Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) Every believer has received Eternal life, which is the nature of the Father as unveiled in Christ. Jesus also tells us, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) This is the believers utter oneness in and with Christ. As a branch of the vine, the same life that is manifested in the vine is flowing out through you and bearing fruit. It is the vine's life in every believer that produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
The reality of who we are in Christ; who Christ is in us; and how the Father truly sees us, lies in our desire to "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...admonishing, educating, training, correcting, transforming and building faith and love into our spirit." (Colossians 3:16) "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6) “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:32) It is the Word that builds us up. It is the Word that makes us know of our inheritance. It is the Word that shows us our relationship with the Godhead. It is the Word that makes us know our rights and privileges in Christ. It is the Word that sets us free. It is the Word that heals. It is the Word that sanctifies. It is the Word that is life, because the Word is God. (John 1:1)
It has been said, "Our attitude towards God’s Word determines the place that God holds in our daily life." When believers step out into their rights as the righteousness of God in Christ, and begin to bear fruit, it will be the same kind of fruit Jesus bore in His earth walk. "Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness." (2 Corinthians 9:10) Righteousness means the ability to stand in the Father's presence without the sense of guilt, shame, condemnation or inferiority. The righteousness of God in Christ become yours through the finished work of Christ. There is no begging for it, doing works to obtain it, but simply believing, receiving and acting on God’s Word. It’s not about feelings, it’s about believing, period!
Knowing our true identity in Christ and walking in it, also gives us the legal right to the use of the Name of Jesus. It gives us ability to stand in the presence of diseases of all kinds without fear and in the presence of Satan as an absolute master. "If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him." (1 John 2:29) How few believers have ever practiced righteousness, simply because most have been taught that practicing righteousness only meant godly conduct. That is implied, but it goes even further. Practicing righteousness is also doing the works that Jesus did and even greater. (John 14:12)
"God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin." (1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT) "[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." (Philippians 2:13 AMP) Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge. If you understand who we are in Christ, who Christ is us and how the Father truly sees us, then you have the knowledge of the life of God that is in you.
Therefore, you have the knowledge of the power and authority of the Word. You have the knowledge of your legal right to use the Name of Jesus in your combat with darkness. You have the knowledge of the fact that God is actually in your body. The question is, are we going to use these mighty facts to bless humanity. If believers would exercise faith in God’s Word and recognize that they have God’s ability and His wisdom and let them loose, what limitlessness there will be to your life and ministry. Give God the praise!!!
Monday, April 8, 2019
Monday, April 1, 2019
Please Be Seated
The climax of Redemption was the seating of the Lord Jesus. After He had been made sin, after He had satisfied the claims of justice, after fully paying the penalty of our sin which tied us to a relationship with Satan, a debt in which we could not pay, then Christ, with us, rose from the dead. Now God declares, "And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6 ) This was the highest honor that God had ever awarded man. God the Word became a man, identified Himself with the human race, delivered the human race from the authority of Satan and carried His own blood into the Holy of Holies of heaven as Hebrews tells us, "After He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God." (Hebrews 10:12) Thus, making redemption eternal, complete, comprehensive and available to all who confess Jesus as Lord and receive Him as Savior.
We have the man Jesus Christ the righteous, seated at God's right hand as our representative to represent us before the Father, "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5) "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25) "For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." (Hebrews 9:24) "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1)
This is the highlight of redemption. Not only is every believer completely identified with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection and newness of life, (Romans 6:1-5), but Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand, as the head of the new body, the Church, and we also are seated with Him, "far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come." (Ephesians 1:21) This is not only identification, but now we see our position. We can see that our redemption is a completed, finished thing. If Christ sat down at God's right hand, it is because the Father accepted Him and accepted what He did for us. The fact that He is seated there is the seal of our acceptance in the Beloved, "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:6)
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "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." (Ephesians 1:3) Faith says, not only are we seated in the highest position in the universe, but we are also blessed with every spiritual blessing. Another wonderful point to consider, the Apostle Paul tells us, "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3) Faith also says, we are hidden from Satan, but we are visible to the Father, that is, not our physical bodies, the real us, our recreated spirit. The fact of the New Creation should be a nonnegotiable revelation in us. What I mean by a nonnegotiable revelation in us, is, no one, no person, no angel, no demon, not even Satan himself should ever again be permitted to rob us of who and what we truly are.
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle John tells us, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4 ) "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith." (1 John 5:4) The Apostle Paul tells us, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) So, let faith arise in us and say aloud, "I am of God...God, the greater One lives in me...I have the victory because I have world overcoming faith in me." Let us hold fast to this most wonderful redemption that we have in Christ as we sit with Him on His throne in the heavenly places. The grace of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ be with you all...
