The Jesus Prayer Part 14 - Original Sin

Gen 3:23-24
Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

1Cor 15:21-22
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Part of understanding what it means for us to be sinners is to look at what is meant by Paul when he writes "by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" and David when he writes in the Psalms "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me".

When God made Adam, Adam was made in God's own image and likeness and God placed him inside the garden of Eden and formed Eve from Adam's rib. It was man's place to be the caretaker over the garden and the animals and to live in communion with God as the source of life. God told Adam to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and warned him "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die". Being deceived by the lie from the serpent that "then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil", Adam and Eve ate from the tree. They went from looking to God as their source of life and identity to looking to the created things of this world to give them life and to make them like God. Their first reaction was to see themselves as naked and, being ashamed of what they had done, to hide from God. God told Adam "cursed is the ground for thy sake" and "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" as the consequences of his actions and placed Adam and Eve outside of the garden. But hope for the future of mankind was given in what God told the serpent "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel", in reference to the Messiah as it is written "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage".

So now mankind, originally created for life in union with God taking care of God's creation, is seperated from God, subject to death, and looking to the created things of the world for life. This disordered nature that was brought about by the fall was transmitted to the entire human race, as it is written that Adam "begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth" and "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned".

The physical effects of the fall include being subject to corruption and death and having bodily desires disordered. There are lines in the Psalms reflecting this in our bodies such as "I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up" and "My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass". And Paul writes "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members". And not just the human race, but also the creation that mankind was intended to be the head of as Paul writes "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body". We await the undoing of this at the return of Christ when "the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?" and "we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth" accomplished by the power of His own resurrection from the dead. This is why Jesus said "I am the resurrection, and the life" and it is written "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory", that Christ "shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself", and "Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him". Jesus, as the author and source of life, had to be crucified and raised from the dead in order to restore us to life because we are unable to do it ourselves as the Psalms say "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?".

While we await the resurrection of the body, we are given the opportunity in this lifetime to have our spirit renewed in Christ by being baptized into His death and raised up in newness of life, and to repent of our sins and be conformed to Christ. It is in Christ that we are united with God as He Himself said "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" and "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me". It is in baptism that we are born from above after being buried in the likeness of Christ's death. This is why it is written  "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ", "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all", and "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ". It is in baptism that we are received into God's covenant as His people as it is written "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead". But baptism is not the end of Christian life, but the beginning, where we are introduced to having a right relationship with God that must be continued in through daily self examination and repentence, walking in the Spirit, bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and struggling against the lusts of the flesh in order to grow and mature in becoming conformed to Christ. We are to do this in this life because it is written that all "shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" and "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting".

Having been buried with Christ by baptism into His death, that as He was raised from the dead so I could be made to walk in newness of life, may God let me not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of my mind.

The Jesus Prayer Part 13 - Sin as Missing the Mark

Rom 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

In the Jesus prayer, we confess ourselves to be sinners. In this post I am going to discuss the nature of sin as it is defined in Strong's concordance as "properly, to miss the mark".

So what is our mark, or rather "Who" is our mark? Our mark is nothing short of God Himself as the source of our life and very existence. God said in creation "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" and it says "male and female created he them". This makes God our model for who and what we are intended to be, and this applies to all human beings without exception. It is also written that "in him we live, and move, and have our being" bearing witness to God as the cause of our existence and that not only did He bring us into existence, but sustains our existence, which is "in Him". The farther we stray from being in God's likeness, the more we seperate ourselves form what we are intended to be and lose our life, movement, and our very existence. This is why "the wages of sin is death".

Before the coming of Christ, mankind was given two ways of recognizing our standard for living. First, all mankind is given a law written in their hearts with their conscience bearing witness. There was also the law that was delivered to the Jews by Moses, of which Paul wrote "for by the law is the knowledge of sin". Because  the law was given to help recognize God, and not just a checklist of things to do and not do, as our standard of living, James writes "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.". This is why we are told that we are given the choice to yield ourselves as servents "whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness".

With the coming of Christ, mankind received two things. First, we received the full revelation of the One who is our standard of living. Christ Himself said "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father". Paul calls Christ "the image of God" and says that we recieve "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ". Not only does Christ, who is "the image of the invisible God", show us what we are meant to be as humans, but  being the Word by which God created all that exists, also has the power to restore us to the image in which we were created but had strayed from through sin. This is why we are "to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren". This is why we are to "put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" in baptism.

Two other words used to describe types of sin are transgression and iniquity. Transgress means "to go contrary to" and implies the violation of a command. Iniquity means "without law". These must be understood within the context of God as the source of our very existence and standard for living, as revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ as the One who gives the law, perfectly fulfills it, and heals the damage caused by sin when we turn to Him for healing.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

The Jeus Prayer Part 12 - Mercy in the Orthodox Tradition

Kontakion From the Akathyst Hymn to Our Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ
To Thee, the Champion Leader and Lord, the Vanquisher of Hades, I, Thy creature and servant, offer a song of praise, for thou hast delivered me from eternal death. But as Thou hast ineffible loving-kindness, from all dangers that can be do Thou deliver me, that I may cry to Thee: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.

Having looked at how mercy is defined and expressed within the context of scripture in both the New Testament and the Old Testament, I am going to look at mercy within the context of Orthodox Tradition, primarily within our main worship service, the divine liturgy. My two main resources for this are the service book used in my church, and my personal prayer book. Mercy as it is expressed within Tradition should not be viewed as an addition to or seperate from scripture, but must be understood within the context of how I have discussed mercy in the scriptures in my last two posts.

Before vesting for the liturgy, the priest recites "Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for laying aside all excuse, we sinners offer to Thee, as to our Master, this supplication: have mercy on us.", calling on God's mercy to accept and guide the service of the priests as they minister to Christ's flock, and to accept the worship of all the people that will be gathered together. In the Trisagion (thrice holy) prayers, we cry out "Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal! Have mercy on us." and ask the Trinity to have mercy on us by cleansing our sins, pardoning our transgressions, and healing our infirmities by God's presence as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the prayer before the first antiphon, God's mercy is described as "immeasurable" while we ask God to "impart the riches of Thy mercy and Thy compassion to us and to those who pray with us". In the prayer of fervent suplication, we ask God to "have mercy on us according to the multitude of Thy mercy. Send down Thy bounties upon us and upon all Thy people who await the rich mercy that comes from Thee.". We finally end with the dismissal of "May He who rose from the dead, Christ our true God, through the prayers of... all the saints: have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and loves mankind.", proclaiming Christ as the source of our mercy and trusting Him to answer the petitions of all that pray to Him with us and on our behalf.

The response to many of the petitions prayed for in the various litanies throughout the liturgy is "Lord, have mercy". This response has a twofold meaning. First, just as the Psalms describe the very act of answering prayer to be a mercy, we acknowledge that is a mercy of God just to be heard by Him and to have our prayers answered. In responding with "Lord, have mercy", the people unite their prayer with the priest or deacon chanting the petition so that the entire congregation may be of "one accord in prayer and supplication". Second, just as the entirety of scripture describes any act of compassion and kindness to be a mercy, we ask that our petitions be answered and acted on as mercies from God. In the various litanies we ask that His mercy be "according to Thy great goodness" and that all answers to our prayers are done "O God, by Thy grace". We also pray "having remembered all the saints" as we are mindful of our angels who behold the face of our Father in heaven, the great "cloud of witnesses" who have finished their race in faith, and all those who are gathered in the Church in this life "called to be saints" in Christ. In the great litany we pray for "the peace from above and for the salvation of our souls", for the welfare of our churches and all those that "enter with faith, reverence, and the fear of God", for our bishops, priests, deacons, and all the people, for our civil authorities entrusted with our care and our military entrusted with our defense, for "seasonable weather" and "abundance of the fruits of the earth", travelers, the sick and suffering, prisoners (whom Christ personally identified Himself with in Matthew 25), and our "deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and necessity". We pray for those departed this life and that their sins are forgiven and they be established among the just. We pray for those about to be sacramentally received into the Church that God may "teach them the word of truth", "reveal to them the gospel of righteousness", and "unite them to His Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church".

Before beginning the prayers for the celebration of Communion, the celebration itself is referred to as "a mercy of peace, a sacrifice of praise". It is a "mercy of peace" because that just as Paul writes that we "shew the Lord's death till he come" as often as we "eat this bread, and drink this cup", and it is through Christ's sacarifice of Himself on the cross that "we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" in His resurrection. And just as "we being many" are "one body" because "we are partakers of that one bread", we offer ourselves up to God in unity with Christ as a "sacrifice of praise".

