“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2 (Read Romans 5:1-11)
A common Biblical greeting is the word “peace” (Shalom in the Hebrew and Eirene in the Greek). But the word, as it is commonly used in the Bible, does not refer to earthly peace among nations but to peace with God. What does it mean to have peace with God, and how can we have that peace?
When we remember that all of us are by nature enemies of God and in rebellion against Him – not loving Him, trusting Him or seeking to honor Him with our lives by obeying His commandments – and that we are, as a result, under the wrath and condemnation of God our Maker, the prospect of having peace with the LORD God restored is indeed inviting, for not to have this peace is to stand condemned to eternal punishment in hell.
To have peace with God is to be pardoned and forgiven. It is to be acquitted by Him for all our transgressions of His perfect and holy law, and it is to be accepted back into fellowship with the LORD God who fashioned and made us in our mothers’ wombs. And that peace was won for us by the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of God’s only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in our stead, and it becomes ours when we trust in Christ and His perfect sacrifice for sin (cf. v. 5-11; 2 Cor. 5:18-21).
The Bible says: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father” (Eph. 2:13-18).
Whether Jew or Gentile, Jesus won for us peace with God the Father by the shedding of His holy and precious blood in our stead, for all sins. And that peace of sins forgiven is ours not by anything we do to please God but through faith in what Christ Jesus has done for us when He died on the cross and rose again in victory over sin, death and the devil.
For Christ’s sake, God is gracious to us and offers to us in the Gospel His pardon and peace that we might repent of our sinful ways and look in faith to Christ Jesus and His cross for forgiveness for all our sins and life everlasting.
And, when we have God’s pardon and forgiveness through faith in Christ, we also “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (v. 2) and “rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (v. 11), for we have the certainty that, as Christ was raised up from the dead on the third day, so we will be raised up on the Last Day unto life everlasting with our God and Savior!
Dearest Lord Jesus, we thank You for shedding Your blood on the cross and making atonement for all our sins that we might have peace with God and the certain hope of the eternal joys of heaven through faith in your name. Amen.
31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples. 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.” Matthew 26:31-46
Dear fellow-redeemed sinners, ransomed by the shed blood of Jesus. Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
In every service, we pray the Lord’s Prayer. And every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).
In his Small Catechism, Luther explains this petition thus: “The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also. How is this done? When God breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not let us hallow the name of God nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh; but strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto our end. This is His gracious and good will.”
And though we pray that God’s will be done in our lives, have you ever stopped to think about what you may be asking God to do? What if it is His will that we endure ridicule, criticism and hatred for our faith? What if it is His will that we suffer for our faith? What if it is His will that we die for our faith? What if it is His will that we give up the comforts and security of our present life and travel abroad to serve Him?
We might be confident that we do truly desire the will of God in our lives and that we will gladly follow our Savior wherever He leads, but we all have a sinful nature — our sin-corrupted flesh — which does not desire God’s will but our own will.
Look at Jesus’ disciples. Jesus told them that they would all stumble (σκανδαλίζω) because of Him that night. He would be betrayed and arrested and they would falter in their faith and sin by fleeing in fear rather than standing and professing their faith in the Lord Jesus.
Remember Jesus’ words: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:34-38).
And Peter, confident in his own flesh, was ready to die with Jesus and said he would never stumble in his faith or deny Jesus. And, of course, we know what happened — exactly what Jesus said he would do: “This night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
And then, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked Peter, James and John to watch with Him and pray. Again they failed. As Jesus said, their spirit was willing but their flesh was weak. Their new and regenerated nature was willing, but their sin-corrupted flesh had not the strength or ability to follow through.
As we think about this, we see that being a Christian, a follower of Jesus, is not easy. Though we are not saved by our works but are saved by God’s grace alone and through faith alone in Jesus Christ, following Jesus in this sinful world is not something we can do by our own will or in our own strength.
God’s will is that we trust in Christ Jesus and walk by faith in His Word. He desires that we not deny Jesus or shrink back from following Him but hold fast to Him and all He teaches in His Word. And that is not easy because our sin-corrupted will is weak and quick to compromise and even deny Jesus to preserve our lives here in this world and to avoid conflict, suffering and persecution.
