We’ve flowed through the first section of this series, in looking at verses that prophesy Jesus’ coming, His arrival, and His early life.
Starting today, from Day 12-16 we will look at verses that focus on Jesus as The Son. We begin by examining a pivotal verse in the Bible:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Further Reading
Ligonier: What does ‘the world’ mean in John 3:16? Understanding how undeserving the world is of God’s love is the key to John 3:16. Only then will we appreciate the unexpected gift that God gives. This point was well made many years ago by the esteemed theologian Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield. In his sermon “God’s Immeasurable Love,” Warfield probes the meaning of the term “world” (Greek kosmos) in John 3:16 in order to plumb the depths of God’s love. What is the meaning of “world” in this passage?
Ligonier: John 3:16 and man’s ability to choose God It is ironic that in the same chapter, indeed in the same context, in which our Lord teaches the utter necessity of rebirth to even see the kingdom, let alone choose it, non-Reformed views find one of their main proof texts to argue that fallen man retains a small island of ability to choose Christ. It is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” What does this famous verse teach about fallen man’s ability to choose Christ? The answer…
Crosswalk: Why John 3:16 should be more than a slogan For many people John 3:16 reads like a Hallmark card sent from God. In fact, when some Christians speak of the Gospel they use a play on the words of the Hallmark corporate slogan: “God cared enough to send His very best.” But John 3:16 is not a message of sentiment. When God sent His Son into the world, He was not having an emotional response to the tragedy of sin.
Spurgeon: Devotional on John 3:16, His Love, His Gift, His Son This text is a polestar, for it has guided more souls to salvation than any other Scripture. It is among promises what the Great Bear is among constellations. Several words in it shine with peculiar brilliance…
I read Nehemiah 8. It is a short book in the Old Testament, and it is good. Nehemiah was the fellow who supervised the rebuilding of Jerusalem and alongside Prophet Ezra help to purify the Jewish community that had re-gathered there. Nehemiah was governor and Ezra was the priest and the scribe.
The day came when Ezra called all the adults, and all children who could understand, to come and listen to the reading of the Law. They stood and listened. The Levites were there to help them understand what they were hearing. Soon there were tears, weeping, and crushed hearts. They fell on their faces. “For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.” The Jews realized how far they were from God. But Ezra said not to weep, for it was a day of rejoicing. The Festival of Booths was born, and the people celebrated, giving gifts to those who had nothing, and went their way eating and drinking. It is a short chapter. I recommend reading it.
The response of the people was the only proper response but it is one from which we can gather strength and praise our Savior all the more. First, the people listened to the word. Any walk with the Lord should begin with listening, either by reading yourself and listening with your mind and heart, or listening to a pastor. The people were instructed, and that is a good start.
Then they wept. There are a lot of reasons people weep when they read or hear the Word. It is precise, beautiful, true, and convicting. It is a gift delivered once for all to the saints, and it is good for reproof, exhortation, and education. The Word also reminds us how far we are from Him, Him as savior and we as sinners forgiven by His blood and His grace. But the Word also reminds us of how close we can be to Him!
Then the people were glad. He restores us! He hears prayer, he regenerates us in His likeness, and we are glad, going forth in joy to know that we CAN know our Savior personally. They celebrated, and they gave gifts. We should do that as well, always being on the lookout for those who are in need to fill that need. Giving the gift of the Word, or our time, or our love or all three!
Finally, the people went away rejoicing but their response to hearing the Word did not stop there. They DID something. In this case it was to begin the Festival of Booths (Sukkot). The Israelites evidenced an emotional response but the instructors encouraged them to apply the words to a spiritual response, and they did so.
What is your response to hearing the word? Do you remain unaffected? Do you fall on your face? Do you weep? Do you rejoice….but remain inactive? Or does hearing the word motivate you to a response in the world that in turn affects others?
Our joy should be all the greater because not only do we have the word, we have the promise of the Word.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5)
May He shine brightly in your heart today. If it has been a few days,…weeks…months since you have really listened to the Word, do it today. In Him is life!
