15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Scripture | 1 Corinthians 15:19 —
19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Scripture | 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 —
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.[1]
Colossians 1:13-24
Greetings Sojourners!
This week’s devotion is going to look a bit different.
The passage you see above is the end of the one we’ve been studying and the one we will be studying over the next few weeks. The focus of both is Jesus, the “beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (vv. 13-14).
Since the subject is Jesus – God in flesh, the King of kings and Lord of lords, I want to spend a little more time on the devotion that was meant to go out today.
In the meantime, take a look at this video that creatively shares the gospel – the Story:
1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. 3 Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts! 9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Song | The Son of God Came Down — Scripture References / Inspiration for the Song: Luke 2:7, John 1:1-5, John 1:14, John 1:34, Ephesians 2:14-16, Philippians 2:5-8
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.
📖 Revelation 4:1–11In this episode of The King is Coming, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison move beyond Jesus’s letters to the churches and into the next part of John’s vision. In Revelation 4, John is invited through an open door into heaven—and what he sees is the throne room of God.At the center of everything is a throne, and seated on it is the Lord in all His glory. From this point forward in Revelation, the throne becomes the focal point of the entire book.John describes the scene the best way he can: the brilliance of precious stones, a rainbow surrounding the throne, flashes of lightning and thunder, and a crystal-like sea before it. Surrounding the throne are twenty-four elders and four living creatures who never cease to worship the Lord.Together, Keith and Jamie discuss:✔️ Why Revelation 4 marks a shift from the letters to the churches to John’s heavenly vision✔️ What the throne room reveals about God’s authority and security over all things✔️ Why John uses comparisons (“like” and “as”) to describe the glory he sees✔️ The mystery of the twenty-four elders and what we can—and cannot—know✔️ The constant worship of the living creatures crying “Holy, holy, holy”✔️ Why heaven’s worship centers on God simply because He is worthyIn the throne room, everything points to one truth: God alone is worthy of worship.“Worthy are you, 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.” (Revelation 4:11)🔗 If you would like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
As I have said (and will likely say again), I am excited to study Colossians with you. As we begin today, I hope you can see how important context is to studying God’s Word so that we hear from Him and not impress our own voices onto the Word.
When I think of this epistle, I am reminded of Martin Luther’s words when he talked about the book of Galatians: “The epistle to the Galatians is my epistle, to which I have wedded myself. It is my Catherine Von Bora [Luther’s wife].”[2] My walk with Christ is similarly wed to Colossians. In a sense, it is my Candice. I have read and studied through Colossians many times over. I have preached through it twice. Every time I go through it, it impacts my life. And I know that I have barely scratched the surface because, the longer I walk with Christ and the more fix my eyes on Him in His Word rather than on the world around me, my worship of Him grows with my understanding.
When studying through a book of the Bible, it helps to have some background information for context. You do not have to be a Bible scholar to research this because there is ready access to the research already done by Bible scholars. Many study Bibles (the ESV Study Bible does a particularly good job with historical context and has a section for where each book of the Bible fits in God’s Story of redemption) have sections at the beginning of each book for context. Today, we will look at some things that jumped out at me when studying.
From Paul to the Colossians
The book of Colossians is technically a letter (or epistle, as you might see in your Bible). That is the category it falls into within the New Testament. It is one of the thirteen epistles written by the apostle Paul to cities where the gospel had been planted, the Holy Spirit had moved on people’s hearts so that they came to faith in Jesus, and a church had sprung up. In many of the letters Paul wrote to churches that are also books of the New Testament, Paul planted the churches himself or at least came to those towns with the gospel (Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, & Philippi), but he did not visit Colossae or plant the church there.
There are different theories as to how exactly the church at Colossae was planted, but the general consensus is that it was planted by their pastor at the time of Paul’s writing – a guy named Epaphras. Epaphras likely heard the gospel when Paul was preaching in Ephesus (Acts 19:8-10), which was about 120 miles away from Colossae. And, basically, he got saved, came home to Colossae, and told others the good news – the gospel – about Jesus that he had heard and believed. Naturally, as the only one that people in Colossae had heard preach, Epaphras was the perfect candidate to lead as their pastor.
