All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus. We who are called 'perfect' must all think in this way. If these is some point on which you see things differently, God will make it clear to you; meanwhile, let us go forward on the road that has brought us to where we are. - Phil. 3:9-16 -
In the Old Testament, God communicated with His people, the nation of Israel, through Moses, to whom He had already made Himself known in the vision of the burning bush. God instructed Moses to tell his fellow Israelites what had been revealed to him. This was no impersonal force at work but the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob[Israel] in fulfillment of His promises to them, God was acting now on behalf of their descendants.
In communicating with His people. God revealed both His identity and His purpose. His purpose was to make the Israelites a nation dedicated to His service alone. This message, conveyed to the Israelites through Moses, would have been ineffective if God had not delivered them personally. On the other hand, His deliverance would have been meaningless without the message. Together both constituted the Word of God to the Israelites - the saving message of the God who both speaks and acts.
This pattern of God's mighty acts and the prophetic word interacting with each other continues throughout the course of salvation history. The Babylonian Captivity is a good example of this process. A succession of prophets warned the people that if they did not mend their ways, Captivity would come on them as judgement. But even during the years of the Captivity the prophets continued to speak, encouraging the captives and promising that God would deliver them from their plight.
The prophets were God's primary spokesmen to the people of Israel in the Old Testament times. But they were not His only messengers. Priests and sages, or wise men, were other agents through whom God's will was made known. The teachings of many of these messengers are preserved in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.
In addition to God's revelation of Himself through Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, God's Word also records the response of those to whom the revelation was given. Too often the response was unbelief and disobedience. But at other times, people responded in faith, love and obedience. The Psalms, especially proclaim the grateful response of men and women who experienced the grace and righteousness of God. These faithful people sometimes voiced their appreciation in words addressed directly to God. At other times they reported to others what God had come to mean to them.
In the New Testament, revelation and response came in the person of Jesus Christ. On the one hand, Jesus was God's perfect human form. His works of mercy and power portrayed God in action especially His supreme act of sacrifice to bring about "the redemption that is in Christ Jesus". His teaching expressed the mind of God.
God's justice that was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside the Law since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to everyone, Jew and pagan alike, who believes in Jesus Christ. Both Jew and pagan sinned and forfeited God's glory, and both are justified through the free gift of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus who was appointed by God to sacrifice his life so as to win reconciliation through faith. In this way God makes his justice known; first, for the past, when sins went unpunished because he held his hand, then, for the present age, by showing positively that he is just and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus. - Rom. 3:21-26 -
The words and acts of Jesus also proclaimed the meaning and purpose of His works. For example, His act of casting out demons "with the finger of God" was a token that the kingdom of God had come upon them. He also declared that His death was the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture, was "a ransom for many". - Mark 10:45; 14:49 -
In his life and ministry, Jesus also illustrated the perfect human response of faith, love and obedience to God. Jesus is the Son of God. Thus, He performed the mighty acts of God and He spoke authoritatively as God's Messenger and Prophet. - Heb. 3:1-2 -
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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