TEXT: John 3:17: For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
The Gospel of John (shows Jesus Christ as God, as
Jehovah’s Messiah and Son, God made flesh).
John’s name means, “Whom
God loves”. Love is the dominant theme of all his teachings
and writings. John was also a successful fisherman, he
was in Jesus’ inner circle, and Christ surnamed him “son of Boanerges’, because
of his prophetic zeal and resolution to witness for
Christ.
BENEFIT out of Webster is defined as anything
contributing to improvement (of one’s wellbeing); that which is
advantageous and that can be applied to every area of life (spiritually
and naturally).
SALVATION is from the Greek root word soteri’a, meaning rescue
or safety (physically or morally); deliver; health. It denotes deliverance and preservation. Soteri’a is
a derivative of soter’, meaning, a deliverer, God or
Christ; Savior. Then it goes to another root word, so’zo, or
“saved”, defined as to be safe; to save; deliver or protect;
heal; be (make) whole; preserve; do well.
The world was and is yet
in need of a Savior. God said to the house of David, Isaiah
7:14: The Lord himself shall give you a sign; “Behold, a Virgin
shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel”.
· Matthew 1:20-21: While he thought on these things,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, “Joseph,
thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for
that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall
bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he
shall save his people from their sins”.
· Vs 23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us.
So the Savior IS
COME already and has saved and delivered us from “sin”.
DELIVERANCE
FROM “SIN” [is a benefit of salvation]:
SINS in Matthew 1:21, is from the root
word hamarti’a, meaning offense. It means “a
missing of the mark” (a deviation from God’s law which is
love). It is a principle or source of action or an
inward element producing acts. It’s a governing principle or
power.
· Romans 6:6: Knowing this, that our old man
is crucified (impaled or pierced through) with him, that the
body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
In relation to “the
body of sin” here, “sin” is spoken of as an organized
power, acting through the members of the body: though “the
seat (cite) of sin” is in the will (the power of making
choices or controlling one’s actions), “the body” is
the instrument sin uses. But look at what
Paul said:
· Romans 6:12: Let not sin therefore reign (rule) in your mortal body, that you
should obey it in the lusts thereof. Vs 13: Neither yield you your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those
that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God. Vs 14: For
sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are
not under the law, but under grace.
So when Jesus the
Head died on the cross, His Body (the Church)
died with Him, and when He, Christ the Head got up out
of the grave, “His Body called Christ” (the Church), got up
with Him! MY GOD!!!
· 1 Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many are one
body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST!
· Colossians 1:18: And he is the head of the
body, the church!
Back to sin in Matthew
1:21: Sin is “missing
the mark”! What mark?
· Philippians 3:13-14: Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which
are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus.
The “mark” (scopos’)
is a goal; an end (completion; fulfillment) of
something one strives to attain. The GOAL is Ephesians
4:13: Till we all come in the unity (oneness; identity; agreement) of the
faith (persuasion; assurance), and of the
knowledge [recognition, full discernment; acknowledgement] of
the Son of God (the body that’s one, but has many members), unto
a perfect (complete) man, unto
the measure (the same degree of anointing of God’s Spirit
without measure that Jesus had) of the stature (maturity) of
the fullness of Christ! [NOW]
This all happens through
the new birth after which we cannot sin! The
majority of Christians do not believe that they can live sin
free. But whose report are we going to believe? I believe
the Word of God!
· Romans 10:9: If thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved (not born).
Saved means to be
delivered, rescued, and forgiven, but the birth hasn’t taken place
yet. When a woman becomes pregnant she doesn’t give birth the next
week or the next month. There is a process of development of that
embryo, through the fetal stage, before the birth, after which he or she is
called a baby. There are processes of growth we have to go through
before we come to birth in God, being formed into His image
and after His likeness. We actually become “regened” in
God and become Him in the earth, as Jesus was and still is, in us, His body,
the Church! We are his flesh and bones in the earth
(Ephesians 5:30). Once the new birth takes place we cannot sin!
