Month: November 2018

85. Come behind in no gift

 1 Corinthians 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift;

It can be confidently assumed that every member of the body of Christ has a gift, at least one gift. The gifts are the blessings that the Holy Spirit uses through us to bring a blessing to other people. No one can say that he doesn’t have any gifts, for God gives a promise. No one can say that he is useless in the kingdom of God on earth. God the HS can use each and every person, and in usually multiple ways, to build up and extend the kingdom. Some of the gifts may come through God’s creation of each individual and they become activated when he comes to faith in Christ and thus becomes a member of the Body. Many spiritual gifts are granted when the believer is called by the Gospel to faith in Christ. The HS stirs up the use of these gifts, as He needs them to minister and serve the Body.

It is a blessing to oneself to be used by God to be a blessing to others. Exercising the spiritual gifts is a win-win situation, while the one who blesses and the one who is blessed both feel better. This is God’s intention for our life. Everyone in the Body is blessed by everyone else in the Body. This mutual edification and nourishment is how the Christian lives joyfully in a hostile world. In this way life in the fellowship of believers is meant to be a blessed experience. It is also true that God can use the created gifts of unbelievers to give a blessing to us, and vice versa. All people, believers and unbelievers alike, can be kind, for instance, from time to time. Thus we can live civilly in a cruel world.

The promise of this verse more directly is applied to the plural “ye” so that it includes the entire Body of Christ. The church community in a certain location as a whole “comes behind in no gift.” God sees to it that every fellowship of believers has enough of the gifts of the Spirit so every person can be built up, encouraged, strengthened, and blessed. Somehow, every Christian group will have and will use all the gifts of God that are needed for the health and wellbeing of that group. God does not normally drop blessings out of the sky; He uses people. The result is that no believer will be left without someone to help him spiritually. The Holy Spirit will see to that.

84. Enriched in Utterance and Knowledge

 1 Corinthians 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge.

God promises Christ will make us rich. We are rich, maybe not by the standards of our own desires and greed, but rich toward God and in the things of God. We need a different definition of “rich;” we need God’s definition. Being rich in the things of God is far better than being rich in things. Being enriched by Him enhances and enriches all the blessings and the things we already have. Being able to enjoy the riches we have doubles our pleasure and our fun. Faith in God also means I know that my God will supply every need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. How can I be richer than having a God who does that?

We are made rich in Christ in so many ways that we do not need the world’s riches to be happier and more blessed. The particular way in which we are promised enrichment in this promise is in all utterance and in all knowledge. What an amazing promise if we could only believe it: we would always know what needs to be known for any situation and we would always know what to say for a blessing in any given situation. We are gifted by the Holy Spirit to know God’s mind and God’s words. Knowing the right things to think and the right words to say at the right time is living in riches beyond counting.

When God knows it and says it we can always be sure it is the right and good thing., for it is God’s. That makes us rich and full of life. Filling life and every daily activity with God enriches the soul and the regular relationships of life. In general, He promises that we are enriched “in every thing.”We take “every thing” to means everything that matters, everything that is good for us, and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

83. Grace Given

 1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.

 By definition, grace is free. By definition, grace is a gift. Giving grace is a redundancy unless it is possible to withhold grace. Of course grace is given for free; it is unearned and undeserved. If grace should be withheld, or not given, then the benefits of grace will have to be earned or worked for. In fact, grace has been earned by Jesus Christ on the cross; He has earned the favor of God for us; now God grants favor and undeserved grace for us for free on account of the Christ who earned it.

The grace of God is given to me by Jesus Christ. The statement that grace is given implies that it is a quality, an entity, a substance, a power, or a force. Indeed, it is. But grace is not an empowering force that gives a person the ability to do good works and so earn salvation by those works. No, the grace itself is sufficient and by itself earns salvation. Grace saves; grace does not need the addition of good works done by the individual in order to effect salvation and forgiveness. Grace is all.

It should be noted, however, that grace is in fact a force or power that does prompt and empower a person to do good works. The completed grace received does motivate and prompt the person to do good works. The works are not the means of salvation but the evidence of completed grace received. We do not see grace, but we do see the fruit in the lives of those who have received grace.

This saving grace is poured out into empty vessels that are capable of receiving it. God wants to give His grace and salvation to all people, but those who are already full of themselves have no room to receive it. Thus, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble [1 Peter 5:5].” Those who are empty and needy and admit their guilt and sin are able to receive grace. A little bit of grace saves, but it is also possible to grow in grace and receive more grace. This is done by repentance and faith in the Gospel: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Like Paul, we also thank God for the grace of God given us by Jesus Christ. We live by this promise.

82. Sanctified Saints

 1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.

 God promises to sanctify us in Christ and call us to be saints. Sanctify = make holy; saint = holy person. I am one of those people who call upon the name of Jesus Christ my Lord; I am called to be a holy person and I am made holy. This is quite an impossible promise for a sinner like me, most certainly not holy and a long way from being a holy person. Yet it is true for the church in Corinth and for the church in every place.

