GOD
… Reconciling the world unto God …
The Scripture used throughout this study is quoted from the King James Version. Any explanatory insertions by the author within a Scripture verse are enclosed in brackets [ ]. |
© 1996 by Vincent C. Finnegan
P.O. Box 3098, Latham NY 12110, USA
| Preface |
| God’s Plan |
| Salvation |
| How is Salvation Received? |
| New Birth |
| Eternal Life |
| The Return of Christ |
Preface
Death — every man’s ultimate enemy. As a ravenous, wild animal, it relentlessly stalks us as prey. It unyieldingly pursues each of us, awaiting an opportunity to exploit. Ruthless, unsympathetic, it is constantly at work attacking those around us while looking for our weakness. It is not a respecter of persons because it is prejudiced against all. Death has no heart, no mercy, no remorse, and no forgiveness. No matter how hard we try to avoid it, it seems inevitable.
Sorrow overwhelms us when we consider the finality of its evil effects on our loved ones. Death is so disturbing and distressing we hate even to think about it. Yet, in the back of our minds, knowing its inevitability, we fear it and live a lifetime subject to bondage. Have we no way out?
We have a way! The way is Jesus Christ!
Hebrews 2:14 and 15:
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Eternal life is available for you.
God’s Plan
God’s original purpose was for man to live eternally. The Book of Genesis explains how the first man, Adam, began with both physical and spiritual life.
Genesis 2:7:
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
God formed man’s body of the dust of the ground. Then He breathed soul life into man’s body producing physical life and created within man spirit producing spiritual life.
Genesis 1:27:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he [God] him [Adam] …
The image of God is spirit. This spiritual creation within Adam was spiritual life.
Hence, Adam had both physical and spiritual life and could have lived forever. However, his living forever was dependent on retaining his spiritual life. When Adam sinned, he lost the spirit. His nature became sin, and his body became corruptible. With the spirit gone and the sin nature present, Adam eventually died physically also. All mankind are descendants of Adam and are born without spirit. Therefore, all inherit corruptible seed, sin nature, and death.
Romans 5:12:
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
When the spirit departed from Adam, so did spiritual life. While physical death was not immediate, it was certain.
Jesus Christ came to rectify Adam’s wrongdoing and to make spiritual and eternal life available.
Romans 5:17,21:
For if by one man's [Adam’s] offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
God’s love for man was abundantly evidenced in Jesus Christ. God sent His son, as a gift of grace, so mankind could again have eternal life.
John 3:16 and 17:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Jesus Christ made the way available for man, once again, to receive spirit and have eternal life. God’s will is for all men to be saved.
I Timothy 2:4:
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Salvation
What does being “saved” mean?
If you were drowning and someone pulled you out of the water into the boat, you would have been saved. To be rescued or delivered from danger or harm is to be saved. To understand spiritual salvation, we must understand that from which we need deliverance. We have already seen part of this, but many verses explain our situation and our need for salvation.
Ephesians 2:1-3:
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Every person is born without spirit, hence dead in trespasses and sins. Biblically, “conversation” is used for behavior. Man’s behavior is based on lust because his nature by birth is a sin nature. Considering this description of our situation, we see that we clearly needed salvation. Man’s dilemma is explained with more detail:
Ephesians 2:12:
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
We are all born without Christ, aliens, strangers, no hope, and without God in the world. How is that for a picture of someone drowning, needing to be saved? Romans chapters one through three explain the utter depravity, hopelessness, and helplessness of man. Chapter three summarizes man’s pathetic state.
Romans 3:11-18:
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Destruction and misery are in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Because we are descendants of Adam and inherit his sinful nature, we are indeed in need of salvation and unable to help ourselves. Salvation is God’s deliverance from sin and its consequences.
How is Salvation Received?
Most men, because of pride, reject God’s plan of salvation as too simple and easy to receive. In the face of God’s loving gift of salvation, the pride of man swells up, and often even an inner hostility arises. Romans chapter ten demonstrates man’s wrong thinking and prideful actions compared to God’s righteous ways. Salvation is something God does, and man needs only to accept.