We have the man Jesus Christ the righteous, seated at God's right hand as our representative to represent us before the Father, "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5) "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25) "For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." (Hebrews 9:24) "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1)
This is the highlight of redemption. Not only is every believer completely identified with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection and newness of life, (Romans 6:1-5), but Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand, as the head of the new body, the Church, and we also are seated with Him, "far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come." (Ephesians 1:21) This is not only identification, but now we see our position. We can see that our redemption is a completed, finished thing. If Christ sat down at God's right hand, it is because the Father accepted Him and accepted what He did for us. The fact that He is seated there is the seal of our acceptance in the Beloved, "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:6)
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "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." (Ephesians 1:3) Faith says, not only are we seated in the highest position in the universe, but we are also blessed with every spiritual blessing. Another wonderful point to consider, the Apostle Paul tells us, "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3) Faith also says, we are hidden from Satan, but we are visible to the Father, that is, not our physical bodies, the real us, our recreated spirit. The fact of the New Creation should be a nonnegotiable revelation in us. What I mean by a nonnegotiable revelation in us, is, no one, no person, no angel, no demon, not even Satan himself should ever again be permitted to rob us of who and what we truly are.
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle John tells us, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4 ) "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith." (1 John 5:4) The Apostle Paul tells us, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) So, let faith arise in us and say aloud, "I am of God...God, the greater One lives in me...I have the victory because I have world overcoming faith in me." Let us hold fast to this most wonderful redemption that we have in Christ as we sit with Him on His throne in the heavenly places. The grace of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ be with you all...
Monday, March 25, 2019
The New Frontier
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle John tells us, "And this is the promise that He has promised us, eternal life." (1 John 2:25) Eternal life or in other words, is, life as God is life; the Nature of God. Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6) Contrary to what many have been taught, eternal life is not a destination, but the reality of God’s life in us now. The same eternal life or nature of God that made Jesus righteous has been imparted to a person the moment one is born again. Was it any wonder that the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle John, "As He is, so are we in this world?" As the Father became the righteousness of Jesus, so He becomes the righteousness of every believer. (2 Corinthians 5:21) As the Father became the life of Jesus, He becomes the life of every believer. This truth will revolutionize every believer when we grasps this by faith.
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6) This could not be true unless believers were as righteous as Jesus was. This is the reason why the writer of Hebrews tells us, "Let us therefore come boldly (free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, with full assurance) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
The sense of oneness with Him in His righteousness is as real as His sense of oneness was with us when He was made sin, sickness and became a curse.
This should give us the unwavering confidence in Him to take our place as victors, as conquerors to go out, uphold, enforce and continue to do the work that Jesus began to do when He was here on earth as the Son of Man. Why? Not only have we been commissioned to do so, but, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57) "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ." (2 Corinthians 2:14) Christ victory is the believers victory. He did not need to fight that battle; He did it for us. When He conquered the adversary and stripped him of his authority, in the mind of the Father it was as though we had done it. The reality is, before we became born again, we were slaves to sin and Satan. But now in Christ we are Satan's master, just as Jesus was when He arose from the dead.
Next we see, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38) Just as Jesus conquered the works of the devil during His earth walk, every believer can conquer him today. Jesus tells us, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19) "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17-18) "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." (John 14:12) This means that every believer is expected to continue the works that Jesus began.
Therefore, the end of defeat and failure is now. This is the beginning of a new era for all believers. It is time that the church truly and deeply appreciate what God has done for us in Christ. It is time that we truly and deeply appreciate what it means to be a member of the body of Christ. We are now the righteous victors. Satan can no longer place on us, guilt, condemnation, unworthiness or inferiority. We are New Creation sons and daughters. We are God's children. So, let us thank Him and go out and enjoy the fullness of this marvelous Redemption.
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6) This could not be true unless believers were as righteous as Jesus was. This is the reason why the writer of Hebrews tells us, "Let us therefore come boldly (free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, with full assurance) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
The sense of oneness with Him in His righteousness is as real as His sense of oneness was with us when He was made sin, sickness and became a curse.
This should give us the unwavering confidence in Him to take our place as victors, as conquerors to go out, uphold, enforce and continue to do the work that Jesus began to do when He was here on earth as the Son of Man. Why? Not only have we been commissioned to do so, but, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57) "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ." (2 Corinthians 2:14) Christ victory is the believers victory. He did not need to fight that battle; He did it for us. When He conquered the adversary and stripped him of his authority, in the mind of the Father it was as though we had done it. The reality is, before we became born again, we were slaves to sin and Satan. But now in Christ we are Satan's master, just as Jesus was when He arose from the dead.
Next we see, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38) Just as Jesus conquered the works of the devil during His earth walk, every believer can conquer him today. Jesus tells us, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19) "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17-18) "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." (John 14:12) This means that every believer is expected to continue the works that Jesus began.
Therefore, the end of defeat and failure is now. This is the beginning of a new era for all believers. It is time that the church truly and deeply appreciate what God has done for us in Christ. It is time that we truly and deeply appreciate what it means to be a member of the body of Christ. We are now the righteous victors. Satan can no longer place on us, guilt, condemnation, unworthiness or inferiority. We are New Creation sons and daughters. We are God's children. So, let us thank Him and go out and enjoy the fullness of this marvelous Redemption.
Monday, March 18, 2019
It Has Been Put Away
The word substitute means, "a person or thing acting or serving in place of another." This is precisely what God did through Jesus Christ for the benefit of all humanity. Jesus was our Substitute. He died under our Judgment, in our stead, because He was made sin with our sin. This took place because "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16) "There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) It was God in Christ that took man's liability, because no human could ever fix the sin problem, escape judgment and stand right with God. Therefore, when one accepts Christ, there is no judgment for him or her. "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him (Christ)." (John 3:18 NLT) In the mind of justice, we died to sin and its dominion when we died with Christ. "For he who has died has been freed from sin." (Romans 6:7)
In the mind of God, the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, brought us into a perfect oneness with Christ. Just as Jesus conquered death by submitting to it, "I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." (John 10:17-18), we, the new creations in Christ, conquer Satan by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus. In the same way that we have died to sin, according to Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:17; Romans 8:32; 1 Peter 2:24, disease and sickness do not belong to the new creation either. Jesus not only had our sin nature laid on Him, but He had our diseases laid on Him also. When He put sin away, He put sickness and disease away. "By His stripes we are (were) healed."
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all." (Romans 6:10) Christ has died once for all as our sin Substitute. He, in judgment, met the demands of justice for us. He took sin, sickness, disease and the curse of the law to hell, the place of judgment, the place of suffering and put them completely away! Now, for those who put their trust (faith) in Christ, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10) becomes a current reality. The New Living Translation say it this way, "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." The Father now sees every believer in beauty and perfection in Christ. "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." ( Colossians 3:3) Once a person receives Christ as their LORD and Savior, their old nature is executed, it died.
The theory of our dying daily with Christ comes from 1 Corinthians 15:31, "I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily." Paul is not talking about going to the cross of Christ again and again to continuously die to Christ or to die to sinful habits. He was actually saying, due to his mission for Christ, he was constantly living in the presence of physical death; He was in danger of losing his physical life on a daily bases. The fact is, we died once with Christ and now we live with and in Him. His perfect Redemption is ours; His perfect Righteousness is ours;
All He is and did is ours and all we are is His! "God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself." (Ephesians 1:22-23 NLT) This is "Good News."
The Father made us one with Himself in Christ, "even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).(Ephesians 2:5) "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses." (Colossians 2:13) "God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did." (Romans 4:17) "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." (Ephesians 1:4) In the mind of God, before the foundations of the world, He chose us, and though dead in our trespasses, He made us alive in Christ, holy and without blame before Him in love. In other words, God counted us New Creations, His sons and daughters, before the foundations of the world simply because He counted the things that were not as though they were, and they became. PTL...
The moment a person confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and receives Him as Savior, the new birth, the new creation and everything tied to and associated with redemption becomes an instant reality. Now believers may not know these facts, but that does not change them in any way. "Who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous." (Romans 4:25 YLT) We could not have been declared righteous unless Jesus Himself satisfied the claims of justice and therefore declared righteous Himself. Therefore, if He was made righteous, then all who confess Him as our LORD, accept Him as Savior, receive eternal life and are automatically made righteous that moment. To add to this, believers can dominate the forces of darkness in the Name of Jesus.
This has nothing to do with our works, but, Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]. (Ephesians 3:20 AMP) It is God at work in and through us, because, sin, sickness, disease and the curse of the law have been put away through our wonderful Substitute, Jesus Christ our LORD.
In the mind of God, the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, brought us into a perfect oneness with Christ. Just as Jesus conquered death by submitting to it, "I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." (John 10:17-18), we, the new creations in Christ, conquer Satan by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus. In the same way that we have died to sin, according to Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:17; Romans 8:32; 1 Peter 2:24, disease and sickness do not belong to the new creation either. Jesus not only had our sin nature laid on Him, but He had our diseases laid on Him also. When He put sin away, He put sickness and disease away. "By His stripes we are (were) healed."
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all." (Romans 6:10) Christ has died once for all as our sin Substitute. He, in judgment, met the demands of justice for us. He took sin, sickness, disease and the curse of the law to hell, the place of judgment, the place of suffering and put them completely away! Now, for those who put their trust (faith) in Christ, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10) becomes a current reality. The New Living Translation say it this way, "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." The Father now sees every believer in beauty and perfection in Christ. "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." ( Colossians 3:3) Once a person receives Christ as their LORD and Savior, their old nature is executed, it died.
