THE STORY GOD IS STILL WRITING

I want to tell you a story. This is a story that you and I are a part of. It was Aristotle who said that every good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. This story has a beginning, a middle, but its end is yet to happen. Despite its Aristotelian deficiency, this is still a good story. It begins in a mountain top royal garden. The seeds used by the royal gardener included those which produced trees of various kinds, some fruiting some ornamental, vegetables, shrubs, grape vines, flowers of wondrous colours, two sacramental trees as the large centre-pieces, and seeds of ideas that would take millennia to be realised. One of those ideas would be about you. This is the story I want to tell you when one of those most precious idea seeds finally generated. It begins around A.D. 30.

¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
In love He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will.
Ephesians 1:3-5

The seeds of God’s plan were sown in the Garden of Eden, but the one which was central to His entire plan was: that His eternal Son would, at just the right time (Gal. 4:4), enter our world as a newborn baby (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14; 9:6; 1Pet. 1:20) to be our Saviour (Isa. 53). And then He and His Father would send the eternal Holy Spirit into our world to establish and oversee the Church that Jesus Christ would take as His Bride (Eph. 5:23; Rev. 19:7). This foundational Edenic seed was germinated on the Day of Pentecost, described in Acts 2. And this is where we will jump ahead to in our story…

¶ When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind,
and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:1-4

Around AD 30, on the Day of Pentecost, the promised Holy Spirit was “poured out” and the New Testament church was birthed. After the apostle Peter had preached to the massive crowds that had travelled from around the world for this Jewish festival, 3,000 people were converted to Christianity (Acts 2:41). Gatherings of new Christians then formed in the homes of new Christians who lived in and around the walled city of Jerusalem where the teachings of Christ and the messages that He had entrusted to His apostles was shared. These new believers would also gather together regularly in a precinct of the Temple to be taught by the apostles. 

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes,
they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
praising God and having favour with all the people.
And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:46-47

The early Church grew rapidly. But with growth there are always growing pains. And the fledgling Church now had to deal with several serious conflicts…

There was not a needy person among them,
for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them
and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet,
and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Acts 4:34-35

The Church now had a relief ministry which was funded by the great generosity of its wealthier members. But this led to two immediate and dangerous problems. The first was that some wealthy donors were giving with very deceptive motives. In Acts 5 we are told of two such donors who were disciplined by the apostle and the Holy Spirit for their deception (Acts 5:1-10). This result was felt by all the Church.

And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Acts 5:11

But what started out as a good initiative, the distribution of food and aid to those in need, soon became the cause of another conflict in the Church. 

¶ Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number,
a complaint by the Hellenists [non-Israeli, Greek speaking,
Jewish converts to Christianity] arose against the Hebrews
because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
Acts 6:1

Again, rapid growth of the Church caused further growing pains. Every problem which is solved in life, as well as within a church, leads to further growth. In this instance the apostles realised that they were not the solution. They needed ‘to stay in their lane’ – that is, they needed to keep doing what God had called them to do and let others called to deal with this particular problem be a part of the solution. In this instance the apostles appointed ministers (Greek word, diakonēo from where our word deacon comes from) to practically resolve this food distribution complaint (note that those they selected had Greek [Hellenist] names).

And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said,
“It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.
Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute,
full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen,
a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor,
and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
Acts 6:2-5

Growth and success always stirs up sinful attitudes amongst those prone to violate the 10th Commandment – do not covet. The envy of the Jewish religious authorities toward the growth of the Church would create the next greatest problem for the early Christians to deal with: persecution.

¶ And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called),
and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia,
rose up and disputed with Stephen.  But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes,
and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,
and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law.
Acts 6:8-13

Stephen, one of the seven original deacons of the Church, faithfully shared the truth of the gospel with these religious leader before whom he was tried and then executed as a martyr (Acts 7:57-60). But as he was being martyred while kneeling, he cried out to God to forgive his persecutors and one of those in charge of this execution was profoundly affected by what Stephen did (Acts 7:60—8:1).  

But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house,
he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Acts 8:3

Far from slowing or stopping the rapid growth of the Church, this wave of persecution actually helped to accelerate it! Christians were scattered from Jerusalem out to the far-flung corners of the Empire and everywhere they went they preached about Jesus (Acts 8:4). And then a strange thing happened, the chief persecutor of the Church, Saul of Tarsus, was dramatically converted to Christianity!  And the impact of his conversion to Christ is why we are Christians today!

