Equipping Eve: The Promises of God: God’s Promised Grip

The Need to Equip Women with Truth in Christ

Is the church today doing everything it can to provide women a firm foundation of truth in Christ Jesus? Well, it's true there's no shortage of candy-coated Bible studies, potluck fellowships available to ladies.

But beyond Sunday morning, are Christian women being properly equipped to stand against the same deceptions that even enticed Eve in the garden? In an attempt to address the need for trustworthy, biblical resources for women, No Compromise Radio is happy to introduce Equipping Eve, a ladies-only radio show that seeks to equip women with fruits of truth in an age that's ripe with deception.

My name is Mike Abendroth, and I'm pleased to introduce your host, Erin Benziger, a friend of No Compromise Radio, and a woman who wants to see other women equipped with a love for and a knowledge of the truth of God's Word.

God's Infallible and Immutable Word

Well, hello, ladies, and welcome to Equipping Eve. I am your host, Erin Benziger, and this is the show that seeks to equip you with fruits of truth from God's Word. God's infallible, inerrant, unchanging, i .e. immutable Word.

Yeah, God's Word doesn't change because its author, which is God, doesn't change. He says that, doesn't he? I am the same, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever, and our God does not change.

He is sovereign. He is holy. He is just. He is true. And He is immutable. He does not change. And consequently, His Word does not change. And that's amazing. You know, so in this world of relativism that we live in today, and that's not just in the secular world.

That's happening in the church. In this world where things are just topsy turvy, where you can hear a pastor preach sound doctrine out of one side of his mouth and out of the other side of his mouth, he's pushing legalism or the opposite, you know, promoting antinomianism.

I mean, it's just, it doesn't, oh, everything is so wonky. So what do you do? You go to the sure foundation. What is the sure foundation? Our God, our unchanging God and His character and who He is and what has He given us as something tangible that we can cling to and that we can learn from and that we can learn about Him from and through.

That's His Word. That's His Word. And so it's this, the Bible is this tangible thing. That's why I love having an actual Bible instead of just having it on a device, because it's like this little security blanket.

Isn't it? That this is how we know God, this Bible, this book. This is how we know who He is. This is how we learn more about Him. This is how we grow closer to our Lord Jesus Christ. This is how and where He is revealed to us.

And what a good God that He would give this to us, that He would give His children black and white words that we can go to and we can cling to and we can trust in because they are true. And they are true because they come from the One who is truth.

I mean, that's just, it's almost unfathomable, except, like I say, we have something tangible. I'm holding a Bible in my hands right now, passed down through the centuries. It's come down to us on a river of blood.

It's amazing. What a good and gracious God we serve. It's just amazing. So at Equipping Eve, what I strive to do through this podcast, what is my prayer, is that you are taken back to the Word, ladies, that we are going back to Jesus Christ and we are going back to His Word, because that's where our foundation is.

If we try to worry about and stand on anything else, we're just going to fall over. We need that sure foundation. So that's what Equipping Eve is about. If you haven't listened before, welcome. And that's what we try to do here.

And if you want to find out a little bit more about the ministry, you can head on over to EquippingEve .com or .org. They both get you there. They still both get you there. So I like to remind folks, you can pick your address, EquippingEve .com or .org.

It gets you to the same website. And there's lots of information there. You can learn a little bit more about me, about Producer Charlie, and just about this ministry, what doctrines we affirm here at Equipping Eve.

There are articles. You can find the whole archive of podcasts there, links to other helpful ministries and blogs and podcasts or churches, although those are few and far between churches that I would recommend.

Yeah, that's a topic for another day. We'll get back to that maybe. Probably not. That could get me in trouble. So anyway, there are some other resources there that you can visit. And hopefully you'll find those helpful and edifying.

And there's a Bible study there, all kinds of things. And if there's anything, ladies, that you'd like to see added to the website or something that you'd like discussed on the show, send me your ideas, send me your questions, send me your challenges, whatever.

