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1 Corinthians 6:19, Various

Holy Spirit Security

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 23, 2024

When we come to faith in Jesus, God sends the Holy Spirit to live within us. That Spirit takes up residence and claims our bodies as His sanctuary. Paul tells us that  “… your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God…” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Spirit, living within us, begins His work of regeneration.  We are declared to have new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states that all things have become new; Galatians 6:15 declares the believer to be a new creature or creation; Ephesians 2:10 teaches that believers have been spiritually created in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration makes one a new creation, a new creature.

When we are born into the physical world by natural birth, it brings us to a state which cannot be reversed. We cannot enter into our mother’s womb again, we cannot be “un-conceived” we cannot be “un-born.” We might destroy our lives, make some bad choices, or even be cut off at an early age, but the fact, the reality, of our birth and our life cannot be reversed. Once we’re out of the womb, we’re out of it permanently. It’s not a work that can be undone.  Even if we say, along with Job, the world would be better off if I hadn’t ever been born, it doesn’t change the fact that we were born and we exist. So it is with our regeneration through our faith in Christ and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Once we are born again, it cannot be undone.  The Holy Spirit is responsible in many respects for our eternal security.

After Jesus informed His disciples of His imminent departure, he promised that the Father would send them another helper. Jesus referred to this helper as the “Spirit of truth.” In John 14:16, Jesus says that the helper will “be with you forever.” In his Messianic Bible Study Collection, Arnold Fruchtenbaum says, “When the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling the believer, it emphasizes that once He comes to indwell that believer, He indwells him permanently, eternally, and forever (Jn. 14:16–17; 1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 2:22; 1 Jn. 2:27). The Holy Spirit abides in the believer forever. If He is not there forever, then it was not forever; it was only temporary.”  The Spirit’s work secures our destiny, yet many believers don’t feel secure. J. Vernon McGee says, “Every believer is eternally secure. But it is possible for a person to be saved and not have the assurance of it. May I say that a believer who is saved and does not have assurance is a subnormal or an unnatural believer? Certainly, he can be a believer, but God does want us to have the assurance of our salvation.” Ryrie says, “Eternal security is the work of God that guarantees that the gift of salvation, once received, is forever and cannot be lost. The concept of eternal security emphasizes God’s activity in guaranteeing the eternal possession of the gift of eternal life. It relates to those the Holy Spirit regenerates, and its veracity does not rest on feelings or experiences.”

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John 14:1f, Various

Our God Is One!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 22, 2024

When Jesus was discussing His departure with His disciples, he made a promise to them. It’s a promise to us as well.  First He said in John 14:1, “Let not your heart be troubled…” Then, in John 14:16, He told them that the Father would send someone to them who would fill the void of His absence.  He would petition the Father, and the Father would “give you another Helper, who will abide with you forever.” Jesus did not want his disciples to despair because He was leaving them. He assured them that He would come and take them to be with Him. In the meantime, the Father is sending “another” helper. This helper will stay with you forever.

The preciousness of this promise comes home as we understand the meaning of the Greek word translated “another.” In Greek, there are two words that are translated as “another.” One of those words is “heteros.” It means another of a different kind. If I had a pen that didn’t write, I’d ask for “another” pen of a different kind. I would want one that worked instead of one that didn’t. When heteros is used, it always refers to another of a different kind.  I want a different one because the one I have doesn’t function as it should. The other word is “allos.” It, too, is translated as “another.” It means another of the same kind. If I had a pen that worked well and asked for “another” one, I’d want one of the same kind.  As Jack Hayford observes, “Jesus’ use of allos for sending another Comforter equals ‘one besides Me and in addition to Me but one just like Me. He will do in My absence what I would do if I were physically present with you.’ The Spirit’s coming assures continuity with what Jesus did and taught. ‘Continuity of what Jesus did and taught!’ No wonder Luke presents Acts as a continuation through the Holy Spirit’s fullness ‘of all that Jesus began both to do and teach’ (1:1).”

