Category: Father God

Save Thyself, and Come Down from the Cross!

Friday, February 17, 2012

“And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross” (Mark 15:29,30 KJV).

Here is Israel’s mighty JEHOVAH, the God who spoke the heaven and earth into existence, dying helplessly on Calvary’s cross. His body is beaten and whipped beyond recognition. As His blood pours onto Mount Calvary, His critics stand before Him and sneer, “Come down from the cross!” Why does He hang there silently? Can He not come down and destroy them all?

Israel’s chief priests and the scribes mock, “He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (verses 31,32). What stupidity! Even those crucified with Jesus ridicule Him. Amazingly, some 1000 years before Christ, David wrote, “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake their head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him” (Psalm 22:7,8). The Bible says they even have the audacity to sit down and watch Jesus hang there in agony (Matthew 27:36)! And yet Jesus never answers them and does nothing to retaliate. Why?

Jesus had the power to simply speak the word and easily toss these critics into hell. But, remember, this is His meek and lowly coming. The prophet Isaiah foretold of Christ 700 years earlier, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (53:7). It was God the Father’s will that Jesus die (Matthew 26:42), so Jesus was quiet and let them nail Him to Calvary’s cross. Furthermore, had He come down from the cross, God’s plans for eternity future would never be accomplished (see Colossians 1:20).

By not saving Himself, Jesus Christ was actually accomplishing our salvation! He willingly stayed there on Calvary’s cross… PROVING GOD’S LOVE FOR US!

The Unholy Trinity

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” (Revelation 13:2 KJV).

Satan is the master counterfeiter. Before his fall from heaven, he declared: “I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14). Satan mimics everything that God does, thereby getting man to focus on the counterfeits rather than paying attention to God’s original. Take, for instance, the unholy trinity, which will manifest itself after our dispensation closes. The Bible, in Revelation chapter 13, describes the “unholy trinity.” Just as God exists in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 5:7)—the devil has his “trinity.”

In today’s Scripture, we see two of the members of the “unholy trinity.” The first is a dragon, a metaphor for Satan (cf. Revelation 12:9). Next is the antichrist, the world ruler of the future seven-year Tribulation, who is described as a “beast” (not a literal animal, but a man with a bestial, or cruel, nature). In Revelation 13:11, we read of “another beast,” an additional bestial (vicious) man, “the false prophet,” a religious leader who will perform satanic miracles and serve as the antichrist’s assistant (Revelation 19:20).

God’s Word tells us in today’s Scripture that the dragon (Satan) will give power to the beast (antichrist). Just as God the Father will give the earth’s kingdoms to Jesus Christ one day (Psalm 2:6-9; Daniel 7:13,14; Revelation 11:15)—which will occur after the seven-year Tribulation—Satan will first give them to the antichrist. See how that mimics God’s program? Did you notice how Satan will mimic God the Father?

The antichrist will pretend to be Jesus Christ, thus he will mimic Him (Revelation 6:2; cf. Revelation 19:11-13). According to Revelation 13:11-15, just as the Holy Ghost directs worship to Jesus Christ (John 16:13), the false prophet (the counterfeit Holy Ghost) will direct worship to the antichrist (the counterfeit Jesus Christ). That unholy trinity, like Satan today, will deceive the masses during Daniel’s 70th week.

God is Love

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

“…God is love… God is love… We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:8b,16b,19 KJV).

The word “love” is used very flippantly in today’s world. Of the many who speak about “love,” few know what it is. On this Valentine’s Day, we offer sound doctrine from God’s Word to correct the misunderstandings of what love really is. What is love, according to God’s Word?

Today’s Scripture says that “God is love”—God does not simply love, but His very nature is love. What does that mean? In 1 John 3:16, we read: “Hereby we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us:” Our Apostle Paul put it this way: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God’s nature is love—selfless, self-sacrificing!

God’s Word defines love and charity in 2 Corinthians 12:15: “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.” Love is seeking the best interest of others, even if it costs you something (time, energy, resources, et cetera). Charity is love in deed (demonstrated, manifested in action). God loved us, so He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. It cost God the Father His Son, and it cost God the Son His life. What a selfless act!

