With Cries and Tears

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered" Hebrews:5:7-8a

We can , as Christina look upon Jesus Christ the Holy Perfect Son of the Living God and imagine, as we read the Scriptures,  that Jesus moved thru this life among us with little to no difficulties or real challenges. We can some how elevated his humanity to a level which seems to supersede the bounds of reality  of  each and all of us, yet we are told thru the very word of God that Jesus was tempted in all ways, just as we are. We as sinful humans find our selves facing some very great temptations. And so did our Lord Jesus.

Assuming the Flesh

When the eternal Son of God , the second person of the Holy Trinity , thru the incarnation, assumed our humanity he assumed all of our humanity with all it's weakness and limitations. This is what the early primitive Church and post-Apostolic Theologians called "Assumptio Carnis", it means to assume the flesh; and in this assumption of the flesh the sinless Son of God , though  never ceasing to be God he became fully human,  with all our limitations and nature , yet never once gave into the pulls which we so easily succumb to.  

In Jesus the great God joined himself to us thru the incarnation of the Son of God for the purpose of redeeming our fallen race. In order to redeem us Jesus had to be fully one of us which includes our brokenness and limitations and all the toxic frailties of our flesh, Jesus assumed up our "complete " humanity in order to bring us "complete" redemption. 

Athanasius ,one of great post-Apostolic Church Theologians from Egypt , speaking of the Son's assumption of our flesh ,   said "that which is not assumed is not redeemed." 

Gregory Nazianzen  known as one of the Great Cappadocians expressed a very similar idea in saying "the unassumed is the unredeemed".

When the Word of God , who the Apostle John identifies for us as the man Jesus of Nazareth , takes on our humanity he  does not exempt himself  in any way from being anything other than flesh as we are flesh.

" The Word became flesh and made his dwelling (or Tabernacled) among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth".Jhn:1:14

Jesus entered the world of the flesh. A world spawned by the flesh, yet in spite of it's pulls and temptations Jesus  never gives into it and remains the sinless Son of God with his deity undiminished in any way.

 As Jesus Grows

Jesus, in the flesh,  faced real temptations which exceed anything that we might face in our day-to-day living . A word we  find in the Luke's Gospel gives us insight into what Jesus faced and the severity of the Temptations that he encountered  in his life.

"And Jesus grew (proekopten) in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke:2:52

 Luke is telling us more than what we may first realize. The Evangelist is not just telling us  that Jesus "matured" as a young man but in that maturing he faced real pulls of the flesh. 

  The word which Luke chooses to describe Jesus' "maturing"  or as Luke wrote "grew"  is "Proekopten" . The word "proekopten" gives us insight into Jesus' personal struggles with the  "pulls" of the flesh , Jesus , however,  rather than condescending to them, Jesus overcomes them and as a result Jesus  develops "in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man".

"Proekopten" means "to fight ahead or to cast blows to defeat what is before you,  to struggle in making progress and move forward " . 

With Cries and Tears

What this tells us is, that Jesus faced real and unrelenting pulls of the flesh even as we do yet Jesus always conformed to the divine will of his Father and remained the sinless Son of  God. 

The pulls of the flesh upon our Lord Jesus were real and ever present even as they are for each and all of us. Yet even though he be the Son of God he was not exempt from the pulls of the flesh and faced their onslaught and fought his way forward thru them,  ever maintaining his sinlessness .

At times the pulls of our fallen state were so powerful that they drove or Lord to the point of tears as he appealed unto Heaven and his Father for the power to overcome them.

Jesus faced real temptations in the Wilderness as he was tempted by Satan. Yet Jesus was fixed go obey his Heavenly Father. These temptations were clever, yet Jesus saw the true intent behind them and overcame them. Matt:4:1-11& Luke:4:1-13

This is spoken of our Lord's perfect obedience to the Father in the face of these powerful temptations.

   "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered" Heb:5:7-8a

What this tell each and all us is that Jesus understands what we face in our lives as we struggle with the pulls of the flesh. Jesus did not come as one who was unable to identify with humanity in our broken estate rather he lived it with out giving in to it for us.