The three persons of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are of the very same essence. They are all involved in the redemptive work of man. When Jesus was baptized, God spoke from Heaven, saying that He was “well-pleased” with the Son, and the Spirit joined them in the form of a dove. They are of the same kind. All three are consistent in all they do and all they say. Jesus said he speaks only what the Father tells Him. The Holy Spirit does nothing outside the will of the Father and the Son. The essential oneness, likeness, retains the idea of “one” God, yet is revealed to us in three persons. When Paul closes his second letter to the Corinthians, he does so with a blessing from this consistent, triune God. He says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

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Hebrews 9:14, Various

The Holy Spirit

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 21, 2024

Of all the controversial subjects in the church over the years, as well as today, is the subject of the Holy Spirit. Some overemphasize its presence and work. There are some modern preachers today who abuse it and use it to make themselves rich by claiming to have supernatural healing powers and other gifts that draw hurting people to them. Others minimize it or simply ignore it. Both of those approaches are wrong. Martin Lloyd-Jones says, “Because of certain exaggerations, excesses and freak manifestations, and the crossing of the border line from the spiritual to the scientific, the political and the merely emotional, there are many people who are afraid of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, afraid of being too subjective. So they neglect it altogether. I would also suggest that others have neglected the doctrine because they have false ideas with regard to the actual teaching concerning the person of the Holy Spirit.”

There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These are the only persons in the Godhead. They all are omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. These characteristics of divinity soundly establish their character and nature.  A quick look at various passages in the bible demonstrates that they all have these divine characteristics. All three are Omnipotent, which means “all-powerful.” Only three Persons have the attribute of omnipotence. God the Father is omnipotent in 1 Peter 1:5. The Son is omnipotent in Hebrews 1:3. The Holy Spirit is omnipotent in Romans 15:19. All three are omniscient. That means “all-knowing.” The Father is omniscient in Jeremiah 17:10. The Son is omniscient in John 16:30; 21:17, and Revelation 2:23. The Holy Spirit is omniscient in 1 Corinthians 2:10–11. All three are omnipresent, meaning that “God is everywhere.” The Father is omnipresent according to Jeremiah 23:24. The Son is omnipresent according to Matthew 18:20 and 28:20. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent according to Psalm 139:7–10.

A fourth characteristic that all three persons in the Godhead share is eternality. This is another divine attribute that the Scriptures ascribe to all three of the persons of the Godhead. Hebrews 9:14 establishes this trait for the Holy Spirit. It says, “…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” Only three persons possess all four of these attributes of God.  John Owen, the renowned Puritan theologian, tells us (according to Stephen Olford) that if the sin of Old Testament times was the rejection of God the Father, and the sin of New Testament times was the rejection of God the Son, then the sin of our times is the rejection of God the Holy Spirit.”

We are instructed by the Bible to worship God only. Since we are Trinitarians in our faith, we worship the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Letham says, “We worship the Holy Spirit, who gives life and breath to all, who grants us the gift of faith, who sustains us through the difficulties of life as Christians in a world set in hostility to God, and who testifies of the Son. And we worship with one act of adoration the one undivided trinity, for as we cast our minds and hearts before the three persons of the holy trinity, we acknowledge the one indivisible God.”[1]

[1] Letham, Robert. 2013. “How the Triune God Transforms Worship.” Credo: The Trinity & The Christian Life (April 2013), 2013.

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John 17:5, Various

The Eternal Son

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 20, 2024

Jesus claimed to have existed before he was born in the flesh. In his great prayer to the Father in John 17:5, he says, “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” This doctrine is often called the “Pre-existence of Christ.” Morey says, “While the concept of the pre-existence of Christ does not require the deity of Christ, the deity of Christ does require the pre-existence of Christ. If His pre-existence is eternal, then His deity is established.” The Jews rejected Jesus on the basis of His claims, but they should have noted that the Messiah of the Old Testament was supposed to have been pre-existent. We all know the Christmas passage in Micah 5:2 regarding Bethlehem. It says, “But as for you Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be the ruler of Israel. His going forth is from long ago, from the days of eternity.”

