Spiritual passion – Wisdom From the Word

Servant or Friend?

Servant or friend? This is an important relational question. In John 15 Jesus made the following statement to the 11 after Judas had left.

¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 (NKJV)

There are two aspects to this verse. One is that friends know things that servants don’t, that is explicit. The implicit part is the difference in relationship. We do things WITH our friends; we do things FOR our master. That is the area I want to focus on. First, we look at some other scriptural references to being a friend of God.

⁷ Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 2 Chronicles 20:7 (NKJV)

⁸ “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. Isaiah 41:8 (NKJV)

²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. James 2:23 (NKJV)

¹¹ So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. Exodus 33:11 (NKJV)

These references highlight Abraham and Moses as Yahweh’s friends. It is interesting that in Isaiah 41:8 we have the same pattern as John 15:15, servants and friends. Now, we may conclude that we need to be a special individual, great leader or an apostle to be friends of God. Not so.

Here we look at an important verse about being a friend of Yahwheh, starting with the NKJV then going to the ESV and the meaning of the word ‘secret.’

¹⁴ The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. Psalm 25:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. Psalm 25:14 (ESV)

The Hebrew word translated as ‘secret’ in the NKJV is translated as ‘friendship’ in the ESV. Now an obvious connection is the idea that we only share our secrets with our friends, so a closer look is in order.

The Hebrew sod is the source of our English secret and friendship, yet is also has a fuller range of meaning. We still need to keep in mind that words have objective denotative and subjective connotative meanings. That is, they have a basic meaning and a contextual meaning that clarifies intent.

סוֹד sod (691c); from an unused word; council, counsel:—circle(1), company(1), consultation(1), council(5), fellowship(1), friendship(1), gathering(1), intimate(1), plans(1), secret(2), secret counsel(3), secrets(2).^[1]

Thus, what we get from Psalm 25:14 is that Yahweh is a friend to those who fear Him and that He unveils or shares secrets with them and reveals the benefits of His covenant.

My friend Evelyn stepped from time into eternity a few years ago but a couple of decades ago I asked her how she understood the fear of the Lord. She replied, “Loving Him so much I would never do anything to offend Him.” That stuck with me! I need to love Jesus and seek to never offend Him by my words and actions. Then applying Psalm 25:14 to that means that He will be my friend and share things with me.

I confess that I still at times move back and forth between doing things out of a sense of duty, working for Jesus, and doing things with Him because I enjoy being with Him. The latter is much more fruitful and reinforces a sense of purpose and value. Which takes us back to where we began. Scripture teaches us that He wants friendship with us and we get to choose our level of relationship. After all, scripture clearly states the process and the benefit of the new covenant through which we can draw near to His heart.

¹⁸ For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, ¹⁹ for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. Hebrews 7:18–19 (NKJV)

Let’s embrace this ‘better hope’ and draw near to His heart in friendship and work with Jesus instead of for Him.

NOTE while writing this the term ‘The Face to Face Place’ came to me, that is what we will explore next week in understanding the furtherance of the friendship with Jesus.

^[1] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).

Now is the Time?

In the New Testament (NT) the most frequently quoted passage from the Old Testament (OT) is Psalm 110. It is a short Psalm about the rule and reign of the coming Messiah. Here are the first two verses.

¹ The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ² The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Psalm 110:1–2 (NKJV)

The most famous Psalm in the world is the 23^rd Psalm. Here is a key verse related to our subject.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Psalm 23:5 (NKJV)

The command in Psalm 110 is to rule, referring to the Messiah, Jesus. The message of Psalm 23 is that in the very face of our enemies He prepares a table, a place of nourishment and sustenance for us. Here we will look at the sustaining and transforming role of worship. Which requires some background and a story.

