“AT JESUS’ FEET”

Jack Davis

“And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them…and they glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way…And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.” Mt. 15:30-32 & 35.

For fallen humanity there may be found a wonderful place of healing and wholeness. You may have come there with “many others” before God’s Son to be made complete. Thank God, there is deliverance from all the ailments covering the human condition. The triune man, body, soul, and spirit may be made whole. What a gracious place! At His feet, nourishment is ministered for multitudes of every type of sufferer. Here we read how the crowd was astonished, certainly the people were amazed. He was so accessible, and sufficient for their needs. There is still found before Him a place of feasting, and renewal of faith.

A Place of Comfort

“Then when she was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. Jn. 11:32. Had Mary been here before? OH, yes she knew Him well! At His feet, for her was now a place of comfort. She had come to know Him as the preserver of life. This woman had heard his word, experienced his work, before going to the cross, and had begun to realize some measure of His worth, and expressed it with the alabaster box of ointment. “It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.” Jn. 11:2.

A Place of Pardon

We read of an unnamed woman in Luke seven that became a real worshiper at Jesus feet. Simon the Pharisee had invited Jesus to his house to eat with him. “And behold a woman of the city which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment” - Lk. 7:37-38. Simon who began to judge Jesus for allowing her to touch him was sharply corrected by Jesus, and showed the ignorance of his own great need of forgiveness, lack of faith and true love. We all are in great need of forgiveness, of all that God’s great love affords. Some of us are more fully aware of this than others. Jesus let it be known that her sins which were many, were “forgiven.” He said, “Thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace.” By the exercise of faith she was set on a course of peace. She, loving much, blessed the Beloved.

A Place of Rest

“…they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus and found the man out of whom the devils were departed, setting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind…” Lk. 8:35. This man had been a great danger to himself and any that got near him. In verse thirty-nine of this chapter we find that he had been driven by evil spirits, and bound. This is the way Satan does all his captives, but our dear Lord motivates His captives by love – II Cor. 5:14. He realized a marvelous sense of relief and release while setting there, no longer held by  Satan’s power. He was another set free by the Son of God. Oh, how blessed in coming by faith to the feet of Jesus, we are clothed in His righteous, and given to partake of His mind. From what we read in verse twenty-eight of this chapter we understand that Jesus’ presence had been a torment to him. He ‘cried with a loud voice, what have I to do with thee Jesus, thou Son of God most high?” What a wonderful change! After he was found setting at Jesus’ feet; he requested to be with Him. But Jesus sent him to his own people to tell what great things God had done for him.

A Place of Perception

Jesus was often a guest at the house of friends in Bethany, a brother named Lazarus and two sisters Martha and Mary. Martha served and Mary sat at Jesus feet, and heard His word. Martha complained to Jesus that Mary wasn’t helping her. “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Lk. 10:40-42. Mary enjoyed this place of privilege by choice. The full overcomer today comes to this high and lofty position by choice also. Mary learned by listening, and came to an understanding as to why He was here on earth, and to a deeper appreciation of his matchless worth. Jesus said, “Come unto me, learn of me, take my yoke. It is at his feet that we learn His will for our service.

There is a great a lack of wholehearted worship in Christendom today. This seems to come from vastly differing reasons. Some have a lack of knowledge of God’s Word. Others lack a full grasp and appreciation of His marvelous work on the Cross. Oh, the satisfactory, sufficient, immeasurable, gracious, glorious, eternal value of that work will take all eternity to tell. But we think especially of the inexpressible value of His person to God the Father, to the world, the universe, to us personally. Isn’t there a lack of wholehearted love, taking too much of Him for granted? It is abundantly evident in the book of Revelation, that the full overcomers count it a priceless privilege to take this glorious position voluntarily. They are seen so often “falling down: before Him.

The Place of Praise

While Jesus was passing through the midst of Samaria and Galilee He met ten lepers which asked him to have mercy on them. Jesus then sent them to show themselves to the priest, and as they went they were healed. “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks…” Lk. 17:15-16. At His feet is a special place for the truly thankful. All those delivered from sins pressures, Satan’s power, and selfish pride are urged to come there and enjoy the pleasant presence of His precious person. Where would (will) you be found? Jesus asked; “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.” Lk. 17:17-18. Let us continue to come to Jesus feet with thankful hearts, and while there He always gives us more and more to be thankful for. Should we ever get so high and exalted, so as to never fall down there. God forbid!

 Be Still

Gordon Crook, Pastor

Grace Assembly, Wichita, Kansas

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalms 46:10. 

Still – to sink, relax, abate

One of the things that God tells us over and over again is that we need to trust in Him and not be anxious for our circumstances. We need to learn that God is in control of everything that affects His children. Moreover, God is able to take care of everything.

When the children of Israel were coming out of Egypt, they came to the place where they were unable to continue and unable to help themselves. Here God reminds them who He is and that He is there for them. “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.” Exodus 14:13. 

I think God often brings us to this same place so that we can learn to trust Him completely. We often must come to the complete end of our own rope so that we will grab on to God’s rope and let Him take control.

When we take time to be still (abate: let up on our own effort) we can then allow God to tell us and show us His work on our behalf. “Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.” Job 37:14. 

“Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers.” 1 Samuel 12:7. 

“Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalms 100:3.

Paul encourages to let go of anxiety and bring everything to God. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6.

It is truly amazing when we can just let God speak to us to remind us of His love and His care over us. Paul reminds us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17) and that is because we learn there of God’s power and faithfulness. I think we might sometimes miss out because we are not “still” when we come to study God’s Word. Our heart is so anxious about how we might solve our own problem. How we are going to change our circumstance and we fail to hear God speaking to us. “Be still and know that I am God.”

In all of this God wants us to “know” Him. “Be still and know that I am God.” We are privileged to know Him as our Father, but we also need to know Him as God. He is Sovereign and there is nothing He cannot do. Paul says, “What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us?” Romans 8:31. How privileged we are to “know” Him and to know these precious truths about Him.

“Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:23-24. There are so many ways for us to know our God. I just want to encourage you today to take time to be still and know God. Let Him reveal Himself to you.

Be like Paul who was willing to let go of everything dear to him to “know” Jesus. “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” Philippians 3:10.

Some times people act like it is some kind of drudgery and a difficult duty to study God’s Word. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a joy and privilege because we find our God revealing Himself to us in many ways. I want to know Him better every day.

 GOD’S CUNNING WORKMEN

Anita Clark – Pastor

Grace Chapel, Carbondale, Kansas

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that ye should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10.  “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure...that ye may be blameless and harmless; the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom ye shine as lights in the world. Holding forth the Word of life...” Philippians 2:13-16.

God’s work in preparing His people to dwell in our eternal home in heaven is going on in the world today.  He has been doing this work for ages.  In Psalms 45 we have a beautiful description of the Lord Jesus Christ upon His throne, and the glorious work of God in His people. In verse 9 the writer speaks of “...upon Thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.” Also, Verse 11 speaking of the beauty of the Queen, “So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for He is Thy Lord and worship thou Him.” Verses 13-15 speak even more of the beautiful queen, “The King’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the King’s palace.”

In II Corinthians 11:1-3, Apostle Paul speaks of the espousal of the Bride for Jesus Christ.  “Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly; and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

In the Old Testament Exodus 31:1-11 Moses was instructed by God to build the Tabernacle. The Lord gave him special workmen who were very capable to do wonderful, beautiful work.

Divine provisions were made by God. Nothing was left to chance. Although Moses was skilled in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, Moses was not left to draw up the plans. The first thing God did was to collect all the precious items that would be needed to produce this beautiful place of worship for the people of Israel. In Exodus 25 the Lord spoke to Moses to take up offerings from the people of all kinds of things needed to build the tabernacle. All of these items were collected from the Israelites, who received many of these precious items taken from the Egyptians, when Israel left Egypt. God made the provision available.

In the book of Exodus God introduced some very talented men who would do all the work.  In Exodus 31:3 God says to Moses, “And I have filled him (Bezaleel) with the Spirit if God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and knowledge and in all manner of workmanship.” He goes on to say that this would involve “cunning works in gold, and silver and in brass...and in cutting stones...and carving timber to work all manner of workmanship.” Verse 6: God speaks of another worker, “And I, behold, I have given with him, Aholiab...of the tribe of Dan, and in the hearts of all  that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded.”

In Exodus 35:30-35 Moses speaks of the ability of these two workmen, who were so talented and produced exactly according to the plan of God. These men represent the Holy Spirit Who is working in the hearts and lives of believers today. The beautiful Tabernacle in the wilderness was built exactly as God had planned.

