SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/11/2017
8:49 PM
My Worship Time Focus: The Resource
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Colossians
3:1c
Message of the
verse: “where Christ is, seated at
the right hand of God.”
In our last three SD’s on Colossians we have looked at
the “reminder” the “responsibility” and now we will look at the “Resource.” As we look at the end of verse three we can
surely tell that the resource is Jesus Christ, the One in whom are hidden all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
When we read that Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God we are
looking at His exalted position. Let us
look at Psalm 110:1 “The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until
I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’” This verse is repeated in the book of Hebrews
where we learn about Jesus Christ’s ministry as our High Priest. Now we have talked about this before how in
eternity past God promised to His Son, the second person of the Godhead a
kingdom, and also a bride. We spoke of
how this would come about when we were studying the book of Revelation
21:2. I will quote from my Spiritual
Diary that goes over this verse:
“Now as I was listening to
the sermon from John MacArthur on this section I was very interested in how
this next phrase has great meaning: “made
ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
What we are seeing in this phrase is how marriage was done in the OT
times and so I think it best to let MacArthur explain this. “The city is pictured as a bride because it
contains the bride and takes on her character.
The imagery is drawn from a Jewish wedding, which typically had three
parts. First was the betrothal, which
was like a modern engagement, but more legally binding. The betrothal of the Lord’s bride took place
in eternity past when God pledged to His Son a redeemed people. The next stage was the presentation, a time
of celebration and feasting leading up to the actual wedding ceremony. The presentation of the bride took place
following the Rapture of the church, when believers are taken to heaven. The third stage was the ceremony, which for
the Lord’s bride began at the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:7-9) and
stretched through the millennial kingdom.
The final stage was the consummation, which corresponds to the eternal
state. John saw the bride adorned for
her husband because it was time for the consummation. Adorned is from the verb kosmos (‘to order,’ or ‘to arrange’); the related noun kosmos (translated ‘adornment’ in 1
Peter. 3:3) is the root of the English word ‘cosmetics.’ The bride has become appropriately ordered in
all her beauty. By this point in
Revelation, the bride concept expands to include not only the church (as it has
since Acts 2), but also all the rest of the redeemed from all the ages who live
forever in the eternal city. This is the
moment described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:28: ‘When all things are subjected
to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected
all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”
This helps us know what the plans were that God had for
His Son, and all believers who have ever believed in Him will be with Him
forever, but at the moment Jesus Christ is in heaven ministering for us as our
Great High Priest interceding for us at the right hand of God.
When Jesus was on trial He told His accusers “from now on
the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God” (Luke
22:69). I did a word search of the
entire NT looking for “at the right hand” and twenty different verses came up
as we see either “sitting at the right hand of God,” or “standing at the right
hand of God.” These of course all speak
of Jesus Christ in His exalted position.
John MacArthur concludes this section in his commentary
by writing “Because of Christ’s coronation and exaltation to the Father’s right
hand, He is the foundation of blessing for His people. Jesus told the disciples, ‘Whatever you ask
in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do
it’ (John 14:13-14; cf. 15:16; 16:23-24, 26).
Believers can be assured that what they seek is there, ‘for as many as
may be the promises of God in Him they are yes’ (2 Cor. 1:20).”
4/11/2017 9:16 PM
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