There are a number of penitential canons in which we call on Christ to have mercy on us and forgive our sins including the Canon of St Andrew which we chant every year during lent and the Supplicatory Canon to Our Lord Jesus Christ in which we ask Christ to have mercy on us as was shown in the scriptures to the prodigal son, the base harlot, and king Manasses. On cheesefare saturday we sing "take not Thy mercy from us" and that sunday "Have mercy, O Merciful One, on me who have fallen.". But the greatest mercy we chant about in our hymns is the resurrection of Christ. Our hymns of the resurrection in the third, fourth, and seventh tones all say that Christ has granted the world "great mercy" by raising us from the dead by His resurrection from the dead. This is echoed in  ode six of the Paschal Matins where we sing "Jesus, having risen from the grave as He foretold, hath granted us life everlasting and great mercy." and in the troparia for St Thomas Sunday and the Myrrh-Bearing Women. And this is because it is in and through being crucified and raised from the dead with Christ that our repentence brings us life in Him.

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.

The Jesus Prayer Part 11 - Mercy in the New Testament

Luke 10:36-37
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Having discussed mercy in the Old Testament, I am now going to move forward into the New Testament. A number of people are mentioned in the New Testament as crying out for mercy and for receiving it. The blind men cried out "Thou son of David, have mercy on us" seeking to receive their sight. The woman of Canaan travelled from the coast to ask Jesus to have mercy on her by healing her demon possessed daughter. Jesus was aked by the man in Matthew 17 to have mercy on his son and heal him because he was a lunatick and often fell into fire and water. Mercy was what the ten lepers cried out for and all ten received from Jesus, even though only one would return to give Him thanks. It was a great mercy from the Lord that Elizabeth was able to conceive and bear John  the Baptist beyond the age of child bearing. It was a mercy to Epaphroditus that he should be healed from being sick close to death, and Paul called that a mercy on himself also because of the sorrow that he would have felt over the loss of such a good friend and brother in the Lord. And when Paul did lose his friend Onesiphorus to death, Paul prayed for mercy both to be shown towards the Onesiohorus's household in his abscence and for Onesiphorus himself to find mercy of the Lord "in that day".

But the greatest mercy shown by God in the New Testament is the sending of His own Son and our salvation in Him. Zacharias proclaimed "That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham," and "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us," in prophesy of Christ, Whom John was going to prepare the way for. Mary sang that the Lord has helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy upon hearing that she would become the mother of the Son of God and Savior. It was in Christ's mission to  heal our fallen humanity that He announced that He desired mercy because He had come to call sinners to repentence. Paul writes to Titus that it wasn't by works of righteousness that we have done but according to His mercy that He saved us "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" in reference to our baptism wherein we are united to Christ in His death and resurrection. This doesn't exempt us from doing good works, which Paul writes elsewhere that "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works", but only that God has saved us from destruction purely out of His love for mankind and not out of some debt that is owed to us. Peter writes that we had obtained mercy by being called from darkness to light and becoming the people of God. Paul writes that he had received mercy because his previous blaspheming was done ignorantly in unbelief and so that "first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting".

In repsonse to the great mercy that we have been shown by God, we are required to show that same mercy to those around us. We are called to be merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful and that "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy". In the parable in Matthew 18, the master tells the ungrateful servant that he should also have had compassion ("mercy" in greek) on his fellowservant as the master had shown to him. Christ also used the parable of the good samaritan as an illustration of how we are to be merciful towards each other, regardless of social status or how we may feel towards each other. James writes that the one who shows no mercy shall be judged with no mercy, but mercy rejoices against judgement. We are told by Paul that when we show mercy that we are to do it with cheerfulness. But once again, the requirement to show mercy doesn't negate or replace our need to seek the lord in regular prayer, fasting, alsmgiving, church attendance, and any other religious observances that we have. When Christ reprimanded the pharisees, it wasn't for their keeping of the law and their observances, but for neglecting "the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" where He says "these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone".

Knowing that we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let me therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that I may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The Jesus Prayer Part 10 - Mercy in the Old Testament

Psalm 25:10 (KJV)
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

In the Jesus prayer, we ask for God to "have mercy" on us. What is this mercy that we ask for? Mercy is a major theme in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the hymns, prayers, and worship services of Christians for the last 2,000 years. The definition given in Strong's Concordance for the hebrew and greek words for mercy are kindness and compassion, and can also be found translated as kindness, lovingkindness, and compassion. So when we ask the Lord to have mercy, we are asking Him to be kind, have compassion, and to be good to us.