Like Jesus’ disciples, when Jesus is ridiculed and attacked by the unbelieving in this world, we are quick to flee from Him, avoid speaking or living according to His Word, and even deny knowing or trusting in Him. We flee back into the darkness because we are afraid to do the will of God, our heavenly Father. Our flesh is weak and we dare not trust in ourselves or our own strength, because we will shrink back and fall.
That is why Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray lest they enter into temptation. We need the strength only God can give, and He gives us that strength by the Spirit’s working through the consolation of God’s Word. When we hear the Gospel and learn of what Christ has done for us, the Spirit creates and preserves faith in our hearts to believe and to take comfort, to hold fast to Christ, to trust Him to lead us safely through this life to Himself in heaven.
St. Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Tim. 4:16-18): “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!”
If anyone had reason to flee in the Garden, it was Jesus. God the Father was about to lay on Him the guilt and burden of the sins of all mankind and to punish Him in our stead. As the Bible says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6).
Jesus felt the guilt and the burden of our sin and He prayed that, if it would be possible, God would find another way and take this cup of suffering from Him. And, indeed, this is right because being under the curse and condemnation of God was not the desire of our sinless Savior. But, Jesus, for Your sake and for my sake, and in obedience to His Father in heaven, prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (v. 39; cf. v. 42-43).
Jesus walked by faith in His heavenly Father. He truly prayed, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
And Jesus, out of love for sinners like you and like me, willingly submitted to the will of God the Father. He went to the cross, suffered the just punishment for our sins and the sins of all.
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8). Christ “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev. 1:5).
And Christ Jesus went to the cross and endured the shame and condemnation that through the preaching of the Gospel we might be brought to trust in Him and receive the benefits of His sacrifice — forgiveness for all our sins and a place in His everlasting kingdom. And thus, through Christ, God’s will is being done on earth and in our lives as it is in heaven.
God grant that His will be done in our lives — that we repent of our sins and look to Christ and His cross in faith that we might be justified, forgiven of all our sins, and given the eternal joys of heaven. God grant that we watch and pray — that we continue to hear God’s Word and partake of the Sacraments that we might be strengthened and preserved in the true faith by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit and not shrink back and stumble but hold fast to Christ and His life-giving Word unto life everlasting.
God strengthen and keep us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto our end. Amen.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Matthew 4:1-11 (Cf. Luke 4:1-13)
In the many times I’ve read and preached on Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, I’ve often struggled to understand the temptations. “What’s the big deal?” I’ve wondered.
Think of Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights and afterward being hungry. The devil comes to Jesus and says, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
What would be wrong with that? After all, Jesus had been fasting and was sustained by God without food or water for 40 days, much like Moses was when on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 34:28), and He was hungry. What would have been so wrong if He had commanded some stones to become bread and nourished himself? Who would have even known?
It may seem like a little thing — and the devil loves it when we think of sin as a minor and insignificant infraction, as we learned from the temptation in the Garden.
The serpent said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). And when Eve responded saying, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’ … the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Gen. 3:2-5). And we know what happened when Eve and then Adam disobeyed the LORD in this one little thing!
Jesus had, following His baptism, been led by the Spirit into the wilderness to endure temptation for us. He was fulfilling the righteous demands of God’s Law in our stead. And remember that the first part of obeying any of God’s commandments is to fear, love and trust in God above all things, as Luther explains in His explanation of the First Commandment (cf. Deut. 6:5,13; 10:12; Prov. 3:5). Would it have been trusting in His heavenly Father for Jesus to use His divine power to meet an earthly need rather than to trust that God, who led Him out into the wilderness to be tempted, would provide for Him?
Note Jesus’ answer in Matt. 4:4, a reference to Deut. 8:3: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Rather than stepping out of His state of humiliation, Jesus humbly trusted in His heavenly Father to provide. The children of Israel failed, again and again, to trust God to provide for their needs during their 40 years in the wilderness, but Jesus placed His confidence and faith in the truthfulness of God’s Word.
