“Sell all your possessions then come follow me,"
is a direct quote
from Jesus,
Matthew (19:21), where Jesus is speaking
to a rich young man who asks how to
achieve eternal life;
essentially meaning to
completely let go of your material wealth
and
dedicate yourself fully to following Jesus.
Key points about this phrase:
- Radical commitment:
It signifies a call to prioritize spiritual life over worldly possessions, demanding a complete surrender to Jesus' teachings. - Not always literal:
While some interpretations encourage literal selling of all belongings to give to the poor, most scholars see it as a symbolic call to detach from material attachments and focus on a life centered on God. - Challenge to wealth:
This verse can be seen as a challenge to those with significant wealth to consider how their possessions might hinder their spiritual growth and to use their resources generously
https://stevebremner.com/2008/03/is-there-money-in-the-ground/
The Parable of the Sower
(also known as the Parable of the Four Soils)
is found in
Matthew 13:3-9; Mark 4:2-9; and Luke 8:4-8
After presenting this parable
to the multitude,
Jesus interprets it for His disciples
in Matthew 13:18-23;
Mark 4:13-20; and Luke 8:11-15.
In the
Parable of the Sower,
"money"
is represented by the
"thorns"
which symbolize
the worries and deceitfulness of
wealth
that can choke out the
Seed
(God's word),
preventing it from
fully growing
in a person's heart; essentially,
the parable warns against
letting the
pursuit of material wealth
hinder one's
spiritual growth and commitment to God
Key points about
Money
and the
Parable of the Sower:
The "thorns":
- When Jesus explains the parable, he describes the thorns as representing the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.
- Choking effect:
- These worries and desires for wealth can "choke" the word of God, meaning they can prevent someone from fully accepting and acting on the message of the Gospel.
- Spiritual focus:
The parable emphasizes the importance of prioritizing one's spiritual life over worldly possessions, suggesting that excessive focus on money can hinder a person's relationship with God
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 word 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.
The first thing we notice about this parable is its similarity to the
Parable of the Sower
in Mark 4:2-9.
In some ways, this parable expands on
Jesus’ teaching of how
the
“good soil” (a receptive heart)
receives the
“seed” (the Word of God)
In the Parable of the Growing Seed, Jesus tells of a man who scatters seed on the ground and then allows nature to take its course. As the man who sowed the seed goes about his business day by day, the seed begins to have an effect. First, the seed sprouts; then it produces a stalk and leaves, then a head of grain, and, finally, fully developed kernels in the head. Jesus emphasizes that all of this happens without the man’s help. The man who scattered the seed cannot even fully understand how it happens—it is simply the work of nature. “All by itself the soil produces” (verse 28)
The parable ends with a harvest.
As soon as the grain is ripe,
the sickle is employed, and the
seed is harvested
This happens at just the right time
Jesus did not explain this parable, as He did some others. Instead, He left it to us to understand its meaning. Taking the seed to be the Word of God, as in Mark 4:14, we can interpret the growth of the plants as the working of God’s Word in individual hearts. The fact that the crop grows without the farmer’s intervention means that God can accomplish His purposes even when we are absent or unaware of what He’s doing. The goal is the ripened grain. At the proper time, the Word will bring forth its fruit, and the Lord of the harvest (Luke 10:2) will be glorified.
The truth of this parable is well illustrated in the growth of the early church: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6).
Just like a farmer cannot force a crop to grow,
an evangelist cannot
force spiritual life or growth on others.
To summarize the point of the Parable of the Growing Seed: “The way God uses His Word in the heart of an individual is mysterious and completely independent of human effort.” May we be faithful in “sowing the seed,” praying for a harvest, and leaving the results to the Lord!
The question
“who are the seed of Abraham?”
The Seed of Abraham
are
spiritually in Christ
(those who, like Abraham, have faith in God)
The (singular) Seed of Abraham is Christ, as Galatians 3:16, quoting Genesis 12:7, says, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.”
The passage goes on to explain that an inheritance was
promised to Abraham’s Seed (Christ)
apart from the Law.
Later, the Mosaic Law was introduced,
but it did not
annul the promises made to Abraham
or to Abraham’s Seed (Christ).
Just as Abraham believed God and his faith was counted as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), so are all today who believe in God’s Son justified apart from the Law. In this way, Abraham is the “father” of all who believe (Romans 4:11–17). “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).
Of course, the seed of Abraham can also refer to the Hebrew people who descended from Abraham through Isaac. Still more broadly, the seed of Abraham could include Arabs, who trace their lineage through Ishmael. This is the physical seed of Abraham. The spiritual seed of Abraham (believers in Jesus Christ) is comprised of people of all nationalities and ethnicities.
The Jewish religious leaders of the first century took pride in that they were Abraham’s seed. They saw their physical connection to Abraham as a guarantee of God’s favor. This attitude kept them from seeing their need for repentance of the heart—and brought condemnation from John the Baptist, who warned them to repent. Anticipating their fallback argument that they were the seed of Abraham, John said, “Do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:9).
Jesus dealt with the same issue later. In speaking to the unbelieving Jews, Jesus emphasized their
need to receive His words as truth and obey His commands.
They replied, “We be Abraham’s seed”
(John 8:33, KJV).
Jesus then rebukes them for plotting ways to murder Him; their stubborn response was again, “Abraham is our father” (verse 39a). At this, Jesus makes a distinction between the physical seed of Abraham and the true, spiritual seed of Abraham: “If you were Abraham’s children . . . then you would do what Abraham did” (verse 39b). The conversation heats up as the Jews for a third time reference their connection to Abraham: “Are you greater than our father Abraham?” they ask Jesus (verse 53). Jesus provokes them further: “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad” (verse 56).
The Jews’ are incredulous that Jesus would claim to be a contemporary of Abraham, and that’s when
Jesus brings the exchange to a climax with a
claim to full deity:
“Very truly I tell you, . . . before Abraham was born, I am!”
(verse 58).
In a fury, the Jews attempted to stone Jesus (verse 59), again proving that being the physical seed of Abraham is not enough—they had to be born again (John 3:3).
Paul sums up the difference between the seeds of Abraham in Romans 2:28–29: “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.”
First Timothy 6:6–10 gives us the cure for covetousness:
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 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.” God gave us commands against coveting for our own good. We cannot be covetous and thankful at the same time. Covetousness kills contentment, joy, and peace. When we stay continually aware of all God has done for us, we safeguard our hearts against covetousness (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
The kingdom of God
is the
rule of an eternal, sovereign God
over all the universe.
Several passages of Scripture show that God is the undeniable Monarch of all creation: “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). And, as King Nebuchadnezzar declared, “His kingdom is an eternal kingdom” (Daniel 4:3). Every authority that exists has been established by God (Romans 13:1). So, in one sense, the kingdom of God incorporates everything that is.
More narrowly, the kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God’s authority. Those who defy God’s authority and refuse to submit to Him are not part of the kingdom of God; in contrast, those who acknowledge the lordship of Christ and gladly surrender to God’s rule in their hearts are part of the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is spiritual—Jesus said His kingdom was
not of this world
(John 18:36), (Matthew 4:17).
That the kingdom of God can be equated with the sphere of salvation is evident in John 3:5–7, where Jesus says the kingdom of God must be entered into by being born again.
See also 1 Corinthians 6:9.
There is another sense in which the kingdom of God is used in Scripture: the literal rule of Christ on the earth during the millennium. Daniel said that “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44; cf. 7:13–14), and many of the other prophets predicted the same thing (e.g., Obadiah 1:21; Habakkuk 2:14; Micah 4:2; Zechariah 14:9). Some theologians refer to the future, open manifestation of the kingdom of God as the “kingdom of glory” and the present, hidden manifestation of the kingdom of God as the “kingdom of grace.” But both manifestations are connected; Christ has set up His spiritual reign in the church on earth, and He will one day set up His physical reign in Jerusalem.
The kingdom of God has several aspects. The Lord is the Sovereign of the universe, and so in that sense His kingdom is universal (1 Timothy 6:15). At the same time, the kingdom of God involves repentance and the new birth, as God rules in the hearts of His children in this world in preparation for the next. The work begun on earth will find its consummation in heaven (see Philippians 1:6).
Having the mind of Christ means we understand God’s plan in the world—to bring glory to Himself, restore creation to its original splendor, and provide salvation for sinners. It means we identify with Christ’s purpose “to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). It means we share Jesus’ perspective of humility and obedience (Philippians 2:5-8), and compassion (Matthew 9:36)
In the verses leading up to 1 Corinthians 2:16, we note some truths concerning
the mind of Christ:
1) The mind of Christ stands in sharp contrast to the wisdom of man (verses 5-6).
2) The mind of Christ involves wisdom from God, once hidden but now revealed (verse 7).
3) The mind of Christ is given to believers through the Spirit of God (verses 10-12).
4) The mind of Christ cannot be understood by those without the Spirit (verse 14).
5) The mind of Christ gives believers discernment in spiritual matters (verse 15).
In order to have the mind of Christ, one must first have saving faith in Christ
(John 1:12; 1 John 5:12).
The Holy Spirit indwells and enlightens
the believer,
infusing him with wisdom—the
mind of Christ.
The believer bears a responsibility to yield to
the Spirit’s leading
(Ephesians 4:30)
and to
allow the Spirit to transform
and
renew his mind
(Romans 12:1-2)
As Jesus prepared for His death, He taught His disciples one of the greatest kingdom paradoxes. Using His own life as an example, Jesus told them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life”
(John 12:23–25, CSB).
Jesus compared His death to a grain of wheat falling into the soil and perishing.
Only after a kernel dies in the ground can new life sprout from it.
Jesus knew that obedience to His Father’s call would cost Him everything. He would soon die on a cross.
Yet He also understood that His death would “produce much fruit” by making it possible for multitudes of believers to be born again and receive eternal life
(John 11:25–26; 1 John 5:11–12; Romans 5:21; Hebrews 5:9; 9:12).
Then the Lord passed this principle to
His disciples:
“He who loves his life will lose it.”
We cannot “love” our lives and still
expect to follow Christ
We cannot serve both God and mammon
(Matthew 6:24)
If we spend our lives grasping for the things of this world, we will ultimately lose it all. After pursuing all this world has to offer, in the end we will discover that “everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun”
(Ecclesiastes 2:11).
A related principle is this: “The one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” If we follow Jesus Christ as our role model, we will not love our earthly lives or place greater value on the temporal world than we give to our pursuit of heaven. We will “seek the Kingdom of God above all else” (Matthew 6:33, NLT).
Like the apostle Paul, we will say of this mortal existence,
“Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”
(Philippians 3:7–8).
The believer willing to lose his life has set his course on a heavenly treasure hunt. Long before the hour of His death, Jesus urged His disciples not to spend their lives pursuing money or acquiring possessions: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:19–21, NLT).
Matthew shared an expanded version of Christ’s teaching, explaining that “loving our lives” means hanging on to our own selfish, stubborn ways: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:24–26, NLT; see also Luke 9:24–25).
We can’t be true followers of Christ if we attempt to serve Him on our own terms. “Hating our lives” means giving up our own way, setting aside our self-centered existence, and abandoning ourselves to serve the Lord and others. Jesus said, “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will” (John 6:38, NLT, see also John 5:30).
To deny ourselves and take up our cross is what the Christian life is about.
Paul gave us a vivid picture of the attitude we are to have:
“Though [Christ Jesus] was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6–11, NLT).
Jesus humbled and emptied Himself
to the point of
total devotion and a horrible death but,
in doing so, was raised to the
highest place of honor.
He who loves his life applies to anyone
who shrinks back from
sacrifice for the cause of Christ.
Such a person is concerned with
self-preservation.
He is careful to
maintain security, seeks his own well-being,
and would
rather deny Christ than face trouble.
This one is warned that he will lose the very thing he loves and is most desirous to keep:
his own life will be forfeit.
The one who hates his life in this world applies to anyone who is willing to give up absolutely everything in this world, including life itself, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Such a person dedicates himself exclusively to God and His kingdom because he knows that the reward is priceless, beyond all earthly value. He understands that “we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). This one has the promise of eternal life.
The joy of the Lord is the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus was born, the angels announced “good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10). All who find Jesus know, with the shepherds of the nativity, the joy He brings. Even beforeHis birth, Jesus had brought joy, as attested to in Mary’s song (Luke 1:47) and by John’s response to hearing Mary’s voice as he “leaped for joy” in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:44).
Jesus exemplified joy in His ministry. He was no glum ascetic; rather, His enemies accused Him of being too joyful on occasion (Luke 7:34). Jesus described Himself as a bridegroom enjoying a wedding feast (Mark 2:18–20); He “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” (Luke 10:21); He spoke of “my joy” (John 15:11) and promised to give His disciples a lifetime supply of it (John 16:24). Joy is reflected in many of Jesus’ parables, including the three stories in Luke 15, which mention “rejoicing in the presence of the angels” (Luke 15:10) and end with a joyful shepherd, a joyful woman, and a joyful father.
Nehemiah told the repentant Israelites that the joy of the Lord would be their strength (Nehemiah 8:10). The early church was characterized by gladness and the joy of the Lord (Acts 2:46; 13:52), and “joy in the Holy Spirit” is a distinguishing mark of the kingdom of God (Romans 14:17). Those who are part of the kingdom share in the kingdom’s delight.
Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). In fact, it is our Christian duty to rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 3:1; 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16). In Christ, the believer is “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8).
Because of its supernatural origin, the joy of the Lord—our gladness of heart—is present even through the trials of life. We know we are children of God, and no one can snatch us away from Him (John 10:28–29). We are heirs to “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade,” and no one can steal it from us (1 Peter 1:4; Matthew 6:20).
We see the Author and Finisher of our faith, and, let the enemy rage ever so much,
we know who wins in the end (Hebrews 12:2; Psalm 2).
Faith is the victory that overcomes the world, and the joy of the Lord is our strength. Adverse circumstances, instead of hindering our faith, can actually enhance our joy. Paul and Silas knew adversity as they sat with their feet in the stocks in a Philippian jail cell.
Their legal rights had been violated.
They had been arrested without cause and beaten without a trial. At midnight, since they couldn’t sleep, they sang—loudly—the praises of the Lord they were serving (Acts 16:25). A miracle soon followed (verse 26).
The apostles in Jerusalem were arrested—twice—and ordered not to preach in Jesus’ name.
The second time they faced the court, they were beaten. Unfazed, they returned home
“rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name”
and ready to preach some more
(Acts 5:41).
Of course, the apostles
were only following the example of our Lord,
who had
“for the joy set before him . . . endured the cross, scorning its shame”
(Hebrews 12:2).
The joy of the Lord may be inexplicable to the one who does not possess it. But, for the believer in Christ, the joy of the Lord comes as naturally as grapes on a vine. As we abide in Christ, the True Vine, we, the branches, are full of His strength and vitality, and the fruit we produce, including joy, is His doing (John 15:5).
Incarnation is a term used by theologians to indicate that Jesus, the Son of God, took on human flesh. This is similar to the hypostatic union. The difference is that the hypostatic union explains how Jesus’ two natures are joined, and the Incarnation more specifically affirms His humanity.
The word incarnation means “the act of being made flesh.” It comes from the Latin version of John 1:14, which in English reads, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” Because of the near-exclusive use of the Latin Vulgate in the church through the Middle Ages, the Latin term became standard.
Biblical support for Jesus’ humanity is extensive. The Gospels report Jesus’ human needs including sleep (Luke 8:23), food (Matthew 4:2; 21:18), and physical protection (Matthew 2:13-15; John 10:39). Other indications of His humanity are that He perspired (Luke 22:43-44) and bled (John 19:34). Jesus also expressed emotions including joy (John 15:11), sorrow (Matthew 26:37), and anger (Mark 3:5). During His life, Jesus referred to Himself as a man (John 8:40), and after His resurrection His humanity was still recognized (Acts 2:22).
But the purpose of the Incarnation was not to taste food or to feel sorrow. The Son of God came in the flesh in order to be the Savior of mankind. First, it was necessary to be born “under the law” (Galatians 4:4). All of us have failed to fulfill God’s Law. Christ came in the flesh, under the Law, to fulfill the Law on our behalf (Matthew 5:17; Galatians 4:5).
Second, it was necessary for the Savior to shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). A blood sacrifice, of course, requires a body of flesh and blood. And this was God’s plan for the Incarnation: “When Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and offering [under the Old Covenant] you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me’” (Hebrews 10:5).
Without the Incarnation, Christ could not really die, and the cross is meaningless.
God did an incredible work in sending
His only begotten Son into the world
and providing us
with a salvation we do not deserve.
Praise the Lord for that moment
in which
“the Word became flesh.”
We are now redeemed
“with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect”
(1 Peter 1:19)
Jesus said to
seek first
the kingdom of God
in His
Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 6:33)
The verse’s meaning is as direct as it sounds. We are to seek the things of God as a priority over the things of the world. Primarily, it means we are to seek the salvation that is inherent in the kingdom of God because it is of greater value than all the world’s riches. Does this mean that we should neglect the reasonable and daily duties that help sustain our lives? Certainly not. But for the Christian, there should be a difference in attitude toward them. If we are taking care of God’s business as a priority—seeking His salvation, living in obedience to Him, and sharing the good news of the kingdom with others—then He will take care of our business as He promised—and if that’s the arrangement, where is worrying?
How do we know if we’re truly seeking God’s kingdom first?
Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of every one who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
Romans 3:9-11, “What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.’”
Romans 3:21, “But now a righteousness from God apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and Prophets testify.”
Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:9, “You however, are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”
Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:37-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 10:9-10, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship.”
Romans 12:19, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
Romans 16:17, “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.”
There are questions we can ask ourselves.
“Where do I primarily spend my energies?
Is all my time and money
spent on goods and activities that
will certainly perish,
or in the service of God--
the results
of which live on for eternity?”
Believers who have learned to
truly put God first
may then rest in this holy dynamic
: “…and all these things will be given to you as well.”
God has promised to provide for His own, supplying every need
(Philippians 4:19),
but His idea of what we need is often different from ours,
and His timing will only occasionally meet our expectations.
For example, we may see our need as riches or advancement, but perhaps God knows that what truly we need is a time of poverty, loss or solitude. When this happens, we are in good company.
God loved both Job and Elijah, but He allowed Satan to absolutely pound Job (all under His watchful eye), and He let that evil woman, Jezebel, break the spirit of His own prophet Elijah
(Job 1–2; 1 Kings 18–19).
In both cases, God followed these trials with restoration and sustenance.
These “negative” aspects of the kingdom
run counter to a heresy
that is gaining ground around the world,
the so-called "prosperity" gospel
A growing number of false teachers
are gathering
followers under the message
“God wants you to be rich!”
But that philosophy is not the counsel of the Bible
and it is certainly
not the counsel of Matthew 6:33,
which is not
a formula for gaining wealth.
It is a description of how
God works.
Jesus taught
that our focus should be
shifted away from
this world—its status and its
lying allurements--
and placed upon
the things of God’s kingdom.
It has been said that a
parable
is an
earthly story with a heavenly
meaning
The Lord Jesus
frequently used parables
as a means of
illustrating profound, divine
truths
Stories such as these are easily remembered, the characters bold, and
the symbolism rich in meaning.
Parables were a common form of
teaching in Judaism.
Before a certain point in His ministry,
Jesus had employed many graphic analogies
using common things
that would be familiar to everyone
(salt, bread, sheep, etc.)
and their meaning
was fairly clear in the context of His teaching.
Parables
required more explanation,
and at
one point in His ministry,
Jesus began to
teach
using parables exclusively
The question is
why
Jesus would let most people
wonder about
the meaning of His parables.
The first instance of this
is in
His telling the parable
of the
seed and the soils
Before He interpreted this parable,
He drew His disciples away from the crowd
They said to Him,
"Why do You speak to them in parables?"
Jesus answered them,
"To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
In their case the
prophecy of Isaiah is being
fulfilled,
which says,
‘Hearing you will hear and shall
not understand,
And seeing you will see and
not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have
grown dull.
Their
ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see
with their eyes and hear with
their ears,
Lest they should understand with their
hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it"
(Matthew 13:10-17).
From this point on in Jesus’ ministry,
when He spoke in parables,
He explained them only to His disciples.
But those who had
continually rejected His message were left
in their
spiritual blindness to wonder as to His meaning.
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man
called Matthew
sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him,
Follow me
And he rose and followed him.
He made a clear distinction between
those who
had been given “ears to hear”
and those who
persisted in unbelief—ever hearing,
but never
actually perceiving and
“always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth”
(2 Timothy 3:7).
