Question. What's happened "daily bread", for whose daily alms we are taught to pray?
Answer. When a worker remembers the words of the Lord, Who says: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink.”(Matt. 6:25), and the words of the Apostle, who commands to do, “so that there is something to give to those in need”(Eph.4:28), he works not for his own needs, but for the sake of the Lord’s commandment (because "The worker deserves food"(Matt. 10:10): then he does not provide his daily bread, that is, what contributes to our nature for the daily sustenance of life, but asks it from God, and having revealed to Him the necessity of need, he thus partakes of what is given to him by those who , after testing, was assigned to do what was said every day: “everyone was given whatever they needed”(Acts 4:35)
The rules are summarized in the questions and answers.
St. John Chrysostom
give us this day our daily bread
What's happened " daily bread"? Everyday. Since Christ said: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”(Matthew 6:10), and He talked with people clothed in flesh, who are subject to the necessary laws of nature, and cannot have angelic dispassion, then, although He commands us to fulfill the commandments in the same way as the angels fulfill them, yet He condescends to weakness nature, and, as it were, says: I demand from you the strictness of life equal to the angels, however, without demanding dispassion, since your nature, which has a necessary need for food, does not allow it. Look, however, how there is a lot of spirituality in the physical! The Savior commanded us to pray not for wealth, not for pleasures, not for valuable clothes, not for anything else like that, but only for bread, and, moreover, for everyday bread, so that we would not worry about tomorrow, which is why he added: “ daily bread", i.e. everyday. He was not even satisfied with this word, but then added another: “ give us this day“so that we do not overwhelm ourselves with worries about the coming day. In fact, if you don’t know whether you will see tomorrow, then why bother yourself with worrying about it? The Savior commanded this and then later in His sermon: "don't worry", speaks, "about tomorrow"(Matt. 6:34) . He wants us to always be girded and inspired by faith, and to yield no more to nature than necessary needs require of us.
Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew.
Since He mentioned the earth, and the creatures that came from it and live on it and are clothed with an earthly body need appropriate food, then He necessarily added: “Give us this day our daily bread”. He commanded to ask for bread "urgent", not for gluttony, but for food that replenishes what is spent in the body and averts death from hunger - not luxurious tables, not various dishes, the works of cooks, the inventions of bakers, delicious wines and other things of the like that delight the tongue, but burden the stomach, darkens the mind, helps the body to rebel against the soul and makes this foal disobedient to the driver. This is not what the commandment asks or teaches us, but "daily bread", i.e., a body that turns into a being and can support it. Moreover, we are commanded to ask for it not for a great number of years, but for as long as we need for the present day.
"Don't worry, said the Lord, about tomorrow"(Matt. 6:34) . And why should one care about tomorrow, Who, perhaps, will not see tomorrow, who undertakes labor and does not reap the fruit? Trust in God, who "provides food for all flesh"(Ps. 136:25) . The One who gave you a body, breathed in a soul, made you a rational animal and prepared all the good things for you before he created you, how will he despise you created if “He makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.”(Matt. 5:45) ? So, trusting in Him, ask for food only for the present day, and leave your concern for tomorrow to Him, as blessed David says: “Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you”(Ps. 54:23) .
About life according to God and the words: “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way...”, etc. and an explanation of the prayer “Our Father.”
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
give us this day our daily bread
Our common bread is not our daily bread. This Holy Bread is our daily bread: instead of saying, it is provided for the essence of the soul. This bread is not "the womb enters", A "comes from the aphedron"(Matthew 15:17), but your entire composition is divided for the benefit of body and soul. And the word "today" it says instead of “all day,” just as Paul said: “dondezhe, today, denounced”(Hebrews 3:13)
Secret teachings. Lesson 5.
St. Tikhon Zadonsky
give us this day our daily bread
1) Daily bread, according to the understanding of St. John Chrysostom, means everyday bread.
2) Here we mean not only bread, but also everything necessary for this temporary life, for example, drink, clothing, rest, home, etc., as some interpret.
3) We do not ask for wealth, but we ask for what is necessary to support this life. It is commanded to pray not for money, not for luxury, nor for valuable clothing, nor for anything similar, but only for bread, and for everyday bread, so that one does not worry about the morning, says Saint Chrysostom.
4) It follows that a Christian should not care about wealth, valuable clothing, rich houses, rich food and so on and so forth. For a Christian must always be ready for the Lord to call him, and then he will be forced to leave all this. The Lord calls everyone to Himself through death. He wants, says St. John Chrysostom, for us to always be ready and be content with what our nature needs.
5) When we pray: "give us bread", we confess that we are beggars, wretched and needy, and therefore we must ask God for everything, and whatever we have, we must attribute to His goodness, as the Psalmist sings: “The eyes of all trust in You, and You give them their food in due season; You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with Your good pleasure.”(Ps. 145:15–16)
6) When we say: "Give us our bread", then we show that we ask not only for our own food, but also for others, out of Christian love. For Christian love requires that we take care not only of ourselves, but also of our neighbors.
7) It is known that God, since He is Generous, gives temporary blessings not only to Christians, but also to those who do not know Him. But Christians must ask Him with all their faith, like sons from a father, and thereby show that everything they have necessary for life - God's good, and so, accepting a benefit, thank the Benefactor.
About true Christianity. Book II.
St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
give us this day our daily bread
We are not talking about food that perishes here! “Don’t worry about anyone who says that there are pits, or what we drink, or what we wear.”(Matt. 6:31); it speaks of food that gives eternal life and abides forever, about new food that was given to people by the Son of God incarnate, about the bread of life that came down from heaven, about the bread of God, which is able to satisfy and give eternal life to the whole world (John 6:27, Word "urgent" means that this bread is superior in quality to everything existing. His greatness and holiness are infinite, incomprehensible; the sanctification and dignity brought by eating it are immense and inexplicable. The bread given by the Son of God is His all-holy flesh, which He gave for "belly of the world"(John 6:51) . “Give us our daily bread every day”. Combined with the petition is a commandment that imposes on Christians the obligation, now so lost, of daily communion with the Holy Mysteries. "Having said "every day" The Lord expressed by this that without this bread we are unable to spend a single day in spiritual life. Having said "today", expressed by this that it must be eaten daily, that teaching it on the previous day is not enough if it is not taught to us again on the current day. The daily need for it requires that we make this petition more frequent and bring it at all times: there is no day on which it would not be necessary for us to strengthen the heart of our inner man by using and communing it.” This explanation of daily bread does not make it at all strange to read the Lord’s Prayer before the meal, according to the monastic rules: material bread serves as an image of bread, descended from heaven.
Ascetic sermon.
Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage
give us this day our daily bread
This can be understood both in a spiritual and in a simple sense, because both understandings, by Divine gift, [equally] favor salvation. Christ is bread of life, and this one bread not everyone, but only our. As we say: Our Father(see Matt. 6:9), because [God] is the Father of those who know Him and believe, so we call Christ our bread, because He is bread those who touch His Body. And we ask daily that this bread be given to us, and that we, abiding in Christ and daily receiving His Eucharist as food of salvation, being, due to some grave sin, excommunicated from communion and deprived of heavenly bread, are not separated from the Body of Christ, since the Lord Himself preaches and says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world(John 6:51) .
About the Lord's Prayer.
St. Isidore Pelusiot
give us this day our daily bread
The prayer that the Lord taught His disciples does not contain anything earthly, but everything heavenly and related to the benefit of the soul. For it teaches us to ask for neither superiority, nor wealth, nor beauty, nor strength, nor anything that quickly fades, from which, when it exists, we are commanded to abstain, and asking for pleasure, when it is not there, is an unnecessary matter.
Even what in it seems unimportant and sensual, in the opinion of wise men, is said more about the Word of God, which nourishes the disembodied soul and in some way enters its essence and unites with it. That's why it's called our daily bread, since the name “essence” is more appropriate for the soul than for the body. If this is also said about daily bread, commensurate with the needs of the body, then when consumed in this way, it becomes spiritual, for not demanding anything other than bread will be a sign of spiritual, bright and wise understanding. So, let us ask for what we have been taught, and not for what easily disappears. For it would be disastrous and would mean great foolishness to ask for what, even if we have it, we are commanded to give up.
Letters. Book II.
