John 1:14-18 The Word became Flesh

   14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

In John 1:14-18, John finally reveals that the Word which he has been talking about who was with God and was God was made flesh.  In this manner, he introduces the concept of the incarnation.  That Jesus took on flesh and dwelt among us.  The word dwelt is skenoo which means he fixed his tabernacle among us or to dwell.  The word tabernacle is important and brings to memory the tabernacle that was made in the Old Testament which was a tent or a temporary dwelling.  In this case, it was also a temporary dwelling, but it was a body made of flesh.  John says that this glory we beheld which was full of grace and truth.

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

   John goes on to say that John the Baptist gave a testimony about Jesus.  The word "bare witness" is martyreo or one who gives testimony.  John testified about two things here and in verse 30, that he had a higher rank than John and that he also existed before John.  Even though, John's physical birth came first, John is referring to Jesus' eternal nature as a part of the Godhead.  The idea of one who comes after me erchomai has in it the idea of someone who arises or enters the stage.  By becoming incarnate, Jesus enters history and walks onto the stage of human life and reveals the nature of God to man.   He reveals the "fulness" of God because he is the exact representation of who God is (Hebrews 1:3).  Jesus said that the one who had seen him had seen the Father (John 14:9)

16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.  17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

   John goes on to mention the law and Moses in verse 17.   While by Moses the law was created and revealed, by the person of Jesus grace and truth was revealed.  Over and over again throughout scripture, it is clear that the law was imperfect and useless to save us from our sins.  Romans 8:3 says that what the law could not do, the Father did by sending us His son as an offering for sin.  The law is only a shadow (Heb 10:1) and the sacrifices the priest offers cannot save (Hebrews 10:11).  By through the grace of God, the gift of God (which is the person of Jesus) results instead of condemnation in justification (Romans 5:15,20,21).  So, now we can truly experience freedom from sin because there is now no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1).

Who Jesus is John 1:1-5

  The gospel of John begins far differently from the other three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Perhaps it is because in John's day the issues were different or perhaps he is writing to specific group.  We do know that he was writing for a specific reason because he tells us what it is. In John 20:31 John tells us the reason by saying, "but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."  Therefore, at the very beginning of his gospel John wants to make it clear to the reader who Jesus is.
    The first verse of John 1 is

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

  Much has been made about why John wrote or described Jesus in this way.  The word that is used here is the Word or logos to describe Jesus and it says that Jesus was in the beginning both with God and was God.  It does not describe his beginning, but rather says that he is the beginning.  The Bible doesn't describe the beginning of the existence of God, but simply states that he existed in the beginning.  In other words, he is both the maker of all things and yet was never created himself being God. By calling his the Word he is indicating that Jesus is the one who is both the creator and sustainer of the universe and the author of us all.  If this sounds strange, remember that in John 17:5 Jesus spoke of the glory that he had with the Father before the world began. He also affirmed that Abraham by faith saw Jesus day was glad for it (John 8:56).

   It may help to define what the beginning means.  The beginning is the word arche which means the origin, the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the active cause.  In the case of Jesus, he is the active cause or beginning of the rest of creation.   That is why he could stand up and speak to the sea and the waves and the wind and silence them with a word because he made them. (see Luke 8:24).  

   Then in verse 2-3 it says

2 "He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

   This is mentioned also in the Old Testament.  In Psalm 33:6 it says that the heavens and its hosts were made by the Word of God.  One of the implications of these verses is that man was not simply made for his or her own purposes.  That Jesus made us and is author of us all means that we are accountable to him with the life that we live.  How many people live today as though they are not accountable to anyone besides themselves.  That it is said twice in verse 3 indicates its importance to realize that literally "nothing" was created without him.

 Then John speaks of light and life in verses 4-5

 "4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

    Jesus refers to himself as the light of the world in several places in scripture John 8:12 and 9:5.  He also refers to himself as the life John 5:26 and 11:25. 
You and I do not have life in ourselves.   We are dependent on the Lord to sustain us.  Jesus had life in himself.   I have heard it said that if Jesus did not specifically say Lazarus' name before he raised him from the grave that many of the other graves around Lazarus tomb would have had deceased loved ones come out of them also.  Jesus had the authority to call into life what was dead and had authority to overcome death
    This means that Jesus is the giver of life and is also the light meaning that he reveals truth.  The light also speaks of how he overcomes darkness or evil.  John ends the beginning of his gospel prelude by saying that the darkness did not comprehend the light.  The transliterated word for comprehend it is katalambano which means to seize upon, take possession of, to detect, cath, to understand, perceive.  Evil both does not take possession of the light nor is it able to understand or perceive it.   Nor is mankind without the light which is through Jesus Christ.

