Some who hold to an “error-by-emphasis” concerning grace ignore the fact that Jesus disciplines us and the Father chastens us. Their thinking is, “If Jesus forgave all my sin and I’m not condemned, how could He discipline and chastise me?”

But the Scripture plainly states that He does. Imagine a father who says of his toddler the following:

My daughter will always be my blood-kin. I will always unconditionally accept her and she will always be related to me. I will never disown her, no matter what she does. I’m related to her by blood. That will never change. In fact, I love her so much that she’s already forgiven, despite the wrong things that she will do in life and the mistakes she will make. But when my daughter does something wrong, there are consequences. I discipline her. Why? Because I have a duty to train her to do good and I want her to mend any relationship she damages. It’s the same way with God. He unconditionally accepts us. He is our Father and we are His children. That doesn’t change. In addition, because of Jesus’ shed blood, He has forgiven us long before we ever screwed up. But because He is our Father and He loves us, He will chasten us when repeatedly act contrary to our new nature in Him. And Jesus will discipline us. This isn’t condemnation, it’s loving correction. It may not feel good, but sometimes love doesn’t feel good.

            Point: Just because you and I are forgiven by the blood of Christ for all our sins–past, present, and future–that doesn’t mean there are no consequences to our actions. It doesn’t mean that the Spirit cannot be grieved. It doesn’t mean the Spirit cannot be quenched. And it doesn’t mean that the Lord cannot be displeased with a particular act or attitude we adopt.

God can unconditionally accept us, while disciplining us because we are His much-loved children. Remember, His ultimate goal is to confirm us to the image of Jesus, His Son (Rom. 8:28-29).

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.  Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!  They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:7-11, NIV

From Jesus Now by Frank Viola, author

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith …

Hebrew 12:2 KJV

Beyond being our high priest, chief shepherd, and heavenly bridegroom, another aspect of the present-day ministry of Jesus Christ is His ability to complete what He began in us.

This aspect has to do with spiritual growth and transformation. Not only is Christ in heavenly places interceding for us, but He’s also within every believer by His Spirit, forming His character within each of His disciples.

One of the most incredible promises in all of the Bible is Paul’s statement in Philippians 1:6:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul was confident: What Jesus Christ began in your life will be completed.

Consequently, when you feel discouraged that you’re not growing like you want to … when you feel depressed that you keep having the same struggles and challenges … when you don’t see any progress in your spiritual life, remember: He who brought you to Himself will eventually perfect you. He will complete the work that He began in you, for He is the author and finisher of our faith.

Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life. Consider the word “life.” Just which is “life—“ the beginning or the end of it?

Is life more about the birth, growth, or maturing? We need to decide. I say this with a wink and a smile. We would never say that life is any one of those things. Life is all of them, and every point in between. Life is up and down, backwards and forwards, breathing and holding our breath. Life is about stopping and starting, action and reaction, giving and taking.

Life is! And the same can be said of Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the end. The A to Z. He is the One at the starting point and at the end, at the same moment.  And His life is deposited within every believer when they repent and believe upon Him. But that’s not the end. That life–His life–grows in us and shapes our characters. If we allow it to.

by Frank Viola Author

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The New Testament repeatedly says that since His ascension, Jesus has been sitting at the right hand of God the Father in heavenly realms (Acts 2:33; 5:31; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 1 Pet. 3:22).

The “right hand” is a metaphor that speaks of the authority, power, and universal rule emanating from God’s throne.

Yet when Stephen was being stoned, he peered into the heavens and saw Jesus standing—not sitting—at God’s right hand (Acts 7:55–56). This, to me, indicates that Jesus was cheering for Stephen, awaiting his arrival in heavenly places.

From the book of Revelation, we learn that Jesus also “walks” in the midst of His churches, typified by golden lampstands (Rev. 2:1). So Christ sits, Christ stands, and Christ walks in His present-day ministry.

Interestingly, Paul told us in the book of Ephesians that the Christian sits in heavenly places with Christ (Eph. 1:20; 2:6), walks in the world (Eph. 4:1, 17), and stands against the Enemy (Eph. 6:11, 13). Thus we mirror the same three postures our Lord uses.

Because Jesus is our great high priest, we have a friend in high places. We have connections with the Creator. So we can always come to the throne of grace and pour out our hearts to the Lord, and we will not be turned away.

Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest, a perfect advocate, a perfect intercessor, and a perfect mediator who has given us a perfect covenant with God.

As such, He saves us from the wrath to come. He saves us from guilt and condemnation. He saves us from ourselves. As we saw in Hebrews 7:25, Jesus “saves us to the uttermost” (ESV).

He is also a priest after the order of Melchizedek, which means His priesthood is eternal, universal, and perfect (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5:6–10; 6:20; 7:1–26).

Like Melchizedek, Jesus is both priest and king. He is a mediator who is both God and man, one person in two natures.

Hebrews 13:20 speaks of the eternal covenant. Jesus has no successor as high priest because His once-and-for-all sacrifice obtained eternal redemption for us. In other words, the eternal Son gives us eternal salvation in which we can be secure forever. There’s nothing that can be added to it.

Remember: There’s a throne of grace waiting for you. Consequently, don’t run away from Jesus when you sin. Run to Him.

The Christ we live with daily is a practical high priest! He has invested in us, moment by moment. It’s not about a ritual, or some sort of useless head knowledge that doesn’t effect our everyday lives.  It’s about reality and experience. Because Jesus is your high priest, you cannot lose. Get ahold of these realities and believe them. They will change your life.

by Frank Viola author of Jesus Now.

The following article is an excerpt from the book Jesus Now by Frank Viola Author

Blessing

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life …

This is a great promise. Almost too good to be true. Romans 8:28 contains echoes of it:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (KJV)

No matter what is thrown at you in this life, “surely”—which means “of a certainty”—goodness and lovingkindnness will follow you all the days of your life.

Your shepherd’s love will never leave you. And He will see to it that all things in your life—whether pleasant or unpleasant—will work for your good. I’ll never forget after one particularly dark period in my life. When the smoke cleared, I came out on the other side with a sense that God’s goodness and love had not only followed me, but they hounded me. It was as though I couldn’t escape it even if I wanted to. Like Jonah attempting to sneak away from God’s will, only to find himself being accompanied by the Almighty in the belly of the whale—we often discover that our bleakest hour is lined with God’s companionship. His goodness and mercy hunt and chase us down.

A wonderful promise, indeed, especially during the dark seasons. Our good shepherd will eventually bring beauty out of the chaos.

Interestingly, if sheep are mishandled and poorly managed, as we mentioned earlier, they can destroy a piece of land in no time. On the other hand, if they are managed properly by a good and wise shepherd, they can be some of the most beneficial animals for the land. They can clean up and repair a piece of wrecked turf in a short period of time.

It all depends on the kind of shepherd who is managing the sheep.

So too, those who follow the chief shepherd don’t have goodness and lovingkindness simply coming to them. Rather, goodness and lovingkindness follow them wherever they go, benefitting and blessing others.

Security

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever …

This is where the twenty-third psalm is lifted from being simply a meditation on sheep to a direct commentary on the daily love-life between a believer and their Lord. It is the shepherd’s presence that makes all of things previously listed (green pastures, refreshing waters, anointing oil, etc.) a possibility. That presence isn’t found everywhere. It’s located in one very specific location—His House. In the New Testament we discover that we, collectively as believers, are God’s house. By holding onto Christ, we are transformed from individuals into the solidified household of God. In this Psalm we read a similar reality—that by being in relationship with the chief shepherd, we are brought into connection with His House.

The psalm ends by promising that the presence of the great shepherd will always be with His sheep. The Lord’s sheep will remain in His house forever. Over the years, I’ve had many people express skepticism about the experience of Christian community that I have often described in my earlier books. (See Reimagining Church and From Eternity to Here for details.)

I have a friend who calls my view and practice of church “dormitory-style-Christianity.” This is pretty close to the mark. But keep in mind, if it’s uncomfortable to imagine being in close relationship to believers today, some of us may be disappointed in eternity—as we will dwell in His House, His body, forever. There is an eternal connectedness among those who follow the Lord that extends endlessly in every direction.