The disciples had been
given the gift of spiritual discernment
by which
things of the spirit were made clear to them
Because they
accepted truth from Jesus, they were given more and more truth.
The same is true today of
believers who have been given the gift of the
Holy Spirit
who guides us into all truth
(John 16:13)
He has opened our eyes
to
the light of truth
and
our ears to the sweet words
of eternal life
In 2 Corinthians 2:17—7:4,
the apostle Paul sets forth a defense of
his apostolic ministry
In verses 4:1–6, he focuses on the transparency of his ministry. Paul renounces secret and underhanded methods, stating that he does not “try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this” (2 Corinthians 4:2, NLT). Paul contends that, if the message of the gospel seems hidden, it is not because he has tried to hide anything. Rather, it is obscured to those who are perishing (verse 3) because “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”
(2 Corinthians 4:4).
Who is the “god of this age”?
We can eliminate the possibility that Paul is referring to
the one true God here.
This “god” is blinding minds and keeping people from
Christ and His gospel.
So, the god of this age must be an evil being.
One clue as to the identity of the god of this age is that his rule is temporary. The exact phrase god of this age is found nowhere else in the New Testament. The original Greek word (aiōn) in 2 Corinthians 4:4, translated as “age” (NIV, CSB, NKJV) or “world” (ESV, NLT, NASB, KJV), means “an era of time or an epoch.” This god’s reign has a limited span.
Another clue on the identity of the god of this age is the use of similar titles in the Bible. Ephesians 2:2 speaks of “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” and “the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” In John 14:20, Jesus refers to “the prince of this world.” If all these appellations point to the same being, we have a ruler who wields temporary authority over the ungodly and blinds their minds to God’s plan of salvation. The obvious identity of the god of this age is the devil, or Satan.
As the god of this age, Satan maintains a significant influence on the values, thoughts, beliefs, and objectives of the unsaved people of the world. Satan himself claimed to rule the world in one of his temptations of Jesus (Matthew 4:8–9). But Satan does not control this present world completely. He is not the ultimate authority. God is still the sovereign Lord of the universe. Satan is only a “god” in the sense that he controls the lives of unbelievers and blinds their minds to truth. The unredeemed serve and worship Satan (even if they don’t realize it) as if he is their divine master.
As the god of this age, Satan possesses a powerful dominion over this present, fallen, dark world of sin and death (Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 1:13; 1 John 5:19). From a biblical perspective, this evil age began with Adam’s fall, not with the creation of the world. Humanity’s rebellion against God was initiated by Satan (1 John 3:8; John 8:44), and people got “caught up in the cosmic and supernatural uprising of Satan against the one true and living God” (Barnett, P., The Message of 2 Corinthians: Power in Weakness, the Bible Speaks Today, InterVarsity Press, 1988, p. 82).
The Bible teaches that, before salvation, we “were dead in [our] transgressions and sins, in which [we] used to live when [we] followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts” (Ephesians 2:1–3). Blinded as unbelievers, we served and followed Satan, the god of this age. But through God’s mercy and grace, we received the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Our Lord died on the cross “for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Galatians 1:4). The redeemed become partakers of God’s heavenly kingdom (Hebrews 6:5). In the age to come, God’s kingdom will be fully revealed, and every wrong of this present age will be made right (Luke 18:30).
In predicting His death, Jesus said, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out” (John 12:31), and He assured His disciples that “the prince of this world now stands condemned” (John 16:11). Jesus is the King of kings, and He came into this world “to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). Until the final judgment, Satan has been allotted an “hour—when darkness reigns” (Luke 22:53). But his time is limited.
As the god of this age, Satan’s greatest superpower is deceit (Revelation 12:9). He blinds people’s minds to spiritual truth (John 3:19–20; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 4:17–19; 2 Thessalonians 2:9–10)
Jesus stated that Satan
“has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him.
Truth is not in them" is a phrase from the Bible, specifically 1 John 2:4, which means that someone who claims to know God but does not follow His commandments is a liar and does not possess true faith; essentially, their actions contradict their words,
indicating a lack of genuine truth
within them
When he lies, it is consistent with
his character;
for he is a liar and the father of lies”
(John 8:44, NLT)
Thankfully, God has made
His light shine in the hearts of believers
so that they
are no longer blind to His truth
(2 Corinthians 4:6).
Nevertheless,
Christians can stay firmly rooted in
the Word of God
(John 17:17; Psalm 119:11; 2 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 1:23)
Our Lord
Jesus understood that truth is not sweet music to all ears.
Simply put,
there are those who have neither interest
in nor regard
for the deep things of God.
So why, then, did He speak in
parables?
To those with a genuine hunger
for God,
the parable is both an
effective and memorable vehicle
for the
conveyance of divine truths.
Our Lord’s parables contain great volumes of truth in very few words—and His parables, rich in imagery, are not easily forgotten. So, then, the parable is a blessing to those with willing ears. But to those with dull hearts and ears that are slow to hear, the parable is also an instrument of both judgment and mercy.
Jesus had just finished
explaining to the disciples
the meaning
of the
Parable of the Wheat and the Tares,
and these
two short parables are a continuance
of His
discussion of the
“kingdom of heaven.”
He expressed
truths about the kingdom
in three pairs of parables
in Matthew 13:
the seed and the sower (vv. 3-23)
and the weeds in the field (vv. 24-30);
the mustard seed (vv. 31-32) and the leaven (v. 33);
and the hidden treasure (v. 44)
and the pearl of great price (vv. 45-46)
The similarities of these two short parables make it clear they teach the same lesson—the kingdom of heaven is of inestimable value. Both parables involve a man who sold all he had to possess the kingdom. The treasure and the pearl represent Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers. And while we cannot pay for salvation by selling all our worldly goods, once we have found the prize, we are willing to give up everything to possess it. But what is attained in exchange is so much more valuable that it is comparable to trading an ounce of trash for a ton of diamonds (Philippians 3:7-9).
In both parables, the treasures are hidden,
indicating that spiritual truth is missed
by many and cannot be
found by
intelligence or power or worldly wisdom.
Matthew 13:11-17 and 1 Corinthians 2:7-8, 14
make it clear
that the
mysteries of the kingdom are hidden
from some who are
unable to hear, see, and comprehend
these truths.
The disobedient reap the natural consequences
of their
unbelief—spiritual blindness.
Those whose eyes are opened
by the Spirit
do discern spiritual truth,
and they, like the men
in the parable,
understand its great value.
Notice that the merchant stopped seeking pearls
when he found the pearl of great price.
Eternal life, the incorruptible inheritance,
and the love of God through Christ
constitute the pearl which,
once found,
makes further searching unnecessary.
Christ fulfills our greatest needs, satisfies our longings, makes us whole and clean before God, calms and quiets our hearts, and gives us hope for the future. The “great price,” of course, is that which was paid by Christ for our redemption. He emptied Himself of His glory, came to earth in the form of a lowly man and shed His precious blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
Philippians 4:19 speaks of
God’s abundant provision for believers
Paul writes,
“My God will meet all your needs according
to the
riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Here, the phrase riches of his glory
is a testament to
God’s gracious ability to meet the needs
of His children
In the immediate context of Philippians 4:19, Paul expresses gratitude to the Philippians for their financial support during his imprisonment. The support was sent through Epaphroditus, a partner with Paul in the ministry of the gospel. Because of their generosity, Paul assures the Philippians that God will not overlook their good deed: “My God will meet all your need according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). This assurance is a wonderful reminder that God’s provision for believers is not limited to human resources but flows from God’s infinite storehouses of glory.
In Scripture, God’s glory is associated with His majesty (Psalm 8:1), power (1 Chronicles 29:11), and presence (John 1:14). The glory of God is manifested in all His attributes together. It is the beauty of His nature, eternal and excelling in splendor.
In Ephesians 3:16, Paul prays that “according to the riches of [God’s] glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (ESV). Likewise, in Romans 9:23, Paul mentions “the riches of his glory [made] known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory.” In both passages, God’s glory involves His nature and His active engagement with believers.
The glory of God provides a spiritual treasury of blessings for those who trust in Him.
The “riches of his glory,” according to Paul, are found “in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). This suggests that the riches of God’s glory are made possible through the finished work of Christ. In Christ, believers have access to every spiritual blessing from the Father. Paul writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3, ESV). Through the finished work of Christ, believers have access to an overabundant supply of blessings that are more than sufficient to meet our needs.
God’s abundant grace is part of the riches of His glory. Paul writes, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9, ESV).
Here, the word rich refers not to material wealth but to the spiritual riches that come through the sacrificial death of Christ. He became an earth-bound pauper so we could know the abundant fulness of heaven.
In short, the “riches of his glory” in Philippians 4:19 refers to the abundant resources with which God meets the needs of believers. He possesses all things, and He has an inexhaustible ability to supply their needs. Because God is infinitely glorious and infinitely gracious, He is able and willing to provide for every need. This assurance is rooted in the person and work of Christ, who is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, ESV).
Colossians 1:27 is a powerful verse:
“God has chosen
to make
known among the Gentiles
the glorious
riches of this mystery,
which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Let’s start by clarifying that the apostle Paul is writing to believers in Jesus Christ—the “you” whom he addresses. He calls them “the Lord’s people” in the previous verse (Colossians 1:26). The “Gentiles” are non-Jewish people. A “mystery” in the New Testament is simply something that was hidden in times past but has now been revealed by God. The former mystery, now understood, is that Christ in us is the hope of our future glory.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon certain people to empower them for service, but then He would leave again. New Testament believers have a different experience, as the Spirit indwells us permanently. The permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit given to New Testament believers was a “mystery” to the Old Testament saints. After Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to live within us, never to leave (John 14:16–17; 16:7). Jesus told His disciples, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father . . . and I am in you” (John 14:20).
The Holy Spirit seals us for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). In other words, the Spirit’s presence in our hearts guarantees our ultimate salvation. Though we are in this world, we are not of it (John 17:16). God will continue to work in us until He is finished perfecting us (see Philippians 1:6).
This forward-looking guarantee of perfection
is what is meant
by
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
The J. B. Phillips translation of Colossians 1:27puts it this way:
“The secret is simply this:
Christ in you!
Yes, Christ in you
BRINGING with HIM
the hope of all
glorious things to come.”
The hope of glory is the fulfillment of God’s promise to restore us and all creation
(see Romans 8:19–21 and 1 Peter 5:10).
This hope is not a wishful thought,
but the confident,
expectant, joyful knowledge
that we are being changed by God
and will one day see Christ face to face,
having been conformed to His image
(Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2)
The hope of glory includes our resurrection:
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you”
(Romans 8:11).
It includes a heavenly inheritance:
“In his great mercy 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 Spirit of Christ within us is the “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance”
(Ephesians 1:14).
Paul had many things about which he could have boasted.
His experiences were incredible. He lists some of them in 2 Corinthians 11:22–28 to illustrate that, while he above others might have reason to boast in his own flesh—his experiences and his abilities—he would only boast in Christ. Paul recognizes that we have no real power in ourselves except for Christ in us, and he explains in Philippians 3:4–7 that, even though he has quite a list of impressive achievements,
he counts all those as loss for the
sake of Christ.
They are worthless—even
having negative value
—in comparison-
to the
joy of
knowing Christ
In 2 Corinthians 12:1 Paul provides an example of how a person should not find his or her identity and confidence in personal achievements because only God’s grace is sufficient. While showing mercy means not giving to someone what he does deserve, showing grace means giving to someone what he doesn’t deserve. God shows grace in giving us life and providing for us and strengthening us for the path ahead.
That grace is sufficient—it is all we need.
To illustrate the principle, Paul tells of a man who was caught up to the third heaven and saw and heard indescribable things. This man was remarkably privileged, and it seems apparent in the context that Paul is talking about himself. He adds that, because of the greatness of the revelations he was given, he was also given a thorn in his flesh that would keep him from exalting himself (2 Corinthians 12:7). While Paul tells us very little about the nature of this “thorn” (what he also refers to as a messenger from Satan), he makes clear that its purpose was to help ensure his humility. Paul begged God that this thorn might go away, and God repeatedly said no to Paul’s request.
God’s response to Paul is found in
2 Corinthians 12:9--
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power
is made perfect in weakness.”
God was reminding Paul that the strength behind Paul’s ministry was not Paul’s experiences or abilities, nor was it the absence of difficulty. On the contrary, Paul’s ability to be faithful in ministry and survive incredibly difficult times was due to God’s grace. God’s grace is sufficient. When we are weak, God’s strength is even more evident. Paul could rejoice and boast in God because Paul knew the power that God exerted in Paul’s life through God’s grace.
Paul could then boast in God’s strength, recognizing that, even when we are weak, God is strong.
He provides the strength for us to withstand whatever challenges are before us.
Paul illustrates this same idea in Philippians 4:11–13. He explains that he has learned how to be content in any circumstance no matter how severe. When things are going well or when things are going badly, Paul knows that contentment doesn’t come from circumstances—contentment comes from recognizing that we can do whatever God intends for us to do through Christ who strengthens us.
God is so gracious to provide strength when it is needed so that we can find our identity, our confidence, and our contentment in Him.
This is what God meant
when He said that
His grace is sufficient--
it is all we need.
In Ephesians 4:11, the apostle Paul presents
five types
of “office gifts,” or gifted persons,
given to the church
by God:
apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers
Their purpose is
“to equip God’s people
to do his
work and build up the church,
the body of Christ”
so that individual believers and
Christ’s body
can all grow spiritually and in
the unity of faith
(Ephesians 4:12–13)
The goal, Paul states, is “that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes,”
and that we may
“grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ”
(Ephesians 4:14–15, ESV).
The phrase tossed to and fro is rendered from a nautical term in Greek meaning
“to be waved-pitched; to move abruptly here and there due to the violence of waves.”
God has given ministry gifts to His church to form a stabilizing anchor that will keep us from being tossed to and fro like immature, gullible infants, susceptible to every flashy new human teaching and clever trick of the enemy.
Paul taught the Colossians to stay rooted and established in the faith so that no one
would deceive them with “well-crafted arguments”
(Colossians 2:4, NLT)
“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ”
(Colossians 2:4,6–8, NLT)
Only when we are secure in
God’s truth
and committed to the body of Christ
can we
learn to recognize false teachers
and steer clear
of their dishonest doctrines
James said, “Be sure that your
faith is in God alone
Do not waver,
for a person with divided loyalty
is as unsettled
as a wave of the sea
that is blown and tossed by the wind”
(James 1:6, NLT)
Jude warned of the false teachers’ cunning: “When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves.
They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots”
(Jude 1:12, NLT; see also Acts 20:29–31; Romans 16:17–18; Hebrews 13:9; 2 Corinthians 11:3–4).
Members of Christ’s body grow strong
and
stable—no longer tossed to and fro--
when they stay
rooted and grounded in God’s Word.
What exactly is the law of Christ, and
how is it fulfilled
by carrying each other’s burdens?
While the law of Christ is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:21, the Bible nowhere specifically defines what precisely is the law of Christ. However, most Bible teachers understand the law of Christ to be what Christ stated were the greatest commandments in Mark 12:28–31,
“‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’
Jesus answered, ‘The most important is,
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
There is no other commandment greater than these.’”
The law of Christ,
then, is to love God with all of our being
and to
love our neighbors as we love ourselves
In Mark 12:32–33, the scribe who asked Jesus the question responds with, “To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” In this, Jesus and the scribe agreed that those two commands are the core of the entire Old Testament Law. All of the Old Testament Law can be placed in the
category of “loving God” or “loving your neighbor.”
For the follower of Christ, the avoidance of sin is to be
accomplished out of love for God
and love for others. Love is to be our motivation.
When we recognize the value of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf,
our response is to be love, gratitude, and obedience.
When we understand the sacrifice Jesus made for us and others,
our response is to be to follow His example
We are to obey the law of Christ because we love Him,
not so that we can check off
a list of commands that we successfully obeyed
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.
A solid church
that believes in preaching
the Word,
And Studying 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 wrote his letter to the Colossians to
help them
understand better the greatness of Christ, their new position in Christ,
and the expectations God has for them.
Paul summarizes much about Christ in the statement that
in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily
(Colossians 1:19).
For believers
to truly understand the riches they
have in Christ,
they need to understand more about
who He really is.
Paul explains that in Christ we have forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14).
Christ is the image of the invisible God
(Colossians 1:15a),
or, as Matthew Henry put it, “the visible discovery of the invisible God” (Commentary, Col. 1:15–23). Christ has sovereign rights over all creation (Colossians 1:15b). In fact, Christ is the Creator of all—everything that exists was created “in him . . . through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).
If you want to see God,
look at Jesus,
“for God was pleased to
have all
his fullness dwell in him”
(Colossians 1:19)
After explaining the preeminence of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:17–18), Paul adds that it is the Father’s pleasure that all the fullness of deity dwell in Christ (Colossians 1:19)—Jesus isn’t usurping anything that doesn’t belong to Him. He is God. Because Jesus is Deity, He has the qualification and authority to bring redemption and reconciliation with God to humanity (Colossians 1:20).
As John put it, Jesus has revealed and explained the Father to us (John 1:18).
No one else was qualified to do this because no one had even seen the Father; only Christ could communicate the Father to humanity.
Paul adds that Jesus is God’s mystery revealed (Colossians 2:2). Jesus is the revelation of God, and it is in Him that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge can be found (Colossians 2:3). Because of Jesus’ intimate relationship with the Father and how He reveals the Father to humanity, we can trust in Him as sufficient for providing reconciliation or peace with the Father through His shed blood on the cross (Colossians 2:20).
Just as the Colossians had received Christ, they were to walk in Him (Colossians 2:6).
They were also to
beware of philosophies, traditions, and basic principles
that were not of Christ
(Colossians 2:8),
because only in Christ does the fullness of the Godhead dwell bodily
If a system of thought is rooted in anything other than Christ, then it can deceive and take someone captive. On the other hand, if the Colossians would acknowledge the philosophy (or system of ideas) that is according to Christ, then they would be able to put the principles into practice that God had designed for them.
If Jesus is the physical person of God (both fully God and fully man), then we can be confident that following Him is following the truth. Believers should avoid falsehood, hold fast to Jesus as “the head,” and understand that their growth in God comes from Him
(Colossians 2:19).
We no longer live according to the
elementary
principles of a world that denies Christ
(Colossians 2:20)
those principles are powerless to help us.
Because in Christ the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9), believers can have confidence that one day, when He is revealed in glory, we will also appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4). Our future is certain, based on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Believers need to focus on seeking the things that matter to Christ, who is in heaven and who will return one day (Colossians 3:1–3).
We have a new position in Christ and new life through belief in Him, and we should prioritize what is important to Him, knowing that in Christ the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily
(Colossians 1:19)
Because of who He is, He can and will deliver on His promises.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes seven statements beginning with the words I am. Each of these “I am” proclamations furthers our understanding of Jesus’ ministry in the world. They also link Jesus to the Old Testament revelation of God.
In the Old Testament, God revealed His name to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).
Thus, in Judaism, “I AM” is unquestionably
understood as a name for God.
Whenever
Jesus made an “I am” statement
in which
He claimed attributes of deity,
He was identifying Himself as God.
Here are the seven metaphorical
“I am”
statements
found in John’s gospel:
“I am the bread of life”
(John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)
In this chapter, Jesus establishes a pattern that continues through John’s gospel—Jesus makes a statement about who He is, and He backs it up with something He does. In this case, Jesus states that He is the bread of life just after He had fed the 5,000 in the wilderness. At the same time, He contrasts what He can do with what Moses had done for their ancestors: “Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die” (verses 49–50).
“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5). This second of Jesus’ “I am” statements in John’s gospel comes right before He heals a man born blind. Jesus not only says He is the light; He proves it. Jesus’ words and actions echo Genesis 1:3, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
“I am the door” (John 10:7 and 9, ESV). This “I am” statement stresses that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven by any other means than Christ Himself. Jesus’ words in this passage are couched in the imagery of a sheepfold. He is the one and only way to enter the fold. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber” (verse 1, ESV).
“I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14). With this “I am” statement, Jesus portrays His great love and care. He is the One who willingly protects His flock even to the point of death (verses 11 and 15). When Jesus called Himself the good shepherd, He unmistakably took for Himself one of God’s titles in the Old Testament: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1).
“I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Jesus made this “I am” statement immediately before raising Lazarus from the dead. Again, we see that Jesus’ teaching was not just empty talk; when He made a claim, He substantiated it with action. He holds “the keys of death and the grave” (Revelation 1:18, NLT). In raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus showed how He can fulfill Yahweh’s promise to ancient Israel: “[God’s] dead shall live; their bodies shall rise” (Isaiah 26:19, ESV). Apart from Jesus, there is neither resurrection nor eternal life.
