A Simple Salvation?

 

What if God had decided in Eden to forgive Adam and put him back into the garden with the same one command and he and Eve just kept breaking it? Or what if God gave His people the Law and never offered any other way to be right with Him? This would mean that to be ‘saved’ all people must totally obey God, and when we didn’t, we had to make all those expensive sacrifices, do those time-consuming purifications, and vow many abstinences. This means  remaining under a yoke we could not bear.

Think about the options. Disobedience could demand “a thousand lambs,” and “rivers of oil” rather than a sincere confession and repentance. Instead, in Christ we are forgiven, cleansed and through faith given a glorious life requiring only that that we believe what He says and live in relationship with Him. 

Faith is about our believing in God's goodness and the reality of His intentions. It is about trusting His Word, relying upon His promises, and gladly receiving and embracing His crucified Son. Faith is also having a sincere respect to all I discover about His will. What can be easier than this? 

Yet even in the days of the apostles, and still to this day, some try to introduce a multitude of legal burdens. Do they envy God's incredible expression of His goodness in the Gospel? Or has He been guilty of treating us too favorably? Faith does not take God for granted or treat this favor lightly; it simply believes what God says.

Even so, faith is not a clear understanding or even a clear knowledge of every revelation. In His kindness, He reveals Himself and only obliges me to believe Him, not fully understand Him.

In the family of God, faith comes in varying degrees, yet it is a simple matter that can happen in the hearts of children, the ignorant, or those older and wiser and well-educated. It is within the ability of all. Not only that, God does not require that we reason Him out, nor that everyone should be a philosopher, a theologian, or an orator, only a believer.  

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3–4)
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

As someone recently said, “It is so simple. It has all been done for us. All we need to do is believe it.” He is right; this is simple. Why do many not believe it? Perhaps they have never heard it? Or more likely, the statement is for sinners only, and without admitting the need to be forgiven and cleansed, God will not impose or force His great gift of faith on anyone who refuses to believe that they need Him.

PRAY: Jesus, You said, “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) Abiding simply means to stay there, not drift off into what You don’t say, or stay stuck with my own ideas of self-importance, and think that I don’t need You. I realize the most common reason that people do not have faith is because they see themselves as ‘good enough’ and their sin is not so bad. An honest look in the mirror and I know that I do need You. Thank You for the gift of the Gospel and for not giving me what I deserve. 

Life without end. . . .

Today is my 83rd birthday. People say I don’t look my age. Sometimes I feel it, but today am more concerned with being productive — but it is -30C outside, so hibernating is appealing!

However, there are days when the quickly passing years are reluctantly on my mind. It is good to read about the reality of eternal life and know that this life is not all there is. God does not always reveal to me that I’ve been a blessing by doing something He planned for me to do here, but since He says He saved me for His purposes, I am trusting Him and rejoicing that He keeps His promises. Many are listed here:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1–10)

Not only do I rejoice in having a blessed life, the fact that it is eternal is also precious. Eternal means forever, never ending. Both Old and New Testaments declare it. For example:

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29)

Many of my friends, even Christian friends, look at death as a huge enemy. Young ones don’t think of it much, but the older most get, the more they want to stay healthy and keep on living here rather than stepping from this life into the next. How important to realize that that ‘next’ life is already ours. We have Christ and with Christ, we have eternal life. It is not something that we enter into when we die, but is already ours, and something to enjoy and rejoice in right now. This is because that life is the very life of Christ, in us and given to us the moment of our salvation.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m glad today that instead of marking the years, I can mark that from the day You walked into my life, You gave me Your life, Your forever life. If You died, I would die, but because You live forever, so do I live forever. It is a done deal, not a future promise. In You, I am eternally secure. Such an amazing and wonderful gift from an amazing and incredible Lord and Savior. You fill me with joy even as You reassure me that I am Yours forever!

 

Knowing not just knowing about. . . .

A few weeks ago, a woman sat with us during church brunch and asked me how I knew Jesus was real, and how I knew whether He had returned or not. For me, it was like she asked how I knew if my children are real, or my friends, or even her. She claimed to have visions of what God  is doing and asked questions about spiritual warfare. The next week, I loaned her a book on that topic, but haven’t seen her since. Interesting.

