To understand why David was a man after God’s own heart,

​we need to see what characteristics he had to qualify for such an exalted description. In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul speaks of God’s feelings about King David: “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’” (Acts 13:22). The answer to why David was considered a man after God’s own heart is found right in the verse: David did whatever God wanted him to do. An obvious question is how could God still call David a man after His own heart when David committed such terrible sins, including adultery and murder?


We learn much of David’s character in the book of Psalms as he opened up his life for all to examine. David’s lifewas a portrait of success and failure, and the biblical record highlights the fact that David was far from perfect. But what made David a cut above the rest was that his heart was pointed toward God. He had a deep desire to follow God’s will and do “everything” God wanted him to do. He was a man after God’s own heart. Let’s look at some characteristics of David’s life to discover what that entails:

Part of why David is called

a man after God’s

own heart is that he had

absolute faith in God.

Nowhere in Scripture is this point better illustrated than in 1 Samuel 17 where David as a young shepherd boy fearlessly slew the Philistine, Goliath. Shortly before the duel, we see direct evidence of David’s faith when David says, “‘The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the LORD be with you!’” (verse 37). David was fully aware that God was in control of his life, and he had faith that God would deliver him from impending danger. How else would one venture into a potentially fatal situation with such calm and confidence? David knew early on in life that God was to be trusted and obeyed.

As we see in Scripture, David’s faith pleased God, and God rewards David for his faithfulness.

Another reason David was a man after God’s own heart is that he absolutely loved God’s Law. Of the 150 psalms in the Bible, David is credited for writing over half of them. Writing at various and often troubling times in his life, David repeatedly mentioned how much he loved God’s perfect Word. We find a beautiful example of this in Psalm 119:47–48: “For I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.” It is not hard to see his complete adoration for God’s Word. Also notice how David “meditates” on God’s statutes. God granted David understanding and wisdom through daily meditation. We would do well to not only read God’s Word but also think about it throughout the day, for God loves us to think about Him. “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways” (Psalm 119:2–3).

David was a man after God’s own heart in that he was truly thankful. “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds” (Psalm 26:6–7). David’s life was marked by seasons of great peace and prosperity as well as times of fear and despair.

But through all of the seasons in his life, he never forgot to thank the Lord for everything that he had.

It is truly one of David’s finest characteristics.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4, ESV).

As followers of Jesus Christ, we would do well to follow David’s lead of offering

​praise through thanksgiving to our Lord.

After he sinned, David was truly repentant. David’s sin with Bathsheba is recorded in 2 Samuel 11:2–5. The mighty fall hard, and David’s fall included adultery, lying, and murder. He had sinned against God, and he admits it in 2 Samuel 12:13: “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’” But admitting our sin and asking for forgiveness is only half of the equation. The other half is repentance, and David did that as well. Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance to God: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1–2).

In conclusion, David was a man after God’s own heart because he demonstrated his faith and was committed to following the Lord. Yes, his faith was tested on a grand scale, and he failed at times. But after his sin he sought and received the Lord’s forgiveness. In the final analysis, David loved God’s Law and sought to follow it exactly. As a man after God’s own heart, David is a role model for all of us.
​

The gospel message is the good news of God’s grace, so it is important to know what grace is and to constantly seek to get a better view of what grace does in our lives.

Grace is an essential part of God’s character. Grace is closely related to God’s benevolence, love, and mercy. Grace can be variously defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously.

To fully understand grace, we need to consider who we were without Christ and who we become with Christ. We were born in sin (Psalm 51:5), and we were guilty of breaking God’s holy laws (Romans 3:9–20, 23; 1 John 1:8–10). We were enemies of God (Romans 5:6, 10; 8:7; Colossians 1:21), deserving of death (Romans 6:23a). We were unrighteous (Romans 3:10) and without means of justifyingourselves (Romans 3:20). Spiritually, we were destitute, blind, unclean, and dead. Our souls were in peril of everlasting punishment.

But then came grace. God extended His favor to us. Grace is what saves us (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is the essence of the gospel (Acts 20:24). Grace gives us victory over sin (James 4:6). Grace gives us “eternal encouragement and good hope” (2 Thessalonians 2:16). Paul repeatedly identified grace as the basis of his calling as an apostle (Romans 15:15; 1 Corinthians 3:10; Ephesians 3:2, 7). Jesus Christ is the embodiment of grace, coupled with truth (John 1:14).

The Bible repeatedly calls grace a “gift” (e.g., Ephesians 4:7). This is an important analogy because it teaches us some key things about grace:

First, anyone who has ever received a gift understands that a gift is much different from a loan, which requires repayment or return by the recipient. The fact that grace is a gift means that nothing is owed in return.

Second, there is no cost to the person who receives a gift. A gift is free to the recipient, although it is not free to the giver, who bears the expense. The gift of salvation costs us sinners nothing. But the price of such an extravagant gift came at a great cost for our Lord Jesus, who died in our place.

Third, once a gift has been given, ownership of the gift has transferred and it is now ours to keep. There is a permanence in a gift that does not exist with loans or advances. When a gift changes hands, the giver permanently relinquishes all rights to renege or take back the gift in future. God’s grace is ours forever.

Fourth, in the giving of a gift, the giver voluntarily forfeits something he owns, willingly losing what belongs to him so that the recipient will profit from it. The giver becomes poorer so the recipient can become richer.

This generous and voluntary exchange from the giver to the recipient is visible in 2 Corinthians 8:9:

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,

so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

Finally, the Bible teaches that grace is completely unmerited. The gift and the act of giving have nothing at all to do with our merit or innate quality (Romans 4:4; 11:5–6; 2 Timothy 1:9–10). In fact, the Bible says quite clearly that we don’t deserve God’s salvation. Romans 5:8–10 says,

​
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us. . . . While we were God’s enemies,

we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.”


Grace does not stop once we are saved;

God is gracious

to us for the rest of our lives,

working within and upon us.


The Bible encourages us with many additional benefits that

grace secures for every believer:

• Grace justifies us before a holy God (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:6; Titus 3:7).

• Grace provides us access to God to communicate and fellowship with Him (Ephesians 1:6; Hebrews 4:16).

• Grace wins for us anew relationship of intimacy with God (Exodus 33:17).

• Grace disciplines and trains us to live in a way that honors God (Titus 2:11–14; 2 Corinthians 8:7).

• Grace grants us immeasurable spiritual riches (Proverbs 10:22; Ephesians 2:7).

• Grace helps us in our every need (Hebrews 4:16).

• Grace is the reason behind our every deliverance (Psalm 44:3–8; Hebrews 4:16).

• Grace preserves us and comforts, encourages, and strengthens us (2 Corinthians 13:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17; 2 Timothy 2:1).

Grace is actively and continually working in the lives of God’s people.

Paul credited the success of his ministry not to his own

substantial labors but

to “the grace of God that was with me”

(1 Corinthians 15:10).

Grace is the ongoing, benevolent act of God working in us,

without which we can do nothing

(John 15:5).

Grace is greater than our sin (Romans 5:20),

​ more abundant than we expect (1 Timothy 1:14),

and too wonderful for words (2 Corinthians 9:15).


​As the recipients of

God’s grace,

Christians are to be gracious to others.


​Grace is given to us to serve others

and

to exercise our spiritual gifts for

the building up of the church

(Romans 12:6; Ephesians 3:2, 7; 4:7; 1 Peter 4:10).

​

1 John 5:6 This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth:

Greek - Houtos estin (3SPAI) o elthon (AAP) di hudatos kai haimatos Iesous Christos ouk en to hudati monon all en to hudati kai en to haimati kai to pneuma estin (3SPAI) to marturoun (PAP) hoti to pneuma estin (3SPAI) e aletheia:

Amplified - This is He Who came by (with) water and blood His baptism and His death], Jesus Christ (the Messiah)—not by (in) the water only, but by (in) the water and the blood. And it is the [Holy] Spirit Who bears witness, because the [Holy] Spirit is the Truth.

Wuest - This is the One who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ; not in the sphere of the water only, but in the sphere of the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the One who is constantly bearing witness, because the Spirit is the truth.

Technical Note: If you use the older version of the NAS (1977), you should be aware that the new version (1995) has a change in 1Jn 5:6-7. The newer version shifts verse 7 in the 1977 version (And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth) to the end of verse 8.

A TRIAD OF WITNESSES OF JESUS CHRIST


John has just mentioned Jesus the Son of God (1Jn 5:5-note) and now describes the historical appearance of Jesus Christ in this next section (1Jn 5:6-9). Recall that the major point of attack by the anti-Christs (as it is in EVERY cult!) is on the Person of Jesus Christ, fully God, fully Man.

Westcott - The victory of Faith has been shown to lie in the confession of Jesus as the Son of God (1Jn 5:5). John now goes on to unfold the character (1Jn 5:6–8), and the effectiveness (1Jn 5:9–12), of the witness by which this confession is sustained and justified. (Commentary)

In 1Jn 5:6-8 we encounter John's teaching on a triad of witnesses, three witnesses who (water and blood appear to be personified in 1Jn 5:8 by their association with the Person of the Spirit) state that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. John appears to base his argument on the fact that the validity of personal testimony in the OT was linked to a specific number of credible witnesses, Moses declaring that “two or three witnesses” were necessary to establish guilt or innocence on criminal charges (Dt 19:15) and only on this basis could a person be sentenced to death (Dt 17:6).

Jesus applied the principle of “two or three witnesses” to His instructions for resolving disputes in the church (Mt 18:15-16). Paul used this standard to determine whether an accusation could be sustained against an elder (1Ti 5:19). In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul sees his thrice repeated testimony alone, whether in person or by letter, as satisfying the requirement of two or three witnesses" (2Cor 13:1-3). The writer of the book of Hebrews alludes to this pattern writing that "Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on [the testimony of] two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God,

and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified,
and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Heb 10:28-29-note)

In this passage the writer points out the "greater testimony"

of two witnesses, 

the Son of God and the

​Spirit of grace.

​
Witness (or testify, noun and verb) is a key word in 1Jn 5:6-11. As Williamson explains "John places enormous significance upon faithful witness as he nears the conclusion of his letter. This theme recalls the opening statement, “The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it” (1Jn 1:2-note). In chapter 5 John employs forms of “witness” and “testimony” ten times in five verses (1Jn 5:6, 7, four times in 1Jn 5:9, three times in 1Jn 5:10, and 1Jn 5:11). (1, 2, & 3 John- A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition - New Beacon Bible Commentary)
​
Steven Cole introduces this section noting that "Skeptics frequently allege that Christian conversion is merely a psychological phenomenon that can be explained in purely naturalistic terms. In this view, conversion to Christ is a purely subjective experience. It’s nice if it works for you, but you shouldn’t try to impose it on everyone else or say that those who do not believe as you do are wrong. If you say that Jesus Christ changed your life, the skeptic will reply, “That’s great for you, but it doesn’t prove that Christianity is true for everyone else. Buddhism changed Richard Gere’s life. Scientology changed Tom Cruise’s life. Cabalistic Judaism seems to have changed Madonna’s life. So if you want to look at changed lives, there is plenty of evidence that Christianity is not the only religious truth out there.” How do you counter such arguments? There is value in subjective, inner assurance of the truth of the gospel for believers. But we need a more sure foundation for our faith than our subjective experience alone provides. Throughout First John, the apostle has been addressing the matter of authentic Christianity. False teachers had caused confusion in the church and had left, taking a number of people with them. They claimed to have secret knowledge about Jesus Christ, but their teaching contradicted the apostolic witness to Christ.

John repeatedly shows that authentic Christians believe the truth about Jesus Christ,

they obey God’s commandments, and

​they love one another.

He began the letter by affirming the certainty of what the apostles knew about Jesus Christ

(1Jn 1:1-3-note).

John wasn’t relaying some inner, subjective vision or philosophy.


He was telling about his

objective experience

with
​

Jesus Christ


You can’t get much more objective than

seeing, hearing, and touching!
​

Jesus Christ is God’s witness to us through the apostles who spent three years with Him. In our text, John comes back to this objective witness with which he opened this letter. He wants us to have a sure foundation for our faith. Authentic Christian faith rests on God’s testimony to the person of Jesus Christ. In 1Jn 5:6-9, John shows that God has given a trustworthy three-fold witness to His Son. Then in 1Jn 5:10-13-note, he shows that believing God’s witness to His Son gives us a sure foundation for our faith, with the aim (1Jn 5:13-note) “that you may know that you have eternal life.”(1 John 5:5-13 Is Christianity Merely Psychological?) (Bolding added)

Martyn Lloyd-Jones states “Now there can be no question at all but that these three verses are not only the most difficult verses in this epistle, but I think … that they are the three most difficult verses, in a sense, in the entire Bible!” (Life in Christ - includes Volume 5 = "Life in God")

Cole goes on to address the two difficulties in this section - The Textual Problem: The textual problem is that the New King James Version (and the KJV) reads as follows (1Jn 5:7-8): “For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” It is certain that the phrase beginning with “in heaven” (1Jn 5:7) through “on earth” are not a part of John’s original letter and should be omitted. There are no Greek manuscripts with this additional phrase before the 15th century. It comes from a marginal comment that was incorporated into the text of an Old Latin 5th century manuscript. (The Epistles of John- Introduction, Exposition, and Notes- Frederick Fyvie Bruce, pp. 129-130 gives a full account of this.) The original text is accurately represented in the New American Standard Bible, the English Standard Version, and the New International Version.


THE LONG EXPECTED ONE

This (houtos) - This demonstrative pronoun refers back to Jesus the Son of God in 1Jn 5:5-note. What John is saying is that the eternal Son of God is one and the same person with the historic Jesus.
​
The is the One Who came… Jesus Christ - John makes a clear statement of the historical appearance of the long expected Messiah "being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man" (Php 2:7-8+). The verb came is in the aorist tense indicating a past event, a historical event, indeed, a monumental, life changing, earth shaking event (cf Mt 27:51). The Son of God of eternity "invaded" time to redeem the world from bondage to sin and Satan. And John wants to remind us that His coming in history was not without clear, irrefutable evidence, and so like a good lawyer he calls to the stand two reliable witnesses named "water" and "blood," in a sense personifying them. Indeed all of his children of all the ages since have prayed unceasingly the words of Charles Wesley's timeless hymn…

Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free; (Ro 8:2, Gal 5:1)
From our fears and sins release us, (He 2:15)
Let us find our rest in Thee. (Mt 11:28-30)
Israel’s Strength and Consolation, (Lk 2:25KJV)
Hope of all the earth Thou art; (1Ti 1:1b)
Dear Desire of every nation, (Hag 2:7KJV)
Joy of every longing heart. (1Th 1:6b)
Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
Indeed… 
Maranatha!

Came (2064)(erchomai) means that Jesus entered into humanity, the aorist tense signifying that His entrance was a definite historical event. In short this is a description of His First Coming. From the context this reference is not to Jesus' birth but rather a reference to His public appearance as the Messiah, the Anointed One. After He was baptized by John, He was led into the wilderness, after which He began His ministry in the synagogue at Nazareth reading from Isaiah 61:1-2a+ "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED (chrio root verb of Christos = Messiah - Anointed One) ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. (Lk 4:18+) and declaring "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing," (Lk 4:21+), in effect stating that He was the fulfillment of this OT Messianic Prophecy! You could have heard a pin drop in the Jewish synagogue that day (cp Lk 4:20+)!

Hiebert - The expression rendered “He that came” (ho elthōn) suggests the varied Gospel references to the Messiah as “he that cometh” (ho erchomenos; cf. Mt. 11:3 and Lk 7:19 both refer to the "Expected One"; Jn 1:15, Jn 1:27; Jn 6:14; Jn 11:27; Jn 12:13 - see verses below); (The Epistles of John- An Expositional Commentary or see his excellent article An Exposition of 1 John 5:1-12)

(Mt 11:3+) and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One (ho erchomenos = literally "the one who is to come"), or shall we look for someone else (Greek = heteros = basically = another of a different kind)?”
(Lk 7:19+) And summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”

(Jn 1:15+) John *bore witness of Him, and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He Who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”

(Jn 1:27+) “[It is] He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
(Jn 6:14) When therefore the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is of a truth the Prophet Who is to come into the world.”

(Jn 11:27) She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, [even] He who comes into the world.”

(Jn 12:13) took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and [began] to cry out, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.”

THE WATER AND
​
THE BLOOD

By water and blood - To what do these refer? Plummer observes that "This is the most perplexing passage in the Epistle and one of the most perplexing in NT."

Hiebert comments that "The oldest and most natural view understands “water” as a reference to Christ’s baptism, with the attendant witnesses to His identity, at the commencement of His ministry (Mt. 3:13–17; Mk 1:9–11; Jn 1:31–34) and “blood” to the consummation of His saving ministry on the cross. This view is supported by the fact that “the context dictates that here water and blood must validate the manner of Jesus’ coming.” The two terms serve to sum up Christ’s redemptive mission. As Plummer (Cambridge Commentary) notes, "Christ’s Baptism, with the Divine proclamation of Him as the Son of God and the Divine outpouring of the Spirit upon Him, is not merely the opening but the explanation of the whole of His Ministry. The bloody death upon the Cross is not merely the close but the explanation of His Passion."" (The Epistles of John- An Expositional Commentary or see his excellent article An Exposition of 1 John 5:1-12)

By (dia) is a preposition which is used to describe intermediate agency. Wuest adds that this preposition speaks "of accompaniment and instrumentality. His coming to make an atonement for sin was accompaniedby and made effective through water and blood."

BY WATER: JESUS' BAPTISM

At the beginning of the ministry of Jesus the Father testified of His Son when He was baptized by John.
Mt. 3:13-17+ - Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan [coming] to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit [it] at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him. And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, [and] coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

John MacArthur explains - John the Baptist knew that as the spotless "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), Jesus had no sin to repent of and hence no need to be baptized. Therefore "John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?'" (Mt. 3:14). John was shocked by the reversal of what he knew to be true. He was the sinner, Jesus the sinless one; he was the lesser, Jesus the greater (cf. John 1:27; 3:30). Although He was without sin (2Cor 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:26; 1Per 2:22; cf. Jn 8:46), it was still necessary for Jesus to be baptized. By doing so, He publicly identified with sinners. Therefore He told John, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Mt. 3:15). Jesus always performed what God required of His people; He claimed no exemption here, just as He claimed no exemption from paying the temple tax (Mt 17:24-27). His perfect obedience (cf. John 4:34; 8:29; 14:31; 15:10) made Him the sinless sacrifice whose death made atonement for sin. (See The MacArthur New Testament Commentary)
​
Mk 1:9-11+ - And it came about in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee,

and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately coming up out of the water,

He saw the heavens opening,

and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens:


“Thou art My beloved Son,

​ in Thee I am well-pleased.”


Jn 1:31-34+ “And I did not recognize Him, but in order that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” And John bore witness saying, “I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. “And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ “And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

- The physical manifestation of the Holy Spirit's presence

provided visible evidence

of the Father's testimony to the Son.

Peter associates the beginning of Jesus' ministry with His baptism in water writing "you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. “[You know of] Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and [how] He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him." (Acts 10:37-38) The point of "you yourselves know" indicates that this Jesus' water baptism was something even the Gentiles (Cornelius a God fearing Gentile was with his relatives and close friends - Acts 10:22, 24) aware and with therefore served as a clear testimony (witness) of the beginning of His ministry.
​

BY BLOOD: JESUS' CRUCIFIXION

At the termination of the earthly ministry of Jesus the

Father testified of His Son in several miraculous events.


While the Father did not literally speak He did act and these miracles associated with the crucifixion gave clear testimony that Jesus was the Son of God (e.g., in Mt 27:54 There was an unbelieving roman soldier at the cross when Christ died who said, "Truly this was the Son of God." The cross witnessed to the deity of Jesus Christ.),

the Messiah about whom the OT prophesied that He must suffer and die

(see Isaiah 53:2-9).

Matt 27:45-46 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?”

that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?”

Comment - This supernatural darkness in the middle of the day came symbolized the Father's forsaking of the Son as bore the sins of the world. As a result, Jesus cried out quoting Ps 22:1.n.
Matt 27:51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split,

Comment - The tearing of the veil symbolized the Father's acceptance of His Son's atoning sacrifice, and the opening of the way into His (the Father's) very presence, the tearing of His Son's flesh symbolizing by the tearing of the veil (Heb 10:19-20).

Matt 27:51-53 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
MacArthur - Their appearance in bodily form testified to Christ's resurrection as the "first fruits of those who are asleep" (1Cor. 15:20). So overwhelming was God's miraculous testimony to Jesus that a battle-hardened Roman centurion who witnessed it cried out in terror, "Truly this was the Son of God!" (Mt 27:54; cf. Mk 15:39). (See 1-3 John MacArthur New Testament Commentary)

Marvin Vincent on blood and water - Water refers to Christ’s baptism at the beginning of His Messianic work, through which He declared His purpose to fulfill all righteousness (Mt. 3:15). Blood refers to His bloody death upon the Cross for the sin of the world.”

A T Robertson agrees "These two incidents in the Incarnation are singled out because at the baptism Jesus was formally set apart to His Messianic work by the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Him and by the Father’s audible witness, and because at the Cross His work reached its culmination (‘It is finished,’ Jesus said [See tetelestai - It is Finished! Paid in Full!]).”

Luke seems to concur with Robertson's reasoning describing the beginning of Jesus' ministry -- "you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptismwhich John proclaimed. “[You know of] Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and [how] He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him." (Acts 10:37-38)

In summary Jesus' baptism (water) marked the inception of His ministry and

the crucifixion (blood) marked the accomplishment of His ministry.

