Christ obeyed

We continue today with the words of Paul to the Hebrews as we study the life of Christ. The first part of Hebrews 3 talks about the authority to preach the gospel. Paul tells the Hebrews that one cannot decide to be a preacher or a high priest on their own; they must be called and set apart for the work. Christ had that authority and was ordained a priest after the order of Melchisedic. He did not take this honor unto himself Paul tells us. So even Christ the only begotten of the Father, the literal Son of the Father had to obey the rules to accomplish his work here on earth. He had to work within God’s plan, the organization which had been established in the beginning, with Aaron, and Moses and Abraham and so on. Certainly things had gone astray from the original organization, but there wasn’t anything wrong with the organization its self. The problem was/is with man and his nature.            

It wasn’t like, “Okay that didn’t work. Let’s try something different.” God is in charge here and always has been. He has always knew what he was doing and he knew the nature of man and so he prepared a Savior to show us the way back to our heavenly home. It always was our choice to come here and to partake of the fruit of good and evil. We made that choice when we sang with the morning stars and shouted for joy.  (Job 38:7) It’s hard. Father knew it would be hard but he gave unto us weakness that through him we might be made fit for the kingdom. But we don’t have to do it alone. That is the test of our love for the Father – to see if we love him enough that we can find him in all the turmoil.

Sometimes I get so depressed with all the terrible things going on in the world – especially the abuse.  All the terrible things we do to each other, especially to little children who cannot defend themselves.  It causes God and all the Angels to weep. Occasionally it gets so bad that he comes down and levels the playing field. Helge I know you aren’t reading this, but that was why he wiped out Jericho and did the thing at the tower of Babble and Noah and the flood. Anyway back to the solution to the problem. 

So Christ had to be a high priest through proper authority. Hebrews 5:8,9 “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things he suffered.” That’s an entire sermon in its self. So think about it what have you learned through suffering? “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all those who obey him.” Time is up, I have to run I will probably start here next time. Have a good weekend.    

What is man that thou art mindful of him.

Sometimes the words in the scriptures are simply so beautiful that I don’t want to mess them up trying to explain them in my clumsy way. Such is the case with Hebrews 2:6 where Paul quotes Psalms 8:4-6 “What is man that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crowned him with glory and honor and didst set him over the works of thy hands.”

 Then Paul goes on to say, Jesus was made lower than the angels for the suffering of death … for every man. Indeed that was the finally purpose of his time on earth. But from the beginning he taught and directed us toward our heavenly. Paul says, “For both he that sanctifeth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren ... For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.”  

He is our brother in the Spirit – one of us – and yet he is a member of the Godhead and humbled himself that we could be one with the Father even as he is.

Be Humble and Obedient

 Continuing with Philippians 2 and being Christ-like we see that Christ was humble. Remember in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he says Love is not puffed up and Christ is Love. So to be filled with the Spirit of Christ is to be filled with Love. Here in Philippians he talks about being like- minded, and “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.”   

He does not mean that we need to beat up on ourselves, or feel that we are of no worth. Remember that Christ knew who he was. He knew the work he had to do and he also knew that it would be hard and that he, even being part immortal would need the help of his Father in Heaven, and angels. He was not alone. He was part of a team sent here to do a work no one else could do. Neither are we alone if we are a believer. He was in constant communication with His Father – our Father in Heaven and we need to do likewise. Not because we are told to, but because we want to.

Paul says, He“ made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant … he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even death of the cross.” We likewise should strive to be humble and obedient.  

Be like minded with Christ

I am really enjoying studying the Bible again this year. At the present time I am finding joy in the teachings of Paul. The Lord has said I would that ye were either hot or cold, but because you are lukewarm I will spew you out of my mouth. Paul was definitely not lukewarm. He went from – kill the Christians to on fire for Christ. Yesterday I read his letter to the Philippians and skipped to the end where our thirteenth Article of Faith is taken from. Today I have returned to the beginning of Philippians and will study the second chapter.  Paul speaks of Christ and advises us who believe to be Like minded. To think like Christ, to be one with him as he is with the Father, as we are suppose to be with our spouse and with our fellow believers. I’m trying but I am still far away from being like minded with Christ. Having the same love – Christ like love- for all. That does not mean that we go along with whatever. Christ is not a wuse. He threw the money changer out of the Temple. He cursed the fig tree. He called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, whitened sepulchers. And as my friend Helge pointed out God murdered the people of Jericho. Christ said we are to forgive all but God will forgive who he will forgive. Simply because (I think) he alone knows the hearts of men. There is one individual in particular that I pray for that the more I pray the further away he goes and yet, the Spirit keeps prompting me to pray for him. That is the secrete, to follow the Spirit in all things.

I think again of that little book I have about someone who’s near death experience took them into darkness and not into the light. She is in deep darkness that was pure negative. She says, “It sucked at me, pulling me to react and then swallowing my reaction into fear and dread.” Another interesting thing she said was that the darkness came from within. In that state of torment a voice came to her and far away she saw a light. The voice said, “Is this what you wanted?” She said that from the light she felt love directed toward her as an individual and felt that she was not deserving of love. Isn’t that interesting? We truly judge ourselves. We feel so bad inside. That is why we cut and harm ourselves.

If I could have the  kind of love that Christ has I could love the unlovable. She still had to repent but Christ came not to judge us he says. He loved her despite all that she had done. The darkness came from within.

I think the only way I can have that kind of love for my fellow citizens is by drawing near to Christ and learning all I can about him. That is what it takes to be like minded with Christ.  More tomorrow.   

      

If God be for us who can be aganist us? Answer: Ourselves

If God be for us who can be against us? Romans 8:31. So who is against us? The obvious answer there is Satan.  But that’s too easy. It’s a text book answer. He may tempt us but we are the one who gives in. So who is against us?  I suggest to you that it ourselves. John 12:47 Christ said, “I came not to judge the world but to save the world. … the word I have spoken the same shall judge you.”

I originally thought that Heavenly Father judges us because Christ also said He has only spoken that which the Father commanded. Now I understand that the Father does not judge us either. The word he commanded Christ to speak are the law – it’s just the way things are – like the law of gravity. The law is neither good nor bad. It is just the way things are. You drop something and it falls. It doesn’t matter if you intended for it to drop or not it falls. So we were given commandments to help us follow the laws. The law says, thou shall not bear false witness. You lie and you break trust that is the law. When even your own mother who gave you life and loves you with all your flaws, learns that you lie she is hesitant about trusting you. So when we break the commandments we sin against ourselves – as a result we suffer the consequences. It’s not always the instant. You touch a flame you get burnt. Instant consequences, but if you smoke, eat the wrong things, or etc. it takes years before the consequences catches up with us.

Christ came to redeem us from the laws we break. We do have to face the consequences of our sin (repent, ask for forgiveness) but Christ pays the fine.