At the end of June and beginning of July in 1995 I, along with my friend Wouter, attended an event in Whistler, British Columbia called The Gathering of the Nations. IT was in fact of gathering of people from many nations with the stated purpose of gathering to seek His face. I can still remember where I was in my basement on our acreage when I read the brochure for the conference. I was on a distribution list for a newsletter, back when these came via the post office! I had picked up the mail the previous day but hadn’t opened this iteration of the monthly newsletter. When I did there was a brochure promoting the Whistler conference. I read it and began weeping. I know, not a normal response. What led to my weeping was that the entire agenda of the conference was to focus on worship and seeking His face and discerning His voice. I knew I was to be there. I won’t go into all the details but, along with Wouter, I made it there.

Spiritually the conference was a very powerful and significant event. While there I found out that the only event actually scheduled was a presentation of Brian Doerksen’s new album and musical production Father’s House (I highly recommend it). For some reason it was never presented or referenced in any of the five days of meetings that took place three times per day.

You are likely now wondering about the significance. During the conference I spent some time chatting with Brian in a hot tub at the hotel we were staying at. He was genuine and open and never referenced his Father’s House project. I later found out that he had mortgaged his home to produce it and when released it was not a success. Fast forward to 1997 and Brian and his family had now moved to London England to help with leading worship and training worship leaders in the Vineyard in the UK.

With the many posts following his recent transition to Jesus’s presence I recently listened to an interview with Brian where he shared about the birth of a worship song after their move ot London. He stated that after their arrival he was at a low point in his life. He had lost everything financially trying to launch his Father’s House musical and was doubting his faith. As he was walking the streets of London one morning pondering and praying, he said he suddenly felt the Lord’s presence moving on him and through him like electricity and felt like he was being visited by the love of God. In this atmosphere he clearly heard the words, “Come, now is the time to worship.” It made no sense to him but he felt like it was an invitation to come and worship in his brokenness so he went home and began working on the song. He played it a couple of weeks later during worship and said that within weeks they heard of it being sung around the world before he even completed the final version or recorded it.

So, back to our verses. Brian was not in a good place when this invitation came. An invitation to embrace a table prepared for him in the midst of discouragement and a host of other negative emotions. What about you, have discouragement, hopelessness or failure become your companions? Are you struggling in some other area? Then I invite you, as I have done in difficult times, respond to the invitation, come, now is the time to worship.

brian doerksen come now is the time to worship youtube – Search

Making Room

This past week I had coffee with a pastor friend and we were discussing the church. He said one of the problems is that though people talk about the kingdom they tend to see their church as the kingdom rather than the kingdom expressing itself through the church. I concur. The church is an aspect of the kingdom; it is not the kingdom. That being said, Jesus did say He would build His church (Matthew 16:18). Thus, the question we need to answer is what the church should look like.

At the simplest level the church is meant to be His dwelling place, the place where Jesus expresses Himself through His body. In one of his encounters with Yahweh this is what Yahweh said to Moses.

⁸ And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. Exodus 25:8 (NKJV)

This is His desire, to express Himself among us, or in the case of the church, in and through us. After all Paul tells us that individually and corporately, we are His dwelling place, referring specifically to the Holy of Holies in the temple, the place where Yahweh sat enthroned between the cherubim (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). In both references Paul is exhorting his readers, and by extension us, to live holy upright lives because we carry His presence.

That being the case, I think we should seek to see more of His manifest presence when we gather and then take what we receive out to those around us. I have never been in a revival atmosphere. I have read about it in church history; I have listened to a couple of old sermons by Duncan Campbell, the preaching voice of the Hebrides revival. In listening His presence is tangible and gripping. This stirs in me a desire for more, for a corporate experience and expression. I have had powerful encounters alone with Jesus and I have been in gatherings where His presence has been very tangible but nothing that rises to the level of what I have researched regarding revival. I think we as His body need that.

That being said, I don’t believe, as some do, that we can create revival. I believe it is like the birthing of a baby. The baby beginning to move down the birth canal brings on labour, it is not the labour that brings on the baby. He initiates, we respond. Yet, in looking at church history it has usually been in times of great darkness that revival is birthed, and culturally we are certainly there. In the West we live in a moral quagmire and we are in desperate need of His presence among us.

