Scripture of the Month

 

December, 2002

 

“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

 

According to one commentary, there are a total of twenty-two Messianic Prophecies written by Isaiah, a prophet who lived about 750 years before Christ. Through the prophecies, God strategically planned the birth of the Messiah, literally means “The Anointed One.” The coming Messiah is a King. He was going to be born as a child. This Child, a Son, was to be born into the Nation of Israel (to us). As a King, His responsibility is to govern the nation. He puts the world on His shoulders. Many of us have seen a picture of a mighty man carrying a globe on his shoulder. This is an image of this coming King.

 

Isaiah also told us that He will have four descriptive names to reveal His character. He will be called Wonderful Counselor. The word “wonderful” could be translated “exceptional” or “supernatural.” Counselor is someone who comes alongside to give advice. He is the Mighty God. This description allows us to see that the coming King is mighty in strength: a warrior who will protect the citizens of His kingdom from harm. The King will also be called the Everlasting Father. This allows us to understand a little about the Trinity. The Messiah, the Second Person of the Trinity, is in His essence, God. All three Persons of the Trinity cannot be separated, for there is only One God. This description lets us see the timelessness of the Messiah. He is without beginning and without end, and He will rule His kingdom like a Father. Lastly, the Messiah is also called the Prince of Peace, the One who will bring in and maintain peace within His kingdom. When the citizens properly relate to Him, they will also find peace within. Together, these four titles give a magnificent image of the coming Messiah.

 

On the first Christmas, Jesus came as the child. The Son of God was given to us. When you know who He is—God who forfeited His glory, lived like a man, died like a criminal, and regained His glorious state after resurrection, you learn to relate to Him in a proper way. Is He your Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace?

Scripture of the Month

 

December, 2001

 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” John 1:1-2

 

All four Gospels begin by placing Jesus within a historical setting. Matthew began with the genealogy of Jesus that connected Him to David and Abraham. Mark started with the proclamation of the coming of the Son of God as promised by prophets in the Old Testament as spoken by John the Baptist. Luke gave a detailed account of the virgin birth of Jesus by Mary. All of them placed Jesus as a historical man. John, on the other hand, had a different approach. He placed Jesus at a time before any human history.

 

The prologue of John (1:1-18) contains many of the major themes of the Gospel, which were re-introduced and further developed more fully in the latter chapters. But none of them makes sense unless we are convinced of the origin of Jesus. He is not just a man; He is the God-man.

 

“In the beginning was the Word.” As far back as man can imagine, which is beyond “time” because the concept of “time” exists after the creation of the sun and the moon, there was the Word. In other words, in the “eternal” past, the Word was already existing. The term “Word” in Greek is logos, which means “speaking, a message, or words.” It refers to more than spoken words, for it extends to the thought or reason behind a message. This is where the English word “logic” gets its root. The Apostle John opened the Gospel by stating that in the eternal past, the Word was with God. Readers of the Gospel can easily identify the two persons mentioned: the Word and God because the Word is “in company with” God. Not only was the Word with God, the Word was God. John didn’t want his readers to think he made a mistake, so he repeated that He (the Word) was with God from the beginning in v.2. It is not enough to know that there is God in the beginning. It is equally important to know that the Word exists with God at the same time. This is not one of the same Person, but one of the same God. This is an important doctrine to know though it is a mystery to our human mind, for it is the foundation by which we understand the Doctrine of Trinity. But the most important message in the prologue is “The Word became flesh.” (v.14) The eternal Logos, who is God, took on human nature and came to earth as a man. This is what the Gospel is all about: God became a man and lived among men in order to communicate God’s message of Salvation.

Scripture of the Month

 

December, 2000

 

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests." Luke 2:14

We’ve heard the story of Christ’s birth for so many years and somewhere along the line, many have probably forgotten its significance. Maybe we can use this familiar verse to remind us once again of the Good News of Great Joy–Salvation to mankind–in and through Jesus Christ, the Second Person of God in heaven, no less.

 

To begin, we need to know the purpose of Luke who took great pain to record the birth of Christ. He stated in the beginning of the book that the records were handed down by eyewitnesses, and through careful investigation, he was convinced they were historically correct, and therefore, presented to the most excellent Theophilus (means "one who loves God"), who was a publisher at that time. For a publisher to print and distribute any material, he has a moral obligation to substantiate the accuracy of any historical facts. Luke recorded the time, place, and players in details so that Theophilus could verify that his work wasn’t fabricated; they were all factual history. The purpose of Luke’s writing is to convince the readers to believe in Jesus Christ; and if anyone wants to investigate through extra-biblical records, it would only increase his faith.