This is one of the aspects of Colossians that I love the most because it shows the future of the church beyond the era of the apostles – our era. I am often intimidated by the faith and spiritual gifts of the apostles. I know they had a special gifting that was specific to their being apostles (Acts 1:20-26, 1 Corinthians 15:8-11), but Epaphras was just a regular guy. He was a sinner in need of a Savior who heard the gospel preached. He responded in faith and repentance, put his trust in Christ as Savior and Lord, and went about “proclaim[ing] the excellencies of Him who called [him] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). He experienced what every saved person experiences. He did what every saved person should be doing. He gives us an example in following Christ and gives us hope because we see that God’s Spirit really does work through every-day people.
Not only was Epaphras someone we can relate to, but Colossae was relatable, too. Colossae was
“at the crossroads of two well-traveled highways: one that ran east and west, connecting the coastal cities of Ephesus (120 miles to the west) and Sardis with the interior east; and another running north and south. When, however, the latter road was moved west to pass through Laodicea, Colossae began to decline. In Paul’s day it was not as large or important as the neighboring cities of Laodicea (twelve miles to the west) or Hierapolis (fifteen miles northwest).”[3]
It was not so different than many towns I have visited in my home state of Mississippi where once-thriving towns that boomed during the eras of buggy or railroad travel wilted when the interstate was built a few miles away from the highways of old. In fact, there are reminders all over the town where I live that point to prosperous times that have long since been in the past. For these reasons, historians have decided that Colossae was less important than other places. You may have decided that your town or community is less important than other places. But, if God has brought the gospel to your town – through regular, every-day people like you and me, that sounds important, and there is important work still to be done!
While that bit of history is interesting – or not if you do not like that sort of thing, the book of Colossians is not about Paul – or Epaphras – or Colossae. It is about Jesus. And just like it was for the Colossian church who received this letter, many of us and our churches today have lost track of Jesus. We have taken our eyes off of Him and allowed things of lesser-importance to eclipse our view of Him who is of the utmost importance.
“in Christ at Colossae”
One the themes we will see in Colossians, definitely the most important, is that “Jesus Christ is preeminent over all creation, Lord over all human rulers and cosmic powers”[4] (1:15-20, 2:9-10, 3:1). It would be easy to say that the church at Colossae had forgotten about Jesus, but they had never been fully taught about Him. They did not have the Bible like we do today. Epaphras had the gospel, and the gospel is “of first importance” (1 Corinthians 15:3). But believers need the whole of Scripture to be healthy and grow into grown Christians. Without feasting on the whole thing, we stay spiritual babies with sippy cup theology when we need theology that requires a fork and knife – that can be chewed on (Hebrews 5:12-13). This is not to say that we do not need milk – the basic truths of Scripture – because we absolutely do; we should thirst for “the pure spiritual milk” like infants but hunger for the deeper things – “if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3). So, after Epaphras visited Paul in prison and told him how he hoped that the Colossian believers would “stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God” (4:12-13), we see Paul teach them fuller and deeper truths about Jesus and build on the gospel that Epaphras brought home (1:7-8).
