BELIEVING IN THE NAME OF JESUS
1 John 5:12-15 (KJV)
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing ac...cording to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
What an honor and great privilege we have as believers that we are allowed to participate in the very life of God, the Zoe eternal life of God. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (vs. 12). We serve a living and vibrant God, a God who has predestined us to win as we choose to participate with His will and purpose for our lives.
God’s will and purpose for our lives is already predestined in His heart. His will for our lives is not for a select few, nor is His will destructive and beyond our willingness to choose. 2 peter 3:9 declares this truth to us: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
To participate in the life of God is the same as participating in His will; God’s will is that no one should perish and that all should come to repentance. Therefore, the condition is simple and straight forward; we pursue His heart and find His will, live it out, and we will find ourselves participating in the very life of God.
Until “His will” becomes our vision for life, until we own His will as our will, sin will continue to dominate us and the death and emptiness it serves. All too many begin with God as an idea of freedom without the willingness to investigate the restrictions His will calls for.
If we would only find the joy in making His joy our joy – His peace our peace – His truth our truth, there is nothing impossible with God when His will becomes our will. Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). Therefore, the possibilities of God are not impossible when we choose to come in line with His will.
Psalm 37:4-5 declares: “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” When our pleasures become His pleasures He will give us the desires of our heart. When we put our trust in this equation He shall bring it to pass.
Once again, His will is not beyond our willingness to choose; His will is simply that we would come to repentance. This is the simple truth about God; when we come to Him, from that moment on we are ever turning from our ways to His ways.
Repentance is to change directions, it is to turn completely around and go in the other direction; this is why repentance means change. If we are going in the same direction we have always gone we have not yet repented.
One may ask; how often do we change as believers, as often as we discover His will, and this is all made possible as we choose to believe on the name of Jesus. In and of ourselves we do not have or possess the power to change; it is as we believe on the name of Jesus that we are empowered to change.
John tells us with verse 13: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
The name Jesus is a Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua meaning “Yahweh is salvation” (yehoshua, the long form) or “Yahweh saves” (Yeshua, the short form). This is why the gospel of Matthew declares “…thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
This word save in the Greek is sode'-zo and means to deliver, to heal, and to make whole. If we bring these meanings together, it simply means that the name of Jesus will work deliverance and healing that we may be made whole. As we participate in the life of God these are the three things that take place as “His life” the “eternal life” of God transforms us from practicing sin and death to righteousness and life.
Being made whole means that we become mature and functional; it simply means the life of God is working in us. Therefore, to take on the life of Christ is to repent to turn completely around from our old way of life to His new way of life; Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
1 John 5:12-15 (KJV)
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing ac...cording to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
What an honor and great privilege we have as believers that we are allowed to participate in the very life of God, the Zoe eternal life of God. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (vs. 12). We serve a living and vibrant God, a God who has predestined us to win as we choose to participate with His will and purpose for our lives.
God’s will and purpose for our lives is already predestined in His heart. His will for our lives is not for a select few, nor is His will destructive and beyond our willingness to choose. 2 peter 3:9 declares this truth to us: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
To participate in the life of God is the same as participating in His will; God’s will is that no one should perish and that all should come to repentance. Therefore, the condition is simple and straight forward; we pursue His heart and find His will, live it out, and we will find ourselves participating in the very life of God.
Until “His will” becomes our vision for life, until we own His will as our will, sin will continue to dominate us and the death and emptiness it serves. All too many begin with God as an idea of freedom without the willingness to investigate the restrictions His will calls for.
If we would only find the joy in making His joy our joy – His peace our peace – His truth our truth, there is nothing impossible with God when His will becomes our will. Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). Therefore, the possibilities of God are not impossible when we choose to come in line with His will.
Psalm 37:4-5 declares: “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” When our pleasures become His pleasures He will give us the desires of our heart. When we put our trust in this equation He shall bring it to pass.
Once again, His will is not beyond our willingness to choose; His will is simply that we would come to repentance. This is the simple truth about God; when we come to Him, from that moment on we are ever turning from our ways to His ways.
Repentance is to change directions, it is to turn completely around and go in the other direction; this is why repentance means change. If we are going in the same direction we have always gone we have not yet repented.
One may ask; how often do we change as believers, as often as we discover His will, and this is all made possible as we choose to believe on the name of Jesus. In and of ourselves we do not have or possess the power to change; it is as we believe on the name of Jesus that we are empowered to change.
John tells us with verse 13: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
The name Jesus is a Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua meaning “Yahweh is salvation” (yehoshua, the long form) or “Yahweh saves” (Yeshua, the short form). This is why the gospel of Matthew declares “…thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
This word save in the Greek is sode'-zo and means to deliver, to heal, and to make whole. If we bring these meanings together, it simply means that the name of Jesus will work deliverance and healing that we may be made whole. As we participate in the life of God these are the three things that take place as “His life” the “eternal life” of God transforms us from practicing sin and death to righteousness and life.
Being made whole means that we become mature and functional; it simply means the life of God is working in us. Therefore, to take on the life of Christ is to repent to turn completely around from our old way of life to His new way of life; Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
No comments:
Post a Comment