the flesh

Judgment For the Believer

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:  (for we walk by faith, not by sight:) we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.  Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
2 Corinthians 5:6-10

The Christian, the believer, the follower of Jesus Christ is confident knowing that while are alive in this body flesh we are absent from the Lord.  Yet we desire to be absent from this body of flesh and to be present with the Lord.

For that reason we work for His glory that we might be accepted of Him, not for salvation,  but our sanctification.

One day every born again child of God will stand before the Judgment seat of Christ and we will each and every one of us give an accounting of what we did with what He has given us.  This not a judgment that determines our eternal destination – Heaven or Hell – it rather a place of celebration some what like when an Olympic champion receives a medal before the crowd.  There will be none of us grandstanding, saying “Look at my crown(s).”  There will be an accounting of what we did or did  not do that produced fruit that is eternal, or that perishes.

Would you like to become a Believer and follower of Jesus Christ  today?  Believe this.  Jesus Christ came into this world to save lost sinners which is all of humanity.  He saves all who believe on Him, and none who do not believe.  Jesus died on that old cross, He was buried and He rose again.  If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (Romans 10:9-10).

Words of Jesus; Son of God, God the Son – 092220

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“Many therefore of His disciples, when they had heard this, said, ‘This is an hard saying; who can hear it?’
When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, He said unto them,
‘Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before?  It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not.’
For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him.  And He said,
‘Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.’
From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve,
‘Will ye also go away?’
Then Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.’
Jesus answered them,
‘Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?’
He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray Him, being one of the twelve.”  John 6:60-71  (KJB)

Promise and Expectations

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

Joyful Promise and Expectations

Romans 8:10-17

In the last study we looked at the truth of NO CONDEMNATION, and now we look at the glorious promise and expectation of our inheritance in Christ Jesus.

A JOYFUL EXPECTATION IN THE FATHER (vv. 10-17).

Remembering as we looked at verses 1-9 the last time and we find that there is “No condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”, and that there is change in those who have trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. One of those changes being the dwelling of the Spirit of God in those whom He possesses.

In verse 10 then, we find that “If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin…”. This body has no life of its own any longer. It is the last place where sin can cause us grief. The body is also a place for life through the Holy Spirit. The life the Holy Spirit gives will make the body live holy, and not apart from God.

The Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead [bodily], and He is the same Spirit which dwelt in Him while He did His ministry on earth. It was by the Holy Spirit that Jesus was strengthened when He was tempted by the devil. It was by the Holy Spirit that He healed people. It was by the Holy Spirit that He was able to go to the cross. It was by the Spirit that He was raised from death. It was by the Spirit that He ever lives. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in all those who know Jesus. He dwells within us, and gives life to our mortal bodies, enabling us to do things that are holy, just, and right. (Read verse 11).

An important thing concerning verses 12 – 15 is we must realize that, only the sons of God can be led by the Holy Spirit. Let me explain the idea of “Sons of God”. In the Gospel of John we are told, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” John 1:12. Something we need to remember in looking as this is that sons, especially firstborn sons were given the best of the inheritance. Because of Jesus, and His work on the cross all who believe in Jesus receive the Spirit of God, and all the inheritance that goes with it. Female and male both put into the position of the elder son. Because of this we are not debtors to the flesh to live after the flesh – by it and living so would be death. We are in the Spirit and by the power of the Spirit we put the works of the flesh to death; we “Mortify the deeds of the body”. Being led by the Spirit of God is evidence that you are a ‘Son of God’

The ‘Son of God’ has freedom and immediate access into the presence of God the Father. In fact the child is never without the Father’s presence. The relationship is an intimate relationship that is as personal as a child referring to his/her physical father as “Dad”. My earthly father is my father and the father of my siblings. We all call him “Dad”. There is no disrespect in that. It is actually an endearing term of personal relationship. My wife also calls him “Dad”. No one calls him “Dad”, except those in the family; nor do they have the rights or privileges to do so. It is an intimate term for those in the family. How did we get into the family? My brother, three sisters and I were born into it. My wife married me and became a part of the family, receiving the rights and privileges of a child through me.

If we are in God’s family it is because of the New Birth. Positionally we have been “adopted” to receive the rights and privileges of Jesus Himself. Because of Jesus we are “Joint-heirs” with Him. That means when we suffer with Him we will also be glorified with Him. In verses 16-17 we see that the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit when we are ‘sons of God’. This joint ‘Heirship’ we have with Jesus is not without responsibility. We will suffer with Him and for His glory when we are His joint heirs.

We have great joy in God’s presence. We love God’s presence. We expectantly await and long for the day when we will be able to be in His bodily presence. That will be sharing in His glory. That will be glory.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Jesus Christ – Our Sufficiency

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

Colossians 2:10-15

OUTLINE –

I. SUFFICIENT IN THE ONE WHO IS SUPREME OVER ALL (v. 10).
II. SUFFICIENCY IN THE PUTTING AWAY OF THE FLESH BY JESUS CHRIST (vv.11-12).
III. SUFFICIENT IN FORGIVENESS, RESURRECTION LIFE, PUTTING AWAY THE ORDINANCES OF MEN, TRIUMPHING OVER THEM OPENLY (vv. 13-15).

