GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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BAPTIZED INTO-FILLED WITH
By Miles Stanford




"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27).

The Holy Spirit baptizes us into the Lord Jesus, and fills us with Him.

"The one spiritual baptism positions the believer 'in Christ' (Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12), and into His Body (1 Cor. 12:13). Since this position in the Lord Jesus is unchangeable, and eternal, the baptizing work of the Spirit is not repeatable. One 'in Christ' positionally, can never again through all eternity be 'out of Christ' positionally, as that position depends wholly upon the efficacy of the finished redemptive work of the Son, and does not hinge upon human merit or faithfulness.

"The filling with the Spirit, on the other hand, is repeatable (Acts 2:4; 4:8,31; 9:17), and is, in fact, a continuous process, as it conditions mutable experience, and has nothing whatever to do with immutable position. Christian position is effected by the baptism of the Spirit at the moment of the new birth. Christian experience is affected by the filling with the Holy Spirit. One effects our position, the other affects our condition." -M.U.

"The Holy Spirit gives a living knowledge; His light is the light of life; He is the 'Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.' We see the Father and the Son as seeing us. When we behold them by the ministry of the Spirit, it is as beholding us with infinite love, and bestowing upon us the blessings of grace. We know because we are known. 'Thou Father, Thou Son, seest me' is the immediate consciousness of the soul, when there is spiritual perception of the Father. In other words, love, petition, listening to the Father's voice, receiving the love and peace of the Lord Jesus, fellowship, are invoked in this knowledge." -A.S.


"The communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:14).

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THE FLOOD OF NOAH'S DAY
by Russell S. Miller



During Noah's flood the canopy of Genesis 1:6 that "divided the waters from the waters" converged with "the fountains of the great deep" to become one gigantic ocean (Gen. 7:11-16). And God's judgment upon the wickedness of man "flooded" this globe.

"And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground...and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark" (Gen. 7:23).

Genesis 9:9-17 speaks about a covenant that God made with Noah. In short, the "rainbow" is God's "token of [that] covenant" (9:13) with mankind, that He will never again destroy the earth by a flood. God's faithfulness to His Word, here, has been wondrously demonstrated for over 4,000 years.

"I DO SET MY BOW IN THE CLOUD, AND IT SHALL BE FOR A TOKEN OF A COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND THE EARTH. ...AND THE WATERS SHALL NO MORE BECOME A FLOOD TO DESTROY ALL FLESH" (Gen. 9:13,15).

Indeed God has also been faithful to His covenant of "day" and "night" (Jer. 33:20,21) since the beginning of time, that's 6,000 years! Though God shall never again destroy the earth with "water", the Apostle Peter declares that after the 1,000 year reign of Christ, earth and space shall be purified with "fire" from all that with which man has polluted it (II Pet. 3:10-12).

Nevertheless before Prophecy is resumed and "that great and terrible Day of the Lord comes" (Joel 2:11,31; Acts 2:20; Rev. 19:11-16) the armies of Heaven shall invade the earth.

"HE THAT SITTETH IN THE HEAVENS SHALL LAUGH: THE LORD SHALL HAVE THEM IN DERISION. THEN SHALL HE SPEAK UNTO THEM IN HIS WRATH, AND VEX THEM IN HIS SORE DISPLEASURE" (Psa. 2:4,5).

Much as He did in the land of Egypt when Pharaoh would not let His people go (Ex. 5:1--14:31). Are you ready for this "Coming" of the Lord Jesus Christ? Probably not, who would be!

But God has some "good news" for you; before His wrath is poured out upon this Christ rejecting world, He shall "catch" us away to Heaven (I Thes. 4:13-18.).