If you want me to put sparkles and glitter on the website, that's not going to happen. But send me your ideas. Send me things that you're looking for. Because by God's grace, Equipment Eve is here to serve you and to build up the body.

And so I can't do that if it's just all coming out of me. So I need your ideas. I need to know what's going on out there in your world. What are some things that you are encountering in your little circle of friends and people at church or people at school or whomever you are exposed to?

We all run in different circles, whether they're online circles or real people circles. I just found out about something today that is apparently a thing in some churches. And I'm not going to say what it is because we'll go off on a tangent that I'm not prepared to go off on.

But I've never even heard of this person. But apparently it's a problem. The teachings of this person are a problem. And that's just because I don't run in those circles. And so that's why I need you.

Let me know what are some things that you would like to hear discussed. So okay, that's all the housekeeping. That took way too long. So it is a beautifully sunny day here where I am. It's kind of mid to late January, depending on your view.

I guess it's late January. And you're probably hearing this in February. I don't know. We'll find out. But it's finally sunny where I am. That's exciting. I haven't seen the sun in over a week. And there's a beautiful blanket of very powdery snow outside, but it's really cold.

So I thought, you know, it's a good day to record a show. Let's just do that. And then I think I'm going to hunker down with a blanket, a cup of tea and a book. But for now, we'll do this. The sun is energizing me.

The Promises of God and the Seed in Genesis 3:15

So let's do this because I wanted to go back, ladies, to something that we started. Oh, back last year, and this is 2019. So we started it back in 2018. We had a show entitled Promises of God, God's Promised Seed.

So that was the title of that episode. And in that episode, we talked about, obviously, God's promised seed, Jesus Christ. So we kind of traced through the Bible, really, and saw how this seed that was promised in Genesis 3 .15, how that is the Lord Jesus Christ, and how that promise was traced throughout history, and how that came to culmination in his incarnation, etc., etc.

But what I'm trying to get at here is when I recorded that episode, I kind of wanted to make this a theme that we would come back to over and over again. And that theme is the promises of God. So, you know, it seemed to me, why not start with the greatest promise?

It's not going to be one of those, save the best for last. I mean, come on, God's promised seed, that's right there in Genesis, right? God has given us so many promises, has he not? And in fact, doesn't Peter say that just right out front in his second epistle?

Second Peter 1 reads, Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.

For by these he has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Magnificent and precious promises.

ESV says, that was the NASBA I was reading, the ESV says they are precious and very great promises. I mean, they're pretty awesome promises, right? And scripture is just filled with these promises of God.

So I wanted to have a series that we could come back to from time to time on the promises of God. And so I was thinking about that this weekend and thought, okay, what, you know, we need to come back to that.

I really wanted to bring you ladies back to that. But what promise do you go to next? I mean, pick one, right? I mean, we're never going to exhaust these. So I decided that we would go next to Christ's promised grip.

Christ's Promised Grip in John 10

Okay, so maybe you know where I'm going with this. So turn ladies to John 10. Turn with me to John 10, and we're going to take a look at this promise of God. And this series, like I said, I think it's going to pop up randomly here and there.

You know, I don't want to do just one right after the other episode of this. I want this to be something that we can kind of ponder all the promises of God. And, you know, maybe you can kind of keep this in mind, even just in your daily Bible reading.

You know, what promises of God do I see here? Make sure that you're applying scripture and interpreting scripture appropriately. And you aren't applying, say, a promise made to Israel to you. But I think you know what I mean.

So John 10, ladies, and to ensure that we have full context, I'm going to go ahead and read the whole chapter. So if that annoys you, I'm sorry, you can fast forward. But I'm going to go ahead and read through the whole chapter of John 10.

And I'm actually reading today from the ESV. So I often use the NASB. Today I'm using ESV. No particular reason, that's just what I'm using today. So but just so you are aware. So John 10, ladies. And remember, Jesus is speaking here.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him, the gatekeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So Jesus again said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the father knows me and I know the father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason, the father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father. Verse 19. There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.

Many of them said, he has a demon and is insane. Why listen to him? Others said, these are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? And if you remember, ladies, I'll just interject here.

