Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.
In this season, and in these times, it is very easy to feel down and without hope.
So, if for no other reason than encouragement and edification, let us remind ourselves of His great promise for us.
I chose to start with (1 John 3:1-3) because it has several important things to remind us as Christians.
• That the Father has given us (not worked for, not maintained through works) His Son as a promise and standard of His love.
What does that mean though?
Well, it means that He knew we could not make it back into fellowship with God on our own. The price to be paid for that return was too high for us to ever reach or achieve. So, His Son paid it in our stead.
This "Justification" was given to us freely through simply believing in Him, that He was and is the Son of God, and that He IS our Messiah. And once attained and attributed to us, it can never be lost or taken away from us, even at our lowest points and worst cases in our lifelong "Sanctification".
The reason being that it is a gift for one thing, and that it is based on His work in our lives and not our work in our lives. It is a marriage covenant in which all the requirements, and maintenance of the covenant are on His shoulders, and not ours, and it is permanent.
• Having defeated death, and rising from the dead as the first fruits of the resurrection, He is now what we will become upon His return for us. This is that beautiful promise of our completed redemption and re-creation into what He is now at the Resurrection and rapture of the saints, when we are no longer blocked by sin because that old fleshly body is no more.
2 Corinthians 5:1-3Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
Full, and completed Redemption is His promise, His finished Victory, and our Hope, our Joy, and our Peace in our endurance.
• And finally, "Everyone" who has this Hope, purifies themselves in that hope because it is the expression of our belief and trust in Him, which defines our true faith.
1 John 5:3-5For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world.And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our FAITH.Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
These commandments are not that of the list of the Law we could not keep, but the commandments of Christ to Love God, and to Love thy neighbor as thyself and to Love one another as He loved us.
Romans 13:8-10Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Galatians 5:13-14For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
From this Love comes the fulfillment of the Law, because Christ has already fulfilled the Law on our behalf.
This HOPE is valid. His PROMISE is true. Our SALVATION is real. Our full REDEMPTION is near!
Grace and Peace to you all through our Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh!
Don't be a grape. 🚫 🍇
🦊 Jack [ The Foxman on the Wall ]
Thank you, a beautiful reminder of God's love, the reason for our glorious hope. I sincerely hope I can share it
ReplyDeleteYou may share it. :)
DeleteI've been pondering this topic for awhile... Doubt has a tendency to creep in and cause one to want to "do something" to secure one's own salvation, but that takes us right into a works based relationship that focuses on what WE do and not on what Jesus has already accomplished on our behalf. It truly is a gift that was given the moment we believed. Gifts aren't purchased by the receiver... they are purchased by the giver. Its very clear here in your post and also in the Scriptures that were used that Jesus is the one who provided this gift and that BELIEVING Him is our part. And that is what produces an incredible peace in our hearts. Great post, Jack.
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