LIFE FROM THE SON

LIFE FROM THE SON

John 5:24-29 NET.

²⁴“I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵I tell you the solemn truth, a time is coming — and is now here — when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, ²⁷and he has granted the Son authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸“Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹and will come out — the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation.

One of the important responsibilities of preaching is to slow us down long enough to really hear Scripture. We live in a world where familiar verses come preloaded with assumptions, ideas that almost everyone repeats, but few have traced back to the text itself. When those assumptions go unchallenged, they can blur what God is saying. Preaching becomes an act of love when it clears away that fog and lets the Word speak with its own weight and clarity.

There is something deeply real about this work. It invites us to come before God with open hands, willing to let Him correct us, surprise us, and reshape our understanding. It reminds us that Scripture is not a collection of slogans to confirm what we already think, but a living voice that calls us into truth. When a preacher helps us see what the text truly says—no more, no less—we experience that gentle moment when God realigns our hearts. And in those moments, we remember why we listen at all: because His Word still brings light, and His truth still sets us free.

Today’s passage is one of those places where we need to slow down and listen carefully. Most of us have heard John 5:24 explained the same way: it’s about a spiritual resurrection, a person getting saved, moving from spiritual death to spiritual life. And on the surface, that sounds right. I mean, what else could “crossed over from death to life” mean, if not conversion and new birth?

But you know what? Sometimes a verse we think we already understand is exactly the one that invites us to look again. That’s what I want to do with you this morning. My aim is not to be clever or to dismiss the many faithful teachers and theologians who see spiritual resurrection here. Many of them love Jesus deeply and handle Scripture with great care. I believe, after sitting with this text, that Jesus is talking about something different than what we usually assume.

So together, we’re going to walk slowly through John 5:24-29 and let the passage itself guide us. I hope that, by the end, you’ll see that what Jesus is saying is even richer and more grounded than the familiar explanation—and that your trust in His word will grow deeper, not thinner.

There are Two Life-Givers

Verse 26 says the Father has life in himself, and he has granted the Son to have life in himself. Those are the two sources where life can come from. Now, what kind of life do we get from the Father? Is it spiritual life or is it what we call physical life?

The Bible says that the LORD God formed Adam from dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.[1] He formed a non-living creature from the clay and breathed life into it, and Adam became alive. This is the kind of life we received from our Father. It was a dependent life. We owed our existence and continued functioning to the one who gave us this life. He is the first life-giver, and that life is (for want of a better description) physical animal life.

We have life, but the life we have is not self-contained. The theologians talk about humans having immortal souls, but the Bible never mentions anything about our souls being immortal. The Old Testament says that the soul who sins shall die.[2] Jesus said that sinful souls will be destroyed in Gehenna hell.[3] So, both Testaments testify that the idea of our having immortal souls by nature is unbiblical.

The life we receive from the Father is mortal, conditional life, temporary life. It can be a wonderful life, or it can be a miserable life, but there is one thing that life from the Father cannot be. It cannot be eternal life. The Father made that decision in Eden. He said that if our ancestors ate of the forbidden tree, we would become mortal and we would all eventually die.

Now, is this life from the Father spiritual life? Paul said that before salvation, all of us are “dead in our trespasses.”[4] We cannot even seek God because our sins have made us dead, not functioning in our relationship to him. So, if we are going to have a relationship with God, we are going to need a new life, another life, other than the natural life we were born into.

Never fear, because the Father, who has life in himself, has also granted the Son to have life in himself. There is another source of life. Now this is where the theologians are quick to explain that the kind of life Jesus offers is spiritual life, and that we need that because we are all spiritually dead. But hold your horses, because the text says something different.

The Son gave life by Physical Resurrection.

In verse 25, Jesus says a time is coming — and is now here — when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. One of the keys to understanding that statement is the fact that Jesus used the word “now.” He was referring to his earthly ministry. We know that Jesus brought the dead back to life while he walked among us. He took the corpse of Jairus’ daughter by the hand and said Little girl, I say to you, wake up!”[5] She woke up. To the widow’s son at Nain, he said, “Young man, I say to you, wake up!”[6] He woke up. In Bethany, he called Lazarus by name and told him to get out of that tomb.[7] He shuffled out of that tomb. On the night of his crucifixion, many of the saints who were buried and sleeping in their graves came out.[8] They came to life again.

