GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES TO OUR AID!

Rom 8:26  So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.

Romans 8:26

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities,.... The Spirit of God which dwells in us, by whom we are led, who is the spirit of adoption to us, who has witnessed to our spirits, that we are the children of God, whose firstfruits we have received, over and above, and besides what he has done for us, "also helpeth our infirmities"; whilst we are groaning within ourselves, both for ourselves and for others, and are waiting patiently for what we are hoping for. The people of God, all of them, more or less, have their infirmities in this life. They are not indeed weak and infirm, in such sense as unregenerate persons are, who have no spiritual strength, are ignorant of their weakness, do not go to Christ for strength, nor derive any from him, and hence can perform nothing that is spiritually good: nor are they all alike infirm; some are weaker in faith, knowledge, and experience, than others; some are of more weak and scrupulous consciences than others be: some are more easily drawn aside through corruption and temptation than others are; some have weaker gifts, particularly in prayer, than others have, yet all have their infirmities; not only bodily afflictions, persecutions of men, and temptations of Satan, but internal corruptions, and weakness to oppose them, and to discharge their duty to God and man; and also have their infirmities in the exercise of grace, and in the performance of the work of prayer; though they are not left to sink under them, but are helped by "the Spirit": by whom is meant, not any tutelar angel, or the human soul, or the gift of the Spirit in prayer, but the Holy Spirit of God himself; who, as the word here used signifies, "helps together", with hope and patience, graces which he has implanted, and which he invigorates and draws forth into act and exercise; or with the saints labouring under their burdens; or with the Father and the Son, who also are helpers of the saints: and this helping of them implies, that their infirmities and burdens are such as they must sink under, unless they are helped; and which is done by the Spirit, by bringing to remembrance, and applying the precious promises of the Gospel, by shedding abroad the love of God in their hearts, by acting the part of a comforter to them, by putting strength into them, and by assisting them in prayer to God:

for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. The children of God are not ignorant of the object of prayer, that it is God, and not a creature, God, as the God of nature, providence, and grace, God in the persons of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit, and with a view to his glorious perfections: nor of the way of coming to God in prayer, through Christ; nor of the manner of performing it in faith, with fervency, sincerity, reverence, humility, and submission; nor who they should pray for, for themselves, for all men, even enemies, particularly for the saints, and ministers of the Gospel; nor of many other things respecting prayer, as that it is both their duty and privilege; their own inability, and the need of the assistance of the Spirit in it; but what they are ignorant of is chiefly the matter of prayer: indeed the whole Bible is an instruction in general to this work, so is the prayer Christ taught his disciples, and the several prayers of saints recorded in the Scriptures; the promises of God, and their own wants and necessities, may, and do, greatly direct them; as for instance, when under a sense of sin, to pray for a discovery of pardoning grace; when under darkness and desertions, for the light of God's countenance; when under a sense of weakness of grace, and the strength of corruptions, for fresh supplies of grace and strength, for communion with God in ordinances, for more grace here, and glory hereafter; but what of all things they seem to be, at least at some times, at a loss about, is what to pray for with respect to things temporal, such as riches, honour, friends, &c. to have present afflictions removed, or temptations cease; and too often it is, that they pray with greater importunity for lesser things, than for things of more importance; and more from an intemperate zeal, and with a view to self, than for the glory of God:

but the Spirit itself maketh intercession, for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered; not the spirit of a man; or the gift of the Spirit in man; or a man endued with an extraordinary gift of the Spirit; but the Holy Ghost himself, who makes intercession for the saints: not in such sense as Christ does; for he intercedes not with the Father, but with them, with their spirits; not in heaven, but in their hearts; and not for sinners, but for saints: nor in the manner as Christ does, not by vocal prayer, as he when on earth; nor by being the medium, or way of access to God; nor by presenting the prayers of saints, and the blood and sacrifice of Christ to God, as Christ does in heaven; nor as the saints make intercession for one another, and for other persons: but he intercedes for them, by making them to intercede; he indites their prayers for them, not in a book, but in their hearts; he shows them their need, what their wants are; he stirs them up to prayer, he supplies them with arguments, puts words into their mouths, enlarges their hearts, gives strength of faith in prayer, and all the ardour and fervency of it; he enables them to come to God as their Father; and gives them liberty and boldness in his presence, which requires an heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, faith in the blood and righteousness of Christ, and a view of God, as a God of peace, grace, and mercy: and this intercession he makes, "with groanings which, cannot be uttered"; not that the Spirit of God groans, but he stirs up groans in the saints; which suppose a burden on them, and their sense of it: and these are said to be "unutterable"; saints, under his influence, praying silently, without a voice, as Moses and Hannah did, 1Sa 1:13, and yet most ardently and fervently; or as not being able to express fully what they conceive in their minds, how great their burdens are, and their sense of their wants.

THE TRANSFIGURATION-JESUS IS TRANSFIGURED

Mark 9:2-50

THE TRANSFIGURATION

https://youtu.be/FFdxBGacQr0

A. Jesus is transfigured.

1. (Mar 9:2-3) Jesus is transfigured before His disciples.

