Friday: Further Thought ~ The Power of the Exalted Jesus
Further Thought:
Study these two descriptions of Christ’s exaltation from the writings of Ellen G. White:
“When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
The Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven’s communication that the Redeemer’s inauguration was accomplished. According to His promise He had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers as a token that He had, as priest and king, received all authority in heaven and on earth, and was the Anointed One over His people.” — The Acts of the Apostles, Pages 38, 39.
“The Father’s arms encircle His Son, and the word is given, ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’” Hebrews 1:6.
“With joy unutterable, rulers and principalities and powers acknowledge the supremacy of the Prince of life. The angel host prostrate themselves before Him, while the glad shout fills all the courts of heaven, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.’” Revelation 5:12.
“Songs of triumph mingle with the music from angel harps, till heaven seems to overflow with joy and praise. Love has conquered. The lost is found. Heaven rings with voices in lofty strains proclaiming, ‘Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.’ Revelation 5:13.” — The Desire of Ages, Pages 834, 835.
Discussion Questions:
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This week we have been given an opportunity to discuss the supernatural powers of God (and Satan). There is the potential to get carried away with these issues, but we have to bring it down to the level of what these ideas mean to us now in the physical world.
I like the emphasis in the questions we are ending the week with.
We need to ask ourselves questions about how our Christianity is lived for the rest of the week. I once had a discussion with a workmate in a concrete pipe factory. He made the comment that Christianity should keep itself to Sunday (this wasn't an Adventist discussion) and should keep its nose out of what we did the rest of the week. I disagreed with him, of course.
If someone finds out that you are a Seventh-day Adventist what is their first thought about you? Is it, "This guy is weird because he goes to church on Saturday."? Or is it, "So that explains why this guy is kind, considerate, and tolerant."?
We will reveal the "supernatural" by our "natural" in Christ.
Even if we are the kindest people in the world, which we should strive for that through Christ, we should never expect people to think highly of us (Mark 13:13).
It’d be nice to think there are people who would respect us for doing the right thing: for loving God with all of our heart, soul, and strength. But we have to remember Psalm 14:2,3. The only approbation that we need to seek is God’s (Matt 6:33). It is hard sometimes to deal with rejection but may we always be like Paul and Silas in prison who sang praises and prayed while dealing with persecution and rejection (Acts 16:25).
And when we answer today’s discussion question of how to stay separate from demonic influences: When we can sing praises and pray we too will have power over the evil spirits of this world.
“When someone asks how you are feeling, do not try to think of something mournful to tell in order to gain sympathy. Do not talk of your lack of faith and your sorrows and sufferings. The tempter delights to hear such words. When talking on gloomy subjects, you are glorifying him. We are not to dwell on the great power of Satan to overcome us. Often we give ourselves into his hands by talking of his power. Let us talk instead of the great power of God to bind up all our interests with His own.” Ministry of healing, pg 254
God bless you.
I have to admit I struggle with Jesus’ statement “All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth”. I of course believe His word because He said it but in what sense does He have all power on earth when the earth is such a mess? Any input is appreciated.
@Michael Z, please allow me to respond with this thought. 'The world is such a mess' is a very profound acknowledgement. However, even in this mess (caused by the enemy anyway), we should recognize the power behind the restraint of the angels holding back the winds of strife. In fairness, the chances we get to turn away from our wickedness and turn to God (despite the mess of this world) should indicate that Jesus is all-powerful in heaven and on earth. He can simply call the angels to release their hold on what's keeping us from being fully destroyed. The enemy of our souls would like to convince all God's children that God is the cause of the mess we find ourselves in - I call it transference. That's the reason why folks say, 'if there was a God, why was a baby born with cancer?'
I pray we remain fully aware that 'All Power is [indeed] given unto Jesus in heaven and on earth.' To avoid being accused of manipulating our freedom of choice, our heavenly father grieves as he watches the mess being made on the earth. Do not be dismayed, trust, have faith and believe! Happy Sabbath.