The philosophical questions about reality abound. How do we know what we know, and so on.  While some might dismiss this as silly speculation, the Bible makes it an important, even a key part of our existence, and about the way we live now and, and determines our destination. The OT says this:

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23–24)

God desires that my main passion in life is knowing Him and knowing what He is like and what He does. In His NT prayer, Jesus said this:

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

How do I  know that I know Him? It is by faith, a faith that affects me to the point that I must tell it to others, say it with my mouth. Not faking it, and not pretending in any way. It is a knowing that is difficult to explain for it is not like saying “I know my husband” or any other visible person. It is a knowing based on what the Word of God says:

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8–13)

This hints at more than head knowledge. For example, I know who Donald Trump is, would recognize him if he walked by, hear all sorts of things about him, but I don’t ‘know’ him like I know Jesus. The Bible says that knowledge means I know His voice, have His mind and hear Him tell me what to do or not do. Knowing Him means intimacy. He gives me His love, peace, joy, and a desire to be like Him. And that is more evidence of the depth of this relationship:

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. (1 John 2:3)

While many doubt, or scoff, or even deny such a thing is possible, a few could see how Jesus makes a difference: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)

PRAY: Jesus, today is one of those days where I feel totally unlike You, as if I’m more uneducated and common than bold. However, You are with me because You said so, not because I’m always aware or feel like it. Your word is far more reliable than my feelings. Because I know You and that You do what You say You will do, I walk into this day in confidence that knowing You is all that I need — and I can be all that You desire of me.

When “believers” stray…

 

When I was a new Christian, I attended a church for a while that taught the opposite of what I believed. They had the idea that a person willed to believe and could do the opposite and ‘unwill’ it and lose their salvation. They pointed to texts in Scripture that seemed to say that, often taking them out of context.

One verse says: “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:14) and seems to put the onus on us to hang in there. In light of many other verses, I read it as saying that the mark of true faith was being firmly confident to the end.

These days my prayer list includes several young people that might be called prodigals. They started out in a Christian family, going to church, professing faith, but as they grew older, they walked away. Perhaps their faith was a choice, something like today’s reading suggests:

“Just take your childhood Psalm and say, ‘This is my Psalm, and I am going to believe it. I have always known it by heart, but it has never meant much to me. But now I have made up my mind to believe that the Lord really is my Shepherd and that He will care for me as a shepherd cares for his sheep. I will not question it again.’ ”

The problem is that this is not a good description of saving faith. The Bible says:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

As Jesus said, saving faith is a relationship. It is also a gift that comes through hearing God speak and gives deep assurance and a conviction of truth without being able to ‘see’ it. In other words, if my mom or anyone else told me what I should believe, spelled it out, gave me verses to read, but God did not apply them to my heart and I did not hear Him speak, then this ‘faith’ was learned, not the same as the gift that changed my life.

Sometimes those with that kind of ‘learned faith’ stay in the church, think they are a believer, do good things, but their faith is not what Jesus said it should be:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21–23)

A friend says that true faith knows Jesus and this results in them beginning to be like Him. That changed life is evidence that God has been at work. Paul said: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Genuine faith, given by God, is a done deal. Once changed, I will never be unchanged. How can ‘eternal’ be temporary? How can the promises of God be turned back? Not by any doubts I might have, for if have such a problem. He simply does things to show me the reality of His grace and saving power.

My prayers for these ‘prodigals’ is not that they get sick of eating pig food (though that might help), but that they hear the voice of Christ, that He will speak grace to them and they will be offered His gift and accept it. Some do but let doubts move them from the congregation, but if they are God’s, He will finish what He started and bring them back. Some do not. They only heard people telling them what they should believe and do, not Jesus. They need to hear Him and know Him, not dogma and doctrine or they will not come back.

PRAY: Lord, You know hearts. I don’t, but I do know that Your firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His” (2 Timothy 2:19) and that You want no one to perish. Bring the stragglers home to Your great heart and help me to show them the love that also brought me to You and forever keeps me close.