We benefit from Paul’s writing, too. Colossians teaches so much about Jesus and has had an impact vastly bigger than its four chapters. It proclaims “Christ celebrated as the object of the believer’s faith, the image of the invisible God, the creator of all dominions, the head of the church, the firstborn from the dead, the unifier and reconciler of all things, the Savior through his sufferings on the cross, the treasury of all wisdom and knowledge, the triumphant victor over sin and Satan, the exalted Lord of life and glory, and the true pattern for the life of Christian faith.”[5]
Paul was not seeking to give a seminary education; he was helping them “seek the things that are above, where Christ is” (3:1) because false teachings and practices from other religions had crept up like thorns to choke out the gospel in Colossae (Matthew 13:7, 22). Things like the worship of angels, pagan body mutilation, and Jewish legalism had crept in as false teachers and wolves told them that the gospel was not enough, that they needed to add something more. They sought to add to Jesus and thereby subtract from Him. As we look at the impact of these false teachings and how Jesus is better, these equations (I told y’all – Colossians & Candice) to help us keep it straight:
Jesus + nothing = everything Jesus + anything = nothing
When you add to the gospel, you change it. Jesus is either the only way (John 14:6) or He is no way at all. If we need anything more for salvation than the Bible says, God is a liar, and we are without hope. Paul offers the Colossian church – and us – the hope of who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He is doing in the lives of His people. That hope is worth more than any amount of religion. That hope is real.
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father”
When I read Colossians, I see so much of our world and situations that oppose the Church today. There are thorns everywhere seeking to choke the gospel out of our lives. There are wolves seeking to confuse and distract from Jesus. And, too often, we are hoodwinked and fooled when wool is pulled over our eyes and we prove to be nothing but ignorant sheep.
While that seems like bad news and we often lose hope because of the existence of evil in the world, there truly is good news. It is good to be a sheep when we can cry out with Scripture: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). Not only is He our shepherd, but He is the “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11). So, the same hope offered to the Colossian church is offered today: Jesus alone. False teachers, wolves, thieves, and even Satan himself seek to come after the Church. They “steal and kill and destroy”, but Jesus promises that His sheep will have “life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). He knows His sheep – lays down His life for His sheep – and He takes up His life again (John 10:17-18). And He promises that those who trust in Him, those who are His sheep, will have “eternal life”, “never perish”, and “no one will snatch them out of [His] hand” (John 10:28-29).
We do not deserve it, but He does not do it because we deserve it. He does it because He loves us. That is what grace is. And, just like the Holy Spirit did through Paul to the Colossian church, He gives us “peace from God our Father” by pointing us to the hope that is in Jesus Christ alone.
So, as we embark on this journey through the book of Colossians, it is my hope that you truly see that Jesus is Over All. I pray that you come to know Him more deeply, or that, if you do not know Him, that you see Him for all His glory and worth and come to faith in Him. I pray that studying His Word changes us and spurs us to be the Church He has called us to be. More than anything, I just want to show you Jesus. Because He is enough.
[2] Luther, Martin. What Luther Says: A Practical In-Home Anthology for the Active Christian. (Edwald M. Plass, Ed.). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House,1959., page 989.
I find myself excited at the prospect of Sunday every week. I find myself needing it. More than an experience or a service, I find myself needing Jesus – needing to worship Him and hear from Him.
I know He is Emmanuel and with me always, but there is something about gathering with my faith family to worship Him. There is something about hearing from Him in the preaching of His Word. There is something about hearing about Him from the voices of my brothers and sisters pouring out their hearts to Him. There’s something about knowing that in seeking Him He is always found.
I know that all of that can be true on any day of the week and in many applications, but there is something special about Sunday.
It all hails back to that one Sunday when the tomb was empty, when death was defeated, Hell was silenced, and the defeat of the devil was sure. It hails back to that one Sunday where the angel preached the good news that “He is not here! He is risen as He said!” Every Sunday joins that one because every Sunday the tomb is still empty. Every Sunday He is still risen as He said. That’s still good news!
We are singing a new song Sunday that proclaims that good news beautifully:
For my life He bled and died Christ will hold me fast Justice has been satisfied He will hold me fast Raised with Him to endless life He will hold me fast ‘Til our faith is turned to sight When He comes at last!
“He Will Hold Me Fast”
And, Lord willing, we will gather tomorrow and celebrate that one Sunday as we wait to celebrate Him face-to-face when He comes!
Here are our Scriptures and songs:
Scripture | Jude 24-25 —
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.
We’re a few weeks into 2022, and this is our first “Songs for Sunday” of the year!