The whole of the book of Colossians is about the first place, the preeminence of Jesus Christ. One of the greatest things about being a Christian is “Being in Christ” and He being in us. When we are in Him we have His assurance that He is Lord of all; and that does not mean only of ourselves, but of those who want to exalt themselves over Him. Those who hate Jesus and you and myself.

If there is one thing that Christians of our day need to see clearer than anything else is that Christ is SUFFICIENT to meet our every need. He is our every need.

HE IS SUFFICIENT – THE ONE WHO IS SUPREME OVER ALL (v. 10). In Jesus we are “filled full of God”. When we are walking in Jesus our Savior there is no more of Him that can be in us, than, who is in us. Even when we are not walking in Him; He is still filling us full of Himself; it is due to our sin that He is not being seen, and that we are not being victorious in Him.

Jesus is the Supreme One. He rules over all. Even when the rulers – kings, presidents, prime ministers, dictators, etc. – do not yield to God He is still supreme, and His will is carried through. God is not surprised by our decisions against Him, for Him, nor is He surprised by our indecisions.

In order for us – the Christian – to have Jesus seen in our lives and for you and I to have victory also, we must endeavor to walk in Him. We do that by maintaining our daily devotions, Bible reading, Prayer, and Planning to live for Him in love.

Jesus is sufficient to give us the power, grace, mercy and strength to live for Him. We were not saved in our own strength. We cannot maintain our faith, keep our faith or grow our faith in our strength. It is by His. In Him alone we must trust and obey.

HE IS SUFFICIENT IN THE PUTTING AWAY OF THE FLESH (vv. 11-12). In the Hebrew’s culture circumcision was a sign of one’s commitment to God. It showed in symbol the cutting away of sin from the life. It of itself, was a bloody act, and we know that because Moses’s wife Zipporah told him, “Surely a bloody husband you are to me”. Moses had been forty years in the wilderness taking care of his father-in-laws herds and flocks, and evidently had forgotten about the circumcision part of his commitment. On the way to Egypt, while they stopped at an “Inn” to spend the night; God “Sought to kill” Moses, and somehow it occurred to Zipporah to circumcise their son. Thus was God’s anger toward Moses stayed.

Sin is a serious matter. We all sometimes make silly little jokes concerning sinful matters, but sin is a serious matter. With God there is no joking about sin. It must be cut away and it must be put away. Christ’s death was the cutting away of sin, His burial was the putting away of sin, and His resurrection is the cancellation of all sin’s power. In Leviticus 16 there is a picture of the putting away, or carrying away of sin. There were two goats brought to the door of the tabernacle. Aaron would ‘cast lots’ to determine which goat would be for the sacrifice to the LORD, and which would be the scapegoat. These goats represent the cutting away of sin, and the putting away of sin. The one offered as a sacrifice was the cutting away of sin, and the scapegoat was the putting away of sin. They both represent the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and His burial. The picture of these goats as representative of the work of Christ shows Him as a sin bearer – sin that was not His, but ours.

The ‘scapegoat’ was led into the wilderness, after the sins were pictorially placed on the goat, and some tell us was cast over the edge of a cliff, or something like that, and that goat was never seen again. Thus, once again there is the picture of sins being put away. How far has our sin been put away from us? “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” Ps. 103:12 (KJV). How deep are our sins buried to never surface again? “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” Micah 7:19 (KJV). In the burial of Jesus our sins were carried away and Jesus arose bodily from the grave. We are buried with Him in His burial, and risen with Him in His resurrection. It is certain. It is sure. By the resurrection of Jesus He showed the conquering of sin’s power which is death.

HE IS SUFFICIENT IN FORGIVENESS, RESURRECTION LIFE, PUTTING AWAY THE ORDINANCES OF MEN, TRIUMPHING OVER THEM OPENLY (vv. 13-15). Having been dead in ‘trespasses and sin’ we have been made alive in Jesus Christ, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” Eph. 2:4-6. The word ‘quickened’ means to “make alive”.

Verse 13 tells us three things which happen upon one’s conversion through Christ Jesus; having been dead – 1) We are made alive; 2) We are with Him; and 3) We have been forgiven ‘all trespasses’. Because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross, all our sins are washed away; never to be held against us. That is, considering that the sinner has sought repentance, and has received forgiveness and cleansing in the first place.

In verse 14 Paul writes of ‘blotting out the handwriting of ordinances…’, and that they ‘was against us’. These laws did condemn us. Verse 17 reveals to us that these things were or ‘are’ ‘a shadow of things to come’. All the written laws, the sacrificial laws, ceremonial laws were pictures, shadows, types of the coming of the Lord Jesus. He fulfilled all of these, by His death on the cross. By His death on the cross these ordinances are forever powerless to cause guilt, fear, or condemnation. The work these portrayed has been done. It is finished. They were nailed to the cross with Jesus.

In verse 15 it speaks of spoiling the ‘principalities and powers’ and that ‘He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.’. The Scribes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees all used the law to try and condemn Jesus. By the abuse of their laws they did condemn Him to death, but He arose victorious over death, doing so openly, and being also victorious over the powers that be.