“I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). This powerful “I am” statement of Christ’s is packed with meaning. Jesus is not merely one way among many ways to God; He is the only way. Scripture said that “The very essence of [God’s] words is truth” (Psalm 119:160, NLT), and here is Jesus proclaiming that He is the truth—confirming His identity as the Word of God (see John 1:1, 14). And Jesus alone is the source of life; He is the Creator and Sustainer of all life and the Giver of eternal life.
“I am the true vine” (John 15:1, 5). The final metaphorical “I am” statement in the Gospel of John emphasizes the sustaining power of Christ. We are the branches, and He is the vine. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit unless it is joined in vital union with the vine, only those who are joined to Christ and receive their power from Him produce fruit in the Christian life.
There are two more “I am” statements of
Jesus in
the Gospel of John.
These are not metaphors; rather,
they are declarations of
God’s name,
as applied
by Jesus to Himself.
The first instance comes as Jesus responds to a
complaint by the Pharisees.
“I tell you the truth,”
Jesus says, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
(John 8:58, NLT).
The verbs Jesus uses are in stark contrast with each other: Abraham was, but I am. There is no doubt that the Jews understood Jesus’ claim to be the eternal God incarnate, because they took up stones to kill Him (verse 59).
The second instance of Jesus applying to Himself the name I AM comes in the Garden of Gethsemane. When the mob came to arrest Jesus, He asked them whom they sought. They said, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and Jesus replied, “I am he” (John 18:4–5). Then something strange happened: “When Jesus said, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground” (verse 6). Perhaps explaining the mob’s reaction is the fact that the word he has been provided by our English translators. Jesus simply said, “I am.” Applying God’s covenant name to Himself, Jesus demonstrated His power over His foes and showed that His surrender to them was entirely voluntary (see John 10:17–18; 19:11).
In Romans 1, Paul addresses the Gentile believers at Rome and begins by explaining his mission, which was to preach the gospel to everyone. He concludes his explanation by saying, “For 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.
For in the gospel the righteousness of
God is revealed--
a righteousness that is by faith
from first to last, just as it is written:
‘The righteous will live by faith’”
(Romans 1:16–17; cf. Habakkuk 2:4)
The word translated “ashamed” means “disgraced” or “personally humiliated.”
A person “ashamed” in this way is like someone singled out
for misplacing his confidence—he trusted in something,
and that something let him down.
The word can refer to being dishonored because of
forming the wrong alliances.
So, when Paul says that he is not ashamed
of
the gospel,
he is saying his
confidence in the gospel is
not misplaced.
There is no disgrace in declaring it.
Paul
had given his life
to proclaiming the truths that
Jesus Himself
had revealed to him
(Acts 9:3–6; 2 Corinthians 12:2–4)
He explained to the Romans why he did not believe
that he had
wrongly identified with Jesus and
why
proclaiming Jesus’ message
was his life’s work
The application can extend to us as well. Just as Paul placed his confidence in the gospel of Christ, so can we. We can proclaim with boldness the truths that God has revealed in His Word, with no fear that our confidence is misplaced. “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame”
(Romans 10:11; cf. Isaiah 28:16)
We can rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit who inspired the writing of Scripture never changes
(2 Peter 1:21; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8)
What was true thousands of years ago is still true.
The offer of salvation that was presented to people of the first century is still open to us
(Acts 2:39; John 17:20).
To live unashamed of the gospel means we proclaim it, but it also means we apply it to our lives and
show we believe it. Paul’s life choices supported his message. He did not preach one thing and live another.
We are “ashamed of the gospel” when we allow sin in our lives to go unchecked
(Matthew 3:8).
When we indulge in worldliness and carnal desires or blatantly disobey scriptural standards,
we indicate that we lack confidence in our own message
(1 Corinthians 3:3; 1 Peter 2:11)
When we “walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, and sit in the seat of scoffers”
(Psalm 1:1),
we are being ashamed of the gospel.
We are not allowing its truth to penetrate our lives so that others see its changing power.
To live unashamed of the gospel means that we, like Paul, allow it to dominate our lives
to the extent that everyone within our sphere of influence can see that we have
“been with Jesus”
(Acts 4:13)
The idea of “circumcision of the heart” is found in Romans 2:29. It refers to having a pure heart, separated unto God. Paul writes, “A Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.” These words conclude a sometimes confusing passage of Scripture regarding circumcision and the Christian. Verses 25-29 provide context:
“For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”
Paul is discussing the role of the Old Testament Law as it relates to Christianity. He argues that Jewish circumcision is only an outward sign of being set apart to God. However, if the heart is sinful, then physical circumcision is of no avail. A circumcised body and a sinful heart are at odds with each other. Rather than focus on external rites, Paul focuses on the condition of the heart. Using circumcision as a metaphor, he says that
only the
Holy Spirit can purify a heart and set us apart to God.
Ultimately,
circumcision cannot make a person right with God;
the Law is not enough.
A person’s heart must change.
Paul calls this change “circumcision of the heart.”
This concept was not original with the apostle Paul. As a Jew trained in the Law of Moses, he was certainly aware of this discussion from Deuteronomy 30. There, the Lord used the same metaphor to communicate His desire for a holy people: “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). Physical circumcision was a sign of Israel’s covenant with God; circumcision of the heart, therefore, would indicate Israel’s being set apart to love God fully, inside and out.
John the Baptist warned the Pharisees against taking pride in their physical heritage and boasting in their circumcision: “Do not think you can say to yourselves,
'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham”
(Matthew 3:9).
True “children of Abraham” are those who follow Abraham’s example of believing God
(Genesis 15:6).
Physical circumcision does not make one a child of God; faith does.
Believers in Jesus Christ can truly say they are children of “Father Abraham.”
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”
(Galatians 3:29).
God has always
wanted more from His people than just
external conformity to a set of rules.
He has always wanted them to possess
a heart to love, know, and follow Him.
That’s why God is not concerned with
a circumcision of the flesh.
Even in the Old Testament, God’s priority was a spiritual circumcision of the heart:
“Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done”
(Jeremiah 4:4).
Both Testaments focus on the need for
repentance and inward change in order to
be right with God.
In Jesus, the Law has been fulfilled
(Matthew 5:17).
Through Him, a person can be made right with God and receive eternal life
(John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9).
As Paul said,
true circumcision is a matter of the heart, performed by the Spirit of God.
The New Covenant is also mentioned in Ezekiel 36:26–27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Ezekiel lists several aspects of
the New Covenant
here:
a new heart, a new spirit,
the
indwelling Holy Spirit,
and
true holiness.
The Mosaic Law could provide none of these things
(see Romans 3:20).
The New Covenant was originally given to Israel and includes a promise of fruitfulness, blessing, and a peaceful existence in the Promised Land. In Ezekiel 36:28–30 God says, “Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. . . . I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.” Deuteronomy 30:1–5 contains similar promises related to Israel under the New Covenant. After the resurrection of Christ, God in His grace brought the Gentiles into the blessing of the New Covenant, too (Acts 10; Ephesians 2:13–14).
The fulfillment of the New Covenant will be seen in two places: on earth during
the Millennial Kingdom, and in heaven for all eternity.
We are no longer under the Law but under grace (Romans 6:14–15). The Old Covenant has served its purpose, and it has been replaced by “a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). “In fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).
Under the New Covenant, we are given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8–9).
Our responsibility is to exercise faith in Christ, the One who fulfilled the Law on our behalf and brought an end to the Law’s sacrifices through His own sacrificial death.
Through the life-giving Holy Spirit who lives in all believers (Romans 8:9–11),
we share in the inheritance of Christ and enjoy a permanent, unbroken relationship with God
(Hebrews 9:15).
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 the 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 a new 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 story of righteousness really starts with a man named Abram in the ancient city of Ur in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). God called Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household and go to the land God would show him. God promised to make Abram into a great nation and bless the nations of the world through him (Genesis 12:1–3). In faith, Abram gathered up his household and left. Several years later, God told Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1). Abram asked what God could give him since Abram still had no children. God again promised him an heir and offspring as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:2–5).
“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).
What was “morally excellent” or righteous about Abram believing God? He had not sacrificed anything to God. He had not done some mighty work in God’s name. He had not even perfectly trusted God in the journey so far (see Genesis 12:11–20). He hadn’t done anything except listen to God’s words and accept them as true.
And for that Abram was counted righteous in God’s eyes. If we look at the definition of righteousness again, “the quality of being morally right or justifiable,” it is clear that this incident set the foundation of justification by faith, a concept explored many more times throughout Scripture (Romans 4; Galatians 3; James 2:23).
Galatians 3:7–9 links all who have faith in Christ to their predecessor in faith, Abraham: “Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” All who have faith in Christ are righteous in God’s sight, regardless of their nationality (Galatians 3:26–29). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Paul explains, “God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is by Jesus’ work on the cross that we are made righteous, and by faith we are justified, or declared righteous, before God.
Now, what about holiness?
The Bible says that
“without holiness no one will see the Lord”
(Hebrews 12:14)
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, praised God for
sending the Messiah, saying, in part,
that Jesus would
“enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days”
(Luke 1:74).
The apostle Peter wrote,
“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:
“Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15–16).
Ephesians 4 explains that we are to put off our old, sinful self, “which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self,
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”
(Ephesians 4:22–24).
Like righteousness, holiness is a gift from God. The process of becoming holy is called sanctification, and God promises to complete His sanctification in us because of Christ’s work on the cross.
The writer of Hebrews explains positional sanctification: “By [God’s] will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,” and also alludes to progressive sanctification, speaking of “those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:10, 14). We are perfected and sanctified by one event: Christ’s substitutionary atonement on the cross for our sin.
As we live our lives in Christ, our holiness increases as we yield to the work of the Holy Spirit within us and follow this command: “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose”
(Philippians 2:12–13; see also Romans 12:1–2; Hebrews 12:1–2).
Jesus told us to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven”
(Matthew 6:20).
He linked this command to the desire of our hearts:
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
(Matthew 6:21; see also verses 10–20).
The Bible mentions rewards that await the believer who serves the Lord faithfully in this world
(Matthew 10:41).
A “great” reward
is promised to those who are persecuted for Jesus’ sake.
Various crowns are mentioned
(in 2 Timothy 4:8, e.g.).
Jesus says that He will bring rewards with Him when He returns
(Revelation 22:12)
We are to treasure the Lord Jesus most of all.
When Jesus is our treasure, we will commit our resources—our money, our time, our talents—to His work in this world. Our motivation for what we do is important (1 Corinthians 10:31). Paul encourages servants that God has an eternal reward for those who are motivated to serve Christ:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving”
(Colossians 3:23–24).
When we live sacrificially for Jesus’ sake or serve Him by serving the body of Christ, we store up treasure in heaven. Even seemingly small acts of service do not go unnoticed by God. “If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward” (Matthew 10:42).
Those who use their talents
or spiritual gifts coveting the praise of men rather
than seeking God’s glory
receive their “payment” in full here and now.
The applause of men
was the extent of the Pharisees’ reward
(Matthew 6:16).
Why should we work for worldly plaudits, however, when we can have so much more in heaven?
The Lord will be faithful to reward us for the service we give Him (Hebrews 6:10). Our ministries may differ, but the Lord we serve is the same. “The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor” (1 Corinthians 3:8).
The rich young man loved his money more than God, a fact that Jesus incisively pointed out (Matthew 19:16–30). The issue wasn’t that the young man was rich but that he “treasured” his riches and did not “treasure” what he could have in Christ. Jesus told the man to sell his possessions and give to the poor, “and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (verse 21).
The young man left Jesus sad, because he was very rich. He chose this world’s treasure and so did not lay up treasure in heaven. He was unwilling to make Jesus his treasure.
The young man was religious, but Jesus exposed his heart of greed.
We are warned not to lose our full reward by following after false teachers (2 John 1:8). This is why it is so important to be in God’s Word daily (2 Timothy 2:15).
That way we can recognize false teaching when we hear it.
The treasures that await the child of God will far outweigh
any trouble, inconvenience, or persecution we may face
(Romans 8:18).
We can serve the Lord wholeheartedly, knowing that God is the One keeping score,
and His reward will be abundantly gracious.
“Always give yourselves fully to the
work of the Lord,
because you know that your labor in the Lord
is not in vain”
(1 Corinthians 15:58).
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.
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 our flesh and the world are headed in the other. A choice must be made. When we follow Christ, we must die to everything else. 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 fleshly pleasure, 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).
What is the prosperity gospel?
The prosperity gospel is one of the most prominent false teaching movements of our day. Prosperity gospel preachers and televangelists have deceived multitudes around the world with a false gospel, teaching that individuals who exercise true faith in Christ will surely attain physical, material, and financial prosperity in this life.
When did it begin?
The Apostolic church
had its fair share of
false teachers
who perverted the truth of
the gospel
by turning it
into a tool for monetary profit
or into a way
to manipulate God for power
(Acts 8:9–24; 19:11–20
Throughout church history,
there
have been many forms of this
sort of false teaching
The modern-day prosperity gospel
movement
began in the 1950s
as a post–World War II
Pentecostal movement
through the ministry of
Oral Roberts,
an
American televangelist.
Roberts’ books helped disseminate
the message of
the prosperity gospel movement
If You Need Healing
Do These Things
and
The Miracle of Seed-Faith
were among
Roberts’ more popular works.
The movement was carried forward by Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, both of whom led massively influential televangelist ministries in the 1980s. Other key figures in the history of the movement include E.W. Kenyon and Kenneth E. Hagin.
Who are the key figures?
Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, John Hagee, Creflo Dollar, Paula White, Joyce Meyer, and Juanita Bynum are a few of the leading televangelists who have commercialized the teaching of the prosperity gospel in our day. For decades, these men and women have broadcast a false gospel over the radio and on television channels such as the Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN). In this way, they have exported their false teaching to Africa, South America, and Asia as well.
What are the main beliefs?
The prosperity gospel movement has four main beliefs:
- Jesus purchased all the benefits of salvation for this life.Jesus purchased complete physical healing for His people in this life through His death on the cross. By perverting the teaching of Isaiah 53:5 and John 10:10, prosperity gospel preachers assert that Jesus died to take away every sickness in this life and to atone for the “sin” of financial poverty.
- A present-day inheritance. In the Abrahamic covenant, God promised a vast material and financial inheritance for believers in this life. If a person believes in Jesus, he will inherit great possessions and tangible blessings in this life.
- Give to get. Prosperity gospel preachers teach their followers that the way to gain riches is to give more money to the kingdom, especially by giving to their churches and ministries. The quantity of material and financial prosperity one expects to gain is in proportion to what one gives.
- Name it and claim it. Faith and prayer empower people to lay hold of physical and material blessings in this life. Certain leaders in this movement have popularized the term Word of Faith to capture the essence of their teaching. Accordingly, if someone exercises enough faith, he will no longer have to be subject to the crippling effects of sickness and disease. If individuals continue to suffer afflictions or poverty, it is due to their lack of personal faith. When we pray in faith, we compel God to make us prosperous, particularly when we declare that we already possess the desired blessing. Likewise, some teachers discourage their followers from speaking negative words, lest they bring negative things into being.
Why do people believe this
form of
false teaching?
The false teachers of the prosperity gospel target their
hearers’ desires for provision, position, and power.
Instead of focusing on Christ, eternity, and the glory of God,
they place an emphasis on living one’s “best life now.”
Many people in economically depressed communities and in Third World countries
follow this teaching because it holds out promises of social empowerment
and deliverance from extreme poverty and disease.
Others follow the teaching because it justifies greed.
How does it hold up against biblical Christianity?
According to Scripture, physical, material, and financial prosperity
are no sure marks of God’s favor,
and suffering is no sure mark of His displeasure.
The Bible teaches that material prosperity is often a snare
(Luke 12:15)
and that suffering is often a mark of blessing
(Matt. 5:10; 1 Peter 3:14).
God’s Word teaches neither that the Christian life is all physical and material prosperity,
nor that it is all suffering.
Rather, it teaches that there may be times of prosperity and times of suffering in the believer’s life
(Phil. 4:12).
Scripture warns us not to set our hearts on riches
(Ps. 62:10),
and it teaches wealthy believers not to trust in their wealth
(1 Tim. 6:17).
Prosperity gospel preachers and televangelists have
deceived multitudes around the world
with a false gospel,
teaching that individuals who exercise true faith in Christ
will surely
attain physical, material, and financial prosperity in this life.
In contrast to the four main beliefs of
the prosperity gospel,
Scripture teaches the following:
- In the Apostolic preaching of the cross, God calls people to come to Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus died to atone for the sins of His people (Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18). The focus is never on physical, financial, or material prosperity in this life. While Jesus does secure everlasting blessings—including physical healing—for His people through His death on the cross, believers will come to enjoy the full benefits of the death of Christ only in the resurrection on the last day.
- God promised Abraham that he would inherit the world (Rom. 4:13). This promise was fulfilled in the person and work of the Son of Abraham, Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16). Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is a son or daughter of Abraham and coheir of the inheritance promised to him (Gal. 3:29). By the same faith Abraham exercised, we receive the blessings of salvation—justification, adoption, the promised Holy Spirit, and the guarantee of the everlasting inheritance (Gal. 3:7–9). Believers will not fully possess the inheritance until the resurrection on the last day (Heb. 11:39–40; 13:14).
- Believers have the duty and privilege of giving generously to the work of God’s kingdom in this life. God makes His grace abound toward His people when they give generously so that they will be equipped to continue giving generously (2 Cor. 9:8–11). Scripture never teaches us to give in order to gain and lay up treasure for ourselves.
- The Apostle Paul prayed fervently to the Lord for personal healing, only to have Jesus tell him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7–9). This was not a lack of faith on Paul’s part. God has not promised complete healing in this life. He promises complete healing for individuals only in the resurrection on the last day.
How can I share the gospel with those who hold to this false teaching?
- Focus on Christ’s life and death for the forgiveness of sins. The central message of the gospel is that Jesus Christ died for the sins of His people. Jesus shed His blood on the cross in order to cover the sin of those for whom He died. The gospel reconciles sinners to God through the person and work of Christ. The Apostle Paul explained the message of the cross when he wrote, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21) and “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:13–14).
- Focus on the hope of eternal blessing. The Bible encourages believers to hope in God and to look forward to the eternal inheritance He has reserved for us. The Apostle Peter encouraged suffering believers to remember that they are being preserved by God for “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4). The writer of Hebrews also taught, “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Heb. 13:14). The Apostle Paul explained that the sufferings we endure in this life are prerequisites to obtaining the eternal inheritance: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:16–17).
- Focus on the comfort we receive from sharing in Christ’s sufferings. Suffering is everywhere presented in Scripture as a prerequisite to glory (Rom. 8:17). Jesus was Himself a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). His was a life of reproach, hardship, difficulty, opposition, poverty, loneliness, and suffering (Luke 9:58). His disciples followed in His footsteps. The only one of Jesus’ disciples to fall away was himself a lover of money (John 12:6). God has ordained that His people will suffer for the sake of Christ in this life (Phil. 1:29). He has promised resurrection wholeness, restoration, and abundance in the world to come (Rev. 21:4).
Word of Faith teaching is decidedly unbiblical. It is not a denomination and does not have a formal organization or hierarchy. Instead, it is a movement that is heavily influenced by a number of high-profile pastors and teachers such as Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Paul and Jan Crouch, and Fred Price.
The Word of Faith movement grew out of the Pentecostal movement in the late 20th century. Its founder was E. W. Kenyon, who studied the metaphysical New Thought teachings of Phineas Quimby. Mind science (where "name it and claim it" originated) was combined with Pentecostalism, resulting in a peculiar mix of orthodox Christianity and mysticism. Kenneth Hagin, in turn, studied under E. W. Kenyon and made the Word of Faith movement what it is today. Although individual teachings range from completely heretical to completely ridiculous, what follows is the basic theology most Word of Faith teachers align themselves with.
At the heart of the Word of Faith movement is the belief in the "force of faith." It is believed words can be used to manipulate the faith-force, and thus actually create what they believe Scripture promises (health and wealth). Laws supposedly governing the faith-force are said to operate independently of God’s sovereign will and that God Himself is subject to these laws. This is nothing short of idolatry, turning our faith—and by extension ourselves—into god.
The Word of Faith movement is deceiving countless people, causing them to grasp after a way of life and faith that is not biblical. At its core is the same lie Satan has been telling since the Garden: “You shall be as God” (Genesis 3:5). Sadly, those who buy into the Word of Faith movement are still listening to him. Our hope is in the Lord, not in our own words, not even in our own faith (Psalm 33:20-22). Our faith comes from God in the first place (Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 12:2) and is not something we create for ourselves. So, be wary of the Word of Faith movement and any church that aligns itself with Word of Faith teachings.
Prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power to be put to use for whatever the believer wills.
The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person who enables the believer to do God’s will.
The prosperity gospel movement closely resembles some of the destructive greed sects that infiltrated the early church. Paul and the other apostles were not accommodating to or conciliatory with the false teachers who propagated such heresy.
They identified them as dangerous false teachers and urged Christians to avoid them.
Paul warned Timothy about such men in 1 Timothy 6:5, 9-11. These men of “corrupt mind” supposed godliness was a means of gain and their desire for riches was a trap that brought them “into ruin and destruction” (v. 9).
The pursuit of wealth is a dangerous path for Christians and one which God warns about: “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” (v. 10).
If riches were a reasonable goal for the godly, Jesus would have pursued it. But He did not, preferring instead to have no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20) and teaching His disciples to do the same. It should also be remembered that the only disciple concerned with wealth was Judas.
Paul said covetousness is idolatry
(Ephesians 5:5)
and instructed the Ephesians to avoid anyone
who brought a
message of immorality or covetousness
(Ephesians 5:6-7).
Prosperity teaching prohibits God from working on His own, meaning that God is not Lord of all because He cannot work until we release Him to do so. Faith, according to the Word of Faith doctrine, is not submissive trust in God; faith is a formula by which we manipulate the spiritual laws that prosperity teachers believe govern the universe.
As the name “Word of Faith” implies, this movement teaches that faith is a matter of what we say more than whom we trust or what truths we embrace and affirm in our hearts.
A favorite term
of
prosperity gospel teachers
is “positive confession.”
This refers to the teaching that words themselves have creative power. What you say, prosperity teachers claim, determines everything that happens to you. Your confessions, especially the favors you demand of God, must all be stated positively and without wavering. Then God is required to answer (as though man could require anything of God!). Thus, God’s ability to bless us supposedly hangs on our faith. James 4:13-16 clearly contradicts this teaching: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
Far from speaking things into existence in the future, we do not even know what tomorrow will bring or even whether we will be alive.
Instead of stressing the importance of wealth, the Bible warns against pursuing it.
Believers, especially leaders in the church (1 Timothy 3:3), are to be free from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5).
The love of money leads to all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).
Jesus warned, “Watch out!
Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;
a man’s life does not
consist in the abundance of his possessions”
(Luke 12:15).
In sharp contrast to the prosperity gospel
emphasis on
gaining money and possessions in this life,
Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal”
(Matthew 6:19).
The irreconcilable contradictions between prosperity teaching and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is best summed up in the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:24,
“You cannot serve both God and money.”
The question “who are the seed of Abraham?” can be answered several ways, and it is important to make some distinctions. There is the Seed of Abraham (Seed being singular); there is the seed of Abraham physically (descendants of Abraham according to the flesh); and there is the seed of Abraham spiritually (those who, like Abraham, have faith in God).
The (singular) Seed of Abraham is Christ, as Galatians 3:16, quoting Genesis 12:7, says, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.” The passage goes on to explain that an inheritance was promised to Abraham’s Seed (Christ) apart from the Law. Later, the Mosaic Law was introduced, but it did not annul the promises made to Abraham or to Abraham’s Seed (Christ).
Just as Abraham believed God and his faith was counted as righteousness (Genesis 15:6),
so are all today who believe in God’s Son justified apart from the Law.
In this way, Abraham is the “father” of all who believe (Romans 4:11–17).
“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”
(Galatians 3:29).
Of course, the seed of Abraham can also refer to the Hebrew people who descended from Abraham through Isaac. Still more broadly, the seed of Abraham could include Arabs, who trace their lineage through Ishmael. This is the physical seed of Abraham. The spiritual seed of Abraham (believers in Jesus Christ) is comprised of people of all nationalities and ethnicities.
The Jewish religious leaders of the first century took pride in that they were Abraham’s seed. They saw their physical connection to Abraham as a guarantee of God’s favor. This attitude kept them from seeing their need for repentance of the heart—and brought condemnation from John the Baptist, who warned them to repent.
Anticipating their fallback argument that they were the seed of Abraham, John said, “Do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:9).
Jesus dealt with the same issue later. In speaking to the unbelieving Jews, Jesus emphasized their need to receive His words as truth and obey His commands. They replied, “We be Abraham’s seed” (John 8:33, KJV).
Jesus then rebukes them for plotting ways to murder Him; their stubborn response was again, “Abraham is our father” (verse 39a). At this, Jesus makes a distinction between the physical seed of Abraham and the true, spiritual seed of Abraham: “If you were Abraham’s children . . . then you would do what Abraham did” (verse 39b). The conversation heats up as the Jews for a third time reference their connection to Abraham: “Are you greater than our father Abraham?” they ask Jesus (verse 53).
Jesus provokes them further: “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad” (verse 56). The Jews’ are incredulous that Jesus would claim to be a contemporary of Abraham, and that’s when Jesus brings the exchange to a climax with a claim to full deity: “Very truly I tell you, . . . before Abraham was born, I am!” (verse 58).
In a fury, the Jews attempted to stone Jesus (verse 59), again proving that being the physical seed of Abraham is not enough—they had to be born again (John 3:3).
Paul sums up the difference between the seeds of Abraham in Romans 2:28–29: “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.”
To be spiritually blind is not to see Christ, and not to see Christ is not to see God (Colossians 1:15-16; 2 Corinthians 4:6). Spiritual blindness is a grievous condition experienced by those who do not believe in God, Jesus Christ, and His Word (Romans 2:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:12). Those who reject Christ are the lost (John 6:68-69).
Being spiritually blind, they are perishing (2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Revelation 3:17).
They choose not to accept the teachings of Christ and His authority in their lives (Matthew 28:18). They are blind to the manifestations of God as revealed throughout His Word and Jesus Christ (John 1:1; Acts 28:26-27).
They are described as those who “do not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Peter spoke of such people as “scoffers [who] will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires” (2 Peter 3:3; see also Proverbs 21:24; Jude 1:18). Those who reject Christ and His Word are spiritually blind and cannot understand the truth of the Scriptures. The truth sounds foolish to them (Isaiah 37:23; 1 Corinthians 1:18). The Bible describes those denying God as fools (Psalm 14:1; Matthew 7:26). Because of their blindness and rejection of God and His Word, they are in a perilous, unsaved condition (John 12:48; Hebrews 2:2-4).
The spiritually blind are simply unable to understand God’s Word (Matthew 13:13; Deuteronomy 29:4). Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17). Paul echoed this when he told the believers in Rome, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him” (Romans 8:8-9).
Those outside of Christ are not of God because their lives are steeped in the things of the world with all its passions, their eyes blind to the Spirit of God. The Apostle John said, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” but that person’s love “is from the world” (1 John 2:15-16).
The cause of spiritual blindness is made quite clear in the Scriptures: “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Paul refers to Satan as the “god of this world.” Extraordinarily evil (John 8:44), Satan destroys the flesh (1 Corinthians 5:5), masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), and is the cause of all temptations (Luke 4:2; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Corinthians 7:5). He revels in scheming against and trapping the unbelievers (2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:26). Satan’s goal is to devour the weak who fall prey to temptation, fear, loneliness, worry, depression, and persecution (1 Peter 5:8-9).
Without God and left to ourselves, we easily succumb to the devil’s schemes. We can become so mired in the affairs of this world and its moral darkness that, in the end, God turns us over to spiritual blindness and eternal condemnation (John 12:40; Romans 1:24-32).
As believers, we have the Spirit of God reigning in our lives to ward off the debilitating effects of Satan’s power and the world’s influence (1 John 4:13). John tells us, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). Satan wars within and without us. His weapons are deceitful and crafty schemes to make us doubt and stumble (2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 4:14). Yet God has provided us with powerful weapons to ward off his flaming arrows (Ephesians 6:10-18). As believers we can overcome the evil one and remain in the Light and never become spiritually blind. For, in truth, Jesus has given us His wonderful promise: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Dictionaries define righteousness as “behavior that is morally justifiable or right.” Such behavior is characterized by accepted standards of morality, justice, virtue, or uprightness. The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness.
The Greek New Testament word for “righteousness” primarily describes conduct in relation to others, especially with regards to the rights of others in business, in legal matters, and beginning with relationship to God.
It is contrasted with wickedness, the conduct of the one who, out of gross self-centeredness, neither reveres God nor respects man. The Bible describes the righteous person as just or right, holding to God and trusting in Him
(Psalm 33:18–22).
The bad news is that true and perfect righteousness is not possible for man to attain on his own; the standard is simply too high. The good news is that true righteousness is possible for mankind, but only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have no ability to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves. But Christians possess the righteousness of Christ, because “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
This is an amazing truth. On the cross, Jesus exchanged our sin for His perfect righteousness so that we can one day stand before God and He will see not our sin, but the holy righteousness of the Lord Jesus.
This means that we are made righteous in the sight of God; that is, that we are accepted as righteous and treated as righteous by God on account of what the Lord Jesus has done. He was made sin; we are made righteousness. On the cross, Jesus was treated as if He were a sinner, though He was perfectly holy and pure, and we are treated as if we were righteous, though we are defiled and depraved. On account of what the Lord Jesus has endured on our behalf, we are treated as if we had entirely fulfilled the Law of God and had never become exposed to its penalty. We have received this precious gift of righteousness from the God of all mercy and grace. To Him be the glory!
Proverbs 15:9 says, “The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.” If God wants us to pursue righteousness, then what about verses such as Romans 3:10 that say, “There is none righteous, no not one”? If no one is righteous, then who can really pursue it? Are those verses contradictory?
Before we can pursue righteousness, we need to define it. The word most often translated “righteousness” can also mean “justice, justness, or divine holiness.” In the broadest sense, righteousness can be defined as “the condition of being acceptable to God as made possible by God.” God’s standard is what defines true righteousness; His power is what enables it. Unless God is its author, we will never possess righteousness. No amount of man-made effort will result in righteousness. To be righteous is to be right with God. A heart that is right with God results in a life that bears “fruit” (John 15:1–2; Mark 4:20). Galatians 5:22-23 lists some of that fruit.
A common substitute for true righteousness is self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is the opposite of what God desires. Self-righteousness makes a list of rules and checks them off, congratulating itself on how well it is doing compared to others. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were masters of self-righteousness, but Jesus had harsh words for them: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:27–28).
To pursue righteousness means we must recognize that we cannot please God in our sinful state (Romans 8:8). We turn from trying to justify ourselves by our good deeds and instead seek the mercy of God. We desire that He transform our minds (Romans 12:2) and conform us “to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). In the Old Testament, men were declared righteous when they believed God and acted on it (Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23). Before Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4), people pursued righteousness by keeping God’s Law, seeking holiness, and “walking humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). No one was justified by rule-keeping but by the faith that enabled them to obey God (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16).
Likewise, today we are justified by the faith that leads us to Jesus (Romans 3:28; 5:1; 10:10). Those who are in Christ continue seeking God in order to please Him (Colossians 3:1). When we come to faith in Christ, He gives us the Holy Spirit who empowers us to pursue righteousness for its own sake (Acts 2:38). He commands us to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25). Walking in the Spirit means we live a lifestyle of total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We cultivate the ability to hear God and the habit of obeying His voice in everything.
We pursue righteousness when we pursue the character of Christ and desire holiness more than fleshly indulgence. We avoid the temptation to become self-righteous when we understand that true righteousness begins with godly humility (Psalm 25:9). We remember that Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). When we spend time in the presence of God, we become more aware of our own sin and shortcomings. A dingy shirt looks white beside a dark wall. But, when compared with snow, the same shirt looks dirty. Pride and self-righteousness cannot remain in the presence of a holy God. Pursuing righteousness begins when a humble heart seeks the continual presence of God (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6). The humble, believing heart leads to a lifestyle of righteous action acceptable to God (Psalm 51:10).
In John 14:17, Jesus says, “Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (ESV). Because the ESV capitalizes Spirit, modern readers can easily infer that the spirit in question is the Holy Spirit. To understand why Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of truth,” let us review the context of John 14.
John 14 is part of the Upper Room Discourse (John 13—17), a collection of teachings delivered by Jesus to His disciples on the night before His crucifixion. In these final moments, the disciples were greatly distressed about the impending departure of their beloved friend, Jesus (John 14:1). For this reason, Jesus took an extended moment to calm their troubled hearts and reassure them that “another Helper” was on the way (John 14:16, ESV).
The Greek term translated as “Helper” (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) is paráklētos. The form of this word is passive and means “one who is called alongside.” At the Son’s request, the Father will send another Helper to encourage and exhort the disciples.
John’s use of the term another implies that the disciples already had a helper—the one who would soon depart from the earth. Although the Gospel writers never explicitly refer to Jesus as a paráklētos, the term is applied to Him in 1 John 2:1. Thus, in the context of John 14:16, Jesus promises to send His disciples a helper of the same type, and that helper would continue the ministry that Jesus began.
In John 14:17,
the identity of the helper
is now revealed:
He is the Spirit of truth
(cf. John 15:26; 16:13).
The Spirit of truth is God the Holy Spirit,
the third Person of the Trinity.
The Father will send the Spirit to come
alongside the disciples.
He is called the Spirit of truth
because He bears witness to the
truth of Jesus Christ
(see John 14:6)
In contrast to the work of the Holy Spirit is the work of the devil, a being who does not hold “to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Because the unbelieving world remains ensnared by satanic falsehoods, they cannot receive the Spirit of truth (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:14). Tragically, unbelievers prefer to walk by sight and not by faith, failing to understand that sight guarantees nothing.
At the moment of His baptism, Jesus received the Holy Spirit: John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him” (John 1:32, ESV). So, in a sense, the Spirit of truth was already withthe disciples. Following the departure of Jesus, however, the disciples will know the Spirit more intimately because He would be in them (cf. Romans 8:9–11 and Ephesians 1:13–14).
Before the disciples began their ministry, Jesus instructed them to remain in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit: “And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’” (Acts 1:4–5, ESV). Once the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were fully equipped to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ (verse 8).
Believers should be thankful that the Spirit of truth is with us, in us, and upon us.
For, without His guidance and light, we could not distinguish truth from error.
The story of Peter’s threefold denial of Christ is found in all four Gospel accounts:
Matthew 26:69–74, Mark 14:66–72, Luke 22:55–62, and John 18:15–18, 25–27.
But why would the chief of the disciples deny even knowing Him?
There were two main reasons why Peter denied Jesus: weakness and fear.
Peter’s denial was based partially on weakness, the weakness born of human frailty.
After the Last Supper,
Jesus took His disciples to the
Garden of Gethsemane to await His arrest.
He told them to stay awake and pray while He went off to pray alone. When He returned to them, He found them sleeping. He warned Peter to stay awake and pray because, although his spirit might be willing, his flesh was weak. But he fell asleep again, and, by the time the soldiers had come to arrest Jesus, it was too late to pray for the strength to endure the ordeal to come. No doubt his failure to appropriate the only means to shore up his own weakness—prayer—occurred to him as he was weeping bitterly after his denials.
But Peter learned his lesson about being watchful, and he exhorts us in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be on the alert, because your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Peter’s weakness had caused him to be “devoured” momentarily as he denied his Lord because he hadn’t been prepared through prayer and he underestimated his own weakness.
A second reason for Peter’s failure was fear. To his credit, although all the others had fled (Mark 14:50), Peter still followed Jesus after His arrest, but he kept his distance so as not to be identified with Him (Mark 14:54). There’s no question that fear gripped him. From the courtyard, he watched Jesus being falsely accused, beaten, and insulted (Mark 14:57–66). Peter was afraid Jesus would die, and he was fearful for his own life as well. The world hated Jesus, and Peter found that he was not prepared to face the ridicule and persecution that Jesus was suffering. Earlier, Jesus had warned His disciples as well as us today, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18; cf. Matthew 24:9). Peter quickly found he wasn’t nearly as bold and courageous as he had proclaimed, and in fear he denied the One who had loved him.
Jesus gave Peter a three-fold command to “feed my sheep” in John 21:15-17. Each time Jesus said, “Feed my sheep,” it was in response to Peter’s three-fold declaration of love for Jesus. The setting was one of the last of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to His disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus prepared a breakfast of fish and bread for them, and then commissioned Peter with the task of feeding His sheep and tending His lambs.
The three commands, although often translated the same way, are subtly different. The first time Jesus says it, the Greek means literally “pasture (tend) the lambs” (v. 15). The Greek word for “pasture” is in the present tense, denoting a continual action of tending, feeding and caring for animals. Believers are referred to as sheep throughout Scripture. “For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care” (Psalm 95:7). Jesus is both our Good Shepherd (John 10:11) and the Door of the sheepfold (John 10:9). By describing His people as lambs, He is emphasizing their nature as immature and vulnerable and in need of tending and care.
The second time, the literal meaning is “tend My sheep” (v. 16). In this exchange, Jesus was emphasizing tending the sheep in a supervisory capacity, not only feeding but ruling over them. This expresses the full scope of pastoral oversight, both in Peter’s future and in all those who would follow him in pastoral ministry. Peter follows Jesus’ example and repeats this same Greek word poimaino in his first pastoral letter to the elders of the churches of Asia Minor: “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers” (1 Peter 5:2).
The third time, the literal translation is “pasture (tend) the sheep” (v. 17). Here Jesus combines the different Greek words to make clear the job of the shepherd of the flock of God. They are to tend, care for, and provide spiritual food for God’s people, from the youngest lambs to the full-grown sheep, in continual action to nourish and care for their souls, bringing them into the fullness of spiritual maturity. The totality of the task set before Peter, and all shepherds, is made clear by Jesus’ three-fold command and the words He chooses.
What is this food with which shepherds are to feed the flock of God? It can be no other than the Word of God. Peter declares that Christians are to desire the pure spiritual milk of the Word so that by it, we can mature in our salvation (1 Peter 2:2). As early as the book of Deuteronomy, we see the Lord describing His Word as food for His people who live not by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from His mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3). Jesus reiterates this thought in His temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4). The importance of the Word of God as food for our souls cannot be over-emphasized.
Clearly, the job of the shepherds of God’s people is to provide them with the pure milk of the Word of God so they can move on to the meat and solid food of the spiritually mature (Hebrews 5:12-14).
Pastoral ministry should be primarily one of pastors feeding their people the Word of God. Only then can pastors declare, as Peter did, their love for the Lord Jesus.
Jesus warned us that “false Christs and false prophets” will come and will attempt to deceive even God’s elect (Matthew 24:23-27; see also 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 17-18).
The best way to guard yourself against falsehood and false teachers is to know the truth.
To spot a counterfeit, study the real thing. Any believer who “correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) and who makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine.
For example, a believer who has read the activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Matthew 3:16-17 will immediately question any doctrine that denies the Trinity.
Therefore, step one is to study the Bible and judge all teaching by what the Scripture says.
Jesus said “a tree is recognized by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). When looking for “fruit,” here are three specific tests to apply to any teacher to determine the accuracy of his or her teaching:
1) What does this teacher say about Jesus? In Matthew 16:15-16, Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and for this answer Peter is called “blessed.” In 2 John 9, we read, “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” In other words, Jesus Christ and His work of redemption is of utmost importance; beware of anyone who denies that Jesus is equal with God, who downplays Jesus’ sacrificial death, or who rejects Jesus’ humanity. First John 2:22 says, “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.”
2) Does this teacher preach the gospel? The gospel is defined as the good news concerning Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). As nice as they sound, the statements “God loves you,” “God wants us to feed the hungry,” and “God wants you to be wealthy” are not the complete message of the gospel.
As Paul warns in Galatians 1:7, “Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” No one, not even a great preacher, has the right to change the message that God gave us. “If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:9).
3) Does this teacher exhibit character qualities that glorify the Lord? Speaking of false teachers, Jude 11 says, “They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.” In other words, a false teacher can be known by his pride (Cain’s rejection of God’s plan), greed (Balaam’s prophesying for money), and rebellion (Korah’s promotion of himself over Moses). Jesus said to beware of such people and that we would know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20).
For further study, review those books of the Bible that were written specifically to combat false teaching within the church: Galatians, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, and Jude. It is often difficult to spot a false teacher/false prophet. Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), and his ministers masquerade as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:15). Only by being thoroughly familiar with the truth will we be able to recognize a counterfeit.
Honesty is truthfulness. An honest person has the habit of making accurate, trustworthy statements about life, self, others and God. An honest person represents himself just as he is and tells others the truth about themselves. Honesty is not “expressing everything that goes through your mind.” That’s transparency, and a person can be honest without being transparent. However, no one can be consistently honest without a commitment to the truth. Honesty will, at times, hurt someone’s feelings, but that does not mean that dishonesty is preferable.
