Month: April 2020

255. Multiply the Church

Jeremiah 33:22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

God had promised Abraham that his seed would number as many as the stars of heaven and the sands of the sea. Here God promises that He will multiply the seed of David. The promise of seed to Abraham comes through the seed of David: both promises are the same promise: the seed is Jesus the Messiah; and all believers in Christ. The promise for NT believers is that the seed of the Seed, the faithful believers in Jesus, will grow numerous and multiply. The faith of Abraham and the faith of David is faith in the Messiah, who is the promise of God come true. NT believers, you and I, have this same faith and the same promise.

The implanted seed is faith. Faith comes into us as a seed, and then it grows. Jesus uses the “seed” metaphor several times in His parables: mustard seed, good soil, growing secretly, wheat harvested, etc. The faith planted in us at Baptism is watered and nourished, and it grows. Faith comes by hearing, and faith grows by hearing, that is, hearing the word of Christ, or the Gospel. The more we hear the gospel the more faith (the seed) will grow and multiply. Faith grows like a seed into beautiful shrubs, trees, flowers and fruit. It multiplies. The more one hears the gospel, the more the seed of faith multiplies. For this reason attending church and Bible study is so important.

The seed is also promised to multiply as far as the number of believers in Christ. This is shown by the refrain in the Book of Acts: “and the word of the grew.” The Christian Gospel has spread throughout the world making believers everywhere. And God is still multiplying the seed. He promises to multiply both the seed of faith in each believer and also the number of believers to the ends of the earth.

254. Saved and Safe

Jeremiah 33:16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.

In the Messianic Age, the days of the New Testament, the Church, the believers in Jesus the Christ, will be saved and dwell safely. The promise of salvation is endemic throughout Scripture. The promise of dwelling safely refers first of all to  living securely in the Promised Land, promised to Abraham, Moses and the children of Israel, and to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Secondly, it refers to the Jews in Exile who would be returned to the Land and live safely in that Land. Thirdly, the promise of dwelling safely refers to believers who enter the Kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ. This means that there is a safe place for the followers of Jesus to live. In the spiritual kingdom that Jesus ushered in, which is in the hearts of believers, a safe dwelling-place is secured for them. We dwell with God and He dwells with us. Safe, secure and happy living is in God. 

The believer who lives in God has been saved from Sin, Death, and the Devil, and in that safe place He is safe from the evil designs of these Enemies. The Enemies will attack and threaten, and tempt and scare, and attempt to destroy life and prevent access to all the blessings and promises of God. But they cannot be successful, for we are saved and safe. This is God’s promise: we are more than conquerors; “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord [Romans 8:38-39].”

The Church has a new name: “The Lord our righteousness.” The Lord God Almighty Himself is our righteousness; therefore, we are saved, secure and will dwell safely in the Kingdom. The Lord our righteousness protects, preserves, keeps, guards and makes us feel safe from all spiritual enemies that seek our destruction. Sin is forgiven, cleansed and taken away; Death is swallowed up in victory, and Jesus promises the believer that “though he die, yet shall he live;” Satan is crushed under foot, his power is taken away, and his authority (right to rule) is stripped. We are saved and safe; we have eternal life. The Gospel tells us so every time we hear it.

253. Judgment and Righteousness

Jeremiah 33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

The Lord prophesies that “in those days,” the days of the Messiah, the Branch of righteousness will spring up according to the Messianic prophecy given to David. God will cause this to happen at the right time. The promise for us is that He, the Branch, will execute judgment and righteousness. This happened when Jesus died on the cross, and the promise is true for all who will believe in Him.

Jesus executes judgment during His lifetime. The judgment is against Sin, wherein all our sins were placed on Jesus and then He was judged and condemned to death for our sin. Our Enemy, Sin, is judged completely, “finished,” every sin in us and by us is taken away by the Lamb and cleansed in the Blood. Therefore, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Sin is definitely judged, and it shall be removed from our presence in eternity.

The judgment is against Satan. “The prince of this world is judged,” so says Jesus. Satan can no longer truthfully accuse us of sin and guilt. Jesus judged Satan when He resisted Satan’s temptations. He judged Satan when He took authority and cast out demons on numerous occasions. Jesus sends the Spirit to convince each of us of this judgment. Believers can say with Jesus, “he has nothing in me,” and “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.”

