Increasing in Favour with God

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men."

Luke 2:52

The Bible never ceases to amaze.  It can illuminate the darkest heart and reveals hidden motives.  God's word can confront and shock as it exposes our ignorance, misconceptions and our need to personally change in ways impossible to accomplish without the Holy Spirit.  God and His unerring truth thunders forth with a still, small voice.  With one sentence He can send our heads spinning, and that is what He did to me with this familiar verse that literally kept me up at night.

Though Jesus existed before He put on human flesh, His body grew and developed like ours.  As a child our thoughts were simple and concrete before we grew to understand abstract reasoning.  It makes sense Jesus increased in wisdom as He physically grew, a healthy body and mind worked together.  What floored me was how Jesus could possibly increase "in favour with God."  To increase in favour or grace ("charis" in Greek) with men is no surprise, but to increase in favour with God?  How is this possible when God's grace is infinite and already extended in full to His only begotten Son?  Therein lies part of the problem, for it is impossible for us finite beings to comprehend the infinite--though we imagine we understand God's grace because we can concisely define it.  To the contrary:  God's grace is amazing not because we fully comprehend it but because we have received it according to our limited knowledge of God and His word.

Growing in grace is connected with our knowledge of God and grateful submission to Him in faith.  Faith is not a belief system but a life lived according to God's will that requires trust and obedience in Him.  Jesus increased in favour with God as He intentionally took steps to follow Him.  As an infant incapable of making decisions or choices there was not yet opportunity provided to walk in faith.  A child learning to walk provides a good illustration of the walk of faith in following Christ.  It takes time to learn to walk and skillfully balance on two legs, to gain the coordination and strength day by day to stand, walk and run without falling.  A paralysed man can read about walking, understand the physics and the anatomical requirements, yet this knowledge does not empower Him to overcome the disconnect between the brain, nerves and muscles to do it himself.  After a person is born again through faith in God we are able to receive and tap into God's limitless supply of grace He freely gives to all.  It is faith in Jesus that makes us upright and is accounted for righteousness.

See the connection that is made by Peter when he bid believers to consider what kind of people they ought to be and to avoid the errors of people who distort scripture to their own ends.  2 Peter 3:17-18 says, "You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."  Though God's grace is beyond reckoning, it is something we can grow in according to our knowledge of God and recognision of our total need for Him.  As the body of Jesus grew physically, He grew in grace with God and men.  This was not because He was more deserving because this undermines what grace is:  loving favour freely given and received out of God's goodness which cannot be earned.  If anyone could have earned God's favour, it was Jesus.  He grew in favour with God as He joyfully obeyed His Father in heaven, not thinking His deeds or sacrifices made Him worthy of grace.  Jesus grew in God's favour because He received it by faith and walked according to it.

It is ironic how easily we can be tempted into a performance or works-based arrangement with God when all we are and have received is of God's grace.  John 1:16-17 wrote concerning our Saviour, "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."  God gives grace again and again and our lives are a testimony of His faithfulness that transcends our circumstances.  Paul was unlawfully imprisoned and it actually turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel.  God allowed a messenger of Satan to buffet Paul and this evil spirit became an unwitting importer of God's grace to him.  God refused to deliver Paul from the troubles he prayed to escape from, and God brought him to a glorious conclusion in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."  Paul wanted God to drive away his tormentor, yet God was gracious to use this infirmity to draw Paul to Himself with love.

God's grace is sufficient, of His fulness we have received, and grace for grace.  May we grow in grace and knowledge of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ.  God's grace is without limit, and since human beings are finite it is clear God has grace we have yet to personally experience.  Brothers and sisters, do you see your need to grow in grace?  Let us receive grace, walk in grace and extend it freely to others.  We cannot earn this privilege:  it is a responsibility and calling for all children of God He enables us to walk and rejoice in.

God's Word Is True

"Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon; and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon." ¹³ So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the people had revenge upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day."

Joshua 10:12-13

Joshua recorded a miraculous and unique incident as God fought for Israel at his request.  Verse 13 says this event was also recorded in a source outside of scripture that exists to this day, the Book of Jasher.  As those who value the word of God, it is important to realise this mention in scripture does not validate a book which has been omitted from biblical canon.  Some have made the mistake for looking for truth outside the Bible in ancient texts that have been permanently disqualified due to errors.  Since the Bible provides a historical record of factual events it is fitting historians such as Josephus and others would confirm and these at best support the authenticity of the Bible--not the other way round.

The Book of Jasher, Josephus and others cannot legitimately add anything to the Bible.  We cannot give any text, historian or pastor the authority of God who divinely inspired the scriptures.  It is also important we do not define apostolic authority as being without error, for not all the writings of Peter, John and Paul have been preserved as the inerrant word of God.  Being an apostle does not make a man infallible, for men are mere men.  There is no man but Jesus Christ who is without fault or error.  Being an ordained minister or pastor is not a call or claim to infallibility but a responsibility shared by all followers of Jesus to humbly serve our infallible, immutable Saviour Jesus Christ.  God on this occasion in Joshua hearkened to the voice of a man, and we should never once listen to the voice of man as God.

