I'm glad I wasn't there to hear Jesus say this in person! John 6:47-57 (NIV) CONTEXT: We began this passage yesterday. People who saw Jesus feed thousands with little food track Him down, wanting more. Jesus urges them to seek eternal food, not what spoils. Despite His signs, they ask for another miracle. Jesus explains that He is the bread of life from heaven, and whoever comes to Him will never hunger or thirst. 47  "... Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48  I am the bread of life. 49  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50  But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 52  Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53  Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55  For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57  Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. -- 60  On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” ... 66  From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Summary There are times when in looking back upon the interactions Jesus had with those around Him, it seems so hard to understand how those listening to Him could have missed the good news He proclaimed. Jesus proclaims the best news of His entire ministry in today's passage - that the one who believes has eternal life - but at the same time it's not difficult to see why that first audience rejected His offer. Jesus told them that since He was the living bread that came down from heaven, the key to attaining eternal life was to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Can you imagine the look of shock and confusion on the faces of those listening? They'd been listening to His wonderful teaching about loving one another and what it truly means to live in the light of God's commands, and now He's telling them the key to eternal life is eating Him. So it's no surprise whatsoever that John tells us just a few verses later that from this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. Dig Deeper Theologian R.C. Sproul offers some help in understanding these difficult words of Jesus: Many biblical scholars through the ages have thought that Jesus was giving a discourse on the meaning of the Lord’s Supper and was saying that unless a person partakes of the real body and blood of Christ in the sacrament of Holy Communion, he cannot be redeemed. I don’t agree with that position. I believe Jesus was making the point that He is the giver of supernatural life, the living Redeemer who had been sent by the living God to impart eternal life to all who put their trust in Him. Furthermore, He was calling for a deep commitment. He told His disciples: “You have to come into Me, be united to Me, feast upon Me—not just have a casual relationship to Me.” He was calling His followers to a wholehearted pursuit of union with Him—a union without which there is no spiritual life. To put it another way, Jesus declared that religion won’t do it. Church attendance won’t do it. Good works in and of themselves won’t do it. The only thing that gets us into the kingdom of God, by which we participate in the gift of eternal life, is union with Christ Jesus. To emphasize this, our Lord said, “You have to take all of Me, as if you were ingesting Me." Our Confession also helps explain Jesus' words. When you partake of the Lord's Supper, you receive into your soul, for your spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, your only Savior, but it's certainly not the act of physical eating and drinking that saves you. Rather the elements of bread and wine are physical signs that seal your eternal union with Christ, which is yours by faith, which is the hand and mouth of your soul. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, the author and giver of eternal life; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will not just have a "casual relationship" with Jesus, but rather "a wholehearted pursuit of union with Him;" A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Thessalonians 4

Sometimes being a hard worker isn't a good thing. John 6:25-40 (NIV) CONTEXT: After spending days teaching people, during which He had fed the 5,000, Jesus had crossed the lake, partly because He sensed the crowd wanted to make Him their political leader. But the crowd came looking for Him. We pick up the conversation after they'd found Jesus again. 25  When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26  Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27  Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” 28  Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29  Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  30  So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31  Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32  Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33  For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”   34  “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 35  Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36  But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37  All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40  For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” We'll finish this passage tomorrow. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Summary Jesus doesn't seem happy that the crowd He had slipped away from had found Him. He immediately lays into them, pointing out that the only reason they came looking for Him was because they had eaten the loaves and had their fill [when Jesus fed the 5,000]. In other words, they only saw Jesus as a solution to their ongoing physical need to eat. Instead of working for food that spoils, Jesus tells them they ought to be working for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. After all, Jesus tells them, God the Father has placed His seal on Him. These were hungry people who'd been miracuously fed by Jesus, and they wanted more. They had demonstrated that they were willing to do almost anything to get more of this miracle food, as evidenced by the fact that they traveled a significant distance to track Jesus down, and they expressed their willingness to do even more by asking Him what must we do to work the works God requires (literal translation) in order to get this food that endures to eternal life? Dig Deeper These first century Jews were hard working people, just like us. Certainly their work differed from ours - their lives centered around the work of baking bread and commercial fishing - but like us, they knew that having food on table their depended upon them working hard to make it happen. So they fell into the same trap we often fall into. When you're a hard worker, it seems to make sense that getting more of God's grace and blessing comes down to working the works that God requires. But Jesus stuns them and us with the simplicity of the work that God requires : Simply believe in the One God has sent . This doesn't lead to bread that spoils, like the manna provided in the wilderness, but to bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. The people demanded that Jesus always give them this bread . The real miracle is that Jesus gives them exactly what they want here! He says I AM this bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. But tragically, these people whom Jesus gives this amazing answer to end up rejecting the bread of life . They missed that Jesus came to work the will of God in our place so that we could be given the food that endures to eternal life. This is what we celebrate each time we come to the Lord's Table. Make sure that you take and eat of it! AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who gives us the true bread from heaven; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you always remember that Christ came to work the works God requires on your behalf. A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Thessalonians 3

Don't let yourself get spiritually hangry. John 3:1-7 (NIV) Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3  Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4  “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5  Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ NET Bible translation : 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above , he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above .’ Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Summary One of the first books of the Bible we learn to read in Greek while at seminary is the gospel of John. He writes with a simple style that's the easiest of all of the New Testament books for a beginning translator to get started with. But hidden beneath his elementary grammatical style are some of the Bible's most elegantly complex gems! One of John's best features are the secondary characters we read about throughout the gospel, all of which undergo significant development and change throughout the story. John draws his readers deep into the lives of men like Thomas, Pilate and even John himself using their struggles and questions as a foil for understanding our own personal challenges. But one of John's most fascinating secondary characters is Nicodemus. We meet this pillar of the Jewish establishment here in chapter 3 as he comes to Jesus at night (the contrast between light/dark is another theme throughout John's gospel). Nicodemus recognizes that Jesus is "a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him. ” But rather than bringing the clarity Nicodemus wanted, Jesus' answer confused him all the more. Jesus told him that only those who were born again could truly know who Jesus was and the Kingdom He came from. Dig Deeper Nicodemus immediately got hung up on the logistics of physically being born again. But that's not what Jesus meant. We can be certain of that, because if that's what He meant, John, who writes using plain, simple words, could have expressed the thought much more plainly in recording Jesus' words. But instead John used a lesser used Greek word that perfectly captures the nuance of the Aramaic words that Jesus like spoke in. It certainly could mean born again , as it's most commonly translated, but it's best understood to mean born from above . In other words, seeing and understanding the Kingdom of God comes only to those who are born again from above by the Spirit ( Read the NET Bible Study notes on v3 ). It's this idea that brings us to this passage today as we work to understand the Lord's Supper. You very much get that you need to eat on a regular and continual basis to nourish your physical body. Most of experience immediate physical (and even mental) effects if we miss a meal (any of you get hangry ?). The same holds true for your spiritual life. Since you've been born from above , it only makes sense that you need to be fed from above on a regular basis. You're spiritual meal always comes in the form of the Word. As you read it now, it's a midweek snack. As you hear it preached on the Lord's Day, it's a substantial meal. But you also need to regularly experience in the formal setting of the visible signs that Jesus ordained to both physically and spiritually nourish and seal your faith. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who brings us into His Kingdom by causing us to be born again, from above ; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will continue to remain obedient to the truth; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Thessalonians 2

