Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

May 1, 2013 · 4:14 am

The Waters of Noah

“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you – Isaiah 54:9 – 10

In the time of Noah, God used mighty flood waters to wipe away the sin of this world. Unfortunately, the only way sin could be wiped away at that time (since we did not yet have a redeemer) was to wipe away man. Why? It is because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Hence without a redeemer, the only way for God to get rid of sin was to get rid of man; it was justice being done!

After the flood when God promised never to flood the whole earth again, He was really saying that He would never again use natural waters (death) to cleanse the world; He was saying that we would never again have to pay the price of death for our sins. Though we gave ourselves over to the nothingness of sin, He was never again going to require the wages (payment) of our sins from our hands.

For thus says the LORD, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money

 – Isaiah 52:3

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: Instead of using natural waters to purge the world of sin as in the days of Noah, God decided to use supernatural waters.

God proclaimed this when He said that He shall sprinkle clean water on us and so we shall be clean (Ezekiel 36:25). Jesus explains this further when He said to the disciples that they were clean because of the words that He spoke to them (John 15:3).

So we see that it is the supernatural water of the life-giving word of God that cleanses us from our sins.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: It is the water of the word that enables us to receive the Holy Spirit or to be born of the Holy Spirit – who can only inhabit a clean and in-corrupt vessel for He is holy.

This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that man must be born of water and the Holy Spirit (John 3:5). Simply put, Jesus is saying that we must first be cleansed of our sins and then receive the Holy Spirit who seals us (Ephesians 1:13 – 14) onto salvation. Jesus was simply describing what truly happens when we believe and confess:  (1) our sins get eradicated and (2) we receive the Holy Spirit.

How is it that the word washes us? Here is how: The words that God speaks to us produce faith – for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word (Romans 10:17). It is this faith (trust and believe) that Jesus is Lord and that Christ raised Him from death that produces salvation (Romans 10:9-10) by giving us access to grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Hence, it is faith (which comes from words) that helps us tap into the forgiveness of sins – which was accomplished over two millennia ago.

How wonderful it is that God considers the sacrifice of Jesus for us (our transgressions and iniquity) as the waters of Noah! It is a one and done deal that required nothing from us! Instead of being angry with us or rebuking us (see Isaiah 54:9-10), God poured out the cup of His wrath on Jesus (Himself). What a loving Father! What a loving Son to accept His fate!

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April 1, 2013 · 3:51 am

Can I Go To Heaven Without Jesus?

Mistake in math on chalkboard“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come – Matthew 12: 31 – 32

Many people have used this scripture to say that we cannot ‘complain’ to God. That if we complain, we are speaking against the Holy Spirit. When I hear this, I often question whether the person has ever forayed into the book of Psalm for it is awash with what can certainly be termed as complaining. Furthermore, not being able to speak our minds to a God who willingly killed Himself for us when we did not deserve it seems a little bit unreasonable. Trust me, God can handle our complaints. In fact, He is interested in hearing our hearts rather than our lip service. Our phony lip service just reveals that our heart is filled with fear-based deceit.

Speaking of hearts, the scripture tells us that man speaks out of the abundance of his heart (Matthew 12: 34). Therefore, whatever a man speaks reflects what is in his heart. If he speaks against the Holy Spirit, it is because his heart is against the Holy Spirit. If his heart is against the Holy Spirit, it is clear that he does not have the Holy Spirit within him. No man willingly receives something his heart is set against.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: A receptive heart is central to receiving the Holy Spirit

Our marquee passage of scripture above reveals to us that the sin of rejecting the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Though God has made it possible to be saved in this life and the next through the reception of the Holy Spirit, the onus still lies on man to answer the calling of God unto salvation. While other sins will be forgiven, the sin of rejecting the Holy Spirit will lead to eternal separation from God. There simply is no forgiveness for that rejection.

Since the only way to receive the Holy Spirit onto salvation is to accept Jesus as God (Romans 10:9-10), it becomes clear that the unpardonable sin is also the rejection of Jesus. But what about speaking against Jesus the man? Well, the bible says we can be forgiven of this (Matthew 12:32). If you disagree with and speak against Jesus turning water into wine, you will be forgiven this sin. If you disagree with Jesus turning over the tables in the synagogue because you think all anger is bad, again you will be forgiven. But is you reject Jesus as your Lord and Savior, well this is a different story.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: The sins of rejection some of the things Jesus did as man out of ignorance will be forgiven, but the sin of rejecting Jesus as Lord and Savior (God) will not.