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

a. Peter, James, and John: Most people assume that Jesus took these three aside on this and other occasions because they were special favorites of the Lord. It could have also been because they were the three most likely to get into trouble, so He kept them close so He could keep a close eye on them.

b. Led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves: What started as a mountain retreat quickly changed as the glory of Jesus shined forth and Jesus was transformed right before the eyes of the disciples (He was transfigured before them).

     i. What exactly happened here? Matthew says that Jesus’ face shone like the sun (Mat 17:2), and both Matthew and Mark use the word transfigured to describe what happened to Jesus. For this brief time, Jesus took on an appearance more appropriate for the King of Glory than for a humble man.

c. He was transfigured before them: Mark does his best to describe for us - no doubt, through the eyes of Peter - what Jesus looked like. Basically, Jesus’ whole appearance shined forth in glorious, bright light - his clothes became shining, and whiter than anything seen on this earth.

          i. If we’re not careful, we think of the transfiguration as just a bright light shined on Jesus. But this wasn’t a light coming on Jesus from the outside. “The word transfigured describes a change on the outside that comes from the inside. It is the opposite of ‘masquerade,’ which is an outward change that does not come from within.” (Wiersbe)

          ii. How did this happen? This was not a new miracle, but the temporary pause of an ongoing miracle. The real miracle was that Jesus, most of the time, could keep from displaying His glory.

          iii. “For Christ to be glorious was almost a less matter than for him to restrain or hide his glory. It is forever his glory that he concealed his glory; and that, though he was rich, for our sakes he became poor.” (Spurgeon)

d. Why did Jesus do this, and why at this time? Because Jesus just told His disciples that He was going the way of the cross (Mar 8:31), and that spiritually they should follow Him in the way of the cross (Mar 8:34-38). It would have been easy for them to lose confidence in Jesus after such a “negative” statement.

e. But now, as Jesus displays His glory as King over all God’s Kingdom, the disciples know that Jesus knows what He is doing; if He is to suffer, be rejected and killed, He is still in control.

f. Jesus also shows in a dramatic way that cross bearers will be glory receivers. The goal isn’t the cross. The cross is the path to the goal, and the goal is the glory of God.

     2. (Mar 9:4) Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus.

And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

a. Elijah appeared to them with Moses: Why Elijah and Moses? Because they represent those who are caught up to God (Jud 1:9; 2Ki 2:11). Moses represents those who die and go to glory, and Elijah represents those who are caught up to heaven without death (as in 1Th 4:13-18).

     i. They also represent the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). The sum of Old Testament revelation comes to meet with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration.

     ii. They also figure together in the future fulfillment of prophecy. Elijah and Moses are likely the witnesses of Rev 11:3-13.

     iii. Right in front of them, the disciples saw evidence of life beyond this life. When they saw Moses and Elijah, they knew that Moses had passed from this world 1,400 years before and Elijah had passed some 900 years before. Yet there they were, alive in glory before them. It gave them confidence in Jesus’ claim to resurrection.

     iv. How did the disciples know that it was Elijah and Moses? It seems that they just knew. This shows us that we will know each other when we get to heaven. After all, do you think we’ll be more dumb in heaven than we are on earth?

b. They were talking with Jesus: What did they talk about? Elijah and Moses were interested in the outworking of God’s plan through Jesus. They spoke about what Jesus was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (Luk 9:31).

3. (Mar 9:5-10) Peter’s unwise offer to build three tabernacles to honor Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, and the Father’s response.

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”; because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

a. Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah: When Peter saw Jesus in His glory he must have said to himself: “All right! This is how it should be! Forget this business about suffering, being rejected, and crucified! Let’s build some tabernacles so we can live this way with the glorified Jesus all the time.”

b. Because he did not know what to say: We often get into trouble when we speak like Peter did, not knowing what to say. We also see that Peter spoke out of fear (for they were greatly afraid). We say many foolish things without thinking and out of fear.

     i. “Peter was openhearted, bold, enthusiastic. To my mind, there is something very lovable about Peter; and, in my opinion, we need more Peters in the church of the present day. Though they are rash and impulsive, yet there is fire in them, and there is steam in them, so that they keep us going.” (Spurgeon)

     ii. Luke tells us that Peter, James, and John were all asleep, and when they awoke they saw Jesus transfigured with Elijah and Moses. “Peter, suddenly awakened from sleep in time to see the glory fade, was garrulous in his terror, as some men are.” (Cole)

     iii. What Peter said was so foolish because he put Jesus on an equal level with Elijah and Moses - one tabernacle for each! But Jesus isn’t just another Moses or Elijah, or even a greater Moses or Elijah. Jesus is the Son of God.

     iv. For they were greatly afraid: Being in the presence of God’s glory isn’t necessarily a pleasant experience - especially when we are like Peter, not really glorifying God. Sometimes the glory of God is shown in the way that He corrects us.

c. And a cloud came and overshadowed them: This is a familiar cloud, the cloud of God’s glory traditionally known as the Shekinah.

• It was the pillar of cloud that stood by Israel in the wilderness (Exo 13:21-22)

• It was the cloud of glory that God spoke to Israel from (Exo 16:10)

• It was from this cloud of glory that God met with Moses and others (Exo 19:9; Exo 24:15-18, Num 11:25; Num 12:5; Num 16:42)

• It was the cloud of glory that stood by the door of the Tabernacle (Exo 33:9-10)

• It was from this cloud that God appeared to the High Priest in the Holy Place inside the veil (Lev 16:2)

• It was from this cloud God appeared to Solomon when the temple was dedicated, so filling the temple that the priests could not continue ministering (1Ki 8:10-11, 2Ch 5:13-14)

• It was the cloud of Ezekiel’s vision, filling the temple of God with the brightness of His glory (Eze 10:4)

• It was the cloud of glory that overshadowed Mary when she conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luk 1:35)

• It was the cloud of glory that received Jesus into heaven at His ascension (Act 1:9)

• It was the cloud that will display the glory of Jesus Christ when He returns in triumph to this earth (Luk 21:27)

d. This is My beloved Son. Hear Him! The voice from the cloud of glory makes it clear that Jesus is not on the same level as Elijah and Moses. He is the beloved Son - so Hear Him!

     i. “There are thousands of priests in the world who say, ‘Hear us’; but the Father says ‘Hear him.’ Many voices clamor for our attention: new philosophies, modern theologies, and old heresies revived, all call to us and entreat us to hearken, but the Father says, ‘Hear him.’“ (Spurgeon)

     ii. This word from heaven answered the disciples’ doubts after the revelation of the suffering Messiah. It assured them that the plan was all right with God the Father also.