Sanctification is both a one-time event and at the same time it is an ongoing process. Once I believe in Jesus I am suddenly declared holy and called to be a saint. This is suddenly true and real for God declares it to be so on account of what Christ has done for me and because He granted me the faith to believe it. However, in actual life it is progressive as holiness is built up slowly, little bit by little bit, over time. That ongoing process will not be complete until I die and am transformed in the resurrection of the body. Then God will finish what He started.

But until That Day comes it is true to say that God is not finished with me yet, and every day He has a lot of work to do. I can say truthfully that I am already sanctified (made holy) and not yet sanctified. I am a work in progress, and I can be sure that the work is continuing based on the already declared sanctification that has taken place. “Already and not yet” is the tension that we live with every day: I am at the same time and all the time “saint and sinner.” I don’t look like and I don’t act like a saint, but that is what God sees. Other Christians don’t look like saints, but by faith that is how I can see them. My fellow Christians are called to be saints, and I will treat them differently if I see them that way. What would life be like if we could see the halo on other people? Or even on myself?

81. Be Established

 Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.

Jesus has the power to establish you, to strengthen you, or to make you stand. We are weak but He is strong. His strength is made perfect in weakness. We can admit to being weak, vulnerable, sick, helpless and poor; when we admit it and ask for help He promises to establish us. In Him we stand firm, strong, and tall. We become like a rock when standing on the Rock; nothing can push us over.

No matter how strong the winds and storms of life blow against us we will stand and remain established. Faith that rests on the Rock cannot be toppled. Individuals, marriages, families, and churches that are built on the Gospel will be established by the power of God. He is our strength. Satan sends his best, and we can say, “Is that all you got? I got the Gospel.”

God establishes us by the power of the Gospel and the preaching of Christ. Going to church and hearing the Gospel preached week after week may not seem like an important or an exciting thing to do, but the unseen power that is unleashed whenever Christ is preached is awesome. The Gospel reveals a mystery; a mystery is something we cannot see or understand. No human being could make it up; no person can figure it out. It is a secret that cannot be known unless it is revealed. The Bible reveals, or unveils, the secret that God sent His Son to be the God-man who would die for our sins. Because the Gospel is foolishness to the world and a stumbling block to the Jew it is hard, nay, impossible, to believe. It is sneakily easy to drift into unbelief or onto the sandy foundation of salvation by faith plus works. We need the Old Gospel Preaching to be repeated over and over again ad nauseam. God promises to establish us by the Gospel.

80. Bruise Satan under your feet

 Romans 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.

 The First Gospel promise in Genesis 3:15 says: “He shall bruise your head.” The offspring of Eve is the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth; He is the one who bruises the head of the serpent, who is Satan. The clear implication is that it is the heel, or foot, of Jesus that crushes the power of the Devil. Surprisingly, that promise is changed here to your feet. It is the feet of the believer that bruises Satan. God does the bruising, but He does it under our feet.

When Christ died He crushed the power of Satan once and for all, but the outworking of that bruising takes place in real time in the history of our lifetimes on the earth. Satan keeps on attacking us and nipping at our heels, but God uses our feet to continually crush him. This promise gives us great confidence. The God of peace will do this, but He uses us to carry it out. Every time we hear and believe the Gospel Satan is crushed again. Every time we confess our faith in Jesus as Lord Satan is crushed again. Every time we repent and believe Satan is crushed again. Every time pray and ask God’s help Satan is crushed again. Satan keeps on lying, tempting and scaring, but we keep resisting him firm in the faith, we keep conquering him by the blood of the Lamb, and we keep commanding him to “get behind me.”

In many specific instances during our daily life the bruising continues. The God of peace is always present to help in time of need. The daily problems we face may not look like snakes (Satans) but the God of peace knows what he looks like, and He does the bruising. By believing in Christ and applying the Gospel to the particular temptations and issues God is using our feet to crush. The Gospel is the power that overcomes: therefore I proclaim, “Jesus is Lord; Jesus died for me; Jesus overcomes; Jesus forgives and rules; thank you, Jesus.” Jesus wants to use us to exercise His authority and power. Jesus wants us to believe the promise.

79. Filled with joy and peace

 Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

 The Holy Spirit uses the power of the Gospel to bring us to faith in Christ, and then God fills us with all joy and peace. Joy and peace produces an abundance of hope. Hope is the present reality of a future not yet seen; though we do not see the future faith makes it just as real and true and substantial in the present. We know the promises to be true because of the joy and peace that presently fills us. If we are not living in joy and peace it would be because we are not paying attention to the Gospel that brings the Spirit that produces the fruit of love, joy, and peace.

Far too many things distract us daily from the Gospel and lead us away to dead end trails, and even believers lose their peace. This does not need to happen, but we admit that distraction happens. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion [Luke 11:41-42].” The “one thing needful” is listening to Jesus: go to church, hear the Gospel; spend time in the Word and prayer. The promise of the Gospel is that God will fill you with joy and peace. This joy and peace that comes through the power of the Holy Spirit is always available, because the Gospel is always available to us; it is as close as the mouth and the heart, to confess and believe. One does have to be “in church” to hear the Gospel, but hearing the Gospel publicly preached greatly helps us apply the Gospel to ourselves every other day of the week.