Wuest comments on Jesus Christ - The combination “Jesus Christ,” used together by John to designate one individual, is a refutation of the Cerinthian Gnostic heresy (Cerinthus) to the effect that Jesus was the person, only human, not deity, and that the Christ or divine element came upon Him at His baptism and left Him before His death on the Cross. (Word Studies from the Greek New Testament)

Hiebert comments on Jesus Christ - the appositional identification “Jesus Christ” marks His historical identity as Jesus of Nazareth but associates Him with His messianic office. (The Epistles of John- An Expositional Commentary or see his excellent article An Exposition of 1 John 5:1-12)

Jesus (2424)(Iesous) is a transliteration of the Greek Iesous, which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew name Jehoshua (Yehoshua) or Jeshua (Yeshua) which mean Jehovah is help or Jehovah is salvation. Stated another way the Greek Iesous corresponds to the OT Jehoshua (Yehoshua) which is contracted as Jeshua (Yeshua).

NET Note on Jesus - The Greek form of the name Iēsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “LORD” in the OT). (NET Note)

Christ (5547)(Christos from chrio = to rub or anoint, consecrate to an office) means one who has been anointed, symbolizing appointment to a task. The majority of the NT uses refer to Jesus (exceptions = "false Christs" - Mt 24:24, Mk 13:22).

Christos is translated in the NAS 1995 edition as Christ (516x), Christ's (11x) and Messiah (4x - Mt 1:1, 16, 17, 2:4). The NIV and ESV never translate Christos as Messiah, but always as Christ. The Holman (HCSB) has an interesting approach and translates Christos as Messiah many times depending on the context (see explanatory note) The NLT paraphrase translates Christos as Messiah over 80 times. The NET translates Christos as Messiah in Jn 4:29, Acts 3:20, Eph 2:12. Many interpreters over the ages have commented on a possible wordplay between the Greek words for good (chrestos) and Christ (Christos), which as you note differ by only a single Greek letter. Whether a wordplay is intended or not, every believer can personally attest to the truth that Christos is chrestos!

Christos is used 55x in 54v in the Gospels not as Jesus' personal name but as an official designation for the One Whom the Jews were expecting (Mt 2:4, Lk 3:15). Over time as the human Jesus came to be recognized and accepted as the personal Messiah, the definite article ("the") was dropped and the designation Christ came to be used as a personal name.

NIDNTT - Christ is derived via the Latin Christus from the Greek Christos, which in the Septuagint and the NT is the Greek equivalent of the Aramaic mešîha’. This in turn corresponds to the Hebrew mashiach/masiahand denotes someone who has been ceremonially anointed for an office. The Greek transliteration of mešîhā’ is Messias, which like Iēsous is made declinable by the added -s. (New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology)
Related Resources:
Not with the water only but with the water and with the blood - At first reading this seems to be redundant but as John MacArthur points out this phrase "is not redundant, but addresses an important theological point. The Father did not, as the false teachers whom John was combating insisted, affirm Jesus at His baptism, but not at His death. Those heretics, purveyors of an incipient form of Gnosticism, taught that the "Christ spirit" descended on the man Jesus at His baptism, making Him the anointed One of God. According to this heresy, Jesus, under the control of the "Christ spirit," gave valuable ethical teachings during His ministry. But the Christ spirit left Him before the crucifixion and, the false teachers further claimed, He died as a mere man, not

the God-man whose sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who would ever be justified.

Like any teaching that denies the efficacy of Christ's substitutionary atonement, that teaching was a satanic lie, since "Jesus Christ the righteous… is the propitiation for our sins" (1Jn 2:1-2; cf. 1Jn 4:10; Ro 3:25; Heb 2:17).

If He did not possess His divine nature on the cross, Jesus could not and did not conquer sin and death for believers. But the glorious truth is that "He… who knew no sin [became] sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2Cor. 5:21+).


A TRUE WITNESS: THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH

It is the Spirit who testifies (martureo) - The Spirit continually (present tense) gives evidence, affirming the truth that Jesus is the Messiah (1Jn 5:1HCSB), the Son of God (1Jn 5:5). He continually, supernaturally brings the truth about Jesus to the light, with a testimony based not on opinion but based upon historical facts. His testimony can be believed beloved! But remember Paul's words in 1Cor 2:14+ that 
a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

Because the Spirit is the truth (cf "Spirit of truth" = Jn 14:17, 15:26, 16:13, 1Jn 4:6) - The because is a term of explanation which always begs the question "What is being explained?" In this case the reason that the Spirit is a witness and a trustworthy one is because the Spirit is (present tense - continually) the truth(aletheia). Aletheia is that which is seen or expressed as it really is. In other words truth is the correspondence between a reality (of Jesus) and the Spirit's descriptive declaration about Him. To say it another way, words inspired by the Spirit in the Scripture (2Pe 1:21+, 2Ti 3:16+) about Jesus are true because they correspond with objective reality of the Person of Jesus.

Everything the Spirit says is truth. No exceptions! And all spiritual truth is from Him (2Pe 1:21+, 2Ti 3:16+). It is only as He teaches us that we come to know truth (Ps 143:10+, Lk 12:12+, Jn 14:26). When He testifies or bears witness about Jesus, what He says is true and we do well to receive this truth and live by it! God has given us the witness of His Spirit of Truth to guide us through the treacherous paths of this world's lies and darkness!
Lead me in Thy truth and teach me,
For Thou art the God of my salvation;
For Thee I wait all the day.
Ps 25:5+

In John's Gospel Jesus repeatedly tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth." (Jn 14:17). Later Jesus declares ""When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness (martureo) of Me, 27 and you will bear witness(martureo) also (Exactly what John is doing in the First Epistle of John!), because you have been with Me from the beginning." (Jn 15:26-27) In Jn 16:13 Jesus explains why what the Spirit says is truthful declaring that "when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for (term of explanation) He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears (Who does He hear? The Father Who is the essence of truth, cp 1Jn 5:20), He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is the source and revealer of divine truth (1Peter 1:12; cf. Acts 1:16; 28:25; Heb. 3:7; 10:15-17),
The Holy Spirit "is the Spirit of truth (Jn 14:17, 15:26, 16:13, 1Jn 4:6) in that he is the source of truth and communicates the truth to his own (Jn 14:26; 16:12-15). Apart from Him, people cannot know God’s truth (1Cor 2:12-16+; 1John 2:20, 27+)." (MacArthur)

Vine makes an interesting observation that with the statement the Spirit is truth John basically confirms "the deity of the Holy Spirit. (David writes) “God is true” (Ps. 31:5).


Christ is “the truth” (John 14:16). and

“the Spirit is the truth.”


He is one in divine nature with the Father and the Son."



HOW DOES THE SPIRIT TESTIFY?

So how did the Spirit bear witness that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God? Here are a few of the manifold ways the Spirit gave a true testimony of Jesus.

(1) The Spirit bore witness of Jesus at His baptism, when Jesus willingly identified with sinners, although He Himself did not need to be cleansed.

Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased." (Lk 3:21-22+, cp Mt 3:16-17+)
​
John testified saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. "I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' "I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God." (Jn 1:32-34+)

(2) The Spirit bore witness of Jesus throughout His earthly ministry, through Spirit empowered ministry, miracles, teaching, and obedience.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, (full of = controlled by) returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit (implying willing submission and surrender) in the wilderness. (Lk 4:1+)
And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit; and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. (Lk 4:14+)

Comment: Jesus always did the will of the Father in the power of the Spirit. And beloved this is the ONLY WAY we can do the will of our Father in Heaven - energized and empowered by the same Holy Spirit Who enabled Jesus! Amazing truth! Amazing grace! (See The Holy Spirit-Walking Like Jesus Walked!)
​
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE DOWNTRODDEN, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” (Lk 4:18-19+)

“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Mt 12:28+)
Peter declared "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing (His miracles) all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38+)

MacArthur comments - The Holy Spirit remained fixed on Christ and controlled His human nature. When Jesus--God in human flesh-- came into the world, He did not cease to be God, but restricted the use of His divine powers to what the Holy Spirit wanted to accomplish. He simply became a Son, a servant through whom the Holy Spirit worked. Jesus restricted the use of His divine powers and became a living illustration of obedience through which the Holy Spirit took control. (The Witness of God)

(3) He bore witness to Jesus as the Lamb of God, initially through John the Baptist’s Spirit filled witness (Lk 1:15+).

The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming to him, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29+)

Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (Jn 1:35-36+) (How did John know Jesus was the Lamb of God? Read Jn 1:32-34+).

(4) He bore witness to Jesus was the satisfactory sacrifice for sins on the Cross by resurrecting Him from the dead.

Paul writes He was "declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord." (Ro 1:4+)

(5) The Spirit bore witness to Jesus’ promise to send another Helper, the Holy Spirit.
​
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another (not heteros but allos = just like Him) Helper, that He may be with you forever; (Jn 14:16)

"And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. He descended on the church at the Day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:3-4+)

(6) The Spirit further affirmed the witness to Jesus through the apostles' bold preaching and teaching, through miracles He did through them and supremely in the written testimony they were inspired to write, the New Testament.
Saul (Paul) "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 9:17+)… began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." (Acts 9:20+)… increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Messiah (Acts 9:22HCSB+).

"Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people… let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, Whom you crucified, Whom God raised from the dead-- by this Name this man stands here before you in good health.

He (Jesus) is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone (quoting the Messianic Prophecies in the Scriptures [= Old Testament]

- Ps 118:22-23, Isa 28:16).

And there is salvation in no one else;
for there is no other name under heaven that has been
given among men,
by which we must be saved."


(Acts 4:8-12, 13+)

"No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will,

but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." (2Pe 1:21-note)

“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." (Jn 16:7)
​
Comment: The testimony of the first disciples was enabled by the Spirit (cp Acts 4:31+, Acts 6:8-10+) sent to them by the “absent,” though present, Jesus. Indeed, the Spirit has continued to testify throughout this present evil age (Gal 1:4+) through the witness of His Spirit filled disciples (that is us beloved) for we have the absent Jesus' sure promise "lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Mt 28:20, cp our charge in Mt 28:18-19+).

Vine adds that the Holy Spirit "bears witness through the Holy Scriptures,

which are God-breathed
(2Ti 3:16),

and through testimony in accordance with them the Scriptures

constitute the truth because “the Spirit is the truth.”

Ray Pritchard on the Spirit is the truth, the Spirit of truth - Here is a title pregnant with meaning. To call the Holy Spirit the “Spirit of truth” is to say that His very essence and character is grounded in the Truth. The Holy Spirit speaks only the truth about the Father, the Son, God’s will, sin, and salvation. There are other spirits in the world—evil spirits, lying spirits, spirits of confusion and deception. These spirits (which are really demons) mislead many people by masquerading as the Spirit of God. In 1John 4:1-4, we find a very practical way to “test the spirits.” We are instructed to ask them what they believe about Jesus Christ. Is He really the Son of God? Is He really “the Word made flesh”? Do they believe in the Incarnation? If the answers are no, or if the spirits equivocate, they are not the Spirit of truth.

​What the Holy Spirit says and does is always in perfect accordance with the Word of God. For that matter, if someone comes to us and claims to have a revelation from God, but the revelation contains falsehoods or untruths of any kind, we can reject it immediately. It did not come from the Spirit of truth. There is another fascinating side of this name. Jesus said that “the world cannot accept Him” because the world neither sees nor knows Him. The Holy Spirit does not operate on the world’s wave-length. That is why many try so hard to explain away the Christian faith. The world doesn’t know God the Father, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit! Perhaps that also gives an insight into the strange mysticism of these days. When men turn away from God’s truth, they will believe any lie—reincarnation, voodoo, spiritualism, or warmed-over, “all religions are basically the same” propaganda. The Holy Spirit is not involved in any of those untruths. He is the Spirit of truth who teaches no error.

Strange things are often done and said in the name of the Holy Spirit. Yet the Spirit of truth never leads anyone to say or do anything that is contrary to the Word of God. God does not contradict Himself. His Word is truth, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. These two must always be held together. One other emphasis should be noted. Since in John’s Gospel, truth is always wrapped up in Jesus Christ, the name “Spirit of truth” points to the Holy Spirit’s role in bearing witness to Jesus. John 16:14 explicitly tells us that the Spirit will bring glory to Christ, not to Himself. The Spirit of truth points people to Jesus. Those who follow the Spirit’s leading will do the same thing. We won’t just argue doctrine or answer hard questions. When the Spirit fills a believer, that person will bear witness to Jesus. 

Spirit of truth, ground me in the Word of truth that I may bear witness to Jesus Christ who is the Truth.

​Amen. (Borrow Names of the Holy Spirit)
Spirit blest, Who art adored
With the Father and the Word,
One eternal God and Lord--
Hear us, Holy Spirit.
Spirit guiding to the right,
Spirit making darkness light,
Spirit of resistless might--
Hear us, Holy Spirit.
​

​The more difficult problem is to determine what John means by his reference to “the water and the blood” (1Jn 5:6) and to “the Spirit and the water and the blood” (1Jn 5:8). It is certain that John is establishing the historical factualness of the incarnation and earthly ministry of Jesus Christ and citing God’s testimony to substantiate it. In Jewish thought, a point is confirmed in a court of law by the testimony of two or three witnesses. John here brings forth three witnesses that agree that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He also seems to be refuting the false teachers by using expressions that were already familiar to his readers, but which are not so readily understood by us. Hence the difficulty of interpreting these verses. There have been four main interpretations (On views 1, 2, & 4, I’m following John Stott, The Epistles of John [Eerdmans], pp. 177-178; I think he misrepresents Calvin’s view, as does James Boice, The Epistles of John [Zondervan], p. 163).

(1) Some understand the water and the blood as a symbolic reference to the sacraments of baptism and communion. This was Luther’s view and several commentators say that it was Calvin’s view. But it is not Calvin’s view, which I will explain in a moment. This view is unlikely for two reasons. First, while water may well stand for baptism, blood would be an unusual symbol for the Lord’s Supper. John would not likely omit a reference to Christ’s body if he meant the Lord’s Supper. Second, John says that Jesus came by water and blood, which points to His past historical coming, not to any ongoing spiritual coming through the sacraments.

(2) Some link this passage with John 19:34-35, where John testifies to the blood and water that flowed from the spear wound in Jesus’ side. Augustine and some other ancient commentators held this view. At first glance it seems logical since John wrote both passages. Both texts emphasize the water and the blood, and both emphasize the idea of testimony. But the similarities are not so close upon further examination. In 1 John, Jesus came by water and blood, whereas in the Gospel, it was blood and water that came out of Jesus. In 1 John, the water and blood bear witness to Jesus, whereas in the Gospel, John bears witness to the blood and water. In 1 John, the water and blood seem to bear witness to Jesus’ divine-human person, whereas in the Gospel, the blood and water bear witness to Jesus’ human death, and perhaps to the salvation provided by it. (3)



Author: John 21:20–24 describes the author of the gospel of John

as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,”

and for both historical and internal reasons this is understood to be John the Apostle,
one of the sons of Zebedee (Luke 5:10).

Date of Writing: Discovery of certain papyrus fragments dated around AD 135 require the gospel of John to have been written, copied, and circulated before then. And, while some think it was written before Jerusalem was destroyed (AD 70), AD 85—90 is a more accepted time for the writing of the gospel of John.

Purpose of Writing: The author cites the purpose of the gospel of John as follows: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). Unlike the three Synoptic Gospels, John’s purpose is not to present a chronological narrative of the life of Christ but to display His deity. John sought to strengthen the faith of second-generation believers and bring about faith in others, but he also sought to correct a false teaching that was spreading in the first century.

John emphasized Jesus Christ as “the Son of God,” fully God and fully man, contrary to a false doctrine that taught the “Christ-spirit” came upon the human Jesus at His baptism and left Him at the crucifixion.



Key Verses:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,

​full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14).

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29).

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent’” (John 6:29).

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’”(John 11:25–26).

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, “Show us the Father”?’” (John 14:9).

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:30).

“Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (John 20:29).

Brief Summary: The gospel of John includes only seven miracles—John calls them “signs”—to demonstrate the deity of Christ and illustrate His ministry. Some of these miracles and stories, such as the raising of Lazarus, are found only in John. His is the most theological of the four Gospels, and he often gives the reason behind events mentioned in the other gospels. The gospel of John shares much about the approaching ministry of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension. There are certain words or phrases that create a recurring theme in the gospel of John: believe, witness, Comforter, life – death, light – darkness, I am, and love.

The gospel of John introduces Jesus Christ, not from His birth, but from “the beginning,” before creation. John calls Jesus “the Word” (Logos) who, as God Himself, was involved in every aspect of creation (John 1:1–3) and who later became flesh (verse 14) in order that He might take away our sins as the spotless Lamb of God (verse 29). The gospel of John includes several spiritual conversations, such as Jesus’ talk with the Samaritan woman that shows Him as the Messiah (John 4:26) and Jesus’ meeting with Nicodemus that explains salvation through His vicarious death on the cross (John 3:14–16). In the gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly angers the Jewish leaders by correcting them (John 2:13–16); healing on the Sabbath, and claiming traits belonging only to God (John 5:18; 8:56–59; 9:6, 16; 10:33).

The last nine chapters of the gospel of John deal with the final week of Jesus’ life. Jesus prepares His disciples for His coming death and for their ministry after His resurrection and ascension (John 14–17). He then willingly dies on the cross in our place (John 10:15–18), paying our sin debt in full (John 19:30) so that whoever trusts in Him will be saved (John 3:14–16). Jesus then rises from the dead, convincing even the most doubting of His disciples that He is God and Master (John 20:24–29).

Connections: The gospel of John’s portrayal of Jesus as the God of the Old Testament is seen most emphatically in the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus. He is the “Bread of life” (John 6:35), provided by God to feed the souls of His people, just as He provided manna from heaven to feed the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16:11–36). Jesus is the “Light of the world” (John 8:12), the same Light that God promised to His people in the Old Testament (Isaiah 30:26; 60:19–22) and which will find its culmination in the New Jerusalem when Christ the Lamb will be its Light (Revelation 21:23). Two of the “I Am” statements refer to Jesus as both the “Good Shepherd” and the “Door of the sheep.” Here are clear references to Jesus as the God of the Old Testament, the Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 23:1; 80:1; Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:23) and, as the only Door into the sheepfold, the only way of salvation.

The Jews believed in the resurrection and, in fact, used the doctrine to try to trick Jesus into making statements they could use against Him. But His statement at the tomb of Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), must have astounded them. He was claiming to be the cause of resurrection and in possession of the power of life and death. None other than God Himself could claim such a thing. Similarly, Jesus’ claim to be “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6) linked Him unmistakably to the Old Testament. His is the “Way of Holiness” prophesied in Isaiah 35:8; He established the City of Truth of Zechariah 8:3 when He was in Jerusalem and preached the truths of the gospel. As “the Life,” Jesus affirms His deity, the Creator of life, God incarnate (John 1:1–3; Genesis 2:7). Finally, as the “true Vine” (John 15:1, 5),

Jesus identifies Himself with the nation of Israel, who are called the vineyard of the
Lord in many Old Testament passages.

As the true Vine of the vineyard of Israel, He portrays Himself as the Lord of the

“true Israel”--

all those who would come to Him in faith

(cf. Romans 9:6).

Practical Application: The gospel of John continues to fulfill its purpose of evangelizing the lost (John 3:16 is likely the best-known Bible verse) and is often used in evangelistic Bible studies. In the recorded encounters between Jesus and Nicodemus and the woman at the well (chapters 3—4), we learn much from Jesus’ model of personal evangelism. His comforting words to His disciples before His death (John 14:1–6, 16; 16:33) are still of great comfort in sorrowful times. Jesus’ “high priestly prayer” for believers in chapter 17 is also a wonderful source of encouragement for believers. John’s teachings concerning the deity of Christ (John 1:1–3, 14; 5:22–23; 8:58; 14:8–9; 20:28) are helpful in apologetics and provide a clear revelation of who Jesus is: fully God and fully man.




​In writing to his “dear children” in the Lord,

​ the apostle John 

tells them that

​ “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”

(1 John 4:4).

The contrast here is between the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of antichrist; in short,

God is greater than Satan.

First John 4 begins with an exhortation for believers to test the spirits of prophets or teachers:

​ “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). What a prophet or teacher proclaims reveals whether he is of God or a false prophet of the world. John tells us how to recognize a false prophet: “Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3). Anyone who teaches or proclaims falsehood about Jesus, such as denying His divinity, is a false prophet. These false prophets are actually speaking in the spirit of the antichrist on behalf of “the one who is in the world,” Satan.

The word antichrist means “against Christ.” Satan is the ultimate spirit against Christ. He is the father of lies and is against truth (John 8:44). He is called “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is “the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2). Satan uses false prophets to lead people away from Christ by deceiving them with a false view of Jesus. Twisting who Jesus is perverts the gospel. It keeps people in the bondage of sin and in darkness. Yet Satan is not as powerful as God, and

​ John reminds the believers in 1 John 4:4 that greater is He that is in believers than he that is in the world.

The bodies of believers are the temples of the Holy Spirit who dwells within them (1 Corinthians 6:19). John encourages those in whom God lives: “You are from God” (1 John 4:4, ESV). They are not of the world. John reassures them that they have “overcome” those who teach false doctrine and who can rightly be called “antichrists.”

John uses the concept of “overcoming” five other times in 1 John: believers have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:13, 14) and have overcome the world (three times in 1 John 5:4–5). The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now indwells believers in Christ (Romans 8:11). The Holy Spirit is far stronger than Satan or any of his minions, the Spirit’s wisdom is greater than any of Satan’s schemes, and the Spirit’s protection is more than enough to thwart any of Satan’s attacks. Because he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world, we have confidence in God and at the same time put no confidence in the flesh.

​The power is not ours but the Holy Spirit’s.

By these encouragements believers can have peace and rejoice because Jesus

has “overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Believers need not fear Satan; rather, they trust in the Lord and obey Him. By the living Spirit of God within them, believers can overcome the lies and temptations of the powers of darkness. Those who are of God can boldly say, “Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.”


