Read ESTHER 1:1–8

The book of Esther may remind you of a classic, “once upon a time” children’s story with a wealthy king, his beautiful queen, and an evil villain. But while the characters might resemble a fairy tale, the book of Esther depicts actual events that shaped Jewish history and instituted the festival of Purim, a tradition that continues to this day. Esther’s brave actions saved the Jews from massacre and preserved the lineage of Christ.

The opening verses of Esther place these events in a historical timeline. King Xerxes (also known by his name in Hebrew, Ahasuerus) ruled over 127 provinces, from India to Ethiopia (v. 1). At the beginning of this story, King Xerxes was holding court in the city of Susa, during the third year of his reign. This ruler of the Persian Empire had incredible wealth. The text records the splendor of his court with its beautiful wall hangings and an array of purple, the color of royalty (v. 6). Gold, silver, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones decorated the furniture. People drank wine in abundance from golden goblets (v. 7).

Xerxes wanted to paint a picture of a perfect kingdom with no problems. Certainly there was no lack of wealth. Every individual was given everything they desired (v. 8). And Xerxes was sure to get the credit for the glamor and abundance. But even the extraordinary power and wealth of the king had limitations. Note how the text highlights the number of days his “majesty” had been on display (v. 4). No matter how grand the court of King Xerxes was, his reign was limited and pales in contrast with the majesty of God. God’s kingdom will know no end. The temporal plans of individuals in this book lay subject to the will of our Almighty God.

APPLY THE WORD

As we begin the book of Esther, it is helpful to remember that no matter what evil plans people make, God still sits upon the throne. We can be assured that God is ultimately in control, and the final outcome is preserved by Him. It is easy to worry about life from our own human perspective, but we must never forget who is King.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read EPHESIANS 1:3–14

A recent study found that the five happiest cities in America are all in one state: Louisiana! The researchers explored well-being and life satisfaction data from many sources. The five happiest cities emerged as Lafayette, Houma, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and Alexandria, Louisiana.

Today’s reading, which is all one sentence in Greek, perfectly captures the genuine happiness and joy of redemption. The Father is the giver of this greatest of all blessings. He possesses all wisdom and under- standing (v. 8), and in it He sovereignly chose us (vv. 4–5). At just the right time, He revealed His will and lavished on us the riches of His grace (vv. 6–10). His plan for history is moving irresistibly forward (v. 11).

The Son is the means of salvation. The blessings the Father gives are “in Christ” (v. 3). He has chosen us “in him” (vv. 4, 11). Our adoption and inclusion in God’s family are “through Jesus Christ” (vv. 5, 13). God’s grace is “in the One he loves” (v. 6). Our forgiveness is “in him” and “through his blood” (v. 7). God’s will is “purposed in Christ” and His plan is to put everything “under Christ” (vv. 9–10; Phil. 2:9–11). Our hope is truly “in Christ” alone (v. 12).

The Spirit is the “seal” of our salvation, God’s mark of ownership (vv. 13–14). He is also “a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance,” a down payment on the fullness of salvation. If God can refer to Himself as a “deposit,” how inexpressibly glorious the complete reality will be! Let’s close our study this month with a Trinitarian benediction: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). Amen!

APPLY THE WORD

As you think about this study of the Trinity, what has God taught you about Himself? Prayerfully ask the Lord to reveal which truth He would like to apply in your life. You may find it helpful to write down your thoughts in a spiritual journal or discuss them with a close friend. May God richly bless your attentive consideration of His Word!

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read ROMANS 8:5–17

The Greek word oikia can mean “house,” as in the physical building. It can also mean “household” or “family,” the people who live there, as well as “extended family” or “clan,” the entire family tree. The term can also indicate the “estate,” that is, wealth and property belonging to the family. This makes the New Testament metaphor of believers being a family or “household of faith” a rich one (see Gal. 6:10)!

Part of this powerful metaphor declares believers to be “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (v. 17). To be an heir of God means we live by the Spirit; we have been transformed through our spiritual rebirth (vv. 5–8). We have a different life purpose, with our minds now set on what God desires. Our lives lead to a different outcome, life rather than death. This is because we have a different relationship with God, one in which we now seek to please, obey, and submit to Him (see 1 John 3:10).