The judgment is against Death. Jesus exhibited death’s judgment when He healed diseases (which are little deaths) of all kinds. And then He Himself raised three people from the dead. They died again, but the example remains true: we will all be raised from the dead permanently. And then Jesus violently judged Death in His own resurrection, which was permanent and eternal. Finally, Death is the “last enemy” to be destroyed, and it will finally be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Jesus executes judgment.

Jesus also executed righteousness for us and gives it to us. Because of Christ, God declares us righteous and the Holy Spirit is in the process of making us more and more righteous in actual behavior over time. He executes: Jesus makes it happen; He makes it real. And the Spirit convinces us of righteousness through the Gospel. This convincing is more real and effective than our own sight and experience. It is completely executed in these New Testament days, and at the End God will finish what He started.

252. That Good Thing

Jeremiah 33:14 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

“The days come” = the Messianic Age, when the Son of God comes to earth. In that day, the day of the New Testament, the days in which we are living, the Lord will perform that good thing which He has promised to the people of God. In Jesus Christ God has performed it; He has carried it out; He completed it; He finished it. It is done, and now all of God promises are in Him “Yea and Amen.”

There are thousands of things the Lord has promised throughout Scripture. Since most of these promises have come true in Jesus Christ, we can trust in absolute confidence that the promises that haven’t yet been seen will be performed. The things that the Lord promised are often spiritual things that are true and real right now in the life of the faithful. These things may not be seen, but they are nonetheless truly real and present, things like the forgiveness of sins and life eternal. Even though we don’t see it we still believe it, and we are blessed. John 20:29: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” V. 31: “These are written so that you may believe.” We heard the Word; we believe; we see.

The things promised and received by faith in the Gospel are present possessions. Though not yet seen, these things will be seen, felt, experienced, and enjoyed in real life once we pass through death and resurrection. So God promises in the Gospel and so we believe by the power of the Spirit. That future hope is a present hope, as an anchor of the soul sure and steadfast in the heavens. This hope prevents us from being blown about and sinking in the storms of life. God promises to perform that good thing, and He will finish what He started. Faith sees dimly but surely, until the day comes when we will see face to face. Meanwhile, God will perform.

251. Joy and Gladness

Jeremiah 33:11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.

When the Jews return from Exile and captivity in Babylon there will be joy and gladness and praise to the Lord. This is because the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever. The prophecy was fulfilled when Cyrus decreed that the Jews were allowed to return to their Homeland. The captivity will end.

The extended promise is for all believers in Christ who will be freed from captivity to Sin, Death and Devil. All of us are liberated from such bondage by the forgiveness of sins earned by Jesus. Jesus takes us out from under slavery, bondage and captivity to the Enemies. In Adam we surrendered our freedom and gave up control when Adam (and we) sinned against God. In Christ we are freed, and we willingly surrender control to this benevolent lord. In Christ we are returned to the Paradise we once enjoyed in Adam before he and we fell. The “Land” we enjoyed in Adam has been restored when Jesus announced the Kingdom of God.

The promise for those entering into the spiritual Kingdom by repentance and faith and being born from above by water and Spirit is joy and gladness. When we have returned Home and entered the Kingdom we will hear and experience the voice of celebration, similar to the joyous celebrations of a wedding feast. For many people, the happiest day of their life was their wedding day (or at least, you had better tell your spouse that). For all Christians, the happiest day of rejoicing was the day of entering the Kingdom, whether by Baptism or a subsequent conversion experience. The next time the voice of joy will be heard will be the day we celebrate the Wedding Feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom. Then, captivity is over and we are in our Paradise Home forever.

Meanwhile, the reality of joy and gladness enters our lives daily when we hear again the sweet gospel of Jesus Christ. Every time we repent and believe we enter into the spiritual eternal life, the kingdom of God within, free from spiritual captivity. Every day is a happy day. Like the Prodigal, we return home and have a party. This is “good news of great joy.” This is the realization of “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Every day can be a day of joyous and glad celebration.

250. Goodness and Prosperity

Jeremiah 33:9 And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.