 

After the angels announced the Good News of Great Joy to the shepherds in the wilderness, they were joined by a great company of heavenly hosts to praise God. This is a Praise Hymn with two announcements. The first announcement is "Glory," which has a rich theological meaning in both the Old and New Testament. Glory is the highest honor one possesses. It must be remembered that God has Glory regardless of others’ opinion because He is in the highest realm. He is above and beyond all. In other words, His glory is immutable. Men cannot add even a small fraction to His glory when we praise Him. When praises are sung, it is merely an acknowledging of God’s glory rather than giving Him glory. The second announcement is "Peace," which means "absence of hostility." It refers to the relationship between the Glorious God and Fallen men. Peace is not assured at all to all men, but only to those who are pleasing to God. For the rest of the Book of Luke, we will study how to please God–believe in Jesus Christ.

 

If the Lord’s willing, we will go through this book in the months to come.

Scripture of the Month

 

August, 2004

 

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.”--Peter 4:1

 

After a month’s break for Summer Retreat, let us now resume our study of the Scripture of the month from the Epistle of Peter. So far this year, we’ve learned how to live in self-control ( 1:13 ), in faith and hope ( 1:21 ), in holiness (2:9), in harmony with one another (3:8), and in anticipation to defend our Faith ( 3:15 ). You may recall that “Sufferings” is one of the major themes of this book. Peter once again brought up this topic in the beginning of chapter 4. Since the first recipients were under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Nero, sufferings seemed to be inevitable.

 

Peter started with a conjunction “therefore” in this paragraph. It is to connect the thought he mentioned in the previous chapter (verse 17 to be exact) which explains that Christians don’t suffer for doing evil. When we suffer, we need to be sure that it is for good cause, rather than bearing the consequences of wrong deeds. “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude . . .” Much should be learned from suffering. First of all, we need to know that suffering doesn’t come from God. In other words, God doesn’t induce sufferings. Contrary to some Christians’ thinking, it doesn’t bring any pleasure to God when He sees us suffer. If it does, He is an evil god.

 

While Christ was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane , He asked the Father if it was at all possible to remove the cup of suffering. The answer was an emphatic “No!” It isn’t because God is unable to remove sufferings. Instead, it is that in order to remove the penalty of Sin, once and for all, Christ had to endure the pain. We are thankful that He did. Peter mentioned that Jesus suffered in the body unto death, and we are asked to have the same attitude. It means keeping the Faith in the midst of suffering. Obedience and endurance are what were on Peter’s mind, for he was going through persecution and as well during the time he wrote this letter to the church.

 

The final statement in this verse is somewhat difficult to understand. This can be taken as suffering is a means to a sanctifying life—purging sin and its effects. Another way to understand this is from Pauline’s teaching in Romans 6, where he pointed out that by union with Christ, we are dead to sin. Either way, we are assured that suffering refers to the emotional and/or physical element, because our spirit is being renewed every day.

Scripture of the Month

 

August, 2003

 

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” II Cor. 7:10

In Chapter 7 of II Corinthians, we see the process of repentance at work. Paul mentioned a letter he wrote to the church of Corinth in verse 8. It is believed to be the missing letter, written between the time of I and II Corinthians. It is, at times, referred to as the “Severe Letter” mainly because Paul severely rebuked them for continuing in sexual sin. In I Corinthians, Paul mentioned that some of the believers engaged in immoral activities were even worse than those of the unchurched. He warned them and told them to repent, but apparently, they didn’t heed his warnings. So, he sent another letter (the missing letter) to severely warn them of their consequences. Thankfully, after delivering the Severe Letter, Timothy returned to report of their repentant spirit. This brought great relief to Paul.

 

The difference between the sorrow inflicted by God and the sorrow inflicted by the world is that one is purposeful while the other is pointless. One provides hope, while the other results in depression. In this verse, Paul reminded us that Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation. According to God, sorrow is not an end in itself; it is a mean to an end. It is redemptive—nothing is lost, only gained. Godly sorrow brings out a hope of salvation, which means to be delivered from a hopeless situation. What makes “pain” beneficial is not its uncomfortable sensation, but our reaction to it. Without painful sensation, you wouldn’t know of an infection. Having pain will lead us to find treatment for remission. The most deadly disease is the “painless cancer,” because when you realize it, most often is too late for any treatment.

 

Almost all rebuke causes us discomfort. How we react to the discomfort determines the outcome. Godly sorrow results in salvation without regret. This doesn’t mean having a careless, so-what attitude. “Leaves no regret” points to holding on to God’s grace, and thereby, realizing salvation—hope for a better future. On the other hand, worldly sorrow (maybe sorry that we’ve been caught!) will lead us nowhere. It causes more grieve and pain without the hope of redemption. Many people today are depressed because of what they have done in the past. Let us find hope in God’s forgiveness. But first thing first, have you examined your life lately? Is there a need for Godly sorrow? If there is, do it, my friend. Admit it, repent and be saved!

