Bearing and Forgiving: The Example

 

“Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13)

Bearing means to endure or tolerate a person and his or her actions, opinions, etc. It is a stance of not judging because of your respect for him or her as a creation of God, one loved by Him. Bearing comes from living out visibly and tangibly what God has put into you from His being and His indwelling Holy Spirit. Because we are “raised with Christ,” as Paul stated, we are enabled to bear with each person if we are willing to do that which God compels us. We can simplify this action and attitude of bearing with a slogan from the 1980s-2000s, “What would Jesus do”—WWJD.

Paul wrote we are to bear each other, our brothers and sisters in Christ—their various attitudes, actions, thoughts, words, etc. Still, he added to that. He specifically added that we are not only to bear but to “forgive any complaint.” Forgiveness is hard for any person, especially the unsaved. It should be easier for a Christian because he or she recognized and recognizes daily his or her own sins. Still though, without humility, forgiveness is hard to give. Without a willing heart, the forgiveness God puts within you will not be extended to others.

Bearing a person is easier to do. Sometimes we just grit our teeth and put up with a person (“grin and bear it”), probably while interacting very little with the person. Forgiving requires more of a person to be done. It requires humility, understanding, mercy, compassion, kindness, and acceptance of that person with whom you bear his or her opinions, actions, attitudes, etc. Forgiving is freely, willingly, and graciously extending favor, kindness, and pardon to a person who has harmed or offended you or someone else. 

Paul said forgiveness is a refusal to cast blame for “any complaint.” Forgiving is totally removing a harm from your memory of offenses, not harboring any grudges for later quarrels or arguments. Paul also recognized that forgiveness is a two-way street when he wrote, “against one another.” It takes at least two people for an offense to happen. The offense of one person by another may occur from interactions between those two people because of attitudes, words, or actions misunderstood or misstated. Therefore, forgiveness often needs to be extended by each person in the equation of offense and hurt. 

In considering offense and forgiveness, Paul summed up the ultimate example of forbearing and forgiving, in case anyone forgot and in hope they will remember it in the heat of the moment. Just as the word “bearing” should cause us to consider the ultimate reason to bear with another person and just as the word “forgiving” should cause us to think of the ultimate reason to forgive, Paul explicitly stated as reminder and prime example Jesus’ bearing with and forgiving of us, His followers. 

Even if you are so hurt or offended that you do not want to be with or think about the person by whom you took offense, remember, but for Jesus, you would not know or have freely received forgiveness. You would not have received salvation and the promise of eternal life. Your interactions with God read like a litany of charges of offense and rebellion against Him, but He extended and extends undue grace and forgiveness to you. He bears with and justifies you. God removes your sins from your name as far as the east is from the west. 

God did not have Paul write and teach that we are to do something impossible. He bore and forgave all your sins. God gave mercy and grace to you and pours into you the ability to be merciful and gracious toward other people. You can bear and forgive because of His love, of which you are the recipient and the channel to other people. 

So, be like God. By the love of God within yourself, bear with and forgive any complaint you have with one another. Are you willing? 

 

Are you forgiven and saved by Jesus? If not, now is the time to believe in Jesus, confess your sins, and receive His forgiveness.

Relationships in the Lord’s Prayer

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

— Matthew 6:14

 

Notice, this verse immediately follows the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus didn’t say feed people as God has fed you. He didn’t say keep other people from being tempted as God has you. In the prayer, Jesus acknowledged God—His holiness, supremacy, reign, power, love, mercy, forgiveness, and wisdom. 

 

The only time in the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus speaks about what a person is to do is in relation to forgiving another person. In the rest of this prayer, Jesus speaks about what God does, can do, or will do in relation to us.

 

Why is it significant that Jesus spoke about our action in a prayer to God? Why did He choose to speak to us about forgiving a person?

 

In each of the other parts of this prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray to God recognizing who He is and the most important things we need. He emphasized our relationship to God.  When we pray, we are expressing our relationship with God. Just like when we speak with people with whom we are in relationship, we speak with God through prayer. 

 

Still, why did Jesus include the phrase about us forgiving as God forgives? God created us for relationship. We desire relationship with Him and other people. In every other part of this prayer, Jesus spoke about our relationship with God in recognition of who He is. If we do not forgive people, it disrupts our relationships with God and people. Unforgiveness is like a seismic shift in the earth’s core. We don’t fit together well with God and people if we harbor hatred, anger, or grudges. 

 

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to recognize who God is and who we are in relationship to Him. In doing this, our relationship with God stays intact and not fractured. Jesus, in this prayer, also reminded us God forgives and restores relationship with us, and that we must forgive and restore relationships with people as God forgives us.

 

Jesus emphasized this by pointing it out in verse 14. He said, if you forgive people their wrongs against you, then God will forgive you. Is God’s forgiveness conditional? It’s conditioned on our repentance and confession. When we need to forgive someone, all the fault for the break in relationship is not on the other person. We have erred, too. When we forgive the person, we end up recognizing our part in the fractured relationship. This recognition leads us to confession and repentance to God. Forgiving others renews relationship with the person and with God. Verse 14, then, is accurate; we forgive others, then God forgives us.

 

“Forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us” (Matt 6:12). 

 

We pray in recognition of who God is. We forgive in recognition of God’s forgiving us. Both are about relationships. God created us for vertical and horizontal relationships. Forgiving renews vertical and horizontal relationships as does regular talking with God and significant people in our lives.

 

Bread, Fish, and Egg

Bread, Fish, and Egg

 

“So, if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

— Luke 11:13

 

We’ve all heard and read of Jesus teaching that a good father would give bread, not a stone, fish, not a snake, and an egg, not a scorpion. A good father will give good things to his child—life, food/longevity (descendants), and freedom/solace/joy. 