The invitation to the Lord's Table is the most exclusive invitation you'll ever receive. 1 Peter 1:21-25 (NIV) 21  Through him [Christ] you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 22  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24  For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”  And this is the word that was preached to you. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Summary Peter makes an astonishing connection to begin today's passage. Way back at the start of this year as we began working through our Confession, one of the first things we learned was that creation itself testifies to God's existence , so that all men - whether they've ever read the Bible or not - have no excuse for not knowing there is a God who created, orders and continues to provide for all that we see around us. But our ability to see God through what he's made has been marred by sin, which has impaired our ability to think clearly and correctly . So while everyone ought to know there is a God, Peter informs us that it's only through Christ that you believe in God . Peter here isn't pitting the work of Jesus against the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, who turned your unbelieving heart of stone into a heart of flesh in which the imperishable seed has taken root. Rather, Peter's point is that your faith and hope are in God because God raised Christ from the dead and glorified Him. But what really grabs our attention today as we come to this passage in the context of the Lord's Supper is how the Holy Spirit plants this imperishable seed which is made possible because of Christ's resurrection and ascension: He does it through the living and enduring Word of God. Whereas people are like withering grass and falling flowers, the Word of the LORD endures forever (Isaiah 40:6-8). So if you're wondering why your pastor spends so much time communicating God's Word to you, this is why. It is the primary means by which the Holy Spirit brings you to Christ, and it's through Christ that you believe in God. Dig Deeper Most churches want as many people as possible to come to our services, to join God's people in songs of praises, and especially to hear the preached Word, which Peter reminds us is so powerful. All sorts of evangelistic efforts are made in order to boost attendance. We want the whole community there! But participation in the Lord's Supper is different. It's exclusive. It's only for those who are already born again . Maybe that hits you as being overly harsh, especially because it seems so contrary to our zeal for evangelism, but it only makes sense. Those who only have a physical and temporal life, the life that is common to all , have no need for a meal meant to nourish a spiritual and heavenly life, which is only given to people in their second birth. Paul makes clear in the eleventh chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians that improperly participating at the Lord's table can be deadly serious . Before you join yourself to the very body and blood of Jesus, you need to have purified yourself , and Peter explains here that you do that by obeying the truth - fully believing in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ and the God who made that all happen (v21). This good news has been preached to you through the living and enduring Word of God . The continued growth of this imperishable seed happens as its nourished by your ongoing participation in Christ's body and blood, which you receive from the Lord's Table. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who raised Jesus from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will continue to remain obedient to the truth; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Thessalonians 1

The Lord's Supper is a shocking interruption to your life. Mark 14:17-26 (NIV) 17  When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18  While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” 19  They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” 20  “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21  The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” 22  While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” 23  Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24  “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25  “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26  When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Summary Our practice in Reformed churches is to participate in communion usually every 4-6 weeks. But the Sunday before we celebrate it, we begin a week of preparation. These next couple of weeks as we read the Bible together, we'll be reminded why it is we do this; to come to the Lord's Table is a big deal, and we don't want to rush into it as if we were just grabbing a quick bite to eat. Jesus' preparatory exhortation , to use the formal term, at first seems really different that what we might do. He begins by dropping a bomb: someone at the table would betray Him. Mark then records the disciples' reaction, writing that they were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” Jesus followed His shocking announcement with a dire warning for the one who would sit at His table, communing with Him, before going out to betray Him. It would be better for that one, Jesus says, if he had not been born. But that's what we still seek to do as we prepare to respond to God's gracious invitation: to instruct you to spend the intervening days looking within yourself to be certain you're fully on board with Jesus, and that you trust in Him completely. We also, like Jesus, warn those who would pretend to sit at the table on Sunday while denying Christ every other day of the week. Dig Deeper It seems so ironic the way the gospels present it. For lots of reasons it's good that our communion services are as formal and even somber as what they are, but this first experience of the Lord's Supper was quite different from what we've come to think of it as. Thirteen guys were stuffed into an upstairs room which was likely very cramped (da Vinci's painting, as magnificent as what it is, isn't a very accurate representation of the actual scene). Nobody quietly played Just As I Am as Jesus distributed the elements. As this motley crew worked their way through a very regimented passover liturgy, their Rabbi went off script, breaking bread and passing around a cup. That's exactly how Mark records what happened: While they were eating, Jesus took bread... It was a completely unexpected interruption. Most significantly, Jesus usurped the very meaning of the ceremony they'd come to celebrate. Instead of using the meal to symbolize solidarity with the people whom God had passed over while they were slaves , our Savior invited participants to become one with Him by consuming His body and blood. But that's really what a communion celebration is: an intrusion of the heavenly into our otherwise mundane world. A chance to see, touch, smell and even taste the very spiritual presence of Jesus right there around us. It's important for you to prepare yourself to participate in communion, but don't miss the shocking interruption it represents. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, whose Kingdom is coming where we will drink from the fruit of the vine right alongside Jesus! A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your commitment to Christ would be solidified so that you will not betray Him; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 21