Scripture of the Month

 

August, 2002

 

“I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

 

While Jesus was across the Jordan, an urgent message about His friend Lazarus who was critically ill, in Bethany was sent to Him. Instead of rushing to his rescue, Jesus stayed where He was for two extra days as if He wanted to be certain that Lazarus would die. By the time He arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Many who don’t believe in miracle claim that Lazarus was in a coma, not dead. The detailed record of the incident, including the removal of the linen which wrapped around Lazarus is an indication that he was indeed dead, not swooned. Even if Lazarus didn’t die from his sickness, having been wrapped with linen four days would have suffocated him. Lazarus was resurrected, not resuscitated. This miracle was recorded to show that Jesus has the authority over life and death.

 

Just as using the miracle of the five loads and two fish to feed the five thousand to proclaim “I am the Bread of Life,” Jesus used the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead to proclaim “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” Even without raising Lazarus, Jesus could still claim to be the Resurrection and the Life, but He did it so that we may believe without a reasonable doubt.

 

God told Adam and Eve that the day they ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. Being driven away from the Garden of Eden, an image of God’s very presence, indicated that their spiritual life was dead. So were their descendents. When Jesus said “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” He was proclaiming authority to revive the spiritually “dead.” Raising a dead man proves His ability. Therefore, for those who believe, they will never taste death (eternal separation from God) in its truest meaning. Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” Many people criticized Martha, but her belief was so sound. She said, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.” (Please refer to John 20:31). Today, Jesus is still asking you, “Do you believe this?” By believing you may have life in His name, which means through Jesus, your life-line is connected with God. In that case, you can draw His power to battle your daily crisis, as monumental as physical death. May I suggest for you to read from John 11:1—12:11.

Scripture of the Month

 

August, 2001

 

“And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27

A prominent Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner. One of the guests claimed that whoever eats at the feast of the kingdom of God is blessed. To everyone’s surprise, Jesus told a parable, explaining that not everyone who received the invitation would show up at the banquet. The theme of the parable is: nothing is as important as accepting Jesus’ offer of the kingdom of God, for one’s eternal destiny rests on his response to this invitation.

 

With that backdrop, we find Him traveling from village to village, heading toward Jerusalem. His dynamic and truthful speaking style attracted large crowd of followers. Some undoubtedly came from the same place where they had heard the parable of the Great Banquet. To make sure His followers understood that it takes more than just showing up to the banquet as a disciple, Jesus laid out the cost of being a disciple.

 

To emphasize that discipleship is difficult, Jesus made reference to an unprecedented devotion to God. A disciple of God must love God more than his family and/or his life. Care must be utilized to interpret this verse because literally hating one’s family and life is a violation of God’s principle. It is never taught implicitly or explicitly that we don’t need to love our family and our life. Jesus’ emphasis here is that there is a priority in place. Your devotion to love God must come before loving anything else. When you love God, you would know how to love your family (even if they are against your devotion to God) and self for love comes from God. If you love others before loving God, you would not know “how” to love in a truthful and unconditionally way.

 

The second difficult requirement of being a disciple emphasized by Jesus is that a disciple must carry his own cross and follow Him. This was a familiar image seen by the first century Jews. They must have seen criminals convicted by the Romans government and then ordered to carry their own cross (a rough timber) on their shoulders to the place of execution. The cross is a symbol of death. Here, the challenge is for the disciple to put to death that part of which resists the necessary devotion to God, the part that wanted to go their own way and pursue their own ambitions. Again, let us be sure that Jesus doesn’t have problem in us pursuing our goal and vision in life, but the key issue is that if what we pursue interferes with our devotion to God, we need to “nail it down” on the cross.

Scripture of the Month

 

April, 2004

 

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”--I Peter 2:9

Having studied three verses taken from I Peter as the Scripture of the Month, you should already have an idea that holy living is one of the major themes of this book. It starts with a determination of the mind to be obedient children of the Holy God. Having been purified by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, believers are ready for the implementation into the ministry of holiness. Peter used three lively descriptions to identify the resurrected Christ: Living Hope (1:3), Living Word ( 1:23 ), and Living Stone (2:4). In this section (2:4-10), Peter used a new metaphor to exhort us to holy living. The foundational truth to holy living is having fellowship with Jesus Christ, the Living Stone. Though people rejected Him, yet God chose Him as the foundation of a living organism—Church. Those who believe in Him will have fellowship with Him and like living stones will be used as materials to build into a spiritual house. Believers not only make up the house (church), but rather serve in it as well, ministering as royal priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Peter closed this section with a forceful reminder that, in contrast to the disobedient who are destined for punishment, believers are a chosen people. Just as the Jews were the chosen people of the Old Testament, the Church (believers) is the chosen people of the New Testament. The responsibility that was solely entrusted to the nation of Israel is now transferred to the Church. At Mount Sinai , Yahweh said to the Israel nation, “You will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). Now the Church is called a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.