· 1 John 3:9: He that is born [regene-rated) of God doth not commit
sin; because his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he
is born of God!
2 Peter 1:1: Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to
them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD and
our Savior Jesus Christ:
RIGHTEOUSNESS [is
a benefit of salvation]:
This righteousness of
God and Jesus Christ that Peter is speaking of is the white (light) raiment
that God want us clothed in spoken of in Revelation 3:18, which is
the “robe of righteousness” that is the covering of the
bride the Lamb’s wife, which we are.
· Revelation 19:7: Let us be glad and rejoice, and give
honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come and
his wife hath made herself ready.
· Vs 8: And to her was granted that she should be
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white (light): for
the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
This is the
covering, the righteousness of God, the Adam race of people
had on in Genesis when they had dominion, authority and power over the
creation! But they lost it after the fall in Genesis 3,
listening to the lie of the enemy and partaking of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil.
· Genesis 2:16-17: The LORD God commanded the man saying, “Of
every tree of the garden thou may freely eat: but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day
that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die”.
And Adam was not
deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression (1 Timothy 2:14). Even though the woman (the church)
had partaken of the fruit (a lie) (not an apple),
the creation was still intact. But when her husband, the one with
the command not to eat of the fruit (Genesis 2:16-17),
partook of the fruit, it led to the fall of creation. He wanted to
keep fellowship with the woman (the adulteress) and his
disobedience brought on the demise of mankind. They lost their righteous
covering. But God has recovered us with
His righteousness and restored us back to the place of
dominion, authority, and power in Him through Jesus the Christ.
· Isaiah 61:1-3: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me;
because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable
year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that
mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the
planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
If the Prophet Isaiah,
was clothed with the garments of salvation, and covered
with the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), BEFORE
the “resurrection” how much more we being clothed with the garments
of salvation and covered with the robe of righteousness, AFTER
the “resurrection”?
· 2 Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him.
2 Peter 1:1: Simon Peter, a servant and an
apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us
through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus
Christ: vs 2: Grace and peace be
multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.
GRACE: [is a benefit of salvation]:
· Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in
sins hath quickened (made alive) us together with Christ, (by
grace you are save): vs 8: For by grace are you saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
Grace in the Old Testament Hebrew is chen (khane), meaning graciousness, kindness, favor or
beauty: pleasant; precious; well-favored: / and chanan’, meaning to
bestow; to favor; entreat; considerate.
In the Greek it is the
root word char’is, meaning graciousness (as
gratifying), of manner or act; the divine influence upon the heart, and its
reflection in the life; favor; thanks; pleasure; acceptable; benefit; gift;
joy; liberality.
Grace indicates favor on the
part of the giver and thanks on the part of
the receiver. Grace removes guilt [sin;
fault; misdeeds]; mercy removes misery [distress;
anguish]!
Grace in Old Testament
is chen, God’s “unmerited favor” unto
man, despite his ways. This is God’s unconditional love at
work towards man.
Exodus 33:1-16: [Renewing of the covenant]: (Vs
17-23) [Moses sees the glory of God]:
· Vs 17: And the LORD said unto Moses, “I will do this thing also
that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in
my sight, and I know thee by name”. Vs 19: And he
said, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name
of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will
be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will
show mercy”.
Grace in the New
Testament is “char’is”, used as “favorable regard” toward
others; gratitude; and “for the sake of a thing”.
But it wasn’t until the
coming of Christ that “grace” took on its fullest
meaning. His self-sacrifice is “grace
itself”:
· 2 Corinthians 8:9: For you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich yet for your sakes he became
poor that you through his poverty might be rich.
This doesn’t mean that
Jesus was penny-less or broke: (Luke 8) [As
Jesus goes through Galilee teaching parables]
· Vs 2-3: And certain women, which had been healed of
evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven
devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna,
and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
There were people that
followed Him that had money and ministered unto Him with “their
substance”.
· Luke 16:19-21: There was a certain rich man, which was
clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every
day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which
was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs
which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and
licked his sores.
This “beggar” was Jesus desiring
those that He ministered to, to have faith (that was the crumbs) and
believe in Him which was His brethren. He came to his own and
his own received him not (St. John 1:11). The
“rich man”, the Pharisees, religious sects that continually opposed Him and
they were the “dogs that licked His sores”: the chief
priest, elders, and scribes as they watched the crown of thorns pressed
onto His head, the scourging (the stripes put on His back), Him being
delivered to be crucified, being stripped of His seamless robe, spat on, smote
with reeds, nailed to the cross, speared and mocked, saying to Him, “Hail
King of the Jews, save thyself, if thou be the Son of God, come down from the
cross” Matthew 27:26-49.
Jesus becoming “poor” had
nothing to do with money or His physical needs being met, but
it was Him putting on flesh as a man and dying as a man, becoming sin
for us, to restore mankind back to God!
· 2 Corinthians 5:19: 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.
· Philippians 2:7-8: But made himself of no reputation, and
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of
men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Jesus was already “rich” in
Spirit, He was the Son of God, He had the Spirit of the Father without measure
in dominion, authority, power, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel,
peace, divine health, eternal life, etc. He was God in flesh
form! Jesus Christ being “rich” was and is the basis of our
salvation and is why we are rich: Romans 5:12-21:
· Vs 19: For as by one man’s disobedience many were
made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous.
· 2 Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him.
Contained in God’s
righteousness is the total of His self. The total of the Father is
contained in us through Jesus Christ the Son, by the power of the Holy
Ghost: eternal life, divine health, perfect peace, revelation
knowledge, dominion, authority and power!
BEING SPIRITUALLY
RICH [is a benefit of salvation]:
Our being rich is all in
Christ! Though He
cares about and supplies our physical needs in abundance, yet He wants us to
have all the spiritual blessings as well, first
and foremost!
· Mt.6:33: Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness, and all these things shall
be added unto you.
· Matthew 19:27: And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for
my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit
everlasting life.
Having “everlasting
life”, is not when you get up to heaven as religion teaches it, we can have
“everlasting life” here and now! Listen, if the people in Genesis 5,
lived for nine hundred years after the fall, we certainly should be living nine
hundred plus, after the resurrection!
· Ephesians 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. [Vs 4-14].
· Romans 10:12: For there is no difference between the
Jew and the Greek (Gentile): for the same Lord over all IS RICH unto all that call upon him.
There are many that are
“rich” financially, and materially, but very “poor” spiritually –
having no time for God, can’t explain too much to anyone in relation to
scripture.
God want us “rich spiritually”!
· Revelation 3:18: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried
in the fire, that thou may be rich (wealthy: rich; be increased in goods): and white (light) raiment (the
robe of righteousness): that thou may be clothed and that the
shame of thy nakedness (not having on the robe of
righteousness) do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with
eye-salve, that thou may see.
See what? See in
the Greek is blep’o, meaning, that God’s people
need to take heed, behold, perceive (discern; observe; notice) the wiles of the devil, so to beware
of men religiously spoiling them through philosophy,
and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ (Colossians 2:8). Once our
eyes come open spiritually and we put on God’s white (light) raiment,
the robe of righteousness, it will dispel the darkness of ignorance,
misery, destruction, and death so that we can “live”!! This
is as RICH as it gets, “having divine health,
perfect peace, and eternal life” in these bodies we are in right now!
PEACE [s a benefit of salvation]:
Peace is the Greek root word eire’ne (i-ray’-nay), meaning, to
join (glue; cleave; cement); prosperity; quietness; rest.
· 1 Corinthians 6:17 states, “He that is joined (glued; cleaved; cemented) unto the Lord
is one spirit”.
Meaning we have become
“one unit” with Christ. Being “one unit” with Christ means we
have “perfect peace”, because our minds are stayed (propped; leaning upon; established; set;
rested) on him, because we trust him (Isaiah 26:3).
