GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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FITLY JOINED TOGETHER
By Ivan Burgener

   "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto Him in all things, Which is the Head, even Christ, from Whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. 4:15,16).

   "Speaking the truth"! What a contrast with the "cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive." The one seeks to edify and build up whereas the other seeks to destroy and tear down. But the desired progress is our "growing up unto Him in all things: We read of faith, full knowledge, a perfect man, the stature of the fulness of Christ and then the opposing "systematic deception."  But this is counteracted by being true or truthful in everything and growing up unto Christ."

   In Ephesians, spiritual growth is pictured in both Temple and Body:

TEMPLE
Built on foundation of apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20) fitly framed together (2:21) Christ the Chief Cornerstone (2:20)

Grows into holy temple in the Lord (2:21) in Whom you are builded (2:22)

BODY
[Body. mentioned six times
in Ephesians chapters 4 & 5] fitly joined together (4: 16) Christ is Head (4:15)

Grows unto Christ (4:15) out of Whom...makes increase of the body unto building up in love (4:15)

No amount of activity, or meetings or advertisement or energy will produce growth. Spiritual growth requires life, health, suitable environment, sound food and walking in the light. But growth can be stunted or retarded by an environment lacking essentials of light, water or air. Of these, walking in the light is preeminent!

   Leagues, unions, societies, associations, and even fellowships cannot substitute for growth of the body being "knit together in love" which is the "bond of perfectness." Unity of the Spirit had the "bond of peace" (4:3). Unity of the body has the "bond of love" so fitly joined.

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RISEN IN CHRIST
By HAROLD STEINBRON,

Scripture Reading: I Thessalonians 4:16

Resurrection is only for the body. The only ones who will take part in the raising of these select dead are those who have already been placed in Christ by the baptism of the Spirit of God. To be IN CHRIST is to immediately partake of the Life of God: that is eternal life. The body may become dust before God's program is ready for the Spirit and soul to be reunited.

At this resurrection, the spirit of those who experienced what Paul spoke of---absent from the body, present with the Lord---(No soul sleep there!) will return to earth to see that pile of dust be raised so they can now be once again in the body now made new and be present with the Lord, in their new body.

Resurrection for the members of the Body of Christ has already happened---IN CHRIST! Because He lives, we too shall live! Those who are born once will die twice. Those who are born twice will die once. Eternal life is experienced in the Spirit, at the moment of salvation. Eternal life will be experienced by the mortal body either at this special resurrection, or at the moment of translation. We shall not all sleep, and perhaps this generation will be the one to see this glorious thing happen. Not death, but translation!

IN CHRIST, we have died, we have been buried, and we have been raised from the dead. Our whole life is now on the resurrection side of the grave. Eternal life is not only quantitative, it is qualitative. Resurrection is just one more benefit of being IN CHRIST.

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THE DEATH OF THE CROSS
by C. R. Stam



There are four words which every one of us should consider in connection with Christ's death at Calvary if we would fully appreciate what our Savior did for us there.

CRUCIFIXION

It is doubtful whether man has ever conceived a more cruel and humiliating way to execute even the vilest criminals. The physical agony alone must have been horrible beyond comprehension. The criminal was nailed to a tree and left to hang there, writhing in the most intense pain until, fevers wracking his body, he died. And then think of the humiliation as he hung there, stripped and naked, to suffer shame and disgrace before the public gaze. Little wonder Phil. 2:8 says that Christ humbled Himself to become obedient "unto death, even the death of the cross."

SUBSTITUTION

 We have not even begun to understand the cross if we do not understand that Christ died there as our Substitute, paying for our sins.

 "Christ died for our sins" (I Cor. 15:3). "His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Pet. 2:24).

REPRESENTATION

 But Christ was more than our Substitute; He was our voluntary Representative at Calvary.  He had taken on Himself human form that He might represent man before God and die as Man for men.

"As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many..." (Heb. 9:27, 28.).

"[He] was made... lower than the angels... that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Heb. 2:9).

