by the risen Christ whom they failed to recognise. They told Him that they had hoped that Jesus was the one who had come to bring freedom to the Jewish nation, but His death had shattered their dream. It was a case of two disciples of Christ telling a living Christ about a dead Christ! Soon after they discovered that Jesus was the One who had joined them on the road. They discovered that He was alive and was indeed the Messiah who had come (as they had hoped) to redeem Israel.  

 There is no reference in Paul as to whom the ransom was paid. The emphasis is upon the freedom gained and upon the death of Jesus to accomplish that freedom. However the following verses give us some indication of the results of His death. It was to set free those under the law to enable them to become the children of God, Gal 4:5  to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

 ii).        Titus 2:13-14. waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, 14  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

There was a dynamic element to the redemption. Paul refers to that in verse 14. By trusting in Jesus’ death for them, believers would be enabled to change from living lives characterised by lawlessness to becoming more pure.  The dynamic would also be seen in their becoming more motivated to live for Him and to do the goods works He had for them to do.

3).        Jesus’ Gave Himself ….  According To The Will Of Our God

1:4, “…  the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins …  according to the will of our God and Father.”

There are many critics of the church today who try to argue that if there is a God, then He is immoral. In their understanding He gave up His innocent Son to die for sinful people. They consider that to be immoral. However the verse reminds us that Jesus was not an unwilling victim who was handed over to do the Father’s will. Rather He gave Himself to do the will of his Father.

We read of the decision Jesus reached in the Garden of Gethsemane as He faced His imminent death.  He abhorred the thought of becoming sin for humankind. But He was perfectly motivated to do the Father’s will. His cry in Luke 22:42 (“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done”) was not motivated by an inner struggle to choose to do His Father’s will. Rather it was the thought of the desolation He would feel from the Father as He bore the sin of the world. His pure soul shuddered at such a terrible but necessary prospect. His cry to His Father was the declaration of His committed intention to fulfil the Father’s will for Him no matter what suffering that entailed.

The writer to the Hebrews expressed what was involved in the death of Jesus on the cross. He wrote of Jesus in Heb 12:2, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus knew that He would have to endure suffering and mocking as He hung on the cross. He knew that He would be seen as a despised shameful figure as He hung there in utter weakness. But He also knew that beyond the horrific suffering on the cross there would be victory as He rose triumphant over sin and death. That victory would become available to the people of God through faith in Him. He would also return to glory with the Father. For that reason He gave Himself so that He might enter into the joy that was set before Him as He overcame evil and death and made forgiveness and eternal life available to the people of God throughout the ages.

 What incredible treasure there is for us in these words as we come to understand them, “(Jesus) … gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” Gal 1:4.

Blog No. 152. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 21st July 2014.

Amazon Kindle books authored by Jim Holbeck:

1. The Searching And Knowing God Who Loves And Cares: Reflections on Psalm 139. 

2. The Godly Reward for True Humility. Studies in St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians.

Website. Click on :-  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=holbeck

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151. Victorious Christian Living? (Part 3 of 3). Allowing God To Work In And Through Us

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Jim Holbeck

We need to allow God Himself to work in and through us as we live for Him in today’s world. That’s what Jesus did as the perfect human when He lived and ministered as a human on earth. He attributed the things that He did to His Father working through Him. He also attributed His teaching to His Father, saying that His words had originated with His Heavenly Father.  We look at the origin of the works and miracles He performed and also at the origin of the teaching He taught. Then we examine whether we are meant to be open in the same way to God so that He can do in and through us what He wishes.

 1).  The Works And Miracles Of Jesus

Jesus was obedient to His Heavenly Father during all His life on earth. Paul described that in his famous passage in Philippians 2. He wrote about the humility of Jesus in coming to earth as a servant to eventually die on the cross for sinners. He expressed it as being part of His obedience to His Father. Php 2:6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. So one has to say that Jesus was obedient to His Father for every moment He lived on earth.

St Paul also referred to the obedience of Jesus in Rom 5:18, 19. The obedience mentioned here is His perfect obedience to the will of God throughout His life and leading to His death. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19  For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Jesus did what the Father gave Him to do, in dying for their sins and rising for their justification and acceptance into the family of God.

 How then did Jesus describe His miracles and mighty works? Jesus explained them in John 5:19, 20  as originating with the Father. So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20  For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. Because He was in perfect union with His Father, He knew His Father’s will. His Father was thus able to show Him what to do in every situation. Jesus was perfectly committed to do the Father’s will at all times, Jn 5:30, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. He was committed to doing only the will of God for every moment of His life.

 2).  The Words Jesus Spoke. His Teaching

Jesus taught that the Father gave Him the words to say, Jn 14:10, Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. There are three important truths in this passage. Firstly, Jesus’ words came through Him from the Father with the Father’s authority.  Secondly, the Father who indwelt Jesus worked His works through Him. They were the Father’s works, not just Jesus’ works, though He did them. Thirdly, Jesus could do these things because of the intimacy of the relationship He had with the Father. The works He did were evidence of the Father working through Him and also of the close relationship they shared.