Romans 10:1-3:
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Israel had zeal but not according to knowledge. Rather than humbly accepting God’s righteousness, they followed their own religious plan. They wanted to work for their righteousness. They were so acclimatized to gauging their religious standing on their own work’s merit that salvation as a gift was a stumblingblock.
Romans 10:6-8:
But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
For salvation and righteousness to be available, God had to give His son. Jesus Christ had to live a perfect life and die for man’s salvation. Then God had to raise him from the dead. That which was necessary for man’s salvation could only be done by God! How absolutely ignorant and outrageously vain is man to think he has the means and ability to save himself. Which man is going to ascend into heaven or descend into the deep to accomplish that which is necessary for man’s deliverance? Israel was completely missing the mark, as do many today who still think salvation is based on their works.
How does man receive salvation?
Romans 10:9 and 10:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
If you were drowning, what could you do to be saved? Nothing! Someone else has to do something to pull you into his boat. All you do is let him. All we are to do to receive spiritual salvation is to believe that which God has already done in Jesus Christ.
The Word of God tells us we are dead before we are saved. What can a dead man do? Nothing, he is dead!
Ephesians 2:5:
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Grace is the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to man, having as its only motive the blessing and benevolence of the Giver. Grace is unearned and unmerited favor. Grace is very hard for man to understand and accept because nothing in this world is comparable to it. We have all given and received gifts. Husbands and wives give gifts to each other because they are married. Parents give gifts to their children because they are family. Friends give gifts to friends because of their friendship. The reason for the gifts is some favorable relationship between the giver and the receiver. If no relationship existed, no gift would be given. Frequently the value of the gift corresponds to the intimacy of the relationship.
Some give to charitable causes with motives seemingly similar to grace. However, often some string is attached such as self-recognition. No comparison to God’s grace can be found in the world other than a person who is born-again and manifesting God’s love to others.
God gives salvation, righteousness, and eternal life to those who are described as being ungodly, sinners, and His enemies. Who in the world gives anything to an enemy? What is the value of eternal life, and what is the relationship of the unsaved to God? The value is so big that it is unspeakable and unfathomable. The relationship of the unsaved to God is enmity. We are truly saved by grace. To think our work has anything to do with salvation is complete foolishness and insolence toward our loving God for we are His workmanship.
Ephesians 2:8 and 9:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
There is no work for us to do. If we worked for salvation, it would not be a gift but wages earned. How hard would we have to work to earn salvation? The only way man could possibly be saved is by God’s grace. God had to do it for us. All we are to do is confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. Then we are saved.
New Birth
When a person receives salvation, he is born again. Jesus Christ explained the new birth to Nicodemus.
John 3:3:
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
The word “again” is the Greek word anothen. “Ano ” is the word “above” and “then” is the word “from.” The term “born again” would be more accurately translated “born from above.” “From above” represents God by the figure of speech metonymy. “Born again” means “born of God.”
John 3:4-6:
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Everyone is born of water with the first birth. The developing baby is surrounded in water called amniotic fluid. To enter the kingdom of God, one must also be born of spirit. When we believe Romans 10:9 and 10, we are born of God and receive His spirit in us. The new birth is a spiritual birth making us sons of God.
With the new birth God places in us His spirit (seed) which is incorruptible.
I Peter 1:23:
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
“Incorruptible” means the seed, the holy spirit within, cannot be corrupted. When we are born the first time, we are born of corruptible physical seed; thus, everyone dies. When we are born again, the seed of God within us is spirit and, as such, is incorruptible. The physical body of a man is corruptible. The spirit in the born-again one is incorruptible, therefore, eternal.
This incorruptibility seems hard for many Christians to accept as true. Maybe this is because we view our spiritual life based on our own deeds and not on God’s abundant love, grace, and mercy. So many believe that when they sin God takes His spirit away from them. This cannot be true if the spirit is incorruptible. It cannot corrupt, regardless of our behavior or anything else.
When we are born the first time, we have the seed of our father in us. That seed will always remain within us regardless of that which we do. We may decide that we no longer want to live with our father and move halfway around the world, yet we remain our father’s sons. We may decide to change our name, but name changes do not alter the seed within us. We may decide to change our appearance, maybe get plastic surgery, dye our hair, etc., but we still remain our father’s children. Absolutely nothing can be done to alter that relationship.
