Deliverance from all types of infirmity; out of bondage and enslavement, misery, and despair is what Christ the good Shepard does for His children.
John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (KJV)
Will find feeding; spiritual food; nourishment for their souls continuously.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (KJV)
The devil wants lives destroyed by enticing people to be constantly controlled by their flesh. The devils wants to see the works of the flesh dominate in the lives of people as stated in Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying’s, murders, drunkenness, reviling’s, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This is the life the devil would like to see all people live, even Christians. Ultimately the devil would like to see people’s lives dominated by their flesh and then see them die without receiving Christ.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ became a man and died for the sins of all human beings and proved that He was God by His Resurrection from the dead and Ascension to Heaven, so that everyone who would come to Him would be able to live a life now on earth that is superior in quality (not quantity or length of life). He enables anyone to live above the works of the flesh exuding Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, a quiet mind, kind acts, well-doing, faith, gentle behavior, control over desires: against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have put to death on the cross the flesh with its passions and its evil desires. (BBE)=Bible in Basic English published in 1965
John 10:28 And I give them eternal life; they will never come to destruction, and no one will ever take them out of my hand. (BBE)
Eternal life (life of superior quality spoken of in John 10:10) begins right now the moment you receive Christ, not when you die.
John 10:37-38 If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not have belief in me; But if I am doing them, then have belief in the works even if you have no belief in me; so that you may see clearly and be certain that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. (BBE)
The works, actions, or lifestyle that Jesus Christ lived every day, along with His speech, testified as to who He was, not what He said of Himself. Christ was different than the other religious rulers or rabbis. Of course we now know that He was and is God, but He lived much of His earthly existence as a 100% man displaying the life that is controlled by the Spirit of God. This is what He meant in this passage of Scripture. He is telling them that His works or actions or lifestyle shows them that God the Father is in Him and He is in God the Father. So what does this mean for us today? Well, it means we absolutely must be different than people who have not received Christ. Our daily works, actions, lifestyle must reflect that God the Holy Spirit truly lives in us and is in control.
What are the credentials or the evidence that a person is a Christian? Is it belonging to a Church? Is it being a nice or kind person? There are some very nice and kind Mormons, but they don’t know Jesus Christ. What proved that Jesus was who He said He was and what proves that we are who we say we are? If I happen upon a snail outside and watch or observe him for movement say an hour and he doesn’t move, I may wrongly conclude that he is alive. However, if I measure where he is located and monitor that position for say a week and he is still in the same spot, then I can conclude that he is dead. Christ says our works, actions, lifestyle over time will testify whether we have life or whether we are dead still in trespasses and sins.
[Remember Matthew 7:15-23] This portion of Scripture tells us that we must not believe the words of people claiming to know Him, but their lifestyle will show us who they really belong to. Jesus says here that many religious people will die in their sins and say to Him all of the religious activities they did in His name (without true repentance and faith in Him they continued to practice sin and justify their practice of it). Remember Christ also warns us through the Apostle John (in 1 John 3:8-10) that this cannot be the lifestyle of a true Christian. A practice of sin and being justified by Christ are inconsistent or in opposition with one another.
Here is a quote from Matthew Henry on the 1 John texts, “From the connection between regeneration and the relinquishment of sin: Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. To be born of God is to be inwardly renewed, and restored to a holy integrity or rectitude of nature by the power of the Spirit of God. Such a one committeth not sin, does not work iniquity nor practice disobedience, which is contrary to his new nature and the regenerate complexion of his spirit; for, as the apostle adds, his seed remaineth in him, either the word of God in its light and power remaineth in him (as 1Pe_1:23, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever), or, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit; the spiritual seminal principle of holiness remaineth in him. Renewing grace is an abiding principle.”
2 Corinthians 3:9 This is what I mean: That old agreement judged people guilty of sin, but it had glory. So surely the new agreement that makes people right with God has much greater glory. (BBE)
The Law or the Ten Commandments only brought condemnation because no one could keep it, but Christ bloodshed, death, and resurrection from the dead brings about the new birth a new life which is liberating and freeing. It exceeds in Glory now because of the new life given and will ultimately end in a Glorified Body for the believer.
2 Corinthians 3:14-16 But their minds were closed. And even today, when those people read the writings of the old agreement, that same covering hides the meaning. That covering has not been removed for them. It is taken away only through Christ. Yes, even today, when they read the Law of Moses, there is a covering over their minds. But when someone changes and follows the Lord, that covering is taken away. (BBE)Every human heart that has not turned to Christ is blinded in sin and by sin cannot see the truth or understand the Bible, but when any heart turns to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit removes the blinders and enables that person to understand and obey the Word of God.
2 Corinthians 3:17 The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (BBE)
Here we have affirmed by Paul the Oneness of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Our Lord has already told us in the Gospels that He and God the Father are One. This is one of the affirmations of the Trinity, One God Manifest in three persons. Finally, our Lord is here testified of His liberating, delivering, and freeing power from sin.
No comments:
Post a Comment