Hello again.
Where did summer go?
Seems like summer just flew by in the midst of the pandemic, wild fires, social unrest, and all the other stuff going on in our communities, states and regions.
Paul, in the midst of his ministry to the Corinthians wrote:
“Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (NIV, 2 Corinthians 4:16 – 18, italicized are mine)
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Though my posts share much in the way of teaching, I pray, above all else, my writings spark more desire and passion for Christ, and, an entrance into receiving more care and kindness from him.
We need healing and restoration to be vessels of God’s love; hearts restored to love oneself, God, and others.
And it can only happen through intimacy with Christ, receiving Christ’s love through one another as the Holy Spirit opens areas of our lives hidden away.
It’s the kindness of God to come to wounded men and women, like Adam and Eve of old, and gently remove the things that separate us from him.
To know and be known by Jesus, deeply and intimately.
Words from the Lord
I’ll be sharing some personal perspectives with you in my next post regarding two “words” from the Lord.
The first one came in early 2019.
The most recent one was received the day after the National Day of Prayer.
In early 2019 the Lord gave me the word “famine.”
I believe he was alerting me to the growing spiritual condition in Christendom (I don’t know if this is the beginning of the end – times “apostasy” prophesied in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 & Revelation 12:4, a precursor?) and his plan, to reserve an outpouring of his Spirit, until sufficient hunger for him occurs.
(I did not take it to mean a food famine, but a spiritual famine for Christ. Though in the OT, food shortages, whatever their cause, at times, brought Israel closer to God. See the story of Elijah, among others.)
I believe we’re living in historic days, like the days of old – great transitions and turning points in history are gathering steam once again.
The second “word,” I received a few weeks ago.
He said, “The US will never be a great power again. Austerity is coming. Prudence.”
If I heard the Lord correctly, and I believe I did, again, it appears we as a people group are at another turning point in history.
I’m going to share perspectives in my next post, but for now, here are a few thoughts.
I watched the recent National Day of Prayer event (a private effort by various religious leaders from across the nation), and though it was an effort to petition the Lord for mercy on behalf of the nation, I could not help but sense “dryness” (famine?).
There was a lack of spiritual uplift, unction – what Pentecostals call “the anointing” – and instead, a sense of emptiness, hollowness.
The darkness of the “spirits of this age”, which have been widely embraced in many areas of American life, are simply too strong and powerful for a one-day event to have much impact.
(In Revelation Chapter 12, a dragon, evil, is standing before a pregnant woman, the Church. A sharp contrast of the mismatch of darkness over the state of Christendom in the last days, before revival and ministry of the bride, her child.)
Simply, the event seemed to lack the power of the Holy Spirit and the presence of God.
Things have spiritually deteriorated in our country to such depths and over such a long period of time, a one – day event, or multiple days, will have little, if any, impact on the avalanche of darkness embracing this nation.
You can’t plant weeds in your country for decades and expect to up root and harvest the weeds in one day. It’s just not possible.
If it takes years for healing and restoration in an individual’s life, what does that mean for a nation?
There’s a dragon growing up in America and around the world, and Christendom is not ready to war against Goliath.
First, the Church needs to kill some bears and lions before it can face Goliath.
David was willing to face Goliath because he knew how to overcome evil.
God is raising up a bride, across this land and other lands, that someday will have the fortitude and power of the Spirit to wage war against spiritual darkness in high places.
But not today. It’s coming, likely in the lifetime of some living today, but not right now.
There’s an immense undertaking in the heavens, the gathering forces of darkness, to bring to fruition strategies devised and planned long ago to bring the world fully and completely under the lap of the evil one.
We have the book, we see the story, so we should not be surprised.
A strong America and a strong church, in the past, has been a buffer to that happening.
But, a weak America, and a weakened church, some sliding into apostasy, is no match for the spiritual forces of darkness gathering strength here and around the world.
Only a profound move of God, the personal intervention of the Lord, will break the powers of darkness embracing America and the world.
