Category Archives: authority of the believer

Kiss the Son – Psalm 2

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Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
    and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:10-12, ESV)

In the Second Temple period (about 516 BC–70 AD) and early Jewish literature, this Psalm was usually read about Israel’s king (a historical Davidic ruler) or about a future Messiah from David’s line. It was possibly a royal Psalm used at the coronation of a king of Judah.

There’s no doubt that it had a messianic message: “The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (vs. 7-9).

Luke in Acts 13:33 and the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 1:5 and 5:5 quoted from vs. 7 about the Divine Sonship of Jesus. John in his Revelation refers to the messianic conquering king in Revelation 2:27, 12:5 and 19:15 using the imagery of vs. 8-9.

While Psalm 2 presents a warning or notification to the kings and rulers of the ancient world, let’s look at it from another point of view. There is a sense in which this Psalm applies to all people–to you and me.

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God’s Power of Attorney – John 14:8-17

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“Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it…. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth” (John 14:12-17, CSB).

As Jesus and His disciples shared a last meal together, Judas Iscariot’s impending betrayal was revealed by Jesus to His disciples. Once Judas left the dinner to carry out his unscrupulous scheme, Jesus spoke openly and intimately with His remaining disciples about the events that were about to unfold and what they meant. John 13:31 – 17:26 replays the conversation Jesus had with His disciples.

As Jesus was explaining to His disciples that the only way to know God the Father was through Him, Philip asked Him to show them the Father and that’s all they would need to believe. Jesus reminded the disciples that the Father was in Him and the words He spoke and miracles He performed were by the power of God the Father.

Then, Jesus added that not only did He have the power to do God’s works, He also had the power to enable those who believed in Him, His disciples, to perform the miracles He performed and even greater ones than He did! When Jesus said to ask in His name and He will do it, He was granting His power of attorney.

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Fascinated – Luke 10:20

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SpockFascinating“However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20, HCSB).

After Jesus had commissioned and sent out the twelve disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God, He sent out seventy other of His disciples. They were to go ahead of Him in pairs to every town where He was about to go and heal the sick and proclaim the Kingdom of God was near.

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Seize the Day – Deuteronomy 1:8

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carpe-diem-logo“Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants” (Deuteronomy 1:8, NLT).

To prepare the Israelites for the conquest of Canaan, Moses reminded them of life in Egypt, of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and of their past fearfulness that resulted in disobedience to God and rebellion against His promises.

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