"For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
The Law- the commandments, were given to Moses directly from God. The commandments were and are unattainable by man. They were given to show God's perfect standard- holiness. His perfect standard in man's relationship with Him and with one another. It is impossible for anyone to measure up to that standard because of sin. Self-centered, self-determined, self-dependant sin. The measure is not one another, it is God. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous- no not one. So, all are condemned under the law that was given through Moses.
Grace and truth came through Jesus. God had a plan prepared before He created any of us, before sin came. His plan was Jesus Christ, His One and Only Son would bring grace and truth. God chose to set His love, His unmerited, undeserved affection on those who would believe, on those He gave the right to become children of God. We cannot separate God's love from His grace, nor can we separate truth from His grace. Jesus Christ is the truth- "I am the way, the truth, the life and no one comes to the Father but by Me". Jesus also said, "No one comes to Me unless the Father draws him." and He also said, "No one can know the Father unless the Son reveals Him to them." God's grace and truth came to man in the Person of Jesus Christ. The truth is that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are all in harmony in this.
In Moses' law we are told clearly we don't measure up, we are guilty, and we are condemned and justly so.
In Jesus' grace and truth we are told clearly that God's love and favor are granted us on the truth of Who Jesus is and what He has done. We are given hope and life in Jesus Christ.
Lord, in You alone I rest. On You alone I cling. You are the souce and substance of all I need. Thank You for Your grace and truth. Make Yourself known ever more clearly, open eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to believe and minds to truly understand...
to the praise of the glory of Your marvelous grace.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
John 1: 16
"And from His fulness we have all received, grace upon grace."
Here I noticed that from verse 14 John began using the pronoun 'we'. Who is the 'we' he refers to? Could it be those who believed and received, the children of God, those born of God? This is who I think he refers to even though I realize that the whole world benefits from Christ's coming with grace upon grace. I believe John is speaking of those who would receive Christ through the new birth. So what have we received? Grace upon grace! From what have we received it? From His fulness! Think about that- His fulness- incomprehensible in magnitude. From His fulness we received grace stacked upon grace. Grace, His unmerited love and favor toward us, on us.
What are some of these? Not in any particular order:
My mind cannot grasp a picture of this. When I am full (of food) I am beyond the limit of satisfaction to the over indulged. It is painful, causes a physical stomach ache. When my heart is full it wants to explode- there is pain of sorts. In sadness a groan must escape. In joy a shout or a song or a 'Yes' must escape. Sometimes, both the pain of sorrow and the joy of something overflows with tears. Fulness bubbles over, flows over the top like a full glass of water will flow over the rim.
All this goodness, blessing, grace flows out of God's fulness. He is so full of Who His Is, holy, holy, holy!! In His holiness His character bursts over the top and flows to us continually. His fulness never ends.
Each of us who is born again, born of God receives His grace out of His fulness.
for the praise of His glory!
Here I noticed that from verse 14 John began using the pronoun 'we'. Who is the 'we' he refers to? Could it be those who believed and received, the children of God, those born of God? This is who I think he refers to even though I realize that the whole world benefits from Christ's coming with grace upon grace. I believe John is speaking of those who would receive Christ through the new birth. So what have we received? Grace upon grace! From what have we received it? From His fulness! Think about that- His fulness- incomprehensible in magnitude. From His fulness we received grace stacked upon grace. Grace, His unmerited love and favor toward us, on us.
What are some of these? Not in any particular order:
- the application/ imputation of Christ's righteousness to us
- the gift of eternal life
- pardon, cleansing from sin's guilt
- redemption- bought back from the slave market of sin to be set free to love God and live for Him
- favor of God upon us
- mercy
- blessed with every spiritual blessing the the heavenly places in Christ
- chosen from before the foundation of the world
- given every thing we need for life and godliness
- adopted into the family of God
- a rich inheritance
- the Holy Spirit who is the source of all these benefits to live in us
- the Holy Spirit living the life of Christ through us
- the Word of God- we can read every day, God speaks to us through His Word- grace upon grace
My mind cannot grasp a picture of this. When I am full (of food) I am beyond the limit of satisfaction to the over indulged. It is painful, causes a physical stomach ache. When my heart is full it wants to explode- there is pain of sorts. In sadness a groan must escape. In joy a shout or a song or a 'Yes' must escape. Sometimes, both the pain of sorrow and the joy of something overflows with tears. Fulness bubbles over, flows over the top like a full glass of water will flow over the rim.