Theological literacy for believers is important, particularly understanding key biblical concepts and even common words we think we understand. Common terms, like love, often differ in biblical context from cultural interpretations. Central to this is the Fruit of the Spirit, with love as a primary characteristic manifesting through believers, reflecting God’s nature and sacrificial commitment.
In this series, I discuss the importance of understanding theological terms for maintaining doctrinal clarity. I explore the biblical concept of peace as a fruit of the Spirit. True peace signifies reconciliation with God foremost, and reflects love in interpersonal relationships as an outworking of our lack of enmity with God. Peace is essential for a spiritual community’s harmony and for a witness in effective evangelism.
I designed this picture to stare at and better ponder its truths. The mental picture of it as I was reading was so vivid before my eyes I had to draw it out.
Initially I drew just the wavy line and the cross. The cross is lifted up, the sole item on the bloody landscape. To view it, all eyes must look UP. The cross of Christ is the only thing has any meaning in the world. When I was an unsaved person I rejected this notion immediately. As a saved person, by the grace of God, I am humbled to kneel and stare at this wonderful, terrible cross.
The line represents not only the hill, for the Son of Man must be lifted up, and it was a hill He died on and a hill he will return to. (Zechariah 14:4).
The line is also the dividing line of all human history. The above and below, the hell and the heaven, the line that divides before Christ’s birth and after Christ’s incarnation and is both the starting point and the ending point of all that is and all that will be.
On the day of His death the sun was darkened. This is only right, for Jesus is the Light of the world.
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the entire land until [u]the ninth hour, 45because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. (Luke 23:44-45).
“Christ’s victory is the spectacle that holds the attention of the universe.” ~Tony Reinke, Competing Spectacles
Christ’s glory is the spectacle of all spectacles, and its power is most clearly seen in how it equips and motivates and animates our faithful obedience in all other areas of life.
Christ was not merely made a spectacle on the cross, the cross became a shorthand reference for everything glorious about Christ- His work as creator and sustainer of all things, his incarnation, his life, his words, his obedience, his miracles, his shunning, his beatings, his crucifixion, his wrath bearing, his resurrection from the grave, his heavenly ascension, his kingly coronation, and his eternal priesthood- all of his glory subsumed into his heavenly spectacle. ~Tony Reinke, Competing Spectacles
To be able to love Jesus and not hate Him any longer is the joy of my life.
We’ve flowed through the first section of this series, in looking at verses that prophesy Jesus’ coming, His arrival, and His early life.
Starting today, from Day 12-16 we will look at verses that focus on Jesus as The Son.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Further Reading
Ligonier: What does ‘the world’ mean in John 3:16? Understanding how undeserving the world is of God’s love is the key to John 3:16. Only then will we appreciate the unexpected gift that God gives. This point was well made many years ago by the esteemed theologian Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield. In his sermon “God’s Immeasurable Love,” Warfield probes the meaning of the term “world” (Greek kosmos) in John 3:16 in order to plumb the depths of God’s love. What is the meaning of “world” in this passage?
Ligonier: John 3:16 and man’s ability to choose God It is ironic that in the same chapter, indeed in the same context, in which our Lord teaches the utter necessity of rebirth to even see the kingdom, let alone choose it, non-Reformed views find one of their main proof texts to argue that fallen man retains a small island of ability to choose Christ. It is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” What does this famous verse teach about fallen man’s ability to choose Christ? The answer…
Crosswalk: Why John 3:16 should be more than a slogan For many people John 3:16 reads like a Hallmark card sent from God. In fact, when some Christians speak of the Gospel they use a play on the words of the Hallmark corporate slogan: “God cared enough to send His very best.” But John 3:16 is not a message of sentiment. When God sent His Son into the world, He was not having an emotional response to the tragedy of sin.
