I BEGIN this Morning Glory with a salutation of surprise instead of a statement of fact or a question. When I learn something that I probably knew or should have known, I am a little surprised, aren’t you? Recently, in a lesson I gave, I referenced the scripture; “We know, that all things work together for good, to those who love the Lord and are called accordingly to His purpose!” Romans 8:28 Interestingly enough, all but two translations say “we know!” The two, refer to our being sure! My question was; “Why does Paul say; we know?”
THE FACT that “we know”, is the Christians’ certainty. We have confidence and we are sure..... Paul is saying that there is no doubt that through Jesus Christ and because He is the head of the church, all things will come together within God’s will. You know, that God can take bad things and make something good out of it? If you know the Lord, then you know, and therefore you should not be afraid to be all that you can be in Jesus Christ. Think about it!
SO WHAT DO WE KNOW? In 1 John, alone, he says “we know” 18 times. If we have read 1 John “we know” what “we know” is all about. Do you know Jesus Christ? You do if you are obedient to His commands! We are made complete in God when we obey His Word and we just know this! We know there is no fear in love, because perfect love casts out fear! We know this through our own experience, because we know that God is love!
LET ME SEE, or should I say, “let me count the ways!” We know that Jesus Christ came with the water and the blood. The water refers to His baptism and the blood, His death! We know this because His Word is true and we believe His Word! Some have said we want to see signs and symbols. Well, baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs and symbols. Those who believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God, have responded to these signs and symbols. We know we are saved because we have responded to God’s invitation to become one of His children.
FAITH in action brings victory to the Christian. We can only achieve the certainty of who we are in Christ, through the certainties of our faith. Why are we so afraid to let the world know who we are? We even have trouble showing our brothers and sisters in Christ who we really are in the Son. John writes his letter to those who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that they will know that they have eternal life. We know, that what we know, is what we know!
“WE KNOW that any one born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God, keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.” 1 John 5:18 What John is saying is that any one born of God does not keep on sinning. Do you get it? Do you understand? Are you in control? You know, that you have the fruit within you, for you have the Holy Spirit within you!
“WE KNOW that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one.” 1 John 5:19 Even though we know we can choose to be obedient and not sin, sometimes, because we are so wishy washy in our walk, we sin. Thanks be to God, that He has given us forgiveness upon baptism, so that we can be made new and become acceptable again, and again, and again!
“AND WE KNOW that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding to know Him, who is true, and we are in Him, who is true; His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life! 1 John 5:20 Paul has been quoted many times from 2 Timothy 1:12, and I learned it by heart by singing it from an old hymn book; “I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me He hath made known, nor why unworthy, Christ in love, redeemed me for His own. But I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.”
I AM STILL learning to be firmly grounded in Jesus Christ. Every day is an adventure and I write these things to instill them in my heart and my mind, and I can’t help but share them with you. I thank the Lord everyday for giving me a way to share my faith and a way to let others know, who they can become in Jesus Christ; a sinner saved by grace! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 7/17/13
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