Now, think about God’s work being done so perfectly by these men which God ordained. The Scripture speaks of the work that the Holy Spirit is doing in those lives who will yield themselves to God.  He is working continually to prepare us for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans 5:2-4 it says, “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also knowing that tribulation worketh patience.” Then, James 1: 2-4 says, “My brethren count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. Knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have its perfect work , that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

After this we have the promise from God in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

Then read II Corinthians 4:17-18, “For our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not see; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. “Philippians 1:6, says, Being confident of this very thing that He which hath begun the good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. “All these verses from Apostle Paul’s writings are so very powerful and have ability to give us victory in our lives.

God is doing a very important work to prepare the Bride for Jesus Christ. This work has been going on from the beginning of the Church Age - over two thousand years. We are looking for the soon coming of Christ, as spoken of in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. Christ will return and take His overcoming people home to heaven at any time now.  In Revelation 19:6-7 a  Great Multitude in heaven began to proclaim in verse 7- “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him (Christ): for the marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen; clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

 The Unspeakable Gift

Pastor David Beck

Sedalia, Missouri

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable (indescribable) gift, Jesus. How marvelous is His abundant Grace. Truly, we are accepted in the Beloved, and nothing can pluck us from our Father’s hand. As I was reading in Romans 5, the following portion was especially speaking to me.

“Therefore as by the offense of one judgement came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:18-19

I wrote this short poem afterward:

ONE

Except for ONE, we would have no hope,

All men hanging in the noose of sin’s rope.

Except for ONE none could answer our cry;

All helpless, doomed, and condemned to die.

Except for ONE, none be righteous, ‘tis true.

But this ONE came to answer for me and for you!

And so by giving his only Son,

God offers Salvation to everyone.

The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished this feat;

The ONE who made our Redemption complete!

The coming of Jesus for his Bride is surely so very soon! And for those who apprehend that glorious truth, Redemption will be supremely complete.

 JONAH

Debra Isenbletter, Pastor

Christian Assembly, Springfield, Missouri

Jonah 4:9—”And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.” 

The Lord questions Jonah to see if he has learned from his experience.  God is the Teacher and the question is the Test.  He waits until the lesson is completed, until the gourd dies; until Jonah faints; until Jonah despairs, until Jonah gives up.  God waits until Jonah feels the loss of His grace though he does not seem to realize it is grace.  The Teacher asks the question, “Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?” or “Do you have a good reason to be angry for the gourd? Or “Is it right for you to be so angry for the gourd?”  This is the same question God asked Jonah earlier in verse 9. Then, Jonah did not give an answer, now he will.   

The meaning for “Doest thou well” is still the same. Was Jonah “happy”? Was Jonah “content”?  Was Jonah “well-pleased”? The answer has not changed because Jonah has not changed his attitude. As far as God is concerned the answer is no, Jonah was not doing well. Jonah does not see this is the problem and this is part of the lesson.  He needs to see he is not “better,” he is not “happier,” he is not “content” and he is not “well-pleased.” This is about Jonah’s anger and why he is angry.  It is about two things. Is his anger justified?  How has his anger affected him? Earlier he was angry when Nineveh was not destroyed. Now he is angry when the gourd was destroyed.  Earlier he could not justify his anger but now he feels like he can, he has a good reason.  How sad that he feels anger for the loss of a plant, but not the loss of the people.

What did Jonah grieve over? “for the [loss of the] gourd.” It was not over the destruction of a city but the destruction of a gourd.  It was not over the loss of life but the loss of comfort.  It was not about others, it was about himself.  Jonah did not do well because he gave up and did not grow up.  Two times he said, “it is better for me to die than live” (v3, v8). He gave up. When things did not go his way, he gave up.  When things got hard to bear, he gave up

What a difference between Jesus’ attitude and Jonah’s attitude.  Jesus attitude about God’s Will stands in sharp contrast. He knew God’s Will (Heb.10:8-9); He obeyed God’s Will (Heb.5:8) and he accepted God’s Will (Mt.26:39,42).  It is one thing to know the Will of God, it is another to accept it and it is another to obey it.  Jonah struggled with these three things. Jesus’ attitude toward death also stands in sharp contrast to Jonah’s attitude. Jonah gave up on life when things were hard. He said “Take my life from me” (Jonah 4:3) and “It is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3,8).  Jesus on the other hand had a different attitude. He offered up His life. He said, “I lay down my life” (Jn.10:17).

