“…in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise; and again, ‘I will put My trust in Him.’ And again, ‘Behold, I and the children who God has given Me.'” (Heb 2:11-13 nasb)
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Readers,
Do you need a refreshing from heaven? Why not take time to listen to Dallas Holm, as he sings, ‘Here We are.’ Or, you may wish to simply click on the video to listen while you continue reading the rest of my journal entry. Whatever your preference just relax and let the Lord fill your heart with His love.
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Did you notice the bold portion of the above Scriptures? It is where we hear Jesus say, ‘Behold, I and the children who God has given Me.'”
This statement is rich in its prophetic emphasis. It draws on a redemption promise that God gives through the prophet Isaiah. Note the following:
“And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.”(Isa 8:17-18)
The signs and wonders reach forward into the covenant of Christ. Also note,
“Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: ‘Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will sanctify My name; indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.”(Isa 29:22-23)
When Paul writes about God’s new creation family in Christ, he is drawing on Isaiah, as well as on other prophets. Paul says that we are God’s workmanship in Christ.
Now listen carefully to Jesus:
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds [looks to] the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Joh 6:37-40)
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What about the security of God’s children?
God doesn’t want his children to be afraid. Did you know that one day the Lord Jesus will actually say to the Father, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”
Believers who lack knowledge in how salvation works will always battle insecurities. But the problem isn’t simply with the believer. It is a problem of the pulpit. Jesus Christ is being presented in a manner that is not in full accord with the gospel message.
The work of salvation is God’s work from alpha to omega. No one is accidentally born into the kingdom of God. Every birth is planned. The apostle said he was convinced the good work that God began in us, He would perfect until the day of Jesus Christ. God is the author and the finisher of our faith. He is the perfector of His work. God began the work and God finishes the work
Here is a brief testimony to help put a face on my first step in realizing what the security of the believer means:
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It was 1974.
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I had just resigned from my former church affiliation. The following morning at my office it was like a dark cloud had settled over me. I felt an aloneness that I was not accustomed to. What will I do? Where do I go?
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Falling to my knees, I instinctively reached for my Bible. The pages fell open to Philippians 1:6, where I read,
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“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”The ‘Sun of righteousness’ had risen over me. The cloud vanished. No more fear. No more uncertainty. I knew in my heart everything was alright. The Spirit of the Lord came to my aid. My future was well cared for. Hallelujah!
Of course I’m not telling you something that you don’t know. Jesus has come to my aid untold myriads of times on my pilgrim journey. But He does the same for all who belong to Him. Did He not say, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” That, dear friend, is an unconditional promise.
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This is where we need to understand Biblical promises.
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Conditional promises are based upon some action on our part. Unconditional promises are based upon something God has promised with no aid from us. These are the “I will” promises of God.
There are many conditional promises. A good example is Luke 6:38, where the Lord says, “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”Notice that it is ‘our’ standard of measure that is the gauge for the ‘pressed down’ blessings.
However, unconditional promises are different. Unconditional promises are generally summed up as redemption promises. These kinds of promises are ‘from God, through God, and to God’ promises. They cannot be broken by believers simply because we have no role to play in them. They are based entirely on the sovereignty of God.
These ‘never-ever’ promises serve as the bedrock of our walk with the Lord. One of the very last things Jesus said to the disciples was, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt28:20)
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Another one that some folk try to unwind is the John 10:27,28 promise, where the Lord said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
Many Christians see the strength of their walk in how strong their grip is on God. This is not what Jesus is saying. The safety for a child of God does not depend on his or her grip. It rests entirely in the hands of the Lord. Jesus said, “No one will snatch them out of my hand.”
Here are a few more of these ‘never-ever’ promises:
“…whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)
“…everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:26)
“[God’s] Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.” (1Co13:8)
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“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39)
Each of the afore promises has its own doctrinal platform.
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The point being that these promises are based upon something God says He will do. These unconditional promises actually relate to God’s redemption plan in Christ, a plan that was set forth before the beginning of time. To try to even understand it is beyond our grasp. To say that God is unjust or unfair is not true in the least. It is merely that we are unable to understand things that are finite. God is perfectly just in all His ways.
Paul gave some insight into this area, when he said, “We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to [God’s] purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” (Eph1:11)
Notice that Paul said our will does not figure in the picture. It is God’s will that is at work. This is why you can be sure that nothing happens in a believer’s life by chance. The apostle John certainly agrees. He said that our birth from heaven was not a thing of our will. He says, “[We] were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13)
When we were born again, it is because God opened our ears to hear, and placed in our heart to respond. We see this being worked out in a lady named Lydia. It says, “A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshipper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.” (Acts 16:14)
We also see this being worked out in the life of a man called Peter. If you recall, Peter actually denied the Lord three times. Was that the end of the story? No indeed. Jesus sought him out, restored him fully, and gave him the privilege of preaching the gospel at the very place where Peter became fearful of his life.
Recall what the Lord said to the 70 who returned and were rejoicing over all the miracles that took place through the name of Jesus. What was the Lord’s response? He said, “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are recorded in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)
Have you caught the point in all this?
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— Regardless of how well we think we understand the mystery of our salvation, the fact remains that God’s unconditional promises do not rest upon how well we are able to perform or how much we understand. They are not performance promises. Each of these promises rest upon God Himself. When He says that He will never desert us or forsake us, that promise cannot be broken.
Yes, we all struggle over this. How can God give such promises? After all, I am such a bummer of a person. There is no good in me. So we ask, “Why me, Lord?” Wish I could answer that. About the best any of us can do is write songs about all this.
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We write:
“I don’t know why Jesus loved me. I don’t know why He cared. I don’t know why He gave His life for me. Oh, but I’m glad. So glad He did.”
Or,
“Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong.”
Or,
‘All hail the power of Jesus name! Let angels prostrate fall…”
Or,
“I am weak but Thou art strong, Jesus keep me from all wrong…”
Or,
“So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, … Till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.”
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Well, it is songs without end. And we will continue to write them.
But the message from heaven never changes. While we love the Lord with a love that cannot be measured, John wants us to understand something very special when he writes, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1Jn4:10)
Think about it.
Don’t you just love Dallas Holm’s song, ‘Here we are.’