St. Maxim the Confessor
give us this day our daily bread
In a word " today”, as I think, means the present century. Or, to interpret this passage of the Prayer more clearly, we can say: our bread, which You prepared in the beginning for the immortality of [human] nature, give us today, in a real mortal life, so that eating the bread of life and knowledge will overcome sinful death - that bread, the communion of which was deprived by the crime of the Divine commandment by the first person. After all, if he had been satisfied with this Divine food, he would not have been taken captive by the death of sin.
However, the one who prays to receive this daily bread does not receive it entirely as it is, but receives only as much as the recipient himself can [perceive it]. For the Bread of Life, as a Lover of Mankind, although He gives Himself to all who ask, does not give Himself equally to everyone: to those who have done great deeds He gives more, but to those who have done [acts] lesser He gives less, that is, He gives to everyone as much as he can accept his spiritual dignity.
The Savior Himself led me to such an understanding of the present saying [of the Prayer], commanding [His] disciples not to worry at all about sensual food, saying to them: Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will wear.(Matt. 6:25) because all this is what the people of this world are looking for(Luke 12:30) [and you] seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you(Matt. 6:33) . How does [the Lord] teach in Prayer not to seek what He [Himself] previously commanded? - It is clear that in Prayer He did not order to ask for what He did not command in His commandment, for in Prayer we must ask for what we should seek according to the commandment. And what [the Lord] does not allow us to seek is unlawful to pray for. If the Savior commanded to seek one Kingdom of God and truth, then He encouraged those seeking Divine gifts to ask for the same thing in Prayer, so that, through this Prayer, having confirmed the grace of those sought by nature [goods], to unite and identify through relative unity the will of those asking with the desire of the Giver of grace .
If Prayer commands us to ask for that everyday bread that naturally supports our present life, then this is so that we do not go beyond the boundaries of Prayer, covering whole periods of years in thought, and do not forget that we are mortal and have [here] life, similar to a passing shadow, but so that, without being burdened with unnecessary worries, they ask in Prayer for bread for the day. And let us show that we wisely, according to Christ, transform [our earthly] life into a meditation on death, by our own will forestalling nature and, before death, cutting off the care of the body from the soul, so that it does not cleave to the corruptible and does not pervert [by attraction ] to the matter of natural use of [one’s] desire [for God], becoming accustomed to covetousness, which deprives the wealth of Divine blessings.
So, let us avoid, as far as possible, love for matter and wash away, like dust, from [our] mental eyes the very connection with it; Let us be content only with what supports our life, and not with what gives it pleasure. Let us pray to God, as we have learned, so that our soul does not fall into slavery and not, for the sake of the body, fall under the yoke of visible [things]. Then it will be clear that we eat in order to live, and do not live in order to eat, since the first is characteristic of rational nature, and the second - of irrational nature. Let us be strict guardians of this Prayer, showing by our very deeds that we firmly adhere to one and only life - life in the Spirit, and to acquire it we use [our entire] real life. Let us prove in practice that for the sake of spiritual life we only endure this [mortal life], supporting it with one bread and preserving, as far as possible, in healthy condition only so that we not [just] live, but live for God, making the body, inspired by virtues, the messenger of the soul, and the soul, distinguished by constancy in goodness, making it a preacher of God. And we will naturally limit this bread to [the needs of] one day, not daring to extend requests for it to another day out of [obedience] to the One who granted this Prayer. Therefore, having actively adjusted ourselves in accordance with the meaning of the Prayer, let us proceed in purity to the rest of the sayings.
Interpretation of the Lord's Prayer.
Right John of Kronstadt
This petition means that we should not worry too much about the means of life, and if God has given these means for today, then thank Him and continue to hope in Him, in His Providence; not to be stingy, not to tremble, as they say, over everything, especially when guests or beggars and strangers come, but to receive them with good will and simplicity of heart, treat them or give them alms. The basis for this: God did not leave me with the means of life at all previous times, but gave them in abundance; will not, therefore, be left for the future.
Diary. Volume III. 1859-1860.
Give us our daily bread today- only today (today). It takes a little sense to understand this. Everyone sees how little a person needs to maintain his bodily life. And fire, cramped conditions, extreme torment and some kind of disappearance from the desire for silver and from avarice, don’t they tell us too clearly that in the hunger for silver there is death, and not life... These words mean, by the way: only the necessary book, the Bible and the Gospel, grant us like bread for the soul, but we do not seek or require many books. Grant us to read this book of books more often and understand it properly and apply its holy word to our hearts like bread, strengthening our hearts with it.
Diary. Volume V
Blzh. Hieronymus of Stridonsky
Art. 11-13 Give us daily the bread we need for subsistence. And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil
What we put into words necessary for existence(supersubstantialem), in Greek expressed by the word έπιούσιον, is a word that the Seventy very often translates with the word περιούσιον, that is, abundant, excellent. Therefore we turned to the Hebrew language, and where they translated περιούσιον, we found sgolla (םגןלה), which Symmachus translated with the word έξαίρετον, i.e. “special” or: “excellent,” although in one place he also translated with the word “ special, one's own." So, when we ask God to give us special, special bread, we ask the One who says: (John 6:51) . In the Gospel, which is called “from the Hebrews,” instead of the bread necessary for subsistence, there is the word mahar (םהד), which means “tomorrow”; so the meaning is: “Give us today our bread for tomorrow,” i.e., “future.” By the word supersubstantialem we can also understand something else, namely bread, which stands above all essences and surpasses all creatures. Others - based on the words of the apostle: Having food and clothing, we will be content(1 Tim. 6:8) - they simply understand that the saints should only care about daily bread. Therefore, in the further words of [the Savior] it is commanded: Don't worry about tomorrow(Matt. 6:34) .
Amen
This is like a seal in confirmation of the Lord's prayer; Aquila translates: “undoubtedly true” (fideliter); we can translate: “truly” (vere).
Blzh. Theophylact of Bulgaria
give us this day our daily bread
Under " urgent“The Lord understands that bread that is sufficient for our nature and condition, but He eliminates concern for tomorrow. And the Body of Christ is daily bread, for whose uncondemned sacrament we must pray.
Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.
Evfimy Zigaben
give us this day our daily bread
Knowing that angelic nature does not need food, but human nature does need it, he commanded to ask for what is a necessity of nature. Our bread said, i.e. existing for our sake; A urgent called it as necessary for the being, existence and maintenance of the body. Or according to Chrysostom: urgent, i.e. daily. I also added today, distracting us from caring about the future time, because he wants believers in their prayers to ask for one bread, and only for today, and not worry about the coming day, since we do not yet know whether we will even live on that day. Therefore, it is unnecessary to worry about that day, regarding which we do not know whether we will travel the distance to it. Later He commands this in greater detail, saying: don't worry about it in the morning(Matthew 6:34) In this way, we will always be ready, yielding a little to natural necessity, and devoting everything else to spiritual work. It is fair to ask for bread for the soul, because it also needs daily bread, i.e. in enlightenment from above and delivery of Divine knowledge.
Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.
Origen
give us this day our daily bread
Following the Teacher Himself, Who teaches about bread, we will present this issue in more detail. He says in the Gospel of John to those who came to Capernaum to look for Him: Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw miracles, but because you ate bread and were filled(John 6:12) . For he who has tasted of the loaves blessed by Jesus and is filled with them earnestly seeks to more accurately comprehend the Son of God and hurries to Him. Therefore He gives a wonderful command, saying: Do not strive for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.(John 6:27) . When those who heard these words asked: What should we do to do the works of God?(John 6:28) Jesus responded by saying to them: This is God's work, that you believe in Him Whom He sent(John 6:29) . God, as it is written in the psalms, sent His Word and healed them(Ps. 106:20), that is, those who are sick. With this Word believers create works of God, that are food that endures to eternal life. And He says: My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world(John 6:32-33) . True bread there is one who nourishes the created in the image of God(Gen. 1:27) true man, who, being imbued with it, becomes [created] and in the likeness(Gen. 1:26) Creator.
About prayer.
Stephen of Thebaid
give us this day our daily bread
And it is also written: I am the living bread that came down from heaven(John 6:51). And further: And the bread that I give you is My flesh, which [I give] for the life of the world(John 6:51). [Therefore the saying] give us this day our daily bread implies [giving us] His Body, His Word and His Commandments.
