Join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM for Sunday School and 10:00 AM for worship. CBC Directions.

Central Baptist Church, Okinawa

To Know Christ and Make Him Known

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John 17:6-11

Jesus has just finished praying for himself; that God the Father would
be glorified through his death.  Jesus now turns his attention to his
disciples, and he prays that God would be glorified through them as
well.  In this passage, Jesus says that there are four reasons that he
is praying for them.

First, Jesus prays for the disciples because God the Father gave them
to Jesus.  He will use this precious gift to bring glory to himself
and the Father.  Second, Jesus prays for the disciples because they
know him.  Though the disciples did not perfectly understand
everything that Jesus had ever told them at this point in their lives,
they did understand that he was God and man, and that he would save
them.  Third, Jesus prays for the disciples because he loved them very
much.  It is true that Jesus loves all people, but the love that he
has for his own is a special love.  Fourth, Jesus prays for his
disciples because he is about to leave them.  They will have to face
temptations and hostility without his physical presence.

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John 17:1-5

Chapter 17 records Jesus’ farewell prayer.  This prayer embraces every
aspect of his mission, and it begins with an request that God be
glorified in his death and resurrection.

God the Son had perfect and complete glory before the world began.  He
has always lived in unapproachable light, and has always been
perfectly honorable (1 Tim 6:16).  When God the Son became man, he
remained perfectly glorious in himself, but he veiled that glory in
human flesh, so that he appeared to be a man like any other.  At
times, however, Jesus’ inward glory would peek through, such as the
time on the mountain when “his face shone like the sun, and his
clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17:2).  Jesus is praying that
he would once again be clothed in splendor, such as he was before the
world began.

There is a sense in which Jesus’ inward glory can be seen on the
cross.  Though he did not shine with light, he did display God’s glory
to the world as he died for our sins.  In the cross, God the Father is
glorified through God the Son.

The glory of God in the cross of Jesus Christ is made clear whenever
someone believes in Jesus.  As Jesus seeks and saves those sheep that
the Father has given to him, he brings glory to God.  We should praise
him for redeeming us.

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John 16:16-24

These verses refer to Jesus’ coming departure from the world by way of
the cross.  The cross had two effects on two kinds of people in Jesus’
day.  For the disciples, and other believers at that time as well, it
was a time of great sorrow.  For those who hated God, Jesus death was
an occasion for great happiness. Yet, Jesus tells his disciples that
their pain would only be temporary. He would be raised from the dead,
and their sorrow would turn to joy.  During this age, we should have
joy and comfort in knowing that Christ loved us so much that he died
for us.  Jesus encourages us to pray in this new age of joy.  He will
answer our prayers when we pray for the things that we need in order
to accomplish the tasks he has called us to do.

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John 16:12-14

Baptized and Filled with the Holy Spirit

There is a great deal of confusion in the Christian Church regarding
what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and filled with the
Holy Spirit.

The New Testament mentions being baptized with the Holy Spirit seven
times.  The most important reference may be found in 1 Corinthians
12:13.  In this verse we see that all Christians have unity with one
another because of they are all united with Jesus Christ, and we see
that union with Christ involves being baptized with the Holy Spirit.
So, we may safely conclude that everyone who is a genuine believer has
been baptized with the Holy Spirit at the moment they first believed.
Every Christian has the Holy Spirit working in them.

The New Testament mentions being filled with the Holy Spirit fourteen
times.  In these verses we see that the result of being filled with
the Spirit is that a person tells others about Jesus Christ and
demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit.  Being filled with the Spirit
does not mean that a person speaks in tongues.

Contact

904-0316 Okinawa-ken, Nakagami-gun, Yomitan-son, Ōki, 327−3
098-989-8811
Sunday School: 9:00 AM
Worship: 10:00 AM
Tuesday English Class: 10:00 AM

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