There are many who claim to have divine inspiration and revelation, and those who genuinely do at best are only messengers who must remain faithful to what God has already said.  God does not change and His word will not pass away:  there is nothing to be added nor should anything be taken away from it.  The biblical qualification for prophets (forecasters, prognosticators, or whatever title a person claims for themselves to shrug off censure for making false predictions) is that should they be found to speak presumptuously in the name of the LORD God's people are to no longer fear or heed them (Deut. 18:22).  It is not required for you to throw out your copy of the Book of Jasher or prophetic materials which have been found to have flaws, but we should never imagine they speak for God or could add to His word.  They should be handled very cautiously lest we be led astray and consequently lead others astray as well.

When God exposes the folly of a false prophet, it is foolish to trust these blind leaders of the blind which end up in a ditch.  Because there remains a hot market for new revelations these people are enabled to dust themselves off and put together a new book or video series.  Affiliation with a church or association with a ministry in themselves are no qualification for prophetic ministry, for this comes from God alone.  Anyone can claim to speak from God, and those who do will be aligned with what He has said, agree with reality and stand the test of time.  There is room in the kingdom of God for sinners and those who have spoken falsely, yet one who claims to speak for God and is proven wrong is not the one we should continue to heed.

Our Good Father in Heaven

No matter how long we have been believing in Jesus as LORD, we will always remain God's children.  We are called to grow to maturity, of course, but knowledge or experience should never lead to increasing distance from God:  growing in the LORD means we rely on Him more than ever.  We train our children to become independent of our care, and God trains us through countless means to be more dependent on Him.

Jesus acknowledged parents are able to give good gifts to their children in Luke 11:13 to teach that God is able to give infinitely better gifts:  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  There is a biblical connection often made between our asking in faith and God responding.  James explained we often do not have because we do not ask, and also we have not because we ask with selfish motivation.  God is wise to refuse requests which work for our detriment and puffs us up with pride.

Responding to the request of a child for food is one of the many things a parent does for a beloved child.  In fact, parents watch out for the good of their children when they are clueless and place themselves in danger.  I have seen many parents swoop down to catch a child who was happily running into the street or lift them up after a fall.  This week I thought about a little child playing at the beach who never saw the wave that knocked him off his feet.  He went from laughing and playing to suddenly being flipped over with salt water in his mouth and sand in his eyes, his whole world turned upside down in an instant.  His mother or father does not wait for an earnest request for assistance:  before he can cry out his observant parents are already on their feet to quickly pick up their little one and offer words of comfort and consolation.

If we, being careless and forgetful, will lift up our little one who has fallen and is in trouble, won't our omniscient and loving Father in heaven do the same for us when we are cast down?  It is amazing how God uses our fellow believers to do this for us.  It is true that God draws near to those who draw near to Him; it is true God responds to the prayer of faith for comfort in His presence.  Yet let us not imagine God's care is based primarily on our desperate efforts to reach out to Him.  It is God who loves us first and has delivered us from sin and death.  It is God who keeps our feet from stumbling and lifts up those who are cast down.  Praise the LORD for responding to our prayers, and praise God for coming to our aid when we give Him no thought.  The best, caring parents in the world are a fleeting shadow in comparison to our compassionate, patient Father in heaven.

Growing In Grace

How gracious God is to teach us and give us time to grow!  A farmer does not pull or throw out seedlings because they have not yet produced fruit, and God does not expect us to have a biblical perspective from spiritual infancy.  Like a child grows to walk and talk outside the womb, once we are born again God enables us to develop into mature children of God.  It may be a surprisingly quick process to the casual observer, but it still requires time and the wisdom of God to accomplish.

Children have many misconceptions of the world around them due to their naivete, ignorance or from being misinformed.  In a similar way, many Christians can bring misunderstandings into their relationship with God after trusting in Jesus and being born again.  The transformation of a heart justified by faith may be immediate, yet even the most mature believers require a renewing of their minds.  All believers have the potential to lack faith, to forget what God has said and done, and to be slack in seeking God.  Let us also not forget the impact of growth.  As it grows a sapling sends roots down deeper, the trunk grows thicker and the branches grow longer.  Before too long there are new branches and leaves where nothing before grew, and as we grow in grace and knowledge of God a framework of theology is established.

No matter how extensive or "correct" our theology may be, there is also a need for our lives to align with what we say we believe.  Without obedience to God we will not grow or be fruitful as we ought.  Heresy is as deadly to souls as sin, and fallacies potentially sap our fruitfulness.  There are many genuine believers who hold onto misunderstandings which have stunted their growth.  One of these which I encountered recently is the assumption that if Jesus did not say something on a subject, we have "open slather" to do as we please, to fill in the blanks with what seems equitable or fitting for us.  The problem with this perspective is it ignores the fact Jesus is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, the God who existed before He was manifested in human flesh, the same God who has given us 66 books that comprise the scriptures.  Those who hold to this perspective run the risk of invalidating all other scriptures which do speak on the subject because they are not printed with red ink.

We live in a "pick and choose" world where it is natural to choose the news coverage you prefer, to alter recipes, to order from a menu where you are free to choose what you want and refuse what you do not like, to build bespoke homes or vehicles where man's demands are king.  This is not how it works for a child of God, for God is not a doting Father who is at the mercy of the whims and dictates of His children.  God is; God has spoken, and He speaks according to what is written.  He has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ but also as God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The words of Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life are to be heard and heeded, yet let us not forget the rest of the scriptures are also God-breathed.  It takes time to marinate or brine meat, and it takes time for the washing of the water of the word to cleanse us of the many misconceptions and errors we continue to make.  Praise the LORD Jesus is wisdom for us, for the Holy Spirit who fills us, and our heavenly Father who loves us.