Taking Great Confidence
John 10:14-21; 1 Peter 1:3-5
"The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again."
(John 10:17)
Jesus' words are especially powerful for what they tell us about His Identity, Purpose, and Authority.
Identity - "My Father...loves me." The Father always loved Jesus (John 17:24). For all eternity He has been "well pleased" with His Son (Matthew 3:17). You, too, find your identity in His perfect love for you.
Purpose - "I lay down my life...." Jesus is not speaking of a conditional love from His Father. Rather, in the Trinity there has always been joy and celebration of the Son. Though each has a role in the great work of salvation, Jesus is eternally the one who "humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8) for you.
Authority - "only to take it up again." Jesus' power did not end at death. He could both lay down His life, and take it back up. Who else could have such authority? He holds the keys of hell and death (Revelation 1:18).
Apply this to your life and have confidence that your salvation is by Jesus' perfect strength and success, not your own!
INSIGHT
IT IS ALSO HIS SAME VICTORIOUS POWER WHICH WILL PROTECT US IN THIS WORLD AND LEAD US HOME.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Isaiah 18-19
Psalm 80
John 21
John 10:14-21
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
19 At these words the Jews were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
1 Peter 1:3-5
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
CAN A MORMON BE A CHRISTIAN [PART 3]
with Crista Wagner
What do Mormons believe? How do these beliefs differ from what the Bible teaches? Every Christian needs to be aware of the key differences. Listen and learn what you need to know.
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