The Appearing Of The Kindness And Love Of God

by Pastor Mark
November 26, 2020

The promise of being heirs

The Christmas theme on being “Heirs According to the Hope of Eternal Life” has been most enlightening and encouraging. Being heirs of God is a most profound yet uplifting concept to consider during Christmas. Pastor Charles’ messages over the last few weeks have given us significant insights about this promise, especially about the salvation that we have inherited through Christ. How have these insights been a blessing to my own heart?

1. The kindness and love of God

I appreciated how Pastor matched the birth of the Lord Jesus to the words of the Apostle Paul to Titus concerning the appearance of the kindness and the love of God their Saviour toward man (Titus 3:4). The person of the Lord Jesus manifested the kindness and the love of God. These things would be reflected in the salvation that Christ came to give. They formed the basis for the promise of God that we would become heirs of God. Let us be challenged to find hope and joy in the appearance of the kindness and love of God in the birth of Christ.

2. The mercy of God

“not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us,” (Titus 3:5)

Another aspect of the Lord’s salvation is the mercy of God. While we can never in any way merit salvation through our works, salvation is given to us according to the mercy of God. Pastor referred to how great the mercy of God is as described in Psalm 36:5, “Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” I appreciated this passage when we studied about it in Pastor’s Special ICARE devotions on the Psalms. It was a delight to see how the expansiveness of God’s mercy, described as reaching to the heavens, is seen in our salvation. It was a most enlightening thought. Let us appreciate how great the mercy of God is…reflected in Christ granting us forgiveness, cleansing and salvation.

3. The washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit

“through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5)

The Lord Jesus first taught this concept of regeneration to Nicodemus…that he must be born again. (John 3:3) Nicodemus must be born of water and the Holy Spirit. (John 3:5) The Holy Spirit is involved in the deep work of washing and cleansing us of our sins, trespasses and iniquities. Only then would we be given a spiritual life, “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) With a new and exciting spiritual life, let us be challenged to live in the spirit as the Spirit of God guides us.

A personal response

As we appreciate new insights to the salvation that we have inherited in Christ, what has been my response?

  1. Dwelling…Taking time to meditate on these new insights concerning our salvation has been enlightening and refreshing.
  2. Deepening…Digging deeper to understand the manifold blessings of the Lord’s salvation has been most exciting and inspiring.
  3. Delighting…Appreciating our salvation anew has added to my joy of celebrating what Christmas is all about as I relate to the Lord as my Saviour with a greater sense of love and hope. Let us be challenged to appreciate more deeply our salvation in Christ this Christmas.

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