1. THE REASON FOR THE MINISTRY
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned --
* Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had
not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a
type of Him who was to come.
*But the free gift is not
like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the
grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded
to many.
*For if by the one man's offense
death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus
Christ.)
*Therefore, as through one man's
offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so
through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting
in justification of life.
Romans 5: 12, 14, 15, 17, 18
And one woman (Eve), one in substance with Adam,
played the key role in The Offence (The
Original Sin)
Another woman (Second Eve), one in substance
with the Second Adam, has a key role in The
Saving Grace
And a vital reversal is necessary for this
reversal – the sinless Adam shall come from the sinless Eve this time
The main thrust of the ministry was
established – do battle with the serpent and win, as man (Gen. 3: 15)
2. THE PREPARATION FOR THE MINISTRY
* “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And
between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise
His heel."
Genesis 3: 15
* “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and
offering you did not desire, but a body
You have prepared for Me. In
burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said,
'Behold, I have come -- In the volume of the book it is written of Me -- To do
Your will, O God.' "
Hebrews 10: 5-7
* “Who is
she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array!”
Song of Songs 6: 10
*“The Lord will give you a sign in any case.
It is this: the young woman is with child
and will give
birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel".
Isaiah
7: 14
*“Behold the handmaid
of the Lord be it
done unto me according to thy word”
Luke 1: 38
And the
Ministry was conceived, the battle line drawn; a sinless man needed to conquer
sin and that source of sin
And the
necessary sinless body was prepared to beget the sinless man for the conquest
(The Immaculate Conception)
And she came
forth in divine splendor, as captured in that song of God to His Beloved.
And the
prophets saw the grand preparations and shouted out in prophesy – she is
carrying God (Theotokos)
And behold,
the preparations were successful – she said the
great Yes !
3. THE
UNVEILING OF THE INSTRUMENTS FOR THE MINISTRY
* “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born
of a woman, born under the law, to
redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons”
Galatians 4: 4-5
* “And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”.
John 1: 14
* "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord”.
Luke 2: 11
* “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart”.
Luke 2: 19
And now she has delivered in this crucial stage of her
role and is now, in reality, “mother of God”
And she shares the glory of “the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth”
And she ponders all these marvels in her heart, as she
starts the task of nurturing the Minister-in-Chief
4. THE MODULATION AND MODERATION OF THE MINISTRY
* Now so it was that after three days they found Him
in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and
asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His
understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother
said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I
have sought You anxiously." And He said to them, "Why did you seek
Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" But they
did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. Then He went down with
them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all
these things in her heart.
Luke 2: 46-51
* On the third day
there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now
both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out
of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." Jesus
said to her, "Woman, what does
your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." His mother
said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."- - - This beginning of signs Jesus
did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in
Him.
John: 2: 1-11
* While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and
brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him,
"Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking to
speak with you." But He answered and said to the one who told Him,
"Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" And He stretched out His
hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are my mother and My brothers! For
whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is my brother and sister and
mother.”
Matthew 12: 46-50
Top zeal, enthusiasm and high spiritual energy; “I might
as well get on with it, even at 12”
But she had the Divine mandate and responsibility to modulate and moderate; she knew the
flag-off moment
It is not the time; just a look and through their inner spiritual
connection, they understood each other perfectly
He instantly followed them home, subject to them while
patiently awaiting the sign from her, for kick-off
At Cana: age 30, had disciples, but no Ministry – His
hour had “not yet come”; it came the next instant
It is now the time; just a look and through their inner
spiritual connection, they understood each other perfectly
"Whatever He says to you, do it”, is a more than enough utterance, and the
Ministry is set off.
Zeal was extremely
high-pitched, modulation and moderation more difficult; she still checked on
him
Clever words from Jesus and
she understood: "you are known for believing and doing the will of God".
She would not be doing the
will of God if she persuaded him to go home with them and rest; or why came
they?
5. THE FINISHING OF THE MINISTRY
* Now there stood
by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the
disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" Then He
said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that
disciple took her to his own home.
John 19: 25-27
And she was there at the
finishing point; remains for Jesus to take care of her through John his beloved
apostle
Now mother to the beloved John,
she is also symbolically mother to all who believe they are Jesus’ beloved
Revelation 12 summarizes the role of the
woman in the Salvation Ministry. Read it, understand it.
Do you see, from the foregoing,
the history of the work of our salvation?
The role of “The woman”? The Vatican II theologians summarize it thus:
"After a long period of waiting the times are
fulfilled in her, the exalted Daughter of Zion, and the New plan of salvation is established
when the Son of God
has taken human nature from her, that He
might in the mysteries of His flesh free man from sin". (Vatican II Lumen Gentium 55). Have another look. Do you not see that this history is talking about 2 persons, always together, inseparable ?
The Ark of the Covenant
THE OLD COVENANT
1. The Ark of the Covenant was God's Sanctuary - Exodus25:8ff
2. The presence of the Ark of the Covenant brought great joy - 2Samuel 6: 1-5
3. The presence of the Ark of the Covenant, in fact, sent someone into joy and ecstacy, and he leapt for joy - 2 Samuel 6: 14 - 16
4. God brought blessings to all people that welcomed the Ark of the Covenant - 2Samuel 6: 11
THE NEW COVENANT
1. The Ark of the Covenant was also God's Sanctuary - Luke 1: 34-35; John 1: 1, 14.
2. The presence of the Ark of the Covenant brought great joy - Luke 1: 39-45
3. The presence of the Ark of the Covenant, in fact, sent someone into joy and ecstacy, and he leapt for joy - Luke 1: 44
4. God brought blessings to all people that welcomed the Ark of the Covenant - John 2: 1-10
Reason:
The Ark of the Covenant (old or New) brought God to the people and He gave them joy and blessings". God and the Ark always came together as they were always together. They have not yet been separated.
THE TWO HEARTS OF LOVE ARE INSEPARABLE
C. C. Nweze
Enugu Nigeria
.
Comments
Post a Comment