Matthew 11
Jesus goes out on HIS own to teach verse 1
And it came to pass
when Jesus had made an end of commanding HIS twelve disciples
HE departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities
Disciples of John ask Jesus a question verse 2- 3
Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ – he sent two of his disciples
and said unto HIM – Are YOU HE that should come – or do we look for another?
Jesus replies to their verse 4- 6
Jesus answered and said to them
Go and show John again those things which you do HEAR and SEE
the blind receive their sight – lame walk – lepers are cleansed
deaf hear – dead are raised up
and poor have the gospel preached to them
AND blessed is he – whosoever shall not be offended in ME
Jesus instructs crowd regarding ministry of John the Baptist verse 7- 12
And as they departed – Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John What went you out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?But what went you out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?BEHOLD they that wear soft clothing are in the kings’ houses But what went you out for to see? A prophet?
YEA I say to you – and more than a prophet
FOR this is he of whom it is written
BEHOLD – I send MY messenger before YOUR face
which shall prepare YOUR way before YOU
Verily I say unto you
Among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist – NOTWITHSTANDING
he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he
AND from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence
and the violent take it by force
Jesus instructs crowd regarding prophets verse 13- 15
FOR all the prophets and the law prophesied until John
and IF you will receive it – this is Elijah – which was for to come
He that has ears to hear – let him hear
Jesus compares present generation verse 16- 17
BUT whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets
and calling unto their fellows – saying
We have piped unto you – and you have not danced
We have mourned unto you – and you have not lamented
Jesus compares HIS ministry with John the Baptist verse 18- 19
FOR John came neither eating nor drinking – and they say – He hath a devil
The Son of man came eating and drinking – and they say
BEHOLD a man gluttonous and a winebidder
a friend of publicans and sinners
BUT wisdom is justified of her children
Jesus condemns towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida verse 20- 22
Then began HE to upbraid the cities wherein most of HIS mighty works were done
BECAUSE they repented not – Woe to you –Chorazin
Woe to you – Bethsaida – FOR IF the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon
they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes
BUT I say unto you
It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment – than for you
Jesus condemns town of Capernaum verse 23- 24
AND you Capernaum – which are exalted unto heaven – shalt be brought down to hell
FOR IF the mighty works – which have been done in you – had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day
BUT I say to you
That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you
Jesus’ prayer verse 25- 26
AT that time Jesus answered and said – I thank YOU – O Father – Lord of heaven and earth
BECAUSE YOU have hid these things from the wise and prudent
AND have revealed them to babes
EVEN SO – Father – for so it seemed good in YOUR sight
Jesus statement about relationship with Father verse 27
All things are delivered to ME of MY Father – and no man knows the Son
save the Father – neither knows any man the Father – save the Son
AND he to whomsoever the Son will reveal HIM
Jesus gives an invitation verse 28- 30
COME to ME all you that labor and are heavy laden – and I will give you rest
TAKE MY yoke upon you – and learn of ME
FOR I am meek and lowly in heart
and you shall find rest unto your souls
FOR MY yoke is easy – and MY burden is light
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. (1344 “justified” [dikaioo] means be freed, be righteous, pronounce one to be just, to put right with, obey righteous commands, put right with, vindicate, show to be right, or innocent.)
DEVOTION: There is a difference in the opinion of the Pharisees regarding how to best represent God and how Jesus represented God. The Pharisees saw themselves as above everyone around them because they thought they were closer to God than most other people. They were God’s representative to the people. They thought they were setting a good example for the people to follow.
Jesus comes along and tells them that they are not a good representative of God in fact they were leading people in the wrong direction. HE tells them that they are obeying traditions of men rather than the commands of God.
What was their reaction to HIS statements? They started calling HIM names. They started accusing HIM of hanging out with the wrong people. They were trying to ruin HIS reputation with the common man on the street.
Jesus told the people just what they were saying and added this little statement at the end. HE wanted them to know that HE was acting according to the way the Father would want HIM to act and that in the end HE would be pronounced righteous. Jesus didn’t want to follow the example of the Pharisees because HE knew it was wrong. They were not reaching the people with the good new but with a burden.
We are to try to watch what people say about us but we need to also realize that the one we are to please is the LORD. HE knows our heart. Jesus was right about what others said about HIM because they wanted the power. HE was taking it away from them.
