by Hannele Ottschofski | 11 January 2022 | I attended a seminar at church once where the pastor was speaking about parenting. He quoted something that reminded me of what I had learned as a young girl: The king upon his throne has no higher work than has the mother. The mother is queen of […] Source: https://atoday.org/confessions-of-a-feminist-mother/
Wednesday: Through Whom He Made the Universe
Hebrews affirms that God created the world “through” or “by” Jesus and that Jesus sustains the world with His powerful word.
Read Isaiah 44:24, Isaiah 45:18, and Nehemiah 9:6. Because in the Old Testament the Lord affirmed that He created the world “alone” and that He is the “only God,” how can we reconcile this affirmation with the affirmations in the New Testament that God created the universe “through” Jesus (Hebrews 1:2-3)?
Some think that Jesus was merely the instrument through whom God created. This is not possible. First, for Paul, Jesus is the Lord who created the world; He was not a helper. Hebrews 1:10 says that Jesus is the Lord who created the earth and the heavens, and Paul also applies to Him what Psalm 102:25-27 says about the Lord (Yahweh) as Creator.
Image © Philippians McKay from GoodSalt.com
Second, Hebrews 2:10 says that the universe was created “by” or “through” the Father. (Exactly the same expressions that are applied to Jesus in Hebrews 1:2.) The Father created and Jesus created (Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 1:10; Hebrews 2:10). There is a perfect agreement between Father and Son in purpose and activity. This is part of the mystery of the Trinity. Jesus created and God created, but there is only One Creator, God — which implies that Jesus is God.
Meanwhile Hebrews 4:13 shows that Jesus is also Judge. His authority to rule and judge derives from the fact that God created all things and sustains the universe (Isaiah 44:24-28).
Hebrews 1:3 and Colossians 1:17 affirm that Jesus also sustains the universe. This sustaining action probably includes the idea of guidance or governance. The Greek word pheron (sustaining, carrying) is used to describe the wind driving a boat (Acts 27:15, Acts 27:17) or God leading the prophets (2 Pet. 1:21). Thus, in a real sense, Jesus not only created us but sustains us, as well. Every breath, every heartbeat, every moment of our existence is found in Him, Jesus, the foundation of all created existence.
| Look up Acts 17:28. What does it say to us about Jesus and His power? Then think about the implications of this same Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. What does this truth teach us about the self-denying character of our Lord? |
Amen!
(0)
(0)The post Wednesday: Through Whom He Made the Universe appeared first on Sabbath School Net.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/wednesday-through-whom-he-made-universe/
James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
The post James 4:8 appeared first on Daily Bible Promise.
Source: https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jL28dc7E3KDqWNwQU61KVHCrAHWlao0B
10 January 2021 | Dear Aunt…
10 January 2021 | Dear Aunt Sevvy, This is a real situation that troubles me. I am a 3rd generation Adventist (until recently inactive) with 16 years in the Adventist education system—and a widower after 40+ years of marriage to one Adventist wife. About four years after her death, I began a monogamous long term […] Source: https://atoday.org/75692-2/
Tuesday: He Is the Radiance of the Glory of God
Read Hebrews 1:2-4. What are some of the things that this passage teaches us about Jesus?
In this section, we will focus on the portion that says, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3, ESV).
Read Exodus 24:16-17; Psalm 4:6; Psalm 36:9; and Psalm 89:15. How do these texts help us understand what the glory of God is?
Image © The Classic Bible Art Collection – Formerly Standard Publishing at Goodsalt.com
In the Old Testament, the glory of God refers to His visible presence among His people (Exodus 16:7; Exodus 24:16-17; Leviticus 9:23; Numbers 14:10). This presence is often associated with light or radiance.
Scripture informs us that Jesus is the light who came to this world to reveal the glory of God (Hebrews 1:3; John 1:6-9, John 1:14-18; 2 Corinthians 4:6). Think, for instance, of how Jesus appeared in the transfiguration. “And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2, NKJV).
Just as the sun cannot be perceived except by the radiance of its light, God is known through Jesus. From our perspective, the two are one. Because God’s glory is light itself, there is no difference, in actual being and character, between God and Jesus, just as there is no difference between light and its radiance.
Hebrews also says that Jesus is the “exact representation” of the Father’s substance (Hebrews 1:3, NASB). The point of the metaphor is that there is a perfect correspondence in being — or essence — between the Father and the Son. Note that human beings carry God’s image but not His essence (Genesis 1:26). The Son, however, shares the same essence with the Father. No wonder that Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9, NKJV).
| Why is that such great news that Jesus reveals the character and the glory of the Father to us? What does Jesus tell us about what the Father is like? |
Amen!(0)
(0)The post Tuesday: He Is the Radiance of the Glory of God appeared first on Sabbath School Net.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/tuesday-he-is-radiance-of-glory-of-god/
