It all started many years before the cross. It was before the wise men and the shepards on the hill. It was before Babel and several centuries before the flood. To really know when it all started you have to go to beginning. . . Genesis
God is Love
In His love He created all but in particular He created Man. It was no ordinary creation but the greatest creation, since He create it in His image. He created Man a speaking Spirit. That doesn’t refer to Man’s ability to make noise or communicate with each other or with Him since all creatures communicate in one way or another. Man was created unique in that God created Him to be able to speak as God speaks. God created a creature that could create with it’s words.
He had created an entire universe for Man but especially the planet that He placed Man on was given over to Man to have dominion and prosper. God had given Man authority over the animals in the sea, those who flew and those who walked the earth. God held His first lesson in teaching Man how to use His words by telling him to name the animals. Man didn’t name the creatures with Cow, Horse, Elephant, Robin, Trout. His names gave the animal purpose and a reason for being just like God had done when He created Man. Under God’s supervision Man was the overlord of earth. That was the Beginning.
God called the beginning “Good”, which means complete, whole , not missing or lacking anything. And it was.
After the beginning an undesirable creature made its’ presence known and challenged God’s Word. The creature injected doubt that the Word of God wasn’t ultimate and final, and that there was something more. It asked Man to chose its’ word over God’s.
Man chose to take the word of the creature over that of God’s, and by doing so Man unwittingly gave his authority of the planet, the creatures, even his own life over to the creature. A new overlord of Earth was promoted and the Fall of Man happened in that instant.
There was no turning back. man was cursed by his own action. The payment for the curse is Death. But since there was no other man to pay for the curse and the curse lies in the blood then the rest of mankind was cursed forever.
The Plan
God’s mercy endures forever. His love knows no failure. So a plan was born to redeem mankind, a plan that would not fail. The plan was simple enough, as the best plans are. But God needed man for the plan to work.
In the beginning God had given all authority to man, who had in turn passed authority to the creature by putting faith in what it had said over God. God actions were bound to the authority He had given man. God needed man.
Throughout history God asked man to have faith in Him. For those who listened and believed He was able to work in their lives. And in their lives He was able to show man the blueprint of His plan. A perfect, Good Man had to die to pay for the curse. God spoke of the plan through prophets, kings, and even celebrations. God couldn't ask a man born of man to make this sacrifice, because every man was born already cursed and therefore not perfect. It had to be a Man created as He had created the first one...with His Word.
The creature had been warned by God that the plan would work and that man would be redeemed. And from that moment the creature sought to kill or undermine all those who showed promise of being the perfect Man, born of God.
Many years of oppression past and man was no better off. Sickness, disease, poverty, slavery and death reined on the world God had once called “Good”.
But the day arrived when a woman was asked to participate in the plan. God spoke His Word, and when she accepted His Word took form. The child was born of faith and the Word of God. (John 1:14).
From a very young age, the Word made Man, spoke of what He was ushering in. A redemption, and the kingdom of God. It wasn’t to frighten man but to prepare man to accept their redeemed birthright.
The creature took notice of the Man and did all in his power to destroy Him, but the creature was thwarted at every turn.
When the time was right the Word made Man allowed himself to be taken. The creature thought he had outwitted God and quickly took the Man to die on a cross. But when he did he unwittingly exposed himself and had to relinquish the authority he had coned Man out of in the Beginning.
You see, since all those born were born in the curse they all deserved to die, but the Man born of God’s Word was not born in the curse. He was perfect and the creature had no death-right over Him.
When the Man gave His spirit up, the price for for mankind’s redemption was paid.
The creature had to relinquish the authority back to the Man who had paid the price. And on the third day the Man was reborn with all the authority.
God’s plan succeeded and Man had the authority they once had in the beginning. The relationship between God and Man was restored. Death, sickness, poverty, and slavery were no longer linked to man, as long as they accepted the gift of redemption they were free of those tools of the enemy.