This is not only a promise of being part of God’s flock—the ekklesia, His house. But also a promise that His presence will never leave us, in this life or in the life after.

When hard times come our way, the Lord may sometimes appear to have quit His job. But although He may not seem present, our good shepherd is never absent. The guardian of our souls never sleeps. He never forgets to watch over us. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. His ear is always attuned to our cries.

In John 10, Jesus made clear that because we are His sheep, we know His voice. Jesus is not our shepherd because we believe. We believe because He is our shepherd and we are His sheep.

Insofar as we follow the voice of the chief shepherd, we will remain safe, secure, and pleasing to His heart.

There’s a lovely little story about a skydiver who drifted over a hundred miles off course and landed in a dense forest. Strung up in the tree, tangled, and terrified that the night was fast approaching, he began to yell out for help. After a few minutes, a man who was out for a walk chanced upon the skydiver.

“Hello! I need help! Where am I?” called the man in the tree.

“You’re stuck in a tree, with no way out. You’re surrounded by a forest, and it’s getting dark,” the other man replied.

“Of all my luck,” said the skydiver to him, “I get stuck with a minister as a rescuer!”

Hearing this, the passerby wondered aloud how the distressed man knew his occupation as a religious teacher. “Well—I just assumed you must be a minister, as what you’ve said is both utterly true, and absolutely useless in helping me.”

When this story is told to professional ministers, they usually get a chuckle out of it—in part because they can detect the grain of truth it holds. So much of our conversations about spiritual things, while perhaps good and even spot on, are nearly devoid of relevant impact. It’s not only Christianity that gets targeted by this critique—most academic or philosophical movements struggle to reach us where we really live.

One of the greatest concerns I have for the “good news” today is that we often present a gospel that is more “true” than “useful.” This is never more true than when we’re considering the subject and actor of our entire faith: Jesus Christ.

Think about it: The story is familiar to all Christians. The Gospels introduce us to the earthly ministry of Jesus. He was born in Bethlehem. He grew up in the ill-starred town of Nazareth, where He labored as an artisan. Around age thirty He was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, and He began His ministry.

Interestingly, Jesus’ ministry lasted less than four years. He was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem, rose again from the dead three days later, and spent forty days on earth in His resurrected state. He then ascended into heaven, taking His seat at the right hand of God the Father.

In our book Jesus: A Theography, Leonard Sweet and I retold the incredible story of Jesus’ earthly ministry, using all the biblical material from Genesis to Revelation. We also discussed in some detail His preexistent state before creation and His promised second coming at the end of the age.

To my knowledge, few books have been dedicated to exploring the present-day ministry of Jesus. By “present-day ministry,” I’m referring to what Jesus has been doing from His ascension until His second coming.

Herein lies the aim of this book. It’s an exploration into the present-day ministry of Christ. And it seeks to answer the question, what is Jesus Christ doing right now, and how is His present-day ministry useful to me?

As we reflect back on the Lord’s earthly ministry, the following aspects stand out:

He preached the gospel of the kingdom.

He revealed His Father.

He healed the sick.

He performed miracles.

He cast out demons.

He fed the poor.

He befriended sinners.

He rebuked the religious.

He trained and sent disciples.

He went to the cross and dealt with the effects of the fall.

He rose again from the dead, ushering in the new creation and becoming Lord of the world.

The Lord then ascended into heaven to take His place of authority and power. Yet Jesus Christ isn’t sitting at the Father’s right hand passively waiting to return to planet Earth. No, He is still active today. And “the Man in the glory” has a very specific ministry.

Concerning His personality, plan, and purpose, Jesus is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Concerning His ministry, however, it has changed somewhat from “the days of His flesh” (Heb. 5:7).

In this book we will explore the different aspects of the present-day ministry of Christ. We will find out what Jesus is doing now and its relevance to you and me.

Yesterday in Hebrews 13:8 has in view Christ’s ministry before creation as well as His earthly ministry. Today has in view His present-day ministry. Forever has in view His ministry that moves into eternity.

Our focus in this book will be upon Jesus Christ’s ministry today. Or to put it succinctly, Jesus now.

Let’s begin …

From Jesus Now by Frank Viola Author