He’s starting now in a deep way, in the personal lives of believers.
One day, Christ will take a stone, his bride, like David of old, and masterly “place it” into the forehead of present-day Goliath.
I’ve broken this post into three sections for easier reading.
*** SECTION I ***
Refresh
For newcomers I’ve covered important topics in recent writings, such as, why “the rapture cannot just happen anytime”, and highlights of the end – time revival – the revelation of the bride and Antichrist world system.
Prior to that, I shared some highlights of the Philadelphia church age – the age we live in – the Church’s last great opportunity for the fullness of the Gospel.
I’ve also shared my belief we are deep in the Philadelphia church age, and how it is a fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles, just as “born again” fulfilled Passover, and “baptized in the Spirit” fulfilled Pentecost.
(The latter two occurring over the last 400 years, the Sardis church age.)
I have a lot more detail on the Philadelphia church age and the feast of Tabernacles to come in future posts.
My last post covered the most important personal journey in the history of mankind, the making of the man Christ Jesus.
Outside of the Gospel accounts, most of the New Testament referring to Christ pertains to his personal journey – “… he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation…” (NIV, Hebrews 5:8 – 9, bold and italicized are mine)
As I noted in my last post, the book of Hebrews is essentially a testimony of Christ’s personal journey of healing and restoration before his presentation to John.
If you’re interested in the story of your Savior, desiring a deeper understanding of his life and what he overcame, and the Father’s healing and restoration of Christ, then, I recommend you read my most recent post.
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Important Reminders About Christ’s Personal Journey
His personal journey covered almost two decades as best we can tell.
The dominant theme, from the focus of the Scriptures, particularly Hebrews, was the making of whom we’ve come to know as our Savior, mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), our High Priest and eternal salvation (Hebrews 2:17; 3:1; 4:14; 7:24 – 28; 9:12 – 28; 10:1 – 14), and, author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 6:20; 12:2).
Jesus was perfected, became our high priest, passing through the heavens, sacrificing his body once and for all, becoming who he became to be, before his presentation to John at the river Jordan.
Jesus clearly stated this of himself, when, before his death at Calvary, he said, “‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (NIV, Matthew 26:28 bold and italicized are mine)
Christ was perfected, made holy, the source of eternal salvation, before his ministry, otherwise, how could he offer salvation and healing during his ministry?
How could he raise the dead if he had not been the first person to be wholly and completely healed and restored, walking in resurrection life?
We cherish Calvary and the raising of Christ after Calvary. But there’s much more to the story than that.
The frontpage news of the gospel is Christ’s resurrection from the dead before his ministry, i.e., his overcoming the hostility in his flesh, being made perfect, healed and restored in the likeness of God, this is what was preached by the early church – the making of the new man Christ pioneered.
Christ purchased our right to be healed and restored, to walk in new life, to die to sin, and be resurrected in newness of life, as The Message Bible and the NIV so aptly describe:
“… The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored…” (The Message, Romans 8:29 – 30)
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (NIV, Romans 8:29)
(If this is news to you, I suggest you read back a few posts to see what the Scripture says about Christ and healing and restoration.)
Christ had died to sin before his ministry, passing through the heavens, the testimony of Hebrews.
Remember, he was our great king, prophet, priest, and servant before being ushered into public ministry. That’s his story in Hebrews, Romans, Philippians, and elsewhere.
Because Israel, in a way representing all of humanity, rejected the Messiah, he died at Calvary because of our sins, becoming a public display of our hidden and secret wounds and brokenness.
His death on Calvary allowed us to see our sinful nature cast onto the holiness of God, the contrast of evil and good, light and dark, Satan and Christ.
In essence, Christ allowed our sinful nature to be etched into his body at the cross of Calvary, that we might see outwardly, the piercing wounds, stripes, and brokenness afflicting us inwardly.
And though our sins were “marked” into his body, he being made sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24), he did not embrace our sins, but forgave our trespasses against him.
