John 11:35 "Jesus wept." This shortest verse in all of Scripture opens to us the deep heart of the LORD Jesus Christ. “Jesus wept.”  Not merely as a man who was moved by sorrow, but as the incarnate Son of God, the sovereign Savior Who came into the world to redeem a chosen people unto Himself. His tears were not helpless, but holy. They were not the weeping of a mere bystander, but of the LORD of Glory , deeply touched by the consequences of sin in a fallen world, but particularly that of the elect that the Father chose from before time and gave to Him to save. He was truly the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). This verse unveils the humiliation and rejection of Christ, the suffering Servant, in His earthly ministry. We see in these words the willful blindness and depravity of fallen man, who naturally despises the only Savior sent from God. Christ, though altogether lovely and righteous, was rejected by those He came to save—not because of any fault in Him, but because of the enmity of the carnal heart against God (Romans 8:7). Yet this rejection was not outside God’s sovereign purpose. The LORD Jesus was “despised and rejected of men” because He came to bear the sins of His elect. He became “The Man of sorrows” because He took upon Himself the curse of the law that justly belonged to us. His griefs were not His own; they were the griefs of a people chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), for whom He came to accomplish eternal redemption. The world “esteemed him not,” yet the Father esteemed Him highly, for through His suffering and rejection He would justify many (Isaiah 53:11). Though men hid their faces, God laid on Him the iniquity of all His elect (Isaiah 53:6). Although the world rejected Him, the chosen remnant—called by grace—behold in Him the Lamb of God Who bore their griefs and carried their sorrows. Here at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus stands, facing the same unbelief of the sinners around Him (John 11:37) . As He prepared to raise His friend Lazarus from the dead, His distress over the people’s spiritual blindness and unbelief intensified (John 11:37-38). He knows He is about to raise Lazarus from the dead. He is not weeping in despair or uncertainty, but in divine compassion. He sees the pain that death brings—the grief, the hopelessness, the sting—and He grieves not only for Lazarus and his sisters, but for what sin has wrought in His creation. He weeps as the God-Man , full of Grace and Truth. But think of this: the One Who weeps is the very One Who ordained  all things. He is the sovereign LORD Who declared, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”  He purposed Lazarus to die—not out of cruelty, but to display His Glory in resurrection power. Our Sovereign LORD is not cold or distant. In Holy Love He acted in perfect Wisdom not getting to Lazarus before He died. Christ's weeping shows us that our salvation is not mechanical—it is deeply personal to the Savior identifying with the sins and griefs of their sin. He Who chose His people before the foundation of the world is also He Who weeps with them in time, and bears their griefs. And yet, these tears are not the end. Christ would soon go to the cross, where He would do more than weep—He would die . He would bear the full wrath of God on behalf of His elect. The tomb of Lazarus would be emptied, yes—but it pointed to a greater triumph. Christ would conquer death, not only for Lazarus, but for every sinner given to Him by the Father . As those for whom Christ died and the Spirit has called, we take comfort. The Savior identifies with us in our sin and sorrows as the Mediator and Forerunner. But more than that, He has triumphed over the grave for each of His own. His tears lead to victory. His compassion flows from His eternal purpose. And in His sovereign grace, He has joined Himself to His people with an everlasting love—a love that not only feels, but saves, and with an everlasting salvation... forever!

Isaiah 53:11 "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities." There is not a more glorious declaration of God's sovereign purpose in the justification of sinners through the finished work of His Son, than declared here in God's Word. Isaiah 53:11 reveals the heart of the Gospel—justification is not based on the will or works of man, but upon the travail and satisfaction of Christ alone. The “righteous servant” is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, by bearing the full weight of the iniquities of those the Father chose and purposed that He should save by accomplishing perfect Righteousness for them. "Through His knowledge" —that is, His knowledge of the justice and holiness of the Father, and knowledge of the sin of each one He came to save—He justified many , not all, but a specific, chosen multitude. This is sovereign grace: that God would justify sinners not by their merit, but by the merit of Christ alone, Who died in their place and satisfied God the Father's justice fully on their behalf. The justification of sinners (God declaring them righteous) was entirely accomplished by the LORD Jesus as God’s Servant for the salvation of His people. Note the three parts of Christ’s work that He accomplished to the satisfaction of God the Father:      Satisfaction through His Suffering:   He shall see the travail of His soul and be satisfied . This refers to God the Father finding satisfaction in the effect of Christ's suffering. The satisfaction for those given to Him by the Father was fully achieved in the righteousness earned and established by the LORD Jesus for His people.      Justification through His Knowledge : By His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. Christ justifies many , the elect. While many claim their knowledge of Christ as their justification before God, here, the justification is attributed to Christ knowing them and revealing Himself in them—those for whom He sacrificed Himself. Knowing Christ is the evidence of eternal life procured and revealed by Christ Himself, " And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" ( John 17:3).  His knowledge of the Father is the reason He came to save and justify those given to Him by the Father, " O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me" (John 17:25) . Through His understanding of God’s law and justice, He satisfied the Father on behalf of those for whom He paid the debt, and now reveals in them His justifying grace by His Spirit.      Bearing Their Iniquities:   For He shall bear their iniquities. For God the Father to justify those given to His Son to represent, Christ had to bear away their sins. Once He paid for the sins of the elect through His shed blood unto death, only righteousness remained to be imputed to their account. The removal of sin and the subsequent justification of His people were simultaneous, " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).       The rejection of how the Scriptures reveal God’s justifying work by Christ stems only from the sinful, blind pride of the heart. Pride dictates, “I must fulfill certain conditions to obtain it.”  Unbelief opposes and refuses to acknowledge without conditions what Christ has achieved. All the evil inherent in the fallen, depraved nature opposes the free and complete justification by God’s grace in the death of Christ alone. But praise God! He does not leave in rebellion and unbelief those He has already justified. Instead, He turns their hearts from seeking deliverance through their works or presumed faith to rest in Christ and His finished work alone, " " All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37).