The theory of our dying daily with Christ comes from 1 Corinthians 15:31, "I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily." Paul is not talking about going to the cross of Christ again and again to continuously die to Christ or to die to sinful habits. He was actually saying, due to his mission for Christ, he was constantly living in the presence of physical death; He was in danger of losing his physical life on a daily bases. The fact is, we died once with Christ and now we live with and in Him. His perfect Redemption is ours; His perfect Righteousness is ours;
All He is and did is ours and all we are is His! "God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself." (Ephesians 1:22-23 NLT) This is "Good News."
The Father made us one with Himself in Christ, "even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).(Ephesians 2:5) "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses." (Colossians 2:13) "God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did." (Romans 4:17) "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." (Ephesians 1:4) In the mind of God, before the foundations of the world, He chose us, and though dead in our trespasses, He made us alive in Christ, holy and without blame before Him in love. In other words, God counted us New Creations, His sons and daughters, before the foundations of the world simply because He counted the things that were not as though they were, and they became. PTL...
The moment a person confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and receives Him as Savior, the new birth, the new creation and everything tied to and associated with redemption becomes an instant reality. Now believers may not know these facts, but that does not change them in any way. "Who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous." (Romans 4:25 YLT) We could not have been declared righteous unless Jesus Himself satisfied the claims of justice and therefore declared righteous Himself. Therefore, if He was made righteous, then all who confess Him as our LORD, accept Him as Savior, receive eternal life and are automatically made righteous that moment. To add to this, believers can dominate the forces of darkness in the Name of Jesus.
This has nothing to do with our works, but, Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]. (Ephesians 3:20 AMP) It is God at work in and through us, because, sin, sickness, disease and the curse of the law have been put away through our wonderful Substitute, Jesus Christ our LORD.
Monday, March 11, 2019
A Permanent Ending
Death is defined in various ways. One definition is "a permanent ending to that which was alive." The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul, concerning a believers former life before Christ, and their new life in Christ, tells us, "For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." (Romans 6:7-8) This literally means "he that has died" in a physical sense. Note that the physical truth points to the spiritual truth. What the Holy Spirit wants all believers to completely understand is that, has been freed from sin, means, justified, acquitted, absolved, freed from sin, period. That as Christ was once dead but now lives to God, and will no more die, so we, being dead to sin, but living unto God, should not obey sin, but should live only to God, not only in the next life but now! The believers identification with Christ (his/her union with Christ) is noted throughout Romans, "Died with Him" (Romans 6:3, 8)…"Buried with Him" (Romans 6:4)…"United together with Him" (Romans 6:5)…"Raised with Him" (Romans 6:4-5)…"Crucified with Him" (Romans 6:6)..."Alive with Him" (Romans 6:8). Believers need to see not only Christ’s substitution in these things but also our identification with Him in these thing. Paul goes on...
"Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts." (Romans 6:9-12) Reckon means, to not imagine or count something true that is not true. In verse 11 we see another faith declaration. Let's declare, "I conclude that it is true, I am dead to sin, and I am alive, I have life in Christ Jesus my Lord." The believer is to allow Christ, as King, to reign over him or her, not sin. Although the law of sin has not yet been eradicated from the believer, because the believer still has a mortal body that is subject to physical death, (physical death is the last enemy to be destroyed, 1 Corinthians 15:26), there is the constant need to say no to sin and yes to life in Christ Jesus. Paul now gives us very detailed instructions concerning our new life...
"And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." (Romans 6:13) This is our identification with Christ’s death and resurrection. Sin is a spiritual law and needs a person, their body, as an instrument to express itself. The heart of the whole matter concerns yielding the body's members as an instruments of sin or instruments of righteousness. God will not encroach our choice, but exhorts us to live in a higher level of life which is actually true freedom. This life, simply put, is a life by grace through faith. The more we recognize how to live in the grace of God, the more freedom that we will experience. The following scripture makes this completely clear.
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14) Paul is clear that the believer can live a victorious life in Christ. Sin does not need to have dominion (reign as king) over the believer. The believer can have dominion (reign as king) over sin. This does not mean that the believer has reached a state of sinless perfection, but rather the believer no longer needs to be ruled or dominated by sin. The believer is not under the law, that is, the dominion of the law of sin as the context is dealing with, nor is the believer under the law to Moses (see Romans 7), but the believer is under grace, which is actually being under the law to Christ. Grace is a higher and stronger law.