Ascetic word.
Ep. Mikhail (Luzin)
give us this day our daily bread
Urgent. Daily (cf. James 2:15), or necessary for the maintenance of our being (Prov. 30:8). Our being is twofold - bodily and spiritual, and our food is twofold - bodily and spiritual; spiritual food is the word of God (John 5:24), the Holy Sacraments of the Church and especially the Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ (John 6:35).
To this day. One must ask God for this only for the present day, without further concern for the future, since excessive care is contrary to trust in God (cf. below v. 34).
The Explanatory Gospel.
Lopukhin A.P.
give us this day our daily bread
Literally - give us our daily bread today(glory. today; Vulg. hodie). The word “bread” is completely similar to what is used in our Russian expressions: “earn your bread by labor,” “work for a piece of bread,” etc., i.e. here bread should be understood as a general condition for life, food, a certain well-being, etc. IN holy scripture“bread” is often used in its own sense (cibus, and farina cum aqua permixta compactus atque coctus - Grimm), but it also means in general all food necessary for human existence, and not only bodily, but also spiritual (cf. John 6 chapter - about the bread of heaven). Commentators do not pay any attention to the word “ our" This is, let’s say, a trifle, but in the Gospel, even the little things are important. At first glance, it seems not entirely clear why we need to ask God for bread when this bread “ our", i.e. already belongs to us. The word “our” seems to be superfluous; one could simply say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” An explanation will be given below. “Essential” (επιούσιος) is explained differently and is one of the most difficult. The word is found only here and also in Luke. 11:3. It has not yet been found anywhere in the Old Testament and classical Greek literature. Explaining it “was torture for theologians and grammarians” (carnificina theologorum et grammaticorum). One writer says that “wanting to achieve something precise here is like hammering a nail in with a sponge” (σπογγῳ πάτταλον κρούειν). They tried to avoid difficulties by pointing out that this was a copyist’s mistake, that in the original it was originally τον άρτον επί ούσίαν, i.e. bread for our existence. The scribe mistakenly doubled τον in the word άρτον and, in accordance with this, changed επιουσιαν into επιουσιον. This is how the Gospel expression was formed: τοναρτοντονεπιουσιον. To this, without going into details, we will say that the word ημών (τον άρτον ημών τον επιουσιον) completely prevents such an interpretation; in addition, in Lk. 11:3 undoubtedly stands επιουσιον - as in Matthew. Therefore, the interpretation in question is now completely abandoned. Of the existing and accepted interpretations by the latest scientists, three can be noted.
1. The word “urgent” is derived from the Greek. prepositions επί (on) and ουσία (sic) from είναι, to be. This interpretation has the authority of ancient church writers, and precisely those who wrote in Greek, between them Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, Basil the Great, Theophylact, Euthymius Zigaben and others. If the word is understood this way, then it will mean: “give us today the bread necessary for our existence, necessary for us.” This interpretation is obviously accepted in our Slavic and Russian Bibles. It is objected to that if the word επιούσιος is not found anywhere except the Lord’s Prayer, then, however, επεστι and others are found, a word composed of the same preposition and verb, but with the omission of ι. Therefore, if the Gospel spoke specifically about “daily bread,” it would say not επιούσιος, but έπούσιος. Further, ουσία in popular usage meant property, state, and if Christ had used ουσία in exactly this sense, then it would not only be “purposeless” (Wiener-Schmiedel), but would also have no meaning; if He used it in the sense of being (the bread needed for our being, existence) or being, essence, reality, then all this would be distinguished by a philosophical character, since ουσία in this sense is used exclusively by philosophers, and the words of Christ would not be understandable to the common people.
2. The word επιούσιος is derived from επί and ίέναι - to come, to advance. This word has different meanings; All that matters for us is that in the expression έπιούσα ήμερα it means tomorrow, or the coming day. This word was composed by the evangelists themselves and attached to άρτος in the meaning of future bread, the bread of the coming day. Support for such an interpretation is found in the words of Jerome, in whom, among his rather brief interpretations, the following note is found. “In the Gospel, which is called the Gospel of the Hebrews, instead of daily bread I found mahar, which means tomorrow (crastinum); so the meaning should be this: our bread is tomorrow, i.e. give us the future today.” On this basis, many of the newest critics, including the best, for example, the German compilers of grammars for the New Testament Wiener-Schmiedel, Blaess and the exegete Zahn, suggested that the word means tomorrow (from ή έπιούσα, i.e. ήμερα). This explanation is given, by the way, by Renan. It is absolutely clear what a difference in meaning comes from whether we accept this interpretation or agree with the previous one. However, if we accept Jerome’s interpretation, then we should admit, not to mention various philological difficulties, that it contradicts the words of the Savior in 6:34 - “do not worry about tomorrow”; It would also be unclear why we ask: “Give us tomorrow’s bread today.” Pointing at mahar, Jerome himself translates επιούσιος with the word super-substantialis. From ίέναι and complexes with it, according to Kremer, it is impossible to prove a single production ending in ιουσιος; on the contrary, many such words are produced from ουσία. In words compounded with επί, in which the root begins with a vowel, fusion is avoided by omitting ι, as in the word έπεϊναι; but this does not always happen and ι is retained, for example, in such words as έπιέτης (in other cases επέτειος), έπιορκειν (in church Greek έπιορκίζειν), επιει κής, έπίουρος (in Homer = έφορος). Thus, it should be assumed that επιούσιος was formed from ουσία, like similar formations from words ending in ία - ιός (επιθυμία - έπιθύμιος, επικαρπία - ε πικαρπίος, περιουσία - περιούσιος, etc.). The meaning of ουσία in the place under consideration will not be philosophical, but simply - being, nature, and άρτος επιούσιος means “bread necessary for our existence or for our nature.” This concept is well expressed in the Russian word “urgent”. This explanation is strongly confirmed by the use of the word, ουσία among the classics (for example, Aristotle) in the sense of even life, existence. “Daily bread,” that is, necessary for existence, for life, is, according to Kremer, a short designation of what is found in Proverbs. Hebrew 30:8 lechem hok, urochny bread, which in LXX is translated by the words: necessary (necessary) and sufficient (Russian: urgent). According to Kremer, it should be translated: “give us our bread, necessary for our life, today.” The fact that the interpretation of “tomorrow” is found only among Latin writers, but not Greek, is of decisive importance here. Chrysostom, of course, knew the Greek language well, and if he had no doubt that επιούσιος was used in the sense of “essential,” then this interpretation should be preferred to the interpretation of Latin writers, who sometimes knew Greek well, but not as well as natural Greeks.
3. Allegorical interpretation, partly caused, apparently, by the difficulties of other interpretations. IN spiritual sense Tertullian, Cyprian, Athanasius, Isidore Pilusiot, Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine and many others explained this word. etc. Of course, in the application of the expression to “spiritual bread” there is, in fact, nothing subject to objection. However, in the understanding of this “spiritual bread” there is such a difference among interpreters that it deprives their interpretation of almost all meaning. Some said that by bread here we mean the bread of the sacrament of communion, others pointed to spiritual bread - Christ Himself, including the Eucharist here, and others - only to the teaching of Christ. Such interpretations seem to be most contradicted by the word “today,” as well as by the fact that at the time when Christ spoke His words, according to the Evangelist, the sacrament of communion had not yet been established.
The translations “daily” bread, “supernatural” should be considered completely inaccurate.
The reader sees that of the above interpretations, the first seems to be the best. With him, the word “our” also receives some special meaning, which, they say, although “does not seem superfluous,” could have been omitted. In our opinion, on the contrary, it makes sense, and quite an important one. What kind of bread and by what right can we consider “ours”? Of course, the one that is acquired through our labors. But since the concept of earned bread is very flexible - one works a lot and gains little, another works a little and gains a lot - then the concept of “our”, i.e. earned, bread is limited to the word “daily”, i.e. , necessary for life, and then with the word “today”. It has been well said that this simply indicates the golden mean between poverty and wealth. Solomon prayed: “Do not give me poverty and wealth, feed me with my daily bread”(Prov. 30:8) .
