Malachi 2
LORD warns priest of their coming judgment verse 1- 4
And now – O you PRIESTS
this commandment is for you
IF you will not hear – and IF you will not lay it to heart
TO GIVE GLORY to MY name
says the LORD of hosts
I will even send a curse upon you
and I will curse your blessings
YEA I have cursed them already
BECAUSE ye do not lay it to heart
BEHOLD I will corrupt your seed
and spread dung upon your faces
EVEN the dung of your solemn feasts
and one shall take you away with it
And you shall know
that I have sent this commandment to you
THAT MY covenant might be with LEVI
says the LORD of hosts
Purpose of covenant of the LORD stated verse 5- 6
MY covenant was with him of life and peace
and I gave them to him for the fear
wherewith he feared ME
and was afraid before MY name
The law of TRUTH was in his mouth
and iniquity was not found in his lips
he walked with ME in peace and equity
and did turn many away from iniquity
Purpose of the priests was proper instruction verse 7
FOR the PRIEST’S lips should keep knowledge
and they should seek the law at his mouth
FOR he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts
Priest were not instructing properly verse 8- 9
BUT you are departed out of the way
you have caused many to stumble at the law
you have corrupted the covenant of LEVI
says the LORD of hosts
THEREFORE have I also made you contemptible
and base before all the people
according as you have not kept MY ways
BUT have been partial in the law
Malachi questions people verse 10
Have we not all one father?
Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother
by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Improper marriages to heathens condemned verse 11- 12
Judah has dealt treacherously
and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem
FOR Judah has profaned the HOLINESS of the LORD
which he loved
and has married the daughter of a strange god
The LORD will cut off the man that does this
the master and the scholar
out of the tabernacles of Jacob
AND him that offers an offering unto the LORD of hosts
Unfaithfulness to spouse condemned verse 13- 14
AND this have you done again
covering the altar of the LORD with tears
with weeping and with crying out
insomuch that HE regards not the offering any more
or receives it with good will at your hand
YET you say – Wherefore?
BECAUSE the LORD has been witness
between you and the wife of your youth
against whom you have dealt treacherously
YET is she your companion – and the wife of your covenant
LORD warns people to be faithful to spouse verse 15- 16
AND did not HE make one? YET had HE the residue of the spirit
AND wherefore one? That HE might seek a godly seed
THEREFORE take heed to your spirit
and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth
FOR the LORD – the God of Israel
says that HE hates PUTTING AWAY
for one covers violence with his garment
says the LORD of hosts
THEREFORE take heed to your spirit
that you deal not treacherously
People were calling evil good verse 17
You have wearied the LORD with your words
YET you say – Wherein have we wearied HIM?
WHEN you say
Every one that does evil is good in the sight of the LORD
and HE delights in them
OR – Where is the God of judgment?
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 5 MY covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before MY name. (1285 “covenant” [bariyth] means league, confederacy, alliance, pledge, treaty, contract, or contractual arrangement between God and a person.)
DEVOTION: God made a covenant with Aaron and the Levites. They were HIS personal possession. They were HIS representatives to the rest of the tribes of Israel.
They were HIS inheritance and they were HIS. They were not given land like the rest of the tribes because their income was to come from the tithes and offerings of the people.
They had a special responsibility to teach the people who to worship and obey the LORD.
They were to have a reverent fear of the LORD. They were to manifest this fear or reverence before the people. The people were to learn from their example. The LORD put
them up as HIS representative to the rest of the world as the only HOLY people who could properly teach the truths of HIS Word.
When they taught properly and the people listened there was going to be peace in Israel.
There was also going to be longer life for those who listened to HIS Word. That promise is restated in the New Testament. We are to fear the LORD and if we do we will be blessed of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Do we still need life and peace today? It all begins with the fear of the LORD!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. (1847 “knowledge” [da’ath] means perception, learn to know, find out and discern, be acquainted with, skill, discernment, understanding , or wisdom)
DEVOTION: These first two chapters of Malachi’s message are directed toward the priests in the Temple. The starting age of the ministry of a priest was thirty years. He was a student until that time. After this time he served when it was his turn.
