Stunning Affirmation / Magnificent Benediction

Tuesday, April 29, 2014   

Stunning Affirmation / Magnificent Benediction

3 John 1: 1-15

As I conclude John’s third letter, I am saddened to think of the church of Jesus Christ being is such disarray. In her first generation, there were church splits and disputes. Some of the disputes were quite simple; it was then, and is now, always about control. The nature of our fallen flesh makes it inevitable that there will be disputes. The caution being thrown up by John is for us to not accept that this is the norm for the church. Christ calls us to rise above the norm of our humanity, and to accept God’s call for the church to strive for holiness.

John also points to more serious controversies. This letter is a good reminder for us to make the time to review our understanding of the great doctrines of the Christian church. While there is debate on what doctrines are considered crucial, these are generally considered essential: The Trinity, The Person of Jesus Christ, The Second Coming of Jesus Christ, Salvation, The Bible, Baptism, and Holy Communion.

Whenever I think about doctrinal issues, I find it helpful to first take a leap of faith, and embrace the Apostle Paul’s stunning affirmation of the supremacy of Christ: “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15-16. The complete affirmation of the supremacy of Christ includes Colossians 1:13-23).

Then, after I spend time pondering my understanding of the doctrinal truth of Christ, I like to close my devotional time with the magnificent benediction of Jude:

Now all glory to God,

who is able to keep you from falling away

and will bring you with great joy

into his glorious presence

without a single fault.

All glory to him who alone is God,

our Savior

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All glory, majesty, power, and authority

are his before all time, and in the present,

and beyond all time!

Amen.

Jude 1:24-25

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

• Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.