Thus, giving us a clear picture of our nature and choices, hoping our new choice would be him.
Besides being our High Priest, I also noted the other three key attributes of Christ – king, servant, and prophet –dominant themes seen in his 40 – day testing, public ministry, and final days, respectively.
All four of the widely ascribed attributes of Christ – priest, king, servant, and prophet – are represented in the picture of the bride John was shown in Revelation – the living creatures – the face of a man (priest), the face of a lion (King), the face of an ox (servant), and the face of an eagle (prophet).
And this is rightly so, because, the bride is made into the likeness of Christ, attributes she manifests to the world, the fruit of her union with him.
The bride comes from Christ, and Christ comes from the Father, bearing the likeness of God’s divine nature, divinely imparting the divine nature into the children of God, Christ being the firstborn and first fruit of restoration.
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Course Correction, Jesus to the Rescue
There’s so much negativity and condemnation in the world, it’s hard, actually unpleasant, for me to note “lacks” in the understanding of the most sacred story of all, the story of Jesus.
Hopefully, as we all continue to grow and mature in Christ, the old man will find his place in the coffin, so the new creation can receive all the new things the Lord has for his bride in the last days.
And not be beholden to the traditions and doctrines of ages past.
We need new wine in new bottles, not new wine in old bottles, or, old wine in new bottles.
Today more than ever, we need the Spirit of God to reveal the deep things of Christ that we might run the race, run it well, and apprehend all that Christ has for us.
Simply, there’s been much “stuff” over the centuries that has crept into and distorted the story of Christ, literally making his personal journey of none effect.
Having the wrong story of Christ, or no story, greatly impacts our journey in ways too numerous to mention.
If you have an outdated or the wrong map, a broken compass, and incorrect teaching about latitudes and longitudes, you’ll end up places you don’t want to be, missing the opportunities and possibilities you were hoping to find.
It’s a good chance you’ll miss your identity and destiny, unless Christ intervenes.
That’s where the Church has been for centuries, stuck in the wrong harbor, in the wrong ship, without good maps, compass, Sextant, etc.
And even in those situations where people were in the right harbor and on the right ship, without correct maps and a harbor pilot, they’re still stuck, missing the winds of God and the journey to new lands.
If we don’t know what Jesus pioneered, a forerunner (as it says in Hebrews), and his personal journey of transformation and restoration, then how can we be made into his likeness, and be effective and productive in ministry?
The answer is we can’t.
That’s why today, the Church, in many respects, the Church Jesus died for and we love, is struggling in her calling, identity and destiny.
Hostility to Change
No one takes delight in bringing to the table deficiencies in age – old traditions and beliefs, because of the hostility it may raise.
Men and women of God who have traveled long journeys with the Lord have a tremendous emotional investment in what they’ve been taught and what they’ve taught to others, and once established, it can be hard to change course.
But course corrections are exactly what all of us need at different points in our journey, from apostle to lay person.
When God births a major move, like the Philadelphia church age (the feast of Tabernacles) course corrections are needed for everybody, from the greatest scholar and theologian, to the person sitting in the back pew of the church struggling to understand the Bible.
New instructions, maps, compasses, ships, etc., you get the picture, need to be given to all, from the greatest to the least.
And yet, many resist new moves for as many reasons as there are people.
Many Christians have been so strongly taught certain traditions and doctrines, invariably, the Lord must begin anew with those who are open to change and actively seeking more of Jesus, not content to live and die in the status quo.
Some who have been pioneers in the past, having birthed ministries, sought out for wisdom and impartation of the things of God, may not be open to new things from the Lord.
It is critical to be teachable.
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(I remember when someone approached me back in 2005 about starting a band of brothers after the model of Ransomed Heart Ministries, I thought to myself I don’t need that.
Fast-forward five years later and I was led by the Lord to attend a Wild At Heart retreat and it was absolutely awesome, ushering me into a new season.
