The doctrine of glorifying God, Part 14, John 15:8.Title: The doctrine of glorifying God, Part 14, John 15:8.
Point 3: The person and work of God brings glory to Himself.
a. God alone is worthy of glorification and this has been and will always be true whether there are creatures to acknowledge it or not, Eph 1:3.
Rev 4:11 "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."
Eph 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
A believer living in the cosmic system in reversionism is completely out of balance which results in confusion and stress, which is unworthy of our so great election.
This believer must resort to defense mechanisms in an effort to correct his instability, but it is like trying to balance a baseball bat on your chin where there is adjustment after adjustment which only results in more stress and confusion and instability. Being born again to a new life, a new hope, and new union makes the kosmos disagreeable to what you are.
We must also live in balance. That balance consists of election on one side of the scales and God being glorified on the other side as the only One worthy.
You must understand that you are not remodeled. At salvation you were made a brand new creature in Christ. A brand new creature can only flourish and prosper in a brand new environment – PPOG.
Believers in the church have lives that are always supposed to be aiming heavenward. You are seated with Christ in heavenly places, your life is hid with Christ at the right hand of God, you are a citizen of heaven, your fellowship is with Christ and the Father in heaven, our resurrection bodies are as Christ’s, and our future glory is forever with the Lord in a heavenly city known as the New Jerusalem. Therefore our lives are not earthly. We are in the world but not of the world.
Favoring this interpretation of the CWL is the fact that the new heaven and new earth are not remodels just as the new creature is not a remodel.
The new heavens and new earth are not a remodeling of the old, for the material universe as it is now will be completely annihilated, 2 Peter 3:12.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
2 Peter 3:11Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
2 Peter 3:12looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
2 Peter 3:13But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
kainos [kainos] = substance of a new kind. Ktisis [ktisis] = creation. “brand new creature” directly from the hand of God without any prior material.
This is positional truth. “In Christ” comes first in the sentence so that you know that you did not do anything outside of faith in Christ to become a new creature.
Eph 4:22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self [don’t try to remodel it], which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
Eph 4:23and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
Eph 4:24and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
God is not the best of man. Fallen man has been crucified with Christ and the new creature created brand new from God’s righteousness and justice.
The plan of God for your life is not a self-improvement program. It is a relationship with God where the new creature in Christ lives in the protocol plan of God; abiding in the vine.
Living in the plan of God for your life is the act of investing what you have been given at salvation into God’s system which together becomes the life beyond dreams.
“There's no thrill in easy sailing, When the sky is clear and blue. There's no joy in merely doing Things which anyone can do. But there is some fulfillment That is mighty sweet to taste, When you reach a destination, You thought you couldn't make” (Author unknown)
The Lord put this concept in a parable. Again, we are on the point that God does not need anyone to glorify Him, but since He has given the CA believer the opportunity, why not go for it.
Luke 19:11 And while they were listening to these things, He went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.
They were expecting the kingdom immediately, but the crown cannot come to Israel without the cross coming first and Israel rejected that. So Christ’s parable is significant to their understanding that He will go to the right hand of the Father after the cross until the time is right for Him to return and establish the kingdom.
Luke 19:12He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.
In the story Christ may well have had a historical incident in mind, for Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great, had gone to Rome after his father’s death to be confirmed as ruler in Judea and Samaria. His brother Antipas had also gone to Rome seeking the same appointment.
Since the nobleman anticipated an extended absence, he called ten of his servants and gave to each one a mina. A mina was one’s wages for approximately three months; so this was a considerable sum. The servants were held responsible as stewards for the use of the money entrusted to them.
Luke 19:13"And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business with this until I come back.'
The mina was given by the nobleman in grace. It was not earned by the slaves or deserved and could have been just deposited in the bank to earn interest.
Luke 19:14"But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'
Since the Jews hated Archelaus, they lodged a protest with the emperor against his appointment; but in spite of it, Archelaus was appointed ruler of Judea and Samaria by the emperor. This well-known historical incident must have created great interest on the part of Jesus’ hearers as to what He was teaching.
Luke 19:15"And it came about that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him in order that he might know what business they had done.
Luke 19:16"And the first appeared, saying, 'Master, your mina has made ten minas more.'
Luke 19:17"And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities.'
Luke 19:18"And the second came, saying, 'Your mina, master, has made five minas.'
Luke 19:19"And he said to him also, 'And you are to be over five cities.'
A parallel parable or picture could be had from the parable of the sower:
Matt 13:23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil [PPOG], this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Luke 19:20"And another came, saying, 'Master, behold your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief;
Luke 19:21for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.'
Luke 19:22"He said to him, 'By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow?
God is not like this, yet the man thought Him to be so, so why didn’t he invest the mina? And if he did invest it wouldn’t he have found out who God was, a God of grace?
Ignorance of doctrine leads to erroneous conclusions about the essence of God. A small investment of time into the word of God will open the soul to God’s grace.
And with that there will be more investment of the dividends from understanding God’s relationship to the believer.
When money was invested in the banks of the ancient world that money was leant to others looking to invest in business, buy property, or exchange currency. A successful borrower’s investment would allow the borrower to pay back the lender’s money with interest which in turn would be granted to the investor in the bank.
When a believer invests his time in doctrine, others are blessed by association, he is blessed with relationship to God, and God is blessed through glorification.
It is interesting to note that the Jews were forbidden to charge interest from one another put could charge interest from foreigners. This shows us that in this parable Gentiles are the borrowers and perhaps Jews the writers of the Bible, the prophets, and most of all the Lord Himself were the investors.
Deut 23:20 You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countryman you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.
The servants were held responsible as stewards for the use of the money entrusted to them.
Col 1:25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, |