Now as [Saul] went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
Acts 9:3-6

It was always Christ’s intention that His Church be a global Church for people from all nations (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). When Saul (a Jewish name) changed his name to Paul (a gentile Roman name) the Church began to experience not just growth, but massive multiplication and expansion. Under the apostle Paul’s leadership, gentile churches were planted across the Empire and established in Roman households (which housed quite large family networks with additional servants and stewards). These householder-led family homes provided a ready-made leadership structure for these new churches and provided a stepping stone into the Church’s next stage of growth and globalisation. The apostle Paul would even describe each local church as being a household yet connected with the other churches around the world through adhering to common leadership and doctrine and being built upon Christ and His Word.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,
in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22

In the second century, the Church continued to expand across the Empire through the ready-made leadership structure and influence of householders. After the death of the apostles, regional bishops were considered their replacements. Through the ensuing centuries, the bishops would hold several important council meetings whereby statements were formulated or agreed to which several are now referred to as creeds (from the Latin, creedo, which means I believe). These ecumenical (applies to all churches) creeds include: the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Then, around AD 312, the would be Emperor of Rome, Constantine, won a decisive military battle which led to him in AD 324. He credited this victory to a dream he had about placing the “chi-rho” cross as an emblem of Christianity on each of his army’s shields. He then secured the Empire under his control after he defeated his contender, Licinius. “In that position … he could now enforce ‘One God, One Emperor, One Church’” (WORLD HISTORY ENCYCLOPAEDIA). 

According to Christian historian Eusebius, the troubled Constantine sought help in prayer to his father’s god.
Constantine then had a vision of a cross of light emblazoned against the sun and saw the words
In hoc signo vinces: “In this sign you will win.” Constantine ordered the monogram of Christ to be painted on his soldiers’ shields.
When he later engaged Maxentius, Constantine won a decisive victory.
CHRISTIAN HISTORY INSTITUTE, David F. Wright

With Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, an era known as Christendom commenced. Constantine then endowed churches to pay for ministers, build churches and basilicas, and have some bureaucratic roles in his government. But over time this lead to people becoming bishops or bureaucrats who sought power and glory for themselves rather than Christ.  

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock,
in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God,
which he obtained with his own blood.
I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
Acts 20:28-30

The Medieval period is sometimes referred to as the Dark Ages predominantly because much of the Church had become politicised and led by men who did not know God. In this period when the ‘light’ of Christ’s Church largely went dark, God raised up various men and women who remained faithful Christ and His Word.

THE REFORMATION BEGINS

Englishman, John Wycliffe (14th century) is referred to as the Morning Star of the Reformation. He translated the New Testament into English which made it accessible to common people. Later, William Tyndale (15th century) translated the entire Bible into English. Meanwhile, in Italy, Dominican Friar, Girolamo Savonarola (late 15th century) began to publicly preach against the wickedness of the Church’s corrupt bishops and called people to repentance and to turn to faith in Christ. In Germany, another monk, Martin Luther (16th century), had discovered through his lectures to his students from Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, that the Roman Church had actually been teaching things that did not agree with the Bible. In France, John Calvin (16th century) was inspired by Luther’s sermons and lectures to search the Scriptures for himself and found that much of what the Pope had been promoting was contrary to God’s Word. Then some time after this, Count Nicolaus Ludwig Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf (17th century), the founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine Christian mission, and leader of what became the Moravian brotherhood, rediscovered what it meant to be a Spirit-filled and Spirit-empowered missionary to those who had never heard of Christ. He played a significant role in leading the Anglican minister, John Wesley (18th century), to Christ. During the Wesleyan revival from 1740 to 1780, hundreds of thousands of people were converted to Christ. His followers played a key role in the decision to send the First Fleet to colonise Australia and establish it as a Christian country. By this time various “denominations” of the Church had been formed under the direction of the Holy Spirit to further help the Church to remain well organised and focused on evangelising and discipling the nations of the world   

During the late 18th century the seeds for what became known as the enlightenment would be sown where much of the Church’s authority and teachings were challenged and rejected by secular-minded thinkers who regarded science and rational thought superior to what they regarded as the superstitious ideas of the Roman Church. But there was also an increased awareness from a growing number of Christian thinkers who considered that what the Official Church had been teaching was not what the Bible actually taught and that its teaching was even often contradicted by the Bible! In addition to this, there was even a campaign in the late 1800s by some ‘enlightenment’ theologians to regard the Bible as not divinely inspired, and that much of its history was actually just mythology rather than factual. This became known as liberalism.