Two kinds of Christians?

 

Years ago I was actively involved in a Christian writers organization. To join, a statement of faith in Jesus Christ was required. Most people had no problem with that, but one person did. She protested by saying, “You people think there are two kinds of Christians; ordinary ones and those who are born again. She refused to give testimony to a saving knowledge of Jesus.

Now I’m encountering again that confusing idea. I know that there are not two types of faith in Christ. Genuine saving faith is about a changed life, about having a relationship with Jesus that transforms everything. Jesus Himself said it:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:3–7)

This and other passages make it clear that this new birth is a work of God. He choses whom He chooses and grants faith and new life.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

Many testify to the power of God when this happens. Some even say they tried to resist, but found it impossible to say no to His invitation. However, today I read the following statement:

“We should be eager to trust God for salvation so that He may receive great glory and the whole world may be won to trust Him. If we will not let Him save us, if we reject His care and refuse to feed in His pastures or lie down in His fold, then we will be a starved and shivering flock, sick, wretched, and full of complaints. We will bring dishonor on Him and, by our forlorn condition, hinder the world from coming to Him.”

Those who reject Christ are not part of His flock, not His sheep. Unbelief and rejection are described as goats in other passages and those who appear to be ‘religious’ and do ‘good’ things, but He says to them:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21–23)

Later Jesus was asked, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28–29) In other words, people can do religious works and have an appearance of being part of God’s family, but without faith and without that new life that He gives. One author says “there are two kinds of Christians: those who sincerely believe in God and those who, just as sincerely, believe that they believe. You can tell them apart by their actions in decisive moments.”

This does not mean perfection in that new life. God also tells me: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 4:30–5:2)

I could behave badly and still be a Christian, yet in the kingdom of God, His saving power is at work to change my behavior to match my status as His child, His sheep, and part of His kingdom. For that, I’m told how that looks and given the desire to cooperate. He works in me to will and to do His will, and all for His glory, not for my comfort.. (Philippians 2:13)

PRAY: Oh Jesus, Yours is a wonderful salvation. I could have tried to be like You on my own — what a joke. Such a thing is impossible without You, without the Father’s love and the Holy Spirit’s power. The reading for today misses the reality that salvation is deeply experiential and existential—very real, very encouraging, and very humbling. I know it’s possible to grieve the Holy Spirit, yet You are so compassionate and forgiving. You do not call me to change myself or anyone else. I’m to be a broken perfume bottle that spreads Your aroma to all around me, without any sort of self-righteousness. May I live in that new life each day and honor You.

Shocking Theology

 

Sometimes I read books with a dictionary close at hand. Words are important to me. Not only do I look for precise meanings but accurate use. This morning I read this statement and was appalled: “If you are an uncomfortable Christian, the only thing to give you a thoroughly comfortable religious life is to know God.”

I know the meanings of these words without a dictionary, but went to the Internet anyway. The word “Christian” means anyone, man, woman, or child, who trusts in Jesus Christ as his or her Savior and Lord and who strives to follow Him in every area of life... the stress is on the importance of an individual's personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The primary shock in the statement read and quoted above is that assuming anyone who does not know God can be called a Christian. Does this mean church goers? If that is being defined, another quote says that standing in a garage does not make me a car. Christianity is a faith system based on what Jesus said:

This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

Knowing God is not only a given, it is necessary. How could anyone believe in Someone that they do not know?
The next thing about this statement is that knowing God will “give you a thoroughly comfortable religious life.” What Bible is this person reading? Jesus said:

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you... (John 15:20)

Paul also wrote of the things he suffered because of his Christian faith. He experienced joy in his suffering, but to say his life was thoroughly comfortable is not true. I cannot say that of my own life, and I’m not the firebrand he was, or even close. Besides that, the goal of living for Christ is not a comfortable life, but to obey God and glorify Him no matter what. The NT says I will experience trials and unpleasant circumstances. It promises joy in them, or after they cease, but thoroughly comfortable is not in the mix.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance... (Romans 5:3)
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. (Romans 8:17)
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake... (Philippians 1:29)
For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:19–21)
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:17)

The “name it and claim it” preachers are living in a fantasy. God may shield them from suffering but it is not biblical to say that the Christian life will be thoroughly comfortable, nor is it truthful to tell others that if they have faith, they will experience a comfortable life. Joyful? Yes, but joy is from the Holy Spirit – promises of no discomfort are from the Liar.

PRAY: Jesus, some genuine Christians are miserable because they seek this false promise and are confused when trials come. When I’m focused on my comfort, I’m walking in the flesh and need to confess it. You give joy in trials, and I’d like to avoid them, but Your joy is so amazing, just as knowing You is amazing. My prayers today are also for those who are confused to think that a person that does not know You can be called a Christian. That is so far from truth that it makes me weep. Please clarify the hearts and minds of those whose eternity is at risk because of such lies.

What’s in it for me?

 If honest, most would admit coming to Christ with self-serving motivations. I wanted my pain to cease. Some seek healing and reach out to God. Some have financial problems or other disasters that they realize can be fixed only with divine assistance. Others want conviction of sin to stop, which is the best reason, or at least the one we must eventually come to before our salvation is solidly determined. Fair weather faith will not do that, nor will it endure.

Dealing with sin is the issue. Once a man said to me, “I believe Jesus died for the sins of the world. What is the big deal about that?” I replied, “But what about your sin?” Long pause. “Oh, I see what you mean.” He was okay with faith but didn’t want to make it personal. But personal is what salvation is about. Jesus prayed:

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

He also said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" (Matthew 7:21–23)

Salvation and eternal life is about knowing God, not just knowing about Him, because the NT says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19)

Other passages tell of this relationship and how Jesus comes to live in us by His Spirit and that we are given the mind of Christ. This is intimacy, not mere knowing or being introduced to who He is. Believing in Him goes beyond knowing He exists. Faith is about believing that He died for my sin, was buried, and after three days rose to life. It is about knowing His death was to secure my pardon for sin and to satisfy the wrath of God against all sin. But it is also about the trust that simply knows that all He says and does is true and that His great love and goodness is available for those He came to save.

Yet so often sinners first come to Him for selfish reasons. As today’s devotional reading says the  Prodigal Son is an illustration of this. He was not concerned with his father’s love or longing. He wanted comfort and “more than enough bread.” It was only after seeing his father’s great joy and experiencing such undeserved welcome that his father could say, “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:32)

My experience was like this too. My life was in the ditch and I wanted it to be better. It took me awhile to realize that I had the cart before the horse. God sent Jesus to die for my sin, then to give me all that I need, not usually the other way around.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

Since that day He came into my life, He has taught me not to come to Him first and foremost with my ‘gimme’ list but to enjoy our relationship, praising and thanking Him for all He does. I want to be more like He is, and need grace and strength to obey, yet I’ve had to realize than when I ask and do not receive, it is because I have asked wrongly, to spend it on my selfish desires. God resists my prideful thinking. While grace is not earned or deserved, it is for those who are humble. (James 4:3-6) Hard lessons but being in an intimate relationship with Jesus rather than trying to earn His favor, those lessons are welcome not ignored.

PRAY: Jesus, every day, all day, I need to be alert to any motivation that seeks personal gain. You know how I resist the difficult tasks, or those that tire me out and how I would rather be comfortable than making sacrifices. For me, routine is easier than surprises, yet the days are replete with unexpected challenges. For all this, I need You. I cannot be obedient without You granting grace and reminding me to say NO to those fleshy and selfish desires. Thank You for being here, for never leaving or forsaking me, even when I forget You.

Know God Deeply

 

Most of us have met people and felt as if we didn’t really know or understand them. Either they were silent when it came to revealing themselves and how they think about life, or they put on a layer that covered up their actual thoughts so we saw only what they wanted us to see.

I read a book on encouragement that introduced me to the idea of layers and began to see it, not only in myself but in others. Some behaved in certain ways when we were alone together but changed if more people were around. Some seemed to have a persona that differed depending on the topic of discussion.

Then I noticed how much I was drawn to people that are transparent, easy to get to know, without layers and consistent in their personality and way of life no matter what was happening. I also noticed that these transparent people made me comfortable to share my true self as well. On the other hand, people with layers had me unsure of how to behave around them.

Taking these thoughts and applying them to knowing God brings out a truth that is vital. That is, the better I understand who God is and how He thinks, the easier it is to be who I am. Everything about me seems related to knowing what God is really like. If I understand that He created me, put me in my present environment, and I am absolutely in His power, and that He is good and kind, I feel free to be who I am. I know that I am cared for and happy.

If I met a person who was obviously lying to me, telling me untrue things about themselves, or I suspected they were evil, I would not want to be around them. My knowledge of that person, right or wrong, would affect the relationship, even end it.
It is the same concerning God. If my thoughts of Him are based on the idea that He is cruel or unkind or anything negative and He didn’t want the best for me, this would also affect any relationship I might have with Him. Like Eve in the garden, I would be thinking He didn’t care and lose my trust, even go hide from Him.

Everything I know about God also affects everything I understand about life. How vital to have the right knowledge. If for no other reason, this motivates me to read the Bible and find out who God is, what He is like. I cannot let the serpent lie to me, or let circumstances form my opinions. I need the truth about God and knowing that truth is better than anything else I might possess.

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23–24)

This is the reason for morning devotions, prayer, Bible study, going to church, studying life — to know God. Not only does it bring delight to Him, but it also greatly affects me.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

PRAY: Jesus, thank You that You came to bring me the knowledge of God. Your Word is clear that  grace and peace are multiplied to me in that knowledge (2 Peter 1:2) and that knowing You means I have eternal life (John 17:3) Just as getting to know another person takes time and involves increasing depth, knowing You involves layers of knowledge, but none of them are put-on cover-ups. Instead, You are the true God who gladly reveals Himself to those who seek You.

Eternal Jesus lived in time so we could live in eternity

 

Eternity is a difficult concept for the finite human mind. We live in time and cannot imagine the idea of how God perceives everything as NOW, rather than past, present, and future. When I read the Bible, I must remember that God presents things to us in ways we can understand, mostly in terms of time. However, some of what He says is eternally true.

One example is my salvation. He revealed Himself to me one afternoon and I became a Christian. Yet He says He chose me in Christ “before the foundation of the world, that I should be holy and blameless before him.” (Ephesians 1:4) Revelation also indicates that He has written the names of those who are His in His book of life “from the foundation of the world” so in the mind of God, I have been His always, not just the fifty plus years of time.

When it comes to the person of Jesus Christ, today’s devotional said that He did not become a Son until He was born in time on this earth. Before that, He was the Word of God — who became flesh and lived here. Yet this is about time, not about eternity. God refers to Him as His Son in Psalm 2 and the NT says He is eternal:

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son . . . And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:11; 20)

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you (1 Peter 1:20)

To further this complicated topic, Jesus is also a child, a son, mighty God, and everlasting Father:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

So how can I understand all this? By reasoning? By human debate? The whole truth about God is not available to even the most rational mind because sin makes even the best thinkers blind to the true nature of God. We cannot see all of Him.

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

At the same time, if we could see Him, the OT says we would die, yet Job declared, “After my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:26) and Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) And John did see this God when He became a man:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1–3)

In human understanding and in time, the Word of God became flesh and visible, yet He was there in the beginning when God spoke all things into creation. As the Bible says, This mystery was “hidden for ages in God, who created all things” by His Word who became flesh but who always existed.

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

I cannot say Jesus became the Son when He was born. That is a time thing — and He is eternal. But I cannot think eternal very well, only to realize that His taking on human flesh happened in time but was planned before the foundation of the world. God is eternal yet stepped into time — because He loves us and wants us to step into eternity and be with Him. I am there in the mind of God, yet not yet there according to time!

PRAY: Jesus, the explanations of You are not for me to rationalize but to put me on my knees in worship. You are Almighty yet made Yourself vulnerable so I could have Your eternal life — and while that life seems to begin in time, You planned it in eternity. All I can do is shake my head in total wonder at the amazement of You.

PONDER: the wonder of God becoming a man and that I will eventually see Jesus and be like Him!