The Vine and the Branches, Part VI.

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES, PART VI.

If you keep my commandments, you shall abide, (dwell, remain) in my love.

Even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love, John 15:10.

Here we have one of these seeming paradoxes in the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus has been teaching about abiding, dwelling in him. How that the branch receives life from the vine, how that the branch is an integral part of the vine.

And now he adds a condition: I’ll love you if you keep my commandmends.

You see, he adds, I keep my Father’s commandmends and I abide, I remain in his love.

It’s really quite simple: Do as I do and there will be no problem.

But now we have touched on a very real problem: the keeping of those commandmends.

Rom. 7:18 says that there is nothing in us that comes even close to being able to do any good, let alone perfect obedience to ALL the commandments.

Jesus does not just raise the bar just beyond our reach, he raises the bar so high that the only sensible response from us would be: Lord! What you are asking is impossible for me to do!!

And that is exactly what our wonderful Lord is looking for by raising the bar so high: our admission of inability.

It is like he is saying: it is impossible for you and I want you to be absolutely convinced of that impossibility, that is why I raised the bar that high.

At the same time he is also assuring us that he is so willing and able to do for us what we are not able to do ourselves.

Because, he says, I am the end of the law for righteousness (and abiding) if you will believe me, (Rom.10:4).

For the same reason the Apostle Paul can exclaim in Phil.4:13, I can do all things through Christ who is my strength, ( my life, my ability).

Conversely, that means that on my own I am completely helpless.

Paul knows very well that “it is not I that live, but Christ that lives in me”.

We have no strength in and of ourselves, therefore we depend completely on the ability of Jesus to do for us any of the commands we find in the Scriptures.

That is the message of John 15:10.

Vs.11. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy might be full (complete).

When we try to avoid evil and try to keep God’s commandments to the best of our ability, it is nothing but a drag and frustation.

When however, we know and are able to rest in Christ’s willingness and ability to do in us and for us that which we cannot do ourselves, then we experience the joy of the Lord.

Joy, a happiness, a pleasure that is not subject to pleasurable circumstances.

This joy, his joy, our joy is constant because he, our Lord is constant.

This entire sermonette about Jesus being the vine and us disciples being branches of that vine and our abiding in the vine and all that is but for one purpose.

And that is to teach us, even to convince us that only in him ( the vine) do we (the branches) live and move and have our being, Acts 17:28.

God’s children bring glory to his name by accepting that reality, by resting in his complete willingness and ability to do in us and for us everything that he desires to do.

Our part in all this is that we submit to him, that we verbally give him permission to remove anything in us that is not like him.

That we would live a submitted life, just like he lives a submitted life unto his Father.

That we would ask him to prune away our self-centredness, our self-dependency.

Even more that he would reveal to us just how much we are self-centred and self-sufficient.

Prune away our stubborn notion that our good works that we attempt to do for God will enhance his glory.

Joy, true joy is found only in the assurance of resting in the everlasting arms of God’s love and faithfulness.

Of allowing him to use our gifts when he desires to do so, rather than us always dreaming up new programs in an attempt to be more obedient more efficiently.

Our attempts at diligent service, greater obedience and battle against the world’s sins, all done for what we believe is the glory of God, will always lead to pride, frustration and bitterness.

The Preacher of the Old Testament calls these activities vanity, profitless, all the more because vanity implies pride.

There is no joy in that, because if we then would be honest with ourselves, we would recognize our own deficiency, no matter how successful the programs were in themselves.

For the joy of the Lord to become our true strength, we need to be his instruments of mercy in a needy world around us.

Instruments in his hands, like a violin in the hands of a master violinist, producing a world of music of the highest kind.

These things have I spoken to you, (so) that your joy might be full.

What did he say to us?

Well, let’s read it again, starting with verse one.

What does it say?

I am the Vine, you are the branches, you and I we are one, I am your LIFE, I am your all-sufficiency, for now and for all eternity.

Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord (the Vine, the Lord Jesus Christ) forever. (Ps. 23:6)

St.Thomas,Dec./’08. Simon VanderKooy.

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES, PART V.

John 15:6 If a man abides not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

This verse refers back to vs. 4. ….. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine ……

There can be no fruit except through life union with the vine, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Through this life union with the Lord Jesus Christ, his life will flow from him through us, so that we may be the bearers of much fruit.

This fruit in practical terms, is the expression of the Life that is in the Vine and becomes visible as fruit in the lifestyle of the branches.

Time and again Jesus says: “This is my commandment, that you love one another”.

Loving one another, is the expression of the Life that is in the Vine.

We will remain in that condition of abiding, not by our efforts and Christian performance, but by the faithfulness and the power of God working in us to will and to do that which pleases him.

I Peter 1:5 ….. who are kept by the power of God ….. .

Our part is to always yield to him, like, “Lord do with me whatever seems good to you”. Resting in the truth that he is our shepherd and that in him all our needs are met.

The next verse, verse 7 has for many years been a mystery to me.

Ask what you will, anything, and I will do it. That is plain enough.

But we all know that, even by our own experience it really does not work.

And we also believe that Jesus would never lie to us. But what does verse 7 say?

“If you abide in me”…… We now know that abiding is not the problem, we abide, we remain in Jesus, not by our own efforts, but by his faithfulness and his power.

….. “And my words abide in you …..”.

In other words, do his words resonate in our hearts, as do the words of a loved one?

What did Jesus say the reason was that he came to earth in the form of our human nature?

We find that reason in John 10:10 …… I am come (so) that you may have LIFE, and that you may have it in abundance.

That, and that only was the mission of Jesus, to restore LIFE, real life, life that is found only in the Father.

Life that was lost to man when Adam and Eve decided they would chart their own way independently, when darkness and death enveloped them and all of their decendants.

Everything Jesus taught was in direct relation to restoring that LIFE, that eternal LIFE, Life that is in the Father. That LIFE that we have been made partakers of, by grace, through faith.

In that relationship we need to see the verse that says: “Ask anything and I will give it to you”.

“Seek and you will find, ask and it shall be given unto you, knock and it shall be opened unto you”.

All this has to do with LIFE, the LIFE that is in Jesus.

When we ask him to do whatever it takes so that we might experience more of that LIFE, he will certainly do as we ask.

When you rest assured that you are a child of God and you take to heart those things that he told us, ask what you will and he will give you to experience that LIFE that is already in you in greater abundance, (my free translation).