Grace as defined as, "[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." (Philippians 2:13 AMP) Simply put, grace is the free gift of God given gratuitously which is undeserved and unmerited, overflowing with superior love, superior favor and divine influence that gives believes the ability and desire to do God’s will, to fulfill His purpose, and is the source of all the benefits believers receive, which is released through faith. What we have seen here in Romans 6 is the sanctification and identification of the believer in and with Christ. Sanctification is the operation of the new law of life in Christ Jesus, a higher spiritual law, which makes us free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
Therefore, in the mind of God, when Christ was crucified, we were crucified; when Christ died, we died; when Christ was buried, we were buried; when Christ spent three days and three nights as our substitute in hell, we were in Him until the claims of justice were fully met; when Christ met the claims of justice, our old satanic, sinful nature was put away; when Christ was raised, we were raised; when Christ ascended, we ascended; when Christ sat down on the throne with all things under His feet, we also sat down on the throne with all things under our feet; as Christ lives, we also live; we are no longer slaves of sin; we have been freed from sin, and should walk in the newness of life! When believers come into the full knowledge of these things, we will experience what is commonly known as revival, but it will be normal Christianity, which is really true Christianity. The Christianity that we read in the Acts of the Apostles, filled with God's presence, glory and power. In other words, the way Christianity was intended to be until Christ returns. The grace of our LORD Jesus Christ be with you all...
"Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts." (Romans 6:9-12) Reckon means, to not imagine or count something true that is not true. In verse 11 we see another faith declaration. Let's declare, "I conclude that it is true, I am dead to sin, and I am alive, I have life in Christ Jesus my Lord." The believer is to allow Christ, as King, to reign over him or her, not sin. Although the law of sin has not yet been eradicated from the believer, because the believer still has a mortal body that is subject to physical death, (physical death is the last enemy to be destroyed, 1 Corinthians 15:26), there is the constant need to say no to sin and yes to life in Christ Jesus. Paul now gives us very detailed instructions concerning our new life...
"And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." (Romans 6:13) This is our identification with Christ’s death and resurrection. Sin is a spiritual law and needs a person, their body, as an instrument to express itself. The heart of the whole matter concerns yielding the body's members as an instruments of sin or instruments of righteousness. God will not encroach our choice, but exhorts us to live in a higher level of life which is actually true freedom. This life, simply put, is a life by grace through faith. The more we recognize how to live in the grace of God, the more freedom that we will experience. The following scripture makes this completely clear.
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14) Paul is clear that the believer can live a victorious life in Christ. Sin does not need to have dominion (reign as king) over the believer. The believer can have dominion (reign as king) over sin. This does not mean that the believer has reached a state of sinless perfection, but rather the believer no longer needs to be ruled or dominated by sin. The believer is not under the law, that is, the dominion of the law of sin as the context is dealing with, nor is the believer under the law to Moses (see Romans 7), but the believer is under grace, which is actually being under the law to Christ. Grace is a higher and stronger law.
Grace as defined as, "[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." (Philippians 2:13 AMP) Simply put, grace is the free gift of God given gratuitously which is undeserved and unmerited, overflowing with superior love, superior favor and divine influence that gives believes the ability and desire to do God’s will, to fulfill His purpose, and is the source of all the benefits believers receive, which is released through faith. What we have seen here in Romans 6 is the sanctification and identification of the believer in and with Christ. Sanctification is the operation of the new law of life in Christ Jesus, a higher spiritual law, which makes us free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
Therefore, in the mind of God, when Christ was crucified, we were crucified; when Christ died, we died; when Christ was buried, we were buried; when Christ spent three days and three nights as our substitute in hell, we were in Him until the claims of justice were fully met; when Christ met the claims of justice, our old satanic, sinful nature was put away; when Christ was raised, we were raised; when Christ ascended, we ascended; when Christ sat down on the throne with all things under His feet, we also sat down on the throne with all things under our feet; as Christ lives, we also live; we are no longer slaves of sin; we have been freed from sin, and should walk in the newness of life! When believers come into the full knowledge of these things, we will experience what is commonly known as revival, but it will be normal Christianity, which is really true Christianity. The Christianity that we read in the Acts of the Apostles, filled with God's presence, glory and power. In other words, the way Christianity was intended to be until Christ returns. The grace of our LORD Jesus Christ be with you all...