See, the rejection of Jesus itself is sin because this rejection comes out of pride and stubbornness. How so? This is because the nature of God and the godhead is revealed throughout creation (Romans 1:20). Hence, no one on earth can claim lack of knowledge of God and the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is God, He will always lead us to Jesus. Why does the Holy Spirit lead us to Jesus? It is because only through Jesus can all of our sins be forgiven for He is the one that lived a spotless and sinless life. Without being spotless through forgiveness upon confession, the Holy Spirit would not have been able to make its home in us.

So, I beg you not to commit the sin of rejecting Jesus today. Trust God, this sin will not be forgiven.

Food for Thought: Rejecting Christ is tantamount to accepting death.

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March 16, 2013 · 3:52 am

Breathe In God (Part II) – New Testament

Sever yourselves from such a man whose breath is in his nostrils for of what account is he? – Isaiah 2:22

The process of getting saved through confession and belief (see Romans 10:9) in punctuated by Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit into us –  just as He breathed the Holy Spirit into His disciples (see John 20:22). He not only does this upon confession but then He seals His Spirit within us by the power of his death and resurrection – so that we can no longer die spiritually. In a repeat of what happened in the beginning when Adam was formed (see Genesis 2:7), Jesus again breathes the breath of life into man – so that we are born again. Again, this new birth through the breath of the Holy Spirit embedded deeply hidden within us and is covered with the blood of Jesus so that nothing foul or evil can penetrate. This time around (unlike in the time of Adam), the breath of life cannot escape, be corrupted, or be extinguished.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: New Birth (salvation) ensures that we no longer need a respirator to breath but can live on the breath within us (the Holy Spirit)

Whereas once before, Satan used to enjoy us breathing from within for it was the breath of death, now all he tries to do is suffocate the breath in us. He no longer wants us to inhale deeply so as to draw out and unleash the breath of life (the power of the Holy Spirit) into the world. Rather, he wants us to breathe out only what the world tries to introduce into our nostrils. Instead of taking deep breaths from within, he wants us to breathe out from our nostrils what has entered into our nostrils. If you have ever tried to breathe from you nostrils, you know that it feels much like suffocating – for it is not from within.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: If we do not tap into the Spirit of God within us, then we suffocate and die to the life inherent in God

Now, the only thing palatable to breathe from the outside is the word of God through our sensory organs. When the word of God enters through our nostrils and goes into our Spirit, it agrees with the Spirit and produces the power of God that we may breathe out and impart onto the world. Should we simply stop at breathing in the word of God into our nostril without inhaling deeply so it reaches the Spirit, then the word that we breathe out is powerless for it has not been touched by the Holy Spirit. Hence, we have to make sure we breathe in deeply in order to experience the goodness and power of God in our lives.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: Anything we breathe into our nostrils that is not the word of God is the breath of corruption from the outside world.

To summarize, this discussion is only reiterating what the Apostle Paul says when he implores us to walk in the Spirit that we have received (see Galatians 5:25). In other words, Paul is saying that if we have received the breath of life (the Holy Spirit), we must tap into that Spirit by breathing deeply so that we may exhale (produce) the life and goodness inherent in the Spirit of God (see Galatians 5:22). Furthermore, we must breathe in the word of God deeply if it is to have any power and produce any fruit in our lives.

Thus, Isaiah 2:22 for the born again believer is really saying this: Sever yourself from that person who has the Spirit of God but refuses to walk in the Spirit for he is only fulfilling the desires of the flesh – fornication, lewdness, and so forth (see Galatians 5:19)

Food for Thought: Just as there is no point owning treasure we can never reach, it does no good having the Holy Spirit here on earth if we do not walk in the Spirit.

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March 6, 2013 · 2:06 pm

Breathe In God (Part I) – Old Testament

Sever yourselves from such a man whose breath is in his nostrils for of what account is he? – Isaiah 2:22

Prior to the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, man was spiritually alive for the breath of life was breathed in by God into his nostrils (see Gen 2:7). Hence, prior to the fall, it was perfectly alright for man to breathe from his nostrils.

