Category: Cross of Christ

MUST I LOVE GOD AND MY NEIGHBOR TO GET TO HEAVEN?

Introduction

* All photos are AI generated

       On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, while I was listening to the radio at work, the host of a conservative talk show in Des Moines, Iowa, stated that the pilot of Artemis II shared the gospel just before entering a planned 40-minute radio blackout behind the moon on Monday evening, April 6, 2026. When I heard this introduction, I got so excited because the whole world would probably be tuned in to hear the gospel. 

      The radio host then played the recording of pilot Victor Glover: “As we get close to the nearest point to the Moon and farthest point from Earth, as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth, and that’s love.

       “Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to ‘love God with all that you are.’ And he also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it, and that is to ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself.’

       “As we prepare to go out of radio communication, we feel your love from Earth. And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the Moon.” 

       That was “the gospel” that was shared with the world. While Glover did not say it was the gospel, the radio host that morning in Des Moines said it was. 

       After that radio broadcast, my mind began to wonder how many people would conclude that the way to heaven is to love God with all that you are and your neighbor as yourself? Is this what Jesus taught?The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

       In one of Jesus’ most famous teachings known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), it seems at first glance that Christ is saying that the way to have eternal life is by loving God with all that you are and your neighbor as yourself. A ”lawyer” or expert in the Law of Moses asked Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). Jesus responded by asking the lawyer what the Law taught about that (Luke 10:26), and the lawyer answered, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27; quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18). Jesus said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:28). 

       Did I read that right? Jesus said the lawyer answered “rightly”? Then He told the expert in the Law of Moses, “do this and your will live.” Some interpreters understand this to mean that entering God’s kingdom is based on doing good works and that  doing good works is evidence of a true child of God. If there are no good works in a professing Christian’s life, then saving faith never existed. [1]

       But such an understanding of this parable would be salvation by works which is contrary to what Jesus taught in the gospel of John where He emphasizes that eternal life is a free gift that is received by believing in Jesus for it (John 3:14-18; 4:10-14; 5:24, 39-40; 6:27, 29, 35-40, 47, 68-69; 10:28-29; 11:25-26; 17:1-3; et al). According to Jesus in John’s gospel, works have no part in obtaining eternal life as a present possession. 

       The Bible teaches that eternal life as a future acquisition is always a reward that is based upon works (cf. Matt. 19:29-30; Mark 10:29-30; Luke 18:29-30; John 4:36; 12:25; Rom. 2:7; Gal. 6:7-9; I Tim. 6:12, 19), but when eternal life is presented as a present possession it is always received as a free gift by faith alone in Christ alone (John 3:16; 4:10-14; 5:24; 6:40, 47; Rom. 6:23b; Eph. 2:8-9; Rev. 22:17). [2]

       In addition, all of the Bible teaches that salvation is by faith alone apart from any good works. [3] Since the Bible is not going to contradict itself, the parable of the Good Samaritan cannot be teaching that one must love God and one’s neighbor as oneself to get to heaven. Such an understanding can only be obtained by ignoring the context and the rest of Scripture. [4]

The Context of the Good Samaritan Parable 

       After describing the costs of discipleship (Luke 9:57-62), Christ begins chapter 10 by appointing and sending seventy disciples out “into every city and place where He Himself was about to go” (Luke 10:1) in the nation of Israel. He assured these disciples that the spiritual harvest would be plentiful, and that God would provide for their needs (Luke 10:2-7). Their message was that Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah, and that He was offering the kingdom to that generation of Jews (Luke 10:9, 11). [5] Christ enabled them to confirm this message by performing miraculous healings (Luke 10:9). If the Jews rejected this message, Jesus would be the One to judge them (Luke 10:12-15) since their rejection of the seventy’s message was ultimately a rejection of Jesus and the Father Who sent Him (Luke 10:16). [6]

       When the seventy returned to Jesus, they were celebrating how “even the demons” were subject to them in Jesus’ mighty “name” (Luke 10:17) through the miracles they performed (Luke 10:19). Christ reminds these seventy disciples not to “rejoice… that the demons are subject to” them, “but rather” to “rejoice because” their “names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). This is a clear statement from Jesus that these seventy disciples already had eternal life by believing in Jesus. [7] Unlike Satan (Lucifer) who was kicked out of heaven when his pride led him to rebel against God (Luke 10:18; cf. Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:11-19), [8] these believers would be permanent citizens of heaven. [9]

       The next few verses (Luke 10:21-24) are key to understanding the Good Samaritan parable. “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.’” (Luke 10:21). Christ refers to these believers whose names are permanently written in heaven (Luke 10:20)as “babes” (nēpiois) or infants who possess childlike faith that is unspoiled by learning in contrast to “the wise and prudent.” [10]

       Wright states,“Hodges makes the point that the Lord’s statement about names written in heaven means that these ‘babes’ had assurance of eternal life. These wonderful truths had been revealed to them as babes (v 21). The Lord was calling them to do His work, in the case of the Twelve and the seventy, but that work had nothing to do with the gift He had already given them. They could never lose the gift of everlasting life because works were not involved in any way in the gift they had received.” [11] [emphasis added]

       Jesus thanked His Father that “babes” (the seventy and rest of Jesus’ disciples – v. 23) understood “these things”about how to have their names written in heaven, that is, how to obtain eternal life (Luke 10:21b). But notice that the Father had “hidden these things from the wise and prudent” (Luke 10:21a). Christ’s thanksgiving may also be directed at having authority to judge the nation of Israel. [12]

       This thought of judgment can be seen in the next verse when Jesus says, “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father.” (Luke 10:22a; cf. John 5:20-30).God the Father had given Jesus that authority. The fact that Jesus is the Christ and can give eternal life through faith alone in Him alone is based upon knowing “who the Son is” (Luke 10:22b).These are the things “revealed” to “babes.” [13]

      Christ then turned to His disciples (babes) and told them privately that they were “blessed” because they were able to “see” these things (Luke 10:23). At the same time, the “wise and prudent” were those from whom “these things” have been “hidden” (Luke 10:21). They were and are even today spiritually blind to such truths. [14]

      In this context, “babes” are those who are convinced that Jesus is the Christ and in Him they have eternal life. Jesus is the One who will judge. The wise and intelligent, however, do not see “these things.”

       After establishing these important truths, Luke gives an example of a “wise and prudent” person (Luke 10:25-37) and an example of a “babe” (Luke 10:39). The lawyer was a “wise and prudent” man in his own eyes and in the eyes of the Jewish community. He is the one who asked Christ the question which led to the Good Samaritan Parable. But Mary was the “babe” in that she was discerning. She chose to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from Him (Luke 10:39, 42). 

The Question of the Lawyer and the Answer from the Lord (Luke 10:25-29) [15]

      Then we are told that “a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’” (Luke 10:25). Wright makes several important observations about this verse: This “lawyer” (nomikos) was considered to be “well informed about the law, a legal… expert in the Mosaic law.” [16] In Luke’s gospel, “lawyers”  gospel, “lawyers” are always presented in a negative light (cf. Luke 5:17-21; 7:30; 9:22; 11:45-46, 52-53; 14:3). The lawyer did not recognize Jesus as the Christ Who could give eternal life to him. Instead, he saw Jesus as a fellow “teacher” and addressed Him with the same word by which he as an expert in the law would have been addressed by those seeking his counsel. [17] Luke tells us this lawyer “stood up and tested Him.” The Greek word translated “tested”(ekpeirazō) occurs only four times in the New Testament and is always used in a negative way (cf. Matt. 4:7; Luke 4:12; 10:25; I Cor. 10:9). The lawyer might have sought to entrap Jesus with his question, [18] assuming that Jesus wasn’t as knowledgeable of the Law as he was.

       We also see that this lawyer did not view eternal life as a free gift that is received by believing in Christ alone as indicated by his question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25b). He did not say, “What shall I believe to inherit eternal life?” Like many religious people today, his focus was on doing, not believing. He thought that he could earn eternal life, so he asked Jesus what he must do. 

       “In this entire episode, the word ‘do’ is important; in the Greek text, the word in v. 25 is a participle. In His initial answer as well as in His final application, the Lord used the imperative verb form of the same word (vv. 28, 37). This section, then, begins and ends with the concept of ‘doing’ good works. The lawyer’s question fits a Jewish context. As a proud Jewish lawyer, he mistakenly thought he could earn his eternal salvation by such works. He looked to the Law of Moses to determine what those works would involve. This question not only led to the parable, it also is the key to understanding it.” [19] [emphasis added]

       Since the lawyer was an expert in the Law of Moses, Jesus directed him there when He asked, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” (Luke 10:26). This question further places Jesus in the authoritative role of “Teacher” using the lawyer’s term of address. [20]

      The man summarized the Law by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, saying, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27). Jesus affirmed the lawyer’s answer, saying, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:28). Many commentators conclude from Jesus’ response that salvation is by works since Christ told the lawyer to “do this” and promised him he “will live” which in the context means he will “inherit eternal life.” The lawyer thought he could earn eternal life by doing good works (loving God with all that he is and his neighbor as himself) and Jesus tells him he can do that by doing what the Law commands. 

       Why would Jesus say this? Has He suddenly changed the gospel message, so it now includes faith and good works? No. Christ is using the Law to convict this proud man to come to his senses so he can see that he can never live up to the demands of the Law, and therefore he needs a Savior. 

       Keep in mind that Luke was a traveling companion of the apostle Paul (Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-37; 28:1-16; cf. Col. 4:14; Phlm. 1:24; 2 Tim. 4:11), [21] and Paul wrote, “10 There is none righteous, no, not one…12There is none who does good, no, not one… 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Rom. 3:10, 12, 20). The Law was intended to reveal our sin to us so we would see our need for a Savior. But the lawyer was convinced he could keep the Law. But could he?

       Paul also wrote,  “21 For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” (Gal. 3:21-25). People couldn’t become righteous before God by keeping the Law because they are all sinners, incapable of keeping it. The law can’t empower sinners to obey; it can’t give “life” (Gal. 3:21). Instead, the lawrevealed God’s righteous standards and imprisoned everyone under sin’s power so that people were positioned to receive “the promise by faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal. 3:22). The law functioned as a “tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). 

       The Lord Jesus was using the Law to show the lawyer that no one can love God with his whole being, and no one can love his neighbor as he loves himself. The Lord was saying that if you could do the impossible, you would have eternal life. “The problem was, of course, that neither the lawyer himself nor anyone else (other than the Lord Jesus) has ever, or will ever, fulfill these two supreme commandments.” [22] The answer to the lawyer’s question is that he could not “do” anything to earn eternal life. Only a “wise” and arrogant person would think he could.

       Christ was using the Law to convict the lawyer of his sin so he would see his need for a Savior. Hence, what the lawyer’s response should have been was to ask Jesus, “How can I love God above all else and my neighbor as myself? I am not able. I need help.” [23]

       But instead, the lawyer “wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” (Luke 10:29). This proud man tried to “justify” or defend himselfagainst the implications of Jesus’ words by getting the focus off of himself. In his arrogance, the lawyer had convinced himself that he was able to love God with all that he is, but in Leviticus 19:18, the neighbor is a fellow Jew. Yet the lawyer lived in a region where he would encounter Gentiles, especially being under Roman rule. There were also Samaritans who were despised by the Jews because they were descendants of the Assyrians and Israelites who intermarried after the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel (722 B.C.) and introduced their idolatrous religion to the Israelites. [24]

       It is also possible that the lawyer sought to “justify himself” in a way that is  similar to the book of Romans. That is, the man wanted to be justified before God by his works. If he had to love his neighbor to do that, he needed to know whom among all the different people surrounding him were considered to be his neighbor. He is thinking if he can obtain that information, then he can put forth enough effort to be righteous in God’s eyes. This leads Jesus to share the Good Samaritan Parable. 

The Good Samaritan Parable (Luke 10:30-37)

       “Then Jesus answered and said: ‘A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.’” (Luke 10:30). Christ does not specify the ethnicity or occupation of the “man” in this verse, but His listeners would probably assume he was a Jew. The 17-mile desert road that descended about 3,300 feet from Jerusalem to Jericho was treacherous, winding, and a favorite hangout of robbers. [25] Clothing was a valuable commodity in that day, so it explains why the “thieves… stripped him of his clothing.” Understandably, the man may have resisted these robbers and suffered a near fatal beating. His attackers left him “half dead.” This man was completely helpless and exposed to the elements and unable to save himself. He desperately needed help. 

       Fortunately for him a religious Jew who was expected to love others was coming down the road toward him. “Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:31). Priests were responsible for interpreting the law and officiating in the temple. [26]A priest of all people would normally show compassion to people. He served in a so-called “helping profession” and often had contact with the Scriptures and their demands. [27] He would have been familiar with Leviticus 19:18 and God’s command to love one’s neighbor. Yet this priest, for whatever reason, passed by the half dead man “on the other side” of the road. 

       Another religious Jew came and looked at the beaten man. “Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:32). Levites assisted the priests in the mundane affairs of Jewish worship. [28] Perhaps these two religious men had fulfilled their obligations in Jerusalem and wanted to get home, or maybe they were on their way to Jerusalem and didn’t want to be late. Maybe they thought contact with the man would contaminate them or they were afraid of being robbed themselves should they stop. Regardless, they didn’t want to show love to this man in need. [29] They did not “do” what they were commanded by God to do.    

       Like the lawyer, these two Jewish religious leaders probably took pride in being men who followed the Mosaic Law. But as the apostle Paul said, they were those who have the Law but do not keep it (Rom. 2:21-23). If the lawyer began to see himself in people like the priest and Levite, perhaps he might begin to question if he kept the Law. And if he did question it, he might begin to doubt that he could “justify himself.” [30]

       Unlike the two religious Jews, the next man showed compassion to the stricken man. “33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.” (Luke 10:33). Jews hated Samaritans because of their mixed heritage. So, a Samaritan was probably not someone the lawyer thought of as a neighbor that he was required to love.     

       But the Samaritan showed “compassion” to this nearly dead man that the Jewish religious leaders ignored. It is not surprising that the only other time this verb for “compassion” (splagchnizomai) is used in Luke’s gospel is in reference to the heart of God (Luke 15:20) and Jesus (Luke 7:13). 

       Notice the extent of the Samaritan’s compassion: “34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’” (Luke 10:34-35). The Samaritan “went to” the man who was left half dead, whereas the religious leaders avoided him. He poured “oil” with its medicinal properties “and wine” as a disinfectant on the man’s “wounds” before applying “bandages” to them.After taking him “to an inn,” the Samaritan watched the man overnight, caring for him (Luke 10:34). “When he departed” the next day, he left enough money (“two denarii” = two days of wages [31]) to pay for all his needs, instructing “the innkeeper” to “take care of” the man with the funds he provided while he was gone. He promised to return and to pay for whatever more the innkeeper might spend (Luke 10:35). 

       Hearing this parable was probably difficult for the lawyer. We call it the Parable of the Good Samaritan, but the word “good” is not in this passage. The lawyer would not have considered the Samaritan to be a good man. But he is the only one who fulfilled the requirements of the Law in this case, not the religious leaders with whom the lawyer would have found like-mindedness.

       The Lord Jesus asked the lawyer, “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” (Luke 10:36). The lawyer originally asked who his neighbor was (Luke 10:29) because in his mind, he had to love his neighbor to obtain eternal life. He wanted to limit those he was commanded to love in order to avoid the responsibility the Law placed upon him. But Jesus turns the lawyer’s original question around to get him to focus on being a neighbor. In other words, Jesus was asking, “What kind of neighbor are you?” [32] This was intended to get the lawyer to reassess what he thought about “doing” the Law. [33]

       The lawyer replied to Jesus, “He who showed mercy on him.” (Luke 10:37a). Notice that the lawyer does not say the word “Samaritan.” Why?Perhaps it was because ofhis contempt for Samaritans or on a positive note – because he now understoodthat showing mercy was the main issue, not the nationality or religion of one’s neighbor. [34]

       Having answered Christ’s question correctly, we then read, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” (Luke 10:37b). The passage began with what the lawyer must “do” to obtain eternal life (Luke 10:25) and now it ends with Jesus commanding him to “do” what the Samaritan did (Luke 10:37). 

The Traditional View of the Parable [35]

       While there are several interpretations of this passage, I want to focus first on the traditional interpretationamong evangelical Christians which understands this parable to be a call to social action and an end to racial prejudice. The lawyer was only talking about what he should do, but Jesus commanded him to “go” and “do” it. So instead of just talking about doing the right thing, we must go and do the right thing and show compassion to those in need. 

       For example, we are to stop and help someone who has a flat tire. We are to feed a family that is hungry or help an unemployed person find a job. What Jesus said to the lawyer He is saying to the church! We are to “do” what Jesus commanded and be a compassionate neighbor to others. [36] The question to ask is not, “Who is my neighbor?” but “Who acts like a neighbor?” [37]

       This view of the parable is seen as specifically directed toward the lawyer. He had heard the Law and knew what it said, but the question is will he do it? So, the lawyer represents those who hear God’s Word and understand what it says, but now the question is will they do it? The hearing of the Law is substantiated by obeying it. [38]

      This view is also used as a call to end racial prejudice. God can use anyone who is open to Him. The Samaritan was considered a despised minority but was still used by God. Such a person is a neighbor, regardless of his ethnicity, religion, or status in society or our churches. [39]

       As stated earlier, related to this kind of interpretation of the parable is the view that “true” Christians will do such things. According to this understanding, a person who does not fight against social ills and needs should question his eternal salvation. But how do we measure this? On several occasions, all of us have passed by people begging at street corners or stranded on the side of the road. Does that call into question our salvation?

       How many Christians today have gone to the extent that the Samaritan did to meet the needs of someone when they were given the opportunity? Have we administered first aid to a total stranger who was the victim of an assault, spent the night with him, given two days wages for others to continue caring for him, and committed ourselves to the financial costs above and beyond that if needed? If that is the standard by which we can know we are a true child of God who possesses eternal life, all of us will all live with doubt and insecurity about whether we are truly born again. 

       While I believe most evangelical Christians are familiar with this view, I agree with Wright when she concludes that such a position is a misuse of the Good Samaritan Parable because it ignores the context. [40] The lawyer’s main concern was about earning eternal life (Luke 10:25). If Jesus was telling him not to be racially prejudiced and to help those in need in order to obtain eternal life, it is clear He was teaching salvation by works. But this lawyer was one of the “wise and prudent” people who are blind to spiritual truth (Luke 10:21). The interpreter must start there and realize that this man’s desire to earn eternal life was flawed from the start. Christ was not encouraging him to continue to believe he could do enough good works to justify himself before God and obtain eternal life. Hence, I believe there is a much better way to understand this parable that is consistent with the context and the rest of Scripture. 

An Alternative View of the Parable [41]

       The lawyer’s thinking was flawed from the beginning when he thought he could “do” enough good works to obtain eternal life (Luke 10:25). Hence, Jesus needed to show this arrogant “wise and prudent” lawyer (Luke 10:21) that he could not “do” enough to “inherit eternal life.” 

       The lawyer sought to limit whom he needed to love when he asked, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). But the Lord Jesus expanded the number of people he must love to include any person in need. The Samaritan wasn’t concerned about the nationality or religion of the man lying by the side of the road.

       None of us love like the Samaritan in the parable did. Even if a person could point to one time in his life when he showed love like the Samaritan did, it would not be on a daily or continual basis. It is impossible, just as the apostle Paul taught (Rom. 2:20-3:23). When the Lord told the lawyer to go and do that, He was telling him to do the impossible. And that is the point. The lawyer wanted to earn eternal life by his works. He could not. As one of the “wise and prudent” people of this world, the lawyer needed to become like a “babe” and realize that having his name written in heaven is given as a gift (Luke 10:20-21) and is not something that can be earned.

       THE LAWYER IS THE MAN LEFT FOR DEAD (Luke 10:30). [42] The lawyer was a self-professed wise but spiritually blind unbeliever who thought he could earn eternal life. He was spiritually dead and blind to the truth. When he came to Jesus, he was seeking life or a relationship with God, though he probably was not aware of this. Like the fallen man on the side of the road, he was spiritually destitute, naked, and dying and he could not save himself.No amount of obedience to the law could take away his sin or the penalty of his sin. He needed help. He needed rescue. This man left for dead is a picture of every unbeliever. I agree with Wright who said, “Every believer can see that at one time, before faith, he himself was the man lying, without hope, on the side of the road, but Christ came and saved him.” [43]

       RELIGION AND GOOD WORKS ARE THE PRIEST AND LEVITE (Luke 10: 31-32). When the priest and the Levite pass by the fallen man, Jesus makes it clear that the best of religion and good works cannot save a sinner from spiritual death. Spiritual leaders cannot get sinners to heaven. No one can fulfill the role of the Good Samaritan except the One telling this parable. [44]

      JESUS IS THE GOOD SAMARITAN (Luke 10: 33-35). The Good Samaritan represents the Lord Jesus Christ. The Samaritan was despised and rejected by the Jews and so was Jesus. Pentecost mentions how Jesus was even “called a Samaritan (John 8:48) [and] had come to offer help for those in need. Thus, this parable may have been a veiled invitation to this expert in the law to accept the help He offered, even as the dying man had accepted the help of the Samaritan traveler.” [45] [brackets added]

       It is Jesus Who rescues the helpless and defenseless. The man on the ground is the lawyer who needed to be redeemed. [46] Although the Samaritan was hated by the Jews, he was willing to stop and help this defenseless man even though to do so could be dangerous especially if the thieves were nearby. The oil and wine that he used to treat the man’s wounds were expensive. He placed the man on his own animal and took him to the inn where he paid for the man’s stay there. The Samaritan did everything that was necessary to save this fallen man. He paid the price to rescue him from certain death. [47]  

       The Lord Jesus paid the price for our salvation when He took our place on the cross and rose again (John 19:30; I Cor. 6:20). We do not pay the price for our salvation, nor do we pay the price for another’s salvation. Only Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, can and did do this (John 1:29; I Cor. 15:3-6). 