I’ve been thinking a lot about grace this week, and here’s the quote that sparked a lot of that thinking:
“Grace has the power to do what nothing else can do — rescue you from you, and in so doing, restore you to what you were created to be.”
Paul Tripp
We talk a lot about grace at Christ Community. We should! But, sometimes, I think we need a reminder of why, which is part of why I’ve been thinking about grace – the part of the quote above that says, “rescue you from you“.
I need to be rescued from my sin. You need rescue from yours. It is easy sometimes to take the problem of sin and see it as an us v. them situation – to look at it as the sin of the world v. God’s people. That kind of thinking is dangerous and, quite honestly, foolish (I’m speaking from experience here). How is it that we are so easily forgetful of how dangerous our sin is? Well, the answer is grace.
If you belong to Christ, you have experienced grace upon grace. Time and again, Christ has forgiven and covered your sin. Grace. So, we tend to forget the sins of the past (and mostly ignore the sins of the present). That’s why the Bible gives us such beautiful examples as 1 Peter 2:9-10:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
We need to be reminded of Whosewe are despite who we were.
As the Church, we celebrate being God’s people, but we were formerly God’s enemies because of our sin (Romans 5:9-10).
As the Church, we celebrate receiving mercy from the God we know to be “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6), but we sometimes forget that we were formerly facing the “wages of [our] sin” – death (Romans 6:23).
As the Church, we celebrate being in “His marvelous light”, but we forget that He called us “out of darkness”. And the darkness is where we wanted to be. We wanted to commit the sin we committed. We still do.
John, pastor of CCC, has said several times over the past few weeks that no one has died due to lack of sin. But everyone who does not put their trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior faces death eternally. That’s bad news. It’s the worst news – unless you’ve experienced the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
So, we must remember why we needed grace. We must remember that His grace saved us from ourselves. And rejoice that He is restoring us to who He created us to be in Him. Then, and only then, will we become a “people for His own possession”. And we will “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light”.
That’s good news! And that’s what we are singing about tomorrow: the grace of Jesus Christ that is greater than our sin – but not the gift of grace itself. We are going to make much of the One who brings the grace – “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession” (Titus 2:12-14)!
Here are our Scriptures & songs:
Titus 2:11-14 —
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.
He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.”
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Butthis I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.
5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.[1]
📖 Revelation 4:1–11In this episode of The King is Coming, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison move beyond Jesus’s letters to the churches and into the next part of John’s vision. In Revelation 4, John is invited through an open door into heaven—and what he sees is the throne room of God.At the center of everything is a throne, and seated on it is the Lord in all His glory. From this point forward in Revelation, the throne becomes the focal point of the entire book.John describes the scene the best way he can: the brilliance of precious stones, a rainbow surrounding the throne, flashes of lightning and thunder, and a crystal-like sea before it. Surrounding the throne are twenty-four elders and four living creatures who never cease to worship the Lord.Together, Keith and Jamie discuss:✔️ Why Revelation 4 marks a shift from the letters to the churches to John’s heavenly vision✔️ What the throne room reveals about God’s authority and security over all things✔️ Why John uses comparisons (“like” and “as”) to describe the glory he sees✔️ The mystery of the twenty-four elders and what we can—and cannot—know✔️ The constant worship of the living creatures crying “Holy, holy, holy”✔️ Why heaven’s worship centers on God simply because He is worthyIn the throne room, everything points to one truth: God alone is worthy of worship.“Worthy are you, 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.” (Revelation 4:11)🔗 If you would like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
I am excited to begin writing again as we embark in 2022! I intended our first study together to be the book of Colossians, but a thought struck me yesterday and spurred today’s devotion and delayed our start of Colossians until next week.
We will begin with a question: what comes to mind when you think of the hand of God?
Some think of the picture above which has been adapted from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. In that painting, you see a depiction of Adam (the hand on the left) and God the Father (right hand) reaching out toward one another. You will notice that the hands just do not quite meet. Some argue that Adam is reaching out to God but unable to grasp his hand (because of sin or inability). Others argue that it symbolizes God trying to reach out to Adam but not quite making the grasp Himself.