And that is exactly the thing wherein the Father is mostly glorified, the outward expression of that new LIFE in the believer.

Isn’t that wonderful? We ask and he gives. Why?

Because the Father seeks to glorify himself in his children.

Remember, the expression of that new LIFE is what we call the fruit of the Spirit of Gal.5:22 and 23.

All this we find in verse 8, Herein is my Father gloryfied, that ye bear much fruit, so shall you be my disciples, (thereby proving that you are my disciples indeed).

Verse 9, As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you ……

How much does the Father love his son Jesus?

That is how much he (Jesus) loves us.

To rest in that love, that is what abundant Christian living is all about.

To wake up in the morning and know: He loves me……

To put your head on your pillow at night and know: He loves me…..

I Cor.13: 4-8 gives us a glimpse of what the Father’s love means in it’s expression to us.

Verse 9 ……. continue in my love.Bask in it, bathe in it, be immersed in it.

That implies we must not attempt to enhance his love for us by any sort of works that we might do for him, however noble these works may seem.

Invariably these works will diminish instead of enhance that very glory.

God’s love is perfect, wholly complete, altogether sufficient.

That love has provided that new LIFE, it has made us ALIVE in him, not for the purpose of what we might do for him in this world, but for the purpose of what he might do in us to bring us to maturity in him. To glorify himself in us, his children.

Does all this imply that the Christian life is supposed to be a life of passivity?

Certainly not. But it does imply a total change of attitude.

No longer will obedience to commandments of all sorts be what drives us.

What motivates us now is that new LIFE, the expression of it, the fruit of the Spirit compells us to reach out in love to our Father in adoration and also to our neighbors in love and compassion.

This Life is also a life of wholly trusting our Father that all our circumstances are in his hands and work together for our good.

Through this new resurrection LIFE our Father gives us a foretaste of heaven in this dark world.

St.Thomas, Oct./’10. Simon VanderKooy.

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES, PART IV.

John 15:4, 5. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you, except you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.

We started out in Part I by saying that in the natural setting the branches of grape vines are indelibly connected to the vine itself.

Likewise it is God’s doing that we have been grafted into the Vine which is Jesus Christ, Rom.11:17.Therefore, abiding in Jesus is not a condition, but a position.

(The word “abiding” comes from abode, which indicates a dwelling place.)

Our Father has accepted his children in the beloved, Jesus Christ, Eph.1:4. That is a permanent position, for God is forever faithful.

The condition is that we, being children of the light, live in a constant awareness that only by God’s grace we are what we are.

Abiding in the vine does not call for any action on our part, anything that we must do, except a moment by moment awareness that Jesus, (the vine) is the source of our life and being. Jesus is very clear about this when he says: Without me (the life that flows from the vine into the branches), you can do nothing!

We do not even have the wherewithal to abide, to dwell in or to remain in the vine.

But Jesus is all sufficient, he is the provision for that situation also.

I Peter 1:4 and 5 tells us that we are partakers of an incorruptable inheritance, one that does not diminish with time.

And that we are kept, preserved in order to partake of that inheritance by the power of God through faith, that power of God being the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Or Rom.5:10 ……For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being (having been) reconciled, shall we be saved (kept, preserved) by his life.

Abiding (being constantly aware of our position, provision and protection in Christ Jesus) will produce much fruit.

The fruit being the peaceable fruit of righteousness also called the fruit of the Spirit.

Fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance and such like.

And the fruit of righteousness will make us fit for the Father’s use, to be his instruments of mercy in a fallen world.

Philippians 4:13 …….I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength, (no, he is my strength, my life).

When anything is done through Christ, then he is the one who is doing it, not I.

Conversely, when I can do all things only through him, then that also means that without him I am incapable of doing anything.

An old and still very relevant song goes like this:

I’ve found a new way of living, I’ve found a new life divine,

I have the fruit of the Spirit, I’m abiding, abiding in the Vine.

St.Thomas, Dec./’08. Simon VanderKooy.

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES, PART III.

John 15:3 Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.

How can Jesus declare these men are clean, does he not know that within this same week they all will abandon him? Even deny that they are associated with him?

And yet Jesus declares them to be clean. Clean because of their acceptance of his claim that he is the Christ, the promised Messiah.

They heard his voice, they believed his words and are declared clean by their Teacher.

Jesus declares that they are clean, branches of the Vine that are bearing fruit, the fruit of righteousness.

How did that come about?

Through the words of life that Jesus had “poured” into them for almost three years.

This truth is confirmed in John 5:24, Most assuredly I tell you, he that hears my word and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but has passed from death into life.

It is a work that God himself accomplishes in us as well through the Lord Jesus Christ and that through the gift of faith works mightily in us who believe and are yielded to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Again, in I John 1:9 we are assured that it is God (and not us) who cleanses us from all unrighteousness on an ongoing basis.

Children of God may humbly consider themselves clean, holy and without blemish, because they have been washed with the water of the Word, (Jesus Christ), Eph. 5:26.

They have been (past tense) made whole and at the same time are being made whole, a work in progress.

Col. 2:10, “You are complete in him, (Jesus) …. And through the Holy Spirit’s working in us we grow to greater maturity in our Christian walk.

It is immaterial what our eyes observe around us at Sunday mornings or at any other time in our fellow Christians.

We observe the outside, but our Father observes the inside of his children and he is delighted, Zephania 3:17.

For he sees a people that he personally has called out of darkness into his marvelous light, I Peter 2:9.

He sees a people that he has gathered from many nations, denominations and even some abominations, and he has brought them home to himself.

A people that he cleaned up from all their filthiness and idols, Ez. 36:24, 25.

He put a new heart and a new spirit in each one of them and removed the stoney heart out of them, this new heart is meek and plyable.

Our Father sees a people in which he planted his own spirit, the Holy Spirit, who will transform them so that they will delight to walk in ways ordained by him.

A people who know that they have been redeemed, who know that their Father rejoices over them with great joy.

A people who take delight in doing their Father’s will.

(Free translation of Ezekiel 36 : 24 – 28.)

Our Father delights, he is joyful to see a people who are clean through the words that he has spoken to them, living branches that are bearing the fruit of faith.

Living branches that are bearing the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of the Spirit in abundance, Gal. 5:22, 23.

Fruit that is the manifestation of the Life that is in the Vine, the Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Thomas, Aug./2010. Simon VanderKooy.

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES, PART II.

John 15 : 2.

Every branch in me that bears no fruit, he takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes it , so that it may bear more fruit.