Trinity leaves
give us this day our daily bread
After asking for heavenly things, that is, for the glory of God, for the Kingdom of Heaven, for the will of God, Divine wisdom makes room for petitions for earthly needs: give us this day our daily bread. The word daily bread can be understood both spiritually and simply. “We call Christ our bread,” explains Saint Cyprian, “because we eat His Body, as He Himself says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever(John 6:51) and threatens, saying: If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you(John 6:53) . At the same time, we also ask for bodily food, daily food.” “The Savior,” says Saint Chrysostom, “commanded to pray not for wealth, not for pleasures, not for valuable clothes, but only for bread, and moreover, for daily bread, so that we do not worry about tomorrow. For this purpose I added: urgent, i.e. day. He wasn’t even satisfied with this word, but added something else after it: give us this day, so that we do not overwhelm ourselves with worry about the coming day. And why worry about tomorrow for someone who, perhaps, will not see tomorrow? The One who gave you a body, breathed in a soul, made you a rational animal and prepared all the blessings for you before He created you - will He forget you, His creation? Trusting in Him, ask for food only for the present day, and leave your concern for tomorrow to Him, as blessed David says: Cast your worries on the Lord and He will support you(Ps. 54:23).” “With the word bread,” explains St. Gregory of Nyssa, “it’s as if the Lord is saying to those who listen: stop, people, tormenting yourselves with vain desires. Stop multiplying your own reasons for hard work. Your nature does not need much; You are obliged to provide food to your flesh: it is a small and easy task if you only have in mind the need. Why do you impose on yourself the yoke of carrying so many debts? Ask for yourself only one bread; in this nature has made you a debtor to the body. If Evin’s advisor (the devil) enters into a conversation with you about what is beautiful to the eye and pleasing to the taste, then you will certainly become entangled in the nets of covetousness. From necessary food you will then move on to tasty foods, and from them to luxury and every need. Therefore, limit your prayer to asking only for bread.” “When we pray,” says Blessed Augustine, “for our daily bread, we ask for everything that our flesh needs on earth. But we need food and drink, clothing and shelter. And the word of God, which is proclaimed to you daily, is your daily bread. And his mind hungers like his belly hungers for material bread. This is what we ask for in the Lord’s Prayer. Thus, by daily bread we mean everything that is necessary for soul and body in this life.” “When we say: give us our bread,” notes Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, “we show that we ask the same for others. Christian love requires that we strive not only for ourselves, but also for our neighbors.” God, in His goodness, gives everything needed to those who do not know Him; but Christians must with faith ask Him for these blessings, like children do with the Father, in order to show that they consider everything necessary for life to be God’s gift and accept this gift from the hand of God with thanksgiving. So, the meaning of this petition can be expressed in these words: Heavenly Father! You know our needs better than ourselves; the eyes of all trust in You, and You give them their food in due season; You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with Your good pleasure(Ps. 144:15) . We do not ask You for luxury, wealth, or golden palaces; We don’t ask for sweet foods to overeat; do not deprive us of the most necessary things: give us this day our daily bread. Bread for food, water for drinking, air for breathing, clothing to cover a sinful body, a home where we can lay our heads - these are the things we cannot do without while we live on earth. Holy word Yours, Your grace distributed in the Sacraments of Your Church, especially the living bread, the heavenly bread - the most pure Body and Blood of Your Son - this is it daily bread, without which our souls perish in hunger! Give us, Our Father, all this, give us the strength, although by the sweat of our brow, to earn our own bread through righteous labor! Give us for this day - not for the barns for many years, but for this day only, for we ourselves do not know whether we will live to see tomorrow and what tomorrow will give birth to, maybe tomorrow we will no longer be on earth; and when tomorrow comes for us, we believe that if You give the day, you will also give us food...
Trinity leaves. No. 801-1050.
Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev)
give us this day our daily bread
Expression "daily bread" firmly entered the lexicon modern man in the sense of everyday food necessary for life. In Russian the word "urgent", meaning “vital”, “important”, appeared exclusively thanks to the prayer “Our Father” in its Slavic version. In many languages there is no such word at all, and the Greek επιουσιος in the phrase "daily bread" is conveyed using the words “everyday”, “daily” (Latin panis quotidianus, French pain quotidien, English daily bread).
Meanwhile exact value This word has been the subject of debate for many centuries. In classical Greek there is no such word at all. The Aramaic word that is translated with its help is unknown, and all attempts to reconstruct it are hypothetical. The combination of the prefix επι- (on-, over-) with the noun ουσια (essence, existence, content, property) can be understood in several senses. If we understand ουσια as “content” or “property” - in this sense the word is used, for example, in the story of the woman who spent all her property on doctors (Luke 8:43) - then επιουσιος can be understood as “necessary for existence.” If the term ουσια is understood as “essence,” as is typical of Greek patristics, then the literal translation would be “supra-essential” or “super-essential.”
Based on the semantic proximity of the term in question to the expression η επιουσα, meaning “tomorrow,” one could translate the petition of the Lord’s Prayer as follows: “Give us our tomorrow’s bread today.” The term is also close to the concept επι την ουσαν ημεραν, meaning “for today.” Finally, the interpretation of the term may be related to the concept of το επιον, meaning “future”: in this case "our daily bread" would turn into “our future bread.”
To understand the original meaning of Jesus' words, it seems to us that we need to focus not so much on the meaning of an ambiguous and ambivalent term "urgent" how much on the meaning of the concept itself "bread".
For the first time on the pages of the Bible the term "bread" used in God's address to Adam after his fall: by the sweat of your face you will eat bread(Gen. 3:19) Further, bread is mentioned in the story of how Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought bread and wine as a blessing to Abraham (Gen. 14:18). Abraham treats three travelers who came to him with bread (Gen. 18:5). Bread plays an important role in the story of Joseph and his brothers: when Joseph, who had saved a lot of grain, becomes second in command to Pharaoh, and there is a famine in all the surrounding lands, they come to him for bread (Gen. 42:1-5).
Bread in the Bible is a universal symbol of food. The quality of bread and the mood with which a person eats bread symbolizes the quality of a person's life. In sorrow, tears become his bread (Ps. 41:4; 79:6), and when God is pleased with his deeds, he eats bread with joy (Eccl. 4:17).
When interpreting the Lord's Prayer, it is necessary to take into account the Eucharistic context in which early church accepted this prayer. From the very beginning it became part of the Eucharist, in the context of which the words “Give us this day our daily bread” could mean only one thing: a request for communion with the bread that came down from heaven, that “super-essential” bread, which is the Body of Christ broken at the Eucharist. The words of the Lord’s Prayer are filled with this meaning whenever they are heard at the liturgy.
If the Lord’s Prayer is read outside the liturgical context, for example, before a meal, then daily bread is understood as ordinary earthly food, which every person, every family needs. In a broad sense, daily bread can be understood as everything that a person needs for life.
Jesus Christ. Life and teaching. Book II.
IN CHRIST==========
Part 2. What we have in Christ:
****************************
Receiving justification freely by His grace,
redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:24)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life.
eternal in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23)
Because God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself, not
imputing their crimes to the people, and gave us his word
reconciliation. ...For He made him who knew no sin
us as a sacrifice for sin, so that we may become in Him
righteous before God. (2 Corinthians 5:19, 21)
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and
you are complete in Him, who is the head of everything
superiors and authorities. In Him you are circumcised
circumcision without hands, cutting off
the sinful body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ; formerly
buried with Him in baptism, in Him you were also resurrected
faith in the power of God, who raised Him from
dead, and you who were dead in sins and
the uncircumcision of your flesh, made you alive together with Him,
having forgiven us all our sins... So let no one condemn you
for food or drink, or for some holiday, or
new moon, or Saturday: this is the shadow of the future, and
the body is in Christ. (Colossians 2:9-13, 16-17)
From Him you also are in Christ Jesus, who was made
for us with wisdom from God, righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; ancient
passed, now everything is new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
For I am sure that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
power, no strength, no present, no future, no height,
neither the depth nor any other creature can excommunicate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus the Lord
ours. (Romans 8:38-39)
Peace to you all in Christ Jesus... (1 Peter 5:14)
I constantly thank my God for you, for
the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus,
because in Him you have been enriched in everything, in every way
word and all knowledge, for the testimony
Christ is established in you, so that you do not have
lacking any talent, awaiting the appearance
Our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:4-7)
So, if there is any exhortation in Christ, if any
consolation of love, if any relationship of spirit,
if any mercy and compassion.