Romans 8:9 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Nothing could be clearer than this statement in God’s Word. Without the Spirit of Christ given to a sinner, whereby the sinner is drawn to the LORD Jesus in faith and repentance, none can claim to be the LORD’s. All the talk of personal decisions, making a profession of faith, walking an aisle or reciting the sinner’s prayer (so-called) are not the proof of being a child of God. The statement by the Spirit of God Himself in His inspired Word is that if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t know Christ. This verse marks a profound distinction between the natural man and the regenerate believer. This is not a call to self-examination for merit, but a declaration of the effectual work of the Holy Spirit in those whom Christ has redeemed. Those who are in the Spirit are not so by human effort or religious reform, but by divine indwelling — the Spirit of God taking residence in the soul by sovereign will and regenerating grace. The Spirit does not come because of man's decision, but as the sure fruit of Christ’s accomplished redemption. As Paul writes earlier, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate…Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called…” (Romans 8:29–30). The absence of the Spirit marks one as not belonging to Christ — not because they failed to invite Him in, but because they were not given to Christ in eternal election nor purchased by His blood. Therefore, Romans 8:9 stands as both a comfort and a boundary: a comfort to those who walk by the Spirit, knowing it is God's work in them, and a solemn boundary affirming that only those indwelt by the Spirit are truly His.     Elsewhere in Scripture, the indictment is just as damning. “If any man loves not the LORD Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maran-atha.” (1 Corinthians 16:22)  Such are under the most dreadful curse until the LORD comes to execute the severest vengeance of condemnation. ‘Maranatha’ means ‘our LORD cometh.’ Better that we are deprived of every other temporal blessing that we may enjoy by God’s mercies in this life but let us not be deprived of the Spirit’s work, not just to know Who Christ is as LORD, Savior, Redeemer and Substitute but to have the Spirit’s Grace to love Him for Who He is and what He has accomplished. Here we see how we may know that we have the Spirit of Christ.        First,  to have the Spirit of Christ is to have the revelation of Christ in the heart. None of us would even hunger or thirst after Him were it not for His Spirit indwelling us and giving us life to long after Him, seek Him and come to Him. Christ said in John 6:44 : “ No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him at the last day.”        Second,  to have the Spirit of Christ is to have Spiritual eyes opened to contemplate Christ as He is revealed in Holy Scripture. Without the Spirit of Christ we would read the Scriptures blindly and never see how HE is all the Father’s delight with Whom He covenanted eternally to save sinners from out of the world by His righteous life and sacrificial death. Salvation is entirely the work of the Godhead. The Father chose those sinners that He would save, the Son came and paid the sin debt for each one and the Spirit of God opened their eyes, not only to see the wretchedness of their sin and misery but also to behold Christ as their Righteousness imputed at the cross.        Third,  to have the Spirit of Christ is to be given Faith to believe on Him, to savor His Divine glories and to yearn after Him for all things. It is to enjoy Him as our portion now and for eternity.  Do we have Him as our Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption? " But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:30, 31).  This is of the Spirit of Christ.   Romans 8:9 reminds us that true life and godliness are found only in union with Christ by the indwelling of His Spirit. “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” This is the distinguishing mark of every redeemed sinner—born not of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13). It is by sovereign grace in the LORD Jesus Christ alone that the Spirit dwells in us, testifying that we belong to Christ and that Christ dwells in us. Let us therefore rejoice in the Spirit’s witness and work, knowing that “ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” Blessed be God, Who hath made us saved creatures in Christ, and sealed us unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30).