On the face of it this verse seems to be telling us that believers better see to it that they produce fruit or out the door they go.

And yet this conclusion, even though common among many Christians, is not compatible with many other truths of Scripture.

Last month we also saw that the Life in the Vine bears fruit in the branches.

For the right answer we need to compare Scripture with Scripture.

When we study this subject we find that Jesus died for all, his death was sufficient atonement for all, just the same not all are saved.

I John 2:2 …….And he (Jesus) is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Hebr.2:9 ……That he (Jesus) should taste death for every man.

Or John 1:29 ……Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.

May we then conclude that since Jesus tasted death for everyone, that therefore all will be saved?

No, not quite. There is a condition. The condition is believing that Jesus came into the world to face death for sinners and their sins.

The application of the sacrifice of Jesus to our personal condition.

John 3:18 He that believes on him (Jesus), is not condemned, but he that believes not, is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

So, we could reconstruct John 15:2 this way: every branch that does not respond to the offer of Life that the Vine provides is taken away by the vinedresser due to his own choice.

Before we get the urge to pat ourselves on the back for making the right choice, let us remember John 3:19 ……..And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather that light…….

If it had been up to us, we certainly would not have made the right choice.

It is not without cause that Jesus says: “No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me, draw him,(yank him by the arm, so to speak) in John 6:44.

The truth of John 15:2 is also illustrated in Luke 19:11-27.

This parable is not about making money in the market place, it is about the new Life in Christ that is available to everyone. The question is, what do we do with that new Life that is freely given to us?

That new Life is manifested in the believer in the form of a life of love, love to our Father and love to our neighbors.

The more of this love we give away, the more we receive in return.

Conversely, the man that buried his pound (new Life) in the ground, from him was taken away even that which was given to him in the first place, Luke 19:26.

Here is a picture of a branch that does not bear fruit, it is taken away.

The choice is ours, willingness to bear fruit or not.

A willingness to yield ourselves to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to do those things which are pleasing to the Father.

All this so that our life will be a demonstration of the Life of the Vine that is in us.

This willingness to yield to the Holy Spirit also makes that the life of a “branch” is anything but passive.

To the contrary, it is an active live, lived in service to our Father who gave us the real life. Life that does not end, ever.

As well it is a life of service to our fellow man in a multitude of aspects.

A life that has been touched and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit no longer seeks its own advantage or benefit, but that of others.

It completely changes the answer to the “why” of things.

Why do I work my job? Why am I a Christian? Why do I attend church? Why do I begin a conversation with a person who seems lonesome? Why am I here in the first place?

It is a life that no longer seeks fulfillment in order to be happy.

It is a life that finds joy in contentment.

John 15:2 goes on to say that the vinedresser prunes the branches that do bear fruit, in order that the quantity and the quality of the fruit might increase.

The story was told to me of a father who went with his school age son to a country fair.

While there, they observed a lumberjack with a chainsaw carving away at a stump of a tree. Now and then the man carefully observed a piece of paper on a small table, which turned out to be a picture of an Indian in full ceremonial dress.

The boy observed the artisan for a while, then he turned to his father. He said: Dad, you know what he is doing? Yes, was the reply, he is carving an Indian out of that stump.

That’s right, said the boy, he is carving away everything that does not look like an Indian.

And that is the objective of the divine Vinedresser, cutting away everything in us and about us that does not look like the image of Jesus.

When we give our Father permission to do this pruning in us, he will set about to carefully, lovingly remove those things in us that are not pleasing to him.

John the Baptist defined the purpose of this pruning process when he said: “He (Jesus) must increase and I must decrease”.

Pruning is usually painful, because it often involves those things that we, God’s children trust in for our wellbeing, our self-support systems that we all have developed to cope with life as it comes to us. It may be our job or profession, our bank account, our ability to control our circumstances, our knack for controlling those around us, our reputation, a whole series of perceived rights that we believe are ours, the list goes on.

It is what the Bible calls fulfilling the lust of the flesh, Gal.5:16.

Flesh is always self-serving, it seeks its own welfare, often at the expense of others.

Flesh always claims to know best, it is opposed to the Holy Spirit and is anti-Christ.

Flesh is not of faith, therefore it is always sin.

Pruning, however painful it might be, is always for our good.

The Psalmist knew that all too well when he said: It was good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn your statutes, Ps. 119:71.

Hebr. 12:11 is very specific about pruning: “Now no chastening (pruning) for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous, nevertheless afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them who are exercised thereby”.

When adverse circumstances come our way, what ever their source, our Father will use them in the pruning process.

When we can approach life in that way, we can also agree with Rom.8: 28 - 30 …..And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

For whom he foreknew, he also pre-destined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover, whom he pre-destined, those he also called, whom he called, those he also justified, and whom he justified, those he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

To be continued……..

St.Thomas, Dec./’08. Simon VanderKooy.

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES, PART I.

The gospel of John, chapter 15:1, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser, (vs. 5) …… and you are the branches”.

These few words are loaded with meaning.

Jesus compares himself and his followers to a grapevine and its branches.

That means first of all that I, as a branch, am indelibly connected to the Vine, Jesus Christ.

That also means that I, the branch have no life in myself apart from the Vine.

Apart from the Vine I am dead, without life whatsoever.

This fact is confirmed in many places. In Acts 17:28 we read this: ……..For in him we live and move and have our being.

I Cor.1:30 says this: …….For of Him (our Father) are you in Christ Jesus………

Because of God’s mercies I am in Christ Jesus, only on that basis may I consider myself a partaker of the life that he is, John 14:6.

Branches of grapevines do not go around looking for vines to attach themselves to, likewise the initiative to be a Christian did not originate with me, but with the Vine.

In this chapter, verse16 Jesus says …..you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you….

It is the life in a grapevine that produces branches in springtime with the express purpose to produce fruit.

Fruit that contains the seeds to produce new vines that will show the same life and virtues of the original vine.

The branches do not produce the fruit, the life in the vine produces the fruit, all that is asked of the branches is to bear that fruit.

All this would make us ask two questions, one, this all seems to be very passive, what role do I play in following Jesus?

And the second question, what is “fruit”?

The first question we will address when we discuss verse 2 of this chapter.

Most Christians have been taught at one time or another that God expects us to “produce” fruit in our Christian life and usually a variety of reasons are given to back up that claim.

That “fruit” would be a catch-all term for all kinds of good works and Christian practises and disciplines, especially worship and witnessing.

May I submit to you that the fruit that this passage speaks of, are not things that we do.

Fruit is the manifestation of the LIFE that is in the vine.

And the manifestation of that LIFE is outlined as the fruit of the Spirit, Gal.5:22, 23.

That life that is in the vine first produces the branches.

Then, when the branches become mature, the life of the vine produces the fruit in the branches. ( I John 2: 12 – 14).

(For the process of becoming mature in Christ he gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, Eph. 4:11. This is also the message of Matt.28 : 19, leading believers to maturity in Christ.)

The same way that grapes, even juicy, ripe grapes do not perform any tasks for the vine whatsoever, they just hang there and are a manifestation of the quality of the vine.

These juicy, ripe grapes are not a manifestation of the quality of the branches, they are a manifestation of the quality of the vine.

I am the vine , you are the branches……..

The fruit then that is produced by the vine is the manifestation of the life of the vine that first produces the branches and then produces the fruit in the branches.

It is the life in the vine that produces fruit in the branches. The branches are nothing but a channel for the life of the vine to flow to the fruit of the vine.

Verse 16 of this chapter says that Jesus has ordained or appointed believers to bear fruit and that this fruit would remain, it would be of value eternally.

This kind of fruit is not what we do for God or others, it is the constant recognition and awareness what we are in Christ Jesus, children of God who are loved and accepted by Him, just the way we are.

Likewise, the fruit (note fruit, singular), of the Spirit of Gal. 5:22 is not the things we do, but what we have in Christ Jesus.

And what we do is but the outflow of what we are, reflecting in our daily life the life of Jesus by which we live and move and have our being, Acts 17 :28.

Love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, etc. are not actions on our part, these virtues reflect the character of Jesus who is the vine.

It is he, his life that is reflected in the virtues of Gal.5:22 and 23.

This fruit (of the Spirit) is the expression of the Life of the Spirit in us.

And the expression of that life will lead to deeds, good works.

But now these good works are no longer works we do for God, they are now works done by God through us.

Remember, branches cannot do anything by themselves, branches are fruit bearers, not fruit producers.

I am the true vine, my Father, he is the vinedresser and you are the branches.

It is the desire of the Vinedresser that the branches live in submission to the Vine, so that the fruit produced in the branches will be highly desirable to any one who passes by.

To be continued…….

St. Thomas, Dec./’08. Simon VanderKooy.

If believers would only believe ......

IF BELIEVERS WOULD ONLY BELIEVE …..

Believe ….. that God is not only near us, but in us and more importantly, that we are in

Jesus, who is in the Father, a mysterious, but inseparable union.

Believe ….. that our temporal and eternal security rest on our union with Jesus by his

grace only. And that good works, however noble, do not enter this picture.

Believe ….. that ALL our sins are ALREADY forgiven.

Believe ….. that the blood of Jesus WAS shed for a complete remission of ALL our sins.

Believe ….. that New Testament believers are asked to CONFESS their sins and that

our Father has promised to do the cleansing.

Believe …. that Jesus is our Savior and our very life and not just an example for us to

follow.

Believe ….. that being in Christ, we are the very offspring of God, we are no longer

sinners, but children, saints of God.

Believe …... that our Father rejoices in his children at all times.

Believe ….. that righteousness is a gift we receive by grace, and not something we

achieve by righteous living.

Believe ….. our Father when he says that he will remember our sins no more.

Believe ….. that when Jesus died, we being in him, we really and truly died as well.

Believe ….. that when Jesus rose from the grave, that we, having been immersed in his

death and burial, that we now also fully participate in his resurrection.

Believe ….. that we, having been reconciled by Jesus’ death, now continue to be saved

by his life and not by doing righteous deeds.

Believe ….. That eternal life is not a promise for future realization, but a present reality

for every believer.

Believe ….. that when God says that he will never leave us or abandon us, he also

really means what he says.

Believe ….. that the Holy Spirit is not the One who empowers believers, but that he IS

the power, working mightily IN the believers.

Believe ….. that we, God’s children, have BEEN delivered from ALL the tyranny of the

devil.

Believe ….. and understand that our Father has ordained that his children would fail at

living the Chr. life, so that we, his dear children would come to see the utter

futility of living this life FOR him, and instead cast ourselves on Father’s

mercy and allow him to live this life through us.

Believe ….. that we will only find peace, God’s peace, when we surrender our feeble

efforts at self-sanctification, self-improvement by asking Father to do in

us, what we are completely unable to do ourselves.

Believe ….. that a loving Father would be grieved when his children choose death

rather than life, when they gratify the flesh.

Believe ….. and understand that God never redeemed his people with an eye to what

those redeemed people might do for him, but with an eye to what he might

do IN them.

Believe ….. that Jesus stands at the door of believer’s hearts and stands there asking to

be let inside, Rev. 3 : 20.

Believe ….. that God’s grace is so complete and all-encompassing and our in-ability so

absolute, that there is nothing in his Kingdom that we might earn, even by

our greatest efforts.

Believe ….. that our Father IS our provision for all things spiritual, for all things

emotional and for all things physical.

Believe ….. that our natural birth was not by our choosing and that the same holds true

for our spiritual or second birth. We are also unable to undo either birth.

Believe ….. there is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor or blessings.

Believe ….. that we can do nothing to make God love us more and that we can do

nothing to make him love us less.

Believe ….. that God’s blessings are not a sign of his favor, they are a sign of his mercy.

May believing these truths gleaned from the Scriptures help us to find the reality of rest, peace, God’s grace and mercy and all the fruit of the Spirit.

St. Thomas, May/’10. Simon VanderKooy.

Was He there .....?

WAS HE THERE …… ?

There is a hymn that speaks of the crucifixion of Jesus that says “Where you there” …… (when they crucified my Lord)?

This time I would like to contemplate the question “Was he there ….. ?

Was he there when ….. ?

Was he there when my friends forsook me in what I know was God’s calling for me?

Was he there when I lost my job shortly after buying a house?

Was he there when my hopes and dreams for financial independence evaporated when the value of the stock market evaporated.

Was he there when I was dismissed as a Sunday school teacher?

Was he there when I failed him time after time .

Was he there when my efforts to live for him just got nowhere at all? Wasn’t he supposed to help me?

Was he there when my prayers seem to go nowhere, no matter how I tried to get through to God?

Was he there when our child was so ill, we feared we would loose him?