All this goodness, blessing, grace flows out of God's fulness. He is so full of Who His Is, holy, holy, holy!! In His holiness His character bursts over the top and flows to us continually. His fulness never ends.
Each of us who is born again, born of God receives His grace out of His fulness.
for the praise of His glory!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
John 1:15
John the Baptist bore witness about Jesus. He told the people who came into the wilderness to see him and hear him preach that Jesus was the One he was talking about. Jesus was the One who in reality was 'before' John even though it appears that John came first. This was so, he explained, because Jesus existed before him. Jesus is eternal- He has always existed. He is self-existing. He was with the Father before the foundations of the world were laid.
This is why John can say Jesus ranks before him. In order of creation and existence- the one created comes after the Self-existing Creator. John understood who he was and he understood who Jesus was.
John the Baptist was a true prophet. He proclaimed Jesus as God.
to the praise of His glory!
This is why John can say Jesus ranks before him. In order of creation and existence- the one created comes after the Self-existing Creator. John understood who he was and he understood who Jesus was.
John the Baptist was a true prophet. He proclaimed Jesus as God.
to the praise of His glory!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Full of grace and truth
Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth. I looked up the meanings of these words for deeper understanding, a very helpful thing to do.
Grace: from Websters
10. favor, mercy, pardon
from Strongs- charis G5485- especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.
acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace, joy, liberality, pleasure, thanks-worthy
Truth from Strongs G225/ 227- true, truth, verity
from Websters
Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been or shall be. The truth of history constitutes its whole value.
4. Veracity- purity from falsehood; practice of speaking truth, habitual disposition to speak truth
7. honesty, virtue
8. exactness- conformity to rule
11. the truth of God, is His veracity or faithfulness Ps. 71 or His revealed will Ps. 26
To do truth is to practice what God commands.
Jesus personifies truth. It is who He is. There is no falsehood in Him. There is no contradiction in Him. He is faithful, trustworthy, honest, good, and there is no one like Him. And yet He is about the business of conforming us into His likeness. Are you looking more and more like the Lord Jesus in your thoughts, your speaking, your attitudes, your actions? We have so much to look forward to in Christ. The conforming journey is an adventure that Jesus will bring us through triumphantly. He has said He will present us before God to stand in His presence holy, blameless and with great joy.
all for the praise of His glory!
Grace: from Websters
- good will, kindness
- appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men received from Him. Rom. 11
- favorable influence of God 2 Cor. 12
- application of Christ's righteousness to the sinner. Rom. 5
- a state of reconciliation to God. Rom. 5: 2
10. favor, mercy, pardon
from Strongs- charis G5485- especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.
acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace, joy, liberality, pleasure, thanks-worthy
Truth from Strongs G225/ 227- true, truth, verity
from Websters
Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been or shall be. The truth of history constitutes its whole value.
4. Veracity- purity from falsehood; practice of speaking truth, habitual disposition to speak truth
7. honesty, virtue
8. exactness- conformity to rule
11. the truth of God, is His veracity or faithfulness Ps. 71 or His revealed will Ps. 26
To do truth is to practice what God commands.
Jesus personifies truth. It is who He is. There is no falsehood in Him. There is no contradiction in Him. He is faithful, trustworthy, honest, good, and there is no one like Him. And yet He is about the business of conforming us into His likeness. Are you looking more and more like the Lord Jesus in your thoughts, your speaking, your attitudes, your actions? We have so much to look forward to in Christ. The conforming journey is an adventure that Jesus will bring us through triumphantly. He has said He will present us before God to stand in His presence holy, blameless and with great joy.
all for the praise of His glory!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
John 1: 14b
"...glory as of the only Son from the Father."
Hebrews 1: 2-3 says, "But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom He also created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the Word of His power. ESV
John 17: 5 says, "And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed."
