July 1999

• The Fig Tree Proves It

• To Be Without A Share In

• The Baptism Of Jesus

• The King James Version - Is It The Only One?

• Meditate On These Things

"Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. And when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.' And His disciples heard it. Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.'" (Mark 11:12-14, 20, 21)

The downfall of man came when he was convinced that God could be questioned and the will of God be tested. "Has God indeed said?" has plagued man since the garden concerning his relationship with God. How simple the law was given and simple to understand. In the midst of such simplicity, man made it difficult. The law given by God has not been difficult to understand. Mark records for us in Mark 12:37, "And the common people heard Him gladly."

The nature of Jesus Christ has puzzled man from the beginning. Herod did not understand the true nature of the little baby born in Bethlehem. All through His life, Jesus battled the prejudiced minds of the religious leaders concerning who He was. "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" (John 5:43,44)

The mob crucified a man named Jesus of Nazareth as they failed to understand the nature of Jesus. Peter declared on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:36, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Peter shows that Jesus was a man and he was divine. The Jesus he refers too is the same man "attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst." (Acts 2:22) Jesus was human and He was divine.

The account of the fig tree in Mark 11 is a clear illustration of the nature of Jesus. Jesus was hungry and he was able to see a fig tree in the distance. He perceived it had leaves and He went to see "if perhaps He would find something on it." If Jesus was all deity he would not have been hungry nor would he have had to go over to the fig tree to determine if it had any fruit on it or not. His humanity demanded he be fed and he walk to the tree to examine it. His deity or power is shown when He found no fruit on the tree he cursed the tree and it withered. Man could not do that by mere words.

Do you understand how Jesus was able to incorporate His humanity and His deity all in one in His life on all occasions? God gives us the answer to understanding the humanity and deity of Jesus in Job 38:2-7 - "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? "

The contrast is found in those who are "in sin" and those who are "in Christ." To be "in sin" means to be without a share in ETERNAL REDEMPTION. We know that redemption is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24) and that "in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ." (Ephesians 1:7) If you are not "in Christ" you cannot share in this blessing.

To be "in sin" means that you cannot share in the LOVE OF GOD. John writes in 1 John 4:9-16 that God loved us enough to send His Son that we might live through Him. To be "in sin" means to reject this love and one cannot share in the Spirit given to those "in Christ." Romans 8:38-39 says, " For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." If you are "in sin" you cannot share in this blessing.

To be "in sin" means that you cannot share in ALL THE SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS Paul wrote about in Ephesians 1:3,4 - "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." All spiritual blessings are found in Christ - not outside of Christ. As long as you abide "in sin" you can never share in the spiritual blessings of those "in Christ." These blessings are numerous and too many to count. See 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 and 1 Peter 1:3,4 for examples of a few.

The final thought of being "in sin" is that you cannot share in the PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE. 2 Timothy 1:1 declares the promise of life is in Christ Jesus! Jesus said in John 5:24, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." You can never share in this blessing if you are not "in Christ."

How does one translate from not sharing in (sin) to enjoying the blessings of God (in Christ)? Galatians 3:26-27 says, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

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Of all the events in the life of Jesus, one stands out as the greatest example of obedience. We may immediately think about the cross and while this is a wonderful act of obedience, the cross could not have been possible without the baptism of Jesus. Matthew gives the fullest details about the baptism of Jesus: "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?' But Jesus answered and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"

Mark tells us in his account (1:9-11) that Jesus came from Nazareth to be baptized of John. This journey was about 60 to 70 miles in length. Jesus - at the age of thirty (Luke 3:21-23) - left his home and began the long journey to where He would begin His earthly ministry. He came with a determined mind and purpose in what He was about to do. We can only ponder what His thoughts were as he made preparation to leave home and make the first leg of his journey to the cross. Hebrews 10:5-7 should give us some insight into His purpose: "Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: 'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come -- in the volume of the book it is written of Me -- to do Your will, O God.'" We see first of all the baptism of Jesus was the will of God.

Jesus explains why He desires to be baptized in Matthew 3:15 - "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." There was another reason for Jesus to be baptized. He did not need what men needed - forgiveness of sins! What Jesus sought was the perfect fulfillment of the Father's will. The baptism of John was from heaven, not men. (Matthew 21:23-27) The baptism of John was from the "counsel of God." (Luke 7:29,30) Jesus sought to fulfill all righteousness - the will of the Father.

In baptism, men take two actions. The first is the action of repentance based upon sin. The second is the determination of the individual to serve God faithfully in complete obedience. Jesus came to declare His resolve to serve His Father faithfully to the death of the cross. He did not come for the forgiveness of sins but He could not be the sinless Son unless He obeyed the will of the Father. "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me ... And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." (John 5:30; 8:29)

Jesus was not baptized to give us an example that we should be baptized but that we should obey the will of the Father without question. The will of the Father is that we be "baptized for the remission of sins." (Acts 2:38) God thundered His approval of His Son's action when He declared, "This is My beloved Son, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED." As His ministry began with water, so it ended with the blood. (John 19:34; 1 John 5:6-8)

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The Bible is the inspired word of God, written by holy men of God speaking as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21) Paul affirmed in his letter to the church at Ephesus, "How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)." (Ephesians 3:3,4) When Paul wrote those words, he wrote them in a language of "Koine" Greek. The holy men of God who wrote the other portions of the Bible wrote in Hebrew, Chaldean and like Paul, Greek. The purpose of their writings was to reveal the mind of God unto men when those words had been read and understood.

Genesis 11 records a time when all men spoke the same language and one speech. In seeking to make a name for themselves they decided to build a tower "whose top is in the heavens." (v4) God "scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth," and they spoke in their own language. Down through the centuries, languages developed, changed and brought about the modern day languages we hear today.

The mind is a beautiful blessing given to man whereby he can ponder and think and challenge his world with better things. From the mind come imagination and thought. The mind represents the hope and the aspiration of all man's needs and wants. From the complex mass of the brain, millions upon millions of thoughts explode upon the eyes of the soul. "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." (Psalm 139:14)

The mind is also the seat of a great battle. In the garden of Eden, Satan used persuasive words to tempt the woman. He did not force her by strength of physical power but with words he caused her to ponder the law of God. "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." (Genesis 3:6) Paul describes the battle with Satan as a spiritual war - "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

The overwhelming battle of the mind is brought to full reality by Paul in Ephesians 6:12 - "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." With every moment of our existence, we wrestle against the power of Satan seeking to control and direct our lives. He accomplishes this by the power over our minds. God has offered a way to defeat Satan and refuse to allow Satan to control our lives: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

To mediate on something is to give timely cause to its design, purpose and growth in my life. I must awaken in the morning with the desire to think about things that are true during the day. My actions - determined by my thoughts - are based upon an honest character showing righteousness to those around me. The outlook I have is pure and lovely and looking for the "good report" instead of the bad. My mind looks for the moral goodness in myself and those around me and I seek to share my life with others in need. The result is a day filled with praise and thanksgiving to God for allowing me to meditate and set my mind on things above, "Where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God." (Colossians 3:1)

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