Now, I want to ask you which of those four resurrections could be categorized as a spiritual resurrection? I think it is obvious that none of them were. They were all examples of Jesus literally raising people from the dead.

Jesus Establishes A Second Pattern Of Life-Giving.

In verse 25, Jesus said, “A time is coming — and is now here — when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” If the time that is here meant that Jesus could literally raise the dead during his earthly ministry, what does he mean when he talks about that time that is coming?

We don’t have to guess about that time because Jesus goes on to explain it more fully. He says, “A time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out — the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation.

So, in this time that is coming, Jesus is going to perform the same kind of resurrection as he did during his earthly ministry. He is going to wake the dead and make them alive again. This is not a spiritual resurrection. It, too, is what we might call a literal, physical resurrection. In fact, it appears that there are only three things about this coming resurrection that will be different from the resurrections mentioned in the New Testament.

First, the extent to which the dead are raised. Jairus’ daughter died again. The Widow’s son died again. The saints who were sleeping fell asleep again. Those New Testament resurrections were temporary. They were miracles designed to show who Jesus is. But none of those who were raised were raised immortal.

Second, the purpose of the coming resurrection is Judgment Day. That is why Jesus says that some will be raised to a resurrection that results in condemnation. They, too, will be brought back to life, but not to immortality. Their resurrection is not a doorway into eternal joy but the moment they must stand before the Judge at the Great White Throne and answer for their lives. Every sin, every injustice, every rejection of God’s grace must be dealt with. Scripture is painfully clear: there are only two ways sin can be addressed—either through the atoning death of Christ or through the second death in Gehenna, the lake of fire.

The penalty for sin has always been death. That is the cost. And if we refuse the death of Christ as our substitute, then the only payment left is our own. Hell is not a place for people God dislikes; it is the place where unpaid sin debts are settled. It is a sober reminder that grace is offered freely, but it is not forced. The coming resurrection will reveal who trusted in Christ’s sacrifice and who chose to bear the weight of their own.

But the good news of the gospel is that there is a third and far greater difference between the resurrections Jesus performed during His earthly ministry and the resurrection He will bring about at the end of the age. The people He raised in the Gospels were restored to the same kind of life they had before—beautiful, compassionate miracles, but still temporary. They lived again, but they eventually died again. Their stories point forward, but they are not the destination.

What Jesus promises in the future is something entirely different. He says that some will be raised to a resurrection that results in life—real, lasting, indestructible life. Just as the Father gives life, so the Son gives life. But the life He gives is not mortal life stretched a little longer. It is immortal life, the kind that cannot fade or weaken or slip away. It is not natural life patched up and restarted. It is supernatural life, breathed into us by the One who conquered death. It is not a temporary life borrowed for a season. It is eternal, everlasting, permanent life—life that shares in the very permanence of God Himself.

That is the hope set before us, and it is worth holding with both hands.

This Resurrection Promise Gives us Hope.

Here are five reasons why we can draw confidence and hope from this resurrection promise:

1. The resurrection means death is not the end.

Every funeral, every diagnosis, every reminder of our mortality is not the final word. The resurrection promises that God will reverse what Adam’s fall unleashed. We do not cling to wishful thinking; we cling to a future event God has already previewed in Jesus.

2. The resurrection guarantees that our bodies matter to God.

We are not escaping creation; we are awaiting its renewal. The resurrection tells us that God will raise these very bodies—healed, restored, glorified. Nothing about our embodied life is disposable or forgotten.

3. The resurrection assures us that justice will be done.

So much in this world goes unresolved. But resurrection means God will raise every person and set all things right. No evil will remain unaddressed, and no faithfulness will go unnoticed.

4. The resurrection anchors our hope in Christ’s victory, not our performance.

Our future does not depend on our strength, consistency, or spiritual success. It rests on the risen Christ who conquered death for us. Because He lives, we will live also.

5. The resurrection promises reunion and restoration.

Every tear, every separation, every grave we’ve stood beside will be answered. God will gather His people, restore what was lost, and make all things new. Hope is not abstract. It is personal, relational, and guaranteed.