Later in the High priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed to His Father saying, Joh 17:7  Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8  For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. Jesus’ authority was evident in the way He shared the words of God with His followers. It was also evident in the way He lived and ministered that He had been sent by God.

So there we have the pattern of Jesus as He lived as a human, setting us an example we are to seek to emulate. For every moment of his life as a human, Jesus sought to be in perfect communion with His Heavenly Father.  For every moment of His life He sought to be perfectly committed to doing His Father’s will. He did it perfectly. We will never do it perfectly but that is to be our aim. How then can we seek to fulfil God’s will for us?  Here is the double-barrelled good news! Firstly, He helps us to know His will. Secondly, He motivates and enables us to do it. What a relief!

GOD HELPS US TO KNOW HIS WILL FOR US

God can show us what to do by His Spirit as we present all we are to Him.  Paul wrote, Rom 12:1-2. I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.It may help us to know the deeper meaning to those words. “Spiritual worship” can also be translated as “reasonable service”. Both meanings are true. It is perfectly reasonable to seek to serve Him as the One who gave His life for us. Such service is indeed spiritual worship. The word for “transformed” comes from a Greek word we recognize in English. It comes from the verb of “metamorphosis” meaning the inner change wrought by the renewing of our minds. Such renewed minds make it possible for us to prove what is the will of God. “Prove” is from (dokimazo) which means to test, to prove, and to approve after testing. In other words we put the will of God to the test and then recognize, having done so, that it is good, acceptable and perfect.   It’s as though we are saying to the Lord, “Lord, I’m yours. I offer myself completely to You so that I can know Your will for me.”  But it’s not enough to know the will of God. We have to do it. How? Here is the second part of the double-barrelled good news.

 GOD HELPS US TO DO HIS WILL FOR US

He can motivate us and empower us by His Spirit to do His will. Paul wrote, Phil 2:12-13 work out your salvation for God is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure. There’s an important point in these verses that can be a blessing to us if we act on it. When Paul writes that we are to “work out” our salvation, he uses a word (katergázomai) which means to “accomplish” or to “carry out a task until it is finished”.  We are to concentrate, to seek to  accomplish, to bring to completion, to make a concerted effort to “work out” in practice what God is working in us by His Spirit. The word he uses for God “working” in us and through us is different. It is the word (energéō) meaning to be operating within or energising us. So the passage can read “Be energised to bring to completion, to work out in practice your salvation. For God Himself is operating within you, motivating you and empowering you to do His will for His good pleasure.”

 So the Christian life is not someone saying, “Lord I want to do this this and that for You, so please help me to do it.” Rather it is learning to live in a close relationship with God our Heavenly Father as Jesus did as a human. It means learning to recognise what God is doing within us as we spend time with Him in reading and meditating on His word and praying to Him. That’s what Jesus meant when He encouraged His followers to abide in Him, John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  As we abide in the Lord we are brought closer to the will of God for us. So our prayer as we seek to do the will of God might be something like this, “Lord, I thank You that You are at work within me. Thank You for showing me what You want me to do. Please motivate and empower me by the power of the Holy Spirit to do what it is You have planned for me to do.”

 The exciting news is that God knows exactly what He wants us to do. He has had it all mapped out from eternity. That’s what St Paul wrote in Eph 2:10    For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  The only other use of the word “prepared beforehand” is in Rom 9:23  in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—. Again what wonderful truths. He has prepared us beforehand for glory as His followers. AND He has prepared beforehand, the works we are meant to do.

So the Christian life is not just about trying to be obedient to God’s laws. It does involve that but is more than that. It is about a deep relationship with God that leads to obedience as we come to know His will. It also means being motivated and empowered to do it in the power of the Holy Spirit.

We live in a world that seems to be intent on self-destruction. It needs to be revived and indeed many people throughout the world are praying for a revival to take place. An early explorer, the Portuguese navigator Pedro De Quiros in about 1606, named this continent of Australia, “La Australia del Espiritu Santo” or literally “The Southland of the Holy Spirit”.Many in Australia are looking for a deeper move of the Holy Spirit than we have ever seen before, so that the land might become what it was prophesied to become all those centuries ago. But unless revival occurs it could follow many other nations into becoming what many are already in the  process of becoming, “Playgrounds For The Powers Of Darkness.” Australia (and every other country) needs people who are totally committed to Him, who know His will for them and who allow the Lord to motivate and empower them to always do what is pleasing to Him.

We sum up these 3 last blogs (which in reality are an adaption of a message given at a Victorious Christian Living Conference at Port Macquarie in NSW Australia on 17 May 2014) we see what needs to happen.

1). We need to get the right focus in life, Not our ourselves or on other people, but of the perfection of Jesus Himself.

2). We need to fulfil our moral and spiritual obligations to God. Jesus His Son died for us so that we might live every moment for Him.

3). We need to allow God to work within us, so that in response to His motivation and empowerment within us, we can accomplish what He wants done in and through us, to His glory.

Our simple prayer for ourselves throughout each day should be something like this, “Lord fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I might know Your good and perfect will for me, and do it in the power of Your Holy Spirit. AMEN.”

Blog No 151. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Friday 23rd  May 2014

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