Tag Archives: faith

What 1 Corinthians 1:7–9 Says

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1 Corinthians 1:7–9,

as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who will sustain you to the end,

guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful,

by whom you were called into

the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do you know what Paul is saying here?

Waiting

“As you wait.” We’re waiting for something. So that’s what this is called. Waiting. More specifically, we’re waiting for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is not here right now, not in his person. I can’t see him or touch him or hear his voice. Jesus, the Messiah (to be clear), the Lord (to be clearer). Our Lord Jesus Christ (to say it best). He will be revealed. He will appear. Cue John: we shall “see him like he is” (1 John 3:2).

This is what we’re waiting for.

To the End

And Jesus will sustain you to the end. So this waiting is a sustained waiting and it’s not sustained by ourselves. Jesus, the one for whom we’re waiting is the one who is sustaining our waiting. He knows we’re waiting. He’s not out to lunch. He sees us. He knows. He knows it’s not easy. He knows that some waiting are starving because of famine, that others are persecuted because of their government, that others are tempted because of riches, that others don’t have the Old Testament in their language. He knows and he will sustain us.

And that’s to the end. The end, oh that’s explained in the next line: “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (there’s that best title again, “our Lord Jesus Christ”). The end is the “day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s the day when he will be revealed. Bring the OT in here, the great day of YHWH, the day of judgment and salvation. The wicked are put down and the righteous are saved. That’s the end. And it’s to this end that the Jesus of whom we’re waiting to be revealed will sustain us.

Guiltless

And this sustaining to the end will mean that he keeps us guiltless. We will be guiltless. Innocent. But we’re not. We’re sinners. We sin. We’ve got lots of guilt.

But he died for us. He bore our guilt. He took it upon himself. He suffered in our place. He went to the cross and absorbed the wrath of God that should have been blasted against us, forever. Our sins are forgiven. Removed. His rightousness, all the benefits of being in him are now ours. And he speaks our faith in this great work. He prays for our faith in this great work so that it won’t fail. And as guiltless as we are in him is as guiltless as we’ll be on that day.

God Is Faithful

Let me explain why. God is faithful.

This is the ground. God is faithful. That’s why it’s going to go this way. God the Father who elected us, the one by whom we have been effectually called, he is faithful. He doesn’t say things he doesn’t do. All his works, well, work. No mistakes. No hiccup. He called us and he meant it.

And this calling, this is into the fellowship of his Son. His Son, the one with whom he is well-pleased. The one of whom is also “Jesus Christ our Lord” (there it is again). The Father has called us into fellowship with him. Fellowship. You mean, like, communion? Participation? Union? Yes, yes. That’s it. Fellowship. The Father has called us into fellowship with his beloved Son. See, I told you we’d be guiltless. We’re in Christ. In him. Fellowshiping with him, sharing in his inheritance, delighted in by the Father as his own workmanship, created in Jesus. In Jesus the Messiah who is our Lord.

Jesus Christ Our Lord

We’re waiting for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain us to the end, who will make us guiltless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom we’ve been called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, the one for whom we’re waiting. The one who is sustaining the wait.

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Life: The Path Promised

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Psalm 16:11,

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” David begins Psalm 16.

Immediately, we see the language of faith (cf. Psalm 2:11). David trusts in the Lord. He doesn’t merely acknowledge that God exists, but he understands his entire existence in relation to God’s supremacy.

“I have no good apart from you” (verse 2). “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot” (verse 5). “I have set the Lord always before me” (verse 8).

It’s this life of faith that leads up to verse 11. David shows us what it means to trust in the Lord. And the life of trusting the Lord makes David’s heart glad, indeed his whole being rejoices and his flesh also dwells secure (verse 9). Why does his flesh dwell secure? It’s because the Lord will not abandon his soul to Sheol. The Lord won’t let his holy one see corruption. In short, here is resurrection.