This makes Jesus uniquely able to stand in as our High Priest on our behalf. Jesus does not just understand the pulls of the flesh in theory but in reality from his own struggles here upon the Earth.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin." Heb:4:15

This place as our High Priest  which Jesus has , and who understand all that we face in this life should give us great confidence and hope knowing that in our times when we are under the pulls of the flesh or even when we have given in to them we can approach Jesus and cry out to him knowing that he has been were we are yet with out sin.

This should give us greater appreciation to our God who loved us more than we can ever know and who he himself has provided us with complete redemption and a mediator who ever intercedes for us and with us.

"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." 1Jhn:2:1

Jesus as our High Priest is ever present with the Great God to speak on our behalf always obtaining help and divine assistance and grace for us thru out our lives.

"Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Heb:7:25

This means that on this day and every day our Lord Jesus has offered prayer and intersession for us  regarding what ever we might face and the temptations which beset us. Jesus has prayed for us and our names have been spoken before the very throne of God today and every day by Jesus.

For Our Redemption

The perfect Holy Son of God's condescension into our fallen flesh was for our redemption and in joining himself with us God has elevated humanity to the place of his adopted Children, this was not out of necessity but rather out of his perfect love for us that we might share in life of the Holy Trinity thru Jesus.

We are told that "he who knew no sin became sin for us". All the wretched condition of the flesh and sin and all that it spawns was judged upon Jesus thru the offerings of his self, his flesh,  upon the cross, so that there be nothing to keep us from having a relationship with God , but our own unwillingness to receive it.

Jesus had to be fully "in the flesh" in order to redeem the flesh. If Jesus was not "fully in the flesh" then the flesh could not be fully redeemed , and we would be without a Savior and unable to bound with our God.

Thru Jesus' , God  has provided the means for our flesh to be "sanctified" and used by him as a holy dwelling place, set free from the judgement of sin upon us. God in Christ did what no Law could do, not even God's own Holy Law for due to our flesh we are unable to bear it's holy demands and as a result we would fail. Thru Jesus we are able to be un-condemned and set free to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and walk according to the true intent, or spirit of the Law.

   "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Rm:8:1-4

 Our Lord Jesus understand all that we face,  and the pulls and temptations that we have in this life for he himself struggled with them and defeated them. 

Jesus is there understanding all that we face in this life thru his own personal experiences in the flesh of our humanity ; securing our redemption and standing as our Holy High Priest who;

 "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death" .....Amen

 

Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor 

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com

You can follow the Fountain of Life on Face Book - Click on our Face Book link under our Helpful Links

  

On a Certian Day

"They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus" Acts:18:23

While the Apostle Paul was is Rome awaiting to have his hearing before Cesar Nero, he sent out an invitation to Jewish leaders of the Synagogues to come and meet with him so that he might explain the message of the Gospel about Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God  that he and other Apostle had been preaching though out the Empire.

 Journey to Rome

The Doctor/ Evangelist/ Historian Luke who was Paul's co-worker in the preaching the Gospel and traveling companion records Paul's journey to the Rome the very capital of the Roman world. Paul's party having been shipwrecked  had wintered on the Island of Malta, when the spring came  they were able to find passage on an Alexandrian ship whos' stern was adorned with the gods Castor and  Pollux stopping briefly at Syracuse in Sicily for three day then a stop at Rhegium and then  to the Italian mainland at Puteoli.

 "After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli."Acts:28:11-13

 Paul's travel to Rome provided the Apostle with  spend time with the Christian Community in that part of Italy and to give them instruction and encouragement strengthening both  theirs and Paul's own faith.

 "There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome."  The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged."(14-15)

Ministering Under Guard

 Luke records that upon arrival  in Rome Paul is placed under house arrest with a Roman guard to look after him. Paul is however is permitted to carry out his ministry with out interference while he guard bu a Roman solider.

  "When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him".(16)

This arrangement allows Paul to meet with ,and pray with his traveling companions, or to write and send letters and to read and study what ever copies of the Scriptures might have  been available to him.

The Hope of Israel

After three days upon Paul's arrival in Rome  the Apostles issues an initial  invitation to the Jewish leaders of the Synagogues  around the area to come and meet with him , that he might explain and give them clarification regarding the message  about Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. During this first meeting Paul defends his ministry and explains the circumstances which led to his appeal to Caesar and  his being brought to Rome to the assembled leaders.

