Roles and Greatness in the Kingdom #2486

11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence (1 Timothy 2:11-12, NKJV).

Different roles do not imply superiority and inferiority to God or His people. Although the world measures greatness by power and position, Jesus said, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant” (Mark 10:42-43, NKJV). God has given men a leadership role. In the church, this takes the form of men teaching publicly, not women. Instead of seizing the position of dominance, the godly woman is quiet and still in such settings. The Holy Spirit gives two reasons for this arrangement: (1) The order of creation (1 Tim. 2:13) and (2) The deception in the garden (1 Tim. 2:14). The woman’s role as wife and mother is honorable, and when combined with faith, love, holiness, and self-control, equips her for godly service and greatness in the kingdom (1 Tim. 2:15). Instead of being a misogynist, the inspired apostle Paul taught men and women to learn and live their distinctive roles in the kingdom (1 Tim. 2:8-10). Since he wrote the commandments of the Lord, when we obey them, we serve one another and, ultimately, the Lord (1 Cor. 14:37; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

All the Fullness Dwells in Christ #2435

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell (Colossians 1:19, NKJV).

Jesus Christ is exalted and magnified by the Father as He is the fullness of God’s redemptive work. Ephesians 1:10 provides a parallel: “that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” Paul summarized the fullness that dwells in Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:14-18. (1) Redemption is in Christ (1:14). Salvation from sins is only in Jesus (Acts 4:12). (2) He is the image of the invisible God (1:15). When we see Jesus, we see the Father, for He manifested Him to the world (John 1:18; 14:9; Heb. 1:3). (3) He is the firstborn over creation (1:15). He ranks above everything seen and unseen because all things were created by Him, through Him, and for Him (1:16; John 1:1-3). (4) He is eternal (1:17). His “goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2, NASB). (5) He holds all things together (1:17). He is “upholding all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). (6) He is the head of the church (1:18). The church is His body, those saved by His blood (Eph. 1:22-23; Acts 2:47; 20:28). It is “the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:23). (7) He is the first cause of everything (1:18). He is the Creator. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). (8) He is the firstborn of the dead (1:18). Raised, never to die again, He has power over death (1 Cor. 15:20). (9) He has preeminence over all things (1:18). He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). All we need to live with God now and eternally is in Jesus Christ. Praise be to God for such a Savior!

“You Renew the Face of the Earth” #2235

30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; May the Lord rejoice in His works (Psalm 104:30–31, NKJV).

God “created the heavens and the earth” and all life on it (Gen. 1:9-28). The evidence for creation compels us to honor the Creator who is blessed forever (Rom. 1:20, 25). The earth serves God’s purposes: “You laid the foundations of the earth, so that it should not be moved forever” (Ps. 104:5). Among these purposes is the earth sustains our life (Gen. 1:29-30). Some make doomsday predictions of the earth’s demise unless we stop changing the world’s climate. We have an impact on our environment, no doubt. As stewards of God’s creation, we ought not carelessly abuse the earth but carefully tend to it (Gen. 2:15; Ps. 8:3-8). Its resources are God-given and blessings to be used with careful responsibility. We should also admit that climate changes. It has done so since the beginning of time (Eccl. 1:3-11). Weather events, seismic shifts, volcanoes, animal extinctions, and human development impact the earth. They result in droughts, famines, diseases, and many catastrophes. Despite all this, God said He rules the earth. Man will not turn the planet into a utopian existence. Earth remains because of God’s kindness toward us, not due to humanity’s rule over it (Acts 14:15-17). Instead of being driven by fear that the world will end through human-made climate changes, let us be responsible stewards of God’s blessings and put our faith in Him. He renews the face of the earth. His glory endures forever. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22).

A new Creation in Christ #2158

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV)

Anyone. What a comfort beyond measure to know that regardless of the depth of our past sins and the eternal death they cause, God in Christ will forgive us (Rom. 6:23). Unquestionably, redemption from sin’s death is “in Christ” – it is not in the world, in ourselves, or anyone else. It is not found in Church traditions, creeds, confessions, and catechisms (Acts 4:12). God forms a new creation (new creature, NASB) when the sinner enters a relationship with Christ. Fresh and free from sin, washed in the blood of the Lamb (1 Pet. 1:18-19). By entering Christ through water baptism, the sinner’s sin is cut away (“old things have passed away”), and “all things have become new” (Gal. 3:27). This is the operation of God, not any meritorious by the sinner (Col. 2:11-13). Freedom from sin’s guilt, burden, and death is “in Christ.” When you stop waiting, but “arise and be baptized,” your sins will be washed away in Christ. In Christ, you can then truly live with and for Jesus, since Christians “are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). The question is not whether God can or will save you; it is will you believe and obey Jesus to be a new creation in Him?

In the Beginning #2155

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1, NKJV)

Beginnings. Every New Year’s Day, people worldwide reflect on the previous year and resolve what they will do during our next 365-circuit around the sun. It is a perfect moment to remember who created the heavens and the earth and, therefore, time itself. With the precision that defies random chance, the earth sits on its tilted axis, rotating to produce night and day (not to mention gravity). This well-arranged order also gives the earth its seasons, protecting us from the sun’s otherwise harmful and deadly effects while sustaining plant, animal, and human life. God did that (Gen. 1; Psa. 33:6-9; Jer. 51:15-16). The hubris of humanity dares to think humans control this globe. God said to Job, “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place” (Job 38:12)? We neither control the morning light nor the dark of night; God does. How foolish it is to think humans control the heavens and the earth! “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:4-7)? Pause as another year begins to give thanks to God, our Creator, and Sustainer. Thank God for your life, and especially for the life He gives you in Christ (Rom. 6:23). There is no better beginning to your new year.

