Church in Laodicea - Revelation 3:14-22
We should pay attention the two important things when reading the book of revelation.
1. The book of revelation does not talk only about the future events, It talks about the past, present and future. This is significant.
2. Most of the truths in the book of revelation is primarily conveyed in the form of signs and symbols.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servant’s things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Revelation 1:1
· The book of revelation reveals what Jesus Christ is to us today.
· Greek word for signified is esemanen, it refers to conveyance of truth by means of signs and symbols. Symbols must be interpreted either from the context or from other scripture.
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True witness, the Beginning of the creation of God. Revelation 3:14
At the beginning of each letter to the different churches, the Spirit of the Lord identifies himself with some titles. In this letter to the Laodecians we see the titles as The Amen, The faithful and the true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.
Each letter has the sections like whom it is addressed to, Commendation, failings, Advice and Promise. When God addressed the Laodecians, He revealed himself in terms of what they lack. For example, When Paul was weak (lacking strength), God addressed Paul my strength is made perfect in your weakness.
And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
The Laodicea church lacks the following.
a) Laodicea church lacked in their right belief and God revealed himself as the Amen, which means to believe.
b) They failed to continue in faith alone which is the source of righteousness. (Romans 4:3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."). Thus God revealed himself as the faithful (He is our faith, righteousness and wisdom/understanding).
c) The church lacked in communion and fellowship with God and God reveals himself as the True witness. True witness to people is when they see our fellowship with God and the blessings in our life.
d) Finally the church has lost the leadership of Jesus and God revealed himself as the beginning of the creation of God. God wants the headship of Jesus to be restored in that Church.
The church did not receive any commendation, but only failings, advice and promise. The following shows verses corresponding to each lack in this letter to Laodicea church.
The Amen - V 15, 16 (Belief)
The Faithful - V 17, 18 (Faith & Righteousness)
The True Witness - V 19, 20 (Fellowship & Blessings of God)
The Beginning of Creation of God - V 21 (Head ship of Christ)
The Amen - V 15, 16 (Belief)
Amen means Belief. Hebrew word for Amen is אמן. The Hebrew words are read from right to left. There are twenty two Hebrew alphabets. Each Hebrew alphabet has a picture.
א - Aleph - OX - Sacrifice of Jesus Christ
מ - Mem - Rivers - Holy Spirit
ן - Nun - Fish - Believer
By combining the representation of these three alphabets, we can conclude that Believer can believe and understand the true meaning behind the sacrifice of Jesus Christ only through the Holy Spirit. Believer can understand the true meaning behind truth that told in the bible only through the revelation of Holy Spirit.
For example, let us take a mixture of people watching the movie passion of Christ. After watching this movie each people will have different opinion as said below.
a) Unbeliever watching passion of Christ, will feel bad that Jesus a good /moral person or teacher was unjustly crucified. Unbeliever will feel pity for Jesus. He might even go so far and cry.
b) Newly born again believer watching it, will feel like, we should also suffer as Christ suffered in order to be called worthy of Jesus Christ.
c) Matured believer lead by the Holy Spirit watching it, will feel like, Christ suffered for me so much that I should not suffer in this life, Christ took all my pains, diseases so that I should be free from all pains and diseases in this life. From now on I will rebuke all the diseases in my body and will not worry for anything.
Do you see the differences in the above three people’s conclusion? Who is right in their thinking among these three people? Obviously it is believer lead by the Holy Spirit is correct in his thinking. It takes the Holy Spirit to understand the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The world says do good get good, do bad get bad. You don’t need God to understand “do good get good, do bad get bad”. Any common man can understand this.
Bible says you get good because Jesus got all your bad. Certainly it takes the help of Holy Spirit to understand or digest that you get good because Jesus got all your bad.
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You get good because Jesus got all your bad
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Let us look at the first failing that they received.
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:15-16
History says that Laodicea had to fetch its water through high-pressure stone pipes from hot springs at Denizli, some five miles away, and by the time it reached Laodicea the water was lukewarm’ . The contrast is between the hot medicinal waters of Hierapolis and the cold, pure waters of Colossae.