​The Way of Agape


Agape love involves

​ faithfulness, commitment, and an

act of the will. 
​
Agape love is displayed most clearly


​At the Cross
​
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

And if I have a prophetic powers, and understand all Mysteries

and all knowledge, and if I have all faith,

so as to remove mountains,

but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give away all I have, and if  I deliver up my body to be burned,

but have not love, I gain nothing. 

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices 

with the 

Truth

Love bears all things, believes all things,

hopes all things, endures all things. 

Love never ends.

As for prophecies, they will pass away;

as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge,

it will pass away. 

For we know in Part and we prophesy In Part,

 but when the perfect comes, the

partial will pass away


For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.

Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,

even as I have been

Fully Known

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;

but the greatest of these is love.


The Greek word Agape 

is often translated “love” in the

New Testament.

How is “agape love” different from other types of love?

The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, and

willful delight in the object of love.


Unlike our English word love, agape is not used in

the New Testament to refer to romantic or sexual love.

Nor does it refer to close friendship or brotherly love,

for which the Greek word philia is used.


Agape Love involves

​ Faithfulness, Commitment, and an

Act of the Will


It is distinguished from the other types of love by its

lofty moral nature and strong character.

Agape love is beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13.

Outside of the New Testament, the word agape is used
in a variety of contexts, but in the vast majority of
instances in the New Testament

It Carries distinct Meaning. 


Agape is almost always used to describe the love

that is of and from God, whose very nature is love itself:


The Sacrificial Cross


“God is love”


(1 John 4:8).

God does not merely love; He is love.

Everything God does flows from His love. 

Agape is also used

to describe

Our love for God

(Luke 10:27),


A Servant’s faithful respect

​to his master

(Matthew 6:24),

and a man’s attachment to things (John 3:19).

The type of love that characterizes God is not a sappy,
sentimental feeling such as we often hear portrayed.

God loves because that is His nature and the expression of His being.


He loves the unlovable and the unlovely,




not because we deserve to be loved

or because of any excellence we possess,

but because it is His nature to love and


He must be True to His nature.


Agape love is always shown by what it does.


God’s love is displayed

most clearly at the 

Cross


​ “God, being Rich in Mercy, because

of the great love

with which he loved us,

even when 

we were dead in our trespasses,

made us Alive together 

with Christ--

by Grace you have been Saved” 

(Ephesians 2:4–5, ESV).


We did not deserve such a sacrifice,

but God demonstrates his own love 

for us in this: 


While we were still sinners, 


Christ died for us”

(Romans 5:8)


​If God Loves Sinners enough to die for them, I can at least try

God’s agape love is unmerited, gracious, and

constantly seeking the benefit of the ones He loves.

The Bible says we are the 

undeserving recipients of His lavish agape love

(1 John 3:1). 

God’s demonstration of agape love 

led to the sacrifice

of the Son of God for those He loves.

We are to love others with agape love, whether they are fellow believers (John 13:34) or bitter enemies (Matthew 5:44).



Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of sacrifice for the sake of others, even for those who may care nothing at all for us.

Agape love as modeled by Christ is 

not based on a feeling; rather, 

it is a determined act of the will, a joyful resolve

to put the welfare of others above our own.


If we are to love as God loves, that love—that agape--

can only come from

its Source. 

This is the love that

“has been poured out into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” 

(Romans 5:5; cf. Galatians 5:22).

“This is how we know what love is: 

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 

And we ought to 

lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters”



1 John 3:16). 

Because of God’s love toward us, we are able to love one another.
​

It is often said that

love conquers all,

that love is the 

greatest force in the universe.

It is the force 

that 

gives healing and life,

binds souls together,

and whispers to us that all will be well. 

We can see

throughout the Bible that

love conquers

fear, evil, and sins.


But the power of love

comes from its source



It is not a thing in and of itself. When love becomes the force
we honor or worship, its power vaporizes. 

But if we let the radiance of love beckon

us back to its source,

we find the true reason as to why

love conquers all;


Christ at the Cross


We find there is a God behind love, and that Love is

committed to conquering all that is not love

That Lover is God Himself, the

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

whose life together is always one of mutual love.

Love conquers all because God is love and

God has already won.


John makes the powerful assertion that

“we love Him because He first loved us” 

(1 John 4:19) 

in a section in which he is writing about how we should be expressing
the love of God to others. He says a bit earlier in the letter that,

“if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). 

John explains that we have come to know (experientially) and believe the agape love that God has for us (1 John 4:16),


We should not love simply with words, but with sincerity in our deeds

(1 John 3:18). 

Loving in truth and sincerity 

is so important that John lists it as a logical 

next step after believing in Jesus--


“This is His commandment, that we

believe in the name of his Son

Jesus Christ and love one another,

just as He has commanded us”

(1 John 3:23, ESV). 


There is no fear in love, but

perfect love casts out fear

(1 John 4:18). 

And we fear God because of

His greatness, worthiness, and awesomeness.

It is because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of

knowledge, wisdom, and understanding


Proverbs 1:7; 9:10)

that we can understand what a


gift His love truly is


To be loved by One so incredible and great

means that


His love is stronger than

anything we can imagine


If God is for us, then who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?


There is a massive war being fought between

the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.

The history of the human race and of each individual is

marked by the struggle between these two sides.

On one side, we have the Holy Trinity,

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

On the other, we have the Unholy Trinity, the world

with its structures opposed to God, the sin that corrupts us,

called the flesh, and Satan himself.


This Unholy Trinity seeks to dominate by hatred, deception, manipulation, and power struggles.

But God doesn’t fight with any of those weapons.

The weapon He has chosen 

is revealed

through

His Word to us

The Father gave His only Son and then the

gift of His Holy Spirit, all out of sacrificial love.

This tactic may appear foolish and weak in the

face of such a titanic war. 


But we underestimate the

power of love to conquer.

We underestimate


God and His wisdom.

​
In all these things we are more than conquerors 

through him who loved us. – Romans 8:37

Paul has just mentioned all the hardships a believer may face.

Yet none of these in the end

keep us from experiencing God’s love.

In fact, through His conquering love for us,

we become super-conquerors over those hardships and are able

to personally know, express and extend his

​love and grace for us more sincerely


Love bears all things, believes all things,

​hopes all things, endures all things. – 

1 Corinthians 13:7

Paul is delivering a tribute to the

supremacy of love 

when he makes this amazing statement. 

Love bears and endures whatever wrongs or irritations come.

It also 

believes and hopes the best for

others, seeing with the 

eyes of faith all that they could be.

In this sense,

love truly conquers.

In the world

you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome

the world.– John 16:33

​

Jesus is teaching His disciples for the last time before His death. The last words of that teaching are: “I have overcome the world.” And how does 
He overcome it? By submitting Himself to the horror of the cross. He does all this because He loves us.



His love


Conquers the World


But let’s get a little more practical. How exactly does love conquer all?

We all have those habits of behavior and thinking that seem resistant to change. You can call it a character defect, or a thorn in the flesh
(to use Paul’s term).

Whatever you call it, the result is the same. 


We feel stuck

We are in bondage


Enter God’s love

To open our hearts and receive 

His love

precisely at the place 

we feel stuck is to 

open the door out of this prison.

Once you have tasted God’s love, there is a desire to offer that love to others. It starts by 

choosing to forgive those who have wounded us. 


This is The Way of Christ


But it is also 

The Way our 

hearts become freed

from bitterness. 

Then we make that love tangible by listening. 

In the

listening, enmity is healed. 

Then we can be Doers.


Here is a final way love conquers all. 

Our default mode as humans is to find fault with others.
We all carry on this critical tendency to one degree or another. 

This is the genesis of all prejudices, 

where the things 

that make someone unique 


become the subject of criticism.


But the way of love 

is so different.


Instead of finding fault, 

love believes the best in others

and seeks to build them up. 

 our focus is on their gifts and strengths and on


All the Good that 


God 

can accomplish in


YOUR Life:)


This is perhaps what Paul meant when he said that 


love believes all things 

and 


hopes all things


In the end, love can conquer

our critical spirit


First John 4:18 says that



Perfect

​
love


Casts out Fear
​

“
Those who Are in Christ know the love of God, 

which drives away fear of condemnation. 

The dismissal of the fear of judgment is one of the 

main functions of God’s love.

 once a person is in Christ, the fear of judgment is gone. 

He is reconciled to God, and


“there is now no condemnation

for

those who are in Christ Jesus”

(Romans 8:1).

Part of understanding the love of God


​is knowing that God’s judgment

fell on Jesus at 

the cross so that we can be spared: 

“The Lord has laid on him

the

iniquity of us all”
​
​
​​

“But we all, with unveiled face,


beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,

are being transformed into

the same image from glory to glory, just as from

the

Lord, the Spirit”


(2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB).


With those few words—“from glory to glory”—Paul sums up our

entire Christian life, from

redemption and sanctification on earth,

to our glorious eternal welcome into heaven.


There is a great deal of content packed into those few words. It’s all so important that Paul labors at great length, from 2 Corinthians 2:14 through the end

of chapter 5,

to open his readers’ eyes to a great

 truth.

Let’s see why that truth matters so much.


The same Greek word for “glory” is used twice in the phrase

 from

glory to glory,


yet each usage refers to something different.


The first “glory” is that of the Old Covenant—the Law of Moses--

while the second is that of the New Covenant, the


gospel

of

Jesus Christ

Both have astonishing splendor.

The Old Covenant was given to Moses directly from God, written by God’s own finger (Exodus 31:18). That root of our Christian faith is glorious indeed; it’s the glory we’re coming “from.”

Yet the New Covenant, the glory we’re going “to,”

far surpasses that of the Old.


The transformation is from the glory of the Law.

Like the stone it was written on, the Law was inflexible and absolute, applying to all Israelites

without much regard for individual circumstances

(Hebrews 10:28).

Though holy, good, and righteous in itself (Romans 7:12), the Law was, for us sinners,

the letter that kills us (2 Corinthians 3:6).


The Law was an external force to control behavior. In addition, stone, despite its strength,
is earthly and will eventually wear away. The Law was merely a temporary guardian
(Galatians 3:23–25) until something better came along.


The transformation

is to the glory

of the New Covenant,

which far surpasses the Old

in every way.


It forgives us of our sin and gives us sinners life (John 6:63). It is written on believers’ hearts by the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 31:33; 2 Corinthians 3:3), so our obedience to God springs up from within us by God-given desires rather than by threats of legal punishment. In place of a cold set of writings as a guide for pleasing God, we now have Father, Son and Holy Spirit making their home with us, fellowshipping in loving intimacy, teaching us everything we must know and do (John 14:23; 16:13).


That position in Christ is as

permanent, eternal,

and

spiritual as God Himself,

rather than


temporary and earthly.


Paul is intent on directing Christians

to focus on the


​spiritual glory

of

the New Covenant

rather than physical glory of the Old,


as many Jews in his day refused to do. He compared the two types of glory by recalling how

Moses absorbed and reflected God’s glory for a time after being in his presence

(2 Corinthians 3:7–11, 13; cf. Exodus 34:29–35).

Though Moses’ glow had a spiritual cause, there was nothing spiritual about the effect--

any person, regardless of his relationship with God,

could see the glow on Moses’ face, which he covered with a veil.

Not so the glory of the New Covenant.


That can be seen only with a

believer’s spiritual eyes--

what Paul is doing his best to open,

so that we


discern the gospel’s glory.


So he writes, “For God, who said,


 ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’

made his light shine in our hearts

to give us the light

of the knowledge of God’s glory

displayed in


​The face of Christ”

(2 Corinthians 4:6).

But, as we move from glory to glory, there’s something even more important about

the glory of the New Covenant

that Christians must understand: its


​supernatural power to transform us.


And that brings us to God’s ultimate purpose and

destination for every believer,

to transform us into the image of his own beloved Son

(2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:28–30; Philippians 3:20–21).

Before he finishes with the topic of being transformed from glory to glory, Paul presents yet one more astonishing claim: “


Therefore, if anyone is


in Christ,


he is anew creation; the old has gone, the

new has come!”


(2 Corinthians 5:17).


This is the invitation the Lord makes to all Christians, to have our

lives radically transformed here and now,
​

by opening our eyes to see the

glorious journey


He is taking us on “from glory to glory.”



​The phrase


“transformed by

the

renewing of the mind”


is found in Romans 12:2.

Chapter 12 marks

the transition in that epistle from the apostle Paul’s theological teaching to his practical teaching. The book of Romans is probably the closest thing in the Bible to a systematic theology. Paul did not found the church at Rome, but he had every intention of visiting that church on his way to Spain. As a result, Paul wrote this epistle as a way of introducing himself to that congregation

and to give them an overview of

the gospel

and what it means in the lives of believers.

After teaching the great doctrine regarding the gospel of God’s righteousness that is ours through faith in Christ

How are we to live in light of the saving power of the gospel?

That is what Romans 12—16 aims to teach. The practical section of Romans begins with a great “therefore.” Seeing all that God did on our behalf, therefore live like this.

The first of Paul’s great exhortations is to be renewed in our minds:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,

that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,

what is good and acceptable and perfect”


(Romans 12:1–2).

The phrase “the mercies of God” refers to all of what has preceded in chapters 1—11. The exhortation that Paul

presents is that since we have been the gracious recipients

of God’s great mercies,

we are to be “living sacrifices” to God. How do we do this?

We are living sacrifices to God by not conforming to this world,

but by being transformed by the renewal of our minds.

This exhortation really serves as a summary statement of all that follows.


A living sacrifice to God is one who does

not conform,

but is transformed.


We are not to be conformed to this world.

Paul is using the word world here to refer to the

spirit of the age.


In other words, world refers to the

popular worldview

that rejects God and His revelation.


As unbelievers, we are naturally conformed to the world

(Ephesians 2:1–3).

As believers, we are no longer conformed to this world because

​ we no longer

belong to the spirit of this age.


We have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the


kingdom of God’s beloved Son

(Colossians 1:13).

Therefore, rather than continuing to conform to this world,

we are to be transformed

by having our minds renewed.

It is interesting to note that Paul says that we must be transformed by the renewing of our “minds.”

The mind is the key to the Christian life.

The reason why non-Christians do not respond to Christian truth is that they

cannot discern spiritual

truth


(1 Corinthians 2:14).


The gospel is a call for the unbeliever to repent of his sin

and embrace Christ by faith.


The Greek word translated “repentance” carries the notion of a change of mind.

Our thinking must be changed (transformed) from old,

ungodly ways of thinking into new, godly ways of thinking.

What we know in our minds to be true forms a conviction

in our hearts of that truth,

and that conviction in our hearts translates into action.

Therefore, we must first renew our minds.

The only way to replace the error of the world’s way of thinking is to replace it with


God’s truth,

and the only infallible source of

God’s truth

is

His revealed Word, the Bible.


Transformation through renewed minds comes as believers expose themselves to

God’s Word through the faithful exposition

of it each week in church, personal Bible study, and group Bible study.

A solid church that believes in preaching the Word, reading the Word, and singing the Word

is invaluable in helping us renew our minds.

There are no shortcuts.

There is no magical formula for renewing our minds. We must fill our minds with God’s Word.

As Jesus prayed to the Father,

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).


Paul began his letter with a brief, beautiful explanation of what the

gospel message


the "good news"—about


Jesus truly is.
​

Jesus gave His life to pay

​ for human sin before being returned to

life by God the Father.

Scholars call this "substitutionary atonement," meaning Jesus took our place and paid the full penalty for our sin. Without that, we would be trapped and doomed to death instead of delivered from "this present evil age"

​(Galatians 1:4). 

Now Paul turns fully to the reason for this letter. He speaks directly to people who believed the gospel of Jesus when Paul told them about it on his first missionary journey to their region. They heard the simple truth that through faith in Christ, they could be saved from their sin. No extra works were required to assure their place in God's family. Jesus had paid in full with His life. 

As will become clear, Paul is frustrated with his readers,

if not angry.

He is, in fact, "astonished" that they are so quickly turning away

from the simple


truth


More specifically, Paul writes that they are deserting or abandoning Christ Himself by believing a different idea, a different "gospel," than the one he showed them. 

What's going on?

As the following verses will make clear,

a group of religious people had moved

in among

the Galatian Christians after Paul left,

distorting what Paul had taught.

They said, in short, specific works or actions were necessary to truly be saved. Simple faith in Christ alone was not enough.

Paul writes here that to reject his faith-alone gospel

was to reject Christ Himself.





​The apostle Paul wrote a warning for the church:



“The time will come when men


will not put up with sound doctrine



Instead, to suit their own desires,


they will gather around them

​a

great number of teachers

to say

what their itching

​ears

want to hear”


(2 Timothy 4:3).

The Greek word translated “itching” literally means “to itch, rub, scratch, or tickle.”


​To want one’s ears “tickled” is to

​desire massages rather than messages--

sermons that charm rather than challenge,

entertain rather than edify, and please

​rather than preach.

The people Paul warns about will have,

as one commentator

​ put it, “ears which have to be continually titillated with novelties.”

“Itching ears” is a figure of speech that refers to

people’s desires, felt needs, or wants.

It is these desires that impel a person

 to believe whatever he wants to believe rather than

the


​actual truth itself.



When people have “itching ears,” they decide

for themselves what is right or wrong,

and they
​

seek out others to support

their notions.


“Itching ears” are concerned with what feels good or comfortable,


not with the truth--

after all, truth is often uncomfortable.


Paul’s warning is that the church would one day contain those who only opened their ears to

those who would scratch their “itch.”

Those with “itching ears” only want teachers who will assure them that all is well,

teachers who say, “Peace, peace . . . when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).

Where there is a demand for something, the suppliers are not far away.

Paul says that not only will there be great demand for watered-down, personalized messages, but there will be “a great number of teachers” willing to provide such pap

and steer people away from “sound doctrine.”

Evidence today of people having “itching ears” includes the popularity of messages that people are not required to change, as if repentance were outmoded; that people are basically good; that God is too loving to judge anyone; that the cross, with all its blood, is not really necessary; and that God wants His children to be healthy, wealthy, and content in this world.
​

As people turn their backs on the

truth

about sin and condemnation,

they disregard their need for

repentance and forgiveness.


And a craving for “new” and “fresher” ideas grows—even though there is “nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9–10)—accompanied by a longing to feel good about who they are and where they’re going. Messages that tickle ears can fill a lot of churches, sell a lot of books,
and buy a lot of time on cable tv.

Some of the early followers of Jesus complained about some of the Lord’s words:


“Many of his disciples said, ʻThis is a hard teaching.

Who can accept it?’ . . .

From this time many of his disciples turned back and

​no longer followed him”

(John 6:60, 66).


​Walking away from hard truth

​is easy to do.


In Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prays to His Father, saying,


“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is


truth”


(John 17:17).


In this verse, Jesus communicates

two important facts:

God’s Word is truth--


God’s Word equals truth--


and it’s by that truth that

God sanctifies us,

or sets us apart for holy service

to Himself.


In the same prayer, Jesus prays for His disciples and all who will


believe in Him through

the gospel


(John 17:20). Believers accept God’s words (John 17:6) and accept Jesus as God’s Word (John 17:8).


God is truth,

and His truth brings salvation to all

who accept it (Titus 2:11).

Further, God’s written and living Word

will sustain believers

as they are in the world

(John 17:14).

In the High Priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus confirms that

​He brought the message of salvation to the world:

“Now this is eternal life: that

they know you,

the only true God,

and

Jesus Christ, whom you have sent”

(John 17:3). Jesus’ mission of bringing the truth has been accomplished (John 17:4), and He turns the focus of His prayer to God working through the disciples and other believers.

He confirms that believers will be rejected by the world for believing

“Your word is truth,”

but believers are also assured joy, God’s protection from the evil one,

and sanctification by God’s Word

(John 17:13–19).

The Old and New Testaments both affirm that the words recorded in the Bible are God’s words and that they

are true.

Since God cannot lie,

His Word is truth: “

As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless” (Psalm 18:30).

Since God is eternal and unchanging, His Word is always the same: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35; cf. Isaiah 40:8). Jesus uses the Word as He rebukes the devil who was tempting Him:

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live

on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the

mouth of God’”

(Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3).

If we want to know truth, we will look in

God’s written Word

(2 Timothy 3:16–17) and look to Jesus Christ (John 14:6; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Hebrews 1:3). John refers to Jesus Christ in John 1:1–2, saying,


“In the beginning was the Word.

And the Word was with God and

the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.”


The Word is God’s total message, and

Jesus embodied that full message,

which is why He is called the “Logos,” or “Word,” of God

(Colossians 1:19; 2:9).


God is truth. His Word is truth. Salvation comes

by accepting Jesus and agreeing that


“Your word is truth.”

Jesus said, “Your word is truth.”

When we look at the Bible, we see truth.

The Bible does not merely contain the truth; it is the truth.

Every word is truth, in every part of the Bible. “The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times” (Psalm 12:6). This is the doctrine of the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture.

How we respond to God’s written Word and the Word made flesh has an eternal impact on us.

Since God’s Word is truth, rejecting the Bible and rejecting Jesus is rejecting God Himself.

Believing, cherishing, studying, and obeying

God’s Word

is the key to salvation,

understanding God,

and living abundantly

(John 10:10).

No matter what we may face in this world,

we are sustained by the truth

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).


In today’s postmodern church, we see many walking away from the hard truth.

The church’s remedy for those who have “itching ears” is found in the same passage of

2 Timothy:

“Preach the word;

be prepared in season and out of season; correct,

rebuke and encourage--

with great patience and careful instruction”

(2 Timothy 4:2).

It is a solemn charge, made “

in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,

who will judge the living and the dead, and in view

​of his appearing and his kingdom”

(verse 1). And it contains all the elements needed to

combat the temptation to tickle ears: preach, correct, rebuke, and encourage.

The content of preaching must be the written Word of God, and it must be preached

when convenient and when inconvenient.

