Bible

Meet Luke: Physician, Traveller, Christian Historian

 

Physician by Occupation

 

Luke the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14) was a Greek speaking medical doctor and firm friend of the Apostle Paul. During the closing days of Paul’s life, when the Apostle found himself in jail once again, Paul reported that Luke alone is with me (2 Timothy 4:11). Luke then stood by the Apostle Paul through thick and thin, even when others had deserted him. The consensus suggests that Luke was the only non-Jewish Gospel writer – though  some consider that he may have been a ‘proselyte’, that is, a Gentile convert to Judaism.

 

Penman by Pre-Occupation

 

Under God, Dr Luke’s main legacy to the world is the twenty four chaptered Gospel which bears his name, along with the New Testament book entitled the ‘Acts of the Apostles.’ This latter may be considered as ‘Luke’s Gospel Volume II.’ It tells us of the spread of the Gospel and the growth of the church throughout the Graeco-Roman world. The name ‘Acts’ is a shorthand. A fuller title might be ‘The Acts of the Risen Christ, by His Holy Spirit, through His Apostles.’

Luke penned both his Gospel and Acts as a Christian ‘apo-logy’ to a high-up, Roman official named Theophilus. ‘Apology’ here is a technical word. Luke certainly wasn’t apologising for the Christian Faith No. He was giving an ‘apo-logia’, that is,  a word in defence, or a word of explanation about the Christian Faith to an intelligent but ignorant friend – most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed (Luke 1:4). In picking up his pen so – divine inspiration notwithstanding – Luke gained for himself the accolade of being one of the world’s greatest historians.

 

Luke’s Gospel

 

Luke gleaned the information for his account of the life and ministry of Jesus by careful research and investigation. We can see that Almighty God put his scientific mind to a higher use. Unlike Matthew, Mark (who gained his Gospel information from Peter) and John, Luke was not one of the twelve disciples, and so was not a first hand witness to Jesus’ words and deeds. Under the guidance and superintendence of the Holy Spirit however, Luke was enabled to write a Gospel as accurate and inerrant as each of the Gospels. Hence his introductory explanation: It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely (or accurately) for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed (Luke 1:3,4).

It is interesting to note the medical matters which feature in Luke’s Gospel Whilst Mark relates Jesus’ healing of a man … who had a withered hand (Mark 3:1), Luke describes the same incident by telling us of a man … whose right hand was withered (Luke 6:6). Whilst Mark relates Jesus’ healing of Simon’s mother-in-law when she lay sick with a fever (Mark 1:30), Luke tells us that Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever (Luke 4:38). Then when Matthew and Mark record how Jesus cleansed ‘a leper’ Luke alone notes the extent of his leprosy when he describes how there came a man full of leprosy (Luke 5:12). These small extra details square with a medical mind, used to making accurate diagnoses and writing up medical notes.

 

The Virgin Birth of Christ

 

Significantly, it is Dr Luke who goes into the most detail of all the Gospel writers concerning the virgin conception of Christ – His conception by the Holy Spirit, without the aid of a human father, in the womb of the virgin Mary. Luke relates the angel explaining to Mary how The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God (Luke 1:35).

The intimate details concerning Jesus’ virgin conception would be known to Mary alone. Luke then evidently had her confidence. It is as though, whilst researching his Gospel, he took Mary into his surgery, and there she divulged the information concerning the miraculous conception of the eternal Son of God.

 

The Saviour of Sinners

 

Luke’s distinctive ‘angle’ on the Lord Jesus is that Jesus is the compassionate Saviour of sinners, and that the salvation He came to bring is universal in its scope. Interestingly, whilst Matthew traces Jesus’ human genealogy back to Abraham, the founding father of the Hebrew race, Luke traces Jesus’ human ancestry right back to Adam, the founding father of the whole human race (Luke 3:23-38).

If there is one key verse which unlocks the whole of Luke’s Gospel, it would be the words recorded in Luke 19:10, where the Saviour Himself explained that ‘The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10). From this key verse we glean truth concerning the Saviour’s manhood, mission, mandate and mercy.

 

  1. His Manhood

 

Jesus describes Himself as The Son of Man … The compassionate humanity of Christ is a distinctive of Luke’s Gospel. Our God, in Christ, knows what it is like to be human, sin apart. We have not a high priest Who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:14). Our Saviour is a Saviour of real, tender and compassionate humanity.

 

  1. His Mission

 

The Son of Man came … The Lord Jesus went on a missionary journey like no other missionary journey. He came from heaven to earth so that we might go at last to heaven. He was born so that we might be born again. The living Saviour was born to die so that dying sinners might be born again and live eternally.

 

iii. His Mandate

 

The Son of Man came to seek and to save … Paul concurs with this in his succinct statement that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Our greatest need is to be saved from the condemnation we deserve for our sins. Our greatest need is for a Saviour. Christ alone is the Saviour for our greatest need. There is salvation in no one else .. (Acts 4:12) Luke recorded sometime later.

 

  1. His Mercy

 

The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Without Christ we are indeed, sadly, badly and eternally lost. We are under God’s wrath for ever. Yet the Christian’s testimony is ‘I was lost, but Jesus found me.’ ‘I was perishing, but Jesus saved me.’ In Luke 15, Luke relates Jesus’ telling three parables about three lost objects – a lost sheep, some lost silver and a lost son. All three parables contain the joy of being found – an illustration of the joy which accompanies salvation. Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost (Luke 15:6). Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost (Luke 15:9). this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found (Luke 15:24).

If we hold in our minds the fact that Jesus is the Saviour of sinners, when we read through Luke’s Gospel,  we will interpret every line of it correctly. When Jesus was born, Luke records that a message from heaven rang out proclaiming to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11). In Luke 15:2 Luke records how some murmured against Jesus saying ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’ And, as we have seen, in Luke 19:10 he records the Saviour’s Own explanation of His life and ministry with the words The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

 

The Road to Calvary

 

When we read Luke’s Gospel right through from the beginning, we cannot help noticing that it reads like one long journey to Jerusalem. As early as Luke 9:51 we see that He (Jesus) set His face to go to Jerusalem.  On the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus spoke of His departure, which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Then in Luke 18:31 Luke records how Jesus, taking the twelve, He said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written of the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.’

                Why then this emphasis on going up to Jerusalem? Because it was at Jerusalem when they came to the place which is called The Skull (Calvary), there they crucified Him (Luke 23:33). The Saviour procured His people’s salvation in Jerusalem, at the place called Calvary. Salvation was wrought, not by His life but by His death, not by His instruction but by His crucifixion, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Luke 9:22).