But there are other perspectives on the hand of God than just Michelangelo’s mural.
There are some that see the hand of God as a tool of vengeance. They see it poised for a good smacking when all His little children get wayward. Some who hold this view wish for God to strike people down with a mix of Old Testament fury and some Zeus-like lightning bolts. This hand is hard, calloused, and ready to strike and represent a definitively angry and wrathful God.
There are some who view the hand of God like those of the European-looking Jesus shepherds – hands that have nothing but soft cushiony care as they caress the little lambs in their grasp. These hands would never strike, nor would they ever need to because they represent a God of only love and no anger whatsoever.
Yet when the image and thought of the hand of God came to my mind, it brought with it the Scripture above from 1 Peter. As we study this particular passage today, it is my prayer that you see God in accordance with His Word and not by any alternate points of view no matter how lofty they appear.
Context
To understand this passage, you need to look at the context of the book of 1 Peter and, especially, the context of the paragraph and chapter where it is found. 1 Peter is a letter to the “elect exiles of the Dispersion” (1 Peter 1:1), a group of people who were likely dispersed due to persecution – maybe even those who were forced to leave Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen when Paul was Saul (Acts 8:1). These were believers, many of which were probably Jewish, who had been forced to leave their homes and the land they had grown up in. They were afraid and felt alone. They needed to be reminded that God knew who they were and had a plan for their lives (1 Peter 1:3-5) and that, even in their suffering and troubles, He cared for them.
Peter lays out for them how to “conduct [themselves] with fear [of God] throughout the time of their exile” (1 Peter 1:17) and reminded them that even though they “were not a people” and had previously “not received mercy” that “now [they were] God’s people” and “now…received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10). It is a letter of good news in the midst of a lot of bad news.
He reminds them of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ alone and the hope of eternity with Him. And He reminds them through many specific instances that the gospel of Jesus Christ gives hope in every area of their lives from the tyrannical governments they were suffering under to their relationships and daily lives. That good news is for us, too.
Today’s passage is part of 1 Peter 5 which begins talking to the “elders” who were “shepherd[ing] the flock of God” where these exiles were living (1 Peter 5:1-2). He wrote to the pastors of their local churches and talked with them about how they should serve. He reminded them that they were to “shepherd” in such a way that, “when the chief Shepherd appears” (1 Peter 5:4) – when Jesus returns, they would have exhibited His love, care, instruction, and correction as He would have them: “not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3). You see, the pastors were to be examples because the same sort of example (“likewise” – 1 Peter 5:5) is to be followed in the relationships of the generations in the church as the young are to “be subject” to the elders (both the pastors & older, more mature leaders/disciplers in their churches) following the same pattern.
The beautiful thing about this is God uses the imagery of the hand of God to show what this is like.
Humility v. Mighty
Sometimes there is a fine line between humility, being humbled, and humiliation. Many people who define themselves as humble are everything but that. Some people get too big for their proverbial britches and need to be humbled or brought back into reality. But for others there comes a time where their lives end up at a screeching halt because their pride has written a check too big for their…britches to cash. Then comes humiliation. A force greater than them applies pressure and knocks them down a peg. We often cheer at those who do the knocking down and jeer at those who find themselves in the humiliation that (in our humble opinions) is much needed and deserved.
Peter’s advice – really the Holy Spirit’s advice, since this is Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17) – is that the way the church needs “to be subject” to each other and especially to God is for them to “clothe [themselves] with humility toward one another” (1 Peter 5:5). He clarifies that this is not just some or they thought should have to; no, he says to them “all of you” (1 Peter 5:5), which goes from the pastor to the back pew. To back this up, he quotes from Proverbs 3:34 and reminds them that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”. That proverb sounds like a tough warning from stern God, but, really, it is a proverb of pleading. It is a reminder of our need of grace and how dangerous a distractor our pride is, especially when we need to repent of our sin. This is seen in the command that Peter follows up with in the next paragraph: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6).
