Getting Close to God

 A Better Relationship

Book of Hebrews Chapter 3

A relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest relationship we can have!

A good relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ means you have a better relationship with God!

As human beings we have the tendency worship the things of this world.

It seems we are always seeking something to worship and not God.

To worship is to reverence something or someone that is most important to you!

We also have the tendency to recognize some humans far too much, and in fact it could be said that some humans worship other humans.

We are wrong to even consider such a thing!

In some churches, it seems the Pastor is worshipped more than the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a terrible sin!

In some denominations the church leader is allowed to carry the same weight as the Word of God such as the Pope, but there are others and God wrote down the things, we need to know is this life.

This is a terrible sin!

To the Jews, Moses and Abraham are worshipped as much as God is worshipped, and even some of the Old Testament prophets ranked higher than the Lord Jesus Christ.

We had better understand that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who brings to us the message of God for salvation!

We had better understand that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who did the work that was necessary for our salvation.

We had better understand that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Author of our Salvation.

We had also better understand it is the Lord Jesus Christ who pleads our case to God.

He does all these things and more, because He is the One and only Mediator between God and man!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is God!

*****Heb 3:1  Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; 

“Wherefore”, all the things that that we learned in Chapter 1 and then Chapter 2 have brought us to the truth of Chapter 3.

**The Lord Jesus Christ is the true Messenger of God!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Supreme Apostle of God according to this writer and according to all the Bible.

An Apostle takes care of the business of God. 

Our Heavenly Father is in “the sinner saving business”!

Under the Old Covenant of the law, Moses held the office of an apostle, as God's ambassador to the Jewish people and those strangers that joined with them.

It was Aaron that held the office of High Priest as man's representative before God.

Under the "Covenant of Grace" the Lord Jesus Christ holds both offices!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Apostle, the Messenger of God, and the Ambassador of God, while being our High Priest.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who possesses all the authority and power of God’s Kingdom, and He represents God’s Kingdom perfectly because He is Perfect!

We should understand that God’s Kingdom is not of this earth.

The Lord Jesus is speaking to us of a much better place

As God's High Priest, the Lord Jesus is greater than any high priest that has gone before Him!

**He is the Highest of High Priest to all believers.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who bears the name of God before all mankind!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who knows mankind and knows God!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is able to represent God before man and man before God and He is the only One who can do this!

This Book we call the Bible, the Word of God, leaves us with no doubt that both these things are true.

Heb 5:10  Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedec. 

Heb 7:26  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 

Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God “for us”:

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who builds a bridge between God and man!

It is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that built a new bridge for us to get to Heaven, but it is a narrow path.

What is the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? 

It is that man can know God and can come to be face to face with God!

Remember the Lord Jesus is building us a mansion “in His Father’s House”!

It is the work of Lord Jesus Christ that has caused all these things to be true!

These things are true because the Lord Jesus is also the Supreme High Priest!

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,” who also maketh intercession for us”.

It is just a matter of time, and Our Lord Jesus will also hold the office of King of kings and Lord of lords.

What proof do we have?

First Our true Prophet

Deu 18:15  The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

This was Moses speaking the truth to the children of Israel

Next Our High Priest:

1Sa 2:35  And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. 

And next our King:

2Sa 7:13  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 

Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 

Psa 95:3  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 

We must know the complete truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We must fix our eyes upon Jesus.

We must fix our thoughts upon Jesus.

We must fix our minds upon Jesus.

We must fix our attention upon Jesus.

We must grasp the Lord Jesus Christ and attach to Him and never let go!

We must pursue a perfect relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ till the day He comes to take us to the home that He has prepared for us.

As believers, these things must have real meaning because we must be sanctified, set apart for our God!

We must confess that it is the Lord Jesus Christ whom God sent to save us and because He is the Perfect High Priest, He is able to do so!

He has shown us what God is like.

He has told us the truth of God, of ourselves, and of this world.

He has all the power of God, and it is Our Savior who is in absolute control of this world.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is faithful to fulfill the things of God for us!

*****Heb 3:2  Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. 

What was the house of Moses? We could say it was the Church of Israel that gathered in the Tabernacle and later the Temple.

Moses was as faithful as any human could be to God.

We also know that we need the faith of Abraham to get to Heaven!