What is God saying in this verse? Before explaining this verse, I would like to explain the biblical meaning for the word “works” in the above verse Revelation 3:15
Work in this verse mean ergon in Greek. Let us see what Jesus defined work as.
Then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. John 6:28
The work mentioned in John 6:28 are also the same Greek word ergon. Jesus in His own words says that Work is to Believe in Jesus.
Let us look at the traditional interpretation for this verse(revelation 3:15-16) before we see the true meaning of this verse especially for the word “hot” and “cold”
This is the traditional interpretation for the word “hot”. You should attend the church meeting, fasting prayer meeting and regular prayer meeting regularly. You should read the bible regularly. You should have zeal for God as Jews were zeal for law. Shortly it can be said that hot means being actively and passionately involved in the things of God.
This is the traditional interpretation for the word “Cold”. It is just opposite to hot. Shortly it can be said that Do not caring about the things of God or completely abstaining from all the things pertaining to God.
This verse has always been preached as though it were about our actions and behavior. But Jesus said that He would rather we be cold or hot, and not lukewarm.
Please think for a moment, this traditional interpretation would not make sense if Jesus was referring to actions and behavior, because wouldn't being lukewarm for Jesus still better than being completely cold? I see more hope in bringing a lukewarm person to hot for Jesus than bringing cold person to Hot for Jesus.
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Wouldn’t being lukewarm for Jesus still better than being completely cold?
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The two (15, 16) verses would make sense only when they are interpreted in the light of the mixture of the covenants of law and grace in the church of Laodicea.
We know that God always sees His people in the covenants. The Lord was saying that He would the church be cold - entirely under law (Old covenant), or hot - entirely under grace (New Covenant).
Why would God want us to be entirely under old covenant or entirely under new? There should be great significance as it is mentioned as condemnation to this church and the result is God will spew us out if we are under mixture.
Primary issue in Laodicea church.
This is the problem; the church of Laodicea is mixing Law and Grace.
Today, wherever we look, the majority of churches all over the world, in order to get the saints to live godly, righteous lives, are attempting to accomplish this exalted goal by putting God’s children under a legal system of some sort.
What, you ask, is a legal system? A legal system may be the Ten Commandments, a series of Do’s or Don’ts, or the application of certain good habits or routines to the believer’s life in order to produce a godly lifestyle. When we add anything to the life of faith in Christ we sow the seeds of failure and frustration. It reminds us of Paul’s statement in Galatians 2: 21, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”
We often extend grace to the drunk or prostitute who are not born again. We tell them of God's love and how He wants to help them. But let them get born again and then sin again, and the very people who told them how much God loved them before they were saved will now damn them to hell for the slightest infraction. If that was really the way things were, they would be better off to wait until their last breath to get saved so that God would keep loving them. That is not the gospel. We are not started by grace then maintained by works.
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith. Galatians 3:2
Paul is the one who shared the gospel with the Galatians. He knew they received the Spirit by grace because that's how he ministered it to them. Now he's reminding them whether you received the Spirit by observing the law or by hearing of the faith. The obvious answer to this question is that faith alone produced the dramatic change in Galatians. If they started by faith, how could they be so stupid to think that now they have to earn the favor of God?
Some seem to think that we become more holy or spiritual by keeping the laws which is exactly the same mistake the Galatians and Laodicea church were doing. If we take some time to notice, the same is happening today in most of the churches.
Colossians 2:6 says, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." That means if you were saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8), then that's the way you should continue to walk with the Lord. Yet it is a common mistake for people who come to the Lord, "Just as I am, without one plea" to fall back into the deception that they have to be holy enough for the Lord to answer their prayers. That's inconsistent and it's what bible is pointing out here.
Receiving salvation by Grace alone and then maintains the salvation by observing laws is termed as Lukewarm in Revelation 3:16
No wonder why we are not seeing Abraham blessings in many Christians today: They have tried to earn God’s blessings by their own efforts, and that never works. The flesh (self) can never produce righteousness. The flesh in to mix the works of the law with grace. a believer is no better than the flesh in an unbeliever. We are attempting
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The flesh in a believer is no better than the flesh in an unbeliever
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Now we identified the issue. What is that causing majority of peoples at all times to mix law and Grace?