the hope of his calling part 2 Ephesians 1:19-21

  18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  Ephesians 1:18-21

  Even though I have split it up here and in the post previous, verses 18-21 should be read as a prayer.  Paul first prays for them to have insight and understanding into the hope and inheritance that they will experience.  He wants their eyes of the heart he calls it to be opened so they will understand.  I believe this should be a prayer for all of us before we read his word that God would give us understanding.  We are not to be walking around in ignorance or in the dark about who we are in Christ.
    In verses 19-21, Paul goes on to talk about God's surpassing greatness of his power.  You notice he just does not say "greatness" but add the word surpassing "hyperballo" which means transcends, surpasses, excel.  It isn't a greatness that is similiar to man's, but it transcends any other greatness.  This should be a great hope to the believer, that no matter what power may be against us, that God's power is much greater.  However great we think it is, we are not coming close to what it truly is.
     Paul says in verse 20-21, this power was demonstrated when God the Father raised up Christ from the dead.  Not only did he raise him up, but he seated him "kathizo" at the right hand of power.  That phrase seated him means more than just gave him a seat.  It means that he confers a kingdom upon him.   This seat was at a place of honor and authority like no other.  That he is not above, but far above all other rule, authority, powers or dominions that exist or will exist and has a greater name than any name ever.   This is true not only today, but will be true for forever.

the hope of His calling Ephesians 1:18

I read these words in the NASV and looked up the transliterated words for this verse in Ephesians 1:18

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

"may be enlightened" photizo- to give light, to enlighten, to give understanding to
"the hope"- elpis- expectation of good, hope, joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation
"calling" Klesis- a calling, invitation of the divine invitation to embrace the salvation of God
"Riches"- ploutos- riches, wealth, fulness, abundance
"inheritance" kleronomia- an inhertiance, what is given to one as a possession
"I pray that the eyes" - ophthalmos- the eyes of the mind, the faculty of knowing
"will know" oida- to know of anything, get knowledge of, understand and perceive
"glory" can mean judgment, opinion but also brightness, majesty, most exalted state the word is doxa

So, with these definitions in mind I rewrote the verse to say
I pray that yur faculties for knowing truth will be given understanding so that you may understand and perceive what is the confident expectation of your salvation and the invitation from God, what is the fulness and abundance of the glory of HIs inhertiance in the saints.

I wonder how many of us are walking around in the dark about the true inheritance for the saints and living in that joyful expectation of what we will one day see fully?  Or are we simply caught up in the here and now and not reflecting on what God has in store for his children.

My Grace is Sufficient

2 Corinthians 12:7-12

verses 7-9

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

    The apostle Paul had just described in verses 1-6 an experience he had where he was lifted up into Paradise.  At that time, he heard words that he describes as 'inexpressible".   Immediately after this event, God allowed Paul to experience what he called a thorn in the flesh.  The word "thorn" is the word  skolops in the greek transliterated word and it means a large stake.  This stake seems to be impaled in Paul by either physical pains or mental anguish or possibly both.  We know that Paul was often in pain from beatings and imprisonments that he received, so it is not out of the question that from those he suffered some type of ailment.  But, he was also burdened from the concerns of the church (2 Corinthians 12:21; 1 Corinthians 2:3; Hebrews 11:34).  Corinth was a church that greatly concerned him because of their immorality at times and their childishness (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).   For this concern, Paul asked three times that the Lord take this away, but he did not.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

    I'm sure Paul would of instead liked it if the Lord had simply removed the thorn.  But, to do so would not have been the best thing for Paul.  The thorn existed so that Paul would not become prideful and therefore lose out on his reward for his work or discredit the faith that he proclaimed.  While he may have felt weak when speaking for the Lord or insufficient, the Lord graciously reminded him that God's grace made him sufficient.  For God's power is strengthened when he loss of self-sufficiency and independence and depend on Him.  This is much the same thing as it says in john 15:4, that the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the Vine.  Our reminders of our weakness make us lean more on God and trust in Him and in turn that turns into our very strength.
     That feeling of insufficiency and weakness may be the very thing that brings us to our knees.  We may try to do things in our own strength and ability only to find them unfulfilling and lacking.  This weakness that we feel in our self sufficiency is God way to causing us to long for Him and to seek Him.  Then he is allowed to bring out real power and glory for Himself.  It is God's way of calling out to us when we realize our own weakness that we were never meant to walk the christian life on our own strength or power in the first place.

A study about angels

This is a topical study about angels.  Who are they and what is their role today.

We will notice that there appears to be different types of angels such as cherubim and seraphim.  The first mention of cherubim is when God stationed a cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life so that man would not eat from it  Genesis 3:24.  We see the Seraphim mentioned in Isaiah 6:2-3 as leading worship in heaven.  Seraphim have six wings. 

There are two primary angels mentioned in scripture by name.
1.  Gabriel who tells Mary the news that she will give birth to the Savior also appearing to Joseph and to Zecharias.  To Zecharias he tells him that “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.” Luke 1:19  

2. Michael who is mentioned as an archangel in Daniel 10:13,21; 12:1; Jude 1:9 and Revelations 12:7

One of the first references I could find of angel is in Genesis 16:7-12 where an angel appears to Hagar and tells her to return to Sarai as her maid.  He also tells her about the future of her son named Ishmael.  In this case, the angel was sent as a messenger to help Hagar.

