Psalm 2:7

Verse of the Day Devotion Psalm 2:7 

“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee.” – Psalm 2:7 

Up to Christmas day, I will be looking at the different prophesies which foresee the coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus the Christ.  He came here in order to offer the means of salvation for all.  An important idea to remember is that God knows everything and forgets nothing.  “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,” Isaiah 46:9-10.

One title given to Psalm 2 is “The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed”.  And I like this title, for it speaks of the reign of the coming Messiah.  Starting in verse one we read, “Why are the nations in an uproar, And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed: Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” Psalm 2:1-3. God here is essentially asking a rhetorical question, for the answer was clear.  The nations have no reason to rage against God, but they do.  They desire to live as they want, not the way God desires them to.  They desire complete control and want nothing to do with the Lord or His Anointed. They wish to break the bonds, those being the laws and requirements of God.  Total control and power for themselves was their goal, as pointed out by God.

Then in verses 4-5 we see God’s response.  “He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury:” Psalm 2:4-5.  He laughs because He sits in the heavens and rules over all creation, which basically is all that exists. There is nothing they can do to stop His plans.  But they desire not to be under His authority.  And then He says that He has already set up a king to rule overall, and He has established Him in Zion, which is  Jerusalem. Then we hear the words of the prophesied Messiah, where He declares the words of the Father, “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee.” Psalm 2:7.  Here, the Father has declared that the Messiah would enter the world.  And we see this coming to pass in the Gospel of Luke as spoke to Mary by an angel. “And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.” Luke 1:30-33.

And the final verses speak of the Father giving the nations to Him and will do what is necessary to punish those who do not follow Him. And He will call on the nations to submit themselves to Him.   “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware. Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” Psalm 2:9-12. 

This is the King that was born in Bethlehem and the reason for our celebration of this wonderful day.  There is nothing wrong with exchanging gifts while gathering with friends and family to eat together.  But look at the reason for this.  The birth of the everlasting King who will reign for ever with no end.  And He provides the means for us to be citizens in this kingdom through His death, burial, and resurrection.  Take time this Christmas to thank Him for doing what we could not do.  And contemplate what this eternal life will be like.  “But, as it is written, What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him, these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

1 Corinthians 4:15-16

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 4:15-16 

“For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel.  Therefore, I urge you, imitate me.” – 1 Corinthians 4:15-16

According to statista.com, for the years 2017 – 2018 (current numbers I found more difficult to 1 Corinthians 4:15-16 track down), the religious book sales revenue in the United States alone was almost $600,000,000!  According to the Nielsen BookScan statistics, the approximate average of Christian book unit sales is about 60 million books sold each year in the U.S.  Since 2017-2018 Christian brick-and-mortar stores have been slowly becoming less prominent.  Independent Christian publishing is on the rise.  E-books, on-line sales, Kindle, etc., are all continuing to show steady numbers in volume and dollars.   I would guess that ‘most’ of you reading this article would recognize the name(s) of 90% of the (quote-un-quote) Top 30 Christian non-fiction writers!  

Evidently, the church of predominately Gentile believers in the city of Corinth in the mid-50’s A.D. had a similar phenomenon: they had plenty of people attempting to ‘instruct’ others concerning Christ, but no one had so much care for them as the Apostle Paul – who taught them and had instructed them in the truth of the gospel; in other words, the ‘good news’ of the efficiency of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as the means of salvation, by God’s grace, and through ‘believing’ through ‘faith’ that this message was True.  Paul was the ‘apostle sent to the Gentiles’. He recounted this unique calling from the Ascending Lord in Acts 22:21 where Paul reminds his listeners that Jesus said to him: “Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.”   It was through Paul that the believers in Corinth would be taught the whole truth and nothing but the truth of this glorious ‘good news’.   

Though the city of Corinth might have had ten thousand other instructors in Christ, it was Paul who was the greatest caretaker and father to them.   The term ‘instructors’ in VS 15 is a Greek word that only occurs twice in the New Testament but has many variations due to the ‘root word’.  The first definition is that of a ‘teacher or instructor’ similar to a teacher in High School or College that brings instructions and corrections to its class members.  This is NOT the word Paul uses here. THIS word in VS 15 is speaking about ‘a guide, a leader, or a guardian’.  Elsewhere for example it is translated as ‘tutor’ in Galatians 3:24, 25.   “Therefore the law was our ‘tutor’ (our guide, our leader, our guardian) to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But after faith has come, we are no longer under a ‘tutor’”.   The law, the Mosaic law of Judaism is no longer our ‘tutor and guide and guardian and leader’ once we have come to ‘faith’ in Christ, being justified by faith alone!  

Read how personal Paul’s words are to the Corinthian believers.  “For in Christ “I” have begotten you through the gospel.”  It was Jesus who ultimately sent Paul to these Corinthians.  Paul was not just ‘like’ a father to them, but it was through Paul’s message that these Corinthians came to ‘believing faith in Jesus Christ’!   No one had a greater investment in their lives literally more than Paul.  Please listen closely:  It was NOT just Paul’s message through words that made this so.  It was Paul’s life as an example in every way!  This is why Paul could say without boasting nor without any arrogance “Therefore I urge you, imitate me” (VS 16).   This is why Paul could write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit here and in I Timothy 1:16 “However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that IN ME FIRST Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a PATTERN to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life” (emphasis mine).  

There are 10,000 other ‘instructors’ of Christ out there in the world of Christendom that evidently Christians turn to for guidance to some degree at least.  Six million dollars’ worth of guidance a year.  Yet what an amazing privilege we have as true believers to have the very Word of God recorded for us from the one who was first sent to the Gentile world with His glorious gospel message.   I for one, am 100% confident that if you read and study Paul’s writings first and foremost, the Lord Himself by His Written Word will encourage you to the depths of practical living that no other person can do.  Please do not take lightly Paul’s word written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when he writes: “Therefore I urge you, imitate me.” 

Jaca Kier, Board Member,  True Devotion Ministries, Inc.