IDENTIFICATION

It follows from this that if Christ represented me at Calvary, He became identified with me there, and I am identified with Him as I accept this by faith. Hence Paul exclaims:

 "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

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HEAVEN -- AND WHO WILL GO THERE
by C. R. Stam



    Most people are surprised when they learn that the Old Testament,though three times as large as the New, does not contain one single promise about going to heaven. God's people, in Old Testament times, looked forward to a glorified earth, with Messiah as its Ruler.

    This was so even when our Lord was on earth and continued to be so through Pentecost. Peter, addressing his kinsmen just after Pentecost, said in essence: "Repent, and God will send Jesus down here" (See Acts 3:19-20), but Paul, in his epistles, says by divine inspiration: "Believe, and God will take you up there."

    This apostle of grace teaches us that God has already given believers in Christ a position and "all spiritual blessings" in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 2:4-6; 1:3). And he teaches further that at the close of this dispensation of grace "the dead in Christ shall rise" and "we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together ...to meet the Lord... and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thes. 4:16,17).

    Thus it is that Paul, God's special apostle for our day, declares that "our conversation [or citizenship] is in heaven" (Phil. 3:20) and writes of "the hope which is laid up for you in heaven" (Col. 1:5). Thus it is that he encourages persecuted saints, saying:

    "Ye...took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing...that ye
    have in heaven a better and an enduring substance" (Heb. 10:34).
    And thus he writes even of death:

    "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
    dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with
    hands, eternal in the heavens" (II Cor. 5:1).

    "...to die is gain....to depart and to be with Christ...is far
    better" (Phil. 1:21,23).

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SUFFERING FOR CHRIST
By Pastor  Bob Hanna




Wishful thinkers contend that it is not in God's plan that the saints should suffer. Scripture teaches us otherwise. Part of our testimony for Christ is that we will suffer. It is difficult to understand this principle. In the scope of our human intellect it seems unjust, that God's most faithful servants should suffer in greater degree than those who show Him little or no respect.

This is where faith comes in. By faith we accept His own declaration that He is just. And by faith we accept our destiny as sufferers. "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only, to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Phil. 1:29). "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together" (Romans 8:16,17). "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy  3:12).

In defending his firm stand against the teaching of circumcision, Paul writes to the Galatians, "And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution" (Galatians 5:11)? He is saying that the reason he is suffering is that he is faithfully preaching God's truth. Describing the rigors of his ministry Paul writes, "Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; and labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it" (1 Corinthians 4:11,12).

Paul takes suffering in stride, knowing that, as a servant of Christ it is His portion. "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions in distresses for Christ's sake" (2 Corinthians 12:10). When Paul asked the Lord to relieve him of the thorn in the flesh that Satan had afflicted him with, the Lord refused. Paul's response was, "I will rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

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RECONCILIATION IN CHRIST
By RALPH BALOG




Scripture Reading: II Corinthians 5:19

When Christ died for the sins of the whole world on the cross of Calvary, it was not only God the Son dying but also the Father "in Christ" reconciling the world unto Himself. Such a truth can be reflected upon over and over and over again-without fully comprehending what all took place at the cross of Calvary. According to Eph. 2:7 it will take the ages of the ages for God to shew us what He did for us "in Christ" when God's part of reconciliation took place.

How many countless billions of human beings have passed through this temporary life not understanding that God had reconciled them to Himself because of Christ's sacrifice of Himself for them!

Don't we rejoice to hear when a marriage that has had problems is now fully reconciled? So, too, when enemies become friends. Yet why doesn't the world rejoice in the fact that God has reconciled them to Himself? Sin, my friend. Also, the god of this world blinds human minds. Nevertheless, God's truth continues to be truth regardless of what men say or do. Let us as ambassadors beseech the unsaved: "Be ye reconciled to God." He has done more than His share in this possible union. His work is fully done. Believe that the Creator, God the Son, died in your place as your sin-Bearer, and the Word of God assures that "reconciliation in Christ" is then complete. That is salvation full and free.