 

Jesus had this in mind as He taught His disciples about prayer. When the disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, He taught the Lord’s Prayer. He said,

 

“OUR FATHER” (God is the summa of goodness and love, the example of summa parenting. When we say this, we acknowledge our recognition of Him as Creator of all, our Abba of our heart, soul, mind, and body.)

 

“IN HEAVEN” (The supreme God, Creator of heaven and earth reigns eternally on His throne. He is not limited to earth but rules over all that is from His throne in His highest heaven.)

 

“HOLY IS YOUR NAME” (YHWH’s name is so magnificent that it tells of the only Almighty One, YHWH. It thrills our soul. Our spirit sings when He is near.)

 

“YOUR KINGDOM COME” (As You reign in heaven, bring Your good, pleasant, and magnificent kingdom to dwell among us. This part of the prayer addresses our spiritual need of God to reign around and in us, to give us renewed spiritual life through and in Him, 

which means…)

 

“YOUR WILL BE DONE” (only You, YHWH, are supremely good and cause only good to occur. LORD, may Your will alone be done)

 

“HERE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” (as recorded in Matthew 6:10) (We recognize Your goodness, greatness, and omnipotence. I AM. Have Your throne among us, Lord.)

 

“GIVE US EACH DAY OUR DAILY BREAD” (This prayer now addresses our physical earthly needs and recognizes our need to remain in God’s family. We fool ourselves thinking we can go off on our own and live life for ourselves. We are dependent on God for His good gifts of life-sustenance.)

 

“AND FORGIVE US OUR SINS” (Recognize only God is able to absolutely forgive, pardon, and remove the stain and guilt our sins place on and in us. This is our recognition God is Savior and Redeemer. We confess we are aware God made our spirits and we need His nurture and cleansing spiritually. We are dependent on God spiritually whether we recognize it or not. Jesus led the disciples to recognize that through this prayer. This statement comes from our heart, soul, mind, and body.)

 

“FOR WE OURSELVES ALSO FORGIVE ANYONE WHO IS INDEBTED TO US” (We are only able to do this because God has shown us how to do it through His forgiveness of us and has put this goodness in us when He did. He began making us like Him and drawing us into a right relationship when He did. We also need to be in right relationships with other people. This affects our hearts, too.)

 

“AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION” (Remind us that You, YHWH, give us hope, daily bodily sustenance, forgiveness, and daily right relationships with YOU and other people. What more do we need. You provide for our bodies, spirits, minds, and hearts. Make us content with these summum donum—supreme gifts. Nothing a temptation offers is better than what You, YHWH, give us though we don’t deserve anything from You.)

 

God gives better than bread, fish, and egg. He gives Life, Eternality/Food (life and family forever), and Solace and Freedom (forgiveness of our sins and power over temptations). Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is the Way to eternal Life. Jesus is the Redeemer who gives freedom from the death of eternal mourning because of our separation from God forever. 

 

God gives even better than the best earthly father. He gives supremely good gifts—summam donum. His gifts give us life and freedom for our bodies, minds, souls, and hearts. The Lord’s Prayer expresses that. It expresses God’s supreme greatness and our absolute need of Him in our whole being. So much more will the Father in heaven give those who ask of Him. 

 

Seek. Knock. Ask. (Luke 12:10)

Ask YHWH for faith in Jesus. 

Ask Him for forgiveness and freedom. 

Ask Him for the Living Bread. 

Ask YHWH for the Holy Spirit. 

Ask and keep on asking. Seek and keep on seeking. Knock and keep on knocking. 

 

Our ABBA in heaven, holy is YOUR name!

This Mind

“And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”

— Ephesians 4:32

 

“Kind” is from a Greek word meaning kind, good, benevolent, not harsh, sharp, or burdensome. Compassionate means tender-hearted and empathetic. 

 

So be benevolent and not sharp and be tender-hearted and empathetic to each other. Freely give undeserved grace and pardon, just as God gave you grace and pardon when you didn’t deserve it.

 

Who of us hasn’t needed mercy and empathy? Who hasn’t needed kind words and forgiveness? Who hasn’t been grateful when we’ve received such love and kindness? Remember the relief you felt. Remember the weight of your burden being lifted. Remember the engulfing love that wrapped around you. 

 

Go. Be compassionate. Give love. Be kind. Give undeserved forgiveness. Even to the people who curse you and make your life hard. Remember, God graciously gave you mercy and undeserved forgiveness and love. “Have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5-11).

Get Closer

 

 

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

— Matthew 7:3

 

A speck is just a small particle of something, like chaff, straw, or a splinter. In this parable, it’s a sin but not a flagrant rebellion upon which other sins and one’s life has been founded upon.

 

Often, our sins become a foundation for a way of life we begin to follow or make our life be centered around. It’s not a way of life that glorifies God. It’s self-centered. This way of living becomes quite noticeable to other people. They begin to associate the sinner as the one who does that action, whatever the sin is. Their beam is big and very obvious.

 

Often, a person will find a sin in someone  else so that the focus of other people is on that person instead of him or herself, the beam-blinded sinner. They forget that by pointing their finger at the speck-obstructed person that four fingers point back to themselves. 

 

God’s focus never moves away to another by our pointing fingers. He sees us and knows us. God knows our hearts and our sins. He experiences the pain of our beams and specks. 

 

Confessing of our sins to God and repenting of them provides the pivot point for Him to remove each of these elements of sin. God’s removing the beam and speck only at confession doesn’t mean He cannot remove it before then. It means we’ve gotten closer to Him by seeking Him with our whole being and asking Him to remove our sins by confession and repentance. We’ve returned to the place where we choose Jesus to be our foundation, not the beam.