       In addition, before the Samaritan departed from the inn, he said he would return to repay the innkeeper for any additional expenses he had while taking care of the wounded man (Luke 10:35). Though he was leaving, he was coming back. Doesn’t that sound like the Lord Jesus who said He would return after He ascended to the Father (Matt. 24:36-51; 25:14-30; John 14:1-3; et al.).

       Someone might say I am reading too much into this by identifying Jesus as the Samaritan. But in the New Testament, it is not unusual for Jesus to be the Person the parable is talking about. In the gospel of Luke, Christ shared a parable about a master (Jesus) and his servants (disciples) to teach His disciples to be ready for His return (Luke 12:35-49). In the Parable of the Minas, Jesus is the conquering King (Luke 19:11-27). In the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, Jesus is the beloved son of the owner of the vineyard (Luke 20:9-19). And in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ was the Despised and Rejected One who came to rescue the one who could not save himself.

       THE BELIEVER IS THE INNKEEPER (Luke 10:35). So far, we have identified all the characters in this parable except the innkeeper. I agree with Wilkin when he says the innkeeper represents believers in Jesus. [48] “On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’” (Luke 10:35). Before departing from the inn, the Good Samaritan told the innkeeper to take care of the wounded man he rescued the day before. The innkeeper was to continue what the Good Samaritan began. He was to serve the wounded man, just as the Samaritan had done. He was told to do it until the Samaritan returned. [49] He assured the innkeeper that when he returned, he would “repay” him for any additional expenses he incurred while taking care of the man. The Greek word translated “repay” (apodōsō) means to “recompense or reward.” [50] It is used of eternal rewards that believers will receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ in the future (cf. Matt. 6:4, 6, 18; 16:27; Rev. 22:12). 

      This is a beautiful picture of Jesus departing to go to heaven and when (not if) He returns, He will reward His servants who continue to take care of those He rescued! Christ has entrusted us to disciple those He has redeemed. If we are faithful to do this, He promises to reward us according to what we did for Him (cf. Matt. 20:1-16; 24:36-51; 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-19; cf. I Cor. 3:8-15; 2 Cor. 5:9-11; Rev. 22:12). 

Conclusion [51]

       When the pilot of Artemis II spoke of loving God with all that you are and loving your neighbor as yourself, he was not sharing the gospel by which we are saved. Those who say a person must love God and his neighbor as himself to get to heaven, have misunderstood or mishandled Christ’s Parable of the Good Samaritan. They have failed to look at that parable in light of the context and the rest of Scripture. 

      Before Jesus shared the Parable of the Good Samaritan, He gave a summary of how people responded to His message. Some were blind to Who Jesus was and His free offer of eternal life. Jesus called them “wise and prudent.”Others saw and heard these things and were addressed as “babes” (Luke 10:21). The “babes” were able to “see”and “hear” the things Jesus taught, whereas the “wise and prudent” could not (Luke 10:23-24). 

       The lawyer who asked Jesus what he must do to earn eternal life (Luke 10:25) was an example of the “wise and prudent” who could not see or hear the things Jesus taught. He asked a question which showed that he was spiritually blind and deaf. The Lord empathized with his limitations and shared the Parable of the Good Samaritan to help the man begin to see that he could not earn eternal life, but Jesus could give it to him as a free gift. 

       There were “babes” or discerning people, who may have also heard Jesus’ parable. After the parable, Luke tells us the name of one of them. Her name was “Mary,” and she “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.” (Luke 10:39). If Christ had shared the Good Samaritan parable with her, she would have heard it in a way that was much different than the lawyer heard it. She would have seen the Good Samaritan as a wonderful portrait of Jesus. And like the innkeeper, she would have been excited to care for those her Lord had rescued. If she did so faithfully, she understood that she would receive eternal rewards from her Master when He returned for His church. 

       An important application in evangelism for us as Christians is to approach non-Christians who think they can obtain eternal life through their good works the same way Jesus approached the lawyer. We are to pre-evangelize them with the Law which is designed to reveal their sin (Rom. 3:20). The lawyer was not ready to hear the gospel yet because he did not see himself as a sinner in need of a Savior. Christ masterfully used the Law to cause the lawyer to begin questioning if he could truly love his neighbor as himself. As that small ray of light began to penetrate his heart, he may have considered that he could not keep the Law as he once thought. Perhaps he would need help. 

       And if he did realize his need for help, then he would be more open to hearing the gospel of Jesus which says eternal life is a free gift we receive by believing in Christ to give it to us (John 3:14-16). Why is eternal life free? Because Jesus paid the price in full when He died in our place on the cross and rose from the dead (John 19:30; I Cor. 15:3-6). Our world needs to hear this good news! Too many are dying without Jesus’ gift of eternal life. If one sinner who repents, that is, changes his mind about whatever is keeping him from believing in Christ and then believes in Him for salvation, causes all of heaven to rejoice (Luke 15:7, 10), think of what happens in heaven when thousands die every day without Christ (Matt. 18:14; I Tim. 2:3-4; 2 Pet. 3:9)!

        I also believe this passage encourages us to be like the innkeeper who cared for the wounded man the Samaritan rescued the day before. The Lord Jesus is rescuing sinners all around us and it is essential that we take care of them through the discipleship process, knowing that when the Lord returns for His church, He will “repay” or reward those who remain faithful (cf. Matt. 20:1-16; 24:36-51; 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-19; cf. I Cor. 3:8-15; 2 Cor. 5:9-11; Rev. 2:25-27; 22:12; et al.). 

ENDNOTES: 

[1] Robert H. Stein, Luke, The New American Commentary, vol. 24 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), pp. 316, 319. 

[2] See Joseph Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition (Grace Theology Press, 2018 Kindle Edition), pp. 221-224; cf. Zane C. Hodges, Grace in Eclipse; A Study on Eternal Rewards (Corinth, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2016 Kindle Edition),pp. 53-69.

[3] Gen. 15:6; I Sam. 10:1-10; Matt. 18:6; 21: 32(3); 24:23, 26; 27:42; Mark 1:15, 9:42; 15:32;16:16(2), 17; Luke 8:12, 13; 22:67; John 1:7, 12, 50; 2:11, 23; 3:12(2), 15, 16, 18(3), 36(2); 4:39, 41, 42, 48, 53; 5:24, 38, 44, 45, 46, 47(2); 6:29, 30, 35, 36, 40, 47, 64, 69; 7:5, 31, 38(2), 39, 48; 8:24, 30, 31, 45, 46; 9:35, 36, 38; 10:25, 26, 37, 38(3), 42; 11:25, 26, 27(2), 42, 45, 48; 12:11, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 44(2), 46, 47; 13:19; 14:12; 16:9, 27; 17:8, 20, 21; 19:35; 20:29, 31(2); Acts 2:44; 4:4, 32; 5:14; 8:12, 13, 37(2); 9:42; 10:43, 45; 11:17, 21; 13:12, 39, 41, 48; 14:1, 23, 27; 15:5, 7; 16:1, 31, 34; 17:4, 5, 12, 34; 18:8, 27; 19:2, 4, 9, 18; 21:20, 25; 22:19; 26:27(2); 28:24(2); Rom. 1:16; 3:3, 22, 4:3, 5, 11, 17, 24; 9:33; 10:4, 9, 10, 11, 14(2), 16; 13:11; 15:31; I Cor. 1:21; 3:5; 7:12, 13; 9:5; 10:27; 14:22(2); 15:2, 11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Gal. 2:16; 3:6, 9, 22; Ephes. 1:13, 19; Phil. 1:29; I Thess. 1:7; 2:10; 4:14; 2 Thess. 1:10; 2:12,13; I Tim. 1:16; 3:16; 4:3, 10; 6:2(2); 2 Tim. 1:12; Tit. 3:8; Heb. 11:31; I Pet. 1:21; 2:6, 7; I John 3:23; 5:1, 5, 10(3), 13.

[4] Kathryn Wright, September 1, 2022, journal article entitled, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)” at www.faithalone.org or at this LINK.

[5] Ibid. 

[6] Alberto Samuel Valdez, “Luke,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 430. 

[7] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org.

[8] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 1410, 1638, 2116-2117. 

[9] Valdez, “Luke,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 431. 

[10] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 671.

[11] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org cites Zane C. Hodges, A Free Grace Primer (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2018), pp. 95, 541.

[12] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org.

[13] Ibid. 

[14] Ibid. 

[15] Much of this section is adapted from Ibid, unless otherwise noted. 

[16] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 675-676. 

[17] J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words & Works of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pg. 299. 

[18] Archibald Thomas Robertson, A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, 2014 Kindle Locations 36347 to 36352.

[19] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org.

[20] Valdez, “Luke,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 432.

[21] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2308

[22] Zane C. Hodges, Romans: Deliverance from Wrath (Corinth, TX: Grace Evangelical Society), 2013 Kindle Locations 1311 to 1327. 

[23] John Martin, “Luke,” The Bible Knowledge Commentary Gospels, 2018 Kindle Edition, pg. 511. 

[24] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 2210-2211.

[25] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Luke, 2026 Edition, pg. 248 cites Walter L. Liefeld, “Luke,” in Matthew-Luke. Vol. 8 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), pg. 943; Howard I. Marshall, The Gospel of Luke New International Greek Testament Commentary series (Exeter, England: Paternoster Press, 1978), 

pg. 447. See also Jack Finegan, Light from the Ancient Past: The Archeological Background of Judaism and Christianity 2nd edition (Princeton University Press. London: Oxford University Press, 1959), pp. 314-15. 

[26] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2118.

[27] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Luke, 2026 Edition, pg. 249. 

[28] Ibid. 

[29] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2118.

[30] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org.

[31] Valdez, “Luke,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 433. 

[32] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2119.

[33] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org.

[34] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Luke, 2026 Edition, pg. 251. 

[35] Much of this section is adapted from Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org, unless otherwise noted.

[36] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org cites Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), pg. 213. 

[37] Ibid., cites Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997), pg. 432.

[38] Ibid., cites Green, The Gospel of Luke (1997), pp. 426, 432. 

[39] Ibid., cites Grant R. Osborne, Luke: Verse by Verse (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), pg. 290. 

[40] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org.

[41] Much of this section is adapted from Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org, unless otherwise noted.

[42] Ken Yates, May 15, 2024, audio message entitled, “The Good Samaritan,” at the 2024 Boise GES Regional Conference at www.faithalone.org or at this LINK.

[43] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org.

[44] Robert Wilkin, January 1, 1999, article entitled, “Do This and You Will Live – Luke 10:28,” at www.faithalone.org.

[45] Pentecost, The Words & Works of Jesus Christ (1981), pg. 301. 

[46] Wilkin, “Do This and You Will Live – Luke 10:28,” at www.faithalone.org.

[47] Yates, “The Good Samaritan,” at the 2024 Boise GES Regional Conference at www.faithalone.org

[48] Wilkin, “Do This and You Will Live – Luke 10:28,” at www.faithalone.org.

[49] Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org.

[50] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 110. [51] Adapted from Wright, “The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),” at www.faithalone.org.

IS JESUS CHRIST ALIVE TODAY? (Video)

This video is about the everlasting hope that is found in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Why do millions of people around the world celebrate Easter? What evidence is there that Jesus Christ is alive today? Discover the answers to these questions and much more. Please share this video with those you want to see in heaven. 

Scriptures are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted. Pictures are used with permission from Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing/ www.Freebibleimages.org, www.Goodsalt.com, or they are creative common licenses.

Spiritual Warfare – Part 8

Introduction

       We are living in a day when much hatred and division centers around the color of one’s skin or the political party with which one associates. The truth of the matter is that one’s skin color or political party is not what drives these conflicts. I believe the apostle Paul would want us to understand that behind these divisions and hate there is an unseen enemy who knows our histories and our weaknesses, and he is bent on getting us to fight one another instead of taking a stand against his kingdom of darkness. This foe would like nothing more than for people to think he does not exist.

       But the apostle Paul would have us believe otherwise. In his letter to the Christians in the city of Ephesus he concludes with ways to protect themselves from spiritual attacks. He instructs his Christian readers (including you and me), to wear the whole armor of God so we may stand against the “wiles” or deceitful methods of the devil (Eph. 6:11). He wants us to understand that our battle is not with “flesh and blood” (i.e., human beings regardless of their skin color or political differences, etc.), but with the kingdom of darkness (Eph. 6:12). Therefore, we are to take up the whole armor of God so we may stand against the enemy “in the evil day” when all of hell attacks us (Eph. 6:13).

       Just as a soldier needs to know the strategies of his enemy, so Christians need to understand the schemes or “wiles” of the devil (Eph. 6:11). Some of the “wiles” of Satan may include the following: [1]

  • Deception: Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he deceived Eve with bad doctrine (1 Tim. 2:14). Hence, Christians are to wear the belt of truth to expose Satan’s lies and replace them with God’s life-giving truth (Eph. 6:14a).  
    • Deviation: The devil wants to conform us to his world system and cause us to deviate from God’s will (Eph. 2:1-3; I John 2:16; 5:19b). He wants us to lower our standards of righteousness by tempting us to open our lives to a little sinfulness or worldliness. He may whisper in our ears, “It won’t hurt you to try that. Everyone else is doing it. Go ahead and do it. It’s fun.” This is why we need the protection of the breastplate of righteousness (Eph. 6:14b).
    • Division: The book of James informs us that the kind of wisdom that causes strife, envy, and self-seeking (power struggles) in our homes, churches, and workplaces originates from hell, and it is earthly, sensual, and demonic (Jas. 3:14-16). Therefore, we need to wear the sandals of the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15).
    • Doubt: Satan caused Eve to doubt God’s Word (Gen. 3:1). This is one of his primary attacks against Christianity as a whole and the individual Christian in particular. Anderson writes, “When the Age of Reason rose up, European scholars discounted anything supernatural, which included a written revelation (the Bible) from a supernatural being (God). Thomas Jefferson swallowed the poison of doubt and decided to create his own New Testament by pulling the miracles of Christ out of the Gospels. If we doubt whether the Bible is God’s Word, why should we live by it or obey it?” [2] Hence, we need to take up the shield of faith to renew and strengthen our faith in the Lord and His Word (Eph. 6:16).
    • Disillusionment: Satan tries to put thoughts in our minds to make us think that his thoughts are our thoughts. When Job encountered severe trials, Satan used Job’s wife and friends to encourage Job to give up on God. They reasoned that any God-fearing believer assumes God will bless him for his obedience, not realizing that is the essence of legalism. We can never put God in our debt (cf. Rom. 4:4; 11:6). The other misunderstanding is to look at our trials as curses instead of blessings. God’s plan for our Christian growth is to mold us and sculpt us into the likeness of His Son. Often trials are the best ways to get us there. But the devil will try to give us thoughts that are contrary to God’s thoughts. And so, we are to wear the helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:17a).
    • Discouragement: One of the “devices” (noēmata) of Satan is extreme sorrow or discouragement over our failures (cf. 2 Cor. 7:7-11). When the Christian community treats a repentant Christians like a leper, his discouragement may cause him to give up completely. Satan will use discouragement to keep a believer from reading or memorizing the Bible. Hence, we are to take up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God (Eph. 6:17b). 

           Paul addresses six pieces of armor in the order that a Roman soldier would put them on (Eph. 6:14-17). The first three pieces of armor are introduced with the verb “to be.” The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of peace we have with us all of the time [3] (“having girded… put on… shod…” – Eph. 6:14-15). [4] This is the state we are always to be in. But the last three pieces of armor – the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit – we are called to take and use as needed [5] (“taking … take…” Eph. 6:16-17). [6] Today, we will look at the second of these last three pieces of armor, “the helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17a).

    The Location of the Helmet

           The placement of the fifth piece of armor is very significant. After putting on his belt, breastplate, sandals, and taking up his shield, the Roman soldier would put on his helmet to protect his head, especially his brain, because injury to one’s head can be lethal.

           And the world recognizes this. Whenever we are in a situation that could be dangerous to our heads and brains, we are often required to wear a protective helmet. For example, construction workers wear a hard hat to protect their heads from falling debris in a construction area. Motorcyclists wear a helmet to shield their brains from serious injury in case they are in an accident. Those who refuse to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle are flirting with tragedy because the likelihood of being killed in an accident increases significantly when a motorcyclist does not wear a helmet. [7]

          In American football, [8] a player wears a helmet to absorb the impact of colliding with another player so that the brain is not injured. Because the understanding is, if the brain is injured, bodily function is impeded. When you have players, whose heads are constantly absorbing violent collisions on the playing field, experiencing concussion after concussion, the brain can be severely damaged. And if the brain gets damaged, bodily function is impaired.

           The apostle Paul is saying in Ephesians 6:17a that the mind must be protected to absorb the shocks of being hit in the spiritual realm by the enemy. If our minds are not protected from these blows, our spiritual lives can be greatly impaired.

           Some of us know people who have contracted a debilitating disease known as Alzheimer’s whereby the brain is not able to function as it once did. And it progressively deteriorates over time so that the person is not able to care for themselves. The worse the brain problem gets, the less the person with Alzheimer’s can control.

           The less control you and I have in our Christian lives is because spiritual Alzheimer’s has set in. The mind is no longer functioning as God wants it to, impeding the soul from doing what it should, which results in the physical body being out of control.

           The apostle Paul is saying that Christians are to have a helmet on in this spiritual battle which takes place in the invisible realm if we are to have victory. Paul is dealing with a context of us being under attack.

           In an American football game, the quarterback is the leader on the football field. He is calling the play and setting the agenda, and he is always under attack. The defense is always trying to get to him, sack him, knock him down, move him out of the pocket, confuse him, and intimidate him so they can make him ineffective and inefficient.

           Sitting high above the quarterback in a booth is an offensive coordinator (OC). The OC’s job is to assess the schemes of the opposing team and speak to the quarterback about what he ought to be doing in light of those defensive schemes. In view of the attacks of the opposing team, the OC gives plays to the quarterback through a technological wonder called a one-way radio system in the quarterback’s helmet. So, with his helmet on, the quarterback receives instruction about how he is to function in light of the attack he is facing.

           The reason why the OC is the one who gives instructions to the quarterback is because he is sitting high and looking low. He has a bird’s eye view up there in the booth of how the enemy is attacking down there on the football field. He can analyze the enemy’s movements so he can inform the quarterback through his helmet, what the deliverance ought to be for the pressure he is now under.

           The apostle Paul says we are to put on the helmet which means our minds are to be properly programmed. If the mind is improperly programmed, then it will function improperly. That is, if we are thinking wrong, then we will act wrong, and experience spiritual defeat amid the spiritual battle (cf. Prov. 23:7).

           Our spiritual enemy is attacking us on the field of life. God wants us to put on the helmet of salvation so He can speak to us in our minds because He is seated high above everyone and everything else (cf. Eph. 1:20-21). God can see the field of life better than we can see it. He can examine it better than we can. God knows the enemy’s schemes and He knows how to overcome them.

           But we must wear this helmet of salvation so God can protect and direct our thoughts. [9] Our thoughts are a very important part of our whole person and being. Satan wants to control our minds. He wants to put his thoughts into our minds and deceive us into thinking that his thoughts are really ours so we will live life his way, rather than in the way God has prescribed in His Word. The Devil engages in mind control. Once he is successful in doing this, he wants to torment us with these thoughts, causing us to experience defeat instead of victory.

           This part of a Christian’s person comes under severe attack in spiritual warfare. Satan wants to control our thoughts. He wants to put his thoughts within our minds as he did with Peter (cf. Matt. 16:21-23). [10] Many times, these can be hideous thoughts. Thoughts that are totally foreign to what we would normally think.

           For example, a Christian may have intrusive thoughts about murder. He or she may suddenly think about murdering their own family, their loved ones, members of God’s family, or even themselves. Should this surprise us that he who “was a murderer from the beginning” would give us these kinds of thoughts (John 8:44)?

           One Christian man shared with a Christian counselor that he suddenly had thoughts crowding into his mind that he was going to molest a little child. Thoughts that were totally foreign to this man. These thoughts caused the man to initially think he was going crazy until he understood that Satan is eager to put his thoughts into this man’s mind.

           The Devil delights in giving us thoughts to curse God, to tear up our Bibles, to engage in uninhibited sexual activities that are repugnant to God. He may introduce nagging thoughts to us that tell us what a terrible person we must be. Thoughts that say, “I’m dumb, I’m ugly, nobody loves me, or I can’t do anything right.” There is no limit to the kinds of wicked thoughts that our enemy will introduce to us. 

           What do we do with thoughts like this? First, we need to understand that these thoughts may come from the kingdom of darkness. Secondly, we need to take up our helmet of salvation to resist these thoughts. All of us need a resistance prayer to respond to Satanic, intrusive thoughts. A prayer that goes something like this: “In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I come against the power of darkness that just put that wicked thought in my mind. And I command you to leave me and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.”