     iii. “The disciples wished to detain Moses and Elijah that they might hear them: but God shows that the law which had been in force, and the prophets which had prophesied, until now, must all give place to Jesus; and he alone must now be attended to, as the way, the truth, and the life.” (Clarke)

e. He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead: After it was all over, Peter, John and James kept this word to themselves - after all, who would believe them?

     i. But the event left a lasting impression on these men. Peter relates what happened in 2Pe 1:16-18, how the voice from God saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” still rang in his ears, confirming who Jesus was.

     ii. As impressive as this experience was, it in itself did not change the lives of the disciples as much as being born again did. Being born again by the Spirit of God is the great miracle, the greatest display of the glory of God ever.

     iii. “It is a better thing for a man to live near to Christ, and to enjoy his presence, than it would be for him to be overshadowed with a bright cloud, and to hear the divine Father himself speaking out of it.” (Spurgeon)

4. (Mar 9:11-13) The problem of Elijah coming first: a question based on Mal 4:5-6.

And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

a. Why do the scribes say: The coming of Elijah before the Messiah is clearly prophesied in Mal 4:5-6. So the disciples wonder, “If Jesus is the Messiah, then where is Elijah?”

b. Elijah does come first: Jesus tells them that the Elijah prophecy in Malachi will indeed be fulfilled. Though Jesus does not say this here, the prophecy of Elijah’s coming had to do with Jesus’ second coming, not His first, and Elijah will likely return as one of the two witnesses as Rev 11:2-13.

i. How is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer: Jesus draws attention to the contrast between His first and second comings here. The disciples were well aware of the prophecies concerning the glory of the Messiah; Jesus asked them to consider the prophecies concerning His suffering and that He must be treated with contempt.

c. But I say to you that Elijah has also come: While it is true that Elijah is yet to come in reference to the second coming of Jesus, there is also a sense in which Elijah has also come - in the person of John the Baptist.

i. John was not a reincarnation of Elijah, but he did minister in the role and spirit of Elijah. John the Baptist was a type or a picture of Elijah.

B. Jesus casts out a difficult demon from a boy.

1. (Mar 9:14-18) The disciples are unable to cast out a demon.

And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?” Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. “And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

a. Scribes disputing with them: From the context, it is reasonable to assume that scribes criticized the disciples for their inability to help the demon-possessed boy. “One wonders why these same scribes, instead of further embarrassing the crestfallen disciples before the crowd, did not set about exorcising the demon themselves, as a proof of orthodoxy.” (Cole)

     i. This kind of conflict was exactly what Peter wanted to avoid by staying up on the mountain of transfiguration (Mar 9:5). But it couldn’t be that way. They simply had to come down off the mountain and deal with what they found.

     ii. “He found disputing scribes, a distracted father, a demon-possessed boy, and defeated disciples . . . He silenced the scribes, He comforted the father, He healed the boy, He instructed the disciples.” (Morgan)

b. A mute spirit: In the eyes of contemporary Jewish exorcists, this was a particularly difficult - if not impossible - demon to cast out. This was because they believed that you had to learn a demon’s name before you could cast it out, and if a demon made someone mute, you could never learn his name.

c. Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid: The boy displays signs that many today would regard as evidence of epilepsy, but Jesus perceived that they were caused by demonic possession. Surely, some of whom we diagnose as physically or mentally ill today are actually demon possessed.

     i. “Jesus addresses the demon as a separate being from the boy as he often does. This makes it difficult to believe that Jesus was merely indulging popular belief in a superstition. He evidently regards the demon as the cause in this case of the boy’s misfortune.” (Robertson)

d. That they should cast it out, but they could not: This particular case of demon possession was too much for the disciples, though Jesus had given them authority over unclean spirits (Mar 6:7).

e. Apparently some demons are stronger - that is, more stubborn or intimidating than others. Eph 6:12 seems to describe different ranks of demonic beings, and it isn’t a stretch to think that some ranks might be more power than others are.

2. (Mar 9:19-27) Jesus delivers the boy.

He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

a. O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? Who does Jesus call the faithless generation? He might refer to the contentious scribes, to the desperate father, or to the unsuccessful disciples.

b. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground: When Jesus comes near, the demon inside the boy knows that his time is short. He wants to do as much damage as he can before he leaves.

     i. “However, it letteth us see how hardly the devil parteth with his possession in us in any degree, and how ready he is to run the length of his line in doing us mischief.” (Poole)

c. But if you can do anything: The man seems unsure if Jesus can do anything. But the “if” isn’t in regard to what Jesus can do. The “if” is in regard to the man’s faith. So Jesus told him, if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. When we trust God as true, and all His promises as true, all things He promises are possible.

     i. But we have to believe God is true: “If all the angels in heaven were to march by me in a file, and assure me that God would keep his word, I should say, ‘I did not require you to tell me that, for the Lord never fails to be as good as his word.’ God is so true that the witness of angels would be a superfluity. If my father were to make a statement, I certainly should not call in his servant to confirm it.” (Spurgeon)

d. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief: The poor father in this account is challenged by Jesus’ exhortation for faith. He did believe in Jesus’ power to deliver his boy - after all, why else would he have come to Jesus? But he also recognizes his doubts. So, he tearfully pleads with Jesus: Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

     i. In this case, the man’s unbelief was not a rebellion against or a rejection of God’s promise. He did not deny God’s promise; he desired it. However, it just seemed too good to be true. Thus, he says, “help my unbelief!”

     ii. “Help my unbelief” is something a man can only say by faith. “While men have no faith, they are unconscious of their unbelief; but, as soon as they get a little faith, then they begin to be conscious of the greatness of their unbelief.” (Spurgeon)

e. Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him: Jesus had no difficulty whatsoever in dealing the demon, even though the demon made a final display of his terrible strength. Knowing he must leave, the demon did the most damage he could before he left. But it was not lasting damage.

     i. “He will do what harm he can when he cannot do us the harm he would.” (Poole)

3. (Mar 9:28-29) Why were the disciples unsuccessful?