The Lord promises that the Church will be to Him a name of joy, a praise and an honor. The city is the invisible Church, the people of God who are believers in Christ. That includes us. We are made by God to be a joy, a praise and an honor. And the entire world will see it and hear through the church about God doing good for them. This prophecy has come true: the people of God throughout the world are a witness to a good God who has done good things.

When the nations, the world’s people, hear they will fear and tremble, that is, come to deeply appreciate and strongly believe in a good God. They will see the promise of God coming into effect: the Lord will procure goodness and prosperity. This is a promise we can each believe and take to heart: God promises goodness and prosperity. He has procured this goodness and prosperity for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has purchased and won me from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil. 

“Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever [Psalm 23:6].” Spiritual goodness goes with me as long as I am living in a sinful and dangerous world. Spiritual prosperity and riches are constantly accessible to the believer while he is alive on earth. And furthermore, this spiritual goodness and prosperity follows us into eternity when we die, and then the spiritual goodness and riches become real, alive, tangible, physical and visual in the resurrection of the body for eternity. God’s story (His-story) is recorded in the Word for us to receive and enjoy the promise of goodness and prosperity. We hear this promise from God and we believe it; we have it and we enjoy it every day.

249. Cleansing and Pardon

Jeremiah 33:8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

God promises to cleanse and pardon, that is, He will forgive our sins. Each verb has a different nuance, but each means, generally, forgive. Cleanse implies something is dirty and it is washed clean. “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” Pardon is a legal or forensic term meaning that the sin or crime is not counted as something against one any longer. The judge or official legally pronounces one acquitted or not guilty, whether he is inherently guilty or not. He is free from the penalty that the sin justly deserved. It has to do with mercy instead of justice. He remains still guilty by nature, since he did the sin, but the sentence is commuted. Cleansing has to do with the sin that inheres in the nature of the individual. It is wiped away, washed away, and removed from the inner person.

Forgiveness includes the nuance of both terms. The forgiveness that God grants on account of Jesus Christ both cleans the inner man of filth and it also legally removes the deserved penalty for the action (even though the sinner really did it). Forgiveness does two things: 1) it pardons, that is, the penalty (eternal death and separation) of the sins are not counted against the sinner; he is acquitted, declared innocent, whether it is factually true or not. He is given an “alien righteousness.” He is justified, “just-if-I’d” never sinned.” 2) It cleanses, that is, the dirt and stench of the sins are washed away. The person himself, the sinner, is forgiven; it is not just the sins that are taken away, like dirt that clings, but it is also that the person as a whole is made clean and right once again, restored to an original righteousness.

One deals with the sin, the other with the sinner. Both the deed and the person are forgiven for the sake of Christ. We must be told this (the Gospel tells) because we do not see the dirt cleaned away or the sentence commuted. The Spirit convinces us that the promise is real and so we see by faith.

The word “transgression” signifies crossing the line, or trespassing, going into a forbidden area, a place that will do us harm and incur death. “Forgive us our trespasses,” trampling on another’s happiness and life. Transgressing against God is trespassing on other people’s lives, diminishing their life and joy. And because God forgives so do we. Forgiving others is receiving the promise of forgiveness.

248. Return and Build

Jeremiah 33:7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and I will build them, as at the first.

God prophesies the end of the Babylonian captivity, and He promises that He will cause the people to return to the Land and build them there again. This came true under the decree of Cyrus, and the Jews returned to the Land of Promise and rebuilt Jerusalem and the towns and farms of Judea.

The spiritual future aspect of the physical promise to the people of God comes true in the Messianic Age when the Messiah comes to be born in Bethlehem. He carries out the mission of redeeming and rescuing the people of God from the captivity of Sin, Death and the Devil, and returns believers from the exile of living in the sinful world and returning them to their original Home Paradise Land of the Kingdom of God where God’s children once lived and ruled in Adam when He lived in the Paradise of Eden. All humanity descended from Adam; each human shared in His innocent existence and shared in His rebellious disobedience of God. 

After the Fall, all humans were placed under the Curse, which also involved captivity. First we are captive to Sin and under its control and power. Second, we are captive to Death, the result of Sin, for we through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Third, we were held captive to the Devil, the prince of the world, who deceives the people into sin, shame and everlasting despair. When Jesus, the Messiah, died and rose again He delivered us from this Captivity; and He returned us back to the Kingdom of God, our true and predestined homeland.

