Last post, looking at Hebrews 1:3, we talked of our need to remember who and Whose we are. Looking at Jesus, The Perfect template of who we are, we see that we, too, are to be expressive of the glory of God, The Father, growing daily as an exact representation of His nature.
“And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.” (Philippians 1:6 AMPC)
Following Christ’s example, Him being the Author and Finisher of faith, we grow strong in our understanding, believing and living out God’s Word, knowing that through our believing, receptive, faith, we, too, stand, live, move, and breathe victoriously by the Word of His power.
Today, we glean the Seed from verses 8-9.
“But of the Son He (The Father) says, “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. …”
First, we fulfill verse 3 as we remember that we follow and serve The Risen King just as He did the Father. We not only follow in His likeness, becoming in nature and action as He is, we also act as His representative on earth, His Kingdom Ambassador, charged with always living as best represents His will and way in fulfilling Kingdom purpose here on earth.
Everything we do and say represents Him, right or wrong. As Christians, we are expected to look and act like Him, rightly representing Him. When we don’t, we sully and slander His good name.
His Scepter is righteous. He has earned the right of sovereignty, and we owe Him no less than our best, which only happens as we surrender ourselves to allowing Him to live out His nature through us in the power of the Spirit (Galatians 2:20 AMPC).
As Ambassadors, we are empowered to live in the power and authority of His righteous scepter.
He is King. We are both: His temple, in which He still lives in the earth, by the power of the Spirit at work in us; and we are His Bride, made part of the Royal Court, the Royal Priesthood, empowered with His authority to act on His righteous desire, will and way.
“…YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS…”
As we grow in power as His representatives to the world, we, too, put on the love of righteousness and the hate of lawlessness. We are tasked to act righteously, stand for righteousness, and BE a righteous lot. When we seek to right a wrong, we always act righteously. We are called to Law keeping, God’s Law first, then man’s law, as long as it does not stand in opposition to God’s Law.
Speaking of being a righteous lot, let’s put a cap to that: righteous Lot. Scripture says of Lot, who was led out of Sodom and spared destruction, that God “rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds).” (2 Peter 2:7-8 NASB)
The righteous hate lawlessness, finding their righteous souls tormented by the lawlessness of of sinful flesh.
I don’t know about you, but my heart breaks with every lawless act that too readily bombards our senses. Jesus wept over Jerusalem for much the same reason. However, though Jesus loved and lived righteousness, and He hated and wept over lawlessness, He still loved and spent time reaching out to the unrighteous, lawbreaking sinners. Hate the sin and do not participate with it, but love the sinner and bid him/her to walk our way, straight into the loving arms of the Savior.
Because Jesus loved righteousness and hated lawlessness without hating the lawbreaker, thus continuing even in His heart break to carry out God’s will in the earth, Jesus was blessed with the oil of gladness.
“…THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”
We can still be joyful, even in sorrow, because God is still God, and Jesus is on His throne; and because we possess the oil of gladness, the very Spirit of God in us. All the promises of God are wrapped up in us, ready to be revealed, as we house within us His Spirit and His Word. One promise of God we watch for is kin to this fulfilled promise to the Christ:
“…When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”
The promise we anxiously await as we serve Jesus in righteousness that overcomes sin’s grasp?
“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:21-22 NASB)
Darlene's Ponderings 