Gal_3:9  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Gal_3:14  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Yes, Moses was faithful, but we need the faith of Abraham to obtain righteousness

Rom_4:13  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Gal_3:6  Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Abraham believed God so it is in our best interest to believe all the Word of God, not just Moses and the laws called the Law of Moses.

The Lord Jesus Christ is even more faithful because He has perfect faithfulness!

Moses was faithful to his calling.

Moses was a great freedom leader.

Moses was the great Lawgiver.

Moses was a great nation builder.

Moses was a great friend of God in the eyes of the Jews.

The Jews thought that Moses was the only man who had met with God face to face, but with "Grace" we will all come face to face with our Redeemer.

Moses had been appointed by God to do some great things and He was faithful to do them.

Num 12:6  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 

Num 12:7  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 

Num 12:8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 

To the Hebrew speaking Jews there was no one as great as Moses.

You see here is the trap that many Church members find themselves in today.

They put some man on a pedestal making them equal with God.

Maybe Moses was superior to all men in his day.

Even God bragged upon Moses.

The Lord Jesus Christ is also called of God and called to do greater things than Moses.

The Lord Jesus has shown us by example exactly what God is like and how we can become acceptable to Him.

No doubt that Moses was a faithful man, but he was just a man and not the Godman, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, “to make reconciliation for the sins of the people”. 

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who was faithful to proclaim God's salvation plan!

And it is only the Lord Jesus Christ who can make reconciliation for us to God the Father!

*****Heb 3:3  For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. 

Moses caused the Tabernacle in the wilderness to be built, but he had the plans from God to guide Him.

Today every Christian is a house of God!

Also, a design of God, but the work is done by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Eph_2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

What is the human? Our bodies are a finely tuned built machine.

We are resourceful.

We can adapt for many uses.

We have a mind of surprising capacities.

We have perception and can reason.

We have memory and a conscience.

We can have hope and we can trust.

We can know love.

We can reverence.

There is no inventor that has ever been able to surpass God's creation of the human being!

There is no builder who can build as does the Lord Jesus Christ!

Above all, we all have a spirit that links us to God and we are able to be created anew in Jesus Christ.

Joh_3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Joh_3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

1Co_6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Jesus Christ is the builder of my house, and He can build your house to!

We must understand that He (the Lord Jesus Christ) has equipped us and established us for His purpose.

If we reject the purpose that the Lord has given to us, we become useless, and the Lord will destroy our house!

1Co_3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

It is easy to see that He who has built our house is far greater than the house as magnificent as it is!

*****Heb 3:4  For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. 

Who is our Creator? Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 

It is this Son of God who is our God!

Heb 1:8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 

The Son of God is the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Jn_5:20  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

We cannot miss these things if we study the Word of God!

The Lord Jesus has built the house of this entire Universe and He has built my house which is now His house!

The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, who is God, and He is as much God as our Heavenly Father and God the Holy Spirit!

He possesses the very nature of God because He is God!

Christ Jesus made the house. He laid the foundations of our Universe, and He is the House of all God's people.

You know the Lord has to live within me, before I can live within Him!

Moses may have been the greatest man who ever lived to the Jews, but the message of the Book of Hebrews is that the Lord Jesus Christ is far greater than Moses!

In fact, this is the message of all the Word of God!

In fact, no matter what person is alive today, or from the past, or may be in our future, they will never surpass the Lord Jesus Christ in greatness!

We can only be residents of this universe, but the Lord Jesus is God the builder of our universe!

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 

Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 

Eph 3:12  In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. 

Moses nor any other human being can possibly reach the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Heb 3:5  And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; 

To speak of Moses to the Jews is difficult and delicate thing to do. 

It is hard for the Gentiles to understand just how much the Jews regard Moses.

They see Moses as a man who dedicated his entire life to the obedience of the God of his father’s Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (who would be Israel).

All God's dealings with Israel were transacted through Moses until he died.

To the Jews, Moses was the Mediator of the Covenant with God.

He brought Israel out of Egypt.

He led them through the Red Sea.

He gave then the Moral Law the Ten Commandments and in fact gave them 613 laws.

It was by Moses that the national life of Israel was organized!

Moses could not go into the Promised Land because Moses was not a perfect man!

Moses was much inferior to Christ Jesus as Moses was just a "servant" to God.

Moses was much inferior to Christ Jesus in respect to his work, as Moses prophesied of a greater revelation to come, which was the Messiah.

Moses was servant to the house of God.

*****Heb 3:6  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. 

The Lord Jesus Christ is servant of His own House, the House of God, the Church.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the also the Apostle and High Priest of our profession and who has now been seen to be much greater than Moses.

Christianity is the completed “House of God” on earth over which Christ Jesus reigns as the Son of God!

To be called to Christ is a much higher calling than to have been called to Moses.

Jesus Christ, God's Son, is Son over God's House and Moses was only a servant to God's House!

Moses was called to be a servant to proclaim these things to come sometime in the future as many they now have come.

Moses was to predict and show by example, in symbols and typology, what the Savior of the world would be like and what He was to do when He came into the world.

When God gave Moses messages to deliver, Moses struggled for He did not always understand that message nor those symbols, and God did not explain these things to Moses for it was not yet time. 

Remember verse one and two in Chapter 1.

Heb 1:1  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 

Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 

Moses may have been the greatest servant of God to have ever lived, but he was only a servant!

Moses was a created man, working in a created world, and the Lord Jesus Christ is our Maker and the Creator of all things. Again Chapter 1 Verse 2.

The Lord Jesus Christ is building God's House with "believers".

Believers are not those with only head knowledge!

Believers are those who believe everything the Bible says about the Son of God who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

You cannot pick and choose what you will believe about the Lord Jesus.

The entire Bible centers on the prophecy and the fulfillment of that prophecy of all things about the Lord Jesus Christ!

How do we become believers? "If we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm in Jesus Christ until the end which means the day the Lord Jesus returns to take us home".

Our confidence comes by our hope in the salvation given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ!

We must believe the promises of God!

We should walk in the glory of the Lord, no matter our circumstances!

We must stay focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ!

When we attend the House of God to worship, then we need to worship, nothing else in the House of God has this importance.

We are going to the House of God to hear the message God has for us on that particular day, we need to pay attention.

When we do not go, we miss that message and the importance of it!

Jesus Christ is far greater than Moses and Moses truly was one of the greatest men who ever lived in our world!

If we cannot cling to the hope in the salvation provided by the Lord, we cannot be saved, and we will never enter into the House of God in Heaven, the house that Jesus has prepared for us!

2Pe 3:17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 

What should we rejoice the most about in this world?

Luke 10:20  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. 

We should rejoice that our names are known in Heaven.

God knows us my name!

Make sure He knows your name and writes your name down in the Lamb's Book of Life!

We must travel the narrow path of Jesus and not the path of Moses!

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 

Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

We can have a better relationship with our God only because we have a relationship with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Amen

The Mind of Christ

Joy in Having the Mind of Christ

Book of Philippians 2:1-13

We must understand that before we met the Lord Jesus Christ our minds were depraved.

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Our minds were blinded by the lies of Satan.

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Our minds were dark and actually worthless and ignorant.

Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

Finding the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ has changed these things for each and every believer!

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

It is this change that allows us to know the truth of God and show Him the love that He deserves from us!

It is this change that allows us to love ourselves and show that love to others!

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

There is truly a great love within the renewed mind of the Christian!

*****Php 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Unity is the state of being one!

The modern-day Church is stumbling along like a feeble old man because the Church has forgotten why the Lord Jesus Christ established the Church!

The Lord Jesus Christ has removed the penalty of sin from all believers and many act like they can now do as they please making them no different from this world who live by doing what they please!

What is wrong with our world today, especially that young generation who are misled by fools?

Pro_30:12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

We live in that generation today!

God is not pleased with this generation at all!

Isa_5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

These are hard things to say but the truth can be harsh to those who can see no further than their own nose and who listen to those who are trying to make them irrelevant to society and pretty much have done this now!

Whenever young minds are corrupted, there will be a corresponding outward show of corruption and this is a fact!

We cannot judge the evilness of those who are lost but when it reflects in the Church we can certainly see the outcome!

A nation divided will cause the church to be divided, when it is the job of the Church to cause unity!

If we truly love Christ, if are comforted by His love, if we have fellowship in the Holy Spirit, and love abounds, then why do we allow this world to divide our congregations? There is too much of the world getting inside the Church!

The strength of the Church is in unity! We are not to condone those who are unruly!

We are to warn them and then cast them out if they cannot change their ways! We are never to accept their doctrine!

1Th_5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, "warn them that are unruly", comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

1Co_5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

The dividing of the Church must cease!

The church does not exist to impress the world!

The church exists to lead lost souls to Christ Jesus and be a force of good to hold back the evil of this world!

We fulfill the will of the Lord God Jehovah, when we are likeminded toward the truth of God and not the false lies of this world.

This Philippian church was a strong church. A strong church has a vision to carry forth the Gospel.

There should never be a vision of adapting to this world!

The Lord Jesus Christ never condemned anyone but the Lord Jesus Christ truly pointed out the only way to get to Heaven!

Everyone can live as they wish but they must understand there are consequences for doing so!

It is the fool who expects God to bend His own rules to accommodate those who go their own way ignoring the truth of God!

God has never allowed sin to remain in His house. God has never changed the rules to be there!

Jesus Christ wants no murmuring, no grumbling, no disturbance and no disunity in the church that bears His name.

All other places of so-called worship, are just gatherings of people who do as they wish and give the title "church" a bad name!

We can grow close together only when we let the comfort of Jesus Christ dwell within us! The comforter is the Holy Spirit, not some imaginary world view!

Rom_8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

How did the church begin? The church separated itself from the world!

Act 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Today the church has allowed the world to enter into the church and so goes the power of the church! Weak, and feeble, and for the most part irrelevant in today's world!

The Church can only be strong when we are all in unity but that unity must be in the unchangeable Word of God.

Unity can only begin when we are in harmony with God! (this unity comes only by Jesus Christ)

Anything else will cause strife in the church!

*****Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. It is only by Jesus Christ we can be at harmony with God!

Those that say differently have rejected the Word of God or rewritten the Word of God to suit themselves!

When the words of Jesus have been rejected then that group is no longer a church!

If we see that anything is causing strife in the church, then we must get rid of it at all cost! The church must remain in unity!

We of the church must do nothing that will cause contention! When we see contention, we must stop it or remove it, even if it means removing that person or persons!

If we see those who seek their own vain glory then we need to remove that person.

Jesus Christ is the God of the Church and there is no glory beyond the "Glory of God", all else is certainly vain!

We attend church first to praise God and worship Him in Spirit and in Truth!

The Lord does not share His glory in the worship service, He only allows us to witness it!

We all know our own evil so it only makes sense to esteem all others better than we are!

Lowliness of mind is the freedom from "pride"!

Those so full of pride are not seeking God at all, they are seeking acceptance of their own evil!

Psa_10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Psa_59:12 For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.

Today we have the gay community seeking vainglory for themselves in the church and they have no intention of being obedient to the Word of God. There plan to deny being "Born Again" making the new birth irrelevant!

Vain glory is the exact opposite of the "Love of God"!

Many so-called churches have forgotten these things. They have rejected Jesus Christ. They have rejected the Word of God. They have rejected the only way to Heaven and they are leading their congregation to the doorway of Hell and they will shove them through that door, laughing all the way. (Which is Satan's intent)

2Co 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The Lord has saved us as servants not His servants but servants to each other!

*****Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

We that know the Lord Jesus Christ in a personal way, are only a cog in the wheel of the "Gospel" and in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Those lost souls are too valuable to God for anyone to concentrate on their own selves.

Every believer is needed, which means that the main requirement is to be a "believer" in all the Word of God!

To be a believer means we must give the credit of our salvation to our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

If we cannot submit ourselves to the Lord and walk in humility and lowliness, we will be of no use to the Lord!

The Lord does not teach us to seek anything from this world. We are to seek rest for our souls!

Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

That yoke of the Lord, is the Word of God and the work that Christ has given us to do!

It is a fact that self-centeredness weakens relationships and also achievements. Humility requires courage to overcome our self-centeredness!

We must forget ourselves and look toward Jesus!

Heb_12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The church is faltering because our minds are on satisfying the world and not satisfying the Lord!

*****Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Why do we falter and fail every day? We do not allow the example that Christ set upon this earth to be our example in the building up of the Church!

We simply cannot separate the mysteries of the Lord's Person and His work from the greatness of His example for us to follow!

Jesus Christ was the very picture of humility.

The world may still try to reject it, but God humbled Himself and became a man just so He could be the substitute for our death!

Jesus Christ died for each and every sinner.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

This is not the action God requires of each of us but it is the "mind". In a sense, the mind is the "spiritual part of man's nature".

The mind that cannot see the works of Christ for salvation, will never be at rest.