           We are not to accept these intrusive thoughts as our own. Especially if they are foreign to our common way of thinking. Some power of darkness is trying to convince us that we are a terrible person. If Satan tells us we are a terrible person, we must confront such an accusation with the truth. For if we are a child of God through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone (John 1:12), we are not in any sense a terrible person. We are a “saint” in Christ (I Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1b; Eph. 1:1b), forever “sanctified” or set apart positionally from our sin and shame through the “once for all” sacrifice of Jesus Christ (cf. I Cor. 6:11b; Heb. 10:10, 14), so there are no grounds for accusation or condemnation (Rom. 8:31-34). Hence, those wicked thoughts do not belong to us. And we are privileged to wear our helmet of salvation.

           We must be tenacious in resisting these thoughts from the kingdom of darkness. Satan will not give up easily. So, we must persist in resisting these wicked thoughts. Don’t stop with one resistance. Each time a wicked thought comes into your mind, continue to pray, “In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I come against the power of darkness that just put that wicked thought in my mind. And I command you to leave me and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.”        

    Ways that Satan Attempts to Control our Minds [11]

           The first way Satan tries to control our minds is through what James calls being  double-minded: “6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Jas. 1:6-8). Satan will do his best to make a Christian a spiritual schizophrenic with two minds. With our mind we want to love and serve the Lord, but also with our mind many times we want to toy with the things that are not of God.  Instead of relying solely on God’s wisdom (Jas. 1:5), the double-minded believer wants to rely on human wisdom. He wants to act independently of God. James warns us that this is an “unstable” existence.

           A divided mind is a very serious emotional state; but it is even more serious spiritually. We need to pray like King David prayed, “Unite my heart to fear Your name.” (Psa. 86:11b). David wanted God to bring a unity or single-mindedness to his heart, so the Lord was the center of everything in his life. 

           A second way the Devil attempts to control our minds is through a carnal mind. A carnal mind is an enemy of God. The apostle Paul tells us this in Romans 8. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:5). When Paul speaks of the carnally minded here (“set their minds on the things of the flesh”), he is referring to a believer who places himself under the law to try to become holy as Paul had tried to do only to experience spiritual defeat (cf. Rom. 7:4-25).

           “While striving for holiness under the law, Paul had focused on the commands (e.g., ‘lust’) so that his mind-set was fleshly: ‘I must steer clear of all lust.’ This fleshly orientation doomed him to commit the very sin he sought to avoid.

           “Simply put, if one lives with a fleshly orientation—even if it is the result of a vigorous effort to keep the law—he is going to fail because he has the wrong mind-set.” [12] [emphasis added]

           “6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Rom. 8:6-7). These two mind-sets, “to be carnally minded,” or “to be spiritually minded,” are polar opposites. The first mind-set is in the sphere of “death” and results in “death.” But the “spiritually minded” believer experiences “life and peace.”

           “The trap into which a Christian falls when he is principally concerned with the law itself is that he cannot escape a preoccupation with the spiritual deadness within and around him. The mind-set of the Spirit, however, lifts his preoccupations to the level of supernatural life and peace.” [13] [emphasis added]

           Carnal mindedness is described in Galatians by Paul when he writes, “19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…” (Gal. 5:19-21). Carnal mindedness focuses on the fleshly desires of our sinful nature. The longer a Christian sets his mind on his sinful flesh, the more likely his fleshly mind becomes a demonically dictated thought process. Satan uses this carnal mindedness to control a believer’s thoughts.

           The third way Satan will attempt to control our thoughts is through his version of “God-is-our-enemy–thoughts.” The Devil enjoys putting thoughts in our mind that say, “God is your enemy.” “God is not playing fair with you.” “He could make it different, but He is not.” “You ought to get angry with God.“ “If God truly loved you, He wouldn’t let you go through so much pain and suffering.” When we have thoughts like that, do we know where they are coming from?

           God cannot be anything but good (Psa. 106:1), gracious (Psa. 111:4), holy (Isa. 6:3), just (Isa. 45:21), kind (Joel 2:13), loving (I John 4:8b), merciful (Ps. 103:8), and righteous (Psa. 11:7). Regardless of what we are experiencing, God is Who He is because He cannot be anything but that.

           But Satan will come along when life is not what we hoped it would be, and he tries to rule our mind with wicked thoughts about God being our enemy. And these thoughts can easily make us angry toward the Lord.

           Fourth, the Devil can also try to rule our minds through deceiving, lying thoughts. Such was the case with Ananias and Sapphira. Satan filled their hearts to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land they sold for themselves (Acts 5:4, 8-9). It cost both of them their lives.

           Whenever we are tempted to lie, we can be assured that Satan is involved in that temptation. Jesus said the devil “is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

           Fifth, Satan will also try to control our minds through fearful thoughts. The Bible tells us the that our “adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8b).

           “Do you know how a lion uses his fearsome roar to frighten his prey? I’m told that the old male in a lion pride goes upwind of a herd of gazelles or whatever and lets out a roar. The terrified animals take off in the opposite direction, where the rest of the pride is waiting to gobble them up.

           “If we were to hear a lion roar, most of us would run. If he roared again, we would run again. Pretty soon we’re being directed by fear.” [14] [emphasis added]

           In the verse prior to I Peter 5:8, Peter writes, “…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (I Pet. 5:7). We can cast all our cares or concerns upon God because “He cares for you.” This phrase can be translated, “You are a matter of concern to God.” [15] 

            Christians who are engaged in intense spiritual warfare, especially those who facing Satanic frontal attacks, may conclude, “God doesn’t really care about me. If He did, He wouldn’t let me languish in this terrible bondage.” [16] [emphasis added]

           If we believe God doesn’t care about us, we will be plagued by all kinds of fear. Satan loves to put us in bondage to fear. He will even use violent fear and panic to immobilize us.

           But at the moment we feel that panic and fear, is the moment to use our helmet of salvation and pray, “In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I command the wicked power of fear to leave my presence and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.” God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). The helmet of salvation enables our thoughts to be our own and to be like those of Christ.

           Thoughts that are projected into our minds by the enemy need to be recognized quickly and decisively! We need to understand this. We don’t have to accept those thoughts from Satan as our own.

           For example, one Christian young man was deeply troubled. Every time he began to pray to God, thoughts would enter his mind that said, “Pray to Satan…Pray to Satan… Pray to Satan.” He was tormented by these thoughts so much so that he became convinced he was going crazy. But once he understood where these thoughts were coming from, and resisted them, he was totally set free from those intruding thoughts. [17]

    The Person of Salvation

           This fifth piece of armor is called “the helmet of salvation.” What is salvation? The Bible informs us that salvation is a Person. David wrote, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (Psa. 27:1). The Hebrew word translated “salvation” is yeshu’ah. Yeshu’ah is the Old Testament word for “salvation,” and its basic meaning is “deliverance.” The English word Jesus, which means “God is salvation,” is also derived from this Hebrew word. Hence, David is saying, “The Lord [Yahweh] is my light and my Jesus [Yeshu’ah].” (Psa. 27:1). Salvation is a Person.

           This is why Simeon prayed in the temple as he held the Baby Jesus in his hands, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation…” (Luke 2:29-30). Christ is our salvation. He is a Person.

           Thus, when we put on our helmet of salvation, we are putting on the Lord Jesus Christ to protect our mindsfrom the intruding thoughts of Satan and also to fill our minds with His thoughts. [18]

           The Lord Jesus is much greater than the Devil. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father in the heavenly places, “far above all principality and power and might and dominion,” including Satan and his demonic armies (Eph. 1:20-21). Jesus sits in a position of authority and power that is far greater than the kingdom of darkness and we are seated next to Him (Eph. 2:5-6).

           The apostle John tells us that this same Jesus indwells us: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you [Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit] is greater than he who is in the world [Satan].” (I John 4:4; cf. Gal. 2:20). Hence, we do not need to fear nor succumb to Satan’s attacks because Jesus in us is far greater than the Devil and his demonic armies who are in the world.

           The Greek word translated “salvation” (sōtēria) in the New Testament basically means  “deliverance.” [19] The apostle Paul refers to this helmet as “the hope of salvation,” that is, the hope of deliverance (I Thess. 5:8b). Why? Because Satan wants to convince us that our situation is hopeless. If we conclude that our situation is hopeless, that we are trapped in our bondage and there is nothing we can do, then we only have two choices: We can either abandon ourselves to the sin or get ready to check out of this life. [20]

           The type of deliverance Jesus provides is determined by the context. As our “Salvation” (Psa. 27:1), the Lord Jesus provides three types of deliverances as they relate to our spirit, soul, and body (I Thess. 5:23).

    Our Past Salvation

           The first type of salvation is our past salvation (a.k.a. justification) whereby our spirit is delivered from the penalty of sin forever when we believed in Jesus for His gift of salvation (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9). When we were born again by believing in Jesus (John 3:3-18), we received “a new spirit” (Ezek. 36:26) that “was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:23-24) and was “perfected forever” (Heb. 10:14). Our spirit “cannot sin because” it “has been born of God” (I John 3:9).

          Satan wants to steal the assurance of our past salvation. Since he knows we cannot lose eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:35-40; 10:28-29; 11:25-26; et al.), he tries to rob us of our assurance that we are God’s child. He may put hideous thoughts in our minds and then accuse us, saying, “No true Christian would never entertain such wicked thoughts.”

           Satan will use false teachers to try to steal our assurance of eternal life. The apostle John addresses this in his first epistle. John’s readers were being told by the antichrists (false teachers) that Jesus was not the Christ Who guarantees a future resurrection and never-ending life to all who believe in Him. But John refutes this by saying, “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.” (I John 2:25). Instead of listening to the falsehoods of the antichrists, John redirects his readers to the unchanging “promise” of God which guarantees “eternal life” to all who believe in Jesus (cf. I John 5:1, 13; John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 6:35-40, 47; 11:25-27; 20:31). This is the message they heard from the beginning of their Christian experience. This is how they began a personal relationship with God. Assurance of eternal life is found in God’s promises, not in the lies of false teachers which denied that eternal life is through simple faith in Jesus.

           There is much confusion today about assurance of salvation. Some insist that assurance of going to heaven is based on our performance and whether we measure up to certain tests concerning the quality of our Christian experience. [21] But if we look to our performance or experience, we will never be certain we have eternal life because we always fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23; I John 1:8, 10). Whenever we take our focus off Christ and His finished work on the cross (John 19:30), we are more likely to doubt our salvation. Even on our best day, we still fall short of God’s glory.

           John wants his readers to look to the unchanging promises of God for the assurance of their salvation. “God’s promises don’t change. That’s why the promises of God are the foundation for our assurance of salvation. People who want to teach that 1 John is a book of tests to determine whether you are a Christian or not have gone completely against what John himself uses as his source of assurance: the promises of God.” [22]

           Why does John remind his readers of their secure relationship with Jesus? “These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.” (I John 2:26). John did not want his readers to be deceived by the false teachers who tried to undermine their assurance of salvation. Knowing they have eternal life simply be believing in Jesus for it would enable them to effectively resist these antichrists who taught John’s readers they were not genuinely saved because they lacked a secret knowledge which only the false teachers could give them to have eternal life. John understood if a Christian doubts his or her salvation they are more vulnerable to losing their fellowship with God and the apostles. Hence, I believe John would agree with the apostle Paul, that Christians must take up the helmet of salvation, so they do not lose the hope of their past salvation.  

    Our Present Salvation

           The second type of salvation is our present salvation (a.k.a. sanctification) whereby our soul is being delivered from the power of sin as we hear the word and do what it says (Phil. 2:12; Jas. 1:21-22). Just as we were justified and reconciled to God through faith in Jesus’ death, so now we are to be saved from the power of sin (God’s present-day wrath – Rom. 1:18-32) through faith in Jesus’ resurrection life (Rom. 5:9-10). This is a lifelong process called discipleship which begins at conversion and ends when we go to be with Jesus in His heaven (John 8:31-32; 13:34-35; 14:1-3; 15:1-8).

           Reimer writes, “To really understand your identity, you have to properly divide soul and spirit. Your spirit has been made new. You are a new creation in Christ. You have received a new spirit and a new heart (Ezek. 36:26). Your spirit has been perfected in Christ. You have received every spiritual blessing you need in the heavenly realms (Eph. 1:3). You are adopted into the family of God (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:15). You are heirs of God…

           “These are all the claims of Scripture for who you are in Christ. Your spirit has been purified, purged, renewed, born again, and transformed. But your soul… well, that can still be a bit of a mess.

           “Your soul can have hurts and bitterness. Your soul can still have sin and demonic strongholds. Your soul can have fears and faulty beliefs about who you are. Your soul can still feel condemnation and shame.

           ”Sanctification, or the process of becoming like Jesus is simply becoming who you already are. You have to work out in the realm of the soul what has already taken place in the heavenly realms through the work of Christ in your spirit.

           “Your soul is where your mind, your will, and your emotions still hold sway over the reality of your daily existence. For example, you may know cognitively that you are loved, but because you grew up in an abusive home, or because of your own sinful behaviors, you don’t feel loved. You don’t act as if you are deeply loved. Your soul still feels shame, you may even feel unlovable, and you feel distant from God. Until you deal with the issues of your soul, you will not experience the fullness of God nor the intimacy with Him for which your heart longs.

           “Working out your identity is learning to become who you already are. This battle for your identity is a critical part to your spiritual maturity.” [23] [emphasis added]

           Satan wants to deceive us into thinking that the power of sin has not been broken in our lives. That we are still slaves to sin. He loves to whisper lies that say, “You can never change.” “This isn’t that bad.” “God gave you this desire, so use it.” “Everyone else is doing it.” “You deserve to feel pleasure.” “You cannot cope with your pain without doing this.” “God doesn’t want you to experience this because He knows you will become more like Him knowing good and evil, etc.” 

           The Bible describes the victory Jesus has already won for us, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Col. 2:15).

           “It is more natural to view the principalities and powers here as the defeated foes, driven in front of the triumphal chariot as involuntary and impotent witnesses to their conqueror’s superior might.” [24][emphasis added]

           “The picture, quite familiar in the Roman world, is that of a triumphant general leading a parade of victory…. To the casual observer the cross appears to be only an instrument of death, the symbol of Christ’s defeat; Paul represents it as Christ’s chariot of victory.” [25] [emphasis added]

           The death of Jesus did three things to the spiritual rulers of darkness. It disarmed them, displayed them, and dethroned them.

           How did Jesus do this? [26] Jesus “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.” (Col. 2:14). When a person was executed under Roman law, the sentence was attached to the accused’s cross (see John 19:19). But Jesus took our sentence away, effectively nailing our certificates of debt to His cross. He paid our penalty in full (John 19:30); He died for our guilt and shame. God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21).

           Satan now has no legitimate grounds to accuse us of wrongdoing before God because Jesus already paid our sin debt to God in full. That is why Paul writes, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Col. 2:15). A fallen angel is no match for the Son of God, Who took away Satan’s power. Satan is the accuser of Christian brothers and sisters (Rev. 12:10). He accused Job (cf. Job 1:9-11; 2:4-5) and Joshua the high priest (Zech. 3:1). But in light of the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, Satan’s accusations are empty now.

           If somebody has a gun pointed at you, whether or not it’s loaded is a huge deal. The devil doesn’t want us to know that his gun has been emptied by the cross of Christ. Now, if we don’t know that, we are still going to cower and run, living in fear and shame. But we don’t have to listen to the devil any longer. Though he is right about our sin, our sin debt has been paid by Christ in full. We are free to live for God now. Satan still has power, but he no longer possesses final authority in our Christian lives.

           Thus, when the devil tempts us to sin, we can respond by saying, “Jesus has already broken the power of that sin through His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:10-11). Therefore, it has no power over me.”

    Our Future Salvation

           Our third type of salvation is our future salvation (a.k.a. glorification) whereby our physical body is delivered from the presence of sin when Jesus comes back for His church (I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:8b-10; I John 3:2-3). The apostle Paul writes, “And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (I Thess. 1:10). The Greek verb translated “delivers” [ruomenon] means to “rescue from danger.” [27] This deliverance or rescue is from the Tribulation “wrath to come” on earth (cf. Rev. 6:1-18:24) which is the theme of this epistle [28] (cf. I Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-5:11, 23). How does Jesus deliver Christians from this coming Tribulation wrath on earth?

           Paul explains in First Thessalonians 4:13-18. The apostle does not want his readers, including us, to be ignorant concerning believers who have died lest we “sorrow as others who have no hope.” (I Thess. 4:13). Paul understands that an ignorant believer can easily become a hopeless believer. [29] He then provides the order of events in the Rapture or sudden removal of the church from the earth.

           First, we see the return of Christ in the air with Christians who have died. “For if [or since] we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” (I Thess. 4:14). The rapture of the church is just as certain as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At one point in time the death and resurrection of Christ were prophecy. But now they are history. We can believe the Rapture with equal certainty.

         When Paul refers to “those who sleep in Jesus,” he is talking about Christians who have died (cf. John 11:11-12). What happens when a Christian dies (see pic)? His spirit goes immediately to heaven, but his body “sleeps” in the grave. “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5:8). To be absent from the body in death is to be present with the Lord Jesus in heaven.

           The second event is the resurrection of the bodies of Christians who have died. “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.” (I Thess. 4:15). The bodies of Christians who have died will be resurrected first by Jesus, so that their spirits, which are now with Christ, can re-enter their bodies permanently in resurrection. Notice that Paul included himself in these verses – “we who are alive and remain…” He expected to be “alive” when Jesus returned. He believed the Rapture could take place at any time and so should we.

           “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (I Thess. 4:16). In the Rapture, it is the Lord Jesus Himself that is coming, not the Holy Spirit or God’s angels. There will be a magnificent sound much like a shout, like the voice of an archangel and like the sound of a trumpet all in one, and only those who have placed their trust in Christ as their Savior will hear it. For the Bible says, “The dead in Christ will rise first.” Only those who are “in Christ” through believing in Jesus, will respond to this sound. Those who have not believed in Jesus Christ will be left behind.

            Notice that Christians who have died will return with Jesus (I Thess. 4:14b) and receive a glorified resurrection body (“the dead in Christ will rise first” – I Thess. 4:16b) that is incorruptible (sinless) and imperishable (eternal), like the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. I Cor. 15:35-51; Phil 3:20).

            Next is the removal of living Christians. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:17a). The words “caught up” are from the Greek word haparzō which means “to snatch up or take away suddenly.” [30] Paul describes it like this:  “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet… the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (I Cor. 15:52). In the time it takes you to blink your eye, the Lord will snatch all believers in Jesus off the earth to meet Him in the air – not one will remain behind.

           Finally, we see the reunion of both living and dead believers with the Lord in the air. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:17). This sudden removal of all Christians from the earth is intended to comfort believers in Jesus. That’s why Paul writes, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (I Thess. 4:18.) If the rapture is at the middle or end of the seven-year Tribulation period of intense and unusual suffering on earth, there would be little comfort and encouragement in this. But the prospect of Christ coming at any moment is a much greater comfort.

           Paul alludes to putting on “as a helmet the hope of salvation” (I Thess. 5:8c). The Greek word translated “salvation” (sōtērias) in First Thessalonians is not deliverance from everlasting punishment in hell, but deliverance from the Tribulation wrath on earth. “9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” (I Thess. 5:9-10). Christians will not go through the Tribulation because “God did not appoint us to wrath.” Thus, this “salvation” is deliverance from God’s Tribulation wrath on the earth via the Rapture of the church “through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

           Our precious Lord’s death (“Christ, who died for us”) guarantees that all Christians will be caught up to be with Jesus, “whether we wake or sleep,” spiritually (I Thess. 5:10; cf. I Thess. 5:4-7). Knowing and believing this truth acts as a protective helmet against Satan’s attacks. The Devil wants us to doubt that we will be delivered from God’s coming wrath through the Rapture of the Church. He has convinced many Christians that they will go through the Tribulation period. Some believers think we are now in the Tribulation.

            Satan wants us to conclude that Jesus is not coming back in our lifetime because he understands that we will then be more likely to live his way instead of God’s way. Jesus warned of this faulty conclusion when He told the parable of the faithful servant who became an evil servant (Matt. 24:45-51). Christ spoke of “a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household” (Matt. 24:45). If that servant remains faithful in light of his master’s soon return, his master “will make him ruler over all his goods” when he comes back (Matt. 24:46-47).

           But Jesus warns, “If that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’” he will be in danger of mistreating “his fellow servants” and living a self-indulgent life (“eat and drink with the drunkards”), resulting in a severe rebuke (“the master of that servant… will cut him in two,” cf. Heb. 4:12-13) and intense grief (“weeping and gnashing of teeth”) over the loss of eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Matt. 24:48-51; cf. Matt. 25:30; I Cor. 3:15; I John 2:28). [31]

           Even though it has been nearly twenty centuries since Jesus ascended to heaven, no Christian should dare to conclude that Jesus “is delaying His coming” for His church. That is what Satan wants us to do. He knows that if we lose sight of the nearness of Christ’s return, we will also lose hope.  

           The helmet of salvation provides hope for the believer. The hope that one day all the projected thoughts from the powers of darkness will be removed forever when the Christian is given a new resurrection body which will no longer be subject to sin and death.

           The promise that Jesus Christ could return for His church at any moment is one of the greatest reasons for us to live for Jesus now. Focusing on Christ’s any-time-return “purifies” us inwardly so we can have confidence and not be ashamed before Him when He appears (I John 2:28; 3:2-3).

    Conclusion

           Satan does not want us to put on the helmet of salvation because…

    • He wants us to live in the past filled with our sin and shame. But when we put on the helmet of salvation, the Lord Jesus instructs us to learn from the past, not live in the past because He has delivered our spirit from the penalty of sin forever the moment we believed in Him for His gift of salvation (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9; 4:23-24; cf. Ezek. 36:26).
    • He wants us to believe that we are still slaves to sin who can never change. But when we put on the helmet of salvation, Christ tells us that we can change because our soul is being saved from the power of sin which was broken through Jesus’ death and resurrection (Rom. 6:10-11). We must simply hear and do what Christ tells us (Jas. 1:21-22).
    • He wants us to doubt Jesus will return for His church in our lifetime so we will lose hope and live under his control instead of God’s. However, when the helmet of salvation is put on, we become watchful for Jesus’ soon return for His church when our physical bodies will be saved from the presence of sin forever (I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-5:11; I John 3:2-3). Focusing on Christ’s any-time-return “purifies” us inwardly so we can have confidence and not be ashamed before Him when He appears (I John 2:28; 3:2-3).

           As with the other pieces of armor, we put on the helmet of salvation through prayer (Eph. 6:18).

           Prayer: Father God, I recognize that my mind is a particular target of Satan’s deceiving ways. Thus, I cover my mind with the powerful helmet of salvation which protects and directs my thoughts, so my life is filled with hope. Thank You for the assurance that my spirit is saved from the penalty of sin forever when I put my faith in the Lord Jesus alone for His gift of salvation. I praise you for Jesus’ death and resurrection which broke the power of sin. By Your grace I pray for my soul to be saved from the power of sin as I yield to the Holy Spirit’s power to obey what Your Word says. And thank You Lord for the hope that my physical body will be saved from the presence of sin when Jesus gives me a new glorified resurrection body when He comes back for His church. Please show me any thoughts I am entertaining right now that are from the enemy. In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I come against the power of darkness that just put that wicked thought in my mind. And I command you to leave me and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.

    FOOTNOTES:

    [1] Adapted from David R. Anderson, Position and Condition: An Exposition of the Book of Ephesians (Grace Theological Press, 2017 Kindle Edition), pp. 369-370.

    [2] Ibid.

    [3] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.

    [4] The first three verbs in Greek (perizōsamenoi… endysamenoi… hypodēsamenoi… ) are aorist middle participles which means they have already been put on by the soldier or Christian.  

    [5] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.

    [6] The Greek verb translated “taking…” (analabontes) is an aorist active participle, meaning the Christian is taking the shield of faith as needed and the last Greek verb translated “take…” (dexasthe) is an aorist middle imperative which is used of the last two pieces of armor and means for oneself to take them up as needed.

    [7] Retrieved on March 5, 2025, from an article entitled, “Motorcycle Helmet Laws and Safety Statistics 2024,” at lawtigers.com. The article states that “in states with universal helmet laws, 55 percent of motorcyclists killed in 2021 were not wearing helmets, compared to 9 percent in states with universal helmet laws.” 

    [8] The following lengthy discussion about the use of a helmet in American football is adapted from Tony Evan’s video message entitled, “The Helmet of Salvation,” on youtube.com.

    [9] Many of the following paragraphs are adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.

    [10] For a more detailed treatment of Matthew 16:21-23, see “Spiritual Warfare – Part 2” in Ropp Update & Reflections (July 2024).

    [11] Much of this section is adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.

    [12] Zane C. Hodges, “Romans,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1045.

    [13] Ibid.

    [14] Jim Logan, Reclaiming Surrendered Ground (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), pg. 182.

    [15] Ibid.

    [16] Ibid.

    [17] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on BRMinistry app.

    [18] The first three paragraphs of this section are adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.

    [19] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 985-986.

    [20] Logan, Reclaiming Surrendered Ground, pg. 185.

    [21] Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? 2013 Kindle Edition, pg. 15 cites John MacArthur, Jr., Saved without a Doubt (Colorado Springs: Cook Communications, 1992), pp. 67-91; Tom Constable, Notes on I John, 2022 Edition, pg. 46 cites James Montgomery Boice, The Epistles of John (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979); John F. MacArthur Jr., The Gospel according to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988); John R. W. Stott, Basic Introduction to the New Testament, 1st American ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964); and Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 2 vols. (Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1989).

    [22] Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? 2013 Kindle Edition, pg. 128.

    [23] Dr. Rob Reimer, Soul Care: Seven Transformational Principles For A Healthy Soul (Carpenter’s Son Publishing, 2016), pp. 37-38.

    [24] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Colossians, 2023 Edition, pg. 61 cites F. F. Bruce, “Colossians Problems,” Bibliotheca Sacra 563 (July- September 1984):198-199.

    [25] Ibid., cites Curtis Vaughan, In Ephesians-Philemon. Vol. 11 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978), pg. 202.

    [26] The following three paragraphs are adapted from Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 2701-2702.

    [27] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 907.

    [28]  Robert Wilkin, “I Thessalonians,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1463.

    [29] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2727.

    [30] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 134.

    [31] Hal Haller Jr., “Matthew,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 179-182.

    Spiritual Warfare – Part 6

    Introduction

           As the celebration of Jesus’ birth approaches, I am reminded of that first Christmas which is recorded from a human perspective in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels (Matt. 1:21-2:12; Luke 2:1-20). It is presented as a very peaceful event involving Mary and Joseph, some angels, shepherds, wise men, and the baby Jesus. The angels praised God saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14). Hence, most Christmas celebrations today focus on the peace that surrounded the birth of Jesus, assuming He would bring peace “on earth” during His First Coming. 

            But at the beginning of the week before Jesus’ crucifixion when Christ triumphantly entered Jerusalem, a multitude of His followers praised God, saying: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38). Notice they say, “Peace in heaven,” not “peace on earth.” The first coming of Christ would establish spiritual peace “in heaven” between God and humankind (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:16-18). But it won’t be until Jesus’ Second Coming to earth that universal peace “on earth” will be established by King Jesus during His thousand-year reign on earth (Rev 20:4-6; Isa. 2:1-4; 9:6b-7; Mic. 4:1-5). 

           In Revelation 12:1-5, the apostle John shares a version of the Christmas story that is from heaven’s perspective, and it is the opposite of peace (see above picture). This version of the Christmas story involves three main characters: the woman, representing the nation of Israel who endured much pain in bringing the Messiah into the world (Rev. 12:1-2; cf. Gen. 37:9-11); the Child, representing the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:2, 5); and the dragon, representing the Devil (Rev. 12:3-4a, 9).

           When Jesus is born into the world, Satan is there with his army of demons represented by “a third of the stars of heaven” (Rev. 12:4a), waiting to destroy Him: “And the dragon (Satan) stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child (Jesus) as soon as it was born” (Rev. 12:4b – parenthesis added). While shepherds are watching, angels are singing, and wise men are worshipping, Satan is waiting to make his move. The attempt to kill the Child John sees in this vision is probably a reference to king Herod’s brutal attempt to kill Jesus (cf. Matt. 2:16).

           The next verse says, “She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.” (Rev. 12:5). In this version of the Christmas story Jesus goes from being born at Bethlehem, to ruling on the throne of the universe. John uses this one verse to summarize the birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and future reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan not only used Herod in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus, but He would later use Judas to betray Him, Pilate to condemn Him, and the Roman soldiers to crucify Him. All the fury of hell would be released against the Child born on that silent night.

          The rest of Revelation 12 talks about the last half of the Tribulation period when Satan and his fallen angels are cast down from heaven and persecute the people of God – the nation of Israel (cf. 12:7-17). Since Satan could not destroy the Christ Child Who is now on His throne in heaven, he is going to go after what is dearest to the Child – His own people. This is why there is so much opposition against God’s people today, especially His Jewish people, and it will only intensify as the Second Coming of Christ to earth draws near. If the Devil can destroy Israel before Jesus returns to earth with His Bride, the Church (Rev. 19:7-21), then there can be no triumphant return of Christ and Satan will rule the earth.

           John’s version of the Christmas story reminds us we are in a struggle with a dragon. It is a struggle we can’t win; it is a struggle Jesus already won. You see, if you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, Satan is going to attack you. “Satan” means adversary. During this Christmas season (and all our lives), he wants to rob us of the joy and peace of Christmas by reminding us of our sins and shortcomings. He will accuse us of the times we have lied and been unfaithful, of the times we’ve lost our temper and broken our promises.

    The Armor of God

           How can we deal with this intense spiritual battle whereby the enemy seeks to rob us of God’s peace? The apostle Paul instructs his Christian readers (including you and me) to “put on the whole armor of God” so we may stand against the “wiles” or trickery of the Devil (Eph. 6:11). Paul describes the armor that Roman infantrymen wore in the order they would put it on.

           The soldier first puts on his belt which represents the Christian’s belt of truth (Eph. 6:14a). Since Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), this first piece of armor is essential to protecting us from Satan’s deceptions and lies. We learned that truth is God’s viewpoint on a subject. It is the absolute standard by which reality is measured in its original form.Truth points us in the direction that God wants to lead us.

           After putting on his belt, the soldier then puts on his breastplate which protects his vital organs in his chest region. “The breastplate” we are to put on is “righteousness” (dikaiosunē) which refers to the quality of “being right.” [1] God’s truth is the informational base that tells us the right thing to do. The truth points our heart in the direction of God’s righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness is our response to God’s truth or viewpoint on a matter.

           When God’s truth and righteousness are operative in our lives, it will lead to the next piece of armor which has to with our feet or shoes (Eph. 6:15). Why is this so important?

    The Importance of Our Feet

          In the 21st century, we have shoes for every occasion. There are dress shoes, casual shoes, work shoes, and many kinds of athletic shoes. There are shoes for cold weather, warm weather, and rainy weather. We have indoor shoes and outdoor shoes. There are specialty shoes like dance shoes (ballet,  tap, etc.), work boots (steel-toe, waterproof, etc.), and orthopedic shoes. Some of you may have a closet full of shoes that are designed to adorn your feet. The fact that we have so many varieties of shoes today demonstrates the importance of our feet. [2]

          It is also a very serious thing to have feet that hurt. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to focus on an objective when your feet are hurting? When your feet hurt, you hurt are over. When our feet hurt, we do not make a good soldier. This is why our military places great emphasis on examining the feet of a soldier. They understand that a person’s feet need to be comfortable to be a good soldier. God understands this more than anyone. [3]

    The Soldier’s Sandals

           God wants His people to wear a certain kind of shoes all the time because they will address an important issue regarding spiritual warfare in our lives. After a Roman soldier put on his belt and breastplate (Eph. 6:14), he then puts on his sandals: “And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” (Eph. 6:15). The Greek word translated “shod” (hupodeō) is a compound word meaning “under” (hupo) plus “to bind/tie” (deō)or “to bind/tie under or beneath” [4](sandals). [5] It refers here to what you are wearing on your feet at all times. [6]

           The word translated “preparation” (hetoimasia) refers to the state of “readiness.” [7] If we are wearing these shoes, we will be ready for the Devil’s attacks against us. We will be prepared to deal with our enemy’s methods of deception.

            To properly understand this piece of armor, we need to realize that the Roman soldier had what modern-day American football players have. They had cleats or spikes coming out of the bottom of their shoes. “Roman soldiers wore sandals with cleats built in to help them have firm footing and to stand their ground under attack.” [8] These spikes on the bottom of a soldier’s sandals gave him stability and mobility on the battlefield. They kept him from slipping and sliding when he was under attack.

           If we were in a battle in Paul’s day, we had better be well-shod. There would be nothing worse than losing our footing with an enemy standing over us with a sword in his hand. [9]

           Paul has already emphasized the need to be stationary in battle by using the word “stand” (stēnai) or a form of this word (antistēnai/stēte) four times (Eph. 6:11, 13-14). Why? Because the Devil wants to knock us off our feet. He wants to knock us to the ground and keep us there. He desires to remove us from our place of stability.

           When Paul says to have our feet “shod,” he is talking about placing ourselves in a stationary position so that when all hell breaks loose “in the evil day” (Eph. 6:13), Satan cannot knock us down or knock us out. Why? Because what we are wearing on our feet gives us stability and sure-footedness.

           If you are like me, you know what it is like to be knocked over by the evil one. Our circumstances have knocked us over. Our finances have knocked us over. Our relationships with certain people have knocked us over. Our jobs have knocked us over. Our feet have slipped, and we are going down.

           So, what this third piece of armor teaches us is that God wants to create stability or sure-footedness for us so that when we face a Satanic full-frontal attack, we can stand firm. Evans explains, “Through the cross and resurrection of Christ, victory is already won. The devil has lost. The only power he has is the power you give him. We are to stand firm in Christ’s victory. Paul tells the Ephesians over and over: stand (6:11, 13-14). In other words, stay in the area where victory has been achieved under the cover of God’s armor. When you stand under an umbrella, it doesn’t stop the rain. But it does stop you from getting wet. You have to dress for success in this thing called the Christian life.” [10] [emphasis added]

    The Purpose of Satan’s Attack

           Remember that the Devil is a thief (John 10:10a). He knows he cannot take away our salvation because we are secure forever in Christ after we believe in Him for His free gift of eternal life which can never be lost (cf. John 3:16; 6:35-40; 10:28-29; Rom. 8:38-39; Eph. 1:13-14; I John 5:13). Since the evil one cannot keep us out of heaven, he wants to make us experience hell on earth. [11] How does he do this?

           This third piece of armor teaches us that Satan wants to rob us of God’s “peace.” The opposite of “peace” is anxiety. The Devil wants God’s children to live with anxiety and fear. He knows that whatever we fear, we give control to. Hence, the purpose of the enemy’s attacks is to keep God from controlling our lives, so our salvation is not manifested through us. He wants to keep us defeated and discouraged.

           But God wants His people to have feet that are not hurting in the area of “peace.” The Lord understands that one of the Devil’s strategies is to rob God’s people of His peace. Satan wants to promise us peace through his “wiles” or trickery. He will promise us peace through counterfeit religions, drugs, education, entertainment, materialism, the occult, and sex outside of marriage. Often times we discover that we have less peace than we did before we pursued the enemy’s counterfeit peace. It is that way with everything Satan promises to use to give us peace. Instead of giving us peace, Satan’s ways lead us into bondage and death.

    What is Peace?

           But God’s “peace” is real, and it protects us from the activities of the kingdom of darkness. But what is this “peace” God wants us to wear all the time? The Greek word for “peace” (eirēnē) in Ephesian 6:15 refers to a “state of concord, harmony, or well-being” [12] between Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:14-15) and between God and humankind (Eph. 2:16-18).

           Jesus used this word for “peace” (eirēnē) twice in John 14:27 when He referred to two types of peace. The first kind refers to His work on the cross. “Peace I leave with you.” (John 14:27a). The word “leave” (aphiēmi) implies something that Jesus does. Christ’s death on the cross would provide eternal “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1) for us because all our sins would be forgiven (Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14). The meaning of “peace” in this case “is the spiritual well-being that results from being rightly related to God through Jesus Christ.” [13]

           The second type of peace in verse 27 is the kind that Jesus enjoyed on earth. He says, “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27b). In the context (cf. John 14:21, 23), this peace of Christ’s is given to obedient believers. It arises from a life of faith in God. It refers to a calmness “that would come to their hearts from trusting God and from knowing that He was in control of all events that touched their lives.” [14]

           Christ distinguishes His peace from the kind of peace the world can give – “not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27c). The world cannot offer eternal peace with God. The world denies that people need to be reconciled to God. The world says that people are inherently good because they are created in the image of God. “Because God loves everyone,” the world says, “There is no need for reconciliation with God.” The world offers a false peace to people. Sin has distorted God’s image in people. Some churches deny this because the world has influenced them to believe that people are inherently good and do not need a Savior.

           The peace the world offers depends on one’s circumstances and is temporary. Itis deceptive and misleading. But the peace Jesus offers is the calm and tranquility of the soul that is independent of our external situation. [15]

           This peace is much like the painting above. [16] The sky is black with storm clouds. The waves are violently billowing up and down against the rocky shore. There is turmoil and chaos all around. 

           But on the right side of this portrait about halfway up the rocky cliff at the edge of this horrific circumstance of life, was a mother bird sitting on her nest protecting her young. One little light piercing the darkness of the clouds was shining down on the bird as it sat peacefully on its nest. 

           This picture portrays biblical peace. Biblical peace is not the absence of problems. It is not “when nothing is wrong, I am calm.” Biblical peace is when everything is wrong, and we are still calm. It is when circumstances or situations are not conducive to rest, but we are able to chill. Biblical peace is when there is calm on the inside while there is nothing but chaos on the outside. We do not know we have biblical peace until circumstances are not peaceful.

           When Jesus spoke of His peace in John 14:27, it was the night before His crucifixion. There was nothing peaceful about Jesus’ situation. He knew it would involve terrible darkness when all hell would break loose against Him and He would experience separation from His heavenly Father for the first and last time when the sin of the world would be placed upon Christ as our Substitute for sin (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 3:18). Yet Jesus could speak with confidence about giving His peace to His disciples the night before His brutal death on a cross. Christ lived this peace, and He wants to empower us to do the same.

    Where Do We Find this Peace?

           This third piece of armor speaks of standing in “the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). The “peace” that Jesus gives us is found in “the gospel.” This peace is not found in a pill or an injection or in entertainment or in the accumulation of wealth. It is not found in our favorite television program or movie. Nor is it found on a vacation or in an image on the computer screen. This peace is not found in a better job or in a counseling session. That’s the world’s kind of peace which is momentary.

           The peace that God wants us to continually wear on our feet is found in “the gospel.” To understand the “peace” that the apostle Paul is talking about, we need to understand the gospel. The Greek word for “gospel” is euangelion, which means “good news.” [17] So, what is the good news?

           The apostle Paul defines the “gospel” or good news by which we are saved today when he writes, “3 that Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once…” (I Cor. 15:3-6). The gospel is that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. We are saved from an eternity in hell when we believe in the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection as our Substitute for our sins (Acts 16:31). At that moment of faith in Christ, we receive both the complete forgiveness of all our sins (Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14) and the gift of eternal life (John 3:14-16). Jesus says we are born again (John 3:3). But you may say, “I am born again but I still have anxiety and worry – the opposite of peace.” 

           One reason we may still have worry after we are born again is because we do not understand or believe the gospel. Most Christians apply the gospel only to what it takes to get to heaven. But that is just part of the gospel. The gospel also has a lot to do with living a victorious life on earth. [18]

           The apostle Paul writes, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Rom. 5:10). Notice that “the death of” Jesus “reconciled” (past tense) us to God so we could go to heaven (justification), but Jesus’ “life” “shall” (future tense) save us from the power of sin and its consequences (sanctification) on earth (cf. Rom. 1:18-32; 5:9). [19] Most of us know the gospel because of Jesus’ death, but we have missed the gospel of His life which progressively gives us victory over the power of sin as we learn to walk in the Spirit (cf. Rom. 6:1-8:39).

           Evans writes, “The death of Jesus reconciled us to God, but Jesus didn’t stay dead. He’s alive right now. And He’s interceding for us (see Heb. 7:25) in order to give us victory over the power of sin and its consequences. Think about it. If Jesus could take you from hell to heaven by dying, what He can do for you by living is even more exciting. Many believers who have accepted the saving death of Christ have yet to understand and access the saving life of Christ, which gives us victory in history.” [20] [emphasis added]

           Let’s look now at what our sandals of peace include. [21]

    Our Position that Protects our Mental Peace

           These sandals of peace include our POSITION THAT PROTECTS OUR MENTAL PEACE: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1). The Greek word translated “justified” (diakaioō) means to be declared totally righteous [22] by our holy God [23] in heaven’s courtroom.  The perfect righteousness of Christ in us has been imputed or credited to our account in heaven by virtue of our position in Jesus.[24] 

            “Justification is a legal concept meaning that in God’s courtroom, He pronounced us innocent of all charges. He does this through what theologians call ‘imputation’—taking Jesus’s perfect record and crediting it to our accounts.” [25] [emphasis added]

           Notice in Romans 5:1 that we are “justified” not by our good life, prayers, or religion, but “by faith.” Peace with God is “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The moment we believe in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for all our sins, we are “justified” or declared totally righteous before God as if we had never sinned.

           The preposition “with” (pros) in the phrase “peace with God” (pros ton Theon) is very important  (Rom. 5:1). This preposition used with the accusative case (ton Theon) refers to being “friendly with” God. [26] It is the promise that through justification by faith in Jesus, the enmity and hostility that existed between a holy God and a sinful people is totally removed. The war has ended between the Christian and his or her God! And we have peace “with God.”

           How does the Christian know he has peace “with” God? There is only one way to know this, and it is through faith in God’s promise. Justification before God is not a feeling or experience. It is a judicial, legal declaration from a holy God.

           “The nature of this peace is of course judicial, since justification is the act of God as our Judge. We should avoid understanding the idea as inner tranquility. The peace involved here is like that which results when two warring nations are no longer in a hostile relationship to each other.” [27] [emphasis added]

           That is why Romans 5:1 begins with the word “Therefore…” It is as though God is pointing His finger back to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (cf. Rom. 4:24-25). “Therefore,” because of what Jesus has done, you have “been justified by faith” and you “have peace with God.” The war with God is over! The battle has ended!