When Christ was crucified at Calvary, Luke alone records that Jesus said ‘Father, forgive them …’ (Luke 23:34). The words transcend their immediate setting, for the forgiveness of sins lies at the heart of salvation. Christ died that we might be forgiven. It is precisely because Christ suffered and died for sins not His Own at Calvary, that there is a Gospel of salvation at all The salvation procured by Christ at Calvary is as central to Luke’s Gospel as it is to the whole Bible, hence Luke closes his first volume with the risen Christ’s Own explanation ‘Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations … (Luke 24:46,47).

So thank God for Luke’s Gospel. But thank God even more for the Saviour of sinners Luke describes therein. Truly, the Father has send His Son as the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14).

 

O sweet is the story of Jesus

The wonderful Saviour of men

Who suffered and died for the sinner –

I’ll tell it again and again

 

He came from the brightest of glory

His blood as a ransom He gave

To purchase eternal redemption

And oh! He is might to save.

 

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Meet Mark: A Man Who Made His Mark

 

Streaker!

 

Did you know that one of the four Gospel accounts contains a reference to a streaker? Mark’s Gospel alone – in Mark 14:51,52 – tells us that when the Lord Jesus was arrested, a young man followed Him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body, and they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

The common consensus is that this streaker was actually young John Mark himself, the writer of the Gospel. His recording of the incident does not really add anything essential to the story of Jesus, so we wonder why it is in the Bible at all? Perhaps it is just Mark’s way of saying ‘I was there’ – his signature of authenticity, if you like.

 

Gospel Writer

 

Mark’s streaking apart, under God, we are certainly in his debt for his Gospel account of the life and ministry of Jesus. His Gospel is the shortest of the four Gospels – just sixteen chapters in all. He has a very ‘racy’ style. You could read his Gospel through in not much more than an hour. If you do, note how often he carries you forward with his characteristic words and immediately. Mark’s emphasis is more on what Jesus did than on what He said, and his particular perspective and angle is that the Lord Jesus is the Lord’s Servant. Jesus’ own words recorded in Mark 10:45 actually give us the key which unlocks the whole of Mark’s Gospel. In Mark 10:45 we read that ‘The Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.’  The first ten chapters of Mark show Jesus giving His life in service. Whilst the last six chapters of Mark show Jesus laying down His life in sacrifice – a sacrifice, in His own words ‘as a ransom for many’:-

 

There was no other good enough

To pay the price of sin

He only could unlock the gate

Of heaven and let us in.

 

Only human

 

Mark then was certainly a gifted young man. But this being said, he was only human. Mark had his home in the city of Jerusalem, and at one time, set out with the apostle Paul and Barnabas – who was actually Mark’s cousin – to accompany Paul on his first missionary journey. Mark thus witnessed the great apostle’s preaching and lifestyle at first hand. And he no doubt saw many lives transformed by God’s saving grace through the instrumentality of the apostle Paul. Yet Acts 13:13, ‘warts and all’ records how Mark deserted the missionary party, and left them and returned (home) to Jerusalem. Acts doesn’t explain why he did this. Perhaps he was homesick … Perhaps he could not keep up with Paul’s pace … We don’t know The stress of the Bible though is that the best of men are mere men at best, and only the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is sinless and perfect, and worthy of our adoration, adulation, worship and praise.

A chapter or two later in Acts, we meet up with Mark once again. And here again, the humanity of God’s chosen instrument is all too evident. Paul was about to embark on another missionary journey with Barnabas, and Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark (Acts 15:37). But Luke then records how Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them … and had not gone with them to the work (Acts 15:38). He then goes on to say that there arose a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed … (Acts 15:39,40). Here than was a blazing row between Christian brothers How embarrassing for them to have all this recorded in the Bible for posterity! Sadly, Christians do sometimes ‘fall out.’ But what was the outcome of it all? The outcome was that souls were saved, and the Church of the Lord Jesus was built. It all goes to show how the work of the Gospel is God’s work. The faults and foibles of men are no hindrance to omnipotence. Jesus said ‘I will build my church and the powers of death shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18). Thank God that nothing can hinder Him from fulfilling His eternal purposes of grace!

 

All’s well that ends well

 

Finally, we note concerning Mark, that all ended well. He was eventually reconciled to the great apostle. Yes, there was a rift between him and Paul, but they made it all up some years later. Some of Paul’s last recorded words – from a prison cell, not long before he was martyred – are contained in 2 Timothy 4:11. Here he writes: Get Mark and bring him with you; for he is very useful in serving me

                It just does not do for Christians to fall out. Hence Paul in Philippians 4:2: I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. The Gospel is the Gospel of reconciliation – that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them … (2 Corinthians 5:19). In the Christ of Calvary, God has dealt with the sin-barrier which separates us from Him. Through Christ, we are reconciled to our Maker Himself. When we have been reconciled to God through Christ though, it is highly inconsistent if there is then some disharmony between us and others who profess to know and love the same Saviour. We have the same heavenly Father. We are redeemed by the same precious blood. We are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit. We are heading for the same eternal Home … Of course, there will only be total harmony in the Age to come, yet this apart, Psalm 133:1 holds true when it says Behold, how good and pleasant it is, when brothers dwell in unity.

                There then is something of Mark’s biography. He certainly make his mark on the world! His Gospel is part of the inspired Word of God. Mark was then a man who was most definitely used by God – and yet he was only a man. If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). Marks’s motto would no doubt be the same as every Christian saved by grace: ‘Don’t look at me, look at my wonderful Saviour!’

 

Jesus! The Name high over all

In hell or earth or sky

Angels and men before it fall

And devils fear and fly

 

Jesus! The Name to sinners dear

The name to sinners given

It scatters all their guilty fear

It turns their hell to heaven

 

His only righteousness I show

His saving truth proclaim

Tis all my business here below

To cry ‘Behold the Lamb!’

 

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Meet Matthew: Tax Collector, Disciple, Gospel Writer

 

The Call of Matthew

 

The Bible records how Jesus … saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office And He said to him ‘Follow Me.’ And he rose and followed Him (Matthew 9:9).

This concise account of Matthew-Levi’s call to follow Christ has a lot more to it than meets the eye. It actually contains some implicit evidence for the deity of Christ. The question is begged: Who is this Who is able to give the authoritative command ‘Follow Me’? Who is this Who is able and worthy to command and demand our total allegiance and obedience? Surely only God Himself is worthy of such. In the Old Testament, the prophet Elijah once issued the challenge: If the LORD is God, follow Him (1 Kings 18:21). Here however we see Jesus issuing the command ‘Follow Me.’ It shows that Jesus Christ is God.

