Abide

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” – John 15:8-11

Sometimes when Christians try and cognitively grasp big theological truths they erect one truth at the laying down of another. In other words, it can be difficult to fight for one truth without neglecting other important truths. Possibly the two truths that American Evangelicals seem to have the greatest difficulty reconciling together are the love of God and the justice of God. Either God is a fairy in the sky that flutters about passing out buckets of candy so everyone will like Him, or He is this angry Cosmic Policeman who shoots lightening at everyone who smiles or has a good time. Over time, if someone focuses on one while neglecting the other, people start to get a very weird view of who God is. The truth is that God is infinitely more loving, gracious, and compassionate than we will ever know! Yet He maintains His love without slacking His total and complete justice, holiness, and righteousness. Other truths that people seem to struggle with is God being completely and totally sovereign and yet not letting that be an excuse for man’s responsibility to all that God has commanded from us. On and on we could go here…

Christ, the story of the Old Testament!

- In Genesis Christ is the better Abraham that brought the true blessing of Salvation to every tongue, tribe, people, and nation
- Christ is the better Isaac who is God’s one and only Son who willingly laid down His life for His friends
- Like Abraham prophesied in Genesis 22, God truly did provide Himself the Lamb; only it was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
- Christ is the better ram that was sacrificed in place of Isaac; for Christ was sacrificed as a substitute in the place of us and we are free to live as Isaac lived also
- Christ is the better Joseph who was hated and rejected by His own people yet by His death, many are spared! God used the evil sin of Christ being crucified to bring about the ultimate good for His people…the salvation of our souls!
- In Exodus we see that Christ is the better Moses who comes to rescue us from our bondage to sin and Satan
- We see that Christ is our Passover Lamb. B/c of His blood that was shed on the cross, the wrath of God is passed over us and we are spared
- The Israelites feasted on manna from heaven and Jesus says in John 6 that He is the true Bread from Heaven, whoever comes to Him will never hunger again
- The Israelites drank water from the rock, but Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 that Christ is the Spiritual Rock that we must drink from, for from Christ flow springs of Living Water
- After Israel had sinned by worshipping the golden calf Moses interceded for them, Christ is the better Intercessor who stands in the Father’s presence and intercedes for His children
- Christ is the better more perfect Tabernacle who according to John 1, came and “tabernacled among us”
- Christ is the better more perfect High Priest who enters the Holy of Holies on our behalf
- Christ is the better Sacrifice who enters the Holy Of Holies with His own blood instead of the blood of bulls and goats
- According to Hebrews 10, the body of Christ is the veil that was torn in two on the cross for our sins so that we might have access to enter in the very presence of God with boldness
- And finally, according to 2 Corinthians 4:6, the true glory of God is no longer revealed in a Tabernacle like Exodus 40, but in the face of Jesus Christ!
- CHRIST IS THE STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT!