Thinking on Scripture

Every believer has access to God’s power, yet few live in its reality, because divine provision must be understood before it is applied. Writing to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul prays that they will grasp the power of God available to them. He writes, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory…

Christ grants believers direct access to the Father in prayer through His name (John 16:23; Eph. 2:18). This means we approach the Father on the basis of Christ’s merit and finished work, not our own performance or worthiness. Jesus said, “If you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you” (John 16:23b). To pray “in My name” is not a formula of words, but an appeal grounded in…

The believer’s inheritance originates in the eternal decree of God. Paul writes that we “have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11), and that the Holy Spirit “is given as a pledge of our inheritance” (Eph. 1:14). The Spirit is the pledge (arrabōn), referring to a payment made in advance, a “first…

God’s kingdom program is rooted in the covenants and unfolds progressively throughout Scripture. Central to that program is the Davidic Covenant, in which God promised David an eternal dynasty, throne, kingdom, and descendant who would rule forever (2 Sam. 7:12-13; Ps. 89:3-4, 34-37). David had an earthly kingdom, and his “throne shall be established forever” (2 Sam. 7:16). Isaiah declared that…

Every believer lives under the certainty of two eschatological realities. The Lord may return for His church in the Rapture (1 Th. 4:16–17), in which case we will not taste death but will “all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:51–52). But if we are not part of the Rapture generation, then each of us will face physical death, because “it is appointed for men to die…

Salvation began in eternity past with the plan of God. Before the foundation of the world, God the Father designed redemption and commissioned God the Son to accomplish it. Scripture declares that God “saved us and called us… according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim. 1:9). The Son, the eternal Word, willingly agreed to this mission,…