(Phil. 2:1) (translated from Greek)
Our freedom that we have in Christ
Jesus... (Galatians 2:4)
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus;
all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is no longer Jew or Gentile; there is neither slave nor free;
there is neither male nor female: for you are all one
Christ Jesus. If you are Christ's, then you are a seed
Abraham's and heirs according to the promise.
(Galatians 3:26-29)
But now in Christ Jesus you (the Gentiles), who were
once far away, they became close by the Blood of Christ. For
He is our peace, who has made both one and
who destroyed the barrier that stood in the middle, abolishing
hostility in His flesh, but the law of commandments as doctrine,
in order to create in Himself one new one from two
man, arranging the world. (Ephesians 2:13-15)
And he revived us, dead in crimes, with
Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised with
Him, and seated him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that
to reveal abundant wealth in the coming centuries
His grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
(Ephesians 2:5-7)
In Him we became heirs, having become
are intended to be so by definition
Who does everything according to the counsel of His will...
In Him you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel
your salvation, and having believed in Him, were sealed
the promised Holy Spirit, who is the deposit
our inheritance, for the redemption of His inheritance, for the praise
His glory. (Ephesians 1:11, 13-14)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who blessed us with all things in Christ
spiritual blessing in heaven, as He
chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we
were holy and blameless before Him in love,
having predestined us to be sons as sons through Jesus
Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of glory
His grace with which He graced us in
Beloved, in whom we have redemption
By His blood, forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of grace
Him, which He has given us in abundance in every
wisdom and understanding, revealing to us His secret
will according to His good pleasure, which He first
laid in Him (Ephesians 1:3-9)
So now there is no condemnation for those who
Christ Jesus do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, therefore
that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set free
me from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)
Kenneth E. Hagin provides 15 essential confessions of who we are in Christ Jesus. Published on the web portal
What we have and who we are “in Him.” Our main confession
Of course, the first confession we must make is that of Jesus as our Lord.
In Him: Understanding who you are in the family of being born again and entering into the family of God is the key that unlocks all promises and promises to us.
ROMANS 10:9,10 For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.Because with the heart one believes for righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses for salvation.
Confession 1: “I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that He rose from the dead to justify me. I confess Him as my Lord and Savior. Jesus is my Lord. He dominates my life. He guides me. He guides me."
This confession changes the power over us. It determines our position. Confessing the Lordship of Jesus immediately brings us under the protection and protection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Shepherd. We have already confessed Him as Lord, so we can go one step further and confess Him as Shepherd. Now the twenty-third psalm belongs to us. Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd..."(John 10:14).
Sometimes I wake up in the morning confessing: “The Lord is my Shepherd. I have no shortage. I have no lack of ability. I have no lack of strength. I have no shortage of money. I don't lack anything. The Lord is my Shepherd."
ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 17:28 For in Him we live and move and have our being...
Confession 2: “In Him I live, move and have my being! What a boundless source of strength! In Christ, my Savior and Lord, I have Life! I have the power! I have the strength to complete even impossible tasks!”
GOSPEL OF JOHN 15:5,7 I am the vine, and you are the branches...If you remain IN ME and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Confession 3: “I abide in Him. I live in Him. He is the Vine - I am the branch. The vine is in the branch - and the branch is in the vine. His life is life God is in me. His essence - the essence of love - is in me. Just as the blood flows in my physical body, so His life flows in my inner man. I will allow this life and love to rule within me.”
When a person is saved, he comes into Christ. This is the only way to achieve the state “in Him.” But then Jesus said: “If My words abide in you...”(John 15:17). "Abide" means to live. His Word lives in me as much as I practice It. Many Christians are born again and are in Him, but His Word is not in them. Therefore, prayer does not work for them. The Word abides in me to the extent that I practice it. I can learn it by heart, quote it, or even preach it, and yet it will not live in me. The Word lives in me only to the extent that I practice it. I allow the Word to flow freely through me, to teach me, to guide me, to dominate me. I allow this Word to occupy the place in my life that I would allow Christ to occupy if He were here in the flesh.
SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation; the ancient has passed away, now everything is new.
Confession 4: “I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. I am a new being in whom is the life of God, the essence of God and the abilities of God.”
A Christian cannot be restored like an old mattress is restored. He is a new creature. It wasn't just remade. He is a new creation - something that has never existed before. One translation says: "...he's a new species..."
The Christian at the New Birth has no new physical body, although one day he will have it. The new creation is the inner man. The old man who was there dies. The inner man is the real you (see 2 Cor. 4:16). Inner man real man, this is a new creation. He accepts the very life and essence of God.
Hold fast to your confession that you are a new creature. And then the new inner man will be revealed outside through the flesh. Learn to allow this new thing to the inner man dominate an external person.
When God looks at us, He looks at this new man in Christ. And we look much better in Christ than outside of Him! We cannot see each other in Christ. We look at each other with physical vision, but God looks at us in Nem!
EPHESIANS 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created IN CHRIST JESUS...
Confession 5: “I am His creation. He created me as a new being."
We do not make ourselves new creations - He does. We are His creations. You better be careful what you say about His creations. Take care to say the same things about His creations that He says about them in His Word. Take care not to compromise or humiliate God by saying, “Oh, I am so poor and weak and unworthy. I'll never amount to anything." He did not make you a new creation of this kind. He has made you a worthy new creation. He has made you a new creation that can stand in His Presence as if you had never sinned. He has made you a righteous new creation. Start talking about who you really are, instead of talking about what you think about who you are.
SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in HIM we might become the righteousness of God.
Confession 6: "Irighteous before God in Christ. My position with God is secure and secure. My prayers can do a lot."(see James 5:16).
We fearlessly declare that God has made us righteous. We didn't do that; God did it. "Righteousness" means rightly standing with God. Jesus, who was righteous, became our righteousness. Therefore we can stand in the Presence of God as if we had never done anything wrong. We can stand in God's Presence without feeling guilty or having a spiritual inferiority complex.
ROMANS 5:17 For if by the crime of one death reigned by means of one, how much more do they who receive abundance.
Confession 7: “By His stripes I am healed! God's Word tells me that I was healed by His stripes almost two thousand years ago. If I was healed then, then I am healed now. Healing is mine because I am in Christ.”
Peter, looking back at the sacrifice of Calvary, said, “...by His stripes you were healed.” It does not say “you will,” but “were.” God remembers when He laid on Jesus not only the iniquities and sins of us all, but also our infirmities and sicknesses. Jesus remembers that He bore them for us. Therefore, the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to write, “...by His stripes you were healed.” It belongs to us because we are in Christ. He provided this for us.
Confess that Christ is your redemption. Confess that you are redeemed. Confess that Satan no longer has power over you, and hold fast to that confession. You have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness. Refuse to allow Satan to have any power over you. Don't accept the disease - reject it.
ROMANS 8:2 Because the law of the spirit of lifeINCHRIST JESUS has set me free from the law of sin and death.
Confession 8 : “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Dr. John J. Lake was a missionary to Africa long before the modern Full Gospel movement. In the area where he lived, a deadly epidemic broke out bubonic plague, hundreds of people died. He cared for the sick and buried the dead. Finally, the British sent a ship with everything necessary and a team of doctors. The doctors sent for Lake, invited him on board the ship and asked: “What did you use to protect yourself from the disease?”
“Gentlemen,” Lake replied.
I believe that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death, and because I walk in the light of this law of life, no germ will cling to me.”
“Perhaps it would be better for you to use our preventive medications? - one of the doctors insisted.
“No,” Lake said.
But I think, Doctor, you will want to conduct an experiment with me. If you approach one of these dead people and take the foam that comes out of his lungs after death, I will put it under a microscope, and you will see a mass of living microbes. You will find that they remain alive for a certain time after the person is already dead. You can fill my hand with them and I will put it under the microscope. These microbes, instead of continuing to live for some time, will die immediately.”
