SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/28/2017
8:03 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-4
“The Representation of True Unity”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: John
17:21b-23a
Message of
the verse: “even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You,
that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one,
just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in
unity,”
“The unique intra-Trinitarian relationship of Jesus and
the Father forms the pattern for the unity of believers in the church. This prayer reveals five features of that
unity the church imitates.” (John
MacArthur) With that said we want to
begin this SD by looking at feature number four which is “the Father and the
Son are united in holiness.”
When we studied the attributes in Sunday school class we
learned that above all God is holy and thus all of His attributes are
holy. Jesus addressed the father in
verse eleven as “Holy Father,” and again as we will see in verse twenty-five as
“righteous Father,” and as we study the Old and New Testaments we see the
holiness of God in many places. John
MacArthur writes “God’s holiness is His absolute separation from sin. In Habakkuk 1:13 the prophet declared, ‘Your
eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with
favor.’” Let us look at Isaiah 6:3 and
then Revelation 4:8 “3 And one called out to another and said, "Holy,
Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory."” “8 And the four living creatures, each one of
them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night
they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY,
WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."”
This is something that goes on continually in heaven.
I believe that the Bible teaches us that when believers
pursue holiness that this will draw unbelievers to them so that they can find
out more about who God is and what is going on with the people in the
church. I received a text from our
Pastor last night asking me along with some other men to meet at the church at
6:30 this morning to pray for the lives of two women who had first come to our
church last summer to bring their kids to a basketball program. The gospel was presented each practice and
each game and so the holiness of it was beginning to do a work in their
hearts. Hard times came upon them and
they came back to the church last Sunday.
We meet to pray for their salvation and for their release from the
bondage of sin that they have. In my
study of Colossians in the evening I am learning that Paul spoke the truth
about different things that are found in the Scriptures that these people were
not following, knowing that the truth will set them free. He did not at that point talk to them about
their sinful lifestyle for it is evident that some may not even be believers. It is our job to speak the truth in love and
to live holy lives so that the Holy Spirit can do a work in their lives as we
pray for people whom the Lord brings into contact with us.
The fifth feature is “the Father and the Son are united
in love,” which we can see in verse 24 “24 "Father, I desire that they
also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My
glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” John 5:20a states “"For the Father loves
the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing;” At the baptism of Jesus and also at the
transfiguration God the Father declared Jesus to be His beloved Son. MacArthur writes “Similarly, love is the glue
that binds believers together in unity (Col. 3:14; cf. 2:2), and it is that
love for one another that is the church’s ultimate apologetic to the lost world
(John 13:34-35).
“Though not to the same infinite divine extent, the
spiritual life and power that belongs to the Trinity belongs also in some way
to believers and is the basis for the church’s unity. This is what the Lord meant when He said, ‘The
glory which you have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just
as we are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity.’
That stunning truth describes believers as those to whom the Son has given
glory—that is, aspects of the very divine life that belongs to God. The church’s task is to so live as to not
obstruct that glory (Matt. 5:16).”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: To show love to
others so that the Holy Spirit can do a work in their lives that will save them
from their sin.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord as I am doing a
couple of things that take me outside of my comfort zone.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Ur of the Chaldees” (Genesis
11:31).
Today’s Bible
question: “Who complained that her
sister left her to serve alone?”
Answer in our next SD.
3/28/2017 8:40 AM
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