Yes Michael, earth is such a mess due to most people exercising their free will to live under the "power" of Satan, not Christ. You may find Christ's power at work in the quiet, humble, obedient service of His true followers, but it will not be in the spotlight of the world, which focuses on worldly power, wealth, achievement, fame, etc. In the power of Christ anyone may overcome sin.
If any seek to live by the power Jesus possesses, they will repent, and exercise faith by receiving His Truth(Mark 1:15, John 14:6). Study Romans 6:1-7 to understand how we may live in the power of His resurrection only if we have first experienced the "likeness of His death", which took place daily, and in Gethsemane, which led Him to the cross. If we would follow Him, we too must deny SELF, and take up our cross(Matt 16:24; 26:39).
Also, while Jesus, in mercy, does not yet exercise "all power" on earth, He will once every mind is either marked or Sealed for eternity. Today probation lingers, but not much longer if we acknowledge the signs taking place today world-wide. Too soon for most, the day will come when all will acknowledge the supreme power of Christ the Lord.
One could consider that with Jesus Christ’s enthronement, peace has come to enter heaven and earth. His Creation received Him as their Prince of Life, and man accepts Him as their Lord and Savior. The Son of God, which through and in Him all things were created, received the position of ultimate Authority over His creation and with this all the powers related to it.
Though His adversary is still causing great harm to the unsuspecting, our heavenly Father has revealed and given us the Savior in who’s position we can find rest. How do we find rest? It was not until I wholeheartedly committed my life to put my love of God and His Son first that I found peace of heart and mind.
No more confusion, no more searching, no more feeling tossed about by the waves of life. Now I enjoy a singleness of focus, being saved through the assurance of our cover – Jesus Christ. The Ekklesia – those called to live in the kingdom of God here on earth - are empowered to love the unloving, to pray for their enemies, extend their heartfelt compassion through word and deed – living our new nature in Christ to the Honor and Glory of God.
The quote from Acts of the Apostles was interesting because it directly linking the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with Jesus' enthronement. So many times I've heard people give credit to those in the Upper Room, suggesting that once they worked out their issues, the Holy Spirit fell. But this quote suggested that it was totally connected to Jesus. Of course, it was important that the believers become united, but it wasn't about them. The risen Jesus empowers all good things!
I must ask that if it isn't about them/us, why does the church lack this power today, while Jesus still has "all power"? Scripture teaches that the Spirit of God can only possess with power the soul that is empty of Self. Not almost empty, or nearly empty. Jesus cannot pour out His Spirit upon the unconverted.
Truth is, we remain as the limiting factor, and the reason that we are still here in a world that continually tests the limits of God's forbearance. Every generation since the End of Time(not Time of the End), has been given opportunity to finish the work by fulfilling the commission from Christ, and today it is us.
Regarding the unity, it can only be found in Christ/Truth, not in any way that "seems right" to men(Pr 16:25). Many are "united" in their love of the this present world and a formal religion, while claiming the Spirit is moving/working among them though remaining (willfully)ignorant of God's Will(Eph 5:17).
Do we understand our great necessity?
I believe Christina is correct: It is all about Jesus. If we miss that, we miss the power!
It may be because we forget it is all about Jesus, and we give too much room to self. The rest of your comment appears to agree with my suggestion.
Yes, we need to surrender to Christ and allow Him full control of our lives. *Then* He can pour out the Latter Rain on us. Note that the observation regarding the last church is that Jesus stands *at the door* and knocks. He's not inside. (See Rev. 3:14-19) This supports my suggestion that we do not have the power because we do not allow Him full control. (We like to be in charge.)
Indeed!
We do have to cooperate with God to receive the effects of His Power and I tried to suggest that was important. But ultimately it was God working on the hearts of the believers to come together and pray. So they likely would not have taken credit for the Spirit falling on them.
Also, it was God's plan that the Spirit fall on the Day of Pentecost, so we can see that God's timing determined that outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That doesn't mean that the unity that was going on wasn't important. It just didn't determine when the Spirit fell.