And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

a. Why could we not cast it out? Jesus reveals the reason for their weakness: it was due to a lack of prayer and fasting.

b. It isn’t that prayer and fasting make us more “worthy” to cast out demons; it is that prayer and fasting draw us closer to the heart of God, and they put us more in line with His power. They are an expression of our total dependence on Him.

     i. Jesus had already given them the authority to cast out demons (Mar 3:14-15), but “The authority that Jesus had given them was effective only if exercised by faith, but faith must be cultivated through spiritual discipline and devotion.” (Wiersbe)

     ii. This total dependence on God is the remedy for many spiritual problems. To be disappointed in yourself is to have trusted in yourself.

C. On to Jerusalem.

1. (Mar 9:30-32) Jesus reminds His disciples of His mission.

Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.

a. He did not want anyone to know it: Why was it that Jesus did not want anyone to know it? Probably because Jesus did not want the Galilean multitude to “cling” to Him, and hinder this important trip to Jerusalem.

b. The Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him: Jesus clearly told His disciples of this destiny back in Mar 8:31. Now, as they depart from Galilee towards Jerusalem, they head towards the destiny Jesus spoke of.

c. But they did not understand this saying: The disciples couldn’t “process” what Jesus said about His destiny in Jerusalem - to die and then rise again. Unfortunately, they were afraid to ask.

2. (Mar 9:33-34) The dispute on the road.

Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.

a. They had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest: It seems that this was the favorite debating topic among the disciples. They all counted on Jesus to take over the world as “King Messiah,” and the debate was about who was most worthy to be Jesus’ chief associate.

b. But they kept silent: This was an embarrassed silence. It shows that they were ashamed of this obsession with greatness. It was a healthy sense of shame, and proved that some of the message of Jesus was sinking into their hearts.

3. (Mar 9:35-37) True greatness in the kingdom of God.

And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

a. He sat down: This is important, because by sitting down Jesus showed that he was going to teach. “When a Rabbi was teaching as a Rabbi, as a master teaches his scholars and disciples, when he was really making a pronouncement, he sat to teach. Jesus deliberately took up the position of a Rabbi teaching his pupils before he spoke.” (Barclay)

b. If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all: The question at hand was “Who would be the greatest?” Jesus could have answered the question, “Hey dummies - I’m the greatest.” But Jesus does not put the focus on Himself. For an example of greatness, Jesus puts forth the last and the servant.

     i. Of course, Jesus is the greatest in the kingdom. So when He said last and servant, He was really describing Himself - and He accurately expressed His nature. He was truly first, yet made Himself last of all and servant of all for our sake.

     ii. Jesus challenges us to be last of all. The desire to be praised and to gain recognition should be foreign to a follower of Jesus. Jesus wants us to embrace last as a choice, allowing others to be preferred before us, and not only because we are forced to be last.

     iii. Jesus challenges us to be the servant of all. In the worldly idea of power, the great man is distinguished by how many people serve him. In ancient China, it was fashionable for wealthy men to grow their fingernails so long that their hands were unusable for basic tasks. This was to demonstrate that they did not need to do anything for themselves; there was always a servant there to wait on them. The world may think of this as greatness, but God does not. Jesus declared that true greatness is shown not by how many serve you, but by how many you serve.

     iv. “It was not that Jesus abolished ambition. Rather he recreated and sublimated ambition. For the ambition to rule he substituted the ambition to serve. For the ambition to have things done for us he substituted the ambition to do things for others.” (Barclay)

     v. “How easy a thing had it been for our Saviour, had he intended in any such primacy in the church as the papists contend for, to have said, Peter shall be the greatest!” (Poole)

c. He took a little child and set him in the midst of them: Jesus draws their attention to His nature by presenting a child as an example. In that day, children were regarded more as property than individuals. It was understood that they were to be seen and not heard. Jesus says that the way we receive people regarded like children shows how we would receive Him (whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me).

     i. Children are not threatening. We aren’t afraid of meeting a five-year old in a dark alley. When we have a tough, intimidating presence, we aren’t like Jesus.

     ii. Children are not good at deceiving; they don’t do a very good job at fooling their parents. When we are good at hiding ourselves and deceiving others, we aren’t like Jesus.

     iii. Look at what the devil wants to do with children (Mar 9:17-27) and look at what Jesus does with children!

d. Because Jesus is last of all and servant of all and like a child, when we honor and receive a child - or someone who is a servant like Jesus - we honor and receive Jesus Himself.

4. (Mar 9:38-42) True greatness isn’t cliquish; it has an inclusive instinct.

Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.”

a. Teacher, we saw someone: It had to frustrate Jesus’ disciples that these other followers of Jesus successfully cast out demons, when they had just failed (Mar 9:18). No wonder John wanted them to stop!

     i. “We may therefore safely imagine that this was either one of John the Baptist’s disciples, who, at his master’s command, had believed in Jesus, or one of the seventy, whom Christ had sent out, Luk 10:1-7, who, after he had fulfilled his commission, had retired from accompanying the other disciples; but as he still held fast his faith in Christ, and walked in good conscience, the influence of his Master still continued with him, so that he could cast out demons as well as the other disciples.” (Clarke)

b. For he who is not against us is on our side: There are many that may be wrong in some aspect of their presentation or teaching, yet they still set forth Jesus in some manner. Let God deal with them. Those who are not against a Biblical Jesus are still for Him, at least in some way.

     i. Paul saw many men preaching Jesus from many motives, some of them evil - yet he could rejoice that Christ was preached (Php 1:15-18).