Malachi was informing the priests that their lips were supposed to be ones that had wisdom, discernment and skill. The priesthood had to be a lifetime of learning the commands of the LORD. He had to read the Law of the LORD on a regular basis. He had to know the history of the relationship of the people with the LORD. It was a serious responsibility. Remember that the two sons of Levi offered strange fire and were killed immediately.
The LORD took the responsibility of the priesthood seriously. HE wanted them to know that they were a special group of people. They were made up of only one tribe: Levi. The LORD was their inheritance. They were given refuse cities. Their pay was the tithes and offerings of the people. When the people followed the Law and honored the LORD the priests were will paid. When the people didn’t honor the LORD they were not so well paid.
Here we find that the priests were not living by the Law of the LORD. They were marrying outside their tribe. They were marrying foreign women who worshiped foreign gods. Some of them were unfaithful to their wives. Some of them were giving their wives a certificate of divorcement which the LORD hated. They were not giving the people a good example to follow.
Leadership has great responsibility. Leaders are sinners. The LORD knows this. But leaders are not to live in sin and let the people follow their example. The children of Israel were looking at God’s messengers and seeing the commit these sins and the LORD seemed to be letting them. The priests even thought that the LORD didn’t mind their sins.
However, Malachi tells them what the LORD thinks of their actions. He informs them that their lips are to be teaching the people what the LORD tells them through HIS Word. They are to be students of the Law. They are to be in right relationship with HIM and set the example for the people. The people are to come to the priests with questions and they are to give God’s answers to those questions through their study of the Law. The priests had forgotten that they were the messengers of the LORD. For their actions they were going to be judged by the LORD. They were not giving GLORY to the LORD with their actions.
This message is true today. Those who are called to be leaders in the church need to be students of the Word of God. Our example should be one that sets people to studying and living the Word of God in their lives. Does that mean that leaders never sin? NO!!! They are sinners like everyone else in the church. They are ones who should keep short accounts with the LORD. They are ones who shouldn’t think they are better than the rest of the people in their church. They are to be servants. All of the people should be able to come to them for answers. If they don’t know the answers, they should find someone who has studied more than them and find out the answers. The answers should always be BIBLICAL. Not based on feeling or tradition but based on the Word of God. Are the present leaders of the church giving Biblical answers to today’s problems here in America? Or are the leaders leading people away from the Word of God to politically correct answers to their questions. If leaders are more concerned with being politically correct than Biblically correct they will receive the great judgment either now or when they stand before the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Never stop being a student of the Word of God!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, said that he hates putting away: for one covers violence with his garment, says the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. (7971 “putting away” [shalach] means send away empty handed, send out, dismiss, give over, cast out, divorce, release, or get rid of)
DEVOTION: God had established a special relationship to the children of Israel. HE called Israel HIS bride. HE wanted Israel to be faithful to HIM. HE gave them rules to follow in the wilderness. HE blessed them with a Promised Land full of milk and honey. HE fought for them.
The problem was that they were not faithful to HIM when HE provided so much to them. They took HIS riches and gave it to false gods that were worshiped in the Promised Land and that they brought from Egypt. They knew they were blessed but they wanted to see a false god that was made with hands rather than a God they didn’t see.
Marriage was the type of relationship HE had established to last from the time HE called them until they went out of existence. That didn’t happen. HE told them that HE was going to divorce them for their unfaithfulness. HE also states here that HE hates divorce. HE doesn’t want anyone who is married to divorce their wife. It is doing violence to them. It is also doing violence to the children. Here it is also called treachery.
Today we find that many people are either not marrying or having children or they are having children and then divorcing their wife for another woman even some for a man. It is wrong in God’s eyes. HE looks at it as adultery for someone who is married to marry another.
God’s plan for HIS people is that once a man and woman marry it should last a lifetime. As a believer we should be able to forgive our spouse and work at the marriage.
The only reason God gave a writing of divorcement was because of hardness of heart. Christians should not have hardness of heart. Churches should be on the front line to help anyone who is struggling in their marriage. Pastors and Bible teachers should be teaching married couples how to forgive and live together. There might need to be times of separation but God wants marriages to last a lifetime.