Back in chapter 10, Jesus had healed a blind man. So that's where this is coming from. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? Verse 22. At that time, the feast of dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the colonnade of Solomon.

So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, how long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand.

I and the father are one. The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the father. For which of them are you going to stone me? The Jews answered him, it is not for good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.

Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be broken, do you say of him whom the father consecrated and sent into the world, you are blaspheming, because I said I am the son of God?

If I am not doing the works of my father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand, that the father is in me, and I am in the father.

Again, they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained, and many came to him, and they said, John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true, and many believed in him there.

The Good Shepherd, the Sheep, and the Voice of Christ

I love this chapter. I think this might actually be one of my favorite chapters in all of scripture. Colossians 1 is a, it might be tied. So I was thinking the other day that this might be my favorite chapter, and then on Twitter, my friend Debbie Lynn Kaspert, if you don't follow Debbie Lynn, you should on Twitter or Facebook.

You should visit her blog, The Outspoken Tulip. So shout out to Debbie Lynn, and she said something about Colossians 1 being her favorite chapter, and I thought, oh yeah, I love Colossians 1. So I don't know.

I think Colossians 1 and John 10 are tied. But this chapter is just, oh, I just, I love it. There's so much here. There's so much here. There's so much teaching here from our Savior, and there's, there, I'm speechless.

Okay. I just, I truly love John 10. And I think part of why I love it so much is this is where Christ calls himself the Good Shepherd, and that is probably my favorite picture of him. We think of the names of Christ or titles or identities of Christ, and there's so many throughout scripture.

And we think of the I Am statements, and I really think that Christ as the Good Shepherd is my favorite. And so that's actually not what we're talking about today, but we might come back to that. I don't know if we've done a show on the Good Shepherd before, but we should.

So even if we have done one, we might do another. I don't remember doing it. If you remember it, you should let me know. Okay. Anyway, so John 10 is this amazing chapter, and I wanted us to get, I just wanted us to hear all of this that Jesus was saying, and to really get a picture of what's happening here in this chapter.

And of course, to get true context, we have to go read the whole book of John, which I won't do, because who's going to listen to that? Go read it on your own. That would be magnificent. But what I actually want us to focus on today is verses 28 and 29, where Jesus says, I give them eternal life, his sheep, he gives them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I love that. I absolutely love that. So again, context. That's why we read the whole chapter.

That's why I paused there in the middle of the chapter, so we could kind of take a look back at chapter nine and see what's happening. And like I said, if you look back, you see that Jesus, that's the story of where Jesus heals the man who was born blind.

And so that happened in chapter nine, which is why some people were saying, well, he can't be demon oppressed. He's healing blind men. Who does that? And so Jesus is talking to the same people that he was talking to in chapter nine.

In chapter 10, this is the same audience. And what was he talking about as he kind of wrapped up chapter nine, if you will? He's talking about false shepherds. In fact, MacArthur says of these sections, he says, Israel was led by false shepherds who drew them astray from the true knowledge and kingdom of the Messiah.

And if you take a look, just bounce back a couple verses into the end of chapter nine. You see, Jesus said for judgment, verse 39, I came into this world that those who do not see may see. And those who see may become blind.

Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, are we also blind? And Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no guilt. But now that you say, we see your guilt remains.

And so that's the context here. That's his audience. That's who he's speaking to immediately there in the text. So then Jesus goes into his teaching in our chapter 10 on the fact that he is the good shepherd.

And he's using a bit of allegory here, isn't he? He's using word pictures. It's a great way for us to understand the text. It's a great way for us to remember truth, to get these pictures. And so he is the good shepherd and the sheep know his voice, just like a flock will know the voice of their shepherd.

And they won't follow another because they know the voice of their shepherd. And Jesus says that a few times, the sheep hear his voice. He says it later in the chapter in verse 27, my sheep hear my voice.

And I think one of the most common twists of scripture, I think in all of scripture comes out of chapter 10. And this statement by Jesus that my sheep hear my voice. And he says it a couple of times, but very specifically there in verse 27.