Why do we baptize our babies? We return now to the same passage that we read on Tuesday . Paul is addressing what he calls being circumcised by Christ. The actions of baptism represent how the believer shares in Christ’s death and resurrection. Since Christians have been circumcised by Christ they do not need to take part in a physical circumcision. While male circumcision still occurs today, this is a matter of hygienic choice, not a spiritual mandate. What was commanded by Jesus is to make disciples and to baptize them. Colossians 2:11-14 11  In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12  having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   34: The Sacrament of Baptism We believe and confess that Jesus Christ, in whom the law is fulfilled, has by his shed blood put an end to every other shedding of blood, which anyone might do or wish to do in order to atone or satisfy for sins. Having abolished circumcision, which was done with blood, he established in its place the sacrament of baptism. By it we are received into God’s church and set apart from all other people and alien religions, that we may be dedicated entirely to him, bearing his mark and sign. It also witnesses to us that he will be our God forever, since he is our gracious Father. Therefore he has commanded that all those who belong to him be baptized with pure water “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” In this way he signifies to us that just as water washes away the dirt of the body when it is poured on us and also is seen on the body of the baptized when it is sprinkled on him, so too the blood of Christ does the same thing internally, in the soul, by the Holy Spirit. It washes and cleanses it from its sins and transforms us from being the children of wrath into the children of God. So ministers, as far as their work is concerned, give us the sacrament and what is visible, but our Lord gives what the sacrament signifies— namely the invisible gifts and graces; washing, purifying, and cleansing our souls of all filth and unrighteousness; renewing our hearts and filling them with all comfort; giving us true assurance of his fatherly goodness; clothing us with the “new man” and stripping off the “old,” with all its works. We believe our children ought to be baptized and sealed with the sign of the covenant, as little children were circumcised in Israel on the basis of the same promises made to our children. And truly, Christ has shed his blood no less for washing the little children of believers than he did for adults. Therefore they ought to receive the sign and sacrament of what Christ has done for them, just as the Lord commanded in the law that by offering a lamb for them the sacrament of the suffering and death of Christ would be granted them shortly after their birth. This was the sacrament of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, baptism does for our children what circumcision did for the Jewish people. That is why Paul calls baptism the “circumcision of Christ.”   Dig Deeper While the command to baptize is clearly laid out in scripture, there continues to be theological discussion around who to baptize. More specifically, should we as Christians baptize the children of believing parents? Our Confession advocates for the baptism of children, stating outright that children ought to be baptized. The strong scriptural argument for paedobaptism (the baptism of infants) comes from Paul’s description of baptism as the “circumcision of Christ”. Under the Old Covenant the sign of the covenant was male circumcision, which was administered to the people of God and their children. The question which Christians continue to debate is whether the sign of the new covenant, baptism, should likewise be administered to the children of believing parents. While this is not a salvation issue, it is important to consider the scriptural and theological processes behind our administering of our sacraments. Those who oppose infant baptism often cite the lack of a direct command in scripture to baptize the children of believers. As paedobaptists, we would counter that the Bible never once commanded believers to stop applying the sign of the covenant to their children. Under the Old Covenant, it was the command of God that children were to be given the sign of the covenant. The burden of proof lies with those who would seek to remove children from being included from amongst those who receive the sign of the New Covenant. It is important that our administration of sacraments is guided by scripture. Consider not only the baptism and communion practices of your church, but also the reasons they adhere to those traditions. The sacraments carry much more meaning when you understand the significance of what we are declaring through them. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who is working out your salvation in Christ; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength to fulfill the promises you've made each time you've witnessed the baptism of a covenant child; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 20