In that Land (Kingdom) the Lord promises to build. And so He fulfills His promise by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer and begin the work of building Paradise in the soul, or heaven on earth. By faith we live in that Land in the heart and are built up inside through sanctification. The indwelling Spirit continues to build up the soul and retake the Promised Land within. This ongoing process of returning and rebuilding continues until the day we die, and then the process will be completed. And we have the sure promise that it will be finished perfectly. He builds new life and rebuilds broken spirits. And He will not stop until finished. Revelation 21-22 recapitulates Genesis 1-2. We will be fully returned and rebuilt.

247. Abundance of Peace and Truth

Jeremiah 33:6b [I] will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.

God hides His presence because of sin; God promises to reveal His presence because of forgiveness of sin. For this reason, the Gospel is vitally important. The Gospel brings God close to us, while Sin brings God further away from us. This is why it is so important for believers to attend a gospel-preaching church regularly. This truth must be believed: sin separates; forgiveness unites. Repentance believes sin is real and harmful; faith believes forgiveness removes sin and the separation from God that sin caused.

In the Gospel God reveals the abundance of peace and truth. Jesus is our peace, and Jesus is the Truth. In fact, Jesus is the only way to true and lasting peace: this peace is peace with God, peace with others; and peace within the self. Jesus gives His peace, not as the world gives. The Peace of God is not only abundant, but it is also eternal. Worldly peace is transient and short-lived. God’s peace is always available and does not ever end. God’s peace is abundant and deep and strong. It is deep and strong enough to provide a solid foundation for living. It is so deep that the outward circumstances of life cannot touch it. Rather when trouble and peace come into contact peace always wins out. It is so deep that inward turmoil cannot reach it or take it away. No matter what else is going on around us or in us, peace remains and guards our hearts and minds. We may become distracted by the fears, doubts, worries, anxieties, troubles and struggles of living in a world of sin, but the peace of God passes understanding and keeps us in Him. God reveals abundance of peace.

Jesus is the Truth. The Gospel is Truth. This truth is absolute and absolutely certain. It is purely true and more real than all the lies of the world. Abundant truth is reliable and a life can be built on it. Truth is not relative or elusive. We do not have to ask, with Pilate, “What is truth?” We know the truth; we have the truth, for we have Jesus and His Gospel. This truth is abundant. God has revealed it to us in His Word. God is not hidden; God is revealed. And all God’s promises are open, available, ready to be received, activated by faith, and energized by the Spirit. The forgiveness of sins reveals the goodness of the hidden God.

246. Health and Cure

Jeremiah 33:6a Behold,I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them….

The Lord had just said in verse 5 that He “has hidden his face from this city because of all their evil.” Then He says here that He would bring to the city health and healing, and He would heal them. Sin causes the Lord to hide His face, or withdraw His Presence, from the people of God. Or, taken personally, my sin grieves the Holy Spirit, and my sin makes the Spirit withdraw His presence of blessing. Sin, while forgiven (and the Spirit doesn’t actually leave), does have consequences. We experience the unpleasantness of the consequences of sin, but we return to the Lord in repentance and faith. The Spirit is “ungrieved” and blesses with his active presence when we hear and believe the Gospel. Instead of hiding, the Lord reveals.

The sin and evil is removed by the blood of Jesus, the Spirit is activated, and the Lord promises health and healing. The broken heart, shattered by our own sin and evil, is repaired and made whole again while the Spirit applies the loving healing of God. The contrite spirit is not despised, and the Spirit renews with joy, revives with hope, and repairs with peace. God’s health and healing makes us whole again. 

We live in a godless world with a sinful flesh, suffering the fierce attacks of the Evil One. Alongside that world and next to our flesh the Holy Spirit dwells and the blessed presence of God. God promises spiritual health for the soul and spiritual healing for the spirit. This inner working on the invisible parts of the person affects the visible parts of the body and aids physical healing. Jesus is the one who cures and the Spirit applies the promise “I will cure them.”

God may use science, nutrition and medicine to heal the body, or He may choose to use miracles, but to heal the soul He will always use forgiveness, grace, mercy and love through the Gospel to apply the life-giving power. But always, we may receive and believe the promise: “I will heal them.”