Approved

 

“Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.” (Mark 15:43 [NIV])

Each of the Gospels in the Bible (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19) tells us about Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish High Council. The High Council created laws for the people of Israel. They passed judgment with the Jewish religious leaders on anyone who broke the laws. Joseph would have been in the meeting with the priests and other religious leaders as they questioned Jesus. These men later took Jesus to Pontius Pilate. Yet, something was different about Joseph.

Not all religious leaders turned their backs on Jesus. A couple listened to what He said, questioned Him, and secretly believed in Him. They became Jesus’ disciples, too. Nicodemus is the first religious leader we read about who became a believer in Jesus (John 3.) The second is Joseph of Arimathea. We discover he was Jesus’ disciple after Jesus died. In the Bible passages noted above, Joseph asked Pilate if he could remove Jesus from the cross and put Him in his own unused tomb. Once Pilate determined from a centurion that Jesus was dead, he gave permission for Joseph to take Jesus’ body off the cross, wrap him in linens, and lay Him in the tomb.

This sounds normal. You may wonder what the big deal is. Why did each of the Gospel writers decide it necessary to record Joseph’s actions toward Jesus’ body? For Jews of the time, touching a dead body was a big deal. Why? Because it caused a person to become unclean, according to God’s laws. A person who touched a dead body had to perform ceremonial cleansing. For seven days after touching a dead body, a Jew is unclean and must perform a specific ceremonial washing as described in Numbers 19:11-13. Remember, Jesus’ arrest and death occurred during Passover week, a holy week. God’s laws required Jewish men to go to the Temple in Jerusalem for this holy week. Since Joseph touched Jesus’ body the night before the Sabbath, he would be unclean and unable to enter the Temple on the Sabbath to celebrate Passover. For Jews, especially Jewish leaders, becoming unclean, more so, choosing to become unclean, was unheard of, especially at Passover. They exerted effort to ensure their ceremonial cleanliness (righteousness).

What would cause Joseph to choose to be unclean according to the religious laws? Joseph counted the cost of acting like a Jew and keeping up the façade next to honoring and respecting Jesus the Messiah. To him, putting on a façade for the Jews was less important than taking care of the body of Jesus, his Savior. Jews could not leave a dead body on a cross over the Sabbath. It would dishonor God and the land He gave them. Joseph chose to honor Jesus and not to seek the approval of people. He chose to honor God. Joseph chose to humble himself let the Jewish people consider him unclean. He allowed the dishonor to fall on himself instead of the Messiah.

One other consideration Joseph may have had is Jesus taught He Himself is the fulfillment of God’s laws. Since Jesus fulfilled the laws, the Jewish people need not offer sacrifices for sins anymore. They did not need to consider ceremonial cleansing since Jesus cleanses all who believe in Him for their salvation. Because of Joseph’s belief in Jesus, he would not be unclean for having touched Jesus’ body. Joseph, by his actions, showed his belief in Jesus as the Son of God. He and Nicodemus went from being secret and peripheral believers to being open and active believers in Jesus, the Son of God.

Why is this a big deal 2000+ years after Jesus’ death and ascension? Joseph sought the approval and respect of the Jewish people and priests. As part of the High Council, he clearly had to keep every law. Joseph, a lawmaker and judge, wanted to be righteous. He wanted to get to heaven when he died on earth. When he listened to and about Jesus, he decided for himself Jesus is the Son of God. We each are at that point now. Jesus has already come to earth and returned to heaven. He became the sacrifice for our sins. He loves each person. Jesus provides cleansing from sins and God’s approval for each person. He gives eternal life with Him in heaven. We can be like Joseph and Nicodemus were. They sought love, respect, and approval from other people. Getting those things from people can never cleanse us from our sins (our wrongdoings). We cannot be good enough or earn our way to heaven. But, we can do like Joseph and Nicodemus did while Jesus was on earth. We can have God’s love, approval, and salvation by believing in His Son, Jesus. Yes, God loves us all the time. That love provided a way for us to be cleansed of our sins. God does not force us to trust in Jesus. He makes it salvation to us and we can decide for ourselves, like the disciples who walked with, heard, and trusted in Jesus while He was alive on earth.

The decision is your own to make. Keep trying to be good enough. Keep seeking love, approval, and respect from other people. You will never be assured of your salvation and place in heaven with God. Alternatively, seek God and His love, trust in Jesus as His Son for your salvation, and be approved by God and have eternal life with Him in heaven. Doing things to look good and trying to be good are not good enough. Joseph and Nicodemus understood that. They knew the religious laws and realized trying to keep them and appear good was not the same as the goodness (righteousness) God gives to each person who believes in Jesus. God gives love, forgiveness, approval, and salvation. Will you believe and accept it?

Stop trying to be "good enough."

Seek God’s approval.

Treasured

 

Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. (Exodus 19:5 [Amplified Bible, Classic edition]) 

    People read this verse and often wonder what an odd word choice God used to speak about people. In today’s understanding, “peculiar” means odd. In the Hebrew language, this word does not mean that. It comes from the word segullah meaning to earn and to acquire. This adjective describes something or someone valuable by which the owner acquired or earned through his or her own exertions. The owner worked for it; he gave something for it. With this understanding of that definition, it might seem unusual for God to say He exerted Himself to possess the people about whom He spoke. 

    Consider these people and through what they went. These people were the Hebrews, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To these men, God promised descendants greater than the stars of the sky and the sand of the earth. When God spoke to the Israelites through Moses, He called them His “peculiar possession.” In considering the definition of “peculiar” as the Israelites understood it, we realize He meant He exerted Himself to acquire or earn the deliverance of the Israelites to be His own people. This statement takes the hearers and readers to what God did in the Israelites’ lives.