To digress a little, prior to the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, man’s spirit could be corrupted and die for his spirit was not yet sealed with the blood of Jesus. It is because Adam’s spirit was not yet sealed that his spirit was able to die when he was disobedient to God. But hallelujah, because of the blood of Jesus, our spirit no longer dies when we are disobedient. What a loving God!

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: The blood protects our spirit-being from corruption. Just as the blood protected the Children of Israel from the angel of destruction in Egypt, the blood protects our spirit-being from being touched by evil. It is the blood that keeps us clean and so guarantees our entry into heaven.

Once Adam’s spirit died, the breath he was drawing from his nostril was no longer the breath of life or the breath that leads to a life of abundance, goodness, and greatness. Because his spirit had died, his breath had become the breath of death – a useless breath that produces only those things that come from death – things that cuts down rather than builds up, destroys relationships, and produces all manner of ungodly things. Prior to Christ, many men were not living but simply existed!

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: Without being born again of the Spirit of God, the only thing we draw from within us is the breath of death.

But God is not cruel. Prior to Jesus, he made a way for man to experience life. Although the Holy Spirit could not reside within man, the life of God could be experienced when the Holy Spirit breathed His power into man from the outside. Since man could not breathe life from within, the Holy Spirit became the respirator that sustained man as he waited for Doc Jesus to perform spiritual surgery. Hence, prior to Christ, real life was only experienced by allowing the Holy Spirit to breathe into man’s nostrils.

It was this external breath of God (and not the breath of man) the prophets and men of God in the Old Testament relied upon. It was the breath of God that propelled Abraham to wealth, Isaac to become prosperous, and catapulted Joseph from the pits to the palace. Conversely, those who relied on their own breath such as King Nebuchadnezzar were relegated from the palace to the wilderness. Hence it is clear why Prophet Isaiah warns us to not to keep company with people whose breath is in their nostrils. The ungodly things that come out of them will corrupt our good character.

Food for Thought: When we choose Christ, we choose the ability to live every second of every day. We do not have to go through periods of merely existing.

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January 30, 2013 · 5:21 am

3 Reasons Why Prophesies Fail! (Part I) – It was a Prophe-lie

I dont careLove never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

– 1 Corinthians 13: 8 – 10

What do you think when prophetic words do not come to pass? Do you automatically think that someone has prophe-lied to you? If you say to yourself that ‘real prophetic words must come to pass no matter what’, then you may want to read 1 Corinthians 13:8 – 10! Now, why does this passage say that we know in part and we prophesy in part especially now that we have the Holy Spirit within us who reveals things to us? What should we do with prophesy? How do I know if what I am hearing is a prophe-lie? Hopefully your questions are addressed as we examine the reasons why prophesies fail.

Reason 1: The prophetic ‘word’ was really a prophetic ‘dream’

Not all words that come out of the mouth of prophets are words from God. The scriptures put it this way in Jeremiah 23:28:  The prophet, who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.

Note: If you ever wondered where ‘in your dreams’ came from, wonder no more!

Just like the prophet who prophe-lied that the congregation of Israel was only going to spend 2 years in captivity or the false prophets who told King Ahab that he was going to be victorious in battle, we too can become dreamers if we are not careful.

But can we deduce if a prophetic word is a dream? Absolutely!

The story of the man of God in 2 Kings 13 who was sent to Jeroboam will shed light on this. See, this man had heard from God that he should return back to his home a certain way, but decided to turn another way because of the lying words of another prophet who simply wanted some company.

Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”

16 And he said, “I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. 17 For I have been told by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’”

18 He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (He was lying to him.)

19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

Unfortunately, this man of God decided to listen to the lying prophet and followed him. As a result, the man of God paid the price of death for his disobedience. The irony of it is that true prophetic announcement of the man of God’s death came by the same prophet who had first lied to him (see 2 Kings 13:20 – 23!