The devil then attacked Jesus based on His trust in the Word of God.
“Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: “He shall give His angels charge over you,” and, “In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”’”
Yes, the devil knows Scripture (cf. Ps. 91:11-12), probably better than you or me. And we shouldn’t be surprised that he has raised up all sorts of Bible-thumping preachers who quote the Scriptures but advance falsehood and lies in God’s name, saying things which are contrary to the true message of the Bible. As Jeremiah writes, they “use their tongues and say, ‘He says’” (Jer. 28:31).
And what would have been wrong with Jesus proving His deity by casting Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and riding on the wings of angels to the earth? His answer, quoting from Deut. 6:16, reveals it: “Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”’”
Are we to put God to the test, to intentionally place ourselves in harm’s way in an attempt to test God’s faithfulness to His Word? If so, perhaps we should drink poison and practice venomous snake handling in our services next week (cf. Mark 16:17-18) — the devil would love to have us do so!
In the third temptation, “the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
Jesus came into this world to establish an everlasting kingdom, and the devil here offers to Jesus an easy way to get it done — certainly much easier than going to the cross and bearing Himself, in His body, the just punishment for our sins and the sins of the entire world.
And think of the many ways the devil still uses this same temptation today. If we bowed to Satan and his lies and compromised the truth just a little, we could avoid all the pain and heartache which goes with holding fast to Christ and His Word. If we just kept quiet about such things as abortion, sex outside of marriage, pornography, homosexual lifestyles, drunkenness, dishonest business practices, etc., etc., life would be so much easier. The world and compromising churches would accept us.
And Satan offers us the kingdoms of this world — more profits, a wealthier lifestyle, acceptance by the world, a larger church, etc. All we have to do is bow down to Satan in one area of our life or in one article of Biblical doctrine!
How did Jesus respond? Based on Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20, “Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”’”
To worship and serve the LORD God is to continue in His Word, to repent of our sins and look in faith to Christ and His cross for pardon and forgiveness; it is to continue in all things which Christ has commanded us (John 6:29; 17:3; Luke 24:46-47; Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Tim. 3:14-17).
What is so important about Jesus’ temptation? Why do we consider it each year?
Had Jesus failed this test and yielded to Satan in even the smallest point, our hope of salvation would be lost. If Jesus had failed, He would not have fulfilled all righteousness for us and we could not be counted righteous through faith in Him.
But Jesus did not fail. “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). We were redeemed … “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19). He “committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22).
And, it is for that reason that “Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2). He paid the price for the sins of all. In Him — through faith in His name — “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).
In Adam’s fall, we fell, and we continue to fall, giving in to the temptations of the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. Jesus, God the Son in human flesh, was tempted like we are, but He did not yield and He did not fall. Using Scriptures from the Book of Deuteronomy, He resisted the temptations of the devil and rebuked Him, and He held fast to the Word of His Father in heaven.
And, following Jesus’ temptation, “the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.” Jesus submitted to God, and resisted the devil, and the devil fled from Him. He endured the temptation, and God met His needs through the care and service of His holy angels.
So also, the Bible tells us: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
The Bible warns us in 1 Pet. 5:8-9: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” He knows our weaknesses and he seeks to separate us from Christ, our Savior, by urging us to take matters into our own hands, by putting God to the test, or by compromising and bowing to him just a little.
We are weak but our Savior is strong. He overcame the devil for us. He resisted the temptations, held fast to God’s Word and then went to the cross and suffered for our sins that we might look to Him in faith and be pardoned and forgiven. By His holy life and innocent suffering and death, He won for us forgiveness and life everlasting. He overcame the devil for us and won for us the victory.
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:14-18).
How thankful we can be that Jesus did not give in to the temptations of the devil, during this time in the wilderness or ever! How thankful we can be that, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said, “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)! How thankful we can be that He obeyed His Father and went to the cross as a holy Sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world and then rose again! In Him, we have forgiveness (Eph. 1:7).
In the words of Jude 24, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”
“And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20).
“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.” Luke 4:1-2a (1-13)
Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Sometimes it’s hard to imagine Jesus being tempted in the same ways we are tempted but He was, and He never yielded but was perfectly obedient to God’s Word in every point that He might be our Savior.