           But Satan will try to rob Christians of this peace. He will attempt to make us think that God is angry with us. That God could never forgive us. That God is against us. He may whisper in our ears, “The reason you have so many troubles is because God is mad at you. He keeps punishing you because He is against you.”

           While it is true that God disciplines His wayward children (Heb. 12:5-11), His discipline of us is not evidence that He hates us or is mad at us. It is evidence that He loves us: “5 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 for whom the Lord loves He chastens.” (Heb. 12:5-6).

           Thus, putting on the sandals of peace means we have an intellectual understanding of what God’s Word says – that the believer in Jesus has “peace with God.” If we are to “stand” against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11), we must know this positional truth, review it, and abide in it daily, never turning aside from it even during Satan’s most vicious or subtle attacks.

    The Possession of Peace

           But our sandals of peace also include our POSSESSION OF PEACE. This can be seen in Philippians 4. “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7). This aspect of our sandals of peace protects our emotional peace (“anxious”). God wants the Christian to not only have legal or mental peace (“peace with God”), but to also have emotional peace (“peace of God”).

          How do we gain this relationship of peace? It comes through the practice of prayer. When Paul writes in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing…” (Phil. 4:6a), he is saying not to lose your emotional peace even though you may be facing a worrisome situation. Don’t try to resolve your anxiety by worrying about the situation. Instead, he says to resolve this worrisome situation with “prayer” (Phil. 4:6b). Talk to God about what makes you anxious. When was the last time we got alone with God and talked to Him about what we are worried about? Talking about it helps to diffuse the power of worry. But it does not stop there.

           Then God says, “in everything by… supplication” (Phil. 4:6c). The word “supplication” means to tell God what you need. Few people ever identify what they need because they are so busy worrying.

           For example, some of us may be worried about our health. So, we talk to the Lord about that. And as we do that, ask God to help us identify the underlying need. Perhaps we need protection from illness especially during the aftermath of COVID. Or perhaps we are afraid of death because we are not prepared for it. So, we need assurance of life after death. Ask God to give you the assurance that there is everlasting life both now and after death through believing in Jesus (cf. John 11:25-26). Thus, talk to the Lord about what you need from Him.

           Next, God says, “with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6d). One of my mentors taught me that the word “requests” refers to our heart’s desires which align with God’s will. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” The Hebrew word for “delight” (anog) can mean “to be soft” [28] or lean toward God. Just as a house plant leans in toward the sunlight coming through a window to get nutrients from the sun, so we need to lean into God during these challenging times to nourish our souls, and He promises to give us the desires or dreams of our hearts. So, talk to God about your desires or dreams. Ask God what He wants to do in your life.

           Notice that God wants us to pray with “thanksgiving.” He wants us to have a thankful heart. Why? Because when we trust God to supply our needs and wants in advance during difficult times, we can accept those circumstances and respond more appropriately. Also, gratitude stimulates the release of dopamine (happy chemical) in our brain which decreases our stress and enhances our sleep.

           As we talk to God about our anxiety, needs, and desires with thanksgiving, He promises that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). The “peace of God” is like a deep calmness in the midst of life’s storms. For example, the water underneath the surface of the ocean remains calm during a storm (see above pic). We can experience a deep-seeded calmness in our souls when we surrender to God in prayer as we face these challenging times.

           The phrase “will guard,” pictures an armed soldier walking back and forth in front of the city gate, protecting the occupants inside the city from intruders. God’s peace constantly protects those who choose to talk to Him about their worries and ask Him for what they need and want.

           Do we know this experientially? Are we practicing this kind of prayer? We live in a day of cell phones. If someone wants to get a hold of us, they send us a text or call us on our phones. Our phones alert us through vibration or a distinct sound that someone wants to talk to us.

           This illustrates how God sometimes wants us to talk to Him in prayer. One of the ways God may alert us to His desire for us to talk to Him is by allowing us to feel uneasy or anxious about something. This may be His way of inviting us to spend time alone with Him in prayer. Putting on the sandals of peace includes practicing this kind of prayer.

    The Protection of Peace

           Our sandals of peace also include THE PROTECTION OF PEACE. The apostle Paul writes, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:9). Paul is not talking about the “peace of God” in this verse, but “the God of peace.” This aspect of peace results when believers walk in obedience to God (“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do…”). Paul says that when we follow the godly example of another believer, we can experience “the God of peace” being with us.

           Bubeck suggests that “the God of peace” refers to the protection of our will. The strong powerful nearness of God to us (“the God of peace will be with you”) will protect our will. It is that “peace” which God brings to us when our enemies greatly outnumber us and are about to destroy us, and the God of peace says, “No more! You cannot touch him! He is mine!” [29] 

           There are many examples of this in the Old Testament when God’s people, Israel, are surrounded by their enemies who greatly outnumbered them and were about to destroy them with no apparent way of escape. And God’s people cried out to Him, and “the God of peace” showed up and put their enemies to flight or destroyed them. Sometimes He did this with hornets or sounds in the treetops (or heavens) which frightened them and caused confusion or fear, so they fled and were defeated (cf. Exod. 23:22-28; Deut. 7:17-22; Josh. 24:11-12; I Sam. 7:10-11; 2 Sam. 5:22-25; 2 Kgs. 6:8-23; 18:1-19:37; I Chron. 14:13-17; 2 Chron. 31:1-22). And at other times God caused Israel’s enemies to turn against each other so they could be defeated (cf. 2 Chron. 20:1-24).

           God is so powerful that “when a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Prov. 16:7). God is able to make our enemies be at peace with us quickly when we live in a way that pleases Him. They will have to flee simply because of Who God is.

           It is not surprising that the phrase “the God of peace” is used in the New Testament in the context of obedience and Christian growth (cf. Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; I Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20-21). If we are hurting in our peace, it is important to examine our obedience to God. Are we trying to walk our own way instead of God’s way? Are we seeking our own pleasure instead of God’s?

           The Lord may let us walk our own way, but please know that “the God of peace will be with” us. He wants us to be near to Him but that cannot be our experience if we are walking our own way instead of His way.

    The Person of Peace

           These sandals of peace also include THE PERSON OF PEACE. “13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” (Eph. 2:13-14). Our sin not only separates us from God, but it also separates us from the people of God. The Ephesians were Gentiles who were called “Uncircumcision” by the Jews who are referred to as “the Circumcision” (Eph. 2:11).

           In their unsaved condition before the Cross, Ephesians 2:12 tells us that Gentiles “were without Christ,” having no corporate national hope centered on the promise of a coming Messiah, as the Jews did. They were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel” in that God excluded them in having a part in what He planned to do in and through the nation of Israel. The Gentiles were “aliens” from Israel in this sense. [30] Nor did Gentiles have a direct part in the “promises” of God to Israel contained in the biblical covenants (e.g., Abrahamic – Gen. 12:1-3; 13:15-17; 15:17-21; 17:1-22; Mosaic – Exod. 19:1-24:8; and Davidic – 2 Sam. 7:12-17; I Chron. 17:3-14; 2 Chron. 7:17-18; 13:5; 21:7;  Psa. 89:1-4; et al.). As a race of people, the Gentiles had “no hope” of a corporate future promised by God to which they could look and in which they could hope, as Israel did. [31] And worst of all, they were “without God in the world.” The Greek word translated “without God” (atheos) is where we get our English word “atheist” from. Before the cross, Gentile unbelievers may have worshiped many gods, but they were without the one and only true God. [32]

           “But… the blood of Christ” not only brought us “near” to God, but it also brings Jews and Gentiles (“you who once were far off”) near to one another (Eph. 2:13). How did this take place? “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” (Eph. 2:14). Jesus is “our peace” Whose atoning sacrifice on the cross has made Jew and Gentile “both one,” having “broken down the middle wall of separation.”

           What is this “middle wall of separation”? The next verse tells us: “…Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.” (Eph. 2:15). Jesus “abolished in His flesh” by dying on the cross “the enmity” or hostility that was created by the Jewish “law of commandments contained in ordinances.”

           The Mosaic Law had been the cause of the hostility between Jews and Gentiles. It was the “barrier” that separated Jews and Gentiles. Its dietary distinctions, and laws requiring separation in particular, created hostility between Jews and Gentiles. Jesus Christ broke down the barrier and the hostility that resulted from it by terminating the Mosaic Law. When Jesus Christ died, He fulfilled all the demands of the Mosaic Law (cf. Col. 2:14). When He did that, God ended the Mosaic Law as His rule of life for the Jews. The word “abolished” (katargeō) means to “cause something to come to an end or to be no longer in existence, wipe out.” [33] The Mosaic Law ceased to be God’s standard for regulating the life of His people when Christ died (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 3:24-25; et al.). [34]

           God did this through His shed blood on the cross to “create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.” Christ died in our place “to make one body out of the two very distant groups. When a Jew or Gentile trusts in Christ for eternal life, he is placed in union with other believers in the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ by His death removed the barrier that separated Jews and Gentiles. By faith they become one new man, the Body of Christ, the Church. Christ is the end of the Law to all who believe (Rom. 10:4). 

           “God reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to Himself in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity (between Gentiles and Jews who believe in Christ). The Law that divided is removed, and Jews and Gentiles are in one body together.” [35] [emphasis added]

           Christ, Who is “our peace,” died “that He might reconcile” Jews and Gentiles “to God in one body,” the church, “through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” created by the Jewish Law (Eph. 2:16).

           This Person of peace protects our spirit. It has to do with our spiritual relationship with Jesus. [36] Our Christian faith is not primarily a system of dogmas and doctrines. It is primarily a relationship with a Person – Jesus Christ. This is a relationship that we enter into through faith alone in Christ alone (Eph. 1:13-14; 2:8-9). As we grow closer to Jesus, the more we can experience Him as “our peace” and the more we can live peaceably with other Christians. Satan seeks to divide Christians, so they do not express the image of God by living peacefully in unity with one another. But Jesus Christ is “our peace” and He is the source of reconciliation and restoration of peace within His body, the church.

    Conclusion [37]

           God wants His peace to be the norm for His children on the battlefield. When God’s truth is operative in our lives, it will point us in the direction of His righteousness. We are faced with a myriad of choices and decisions in life, but how do we know we have made the right choices or decisions? How do we know we are moving in the right direction? How do we know we have the right perspective on a matter? God’s peace will confirm it. The Lord will give us a deep-seeded calm to move forward (“feet” suggest movement) with a decision even though hell may be breaking loose in our lives.   

          But if anxiety or worry is our normal way of operating, then we are not wearing the shoes God has given us. Please note that I am not talking about certain times of worry because we all battle that in our flesh. But if worry is normative for us then these shoes or sandals of peace are not being worn on our feet.

           Are we wearing our sandals of peace every day? Do we take time to put them on? Are we taking time to remember and review that we have “peace with God” now because God has declared us (not made us) to be totally righteous (“justified”) the moment we believed in Jesus (Rom. 5:1)? Are we experiencing the emotional “peace of God” through prayer and the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives (Phil. 4:6-7)? Through obedience, are we experiencing “the God of peace” (Phil. 4:9) Who makes even our enemies to be at peace with us (Prov. 16:7)? And are we getting to know the Person of “our peace” (Eph. 2:13-17) more intimately, so we can live more peaceably with our brothers and sisters in Christ? In the midst of war, God wants us to stand victoriously in “the gospel of peace.”

           Submarine crewmen do not get nervous when there is a storm at sea because they can go deep down where the waters are calm. Fish do not have anxiety attacks when it is storming because they know that severe storms will only reach approximately three hundred feet below sea level, [38] so they go down three hundred and one feet where it is peaceful.

           When our world gets chaotic, it is time for us to go deep into the spiritual realm where God says there is peace and calm. God will give us “perfect peace” when our mind is focused on Him (Isa. 26:3). Instead of retreating to the world for its false sense of peace, we need to redirect our attention to the mind of God. When our thoughts agree with God’s, we will experience His peace.

           For example, [39] when the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who had  been promoted “over the affairs of the province of Babylon where they were captives” (Dan. 3:49), refused to serve the gods of Babylon and worship the ninety-foot-tall gold statue (Dan. 3:1) of king Nebuchadnezzar, they were told by the king they would be “cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3:15). When these three young men heard this news that they were about to be burned alive – which, by the way, would normally obliterate anyone’s sense of peace – they responded to Nebuchadnezzar saying, “16 O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 If not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Dan. 3:16b-18).

           Their response infuriated Nebuchadnezzar, so he commanded his servants to “heat the furnace seven time more than it was usually heated” (Dan. 3:19b). The king was extremely upset that these Hebrew men feared their God more than the king’s death threat, so he had them tied up and thrown “into the midst of the burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3:20-21). The flames of the furnace were so intense that the mighty men carrying them were “killed” (Dan. 3:22). Keep in mind that these three men were wearing several layers of clothing (Dan. 3:21) which were most likely flammable, so there appeared to be no hope of their survival. 

           After a while, the king looked into the furnace and he was shocked to “see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire” (Dan. 3:25a) because they had only thrown three men into the furnace. And now he sees four of them, and the three men  were no longer tied up. They were “walking” around in the midst of these intense flames full of peace and calm, “and they are not hurt” (Dan. 3:25b). How was this possible? Because there was a fourth Person with them in the fire and the kings says He had “the form…  like the Son of God.” (Dan. 3:25c). This was the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ Who joined them in this terrible circumstance. God’s presence protected them from the fire (cf. Isa. 43:2). 

           It is important to understand that God is not going to join the world to help us out if we retreat to the world to find peace. If we are conforming to the world’s values and allurements and get into a bad situation as a result, and then cry out to God, He is not going to join the world because then He would be compromising His peace to join the world’s peace. These men did not bow to the king of Babylon. They remained faithful to God even though they did not know for sure if He would deliver them from this terrible situation.  

           Instead of looking to the world for peace, God wants us to take a stand in this pagan world with our minds focused on the God of peace. When we do this, the God of peace will show up in the fiery trials of life and give us His peacewhich surpasses human understanding. His presence will remove the chains or ropes that bind us so we can move freely. His presence will deliver us from the intense fires of life.

           Some of us may be facing some very significant fiery trials right now. Maybe we have lost our job or lost our health. Perhaps we have lost a relationship with a loved one. God wants us to go deep into the spiritual realm to connect with His mind so His peace can be ours. He wants us to wear these shoes of peace at all times. 

           How do we do this? As with the other pieces of armor, we can put on our shoes of peace through prayer (Eph. 6:18).  

    Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are living in an increasingly chaotic world that lacks Your peace. We praise You because You not only brought us peace, but You are also our peace. Protect us from anything that would rob us of Your peace. Please help us to wear our sandals of peace every day so we may stand victoriously against the trickery of the Devil. We claim the peace with God that is ours through justification by faith alone in Jesus alone (Rom. 5:1). We desire the peace of God that touches our emotions and feelings through prayer (Phil. 4:6-7). Through our obedience, we seek the God of peace (Phil 4:9) Who makes even our enemies to live at peace with us. And we want to grow closer to You Jesus, because You are our peace. Satan and his kingdom of darkness are relentless in their efforts to keep believers divisive toward one another. As the accuser of believers, the Devil continually plants suspicions in our hearts. In the authority and name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pull down that work of darkness and bind our enemy that he might not succeed. We ask the Holy Spirit to bring to a stop all divisive works active in our lives and in all the lives of other believers. The diversity of Your body, Lord Jesus, is part of its beauty and appeal to the lost. It adds to Your glory. Help us to love one another in our diversity. In Your precious and mighty name, we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen. [40]

    FOOTNOTES:

    [1] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 247-248.

    [2] Adapted from Tony Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

    [3] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.

    [4] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 1037. 

    [5] Archibald Thomas Robertson, A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, 2014 Kindle Location 154992.

    [6] The Greek verb hupodēsamenoi is in the aorist or past tense, meaning “having shod.” As with the first two pieces of armor, this refers to the state we should always be in.

    [7] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 401.

    [8] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2666.

    [9] Jim Logan, Reclaiming Surrendered Ground (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), pg. 182.

    [10] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.

    [11] Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

    [12] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 287-288.

    [13] J. Carl Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), pg. 265.

    [14] J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pg. 440.

    [15] Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

    [16] This portrait is used with permission from the artist, Katrina Case (see  katrinacaseart.com). 

    [17] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 402.

    [18] Adapted from Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

    [19] The theme of the book of Romans is the “salvation” or deliverance from God’s present-day wrath introduced in Romans 1:16-32. This deliverance includes justification through faith in Christ’s death (Rom. 2:1-5:9a, 10a) and sanctification through faith in Christ’s life (Rom. 5:9b, 10b-8:39). See Zane C. Hodges, “Romans,” The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 966ff; Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2416ff; Joseph Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition (Grace Theology Press. 2018 Kindle Edition), pp. 198-199.

    [20] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2430.

    [21] Much of these next four sections are adapted from Bubeck’s video message, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.

    [22] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Romans, 2023 Edition, pg. 77.

    [23] The Greek word translated “justified” (dikaiōthentes) is in the passive voice, indicating that God is the One Who justifies the believing sinner.

    [24] David R. Anderson, Free Grace Soteriology: Third Edition (Grace Theology Press, 2018 Kindle Edition), pp. 115-116.

    [25] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 2424-2425.

    [26] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 874.

    [27] Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1012.

    [28] Francis Brown, Samuel R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Omaha, NE: Patristic Publishing, 2020 Kindle Edition), pg. 2564.

    [29] Bubeck’s video message, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.

    [30] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Ephesians, 2024 Edition, pg. 59. 

    [31] Ibid.

    [32] J. B. Bond, “Ephesians,” The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1367.

    [33] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 525.

    [34] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Ephesians, 2024 Edition, pg. 63.

    [35] Bond, “Ephesians,” The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1368.

    [36] Bubeck, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.

    [37] Much of this section is adapted from Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com, unless otherwise noted.

    [38] Retrieved on December 14, 2024, from “How do hurricanes impact the deep ocean?” at www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

    [39] Adapted from Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.

    [40] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s prayers entitled, “Prayer for Christian Unity” and “Prayer to Wear the Armor of God,” from Spiritual Warfare Prayers pamphlet (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1997). 

    IF YOU ONLY HAVE 60 SECONDS TO LIVE, WHAT DOES GOD SAY YOU MUST DO TO GET TO HEAVEN? (Video)

    With tensions escalating in our world today, you may be wondering how much longer you will be able to live here on earth. This VIDEO explains from the Bible what you must do to go to heaven, whether you have 60 seconds or 60 years to live. Please share this video with those you want to see in heaven. Thank you.

    Note: The Acts 16 pictures belong to Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org. The movie clip of hell is used with permission from the makers of The Free Gift movie.

    I John 5 – Part 2

    “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth.” I John 5:6

    Like lung cancer which attacks the body’s air supply, the two primary lungs that the enemies of Christ or antichrists have attacked in the body of Christ are God’s Work (I John 5:6-9) and God’s Word (I John 5:10-13). 1 Today in our study of I John we will look at the attack on God’s Work.

    Last time in our study we looked at the single act of faith in Christ at the moment of our salvation which is the victory that has overcome the world that is blinded to the gospel and opposed to people getting saved (I John 5:1-5; cf. 2 Cor. 4:3-6; 11:2-3). Just as faith provided our first victory over the world at our conversion, it can also continue to provide victory in our daily Christian lives as we rely on Christ Who lives in us through His Spirit (Gal. 2:20).

    John then expounds upon the object of saving faith, namely “Jesus… the Son of God” (5:5b). The Person and Work of Jesus was vehemently attacked by false teachers during the time of John’s writings. One of those false teachings that the apostle John had to deal with was spread by Cerinthus who taught that Jesus was merely a man and the divine Christ descended on the human Jesus at His baptism but left Him when He hung on the cross to die. Thus, according to Cerinthus, only the human Jesus died and rose from the dead, not the divine Christ. 2

    The apostle John refers to “Jesus… the Son of God“ (5:5b) in verse 6: “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth.” (I John 5:6). The “water” refers to the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River which inaugurated the public ministry of the Messiah-God (cf. Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). 3 The “blood” represents the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross when darkness covered the land, the earth quaked, and the temple veil split in two (Matt. 27:45, 51). 4

    When John says, “it is the Spirit who bears witness” he is referring to the role that God the Holy Spirit had at Christ’s baptism. Matthew informs us that when Jesus came up out of the water, John the Baptist saw “the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon” Jesus (Matt. 3:16). John wants his readers to understand that the Spirit of God is not the same as the divine Christ. The Holy Spirit was a “witness” to Jesus at His baptism (I John 5:6b), but He remains a distinct Person not to be identified as the Christ. 5

    In addition, the Holy Spirit’s “witness” is reliable “because the Spirit is truth”(5:6c), much like the statement, “God is love.” The very nature and character of the Spirit is to be truthful so His testimony can be trusted. 6 John affirms that the Spirit is reliable—He “is truth” – and this is because His testimony follows the Biblical law of verification which required two or three witnesses (cf. Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; John 8:17-18). 7

    We also know from Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism that God the Father spoke from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (3:16-17). Not only did the God the Holy Spirit testify at Christ’s baptism, but so did God the Father.

    “The Holy Spirit was not the divine Christ coming upon Jesus, the man. The Spirit was distinct from Christ and came upon the God-Man, Jesus Christ.” 8

    Considering I John 5:6 and other verses in I John, we can ascertain what the antichrists believed about Jesus. They claimed that Jesus was not the “Christ,” the Messiah-God (cf. I John 2:22). They may have taught that He was a spirit being, rather than fully God and fully human, who descended upon Jesus at His baptism but abandoned Him to die alone on the cross (I John 5:6). Hence, according to these false teachers, the work of the Cross was not a sufficient sacrifice offered up by God’s Son, but the death of a mere man which had no saving value. 9

    According to this false teaching, those who believed that Jesus is the Christ would then be believing a falsehood. Hence, they were not born of God, as the apostles taught that they were (I John 5:1). This was a serious challenge to Christianity. If the false teachers believed Jesus is not the Son of God (cf. 5:5), then there was no victory over the world through faith at conversion (cf. 5:4-5). Nor was there any hope of continued victory over the world in their Christian lives. 10

    John refutes such false notions and establishes that saving faith is found in one Person, “Jesus Christ,” Whose public ministry began at His “water” baptism and ended when His “blood” was shed on a cross for all the sins of the world. The apostle then writes, “7 For there are three that bear witness: 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” (I John 5:7-8). 11 Through Christ’s baptism (“the water”) and His death on the cross (“the blood”),God gave testimony to the truthfulness of His Son and His mission. The third witness is “the Spirit,” Who confirms on the inside what God does on the outside. 12

    “The Spirit’s witness may be thought of as coming through the prophets (including John the Baptist). The Spirit’s witness, then, was augmented by the historical realities involved in ‘the water’ and ‘the blood.’ Both the baptism and the crucifixion of Jesus are strongly attested historical facts (cf. John 1:32-34; 19:33-37). All three witnesses (‘water’ and ‘blood’ are personified) ‘are in agreement’ that a single divine Person, Jesus Christ, was involved in these events.” 13

    “Behind John’s words stands the fact that at the baptism God declared, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Matt. 3:17). John the Baptist personally ‘bore witness’ to this event (cf. John 1:32-34). In addition, the crucifixion was foreseen by the Scriptures (cf. John 13:18; 19:24, 28, 36, 37) and was attested by apostolic witnesses (John 19:35; 21:24, note the words ‘we know). Thus, the water and the blood are fully attested in their own right, both by divine testimony and by witnesses.” 14

    “In a court of law, the Holy Spirit would be put on the stand as a character witness; the water and the blood would be entered as Exhibit A and Exhibit B. All three gave credibility to the Person and Work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If a case among men is established by the word of two or three witnesses (Matt. 18:16), then two or three divine witnesses should be even more reliable: the Spirit, the water, and the blood.” 15

    In the next verse John will look back at the testimony mentioned in 5:7-8 and forward to the witness of God in 5:11-12: “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.” (I John 5:9). The phrase, “If we receive the witness of men,” refers back to the requirement of two or three witnesses for the statement to be considered valid (5:7-8). The idea is since we do receive human testimony as valid under certain conditions, how much more are we to receive “the witness of God” which is far “greater.” 16

    “A basic principle of God’s Word is that a ‘matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses’ (2 Cor. 13:1; see Deut. 19:15). The tragic truth is that in spite of the threefold testimony God has provided (5:6-8), too many believe man rather than God.” 17

    In John’s day (and ours) many people believe the false teachers’ witness (man’s) instead of God’s witness (the Spirit, water, and blood) concerning the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s baptism (“the water”) and His death on the cross (“the blood”),God’s “Spirit” bore witness to the identity of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, so that whoever believes in Him may have everlasting life and complete forgiveness of their sins (I John 5:10-13; cf. John 3:14-16; 20:31; Acts 10:43; Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14).

    Unfortunately, today we have many teachers who deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (I John 2:22; 5:5-8) or they deny He paid the full penalty for all our sins (John 19:30). Regarding the latter, there are people who trust their good works alone to get them to heaven and basically are saying that Christ failed to pay any of their sin debt when He died on the cross, so they must pay it all with their good works. There are others who trust Christ plus their good works who are saying that Jesus only paid part of their sin debt, but they must pay the remainder. Those who fall in these two categories are listening to the testimonies of humans instead of the testimony of God.

    God testifies that Christ paid our sin debt in full so all we must do is believe or trust in Jesus alone (not our good works, good life, or religion) for His gift of eternal life (I John 5:1, 9-13; cf. John 3:14-16; 19:30; 20:31). John writes, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (I John 2:2). The word “propitiation” refers to the satisfaction God the Father felt when Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins (John 19:30). God’s holy demands were satisfied when He looked at the “Righteous” One’s nail-pierced hands on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty we deserved (“death” – Rom. 6:23b) in full when He took our place on the cross.

    Those who are trusting in their good works or in Christ plus their good works to get them to heaven, are telling God the Father that Jesus’ death on the cross failed to pay their sin debt in full. However, since God was forever satisfied with His perfect Son’s payment for the sin of the world (Isaiah 53:11; John 19:30; I John 2:2), we must also be satisfied with what satisfies God. God cannot accept anything we do as payment for our sins because He has already accepted His Son’s payment for all our sins when He died in our place on the cross.

    Please understand that although Jesus Christ died for all people (I John 2:2; I Tim. 2:5-6), not all people will be saved and go to heaven. We must believe the gospel of Jesus Christ which says Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead so that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16b; I Cor. 15:3-6). If you are not sure you have eternal life and a future home in Jesus’ heaven, Christ invites you right now to believe in Him alone for His free gift of eternal life.

    To “believe in” (pisteuōn eis) Jesus means to be persuaded that He is speaking the truth and is therefore worthy of your trust. 18 If you are convinced Jesus is telling truth in John 3:16 and is therefore worthy of your trust, then believe or trust Christ alone (not your good life, prayers, or religion) to give you His gift of everlasting life. When you believe in Christ for His free gift of eternal life, you can be just as certain of heaven as the people who are already there. Knowing we are going to heaven is not a guess; it is a guarantee from Jesus Christ (John 14:1-3).

    Another way the enemies of Christ attack God’s work is seen in its assault on God’s work in creation. The world teaches that we arrived by chance into this world and only the evolutionary forces of the natural world created human beings.

    Anderson writes, “It’s interesting, but the Ph.D.’s in biology on our university campuses won’t even come to the debates on evolution anymore because they realize their theory is more religion than science.” 19

    “It always amused me that they call evolution a theory and treat it like a fact. According to the scientific method, it doesn’t even qualify as a good hypothesis. Why? Because in the scientific method we must begin with an observation. And the most important observation for evolutionary theory has never been made—a positive mutation from a lower species to a higher. Of course, for evolution from the primordial mess to human mass we need tentontrillion positive mutations going from lower to higher. We have never observed even one. For Newton to come up with his law of gravity, he first observed the apple falling from the tree. Positive mutations, which are very rare, within a species do not count.” 20

    But the Bible is clear that God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1), including human beings (Gen. 1:26-27). We know that Jesus believed in the Genesis creation account (Matt. 19:4-5) and so did the prophet Malachi (Mal. 2:15) and the apostle Peter (2 Pet. 3:4-5).

    The day is coming when there will be an unprecedented judgment by God upon the world known as the Tribulation period (Rev. 6-19). Prior to John’s description of this severe judgment, there is a parenthetical break in heaven where we discover why the Lord will judge the earth. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:11). God’s severe judgment of the earth will be just because everything belongs to the Lord Who created the earth and all its inhabitants. The Creator has every right to do with His creation as He desires, especially if it has rejected Him. 21

    You do not have to face this severe judgment on the earth. God promises to remove His church consisting of all who believed in Christ for eternal life prior to the Tribulation period (Rev. 4:1-4; cf. I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-5:11; John 14:1-3; et al.).

    If you do not know for sure you have eternal life, take God at His Word when He says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” (I John 5:13). This one verse is written to “you who believe in the name of the Son of God.” Do you believe in the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, Who died for all your sins and rose from the dead, proving His claims to be God are true (cf. John 20:31; Romans 1:3-4; I Corinthians 15:3-6)? If you do, the Bible guarantees “you may know that you have eternal life.” It does not say you may “think” or “hope” or “guess” you have eternal life. It says you may “know” with absolute certainty that eternal life is yours. Because Jesus Christ is “the truth” (John 14:6) and cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18), you can be confident He will keep His promise of eternal life to all who believe in Him (cf. John 3:15-16).

    Do you now know for sure you have eternal life and a future home in Jesus’ heaven? If you do, you can tell God this through prayer.

    Prayer: Dear Lord God, thank You so much for providing a threefold witness to Your Son, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, Christ’s water baptism, and His shed blood on the cross for all my sins. I acknowledge that I have been deceived by false teachers in the past regarding Jesus’ true identity and the way to heaven. Thank You for revealing the truth to me about Your Son. I now come to You as a sinner who cannot save himself. I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, Who died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead. As best I know how, I am now believing or trusting in the Son of God, Jesus Christ alone (not my good life, my religion, or my prayers), to give me everlasting life and a future home in His heaven. Thank You for the everlasting life I now have and that I will not have to face the terrible judgment that is coming upon the world during the Tribulation period. Please use me now to tell others about Jesus and His free offer of everlasting life so they may also escape the coming Tribulation judgment and the horrific eternal judgment that will follow. In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

    ENDNOTES:

    1. David R. Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? (Grace Theology Press, 2013 Kindle Edition), pg. 238.

    2. See Zane C. Hodges; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 602; Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on 1 John, 2022 Edition, pg. 109 cites Zane C. Hodges, The Epistles of John: Walking in the Light of God’s Love (Irving, Tex.: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999), pg. 219, footnote 10.

    3. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 602; Zane C. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (David C. Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 4045 to 4050.

    4. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019, pg. 2951.

    5. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 602.

    6. Ibid.

    7. Ibid.

    8. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 238.

    9. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 602.

    10. Ibid.

    11. The NKJV of I John 5:7-8 reads, “7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” It is important to acknowledge that the words from “in heaven” (5:7) to “on earth” (5:8) are “well known because they were first introduced into an early printed edition of the Greek New Testament by Erasmus. They then became part of the KJV, but they are not found in the vast majority of the surviving Greek manuscripts of 1 John,” (Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 602). Hence, these words are omitted in the text.

    12. Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2951.

    13. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Kindle Location 4054 to 4059.

    14. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 603.

    15. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 239.

    16. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 603.

    17. Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2951.

    18. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 816.

    19. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 239 cites personal interview with Kirby Anderson, Trinity Pines, TX, November 17, 2001.

    20. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 239. 21. Ibid., pp. 239-240.

    I John 4 – Part 4

    “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” I John 4:17

    It is important to understand that the New Testament speaks of two different judgments separated by the Millennium or one-thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ on earth. The first judgment is for believers in Jesus at the Judgment Seat of Christ which takes place in heaven after the Rapture of the Church (Rev. 4:1-4; cf. Rev. 22:12; John 14:1-3; I Cor. 3:8-15; 15:51-52; 2 Cor. 5:10-11; I Thess.1:10; 4:13-5:11). The second judgment is for nonbelievers after the Millennium (Rev. 20:1-10), and it is called the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15).

    Those who appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ (I Cor. 3:8-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22:12) and the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15) are judged “according to their works,” not according to their faith or the lack thereof. Since every person is judged “according to their works” at both these judgments, there will be differing degrees of punishment for nonbelievers in the lake of fire as determined by the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15; cf. Matt. 11:20-24; 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47), just as there will be varying degrees of rewards for believers as determined at the Judgment Seat of Christ (I Cor. 3:8-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 2:25-27; 4:1-4; 22:12).

    The apostle John began the body of his epistle in I John 2:28. It was there that he introduced a new theme of having “confidence” instead of shame before the Lord Jesus “at His coming” to motivate his readers to continue to cultivate fellowship or intimacy with Christ despite the increase in false teachers or “antichrists” (2:18-27). 1 The Greek word translated “confidence” (parrēsia) there refers “to a state of boldness and confidence, courage, confidence, boldness, fearlessness, especially in the presence of persons of high rank.” 2 Throughout the body of his epistle, John has focused on how to have more “boldness” or “confidence” both when the Lord Jesus returns (2:28) and when we pray (3:21-22).

    Some Christians assume that they could not possibly experience shame at the Judgment Seat of Christ because all their sins were forgiven the moment they believed in Christ for His gift of salvation (Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14). But the apostle John reminds us it will be possible for transformed Christians (I John 3:2-3) to experience shame before the Lord Jesus (I John 2:28) when He evaluates both the “good or bad” things they have done in their Christian lives (2 Cor. 5:10). Keep in mind that Revelation 21:3-6, which speaks of there being no more death, nor sorrow, nor pain, takes place after the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rev. 4:1-4) and the Millennium (Rev. 20:1-10). In our transformed bodies (Phil. 3:20-21; I John 3:2), we will probably be more sensitive to sin because our sin nature will be gone along with its excuses and rationalizations for sin (I John 3:2-3). We will have a greater capacity to feel holy shame over sins that we committed on earth.

    “It is true, of course, that the Lord Jesus by His death on the cross took away all of our sins, past, present, and future (John 1:29; 1 John 2:2). Sin is no longer a barrier to anyone having eternal salvation. The moment we believe in Jesus for eternal life, He gives it to us. Eternal life, however, does not exclude accountability. Believers still need fellowship forgiveness (1 John 1:9). And if a believer is out of fellowship with God when his life is over, he will experience shame at the Bema.” 3

    John now concludes the body of his epistle (I John 4:17-19). “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” (I John 4:17). John uses the same Greek word translated “boldness” (parrēsia) that he used in 2:28 and 3:21 where it was translated as “confidence” in the New King James Version.

    In I John 4:12, John spoke of perfecting God’s love “in us” (en hēmin) when we love one another with the same sacrificial and selfless love that Christ extended to us (4:12-16; cf. 4:9-10). When God’s love reaches completion “in us,” there is no hate in our relationships with other believers. In 4:17 when John speaks of perfecting God’s love “among us” (meth’ hēmōn), there is no fear in our relationship with God, especially as it relates to “the day of judgment” (4:17-19). 4

    When John refers to “the day of judgment” (4:17), he does not mean the final judgment of the unsaved which determines the degree of their punishment in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15). He is speaking here of Christians appearing before the Judgment Seat of Christ which will take place in heaven after the sudden removal of the church from the earth (cf. Rom. 14:10-12; I Cor. 3:8-15; 2 Cor. 5:10-11; I John 4:17-19; Rev. 4:1-4).

    A believer may have “boldness” that Christ will approve of his or her Christian life if he or she has entered a mature experience of God’s love (“love has been perfected among us”) by loving other brothers and sisters in Christ. Our “boldness” arises from doing what we know Christ wants us to do – namely love one another (cf. John 13:34-35).

    The reason a loving Christian will have no fear before Christ at this time is “because as He is” loving, “so” we can be loving “in this world” as well (4:17b). The more loving we become in our relationships with God’s people, the more we will become like our Judge, Who “is love” (4:8, 16). An unloving believer is not like his Judge so he may be afraid of rebuke or loss of reward as he anticipates standing before Christ at the Judgment Seat (cf. Matt. 24:48-51; 25:24-30; Luke 19:20-26). But a loving believer is one in whom the work of God’s love has been “perfected” or made complete, and the benefit of that is boldness before the One Who will judge him. 5 Mature love expels fear when moral likeness exists between the Judge and the one being judged.

    “God’s love is not perfected in a Christian whose heart is simply a reservoir in which to receive it, but only in a Christian whose heart furnishes an aqueduct to convey it to others.” 6

    “Every believer will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Don’t think of it as a trial to determine your salvation but as the Judge’s opportunity to evaluate the Christian life you lived (see 2 Cor. 5:10). In spite of your sins and failures, if you actively sought to minister in love to members of God’s family, you will be able to stand with confidence on that day because ‘love covers a multitude of’ offenses (1 Pet 4:8).” 7

    “The idea of having boldness in the day of judgment is stunning. Reasonable Christians, even though fully assured of their salvation, will realize ‘the terror of the Lord’ (2 Cor. 5:11). The possibility of triumphing over that ‘terror’ is challenging indeed. Yet this is possible if believers ‘abide in love’ (1 John 4:16).” 8

    I realize that some believers are opposed to the possibility of experiencing fear in heaven at the Judgment Seat of Christ. But we must remember that fear is sometimes appropriate in relationships.

    “A child raised in a good home need not fear rebuke if he is doing what his parents ask. A student in school who is obeying the teacher’s rules need not fear detention. A hardworking employee who is abiding by the office regulations has no reason to fear being put on probation.

    “The knowledge that actions have consequences motivates us to do right. Many Christians don’t stop to think that the same is true in our relationship with God. If we are busy doing what He wants us to do, manifesting His love to others, we need not fear discipline now or rebuke at the Judgment Seat of Christ.” 9

    Like obedient children of good parents, we have nothing to fear at the Judgement Seat of Christ. We can and should be confident, for our Lord is a Judge Who is loving, gracious, and fair. He will reward believers in whom His love has matured. 10

    The apostle John continues by saying, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (I John 4:18). LovingChristians can anticipate standing with “no fear” before Christ at His Judgment Seat because fear cannot exist with God’s agapē “love.” As believers grow in their love for God and other Christians, God’s “perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.” The more loving we become on earth now the less fear we will have as we anticipate the Judgment Seat of Christ in the future.

    When John says, “fear involves torment,” the word for “torment” (kolasis) occurs only two times in the New Testament. The first time is in Matthew 25:46 where Jesus speaks of the eternal punishment of nonbelievers. Clearly the meaning of the word is “punishment” in that verse.11 In I John 4:18, it seems to speak of a temporal form of punishment. 

    Hodges explains, “Fear carries with it a kind of torment that is its own punishment. Ironically, an unloving believer experiences punishment precisely because he feels guilty and is afraid to meet his Judge. Such fear prohibits a completed love (one who fears is not made perfect in love). But a Christian who loves has nothing to fear and thus escapes the inner torment which a failure to love can bring.” 12

    Hodges also says, “John likely has in mind the truth that ‘whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives’ (Heb 12:6). In fact, this NT truth is found on the lips of the Lord Jesus in Rev 3:19, ‘As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.’

    “If a Christian experiences fear as he anticipates being evaluated at the Judgment Seat, then this fear can be regarded as a punishment intended to awaken him to his need to correct his behavior. Unpleasant as it is, like all divine discipline (Heb 12:11), it is nevertheless a signal of God’s love and of His desire to see believers made perfect in love. If the Christian responds to this kind of discipline, the discipline is effective and ‘yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness’ (Heb. 12:11), which for John are inseparable from love.” 13

    Anderson suggests that the Greek word translated “torment” (kolasin) means restraint. It “is also used of pruning a fruit tree to stunt its growth. So, fear keeps our love from growing up. Fear of what? That which we all fear in relationships, whether it’s with God or men— rejection. Most of us are afraid of rejection from other people. Those who aren’t have felt the sting of rejection so much they have lost their ability to consciously feel at all. This fear of rejection stunts the growth of perfect love…  

    “… So I agree with three of my favorite dictionaries of NT Greek, which suggest ‘restraint’ as the best English translation of kolasin. In other words, fear holds us back; it restrains us. It keeps or prevents us from reaching out in sacrificial, selfless, unconditional love. But when we release the Spirit, He can and will produce the fruit of agapē love in our lives. He will cast out the fear which retrains us.” 14

    The key to preparing for the Judgment Seat of Christ is underscored in verse 19. “We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:19). The majority of Greek manuscripts contain the word “Him” (Auton) in this verse. It should be mentioned that the standard critical editions of the Greek New Testament omit “Him” and so do the translations based on them [e.g., JB, NASB, NIV, etc.]. This omission is unfortunate because verse 19 is critical to what follows in 4:20-21. 15

    Up to this point in John’s epistle, he has been focusing on directing our love toward other Christians (“one another” – 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11-12). Now the apostle speaks directly for the first time in his letter about loving God. A Christian’s love for God originates from His love for us. If we are maturing in our love for one another and for God, there can only be one reason for this. It is “because He first loved us.” 16

    As Anderson suggests, the primary reason Christians fail to love one another or God, is because of the fear of rejection. But Christ’s perfect love for us contains no such fear.

    Anderson writes, “We get a real clue from the statement that we love God because He first loved us. He was the initiator. We were His sinful enemies. Time and time again He had felt the sting of rejection from us. Even after He came to earth and began to display His wonderful acts of mercy, compassion, and healing, Jesus was rejected by men. We built a high wall of rejection between us and Him. But because ‘God is love,’ perfect love, He is not afraid of rejection. It hurts. It grieves Him deeply. But He is not afraid. So, He set His cross down next to that wall of rejection built by our sins … and He climbed that wall, for you and me. We love Him because He first loved us. Fear of rejection is what keeps us from making the first move, especially if we have already been hurt a number of times by someone who means a lot to us.

    “What we are saying here is that only God’s love (mature agapē) can bust through the sinful layers of self-protection which keep us from experiencing oneness with Him and other believers (intimacy/fellowship). We all enjoy the feelings of philē love in marriage, friendships, families, even church. But without growing agapē we will lose those feelings and never get them back. The mistakes we make in relationships because of our sinfulness can create enough pain to destroy all positive feelings of one toward another. But growing agapē can cast out fear. We can reach out again.” 17

    No matter how much rejection we have received in the past, God’s perfect love for us can cast out our fear so we can risk loving others again. We love God because He first loved us. We cannot give what we do not have, but once we have received God’s love through faith in Jesus Christ, if we stay close to Him in fellowship, we just get better and better at loving people so we become more like our Judge Who will evaluate our Christian lives at His Judgment Seat. This is God’s climatic message to us in the body of I John (2:28-4:19).