Given that we cannot manufacture revival what can we do. Of course, scripture has the answer. Here is one of my favourite verses in Proverbs (I have a few!)

¹ The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. Proverbs 16:1 (NKJV)

Many translations have the word ‘plan’ or ‘plans’ instead of preparations but while the Hebrew word carries that meaning it primarily means to arrange or set up. I was involved in planning a few large events and conferences in my career in and the focus was on preparation. We prepared the agenda, the room and everything else. There was a plan but the focus was on proper preparation for when the people arrived. To that end, while I do not believe we can create revival, we seem to be in a cultural state that requires it and I believe we can prepare our hearts to make room for Jesus, to give Him freedom to express His Lordship in our gatherings. There is a worship song titled Make Room that I believe expresses what we can do, we can prepare our hearts, surrender our plans and make room for Him to move. Let’s do that!

Song link below.

NOTE – I have written a weekly post for over 12 years now. I am going on vacation and actually taking a break from writing my blog, and a few other things. The next one will be Saturday June 6. I am frankly somewhat weary at present. I suspect a large part of that comes from having two major surgeries in the past 14 months coupled with a busy schedule and me not being very good at actually taking breaks, so I am going to do that and seek His face on our trip.

Make Room (Lyrics) – Community Music

The Son of His Love

There is an interesting phrase in Colossians, “the kingdom of the Son of His love.” Contextually Paul writes that we have been delivered from darkness and that deliverance came about as a result of our transfer of allegiance to Jesus. Which tells us that salvation isn’t about saying the right words, it is about having a right heart, one loyal to Jesus.

Paul’s turn of phrase here is very interesting. He says the Father has, “conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” Spiritually we have moved domains, which is why later Paul references that our lives are ‘hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3). There is a lot to unpack here so let’s dig in. We know from the gospels that the kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are interchangeable terms. Thus, however we view it, at conversion we were moved to another kingdom. Now we look at the implications as seen in John’s gospel. Our initial phrase in Colossians 1:13 reveals the Father’s heart. Knowing that Jesus is ‘the Son of His love,’ tells us that the Father’s motive in the incarnation was to express His love to and through Jesus. While the Father, Son and Spirit are all involved in everything, at times the scriptures focus in on one of them. Here we are looking more closely at different roles. The Father is in view in the famous John 3:16 and later in verse 35 Jesus affirms how the Father loves Him.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

³⁵ The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. ³⁶ He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:35–36 (NKJV)

The Father loves the Son and the world. Jesus says the Father’s love has placed our future in His hands. We can see this clearly. Yet as we move further into John to the ending of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, we see what is available to us.

²⁶ And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:26 (NKJV)

Here Jesus is expressing that His revelation of the Father has the power to impart to our hearts the same kind of love for Him that the Father has. I can’t fully grasp that yet at the same time I know that this is the potential fruit of having been ‘conveyed’ into this kingdom. So, from the place of intercession let’s ask to receive, for both ourselves and others, a revelation of the Father’s love for Jesus and seek to remain in this love in His kingdom in all that we do.

Out of His Presence

I was praying about what to write about and the Spirit brought to mind an experience from many years ago. It was the beginning season of a small group that grew and had a significant impact on many from a variety places and backgrounds. I have written about this in the past but with a different focus.

A small group of us were worshipping and as my friend Lynn was playing instrumentally on the piano words came to me and I began to sing, “I am here to worship, Intimate One. You are all I worship, Intimate One.” I don’t remember all of the words that emerged as Lynn played, yet I do remember that what produced them was an awareness of His presence, Jesus being real and tangible and a strong desire to submit to His presence and leading.

This was an ‘Out of His Presence’ moment. While we don’t often talk about it, there is a distinct difference between Yahweh’s omnipresence and His manifest presence. He can manifest His presence to varying degrees. On this occasion, though it wasn’t a lot of His presence, it was sufficient to move the hearts of a group of us and release a new level of worship. Any time He begins to manifest more of His presence, we have the opportunity to respond at a deeper level. Even as I wrote this, I felt led to pause and just fix the gaze of my heart upon Him. He responded by intensifying His presence and I was deeply moved.

