Orange Moon "Nevertheless"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe… 

 

(More Doctrine 101, this time regarding one of the most important Biblical teachings concerning the matter of prayer.  Glen).

 

"Neverthess"

 

    "And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt" (Matthew 26:39).

 

    The prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ offered before His suffering and death on the cross of Calvary provides one of the brightest Biblical illuminations regarding how we are to pray. 

 

    Anticipating the agony of bearing our sins and experiencing His Father's wrath rather than His loving fellowship, our Savior's humanity felt strain to the degree He "sweat... great drops of blood" (Luke 22:44).  He prayed accordingly, seeking the passing of the cup first, but then seeking the fulfillment of His Father's will even more.  Was His prayer answered?   Certainly, the cup did not pass.  The full weight of Divine judgment fell upon and within the Lord Jesus as God smote and forsook His Son in order to make possible our salvation.  "God hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Corinthians 5:21).  Our Lord willingly drank the cup to its fullest extent.  The Father did not let it pass, as the Son requested.  How then was the Lord's prayer answered?

 

    "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt."  The Christ who so loved the Father, and who so loved to obey His Father, asked not only for the passing of the cup, but also for the "nevertheless" of God's will.  Again, no brighter light regarding prayer exists in the pages of the Bible.  Our Father calls us to make requests in accordance with our understanding and desires (I Corinthians 14:15; Mark 11:24).  However, true prayer always involves the awareness that God's glory and purposes may lead Him to act in a manner contrary to what we think best, or what our human inclinations desire.  Thus, we pray always, as did our Lord in the hour of His greatest trial and need, with the attitude and spirit of His holy "Nevertheless."  Every genuine prayer, as led and enabled by the Holy Spirit, flows to the throne of Heaven on the current of this attitude of humble submission to the will of God.  "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven" (Matthew 6:10).

 

   The Lord's prayer was answered.  He sought the fulfillment of His Father's will, which by definition constitutes the very heart of prayer.  He received the answer, and was ultimately all the more blessed because while the cup of suffering and death did not pass, the "Nevertheless" of God's will led to the resurrection and the bestowal of the Savior's "Name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9).  We can expect the same.  When we properly make our requests in accordance with our understanding and desires, but also with the attitude that affirms the will of God as paramount, our prayers will be answered one way or the other.  Some cups may pass, and we will rejoice.  But some cups will be ours to drink, and we will taste their bitterness.  However, we will also eventually taste the sublime sweetness of some resurrection that would not and could not happen had God not answered in accordance with our "Nevertheless."  The Light of the world," our blessed Lord Jesus, revealed such truth to us in the most vivid illumination possible.  Let us walk in the glory thereof, "letting our requests be made known unto God," but always with in the spirit and expression of "Nevertheless."

 

"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us.  And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.

(I John 5:14-15)

 

Weekly Memory Verse

   "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."

(Philippians 2:4)

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Orange Moon "This Altar Of Wonder"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe… 

(More "Doctrine 101." Thanks, Glen.)

 

"This Altar Of Wonder"

 

    Without determining all things, God nevertheless possesses the capability whereby He "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:11).  Moreover, He "works all things together for good to them that love Him," again, without needing to particularly and pointedly cause everything that happens in His creation or in our lives (Romans 8:28).  

 

    Certainly, this leads to enraptured wonder regarding who and what our Lord is.  How can a Being exist who creates other beings with freedom, sees them willfully misuse it in literally trillions of disobedient and rebellious acts, and yet fulfills His purposes to the degree that His historical intentions will be completely fulfilled?  Let us allow the consideration to sink deeply within our hearts and minds, and then let us find a place therein for adoring and amazed fascination.  The Holy Spirit and the Apostle Paul lead us to this altar of wonder: "O the depths of both the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33).

 

    It would be one thing to ponder a Divine being who universally caused all things in a creation he made.  We might be amazed that such a one could exist, and find ourselves enthralled by a sovereign of such power and creativity.  Compared to the living and true God of Scripture, however, the luster of such a hypothetical god quickly fades.  Indeed, our Heavenly Father can give angelic and human beings real freedom, see them misuse it to the degree that His beloved Son was murdered by devilish instigation and human hands, but still no less fulfill His eternal purposes.  "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself" (II Corinthians 5:19).

 

    This truth supplies the reason believers are not fatalists, that is, we do not believe all things to be predetermined or inevitable.  Much happens in God's creation He desires not to happen.  We read no further than Genesis 3 to see that.  "Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" (Genesis 3:11). However, we also read no further than Genesis 3 to see that God was already prepared for Adam's chosen unbelief and disobedience, declaring to Satan, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15).  The Apostle John confirms in the book of Revelation, describing the Lord Jesus as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8).  God knew and was ready for the contingency of man's real and misused freedom.  He has known and been ready for every such choice.  Yes, the living and true God of Scripture is so indescribably glorious and wondrous that without moving all things as pawns on a chessboard, as it were, He nevertheless works out His eternal purpose in Christ with righteous perfection and precision.  Wonder and worship ensue as we rejoice in this holy One who "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will."  

