GOD in His wisdom has expanded on His great Salvation by taking me farther into it. But before I get there I will look at more of Pastor Hoekstra's teaching on Grace and how Grace is to effect the Christian life in and through Christ. Then using the ESV translation I will look at Divine Pardon as it is Promised and then the later that there is no condemnation for those in Christ.
"Once More on God's Ability and His Promises"
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think . . . ." (Ephesians 3:20)
"These opening words from one of the most well-known benedictions in all of the New Testament offers a unique opportunity to consider GOD's Ability, as related to His promises. How able is GOD? He is "Able to do exceedingly Abundantly above all that we ask or think." Could we possibly ask for more than GOD has already Promised? Could we properly think greater things than GOD has Promised? Well, let's reflect upon some of the promises of GOD that we have already considered.
We have seen that GOD Promised to make a mighty nation with world-wide blessings from one man, Abraham. "I Will make you a great nation . . . and in you all the Families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:2-3). GOD also promised to deliver His people from bondage into an abundant land. "I Will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt . . . to a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:17). He also promised to fight for His people. "The LORD your God, Who goes before you, He Will fight for you" (Deuteronomy 1:30). Additionally, GOD promised an eternal kingdom for His people, through the line of David. "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever" (2Samuel 7:16). Further, GOD promised that His Messiah (in Greek Christ) would sit on that Eternal Throne. "A Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him" (Isaiah 11:1-2). Moreover, GOD promised that Messiah would be a unique King. "A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench" (Isaiah 42:3). Ultimately, the Father promised that the Messiah Himself (Messiah Jesus) would be the New Covenant of Grace. "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and Will . . . give You as a covenant to the people" (Isaiah 42:6). Correspondingly, the Lord promised that this Covenant of Grace would provide forgiveness of sins ("I will forgive their iniquity, and their (satan) sin I Will remember no more" — Jeremiah 31:34), intimacy with GOD ("They all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" — Jeremiah 31:34), and an inner work of GOD to change us from the inside out ("I Will put My law (living and abiding word, My Will of plan and purpose) in their minds, and write it on their hearts" — Jeremiah 31:33).
Certainly, we could not ask or think beyond these promises. Yet, our GOD is Able to do far beyond these extraordinary matters. What confidence this gives us regarding GOD's Promises, as well as every prayer we offer based on these promises!"
Divine Pardon Promised,
Isaiah 43:25-28 "I, I am He Who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I Will not remember your (satan's) sins. Put Me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right. Your first father (placed you in satan's sin nature) sinned, and your mediators transgressed against Me. Therefore I Will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling."
Isaiah 44:21-23 "Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servants; I formed you; you are My servants; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you. Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel."
Isaiah 55:6-13; Jeremiah 5:1-3, 31:31-34, 33:1-9 and Ezekiel 36:22-32 "Seek the LORD while HE may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that HE may have compassion on him, and to our GOD, for HE Will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I have sent it. "For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
Jeremiah 5:1-3 "Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her. Though they say, "As the LORD lives," yet they swear falsely. O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; You have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent."
Jeremiah 31:31-34 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I Will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My Covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the Covenant that I Will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I Will put My (living and abiding words, plan and purposes) law within them, and I Will write it on their hearts. And I Will be their God, and they shall be My people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know ME, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I Will forgive their iniquity, and I Will remember their (satan-likeness of) sin no more."
Jeremiah 33:1-9 "The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: "Thus says the LORD Who made the earth, the LORD Who formed it to establish it—the LORD is His name: Call to Me and I Will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that were torn down to make a defense against the siege mounds and against the sword: They are coming in to fight against the Chaldeans and to fill them with the dead bodies of men whom I shall strike down in My anger and My wrath, for I have hidden My face from this city because of all their evil. Behold, I Will bring to it health and healing, and I Will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. I Will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I Will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against Me, and I Will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against Me. And this city shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it."
Ezekiel 36:22-32 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the LORD GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I Will vindicate the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the LORD GOD, when through you I vindicate My holiness before their eyes. I Will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I Will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness's, and from all your idols I Will cleanse you. And I Will give you a New heart, and a New spirit I Will put within you. And I Will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I Will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your GOD. And I Will deliver you from all your uncleanness's. And I Will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I Will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the LORD GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel."
Micah 7:14-20 and Hebrews 7:23-25, 26-8:13 "Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I Will show them marvelous things. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the LORD our GOD, and they shall be in fear of you. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His (Palm 2:6-8) inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because HE delights in steadfast Love. He Will again have compassion on us; He Will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins (of the works unbelief while in satan's sin) into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old."
Hebrews 7:23-25, 26-8:13 "The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but HE (Christ Jesus) holds His priesthood permanently, because HE continues forever. Consequently, HE is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to GOD through Him, since HE always lives to make intercession for them.
For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a High Priest, Holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law (of Moses) appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the Oath, which came later (by 430 years earlier) than the Law, appoints a Son Who has been made perfect forever. Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a High Priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the Holy places, in the true tent that the LORD set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the Law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by GOD, saying, "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant He Mediates is Better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For HE finds fault with them when HE says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I Will establish a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in My covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the LORD. For this is the Covenant that I Will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I Will put My (living an abiding word of My Will of plan and purposes) laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I Will be their GOD, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I Will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I Will remember their sins no more." In speaking of a New Covenant, HE makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."
1John 1:5-10 "This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that GOD is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the Truth. But if we walk in the light, as HE is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all (satan) sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our (satan) sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word (Christ) is not in us."
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