“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:24)
How far does the reign of Christ extend?
Verse 25 says, “He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” The word ALL tells us the extent. So does the word EVERY in verse 24: (the above verse) There is no disease, no addiction, no demon, no bad habit, no fault, no vice, no weakness, no temper, no moodiness, no pride, no self-pity, no strife, no jealousy, no perversion, no greed, no laziness that Christ does not aim to overcome as the enemy of his honor. And the encouragement in that promise is that when you set yourself to do battle with the enemies of your faith and your holiness, you will not fight alone. Jesus Christ is now, in this age, putting all his enemies under his feet. Every rule and every authority and every power will be conquered. So, remember that the extent of Christ’s reign reaches to the smallest and biggest enemy of his glory. It will be defeated. Now that is comforting! Rest assure that God’s promises are true.
Your day has already been blessed in Christ Jesus!
00Philip Holderhttp://www.hoperoadnazarene.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/hrn-logo-520x140-1.pngPhilip Holder2015-09-04 06:02:512015-09-04 06:02:51JESUS WILL TRAMPLE ALL OUR ENEMIES
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.” (Ephesians 5:25–26)
If you only hope for unconditional love from God, your hope is great, but too small.
Unconditional love from God is not the sweetest experience of his love. The sweetest experience is when his love says: “I have made you so much like my Son that I delight to see you and be with you. You are a pleasure to me, because you are so radiant with my glory.” This sweetest experience is conditional on our transformation into the kind of people whose emotions and choices and actions please God. Unconditional love is the source and foundation of the human transformation that makes the sweetness of conditional love possible. If God did not love us unconditionally, he would not penetrate our unattractive lives, bring us to faith, unite us to Christ, give us his Spirit, and make us progressively like Jesus. But when he unconditionally chooses us, and sends Christ to die for us, and regenerates us, he puts in motion an unstoppable process of transformation that makes us glorious. He gives us a splendor to match his favorite kind.
We see this in Ephesians 5:25–26. “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her [unconditional love], that he might sanctify her . . . and present the church to himself in splendor” — the condition in which he delights. It is unspeakably wonderful that God would unconditionally set his favor on us while we are still unbelieving sinners. The ultimate reason this is wonderful is that this unconditional love brings us into the everlasting enjoyment of his glorious presence. (Piper)
But the apex of that enjoyment is that we not only see his glory, but also reflect it. “The name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in him” (2 Thessalonians 1:12).
00Philip Holderhttp://www.hoperoadnazarene.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/hrn-logo-520x140-1.pngPhilip Holder2015-09-02 06:49:462015-09-02 06:49:46WHEN GOD'S LOVE IS SWEETEST
“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:22–23)
It would be a great folly and a great tragedy if a man loved his wedding band more than he loved his bride. But that is what this passage says has happened. Human beings have fallen in love with the echo of God’s excellency in creation and lost the ability to hear the incomparable, original shout of love.
The message of creation is this: There is a great God of glory and power and generosity behind all this awesome universe; you belong to him; he is patient with you in sustaining your rebellious life; turn and bank your hope on him and delight yourself in him, not his handiwork.
Day pours forth the “speech” of that message to all who will listen in the day, speaking with blindingly bright sun and blue sky and clouds and untold shapes and colors of all things visible. Night pours forth the “knowledge” of the same message to all who will listen at night, speaking with great dark voids and summer moons and countless stars and strange sounds and cool breezes and northern lights (Psalm 19:1–2). (Piper)
Day and night are saying one thing: God is glorious! God is glorious! God is glorious!
00Philip Holderhttp://www.hoperoadnazarene.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/hrn-logo-520x140-1.pngPhilip Holder2015-09-01 07:31:382015-09-01 07:31:38THE MESSAGE OF CREATION
JESUS WILL TRAMPLE ALL OUR ENEMIES
/in Steadfast Hope“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:24)
How far does the reign of Christ extend?
Verse 25 says, “He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” The word ALL tells us the extent. So does the word EVERY in verse 24: (the above verse) There is no disease, no addiction, no demon, no bad habit, no fault, no vice, no weakness, no temper, no moodiness, no pride, no self-pity, no strife, no jealousy, no perversion, no greed, no laziness that Christ does not aim to overcome as the enemy of his honor. And the encouragement in that promise is that when you set yourself to do battle with the enemies of your faith and your holiness, you will not fight alone. Jesus Christ is now, in this age, putting all his enemies under his feet. Every rule and every authority and every power will be conquered. So, remember that the extent of Christ’s reign reaches to the smallest and biggest enemy of his glory. It will be defeated. Now that is comforting! Rest assure that God’s promises are true.
Your day has already been blessed in Christ Jesus!
WHEN GOD'S LOVE IS SWEETEST
/in Steadfast HopeTHE MESSAGE OF CREATION
/in Steadfast Hope“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:22–23)
It would be a great folly and a great tragedy if a man loved his wedding band more than he loved his bride. But that is what this passage says has happened. Human beings have fallen in love with the echo of God’s excellency in creation and lost the ability to hear the incomparable, original shout of love.
The message of creation is this: There is a great God of glory and power and generosity behind all this awesome universe; you belong to him; he is patient with you in sustaining your rebellious life; turn and bank your hope on him and delight yourself in him, not his handiwork.
Day pours forth the “speech” of that message to all who will listen in the day, speaking with blindingly bright sun and blue sky and clouds and untold shapes and colors of all things visible. Night pours forth the “knowledge” of the same message to all who will listen at night, speaking with great dark voids and summer moons and countless stars and strange sounds and cool breezes and northern lights (Psalm 19:1–2). (Piper)
Day and night are saying one thing: God is glorious! God is glorious! God is glorious!