This Messianic prophecy not only says Jesus will be born in Bethlehem, but it also claims that he existed before, from the days of old. Although in his humanity, Jesus was born in Bethlehem according to the prophecy, the passage also teaches that as to His deity, he eternally existed.  Commenting on John 1:1, “in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God,” Fruchtenbaum, a Messianic Jew, points out, “According to this verse, the Son existed in the beginning with God the Father. In other words, as long as God has existed, so also the Son has existed. Since God the Father has existed for all eternity, therefore, the Son must have existed for all eternity as well. John 1:1 is clear evidence that some of the cultic teachings, which claim that the Son was created by God the Father, are wrong. The point of John 1:1 is that as long as the Father has existed, which has been for all eternity, that is how long the Son has existed.”

The eternality of Jesus is one of the lofty theological issues that seem irrelevant to our daily lives. The church councils and even some cultic sects today are divided over this issue, and many looking at the professors of faith see only silly disagreements. Yet, the eternality of Christ is a central theme that is the only basis of hope for the true believer. Not only did Jesus exist throughout the past ages, but His eternality assures us that he will exist in all future ages as well. Morgan says, “Jesus Has Changed the Way We Look at the Future. Humans have been made for hope. Death always appears as an enemy. The prospect of life that ends is alien to us because we were designed for eternity. Hope is, therefore, a part of our makeup. But the Christian alone has reason to believe in a blissful future. The reason is Jesus Christ.” As J. I. Packer puts it, “Every major religion in the world has claimed that its “founder” had a unique insight into the eternal truths of life. But Christians claim far more, for Jesus Himself told us that He is the Truth, not just a teacher of the Truth (John 14:6). First-century Christians rejected the pagan religions and philosophies of their day to accept God’s Word in the flesh.”[1]

[1] Packer, J.I., Merrill Chapin Tenney, and William White Jr. 1997. Nelson’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

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Mark 6:2-3, Various

Much More Than A Carpenter

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 19, 2024

One of the first things we like to find out about people is what they do for a living. When we think about people, we think about them professionally or occupationally.  We like to put people in boxes that we can understand. Jesus was a carpenter. Robert Morey writes, “Those who grew up with Jesus in Nazareth assumed that He was, like his ‘father’ Joseph, a carpenter. And, of course, for most of His life, Jesus was a carpenter by trade.” In Mark 6:2-3, the religious leaders were astounded by Jesus’ teachings and miracles, and they said, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” Carpenters don’t teach like that or perform miracles.

Their assumption that Jesus was like his father was correct, except that they were speaking of the wrong father. He is of the same nature as God the Father. He is God the Son. Morey continues his observations, “If, as some modern secularists assert, Jesus did not claim to be anything more than a carpenter, if He did not do any miracles, and if He did not speak those sermons attributed to Him in the Gospels, then why did people get so upset? Why all the opposition? Obviously, He was more than a mere carpenter.” Everyone seems to acknowledge this truth. Jesus was more than a carpenter. As Morey points out, “Despite his abysmal ignorance of the Bible, even Muhammad understood that Jesus was a great prophet (Sura. 19:30). But while Muhammad correctly believed that Jesus was more than a carpenter, he failed to understand that Jesus was more than a mere prophet.”[1] Jesus was way more than a carpenter!

Peter and some of the other apostles were fishermen. They knew how to fish. Yet, one evening, when they had fished all day, they had caught nothing. Jesus instructed them to let down their nets to fish. Peter protested but did as he was told. They caught so many fish that the nets wouldn’t hold them all. Luke 5:8 tells us that Peter did a very strange thing, “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’” Jesus didn’t say anything about Peter’s sin. Jesus didn’t give any call for worship. I guess when a carpenter shows a fisherman how to fish, the fisherman recognizes there’s something different happening here. Ryken says, “Peter realized the vast distance that lay between him and Jesus. It was the distance between an unholy man and the holy God.”