    What did God do before He made this statement? He reminded them of this in Exodus 19:4, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to Myself.” God reminded the Israelites and us about what He did to the Egyptians. He caused the crashing of the Red Sea waves to swallow the bodies of Pharaoh and his army. God dried a passage across the Red Sea bed by which Israelites could escape from Pharaoh. His action for them was like eagles’ wings that bore them to safety. God revealed Himself again to the Israelites as I AM, the one and only God, the almighty One and only One whom they should worship.

    With verse five, God spoke to the Israelites using a conditional statement. “If you will obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession.” He gave the Israelites a choice to be His people. When God created humanity, He made them in His image. He gave them the freedom to choose things for themselves. This means people can choose their own way or the best way, God’s ways. Sin occurs when a person chooses contrary to God’s will. Sin, which separates people from God, is the reason humanity needed salvation from the time God created them. With this conditional statement in Exodus 19:5, God, because of His love, allowed the Israelites to exercise their freewill to choose Him for their God or to go their own way. If they chose God, they would obey Him and be faithful to their covenant with Him and He would make them His peculiar possession. Being God’s possession means anything they needed-safety, provisions, shelter, deliverance, redemption, etc.-God would provide. A covenant is a two-way promise by each party to the other party. God chose the Israelites for His own to show His glory to other people and nations. God wanted to be in a relationship with humanity when He created Adam and Eve. At that point, He provided a way for them to receive cleansing from their sins, so they could be holy (see Genesis 3). God did this because He wants a relationship with each person. God’s faithfulness to His covenant with humanity began at creation. His bringing the Israelites out of Egypt continued to show His faithfulness to the promise He gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Just as He gave these patriarchs a promise, and they believed in and worshiped Him, He gave the descendants of these patriarchs the choice to covenant with Him. God chose them to be His peculiar people. He gave them the option of joining with Him in covenant. Would the Israelites be faithful to Him by obeying and keeping their promise that He would be their only God?

    One last statement by God in this covenant needs understanding. He said if they kept their covenant with Him, He would do more than provide for and protect them. God said the Israelites would be a kingdom of priests to Him (Exodus 19:6). That may seem like an odd phrase and a big goal to set before any person. Still, we should realize one thing; the calling and ability to be priests for God comes from God. If the Israelites would stay faithful to their covenant with Him, He would be for and do for them what they needed. What did the Israelites need in Exodus 10? Continued deliverance. These two words take us back to the Hebrew word segullah. In its first usage in the Old Testament, in Exodus 15:16, this word meant God purchased them. God said it again in Deuteronomy 7:6 when He told the Israelites they were holy and set-apart to the Lord. The Lord is the one who makes a person holy and set apart. Nothing a person can do gives them deliverance from the stain of sins in his or her heart, mind, and spirit. No one can make themselves holy. In Exodus 19:6, God’s exertion of Himself for the deliverance of the Israelites is what made them holy. In the New Testament, the meaning stays the same, God delivering/redeeming people. The Greek word for redeeming is lutroo. Titus wrote in Titus 2:14, “God gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” Peter stated the same in 1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light” [NIV]. Deliverance (segullah in Old Testament) and redemption (lutroo in New Testament) mean essentially the same thing, as these verses show. God delivers and redeems people from the sins and people who make them captives. He makes them holy and His peculiar/special possession. God’s faithfulness to His covenant with people spans from creation into eternity. In looking at the past, we notice people proved faithless to their covenant with Him. God has always been faithful to people.

    These three verses hold the nuggets of truth about God and His relationship with humanity. The nuggets are three-fold. First, God makes Himself known to people in several ways, through creation, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the testimony of other Christians, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and biblical teaching and preaching. God wants each person to know Him and has made Himself known to people. The second nugget is God gives people the choice and opportunity to covenant with Him. He calls people to come to Him, to make them holy and call His children. Jesus said in Matthew 7 people should ask, seek, and knock, then they will receive, find God, and have His door opened to them. Romans 10:13 states, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Peter said, in 1 Peter 1:15, that the Holy One calls people to Himself. Psalm 55:16 says those who call upon God will receive His salvation. Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 1:2, people answer God’s call to them. God said, in Isaiah 65:24, before people call to Him, He will heed and answer them. Many more passages in the Bible speak about God calling to people. He calls them to come to Him and be in a relationship with Him. The third nugget of truth in Exodus 19: 4-6 is that when people covenant with Him through the new covenant Jesus provides, God makes them holy and part of His “peculiar people”. He redeems them and makes them His own. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:7 that Jesus gives redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins. He wrote in Galatians 1:4 that Jesus gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this evil age. In Hebrews 9:15, the writer says, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” In Isaiah 44:22, God said He swept away the offense of the Israelites and told them to return to Him because He redeemed them.

    God did not choose only the Israelites to be His peculiar people. He chooses each person He created. He wants to deliver and redeem each person. John said Jesus came to save anyone who would believe in Him in John 3:16. 2 Peter 3:9 states, God does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 1 Timothy 2:4 says, God wants everyone to receive salvation. The new covenant, given through the death and resurrection of Jesus, is God’s never-ending and perfect covenant offered to people. The Israelites often proved themselves unfaithful to their covenants with God in the Old Testament. With the passing of time and because of God’s mercy, some Israelites returned to their covenant with Him. Still, without the perfect sacrifice for sins, each of them became stained again with their sins. The legal requirement was to offer another imperfect sacrifice to atone for their sins. Jesus, being the perfect sacrifice, need never sacrifice for the sins of humanity again. The holiness of the sinless Son of God gave the perfect sacrifice for humanity’s sins. People need never offer another sacrifice once he or she repents and confesses of his or her sins and trusts in Jesus for salvation.