And I just want to make something really clear here that Jesus is not talking about a literal voice. He's not saying that those whom he calls will hear his literal voice coming from heaven. And then you get up and follow Jesus.

That's not how this works. So we just want to shut that nonsense down right now. And you're saying, well, how do you know this, Aaron? How do you know this is true? Well, let's take a look at the text.

My sheep hear my voice. And so you want to say that that means that you will hear a literal voice. In that case, I need to ask you, are you a sheep? I mean, like, not like, oh, yeah, we're as dumb as sheep.

You know, we need someone to lead us around. No, no. I mean, like, do you have, are you covered in wool? And you have the little tail and you eat grass and you go back instead of actually talking. Are you a sheep?

Because if the answer is no, then here's your problem. You can't have a literal voice in one half of the phrase, but have a figurative sheep in the first half of the phrase. You can't. That's not how this works.

And what I actually like to point out to folks when they bring this up from John 10 is I like to take them back to verse 6, where Jesus has already talked about the sheep hearing his voice, you know, because he's talking about the shepherd and the sheep hear his voice.

He calls the sheep by name. And verse 6 says, this figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand. So it's kind of really clear that that's what Jesus is doing here in this passage.

And so we really can't ignore that just because we want a warm, fuzzy, literal voice out of heaven. If you want to hear Jesus speak to you, read your Bible. He's right there. We just read it. We read so many of Christ's words right here in John 10.

What more do you want? It's not even just something that you hear and then you kind of forget because you didn't have a pen to write it down. No, no. It's like it's in black and white right in front of you on a piece of paper or on an iPad or whatever.

So, I mean, that's kind of like better. And so, you know, we're not looking for a literal voice here. This is a word picture. And if you think about it earlier in this chapter, Jesus also calls himself a door.

I am the door. Well, does anyone actually believe that Jesus is a door with hinges and a doorknob? No, no, right? It's a word picture. Okay, so that's a little bit of a digression, but it comes up in this passage.

And so I wanted to just knock that flat right here. That is the position at equipping Eve. And that is why, because it's nonsensical from the text itself to believe that this would be advocating for a literal voice from heaven.

So, all right, tangent aside, let's go back. So, Jesus is saying here that those whom he has called will be brought to him. So, those whom he calls, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

So, those whom he has called will come to him. John Calvin says of verse 27, he says, for God effectually calls all whom he has elected so that the sheep of Christ are proved by their faith. And indeed, the reason why the name of sheep is applied to believers is that they surrender themselves to God to be governed by the hand of the chief shepherd and laying aside the fierceness of their nature become mild and teachable.

And J .C. Ryle says of the words, they follow me. This means that his people like sheep obey, trust, and walk in the steps of their divine master. They follow him in holy obedience to his commandments.

They follow him in striving to copy his example, and they follow him in trusting implicitly his providential leadings, going where he would have them go and taking cheerfully all he appoints for them.

So, that's what we're looking at here. This is what Jesus is talking about, his children, those whom he has called, those whom he has saved. Now, again, I'm hearing out there in the distance, I'm hearing a protest.

I'm hearing, this is anti-evangelism, because now you're talking about people who are being called, and why are we even out there sharing the gospel? Because God's, Jesus is just going to call his own, blah, blah, blah.

Okay, well, I'm sorry to be going on tangents, but I think it's important that we do that so that we kind of, so that we are sure that we can focus on the point here, okay? So, Romans 8 is very clear in the monergistic work of God in salvation, okay?

So, I'm just going to take a really, another quick little digression here in Romans 8, 29. For those whom he foreknew, Paul writes, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. And that verse, verse 30 there of Romans 8 is really germane to the rest of this discussion and how we are looking at being in Christ's grip.

And I know we haven't actually gotten there yet, but we will. And the point is that those whom he has predestined, those whom he has foreknown, those whom he has called, and then he justifies them and he glorifies them, right?

I mean, that's really important that Jesus is doing this work and that we know it will be done to the fullest. And this is not anti-evangelism because Romans 10, just a couple of chapters later, would knock that out of the park, right?

