Under Grace

Romans 6:12-14 (ESV Strong's)

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Before we received the grace of Christ, we had no power to resist sin. We were slaves to the whims and passions of our mortal bodies. Now we have a choice on how we live. We can live a life that ends in death or live a life that never ends. That’s the power of grace. 

Interpretations

Genesis 40:8 (ESV Strong's)

8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

We have been given life, but what does it mean? We might wonder and search for answers, only to be left with the conclusion that life is a mystery. It is just that. It is the mystery of God. 

Only God can interpret the mystery of life, for He is the giver of life. When we go to Him and listen to His word, we find the answers we need to assure us of our place in His plan for creation. The voice of the Holy Spirit gives us the breath of eternal life. 

Into Christ Jesus

Romans 6:1-4 (ESV Strong's)

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

When we are “buried with him by baptism into death”, we break the chains of the old man that bind us and enter into the newness of life. The abundance of that life becomes ours when we begin walking with Him. In doing so, we transform into His image. Christ is the image of God and we are made in His image. We are the body of Christ. 

Leading To Eternal Life

Romans 5:20-21 (ESV Strong's)

20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and his eyes were opened. 

That fruit becomes the Law which expands our knowledge of good and evil, and our eyes are opened. The descendants of Adam feed on the same fruit. 

The forbidden fruit and the Law both lead to death. 

When our eyes are opened to the light, death makes way for the grace of righteousness that leads to eternal life. 

Right On Time

Romans 5:6 (ESV Strong's)

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:10-11 (ESV Strong's)

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Jesus came at just the right time according to the purpose and will of God. Our understanding of the wisdom of God will also be given at the right time. We know enough to place our faith in the Lord for now, and the rest will be added to us. 

If you are here, you are right on time. 

More Will Be Given

Luke 19:26-27 (ESV Strong's)

26 ‘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. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

Jesus is the lamb of God who gave His life for the world that we may have His life. Jesus is the King of Kings who will reign forever. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

He told us to love our enemies. He told us His enemies will die. The more we spend time with Him, the more we know Him, the more we will understand who He is. 

We have been given the life of mankind. If we do not find the life of Jesus the Son of God, our life will be taken away in the natural course of death. This is predestined for those who do not love the Lord. 

By receiving Jesus, we will continue to live beyond the confines of the natural. This is predestined for those who love the Lord. 

We can choose our destiny. 

In His Faith

Romans 4:20-25 (ESV Strong's)

20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

We have the written word that brings and confirms the promise of God for all who believe. We are given the same opportunity given to Abraham to believe God and place our faith in Him. The Lord calls us to another place that He will show us. It is in the light and life of God. 

We grow strong in the journey, shaped by our experiences and our relationship with Christ. We are being transformed into His image. 

It is God who provides salvation based on faith and welcomes all who exercise that faith, which is the only way to overcome our weakness and come to God. 

Not Only, But Also

Romans 4:16-17 (ESV Strong's)

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Those who remain under the law are offspring of Abraham. Those who share the faith of Abraham are also his descendants. God blesses both. They both serve the one God, but in different ways according to their revelation. 

The revelation of faith is centered in the relationship between an individual and the Lord. United in the Spirit, we stand alone before the throne of God. 

No Transgression

Romans 4:13-15 (ESV Strong's)

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

Where there is no law there is no transgression. Knowledge of good and evil makes us accountable for that which is evil, to those things opposed to God. The law reveals the will of God. When the revelation is ignored or rejected, we face the wrath that streams from His perfect justice. 

Our Work

Romans 4:3-5 (ESV Strong's)

3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

Christ has done the one work that provides the righteousness of God to all mankind. Our work of God is to believe the work of the word of God. 

We Uphold The Law

Romans 3:28-31 (ESV Strong's)

28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Faith has become the means of the circumcision of the New Covenant. The Old Covenant Law reveals our sinfulness in the flesh, and it is the flesh that is circumcised. It is the mark of the light that reveals the darkness of man. Circumcision of the heart is the mark of the light of one who has found the light of life. It is the mark of the New Covenant which appears in a spirit made alive in Christ. 

The law is comprised of both Covenants. There is one law as there is one God. 

Knowledge Of Sin

Romans 3:19-20 (ESV Strong's)

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Through the law comes knowledge of sin. Through that knowledge, we behold the darkness which surrounds us. Our eyes are opened to our true state and we become accountable to God. 