Dishonesty is reproved in Scripture. God does not accept a person who “practices deceit” (Psalm 101:7), and Jeremiah 9:5 says of a wicked society, “Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity.” Speaking the truth, or honesty, is a mark of healthy human interaction.
A person who knows the truth but (for whatever reason) says differently is a liar.
The Bible emphasizes the importance of making true statements about God.
To purposely misrepresent God is a serious offense.
A liar is defined, first and foremost, as someone who denies that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22). “Trusting in lies” is consistent with forgetting God (Jeremiah 13:25).
And those who claim to know God but contradict Him, add to His words,
or refuse to follow or accept His commands are also called liars
(1 John 2:4; 5:10; Proverbs 30:6).
Honesty as a character quality
is a sign of
the Spirit’s work in a person’s soul.
God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18);
therefore,
His presence in a person gives
rise to truthfulness.
God’s people are honest.
Humankind is not naturally honest
(Psalm 116:11).
Dishonesty
has worldly rewards–lying can often
bring financial gain,
power, or temporary satisfaction.
But the rewards come at a price.
Dishonesty leads
to more and more wickedness
(Proverbs 17:4)
Lying to fulfill worldly desires ultimately results in the loss of everything a person has, including his life. Hell’s inhabitants will include “all liars” (Revelation 21:8). “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
The grace of God is His undeserved favor bestowed on those He has called to salvation through His love (Ephesians 2:4–5). It is His grace that saves us from sin. We are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). Being justified, we are vindicated and determined to be sinless in the eyes of God. Our sin no longer separates us from Him and no longer sentences us to hell. Grace is not earned by any effort on our part; otherwise, it could not be called grace. Grace is free. If our good works earned salvation, then God would be obligated to pay us our due. But no one can earn heaven, and God’s blessings are not His obligation; they flow from His goodness and love. No matter how diligently we pursue works to earn God’s favor, we will fail. Our sin trips us up every time. “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (Romans 3:20, NKJV).
The means God has chosen to bestow His grace upon us is through faith. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Salvation is obtained by faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, in what He has done—specifically, His death on the cross and His resurrection. But even faith is not something we generate on our own. Faith, as well as grace, is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). He bestows saving faith and saving grace upon us in order to redeem us from sin and deliver us from its consequences. So God saves us by His grace through the faith He gives us. Both grace and faith are gifts. “Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Psalm 3:8, ESV).
By grace, we receive the faith that enables us to believe that He has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and provide the salvation we cannot achieve on our own. Jesus, as God in flesh, is the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Just like the author of a book creates it from scratch, Jesus Christ wrote the story of our redemption from beginning to end. “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Ephesians 1:4–6). The Lord died for our sins and rose for our justification, and He forgives, freely and fully, those who accept His gift of grace in Christ—and that acceptance comes through faith. This is the meaning of salvation by grace through faith.
Second Peter 3:18 tells us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” To grow in grace is to mature as a Christian. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9), and we mature and are sanctified by grace alone. We know that grace is a blessing that we don’t deserve. It is God’s grace that justifies us, sanctifies us, and eventually glorifies us in heaven. The sanctification process, becoming more like Christ, is synonymous with growing in grace.
We grow in grace by reading God’s Word and letting it “dwell in us richly” (Colossians 3:16) and by praying. Those actions by themselves don’t mature us, but God uses these spiritual disciplines to help us grow. Therefore, maturing in our Christian life is not about what we do, but about what God does in us, by His grace. Understanding and applying God’s grace in our lives is important. We are not to impair it by being proud, because God says that He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Grace is that attribute of God that enables us to break free of our sinful nature and follow Him. It gives us strength and protects us. Without God’s grace, His favor, we would be hopelessly lost in this world. The more grace we have and ask God for, the more mature as Christians we will be.
To grow in grace does not mean gaining more grace from God. God’s grace never increases; it is infinite, it cannot be more, and according to the nature of God, it could never be less. He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him should be saved (John 3:16). How much more grace could there possibly be than that? But to grow in grace is to grow in our understanding of what Jesus did and to grow in our appreciation of the grace we have been given. The more we learn about Jesus, the more we will appreciate all He has done, and the more we appreciate His love and sacrifice for us, the more we will perceive the never-ending grace of God.
Peter also confirms that we need to grow in our knowledge of Jesus and to have that intimate relationship with Him because the more we know of Him, the more of Him will be seen in our lives. Paul said in Colossians 3:1–4: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
The Scriptures contain all the knowledge we will ever need to learn of God, His Son, and His Spirit, at least in this life. God`s desire for those He has saved is their sanctification and transformation. He wants us to become more holy like Himself. He wants to transform us into the image of His Son. The way to do this is by meditating on the Scriptures and applying their principles to our lives as we yield to the conviction and power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Then we will prove 2 Corinthians 3:18: “We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord.”
The context of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians is vital. Corinth was a pagan city, full of immorality, idolatry, and divisiveness. Paul was not writing to a church that had no exposure to the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Rather, he wrote to a church that did not use the gifts for the common good (see 1 Corinthians 12:8). The Corinthians were immature in their use of spiritual gifts. From Paul’s letter, we can glean that the Corinthians likely used spiritual gifts in a free-for-all, no-holds-barred, anything-goes approach. They were not ignorant about the Holy Spirit’s gifts per se; they were uninformed about how to use the gifts well.
The Corinthian church faced many serious issues that Paul addressed in his letter to the Corinthian church: sexual immorality, a lack of love among Jesus followers, a lack of order when celebrating Communion, and a lack of wisdom using these spiritual gifts.
Interestingly, Paul never doubted that these gifts are from the Holy Spirit, and that’s important. Given the Corinthian church’s immature use of spiritual gifts, not to mention the church’s moral failings, he might have questioned the validity of gifts or told the church to quit “livestreaming” until their lives were more ordered. I can imagine Paul writing: “Now listen up, you Corinthians. You are no longer allowed to speak in tongues or prophesy until you get your lives in order. You’re a disgrace to us all. You need to grow up. Stop using spiritual gifts until you learn to use them responsibly. That’s an order!”
I find it intriguing that Paul didn’t take this approach. Instead, he wrote: “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” (1 Cor. 14:1).
What Paul Did Say to the CorinthiansInstead of discouraging the use of spiritual gifts, he encouraged the Corinthians to desire them even more. Why? Because a mature use of the Holy Spirit’s gifts is vital for the healthy growth of any church. We should not be surprised to learn that most churches multiplying worldwide are very open to the use of spiritual gifts. Paul knew that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were not the real problem in the Corinthian church. Instead, immaturity, immorality, and the lack of proper teaching were at the root of the church’s problems.
Paul’s letter was probably the first time the Corinthian church had heard any instructions on the mature and orderly use of spiritual gifts so that everyone could benefit. Helpfully, Paul gave the Corinthian church extensive advice to help them use spiritual gifts well. We do well to keep these in mind:
- Don’t be ignorant about spiritual gifts. (1 Cor. 12:1)
- There are different types of gifts and ministries, and all of them are needed for the church to function well. (12:7–11)
- God gives different spiritual gifts as he deems fit. (12:11)
- Spiritual gifts are intended for the common good, not to make you look good. (12:7, 21–25)
- Speaking in tongues might be talking in human or angelic languages. (13:1)
- Unless our motivation is love, using spiritual gifts gains us nothing. (13:1–3)
- Even the most gifted of us only see or know part of the picture. Stay humble. (13:9–11)
- If anyone speaks a public message in tongues, they should also pray for the interpretation so everyone can benefit. (13:13)
- Eagerly desire spiritual gifts; they help build the church. (14:1)
- Speaking in tongues is speaking mysteries by the Spirit. Only God understands it. (14:2)
- Those who speak in tongues don’t talk to people but talk to God. (14:2)
- The person who prophesies speaks to people for their encouragement, strengthening, and comfort. (14:3)
- Prophecy is a better gift for public worship. (14:5)
- Be eager to use spiritual gifts that build up other people. (14:12)
- When a person prays in tongues, their spirit prays, but their mind has no idea what’s going on. (14:14)
- It’s beneficial to pray both in tongues and your natural human language. (14:15)
- It’s great to speak in tongues, but in church, it is preferable to speak words that others can understand so they can be strengthened. (14:19)
- When the church comes together, everyone has a part to play. (14:26)
Up to three people may prophesy at one time, and others must carefully weigh what is said. (14:29) - You are responsible for using spiritual gifts in an orderly way. (14:32–33)
- Be eager to prophesy. (14:39)
- Don’t forbid speaking in tongues. (14:39)
- Do everything in an orderly way to build up other people’s faith. (14:40)
Not everyone takes advice well. Some people are know-it-alls who don’t seek anyone’s help. Sadly, church history has had far too many such men and women. Thankfully, the Corinthians were not among them. How do we know? Paul writes to them again in 2 Corinthians and doesn’t see the need to bring up the issue again. The Corinthians appear to have taken correction well. We would do well to emulate the Corinthian church, not in their sensuality, but in their willingness to put things right.
“Infants in Christ"
refers to new believers
who are still in the
early
stages of their faith,
similar to a baby who needs basic nourishment and is not yet able to understand complex concepts, signifying a need for spiritual growth and maturity in understanding the teachings of Christ; this concept is often referenced in the Bible, particularly in 1 Corinthians 3:1 where Paul describes some Christians as "infants in Christ."
Paul, in his prayers “for saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1, ESV), asks that God “may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (verse 17).
Prior to his prayer for the spirit of wisdom and revelation, Paul reminds the Ephesian believers of the blessings God has bestowed upon them (Ephesians 1:3), their adoption as children through Christ (verse 4), the wisdom and insight they have been given (verse 8), and “the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ” (verse 9). He also reminds them that they have been “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (verses 13–14). Now he desires for them to be given the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
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.
Second Corinthians 3:6 says, “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” With these words, Paul summarizes the key difference between the Old and New Testaments: the first covenant was based on obedience to the written law (the “letter”), but the second covenant is based on the blood of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
There are two parts to this answer, as we look at both the letter and the Spirit.
First, what does Paul mean by “the letter kills”? Simply that the Old Testament Law, which is good and perfect (Psalm 19:7), reveals all people as law-breakers (Galatians 3:10). The law “kills” in that the penalty for breaking God’s law is eternal death in hell (Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:8). As God told Moses the lawgiver, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book” (Exodus 32:33). Even if you sin only once in your whole life, it’s the same as breaking all of God’s laws (James 2:10), just as breaking only one link in a chain breaks the whole chain.
The written law—“the letter”—was chiseled in stone by the finger of God and is the unchanging standard by which all are judged. The law cannot give us righteousness or eternal life in heaven (Galatians 2:16). It can only condemn us as sinners, and the sentence is death. Heaven is where perfection is required (Matthew 5:20, 48; 19:16–21), and “the law made nothing perfect” (Hebrews 7:19).
Second, what does Paul mean
by “the Spirit gives life”?
Simply that the Holy Spirit rescues us from our hopeless situation. God saves us from death and grants us eternal life when we are born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6), and, later,
“The Spirit gives life;
the
flesh counts for nothing.
The words I have spoken
to you—they are Spirit
and
they are life”
(John 6:63)
The Holy Spirit
was
active in the Incarnation
of our Savior
(Luke 1:35)
It was through the Holy Spirit that Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice to God for our sins (Hebrews 9:14). The Spirit is the cause of the new birth (John 3:3–8). It is the Spirit who lives in believers (John 14:17), seals them (Ephesians 1:13), and sanctifies them (Romans 15:16).
Jesus came to give us an abundant life, or life “to the full” (John 10:10). The Holy Spirit living in believers is how Jesus fulfills that promise. The Old Testament Law could not produce any of that fruit; only the Holy Spirit can, as He lives in us.
The Spirit gives life in that He enables us to reach God’s ultimate goal for us, to be transformed into the glorious image of God’s own Son (2 Corinthians 3:18; also see Romans 8:28–30). Until the day that we see Christ, the Spirit intercedes with God on our behalf, ensuring our continued forgiveness and preserving the promise of God (Romans 8:26–27).
“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). Elsewhere, Paul teaches the same truth: “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code” (Romans 7:6).
Second Corinthians 2:15 says, “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” To understand what the apostle Paul meant when he said that Christians are the “aroma of Christ,” we must look at the verses immediately surrounding the expression: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?” (verses 14–16).
For Jewish people, the apostle Paul’s analogy of “the pleasing aroma of Christ” would present an immediate association. In the Old Testament, the scent of burnt offerings was described as “an aroma pleasing to the Lord” (Genesis 8:20–21; Leviticus 23:18; Numbers 28:27). For the Gentiles, this phrase would suggest the scent of incense being burned as an offering to the gods. However, Paul had a more specific picture in mind.
The apostle was speaking to the Corinthians about recent events in his ministry of evangelism. Despite all the difficulties and disappointments he’d faced while traveling from city to city spreading the gospel, Paul was able to reflect on God’s goodness with thanksgiving. The apostle then compared this ministry of evangelism to the triumphal military parades that were common at that time in the Roman world.
Paul’s metaphor would be readily understood by his audience, with the apostle and his co-laborers portrayed as victorious soldiers in a triumphal procession. During these Roman military parades, captives of war would be marched through the streets as garlands of flowers were carried and incense was burned to the gods. The aromatic perfumes wafted on the air as spectators and those in the procession breathed in their fragrance. At the parade’s finale, many prisoners would be put to death. Thus, the aromas were pleasing and life-giving to the victors, but they were the smell of death to those who had been defeated.
In Paul’s analogy, he separates humanity into two groups: those on the path of salvation and those on the road to destruction. The aroma spread everywhere by the ministry of evangelism was the knowledge of God as victor. Christians who spread the gospel are members of God’s victorious army led by Jesus Christ. Believers are like the aroma or fragrance spread during the victory processions. Both the victors and those perishing smell the aroma; however, it has a different meaning for the two groups. For the victorious army and its peoples, the aroma would relate to the joy of triumph. But for the prisoners of war, the fragrance would be associated with defeat, slavery, and death.
This brilliant metaphor contrasts Christian and non-Christian responses to hearing the gospel. To non-Christians, those on the road to destruction, believers who preach the gospel spread the smell of death, as it were. To Christians, those on the path to salvation, they produce the fragrance of life.
Overwhelmed by the extreme importance of this ministry of spreading the gospel, Paul exclaimed, “And who is equal to such a task?” The implication is that no one is worthy. Paul was astounded that God would appoint humans to share in this task. Later, in 2 Corinthians 3:5–6, Paul affirms that our ability rests solely on God:
“Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
In Galatians 5:1, Paul reminds the Galatian believers that “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Believers’ sins are forgiven on the basis of Christ’s perfect sacrifice.
. The NLT says, “Christ has truly set us free”; believers are “truly free” to live for the things of God.
The occasion of Paul’s letter to the Galatians
was that
false teachers
had come into the churches there.
These teachers promoted legalism and tried to require Christians to observe the Old Testament rules, laws, and ceremonies, especially circumcision (Galatians 2:3–5). Paul, in no uncertain terms, says that “for freedom Christ has set us free” and that Christians should not be placed back under the law’s yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1). The law’s purpose was to reveal our sinfulness (see Romans 3:20) and to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).
Before Christ’s sacrifice, we lived under bondage to the law (Galatians 4:3). We were burdened by demands we could not keep (Acts 15:10). Christ’s death and resurrection broke our bondage to the law. Jesus’ perfect life and holy sacrifice on the cross was the complete fulfillment of the law, and anyone who trusts in Him for salvation is made right with God. Only Christians have true freedom from the law. John 8:36 confirms,
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
I am the True Vine”
(John 15:1)
is the last of seven “I am”
declarations of
Jesus recorded only in John’s Gospel.
These “I am” proclamations point to His unique divine identity and purpose. Jesus said, “I am the True Vine” to closest friends gathered around Him. It was only a short time before Judas would betray Him; in fact, Judas had already left to do his infamous deed (John 13:30). Jesus was preparing the eleven men left for His pending crucifixion, His resurrection, and His subsequent departure for heaven. He had just told them that He would be leaving them (John 14:2). Knowing how disturbed they would feel, He gave them this lovely metaphor of the True Vine as one of His encouragements.
Jesus wanted His friends, not only those eleven, but those of all time, to know that He was not going to desert them, even though they would no longer enjoy His physical presence. His living energy—His spiritual reality—would continue to nourish and sustain them just as the roots and trunk of a grape vine produce the energy that nourishes and sustains its branches while they develop their fruit. Jesus wanted us to know that, even though we cannot see Him, we are as closely connected to Him as the branches of a vine are connected to its stem. Our desire to know and love Him and the energy to serve Him will keep flowing into and through us as long as we “abide” in Him.
Jesus went on to remove any misunderstanding about what He meant (John 15:4). He said that no branch can even live, let alone produce leaves and fruit, by itself. Cut off from the trunk, a branch is dead. Just as a vine’s branches rely on being connected to the trunk from which they receive their energy to bear fruit, Jesus’ disciples depend on being connected to Him for their spiritual life and the ability to serve Him effectively. The fruit we produce is that of the Holy Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). Our source of life and spiritual fruit is not in ourselves; it is outside us, in Christ Jesus. We can live, live rightly, and serve Him effectively only if we are rightly connected to Him in a faith/love relationship.
Then Jesus underscored His point even more strongly by saying, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). This illustration of the vine and branches is no thoughtless generality or careless simile. It is absolute, stark reality. No believer can achieve anything of spiritual value independently of Christ Jesus. He also reminds us that there are some who are “in” Him who bear no fruit. But these are not, as some would suppose, true branches that just happen to be fruitless. All true branches bear fruit. Just as we know a healthy, living tree by the good fruit it produces, so do we recognize fruitless branches as having no connection to the True Vine. This is why Jesus tells us, “By their fruit you will know them” (Matthew 7:16–20). The reference here is to apostates, those who profess to know Christ but whose relationship to Him is insincere. He neither called them nor elected them nor saved them nor sustains them. Eventually, the fruitless branches are identified as not belonging to the Vine and are removed for the sake of truth and the benefit of the other branches.
So, we depend on Jesus for everything, starting with our very life—“For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28)—and including our reconciliation with God through Him (Romans 5:10). No one can serve God effectively until he is connected with Jesus Christ by faith. Jesus is our only connection with the God who gave life and who produces in us a fruitful life of righteousness and service.
The statement “you will know them by their fruit” (Matthew 7:16) is part of Jesus’ teaching about recognizing true followers and avoiding false prophets. Beginning with verse 15, we read this context: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
The seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew is a gold mine of teaching from the popular verse 1 to the well-known parable about the wise man building his house upon the rock (verses 24–27). In verses 21–23, Jesus makes a chilling announcement to many who assumed they belonged to Him.
He warned them that on
Judgment Day
they will hear Him say,
“Depart from me. I never knew you.”
Just before that warning, Jesus had indicted those
who pretended to follow Him
but whose
lives indicated something else.
He told His followers that the “fruit” of their lives proved what was inside their hearts
(cf. Mark 7:20–23).
When Jesus says, “You will know them by their fruit,” what does “fruit” mean? Jesus gave the illustration of grape vines and fig trees. When we see grape vines, we expect them to contain grapes in season. We also expect fig trees to produce figs. A produce farmer who notices one of his fruit trees not bearing any fruit will cut it down. It is useless. Likewise, we would not come to a field of thistles and expect to harvest fruit. Thistles and thorn bushes can never produce fruit because of their nature. It is impossible. They have no capacity to produce anything but thorns (Matthew 12:33).
When Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit”
concerning false teachers,
He was giving us a guide for identifying them.
False prophets, speakers of lies,
will have actions that correspond to their errant message.
Just as their message is anti-God, so will be their works.
They will stray from the path of righteousness.
Often, people profess faith in Jesus as Savior,
but it is a mere
profession with no real faith.
Some religious groups encourage baptism, confirmation, or other religious rites that are supposed to ensure one’s future in heaven. But as time goes on, the fruit being produced in such a life looks nothing like what is clearly prescribed in the Bible (1 Peter 1:16).
Some attend church services but spend the rest of their time living entirely for themselves. Some may rise to prominence, even teaching or preaching, writing books, or dominating the media, but the fruit of their lives belies their words
(Matthew 24:24).
Greed, deception, immorality,
pride, or dishonesty defines them,
making them
false prophets by Jesus’ standards
(2 Peter 2:1–3)
On the last night before His betrayal and death,
Jesus was preparing
His disciples for the days ahead.
For over three years,
these men had been following Jesus
and
learning from His teaching and example.
