Cutting Deep 2012 Outline
Salvation - Part 1-3
Part 1&2 – Introduction
The church universal is not enthusiastic about the message of salvation again because its content, as given today, seems not to apply to their state of life. The full text of salvation has not been revealed, and its message has been taken out of context. Salvation has been made to look like a doorway that is no more needed after you have entered. The continuation of the gospel of Christ unto salvation until it becomes our conversation (Philippians 1:27) has been ignorantly replaced. Hence, the teaching and preaching of doctrine and messages that apply to another dispensation (Galatians 2:4-5). This has deprived believers of the quality of life provided to them, already turning them into beggars instead of rulers (Romans 5:17). It is to this and more that time has been taken to bring the people of God to the knowledge of the Word to restore real living as given by our salvation.
Review
In our last two deliberations, we understood salvation not to be such things as:
i. Baptism – Cornelius getting saved before getting baptized in Acts 10:44-48.
ii. Reformation – No amount of work is able to save a person (Romans 11:6).
iii. Religious Rituals – We also saw that the rituals we perform do not save (Luke 18:10-14).
It is rather clear in the Word that salvation is deliverance from both SIN and its CONSEQUENCE by grace unto living in the eternal. We have understood that eternal is not just a future hope but a present possession of the Christ life. Jesus’ definition of Eternal Life according to John 17:3 does not happen after death.
For us to be delivered from sin and the consequence it brings, three strong things that happen are:
i. Cleansing/Washing/forgiveness – John 15:3, Ephesians 5:26, Colossians 1:14, 1 John 2:12 / All summed up in 1 Corinthians 6:11
ii. Change in stand/Justification – Romans 4:8-9/Romans 8:1
iii. Renewal/New Birth – John 1:12-13 / James 1:18 / 1 John 5:1
For us to live in the eternal some three other powerful things also happen to us which are namely:
i. Spiritual quickening – Ephesians 2:1, 1 Peter 3:18.
ii. Partaking Divine nature – Galatians 2:20, 2 Peter 1:4, 1 John 3:9.
iii. Power deposit – Luke 10:19, John 1:12, Ephesians 1:20, Ephesians 3:20.
The prophet Ezekiel sums all these up in his book at Ezekiel 36:25-29
ZION
When all of these have happened to us, we are to note that we are not left to idle about the same spiritual place we used to be. What happens to us at salvation brings us to a new spiritual place that is represented by the name Zion according to Hebrews 12:22. May it be emphasized that Zion, our spiritual place, is also a present possession according to the text. Zion is also a choicest place of God for the special children He is raising in these days (Isaiah 60:14-22).
Salvation we learnt took us out of Sinai, where God only made His eternal guiding purpose known as in Exodus 19:5-6. Chapter 19:10-22 and its reaction in chapter 20:18-20 is a microcosm of the Leviticus system from which we are delivered. While saved from this place of terror (Sinai), we are brought to Zion, where we are encapsulated in the goodness of God without measure, according to Hebrews 12:22-24.
The difference between the former and later places of our occupation is shown by the names they bear: Law, Sinai, Old Testament contrasting with Grace, Zion, New Testament. One of the most authoritative claims we today in Christ have is that we are not under the old but the new (Romans 6:14).
Salvation - Part 3 - The Rest of God
The General Situation
Although they may not accept it or voice it in public, millions of believers are disillusioned with Christianity. Some are tragically burning with quiet anger at God, His Word and the church for being unable to separate religion from Christianity. For many, the kingdom adverts that were placed are blatant lies, and the promises of God have become a mirage in the desert. Started the journey of faith singing with joy living with high hopes, but all just evaporates away. People have today resigned their faith into living the meaningless religious motions as a routine. This is all because both the clergy and the laity have misunderstood the truth of God, 2 Timothy 4:2-4. This has a sinister undertone and slanders the character of God. This misunderstanding leads the believer to try to achieve God’s announced intentions by their own ability, hence their frustration (Romans 10: 1& 2). These are summed up in Peter’s question in Matthew 19:27 and Paul’s counsel in Galatians 2:20-21.
The Understanding
The promise of God is not a pass challenging you to work for the best of God, Romans 4:20-21. Faith is not the working of our ability but His ability, Philippians 2:13. Please be it observed that the promises of God are His own initiative, and He has the means to make good His Word, Ephesians 3:20. If you look at your state in Christ now as prophesied by Jeremiah at 31:33-34 you see what God would do without any degree of dedication from you. The Christian life is not a massive self-struggle to achieve God’s will and announced intents. It is rather a self helpless rest in God’s will and dependence on His faithfulness (Hebrews 4:9). has done already and is doing now for you. It is not a process of getting but a process of releasing what you have in you.