 

The Conversion of Matthew

 

Matthew’s call to follow Christ was the biggest milestone in his life. Along with Christ’s summons, Christ’s salvation was imparted. Christ’s word accomplished a great work, for the commandment issued was also an enablement imparted. Matthew was never the same again. Therefore, if any one is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Humanly speaking, Matthew was an unlikely candidate for salvation. Few in Israel would have singled out a tax collector for divine blessing. Taking money off people never boosts your popularity! Tax collectors were a despised breed. They were well known for being less than scrupulous – even for being embezzlers and defrauders. They were also loathed for their being in-league with the occupying, pagan, Roman power At the call of the Lord though Matthew left his tax office behind, and became one of Jesus’ inner circle of twelve disciples. The differing and diverse backgrounds of these twelve disciples are a picture of the Gospel of reconciliation in microcosm. All were now one in Christ – though we could speculate on the nature of the banter and table talk which occurred between Matthew – a Jew formerly in league with Rome – and Judas and Simon the Zealot – disciples who were formerly not averse to overthrowing Rome by paramilitary force.

 

The Composition of Matthew

 

Under God, Matthew’s main legacy to the world is his Gospel – the written account and compilation of the life and teaching of Jesus which bears his name. Matthew’s initial occupation was such that he was used to writing and keeping accounts, and the Lord God sanctified this ability of his and put his talent to a higher use to write Matthew’s Gospel – the first book in our New Testament

It is fitting that Matthew’s Gospel should open the New Testament, as Matthew’s Gospel is the Gospel with the most Jewish flavour to it, and as such is the ideal bridge between the Old and New Testaments. It has been well said that the New Testament completes what the Old Testament commences, and this is particularly true of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew goes to great lengths to show that the many promises which God made in Old Testament times all have their fulfilment in the Lord Jesus Christ. All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet (Matthew 1:22). ‘Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them’ (Matthew 5:17). Truly, in the Lord Jesus, all the promises of God find their Yes in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20).

 

The Christ of Matthew

 

Each of the four Gospel writers has his own distinctive perspective on the life and ministry of Jesus. It is as though the same Person’s portrait is being painted from four different angles. Matthew’s particular emphasis is that Jesus is the Christ. He is the longed for Messiah promised by God. A turning point in his Gospel occurs when Peter makes the open confession to Jesus: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Matthew 16:16).

‘Christ’ is a title, not a name. The title means ‘the anointed one.’ In Old Testament times, prophets, priests and kings were all anointed with oil at the outset of their ministries. It symbolised their being set apart by God and specially endowed with His Holy Spirit so that they could fulfil their specific callings. When the Lord Jesus commenced His ministry, Matthew records He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on Him (Matthew 3:16). As the Anointed One, Christ fulfils the roles of prophet, priest and king in His One blessed Person.

 

The Clue to Matthew

 

If there is one verse which gives us the key to unlock all twenty eight chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, it is Matthew 21:5. The verse – which again, is a fulfilment of an Old Testament prophecy, namely Zechariah 9: 9 – reads:-

Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, humble and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass.’

 

  1. The Character of Christ

 

‘Behold your King … Kingship was a facet of Messiah-hood. The Messiah was One Who would bring in God’s everlasting kingdom. He would bring in eternal life – the life of the Age to come. The Jewish people looked back to the reign of king David as being something of a golden age, hence, when they looked forward to the Messianic Age, they viewed it through ‘Davidic spectacles’ A Greater than David would come, right all wrongs and bring in the kingdom of heaven. And the Bible reveals Jesus to be ‘Great David’s Greater Son.’ He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16) – the root and offspring of David (Revelation 22:16).

Matthew then wrote his Gospel to direct our attention to the Messiah-King: Behold your King … The Shorter Catechism states ‘Christ executeth the office of a king in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies.’ If we belong to Jesus we are the glad subjects of His kingdom. We are under Christ’s crown and covenant He has conquered us with His saving grace. He has made us His willing servants We worship Him as One Who is enthroned in heaven at God’s right hand, working and weaving all things for the good of His people. He reigns and He will yet come to reign. When He comes again in glory, He will put down all who oppose Him and eradicate all that is contrary and incompatible to His rule of justice and love. Behold your King is coming to you.

 

  1. The Cross of Christ

 

The great King of Matthew’s Gospel is also, however – and most paradoxically – a humble king. Humble and mounted on an ass, and on a colt the foal of an ass It reminds us that this King stooped to conquer. He bowed most low to lift His people most high. In fact, He conquered by seemingly being conquered, when the hands of cruel men nailed Him to a plank of wood and hung Him up to die. Matthew’s Christ is a crucified Christ. He records pointedly that when Christ was crucified, over His head they put the charge against Him, which read ‘THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS’ (Matthew 27:37). The notion of a crucified Messiah could not have been further away from the popular political Messianic expectations of the day. We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block (scandal) to Jews and folly to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23). Yet is was by His cross that Christ gained the victory, for it was there at Calvary that He wrought the eternal salvation of His people which only He could win. On the cross His precious blood was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28). On the cross the Messiah made purification for sins (Hebrews 1:3) and was offered once to bear the sins of many (Hebrews 9:28).

 

iii. The Conquest of Christ

 

Matthew wrote his Gospel because he was concerned that we too should come to know and love the Messiah Whom he had come to know and love. When we read Matthew’s Gospel we are indeed brought face to face with the longed for Messiah – the One Who alone can give us entry into the kingdom of heaven.  That Jesus is indeed the Christ is fully and finally evidenced in Matthew’s last chapter, where we read of God the Father’s Own vindication of His Son by raising Him from the dead. The final words uttered by Matthew’s crucified and conquering King affirm that ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me …(Matthew 28:18). Peter likewise affirmed and confirmed this at Pentecost in the first ever Christian sermon when he proclaimed God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus Whom you crucified (Acts 2:36).

Matthew’s Gospel then thus repays our careful and prayerful attention. In reading its pages we are compelled to pay homage to the crucified, risen and reigning Messiah we encounter there.

 

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed

Great David’s greater Son!

Hail in the time appointed

His reign on earth begun!

He comes to break oppression

To set the captives free

To take away transgression

And rule in equity

 

O’er every foe victorious

He on His throne shall rest

From age to age more glorious

All blessing and all-blest

The tide of time shall never

His covenant remove

His name shall stand for ever

His changeless Name of love.

 

Copyright Timothy Cross

 

 

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The Twelve Days of Christmas

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

I am sure that you have heard the well known Christmas song entitled The Twelve Days of Christmas.  The song always seems to be heard during the Christmas season. I confess that I had never really given it much thought, as it comes over as nothing more than a frivolous ditty. I revised my opinion last Christmas, however, when I learned that The Twelve Days of Christmas is actually Christian in origin. It was written during a time of religious persecution when the Faith was driven somewhat underground. Each line of the song contains a hidden Christian meaning, known only to Christians. This enabled the song to be sung in public without fear of arrest, for a non Christian would only know its surface meaning. Let us then delve a little deeper into the seemingly lighthearted song The Twelve Days of Christmas.