Here are a few things this story relates to us regarding prophesy:

  1. We should never doubt what the Lord has told even if another  ‘prophet’ tells us different
  2. Our obedience to what the Lord tells us is critical to life; disobedience blocks out the blessings of God
  3. Even true prophets fall prey to dreaming. Hence, no amount of prophesy from anyone beats listening to the direct command of the Holy Spirit
  4. If we are hearing contradictory prophesy about a specific situation, then one of the prophecy is not of God, as God will NEVER contradict Himself. Also, God will never contradict the scripture.
  5. The best kind of prophesy is confirmation of what the Lord has already told us. Yes! We can now hear from God who longs to speak to us directly.  Therefore, all prophesy really ought to be confirmation. If it’s not, we need to check the health of our relationship with God.
  6. We become prophe-liars the moment we take our eyes off God to entertain ourselves, our circumstance, or others.

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December 6, 2012 · 12:17 am

5 Steps Towards Greatness (Part II) – Equipped

The pyramid of Khephren (Khafre)

Having called Jesus to partake of flesh and blood in order to reconcile mankind to Him, God did not simply leave Jesus to his own devices. He did not say “Alright Jesus, I called you and you have answered My call. Now, go do what I have asked you to do in your own strength”. No! God ensured He granted Jesus with the ability to carry out the purpose for which He was born; He empowered Jesus and equipped Him with the secret weapon of the Holy Spirit.

Just as there is no point in your boss telling you to cut a tree down without furnishing you with an axe or saw, there is no point knowing the purpose for which you were created without being furnished with the ability to complete your task. The same God who has called you will without fail equip you with the ability to carry out the task He has given you.

Therefore, we do not have to worry about how we can ever accomplish what at times may seem like the mountainous task before us. God knows we cannot do it on our own power; that is why He deposited the Holy Spirit inside of us to strengthen and empower us.

Even so, many of us ignore the very key to victory (the Holy Spirit) on our journey but instead ramble about the place trying to accomplish the purpose to which we have been called in our own power. Alas, this is akin to trying to trying to fight an enemy without putting on our armor; it is foolishness at best. Our failure to utilize the Holy Spirit or yield to the Holy Spirit’s direction is the primary reason we stumble and fall. Should we stumble and fall, unfortunately, too many of us start to question the call of God on our lives and we simply give up. In essence, we give up on God and spend our time chasing all those things that keeps us busy and may even bring us great material wealth but at the end of the day still leaves us empty!

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: To be great, we must utilize the tool of the Holy Spirit.

See,  since God wants us to accomplish His purpose His way, and the only way we can do this is by listening to the voice of the Lord spoken through the Holy Spirit within us (see John 16:13), we must always leave room for the Holy Spirit to operate in our lives. We must learn to obey that voice that tells us to act in a way that will NOT violate the principles, statutes, and character of God.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: The equipping is God’s responsibility, but the use of the equipment is our responsibility.

Anything other than abiding in the Holy Spirit is folly! When Moses decided he knew better than God when he struck the rock instead of speaking to the rock, it ended up costing him the joy of entering into the promise land. When Solomon decided he was no longer going to heed the voice of the Lord not to engage in wedlock with non-believers, it ended up costing him the kingdom and his peace of mind. When the Man of God decided to take a detour from the path God had laid out in front of him, it cost him his life (see 1 Kings 13:11-30)!

Thus it is clear. We must refuse the urge to answer the call of God on our life in our own strength for doing this is dangerous business! Rather, we must allow for the equipping (empowerment) of the Spirit and then walk in step with Him as He leads!

“But the Lord said to me: ‘Do not say I am a youth’, for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. – Jeremiah 1:7

Power Thought: My God who calls me will also give me the ability to fulfill my calling and lead me aright; He is with me and will not allow me to falter.

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November 28, 2012 · 2:40 am

SuperChamp Musing – Law keeping or Word keeping

Is your robotic obedience to the statutes in the bible not bringing the desired result you expect? The problem may very well be that you are keeping the law instead of keeping the word. Have a listen!

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October 8, 2012 · 12:59 am

Food for Thought – The Excellence of Knowledge

The excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it (see Ecclesiastes 7:12). Lets face it, there is no shortage of info out there. Simply click a button and voila, knowledge at our fingertips! And since knowledge is power, the more we have of it and can apply, the better off we are right? Not necessarily, for knowledge when misapplied is power misused!

Just as a buttering knife in the hands of a nutter becomes a destructive weapon, so does knowledge in the hands of a person devoid of wisdom. And since the bible tells us that Jesus became our wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 1:30), we can say that the application of knowledge without the help of God (wisdom) is foolishness (the opposite of wisdom) and leads to death (the opposite of life).