Psalm 92:1,2 "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night," It is a good thing—yea, the best and most blessed occupation of the redeemed soul—to give thanks unto the LORD and to sing praises unto the Name of the Most High. The psalmist in Psalm 92 opens with this very thought: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High” (v.1). But what is the reason for such praise? What compels the believer, day by day, morning and night, to declare the LORD’s lovingkindness and faithfulness? The answer lies in the sovereign and saving grace of God in Christ Jesus. This grace, purposed from eternity, accomplished at the cross, and revealed effectually by the Spirit, is the sole reason we rise in the morning with songs of mercy on our lips and lay down at night resting in the assurance of God's faithfulness in Christ. The lovingkindness spoken of here is not merely a general kindness, but that covenant mercy— chesed —which flows from God’s eternal love for His elect in Christ. It is the very grace that chose us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), redeemed us by Christ’s blood (Hebrews 9:12) , and called us with a holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9). “To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning.” Each morning that the believer awakens is not a product of chance, but a testimony of God's preserving mercy. Jeremiah wrote, “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23). Who is it that preserves the child of God through the night watches and raises him again to behold the light of another day? It is Christ Himself, our Life, our Righteousness, our Hope. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want… he restoreth my soul” (Psalm 23:1,3). When we consider that all our spiritual blessings—redemption, justification, sanctification, regeneration, and glorification—flow from the eternal wellspring of God's sovereign grace, how can we not begin the day by declaring His lovingkindness? The believer knows that had God not loved him with an everlasting love and drawn him with lovingkindness (Jeremiah 31:3), he would still be lost, dead in trespasses and sins, without Christ, and without hope (Ephesians 2:12) . Herein is the wonder of God's saving grace in Christ: God loved us not because of foreseen merit or good, but according to His own will and purpose in Christ. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). That is the lovingkindness we declare in the morning. And in the evening, when the shadows fall and the day closes, we recount His faithfulness—not our faithfulness to Him, but His faithfulness to us. “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24). When we consider what it means to shew forth  His lovingkindness in the morning, this is not merely a private emotion or an inward feeling, but a declaration , and a testimony. It is to speak, sing, pray, and live in such a way that the mercies of God in Christ are made known—first to our own hearts, and then to those around us. The heart enlivened by sovereign grace cannot remain silent. “I believed, therefore have I spoken” (Psalm 116:10). What do we speak? We declare the mercy that met us when we were dead in sins. We proclaim the love that lifted us out of the miry clay and set our feet upon a Rock. That Rock is Christ. Morning by morning, we are reminded that we do not stand in our own strength. Our salvation is not conditioned on our works, our will, or our faithfulness. It is built entirely on the immovable Foundation of God’s eternal purpose and Christ’s finished work. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9). This is the lovingkindness we rejoice in when the sun rises. But the day is not without its trials. The morning may begin with peace, but the world soon presses in. Temptations come. We may falter. We may even fall. Yet when the night returns and we lay our heads down again, we do so with confidence in His faithfulness . “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). What God has begun in us by His sovereign grace, He will finish. “Being confident of this very thing,” Paul writes, “that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). So we declare His lovingkindness in the morning—for it is by grace we are kept. And we declare His faithfulness every night—for it is by grace we are preserved. Grace began the work. Grace sustains the work. And grace will complete it in glory. The LORD has done it all. Christ has triumphed. And we, His blood-bought people, rest in that perfect work. Let us, then, live each day between these twin pillars of praise: the lovingkindness of God revealed in the cross of Christ , and the faithfulness of God who will never forsake His own . This is the song of the believer in time—and it will be the song of the redeemed throughout eternity. “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee” (Psalm 65:4). The LORD Jesus is THE MAN that God the Father chose, and caused to approach unto Him, but as the Representative of elect sinners that the Father gave Him. They are caused to approach unto God, justified by the work of Christ, the Mediator between God and men. We come because we were chosen in Christ, and drawn by His Spirit. We believe because we were called. We endure because we are preserved. All is of grace. All is in Christ. And all redounds to the glory of God alone (Romans 8:28-34).