1.       The first role of angels is that of messenger.  We find an angel doing the same thing in many cases in the Bible.  Most noteably in Luke 1:26-38 where the angel Gabriel goes to Mary to tell her she will give birth to the Christ.  Also in Matthew 1:20-21 he appears to Joseph and tells him “She will bear a son and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” See also Hebrews 1:7; Daniel 9:22-23 also has another appearance of Gabriel. They were sent to tell the shepherd about Jesus being born in Matthew 2:9-14

The next time is when God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.  It says that two angels came into town and told Lot and his family to leave because they  Genesis 19:13 were sent to destroy the town.  We see that angels have a role in judgment also in end time events such as in Revelations 14:18-20 also 2 Samuel 24:15-16.

2.       Angels have a role as helping to carry out God’s judgment on mankind.  They are present to separate believers from unbelievers at the end of the age.   They will be with Christ at his second coming  Matthew 25:31 ; Mark 8:38 ; 2 Thessalonians 1:7 ; Jude 1:14,15 and with Christ at the judgment Matthew 13:39,41,49 ; 16:27 ; 24:31 ; 25:31 ; Mark 13:27  Other references to judgment include Genesis 19:1-25 ; 2 Samuel 24:16,17 ; 1 Chronicles 21:15,16 ; 2 Kings 19:35 ; 2 Chronicles 32:21 ;Isaiah 37:36 ; Psalm 35:5,6 ; 78:49 ; Matthew 13:41,42,49,50 ; Acts 12:23 ; 27:23,24 ; Jude 1:14,15 ;Revelation 7:1,2 ; 9:15 ; 15:1

3.       Angels also have a role of protector in the Bible.  Psalm 34:7; Daniel 6:22 Several times we see a reference to the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament protecting the people of Israel.   

Exodus 14:19 - The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.

Exodus 23:20 - "Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

Exodus 23:23 - "For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.

4.       Angels serve those who are believers.  Hebrews  1:14  “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.”  They also ministered to Jesus after the temptations and again in the Garden Matthew 4:11 ; Mark 1:13 ; John 1:51 ; Luke 22:43.  An angel warned Joseph to take Jesus to Egypt because Herod was seeking to kill Jesus Matthew 2:13-15. In Acts 12:7-11 an angel comes and wakes up Peter in prison and frees him.  Also in Acts 5:19-20 an angel frees Peter from prisn and tells him to go to the temple and speak the messge of God. 

5.       Angels are worship leaders in heaven.  Isaiah 6:2-3 and Revelations 4:8

Some thoughts on Revelations 6

   I started looking at Revelations today and saw this portion of scripture and had to ask myself whether or not any of these things have happened already or if they are all seen as being in the future.  While some of these things have happened, I don't think you can see them as having happened yet, especially verses 12 and beyond.  This is a short section of comments about Revelations 6

Revelations 6

Vs.1- it was by the Lamb’s authority that the seal was broken and the different horses come forward.   Jesus himself is riding a white horse.  This is also pictured in Revelations 19:11 where Jesus is pictured on a white horse when heaven opens and it says the one who sat on it “was called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.”   While the seals are broken, the book is not opened here.  Which has led to a lot of speculation about what is in the book.  The seventh seal will not be opened until the trumpet judgements are about to be announced Rev 8:1.

Vs. 2 A rider is pictured with a bow and with a crown, to conquer  and conquering.  In that some have suggested that this is the antichrist.  One who wants to be pictured as like Christ.  So, just as Christ is pictured as coming on a white horse in Revelations 19, so the antichrist is pictured as coming on a white horse.    That the antichrist is predicted to come before Christ’s return is repeated over and over again in scripture.

Vs.3-4 The second living creature who are around the throne told the red horse to come.  It was given a great sword and the ability to take peace away.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:34 that he didn’t come to bring peace but a sword.   Some thought that this might be when the Romans ruled over the world and Judea.

Vs. 5-6 The third living creature said come. The third creature had a face like a man.  A black horse appears. He has a pair of scales in his hands.  There is a disparity of wealth, some have a lot and others have none.  That is why it says “do not harm the oil and the wine.” Acts 11:28 a great famine is mentioned during the reign of Claudis. 

Vs.7-8 the fourth seal is broken and the fourth creature who has a face like an eagle calls forth the ashen horse named Death and Hades was following with him.  Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts.

Vs.9-11 the fifth seal is broken, but no new horse is introduced.  We see an interaction between the lord and the martyrs when they ask when there will be judgment.  They are told to rest for a little while longer and that more saints are to be martyred before the judgment.  They refer to the Lord as one who is holy and true.   They are given white robes which may symbolize the righteous acts of the saints (19:8).

Vs.12-17- The sixth seal is broken ad a great earthquake occurs and the sun became black and the moon became like blood.  These events have no parallel in history and appear to be in the future.  And the stars fell from the sky and the sky was split and the islands and mountains moved from its place.  This caused great terror among those living on earth and they became afraid of God’s wrath.   Jesus said this also in Matthew 25:29-30 when he said that after the tribulation that the sun would be darkened and the moon will not give light and the stars would fall from the sky and the heavens  will be shaken and then Jesus would appear.