1:1-2:9 - From the heights of
heaven and the depths of suffering, ‘God… has spoken to us by His Son’
(1:1-2). Jesus Christ is God’s ‘Word’ to us. He is ‘the Word’ who came
from heaven: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God’. He is ‘the Word’ who came to earth: ‘the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us…’ (John 1:1-14). In heaven, He is
worshipped by angels: ‘Let all God’s angels worship Him’ (1:6). On
earth, ‘He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste
death for everyone’ (2:9). We see the greatness of Christ in both His
heavenly glory and His saving grace. None can compare with Him. He is
our Lord. He is our Saviour. We consider all that He has done for us –
‘the nail marks in His hands…’ – and we worship Him – ‘my Lord and my
God’ (John 20:19-20,24-28).
2:10-3:19 - God invites each
of us to receive a great blessing – the blessing of being His ‘children’
(2:13). We become God’s children through faith in Christ: ‘To all who
received Him, who believed in His Name, He gave power to become children
of God’ (John 1:12). What will you do with God’s great invitation, His
invitation of love? Will you receive Christ and become a child of God?
Will you miss out on the blessing ‘because of unbelief’ (19)? God is
waiting for your answer – ‘Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden
your hearts’ (3:7,15). Throughout life, we must guard against ‘an evil,
unbelieving heart, leading us to fall away from the living God’. ‘Every
day’, we must take care that we do not become ‘hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin’ (3:12-13). As God’s children, let’s grow in Christ
(1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18).
4:1-5:10 - ‘Today, when you
hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’. These words from 3:7,15, are
repeated here in 4:7. Make sure that you don’t miss the point! These
are words that we need to keep on hearing – again and again. None of us
ever reaches a stage where we no longer need to hear and heed God’s
words of warning. Reading God’s Word can be a very uncomfortable
experience: ‘God’s Word is living and active… God’s Word judges a
person’s thoughts and intentions. No creature can hide from God.
Everything is uncovered and exposed for Him to see. We must answer to
Him’ (4:12-13). This may not be the kind of thing we like to hear. It’s
what we need to hear. We will only pray for ‘mercy’ and ‘grace’ when we
see how sinful we really are. Then – and only then – will we come to
Christ for ‘eternal salvation’ (4:15-16; 5:9).
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