            On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree. ‘My true love’ here represents God the Father, and the partridge represents His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the ‘pear tree’ represents the cross of Calvary. A mother partridge, we are told, feigns injury to decoy predators from harming her nestlings. And of course, in His great love, God the Father sent His Son into the world to be the Saviour of sinners, delivering them from eternal harm by dying in the place of sinners. 1 John 4:10 reminds us ‘In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two turtle doves. These two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testament which comprise the Bible. The Old and New Testaments are the two lips by which God speaks to us. They are infallible and inerrant. They are inspired by God’s Holy Spirit and reveal the Creator’s secret of a happy life, a happy death and a happy eternity.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three French hens. These represent the three theological virtues of ‘faith, hope and love’ (1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith means trusting and relying on God. Hope is a confident assurance and expectation that God will be true to His promises. Love for God and love for our fellow believers is a virtue enjoined frequently in the New Testament.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four calling birds. The four calling birds here represent the four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Bible gives us four written portraits of the one Christ. Matthew portrays Him as the King of the Jews – the long awaited Messiah. Mark portrays Him as the Servant of the Lord. Luke portrays Him as the Saviour of sinners. John portrays Him as the eternal Son of God Who became man. All four Gospels major disproportionately on the death of Christ at Calvary. It is by the death of Christ, not His live, that sinners are reconciled to God.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, five gold rings. These five gold rings represent the first five books of the Bible – the Pentateuch – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The theme of these five books is Creation, the Fall and Redemption. They tell us of our origins. They tell us how sin has spoiled the world. They tell us that the way back to God is by the blood sacrifice He has ordained – the blood sacrifices of the Old Testament all prefigured and foreshadowed the one sacrifice of Christ in the New.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese a-laying. The six laying geese here represent the six days of creation as revealed in Genesis 1. The Bible teaches that Almighty God is the creator and sustainer of the universe. He spoke the world into existence in six days, and rested on the seventh. ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1:1).

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven swans a-swimming. These seven swimming swans represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in Romans 12:6,7, namely: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, helping and acts of mercy. The risen Christ, by His Spirit, bestows these gifts on His church for her welfare and edification. Whilst every Christian does not have all the gifts of the Spirit, every Christian has at least one of the gifts by which they can be a blessing to the church, which is the body of Christ. Paul’s exhortation to Timothy is an exhortation to every Christian: ‘Do not neglect the gift you have …’ (1 Timothy 4:14).

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight maids a-milking. The eight milking maids are the eight ‘Beatitudes’ with which the Lord Jesus opened His famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’ – commonly known as the greatest sermon ever preached. The key to the Beatitudes is the first one: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:3). True blessedness is a result of realising our spiritual poverty and need, and casting ourselves on God in Christ for mercy.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing. These nine dancing ladies represent the nine-fold ‘fruit of the Spirit’ enunciated in Galatians 5:22,23 – ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’ The Holy Spirit of Christ gradually transforms Christians into the likeness of Christ. The process is known as sanctification. Fruit can take time to ripen, but by the grace of God, all who belong to Jesus will surely ripen more and more into His character.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten lords a-leaping. The ten leaping lords represent the Ten Commandments, as delivered by God to Moses at Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments are the Maker’s instructions. They are a summary of the moral law. They reveal God’s will, and they convict us of our sin and drive us to Christ for salvation. They also show us how to please God. If we love Him, and if we have been saved by His grace, we will endeavour to keep His commandments.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eleven pipers piping. Jesus chose twelve disciples, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. Of these twelve, only eleven were faithful. One, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Him.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, twelve drummers drumming. This final line of the song was intended to be a surreptitious reminder of the twelve lines of the Apostles’ Creed. The Apostles Creed is an early summary of the faith of the Bible – the Trinitarian Faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. ‘The Faith which was once for all delivered to the saint’ (Jude 3). The Apostles’ Creed is distinctly Trinitarian as the Christian Faith is distinctly Trinitarian. A Christian is one who has been saved by God the Holy Trinity – ‘chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood’ (1 Peter 1:2).

So there you have The Twelve Days of Christmas. It comes over as a jolly song, and somewhat light hearted. But there is more to it than meets the eye. Once we know its hidden meaning, we will never sing or hear it in the same way again. Happy Christmas!

© Timothy Cross

 

 

           

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Taking on New Things

Snowflakes

Underneath the surface jollity, Christmas can be a sad time for some. At Christmas-time we can be more aware of loved ones who are no longer with us. This is the case with my family, where my late father no longer joins us around the Christmas dinner table.

Losing a loved one though is not without compensations. Since my father’s death my mother has been released from the twenty four hour care he needed, and able to take on activities she was prevented from doing when my father was alive. She is now more involved with her church and has also joined a choir and a reading group. She is also now free to travel.

Did you know that the Lord Jesus – He whose birth lies at the centre of Christmas – at certain moments in time, took on matters which He had never taken on before? As the second person of the divine trinity, in eternity past, Jesus lived in the glory of heaven, in the ineffable fellowship which exists in the trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. On earth, He could speak to His Father of ‘the glory which I had with Thee before the world was made’ (John 17:5). Yet Scripture reveals that at crucial moments in the divine plan of salvation, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, took upon Himself i. Our human flesh ii. Our human sin.

1. The Divine Incarnation

In Jesus, God became man, taking upon Himself our human flesh. In Jesus, God actually shared our humanity. John wrote ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14), and Paul explained that ‘in Him (Christ) the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily’ (Colossians 2:9). It is the incarnation – God’s real, actual, historical and historic ‘enfleshment’ – which takes us to the heart of Christmas:-

 

‘Christ the Son of God became man, by taking to Himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin’ (Shorter Catechism).

 

The real, humanity of Jesus reminds us that we have a God who really does understand our human lot from ‘the inside.’ He can never be accused of being far removed from our daily struggles in this fallen world. ‘Jesus wept’ (John 11:35), and Jesus slept (Mark 4:38). He experienced fatigue (John 4:6), hunger (Mark 14:33) and thirst (John 19:28). Jesus also experienced mental turmoil (Mark 14:33) and received the barbs of those who sought to inflict psychological damage on Him (Matthew 27:39). Christians thus hold to the full humanity of Christ as much as they do to His absolute deity, for Scripture teaches both. His real humanity tells us ‘we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin’ (Hebrews 4:15).

But why did the Lord Jesus take on Himself our humanity? The answer of the Bible is: So He could die. His incarnation was with a view to His immolation. Unusually, His birth was with a view to His death. Scripture teaches that Jesus’ birth was a case of His taking on Himself our human flesh. But His death was a case of His taking on Himself our human sin.