     ii. “If a man be not an open enemy to Christ, he ought to be presumed to be his friend, at least so far as not to be discouraged in doing a good work.” (Poole)

c. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name: Because of this principle of unity, it is appropriate to show kindness to others in the name of Jesus. Even a cup of water, if given in the nature of Jesus, will be rewarded.

i. Nothing could seem more petty than giving a mere cup of water. But God remembers the heart, not only the gift itself.

d. If a small act of kindness towards others done in Jesus’ name will be eternally remembered, so will any cause for stumbling. And the punishment is severe: it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were throne into the sea.

     i. In that day, there were two different sizes of millstones. The smaller one was used by a woman to grind a small amount of grain. The larger one was turned by a donkey to grind a larger amount of grain. Jesus refers to the larger kind of millstone here.

     ii. Most Christians don’t take this statement of Jesus seriously enough, and don’t appreciate the great danger there is in doing something to cause another to stumble - especially one of these little ones.

     iii. Some Christians think nothing of drawing young, weak Christians into their own little squabbles and divisions. They themselves emerge without much damage, but the little ones they brought with them into the squabble often end up shipwrecked.

5. (Mar 9:43-48) The urgency to enter God’s kingdom.

“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched; where ‘Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched; where ‘Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire; where ‘Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’“

a. If your hand makes you sin, cut it off: Tragically, some have taken these words of Jesus in a sense He did not intend, and have cut off their hands, or mutilated themselves in some other way in a mistaken battle against sin.

i. The problem with taking Jesus’ words literally here is that bodily mutilation does not go far enough in controlling sin. Sin is more a matter of the heart than of any particular limb or organ, and if I cut off my right hand, my left is still ready to sin. If I completely dismember my body, I can still sin in my mind and in my heart.

ii. “This was not a demand for physical self-mutilation, but in the strongest manner possible Jesus speaks of the costliest sacrifices.” (Lane)

b. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell: With this exhortation, Jesus tried to correct a big misunderstanding on the part of the disciples. They thought of the kingdom mainly in terms of reward, not in terms of sacrifice.

i. Essentially, Jesus restates what Mark recorded in 8:34-35: that if we try to save our lives, we will lose them, and to follow Jesus means to pick up our cross and follow Him.

c. To go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched: the word hell is an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew “Valley of Hinnom,” a place outside Jerusalem’s walls desecrated by Molech worship and human sacrifice, thus turned into the dump where rubbish and refuse were burned. The smoldering fires and festering worms made it a graphic and effective picture of the fate of the damned.

i. This place is also called the “lake of fire” in Rev 20:13-15, prepared for the devil and his angels (Mat 25:41).

ii. “A child with a spoon may sooner empty the sea than the damned accomplish their misery. A river of brimstone is not consumed by burning.” (Trapp)

d. Where their worm does not die: “This worm of conscience is worse than the fire, if worse may be: it is the very hell of hell, as being the furious reflection of the soul upon itself for all its neglected opportunities and flagitious practices.” (Trapp)

i. “It seems that every one has his worm, his peculiar remorse for the evils he did, and for the grace he rejected; while the fire, the state of excruciating torment, is common to all. Reader! May the living God save thee from this worm, and from this fire!” (Clarke)

ii. “This worm (say divines) is only a continual remorse and furious reflection of the soul upon its own wilful folly, and now woeful misery. Oh, consider this before thy friends be scrambling for thy goods, worms for thy body, devils for thy soul.” (Trapp)

e. The message of Jesus is clear: knowing how terrible hell is, it is worth any sacrifice to avoid. Therefore, we cannot think of the kingdom of God just in the context of reward; we must also think in terms of sacrifice.

i. Trapp on the terror of hell: “Where there is eternity of extremity. Of all outward torments none is more insufferable than that by fire; as of all inward, none like that of having worms ever grubbing and gnawing upon the entrails.”

6. (Mar 9:49-50) Jesus speaks of salt and fire.

“For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

a. For everyone will be seasoned with fire: Jesus declared His followers will be seasoned with fire, and that every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt, that the salt must retain its flavor, and that it will bring peace among us.

b. What is Jesus talking about? This passage has led to many different interpretations.

i. The first main interpretation is that fire refers to tribulation and suffering; these things accompany the “living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1) of the disciple. Since Old Testament sacrifices always included salt (Lev 2:13), Jesus is saying “just as every sacrifice under the law required salt, so the living sacrifice My followers bring to Me must be seasoned with suffering and tribulations.”

ii. The other main interpretation is that fire refers to the Holy Spirit. As His presence in our lives “seasons” us, it purifies, preserves, and adds flavor to our lives, and so it makes our “living sacrifice” acceptable to God.

The Form of a Servant

He took upon him the form of a servant — Php 2:7

Slaves and Servants

On one occasion our Lord announced "I am among you as one who serveth." That was the summation of His ministry. The word for serveth which St. John gives us is a word of very large and liberal meaning. It includes services of every kind, however high or exalted they may be. But when St. Paul says of that same Lord that He took on Him the form of a servant, that is an entirely different word. It is the common term for slave, or, as we might put it, for a domestic servant. There was nothing of lofty ministry about it; it was colored with contemptuous suggestion. Paul was thinking of his home in Tarsus where, unregarded and unthanked, the slaves were busy in menial occupations. No one knew better than the great apostle that life in its last analysis is service. The Grecian statesman and the Roman general were the servants of commonwealth or empire. But what awed Paul when he thought of Christ was not that He was found in such a category. It was that He humbled Himself to the likeness of a slave. There is a service which is highly honorable. It is compatible with great position. I have a postcard I once got from Mr. Gladstone, and it is signed "Your obedient servant." But the slave's service was of another order, quite apart from honorable ministries, and in that lay the wonder of the Lord. The slave legally had no possessions, and He had not where to lay His head. No freeman acknowledged a slave in public places, and from Him men hid, as it were, their faces. The slave was universally despised, and his master could maltreat him as he pleased. And He was despised of men and, being maltreated, opened not His mouth.