    The covenants in the Bible have the same basic format. God makes Himself known to people. He gives them a choice to join with Him in covenant-to worship and serve only Him. God provides everything a person needs for life and makes him or her His peculiar (acquired and treasured) possession. With the Old Testament covenants, God acquired the people as His possession by His delivering them from servitude and difficulty. He showed His covenant faithfulness to them. In the New Testament, God acquired believers as His treasured possession through the greatest cost, the crucifixion and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.

    God gives each person the opportunity to recognize Him, turn to and choose Him, and receive salvation through Jesus, be made holy by Him, and be His child (His “peculiar people”). Today, He has shown Himself to you. Will you recognize Him? Will you turn to Him, repent of your sins, and confess Jesus as the Son of God who died for your sins? Once you recognize, repent, and confess Jesus as God’s Son and your Savior, God will make you one of His peculiar people, His treasured child. 

You no longer have to be odd.

You can become treasured. 

The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what he promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 [AMPC])

Snatched and Delivered

This Bible study is the fifth in the Colossians series. The first Bible study is Background of Paul’s Letter to the Church at Colossae. In that study, we learned of the cultural, political, religious, and philosophical thoughts that occurred in Colossae at the time of Paul’s writing his letter to the Colossian Christians. The second Bible study in this series is Identification. In that study, Paul introduced himself and Timothy and taught about their identification with Jesus and the believers at Colossae. With the Bible study entitled Thanksgiving in Colossians, Paul prayed with thanks to God for the growth of the Christians in Colossae. This growth showed in their love for God and the saints, and their bearing of fruit and maturing in their faith. Paul identified Epaphras, the founder of their church, as a “beloved fellow bond-servant,” one who willingly submitted to Christ as Paul taught him. In Glorious Might, Paul continued praying over the Colossian Christians in supplication for them. In these verses, Colossians 1:9-12, he told them he prayed for them daily that they would grow in Christ so they would be well-pleasing to God. Paul prayed for God to fill them with the knowledge of His will with all spiritual wisdom and understanding so they would please Him in all respects by bearing fruit in good works. He asked for God to increase their knowledge of Him, strengthen the them with all power, and give them steadfastness and patience. Paul ended this prayer for the sanctification of the Colossians by asking that they joyously give thanks to God who qualified them to inherit eternal life with the saints in the kingdom of His Son.

In Colossians 1:13-14, Paul explained who is the Father of verse twelve who gives these gifts for which he asked for the church in Colossae. The Colossian Christians knew about Jesus from Epaphras’ teaching. The Jewish believers in Jesus knew about Father God. Paul taught the Colossae believers who the Father is so they would know Him and His gifts as Paul prayed for in verses nine through twelve.

Rescuer

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son…” (Colossians 1:13 [NASB])

To understand this verse, we must understand well the Greek meanings of the original words. Paul said, “For He (this refers back to the Father in verse twelve) rescued us. The word “rescued” comes from the Greek word rhuomai, which means to snatch up or out for oneself. Father God snatched from danger and for an eternal relationship with Him “us,” the Colossian Christians, Timothy, Epaphras, himself, and each believer in Jesus Christ. God didn’t snatch them away from the fire and tell them to go on their merry way. He snatched them out for Himself because He loves each person and wants each to have the best in life, not just what is merely good. Only God gives the best. The musings and thoughts of people, and for the Colossian people the musings of the early Gnostics, never could be good enough. Nothing Gnostics or any person thinks can ever save people from an eternal death separated from God. Only by God’s snatching people away for Himself from Satan gives people the best. Paul explained next what God’s best is.

In this part of the sentence, Paul said, the Father snatched the Colossian believers from the domain of darkness. What is the “domain of darkness?” The word “domain” means a place where a person or being has authority and power over others. This person or being has power over how one lives. This one has authority to establish morality for that dark domain. For Paul, a spiritual power ruled over this domain. He made this point with his next word, “darkness.” Jesus said He is the light of the world in John 8:12. So, the spiritual power who ruled in this darkness has morals and authority opposite of Jesus’. That being is Satan. Jesus’ moral authority always comes from His characteristic of goodness. This means Satan’s moral authority comes from his evilness. When Satan exercises his moral authority on people, they do things of which God does not approve. Satan blinds people not to see or think of God. He makes them ignorant of divine things and leads them deeper into ungodliness and immorality. What Paul wrote in this verse means God snatched out for Himself believers in Jesus from the spiritual power and influence of Satan’s immorality and ungodliness.

As noted, “rescued” means to snatch out. So, once God snatches believers out of Satan’s domain, He puts them in His perfect place. The Father, by His grace given to repentant sinners who believe in Jesus, extends His mighty hand to snatch believers out of Satan’s domain of darkness. He puts them in His holy place, where no immorality and godlessness exists. He puts Christians in the “kingdom of His beloved Son.” Jesus’ godliness and divine moral authority reign in His kingdom. Because His Spirit lives in each believer, Jesus’ authority reigns in their hearts. They no longer need fear Satan, but “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,” be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, be steadfast and patient, and joyously give thanks to the Father for giving them the hope of an inheritance in His kingdom. (Col. 1:9-12).

Deliverer

“…of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13c-14 [NASB])

Beloved

The Father snatches people from Satan’s grip. He rescues them and sets them on moral, godly ground in Jesus’ kingdom. The Father’s Son is not a mere mortal He used to affect His plan of salvation. This Son is beloved by the Father. The word “beloved” comes from the word agape, of which Paul wrote in verses four and eight when he spoke of the Colossians’ love for the saints and their love in the Spirit. Agape love comes from God’s character and is a pure, unselfish, and visible love. First, God acts based on this love, then His snatched-out children act on it. 1 John 4:8 testifies, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” [NASB] Further in 1 John 4:16, he wrote, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in live abides in God, and God abides in Him.”