"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation".

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God For Us
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam




 Many people, even religious people, suppose that God is  against sinners. “Do what is right,” they think, “and God  will love and bless you, but do what is wrong and He will be  angry with you and curse you.”

 Perhaps this view of God comes from the fact that many  Scripture passages, especially in the Old Testament, reveal  God as the Enemy of the workers of iniquity. But He is the  Enemy of the workers of iniquity as such — as workers of  iniquity, not as individual persons.

 In Ezek. 18:23 God asks: “Have I any pleasure at all that  the wicked should die… ?” And in II Pet. 3:9 we learn that  when God might have judged this world for the crucifixion  of Christ. He delayed the judgment because He is “long suffering” and “not willing that any should perish, but that  all should come to repentance.”

 The Apostle Paul, referring to the crucifixion, declares  that“God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath  committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:19).

  How could He have shown sinners more conclusively that  He desires their good than by imputing their sins to Christ  and telling them that He is not imputing their trespasses  unto them? Their trespasses will be imputed to them, of  course, if they reject God’s provision of salvation through  Christ, but for the present it is a wonderful fact that we can  go to any sinner and say on the authority of God’s written Word: “Your sins have been paid for; God is not holding  them against you. Will you accept His love and receive  Christ as your Savior?”

 No, unsaved friend, God is not against you. He loves you  and provided abundantly for your salvation by paying for  your sins Himself at Calvary. This is the essence of “the  gospel of the grace of God” (See I Tim. 2:4-7). Will you  believe it? Will you trust Christ now, acknowledging Him  as your Lord and Savior?

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TYRANNY OF SIN
by Miles Stanford



"You were set free from the tyranny of Sin" (Rom. 6:18, Wey.).

The tyranny of sin over the lost necessitated the death of the Lord Jesus on the Cross. The tyranny of sin over the saved necessitated the death of the believer in the Lord Jesus on that same Cross. The dual truths of Calvary: His death for our sin, as payment; our death with Him unto sin, for deliverance.

"The believer sees that Christ by dying for him has completely delivered him from the penalty of sin. So it is his privilege to see that because he is identified with the Lord Jesus in that death, he is also delivered from sin as a ruling principle. Its power is broken. He is in that sense 'free from sin' (Rom. 6:18, 22)." - E.H.

"Through my life-union with Christ in His death and resurrection, I have 'died to sin' His death to sin is my death to sin. In my very humanity Christ so took me up with Himself in death that, when He died unto sin, I too was executed and there died to sin's reign and power. Has Christ so dealt with sin that He has exhausted its every claim and dominion? And do I share with Him His death unto sin? With bold and explicit reckoning, then, let me count on my death-resurrection relationship to God through the Lord Jesus. In Christ crucified I have been discharged from sin's domination." - L.E.M.

"When victory does not tend to worship, we and God part company, so to speak, as soon as the victory is achieved. How sad to see victory often leading to mere joy, instead of still greater dependence on, and delight in, God!" - J.N.D.

"But now, being freed from the bondage of sin. . . your fruit is growth in holiness" (Rom. 6:22, Cony.).

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UNDERSTANDING WHAT GOD IS DOING TODAY IS IMPORTANT
by Pastor Richard Jordan


The government of the universe was usurped by the fellow by the name of Lucifer, and today, the governmental structure of the heavenly government is under the control of, and in the hands of, the adversary, the enemy, Satan. That ol' serpent, the devil.

Then, Jesus Christ, by virtue of His death and burial at Calvary, and His resurrection caused a shake up in Satan's heavenly government, and the Lord Jesus Christ established His OWN government, and one day, He's going to come back and take up His rightful place as King of kings on the earth, and as only Potentate; that is the absolute, supreme, top RULER throughout all the heavenly places also.