As for the early church, empowered though it was, it was not perfect - see Ananias and Saphira, bickering over which group of widows got more food rations, disagreements regarding whether the Gentiles could join the church. We see in Paul's writings God working through flawed believers. And yet through this time, the church grew, even though I don't know we could say that every believer was completely emptied of self.
I agree that we need to be emptied of self to be used by God. I guess I just wonder what that means. Does it mean that every sin and struggle must be cast aside before God can use us? I don't mean to say that we should cling to sin - that is a major problem. But many of our "selfish behaviors" are things we need to grow out of. God will help us grow out of them, but it doesn't necessarily happen immediately. That's why we see Peter messing up in snubbing the Gentiles many years after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 2). I suppose we could say he wasn't fully emptied of self or he wouldn't have done something out of preservation for his own reputation. But God was still able to use him (and use Paul to correct him and get him on the right track).
Robert, I appreciate that you are trying to get us to turn away from worldliness and let God work in us. That's definitely important. However, for someone like myself with a fairly sensitive conscience, I look at your statement and think "the Spirit isn't falling in my life the way it did for the early believers" and then I think "I must not be fully emptied of self and that's why God isn't working."
And then I start to become introspective about this and that and trying to clean up myself and the tendency is to forget God. And that's why I don't like that approach. My attempts to clean up myself have not worked.
I see God saying, "Will you trust me with your life?" If you will, I can work in your life in a powerful way and I will help you empty yourself of self." No, we won't be perfect at the start, but God can work through imperfect people.
If we feel the lack of God's Spirit in our life, the LAST thing we should do is try to clean our self up. Jesus tells us "without Me you can do nothing"(John 15:5). My comment never suggested that anyone should clean themselves up, because it will never succeed.
We can only repent of known sin, while any sin we knowingly cling to becomes a barrier to God's grace in our lives(Ps 66:18, James 4:17), and effectively becomes a closed door which shuts us out from His blessings. The apostles were given a great outpouring while still ignorant about God's government and purposes, but weren't rejecting His leading, and were gradually led through those issues one step at a time. The reformation was also slow, imperfect, but when coming out of such darkness and superstition, God only moves so fast. This is why Christ says what He does in Rev 2:24,25. Today, we have more Light than any previous generation, and if we neglect to walk in the great light given to us, we have ceased from following Jesus, no matter how formal our religion may be.
Yes, Jesus has "all power", but cannot give it to any who love this present world, and find pleasure in unrighteousness.
If we pray in faith the Psalmist's prayer(Ps 139:23,24), God will be faithful to reveal our need, unless we resist the conviction of His Spirit. If doing this, don't we then make it "about us"? (This is the point I was making in my first reply Inge. Yes, Christina was correct regarding Pentecost, and if we understand why, it might help us today. Those 10 days prior made the difference as far as how it changed them into empty vessels for the Holy Spirit to dwell in. No, they didn't know everything due to the misleading teachings of their Nation's scholars/leaders, but were open to learn and follow. Empty vessels will never take credit for God's working.)
Christina, without the unity achieved in those 10 days, would/could Jesus have given that power to those still bickering over who was the greatest? (Remember, while God can foresee, He does not manipulate any against their will.) Also, the rest of the Jewish nation did not receive that power except as they individually repented and believed. I believe this is important to understand.
Well, God did work through the bickering disciples and Jesus sent them out to preach, teach, and heal while they were still in that state. So God can use faulty people. But yes, prior to Pentecost, these believers seem to be very aware that they must depend on God for the power that had been promised. I agree that opened them up in a powerful way to the Holy Spirit's outpouring.
However, if God was patient with the early church, which didn't have it all together immediately, and if God was patient with the reformers, why wouldn't He be patient with us too? I think perhaps we need to differentiate between the collective church which does have the "truth" and individual believers who have to grow like everyone else. That process doesn't change. When I was baptized as a youth, I certainly didn't know everything about the "great light" we have, but I believe God still was able to work with me even then.
Reading over Ephesians 1 and 2:1-10 today, I realized how little those verses say about human effort at all. The only thing believers do is "believe" or "have faith". The rest is done by God. Perhaps if we focused on that more, things really would change.