God is love, and this love comes from His character. This agape love for people occurred before He formed them, as He strove to lead, provide, and protect them, and when He came in flesh with His Son’s birth, life, and death to cleanse people from their sins. Paul said in verse 13, the beloved Son of God reigned in the kingdom of righteousness and the children of God He snatched from Satan lived in Jesus’ kingdom. Just as the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father, this same love flows to people. God’s heart, His pure and unselfish love, desires that He snatch out each person from Satan’s dominion of darkness and to live in the beloved Son’s kingdom. He acted on this love by sending the Son to show His love by living a sinless life and dying a sinner’s death as the sacrifice for all sins for those who believe in Him and repent of their sins. Jesus’ sacrifice of pure love made it possible for people to live no longer in Satan’s domain of darkness, but in the kingdom of light.

Redeemed

With most of verse thirteen, Paul told the Colossian Christians who the Father is. With verse fourteen, He told them how God transferred the Colossian Christians from the domain of Satan to the kingdom of His Son. Paul told them it came because of redemption, the forgiveness of sin. Redemption is an old word and so we need to understand its context to grasp the depth of its meaning. It comes from the Greek word apolutrosis, which means a ransom caused by payment. In slave days whether that be ancient, medieval, renaissance, Victorian, or modern times, people could indenture themselves as bond-servants to have a debt paid by the one to whom that person would serve. The only way that person could have freedom from their servile position was by repayment of the indenturing loan. This purchasing gave to the person what they had previously forfeited, their lives in exchange for a debt. For people sold into slavery, the only way for release from slavery was for someone to pay the slaveholder. These examples emphasize the distance between where the rescued person now stands and what had enslaved that person, a debt, whether or sin, destitution, or entrapment. God caused that distance for the person because of His payment of the redeeming price and snatching the person away from slavery to Satan, sin, and death. Christ paid that redemption price for sin with His sinless death on a sinner’s cross. Redemption by Jesus allows the redeemed person to see God’s work of grace, the greatest of His riches (His Son), given for payment of his/her death penalty. That defines God’s grace.  Jesus’ cross redeems us and puts a distance between believers and Satan. Satan cannot cross the bridge of the cross because he is unholy. He has no power over Christians’ salvation or eternal life with God. Jesus is the deliverer of the redemption payment for people. He delivers people from sin to salvation, from godlessness and immorality to godliness and morality.

Redemption came with a great price for God. That price was the sacrificial death of His sinless Son, who died as a man on a sinner’s cross. Redemption moves Christians from the domain of Satan to the authority of Jesus. Yet, redemption is more than just Jesus dying and people believing in Him as the Son of God. We must understand people are sinners. They are unholy. Holy God will not be where unholiness is, just as dark and light cannot be in the same place. For sinners to be in God’s presence, forgiveness of sins and cleansing from sins must occur, too.

A person sins when he/she misses the mark; they do not live holy lives. No person can live a holy life without the help of God. Likewise, no person can become holy without the help of God. Jesus redeems a person from the domain of Satan and puts him/her into the kingdom of light when the person believes in Him as the Son of God and when that person confesses and repents of his/her sins. This person regrets his/her sins and way of life and gives his/her life completely into the hands of God. God snatches the person away from Satan. He redeems him/her from his/her old way of living and sends the Spirit to live within him/her to guide that person in His moral way of living as a redeemed and cleansed child of God. Jesus paid the redemption price for each soul from the one who enslaves each person. He paid this price because of His agape love for us from before He created us. God’s agape love now lives in each Christian. That Christian should live out each day the faith, love, and hope God gives so other people will see Him and want to follow Him.

Thoughts to Consider

God snatches us for Himself away from Satan, sin, and eternal death. He transfers us to His Son’s kingdom. Jesus delivers us by paying the redemption price to buy us from the one who enslaved us and returns us to Life. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. [John 14:6] Jesus will save us from our sins and the death we deserve when we believe He is the Son of God and confess and repent of our sins. He is our deliverer. As we live with God daily in obedience to Him, we mature as Christians. Maturing as a Christian means pleasing God in all respects, increasing in the knowledge of Him, and receiving His strength with all His power. Redemption should cause us to look at God’s grace and realize we do not deserve it. We do not deserve God’s riches. We sinners deserve death. But God, in His love and mercy, gave the greatest of His riches, His Son, to die on a sinner’s cross, to redeem and forgive us, and reconcile us to Him.

Questions to Consider:

•  Do you live in the darkness of ungodliness and immorality?
• Do you recognize you are a sinner?
• Do you want the path of your life to change, to be moral and godly?
• Do you want God’s grace to snatch you for Himself out of Satan’s hand and save you?
• Do you want Jesus to redeem you from your slavery to sin?
• Have you asked Him to forgive you and to save you?
• Are you already a Christian, but recognize you have sin in your life you want Jesus to forgive so you can be in a right relationship with Him?

Today is the time for each person to consider his/her life and decide if they want to live in the domain of darkness or the kingdom of the Son.

For next week, reread Colossians 1 and focus on verses 15-20.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For my Him all things were created…” (Colossians 1:15-16a [NASB])

Humble Expectation

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28 [NASB])

It’s Christmas morning. Children run through the house with excitement emanating from their eyes, hands, voices, and feet. They can’t sit still. They can’t stop talking. They wonder what present they will receive this year. The family sits in the Christmas room. As established by family custom, the youngest gives the presents to each person. She is so excited to see what everyone receives that she almost drops the boxes because of her jittering hands. With great anticipation and eyes alight, little sister opens her boxed present to find an envelope. Gleefully, she finds an envelope in the box. The envelope holds $10. Big sister, with great excitement, rips open her box. With expectation of what she might find, she notices an envelope, too. Her envelope crinkles and crackles as she rips it open and pulls out ten one-dollar bills. She looks up with joy and tears. Mom opens her boxed present careful not to tear the paper. Once she removes the tape on the box, she, too, finds an envelope. Yes, she has money! She counts it with surprise, gasps, and realizes she has $10. Dad, with wonder about these gifts, opens his box and finds the expected envelope. He hopes for greater things than what he has seen come from his family’s envelopes. Dad takes a deep breath of anticipation then carefully pulls the edges of the envelope flap from the back of the envelope and peeks inside. He exhales and looks down sadly. Dad, too, received $10.