2 Corinthians 5:21  "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." The Gospel is a mystery! Apart from the Spirit of God revealing the Christ of the Gospel in our hearts, none of us could or would know how sinners could stand just before a Holy God. Our depraved minds and hearts would lead us to believe that we must somehow work out that righteousness ourselves, " For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:2-3).      If God will give us ears to hear and eyes to see, what a Glorious Truth this is to learn that the matter of sin and righteousness was settled by the very Son of God on behalf of His people at the cross. How blessed are those in whom God reveals THIS TRUTH of His complete justifying of them in what Christ accomplished by His life and death! So absolute is the work of imputation at the cross that ALL those that Christ redeemed have ALL been already pronounced righteous by the Eternal Judge. There is no sin laid to their charge because it was ALL laid on Him as the sin-Bearer. There is complete righteousness before God’s law because He worked it out and the Father imputed it to their account. True, their sins were infinite and abominable! Yet before God, they were purged away by the precious blood shed unto death of the LORD Jesus, " Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:"  (Hebrews 1:3).       It was on the cross that Jesus Christ satisfied the justice of God and based upon His finished work, all His elect were declared just and righteous. So complete was the work of the LORD Jesus in earning and establishing God’s righteous law and justice that there remains no more sin to charge to any of His elect. All of God’s righteousness imputed to them at the cross is ALL their righteousness before Him. What a comfort for those for whom HE accomplished the work.       The LORD Jesus was made sin for the elect. This does not mean that sin was infused in Him or in any sense made a sinner but rather sin was laid ON Him by God the Father.   "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all," Isaiah 53:6.  The same is true concerning the imputation of His righteousness. It is not infused into the sinner but charged to his account, whereby God declares such a one righteous before Him.  As that sin for which Christ was condemned and punished was not found in Him but charged to Him, so that righteousness by which we are justified and entitled to glory is NOT inherent in us but has been imputed to us. All to whom that righteousness was imputed, the Spirit will, in time draw to the LORD and cause to rejoice in Him and His finished work, repenting of any notion of contributing anything to it themselves, " And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;" (Colossians 2:13-14).    What unspeakable grace is this—that Christ, Who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him! Here is the heart of the gospel, the glorious exchange purposed by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and revealed by the Spirit. This is not by our merit, but by His mercy; not through our works, but through His wondrous work. As children of God we rest our soul in this finished Righteousness. Clothed in Christ and God's Righteousness imputed, we stand accepted, justified, and complete before the throne of God's justice and holiness, to the praise of His sovereign grace forever.

Ephesians 5:1,2 "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." The apostle Paul calls believers to be “followers of God, as dear children” and to “walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us.” This divine exhortation flows directly from the rich Gospel Truth declared in the previous chapters: that we are “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6) , redeemed through His blood (Ephesians 1:7) , and made alive together with Christ by sovereign grace (Ephesians 2:4–5). To be followers—or imitators—of God is not a call to mimicry rooted in self-effort, but a fruit of our union with Christ, Who loved us and gave Himself for us “an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour” (Ephesians 5:2). The love we are called to walk in is not a mere natural love, but the divine, electing, Sacrificial Love demonstrated at Calvary, where the Lamb of God bore the sins of His people (John 10:11, Romans 5:8). We walk in love not to become children of God, but as dear children —already chosen, redeemed, justified, and adopted by grace (Ephesians 1:4–5) . Our obedience flows from our position in Christ, Who “loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) . This love is not general, hypothetical love, but a definite, effectual love that guarantees the salvation of God’s elect. Thus, these verses call us to reflect the Gospel we have received: a life shaped by the sovereign, Sacrificial Love of Christ. For a true child of God, the command here to be a follower of God is not something tedious. It's not burdensome. It shouldn't make you fearful, no more than saying to a child, "follow your father." If that father is a true father, you as a child are going to desire to follow in his steps. Where God has done a work of grace in a sinner's heart and given that sinner His Spirit, the scriptures call that being born again. That word literally means "to be born from above." That's how you become, in your experience, a child of God. There's the giving of the Spirit, and where the Spirit has done that work, there's going to be two things: One, you're going to search out those things that pertain to God. That's where the spiritual interest for the things of God originates. We're not born with this. We're not born thinking of God as a Father. It takes the Spirit of God to teach us. Two, where the Spirit has done that work, there is a searching . There's a seeking after God and His glory. " But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:9,10). What then is it to be a follower of God? First, it's to be an imitator of God . Not an imitator in the sense of imitation. The word "follower" here is the word that we get our word mime from. Have you ever watched a mime? They're not saying anything, but you see them sometimes in the streets, some of these actors, they will mime without words certain characters or events, and as they do it, you recognize it. Now, they're not actually that person or they're not actually that event, but you recognize by their actions what they're communicating. With regard to being imitators of God, it is one thing to say that you are a child of God and to profess it—that's using words. It is another thing entirely to live it. That is to communicate something even without speaking a word. Now, there are certain attributes of God that we cannot imitate. God is omniscient. What does that mean? It means He knows everything. Can you imitate that? You can act like you know it, but you cannot. Not in that sense. God is omnipotent—He is all-powerful. He can do whatsoever He wills. Can you imitate that? God is omnipresent. Have you ever thought about trying to be everywhere at the same time—or in two or three different places at once? Sometimes it feels like that’s how life is. But we are so finite. He is not limited by space—we are. Yet there are certain attributes of God that, as we read the Scriptures, we find that we are called to imitate. If we are God's children, we are called upon to reflect these. Truth. What is truth? It is that which characterizes God. "Be ye therefore followers of God,"  as He is in Truth. Don't you suppose that if the Spirit of God is in you, you will desire to follow the Truth, as God is revealed in the Scriptures? David said, "Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way" (Psalm 119:104). That desire to know God in Truth affects who we are. It affects our direction in life. That is why we read this Word. We hear it. We study it. We want to know the Truth with regard to God. Second, it is to value above all else, the privilege of being His child. Why did the Spirit of God put "dear children" in there? Because that's who His people are to Him. They are dear. It doesn't say just as children, but dear children. Why are the Lord's people dear to Him? You know what that word "dear" means? It means "beloved". In fact, it means "well-beloved". I know if I'm beloved or well-beloved of God, it's not for anything in me. It's because He willed to love such as we are. Our being in Him and walking in fellowship with God has everything to do with what Christ accomplished in sacrificing Himself. That is what we see in Colossians 1:12, where Paul says, "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."   Why are sinners called saints? It is because of that perfect Righteousness that God the Father has imputed to their account when the LORD Jesus finished His work on the cross. Verse 13 continues, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son."   It can also be rendered, "into the kingdom of the Son of His love."  That is the work of the Spirit—He brings us out of darkness into light. This is the only way God could ever call any of us "beloved" —because of the Son of His love and what He accomplished. At the cross, when the Lord Jesus laid down His life, we were saved. There, God’s elect were redeemed from the legal condemnation of the law and from the guilt of their sins. This is what Christ did—He saved His people at the cross, and when called by the Spirit of God to Him, they follow HIM.

