The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare what God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town what Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:38-39)
The man Legion was aptly named, for so many were the demons that had entered him (v30). The mighty, frightful power of Jesus is shown by two things in this text,
Firstly is the fear that the multitude of demons had towards him when they saw him
When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, "Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I beg you, do not torment me!" (Luke 8:28)
And they began to beg him not to order them to depart into the abyss. (Luke 8:31)
Second is the fear that the people of the town of Gerasenes had when they realised that he had cast out the demons that had made Legion so fearful in their sight:
So the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. (Luke 8:35)
The power of God is incomparable in measure. It is a glorious truth that this same power is applied to us who believe, and was most clearly illustrated when The Father raised Christ from the dead and gave him all authority on earth (Eph 1:19-22). But to see this power in action, is a frightful thing to behold. The Gospels are filled with instances of Christ's power and authority over death, sickness and nature left his followers shaking in fear:
So the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and "God has come to help his people!" (Luke 7:15-16)
Then he said to them, "Where is your faith?" But they were afraid and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!" (Luke 8:25)
The response to the power of Christ is vital as it indicates the condition of our hearts towards him. The response to the fear that may arise in our hearts in beholding him in his power is of utmost importance as we either join him or leave him at the point at which he glorifies himself in his power.
The power of God, as like all other things in the universe, is, according to the purpose of his will, to be to the praise of his glory (Eph 1:11-13). Thus God is to be glorified in it. The people in the town of Nain (in Luke 7), when they saw Christ's power over death, they were understandably fearful, and gave glory to God, saying that "God has visited his people" (Luke 7v16). The disciples similarly marveled in their fear at his authority over the wind and waves (Luke 8v25).
In contrast, the people at Gerasenes(where Legion was from) are said to have asked him to depart from them because of the fear that seized them when they saw his power over the demons (8v37). And because of their poor response to his power, it happened that only the most ostracised member of their community, the demon-possesed Legion believed in Christ, becoming an obedient follower (v38).
We can have our eyes either too dull and unbelieving that he does not reveal his power among us (Mark 6:4-6) or too concerned with his power that we fail to give him the glory and want it for our own praise (as Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8) but his power is real, and we need to have a correct response to it when he reveals himself through it. It is for his glory and his glory alone that he reveals his power. Let us not be held back in glorifying him by our fear or our unbelieving, hardened hearts.
I suspect that it is this same danger that Paul addresses to the Thessalonian church when he advises them not to quench the Spirit, not to despise prophecies but to rather test everything, holding fast to the good. (1Thess5:19-22). Could this speak a message to some conservative evangelical thought? Are we possibly allowing our fear of the unpredictable might of God to quench what may be legitimate works of his Spirit to bring him glory? May we be humble in seeking his truth, that we may hold to what is good and not quench his Spirit.
Let us choose to be a converted Legion, who follows him obediently after seeing his power rather than an unbelieving Nation of Gerasenes that doesn't.
To him be all the glory
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
The fuel to the fire of the Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20
All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
So the Great Commission, the sending of the apostles is sandwiched between the phrases "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me..." and "-Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age", how do these two affect how the command is to be taken by the disciples and all who are sent through them?
It is important to realise first, that although the Great Commission was originally directed at the Apostles (Jesus was speaking to the 11 apostles here (v16) ) the fact that his sending them out to make disciples of all nations was a command in itself makes it applicable to all the converts who come after them. This is because of the statement that they should "teach them to obey all that I have commanded you (including this command I give you to disciple all nations). So the Great Commission applies to all believers as directly as it applied to the disciples. So, the fuel to do this work is of vital importance in our walk of obedience to the commands of our Lord.
The Great Commission is preceded by the truth that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Christ. So central is this truth for the fulfillment of the Commission that the Commission begins with "Therefore...". The necessary inference being that Christ intended the obedience of the Commission to be dependent on the authority he has over all things. Since Christ, has all authority, then you are to go out and make disciples of all nations. The authority of Christ is the very reason that they are to go out and make disciples of all nations. How does this serve as a reason for discipling all nations? Jesus' prayer to his Father in John 17:1-2 goes as follows:
"Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him."
Jesus has the authority over all flesh, over all peoples. In the Great Commission, he is not delegating the authority, he remains the only one who has this authority to give eternal life to anyone he pleases. This gives us an indication as to why the discipleship is to all nations, his authority spans the globe, he gives eternal life to all that the Father has given him in all the nations (all flesh).
John 14:15-18 sheds some light on how the authority of Christ serves as reason to spread the Gospel and make disciples.
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
This fascinating passage tells us that the Helper, the Spirit of truth, is the Spirit of Jesus himself (also called the same in Phi 1:19, Acts 16:7, Rom 8:9-10,Gal 4:6). He tells the disciples that they know the Helper because at that very moment, he was dwelling WITH them, and would later dwell IN them. He also assures them that though he will leave them, he would not leave them as orphans, but that he himself would come to them even as he speaks of the Spirit is another Helper (v16), herein is the unfathomable mystery of the trinity.
