Easter 2025 Pondering
“…remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” - Ephesians 2:12-13
What our Savior accomplished through His life, death, resurrection and exaltation can never
be over-celebrated or rejoiced in! From the above verses, weigh out what our position before God was before we believed: separated, alienated, strangers, no hope, without God. To say that our position was bleak and desolate does no justice to how truly far away we were from God. But, that was our position before God--past tense!
As we gaze and marvel upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior, one of the amazing elements that God communicates in His Scriptures is the concept of ‘dwelling’. We know that because of the sin of Adam, God and man were separated. But since the garden of Eden, God had let His people know of His plan to restore this relationship through a Man who would crush the serpent (Genesis 3:15). But first, God rescues His people from Egypt, makes covenant with them as His chosen people, and tells them that He will dwell in their presence, “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” (Exodus 25:8) Wow. After the law is given to Israel, God promises blessings for obedience if they walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, “I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” (Leviticus 26:11-12) But, obeying the law is impossible because… sin. It infects every part of us. It makes us hostile to God and totally warps our affections. It separates us beyond all comprehension. This is clear throughout the Old Testament; Israel could not keep God’s law and became rebelliously vile, so He sent them into exile - twice! And yet even amidst the exile in Babylon, God tells them of His promise, “My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people,” (Ezekiel 37:27) God’s continual pursuit of His people is awe-inspiring! And yet, sin still separated man from God. Sin. It had to be dealt with. But man could do nothing except offer up animal sacrifices again and again. And yet, this also was futile, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4) But God…
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) The name of the One to come was ‘God with us - Immanuel’! God wants to be with His people! So, the Father sent to the earth His one and only Son, Jesus. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” (John 1:14, 18) God literally walked amongst and spoke to His people, calling them to Himself! God amongst sinners! And yet, sin still separated and had to be dealt with. Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross, bearing the punishment for our sin, being our propitiation, our substitute, that we could receive forgiveness of sins and His righteousness, that God would be reconciled to sinners and we sinners would be reconciled to God! Not only that, Jesus stated that He would be with us always (Matthew 28:20)! So He sent His Holy Spirit to live within His people, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11) He dwells within us! What astonishing news this is! Because of His loving kindness - to the praise of His glory and grace. And yet this isn’t the end of the story - there’s more! The end of this age will come, but we’ve been given the ending. God reveals from His throne that His promise and desire to be with His people forever will happen. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.'” (Revelation 21:3) What our Savior accomplished must draw out perpetual praise from us. Praise be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Who have graciously purchased us that we should be the people of God, dwelling together forever! Amen.
- looking to Jesus,
pastor jeff
What our Savior accomplished through His life, death, resurrection and exaltation can never
be over-celebrated or rejoiced in! From the above verses, weigh out what our position before God was before we believed: separated, alienated, strangers, no hope, without God. To say that our position was bleak and desolate does no justice to how truly far away we were from God. But, that was our position before God--past tense!
As we gaze and marvel upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior, one of the amazing elements that God communicates in His Scriptures is the concept of ‘dwelling’. We know that because of the sin of Adam, God and man were separated. But since the garden of Eden, God had let His people know of His plan to restore this relationship through a Man who would crush the serpent (Genesis 3:15). But first, God rescues His people from Egypt, makes covenant with them as His chosen people, and tells them that He will dwell in their presence, “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” (Exodus 25:8) Wow. After the law is given to Israel, God promises blessings for obedience if they walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, “I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” (Leviticus 26:11-12) But, obeying the law is impossible because… sin. It infects every part of us. It makes us hostile to God and totally warps our affections. It separates us beyond all comprehension. This is clear throughout the Old Testament; Israel could not keep God’s law and became rebelliously vile, so He sent them into exile - twice! And yet even amidst the exile in Babylon, God tells them of His promise, “My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people,” (Ezekiel 37:27) God’s continual pursuit of His people is awe-inspiring! And yet, sin still separated man from God. Sin. It had to be dealt with. But man could do nothing except offer up animal sacrifices again and again. And yet, this also was futile, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4) But God…
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) The name of the One to come was ‘God with us - Immanuel’! God wants to be with His people! So, the Father sent to the earth His one and only Son, Jesus. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” (John 1:14, 18) God literally walked amongst and spoke to His people, calling them to Himself! God amongst sinners! And yet, sin still separated and had to be dealt with. Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross, bearing the punishment for our sin, being our propitiation, our substitute, that we could receive forgiveness of sins and His righteousness, that God would be reconciled to sinners and we sinners would be reconciled to God! Not only that, Jesus stated that He would be with us always (Matthew 28:20)! So He sent His Holy Spirit to live within His people, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11) He dwells within us! What astonishing news this is! Because of His loving kindness - to the praise of His glory and grace. And yet this isn’t the end of the story - there’s more! The end of this age will come, but we’ve been given the ending. God reveals from His throne that His promise and desire to be with His people forever will happen. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.'” (Revelation 21:3) What our Savior accomplished must draw out perpetual praise from us. Praise be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Who have graciously purchased us that we should be the people of God, dwelling together forever! Amen.
- looking to Jesus,
pastor jeff
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