Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them.
The first time that our Creator God said that something WASN'T good, was in the garden of Eden. There is his perfect creation he found something that wasn't good. Up until then everything was some form of what he determined WAS good.
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.
God created the earth, the waters, the dry land, and God saw that it was good.
God created all the growing things. The plants that bore seeds and fruits, and God saw that it was good.
God created the heavenly lights and bodies. He separated the dark from the light. He created the seasons and established time, and God saw that it was good.
God created the living creatures in the waters, on the dry land, in the air, all according to their kind, and God saw that it was good.
And then he created mankind in his image and gave him dominion over all that he previously created, and he called it all VERY GOOD.
Then it happened. We don't know what spurred it on, but after establishing the order of all things, and putting together man from out of the dust of the earth. Then the Lord God said...
Genesis 2:18
"It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."
God looked over all that he created and found nothing that was a right fit for mankind as a companion. Turns out dog is not man's best friend apparently. So, from out of the man he created woman. Bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh.
And God created the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman.
Genesis 2:24
"Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
And they shall bear children completing and perfecting the work. A triune work. Father. Mother. Child.
After their fall from this creation grace period, once again there God reveals himself. And God confirms that mankind does indeed know right from wrong, good and evil. So being alone was not good. And then two being one together turns out was also not all good. Unless you understand that this had to happen in order for the rest of the story to unfold. Mankind had to fall into sin for the sake of his own recreation in Christ Jesus. It was predestined.
Genesis 3:22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil."
Some would say that mankind had to know good and evil. That God ultimately wanted that to happen. Yes, it led to sin and depravity. They sought wisdom apart from God. They demonstrated a lack of trust in God's words. They even sought equality with God, they wanted to be like God. And now God himself affirms that they are indeed like him. So, did this fall from grace disrupt the creation order of things, or was it always baked into the cake?
Why did God create mankind?
Was it "not good" for God to be alone? Was He alone?
What is alone? The Hebrew word used in the scripture means separate or isolated. Which says to me an utterly aloneness. Void. And God is decidedly unpleased with this one thing, being alone. Obviously God sees ultimate glory in relationships. God said it is “not good” for man to be alone. It's not good to not be in a relationship with a “suitable helper”. Being surrounded by fruitful life is pleasing, important, and “good” to God. Community is valuable to God.
“Let us make man in our image…”
God is not alone. "Our image".
And God had a plan from before the beginning.
Galatians 4:4-6
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
It's all part of his plan. It's always been part of his plan.
Q: What was the plan?
A: Justification. No longer being separated and alone. And his plan was that faith would become the necessary condition of our justification. And by contrast though a man might have everything else, without faith he is NOT justified, NOT good. Still alone, still separated even if he surrounds himself with the entire world. God needed to show the man that nothing of the creation that is not part of God's plan for them is good.
You ready for this?
Here it comes... the meaning of life!
Ephesians 2:1-10
"And YOU WERE DEAD"...
Stop there for a second. Really let that sink in. You. We're. Dead.
"in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of DISOBEDIENCE among whom we all once lived in the PASSIONS of our flesh, carrying out the DESIRES of the body and the mind, and were by NATURE children of WRATH, like the rest of mankind."
Stop for a second. Blink and think. Reread that section again.
Okay now let's continue...
"BUT GOD,..."
But who?
That's right...GOD! But. God.
"Being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
Who are we raised up with? Who loved us? Who saves us? Who forgave our sins?
That's right! CHRIST JESUS!
...Selah
Why?
"So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith."
For by what? GRACE!
Through what? FAITH!
"And this is not your own doing; it is THE GIFT OF GOD, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For WE ARE his workmanship, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS for good works, WHICH GOD CREATED BEFOREHAND, that we should walk in them."
There is a broad road and there is a narrow gate. The world is so incredibly powerful and deceitful because it gives us WHAT WE WANT. It is our sin nature. Sin comes from our sin nature. The Devil doesn't have to creep around you and me looking for someone to devour. We already crave it. We already look at it. We are always chasing after it. He maybe lies to us when we pause for a moment, but we're already on our own way heading for it. Eve was already looking at that forbidden fruit before the serpent ever spoke a word.
Before coming to Christ, we followed the ways of this world, and even now we don't understand our own depravity. Sinners don't know they're sinners. They make bad decisions, they make mistakes, and they do it because they are SINNERS. The Bible calls them "children of wrath". They are sinners that need good news.
Isn't it interesting that the God who called his creation "good", sends "good" news to save his children of wrath from HIM! They don't need help from the ways of the world. They need help because it's God they should be afraid of. It's God who they should fear. And the good news is, there is nothing they can do to save themselves. Because the One who brings wrath upon the unholy is The ONE who made the way for them to escape the wrath, they brought upon themselves.
He did that!
God did that!
No one else.