Peace in this
verse is the root word shalowm’, meaning to be
safe; well; happy; health; prospered; rest. This
alone tells us that as we live in the “peace of God” the
total of man’s well-being, heart, soul, mind, and body can dwell in harmony,
flourish, succeed, and thrive walking in safety, and divine health.
· Ephesians 6:15: Having your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace.
Remember PEACE (eire’ne), means to
join (be glued or cemented to); prosperity; one; quietness (tranquil; serene;
restrained); rest (balanced; relaxed).
There are many that
have “PEACE WITH GOD” through
salvation: Romans 5:1: Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ: but not the “PEACE
OF GOD”. That’s
why many have restless and sleepless nights.
· Philippians 4:6-7: Be careful for nothing; but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus.
When we have the “peace
of God”, and not just “peace with God”, regardless
of the situation or circumstances surrounding us, we know we’re coming out
victorious!
· Isaiah 43:2: When thou pass through the waters, I
will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow
thee: when thou walk through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
This is when you have “THE PEACE OF
GOD”! This is a benefit!
· 2 Peter 1:3: According as his divine power hath
given unto us all things that PERTAIN
UNTO LIFE and godliness, through the knowledge (full
discernment) of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
LIFE [is a benefit
of salvation]:
"Life” in this verse is gained through “knowledge” (epig’nosis), defined
as recognition, full discernment, and acknowledgement. This
means we must have the complete comprehension of God and Jesus
Christ in us, [not out in the sky] which causes us
to become better acquainted with “all things that pertain unto life”. What
life? The life which we had with the
Father and the Son before the world was! The truth that we were
with God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Ghost in the beginning!
· St. John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God: vs 2: And
the same (that’s US) was in the beginning with God: vs
14: And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (that was Jesus).
But as he is, so are we,
in this world (1 John
4:17). We the sons of God (male & female) the true Body
of Christ is now His flesh and bones in the
earth (Ephesians 5:30). That’s why God said in Genesis 1:26, “Let US make
man”! We were there and God was including us in His plan of
decision making as well. The “life” spoken
of in 2 Peter 1:3, is Zo’e, meaning “life eternal”, which
is the life that God Himself is, which He gave to His Son Jesus Christ.
· John 5:26: For as the Father hath life (Zoe) in
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life (Zoe) in himself.
· John 10:10: The thief comes not, but for to steal, and
to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life (Zo’e), and that they might have
it more abundantly.
This is the
life that Jesus Christ manifested to the world:
· 1 John 1:2: For the life (Zoe) was
manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that ETERNAL LIFE (Zoe), which was
with the Father, and was manifested unto us.
The “life” that
was manifested and seen by the apostles that they bore witness to, and their
hands handled of the Word of life, and could show to the people,
was “Jesus Christ Himself”, that was in flesh
form! Jesus Himself said, John 14:6: I am the
way, the truth, and the life! He didn’t just have life,
but He was life! We too as Jesus must
believe that we don’t just have life, but we are life! If
you just “have life” someone can take it from you, but if you are
life, they can’t take it from you.
· John 10:17-18: Therefore doth my Father love me
because I lay down my life (soul), that I might take it
again. No man takes 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. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Briefly, this “life” in
this verse was the “soul” of Jesus that went
through the purifying “judgment fire” process of
God in hell (the unseen world) that He
didn’t leave in hell nor let His flesh see
corruption (Psalm 16:10), so that our soul’s would
be saved (Hebrews 6:19; 10:38-39) and our bodies would
not have to see corruption (1 Corinthians 15:54).
· Vs 28: I give unto them eternal life (Zoe).
No one can
kill “life”!
This is “the life”
that Adam lost in Genesis and man became alienated (estranged), not
annihilated (exterminated) from, but through Jesus the Christ,
we have been restored back to this “eternal life” and "everlasting
life". This life is “eternal life” because
it’s stressing quality life, meaning grade A: (John
3:15): That whosoever believes in him should not perish, but
have ETERNAL LIFE: and this life is “everlasting
life”, because it’s stressing its length, which
is unending life: (John 3:16): For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believes in him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE.