The reason they are mixing law and grace is because they do not understand the Law and Grace completely. When one does not understand law and grace they mix the two together.
Following are the reasons for mixing law and grace
No clear understanding on Law and Grace
Not able to digest God goodness
Individual want to play a part in the things he does for God
Not aware of who we are in Christ
Assuming that Grace alone provides licence to sin
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When one does not understand law and grace completely they mix the two together
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Law and Grace
Law and Grace are mutually exclusive. It is like oil and water, will not mix together. There is a world of difference between law and grace. The law was given by Moses to Israel. It demanded obedience to be blessed, but gave the person no power to obey. Grace, on the other hand, is God doing in man and for man what he does not deserve and cannot work for.
What is the purpose of the Law?
1. To produce Guilt
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Romans 3:19
This very clear statement by Paul comes as a complete shock to most Christians. Christianity as a whole has embraced the Old Testament law and most Christians have never thought that the law was not intended for them. However, Paul is saying that the law was given to the Jews. The purpose of that law was to produce, therefore, anyone who is denying their guilt before God can profit from its condemning effect (2 Cor. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:9). But a Christian who embraces the Old Testament law as God's gift to them has misunderstood its purpose.
2. To give knowledge of sin
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin Romans 3:20
Many people think that the law of God was given so that we could earn our salvation or Justification or God’s blessings through keeping it. That wasn’t its purpose. The law was not given for the purpose of producing justification or to earn God’s blessings and favour.
The law was given to show that we do not have the ability to keep the law.
3. To Kill (2 Corinthians 3:6, 7)
4. To Condemn (2 Corinthians 3:9)
5. To strengthen sin (1 Cor. 15:56)
6. To bring sin alive (Rom. 7:9)
On considering the above six points, no wonder God found fault on the law as it is said in the book of Hebrews 8:7-9.
7For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8But God found fault with the people and said[a]:
"The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
Hebrews 8:7-9.
God tells us in Psalm 19:7."The Law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul." Our apostle, Paul, has no argument with this (though he was constantly accused of being wrong in regard to the Law), nor has any true Grace Believer. Paul, for that matter, treats the Law always with the highest regard, lavishing praise upon it, recognizing that to keep it lies beyond the reach of sinful man (Romans 7:12,14). Ironically, perfect law that made nothing perfect.
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Perfect Law that made nothing perfect
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Why would perfect law cannot make any thing perfect? Because we are not perfect. You cannot give a meat to one year old baby; baby’s stomach cannot digest it. There is nothing wrong with meat but with baby’s ungrown digestive system.
Why would God give us Law that strengthened our enemy? Or Why would God give us Law to produce things mentioned in the above six points? Because sin had already beaten us and we didn't know it. Mankind was deceived into thinking that although we weren't perfect; surely our sins weren't that bad. We really are pretty good people and the outcome would be "okay." The only thing that is wrong with that thinking is that God doesn't grade on a curve. It doesn't matter if you are better than someone else. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (v. 23) and the wages for sin (any sin) is death (Rom. 6:23).
James 2:10 says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." If a person commits any sin he is guilty of them all. It's similar to breaking a window. It doesn't matter how big a hole you make in the glass window. If it's broken, the whole window has to be replaced. If we break even the slightest command, we are guilty of breaking them all.
So God had to break the deception that people had fallen into, of thinking they were surely good enough to be accepted by God. The way He did this was to give the law. It made sin and its lust come alive in us. The law gave sin an occasion against us to deceive us and work all manner of lust in us (Rom. 7:8, 11). In short, the law strengthened our enemy, sin, not us.
To those who would receive it, it became obvious that if this holy perfection of the law was what God demanded, no one could be saved by his own goodness.
That was the point that God wanted to make and that is the point that Paul is making here. No one can be saved by keeping the law because all have sinned and come short of the law's perfection (v. 23).