Showing posts with label Did Jesus Die. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Did Jesus Die. Show all posts
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Monday, December 10, 2007
God Cannot Lie (If we believe Him, we cannot lose)
If God said it, it will happen. There is no turning back. There is no shadow in His words. There is no need to search to find out what He means because what He says is exactly what He means. There is no way His words will fall to the ground. And there is no way they will not go out and follow through with His will…as long as the man He is working through continues to walk in faith.(1)
God gave man power and authority here in His creation called earth. (2) So when God speaks, if there is nothing in His way, then what He says happens immediately. So what are the things in His way? Man’s will! For example, look at Aaron, Moses’ brother. He was given God’s Word but he refused and as a result he could not enter into the promise land.(3) Later we see that an entire generation that was moved by their feelings, emotions, and senses were denied entrance to the promise land and the rest of the Hebrews had to wait until they passed away.
God loves the world and His creation. He doesn’t want anyone to perish, die, be destroyed, or be banished like Satan will be. But if the man refuses God’s love then God’s will is thwarted. (4)
In the beginning, Adam bowed his knee to experience. By listening to Satan and doubting God’s Word, Adam, in essence said, “I want to see if this tree really is what God said it is.” This is an example of him choosing experience over obeying the Word. Similar to a child who is told by his parent not to put his finger in the electrical socket. The child has the choice to obey the WORD or choose experience. It is the will of the parent that the child succeed and live without pain and discomfort. But it is the desire to see-feel-taste-smell-hear for one’s self that takes the child down the path of experience.
In fact, the desire to experience is an innate prideful desire or impulse. By choosing experience the child is basically saying, “You may be right or you may be wrong but I’ll find out on my own.” It’s an egoistic act based in doubt and distrust.
This is the reality in which we live. It all boils down to this … Do we obey the WORD and receive God’s will? Or do we choose to doubt and live by experience?
Experience is much more than just desiring an event. It is using our five senses rather than depending on God. Let’s take for instance the boy David. He and the whole Hebrew army could see the giant called Goliath. The Word of God had already been given with regard to success and battles. But it was only David who took God at His Word. By TAKING God’s Word, David ran toward Goliath with the full expectation that God was good for His Word and that the huge giant in his path was small and already defeated. He said “No” to his senses and “Yes” to God’s Word. This action brought about God’s will. (5)
In order to walk in God’s will, we must take God at His Word!
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Scripture References
1 (Num 23:19 KJVR) God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Isa 55:11 Jer 1:12)
2 (Gen 1:28 KJVR) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (vs. 29-31) (Mat 28:18-20 KJVR)(18) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.(19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:(20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
3 (Num 20:24 KJVR) Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.
4 (2Pe 3:9 KJVR) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
5 (1 Samuel 17)
God gave man power and authority here in His creation called earth. (2) So when God speaks, if there is nothing in His way, then what He says happens immediately. So what are the things in His way? Man’s will! For example, look at Aaron, Moses’ brother. He was given God’s Word but he refused and as a result he could not enter into the promise land.(3) Later we see that an entire generation that was moved by their feelings, emotions, and senses were denied entrance to the promise land and the rest of the Hebrews had to wait until they passed away.
God loves the world and His creation. He doesn’t want anyone to perish, die, be destroyed, or be banished like Satan will be. But if the man refuses God’s love then God’s will is thwarted. (4)
In the beginning, Adam bowed his knee to experience. By listening to Satan and doubting God’s Word, Adam, in essence said, “I want to see if this tree really is what God said it is.” This is an example of him choosing experience over obeying the Word. Similar to a child who is told by his parent not to put his finger in the electrical socket. The child has the choice to obey the WORD or choose experience. It is the will of the parent that the child succeed and live without pain and discomfort. But it is the desire to see-feel-taste-smell-hear for one’s self that takes the child down the path of experience.
In fact, the desire to experience is an innate prideful desire or impulse. By choosing experience the child is basically saying, “You may be right or you may be wrong but I’ll find out on my own.” It’s an egoistic act based in doubt and distrust.