Jesus Was Raised

This is the theme of Psalm 16 that continues into Psalm 17 (cf. Psalm 17:15). And it has Messianic overtones. In fact, the apostles tell us that this is about Jesus (Acts 2:19–36). David is speaking here, but as Peter proclaimed, “he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:31).

It’s better for us that this is about Jesus. If it’s about Jesus then it’s about us, too. For just as Christ was raised, we’ll be raised (1 Corinthians 15:17–20). More than a promise, we have an actual demonstration. There’s an empty tomb out there to remind us.

The Path of Life

So it’s about resurrection. And when David starts in verse 11, “You make known to me the path of life,” that’s what he’s talking about. The path of life is not mainly about the here and now. Calvin writes, “It is to form a very low estimate, indeed, of the grace of God to speak of him as a guide to his people in the path of life only for a very few years in this world” (Commentaries, 233). There are tons of things in Holy Scripture about life in this world, but this isn’t one. The path of life isn’t about balancing your checkbook (though that’s a good thing), neither about the way of wisdom (not in this psalm, anyway), nor about the how-tos of faith (even when we need them).

The path of life is being united to God such that we’ll never be without him.

The path of life is what God makes known to us — not as a trail to follow, but as a promise to embrace.

That’s the glorious shift in Psalm 16. It begins with our faith in God and ends with God’s faithfulness to us. He will not abandon us. No he won’t! He won’t. He makes known to us the path of life. Life beyond the grave. Life that ushers us into his presence where there is fullness of joy, at this right hand where there are pleasures forevermore.

So We Rejoice

So we dwell secure here. Our being rejoices. We are glad. We can go forth today and tomorrow and next knowing that not even death can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus. We know how this thing will turn out.

We will be with him.

Read the original post at Fighterverses.com.

What My Four-Year Old Taught Me About Prayer

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Elizabeth taught me something about prayer.

She had cut her lip. I’m not sure exactly how it happened. It was just a collateral injury related her full-throttle enthusiasm in all things. I guess you could call her dramatic: Her lip was hurt, therefore she couldn’t eat. She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t go without a bandaid on her face.

And then she got all profound on me.

Tucking her in later that night, I knelt down by her bed to pray aloud for her and Hannah and Micah. I usually ask the Father for their rest in Jesus, both for the night and for forever. I want my children to rest in Jesus. So I began the usual…

“Father, please give Elizabeth and Han—” “Pray for my lip!” she interrupted just like this typeface looks, quick and bold.

Without missing a step I turned the prayer towards her little injury. “Father, please help Elizabeth to trust you in—” “My lip! My lip!“ now with more urgency she jumped in. She said it as if she was feared she was too vague the time before.

I chuckled inside and started again. “Please make Elizabeth’s lip to feel bett…”— “Ask him to heal it!“

This time she said it with a childlike impatience we often chastise. I didn’t say anything now. I just stopped. The only thing rebuked in this moment was how I pray.

It was a simple prayer request from my four-year old. Her lip hurt and she wanted God to heal it. And there I was appointing as many theological governors as I could. It seemed a good time to teach her about what really mattered — you know, not the healing, but faith and Jesus and loving him.

But the kid just wanted her lip to feel better.

She knew God could do it.

My reluctance to get to the point exposed my unbelief: Theological governors are great, but not when they’re used to disguise a lack of faith in God doing what you really ask.

I’m a footnote kind of guy with footnote kind of friends. We like clarity — what we’re saying and what we’re not and so forth. And then there are times when we just need to say it. Or in this case, ask it. Jesus didn’t make it that complicated. Why would we?

Elizabeth taught me something about prayer.

 

In Jesus, the LORD Is Our Shepherd

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Psalms 23:1-2,

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”

The beginning of Psalm 23 sounds a lot different from the beginning of Psalm 22.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1)
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1)

Both are psalms of David placed beside each other with a purpose. We are struck in Psalm 22 with a cry of desperation. We are soothed in Psalm 23 with a declaration of the Lord‘s sufficiency. As the reader, we are supposed to feel this contrast. We are supposed to read them together, walking with the voice of each verse, being led to a confidence in the Lord that declares “I shall not want.”

