Galatians (Program #33) – Born of the Spirit to Receive the Spirit (2)

At Christ’s death on the cross, we were redeemed. We might think that the purpose of redemption is so that we could be saved and go to heaven. But, Galatians 4:5 says that God has redeemed us so that we might receive the Sonship. To receive Sonship means that we’re born of God and thereby receive the divine life and nature. Stay with us today as we focus not on our future in heaven, but on how to live and walk in Spirit as the very sons of God.

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Galatians (Program #31) – The Brands of Jesus and the Grace of Christ

The marvelous book of Galatians contains some of the most encouraging and positive utterances in the New Testament. “When it pleased God to reveal His Son in me. “And, if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Yet, there’s an unmistakable imprint of the cross of Christ running through Galatians as well. It’s a book of grace and faith, and the Spirit of life, all the while not to be missed is the putting to death of the flesh and bearing the brands of Christ. Does this reveal a contradiction or a secret to experiencing Christ in the Christian life? Stay with us for today’s life study of the Bible.

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Galatians (Program #30) – Crucified to the Religious World

Galatians 6 reveals 2 kinds of people who apparently are seeking after God. One kind boasts in their zealousness towards their religion, and their dutiful observance and practice of law keeping. The Apostle Paul represents the other class of God’s seekers; those who only boast in the cross of Christ.  To which class do you belong?  Stay with us as we look at what it really means to be a New Creation in Christ.

The phrase “a new creation” appears in Galatians 6:15. But, many people may be familiar with the translations that render this phrase as “In Christ we have become a new creature.” Which is it, creature or creation? It is definitely creation…

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2 Corinthians (Program #14) – The Ministers of the New Covenant (7a)

The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 that he and the other apostles had received a ministry or reconciliation. To reconcile one person to another is to restore the offending party to the offended party.

Of course in our case we all had offended God and the moment that we believed into Christ, receiving His work on the cross for us, we were brought nigh to Him and experience the first step or first level of reconciliation.

But actually 2 Corinthians reveals that there is a further step, a second level or degree of reconciliation. And that only someone fully in God can have such a ministry to reconcile others fully into God. This is the ministry of reconciliation that Paul was commissioned with.

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1 Corinthians (Program #52) – Dealing with the Matter of Resurrection (1)

Have you ever noticed in the presentation of the gospel it’s often the graphic picture of Jesus dying on the cross and bearing our sins that preachers draw upon to engage their audience?   Frequently the gospel is presented with great passion regarding the death of Christ, the sinless One dying for the sinners.

Well, we praise the Lord for His crucifixion, without it we sinners would have no way to come to God. But as effectively as His dead is in dealing with the record of sin, it alone can’t save us from the power of sin. For that we must turn our gaze from the Christ on the cross to the Christ raised from the dead. It is death and resurrection together that bring us a full salvation. And the death and resurrection of Christ is our topic today.

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Exodus (Program #131) – The Sanctification of Aaron and His Sons to be the Priests (2) Sin Offering and the Way to Feast on Christ

Many items of the Old Testament are later associated with Christ in the New Testament.  Among the most frequently discussed items are the offerings that became part of the service in the tabernacle and later the temple.  What do these Old Testament animal offerings have to do with our Savior Christ and with our own experience of His divine life in us?

We are in the section of the life study of Exodus now that touches the offerings.  The offerings of the Old Testament have long been connected to, or associated with Christ.  The New Testament does make it clear that Christ on the cross was the real fulfillment of many of these offerings, like the sin offering and trespass offering that we will see today.

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1 Corinthians (Program #10) – Christ Crucified, the Focus of the Apostle’s Ministry

In studying the Bible, it’s critical to gain a window into the mind and the Spirit of the writer. The apostle Paul no doubt consider his words very carefully as he addressed his highly educated and philosophically trained audience in the ancient city of Corinth as he prepared his epistle to them.

The gospel contains much that could stimulate and intrigue these learned men, but instead of appealing to their great intellect through philosophy, he purposely just took the opposite approach. He spoke clear simple words of the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross even the crucified Christ as the power of God. He didn’t go on to exalt us as well as the Corinthians believers not to trust or utilized man’s wisdom, philosophy or eloquent words to present this crucified Christ to others.  Why was Paul so insistent of taking this way? And what is the message to us in our own presentation Christ to others?

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Exodus (Program #105) – The Altar of Burnt Offering (2)

Of all the items associated with the tabernacle in the Old Testament, the altar is the most easily identified with its New Testament counterpart, where the altar is a clear type of the cross of Jesus Christ.  It was here the offerings for God’s people to satisfy His righteous demands were made.  Nearly all Bible teachers and most Christians understand this parallel.  But this picture is only the beginning of all that the altar represents.  The details shows much much more.  How we thank the Lord for the picture and the ministry that we have today to unveil the picture.

To most people, the altar may seem to be, may be the easiest to understand of all the items that we’ve looked at in the tabernacle.  It is a very clear picture of the cross.  Christians probably feel by enlarge that they have a reasonably good understanding of the cross.  But our listeners are going to be a little bit surprise today by some of the things they hear.

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Romans (Program #10) – The Result of Justification – The Full Enjoyment of God In Christ

There is nothing more welcome to a sinner’s ears than to hear that he has been forgiven of his sins and is justified before God. Today, you will hear some further marvelous results of justification.

In chapter 4 of Romans, there is this graphic example of justification made clear through the experience of Abraham.  Chapters 3 & 4 of Romans show us two aspects of justification.   Chapter 3 deals with an objective and positional justification which was accomplished by the death of Christ.   more…

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John (Program #49) – Life Processed for Multiplication (4)

Let us all let the wind blow where it wills. And, instead of trying to systematize or schematize the experience of the Spirit, let’s experience the Spirit for the carrying out of God’s economy, letting God truly be God.

John 20 is in many respects, a chapter of realization or actualization. By using these terms, I’m trying to say, that in this chapter we have the reality in actual experience of what the Lord revealed concerning His process elsewhere in the Gospel. He made it emphatically clear in chapters 14 through 16 that He needed to go, that is, die on the cross, and come again, that is come into the disciples as the pneumatic Christ in order to indwell them. He had, as the first half of the Gospel emphasizes, become flesh and tabernacled among human kind. But, God’s goal is to be in His chosen and redeemed people, not merely among them.

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