In the Old Testament, mercy is used to describe the rescue of Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom, how Rahab was spared from the destruction of Jericho, and letting go of the man who showed the way into the city in Judges 1:22-26. It was mercy that Joseph was delivered from the Pharoah's prison. It was a mercy to be buried after dieing. Abraham's servant called it a mercy of God that he met Rebekah at the well. It was mercy that God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt as sung in the Song of Moses and Psalm 136, and anytime they were victorious over their adversaries in battle. It was the Lord's mercy that Israel was able to endure the Babylonian captivity, and a mercy that they were freed from it. It was God's great mercy that he promised to send a Messiah from the Seed of David to rule on His throne forever, which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament scriptures tell us that it is the Lord's mercy that holds us up when our foot slips. It is the Lord's mercy that delivers us from our enemies that seek after our soul. It is mercy that we find pardon for our iniquity and our transgressions are blotted out and no longer remembered. It is God's mercy that our prayers and supplications are heard. It is in His mercy that our repentence is accepted and the Lord gives us good when we had evil coming to us. It is a mercy when we are corrected by a righteous man. And it is a mercy that we are granted salvation.

While we are told that God's mercy is everlasting and endures forever, our reception of that mercy is not unconditional. We are told that His mercy is as great as the height of heaven from earth  and is everlasting upon them that fear Him. The Lord shows mercy to those that love Him and keep His commandments. The proverbs tell us that mercy is to them that devise good and he that follows after mercy shall find life, righteousness, and honor. Upon finishing the Temple, Solomon acknowledged that God's mercy is on His servants who walk before Him with all their heart. We are told that we must show mercy and compassions every man to his brother. This is why the Lord said that He desires mercy and not sacrifice and that He has controversy with those who show no mercy. This is not a condemnation of following religious observances, only that they be made with the right heart, as Jesus would later tell his disciples to be reconciled to their brother before making their offering on the altar. The prophet Jonah said that they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But Psalm 147:11 says that the Lord takes pleasure in them that fear Him and hope in His mercy, so keeping that in mind, let us all strive to please the Lord in this way.

May God have mercy on me and according to His lovingkindness and according unto the multitude of His tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

The Jesus Prayer Part 9 - Son of God

Gen 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

John 1:1-3,14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Most people are familiar with the verse that says that God gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. What does it mean for Jesus to be the only begotten Son of God, and what does that mean for Christians?

To be "begotten" means to come from, like a son takes his origin in his father. And while a "son" litereally means a "male child", scripturally speaking, it is the son who receives the inheritance from his father, and if there is more than one son, the firstborn receives twice as much of the inheritance as his brothers do. Men are not referred to in the Old Testament as being  sons of God. The only one referred to as being God's son is the nation of Israel. It is written in Exodus that "Israel is my son, even my firstborn" and by the prophet Hosea "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt". The verse in Hosea is referenced in Matthew as referring to Christ, and it could be understood that the references to Israel as God's son are talking about when God would send His own Son into the world. This is why the Psalms say "Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth." and "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.".

So what is the God's inheritance that He gives to His Son? In the old Testament it is first the people of Israel. Moses asked God to  "take us for thine inheritance", and then when God was going to destroy Israel for making the golden calf, Moses made his petition for Israel to not be destroyed "For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt". Samuel told Saul that the Lord had anointed Saul to be captain over His inheritance. Solomon ended his prayer at the dedication of the temple asking God to hear the prayers of the people and to forgive their sins "For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt". There are also references in the Psalms such as "Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance" and "Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed". There are also a couple of references to God inheriting the nations like "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." and "Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations." The inheritance that is given to God's poeple in the Old Testament is always the promised land that they were brought out of Egypt in order to inhabit.

So if a son being begotten from his father means that the Father is the source from which the Son comes, then when we call Jesus the Son of God, we are saying that He comes from God, has everything pertaining to the divine nature, and receives the inheritance of His Father. The first chapter of John tells us that in the beginning the Word was with God and was God, and that Word became flesh and dwelt (literally "tabernacled") among us. When Mary asked how she would conceive at the annunciation, the angel told her "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.". This is why Jesus said that "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" and that He proceeded forth from God. It is written in Colossions that "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." and that he is "the image of the invisible God". This is why Jesus said that he who see Him sees the Father and Paul writes that the knowledge of the glory of God is "in the face of Jesus Christ". God the Father testifies of this truth, both at Christ's baptism and at the transfiguration on the mountain, when He says "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". Even the demons recognize Jesus as being the Son of God when they meet Him in the gospels.