2. The Divine Imputation

In a verse of infinite profundity, 2 Corinthians 5:21 states ‘For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.’ Hebrews 9:28 similarly tells of ‘Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many.’

The Christian gospel proclaims that the sins which prevent our fellowship with God and access to heaven may be fully and forever forgiven. But they may be forgiven only because Christ took them and their consequences on Himself when He died on the cross. Our sins may be forgiven because Christ bore them. When we speak of Christ ‘bearing’ our sins, we mean that He paid the price for them; He paid the penalty for them; He endured the punishment which we should have borne for them. He became the sinner’s substitute. Divine ‘imputation’ is the word which encapsulates this. Our sins – in the mercy of God – were ‘put to Christ’s account.’ He ‘paid the bill’ that we might be exonerated. On the cross of Calvary, He endured the wrath of God on our sins to save everyone who believes in Him from the wrath of God on their sins:-

 

All Thy sins were laid upon Him

Jesus bore them on the tree

God, who knew them, laid them on Him

And believing, Thou art free

(J Denham Smith 1817-1889)

.

So at two key points in the saga of redemption, God, in Christ i. Took upon Himself our human flesh and ii. Took upon Himself our human sin. The two may be distinguished, but cannot be separated, as the former was with a view to the latter. Christ was born to save us. ‘You shall call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21). And salvation was actually procured, not by Christ’s birth but by His death, in the very last hours of His earthly life, when He died as an atoning sacrifice for sinners. Christ’s taking on Himself our humanity was with the sole purpose of taking on Himself our sin. Christmas Day was with a view to Good Friday, for Christ’s cradle was with a view to His cross when ‘He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree’ (1 Peter 2:24).

 

Jesus, my Saviour to Bethlehem came

Born in a manger to sorrow and shame

O it was wonderful – blest be His Name!

Seeking for me, for me!

 

Jesus, my Saviour on Calvary’s tree

Paid the great debt and my soul He set free

O it was wonderful – how could it be

Dying for me, for me!

(Anon).

 

© Timothy Cross

 

 

 

 

 

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The Virgin-Born Saviour

 

Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

The Prophecy of Christ’s Virgin Birth

That Isaiah’s words here – addressed originally to King Ahaz of Judah some 800 years BC – had their ultimate fulfilment in the Lord Jesus Christ is the clear testimony of the New Testament. Isaiah prophesied of One to come Who, incredibly, was to be born without the normal instrumentality of a human father. When the Lord Jesus – God’s eternal Son – was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary and born of her, this prophecy was fulfilled.

As the Christian Church grew, and her fundamental beliefs came to be encapsulated and defined in her creeds and statements of Faith, the ‘Virgin Birth’ of Christ – by which we mean the ‘virginal conception’ of Christ – came to be regarded as fundamental to the Faith, and hence included in the church’s creeds. If we deny that Christ was virgin born, we are at odds with the historic Christian Faith and cannot really claim to be a Christian. The Apostles’ Creed  states:-

I believe …in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary …

 

The Shorter Catechism  states similarly:-

Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to Himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.

The Mystery of Christ’s Virgin Birth

Virgin births are, of course, humanly speaking, impossible. In dealing with the virgin birth of Christ though, we are dealing with God, and with God nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37). In Christ, no mere human was born but the pre-existent and eternal Son of God – the Second Person of the blessed Trinity.

People sometimes speak of ‘the miracle of life.’ Whilst we know what they mean, the term ‘the miracle of life’ is actually something of a misnomer. A new-born baby is wonderful, yet not really miraculous. Miracles are, by their nature, unusual, one-off events – but babies are born every day. New life is certainly mysterious and marvellous, but not, strictly speaking, miraculous. As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God Who makes everything (Ecclesiastes 11:5).

In the virgin birth of Christ though we are dealing with a unique, unusual, one-off, never to be repeated, incomparable miracle. Miracles present no problem to omnipotence. Christ’s conception was not a natural one but a supernatural one. His conception was not by an act of man but by an act of God.

The Reality of Christ’s Virgin Birth

When the virgin Mary – a young Jewish girl, living in Nazareth in Northern Israel –  was enabled to conceive the Lord Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, she was engaged to be married to one Joseph. Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). The intensely human details which Matthew records next, show that the account of the virgin birth of Christ is the plain, sober truth, rather than a clever and creative story spun by man. Virgin births were just not in Joseph’s mental framework at all – let alone in relation to his own wife to be. On realising that the woman to whom he was engaged was pregnant, Joseph was horrified and devastated. Although he loved her, he thought the worst of her. Surely Mary had been unfaithful and broken her sacred pledge. Surely now his marital hopes had ended almost before they had begun… Sadly, divorce seemed to be Joseph’s only option. Reading the account, we can almost feel the disappointment and depression descending on Joseph, but… But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:20ff.). It took an envoy from heaven to make Joseph change his mind!

Matthew next notes carefully that all of this was part of God’s redemptive plan, hence it was in complete accord with what God had already prophesied hundreds of years previously. He thus quotes the very verse from Isaiah with which we opened to prove his point: All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel’ (which means, God with us) (Matthew 1:22,23). In the virgin birth of Christ then Isaiah’s prophecy was most certainly and most gloriously fulfilled.

Luke’s account

Interestingly, significantly and fittingly, it is Luke’s Gospel which gives us the most detail in its recording of the virgin birth of Christ. We say this, as Luke was a medical doctor. Luke the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14). Luke alone relates the virgin birth of Christ from the angle of Mary His mother. It would seem that Mary had the confidence to confide in Dr Luke, and disclose to him the details withheld from the other accounts. The divine inspiration of the Scriptures apart, it is as though Luke had taken Mary into his surgery, from whence the material for the first chapter of his Gospel – with its detail concerning Christ’s virgin birth – was ascertained. Luke thus recorded for posterity how:-

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary … And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High…’ And Mary said to the angel ‘How shall this be, since I have no husband?’ And the angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God’ (Luke 1:26 ff.).

Christ’s birth then cannot be explained apart from the supernatural agency of the Holy Spirit. He had no human father. God was always His Father. Christ existed before His birth on earth. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1,14). How did the latter occur? By His conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, in fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

The Necessity of Christ’s Virgin Birth

From a Biblical perspective, the virgin birth of Christ was an absolute necessity as much as it is an assured reality. Put negatively, if Jesus had been born of a human father, He would not have been a sinless Saviour, for He would have inherited our sinful nature. Had Christ not been sinless, He would have been unable to redeem sinners. Only a sinless One could offer up His life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of others. Had Christ been born as a mere son of Adam – and not the Son of God – His death at Calvary would have been of no avail to us. We are sinners. We are so by nature and practice, being descendants of Adam. Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned (Romans 5:12). We have inherited Adam’s sinful nature. Christ though did not. He is the ‘Last Adam.’ His conception by the Holy Spirit ensured that no taint of sin was transmitted to His human nature. He is the sinless Son of God, hence His qualification to be the Saviour of sinners. He was born, not of the will of man but of God. His human nature was free from sin, hence His blood alone, shed at Calvary’s cross, has the power to save others from sin. Christ’s supernatural birth and Christ’s supernatural blood are inextricably linked. Redemption is only to be found in the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:19).

