God's Revelation of His Will to Us - Isaiah 9-10 and Ephesians 3
God is constantly revealing Himself, His Nature, and His ways to us. This is very important to understand. Some people think God is hard to find, and it is very difficult to know His will. The problem is that their sin and rebellion against God has made it hard for them to see what God is revealing. It is not that God is hiding Himself or His will. The whole Bible is His revelation to us. Most people don't even read the Bible to know God and His will. Then, there are special times of revelation when God reveals a very significant fact to us. In our reading today we find two of those. It is very exciting to realize the truth of God's Word and God's heart to show us His truth when we read these things.
Isaiah 9:6,7 is a very famous passage in which Isaiah shows us what God had told him. A child would be born, but not just any child. This child would be the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Who is he talking about? He is revealing Jesus to us 800 years before His birth to Mary in the manger. He has insight into the fact that God is becoming a man by being born into this world. Some of the facts have to do with Jesus' first coming as the Messiah who would die on the Cross, and some of them have to do with His second coming when He will reign from David's throne. It is a mighty revelation of God's will to us. He loves us so much that He would come down to be with us. See what I mean about this showing us the truth of the Bible? Only God could reveal this to Isaiah, so the Bible must be God's Word.
Then, Paul reveals something special in Ephesians 3. He calls it the mystery, because it was hidden for a long time, but then God revealed it to Paul. God showed Paul that the Gentiles would become part of God's people by trusting Christ as Savior and Lord, and then, all of God's people, Jews and Gentiles, would be joined together as one people in the church. This truth would have been unthinkable under the Old Covenant, because Gentiles were unclean, and the Jews would not have fellowship with them. Once the Gospel was taken to the Gentiles, they were saved, and they became one with the Jews who had accepted Christ. God revealed His wonderful plan to Paul, because He called him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Again, this shows the truth of God's Word, because we have seen this come to pass.
Now that the Bible is complete, God will not reveal new things to you and me that add to His Word, but He will show us His will for our lives. That is His nature. That is how God does things. He wants to show Himself and His will to us. I pray that each of us will stay focused on God, so we can follow His revelation of Himself to us each day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 11-13 and Ephesians 4.
Isaiah 9:6,7 is a very famous passage in which Isaiah shows us what God had told him. A child would be born, but not just any child. This child would be the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Who is he talking about? He is revealing Jesus to us 800 years before His birth to Mary in the manger. He has insight into the fact that God is becoming a man by being born into this world. Some of the facts have to do with Jesus' first coming as the Messiah who would die on the Cross, and some of them have to do with His second coming when He will reign from David's throne. It is a mighty revelation of God's will to us. He loves us so much that He would come down to be with us. See what I mean about this showing us the truth of the Bible? Only God could reveal this to Isaiah, so the Bible must be God's Word.
Then, Paul reveals something special in Ephesians 3. He calls it the mystery, because it was hidden for a long time, but then God revealed it to Paul. God showed Paul that the Gentiles would become part of God's people by trusting Christ as Savior and Lord, and then, all of God's people, Jews and Gentiles, would be joined together as one people in the church. This truth would have been unthinkable under the Old Covenant, because Gentiles were unclean, and the Jews would not have fellowship with them. Once the Gospel was taken to the Gentiles, they were saved, and they became one with the Jews who had accepted Christ. God revealed His wonderful plan to Paul, because He called him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Again, this shows the truth of God's Word, because we have seen this come to pass.
Now that the Bible is complete, God will not reveal new things to you and me that add to His Word, but He will show us His will for our lives. That is His nature. That is how God does things. He wants to show Himself and His will to us. I pray that each of us will stay focused on God, so we can follow His revelation of Himself to us each day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 11-13 and Ephesians 4.