The Living Word

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Archives for August 2020

September 6: Champions of God’s Way

August 26, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

Taken from the Revised Common Lectionary (common to most churches/denominations that use a scheme of set readings) for Sunday, September 6, 2020, using the New International Version (NIV) UK edition. Published a week in advance to encourage reading and reflection before the Sunday worship service. We recommend that you read the passage as it stands and allow the Holy Spirit to begin revealing it to you, before going deeper with the verse-by-verse study and applications.

TLW35A

Linked article — Watchmen of God’s way


Theme: How we contend for God’s righteous way

Psalm 119:33-40, Ezekiel 33:7-11 — The call to uphold God’s truth like responsible watchmen

OT passage verse by verse

Matthew 18:15-20 — Believers who agree in reconciling divisions find a spiritual authority from heaven

NT Gospel passage verse by verse

Romans 13:8-14 — Love transforms all our attitudes, ready for Jesus’ return

NT letter passage verse by verse

See article linked to this post Watchmen of God’s way which is about our responsibility for saying, doing, and living out what God gives us

Psalm 119:33-40, Ezekiel 33:7-11 — The call to uphold God’s truth

Those who know God are like watchmen, responsible for warning others to live right by Him

33 Teach me, LORD, the way of Your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.

34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.

“Teach me… give me understanding” — in this section the poet is writing in the form of prayer, with a desire to be found obedient.

35 Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight.

36 Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

“Your commands… Your statutes” — or we would say, Your Word, or Scripture. The original hearers would have followed an oral tradition, hearing Scripture read and discussed until it was memorised.

“Turn my heart” — wanting to do what is right in God’s sight comes from a changed heart. The unregenerate heart is a deceitful instinct; only salvation offers a transforming experience that brings this change.

• For further study, see Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:26-27; Hebrews 8:10.

37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word.

“Your Word” — or Your ways. Later in the psalm God’s righteous way is depicted as a path lit up by His Word, Psalm 119:105.

38 Fulfil Your promise to Your servant, so that You may be feared.

“Worthless things” — or “vanity”, NASB. The psalmist wants to focus on what is of the greatest, and most enduring, value i.e. God’s Word.

39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for Your laws are good.

40 How I long for Your precepts! In Your righteousness preserve my life.

SUMMARY  Turn my heart towards doing what Your Word says is right, and preserve my life.

Ezekiel 33:7-11

7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from Me.

“I have made you a watchman” — almost identical words to Ezekiel’s original call as a watchman for the nation, Ezekiel 3:17-21. The earlier commission emphasised God’s judgment for Israel’s rebellion; now this second commission will encourage the exiles to rise above their poor leadership, repent and find the path of restoration and blessing.

8 “When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.

 9 “But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

“If you do warn” — three groups are in view here: (1) Ezekiel and others who hear God and must act as watchmen, faithfully speaking out His message; (2) those who are slow to hear and repent, and (3) those who hear, respond and put bad attitudes behind them, v.11 (below).

10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offences and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?” ’

“Our offences and sins” — a turning point, becoming aware of their sin, instead of blaming their upbringing or blaming God as they did before, Ezekiel 18:2, 19, 25.

11 “Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.

“Rather that they turn… and live” — the grace of God which in Jesus becomes the Good News of the kingdom. God doesn’t want anyone to perish, 2 Peter 3:9, but to turn in repentance of attitude, and receive new life.

” ‘Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ “

“Turn” — God’s answer to the question posed in v. 10, “How then can we live?” The good news is that God is loving and gracious, and always offers a way out to those who recognise they have chosen a wrong direction.

Reflection

SUMMARY  We are like watchmen, responsible for knowing the dangers and speaking them out to those who are caught up in wrong attitudes and wickedness. God doesn’t want them to die, but to turn from what is wrong, and have life and fellowship with Him.

APPLICATION  The good news is, God will always reveal His good way if we seek Him, in particular through His Word. But then there is a responsibility on us to share what we discover with others who are caught up in lawless or selfish behaviour.

QUESTION  Who are the watchmen in our Christian community?