Life by the Spirit is the evidence that our salvation is real (vv. 9–11). If one is in God’s kingdom, one has the Spirit and a certain hope of resurrection. Conversely, not to have the Spirit indicates one does not belong to Christ at all. Therefore, we have an obligation to live in line with our new spiritual life and identity (vv. 12–13). We should cooperate with the Spirit in putting sin to death in our lives.

The Spirit is the One who brings us into the Father’s family, an adoption made possible by the Son (vv. 14–17). Jesus is, as it were, our older brother, and through Him we have the privilege of calling God “Abba.” Thanks to the Trinity, we’re no longer slaves to sin but are instead children of God!

APPLY THE WORD

What are your “inheritance rights” as a child of God? They include new spiritual life and the promise of bodily resurrection. But they also include a promise of suffering (v. 17). No doubt we prefer to think of blessings and rewards, and these are very real. But we should also rejoice in the privilege of suffering for His name (see Matt. 5:11–12; Acts 5:41; Phil. 1:29).

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read ACTS 2:29–41

A classic hymn prays: “O holy, blessed Trinity, / Divine, eternal Unity, / O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, / This day your name be uppermost. . . . / My Maker, hold me in your hand; / O Christ, forgiven let me stand; / Blest Comforter, do not depart, / With faith and love enrich my heart.”

All three Persons of the Trinity play their role in the believer’s salvation and daily spiritual life. On the day of Pentecost, Peter declared God’s eternal plan of redemption, including the involvement of the entire Trinity (vv. 30–36). Jesus, the Son, was the man they had recently seen arrested and crucified. He was in fact God’s promised Messiah, from the line of David but greater than the famous king—as David had prophetically known would be the case. Now resurrected, Jesus had been exalted to the right hand of God, having completed His mission of salvation.

The Father was the maker and fulfiller of the Davidic covenant, the One responsible for the overall plan, including the sending of His own Son. He was the One sovereignly calling Peter’s listeners to repentance and faith in Christ. Finally, the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, was the explanation for the phenomenon of tongues they had just witnessed, in which everyone had heard the gospel proclaimed in their own language (2:1– 12). He had been sent by the Father and the Son as part of the gift of salvation, to enable and empower the newborn church to spread the good news of God’s love far and wide.

In response, thousands of Peter’s listeners were “cut to the heart,” repented, believed on Jesus, and were baptized the same day (vv. 37–41).

APPLY THE WORD

Praise our triune God for the gift of salvation and the Trinity’s ongoing role in our spiritual lives! You might sing or listen to music that praises God. You might pray, celebrating the parts that each Person of the Godhead plays in redemption. You might serve others, participating in the commission we have: to follow God.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read JOHN 3:1–8

Seventeenth-century Puritan pastor John Owen noted that the Bible teaches with regard to the Holy Spirit “that he will come unto us, that he will be our comforter, that he will teach us, lead us, guide us; that he spoke of old in and by the prophets, that they were moved by him, acted by him; [and] that he ‘searcheth the deep things of God.’” Therefore, “we must acknowledge the Holy Ghost to be a substance, a person, God; yet distinct from the Father and the Son.”

Spiritual rebirth is a work of the Holy Spirit, made possible by the Son, and planned and presided over by the Father. The entire Trinity is integrally involved in the work of salvation. We’ll conclude our study with five days to focus on this topic, beginning with today’s reading in John 3 and then moving beyond the Gospels to explore more fully the Trinity’s roles in redemption.

Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of the necessity of being “born again” or “born from above” or “born of the Spirit” (vv. 3, 5). His explanation of what this means involved the entire Trinity. Spiritual rebirth is a requirement for entering the Father’s kingdom. It is a work of the Holy Spirit (vv. 5–8). And the Son knows how it all works because He accomplished it via His death and resurrection.