They had placed their hopes
in Him as the Messiah, the
promised deliverer,
yet they still didn’t understand
how
He was going to accomplish
that deliverance
After the Last Supper,
Jesus began speaking about
His departure,
which led to questions from
His disciples.
Doctrine is “a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true.” Biblical doctrine refers to teachings that align with the revealed Word of God, the Bible.
False doctrine is any idea that adds to, takes away from, contradicts, or nullifies the doctrine given in God’s Word. For example, any teaching about Jesus that denies His virgin birthis a false doctrine, because it contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture (Matthew 1:18).
As early as the first century AD,
false doctrine
was already infiltrating the church,
and many of
the letters in the New Testament
were
written to address those errors
(Galatians 1:6–9; Colossians 2:20–23; Titus 1:10–11).
Paul exhorted his protégé Timothy to guard against those
who were peddling heresies and
confusing the flock:
“If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing” (1 Timothy 6:3–4).
As followers of Christ, we have
no excuse for
remaining ignorant of theology because
we have the “whole counsel of God”
(Acts 20:27)
available to us—the Bible is complete.
As we
“study to show ourselves approved unto God”
(2 Timothy 2:15),
we are less likely to be
taken in by smooth talkers and false prophets.
When we know
God’s Word, “
we are no longer to be children,
tossed here and there
by waves and carried about
by every wind of doctrine,
by the trickery of men,
by
craftiness in deceitful scheming”
(Ephesians 4:14)
It is important to point out the difference between false doctrine and denominational disagreements. Different congregational groups see secondary issues in Scripture differently. These differences are not always due to false doctrine on anyone’s part. Church policies, governmental decisions, style of worship, etc., are all open for discussion, since they are not directly addressed in Scripture. Even those issues that are addressed in Scripture are often debated by equally sincere disciples of Christ. Differences in interpretation or practice do not necessarily qualify as false doctrine, nor should they divide the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:10).
The disciples never forgot what happened that day on the mountain and no doubt this was intended.
John wrote in his gospel,
“We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only”
(John 1:14).
Peter also wrote of it,
“We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
For He received honor and glory
from God the Father
when the voice came to Him from
the Majestic Glory,
saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love;
with Him I am well pleased.’
We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain”
(2 Peter 1:16-18).
Those who witnessed the transfiguration bore witness to it to the other disciples
and to countless millions down through the centuries.
The coupling of grace and truth is found in numerous places in the Bible, including Colossians 1:6 and 2 John 1:3 in the New Testament, and 2 Samuel 15:20 and Psalm 86:15 in the Old Testament. Then there is John 1:14, 17, which says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
There is a strong possibility that John is referencing the Hebrew terms hesed (“mercy” or “lovingkindness”) and emet (“truth” or “faithfulness”), found together in Exodus 34:6: “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.’” Note that the attributes of God in the Old Testament are applied to Christ in the New. At the beginning of his gospel, John is making a subtle statement regarding the divinity of Jesus. The rest of John’s gospel will expound on that truth.
It is important for grace and truth to work in tandem. An emphasis on grace alone can dissipate into a shallow and sentimental foundation where justice or truth is discarded. However, a focus only on truth can devolve into a cold, hardened dogma.
Jesus’ character demonstrates the perfect balance of both grace and truth.
He is “full” of both.
Grace and truth meld together in the gospel message to form a key distinction of Christianity over other religions. In all other religions, grace and truth are never balanced.
Instead, the deity being worshiped either dispenses justice at the expense of grace or dispenses grace at the expense of justice and truth.
Christianity is unique in that God delivers grace through His justice and truth.
The truth is, everyone has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and deserves God’s justice. However, God’s justice is satisfied, and His truth upheld, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
That act delivers God’s grace to those who will accept it by faith.
In this way, Christianity stands alone as an ontological faith—one that is fully dependent on a person—Jesus Christ—who perfectly balances and embodies both grace and truth in His very being.
In John 13:33, Jesus said, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” This prompted Peter to ask where He was going (verse 36). Peter and the others did not understand that Jesus was speaking of His death and ascension to heaven. Jesus’ response was, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter was still misunderstanding and declared that he would follow Jesus anywhere and even lay down His life if necessary. As Jesus patiently continued to teach His disciples, He began speaking more plainly about heaven, describing the place He was going to prepare for them (John 14:2–3). Then Jesus said, “You know the way to the place where I am going” (verse 4). Speaking for the others, Thomas said they did not know where He was going, so how could they know how to follow Him there? It was in answer to this question that Jesus uttered one of the seven famous “I am” statements.
I am – In the Greek language, “I am” is a very intense way of referring to oneself. It would be comparable to saying, “I myself, and only I, am.” Several other times in the Gospels we find Jesus using these words. In Matthew 22:32 Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6, where God uses the same intensive form to say, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” In John 8:58, Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.” The Jews clearly understood Jesus to be calling Himself God because they took up stones to stone Him for committing blasphemy in equating Himself with God. In Matthew 28:20, as Jesus gave the Great Commission, He gave it emphasis by saying, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” When the soldiers came seeking Jesus in the garden the night before His crucifixion, He told them, “I am he,” and His words were so powerful that the soldiers fell to the ground (John 18:4–6).
These words reflect the very name of God in Hebrew,
Yahweh,
which means “to be” or “the self-existing one.”
It is the name of power and authority, and
Jesus claimed it as His own
The way – Jesus used the definite article to distinguish Himself as “the only way.” A way is a path or route, and the disciples had expressed their confusion about where He was going and how they could follow. As He had told them from the beginning, Jesus was again telling them (and us) “follow me.” There is no other path to heaven, no other way to the Father. Peter reiterated this same truth years later to the rulers in Jerusalem, saying about Jesus, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The exclusive nature of the only path to salvation is expressed in the words “I am the way.”
The truth – Again Jesus used the definite article to emphasize Himself as “the only truth.” Psalm 119:142 says, “Your law is the truth.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded His listeners of several points of the Law, then said, “But I say unto you . . .” (Matthew 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44), thereby equating Himself with the Law of God as the authoritative standard of righteousness. In fact, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17). Jesus, as the incarnate Word of God (John 1:1) is the source of all truth.
The life – Jesus had just been telling His disciples about His impending death, and now He was claiming to be the source of all life. In John 10:17–18, Jesus declared that He was going to lay down His life for His sheep, and then take it back again. He spoke of His authority over life and death as being granted to Him by the Father. In John 14:19, He gave the promise that “because I live, you also will live.” The deliverance He was about to provide was not a political or social deliverance (which most of the Jews were seeking), but a true deliverance from a life of bondage to sin and death to a life of freedom in eternity.
In these words, Jesus was declaring Himself the great “I Am,” the only path to heaven, the only true measure of righteousness, and the source of both physical and spiritual life. He was staking His claim as the very God of Creation, the Lord who blessed Abraham, and the Holy One who inhabits eternity. He did this so the disciples would be able to face the dark days ahead and carry on the mission of declaring the gospel to the world. Of course, we know from Scripture that they still didn’t understand, and it took several visits from their risen Lord to shake them out of their disbelief. Once they understood the truth of His words, they became changed people, and the world has never been the same.
So how do we follow Him today?
The same way the disciples did long ago.
They heard the words of Jesus and believed them.
They took His words and obeyed them.
They confessed their sins to Jesus as their Lord and God.
They believed that
He died to take the punishment of their sins
and rose
from the dead to give them new life.
They followed
His example and command
to tell others the truth
about sin, righteousness, and judgment.
When we follow Him in “the way,”
we can be assured of
following Him
all the way to heaven
The saying “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” is part of a larger passage (Matthew 11:28–30), in which Jesus tells all who are weary and burdened to come to Him for rest. He isn’t speaking here of physical burdens. Rather, it was the heavy burden of the system of works that the Pharisees laid on the backs of the people that Jesus was offering to relieve. Later on in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus will rebuke the Pharisees for laying heavy burdens on the shoulders of the people (Matthew 23:4).
The “yoke of the Pharisees” is the burdensome yoke of self-righteousness and legalistic law-keeping. It has been said by biblical scholars that the Pharisees had added over 600 regulations regarding what qualified as “working” on the Sabbath. That is a heavy burden! Recall the story of the lawyer who asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment of the Law (Matthew 22:36). You can almost read between the lines of the man’s question: “What law, of all the laws we have, do I absolutely have to keep?”
Jesus was saying that any kind of law-keeping is burdensome and amounts to a “heavy yoke” of oppression because no amount of law-keeping can bridge the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness.
God says through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah that all of our righteous deeds are like a “polluted garment,” and Paul reiterated to the Romans that “no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law”
(Romans 3:20)
The good news is that Jesus promises to all who come to Him that He will give them rest from the heavy burden of trying to earn their way into heaven and rest from the oppressive yoke of self-righteousness and legalism. Jesus encourages those who are “heavy laden” to take His yoke upon them, and in so doing they will find rest for their souls.
The yoke of Jesus is light and easy to carry because it is the yoke of repentance and faith followed by a singular commitment to follow Him. As the apostle John says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
This is what Jesus says in Matthew 11:30. His yoke is easy and His burden light. Now, we might think that there is really no difference between the commandments of Jesus and the Jewish Law. Isn’t the same God responsible for both?
Technically speaking, yes. If anything, one might argue that the commands of Jesus are even more burdensome because His reformulation of the Mosaic Law in the Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5—7)
actually goes above and beyond a mere outward conformity to the Law and
deals instead with the inner person.
What makes Jesus’ yoke easy and His burden light is that in Jesus’ own active obedience (i.e., His perfect fulfillment of the Law of God), He carried the burden that we were meant to carry. His perfect obedience is applied (imputed) to us through faith, just as His righteousness was exchanged for our sin at the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our obedience to Jesus then becomes our “spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).
Furthermore, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who works in our lives to mold us into the image of Christ, thereby making the yoke of Jesus easy and His burden light. The life lived by faith is a much lighter yoke and a much easier burden to carry than the heavy and burdensome yoke of self-righteousness under which some continually strive to make themselves acceptable to God through works.
The condemnation you are like whitewashed tombs was part of Jesus’ indictment of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23. It is one of seven woes Jesus pronounced on the religious leaders as He confronted them about their hypocrisy.
Whitewashed tombs means exactly what it sounds like: tombs or mausoleums that have been covered with white paint, so they “look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27). This speaks to the spiritual condition of the scribes and Pharisees. Outwardly, they were holy and clean, but inside they were spiritually dead.
The comparison to whitewashed tombs would have been quite offensive because the Mosaic Law states, “Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days” (Numbers 19:11, ESV).
For a group of people who prided themselves on ceremonial cleanliness and following the law, the accusation that they were full of dead bodies would be insufferable. That was precisely Jesus’ point, though. They may have been ceremonially clean, but, inside, they were the highest level of unclean—full of the death and decay they tried so hard to avoid.
Such a harsh statement from Jesus reveals His anger at the hypocrisy in the religious leaders, who only cared about appearances. They took care of what people could see—and took pride in it--
but they neglected what God could see.
They “painted the outside,” leaving the inside full of greed and self-indulgence (Matthew 23:25). In their eyes, if they followed the law to the letter, they were holy, and the condition of their hearts wouldn’t matter. Jesus needed to confront the superficiality of these dangerous leaders who did not practice what they preached.
The whitewashed tombs were leading themselves and others to death and separation from God
(Matthew 23:15).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained that the law was less about what to do and not do and more about changing the heart. One analogy is that the law is like a mirror, revealing the flaws in man and how much they need God, like a mirror showing the food stuck between one’s teeth. The law can reveal uncleanness, but it cannot be used to make a person righteous; only God can do that. The Pharisees were taking the mirror off the wall and trying to use it to pick their teeth. It simply does not work.
Whitewashed tombs work as a good contrast to
Jesus Himself, the Son of Man, who came to bring life (John 10:10).
He offered rest and grace instead of
the impossible
burden and condemnation of the Pharisees
(Matthew 11:28–30).
The superficial cleanness of whitewashed tombs
cannot compare to
the deep-cleaning blood of Christ
(1 John 1:7).
“In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins,
in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”
(Ephesians 1:7)
As Christians, we share in giving and receiving the grace of God’s love (see 1 John 4:8, 16). This earthly experience of God’s divine love gives us a taste of His perfect grace and glory.
Through the love of Christ poured into our hearts (see Ephesians 3:17; Romans 5:5), we participate to a limited degree in the full perfection we will know and enjoy when we stand in God’s presence in eternity: “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” (1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV).
Paul explains that spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues, and knowledge are temporary and partial. Eventually, they “will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless” (1 Corinthians 13:8–10, NLT). In our current state of existence, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are valuable to us and to the church, but their worth will run out when we are face to face with the Lord in heaven. These gifts only give us an obscured, unfinished picture of our spiritual reality, and they will ultimately pass away.
Paul uses two illustrations to explain this truth. First, he employs the example of a child maturing into adulthood: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11). Right now, we are like children playing with plastic toys that will wear out and become unusable. One day we will trade them in for the enduring, grown-up, perfection of eternity.
Second, Paul contrasts looking at someone in a dull, dimly lit mirror with meeting that person face to face. In the Greco-Roman world, mirrors were fashioned out of polished metal discs that reflected a blurred, imperfect image, nothing like seeing someone up close, in vivid, eye-to-eye clarity.
Thus, now we see in a mirror dimly is Paul’s figure of speech for “now we have imperfect knowledge and understanding.” The New Living Translation renders the imagery like so: “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” (1 Corinthians 13:12, NLT). Flawless understanding and unrestricted knowledge of matters pertaining to God and His kingdom will only be achieved when we meet Jesus Christ in person.
The apostle John affirms that our knowledge of Jesus is partial now but will become clear when we see Him face to face: “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will
be like when Christ appears.
But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is”
(1 John 3:2, NLT).
Within the Scriptures, we have the complete revelation of God, but our understanding of it remains limited (see 1 Corinthians 8:1–3). As we grow in the faith, we undergo a process of spiritual maturation as individual believers (2 Peter 3:18) and together as the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–16). Paul calls this progressive development toward Christian maturity “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, ESV).
It is our heavenward journey of intimate
fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Along the way, we must stay laser-focused on Jesus, who is the trailblazing forerunner of our quest (Hebrews 12:1–2). He demonstrates the way through His perfect obedience to the Father (John 4:34; 5:30; Luke 22:42). As the Author and Perfecter of our faith, He not only inspires us, but Christ also empowers us to grow toward our heavenly stature.
He starts the good work in us and “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 1:6).
In the meantime, until the Lord returns or we reach heaven,
we have limited understanding and knowledge--
we see in a mirror dimly.
But one day our onward and upward growth in ever-increasing degrees of Christian maturity will culminate in heavenly perfection as “we bear the image of the heavenly man” (1 Corinthians 15:49).
Paul warns Timothy, an elder of the church in Ephesus, that there will come a time when people “will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3, NKJV); instead, “they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” The idea of “enduring” sound teaching has to do with “tolerating” it or putting up with it. In other words, people will refuse to listen to what is good and right. They will be intolerant of the truth.
Prior to the warning, Paul establishes the source and utility of the Scriptures. The Scriptures are from the mouth of God, or God-breathed, and are beneficial for teaching, among other things, which leads to the maturing and equipping of the Christian (2 Timothy 3:16–17). This maturing and equipping has the purpose of allowing the believer to complete every good work that God has ordained.
Paul exhorts Timothy to be ready to proclaim the Scriptures at all times (2 Timothy 4:1–2), exhorting and correcting others by using the Word of God. Timothy is to study, practice, and then teach the Scriptures (cf. Ezra 7:10). In 2 Timothy 4:3, Paul provides the reason for urgency in such a task: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.”
The Greek word translated “doctrine” is simply referring to “teaching” or “instruction.” Often, teaching and instruction systematized is understood as doctrine. The Greek word translated as “sound” can also be understood as “healthy” or “free from error.” Paul is warning Timothy that there will come a time when people will not desire to hear true or correct teaching—teaching that accords with reality. Instead, “they will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3, NLT).
Usually, understanding sound doctrine requires the individual to change his actions. If it is something he does not want to do, he may reject the teaching. At first, Peter did not want to preach the gospel to the Gentiles due to an improper understanding of what God desired for him to do (Acts 10). However, God patiently corrected his understanding and prepared Peter to proclaim the gospel to Cornelius, a Gentile leader. Peter responded to the sound doctrine and moved forward without fear.
It is important that we, as teachers and learners, heed the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 4:3. As teachers, we must teach sound doctrine, holding to the truths of Scripture regardless of the consequences. As learners, we must seek sound doctrine and receive it, if we are to live according to the truth. The learner’s desires must take a back seat to the truths of Scripture. Prayerfully, as the learner matures and is transformed by the renewing of the mind, his or her desires align more and more with the sound doctrine of Scripture.
It is beneficial for the learner to desire sound doctrine. It is also important for the learner to test what is being taught. During Paul’s second missionary journey, he travelled across Greece, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to all. Many believed in the gospel (Acts 17:4). Paul eventually reached the town of Berea where he also presented the gospel. The Bereans notably received Paul with eagerness, and they “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (verse 11). The Bereans are a perfect example of how the learner ought to desire sound doctrine and examine the Bible to test whether an unfamiliar doctrine is truly sound.
Romans has the theme of faith (Romans 1:16–17).
Paul addresses the process by which
faith is produced in the heart
in Romans 10:17:
“Faith comes from
hearing the message,
and the message
is heard
through the word about Christ.”
The first eight chapters of Romans contends with the ideas of positional salvation through faith (Romans 1:18—5:21), the process of growing in holiness through faith (Romans 6:1—8:17), and the future glorification Christians will receive because of faith (Romans 8:18–39). Chapters 9—11 of Romans works from the implied question, “Has God then failed to fulfill His promises to Israel?”
It is within this context that Paul gives the reason for the Israelites’ lack of salvation; namely, they lack faith (Romans 9:32; 10:4). The Israelites are saved through faith in Christ, just like the Gentiles. Eternal salvation does not distinguish between Gentile or Jew but is received through belief in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:12–13; 1 Corinthians 15:1–8; Galatians 3:23–29).
In the lead-up to the statement that faith comes by hearing, Romans 10:14–16 explains the requirements for a series of actions to take place. In order for one to “call on the name of the Lord,” he or she must believe. In order to believe, one must hear (or receive the report). In order for one to hear, another has to give the report. And that other won’t give the report unless he or she is sent.
Paul continues in Romans 10:17 to summarize the argument thus far: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (NASB).
“Faith” is translated from the Greek word pistis, which means “belief, trust, or confidence in someone or something.” It is key to the book of Romans and is used 40 times in the book—three of those occurrences appearing in chapter 10. The verb form of the word is also used 21 times within the book and most often translated as “believe.”
If faith comes by hearing, then what does Paul mean by “hearing”? In this context, it is not simply the physical receiving of sounds by the ear as most English speakers would understand the term. “Hearing” seems to designate something more—the receiving or acceptance of a report. Note the use of the word, translated “message” in Romans 10:16, as Paul quotes Isaiah 53:1: “Lord, who has believed our message?” In Isaiah’s day, the Lord had provided Israel with a message, but the prophet laments that few actually received it. The “hearing” was not attached to simple sounds but to a message or report given. In Romans 10, Paul makes the point that the good news has been given and the people of Israel have heard (Romans 10:18).
The nature of the gospel is a report: a report of God saving people from the wrath they deserve. In order to believe the report, one must receive the report! Faith comes by hearing. It is not a guarantee that the report will result in faith, as Paul makes clear in Romans 10:16. For just as the Israelites refused to believe the message of Isaiah, every human today can refuse to believe the message of the gospel.
The nature of “hearing” also does not require the physical act of hearing with the ear. As long as the message can be received fully, the medium does not affect the outcome. The content of the message must be “the word about Christ.” As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:3–5, the message is “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (NASB). Faith that leads to eternal salvation comes after “hearing”; that is, after receiving this message concerning Christ.
Paul charges Titus, “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Such a mandate makes it obvious that sound doctrine is important. But why is it important? Does it really make a difference what we believe?
Sound doctrine is important because our faith is based on a specific message. The overall teaching of the church contains many elements, but the primary message is explicitly defined: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [and] . . . he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). This is the unambiguous good news, and it is “of first importance.” Change that message, and the basis of faith shifts from Christ to something else. Our eternal destiny depends upon hearing “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians 1:13; see also 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).