“And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.”— This is Jonah’s answer. It is Yes.  It is I have a good reason to be angry. It is I have a right to be angry.  The excuse or justification for his anger is the destruction of the plant. The plant died quickly, before its time.  The plant had potential and a purpose. What about the people?  Jonah should have felt the same about the people who would have died suddenly, who had potential and a purpose, because God could use them just as He used the plant. Jonah did not realize that God was already using them as a lesson to Jonah, just as He used the plant as a lesson for Jonah. Jonah does not see the problem with is anger and that it comes from pity for the plant and for himself.  He cared about the destruction of the plant and not about the destruction of the people. Both the plant and the people are God’s Creation. 

The extent of Jonah’s anger is “even unto death.” Another translation is “I am angry enough to die.” He was so angry that he wished to and wanted to die.  He is still self-destructive. He is still self-centered.  He is still self-seeking. He is still self-absorbed. He is still angry. But he is still God’s prophet! What he needs to see is that if he is this angry there is something wrong with his anger. If his anger is that self-destructive, there is something wrong with his anger. Because he is still God’s prophet, his God is trying to teach him a lesson, so that he will learn and grow and so that he can be profitable. 

Jonah can be seen as a type of Israel in all their weakness and struggles to obey the Lord, in their rebellion and resistance, in their attitude to the Gentiles.  But the anger of Jonah can also picture how a child of God can be angry and how destructive that anger can be. Paul tells us we can be angry for all the wrong reason. He tells us that anger needs to be “put off,” we can let go of it.  We can release it. We can surrender it.  He tells us of the danger of anger, that it leads to wrath and that wrath leads to malice (Col.3:8). It leads to sin (Eph.4:26). It is destructive, both to others and us.  It needs to be faced and judged. Jonah had tunnel vision and we can have the same problem.  

Jonah is angry about the plant but not the real problem.  He is even more angry about his condition. He is miserable, unhappy and unsatisfied.  He needs to realize he is the problem. He needs to surrender whole-heartedly to his God, to submit to His Will and His Word. One day the nation of Israel will do this but as God’s children we do this now.  We do this as a testimony of the power of the Word of God in our lives and the power of the Life of Christ in our lives. One of the hardest things we have to do sometimes is just to face those uncomfortable things in our lives, to let go of those things that hurt us and others, put them off and to put on Christ.  To surrender. To submit.  When we do this, we will do well and one day hear our Lord say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant” (Mt.25:21,23).

 God’s Timing and Purposes – Ecc. 3:1-8

Part 20

Pastor Vicky Moots

Kingman, Kansas

Ecc. 3:8c (continued): “…a time of war…”  Besides the spiritual war which we are fighting against Satan and his evil forces in this world, there is another war in which we, as Christians are engaged.  It is the war between the two natures within each believer: the new creation and the old creation.  Paul tells us in II Cor. 5:17, that “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [creation].”

We are given a new life in Christ when we are born again, the very life of Christ in us, but we are still living in a physical body with its fleshly desires.  Our new nature is called by Paul, “the new man,” and our old nature, “the old man.”  These two are at war with each other.

We can only overcome the desires of the flesh by walking in the Spirit and yielding to the new creation life of Christ in us, the new man, as we are instructed to do in Gal. 5:16: “…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

In v. 17, Paul explains that the flesh (our old nature) wars against the Spirit: “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”  The word “lusteth” means “has a strong desire.”  In this context it means that the flesh and the Spirit each have a strong desire to suppress each other, as enemies in warfare, and to gain control of the strong hold, which is our body.

The apostle Paul described his own struggle in this warfare, in Rom. 7:18-24, before he learned the way of victory in Christ: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me [the sinful old nature]. I find then a law [principle], that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man [the new nature]: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body this death?” But, praise God, the battle doesn’t end there.  Paul then proclaims the way to victory in v. 25: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord…” But how do we actually claim that victory for ourselves?

Let me answer that question by using an example in the Old Testament of twin births of Jacob and Esau, which gives us a spiritual picture of the battle of the two natures within us.  Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, became uncomfortable during her pregnancy, and so she went to the Lord to ask the reason why.  She was apparently not aware that she was carrying twins.  We find this recorded in Gen. 25:22-23: “And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord.  And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

We see that Rebekah went to the Lord regarding her struggle, as did Paul, and so should we, for only He has the answer.  The struggle between Jacob and Esau in the womb is a type of the two creations who are at war within us; “the new man” and “the old man.”  God told Rebekah that the elder would serve the younger, but the elder (the “old man,” our flesh) rebels against serving the younger (the “new man”).

