We have traveled from eternity past after seeing the eternal glory that Jesus possessed within the Triune God. We noticed carefully the work of Jesus in the creation of all things, and that not only did He create them, but that He created them for Himself, that He would get the glory from them.
We walked through some Old Testament passages that inform us of Jesus’ continued work for us following creation but before the incarnation. It is amazing to see that Jesus is never just sitting on His hands, but always working for us. Some specific things we discussed included: Jesus saving His people, Jesus hearing the prayers of His people, Jesus speaking to His people, Jesus leading His people, Jesus providing for His people, Jesus judging His people, Jesus disciplining His people, & Jesus preserving His people. You should see if you can match the OT stories with each of these instances that we see Jesus at work for us before He first came to dwell among us in the flesh.
Then as we considered the Incarnation, we walked through both Luke and Matthew’s accounts to notice the phenomenon of God becoming Man. We only talked about some initial issues yesterday and will continue in that vein as we pick up in just a few hours, seeing that God actually poured Himself out when He was born on this earth. It is my desire to make clear that God did not become less when He became Man, but actually gained flesh while remaining God totally. Within the Orthodox Church culture here, which is where most of these guy’s pasts lie, there is such an emphasis on the Deity of Jesus that they forsake the reality of His Humanity, so we will look at that this morning from John chapter one, Lord willing.
The teaching is becoming increasingly interactive, which is both helpful and difficult with more than 60 in the training. But one clear thing that comes out is the area(s) where there is disagreement. By the questions that are raised, by the way that the questions are asked, by the number of times the same question is brought up in a semi-different form, all of these give insight into some real issues. The one that is the most prevalent so far has actually come as a result of the focus that we have given to the the Son of God. This kind of thing is just not what most of this culture wants to here. Too much Jesus has caused some passive rejection of Him to be visible among some of the men. Can you fathom it? Because all around you there is this wicked focus on the spirit(s), so you forsake what God says about His Son and make a failing attempt to please Him by focusing to a dangerous degree on His Spirit. And all the while you are dishonoring Him, because you are forsaking the Son of God who loves you and gave Himself for you.
So pray that God would breakthrough and that His Son would receive the glory He deserves in the hearts and minds of those who would rather discuss something that soothes their flesh than something that nourishes their soul. We will give some time to the the Holy Spirit towards the end of our time this week in order that we can notice what His primary role is in our lives. {To reveal Jesus to us}
Until then pray with me. Pray that God would break down any resistance to Christ.
