The doctrine in Hymns – “A Mighty Fortress is our God” (verse 4)
Verse 4, #1 That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
God created the universe from the power of his word from nothing. His Word stands and all that he ordains to occur does occur. While He works his will of decree through the free will of sinful man, He will if necessary overrule the choice of man in order that the plan he has ordained will be accomplished. Nothing physical or spiritual can thwart his purpose. This is a great comfort to all that believe and trust in this truth.
Isaiah 46:8-10 “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, (9) remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, (10) declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
Verse 4, #2 The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
God has given the gift of eternal life to those he has chosen to receive the gifts of grace, faith, and repentance. Through this divine mercy and love God also sends his Spirit to indwell in them. From the indwelling Spirit we receive the fruit of the Spirit that includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We need nothing else on our side.
Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Verse 4, #3 Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
In comparison to faithfully following and loving Christ, the things of this world, a Christian’s own family, and even life itself is counted as nothing. In short, faithfulness to serving Christ comes before possessions, family, and life itself. Paul in Philippians 3:8 said, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Luke 9:61-62 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” (62) Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Verse 4, #4 The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.
Satan and the forces of evil under his control may be allowed to kill our bodies, but God’s truth and his chosen people will be forever secure in His eternal kingdom. Praise God for this truth of comfort and peace. The joy this brings Christians has baffled unbelievers for two thousand years and it continues to do so today.
Romans 8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
2 Peter 1:11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 comments:
This completes the study of the doctrine contained in this great and beautiful hymn by Martin Luther.
While I have heard very little of some of the rock sounding Christian music, It saddens me that hymns like this one is replaced in "contemporary services" by songs that are incoherent and have no message.
Call me a relic, but for me I will take hymns that touch my heart and at times bring tears to my eyes.
Any thoughts?
I like the hymns. In my church when we sing the hymns, it seems to be the loudest.
Some of the contemporary hymns are wonderful. Some of the comtmeporary Choruses are good as well.
Some CCm music and songs today are pitiful. For it seems as though it's "silly love songs", and it's man-centered feel good malarkey.
Thanks Wayne for this last series on Luther magnificient hymn.
Great Post Jazz!
My favorite verse concerning eternal security is
Romans 8:38-39 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is nothing that will seperate us from God! How comforting that is Jazz.
Cristina
I am partial to the hymns because they take make to a depth in theology...
Some CCM is OK, but most seem fraught w/ theological error and meisms.
I have a tangent off of the F-14s in your picture. Have you seen the new F-22 Raptors? They're a little bigger, and of course, there's a lot that is classified, but the unclassified information is pretty cool. Such as, they have incredible maneuverability! They'd be awesome in a dogfight!
Thanks all for the comments....
I am not familiar with the F-22's. With all the computerized stuff they have now they can engage the enemy long before they actually see them visually. Ah for the days of the ole bi-wing dogfights of WWI. It made good movies anyway.
I really liked "The Blue Max". Great flick.
The Blue Angels are awesome, but are they better then the Airforce's Thunderbirds?
Although I was an Air Force pilot, I believe from the performances I saw in the mid-nineties of both, I would have to give the edge to the Angles. They tuck their formations tighter and did a six ship crossover as compared to a four ship by the T-birds.
I can think of nothing in aviation (outer space stuff) that comes close to landing an F-14 on an aircraft carrier at night on rough seas with low ceilings and visibility. Think of shooting a free throw from half court in fog on an aircraft carrier bouncing around on rough seas. Oh and don't be short or you die!
Jazzy, posts like these are why I admire the work that the Lord is doing in you.
May the Lord bless you and yours.
Mark
From a former Marine to an Air Force Pilot, I like your point. However, those are F-18 Hornets not F-14 Tomcats. Since the Angels have Marines in some of the pilot seats, I would have to give the edge to them over the birds.
Mister right,
Thanks. Time has passed me by. Do Marines land on carriers?
Yes they do. Every clime, every place. Marines were using the F-18 for land and naval combat. They Navy converted over from the F-14 to the F-18 later.
Post a Comment