Growing in Grace with God and Men
This morning we finished Luke 2 during our Men's Bible Study. No, we did not cover the whole chapter or even half of the chapter. We covered the last four verses. I believe that is a compliment to the 12 men who were there. They were contributing to our discussion and asking questions, because they have a hunger for the Word of God. Also, there is a lot to study in these last four verses.
We discussed when Jesus came to know that He was the Only Begotten Son of God. Of course, no one knows exactly, but He probably knew it for all of His life because of His deity, and He grew in that understanding in His humanity. Also, we learned that verse 49 contains the first recorded words of Jesus. The grammar of those words shows that He knew God was "His" Father in a unique way. Then, we discussed the submission of Jesus to His parents. He was able to fully submit to them and still do the will of God completely, too. That is good news for all men and women as we are called on to practice submission in a Biblical way. Jesus is our model. Then, we talked about how Jesus increased in wisdom. He learned how to apply His growing human knowledge as God would do as he lived in this world.
However, one of our main points was how Jesus grew in favor with God and men. The word favor is the word for grace. He increased in grace with God and men. He was not simply a likable person. He grew in His ability to be blessed by the Father, because of His obedience to the will of God and His mission. He grew in His standing with other people, because they saw the quality of His person-hood. In other words, He was favored by God and by men, because of how He lived His life. The same should be true of each of us. We should be more and more pleasing to God and more and more respected by others, because of how we live in obedience to God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 15-16 and John 3:1-18.
We discussed when Jesus came to know that He was the Only Begotten Son of God. Of course, no one knows exactly, but He probably knew it for all of His life because of His deity, and He grew in that understanding in His humanity. Also, we learned that verse 49 contains the first recorded words of Jesus. The grammar of those words shows that He knew God was "His" Father in a unique way. Then, we discussed the submission of Jesus to His parents. He was able to fully submit to them and still do the will of God completely, too. That is good news for all men and women as we are called on to practice submission in a Biblical way. Jesus is our model. Then, we talked about how Jesus increased in wisdom. He learned how to apply His growing human knowledge as God would do as he lived in this world.
However, one of our main points was how Jesus grew in favor with God and men. The word favor is the word for grace. He increased in grace with God and men. He was not simply a likable person. He grew in His ability to be blessed by the Father, because of His obedience to the will of God and His mission. He grew in His standing with other people, because they saw the quality of His person-hood. In other words, He was favored by God and by men, because of how He lived His life. The same should be true of each of us. We should be more and more pleasing to God and more and more respected by others, because of how we live in obedience to God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 15-16 and John 3:1-18.