    Years ago, Princess Diana made a very interesting observation: “The biggest disease this world suffers from is people feeling unloved.” 18

    If you find yourself suffering from the absence of love, there is only one lasting remedy. It is not found in a bottle, a hotel room, money, a pill, or in a syringe. It is found in the Person of Jesus Christ Who loved us without measure.

    If you do not know for sure you have eternal life and a future home in Christ’s heaven, please understand that Jesus offers eternal life freely to all who believe in Him. Christ said, “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). Jesus did not say, “God knows how to love.” It is saying something five hundred times greater. “For God so loved the world.” To help us understand the love of God, take the word “so” and let the “S” stand for “something” and the “O” for “other.” God’s love is SOMETHING OTHER than we have ever known.

    God does not love us with the love of a two-year old who says, “I’ll love you as long as you do things my way.” God does not love us with the love of a twelve-year old who says, “I’ll love you for what I can get out of you.” Nor does God love us with the love of a twenty-two-year-old who says, “I’ll love you as long as you love me in return.” Instead, He loves us with the kind of love that says, “I love you. Period.” 

    God’s love is a deep and unselfish love. It is not based on who you are or what you do. It does not matter if you are a great athlete, the President of the United States, or a person who pushes a broom in an office where everybody else pushes a pen. God knows where you live, He knows everything about you, and He says, “I love you!”

    You have lied, and God still loves you. You have been unfaithful to your spouse, yet He loves you. You have entertained a lot of thoughts you should not have, yet He loves you. You take His name and use it as a curse word, and yet He loves you. You have tried to medicate unwanted feelings and memories in immoral ways, yet He loves you. You have harbored hatred in your heart toward those who have offended you, yet God still loves you.

    Think about your friends for a minute. Some of them will love you if you are on your best behavior, but God will love you even when you are at your worst. Some of them will love you if you speak well of them, but God will love you even when you curse His name. Some of them will love you as long as you take what you have and give it to them, but God will love you even if you take everything He has given you, and never give Him a thank You. There is nothing you can do to cause God to love you any less.

    When Jesus said, “For God so loves the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”, we learn that God’s love gives, it does not take. God gave His best (His Son) when we were at our worst (ungodly sinners). Our hope is based on the fact that “God gave His only begotten Son,” so that instead of you and me dying on the cross for our sins, Jesus Christ died in our place. Instead of us paying for what we have done by our own death, Christ paid for what we have done by His death.

    Could you kill your only child to save others? No. Our love is pale compared to God’s love for us. When God says, “I love you. Here’s My perfect and only Son,” that is love. The greatest proof of His love is that He would allow His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins and rise from the dead (I John 4:9-10; cf. Rom. 5:8).

    Why did Jesus do this? “…That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” What does it mean to believe? The phrase “believes in Him” (pisteuōn eis Auton) means to be persuaded that Christ is speaking the truth here and is therefore worthy of your trust. 19

    Will you take Jesus at His Word and believe He is speaking the truth when He says, “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”? Christ says you “believe” and “have.” Contrary to many evangelistic invitations today, Jesus does not say you “follow” or “obey” and “have.” He never says you “pray” or “surrender” and “have.” Nor does He say you “give” or “confess” and “have.” Christ invites you to take by faith the eternal life that He is freely offering to you. If you just did that, you can tell Him through prayer.

    Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I need Your love in my life. I understand now that You loved me by taking my place and punishment when You died on the cross for all my past, present, and future sins and rose from the dead. I am now believing or trusting in You, Jesus (not my good life, religion, or prayers) to give me Your free gift of eternal life. Thank You for the everlasting life I just received. In Your holy name, I pray Lord Jesus. Amen.

    When you believed in Jesus alone for everlasting life, He gave you eternal life which can never be lost (John 6:35-40; 10:28-29). Christ has come to live inside you through His Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39; Ephes. 1:13-14). As you learn to abide in Him and His Word with other believers, His love will be poured out into your heart so you can share it with others (I John 2:3-6, 28; 3:14-4:16; cf. John 15:4-17; Rom. 5:5). The more loving you become in your relationships with God and other Christians, the less fear you will have as you anticipate the Judgement Seat of Christ because you are becoming more like the Judge (I John 4:8, 16) Who will evaluate your Christian life.

    Prayer: Heavenly Father, if we are honest, there are times in our lives when we are afraid to love others because of the rejection we have experienced from people in the past. Our fears keep us from initiating contact with others. Thank You, Jesus, for showing us that Your perfect love is not afraid of rejection. It hurts You deeply when we reject You, but out of love for each of us You still endured the cross so we may be in a loving relationship with You. Please help us grow in Your perfect love so we can break out of the many layers of self-protection and experience deeper fellowship with You and other Christians. We invite You to love others through us so we may have more confidence and less shame when we stand before You at the Judgment Seat of Christ. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

    ENDNOTES:

    1. Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on I John, 2022 Edition, pg. 65.

    2. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pp. 781-782.

    3. Robert N. Wilkin, The Road to Reward: A Biblical Theology of Eternal Rewards Second Edition (Corinth, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2014 Kindle Edition), pg. 21.

    4. Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on I John, pp. 101-102.

    5. Zane C. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (David C. Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 4000 to 4006.

    6. Wilkin, The Road to Reward, pg. 22 cites Zane C. Hodges, The Epistles of John: Walking in the Light of God’s Love (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999), pp. 198-199.

    7. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 2949.

    8. Zane C. Hodges; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 601.

    9. Wilkin, The Road to Reward, pg. 21.

    10. Ibid., pg. 22.

    11. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 555.

    12. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Kindle Location 4013 to 4018.

    13. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 601.

    14. David R. Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? (Grace Theology Press, 2013 Kindle Edition), pp. 218-219.

    15. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 601.

    16. Ibid.

    17. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pp. 218-219.

    18. R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How To Illustrate Evangelistic Sermons (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2012), pg. 209 cites Princess Diana in Time, September 8, 1997.

    19. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 816-817.

    I John 4 – Part 3

    “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” I John 4:12

    When people go through severe trials, they may ask themselves, “How can a God of love permit me to go through such a horrible experience? I feel abandoned by God, not loved by Him.” Even Christians who have spent their lives loving and serving the Lord have felt this way when they are blindsided by a debilitating disease, a financial collapse, children who have rebelled against God and have no contact with them… you name it. 1

    Several years ago, my wife and I felt called by God to start a new church on the south side of Des Moines, Iowa. We resigned from our current church outside of Des Moines to live in an apartment with our three daughters in a nearby town for fifteen months while we received training from the mother church of the church start. Near the end of the training, we bought a new home on the south side of Des Moines with the intent of living there the remainder of our lives if God permitted. At our grand opening in an elementary school, we had over 160 people attend, and several people professed faith in Christ. We were off and running! It was a dream come true.

    Fast forward three years. The church had shrunk to about thirty people. We announced to our church family that we were going to resign from the ministry. My wife and I were burned out emotionally and spiritually. For the past year I had been crying out to God for additional Christian leaders to help us in the work of the ministry. When nothing happened, I felt abandoned by God. “Lord,“ I cried out to Him, “We left everything to serve You, and now we are having to step away from the ministry. Where are You in all of this? Don’t You love us anymore?” I knew intellectually that God loved us, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t experience it.

    I share this with you because the apostle John is going to share some important truths that relate to that situation and any situation for that matter where Christians are prone to doubt God’s love for them. John emphasizes seeing God’s love through our relationships with His people (4:12-16). You may recall that in 4:7-11 John exhorted his readers to love one another the way Christ had sacrificially and selflessly loved them. Now he is going to talk about perfecting that love in our relationships with one another.

    John writes, “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” (I John 4:12). You may wonder, “How can John say no one has seen God when the Bible speaks of people seeing God?”(e.g., Exod. 33:21-23; Isaiah 6:1-5; Rev. 1:10-18). Those encounters with God did not reveal the fullness of His glory or His unveiled divine essence. If people saw God’s unveiled glory or divine essence, they would not live (cf. Exod. 33:20).

    This invisible God, Whom no one has seen, “abides” (menei) in believers who “love one another” (4:12b). 2 Loving one another is a condition for fellowship or closeness with God, not salvation. Jesus never said, “Whoever loves one another should not perish but have everlasting life.” He said, “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16b). Belief in Christ alone results in eternal life. Loving one another results in God abiding in fellowship with Christians and being Christ’s disciple (cf. John 13:34-35). The Lord is at home in the believer who shares God’s love with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

    Furthermore, when we “love one another,” God’s “love has been perfected in us” (4:12c). The Greek words translated “has been perfected” (teteleiōmenē estin) “are in a form (perfect tense) that suggests His love resulting in Christian love. God’s love achieves its goal and reaches its full measure in believers when that love is reproduced in them and reflected through them by loving one another.” 3

    God’s (agapē) love is produced by God the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). It is not something we can create on our own. It is a fruit of God’s Spirit (Gal. 5:21). The moment a person believes in Christ for His gift of eternal life, He receives the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39; Gal. 3:2; Ephes. 1:13-14) and can begin to enjoy and share this agapē love.

    John reminds us, however, that God’s agapē love is not static. It can be “perfected” or reach completeness 4 in a believer which suggests a deeper and fuller experience of that love (4:12; cf. 4:17). 5 God’s love can mature or grow up. For this to happen, we must be in community with other Christians. 6

    “We might parallel this to what James tells us about sin in James 1:14-15. He says sin begins as a temptation in the mind. Then when our own lust of our heart merges with the temptation in our mind, Sin is conceived in the womb of our soul. After a gestation period, baby Sin is born into the world of our actions. With exercise and food, baby Sin grows up. When Sin becomes a full-grown adult (mature), she produces death. The point is that for Sin to mature, it must be born into the world of action. With repetition it grows up to maturity.

    “Divine love is the same way. It may begin with a good intention in the womb of our spirit, but at this point it is only an embryo of love. For this love to be fully developed, it must be born into the world of our deeds, our actions. Properly nurtured and exercised, love becomes a full-grown, mature, and attractive young woman. And the world takes a look.

    “So, this kind of love needs external expression to become mature. That’s why Jesus said He gives His disciples a new commandment to ‘love one another as I have loved you.’ That commandment is like a golden parrot hopping from branch to branch in this book, repeating itself over and over. Jesus says when we learn to love each other this way, then the whole world will know that we are His disciples (His fully-devoted followers). This is mature, perfect love.” 7

    Even though a devastating trial can overwhelm a Christian and cause them to doubt God’s love for them, it is in the context of a community of believers who sacrificially and selflessly love one another that their confidence in God’s love for them can be restored (4:13-16). John writes, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (I John 4:13). The words “By this” refer to the previous verse and means we can “know that we abide in Him, and He in us” when we love one another in Christian community. That is, we can know we are having close, intimate fellowship with God when we are loving one another.

    When John states “because He has given us of His Spirit” (4:13b), this reminds us of his words in 3:24, “And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” The Greek construction translated “of His Spirit” (ek tou Pneumatos) in 4:13 is the same for the words translated “by the Spirit” (ek tou Pneumatos) in 3:24. This “suggests participation in the Spirit of God, literally, ‘He has given us out of His Spirit…’ When a believer loves, he is drawing that love from God’s Spirit (cf. Rom. 5:5), Who is also the Source of his confession of Christ (1 John 4:2). Thus, both the faith and the love enjoined in the dual ‘command’ of 3:23 are products of the Spirit’s operation in a believer. A believer’s Spirit-led obedience becomes the evidence that he is enjoying the mutual abiding relationship with God that John wrote about.” 8

    John has just told us “if we love one another,” then the God Whom “no one has seen… abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us” through “His Spirit” (4:12-13). As a result of this experience, John writes, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.” (I John 4:14). This is considered by some to be the most important verse in all of I John to understand. 9

    The “we” in 4:14 does not refer only to the apostles as it did earlier in the epistle (1:1-5; 2:19; 3:14; 4:6). In all those places there was a contrasting “you” (1:2-4; 2:20; 3:13; 4:4; et al.). But in 4:7-14, there is no contrasting “you,” so the first-person plural (“we” or “us”) includes the apostles and the readers. 10

    This is significant because in the first verses of the epistle, John said that he and the other apostles (“we”) have “seen” (heōrakamen), “looked upon” (etheasametha), and “handled” the “Word of Life” physically (1:1). They have “seen” (heōrakamen) and “bear witness” (martyroumen) to his readers about that “eternal life,” Jesus Christ (5:20), Who “was with the Father and was manifested to” them physically (1:2). John wrote of what they have “seen” (heōrakamen) so his readers “also may have fellowship with” the apostles and “with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1:3).

    While John’s readers could not see and touch the physical Jesus as the apostles had, when they love one another, John could say have they “seen” (tetheametha)and “testify” (martyroumen) “that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (4:14). When we observe sacrificial and selfless love in the community of Christians, John seems to be saying that we can see the Father’s love which was a perfect love, a love that sent His only begotten Son into the world to save the world through His own sacrificial and selfless love on the cross. 11

    “The Church has no more effective way to testify to the world about the Saviorhood of Jesus than by the re-display of the Savior’s love in the fellowship of His disciples.” 12

    Let’s summarize what John is saying: Although no one “has seen” (tetheatai) God (4:12), Christians who “abide” in Him (4:13) “have seen” (tetheametha)the Son spiritually as His life is manifested among loving Christians.Believers who observe this manifestation have in fact “seen” and can “testify” to the Saviorhood of Jesus (4:14). 13

    By loving one another, John’s readers could enjoy fellowship with the apostles in what the apostles “have seen” (heōrakamen) which is exactly why John wrote his epistle (1:1-3a). This is equivalent to having fellowship “with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1:3b). 14

    But John also desired that his readers not only have fellowship with him and the other apostles in what the apostles had “seen,” but also in what they had “heard” (akēkoamen) about Jesus Christ (1:1-3a). 15 John writes, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (I John 4:15). Once again John uses the word “confesses” (homologēsē) which means to “to speak the same,” “to agree, confess, acknowledge… in public.” 16 Confessing “that Jesus is the Son of God,” is also another condition for fellowship or intimacy with God (“God abides in him, and he in God”). When Jesus is confessed as “the Son of God,” He is also confessed as “Christ come in the flesh” (4:2) and as the One Who guarantees a future resurrection and never-ending life to all who believe in Him (cf. John 11:25-27). 17

    The wording of 4:14 (“we have seen and testify”) reflects the words of John the Baptist when he said of Jesus, “I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34). So, in the context of the Christian community, John is speaking of the visible manifestation of Christian love accompanied by the verbal confession of Jesus as the Son of God (4:12-15). Both these fundamental expressions among God’s people reproduce what the apostles themselves had “seen” in Jesus and what they had “heard” about Him from His forerunner, John the Baptist (cf. John 1:32-34). 18

    Regarding John the Baptist’s testimony in John 1:32-34, Yarbrough states: “God’s Spirit descended and ‘remained’ on Jesus, according to John the Baptist (1:32, 33). The Spirit was Jesus’s constant companion. To ‘remain’ or ‘abide’ in Jesus’s teaching is to be His true disciple (8:31). A disciple will be informed and steered by all that Jesus commanded and taught. God the Father ‘remained’ or ‘abode’ with Jesus during His earthly days (14:10). The Father was the source of the very words He spoke, and Jesus ‘remained’ continually in the Father’s love (15:10b. ‘Abiding’ describes a reality involving Father, Son, and Spirit.” 19

    When believers live in an atmosphere of mutual Christian love (4:12-15), they can say along with the apostle John, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (I John 4:16). The Greek words translated “have known” (egnōkamen) and “believed” (pepisteukamen) are in the perfect tense. Since these are stative verbs in the perfect tense, they refer to a state of intimate knowledge and total trust that God loves us (see comments on 2:3). 20 Since “God is love,” the Christian “who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

    When Christians face painful circumstances, it can be easy for us to doubt God’s love for us. The apostle John says the best way to restore our confidence in God’s love for us is to see and hear His love expressed in a Christian community.  

    Let me return to my opening testimony. After the closure of the new church in south Des Moines, I was devastated. I doubted that God truly loved me. I felt like a total failure and that God would never use me again to advance His gospel. I had given up on God’s love for me and I assumed He had given up on me as well.

    A few months after the church closed, God led my family and I to a church where we encountered His amazing love. The people welcomed us with open arms and came alongside us to help us see ourselves as God’s beloved children. The pastor there had been through a similar church planting experience, and he understood how we felt. He knew how to minister God’s love to us in practical ways that were meaningful to us. Instead of exhorting us with Scriptures, he listened to us and spent time with us. We also got plugged into a small group of believers who loved on us and accepted us as we were.

    As we saw and heard the amazing love of Jesus Christ in this Christian community, gradually our confidence in God’s love for us was not only restored, but it was deepened and intensified. We were able to experience the kind of intimate fellowship with God that the apostles experienced.

    I don’t know what you are facing right now, but I would guess that some of you are where I was at a few years ago. Perhaps you doubt God’s love for you because you or someone close to you has a debilitating disease or the loss of a job. Maybe after serving God sacrificially and selflessly for years, you were deeply hurt by an unloving Christian. As a result, God’s love seems very distant and invisible to you.

    Whatever pain you are carrying, please know that God wants to reveal His love to you through His people. Just as we cannot see the wind, we can see its effects. We cannot see God, but we can see His love operating through Christians when they love one another. 21 His children are not perfect. But if they are enjoying intimate fellowship with the God of love, they will be able to share that love with you. And if you will let them do that, your knowledge and faith in God’s love for you will be restored and deepened.

    Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for making Your sacrificial and selfless love visible to us through Your only begotten Son Whom You sent to die on a cross for all our sins. Such love may be difficult for us to believe when we encounter severe trials and disappointments in life. We may doubt Your love for us when we experience suffering and pain. But You never intended for us to face that pain and suffering alone. Thank You for providing an atmosphere of mutual Christian love in churches that abide in You and Your Holy Spirit. Use us to be a channel of Your love to those who doubt Your love for them. May each of our churches reflect the love of the Savior as we love one another. In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

    ENDNOTES:

    1. Adapted from David R. Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? (Grace Theology Press, 2013 Kindle Edition), pg. 212.

    2. The phrase, “If we love one another” (ean agapōmen allēlous) is a third-class condition and refers to a general truth at the present time. See Archibald Thomas Robertson, A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament [with Bible and Strong’s Numbers Added!], 6 Volumes (E4 Group, 2014 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 207051.

    3. Zane C. Hodges; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 600.

    4. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 996.

    5. Zane C. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (David C. Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 3973.

    6. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 212.

    7. Ibid.

    8. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Kindle Location 3974 to 3979.

    9. Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on 1 John, 2022 Edition, pg. 99 cites Zane C. Hodges, The Epistles of John: Walking in the Light of God’s Love (Irving, Tex.: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999), pg. 192; Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 600.

    10. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 600.

    11. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 214.

    12. Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on 1 John, pg. 99 cites Hodges, The Epistles of John, pg. 192.

    13. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Kindle Location 3985 to 3990.

    14. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 600.

    15. Ibid.

    16. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 708.

    17. Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, pg. 600.

    18. Ibid.

    19. Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on 1 John, pg. 100 cites Robert W. Yarbrough, 1—3 John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), pg. 252.

    20. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 216.

    21. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 2948.

    I John 4 – Part 2

    “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” I John 4:9

    In 1966 Dionne Warwick made an album that included a song that would become very famous – “What the world needs now, is love, sweet love, it’s the only thing there is just too little of.” Fifty-seven years later I don’t think anything has changed. In this war-torn world of terrorism and fear, a little love would go a long way. And its not just the world and nations that need love. I believe more than ever that Christians also need love – lots of love.

    But what is love? Listen to the answers of some four- to eight-year-olds: 1

    1. “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore… So, my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Rebecca (Age 8)

    2. “Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl (Age 5)

    3. “Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri (Age 4)

    4. “Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.” Noelle (Age 7)

    5. “Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris (Age 7)

    6. “When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” Karen (Age 7)

    7. “Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Ann (Age 4)

    8. “Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” Tommy (Age 6)

    After talking about how God’s Spirit can enable believers to discern the spirit of truth from the spirit of error in the world today (3:24-4:6), the apostle John will now focus on how God’s Spirit can manifest His love in our relationships with one another (4:7-11).

    We cannot give what we do not have. Many people today have grown up in homes where they talked about love, but they did not experience unconditional love. As they have grown up, they find it very difficult to love unconditionally if they have never received this kind of love.

    We must receive love before we can give it. How do we do this? Where do we find this kind of love? You don’t find it in humans or angels or animals. It comes from God, and He wants to share it with us, so we can share it with others.

    Let’s remember that the apostle John was the youngest and closest of Jesus’ twelve disciples. He discovered that Jesus, the Messiah was magnetic (1:1-2). Christ draws us closer and closer to Himself. This is the experience John had with Jesus. And he wants his readers to enjoy an increasing intimacy with Jesus by practicing righteousness as God is righteous (2:29-3:10a) and by loving one another as God is love (3:10b-3:23; 4:7-21).

    Towards the end of his life, love is practically all that John can talk and think about. By the time John writes this letter, he has learned that relationships are really all that matters. The toys, the titles, and trophies we collect don’t really matter; but relationships do.