Our nature in Adam is selfish, but our nature in Christ is not. Paul declares, “the love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). We who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, our Christian lives are driven and motivated by Christ’s love for us, not our love for Him. It is this unselfish love of Christ working in us that causes us to look on the things of others, to seek their edification and their benefit, not ours (Romans 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 10:24; Philippians 2:1-11). This will result in charity, our selfless actions reflecting that love of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:15).

As the lost world observes our Christian service, they will see, “God is love.”

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. The Bible study can be read here or watched here.

Holy, Holy, Holy!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

“And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3 KJV).

In the context of today’s Scripture, the prophet Isaiah receives a vision from the LORD. Isaiah saw and heard seraphim (spirit beings in the angelic world) praising God, singing: “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts.” Four beasts (cherubim, other spirit beings in the angelic world) are also singing to God in Revelation 4:8: “Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” Why is “holy” thrice exclaimed to God on these two occasions?

One of the most difficult Bible doctrines to understand is the Trinity, that God exists in three coequal and coeternal Persons—Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. Although we cannot fully comprehend this doctrine, we believe it because the Bible gives ample proof that God is three Persons (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 11:7,8; Psalm 2:3; Isaiah 9:6; John 10:29,30; Acts 5:3,4; Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 3:18; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3,8; 1 Peter 1:11; 1 John 5:7; et al.). Today’s Scripture is one such example: one “holy” applies to each Person of the Godhead. But, how can God be thrice holy? Because He is three Persons, and each of the three Persons of the Godhead is holy!

The word “holy” simply means “set apart.” For example, Jesus Christ is “holy… separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26). In Psalm 22:3, the Messiah (Jesus Christ), from Calvary’s cross, says to God His Father: “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” Finally, the Holy Ghost is “holy” (He is separate from all other spirits).

God the Father is holy, God the Son (Jesus Christ) is holy, and God the Holy Spirit is holy. They are unique when compared to creation: they were not created, they do not sin, and they exist independent of everything else. These three Persons of the Godhead live in harmony with each other in full fellowship with and love for one another. Amazingly, They want us to participate in that fellowship, and saints, through Christ’s finished crosswork, we will fellowship with all three for all eternity!

The Crux of God’s Eternal Purpose

Friday, January 27, 2012

“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20 KJV).

God the Father has one grand purpose for creation—to make His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the governments of heaven and earth (Ephesians 1:9,10). But, the Bible teaches that an angelic rebellion, led by Lucifer (Satan), sought to usurp Jesus Christ’s headship in heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:12-18). Once Satan enticed mankind to sin and cooperate with his policy of evil, that rebellion then infiltrated earth (Genesis 3:1-24).

Today, the governments that God created in heaven and earth are in rebellion. Satan has spoiled what was created “by” and “for” the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:16,17; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12). How will God reconcile unto Himself the governments of heaven and earth? How will Jesus Christ eternally subvert Satan’s strongholds in those two realms? Today’s Scripture provides the answer.

Using Christ’s shed blood, God is currently forming a heavenly people for His name, the Church the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:14). In eternity future, He will use this entity—us!—to restore His authority in the heavens. At Christ’s Second Coming, God will restore His earthly people, the nation Israel, forgive them of their sins through Christ’s shed blood (Acts 3:18; Hebrews 9:11-15; 1 Peter 1:18,19), and use redeemed Israel to reclaim His authority in the earth.

Indeed, the very thing at which Satan thought he defeated God—Calvary’s cross—is that which God will use to permanently conquer Satan’s policy of evil. Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary is the crux of God’s plans for eternity future: everything that God will accomplish in the ages to come hinges on Jesus Christ’s shed blood. In order to destabilize Satan’s power in heaven and earth, God must deal first with the sin issue in both realms, and Christ’s blood does just that in both realms. Behold the wisdom of our God!

Oh, by the way, interestingly, crux is Latin for cross….

