Christ In You — the Hope of Glory!

Scripture teaches that the resurrected saints will share in the glory of Christ! “…we are God’s children; and if children, then also heirs, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ — if in reality we share His sufferings, so that we may share his glory too” (Romans 8:16-17, Williams Translation). What does it mean to have glory or to be glorified in the Biblical sense? The glory of God signifies the divine splendor, honor and majesty of his person, and the showing forth of his attributes. The glorified saints will share in the divine nature of God (II Peter 1:4), receiving the gift of eternal life (Romans 2:5-10). Yes, unbelievable as it may seem, given our fragile and transitory nature, like a “vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14), we created and limited beings may be given his eternal life. Continue reading

Did Jesus Break the Sabbath?

It’s been asserted that Jesus broke the Sabbath, and hence we are free to disregard it as well. But did Jesus break the Sabbath?

The basis for the idea that Jesus broke the Sabbath is the accusations made by Jesus’ enemies among the Pharisees and scribes. Because Jesus performed miracles of healing on the Sabbath, the Pharisees accused him of breaking the Sabbath (Matthew 12:10; Mark 3:2, John 9:14-16). John records a healing that Jesus performed at one of the festivals in Jerusalem. Because of this the Jews sought to kill him. John records that in a confrontation following the healing Jesus said to his enemies, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Then it says, “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:17-18). Hence the argument is made that Jesus worked on the Sabbath and broke the Sabbath, leaving Christians free to do so. Continue reading

What Is the Holy Spirit?

One of the important questions that we must face in order to understand God’s nature, and our own nature, is, “What is the Holy Spirit?”

In answering this question let’s first ask, what is spirit? In any good dictionary you’ll find several distinct but related definitions. And it’s important to understand that in the Bible, too, you’ll find the word “spirit” used in different senses. Continue reading

Why Did God Become Flesh?

Have you ever stopped to think why God – an eternal Being who existed before time began (as we count time) – would become flesh and blood? Does that not seem a bit peculiar, when you think about it, that the very Creator, the Being whose power sustains the entire vast Universe, would be changed into a mere human, infinitely weaker and limited by comparison? Continue reading