In conclusion, I am convinced Jesus is not introducing a new or hidden idea of spiritual resurrection in this passage. He is pointing us to the same promise He makes so clearly in John 6, where He says that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him has eternal life, and that He Himself will raise that person on the last day. That is the heartbeat of His message. He is not describing an invisible inner event; He is promising a future moment when He will act with resurrection power.

If you belong to Christ today, I cannot promise you a spiritual resurrection that happens quietly inside you. Scripture never speaks that way. But I can promise you something far better and far more concrete. Our Savior knows your name. He has not lost track of you. And one day, He will speak that name with the same authority that called Lazarus out of the tomb. If you are asleep in the dust, you will wake at His voice. If you are in your grave, you will rise and step out into a life that can never be taken from you again. That is the promise He gives, and it is worth holding onto with all your heart.

[1] Genesis 2:7.

[2] Ezekiel 18:4, 20.

[3] Matthew 10:28.

[4] Ephesians 2:1, 5; Colossians 2:13.

[5] Mark 5:21–43, Matthew 9:18–26, and Luke 8:40–56.

[6] Luke 7:11–17.

[7] John 11:1–44

[8] Matthew 27:52–53.

On “eternal generation.”

Good morning. I’d like to offer a response to Eric Reynolds’ recent video on the doctrine of eternal generation. Eric raised this topic because our denomination will soon vote on whether to adopt a new Declaration of Principles. In the proposed declaration, article 3 states that Jesus the Son is “eternally begotten of the Father.” This wording comes from the church’s debate with Arianism and was formally expressed in the Nicene Creed of AD 325: “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same essence as the Father.”

Eric urges Advent Christians to adopt this new Declaration of Principles because it makes clear where we stand in reference to the nature of Christ. It certainly does that. But I suggest that Eric went too far when he said, “You cannot be a Christian and reject the eternal begottenness of Jesus.”

First, many sincere Christians throughout the early centuries wrestled with how Scripture describes Jesus as the monogenēs of the Father (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). The Nicene theologians did not settle on their formulation immediately; their conclusions emerged only after generations of debate and reflection, eventually taking shape centuries later.

Secondly, the New Testament never uses the adjective “eternal” (αἰώνιος) to describe:

Christ as monogenēs, or

Christ’s generation/procession from the Father.

The NT simply does not pair aiōnios with monogenēs, nor with any verb of begetting, sending, or proceeding.

In other words, the Bible does not specifically teach eternal generation. It may be true, but Advent Christians have historically been wary of accepting theological constructions just because other Christians believe them to be true.

Thirdly, it was no surprise to me that, almost immediately after the proposed 2026 Declaration of Principles was published, people from many different perspectives began questioning its language. In several areas, the new proposal uses theological terms with a precision unfamiliar to many Advent Christians, while in other areas it introduces ambiguity where our current Declaration has traditionally been quite clear.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve received many emails and phone calls, and I’ve sat down with people from various backgrounds—all of whom share serious concerns about the proposed changes. Because of these conversations, I am persuaded that 2026 is not the year for our denomination to alter its guiding principles. If you are a delegate at the August triennial convention, please vote NO on the proposed revision to the Declaration of Principles. And if your church is sending delegates, please ask them to vote NO as well.

Thank you.

Jefferson Vann

For the video of the above, see:

THE EVIL DAYS

^{THE EVIL DAYS}

Ecclesiastes 12:1-5 KJV.

¹Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; ²While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: ³In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, ⁴And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; ⁵Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets.

Growing older is a strange experience.

One day you’re young and energetic, and the next day you make a noise when you stand up— a noise you didn’t practice, a noise you didn’t choose, a noise that happens because your joints have decided to speak in tongues.

But aging is not a punishment. It’s a privilege. It’s a long, winding testimony of God’s patience, provision, and sense of humor.

And if we’re wise, we learn to laugh along the way.

Solomon’s final chapter in Ecclesiastes gives us a blunt, unvarnished look at the so‑called “golden years.” He doesn’t soften the reality of aging with polite euphemisms or sentimental language. Instead, he offers a painfully accurate allegory—one only an older man could write. Every image, every metaphor, every fading sense and trembling limb reflects a stage of decline Solomon now knows firsthand. He doesn’t call them the golden years. He calls them the evil days.