And it's to him to whom all the glory goes. No human intercession gets it done. No human institution gets it done. No human being of any sort gets it done. No matter how blessed by God they may be. God NEVER gives them the authority to forgive sins. Christ alone has been given that authority.
Now we are RECREATED in Christ. For his glory. We know all these things because we know the depths of our own depravity. But we don't know what we don't know. And if we don't know Christ, we don't know what is good.
God calls the truth that his son Jesus came to testify about, "good news" for good reason. Because God said it is NOT GOOD that man should be alone. The "good news" is that you don't have to be separated from God's kingdom community for all eternity. He made a way for you to not be alone. He loved you so much that he gave his Son as a sacrifice for you and everyone else who love God.
Do you love God?
Do you want goodness?
Can you hear his good news?
Can you receive it?
Friend,
If you're not careful, you'll miss it. If you aren't seeking and listening for it in his word, in prayer and in fellowship, and if you aren't opening up to that good news, you're going to miss it. You may try to mortify yourself and your body against your sins, but if you have not faith and the love of God in your heart, you are nothing but a clashing symbol, and clanging gong. Just whole bunch of vain noise. You cannot be made alive TOGETHER WITH CHRIST under your own power. YOU NEED HIM!
You need his good news through faith by grace.
Amen and amen.
Mark 12:10-11
Have you not read this Scripture:
"‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?"
The vineyard, Jesus tells the temple leaders, is the house of Israel. God had promised the Messiah for Israel, and Israel rejected the Messiah.
Jesus said in Matthew 15:24, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
From the OT book Exodus to the NT book of Hebrews. The term "house of Israel" occurs about 150 times. The phrase refers to the nation of Israel, which was brought out of slavery in Egypt. Rachel and Leah "built the house of Israel"
Ruth 4:11
All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem."
The Lord made his covenant with this bloodline. As Jesus points out...
Mark 12:1
"A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for ...
Matthew 24:6-8 "You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains."
There has been thirteen years of war for every one year of peace since the time of Christ. Mankind loves war.
"Many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another." (v.10)
Love grows cold. Lawlessness spreads faster than the gospel. But through endurance the kingdom of God will be preached. And the angels will fulfill this mission:
Revelation 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.'"
And just as a side note, for all ...
Matthew 10:16
"Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves."
"Beware the moon, Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors." (From: An American Werewolf in London 1981)
I was 19 when that movie came out and it was then that I was at my lowest point ever. I was dying and couldn't see it happening to me.
It's nearly Halloween, and I've arrived here in my daily studies at Jesus sending his children, as lambs, out to preach the gospel among wolves. And I have to admit this morning my head went to the movie I rewatched (for the hundredth time) again last night. I confess I'm somewhat of a connoisseur of werewolf movies. It's really an odd and unexpected fascination since throughout my entire childhood I was plagued nightly by nightmares of invisible werewolves that stalked me trying to bite me. I couldn't see them but could hear them. And when they were just about to bite, they'd suddenly be visible (this is how I knew they were werewolves). And this was a ...
Jeremiah 3:15-16
"‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord." It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again."
God is our Father, Abba and Adonai [Lord]. And he sees mankind, and especially those whom he has called his people. He sees them as a rebellious people who are polluting the land. They've made the land unclean in their disobedience, and disregard for the Law. They've played the harlot with many unclean lovers. Yet in his great mercy and love, he longs for them to return to him.
God's prophet describes the depths of their sin. He draws a picture of a lawless people who are acting like whores. But worse than that they are polluting the whole land with their garbage spiritualized with pagan energy. And there is no place that is not touched by their religion.
"Lift up your eyes to the...
Titus 2:4-5
"And so, train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."
Paul writes to Titus instructing him to rebuke those who are caught up in unsound faith expressions and questionable behaviors. He instructs him to avoid foolish controversies over diverse beliefs, and to reject unrepentant divisive people causing these debates.
So, this is the motivation. The faith community that Paul established in Crete has been doing like every faith community does. They're using their imagination. Because that's what people do. And Paul wants Titus to "teach what accords with sound doctrine." With authority that reflects God's will.
What does he mean by authority?
Let's go back to the beginning.
Genesis 1:27
"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
Both the human men and the human women are made in the image of our Creator God. Bearing that image is our defining human attribute. Not the ...
Mark 15:2
And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
And he [Jesus] answered him, "You have said so."
This was a political prosecution brought on by an unforgiving people. The Sanhedrin council with the Elders and Scribes were determined to charge Jesus and have the Roman authorities investigate and ultimately execute him by their Roman laws. Jesus is questioned as a pretender to the throne of the king, and that's an unforgivable crime.
Throughout this whole process Jesus remains silent fulfilling the role of the sacrificial Messianic lamb foretold by the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
He did have a few things to say however.
Mark 15:3
"The chief priests accused him of many things."
And in fact, Jesus did say some very important things. Things that even today you'll find ignorant people claim he never said. Here's one in particular that gets around.
"Jesus never said he was God"
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