The only one who wins in a divorce is the lawyer. The ones who lose the most are the children of divorce. It is necessary for couples to fight selfishness and laziness in their marriage. Marriage is W.O.R.K.
CHALLENGE: Understand God’s ideal for marriage and W.O.R.K. at your marriage with all your body, soul and spirit. Give your children an example they can follow.
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: 17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, Wherein have we wearied HIM? When you say, Every one that does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and HE delights in them; or, Where is the God of judgment? (3021 “wearied” [yaga] means to labor, struggle, strive, make to toil, to be fatigued, or to be exhausted.)
DEVOTION: God listens to every word that comes out of our mouth. HE hears what we say every day. HIS desire is to hear words of truth coming out of our mouth. HE doesn’t want to hear evil words. HE knows that our tongue can be a deadly poison. HE knows that those who are not followers of HIM say words that HE doesn’t like on a regular basis.
Here the LORD is speaking to HIS people through the prophet. Malachi is saying that the LORD is weary of hearing nice words coming from the mouths of HIS people but they are not living a life that is pleasing in HIS sight.
They are saying what they think HE wants to hear but acting completely different from HIS plan for their life. They are marrying unsaved individuals and thinking it is good in HIS sight. They are saying that those who are doing evil in the LORD’S sight are doing good. They are calling evil good. The opposite is what is happening they are calling good evil.
Our words mean something to the LORD. HE wants to hear us saying things that are pleasing in HIS hearing. HE wants all to remember that HE is a God of justice.
When people call evil good HE will judge those people. Today we fall into this category in many mouths of those who say that they love the LORD but say and teach things that are opposite to what HE says in the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: God is weary with many who say things but disobey HIS commands.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Priests verse 1, 7
Solemn feasts verse 3
Priest’s lips should keep knowledge verse 7
Offering verse 12, 13
Altar of the LORD verse 13
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Commandment verse 1, 4
Law of truth verse 6
Law verse 7, 8
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2, 4, 7, 8, 11- 14, 16, 17
LORD of hosts verse 2, 4, 7, 8,12, 16
Corrupt seed verse 3
Covenant of life and peace verse 4, 5, 8, 10
I have made priests contemptable and base
before all the people verse 9
Creator verse 10
Holiness of the LORD verse 11
Witness verse 14
Hates putting away verse 16
Sight of the LORD verse 17
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 10, 16, 17
Creator verse 10
God of Israel verse 16
God of judgment verse 17
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Will not hear verse 2
Not laid commandments to heart verse 2
Nor give glory to God’s name verse 2
Curse verse 2
Iniquity verse 6
Departing out of the Way verse 8, 9
Stumble verse 8
Corrupted covenant of Levi verse 8
Contemptible verse 9
Base verse 9
Not kept God’s ways verse 9
Partial in the Law verse 9
Deal treacherously verse 10, 11, 14- 16
Profane the covenant verse 10
Abomination verse 11
Profaned the holiness of the LORD verse 11
Married daughters of strange gods verse 11
Strange god verse 11
Dealing treacherously with wife of youth verse 14- 16
Hate verse 16
Putting away of wife verse 16
Wearied the LORD with your words verse 17
Evil is good verse 17
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Give glory to God’s name verse 2
Blessing verse 2
Covenant verse 4, 5, 8, 10, 14
Covenant of life and peace verse 5
Fear of the LORD verse 5
Law of truth was to be taught verse 6
Walk with peace and equity verse 6
Turn many away from sin verse 6
Knowledge verse 7
Seek law of God taught by priest verse 7
Messenger verse 7
Wife of covenant verse 14
Godly seed verse 15
Take heed to spirit verse 15, 16
Let none deal treacherously against the
wife of his youth verse 15
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Priests verse 1
Levi verse 4, 8
Should seek the law from mouth of priest verse 7
Priest is a messenger of the LORD of hosts verse 7
One father verse 10
Judah has dealt treacherously verse 11
Israel verse 11, 16
Jerusalem verse 11
Master verse 12
Scholar verse 12
Tabernacles of Jacob verse 12
Wife of your covenant verse 14
Godly seed verse 15
Spirit verse 16
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
17 This verse introduces chapter 3. Its closing question “Where is the God of justice?” points to the abuses in connection with worship and divorce. These have their roots in hearts destitute of the fear of God and culminate in avowed unbelief in the justice of almighty God and his moral government of the world. God himself will answer their question, for 3:1 has “the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple.” And 3:5 reads, “So I will come near to you for judgment.”