Its important that you understand that God Almighty is interested in this universe. God didn't just establish it and throw it out there for it just to go on its merry way. God Almighty didn't create any part of the universe without a purpose to it. And, the ultimate purpose in the whole totality of it is TO BRING GLORY AND HONOUR TO HIMSELF. And, you and I have a part in all of this, we have a definite part in God's rulership over the universe.

The main theme of the Bible is the subject of a throne and AUTHORITY over this universe. You need to realize God is interested in who's running things, and He's got a program and a plan and a procedure to bring the authority of this universe back under His control, under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. The earth is going to be brought back under His authority THROUGH A KINGDOM VESTED IN THE NATION OF ISRAEL. And, that's what we call PROPHECY in the Bible. That's that program that God has made known since the foundation of the world, and God's purpose in the nation of Israel is to bring earth back under His authority and rule over the nations and to bring the headship of Jesus Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords to bear from shore to shore. And, one day the Lord Jesus Christ will come back and He'll flat do that.

But, you know, Jesus Christ's kingdom, we now know, is going to extend far more than just to the earth. Its going to extend out through the heavenly places themselves. And God Almighty has another purpose; that is the purpose in the Church the Body of Christ. That's called the MYSTERY. That's a purpose God didn't tell anybody about, from the time He put man on the earth until the time He saved apostle Paul and revealed it to him. Christ from glory revealed it to him, and it has to do with a purpose that God had before the foundation of the world, in choosing out the Body of Christ, in order that He might use it in the Ages to Come, to show forth the honour and the glory of His name, in the HEAVENLY PLACES out there. And that's why over and over and over again you're called a HEAVENLY PEOPLE with a HEAVENLY HOPE and a HEAVENLY CALLING. Its not a statement of the character, but rather the spirit of operation: where are you going to be? The heavenly places, up there. And, my friend, God Almighty's purpose is to bring those heavenly places back under the headship of Jesus Christ through the instrumentality of the Church the Body of Christ. That's why you're called a HEAVENLY PEOPLE, that's why your blessings are in HEAVENLY PLACES.

Just as He will reconcile the earth and restore it under His authority, through the nation Israel, and that's the subject of PROPHECY, so it is that God's intention is to bring the heavenly places back under His authority, just like He will the earth, but through the instrumentality of the Church the Body of Christ, a program which is being made known TODAY during the INTERRUPTION of the prophetic program. Its IMPORTANT that you understand the difference between the prophetic program and the mystery program. And don't you EVER let anybody come along and try to convince you that it isn't important. You'll never be able to function for God like you ought to, unless you understand that. You'll never be what God wants you to be, what He's planned for you to be, unless you understand some things about the word of God rightly divided. Now, you don't have to understand every detail of the Bible --- if you do, come see me, I got some questions for you (chuckle) --- I'm talking about understanding WHAT GOD IS DOING TODAY, and how He wants you to function as a member of the Church the Body of Christ. You won't get that without understanding these distinctions.

That's why we need to know the difference between what goes on in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and what you find in Romans through Philemon (Paul's epistles), and that its different from what's happening in Hebrews through Revelation.

Folks, you need to understand some things about rightly dividing the word, because if you don't grasp it, if you don't think its important, if you think its just something we KNOW, but it doesn't have to live in our lives ... the glory that God Almighty desires to have THROUGH YOU out there in the Ages to Come is going to be affected by that.

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HEAVENLY PLACES
by Richard Jordan


You and I need to be oriented, as members of the Body of Christ, to the heavenly places. We need to understand what that term means.

YOU LISTEN TO ME: You can't function properly as a member of the Body of Christ without being oriented toward, and having some understanding of, the heavenly places, in the Bible and what the Bible means when it talks about it. It is an absolute impossibility, and I don't fear to say that for one moment. And, I can tell you this: You'll NEVER function the way God Almighty intended you to function until you have a proper understanding of this; you and I need to be oriented toward the HEAVENLY PLACES. Just look at what apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1:3.

