It Becomes Visible - Ephesians 5:13-14

Ephesians 5:13-14 ESV 

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

The light of Jesus will raise from the dead those who sleep in the darkness. Life and light are imply the nature of God. When Christ shines upon us we become visible as we move from the spiritual graveyard of the world into the house of the Father of lights. 

Christ calls into the darkness and shines the light of the way. Becoming visible means walking toward that light. 

In The Futility Of Their Minds - Ephesians 4:17-19

Ephesians 4:17-19 

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Living in the mind is not the way to go if you want to get somewhere. 

Living in the Spirit will set you free to go where you want. 

Our Inheritance - Deuteronomy 10:9

Deuteronomy 10:9 ESV 

Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God said to him.)

Colossians 1:11-14

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Ephesians 1:11

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Ephesians 1:13-14

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

The Levi had no land inheritance as did the other tribes of Israel. The Lord was their portion, their inheritance. 

This foreshadowed the saints of the New Testament. Our inheritance will be in heaven and will be "to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." We have been sealed in that light by the Holy Spirit. 

The Lord is our portion and it will be a feast. 

Some Of You - John 6:64-65

John 6:64-65 ESV 

But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

There is one criteria required to come to Jesus. We must believe in Him. Then we are granted the grace of God's salvation. 

He knew who would not believe from the beginning. This does not in any way mean they didn't have a choice, they did. 

Is only means He knew beforehand who would and would not believe.

To Work The Ground - Genesis 2:5-8

Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

Man and woman were created in the likeness of God. They would have dominion over the earth. They did not receive the breath of God. From the dust of the earth God created the vessels from which He would build His dwelling place. Man was created; male and female. 

Genesis 2:5-8 

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Adam was formed in the image of God. A different Hebrew word is used to describe this man. Adam was the only creature with His Spirit, with the breath of life of God. He was not created male and female. He was the first name given in Scripture. 

 The woman was created from His body. 

He placed this unique man in a unique place: the Garden. This man was created to work the earth, to work the plan of God. Until Adam appeared there was no rain had fallen to the earth. The Spirit of Life had not yet descended on man. 

In the genealogy of Christ, Adam is the only one labeled the son of God until Jesus came. He was the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is unique and is fulfilling the plan of God. There were men and women on earth when He was born, yet He is the first among many that would become the body of Christ. His name shall be above all others. This is the ground being worked and the Garden restored. 

He is the plan of God. All things are done by Him, through Him, and for Him. 

Bearing - Galatians 6:1-5

Galatians 6:1-5 ESV 

​Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.

At first glance this passage may be confusing. One the one hand we are bear one another's burdens and on the other hand we are told we each will have to bear our own load. Which is it? Answer - it's both. 

The Greek word for burden carries the meaning of heaviness or trouble. We are to help each other as we deal with life, lending our strength to another who is struggling, and receiving help when we need it. 

The Greek word for load has to do with the commandments of Christ, which is summed up in the phrase "faith expressing itself in love." His load,or expectation, is light because He bears us along the way. That is our own load. It is what we drag across the finish line, how we persevere to the end, how we live out our faith which will be rewarded by Christ. 

Not Carried Away - 2 Peter 3:17-18

2 Peter 3:17-18 ESV 

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

We are stable in the truth of Christ when the seed of the word is able to take root in the soil of our earth. We are not washed away by the latest cloudburst of thinking or teaching , but hold on to our place as we stand our ground. We stand on ground made holy by the One Most Holy. 

As the roots deepen, we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, who is our foundation and rock, the bedrock of our belief. 

We shall not be moved.

Works Vs Fruit - Galatians 5:19-25

Galatians 5:19-25 ESV 

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Notice the contrast between works and fruit in this passage. The efforts of the flesh are called works, but the influence from the presence of the Holy Spirit produces fruit. Works originate with man, while the fruits of the spirit originate with God. The works of man will keep one from heaven. The fruits of the Spirit will bring the believer into the peace of God.