Sound doctrine is important because the gospel is a sacred trust, and we dare not tamper with God’s communication to the world. Our duty is to deliver the message, not to change it. Jude conveys an urgency in guarding the trust: “I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3; see also Philippians 1:27). To “contend” carries the idea of strenuously fighting for something, to give it everything you’ve got. The Bible includes a warning neither to add to nor subtract from God’s Word (Revelation 22:18-19). Rather than alter the apostles’ doctrine, we receive what has been passed down to us and keep it “as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13).
Sound doctrine is important because what we believe affects what we do. Behavior is an extension of theology, and there is a direct correlation between what we think and how we act. For example, two people stand on top of a bridge; one believes he can fly, and the other believes he cannot fly. Their next actions will be quite dissimilar. In the same way, a man who believes that there is no such thing as right and wrong will naturally behave differently from a man who believes in well-defined moral standards. In one of the Bible’s lists of sins, things like rebellion, murder, lying, and slave trading are mentioned. The list concludes with “whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:9-10). In other words, true teaching promotes righteousness; sin flourishes where “the sound doctrine” is opposed.
Sound doctrine is important because we must
ascertain
truth in a world of falsehood
“Many false prophets have gone out into the world”
(1 John 4:1)
There are tares among the wheat and wolves among the flock
(Matthew 13:25; Acts 20:29).
The best way to distinguish truth from falsehood is
to know what the truth is.
Sound doctrine is important
because the
end of sound doctrine is life.
“Watch your life and doctrine closely.
Persevere in them, because if you do,
you will save
both yourself and your hearers”
(1 Timothy 4:16).
Conversely, the end of unsound doctrine is destruction. “Certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 1:4). Changing God’s message of grace is a “godless” thing to do, and the condemnation for such a deed is severe. Preaching another gospel (“which is really no gospel at all”) carries an anathema: “let him be eternally condemned!” (see Galatians 1:6-9).
Sound doctrine is important because it encourages believers. A love of God’s Word brings “great peace” (Psalm 119:165), and those “who proclaim peace . . . who proclaim salvation” are truly “beautiful” (Isaiah 52:7). A pastor “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9).
The word of wisdom is “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28, NKJV). If we can apply this to sound doctrine, the lesson is that we must preserve it intact. May we never stray from “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Second Corinthians 3:6 says, “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” With these words, Paul summarizes the key difference between the Old and New Testaments: the first covenant was based on obedience to the written law (the “letter”), but the second covenant is based on the blood of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
The New Covenant was originally given to Israel and includes a promise of fruitfulness, blessing, and a peaceful existence in the Promised Land. In Ezekiel 36:28–30 God says, “Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. . . . I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.” Deuteronomy 30:1–5 contains similar promises related to Israel under the New Covenant. After the resurrection of Christ, God in His grace brought the Gentiles into the blessing of the New Covenant, too (Acts 10; Ephesians 2:13–14). The fulfillment of the New Covenant will be seen in two places: on earth during the Millennial Kingdom, and in heaven for all eternity.
We are no longer under the Law but under grace (Romans 6:14–15). The Old Covenant has served its purpose, and it has been replaced by “a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). “In fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).
Under the New Covenant, we are given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8–9). Our responsibility is to exercise faith in Christ, the One who fulfilled the Law on our behalf and brought an end to the Law’s sacrifices through His own sacrificial death. Through the life-giving Holy Spirit who lives in all believers (Romans 8:9–11), we share in the inheritance of Christ and enjoy a permanent, unbroken relationship with God (Hebrews 9:15).
The Holy Spirit does many things in the lives of believers. He is the believers’ Helper (John 14:26). He indwells believers and seals them until the day of redemption—this indicates that the Holy Spirit’s presence in the believer is irreversible. He guards and guarantees the salvation of the ones He indwells (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). The Holy Spirit assists believers in prayer (Jude 1:20) and “intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26–27).
The Holy Spirit regenerates and renews the believer (Titus 3:5). At the moment of salvation, the Spirit baptizes the believer into the Body of Christ (Romans 6:3). Believers receive the new birth by the power of the Spirit (John 3:5–8). The Spirit comforts believers with fellowship and joy as they go through a hostile world (1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14). The Spirit, in His mighty power, fills believers with “all joy and peace” as they trust the Lord, causing believers to “overflow with hope” (Romans 15:13).
Jesus stated plainly that the mark of a true disciple of Christ is that he remains faithful to His teachings. He told the Jews who believed in Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32, ESV).
The word know in John 8:32 is translated from a Greek verb that means “to know experientially.” Understanding something with the mind or intellect, often called “head knowledge,” is different than knowing something experientially. We can know that something is bad for us yet still do it. But when we take Jesus at His word and practice “the truth that comes from him,” then we will “throw off [our] old sinful nature and [our] former way of life” and “let the Spirit renew [our] thoughts and attitudes” so that the truth we live by sets us free “to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:20–24).
We shall know the truth in a way that sets us free from our old sinful way of life when we know Jesus experientially, in word, deed, and truth (see Colossians 3:17; 1 John 3:18). “Our actions will show that we belong to the truth” (1 John 3:19, NLT).
Knowing the truth means experiencing Jesus Christ by accepting His teachings as absolute truth and then living in faithful obedience to them. We receive the message of the gospel and the teachings of Christ, and then we abide by them. The apostle John often framed the concept of true discipleship as knowing the truth of Christ experientially: “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments” (1 John 2:3, NLT; see also 1 John 2:29; 3:16, 24).
Knowing the truth is a rock-steady way of life. John 8:32 upholds the biblical concept that truth is the only dependable foundation for constructing one’s life (see also Psalm 26:3). Jesus taught, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24–27, NLT). If we plant our feet firmly on Christ’s truth and follow the path of His teachings, nothing can shake, derail, or destroy us.
Jesus is the personification of truth (John 14:6).
Only He embodies the truth that sets us free (Galatians 5:1; Romans 6:18; John 8:36). Those who know the truth are born-again believers who live in fellowship with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ: “And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life” (1 John 5:20, NLT).
You will know the truth also expresses the moral commitment of genuine disciples to do the will of God (John 7:17; 14:21, 23; James 1:25). We know the truth in the person of Jesus Christ, who prayed to the Father for us to be “made holy” by His truth and gave His own life as the sacrifice that made it possible for us to live out that truth (see John 17:14–19).
Moreover, Jesus asked the Father to
send us “the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth”
(John 14:16–17, NLT; see also Ephesians 1:13)
When Jesus said,
“You will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,”
He was telling His followers that obedience to God
is the only way
to experience true liberation—spiritual freedom
from sin.
The freedom Jesus offers is restored fellowship
with the Father,
who is the source of all true life
And the mark of one who has received
this life is
to remain faithful to His teachings
The “yoke of the Pharisees” is the burdensome yoke of self-righteousness and legalistic law-keeping. It has been said by biblical scholars that the Pharisees had added over 600 regulations regarding what qualified as “working” on the Sabbath. That is a heavy burden! Recall the story of the lawyer who asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment of the Law (Matthew 22:36). You can almost read between the lines of the man’s question: “What law, of all the laws we have, do I absolutely have to keep?”
Jesus was saying that any kind of law-keeping is burdensome and amounts to a “heavy yoke” of oppression because no amount of law-keeping can bridge the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness.
God says through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah that all of our righteous deeds are like a “polluted garment,” and Paul reiterated to the Romans that “no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law”
(Romans 3:20)
The good news is that Jesus promises to all who come to Him that He will give them rest from the heavy burden of trying to earn their way into heaven and rest from the oppressive yoke of self-righteousness and legalism. Jesus encourages those who are “heavy laden” to take His yoke upon them, and in so doing they will find rest for their souls.
The yoke of Jesus is light and easy to carry because it is the yoke of repentance and faith followed by a singular commitment to follow Him. As the apostle John says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
This is what Jesus says in Matthew 11:30. His yoke is easy and His burden light. Now, we might think that there is really no difference between the commandments of Jesus and the Jewish Law. Isn’t the same God responsible for both?
Technically speaking, yes. If anything, one might argue that the commands of Jesus are even more burdensome because His reformulation of the Mosaic Law in the Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5—7)
actually goes above and beyond a mere outward conformity to the Law and
deals instead with the inner person.
What makes Jesus’ yoke easy and His burden light is that in Jesus’ own active obedience (i.e., His perfect fulfillment of the Law of God), He carried the burden that we were meant to carry. His perfect obedience is applied (imputed) to us through faith, just as His righteousness was exchanged for our sin at the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our obedience to Jesus then becomes our “spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).
Furthermore, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who works in our lives to mold us into the image of Christ, thereby making the yoke of Jesus easy and His burden light. The life lived by faith is a much lighter yoke and a much easier burden to carry than the heavy and burdensome yoke of self-righteousness under which some continually strive to make themselves acceptable to God through works.
The condemnation you are like whitewashed tombs was part of Jesus’ indictment of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23. It is one of seven woes Jesus pronounced on the religious leaders as He confronted them about their hypocrisy.
Whitewashed tombs means exactly what it sounds like: tombs or mausoleums that have been covered with white paint, so they “look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27). This speaks to the spiritual condition of the scribes and Pharisees. Outwardly, they were holy and clean, but inside they were spiritually dead.
The comparison to whitewashed tombs would have been quite offensive because the Mosaic Law states, “Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days” (Numbers 19:11, ESV).
For a group of people who prided themselves on ceremonial cleanliness and following the law, the accusation that they were full of dead bodies would be insufferable. That was precisely Jesus’ point, though. They may have been ceremonially clean, but, inside, they were the highest level of unclean—full of the death and decay they tried so hard to avoid.
Such a harsh statement from Jesus reveals His anger at the hypocrisy in the religious leaders, who only cared about appearances. They took care of what people could see—and took pride in it--
but they neglected what God could see.
They “painted the outside,” leaving the inside full of greed and self-indulgence (Matthew 23:25). In their eyes, if they followed the law to the letter, they were holy, and the condition of their hearts wouldn’t matter. Jesus needed to confront the superficiality of these dangerous leaders who did not practice what they preached.
The whitewashed tombs were leading themselves and others to death and separation from God
(Matthew 23:15).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained that the law was less about what to do and not do and more about changing the heart. One analogy is that the law is like a mirror, revealing the flaws in man and how much they need God, like a mirror showing the food stuck between one’s teeth. The law can reveal uncleanness, but it cannot be used to make a person righteous; only God can do that. The Pharisees were taking the mirror off the wall and trying to use it to pick their teeth. It simply does not work.
Whitewashed tombs work as a good contrast to
Jesus Himself, the Son of Man, who came to bring life (John 10:10).
He offered rest and grace instead of
the impossible
burden and condemnation of the Pharisees
(Matthew 11:28–30).
The superficial cleanness of whitewashed tombs
cannot compare to
the deep-cleaning blood of Christ
(1 John 1:7).
“In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins,
in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”
(Ephesians 1:7)
As Christians, we share in giving and receiving the grace of God’s love (see 1 John 4:8, 16). This earthly experience of God’s divine love gives us a taste of His perfect grace and glory.
Through the love of Christ poured into our hearts (see Ephesians 3:17; Romans 5:5), we participate to a limited degree in the full perfection we will know and enjoy when we stand in God’s presence in eternity: “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” (1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV).
Paul explains that spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues, and knowledge are temporary and partial. Eventually, they “will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless” (1 Corinthians 13:8–10, NLT). In our current state of existence, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are valuable to us and to the church, but their worth will run out when we are face to face with the Lord in heaven. These gifts only give us an obscured, unfinished picture of our spiritual reality, and they will ultimately pass away.
Paul uses two illustrations to explain this truth. First, he employs the example of a child maturing into adulthood: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11). Right now, we are like children playing with plastic toys that will wear out and become unusable. One day we will trade them in for the enduring, grown-up, perfection of eternity.
Second, Paul contrasts looking at someone in a dull, dimly lit mirror with meeting that person face to face. In the Greco-Roman world, mirrors were fashioned out of polished metal discs that reflected a blurred, imperfect image, nothing like seeing someone up close, in vivid, eye-to-eye clarity.
Thus, now we see in a mirror dimly is Paul’s figure of speech for “now we have imperfect knowledge and understanding.” The New Living Translation renders the imagery like so: “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” (1 Corinthians 13:12, NLT). Flawless understanding and unrestricted knowledge of matters pertaining to God and His kingdom will only be achieved when we meet Jesus Christ in person.
The apostle John affirms that our knowledge of Jesus is partial now but will become clear when we see Him face to face: “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will
be like when Christ appears.
But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is”
(1 John 3:2, NLT).
Within the Scriptures, we have the complete revelation of God, but our understanding of it remains limited (see 1 Corinthians 8:1–3). As we grow in the faith, we undergo a process of spiritual maturation as individual believers (2 Peter 3:18) and together as the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–16). Paul calls this progressive development toward Christian maturity “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, ESV).
It is our heavenward journey of intimate
fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Along the way, we must stay laser-focused on Jesus, who is the trailblazing forerunner of our quest (Hebrews 12:1–2). He demonstrates the way through His perfect obedience to the Father (John 4:34; 5:30; Luke 22:42). As the Author and Perfecter of our faith, He not only inspires us, but Christ also empowers us to grow toward our heavenly stature.
He starts the good work in us and “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 1:6).
In the meantime, until the Lord returns or we reach heaven,
we have limited understanding and knowledge--
we see in a mirror dimly.
But one day our onward and upward growth in ever-increasing degrees of Christian maturity will culminate in heavenly perfection as “we bear the image of the heavenly man” (1 Corinthians 15:49).
Paul warns Timothy, an elder of the church in Ephesus, that there will come a time when people “will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3, NKJV); instead, “they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” The idea of “enduring” sound teaching has to do with “tolerating” it or putting up with it. In other words, people will refuse to listen to what is good and right. They will be intolerant of the truth.
Prior to the warning, Paul establishes the source and utility of the Scriptures. The Scriptures are from the mouth of God, or God-breathed, and are beneficial for teaching, among other things, which leads to the maturing and equipping of the Christian (2 Timothy 3:16–17). This maturing and equipping has the purpose of allowing the believer to complete every good work that God has ordained.
Paul exhorts Timothy to be ready to proclaim the Scriptures at all times (2 Timothy 4:1–2), exhorting and correcting others by using the Word of God. Timothy is to study, practice, and then teach the Scriptures (cf. Ezra 7:10). In 2 Timothy 4:3, Paul provides the reason for urgency in such a task: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.”
The Greek word translated “doctrine” is simply referring to “teaching” or “instruction.” Often, teaching and instruction systematized is understood as doctrine. The Greek word translated as “sound” can also be understood as “healthy” or “free from error.” Paul is warning Timothy that there will come a time when people will not desire to hear true or correct teaching—teaching that accords with reality. Instead, “they will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3, NLT).
Usually, understanding sound doctrine requires the individual to change his actions. If it is something he does not want to do, he may reject the teaching. At first, Peter did not want to preach the gospel to the Gentiles due to an improper understanding of what God desired for him to do (Acts 10). However, God patiently corrected his understanding and prepared Peter to proclaim the gospel to Cornelius, a Gentile leader. Peter responded to the sound doctrine and moved forward without fear.
It is important that we, as teachers and learners, heed the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 4:3. As teachers, we must teach sound doctrine, holding to the truths of Scripture regardless of the consequences. As learners, we must seek sound doctrine and receive it, if we are to live according to the truth. The learner’s desires must take a back seat to the truths of Scripture. Prayerfully, as the learner matures and is transformed by the renewing of the mind, his or her desires align more and more with the sound doctrine of Scripture.
It is beneficial for the learner to desire sound doctrine. It is also important for the learner to test what is being taught. During Paul’s second missionary journey, he travelled across Greece, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to all. Many believed in the gospel (Acts 17:4). Paul eventually reached the town of Berea where he also presented the gospel. The Bereans notably received Paul with eagerness, and they “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (verse 11). The Bereans are a perfect example of how the learner ought to desire sound doctrine and examine the Bible to test whether an unfamiliar doctrine is truly sound.
Romans has the theme of faith (Romans 1:16–17).
Paul addresses the process by which
faith is produced in the heart
in Romans 10:17:
“Faith comes from
hearing the message,
and the message
is heard
through the word about Christ.”
The first eight chapters of Romans contends with the ideas of positional salvation through faith (Romans 1:18—5:21), the process of growing in holiness through faith (Romans 6:1—8:17), and the future glorification Christians will receive because of faith (Romans 8:18–39). Chapters 9—11 of Romans works from the implied question, “Has God then failed to fulfill His promises to Israel?”
It is within this context that Paul gives the reason for the Israelites’ lack of salvation; namely, they lack faith (Romans 9:32; 10:4). The Israelites are saved through faith in Christ, just like the Gentiles. Eternal salvation does not distinguish between Gentile or Jew but is received through belief in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:12–13; 1 Corinthians 15:1–8; Galatians 3:23–29).
In the lead-up to the statement that faith comes by hearing, Romans 10:14–16 explains the requirements for a series of actions to take place. In order for one to “call on the name of the Lord,” he or she must believe. In order to believe, one must hear (or receive the report). In order for one to hear, another has to give the report. And that other won’t give the report unless he or she is sent.
Paul continues in Romans 10:17 to summarize the argument thus far: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (NASB).
“Faith” is translated from the Greek word pistis, which means “belief, trust, or confidence in someone or something.” It is key to the book of Romans and is used 40 times in the book—three of those occurrences appearing in chapter 10. The verb form of the word is also used 21 times within the book and most often translated as “believe.”
If faith comes by hearing, then what does Paul mean by “hearing”? In this context, it is not simply the physical receiving of sounds by the ear as most English speakers would understand the term. “Hearing” seems to designate something more—the receiving or acceptance of a report. Note the use of the word, translated “message” in Romans 10:16, as Paul quotes Isaiah 53:1: “Lord, who has believed our message?” In Isaiah’s day, the Lord had provided Israel with a message, but the prophet laments that few actually received it. The “hearing” was not attached to simple sounds but to a message or report given. In Romans 10, Paul makes the point that the good news has been given and the people of Israel have heard (Romans 10:18).
The nature of the gospel is a report: a report of God saving people from the wrath they deserve. In order to believe the report, one must receive the report! Faith comes by hearing. It is not a guarantee that the report will result in faith, as Paul makes clear in Romans 10:16. For just as the Israelites refused to believe the message of Isaiah, every human today can refuse to believe the message of the gospel.
The nature of “hearing” also does not require the physical act of hearing with the ear. As long as the message can be received fully, the medium does not affect the outcome. The content of the message must be “the word about Christ.” As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:3–5, the message is “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (NASB). Faith that leads to eternal salvation comes after “hearing”; that is, after receiving this message concerning Christ.
Paul charges Titus, “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Such a mandate makes it obvious that sound doctrine is important. But why is it important? Does it really make a difference what we believe?
Sound doctrine is important because our faith is based on a specific message. The overall teaching of the church contains many elements, but the primary message is explicitly defined: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [and] . . . he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). This is the unambiguous good news, and it is “of first importance.” Change that message, and the basis of faith shifts from Christ to something else. Our eternal destiny depends upon hearing “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians 1:13; see also 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).
Sound doctrine is important because the gospel is a sacred trust, and we dare not tamper with God’s communication to the world. Our duty is to deliver the message, not to change it. Jude conveys an urgency in guarding the trust: “I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3; see also Philippians 1:27). To “contend” carries the idea of strenuously fighting for something, to give it everything you’ve got. The Bible includes a warning neither to add to nor subtract from God’s Word (Revelation 22:18-19). Rather than alter the apostles’ doctrine, we receive what has been passed down to us and keep it “as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13).
Sound doctrine is important because what we believe affects what we do. Behavior is an extension of theology, and there is a direct correlation between what we think and how we act. For example, two people stand on top of a bridge; one believes he can fly, and the other believes he cannot fly. Their next actions will be quite dissimilar. In the same way, a man who believes that there is no such thing as right and wrong will naturally behave differently from a man who believes in well-defined moral standards. In one of the Bible’s lists of sins, things like rebellion, murder, lying, and slave trading are mentioned. The list concludes with “whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:9-10). In other words, true teaching promotes righteousness; sin flourishes where “the sound doctrine” is opposed.
Sound doctrine is important because we must
ascertain
truth in a world of falsehood
“Many false prophets have gone out into the world”
(1 John 4:1)
There are tares among the wheat and wolves among the flock
(Matthew 13:25; Acts 20:29).
The best way to distinguish truth from falsehood is
to know what the truth is.
Sound doctrine is important
because the
end of sound doctrine is life.
“Watch your life and doctrine closely.
Persevere in them, because if you do,
you will save
both yourself and your hearers”
(1 Timothy 4:16).