You've been washed, so keep yourself clean. Colossians 3:5-11 5  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6  Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7  You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8  But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11  Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   34: The Sacrament of Baptism We believe and confess that Jesus Christ, in whom the law is fulfilled, has by his shed blood put an end to every other shedding of blood, which anyone might do or wish to do in order to atone or satisfy for sins. Having abolished circumcision, which was done with blood, he established in its place the sacrament of baptism. By it we are received into God’s church and set apart from all other people and alien religions, that we may be dedicated entirely to him, bearing his mark and sign. It also witnesses to us that he will be our God forever, since he is our gracious Father. Therefore he has commanded that all those who belong to him be baptized with pure water “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” In this way he signifies to us that just as water washes away the dirt of the body when it is poured on us and also is seen on the body of the baptized when it is sprinkled on him, so too the blood of Christ does the same thing internally, in the soul, by the Holy Spirit. It washes and cleanses it from its sins and transforms us from being the children of wrath into the children of God. So ministers, as far as their work is concerned, give us the sacrament and what is visible, but our Lord gives what the sacrament signifies— namely the invisible gifts and graces; washing, purifying, and cleansing our souls of all filth and unrighteousness; renewing our hearts and filling them with all comfort; giving us true assurance of his fatherly goodness; clothing us with the “new man” and stripping off the “old,” with all its works. Summary In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he wrote to encourage a church who was struggling with the influence of false teachers. These false teachers were promoting the addition of works-based requirements to the Gospel that Jesus taught. These teachings amount to heresy because when you add to or take away from the Gospel, you are left with something that is not the Gospel. When addressing these false teachings, Paul wrote on the new self vs the old self. The things that are earthly, which he lists as sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed are all associated with the old self . These are the things that followers of Christ are called to leave behind. In addition to this list of five sins, Paul also names anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language as things to abstain from. These, again, are associated with the old self. Paul then singles out lying as another characteristic of the old self to leave behind. Instead of clinging to the things of the world, the Colossians are instead encouraged to clothe themselves with the new self. Dig Deeper Paul will sometimes use imagery or real-life examples to explain theological concepts. The old self he speaks of is who you were before you came to faith in Jesus Christ. The new self is who you are in Christ. When Paul tells the Colossians to put to death what is earthly, he is encouraging them not to live into these things associated with the world. The Belgic Confession speaks into this truth. Since through Christ you have become a benefactor of the many graces of Christ, live into this new self. Just as you would not remove a clean shirt to replace it with a dirty one, leave behind those things which are considered the practices of the old self. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who is renewing us in His image; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that each day you will reflect less of your old self and more of your new self; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 19

Baptism is a command, not a suggestion. Matthew 28:18-20 18  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   34: The Sacrament of Baptism We believe and confess that Jesus Christ, in whom the law is fulfilled, has by his shed blood put an end to every other shedding of blood, which anyone might do or wish to do in order to atone or satisfy for sins. Having abolished circumcision, which was done with blood, he established in its place the sacrament of baptism. By it we are received into God’s church and set apart from all other people and alien religions, that we may be dedicated entirely to him, bearing his mark and sign. It also witnesses to us that he will be our God forever, since he is our gracious Father. Therefore he has commanded that all those who belong to him be baptized with pure water “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” In this way he signifies to us that just as water washes away the dirt of the body when it is poured on us and also is seen on the body of the baptized when it is sprinkled on him, so too the blood of Christ does the same thing internally, in the soul, by the Holy Spirit. It washes and cleanses it from its sins and transforms us from being the children of wrath into the children of God. Summary The closing verses of Matthew 28 are some of the best known amongst Christians. Named the Great Commission, this command of Jesus laid out the marching orders for his disciples. Included amongst these orders is to not only make disciples, but to baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Great Commission commanded the sacrament of baptism for Christians. Earlier, in Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist spoke to the nature of this baptism. He said, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” There are several things we can take away from John the Baptist's words, one being that not all baptisms are the same. John was out in the wilderness administering a baptism of repentance. This baptism is not the same as the baptism of Christians in response to the Holy Spirit. John also speaks to how baptism in Christ is more than what one can physically see. While the sacrament of baptism is something we can see, what it signifies is that which we cannot see, the grace of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Dig Deeper Baptism is not something to put off. The command given in the Great Commission was to baptize. In the New Testament, new believers in Christ did not wait around for years to be baptized. When they came to faith in Christ, they were baptized almost immediately. Because baptism is not a salvation issue, not everyone will see the importance of this sacrament. But being a Christian is about more than doing the bare minimum to earn salvation. We are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. And since Jesus called his followers to baptize and be baptized, we should do likewise. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that Jesus' commision will be your top priority; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 18