Watch out for religious leaders who say that they have arrived at perfection or at least close to it and want you to follow them. We are to follow Jesus’ example. We are to compare HIS actions with ours and see if they match up. We are going to be judged by our actions.
CHALLENGE: Our responsibility is to lead people in the right direction. Some will follow but others will just find fault. They did the same with Jesus.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I think you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes. (601 “revealed” [apokalupto] means to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up, to disclose, make bare, to make know information that was previously known only to a few people or that was hidden or meant to be kept a secret, or unveil.)
DEVOTION: While Jesus was on this earth HE took time out of HIS schedule to talk with God the Father. It seems strange for one person of the Godhead to talk to another person of the Godhead but this was revealed back in Genesis 1: 26. They were communicating with each other regarding the creation of the world. They communicated with each other especially at the time of the creation of man and woman.
Jesus is now on the earth for thirty-three years. The last three years HE is involved in public ministry. HE is praying before a group HE is teaching. It is a short prayer but one that reveals more about the relationship between the Father and the Son and those who are being trained.
There are two groups around Jesus at all times. There are those who will listen and those who will not listen. They hear HIM speak but the truths HE is revealing are hidden from those who think themselves too clever to have to learn. This included the religious leaders who thought they had their act together.
The other group is those who come to HIM in childlike faith and trust HIM to teach them the truth that they are to follow. God only reveals truth to those who are genuinely listening to HIM. Some try to fake it but God knows the difference. There are times when I wish I could tell the difference quicker.
CHALLENGE: Discernment is necessary in our world. There are many fakers. There are many who seem to say the right things but their life is not the same as their voice! What we say and do must match!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knows the Son, but the Father; neither knows any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him (601 “reveal” [apokalupto] means to uncover, disclose, lay open what has been veiled or covered up, to make known, or make manifest.
DEVOTION: Jesus has just finished giving instructions to HIS disciples for their first mission trip. HE starts preaching and teaching others. As HE is busy doing HIS Father’s business the disciples of John come to him with a question from John. The question is: Are you the Messiah?
Jesus answers by telling them to follow HIS ministry and observe what HE is doing. They observe that HE is fulfilling the prophesies of Isaiah regarding the Messiah.
After the disciples of John leave HE teaches the people about John the Baptist, HIS cousin. John was a prophet who fulfilled the passage in Malachi. HE compares what people said about John and his ministry with what people are saying about HIS ministry.
The children of Israel had been listening to their religious leaders for 400 years. The Bible had been silent since the prophecies of Malachi. There were many groups who where influences the Jewish people. There were the Pharisees with all their legalistic rules. There were the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection from the dead or angels. There were the Herodians who wanted to please Rome. There were the Zeolots who wanted to overthrow Rome.
Many leaders were teaching the people what they believed they were supposed to be doing here on this earth. Along comes Jesus and HE is teaching the people who God the Father is. HE is teaching that HE is the Lord of heaven and earth. HE is teaching that the poor were to have the gospel preached to them. HIS teaching and preaching was very different from the teachings of their present religious teachers. HE wanted people to know who the Father was. HE stated that HE was the only one who knew the Father. HE stated that the only one who knew HIM was the Father.
Now comes the good part. There is a select few who receive the revelation as to who Jesus really is. There are very few who understand who the Father is. The truth of the matter is that the majority of the people who hear about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit don’t understand their relationship to each other. That is why the Holy Spirit is a teacher. Those who don’t listen to the ministry of the Holy Spirit will NEVER become true followers of the LORD. They just think it is foolishness.
An invitation is given to those who are receiving the revelation of who Jesus and the Father really are. The invitation is to let the LORD handle their burdens. They are to rest and let HIM do the work in every trial. It is a light thing for the LORD to handle our problems. We have to let HIM have them instead of handling them ourselves in our own strength. Who is stronger?????
We need to spread the good news of the gospel across our land. We need to reveal the truth of the Word of God to the people in our world. Most don’t know what the Bible teaches about the Godhead. Are we learning? Are we teaching? Are we just following the religious leaders of our time instead of the Biblical teachers of our time? Christ made known the Father to the people in HIS world. We need to do the same.