This is the reality in which we live. It all boils down to this … Do we obey the WORD and receive God’s will? Or do we choose to doubt and live by experience?
Experience is much more than just desiring an event. It is using our five senses rather than depending on God. Let’s take for instance the boy David. He and the whole Hebrew army could see the giant called Goliath. The Word of God had already been given with regard to success and battles. But it was only David who took God at His Word. By TAKING God’s Word, David ran toward Goliath with the full expectation that God was good for His Word and that the huge giant in his path was small and already defeated. He said “No” to his senses and “Yes” to God’s Word. This action brought about God’s will. (5)
In order to walk in God’s will, we must take God at His Word!
------------------------
Scripture References
1 (Num 23:19 KJVR) God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Isa 55:11 Jer 1:12)
2 (Gen 1:28 KJVR) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (vs. 29-31) (Mat 28:18-20 KJVR)(18) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.(19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:(20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
3 (Num 20:24 KJVR) Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.
4 (2Pe 3:9 KJVR) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
5 (1 Samuel 17)
Friday, November 23, 2007
Did Jesus Die Spiritually? Was He born Again?
I was moved by a question asked of me regarding Jesus and His atonement for our sins. Although I had the answer, it made me wonder how many of my friends may not know or understand what happened that day. It may seem strange, but have you considered that Jesus died for your sins that day? He died both physically and spiritually so that we could be alive and have a future with God.
Give me a chance to show you where I'm getting this, okay? I wouldn't be saying this if it weren't true.
We both know that the grace that God has given us is because of what Jesus did for us. He is the lamb that was slain. Just as in the old times when the priest laid his hands on the lamb and placed on it the sins of the people, so the same thing happened with Jesus—the Lamb. The Lamb had to be sacrificed and His blood was poured out to cover the sins of the people. The lamb didn't die for its sin (because the lamb was without spot or blemish) but, rather for the sin of others.
I am certain you already know this, but it lays a foundation for what I have found.
The Word says that the payment for sin is death...in other words, the consequence for sin is death. Returning to the first sin, we don't see Adam or Eve falling over dead, but their spirit was "unplugged" from God when they sinned. They became separated from God. Isaiah 59:2 says, "… your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you,…" Not being plugged into God is death. And spiritual death will lead to physical death. We know that our enemy is unplugged from God. Satan is on his own and likewise we say he is dead.
In Colossians 1:18, Paul refers to Christ as "…the firstborn from the dead." That obviously doesn't refer to a body being returned from the dead, because several prophets had raised people from the dead and Jesus had done it at least twice that I know of. So what does this passage refer to, if not another death?
I realize that it seems odd and somehow "not right" to consider that Jesus was born again. But what about Romans 8:29 that says He is "…the firstborn among many brethren?" Born of what? Born how? In John 3, Jesus speaks of the new birth. He says that being born again is being born of the Spirit. Up to that point, except for Adam and Eve, there hadn't been anyone born "alive in the Spirit." All men had been born of water but dead in the Spirit, in other words, unplugged from God. So, Paul shows us that Jesus was truly the firstborn of those to be born again…born in the Spirit.
Now the question remains, "When did Jesus (His Spirit) die?"
Just as the sins of the people had to be placed on the lamb, so the sins of the world were placed on Jesus. Don't misunderstand me. Jesus never sinned. But for the atonement of our sins to be complete, He had to take them on Himself and die for them in our stead. 1 John 3:8 says, "…The reason the Son of God was made manifest was to undo and destroy the works of the devil." He had to undo the death (spiritual death) that was unleashed by Adam's sin so that we could be in right standing again with God. II Corinthians 5:21 further explains, "He made Christ to be sin who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become the righteousness of God [approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him]."
