The Gospel Unveiled

The principle of veiling and unveiling is taught in 2 Corinthians 3 & 4. Throughout the Bible there is use of veiling.  We see this in the Old Testament where God told His people to set up a worship place, the Tabernacle, and place in it a veil to set off the most holy place of it.  When Jesus was crucified, one of the unnatural major occurrences was the splitting of the veil in the temple.  This was to show the people that the old Jewish way of worshiping God was over.  There was no more Judaism, no more traditional temple worship, no more old law of the Jews.  This is mentioned in the following passage:

2 Corinthians 3:14-16New International Version (NIV)
¹⁴ But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶ But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

The passage follows with, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."  The gospel brings "liberty."  This means liberty from the old ways, the old law of the Jews, and from the old ways of sin.  When we follow Christ, we are freed from our old ways of living in sin.  Not that we will never sin....but that we will not live in sin. 

He continues in chapter 4:3, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing...."  Those who are true Christians do not have a veil, they/we have liberty.  But if there is a veil, it is with those "who are perishing."

And finally, the end of chapter 4 says:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18New International Version (NIV)
¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

As Christians, we see things differently.  We have no veil over our eyes, but we have liberty, freedom from destructive sin.  And we see beyond the temporary.....to the eternal.   What a blessing!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

The Ascension

One of the most exciting and meaningful events of the Bible is the ascension of our Lord.  It is recorded in two places, Luke 24, right at the end of the book of Luke, and in Acts chapter 1.  In this blog we will take a closer look at these two passages.

First we note that the ascension, being recorded in two places only, are both written by the same author.  Luke wrote his book of Luke, but he also is the writer of the book of Acts.  In fact if the reader wanted to just read an account of the life of Jesus and the events that followed His leaving the apostles to carry on His work, just reading the books of Luke and Acts would be ideal.

Note the passage in Luke:

45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 50When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

 

Here we have the final act of Jesus on earth, His leaving.  Then we can compare this passage with the one in the book of Acts:

 

9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

 

We see that Jesus was very much alive upon being taken up to heaven.  It is there that He will sit at the right hand of God, and He reigns there as king until such time that He returns again in the clouds to call His people to Him.  As the king, He has a kingdom.  Note the wording of Colossians 1:13, "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love."  As Christians, we have been "translated" into His kingdom.  This shows that His kingdom is in existence now, that He reigns now, in heaven, and we get to be His subjects.

 

Thank you for reading about this such special event in the history of the world.  Jesus reigns!

 

 

 

Jesus the King

A great deal is said in the New Testament about Jesus being the king.  In fact the Old Testament described in many places that a Messiah and a king would be born who would  rule over the Jewish kingdom and all men.  It would be a mighty reign and a reign that would never end.  As a result of all the teaching about this subject that had been done over the years to the Jews, they were expecting a king to be born.

When the angel visited Mary before she was even married to tell her that she would have a son, he told her that he would reign.  Notice Luke 1:

30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”  

We see here that He will be a descendant of the great king David.  It is interesting that the NT begins with the statement, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David...."  In the Bible there are two great kings.  The greatest king of the OT is David.  No other king even came close.  In the NT, we find that Jesus is king, a descendant of David, but a much greater king.

The words of David are repeated in Acts 2 where he is describing the fact that Jesus would be a greater king; that He would not die or see corruption:

"Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.  This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses."

David was a great king, but he died just as all men do.  But Jesus, a greater king by far, would not be kept in the grave but would live forever.  Jesus is our king, our Lord, our Redeemer who reigns forever and ever.  Thanks for reading.   

Upon This Rock I Will Buld My Church

In Matthew 16 Jesus was discussing a very important matter with His apostles.  Let's read this passage:

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,^b and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^c will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^d bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^e loosed in heaven.”

The question that is asked here is a very significant one, not only to Peter, but to us as well.  Jesus could be asking each of us as Christians who we say that He is.  And we read here that the correct answer is "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  The key here is to believe this, to allow this fact to be dominant in our lives, and to be willing to declare it to others.  