1 John 2:20 "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." Here is a gracious reminder to the redeemed of the LORD that their knowledge of the truth is not the result of natural ability, religious effort, or human decision, but is purely the work of God's sovereign grace in Christ. The "unction" —the anointing—is the Holy Spirit Himself, sovereignly given by Christ, the Holy One, to all whom He has redeemed by His blood. It is NOT a potential blessing offered to all, but a particular gift bestowed on those elected by God the Father in eternity, for whom the LORD Jesus came into the world and laid down His life, and now by the Spirit of God, enabling them to discern the Truth, abide in Christ, and persevere in the Faith. This verse assures them that their standing and understanding in Christ is the result of God's sovereign will, not their will—a comfort and confirmation that salvation is of the LORD from beginning to end. The term “unction”  is translated here as “anointing,”  which John uses to remind his readers of the spiritual anointing they have received from the Holy One—Christ. This anointing is not to be sought as a separate experience after conversion, but is already upon them through Christ and His finished work at the cross. Let us explore the nature of this anointing: Primarily, anointing  relates to Christ Himself, whose title Christ  means the Anointed One   (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 4:27) . He was chosen and set apart by God the Father as Prophet, Priest, and King—offices traditionally conferred by anointing in the Old Testament. In Christ, all these roles converge: He is the Prophet  through whom God speaks— “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you” (Acts 3:22), He is the Priest  by Whose sacrifice sinners are justified— “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1), He is the King  to whom all will bow— “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints” (Revelation 15:3). Having an anointing from the Holy One means that believers share in the righteousness of Christ, imputed to them through His sacrificial death: “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:9–10). Christ, the Holy One, is the Foundation of their election, redemption, justification, and sanctification: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Through His completed work, believers receive all spiritual blessings: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Believers having this anointing know all things —not in the sense of being without need of instruction, but because the Spirit of God reveals Christ in them, granting understanding of the forgiveness and justification already accomplished at the cross through Him. They are contrasted with those who reject the Truth, following after their desires or false doctrines. The believer’s anointing is rooted in union with Christ: His death and resurrection are theirs. Through God-given faith, they come to apprehend the blessings of this anointing, which is bestowed by grace. Christ is their complete satisfaction before the Father, leaving His chosen, redeemed children lacking nothing. The anointing  spoken of by John encompasses the believer's union with Christ, their sharing in His imputed righteousness, and the Spirit’s work of revealing Christ’s sufficiency in them for salvation. This passage emphasizes the centrality of Christ in the believer’s experience and the completeness of their satisfaction in Him.

