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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Leviticus (Program #21) – The Law of the Sin, Trespass, Peace Offerings

It’s not difficult for us to consider as law, the Ten Commandments given through Moses. However, we might find it hard to regard the law as something that concerns our enjoyment of Christ.  We may think that if there’s a law concerning the enjoyment of Christ, there could not be any enjoyment. Our eyes are about to be opened to realize that our enjoyment in experiencing Christ as life is regulated according to the law of life.

It helps to realize that we have five basic problems -we are not absolute for God, we never could be God’s testimony, what we are is just sin, what we do is nothing but commit sins and trespasses, what we never could have is peace with God.  Hallelujah for Christ! Christ is the burnt offering who is absolute for God. When we enjoy Him, God accepts us and we are satisfaction to Him. Christ secondly is the meal offering who is perfect, fine, even, balanced, proper man filled with divinity to be God’s testimony. Christ is the sin offering who became more…

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2 Corinthians (Program #18) -Competent of Christ as the Alphabets to Write Living Letters with the Life-giving Spirit of the Living Lord (1)

Most genuine Christians in the protestant traditions owe a great debt to such courageous reformer such as as Martin Luther. Luther was used much by the Lord to recover the great truth of justification by faith, even risking his life for the sake of this foundational truth of the Christians faith. But this is not the only truth that had been lost and in need of recovery. Other reformers went even further, realizing that justification must have a result beyond the mere objective fact. The Bible reveals that the issue of justification is life. It is life, divine life, operating subjectively in the believers that constitute us members of Christ and it is the Spirit of life through the New Testament ministry that also makes us living letters of Christ. Living letters inscribe with the living Spirit of the living God. Hallelujah for the recovering of the divine life.

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2 Corinthians (Program #13) – The Ministers of the New Covenant (6)

At the beginning of chapter 5 in 2 Corinthians Paul the apostle speaks in a strange way.

1 “For we know that if our earthly tabernacle dwelling is taken down, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.”

Well, we may consider that we have understand this at least in parts. But listen to:

2 “For also in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our dwelling place from heaven,”

3 “If indeed, being clothed, we will not be found naked.”

Actually what Paul is expressing here is his deep longing and desire to be raptured.

Rapture, is a topic today that fascinating millions today even unbelievers are intrigued by this topic as we’ve seen by the tremendous popularity of recent series of novels on this subject.

But what is most often missed by Christians considering rapture it that it’s linked not just to our initially salvation but much more to our growth and maturity in the divine life. For as we grow and mature, our longing for this day deepens as we can clearly seen in Paul’s words.

4 “For also, we who are in this tabernacle groan, being burdened, in that we do not desire to be unclothed, but clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.“

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2 Corinthians (Program #5) – The Ministry of the New Covenant (1)

When we consider what are the main qualifications to be an effective and useful minister of the gospel. We may list things like been an eloquent speaker or having a charismatic personality or been one in power with miraculous gifts that can perform mighty works of power in the name of Jesus.  But the New Testament itself when presenting to us what’s the genuine ministry of the New Testament doesn’t uplift any of these things. Rather what we see in the genuine ministry of the apostles was the growth and maturity in the divine life. Paul the apostle himself was such a minister not relying on either natural ability or super natural gifts. He was the one spent years experiencing, enjoying and been constituted inwardly with the life giving Spirit, the very Christ in resurrection.

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1 Corinthians (Program #19) – Growth in Life Needed (2)

In first Corinthians the apostle Paul confronts the difficult situation in the church there in a very wise way. He first identifies that their problems would due primarily to a shortage of the growth in the divine life. Although they had received the initial gifts of the divine life and the Holy Spirit they were still infants or babes in Christ.

He then unveils to them the marvelous progression of God’s economy. First they need to realize that they are all plants growing on God’s farms. Then the goal is to be built up together into a building and finally that this building is destined to become God’s dwelling place, His temple.

How about you and me? Have we received such a vision, such a revelation or are we like the Corinthians satisfied to remain in our spiritual infancy and hang on to personal preferences in our own traditions?

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1 Corinthians (Program #17) – The Church, God’s Farm, God’s Building (2)

The believers in Corinth in the early church were rich in many things. They have received the initial gifts of the divine life and the Holy Spirit. They were enriched in all knowledge and they even have many miraculous gifts in their midst.  Yet Paul referred to them as infants or babes in Christ. How could that be with all that God had given them?   Primarily is because they neglect the mater of life and growing spiritually in the divine life. So, the apostle Paul points out to them in clear types and pictures the importance and necessity of the divine life.

Listen again as his words are so full of references to life and growth:

3:5-9 “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Ministers through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to beach one of them. I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.  So then neither is he who plants anything nor he who waters, but God who causes the growth.  Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.  For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s cultivated land, God’s building.”

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1 Corinthians (Program #9) – The Fellowship of Christ

A superficial reading of 1 Corinthians often leads to the conclusion that is a book focus mostly on outward problems and situations. Actually this book is one of the riches in the New Testament with marvelous passages touching the profound aspects of Christ, the Spirit and the church. The first 3 chapters are particularly profound with a number of unique and significant terms employ by the apostle Paul as he ministered the riches of Christ to a church that surely was in need of an infusion of the divine life. Such a ministry is found in verse  1:9, where Paul says “God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.“

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Romans (Program #51) – The Flesh and the Spirit

The Bible reveals to us three big enemies to our Christian life: sin, Satan and death. All of these three take advantage of our fallen flesh to frustrate us, but God’s approach to our flesh may surprise you. That’s the focus on today’s Life-Study of the Bible.

In these chapters in Romans, we’re seeing the three enemies and how they are seen as enemies that reign over us. In Romans 5:21, it mentions that sin reigned in death. In 5:14, it says “death reigned”. We learned from the book of Acts that Satan has some kind of authority like the power of darkness. These are the three big enemies. Now, in 5:17, we are promised that those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ. more…

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Romans (Program #41) – Saved in Life from Sin and Worldliness

We can draw water from the wells of salvation and we can be saved day by day in His life. The Bible is a book of life. The gospel of John reveals Christ as life to us but Romans brings us fully into the experience of this life.

This is easily one of the most important portions of the Bible for our Christian life. What is the most marvelous relationship that we’re going to see between the gospel of John and the book of Romans? John shows us that Christ as life meets the need of every man’s case – whatever our case is, whatever kind of need we have, whatever kind of condition or situation we’re in – Christ as life meets our need! But John doesn’t show us in particular the way we can experience Christ as life.  more…

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