A lot of things have to come together at the right time to move “in something new” and away from “something old.”
People have to come to the place where they realize what they hold as tradition and truth is not producing Christ in them. On the contrary, moving farther from God than closer.
And, most importantly, the Lord must be involved in bringing things together by his Spirit, doing a new work in someone’s heart and life.
It’s complicated and only the Lord knows how and when to set things up for one’s transition.)
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The Word of God is cleverly designed.
He gives us his Word in history. Through different people from all walks of life. Some at the same time, and some at different times.
Then we are bestowed the honor and privilege of discovery, by the Holy Spirit, to understand the plan and purposes of God in us.
Some will run to Christ as new moves and revelation comes forth.
They will be the ones Christ comes alongside and says, “Come and follow me, I have more for you.”
I’ve mentioned many times the Scripture in the book of Acts, how the Berean’s were more noble than the Thessalonians because they searched the word (Acts 17:11).
What’s been handed down to us from the generations is only the gospel truth if it agrees with Scripture and the revelation of the Holy Spirit. (See 1 John 2:26-27)
Christ has been laboring in his Church over two millenniums to move it from revelation to revelation, to restore what’s been lost, to complete the fullness of the gospel in his sons and daughters in the closing years of the gospel age.
Jesus is not about to let the gospel age end without the design and purposes of God clearly made known to his sons and daughters, i.e., what his journey was like, who he became in God, and what he is asking and calling us into.
And yet, even as I mention the abundance of revelation Christ is giving the Church today, there is yet more to come, as the revelation of the bride and the Antichrist come to pass in the years ahead.
In some ways we are deep in the Philadelphia church age, and yet in other ways, more revelation concerning the last days, the end – times, the moving of God’s Spirit, and the formation of the bride, is yet to come.
*** SECTION II ***
Deficiencies Multiplied
Four “deficiencies,” for lack of a better term, crept into the Church after the first church age (Ephesus), piggybacking and wrapping around each other like a threefold cord.
Solomon knew what it was like to have the hostility of a threefold cord, noting,
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (NIV, Ecclesiastes 4:12)
If three strands are not easily broken, what effect does a fourth strand have?
It’s complicated how the passing of time watered down the message of the Gospel over generations along with traditions and errors, and how all that comes together to produce a “religion” and not the resurrection life Christ died for.
The “falling away” of the gospel began with the first church age, Ephesus, and continued into the deep canyons of Thyatira, the Church in the dark ages.
It is not until the Sardis church age the fullness of the gospel began to be restored through the Reformation (1500s) and the Pentecostal revival in the early 1900s.
Through traditions and creeds, we’ve made the Bible, particularly the New Testament, all about Calvary.
We celebrate Christ’s birth, his death at Calvary, marvel at his ministry, in awe of his 40 days in the wilderness wrestling against the king of this world, yet, all the while missing the most important part of his life, the 20 years or so of becoming who he became.
Without the successful completion of that journey, his Father would not have been able to present him to John at the river Jordan in celebration, nor usher him into the wilderness for 40 days, nor send him forth into ministry.
And without his successful completion of that journey, he would not be our Savior, nor would we have a pattern to follow from his pioneering work.
Because of traditions and creeds, most roads of Bible interpretation – having to do with Christ’s sufferings, cross, death to sin, blood, obedience, salvation, etc., – run through Calvary, instead of, rightly, his personal journey before ministry.
In other words, tradition and creeds miss the truth about Christ’s personal journey, his healing and restoration.
By missing this truth, Scriptures referring to Christ’s personal journey are generally ascribed to Calvary, his public ministry, or his 40 days in the wilderness, when in fact they apply to his personal journey of transformation and sanctification.