The works of man require much energy and striving, yet with no good effect. When one stops relying on their own efforts and begins to believe and trust in the Lord, the fruit of the Spirit will grow and mature in their own life. Less is more. Less of man means more of God. 

Those walking in the Spirit are like the branches connected to the vine of life. The branches receive the life of the vine and that life produces the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit is life. Jesus is life. He has done and is performing the grace and will of God in our lives. We can do nothing on our own. 

I Ate - Genesis 3:9-13

Genesis 3:9-13 ESV 

But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Was Adam predestined to fail? Did he have no choice? If you believe that some are predestined for salvation and some are not, you will have to say yes. Was it God's plan that Adam would die? 

No, choice is always necessary for the perfection of love and God is that perfect love.

Adam was created in the image of God, placed in the garden of Eden that contains the tree of life and a tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was a garden of choice, of believing God or not believing God. Would he trust God or trust himself? The choice was his.

The same choice is before us. Jesus made it possible once again for us to choose God. The fruit is before us and we will eat one or the other. God has not predestined our choice, but he has predestined the outcome. Jesus who was slain before the foundation of the earth. Faith will have its fruition. Believing God has always been the most important thing. Believing will bring us back to the garden of His presence and His life.

Adam and eve tried to deflect the blame, but in the end admitted, "I ate." Our choice cause is between the bread of heaven or the fruit of the earth. The banquet of heaven is spread before us. Which one do you choose?

The Bronze Snake - Numbers 21:4-9

Numbers 21:4-9 ESV 

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Serpents still slither among us for we all have sinned. 

Jesus was seen in visions with legs and feet of bronze. The serpent of sin appeared in Genesis. 

The bronze serpent represents Jesus taking on our sin. Jesus would become that snake, that is our sin, and would be nailed to a cross. All that look to that cross will live. We still may be bitten ,but when we turn our eyes back on our savior our salvation is assured. 

Has Done

Religion is about what we do. The gospel is about what Jesus has done.

Thank You

Thank you for your kindness in reading this blog. It has helped me in my journey. I hope it has helped you in some way. This will be my last post. 

He's coming soon. See you there. 

The Kingdom Of God Is - Luke 17:20-21

Luke 17:20-21 ESV 

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

Where two or more are gathered...

The kingdom has come and is coming. It grows with each believer added to the body of Christ. The consummation draws closer with each day that passes. 

It will not be seen by a natural man. It is only seen by a son of God. Man and woman become sons of God when they believe and place faith in the Lord. 

Your Righteousness - Matthew 5:20

Matthew 5:20 ESV 

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Being religious will never get you to heaven. The Pharisees were extremely religious, but their religion was based on their own efforts. They stood at the door of heaven, but couldn't see it for their own belief. 

The righteousness of God is found in God. Do not let religion blind you to that truth. It's between you and Yeshua, the Son. Make Him your righteousness. 

End Of The Law - Romans 10:4

Romans 10:4 ESV 

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

The law remains for everyone who does not believe. 

The law condemns and we are condemned unless we trust in Yeshua. Doing this frees us and makes an end of the law for us. The righteousness of God becomes ours. 

Likeness Of God - Ephesians 4:20-24

Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV 

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

The truth is in Jesus. Grace and truth come through Him. He is the true likeness of God. It is in this image we are created. 

Practice Makes Perfect - 1 John 3:9-10

1 John 3:9-10 ESV 

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

The seed of God takes root in the good soil of the earth. The new creation in man does not sin, but the reborn spirit resides in the same body of flesh as before. The flesh wars with the new spirit. They are contrary to each other and will be until the sons of God are revealed. That will take place when we receive the eternal bodies that match our eternal spirits. Heaven and earth are joined. 

Now we must practice our newly received righteousness and love of God. 

The seed of God takes root in the good soil of the earth. The new creation in man does not sin, but the reborn spirit resides in the same body of flesh as before. The flesh wars with the new spirit. They are contrary to each other and will be until the sons of God are revealed. That will take place when we receive the eternal bodies that match our eternal spirits. Heaven and earth are joined. 