Even in Childhood He Took on the Form of a Servant

This aspect of the Lord's obedience constitutes the wonder of His childhood. It explains as it illuminates the strange silence of the Gospel story. There are apocryphal gospels of the infancy that credit the little Boy with various miracles. He strikes a comrade who instantly falls dead; He makes clay sparrows and they fly away. But the real wonder of the childhood does not lie in miracles like these, but in this, that even in His boyhood He took on Him the form of a servant. Did Mary never ask Him in the morning to go and fetch the water from the well? Did she never say, "Child, I'm very tired today, will you run to the village shop and take a message?" And the beautiful way in which He did such bidding was a far more wonderful thing to seeing eyes than any reported miracles on sparrows. He, the eternal Son of God, running little errands for His mother; He, who might have grasped equality with God, lighting the cottage fire and fetching water—that was the astounding thing to Paul, as it was to all of the evangelists, as is so clear from their majestic silence.

In the Practice of Carpentry Jesus Took on the Form of a Servant

Or, again, we think of these long years when He was the carpenter of Nazareth. And once again legend has been busy seeking to give content to these years. Strange stories soon grew current of amazing things that had happened in that workshop. Beams had been miraculously lengthened, and ploughs, in a moment, miraculously made. But to all this, in the inspired evangelists, there is not even a reference in passing. For them the abiding wonder lay elsewhere. Do any of my readers keep a shop? Don't they know how hard it is to serve their customers ? Aren't some of these customers very hard to please and often irritating and unreasonable? And one may be certain if it is so in Britain where at least the atmosphere is Christian, it would be worse in uneducated Nazareth. The carpenter was at the beck and call of everybody. There was no pleasing some of the folk in Nazareth. It was a thankless and often humiliating service, that of a carpenter in a provincial village. And to Paul the wonder of these years was not the miraculous lengthening of beams. It was the stooping to a drudgery like that. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Christ was the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express image of His person. And then Paul thought of the carpenter's shop at Nazareth with its exacting and uneducated customers and wrote, He took on Him the form of a servant.

In His Public Ministry Jesus Took the Form of a Servant

In the public ministry, again, there is one incident which illuminates our text. It is an hour the world will not willingly let die. In the East it was one of the duties of the slave to wash the feet of the arriving traveler. For men wore only sandals then and the highways (save in rain) were very dusty. And Peter at any rate never could forget how once, and very near the end, the Master had done that office of the slave. Would he not be certain to tell that to Paul when they talked together, as we know from the Acts they did? Would not Peter enact it and draw back his feet to show Paul what had actually happened? Perhaps it was then there flashed into Paul's mind the magnificent daring of our text coupling the Lord of heaven with a menial slave. Jesus, knowing that He was come from God and went to God, girded Himself and washed the disciples' feet. He did it not forgetting His divinity. He did it because He knew He was divine. Brooding on which, Paul took his pen and wrote, "Who being in the form of God, took on him the form of a servant."

Free Grace

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee. — 2Co 12:9

What the thorn was of which the apostle speaks is a question we never can answer. A hundred explanations have been given, yet certainty has never been obtained. Each age has its own interpretation, each commentator has his chosen theory, and we are still as far away from exact knowledge as ever. We may learn a little, it is true, from the language in which the apostle tells us about it. He tells us his trouble was a thorn. It was not like a cut of sword or a gash of a saber; it was something to all appearance insignificant, but how it festered! It was not in the spirit, it was in the flesh; it was a bodily and not a mental torment. Thus far Paul himself is witness; but beyond that we go at our own risk. Paul was not at all the kind of man to dwell with evident relish on his ailments. Paul was a gentleman and hid all that, kept a happy face to the wide world, and only when the cause of God demanded it, when he might help to glorify the Lord, did he touch in the most delicate fashion on the things that were given him to suffer.

But if we cannot tell what the apostle's thorn was, we can at least discover what it did for him. It was as rich in blessing for his soul as the sweetest promise of his Lord. In the first place, it helped to keep him humble when in peril of spiritual pride; in the second place, it drove him to his knees, brought him as a suppliant to the throne; and thirdly, it gave him a new experience of the sustaining of the grace of God, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

The Kingliness of Grace

Now, what is grace? Is it the same as love? Yes, at the heart of it, it is the same as love. When you get deep enough down to the heart of it, love and grace are indistinguishable. The difference is that love can travel anywhere, upwards, or on the levels of equality, but grace can only travel downwards. A king can always be gracious to his subjects; a subject can never be gracious to his king. He may love his king and be intensely loyal, but he can never be gracious to his king; for grace is love able to condescend to men of low estate, leaning down with royalty of pity to the lowly and wretched and lost. That is why we call it sovereign grace; it is a peculiar prerogative of sovereignty. That is why we talk of free grace. That is why, when we think of the grace of God, our thoughts go out immediately to Christ, for it is in Christ and Christ alone we learn the love of God to sinful men.