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Calvary
Jesus dying to sin, Romans 6:10 (“The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.” NIV), is describing the same journey as:
“… so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (NIV, Romans 5:18 – 19, italicized mine)
“… He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself…” (NIV, Hebrews 7:27, italicized mine)
“… but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption…” (NIV, Hebrews 9:12, italicized mine)
“so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many;…” (NIV, Hebrews 9:28, italicized mine)
“‘… Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (NIV, Hebrews 10:9 – 10, italicized mine)
All of these verses and many others describe Christ’s personal journey, putting to death the hostility in his own flesh, being made perfect, our great High Priest, mediator, Savior.
Even one of the commentators of Romans 6:10 says this verse infers similarity to our Christian journey of dying to sin to walk in newness of life.
Notice in Romans 6:10 it’s talking about dying to sin and living a life to God, that’s what Christ did, and he lived that life publicly in his ministry.
Simply, Christ experienced what it was like to have to overcome sin and die to the hostility of the flesh, being made alive in spirit (Romans 8:10 – 11).
And even the commentators note that Romans 5:18/19, in reference to Christ’s obedience, is not talking about a single act but a life of obedience.
And that life of obedience led to his perfection which we read in Hebrews 5:7 – 10.
These verses are about Christ being made perfect, body, soul, and spirit, sacrificing his life for you and me, becoming the High Priest.
It is not about his death on Calvary.
Jesus did not die to sin at Calvary, but died because of our sins.
In fact, the early disciples did not view Calvary as we cherish it today, but as a dark moment in history, because the “resurrected” Christ, the Messiah, who had the New Testament in his blood, who could’ve ushered in the Millennium, was unjustly killed at Calvary.
Stephen, who was about to be stoned, preaching the resurrected Christ, said “‘Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?
They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him – ’” (NIV, Acts 7:52, italicized mine)
No, the early disciples thought of Calvary as a place of murder not a place to be cherished.
They did not cherish Calvary like the Church does today.
Christ would rather have us cherish dying to sin to walk in newness of life, following his pioneering path, to be made new and walk in resurrection life, than cherish Calvary.
The Church at large has substituted what Christ allowed to happen to him on Calvary for what he desires for us, to follow his example.
The early disciples knew who Jesus was, the Messiah, the walking New Testament, who held salvation and life in his very words, knowing if Israel had accepted their Savior, Calvary would’ve been unnecessary and the Millennium would’ve started with them.
Calvary served to display, as I’ve mentioned before, our sins in the body of Christ publicly and openly that we might repent and come to him.
But alas, thankfully, Christ was willing to be killed, though he could’ve called Angels to the rescue, to let our sins be manifest in hope we would turn to him.
And in that marking of our sins into his body, he was made sin, and again, paid the price we could not pay, and again, a second time, was raised from the dead.
As Peter said on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:32, after talking about the resurrected Christ, the Christ he knew before Calvary who walked in resurrection power, he says, “God has raised this Jesus to life,…” (NIV, italicized mine)
In other words, God “raised” the “resurrected” Jesus to life!
The heart and centrality of all Scripture, is not Calvary, though we would not be saved without it because of Israel’s rejection.
The heart and centrality of the Scripture is Christ’s personal journey becoming who he came to be, our Lord and Savior.
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Now I’ve mentioned this before, no one is to be blamed in these matters.
Scholars and theologians did the best they could in the light they had in the age they lived in.
Thankfully, we’re in the closing season of the gospel age and the Lord is making matters known that have been hidden in ages past.
The full script of Scripture is unfolding before our eyes because we need every bit of understanding of Christ’s journey for our own.
IMPORTANT REMINDER, the Scripture, in many ways a love letter from the Lord, was not designed to require a theologian or a scholar to be the sole or primary interpreter of God’s word for you and me.
We do not need an intercessor between us and Christ, we are all priests unto God in Christ. (1 Peter 2:9)
The Scripture is designed for someone who can read, write, and think.
And it is designed to come alive to each one of us by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
The bottom line, the Bible did not come with a handbook nor thousands of pages of deep scholarly analysis and critique.
But with a simple message, Christ, our Savior and mediator, pioneered a journey in the New Covenant for us to follow.
