John 3:16 may perhaps be the most famous Bible verse in the world. The reason this verse (verse 5) is here is because John wanted to ensure that we understood that Christs reasoning in verse four in no way interfered with how we understand verse six. In fact, there will be no sun because Jesus will be our only necessary light. The choice would be obvious. [viii] In fact, when God does turn us over to our own desires, they arent good, and the outcome is horrific! The apostle knows that the Jews are familiar with the love God had for them as His special people, and Jesus relating to them the story of Moses and the bronze serpent would have certainly reminded them of Gods loyal love for them (hesed), all of this is contrasted with John now saying that God so loved the world this would have set alarm bells ringing for his audience. It is only by Gods grace that we arent completely turned over[viii] to these desires in the first place.[ix]. These women knew the heart of Christ so well, that for them there was no doubt that had He been there, His love would surely have spilled out over their brother. By Steve Grafe Curator of Art. We need to ask for His help to change our desires to match His (1 Cor. Now, let this be a stimulus to your fruitbearing, that Jesus is the gardener. [vii] This quote from Schreiner is from his New Testament Biblical Theology, Page 512. Oh, to be found in him! In 1883, Charles Spurgeon was sitting on a bench in Menton, France, when a pale, emaciated woman sat down beside him. (1 Corinthians 15:14-19). God be praised for His mercy. Whence arise these things? It was included in the Oxford Book of . This also has ramifications for how we understand the millennium. In 1955, a love letter from Suzanne Kempe to her philosophy lecturer, Thompson's poem is the source of the phrase, "with all deliberate speed," used by the, Thompson's poem was the inspiration for a series of 23 paintings by the American painter, "The Hound of Heaven" is the fifth chapter in, In 1975 "The Hound of Heaven" was mentioned in the suicide note of, Lines from the poem are recited between the discussion during the last scene in "The last enemy", which is the 2nd episode, 3rd season of, In 2002, Katherine A. The Word is what changes lives, and therefore must not be adulterated or watered down by our own ideas. Our Lord has risen He has defeated death! In Eden, Adam took the fruit from Eves hand; in Gethsemane, Christ received the cup from His Fathers hand. 18:12-27 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. Just a few sentences later Spurgeon goes on to say, It is the spirit, the real inner meaning, that is sucked into the soul, by which we are blessed and sanctified. The gruesome bloodshed and seemingly worthless outcome was more than conservative theologians could swallow in their assessments of world events and the human situation on earth. He has saved us and not to mope about in introspection for our entire lives, but to love others in service to our Lord. This is another example of how sometimes popular tradition gets it wrong or at least assumes perhaps a little more than we ought to assume. Finally, the Apostle does not stop with this exhortation, but goes on to deliver a comforting reminder (read verse 3). It shows us His deity, His majesty, His obedience to the Father and His love for us. Which leads me to my next point. How can anyone be saved? It is so difficult to understand how God can possibly have taken pleasure in the crush(ing) of His one and only Son. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. The main thrust of John 11 seems to be two-fold: to show forth the glory and honor of Jesus Christ as the true Son of God, and to show how Lazarus was a type of Christ remembering that Jesus would soon triumph over the grave to the glory of God in Christ. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his names sake. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. 307. [v] John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief, Pg. I do not address a people this morning who feel no care as to whether they serve God or not. This biography follows the journey of a young man who plummeted from the heights of a comfortable life to the depths of drug addiction in London's seedy alleysand then found redemption. Its been awhile since I read another poem so I was eager to read The Hound of Heaven. . The second is that God is working dynamically in history to bring about the expansion of His kingdom and its final consummation. This saying of Jesus to Mary not to cling to me is one of the most difficult verses in Scripture to understand, according to D.A. This reminds me of Philip and how he quickly and immediately obeyed the Spirit in Acts 8. He cares deeply for them. 3:19-21 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. In our recent Bible study there was a passing comment about Spurgeon describing God as the hound of heaven, citing that God relentlessly pursued him until Spurgeon finally surrendered to him. One of these silver coins, called drachamas, was worth an entire days labor in the time of Jesus. This, to my own shame, was not the example of Christ. David was not speaking about himself, but rather prophesied about one to come a holy one whose body would not see corruption or be abandoned to Hades. This holy one is the Lord Jesus who defeated death. And though in sin or in human love, away from God it seeks to hide itself, divine grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure forcing it to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit. God is the One responsible for our salvation from first to last. Peter was so wrapped up in his own welfare that when it came to dying for Christ he was far from ready. After looking into this a bit more I found that Spurgeon wasnt the first person to come up with this analogy! [viii] What He is doing now in and through us by His Spirit and His Lordship over all history and creation is a shadow of what will be upon the consummation of His purposes. In these ways and many more, Christ is the suffering servant; He is the very heart of love. [7]Then after this he said to the disciples, Let us go to Judea again.. Your faith will be solidified. This was followed by the acme of His redemptive work in the ascension, when He left earth to go to His coronation, where God declared Him King. It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Since he is the author and finisher or our faith, to what perfection will he conduct us, and to what glory will he bring us! All else, all other priorities fade for the moment, and the search consumes everything.