Christ Our Propitiation

Please don’t let that title scare you off. That is a beautiful and profound word.

Christ’s death turns away the wrath of God. The apostle Paul said Christ is our propitiation. He is a propitiatory sacrifice. It refers to what Christ did on our behalf before God.

We are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith” (Romans 3:24-25).

God gave His Son as the means of the propitiation, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). A. T. Robertson said, “God could not let sin go as if a mere slip. God demanded the atonement and provided it.” It was “by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).

The word “propitiate” in its classical form was used of the act of appeasing the Greek gods by a sacrifice, of rendering them favorable toward the worshipper. The sacrifice was offered by the pagan worshiper to buy off the anger of the god and buy his love. Note very carefully that this idea is not brought over into the New Testament. The LORD God does not need to be appeased nor is His love for sale.

In the New Testament it refers to the act of getting rid of sin which has come between God and man. The word hilasterion is used in the Greek translation of Leviticus 16:14 to refer to the golden cover on top of the Ark of the Covenant. In the Ark, below this lid, were placed the tablets of stone upon which were written the Ten Commandments, which Israel had violated. On the Day of Atonement before the Ark stood the High Priest representing the people who had sinned. When the sacrificial blood is sprinkled on this cover, it ceases to be a place of judgment and becomes a place of mercy. The blood comes between the violated law and the violators, the people. The blood of Jesus satisfies the just requirements of God’s holy law which mankind broke, pays the penalty for man, and thus removes that which had separated between a holy God and sinful man, sin, its guilt and penalty. This is far removed from the pagan idea of propitiation. Jesus Christ is God’s High Priest who was both the Mercy Seat and the Sacrifice, which transforms the former from a judgment seat to one where mercy is offered a sinner on the basis of justice satisfied.

Bengel observed that God, “’placed before the eyes of all’ unlike the ark of the covenant which was veiled and approached only by the high priest.”

The LORD God set forth His Son, the Lord Jesus, as the One who would be the satisfaction for our sins. Because God is satisfied with the payment of the sin debt, His wrath is turned aside, away from the believing sinner. Christ absorbed the wrath of God on our behalf. He bore our punishment as our substitute.

When God looked down upon the sacrifice He judged man guilty, the payment was paid in full, and in His righteousness could therefore acquit the believing sinner who put His trust in the Lamb of God. That mercy seat is the place were God met man in His grace since the sacrifice turned away the wrath of God because His righteousness was satisfied. The guilty sinner is spared because of the death of Christ in our place. When God looks down upon the believing sinner He sees not our sins and guilt, but the blood of Jesus. He is our expiatory sacrifice that satisfied the righteousness of God. His death paid our debt in full and a holy God was satisfied.

All of the lambs in the sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed to God’s perfect Lamb who would wholly remove our death penalty.

How do we know this is all true? We know we can trust God because a holy and righteous God tore the veil in the temple from top to the bottom. The moment Christ died it was like God the Father reached in and took hold of His outer garment and tore it from the top to the bottom in His mourning for His only Son. God tore the veil in two to open the way into His presence for all who believe on His Son as their sinless sacrifice who died as their propitiation. Bloody sacrifices came to an end in the temple because the death of Christ alone met all the holy demands of a thrice-holy God.

Have you placed your trust in God’s Lamb?

Is All You Need.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you Matthew 5:44 The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

Prayer: Please Jesus bless me with Your grace to forgive those who have abused me so that I am blessed with Your love, joy and peace. In this manner I will be able to serve you better, especially while encountering the wicked ones that love to torment me.

Please bless me to always reply with a gentle answer to extinguish the fires of hate and rage in those I encounter.

Please bless me to always behave in a loving manner to those who are hurt or are unlovable.

May this bless them that through Your grace through me it will bring them unto repentance.

Please Jehovah Jireh ( God will supply ) bless me with Your precious love, joy and peace so that I am be able to serve Jesus by serving others with love, joy, patience, self- control, wisdom and compassion.

I humbly request this in the name of The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Amen

May you have a grateful heart towards He who has given so much to you. indeovi vas ( may you live with Jesus in Latin )

Seleh- stop and think about it.

This photo and article @ Joseph- Anthony a son of Jehovah 2023 Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it but it may not be sold without authors consent

Strength and Courage

Strength and Courage

It takes strength to be firm.
It takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to stand guard.
It takes courage to let down your guard.

It takes strength to conquer.
It takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain.
It takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in.
It takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend’s pain.
It takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to hide your own pains.
It takes courage to show them.

It takes strength to endure abuse.
It takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone.
It takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to love.
It takes courage to be loved.

It takes strength to survive.
It takes courage to live.

~ Author Unknown

To the Comfort Animals

I pray I can be almost as good of a care giver to the comfort animals Poppa has blessed us with as He is with me. Joseph- Anthony a son of Jehovah

Teach Me to Be

 “Bless me Lord, with quietness of mind; Teach me to be patient and always to be kind.” Joseph a son of Jehovah

That is Not Great In

There is no act of kindness that is not great in Heaven. Joseph- Anthony: Green

Psalm 23 Explained in Todays Terms

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

In His presence I am supplied with all I need for today.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

In His presence I am quieted from the turmoil in and around me.