Matthew 18:15-20 — Believers must be willing to reconcile divisions

There’s a spiritual authority from heaven that inhabits our agreement

15-16 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

“Just between the two of you” — best, if it can be done, to resolve the difficulty without others becoming involved (and misunderstandings multiplying). Following Proverbs 25:9, “If you take your neighbour to court, do not betray another’s confidence.”

“You have won them over” — “you have gained your brother”, NKJV, ESV. The objective is always restoration of whoever has “wandered off”, vv.12-14, back to discipleship.

• For further study, see Leviticus 19:17; Luke 17:3; Galatians 6:1; 1 Timothy 5:20; Titus 3:10. Also “two or three witnesses”, Deuteronomy 19:15, to the reconciliation, not the cause of difficulty.

17 “If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

“Church” — local gathered Christian community, from a word meaning ‘called together assembly’. Discipline by exclusion is based on the conviction that God’s people are called to be holy, and overt sin destroys fellowship, and the goal is to restore the privilege in due course.

• For further study on restoring the wayward, see Matthew 18:10-15; Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20.

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

“Whatever you bind” — there is a divine prohibition or release that, with discernment, flows into prayerful determinations on earth.

19-20 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

“Two of you on earth agree” — the immediate context being the resolving of relationship-damaging disputes, with reconciliation helped by impartial, prayerful assistance of a coaching nature. There is a wider general principle about prayerful agreement, in which case it will be “anything” agreed to be God’s will and not a selfish request.

Reflection

SUMMARY  When someone in the church behaves badly towards another, and there is a conflict, the righteous ones have a responsibility to bring them to account, privately, or with other witnesses, or even before the whole congregation. There is a particular spiritual discernment and authority given to believers who agree a matter together before the Lord. This could be to bring divided parties together in reconciliation, or a principle that applies for strategic prayer generally.

APPLICATION  The church exists to reveal Jesus, to be the focus of worship through Him — and to show His way and His values to the wider world. Satan is an active enemy whose whole mission is to prevent that from happening, and stir up conflicts and disagreements wherever possible. So we need to know the Jesus way to resolve them! Things go wrong, relationships get damaged and any of us can get caught up in something which takes us off-track, so grace needs to be flowing in a prayerful process. Believers who submit to each other and the Lord in finding agreement will attract the Holy Spirit’s help, and find great authority in prayer to bring reconciliation.

QUESTION  Who do you have as a prayer partner (or two) to pray and agree together before the Lord for the pressing need of the moment? 


Romans 13:8-14 — Loving others is living ready for Jesus’ return

Attitudes as well as actions are important and love governs them all

8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

“Let no debt remain” — or “don’t continue owing anything to anybody”, more of a moral instruction than a financial one, but a warning against dishonest indebtedness through taking advantage, Psalm 37:21.

“The continuing debt to love” — no matter how sacrificially a Christian has loved, that is a debt that will never be paid off, and the requirement to go on loving remains.

9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

“The commandments” — Paul quotes the seventh, sixth, eighth and tenth commandments, a sequence used in some other Jewish writings.

• For further study, read Exodus 20:13-17; Deuteronomy 5:17-21.

10 Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.

“Love is the fulfilment” — Paul reflects Jesus’ teaching on the Great Commandment, and the definition of neighbour as potentially anyone the Lord brings across our path. Attempting to live by the law is to fail by breaking it, Romans 7:5. Living willingly by God’s love without being under law, results in us fulfilling it.

• For further study, read Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:34-40.

11-12 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.

“Our salvation is nearer now” — the full realisation of Jesus’ victory over sin and death at the closing of the age and His second coming, Romans 8:23; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5.

“The night… the day” — the present age, with its spiritual darkness and depravity, “is nearly over” in the perspective of keenly anticipating the “almost here” next great event in God’s plan of redemption, the return of Jesus Christ and consummation of His just and righteous kingdom.

• For further study, read how the OT repeatedly predicts “the day of the Lord” when God intervenes to save His people and judge their enemies, Isaiah 13:4-13; Jeremiah 30:8-9; Joel 2:32; 3:18; Obadiah 1:15-18.

