Blog Archives - Created through Him

Created Through Him

Yet it must be accomplished

1/11/2013

37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end (Luke 22:37).

There has been debate as to whether the plan for Christ’s suffering and death could have been avoided. However, the answer seems to be provided in this verse. The answer is no. The plan of redemption was from the beginning (spoken of all the way back in Genesis 3). God according to His sovereign will knew that in Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection was the true defeat of the consequences of sin. The consequences were satisfied and dealt with by God Himself. And while it may be hard for us to understand why God chose for this to be case, we are wise to remember that we are both the cause and yet the fortunate benefactors of God’s plan.

His return

1/10/2013

27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21:2728).

The return of Christ will be clearly visible by all that are present on earth. This is good news to those that follow Christ, since in Christ is redemption. Scripture is unequivocal; that it is through Christ that ultimate redemption occurs. And in this passage Christ is reminding us that there will come a time that He will return in power and glory. This will be very different from His first coming, were He was born in an obscure, almost unnoticed manner. The second coming will be in conjunction with cataclysmic events. But Christ reminds us that it is to Him that we are look and abide, and this should be without fear.

The knowledge of Christ

1/9/2013

22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? 24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's. 25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's (Luke 20:22-25).

Jesus had a way of shutting His enemies down, intellectually. They were and are no match for Him. The religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus with His own words, but instead Christ silenced them through the strength of His intellect. Of course, this is no surprise to us, we know who Christ is. It is precisely who Christ is that is so important. His authority derives from His identity as both God and Man, eternally existent, true God from true God, begotten not made, one in being with the Father, through Him all things were made…Jesus knows all.

Enemies and servants

1/8/2013

47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him (Luke 19:47-48).

There were probably several reasons that the religious leaders in Jerusalem wanted Jesus destroyed. They were jealous of His popularity. Christ was a perceived threat to their livelihood and prestige. And some just wanted revenge because from their perspective He had insulted them. But it would seem that none of these reasons would be enough to warrant death. So, there is something much more to this hatred by the religious leaders. They ultimately were not servants of God, but rather servants of their father, Satan. In the end, they were enemies of God. Notice too in verse 48 that there were people that were attentive to Christ, and these people listened to Christ and were His people.

Humility

1/7/2013

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted (Luke 18:11-14).

God desires His children to be humble. This is not a false humility but rather a true humble spirit. A humble spirit is required since only through realizing our own weakness can we be truly thankful for the grace that we need. It is not about earning God’s grace but about realizing the profound need for His grace in our lives. Recipients of grace are fortunate and the response to this should be one of gratefulness not entitlement.

For as lightning

1/6/2013

24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day (Luke 17:24).

Christ is speaking of His return to earth at the second coming. There will be no doubt or mystery to this future event. It will be abundantly clear to all that Christ is returning. Christ tells us this so we won’t be swayed or concerned by false teachings concerning the end times. It has been the orthodox teaching of the Church since the beginning that Christ would visibly and undeniably return to earth before the End. Therefore, our focus should be on the current times, with the knowledge and justified hope that God is in control and will bring future events to pass according to His time-table and His plan.

Serve God

1/5/2013

13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13).

These words by Christ came as a shock to the religious leaders. They had thought that wealth was a sign of favor from God and that, in the case of the religious leaders who in many cases were wealthy; felt that God privileged them. But Christ knows the heart of people, and the religious leaders were more interested in serving their financial interests than the Kingdom of God. And so, Christ points out the problem with wealth, but it is not just wealth that we can become subservient to, there are a multitude of things that can distract us from serving God. Christ reminds us the serve God.

Joy in heaven

1/4/2013

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance (Luke 15:7).

There is literally joy in heaven when someone turns to Christ in faith. It is in the act of repentance that faith is made manifest. Repentance is therefore a condition for faith to be true. It is a response, a response in humility. This response is something that no one is exempt from and this forms the context of Christ’s teaching here. Christ is responding to criticism by the religious leaders that He is associating and eating with sinners. What the leaders failed to realize is that they too needed to repent.

Being a disciple

1/3/2013

26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26-27).

Does Christ really mean that we are to hate our father, mother, wife, children…? The answer is an emphatic, no. So, what is Christ saying here? Christ is saying that we are to place Him above everything else in life. Anything short of total commitment is just that, short. This may seem like a radical or unrealistic expectation, but this is what is requested of us. But God is consistent. Remember that the first Commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. In the end, this commandment is for our own good since in following it, we are brought back into a relationship with our Creator and our original image is restored: “In the image of God He created them, male and female; He created them”-Genesis 1:27.

And they shall come from the east, west, north and south

1/2/2013

29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last (Luke 13:29-30).

In these verses, Christ is telling the Disciples (although they didn’t realize it at the time) that the Gospel would be spread to all peoples. The good news of the Gospel is that it is for people from every nation. This would have been a huge shift in thinking for the followers of Christ. They were expecting the Messiah to be a conqueror for Israel. Instead, Christ is the Savior of Mankind. The kingdom of God will then be composed of peoples from every race and nation, to the glory of God.

Created Through Him