The first question in v.17 is “How have we wearied him [God]?” To this the prophet responded along now familiar lines. God was tired of hypocrisy, inverted morals, spiritual blindness, and obduracy. (Alden, R. L. (1986). Malachi. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets (Vol. 7, p. 719). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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2:17a. This oracle has a striking contrast between its first and last verses. Though the people had changed in their views on God’s justice (2:17) God Himself had not changed (3:6). Because He does not change, neither do His covenant promises. Therefore Israel’s faith and hope should have been stabilized. However, she was acting and talking as if she had no God to believe in or hope for. Therefore, ironically, the God whose word to people of faith is that He does not change or grow weary (cf. Isa. 40:28) is now said to be wearied with this people’s faithless and hopeless words (cf. Isa. 43:24).
B. Israel’s question of the charge (2:17b)
2:17b. Again the people were portrayed as being oblivious to their sin (cf. 1:6–7; 2:14): How have we wearied Him? (cf. Isa. 44:24)
C. The proof of the charge: No hope for God’s justice (2:17c)
2:17c. The apparent prosperity of the wicked (All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord) and the suffering of the righteous is an age-old problem. In the Old Testament the problem was more pronounced than it is today because God promised Israel material prosperity as a reward for obedience to His Law (Deut. 28). However, many of these promises were intended for the entire nation, and in a society in which the righteous and wicked were mixed, there was opportunity for confusion and misunderstanding in individual cases. Added to this is the fact that God in His providence blesses the wicked as well as the righteous as a testimony to Himself (Matt. 5:45; Acts 14:17). Also the righteous as well as the wicked suffer because of the Fall (Gen 3:16–19; Ecc. 2:17–23). The Book of Job adds to the dilemma of human suffering the extra dimension of God’s dealing with Satan. All of this makes it difficult, apart from known sin in one’s life, to determine why a righteous person suffers.
The prosperity of the wicked was equally perplexing and was discussed by at least five biblical writers (Job 21:7–26; 24:1–17; Ps. 73:1–14; Ecc. 8:14; Jer. 12:1–4; Hab. 1). Though answers to this problem are not given in these passages, in each case questions about God’s justice are removed by a futuristic perspective: God will come in judgment and punish the wicked (Job 24:22–24; 27:13–23; Ps. 73:16–20; Ecc. 8:12–13; Jer. 12:7–17; Hab. 2:3; 3:2–19) and establish the righteous in His kingdom forever.
The Jews in Malachi’s day had failed to learn such hope from the Scriptures. They questioned God’s justice by saying that He delights in evil people and by asking, Where is the God of justice? Yet they were the guilty ones; they were the ones who were unfaithful to Him. Here too God responded by referring to His forthcoming judgment (Mal. 3:1–5). However, unlike the answers by the righteous biblical writers mentioned earlier, the judgment which Malachi referred to was to be against the hypocritical questioners as well. (Blaising, C. A. (1985). Malachi. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1582–1583). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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“You have wearied the Lord with your words,” the prophet said; and they replied, “How have we wearied Him?” (2:17, niv) Of course, God never gets weary in a physical sense because God doesn’t have a body (Isa. 40:28), but He does grow weary of some of the things His people say and do. The hypocritical people in Israel wearied God with their iniquities (43:24), and the Jewish remnant in Malachi’s day wearied Him with their words.
Their words were cynical and skeptical. “We came back to the land, rebuilt the temple, and restored the worship,” they said, “and look at the difficulties we’re experiencing! Why isn’t God keeping his promise? Where are all the blessings He promised through His prophets?” It was the age-old problem of “Why do the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper?” Job and his friends wrestled with it, and so did Asaph (Ps. 73), Jeremiah (Jer. 12), and Habakkuk.