· 2 Peter 1:2: Grace and peace be multiplied unto
you through THE KNOWLEDGE of
God, and of Jesus our Lord: vs 3: According as his
divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness, through THE KNOWLEDGE
OF HIM that hath called us to glory and virtue:
KNOWLEDGE [is a benefit of salvation]:
Knowledge is from the root word epig’nosis,
defined as recognition, full discernment, and acknowledgement of
who we are in God and who He is in us.
· 1 Corinthians 13:11: When I was a child, I spoke as a child
I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a
man, I put away childish things.
Child is the root word ne’pios (nay’-pee-os), meaning, an infant (minor); a simple-minded
person; an immature Christian; babe. Paul was speaking in relation to
when he was known as Saul, a Pharisee, bound by law, persecuting
Christians. But after his encounter with the “Light” on the Damascus
road, that’s when he became a man and had more zeal for Christ than as a
Pharisee. Being “childish” is caused by the bondage
of the teachings of religion. During those times we were seeing
through a glass, darkly (vs 12). Darkly in
the Greek denoting a fixed position or state, so you can’t see
the light. It’s defined as an ainigma (ah’-ee-nig-ma), meaning an obscure saying; obscureness
(covered over; dim; hidden). It’s like stain glass windows that
you can’t see into nor out of. That’s where Paul was at one time,
blinded by religious laws, knowing in part. So
were many of us blinded by the vain deceit and traditions of men through
religious teachings, only knowing in part, until our
encounter with the “Light Christ”, and now we see face to
face because we know now, even as we are known (vs
12). Through revelation knowledge, we know that when we look at one
another, we are looking into the face of God, the face of Jesus Christ, because
we are His body in the earth! There are those screaming they can’t
wait to see His face and they’re looking at Him every day when they look into
the mirror. They just don’t recognize Him because they’re looking
through a glass darkly. But I see Him every day in His people and
when I look in the mirror! That’s because we know now who we
are! Glory to God!
Jesus’ flesh is no more
except in us now: 2 Corinthians 5:16: Wherefore
henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though
we have known (past tense) Christ after the flesh, yet
now henceforth (from hereon) know we him no more! We
must know Him by the Spirit!!
This is a “benefit”, knowing
that we are more than human, as being sung by many, “I’m
only human, I’m just a man”! People can sing a lie as well as
tell one. We’re flesh, but we’re also spirit! Jesus
was God in flesh form, so are we God in flesh form. 1 John 4:17: As
he is, so are we, in this world!
Acts 9 in
relation to Saul’s encounter with the Light, we know how Saul helped persecute
the Christians and that’s where he was on his way to on the Road to Damascus,
to persecute some Christians. But he had an encounter with the
Light, who was Jesus:
· Vs 3: And as he journeyed, he came near
Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from
heaven: vs 4:
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, “Saul, Saul,
why persecute THOU ME”? Vs 5: And he said, “Who art thou, Lord”? And the Lord said,
“I am JESUS whom
thou persecute: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks”.
Saul was persecuting
the Christians but that Body of people he was
persecuting was “JESUS”, the many-membered Body!
· Romans 12:5: So we, being many, are one body in
Christ, and every one, members one of another.
· 1 Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many are one
body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST!
There are other
scripture that supports this truth, but this one in Acts 9, should
clarify the fact and make it very clear that we are Jesus’ body in the
earth that is called “Christ”! What
better benefit can we have than being Christ’s Body in the
earth? There is none.
Knowledge in 2 Peter 1:5: And beside
this, giving all diligence (speed; eagerness; earnest care), add to your faith (persuasion;
conviction of truth) virtue (valor; excellence;
praise); and to virtue KNOWLEDGE (discovery of truth;
discernment):
Vs 6: And to knowledge temperance (self-control; restraint); and to
temperance patience (endurance; fortitude); and to
patience godliness (holiness).
Vs 8: For if these things be
in you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren (inactive;
unemployed; useless; idle; slow; yielding no return) nor unfruitful (infertile;
sterile) in the knowledge (complete [perfect]
understanding) of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And may I also add that
we shall be fruitful in the knowledge (complete
understanding) in the discovery of our own true or original
existence in God. All these things are “benefits
of salvation”!
“Knowledge” in these three verses are
from gno’sis, defined as knowing (the act); to discover (to
be the first to find out; to learn of the existence of) /ginos’ko, is to “know” (absolutely) [completely]; perceive, understand, allow, be
aware (of), feel, have knowledge, be resolved, can speak, be
sure.
So after discovering
and learning of the existence of our origin from the beginning and who
we are in God now and who He is in us, we must totally absorb the “KNOWLEDGE” (epig’nosis) that’s defined
in 2 Peter 1:2-3, the “KNOWING” (recognizing; discerning completely; acknowledging) that Jesus said He would and has given us eternal
and everlasting life, and we can have it now while we’re alive! Remember
what God said through the Prophet Hosea 4:6,
“My people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge.
· John 17:2-3: As thou hast given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou
hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they
might KNOW (ginos’ko) thee, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
· Ephesians 3:19: And to know (ginos’ko) [understand completely] the “love
of Christ”, which passes knowledge (gno’sis), that
you might be filled with all the fullness of
God.
Being filled with the “fullness
of God” is a benefit!
Therefore “KNOWLEDGE” is power
and life!
· Philippians 3:10: That I might KNOW (ginos’ko) [to know absolutely
(completely; perfectly)] him and the power (du’namis)
[miracle working] of his resurrection (anas’tasis)
[a standing up again; resurrection from death; a moral recovery (of
spiritual truth); raised to life again.
This being “raised
to life again” is not getting up out of the grave in the
graveyard, but being raised to life right now in these bodies we have now
through Christ Jesus!
· Ephesians 2:1: And you hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead (past
tense) in trespasses and sins: vs 5: Even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened (made alive) us together with
Christ, (by grace you are saved): vs 6: And hath raised
us up together, and made us sit together (established; made steadfast; unmovable) in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
We’re already in “heaven” in
Christ, and didn’t have to die physically to get there as religion preaches!
· 2 Peter 1:4: Whereby are given unto us exceeding
great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the DIVINE
NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust: vs 7: And to godliness brotherly kindness (love of the brethren) and to
brotherly kindness CHARITY (unconditional
love).
GOD’S DIVINE NATURE IS
“LOVE”: [This is a
benefit of salvation]!
· John 13:34-35: A new commandment I give unto you, “That
you love (agapa’o) one another;
as I have loved you, that you also love one another”. “By this shall
all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love (aga’pe) one
to another”.
· 1John 4:7-8: Beloved, let us love (agapa’o) one another: for
love (aga’pe) is of God; and everyone that love (agapa’o) is
born of God, and knows God. He that love not, know not
God: for God is love (aga’pe). [This is “unconditional love”]!
· Vs 19: We love him, because he first loved us.
· Vs 20: If a man, say, I love God, and hate his
brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he
hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
The revelation in this
is: John 4:24, “God is Spirit”. You can’t
see spiritual things without spiritual vision. When we love one
another, automatically we love God, because we are Him in the
earth! John 10:34: Have you not read in your law,
where I said, you are gods (the’os) [a deity; the supreme Divinity; God; god; godly]. Again, Jesus was God in flesh form
(St. John 1:1, 14). We the Church are the flesh of Jesus in the
earth now, called Christ (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians
5:30). So that makes us God in flesh form. 1 John 4:17: As
he is, so are we, in this world. We know to stay in our place
as “elohiyms”, because God is “Elyown” (el-yone'), the
Most High God (Psalm 82:6; Acts 7:48).
· Vs 21: And this commandment, have we from him,
that he who loves God love his brother also.
Matthew 22:34-40 [in relation to the great commandment]:
· Vs 34: But when the Pharisees had heard that he had
put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
· Vs 35: Then one of them which was a lawyer, asked him
a question tempting him and saying,
· Vs 36: “Master, which is the great commandment in the
law”?