• For further study, see NT teaching on the imminent coming of the end times, 1 Corinthians 7:29; Philippians 4:5; James 5:9; 1 Peter 4:7; 1 John 2:18.

13-14 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

“Behave decently” — in the avoidance of gross and obvious sins like debauchery and sexual immorality, but also in relational sins like quarrelling and jealousy. As in the Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5-7, less evident attitudes are highlighted because of the evil actions they lead to.

“Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ” — wear the uniform and live up to it. This would bring to mind baptisms, where believers coming out of the water would put on a new set of clothes to symbolise their transition into new life with new values.

Reflection

SUMMARY  Live well, live by love, avoiding actions which cause harm to others. Rather than acting from selfish motives, wear the uniform of Jesus and live up to it.

APPLICATION  The world is not naturally a sacrificial place — we don’t want to let the other driver into the line of traffic, or give our place in the queue to another. But this is a key to understanding what is meant by the “love [which] is the fulfilment of the law”. It’s about honouring marriage, not abusing it, protecting not murdering; giving freely rather than stealing; and sharing rather than coveting. It is living in the opposite spirit to the world’s selfishness. This is how we want to be found, when Jesus comes again.

QUESTION  How do we live by love, without becoming a push-over for others?

PRAYER  Lord, we consider how many things, even spiritual activities, reflect the ownership of man rather than the Lordship of Christ.

Help us to let go of what is not really ours, to seek prayerful agreement with others rather than our own way, and to make the hallmark of our discussions and decisions, the love which defers and honours and protects…

…That Jesus may be seen to be our Lord. We pray in His majestic name. Amen.


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Filed Under: Pentecost to Advent, Year A

August 30: The call and the cost

August 19, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

Theme: There’s personal sacrifice in following God’s call

SUMMARY: Faithfully following God leads to the greatest of privileges, but it is not without cost, as Jeremiah’s experience teaches us. Jesus tells His disciples that the Messiah will suffer at the hands of the religious establishment, be put to death, and rise again. His disciples need to be similarly careless about their own lives and aspirations, dying to self as a prerequisite to embracing the life of the kingdom. Paul writes to status-conscious Rome and tells believers there,that kingdom life is about loving others above yourself — and beyond that, showing love to others, even persecutors.


Psalm 26:1-8, Jeremiah 15:15-21 — The cost of commitment to God

OT reading verse by verse

Matthew 16:21-28 — To become a disciple of Jesus is a call to die to self

Matthew reading verse by verse

Romans 12:9-21 —Christians demonstrate God’s life by sacrificial love

Romans reading verse by verse

Psalm 26:1-8, Jeremiah 15:15-21 — The cost of commitment to God

Following God’s call requires us to live by different priorities

1-2 Vindicate me, LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD and have not faltered. Test me, LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind…

“Blameless… trusted… not faltered… test me” — the psalmist invites the Lord to examine his integrity without claiming to be sinless, Psalm 25:7, 18.

3 …for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on Your faithfulness.

“Love and… faithfulness” — the awareness of God’s unwavering, loyal love which is God’s promise to those “who keep the demands of His covenant,” Psalm 25:10.

4 I do not sit with the deceitful, nor do I associate with hypocrites.

“Sit with… deceitful… hypocrites” — not associating with bad company is a standard for behaviour, Psalm 1:1.

5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.

“I abhor… and refuse” — faithfulness is doing what is right, but also avoiding wrong associations.

6-7 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about Your altar, LORD, proclaiming aloud Your praise and telling of all Your wonderful deeds.

“Go about Your altar” — speaking out God’s saving acts beside His altar was a way of sharing devotion publicly.

8 LORD, I love the house where You live, the place where your glory dwells.

“I love the house where You live” — the ark in the inner tabernacle was held to be a place of the special presence of God. To love the house of God is to invite God’s response in unfailing love, or mercy, Psalm 26:11.

Jeremiah 15:15-21

15 LORD, You understand; remember me and care for me. Avenge me on my persecutors. You are long-suffering — do not take me away; think of how I suffer reproach for Your sake.