Interestingly, when Jesus spoke to God He referred to Him always as "Father." But in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, Jesus speaking directly to our Heavenly Father says, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me [deserted and abandoned Me]?" This is the only time Jesus refers to His Father as "My God." I believe that this came directly after the sins of the world were placed on him. Since God and sin can have no relationship, God had to unplug Himself from Jesus. At that time Jesus was alone. Directly after this cry Jesus' body died. I don't pretend to understand how Jesus can be God and also unplugged from God but I can't deny that at that point, there was a separation. There had to be a separation or a death in order that there could be a birth. And what a glorious birth it was, for He arose the firstborn of many brothers!!
So reading and listening to the Spirit I have come to realize that yes, in fact Jesus died for our sins, completely and entirely. He took our place on the cross, carried our sin and died a physical and spiritual death. "He personally bore our sins in His own body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that I might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness." 1 Peter 2:24
Give me a chance to show you where I'm getting this, okay? I wouldn't be saying this if it weren't true.
We both know that the grace that God has given us is because of what Jesus did for us. He is the lamb that was slain. Just as in the old times when the priest laid his hands on the lamb and placed on it the sins of the people, so the same thing happened with Jesus—the Lamb. The Lamb had to be sacrificed and His blood was poured out to cover the sins of the people. The lamb didn't die for its sin (because the lamb was without spot or blemish) but, rather for the sin of others.
I am certain you already know this, but it lays a foundation for what I have found.
The Word says that the payment for sin is death...in other words, the consequence for sin is death. Returning to the first sin, we don't see Adam or Eve falling over dead, but their spirit was "unplugged" from God when they sinned. They became separated from God. Isaiah 59:2 says, "… your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you,…" Not being plugged into God is death. And spiritual death will lead to physical death. We know that our enemy is unplugged from God. Satan is on his own and likewise we say he is dead.
In Colossians 1:18, Paul refers to Christ as "…the firstborn from the dead." That obviously doesn't refer to a body being returned from the dead, because several prophets had raised people from the dead and Jesus had done it at least twice that I know of. So what does this passage refer to, if not another death?
I realize that it seems odd and somehow "not right" to consider that Jesus was born again. But what about Romans 8:29 that says He is "…the firstborn among many brethren?" Born of what? Born how? In John 3, Jesus speaks of the new birth. He says that being born again is being born of the Spirit. Up to that point, except for Adam and Eve, there hadn't been anyone born "alive in the Spirit." All men had been born of water but dead in the Spirit, in other words, unplugged from God. So, Paul shows us that Jesus was truly the firstborn of those to be born again…born in the Spirit.
Now the question remains, "When did Jesus (His Spirit) die?"
Just as the sins of the people had to be placed on the lamb, so the sins of the world were placed on Jesus. Don't misunderstand me. Jesus never sinned. But for the atonement of our sins to be complete, He had to take them on Himself and die for them in our stead. 1 John 3:8 says, "…The reason the Son of God was made manifest was to undo and destroy the works of the devil." He had to undo the death (spiritual death) that was unleashed by Adam's sin so that we could be in right standing again with God. II Corinthians 5:21 further explains, "He made Christ to be sin who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become the righteousness of God [approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him]."
Interestingly, when Jesus spoke to God He referred to Him always as "Father." But in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, Jesus speaking directly to our Heavenly Father says, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me [deserted and abandoned Me]?" This is the only time Jesus refers to His Father as "My God." I believe that this came directly after the sins of the world were placed on him. Since God and sin can have no relationship, God had to unplug Himself from Jesus. At that time Jesus was alone. Directly after this cry Jesus' body died. I don't pretend to understand how Jesus can be God and also unplugged from God but I can't deny that at that point, there was a separation. There had to be a separation or a death in order that there could be a birth. And what a glorious birth it was, for He arose the firstborn of many brothers!!
So reading and listening to the Spirit I have come to realize that yes, in fact Jesus died for our sins, completely and entirely. He took our place on the cross, carried our sin and died a physical and spiritual death. "He personally bore our sins in His own body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that I might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness." 1 Peter 2:24
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