Light Brings Salt
Volume 2, Issue 11 March 14, 2003
Dedicated to the
Systematic Exposition of the Word of God
In Christ, Our
Absolute Security!
We wrapped up last weeks study with a very crucial
principle: No matter how tough the
situation is, even to the point of
martyrdom, you are Christ's, you are in Him, and absolutely nothing can separate you from
Him, ever!!
Now with verse 37 Paul reminds us of the present situations we might
face and what should be our thinking and viewpoint related to them before he
launches into that great promise in verses 38-39 related to our security in
Christ.
First the present
situation we may face - suffering. (
"But in all these things..." takes us back
to the list given in verse 35. Who will separate us from the
love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword?
When we utilize the resources available to us as believers, Paul
reminds us of three important aspects related to the victory we can have in
Christ. First the quality of victory is that
we overwhelmingly conquer. Second the victory is comprehensive, "in all these things." Once
again this refers to the 7 things of vs:35.
Experiencing "these things" and orienting to them by
applying the truth in those trying circumstances, we develop a much more
intimate relationship with Him. The tests
and pressures of life, the CHP's are used to develop
a dependence on the one who is your life!
The third thing is the aspect of it being a fact, a reality. The
provision is predictable, why? The provision is not of us at all, it is
"...through the one who loved us." Here the primary focus is on Christ just as
it was back in verse 35. Loved is a
participle that is used substantively and refers to the one who loved us, that is Christ.
Do you think that it is a present or a past tense? Present would stress the ongoing love of the
believer, now in time. If its past tense it would stress the love expressed at
some time in the past! Present or past?? It's past! Why Past??
How is it that we know love? We know love by this, that He laid down
His life for us, 1 Jn 3:16. In John
Why would he always put it in the past tense, therefore going back to
the cross?? Most basic reason: The word
of the cross, the message of the cross demonstrates the power of God. 1 Cor. 1:18 The cross not only provides the power to save
but also to live a holy and separated life, and to be able to live out His
purpose for you, to become conformed to the image of His Son!
Settled convictions - Our Security
The key to the assurance and confidence or I should say the absolute assurance and
confidence that these two verses express so vividly is found in the first word
in verse 38 in the Greek sentence.
For I am convinced that and the
rest of the 2 verses fill in what he is convinced about. What Paul is doing
here, as if
what he has already said in vs:35-37 is not enough to establish the permanency
of our relationship with Christ, with God, he now ransacks the universe, if you
will, looking for something, anything that could separate the believer from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus!
The word for convinced is peitho [peiqw] a very
strong word made even stronger, more emphatic here since it is in the perfect
tense. Peitho speaks of being persuaded or convinced
by the facts of something or the facts of the case. With the perfect tense it says its a done deal. Paul has settled convictions, which convictions have an abiding results day
after day, after day. It means then to be absolutely sure or certain.
The voice of a verb relates the subject to the action of the verb. As you look at this verse in the English, I am convinced is what voice, active
or passive? As translated it is active.
One problem, the Greek here is passive, I have been convinced that is I
have been acted on by some external source, something outside of himself. What is this external source? The truth of
the Word of God coupled with the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Specifically from the wider context what God has provided through
Christ and His work on the cross, everything here flows from the
understanding of what Paul covered from
Principle: Settled convictions result from the truth of
the Word communicated
through consistent systematic teaching. Settled convictions are needed if there
is to be growth.
There are several elements needed for settled convictions:
1. availability of truth [have God's complete
revelation available]
2. teaching of that truth [as there is desire, God provides]
3. believing of that truth learned [CHP's of life will stimulate the use of known truth]
Is it possible to know truth if truth doesn't exist?? Not possible!! In our
generation one of the maxims out there is that there is no such thing as
absolute truth! The mindset today is
clearly to challenge the premise that truth exists. The idea seems to be more of a pragmatic view:
No I don't believe in truth but if it
works for you, its okay, that's fine, it may not work for me though.