And the best part of the story, we cannot do it on our own, we need him.
I’ve said this before – Jesus was already the New Testament covenant walking in flesh and blood before he died on Calvary.
He clearly stated that about himself.
If Israel had accepted him, he would’ve ushered in the Millennium.
But God provided Calvary as one last hope of bringing man to repentance, a gospel age of two millenniums, as grace, to prepare mankind for Christ’s millennial rule.
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The four major lacks influencing the Church at large are:
1) Christ did it all for us on Calvary,
2) only those who have problems need counseling, deliverance, healing and restoration,
3) the emphasis of the New Testament Scriptures is the bride of Christ, and,
4) the promises of God, the fullness of the gospel, (new wine in new bottles, walking in newness of resurrection life) are reserved for heaven, not to be apprehended here on earth.
Briefly, first, Calvary opened the door to salvation, the journey toward Christ, but the apprehension of Christ, and all that he calls us into, and what he wants to choose us for, requires a continual choosing of him over the world, and the continual initiation and transformation of our lives by the Lord.
Case in point, the five foolish virgins and the Laodiceans, did not have enough oil in their lamps and settled in the land of contentment, failing to receive healing and restoration for their wounds and brokenness, and, were not able to join the company of the wise and, sadly, were left behind (Matthew Chapter 25 and Revelation Chapters 3, 7, 12, and 13).
Instead, they miss the opportunity to be made into the fullness and likeness of Christ, like the five wise virgins and the Philadelphians, and must face the wrath of the Antichrist world system in its darkest hour.
Second, if Christ, the only one who never sinned, born with a newly begotten spirit at birth, needed healing and restoration from the hostility of his own flesh he inherited from his earthly ancestry, how much more you, me, and everyone else, needs healing and restoration in all areas of our lives. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Third, it is fashionable today (I have written much about it as well), to write and talk about the bride of Christ.
But the heartbeat of the New Testament writings and Old Testament prophecies, the greater weight of Scripture, is unmistakably about the story of Jesus, and his personal journey of “becoming.”
Yes, there is much in the Bible of his ministry in the Gospels.
But comparatively speaking, the greater weight of Scripture, found in large sections of the Gospel of John, Romans, Corinthians, Philippians, Hebrews, and the numerous types and shadows in the Old Testament, is about Christ’s personal journey, and not his public ministry, or his death on Calvary.
The Bible is first and foremost about Christ and his life from birth to maturation.
He is the crown jewel of God’s heart and eyes.
All eternity hinged on Christ’s personal journey, his apprehension of what God apprehended him for, and the Father’s impartation of the divine nature deep in the man we call Christ Jesus, the first of mankind to be healed and restored, the mediator between God and humanity.
No, the New Testament is not all about the bride, but about Christ.
We have been graciously invited into the story of Christ just as Eve was invited into the story of Adam and not the other way around.
The heartbeat of the Scriptures is not the bride, but Christ’s perfection.
Without the two decades or so of journey, speaking of Christ’s perfection, there would be no presentation to John at the river Jordan, no public ministry, and no death on Calvary for my sins and yours.
(Is it possible that Christ could have failed, yes. Of course, God would’ve designed and devised another plan for man and woman’s redemption.
And we would be reading a different story in the Scriptures if that happened.
We have to remember Jesus was fully human in every way just like us having a free will.
But God knew, given the right set of circumstances, the right Fathering, and starting out fresh again with the second Adam – seeing what 4,000 years or so of sin has produced – would keep Christ on the path to perfection without sin, and without having to override his will to choose the good over evil.
This is the mystery of the gospel revealed in Christ’s personal journey.)
All of history and humanity depended on the successful completion of Christ’s journey with his Father before his presentation to John at the river Jordan.
We’ve had it backwards for centuries making it all about us, and our salvation, when it’s been all about Jesus, and what he did and allowed the Father to do in him to become king, priest, prophet, and servant heart of God.
