As the Family of God, we need to know each other. We are told that we should weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice, Romans 12:15. We are also to bear one another’s burdens, Galatians 6:2. In addition to these, we are to think of others more highly than ourselves, pray for one another, treat others as we would want to be treated, and express brotherly love and kindness among other good things. In order to do these things we have to share our lives with each other.

In hopes of helping us to grow closer as a family we are going to get to know a different family each week through our bulletin article. I am hoping that each week as you read about other members you will know them a little better and feel a little closer as a result. I hope that each week I can provide you with some interesting facts that you didn’t know about your fellow brothers and sisters at Blue Ridge. Of course, I am looking forward to getting to know you all better as a result of these interviews and articles as well.

In both Ephesians 6:22 and Colossians 4:8 Paul tells these churches that he is sending some one to tell them how he and his companions are doing and that this person will encourage them. There is encouragement in sharing with others how we are and how they are and having something in common as we do in the church can certainly be encouraging as well. Knowing others care about us and that they are thinking of us and praying for us is not just helpful when catastrophe strikes, but all of the time.

Let’s get to know one another better so that we can better encourage one another, help one another, be closer to one another, and pray for one another. In 1 Corinthians 13:12, Paul says there is coming a time when we will know fully, but for now we only know in part. Let’s try to know as big a part as we can until we can know fully.

Freedom can be a wonderful thing that is often not appreciated until it is lost. Paul warns the Galatians of this danger in chapter 5 verse 1, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Christ rescued us from being slaves both of the old law as Paul is referencing in this chapter and also of sin as Romans 6:7,22 and 8:2 teach. 

It is terrible that so many times those who are freed turn back to the slavery the came out of or turn to some new form of slavery. The Israelites who came out of Egypt whined to return to Egypt and when that didn’t happen they enslaved themselves to sin by worshiping the golden calf. They didn’t appreciate their freedom. Within 2 generations of entering the promised land they had fallen into slavery again to some of the inhabitants of the land that they should have conquered and driven out or killed. How sad that they were now slaves in the land that God had intended for them to rule.

The same can happen to us after being made free from the law of Moses and free from sin. As Paul says to the Galatians we were set free for freedom. He is concerned that even though they are supposed to be free they might go back to the law and be enslaved again. Christ set us free so that we could live a life freely devoted to serving God. Stories are told of those who would go to the slave auctions and buy slaves to set them free. On one occasion when the newly-freed, former slave realized what had happened he told those who had emancipated him, “I will serve you for the rest of my life”. 

Christ has freed you at the cost of leaving Heaven, becoming human, and dying a cruel death won’t you serve him for the rest of your life?

There are 3 passages in the New Testament that discuss Christ as our deliverer. Let’s consider each of them.

In Romans 7:24, after describing the human inability to overcome sin on his own, Paul asks, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The answer for all who are unable to deliver themselves is made abundantly clear throughout the New Testament: Jesus Christ. So first we see that Jesus can deliver us from our own sinfulness.

Paul addresses the issue again in Galatians 1:3-5 where he explains that the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age. Here we see that Jesus not only delivers us from our own sinfulness, but rescues or delivers us from the evil all around us in this wicked world.

In the final passage, Hebrews 2:14-15, We see humans enslaved not just by their sinfulness, but also by the fear that they will have to face physical death. Christ is shown becoming flesh and blood like us and then facing physical death so that he could destroy the devil and his power of death. In the process of that he delivers all of us from having to be afraid of death because seeing him conquer the grave gives us the confidence and courage to face our own graves knowing that he can raise us up.

How much of your life have you spent being afraid of death and even enslaved by that fear? Death is not our friend, but Christ has conquered it and we don’t have to fear this enemy any longer. Have you allowed Christ to deliver you from yourself, the evil world around you, and the fear of death? Let him be your deliverer.

If I asked you to name the apostles I am sure that we could get Jesus’ twelve apostles named and someone would remember Matthias and there’s no way we would forget about Paul. Eventually, someone would probably even bring up Barnabas and James, the Lord’s brother, and references that seem to indicate that they were considered apostles (Acts 14:14 and Gal. 1:19). But be honest, would you have thought of Jesus as an apostle if you hadn’t seen the title of this article? 

Some of you may still be thinking that there must be some mistake, Jesus chose the apostles surely he’s not one of them. In Hebrews 3:1 Jesus is called “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession”. We’ll look at ‘High Priest’ another time, let’s focus on ‘Apostle’. Even though we don’t often think of him as an apostle and though he is not referred to with this appellation anywhere else in the New Testament, Coffman says it shouldn’t surprise us “since the primary meaning of the word is ‘one sent or commissioned for some important communication’” (James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA). What more important communication could there be than the good news that Jesus brought? The Hebrew writer has already said that God spoke through the prophets in the past, but now has spoken to us by His Son (1:2). How much farther could one be sent than from Heaven to Earth? What greater commission could there be than to show people who God truly is by God coming in the flesh?

Malachi 3:1 prophesies of the Lord coming and refers to him as “the messenger of the covenant” and said that he “is coming”. Indeed, the messenger of the covenant, the Apostle of our profession or confession, our Lord did come just as Malachi prophesied he would. But have we heeded his important communication? Jesus certainly brought much important information from the Father (John 12:49) not the least of which is that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Himself, God’s own Son. Are we professing and confessing Jesus, our Apostle, as the Son of God?

JP

The story is told of two children talking about their mommies and how they became part of their families. The first told about how she grew in a special part of her mommy’s tummy before she was born. The other little girl, who had been adopted, replied that she had not grown in her mommy’s tummy, but had grown in her heart. Of course we want all children to grow in their parents’ hearts, how important for us as Christians that we grew in our Heavenly Father’s heart before we were adopted into His family.

The Bible makes it clear Christ has made it possible for us to be part of the family of God. In other words, He took care of all the things that would have stopped it from happening. In essence, he was the adoption agent who brought us together and cut through all of the red tape so that we could be adopted by our Heavenly Father. John 1:12-13 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  13  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Galatians 4:5-6 shows us that the reason Jesus came as He did born of a woman, born under the law was to redeem us from being under the law so we could be adopted as sons (daughters too, but in the Greek masculine is used of a group containing male and female).

Romans 8:15 explains that we have received the Spirit of Adoption which allows us to call God - Abba, Father. Abba is their equivalent to our da-da it was the first word a child would speak to recognize a father. 

Ephesians 1:5 helps us understand that it was God’s will long ago for us to be adopted through Jesus Christ. His purpose predestinated it. 

Finally, Romans 8:23 reveals that the ultimate enjoyment of our adoption will come when our hopes are realized and we go home eternally. Are you a child of God? Have you been adopted into His family through Jesus Christ? Are you living in hope of what a heavenly home will be like.

​JP