This is Ancient Near Eastern humor. Solomon walks us through the slow unraveling of the body: the dimming eyes, the shaking hands, the failing teeth, the stooped back, the sleepless nights, the shrinking appetite, the fear of falling, the loss of desire. It is a house slowly collapsing, a once‑strong structure now creaking under the weight of time. Solomon is not mocking old age; he is describing his own.

Solomon’s honesty is not meant to depress us but to awaken us. He wants the young to understand what he did not: life is precious because it is temporary. Enjoy it while you have it. Honor God while your strength is still intact. Live fully, gratefully, and wisely before the days come when desire fades and opportunities close.

Old age is not a failure; it is a reminder.

A reminder that we are creatures, not gods.
A reminder that our days are numbered.
A reminder that the One who gave us life is the only One who can give it again.

Solomon’s final chapter is not just a description of aging—it is an invitation to live well now, while the light still shines.

Solomon contrasts the fading years of old age with the bright, energetic prime of life—when everything works, everything is clear, and everything feels possible. He has lived those years. He was a sprite young prince, courting a beautiful young shepherd girl. We have that story in the Bible, too. It’s Solomon’s song. We also have a book Solomon wrote in his middle years. It’s his magnum opus, his collection of proverbs. But this book of Ecclesiastes is Solomon’s last. It’s his final reflection.

In it, he teaches us that when we’re young, our eyes look out their windows and see the world in sharp detail. But as the years pass, the days grow dimmer. The world doesn’t change, but our ability to take it in does.

Our bladders become like rain clouds that fill up again almost as soon as they empty.
Our once‑strong legs—the guardians of our bodies, the pillars of our houses—turn soft and unsteady.
Our teeth become few and idle, no longer grinding our food with youthful strength.
Our doors of opportunity close; we no longer venture far from home.
We miss the sound of business and busyness, the hum of life we once took for granted.
We wake at the slightest chirp of a bird, yet we don’t hear nearly as much as we used to.

It is a portrait, both honest and compassionate. Solomon is not mocking old age; he is describing the slow unraveling of a body that was never designed to be immortal in its present form.

And that is his point. Life is short—don’t waste it. We shouldenjoy it fully, especially while we are young and able to savor its gifts. But as we enjoy the gift, we should remember the Giver. The Creator who gave us life is the One who will remain when everything else fades. Our relationship with Him is the one joy that does not diminish with age.

We do not possess endless life in ourselves. Our strength, our senses, our opportunities—all of them are temporary. We live because God gives life, and we will live again only because God gives life again.

So Solomon urges us to use our time wisely.

Don’t squander our prime years.
Don’t drift through life as if our days are unlimited.
Enjoy the world God made, but anchor our joy in the God who made us.

Not only is it appropriate for us to remember our creator in the days of our youth. It is also quite proper for us to remember God when we cannot seem to remember anything else.

Remember God when you can’t remember where you put your glasses, your phone, where you left your keys, or where you parked your car.
Remember God when you can’t remember why you walked into the kitchen, or why you opened the refrigerator.
Remember God when you can’t remember that you already told that story… twice.
Remember God when you cannot remember the name of that person you have known for 20 years, and the one you just met 20 seconds ago.
Remember God when you cannot remember that birthday, that anniversary, that doctor’s appointment, or what day it is.
Remember God when you cannot remember whether you have taken that pill or taken out the garbage.

And don’t get me started on punchlines to jokes, or travel directions, whether you locked the front door, or how to turn off notifications that won’t stop dinging. We are now living in the evil days when everything slips away. But the LORD is the One who remains—and the One who can give life that truly lasts.

Let’s pray:

LORD, thank you for life. Thank you for the air we breathe and the lives you have given us to live. Thank you that no matter where we are, you are there. Thank you also for no matter what point we are in our lives, you are with us and for us. Praise your holy name. Amen.

JOY

JOY

Isaiah 16:10-12 NET.

¹⁰Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards, and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts; no one treads out juice in the wine vats — I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. ¹¹ So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, my inner being sighs for Kir Hareseth. ¹² When the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places, and enter their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective!

When we studied the poetry of the Bible, such as the Psalms, we primarily examined words coming from humans directed toward or about God. But now we’re looking at a different genre. We are focusing on literature that is mostly directly from God through a human prophet. It’s important to understand that the direction differs in prophecy. Prophecy involves words from God through the prophet, whereas poetry involves words from humans about God or to God.

All of these words in the Bible come directly from God, the Holy Spirit, in that He inspired them. He inspired poets to say what was needed for the songs to be written. In the Old Testament’s prophecy section, we see words from God the Holy Spirit as a testimony from God Himself. Today, we often use the word prophecy to refer to predictions. Some of these are found in the Old Testament prophets. For example, messianic prophecies throughout the Bible predict the coming Messiah; many were fulfilled at Jesus’ first advent when He was born. Others were fulfilled during His earthly ministry, and some are yet to be fulfilled at His second coming. The second coming is a primary focus of Old Testament prophecy. While many messianic prophecies appear in the Old Testament prophets, most prophecies focus on the Day of the Lord, which is the second advent.

But the prophets spoke directly from God to the people, culture, and time in which they lived. That explains why we have passages like today’s text, which speaks directly to the nation of Moab and is a prophecy from God to that nation. Although Israel was God’s chosen people to bring about redemption for all humanity, that does not mean Israel was God’s only concern. Even in the Old Testament, we see reflections of a God who is the God of all nations and cares about them all. Today’s text reflects that because it is about a nation other than Israel.

You might remember that Moab, as a nation, consisted of people who were relatives of the Israelites. Moab came from Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Both the Moabites and the Ammonites are descendants of Lot. You might recall that Lot’s daughters got their father drunk and slept with him. They both became pregnant and gave birth to the ancestors of those two nations. The names of these nations reflect this fact. The name Ammon means “my people,” and the name Moab means “from the father.” Moab was the ancestor of the Moabites to whom God speaks in today’s text.

Even if we only consider the three verses from today’s passage, we can still learn something about Moab as a nation. We find that they are a nation of vineyard owners and orchard keepers. Evidently, the land they possess is well-suited for fruit trees and vineyards. They also appear to derive great pleasure and joy from this way of life.

Another thing we learn from today’s passage about the Moabites is that they are very religious. They don’t worship at the temple in Jerusalem, but they have their own temples and high places where they pray and make sacrifices. They didn’t follow in Abraham’s footsteps; they have their own religion. However, we see from today’s text that they are very dedicated to practicing it. But we also learn from today’s passage in Isaiah that their devotion to their religion will not influence God. Isaiah declares judgment upon Moab.

The Lord will end the joy of the heathen.

Isaiah says that joy and happiness will disappear from the orchards. He explains that in the vineyards, no one will be rejoicing or shouting. The reason is that the labor that brings about joy will come to an end. No one will be treading out juice in the wine vats. Isaiah, speaking for God, says that God has brought the joyful shout to an end.

It’s essential to examine a passage like this, especially in today’s season. Christians around the world during this Advent season are talking about joy from the Lord. We have every right to speak about joy from the Lord. But we must remember that the joy that comes from the Lord is a joy for those whom the Lord is pleased with. Just as the peace that God promised when He sent Jesus into the world, the joy He promises is also explicitly directed toward those who will accept Christ. The joy entering the world only comes to those who receive Jesus Christ as King. This is the message of the Old and New Testaments.

The prophecy Isaiah shares in today’s passage concerns the destruction of Moab as a nation. There is no Moab today, so that prophecy has been fulfilled. However, there’s more to this passage than just the prediction and its fulfillment. God gave us that message not only because of the Moabites, but because what happened to them will happen to all the heathen nations that haven’t accepted Christ. He will take away the joy from those nations and remove all who claim to have a relationship with God but have not come to His Son and accepted Him as their King.

Last Sunday night, we watched a movie during the evening service. The film showed a tribe living in the jungle that had not yet learned about Jesus. Some of you have talked to me afterward and said that the movie really shook you up. You couldn’t understand how people could live like that. It’s important to remember that there are still people in the world living without Christ and without hope. They are living in darkness and have not yet experienced the light of Christ.