Peter was to understand that Jesus was not only more than a Carpenter and more than a prophet. He was the savior of the world. Peter even called Him the Messiah when asked to identify him. He might not have understood exactly what that meant at the time, but we see from his later epistles that he did understand how Jesus was the savior of the world. “In his book More Than a Carpenter, Josh McDowell uses a simple illustration to show what God was doing for us at the cross of Christ. He wrote: An incident that took place several years ago in California illuminates what Jesus did on the cross.… A young woman was picked up for speeding. She was ticketed and taken before the judge. The judge read off the citation and said, “Guilty or not guilty?” The woman replied, “Guilty.” The judge brought down the gavel and fined her $100 or ten days. Then, an amazing thing took place. The judge stood up, took off his robe, walked down around in front, took out his billfold, and paid the fine. What’s the explanation of this? The judge was her father. He loved his daughter, yet he was a just judge. His daughter had broken the law, and he couldn’t just say to her, “Because I love you so much, I forgive you. You may leave.” If he had done that, he wouldn’t have been a righteous judge.… But he loved his daughter so much he was willing to take off his judicial robe and come down in front and represent her as her father and pay the fine.”[2]

[1] Morey, Robert A. 1996. The Trinity: Evidence and Issues. Iowa Falls, IA: World Pub.

[2] Morgan, Robert J. 2000. Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes. Electronic ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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Matthew 12:6, Various

Smile! Jesus Is The Greatest!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 18, 2024

Those of my generation remember Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) being frequently quoted as saying, “I am the greatest.” It makes me think of a joke about him. He boarded a plane on his way to the Philippines, where he would partake in the “thriller in Manila,” where he fought Smokin’ Joe Frazer for the third and last time. The stewardess came through the first class section and told all passengers to fasten their seat belts, to which Ali responded, “Superman don’t need no seat belt!” To which the stewardess answered, “Superman don’t need no airplane!” Ali fastened his seat belt.

The scriptures are absolutely clear about who is the greatest. In Matthew 12:41-42, Jesus referred to himself as being “a superior thing” to Jonah and Solomon.  Morey says, “One reason why the Jews became so enraged with Jesus is that He claimed to be greater than the most important people and places in Judaism. Jesus was greater than the Patriarchs, such as Abraham and Jacob (John 8:53; 4:12). He was greater than the prophets, such as Jonah (Matt. 12:41). He was greater than the Kings, such as Solomon (Matt. 12:42). He was greater than Moses (Matt. 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44). He was even greater than the Sabbath (Mark 2:23–28).” The author of the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was even greater than all the angels. But the greatest claim Jesus made might be the one recorded in Matthew 12:6. After being accused of violating the law of the Sabbath and desecrating the temple, Jesus said, “I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.” The Jews clearly saw the logical implications of such claims—the only One who was “greater” than all these things was God Himself. Therefore, Jesus was claiming to be God. That is why they picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy (John 8:52–59).

I love to be greeted by smiling people! People who don’t smile have a negative effect on everyone around them.  Decker says, “Your smile even affects you. It lifts your spirits. It generates more energy. You feel the smile throughout your whole body…You will find that good gestures and a smile will free you to share your thoughts fully. You will find a ready audience because when you smile, the world smiles with you. Your gestures show openness that people find inviting…A warm smile and kinetic gestures go a long way to demonstrating the bold assurance God has given you through his Word. Please smile and say, “Jesus is the Greatest.” It makes little sense to tell people that Jesus is the greatest man who ever lived, that he offers the greatest gift ever given, and that this is the best news they have ever heard and to do it without a smile.