Eph 1:3 KJV: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual BLESSINGS IN HEAVENLY PLACES in Christ:"

Where are your BLESSINGS? They're in HEAVENLY PLACES in Christ! So, you see WHY you need to know something about the heavenly places? Your BLESSINGS are associated with whatever that terms means. You need to have some understanding of what it means. Look over at Ephesians 1:19.

Eph 1:19-21 KJV: "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, [20] Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the HEAVENLY PLACES, [21] 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:"

Listen folks: He sat Christ at His own right hand in heavenly places, up there FAR ABOVE all the principality, and power, and might, and dominion ... ( whatever that is ... we'll get to that ) ... not only NOW but in the AGES TO COME. He's seated up there and has an affect on you and me NOW and in the Ages to Come.

Folks, if you're going to UNDERSTAND what's involved for you and me, in what Christ has done for us, either now or out there, you GOT to understand some of these things.

Pastor Richard Jordan

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WHY DID PAUL WRITE, “I LIE NOT?” Part 1 of 2
by Shawn Brasseaux


On four occasions (Romans 9:1; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Galatians 1:20; 1 Timothy 2:7), the Apostle Paul wrote, “I lie not.” Why pen such a “weird” statement—especially four times? Was he implying that he was lying all the other times in his epistles? Dear friends, this puzzling phrase is quite easy to understand. Whenever we approach the Bible, God expects us to use a little common sense. It will go a long, long way. (I lie not!)

Let us pause and consider the meaning of, “I lie not.” Think about expressions we often use in our speech or writing. When we say to someone, “I am being serious,” are we implying that every other time we speak we are joking? Of course not! It is just that we want people to pay special attention to the words we have just spoken or the words we are going to speak shortly thereafter. The same is true of the expressions “I am being honest” and “I am telling you the truth.” In that light, we appreciate Paul’s phrase, “I lie not.” The Apostle Paul is endeavoring to tell us some very important truths. Yet, people are calling him a liar. They are not taking his words seriously. They are making light of God’s Word to them. The Holy Spirit is putting great stress on these four instances, so we need to look at them and see why these truths are just so difficult for people to grasp.

ROMANS 9:1-2
“[1] I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, [2] That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.”

As Saul of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul had gained a notorious reputation for mercilessly imprisoning and slaughtering Jews who followed Jesus Christ (Acts 9:13-14; Acts 26:9-11; Galatians 1:13,23; Philippians 3:5-6; 1 Timothy 1:13). Once he came to trust Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, he realized just how wrong he had been for all those years. Now, as a saved man, he was filled with regret, having killed his own brethren for believing the truth of their fathers’ God. For ever so long and ever so hard, he had fought against the JEHOVAH God he had thought he was serving in killing Messianic Jews. Many years were wasted serving Satan. Saul, a religious leader, was the primary figure for leading Israel’s rebellion against Jesus Christ, probably during the Four Gospels but especially during the early Acts period. We can read the closing verses of Acts chapter 7 and the opening verses of chapters 8 and 9 to see just how ruthless Saul was!

As the Apostle Paul, he was now preaching that Israel had fallen, and that salvation was now going to the Gentiles through his ministry without Israel (Acts 13:46-48; Acts 18:6; Acts 28:28; Romans 11:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16). That infuriated unbelieving Israel. No wonder they persecuted him during his Acts ministry. The thought that Israel was no different from the pagan Gentile “dogs” that she had looked down upon for centuries. How offensive! The lost Jews called Paul “anti-Semitic,” some renegade Mosaic scholar now gone insane. They called him a “Jew-hater,” some “crazy man” with an “outlandish message.” (Do they not call us that today when we preach Pauline truths?) So, the Holy Spirit through Paul conducted his ministry during Acts so that unbelieving Israelites could be enticed to join the Body of Christ (Romans 11:13-14). Paul did not hate Israelites. Rather, he hated what he had done to them as a lost man, how he had led them to embrace such error. So, he would passionately preach in their synagogues, hoping to save them from that apostasy. Paul had such a heavy heart that his nation was literally going to hell, and worst of all, he had played a very vital role in it! (The unbelieving Jews were saying Paul hated them, but he reassured them, even saying that the Holy Spirit bore witness, that he was not lying when he said how he felt so sorry for them and felt so sad about their spiritual condition.)