If God's inheritance in the Old Testament was His people, then the inheritance that Christ receives from His Father is the Church and all the people that would be reconciled to God through Him. This why He prays "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.".

As God's people in His Church, we are told that "as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God". This is why we are told that we must be "born again" of "water and of the Spirit". This is done in baptism where we are "buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." and Peter writes that God has "begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead". While Christ is begotten of the Father with the same divinity as the Father, we are told that "the  Word became flesh" and elsewhere that in all things He became like unto His brethren, so He shares in our human nature in all things but sin. By uniting Himself to us, it is through Him that we "receive the adoption of sons" and become "an heir of God through Christ". It is the "Spirit of adoption" received in and through Christ that allows to cry out to God "Abba, Father"

Our inheritance in Christ is that we shall be like Him and see Him as He is, inherit everlasting life, the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, incorruption, and redemption through His blood. To live as a son of God in union with the Son of God, we must be "led by the Spirit of God" and suffer together with Him in this life if we are to be glorified together with Him when He returns. We also must be willing to forsake houses, family, and lands for Christ. We must also continually maintain Peter's confession of faith that He is "the Christ, the son of the living God". We also must always keep the attitude that Peter confessed toward Christ when Peter said "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.". We must also constantly strive to purify ourselves because "every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.".

May the Son of God, the Word made flesh, Who has the words of eternal life grant me the strength to endure suffering with Him and purify myself with hope in Him that, having received the Spirit of adoption, I may be glorified together with Him when He returns.

The Jesus Prayer Part 8 - Christ and King Cyrus

Ezra 1:1-2 (KJV)
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

John 2:19-22
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

This will be my third post on what it means to say that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. The first mention of an anointed in the Old Testament was the priesthood of Aaron and the second is of the kings of Israel being anointed to rule over God's people. King Cyrus is a type of how the two roles are brought together and fulfilled in one person. Historically, he is the one who gave the decree allowing the Jews to return home from their exile and rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem.

The prophecy spoken by Jeremiah that is referenced in Ezra and 2 Chronicles is that of "Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof." Isaiah prophecies in chapter 44 that Jerusalem will be inhabited and the decayed places will be raised up. In Chapter 45, the Lord says through the prophet that Cyrus is His anointed and that "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.".

This theme of rebuilding God's city and temple, freeing His people from bondage, and gathering them together unto Himself is found throughout the Old Testament. In the Psalms we find statements about building up Zion and Jerusalem like "Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.", "For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.", "When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.", and "The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel." Amos prophecies "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.", and Zechariah prophecies "And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.". Notice how Zechariah prophecies that the one who "shall sit and rule upon his throne" as king is the same person as the "priest upon his throne".

All of this is fulfilled in Jesus by His death and resurrection. It is the Temple of His Body that is crucified and then raised up. Jesus said that if He is raised up (on the cross), that He would draw all people unto Himself. It is also the basis for our worship, that is the worship that He established that is in Spirit and in truth.

It is said in Luke 1:74 "That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear", the last enemy being destroyed of course is death, which was defeated in His crucifixion and resurrection in glory. The service that we have been freed to offer to God is the worship in Spirit and in truth that Jesus spoke of to the samaritan woman at the well. With circumcision being the sign of God's people, Paul writes that we as Christians are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit and elsewhere that this circumcision is "made without hands" where we are "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.". We are to continue in being united with Him through the celebration of Holy Communion where we gather on sunday, the day of the week on which our Lord was raised from the dead, in order to proclaim the sacrifice of His death until He returns as often as we "eat of this bread" and "drink of this cup".

By being united to Jesus through His Church, we become God's people, ransomed by His blood on the cross and freed from death by His glorious resurrection. Jesus gave His apostles the promise that through them and on Peter our Lord would build His Church over which the gates of hell would never prevail. Paul describes the Church as being "God's building" which the apostles all labor together to build up, trusting in God to give the increase. The Church is the Body of Christ, over which Christ Himself is the Head. There are many members, being all joined together, which no member can say to another "I don't need you", that all work together to form the Body. Being united to Christ, we are individually members of Him and the Body of His Church. Being "bought with a price", our bodies become temples of God and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. This is why we are taught to present our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God as our "reasonable service" (worship according to the Word spoken of in John 1:1-14).

Being united to Christ through His death and resurrection, may I learn to better glorify God in my body and in my spirit, which are God's, so that I may offer myself up to God as a living sacrifice, acceptable unto God, which is my reasonable service to Him.