 "Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people." (17-19)

Paul asserts to the Jews,  that it is for the very "Hope of Israel" , that is,  all that they as a people have wanted and sought for and have awaited for  from the calling of Abraham to that very hour is the "Hope" for which he is imprisoned. 

  "For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” (20)

Paul used this idiom "the Hope of Israel"  to get their attention and to attempt to demonstrate that the "Hope of Israel" is the very "Hope" that he and all who are apart  of the Christian movement have set their hearts upon. Paul is trying to build a bridge and means to have a meaningful dialogue with them so that he might have opportunity to speak to them about Jesus , whom he understand is the "Hope of Israel" fulfilled.

Paul's conversation with the Synagogue leaders leads to arranging another meeting for them to assemble and hear more of what Paul has to say.

 

 "They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect". (21-22)

  On a Certain Day

On a Certain Day a meeting  is set for the leaders to come to Paul's quarters and hear what he has been preaching. There is  a large response , many of them have heard reports about the spread of  Gospel and are aware of Christian Churches being established through out the Empire and they have come to find out more. All of this is taking place under the watch of a Roman Guard who is has oversight of Paul.

"They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus." (23)

On that "certain day" they gathered and Paul used their own Scriptures, the Law and the Prophets, to direct them to the person of Jesus Christ showing them that he is the very "Hope of Israel"  that they have awaited all these many centuries.


On this "certain day" ,some of them , thru the Gospel message encountered Jesus Christ. From their vantage point this "certain day" may have been what was "convenient" for them,  but from the vantage point of eternity this "certain day"  had divine intent.

This gathering was not an accidental  gathering,  but had been ordained by God himself. They were gathered together by God for the purpose of meeting Jesus , in and thru the Gospel presented by the Apostle Paul. This is as the Reformer John Calvin declared " Christ comes to us clothed in his own Gospel" .



This means that on any "certain day" that we hear the Gospel message  preached we are encountering Jesus Christ himself. Jesus is both the subject of the message and the active agent of the message.

Jesus came to them, and to all of us, in the presentation of the message and reveals himself to us. Jesus is there giving us a glimpse of the divine love of God for each and all and the glorious "Hope" which our God has given us in Christ "on the certain day" which we hear the Gospel preached.

The "Hope of Israel"  is the "Hope" of all people whatever nation they arise from, it is God's divine intent  on what ever "certain day" we hear the Gospel preached to encounter Jesus in the Gospel and come to believe as some of the Jewish leaders came to encounter Jesus and believed and embraced him as their very "Hope" but some "would not".


"Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

“ ‘Go to this people and say,

“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”

For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them."

“Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen" (24-28)

On Our Certain Day

When we come together, on our "Certain Day"  what ever day that maybe , are we aware of God's divine intent for us to encounter Jesus Christ? Do we perceive God's divine intent being carried out, do we encounter Jesus, or are too focused on the human instrumentality which stands before us and fail to recognize who it is that truly speaks to us? Are we hearing what God has gathered us together to say to us?

Some of the Jewish leaders  missed out on God's divine intent and as the narrative says "they would not believe" . Theses Jewish Leaders did not believe because they did not accept who it was that was in truth speaking to them out of the Scriptures and thru Paul. The Jewish leaders who would not believe only perceived a Jewish man bound in chains under the watchful eye of a Roman soldier.

We can be the same way today, we may only look upon the human instrument and miss the  One who in truth is speaking to us "on a certain day", and is so doing we miss what our Lord might have to say to us.

Recognize Who is Speaking

Thur out the entire word of God the Holy Spirit is speaking to us about the person of Jesus, for it is thru Jesus that all that God has to reveal about himself is made known.

"I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.…Jhn:16:12-14

Thru the agency of the Holy Spirit God speaks thru and to humanity about his love for us demonstrated in the person of Jesus. 

Paul wrote of this appeal of God to all the world thru the preaching of the Gospel message.

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God."2Crth:5:20

God works thru those who are ordained and commissioned to proclaim to the world Jesus Christ that they might experience the reconciliation that God has accomplished for humanity in his Holy Son.