CHALLENGE: Be open to learn what the LORD wants you to know at your present stage of growth in HIM. HE doesn’t want us to be non-learners. We can be slow and steady learners for HIM.
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: 30 For MY yoke is easy and MY burden is light. (5543 “easy” [chrestos] means good, kind, benevolent, not harsh or stern or severe, manageable, or loving.)
DEVOTION: Jesus gives an invitation to those who are listening to HIS message. HE wants them to understand that what HE is teaching is simple. It is not to be burdensome like the 365 laws the Pharisees made up for daily living. The religious leaders were so busy making up more rules for the people to follow they forgot to take time to get to know the LORD in a genuine way.
HE wanted them to understand that when they became a genuine follower of HIM that HE was going to be there by their side to help them along the way to eternal life. HE wanted them to know that HE was carrying the heaviest part of the load.
In those days there were two animals in the yoke. There were an older ox and a younger ox. The older ox was training the younger. Jesus represented the older ox. HE was right alongside someone who was willing to be trained.
CHALLENGE: Many who call themselves believers are not willing to be trained.
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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)
Jesus communication with the Father verse 25-27
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
It is written (Malachi 3: 1) verse 10
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Father verse 25- 27
Lord of heaven and earth verse 25
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Jesus verse 1, 4, 7, 25
Commanding disciples verse 1
Works of Christ verse 2
Christ verse 2
Jesus answers John’s disciples verse 4- 6
Son of man verse 19
Gluttonous verse 19
Winebibber verse 19
Friend of publicans and sinners verse 19
Upbraid the cities verse 20
Son verse 27
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Devil verse 18
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Chorarin verse 21
Tyre verse 21
Sidon verse 21
Sodom verse 23, 24
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Gluttonous verse 19
Winebibber verse 19
Publicans verse 19
Sinners verse 19
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Teach verse 1
Preach verse 1, 5
Hear verse 15
Wisdom verse 19
Justified verse 19
Repent verse 20, 21
Prayer verse 25, 26
Babes verse 25
Father revealed verse 27
Come to Jesus all laborers verse 28
Come all those who are heaven laden verse 28
Rest verse 28, 29
Learn verse 29
Meek verse 29
Lowly verse 29
Yoke is easy verse 30
Burden is light verse 30
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Twelve disciples verse 1
John –prison & prophet verse 2, 7- 15, 18
Two of John’s disciples verse 2
Two disciples question Jesus verse 3
John the Baptist verse 12
Elijah – Elias verse 14
Capernaum verse 23
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Kingdom of heaven verse 11, 12
Day of judgment verse 22, 24
Hell verse 23
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QUOTES regarding passage
29–30 The “yoke” (v. 29), put on animals for pulling heavy loads, is a metaphor for the discipline of discipleship. If Jesus is not offering the yoke of the law (Pirke Aboth 3:6, cf. Ecclesiasticus 51:26), neither is he offering freedom from all constraints. The “yoke” is Jesus’ yoke, not the yoke of the law; discipleship must be to him. In view of Mt 11:27, learn from me cannot mean imitate me or learn from my experience (contra Stauffer, TDNT, 2:348f.) but learn from the revelation that I alone impart (cf. Schmid).
The marvelous feature of this invitation is that out of his overwhelming authority (v. 27) Jesus encourages the burdened to come to him because he is “gentle and humble in heart.” Matthew stresses Jesus’ gentleness (18:1–10, 19:13–15). Apparently the theme is connected with the messianic servant language (Isa 42:2–3; 53:1–2; cf. Zech 9:9, cited in Matt 21:5) that recurs in 12:15–21. Authoritative revealer that he is, Jesus approaches us with a true servant’s gentleness. For the present his messianic reign must not be understood as exclusively royal. On “rest” see 11:28; but here the words “and you will find rest for your souls” are directly quoted from Jeremiah 6:16 (MT, not LXX). The entire verse is steeped in OT language (cf. Gundry, Use of OT, p. 136); but if this is intended to be not just an allusion but a fulfillment passage, then Jesus is saying that “the ancient paths” and “the good way” (Jer 6:16) lie in taking on his yoke because he is the one to whom the OT Scriptures point. That yoke is “easy” (good, comfortable) and his burden is light (Mt 11:30). The “rest” he promises is not only for the world to come but also for this one as well.