A final point. The importance of this Biblical perspective greatly encourages our hearts in the light of an exalted view of our God. A lesser perspective leaves us in the darkness wherein our Lord must cause all things in order to effect His purposes. This inevitably leads us to assign responsibility for evil to Him, something we must avoid at all costs. Indeed, the first devilish temptation involved Satan casting aspersions on the moral nature of God. "Ye shall not surely die" said the devil to Eve in direct opposition to God's word to Adam (Genesis 3:4). Satan also implied that the Lord's prohibition regarding the tree of knoweldge of good and evil involved His witholding a good and necessary thing to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:5). This reveals the devil's primary assault upon human hearts, namely, to tempt us to view God in terms of imperfection and even moral wickedness. We must never respond to such darkness, especially in our doctrinal understanding of our Lord's spiritual and moral nature. "As for God, His way is perfect" (II Samuel 22:31). Thus, the affirmation that God can work all things after the counsel of His own will without directly causing all things safeguards us from the catastrophic error of assigning responsibility to our Lord for evil, either directly or by implication. We wonder indeed, and we worship in light of so great and glorious a God whose working transcends our understanding, and thus leads us to greater trust and submission to His glorious purposes.

 

"Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith, all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him.  And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all."

(I Corinthians 15:24-28)

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works."

(Psalm 145:17)

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man."

(James 1:13-14)

 

Weekly Memory Verse

   "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."

(Philippians 2:4)

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Orange Moon "The Firstborn"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe… 

(The Biblical truth addressed in this message should be considered a vital aspect of "Doctrine 101" in every believer's understanding. Thanks, Glen.)

 

"The Firstborn"

 

    In Scripture, the term "firstborn" refers to both the personal and to one's position.  One might be the firstborn in the sense of having physically opened the womb as the eldest brother or sister.  Or one might be the firstborn in the sense of place and privilege (if the child was male - Luke 2:23).  The Apostle Paul refers to the Lord Jesus Christ as fulfilling both aspects of being the firstborn:

 

    "His dear Son,  in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.   And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.  And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:13-18; emphasis added).

 

    First, Paul declares the Lord Jesus as the firstborn regarding His place in the natural creation.  By Him and for Him, God created all things.  Moreover, through Christ all things consist.  Thus, when thinking about the world and the universe, we only consider all things rightly when realizing that every atom of the natural creation has its being and significance first and foremost in the Lord Jesus.  Every object, every event, every blessing, every challenge, every person, and everything somehow relates to His preeminent role and place as the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and as the One to whom God the Father commands all glory and devotion to be directed.  "God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9).

 

   Regarding the new creation, that is, the spiritual race of beings born again into resurrection life - born again believers in the Lord Jesus - the same reality holds true, but with a different application.  The Lord Jesus abides forevermore as "the firstborn from the dead."  This refers to His Person, being, and life as the first human who passed through death, only to be raised from the dead and to never die again.  "Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more" (Romans 6:9).  Subsequently, His Life beyond life then graces all who trust Him.  Believers were born again through faith in the Lord Jesus and spiritually raised from the dead, never to die again.  "Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die… the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (John 11:26; Romans 6:23).  Thus, all who receive newness of life in Christ share in the personal experience of resurrection through the "Firstborn from the dead," while never sharing the preeminence of place and position regarding "the Firstborn of every creature."

 

    The distinction is vital to recognize and affirm in our understanding.  Believers are spiritually alive in Christ through parkaking of His risen life.  We are one with Him, indwelt by His Spirit, led by His light, and so spiritually united to Him that Paul declares the union to be "one spirit" (I Corinthians 6:17).  However, we are never equal with Him in any sense regarding His Person and place as the preeminent Christ.  He forevermore singularly abides as the God who became man, and the man who remains God.  We therefore do well to draw as near in heart to the Lord Jesus as the Holy Spirit will allow.  But we also realize that when the Apostle John first saw the risen Lord Jesus, he "fell at His feet as dead" (Revelation 1:17).  This dual experience of Christ both now and forevermore enables us to joyously know the love of God in Christ, while reverently knowing the fear of God in Christ (Romans 8:39; II Corinthians 7:1).

 

    In Heaven and earth, there is no one like the Lord Jesus in the fullest sense of His Person and place.  Little wonder we are to give "the Firstborn of every creature" the preeminence, and little wonder we are also to personally draw near to God through "the Firstborn from the dead."  Our Savior is the chief delight of His Father, and the more we know and understand Him, the more we will know the Father's beloved Son as our beloved Savior.

 

"Ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead."

(Colossians 2:12)

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen."

(II Peter 3:18)

 

Weekly Memory Verse

   "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."

(Philippians 2:4)

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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