Liberal theologians began to dominate the teaching staff of many seminaries which meant that those training for professional church ministry were now graduating with the belief that the Bible was not divinely inspired, and therefore was not authoritative – which meant that much of its ethical statements, were not really applicable today. The abandonment of the reliability and authority of the Scriptures meant that the Church’s ministry as “salt and light” to its world was replaced by the false notion that people did not need God or His Word to guide their lives. Thus, in the 1960s, the “sexual revolution” began. This resulted in the 1970s decisions by governments around the Western World to introduce such things as no-fault divorce. This was based on the false idea that marriage and sex was about personal happiness rather than holiness (the responsibility to do what is right and good). This then meant that if you were in a marriage that did not make you happy, you could divorce without you or your spouse being “at fault”. With this abandonment of Biblical ethics by societies and their elected legislators, David Rietveld contends in his book, Being Christian After Christendom, that the era which began with Constantine had come to an end.

This may mean that the Church of today in the Western world is now operating in a culture that not only thinks that Christianity is irrelevant, but in the minds of many, is actually “repressive and dangerous” – because we believe that life and its aspects (including sexuality) have been designed by God for a particular four-fold purpose. How then do we now act as Christians – who are committed to Christ and His Word as we are trying to live obediently to God in a cancel-culture world whose leaders are opposed to us?

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2

In many respects the Church of today is almost back where we started – obviously not numerically, but in the sense of the cultural climate. The Church of today is at a crossroad. We can either go along with the cultural pressure to abandon God’s Word and no longer consider that what God calls sin and rebellion is actually sin and rebellion; or, we can remain faithful to Christ and His Word and be counter-cultural. Being non-conformist, counter-cultural rebels against the values of worldliness and godless secularisation means that we will not be approved of by the culture and may even be “cancelled”. But I suspect that when we realise that the world is not our audience – God is – that we will find that He will watch over us and sustain us. If I had had the time I would have pointed out that through my brief historical sketch of the Church’s story that there have been many times when the Church has been cancelled and faced the ire of its surrounding culture. Yet, God has always sustained His remnant and blessed their efforts to be faithful and effective witnesses. The historical sketch of the Church’s history clearly validates the Scriptural record that Christ would build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). I trust that this sketch of the Church has also demonstrated that with each stage of the its growth, expansion, re-structuring, diversification into denominations, and its increasingly broad range of ministries in not only conducting worship services but also supplying relief to the poor, health care to the unfortunate, comfort to the afflicted, fellowship for the lonely, education to the vulnerable, and inspiration to those who long to make a positive difference — is still what each local church contributes to today.

When we meet each Sunday we do so in obedience to Christ’s Word (Heb. 10:24-25). When we sing our worship we do so in obedience to God’s Word (Col. 3:16). When we preach and teach God’s Word we do so in obedience to Christ’s Word (2Tim. 4:1-3). When we together in each others homes for prayer, Bible study, and fellowship, we are doing so to be formed into disciples of Christ as His Word commands us (1Thess. 5:11).

God’s Word describes believers as “brothers and sisters”. This means that those who are part of a local church are like a family. And in a world where family is increasingly becoming a rare experience, our church can be the means by which some of the deepest yet unrealised longings of the human soul can be met — and increasingly so into the future as our culture comes to realise that what they thought would satisfy their deepest longings has not. And this is the story of the Church that God is still writing with you and I being written into it.

Pastor at Large,

Andrew

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THE RESULTS OF CHRIST'S CROSS

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
¶ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
First Corinthians 1:17-18

The cross of Christ is the greatest ever public display of God’s wisdom and power. The Greco-Roman world knew that the penalty of death on a cross was the ultimate humiliation. Rome made sure that any who defied it would be made an example of through crucifixion. For example, when the Romans put down the Spartan revolt of 71BC they wanted to send a chilling warning to anyone else who thought they could defy Rome. Six-thousand conquered Spartan soldiers were crucified on Roman crosses and displayed along the Appian Way (the main road leading into Rome).

