Written ~ 12-15-2023
Hebrews 13:20-21
20 “Now may the God of peace—
who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
and ratified an eternal covenant with His blood—
21 may He equip you with all you need
for doing His will.
May He produce in you,
through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to Him.
All glory to Him forever and ever! Amen.”
Our verses for today are the concluding words from the author of the Book of Hebrews. It’s a brief exhortation to remind us of who God is, what Jesus has done for us and what we need to do for Him…
- God is Peace
- God raised Jesus from the dead
- Jesus is the great Shepherd
- Jesus ratified an eternal covenant with His blood
- Jesus equips us
- We do the will of God
- We please the Lord in all we do
- We give glory to God forever
When you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you were given the perfect way to the Father and now as a believer ad follower of Christ you have peace with the Almighty God. In the Book of Romans, Paul talks about having peace with God and also the peace God gives to us…
Romans 2:10, “…there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good…”
Romans 5:1, “…we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
Romans 8:6, “…letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
Romans 15:13, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him.”
Romans 15:33, “And now may God, who gives us His peace, be with you all.”
What Jesus did on the cross, cleared the way for us to stand before God without judgement, we are at peace with the Creator of the Universe.
In God’s infinite power and glory He raised Jesus from the dead, we should never ignore that truth. Let’s take a look at several Scriptures that confirm God raised His Son from the dead…
Acts 2:32, “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.”
Acts 4:10, “Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.”
Acts 5:30, “The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed Him by hanging Him on a cross.”
Romans 1:4, “…and He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 4:24, “…for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
Romans 8:11, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
Romans 10:9, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Galatians 1:1, “This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ Himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.”
1 Thessalonians 1:10, “And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.”
1 Peter 1:3, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation…”
So, why is it important that we understand and believe Christ was raised from the dead? Because of what Romans 10:9 says, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s not enough to believe there is a God, or believe there is a man named Jesus. To believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and that His blood ratified an eternal covenant between us and the Almighty God, that’s what is important. You might be asking what it means to be “ratified,” I had to look it up… Ratified means – Authorized, Confirmed, Finalized, Sealed, it’s a Lasting Mark. When we accepted Jesus, we confirmed a lasting seal and eternal covenant over our lives. Jesus has now become our great Shepherd, He is our protector and He will guard us from any attack of the enemy. Jesus leads us, guides us, equips us in order to live a life pleasing to God. We gain this knowledge by studying God’s word.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says,
16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.”
God uses the Scriptures to prepare us and to equip us to do His will and to help us carry out every good work. That’s why it is so important for us to dive deep into the Word and gain knowledge and wisdom from its pages!
We have the Power of the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit living within us! I think sometimes, especially when things aren’t going so well, we forget the power we have right there within us! Prayer works! Calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ leads to answered prayers! Not only that, the power we have right there within us, helps us do the will of God, it helps us live a life pleasing to Him. We can give glory to God by the way we live because we are tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 13:22a says,
“I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to pay attention to what I have written…”
My prayer is that each of us will pay attention to what the Word of God is saying and allow it to make miraculous changes within us.
~AMEN~