This assurance of Christ is that he shall go, and ask the Father to send another Helper who will not just dwell with us (as he dwelt with the disciples when he was in the flesh) but would dwell in us, his Spirit. This indwelling, he tells his disciples, is to their advantage and as such he has to go away (in the flesh) that it may come to pass.
"But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7
For the disciples at the time (and for the believer today), having the indwelling Spirit of Christ is of greater advantage than having the human person of Christ himself dwell among us physically, breathtaking...
The one who has authority to give eternal life to all flesh, dwells in us, brothers and sisters. This is our motivation to fulfill the Great Commission, when we spread the Gospel, the Spirit of Christ, living inside of us, who has the authority to give eternal life to all the Father has given him, does the work of conversion. Our faithfulness in presenting the full Gospel to the world is the means by which he will open eyes and grant eternal life to the unbeliever.
"So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)
"In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." (Eph 1:13-14)
His final assurance is testament to the truth that the Commission indeed applies to every single believer, "Behold, I am with you to the end of the age". He dwells in the heart of every believer who will ever live till his return. In view of his authority to give eternal life to all people, and his dwelling in us enabling us to be his messengers,let us be faithful in our calling that he may do his work of glorifying the Father, bearing in mind the final words of Christ's prayer to his Father in John 17
v25-26 "O righteous Father, even though the world does now know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I have made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
To him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.
All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
So the Great Commission, the sending of the apostles is sandwiched between the phrases "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me..." and "-Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age", how do these two affect how the command is to be taken by the disciples and all who are sent through them?
It is important to realise first, that although the Great Commission was originally directed at the Apostles (Jesus was speaking to the 11 apostles here (v16) ) the fact that his sending them out to make disciples of all nations was a command in itself makes it applicable to all the converts who come after them. This is because of the statement that they should "teach them to obey all that I have commanded you (including this command I give you to disciple all nations). So the Great Commission applies to all believers as directly as it applied to the disciples. So, the fuel to do this work is of vital importance in our walk of obedience to the commands of our Lord.
The Great Commission is preceded by the truth that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Christ. So central is this truth for the fulfillment of the Commission that the Commission begins with "Therefore...". The necessary inference being that Christ intended the obedience of the Commission to be dependent on the authority he has over all things. Since Christ, has all authority, then you are to go out and make disciples of all nations. The authority of Christ is the very reason that they are to go out and make disciples of all nations. How does this serve as a reason for discipling all nations? Jesus' prayer to his Father in John 17:1-2 goes as follows:
"Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him."
Jesus has the authority over all flesh, over all peoples. In the Great Commission, he is not delegating the authority, he remains the only one who has this authority to give eternal life to anyone he pleases. This gives us an indication as to why the discipleship is to all nations, his authority spans the globe, he gives eternal life to all that the Father has given him in all the nations (all flesh).
John 14:15-18 sheds some light on how the authority of Christ serves as reason to spread the Gospel and make disciples.
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
This fascinating passage tells us that the Helper, the Spirit of truth, is the Spirit of Jesus himself (also called the same in Phi 1:19, Acts 16:7, Rom 8:9-10,Gal 4:6). He tells the disciples that they know the Helper because at that very moment, he was dwelling WITH them, and would later dwell IN them. He also assures them that though he will leave them, he would not leave them as orphans, but that he himself would come to them even as he speaks of the Spirit is another Helper (v16), herein is the unfathomable mystery of the trinity.
This assurance of Christ is that he shall go, and ask the Father to send another Helper who will not just dwell with us (as he dwelt with the disciples when he was in the flesh) but would dwell in us, his Spirit. This indwelling, he tells his disciples, is to their advantage and as such he has to go away (in the flesh) that it may come to pass.
"But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7
For the disciples at the time (and for the believer today), having the indwelling Spirit of Christ is of greater advantage than having the human person of Christ himself dwell among us physically, breathtaking...
The one who has authority to give eternal life to all flesh, dwells in us, brothers and sisters. This is our motivation to fulfill the Great Commission, when we spread the Gospel, the Spirit of Christ, living inside of us, who has the authority to give eternal life to all the Father has given him, does the work of conversion. Our faithfulness in presenting the full Gospel to the world is the means by which he will open eyes and grant eternal life to the unbeliever.
"So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)
"In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." (Eph 1:13-14)
His final assurance is testament to the truth that the Commission indeed applies to every single believer, "Behold, I am with you to the end of the age". He dwells in the heart of every believer who will ever live till his return. In view of his authority to give eternal life to all people, and his dwelling in us enabling us to be his messengers,let us be faithful in our calling that he may do his work of glorifying the Father, bearing in mind the final words of Christ's prayer to his Father in John 17
v25-26 "O righteous Father, even though the world does now know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I have made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
To him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.
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