    John writes, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” (I John 4:7). John includes himself when he says, “let us love one another.” Just as confessing that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh demonstrates that one is “of God” (4:2), so does loving one another, “for love is of God” (4:7a). 2 Something has happened to John. He has become obsessed with love because he has experienced God’s love in such a life-changing way.

    What does this have to do with you and me? Everything. Most of us long to be loved, but we don’t know how to get it. Many of us long to give love, but we keep sabotaging our own efforts and making things worse. Like the husband who sought marriage counseling with his wife as a last resort to save their marriage. When they arrived at the counselor’s office, the counselor jumped right in and said, “What seems to be the problem?”

    For the next fifteen minutes the wife talks 90 MPH about all the problems in their marriage while the husband just sits there with nothing to say. The counselor then goes over to the wife, picks her up by her shoulders, kisses her passionately and sets her back down. The wife sits there speechless. The marriage counselor looks over at the husband, who is staring in disbelief, and says to him, “Your wife needs that at least twice a week!” The husband scratches his head and replies, “I can have her here on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” We cannot give what we do not have.

    The apostle John wants his readers to become more Christlike by loving one another as Jesus loves them. How does this happen? If we are to share God’s love with others, we must first receive God’s love for ourselves. The more we know God, the better we will love people.

    John writes, “7bAnd everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (4:7b-8). John says, “God is love.” We cannot give what we do not have. God is love. If we have Him, we have love. If we do not have Him, we only think we have love because God not only cornered the market on love, He IS the market on love.

    The person who has this kind of love is “born of God and knows God” (4:7b). The phrase “born of God” refers to new birth. The reason he or she must be “born of God” is because this kind of love is sourced in God (“for love is of God” – 4:7a). The non-Christian cannot produce this kind of love. 3 Before we can ever produce this kind of love in our lives, we must first be born of God. How? The Bible says you must simply believe in Jesus Christ: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” (I John 5:1). To believe “Jesus is the Christ” is to believe that He is the promised Messiah-God (“Christ”) Who guarantees a future resurrection and never-ending life to all who believe in Him (cf. John 11:25-27).

    In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus makes it very clear that there is only one way to God and that is through Him. Our sin, the wrong things we have done, separate us from God (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). This separation from God causes problems in every area of our lives – including our relationships. But Jesus has provided the only way back to God by dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead (I Cor. 15:3-6). The Lord Jesus now invites you to believe or trust in Him alone for eternal life. Christ said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47). It doesn’t matter how badly you have messed things up, you can come to Christ just as you are.

    How many of you drive to work? Just as you trusted your vehicle to bring you to your workplace, so you must place your trust in Jesus Christ alone to give you eternal life. The good things you have done will not save you. Only Jesus can save you from your sins. The moment you place your trust in Jesus for eternal life, you become God’s child and God comes to live inside of you and love you always (John 1:12; 14:16-17; Romans 5:5). As you get to know Him and trust Him, He pours His love into your life so you can begin to love others.

    Some of you are reading this today and you are ready to receive God’s love, aren’t you? Simply believe Jesus’ promise in John 6:47, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” Are you convinced Jesus was speaking the truth here and is therefore worthy of your trust? If so, you now have eternal life and Christ now lives inside you through His Holy Spirit.

    If we are going to develop loving relationships, we must also refill ourselves. John said everyone who loves God’s way is “born of God and knows God” (4:7b). Once we have begun a relationship with God through faith in Jesus, it is important to stay close to Him and get to “know” Him. This is more than salvation; it is fellowship or closeness with God (cf. 2:3-5).

    “Love stems from a regenerate nature and also from fellowship with God which issues in knowing Him (see 2:3-5).” 4

    Notice that John says, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (4:8). He does not say the absence of love means a person is not born of God. It would have been easy for him to say this if that was true. But he does not because the absence of love is evidence he “does not know God, for God is love.” Since “God is love,” those who abide in Him or know Him intimately (2:3-5) will manifest His loving character (4:7-8). Since “God is light” (1:5), those who abide in Him will walk in His light and manifest His holy character (1:7). Since God “is righteous” (2:29a), those who abide in Him practice righteousness (2:29b). 5

    In I John 2:3-11, “John used the word ‘know’ in the sense of intimacy with God. Here he comes back to the same thought. A person can be born of God but quenching the Spirit. He could be walking in darkness. If so, he is quenching the Spirit, not walking with the Spirit, and therefore not enjoying the fruit of the Spirit like love and joy. If this is true of him, we can certainly say he is not close/intimate with God. He does not know God in this intimate sense, as we have discussed previously. So, the person who exercises agapē love has a relationship with and fellowship with God. The person who does not exercise agapē love might be a person who has a relationship with God but no fellowship with Him. It’s true that a person who lacks this kind of love might be an unbeliever, since unbelievers cannot produce this kind of love, but just to observe that a person is not exercising this kind of love does not prove he is an unbeliever. He could be a believer out of fellowship.” 6

    “Fellowship with God is demonstrated and attained when Christians love each other. If love is from God, then there is no option. We must love one another (4:7). This is not rocket science. Since God is love, an absence of love in your life reveals an absence of fellowship with God. It indicates that you don’t know Him like you claim you do (4:8). As sure as the magnetic pull of the earth causes a compass to point north, the magnetic pull of God’s love at work in your heart will always point you to other brothers and sisters who need love.” 7

    Staying close to God is not complicated. Picture your life as a bucket. You must have your bucket filled. And God’s love is like a fountain. The more you refill that bucket, the more love you will have to share with others. If you have been a Christian for a while, you can probably tell when your bucket is empty. You are easily irritated or angered. It’s hard to let go of past hurts, to trust him or her again, to expect the best of him or her. Perhaps you can’t stand being in the same room with the person. All of these are indications that you need to be refilled. 

    You ask, “How do I do it?” Spend time with Jesus. Hang out with Him. Read what He has written in the Bible. Talk to Him about what you are reading and feeling. Treat Him like a close friend, and you’ll become a close friend. And when you get closer to Jesus, you will discover that you are more able to love those who matter to you. Come to church every week so you can hang out with the people who hang out with God. Join a small group where you can hang out more intimately with a few of God’s friends.

    Can you see this? Is this making sense? Can you see why you need God’s love to love others? Some of you may be saying to yourselves, “Okay, so God commands us to love one another, but what does God’s love look like?” John gives us a beautiful picture of God’s love in the following verses.

    “9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 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.” (I John 4:9-10). John tells us several things about God’s love:

    1. God’s love is visible. “The love of God was manifested toward us” (4:9a). The Greek word translated “manifested” (phaneroō) means to “become visible, reveal, make known.” 8 God’s love is not invisible. It can be known and seen. Love that is invisible is no love at all. 9

    2. God’s love is volitional. “God sent” (4:9b). God the Father chose to send His Son to earth.His love involves an act of the will. It is not a feeling. If the Father waited to feel like sending His Son to suffer and die on our behalf, He would still be waiting. To love like God loves involves a decision to act on another’s behalf; 10 to do what is best for another person.

    3. God’s love is selfless. “God has sent His only begotten Son” (4:9c). His love gives without expecting anything in return. Often, we give to get. That is not God’s love. If Jesus had been selfish, He would never have left heaven or if He had come to earth, He would have packed His bags and left at the first sign of rejection. But He didn’t. He endured incredible suffering because He came to give, not to get. If God’s love is controlling our lives, we will be givers, not getters.

    4. God’s love is sacrificial. “God has sent His only begotten Son into the world” (4:9c). He not only gives, but He gives sacrificially. God’s love cost Him “His only begotten Son.” The Father did not give us His leftovers; He provided His very best. 11 Why? “That we might live through Him” (4:9d). Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins so we might “live” eternally with Him in heaven in the future (John 10:10b; 3:16; 14:2-3) and abundantly with Him on earth now (John 10:10c).

    Anderson writes, “I remember the story of the little girl who had just memorized John 3:16. She asked her father, ‘If God loved the world so much, why didn’t He offer Himself? Why did He send His Son?’ For a moment the father was stumped. Then it dawned on him. ‘Well, honey, think how much more love it took for God to send His Son than to offer Himself. It would be much easier for me to sacrifice my own life for a good cause than to sacrifice you, my only daughter.’” 12

    Jesus “saw our deepest need and gave of Himself. If you profess love without also embracing inconvenience and being willing to give up your rights, you don’t understand God’s love.” 13

    5. God’s love serves the unlovable. 14 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (4:10a). God’s love was not a response to our love. Before we came to Christ, we were His enemies (Rom. 5:10a). We rebelled against Him (Isaiah 53:6). We chose our own way instead of His. Yet Jesus set His love on us and pursued us to save us (Luke 19:10). He loved us even if we never loved Him back. God loves us when our walk of faith is weak or when it is strong. He sticks with us in the good times and the bad. Nothing about us makes Christ love us. He loves us because it is His nature to love. If God waited for us to love Him first, He would still be waiting. Thank God that He loved you and me first. His love does not require that you love Him back.

    God calls us to love people who won’t respond in kind. But they need our love, nonetheless. The Lord wants to love our spouses or children even if they do not love us back. He calls us to love the person at work or the neighbor living next to us who never responds in kind to our love for them. Is this easy? Definitely not! But it is possible through Christ.

    6. God’s love addresses sin. “He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (4:10b). The word “propitiation” (hilasmos) means “appeasement” or “expiation.” 15 Propitiation refers to the satisfaction God the Father felt when Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins (John 19:30). What should Christ’s death on the cross shout loud and clear? “God is satisfied with His Son’s payment for our sins!”

    The story is told of two boys who were swimming in the lake. One of the boys went out too far, got in trouble, and began to sink. The second boy, seeing his friend in trouble, swam out to save him. He was able to keep the first boy afloat until help arrived, but in the process became exhausted and sank beneath the water. He drowned saving his friend.

    Later that day, the parents of the boy who was saved came to the parents of the boy who died saving their son and said, “All we have on us right now is a dollar and eighty-three cents. We know it isn’t much, but we hope you’ll accept this as our payment to you for the life of our son.”

    Now if you were the parents who had lost their son, how would you feel? I think you would feel terribly offended and insulted. But this is the way we appear to God when we try to offer Him our acts of human goodness as payment for our sins. Nothing we can offer God will ever begin to make up for what it cost Him to save us. Let’s not insult God by offering Him our $1.83 when He has given us His precious Son. The cost of our redemption is infinitely high. 16

    We must be satisfied with what satisfied God the Father – His Son’s payment for all our sins. We must believe or trust in Christ alone to give us eternal life.

    Earlier in I John we looked at expressing God’s love by meeting the physical needs of a Christian brother or sister (3:17-18). But here John reminds us that God’s love also addresses the spiritual needs of others. Only Christ can save people from the penalty of their sins forever, but that does not mean we are to ignore sin in the body of Christ 17 or in the lives of non-Christians. With humility and love, God’s love calls us to help those caught in sin. If they are nonbelievers, we are to share the gospel with them so they may believe in Christ and be forever saved from the penalty of their sins (Acts 16:31) and then learn to overcome sin by abiding in Christ (I John 2:3-6). If they are believers in Jesus, we are to come alongside of them to help them be restored to fellowship with Christ (Gal. 6:1).

    Thirdly, in addition to receiving God’s love and being refilled with His love, we are to reflect His love to others.  “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (I John 4:11). In other words, if God loved us with this visible, volitional, selfless, sacrificial, serving, and satisfying love when we were least deserving, then we ought to love each other in the same way. Maybe our love cannot be as perfect as Jesus’ love, but it can grow in that direction. This is to be our goal.

    When we experience God’s amazing love, we will naturally want to share that love with the people we love. Forty-fours years ago this month, God’s love changed my life and I have been sharing my story ever since.

    We love because He first loved us (I John 4:19). We cannot give what we do not have, but once we have received God’s love, if we stay close to Him, we just get better and better at loving people.

    If you are reading this article and you conclude that it is impossible for you to love the way God has loved us, please do not stop reading. Perhaps you have wounded your spouse or friend, and they have closed their heart off toward you. Do you realize that if you receive God’s love today by believing or trusting in Christ alone for His gift of eternal life, you will be able to be a better spouse or friend because God comes to live inside of you to love others through you? You have never been able to be a better spouse or friend than you are today if you receive Christ.

    Receiving God’s love requires faith and humility on your part. Faith to believe that God will really love you and give you eternal life, and humility to admit that He is God, and you are not. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16b). Are you depending on Jesus alone for everlasting life? If yes, then congratulations, because you now have everlasting life and can experience God’s love everyday. You can now tell God through prayer what you have done. Remember that saying a prayer does not take us to heaven. Only believing or trusting in Christ alone does.

    Prayer: Dear God, I need Your love in my life. I understand now that You loved me by sending Your Son to take my place and punishment when He died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. I am now believing or trusting in Jesus alone (not my good life, prayers, or religion) to give me the gift of everlasting life. Thank You for the everlasting life I just received. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

    When you believed in Christ for His gift of eternal life, He came to live inside you through His Holy Spirit so that Christ now lives in and through you (John 1:12; Rom. 5:5; Gal. 2:20). With Christ living in you, you can ask Him to love others through you. Think of the person you have the hardest time loving. It may be your spouse, your child, or someone you work with. It could be someone who has hurt you deeply, but who needs the Lord. After you think of this person, you can offer this prayer in faith to the Lord.

    Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know I feel no love for this person. You know that in my flesh, I have already rejected this person. Lord, You know the truth. You know that without Your help, I can’t forgive or love this person. But I know You love my enemy, so right now I give You permission to express Your love and forgiveness for this person through me. I can’t do this myself, but I’m going to trust You to love this person through me. In Your mighty name, I pray Lord Jesus. Amen.

    Once you start really living like this, putting faith ahead of feelings, things are going to start happening. You are going to see God do things in your life you didn’t think possible. But let me caution you, it may feel awkward at first if you are not used to living by faith. But that’s okay, because we can get comfortable doing things we felt awkward doing at first (e.g., riding a bicycle, etc.).

    ENDNOTES:

    1. Adapted from Matt Hogan’s blog entitled, “20 Love Quotes From 4–8-Year-Old Kids (That Will Shock You)” at movemequotes.com.

    2. Zane C. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (David C. Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 3956.

    3. David R. Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? (Grace Theology Press, 2013 Kindle Edition), pg. 200.

    4. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy, Kindle Location 3961.

    5. Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on 1 John, 2022 Edition, pg. 96.

    6. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pp. 200-201.

    7. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 2947.

    8. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 1048.

    9. Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2947.

    10. Ibid.

    11. Ibid., pp. 2947-2948.

    12. Anderson, Maximum Joy, pg. 203.

    13. Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2948.

    14. Ibid.

    15. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 474.

    16. R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How To Illustrate Evangelistic Sermons (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2012), pp. 211-212 cites Dr. Tony Evans, Totally Saved.

    17. Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2948.

    Every Person is Precious in God’s Sight

    “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:45-46

    As Valentine’s Day approaches the Lord drew me to some verses in Matthew 13 that have been a great source of encouragement to me. It may not be obvious to the reader at first, but I believe these verses underscore the incredible love that the Lord Jesus has for us.

    In Matthew 13 Jesus shares many “parables” (13:3) or earthly stories which illustrate biblical truths about a period of time known as the Church Age which exists between Israel’s rejection of Christ all the way through to the end of the Tribulation period when Christ returns to earth to set up His Millennial Kingdom. One of these parables illustrates the value of a person during this time (13:45-46).

    To be consistent with the previous parables (Matt. 13:24, 37, 44), it is best to understand the “merchant” to be Jesus Christ (13:45). The merchant is “seeking beautiful pearls” which represent lost individuals (cf. Luke 19:10).

    In 13:45-46, the merchant is doing the work, not the pearl of great price. The merchant is doing the buying and the saving, not the pearl. The merchant is the one with the strength, not the pearl. The pearl does nothing. The merchant, Jesus Christ, does it all. It costs us nothing to get to heaven. But it cost Jesus everything. We do not give God all that we have to get to heaven. It is not you giving God your life; it is God giving you His life.“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (I John 5:11).

    Some people incorrectly think that the pearl of great price is eternal life, and the merchant is a person who wants to be saved. To get to heaven, they teach that the merchant must sell all he has or be willing to give up all he has to enter the kingdom. But what does Jesus say we must do to enter the kingdom of heaven according to John 3:5-16? We must simply be born of water (physical birth) and of the Spirit (spiritual birth). We are born spiritually by believing in Jesus for eternal life, not by living a good life or giving sacrificially.

    If you have doubts about Christ doing it all for your salvation, Matthew 13:45-46 should help to dispel your doubts. The focus of this parable is on the performance of Jesus Christ, not our performance. None of us would have any hope of going to heaven if we based it on our own works. Going to heaven is based on the finished work of Christ on the cross (John 3:15-16; 19:30), not our works (Rom. 4:5; Ephes. 2:8-9).

    Notice that the merchant finds “one pearl” (13:45-46a). Christ contrasts the “one pearl” (sg) with the many “pearls” (pl) (13:45-46a). Jesus is comparing the individual lost person to a precious pearl of “great price.”

    Why are pearls so costly and expensive? Among the people of Jesus’ day, pearls were ranked highest among precious stones because their beauty derives entirely from nature, making improvement by human workmanship an impossibility. All other precious gems are metals or stones, but a pearl is a gem formed within the oyster – the only one formed by living flesh. For some reason, the oyster shell is pierced by a foreign irritant (e.g., grain of sand, etc.), which enters the shell. The oyster releases healing fluids around the wound and that foreign irritant that has hurt and penetrated it. Over the course of time, the irritant is covered, and the wound is healed by a pearl. The pearl, we might say, is the answer of the oyster to that which injured it.

    The pearl represents pain resulting in beauty. Christ’s pain and suffering on the cross resulted in our redemption. Jesus is comparing the lost individual that He has “found” to a “pearl of great price.” In God’s eyes, every believer is a precious pearl. But sometimes, we see ourselves as worthless pebbles, don’t we? We may have a difficult time believing that we are important to the Lord, but we are! That is what Jesus is telling us here! The last part of verse 46 tells us just how valuable we are to Christ.

    What was the “great price” this merchant paid for the pearl? Jesus tells us the merchant “went and sold all that he had and bought it” (13:46b). The word “sold” (pepraken) is in the perfect tense which means his sale of everything in the past continues to have results in the present (cf. John 19:30). The word “bought” (agorazō) is used of Jesus’ death on the cross (1 Cor. 6:20; 2 Pet. 2:1). When Jesus says the merchant “went and sold all that he had and bought it,” think of what Jesus gave up for each individual believer. He gave up His majesty in heaven, His glorified state, surrounded by the holy angels of God and He comes down to this sinful earth. He was born in a humble cattle trough to poor parents. He suffers and dies a humiliating death on a cross. Your sins and my sins were placed upon Him as He hung on the cross – separated from His Father for the first and last time so He could purchase each individual person with His blood (I Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 5:9). This is how much He loved you and me!

    Our worth is not based upon our performance, but upon Christ’s performance on the cross. Jesus’ death provided the basis for God’s acceptance of us (Ephes. 1:6-7) and giving us eternal life when we believe in Christ (John 3:14-15). If anyone should know how much we are worth, it is God. He not only created us, but He bought us with the price of His Son.

    If you were to wear a price tag around your neck, what value would you put on it? How much do you think you are worth? One billion dollars? One million? One thousand? One hundred? Zero? The truth is God would put Jesus Christ on that price tag because He bought you with the price of His Son.

    A few years ago, when my wife and I were shopping for pearls in Metro Manila, we met a Muslim vendor who showed us her pearls. During our conversation with her, the Holy Spirit led us to share Matthew 13:45-46 with her. We explained to her that Jesus Christ was the merchant Who found one pearl of great price. When it says He sold everything to buy the pearl, we told her that Jesus sees her as a precious pearl and loves her very much. She said, “That is true.” After we shared the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection with her, she said she was now believing in Jesus for His gift of everlasting life.

    How does God want us to respond to such an incredible truth?

    1. PRAISE God that we are worth the life and death of His Son. God wants us to worship Him. We are to adore the Lord because of the immense value He has given to us in Jesus Christ.

    2. PRACTICE godliness out of GRATITUDE. Live for the Lord because of who He is and what He has done for you. “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15). Christ did not die and rise again for us so we can live for ourselves now. He died and rose again for us so we can now live for Him as a way of saying “Thank You” for what He gave up so we could be in a relationship with Him forever. Our good works can become a “thank You” note to the Lord.

    3. PROCLAIM the gospel to every individual person (Mark 16:15). Jesus said to go into all the world – to every nation. Why? To preach the gospel to every individual in the world since every individual is precious to God. God longs to save every person because every person is like a precious pearl in His sight.  

    Share the message of the gospel with others so they can discover how precious they are to their Creator and Savior. God does not want us to keep the gospel to ourselves. He wants us to share it with every individual lost person because each one is very precious to Him. Ask the Lord to show you whom He wants you to share the gospel with this week. He loves to answer that prayer.

    Prayer: Father in heaven, thank You for sending Jesus to seek us out to save us, much like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. And like the merchant who found one pearl of great price and gave up all he had to purchase that one pearl, so Christ gave up everything so He could purchase us with His shed blood on the cross. Our value was determined by the price Jesus paid for each of us. Each of us is worth Your Son. Nothing is of more value to You than that. Please lead us to those You have prepared to hear and believe the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection so they may be saved forever from the penalty of their sin. In Jesus’ matchless name we pray. Amen.