But these skeptical Jews had forgotten the terms of the covenant and the conditions laid down by the prophets: if the people obeyed God’s law, God would bless them with all they needed. But they were divorcing their wives, marrying pagan women, offering defiled sacrifices, robbing God of tithes and offerings, and complaining about having to serve the Lord! For God to bless people like that would mean approving of their sins. The Jews didn’t need justice; they needed mercy! (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be amazed (pp. 152–153). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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2:17 wearied the Lord. Disillusionment followed the rebuilding of the temple. The presence of God had not come to the new temple. They began to live in indifference to God. Calloused and lacking in spiritual discernment, the people persisted in cynical expressions of innocence. They had rejected all intention of taking right and wrong seriously. So deeply gripped by complacent self-righteousness, they had the gall to insolently question the Lord, implying that He seemed to favor the wicked and was unconcerned about the righ teous. The prophet faced them with imminent judgment, telling them God was coming, but to refine and purify (cf. 3:1, 5). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Mal 2:17). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 17. Ye have wearied the Lord with your words, &c.] As well as with their actions; see Isa. 43:24. this is said after the manner of men, they saying those things which were displeasing and provoking to him, and which he could not bear to hear; or otherwise weariness properly cannot be attributed to God: yet ye say, wherein have we wearied him? as if they were clear and innocent; or, as the Targum, if ye should say; though they might not express themselves in words in such an impudent manner; yet should they say so in their hearts, or supposing they should utter such words with their lips, out of the abundance of their evil hearts, the answer is ready: when ye say, every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; which they concluded from the prosperity of the wicked, and the afflictions of the righteous; so murmuring at, and complaining of, the providence of God; he acting as if he delighted in wicked men, and as if they that did evil were the most grateful and acceptable to him: or, if this was not the case, where is the God of judgment? why does he not arise and shew himself to be a God that judgeth the earth, by taking vengeance on the wicked, and granting prosperity to his people? De Dieu takes these last words to be the words of the prophet, and thinks that או is a particle of exclamation, and should be rendered O; and that the prophet expresses his wonder at the patience and long-suffering of God in bearing such impiety and blasphemy as before delivered. The Septuagint and Arabic versions are, where is the God of righteousness? either God the Father, who is righteous in all his ways, and faithful in the fulfilment of all his promises; or, Christ the Lord our righteousness, who was to come, and is come into this world for judgment, as well as to bring in an everlasting righteousness. This may be considered as a scoff of wicked men at the long delay of the Messiah’s coming, when they expected outward prosperity and happiness; just as the scoffers in the last day will mock at the promise of his second coming, 2 Pet. 3:3, 4 and so the words, with which the next chapter begins, are an answer to these. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 765). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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The Jews attacked the providence of God by bringing up the worn-out argument of the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous. Malachi’s response indicated that God was sick of hearing the same old slanders served up by immoral people to justify their evil lifestyles. The prophet wrote:
Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment? (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring the Minor Prophets: An Expository Commentary (Mal 2:17). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
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FROM MY READING:
Someone who says hell cannot be real, or we can’t all deserve it even if it is real, because God is love is saying that the name and the renown and the glory of Christ aren’t that big a deal. Is this the approach we want to take, that hell for eternity is the wrong punishment for our belittlement of the glory of God? If so, in essence we say, “The punishment doesn’t fit the crime because the crime isn’t that big of a deal.” Is this justifiable logic? No, it’s just a slight case of refusal to be satisfied with the all-sufficiency of the God of the universe. (p. 45, the Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler)
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To commit a sin, a man must for the moment believe that things are different from what they really are. He must confound values – he must see the moral universe out of focus. (p. 94)
One of our great tasks is to demonstrate to the young people of this generation that there is nothing stupid about righteousness. To do so, we must stop negotiating with evil. (p. 95) (TozerSpeaks by A. W. Tozer volume one)
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Acts 17
As Paul continues his journey, he establishes churches.