If we hold to one of the views of the hand of God that we looked at earlier, this is a frightening image. If it is the hand from the Sistine Chapel, we cannot reach it nor can He reach us, leaving us hopeless instead of humble. If it is the hand hurling lightning bolts and smacking sinners about, we can hope for humiliation and hurt instead of help. And the weak and soft hands of the European shepherd, the hero we need is nowhere to be found.
The “mighty hand of God” that Peter tells these exiles about is different altogether. The call is not to humble oneself out of fear or shame. The call is to humble oneself in recognition of the hand of the mighty God of the Bible. It is the “mighty hand” that Moses spoke over that represented His “greatness” and begged the question, “What god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours?” (Deuteronomy 3:24) It is the “hand of God” that was “on Judah to give them one heart to do [what was] commanded by the Word of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 30:12). It is the “good hands” of God that were on Ezra when he got to leave Babylon and come home to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:9). It is the hand of God that Nehemiah said had been upon him “for God” and gave strength to the hands of those involved in the “good work” of rebuilding Jerusalem after returning from Babylon (Nehemiah 2:18). It is the same hand that Israel was taught to sing of that God would “lift up [His] hand” and “forget not the afflicted” (Psalm 10:12).
Yet it was the same hand that was upon Jeremiah that “filled [him] with indignation” (Jeremiah 15:18). It is the same hand that was raised at His enemies to strike them down. Yes, the same hands that the writer of Hebrews wrote of when he said, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
Which hand is reaching out to the humbled in 1 Peter 5?
The reality is that it is the same hands. The hand that punishes is the same hand that protects; the same hand strikes and saves. All of God’s attributes work together in harmony. He is everything the Word says about Him. And this is the reason we humble ourselves. We recognize that He is greater. We recognize our sin as we recognize our need for a Savior.
We humble ourselves because our pride cannot earn us heaven as we have “fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and realize that “the wages of sin” – all that we can earn or accomplish – “is death” (Romans 6:23). And in that humbling, we submit to Him – are willing “subject to” (1 Peter 5:5) Him – as our Lord and Master (Romans 10:9).
Peter’s call for people to humble themselves “under the mighty hand of God” is to submit to Him that “He may exalt you” – to lay down their lives at the offer and promise of His Life and Righteousness (John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:21). And the hand that reaches out – the mighty hand of “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness” (Titus 2:13-14).
Wrath and love are intertwined in that mighty hand. You see, the same hand that reaches out to the humbled was the same one what was “pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). The God who people expect ready and waiting to smite the wicked with curses “redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’ (Galatians 3:13, cf. Deuteronomy 21:23). He is the God who loved us enough that He showed “His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8), dying for us to pay for the forgiveness of our sin. He saves sinners “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands…nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14).
That’s good news!
God’s Mighty Hand & You
Look back at that picture from the Sistine Chapel. More frightening than any anger or weakness would be a God who would not or could not reach down at all. God not only reached down, He came down, “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He set the example in humility:
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.”
And that hand reaches out to us offering eternal life in the grandest gesture of love to ever be found. The hand that punishes wickedness and sin is the same hand that reaches out “at the proper time” to lift us up (1 Peter 5:7). It is not weak for forgiving but even stronger, the same hand of care still shows strength as Jesus said of those who are His, that He gives them “eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27).
The mighty hand of God is better than the Sistine Chapel. It is stretched out in love to those who repent and believe in Him. It represents the God who is not far off but close enough to cast your anxieties on. It is reached out “because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
The Christmas story is summed up aptly by the angels to the shepherds: good news of great joy!
CCC Advent Guide
I love the preaching of the angels in Luke 2!
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
I love this passage because of its truth! I love it because of the mercy it displays on those who normally would not be considered worthy to get such news! And I love it because that “good news of great joy” is still – don’t miss this, STILL – good news and for all people even today!
Let’s break this down together.