2 CORINTHIANS 11:30-31
“[30] If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. [31] The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.”

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WHY DID PAUL WRITE, “I LIE NOT?” PART 2 OF 2
by Shawn Brasseaux



It was very ridiculous. Whenever people ridiculed the Apostle Paul as being a “nobody,” he would defend himself, and then they would call him egotistical. (Sounds just like how people react to us today when we preach Jesus Christ according to Paul’s ministry!) In this chapter, Paul described the immense sufferings he endured to preach the Gospel of the Grace of God to lost and dying Gentiles. He was beaten, imprisoned, stoned with rocks, shipwrecked, and suffered various deprivations (hunger, nakedness, sleepless nights, et cetera). Read it for yourself, in the verses preceding:

“[22] Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. [23] Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. [24] Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. [25] Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; [26] In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; [27] In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. [28] Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. [29] Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?”

So, what are the “infirmities” that Paul found worth in in 2 Corinthians 11:30? It was all his troubles and hindrances delineated in the previous eight verses! He did not find value in being praised by men, receiving religionists’ approval, et cetera. He found value in remembering that Jesus Christ was strong when he was weak (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). In the grand scheme of things, Paul’s suffering was nothing. Gentiles were being saved from idolatry and hell, and God’s grace that was saving them from sin was saving him from misery and defeat! “[30] If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. [31] The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.”

GALATIANS 1:20
“Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.”

Throughout the first 19 verses of chapter 1, Paul discusses his special apostleship and message. He continued this into chapter 2. We will only focus on chapter 1 here. In verses 1, 11-12, 15-16, 17-18, and 19, we see Paul giving five reasons why his apostleship and message are totally separate from the 12 apostles’ ministry and message.

“[1] Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)… [11] But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. [12] For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. [15] But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, [16] To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: [17] Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. [18] Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. [19] But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.”

Paul did not have contact with any of the 12 apostles for the first three years of his Christian life. He received divine revelation directly from the risen, ascended, and glorified Jesus Christ. The 12 apostles taught Paul nothing. Rather, he taught them something (Galatians 2:2,6-8.). This “lie not” statement is related to the final “lie not,” which we now discuss.

1 TIMOTHY 2:7
“Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.”

There were various people—especially false teachers in Corinth (see 2 Corinthians chapters 10-13)—who denied Paul’s apostleship to the Gentiles. Jewish false teachers would especially try to discredit Paul, since his ministry was so radically different from the Old Testament prophetic program. Whenever Paul would claim that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ, his critics would call him a liar. Hence, he wrote “I lie not” in 1 Timothy 2:7. He lied not in that he was indeed—in faith and in verity—truly “a teacher of the Gentiles.”

CONCLUSION

Regarding these four instances, Paul was being accused of lying. He was affirming that he was telling the truth concerning these four issues. They were important truths that needed to be believed instead of being casually brushed off as falsehoods.

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ROMANS 8:1
By Bob Bobber



Romans 8:1 - There is THEREFORE NOW, the Now pointing back to the reality of our justification and our sanctification. Based on justification and sanctification, Paul often uses that word “therefore” which means he is ready to draw a conclusion. Paul took us through justification through faith, telling us how God has dealt with that problem of sin. And, then he took us through sanctification, the issue with sanctification is not about sin, but about perfection; God perfected us, made us as equally righteous as God himself.

Now, Paul draws it all together, based upon the fact that you are already sanctified, already IN Christ, there is now no condemnation for you. If God sees you IN Christ and he sees you as being complete in your identity with Christ, totally identified with Jesus Christ in every aspect of Christ’s life and relationship with the Father, to condemn you who are IN Christ, would be the same thing as to condemn Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:10

There are those who say the final portion of Romans 8:1 where it says, “who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit” should not be there at all. However, the thought of not walking after the flesh, but after the spirit does indeed appear down in Verse 4 and is in the manuscript of the Majority text, so that idea is a valid idea. So, rather than ignoring them altogether, why not just explain them.