Spurgeon: Devotional on John 3:16, His Love, His Gift, His Son This text is a polestar, for it has guided more souls to salvation than any other Scripture. It is among promises what the Great Bear is among constellations. Several words in it shine with peculiar brilliance…
Life has been getting harder lately no? The wider world, it seems to me, is in flames. Ugliness.
But the smaller sphere of my life is beautiful. Here is what happened just yesterday, from start to finish.
I’m one of the people who get to my part of the school building first. I can park in spot #1. I’m friends with someone who is always first in. We often pause to chat. And the chat usually turns to something about Jesus. Praises, exultations, wisdom (from her!). It’s really refreshing.
I went about my day and heard laughter from children (the best sound!) and collegiality among everyone wherever I went. My school is full of kind staff and wonderful children. I even received a compliment from a colleague.
I got ready to go home. Since I’m first in to my section of the school, my car is parked next the passageway between the two buildings. One of the staff came to me and said he noticed my rear tire was extremely low. The school has some basic car helps like jumper cables and tire-pump up thingie (hey, I’m a a girl, I don’t know what it’s called.) He said he’d pump it up for me. I said thanks for noticing. He said “God did.”
When it was pumped I drove the .05 miles to the Tire Place in town and Tire Guy pumped up the remaining tires for $3.
It was macaron day! The local coffee shop receives baked goods from a small-batch bakery and one of their selections is macarons. They don’t last long, they are highly popular. Since they are made with almond flour, I can eat that snack! I ordered a fancy coffee and 3 macarons for a Friday weekend opener treat. Picked those up and headed home.
When I got home my Kroger delivery was waiting for me at the door. She must have just left. The tire pumping delayed me just a few minutes. The order was correct. Bonus!
I opened my computer and there was a Jacquie Lawson e-card from a friend in Texas. Lawson ecards are animated with classical background music. It begins with a blank canvas and it as if we see the artist paint the picture in front of your eyes. The moose walks out from the fotest, the water under its hooves ripples. Leaves fall. At the end, the light turned on in the cabin, revealing a family. The sunset deepens. Like that. The sender’s message appears at the end after the animation completes. Here is a still shot of the finished scene:
Here is what she wrote:
While watching each stroke of the artist’s brush lay down his creation of autumn beauty, my thoughts were, so as our Father God laid the foundations of His creation, each word He spoke were as brush strokes upon His canvas to bring into existence this beautiful earth!
And though in decline, its majestic beauty continues to testify that our God is the I AM WHO I AM, the merciful and gracious Saviour-God who will speak into existence a new earth whose everlasting beauty will reflect the beauty of our thrice Holy God!
Her Godly sentiment refreshed me after a good, but tiring day. How thoughtful! I keep her e-cards and go back to them from time to time. I love them.
After checking my email and viewing the e-card, I went to Facebook and see that the mid-century table I’ve been trying to sell for 3 months on Facebook Marketplace has a buyer, and she is one of the staff at school! She will pay me on Monday! How convenient! I had worried about strangers coming to see the table. I really didn’t want a stranger to come inside my house. I was nervous about how the sale was going to work for me as far as safety and also financially, with all the warnings about Facebook money scams out there.
Every single thing I listed above was a providence of God. The kind staff with whom I work, many of whom know and love Jesus; the providential spotting of the low tire; the close location of the tire place; the inexpensive snack I love popping up just in time for a Friday treat; grocery delivery (something as I age, I am appreciating more and more); the beautiful e-card, the $ale of the table just when I need the money, and it’s a female staff member, so I’m safe when I open the door to a friend not a stranger.
The Lord looked after me on Friday in all those visible ways. He looked after me in all the invisible ways too, ways I don’t even know about. And that was just one day out of 365. His mercies are expansive. His love is boundless. Everything had worked out for me and was a delight to my soul.
And even if the day had gone ‘wrong’ or negative occurrences happened in ways that didn’t delight me, I am reminded that the Lord still providentially takes care of us in every way. He is still good and everything He does is for my good.
But I was grateful that yesterday was a day where He chose to show me His providences in ways that eased my day from start to finish.
Psalm 121, A Song of Ascents.