So often, each of us compares our own self to another person. We try to do better than that person so we can have a greater reward-more money, bigger bonus, elevated title, bigger house, etc. These things Jesus did not teach or live out as an example for us. Jesus did not choose to live in a mansion as a king or leader. He did not choose to exist with only the washed and wealthy. Jesus did not choose His friends from among the elite in society. He did not die from old age and receive praise at His funeral service. Jesus was born to a carpenter’s family and lived in the northern kingdom of Israel. He chose not to have a house to call home. Jesus chose to be around fishermen and their odor, lepers and their decaying smell, prostitutes and their obvious sin, tax collectors and the hatred they received, the poor and their shortage, and the sick with their infirmity. He lived among the people who had no influence and called to every person hoping they would to listen to Him. Finally, though as a man who would want to die from old-age causes and receive praise for His good deeds, Jesus died a torturous death of hanging by nails on a wooden cross and suffocating.

God could have sent Jesus to live a gracious lifestyle of affluence, but He didn’t. He could have had mercy on His Son and not let Him be crushed by the hatred of His own people and their leaders, but He didn’t. God could have lifted Him above the earth physically, so Jesus didn’t have to die a crucifixion, but He didn’t. God’s plan was greater than we could think or imagine. It included love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace for all people. His reward for believers in Jesus Christ is the same for all sinners, not just the obvious ones, but also the hypocritical ones, the ones with “hidden” sins. His reward is the same for the person who had been a Christian for 60 years or for just the last breath on earth.  Jesus came for all people so that every person could have forgiveness of sin, receive salvation, and be given eternal life. Those are the rewards, the only ones with eternal value.

The mother of James and John asked Jesus for an honor for her sons (Matthew 20:20-23). She asked for them to sit on each side of Jesus when His kingdom came. Jesus explained this reward is not for Him to give. Did that mean He did not love James and John enough to give them this blessing? No, she was thinking in worldly terms. She was trying to advance her sons to CEO or COO or President, when, in God’s kingdom, no titles, bonuses, bigger houses, or higher statuses exist. God gives reward, eternal rewards.

Jesus told about a land owner who hired day workers for his vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). This land owner paid the ones who worked an eight-hour day the same as he paid the one who worked one hour. The vineyard owner is fair. He pays-rewards-the same for the same work. James and John were disciples of Jesus just as were Peter, Andrew, and countless other believers over the last almost 2000 years. God decides each person’s reward. As believers in Jesus Christ, we know the reward, just like the denarius the land owner agreed to give his day workers. The reward is forgiveness of sins, mercy, grace, love, and eternal life.

Jesus explained in Matthew 20:24-28 for what each person alive on earth should strive. He explained the Gentiles (non-believers) lord their position, title, power, and money over their constituents. It should not be this way among Jesus believers. Instead, Jesus’ followers should serve others. Instead of seeking a greater reward for being a leader among Christians or for being a Christian longer or doing more work for the Lord, these believers, all believers, should imitate Christ. He did not come to live in a mansion, rule over people, associate only with the wealthy and influencers, and wear fine clothes. He came to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, live as a common man, have no house to call home, live among the lowly, sick, unclean, and outcasts. Jesus explained in Matthew 20:26-28 what the standard is for the Christian. He said, “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Now consider this. Are we like the daughters and mother on Christmas morning? Does the anticipation meet or surpass our expectations? Do we realize our gain is better and greater than we could have imagined? They did not expect money. The girls and mother did not know what to expect, but what they received was more than what they had. They were not downcast or disappointed. Alternatively, are we like the girl’s father? Did we expect something great after a hard year of working to provide and then, upon seeing what each person received, expect something greater? That tells of a person’s estimation of him or herself in relation to others. We should not be comparing ourselves to others, but to the Author of creation and each of us.

Seek to serve and not be served.

Consider yourself less than others.

Then, when you receive a blessing, a reward, be excited!

Be elated! Be thankful!

Jesus stopped and called them (two blind men), and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him. (Matthew 20:32-34 [NASB])

Lord, forgive me. I expect things-praise, rewards, prestige-for doing things. I seek to be noticed and considered better than others. That is not why You created me. That is not the purpose You had for each of us. Forgive me for thinking better of myself than I am. Help me to seek to bring You glory, not myself. Lord, touch the eyes of my heart and make me see You and follow You. Help me to choose Your will, not mine. Help me to be humble and willing to empty myself as Jesus did for me. I am not worthy to be called Your child, but You call me that anyway. You are worthy to be called Master, Lord, and King and I often forget. Lead me in Your paths. Use me for Your will. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

Perspective

“Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 [NLT]

As believers in Jesus Christ living in a sinful world, we will go through troubling times of persecution, ostracism, torture, and even death. As we go through these difficult times and other times of trial, that upon which we focus determines what we are to become and for what use we are or will be.