In seeking to capture the importance of this idea I thought of a song that became popular a couple of years ago, Make Room. The song captures the heart of what I am seeking to express. One stanza says,

And I will make room for You
To do whatever You want to
To do whatever You want to
I will make room for You
To do whatever You want to
To do whatever You want to

The repetition of submission to His will and leading is a key theme of the song. It is reflective of what you are likely familiar with in Proverbs.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5–6 (NKJV)

When we come into His presence and submit our will to His we are making room. It is from here, out of His presence, that life and revelation can flow. When we lay down our agendas and make room for His, the Spirit is free to move in our midst. A great example of this is the famous George Washington Carver, a former slave who became famous for his scientific acumen in the US and abroad. In his regular Give Him 15 posts Dutch Sheets recently wrote about Carver, his numerous agricultural innovations and his international fame. Most importantly Dutch wrote about the source of Carver’s wisdom. Carver lived by the above passage from Proverbs. He made room and sought wisdom from Yahweh and referred to his lab at the Tuskegee Institute as ‘God’s little workshop.’ Carver’s focus was on the Lord guiding his scientific discoveries and achievements, which were numerous!

Now back to us, if we, like Carver, recognize that what comes out of His presence is the opportunity to engage in worship, creativity, passion and wisdom it should encourage us to make room. Let’s do that.

Walk with Me?

Lately I have been thinking about walking, actually longing for warmer weather and the snow to be gone so I can go and walk freely in the woods. Given my limited walking over the winter with my second knee replacement three months ago this longing seems deeper than usual. Part of this desire is that when I walk in the woods and mountains my heart is drawn to prayer and worship.

With my desire for walking in mind I heard something that led me to reflecting on the first mention of anyone walking in scripture. We find it in Genesis 3.

⁸ And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8 (NKJV)

Our next example of walking is in Genesis 5.

²⁴ And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Genesis 5:24 (NKJV)

Not surprisingly the Hebrew word for walk means, you guessed it, walk or walking.

I have heard people suggest that the language of Yahweh walking is an accommodation to our understanding as God is spirit and doesn’t have a body. I respectfully disagree. The consistent testimony of scripture refutes that view. For example, in Genesis 18 three men visit Abraham. We later discover that two are angels and one speaking to Abraham is Yahweh. In Isaiah 6 Isaiah sees Yahweh on His throne. He has a bodily appearance. The same is true for Ezekiel’s encounters. There are other Old Testament examples as well should you choose to search them out.

My point in raising this is that I believe Yahweh was in the habit of coming to Adam and Eve in the evening in bodily form and walking with them. Something was passed down to Enoch that stirred him to seek out Yahweh and walk with Him. In the walking their relationship became so close that Enoch was taken from earth to heaven.

My experience is that there is something significant about walking with another. Decades ago, working on an adolescent psychiatric unit I found walking and talking with the patients more productive than sitting and talking with them in an office. A friend from church recently shared that in a supervisory role he was in there was an identified problem with an employee, he went to see him and said, “Let’s go for a walk.” After 20 minutes of walking the source of the problem was revealed. I have another friend who regularly gets away to the mountains to ‘walk with Yahweh’ and the fruit is evident in His life. Walking is an openness and intimacy opportunity and we see the pattern of walking with Yahweh further reflected in Genesis.

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. Genesis 17:1 (NKJV)

⁴⁰ But he said to me, ‘The LORD, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. Genesis 24:40 (NKJV)

¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, Genesis 48:15 (NKJV)

Walking with Yahweh was important both from the perspective of Yahweh and the patriarchs.