“You understand…how I suffer reproach” — Jeremiah’s prophetic anointing caused him to see things revealed by God, not yet seen by his family and countrymen, the tension known by prophetic people.

16 When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear Your name, LORD God Almighty.

“I ate them” — figuratively, by reflecting on them.

17 I never sat in the company of revellers, never made merry with them; I sat alone because Your hand was on me and You had filled me with indignation.

“I sat alone” —Jeremiah never married, Jer. 16:2, and taking on the Lord’s indignation at the sins of Judah, Jer. 6:11, for him this was not a time to celebrate.

18 Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? You are to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails.

“My pain…a spring that fails” — Jeremiah begins to doubt whether he is up to the task, and still hearing God.

19 Therefore this is what the LORD says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve Me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be My spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.

“If you repent” — God gets Jeremiah to turn from his confusion with popular opinion, and press through with leading the people to repent.

20 I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the LORD.

“I will make you… a fortified wall” — by speaking true words (unlike the false prophets); a recommissioning in words that restate Jeremiah’s original call, Jer. 1:17-19.

21 “I will save you from the hands of the wicked and deliver you from the grasp of the cruel.”

Reflection

SUMMARY  Jeremiah tells God about the pain that has come to him for sticking faithfully to what God was revealing to him. There was the reproach of those that didn’t understand. Others wanted to feast and party, but Jeremiah, aware of the bigger picture, couldn’t be one of the crowd. He was running dry in trying to communicate a message that only brought him trouble. He was having a ‘wobble’ in his call — was he even on the right track? God turned him round and encouraged him to go right on speaking the message he had been given — with greater authority.

APPLICATION  What God wants from us can set us on a different path from our family and friends. They don’t understand and tensions arise. But there is a particular spiritual authority that comes from staying with God on a difficult path.

QUESTION  When have you faced criticism from friends for sticking to what you felt was righteous? How did God see you through this?


Matthew 16:21-28 — Jesus explains that He is called to suffer and die

Disciples learn to let go of the world’s acclaim to gain God’s

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

“From that time on” — a turning point: now Jesus begins to teach that He must “suffer many things” in Jerusalem, be killed and then raised to life. Following Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, Matt. 16:16, Jesus begins to reveal the suffering path of the Messiah.

• For further study, the three predictions of His death, see also Matthew 17:22-23, 20:18-19.

22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”

“This shall never happen” — Peter had recognised Jesus as Messiah, but like most Jews saw that as triumphant and conquering.

• For further study on the Messiah that must suffer, see Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Zech. 12:10; 13:7.

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

“Get behind me, Satan” — because the devil had offered the same temptation to avoid suffering and death, Matthew 4:10. But the Cross was central to the Messiah’s saving mission.

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.

“Deny themselves… take up their cross” — not falsely adopting an impoverished life, but renouncing all that is self-centred and personally ambitious to put the kingdom of God first, Matthew 6:33.

“Follow” — used by Matthew both literally, and of personal allegiance.

• For further study, see Matt. 9:19, 26:58; and Matt. 4:20, 22; 8:19, 22-23; 9:9; 10:38; 16:24; 19:21, 27.

25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.

“Save life… lose it… loses their life… find it” — Jesus sets out the paradox: finding kingdom life in discipleship by letting go of personal aspirations.

26-27 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done.

“Gain the whole world” — sacrificing selfish ambition opens the way to kingdom life now, extending into eternal life with Jesus, rather than spiritual death and eternal separation from God.

28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

“Some who are standing here`’ — Peter, James and John would see the Son of Man transfigured in royal splendour (alternative translation for “in His kingdom”) six days later.

Reflection

SUMMARY  At this point in the gospel story, Peter has declared who Jesus is, the Messiah of God. Now Jesus tells the disciples about the suffering and death He will endure at the hands of the temple hierarchy. Peter the Rock reacts sharply, as if to say that he won’t let that happen — and for that moment ‘the Rock’ becomes a stumbling block in the way of God’s plan. Those who follow Me as disciples, Jesus tells them, have to let go of the regular rewards of life and accept the world’s condemnation of their call — but in doing so, they will discover the extraordinary life of God’s kingdom.

APPLICATION  To lose one’s life to gain it is a tough proposition. But that’s the dilemma for everyone who believes and receives Christ to become a Christian. It is a saying ‘no’ to the old path of life, with its aspirations and successes, in order to say ‘yes’ to Jesus and follow Him on a path with its own pain and difficulties — and its own special heavenly reward.

QUESTION  It is one thing to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour, but how do you feel about submitting to Jesus as Lord and becoming one of His apprentices?


Romans 12:9-21 — The call is to show God’s life by sacrificial love

Christians are enabled to prefer and honour others above themselves

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

“Love must be sincere” — the church is built on relationships, which must be real (lit., without hypocrisy) reflecting kingdom values. We are to demonstrate love within the church fellowship; the call to love those outside, including oppressors (v.14) is also included (vv.17-21 below).

10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.

“Honour… above yourselves” — as Jesus was seen to do, Phil. 2:3-7. Only a mind renewed by the Holy Spirit (v.2) could embrace such an idea. Roman society was full of competition for honour.

11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.

“Keep your spiritual fervour” — this could be translated “be set on fire by the Spirit”, passionate about faith in Jesus and keen to exercise ministry to others in the fellowship.

12-13 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

“Hope… affliction” — affliction was (and for the fervent Christian, is) inevitable, John 16:33; 2 Tim. 3:12, but Christians are enabled to face it confidently and with inner joy.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

“Bless those who persecute” — reflecting the teaching of Jesus, Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27-28.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

“Rejoice… mourn” — as members of a body, sharing each other’s joy and pain, 1 Cor. 12:25-26.

16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 

“Live in harmony” — as a fellowship holding kingdom values, not status-conscious Roman ones.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.

18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

“If it is possible… live at peace” — Christians cannot and should not aim to please everyone, but should love people within the fellowship and beyond it, making “the teaching about God our Saviour attractive”, Titus 2:10.

19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

“It is Mine to avenge” — quoting from Deut. 32:35 and reflecting Jesus’ teaching, Matt. 5:39. The desire for revenge can be offset by knowing that God is a sure judge, both now and in eternity.

20-21 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

“Heap burning coals” — grace flowing in an act of kindness can bring a hostile person to repentance and restore fellowship. The Proverbs 25:22 picture is like burning pangs of remorse.

Reflection

SUMMARY  There’s a particular kind of relationship that the kingdom of God calls for. That’s in the church fellowship, but also in the way Christians relate to others. It is based on love of a particular quality — sacrificial love, love that doesn’t count the cost and which extends God’s grace to those who are against us.

REFLECTION  As far as possible we are to live at peace with everyone — but we don’t have control of that. Trouble will come, both from those within the fellowship, and from outside it. Outside it is easier to understand. People have free will, and the way relationships work in the world, we love on the basis of choosing people who love us back. In the kingdom of God, we learn to love others above ourselves, with no thought about what comes back to us, and that’s difficult. When we get harsh treatment from someone in the fellowship who is still practising what the world teaches, it is especially testing.

QUESTION  What we are expected to do towards others is humanly impossible. How is it that Paul can expect readers to follow his instructions?

PRAYER

Thank You, Father, for first loving me. 
I hear Your call to live for You by loving others, regardless of whether they return it.
Following Jesus can be difficult and the cost can seem too great.
But what is that, compared with Your Son paying for my freedom with His life?
Fill me with Your Spirit and Your unconditional love, as I pray this in and through Jesus.
Amen.

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Filed Under: Pentecost to Advent, Year A

August 23: Know God, know yourself

August 12, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

“My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge…” Psalm 18:2
Image credit: Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

Theme: Know who I am, and know who you are

SUMMARY  Really knowing God is the path to truly knowing ourselves. Knowing the majesty of God, knowing who Jesus is in your life, knowing who we are in Him — this all defines us as belonging to Him. That changes how we see ourselves — as God sees us, people bearing His spiritual authority, with a spiritual dimension and spiritual gifts.