The implicit contrast between Jesus’ yoke and that of others is not between antinomianism and legalism, for in a deep sense his demands (5:21–48) are far more radical than theirs; nor between salvation by law and salvation by grace (contra Bornkamm, Tradition, p. 148, n. 2); nor between harsh attitudes among Jewish teachers of the law and Jesus’ humane and humble approach (Klostermann). No, the contrast is between the burden of submission to the OT in terms of Pharisaic regulation and the relief of coming under Jesus’ tutelage as under the authority of gentle Revealer to whom the OT, the ancient paths, truly pointed (cf. H.D. Betz, “The Logion of the Easy Yoke and of Rest [Matt 11:28–30],” JBL 86 [1967]: 10–24). (Carson, D. A. (1984). Matthew. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, pp. 278–279). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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30. Easy (χρηστὸς). Not a satisfactory rendering. Christ’s yoke is not easy in the ordinary sense of that word. The word means originally, good, serviceable. The kindred noun, χρηστότης, occurring only in Paul’s writings, is rendered kindness in 2 Cor. 6:6; Tit. 3:4; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 2:7 (Rev.), and goodness, Rom. 2:4 (Rev.). At Luke 5:39, it is used of old wine, where the true reading, instead of better, is good (χρηστός), mellowed with age. Plato (“Republic,” 424) applies the word to education. “Good nurture and education (τροφὴ γὰρ καὶ παίδευσις χρηστὴ), implant good (ἀγαθὰς) constitutions; and these good (χρησταὶ) constitutions improve more and more;” thus evidently using χρηστός and ἀγαθός as synonymous. The three meanings combine in the word, though it is impossible to find an English word which combines them all. Christ’s yoke is wholesome, serviceable, kindly. “Christ’s yoke is like feathers to a bird; not loads, but helps to motion” (Jeremy Taylor). (Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 1, p. 70). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.)
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Therefore Jesus issued a call to all … who are weary (hoi kopiōntes, “those tired from hard toil”) and burdened (pephortismenoi, “those loaded down”; cf. phortion, “load,” in Matt. 11:30) to come to Him. People’s weariness comes from enduring their burdens, probably the burdens of sin and its consequences. Rather, they should come and yoke themselves with Jesus. By placing themselves under His yoke and learning from Him, they may find rest for their souls from sins’ burdens. By yoking, they become true disciples of Jesus and join Him in His proclamation of divine wisdom. To learn (mathete) from Him is to be His disciple (mathētēs). People can trade their heavy, tiring burdens for His yoke and burden (phortion, “load”), which by contrast are easy and light. To serve Him is no burden, for He, in contrast with those who reject Him, is gentle (praus; cf. 5:5) and humble. (Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 45). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Invitation (vv. 25–30). Why did the religious leaders rebel against John and Jesus? Because they (the leaders) were intellectually and spiritually proud and would not become little babes in humility and honesty. There is a vast difference between the spoiled children of the parable (Matt. 11:16–19) and the submissive children of this statement of praise. The Father reveals Himself to the Son, and the Son reveals Himself and the Father to those who are willing to come to the Son in faith. These verses indicate both the sovereignty of the Father and the responsibility of the sinner. Three commands summarize this invitation.
“Come.” The Pharisees all said “Do!” and tried to make the people follow Moses and the traditions. But true salvation is found only in a Person, Jesus Christ. To come to Him means to trust Him. This invitation is open to those who are exhausted and burdened down. That is exactly how the people felt under the yoke of pharisaical legalism (Matt. 23:4; Acts 15:10).
“Take.” This is a deeper experience. When we come to Christ by faith, He gives us rest. When we take His yoke and learn, we find rest, that deeper rest of surrender and obedience. The first is “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1); the second is “the peace of God” (Phil. 4:6–8). To “take a yoke” in that day meant to become a disciple. When we submit to Christ, we are yoked to Him. The word “easy” means “well-fitting”; He has just the yoke that is tailor-made for our lives and needs. The burden of doing His will is not a heavy one (1 John 5:3).
