TheosGuy

Here is a definition of God’s sovereignty that I felt was particularly provocative.

God’s right to do whatever He pleases, whenever He pleases, to whomever He pleases, without seeking anyone’s permission.

Here are some supporting Scriptures:
Psalm 135:6; Isaiah 14:27; Isaiah 40:22; Isaiah 46:9-10; Daniel 4:34-37; Psalm 115:3; Psalm 33:8-11; Isaiah 10:5-34; Isaiah 41:21-23; Proverbs 21:1; Jeremiah 18:4-6;

Tags: Free Will, Sovereignty

There is a common question of whether or not it is right to also pray to Jesus, rather than just to the Father. Here is a passage from the New Testament that would indicate that it is appropriate to pray to Jesus.

“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”—John 14:13-14 (NASB)

In addition, the following thoughts are from Wayne Grudem’s audio message, “Jesus as Prophet and Priest” at approximately 26 minutes into the message.

Best to look to to Epistles of the New Testament.

1. In Acts 7:59, where Stephen prayed “Lord Jesus receive my spirit.” The word “Lord” (kurios) most often refers in the New Testament to Christ, while “God” refers most often, in context, to the Father.
2. In Acts 1, when choosing the the apostolic replacement for Judas: “Lord show us which one to choose.” Prayer to Christ (see 1 above re: “Lord”).
3. “Maranatha (Lord Come)” is a prayer to Jesus Christ (see 1 above re: “Lord”). See Rev 22:20 NASB and 1 Cor 16:22 NASB
4. Paul prays to the Lord in 2 Cor 12 (see 1 above re: “Lord”).
5. The epistle of Hebrews generally denotes Jesus as our mediator and high priest (e.g., Hebr 8:1, 6), and therefore it would seem appropriate for Him to receive our requests.
6. Anytime during the Gospels where someone made a request to Jesus to heal, raise from the dead, to save, etc. was the same as we consider of prayer requests (e.g., Mat 8:1-10).

Tags: Christ, Prayer

Here are some thoughts on God’s grace towards us. I had these written down from somewhere and do not remember their source. They do not originate with me.

• Believe and expect to be graciously loved and blessed by God. We should expect to be blessed by God though we do not deserve in any way to be blessed by God. No one deserves God’s grace; but everyone can expect God’s grace (Psa. 56:9; 84:11-12; 103:9-10).
• Grace is God working in you for His pleasure, not you working to gain God’s pleasure (Zechariah 12:10; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13). Receive His grace in you.
• See trials not as God’s judgment, but as God’s gracious loving means to build Godly character and spiritual maturity in you (Romans 5:3-5; 8:28-29; Hebrews 12:3-11)
• The hope to be better is a failure to see yourself as complete in christ (Romans 6:14; Colossians 2:10; Philippians 1:6; 2:13; 2 Peter 3:18). Disappointment in myself means I am trusting in myself, my flesh, not God.
• Discouragement is the product of unbelief (Num. 13 and 14; Acts 18:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). Discouragement means I don’t believe God will fulfill His word and promise.
• To be proud is to be blind (Proverbs 16:18; 1 Peter 5:5-6). The proud think they are the reason for their blessing, that is spiritual blindness.
• The lack of blessing comes from unbelief (Joshua 1; Romans 4). We to simply believe and receive God’s grace, not trust in ourselves.
• God’s blessings are not contingent on our devotions. The reverse is true – God’s blessings produce our devotions (Romans 2:4; 3:24; 4:4; 11:6).
• True praise rises spontaneously from my recognition of God’s grace in my life (Romans 11:34-35;Hebrews 13:15).
• God’s grace produces loving appreciation. Effort/work for God should be motivated purely by loving appreciation for His gracious provisions (2 Corinthians 5:14-15; Romans 5:5; 12:1-2; 1 John 3 and 4).

Pray it deep down into your heart. And then receive from the Lord. God’s grace is something we need to receive and it is something we need to share (Ephesians 4:29). We need to be agents of God’s grace (Colossians 4:1-6).

Following is the dogmatic Christological definition from the Council of Chalcedon, which was held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD.

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

Following are some Scriptural evidences of the Son’s submission to the Father.¹ Please note that this submission does not in any way imply subordination of Divine essence on the part of God the Son.