· Vs 37: Jesus said unto him, “Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”.
· Vs 38: “This is the first and great commandment”.
· Vs 39: “And the second is like unto it, “Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself”.
· Vs 40: “On these two commandments hang all the law
and the prophets”.
The first and greatest
commandment to “love
the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy might”, wasn’t given till Deuteronomy 6:5. This
commandment was not included in the Ten Commandments. Exodus
20:1-17, lists the Ten Commandments, and the first of those were vs
3: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
When Jesus said it was
the first and greatest commandment that was because it was
a Spiritual commandment or an “Alpha (first) commandment”
from the beginning before anything was written. 1 John 4:8 “God
is love”! John 4:24 “God is Spirit”! So “love
is Spirit”. In reality, we can read Genesis 1:1: And
“LOVE” created the heaven and the earth. Jesus Himself
was the “love” of God walking around on two feet and He said in Revelation
1:8: I am Alpha and Omega.
“First” in Matthew 22:38 is the Greek root
word pro’tos, meaning foremost (in time, place,
order, or importance); chief; first day; former; before; beginning: and
also pro, meaning, fore; in front of; prior;
superior to; above; ago; or ever. Alpha in the Greek,
is “A” (al’fah), (of Hebrew or the first
letter of the alphabet); meaning “the first”.
God is “love”,
so when He made Adam (male & female) and created
them in His own image after His likeness (Genesis 1:26-27), He
made them with His love
in them also.
· Genesis 1:11-12: And God said, “Let the earth bring
forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after
his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth”: and it was
so. And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed
after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in
itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
God’s word states that
whatever the earth brought forth it yielded seed after his kind,
whose seed was in itself, after his kind. How much
more God’s seed (sper’ma) [offspring; remnant; issue], which is His Word, Luke
8:11, yielding seed after His kind? Acts 17:28c: We
are also his offspring (gen’os) [kin; kind; nation; stock; generation].
God creating and making
man in His own image after His likeness, His “love” had to be in him as well, because it was “Love” doing
the creating in the beginning. (1John 4:8) God is love. Man (Adam
- male and female) were created and made "to
love" or "with love" in
them and did "love" one another. Adam
was not one man but a group of people, composed of both male
and female.
· Genesis 5:1-2: This is the book of the generations of
Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made
he him: male and female created he them; and
blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day
when they were created.
So according to Revelation 2:4-5, “love” was the “first commandment” (order or specified authority): Vs 4:
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy FIRST LOVE: vs 5: Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen,
and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee
quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
So when “man” (Adam) [male and female] died, the image and likeness of God
that he was died also. But God restored
that “unconditional love” (agape’)
through Christ!
· Galatians 3:19: Wherefore then serve the
law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed
should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by
angels in the hand of a mediator. [We know that that SEED was CHRIST]
(Galatians 3:16). Christ was the "love"
of God walking around on two feet.
The "law",
the torah, was a precept or
statute or yarah', meaning, to point out as if by aiming the
finger, so to direct us back to Christ.
Galatians 3:24-25: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
(boy-leader) to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under
a schoolmaster. Faith has liberated us from the law. Romans 8:14: As
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
The “first
works” spoken of in Revelation 2:5 is to “love God”
and His people: Mark
12:30: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is
the first commandment. Vs 31: And the second is
like namely this, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor (the other
members of the body of Christ) as thyself". There is none
other commandment greater than these.
· Romans 13:8: Owe no man anything, but to love
one another: for he that loves another
hath FULFILLED THE LAW.
· Galatians 5:13: For,
brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an
occasion to the flesh, but by love, serve one another.
People of God, let us
enjoy our “benefits of salvation”: deliverance
from sin, righteousness, grace, being spiritually rich, peace, life, knowledge,
and the divine nature of God, that’s readily available to and for us
now, so we can live “life” in its fullness through Jesus the Christ and the
power of the Holy Ghost!!!
Pastor Gracie Perry