First, my friend, God wants to save you from your sin, if you will only believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

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NOT ASHAMED
By ROBERT E. HANNA, Pastor

Scripture Reading: Psalms 119:6; II Timothy 2:15

God's Holy Word and man's proper reaction to it are unchangeable. God speaks with total and unquestionable authority; it is man's responsibility to receive, accept and obey. This principle is constant and perpetual. God's manner of dealing with His people may change in accordance with His plan and purpose - but His Word remains steadfast and unalterable. Our acceptance should be unquestioning and without reservation. The psalmist expresses well this state of mind:

"Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments" (Psalms 119:4-6). The Word of God may be expressed with severity, it may be delivered reproachfully, or tenderly, or lovingly. It may be indicative of anger, or of wrath, of sorrow or of disappointment, or of indignation. But it will consistently be without deviation or flaw. It will be inflexible and irrevocable. Whatever the tone, it is to be received unconditionally and devotedly.

In rightly dividing the Word of Truth we must be ever mindful of the dispensational boundaries: who is speaking? to whom? with what intent? in what setting? But, just as importantly, it must be constantly born in mind that God's Word is of itself unalterable.

Today, in this dispensation of the grace of God, our appropriate attitude is not different from that of the psalmist. Our apostle enjoins us, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth."

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GRACE CROWN
By Miles Stanford


"The God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect (mature), establish, strengthen, settle you" (1 Pet. 5:10).

At first, the old nature hides from us. Then, we try to hide from it. But when we begin to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, we are able to face up to the awful facts concerning the old man and his condemnation at the Cross. As the Holy Spirit reveals the old man (Col. 3:9), we count upon death; as He reveals the new man (Col. 3:10), we count upon life (Rom. 6:11).

"The believer, at the opening of his course, never knows his own heart; indeed, he could not bear the full knowledge of it; he would be over-whelmed thereby. 'The Lord leads us not by the way of the Philistines lest we should see war,' and so be plunged into despair. But He graciously leads us by a circuitous route, in order that our apprehension of His grace may keep pace with our growing self-knowledge." - C.H.M.

"It was not for nothing that God let Satan loose upon His dear servant, Job. God loved Job with a perfect love; a love that could take account of everything, and, looking below the surface, could see the deep moral roots in the heart of His servant - roots which Job had never seen, and, therefore, never judged. What a mercy to have to do with such a God! to be in the hands of One who will spare no pains in order to subdue everything in us which is contrary to Himself, and to bring out in us His own blessed image!"

"Humble yourselves. therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you" (1 Pet. 5:6, 7).

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SEVEN MARKS OF A BIBLE CHRISTIAN
By John LaVier



1.  Gods people are a SAVED people.

Theirs is not a hope-so salvation, but a know-so salvation. They know on the authority of Gods own Holy Word. 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 (1 John 5:13). Having believed, they are saved from sin. They are saved from the wages of sin, which is death. They are saved from the lake of fire, and the blackness of darkness forever. They are saved, not by their own works, but by God, 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 (2 Tim. 1:9).


2.   Gods people are a SANCTIFIED people.

But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through SANCTIFICATION of the Spirit and belief of the truth (2 Thess. 2:13). Like the Corinthians, they were sinners of the deepest dye, yet now it may be said of them: But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11). Sanctification is that work of the Holy Spirit by which the believer, even before he is conscious of his justification, is set apart to God. It is based upon the redemptive work of Christ. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb. 10:10). Christ Himself becomes the believers sanctification. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).


3.   Gods people are a SEPARATED people.

Just as God of old put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel (Exo. 11:7), so there is today a difference between the people of God and the people of the world. Jesus said, If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:19). The separation is to be manifested by Gods people, for the Lords command is, Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye SEPARATE, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you (2 Cor. 6:17). Though in the world, Gods people are not of the world, and they are to walk in separation from the evil that surrounds them.


4.   Gods people are a SPIRITUAL people.

Paul wrote, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the SPIRIT, if so be that the SPIRIT of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the SPIRIT of Christ, he is none of his (Rom. 8:9). All of Gods people are indwelt by the Spirit, and their bodies are temples of the Holy Ghost. They are taught by the Spirit (John 14:26), they are led by the Spirit (Rom. 8:14), and they are empowered by the Spirit (Acts 1:8.). They should all be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18.) and manifest the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal. 5:22-23).