Mary and Joseph had journeyed to Bethlehem together to be registered counted for the census. For whatever reason, “there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7) and were forced to camp out in the stable area. Mary had just given birth to the Messiah, the Son of God. Instead of a baby blanket, she swaddled him in strips of cloth. Instead of a bassinet or crib, she laid in a manger – a feeding trough for animals.
While the most important birth – fulfilling prophecy since the beginning (Genesis 3:15) – was occurring without pomp and attention, there were shepherds in the nearby countryside camped out caring for their flocks. They were no doubt dirty. They were definitely the last group to expect to receive an angelic royal birth announcement. Yet it was for them Christ had come, and, to them, would come this beautiful gospel (good news) message that still rings through the years.
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
The gospel message is not for fear but faith and hope. There is no greater joy than celebrating that the lost has been found (Luke 15). The beauty of this gospel of great joy is not in the reality that befalls those who reject the message but in the amazing reality of the eternal life that comes to those who believe – that dead men and women find life in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5) and find a place in the Father’s house as His adopted children (Galatians 4:4-5)! And it is beautiful because it is for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16-17), whether you be shepherd or king, poor or rich, look-like-you-have-it-together or clearly-a-hot-mess, “all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13)!
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
These shepherds were the first to hear the news that the Messiah had been born. Herod remained ignorant. Scribes and Pharisees were left in their legalism. Everyone, from the priests to the powerful, heard after these lowly shepherds that the promised Messiah had arrived in the “city of David”, Bethlehem. So, the best “good news” in history rang out to the most insignificant group of people in the most insignificant city and the least significant time of being counted in a census. And it still rings true to those the world deems insignificant in places that seem insignificant and in times that seem like hope is gone or at least quickly leaving. It still rings true because it IS true. What a beautiful reminder that there is this day a Savior. His name is Jesus. And He cares for us!
“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
The shepherds needed a sign to point them where they needed to go. They needed to find Him to worship Him. Praise God, we do not have to look today! They sought Emmanuel (“God with us”) to lay their eyes on Him, yet all we have to do today is believe. He was born, and the shepherds were His witness. He died, and Scripture and, even, history are His witnesses. But He rose again and has given His Spirit. He was and is and is to come (Revelation 1:4). We do not need a sign because we have access to the Savior!
While I write this, “What Child is This?” is playing in the background. There is busy-ness happening all around me. People are buying coffee to fuel their busy-ness. There is chatter throughout the coffee shop. People are driving and walking by. And the poignancy of the words of the song echo the hope I find in this “good news of great joy”.
Read these words and ponder their reality and beauty to prepare your heart to gather with a faith family tomorrow in worship:
What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping, Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King! Haste, haste to bring Him laud!
Why lies He in such mean estate where ox and beast are feeding? Good Christian, fear, for sinners here, the silent Word is pleading!
Nails, spear, shall pierce Him through! The cross be borne for me, for you! Hail, hail the Word made flesh!
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh; Come, peasant, king, to own Him. The King of kings salvation brings; Let loving hearts enthrone Him!
Raise, raise a song on high! Joy, joy for Christ is born! The Babe, the Son of Mary!
Here are our Scriptures and songs:
Joy to the World —
Isaiah 9:2-7 —
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
We Have a Savior —
Luke 2:8-20 —
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Away in a Manger (Forever Amen) —
Revelation 21:1-5 —
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) —
(invitation) The Son of God Came Down —
(offertory) Mary, Did You Know? —
As a church, we are reading through the gospel of Luke each from December 1-4 as part of our Christmas to Calvary advent focus. You can grab a paper copy in the church lobby or download it here.
There are also daily audio uploads if you prefer to listen rather than read. Here’s Luke 4 for today’s reading:
If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.
God kept His promises; the Savior was born in Bethlehem.
CCC Advent reading guide
One of the most beautiful reminders of God’s love for us in the Christmas season is how God has always been faithful to keep His promises and was especially faithful in keeping this particular promise.
