In John Chapter 17, Jesus presents such comforting truths for His people. My prayer is that God would increase our love for and our worship of Him as we see His compassionate and tender care for His sheep demonstrated in His words and in His prayer. Before His death, Jesus prayed for those who are His and belong to Him. He asked for unity centered upon truth and the gospel (vv. 20-23). He spoke of a future glory for those in Christ to look forward to and to hope in (vv. 20,24). And finally, He assures us with an eternal security that we can always rejoice in (vv. 25-26).
Firstly, I am in awe because of His prayer on our behalf (Psalms 144:4). It is a great comfort to see how Christ interceded in prayer and to know that He continually intercedes on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus prayed for unity, a oneness, with God and fellow believers. Despite our many differences and the abundant diversity present in the church, we are to be and can be unified because of Christ. It is Christ and the profound truth of the gospel that binds us in unity. The trinity depicts this beautifully and “shows us that you can have a profound real, organic unity with diversity, so that the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit are working in complete union in our salvation. The Father appoints. The Son accomplished. The Spirit applies. We encounter God as fully God in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. And yet, their divine work is neither interchangeable nor redundant.” Similarly the members of the church are many and God uses the variety of gifts and ministries of the members to edify and build up the church for God’s glory. Paul writes, “For the body does not consist of one member, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:14). Our unity in Christ is a testimony to the world of the power of the transformative work of the gospel. We also see Christ’s tender heart towards us in verse 24. His very heart is drawn to us in spite of our sinfulness and He longs for us to be with Him, to see and share in His glory (Phil. 3:20, Rom. 8:17). He cares for us with incomparable love and kindness and compassion. We concluded the study of this passage by contemplating the eternal security we have in Christ. Verse 26 calls attention to God’s work of salvation. We can do nothing to attain salvation and we are saved by grace through faith. We can do nothing apart from Him and it is only God who can cultivate in us a heart that loves and obeys Him (John 15:5). The same Jesus that saves us is holding on to us and it is a consoling truth that He promises the continuing indwelling of Christ and His love. Paul writes in Philippians, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
We are to display our unity and be characterized by our love for one another in spite of our differences (John 13:35). I am so thankful and constantly encouraged by GOCers’ love for one another and their eagerness to serve one another by various means such as meeting someone’s needs or by simply cooking them a meal as an act of kindness and love. We need to strive for unity and be bound in love for God and for one another so that God is glorified. We should be emboldened by Christ’s heart and ministry and strive to love like Him. Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8) and our salvation is secure in Christ who completed the work of redemption on the cross so that those who believe that He died and rose again might inherit eternal life. Praise God for Christ, His life, His death and His resurrection and that we can rest in the glorious truth of the gospel. May we rest in these wonderful and consoling truths and be faithful to love one another and share the glorious truth of the gospel with others until we see Christ face to face in all His glory.
19Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:19-25 (NASB)
10.2.2020 Fall 2020 Week One
Catrina Velarde
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