The phrase “born of water and the Spirit” likely indicates a natural birth (water) then a supernatural birth (Spirit). In verse 6, “Flesh gives birth to flesh” (natural) but “the Spirit gives birth to Spirit” (supernatural). He, as only God can, changes death (where natural birth inevitably leads) into life. The wind metaphor in verse 8, in addition to highlighting God’s glorious sovereignty and mystery, reminds us of His creation and life-giving breath (see Gen. 2:7).

APPLY THE WORD

The Gospel of John intentionally echoes and builds on the opening chapters of the book of Genesis to reveal more of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. When you have time for additional Bible study, read the first three chapters of Genesis and the first three chapters of John, and make notes about themes you see repeated.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read MATTHEW 28:16–20

In the late 1700s, many Christians saw world evangelism as God’s business, not theirs. In response, a young English minister named William Carey wrote a tract arguing that all Christians in all eras of history should obey the Great Commission. He then sailed for India, where he spent his life in the service of the gospel. Today he is credited with launching the modern missionary movement.

The Great Commission makes clear the missionary responsibility of the church, and it puts it clearly in the context of our Triune God. The disciples were commanded to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (vv. 19–20). This divine, authori- tative mandate came directly from God the Father via God the Son.

Realistically, the disciples were not represented in this passage as a crack team of evangelists. Very properly, they worshiped the risen Christ, but it also says that “some doubted” (v. 17). Faith isn’t instantaneous; it takes time to grow. Making disciples, not just converts, is a time-consuming process. The faith that saves is just the start of how God wants to transform our lives!

Most significantly, Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The tone is reminiscent of Moses addressing the Israelites before his death: “Be strong and courageous . . . for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6). Though ascending to the Father, Jesus—God the Son and “God with us”—did not leave His church alone. He has promised to be with us throughout this present age!

APPLY THE WORD

Consider how you can be involved with missions. The Lord might call you to serve Him in a different cultural context, or perhaps share your gifts of financial or prayer support. Missionaries appreciate gifts of encouragement through email and remembered birthdays. And mission organizations need the gifts of organization.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read JOHN 20:19–23

Early on the Sunday morning following Christ’s crucifixion, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and found the stone rolled away. She reported this to Peter and John, who ran there and found no body, only empty grave clothes. They were puzzled and fearful. What happened? Would they be blamed for the missing body? Would they be arrested and executed?

Over time, the incredible truth dawned on them. Jesus had risen from the dead, just as He said! He appeared to them, ate with them, and spoke with them (v. 19). He showed them His crucifixion scars (v. 20). The Son now possessed a glorified body—as we will also one day (see 1 Cor. 15:20)—that could do things like pass through locked doors, but it was still identifiably His body. He understood the disciples’ state of mind and gently transformed their feelings from fear to joy.

Christ also gave them a task infused by the Trinity. They were to go forth with the message of the gospel. As the Father had sent the Son to accomplish redemption, so the Son now sent them to spread the news of God’s love (v. 21). They would do with God’s strength— Jesus “breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (v. 22). This was a foretaste of Pentecost, the full anointing of the Spirit that came fifty days after Jesus’ ascension.

He also gave them the authority to speak in His name (v. 23). This verse does not imply that we cause God to forgive or not forgive. The Greek verb actually indicates that the forgiveness has already taken place. It means that to proclaim the gospel is to participate in God’s work of redemption, in which forgiveness of sin is crucial.

APPLY THE WORD

How are we as followers of Christ participating in the spread of the good news of the gospel? We should all testify to God’s work of salvation. Whether witnessing to a neighbor, praying for missionaries, or serving in a church outreach, we have an amazing privilege of following the command of Christ and participating in God’s desire to share His love with all people.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read LUKE 11:5–13

When we call God “Father,” we associate that term with “affection and authority,” according to author Ben White. But this would have been countercultural in the New Testament world. In the Roman Empire, fathers played virtually no part in parenting, infanticide was practiced regularly, and men ruled their families as absolute tyrants, including owning all property and having the right to make or break children’s marriages.