This takes “great patience and careful instruction,” but sound doctrine is worth it.

The church’s quest to manage the comfort level of its audience must never take priority

over preaching the Word.

The fear of offending people’s sensibilities can never supersede the fear of offending God.

Rather, the church should follow the example of the apostles:

“We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception,

nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary,

by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves

to every man’s conscience in the sight of God”

(2 Corinthians 4:2).

The church today, more than ever, needs to re-examine the teachings it endorses.

We need to ask ourselves the following questions:

• Are our teachings truly from God or simply itches we want to scratch?
• Are we standing on solid biblical grounds, or have we allowed the world to influence our thinking?
• Have we guarded ourselves from the schemes of Satan (Ephesians 6:11)?
• Are we keeping ourselves “blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)?

The truth is, God is not concerned with scratching our itches but in transforming us into the image of His Son (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:4).



​The Bible indicates that there will be a great apostasy during the end times. The “great apostasy” is mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The KJV calls it the “falling away,” while the NIV and ESV call it “the rebellion.” And that’s what an apostasy is: a rebellion, an abandonment of the truth. The end times will include a wholesale rejection of God’s revelation, a further “falling away” of an already fallen world.


​The occasion of Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians

was to correct some of the errors concerning

the end times that the believers had heard from false teachers.


In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul makes it clear that the day of the Lord, a time of worldwide judgment (Isaiah 13:6; Obadiah 1:15), will not transpire until two things happen.


First, the falling away, or great apostasy, must occur.

Second, the “man of lawlessness” must be revealed, he who is called the “son of perdition,” also known as the Antichrist. Once this person makes himself known, the end times will indeed have come. Numerous speculations about the identity of the man of sin, beginning in the first century, have included Caligula, Caius Caesar, Mohammed, Napoleon, and any number of Roman popes. None of them were the Antichrist.

The man of lawlessness, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:4, is the one who “will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” Clearly, this has not yet happened; no one since Paul’s time has set himself up as God in the Jewish temple. Two thousand years have passed since the epistle was written, and the “day of the Lord” has not yet come.

Paul assures us that it will not come until the falling away comes first.

The Greek word translated “rebellion” or “falling away” in verse 3 is apostasia, from which we get the English

word apostasy.

It refers to a general defection from the

true God,

the Bible, and the Christian faith.

Jesus warned the disciples concerning the final days in Matthew 24:10–12:

“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness,

​the love of most will grow cold.”

These are the characteristics of the great apostasy of the end times.


In John 13 Jesus begins teaching His faithful disciples in what has come to be known as His “Upper Room Discourse.” In that great discourse,

Jesus tells them that the

Holy Spirit would guide them into

all the truth

(John 16:13). Many wonder whether this is something that applies to us as well or simply to the disciples. In the context, Jesus helps us understand the specificity of His promise that the

Holy Spirit will “guide you into all truth”

(John 16:13, NKJV).

First, it is worth noting that some English translations say “all truth,” while the Greek New Testament actually includes the definite article, so a more precise way to translate what Jesus said is that the

Holy Spirit would guide them into all the truth.

There is a specific truth to which He is referring, and the

Holy Spirit would guide them into that. Specifically, the Spirit would reveal

what the Son and the Father would have Him disclose

(John 16:13–15)—things about Jesus (John 16:14).

Jesus had already told the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit—the Helper—who would teach them and bring to their remembrance all that Jesus had said to them (John 14:26). Jesus’ later reference (in John 16:13)

to the coming of the Holy Spirit and His work of guiding them into

all the truth was fulfilled literally.

Peter later said that God moved the writers of Scripture, and they

spoke from God

(2 Peter 1:21). When Matthew wrote his gospel, for example,

Matthew didn’t need to borrow from anyone; he was in the room

when Jesus said that the

Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth.

It seems that Mark, who served alongside Peter for some time, wrote down Peter’s account (as church historian Eusebius suggests in his History, 24:5–8). Luke researched reliable sources (presumably including the disciples) as he wrote his account of Jesus’ ministry (Luke 1:1–4). John, another eyewitness, wrote his own gospel, stating that what he had written provided sufficient information for people to believe in Jesus and have life in His name (John 20:30–31).

Before the disciples would begin their ministry, they were to wait in Jerusalem for the

promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4).

After the Holy Spirit came, the disciples were equipped for their work,

and we see them proclaiming powerfully the gospel of Jesus Christ

(e.g., Peter in Acts 2—4).


The Holy Spirit had indeed guided them into the truth

(John 16:13)

and brought to their remembrance what Jesus had said to them

(John 14:26).

While we certainly benefit from that work of the Holy Spirit—as we have the writings of these men whom the

Holy Spirit guided into the truth--

it is clear from other contexts that this is not how the

Holy Spirit works with all believers. Guiding into the

truth

was simply a purpose

for which He was sent

to empower and equip the disciples.

Paul tells Timothy, for example, that Timothy should be diligent as a workman,

accurately handling the

word of truth

(2 Timothy 2:15). Timothy would have to work to understand what had been written, and he would have to be diligent to hold true and pass along the things he had heard from Paul (2 Timothy 2:2). Similarly, we are told that all Scripture is from

God’s mouth and is profitable for believers’ growth and equipping (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

We are thankful for and benefit greatly from the Holy Spirit guiding the apostles into all the truth, and we recognize that, because of the Spirit’s work through the disciples, we have His record: the Bible. We should be diligent in studying the Bible to know the Lord better.





​After John


sees a vision of the 144,000 redeemed

ones who

“follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:4),

he sees three angels flying in midair. The first one “had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people” (verse 6). This is the only place in the Bible where the gospel is described as the “everlasting gospel” (KJV)

or the “eternal gospel” (NIV).

The word gospel refers to the good news that Jesus Christ suffered death on the cross to obtain salvation for mankind and that He rose to life again, was exalted to the right hand of God in heaven, and awaits His return in majesty to consummate God’s kingdom.

The fact that this message is “everlasting” is significant.

The vision in Revelation 14 in which the angel proclaims the everlasting gospel is a prediction of something that will happen in the tribulation. Before the seven final judgments—the seven bowls of Revelation 15–16—God will give all of mankind one last opportunity to turn from their sin

and trust in Christ to receive His gift of eternal life.

The angel broadcasts the everlasting gospel to the whole earth,

“to every nation, tribe, language and people” (Revelation 14:6).

​No one is left out.

The angel calls out in a loud voice,


“Fear God and give him glory,

​because the hour of his judgment has come.

Worship him who made the heavens, the earth,

the sea and the springs of water” (verse 7).


After proclaiming the everlasting gospel through an angel,

God will finish His work of judgment upon a sinful world.


The angel who proclaims the

everlasting gospel is flying “in midair” (Revelation 14:6).


The Greek word translated “midair” also means “zenith,” and that’s why other translations say the

angel was flying “high overhead”

(CSB) or “directly overhead” (NET). And the angel shouts the message with “a loud voice” (verse 7).


The picture is of an angel in the highest possible place using the loudest possible voice

to reach the maximum number of people with

the


good news

of

​God’s salvation


God is appealing to mankind

one final time to reject the lies of Satan

and respond to the eternal


truth of God.



The gospel

is “everlasting” in that is an eternally


unchanging message.


False doctrines come and go, and new teachings are like wind and waves that toss the unsuspecting every which way (Ephesians 4:14).

Especially chaotic and dangerous is the doctrine of the Antichrist and his false prophet in Revelation 13. Countering the lies and false teaching of the beast is the everlasting gospel in Revelation 14.


The message of salvation through

faith in Christ is eternal


truth;

it is as solid and unchanging as God Himself, and those

who believe

the gospel will reap everlasting benefits.
​


​One of Jesus Christ’s most instructive miracles takes place

when the apostle Peter jumps

out of a boat and walks on turbulent water to

​meet the Lord on the sea.

The account, which follows on the heels of another illuminating miracle,

the feeding of the 5,000, is recorded in Matthew 14:22–36.

Not only does Jesus walk on the

Sea of Galilee here,

but Peter walks on the water as well.

Several valuable lessons—some obvious and some not so apparent—are introduced in the account

of when Peter walks on water.

​Jesus has just finished feeding a crowd of thousands with two fish and a few loaves of bread.

The disciples are beginning to see who Jesus is, but their

faith in Him still has room for growth.

Directly following this miracle, Jesus launches into His next lesson. By now it’s evening, and Jesus has not yet had time to get alone with His Father—the very reason He had come to this isolated place near the sea. So Jesus sends His disciples on ahead in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus makes room for time alone with God. This is the first important lesson we can take from the account to help us weather the storms of life. Jesus sends the disciples away so He can be alone on the mountain to pray. Even with the needs of so many people pressing in on Him, the Lord makes solitary time with God His priority.

As the disciples are crossing the sea, a fierce and frightening storm kicks up.

Very early in the morning, Jesus comes walking toward them on the water. Thinking He is a ghost, the disciples are terrified. Even though they have been with Christ for a long time, they don’t recognize Jesus as He approaches in the storm. Sometimes we fail to recognize the Lord when He comes alongside us during our own personal storms. But

Jesus understands the immaturity of our faith.

To His disciples, the Lord speaks these words of comfort: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).

Peter, ever enthusiastic and impulsive, replies, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water”

(Matthew 14:28).

The Lord invites Peter to come, and the disciple steps out of the boat. Peter walks on water toward Jesus. His baby steps of faith last only a moment, though, and then he takes his eyes off of the Lord. With his physical sight, Peter sees the wind and waves surrounding him, and “he was afraid” (verse 30) and begins to sink.

Peter cries out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30), and Jesus instantly reaches out His hand to catch Peter. “You of little faith,” Jesus says, “Why did you doubt?” (verse 31). For believers, the lesson here is unmistakable.

If we take our eyes off Jesus

and focus on our circumstances, we will

fall under the weight of our problems.

If we call to Jesus in faith, he will catch us and lift us above our seemingly impossible situation. Peter let doubt displace his faith. In all the time he had been with Jesus, even Peter, one of Christ’s closest friends, was still learning to trust the Lord completely.

As Jesus and Peter climb into the boat, the storm ceases. The disciples respond to everything they’ve witnessed with awe, adoration, and worship of the Lord.

To Jesus they say,

​ “Truly you are the Son of God”


(Matthew 14:33).


Beginning to grasp that Jesus is all-powerful,

even over the forces of nature, the disciples take

another step closer to possessing mature faith.

Jesus uses this stormy experience to bring

His followers into a fuller understanding of who

He is as their God and King. He is the Almighty Lord

of the winds and the waves, and when

He is present with us in our lifeboat,

​we can trust Him to either calm the storm or calm us.

A crucial lesson remains to be explored. When Peter jumps out of the boat, his heart is full of good intentions.

Sometimes we take a leap of faith with similarly good intentions, but, like Peter’s, our faith soon falters.


Peter’s exercise of faith does not end in failure. Although he is sinking in fear, he calls out to the Lord, “Save me!”

​God loves to hear our cry for help. It means we know we can’t save ourselves. Peter helplessly cries out to the only one who can help him. The disciple’s experience reminds us that

a lapse of faith is merely a stumble.

​The Lord is near to raise us back safely to our feet when we call to Him for help.
Throughout biblical times to today, false doctrine has always been a problem. In my opinion, false doctrine is more dangerous than persecution because it is an attack from within rather than without. It is a poison within the body of Christ, affecting many who genuinely love God and scratching itching ears who want teachings that don't have much to do with the Word of God.

If anything, new believers are most at risk of becoming

deceiving by false doctrine since they have no grounding in the Scriptures.

Ministers who prefer to preach a water-down message instead of the Bible are

more concerned about pleasing man rather than

glorifying God.


As a result, God will hold them to account and judgment. False doctrine is a serious matter because it is a dangerous matter. It must be addressed for what it is so that Christians would stand against it. Here are three dangers of false doctrine, followed by an exhortation to return to the Scriptures. 

1. False Doctrine Is Deceptive

It is meant to distort the truth with lies, thus deceiving its
​hearers, who end up believing those lies as truth. Church, that is a dangerous thing,

because once

one becomes accustomed

to false doctrine,

then it becomes difficult to

break out of it.

Now we know that is not impossible since all things are all possible with God, Amen?

But in many cases, challenging or expressing concern of false doctrine can

be shunned by those who embrace it, including friends, family, and preachers.
​
Just as false doctrine distorts the truth, it divides it as well. It can even split a church from within.

For instance, a pastor can fall into criticism for bringing in

false doctrine and shunning those church members

who speak out against it.

There is also the division between

true and false doctrine.

On the one hand, you have biblically centered,

Christ-exalting truth,

while you have unbiblical,

me-centered messages on the other.

The battle for the truth is real, and it is divisive.

For the church, false doctrine divides the sheep from the goats. In other words, false doctrine can divide true born-again Christians from those who are Christian in name only. Now I want to clarify that there are true Christians who are deceived by false doctrine but will ultimately come to realize the truth because of their continued growth in their relationship to God and His Word. Nevertheless,

false doctrine is divisive because of the schism it has caused within the body of Christ.

false doctrine ends in destruction, such as the judgment of God.


False believers are at risk of facing God’s judgment

because they are not

truly born again

and remain unrepentant.

They may profess, Lord! Lord! Only to hear the sobering words,

“Depart from me you workers of lawlessness, I never knew you”

(Matt. 7:23).

Meanwhile, false teachers will face greater judgment by God (James 3:1)
for their deceiving the body of Christ with false doctrine.

Overall, this is a sober
warning that Christians must take heed because judgment first begins
in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17).

The church is the bride of Christ, and she is precious to Him. So He will not tolerate when there are wolves preying upon His sheep. He will not stand when there are false prophets deceiving His elect. Thanks be to God for His grace but woe to those who fail to repent unto His imminent return ! For Christ is coming back, and He is coming to judge the world. For all the talk on how God is all love, and no wrath will be very surprised on the day of Christ's return. And for false teachers and false converts, we must pray for their repentance before it is too late. For there will be no excuses on judgment day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

we see why false doctrine is so dangerous.

It is deceptive, for it leads one away from the truth. It is divisive because it causes a rift in the church.

And it is destructive for Christ will judge

all false teachers and

false converts in addition

to unbelievers.

While this is not an easy message to share, it is necessary because false doctrine is everywhere.

It’s bad enough we live in a fallen world, where corruption and depravity abound, but how much worse it is when we have so many churches that have been compromised. 

To stand against the winds of false doctrine means to

be grounded in biblical


truth.

It is the responsibility for every professing Christian to supplement the Word of God in their lives so that the Word of God would encompass their lives. During His high priestly prayer, Christ tells God the Father, “sanctify them in truth, for Your Word is truth.” (John 17:17). That was His prayer to God for His disciples, and the same applies for us as we are also disciples of Christ. Friends, that is a prayer that God answers for His people, for we are supposed to be sanctified in His truth, that is in His Word. The scriptures are essential in renewing our minds, equipping us to fight sin, walking in obedience, and growing in the knowledge of God. 

Getting back to the Bible is crucial in this day and age, especially against pushing back against false doctrine.

Christians who grow

in the Word also grow in discernment

as they will be

able to distinguish that which is biblical and that

​which is unbiblical. 

Pastors 

who devote their time in studying the Scriptures

will be able to divide it rightly

(2 Tim. 3:15).

Additionally, they must be able to mark and avoid false teachers (Rom. 16:17) and expose the works of darkness (Eph. 5:11). Preachers must also be wary as to whom they associate with, such as false teachers, or invite into their church lest they partake “in his wicked works”(2 John 11). As the Scriptures say, a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Galatians 5:9). Therefore, we must embrace biblical truth so that we would stand firm in the truth against false doctrine. We need that now more than ever.
​

One verse about wealth often misquoted is 1 Timothy 6:10, which says, in part, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” This verse is sometimes used to say that money is evil, but that is not what it says. It is the love of money, not money itself, that leads to evil choices. In this epistle, Paul warned his young protégé

Timothy about false teachers who would infiltrate the church

for financial profit.


Their greed would not only fleece unsuspecting believers but also infect the church with the love of money. The verse goes on to say, “Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” The Bible never says that money is evil, only to avoid the love of it.

Another warning the Bible gives us about money is that it can quickly become an idol: “Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (Psalm 62:10). When we have abundance, we tend to grow lazy spiritually, believing our money will take care of us. Our hearts grow resistant to self-sacrifice, and our focus shifts from eternal riches to earthly bank balances.

​Jesus said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it was for a rich person to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:25). Our Lord put wealth in perspective when He said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

When wealth becomes an idol, it also becomes our downfall. Jesus illustrated this in the parable of the rich fool, which teaches the foolishness of trusting in riches without keeping God as the center of one’s life (Luke 12:14–21). Jesus, who knows our hearts, warned us about trying to serve two masters (Luke 16:13). We cannot love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength if we also love money (Mark 12:30). God will not share His throne.

Proverbs 30:7–9 is a prayer that models the right attitude about wealth:

“Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”

When our daily prayer is that God will meet all our needs according to His riches in glory

(Philippians 4:19), we remind ourselves where our help comes from (Psalm 121:1–2). Any abundance beyond that daily sustenance is a gift from the Lord, and we are to use it wisely. When we consider that all we have and all we are belongs to God, we are more careful to use it all for His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).

When we see wealth as an investment entrusted to us by its rightful Owner, we are more likely to keep it in right perspective.


​
​​




​The Word

translated “doctrine” means

“instruction, especially as it applies to lifestyle application.”


In other words,


doctrine

is teaching imparted by an

authoritative source

​

In the Bible, the word always refers to spiritually related fields of study. The Bible says of itself that it is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). We are to be careful about what we believe and present as truth. First Timothy 4:16 says, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Biblical doctrine helps us understand the will of God for our lives. Biblical doctrine teaches us the nature and the character of God (Psalm 90:2; 97:2; John 4:24), the path of salvation through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 10:9–10), instruction for the church (1 Corinthians 14:26; Titus 2:1–10), and God’s standard of holiness for our lives (1 Peter 1:14–17; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20). When we accept the Bible as God’s Word to us (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21), we have a solid foundation for our doctrine. There can be disagreement within the body of Christ over secondary points of doctrine, such as eschatology, church organization, or the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But truly biblical doctrine is that which incorporates the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) and draws conclusions based on that which seems most closely aligned with the character of our unchanging God (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 13:8).

However, the Bible is not always the foundation upon which people or churches build their doctrinal statements. Our sinful natures do not easily submit to God’s decrees, so we often pick and choose the parts of the Bible we are comfortable with and discard the rest. Or we replace what God says with a man-made doctrine or tradition. This is nothing new. Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7, ESV; cf. Isaiah 29:13). False doctrine was rampant in New Testament times, and the Scriptures tell us it will continue (Matthew 7:15; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1). Second Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

The Bible gives stern warning to those who would teach false or incomplete doctrine simply because it is more compatible with man’s ideas. First Timothy 6:3–4 says, “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” The apostle Paul wrote harsh words about perverting the gospel with false doctrine: “Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

But even if we or an angel from heaven

should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,

​let them be under God’s curse!

As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”(Galatians 1:7–9).

Doctrine is the worldview by which we govern our lives.



If our doctrine is based


soundly upon Scripture,

we can know we are walking

in the

path God designed for us.


However, if we do not study the Word of God for ourselves (2 Timothy 2:15), we are led more easily into error. Although there are a variety of minor issues upon which Christians disagree, true doctrine is clearer than many imply. Second Peter 1:20 says that “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” There is a right interpretation of everything God says, and it is our job to discern that meaning, not create an interpretation to suit our tastes. God wants us to know His heart and has given us His Word upon which we can build godly lives (see Matthew 7:24).


The more we study


true doctrine,


the more we understand

God and ourselves.



The apostle Paul, in his first letter to his young disciple, Timothy, had this to say:


“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people,

eager for money,

have wandered from the faith

and pierced themselves with many griefs”

(1 Timothy 6:10).

Now this verse is often misquoted as saying, “Money is the root of all evil.” Notice how “money” is substituted for “love of money” and “the root of all evil” is substituted for “a root of all kinds of evil.” These changes, while subtle, have an enormous impact on the meaning of the verse.

The misquoted version (“money is the root of all evil”) makes money and wealth the source (or root) of all evil in the world. This is clearly false. The Bible makes it quite clear that sin is the root of all evil in the world (Matthew 15:19; Romans 5:12; James 1:15). However, when we reflect upon the correct citation of this verse, we see that it is the love of money, not money itself, that is a source of all different kinds of trouble and evil. Wealth is morally neutral; there is nothing wrong with money, in and of itself, or the possession of money.

However, when money begins to control us, that’s when trouble starts.

With that said, let’s consider the question before us: Why is the love of money a root of all kinds of evil? To help us answer this, we must look at the passage in its greater context. Near the end of the letter (1 Timothy 6:2–10), Paul is exhorting Timothy regarding the need to “teach and urge these things” to his congregation, “these things” referring back to earlier material in the epistle. Paul then warns Timothy about false teachers who will seek to warp and pervert the content of sound doctrine for their own greedy gain (verses 3–5). Now notice what the apostle says at the end of verse 5: “Imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” These false teachers do what they do for the fame and notoriety they achieve, along with the financial rewards it brings.

Paul wants to steer Timothy away from that trap. In doing so,

he tells him the real source

of “great gain;” namely,

godliness with true contentment (verse 6).

Contentment, in a biblical sense, is the recognition
that we come into the world with nothing and that everything
we have is a gift from God’s hands (verses 7–8).

Yet those who desire to be rich (i.e., those who have the “love of money”)

are the ones who are led into temptation and fall into a snare

(verse 9). Paul concludes the passage by telling Timothy
that the love of money leads to all sorts of sin and evil.

Simple reflection on this principle will confirm that it is true. Greed causes people to do all sorts of things they wouldn’t normally do. Watch any number of TV courtroom dramas, and the crime under consideration is usually motivated by jealousy or greed, or both.

The love of money is what motivates people to lie, steal, cheat, gamble, embezzle, and even murder.

People who have a love for money lack the godliness and contentment

that is true gain in God’s eyes.

But the Bible makes an even stronger statement about the love of money. What we have discussed thus far simply describes the horizontal level of the love of money. In other words, we have only mentioned how the love of money can lead one to commit greater sins against his fellow man. But the Bible makes quite clear that all sin is ultimately against God’s holy character (Psalm 51:5). We need to consider the vertical dimension to the love of money.

In the Sermon on the Mount,


Jesus said,


“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one

and love the other,

or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and money”


And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the

love of the many shall wax cold.

Because lawlessness is increased,

the love of most people will grow cold.


Jesus predicted that the love of many would grow cold as part of His answer to the disciples’ question,

“What will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

In Matthew 24, in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus describes the end of the age that will

precede His second coming.

He says that there will be false Christs (verse 5), wars (verse 6), and strife and natural disasters (verse 7).

Jesus also warned of the persecution of believers, some of whom would

prove to be false disciples who would

turn on one another

(Matthew 24:9–10). “And,” Jesus said, “because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (verse 12, ESV). Whether it is because of the deluding influence of the false teachers or the persecution or the fear of death, the zeal of many false professors will diminish.

Their love toward God and toward the church will “grow cold.”

True Christians, even those whose faith is weak, will persevere to the end (verse 13). Theirs is the true love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and it cannot fail (1 Corinthians 13:7).

True love cannot become cold because it is sustained by Christ who is able to keep us from falling (Jude 1:24).

For those without the Spirit, however, what love they do have will become

colder and colder in the last days. Paul expands this idea in 

2 Timothy 3:1–4 when he describes the last days.

The love those people have is not a warm, living love for God and His truth and His people.


Rather, it is the love of self and the love of money

(verse 2).

Paul describes those whose love for God, Christ, and the saints is only in pretense, not in reality. They do all they do in a religious way from self-love and to selfish ends. Their aim is to gain glory and applause from men or to use religion to gain something for themselves. They do nothing for the glory of God, the honor of Christ, or the good of others.

How can we be sure that the love we have for Christ will never grow cold? We begin by examining ourselves to be sure we are truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). If we truly belong to Christ, we can be confident that we possess the love from the Spirit that never grows cold. Then we should make every effort to increase our love:, “This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9–11).
​


(Matthew 6:24).

This verse comes at the end of a

​passage in which


Jesus tells us

to

“lay up treasures in heaven”


Here, Jesus likens a



“love of money”

to


idolatry


He refers to

money as a “master” we serve at the


expense of serving God


We are commanded by God to have “no other gods

” before the only

true

​and living God

(Exodus 20:3; the first commandment).

Anything that takes first place

in our lives other than our Creator God is an idol and makes

us guilty of breaking

​the first commandment

Jesus had much to say about wealth. His most memorable conversation about money is His encounter with the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16–30). The young man asks Jesus what he must do to obtain eternal life, and Jesus tells him to follow the commandments.

When the man tells Jesus that he has done all that,

Jesus tests his ability to obey the first commandment and tells him to sell

all his possessions and give it to the poor and to

follow Him.

The young man couldn’t do this; his wealth had

​become an idol—it was his master!

After this encounter, Jesus turns to His disciples and says, 


”Truly,

I say to you, only with difficulty will a

rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

Again I tell you,

it is easier for a camel to go through the

eye of a needle

than for a rich person to enter

the

kingdom of God”


(Matthew 19:23–24).

This is a hard saying, especially for 21st-century people living in North America.

Jesus is saying that wealth is one of the

biggest obstacles to coming to


faith in Christ

The reason is obvious: wealth becomes a


slave master


in our lives and drives us to do all sorts of things that

drive us further and further


away from God




​The good news

is that

what is impossible for man,


entering into the Kingdom of God,

is possible with God


(Matthew 19:26).


False teachers have insinuated themselves into the Christian church since its inception.

They are dangerously deceptive

operators with smooth speech and seductive ways.

​New believers are particularly susceptible to their methods. Ever the passionately protective shepherd, the apostle Peter dedicates an entire chapter to exposing these religious pretenders. In 2 Peter 2:17, he compares them to “wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever”


(NKJV).

Peter wants his flock to understand how false teachers operate, learn to spot them, and avoid falling victim to their heresies. His metaphors likening them to “wells without water” and “clouds carried by a tempest” are similar to a portion of Jude’s description of false teachers: “They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 1:12–13, NKJV).

The word Peter uses for “well” actually means “a flowing spring” in the original Greek. When Jesus ministers to the Samaritan woman (John 4:1–26), He uses the same term to describe the soul-satisfying, living water He can supply. A thirsty first-century traveler would immediately understand the disappointment of coming upon a well that promises water but does not deliver. Instead of fresh, thirst-quenching, life-giving fountains, wells without water are hollow and useless, producing nothing but dust, mud, and unquenchable thirst. Like a dried-up spring, false teachers promise much but have zero to offer. They do not teach the gospel truth that Jesus calls “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). They preach freedom but supply bondage, they guarantee pleasure but furnish anguish, and they promise life but deliver death.

False teachers deny the gospel or distort it through human error

​ (2 Peter 2:3; Colossians 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:20–21) or demonic inspiration (1 Timothy 4:1–2; 2 Corinthians 11:3–4; 1 John 4:1–3). Like Peter, the apostle Paul devotes much energy to exposing false teachers. Skipping the metaphor of “wells without water,” Paul states plainly, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 5:6).

Paul teaches Timothy that false teachers depart from the truth and turn to “meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm” (1 Timothy 1:6–7; see also Titus 1:10–11). He advises the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

Peter explains that false teachers “secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves” (2 Peter 2:1). False teachers “come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves,” warns Jesus (Matthew 7:15, NLT).

Paul affirms, “I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave,

not sparing the flock.

​Even some men from your own group will rise up and

​ distort the truth

in order to draw a following”

(Acts 20:29–30, NLT).

Comparing false teachers to wells without water is

Peter’s figurative way of saying

the message of false teachers

is valueless, meaningless, and useless.

Like the rebellious people of Jeremiah’s day, false teachers in the

early church had forsaken God,

“the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water”

(Jeremiah 2:13).

Because they

reject “

the teaching of the wise,” which is “a fountain of life,” they fall into “the snares of death”

(Proverbs 13:14; see also Proverbs 14:27).

False teachers hold out a promise of satisfaction for thirsty souls but ultimately

leave people parched and in need.

Theirs is an empty hope. Their teachings are hollow and void of truth.

Like wells without water, they appear to offer life,

​ but they deliver only bondage, destruction, and death.

​​


The Israeli flag can be seen all around the country,

and is a symbol of joy and dreams realized to many. If you love Israel, it is likely dear to you too.

The meaning and symbolism behind the flag are important to know for

all who love Israel,

as it tells the story of God and His people.


THE BASE IS A PRAYER SHAWL


The background is white, with two blue stripes. This is to represent the “tallit” – the Jewish prayer shawl. The wearing of a tallit has developed from this commandment in Numbers:

Again the LORD spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners.

“And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and

remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them…and be holy for your God” 

Numbers 15:37-40
​
The tassels had to be attached to a garment, and that garment came to be known as the tallit, or prayer shawl. Note that God specifies that blue thread had to be used. Blue represented holiness, blue spoke of the heavens. A blue cloth was used to cover the ark of the covenant, and appears many times in the descriptions of the tabernacle. Yeshua looked up to the sky when praying towards the heavens, and we are supposed to associate blue with the divine. Tassels are important too, and have a royal connotation. When tassels were added to a garment in ancient times it symbolised the wearer’s authority. They were not worn by commoners, but by the nobility or royalty.[1]

Israel were called to be a kingdom of priests, and the tallit is symbolic of

that identity and calling.

“Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:

‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” (Ex 19:4-6)
​
The command to have blue threaded tassels was not in the law handed down at Sinai. It actually came about later, as a result of Israel’s sin, by way of helping the people of Israel to remember God’s laws. Numbers 15 tells us of a man caught collecting wood on Shabbat, and who was stoned to death as a result. God explains that there is one Torah for sons of Israel and for those living among them (remember there were a great mixed multitude who had joined Israel – Ex 12:38) and that there are consequences for sin done defiantly, but also unintentionally.

Even in the case of forgetfulness or ignorance, sacrifices are still necessary to

restore purity and right relationship with God. 

The tassels were God’s way of giving the people of Israel a tangible reminder to keep his commandments
, a bit like a piece of string tied round your finger or a knot in your handkerchief. 

So the base of the flag just with a couple of blue stripes on a white background tells us quite a lot of the story between God and His people: The blue of the tallit represents the heavens, the white is purity brought about by the necessary sacrifices. The whole basis of the tallit came about in the context of God responding to Israel’s sin by giving symbolic, colour-coded instructions to help them remember His commandments. He had already given his law at Sinai, but the people were failing, and God was already graciously creating useful devices to remember His covenant and keep on the right path.

The tassels were a visible reminder of God’s laws,

but also signified the special calling of Israel

to be a kingdom of priests, set apart for His purposes.

It is a perfect picture of Israel’s permanent,

covenantal relationship with God: they are His people, and though they may fail,

God’s faithfulness to them is eternal.


​
THE STAR

Often known as the Star (or shield) of David, this hexagram is more likely from the time of his son Solomon. When inside a circle, the star is known as the Seal of Solomon, and seems to have some rather dark origins. It is possible that it was introduced from one of Solomon’s pagan wives, but it’s hard to know for certain. It could even be the “Star of Rephan” mentioned in Acts 7 in Stephen’s impassioned speech to the religious leaders who were about to stone him:

“You took up the tent of Moloch
    and the star of your god Rephan,
    the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.”

(Acts 7:43)

The symbol of Israel had always traditionally been the menorah – a right and fitting representation of God’s plan and purposes to bring forth the Messiah to the world from within the people of Israel. The star was used on amulets, but not used as a symbol for the Jewish people until the 14th century, but throughout 17th century it came to represent Israel more and more.[2] In 1897, it became the emblem of the Zionist movement, and ended up on the flag in 1948.

Without going too far into the sad story of how the enemy has deceived the children of Israel over and over again, suffice to say that this star is not very godly. However, it does represent part of the reality in Israel today. Whenever God acts and creates, the enemy is not far behind twisting, distorting, and producing counterfeits. But these counterfeits do not do away with the original any more than fake bank notes invalidate real ones. They exist side by side, and can cause a great deal of confusion and mess. Though Israel was reestablished and brought about by the hand of God (and preserved through divine intervention on many occasions) the modern state of Israel is not immune from the enemy’s meddlings, and we are naive to think that everything is pure as the driven snow. It is not. There has been much Freemasonry active in the very foundations of the modern state, but this in no way takes away from the fact that the descendants of Israel have been regathered from 2000 years of exile. The Bible tells us that God called Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that he rescued the twelve tribes of Israel through Joseph in Egypt, gave them his Torah through Moses at Sinai and preserved them throughout history… and he is regathering them now in our days, just as He promised. These facts remain true. The two stories exist side by side.



WHEAT AND TARES

Yeshua gives us this helpful illustration:

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Both the good and the bad are mixed in together, but make no mistake, God knows which is which!

And He will sort everything out in the end. 

So in many ways, the flag is a perfect emblem of the state of Israel today, telling the two stories: The chosenness of the kingdom of priests, the people of Israel and their permanent, covenantal relationship with their divine God, and the symbol suggesting the enemy’s interference in among it all. I do not see the need to reject the flag because of the star – God is aware of what is going on, He knows all and is over all. The story is not over yet. Judging by God’s faithfulness to his promises so far when it comes to Israel, we can be sure it will all work out exactly as He says in His Word.
​



BETWEEN THE STRAITS: DEALING WITH DAYS OF DISTRESS

ONE FOR ISRAEL 


We all know times of distress and difficulty, when we’re caught in dire straits. The three weeks between the dates of 17th Tammuz and 9th of Av in the Jewish calendar are known as the time “בין המצרים” which means “between the straits” or in “dire straits”, and is taken from Lamentations 1:3;

Judah has gone into captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude;
She dwells among the nations,
She finds no rest;

All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits. 
The phrase “between the straits” means to be forced to thread your way between grave dangers on both sides—like a ship trying to squeeze through a perilously narrow path and trying to avoid the almost inevitable shipwreck. Have you ever felt caught in this sort of situation? Israel certainly has once or twice!
What hope does God’s word offer in perilous times?

As the people of Israel have often found ourselves in a fix. Without God’s miracles, Israel would have been wiped out many times over. The beginnings of the nation came from miracles of barren women conceiving, and the disaster of life-threatening famine was sidestepped by

​Joseph’s supernatural dreams when they were only a family of seventy.

Moses survived the blanket killing of baby boys to go on to lead Israel in their remarkable escape through a sea, and then every attempt to destroy the nation has been thwarted, one way or another…

Balaam, Balak, and the Amalekites, Haman, Herod, the Romans, pogroms, inquisitions and not even the Holocaust succeeded in putting an end to the Jewish people. The modern state of Israel has survived and even been victorious in the attacks waged against it from its very inception, due to many more miracles. 

But it’s astonishing how distress has often come upon the people of Israel exactly during these dates in the Jewish calendar.

Although we know from the Bible that more hard times are coming for Israel, we also know that God has promised a glorious future to look forward to. However, the period between the giving of the promise and its fulfillment can be extremely testing.


IRON IN THE SOUL

Psalm 105 gives us a potted history of Israel with all the twists, turns, dangers and rescues, but this verse in particular is reflecting on the predicament of Joseph, languishing in prison, waiting for his dreams to come true. It says,

“When he [God] summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.” (v 16-19)

In some ways, the nation of Israel was “sent ahead” of the nations, a bit like Joseph, as part of God’s plan to procure salvation for all and teach the world his ways. But here’s the thing: This in-between waiting period, stuck between the straits, is hard. It hurts. Psalm 105 tells us that Joseph’s feet were hurt with fetters, and although different translations render this verse in a variety ways, the

Hebrew actually seems to say that iron “went into his soul”. Painful. Strengthening, yes, but painful.

​There he was, in prison and in great pain, and stuck – until God’s promises came to pass.

What can be done in such a situation? Is there any comfort while we wait for promised deliverance?

Of course there is.

We should not be surprised by trouble, since Yeshua warned we would certainly experience it. In fact, Yeshua promised that each day would have trouble all of its own! (Matthew 6:33). So we need the mercies of God that are new every morning in order to cope with the new day’s troubles. God’s people across the world in many different countries and situations find themselves ‘between the straits’; in times of suffering

before the breakthrough comes.

Thousands suffer terribly for their faith. One such person was Richard Wurmbrand – a Messianic Jew who was imprisoned by the Communists in Romania for his faith for fifteen years. He told of a “tea” to take in times of trouble and pain. Here is his recipe—six ingredients to help deal with days of distress:

The first herb is called contentedness: be satisfied with what you have. I may shiver in my rags as I gnaw on a crust, but how much worse off I should be if they had thrown me naked into a dungeon with nothing at all to eat!
The second herb is common sense. Whether I rejoice or worry, I shall still be in prison, so why repine?
The third is remembrance of past sins: count them, and on the supposition that every sin deserves a day in prison, reckon how many lives you would spend behind bars—you have been let off lightly!
The fourth is the thought of the cross – the sorrows which Messiah bore gladly for us. If the only man who ever could choose his fate on earth chose pain, what great value He must have seen in it! So we observe that, borne with serenity and joy, suffering redeems.

The fifth herb is the knowledge that suffering has been given to us by God as from a father, not to harm us, but to cleanse and sanctify us. The suffering through which we pass has the purpose of purifying us, and preparing us for heaven.

The sixth is the knowledge that no suffering can harm a believer’s life. If the pleasures of the flesh are all, then pain and prison bring an end to a man’s aim in living; but if the core of life is truth, that is something which no prison cell can change. In prison or out of it two and two make four. Prison cannot stop me from loving; iron bars cannot exclude faith. If these ideals make up my life, I can be serene anywhere. Even in God’s underground.

The last herb in the recipe is hope. The wheel of life may put the emperor’s physician in prison, but it goes on turning. It may put me back into the palace, and even put me on the throne.
“I have drunk barrels of this tea,” Wurmbrand assures us, “and I can recommend it to you all. It has proved good.”

This last ingredient of hope is so important. Although it’s pretty much impossible to escape suffering, we do experience times and seasons that turn and change. Fifteen years is a long time to be stuck and tortured in prison, but Richard Wurmbrand was eventually released, and went on to lead a very fruitful ministry. A passage that I find encouraging is this respect is Isaiah 28:23-29, where we are rhetorically asked, will God thresh forever?

The answer being “No!”
​
“Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. Does he who ploughs for sowing plough continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border? For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it for ever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.”

It is true that we will suffer trials and we should not be surprised about that, but we can know that nothing is wasted, and that God uses hard events to purify our lives. We can also have hope that it will not last forever. Ultimately, we will be with him and he will wipe every tear from our eyes. We see also in the book of Lamentations, the saddest book in the Bible, that the message of hope is still there, despite the harshest of suffering:

This I recall to my heart— therefore I have hope:
Because of the mercies of Adonai we will not be consumed, for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning! Great is Your faithfulness.
“Adonai is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
 Adonai is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him.
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of Adonai.

We are to have faith, hope and love even in the darkest hour, not allow ourselves to plunge into fear, despair and contempt as our heart gets embittered.

​There is always hope with God. Sometimes its hard to wait for the fulfillment of God’s word, and we can feel a bit like Joseph – sitting stuck in darkness, just waiting for promises given long ago to come to pass.

But take heart, God will fulfill all promises to Israel, and to you, just

​as surely as morning comes after the nighttime.

​


And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold.
AMP
Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.
Picture


The Parable of the Sower


concerns a sower who scatters seed, which falls on four different types of ground.


​The hard ground “by the way side”

prevents the

seed

from sprouting at all,

and the seed becomes nothing more than bird food.

The stony ground provides enough soil for the seeds to germinate and begin to grow, but because there is “no deepness of earth,” the plants do not take root and are soon withered in the sun. The thorny ground allows the seed to grow, but the competing thorns choke the life out of the beneficial plants.

​The good ground receives the seed and produces much fruit.

Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Sower highlights four different

responses to the gospel.

The


seed


is “the world of the kingdom.”

​The hard ground represents someone who is hardened by sin; he hears but does not understand the Word,

and Satan plucks the message away, keeping the heart dull and

preventing the Word from making an impression.

The stony ground pictures a man who professes delight with the Word; however,

his heart is not changed, and when trouble arises, his so-called faith quickly disappears.

​The thorny ground depicts one who seems to receive the Word, but whose heart is full of riches, pleasures, and lusts; the things of this world take his time and attention away from the Word, and he ends up having no time for it. The good ground portrays the one who hears, understands, and receives the Word—and then allows the Word to accomplish its result in his life. The man represented by the “good ground” is the only one of the four

who is truly saved,

because salvation’s proof is fruit

(Matthew 3:7-8; 7:15-20).


To summarize the point of the Parable of the Sower:


“A man’s reception

of

God’s Word

is determined by the

condition of his heart.”

A secondary lesson would be

“Salvation is more than a superficial, albeit joyful, hearing of the gospel.

Someone who is truly saved will go on to prove it.”

May our faith and our lives exemplify

the "good soil" in the


​Parable of the Sower



As Jesus readied His twelve disciples to go out and minister,

first He gave detailed guidelines for their early mission (Matthew 10:5–15), and then

He prepared them for opposition and persecution:

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves,

so be wise as serpents

and

innocent as doves”

(Matthew 10:16, ESV).



Jesus knew that His messengers would encounter

fierce resistance,

so He immediately dismissed any idealistic notion of


what it meant to be

His servant


He told them that persecution and betrayal

would come from unexpected places and

all kinds of people, even family and friends


(Matthew 10:21–22, 34–36).


Jesus also knew that many would respond to the disciples’ message, so they had to go.

To be as “sheep amidst the wolves”

is the Lord’s fitting imagery portraying how we obey His call and take the message of salvation to receptive souls scattered amid a crowd of hostile challengers.

The apostle Paul testified to church leaders, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock” (Acts 20:29). To His disciple Timothy, Paul wrote, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Jesus desires that we be fully prepared to be hated and treated poorly just as He was (Matthew 10:25).

Yet we can find comfort and encouragement in our struggles, knowing such ill-treatment

is a sign of our close fellowship with Jesus

(Acts 5:41; 2 Corinthians 11:16–33; 12:1–10; Philippians 3:10–11).

Sheep are defenseless animals. Unless they stay near their shepherd, these animals have no hope of surviving against a pack of wolves. Jesus, who is “the great Shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20), assured His disciples repeatedly that He would care for His sheep, leading, guiding, protecting, and laying down His life for them (John 10:1–16, 26–30).

Even though we will face persecution in our mission to follow and obey Christ, He encourages us not to fear: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:28–31).

Matthew 10:16 was not the disciples’ first exhortation to expect persecution as servants of God’s kingdom. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10–12). Honor in God’s kingdom is a blessing reserved for those who actively seek to advance His righteousness and serve the King.

Initially, the “wolves” in Jesus’ analogy included the Pharisees and Jewish religious teachers who violently persecuted the early church. But the caution to be like sheep amidst the wolves is relevant to believers in every age who must live as Christ’s ambassadors in a dark and unreceptive world. Without our Shepherd, we are defenseless and in danger. But with Jesus, we are promised protection and peace (John 14:27; 16:33; Psalm 3:5–6; Matthew 6:25–34; 11:28; Romans 8:28, 35–39).


The term double-minded comes from the Greek word dipsuchos, meaning

“a person with two minds or souls.”