Monday, March 4, 2019
Brand New
Christ is the incarnate Substitute, that is, the crucified, buried, resurrected, ascended, and glorified Lord! Because of Him, all men may go free with no wrath of God and no penalty for sin placed on them. God offers a free pardon to all men, all people. The cost of this freedom is absolutely free to all people, however, it cost God everything. No one can buy it, earn it, we do not deserve it, nor can anyone work for it. It is freely given, because it is all of grace. In other words, as it has been said, "it is God's riches freely given to man, at Christs expense." Satan has been defeated, man has been redeemed, is now declared righteous, and is in right standing with God. All men are judicially and legally set free from sin, guilt, condemnation, unworthiness, inferiority and the punishment of sin, which is death. However, all of this can only be received on God's terms, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
No longer do we identify with our "old nature" but with our new nature which is in Christ as we will see played out in Romans chapter six. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1-2) If a believer is "dead to sin," it is impossible for him or her to live in sin. If a person lives in sin, then he or she is not dead to it and knows nothing of the true grace of God. The aspect of death is not only physical but also a spiritual state, (not to mention, eternal death) and is spoken here as being "dead to sin," that is, separation from sinful living. Therefore, the expression "dead to sin” speaks of the way that the believers spiritual state is separated unto God from the sin in which he/she formerly lived. Notice that Paul never states that "sin is dead to us" but that we are "dead to sin." The law of sin or the principles of sin is still present in the believer, but it can be rendered inoperative as the believer walks after the higher law. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2)
Paul now asks another question. "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" (Romans 6:3) We need to ask ourselves the same question, and in doing so, also ask, do we truly believe this? The believer became "dead to sin" by being united with Jesus Christ, that is, baptism into Christ. Baptism here refers to immersion into His death. Believers are to see in Calvary not only Christ’s death for him or her, but also his or her death. Every believer by spiritual union with Christ, enters into His death and in water baptism, testifies his or her identification with His death. It goes on, "Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4) Christ was raised up from the dead by the power of the Father. (Ephesians 1:19-21) In this, the believer is also raised up. Christ rose to walk in newness of life. The believer also rises to walk in newness of life, the new nature, not in the oldness of the old life.
Again, believers, by applying faith to God's Word are to, "put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24) and, "put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." (Colossians 3:9-10) Believers are to lay aside, renounce, render inoperable the old man and "walk in newness of life" which was instantly imparted at the moment of regeneration. The Holy Spirit seals this reality by saying to us, "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (Romans 6:5-6)
If one can believe that they were united together in the likeness of Christ’s death, then we also are to believe that we are also in the likeness of His resurrection. Notice the tense here. Not, is crucified with Him, but, was crucified with Him. The same truth is brought out in Paul's revelation of this very thing, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) This is very important to grasp. This is where faith arises and says, "my old man (old demonic, fallen, spiritually dead, sinful nature) was crucified with Christ and now I have a new nature, Christ lives in me and now I live by faith in Him!"
The Centenary Translation of Romans 6:6 puts it this way, "For this we know, that our old self was crucified with Christ, in order that the slave of sin might be destroyed; so that we should no longer be in slavery to sin." Although I am virtually saying the same thing again, let's make this verse a faith declaration, that is, "I died with Christ, the o1d man, that sinful nature, that was a partaker of spiritual death, died with Christ and now I am no longer a slave to sin." The reality is, by nature, we were born as slaves to Satan and sin. Now, the believer is no longer a slave to Satan and sin but servants, even sons and daughters of God in Christ. The word "destroyed" in this verse means, made void, made without effect; to bring to naught, vanish away, put away, put down, abolished, to cease, rendered inoperative, or inactive. When the body of Jesus was crucified, died, and was rendered inactive, inoperative, the believer's body of sin is the same because of his or her union with Christ in His death. Therefore, we are no longer serving sin but serving Jesus in this brand new, recreated, born again, supernatural life provided by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.PTL...
No longer do we identify with our "old nature" but with our new nature which is in Christ as we will see played out in Romans chapter six. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1-2) If a believer is "dead to sin," it is impossible for him or her to live in sin. If a person lives in sin, then he or she is not dead to it and knows nothing of the true grace of God. The aspect of death is not only physical but also a spiritual state, (not to mention, eternal death) and is spoken here as being "dead to sin," that is, separation from sinful living. Therefore, the expression "dead to sin” speaks of the way that the believers spiritual state is separated unto God from the sin in which he/she formerly lived. Notice that Paul never states that "sin is dead to us" but that we are "dead to sin." The law of sin or the principles of sin is still present in the believer, but it can be rendered inoperative as the believer walks after the higher law. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2)
Paul now asks another question. "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" (Romans 6:3) We need to ask ourselves the same question, and in doing so, also ask, do we truly believe this? The believer became "dead to sin" by being united with Jesus Christ, that is, baptism into Christ. Baptism here refers to immersion into His death. Believers are to see in Calvary not only Christ’s death for him or her, but also his or her death. Every believer by spiritual union with Christ, enters into His death and in water baptism, testifies his or her identification with His death. It goes on, "Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4) Christ was raised up from the dead by the power of the Father. (Ephesians 1:19-21) In this, the believer is also raised up. Christ rose to walk in newness of life. The believer also rises to walk in newness of life, the new nature, not in the oldness of the old life.
Again, believers, by applying faith to God's Word are to, "put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24) and, "put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." (Colossians 3:9-10) Believers are to lay aside, renounce, render inoperable the old man and "walk in newness of life" which was instantly imparted at the moment of regeneration. The Holy Spirit seals this reality by saying to us, "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (Romans 6:5-6)
If one can believe that they were united together in the likeness of Christ’s death, then we also are to believe that we are also in the likeness of His resurrection. Notice the tense here. Not, is crucified with Him, but, was crucified with Him. The same truth is brought out in Paul's revelation of this very thing, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) This is very important to grasp. This is where faith arises and says, "my old man (old demonic, fallen, spiritually dead, sinful nature) was crucified with Christ and now I have a new nature, Christ lives in me and now I live by faith in Him!"