Real Affliction

So there is forsakenness in Psalm 22. It’s real. David has written, but the speaker is the Afflicted One — the one who is mocked in his suffering, the one who is surrounded by dogs (or Gentile soliders), the one whose hands and feet are pierced, whose garments are divided and for which lots are cast. This is Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:35, 39, 46; John 19:23-24).

Psalm 22 gives us the voice of Messiah in his affliction. We read him and hear his prayers, almost like a proto-Gethsemane. And then David himself steps in to command our praise in Psalm 22:23. The Lord has heard the Afflicted One’s cry (v. 24). More than that, David tells us, “The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord!” (v. 26). David is now exulting in verse 27 — “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.”

What the Empty Tomb Tells Us

From forsaken (22:1) to heard (22:24) to satisfied (v. 26) to worshiped by all the families of the nations (22:27). This is where Psalm 22 takes us. Now how did this happen? Here is where Psalm 23 comes in (and Psalm 24 soon after).

We know that Jesus was not ultimately forsaken. There’s an empty tomb to prove it. Even though he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he was not left alone. He was not abandoned. In fact, on the third day he was raised. He was raised and declared to be the Son of God, given a name that is above every name. The Lord was his shepherd. He didn’t lack. That’s what the resurrection is saying.

The Same Shepherding Grace

And this is why we love Psalm 23. This is not a mere poem that’s appropriately recited at graveside services. This is the Messianic hope in God’s utter faithfulness, even through the shadows of death. The Lord is our shepherd and he never forsakes us. Never.

This is a confidence in the resurrection rooted in Jesus’ own victory over death. As the Father raised him, he will raise us, too (1 Corinthians 15:23). Because we are united to Jesus, the same shepherding grace exemplified in his victory is the same shepherding grace that will be exemplified in ours.

Read the original post at FighterVerses.com.

Why 2 Samuel 10:12 Is About Jesus

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2 Samuel 10:12 —

Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.

Part of the Lord‘s covenant with David about Messiah included rest from all his enemies (2 Samuel 7:11). The promise for a Son who would be King forever came with a vision of dominion and peace. We even see a foretaste of the Lord‘s faithfulness to the promise in David’s military victories in 2 Samuel 8. This is a continuation of the promise that links the Davidic kingship back to Numbers 24:17-20.

So when Joab makes this awesome declaration in 2 Samuel 10:12 we should view it to be in this same line of hope. Joab can say what he says because he know what seems good to the Lord. It is good to the Lord to be faithful to his promises — to sustain the house of David and bring the promised Son of David to be born many years later in the City of David. God’s faithfulness to this promise is God’s faithfulness to the radiance of his own glory, for this promise becomes the locus of the revelation of his person (John 1:1-5, 14-18; Colossians 1:15-20; 2:9; Hebrews 1:1-3)

In other words, Joab can say what he says because of Jesus. And because of Jesus, we can say the same thing: let the Lord do what seems good to him!

Jesus’ Prayers Overcome Our Fear of Disappointment

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In the last post on Hebrews 10:19-25, we saw how Jesus answers our fear of judgment in verses 19-20. But there’s another way as well, seen in verse 21.

Because Jesus prays for us, we can have a rich God-accomplished relationship with God (v. 21)

Hebrews 10:21 forms the second part of the basis or ground to the commands in verse 22-24. See the “since” again in verse 21. “Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus and since we have a great priest over the house of God, for these two reasons, let us draw near…”

So this is important. On the same grounds as the death of Jesus, we see the prayers of Jesus, his intercession for us, is the reason that we can have a rich relationship with God.

Jesus Prays for Us

We talk a lot about the death of Jesus because it is the center of our faith. One aspect we probably haven’t talked as much about is the priestly role of Jesus. This priestly role of Jesus — his interceding role — is really a theme in the book of Hebrews. It’s mentioned several times. Hebrews 7:25 tells us, “Jesus is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus is always praying for us. He never stops.