Come back to the Gospel whenever joy and peace seem to be inactive. Take hold of this wonderful promise by choosing the “good portion,” listening to Jesus speak His words of love and forgiveness. When one does so the Holy Spirit grants the power to believe, and believing brings joy and peace. That’s a promise.

78. Received to Glory

Romans 15:7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

 Christ has received us; He has welcomed, accepted and loved us into His presence, which is the glory of God. This promise has come true for us who believe in Him, and the promise will be completely fulfilled when we are shed of this mortal coil and welcomed into God’s Eternal Mansions. The glory of God is the presence of God on the earth; it is not seen but it is believed. The glory of God does presently surround us and fill us. If we could see it we would be awestruck; but Christ in us, the hope of glory, is obscured by the Sin in us and around us. Nevertheless, it is true that Christ has received us to the glory of God. We need to believe and then live as though it is true, because it is. We are in the glory of God; we have come short of God’s glory, presence and acceptance, but Christ has received us: we come short but Christ does not. Once Jesus entered into the Glory He invites us to come along.

After we have lived our life with God by faith in Christ we will die. “Die” means that we will lose forever the body of death and the Sin that corrupts. Then the soul will clearly see the glory of God without being consumed. We will see Christ with open arms welcoming us into eternal glory, glory no longer hidden by sin and self. Then we will be reunited with our resurrected body, which has been changed to be like His glorious body. Then we live forever in that state. We enjoy the glory.

A secondary possibility for understanding the words, ”to the glory of God,” is that Christ receives us to the glory and praise of God. God is praised, honored, blessed and pleased when we are received. God created and redeemed for this very purpose that He might enjoy us and we might enjoy Him forever in undiminished glory.

77. Lord of dead and living

 Romans 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

Jesus is Lord of all; Jesus is Lord of both the dead and the living; Jesus died, rose and still lives in order that He might be Lord. The promise for me is that Jesus is my Lord, both of my dead life (my life without Christ) and my living life (my life with Christ). Jesus is Lord of all of me; Jesus is Lord of me all of time and eternity.

Jesus is Lord of the dead in that He has overcome death by His bodily resurrection from the dead. He is Lord of Death because that Enemy is defeated, and He is Lord of the dead because He gives life to the dead. When He is our Lord we are no longer dead but living, even though while we live on earth we are under the cloud and shadow of death. Our Lord makes the dead to live and keeps the living from dying.

To promise that He is Lord of the dead and living is the same as promising that Jesus is the Lord of Life: He gives life, He raises the dead to life, and He keeps alive the living. Therefore, if Jesus is our Lord it is guaranteed to us that we shall live and not die. And that promise is eternal.

Whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord’s. We belong to Him in life and in death. He is in charge of us. Dead or alive, we are His responsibility; He is responsible for our life and our living well and our living eternally. This promise means that we have no fear of death and we have no fear of living. Either way, or both ways, Jesus is Lord. And if so, everything is OK.

Jesus earned the right to Lordship over all by His death and resurrection. He earned the right to be our Lord because He died for us and He rose to give us life. We have the right to reject His Lordship. But why would we? For then we die. Why die when we have a promise?

76. Salvation is Near

 Romans 13:11 For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

 Salvation is near whenever and wherever we need it, and we need it all the time and everywhere; it is near in time and near in place.There is no place or time or situation that we do not need salvation since we are always in sin and always in danger. Our enemies are always present around us wherever we are; at certain times and places we can sense a clear and present danger. But we can be assured that salvation is also present. Both Friend and Enemy are ever present, and we are able to jump into one or the other. We have a safe place to go; salvation is near. Jesus invites continually: “Come unto Me!”

Salvation is nearer in time than when we first believed: as day passes into another day we grow older and at the same time closer to God, His love, and His salvation. Finally, the Day will come when Full and Permanent Salvation is ours forever. Once we were baptized and believed and we are saved from sin and shame, death and hell, the Devil and his demons. This is Good News; but even Better News for us is that salvation gets progressively nearer, closer, surer, more meaningful, more enjoyable, and even more peaceful.

Salvation is nearer in space than when we first believed; as each day passes by faith in Christ we become more and more aware of the presence and closeness of Jesus in our life. We can be as close to Jesus as we want to be. He is always close by, as close as our mouth and our heart, but we do not always avail ourselves of that close by presence. We may confess the Lord and believe in Him; when we do we draw near. He never leaves us, but we drift away from Him. But wherever we are we can come back by hearing the Gospel, repenting and believing.

Salvation is nearer in prayer than when we first believed: we gradually become more and more aware of the need and power of prayer. The more we live the more we realize the promise and the availability of prayer. The Holy Spirit uses the experiences of life and the experiences of prayer to prompt us to pray more often and about more things than maybe we once did. We become more and more certain that God hears us and yearns to hear us. When He hears He saves; He saves from whatever problems we get ourselves into. Salvation is nearer.