Now, I don’t want to stretch a metaphor beyond its usefulness but I believe there is spiritual truth and opportunity in the idea of walking with Yahweh, in particular outdoors. Research demonstrates that people working on difficult tasks do better when exposed to nature. It makes sense given our original habitation was a massive garden.

There is an expression, ‘Not all who wander are lost.’ It reflects being more than doing. I know that when I sense His drawing to walk and be with Him I become more conscious of His presence with me throughout the day. So, is He asking you to walk with Him? Is that something you will do?

Bing Videos Kim Walker-Smith Walk with Me

Sunday’s Coming

In recent years there have been a couple of popular contemporary Christian songs about Sunday coming. The implicit idea in them is that if we can hang on through the rest of the week and make it to Sunday, we will be okay. Now, while the songs may be okay if you are just hanging on, another perspective that comes to me is about Monday.

However, first, we look at Sunday and the purpose of our gathering. A couple of scriptures come to mind.

¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ – ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:15–16 (NKJV)

²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23–25 (NKJV)

The two passages above address why we as His body gather. The Ephesians one addresses the importance of speaking truth in love to one another in order to grow spiritually. Paul also speaks of the importance of growth coming through what joints supply. The important point here is that a joint is a relationship between two or more parts. We need one another. The Hebrews passage is clear that we need to gather and stir one another to walk in good works. Again, we need one another to grow and walk out our callings. These are reasons for a Sunday gathering, or any other gathering of the body. To build up and encourage one another to walk out what Jesus has called us to walk in.

This now brings us to Monday, or any other day of the week. If scripturally a primary purpose of gathering on Sunday is to stir one another to engage in love and good works and to strengthen one another then we logically need to consider the end purpose of that, which Paul tells us.

¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

Given that Sunday is only one day of the week and God has prepared good works for us that means that we have assignments not only on Sunday but Monday to Saturday as well.

This means we need to think not only that Sunday is coming, but we need to look forward to Monday coming and seek to discern the assignment He has for us that day. Sunday we can worship and fellowship with our fellow believers then on Monday look forward to the opportunity to take what we have experienced out to our home and the marketplace.

In conclusion, yes, every seven days Sunday is coming. Let’s appreciate that, then let’s use it to embrace our calling the other six days of the week.

Earth Mirroring Heaven

Recently I wrote about Yahweh as the Cloud Rider (http://wisdomfromtheword.ca/the-cloud-rider/ ) and how we also see Jesus also described in scripture as the cloud rider. Here we will look at what He rides on, okay, only briefly, what is important is the idea of earth mirroring heaven. David made a very interesting statement in 1 Chronicles.

¹⁸ and refined gold by weight for the altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 1 Chronicles 28:18 (NKJV)

The context is David describing all the preparations he had made for Solomon so that he could build the temple. The interesting part is his explicit reference to the cherubim over the seat of the ark of the covenant as Yahweh’s chariot.

We see Yahweh on His chariot in 1 Kings. Notice that contrary to what is popularly expressed, Elijah was conveyed to heaven by a whirlwind. The chariot is Yahweh making an appearance on the scene.

¹ And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Kings 2:1 (NKJV)

¹¹ Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. ¹² And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 2 Kings 2:11–12 (NKJV)

We also see Yahweh’s chariot in Ezekiel, just without the horses. It is very similar to John’s vision of the throne in Revelation. Thus, we see the tabernacle mirroring heaven. In constructing the tabernacle and the associated objects, Yahweh said to Moses that he was to follow the heavenly pattern.

⁴⁰ And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain. Exodus 25:40 (NKJV)

The same idea is reflected in Hebrews where the writer is contrasting Jesus’ eternal priesthood with the priests of Israel.

⁴ For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; ⁵ who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:4–5 (NKJV)

Lastly, we look at how Jesus’ function in creation.

³ who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:3 (NKJV)

Many modern translations have something like ‘His powerful word’ instead of the phrase ‘word of His power.’ Yet the latter is a more literal and accurate rendering from Greek. The idea is less about the power of His word and more about the continual release of it. Material creation exists because Jesus continually sustains it.