So far, then, for the setting of the words. And now I want to speak of certain seasons when you and I, as Christian people, find this text upon our hearts. True, we need its message every hour, for we are not under the law but under grace; but for the grace of God in Jesus Christ there is no hope, even for a day; and yet to us as to the apostle here, seasons come of quite peculiar need when, like a cry of cheer across the storm, we hear, "My grace is sufficient for thee." On one or two of these seasons let me briefly touch.

https://youtu.be/APl7oF0sUaw

The Sense of Sin

This word is full of joy when we awaken to a sense of our own sin. It is, we notice, one of the features of our age that it is shallow in its sense of sin. It does not feel the burden of its sin in the profound way our fathers did. Partly owing to that lack of quiet which is so notable in recent years, partly owing to the attention which is now directed to the social gospel, believers are not so deep in their own hearts as were the Christians of an older school. Now, that may be true or that may not be true, but this, I think, has never been gainsaid: sooner or later if one believes in Christ, he is wakened to a sight of his own sin. It may be given him at his first approach to Christ, be the cause that leads him to the Savior; or, being brought to Christ in gentler ways, it may visit him further on his journey. Sometimes he is awakened in the heart by contact with a pure and holy life; sometimes it is by the preaching of the Word or by the singing of a simple hymn. Sometimes it is in the seasons of the night when a man is alone with his own conscience; sometimes it is by reading the Bible; or it is born of great sorrow falling, not upon us, but on another; there is something in the suffering of our loved ones that makes us feel mysteriously guilty. It is in these ways, as in a hundred others, that the Spirit of God convicts us of our sin. We get a swift glimpse of what we are — see what we are for ourselves. Now there is no talk of reformation, we want something more radical than that; and for the first time we cry despairingly, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner." Is it not in such an hour that our text reveals the richness of its meaning? It is then we awaken to the Godhead of Christ: "My grace is sufficient for thee." Deeper than our deepest sinfulness is the grace of God in Jesus Christ; able to forgive and to redeem is the love that was revealed on Calvary. Suppose that in the whole of history there had never been anyone so vile as you, yet even to you this very moment is offered abundant and everlasting pardon. It was sufficient for David in his lust, so terribly aggravated by his birth and station; it was sufficient for Peter when he denied his Lord who was going to shed His blood for him. The penitent thief found it enough for him. It was enough for him who had the seven devils. There is nothing that grace will not attempt, and there is nothing that grace cannot achieve. When we are awakened to a sense of sin the only word to rest upon is this, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

Grace in Suffering

Once more this word is full of comfort in the seasons when we are called upon to suffer. It is a condition of our present life that no one ever is exempt from suffering. That is a stated part of the agreement on which we get our leasehold of the world. To one suffering is of his body, to another it may come in mind. One it may reach in his material fortunes, another through a brother or a son. In one case it may be swift and sharp, vanishing like a summer tempest, while in another it may be long and slow and linger through the obscurity of years. There are many to whom God denies success, but to none He denies to suffer. Sooner or later, stealing from the shadow, it lays its piercing hand upon our hearts. Had it been otherwise the heart of man Would never have been a man of sorrows to suffer as He suffered who is our ideal.

Now when we are called to suffer there is nothing more beautiful than quiet fortitude; to take it bravely and quietly and patiently is one of the noblest victories of life. There are few sights more morally inspiring than that of someone who has a cross to carry; someone of whom we know, perhaps, that every day must be a day of pain, yet we never hear a murmur from him, he is always bright. He is so busy thinking about others that he never seems to think about himself. I have known people such as that; I do thank God that I have known them! There is no sermon so moving in its eloquence as the unuttered sermon of the cheerful sufferer. Among all the thoughts that God has given to make that victory possible to us, there is none more powerful than this, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

A friend of mine not long ago was visiting one of the hospitals in London. She was greatly touched by the look of happy peace on the face of one of the patients in a ward. A little while afterwards she asked a nurse who was the greatest sufferer in that ward, and the nurse, to her intense surprise, indicated the man she had first noticed. Going up to him, she spoke to him and told him what the nurse had said, and how she admired his courage when night and day in such pain. "Ah, miss," he said, "it is not courage; it is that," and he pointed to his bed head, and there was a colored text with this scripture upon it.

It was that which upheld him in the night; it was that which sustained him in the day. It was the love of God in Jesus Christ making itself perfect in his weakness.

Grace in Temptation

Then there is the hour when we are assaulted by temptation. Like suffering, temptation is universal, and like suffering, it is infinitely varied. Probably in all the human family no two are ever tempted quite alike. It is true that temptations may be broadly classified, clustered, as it were, around common centers. There is one class that assails the flesh, another that makes its onset on the mind; yet every temptation is so adapted to the person tempted that perhaps in all the ages that have gone no one was ever tempted just like me. To me there is no argument so strong as this for the existence of a devil. There is such subtlety in our temptations that it is hard to conceive of it without a brain. We are tempted with incomparable cunning; temptation comes to us all so subtlety and so sure that nothing can explain it but intelligence. Temptation is never obtrusive, but it is always there. It is beside us in the crowded street; it has no objection to the lonely moor; it follows us to the office and home; it dogs our footsteps when we go to church; it insists in sharing in our hours of leisure, and kneels beside us when we go to pray. At one and twenty we are sorely tempted, and say, "By-and-by it will be better; wait till twenty years have passed away, temptation will no longer assail us." But forty comes and we are tempted still; not now as in the passion of our youth, but with a power that is far more deadly because it is so hardening to the heart. There is not a relationship so sweet and sacred but temptation chooses it for its assault; there is not an act of sacrifice so pure, but temptation meets us in the doing of it. It never despairs of us until we die. So tempted as we are, is there any hope for us at all against that shameless and malevolent intelligence? Yes, we are here to proclaim that there is hope in unremitting watchfulness, there is hope in every breath of prayer. "Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees"; but above all there is hope in this: when we are tempted and are on the point of falling, we can lift up our hearts to Christ and hear Him say "My grace is sufficient for thee." Was He not tempted in all points like as we are, and yet was He not victorious? Did He not conquer sin, lead it captive, and lay it vanquished at His feet forever? And now you are His and He is yours; that victory which He had won is yours. It is at your disposal every hour. Say to yourself when you are next tempted, "He is able to keep me from falling. He that is with me is mightier than they that are against me." Better still, say nothing, but just listen as He rises up beside His Father's throne and calls to you, His tempted children, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