We should be ever ready to hear what God is saying "on a certain day" . Israel as a nation had a certain day when the Gospel was preached to them and yet they did not receive it jest as the Jewish leaders did not on their "certain day"

" Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,

‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.” Heb:4:1-7

Some of those who came to Paul "on a certain day" were much like their ancestors in the wilderness who heard , but refused the one who spoke even when he spoke of the very Hope for which they sought.

On what ever the "certain day" is for us,  let us always be willing to hear the one who truly speaks to us, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor 

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com

 The Fountain of Life-WebCast Program-

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/71243900

You can follow the Fountain of Life on Face Book - Click on our Face Book link under our Helpful Links

The Marriage Union

"The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."Gen:2:18.

A living continuing growing maturing love relationship with Jesus Christ is truly the answer to everything in this life. It is out of , and from this relationship with the great God thru Jesus that we learn how to have other relationship with others.

 We From Him

From the very beginning the Creator God has intended that we should live in relationship and in community with him and with others. In creating us, the Lord God used his very self as the pattern from which all of us derive our particular characteristics. 


"Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness",
 "So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male

 This tells us that each gender finds it's common source in and from God himself, that each express who God is to one another. This is why God has ordained that the marriage union and relationship be composed of two persons of opposite gender, that what one lacks the other supplies. In this way we come to experience who God is and his unconditional love that he has for and toward humanity within the most personal and intimate of all relationships.

Not Good to Be Alone

We are told in the  inspired creation epic of Genesis that God had declared that humanity should live in relationship.

"Then the Lord God said "It is not good for man to be alone" Gen:2:18 

That is, it is not good that we should live without relationships and community. Understand that God was not creating an "institution" but rather, ordaining a relationship.

"So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

for she was taken out of man.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.(21-24)

 God brings forth "another" out of "the man" stressing that they together are "the same" yet, "different"  but still finding their common origins with God himself. They are "distinct" ,yet , truly not "separate" and of the same "essence " .

 The bonding in this relation was intended by God to be,  that they each were to be free to be who they are,  and who God had intended them to be. With in this relationship there was to be unconditional love for each other and a close mutual sharing of their selves to and for each other. This was to be an equal and mutually edifying relationship together.  

"Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."(25)

  God's Purpose

To teach humanity about what relationship with God is about , he gave us the sacred relationship of marriage.
The Apostle Paul wrote of this very relationship to the primitive Apostolic church two thousand years ago, and to all of us gown thru the ages, regarding marriage and God's ordained purpose.  

Paul begins his discourse on the marriage relationship with the admonition for mutual deference on the past of husband and wife.

"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."Eph:5:21

 Often this admonition is over looked by one or both of those in the marriage union. Paul is saying that each should put the other first over their own selves and to graciously serve one another.

Paul continues with some of the most  often quoted instructions on the husband wife relationship, but however, all that follows should be understood in the light of the Apostles comments of mutual submission.

"Wives, submit (or better understood to defer) yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." (22-24)

 This is not a "master servant relationship",  this is a wife knowing that her husband has her best interest in mind in regard to all things  and that she is able to be assured that he is doing all that he is able to protect their family and to be responsible toward and for them.

 Paul then turns to the role of the husband and the mystery of the  living symbol of the marriage union; that it is to demonstrate the same love which Jesus has and does extend toward toward the Church this mystery has come down even from the very dawn of creation and joining of the first man and woman.

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” (25-31) 


These words place the burden of  out flowing love on the shoulder of the husband to be and to do all that is with his ability to put his wife first in all things ; laying down his own wants, desires, plans, resources, time and even his very life. This far from the idea that the husband commands his wife and subjugating her to his wants and demands. The husband is rather to be the kind of husband toward his wife as Jesus is to the church.

Paul than makes this explanation of the living symbol of marriage

"This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church." (32) 


Here Paul gives a profound , but cryptic ,  statement in calling marriage "a profound mystery"  . The Greek word which Paul chooses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit  , is "Maga" and is translated as "great or "profound". The word "Maga"  was a military word."Maga" was used to describe the place on the field of battle where to opposing forces collided in a great conflict. What is Paul telling us with the use of the word "Maga" ?