What stream is that which sweeps away

My sins just like a flood

Nor lets one guilty blemish stay?

Tis Jesus’ precious blood.

The Glory of Christ’s Virgin Birth

The Christian marvels at the virgin birth of Christ, a virgin birth in total fulfilment of Isaiah 7:14: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son.  The virgin birth of Christ elicits our humble adoration. The virgin birth of Christ though is just one facet of the incomparable person and work of the incomparable Saviour. Christ certainly entered into the world supernaturally – yet He also exited from the world in a supernatural way too. Christ certainly did inhabit a virgin womb for a season – but He also inhabited a virgin tomb too, from which He conquered the grave on the third day.

In dealing with Christ we are dealing with God. A true Christian, knowing His power to save, will never ever cast aspersions on either Christ’s virgin birth or any of the other miraculous phenomena connected with our Saviour.

Christ was, as Isaiah said He would be, ‘conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary.’ Christ’s virgin birth is both a doctrine to be believed and a hymn of praise to be sung. It was by this method that the pre-existent Son of God became incarnate ‘for us men and for our salvation.’

Christ by highest heaven adored

Christ, the everlasting Lord

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a virgin’s womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as Man with men to dwell

Jesus, our Immanuel.

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Prison Praise

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Did you know that when the good news of Jesus first reached the continent of what we now know as Europe, those who preached it spent a night in jail for their efforts?

 

The incident is recorded in Acts 16. A slave girl in Philippi, who earned her owners a lot of money by soothsaying, was converted to the Christian faith under the preaching of Paul and Silas.

Her conversion to Christ brought an abrupt end to her involvement in the black arts and a consequent financial loss to her owners. Her aggrieved owners engineered a mock trial for Paul and Silas before the city magistrates.

The magistrates turned a blind eye to the mob violence against Paul and Silas, beat them with rods and delivered them to the jailer, who ‘put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks’ (Acts 16:24).

So picture Paul and Silas. There they were, battered and bruised, and wallowing in a dark, dirty, depressing dungeon. How would you expect them to react to their plight? The way of God with them, when they were doing his will and work, seemed on the surface most painful and perplexing.

Remarkably, however, Luke records they did not utter even a murmur of complaint. Quite the opposite! There, in prison, they offered to God prison praise.

 

Doxology

 

A peal of doxology went up and out from those pained bodies, in those terrible conditions, in the prison at Philippi. ‘But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them’ (Acts 16:25).

So what a witness this is to God’s saving and sustaining grace! Paul and Silas obviously had a joy which this world cannot give, and which the adverse circumstances of this life could not take away from them.

  1. A. Ironside comments: ‘Those dear men, afflicted, miserable, unable to sleep, could not move without anguish; yet, as they lay in that dungeon, their hearts went out to God, presenting their case before him and, assured he heard, they lifted up their hearts in glad thanksgiving for his grace’.

Some years after his release from jail in Philippi, Paul wrote a letter to the church located in that city. The letter to the Philippians was written during another spell in jail for the long suffering apostle — this time he found himself in a cell in Rome.

In Philippians 4:4, Paul exhorted the Philippian believers, amongst whom, no doubt, was the Philippian jailer and perhaps some of Paul’s fellow inmates from the jail in Philippi, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice’.

 

Joy

 

Joy is a duty enjoined on all Christians. Christians are exhorted to be joyful, and Christians have every reason to rejoice. When Paul wrote this exhortation, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’, his readers would know that he practised what he preached.

They would have known of Paul’s time in the jail in their city, along with his midnight joy and praise there — a joy completely contrary to his circumstances and surroundings.

All this begs the question, ‘What was the secret of Paul’s indestructible joy?’

The answer is on the surface of the exhortation he gave: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’. Our God is ‘the Lord’, the absolute master, ruler and orderer of all things. The assurance of his total control — and absolute sovereignty over all that is — is ultimately our only true comfort, solace and joy. Our God reigns!

On dark days and sunny days; in days of ease and days of stress; on happy days and sad days; in sickness and in health, God is on the throne and cannot be overthrown. He alone is King.

He is sovereign and has the sovereign right to exercise his sovereignty as his wisdom, love and power sees fit. ‘The Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all’ (Psalm 103:19).

Strength

 

Secondly, Paul was able to ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ because he knew himself to be a recipient of God’s saving grace. And the deep conviction that we are actually loved by God is an inner source of joy and strength, which rises above adverse circumstances. ‘The joy of the Lord is your strength’ (Nehemiah 8:10).

Are we really loved by God? Yes! Romans 5:8 tells us that, ‘God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’. God sent his Son to be our Saviour. He procured salvation on Calvary’s cross.

And God has also sent his Holy Spirit to apply the work of Christ’s redemption personally to our hearts and souls. Romans 8:31 ff. is rhetorical when it asks, ‘If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?’

John Calvin allegedly ended every conversation with the words, ‘If God is for us, who is against us?’ He too then knew the secret of Christian joy.

So are we also able to offer ‘prison praise’? We might not be in a physical jail like Paul and Silas, but we can all feel trapped at times — trapped by our handicaps and limitations, trapped by our ailments and weaknesses, trapped by adverse circumstances, discouraged by little fruit for our labours, trapped by matters we are unable to change.

But, amidst all these, we are enjoined, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’. If God does not immediately release us from our prison, he will most certainly give us grace to sing our prison praise!

He is on the throne. He is all-wise and all-loving. He is working out his eternal will for the blessing of his people and glory of his name. Rejoice that he cannot be hindered or frustrated. Rejoice that he is a God of grace.

After all, he is the God who ‘so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16).

 

© Timothy Cross; originally published in Evangelical Times, reproduced with the kind permission of www.evangelicaltimes.org 

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The Seal of the Holy Spirit

The seal of the Holy Spirit

 

The full-orbed Christian doctrine of God takes us to the doctrine of the holy Trinity, that is, that the one true God exists and has eternally existed in the three persons of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Of these three divine persons, the Holy Spirit has been, arguably, the most neglected member of the Trinity in Christian thinking and preaching.

