Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
The book of Hebrews has two major themes. One is this: Jesus is better than everything and sufficient for everything. The other theme is this: Followers of Jesus should live in confidence, being full of faith knowing that He is our Help and Hope for everything we need. Jesus has conquered all, promised all, and pledged Himself to give us all the Help and Hope we need. How do we live this way? How do we experience this comprehensive provision in any and every circumstance? The writer concludes with insight: God equips us with everything good to do his will.
The word “equip” is a clue into “how” God transforms us into disciples who wait for his Help and live confidently in his Hope. Equip means teach. Equip means enable in order to experience. Hebrews 4:14-16 explains this equipping process this way:
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The equipping God outfits us with is a confidence that we have been saved by grace alone, we are being kept by grace alone, and in any and every situation we can have confidence that God will continue to deal with us by grace. This is the teaching of the book of Hebrews. This is the teaching of the New Testament. This is the teaching of the gospel.
Are you living today in the confidence that you have “everything you need to do His will” since you have been captured and are being kept by God’s grace?
Bono, of U2 fame, is one of my favorite musicians. But he is quite a theologian as well. This quote from him indicates that he has been “outfitted” with a confidence in God, knowing He was caught and is being kept by grace:
“You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “as you sow, so you will reap” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.” (Bono)
– Mike Hearon (Global Servant Team)
Pray for CO Johannesburg
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Develop our staff for Kingdom leadership opportunities
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Student leaders to multiply their lives on campus
- More ministry support and critical event funding to come from South Africa
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