Does that kind of thinking fit in with Christianity at all? No! We
have an objective body of truth, revelation from God in the Bible. All
Scripture is God breathed!
You must have a settled conviction that absolute truth exists, if the
Word of God is to have any impact at all in your life! Hopefully you haven't
fallen for what seems to be the standard ploy today and that is that its all relative, that is right and wrong! That there are no absolute standards at all.
What may be true today will not be true tomorrow that is if the source
is man. Reasoning on the basis of relativity is a
great swamp to fall into! Its spiritual
quick sand!
A fundamental issue that you must answer is this, has God spoken or
has only man spoken? If you believe that only man has spoken than your only
option is to look around for some impressive guru to follow! The whole purpose
of the church is to teach the truth, make it available so that you can build a
conscience, a F/O/R, so that you have settled
conclusions, so that you can also say as did Paul I have been convinced on the
basis of a solid foundation of DVPT, the revelation from God.
Look at 1 Tim 3:15 and think about what this verse is saying and in
the broad sense does it describe the church, the household of God today? Is the
message of the church today by in large truth?
For I have been convinced,
persuaded, have total confidence: [based on the truth known and believed]. Paul now begins to list those things in his
universal search for
something that can impact our standing with God, being the
recipient of His love. The list here in
verse 38 starts where verse 35 left off. It ended with death by sword and we
begin here with death!
Actually we find 5 groupings here:
#1 death/life: this describes our condition of existence in
life - no condition of existence whether death or life can separate us from the
love of God.
For the believer who has the settled convictions related to his
position in Christ and all that is his as a result of that, for
that one, the sting of death is gone. Death is the
separation of the soul/spirit, the immaterial part of us from the body but not
separation from the love of God but from this life into His presence.
What does Paul say elsewhere: For
to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!
[Phil 1:21]
We are of good courage, I say,
and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. [2 Cor 5:8]
#2 angels/principalities/powers: says nothing
supernatural can separate us from the love of God! That is beyond the course of nature,
transcending the natural order. This is
true whether these are angels from God or Satan, elect or fallen, God's
messengers or Satan's operatives.
- principalities
refers to high ranking angels/demons
- powers says that they have very real and
effective power, same word used to refer to miracles.
What this is saying is that there is nothing that they can do, no matter how
powerful they are can separate the believer from the love of God! Have you ever seen a believer who was
superstitious? Who is afraid of
supernatural powers? Absolutely no need,
in fact no place for it! They can not
touch you and your standing with God or your provision from God!
That believer is not resting in the one who is their life! The one in whom they are in union with! Not
using the provision of the Word or the Spirit who indwells them.
Whose greater? God
or these angels, principalities and powers?? John spoke to this issue when he said, "Greater is He that is in you than he who
is in the world!" That is,
Satan and his operatives!
#3 things present/things to come: idea here is the dimension of time. We
operate within time, God of course transcends time. Nothing in time now or
nothing in the future can separate you from the love of God.
#4
height/depth: no dimension of
space.
#5 or any other created thing: this is sort of a catch all. It closes any
and all possible loopholes for anything or any category that Paul might have
left out.
Not one of these things individually or collectively can do what?
"shall be able to separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Our connection to the love of God is only
realized in relationship with Christ: Rom.
Is there a stronger passage in the Word of God that your aware of than
this one to develop our confidence and assurance as to our standing with God
and His love for us? Nothing stronger!!
This chapter begins focused on Christ and it ends focused on Christ! The absolute security and safety that this context details is a
reality for the believer whether they understand it or not. But wouldn't
it be much better to go through life, with this assurance and confidence then
to blindly stumble through life with doubt and insecurity.
Did you notice that this assurance and security in Christ is not a
promise with conditions attached?? If
you do this, I
will do that!
Point is that this security is
in Christ, it is an established fact we need to believe it and to rest in it!
Resting in it, results in the confidence and assurance in our life,
knowing that nothing can thwart the purpose of God for you as a believer in
Christ.