Isa_26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Rom_8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

You see it was in the mind of God who designed His salvation plan. He placed this plan in the mind if Jesus, who has placed this plan in the mind of each believer!

God did not place this plan "among us", He placed this plan "within us" when He seals each believer with the Holy Spirit!

Eph_1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Those that reject any part of the plan of God, or His Son cannot have the mind of Christ!

Rom 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

Rom 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The "mind" of Christ is centered on the "will" of God and the fulfillment of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation!

All the Scriptures were written for and about the Lord Jesus Christ!

Psa 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

Psa 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,

Psa 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

We must accept what God is saying here to have any part of the Church and why not, the truth will always be the truth!

*****Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

We should settle this one thing in our mind! Jesus Christ was not a Theophany such described as in the Old Testament!

A Theophany is a visible manifestation of God or the visible manifestation of Second person of the Holy Trinity who appears in human form.

1Ti 6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

God only truly revealed Himself in Christ Jesus!

Mat 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

When it came to the New Covenant, God exercised His divine attributes of the Father, The Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit)!

1) God has revealed Himself through the Scriptures:

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

2) God has revealed Himself through and by, the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Son of God is truly the visible form of God!

He is as glorious as His Father.

He is equal to His Father in every way.

He is the Creator.

He is the upholder of the universe.

Being equal with God did not hinder Christ setting aside His power, His majesty, His praise, His accomplishments but not His divine nature, not His divine person, not His purity, nor His holiness.

In turn, the Lord Jesus Christ has introduced all the world to our Heavenly Father, our Abba Father

Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

This Scripture is not about the "Glory" of God!

This Scripture is about the humbleness of our God!

It brought no shame to our God to set some things aside and come to us to be our substitute in the payment of our own sin debt.

This is the thought behind these Scriptures!

Jesus Christ is the very nature of God!

He was not like God, He is God!

He did not just achieve righteousness, He is the embodiment of righteousness!

He did not just walk more perfect than any man, He is the picture of perfection!

He did not just become God when He was on this earth, He has been God throughout all eternity and He will continue to always be God!

As these Scriptures teach us humility, God set aside His sovereign state and His praise to live amongst His enemies!

We have no means to measure just what God gave up to live as a human but when we read the things that happened to Him in His "passion", where He was beat on, whipped, spat on, the crown of thorns, the plucking of the beard, the nails, the cross, it puts things in perspective.

God cannot cease to be who He is, so to be so humble to these things shows more power that we can ever know or realize!

God the Son became a man, without ceasing to be God!

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

What was the great mystery of the Old Testament fulfilled in the New Testament?

1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

There are no more mysteries of Jesus Christ, the Son of God the Father and the salvation plan of God!

There are no more mysteries in all the Scriptures! We have the complete package and the complete truth!

God's humility did not stop at being a man, God humbled Himself all the way to the cross!

Heb_12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

To say the God humbled Himself to endure the cross is a giant statement.

To say that God despised the shame of the cross is even a greater statement showing His great love for us all!

We can only ask ourselves, why are we so special to our Father in Heaven!

The Lord Jesus Christ, the manifestation of God in the flesh, willing gave His life so that we can live eternally with Him in the New Heaven.

Jesus Christ humbled Himself to be a servant to mankind and suffered the ultimate degree of humiliation!

It was not just a man that was hung of that cross, "it was ugly nasty sin"!

With outstretched arms Jesus Christ gathered all the sin of the world, from the past and from the future, my sin and your sin and took it to Hell where it belongs and left it there to rot!

So we can only be a Christian when we allow the humility of Jesus flow in and through us!

This is the "Mind of Christ" (the humbleness of Christ), that we must possess as we serve our brothers and sisters and reach out to the lost of this world.

***All those that reject the Lord Jesus and this truth will see the wrath of God because they have rejected the humility of God!

Why is Christ so exalted in this world and yet so hated by those who reject Him?

*****Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Because the Lord Jesus Christ volunteered for this humiliation and because He was in total obedience to His Father in Heaven, He has been exalted above any human upon this earth now, has ever been and will ever be!

God emptied Himself of His glory to gain even more glory so He could come with comfort to a world full of suffering!

God emptied Himself of divine dignity and this points to our duty to overcome our pride and give in to humility.

Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

BUT, as the Father cannot be without the Son, the Son cannot be without the Father. (Son of God and Son of Man)

The name Jesus means "Savior"!

