“What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”
Jesus brought about a new focus. On truth. Once we know truth, which we ultimately know through Jesus, the way of Jesus uses that truth as a measure against our lives, requiring us to live according to that truth. It is all received by the gracious giving of Jesus and those who rightly serve Jesus. Along with the command to love each other, speaking truth to each other, there is a command throughout Jesus’ teachings to live in accordance with truth. It all leads to a neatly structured and sustainable life. A building built at a true vertical at a right angle to the ground has a better structure for lasting long. Walls at true right angles to each other fit together for a better harmony with adjacent rooms and buildings. So too, Jesus’ commands keep our lives in order, sustainably. They ready us for eternal living and make us worthy of it if we keep and conform to Jesus’ teachings in our lives. The foolish lives we lived in opposition to this way or in ignorance of it, Jesus paid the penalty we owed for this by that awful crucifixion. Now we find God to be fully in support of this way of Jesus because God the Father raised His much loved son from the dead. So Jesus lives as architect to make sure we build our lives correctly in conformity to this wise way of living. The Holy Spirit brings to bear on our lives this governing work of the Lord Jesus Christ. God blesses those who live this way and encourage others to do so.
