Word for Life in Love— Scripture Meditations By Stephen Brown
Luke 3:2-3 (ESV)
2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
The kingdom of heaven has drawn near, but we must prepare the way for us to enter. Repentance comes before forgiveness. We must make a way for the Lord before He becomes the way for us.
Luke 3:21-22 (ESV)
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
When we are baptized in the waters of repentance, our hearts open to the Holy Spirit to dwell in these bodies of flesh. We become beloved sons of our Father in heaven.
His Spirit can freely descend, bringing the breath of life to mortal man. He is our high priest who opens the way into the Holy of Holies which is the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 2:25 (ESV)
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Now there are a people in the world named the body of Christ who have received His righteousness and the Holy Spirit. They wait for the return of the the Lord, as revealed by the Spirit, to claim His own.
Through the word, God created heaven and earth.
Through His word, God is creating a new heaven and earth in the sons of God who are born again in His image, which is His Son Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:18-19 (ESV)
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
The truth of God is seen by the eyes of our hearts. Eyes of flesh are unable to behold this transcendent spiritual reality. What we see now in our hearts will be seen by our immortal eyes when we see Him face to face. We will see Him as He is and we will be like Him.
Psalms 127:1 (ESV)
Unless the LORD Builds the House
A SONG OF ASCENTS. OF SOLOMON.
Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
The Lord builds His living temple within the stones of His children. Jesus rose from the dead as the cornerstone of His dwelling place. The work of man is unable to build a house that pleases the Lord. What is impossible for man is possible for Him. The work and word of the Lord endures forever.
Matthew 13:52 (NASB)
And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
The Old Testament prepares for the New, and the New Testament fulfills the Old. The treasure of the word of God is comprised of both.
The beauty of the fruit of the earth is wondrous, but ephemeral. The fruit of the Spirit is more than wonderful and forever.
One takes shape and withers away. The other takes the shape of the image of God for eternity.
We are to be fruitful and multiply. This is the work of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:50-52 (ESV)
Mystery and Victory
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
The new heaven and earth are revealed when we put on immortality. The transformation is complete when we become like Jesus.
Those who are reborn in Christ have experienced a virgin birth. Only those who are virgins to sin are able to bear a child of God. This is possible when we ask for and receive His forgiveness for our sins.
To not believe in the virgin birth is the same as not believing Jesus is the Son of God. He was conceived by His Father above. So it is with everyone reborn into the life of God. We share the life of our Father.
He becomes our Father in heaven, hallowed be His name. His kingdom will come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Philippians 2:12-13 (NASB)
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Working out our salvation is a sign that He is working in us. When He becomes our desire, we are steadfast in our walk with Him. It is pleasurable for God and man.
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the ongoing transformation of our minds as we draw closer to the nature of Jesus, which is His will for our lives.
Matthew 6:11 (ESV)
Give us this day our daily bread,
We are what we eat. Eat the bread of heaven and enter the divine life of God.
Luke 1:19-20 (ESV)
19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
This foreshadows the unbelief of the chosen people of God who would not recognize the very word of God sent among them. They would not be able to deliver the good news of Christ because they did not receive Him. Their eyes will be opened and they will praise the Lord when He comes again. They will then begin to serve and speak the word of God to the world.
Matthew 13:58 (ESV)
And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
The Lord is doing a mighty work within all who believe. It is the transformation of the mind and nature of man into the image of God.
Some may say there is another way. Some say there are many ways. Jesus said He is the way. He should know. He is the destination.
Matthew 13:10-13 (ESV)
The Purpose of the Parables
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
The mystery of the kingdom of heaven is revealed by revelation from the Holy Spirit. To the ones who have the Spirit, more will be given. They receive the more abundant life of God that is beyond the reach of man.
Those without the Spirit will have the life they have taken away. This is the broad road that is heavily traveled and leads to destruction. It is a mystery why some would choose this path.
Genesis 2:21-23 (NASB)
21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
When Jesus comes for His bride, only a small part of the body of Christ will be taken. This is revealed in the Garden of Eden. God took only a rib to fashion the bride of Adam.
2 Peter 1:5-8 (NASB)
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith is but the beginning of the journey to be one with God.
Diligence, “1.σπουδάζω means intrans. “to make haste” and is thus closely related to “to be zealous, active, concerned about something.” (TDNT)
Getting attached to the Tree of Life will have little benefit if there is no fruit. Fruit results when we begin tending to the branch of our salvation.
Proverbs 24:3-4 (ESV)
3 By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
Jesus has gone to heaven and is preparing a place for us in His Father’s house. That place is the new creation we are becoming. He is the cornerstone of that new and perfect temple of the Lord. His Spirit dwells within us to fill us with the riches of heaven.