Having presented these ideas, let’s tie them together. Hebrews 8:5 describes the relationship between heaven and earth as the things of earth being, ‘the copy and shadow of the heavenly things.’ The spirit realm is the real realm and the source of everything that we see. Earth, however dimly, is meant to reflect heavenly realities. Just as Eden was the place of His dwelling at the beginning of creation when we look at the end of Revelation (the last two chapters) we see Eden restored but far more gloriously. It is the culmination, the summing up of all things and the final fulfillment of what Jesus instructed us to pray, ‘On earth as it is in heaven.’ The two will become one, fully and finally united. Earth will no longer mirror heaven, it will be transformed and absorbed into heaven. Thus, let us pray with this understanding.

⁹ Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9–10 (NKJV)

His Inheritance

Ephesians contains an interesting phrase that is part of Ephesians 1:18, “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” In the preceding verse Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian believers, and by extension us, that the eyes of our hearts/understanding would be enlightened by the Spirit to under the import of this phrase. Given that, let’s dig in and see what this inheritance is all about.

There are two aspects here, who gains the inheritance and what the actual inheritance is. In examining the passage closely, we first discover that the ‘His inheritance’ refers to the Father. Paul’s prayer is about the ‘Father of glory.’ It is the Father who receives the inheritance. Now we look at what He is receiving? Understanding that requires backing up quite a bit, backing up to before creation. The following two verses come from what is known at Jesus high priestly prayer just before Gethsemane, His trial and crucifixion.

⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. John 17:5 (NKJV)

²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 (NKJV)

We see two things here, Jesus possessed glory with the Father prior to creation and they lived in a loving relationship prior to creation.

Now we move to make sense of how this connects to the Father’s inheritance. We know Jesus and the Father lived in a relationship of love and intimacy. Scripture tells us what will happen to us that enables us to enter into that intimate relationship, it even tells us how it will take place.

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:28–30 (NKJV)

² Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2 (NKJV)

Think back on Jesus’ prayer in John 17 and His reference to glory. Paul says we will be glorified! That is our ultimate destiny. John describes it much more succinctly, “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

The Father’s inheritance at the end is us, believers, fully transformed creatures that can live in deep fellowship with Him as Jesus has since before the foundation of the world, a whole new family with whom He can intimately interact. The Father inherits us! You are part of this! It is our calling!

Delivered up and Raised

We are in the Easter weekend, Good Friday has passed, Resurrection Sunday is pending. The significance of this weekend is that we have a Saviour who was born to die, yet not just to die, but to also be raised. After all, Paul was clear about the prime significance of the resurrection.

¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. ¹⁴ And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. ¹⁵ Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up – if in fact the dead do not rise. ¹⁶ For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. ¹⁷ And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 1 Corinthians 15:13–17 (NKJV)

In Romans Paul is more succinct. Speaking of Jesus sacrifice he states it in simple terms.

²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4:25 (NKJV)

The word ‘offenses’ refers to our transgressions or trespasses, in a word, Jesus was delivered up to crucifixion because of our sins. The other side of this is that Paul says Jesus’ resurrection was for our justification. Which means that we were pronounced righteous or acquitted of our sins through Jesus’ resurrection. Thus, Jesus’ death paid the penalty for our sins and His resurrection validated the efficacy of His sacrifice on our behalf.

We now move to Colossians for Paul’s further explanation of what transpired.

¹³ And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ¹⁴ having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Colossians 2:13–15 (NKJV)

Paul informs us that though we were dead, we were resurrected with Christ (made alive together with Him) and the charges against us (handwriting of requirements) were dismissed. The additional piece he adds is that Jesus’ sacrifice disarmed the spiritual powers arrayed against us. Thus, as we celebrate Easter let us give thanks for Jesus’ death and resurrection and by faith avail ourselves of the reality that our victory is not in our abilities. Our victory lies in embracing the fact of Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf and the truth that He is transforming us and bringing us to glory (Romans 8:28-30)!