5.   Gods people are a SEALED people.

The believer is instructed, And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are SEALED unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). Then in Ephesians 1:13, In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were SEALED with that Holy Spirit of promise. The words after that ye believed are in the Greek only one word pisteusantes, which means believing. Simultaneously with their believing the gospel, Gods people are sealed. First, the seal signifies a finished transaction. The work of our redemption has been completed. Jesus cried, It is finished (John 19:30). The seal also signifies ownership. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods (1 Cor. 6:19-20). They belong to God. His seal is upon them. Finally, the seal signifies security. They are sealed unto the day of redemption. There will be a safe delivery of Gods purchased possession at the end of the line. They are safe and secure in Christ. Sealed in Him so that all the legions of hell cannot touch them.


6.   Gods people are a SEATED people.

The Lord Jesus, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God (Heb. 10:12). Those who have trusted Him and are resting in His finished and all-perfect work, are also seated with Him. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us SIT together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:4-6). The saved are, in very truth, a heavenly people. Their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Their citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Their home is in heaven (2 Cor. 5:1). Their blessings are in heaven (Eph. 1:3). Their inheritance is in heaven (1 Pet. 1:4). They are seated in heaven. As members of the Body, they are there with the Head, seated at the Fathers right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.


7.   Gods people are a SATISFIED people.

The prophet asked, Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? (Isa. 55:2) Many there are today who are giving all their time and attention to the things of earth; seeking satisfaction in that which satisfieth not. How happy are those who have found Him Who alone can satisfy. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he SATISFIETH the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness (Psa. 107:8-9). Lasting joy, and peace, and satisfaction is to be found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. He satisfies. Daily, hourly, moment by moment, He satisfies. All through life's journey, He satisfies, and when Gods children close their eyes to this earthly scene, and open them in the realms of endless glory Ah! then, their satisfaction will be complete. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be SATISFIED, when I awake, with thy likeness (Psa. 17:15).

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THE VALUE OF HARD PLACES
Part One of Three


Trials are valuable in revealing to us ourselves and showing us our insufficiencies and failures. They are God's great blasting processes in the work of spiritual excavation, which is necessary for the work of building up the life and character. We never know what graces and qualities we possess until the test comes, and then the faith and courage that glowed with such a flame in the moment of enthusiasm and inspiration finds its true level, and the soul is thrown back in its nothingness and helplessness upon Christ alone, to find in Him its all in all.

This was the meaning of Jacob's trials, to bring him to the end of self. This was the purpose of Job's afflictions, to slay his self-righteous confidence. This was the blessing that came from Peter's fall, that it broke his pride and self-sufficiency and sent him forth to lean upon his Lord and find his strength outside himself in Christ alone. This is why the Lord still tries you, to convince you thoroughly that your estimate of your own strength is utterly false and. exaggerated and to bring you to that place where it will be truly "Not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20) .

Trials Make Christ Real

Trials make Christ real, just as real as the trouble is. They are God's heavenly messengers to communicate His grace and blessing to our souls and make them stand out in relief in our lives, so everybody can see it and feel it.

God cuts and burns His messages into human lives until Christ becomes to us as real as the tears we have shed, the fears under which we have trembled, the sorrows that were ready to overwhelm us, and the difficulties which rose like mountains before us, so that the sweetest memories of our lives are the hard places which have become stepping stones and monuments of divine and heavenly things.

Trials are Occasions for Victory

Trials win for us eternal crowns. They become occasions for victory and rewards which will never pass away. When history is forgotten and the records of time are obliterated, when the solar system has vanished away, and new heavens and new earth are sweeping in the orbits of immensity, the eternal results of these trials will shine in our lives as we share with God Himself the new heavens and the new earth, and the glories of the coming age for which all things are now preparing.