We are still living in an age where our primary focus should be on reaching the lost. There are not only many individuals who need salvation, but also thousands of people groups who have never heard the name of Christ. Some of these might be experiencing temporary joy in their current lives, but as the Moabites did, that joy will be short-lived and ultimately disrupted by the judgment of Almighty God. We must have compassion for these people and strive to get the gospel to them. If the only way to reach them is by sending our sons and daughters, that is what we must do.

The reality of God’s judgment upon the nations remains unchanged. The heathen are still lost regardless of what happens to us. They need to hear the word of God and to listen to it from the Church of God. Yes, God loves them, but He also hates their sin. Just as God pronounced judgment upon Moab, many people groups around the world are facing God’s judgment.

The Lord has no joy in doing this.

Isaiah, speaking for God in today’s passage, says that His heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp. His inner being sighs for Kir Harosheth, one of the Moabite cities. Isaiah opens a window into God’s mind, revealing His heart. He shows a God whose heart is breaking because He must destroy the wicked. You see, God is a God of justice. When something is wrong, He must correct it. As the ruler of this universe, He is responsible for fixing mistakes. But God is also compassionate. He does not want to destroy the lost. He is not willing that anyone should perish, but He desires all to come to repentance. However, He has set a date for judging the great and the small. When that day arrives, there will be no more time for mercy. When the trumpet sounds and time ends, those who are lost will be forever lost.

Why does God tell us that he has no joy in destroying Moab? Specifically, why is this statement included in the Israelite scriptures? Why does God speak this through the mouth of an Israelite prophet? There must be a reason this is relevant to the children of Israel. It reveals the heart of their God. It shows that their God is not a respecter of persons. He loves the children of Israel, but also loves the children of Moab. He loves the followers of the Christian Bible, but also cares for those who follow other Bibles and have not yet seen the truth in his holy word. God’s heart extends beyond just those who consider themselves his. His heart cries out for us to reach those who don’t see themselves as his. He takes no joy in their destruction—he took no joy in the destruction of Moab. He takes no pleasure in the destruction of those who rebel against his truth. He considers them his children, even if they are prodigal children. He eagerly waits for the day when the prodigal son will come to himself and return home.

There is only one Way to the Lord.

There is a heretical teaching that continues to spread among Christian circles. This false teaching reflects everyone’s desire to be saved. Some say that as long as you are sincere in your belief, it doesn’t matter what that belief is. But we don’t see that idea in today’s passage. Isaiah says that when the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places and go into their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective. Isaiah shows that these Moabites are sincere in their belief and eager for God to save them, but they are going about it the wrong way.

The New Testament gospel communicates the same message. Jesus states that he is “the way, the truth, and the life,” and that no one comes to the Father except through him. Many of us struggle with this truth because we know there are many nations, many religions, and many ways people try to reach God. All around us, we hear people saying there are many ways to God. However, when they do so, they are not reflecting the Christian gospel. Today’s text reminds us that you can be sincerely seeking God and still not reach him. God has given us only one way of salvation: through the Lord Jesus Christ. That means many prayers will not be answered because they have not come through Jesus.

The joy we talk about at Christmas is a joy found only in Jesus Christ. The good news of the gospel is good news of great joy. However, the gospel is conditional, with Jesus Christ as the condition. This means that when Jesus comes, there will be joy in the world, but it will not reach everyone. As seen in other prophecies in the Old Testament, the coming of Christ will bring great fear and sorrow to those who have not accepted Him. That is why, when we proclaim the Christian joy of Christ’s coming, we must make it clear that the joy we speak of will only belong to those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Furthermore, the joy we speak of when we sing “Joy to the World” is a joy only experienced when our Lord returns. The joy we feel now is terrific, but it is only a preview of an even greater joy. The joy of Christ coming as a baby in Bethlehem was marvelous, but it was just the beginning. It was a joy for those who welcomed Christ into their hearts. It was a joy for Mary and Joseph. It was a joy for the shepherds. It was a joy for the wise men. It was a joy for Simeon and Anna.