When you get this revelation of who Jesus is, and what he accomplished in God, what God accomplished in him, then the Scriptures will open up, and you’ll understand your story more intimately and deeply in Christ.
Fourth, I’ve covered this already so I will make this brief.
The journey that Christ pioneered for you and me, to be healed and restored, to walk in newness of life, resurrection life, is the design and plan of God for men and women in the gospel age.
Paul completed the race. Peter did as well. Their letters bear testimony to this.
And others through the centuries have as well.
As Paul said, paraphrasing, from 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, Christianity is a miserable existence if all we can have to think about is intimacy and resurrection after we die.
Christ’s relationship with the Father, is the standard bearer for our relationship with him, and the Father.
I think the gospel of John explains this very well.
I refer you to Chapters 14 and following for the relationship this side of heaven Christ is calling us into, the book of Romans describes in great detail, and the church age of Philadelphia offers experientially in earnest to those in the end – times.
*** SECTION III ***
Romans Chapter 6
This next section will take a little more effort on your part. If you make the effort, hopefully, it will be insightful.
Here’s a few questions to ponder while reading Romans Chapter 6.
Remember, the Bible was designed by God to be read and understood, with God’s help, by common people.
So, if you would, go to biblehub.com. This will be a short exercise.
On the first line click Romans Chapter 6, verse 6:3.
From the fourth line from the top, click on Interlin, it’s between the words Comment and Hebrew.
This will take you to the interlinear, the English underneath the Greek for that manuscript.
Okay, here are some questions to consider as you read these verses:
Verse 3: What death is the baptism we are to share with Christ – his death to sin, or, his betrayal and murder (Acts 7:52) at Calvary?
Verse 4: Implies when Christ was raised from the dead he walked in newness of life. Did Christ walk in newness of life after Calvary, or, after he was perfected, becoming our High Priest, mediator and Savior?
Verse 5: Are we called to be united with him – led by him in the path he pioneered – in the likeness of his torture and death at Calvary, or, in the likeness of “his” dying to sin (Romans 6:10, Ephesians 4:20 – 24)?
Verse 6: Is the crucifixion we are called into (the one Christ pioneered, Ephesians 4:20 – 24) – to be cleansed, healed and restored – putting the fallen nature to death (Ephesians 5:25 – 27), or, to be killed and murdered?
Verse 8: What kind of death did Christ die that resulted in him walking in newness of life we are to die and live as well?
Verse 9: Christ was raised from the dead – death having no dominion over him. Is this talking about his death at Calvary, or, about him overcoming sin, the first perfected man, first fruit, firstborn, walking in resurrection life and power?
What did Jesus mean when he said, “‘…I am the resurrection and the life…’”? (NIV, John 11:25) Was this a hyperbole, or, had he in fact experienced the resurrection, having completed his race, perfected, walking in new life as Romans, Hebrews, and other books describe?
When Jesus said, “‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (NIV, Matthew 26:28), was he speaking literally or in a hyperbole?
Verse 10: Did Christ live life, a life as an example for you and me, after Calvary, and, did Christ die “to sin” at Calvary, or was Calvary for us, him dying for “our sins”?
Verse 11: Calls us to follow his example to die to sin and walk in new life – how could that be possible if it was talking about Calvary, and not about his personal journey he pioneered for himself and for you and me?
Romans Chapter 4 uses dead in reference to Christ being raised.
And it is compared in that chapter to Abraham and Sarah’s deadness, not the deadness of death per se, but the deadness of a fallen nature that cannot produce life unless God intervenes.
The interlinear I use translates dead as “the dead ones” here and a number of places in Romans.
The context is not after having been killed, literally, but the need to be restored.
Like when Jesus said, “‘…Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’” (NIV, Matthew 8:22)
Christ overcame all the deadness, death, past to him from his mother’s side of the family and was raised to walk in newness of life, resurrection life.
Blessings, Drake
(The Message) Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message, copyright© 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries.
(NIV) Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblical, Inc.™