It’s interesting that this word appears only in the book of James (James 1:8; 4:8). Bible scholars conclude that James might have coined this word. To grasp the full meaning of this word, it is best to understand how it is used within its context.

James writes of the doubting person that he is “like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:6–8). A doubter is a double-minded person. Jesus had in mind such a person when He spoke of the one who tries to serve two masters(Matthew 6:24). As such, he is “unstable,” which comes from a Greek word meaning “unsteady, wavering, in both his character and feelings.”

A double-minded person is restless and confused in his thoughts, his actions, and his behavior. Such a person is always in conflict with himself. One torn by such inner conflict can never lean with confidence on God and His gracious promises. Correspondingly, the term unstable is analogous to a drunken man unable to walk a straight line, swaying one way, then another. He has no defined direction and as a result doesn’t get anywhere. Such a person is “unstable in all he does.”

Those who are double-minded do not have the faith spoken of in Hebrews 11:1, 3: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. . . . By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

We cannot be both “certain” and doubting, as is the double-minded person.

One part of his mind is sure of something, while the other part doubts.

It brings to mind the “pushmi-pullyu” of the Dr. Doolittle stories, an

animal with a head at either end of its body

and which was constantly trying to walk in two directions at once.

Such is the double-minded man.

Jesus declared, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). God and the things of this world are of such opposite natures that it is impossible to love either one completely without hating the other. Those who try to love both will become unstable in all their ways. If someone struggles with being double-minded, he or she should read, study, and memorize the Word, for it is the Word of God that produces faith (Romans 10:17). And he or she should pray for faith. God freely gives what is good to those who ask Him (Luke 11:9–12), and it’s good to ask for an increase of faith (Luke 17:5; Mark 9:24).


In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters.

Either you will hate the one and love the other,

or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.


You cannot serve both God and money.”


He spoke these words as part of His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5—7), in which He had said it was foolish to store up treasures on earth where “moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19–20); rather, He urged us to store up treasure in heaven where it will last forever. The obstacle that prevents us from wise investment is the heart. Wherever our treasure is, there will our hearts be (Matthew 6:21). We follow what has captivated our hearts, and Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve two masters.

A master is anything that enslaves us (Romans 6:16).

In Jesus’ warning that we cannot serve two masters,

He specifies money

​ (or “mammon” or “wealth” in other translations)


as a master in


opposition to God


Jesus’ call to follow Him is a call to abandon all other masters. He called Matthew from the tax collector’s booth (Matthew 9:9). Matthew obeyed and walked away from extravagant wealth and dirty deals. Jesus called Peter, James, and John from the fishing docks (Mark 1:16–18). To obey Jesus’ call meant that they had to leave behind everything they knew, everything they’d worked for. Jesus called Paul, a successful Pharisee, with the words, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:16). Those words will never make it into a mass-market ad campaign for Christianity—but maybe they should, because that’s what it means to follow Jesus (Luke 9:23). We must forsake everything else, no matter the cost (Matthew 10:34–39).

The Lord describes Himself as a “jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).


This means He guards

what is rightfully His.

He is righteously jealous for our affections because we were created to know and love Him

(Colossians 1:16). He is not jealous for His own sake; He needs nothing (Psalm 50:9–10).

He is jealous for us because we need Him (Mark 12:30; Matthew 22:37).

When we serve another master

such as money,

we rob ourselves of all we were created to be,

and we rob God

of His rightful adoration.

Jesus’ claim to us is exclusive.

He bought us with His own blood and delivered us from

our former master, sin (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; Romans 6:17).

He doesn’t share His throne with anyone.

​During Jesus’ time on earth,

some people followed Him for a ways, but

their devotion was superficial

(Luke 9:57–62). They wanted something Jesus offered, but they weren’t committed (Mark 10:17–22). Other things were more important. They wanted to serve two masters.

We cannot serve two masters because, as Jesus pointed out, we end up hating one and loving the other. It’s only natural. Opposing masters demand different things and lead down different paths.

The Lord is headed in one direction,

and

the world is headed in the other.

A choice must be made.

When we follow Christ,

we must die to everything else, or we won’t make it.

We will be like some of the seeds in Jesus’ parable(Luke 8:5–15)—only a portion of those seeds actually bore fruit. Some sprouted at first but then withered and died. They were not deeply rooted in good soil.

If we attempt to serve two masters,

we will have divided loyalties, and,

when the difficulties of discipleship

clash with the lure of the world,

the magnetic pull of wealth and worldly success will draw us away from Christ (see 2 Timothy 4:10).


The call to godliness goes against our sinful nature. Only with the help of the Holy Spirit can we remain devoted to one Master (John 6:44).

​
​
In architecture, the capstone is the rock or stone placed on top of a wall.

Unlike the cornerstone, which is the base of the structure and an important stone of the foundation,

the capstone is the final stone placed on top that helps hold the structure together.

The capstone, like the cornerstone,

is an important metaphor

for Jesus and His prominence

as Head of the church and the

kingdom of God.

In the Old Testament, Psalm 118:22 and Zechariah 4:7 mention a capstone. Zechariah correlates the word with the completion of the temple as Zerubbabel sets the capstone (Zechariah 4:7). The Lord tells Zechariah, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it” (Zechariah 4:9, ESV). In Psalm 118:22, the word could be translated as either “cornerstone” or “capstone.” This is the verse that Jesus quotes in His parable of the vineyard.

As in Psalm 118:22, the word for “cornerstone” in Matthew 21:42, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20, and 1 Peter 2:7 could technically be translated as either “capstone” or “cornerstone.” The word in Greek can mean “head, chief, or cornerstone,” but the word carries a connotation similar to that of capstone. For instance, in the 2001 edition of the New International Version, Matthew 21:42 states, “The Stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” with a note indicating that the word in question could also be translated as “cornerstone.” Similarly, in the same version, the word in Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7 is translated as “capstone.” A cornerstone and a capstone are different stones with different functions, so how can the words be interchangeable? A verse that helps clarify the confusion is Luke 20:18, in which Jesus states, “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him” (ESV). Someone could fall on a cornerstone, given its location at the base of a building. In contrast, a capstone could fall on someone since it crowns a building. It is likely that Jesus indirectly refers to Himself as both the capstone and cornerstonehere.

When Peter stated that “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone,’” he meant that, although Israel had rejected the Messiah, Jesus is still God’s choice. Jesus is supreme because salvation is only found in Him (Acts 4:11–12). In Ephesians 2:20, Jesus is described as the “chief cornerstone” of the church, but He can also be seen as the capstone since “in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21). Jesus is the foundation of the church but also the capstone that holds everything together (Colossians 1:17).

Christ is both the cornerstone and capstone. He is the foundation of our salvation, what we believe, and our future hope (see Hebrews 6:18). He is also the capstone, holding all things together and keeping our salvation secure (John 10:28). He is the beginning represented by the cornerstone and the end represented by the capstone (see Revelation 22:13). Using architectural terms such as capstone and cornerstone provides helpful images to describe Christ and the salvation and security He provides.


​The key to understanding

the gospel is to know why it’s




Good News!!



To do that, we must start with the bad news.

The Old Testament Law was given to Israel during the time of Moses

(Deuteronomy 5:1).


The Law can be thought of as a measuring stick,

​and sin is anything

that falls short of “perfect” according to that standard.


The righteous requirement of the Law is so stringent that no human being could possibly

follow it perfectly, in letter or in spirit. Despite our “goodness” or “badness” relative to each other,

we are all in the same spiritual boat—we have sinned, and the punishment for sin is death, i.e.

separation from God,

the source of life (Romans 3:23).


In order for us to go to heaven,


God’s dwelling place

and the

realm of life and light,


sin must be somehow removed or paid for.

The Law established the fact that cleansing from sin can only happen

through the bloody sacrifice of an innocent life

(Hebrews 9:22).

The gospel involves Jesus’ death on the cross as the sin offering to fulfill the Law’s righteous requirement

(Romans 8:3–4; Hebrews 10:5–10).

Under the Law, animal sacrifices were offered year after year as a reminder of sin and a symbol of the coming sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 10:3–4).

When Christ offered Himself at Calvary, that symbol became a reality for all

who would believe (Hebrews 10:11–18).

​The work of atonement is finished now, and that’s good news.

The gospel also involves Jesus’ resurrection on the third day. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25). The fact that Jesus conquered sin and death (sin’s penalty) is good news, indeed. The fact that He offers to share that victory with us is the greatest news of all (John 14:19).

The elements of the gospel are clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 15:3–6,

a key passage concerning the good news of God:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:

that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas,

and then to the Twelve.

After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time,

most of whom are still living.”

Notice, first, that Paul “received” the gospel and then “passed it on”;

this is a divine message, not a man-made invention.

Second, the gospel is “of first importance.”

Everywhere the apostles went, they

preached the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.


Third,

the message of the gospel is accompanied by proofs: Christ died for our sins (proved by His burial), and He rose again the third day (proved by the eyewitnesses). Fourth, all this was done “according to the Scriptures”; the theme of the whole Bible is the salvation of mankind through Christ.


The Bible is the gospel.


“I am not ashamed of the gospel,

because it is the power of God that

brings salvation

to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile”

(Romans 1:16).

The gospel is a bold message, and we are not ashamed of proclaiming it.

It is a powerful message, because it is


God’s good news.

It is a saving message, the

only thing that can truly reform the human heart.


It is a universal message, for Jews and Gentiles both. And the gospel is received by faith; salvation is the gift of God

(Ephesians 2:8–9).

The gospel is the good news that God loves the world enough to give His only Son to die for our sin (John 3:16). The gospel is good news because our salvation and eternal life and home in heaven are guaranteed through Christ (John 14:1–4).



“He has given us new birth into a living hope

through the

resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and


into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

This inheritance is kept in heaven for you”

(1 Peter 1:3–4).
​

The gospel is good news when we understand that we do not

(and cannot) earn our salvation; the work of redemption and justification is complete, having been finished on the cross (John 19:30).

Jesus is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2).

The gospel is the good news that we, who were once enemies of God, have been reconciled by the blood of Christ and adopted into the family of God (Romans 5:10; John 1:12).

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

And that is what we are!”

(1 John 3:1).

The gospel is the good news that “there is now

no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

(Romans 8:1).

To reject the gospel is to embrace the bad news. Condemnation before God is the result of a lack of faith in the Son of God, God’s only provision for salvation. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:17–18). God has given a doomed world good news: the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
​

The life of Jesus Christ exemplified obedience.

He came to earth to

fulfill His heavenly Father’s will no matter how

painful the task set before Him.

Nonetheless, Jesus spoke honestly with God when faced with His crucifixion: “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me” (Luke 22:42, NLT).

In His human state, Jesus did not want to endure a torturous death. Yet in the same breath, He prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

This scene in Gethsemane records one of the most desperate hours of anguish in the life of Christ (Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:40–46). He told His disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed to the point of death” (Mark 14:34). Worse than the thought of death, Jesus, in His humanity, must have dreaded the thought of bearing the sins of the world (1 Peter 2:24). In the garden, the Lord fell to the ground flat on His face and offered God this desperate cry of His soul: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).

Christ’s words and actions here serve as a great comfort to us, His followers. God wants His children to pour out their hearts to Him in sincerity (Psalm 62:8). He is our refuge, our safe haven. Like Jesus, we can reveal the deepest longings in our hearts to our loving heavenly Father. He knows what we are feeling, and we can trust Him to carry the burdens of our souls.

Facing the cross, Jesus was able to pray, “Not my will, but yours be done” because He was wholly submitted to His Father’s will. “My food,” He had said, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). “By myself I can do nothing,” explained Jesus, “for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (John 5:30).


Obedience to God’s will was central to

Christ’s mission.

He told His disciples,

“For I have come down from heaven not to do

my will but to do

​the will of him who sent me”

(John 6:38). Hundreds of years before, Scripture foretold Christ’s destiny to come to earth and do God’s will

​ (Hebrews 10:5–7; cf. Psalm 40:6–8).

For Christ’s followers, “Not my will, but yours be done” is the definitive prayer that never fails.

​According to 1 John 5:14–15, we can pray with confidence

“if we ask according to his will.”


Praying God’s will guarantees that He hears us and will grant what we ask. In fact, one of the primary purposes of prayer is to

allow the will of God to be accomplished and to bring glory

and honor to His name on earth.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9–10). Those who pray this way, desiring God’s will above all else, reveal that they are indeed Christ’s disciples (Matthew 7:21; see also Matthew 12:50; Mark 3:35; Luke 8:21; John 15:10; Ephesians 6:6).

The apostle Paul encouraged Christians to seek the Holy Spirit’s help to pray in agreement with God’s will:

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will”

​(Romans 8:26–27, NLT).

Paul also urged believers to “learn to know God’s will” for their lives because

​ God’s will “is good and pleasing and perfect”


(Romans 12:2, NLT).

When Jesus said, “Not my will, but yours be done,”

He surrendered His own will to God’s, fully convinced that

​His Father knew what was best.

When we pray this way, we yield ourselves to God’s wisdom,

​trusting Him to work

(Romans 8:28).




Matthew 26:39
​
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

Mark 14:36

And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”

Luke 22:42

saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

John 5:30

“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.


John 6:38

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me


John 4:34

Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

Psalm 143:10

Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

John 1:13

who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Romans 8:20

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope

Romans 9:16

So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.

​

​
​Jesus said,

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;

I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter,

not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear

from the Law until everything is accomplished”

(Matthew 5:17–18). 

This important statement of our Lord gives us

insight into His mission and the character

of God’s Word.


Jesus’ declaration that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets,

not to abolish them, obviously contains two statements in one.

There is something Jesus did and something He did not do. At the same time,

Jesus emphasized the eternal nature of the Word of God.


Jesus goes out of His way

to promote the authority of the Law of God.

He did not come to abolish the Law, regardless of what the Pharisees accused Him of. In fact,

Jesus continues His statement with a commendation for those who teach the Law accurately

and hold it in reverence:

“Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others
accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices
and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven”

(Matthew 5:19).

Note the qualities that Jesus attributes to

the Word of God, referenced as “the Law and the Prophets”:

1) The Word is everlasting; it will outlast the natural world.

2) The Word was written with intent; it was meant to be fulfilled.

3) The Word possesses plenary authority; even the smallest letter of it is established.

4) The Word is faithful and trustworthy; “everything” it says will be accomplished.

No one hearing Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount 

could doubt His commitment to the Scriptures.


Consider what Jesus did not do in His ministry. In Matthew 5:17,

Jesus says that He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets.

In other words,

Jesus’ purpose was not to abrogate the Word, dissolve it, or render it invalid.

The Prophets will be fulfilled;

the Law will continue to accomplish the purpose for which it was given

(see Isaiah 55:10–11)


Next, consider what Jesus did do.


Jesus says that He came

to

fulfill the Law and the Prophets.

In other words,

Jesus’ purpose was to establish the Word,

to embody it,

and to

fully accomplish all that was written.


“Christ is the culmination of the law” (Romans 10:4).

The predictions of the Prophets concerning the Messiah would be realized in Jesus;
the holy standard of the Law would be perfectly upheld by Christ,
the strict requirements personally obeyed,
and the ceremonial observances finally and fully satisfied.

Jesus Christ fulfilled the Prophets in that, in His first coming alone, He fulfilled hundreds of prophecies concerning Himself (e.g., Matthew 1:22; 13:35; John 19:36; Luke 24:44). Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law in at least two ways: as a teacher and as a doer. He taught people to obey the Law (Matthew 22:35–40; Mark 1:44), and He obeyed the Law Himself (John 8:46; 1 Peter 2:22). In living a perfect life, Jesus fulfilled the moral laws; in His sacrificial death, Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial laws. Christ came not to destroy the old religious system but to build upon it; He came to finish the Old Covenant and establish the New.

Jesus came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them. In fact, the ceremonies, sacrifices, and other elements of the Old Covenant were “only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves” (Hebrews 10:1). The tabernacle and temple were “holy places made with hands,” but they were never meant to be permanent; they were but “copies of the true things” (Hebrews 9:24, ESV). The Law had a built-in expiration date, being filled as it was with “external regulations applying until the time of the new order” (Hebrews 9:10).

In His fulfillment of the Law and Prophets, Jesus obtained our eternal salvation. No more were priests required to offer sacrifices and enter the holy place (Hebrews 10:8–14).

Jesus has done that for us, once and for all. By grace through faith, we are made right with God: “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14).

There are some who argue that, since

Jesus did not “abolish” the Law, then the Law is still in effect--

and still binding on New Testament Christians.

But Paul is clear that the believer in Christ is no longer under the Law: “We were held in custody under the Law, locked up until faith should be revealed.

So the Law became our guardian to

​lead us to Christ,

that we might be justified by faith.

Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (Galatians 3:23–25, BSB). We are not under the Mosaic Law but under

“the law of Christ”

(see Galatians 6:2).

If the Law is still binding on us today, then it has not yet accomplished its purpose—it has not yet been fulfilled. If the Law, as a legal system, is still binding on us today, then Jesus was wrong in claiming to fulfill it and His sacrifice on the cross was insufficient to save.

Thank God, Jesus fulfilled the whole Law and now grants us

His righteousness as a free gift.

“Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).
​

After hearing of the worsening condition of the church at Ephesus, 

Paul commissioned Timothy to oppose the errors, 

correct the congregation’s methods of interpretation, and 

return the church to the


true


doctrines of The Gospel
​
​
Paul introduces himself, then recaps Timothy's path to becoming a minister.
He reminds Timothy of how his family brought him up in the faith, and then how
Timothy served faithfully with Paul in the past.

Paul then focuses on two primary ideas. First, that Timothy's background in the faith
should give him the courage to stand fast against hard times.

Second, that Timothy should

use that courage to defend the

truth

of the gospel message.

Paul will use these points and examples as the foundation for the rest of his letter.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul exemplifies a successful mentor relationship with Timothy. Throughout the duration of this relationship, Paul ensures that Timothy is the right person for the job, equips him for ministerial tasks, empowers him for success, employs him in a challenging environment to develop effectiveness, and communicates to Timothy the value of their relationship.


I. Paul as Loving Mentor to Timothy

The mentoring relationship that existed between Paul and Timothy is clearly depicted in the New Testament. A careful examination of this relationship as it

progressed reveals Paul’s approach to mentoring Timothy as a

minister of the gospel.

This approach includes carefully selecting and training as the right person for the job,
equipping him for the tasks of ministry, empowering him for success, employing him for effectiveness,
and communicating the value of their relationship.


Paul recognized the importance of equipping a successor

to carry on


The gospel message


after his life and ministry were over.

Specifically, Paul believed that his life was nearing its end,

stating,

“I am already being poured out

like a drink offering,

and the time has come for my departure.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith.”

To leave his earthly ministry without establishing a means for its continuation

would contradict

his overarching message to Timothy, which was to

be strong in the

preaching of the Word.

He also encouraged Timothy to “discharge all the duties of your ministry,”

thus reminding Timothy to develop his own successor in the future.

In finding his own successor, Paul sought the right man for the job,

relying on the Holy Spirit’s leading.

​ According to Acts 16:1-3, Paul met Timothy while he was traveling through Lystra. Paul discovered that Timothy was the son of a believing Jewess and a Greek father and that people spoke highly of him.

 “Paul wanted to take him along on the journey.”

It was at this moment that the loving mentor relationship between Paul and Timothy began.

As soon as Paul and Timothy’s mentoring relationship commenced,

Paul began equipping Timothy for the task of

spreading God’s Word

on earth.

According to Acts 17:14, Paul’s strategy for equipping Timothy actually began with an early challenge. While Paul was preaching in Berea, some of the Jews came to agitate the crowds. Immediately, Paul separated himself from Timothy and their partner Silas after giving them instructions to meet him in Athens. In the meantime,

Timothy and Silas were charged with the task of nurturing the young

congregation that Paul had established in Berea.

Though Paul recognized Timothy’s ministry potential, he saw just one area that needed improvement. As mentioned previously, Timothy was the son of a Jewess and a Greek man, and because of this heritage, he remained uncircumcised. One commentary notes:

If the Jews at this time traced Jewish descent of mixed marriages matrilineally, uncircumcised Timothy is a Jew by birth but apostate. The small Jewish community at Lystra was either too weak or too lax to enforce circumcision in a culture that determined ethnic and religious heritage patrilineally. Still, Timothy has a good spiritual heritage from his mother (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15). With his father now possibly deceased (the verb tense seems to indicate this), there is no impediment to circumcision. And there is every reason. If Paul condones Timothy’s uncircumcised, apostate status, he will not have access to synagogues, his strategic point of contact in most cities. Further, the decree’s underlying principle of respect for cultural identity will be compromised by the presence of a Jewish Christian who has “gentilized.” So by circumcising Timothy, Paul clarifies his status for Jewish believer and unbeliever alike.

Though Paul’s actions in circumcising Timothy seemingly contradict his sentiment in Galatians 2:3-4 that circumcision has no value, Paul recognized the need for Timothy to relate to his ministerial audience. In 1 Corinthians 9:19, Paul addresses this need to relate to prospective converts by stating,

“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.” Based on this understanding of the necessity of relating to one’s audience, Paul has Timothy circumcised so that he can identify with a greater portion of his audience. In preparing Timothy for ministry, Paul made sure that he was equipped for the task.

In addition to carefully selecting Timothy and equipping him for ministry,

Paul mentored Timothy through empowerment. By definition,

empowerment is a “cognitive state characterized by a sense of perceived control, competence, and goal internalization.

11 Paul emphasized these components of empowerment by revealing that


Timothy was called by God to be a minister, serving

as an example of what it means to be one of God’s workers,

and reminding Timothy of his ministerial goals.