Jeremiah 23:5,6 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Amid great apostasy and political upheaval, Jeremiah received from the LORD a message of hope—rooted not in national reform or human effort, but in the sovereign grace and will of God to save a remnant by the work of a coming Redeemer-King. The kings of Judah had failed. The shepherds of Israel had scattered the flock. Judgment was sure. Yet, the promise of a coming King—a righteous Branch from David—shined like a beacon in the darkness. This King would not merely be a reformer; He would be righteous. He would not simply restore political order; He would reign and prosper, executing true judgment and justice. And He would be called by this Divine and saving name: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS . This prophecy looked far beyond the return from Babylonian captivity or the installation of a better Davidic ruler. Its ultimate fulfillment is in the Person of the LORD Jesus Christ, the true and eternal King of Israel. The LORD Jesus, “made of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3), is the righteous Branch foretold by Jeremiah. He came not to make men righteous by moral instruction, nor merely to demonstrate righteousness by example, but to earn and establish a righteousness equal to that of God Himself—for His people, whom the Father chose before the foundation of the world, according to His grace in Christ Jesus (Romans 11:6). This passage declares the truth that is at the very heart of the Gospel—the justification of sinners by the righteousness of the LORD Jesus. For sinners who have no righteousness of their own, who stand condemned by the law, Christ is given as THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS . This is not a righteousness infused or enabled, but imputed . It is the very RIghteousness of God revealed in the Gospel (Romans 1:17) —a perfect Righteousness, established by the obedience and death of Christ, reckoned to the account of all who are in Him by sovereign election and revealed by faith. This RIghteousness was accomplished at the cross. There, “the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6), and there He bore the full weight of God's justice in their stead. As it is written, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is substitutionary Righteousness—according to God’s eternal covenant of grace—not earned by the sinner but freely given for Christ’s sake. It is His righteous obedience unto death that justifies: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). When Jeremiah says, “Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely”  (Jeremiah 23:6) , he is declaring more than national peace. He is foretelling the salvation of God’s elect in Christ—the spiritual Israel—who are saved from wrath and brought into the everlasting safety of union with Christ. These are they who call Him by faith, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS . They do not boast in their obedience, decisions, or supposed “free will,” but glory in the cross, where the LORD Himself became their righteousness. God has not left salvation in the hands of men, nor based it upon their worthiness or will. He has provided all in Christ. The righteousness we could never produce, God has provided through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son. And this RIghteousness is given—not to all indiscriminately—but to those whom the Father gave to the Son before the foundation of the world: a definite people, a chosen Israel, who are called and justified in time. So may we who are God's chosen, bought, and sought children rejoice in Him Who is all  our Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). Our standing before God does not rise or fall with our feelings, failings, or frames of heart or mind. Feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving. It rests on the LORD Jesus Christ alone. He is THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS —not merely a helper of righteousness, but the very Foundation and Substance of it. This is the Gospel: that in Christ, the sinner is declared righteous before God, fully accepted, eternally saved, and completely loved forever— all of grace, all for His glory . We can then say with the prophet Isaiah, in faith and thanksgiving: “Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength” (Isaiah 45:24). The full verse reads: “Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. Righteousness and strength are found only “in the LORD,” which is a foreshadowing of the Gospel truth fulfilled in the LORD Jesus Christ at the cross. Christ established the only righteousness that satisfies God’s justice for sinners and fulfilled it at the cross. He bore the shame and wrath due to His elect, and in Him are the strength and grace to save to the uttermost all who come to God by Him, having already accomplished their redemption and justification at the cross (Hebrews 7:25). Therefore, the phrase “in the LORD have I righteousness and strength”  finds its fulfillment exclusively in the finished work of the LORD Jesus at the cross, where Christ the LORD our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6) —both justified and sanctified His people. All who are “incensed” against Him—those who reject His Person and work—are put to shame, for they seek righteousness elsewhere and find none: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:3–4).

Matthew 11:28,29 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." This tender yet sovereign word from the lips of our LORD Jesus Christ is not a mere invitation extended to those who might choose Him at their leisure. It is a royal command, spoken with Divine Authority and irresistible Power. The One Who speaks is not only the Shepherd but also the King—He Who has “all power…in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18) . He does not beg sinners to come. He commands the weary, the burdened, the broken, and the heavily laden, saying, “Come unto me.” To “come” is not an act of man's free will, for none will come unless drawn. As our LORD Himself declares: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). The call is effectual. Those whom the Father gave to the Son shall come— “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me” (John 6:37). It is not a general offer rejected by most, but a sovereign summons attended by Divine Grace that makes the sinner willing in the day of His Power (Psalm 110:3). Notice that this command is given to a specific people: “all ye that labour and are heavy laden.” These are not those who feel healthy in their souls, nor those resting comfortably in their religious self-righteousness. These are the convicted, the crushed, the conscious of their sin and helpless estate. They labor under the weight of the law they cannot keep, and they are heavy laden with guilt because of the sinfulness of their sin that they cannot remove. To them Christ says, “I will give you rest.” Not offer nor suggest, but I will give, as a gift, sovereignly bestowed. And what is this rest? It is not a pause from labor, but the end of striving to justify oneself before God. It is the soul's resting in the finished work of Christ. It is that Peace which comes from the knowledge that He Who calls is the One Who also bore our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). It is rest in His righteousness imputed, His blood shed unto death, His obedience fulfilled, His redemption accomplished. Then comes His further word: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30). The yoke of the law is heavy—it demands and never gives. The yoke of Christ is easy—it has been carried already by Another. The burden of our sin has been laid on Him, “and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6) . What remains for us is not condemnation, but communion. To walk with Christ under His yoke is not servitude—it is liberty. For “if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). His burden is light because He carries it with us, and indeed has already borne it to Calvary. The believer yoked to Christ walks not alone but in union with the risen LORD, upheld by His Spirit and led by His Word. This command of Christ to “Come” is not to be debated or delayed. It is to be obeyed by His Grace. It is not a suggestion to be considered, but a summons that grants what He promises. And all who come, come not because they willed it, but because they were made willing by His sovereign grace alone. They find in Him their Rest, their Righteousness, and their Reward. Come, then, weary soul—not in your strength, but in His. Come, not to do, but to have done for you. Come, and find that His yoke is easy, His burden light, and His rest eternal, everlasting as Christ Himself.