To many, it is shocking to know that their self-imposed rules, promises to God, denominational traditions, etc, for all these years did not and cannot give them a life of liberty in rest, Colossians 2:8. Rather, all it does is to keep them in the shackles of slavery as represented by Ishmael in Abrahams’ life. For thirteen years, Abraham lived believing that Ishmael was his heir according to his self help arrangement with Sarah, his wife. How devastating it would be to know that what you held on for years with all the excitement that comes with it is not what you needed. So difficult than repenting from sin is repentance from dead works, which are self help (Hebrews 6:1). Ishmael and his variety will always mock with venom the weaning of Isaac and his variety (Genesis 21:9, Galatians 4:29). This calls for the casting out of the Ishmael Genesis 21:10 to live out the Christ in us Ephesians 4:30 rest in totality.
The Nature of the Rest of God
In the many occurrences of God promising REST unto His people, the coverage was with regard to
i. A place to possess Deuteronomy 12:10
ii. The serenity of the place 2 Chronicles 14:6
iii. Security of the place 2 Chronicles 14:7
iv. The luxury of the place Esther 9:22
v. The effortlessness of the place Isaiah 14:3.
vi. From enemies threats and attacks Deuteronomy 12:10,25:19, Joshua 23:1, 2 Samuel 7:1, 11.
His Rest, A Promise
Joshua, in his writings, indicated that the rest they had under his leadership was a promise to their fathers that has been kept, Joshua 21:44-45. Solomon also says the same in 1 Kings 8:56 that the Lord promised their fathers the rest he came to enjoy. In promissory terms, that was prophetic of our day the psalmist writes of rest in Zion, Psalm 132:13-14. In our day under Christ, the first invitation that brings us to Christ is the same the promises us this rest of God according to Matthew 28:11.
The Rest Promise is Accomplished by His Presence
In the quest to secure the presence of God for the continuation of their journey, Moses ended up getting more into what the presence does, giving rest, Exodus 33:14. Rest in the Lord we are admonished, and the outcome is what tells the meaning of that rest, Psalm 37:7. Again they that wait on the Lord have a certain outcome which cannot be derived from ordinary waiting. The product of this waiting is enough to tell you that divine rest is accomplished in His presence alone, Isaiah 40:31.
"He that dwellest in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty" - Psalm 91:1 (KJV).
Christianity is the Possession of the Abiding Presence of God
John 7:37-39, Jesus, in His announcement at one of the degenerated ceremonies of God into that of men, spoke of the New Testament believer as the habitation of the Holy Ghost, 1 Corinthians 3:16. The Greek word here for dwell is taken from the word for house meaning that He takes up residence here. Galatians 4:6 says that as sons God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts that makes us cry out “Abba” Father, Romans 8:1,9. These two verses analyzed put forth the fact that in Christ, one is the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. This speaks to the presence of God in the life of all who come to Christ. The wonder of this could be better observed after considering Solomon’s prayer of 1 Kings 8:27.
Rest Comes From Acknowledging and Loving in Your Spiritual Reality
The believer must have a functional, not just an intellectual, understanding of whom He is to be able to benefit from it, 2 Peter 1:16. Christianity is not learn and do but know and be. The Bible teaches that man is tripartite in make up Genesis 2:7, 1Thessalinians 5:23. If you don’t understand that spiritual reality can’t be felt, then you’ll be confused when God’s Word declares that you have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead living in you, Ephesians 1:19-20.
It’s easy to know how your body feels, what’s going on in your mind, and what emotions you’re experiencing. However, your spirit is much different. It cannot be accessed in any natural way, 1 Corinthians 2:14. John 3:6 says,
“That which is born of the flesh
is flesh; and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit"
If you think truth can be discerned through your natural senses, you’ll be baffled when the Bible says you’re a brand-new creature who can do the same miraculous works that Jesus did, 2 Corinthians 5:17 and John 14:12. In the natural, the spirit realm can’t be seen or felt; the only way to accurately perceive spiritual truth is through the Bible. Simply take God’s Word and believe it! Jesus said in John 6:63,
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
In a very indirect way, the Lord spoke to the restoration of our spirituality when He spoke of the expediency of His departure in John 16:16. Jesus says that is a period of Joy unspeakable that is unassignable under any circumstance also from John 16:22. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Hebrews 4:10.