The Centenary Translation of Romans 6:6 puts it this way, "For this we know, that our old self was crucified with Christ, in order that the slave of sin might be destroyed; so that we should no longer be in slavery to sin." Although I am virtually saying the same thing again, let's make this verse a faith declaration, that is, "I died with Christ, the o1d man, that sinful nature, that was a partaker of spiritual death, died with Christ and now I am no longer a slave to sin." The reality is, by nature, we were born as slaves to Satan and sin. Now, the believer is no longer a slave to Satan and sin but servants, even sons and daughters of God in Christ. The word "destroyed" in this verse means, made void, made without effect; to bring to naught, vanish away, put away, put down, abolished, to cease, rendered inoperative, or inactive. When the body of Jesus was crucified, died, and was rendered inactive, inoperative, the believer's body of sin is the same because of his or her union with Christ in His death. Therefore, we are no longer serving sin but serving Jesus in this brand new, recreated, born again, supernatural life provided by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.PTL...
Monday, February 25, 2019
A Comprehensive Redemption
God established His brilliant plan of redemption through Jesus Christ and it is through Christ alone in which man is saved. Due to Christ's meritorious work as man's Substitute, God now has the legal right to give man eternal life. It is not based on what man can do to earn all the fullness of redemption, it is given by God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Every law, whether the law of Moses or the religious laws that man has placed in the church, are no longer a means of becoming righteous as we will see. "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets." (Romans 3:21) Up to this point in Romans, Paul has expressed and exposed to man his condition as a helpless sinner under wrath and judgment, unjustified, guilty, condemned, and under the death penalty. But now, Paul tums to what God has done for all mankind through Jesus Christ.
First, understand that man's basic need was and is righteousness, that is, the ability to stand in the Father's presence without the sense of guilt, condemnation, unworthiness or inferiority. The Apostle Paul declares that God has unveiled a new source of righteousness which is witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even though God has revealed His righteousness apart from the law, that righteousness is not contrary to the law or against it. As far as God is concerned, the Law, Prophets and Christ set forth His righteousness; "even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference." (Romans 3:22); "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, the just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)
Now we know where or to whom our faith is applied, Jesus Christ. This is very important to grasp. Why? The reality is, most believers tend to have more faith the day they received Christ than they have since. This may be the main reason why so many live under guilt, condemnation, unworthiness or inferiority. For believers to live free of these enemies, we must apply faith that what God said is absolutely true and then apply or act upon His Word. Notice: The righteousness of God is “to all and on all who believe.” This is an open invitation to the entire world, that is, to all people everywhere, who believe. This believing, or faith, in Jesus Christ is not just mere mental assent, or intellectual knowledge. To believe in or on the Lord Jesus Christ is; to adhere, cleave to, trust in, to have faith in, to rely on. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31 AMP)
This applies across the board with every area of life as a Christian.
Next we see, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) All have sinned; All are guilty; all have transgressed; all are lawless; all have fallen short; none measure up to the perfection of God, the glory of God and the divine standard of God's righteousness. However, "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:24) Being justified freely by his grace. Justified means "made righteous, acquitted; made and declared right; freed from guilt and blame, and therefore, freed from the penalty and punishment of sin's guilt. At Calvary, the law was honored, sin was judged, death was dealt with, and pardon was made available. Therefore, we see that God is gracious without being unjust, and He is just without be ungracious. This redemption, this buy back, the purchasing of, has been provided in and through Jesus Christ. "whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed." (Romans 3:25)
God Himself had foreordained Christ to be the Lamb from and before the foundation of the world. Jesus was set forth to be a sin Substitute, on the ground of faith and His blood. God did this to show His righteousness because He had been passing over the sins of Israel for fifteen hundred years. Now it is demanded that the penalty be paid. Jesus met that penalty and paid or redeemed the promises that were made each year by the High Priest on the great Day of Atonement. In effect, Jesus cashed in 1500 years of promissory notes and brought redemption to every man who had been blood-covered under the First Covenant as we see, "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:12 ) Note that this redemption is an Eternal Redemption. When Christ carried His blood into the Most Holy Place of heaven and the Supreme Court of the Universe accepted it, man’s redemption became a completed, comprehensive and eternal thing.
"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:13-14 ) Notice that the blood of bulls and goats only cleanses the flesh, the outward man. It did not cleanse the heart. It did not make man a New Creation. "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." (Hebrews 9:15) Jesus died for the sins of those living under the First Covenant that had been covered by blood from year to year, that they might have their share in the inheritance of redemption through Christ.