The Advent season is a time for you and me to ask ourselves if we have room in our hearts for Jesus Christ. The joy of Christmas is ours if we can answer that question in the affirmative. Likewise, the joy of the second Advent is ours if we have found room in our hearts for Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Otherwise, like the Moabites, we will see that all we will eventually experience is loss, and even if we are sincere in our prayers, those prayers will never reach God. Even worse, when our Lord does come in his glory with all his angels, he will greet us not as our Lord and Savior but as our Judge.

If you want joy, absolute joy, incredible joy, let Jesus into your heart.

UNITY

UNITY

Psalm 133 ESV

A Song of Ascents. Of David. ¹ Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! ² It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! ³It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

Israelite pilgrims probably sang the songs of ascent as they traveled to Jerusalem to worship the Lord during the annual festivals. As the believers climbed toward Jerusalem, they prepared themselves spiritually for the importance of their visit to Mount Zion. This particular Psalm is attributed to David. It celebrates the unity of God’s people.

I believe we Christians should meditate on this Psalm. Unity is also a significant theme in the New Testament. Jesus prayed for us to live in harmony with one another when he asked the Father that we may be one, just as he and the Father are one (John 17:21). The Apostle Paul taught us not to focus on our differences but to see ourselves as one in Christ. He knew that the Christians in his time had a lot of diversity. They had ethnic diversity because the gospel had spread to many nations, and now there were Greek Christians as well as Jewish Christians. He knew the gospel had been preached to both high-class nobility and lower-class slaves. He also knew that the good news had been proclaimed to and by women as well as men. So, he taught that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female — for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).”

Our relationship with Christ allows us to overlook our differences and treat each other as He commanded us to. He taught us to love, respect, and be considerate of one another. In fact, we are warned that if we only claim to love God but do not love each other, we are hypocrites. When we consider all these things the New Testament teaches about unity, we would be surprised if the same principles are not found in the Old Testament, the Bible Jesus read.

Some of the oldest Bible stories actually depict unity in a negative light. Adam and Eve were united in their defiance against the Lord in the garden, and the people of Babel were united in their attempt to disobey God’s command to scatter across the Earth.

But as revelation progresses, it becomes clear that God is not against human unity. He wants to unify us in a way that is different from the way we want to unify ourselves. We want to unify ourselves against his plan and against his heart. He wants to unify us according to his plan and in line with his heart. The way he wants to do that is to unify us in the Messiah. He wants us to be one in Christ.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation, reveals what this will look like in eternity. It shows us a vision of the redeemed from every tribe, language, people, and nation. But this vast multitude of people is one despite their former ethnic, geographic, social, and economic differences. They are the redeemed in Christ, and they are one. That’s what God wants.

Now that we have surveyed the concept of unity in the Bible, let’s examine the teachings of this particular passage.

Unity is a good thing (1).

We don’t use the word “behold” very often now, but it was frequently used in Bible times. We use it when we want to attract people’s attention to something. When we write something, we can do this by changing the font, underlining the word, or putting it in bold print. We are telling our readers to notice this word or phrase because it is crucial.

David wanted his readers to see that fraternal unity was a good and pleasant thing. He paints a picture with his words, portraying the entire nation sitting together as one person. We can understand how David could feel that way as king. He did not want his kingdom to be divided, he did not want civil war, and he wanted peace and harmony among the citizens of his nation.

But his words are more general than that. Perhaps he is expressing his gratitude for the peace that he has known in the United Israel. But he wants us to notice that God wants this of every nation.

Here is where the rubber meets the road for us in 21st-century America. This psalm reminds us that our country’s name is the United States. You all know that I rarely talk politics in the pulpit because I don’t think that is what this pulpit is for. But I need to address the reality that is all too evident in this nation today. We are taking sides and attacking each other. We are defining ourselves as us and condemning them. The last time we were polarized to such an extent, it resulted in a civil war.

God speaks to our current situation and calls us to peace, reconciliation, and unity. We need to recognize that unity is a good thing and that, as a nation, we are far from dwelling together in unity.

Unity is a calling (2).

David uses two similes to explain how good it is for brothers to be unified. In verse 2, he shows Aaron, the nation’s first high priest, being anointed with oil in his ordination ceremony. We watch as the anointing oil flows freely down Aaron’s head and drips down his beard to the collar of his robes. No one screams, “Somebody get a towel.” Nobody wants to clean up the mess. Why? Because this is the anointing oil. Aaron is the anointed of God. He is called to represent the people before God as their high priest.

Part of explaining Scripture is showing the connections between its words so that the readers understand how they relate. There are several connections here that are not obvious, so I need to point them out. First, as high priest, Aaron unified the whole nation of Israel. They were a multitude of people, coming from a dozen tribes, but they had only one high priest. When Aaron was anointed, he stood as a symbol of the unity of Israel.

Secondly, anointing oil was an ancient symbol of purity. People anointed their heads to cleanse them from impurity and keep bugs out. Thus, oil itself became a symbol of a promise to obey one’s calling with integrity. In the Ancient Near East, three types of people were ordained by an anointing ceremony: prophets, priests, and kings.

Each would be tempted to exercise their position in a self-centered way. Their anointing was a promise and commitment to avoid corruption and selfishness. The oil flowing down their heads was a symbol of a commitment to purity.

Thirdly, every prophet, priest, or king who was anointed realized that the Scriptures predicted a coming anointed one who would be God’s ultimate anointed one. He would be not just a prophet, not just a priest, and not just a king. He would be the prophet, the priest, and the king. He would be all three. He was called the Messiah: the Anointed One. Consequently, every anointing ceremony would itself be a foreshadowing of the great event of the coming of Christ. Thus, everyone who was anointed took on the responsibility of predicting Christ through their own life choices.

Unity is a calling. That is why the Apostle Paul called the church, “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2). He says that we “were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

We have not all been anointed with oil, but all of us have been anointed with God’s Holy Spirit. We have been given different gifts, but we are expected to use our gifts to build one another up “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God — a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature” Ephesians 4:13). So, just like Aaron in Psalm 133, every Christian is anointed. Our calling is to represent Christ as we grow to be more like him.

Unity is a blessing (3).

The simile changes in verse three. We are told that unity is like the dew of Hermon, but we don’t know who Hermon is. Mount Hermon is a high, snow-capped mountain located in the northern region. The picture is of the dew from this distant high mountain descending into the area of Zion, way to the South. We have heard of mountains being so large that they create their own weather. Something like that seems to be implied here. The difficulty is that there are numerous mountains in Israel, many of them in Judah itself, which is much closer to Jerusalem than Mount Hermon is. So, why did David draw attention to Mount Hermon?

I can only guess, but this is my guess. David chose a distant mountain to show us that the unity we can experience today is only an approximation of the unity we will experience when Christ returns. The dew from Hermon is a blessing upon all the pilgrims from the north as they make their way to Jerusalem for the feast. Our present unity is a blessing as well. But what we have in store when our Savior comes to reign is the blessing that the LORD commanded at Zion.

And what is that blessing? Life forevermore! Unity is good and pleasant, but the command of our God is more than unity. God wants more from us than merely getting along with others. He wants us all to make it to his destiny for us. As pilgrims together, we are blessed by the cooling dew from Mount Hermon, but we are all on our way to something even better. We are on our way to Zion. There the LORD has commanded the ultimate blessing: eternal life.

Some churches teach that we all already have eternal life. But that is not what this church teaches. The word of God speaks of a judgment day. The sheep and the goats will be separated. The goats will go to the punishment of permanent destruction, while the sheep will go to permanent life. The lost will die the second death, while the saved will get a second life. This second life will be the blessing that the LORD pronounced on Zion: life forevermore.

It is fitting that this short psalm about unity concludes by reminding us that something more important than unity exists. The unity in the Garden of Eden ended with our ancestors being expelled from paradise. The unity at Babel resulted in disorder and scattering. As we journey on this pilgrim path, we should all aim to get along with each other. However, our ultimate goal is not merely coexistence but to attain the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Communion Meditation:

Ephesians 2:15

“(Christ) nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace.”

After Christ’s death on the cross, there is only one people of God. He made forgiveness possible for both Jews and Gentiles. He enabled a unity based not on pedigree or works accomplished. His death made it possible for all of us to approach the throne of God based on his perfect work, not our imperfect works.