WHAT GOD THINKS OF HIS PEOPLE

John 13:1

Morning Meditation 4/23/2014

"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end."

Let's notice what God thinks of His people:

THEY ARE HIS PORTION

Deuteronomy 32:9-10, "For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye."

John Gill comments on Verse 9. "For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. This is the reason why the Lord so early provided a portion or inheritance for the children of Israel in the land of Canaan; because they were his part, his portion, his inheritance, which he chose by lot for himself, or allotted to himself; whom he chose to be his special and peculiar people; for though all the world is his, he only reserved a part for himself, which he separated from all the rest, and considers as his portion and inheritance. Psa. 33:12 says, 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.' thus the spiritual Israel of God, as they are his people, whom he has chosen, taken into covenant, given to Christ, and are redeemed and saved by him; they are his part or portion, separated by distinguishing grace from the rest of the world; and are the inheritance of Christ, who is appointed heir of all things, and is an unalienable inheritance."

We belong to God. This is an over powering thought. We are his by creation and recreation. This magnifies His grace as we think of where we were when He found us, and our failure so much of the time since we have been saved.

WE ARE HIS TREASURE

Exodus 19:5 says, "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:"

For Christ to think of us as a "treasure" is beyond the scope of my understanding. I can't even imagine God thinking of those of us who have wandered so far from Him as His peculiar treasure.

WE ARE HIS JOY

Isaiah 65:19, "And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying."

"Chosen not for good in me;

Wakened up from wrath to flee;

Hidden in the Saviour's side;

By the Spirit sanctified:

Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,

By my love, how much I owe."

This again is what grace has done for us and God's covenant has arraigned for us. We are simply undeserving and what is for us now and in the future is pure mercy and grace on God's part. Jesus did it for us. He provided a sacrifice for us as HE died on the cross, He is providing for us a place in that City called The New Jerusalem and He is coming to get us and change us where we can enjoy that eternal home for ever and ever. We are His joy.

WE ARE HIS CROWN OF GLORY

Isaiah 62:3, "Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." The exaltation of the people of God will be glorious in that day. God is gathering out of this world a people. His plan is for us to be with Him forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

There is no way to improve on His explanation of what He has in store for us. The world laughs today at the faith of the saints. But the laugh will be on them when Lord of Glory rides out of His heavenly stable and the host of heaven follow close by to bring all wars to an end and set up a righteous reign on this earth that will never end.

WE ARE HIS INHERITANCE

Ephesians 1:18, "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,"

We are His inheritance but before we can understand this the eyes of our understanding must be enlightened. You can hear this preached every day. You can read books on it, but until God opens our understanding so that we can comprehend that we are His inheritance we will grunt and make people think we understand when we don't. But it is enough for this meditation just to know that God has claimed us as His own and we are His inheritance.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White