“So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many Lords. But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.”
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 NLT
Paul made two unambiguous statements about God and Christ in the last verse of our reading today. He said we live for God the Father, but through Jesus Christ. They identify two separate roles for God the Father and God the Son, in that all things were created by the Father, but through Jesus. These statements are foundational to the Christian faith, and there is no alternative way of life for any pilgrim. We considered the Father yesterday, and now we turn to Jesus, “through whom we live”.
All the way back in Genesis 1, we see that God “spoke” the heavens and the earth into being. Genesis 1:3, “Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light”“. But if we now turn to John 1, we find out about what was said. John 1:1-3, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him“. So we find the Trinitarian relationship between the Father and Son, because God spoke and Jesus was the Word, a partnership that has always existed. In Genesis, we read that humanity was created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26f), and we must consider what that truly means. God had already created the angels – we don’t know exactly when, but this probably occurred before the world was created – and He then created human beings, populating both the spiritual realm and the natural world. Two separate kingdoms have existed, one eternal and one bounded by time, but it was God’s desire that He brought them both together under the authority of His Son, Jesus, as we read in Ephesians 1:9-10, “God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfil his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth”.
The mind-boggling truth is that through the Word, the logos, we find the God-man Jesus walking this world, bringing God’s love and grace to people dying in their sins. Jesus was, and is, the Logos, as described by John, who went to great lengths to explain and correct false beliefs and ideas about God, and to provide us with the proper and correct facts about Him. In discussions with the JW’s, we will find that they do not believe that Jesus is God, a member of the Trinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Their version of John 1:1 (New World Translation) reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god”, and that identifies the JW’s as a sect that denies the divinity of Jesus as He went about Palestine showing His love and grace for the people. There are other differences, but we need to beware of a religion claiming to be Christian but one which has been infiltrated by the devil.
One of the first things that Jesus said when He started His public ministry was, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). We are all very familiar with this verse but the word “perish” is often overlooked. We go for the “love” bit and how we must believe in God’s Son, but the consequences for people who don’t are that they will perish. Back to Genesis 1:26. Being created in God’s image means that with the package came free choice, a huge responsibility that is avoided by most of the people in our unbelieving society. It is a responsibility because those who don’t believe will “perish”and we know what that means if we read Revelation 20. And to those who claim a God of love would never send anyone to hell, we have to respond with the message that He would not overrule their right to free choice and turn them into an automaton. Instead, He sent His Son, full of unlimited love and grace, to take on the punishment they deserve and by His sacrifice ensure that they will never perish.
There was a time in Galilee when Jesus addressed a couple of local news reports, brought to Him by the people there. The first was concerning Pilate, who had murdered some people in the Temple while they were offering sacrifices, and the second was when eighteen people died after a tower in Siloam fell on them. But Jesus turned the emphasis around, ““Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too” (Luke 13:2-5). Jesus’ response was clear. Don’t get caught up with temporal matters and neglect the reality that unless we believe in Him, repenting of our sins, then we will “perish”.
We pilgrims live our lives through the lens of the Cross, where we lay our burdens down and believe that Jesus died for our sins. Paul reminded the Corinthians of that, and, with a sober and realistic perspective, we too take on board what it means to live through Jesus, the Son of God.
Dear Father God. Thank You for Your Son Jesus and all He has done for us at Calvary. Thank You that through Your plan for salvation You have saved us from perishing in a terrible place. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 