What about God’s seed within us? “Incorruptible” seed emphasizes that we are His children for all eternity and nothing can corrupt this reality, not even ourselves.
I John 3:1 and 2:
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
The new birth is to be born from above or of God. When we believe Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised him from the dead, we are saved. This salvation is the gift of incorruptible seed which God places in us. This incorruptible seed makes us God’s sons eternally.
Christians are three-part beings of body, soul, and spirit. The body and soul are common to all men. Soul life is breath life, that which gives the body life. Everyone has a body and soul, but only Christians have the spirit of God. The spirit is that incorruptible seed of God. At times in our lives we do not obey God’s Word, and therefore sin. This sin is in the category of the body and soul and never the spirit. Again, the spirit is incorruptible and cannot sin. It is God’s seed, holy spirit.
I John 3:9:
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
We do not commit sin in the seed, that is, in holy spirit. We can commit sin in the body and soul, and indeed do; however, the spirit within us is not altered. Because we cannot sin in the seed, we cannot lose the spirit as Adam and Eve did. The spirit they had was not incorruptible seed. That which Christians have is incorruptible, therefore, eternal.
Eternal Life
God’s original plan with Adam and Eve was for man to live eternally, but this was ruined. The reason for Jesus Christ’s life and ministry was to bring God’s purpose of eternal life into reality again.
John 3:15-17:
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Do you believe in him? If so, you shall not perish because you have eternal life.
Many scriptures tell us authoritatively that when we are born-again, we have eternal life. God gives us eternal life; therefore, we will not perish. Absolutely nothing and no one can alter the eternal life God gives.
John 10:27 and 28:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Eternal life is the gift of God. Gifts are received, not earned.
Romans 6:23:
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God promises us eternal life in His Word. We should not argue with God. He is not a man who lies (Numbers 23:19). If God promises it, that settles it.
Titus 1:2:
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
The Epistle of I John speaks often about eternal life.
I John 1:1 and 2:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
God promises us eternal life. Believe Him!
I John 2:25:
And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
The Word of God is written for us to know the truth. One great truth for us to acknowledge is that those who are born again have eternal life.
I John 5:11-13,20:
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
The moment you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, you are saved. The way you are saved by God’s loving grace is by being born from above, having God’s incorruptible seed in you. You have eternal life in you the moment you believe, but you do not manifest your eternal life until Christ returns.
When he returns, we will live with our heavenly Father and with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in perfect fellowship, never again to be interrupted.
The Return of Christ
Jesus Christ is coming back to gather the family of God together. Only God knows the time of his return. Whenever that time comes will be “the fullness of times.”
Ephesians 1:10:
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and believe God raised him from the dead, we receive the holy spirit which is the earnest, or token, of our inheritance yet to come.
Ephesians 1:13-14:
… in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Those who have believed and die before Christ returns remain in the grave until he returns. In the grave the individual’s body corrupts and returns to dust. Death is a dormant state in which is no consciousness.1 The Word figuratively refers to death as “sleep.” The body corrupts, but the spirit does not because it is incorruptible. The spirit awaits Christ’s return, when the dead, the corruptible, will put on incorruption, and those alive, the mortals, will put on immortality.
I Corinthians 15:52-54:
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Death will be swallowed up in victory because we have eternal life. When Christ returns, the gift of eternal life will become manifest. I Thessalonians explains exactly that which will happen:
I Thessalonians 4:13-18:
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Salvation, the new birth, eternal life, and Christ’s return are so immense that they have to be gifts of grace. Do not fight God’s love, simply accept His abundant gift by believing:
Romans 10:9 and 10:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
If you have difficulty believing this truth, you need to hear more.
Romans 10:17:
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
To have God Almighty as our heavenly Father and to be guaranteed by Him that we will live together forever utterly constrains us to love Him and to live for Him.
What can be said to our God Who is so loving to us? Thank you, thank you, thank you! Our response has to be to thank Him and love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Ephesians 5:20:
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Footnotes:
1 Psalms 6:5, 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5 and 6, 10.
Source: http://www.bibelcenter.de · E-Mail: editor@bibelcenter.de
Last changed: 01.01.1970