Do you know you are specially chosen? Do you realize you are special in the sight of God and of the world? What a privilege it is to be given these descriptions by God Himself! With the privilege comes the responsibility. Our responsibility is to live a holy living so that we may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into the wonderful light. If you haven’t caught on, let me spell it out clearly for you. Our life is all about God! God saved us to reveal His mercies.

Scripture of the Month

 

April, 2003

 

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

II Cor. 4:7

 

Though Paul was a man of great faith, yet he was also realistic in many aspects. He didn’t expect everyone who comes in contact with the Gospel to be saved. The unacceptance wasn’t because of the inefficiency of the Word or the ineffectiveness of his delivery of the message. It was because the people were blinded by the gods of that age. All Paul could do was to present the Word of God without distortion and without losing heart (II Cor. 4:1-4).

 

In order to be able to maintain his focus on the ministry, Paul shared with us his secrets: (1) Preach Christ and not self. When we promote Christ instead of ourselves, we would not feel overly disappointed when people do not accept our message. Remember God only wants us to sow seeds of the Gospel, and it is the Holy Spirit who causes the seed to grow. (2) Enlighten by the glory of God in our hearts. Paul was able to fervently proclaim the Gospel because God worked in his life. As our hearts are enlightened by the glory of God, we would want to serve Him with an attitude of gratitude. Remember the heart is the seat of all our decisions. (3) Provided with “treasure” within to fend off pressure without. Pure motivation and good strategy doesn’t mean it will be free of challenges. Circumstances and oppositions would often deflate our stamina, unless we realize two important facts—we have this treasure inside and we are but a jar of clay.

 

The message of salvation and its glorious result is a new creation. Believers simply remain a vessel of “jar of clay.” We are still fragile, easily broken, both in terms of emotional and spiritual stamina. It is the “treasure” within the vessel that gives the vessel its value and strength. Paul didn’t choose to explain explicitly what the “treasure” is, but a couple of verses later, he implicitly explained that it is the life of Jesus Christ (v.10). There are many reasons why Paul used this illustration. First, we need to realize our own frailty—a jar of clay. In doing so, we learn humility. Second, we need to realize our strength. The resurrected power of Jesus will help us to withstand adverse situations—hard pressed, but not crushed; perplexed, not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Third, vessel gives us an idea of being molded into a shape that holds the treasure. God is the potter, we are the clay. While being “squeeze” into its form, it’s painful. Someone once said, “Ministry that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing.” May God help us to be a vessel useful for Him.

Scripture of the Month

 

April, 2002

 

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

 

This is the second of seven self-declared the Great “I Am” statements of Jesus. As you might remember from the previous Scripture of the month, Jesus claimed to be the Great I AM (the name of the Eternal God). In order for us to appreciate what Jesus said, it helps to know that they were at the temple during the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles. A major event at the Feast was the lighting of giant candles in the women’s court of the Temple. The wicks of these special candles were made from priests’ worn-out garments. The light, which could be seen from far away, illuminated the temple area as the people gathered together to sing praises and dance as they worshipped God. What a joyful celebration! The lights reminded the Jews of how God was with their ancestors day and night during the years of wandering in the wilderness with the pillar of cloud, which turned to the pillar of fire at night.

 

Jesus probably was pointing to the giant candles at the temple while He proclaimed to be the “Light of the World.” As the sun is the physical light of the world, so Jesus is the spiritual light of the world. There are many artificial lights that come and go in this world giving people direction. Which one to follow? Jesus is the only true Light, not one of many, that forever illuminates the world because He is the only eternal God.

 

Jesus as the light of the world serves many purposes. I would like to share a couple with you. First and foremost is that Jesus serves as the Light of Destination. It is like a spotlight, which guides people to go towards the right direction. Every one in this world is a sojourner. We must find a permanent home. Since the world is in darkness, therefore we won’t know our direction. Just as the candles identified the temple, Jesus as the Light identifies the direction to our final destination. Second of all, even though we might know the direction toward our final destiny, yet the world around us is still dark enough to cause us to stumble on the way. Jesus is the light of the world in that He provides the light to reveal the stumbling blocks we call sins that trip us up. Artificial lights cannot reveal the truth because they change from time to time, from culture to culture, and from generation to generation. Only Jesus and His words will give us the true revelation of what sins are in the sight of the ultimate moral judge. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of the life.” When we follow Jesus all the way to Eternal Home, we will have the light of life—Our life shines! What a promise we have in Jesus!