Romans 4:25 "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." Here we pause and meditate on this glorious text, a summation of the Gospel of substitution by the finished work of the LORD Jesus on the cross. Romans 4:25 sets forth two great Gospel pillars: Christ’s substitutionary death and His victorious resurrection. Both acts are not mere historical events, but Divine transactions rooted in God's eternal purpose, finished redemption, and absolute justification by the death of the LORD Jesus on the cross. “ Who was delivered for our offences …” This speaks of the substitutionary nature of Christ’s death. The word “for”  here means because of  — He was delivered up because of our offences . Not for His own sin, for He had none, but for ours. This is substitution, pure and simple. He stood in the stead of His people, bearing their guilt, enduring their judgment, satisfying divine justice in their name. It was not merely a potential atonement, but an actual propitiation — a real and effectual offering for specific transgressions. Christ was not delivered in hope that some might be justified at some later time, but in certainty that all those whose sins He bore would be eternally cleared once He had laid down His life. Therefore, we must say: when Christ died, God once for all  justified those for whom He died. The penalty was paid, the debt canceled, and the record of sin was blotted out. Isaiah 53:11 declares, “by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”  The bearing of iniquities and the justification of sinners are inseparably linked, and simultaneous. There is no justification apart from the substitutionary death of Christ, and there is no substitution without certain immediate justification when the work was complete. Then Paul adds, “ and was raised again for our justification. " Again, “for”   here means because of  , not to justify us, but because  justification had been fully accomplished at the cross. His resurrection was not finishing the work, but the divine proof and public declaration that the work was done, accepted, and complete. Christ did not rise to make justification possible; He rose because justification had already been accomplished. The resurrection is God's Amen  to Christ’s "It is finished" (John 19:30). Therefore, when we read Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith…”, we must see the comma rightly placed: “Therefore being justified, by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We are not justified because  of our faith, but being already justified , we receive and embrace that justification by faith . Faith is not the cause, but the effect. This is the heart of sovereign grace: a finished salvation, a full justification, accomplished entirely by Christ, and embraced by God-given faith. No room for boasting. No ground for fear. Christ was delivered because of  our sins, and raised because of  our justification. May the LORD cause us to rest entirely in His finished work, rejoicing in the peace we now have with God through Him. Amen.

Job 9:33 "Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both." Job was one of God's children—perhaps one of the oldest that we find in the Old Testament—and yet the LORD was pleased to bring him through deep affliction and trouble. But the purpose was to draw him mercifully to his Redeemer and Savior, and to serve as a type of the LORD Jesus Christ, God's suffering Servant. He speaks in verse 33 of a daysman . This is a judge or an arbitrator, called a daysman  because such a person was designated to appoint the actual day on which arbitration or mediation was to take place. Now, nobody ever talks about arbitration or mediation unless there is a conflict. And here, there was a conflict—at least, Job in his depravity, crying unto the LORD in his complaint, saw it that way. Any kind of strife or controversy is one of three kinds: A strife that requires mediation due to a mistake, A controversy resulting from mutual wrongdoing, or A strife where one side wrongs the other. We know for sure that there is no blame that can be brought against God with regard to our sin or in how He deals with us. He is holy, just, and equitable. That was Job’s cry—that this Daysman , this Mediator, might "lay his hand upon us both." In other words, One Who could interpose Himself and lay His hand upon God in His justice and holiness, and at the same time, lay His hand upon Job, the sinner. Where is such a Daysman  to be found? And so, his cry was for a Mediator. Oh, that God would give us such a cry! Job, in his deepest moment of affliction—and again, this affliction was from the hand of God—was mercifully brought to see that nothing in this life has any lasting importance. You hear many preachers talk of health, wealth, or prosperity, but all these things are temporal. The first point we see here is the need for a Mediator. Job was a man whom God had enriched with substance and influence. Often, we do not understand the reason for a trial. We know that we do not deserve better, yet going through a trial as one of God's children can raise many questions. But one thing is certain—it is for God's glory. He does it for the honor of His Name and for His purpose. That was the whole reason the LORD laid Job low. Some might ask, “Why would God do that to one of His own?” It was a mercy that the LORD afflicted him and brought him low, lest he should in any way confide—even in the mercies of God—rather than in the merits of the LORD Jesus Christ as his God, his Savior, and his Redeemer. He was made to see just how vain the temporal enjoyments of time truly are. It is striking that we come, live, and die, and time marches on. Everything we enjoy in this life, by way of creature comforts, is temporary at best. And yet, time continues. The LORD graciously caused Job to look outside himself—not only away from temporal comforts, but also from any supposed personal obedience. The second point is this: the LORD Jesus Christ Himself is that Mediator . In 1 Timothy 2:5–6, we read: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” Every word in this passage is vital. The LORD Jesus Christ is the Mediator, and He is also the Ransom required for all whom God has saved. Note again, the language used by Job is: “Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both” (Job 9:33). What he refers to is an earthly mediator. If we look to men, or to anyone or anything, to stand between us and God, it is a false hope. Do not even look to the works of your hands or to any supposed good works to be that mediator. No! It is in the Person of the LORD Jesus Christ. The LORD Jesus Christ is the Daysman  between God and men. He is the God-Man in the flesh. That is why He became man—so that He might lay His hand upon God the Father, satisfying His law and justice, and honor the law. He did not set aside the law—He came to fulfill it by His perfect obedience. And then, to lay down His life—that is the ransom—to pay all that God's law and justice required because of the sin debt of the people He came to save. The LORD Jesus honored the law and made reconciliation for sinful men, making peace with the Father. How? “Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself” (Colossians 1:20). Upon completion of His obedience unto death, God justified, once for all—everyone that the LORD Jesus Christ came to save. That would have included Job. Job died not having seen the promise fulfilled, but he died believing that his Redeemer would stand at the latter day upon the earth (Job 19:25). If Christ had only fulfilled all righteousness and returned to glory without dying, there would still be no salvation. He had to be the perfect Lamb—the perfect Sacrifice—and lay down His life for His people. As the God-Man, He has laid His hand upon those sinners the Father gave Him. Therefore, they are secure forever in His hand. If the LORD has taught you of Himself, your one confession is this: “ God is holy, and I am impure, a worm.” A worm is a lowly, despised thing. We hardly notice one on the ground, and if we do, we step on it or push it aside. That is how we are brought to see ourselves before a holy God. That was the purpose of Job’s affliction—that he might be stripped of anything outward that gave him the appearance of personal righteousness. He was brought to abhor himself. The LORD tenderly and mercifully deals with sinners such as Job to bring them to the end of themselves. That they might cry out for that Daysman , that Mediator. Christ is that Mediator Whom God Himself has appointed, Who can lay His hand upon God as God, and upon the sinner as man. And that is what Christ has done. Glory be to His name!

Galatians 4:30 "Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." Under the Spirit’s direction, the apostle Paul uses the story of Abraham casting out Hagar as an allegory of the truth that law and grace cannot abide together (Genesis 21).   This passage powerfully affirms that salvation is not by the flesh, the law, or human effort—represented by Hagar and her son Ishmael—but solely by God's free and sovereign promise—typified in Sarah and her son Isaac. The bondwoman and her son symbolize all attempts at righteousness through the law (Galatians 4:24-25) , which must be “cast out,” for they cannot inherit the promises of God. As Paul writes elsewhere, “For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Galatians 2:21).  The freewoman’s son, Isaac, represents those born according to God's promise—chosen, redeemed, and justified entirely by God's grace in Christ. Thus, Galatians 4:30 calls the believer to rest in the finished work of Christ, “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9),  and to reject all confidence in the flesh, rejoicing instead in God's sovereign grace in Christ alone. The Galatians had begun to become enthralled again with the law as a means of justification and sanctification under the preaching and teaching of some legalistic preachers, and the apostle drew a line of distinction between salvation by the free grace of God in Christ (typified by Sarah, the freewoman), and any who would attempt to join to it any work or obedience of their own (typified by Hagar, the bondwoman). Such a distinction is necessary in our day, as many who would consider themselves preachers of grace are nothing more than servants of legalism. Nevertheless, when God truly reveals Christ in a sinner’s heart, and teaches them the Gospel, like Abraham with Hagar, they will cast out, and refuse to dwell with any doctrine or former profession that gives credence to man’s will or works.  Many today profess to be Christians based on something that they did to receive Christ. They unashamedly boast of having accepted Christ by their “free will,” and consider that they are the Lord’s because of having made a decision and now doing their best to live true to that profession.  Nevertheless, all such talk of free will and works is nothing but the voice and dialect of the bondwoman of which Paul writes. The only true sons of God are those born of the free woman—those in whom God has placed His Spirit. They have been made to see that what they once called “free will” is, in truth, bondage to self, sin, and self-righteousness. Now, as sons of the free woman, they freely confess that their salvation is entirely due to the free-will offering of Christ on their behalf: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). They rejoice that God has justified them freely: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24), and that He has granted them grace to live in the freedom of redemption, justification, and sanctification that Christ has purchased for them. As Scripture says, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). Let us then take to heart the sure word of Scripture: “Cast out the bondwoman and her son.”   As elect and redeemed sons of God, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. All who are born from above—true sons of freedom—gladly yield themselves to Christ, not as slaves under law, but as sons in grace. We serve Him not to be accepted, but because we are accepted in the Beloved. We obey Him not in dread, but in delight, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). We rejoice in His Person, rest in His Word, and glory in His finished work. And all of this is not of ourselves, but springs from the fountain of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ. May we ever live as those who are free indeed, for if the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36).