He restores my soul.

In His presence I am built up, forgiven, refreshed.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

In His presence I am guided along the right paths for me, paths that will honor His name.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

In His presence I can be fearless in trusting Him even with destruction and death are all around me.

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

In His presence I am comforted because I know He is equipped to watch over for me.

You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies.

In His presence I am nourished and protected even when I’m in unfriendly territory.

You anoint my head with oil;

In His presence He anoints me with healing and with love.

My cup overflows.

In His presence I am filled to overflowing regardless of outer circumstances.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,
I am pursued by His mercy and His goodness every day.
His presence calls me.

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
In His presence I am secure for today and forever.

Empathy is Your

Empathy is your pain in my heart. Halford E. Luccock

It is Like WordPress.

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! 2 Timothy 3:1-5 The Holy Bible The New Living Testament

Have you ever had anyone one wordpress follow you just so you will click their articles or buy something from them but they never read or like your articles? Then why are they following you? Because they want you to give them something while they give you nothing in return.

The same is true of all of the false Christians.

The only reason they “ follow “ Jesus is because they want something from Him. They never offer Him anything, the only time they want to talk with Him is when they want something from Him and when He gives them their request they are too selfish, lazy and arrogant to even say thank you much less offer something in return.

Maybe you are not receiving anything from Jesus because you are ungrateful and offer Him nothing in exchange. Joseph- Anthony a son of Jehovah

Seleh. Seleh means to stop and think about it. Let’s think about how many times we have thanked Jehovah for His gifts whether they be big or small. Let us stop and think of how many times we have offered our time, resources and or labour to Him as a gift of love and appreciation.

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Jireth (Genesis 22:14 The LORD Shall Provide ) for abundantly providing for my material and spiritual needs every day. Thank you for blessing me with The Holy Spirit who gently enlightens me to each blessing so I may show proper respect and appreciation for them and joyfully thank You for each of them. I praise You in the name of the greatest gift You have blessed me with, Jesus Christ. Amen

This photo and article @ Joseph- Anthony a son of Jehovah 2023

The Attitude of Christ

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

The Christian faith of the first century of Christianity was centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. The preeminence of Christ was the focus of the early preaching in the church.  Christianity is Christ, and as in many other passages, Philippians 2:5-11 makes this emphatically clear.

Even before His incarnation, Jesus was in the form of God and was equal to God.  Jesus Christ eternally possesses all of God’s attributes.  He is God.  “He existed in the form of God” (v. 6), is not referring to a bodily appearance, but is a strong way of proclaiming the deity of Jesus Christ. His deity never alters or changes.

Jesus, in His high priestly prayer the night before His crucifixion, referred to His “glory which I even had with You before the world was” (John 17:5).  He was referring to the glory He enjoys on par with His heavenly Father. The apostle John wrote of this same pre-incarnate glory in John 1:1-4, 14.

The event that staggers the mind almost beyond comprehension is the fact that the Second Person of the Trinity laid aside the manifestation of His divine glory and took upon Himself the form of a common household slave. He became flesh.  He is the God-man.  He was fully God and fully man.  He is God in the flesh. The Word became flesh, and pitched His tent in our very midst, testifies the apostle John (1:14,18). The one who enjoyed glory that was inherently His throughout eternity past “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (v. 7).

Jesus Christ exists eternally as the Second Person of the Godhead, and as such He is equal with God the Father.  Everything the LORD God Almighty is, so is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before He became flesh, Jesus Christ shared to the full the divine nature and was clothed with the splendor that always surrounded God’s person.  He was identical with God both inwardly and outwardly.  When Jesus became flesh, what remained was God’s glory in the inward sense because even in His flesh Jesus was God and retained that full divine nature.

The Second Person of the Godhead Jesus Christ was not selfish.  He did not cling to the outward glory of His deity, “But emptied Himself,” not of His divinity, but the outward visible manifestation of it.  He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.  He made nothing of Himself.  He was obedient to His heavenly Father as a bond-slave.  He only limited Himself of His outward visible glory because He was still God.

In addition to being God, Jesus took on “the form of a bond servant.”

The essential attributes of God were unchangeable and unchanging.  The essential nature of Jesus Christ is the same as the essential nature of God.  The nature of Jesus is the nature of God.  The “form” signifies that which in God never alters and never changes.

Jesus laid aside His divine privileges and became the servant of Jehovah.  The Son of God became the Servant of God.  “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (v. 8).

Jesus Christ gave up the glory and honor of heaven to become one of us so He could die as our substitute and provide a means whereby God could offer us eternal life.  “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13).

No one with a spiritually discerning mind can read those words without a deep sense of thanksgiving gratitude for a humble and obedient Savior.  “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).  He was humble and obedient even unto death.

Do you have this humble attitude of Jesus?  When we have that attitude toward ourselves, we will, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).  That is the mind of Christ in the Christian.  It is a humble attitude of denying self, bearing the cross of Christ daily, and doing the will of God at all costs.Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006 Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent. Pause – reflect- just think of that!