Beloved, shall we seek to profit from our sorrows? Shall we win a crown? Shall we get out of the things that are happening to us today all that Christ has for us? Shall we be "more than conquerors through him that loved us"? (Rom. 8:37). And shall we endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ? If so, we shall someday hear Him say to us: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

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THE VALUE OF HARD PLACES
Part Two of Three




Trials Teach us to Know the Resources of God



Trials help us, to know the resources of God. It is only in difficult circumstances that we learn to know His all-sufficiency. Israel at the Red Sea must first stand still and behold the salvation of God (Ex. 14:10-14). So He tells them that the reason He led them through the wilderness, and exposed them to a situation where there were no natural supplies of any kind, was to teach them that He was adequate for every need, and that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). God becomes real to us up to the measure of our sense of need He meets. So every difficult situation is just a vessel for Him to fill and an occasion for Him to show Himself in His infinite wisdom, power, and grace. The Apostle tells us that he was exposed to every sort of difficulty in order that the power of Christ might rest upon him according to his needs, and therefore he welcomed each new situation as another occasion for Him to say. "My grace is sufficient for Thee" (2 Cor. 12: 7-10).

Beloved, are we thus proving and finding Him equal to all the conditions of our lives and glorying in being able to tell the world that our God shall supply all our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus?

Trials Teach us Faith

Trials teach us faith. Trial is the fruitful soil of trust. Difficulties are the divine incentives which demand and develop our confidence in the divine faithfulness and love. The eagle can only teach her young to fly by tearing up her nest and hurling them out in midair, where, thrown upon their own resources, they must either fly or fall. Then it is that they must learn the undeveloped power in their little pinions, and as they strike out upon the air in desperate struggles, they find the secret of a new life and gradually learn to beat their way through the pathless firmament and fly upon the wings of the wind and in the face of the sun.

So God teaches His children to use the wings of faith by stirring up their nests, taking away their props, and flinging them out often-times into an abyss of helplessness, where they must either sink or learn to trust and throw themselves upon the seeming void, to find that God is there beneath them like the supporting wing which the eagle stretches forth beneath her faint and struggling brood.

It is so easy for us to lean upon the things that we can see, and feel that it is an entirely new experience for us to stand alone and walk with the unseen God as Peter walked upon the sea. But it is the lesson we must learn if our souls are ever to dwell in God's eternal calm where faith must be our only sense, and God be our all in all.

Very gently does He suit the test to our feeble strength and lead us on as we are able for more and more. Are we thus trusting Him in life's hard places and growing strong as we endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ?

Trials Teach us to Pray

Trials teach us to pray and constrain us to be much alone with God. They drove Jacob to his knees at the fords of Jabbok (Gen. 32:23-30). They taught the Psalmist to find "the secret place of the most High" (Ps. 91). They made the life of Paul one ceaseless dependence upon the presence of his Lord, and they have inspired as well as sustained the divine communion which we have learned to prove as the supreme resource and solution of our lives.

It is very humbling that it should be true that God must press His children to His breast by suffering and need, but it is, alas, too often the case that ease and comfort lead us to, at least, a partial independence of Him, and our most spiritual seasons and the times that have brought God most near to us have been the times of which we could say, "Thou hast known my soul in adversities."

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THE VALUE OF HARD PLACES
Part Three of Three




Trials Teach us Love

Trials teach us to love, and when God wants to soften and refine our spirit and answer our prayers for patience and love, He has to let the discipline of ill-treatment, injustice, and often the severest wrong compel us to go to Him for the love that "beareth all things," that "endureth all things" (1 Cor. 13:7). Of course, we find out first that we have not the love adequate for the test, and as the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins, He leads us to the source of strength; then, as we gradually learn the humbling lesson, He leads us on from day to day in deeper testing and sweeter refining until we can thank Him for the fire that brought us more of His Spirit's grace and His own overcoming love.

Trials Teach us Patience

Trials teach us patience. It is a thorough school to learn to endure, and patience is the crowning grace of the Christian life. When it has its perfect work, then we become "perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:4). Often therefore, the crowning lesson of the spiritual life is learned in the school of suffering.

Trials Teach us Courage

Trials teach us courage. They take away the fear of suffering, the dread of pain, as we experience God's sustaining grace and enable us to put on His strength and courage and rise above the power of fear until we welcome the conflict and stand with scars of the conflict and victory as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Trials Make us Patterns

Trials make us patterns and object lessons for the help of others and for the glory of God, showing to the world what Christ can do for His children, and what Christ-filled lives can accomplish where others fail. God wants us to be living epistles of Christ (2 Cor. 3:3) unto the world, to angels and to men, showing to them in our example that Christ can keep in every situation, and that the power of His grace is practical, supernatural, and adapted to every human life.

Trials Fit us to Help Others

Trials fit us to help others by the lessons we have learned in our own experience. (2 Cor. 1:3, 4). The callous and immature heart is little qualified to comfort, counsel, and bless a suffering world. God has to burn in us first what we are to give out to our fellows. The painful ordeal of a real experience qualifies us to comfort, strengthen, and encourage the souls to whom He has to send us, and to whom we can say, "I have been there, and I can tell you from the depths of my own experience that 'my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus'" (Phil. 4:19).

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A Body Prepared by God
Part  1  of 3
By Gregg Bing

The human body is simply amazing. As medical science has advanced over the years, this fact has become more and more evident. We are often in awe of the tremendous strides men have made in their discoveries about human disease, the development of new medications, and the technological improvements in medical and surgical treatments, including such wonderful improvements in open heart surgery, MRI and CT scans, laser surgery, and the list goes on and on. Recently, the announcement was made that medical scientists have even been able to grow organs in the lab to be used for transplants.

As wonderful as all this seems to us, man's knowledge still pales in comparison to that of the God who created us in the first place. We must remember that God prepared and formed man's body in the very beginning.

"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 being." (Gen. 2:7)

The human body, as God formed and prepared it, was perfect in it design. Though man's body has been cursed by the entrance of sin into the world, the human body remains a testimony to the existence of an all powerful and all knowing God. All the systems of the body (skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, circulatory, etc.) work together to provide for and sustain human life. The Psalmist David expressed great wonder at the body God had given him with these words:

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." (Psalm 139:13-14)

There is another special body that was prepared by God; we read about it in the book of Hebrews, chapter 10. The first four verses declare that the animal sacrifices offered under the Mosaic law could never make those who brought them perfect. These sacrifices had to be offered continually year by year to cover sins, for they could not truly purify and cleanse man's conscience from sin. It was simply "not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins." Sins had to be dealt with in another way.

"Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: 'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.' Previously saying, 'Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them' (which are offered according to the law), then He said, 'Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.' He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Heb. 10:5-10)

God had no pleasure in animal sacrifices and offerings for they could not satisfy His holy and righteous requirements, therefore He sent His only Son into the world to offer Himself as a "once for all" sacrifice for our sins. In order to accomplish this, God the Son had to have a body of flesh and blood—a body that had to be especially prepared by God. Matthew records how this took place.

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.' So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.'" (Matt. 1:18-23)

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A Body Prepared by God
Part 2 of 3
By Gregg Bing



The child born to Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit. God prepared a body for His Son and placed it in her womb. His name was to be JESUS, which means "Jehovah saves," for He would "save His people from their sins." The Lord Jesus was born of a virgin. Joseph was not His father, otherwise the sinful blood of Adam would have flowed through His veins, just as it does through ours. If He was to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sinful men, His blood must be without spot and without blemish. Thus, His name was also called Immanuel, for this Holy Child was very "God with us."

Mary also was told that she was to bring a Child into the world. Being a virgin, she questioned how this could be.

"Then Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I do not know a man?' And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:34-35)

The Holy Spirit came upon her and the power of the Highest overshadowed her, forming the body of this Holy One in her womb. Thus He was called the "Son of God." In this special body, prepared by God, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself

"... bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed." (1 Pet. 2:24)

When we come to the writings of the Apostle Paul, we find still another body prepared by God—the church, the body of Christ. Paul mentions this body in his early epistles written during the Acts period.

"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Cor. 12:12-13).

Later, when Paul fully revealed the truth of the mystery, we find how this joint body of Jew and Gentile was prepared and created by God through the cross of Christ.

"For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity."

Under the law, God dealt exclusively with the nation of Israel. The Gentile nations were "far off" from Israel "having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12). God had a wonderful purpose for Israel in the earth, for God chose them to be "a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth" (Deut. 7:6). God's purpose for Israel has not been fully accomplished, and, in fact, it is currently postponed, but God will one day fulfill all His promises to this nation.

When Israel rejected God, killing God's prophets under the law, crucifying God's Son, and then resisting and refusing the testimony of the Holy Spirit during the Acts period, God set this nation aside and called out a new body of believers—the church the body of Christ. The church is a new man, a new body created in Christ from both Jew and Gentile. God broke down the middle wall of separation between them, which was contained in the ordinances of the law, and reconciled them both (Jew and Gentile) to God in one body through the cross.

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A Body Prepared by God
Part 3 of 3
By Gregg Bing


While Israel was God’s earthly people, the church, the body of Christ, is God’s heavenly people. The sphere of its blessings is “in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:3). Its position is seated together “in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). Even God’s eternal purpose for this body is focused in heavenly places.

“To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Eph. 3:10-11)

The church, the body of Christ, has been sanctified and cleansed by God through the death of Christ that He might “present it to Himself a glorious church” (Eph. 5:27). We must remember that this church is not an man-made organization, but a living organism, created by God and composed of individual believers. Before the church can be presented to God “a glorious church,” the individual members must be glorious as well. This cannot take place as long as we dwell in bodies of flesh, bodies cursed by sin and still possessing a sin nature. This leads us to consider another special body, the one God has prepared for believers.

“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5:1-9)

Our earthly bodies are referred to as a tent, a temporary dwelling place, but when these bodies are destroyed, we know, from God’s Word, that there is a new body God has prepared for us. Paul refers to it as a building or a house, for it is a permanent dwelling place, eternal in the heavens. We can be confident of this because God has given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The presence of the Spirit is God’s guarantee to us that He will one day come for His church and fulfill His promise to give us new bodies.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” (Phil. 3:20-21)

When Christ comes in the air to catch His church up into glory, He will transform our lowly bodies (literally “bodies of humiliation”) and will conform them to His glorious body (literally “the body of His glory”). What a tremendous display of the power of this One who is “able even to subdue all things to Himself.” Paul told the Colossians believers: “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4). Some believe the expression “in glory” refers to a place, that is heaven, but it really describes the condition of our new glorified bodies. What a wonderful and glorious hope is ours, as we wait for God to clothe us with these new bodies from heaven. It should encourage us to respond as Paul exhorted the Corinthians.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58.)

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THE GOD OF PEACE
By John D. LaVier



The name God of Peace is used three times in the New Testament Scriptures: Romans 16:20, Philippians 4:9, and Hebrews 13:20. This name stands in contrast to God as He revealed Himself to Israel in the Old Testament. There He is many times called the Lord of Hosts. This is a warriors name. He is the Lord of the fighting armies and over and over again He fought on behalf of His people.

This name stands also in vivid contrast to the worlds past, which has known little of peace. From the very beginning of mans history upon the earth, even until the present moment, it has been a continued story of nation being pitted against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Strong nations and mighty empires have appeared upon the scene, flourished for a season, and then vanished away. They have fallen by two causes: (1) an inner decay of pride, envy, greed and lust, and (2) a strong enemy from without that warred against them and won.

As one reviews the worlds past history, as well as the present, when our armies are at war in Iraq, the Israelis and Palestinians killing each other, and the terrorists doing their dastardly work everywhere, the question arises: Shall this condition continue always, with nations rising, shining, sinning, sinking? It is then the name God of Peace comes to mind as the prophecy of a better day. God wants peace and in His own day and way He shall bring peace to the world.