God’s Plan for the Earth #2011

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10, NKJV)

What is God’s plan for the earth? Jehovah’s Witnesses say the earth will become a paradise on which “God will bless obedient people with perfect health and everlasting life” (“What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?”). The Seventh-day Adventists claim, “God will recreate our once-stained world, and live with us forever. We will finally achieve our true potential, living in the love and joy for which God created us” (“The New Earth”)? Modern advocates (N. T. Wright, Douglas Moo, and John Mark Hicks) have restored these views of the earth’s future. This New Creation Theology is being accepted and advanced by some brethren, but it is not new at all. It is an old false doctrine that reconstructs the “new heavens and a new earth” with forced definitions and materialistic narratives (2 Pet. 3:13). It says we will not go to heaven. Instead, heaven will come down to earth. Let Peter settle the matter. On the day of the Lord’s return, 1) The heavens will pass away with a great noise. The sky and space will perish, even as the “old things” of sin “passed away” when we became new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). 2) The elements will melt with fervent heat. The fundamental elements that form the material world will evaporate. 3) The earth and its works will be burned up. God’s fiery judgment will disintegrate the planet and everything on it (2 Pet. 3:7, 10, 11-12). A new habitation (“new heavens and a new earth”) – “a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” will be the eternal home of the redeemed (2 Pet. 3:13). New Creation Theology is old error.

God’s Wisdom #1914

22 The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. 23 I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth. (Proverbs 8:22–23, NKJV)

Wisdom cries out for us to receive her guidance of truth and understanding (Prov. 8:1-11). Not only does she “dwell with prudence,” Jehovah has possessed her from eternity past. 1) Wisdom attended God’s creation of the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). She served as His “ready craftsman” when He fashioned the earth (Prov. 8:30, 24-31). The wonders of the heavens and the earth defy human intellect, power, skill, precision, and imagination. Divine wisdom, though invisible, is perceived by the things God has made (Rom. 1:20). 2) Wisdom attended God’s plan of human redemption. God made redemption in Christ “abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence” (Eph. 1:7-8). The church (those redeemed by the blood of Christ) reveals the “manifold wisdom of God” to heaven and earth (Eph. 3:10-11). 3) Wisdom attended God’s revelation of the gospel. The gospel is the “wisdom of God” that reveals His mind to the whole world (1 Cor. 2:6-13; Mk. 16:15). The gospel plums the depths of divine wisdom as it calls sinners to salvation (1 Cor. 1:18-25; Mk. 16:16). The wisdom of men pales in comparison to the wisdom that God possesses and has revealed in His word. Let us choose “the wisdom that is from above,” and bear the fruit of righteousness (Jas. 3:17-18).

Invisible Attributes Clearly Seen #1872

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:20, NKJV)

Evidence for the presence and power of God has existed since the creation of the world. Just as the invisible trait of intelligence is seen in the product made by the automobile designer and maker, the inorganic and organic systems of the universe reveal the (invisible) intelligence of our Creator. Again, the (invisible) power of electricity is used to create a car. Without sufficient power, the auto parts (much less the assembly line used to put them together) would yield no assembled automobile. The power unleashed to create the universe (much less sustain it) cannot be successfully denied – or explained – by the materialist. Speculations, hypotheses, and “maybes” are all they can propose. The truth is that nothing comes from nothing. It is precisely our Creator’s deity that gives context and capability to the power necessary to create and sustain the cosmos. We are without excuse for being under wrath when we refuse to honor God and be thankful of His creative blessings (Rom. 1:20-21, 18). It is truly futile and foolish to reject the “clearly seen” evidence of God’s power and Godhood, for “the heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork” (Rom. 1:21-22; Psa. 19:1).

Heavenly Declarations #1731

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Psalm 19:1–4, NKJV)

“A study entitled ‘A Limited Habitable Zone for Complex Life’ and published in The Astrophysical Journal drastically cuts the number of planets that could potentially host intelligent life” (“Extraterrestrial life could be scarcer than first thought, study says,” foxnews.com). After this more than 3-year-long study of 1,327 stars close to the earth, “no ‘glaringly obvious’ evidence of extraterrestrial life” was found (“No signs of alien life in closest 1,300 stars, study says: ‘We are left with zero candidates,’” foxnews.com). It is truly ironic that while humans search the distant stars for evidence of and messages from other life forms, they refuse to listen to the clear message the heavens communicate of God’s glory, power, knowledge, and wisdom. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). When people refuse the evidence of God’s power and deity in the material world, they are left searching aimlessly for the very answers they refuse to see. And, by refusing His gospel of salvation, they remain under God’s wrath against their sins (Rom. 1:16-19, 22-25).

Cycles of the Earth #1658

5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; 6 The wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit. 7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. (Ecclesiastes 1:5–7, NKJV)

The Lord God created the earth with times and seasons intended to regulate and sustain life on this planet. The heavens and the earth are His, and He honors us with being stewards of His great creation (Psalm 8). These cycles of life are evident in the daily rotation of the earth that makes the sun appear to rise and set each and every day. Wind currents encircle the earth, forming weather patterns and helping to shape arid, temperate, tropical and frigid regions of the earth. The earth’s evaporation system moves water from the seas to the clouds to the land to the rivers and back to the seas. It is an amazing filtration system that provides life-sustaining water to humans, animals and plants. These cycles and seasons did not appear by chance. They could not have merely evolved over billions of years. No, my friend. God “spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9). Yes, climate changes. It always has. Seasons come and go. God made them that way. While we take care of the planet, remember, God created the earth to take care of you.