In other words, White says, “The New Testament authors portray God the Father as radically unlike Roman fathers.” When we as God’s children pray to Him, then, we are not praying to a romanticized version of a human father but to a far superior Father. If even human fathers normally do the right thing by their children, how much more so will God (vv. 11–13)? Or if even a grumpy person for whom it is inconvenient will give a friend bread because of that friend’s tenacity, how much more so will God (vv. 5–8)? He has none of the sinfulness that causes human fathers to sometimes wrong their children or friends to sometimes act selfishly.

In today’s passage, Jesus taught His disciples about prayer, mainly highlighting the need for boldness and persistence. To say, “Ask and it will be given to you,” was not a blank check for getting our own wishes and desires. Rather, Jesus meant that prayer is how we seek to align our wills with God’s will, and when that happens our prayers will be granted. His ways are higher, His plans are better, and one day we’ll see that all His answers to our prayers were best.

The third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is described here as an answer to prayer (v. 13). To those who ask, God gives the best gift of all—Himself.

APPLY THE WORD

Ask the Spirit to help you to reflect on your prayer life. In verse 9, the imperative verbs imply a continuous action: “Keep on asking,” “Keep on seeking,” and “Keep on knocking.” A prayer request is not a one-time event; instead, prayer is a spiritual habit or discipline, a way of life. That’s how Paul could exhort us to “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17).

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read MATTHEW 10:5–20

Believers around the world today are suffering for the sake of the gospel. The Spectator, a British publication, called it “the war on Christians.” They reported that the secular International Society for Human Rights estimates that 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination globally are directed at Christians. Each year for the decade preceding 2013, an average of 100,000 Christians were martyred—that’s eleven Christians every hour of every day.

No wonder Jesus said He was sending His followers out as “sheep among wolves” (Matt. 10:16)! As in yesterday’s devotion, in today’s reading we see the entire Trinity involved in spreading the good news of the kingdom. The sending of the Twelve, unlike the sending of the 72, was limited to the Jews (vv. 5–8), not because God’s love excluded Gentiles (see v. 18) but simply because “the lost sheep of Israel” were to hear first (see Rom. 1:16).

The Father is involved because the “kingdom of heaven” is His kingdom. The promises being fulfilled are His promises. The day of judgment that awaits unbelievers is His day of judgment. The Spirit is involved because He was sent by the Father. He will give faithful believers wisdom about what to say when they are persecuted (vv. 16–20). And the Son is involved, of course, because He Himself is the promised Messiah. With this mission, He was training His twelve disciples in proclaiming the kingdom, trusting God and God’s people to provide, and facing opposition (vv. 9–15).

Bearing witness to the kingdom was and is more important than mere safety. The Good Shepherd sends us, too, out as faithful sheep among the wolves of the world. Thankfully, we, too, can rely upon the Spirit of our Father to speak through us!

APPLY THE WORD

As we pray for the persecuted church around the world, consider joining with a prayer partner to intercede for believers who are oppressed. Just as Jesus’ followers were sent out in pairs, praying with a partner can be encouraging and powerful. “For where two or three gather in my name,” Jesus said, “there am I with them” (Matt. 18:20).

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read LUKE 10:1–24

In recent years, Middle Eastern Chris- tians have suffered intense persecution. The Week reported that in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere, believers “are murdered in mob violence or by militant groups. Their churches are bombed, their shops destroyed, and their homes looted. Laws are passed making them second-class citizens, and the majority of them eventually leave.”

Christ told His followers to expect persecution (see John 15:20). Suffering is part of being entrusted with the gospel. In today’s reading, Jesus sent out seventy-two of His followers with the good news of the kingdom. Since the table of nations in Genesis 10 lists seventy-two entries, some scholars think this number might symbolize the global scope of God’s plan. Jesus warned these followers that they were going out as sheep among wolves, and some people would greet them with hostility (vv. 3–12).

Despite any opposition they had faced, the seventy-two had returned with a successful ministry report. In the name and with the power of Jesus, they had cast out demons and done other miracles (vv. 17–19). They were not to take pride in this, because it was all the work of God, but rather to rejoice with eyes of faith (vv. 23–24).