How will they call on him in whom they've not believed? How are they to believe in him in whom they've never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. So again, let's not let that be a stumbling block, ladies. So those whom God calls, he saves. And those whom he saves, he keeps. John MacArthur has said that these verses in John, verses 28 and 29, let's read them again.

I give them eternal life and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand.

John MacArthur has said that these verses in John, that this might be the strongest passage in all of scripture for the absolute eternal security of every true Christian. And ladies, that promise is straight from the lips of Jesus.

Eternal Security in the Hand of God

So let's look back, let's go back to, well, I'm going to go back to this commentary by John Calvin. In verse 28, they shall never perish. He says, it is an inestimable fruit of faith that Christ bids us be convinced of our security when we are brought by faith into his fold.

But we must also observe on what foundation the certainty rest. It is because he will be a faithful guardian of our salvation, for he testifies that our salvation is in his hand. And if this were not enough, he says that they will be safely guarded by the power of his father.

This is a remarkable passage by which we are taught that the salvation of all the elect is not less certain than the power of God is invincible. Besides, Christ did not intend to throw this word foolishly into the air, but to give a promise which should remain deeply axed in their minds.

And therefore, we infer that the statement of Christ is intended to show that the elect are absolutely certain of their salvation. We are surrounded indeed by powerful adversaries, and so great is our weakness that we are every moment in imminent danger of death.

But as he who keeps what we have committed to him is greater or more powerful than all, we have no reason to tremble as if our life were in danger. And Calvin goes on and talks about the papists, but this would apply to many, even in evangelicalism, who rely on free will, that they will get themselves saved, and then they must keep themselves saved.

Calvin says, in short, our salvation is certain because it is in the hand of God. For our faith is weak and we are too prone to waver, but God, who has taken us under his protection, is sufficiently powerful to scatter with his breath alone all the forces of our adversaries.

And that's pretty amazing, right? We are under the protection of the hand of God. Our faith, our salvation is certain because it is in God's hand, it is in Christ's hand. When God saves, he does so effectually and eternally.

Salvation is all of Christ from start to finish, ladies. And that is what I think is really important here to remember. I think of Philippians 1, verse 6, where Paul writes, I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

This is all of Christ. Now, do we play an active role in our sanctification? Yes. In fact, we've talked about that, but we do so because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We cannot, on our own, walk blamelessly.

And like I said, we've talked about that before. If you head over to equippingeve .com, if you type in sanctification, you'll find a few articles and a couple of episodes that speak to this. This issue of sanctification, what is sanctification?

Who is doing the sanctifying? How does that work? And so I encourage you, if that's something that you'd like to learn more about, to go ahead and take a look and a listen to those episodes. But what I want us to remember and to rest in today, ladies, is that if Christ has saved you, he will keep you.

He didn't save you. He didn't save me on the basis of our works. So why would the maintenance of our salvation be based on our works? You know, sometimes the doctrine of eternal security is called once saved, always saved.

I know before I was actually saved when I was a false convert, I would have ascribed to that OSAS, once saved, always saved type of mindset. And I don't care for that phraseology because I think it sounds flippant.

And so this doesn't mean that we get saved and continue a life of sin, does it? No, of course not. You know, if I'm not mistaken, Paul addressed that also in Romans in chapter six. What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? You know, when we are saved, we are transformed. Our minds and our hearts and our desires and our wills.

We are transformed and we're not made perfect right away. Sanctification is a progressive thing. But when God saves you, when God saved me, he transforms us at that moment of salvation. New minds, new hearts.

We lay aside the old man or the old woman because we have a whole new wardrobe in Christ. But what a comfort to know that we, ladies, as daughters of the King, this is why I love these verses, what a comfort to know that we are cupped safely in his hand.

You think about it, if you have young children, even as infants, they're too big to hold entirely in one hand. But think about it. I think of when I was a little girl and or I think of when I see parents with their young children and they're holding on to their mommy's hand or their daddy's hand.