Link to page

This linked article Seeing ourselves as God sees us is a reflection and message that further develops this theme.

Isaiah 51:1-6 — Those who have been alienated are reminded of their godly ancestry

Matthew 16:13-20 — The disciples declare Jesus to be Son of the real, live God

Romans 12:1-8 — With Spirit-renewed minds we see ourselves within the body of Christ with its richness of spiritual gifts.

And also read: Psalm 138

Isaiah 51:1-6 — God’s plan to gather the alienated ones 

His people showing salvation light are the hope of the nations

1-2 “Listen to me, You who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many.

“You who pursue righteousness” — encouragement for those still faithful to God in trial.

“The rock from which you were cut” — God is called “the Rock, your fortress” elsewhere, Isaiah 17:10. The rock represents godly Abraham and the quarry, Sarah.

3 “The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

“Deserts like Eden” — The well-watered garden, Eden, was a place of close fellowship with the Lord. The Lord will restore the relationship.

“Joy and gladness” — with the Lord present, as in heaven, so on earth.

4 “Listen to me, My people; hear Me, My nation: Instruction will go out from Me; My justice will become a light to the nations.

“My justice… a light to the nations” — the justice or salvation of the servant.

• For further study, see Isaiah 42:4, 6; 49:6, John 3:17-18 

5 “My righteousness draws near speedily, My salvation is on the way, and My arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to Me and wait in hope for My arm.

“Righteousness draws near” — in the immediate context, deliverance from exile, Isaiah 46:10-13. Ultimately, being made just (right with God) through Christ, will come to all nations.

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But My salvation will last forever, My righteousness will never fail.

“The earth will wear out” — the old cosmos and its wicked inhabitants will perish; only God’s people will inhabit the new. The word of God and His salvation will last for ever, Isaiah 40:8.

Reflection

SUMMARY  The prophet brings a word of hope for the outcast exiles, reminding them who they are. Their ancestry has good and godly foundation, hewn out of the ‘rock’ of Abraham and Sarah and carrying the imprint of God’s original covenant of that time. God is gathering them again in restored relationship with Him to take the light of His salvation to the nations, a salvation which will outlast the present world.

APPLICATION  We, too, are ‘covenant people’ but the grounds of our belonging are not Abraham, but the New Covenant in Jesus and our faith in Him. God is relying on us to be bearers of the revelatory light of His salvation (also in Jesus) offered to others. These may be of other nations or ethnic groups. They may just be people in our neighbourhood but not part of our ‘tribe’ or social group.

QUESTION  How confident are you about your ‘belonging’ and being able to show God’s light and love to others?


Matthew 16:13-20 — Who is Jesus? The answer also defines who we are

In a city of pagan shrines the disciples declare Jesus Son of the real, live God

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

“Caesarea Philippi” — not the coastal city but in notoriously pagan northern Galilee and dedicated to the Greek god Pan — a fit setting to discuss Jesus’ identity.

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“One of the prophets” — people who had long expected the great prophet foretold, saw similarities with Elijah and Jeremiah, Deut. 18:15-18; Malachi 4:5.

• For comparison, see  1 Kings 17:9-16; Matt. 14:13-21; 1 Kings 17:17-24; Matt. 9:18-19, 23-26

15-16 “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

“Who do you say” — now Simon Peter speaks for the group with the bold answer, that Jesus is the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), the Son of the God who is alive, unlike the pagan gods around them.

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

“Not revealed… by flesh and blood” — not understood in a natural way but by spiritual revelation.

• Faith makes the connection, Matt 11:25-27; 14:33; 27:54

18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

“You are Peter… on this rock” — the name Petros, stone, becoming petra, bedrock, spoken with the massive stone facade used for pagan worship in view.

“On this rock I will build My church” — on Peter’s grasp of the truth, like the parable of building a house on rock, Matthew 7:24-25, with rock also meaning the eternal rock of Israel, Psalm 18:2, Isaiah 26:4, 30:29. 

“I will build” — Jesus’ work of word and Spirit in every age, in which Peter participated.

“Church” — literally ‘assembly of those called’, only used here in the gospels and Matt. 18:17. Nothing suggests an office,  an institution, infallibility or apostolic succession. Ephesians 2:17-20 teaches that the cornerstone rock the church is built on is Christ and the good news of the kingdom that He proclaimed, together with the apostles and prophets and all the believers.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

“Keys of the kingdom of heaven” — alluding to Isaiah 22:22, what is permitted. Peter was a key person in opening the kingdom to Jews, then Samaritans and Gentiles. Later all the disciples received spiritual authority to pray and teach with confidence, Matthew 18:18.

• For further study, see Acts 2:3; Acts 8:14-17; Acts 10.

20 Then He ordered His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah.

“Not to tell” — The name Messiah was widely misunderstood as a political and revolutionary leader.

Reflection

SUMMARY In a modern city full of shrines and symbols of the Greek god Pan and others, Jesus asks the disciples who people are saying He is — and presses them about what they believe themselves. Peter, probably speaking for all of them, says that they know he is not a controversial prophet like Elijah or Jeremiah who has come back, but God’s anointed servant, long foretold. In this place of lifeless pagan idols, they proclaim Him as the Son of the God who is living and real. Now Jesus tells Peter who he is, naming him ‘The Rock’ and praising him for speaking out what he has discerned spiritually. This truth about who Jesus is, and people’s faith in Him and His teaching, is what He will build His church upon.

APPLICATION We talk about “my” church and what we like. Clearly, though, the church belongs to Jesus alone — and He is the One who builds it, not us. We have a part: the partnership is vital. As disciples, we are to “go” (or at least be outward-looking) and encourage more disciples. Through this, Jesus will build His church, His way.

QUESTION  How would you explain who Jesus is and why that’s personal to you?


Romans 12:1-8 — A call to see ourselves with the renewed mind of the Spirit

New life and spiritual gifts empower the whole body of Christ

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship.

“In view of God’s mercy” — the gospel is not only merciful salvation but also the power to live changed lives.

“True and proper worship” — not ritual, but intentional availability to God and His mission.

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will.

“Be transformed” — a process of the Holy Spirit. The new spiritual start that comes from receiving Christ as Saviour and Lord starts a renewal of perception and understanding — new heart leads to new mind — with spiritual discernment of God’s will.

3 For by the grace given Me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

“Grace given me… faith God has distributed” — the danger in being empowered to share in the ministry of Jesus and seeing it as a mark of  spirituality, rather than a spiritual gift given to be used for Him.

4-5 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

“One body with many members” — in the church fellowship all the different gifting is needed and works together, like arms, legs, eyes and balance all enabling us to walk. Also 1 Corinthians 12:12-31.

6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

“Different gifts” — have several mentions in the letters, with differences in context, and a representative 17 or so listed. Gifts here in Romans are innate spiritual attributes that go with character, e.g. gifted as proclaimers, or as those who get the job done, or having the ability to explain and disciple others, to build them up, to be generous with God’s provision, to enable others with good leadership, or to bring God’s comfort. Other spiritual gifts are those that arise with an intensity of the Holy Spirit in worship especially, or gifts that define a mature ministry that equips others.

• For comparison , see 1 Cor. 12:12-28; Ephesians 4:11-13, 16.

Reflection

SUMMARY Receiving the gospel is a step into salvation and the start of a transformation, being renewed from the inside out. We see ourselves differently in this renewing of the mind. The Holy Spirit, now active in us, gives us a new awareness of who God is (Father!) and who we are as God’s children, and how we live out God’s will.

This is about His gifts, bestowed not achieved, which are not badges of honour but the essential working of the body of Christ as the different spiritual attributes we each carry, work together like parts of a human body.

Some are speaking and coaching type people while others are doers, making things happen or contributing as good earners and generous givers; some have gifts as enablers of others through leadership; while others, equally important, are encouragers and carers in the fellowship.