The Son set the example for them by praising the Father in the joy of the Spirit (v. 21). The message had gone out and God had been glorified! Eternal life (having one’s name written in heaven) cannot be gained through human wisdom or power but only through the Son and His perfect revelation of His sovereign Father. As two Persons but one in essence, the Father and the Son have perfect knowledge of one another and the perfect plan to show God’s love to the nations (v. 22).

APPLY THE WORD

Faced with the power of God, Satan is helpless. In this spirit—in the Spirit—pray for the persecuted church around the world. Ask that these believers would be given “authority to trample on snakes and scorpions” (figures of speech for demons and evil spirits) and opportunities to continue to spread the good news of the kingdom.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read JOHN 4:19–26

In the article “Love the Lord with All Your Voice,” theology professor Steven R. Guthrie argued that singing should be regarded as a “spiritual discipline— an important practice in Christian spiritual formation, and a means of growing in the life of faith.” Rather than being an act of expression, worshipful singing begins as an act of imitation; for example, by learning to sing the psalms until their words become our own.

Just as the entire Trinity is involved in the gospel and its proclamation, so also is the entire Trinity involved in worship. We see this in today’s reading, which is part of the well-known narrative of Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well. She might have raised the topic of where to worship as a distraction, since it was a known bone of contention between Jews and Samaritans. But Jesus, as He always did, took the opportunity to say something worthwhile and redemptive.

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in the Spirit and in truth” (v. 24). God is the only worthy recipient of our worship, including all three Persons of the Trinity. The Spirit Himself enables our worship, which must be coupled with truth, that is, with the revelation of God in Christ. We cannot make God in our image, though many today try.

Interestingly, Jesus identified Himself directly here as the Messiah (v. 26), seemingly the only time He did so prior to Passion Week. This might be because the Samaritans, who accepted only the Pentateuch as Scripture, did not have the same political messianic expectations as the Jews did because they did not know messianic prophecy. Though she lacked both status and access to all the Jewish Scriptures, Jesus revealed more about His identity to this sinful Samaritan woman—and her life was transformed.

APPLY THE WORD

Hopefully tomorrow you will have the opportunity to sing praise to God—but you don’t have to wait for a church service! Even those of us who can’t carry a tune can still bring glory to God through musical praise. In response to the Trinity’s transforming power through the gospel, take time today to worship through song.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read JOHN 16:12–15

According to theologian Peter J. Leithart, the term perichoresis, which means “mutual indwelling,” is used to describe the interrelationships and the inner life of the Trinity; that is, the love and unity that characterize the Three-in-One. He also suggests that since “created things were intended to communicate something about God . . . we might discover perichoretic fingerprints—traces of the Trinity— throughout the creation.”

Another theological term for this is circumincession, defined as “the reciprocal existence in one another of the three Persons of the Trinity.” Though impossible for us to understand completely, this doctrinal term helps us to grasp the point of today’s reading. Jesus said that when the Spirit comes, His words would not be His alone but also the words of the Father and the Son (v. 13). This again confirms the essential unity and mutual indwelling of the Three-in-One. They have one will and speak with one voice.

Specifically, the Spirit receives from the Son what He will make known to the disciples and to us (v. 14). In doing so, He glorifies the Son, which is exactly in line with the rest of His ministry. Furthermore, the Father has made all that belongs to Him the Son’s as well. Since He is the sovereign Lord, everything does belong to Him, including words (v. 15). Therefore, the words of truth from the Spirit ultimately come from the Father and the Son as well. This is why the church’s ministries of preaching and teaching the Word can be effective only by the Spirit.

As quickly as we have differentiated the three Persons of the Trinity and their respective roles in the work of salvation, just as quickly must we reaffirm their essential unity and shared divine attributes. “Who is like you, LORD God Almighty?” (Ps. 89:8). No one!

APPLY THE WORD

To help our finite minds better understand the Trinity, theologians create terminology, artists paint masterpieces, and poets craft sonnets. One powerful example is “Sonnet XIV” from the Holy Sonnets by John Donne, which begins, “Batter my heart, three-person’d God; for you / As yet but knock; breathe, shine, and seek to mend.”