Ok, what does it mean when Paul writes: "saved by grace through faith"? He also wrote "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified", and "But without faith it is impossible to please him:". It is also important to understand the meaning of Mark 2:5, "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." What did Jesus SEE? Can eternal life be experienced without any effort from the sinner? Does the Bible teach a "do-nothing-religion"?
Keep in mind that what our generation has been given in the way of Truth far exceeds the disciples when first sent out 2 by 2 with a measure of power(nothing like what was given at Pentecost). Remember also how they failed to cast the evil spirit out of that man's son, and when Christ was arrested, what they each did? And Peter had walked on water! I also don't recall at that early point in Jesus' ministry that the disciples were ever found bickering over who was the greatest, which was near the end of Christ's mission/life, when they expected Him to sit on the Throne and set up a temporal kingdom on earth. King Saul also received a gift of the Spirit, but how did it go for him at the end? Where was the gift when he enquired of the witch at Endor?
Do you believe that the latter rain will be given to unconverted sinners? We have been told in clear terms that no one will receive this "refreshing" who has known, unconfessed sin remaining in their life. Read Rev 14:1-5 to see the description of those who will give the 3 angel's message to the world just before probation closes. Do we believe that He will actually "cleanse us from all unrighteousness"?
Yes, God leads us through our ignorance, but the time comes when too many cease to follow where Christ is leading, as they fall back in unbelief. We really need to understand the warning, reproof, and remedy given to Laodicea. Notice also the promise, and who it is for.
Christina – proposing a possible answer to your question what 'emptied of self' means. I suggest it would be humbly acknowledging, letting go of the ‘self-deception’ that man can be perfect in the flesh.
We are only 'perfect' in God's eyes as He sees us in His Son Jesus Christ in whom we have our ‘righteousness’, and not in anything we do, think, or say. We are sinners saved by the Grace of God, and not through any works – Eph.2:8-9.
Yes, as you say – ‘we will never be ‘perfect’ ‘, not even in our obedience to love or the strength of our faith. This is why God’s Love, Grace and Mercy is indispensable to those who seek to please Him.
Brigitte, I would respond with Eph 2:8-10, Matt 5:48, 2 Tim 3:16,17, Ps 119:1-8, Zeph 3:12,13, in reply to your comment. There are more like this, but these should be sufficient for the discussion. I think the term "perfect in the flesh" is not really the topic, but rather, what faith is, and the results of having faith.
Also, I would suggest reading Early Writings, pg 71.
Ellen White pg. 71 - "We should, therefore, be drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Let all remember that God is holy and that none but holy beings can ever dwell in His presence."
Robert - I learned that, as long as we are in the body of our flesh, we will only find our righteousness/holiness as we are in Christ. So many believers seek to become perfect through efforts of the flesh to seek through self-denial, sacrifices, and all types of ‘works’ to subdue the desires of the flesh.
But Christ gave to us the Holy Spirit which gives us a new heart and mind, leading the believer to walk by faith through the ‘shadows of the valley of death’ and not fear evil. Though imperfect until the time of our death, God’s Glory accepts us as we are covered in/by Christ Jesus' righteousness.
What do you do with Eccl 12:13,14, Matt 12:36,37, Rev 22:12, to share only a few of many such thoughts from scripture? Also, did you read the entire page from Early Writings?
Keep in mind that only the Sanctified will receive the inheritance. If we are not saved from sin, what are we saved from?
I share these things because many have thought they were saved by grace even though still sinning against God, which is untrue. If sin remains in our life, we are earning its wages(Rom 6:23). All the promises of Revelation 2 and 3 are to "him that overcomes". Jesus' righteousness cannot cover known, harbored sin. Why would He say "go and sin no more" if it was impossible? No, we can't do it alone, but "all power" is given to those who act in faith in the "exceeding great and precious promises of God"(2 Pe 1:4-8). See what Paul writes to the Ephesians in Eph 5:25-27. What does that mean?
No one will become free of sin by their own "works".