The Holy Spirit’s ministry however is absolutely indispensable. We would not and could not become Christians apart from his regenerating agency. It is the Holy Spirit of God who imparts to us all the blessings of God in Christ. Chief in his work is the effectual application of the redeeming work of Christ on the cross to our souls.

It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sin and enables us to believe in Jesus, and so appropriate personally the salvation Christ procured at Calvary. The joy and peace which comes as a consequence of this is an experience which ‘none but Zion’s children know’.

 

In Scripture

 

A ministry of the Holy Spirit’s which receives even less mention in Christian preaching and writing is that of ‘sealing’ — yet this blessed ministry is written plainly on the pages of the Bible for the Christian’s encouragement, assurance and reassurance.

In Ephesians 1:13, Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus that ‘you … who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit’. Here then is a distinguishing mark of a Christian.

How do we describe a Christian? In various ways. A Christian is chosen by God, saved by grace, called by God, redeemed by Christ, justified by faith. And a Christian is ‘sealed with the promised Holy Spirit’.

Paul says the same a little later in Ephesians when he exhorts ‘do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption’ (Ephesians 4:30). What though does Paul mean when he writes of this invisible, yet very real ‘seal’?

In the ancient world, visible seals were used on goods to attest their genuineness — something akin to our modern day trademarks. They were also utilised to mark ownership and to keep a legal document from being tampered with. A document had to arrive at court with an unbroken seal or it would be considered invalid.

The seal of God’s Holy Spirit then is proof that we genuinely belong to Jesus. It is the proof of our salvation. In Romans 8:9 Paul writes, ‘Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him’. The seal of the Holy Spirit is also one of the many ways in which the Bible describes the eternal security of one united to Christ in saving faith.

God our Father not only made us, but has also purchased us with the blood of his Son. We belong to him for ever. Nothing can undo our salvation, for God’s mark is upon us. By his Holy Spirit we are ‘sealed for the day of redemption’. ‘He has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee’ (2 Corinthians 1:22).

 

In society

 

The Bible often comes to life when we consider it against its original background of first century, middle eastern context and customs. This is especially so here. The booklet The Bible Comes to Life, published by the Churches Ministry amongst Jewish People, casts light on the Holy Spirit’s sealing of the Christian when it explains that in the first century world of the Bible: ‘letters, books, documents and other possessions were sealed to indicate ownership, authority or the value of an article. Paul uses this old custom of sealing to show how the believer has been purchased and paid for by the blood of Christ’.

The same booklet also has an instructive paragraph about a corn seal which, it says, was: ‘made of wood and measures about 48x24x2 cms. On one side the monogram of the owner is deeply cut while on the other side is fixed the handle.

‘When a man has purchased a quantity of corn it is placed in a heap which he proceeds to seal carefully by pressing his monogram upon it. This is to warn all who pass by that the corn has been purchased and paid for and is the property of the person whose seal is upon it. Later the man will send a servant with a donkey to collect or redeem it in his name’.

So we can understand better what Paul meant when he referred to the Holy Spirit’s sealing of the Christian. A Christian is ‘sealed for the day of redemption’. We have been purchased by the blood of Christ. We belong to Jesus. We are his property, for he has paid for us and now owns us. His mark — the seal of the Holy Spirit — is upon us.

One day he is going to come and collect us and we shall be with him for ever. Jesus promised ‘I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also’ (John 14:3).

 

In suffering

 

The last book of the Bible — the book of Revelation — was written during the most troublesome, violent and unstable days. If anyone should have believed that a Christian could not be sure of salvation, or lose a salvation he once had, surely John, the author of Revelation, should have.

But, no. God gave John a vision. John was enabled to view salvation from a heavenly angle. In Revelation 7:2 ff. he tells how: ‘I saw another angel … with the seal of the living God, and he called … “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads”. And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty four thousand …’

This, of course, is highly symbolic. But symbolic of what? There were twelve tribes in Israel, and there were twelve apostles. 12×12=144. This then refers to God’s true church — the large number of his elect from all the ages who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. They have God’s seal upon them. They are a saved people, a safe people and a sealed people.

They will be a glorified people because no natural or supernatural power can break the Holy Spirit’s seal upon them. ‘Those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified’ (Romans 8:30).

‘Sealed for the day of redemption’. If, by God’s grace, you belong to Jesus, why not bow your head now and thank God for the blessed sealing of his Holy Spirit.

 

There on each he setteth

His own secret sign

They that have my Spirit

These, saith he, are mine.

 

© Timothy Cross; originally published in Evangelical Times, reproduced with the kind permission of www.evangelicaltimes.org 

 

 

 

 

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A Blanket of Snow

Snow_Timothy_Cross

On 8 February 2007, the weather forecasters got it absolutely right — here in South Wales we woke up to a blanket of snow — 5 cm of it to be precise. The snow disrupted transport and closed many schools. This delighted many school children, but inconvenienced others.

 

My friends in Canada find it somewhat amusing that what is by their standards a very small amount of snow throws a large spanner in the national works here in the UK.

The winter snow of 2007 caused a lovely stillness. It dampened down the sound, and turned my mind to the God of the Bible. For in the light of the Bible, the snow reminds us of both the seasons of God and the salvation of God.

 

The seasons of God

 

We, of course, have absolutely no control over the weather, the time or the seasons of the year. But behind all these lies the hand of a sovereign God. It is he who is in control of the universe, for he is the God of both creation and providence.

In Genesis 8:22 God says, ‘While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease’. Then in Psalm 147 16-17 we read that ‘[God] gives snow like wool; he scatters hoarfrost like ashes. he casts forth his ice like morsels; who can stand before his cold?’ All we can do, then, is submit humbly to God’s providence and accept whatever weather he sends our way.

And does this not apply to ‘the seasons of life’ as well? Does not Almighty God, in his infinite wisdom, balance the seasons of life in the lives of his children, as much as he does the seasons of nature?

He may well make us experience a cold winter of the soul — a winter of sorrow, stress, frustration or spiritual barrenness. ‘For from him and through him and to him are all things’ (Romans 11:36). The trials and traumas of this life can chill our hearts.

What can we do? In the natural realm, we adapt. We employ central heating and warm winter clothes. And in the spiritual realm we can also adapt — God enables his children to adapt and cope.

It is the knowledge and assurance of his love in Christ which warms our hearts. The Psalmist wrote: ‘When the cares of my heart are many, thy consolations cheer my soul’ (Psalm 104:19).

The only ultimate consolation we have is that ‘God is’ — he is sovereign in control, infinite in wisdom, and abundant in mercy, love and grace. He is too kind to be cruel and too wise to make mistakes. His promise avails in all seasons and circumstances: ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ (2 Corinthians 12:19). His grace keeps pace with whatever we face!

 

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,

He sendeth more strength when the labours increase.