The doctors agreed. They conducted an experiment and everything turned out to be true. When they expressed amazement and asked why this happened, Lake told them, “This is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”
JAMES 4:7 ...resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
"You" is the implied subject in this sentence. You resist the devil and he will flee from you. He will run away from you as if in horror! God has already done everything He was going to do. He sent Jesus, and Jesus won the victory over the devil. Jesus struck it down for you. Now it's your turn to do something about it. And you can because you are in Him. Oh, the devil is not too afraid of you as an individual. But when you figure out what your rights and privileges are in Christ- when you find out that the Name of Jesus belongs to you, and find out what this Name does, then he will run away from you in horror!
1 JOHN 4:4 Children! you are from God, and you have overcome them; for greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
Confession 9: “Because I am in Christ, the Mightiest One lives in me. He is stronger than the devil. Stronger than the disease. Stronger than circumstances. And He lives in me!”
Not only are we born of God and partakers of His love, but we have His Spirit indwelling us, who raised Jesus from the dead (see Rom. 8:11)! You may encounter problems that seem hopeless. Instead of talking about how hard they are, look to the One within you and say, “God is in me now.” Your profession of faith will cause Him to act on your behalf. He will rise in you and bring you success. The Ruler of the Universe is in you!
ROMANS 8:37 But we overcome all this through the power of Him who loved us. (In the English Bible: “But in all these things we are more than conquerors THROUGH HIM who loved us.”)
Confession 10: "I am a winner!"
If God's Word said that we are only conquerors, that would be enough. But the Word tells us that through Him we more than the winners. Instead of saying, “I have failed,” stand up and say what the Bible says about you. Say: “I am a winner!” It may not seem to you now that you are a winner, but your confession is due to what you see in God's Word, - will create the reality of this in your life. Sooner or later, you will become what you profess. You will not be afraid of any circumstances. You will not be afraid of any disease. You will not be afraid of any conditions. You, the winner, will face life fearlessly!
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.
Confession 11: “In Christ my Lord I can do all things. He strengthens me. I can't be defeated. In Him I am able to do all things.”
The flesh and ordinary human reasoning limit us in our abilities. We look at circumstances and problems, trials and storms, and say we can't. The language of doubt, flesh and feelings says: “I can’t. I have no ability, ability or strength. I'm limited." But the language of faith says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The power of God is ours. We don't rely on our own strength - the Bible says nothing about being strong yourself. She says God is our strength.
GALATAM 2:19,20 ...I have been crucified with CHRIST,And it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Confession 12: “I have been crucified with Christ. I won't have to try to do this. I am now crucified with Christ. However, despite this, I live! And Christ lives in me!”
COLOSSIANS 1:26,27 The mystery, hidden from ages and generations, but now revealed to His saints,To whom God has been pleased to show what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory.
Confession 13: “Christ lives in me!”
EPHESIANS 2:1,4-6 And you, dead in your trespasses and sins...God, rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,And He made us alive, dead in our trespasses, WITH CHRIST - by grace you have been saved,And He raised Him up with Him, and made Him sit in the heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS.
Confession 14:“I was crucified with Christ. When He found life and rose again, I found life with Him. I rose with Him and was seated with Him in Heaven. Today I sit with Christ in Heaven."
PHILIPPIANS 4:19 May my God supply all your needs according to His riches in glory BY CHRIST JESUS.
Confession 15: “All my needs are met!”
EPHESIANS 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us IN CHRIST with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Notice that it doesn't say that He is going to bless us with everything, but that He has already blessed us! This means that in Christ Jesus, from the time you were born again until you enter into eternity, He has already provided for you with everything you need, He has blessed you; it's yours. According to God, it is yours. Find in His Word the provisions He made for His children and make them become a reality in your life in Christ - to the glory of God the Father!
Below are references to Scriptures that include expressions such as “in Christ,” “in Him,” etc. They tell you who or what you are and what you have because you are “in Him.” Meditate on these passages. Confess them out loud. Confessions of faith create reality!
Ilchenko Yu.N.
Plan:
I. Introduction.
2 Cor.5:17 we have become a new creation “in Christ”, passed from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son;
resurrected in the spiritual world. 2 Cor.1:20 all the promises are in Him - yea and amen. We need to learn the truth about who we are in Christ.
II. What we have and who we are in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3-19.
We became “in Christ” when we accepted Jesus into our hearts and invited him into our lives.
3 tbsp.- There is no lack in Christ.
4 tbsp. - God's original plan for us to be in Christ. Man In Christ we are now disconnected from curses, we are healthy and blessed; We have the blessing of Abraham.
5 tbsp.– adoption is more than natural kinship. God adopted us through Christ to make us His own children.
6-9 st. - everything that God has given us in Christ is all in abundance. You are blessed and loved in Christ - proclaim this into your life every morning.
18th century– we need to see ourselves in Christ in order to accept the inheritance that God has prepared. Through Christ, all that God has is ours. 19 st. – in Christ we can do what Jesus did by His power (John 14:12).
Ephesians 2:1-7,13-16
1-3 tbsp.– when a person left God (disconnected himself from the source), then life left, he joined the devil. God sent Jesus to unite us with Himself. 5 tbsp.– we came to life with Christ – we became a new creation, received new nature- God's. You are in Christ, and Christ is in you. In. 14:11 Jesus is our example in everything; as He was in the Father, so we must be in Him (John 15 ch.). 13th century- to see that we are united with Christ, to identify with Him.
Ephesians 6 – the whole armor of God is Jesus Christ.
God has placed us in Christ so that we can resist all the schemes of the enemy. Study Christ, make Him the center of attention, learn to put on Him.
When we see ourselves in Christ, the devil fears us and obeys us (since Jesus defeated him). In Jesus we have authority.
III. Romans 6:3-11 – unity with Christ.
We were crucified in Jesus on the cross and resurrected with Him. We need to see it, believe it and speak. In Christ, God gave us His righteousness, because of this we have rights.
IV. How to live in Christ.
Ephesians 4:22-23 the old man is dead, do not unite with him, “put it aside”, constantly remain in the spirit of new thinking. You will have spiritual vision as you look at yourself in Christ.
Hebrews 12:2 look at Christ, only this will change you, make you different.
Sermon:
This is a very important topic for every believer, because everything that God has prepared for you is in Christ Jesus. The Bible says that in Him all promises are yea and amen. It is only in Christ that God has made provision for us. God's original plan is for everyone to be in Jesus. Unity with God, unity with Christ is what we vitally need.
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
God the Father has blessed us with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Maybe you think that “in heaven” means when we come to heaven, then we will receive it. I want to show you that we are already in heaven, so says the word of God. It is written that in Christ Jesus we are seated with Him in heavenly places.
Of course, this is in the invisible spiritual world, so many of us do not see it or understand it. That's why we don't have what we should have. But God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing.” I would like to emphasize the word “all” because it includes everything. There is no lack in God; He has everything we need.
We became “in Christ” when we accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts, when we believed in His sacrifice, and invited Him to come into our lives. This is what the word of God says. Maybe you don't feel it, don't see it, don't understand it. But faith is not feelings. Faith is confidence in what God has said. Our senses operate in the physical world, but our resurrection with Christ took place in the spiritual, our spiritual man was reborn. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the ancient has passed away, now everything is new.”. Old life ended for us, we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light of the Beloved Son. We must understand where we are and how we live.
The New Testament Epistles mention over 140 times that we are “in Him,” “through Him,” “with Him.” We are in Jesus and He is in us. To make this more clear for us, I want to use the following illustration. Our planet Earth is surrounded by an atmosphere for life to exist here. God created this atmospheric shell, and thanks to it we can live, breathe, the sun does not burn us, the cold does not kill us. And inside the Earth there is what we call lava, which maintains high temperatures.
God created our planet so miraculously: we are protected from the outside by the atmosphere, and inside by a hot core. All this together allows us to exist; if we remove something, life will perish. When astronomers study other planets, they see their lifelessness. Scientists have shown that there is no life on Mars, nor on the other planets. The reason for this is that they have neither an atmosphere nor an inner core.
We were all once like these lifeless planets, as the Message to Ephesians 2:1-2 “And you, dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the children of disobedience.”Ephesians 2:5-7 “And we, who were dead in trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved, and He raised us up with Him, and seated us in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show forth the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Without Christ, all people are lifeless. We came alive when we accepted Jesus.
This is the gospel - good news. How many such “lifeless planets” are there around us - unsaved people who “revolve” around their interests, live by their own plans, but have no life. God came to earth to “get the attention” of people through Jesus Christ.
