"I Have Come..."

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #131l Written 20DEC08 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw


Save Me Today—Part Twelve: “I Have Come…”


by rev dave c


No one had to teach me how to be selfish, or to lie, or cheat, or steal, or to be disobedient, or argumentative. I didn’t have to take lessons on how to betray trust or misuse people and things. The abuse of aspects of life that God intended for good came naturally to me. There is no doubt in my mind that I am a descendent of the fallen Adam and Eve. Equally, there is no doubt in my mind as to the debt that Jesus Christ paid on my behalf in order that I might have eternal life in His glorious presence. Jesus came to earth miraculously conceived but naturally born not that He might learn the nature of man. No, He came that man might learn the nature of God. With this in mind we find throughout the Gospels Christ’s own words as to why He has come.


Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me (Jn 8:42; NIV). For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me (Jn 6:38; NIV). I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God? (Jn 5:43&44; NIV).


"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Mt 5:17; NIV). "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Mt 10:34-36). "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division (Lu 12:49-51; NIV). Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind" (Lu 9:39; NIV).


"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (Jn 10:10; NIV). I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness (Jn 12:46; NIV). "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (Jn 18:37; NIV). "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come" (Mk 1:38; NIV). "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mk 2:17; NIV).


"You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:42; NIV). "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour" (Jn 12:23-26; NIV).


Paul explains to us: 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (NIV). Amen.