Paul is tell us that the Christian marriage is ordained to stand on the point a salience to advance the Kingdom of God against the Kingdom of this world. This speaks of the husband and wife union with in the economy of God as being on the very forefront of advancing the Kingdom thru their sacred union together, this is so that others around them can peer into their lives and see what a relationship with Jesus Christ looks like. This is so that others can see the unconditional boundless love, forgiveness, graciousness, and care that Jesus shows to his Church and the selfless giving that Jesus shows to each and all.

"However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, (33a)


This how a man is to relate to his wife, showing her all the selfless love and graces and forgiveness and care that Jesus shows to his Church.
 
"and the wife must respect her husband".(33b)

This far from being just instruction for the wife alone that a "wife must respect her husband" . The role of the husband is still in view in the passive sense.  This instruction to the wife assumes that her husband will be the kind of man which she can respect in all his conduct toward her and others. A godly man is a man who's focus is upon Jesus Christ above all else.

Selfless Love

The Great God, the Holy Trinity , Father , Son and Holy Spirit,  has demonstrated selfless love to all of humanity thru the giving of his Holy Son Jesus Christ.  This loves is a love is outward and unconditional toward others , it is the very love of Jesus. This giving of Jesus, was more than "self sacrifice" it was "sacrifice of the self". Jesus gave over his whole self to be in accord with the divine perfect will of the Father for the sake of  all humanity.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jhn:3:16

This tells us that God gave Christ, his Son, so that we might have life everlasting in a love relationship.

In the same way Jesus faced the cross so that we might have eternal life.

"For the joy set before him he endured the cross," Heb:12:2b

The joy which our Lord Jesus experienced was the joy of knowing that he was able to bring us into eternal life, it gave Jesus joy to know the outcome of his sacrifice for us and all of us, would be  eternal life for any who will but freely receive it.

Jesus laid down his life joyfully for out eternal best good.This is the same selfless love that husbands and wives are called to have for each other.

Paul instructs us thru his Epistle to Roman Christians to "honor one another" above our selves.This is wise advice for all who enter into the most intimate of relationships that of marriage.

 All For the Other

In the culture of the day we often hear that marriage is a "50-50" proposition, yet this type of commitment means ,that each is only vested half way in to the marriage union. If this is  the degree that we enter the relationship we will find that it may not enure long when the stresses of life test it's mettle. 

We need to be fully vested toward and for one another, all for the other and with a focus on Jesus our marriages can endure and cope with life's challenges.

Two Are Better Than One

This relationship of marriage was ordained by God is best lived out with the divine blessing of God.This is the great God who reveals his love to and for us. This union will be given cohesion thru the abiding presences of God which creates a bound of love and unity and will draw husband and wife together as they grow in their own respective relationship with Jesus.

The Great God in his divine wisdom declared that "it is not good that the man should be alone" . This need and blessing of another is expanded in the poetic writing of  Ecclesiastes written by or compiled by Salomon.

"Two are better than one,

because they have a good return for their labor:

If either of them falls down,

one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

and has no one to help them up.

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Eccl:4:9-12

These verses from  Ecclesiastes, show us, that what God has given us in marriage, out of his love and grace  for us, is not just to be "partnered" with another but a holy union which will aid each in facing the difficulties of this life, and with Jesus as the true sources of unity each can act as one in confronting what ever is encountered in life.

When Jesus is that "cord" which binds us together then,  the marriage union can face what ever arises  in life.

This is the sacred union that God has given  and ordained for humanity, a union which in it's best fullest expression brings each into and expresses a deep growing relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and one another..Amen

Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor 

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com

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Jesus:The Tabernacle of God

"And the Word became Flesh and made His Tabernacle among us"John:1:14a

The Tabernacle of God was that place among the People of Israel where they met or communed with God.

“Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.   Ex:25:8-9

The Tabernacle  was divided  into the an outer court, where the Alter of Sacrifice was located, here the priest would offered the sacrifices which the people brought. There was also the Bronze Laver where the Priest would wash their hands.  There was the Sanctuary wherein was the Alter of Incense, the Showbread Table and the ever burning Mannorah.

Then there was  the "back part" of the Tabernacle; the Holy of Holies. It was here in the Holy of Holies that presence of God resided and manifested above the very Ark of the Covenant which held the pieces of the Ten Commandments , the very Word or Law of the Covenant.  

