The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 3:1-7, “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;

3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.

4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.”

As I read the lines above, I was reminded of a man to whom I witnessed. He was a nice fellow, but he grasped the name of his church as his salvation. Nothing I said of Jesus Christ seemed to awaken in him his need for true, biblical salvation; he had his church! Unfortunately, many today rely upon church membership as the anchor of their eternal soul.

The Apostle Paul was Jewish by birth; but he was Christian by the New Birth! I spent many years as a pastor of numerous churches, baptized scores of people of all ages, yet I always sought to make the Main One—Jesus Christ—the Main One. He is the Savior of all who believe.

I was not long in Australia before a young girl, who had allegedly given her heart to the LORD, wanted me to baptize her. Suspecting that I was on track to become something of a “spiritual rock star,” I declined, referring her to her pastor.

Much later, when I was serving as interim pastor of a Baptist church, I baptized a young Aboriginal lady who had given herself to the LORD Jesus. Yet, baptism is nothing unless the one submitting to it has accepted Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior. Baptism is a sign of having accepted Christ; it is not a game! It is quite serious, although not “spiritually saving.”

Paul himself, writing to young Timothy, his young protégé, said, “Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel…” (2 Tim. 3:16). I can only add, “Amen!”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Revelation 1:1-7, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood–

6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father– to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

Admittedly, this is the most difficult book in the Bible to understand. It is, nevertheless, a splendid completion to a Divine Library of 66 books. The key phrase is: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” The Rev. Archibald Brown notes a striking balance between Genesis and Revelation. In Genesis, we see the Earth created; in Revelation, we see it passing away. In Genesis, we see the inauguration of sorrow and suffering; in Revelation, there is no more sorrow and no more pain – all tears are wiped away.

Throughout Revelation, the Church is never mentioned as being on earth. In fact, between chapters three and four, the Church is removed. Thus, to the end of the book, there is but tribulation. Yet, after reading the entire account, the reader may return to the subject again and again for particulars. Chapter One views the LORD as the “Glorified One.” Chapters two and three view Him as the Head over the church. From chapters four through twenty-two, He is the Triumphant One!

There is infinitely more that can be contained in the few lines we have here; yet the entire Book of Revelation will stimulate the reader to become more and more like Jesus Christ – every single day! “More like the Master, I would ever be; more of His likeness, more humility; More strength to labor, more courage to be true; More consecration, for work He bids me do…”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Jude 1:1-4, “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:

2 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.

3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Were you ever in the midst of writing a letter when you remembered something you had intended to say—something more important than anything you were immediately saying? That’s exactly where Jude was in writing this personal epistle to Christians who were scattered abroad throughout the Middle East.

The greater importance of this letter, however, centers upon an evil that had “snaked” its way into the church and was destined to destroy it. Jude’s concern lay partially in the fact that his brother, James, was either currently, or had previously been, a member of this church.

The Epistle of Jude, therefore, is perhaps the most solemn in all of the Bible. He likens the church’s problems to those early, ambitious angels, to self-righteous Cain, to the depraved Sodomites, to rebellious Israel, to greedy Balaam, presumptuous Korah, and the apostasy of his day, perhaps even ours!

Two key words in Jude’s letter are “keep” and “kept,” as his basic concern was the church at large; for it contained serious believers who were themselves in danger of having their faith hijacked. Many believers today face similar hijackings! What can you do? Study the Scriptures! Spend time in prayer! Listen attentively to your pastor’s teaching! Trust the Holy Spirit to keep you in the faith “that was once-for-all handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3). The LORD and His Word will always sustain you!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

3 John 1:1-15: “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

3 For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth.

4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers;

6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.

10 For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.

11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.

13 I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink;

14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.

15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.”

This letter was written by the aged Apostle John to Gaius, one of Paul’s hosts (Rom. 16:23), one whom Paul had baptized (vs. 4) and who was continuing to live faithfully in the LORD. It’s always best to commence a letter with the mention of a good man.

As we become older, we become bolder in stating forthrightly what we would not have said in our youth (v. 9). Although Paul is doubtlessly quite old as he writes, he calls attention to the faithless Diotrephes, who wants desperately to become a leader in the church, despite his lack of qualifications. (Believe me, there is always at least one!) Still, there are those good, godly, dependable, Biblical people, whose lives demonstrate their love and likeness of the LORD. Are you one of those? I pray that you are! May God bless you if you are and help you if you are not!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

2 John 1:1-9, “The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth,

2 for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father.

5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.

6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.

9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.”

This epistle is a private, personal letter from the Apostle John and is addressed to an unknown Christian woman. Second John is the only letter in the New Testament that has been exclusively written to a lady. The word “love” is mentioned four times; the word “truth” five times. Thus, the letter appears to have been written as a warning against the entertainment of some false teachers.

We would all be well advised to heed that warning today—especially regarding some in the media. Just as we endeavor to attend a church where the pastor is truly biblical, we must be alert to the media preachers, some of whom are not biblical! Truth comes from Scripture, and those who preach only from Scripture can generally be trusted to be preachers of Scriptural truth alone. God bless you as you faithfully search the Word!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

Gene

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom