Having therefore these promises

 

"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." - 2 Corinthians 6:16-18, 7:1 KJV

Church!

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD." - Psalm 122:1 KJV

Dead to sin - Alive to God (Part 2)

 Part 2

Jesus paid the price of death so that we would no longer be separated from Him by our sin.

"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them;" - 2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV

In order for us to enjoy eternal life and peace with Jesus that He dearly paid the price for, we must become dead to sin. (Romans 6:2, Romans 6:11).

Remembering that death is separation, we become separated from sin when we become dead to sin.

To be dead to sin means, “To become wholly alienated from a thing, and freed from all connection with it” {Thayer’s Greek Lexicon}

“True Christians are said simply as ‘you have died’, having put off all sensibility to worldly things that draw them away from God:” {Thayer’s Greek Lexicon}

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." - Romans 8:1 KJV

The Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Ghost, is the promise we receive when we obey the gospel.

"But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:" - 2 Timothy 1:10

It was on the day of Pentecost that man was reunited with God: God poured out His Spirit for the first time since the Garden of Eden.

"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." - Acts 2:4 KJV

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached the gospel – the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus – and then what we must do to obey the gospel.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." - Acts 2:38-39 KJV

Sin separates us from God - Jesus made peace by the blood of His cross

When the Bible speaks of life and death there are times when it is speaking of natural life and death, and times when it is speaking of spiritual life and death.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God's commandment in the Garden of Eden, both physical death and spiritual death came upon them. While they did not immediately physically die, they no longer had eternal life. (Genesis 5:5). They did, however, immediately die a spiritual death.

"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:" - Romans 5:12 KJV

Spiritual death is separation from God.

"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face [mercy] from you, that he will not hear." - Isaiah 59:2 KJV

Sin brings spiritual death and separation from God.

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust [evil desires], and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin [evil desires give birth to sinful actions]: and sin, when it is finished [allowed to grow], bringeth forth death. " - James 1:14-15 KJV

Our Heavenly Father, out of His love for His creation, chose to robe Himself in flesh so that HE could suffer and die FOR US to bring PEACE and reconciliation between us and Him.

"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself... And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: [This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.] If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;" - Colossians 1:20-23 KJV

The gospel -

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." - Acts 2:38 KJV

To be continued…

Jesus brought life

Our heavenly Father robed himself in flesh to bring life to the world.

"(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;)" - 1 John 1:2 KJV

"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men." - John 1:3-4 KJV

In the beginning He breathed life into man.

"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." - Genesis 2:7 KJV

When Adam sinned, death entered into the world. (1 Corinthians 15:22).

"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:" - Romans 5:12 KJV

Jesus brought life by the gospel - His death, burial, and resurrection. We receive life (eternal life) when we obey the gospel by repenting of our sins, being baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, and receiving the gift of His Spirit, the Holy Ghost. (1Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 6:1-11, Acts 2:38).

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:" - 2 Timothy 1:9-10 KJV

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23 KJV 

"Before Abraham was, I AM."

 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

“Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.

“Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." - John 8:56-59 KJV (Exodus 3:14).

The arm of the Lord - power, redemption, and salvation

The Father is Spirit. Throughout the Old Testament, God uses metaphors to describe His power, redemption, salvation, omnipresence, acceptance, mercy, judgement, and authority.

These metaphors include the arm, eyes, ears, nose, face, back, and hand. God uses these metaphors so we can better understand and relate to God, as we are physical beings.

God’s arm is a metaphor of His power, redemption, and salvation. The Bible says God redeemed the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage with His arm.

"Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:" - Exodus 6:6 KJV (Deuteronomy 9:29, Psalm 44:3).

All of humanity needed a redeemer. More than redemption from Egyptian bondage, mankind needed redemption from the bondage of sin and death. (Hebrews 2:14-15).

The Bible says that God saw there was no man that could redeem mankind from sin. Why? Because all are born in sin. Only God Himself – our Heavenly Father – could step in and redeem mankind from sin and death. Only our Heavenly Father could be our Savior. (John 8:24). The Bible describes God’s salvation as His arm.

"And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him." - Isaiah 59:16 KJV

Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 53 that the arm of the Lord would be revealed.

"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? ...He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief...But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." - Isaiah 53:1, 3, 5 KJV (John 12:37-41, Romans 10:13-16).

"The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." - Isaiah 52:10 KJV