Grace in the Hour of Death

Again, shall we not need this word when life is ending, when we come to die? There is no pillow for a dying head except the grace of God in Jesus Christ. When I was a young minister in Thurso I was called into the country one beautiful summer day to the bedside of an elder who was dying. He was a godly man, a grave and reverent saint, a man whose only study was the Bible; summer and winter he was never absent from his familiar comer in the sanctuary. And now he was dying, and, as sometimes happens even with the choicest of the ripest saints, he was dying in such a fear of death as I have never witnessed since that hour. Outside the open window was the field with a shimmer of summer heat upon it; far away there was the long roll of the heavy waves upon the shore; here in the cottage was a human soul that walked reverently and in the fear of God, overmastered by the fear of death. Well, I was a young man then, very ignorant, very unversed in the deep things of the soul, and I tried to comfort him by speaking of the past — what an excellent elder he had been; and I shall never forget the look he gave me, or how he covered his face as if in shame, nor how he cried, "Not that, sir, not that! There is no comfort for me there." It was then I realized for the first time that the only pillow to die on is free grace. It was then I felt how all we have done is powerless to uphold us in the valley of death, for all our righteousness are as filthy rags and bring no ease upon a dying bed.

This is our only stay: "My grace is sufficient for thee."

THE BLAMELESS LIFE

 (Spirit,Soul, body) Be Preserved Blameless! Of those who Trust Him!

"I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it." — 1Th 5:23-24.

HE WILL do it. There is a tone of confidence in these words which bespeaks the unwavering faith of the Apostle in the faithfulness and power of God to do for these early Christian folk what indeed is needed by all of us; first, to be sanctified wholly, and secondly, to be preserved without blame until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can hardly realise how much this meant for men and women reared amid the excesses and evils of those days, when religion was another name for unbridled indulgence. Blamelessness of life, the stainless habit of the soul, self-restraint—these were the attributes of the few whose natures seemed cast in a special mould. And yet how strong the assertion of the Apostle that, in the face of the insurmountable difficulties, the God of Peace would do even as much for them.

We must distinguish between blamelessness and faultlessness. 

The latter can only be ours when we have passed into the presence of His glory, and are presented faultless before Him with exceeding joy (Jud 1:24). The former, however, is within the reach of each of us, because God has said that He will do it. The Agent of the blameless life is God Himself. None beside could accomplish so marvellous a result, and He does it by condescending to indwell the soul. As His glory filled Solomon's Temple, so He waits to infill the spirit, soul, and body of those who trust Him.

He will do it as the God of Peace. The mightiest forces are the stillest. Who ever heard the day break, or detected the footfall of Spring? Who thinks of listening for the throb of gravitation, or the thud of the forces that redden the grape, golden the corn, and cover the peaches with bloom? So God works in the hearts of those who belong to Him. When we think we are making no progress, He is most at work. The presence of ozone in the air can only be detected by a faint colour on a piece of litmus-paper, and God's work in the soul is only apparent as the bloom of perfect love is shown in the life.

PRAYER

Almighty God, who lovest us, and to whom are known our yearnings for this blessed life; work Thou within us, quietly, gently, mightily, ridding us of the love of sin, and producing within us that blamelessness of soul which in Thy sight is of priceless value. AMEN.

A Gentle Lamb

Where God's love is, there is no fear, because God's perfect love drives out fear. — 1Jn 4:18

A lot of us live with a hidden fear that God is angry at us. Somewhere, sometime, some Sunday school class or some television show convinced us that God has a whip behind his back, a paddle in his back pocket, and he's going to nail us when we've gone too far.

No concept could be more wrong! Our Savior's Father is very fond of us and only wants to share his love with us.

We have a Father who is filled with compassion, a feeling Father who hurts when his children hurt. We serve a God who says that even when we're under pressure and feel like nothing is going to go right, he is waiting for us, to embrace us whether we succeed or fail.

He doesn't come quarreling and wrangling and forcing his way into anyone's heart. He comes into our hearts like a gentle lamb, not a roaring lion.

Walking with the Savior

The Preeminence of Christ

Col 1:15-23.  

 (Now] He is the exact likeness of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible]; 

He is the Firstborn of all creation.

For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him 

[by His service, intervention] and in and for Him.

And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together). [Pro 8:22-31]

(Pro 8:22 The Lord formed and brought me [Wisdom] forth at the beginning of His way, before His acts of old.

Pro 8:23 I [Wisdom] was inaugurated and ordained from everlasting, from the beginning, before ever the earth existed. [Joh 1:1; 1Co 1:24]

Pro 8:26 While as yet He had not made the land or the fields or the first of the dust of the earth.

Pro 8:27 When He prepared the heavens, I [Wisdom] was there; when He drew a circle upon the face of the deep and stretched out the firmament over it,

Pro 8:28 When He made firm the skies above, when He established the fountains of the deep,

Pro 8:29 When He gave to the sea its limit and His decree that the waters should not transgress [across the boundaries set by] His command, when He appointed the foundations of the earth--[Job 38:10-11; Psa 104:6-9; Jer 5:22]

Pro 8:30 Then I [Wisdom] was beside Him as a master and director of the work; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always, [Mat 3:17; Joh 1:2, Joh 1:18]

Pro 8:31 Rejoicing in His inhabited earth and delighting in the sons of men. [Psa 16:3] )

He also is the Head of [His] body;

 (THE CHURCH ).

seeing He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, so that He alone in everything and in every respect might occupy the chief place 

[stand first and be preeminent].

For it has pleased [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should dwell in Him permanently.

And God purposed that through (by the service, the intervention of) Him;

 “THE SON” 

all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross.

And although you at one time were estranged and alienated from Him and were of hostile attitude of mind in your wicked activities,

Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father's] presence.

(And this He will do] provided that you continue to stay with and in the faith [in Christ], well-grounded and settled and steadfast, not shifting or moving away from the hope [which rests on and is inspired by] the glad tidings (the Gospel), which you heard and which has been preached [as being designed for and offered without restrictions] to every person under heaven, and of which [Gospel]

 I, Paul, became a minister.