[8]. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 33:13-15, Phil. I love the thought that Jesus, the Supreme Gardener, appears at this time to what might be regarded as the weakest and feeblest of the plants in His garden. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Christ could either stay beyond the Jordan and enjoy a vibrant ministry (10:40-42), or He could fulfill the will of the Father and accomplish His ultimate destiny and mission here on Earth, by the time the messenger arrived at Jesus Lazarus would have already been dead, http://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/seated-at-gods-right-hand/, http://www.gty.org/resources/print/sermons/66-73, http://www.gotquestions.org/phileo-love.html#ixzz3FWIhOYPt, http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/why-we-read-the-bible, http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-memorize-scripture, Relying on the Supernatural Power of Christ for Life and Strength, http://www.reformationtheology.com/2009/04/world_johns_ten_uses_of_the_wo.php, Steven Lawson New Reformation Ministries. Indeed were told the opposite. Well, I think that we can easily say that it was worth noting how many fish simply because its a lot of fish! The night is far spent, and the day is at hand. When the morning dawns, Christ will appear. Moses tells us that the Lord God placed the man in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. This is a more informed faith. All goodness, all illumination as far as truth is concerned comes from Him. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. I fled Him down the arches of the years. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. And in that love the Father took deepest pleasure. Verse 16 comes on the heels of an Old Testament account of salvation being reapplied by Jesus as he turned the timetables forward to show how the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness foreshadowed His being lifted up on the cross. That enclosure needs a gardener. Your prayer life will be strengthened. A few things. And that group includes me. Not Bound Yet "Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound." 2 Timothy ii. Thats just who He is, they probably thought. Look at what we read in Acts 4: [12] And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved., [13] Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. The number of men here is likely to be around 200 or so. I thought I saw an Abrahamic type of faith a gigantic faith. MacArthur also finds this to be the central theme of the text in front of us: The most important theme in the universe is the glory of God. Paul tells us of these truths in Romans 5: Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin and so death spread to all men because all sinned for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. What is remarkable about these people is that they have been turned from sinners who love their sin, to those who love to give glory to God for anything good they do. They just didnt bother to ask if you wanted to transfer any of the over! It reminds me of when the early disciples of Christ ran to find other followers in John 1 (35-51). Where did it go? The question we raised a moment ago about condemnation is now answered by the apostle, and what he has to say is frightening to say the least. For instance, here they make the false assumption that if Jesus would have continued His ministry that everyone (would) believe in him. This is simply not the case for even those who saw and witnessed His miracles, including this one, first hand did not believe Jesus was the Messiah. He knew the impact of these verses. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Let us see that our life answereth its end. By continual hearing of the Word and submitting your lives joyfully to its teaching. It was included in the Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse (1917). Isaiah cowered in fear. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest product updates and exclusive discounts! GotQuestions.org sums up this popular teaching in this way: Since phileo love involves feelings of warmth and affection toward another person, we do not have phileo love toward our enemies. (1 Peter 2:2-3). Written by a descendant of both Patrick Henry and Woodrow Wilson, New World Order reveals just who is behind the New World Order, what they want, how they are affecting your life today, and what can you can do about it. o Read Good Christian Authors: Many of us spend our time reading all fiction, or all one field or another. It is used to justify all manner of incoherent and incorrect doctrine, especially Universalism and Pelagianism. We are here as the salt of the earth, to be a blessing to the world. [3] For this is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:1-3a). She was so confident in the power and Lordship of Jesus Christ that she announced confidently that if He had been there Lazarus wouldnt have died. This was so apparent that it practically dominates the opening sections of this chapter. 119:71), and glorify Himself. I cannot get Pauls words out of my mind, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for usfor me. What happened here is hard to explain, but I believe its a preview of what Paul says will happen when Jesus returns: Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. "Our own experience," he said, "recalls to us the period when we panted for the Lord, even for Him, our only want. The God of the Bible is not a stoic. Heaven and earth were concerned in this event; it was the turning point of the ages. Jesus himself quoted this verse to rebuke Satan during His temptation in the wilderness before the beginning of His ministry. Therefore we must be continually putting ourselves in a position to learn more, to hear the Word more, to pray more. The meaning is understood. What the author of Hebrews is saying is that these men and women in the church had let that foundation rot and deteriorate over and over and over.