Back in the days of the now defunct League of Nations, when many were congratulating themselves on the fact they had outlawed war, it was my privilege as a young man to speak in a certain denominational church. The subject assigned was World Peace. I was brash enough to tell them that in spite of mans rosy dreams and schemes, there would be no real peace until the Prince of Peace returned to rule and reign. At the close the pastor publicly took me to task, asserting that it was the duty of Christians to work for peace and brotherhood among men. He said: We pray Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven and when we thus pray we are praying for peace on earth. Later I called his attention to the three words just prior to the words he had just quoted. Those three words are: Thy kingdom come! Thank God, that kingdom is coming! Then Gods will shall be done in earth, and not before. Then the God of Peace shall send the Prince of Peace and He will usher in an era of universal tranquility. Then men shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and they shall learn war no more.

The blessed name God of Peace stands also in contrast to Satan, who is the real god of war. For six thousand years this arch-criminal has instigated war and strife among the nations. Satan wants war and God wants peace, but the question of who shall win is never in doubt. It may seem that Satan is having his way but he has nigh well run his malevolent course. Listen to what the apostle says in Romans 16:20, And the God of Peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The God of Peace shall bring war against Satan, and then Satan will be shut up and sealed under lock and key, so that he can no longer deceive and seduce the nations of the world. Israel and the nations will then enjoy peace, when Satan is imprisoned and Christ enthroned.

Meanwhile, the believer may enjoy peace even in a world where there is no peace. The God of Peace sent His Son to die on Calvary and He made peace by the blood of His Cross. Then we read in Hebrews 13:20 that the God of Peace brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus. Christ Himself becomes the believers peace. Then as we entrust our all to Him we have the Peace of God which passeth all understanding garrisoning our hearts and minds. And. too, we have the blessed promise: And the God of Peace shall be with you.

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The EXCEEDING GREATNESS of GOD'S POWER
PART ONE OF  THREE



What is the measure of God's power toward believers?
What can be accomplished in the believer by that power?
How can the believer appropriate and apply that power?


THE MEASURE OF GOD'S POWER TO US-WARD


"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church" (Eph 1:18-22).

Such is the measure of God's power to the believer in the matter of salvation; salvation from sin. Something more than human power is needed to save the sinner from sin. Divine power is needed. And the very best news that any human being ever heard is, that Divine power is available. The news that there is power that will save from the power of sin is good news, or "the gospel." Every human being is utterly helpless to deal with sin. But the majority of sinners are more interested in being delivered from some of their sinful habits than they are in being saved from the penalty of sin. To be saved from the penalty of sin means to be saved from the wages of sin; which is death (Rom. 6:23).

God demands death for sin. Unless the sinner finds and appropriates the Divine remedy for sin, the death penalty is certain; it is fixed by the holy Judge. Apart from Divine merciful intervention, the sinner's doom is inevitable; Divine judgment is inescapable. So far as man is concerned he can do nothing to deliver himself from the presence of sin, from the power of sin, or from the penalty of sin. So far as God is concerned His very character demands justice. The question is, how can the helpless, powerless sinner escape justice at the hands of the God against whom he has sinned? There must be death for sin. Must each sinner die for himself? Is it justice for the innocent to suffer for the guilty? The world says, "No."

God's Word declares that "Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Pet 3:18.). Then this question, "has the Holy Judge the right to be the sinner's Saviour?" Can He act as Judge and Saviour and be both just and merciful? The world says, "true justice knows no mercy." But the Just One, who has accomplished the redemption whereby man can be brought to God, was both God and man. The Offended One was delivered for our offenses. He satisfied His own justice by becoming the God-man and receiving the wages of sin; death.