Now we must practice our newly received righteousness and love of God. 

In The ?Same Way - 1 John 2:1-6

1 John 2:1-6 ESV 

​My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The accuser has fallen in defeat for those who gather at the feet of the Lord. He has paid the price of our sins. He commands us to believe and love in faith. The perfect  love of God finds completion in us. 

There is enough grace for the whole world. Come to the throne of grace. The risen Christ sits there with open arms to receive all who will come. We get there by walking the same way. 

He Was Foreknown - 1 Peter 1:20-21

1 Peter 1:20-21 ESV 

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

From before the beginning Christ was foreknown to save man. This was before the fall in the Garden. 

God knew the end from the beginning. He knows the present moment in its entirety. 

He is in control. 

Who Has Not - Luke 19:26-27

Luke 19:26-27 ESV

‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

Everyone who enters the kingdom of heaven will receive the inheritance of God, that is eternal life.

Those not choosing the Lord will lose the life they share with all creatures. They will not trade their mortal life for the more abundant life of the Lord. 

Who Is True - 1 John 5:18-20

1 John 5:18-20 ESV

We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Our natural nature as men is sinful. Flesh cannot overcome flesh, the sinful nature we inherited. It requires divine intervention. 

Reborn as sons of God, our new nature is not sinful. Spirit overcomes flesh. Our inheritance is from above. The weakness of our flesh remains, but this is where His strength is perfected. In His protection the evil one cannot touch us. 

We live in bodies of flesh that are part of the world, yet we are not of this world. We have been transferred into the kingdom of heaven. The light of heaven burns in these candlesticks of clay. 

Yeshua is the true God and eternal life. This He shares with us.

Deeds Of The Body - Romans 8:13-14

Romans 8:13-14 ESV 

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

We live in the same body of flesh as believers, though we are led by the Spirit. Made alive in the Spirit means that that the deeds of the body, the curse and consequence of sin, have been put to death. The body remains. 

The law of the Spirit operates on the other side of that death. Righteousness requires death to disobedience. Our baptism signifies that death and the fulfillment of that requirement by our Lord and Savior. We are raised into life by the Spirit of God and follow the Spirit as sons of God. We have His Spirit if we are in the body of Christ.  of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

We live in the same body of flesh as believers, though we are led by the Spirit. Made alive in the Spirit means that that the deeds of the body, the curse and consequence of sin, have been put to death. The body remains. 

The law of the Spirit operates on the other side of that death. Righteousness requires death to disobedience. Our baptism signifies that death and the fulfillment of that requirement by our Lord and Savior. We are raised into life by the Spirit of God and follow the Spirit as sons of God. We have His Spirit if we are in the body of Christ. 

The Spirit Intercedes - Romans 8:26-27

Romans 8:26-27 ESV 

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We have an advocate that intercedes on our behalf. The Spirit that causes our spirits to rise to life is the same one that speaks for us in that life. Our words cannot contain the communion of spirit to Spirit, but we are assured that we in the body of Christ are one with Him and we have His mind. His words are ours just as we share His life. We can do nothing on our own, but all things through Him according to the will of God. 

Life To Your Mortal Bodies - Romans 8:10-11

Romans 8:10-11 ESV 

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Christ is the word of God, which is the seed which falls into the earth of our body. This is the seed of Abraham and the child of promise, and all those in Christ share the inheritance of God. 

Jesus said he would lay his life down and pick it back up. That is what he did. He and Spirit are one. 

His Spirit hovered over the earth, over Mary, and over each one who has received Christ Jesus. The life of God has entered our mortal bodies. 

Seizing An Opportunity - Romans 7:8-9

Romans 7:8-9 ESV 

But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.

Sin had no life until the law was given. There was no consequence to sin until the law came. It was present, but we were unaccountable without the law. 