Therefore, it is possible to be extremely knowledgeable and still be extremely foolish; to know much scripture without it ever yielding fruit. This is why knowledge alone should not impress us much!

Lightbulb Moment Without God, all Knowledge is misapplied. Thus, Knowledge – God = Foolishness

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September 25, 2012 · 4:05 am

Gifts and Talents: What God Thinks About Us Squandering Our Talents

Just as the duty of every servant is to attend to the duty of his master, the duty of every believer is to attend to the purpose for which we were born, and do the will of God to which we are called. Being the just God that He is, He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit who equips us with the ability and wherewithal to accomplish His purpose. Yes, we have all been granted a measure of gifts and talents to accomplish the purpose to which we are called. To those of us that decide to use those gifts and talents to do His will, He grants more grace (in the form on power, capability and ability) and magnifies what He has purposed for us.

“Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents” – Matthew 25:28

In contrast, God does not too much fancy those of us that choose not to channel and use our given gifts and talents. He does not take too kindly to us using fear as an excuse for not carrying out His will nor is He impressed with us when we do absolutely nothing of value with our lives. He does not want us to simply bury our talents in the ground but to use them. Why? It is for the purpose of good works that He created us in His image in the first place (see Ephesians 2:10). It is for the aim of accomplishing His purpose and will that He grant us the Holy Spirit who empowers us to be courageous and so to overcome the fear that comes from the enemy.

When the servant told his master he hid his talent out of fear, the master responded with ‘you wicked and lazy servant’ (see Matthew 25:26)! While this may seem harsh, it is exactly how God feels when we squander our gifts and talents out of fear or whatever reason.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: When we do not use our gifts and talents, God says to us: You know my will and yet you choose not to take any action and use what I have given you. You are wicked and lazy!

God calls us lazy because the only reason we fall into inaction out of fear is due to our choice not to spend time in His Word. For surely when we spend time with Him, we are transformed into His image – the image or courage, love, boldness, strength, and power. We no longer allow fear to stop us from doing the good He wants of us but we overcome the evil of fear with the love of good. But when we choose to be lazy and fail to build ourselves up, we become like the man who refuses to go out into the street from his house for he says there is a lion out there to devour him (see Proverbs 22:13). Poverty is the end of such a man for he will lose what he has – just as the talent was taken away from the servant.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: When we spend time with love, it casts our all the fear that causes inaction.

God calls us wicked because we have chosen not to advance the kingdom of God by choosing not to use our gifts and talents. See, the desire of God is that we sow the talents He has given us so that is yields up to a 100-fold. He wants us to bless the work of our hands so that we can be a blessing to other people. Here is how the Word puts it:

“…It is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His Covenant…” – Deuteronomy 8:18

Thus, being wealthy is all things helps God establish the Covenant He made with Abraham and that is now made available to all nations or all people of the world through the sacrifice of Jesus. But if we do not use the power (gifts, talents, favor, courage, etc.) that comes from the Holy Spirit to become wealthy in all things, then how are people attracted to us? If people do not see us exhibiting the gift of hope and encouragement in a dire situation, then why would they come to us to inquire of how we can be so joyful? What I am saying is this: God wants to be wealthy is all things so that we can be light to this world; so that people are attracted to the light; so that we can be more effective has His ministers in this world. By burying our gifts and talents, we have hidden our light and we have not loved our lost family members in essence. We hinder the work of God in having those who do not know Him from entering into His Covenant.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: We do not allow our lives to minister to other people when we fail to use the gifts and talents He has given us.

Food For Thought: We miss the mark (sin) when we fail to use our gifts and talents – it shows a love deficiency

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July 7, 2012 · 2:47 am

The Love Position – Is my salvation predestined or do I have free will?

Are some predestined by God to be eternally saved (from eternal punishment) while others are not, or do we all have the option of choosing our eternal home? In other words, do we believe in predestination or do we believe in determination (free-will)? Rather than talk about what we feel, let’s take a look at what God shows us through His scriptures.