INSIGHT
It is often necessary to establish common ground with others in order to win an audience for the Gospel. Paul uses a point of common ground when he begins talking to the people of Athens about the idol bearing the inscription: “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”(17:23). Catching their interest, Paul develops his argument to present to them the living Christ (vv. 30-31). This skillful message is used by the Holy Spirit to bring men and women to Jesus Christ. (Quiet Walk)
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DIVINE OFFICES OF CHRIST
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Philippians 3:21
Christ is said to hold and to fulfill certain divine offices. First of all, creation: “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). You will find the same thing repeated in Colossians 1:16, and again in Hebrews 1:10. But we are also told that He preserves everything. Hebrews 1:3 refers to His “upholding all things by the word of his power.” And again, in Colossians 1:17 you find that “by him all things consist.”
Notice also that He did not hesitate to claim the power to forgive sins. He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:5). He also claimed power to raise the dead; you find that mentioned several times in John 6:39-44: “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which see the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
The apostle Paul claims that Christ also has power to transform our bodies: “…who shall change our vile body [or this body of our humiliation], that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:21).
A Thought to Ponder: Christ did not hesitate to claim the power to forgive sins. (From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 268-269, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Christ: Our Example
“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)
Some have tried to pattern their lives after that of Jesus simply by asking in every situation, “What would Jesus do?” But in the context of our text, the primary “example” that He left us was nothing less than His own sacrificial death!
Note the context: “For this is thankworthy [same word as ‘grace’], if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully . . . if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, yet take it patiently, this is acceptable [also the same word as ‘grace’] with God” (1 Peter 2:19-20).
To follow Christ’s example, therefore, is to be willing to endure unjustified suffering—even defamation and persecution—with grace and patience.
But that is not all; we must also do it in silence! “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not” (1 Peter 2:23). “As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).
It is a natural reaction to want to strike back at one who has slandered or injured us, especially if such an act was an insulting response to kindness. But such a “natural” reaction was not Christ’s reaction. He could have called “twelve legions of angels” (Matthew 26:53) to His defense, but He chose to suffer in silence.
And why would He do such a thing? First, if He had not done so, we would have been lost in our sins forever. He “bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).
Second, He left us an example, that we “should follow his steps.” He was not just silent in His sufferings; “He suffered for us!” If we would really be like Him, we must be willing to suffer quietly on behalf of others, even when they are the ones who deserve it. This is acceptable with God! (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Daily Hope
Today’s Scripture Ecclesiastes 1:3-11
“The more things change the more they remain the same.” That is a statement I have heard many times in my lifetime and while we have seen many apparent changes, the basic elements of life are unchanging. The sun rises and the sun sets, people are born and people die. Certain parts of our lives are constant and unchanging.
Solomon has stated that, “all is vanity” in verse two. The seriousness of the statement immediately strikes us. It may, at first, appear depressing and fatalistic but it also is one that can bring stability and contentment to one’s life. Solomon uses the big picture concept of science to show us the reality of how unchanging our world is to our existence. He speaks of the permanence of the rising and setting of the sun, the currents of wind that blow and the cycle of water that flows from the land to the sea and back. As man comes and goes, the natural laws and established principles remain firmly in place.
While these statements may appear negative, the concrete nature of his writings brings an awareness of our limited and brief stint here on earth. Man, in looking only at the limited opportunity of time, is forced to realize the futility of his life. We are nothing more than cog in the cycle of earthly existence that constantly repeats itself. Solomon desires for his readers to recognize and realize that life is brief when looked only through the lens of nature or science.
When our focus is only on the present laws or principles of this world, we are forced to see the insignificance of ourselves. Solomon shows that the unchanging nature places us into a bondage that is inescapable. This passage is not a contradiction to the Gospel but a call for it. The world is in bondage; and humanity is unable to fully explain, find satisfaction in, or alter it.
Only the WORD, who came into the world from above, can open the way of understanding and escape (John 8:23, 31–32). Jesus has done a new thing: He has created a new covenant, given new birth, new life, and a new commandment (Jeremiah 31:31–34). Everything old and of this natural world passing away. Science does not have the answers for eternity but God does. How liberating to know that God’s plan goes beyond the natural laws of this passage to include the spiritual laws not mentioned here. After the resurrection John wrote “… these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). Continue to seek Him and His word by reading it daily.
With an Expectant hope, Pastor Miller
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