Walking after the flesh is not talking about committing sins, but with placing one’s confidence in the capacity of their flesh to provide righteousness through performance. Rather than having Christ’s righteousness freely imputed to their account, the person who is walking after the flesh is the person laboring under the false notion that they can earn their righteousness through their performance. They are laboring under the false notion that there is capacity in their flesh to be right before God, that is precisely what Israel was doing.

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"Walking With God"

    I recently realized why I find myself frustrated at times in my walk with God. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. It's simple, really. The problem is that God apparently likes to stroll and, for the most part, I'm not a stroller by nature. "Do you want to run around with me today?" I sometimes ask my wife before I start out on errands. Running around -that's my style.

    I like to run around and get things done. I want to make things happen. My Father, on the other hand, refuses to be rushed by His impatient boy. I really identify with what one man I recently read had to say on the subject: "I feel like running, but life is on a stroll. That's how God works." "Yep, I'm with you a hundred percent," I thought as I read his words.

    The irony of it all is that I, a man who constantly teaches people how to rest in Christ, still struggles with this. I even wrote a book on the subject (The Godward Gaze). Maybe I'll go back and read that book again.

    I love the practice of contemplative prayer each morning. It soothes my soul, calming my anxious thoughts and bringing me into the awareness of basking in Love too big to explain or even understand. If I let that early morning time slip, I feel the difference all through the day. It's not a legalistic practice for me. It's something I do because I love being loved and to be honest, as much or more than that, I love feeling loved by my heavenly Father.

    I want to learn to live in that place of awareness all day. Sometimes I do pretty well with it, then at others I take on the role of deity and try to manage every detail of my own life with perfection and exact precision. I work to make life fit my schedule and that's when I start to slip.

    Do you experience this type problem in your life? I don't think I'm alone in this. Patience isn't one of the top virtues in the life of most Christians. It has always been a challenge for people of faith. That's why a child named Ishmael was born. That's why there was once an Apostle named Matthias that nobody ever heard about again. Believe me, we're not alone.

    What's the answer? It's to keep learning the lesson, again and again if necessary. When we find ourselves rushed, anxious and tapping our fingernails on the table while we wait for God to hurry and catch up, we need to stop. Stop and realize what we're doing, then acknowledge our hyperactive frenzy before our Father. Yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and affirm the truth that we don't control life in any way. We must intentionally choose to relax our grip on our circumstances and slow down our pace again.

    Life will be much easier on us all when we learn once and for all that we won't make God run. He's going to do what He's going to do, so we might as well slow down and enjoy the walk.

- Steve McVey
Grace Walk Ministries
www.gracewalk.org

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THE TRIUNITY OF GOD
by Russell S. Miller

    "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

Have you ever considered that God's image is stamped upon all creation? The whole universe bears the image of God. Just ask yourself what the universe is made of. It bears the image of its Creator.

The Universe is made of three elements: Time, Space, and Matter. And each one of these is a triunity in itself:

Time is Past, Present, and Future.

Space is Length, Width, and Height.

Matter is Energy, Motion, and Phenomena.

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them" (Gen. 1:26,27).

When God created man, He said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." (Gen. 1:26). Paul the Apostle tells us that man is "...spirit, soul, and body..." yet one man (I Thes. 5:23)! In John 1:1 the Lord Jesus Christ is called, The Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1,2). In I John 5:7 we read most clearly these words concerning the Trinity: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."

It's a shame the New World translation leaves these verses out because, not only does nature itself confirm the Triunity of God, but the Bible also clearly declares that God--God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, three Persons, yet one God--stamped His "image" and "likeness" upon all creation. In Colossians 2:9 the Deity of "the Man Christ Jesus" is confirmed: "For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

Much, much more could be said on a subject so involved as the Triunity of God.

"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him" (I Cor. 8:6).

"...and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (I Cor. 12:3).