In the beginning, God created a perfect abode for man to lay his head. Man had no knowledge of evil in this abode and so there was no shame, fear, or justice to speak of. Man had dominion over every living creature and his only job was to tend the garden. See, God so loved man that he created a world where man could live in perfect and perpetual fellowship with man. How do we know this? He created a world without sin (for sin came with knowledge of evil) and did not keep the tree of life (eternal) away from man. Truly, God predestined man to live the good life forever!

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: God so loved man that He predestined Him to live an awesome life of perfect and perpetual fellowship with Him

Now, since true love is never forced (for anything forced involves control and torment) but is freely chosen and given, God (who is love) gave man free-will to choose. Too bad man chose to end the good life. But when man did this, God was still merciful to stop him from eating of the fruit of life by removing him from the garden and guarding the way to the tree of life with a flaming sword (see Genesis 3:24). You see, if man had eaten of the fruit of life after his disobedience, he would have lived forever in eternal separation from God. God did not want that! So while putting him out the garden seemed harsh, it was actually done out of love. See, as soon as man disobeyed, God already had a master-plan to redeem man from being separated from Him but rather to be redeemed through the shed blood of Christ.

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: God so loved man that even after exercising his free-will in disobedience, God predestined him not to be eternally separated from Him but to be redeemed through Christ’s sacrifice

To reiterate, when man exercised his free-will of disobedience, both evil and justice entered the world. Being a just God, He had to mete out the punishment that man’s choice (sin) deserved. But thankfully, He found Abraham righteous enough to make a covenant with him that through his Seed (Jesus) all the nations will be blessed (with the covenant blessings available in the Holy Spirit).

“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” – Genesis 22:18

“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ” – Galatians 3:16

See, because of Abraham’s faith, God predestined man (all nations) to be blessed through the redemptive work of Christ. Note that is does not say “this” nation or “that” nation, but it says all nations – meaning all peoples or all mankind.  Thus, it is clear that God wants all mankind (all nations) to be saved. But man still has the same free-will to choose Christ, just as the first man (Adam) and subsequent men had the free-will to disobey God in the garden at the beginning. Paul puts it this way:

“For since the creation of the word His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” – Romans 1:20

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: God so loved man after the fall that He predestined all mankind to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ

How much God loves us – that He would have His own son slewed in order for us to be saved from eternal separation from Him when we choose to believe in His Son (see John 3:16). All that is required is belief! It is not based on performance or our own self-accessed righteousness (which is as filthy rags) but it is a free gift which is irrevocable!

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a free gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” – Ephesians 2:8-9

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” – Romans 11:29

But the above is not the end of God’s love, there is more. For those that choose to believe in His Son, He seals with His Spirit who upon our choosing can direct our path. When we choose to walk in the Spirit and allow Him to lead us, we are lavished with the fullness of the covenant blessings – riches, honor, life, peace, and so much more. We are able to live heaven on this earth just as God designed it from the beginning! We do not have to wait till we get to heaven (our destination once saved) to experiences goodness.That is not to say that bad things will not happen to us (for we still live in a fallen world), but that things are eventually working for our good (see Romans 8:28)

So, looking through the lens of the love of God from the beginning of the world, it now becomes clear what Paul is talking about in Romans 8:29-30:

“For whom He foreknew (all nations or all mankind), He also predestined (through our acceptance of Jesus) to be conformed to the image of His Son……Moreover whom He predestined (all nations), He called (to accept Jesus); whom He called, these He also justified (though the blood of Jesus).

Thus, predestination does not work completely independent of free-will but in conjunction with it. Based on what we know from scriptures, we can conclude the following:

  • God predestined man to live in perpetual and perfect fellowship with Him when He created the world (God’s choice)
  • Man chose to break that fellowship through sin (Man’s choice)
  • God predestined (called) man to be saved from  separation through Christ’s sacrifice (God’s choice)
  • Man can neglect the call to salvation and justification  (Man’s choice)
  • God predestined man to enjoy the benefits of accepting His call to salvation through the Holy Spirit (God’s choice)
  • Man can choose not to walk in the Spirit although they have already accepted Christ unto unnecessary suffering (Man’s choice)

Lightbulb MomentLight-bulb moment: Predestination is not the problem –  what God predestines is good. Rather, the problem is our choice – for some reason we like choosing death instead of life.  Adam was predestined to live a sweet life, but his choice made him live a “not so sweet” life!

Food for Thought: When we choose love (God), we are predestined to live a blessed life

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