Then sin was revealed and came alive, bringing death to mankind. It continues to plunder the world of those ignorant and unsuspecting. Once the law came we are without excuse. Our downfall is the knowledge of good and evil. But that knowledge allows us to choose between the two. This is the difference between night and day. 

Once the Son of Man came into the world the good news of God's grace is the final word of creation. Sin has been defeated. We who were once dead now live. From darkness to light and from death to life, we are reborn into the life of the Spirit. 

The day will come and the night will be over. 

Fullness Of God - Ephesians 3:14-19

Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The Spirit within allows us to comprehend the love of Christ because He is with us. We are given the mind of Christ. With His power we have the ability to comprehend and experience that love that surpasses knowledge.

In Jesus was the fullness of God pleased to dwell. He is pleased to fill us as well. 

He Will Convict - John 16:7-11

John 16:7-11 ESV 

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Jesus must leave for the Holy Spirit to come. The Holy Spirit will convict the world. This was not the mission of Jesus. He came to save the world. 

Concerning sin - not believing in Christ leaves one in their sins. 

Concerning righteousness - no one achieves righteousness apart from Christ. He alone overcame the world and ascended into heaven. 

Concerning judgement - the ruler of this world no longer has the law to judge those in Christ, but is judged himself. 

The believer does not face condemnation. He has freed us from the dominion of sin, from self righteousness, and from judgement. Those in Christ have ascended into the kingdom of heaven with Him. It is the Holy Spirit that brings conviction and with that conviction some will be saved. 

Fulfilled In Us - Romans 8:3-4

Romans 8:3-4 ESV 

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The law was given to reveal sin. Sin revealed our need. Our need pointed us to Jesus, who is the answer. 

Jesus fulfilled the law, therefore those in Jesus have fulfilled that law. His Spirit is with us and our spirits are joined with His. We are righteous because He is righteous. We are holy because He is holy. We are perfected in His strength. 

If We Confess - 1 John 1:5-10

1 John 1:5-10 ESV 

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The Son cleanses from all sin. All is forgiven. It is done. 

Yet if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. John tells us that if we confess our sins we will remain righteous and cleansed. This is the point of the foot washing of the disciples feet by Jesus. The body has been cleansed. It is just the feet that need washing, having grown dirty as we walk in this wilderness. We do this by confessing our sins. He has forgiven us. 

Not confessing our sins is the same as saying we do not sin, making God a liar. He is not a liar. That name belongs to the ruler of this world. 

A Sabbath Rest - Hebrews 4:9-11

Hebrews 4:9-11 ESV 

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

In other words, one cannot enter God's rest until they rest from their own works. There is no peace until we enter God's peace. He has provided the door. Entrance is possible when we lay our burdens down, when we obey His word. 

Our striving becomes the work of faith. This is the work of God. It is to open our hands, letting go of self, and to reach for the hand above that will bring us into God's rest. 

No Condemnation - Romans 7:21-8:2

Romans 7:21 - 8:2 ESV 

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Life in the Spirit

​There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Those in Christ Jesus seem to be in an impossible situation. The laws of Spirit and flesh are both present and active, in direct opposition to each other, waging war with life and death implications. 

There is nothing we can do except trust in Jesus. He has made the way of life. Though we are still in the flesh with all its weaknesses, Jesus overcame those weaknesses. He has set us free and we are free indeed from the law of sin and death. It has been replaced by the law of the Spirit of life, made possible by His victorious presence within each believer. 

Condemnation is left behind. Let us remember and rejoice in this fact. Let us confess our sins and praise God they are already forgiven. To live in the knowledge of His grace is to live boldly in the freedom of that grace. 

Know and keep the faith of grace. Keep the focus on Christ and rely on His strength. He will not let you fail. We are delivered and will stand before the throne of life. Our work is to believe. 