APPLICATION  This diversity working in unity is how Christ builds His church, Matthew 16:18. The working of spiritual gifts in the fellowship of the church has not always been clearly taught  in formal churches — but it is plain enough here in Scripture. The gifts are certainly not all in the leader or leaders. Those who have a recognised ‘front’ role need to be equippers of all the others who bring other vital attributes — a challenge for clergy who seek reserved roles not open to ‘laity’. 

QUESTION  What gifts from this description do you see in others? What gifts might others see in you? How could they work better together?

PRAYER  Lord God, we are so grateful that we don’t have to have the right family name, or a certificate of knowledge, to know You. We thank You that it’s about “who you know” and knowing Jesus is how we, in fact anybody, can come into Your presence.
We acknowledge You, Jesus, to be Lord of the church and we say it is Yours. We release any ownership we feel, that You may build Your church, Your way. 
We thank You for new life, for new understanding, and for renewed vision that sees Your gifts working together and Your kingdom touching others. All for Your glory, Amen.

And also read: Psalm 138

1 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; before the ‘gods’ I will sing Your praise.

2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple and will praise Your name for Your unfailing love and Your faithfulness, for You have so exalted Your solemn decree that it surpasses Your fame.

3 When I called, You answered me; You greatly emboldened me.

4 May all the kings of the earth praise You, LORD, when they hear what You have decreed.

5 May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.

6 Though the LORD is exalted, He looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, He sees them from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life. You stretch out Your hand against the anger of my foes; with Your right hand You save me.

8 The LORD will vindicate me; Your love, LORD, endures forever — do not abandon the works of Your hands.

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Welcome to The Living Word

You get a lot more out of the Sunday service readings if they are already speaking to you. TLW is about reading and re-reading these Scriptures with some commentary to bring out what is hidden and make connections with cross references. This is different from liturgy because it is a Bible study, putting the Bible passages in sequence from OT, through the NT gospel era, and then through the lens of the post-resurrection, early church in the power of the Spirit. Enabling this progressive revelation points to a theme.  The translation used is the readable and widely-used 2011 edition of the New International Version (NIV) Bible. Commentary is drawn from a wide range of sources and is Bible-centric and theologically neutral. As we read and reflect and allow the Holy Spirit to help us hear God through His word during the week, we prepare ourselves to hear afresh and receive the Sunday sermon in church or chapel.

For convenience, use the ‘Subscribe’ box below to receive a short email with the Bible passage and notes for each weekday (and that’s all!).

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A little about me and my vision for The Living Word

I live in the Marches, a green and beautiful expanse of hills between England and Wales where churches and chapels share duty to the Christian faithful in every valley, and churchgoing is still part of the community life. However, there are few Bibles to be seen in these buildings, and home-based groups for fellowship and Bible study are rare.

I want to encourage Sunday worshippers in churches and chapels to enjoy reading the Bible during the week, to get used to hearing God for themselves through His word, and to be  spiritually prepared for the message they will hear on Sunday from the lectionary readings they all share. It is no substitute for meeting and worshipping together, nor for Holy Spirit-inspired preaching. It supports both by encouraging the personal growth of church and chapel members of any denomination. It offers faith encouragement for those no longer able to, or no longer wanting to take part in, formal physical church.

My background is not in churches that use the lectionary and I bring a breadth of tradition and spiritual understanding to the writing.  I have pastored a number of churches and been involved in a variety of other missional initiatives with a ‘kingdom of God’ agenda.

As well as The Living Word and its weekly video I also post regularly on www.freshbread.today and www.thelivingword.substack.com with a podcast as well as video and written content. There is also a Facebook page at fb.com/TLWbiblestudy

Revd Ian Greig BD (Hons), DPS

SEE ALSO other Living Word Publications

Substack newsletter and podcast (free subscription) — audio podcast, video and written content all in one place

Fresh Bread Today — the freshest bake, with a bit of a tang, unpackaged and uncut. His word to live by, today.

Believe the Good News – finding the good news and encouragement all through the Bible

GLOW – God’s Love Over Weobley, encouraging prayer and spiritual fellowship. With a local flavour for this NW Herefordshire village.

 

 

 

 

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