{"id":538,"date":"2015-11-01T23:22:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-02T04:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/?p=538"},"modified":"2015-11-07T23:24:02","modified_gmt":"2015-11-08T04:24:02","slug":"what-does-the-bible-say-about-being-a-favored-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/2015\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-being-a-favored-son\/","title":{"rendered":"What does the Bible say about being a favored son?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cHaving predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.\u201d Ephesians\u00a01:5\u20136<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is always a great benefit to know someone who is willing to do you a favor when you have great need. A favor is generally a gift of good will, showing kind regard, or granting approval and liking. It can mean something as simple as a token gift, but it may be truly a treasure if the favor demonstrates partiality on the part of the giver.<\/p>\n

The Hebrew words translated as favor generally carry the connotation of taking \u201cdelight in someone, to have favor toward, to be well pleased with, of satisfaction and good will.\u201d Lest you be tempted to conclude that favor is just another word for grace, take note that grace is much more than a mere favor because it can neither be deserved nor gained. Pure grace is God\u2019s love in action to the wholly underserving. Favors may be gained and deserved.<\/p>\n

Notice Proverbs\u00a03:3\u20134, \u201cLet not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.\u201d Hebrews\u00a011:5\u20136 is an illustration of this proverb, \u201cBy faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, \u2018and was not found because God had taken him;\u2019 for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

To have the favor of God resting upon you is a supreme blessing. A particularly wonderful promise is found in Psalm\u00a05:11f, \u201cBut let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.\u201d Compare this thought with our verse in Ephesians\u00a01:6. The experience of God\u2019s favor toward His own in our walk with Him is seen in Psalm\u00a030:4f, \u201cSing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

This experiential favor from God is what is prayed for in several of the psalms. Psalm\u00a031:16 reads, \u201cMake Your face to shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercies\u2019 sake.\u201d Psalm\u00a080:3 states, \u201cRestore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!\u201d Also Psalm\u00a0119:135 pleads, \u201cMake Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.\u201d Such words are borne of a heart that delights in the presence of the Father and so he finds delight in the Father\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

In Proverbs\u00a08, where wisdom is personified and extolled, verses 35f declare, \u201cFor whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD; but he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; all those who hate me love death.\u201d Proverbs\u00a011:27 and 12:2 expand on the theme of living according to God\u2019s wisdom: \u201cHe who earnestly seeks good finds favor, but trouble will come to him who seeks evil.\u201d and \u201cA good man obtains favor from the LORD, but a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.\u201d Proverbs\u00a013:14f and 14:9 add, \u201cThe law of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death. Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard.\u201d and \u201cFools mock at sin, but among the upright there is favor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proverbs\u00a014:35 handily provides a transition for Church Age saints, \u201cThe king\u2019s favor is toward a wise servant, but his wrath is against him who causes shame.\u201d It is this principle of favor that we find taking its ultimate meaning in the New Testament with God as our King and we His servants. Our Lord is the prime example for us as He states in John\u00a08:29, \u201cAnd He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him (Luke\u00a02:52, 3:22).\u201d He is our prime example of humble obedience to the Father\u2019s will and divine favor rests upon Him.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, Paul challenges all believers in 1\u00a0Thessalonians\u00a04:1, \u201cFinally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God.\u201d He had already stated in 2:4, \u201cBut as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, even so we speak not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our text from Ephesians\u00a01 states that God has made us \u201caccepted in the Beloved.\u201d The original word for accepted is found in one other text\u2014Luke\u00a01:30 where Mary is told by Gabriel, \u201cDo not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor (accepted) with God.\u201d How gracious of God to use the same word to describe the position of every saint who is washed in the blood of the sinless Lamb of God! In Christ you are a favored son of God! In obedience (Hebrews\u00a013:14\u201316) we find favor in our daily walk with our Father. Trust and obey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHaving predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.\u201d Ephesians\u00a01:5\u20136 It is always a great benefit to know someone who is willing to do you a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}