It was the practice of the Romans that those condemned to die by crucifixion were stripped naked and forced to carry their patibulum (the heavy cross beam of the cross) which was put across their shoulders and tied to their wrists as they were publicly paraded and forcibly marched to where they would be nailed to the patibulum and fixed to the vertical post of the cross. Unlike the deaths of the two criminals and Christ on that original Good Friday, the death of those being crucified would result – not from the crucifixion itself – but from their long exposure to the elements and the attacks of wild birds of prey which pecked repeatedly at their flesh. GOD indeed chose this most humiliating means of punishment and execution to bring about the greatest and most glorious triumph in the history of the universe! The humiliating death of Christ became the means by which GOD in Christ would humiliate His enemies!

He [Christ] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame,
by triumphing over them  in him [by the cross].
Colossians 2:15

But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God,
which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
First Corinthians 2:7-8

No wonder the apostle Paul told the Corinthians that the cross was folly to those who were perishing, but the power of God to those who were being saved.

 

THE JOURNEY TO THE CROSS

When the New Testament refers to “the cross of Christ” (1Cor. 1:17) it is also referring to His journey to the cross (known as His ‘passion’). This journey (Christ’s passion) began on earth with His incarnation in the womb of the virgin Mary. While the incarnation of the Word was the greatest miracle, His work on the cross was the greatest public miracle. It is also true that the death of Christ on the cross has now provided the means by which any repentant sinner can be forgiven of their sins and made right with God. But it is also true that the death of Christ on the cross means not just this, and, much more than this. This also involves understanding that not only does the New Testament use the expression the cross or the cross of Christ to include the events leading up to the cross, it also encompasses the events proceeding after the cross – including Christ’s resurrection, ascension and glorification.   

This journey to the Cross led to Jesus revealing the Father

Athanasius wrote, On The Incarnation of the Word, and asked the question about the point of Christ’s ministry and teaching at all – especially in light of God’s mission for Christ to die for the sins of the world. After all, why could Christ just be incarnated, and then die privately as the atoning sacrifice for mankind’s sins? Athanasius answers his question by discussing the need for Christ to reveal the Father publicly (Jn. 14:9), fulfil His role as Israel’s promised Messiah (Jn. 1:41), fulfil the role of being the Second/Last Adam (1Cor. 15:45) by sinlessly exhibiting the perfect image of God (2Cor. 4:4), doing battle with the forces of darkness in the midst of their territory by sinless conquest without yielding to their temptations (Matt. 4:1-11), and establishing the Church (Matt. 16:18).  

The journey to the Cross leading to Him taking the sins of all mankind into the realm of the dead where He also “preached to those who were dead.”

When Christ died, His body would have gone into rigor mortis very quickly (refer to the recent expert comments about this phenomena by Dr. Joseph Bergeron, M.D.). During the 3-day period of His physical death Christ went to the place of the dead and announced the gospel to the righteous dead who were awaiting their release from this Old Covenant holding place for the dead which would take place when the Old Covenant was finally done away with when the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 (note Heb. 8:13 written about AD 63 which states that the Old Covenant “was about to be done away with“). 

For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead,
that though judged in the flesh the way people are,
they might live in the spirit the way God does.
First Peter 4:6

Thus, in the Revelation 6:9-10 we can hear the martyrs from the Neronic persecution of AD 64-68 cry out (if I might paraphrase it) When will You avenge our martyrdom and how much longer will we have to remain here? Thus, even during the three days that Christ’s body was in the tomb, Christ was still working on our behalf. When He went into the realm of eternity He carried our sin, guilt, and shame there, which ensure that even the sins of mankind not yet committed would be atoned for! We can be sure that Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross was sufficient to atone for all the sins of mankind and that there is no need for any human efforts to supplement what Christ has achieved for us! Rest now and forever in His saving grace!

The journey to the Cross resulted in His resurrection from the dead as the “firstfruits” which now enables the resurrection of all the redeemed.