 Where God Was Met

In this earthly construct ,which accompanied the people of Israel as they were on their pilgrimage thru the Wilderness, that God met with them. This Tabernacles served as the point of contact and the very center of Israel's national Covenant relationship with God, the very Creator of all things.  Where Israel went,  so went the Tabernacle. When they camped the Tabernacle would be erected, when they moved it would be collapsed and taken, it was always with them. Num:1:50,53. Num:2:2, Num:9:15-23,Num:10:1

This Tabernacle was the place where God resided among the people, the Holy of Holies was the focus of all that took place there, it was in the "back part" of the Tabernacle. The word used to describe the Holy of Holies location in the Tabernacle is "Debir" which is literally means the "hinterside" or "back ground."

But a related word to "Debir" is  "Dabar". "Dabar" carries with it more than just a locational aspect, "Dabar" speaks of a sense of history, or frame work of thought as the Holy Word of God , and this word we find tells of of the substances and reality of a thing or the true essence of an event.

"Dabar" can also be translated as the Word of God , but not just the Word which is spoken or written but the actual true essence and origin and substance of all the Word of God, that is , how it is perfectly expressed and all that the Word of God reveals to humanity about the Creator of all things.

With "Dabar's" relation to "Debir"  , which tells us where the Holy of Holies was located in the "back" of the Tabernacle , that place where  the Ark of God was  , which housed the Word of God , the Ten Commandments ,  and where the Lord dwelt and met his people, we can understand that we are being give  understanding where we find the true expression of  the Word of God and it's perfect clearest revelation to humanity.

The Word

When John the Apostle wrote his account of the life and Words of Jesus Christ , John begins with the "Debir" or the true "background" and essence of all things and their origins and the very Word of God, the "Dabar" that perfect revelation and expression of God.

John would  have wrote his Gospel with his understanding informed by what we see at the earthly Tabernacle which accompanied Israel in the pilgrimage to the Promised Land,  but John, however, looked beyond that Tabernacle  to the true "Debir" , that is "background" of all things and the perfect expression of the Holy Word (Dabar) of God.

John begins his account in Eternity with God himself and the True Word of God and that place where in humanity can truly find the perfect and clearest revelation about God.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God".Jhn:1:1

The Word (Dabar),  we are told by John , is more than just something that God speaks or communicates,  but is God himself. That this Word,  as God, has  "person-hood", for lack of a better word and is equal to God; for we are told this Word (Dabar) is God. The Greek which John used to write his Gospel translates this word Dabar as Logos, which can mean spokesman or to convey  revelation or disclosed of truth or identity.  

 This very Word of God, we are told by John , is the Creator of all things, again stressing the equality with God as fully God.

 "He (the Word) was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind" Jhn:1:3-4

The Word Incarnate

John ,with the Tabernacle in mind, tells us,  that this Word, who is God in every way, and who is the Creator of all things,  and who is the clearest and purist perfect expression  of the very self of God, and who is the true "background" , or,  as the word "Dabar" indicates in it relationship with the word "Debir" , is the place or the way in which we encounter or meet with God as the Children of Israel met God in the Holy of Holies of  the Tabernacle.

It is this Word who enters into the history thru the people of Israel and  takes on our very humanity by becoming one of us and joining us with himself thru the Incarnation. 

" The Word became flesh and made his Tabernacle among us." (14a)

John in his account  identifies this incarnate Word as Jesus of Nazareth and it is thru Jesus , who we come to see is the true "background" of all things and is the Tabernacle where we meet the  very Creator God of all things. This means that everything that the earthly Tabernacle was meant to be Jesus is.

When John writes his Gospel account and tells us of the Word (Dabar) made flesh.  John is telling us that all that the Word of God, (which at that point in the History of Salvation was the Old Testament) , was ever meant to direct us to and to convey to humanity  is now fully and perfectly found in the divine person of Jesus.

 The Old Testament had as it's object the very person of Jesus and was written word (Dabar) to create a "background"  and a prehistory of the incarnation, that is the Old Testament is the incarnation anticipated,  and thru that pre-history of the Old Testament God created a cultural context  with in Israel thru which and by which  to introduce humanities Savior. 