The list goes on, those of us who have experienced life for any time at all, know the question and we have no difficulty in adding our own challenges as well.

Often, when we are in these valleys of despair he doesn’t seem to be anywhere’s near.

We would then like to have shouted at him: Where are you now that I need you?

David the Psalmist knew about this, in Psalm 69 he says, Save me O God, for the waters are come unto my soul, I am sinking deeper into the mire, the floods overflow me.

The answer to all these questions is a profound YES, he WAS there.

Our God is a compassionate Father who is there with us in our suffering, even when we do not sense his presence at all.

Compassion means to “suffer with”, he not only sees our pain, he feels it as well.

He is not a God who stands on a windswept beach waiting for the storm to cast the ship that is our life on that shore so that he might receive and comfort us.

He is in the ship with us and he will see to it that we land safely, always.

Isaiah 41: 10 and 13 : Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. For I, the Lord your God will hold your right hand, saying to you: Fear not, I will help you.

Miles Stanford in his book “Steps to spiritual growth” comments that the believer who is going through struggle and failure is the Christian who is being carefully and lovingly handled by his Lord in a very personal way.

He is being taken through the experience of self-revelation and into death (of self); the only basis upon which to know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death, Phil.3:10.

He was there when Abraham took Hagar to be his wife in order to produce offspring.

He was there when Jacob had to flee for his life after betraying his father and his brother.

He was there when Joseph found himself at the bottom of a dry well, surrounded by brothers who wished to be rid of him.

He was there when Moses had to flee from Egypt to preserve his life.

He was there when Joshua failed to consult the Lord and 36 good men lost their life in a failed battle.

He was there when king Saul sought to kill David, who at one point knew that his death might be imminent. He said there is but one step between me and death.

He was there in the fiery oven with the three friends of Daniel.

He was there …….

He will be there for you and me, always. Whether we do good or fail (again), he will be there.

He will be there, carefully and lovingly handling you in a very personal way …..

He is there …… . Is he there? Is he there for me, when I need him?

Often his presence is suppressed by our pre-occupation. Pre-occupation with the circumstances we find ourselves involved in.

The problems that we face overwhelm us and all we can see is the problem(s) and how could God allow this to happen. How could a loving God be in all this??

Often his presence is suppressed by heresies we have been taught or traditions that are falsehoods.

Many Christians believe that God is present only inside church buildings.

Others believe that God will only look after those people who look after him (faithfully serving him and who tithe at least 10% of their income).

He is there ….. , regardless whether we sense it or not.

None of us deserve his presence, but he is there, always, just the same.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, Hebr. 11:1.

When he seems far away, all we have left is faith, faith, the evidence of things not seen.

It is to teach us that he is there, whether we sense it or not. He promised, he will do it, that is what we need to learn to remember and live by.

The prophet Elijah experienced a great spiritual victory on Mount Carmel in I Kings 18.

Then the queen threatened his life and Elijah fled all the way to the Sinai desert.

In many days he did not hear from God and it depressed him greatly and he wished to die, just get it over with. Victory for God, so what? The queen was still in power.

But God, who was there all the time, had different plans for him. Plans that he could not have thought of in his wildest dreams, I Kings 19:15 and 16.

Our Father’s purpose for us is that we would believe his continuous presence, regardless of our feelings. For that to become a reality for you and me it is necessary that there are times when our feelings are put on hold and all we have is God’s promise.

His presence is our peace, for now and for all eternity.

To close a quote from Habakkuk 3:17-19.

Even though the fig tree has no buds, the vines bear no harvest, the olive crop fails, the orchards yield no food, the fold is bereft of its flock, and there are no cattle in the stalls.

Even so shall I exult in the Lord and rejoice in the God who saves me. The Lord God is my strength; he makes me as sure-footed as a hind and sets my feet on high places.

St. Thomas, April 2010. Simon VanderKooy.

Were You There? by John Woodward

March, 2010

One of the hymns that depicts Christ's passion and resurrection is the traditional song,Were You There? The hymn's author is unknown, but the words are based on the New Testament narratives of Matthew 27:31-56; 28;1-15 and parallels. The first stanza asks:

"Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. 
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"

This African American spiritual was written prior to 1865. Those who were oppressed by slavery would sing together for encouragement. Believers would reflect on Christ's sufferings and the consolation of the gospel.

Imagine the heart-felt singing of this hymn before the civil war. The All Music Guide recalls, "The song opens in the traditional 'lining out' style of American country congregations in which the preacher or choir leader sings the first line and the choir or congregation responds. Thus, the (usually) solo voice sings 'Were you there when they crucified my Lord?'... Then the chorus responds in full harmony echoing the same words..."

The memory of Calvary's events follow in each stanza:


(2) Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?


(3) Were you there when they pierced Him in the side?


(4) Were you there when the sun refused to shine?


(5) Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?


(6) Were you there when they rolled the stone away?


(7) Did you know He is risen from the dead? (repeat)


Oh! Sometimes I want to shout, 'Glory, Glory, Glory!.'

These lines pose the rhetorical question, Were you there? The assumed answer was "no," but the song takes the singer back by envisioning those redemptive events by faith.

I still remember a Bible teaching workshop years ago when the speaker quoted this hymn. Then he made this startling announcement: "You were there!"

"What was that? How could I have been there some 2000 years ago?"

Before we answer that, consider another mystery: Everyone was in Adam at the dawn of history! Although our personal life began in the recent past, we were all in Adam positionally and spiritually.

Study Romans 5:12: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." The historical narrative of Genesis 3:1-24 is crucial to understanding the bad news of the Fall of mankind. Adam was constituted by God to represent all of the human race (which came from his loins).

Romans 5:15-19 brings this pivotal doctrine out repeatedly: "... by the one man's offense [Adam's] many died... For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation ... by the one man's offense death reigned through the one... through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation... by one man's disobedience many were made sinners..." Since God had placed the world under Man's dominion, the breaking of this original covenant brought a divine curse on the earth as well.

The Fall also explains why all are born spiritually separated from God and in need of re-birth: "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1).

How blessed I was to learn of the heavenly contrast: Adam was "a type of Him who was to come"--Jesus! (Rom 5:14b). "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22). Therefore, Christ is the positional and spiritual head of all the redeemed!

As a born again believer, the Bible teaches that you were there at the Cross positionally and spiritually (just as you were in Adam prior to salvation). As the apostle Paul declared, "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death... For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him...." (Rom. 6:4-6). "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above... For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Col. 3:1-3). "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, andmade us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-7). Amen!