When Christ had completed the atoning sacrifice of His life as the True Lamb of God, He rose from the dead by the same Power that enabled Him to originally be incarnated (Rom 1:4).

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11

His resurrection from the dead is referred to as “the firstfruits” which means there are more resurrections to come!

¶ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ.
First Corinthians 15:20, 23

Thus, the grave is not the end for anyone. All people will be resurrected – some to eternal life, and (for those who reject God’s Son) some to eternal condemnation.

¶ “Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and will come out—the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation.
John 5:28-29 NET

Christ’s resurrection announced that He had conquered the forces of evil (who schemed to put Him to death) and had overcome sin and death (Rom. 6:9; 1Cor. 15:26, 54-55; Heb. 6:14).

The journey to the Cross resulted in the vanquishing of certain Principalities and Powers leading them captive into permanent captivity at Christ’s ascension.

The Jews had a belief that there had been three ‘falls’: Genesis 3, the first Man and the Woman who ate of the forbidden fruit; Genesis 6, certain Watcher angels who left their stations and sired the Nephilim (Gen. 6:4);  and, Genesis 11, when certain “sons of God” (powerful Heavenly beings also referred to as “Princes”, refer to Deut. 32:8) led some of mankind into a rebellion against God (and probably included further acts of immorality resulting in siring the more Nephilim and Rephaim) at the Tower of Babel. When the Lord intervened after the third “fall“ (Gen. 11:7-9) some of these more powerful rebellious heavenly creatures, according to Jewish tradition (note particularly the Book of First Enoch referred to in Jude 9), had some of their powers curtailed and were confined to the territory of Mount Herman (which is where Christ was transfigured in Matt. 17). The prophetic psalmist foretold of the day when the Lord would one day vanquish the evil spiritual princes who still used their manipulation powers to indirectly commit their evil schemes:

¶ O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for His abode,
yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?
The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them;
Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
Psalm 68:15-17

The apostle Paul would have known about this Jewish traditional understanding of the captivity of these principalities and powers to Mount Herman, and saw that the ascension of Christ resulted in their temporary captivity at Hermon being made a permanent captivity in Tartarus (2Peter 2:4; Jude 6). Thus Paul wrote that it was Christ at His ascension who fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 68 – 

Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high He led a host of captives,
and He gave gifts to men.”
Ephesians 4:8

At Christ’s ascension Jesus returned to His Father where His “blood” was accepted by the Father as the sufficient atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind (Heb. 9:12, 14). Because of this, every believer can now enter boldly into God the Father’s presence and present our requests to Him (Heb. 10:19).

The journey to the Cross led to the Holy Spirit being sent after Christ had returned to enter His glory enabling for the regeneration of all the redeemed.

When Christ ascended He returned to His Father and re-entered into His glory. On the Isle of Patmos John the Apostle encountered not just the risen Jesus, but the risen glorified Jesus (Rev. 1:9-18). Jesus had told His disciples that during His earthly ministry the Holy Spirit had been with them but after He had returned to His Father the Spirit would be in them (Jn. 14:17). The day that the promised Holy Spirit was poured out revealed that each of Christ’s acts of redemption actually corresponded to the Jewish feasts described in Leviticus 23. It was on the Day of Pentecost (Lev. 23:9-14) that the Holy Spirit was poured out on believers “baptising” them with power to be Christ’s witnesses (Acts 2:1-4).

The journey to the Cross established Christ as the rightful Judge of all mankind – some to life and those who reject Him to condemnation.

As a result of Christ’s triumph on the cross, His Lordship was declared in heaven affirming that He will one day judge all mankind (Jn. 8:16). Christ’s, resurrection, ascension, and re-glorification has provided for all the redeemed our eternal salvation, our  regeneration by the Holy Spirit, our adoption by God the Father, our baptism with the Holy Spirit, our future resurrection with an imperishable body, our ultimate glorification with Christ, and, our participation in the divine nature and inviting us to rule and reign with Him as joint heirs of Christ (Rom. 8:17; 2Tim. 2:12). What glories await the believer! Our eternal destiny in the New Heaven/Earth will mean that we will forever be in union with God and partners with Him in building and administrating His eternal kingdom where there will be no possibility of sin or evil!

¶ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Second Peter 1:3-4

These are all the result of the cross of Christ, that benefits us, the redeemed!

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.