Jesus in the Writings of Paul (1)
Pray Psalm 16.10, 11.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore..
Sing Psalm 16.10, 11.
(All to Christ: Jesus Paid It All)
Soon Your glory I shall see, for as Jesus rose again,
You will come to gather me to my home with You in heav’n.
Refrain v. 11
Make me know life’s way! Pleasures fill Your hand.
Fill my life with joy each day! Before Your face I stand.
Read Rom. 8.31-39; 1 Cor. 15.1-8, 12-20; Phil. 2.5-11; meditate on Phil. 2.5-11.
Preparation
1. Why did God exalt Jesus? What did His exaltation involve?
2. What are the implications of this for how we think about our lives?
Meditation
The fact that Jesus had risen from the dead had many practical implications for Paul. Not the least of these was that we can now know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3.10). And knowing Him, we may “get into His head”, so to speak, because we have His mind (1 Cor. 2.16).
But we must “let” that mind be operative in us (v. 5) so that we think like those who, like Jesus, have risen to new life. What does this entail?
It means bringing our minds into submission to the mind and will of the Father, as Jesus did. The Son of God knew, as He submitted to the will of the Father, what this would eventuate in over time, namely, His receiving a Kingdom and glory, and being exalted as Lord and King over all things. Thus, as Jesus was able to keep that before His mind (Heb. 12.1, 2), so also should we (Col. 3.1-3).
The mind of Christ is humble, condescending to meet people at the point of their need and do whatever is necessary to reach them with the grace and truth of God. Thus, the mind of Christ is self-denying, willing to undertake deprivation, suffering, and even death to make the way for others to be reconciled to God. The mind of Christ sets aside all self-interest and focuses on the will and glory of God. The glory and honor God are realized through service. And so the mind of Christ is devoted to His appointed work, that of restoring to God the world He has reconciled to the Father by His death and resurrection (2 Cor. 5.19).
Because Jesus has risen to the fullness of life, everything we think must be made captive to Him, so that we may seek what He seeks, think as He thinks, and do what He would do, that in everything God may be glorified (2 Cor. 10.3-5; 1 Cor. 10.31).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharoah…therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God Who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments…” (Deut. 7.6-9; 1 Pet. 2.9, 10).
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent” (Jn. 17.3).
The Gospel:
1. which I preached to you
2. which also you received and
3. in which you stand
4. by which also you are saved
5. if you hold fast that Word
6. which I preached.
Paul’s inclusio found in 1 Corinthians 15.1, 2.
Paul then goes on to fully explain the Gospel in verses 3-8:
1. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
2. He was buried according to the Scriptures.
3. He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
4. He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
5. He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once.
6. He was seen by James and by all the apostles.
7. He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
His death and resurrection were witnessed by multitudes.
But even if they weren’t, the Bible said it happened, therefore we believe it.
And for doing so, by faith, we are blessed.
As Jesus said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing…Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn. 20.27-29).
We say to Jesus our risen and unseen Savior: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20.28).
Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead…
and Christ is risen from the dead (1 Cor. 15.12, 20).
“What then shall we say to these things?”
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
“For I am persuaded that [nothing—no thing, no one]
shall be able to separate us from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our [risen] Lord” (Rom. 8.31, 35, 38, 39).
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scriptures says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame’” (Rom. 10.9, 10; Is. 28.16).
Reflection
1. How would you counsel a new believer to think with the mind of Christ?
2. How does Jesus’ resurrection help us in thinking about the new life we have in Him?
3. How will you remind yourself to have the mind of Christ in all things today?
If we are Christ’s and the Spirit of Christ lives in us, we ought not to think among ourselves the thoughts which characterize the children of this age, but we ought to imitate and portray that mind which was displayed in our head, Jesus Christ. Wolfgang Musculus (1497-1563), On Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 2.5
Pray Psalm 16.1-9.
Call on the Lord to help you see the risen Christ, exalted in glory, that you may increase in Him, and that He may be your Portion and Cup throughout this day.
Sing Psalm 16.1-9, 11.
(All to Christ: Jesus Paid It All)
Preserve me, O my God; I refuge seek in You.
You alone are all my good, my LORD and Savior true!
Refrain v. 11
Make me know life’s way! Pleasures fill Your hand.
Fill my life with joy each day! Before Your face I stand.
The saints within the earth, majestic in their day,
delight me with the worth of all they do and say.
Refrain
They endless tears shall weep who worship idols vain;
their ways I will not keep, nor speak their empty names.
Refrain
My portion and my cup are You, my Savior dear;
You help and hold me up and ever keep me near.
Refrain
I bless Your Name, O LORD; my mind instructs each night;
You teach me by Your Word and guide me in the right.
Refrain
You are ever with me, LORD; in You I shall not fall.
But rejoicing in Your Word, I abide within Your call.
Refrain
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our current ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” is dealing with the time of our livesand how we make more of this for the progress of Christ’s Kingdom. In our Read Moore column, we continue working our way through the book, Understanding the Times. And I encourage you follow our Corsfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert, nicknamed “The Navigator.” Join us and find out why. Click the Articles tab on the home page to see all the selections available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
