Holy Spirit baptism empowered Jesus to be able to see into heaven, hear from heaven, and be led by heaven, living and walking by the Spirit. This is relevant and revolutionary to us because those same three empowerments are available to us when we are baptized by the Holy Spirit. Mark Virkler
“Father, if you will, please don’t make me suffer by drinking from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want.” Luke 22:42 CEV https://bible.com/bible/392/luk.22.42.CEV
Scripture
“O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think they are wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.”
Observation
Jesus compares the people to children playing a game in which they complain to their friends, “We played wedding songs and you would not dance. We played funeral songs and you would not mourn.”
Jesus denounces the towns where He did miracles but they refused to repent and turn to God. He then prays, thanking God the Father for hiding these things from those who think they are wise and revealing them to the childlike.
Application
Humility is the key to the kingdom of God.
We must realise that, when it comes to sin and judgement, we are totally dependent on God’s mercy. We have to recognise firstly that we are sinners who fall short of God’s standards for us. Secondly, we have to recognise that Jesus has done for us what we could not do for ourselves, that is, to pay the price for our sins.
As we approach the Easter season, we remember the awful facts of Good Friday. We crucified the one person who had never sinned. This awful fact contains the awesome truth that in one sacrifice the sins of the world were taken away.
The “wise” and the arrogant people can never see this because they think they are good enough. Their learning, money or personal achievements will get them through with God.
It doesn’t work that way. Just as Jesus emptied Himself of all divine power in order to meet with us, so we have to empty ourselves of every form of self-righteousness in order to meet with Him.
As the old hymn says, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.”
Prayer
Thank you Jesus for dying in my place. Amen.
Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:16. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au
Ephesians 4:16
“From him [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
In the previous verse we were told that the church is growing up into Christ, the Head. In this verse the church is growing up “from Him”.
Christ supplies the growth for the church, and He is the objective to which the church is growing .
An analogy would be the growth of a plant. Plants generally grow in the direction of the sun or other light source. At the same time, the sun is the source of energy for the plant which enables the plant to grow.
The church, the whole body, is growing into maturity in Christ, the one who directs and grows the church .
This growth is both in number and in quality of relationship. The church is required to constantly engage in mission, going to the world to share the gospel with others. Out of this mission comes a growth in the number of people who identify with the church.
At the same time, the church is engaged in internal growth or quality growth. This is the process whereby each member and the community as a whole, works at becoming more like Christ .
The whole body grows as “each part does it work.”
Part of this is the ministry gifts of 4:11. As each of these church leaders fulfils the call that Christ has placed on them, they are able to lead the church into greater maturity.
However, for real church health, every part of the body must discover its role, or its position in the household (2:19-22). Each believer needs to find out their part of the mission of the church. This might be such things as works of service, deeds of kindness, sharing the gospel at work, and so on. As each person, each part of the Body of Christ, does their work, the ligaments and joints of the body are strengthened and prepared for greater growth .
In the human body, strength is only possible when the heart delivers blood to the various organs, the lungs deliver oxygen into the blood, the digestive system extracts the various nutrients from food to be delivered to every cell, and so on. The whole body must be healthy and do its work in order for the body to be strong and to grow stronger.
The church also requires every part to do its work in order to grow into Christ .
The whole body is joined and held together by every supporting ligament .
Every congregation needs to develop ways of incorporating its members so that they know that they belong together. This is generally referred to as fellowship or in Greek koinonia.
How can we ensure that a person who is part of the body stays connected? How can we ensure a new person feels welcome?
Every church will have a number of strategies in place to make these things happen. There are both formal and informal processes that take place, and these evolve over time to reflect the size of the church and the culture of its community.
At the heart of this is the desire to grow in fellowship and in care for one another. A church that just operates on Sunday is no church at all .
The body, Paul tells us, build itself up “in love.” Love of God, and love for one another is the supporting ligament that holds the church together and causes it to grow.
The church grows “in love” and builds itself up “in love” because the church is the Body of Christ. We can only do what we do in love because we do it in Christ, and God is love.
We build one another up in love because we love God and want to love his children as we love him.
Love must be the heart of all that the church does. Sometimes we miss this. We become so invested in the programs and in the activities of the church that we forget that these things are secondary. They are there to proclaim and embody the love of God; they are not there for their own sake.
So as we serve one another in love and work in the part that God has placed us, then the church grows in the grace of Christ becoming more like him .
So I must yield self-control of my tongue, my mind, my strength, my everything, to Spirit-control of my tongue, my mind, my strength, and my everything. As I do, I discover that I begin manifesting the ninefold manifestation of the Spirit. I break free from the lie of Satan, who said I can’t trust in God being good. (See Genesis 3:3–5.) Mark Virkler
But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful. Romans 5:8 CEV https://bible.com/bible/392/rom.5.8.CEV
Scripture
“From the time John the Baptist started preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent men are attacking it.”
Observation
John the Baptist hears in prison about all the things the Messiah is doing. He sends messengers to ask Jesus, “Are you the One?” Jesus replies, “Tell him what you have seen and heard.”
Jesus then asks the crowd what they thought John would be like. He is the one predicted by the Scriptures- the voice of one in the wilderness preparing the way for the Messiah.
Of all who have ever lived before that time, none was greater than John. But the least in the Kingdom is greater than John. The kingdom is advancing forcefully and violent men are attacking it.
Application
God’s kingdom seems like nothing important until you look closely. Consisting mainly of ordinary people living out their daily lives, it is constantly advancing.
It is like a tree that seems weak, but over time the tree can undermine and destroy a great building.
We think the church in the West is weak, and it certainly seems that way. Yet in other places, the church is growing and overcoming those who oppose it. In China, huge numbers are coming to Christ, threatening the might of the Chinese Communist Party.
The church grows, the kingdom grows, as individuals share their love for the Saviour with their friends.
This threatens the violent power- hungry people. They seek to destroy God’s kingdom, but this is impossible.
The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us. Nothing can destroy that power.
Prayer
Thank you Lord for the immense privilege of being in your Kingdom. Show me today how I can best live for you. Amen.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father. John 14:6 CEV https://bible.com/bible/392/jhn.14.6.CEV
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