God’s Earthly Kingdom (Finally) Established

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13,14 KJV).

In the context of today’s Scripture, God is causing the prophet Daniel to have several visions, especially regarding the end times. What Daniel sees here is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when Christ will finally establish the earthly kingdom that He had planned back in Genesis chapters 1 and 2… some 6,000 years before. Daniel sees:

  • “the Son of man”—Jesus Christ, is escorted into heaven to stand before…
  • “the Ancient of days”—God the Father, who gives Him…
  • “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him”—Psalms 2:6-8 reads: “Yet have I set my kingdom upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth.” Moreover….
  • “his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed”—Hebrews 1:8 says: “But unto the Son he [God the Father] saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” “JESUS… shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:31-33).

“And the LORD shall be king over all the earth…” (Zechariah 14:9a).

When the Fulness of the Time Was Come – 333’s 200th

Saturday, December 17, 2011

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4,5 KJV).

In the beginning God set the first man, Adam, on earth to “subdue [control] it,” to “have dominion” over it and everything on it (Genesis 1:28). Alas, Adam sided with Satan, joining the rebellion against God. The human race, now marred by sin, was unable to fellowship with its holy Creator God.

Fortunately, God promised mankind’s Redeemer in Genesis 3:15: a Man who would do what Adam failed to do—rule earth for God’s glory. Adam was “the figure [preview/type] of him that was to come” (Romans 5:14c). About 4000 years after Adam, the “him that was to come” finally came—Jesus Christ. How human history was forever impacted when that Redeemer came!

Jesus Christ’s birth was not some haphazard event of nature. God the Father had preplanned the exact moment of the incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ (today’s Scripture). Recall that, unlike us, before His physical birth, Jesus Christ lived as a Spirit in heaven’s glory with His Father (John 1:1,2; cf. Micah 5:2).

When the appointed time came, at His Father’s behest, Jesus’ Spirit came to earth to indwell the body in the virgin Mary’s womb. For nine months, God Himself actually lived inside Mary’s womb! Being delivered, He lived a sinless life of 33 years, despised by His family (Israel) and the world. As one dear Christian brother explained, “That was the greatest life ever lived in a human body!”

No event in human history compares to the coming of Jesus Christ. As today’s Scripture teaches, the Lord Jesus became a small Baby… to become a grown man… to become Israel’s rejected Messiah… to ultimately die for us, the wretched Gentiles! God became a man, to “give Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6).

We are ever grateful that “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son….”

Saints, we have reached a milestone – #200. WOW!

As We Stand Before God Our Saviour

Friday, October 14, 2011

“To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:13 KJV).

Every chapter of 1 Thessalonians concludes with a reference to the rapture, Christ gathering the Church that is His Body (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:17; 5:23). Actually, today’s Scripture describes an event that will occur after the rapture.

Saints, one day (the rapture), the trump of God shall sound and we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)! After the rapture, we will stand before “the Judgment Seat of Christ.”

The Judgment Seat of Christ is not where we answer for sin, but rather when Jesus Christ evaluates our Christian lives and spiritual maturity. Each of us will give an individual account to the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:9-15; 2 Corinthians 5:9,10). Jesus Christ will compare our spiritual maturity (the doctrine we believed) to Paul’s epistles. On this basis, the Lord will give us a role (a position in the government of the heavenly places) (Ephesians 2:6,7).

But, notice Christ’s coming in today’s Scripture is not His coming “for all His saints” (the rapture), but rather “with all His saints.” After the spiritual capacities of the members of the Body of Christ have been judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, Jesus Christ will take us with Him to meet God the Father. Today’s Scripture describes when Jesus Christ will present us to our Father God. Wow!

God the Father will then appoint us to those positions of the heavenly government that Jesus Christ determined at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Remember that our individual roles (offices) are determined by how much sound doctrine we built up in our inner man. This is why dispensational Bible study, “rightly dividing the word of truth,” is so important. We do not want to stand before God “ashamed,” which will SADLY be the case for many Christians because they never studied the Bible God’s way (2 Timothy 2:15).