Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

To get pearls, one must dive deep!

Category: Jesus’ Prayer

Jesus’ Prayer :: Unity / Greatest Commandments

By

On November 28, 2011

In Christian, Jesus' Prayer

After Jesus prayed for himself and the existing believers of his, He takes time to pray for all future believers (followers) who would come to know him through the existing believers and interesting the crux of his prayer for these believers is unity. He first prays that the believer be as one. In other words, Jesus prayed that the believers be UNITED with one another  (John 17:22). Jesus then moves on to pray that the believers are with Him, where He is. In other words, Jesus prayed that the believer be UNITED with Him (John 17:24).

Come to think of this prayer, Jesus was praying that the believers follow the greatest of God’s commandments, which is to Love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, soul, and mind and Love your neighbor as yourself. To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, one ought to UNITED with Him or when one is united (abiding in) with Christ, they would love the Lord God with all of their heart, soul, and mind. To love your neighbor as yourself, is to be UNITED with one another or when one is in united with each other, they would be in harmony, loving one another as themselves.

Jesus’ prayer for Unity; that all believers fear God and keep his commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13), the greatest of the commandments that sums up all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40).

Points to ponder:
How are your and I doing, when it comes to being as what Jesus prayed for you and me? Are we with Christ, where He is? Are we as one, united in love, with each other?

John 17:20-26 (KJV)
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV)
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Jesus’ Prayer :: Shade and Sanctified

By

On November 23, 2011

In Christian, Jesus' Prayer

John 17:7-19 records the prayer that Jesus prayed for his believers and he makes two requests to God, the Father, for all those who have believed in him..
He prayed that God not take them out of the world, but that He keeps them from the evil (John 17:5). In other words, Jesus prayed for God to be their SHADE (John 17:15).
He also prayed that his believers, are SANCTIFIED (set apart) through the word (John 17:17).

Points to ponder:
Is God the SHADE in your life? Do you allow him to SANCTIFY your life? This was Jesus’ prayer for all his followers and these are things that should certainly not be taken casually.

John 17:15-18 (KJV)
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Jesus’ Prayer :: Selfish?

By

On November 22, 2011

In Christian, Jesus' Prayer

The first five verses of what is referred to as Jesus’ Great Prayer or the High Priestly Prayer, that is recorded in John 17, goes on as follows and is unique because it publicly records what Jesus prayed for himself. He prays that God glorifies him now.
“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.“

While on the surface this may seem to be kind of selfish, and seeking self-glorification, close scrutiny of this prayer, reveals certain hidden treasures; treasures of knowledge that reflect, in essence, who Jesus is.

Jesus started his prayer by looking up to the heaven, and addressing God as Father, stating the time had come. To his earthly mother, Jesus had stated that his time had not yet come (John 2:4), but now to His heavenly Father, Jesus is stating that his time had come. He then goes on to express, that it was God’s time to glorify Him, by saying “glorify thy Son that your Son may glorify you.” (John 17:1). Here Jesus expresses the fact that he is indeed the Only begotten beloved Son of God, in whom God was well pleased because his glory was to be a reflection of God’s glory.

Then Jesus states the power that had been granted unto him, by God the Father, who had sent him; power to save and deliver all who know God the Father and Him. Here he defines eternal life by saying that “Knowing God the Father as the one true God and knowing Jesus Christ” is eternal life. What does it mean to know God? The Bible says, whoever loves, knows God and is born of God (1 John 4:7-8) and he that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. Jesus summed up the law of the prophets in Loving God and Loving Man. Eternal life comes by loving God (i.e., hating sin) above all else and it comes only by Him for there is no other name, under heaven among men, by which one can be saved (Acts 4:12). Here Jesus expresses the fact that He is not only the Son of God, but also the Savior of the world (John 17:3).

Then Jesus states that He had glorified God the Father, and finished the work (of Salvation) that had been entrusted unto him (John 17:4), and reasserts that God the Father now glorifies Him with God’s own glory, which He had with God, before the world began. By using the phrase, “glory which I had with thee before the world began” (John 17:5), Jesus expresses his Sovereignty making himself equal to God, which He rightfully was. Jesus had made himself of no reputation, considering equality with God, as a robbery before he had finished the work, that He had been entrusted to fulfill (Philippians 2:6-7). Now that the time had come, it was time for Jesus to be restored into his heavenly glory and hence his prayer.

Points to ponder:
Do you know Jesus Christ as the Son of God?
Is Jesus Christ your Savior?
Is Jesus Christ your Sovereign King?

John 17:1-5 (KJV)
1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

God in the Lord’s Prayer

By

On November 21, 2011

In Christian, Jesus' Prayer

If I was to ask a majority of Christians, do you know the Lord’s prayer, the answer is most likely going to be resoundingly affirmative, and some may even go on to tell me that it is recorded in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 and starts with “Our Father, who are in heaven” and ends with “Thy power and the glory, forever and forever.” Now,  for a while, I was under the impression that most Christians had gotten it wrong when it came to knowing what the Lord’s Prayer was. This stemmed from either a message that I had heard or an article that I had read, which stated that the familiar “Our Father which art in heaven” was not the Lord’s Prayer but instead the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray, making it “Our Prayer”, while the Lord’s Prayer was the prayer that Jesus prayed for himself,  his followers (disciples) and future believers as recorded in John 17. The John 17 prayer is also known as the High Priestly prayer. But last night, when meditating on the Pater Noster (Our Father) prayer, I realized that there was a fallacy in my understanding; that this prayer, in fact cannot be written off as not being the Lord’s Prayer, because in it, we actually see a glimpse of the characteristics of God. In fact, close scrutiny of each phrase of the “Our Father” prayer, reveals that hidden in it is a treasure; a treasure of knowledge about the characteristic of the God we serve. Now I am of the understanding that referring or not referring to the “Our Father” prayer as the Lord’s Prayer is inconsequential, for what really matters, is whether or not, we see the kind of God, He is, as we read and recount the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray.

Read below, and make your own conclusion.

Our Father which art in heaven,- God, our PATER (Father)
Hallowed be thy name. – God, our PRIORITY and PURITY
Thy kingdom come, – God, our POTENTATE (King)
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. – God, our PURPOSE and PLAN
Give us this day our daily bread. – God, our PROVIDER
And forgive us our debts, – God, our PARDONER
as we forgive our debtors – God, our PATTERN
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: – God, our PROTECTOR
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen – God, our POWER

Points to Ponder:
Do you/I see God as our Pater, our Priority & Purity, our Potentate, our Purpose & Plan, our Provider, our Pardoner, our Pattern, our Protector and our Power. Next time you are asked to pray the Pater Noster, think about who God is, instead of vainly repeating the words.

Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV)
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén