Gospel of John [16:33]. Why the believer has tribulation in the world [part 8 - mercy]. Mat 5:3-12; Luk 6; Mat 25:34-40

Title: Gospel of John [16:33]. Why the believer has tribulation in the world [part 8 - mercy]. MAT 5:3-12; Luk 6; MAT 25:34-40.

 

MAT 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful [actively compassionate], for they shall receive mercy.

 

The Christian stands in a middle point, between a mercy received and a mercy yet needed.

 

He also continues to look forward to the mercy he still needs, which he has absolute confidence he will receive from the gracious King of kings who has promised to meet all of our needs.

 

This mercy is an absolute from God and does not depend upon the condition of the object of mercy.

 

LUK 6:27 "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

 

LUK 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

 

LUK 6:29 "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

 

LUK 6:30 "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

 

LUK 6:31 "And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.

 

LUK 6:32 "And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

 

LUK 6:33 "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

 

LUK 6:34 "And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.

 

LUK 6:35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

 

LUK 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

 

LUK 6:37 "And do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

 

LUK 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

 

These are not just nice teachings to quote every once in a while or to put in a picture frame.

 

If you call Him Lord, do them and you will be a house built on a rock.

 

This is not the way of the world, but even though the world will persecute such a believer, the house built upon the rock will stand.

 

LUK 6:43 "For there is no good tree [inner spiritual life] which produces bad fruit; nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

 

LUK 6:44 "For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

 

LUK 6:45 "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

 

LUK 6:46 "And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?

 

LUK 6:47 "Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:

 

LUK 6:48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

 

He did not rush the construction. He did what was necessary to secure it. If it took more digging to get to the bedrock he did not get lazy or apathetic but kept digging. He did not take the quick or superficial route. This is like your education in the word of God in the full realm of doctrine and not just superficial knowledge or subjects that interests you or excite you.

 

LUK 6:49 "But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

 

Like righteousness, mercy is rewarded in the eternal state. MAT 25:31-46 - the judgment of the Gentiles at the Second Coming.

 

The famous passage I choose for this point is the end of the Olivet discourse in which Christ addresses the judgment of the Gentiles at the Second Coming. This judgment is done on earth, outside Jerusalem in the valley of Jehoshaphat.

 

MAT 25:34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

 

MAT 25:35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;

 

MAT 25:36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

 

MAT 25:37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink?

 

MAT 25:38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?

 

MAT 25:39 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'

 

MAT 25:40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

 

The brothers He refers to are believing Jews in the Tribulation. Church age believers are, in a more intimate sense, also His brethren and so the same blessing is in view but with a different inheritance.

 

They inherit the earthly kingdom while the CA believer who shows mercy inherits Christ's inheritance in full.

 

MAT 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

 

The merciful are an image of Christ.

 

MAT 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 

"pure" - cleansed, spotless, without blemish. Heart - the real inward person. There is a great difference between inward purity and outward.

 

That God only accepts inward purity is everywhere taught in the Bible. The vision of God is not literal but spiritual.

 

PSA 32:1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered!

 

"transgression" - pesha = this noun signifies willful deviation from, and therefore rebellion against, the path of godly living.

 

PSA 32:2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

 

The context of the psalm is David's recovery from the Uriah Bathsheba incident, in the beginning of which, David hid his deviation from God's way in his heart.

 

Therefore, the interpretation of the phrase, "in whose spirit there is no deceit," would be one who vainly tries to hide his iniquity from God rather than acknowledging it before Him.

 

The one who deviates from the way of God and tries to hide that in his heart is one who wants to continue on that path. This would be an unclean heart. The poor in spirit recognize their complete bankruptcy before God and knows that God's way is his only option since his own way would only be complete ruin. This is a pure heart. Why attempt to hide what God can easily peer into? The genuinely humble are students of the word of God that pierces between soul and spirit, joints and marrow.

 

Psa 23 expressed a longing after the house of Jehovah on Zion; Psa 24 celebrates Jehovah's entrance into Zion, and the true character of him who may enter with Him.

 

It was composed when the Ark was brought from Kirjath Jearim to Mount Zion, where David had caused it to be set up in a tabernacle built expressly for it.

 

PSA 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

 

PSA 24:2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the rivers.

 

PSA 24:3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?

In other words:

 

Vs. 3 - who may have fellowship with Jehovah on His holy mountain?

 

In the Church age the answer to this question involves our great High Priest who has ascended and stood in the holy place that we may follow. This is again a positionexperience doctrine. We in the CA live in the holy place.

 

The question for the believer is will he walk pure in heart so that he may experience standing in the holy place now in time?

 

MAT 5:8

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 

The believer can wait until he dies to experience standing in the holy place with the Lord of glory or he may experience it now through the blessedness of being pure in heart.

 

HEB 9:24

For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us

 

So also we have seen in those who pursue righteousness.

 

PSA 15:1 O Lord, who may abide in Thy tent?

Who may dwell on Thy holy hill?

 

PSA 15:2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,

And speaks truth in his heart.

 

1JO 3:2-3

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

 

PSA 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

 

PSA 24:2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the rivers.

 

PSA 24:3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?

 

PSA 24:4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn deceitfully.

 

"lifted up his soul" - to long or strive towards a thing.

 

EXO 20:7

"You shall not take [same as "lifted up"] the name of the Lord your God in vain [same as "falsehood]