Jesus was with God in the beginning because He is God. His coming in the flesh to make the Father known to us is amazing. Someday we will see His glory that He shares with the Father. I cannot even comprehend this...that God has chosen me to know Him and to see His glory as Isaiah saw Him, "I say the Lord (Adonai- Sovereign Master/Ruler), sitting upon a throne high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the trmple." This same Lord- Hebrew- Adonai, Greek- Curios-is the same Lord Jesus Christ- our Lord!
This is the glory of the Father and the Son. GOD- LORD- I AM- Covenant Maker, Covenant Keeper. They are One and the same! So hard to understand yet He has given us the faith to believe. Jesus Christ is Lord. He is Master. He has been given the name that is above every name. Every tongue will someday confess Him as Lord and every knee will someday bow to Him as Lord.
Bow before Him now- Confess Him now- Worship Him now-
for the praise of the glory of His amazing grace!
Hebrews 1: 2-3 says, "But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom He also created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the Word of His power. ESV
John 17: 5 says, "And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed."
Jesus was with God in the beginning because He is God. His coming in the flesh to make the Father known to us is amazing. Someday we will see His glory that He shares with the Father. I cannot even comprehend this...that God has chosen me to know Him and to see His glory as Isaiah saw Him, "I say the Lord (Adonai- Sovereign Master/Ruler), sitting upon a throne high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the trmple." This same Lord- Hebrew- Adonai, Greek- Curios-is the same Lord Jesus Christ- our Lord!
This is the glory of the Father and the Son. GOD- LORD- I AM- Covenant Maker, Covenant Keeper. They are One and the same! So hard to understand yet He has given us the faith to believe. Jesus Christ is Lord. He is Master. He has been given the name that is above every name. Every tongue will someday confess Him as Lord and every knee will someday bow to Him as Lord.
Bow before Him now- Confess Him now- Worship Him now-
for the praise of the glory of His amazing grace!
Monday, January 4, 2010
As I reread John 1, verses 10-13 once again caught me. The world did not know Him. The "world" representing all of fallen humanity did not know Him. His own chosen nation did not receive Him. The Jewish nation of Israel as God's chosen people- chosen not because of who they were or for anything they had done but because of God's own sovereign will- out of this people His plan for the "world" unfolded, Jesus was born, came to dwell among them- God with us- Emanuel and what was the response? He is rejected then as now.
As the gospel of John unfolds he explains who those are who did receive Him, who believed in His Name. He explains how they were given the right to become children of God, how they are born of God- of the will of God, not of the will of man- and he says in verse 14b, and we have seen His glory.."
Right away John encompasses all of the people of verses 12 and 13 and includes himself, saying, and "we" have seen...
How could the "we" have seen except God open their eyes in salvation giving them eyes to see. And what do we see? His glory!!! None of us could see His glory apart from God Himself opening our eyes. Could we behold His glory and not be changed? We are changed so we can behold His glory. That is a new way to look at it. Yes, we are changed so that we CAN behold His glory. God wants us to 'know' Him. Jesus came so we would know God the Father. Jesus came to glorify the Father and manifest His glory to us.
Jesus accomplished the work the Father sent Him to do and we can behold the glory of God because of it!
Are you beholding the glory of God in Jesus Christ? Read John until you see... I pray God opens your eyes that you might behold His glory in truly knowing Him.
for the praise of His glory
As the gospel of John unfolds he explains who those are who did receive Him, who believed in His Name. He explains how they were given the right to become children of God, how they are born of God- of the will of God, not of the will of man- and he says in verse 14b, and we have seen His glory.."
Right away John encompasses all of the people of verses 12 and 13 and includes himself, saying, and "we" have seen...
How could the "we" have seen except God open their eyes in salvation giving them eyes to see. And what do we see? His glory!!! None of us could see His glory apart from God Himself opening our eyes. Could we behold His glory and not be changed? We are changed so we can behold His glory. That is a new way to look at it. Yes, we are changed so that we CAN behold His glory. God wants us to 'know' Him. Jesus came so we would know God the Father. Jesus came to glorify the Father and manifest His glory to us.
Jesus accomplished the work the Father sent Him to do and we can behold the glory of God because of it!
Are you beholding the glory of God in Jesus Christ? Read John until you see... I pray God opens your eyes that you might behold His glory in truly knowing Him.
for the praise of His glory
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