I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
John 16:33John 16:33
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
33 I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world. a world: See the note at .
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We see it all the time, it is a regular part of life; opposition. Whether it be the opposing team on the other side of the line of scrimmage, the other political party, the person with the other Wii remote in their hand, a competitor in the marketplace, or perhaps a stubborn teenager or an overbearing parent. Opposition is woven deeply into the fabric of our world. And this is certainly nothing new.
There has been a sense of opposition since the dawn of time, and even God Himself has not escaped its attacks. (Don’t worry, He gets the last word in due time!) In the Garden of Eden, the voice of opposition could be clearly heard as Satan embodied the serpent and said, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” After Eve answered affirmatively, the crafty tempter went on to say, “You will not surely die for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1Genesis 3:1
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
The First Sin
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1 Ws ; . The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
WP-Bible pluginb, 4-5) We’re barely into the third chapter of the history of the world and here we find clear and direct opposition to Almighty God, rearing its slithering head, ushering death and sin into God’s perfect creation.
Things only get worse from there, much worse! In the very next chapter of Genesis, sibling rivalry and opposition to God’s will lead to the first murder in history! Only four chapters in, Abel dies at the hands of opposition. The chronicle of time continues to unfold, people oppose God, they oppose one another, and God sends a world-wide deluge to wipe the slate clean. But, opposition returns in round two. Eventually the opposition grows so large and engulfs the world once again, people oppose people, people oppose God, nations oppose nations, to the point the Son of God is sent from the throne room of heaven to the arid plains of Judea and Israel to intervene. But, as we know, after 33 years on earth, even Jesus was lifted high on a hill called Golgotha with the echoing sounds of opposition ringing through the countryside with every swing of those hammers. Opposition took the life of the Son of God.
BUT…God knows how to not only fight opposition, but defeat it! When He breathed oxygen back into the lungs of Jesus that Easter morning, the nails in the coffin of opposition were sealed forever. Oh, we may still experience some temporal opposition here on earth as followers of Christ, and there will be futile attempts by Satan to thwart God’s plan, but the victory has already been won! It is now just a matter of time before God claims His ultimate victory over Satan and the rest of the opposition, and those of us who are on His side will enjoy an “opposition-less” eternity!
The verse at the top of the post is meant to remind you of the victory God has already won. Cling to that hope whenever you face opposition and know that you’re not experiencing anything that God didn’t experience. In fact, nothing we experience even comes close to what He experienced!
In the end, we all have to answer one question…whose side are you on? God’s or the opposition? When the role call is given on that final day of judgment, I sincerely hope your hand won’t be in the air with the rest of “all those opposed.”
(You can read John 15:18-16:4John 15:18-16:4
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
The World's Hatred
18 If the people of this world w world: See the note at . hate you, just remember that they hated me first.
19 If you belonged to the world, its people would love you. But you don't belong to the world. I have chosen you to leave the world behind, and that is why its people hate you.
20 ; ; . Remember how I told you that servants are not greater than their master. So if people mistreat me, they will mistreat you. If they do what I say, they will do what you say.
21 People will do to you exactly what they did to me. They will do it because you belong to me, and they don't know the one who sent me.
22 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.
23 Everyone who hates me also hates my Father.
24 I have done things that no one else has ever done. If they had not seen me do these things, they would not be guilty. But they did see me do these things, and they still hate me and my Father too.
25 . That is why the Scriptures are true when they say, “People hated me for no reason.”
26 I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help x help: See the note at . you and will tell you about me.
27 Then you will also tell others about me, because you have been with me from the beginning.
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1 I am telling you this to keep you from being afraid.
2 You will be chased out of the Jewish meeting places. And the time will come when people will kill you and think they are doing God a favor.
3 They will do these things because they don't know either the Father or me.
4 I am saying this to you now, so that when the time comes, you will remember what I have said.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
I was with you at the first, and so I didn't tell you these things.
WP-Bible plugin for further insight on how our experience with opposition as believers in Jesus relates to God’s work and the opposition He’s faced).
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