Conversely, the end of unsound doctrine is destruction. “Certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 1:4). Changing God’s message of grace is a “godless” thing to do, and the condemnation for such a deed is severe. Preaching another gospel (“which is really no gospel at all”) carries an anathema: “let him be eternally condemned!” (see Galatians 1:6-9).
Sound doctrine is important because it encourages believers. A love of God’s Word brings “great peace” (Psalm 119:165), and those “who proclaim peace . . . who proclaim salvation” are truly “beautiful” (Isaiah 52:7). A pastor “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9).
The word of wisdom is “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28, NKJV). If we can apply this to sound doctrine, the lesson is that we must preserve it intact. May we never stray from “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Second Corinthians 3:6 says, “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” With these words, Paul summarizes the key difference between the Old and New Testaments: the first covenant was based on obedience to the written law (the “letter”), but the second covenant is based on the blood of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
The New Covenant was originally given to Israel and includes a promise of fruitfulness, blessing, and a peaceful existence in the Promised Land. In Ezekiel 36:28–30 God says, “Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. . . . I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.” Deuteronomy 30:1–5 contains similar promises related to Israel under the New Covenant. After the resurrection of Christ, God in His grace brought the Gentiles into the blessing of the New Covenant, too (Acts 10; Ephesians 2:13–14). The fulfillment of the New Covenant will be seen in two places: on earth during the Millennial Kingdom, and in heaven for all eternity.
We are no longer under the Law but under grace (Romans 6:14–15). The Old Covenant has served its purpose, and it has been replaced by “a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). “In fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).
Under the New Covenant, we are given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8–9). Our responsibility is to exercise faith in Christ, the One who fulfilled the Law on our behalf and brought an end to the Law’s sacrifices through His own sacrificial death. Through the life-giving Holy Spirit who lives in all believers (Romans 8:9–11), we share in the inheritance of Christ and enjoy a permanent, unbroken relationship with God (Hebrews 9:15).
The Holy Spirit does many things in the lives of believers. He is the believers’ Helper (John 14:26). He indwells believers and seals them until the day of redemption—this indicates that the Holy Spirit’s presence in the believer is irreversible. He guards and guarantees the salvation of the ones He indwells (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). The Holy Spirit assists believers in prayer (Jude 1:20) and “intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26–27).
The Holy Spirit regenerates and renews the believer (Titus 3:5). At the moment of salvation, the Spirit baptizes the believer into the Body of Christ (Romans 6:3). Believers receive the new birth by the power of the Spirit (John 3:5–8). The Spirit comforts believers with fellowship and joy as they go through a hostile world (1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14). The Spirit, in His mighty power, fills believers with “all joy and peace” as they trust the Lord, causing believers to “overflow with hope” (Romans 15:13).
Jesus stated plainly that the mark of a true disciple of Christ is that he remains faithful to His teachings. He told the Jews who believed in Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32, ESV).
The word know in John 8:32 is translated from a Greek verb that means “to know experientially.” Understanding something with the mind or intellect, often called “head knowledge,” is different than knowing something experientially. We can know that something is bad for us yet still do it. But when we take Jesus at His word and practice “the truth that comes from him,” then we will “throw off [our] old sinful nature and [our] former way of life” and “let the Spirit renew [our] thoughts and attitudes” so that the truth we live by sets us free “to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:20–24).
We shall know the truth in a way that sets us free from our old sinful way of life when we know Jesus experientially, in word, deed, and truth (see Colossians 3:17; 1 John 3:18). “Our actions will show that we belong to the truth” (1 John 3:19, NLT).
Knowing the truth means experiencing Jesus Christ by accepting His teachings as absolute truth and then living in faithful obedience to them. We receive the message of the gospel and the teachings of Christ, and then we abide by them. The apostle John often framed the concept of true discipleship as knowing the truth of Christ experientially: “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments” (1 John 2:3, NLT; see also 1 John 2:29; 3:16, 24).
Knowing the truth is a rock-steady way of life. John 8:32 upholds the biblical concept that truth is the only dependable foundation for constructing one’s life (see also Psalm 26:3). Jesus taught, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24–27, NLT). If we plant our feet firmly on Christ’s truth and follow the path of His teachings, nothing can shake, derail, or destroy us.
Jesus is the personification of truth (John 14:6).
Only He embodies the truth that sets us free (Galatians 5:1; Romans 6:18; John 8:36). Those who know the truth are born-again believers who live in fellowship with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ: “And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life” (1 John 5:20, NLT).
You will know the truth also expresses the moral commitment of genuine disciples to do the will of God (John 7:17; 14:21, 23; James 1:25). We know the truth in the person of Jesus Christ, who prayed to the Father for us to be “made holy” by His truth and gave His own life as the sacrifice that made it possible for us to live out that truth (see John 17:14–19).
Moreover, Jesus asked the Father to
send us “the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth”
(John 14:16–17, NLT; see also Ephesians 1:13)
When Jesus said,
“You will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,”
He was telling His followers that obedience to God
is the only way
to experience true liberation—spiritual freedom
from sin.
The freedom Jesus offers is restored fellowship
with the Father,
who is the source of all true life
And the mark of one who has received
this life is
to remain faithful to His teachings
God’s laws and instructions outline
the way of truth
that is meant to lead people to Him
(Psalm 19:7; 119:30, 42–45; Malachi 2:6–7)
The Bible says God’s Word is truth:
“The entirety of Your word is truth”
(Psalm 119:160, HCSB).
As the Logos—the living, incarnate
Word of God—Jesus Christ is
truth
(John 1:14, 17; John 6:32)
Jesus Himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me”
(John 14:6)
Scripture also says that the gospel message is truth
(Galatians 2:5, 14; Ephesians 1:13).
That message is the good news of salvation—that Jesus is the only way to everlasting life with God.
Through Jesus, “we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life” (1 John 5:20, NLT). Likewise, the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth” who dwells within believers and leads them “into all truth” (John 14:17, NLT; see also John 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6).
The truth of God’s Word also holds sanctifying power for the believer. In His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus asked the Father, “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth” (John 17:17, NLT). Since the Bible is truth, Christians ought to study it, working hard to understand and correctly apply it to their lives (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16–17).
As we deepen our knowledge and insight into God’s Word, its truth will set us free
(John 8:32).
Jesus said easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to gain eternal life
(Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25)
Jesus used this technique at other times,
referring to a “plank” in one’s eye
(Matthew 7:3-5)
and swallowing a camel
(Matthew 23:24)
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
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
About a week before
His arrest and crucifixion,
Jesus went into
the temple and cleared it
out of
“all who were buying and selling there
He overturned
the tables of the money changers
and
the benches of those
selling doves”
(Matthew 21:12)
Jesus then spoke to the startled crowds:
“It is written,
My house shall be called
the
house of prayer;
but ye have
made it a den of thieves”
(verse 13, KJV).
The same incident is recorded in Mark 11and Luke 19.
John 2 records similar actions
of
Jesus at the beginning of His ministry
In speaking of a
“house of prayer” and a “den of thieves”
(the NIV has “den of robbers”),
Jesus cited two passages from the Tanakh. In Isaiah 56:7 God says, “These [faithful foreigners] I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Twice in this verse, God’s temple is called “a house of prayer.” God’s design was for His house in Jerusalem to be a gathering place for worshipers from all nations, a place where prayers would rise like incense from the hearts of the faithful to the presence of the living God.
The phrase den of thieves comes from Jeremiah 7:11, where God says, “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD.” The prophet Jeremiah was rebuking the temple leaders for their abuses. Even as they continued going through the motions of their religion, they were oppressing the needy and violently taking what was not theirs. God saw through their pretense, however, and promised to deal with the thieves in His sanctified house.
Jesus takes these two verses from the Old Testament and applies them to His day. One verse was full of purity and promise: God’s temple would be an inviting house of prayer. The other verse was full of conviction and warning: people had perverted God’s right purposes for their own gain.
In the courts of the temple,
people were being
taken financial advantage of,
being cheated
through exorbitant exchange rates
and being compelled to buy
“temple-approved” animals for sacrifice,
on the pretext that
their own animals were unworthy
Jesus
denounced such greedy goings-on
and physically
put a stop to the corruption
In His righteous indignation,
He quoted Isaiah and Jeremiah
to show that
He had biblical warrant for His actions.
What should have been a sanctuary for the righteous had become a refuge for the wicked, and the Son of God was not going to put up with it. God’s design for the temple was that it be a house of prayer, a place to meet with God and worship Him.
But when Jesus stepped
into its courts,
He found not prayer
but
avarice, extortion, and oppression
It’s always good to remember the Lord’s purpose for what He makes. Whether it’s the temple, the church, marriage, the family, or life itself, we should follow God’s design and seek to honor Him.
Any twisting or perverting of God’s design for selfish purposes will draw the Lord’s righteous anger.
The account of Jesus cursing the barren fig tree is found in two different gospel accounts.
First, it is seen in Matthew 21:18-22, and then also in Mark 11:12-14. While there are slight differences between the two accounts, they are easily reconciled by studying the passages. Like all Scripture, the key to understanding this passage comes from understanding the context in which it happened. In order to properly understand this passage, we must first look at the chronological and geographical setting. For example, when did this occur, what was the setting, and where did it happen? Also, in order to fully understand this passage, we need to have an understanding of the importance of the fig tree as it relates to the nation of Israel and understand how the fig tree is often used in the Scriptures to symbolically represent Israel. Finally, we must have a basic understanding of the fig tree itself, its growing seasons, etc.
First, in looking at the general chronological setting of the passage, we see that it happened during the week before His crucifixion. Jesus had entered Jerusalem a day earlier amid the praise and worship of the Jewish people who were looking to Him as the King/Messiah who was going to deliver them from Roman occupation (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11). Now, the next day, Jesus is again on His way to Jerusalem from where He was staying in Bethany. On His way, both Matthew and Mark record that He was hungry and saw a fig tree in the distance that had leaves on it (Mark 11:13). Upon coming to the tree expecting to find something to eat, Jesus instead discovered that the fig tree had no fruit on it and cursed the tree saying, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” (Matthew 21:19; Mark 11:14).
Matthew records the cursing and the
withering of the fig tree
all in one account and includes it
after the account of
Jesus cleansing the
Temple of the moneychangers
Mark explains that it actually took place over two days, with Jesus cursing the fig tree the first day on the way to cleanse the Temple, and the disciples seeing the tree withered on the second day when they were again going to Jerusalem from Bethany (Mark 11:12-14 and Mark 11:19-20). Of course, upon seeing the tree “withered from the roots up,” the disciples were amazed, as that would have normally taken several weeks.
Having reviewed the general chronological setting of the story, we can begin to answer some of many questions that are often asked of it. First of all is the question, Why did Jesus curse the fig tree if it was not the right season for figs? The answer to this question can be determined by studying the characteristics of fig trees. The fruit of the fig tree generally appears before the leaves, and, because the fruit is green it blends in with the leaves right up until it is almost ripe. Therefore, when Jesus and His disciples saw from a distance that the tree had leaves, they would have expected it to also have fruit on it even though it was earlier in the season than what would be normal for a fig tree to be bearing fruit. Also, each tree would often produce two to three crops of figs each season. There would be an early crop in the spring followed by one or two later crops. In some parts of Israel, depending on climate and conditions, it was also possible that a tree might produce fruit ten out of twelve months. This also explains why Jesus and His disciples would be looking for fruit on the fig tree even if it was not in the main growing season. The fact that the tree already had leaves on it even though it was at a higher elevation around Jerusalem, and therefore would have been outside the normal season for figs, would have seemed to be a good indication that there would also be fruit on it.
As to the significance of this passage and what it means, the answer to that is again found in the chronological setting and in understanding how a fig tree is often used symbolically to represent Israel in the Scriptures. First of all, chronologically, Jesus had just arrived at Jerusalem amid great fanfare and great expectations, but then proceeds to cleanse the Temple and curse the barren fig tree. Both had significance as to the spiritual condition of Israel. With His cleansing of the Temple and His criticism of the worship that was going on there (Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17), Jesus was effectively denouncing Israel’s worship of God. With the cursing of the fig tree, He was symbolically denouncing Israel as a nation and, in a sense, even denouncing unfruitful “Christians” (that is, people who profess to be Christian but have no evidence of a relationship with Christ).
The presence of a fruitful fig tree was considered to be a symbol of blessing and prosperity for the nation of Israel. Likewise, the absence or death of a fig tree would symbolize judgment and rejection. Symbolically, the fig tree represented the spiritual deadness of Israel, who while very religious outwardly with all the sacrifices and ceremonies, were spiritually barren because of their sins.
By cleansing the Temple and cursing the fig tree,
causing it to wither and die,
Jesus was pronouncing His coming judgment of Israel and
demonstrating His power to carry it out.
It also teaches the principle that religious profession and observance are not enough to guarantee salvation, unless there is the fruit of genuine salvation evidenced in the life of the person. James would later echo this truth when he wrote that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
The lesson of the fig tree is that we should bear spiritual fruit
(Galatians 5:22-23),
not just give an appearance of religiosity.
God judges fruitlessness, and expects that those who have
a relationship with Him will “bear much fruit”
(John 15:5-8).
The first Bible’s mention of Pharaoh’s resistance was a prediction by God Himself, when He spoke with Moses in the wilderness: “I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him” (Exodus 3:19). Soon after that prediction, the Lord said to Moses, “I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” (Exodus 4:21). From the burning bush, God spoke of two reasons for Pharaoh’s resistance to Moses: the king’s own stubbornness and a supernatural hardening of the king’s heart after Pharaoh exercised his own defiance toward God.
In those ancient days, the Pharaoh was considered a god, and his every word was law. There was no one who could stand against Pharaoh, so the Lord used him to demonstrate His own superior power. The Lord’s plan to use plagues and miracles to free the nation of Israel was not conceived in reaction to Pharaoh’s rebellion. God is never reactive; He is always proactive. He had orchestrated the back-and-forth with Pharaoh and the exodus from the very beginning (see Isaiah 46:10). Four hundred years prior to the exodus, Joseph prophesied on his deathbed that God would lead His people out of Egypt to the Promised Land, and he made his relatives promise to carry his bones with them when they went (Genesis 50:24–25).
Seen as a symbol of the world’s ungodly system, Egypt represents the enemies of the Lord (cf. Ezekiel 29:1–6). God used Pharaoh’s hardheartedness to showcase His own glory and to show the world His supremacy over all the kings of the earth (Psalm 2:10–11; Ezekiel 20:9; 36:22).
Exodus 5 begins with God’s representatives, Moses and Aaron, saying to Pharaoh, “Let my people go.” Pharaoh’s first response indicates where his heart was and why it would take tragedy to humble him. In verse 2, he says, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters to withhold straw from the Hebrew slaves, forcing the children of Israel to gather straw for themselves while maintaining the same quota of bricks that they must make: “You shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words’” (Exodus 5:6–8).
In Exodus chapters 4–14, there are twenty references to Pharaoh’s resistance to Moses’ message. The cause attributed to the king’s hardness of heart is evenly split: ten times, the Bible says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, and ten times the Bible says that God hardened his heart.
The balance suggests that Pharaoh was responsible for his own actions, and, at the same time, God was using Pharaoh’s rebellion to bring greater glory to Himself. Paul uses this account to emphasize the sovereignty of God in the affairs of men: “Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’
Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden”
(Romans 9:17–18, quoting Exodus 9:16).
The hardness of Pharaoh’s heart was evident from the first, and God used that defiance to demonstrate the Lord’s power over him and over all the gods of Egypt. Because of the continuation of miraculous signs, many Egyptians witnessed the reality of Israel’s God. And because of the miracles they saw, many came to believe and joined Israel in leaving Egypt (Exodus 12:38). The supernatural hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in no way mitigates Pharaoh’s own culpability; rather, it demonstrates the grace and mercy of the Lord who does not desire anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9).
Many understand the term repentance to mean “a turning from sin.” Regretting sin and turning from it are related to repentance, but are not the precise meaning of the word. In the Bible, the word repent means “to change one’s mind.” The Bible also tells us that true repentance will result in a change of actions (Luke 3:8–14; Acts 3:19).
In summarizing his ministry,
Paul declares,
“I preached that
they should repent and turn to God
and demonstrate
their repentance by their deeds”
(Acts 26:20).
The short biblical definition of repentance is “a change of mind that results in a change of action.”
What, then, is the connection between repentance and salvation?
The book of Acts
especially focuses on repentance in regard
to salvation
(Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20).
To repent, concerning salvation, is to change your mind
regarding sin
and Jesus Christ.
In Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost
(Acts chapter 2),
he concludes with
a call for the people to repent
(Acts 2:38).
Repent from what?
Peter calls the people who rejected Jesus
(Acts 2:36)
to change their minds
about that sin and to change their minds
about Christ Himself,
recognizing that He is indeed
“Lord and Christ”
(Acts 2:36).
Peter calls the people to change their minds, to abhor their past rejection of Christ, and to
embrace faith in Him
as their
Messiah and Savior.
Repentance involves recognizing that you have thought wrongly in the past
and determining to think rightly in the future.
The repentant person has “second thoughts” about the mindset he formerly embraced.
There is a change of disposition and a new way of thinking about God, about sin, about holiness, and about doing God’s will. True repentance is prompted by “godly sorrow,” and it “leads to salvation”
(2 Corinthians 7:10).
Repentance and faith can be understood as two sides of the same coin.
It is impossible to place your
faith in
Jesus Christ as the Savior
without first changing your mind
about your sin
and about who Jesus is and what
He has done
Whether it is repentance from willful rejection or repentance from ignorance or disinterest, it is a change of mind.
Biblical repentance, in relation to salvation, is changing your mind from rejection of Christ to faith in Christ.
Repentance is not a work we do to earn salvation. No one can repent and come to God unless God pulls that person to Himself (John 6:44).
Repentance is something God gives—it is only possible because of His grace
(Acts 5:31; 11:18).
No one can repent unless God grants repentance. All of salvation, including repentance and faith, is a result of God drawing us, opening our eyes, and changing our hearts. God’s longsuffering leads us to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), as does His kindness (Romans 2:4).
While repentance is not a work that earns salvation, repentance unto salvation does result in works. It is impossible to truly change your mind without changing your actions in some way. In the Bible, repentance results in a change in behavior. That is why John the Baptist called people to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). A person who has truly repented of sin and exercised faith in Christ will give evidence of a changed life (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:19–23; James 2:14–26).
To see what repentance looks like in real life, turn to the story of Zacchaeus. Here was a man who cheated and stole and lived lavishly on his ill-gotten gains—until he met Jesus. At that point he had a radical change of mind: “Look, Lord!” said Zacchaeus. “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8). Jesus happily proclaimed that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s house, and that even the tax collector was now “a son of Abraham” (verse 9)—a reference to Zacchaeus’s faith. The cheat became a philanthropist; the thief made restitution.
That’s repentance, coupled with faith in Christ.
Repentance, properly defined, is necessary for salvation.
Biblical repentance is changing your mind about your sin--
no longer is sin something to toy with;
it is something to be forsaken as you “flee from the coming wrath”
(Matthew 3:7)
It is also changing your mind about
Jesus Christ--
no longer is He to be
mocked, discounted, or ignored;
He is the Savior to be clung to;
He is the Lord
to be
worshiped and adored
John 7:37
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
Isaiah 55:1-3
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! / Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. / Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.
Hebrews 4:9-11
There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. / For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. / Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.
Jeremiah 31:25
for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.”
Psalm 62:1-2
For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. In God alone my soul finds rest; my salvation comes from Him. / He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.
Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
Isaiah 40:29-31
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. / Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. / But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
John 6:35
Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
Psalm 23:1-3
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. / He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. / He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Isaiah 28:12
to whom He has said: “This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen.
Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. / And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 116:7
Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
Isaiah 30:15
For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence—but you were not willing.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. / That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Isaiah 45:22-25
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else…
Isaiah 53:2,3
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him…
Isaiah 55:1-3
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price…
Matthew 23:4
For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselveswill not move them with one of their fingers.
Genesis 3:17-19
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; …
Job 5:7
Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Psalm 94:13
That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
Psalm 116:7
Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
Proverbs 6:23
For this commandment is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way to life,
John 8:12
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
2 Peter 1:19
We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Psalm 19:8
The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
John 1:4-5
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. / The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
Matthew 4:16
the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
Ephesians 5:8-9
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, / for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.
1 John 1:5-7
And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. / If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. / But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Psalm 43:3
Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain and to the place where You dwell.
Luke 1:78-79
because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high, / to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
2 Samuel 22:29
For You, O LORD, are my lamp; the LORD lights up my darkness.
Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
John 12:35-36
Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. / While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.
Psalm 19:8
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalm 43:3
O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
Proverbs 6:23
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Psalm 18:28
For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
Job 29:3
When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked throughdarkness;