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read JOHN 15:26–16:11

In God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms, Ben Patterson explains prayer in light of the Trinity: “The organic union of the Body of Christ is rooted in the loving union of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Together, the ‘community’ of God helps us pray. In fact, we are drawn up into the communion of the Godhead when we pray. Jesus, the Son, teaches us to pray to the Father and intercedes for us as we do. The Spirit also helps us to pray, as something of a translator [Rom. 8:26].”

Praying with us is part of the Spirit’s work. Today’s passage describes His work even more fully. When He comes, the “Advocate” or “Spirit of truth” (15:26) will, in addition to His work in the church and in individual believers, undertake three main tasks in the world (16:8–11). First, He will prove the world wrong about sin. Unbelievers don’t think they’re so bad. They don’t like the idea that they stand condemned and need a Savior. But the Spirit convicts them of their sinfulness and of their urgent need for God’s great love, shown in the gift of His Son.

Second, the Spirit will prove the world wrong about righteousness. Unbelievers think their own goodness is enough. Don’t they do their best? Are they really so bad? But the Spirit teaches them that their own self- righteousness is entirely inadequate. For eternal life with God, we need the redemption and righteousness of Christ.

Finally, the Spirit will prove the world wrong about judgment. Unbelievers are living according to the world, a system which seems normal and fine to them, but which is satanic and puts them in danger of hell. The Spirit can show them Christ, the only way to life.

APPLY THE WORD

Just as part of the Spirit’s work is to testify about Christ, so also is it part of our work (15:27). What’s your testimony? Through what faith-building stories have you testified recently to the work of God in your life? And when you talk about such things, is the focus on you or on God? Rejoice in the privilege of telling what God has done!

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read JOHN 14:25–31

Human memories are not reliable. We might think we remember what happened, or we equate our own interpretation of events with the truth. We might forget inconvenient facts. Our memories are finite and fallible—and very often self-serving as well!

In today’s reading, Jesus promised His disciples that their eyewitness memories would be assisted and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit (v. 26). This means the Gospel accounts of the life of Christ are trustworthy beyond anything based on merely human memory. We can believe He really said the words and did the actions we read in Scripture. God has made sure that His revelation of Himself in Christ is recorded in a wholly true and accurate way.

This is one reason the Spirit was sent by the Father at the request of the Son. As we saw yesterday, the Spirit has come to be our advocate or helper, to indwell and empower us for holy lives (vv. 16, 26). He will be with us forever (v. 17), working out the truth of the gospel in our lives and in the world.

What else do we learn about the Trinity in this passage? The Father is “greater” than the Son in the sense that He is the originator or planner of salvation (v. 28). The Son will obey the Father “to the point of death,” demonstrating complete love and submission (v. 31). In the face of the news of His impending death, however, Jesus also comforted His disciples with the news that He will come again (v. 28). Before that day, Satan will cause suffering and try to oppose the gospel, but he will fail, and Christ will complete His victory over the “prince of this world” (v. 30).

APPLY THE WORD

Go back through John 14 and make a list of the blessings that we are promised through the Trinity. Examples include an eternal dwelling with God, the love of God, and peace that transcends the world’s understanding. As you review your list, praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for His inexhaustible supply of good gifts in your life.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read JOHN 14:1–14

Many people today say they are spiritual but not religious. The positive side of this is that they recognize that people are more than just material or physical beings. The negative side is that they tend to focus on their personal feelings or emotions, either rejecting the idea of absolute truth or reserving for themselves the right to pick and choose what those truths might be. Such people essentially put themselves in the place of God.

By contrast, Jesus proclaimed a truth that grates on the ears of modern spirituality: He and He alone is the way to the Father. John 14, where we’ll spend three days, is part of the Upper Room discourse, Jesus’ teaching following the Passover or Last Supper prior to His crucifixion. In today’s reading, He comforted His disciples with a promise. He was going to His Father’s house to prepare a place for them (vv. 2–3).