When you receive Christ as your Lord and Savior by faith, you become identified with Him in His death, burial, resurrection and ascension. This is the open secret of victorious living! Reckon this "gospel for the believer" to be true of you personally!

As God brings this New Covenant revelation from your head to your heart, you'll be able to reinterpret that old spiritual. The lines will still take you back to Christ's suffering and resurrection, but you can now take it a step further.

"Where you there when they crucified my Lord?" Your answer can be ... "Yes. Yes, I was there in Him! Hallelujah!"

….YOUR DESIRE SHALL BE FOR YOUR HUSBAND…. II.

January, 2010

Last month we meditated on the Scripture of Gen.3:16 where part of the woman’s curse reads that her desire shall be for her husband.
And we surmised that what she was looking for in her husband was the Life of God, the Life of the Spirit, that eternal Life that was lost by the disobedience of taking and eating of the forbidden fruit.
We saw also that the Life she desired, what she was looking for in her husband, was no longer present in him. Sin had done its devastating work of death in him as well.

In this meditation we hope to explore the truth that even though sin caused man to be separated from the Life of God, that the Lord God who cannot be but merciful and gracious and faithful had already made provision for the redemption of sinners.

The covenant of grace which went into effect immediately provided for a future Mediator who would bruise the serpent’s head, Gen.3:15.
There will come a day, God promised when I shall be your God and you shall be my people, a people whom I will jealously guard from all evil, Jer. 31:33.
I will forgive your iniquity and I will remember your sins no more.
The Lord God promises that he will cleanse his people from all their filthiness and idols.
He promised: And I will put my Spirit within you and he will cause you to keep my commandments, Ez.36:27.

And prophesy continued even up to shortly before the Messiah’s birth: “….., to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins. To give Light unto them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death……”, Luke 1:79.
The Gospel of John, chapter 1:4 tells us: In him (the Word, Jesus) was Life, and the Life was the light of men. (5) And the Light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. (9) He (Jesus ) is the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world; (10) He was in the world, the world was made by Him and the world knew (recognized) Him not. (11) He came to His own (people) and His own received Him not.
(12)But as many as received Him, gave He the privilege to become the sons (children) of God, to as many who believe on His name.
Life, eternal Life had returned to the world, just as God had promised on the fateful day long ago when Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise, Praise the Lord!
Life, the desire of the nations, the desire of so many prophets and visionaries for so many centuries had become a reality in visible, touchable form.
Light, Life, Grace and Truth had returned to this sin-darkened world in the person of God’s own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

But what do Scriptures tell us?
That the world did not and still does not recognize him.
Even his own people the Jews, rejected him as an imposter.
Their leaders concluded that even though he did many miracles, he could not be the Messiah, because the Messiah would not transgress the law by healing people on the Sabbath.

And what about us? Would we be different? From the Scriptures we know that we would not act differently in similar circumstances.
In John 1:5 we learn that Light ( the Lord Jesus) shined in the darkness (you and me) and the darkness comprehended not the significance of that light.
In John 3: 19 we see that Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light ……
If it was a matter of human salesmanship, the whole offer of salvation would be a lost effort. You cannot sell anything for which people see no need.
In Eph. 2:4 we read that God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead (in sin), has raised us up together with Jesus, calling us out of darkness, into his marvelous light.
He opened our spiritual eyes to allow us to see Jesus and accept him as our personal Savior, Lord and Life.
In John 14:6 he says : “I am the (only) way to the Father, I am the Truth and I am the Life of God”. I am come so that you may again enjoy that Life that is with the Father and that you may enjoy that Life in abundance.

And again, God allows us to choose, now that he has revealed himself to us, will we choose to live this new, heavenly life in dependence upon Jesus, who is our Life, or will we choose to continue to live out of our own resources?
Trusting our own understanding in deciding what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong? The choice is ours, for each one of us.
Prov. 3:5 tells us to trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.
Abundant Life, Life in everyday dependence on God’s limitless resources is available to every believer who chooses to say : yes Lord, not my will, but yours only.
This Life is available only in Jesus Christ and is not to be found anywhere or in anyone else, not in spouses, or reputation, or achievements, or possessions, only in submission to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“ ….. Your desire shall be for your husband …..”. To Eve it was part of the curse, she would look to her husband for something he could not give her.
Our blessing consists in that we may look to Jesus for Life, he has it in abundance,
It is all there just for the asking.
That Life is not just a promise for the future, it is a present reality, eternal Life begins for every one at the moment of repentance and submission to Jesus who is eternal Life.
Who also delights in fulfilling our desire for that Life that is in him to the utmost.
In him we have complete love, acceptance, value, security, in him we have hope, in him we have a future.


St.Thomas, Jan.’10 Simon VanderKooy.

“.….....YOUR DESIRE SHALL BE FOR YOUR HUSBAND…….”

December, 2009

Your desire shall be for your husband, so the Bible records for us in Genesis 3:16.
These words are a part of the curse that God spoke over the woman as a penalty for her disobedience to God’s command.
The man and his wife had been warned: do not eat from this one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For, God said, in the same day, in the same hour, in the same moment that you eat of it, you shall die.
They did transgress and the consequences were immediate and terminal, they died, that is to say, their vital connection with the Source of their life, the Lord God their creator was forever severed.
Their physical existence would continue on for some time to come, but the sparkle was gone, from here on life would be little more than bare existence, it would bring trouble, discord and struggle.
Spiritual darkness descended on them and from that time on humanity would be shut up in this darkness.
Light and Life were lost due to disobedience, but humanity keeps frantically looking for it, because they know it (that Life) has got to be somewhere.
But where?
The tragedy of humanity is that they look and grope around in this thick darkness for something that is not even there, for death is absence of Life by definition.

Gen. 3:16 : “And to the woman God said: I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception, in sorrow you shall bring forth children, and your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you”.
Here we see that “….your desire shall be for your husband…” is part of the curse that God spoke over the woman.
In our meditation on this phrase we need to keep this foremost in mind, that the woman’s desire spoken of in this verse is not a blessing, but a part of the curse because of sin.
The question is: what would the woman desire from her husband? What would she be looking for in her husband?
I would submit, that her husband is looking for the same thing, not in his wife, but in other places, for instance, in his achievements.
So, what are they looking for?
The same what their descendants have looked for and are still looking for.
When any of us loose something of great value, we start looking for it to find it back. The greater the value of the loss, the more effort we put into finding it back.