Before we can have victory over our flesh and its desires, we must first agree with God that “the elder shall serve the younger: that we are not to be enslaved to the desires of the flesh, the “old man.”  In Rom. 6:6 Paul tells us something important to know regarding this: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him [Christ], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”  This is a provisional fact, but we must accept it by faith to make it a reality in our lives.

Paul stated his assurance of that fact for himself, in Gal. 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…”

Paul admonishes us to also accept that fact to be true for us personally, in Rom. 6:11-13: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

Yes, we are in “a time of war,” in combat with our old nature, but we can have the victory when we, like Paul, reckon our “old man” to be dead, to be crucified with Christ; and therefore he has not authority over us, and yield instead to the resurrected life of Christ in us, so that it is no longer “I, but Christ that liveth in me.”

Don’t keep feeding the “old man;” let the enemy starve.  Don’t keep trying to resuscitate him.  Make him a “DNR.”  Instead, feed the “new man;” feed on the Word of God daily instead of the things of the world.  Our way of victory is in Christ alone.

 WATER BAPTISM

Jack Davis

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him” – I Peter 3:18-22.

Praise God, Jesus Christ suffered once for all under the penalty of our sin. He is the only One that could pay sin’s penalty. By His being put to death on the Cross, that suffering completely found its end and purpose there. Therefore, as we contemplate “Water Baptism” we should realize why He suffered. We should consider what He accomplished by such terrible suffering. We just revel in the wonderful benefits that flow out to us because of such suffering.

“The Just” – the holy, sinless, undefiled, separate from sinners, innocent Son – did not deserve it. “For,” in place of, on behalf of, “the unjust” – we who were guilty, and deserving of every detail of the wrath of judgment and suffering that He endured. He did it for this, “That he might bring us to God.” Oh, what a glorious statement. There is no other way to God.

“By the Spirit,” Jesus went into the lower parts of the earth and “preached.” What did He preach? I am sure His message contained the announcement of victory won! There were believers there who awaited the results of Calvary. Their faith had looked forward to that time. Oh, now He could proclaim “LIBERTY.” I think He gladly announced that He had tasted “death for every man,” the price had been paid. He could now joyously proclaim that He had come to lead “captivity Captive.” For He “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” – Romans 4:25. Many, which slept in graves, awoke and came out and entered into Jerusalem. HALLELUJAH!

                                                                     

“SAVED BY WATER?”

Think of the essence of what is being said here. God, in His longsuffering love, awaited the preparing of the ark. Those flood waters represented the death and the judgment of God to Noah and his family, except for being in the ark. They were safe in the ark while passing through the flood. This gives us a beautiful picture, figure, or type of our being in Christ who is indeed our ark of safety. Therefore, at this point, Peter lets us know that water baptism represents the waters of wrath, death, and judgment passing over us as we in symbol go into death and burial, and came up in resurrection with Christ.

Water baptism is indeed for us a solemn precious act, and not to be taken lightly. Yet, it should also be a very joyous occasion. Peter tells us something of what it is and is not. He says it is “Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh.” It is not an experimental or practical cleansing. See I Corinthians 6:18 – 7:1. This is done through the Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:25-27. Water baptism cannot change what we are by nature. We are filthy, sinful, sold under sin, entirely opposed to God. Jesus said, in essence, that the washing of the outside of the cup does not change the inside. But, because of having an inward change, we should desire to carry out this outward act. 

An “ANSWER” pledge, appeal

By being baptized, we say to the world that our conscience is clear before God of condemnation for sin – Romans 8:1; John 5:24. This  is a  very  personal thing. No one should be pushed into doing it. We are demonstrating openly what we believe inwardly to be ours by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is our own public declaration of our personal identification with Jesus Christ – Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:11-13. This can be our announced intention to walk in newness of life. Water baptism should be a part of our acknowledgment of His headship of our lives, for it is Scripturally done in His Name. He is the Head of His Body the church – Philippians 2:9-10; Colossians 1:15-19; Ephesians 1:21-23.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” – Colossians 3:17.