Daily Bible Verses for 8/23/2016
Bible Verse
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Reading Notes
The salvation which appeared to all men is Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus with the incarnation added humanity to His divinity in order to save us from our sins. Jesus had to partake of our humanity in order to become the propitiation for our sins. This has been God’s plan of redemption for all mankind since the beginning. God’s word tells us that “we were chosen in Christ Jesus before the foundations of the world were laid in place.” And when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the salvation of God brings about a transforming work in our lives through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit, which brings about a new birth in our hearts as the power of sin is broken. With our salvation, we receive a new spirit, replacing our old spirit which was dead in trespasses and sins. Moreover, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we become a new creation in Christ Jesus our Lord. With our salvation, our hearts become sensitive to God and the things of God and we have a new desire to see Jesus face to face and it’s this desire, which is our eternal hope.
And the “blessed hope and glorious appearing” to which Paul is speaking about refers to the rapture of the Saints and the return of Christ. Jesus promised He would return for His own, that He would take us where He is. And Paul here is assuring believers that Christ will return and redeem us for Himself. We have become children of God through faith and we can never forget the resurrection of Jesus is our evidence of the power of salvation and our evidence of Jesus’ divinity. Only Jesus had the power to lay down His life for our sakes and pick it up again. And God because of our faith in Christ, has given us the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of our salvation. Until Jesus returns for His own, the Holy Spirit will continue His work of sanctification in our lives. Dear child of God it’s important to understand that when we place our faith in the Lord and submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God can work through us. Through faith we can be empowered to live a life pleasing to God. And through the Holy Spirit’s work we are prepared by God, as He calls us to share the Gospel message with those we meet. Why? Because the Holy Spirit has given us a heart for the lost and for those in need. Those who do not know Jesus and the salvation he alone can provide.