Being Transformed - 2 Corinthians - 3:17-18

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Those in the body of Christ have been sealed in the Spirit, which means they have been sealed in the Lord. We will have to meet the Lord before He returns to earth because we are in the Lord, in the twinkling of the eye. The Holy Spirit will have to leave the earth before Christ returns just as Jesus, Yeshua, had to leave before the Holy Spirit would come. The Holy Spirit is abiding with each believer. We have been joined with Christ and are one with Him. We will be part of the second coming.

Where the Spirit is, there is freedom. We are unshackled from sin in the Spirit and will soon be freed from the gravity of the earth and the clutches of the old creation. The Lord enjoys the divine freedom of His inheritance. We will be like Him. 

We behold the glory of the Lord because He has turned His face towards those who turn to Him. In His presence we are transformed into His image. His light begets light.

Provided - Romans 8:16-17

Romans 8:16-17 ESV 

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

How do we suffer with Him? 

When we follow His path as He leads the way. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into and through the wilderness after His baptism. We begin our journey through the wilderness upon our baptism. Until then we are part of the wilderness, and therefore unable to journey through it. 

It is in that journey we suffer with Him, for He is with us. We suffer because we are new creatures in an old world which is no longer our world. We share His suffering because He was a new Spirit walking in the flesh of this world, just as our new spirit walks in the flesh of this world. 

Our spirits long for our new home. He has provided the way. 

The New Has Come - 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 ESV 

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

We are told that heaven and earth will pass away, to be replaced with a new creation. 

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Behold, the new has come. 

Planted A Garden - Genesis 2:7-9

Genesis 2:7-9 

then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

We have returned to the garden, for the kingdom of God is within us. He is with us. He places us there, formed out of the earth, breathes the breath of life into our nostrils, and transfers us into the garden of His presence. The Spirit is given. He abides in us and we abide in Him. Believing gets us there. Believing keeps us there. 

In Genesis the garden is outside the man and woman. In the New Testament the garden is on the inside. The intent of the law is written on our hearts. The word is within us. 

When we become children of God, all things become permissible to us. The same was true of Adam and Eve. The garden was theirs except for the one forbidden fruit. That fruit symbolized disbelieving God. 

The snake still slithers upon the earth. He still lays doubt and temptation before us as we journey in the wilderness of this world. Choosing God has always been a choice. 

The tree of life is within reach for those in the kingdom. Yeshua promises this for all who persevere in faith. 

The Works Of God - John 6:28-29

John 6:28-29 ESV 

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

What must we do in response to God?

Believe. Believe in the one He sent. They had asked about works. Jesus replied with the singular and inclusive work which God seeks from us. 

This is what He requires according to His word, and that word is Yeshua. 

To Please Him - Hebrews 11:6

Hebrews 11:6 ESV 

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Belief leads to faith. It is with faith we please God. Placing our faith, our trust in Him, we are assured of our place in His house. 

God exists and is there for those who seek Him. Seeking they will find. 

We can draw near to Him because He has drawn near. No matter where we are, He hears when we call His name. 

Has Granted - 2 Peter 1:3-4

2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV 

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

He lends us His power to participate in the divine nature, to rise above and overcome the world. He has bestowed on us "all things  that pertain to life and godliness". Nothing is held back. 

How can we comprehend the enormity of this gift from our Father? This is not something He will do, but has done. He is forming us into the very image of the Son through His word and that spoken word will be fulfilled. He spoke the end from the beginning. 

Thy kingdom come 

Thy will be done 

Fulfilled In One Word - Galations 5:13-14

Galatians 5:13-14 ESV 

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Our call to freedom is not for the flesh, but from it. Our life transforms. We are no longer confined to life bound by flesh, but are given the opportunity to experience the life of the divine. 

The reason God reaches out to us is love, so loving the world He gave His only Son. This is the life of the divine. It is love. Jesus fulfilled the law by being the perfect essence of love. He is the exact image of God. Jesus is the word of God and that word is love. 

Now we who have received the love of the Lord are to become part of that great love as we enter the very body of Christ. We replicate the work begun in Jesus. We fulfill the word of God and the word is in us.