• The Son submitted to the Father before creation (Rom 8:29–30; Eph 1:3–6, 8–12; 3:11; 2 Tim 1:9).
• The Son submitted to the Father in the act of creation (Heb 1:2; John 1:3; 1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:16).
• The Son submitted to the Father before his earthly ministry (John 3:16–17; 8:42; Gal 4:4; 1 John 4:9–10).
• The Son submitted to the Father during his earthly ministry (John 8:28–29; 4:34; 5:19, 30; 6:38; 10:18; 12:49; 15: 10; 17:4).
• The Son has been submitting to the Father since he ascended into heaven.
• The Son intercedes to the Father on behalf of his people (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24).
• The Son did not pour out the Holy Spirit until the Father gave the Holy Spirit to the Son (Acts 2:33).
• The Father gave the Son what the Son revealed to John in the book of Revelation (Rev 1:1).
• The Son sits at the Father’s right hand (Ps 110:1; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:33–34; Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; Heb 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet 3:22).
• The Son will submit to the Father after the final judgment in order to glorify the Father (1 Cor 15:24–28; Phil 2:9–11).

1. The outline is excerpted from materials developed by Andy Naselli, which relies heavily on Wayne Grudem and Bruce Ware’s opening statement in a 2.5-hour debate versus Tom McCall and Keith Yandell on the question, “Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the Persons of the Godhead?” (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL, October 9, 2008). See this blog entry for more information on the debate.

The following outline was inspired and adapted from an outline of the same name in the book, Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines.¹

1. “He Is Able—We Are Able,” Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines, Pickering Hy. (Editor). London: Pickering & Inglis, 1918. p. 21.

Tags: HyP

The following outline about the humiliation and exaltation of Jesus Christ is taken from the book, Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines.¹

Seven Steps in His Humiliation
Philippians 2:7-8

1. Made Himself of no reputation.
2. Took upon Himself the form of a slave.
3. Made in the likeness of men.
4. Found in fashion as a men.
5. Humbled Himself.
6. Became obedient unto death.
7. Even the death of the Cross.

Seven Steps in His Exaltation
Philippians 2:9-11

1. God hath highly exalted Him—Humanity occupying the highest place in the universe.
2. Given Him a Name which is above every name.
3. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.
4. Of things in heaven.
5. And things on earth.
6. And things under the earth.
7. And every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

1. “Christ’s Humiliation and Exaltation,” Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines, Pickering Hy. (Editor). London: Pickering & Inglis, 1918. p. 13.

Tags: HyP, Jesus Christ

The following definition is given by Dr. Bruce Ware in the seminar he conducted at The Master’s Seminary on The Universal Reign of the Triune God.

God’s whole and undivided essence belongs equally, eternally, simultaneously, and fully to each of the three Persons of the Godhead, so that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each is fully God while each is his own personal expression, in role and activity, of the one eternal and undivided divine essence.

Tags: Ware

John Piper did a sermon series on Battling Unbelief. The following is from one of those sermons about battling anxiety with God’s promises:

• When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: “Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
• When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, “So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
• When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9), and “As your days so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).
• When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).
• When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, “If God is for us who can be against us!” (Romans 8:31).
• When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that “tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness,and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed” (Romans 5:3-5).
• When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save”(Isaiah 46:4).
• When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living”(Romans 14:9-11).
• When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, “He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:6). “He who calls you is faithful. He will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). “He is able for all time to save those who drawnear to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
• When I am anxious about the unknowns, I battle unbelief with the promise, “And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you, he will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

HT: Between Two Worlds

The following reading, Steps in the Christian Life is taken from F.E. Marsh’s, 500 Bible Readings.¹

THERE are some terms that relate to the Christian life which are of pressing importance, because of the issues involved in relation to them. The following seven words indicate a few aspects of the Christian’s life, namely, “Believe,” “Pray,” “Abide,” “Walk,” “Take,” “Stand,” “Watch.”

1. To believe on Christ is the secret of the Christian life (Galatians 2:20 NKJV).
2. To pray to Christ is the stay of the Christian life (Philippians 4:6 NKJV).
3. To abide in Christ is the strength of the Christian life (John 15:4 NKJV).
4. To walk as Christ is the shining out of the Christian life (1 Peter 2:21 NKJV).
5. To take from Christ is the supply of the Christian life (Isaiah 27:5 NKJV).
6. To stand with Christ is the staple of the Christian life (Ephesians 6:14 NKJV).
7. To watch for Christ is the standing order of the Christian life (Mark 13:33 NKJV). The term watchfulness is a comprehensive one. It signifies far more than merely holding the truth of the Lord’s coming. It covers the whole trend of the spiritual life in the variety of its traits.

1. 500 Bible Readings, Marsh, F.E., (London: Marshall Brothers, 1897). Reading number 382.

Tags: Christian Living, Marsh, Theology