Baptism doesn't save you. It points to your Savior. Colossians 2:11-14 11  In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12  having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   34: The Sacrament of Baptism We believe and confess that Jesus Christ, in whom the law is fulfilled, has by his shed blood put an end to every other shedding of blood, which anyone might do or wish to do in order to atone or satisfy for sins. Having abolished circumcision, which was done with blood, he established in its place the sacrament of baptism. By it we are received into God’s church and set apart from all other people and alien religions, that we may be dedicated entirely to him, bearing his mark and sign. It also witnesses to us that he will be our God forever, since he is our gracious Father. Summary In his letter to the Colossians, Paul speaks of the relationship between baptism and circumcision. Male circumcision was commanded of Abraham and all of his descendants as part of the Old Covenant . This command was given in Genesis 17:10, “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” The purpose for this circumcision is given in the following verse, Genesis 17:11, “You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.” Male circumcision was the sign of the Old Covenant, however the Old Covenant was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, in whom we are given the New Covenant of grace. Paul contests that those who come to faith in Christ do not need a physical circumcision because they are already circumcised in Christ. Dig Deeper The circumcision detailed in the Old Testament was more than an initiating right of the Old Covenant. It signified the cutting away of sin, a change of heart, and one’s inclusion in the house of faith. Baptism, as the circumcision of Christ does all these things as part of the New Covenant. Just as circumcision represented the cutting away of sin, baptism signifies the washing away of sin as well as becoming a new creation in Christ and one’s membership in the visible body of the Church. It is not the sacrament of baptism that can atone for one’s sin. The forgiveness of sins is the result of Christ’s atoning work on the cross, not the actions of man. In baptism we claim no ability to impart salvation, we only point to the work of Christ. Baptism is a visible representation of the invisible work of washing away the sins of all whose faith is in him for salvation. And just as circumcision was the sign of the Old Covenant for the Israelites, baptism is the sign of the New Covenant for Christians. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, in whose work we place our faith; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will live as one made alive with Christ ; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 17

Is your zeal for God based on knowledge or something else? Romans 10:1-4 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2  For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3  Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4  Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   34: The Sacrament of Baptism We believe and confess that Jesus Christ, in whom the law is fulfilled, has by his shed blood put an end to every other shedding of blood, which anyone might do or wish to do in order to atone or satisfy for sins. Summary In today’s passage, Paul speaks to his desire for his fellow Israelites to come to faith in Jesus Christ. They had a desire to know God, yet tried to meet him on their terms. The Israelites of whom Paul is speaking were trusting their own works as a means of establishing their righteousness before God. This type of zeal was not based on knowledge. Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God to humanity, yet many Israelites chose instead to trust a system of laws and sacrifices rather than trusting in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for their righteousness. It was Paul’s hope that his fellow Israelites would see the zeal of the Gentiles (the non-Jewish followers of Jesus) and be drawn into faith in Jesus Christ. In Romans 11:11b Paul writes: “Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.” Not only was this a hope that Paul had for his kinsmen, but he also saw it as part of God's purpose for the fruitfulness of faith amongst Gentile believers. Dig Deeper It might seem odd that a section of the Belgic Confession which focuses on baptism would begin by speaking of the law. This introduction stems from the meaning of baptism. Not only is baptism a visible representation of Christ’s invisible work in our lives, but baptism also points us to the resurrection. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the law, the entire system of ceremonial laws and sacrifices, was fulfilled. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, no other sacrifice or shedding of blood needs to be made for the atonement of sins. This imagery is present in baptism. Just as water cleanses the body, the blood of Christ at the Cross cleanses the believer of their sins. There is no need to look anywhere else for righteousness before God; the grace of Jesus is enough to cover all your sins. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who calls all people to submit to His righteousness; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your zealousness for God would be based on the knowledge that comes through Christ; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 16