Sin reflects the insurmountable distance between our life and His. We find all our efforts to cross that expanse are futile. This becomes the first step in the way of salvation. We must be aware of our sins before we can repent of them. The longest journey begins with a single step. 

I Form Light

Isaiah 45:6-7

that people may know, from the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is none besides me;

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

I form light and create darkness,

I make well-being and create calamity,

I am the Lord, who does all these things.

The Lord created two places a place in the cosmos. One was home for His light. The other reflected the absence of His light. We know that state as darkness. 

Mankind begins in darkness so that we might find the light. The word is spoken and light enters that darkness. 

The light of the world shines in the darkness of mankind. 

It manifests in the Man Jesus Christ and then in the body of those who become His disciples. They become the light of the world. 

The Power Of Repentance

Luke 17:1-4 (ESV Strong's)

1 And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Temptations to sin are sure to come, to us and through us. We have been justified by the blood of Jesus, but we will continue to sin. We remain in bodies of the natural flesh until our spirits find release in the presence of the Lord. We are no longer chained to this body of death, for we have been made alive in His Spirit. It’s a freedom that is truly free, to daily choose Him and His life. 

We repent to enter the kingdom of heaven. We repent and ask for forgiveness because we are in the kingdom of heaven. 

We are not sinners when we confess our sins and repent before the Lord. He will forgive us because His grace has no bounds. We are cleansed from all unrighteousness. We have His word on it. 

Matthew 18:21-22

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

1 John 1:9-10 (ESV Strong's)

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Has Blessed Us

Ephesians 1:3-6 (ESV Strong's)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

The purpose and will of God for us is at the beginning and the end of creation. Jesus was coming for us before the fall of man. The grace of Christ was predestined before the first bite of forbidden fruit was swallowed. The blessings of heaven have been waiting for us before the beginning of time. 

He is there for all who would seek Him. Come and see. 

According To His Works

Romans 2:6-11 (ESV Strong's)

6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.

We are not able to earn our salvation by our own works. Our salvation rests on the finished work of Christ, and His alone. 

Our future, however, does depend on our works, on how we live today. We can’t earn salvation, but we must choose to be saved. Our salvation work is believing Christ, and placing our faith in Him. This is an ongoing process that takes us from glory to glory. It is life that leads to life and we are perfected in the image of God. 

While we are not able to do any work to earn our salvation, nevertheless we will be judged according to our works. What we do or don’t do with Jesus and His word will determine our future. 

Salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ. 

We will be judged by how we live in relation to Christ. Creation revolves around the Creator. He is at the center of everything. 

Futile In Their Thinking

Romans 1:21-25 (ESV Strong's)

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Man is made in the image of God. That is because God took man’s image for Himself. We are perfected in that image when we receive the Spirit and nature of Jesus Christ. We become sons of God. 

To remain in the lust and desire of man is to choose the foolishness of the world over the glory of God.

One cannot reason with futile thinking. God will not contend with the darkness forever. 

A Pillar

Genesis 31:51-52 (ESV Strong's)

51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm.

The pillar was a witness and a sacred stone in the Old Testament. In Revelation, Jesus says He will make the one who conquers a pillar in the new and eternal temple in Jerusalem. We will receive a white stone with a new name on it. (Rev 2:17)

We will become a living stone in the living temple of God in the New Jerusalem, giving witness to the Lord as a part of His sacred house. 

Revelation 3:12 (ESV Strong's)

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Faith For Faith

Romans 1:16-17 (ESV Strong's)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The gospel is for everyone. The Israelites were chosen by God to be His people, a unique witness and possession that were set apart from the people of the earth to be holy unto Him. The gospel provides that we individually choose God. 

The Church becomes the people chosen by God because we choose Him first. He loved us first, but He allows us to choose first whether to enter into relationship with Him. The one that does is received with open arms. 

By faith we enter into the saving faith that is the righteousness of Christ. 

Be On Your Way

Luke 16:25-26 (ESV Strong's)

25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

In the creation account, God places a great expanse to separate the waters, a chasm that separates the peoples of the earth according to the light and darkness, the waters from the waters. The distance between heaven and earth can only be crossed by Jesus and those who are in the body of Christ. 

Jesus is the light of the world for those who walk in darkness. When we walk with Him, we cross the great chasm that lies between the two. The rich man’s anguish is made all the worse, for now he can see the error of his ways. 

We have the word that will allow us to cross the great expanse between God and man. Listen to what the Spirit says and be on your way. 

Found

Luke 15:32 (ESV Strong's)

It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

The Lord will forgive anyone who comes to Him, who will choose life over death. When we find God, we are found. We become visible in His light of life. 

According To The Spirit

Romans 1:1-4 (ESV Strong's)

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Jesus descended from heaven into the flesh of man, bringing the life of God to those who walked in the darkness of death. He came through the Spirit and was raised by the Spirit with the flesh of man. Heaven and earth are joined in the first-fruits of the new creation, that is Jesus Christ. 

Therefore we who follow Him are raised from the dead by the Spirit into a first-fruits of the kingdom of God. We are declared to be the sons of God according to the Spirit of holiness. 

Dwelling In Tents

Genesis 25:27 (ESV Strong's)

When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.

“Quiet” does not fully convey the meaning of the Hebrew word - תָּם ṯom; from 8552; complete; usually (morally) pious; specifically, gentle, dear: — coupled together, perfect, plain, undefiled, upright. 

We might compare Esau with Adam’s son Cain and Jacob with Abel. Cain preferred to do things his own way, a man of the ground. Esau had no regard for his birthright, a man of the field. Jacob and Abel would prove acceptable and obedient to the Lord. Esau and Cain would choose a different path. 

The phrase, “dwelling in tents” may hint of tabernacling with the Lord. 

My Salvation

Isaiah 12:2 (ESV Strong's)

“Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.”

The Hebrew word for salvation is yeshua. There is but one name by which we can be saved. In English we call Him Jesus. 

Light And Darkness

Psalms 18:9-11 (ESV Strong's)

9 He bowed the heavens and came down;

thick darkness was under his feet.

10 He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,

thick clouds dark with water.

John 8:12 (ESV Strong's)

I Am the Light of the World

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

It is in the darkness that we can see the light. 

It is the light which reveals the darkness. 

It takes both to teach us about God. 

 

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If We Confess

1 John 1:6-10 (ESV Strong's)

6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 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. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Though we have washed our bodies in the blood of Jesus, we are still sinners. We have crossed the River Jordan into kingdom of God by accepting the death of Christ as our own. We have entered the life of Christ, yet remain in the life of man. 

Sin is still attached to the flesh we inhabit. To say it does not makes Christ a liar. We are not sinners when we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. Our spirits soar in the kingdom of heaven, but our feet travel in the dust of the earth. They must be washed continuously to remain clean before the Lord. 

The Soul Man

The spirit of a man is his soul possession. 

With You On The Way

Luke 13:23-25 (NIV)

23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

Jesus loves the world enough to give His life to save it and that no one perish. His love is for all who would receive it. We receive it when we return His love. We do this through obedience. Strive to understand His will and do it. In doing so, you will transform from the image of the world into the image of God. You will be like Christ who lived as a man in perfect obedience to the Father. 

He will know you and where you come from because He was with you on the way. 

Division

Luke 12:51-53 (NIV)

51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

During these unsettling times we might pause to remember that division is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it is essential in changing the old man into the new man in Christ. Jesus brought division to the earth in order to find a suitable companion to sit with Him when the kingdom of God is established with His throne in Jerusalem. This will be the Bride of Christ. 

The division that Jesus brings into the world is the separation between light and darkness that begins in Genesis when the light of God is spoken into the darkness of man. Jesus is the light of the world. He is the word for all mankind and the sword of truth whose blade divides into the marrow of man. Heaven and earth collide as the Lord seeks to draw a people to His light. Many will be called, but few will come. His words will be too hard for some, and many will turn away. 

The call to be holy is the call to be separated unto God. This separation will engender conflict and disagreement. This is the power of the gospel and the call of God for us to come out of Egypt, the world and the ways of man. We are to follow Him and trust in the Lord. He calls us to a different place and into a new creation. 

Many Friends

Many are friends of Jesus. This is different than being in love with Jesus. That is only true of the Bride of Christ. 

Light And Darkness

Psalms 18:7-11 (ESV Strong's)

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,

and devouring fire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

9 He bowed the heavens and came down;

thick darkness was under his feet.

10 He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,

thick clouds dark with water.

John 8:12 (ESV Strong's)

I Am the Light of the World

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

It is in the darkness that we can see the light. 

It is the light which reveals the darkness. 

It takes both to teach us about God.