Tuesday of Whitsun Week
Posted on June 7, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. John 3:16-21 (NKJV)
3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Devotion
The proper expectation of God the Son’s coming into the world as true holiness in the flesh would be the extermination of all that was unclean. Like the ultimate superhero with avenging might, the whole ‘crime syndicate’ known as mankind should be cut down by Him, no longer allowed to defile God’s creation! Yet, Jesus says He did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Those who would look to any other way to avoid the eternal punishment due them stand already condemned, awaiting the execution of their sentence. Anyone who trusts in Him who gave up His perfectly righteous life on the altar of the cross, though, has no condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
He who is the Light has come into the world to save the world, but the darkness doesn’t want light; it doesn’t want its deeds seen for what they are. The Holy Spirit comes to convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:5–15). He comes to lead us out of our inborn darkness by giving us the way to escape not merely the penalty for our sins, but to escape sin itself. Through confidence in Jesus’ payment for our sin, we are already reborn and have the assurance that on the Last Day even our flesh shall enjoy the perfection in which God now views us in connection with Christ.
Prayer: O God, Who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people by sending to them the light of Thy Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
