My goal in this series is our greater joy in Jesus, even in complex struggles intellectually, emotionally, relationally, etc.  So, each time I will offer a buffet on 8 ‘P’s of good news.  Chew and savor whatever helps your joy in Jesus.  “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (Isaiah 55:1) 

Again, the center of the good news is the fifth “P” of the gospel: the Purpose of
Christ, communing with Him and His people. If you missed that video or want to see it again, you can review this key truth for yourself below.

It’s essential that we see how and why all of the other “P”s revolve around this one.  The 2nd part of Christ’s purpose is seen in the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread: “Follow Me”.  Last time we saw that the first aspect of walking with God and His people is resting in Christ, but that doesn’t mean doing nothing. It means all that God calls His people to do is eternally secure through Jesus’ paying for it in our stead. Remember, His paradigm of Life is like a sport, musical score, or highway. Resting in Christ’s work means knowing God owns the team, band, or raceway, but we’ve disrespected Him, tried to overthrow Him, and made Him our rightful enemy. Yet, He sent us 66 love
letters (the Bible) that tell the unfolding story of His love that sent His Son – and His Son gladly came – to fully pay for our crimes and the price to adopt us as His own and the price of all expenses to play on His team with Him and the rest of His family – all at the cost of Jesus’ life. His perfect payment is
to be our rest, even though we don’t deserve it, will daily fall short, and can never earn it. The second aspect of His purpose is following His lead. Just to be clear – following Him doesn’t make us God’s children – Jesus’ payment for our adoption does. But we can’t claim to be family if we think “rest” is doing nothing or whatever we want with Him and His stuff.  God’s family follows Him.  Again, see for yourself how Christ is pictured in Israel’s celebration of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The 2nd part of Christ’s Purpose – following Him – also has many practical and specific joys.  Lauren and I discuss some of these in the following brief video, especially the mystery of God’s grace and our responsibility.

In all the “P”s we’ve addressed so far – Christ’s presence, plain-speaking, protection, provision, and rest in Him as the first aspect of His purpose – we’ve emphasized that He does 100% of those saving works. And throughout the 8 “P”s of the gospel this continues to be the case: Christ is the one who saves completely, and we cannot add to His work or take away from His work. His death on the cross is completely sufficient and effective to rescue His people. His call to follow Him, therefore, does not effect (i.e., “cause” or “lead to”) our re-creation by God. It reflects our re-creation by God.

Following Him is experiential confirmation to us and others watching that He has made us new. As the fulfillment of our Passover Lamb and Bread of Life, His death in our place and resurrection for our Life satisfies God’s “hunger” for both grace and purity. (John 6:28-60 & 1 Corinthians 5:7-8) This is why the Lord’s Supper emphasizes both our forgiveness and our obedience. (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

If you’d like to know more about who publishes the articles, videos, and other materials on tools4trenches, you can click on the picture of me and my wife.