1I will raise my eyes to the mountains; From where will my help come? 2My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 3He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber. 4Behold, He who watches over Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5The LORD is your protector; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6The sun will not beat down on you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. 8The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time and forever.
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.
That’s a LOT! In truth, it is getting hard to avoid people such as those. They seem to be growing, those kind of people are everywhere. Love, especially, is dwindling in quantity and in form.
Where is the love?
In 1972 Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack published a song called exactly that, Where is the love? I remember it because it was popular and ended this way-
LOL, you didn’t think that 7-11 songs were invented in the 2000s, did you? Anyway, I am focusing on love in this edition of Prata Potpourri because we all need it.
For many here in the US, Labor day means back to school season. Here in Georgia, we started back in August, but in many other places the first day of school begins after the September holiday. BBC Good Food has some tips on back to school anxiety. Becuase we love our children and want them to be safe and happy:
What is sanctification? It’s growth in holiness. It’s a partnership with the indwelling Holy Spirit, who points us toward Christ and incremental growth in His likeness, but includes our choice to obey and to mortify sin in us as we grow. Why do we obey? Because we love Jesus. Obedience is the evidence of our love of Christ.
The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him. John 14:21
Here is an essay called Sanctification explained simply: “I am convinced that this is the exact opposite of how the Spirit works to sanctify us. Sanctification isn’t a stairway upwards to higher and higher rungs of holiness. No, sanctification is a downward soul work“.
Remember the book about the 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman? It was first published in 1992. That’s over 30 years ago! Time flies. On Google Books, it says 72% liked this book. But enough time has passed since its publication that research has been done on whether we really DO speak in love languages. Notwithstanding people’s personal enjoyment of it, the question is, does the premise hold? Research says…no.
Mt. Zion Church’s ministry Chapel Library has a monthly booklet on a theme, with the old guys’ essays on that theme. This month it’s “The Christian’s Love for Christ”. I highly recommend the booklet, called Free grace Broadcaster. You can read it online, download it to your device, or have it sent free to your Postal mailbox.
In this issue of the FGB, The Christian’s Love for Christ, J. C. Ryle introduces this crucial subject with Christ’s question to Peter: “Lovest Thou Me?” Thomas Vincent explains why true Christians love the unseen Christ. Following that, Jonathan Edwards lists biblical motives to love Christ. Charles Spurgeon declares that love for Christ is the great test for confirming that we are children of God. Ryle, in his second article, identifies the marks of love for our precious Savior. In Spurgeon’s second article, he asserts reasons to love Christ and the consequences of being without love for Him. Edwards follows with a second article that describes God’s dreadful curse on those who do not love Christ. Vincent then helpfully gives an overview of how to examine and prove our love for Jesus. In his third and final article, Ryle asks a heartfelt, probing, and personal question that we must all answer: Do you love Jesus Christ?
Ligonier says the “‘ethical mandate’ is to “The ethical mandate of the Christ-centered life is to love God and to love others with our whole selves.” Good essay. Here’s another quote-
Only the Spirit-changed heart can exercise this Christ-defined love because Christ reconciles us to God and to neighbor and even puts back together the broken pieces of our own selves. The ethical mandate is to put on the agap of Christ because we were loved by Christ all the way to the end.
“God’s grace is older than history, reaching back before the creation of time itself. It is not merely poured out in the moment of salvation; it is evident throughout His eternal plan of redemption.”
Such love!! More at link above
In conclusion, thought love in the world may be waning, if you are in Christ, He loves us to the end. He will never not love us. His love is sure, steady, and eternal. Our love for Him in response should be the same, and for each other. Where is the Love Donny and Roberta asked? It is in Christ, glowing out in glory rays to His beloved, aimed at hearts to change them into hearts of flesh, beating with the grace-filled love He has given us.