To share what I mean, look at two verses that are often used to herald God’s love for us:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
and
…but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
When the prophet Micah shared God’s promise for Bethlehem (who he was was “too little to be among the clans of Judah”) that “from you shall come forth for me One who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2), no one realized how much that promise would cost the God they hoped would be faithful to His promise. Those in his day (around 750-700 BC) were not focused on faithfulness at all. In fact, much of Micah’s promises to Judah during those years were about the coming judgment from God in exile due to their faithfulness and idolatry. Israel fell during his life and ministry, showing Judah that God was indeed a keeper of promises.
I imagine that it hurt God to allow His people to go into exile. He had promised them time and again that exile was where their faithfulness would lead, but they were proud – more than a little bit arrogant – and thought their ways were best. But, even in the midst of God promising judgment for their sin, God promised the coming of the Messiah to one day rescue them from their sins, and the cost for this rescue would come from Him alone because He alone was faithful enough, powerful enough, and loving enough to carry it out.
God left the glory of Heaven and took on flesh (John 1:1, 14), being made in every way like us (Philippians 2:5-8), to come and bear witness to the truth (John 5:33-36, 14:6). He lived the life we could not live and died the death we should have died (2 Corinthians 5:21) – God the Father pouring His wrath on God the Son, the substitutionary sacrifice for those who would repent and believe in Him (Romans 3:21-25, 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:4-5; Colossians 2:13-14; 1 John 2:1-2).
Just as Bethlehem was a seemingly insignificant town, many of us today feel insignificant on a regular basis, yet God loves and cares for you (1 John 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6-7)!
Tomorrow, we will gather together celebrating Him – joyously praising His faithfulness in looking at His humble birth and humbly rejoicing over the hope that comes to ones as insignificant as us through His death and resurrection!
Here are our Scriptures & songs:
So Will I —
Luke 1:46-55 —
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
O Come Let Us Adore Him —
Adore Him —
Luke 1:67-79 —
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
King of Kings —
(invitation) Joy to the World (King is Coming) —
As a church, we are reading through the gospel of Luke each from December 1-4 as part of our Christmas to Calvary advent focus. You can grab a paper copy in the church lobby or download it here.
There are also daily audio uploads if you prefer to listen rather than read. Here’s Luke 4 for today’s reading:
If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.
Advent – waiting on the arrival of something, or someOne, big and important.
It seems so easy to get lost in all of the busy-ness of the season with the passing of hours, days, weeks, and months that we forget the anticipation.
For Israel all those centuries ago, waiting had become their norm. They had awaited the Messiah for hundreds of years. Exile had come and gone. They tried to make their own way. God’s Word was silent until “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The silence of hundreds of years waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled was broken by the cry of God Himself coming to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) as the promised Emmanuel, “which means, God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
This is why it is fitting that the first week of Advent is remembering prophecy and looking forward to hope: We can have hope because God is faithful to keep His promises!
So, tomorrow, as we begin tuning our worship with the sounds of Christmas, let us look in anticipation to the coming of our Savior because “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20)! We do not wait in silence because the Word has already dwelt among us – and after His resurrection, He has sent His Spirit to dwell with us so that there will never, ever be a time for God’s people without Emmanuel!
May our hearts cry out as with the hymn of old: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel…Rejoice!”
And that is what we are singing about tomorrow: rejoicing that God is with us and trusting in all He has faithfully done – all the promises He has already kept and fulfilled in the first coming of King Jesus – so that we can hope and rejoice in His imminent return!
Here are our Scriptures & songs:
Romans 5:1-5 —
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
God With Us —
Born to Die —
Romans 5:6-11 —
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
We have Sunday School classes for all ages at 9:30a and worship – everyone is welcome – at 11:00a!
If you are concerned about social distancing or are at-risk, consider gathering with us at 10:00a for a small group Bible study in our worship center. There is plenty of room to spread out, but there is also opportunity to gather with others at the same time! No one will crowd you, and you can exit out of our side door and avoid the crowd coming in to worship after the Bible study!
Just Keith Harris 