Trusting in God, Not Man (Part 2)

In Part 1, we saw the great truths in Psalm 91 that show God’s great love and protection for the Messiah. Now we will see in Philippians 2 how God kept His promises to Jesus Christ by raising him from the dead and making him lord. And we will see in Ephesians 6 what we have today with Christ in us, the hope of glory. We can trust in our heavenly Father’s unlimited supply, and not in man’s meager attempts at sufficiency.

How God Fulfilled Psalm 91 for Jesus Christ

Our lord and savior was always obedient to his Father. He always did those things that please the Father (John 8:29; 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). Even though God was literally his Father (by divine conception in Mary), and even though he received the spirit without measure when he was about 30 years old (John 4:34; 1:32; Acts 10:38), Jesus Christ did not do things “his own way.”

Philippians 2:6-8 [James Moffatt Translation]:
Though he was divine by nature, he did not set store upon equality with God but emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant; born in human guise and appearing in human form, he humbly stooped in his obedience even to die, and to die upon the cross.

Jesus said in John 5:30, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” With his amazing genetics and spiritual power, Jesus Christ could have done plenty of “great” things. But without doing it God’s way, they would not have been the right thing to do. And Jesus Christ would not have fulfilled God’s will to redeem us. So he took on the burden of paying for mankind’s sins by more than forty hours of horrific torture that culminated in dying upon a cross. That was the greatest and ultimate expression of love by any man.

Philippians 2:9-11:
Therefore God raised him high and conferred on him a Name above all names, so that before the Name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven, on earth, and underneath the earth, and every tongue confess that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord,’ to the glory of God the Father.

There is one person that we can trust. He is the man whom God raised from the dead and is now lord with a name above all names. He has a new body and is seated at the right hand of God. God’s Word tells us that Jesus Christ will be faithful to come back in the future and that he will continue to do the Father’s will. He is the one person we can trust in!

Remember that Psalm 91 said “I will answer his cry and be with him in trouble, delivering him and honouring him; I will satisfy him with long life, and let him see my saving care”? Was about 30 years on earth a “long life” for Jesus Christ? Living a full life does not always mean lots of years. Just look at what Jesus Christ did with his time on earth.

But God, his heavenly Father, DID answer his cry in trouble. Even though Christ died and was buried, God raised him from the dead and honored him. Jesus Christ is now lord. He trusted in the Father to raise him from the dead, just as Jonah had been raised after three days and three nights in the sea creature (Matthew 12:40). Although he spent three days and three nights in the grave, Jesus Christ now lives eternally! That is “long life.”

We too can be obedient to do God’s will as we believe His Word and walk by the spirit He has given us. He will work in us to do His will and to energize us with His power.

Philippians 2:12,13:
Therefore, my beloved, as you have been obedient always and not simply when I was present, so, now that I am absent, work all the more strenuously at your salvation with reverence and trembling, for it is God who in his goodwill enables you to will this and to achieve it.

How God Works in Us Today

With Christ in us, we can do the works our lord did and greater works (John 14:12). When we are strong in the lord, we can stand against the adversary’s stratagems (from the Greek word meaning to plan as a general). The Devil acts like a general to marshal his forces against God and His people. But God has given us the necessary resources to win in this great competition.

Ephesians 6:10-13 [James Moffatt Translation]:
To conclude. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might; put on God’s armour so as to be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil.
For we have to struggle, not with blood and flesh but with the angelic Rulers, the angelic Authorities, the potentates of the dark present, the spirit-forces of evil in the heavenly sphere.
So take God’s armour, that you may be able to make a stand upon the evil day and hold your ground by overcoming all the foe.

We can hold our ground and overcome the adversary and his evil spirits. Although “angelic Rulers, the angelic Authorities, the potentates of the dark present, the spirit-forces of evil in the heavenly sphere” try to harm us, we have a lord who has been given a name above every name. Jesus Christ is lord of all. Through Christ, we have God’s “armour” to overcome the wicked one. I Corinthians 8:6 tells us that “to us there is but one God, the Father, of [out of, the Source] whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by [through, the one who gives us access to the Father] whom are all things, and we by him.

Ephesians 6:14,15:
Hold your ground, tighten the belt of truth about your loins, wear integrity as your coat of mail, and have your feet shod with the stability of the gospel of peace.

When the truth is about our loins, God’s integrity protects us. When we stand on the gospel of peace, the Word of God, we have stability. There is nothing else that gives the sure footing and stability of God and His promises!

Ephesians 6:16,17:
Above all, take faith as your shield, to enable you to quench all the fire-tipped darts flung by the evil one, put on salvation as your helmet, and take the Spirit as your sword (that is, the word of God).

Remember how Psalm 91 said that “You need not fear the terrors of the night, nor arrows flying in the day”? Those “fire-tipped darts flung by the evil one” are quenched by faith. We have the faith of Jesus Christ that gives us direct access to the Father (Romans 5:2; Ephesians 3:12). Just as ancient bowman put pitch on their arrows so that they could impale and then burn up a city, so the Devil puts thoughts into people’s minds that burn there for decades. We can quench these fiery darts as we share God’s Word of deliverance with those who need it.

We take the spirit as our sword, that is, the Word of God. Jesus Christ said “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). With God’s shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the spirit—we can overcome any device of the wicked one.

Prayer is a huge part of what has given us to show our trust in Him.

Ephesians 6:18,19:
Praying at all times in the Spirit with all manner of prayer and entreaty — be alive to that, attend to it unceasingly, interceding on behalf of all the saints and on my behalf also, that I may be allowed to speak and open my lips in order to expound fully and freely that open secret of the gospel for the sake of which I am in custody as its envoy. Pray that I may have freedom to declare it as I should.

We are “alive to” our prayers. What a joy to intercede on behalf of other born-again believers! And we can pray for those ministers who, like the Apostle Paul, make known the mystery, the secret of the gospel that God has now revealed. We pray for freedom in every country to hold forth the word of life (II Thessalonians 3:1). We are thankful for God’s peace and love. And we are especially thankful for those who have an undying love for our lord, Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6:23,24:
Peace and love with faith be to the brothers from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Trusting in God, Not Man

Psalm 91 showed God’s great love and protection for the Messiah. Philippians 2 showed how God kept His promises to Jesus Christ by raising him from the dead and making him lord. And Ephesians 6 shows what we have today with Christ in us, the hope of glory. We truly are more than conquerors in every situation (Romans 8:37) through him that loved us. Let’s give our all for our heavenly Father and for our wonderful lord, Jesus Christ. We can trust in God, not man!