That is,  in Jesus find all that we need to know about the very God who brought all things into being. In the humanity  of Jesus we meet God in the Tabernacle of his flesh as Israel met God in the earthly Tabernacle.  

 All that God , the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit , has to share about himself we find perfectly and clearly revealed in Jesus. The Apostles wrote about their experiences in meeting God in the person of Jesus and God's invitation to include each and all of us into the relationship of unconditional divine love.  This makes the New Testament , the incarnation realized and experienced. 

When we come to Jesus we meet God,  not just a Palestinian Jewish Rabbi who lived two thousand years ago , but the very Creator God himself has and is reveling the the Father , the First person of the Trinity to us in the very self of Jesus.

"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Matt:11:27

 This tell us that Jesus is the living Holy of Holies, the perfect expression of the Law, often called the "Decalouge", or "Debarim"  meaning the Ten words. "Debarim"  which is related to both "Dabar" and "Debir" both are in view in Johns mind; to speak to  us about the Word  and it's true "history" or "origin" or  "background"  and which resided within the Ark covered by the Mercy Seat where the Presences God dwells and communions with us. John is telling us that the "background"  of the event of Jesus' incarnation lies in his divine person as God the Son the Second person of the Holy Trinity and Jesus as the Son has entered our humanity.  Jesus is the true pre-history of  our Salvation and the means by which it is accomplished.

In the Tabernacle of his humanity Jesus is where we each and all encounter our God. God has himself entered time and our earthly lives so that we might know him, that is to have an relationship with God, here and now and on into eternity.

"this is eternal life, that they might know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" Jhn:17:3

 Jesus is the Holy Trinities living invitation for us to know the great God and see his glory.

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Jesus Prays for His Disciples

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world" Jhn:17:1-6a

 This tell us that eternal life is much more than a state of ,or duration of  existence but is expressed as a way of life that issues forth out of close abiding relationship with God thru Jesus Christ.

John in his Epistle  writes to us of the present assurance of  the accomplished salvation and certainty of eternal life that is our even now , not just someday, but here in now.

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1Jhn:5:13

The Prophets of Israel, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit , looked down thru the ages with a Godly anticipation toward what Christians experience in  Christ , yet these Prophets often saw only in part,  and wrote the word which God had revealed to them, that Word which they wrote has come forth out of eternity from God, the Holy Trinity, in the person of Jesus thru the incarnation.  

…"obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow." 1Ptr:1:9-11

In Jesus God himself has accomplished our salvation dieing and rising for us all , each and all.

"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2Crth:5:14-15

The Tabernacle With Us

As stated before hand the earthly Tabernacle was with Israel in their wondering pilgrimage  thru the wilderness on the journey to the Promised Land, it never left them but went where they went. This drawing upon the image of the Tabernacle which John employes is to speak reassurance to any and all who but look unto Jesus, that Jesus  is with us thru all our wondering in the Wilderness of this life in our pilgrimage to the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God,  as certainly as that earthly Tabernacle  was among the Children of Israel. 

Even in the moments when Israel went after foreign gods , that earthly Tabernacle,  was still with them, though unavailed of, yet it remained there among the Children of Israel. never departing. 

This brings the assurance and eternal long-suffering of our God , who out of his eternal love for humanity has vowed in his word never to depart from us nor to abandon us  even as will stumble and fall.    

"God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Heb:13:5b
 

The incarnation is a powerful demonstration and evidence of God eternal love and commitment toward humanity,  even in humanities  wayward state or condition.  God did more than just tell us that he loves us thru the Prophets, all the more ,  God himself came to as us one  in the person of Jesus Christ to show us that unconditional love he has for each and all , by taking on the burden  of all of humanities sins so that we might live eternally. 

Looking ahead into Eternity John the Apostle records the Words of the Holy Spirit regarding the ever abiding presence of God with humanity when he dealers these words.  

 "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." Rev:21:3

In and thru Jesus we encounter the great God thru the Tabernacle of Jesus' humanity the one who came from the very Holy of Holies of eternity that we might ,each and all who will meet their God in the Person of Jesus Christ..Amen

Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor 

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard  on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com

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