We need to be saved from sin's penalty.(the wages of sin are death, eternal separation from our Creator)

We need to be saved from sin's guilt. (in the conscience, the threat of punishment can be worse than the punishment)

We need to be saved from sin' power. (Cleansed from the past and protected from the future!)

Jesus Christ came to save!

1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

To we as Christians, Christ Jesus is loved and reverenced.

To much of this world, Christ Jesus is admired and wondered at.

To most of this world, Christ Jesus is despised and hated.

In the end, every knee will bow just at the name of Jesus, which will still be "Savior"!

1) All the things in Heaven! Everything in Heaven know that Jesus is the Messiah, God in the flesh.

2) All the things in Earth! When the Lord returns everyone on earth will know that Jesus is the Messiah, God in the flesh.

3) All the things under the earth! Everyone in Hell now know the Jesus is the Messiah, God in the flesh.

I do not believe anyone is left out here.

When the name "Savior" is mentioned the entire world knows who this refers to!

When the phrase "The Book" is mentioned around this world everyone knows what this refers to!

Here the Unitarian Church are in error.

Here the Catholic Church are in error with the Virgin Mary who was the chosen vessel of God but still not Divine as the Son.

The greatness of the name of Jesus is that He stands alone in the salvation plan of God!

There is not a human being, including Mary the mother of Christ, that is not in need of our Saviors work!

There is still coming the day when all the world, all denominations, and all false religion, will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ is God in His fleshy state! Jesus Christ is the meaning of Light, Life, and Love above all humans and above all angels!

For all the doubters of that day, Jesus Christ rose from the dead to prove He was God!

For all believers witnessed the fact that the Lord ascended back to Heaven where the Savior has become the Intercessor for those who love Him.

For all those who trust in the promises of God are now filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ sent from above.

It is Jesus Himself that teaches us not to be troubled about any of these things because they are all true, Jesus Christ is God!

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

We are not to be ashamed of the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We are not to fear what this world can do to us; this world cannot take away our salvation!

And Paul adds even more assurance.

*****Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

To work out our own salvation means to work until the finish, to work until completion, to work until perfection.

There is no half-way plan of salvation, we must be personally active, remembering this activity is centered on our own salvation!

We cannot take bits and pieces from the Word of God we must accept the whole counsel of God!

We must do the work of God when we are with other Christians but we must also do the same when we are out on our own!

We are never to quit being a Christian in any given situation!

Salvation is the free, "yes I said the FREE" gift of God but a gift must be accepted to be gift!

We have a Savior who is self-existing and it is impossible for Him to come under the control of anything foreign to His existence!

When accept the "free gift of salvation" from our Living God it becomes our own salvation plan! No one else can work out our plan for us but us!

Once God has saved us, we must first get busy obeying God! (This does not mean works after salvation to keep salvation)(This simply means we must get busy obeying the Word of God!)

This is not works. Works are never involved in the salvation plan of God, we cannot do enough work to be saved and there is no work required after salvation.

Obedience will come because of love and a desire to be like our Savior!

We will remain in this sinful flesh but we are to have new goals and a new purpose and always be in pursuit of the "will of God"!

God does not interfere with the freedom He has given to us! We will always have that freedom of choice!

God does give us example after example of people who have made the wrong choice and suffered the consequences of those choices.

God gives us the standard of Jesus Christ as our mark of excellence to reach for!

We must still understand that even the Christian life will not be a bed of roses but Christian life can still be beautiful and fulfilling and only in the Christian life can we be at peace with God!

We should understand that our flesh is weak but our strength will remain in the Lord.

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

It is God alone who goes with us through this Christian life.

It is God alone who works out things for His own good pleasure!

God will never supersede our thoughts but God will always encourage our own efforts.

It is our duty to work out our own salvation. It is God's duty to see that we get all the help we need!

We certainly need to maintain a certain fear and reverence of the Lord but it will be the trials and temptations of this life that we be our greatest fears!

When we reject the help of the Lord, we will make things hard on our own selves and then hard on those who are around us.

Without the Holy Spirit, these things could cripple our testimony and cause us to be an unreliable witness for the Lord!

Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Understanding these things will bring God's peace to us!

Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Joh 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

Joh 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

When we feel the Holy Spirit, we need to go with Him at all times!

When we do not feel the presence of the Holy Spirit we need to pray for forgiveness!

Amen