SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/7/2019 10:17 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “Peace With God and With His
People”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians
2:14-17
Spiritual meaning for my life today: “14 For He Himself
is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15
by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained
in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing
peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross,
by it having put to death the enmity” [hostility]. “17 And He came and preached peace to you who
were far away, and
peace to those who were
near.”
In
today’s SD we will begin by talking about how at one time God had separated
Jews from Gentiles. “1 Let me sing now
for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My
well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. 2 He dug it all around, removed its
stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the
middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to
produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. 3 “And
now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My
vineyard. 4 “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in
it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce
worthless ones? 5 “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and
it will become trampled ground. 6 “I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned
or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to
rain no rain on it." 7 For
the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His
delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For
righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress (Isa. 5:1-7).” Jesus uses a similar story, or perhaps the
same story in a parable found in Matthew 21:33.
We
have spoken at great lengths about why the Lord, through a miracle founded the
nation of Israel with a 100 year old man and also with his 90 year old
wife. Why He did this was that the nation
might receive His Law, and to bring into the world the Messiah through this
nation. They wrote all of the pages of
Scripture that we read, and yet they failed in that they did not become a
witness to the Gentile nations. Now that
the Messiah had come they were to accept His coming and be saved, thus becoming
one with those Gentiles who were in the churches. We have spoken about the “court of the
Gentiles” that was in the temple, and it was there so that the Gentiles could
be witnessed to, but this too was mostly unsuccessful. If Israel would have accepted their Messiah
when He came then things would have been much different, but I believe that it truly
was in the plan of God that they did not accept their Messiah, although many
Jews have, but not the entire nation as a whole. This saddens me as that they were so blind
and continue to be today, that they could not understand the very words that
their prophets had foretold about their own Messiah. One more though about the court of the
Gentiles as John MacArthur states that it was this court that the Jews used as
“a robbers den,” found in Mark 11:17, and not a place of witness.
When
we look at the words “broke down” they are in the Greek aorist tense which
signifies completed action, so every dividing wall “by abolishing in His flesh,
the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances.” In Jesus death on the cross He abolished
each and every barrier between man and God, and also between man and his fellow
man. Now the greatest wall that was
broken down had to do with the ceremonial law, “the Law of commandments
contained in ordinances.” This speaks of
the feasts, sacrifices, offerings, laws of cleanliness and also purification,
along with all other such distinctive outward commandments for the unique
separation of Israel from the nations was abolished.” The Lord began the nation of Israel when 70
people from the loins of Abraham came into Egypt. Then when they were about to come out of
Egypt by the hand of God and got to MT. Sinai He then gave them all of His laws
and one reason was to make them unique and different from the nations around
them. The clothes they wore and also the
foods that they ate were different so that Gentiles could see this difference
and then asks questions as to why they were different and the answer should be
because of their God. Now since the
Messiah came there was no need in doing all of these ceremonial laws, but even
the saved Jews had a great problem with understanding this. Bottom line “We are all One In Christ.”
Now
when Paul writes about the ceremonial laws not being in effect he was not
talking about the moral laws not being in effect. We know this because it is clear from the
phrase contained “in ceremonies.” We
also know this from the fact that nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in
the New Testament. God’s moral law
reflects His own holy nature and therefore will never be changed for after all
God never changes as seen in one of His attributes. 17 "Do not think that I came to abolish
the Law or the Prophets; I
did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to you,
until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is
accomplished. 19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least
in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:17-19).” John MacArthur writes about these verses
“That is the law which for the Jews was summarized in the Ten Commandments and
which for all men is written on their hearts (Rom. 2:15) and still commanded of
them (Matt. 22:37-40; Rom. 13:8-10).
Jesus summarized God’s moral law still further by declaring, ‘A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you’
(John 13:34). The Ten Commandments, like
all of God’s moral laws, are the structured and particularized love that God
still requires (James 2:8).”
We
will continue looking at this theme in our next SD.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I realize that I am to keep the moral law of
God, as it is written on my heart. “"I
will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be
their God, and they shall be My people (Jeremiah 31:33b).”
My Steps of Faith for Today: To continue to better understand Romans 12:3,
and to remember that the truth is better than emotions.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Mary’s” (Acts 12:11-12).
Today’s Bible question: “Which queen of the Persian Empire was able
to save her people?”
Answer in our next SD.
1/7/2019 11:05 AM
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