Once upon a time, someone preached to us about salvation, someone prayed for us. Don't be discouraged when you tell a person the gospel and he doesn't believe it right away. According to studies, a person must hear the good news at least seven times before he accepts Jesus. “Faith comes by hearing the word of God.”
When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they had a wonderful fellowship, oneness with God. But when the enemy came, who deceived and deceived them, they betrayed God. From that moment on, man lost unity with God and was expelled from paradise, was separated from life with God.
When a person left God, disconnected from the Father, he began to unite with the devil, with sin. Who we connect with influences us. When people were one with God, the life of God made them happy, healthy, blessed. And when they betrayed God, they disconnected themselves from the source, from the life of God.
Thank God that He always gives us a chance to turn and return to Him. The Bible says that God did not abandon man, He sent Jesus Christ to unite us to Him again. When we accept Jesus Christ, we are reunited with God, born again. The Word of God Names the Born Again spiritual person a new creation created anew by God. This new creation is within you, you are very beautiful in the new creation. Everything that God has created is “very good.”
You are a new creation in Christ Jesus. You are in Christ, and He is in you. It’s like a kind of “hamburger”: you are surrounded by God, and God is also in you. God has covered you with Himself on all sides, you are in Him, and He is in you. This is what we need to see about ourselves.
We often forget that we are a new creation, that God created us to be beautiful, amazing, and like Him. We are the image and creation of God. And when we forget about this, we move away from the life we should live.
In Christ we have perfect life, in Him all the promises are “yes”; only in Him can we be happy. Our joy is the Lord. Let this become a reality, a practice in our lives. We must believe in it, see it and look: constantly, intently, without looking away. What you look at begins to possess you. As you look at yourself in Christ, you will see yourself completely differently. We need to learn to look at ourselves not naturally, but with God's view.
We often want to understand God with natural thinking, but the Bible tells us about new, spiritual thinking. Because we can only see who we are in Christ with our spiritual eyes.
Ephesians 1:17-18“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to the knowledge of Him, and may enlighten the eyes of your heart, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of His glorious inheritance for the saints.”
We will never see our inheritance apart from Christ, because it is in Him for us. God said that everything He has through Jesus Christ is ours. As in the parable about prodigal son the father said to the eldest son: “My son! You are always with me, and all that I have is yours” (Luke 15:31). We are sometimes like him, not understanding. The eldest son was not happy because he did not see his inheritance, did not understand that this was his inheritance too. When we look at Jesus Christ, read the gospel, we can see this.
John 14:11“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me.” When Jesus came to earth, He took on the form of a man, He also wanted to show us what kind of Father God is, Jesus came to fulfill the will of the Father, to die and redeem us.
John 14:12 “But if not so, then believe Me by the very works. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me will do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do, because I go to My Father.” Jesus always said that He does nothing on His own, He always referred to the Father: “Everything that I have seen from Him, everything that I have heard, that is what I do.”
The people who saw the miracles that Jesus did said that no man could do this unless God was with him. Jesus pointed out that the result of His works is that He abides in the Father, and the Father in Him. Now Jesus turns to us - to His disciples : “The works that I do, you will do also”. Is He saying something that we can never do? No, Jesus always spoke the truth. We must see and understand this perfect plan of God. This is God's purpose for us to be in Christ, to abide in Him.
It is sad that many believers do not see, do not understand this and drag out a miserable existence. But Jesus told us clearly: “I have come so that you may have life and life more abundantly.”
God tells us, know My will, do not be unreasonable. We need to look, we need to read, we need to pray that God will enlighten the eyes of our hearts and we will see the reality of who we are in and where God has prepared a place for us to live.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says: “Abide in Me, and I will abide in you, and if My words remain in you, whatever you ask will be done for you from My Father who is in heaven.” If we do not see ourselves in Christ, then we cannot expect answers to prayers. Because in Him, in Christ, all promises are revealed and fulfilled, He is this cup of abundance. Jesus said, “I have come so that you may have abundant life.”
God wants to show that everything we need we will receive in Christ. God does not see us, first of all, He sees Christ, He sees that we are in Him. Through the eyes of faith, we need to see ourselves the same way.
Ephesians 1:4“For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love.” God's original design is for us to be in Christ. When a person sinned and left this plane, he ended up with curse, death, poverty and disease. Because he disconnected from what God told him and joined what came from the Fall.
Through the good news God says that in Christ we are cut off from curses, in Christ we are healthy, healed, blessed.
Ephesians 1:5“having predestined us to be sons as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will.”. I heard this saying that when someone adopts a child, it is more valuable than giving birth to one because it is done consciously. The adoptive parent knows what he is doing, he is aware of this. God “predestinated us to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ.” Another translation of this verse says that God predestined through this to make us as His own children. In Christ we have become family to God, just like Jesus. In Christ, the Father loves us just as He loves Jesus. Some may think that he is not worthy to be loved by the Father like that. Of course, we are all unworthy of Him, but God loves you not because of your merits, but because He chose to love you, He wants to love you.
Ephesians 1:6-9 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He has graced us in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He has abundantly bestowed upon us in all wisdom and understanding, having revealed to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure. which He first put in Him." God placed us in Christ, and He says that this is the best thing that can happen in our life. If we see this, then we will become happy believers.
Our unhappiness comes from forgetting who we are in Christ. God wants you to get up every morning and say, “Lord, I am blessed, I thank You, I am Your beloved child, You love me like Jesus, You care for me, You protect me, I am blessed, and through other people will be blessed." This is the inheritance that God promised Abraham, saying that in Him all nations would be blessed. We are part of this blessing. IN Galatians 3:13 it is written that now we have it, we were blessed, so that the blessing would continue to flow through us.
In Christ, God has given us His righteousness. This is also our inheritance. We are not righteous because of our works, Jesus is our righteousness. Because of this righteousness we have rights. We have a right to the Father's inheritance, a right to be God's children, a right to be loved, blessed, etc.
Ephesians 6:10-11“Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil.” God took care of our protection. In Him we can resist every scheme of the enemy. In the book of the prophet Isaiah it is written that not a single weapon made against us will be successful. This is our heritage as children of God.
The whole armor of God is Jesus. The armor of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the two-edged sword - this is Jesus. All the honors of this armor point us to Him. Therefore, we need to study Christ, make it the center of our attention. Because everything is in Him and everything is through Him. By looking at Jesus, you understand what you should be; by looking at what Jesus did, you understand what you should do. We need to learn to put on Him, to understand what a precious treasure we have in Christ.
God does not reduce us, does not belittle us, does not call us second-class. God says we are the same as Jesus because we are in Christ Jesus. Desire God, so that you see yourself in Christ as He sees us.
Take, for example, the area of healing. What does the Bible say about this? “By the stripes of Jesus we are healed.” If we see ourselves in Him, then by His stripes we are healed.
Romans 5:3-5 “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we are united with Him by the likeness of His death, then we must also be united by the likeness of His resurrection.” It speaks of our oneness with Christ, which implies that we were not only raised with Him, but we were in Jesus when He was on the cross. We were in Him when He died and when He rose again. We need to see the whole picture. If we see ourselves in this, then we can say that by His stripes we were healed. We were healed in Him.
When the Israelites were attacked by snakes in the desert, God told them to look to the brass serpent to be healed. And everyone who looked was healed. God wants us to see ourselves in Christ too.
What we look at, we possess, this is the law. If people watch TV, this will be theirs, it will fill and influence your life. If you look to Christ, you will see yourself for who you are in Him. In Christ Jesus you lack nothing, because Christ lacked nothing. Christ was tempted in everything, but never sinned. If you are in Christ, it will protect you, make you a different person, you will not sin. God tells us that Christ is our security.
When you think about Him, when you abide in Him, you become like Him.
Scripture says that in Christ we are complete. In Christ there are no illnesses, depressions, unbelief, doubts.
Romans 6:6-7 “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for the one who died was freed from sin.” People are at war with their sins, they resist sin, they can shout at sin, but they commit it again and again. Why? Because they did not see themselves in Christ. Only in Christ can we die to sin. Only in Him is the resurrection power at work, conquering sin.