Jesus answers to Peter using a word play.  Peter means "rock."  But when Jesus says "upon this rock I will build My church,"  He is using a different form of the word rock.  It isn't Peter that is the foundation of the church; it is the statement that Peter has made.  It is the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  It reminds me of the final words of Jesus in the sermon on the mount, Matthew 7:

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practise is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practise is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Jesus is the rock, the foundation, the chief cornerstone of our faith.  By following Him we have life eternal. 

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Seek the Lord

One of my favorite verses in all the Bible is Hebrews 11:6,

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

It isn't enough to just coast through life, be a good person, and show some commitment to the Lord.  He wants us to seek Him...and to do so diligently.  That means to take an aggressive attitude toward God, to want to know Him, and to actually try to be like Him.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus was talking about how we as typical people tend to worry about life, what we shall eat or drink or wear.  He then says in verse 33,

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

It is all about priorities.  But it also is about seeking.  We have to seek the Lord to be successful as a Christian.  And we are familiar with the passage in Matthew 7:7, where Jesus says,

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you."

When He says "seek" here, He means it.  We must be people who are truly seeking the Lord.

We might wonder, just what does it mean to seek the Lord; how do we do that.  I would suggest that first it means to study our Bible.  This is the actual Word of the Lord, given to us to help us to know Him better.  And we can pray.  Prayer is more powerful than we know or can conceive.  This surely is a part of seeking the Lord.

Let us be people who "seek the Lord."    Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Late Words of Jesus

This lesson comes from John 16 in the New Testament where Jesus is relating some important teaching to His apostles.  The first thing He says is that they will have people trying to kill them.

16 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

² They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
³ And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

The people persecuted and killed Jesus; He lets them know that they will face this as well.

But this chapter in the book of John goes on to talk about the Holy Spirit. 

John 16:7-14 King James Version (KJV)
⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
⁸ And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and.... of judgment:
⁹ Of sin, because they believe not on me;
¹⁰ Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
¹¹ Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
¹² I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
¹³ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
¹⁴ He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Jesus is teaching here that there are 3 things that the Holy Spirit will do for the apostles.  These are Convict the world, Guide them into all truth, and Glorify Jesus.  We know that this is exactly what happened.  Jesus left the earth by ascending into heaven (read in Acts 1.)  Then the Lord sent back the Holy Spirit (read in Acts 2.)  And the Spirit continued to assist the apostles, giving them the power to do miracles, and even to pass that power on to other Christians.

We are the benefactors of the work of the Spirit in that He saw to it that we have the Bible today...to read...to study...to follow.  Praise be to God, and to His Son, and to His Spirit!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Mary Has Chosen That Good Part

The Story of Mary and Martha as they were hosting Jesus in their home, is found in Luke 10:38-42.  It is an interesting account and one that is a bit difficult to understand.  Let's read:

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.

References for Luke 10:38

• Cross References

• 35 10:38 - Jn 11:1 ; 12:2

39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.

References for Luke 10:39

• Cross References

• 36 10:39 - Jn 11:1 ; 12:3
• 37 10:39 - Lk 8:35

40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

References for Luke 10:40

• Cross References

• 38 10:40 - Mk 4:38

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,

References for Luke 10:41

• Cross References

• 39 10:41 - Mt 6:25-34 ; Lk 12:11,22

42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^aMary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”     

There are at least 3 accounts of Mary and Martha in the New Testament, from which we learn that they, along with their brother Lazarus, were good friends of Jesus.  In this story we find Jesus enjoying some time with these two women.  There is work to do in preparation, so Martha is working hard to get the work done.  Mary is seemingly slacking, just sitting and listening to Jesus.  Martha becomes perturbed and says so to Jesus, feeling that it is obvious that Mary isn't doing her part to help.

We would likely agree with Martha that Mary should have pitched in to help, especially with such an important guest as Jesus.  But Jesus has a different outlook, and He uses this occasion to make a point, not only to these two ladies, but also to us for all of time.

Jesus is not against serving and working and doing one's job as a good host.  He is simply saying that nothing is as important as sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to the words of Jesus, learning from the Master.  And this is a lesson for us, as well.  We cannot literally sit at His feet, but we have the written Word, the teachings of the Lord, not only from Jesus directly but also from His chosen vessels, the apostles.  No matter what needs to be done in this life, nothing will ever take precedence over the teachings in God's Word, the Bible.

Let us hear this important teaching of Jesus, the Christ.  

Thanks for reading.  Have a blessed week!