When Jesus had been 40 days without food in the wilderness, the devil tempted Him to use His power as the Son of God to turn the stones into bread that He might eat. But Jesus trusted in God His Father to provide for all His needs and did not yield to the temptation to take matters into His own hands rather than patiently trusting in the promises of God’s Word.
Jesus came into this world to establish an eternal kingdom made up of people from all nations, and the devil offered Him an easier way than the cross to establish His rule, but Jesus refused to worship or serve anyone but the Lord His God.
And each time Jesus used the Scriptures — the Book of Deuteronomy — to answer the temptations of the devil (Deut. 8:3; 6:16). This is certainly an example for us when tempted.
Jesus came to be recognized by God’s people as the Son of God, their Messiah and Savior. So, Satan took Jesus up upon a pinnacle of the temple and tempted Him to show Himself the Son of God and prove His trust in God’s promises to send His angels to bear Him up (Ps. 91:11-12). But once again Jesus used God’s Word to refute Satan’s temptation (Deut. 6:13; 10:20). He remained obedient to God’s Word, trusting in the Lord God and His Word.
Note that in each temptation Satan offered to Jesus a shortcut — and easier way — to meet His needs and achieve His purposes than trusting in God and His Word. And He still tempts us in much the same way today. When we have needs, He tempts us to find our own solutions rather than trust in the Lord God to provide for us in His way and in His time. We may needlessly borrow money, be less than honest or even play the lottery or gamble in an attempt to meet our needs our own way.
Satan offers us glory and fame — to be accepted and liked — if we just honor him in some way, and we so easily fall. We exalt ourselves, boast, belittle others, do works to be seen by others.
He offers us shortcuts to our goals and twists the Scriptures to make them sound good in our ears. He urges us to put God to the test, to tempt God and see if He will really keep His promises to protect us, provide for us, give us blessings. He even urges us to give in to our sinful passions, saying it will be alright because God will forgive us afterward if we just ask Him.
But what does God say? “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”; “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve”; and, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
How thankful we can be that Jesus did not give in to the temptations of the devil during this time in the wilderness or ever! How thankful we can be that, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said, “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)! How thankful we can be that He obeyed His Father and went to the cross as a holy Sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world and then rose again! Through faith in Him, we have forgiveness (Eph. 1:7).
Dearest Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your perfect obedience and Your perfect sacrifice upon the cross that through faith in You we might have forgiveness for all sins and a place in Your eternal kingdom. Amen.
“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:31
Why is it that we who are Christians are saved? Can we boast of our goodness, our worthiness to be chosen, of our wisdom, our decision, or of our faith? What does the Bible say? “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
The apostle Paul points out to his readers in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:26-31): “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
The fact that you and I have heard God’s Word and come to know the Lord God who created the heavens and the earth and all things, and to know and trust in His mercy toward us in Christ Jesus who died for our sins and rose again, is not because of anything good in us. Indeed, we were dead in our trespasses and sins until God graciously saved us by bringing us to faith in the Son and His atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world through the preaching of the Gospel (cf. Eph. 1:3ff.; 2:1ff.; Titus 3:3ff.). His election and calling are entirely of His grace and mercy toward us in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 1:9-10).
Thus the apostle points out how God used the foolishness of the cross and the foolishness of preaching forgiveness of sins and life eternal through the shed blood of Jesus to save us. To the world, it remains foolish. But to us, He has revealed it as the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. To us, who are counted fools by this world, has God revealed His wisdom. And Jesus Christ, the only-begotten of God the Father and born of the Virgin Mary, “is made unto us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
So, in what can we brag and boast? Only in the Lord! As it is written in the prophet Jeremiah (9:23-24): “‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.”
And how is it we can know these things and trust in the Lord? Entirely of His grace and mercy in Christ Jesus!
Therefore, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord”!
We praise You, O Lord God, and give You the glory for providing salvation for us in Your Son, Jesus Christ, and bringing us to know Him and trust Him as our God and Savior through the preaching of the Gospel. Amen.