John 3:16 (NASB)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
It costs nothing to believe in Jesus Christ. It costs everything to be His disciple.
Matthew 24:29-31 (ESV)
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
The bride of Christ was gathered before “the tribulation of those days.” The ones gathered here would be the body of Christ not gathered as part of His bride before and during the great tribulation. Many will be left behind at the first gathering and will join the new saints in Christ that will come to Christ during those stressful times.
2 Peter 1:10-11 (ESV)
10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It is one thing to believe in Jesus. It is the starting place for our walk with Him. It is another thing to begin and keep walking, for in this way we move in the assurance and confidence towards our inheritance in Christ. As we proceed in our wilderness walk in the world, we participate and grow in the divine nature of our Father.
The first covenant was of the flesh.
The second covenant was of the Spirit.
Jesus fulfilled the first covenant which opened the door to the second covenant.
Romans 9:8-13 (ESV)
8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Esau can be seen as Israel in these verses. Jacob can be regarded as the Gentiles. God chose Israel among the people who dwell on the earth prepare the way for His Son and to inherit promised land. They are children of the flesh.
The children of God are those in the kingdom of heaven who have entered His presence in the body of Christ. Their inheritance is to be like Jesus in spirit and body, the union of heaven and earth. 1Jn 3:2.
Just as Esau served the younger son Jacob, so will Israel serve the body of Christ. The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than any prophet of Israel. Mat 11:11.
Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)
26 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.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God created man in His own image because He took our image for His own. He entered the flesh of man to became the Son of Man and make the way for man to become a son of God.
The first arrival of Jesus in the world was the beginning of the last days. His second arrival will be at the end.
1 John 2:28 (NASB)
Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
Genesis 2:25 (NASB)
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Those who are one with Christ will not be ashamed at His coming. Nothing is hidden from our Lord, now or ever. We will see Him as He is.
Genesis 2:18-23 (NASB)
18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
Adam was fashioned out of the ground, but Eve was fashioned from his body. They became one. Their inheritance will be the promised land of earth.
Man is from the dust of the earth, but the Bride of Christ is fashioned from His body and will be like Him, becoming as one. He is their inheritance of heaven.
Matthew 25:21 (ESV)
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
The kingdom of heaven is the double portion of life that is given to the one reborn into the abundant life of God.
We are given life and the faithful servant of God will receive life at its fullest.
Proverbs 17:24 (ESV)
The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Jesus is the wisdom of God. Keep your eyes set on Him and you will find the kingdom of heaven. The eyes of the foolish will find their end in the earth.
1 Peter 4:6 (ESV)
For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
The body is part of the sea of mortality that is man. Our spirits are alive in the way of creation, but dead to God.
The gospel provides us the way to life of God through His Son Jesus Christ. We follow Him through death and resurrection, first spiritually then bodily to be like Him.
A SONG OF ASCENTS. OF DAVID.
1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—
let Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
Revelation 12:15 (ESV)
The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.
The raging waters of the world have repeatedly attempted to sweep over Israel and eliminate the chosen people of God. The heathens display the rage and power of the serpent in his rebellion against God. The demonic source of this otherwise inexplicable hatred toward a small nation is revealed in Revelation 12:15. Only the word of the Lord will calm the sea of this world and bring His peace where there is no peace. The heel of His foot will vanquish His enemies and His kingdom will come. Amen.
Colossians 1:15-16 (ESV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Jesus is creation and the word of God. The new creation takes place when heaven and earth are joined in the body of Christ.
Matthew 24:32-33
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
Tender is the branch of the fig tree, the root of Jessie.
He is near.
Matthew 6:10 (ESV)
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
In the beginning God spoke and whatever is becomes. His word will accomplish its purpose, not returning empty and void.
Proverbs 16:4 (ESV)
The LORD has made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of trouble.
The question is often asked why there is evil in the world? Here Scripture says it has a purpose. The Lord gave Adam the breath of life, but placed him in a garden that included the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Jesus received the Holy Spirit and was immediately placed in the wilderness where He faced temptation.
We who receive the Holy Spirit face temptation to learn obedience to the Lord. We show our love for Him through our obedience to His word. Love is only possible when we can choose something else.
Proverbs 15:15 (NASB)
All the days of the afflicted are bad,
But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.
The cheerful heart is home to the abiding of the Lord. The bread of heaven is replenished daily and has no end.
Who brought forth the light of the world after God said, “Let there be light?”
The Holy Spirit who hovered over the waters of the deep and brought forth the Son of Man.
Who brings forth the light of the world into the hearts of men who become the light of the world?
The Holy Spirit who descends bringing the light of the world into the sons of God.
The word is fulfilled by the Holy Spirit and the Son of God, the presence of the Father in creation.