If we go through these difficult times kicking and screaming, then our trials and troubles change who we are negatively. We experience no growth because we do not go through them with grace. These trials and troubles make us bitter and angry. We then produce bitter fruit. If we go through troubles and trials with a sweet temperament, we learn and grow from the situation. What is the difference between these two attitudes towards difficulties? The first is self-focused. We might think, “We do not deserve this. We have rights and what you are doing to me is wrong.” These two sentences come from the person who faces difficult times while kicking and screaming. Bitterness, resentment, and anger take root in our hearts, minds, and spirits and we do not reflect the peaceful Spirit of God. If, however, we face difficult times keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, who faced many trials, persecutions, and crucifixion without shouting His rights, we will go through the times with grace, God’s grace, and will seek what God wants us to learn from the situations. The fruit of our lives will be sweet and fragrant, so people will be drawn to us to learn what is different about us as compared to other people. They will seek to understand how we could go through difficult situations without being angry, depressed, and vengeful.

What is the difference between these two ways of going through trials and troubles? The difference is the perspective of the person. For the growing believer, a strong relationship with God, occurring because of daily Bible reading and meditation on it, Bible verse memorization, and prayers of confession, adoration, thanksgiving, and supplication (C.A.T.S.), creates the strength to persevere through difficult times. Recalling Jesus’ life and how He endured His temptations, persecution, and crucifixion because of His grace and love for all people gives us the strength to go through these hard times. Paul pointed out in Philippians 2,  

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself to obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

 Philippians 2:5-8 [NLT]

Jesus faced life in human form enduring persecutions, trials, and a crucifixion with a humble attitude. He showed us how to live this kind of life. His example was humility and obedience. These two things emanate from us when we live in God’s grace. What is God’s grace? It is God forgiving us when we don’t deserve it. Grace is God loving us when we are utterly horrible because of our sin. It is His washing us when we are terribly dirty from the world and our interactions in it. Grace is God holding us when we are torn, battered, and bruised and feel unnecessary, unloved, and without a reason to live.

So how do we live in troubling times with grace? We live during those times with perspective. We keep our eyes focused on God knowing He loves us enough to carry us through these times. We understand He will be with us as we persevere in our faith of Him. We realize nothing we have done or will ever do will earn us God’s forgiveness, love, kindness, and peace, but He gives these to us because He is love and His character defines love. Because of this, we can stand firm in our faith in Him. Notice each of these requires keeping our eyes focused on God. When we take our eyes off Him and look at what is happening to us and around us, our human frailties are all we have by which to get us through the bad times. Then Satan stirs up fear, anger, bitterness, and chaos in our hearts, minds, and spirits. As a by-product, when we live by grace through each day, how we live becomes fruit for other people. In other words, we become broken bread from which others can learn, from which they can eat. Our testimony and our teaching about God are wonderful, but when people see the fruit of our lives, they eat of it and learn more about God and His grace because we lived by His grace.

Let’s consider Jesus’ example and keep our eyes focused on God. Let’s keep walking the path He sets before us by following His example, living by grace. Let’s press on, as Paul said.

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:10-14 [NLT]

Lord, I don’t know what will happen today or tomorrow, but I know who You are. I know You love me, and nothing will ever cause Your love to be taken from me. Many times, I have taken my eyes off You and I have walked in my own ways and not Yours. At those times, I faltered in my steps and I led people astray. Please forgive me my self-centeredness. Lead me to persevere by faith with Your grace. Use me for whatever is for Your glory. Let my life be a testimony of Your love and grace so someone else will know You and grow in their relationship with You. Thank You, Father. Amen.

Jesus Turned and Looked

Jesus Turned and Looked

After Jesus was taken by the soldiers and the priests to be questioned and tried, Peter denied three times that he knew Him. In Luke 22:61, Luke records a touching and deeply penetrating action by Jesus. Luke wrote,

"At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” [NLT]

Peter had adamantly told Jesus he would never deny Him, but soon after fulfilled what Jesus said he would do.

In none of the other three Gospels is this action by the Lord recorded. Imagine, Jesus turned and looked at Peter after He heard the rooster crow. He knew what that meant. Peter had denied Him 3 times.

Imagine the penetration of the look from Jesus into Peter's heart.

Imagine the sudden realization Peter had of his thrice denial of Jesus. He probably did not realize he had done it but was trying to save himself from persecution.

Imagine the guilt Peter felt, that he, the one about whom Jesus said upon that rock He would build His church, had denied Christ.

Imagine the pity Jesus felt when He looked at one of the three disciples of His inner circle. Remember, in the Garden while Jesus sweated drops of blood, the three disciples could not keep their weak flesh from falling asleep. Jesus then said, pray that you do not fall into temptation. Jesus knew His disciples were weak because they were human. But, He knew Peter loved Him and knew He is the Son of God. Peter had proclaimed it. So, imagine the pity Jesus felt in that look He took at Peter.

The story does not end with this final look. It does not end with Peter living unforgiven and without a task from Christ. Upon Christ's resurrection, He restored Peter; He forgave Him and called him anew to be the rock upon which the Jerusalem church would be built.

Peter probably mourned his denial of Christ. He probably felt he had a hand in Christ's crucifixion. But Jesus renewed and restored Him for His purposes. No person has ever sinned so much that Jesus cannot forgive him or her. Jesus wants everyone to come into a saving relationship with God. His purpose for coming in human form was to pay the penalty to release us from sin and its judgment of death. That death means an eternal separation from God. When we believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior with our whole heart and confess our sins, God will forgive us and give us eternal life with Him.

We do not have to be weighed down with the baggage of our sins. We can be in a love relationship with God by believing in Jesus as our Savior. Peter experienced that after Jesus' resurrection. His guilt and shame because he denied Christ three times was forgiven and he could move forward renewed in relationship with God.

Have you felt Jesus turning and looking at you after you've done something wrong? Jesus is calling to you now to come to Him, believe in Him, and be saved and renewed by Him.