According to Paul’s dialogue with Timothy, Timothy was called by God to serve as a minister of the gospel message on earth. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 3:2, Paul describes Timothy as “our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ.” Paul is also careful to mention Timothy’s credentials as a servant of God in his letters to various congregations, as he does in Philippians 2:19-23. In these passages, Paul describes Timothy as a one-of-a-kind minister with a focus purely on Jesus Christ. Additionally, Paul states that “Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.”12Through this process of demonstrating to Timothy that he was called to serve God in ministry, Paul was able to increase Timothy’s level of psychological empowerment.

In addition to revealing Timothy’s call to ministry, Paul

empowered Timothy by serving as an example of what

it means to be

a messenger of the gospel.

For example, Acts 18:1-5 depicts a reunion among Paul, Timothy, and Silas after Paul had finished his independent travels to Corinth. Once these men were reunited, Acts 18:5 states that


“Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.” By witnessing Paul’s devotion to the preaching of the Word and his approach to

sharing the gospel,

Timothy would develop a greater understanding of the nature of ministry.

Paul also empowered Timothy by directing his attention toward the goals of ministry.

According to “Timothy: Man of God,”

Paul focused on five main goals of ministry that were designed to motivate

Timothy to endure any hardships he might encounter.

These five concepts

include eternal reward, past promises, present promises,

future promises, and the sovereign God.


First, at his ministry’s end in 1 Timothy 6:12, Paul emphasized the

eternal rewards

that awaited Timothy reminding Timothy


to “fight the good fight of the

faith


Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.”

By persevering through the earthly challenges of ministry,

Timothy would be rewarded with the blessings of


eternal life


Second, in terms of past promises, Paul’s strategy was

to remind Timothy

of the commitment he made to

Christ

and to

serving the gospel “


when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses;”

such a confession likely referred to Timothy’s commissioning or ordination.

Third, in reminding Timothy of his present promises, Paul renews the charge that Timothy is to

undertake in sharing the


gospel message


According to “Timothy: Man of God,” Paul’s purpose in renewing this charge was so that


“Timothy is reminded of his fellowship

with Christ.

He is our ever-present Lord

(compare Mt 28:20)


This comforting promise of continual fellowship, however,

ought to compel

us to the heights of faithfulness, for our Lord is also our judge

(2 Tim 4:8; Rev 3:15-16)


.”Through a renewal of his present charge, Timothy would

be motivated to

“the heights of faithfulness.”


Fourth, Paul reminded Timothy of the

future promise of Christ’s second coming

in 1 Timothy 6:14.


Paul knew that the promise of Christ’s return was a motivator for the Christian living described in the remaining verses of the chapter.

Paul also reminds Timothy

of the unique role he must

carry out until the end, as he tells Timothy to


“guard what has been entrusted to your care.”


Finally, Paul points Timothy to the

ultimate reason for zealously preaching the gospel:

the sovereign God, “the blessed and only Ruler,

the King of kings and Lord of lords,

who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light,

whom no one has seen or can see.

To him be honor and might forever. Amen.”


As discussed above, Paul’s

process of empowering Timothy involves revealing that
Timothy was called by God to be a minister, serving as an example of what it means
to be one of God’s workers, and reminding Timothy of his ministerial goals.

Now empowered, Timothy was prepared to test his competencies amidst the challenges of ministry.

​
EMPLOYED FOR EFFECTIVENESS

As Paul gained confidence in Timothy’s competence as a minister,

he employed Timothy in one of the most challenging ministerial environments:

the church in Ephesus.

Paul had spent a great deal of time developing the church in Ephesus, and was

now concerned about the

spread of false doctrines

and heresy among its members.


The city of Ephesus, located along the western coast of

modern-day Turkey,


“was famed for its

cult and temple

dedicated to the worship of Artemis,

around which a

good deal of the city’s

commercial interests revolved . . .


Ephesus

presented the gospel with a

formidable challenge

in that it was a center of pagan worship.”


Paul learned that certain men in this congregation,

likely men in positions of leadership,

were spreading false doctrine concerning the resurrection.

In addition,

“the heretics’ false teaching (the myths and wives’ tales) supported a system of asceticism
(the abstinence from certain foods and disparagement of marriage).”

After hearing of the worsening condition of the church at Ephesus,

Paul commissioned Timothy to oppose the errors,

correct the congregation’s methods of interpretation, and

return the church to the

true


doctrines of The Gospel


Timothy’s employment among the members of the church in Ephesus was no easy task,
but Paul trusted and even expected Timothy’s effectiveness.

Paul gave Timothy


clear instructions concerning the

management of the heresy

and the


preaching

of the


true


gospel of Christ




In 1 Timothy 1:18, Paul reminds Timothy of his

obligation to the gospel

because of

his call to serve Christ

by stating,

“Timothy,

my son, I give you this instruction in

keeping with the prophecies once made about you,

so that by

following them you may fight the good fight.”


In addition to these instructions, Paul is careful to

safeguard Timothy’s faith,


recognizing that the hardships involved


in confronting

false doctrine can challenge

and

even destroy one’s faith


Paul reminds Timothy that his instructions are to be carried out while “


holding on to faith and a good conscience.”


Such advice points to

maintaining sound doctrine

and

heeding one’s conscience,

rooted in the

truths of the gospel.


By offering Timothy the challenging position of handling the heresies in Ephesus,

Paul gave him the opportunity to

maximize his ministerial competencies and increase

his effectiveness as a servant of God.

As mentioned above, Paul did not leave Timothy empty-handed to face the task,

but gave him instructions for the proper management of the situation in Ephesus.

In addition to instructing Timothy, Paul made sure to give Timothy

plenty of encouragement for his new role.

According to

“The Good Minister of Christ Jesus,”

Paul spends a considerable amount of time in 1 Timothy

encouraging Timothy in his personal spirituality

and in his

perseverance through hardships in Ephesus.

Paul encouraged Timothy to focus on three spiritual priorities of the ministry,

including nourishment from God’s Word, training in godliness,

and a mission-minded approach to ministry.

In terms of

receiving nourishment

from

God’s Word,

Paul mentions to Timothy that such a process is a life-long event.

Paul states in 1 Timothy 4:6

that a minister of

the gospel is “brought up in the

truths of the faith

and of the

good teaching that you have followed.”


Paul was encouraging Timothy to

continue following the good

teachings of the gospel,


as they would provide the nourishment

he needed to sustain

his strength in confronting the false teachers.


Finally, Paul believed that a mission-minded approach to ministry
would serve Timothy well as he addressed the heresies in the church at Ephesus.

Both nourishment from God’s Word and training in godliness find their source

in the hope-filled message of

the gospel

They also instill a desire to give all people

on earth the opportunity

to

know the God who saves

As evidenced above, Paul tested Timothy’s

ministerial competencies by employing

him in a challenging environment, providing him with instructions for

managing the false teachers in Ephesus,

and offering extensive encouragement to Timothy’s

faith and ministry.


A TREASURED RELATIONSHIP

The final aspect of Paul’s mentorship with Timothy involves the personal relationship that developed between them. Throughout his communications with Timothy and other congregations,

Paul’s relationship with Timothy is consistently described as

one of a father and son

or two brothers and one that elicits Paul’s gratitude.

Paul’s primary reference to Timothy from a family perspective

is in the father–son sense.

For example, in Philippians 2:22, Paul describes Timothy by commenting,

“I have no one else like him, who takes a

genuine interest in your welfare.

For everyone looks out for his own interests,

not

those of Jesus Christ.


But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because


as a son with his father he has served

with me in

the work of the gospel.”


The clear depiction of a father–son relationship demonstrates
Paul’s loving frame of reference throughout his time as mentor to Timothy.

In the opening of Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he refers to Timothy

as his “

true son in the faith.”

The purpose of Paul’s greeting was because

“Paul wanted his hearers/readers to know that his teaching is authoritative,

and the delegate who administered it to the community,

Timothy, was to be regarded as an extension of the apostle himself.

In view of the difficult task that faced him, this may have been an

encouraging reminder for Timothy as well.”

Paul continues his father–son references in 1 Corinthians 4:17 by telling the congregation,

“For this reason I am sending to you Timothy,


my son whom I love, who is

faithful in the Lord.

He will remind you of my way of

life in Christ Jesus,

which agrees with what

I teach

everywhere in every church.”


Additional father–son relationship descriptors can be found in 1 Timothy 1:18 and 2 Timothy 1:2-4.

Paul’s continued use of these references points to his

view that his relationship with Timothy is

one of instruction, guidance, and care.

In addition to referring to Timothy as his son,

Paul also describes Timothy as his brother. Interestingly, these brotherly

references occur after Timothy’s ministry

has advanced and his faith and commitment

have been tested through the trials of prison.

In Philemon 1:1, Paul’s opening greeting reads,

“Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,”

which points to a coauthored letter.

Hebrews 13:23 contains Paul’s announcement that

Timothy has been released from prison,

and refers to him once again as a brother.

These examples

demonstrate Paul’s respect for both Timothy’s ministry and

his faithful perseverance through

the trials that accompany being a committed servant of Christ.

Finally, Paul is depicted as being thankful to have Timothy as a fellow

minister of the gospel

An example of this appreciation occurs in 2 Timothy 1:3-4 which read,

“I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did,

with a clear conscience,

as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

Recalling your tears, I long to see you,

so that I may be filled with joy.”

This passage clearly demonstrates the extent to which a

solid bond has developed between Paul and Timothy as they

have served the Lord together.

Paul’s loving mentor relationship with Timothy began with choosing Timothy as the right person

to accompany him in serving the gospel.

From that point forward, Paul mentored Timothy by

equipping him for the tasks of ministry, empowering him for success,

employing him for effectiveness at the church in Ephesus, and

by communicating his love, respect, and appreciation for Timothy as a son, brother, and


messenger of Christ.

As discussed above, Paul recognized immediately that he wanted Timothy

to join him on his


ministerial journey

to spread the

gospel message of salvation.


Timothy was well-suited for

serving as a witness to


God’s kingdom.



As Timothy developed his ministerial competencies under Paul’s guidance and instruction, he became

increasingly empowered to spread the gospel message. Paul reminded Timothy of

his call to the gospel and renewed his commitments to the mission-minded goals of ministry.

​
The final component of Paul’s mentorship with Timothy involved

consistently communicating his admiration, respect, and gratitude for Timothy as

a fellow worker for the kingdom of God.


What does 2 Timothy 3:7 mean?

This last description of false teachers in verses 6–7 depicts one of the lowest acts that could be taken. They took advantage of women in their own homes, deceiving them with false teachings and leading them into further sin. True teachers of God's Word were to treat "older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity" (1 Timothy 5:2). Perhaps this was why 2 John 1:10–11 taught about false teachers: 


​Look to Jesus,


author

and finisher of our

faith


"The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him"

(Gal 6:6).

The other day, I received a call from a former student of mine who is currently living overseas.

He couldn't wait to share with me some of his insights on parallel narratives in

the books of Samuel. To you this may sound boring, but to me it was the feeling of being

born again again. By the grace of God,

my time with this student had

birthed in him an insatiable appetite

for the

Word of God


and a passion to see how the story of the

Hebrew Scriptures leads to Jesus.

Ministry is the constant process of working ourselves out of a job,

investing in people whose love for Jesus and


The word of God

will far surpass our own.

And if ministry is not about working ourselves out of a job, then

the ministry we have invested

so much of our lives in most assuredly will die with us. 


"The things which you have heard from me in the

presence of many witnesses,

entrust these to faithful men who will

be able to teach others also"

​
(2 Tim 2:2).

ONE FOR ISRAEL
​

Since Christians receive the promised Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation

​ (John 14:17),

the spirit of wisdom and revelation that Paul prays for cannot refer to the

initial gift of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s reference could easily be to an attitude or frame of mind (although the NIV and ESV capitalize Spirit, other translations such as the NASB and BSB translate it as “a spirit,” and the NLT simply has “spiritual wisdom and insight”).


If not the Holy Spirit, then what does Paul ask for in his request

for


“the spirit of wisdom and revelation”?


The key is in the phrase that

follows, “in the knowledge of him” (ESV)


, or “so that you may know him better” (NIV).

Paul had commended the Ephesians for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love toward all the saints (Ephesians 1:15), but now he is

asking God to give them a deeper and greater understanding of the mysteries of

His character and will, to know Him more thoroughly and intimately.

Now that they have the Holy Spirit in their hearts, Paul

desires Him to grant them more understanding and greater insight.


The “wisdom” is a better

understanding

of the doctrines of God,

and the “revelation” is a

clearer picture of the

divine character and will.


In the NLT, the prayer is that believers would have

“spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might

grow in your knowledge of God.”


The AMP translation has Paul asking that God “


may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation

[that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight]

into the


true


knowledge of Him.”


God is infinite, and He can never be fully known by finite creatures.
We all need wisdom from above. No matter how far we may advance in our understanding of God,

there is an unfathomed depth of knowledge that

remains to be explored.

Scripture is full of admonitions to grow

in our knowledge of Christ

(2 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:2; Ephesians 4:15).

Paul outlines some of the mysteries

he wants the Ephesians to understand through

this spirit of wisdom and revelation.

He desires them to grasp “the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance” (Ephesians 1:18). This is the hope of eternal life, which Paul refers to as the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, ESV). We inherit the riches of eternal life through Him who saved us and called us to holiness in Christ before time began (2 Timothy 1:9). Paul also prays the Spirit will reveal God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19)—power so great it raised Jesus from the dead. It’s a power that we can only comprehend as we possess the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

The spirit of wisdom and revelation is not some mysterious blessing given to a special few, and it is not the ability to speak as a prophet. Rather, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to help the people of God understand the things of God more fully and completely.



​Jesus said,

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;

I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter,

not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear

from the Law until everything is accomplished”

(Matthew 5:17–18).

This important statement of our Lord gives us

insight into His mission and the character

of God’s Word.


The Olivet Discourse

is the name given to the orderly and extended teaching given

by Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives.

His subject is the end times.

This discourse is recorded in Matthew 24:1 – 25:46.
Parallel passages are found in Mark 13:1-37 and Luke 21:5-36.
​The record in Matthew is the most extensive,

so reference here will be to

Matthew’s Gospel.



​The Parable of the Sheep and Goats is

part of the Olivet Discourse.

​It is found in Matthew 25:31-46. A parable is a short,

simple story of comparison.

Jesus used parables to teach spiritual truths by means of

​earthly situations.
​

Jesus begins the parable by saying it concerns

His return in glory to set up His kingdom

(Matthew 25:31).

Therefore, the setting of this event is at the beginning of the millennium,

after the tribulation.

All those on earth at that time will be brought before the Lord, and He will separate them

“as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left”

(verses 32–33).

The sheep are those who were saved during the tribulation;
the goats are the unsaved who survived the tribulation.

The sheep on Jesus’ right hand are blessed by God the Father and given an inheritance.

The reason is stated:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me”

(verses 35-36).

​The righteous will not understand: when did they see Jesus in such a pitiful condition and help Him? “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’” (verses 39-40).

The goats on Jesus’ left hand are cursed with eternal hell-fire, “prepared for the devil and his angels” (verse 41). The reason is given: they had opportunity to minister to the Lord, but they did nothing (verses 42-43).

The damned ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger
or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” (verse 44).

Jesus replies, “I tell you the truth,

​whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (verse 45).

Followers of Christ will treat others with kindness, 

serving them 


as if they were serving

Christ Himself


The unregenerate live in the opposite manner. 

While “goats” can indeed perform acts of kindness and charity, 

their hearts are not right with God,

​and their actions are

not for the right purpose –

to honor and worship God.

​
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, or Tares, is 


filled

with spiritual significance and


truth
​

In Matthew 7:13–14, Jesus said,

Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,

and only a few find it."

This passage causes some to question

the goodness of God.

After all, if He really wants to save everyone,

why didn’t He make it easier to be saved?

Why doesn’t He simply let everyone into heaven?

When we read the word narrow, we tend to associate it with prejudicial selection.

It sounds as though God has rated us all on some scale of acceptability and only allows

a select few to enter His presence.

However, a few verses earlier, Jesus had told the same audience,

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;

and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened"

(Matthew 7:7–8).

Jesus made it clear: the path to eternal life is open to everyone who asks.

However, the gate to heaven is “narrow” in the sense of having a
particular requirement for entrance--

faith in Jesus Christ.

Salvation is found

only in the Person of Jesus Christ;

He is the only way

(John 14:6).

The “wide” gate is non-exclusive;

it allows for human effort and all other of the world’s religions.

Jesus says that the narrow gate leads to a “hard” road,
one that will take us through hardships and difficult decisions.

Following Jesus requires crucifying our flesh
(Galatians 2:20; 5:24; Romans 6:2),
living by faith
(Romans 1:17; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 10:38),
enduring trials with Christlike patience
(James 1:2–3, 12; 1 Peter 1:6),
and living a lifestyle separate from the world
(James 1:27; Romans 12:1–2).

When faced with the choice between a narrow,
bumpy road and a wide, paved highway,
most of us choose the easier road.

Human nature gravitates toward comfort and pleasure.

When faced with the reality of denying themselves to follow Jesus,
most people turn away (John 6:66).

Jesus never sugar-coated the

truth,

and the


truth


is that not many people are willing to

pay the price to follow Him.

God offers salvation to everyone who accepts it

(John 1:12; 3:16-18; Romans 10:9; 1 John 2:2).

But it is on His terms.

We must come the way He has provided.

​We cannot create our own paths
or come to a holy God based on our own efforts.

He is merciful, but He is also just.
Justice requires that sin be paid for.

At great cost to Himself, He paid that price (Isaiah 53:5; 1 John 3:1, 16; Psalm 51:7).

Without the blood of Jesus covering our sin, we stand guilty

before the God we rejected

(Romans 1:20). 

The way to God was completely closed, and sin was

the roadblock

(Romans 5:12)

God loved us enough to provide the path to eternal life anyway
(Romans 5:6–8).

However, He also knows that in our self-centered, sin-saturated world
there are not many
who will

desire Him enough to come to Him on His terms

(John 6:44, 65; Romans 3:11; Jeremiah 29:13)

Most choose temporary, earthly pleasure over the

self-sacrifice required in following Jesus

(Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; Matthew 10:37)
​
The narrow gate is ignored. Most people would rather create their own
religions and design their own gods.

So it was with sorrow,

not discrimination, that

Jesus declared that the road to eternal life

is "narrow, and only a few find it."


The word knowledge in the Bible denotes an

understanding, a recognition, or an acknowledgment.

To “know” something is to

perceive it or to be aware of it.


Many times in Scripture, knowledge carries the idea of a

deeper appreciation

of something or a relationship with someone.


The Bible is clear that the knowledge of God

is the most valuable knowledge a human being can possess.

But it is also clear that simply being aware of God’s existence is not sufficient;

the knowledge of God must encompass

the deep appreciation for and relationship with Him.


We know from Scripture that knowledge is a gift from God. 

Proverbs 2:6 tells us that the Lord

gives wisdom that comes

from His own mouth--

the Word of God--

and that the wisdom of God results

in

knowledge and understanding.



James adds that those who lack wisdom have only to ask for it

and God will give it abundantly and generously.

God’s desire is for all to know Him, appreciate Him,

and have a relationship with Him;

therefore, He grants to all who truly seek Him

the wisdom that leads to knowledge.



Further, because knowledge is God’s to give, those who reverence Him will receive it.

“The fear of the LORD

is the beginning of knowledge”

(Proverbs 1:7).

The word fear here is not dread or terror but a reverence for God,

respect for His law, His will,

His rule in our lives, and the

fear of offending Him,

which will lead us

to obey, worship and praise Him.
​

God gives the gift of knowledge out of His infinite store of knowledge. Psalm 19:2 

tells us that

God’s creation reveals the

Creator’s knowledge:

“Night after night [the skies] display knowledge.” The vastness of God’s knowledge and

creative power are on display continually and are clearly seen

in what He has created, as Paul reminds us in Romans 1:19-20.

Not only is God’s knowledge infinite, but it is absolute:

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge

of God! / How unsearchable his judgments, / and his paths beyond tracing out!”

(Romans 11:33).

When God came to earth in the Person of Jesus Christ,

He became the embodiment of knowledge: “. . . Christ, in whom

are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”

(Colossians 2:2-3)

​

Human knowledge, apart from God,

is flawed.


Worldly knowledge is a false knowledge which is

opposed to the

truth,

and Paul urges us to

“Turn away from godless chatter and the

opposing ideas

of what is falsely called knowledge,

 which some have professed and in so doing have


wandered from the faith”

(1 Timothy 6:20-21). Human knowledge is opposed to God’s knowledge

For the Christian, knowledge implies a relationship.

For example, when the Bible says that “Adam knew Eve his wife” (Genesis 4:1, NKJV),
it means he had a physical union with her.
Spiritual relationships are also described this way.


Jesus used the word know to refer to

His saving relationship

with

those who follow Him:

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (John 10:14).

He also told His disciples,

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

​By contrast, Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews, “You do not know [my Father]” (verse 55).

Therefore, to know Christ is to have faith in Him, to follow Him,

​to have a relationship with Him, to love and be loved by Him.

(See also John 14:7; 1 Corinthians 8:3; Galatians 4:9; and 2 Timothy 2:19.)

Increasing in the knowledge of God is part of Christian maturity and

is something all Christians are to experience as

we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”

(2 Peter 3:18).

The enemy in the parable is Satan. In opposition to Jesus Christ,

the devil tries to destroy Christ’s work by placing


false believers and teachers

in the world who

lead many astray.

One has only to look at the latest televangelist scandal to know the world is filled with professing “Christians” whose ungodly actions bring reproach on the name of Christ. But we are not to pursue such people in an effort to destroy them. For one thing, we don’t know if immature and innocent believers might be injured by our efforts. Further, one has only to look at the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, and the reign of “Bloody Mary” in England to see the results of men taking upon themselves

the responsibility of separating true believers from false,

a task reserved for God alone.

Instead of requiring these false believers to be rooted out of the world, and possibly hurting immature believers in the process, Christ allows them to remain until His return.