All religions are against sin. Religion always says you must do something to avoid sinning. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ tells us that the main thing is to believe. People asked Jesus what God's work they should do. He replied that they needed to believe in Him, in the One Whom the Father had sent. Our business is to believe, to see, to say who we are in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:8“If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.”. We must see that we have died to sin. According to God's word, we too were on the cross with Jesus, by faith. This brings us freedom and healing.
Romans 6:10-11“For because He died, He died once to sin; and what he lives, he lives for God. So consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Many religions say that you need to torture your flesh, torment yourself. The Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, but faith comes from hearing the word of God. If we hear about this and confess, we will be saved. Once we are saved from ourselves, from our old self we will be new creations made in the likeness of God.
It is very important to see that we are one with Christ, united with Him, that He is the vine and we are the branches.
Ephesians 2:13-14 “But now in Christ Jesus you, who once were far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, having made both one and destroyed the barrier that stood in the middle.” The barrier between God and man was sin, but the power of sin was destroyed on the cross.
Ephesians 2:15-16“having abolished enmity by His flesh, and the law of commandments by doctrine, in order to create in Himself one new man from the two, establishing peace, and in one body to reconcile both to God through the cross, killing the enmity thereon”. You are now - new person. You must see it, think about it, speak about it and live like a new creation.
Ephesians 4:22 “putting off your former way of life, the old man, which is corrupted by the deceitful lusts.” We don't need to connect with the old. You have to bury it, bury it. Put it aside, put it away, renew your mind in spirit, constantly be in the spirit of new thinking. Put on the new man created by God in righteousness and true holiness.
“When you are angry, do not sin; let not the sun go down on your anger; and do not give place to the devil. Whoever stole, do not steal first, but rather work, doing useful things with your own hands, so that you have something to give to those in need.” Many people, for some reason, still get angry, give room to the devil, and steal. Why? Because they did not see themselves in Christ. If you see yourself in Christ, His nature will work in you.
I want to give the example of Abraham. At first Abraham and his nephew Lot lived together, and then Lot separated from Abraham. The name Lot means "veil." After their separation, God told Abraham that all the land he saw was given to him by God. Abraham was able to see the land when Lot was not around, when the veil was removed.
Lot is a type of the carnal believer. Lot only wanted a good life. Because he chose what he saw physical eyes. He saw Sodom and Gomorrah, it was beautiful, but he did not see with spiritual eyes what was happening there. We remember the ending of Lot's life. His daughters sinned with him and he became the father of the enemies of God's people. How important it is to have spiritual vision. You will have spiritual vision when you look at who you are in Christ. This will remove any veil from your eyes.
Hebrews says that we must look to the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ. Only this will change us. Only through Him, only in Him, will we become like Him. We don't need to look at ourselves constantly judging and blaming. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Jesus gave us authority to tread on snakes and scorpions. In the name of Jesus Christ we resist the devil because he fears Jesus because He defeated him on the cross. When we see ourselves in Jesus, the devil sees it too and he obeys us. The spiritual world knows who you are, where you are, what you believe.
God wants His church to truly be the church of Jesus Christ abiding in Christ. And through Him, we can do all things. As the Apostle Paul said, “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.” In Him I can do all things as I abide in Christ Jesus.
Prayer:
Lord, I thank You that in Christ Jesus, You have opened Your world, Your kingdom, to us. We praise You, Lord, that in You are all God's promises "yes and amen." We thank You Heavenly Father that You love us in Christ just as You love Jesus. Looking at us, You see Jesus. Lord, we ask You that we too will learn to see ourselves through Your eyes. So that we learn to see ourselves in Christ, that we abide in Him, and He abides in us. God, we give You glory for Your unique plan, perfect will for each of us. We thank You Jesus and we praise You, we exalt You that we are in You. All glory to You, all praise to You, all honor to You. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I believed in God since childhood. I was working as a teacher at school when a colleague suggested me. I wanted to find out what kind of God He is, because I had never read it before, so I liked the idea. (Imagine saying you believe in God without ever being interested in His Word!) My journey with Him began the moment I opened the Bible.
That summer I took time off and began reading the Bible to study it cover to cover. And I just fell in love with the God I found there, especially God. Yes, I understood who He was and fell in love with Him, but it was the character and personality of the Old Testament God that won my heart. And a few years ago I came across a passage from the Gospel of John 5:22-23
“For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
These verses have made me think much more deeply about my understanding and reverence for Jesus. And then I began to study what else was said about Christ in Scripture. I began to search the Bible for verses that show what we have or receive in Christ, by Christ, through Him, and because of Him. It would seem that prepositions are function words, but they became my guides to the great truths about Jesus. I will present some of them here without lengthy comments, as food for thought. I hope they expand your understanding of Jesus and lift Him up in your thoughts and hearts, as they have done for me.
Redemption in Christ Jesus
Romans 3:23-25 states that we have received redemption in Christ through or literally in His sacrificial blood.
“…For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God offered as a propitiation by His blood through faith...”
No Condemnation in Christ Jesus
Romans 8:1-2 says that in Jesus, God completely removes all condemnation from us. What a weight is lifted from our shoulders and what relief our minds and spirits find!
“There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law and death.”
Mercy (grace) in Christ from the beginning of time
Even before the creation of the world, God made plans to send His Son to save us all and be our blessing. The salvation of the human race thanks to the Son of God - Jesus - was not an afterthought of the mind that came to its senses or a sophisticated attempt (a kind of band-aid and life preserver) to somehow quickly solve our human troubles. Second Timothy 1:9-10 reveals this truth to us directly and clearly:
“God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not because of our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages, which has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought to light life and incorruption through the gospel...”
“God saved us and called us by His holy call, not according to our merits, but to fulfill His purpose and according to His grace given to us through Jesus Christ before the beginning of time. And now we have seen this grace when our Savior Christ came, Who destroyed death and through the Good News showed new life and immortality."
The same idea can be read in Ephesians 1:4-5
“Because He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love, having predestined us as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will...”
“Through Him God chose us before the creation of the world, that we might be holy and blameless before Him. Out of His love for us, He appointed us to be adopted as sons by Him through Jesus Christ. This was His purpose and desire."
Access to God through Jesus Christ
I really want a close relationship with God, I think you do too, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading these lines. Christ opens the way to God, allowing us to become closer to Him, to be in His presence and to be able to communicate with the Creator. Initially describing the Gentiles and Jews, the author of Ephesians reveals to us the truth about Christ in 2:17-18
“And Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far and near, because through Him we both have access to the Father in one Spirit.”
“According to the eternal purpose, which He fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have confidence and secure access through faith in Him.”
“This is His eternal purpose, which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Him and by faith in Him we can come to God freely and confidently.”
God's creation created in Jesus Christ
If you don't feel like your life has value or meaning, meditate on the blessings in Christ, what God says in Ephesians 2:8-10
“For by grace you have been saved, through faith; and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in.”
“Because you are saved by grace through faith, and it is not your doing, it is God's gift. Not for deeds, so that no one can boast that he supposedly deserves salvation. We are a workpiece in the hands of God, created in Jesus Christ to do the good works that God prepared beforehand for us to do” (Word of Life translation).
No distinction or discrimination in Christ
If you want to know your true worth and who you are in His eyes, read Galatians 3:25-28. We are all one in Jesus, we are no different, and even more, we are all brothers and sisters in the big family of our God in Christ.
“After the coming of faith, we are no longer under the guidance of a teacher. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus; all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is no longer Jew or Gentile; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
“But faith has already come, and we no longer need the supervision of the law. Through faith in Christ Jesus, you have all become children of God. All who are baptized into Christ have “put on” Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female, you are all one in Christ Jesus!” (Translation “Word of Life”)
The grains of truth necessary for life
There are many other passages in Scripture that tell us the truth which I call “Jesus Christ: in Him, by Him, through Him, and because of Him.” This truth has made my understanding of God in Christ much broader and deeper, and I have discovered the many blessings that are in store for me in Jesus. It sustains my faith in times of testing and doubting God, when I don't believe in His goodness and love toward me personally, or when I feel trapped or conflicted with others.
It is this truth that helps me continue to worship my God, serve Him, and give Him the praise and gratitude that He most certainly and fully deserves. I hope that the seeds of truth will inspire you to reflect and strengthen your faith, your gratitude, and your relationship with God in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Translation: Irina Chernikova
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