Holy Spirit’s three-fold ministry. P.5 Living-Loved. P.11 Perfect timing. P

MCI (P) 066/05/2018

A Magazine Of Christian Understanding

Jul - Sep 2018

Holy Spirit¡¯s three-fold

ministry. P.5

Living-Loved. P.11

Perfect timing. P.17

Frepey!

Co

PP 12578/03/2013 (032108)

Editorial

Jesus¡¯ Ascension ¨C

How significant is it?

J

esus¡¯ birth, death and resurrection are widely

celebrated events, especially during Christmas,

Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

How about his ascension ¨C the event that occurred 40

days after his resurrection? Is this event significant, and

if so, how?

?

Paul ascribed glory to Jesus: ¡°To the King eternal,

immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and

glory for ever and ever. Amen.¡±6

Ascension Day this year falls on Thursday, 10th May. It

marks Jesus¡¯ ascension to heaven and his glorification/

coronation as King of kings and Lord of lords.

?

Angels ascribed glory to Jesus: ¡°Worthy is the

Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and

praise!...To him who sits on the throne and to the

Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power,

for ever and ever!... The four living creatures said,

Amen, and the elders fell down and worshiped.¡±7

Let¡¯s quickly review some of Jesus¡¯ final words to his

disciples before his death and after his resurrection.

Jesus¡¯ final words

Before his death, Jesus told his disciples that he would

?

return to his Father

?

rise from the grave on the third

day

?

prepare a place for them and

come and take them with him

?

send them the Holy Spirit

He also prayed to his Father asking

him to restore the glory that he had

before - before he took on human

form.

After his resurrection, Jesus also

told them certain things:

?

To Mary Magdalene: ¡°¡­I am

ascending to my Father and

your Father, to my God and

your God.¡±

?

To his disciples:

¡°All authority in heaven and on

earth has been given to me¡­go

and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the

Holy Spirit, and teaching them to

obey everything I have commanded

you¡­I am with you always, to the very end of the age.¡±

1

¡°I will send you the Holy Spirit that will give you power

to carry out my mission.¡± 2

As he was taken up into the clouds, two angels told

them that he [Jesus] would come back in like manner. 3

Jesus is exalted

At his ascension into heaven, God the Father exalted

Jesus above all created order:

Jesus is crowned King of kings and Lord of lords.4

He is exalted over all names such that every knee

2

should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the

earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord, to the glory of God the Father.5

The Plain Truth

by

Dr. P. Sellappan

Is Jesus¡¯ ascension significant?

Absolutely! Let¡¯s see why.

As Son of God, Jesus shared

power, glory, honour, riches and

wisdom with God the Father and

God the Holy Spirit. But as son

of man (i.e. when he assumed

humanity), Jesus did not have these

¨C certainly not to the full measure.

(Remember, Jesus emptied himself

and became as nothing.8 ) That¡¯s

why Jesus prayed to his Father

asking him to restore the glory

that he previously had.

At Jesus¡¯ ascension into heaven,

God the Father exalted him and

restored all that he shared with

God before. It is important to note

that Jesus now received all these as

a human being, as son of man, not

merely as Son of God. That means

there is a now a perfect human

being in heaven with all power

and dominion over all creation.

This fits the verse, ¡°What is man

that you are mindful of him¡­For

you have made him a little lower

than the angels, and you have

crowned him with glory and honour. You have made

him to have dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet¡­¡±9

Is the risen, ascended Jesus crucial to our salvation?

Absolutely! It is Jesus¡¯ perfect humanity that unites us

with God and gives us the privilege to participate in his

glorious life. God calls each of us to uniquely participate

in his ascended life. We are saved to participate in Jesus¡¯

glorified humanity.

Jesus is our perfect human representative seated at

the right hand of God (signifying an exalted position).