There are these two elements: the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus and the never-stopping prayers of Jesus.

So what’s happening here? If the sacrifice is once for all, then why does Jesus have to keep praying? Well, the prayers of Jesus for us are not for our sin problem. Jesus died and took God’s wrath in our place. That’s finished. Nothing more needs to happen. This now all applies to us by faith — by our faith. Our faith, that’s what Jesus prays for. And the same one who accomplished the forgiveness of our sins is the same one who sustains the life of our faith, all flowing from the blood of his cross and victory of his resurrection.

Peter’s Story in Luke 22

I think the story of Peter in Luke 22 gives us a glimpse into what this looks like. Jesus had the last supper with the disciples and at some point they started arguing about who is the greatest of them. And I imagine Peter was in that conversation. Jesus had told the disciples that they’d all run away. And Peter speaks up and says “not me! I’m following Jesus all the way.”

Here’s when Jesus looks at Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail (Luke 22:31).

Basically, Jesus says, “Peter, you don’t get it. Satan came to me. He wants to destroy you. But it’s not going to happen because I am praying for you. I am praying that your faith would persevere and never fail.”

And we’re there with Peter. Our sins have been paid for by the blood of Jesus and we are thrown into this thing called life. Life is complicated. Life is hard. It’s not a bed of roses. There are temptations, there are sufferings, there are difficulties. And it’s in the thick of all this stuff that we are called to draw near to God.

Jesus Knows, and He Prays

We’re called to a relationship with God in the wildest and craziest and most hectic movements of our days. Draw near to God when work is frustrating again. Draw near to God when your heart is breaking over disobedient children. Draw near to God when you’re in that traffic jam and you’re already running late. Jesus doesn’t stop praying for you in those moments. He never stops praying.

In fact, Hebrews 4 tells us that he knows how we feel, he is a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses. He gets it. And he prays for us. So when things we hard, and your faith gets the weakest, remember Jesus is praying for you. He is praying for you.

We have the blood of Jesus abolishing our fear of judgment, the sin problem is no more. And we have the prayers of Jesus abolishing our fear of disappointment. In the most difficult circumstances, we are not left alone. Jesus is praying for us that our faith may not fail.

So we can have a rich relationship with God because Jesus is always praying for us.

If you trust in Jesus, there is nothing that can keep you from a rich, sweet, deep, glorious relationship with God. He is your Father and you are his child. Jesus has died for you and Jesus prays for you. So let us draw near.

Gospel, Routine, and Numbness

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Jared Wilson:

How do we present the gospel in a nonroutine way in order to prevent people from becoming numb? My answer is counterintuitive. I think we do this by routinely presenting the unchanging gospel in a way that does justice to its earth-shaking announcement. This doesn’t mean we have to set it up with a power ballad or even dress it up at all. But it does mean we communicate it like it’s life or death stuff. People who know the gospel’s power will share it powerfully.

One would expect repetition of the message in anticipated ways to grow stale, but I believe ever-increasing showmanship is what actually numbs people. . .

Gospel Wakefulness, (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 16.

Waiting Is Hard to Do

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Brian Tabb:

Let’s face it—Americans are simply not very good at waiting. We live in a land of fast food and instant gratification. We pace waiting rooms. We complain about traffic. We dread flight delays. To these mundane experiences of waiting we could add more long-term and painful examples—the forty-year old single waiting for a spouse, the aspiring mother waiting to conceive, the unemployed father waiting for work, the chronically ill person waiting for a cure. Perhaps you have grown weary in your waiting, and you find yourself praying “How long, O Lord?”

Read the entire article on Isaiah 64:4 at FighterVerses.com.

Praying Messy

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Paul Miller writes:

The difficulty of coming just as we [to prayer] is that we are messy. When we slow down to pray, we are immediately confronted with how unspiritual we are, with how difficult it is to concentrate on God. We don’t know how bad we are until we try to be good. Nothing exposes our selfishness and spiritual powerlessness like prayer (A Praying Life, 31).