At that time, angels will separate the true from false believers. 

In addition, we are not to take it upon ourselves to uproot unbelievers because the difference between true and false believers isn’t always obvious. Tares, especially in the early stages of growth, resemble wheat. Likewise, a false believer may resemble a true believer. In Matthew 7:22, Jesus warned that

many profess faith but do not

know Him.

Thus, each person should examine his own relationship with Christ (2 Corinthians 13:5).

First John is an excellent test of salvation. 

In Matthew 23, Jesus had spoken to the Pharisees concerning judgment. This can be seen in the "woe" statements in that chapter. In 24:1, Jesus was leaving the temple when the disciples called His attention to the magnificent buildings on the temple mount. Jesus then tells the disciples that “not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (verse 2). This prophecy was literally
fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.


The temple was burned. The gold in the temple melted in the fire and ran down into the cracks between the stones. As people later searched for the gold, they toppled every stone from its place.

Jesus’ prophecy of doom got the disciples curious, and probably more than a little concerned. When they were alone with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, they asked Him, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (verse 3). What follows in Matthew 24–25 refers to the future, seven-year tribulation period and the second coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation. During that time, God will complete His chastisement and purification of Israel and judge the whole world (Daniel 9:24-27; Revelation 6–19).

Jesus ends the Olivet Discourse with four parables. The first one concerns a wicked servant whose master punishes him upon his return home (Matthew 24:45-51). The next, the Parable of the Ten Virgins, encourages readiness and watchfulness (25:1-13). The third parable, relating the story of three servants and their use (or misuse) of finances, teaches faithfulness in view of the fact that God’s servants must give an account of themselves one day (25:14-30). Jesus ends His discourse by telling the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, which pictures the dividing of the saved from the unsaved at the end of the tribulation before the commencement of Christ’s millennial reign (25:31-46).

Within days of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus was betrayed into the hands of unbelievers and crucified for sinners. The Holy One of God will one day return in glory to judge the world, but first He had to provide the way of salvation for all who would trust in Him.

The narrow gate, also called the narrow door, is referred to by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14 and Luke 13:23-24. Jesus compares the narrow gate to the “broad road” which leads to destruction (hell) and says that “many” will be on that road. By contrast, Jesus says that “small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” What exactly is meant by this? Just how many are the “many”
​and how few are the “few”? 

First, we need to understand that Jesus is the Door through which all must enter eternal life. There is no other way because He alone is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). The way to eternal life is restricted to just

one avenue—Christ.

In this sense, the way is narrow because it is the only way, and relatively few people will go through the narrow gate. Many more will attempt to find an alternative route to God. They will try to get there through manmade rules and regulations, through false religion, or through self-effort.

​These who are “many” will follow the broad road that leads to eternal destruction, while the sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him along the narrow way to eternal life (John 10:7-11).

While there will be relatively few who go through the narrow gate compared to the many on the broad road, there will still be multitudes who will follow the Good Shepherd. The apostle John saw this multitude in his vision in the book of Revelation: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10). 

Entering the narrow gate is not easy. Jesus made this clear when He instructed His followers to “strive” to do so. The Greek word translated “strive” is agonizomai, from which we get the English word agonize. The implication here is that those who seek to enter the narrow gate must do so by struggle and strain, like a running athlete straining toward the finish line, all muscles taut and giving his all in the effort. But we must be clear here. No amount of effort saves us; salvation is by the grace of God through the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). No one will ever earn heaven by striving for it. But entering the narrow gate is still difficult because of the opposition of human pride, our natural love of sin, and the opposition of Satan and the world in his control, all of which battle against us in the pursuit of eternity. 

The exhortation to strive to enter is a command to repent and enter the gate and not to just stand and look at it, think about it, complain that it’s too small or too difficult or unjustly narrow. We are not to ask why others are not entering; we are not to make excuses or delay.

We are not to be concerned with the number who will or will not enter.

We are to strive forward and enter! Then we are to exhort others to strive to enter before it’s too late.



The Way of Agape


Agape love involves

​ faithfulness, commitment, and an

act of the will. 
​
Agape love is displayed most clearly


​At the Cross
​
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

And if I have a prophetic powers, and understand all Mysteries

and all knowledge, and if I have all faith,

so as to remove mountains,

but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give away all I have, and if  I deliver up my body to be burned,

but have not love, I gain nothing. 

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices 

with the 

Truth

Love bears all things, believes all things,

hopes all things, endures all things. 

Love never ends.

As for prophecies, they will pass away;

as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge,

it will pass away. 

For we know in Part and we prophesy In Part,

 but when the perfect comes, the

partial will pass away


For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.

Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,

even as I have been

Fully Known

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;

but the greatest of these is love.


The Greek word Agape 

is often translated “love” in the

New Testament.

How is “agape love” different from other types of love?

The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, and

willful delight in the object of love.


Unlike our English word love, agape is not used in

the New Testament to refer to romantic or sexual love.

Nor does it refer to close friendship or brotherly love,

for which the Greek word philia is used.


Agape Love involves

​ Faithfulness, Commitment, and an

Act of the Will


It is distinguished from the other types of love by its

lofty moral nature and strong character.

Agape love is beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13.

Outside of the New Testament, the word agape is used
in a variety of contexts, but in the vast majority of
instances in the New Testament

It Carries distinct Meaning. 


Agape is almost always used to describe the love

that is of and from God, whose very nature is love itself:


The Sacrificial Cross


“God is love”


(1 John 4:8).

God does not merely love; He is love.

Everything God does flows from His love. 

Agape is also used

to describe

Our love for God

(Luke 10:27),


A Servant’s faithful respect

​to his master

(Matthew 6:24),

and a man’s attachment to things (John 3:19).

The type of love that characterizes God is not a sappy,
sentimental feeling such as we often hear portrayed.

God loves because that is His nature and the expression of His being.


He loves the unlovable and the unlovely,




not because we deserve to be loved

or because of any excellence we possess,

but because it is His nature to love and


He must be True to His nature.


Agape love is always shown by what it does.


God’s love is displayed

most clearly at the 

Cross


​ “God, being Rich in Mercy, because

of the great love

with which he loved us,

even when 

we were dead in our trespasses,

made us Alive together 

with Christ--

by Grace you have been Saved” 

(Ephesians 2:4–5, ESV).


We did not deserve such a sacrifice,

but God demonstrates his own love 

for us in this: 


While we were still sinners, 


Christ died for us”

(Romans 5:8)


​If God Loves Sinners enough to die for them, I can at least try

God’s agape love is unmerited, gracious, and

constantly seeking the benefit of the ones He loves.

The Bible says we are the 

undeserving recipients of His lavish agape love

(1 John 3:1). 

God’s demonstration of agape love 

led to the sacrifice

of the Son of God for those He loves.

We are to love others with agape love, whether they are fellow believers (John 13:34) or bitter enemies (Matthew 5:44).



Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of sacrifice for the sake of others, even for those who may care nothing at all for us.

Agape love as modeled by Christ is 

not based on a feeling; rather, 

it is a determined act of the will, a joyful resolve

to put the welfare of others above our own.


If we are to love as God loves, that love—that agape--

can only come from

its Source. 

This is the love that

“has been poured out into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” 

(Romans 5:5; cf. Galatians 5:22).

“This is how we know what love is: 

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 

And we ought to 

lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters”



1 John 3:16). 

Because of God’s love toward us, we are able to love one another.
​

It is often said that

love conquers all,

that love is the 

greatest force in the universe.

It is the force 

that 

gives healing and life,

binds souls together,

and whispers to us that all will be well. 

We can see

throughout the Bible that

love conquers

fear, evil, and sins.


But the power of love

comes from its source



It is not a thing in and of itself. When love becomes the force
we honor or worship, its power vaporizes. 

But if we let the radiance of love beckon

us back to its source,

we find the true reason as to why

love conquers all;


Christ at the Cross


We find there is a God behind love, and that Love is

committed to conquering all that is not love

That Lover is God Himself, the

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

whose life together is always one of mutual love.

Love conquers all because God is love and

God has already won.


John makes the powerful assertion that

“we love Him because He first loved us” 

(1 John 4:19) 

in a section in which he is writing about how we should be expressing
the love of God to others. He says a bit earlier in the letter that,

“if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). 

John explains that we have come to know (experientially) and believe the agape love that God has for us (1 John 4:16),


We should not love simply with words, but with sincerity in our deeds

(1 John 3:18). 

Loving in truth and sincerity 

is so important that John lists it as a logical 

next step after believing in Jesus--


“This is His commandment, that we

believe in the name of his Son

Jesus Christ and love one another,

just as He has commanded us”

(1 John 3:23, ESV). 


There is no fear in love, but

perfect love casts out fear

(1 John 4:18). 

And we fear God because of

His greatness, worthiness, and awesomeness.

It is because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of

knowledge, wisdom, and understanding


Proverbs 1:7; 9:10)

that we can understand what a


gift His love truly is


To be loved by One so incredible and great

means that


His love is stronger than

anything we can imagine


If God is for us, then who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?


There is a massive war being fought between

the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.

The history of the human race and of each individual is

marked by the struggle between these two sides.

On one side, we have the Holy Trinity,

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

On the other, we have the Unholy Trinity, the world

with its structures opposed to God, the sin that corrupts us,

called the flesh, and Satan himself.


This Unholy Trinity seeks to dominate by hatred, deception, manipulation, and power struggles.

But God doesn’t fight with any of those weapons.

The weapon He has chosen 

is revealed

through

His Word to us

The Father gave His only Son and then the

gift of His Holy Spirit, all out of sacrificial love.

This tactic may appear foolish and weak in the

face of such a titanic war. 


But we underestimate the

power of love to conquer.

We underestimate


God and His wisdom.

​
In all these things we are more than conquerors 

through him who loved us. – Romans 8:37

Paul has just mentioned all the hardships a believer may face.

Yet none of these in the end

keep us from experiencing God’s love.

In fact, through His conquering love for us,

we become super-conquerors over those hardships and are able

to personally know, express and extend his

​love and grace for us more sincerely


Love bears all things, believes all things,

​hopes all things, endures all things. – 

1 Corinthians 13:7

Paul is delivering a tribute to the

supremacy of love 

when he makes this amazing statement. 

Love bears and endures whatever wrongs or irritations come.

It also 

believes and hopes the best for

others, seeing with the 

eyes of faith all that they could be.

In this sense,

love truly conquers.

In the world

you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome

the world.– John 16:33

​

Jesus is teaching His disciples for the last time before His death. The last words of that teaching are: “I have overcome the world.” And how does 
He overcome it? By submitting Himself to the horror of the cross. He does all this because He loves us.



His love


Conquers the World


But let’s get a little more practical. How exactly does love conquer all?

We all have those habits of behavior and thinking that seem resistant to change. You can call it a character defect, or a thorn in the flesh
(to use Paul’s term).

Whatever you call it, the result is the same. 


We feel stuck

We are in bondage


Enter God’s love

To open our hearts and receive 

His love

precisely at the place 

we feel stuck is to 

open the door out of this prison.

Once you have tasted God’s love, there is a desire to offer that love to others. It starts by 

choosing to forgive those who have wounded us. 


This is The Way of Christ


But it is also 

The Way our 

hearts become freed

from bitterness. 

Then we make that love tangible by listening. 

In the

listening, enmity is healed. 

Then we can be Doers.


Here is a final way love conquers all. 

Our default mode as humans is to find fault with others.
We all carry on this critical tendency to one degree or another. 

This is the genesis of all prejudices, 

where the things 

that make someone unique 


become the subject of criticism.


But the way of love 

is so different.


Instead of finding fault, 

love believes the best in others

and seeks to build them up. 

 our focus is on their gifts and strengths and on


All the Good that 


God 

can accomplish in


YOUR Life:)


This is perhaps what Paul meant when he said that 


love believes all things 

and 


hopes all things


In the end, love can conquer

our critical spirit


First John 4:18 says that


Perfect

love Casts out Fear

“
Those who Are in Christ know the love of God, 

which drives away fear of condemnation. 

The dismissal of the fear of judgment is one of the 

main functions of God’s love.

 once a person is in Christ, the fear of judgment is gone. 

He is reconciled to God, and


“there is now no condemnation

for

those who are in Christ Jesus”

(Romans 8:1).

Part of understanding the love of God


​is knowing that God’s judgment

fell on Jesus at 

the cross so that we can be spared: 

“The Lord has laid on him

the

iniquity of us all”

(Isaiah 53:6). Jesus’ sacrifice propitiated (appeased)

God’s justice and won His good favor (1 John 2:2, ESV).


Jesus spoke often of His mission:


“God did not send his Son into the world

To condemn the world,

But to SAVE the world THROUGH HIM”

(John 3:17). 

And why I AM so passionate about sharing the


True Gospel, 

and continuing to fully study and seek his word, so that others can fully know him more and more personally, and in true sincerity in the

full knowledge of revelation of Christ, his revealed

Glory to Glory

 it why he sacrificed and suffered for me, he has delivered me through sufferings and each time my understanding and appreciate for who God is Grows, the weaker we are, the greater his power works in us, the more we can use his strength through us, because we experience it through him and recognize his persistent faithfulness and it amazes me how much our relationship with him grow each time he delivers us through suffering

That is what he Seeks

That is his Glory

​He is the Savior

in exceeding strength and assurance, and it is what he asks of me in return for-all he has done for me

nothing can separate the believer

from the love of God in Christ

(Romans 8:38–39).

God’s love does not wax and wane; 

it is not a fickle, emotional sensation. 

God’s love for sinners

is why Christ died on the cross. 

God’s love for those who trust in Christ is why 

He holds them in 

His hand

and promises never to let them go

(John 10:29). 

That divine love should take away our fear:

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased
to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

 God tells us not to be afraid of being alone, of being too weak, of not being heard in our prayers, or of being destitute of physical necessities. 

The key to overcoming fear is total and complete trust in God. 

Trusting God is how 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 

faced the fiery furnace without fear
 (Daniel 3)

Trusting God is how Stephen stood before his killers fearlessly (Acts 7)


To trust God is to refuse to give in to fear

Even in the darkest times, 

we can trust in God to make things

Right

This trust comes from knowing God and knowing that 

He is Good

Once we have learned to put our trust in God,

we will no longer be afraid of the things that come against us. 

We will be like the psalmist who said with confidence,

“Let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them

ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them,

that those who

Love your Name may Rejoice in You”

(Psalm 5:11).

In summary, the word perfect in 1 John 4:18 means

Complete

The Love that is referred to is God’s Selfless Agape Love

We can say with the psalmist,

“In God I Fully Trust and am not afraid”

(Psalm 56:11).


God Never Fails



A Prayer to Experience the Conquering Power of Love

 Available to any of us because it’s the free

Gift of God.

He wants to use You for His Glory, you can Trust that he Will, 

He is Always Good on his Word

and rewards those who faithfully 

Seek and Follow

Jesus said unto him,

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. 
And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [40]

 On these two commandments

hang all

The Law and the Prophets.
​


Lets Pray,

Father, I long to know more of your personal love for me.
You don’t just love generic humanity.
You love me individually with all of my faults and sins.
Help me to open my heart to receive the love you have for me
through your Son.
Let that love conquer my heart. And then teach me the way of love
toward all those around me.
I want to see Your kingdom expand and watch Your love conquer.
Come do more than I could ever ask or imagine because of the

Power of Your Holy Spirit.

Amen.



​
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, or Tares, is filled with spiritual significance and truth. But, in spite of the clear explanation of the parable that Jesus gave (Matthew 13:36-43), this parable is very often misinterpreted. Many commentaries and sermons have attempted to use this story as an illustration of the condition of the church, noting that there are both true believers (the wheat) and false professors (the weeds) in both the church at large and individual local churches. While this may be true, Jesus distinctly explains that the field is not the church; it is the world (v. 38). 

Even if He hadn’t specifically told us the world is the setting of the story, it would still be obvious. The landowner tells the servants not to pull up the weeds in the field, but to leave them until the end of the age. If the field were the church, this command would directly contradict Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18, which tells us how to deal with unrepentant sinners in the church: they are to be put out of the fellowship and treated as unbelievers. Jesus never instructed us to let impenitent sinners remain in our midst until the end of the age. So, Jesus is teaching here about “the kingdom of heaven” (v. 24) in the world. 

In the agricultural society of Christ’s time, many farmers depended on the quality of their crops. An enemy sowing weeds would have sabotaged a business. The tares in the parable were likely darnel because that weed, until mature, appears as wheat. Without modern weed killers, what would a wise farmer do in such a dilemma? Instead of tearing out the wheat with the tares, the landowner in this parable wisely waited until the harvest. After harvesting the whole field, the tares could be separated and burned. The wheat would be saved in the barn.

In the explanation of parable, Christ declares that He Himself is the sower. He spreads His redeemed seed, true believers, in the field of the world. Through His grace, these Christians bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24). Their presence on earth is the reason the “kingdom of heaven” is like the field of the world. When Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17), He meant the spiritual realm which exists on earth side by side with the realm of the evil one (1 John 5:19). When the kingdom of heaven comes to its fruition, heaven will be a reality and there will be no “weeds” among the “wheat.” But for now, both good and bad seeds mature in the world. 

The enemy in the parable is Satan. In opposition to Jesus Christ, the devil tries to destroy Christ’s work by placing false believers and teachers in the world who lead many astray. One has only to look at the latest televangelist scandal to know the world is filled with professing “Christians” whose ungodly actions bring reproach on the name of Christ. But we are not to pursue such people in an effort to destroy them. For one thing, we don’t know if immature and innocent believers might be injured by our efforts. Further, one has only to look at the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, and the reign of “Bloody Mary” in England to see the results of men taking upon themselves the responsibility of separating true believers from false, a task reserved for God alone. Instead of requiring these false believers to be rooted out of the world, and possibly hurting immature believers in the process, Christ allows them to remain until His return. At that time, angels will separate the true from false believers. 

In addition, we are not to take it upon ourselves to uproot unbelievers because the difference between true and false believers isn’t always obvious. Tares, especially in the early stages of growth, resemble wheat. Likewise, a false believer may resemble a true believer. In Matthew 7:22, Jesus warned that many profess faith but do not know Him. Thus, each person should examine his own relationship with Christ (2 Corinthians 13:5). First John is an excellent test of salvation. 

Jesus Christ will one day establish true righteousness. After He raptures the true church out of this world, God will pour out His righteous wrath on the world. During that tribulation, He will draw others to saving faith in Jesus Christ. At the end of the tribulation, all unbelievers will be judged for their sin and unbelief; then, they will be removed from God’s presence. True followers of Christ will reign with Him. What a glorious hope for the “wheat”!




We often hear about the power of God, and Scripture is full of examples of His power in action. He is “the great God, mighty and awesome” (Nehemiah 9:32). We are taught to rely on His great power to get us through trials such as a job loss, a sticky divorce, bankruptcy, hateful persecutions, a debilitating illness, or the loss of a loved one. Learning to rely on the power of God is part of living the Christian life.

The apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of the power of God when he writes of “his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority” (Ephesians 1:19–21). The Greek word translated “great” is megethos, which means “strong” or “great,” and it appears only here in the New Testament. This word obviously wasn’t sufficient for Paul to express God’s great power, so he adds the word incomparably or, in Greek, hyperballon, related to a verb that literally means to “throw beyond the usual mark” or to “excel or surpass.” So, the full idea of the expression hyperballon megethos is that of a power beyond measure, a super-abounding or surpassing power, power that is “more than enough.”

Greek authorities tell us that, because the term megethos is found only here in all the New Testament, this reflects the outreach of Paul’s mind when he sought to describe the power of God. Paul was “stretching at the seams” as he tried to describe the power of God and pour more meaning into his words. What Paul is really telling us is that God’s power exceeds or surpasses everything—it is unimaginable power. God spoke the universe into existence, raised Jesus from the dead, and “placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church” (Ephesians 1:22), and He has power far beyond any possibility of being measured. Paul simply could not say enough about the greatness and majesty of God, and he had difficulty finding the words to express his thoughts about the power of God.

How can we learn to rely on the enormous power of God? First of all, we choose to remember the things that God has done: “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced” (Psalm 105:4–5). Every miracle recorded for us in the Bible should give us encouragement that His strength is more than enough for our need.

Also, to rely on the power of God, we must learn to cease trusting in our frail efforts and hand our resources over to the One who can do anything. God’s power is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). The disciples were at their wits’ end trying to figure out how to feed the 5,000; it was not until they brought the small amount of food they had to Christ that anyone was fed. Joshua stood helpless before the walls of Jericho, but he learned to trust the Lord’s battle plan. Zerubbabel faced the daunting task of rebuilding the temple, and God reminded him that the work would be done “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6).

Prayer is a vital part of relying on the power of God, as we pray, “Thy will be done” (Luke 11:2, KJV). Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8). It was after a prayer meeting in the early church that “the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31). It was during a prayer meeting that Peter was miraculously released from prison (Acts 12).

The resurrection of Jesus certainly demonstrates the great power of God and is the great hope of all believers. Because He lives, we will live also (John 14:19). Peter said we have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away” (1 Peter 1:3–4, NASB). No matter what happens in this world, we have the power of God and Jesus’ resurrection; the Lord will grant us an inheritance and sustain us through eternity. We “through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (verse 5). As Martin Luther sang during the Protestant Reformation, “The body they may kill; / God’s truth abideth still.”

No matter how weak or ill-equipped we may at times feel, we can rely on the power of God. We have the assurance that God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). We have confidence that ultimately God will accomplish His good in our lives: “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).


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Anew Light Ministries

CREATING environments through the vehicle of Visual and Expressive ARTS to help plug people into their CREATOR by fostering Spiritual Growth. By combining Therapeutic Art, Christ-Centered CBT techniques, and Integrated Arts in Scriptural Education, I seek to Heal human brokenness and Redeem Fullness through the Transformative Healing Power of The Holy Spirit.