“Learn.” The first two commands represent a crisis as we come and yield to Christ; but this step is into a process. As we learn more about Him, we find a deeper peace, because we trust Him more. Life is simplified and unified around the person of Christ. This invitation is for “all”—not just the people of Israel (Matt. 10:5–6). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 41). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
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11:28–30 I will give you rest. Jesus turns from taking solace in God’s sovereignty to an invitation for people to come to him. It is only through Jesus that people come to know the Father, so it is fitting for Jesus to invite them to come to him and to promise that he will give them rest as they take his yoke upon them. Here Jesus takes on the role of God in fulfilling the OT promises of rest (Exod 33:14; cf. Deut 12:10; 25:19; Josh 1:13; 22:4; 2 Sam 7:11; Isa 14:3; 28:12; Heb 3:11, 18; 4:1–11). This broader concept of rest is based on God’s rest after creation as the model for Israel’s rest on the Sabbath (Gen 2:2; Exod 35:2). The invitation is stated in a twofold manner: Jesus invites people (1) to come to him (cf. 4:19; 22:4) and (2) to take his yoke upon them and learn from him. Both invitations are followed by promises of rest (an allusion to Jer 6:16), and there is additional incentive provided in the description of Jesus’ yoke and burden in 11:30. But in reality there is only one invitation, and it is to a life of discipleship, one of following Jesus’ teaching and example of humility and gentleness (cf. 5:5), symbolized by the yoke.
Jesus promised rest to those who were weary because his yoke was easy to bear and his burden was light. This language echoes the way wisdom (cf. 11:19; 23:34) was characterized in the intertestamental book of Sirach (Sir 6:23–31; 24:19; 51:23–27), which seems to develop the personification of wisdom in Prov 8:1–9:6. It is likely that there is an implied contrast to the yoke (cf. Acts 15:10; Gal 5:1) and burden (cf. 23:4; Luke 11:46) of Pharisaism here. It is not that the Torah is a heavy burden that Jesus will remove but that the Pharisaic traditions have encumbered those who wish to obey the Torah. Jesus, as the definitive interpreter of Torah (5:17–20), fulfilled the role of wisdom and was the sole agent who could provide rest for the people of God. (See Laansma 1997 for a penetrating analysis of this passage.) (Turner, D., & Bock, D. L. (2005). Cornerstone biblical commentary, Vol 11: Matthew and Mark (pp. 165–166). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.)
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“My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Many shrink from submitting to His yoke, fearing it may involve greater sacrifices than they are ready to make. But all who acknowledge His authority and blend their wills with His find they enter a rest such as the weary of this world never know.
The Two Rests. The rest that the Lord Jesus gives freely to all who come to Him is rest of conscience in regard to the sin question. The distressed soul, burdened with a sense of guilt, comes to Him and finds peace when he trusts Him as the great Sin-Bearer. The second rest is rest of heart. Adverse circumstances may rise up to alarm and fill the heart with fear and anxiety, but he who takes Christ’s yoke and learns of Him is able to be calm in the midst of the storm. He finds perfect rest as he trusts all to Him who sitteth over the waterfloods and is Lord of all the elements. These two rests are the same as the two aspects of peace presented in the Epistles. Rest of conscience is the equivalent of that peace with God which is the portion of all who are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1). Rest of soul is the same as that peace of God which passeth all understanding (Phil. 4:6, 7), and is enjoyed by all who learn to commit everything to the Lord. (Ironside, H. A. (1948). Expository notes on the Gospel of Matthew. (pp. 139–140). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
Romans 5
“Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 1).
INSIGHT
Paul spells out in specific terms how our salvation is accomplished. We learn that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
We also discover that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
“Sin entered the world” through Adam “and death through sin,” for all sinned (5:12). But salvation is offered to all through the God-Man, Jesus Christ. We can escape death by trusting in Christ as our Redeemer.
(Quiet Walk)
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FELLOWSHIP WITH THE FATHER–FROM OUR SIDE
…and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3
“Our fellowship is with the Father.” We have communion with God. This can be looked at from our side. What does this wondrous thing that has been made possible for us in Christ mean from our side? It means, obviously and of necessity, that we have come to know God. God is no longer a stranger somewhere away in the heavens; He is no longer some stray force or power somewhere, some supreme energy. God is no longer some potentate or lawgiver far removed and faraway from us; God now is someone we know.
