There is one prevailing truth which the Bible keeps reminding Christians about, that is our eternal fellowship with God. This is not just our destiny, but it is also our longing. We were created with a sense of eternity in our hearts, which can only be realized in actuality when we behold God on the last day and enter into eternal fellowship with God. In this passage, the Apostle Paul explains why and how we need to keep groaning for our eternal home, which is God Himself.
We usually express gratitude through praise when someone helps us at a time of helplessness. We also bestow honor and praise to someone who is very prominent in the society. So our praise of someone is often dependent on what they have done for us, or who they are as a person. What if the God of the Bible is both generous or kind towards us at every situation in our lives and also the Greatest in this entire universe? In this passage, we learn how we need to praise God and the importance of doing it.
Only Christianity as a religion teaches that God works out all things according to His will (Eph. 1:11) showing us that everything has a purpose and that all events occur according to the eternal plan of God. He ordains both the elect and a reprobate’s destiny. The doctrine of Providence also teaches that God is working out every detail of our lives such that He preserves, protects and sustains us in the path of righteousness forever…
In our culture, Christianity is often presented as a religion of supernatural healing (from diseases, chronic illnesses) and miracles (prosperity, prevention of death, dreams and visions, tongues). It is also seen as religion of prophecy about the end times. All of these gifts are seen as the necessary manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. In this passage, we learn how the ministry of the Holy Spirit is not mainly about tongues, prophecy and supernatural healings, but of Spiritual transformation in our lives through the ordinary means which God appointed.
Covenant Theology is an interpretation of the Bible from within a covenantal framework. It essentially seeks to set forth how God brings about the history of redemption in Christ through covenants (promises). As Derek Thomas puts it -“Covenant theology is, in one sense, an understanding that God relates to human beings by way of covenants—successive covenants—and that the Bible has two principal covenants: a covenant of works and a covenant of grace.” In this passage, we learn how the New Covenant (grace) is superior to the Old Covenant (works), and what it means for Christians today.