Finally, these things bring clarity to us in this, "He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." (Hebrews 9:26) Again, God has dealt with the sin problem. Therefore, the sin problem is ended and the sinner, Jew and Gentile, has the legal right to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, because God so loved him that He gave him His only begotten Son. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) Note very carefully that in this New Creation, the man who accepts Christ receives eternal life. Spiritual death, the nature of the devil, is driven out. The believer is given a new nature, that is, his spirit is recreated and given God's nature. (Ephesians 4:24; 2 Peter 1:4) All of this is for this one purpose, "to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)
God is righteous and the righteousness of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ. The only way that a person can become righteous in the eyes of God, is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and His blood. It is upon simple faith in Jesus Christ, that is, acting upon what God has said in regard to His Son. Now we can understand that we were justified, declared righteous, freely by his Grace, through the redemption God worked in Christ. So then, if Christ has fulfilled the law and the righteousness of the law, then whosoever believes and receives Christ, (in the biblical sense), the righteousness of the law is also fulfilled in him or her. Shout hallelujah!!!
First, understand that man's basic need was and is righteousness, that is, the ability to stand in the Father's presence without the sense of guilt, condemnation, unworthiness or inferiority. The Apostle Paul declares that God has unveiled a new source of righteousness which is witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even though God has revealed His righteousness apart from the law, that righteousness is not contrary to the law or against it. As far as God is concerned, the Law, Prophets and Christ set forth His righteousness; "even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference." (Romans 3:22); "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, the just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)
Now we know where or to whom our faith is applied, Jesus Christ. This is very important to grasp. Why? The reality is, most believers tend to have more faith the day they received Christ than they have since. This may be the main reason why so many live under guilt, condemnation, unworthiness or inferiority. For believers to live free of these enemies, we must apply faith that what God said is absolutely true and then apply or act upon His Word. Notice: The righteousness of God is “to all and on all who believe.” This is an open invitation to the entire world, that is, to all people everywhere, who believe. This believing, or faith, in Jesus Christ is not just mere mental assent, or intellectual knowledge. To believe in or on the Lord Jesus Christ is; to adhere, cleave to, trust in, to have faith in, to rely on. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31 AMP)
This applies across the board with every area of life as a Christian.
Next we see, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) All have sinned; All are guilty; all have transgressed; all are lawless; all have fallen short; none measure up to the perfection of God, the glory of God and the divine standard of God's righteousness. However, "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:24) Being justified freely by his grace. Justified means "made righteous, acquitted; made and declared right; freed from guilt and blame, and therefore, freed from the penalty and punishment of sin's guilt. At Calvary, the law was honored, sin was judged, death was dealt with, and pardon was made available. Therefore, we see that God is gracious without being unjust, and He is just without be ungracious. This redemption, this buy back, the purchasing of, has been provided in and through Jesus Christ. "whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed." (Romans 3:25)
God Himself had foreordained Christ to be the Lamb from and before the foundation of the world. Jesus was set forth to be a sin Substitute, on the ground of faith and His blood. God did this to show His righteousness because He had been passing over the sins of Israel for fifteen hundred years. Now it is demanded that the penalty be paid. Jesus met that penalty and paid or redeemed the promises that were made each year by the High Priest on the great Day of Atonement. In effect, Jesus cashed in 1500 years of promissory notes and brought redemption to every man who had been blood-covered under the First Covenant as we see, "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:12 ) Note that this redemption is an Eternal Redemption. When Christ carried His blood into the Most Holy Place of heaven and the Supreme Court of the Universe accepted it, man’s redemption became a completed, comprehensive and eternal thing.
"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:13-14 ) Notice that the blood of bulls and goats only cleanses the flesh, the outward man. It did not cleanse the heart. It did not make man a New Creation. "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." (Hebrews 9:15) Jesus died for the sins of those living under the First Covenant that had been covered by blood from year to year, that they might have their share in the inheritance of redemption through Christ.
Finally, these things bring clarity to us in this, "He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." (Hebrews 9:26) Again, God has dealt with the sin problem. Therefore, the sin problem is ended and the sinner, Jew and Gentile, has the legal right to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, because God so loved him that He gave him His only begotten Son. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) Note very carefully that in this New Creation, the man who accepts Christ receives eternal life. Spiritual death, the nature of the devil, is driven out. The believer is given a new nature, that is, his spirit is recreated and given God's nature. (Ephesians 4:24; 2 Peter 1:4) All of this is for this one purpose, "to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)
God is righteous and the righteousness of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ. The only way that a person can become righteous in the eyes of God, is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and His blood. It is upon simple faith in Jesus Christ, that is, acting upon what God has said in regard to His Son. Now we can understand that we were justified, declared righteous, freely by his Grace, through the redemption God worked in Christ. So then, if Christ has fulfilled the law and the righteousness of the law, then whosoever believes and receives Christ, (in the biblical sense), the righteousness of the law is also fulfilled in him or her. Shout hallelujah!!!
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