Truth Today Newsletter: Philippians 2:11

Every knee can bow by force, but every tongue confesses in conviction.
“Lord” means the one who has to be obeyed, or there would be consequences.
He is to be obeyed as a compensation for his own obedience to the Father.
In both His obedience and the result of the obedience, he brings glory to the Father.
For the Son who is equal to God to obey the Father brings glory to the Father; the opposite was also true. For man, the only creature made in the image of God to disobey God is to dishonor him.

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You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:23-24)

Jesus’ obedience and the result are a pattern for us. Therefore, we know that our obedience is not for nothing.

Look at the words of Jesus in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, where Jesus encouraged the church to stand firm in their love for him, even in severe persecution when some of them died.

He encouraged them to stand against false teaching and false teachers. And there are lists of benefits promised to those who conquer through obedience to Him, just as he himself conquered.

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I will grant the one who conquers permission to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (Revelation 3:21-22)

Every knee can bow by force, but every tongue confesses in conviction.
"Lord" means the one who has to be obeyed, or there would be consequences.
He is to be obeyed as a compensation for his own obedience to the Father.
In both His obedience and the result of the obedience, he brings glory to the Father.
For the Son who is equal to God to obey the Father brings glory to the Father; the opposite was also true. For man, the only creature made in the image of God to disobey God is to dishonor him.

❝

You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:23-24)

Jesus' obedience and the result are a pattern for us. Therefore, we know that our obedience is not for nothing.

Look at the words of Jesus in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, where Jesus encouraged the church to stand firm in their love for him, even in severe persecution when some of them died.

He encouraged them to stand against false teaching and false teachers. And there are lists of benefits promised to those who conquer through obedience to Him, just as he himself conquered.

❝

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It is encouraging that Christ sees it all, and he is preparing rewards for you. Your devotion to him, commitment to His things, is not ignored.
A casual observer looking at the Christian does not see the point, but not for too long. Jesus Christ is coming back, and then he will be glorified among the saints. Those who oppose him will get the opposite treatment.

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As a result we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring.

This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-10)

Those letters in the book of Revelation communicate the reality of the risen Christ. He makes His presence clear in several pictures that impress on us his immanence, that He is close by.
He walks among the churches (Revelation 1:12-13, 2:1) and ends the book of Revelation with these famous words:

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(Look! I am coming soon,

and my reward is with me to pay each one according to what he has done! (Revelation 22:12)

Though we may think it’s getting long before Jesus comes back. But look at it this way:

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Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day. (2 Peter 3:8)

When Jesus said He is coming soon, Peter explains that He is talking from His own time frame, where a thousand years is like a day and a day is like a thousand years.

What does that mean? He means He can both zoom in and pan out at the same time. He is both closed by and exalted above all heavens.

The “tiny” thing happening in time can have a multiplier effect. It means every moment is important; they are valuable. A thousand years can build to one day, and one day can have implication that lasts a thousand years. But what Peter is getting at is that God sees time differently from man. So that is the call for patience.

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So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains. You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. (James 5:7-8)

So you may wonder, why am I talking about the second coming? The point is: we do not yet see every knee bowing and every tongue confessing at the name of Jesus now. So common sense tells us that light is not in everyone, so that reality is awaiting the second coming, and I want to remind you of this.

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ANNOUNCEMENT 1 (of 3): I am happy to announce the publication of the paperback edition of the ministry’s book of the year: The Sufficiency of Scripture. The ebook version would be available later this month. Cheers!

https://www.westbowpress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/865091-the-sufficiency-of-scripture

ANNOUNCEMENT 2 (of 3): Please check out the new segment below: From Addiction to Freedom by Favour Oyinloye.

ANNOUNCEMENT 3 (of 3): Going forward, beginning from Sept 1, I will add a segment to my thrice weekly newsletter. I call it weekly chant. The weekly chants are words and melodies I am hearing in my spirit.