Although it is evident here that both sons were really lost, and many believe that the Pharisees are represented in the older son in this final parable. Let that reality sink in! I think its rather amusing that John had to mention this almost to get a little dig in on Peter (I always knew I was faster!). 28:11-15), is false. Bread . This is a time for joy and sharing the good news, not for clutching me as if I were some jealously guarded private dream-come-true. Peter responds in the affirmative, and with each affirmative reply, Jesus charges Peter to Feed the lambs, tend my sheep, and feed my sheep.. 103. What this says, and what all of these parables intimate, is that our sin is of cosmic importance. The poem became famous and was the source of much of Thompson's posthumous reputation. That is why John characterizes it as the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Also, it was the love of the Father for us that He allowed Lazarus to get sick because through this He would reveal more of His Sons glory to His creatures. [8] If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. He calls this critical realism, and its a via media between rationalism and fideism. Quite the opposite. And, they do! George Ladd once said that, the Kingdom of God is the redemptive reign of God dynamically active to establish his rule among men, and that this Kingdom, which will appear as an apocalyptic act at the end of the age, has already come into human history in the person and mission of Jesus to overcome evil, to deliver men from its power, and to bring them into the blessings of Gods reign The Kingdom of God involves two great moments: fulfillment within history, and consummation at the end of history., Section 4 Heart of Darkness: The Power of Unbelief, 11:45-48Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, [46]but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Spurgeon was a man well acquainted with sorrow and pain and he penned the following graphs based around his understanding of Romans 14:8, which says, We live unto the Lord.. You can now see the rub, can you not? The Hound of Heaven. As it is written, 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. You were faithless, hopeless, and on a grim march toward eternal death when He snatched you off that path and plucked you like a brand from the burning (Zech. D.A. At the heart of the Spirits work within us is His desire for us to know Christ more. (b) I think the lack of success in catching fish, which the disciples had until the Lord appeared, was meant to teach that without Christs presence and blessing ministers can do nothing. Praise God He has not passed us over, but has shed His grace and mercy upon us, the underserving, the helpless, the hopeless in order that we may be given a hope that will never fail. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. [20] Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world. I said to Dawn: Be suddento Eve: Be soon; With thy young skiey blossoms heap me over. This means a real application of our time, energy, and even finances to learning the deep things of God. John later would say this in his epistles: In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. Even when the son was far off he felt compassion and ran to him. As long as ever I could, I rebelled, and revolted, and struggled against God. Why would John remark on that specifically? I hope you see the glorious grace of Jesus Christ and the magnificence of His offer to you this evening. Meanwhile we long to be with him, and daily sing-, My heart is with him on his throne, Also present were john and Alexander, but we know nothing about them. Were all perishing physically, and the larger context of the chapter addresses the nature of the soul and our need for eternal salvation.[ii]. I promise its worth your time and a good reflection on the goodness & mercy of God. Such is the value God places on the lost sinners of this world. Oh the infinite power, infinite knowledge bound up in the person of Jesus. John 3:16 may perhaps be the most famous Bible verse in the world. And it is His working in and through us that will help us do so. The glory of God is of infinite value! And as you meditate on and memorize the word of God, pray to the Lord and ask for His help to understand it and deeply engrain it in your mind so that when you face a Peter Moment you will have the sword ready to go. They were vexed to see even more unanswerable proofs that Jesus was the Christ, and irritated to feel that their own unbelief was more than ever inexcusable.. 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Just so Christ is in heaven looking at us, and we are voyaging over the troublous waters of this world. It is the underlying reason for all Gods works, from the creation of the world, to the redemption of fallen sinners, to the judgment of unbelievers, to the manifestation of His greatness for all eternity in heavenEverything God created gives Him glory except fallen angels and fallen men. Charles Spurgeon. All those who boldly proclaimed headship over their lives will suddenly realize the oxygen they suck has been a precious gift from the one who upholds all the planets by the power of His word (Heb. The depth of the Sons suffering was the measure of his love for the Fathers glory. We see that not only is this man the Messiah whose long awaited and desired coming had finally arrived, but he is the very Son of God who called creation into existence millennia prior to this moment. [24] Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. [15] We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. [3] He restores my soul. by Francis Thompson. Wayne Grudem says, Those who are said to be reigning with Christ for the thousand years are Christians who have died and are already reigning with Christ in heavenThis view is called Amillennialism because it maintains that there is no future millennium yet to come.[x], The Amil believe that the millennium is now, the whole period from Jesus ascension to his return. He could have said to Himself I am really dying for this? but He did not. They were actually illegal trials meant to ram through a decision based upon fear and hatred of Jesus. While I greatly admire Thomas bravery and loyalty, I also want us to see that we follow Christ not out of a motivation toward blind duty, but a duty that is motivated by the love He has shed abroad in our hearts (a key concept in ch.15), and for the joy that lies before us in eternity. The verse says that we get eternal life by believing, not by doing, not by working. However, I think that this emphasis on the future nature of Christs kingdom does injustice to His victory at Calvary, and does not fully comprehend the fullness of Christs current reign. Rain hits it. Paul then goes on to say, [10] these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. This view robs the church of important teachings concerning the kingdom that are clearly set forth in the New Testament. John uses the word world in ten different ways in his Gospel. Why is it that Christ Jesus is so little beloved? Is Jesus reign something future, or is it now and to be seen with our eyes in the future? They will call out a witnessing people who shall serve Christ in every land, but they will do no more. I must admit that when I study the history of the world since the spread of the gospel, I do not see a uniform trajectory upward toward a world of people who are united in morals and standards. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his names sake. Of my own mind, and in the midst of tears. A careful look at the text reveals, however, that it teaches nothing of the kind. 15 September 2019. But in this account I believe that Jesus is almost certainly referring to the revealing of His person/deity and not specifically seeking praise. So John came first with his warning of the radical nearness of the kingdom. Prior to this verse, the Lord Jesus has been the one speaking, but many scholars believe that John 3:16 is actually John now commenting, and given the flow and narrative of the passage, I believe that this is correct. The man who benefits from the miracle has been dead for fully 4 days. Boston artist R.H. Ives Gammell (1893-1981) painted his 23-panel series, A Pictorial Sequence by R.H. Ives Gammell Based on "The Hound of Heaven" over the course of 15 years (1941-1956).In them, the artist interpreted British poet Francis Thompson's late-19th-century "The Hound of Heaven" poem.Those verses have been a staple of Catholic literature . It seems that they had already agreed upon raising Lazarus, and that now Christ is thanking God the Father for hearing Him and for granting this miracle so that He may be glorified that people might believe. It takes a lot to get up that early in the morning. Matthew Henry is wise to point our attention to the Lords own words about His coming resurrection and how this generation would ask for a sign of His messianic qualifications and would receive no other sign but that of the Sign of Jonah.. Heaven and Hell. You wish to bring others to Christ, because you yourselves have been brought to life and liberty in him. Spurgeon sees a rich typology in this passage. No one comes to the Father except through me. John Frame[xviii] and Keith Mathison both consider themselves Post-Millennial. Lets take one at a time. He is the center of the Bible and indeed of all human history. The shepherd goes to great lengths to rescue the lost sheep. Jesus Christ is there. Listen to Spurgeon and let your hearts agree with his: One more duty I would mention, though others suggest themselves. Well first, although John isnt saying in THIS verse explicitly that Jesus is the only way to salvation, I believe that it is implied simply by the context. A few things. We might say that Christ was the one person who deserved to insist on His own way, and yet He submitted Himself to the will of the Father. Your prayer life will be strengthened. [48]If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.. And that is the great love of our undiscriminating God. These verses metaphorically insist that Jesus is safe as long as he performs his Fathers will. 386-87. [6] So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 28). 15:14-15 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. But still, there are some observations that may hearten us and enrich the passage as a whole. The last war shall be the most fearful and terrible war that ever desolated the earth.[xvii]. "There cannot be heaven without Christ. Not only is it a feast for the eyes, and ears with the flowering trees and waves breaking upon the shore, but it is a spiritual feast even an emotional and mental feast for anyone who has ever been restored by the Lord Jesus. "We shall see his face," that is, we shall see clearly and plainly all that has to do with our Lord; and this shall be the greatest bliss of heaven. Pink notes the fulfillment of a few OT types: in crossing the brook Cedron, accompanied by His disciples, another Old Testament type was most strikingly fulfilled. This charge I have received from my Father. (John 10:17-18 ESV). There is a website: thehoundofheaven.com. Frauds. So often we mentally ascent to Gods power to do this or that, because weve read it in the Bible, but we dont ever think to apply it appropriately to our lives, as if He is somehow neutered of His power 2000 years later. The Remedy: Discernment Attained by Constant Practice 5:14b. Carson. It was first printed in 1890 in the periodical Merry England,[1] later to appear in Thompson's first volume of poems in 1893. You immediately start combing your purse, your wallet, your statements, you stop and think you must be missing something somewhere. Lean on His promises and trust that He is who He says He is. We are to be people marked by inward heart transformation and a mind renewed in the knowledge of God, which we can readily share with others. He opened my eyes to see the gloriousness of the gospel. [ii] Article 4 of the First Head of Doctrine from the Synod of Dort says it best, The wrath of God abideth upon those who believe not this gospel. Genesis xxxii. A Sermon Published On Thursday, September 24, 1914. Carson weighs four major opinions on the matter and comes to the conclusion that the best way to understand this is through the prism of what is going on in each situation with each individual. In his book Chosen by God RC Sproul says this about John 3:16 and the distortions mentioned above, What does this famous verse teach about fallen mans ability to choose Christ? It does not describe the intricacies of the new birth. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurried and unperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His divine grace.
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