Consider the apostle Paul especially as he deals with this. You will find that in writing to the Galatians he talks about their knowing God; “but now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God…” (Galatians 4:9). That is the idea. God is now a reality–we know Him; that is the very essence of this matter. You cannot have communion, you cannot have conversation with a person without knowing that person; there is nothing distant”there is an intimacy and a knowledge.
The Christian, says John, is one who has come to know God, but it is not only that. God not only is a great person–I speak with reverence–the Christian is one who has come to know God as Father. That is why John uses his terms so carefully–“our fellowship is with the Father.” The Christian is one who turns to God and addresses Him as “Abba, Father.” That is how Paul puts it in Romans 8:15″we have the spirit of adoption, the result of which is that we know God in an intimate way so that we address Him as “Abba, Father” because we are His children. This also means that we delight in God and that we have joy in His presence. We know God in that way.
A Thought to Ponder: It means, obviously and of necessity, that we have come to know God.
(From Fellowship with God, p. 83, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Beware of False Teachers
“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.” (2 Peter 3:17)
Peter’s final epistle, especially chapters 2 and 3, is the classic New Testament passage on the false teachers that would plague the church in the “last days” (v. 3). In addition to the characteristics listed in the introductory verse, 2:1 (e.g., slipping in surreptitiously heretical teachings, denying the redemptive work and Lordship of Christ), a number of their attributes are predicted for our guidance, as follows:
They will “wrest the scriptures” (3:16), distorting their literal meaning to conform to their own philosophical preferences. This involves using “feigned words” (2:3)—that is, plastic words, with devious meanings to make them say what their users wish to convey. They may well be very eloquent and seductive in their speech, “when they speak great swelling words of vanity” (2:18).
They will deny the doctrine of special creation and the judgment of the worldwide Flood (3:5-6), teaching instead that “all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (v. 4), and will scoff at the Second Coming. They “despise government” and are “presumptuous” and “selfwilled . . . not afraid to speak evil of dignities” (2:10).
They both practice and defend immoral acts, “having eyes full of adultery” (v. 14). Yet they maintain their religious ties because they have hearts “exercised with covetous practices” (v. 14), seeing nothing evil in taking money for personal gain from those whose faith they seek to undermine.
This is, indeed, a fitting description of many modern liberal theologians, religious bureaucrats in the big denominations, “New Age” preachers, college teachers of religion, etc. Although this is not a pleasant subject, Christians urgently need to awaken to what is happening and “beware”!
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Man has fallen, certain angels have fallen, but the astounding message of the gospel is that the Lord Jesus Christ does not lay hold upon the angels in order to rescue and redeem them – he does it only for the seed of Abraham. (p. 120)
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There is another suggestion in the second chapter of Hebrews as to why all this was done, and it is that he might forever silence the Devil. (p.126) (A Merciful and Faithful High Priest by Dr. Martyn Llloyd-Jones)
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Daily Hope
Today’s Scripture Ecclesiastes 7:11-22
All our young lives are spent in the classroom. It appears that the gathering and garnering of knowledge is something that this culture has placed as an essential element for youth! From grade school to high school countless hours are poured into the accumulation of knowledge and application of those nuggets of information.
Solomon would agree with this summation for the need of knowledge which provides us with the needed skills necessary for the lifestyle we live. Solomon’s greater emphasis becomes the need for man to consider the work of God in their lives. As God is in control of the activities not only of our individual life but also the whole world, it is wise for us to consider His appointments and plan for life.
When we accept that God is control and He has appointed certain events to transpire, we will have a more mature perspective to walk through the changing circumstances of the day. We may not understand why a righteous person dies early in their life or why a cruel, vile person lives to old age but our faith in God’s sovereignty will allow us to continue and trust that God judges all righteously.
Solomon applies the understanding of the work of God by instructing the reader to be moderate in their lifestyle and fear God throughout their busy lives. His statement in verses 20-22 reveals man’s weakness and propensity to do wrong. The Apostle Paul in the book of Romans agrees with Solomon’s wisdom by stating “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 22b-23).
Apply the wisdom of Solomon from this passage today. Be wise and demonstrate that wisdom by showing compassion and patience toward those who offend or speak badly to you and trust God’s sovereignty!
With an Expectant hope, Pastor Miller
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