The Lord of Glory was crucified; put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit. Christ died for our sins: He was buried and was raised again on the third day. He dealt with sin, which He put away by the sacrifice of Himself.  Then He abolished death and hath brought life and incorruptibility to light in the gospel.  In this redemptive work Christ proved His Deity, vindicated and satisfied Divine righteousness and justice; and fulfilled His word: "I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again" John 10:17-18.). It must be admitted that such power is Divine power.

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The EXCEEDING GREATNESS of GOD'S POWER
PART TWO OF  THREE


God was ever well pleased with His Son; when He was Jesus of Nazareth in the midst of His people, and since He has raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the super-heavenlies. God manifested His great power in the act of the resurrection and exaltation of His Son. God manifests that same great power, to save from the penalty of sin, any and every sinner who believes this Divine gospel.

There is absolutely no saving message for anyone in the sinless life and holy example of the Son of God, apart from His death and resurrection. The penalty of sin is death. How could the sinner escape that death penalty by trying to live like Jesus lived? There would be no death penalty in such a struggle; but there would be utter failure; and eternal death after the futile struggle. It is the privilege of redeemed sinners to know Christ in the power of His resurrection; but not until they have escaped the death penalty by identification with Christ, "baptized into His death" (Rom. 6:3).

If the same exceeding great power that God manifested in raising Christ from death to the super-heavenlies is available for the believer to enable him to have power over sin, it would seem that the believer's defeat could only be the result of his failure to appropriate and apply that exceeding great power. If such exceeding great power is available for the believer, then the believer should be delivered from the power of sin.

ACCOMPLISHED BY GOD'S POWER

"How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom.6:2). The believer is baptized into the death of Christ, and having been crucified with Him he is raised to walk in newness of life (Rom.6:4). "Sin shall not have dominion over you" (Rom. 6:14). "Let not sin reign in your mortal body" (Rom. 6:12).

From these, and many other verses, it seems that victory is provided for the believer in Christ and that victory is expected of the believer in Christ. The believer is identified with Christ in death. Christ died unto sin.

"For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God" (CoI. 3:3)."If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God" (Col. 3:1). What things are where Christ is? Not a thing that has to do with sin. A very high standard? It couldn't be higher. It is the "super-heavenlies" standard. It is the Christ standard. The things which are where Christ is are the things which are in Christ. And the believer is in Christ. The believer is raised with Christ. The believer is seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6). Because the exceeding great power God used to accomplish the resurrection of Christ is to us-ward who believe, the believer is exhorted to manifest that resurrection power in his life.

It is one thing to be kept by the power of God through faith unto that glorious salvation at the coming of the Lord; it is another thing today by day live in resurrection power.

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The EXCEEDING GREATNESS of GOD'S POWER
PART THREE OF  THREE



As believers we fail to measure up to God's standard, but we have no Divine authority to lower the standard to the level of our failures. When we would do good, evil is present. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit and we may not do the things that we should. But the exceeding great power of God is available.

APPROPRIATION AND APPLICATION

Believers are exhorted to pray without ceasing (I Thess. 5:7). Quite a big order for one who has many other duties. But it is God's order. And the principle is always, "Be it unto you according to your faith. "

The believer is exhorted to study, to present, to resist, to let, to hope, to overcome, to live, to watch, to be vigilant and sober, to seek. Then there are many negative exhortations.

He is to put on the whole armour of God. He is to witness and work. He is to walk in the Spirit and make no provisions for the flesh. He is to yield himself to God and his members as instruments of righteousness. He is to put on the new man and to put off the old man. There is to be no let-up and no let-down; no unoccupied moments; no surrender to Satan or self; no compromise; but constant abiding in Christ, in fellowship and communion, yielded every moment to the Holy Spirit, saying with Paul, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13).

The believer is instructed to abstain from all appearance of evil (I Thess. 5:22). He is exhorted to keep himself unspotted from the world. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world" (1 John 2:15). In fact, there are several hundred admonitions, injunctions, orders, warnings, beseechings and rules for his Christian conduct.

Such is the price of victory. Paul practiced what he preached. How are we getting along? Our sufficiency is of God!