SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/15/2023 7:53 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-3 “The
Authority for Discipline”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matt. 18:18-20
Message of the verses: “18 Truly, I say to
you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you
agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father
in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among
them.’”
Discipline is something that is needed in the church
in order to purify it, and so Jesus first assures His people that the Father
acts with them when they work to purify the church: Again I say to you, that if two of you agree
on earth (this refers back to the two witnesses in verse 16) about anything
that they may ask (in seeking the purity of the church) it shall be done for
them by My Father who is in heaven. “When
the church acts in God’s behalf and in accordance with His Word in matters
dealing with sin, He acts in their behalf by confirming and empowering their
faithful decisions and actions” writes John MacArthur.
“Agree
is from sumphoneo, which literally means
to sound together and is the term from which we get symphony: If even two of
Jesus’ followers are in agreement with each other that a sinning believer has
either repented or refused to repent, they can be sure they are also in
agreement with the Father who is in heaven.”
We have already talked about this passage meaning
discipline, and said that it did not mean a blank check to have God do
something if two or more agree to ask God for this does not fit in this section
where Jesus is talking about discipline.
I have said many times that you can’t put God in a box so He is forced
to do something for you when it is not what He has planned to do something for
you. The bottom line is God is in
control and we have to align ourselves with God, and if we do that He will show
us through His Holy Spirit to pray for what He desires to do for you.
Jesus
is also assuring His people that He Himself acts with them when they work to
purify the church: For where two or three
have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst. We can see that both the Father and the Son
confirm discipline when it is administered according to His Word, but the Son
adds His own divine confirmation as mentioned.
This
morning is Sunday morning and I had a difficult time sleeping and so that is
all I am going to do now, but Lord willing we will continue looking at this
difficult passage in our next SD.
1/15/2023 8:16 AM
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