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Mark 2:3-7, Various

Only God Can Forgive Sin

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 17, 2024

We are saved by grace through faith. Faith in what?  I’ve had discussions with people who believe they are Christians and yet reject some of the basic concepts associated with the Christian faith itself. They may not believe the Bible to be totally reliable. They may not believe in the miracles reported to have been performed by Jesus. But most often, they may believe that Jesus was not God but rather a good man and a great moral teacher. But salvation itself, according to the Bible, is dependent not on faith in what one chooses to have faith in but on faith in the precepts of Scripture. If salvation, as promised in the Bible, is to be mine, I must attain it by the means prescribed. R. A. Torrey says, “In order to be saved, we must believe that Jesus can and will forgive our sin.”  But this carries with it a presupposition which also must be believed. Torrey goes on, “This faith involves faith in the Divinity of Jesus, for God alone can forgive sin.”

Mark 2:3–7 makes it clear that the forgiveness of our sins and the deity of Christ are intimately connected. You cannot have one without the other.  It says that four friends brought a paralytic to Jesus for healing, “but when they could not get near him (Jesus) because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now, some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” This question expects a negative answer: no one! Please notice that Jesus did not correct their thinking. They were right! Only God can forgive sins. But then Jesus went on to demonstrate His divinity by healing the paralytic.

In Colossians 3:13, Paul exhorts all believers to forgive each other “just as Christ forgave you.” When Christ forgives us, God forgives us because they are “one.” Jesus is God, yet He’s not the Father nor the Holy Spirit, but He’s one of the three persons in the Godhead.  Please notice that as Pfeiffer puts it, “the Pharisees rightly observed (for once) that no man can forgive sins but God only (Mk 2:7). The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ forgives is evidence that he is God.” Please also notice that it’s not that Jesus can forgive. He does forgive!  Ephesians 1:7-8 tells us that His forgiveness is lavished upon us…according to the unlimited riches of His grace. As Paul said, “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20). There is more than enough grace to cover your sins and give you love, joy, peace, and an overflowing, victorious life.

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Matthew 8:16-17

Eternally Healthy!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 16, 2024

Although God is one in essence, he is three in His persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each of the three persons has always existed and is often referred to as the “eternal Father, the eternal Son, and the eternal Holy Spirit.” When Jesus was about to be executed, He prayed in John 17:5, a great priestly prayer. In it, he said, “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” He came from the eternal state of permanent glory and returned to that state at his ascension. He is now there, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, waiting for the time of His return. Coming from this glorious state and taking on the likeness of man, He truly humbled Himself for our salvation.  Philippians 2:7-8 tells us that He … “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

You would think that if the Divine, eternal Son was to become man, He’d come with all the glory of God. But he left that behind for our sakes. In the flesh, he did not protect Himself from our infirmities, temptations, limitations, emotions, and the like. No, indeed, He completely fulfilled what Isaiah 53:4 said about the Messiah. “Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”  But it’s not only that Jesus experienced the imperfections of humanity. He took them off of us, put them on Himself, carried them to the Cross, and died with them to be resurrected again in His perfect body. Isaiah goes on to say, “By his stripes, we are healed.” Matthew tells us that Jesus’ healing of the sick was to fulfill the passage from Isaiah. We read, “That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (Matthew 8:16-17).  It says Jesus “took our illnesses.” We, too, will be resurrected in a perfected state because Jesus took them from us.

Eternally healthy! Can you imagine? It’s an exhilarating prospect! The older I get, the more that means to me. I can’t even roll over in bed without pain anymore. I look forward to the day I can run and jump again as I did when I was young. Mills says it “…is exhilarating in the extreme by its promise to the person who knows Christ as Savior, a promise of release from the restraints of an aging, material universe and entry into a new, eternal creation, and a close relationship with God and His Son. Then, too, there is the glorious prospect of a new, immortal resurrected body, a body eternally healthy, un-aging, and without any of the physical restraints imposed by our present bodies, a body just like Jesus’ resurrection body. And added to that, God will heap glory onto that body for all the things we have done for His Kingdom during our mortal lives in this present mortal body!  Ah, my fellow believer, we face an unimaginably glorious future; may we all hasten (promote) the day of God!!”

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