By their disobedience Adam and his wife Eve lost Life, the Life of the Spirit within them, the lights had gone out, they were now cut off from the Source of light and life, the Lord God himself.
And yes, the Lord God did promise immediately that the day would come that Light and Life would return to this darkness in a day yet far in the future.
This Light and Life of the Spirit expressed itself in the garden in giving man a real sense of love, acceptance, value, peace, security, happiness, to name a few of the attributes of real Life.
But for now, man was left to his own resources to cope with life after loosing the real thing. And the search began for an acceptable substitute, something that would satisfy the longing for the real thing.
And where would the woman look for the substitute of the Life lost?
I would submit that she desired this Life from her husband, that he would give her what she was looking for: love, acceptance, value, security, etc., in short, the Life that is in the Spirit.
And she found that he could not give her much of anything and often it was conditional, you look after me and in return I will look after you.
The problem was that he, the husband no longer possessed this Life of the Spirit either and what you do not posses, you cannot share.
Besides, he was so busy trying to find these same values in his occupation, tending his crops, struggling to keep weeds and thistles under control.
He wanted so much to impress his wife with the results of his efforts, but the thistles were constantly opposing him.
What was he looking for? We know that already: love, acceptance, value, etc.
Exactly what his wife was looking for from him.
“…… Your desire shall be for your husband…….”.
Adam and Eve, our earliest ancestors and all their descendants after them have been looking for this Life that was lost on that fateful day when the fruit looked good and their appetite for it caused their downfall.

And humanity is still looking for this Life, looking for it in all the wrong places.
Man is looking for this Life everywhere, they call it something like the meaning of life, satisfaction, self-esteem, fulfillment, happiness and a number of other things.
But regardless of the term used, Life cannot be found in wealth, reputation, profession, family, or any other effort that man might engage in.

As God promised, Light and Life would one day return to this sin-darkened world in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that will be the subject of the next issue of Reflections.


St. Thomas, Dec./’09. Simon VanderKooy.

CHRISTMAS 2009

CHRISTMAS 2009.

At this time of year we again celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
He who himself is God, who humbled himself and was made in the likeness of man, Phil.2: 7.
John 1:4, 5 : “In him was life; and that life was the light of men.
And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend
what it was that came to them, (free translation).
It is only by a work of the Holy Spirit in any one of us that we will begin (with emphasis on “begin”) to understand what this light of life is about.

“In him was (and is) life”.
Interesting that this message does not say: “In him was forgiveness of sin”.
Most of us believe that we need forgiveness of sin to enter heaven when we die.
The gospel of John, chapter 1: 1 – 18 speaks of “The Word of God who became like one of us, took on a human body and came to live among us”.
Why? For what reason?
Sins and forgiveness is not mentioned in this passage of Scripture at all.
What is mentioned is Light and Life and Grace and Truth.
And as many as received him, (Jesus) gave he (God) the privilege to become sons of God, born of him, not of the flesh or human will, but born of God.
Those who are born of God (born of the Spirit, John 3:5), have the Life of the Spirit.
The same Life that was lost when man first sinned in the garden of Eden.

This is the reason why Jesus came into the world, to bring Life where there was only death, death in sin and condemnation.
To bring Light where only darkness existed.
To restore relationship between God and the people he created.
Christmas must lead to Golgotha where the death of Jesus on the cross and his subsequent resurrection secured eternal Life for all those of us who received him.
And yes, the cross also dealt with the sin question, once for all.

The Life of the Spirit mentioned earlier, what does it look like?
Being born again, raised with Jesus to newness of life, (Rom.6: 4), what is that resurrection life, that Life in the Spirit, what is it like in daily experience?

Some random observations:

Resurrection Life is a present reality available for every believer, to experience it on a daily basis is dependent on what the child of God chooses to do, trust Father and his Word explicitly, or trust his/her own intelligence and ability more.

Resurrection Life flows from believing that I am joined spiritually to the Source of Life – God himself.

Resurrection Life flows from believing what God says, period.

Resurrection Life, this new Life is embodied in a Person, his name is Jesus Christ.

Resurrection Life is to know that in Jesus I am loved and accepted and that I have value.

Resurrection Life is to experience living by and out of the Father’s provision.

Resurrection Life is to know and to trust that victory over sin and self cannot be achieved, it can only be received from his Father hand, it is there for the asking.

Resurrection Life is living by and out of God’s grace, there are no pre-conditions except that I choose to accept his grace, after that there are no expectations to live up to or duties that I must fulfill.

Resurrection Life is like soaring on eagle’s wings above my circumstances, for I know and may trust that all these circumstances work for my good.

Resurrection Life is to rejoice in the assurance that I am in my Father’s presence all the time and that without fear. Or that he will never leave me or abandon me.

Resurrection Life is knowing and trusting that the evil One cannot touch me, my Father who rescued me, will always be my Shield and Protector.

Resurrection Life is to know and trust that it is God who sanctifies himself in me.

Resurrection Life is to have no expectations about life in heaven, except being in the physical presence of Jesus, the One who loves me and gave his life to make me his bride.
Father has planned a wedding day when his Son shall be joined to his bride, Halleluiah!

Resurrection Life is being dead, dead to the law of sin and dead to the world and alive to Jesus Christ who is my Life.

Resurrection Life is the freedom of knowing that in the day of judgment nothing will be laid to my charge, for the penalty for all my sin and sinfulness has been paid in full in my Lord Jesus Christ.

Resurrection Life is also the freedom of knowing that in that day there will be nothing to receive credit for, for there is not any good that I could have done except it had been done through Jesus Christ who is my Strength (my Life).





This Resurrection Life is characterized by peace, His peace, for He is our peace. Peace about hurts and guilt for sins in days gone by, peace in he challenges of today and peace for the uncertainties of tomorrow. Peace that is beyond human understanding or explanation.


This resurrection Life is beyond our comprehension, we can observe it in others, or experience its effect in our own life, but we cannot rationally explain it.
It remains a mystery, even to us to whom God has revealed the riches and the glory of this mystery, the mystery of “Christ in us, our hope (sure expectation) of glory”.


St.Thomas, Dec./’09. Simon VanderKooy.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE II, or LIVING VICTORIOUSLY

November, 2009

Ephesians 6:10-12. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (NIV).

Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of this dark world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (KJV).

First, a couple of observations. The NIV Bible translation speaks of the “schemes” of the devil.

“Scheme” is defined in the dictionary as “a carefully arranged and systematic plan”.

The KJV Bible uses the word “wiles”, a clever trick or words intended to lure or deceive.

( I believe that the word “wiles” is more consistent with the overall tense of Scripture.)

II Chronicles 20:15 says that the battle is not ours, but the Lord’s and I Cor. 15:57 says this: Thanks be to God who GIVES us the victory THROUGH our Lord Jesus Christ.

Or in Isaiah 30:15, “For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength…..”.

All this clearly indicates that Jesus the Lord is the one who fights our battles and he would have us receive victory, rather than that we would achieve victory by our efforts.

Which brings us to the all important question: “Would we, God’s children allow him to actually fight our battles and rest in his almighty ability”?

First, we will attempt to define the enemy from this Scripture passage, then define our spiritual armor and then how to use this armor in order to “receive” the victory.

The “enemy”, principalities, powers and rulers of this dark world are generally believed to be demonic forces controlled by the devil.

Few of us have met and wrestled with demonic entities in the heavenly realms, so let us in this study focus on powers and rulers of this dark world.

Anyone who has been faced with depression, covert or overt rejection, un-forgiveness, anger, insecurity, the hurts of loosing a parent or child or spouse through death, the lasting effects of having been abused as a child, marriage or business failure, (to name a few), knows that these emotional wounds are powers and rulers in our lives that many sincere believers desperately wish to be free from, but they do not know how.

It is true that time heals many wounds, we also know that time makes other wounds worse. The cycle of un-forgiveness leads to being delivered to tormentors, according to Matt.18:34.

We must recognize that these wounds are the result of sin, sometimes our own sins, sometimes the sins of others who have victimized us and sometimes just living in a sin-scarred world. Whatever the origin of these rulers , it is all the result of sin.

Eph.6:13 “…..therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that, when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand, (take it, without being overwhelmed).

The day of evil: those days when we tend to be overwhelmed by our hurts, guilt feelings, bitterness, sense of loss, etc.

Therefore, this passage tells us, be prepared for those days by being clothed with the full armor of God all the time, preparedness is not a part-time occupation.

Preparation takes place during the times when all is well. It is too late to buy fire insurance when the house is going up in flames.

Our armor consists of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.

Everything taken from the metaphor of a Roman soldier’s armor.

It is a metaphor, nothing more, a figure of speech.

What then, is the real message?

Jesus said in John 14:6 “ I am the Way, the TRUTH and the Life”. I Cor. 1:30 “…..But of Him (God) are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and RIGHTEOUSNESS and sanctification”.

Or Gal.2:20..”…..it is no longer I that live, but Christ, who lives in me…..”.

Our spiritual armor is a PERSON, his name is JESUS.

That is that way because He is our LIFE, He is our TRUTH, He is our RIGHTEOUSNESS, He is our PEACE (Eph.2:14) , He is our SHIELD (Ps.3:3), He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebr.12:2), He is our salvation and also our SWORD of the Spirit (Hebr.4:12).

And the way to “put on” our spiritual armor is to be conciously aware at all times, even moment by moment that Jesus is all of these attributes in each one of us at all times.

The term “spiritual warfare”, as it is mostly understood, focuses on sin and the devil.

The Word of God teaches us to keep our eyes focussed on Jesus at ALL times.

There was a time when the apostle Peter was actually walking on water, when suddenly he became aware of his circumstances and in so doing he took his eyes off Jesus.

And at that moment he began to sink, which caused him to re-focus his attention almost instantly to where it should have remained in the first place: on Jesus.

Christians have a tendency to adopt the “whiles” of the devil by letting circumstances overwhelm them, take their eyes off Jesus and “take charge” of the situation.

The schemes or the wiles of the devil that our human nature (flesh) would adopt and use against ourselves is to doubt that Jesus is really trustworthy in every circumstance.

Eph. 6:12 also says that we wrestle against spiritual wickedness in high (or heavenly) places. Wickedness is sinfulness, or more specific when a believer is living after the flesh. When a believer is trusting in his own wisdom, craftiness and ability to live his (or her) life as a Christian.

And even though believers are spiritually seated with Christ in heavenly (high) places, such behavior will have a profound effect on their fellowship with Jesus when they prefer to try to live this life from the basis of their own resources and abilities, rather than trusting Jesus to live this life through them.

We believers constantly wrestle with self and it’s propensity to do our own thing, do what we think works best and we will make it work, somehow.

That, I believe is spiritual wickedness in high or heavenly places.

Eph. 2:6 says that God’s children are seated with him in heavenly places.

Consider Hebr. 12:2, Looking unto Jesus, who is not only the Authort and the Finisher of our faith, he is our very life and the source of living a life that pleases God.

“Being strong in the Lord and the power of his might” and not be trusting in our own abilities for being obedient.

A Christian displayes great wisdom when he/she gives up on themselves and admit to their Father in heaven that they are a failure at trying to please him and would he take over from this day on and cause them to live the Christian life by his supreme ability.

Becoming strong in trusting the Lord and depending on his ability.

Phil 2:13, “For it is God who works in you to will and to do of his good pleasure”.

Again the question: “Are we willing to let him take over?”

Do we trust him sufficiently?

And how do we find healing for the wounds we mentioned earlier?

Sadly, churches usually refer hurting Christians to professionals who seldom deal with the root problem which is sin.

And Jesus is God’s answer for sin and sinfulness.

When Jesus says: “Seek and you will find, ask and it shall be done unto you”, He is always referring to the abundant life that He promises in John 10:10.

When we ask our Father to give us spiritual and emotional healing of wounds, it also means that we surrender, yes, abandon ourselves to his mercy.

Something like: “Lord do with me whatever you desire and let me find grace to accept my circumstances”.

He may also ask from us a willingness to forgive others. Willingness is a necessary choice, but that is all He will ask. The rest He will do in us.

Believing is trusting, trusting in Father’s supreme willingness and ability to do as we ask.

And the day will come when the memory of the hurt will come back to us, like untold other times, but the pain of it will not be there any more.

That is what it means to be strong in the Lord and His mighty power, vs.10.

Always being aware of Phil. 1: 6 “Being confident of this very thing that he that began a good work in you, will perform (or complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.

That is the day when we shall see him face to face, when our faith turns to reality.

What a day of rejoycing that will be!!

St.Thomas, Dec.2007.

Revied November 2009. Simon VanderKooy.