THE HUMILITY OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:8).

The Lord Jesus Christ is the supreme example of humility and selflessness. He is God Himself. He was God, He is God, He will forever be God. Although Jesus Christ as God the Son possessed equality with His Father in terms of the fulness of His deity, He resolved not to cling on to it. In an act of supreme, unconditional love for mankind, He “made himself of no reputation” in order to be a Suffering Servant.

What did Christ empty Himself of? The answer is found in what He put on after His divestiture: He (1) “took upon him the form of a servant,” and (2) “was made in the likeness of man” (v7). The word “servant” is the Greek doulos which literally means “slave.” Christ, though sovereign, was willing to give up His kingly status to take on a most lowly position of a slave. As Creator, He ought to be served by His creatures, but He chose to serve them instead (Mark 10:45).

Christ became man by putting on human flesh. He gave up His shekinah glory in order to be clothed in mortal flesh and blood. The second person of the Holy Trinity voluntarily unseated Himself from His divine throne, and disrobed Himself of His divine glory to become a slave and a human being, thereby becoming the Theanthropos—the God/Man—to save His people from their sins by His work on the cross. The victory Christ achieved through His Cross-work saw Him being exalted to His original position of kingship and glory, and more.

So what did Christ empty Himself of? It must be categorically stated that Christ never, in any way, divested Himself of His divine essence or deity. He remained 100% God when He was on earth. What Christ temporarily gave up were His royal status and His outward glory in order to be 100% Man. Now, as our Great High Priest, He remains both God and Man forever (Heb 7:24-25). What a Saviour we have! JK

THE STAKES ARE TOO HIGH!

Eio Eng Hua

The big issues confronting the people of the world today are: (1) Does God exist? (2) Is there life after death? (3) Are heaven and hell real?

Below are answers from people with different views: (1) The Christian believes that all the above are true and real. (2) The atheist says, “There is no God”, so you don’t have to worry about what happens after death. (3) The agnostic is “not sure” about the existence of God and religious claims.

To those who choose not to believe or are not sure of the issues in question, let me give you the assurances from Scripture as follows:

The Bible says in Psalm 14:1, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” In Genesis 1:1, it reads, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

The case of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-33 indicates the existences of heaven and hell. “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” (Luke 16:23).

The verse “… it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement” (Heb 9:27) warns us that death is not the end of life.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36).

A person may lose a million dollars at the casino but that kind of damage is nothing compared to losing one’s life eternally. You may think that the issues under discussion are purely hypothetical but what if they are true and real? The stakes are too high!

Better be safe than sorry. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:31). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Rom 10:9).

THANKSGIVING

From Myanmar Orphanage

Dear Pastor Jeffrey,

Greeting you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

By the grace of God and your prayers and love gift support, I and my family and all the children are fine and doing well till today.

Thank God all the children from Primary to Standard 10 have completed their final examinations. Praise God. I myself looked after them as they studied until midnight every day.

Now, I have a rest time. I will be away to USA soon during the children’s holidays. When I am away, my wife and 4 teachers will guide and take care of the children. Thank God. I trust them.

We all here also pray for you and for True Life BPC and FEBC always.

Yours in Christ,

Brother Thangno
New Life Orphan Center
Yangon, Myanmar
22 March 2014

From Baptist Brethren in the Philippines

Dear Mrs Khoo,

Choice Christian greetings! Our heartfelt thanks to you and Dr Khoo and Dr & Mrs. Lagapa and family for sharing with us your material blessings, and to the brethren for all your effort to make things possible. Our heartfelt thanks too to those who shared unselflishly for the ministry. It is our prayer that the Lord will continue to shower you all His abundant blessing as you share the ministry with us.

Some of the pants and shirts (long sleeves) we have given to the missionaries during our Mindanao Mission Conference last March 24-26, 2014 held at the Bible school here in Bukidnon, at BFBS. The writing materials and crayons, colored pens will be used for our Vacation Bible School which will start this coming April 7-May 2. We have four stations for our VBS.

Some of the books you gave we have shared with some pastors to be used in the ministry. My heartfelt thanks to you ma’am for the wrist watch you gave. I love it and using it now. Thanks for the BP monitor. It’s a great help to all of us and in the ministry. It was so timely for the bowls to be used for our meals each week. I gave some bed covers to some pastors’ wives who needed them. The cooking pot I kept to be used at home, with the dish towels and aprons. By the way, the stuffed toys will be given as gifts to meritorious children at the close of our VBS.

Again, “THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING”! To everyone who shared for the ministry. God bless you all richly. Praying for you all!

Pastor and Mrs Renato Cortez

3 April 2014

[Ed: We thank all who had donated their clothes and possessions which were still in very good condition for our needy brethren in the Philippines. Much is appreciated. Nothing is wasted (John 6:12).]

*****

I CANNOT TELL WHY HE WHOM ANGELS WORSHIP

Londonderry Air

1.
I cannot tell why He, whom angels worship,
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wand’rers,
To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary,
When Bethl’hem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and labored,
And so the Savior, Savior of the world, is come.

2.
I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the Cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the broken-hearted,
And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
For yet the Savior, Savior of the world, is here.

3.
I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations
Of east and west, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendor
When He the Savior, Savior of the world, is known.

4.
I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
When, at His bidding, every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation
When all the hearts of men with love are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
And myriad, myriad human voices sing,
And earth to heav’n, and heav’n to earth, will answer:
At last the Savior, Savior of the world, is King.