How close is the relationship between the Father and the Son? “No one comes to the Father except through me” (v. 6). To believe in the Son is to believe in the Father (vv. 1, 11). To know the Son is to know the Father (vv. 7, 9). The words and work of the Son are the words and work of the Father. They are “in” one another— utterly unified as Persons of the Godhead (v. 10). The Father’s power—the gift of the Holy Spirit is implied here and explicitly revealed in the verses following—will also be available to the followers of the Son (v. 12).

The Father sent the Son and the Son reveals the Father. The incarnate Son is the one and only way the Father has made for us to come to Him. Faith in Christ alone is the way to salvation!

APPLY THE WORD

This passage provides us with some practical encouragement for our prayers. We are to pray to the Father in the name of the Son, for His glory, and we have direct access to God’s power through the indwelling of the Spirit (vv. 13–14). Praying for God’s will to be done is a prayer that is always answered “yes” (see Matt. 6:10).

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read MATTHEW 11:25–30

In Beholding the Glory: Incarnation Through the Arts, Trevor Hart wrote of the necessity of Christ becoming human: “[I]n order for God to transfigure our broken humanity it was necessary for him to lay hold of it in all its brokenness. . . . He redeemed it [our humanness] through a moment to moment Spirit-filled obedience, offering his humanity to his heavenly Father in a continuous sacrifice of praise and worship which culminated in the cross and resurrection.”

The Incarnation gives us a glimpse of the shared purpose of the Trinity, which is key to understanding Jesus’ mission of redemption. As He proclaimed in today’s reading, the Father is revealed in the Son. As John had reflected in the prologue to his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1). When “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14), it was the best possible revelation of God—because the Word was God!

The Father and the Son have perfect knowledge of one another. The Father reveals the Son to whomever He chooses, and the Son reveals the Father to whomever He chooses. Israel’s religious leaders were not included, for they had failed to respond in faith to clear signs that the Messiah had arrived. Jesus called a motley band of followers that included several fishermen and a tax collector!

Verses 28 to 30 are well known, but how do they connect in context to the Father-Son relationship? When the Father reveals the Son, and the Son reveals the Father, and we respond to God’s grace in humble faith. Note that this response gives us rest. God does not call us to achievement-driven anxiety or works-oriented legalism but to peace and calm.

APPLY THE WORD

Praying the words of Scripture can enrich our lives; people have prayed the psalms and other Scriptures for centuries. Beginning with Jesus’ prayer in verse 25, thank God for His self- revelation in His Son. Thank Him that you received His grace. And thank Him that salvation provides rest, peace, and assurance rooted in God’s love.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Read JOHN 5:16–30

When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush and called him to liberate His people, Moses had some doubts and questions: “What is your name?” The Lord responded, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you’” (Ex. 3:14).

“I AM” is God’s name. Anyone using that name is declaring that he or she is God. In today’s reading, Jesus infuriated the Jewish religious leaders by claiming equality with God (v. 18). Though they refused to acknowledge His identity or the source of His authority, Jesus embraced their “accusation” as true and explained the all-encompassing authority and perfect unity existing between Himself and His Father.

The Father and Son are unified in will (vv. 19, 30), in love (v. 20), in power (vv. 21, 25–26), and in authority (vv. 22, 27).

The Son does not act as a maverick but does just as the Father does. The Father loves the Son and has fully revealed to Him His plan of salvation. God alone holds power over life and death, but that power belongs equally to the Father and the Son, revealing both to be God. Similarly, God alone has the authority to judge, but He has entrusted that prerogative to the Son, and expects everyone to honor and worship the Son equally with Himself (v. 23).

One result of this relationship is that it’s the Father’s will that all people should look to the Son for eternal life (v. 24; see John 6:40). The idea that God holds life and death in His hands includes not just power but also essence. That is, God is “life in himself” (v. 26)—a quality that the Father has granted to and shares with His only begotten Son.

APPLY THE WORD

We can rejoice in our certain hope of resurrection! We who trust in His name—the name of the One with resurrection power and all authority to judge eternal destinies—will rise to life, not through any merit of our own, but thanks to Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. Sing or listen to music that celebrates the resurrection today.

http://www.todayintheword.org