And because we are in him, we too are seated at the

right hand of God.10

Continued on page 7

Contents

A Magazine Of Christian Understanding

11

5

Issue No. 11

Volume No. 25

Jul - Sep 2018

PP 12578/03/2013 (032108)

Editor

Dr. P. Sellappan

Managing Editor

Low Mong Chai

Co-ordinator

Susan Low

Editorial & Advisory Committee

Alyson Sousa

Devaraj Ramoo

Teo Kah Ping

14

cover story

5

Design

Ravi K Alamothu

Malaysia

Office Address:

Postal Address:

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41050 Klang, Selangor

Website: gci¨

Email: ptasiamy@

40800 Shah Alam.

Singapore

Jurong Point Post Office, P.O. Box 054, Singapore 916402

The Plain Truth is published four times a year as funds allow, and is

sponsored by Grace Communion International, which is a member of

the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia. It follows

a non-denominational editorial policy and provides a message of

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- For Non-Muslims Only DONATIONS: Although we do not put any subscription price for

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Cheques should be made payable to ¡®The Plain Truth¡¯ and mailed to

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ISSN 1675-3100. Copyright Grace Communion International, 2018.

Holy Spirit¡¯s three-fold ministry.

Holy Spirit is Counsellor, Witness and Teacher.

articles

08

09

Wong Mein Kong

Wong Teck Kong

18

16

10

Becoming a disciple of Christ.

Jesus¡¯s call: Follow me.

Seeing in color.

See God as he really is.

While we wait.

Do his will.

11

Living-Loved.

12

Three unbreakable unions.

14

The triune God of love and power.

16

The first shall be last and the last shall be first.

17

Perfect timing.

18

Trusting God in the storms.

20

Belong, believe, become.

22

God never stops loving us.

Guarantee our salvation.

God¡¯s love undergirds all scripture.

Realize our need for God.

God¡¯s timing is perfect.

God is our anchor at all times.

God¡¯s formula for discipleship.

Know your limits.

Our life has boundaries.

regular features

2

4

23

Editorial

What our readers say

Hmm¡­

Something to think about.

July - September 2018

3

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Cover story

The Holy Spirit¡¯s

Three-Fold Ministry

O

n the Day of Pentecost we celebrate the

outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In this article, we¡¯ll look back to what Jesus said

to his disciples about the Holy Spirit on the night before

our Lord went to the cross. Jesus told his followers

about the Spirit¡¯s three-fold ministry as their Counselor,

Witness and Teacher. What he said was vital then, and

it¡¯s still important today for our encouragement and

instruction. Let¡¯s listen and learn.

¡°May the words of my mouth, and the meditation

of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my

strength, and my redeemer.¡±1

1. The Spirit as Counselor

On the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said

this to his disciples:

¡°If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me

first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as

its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I

have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world

hates you. Remember what I told you: ¡°A servant is not

greater than his master.¡± If they persecuted me, they

will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching,

they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way

because of my name, for they do not know the one

who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them,

they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no

excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father

as well. If I had not done among them the works no

one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is,

they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and

by

Ted Johnston

my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their

Law: They hated me without reason.

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to

you from the Father¡ªthe Spirit of truth who goes

out from the Father¡ªhe will testify about me. And

you also must testify, for you have been with me

from the beginning.

All this I have told you so that you will not fall

away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in

fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you

will think they are offering a service to God. They

will do such things because they have not known

the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when

their time comes you will remember that I warned

you about them. I did not tell you this from the

beginning because I was with you¡­.¡±2

Jesus pulls no punches in telling his followers

that their situation in ¡°the world¡± (mankind¡¯s

system, cut off from God) will be dangerous.

Opposition will increase¡ªmoving from hatred,3

to persecution,4 to excommunication, and even to

death.5 These stages are seen in the early church¡¯s

history described in Acts. But why does the world,

including the religious world, hate Jesus¡¯ followers?

Our Lord gives four reasons:

1.

That we are identified with him.6

2.

That we do not belong to the world.7

3.

That the world is spiritually ignorant and

blind.8

July - September 2018

5

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