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Powerful. Have you ever thought about that before? That the love of God controls us? Or as KJV says, constraineth us? The word here whether it’s control, constrain, or compel, means in the Greek,
I press together, close, (b) I press on every side, confine, (d) I urge, impel,
Picture our ever growing sanctification as entering the wide end of a funnel, and slowly being drawn down the narrow end, the sides all around being Christ’s love to us which we ever grow in reflecting back.
Or, picture the scene where Balaam’s donkey was on a path so narrow the hedges pressed him in on all sides and the animal could not even turn around.
Some commenters on the subject-
with irresistible power limits us to the one great object to the exclusion of other considerations. The Greek implies to compress forcibly the energies into one channel. Love is jealous of any rival object engrossing the soul. Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown
Love has a constraining virtue to excite ministers and private Christians in their duty. Our love to Christ will have this virtue; and Christ’s love to us, which was manifested in this great instance of his dying for us, will have this effect upon us, if it be duly considered and rightly judged of. Source- Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible.
The phrase “the love of Christ” means His love for us as seen in His sacrificial death. “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). He loved us when we were unlovely; in fact, He loved us when we were ungodly, sinners, and enemies (see Rom. 5:6–10). When He died on the cross, Christ proved His love for the world (John 3:16), the church (Eph. 5:25), and individual sinners (Gal. 2:20). When you consider the reasons why Christ died, you cannot help but love Him. Source, Warren Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). “Be Series.” The Bible exposition commentary.
Yes, we cannot help but love Him! Jesus is the most lovely, wondrous, majestic person in the entire universe! He created all things and upholds all things, yet condescended to incarnate into human flesh, and live among sin, sinners, and this sinful world! He died on the cross shedding His blood for us.
Let the love of Christ control you today. Let the love of Christ constrain you today. Let the love of Christ compel you today.
Yesterday I wrote a post and published a podcast about the things that God hates. It is important to mention these things since they are half of the Gospel.
People rebut. Many people unfortunately don’t believe that the unsaved are due wrath from God, or that God hates anything at all. I repeat what Paul Washer said, ‘OK, well, you’re saved. What did He save you FROM?’
His wrath.
Anyway, I decided to follow up the bad tasting medicine from yesterday with a focus on a tender moment in the Bible. I have been reading commentaries on Habakkuk. I love the Minor Prophets. It is prophet-able to read them. Ha ha see what I did there? Habakkuk’s story is that in three short chapters, he went from doubt and angst, to full and complete trust and joy in God, despite the dire circumstances that Prophet was told to announce. Part of his story is a tender moment in chapter 2:1.
The Prophet had agonized over the sins of the wicked tribes that God was (seemingly) doing nothing about. Habakkuk was indignant. Chapter 1 is his lengthy charge against God. Chapter 2 begins with the Prophet having concluded his complaint to God, and saying he will return to his place at the watchtower, curl up and wait to “see what He will speak to me And how I may respond when I am reproved.” He has spoken out against God and he knew he was in a position to be turned to a cinder.
It’s like he then curled up into a fetal position, all tired out from the constant sight of the wicked prospering, and then protesting to God about it, and collapsing in a heap in the corner of his tower to wait for the lightning bolt.
But God.
But God did not send any lightning. Almost like a parent who bemusedly and compassionately watches their terrible two year old toddler have a tantrum, trying to grapple with emotions that are beyond their ability to control or even understand, when Habakkuk calmed down, the LORD put His arms around the prophet, lifted up his chin and allowed him to gaze upon the LORD of Glory while He explained the future.
Wow.
The LORD did not harshly reprove Habakkuk, instead He gently explained to the perplexed prophet what He was doing in the world and in future history.
There are many such moments in the Old Testament. The Lord tenderly speaking with a heartbroken Hagar (twice)… God sending an angel to be with depressed and broken down Elijah after the 400 Prophets of Baal incident. In that one, Elijah woke up with an angel touching him and offering bread and drink. (1 Kings 19:5-8).
The Lord our God is loving and tender. He loves His own with a heart that’s perfect, a mind that’s holy, with wisdom and compassion. I am grateful to know a God like this.
the-end-time.org 