To added affliction he addeth his mercy,

To multiplied trials, his multiplied peace.

 

The salvation of God

 

Secondly, the snow also reminds us of God’s salvation. In Isaiah 1:18 God gives the following wonderful promise: ‘Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool’.

Isaiah’s designation as ‘The evangelical prophet’ is apt. Here at the beginning of his sixty-six chaptered prophecy we have a promise of salvation. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’. The promise — with New Testament hindsight — has its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ and his atoning death on the cross for sinners. Sin is a defiled state, rendering us unfit for the presence of God. Hence David’s prayer to God in Psalm 51:5 — ‘Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow’.

The good news of the gospel is that God in his mercy has provided a way of cleansing from the sin which both defiles and damns us. His merciful provision was his own Son — who lived a sinless life and died in the place of sinners, bearing the wrath of God on their behalf.

The simple but glorious statement of 1 John 1:7 is that ‘the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin’. The blood of Jesus makes sinners fit for heaven. It washes us ‘white as snow’. The inhabitants of glory, says Revelation 7:14, are those who ‘have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’.

The snow of February 2007 soon thawed. It came and went within forty eight hours. But praise God that his truth stands eternally — ‘The Word of the Lord abides for ever’ (1 Peter 1:25).

The God of the Bible is a sovereign God. He is in control of the seasons of nature and the seasons of our soul, and knows how to balance both for his glory. And he is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to the death of the cross. Jesus shed his precious blood so that sinners could be washed whiter than snow and saved eternally.

 

Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow?

There’s power in the blood, power in the blood.

Sin stains are lost in its life-giving flow;

There’s wonderful power in the blood

 

There is power, power, wonder-working power

In the blood of the Lamb.

There is power, power, wonder-working power

In the precious blood of the Lamb!

 

© Timothy Cross; originally published in Evangelical Times, reproduced with the kind permission of www.evangelicaltimes.org

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The Dark Days of the Soul

When the hour goes back at the end of October each year, the daylight begins to get shorter, and the long, dark nights return once more. I have to confess that, whilst each season of the year has its compensations, this is my least favourite time of the year. A bit of me almost envies those animals that are able to hibernate until the brighter days of Spring! Living in the UK though, we cannot avoid dark days – the days when the clouds don’t go away, and the whole atmosphere seems uninviting and gloomy.

Physical darkness is one thing, but what of the dark days of the soul? How do we cope with the darker seasons of our lives – the times of sorrow and suffering, disappointment, discouragement and depression which come upon all God’s people at some time? Consider the following thoughts from the Bible:-

 

The Providence of God

 

The Bible teaches that darkness is part of God’s created order. Darkness therefore – both physical and personal – is not accidental but providential. It is ordered by God Himself. ‘God’s works of providence are His most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures and all their actions’ (Shorter Catechism). The Bible reminds us ‘While the earth remains … summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease’ (Genesis 8:22). ‘Thou makest darkness, and it is night …’ (Psalm 104:20). And in Isaiah 45:6,7 God Himself pronounces ‘‘I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness …’’ Remembering then that the dark days of our lives are as equally from God as the bright ones makes them much easier to accept. God is on the throne of the universe! He is infinite in His wisdom and love. He knows how to balance both the seasons of nature and the seasons of the soul for our ultimate blessing and His eternal glory.

 

The Purpose of God

 

The Puritans used to say that ‘Grace grows in Winter.’ Darkness necessitates our walking by faith and not sight. We do not always know what God is doing in our lives – but He does, and He is infinitely worthy of our trust. With Job we may affirm ‘But He knows the way that I take … What He desires, that He does. For He will complete what He appoints for me … (Job 23:10,13,14). What is dark and puzzling to us is as clear as day to Him Who is all-knowing. Hence David’s confession that ‘even the darkness is not dark to Thee, the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light with Thee’ (Psalm 139:12).

 

The Presence of God

 

The Bible assures God’s children that He will never leave them alone in the dark. He is a God of covenant faithfulness, Who stands by His people through thick and thin, through light and darkness. His love will not let us go! There is a well known hymn which includes the lines:-

 

Days of darkness still come o’er me

Sorrows paths I often tread

But the Saviour still is with me

By His hand I’m safely led.

 

The comforting presence of God with us in our darkness is surely superior to any explanations. And in His Word God promises ‘I will never fail you nor forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5). Small wonder then that the promises of God in the Bible are often pictured as a welcome light in a dark place. ‘Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ (Psalm 119:105). ‘You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts’ (2 Peter 1:19).

 

The Praises of God

 

The Bible teaches that it is actually possible to sing cheerfully even in dark times, that is, to delight to continue to give God the praise He alone deserves. He ‘gives songs in the night’ (Job 35:10). ‘At night His song is with me’ (Psalm 42:8). We recall a certain dark, dingy, dirty, dank and disgusting prison in Philippi. Two Christian prisoners were once held captive there. Acts 16:25 though tells us that ‘about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.’ It goes to show that it really is possible to sing during dark and dreary days. The God of the Bible has not changed. He is ‘unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth’ (Shorter Catechism). In dark days He is still the God ‘Who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will’ (Ephesians 1:11). And even in dark days the truth still stands that ‘in everything God works for good with those who love Him’ (Romans 8:28), for His love towards His people cannot be extinguished by any darkness. When we realise these precious truths, a song of praise and thanksgiving is elicited from our hearts. By His grace we may ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ (Philippians 4:4). Behind a frowning providence He surely hides a smiling face. So we may trust and praise Him on both cloudy days and clear days, in day time and in the night.

 

The Pre-eminence of God

 

Finally, the Bible teaches that, for the Christian, dark days and night time are only temporary. ‘The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day’ (Proverbs 4:18). Christians alone are children of light. ‘He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son’ (Colossians 1:13). On the cross the Lord Jesus suffered both physical, spiritual and eternal darkness. He bore our sins and God’s judgement upon them so that all who believe in Him may bask in God’s eternal light one day. So if we belong to Jesus, better, brighter and glorious times are coming. Yes, this world has its darkness. But in God’s kingdom darkness will be banished, and banished eternally. In God’s kingdom it will always be light. ‘And night shall be no more; they need no light or lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever’ (Revelation 21:5).

So, dear Christian friend, do not be surprised if you experience dark days. They are part of God’s all-wise ordering of the universe. Remember that the Lord Jesus is ‘the light of the world’ (John 8:12) and seek His grace to live with whatever circumstances He sends your way. And never forget that brighter days are surely coming, for ‘the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us’ (Romans 8:18). Your testimony will yet be ‘the LORD my God lightens my darkness’ (Psalm 18:28).

 

Copyright, Timothy Cross

 

 

 

 

Posted by Site Developer in Bible, Prayer