Therefore, the law stripped us of every excuse and made us guilty before God. The law gave us knowledge of just how sinful we were and removed any deception of us ever being saved because we were such "nice guys" in comparison to others. As Paul said in Galatians 3:23, "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed." The law took away every hope of salvation except faith in a savior. That was the purpose of the law.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 but after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Galatians 3:24, 25
Law leads us to Christ. If we are lukewarm (Picture of mixture of law and grace) we neutralize the convicting power of the law to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we will cry out for the grace of the savior. This is why we cannot be both hot and cold at the same time.
There is an illustration given by Jesus in Mark 2:22 about mixing law and grace.
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Mark 2:22
Old wine skins are brittle, hard and inflexible. That is the old covenant, the law. It is inflexible. If we put new wine (grace covenant) in the old wine skins, the bottle will burst and we will lose both.
Point always ignored who insist on performance.
a) For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” Galatians 3:10
People, who preach performance as a source to the blessings, conveniently fail to mention. Deuteronomy 27:26 says, "Cursed be he that confirmeth not ALL the words of this law to do them."
Those who trust in the law must keep every word of the law perfectly or they come under the curse (Dt. 28:15-68) instead of the blessing (Dt. 28:1-14). Since all have sinned (Rom. 3:23), no one can ever attain to the blessing of the law through his own effort. We must put faith in the grace of God and receive the blessing as a gift (Rom. 6:23).
Galatians 3:10 does not say if people break the law then they come under grace. It says that the moment we start exercising the law, we come under curse. This is radical statement.
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The moment you start exercising Law, you come under curse.
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b) But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Galatians 3:11
Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Galatians 3:12
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin Romans 14:23
It clearly says that no one is justified by combination of Law and Grace. Please remember that Galatians were living in both law and grace. We can formulate the logical flow as said below by combining the two verses
a) Law is not of faith
b) Whatever is not from faith is sin
c) Therefore, law is sin.
Whoever is living based on performance is living under sin. Whoever is preaching performance as a source to earn God’s blessings is ministering sin into people’s life.
Grace
Most blood-bought, born-again believers in Jesus Christ realize that they came to God initially as nothing more than lost sinners and the Lord reconciled them to himself on the singular basis of the blood of Christ. In other words, they began with grace alone. But does God intend to produce Christian maturity in us through exactly the same grace whereby he saved us to begin with? The answer to this question is an emphatic yes!
Church history demonstrates that believers in every generation become enslaved to a performance basis for earning God's approval and blessing. In other words, they believe they are right with God because they do the right things. They believe that they should do right right things in order for God to bless them. This is a constant temptation for all who desire to please God. I'll be using the term performance basis interchangeably with the term legalism.
Because performance-based living is so deeply rooted in human nature, the entire world, not just the Christian world, is filled with people who either thrive on it or who are constantly striving to extricate themselves from it. But apart from the applied grace of God - the exact opposite of performance-based living - nothing more than superficial relief is ever realized by anyone, Christian or not.
The 'victorious Christian life' is not obtained on the basis of performance, but rather on the basis of grace. God's grace continues to set us free from legalism, and instead allows us to become expressions of Jesus who lives in and through us.
Before we proceed further let us see the biblical definition of Grace.
In the New Testament, grace is the Greek term charis, and like our English word, it may mean “graciousness” “attractiveness” or even “charm.” But when we consider the meaning of this word as it is used in the New Testament theologically, it refers to the free, unmerited favor of God; to the favor or kindness given to those who can never deserve it or earn it by anything they do or refrain from doing.
As Chuck Swindoll aptly puts it, “Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver.”
Since God’s grace isn’t based on our actions, it is the same to every one. No matter how good we are, we get no more grace. No matter how bad we are, we get no less grace. Grace is totally dependent on the nature and character of God—it isn’t dependent on our actions. God chose to give us grace no matter what we may deserve.
Human nature drives to love people as long as others are ok with us. We love people who love us or doesn’t harm us. . We respect who respect us. This is human nature. But God is not like man, God loves everyone irrespective of how bad or good we are. God loves us not because we are lovely because he is love.
There are many people who do not really understand how amazing grace is. They see grace as nice, helpful—even necessary—but not really amazing. God loves you irrespective of your performance.
There is always a tendency in the body of Christ to preach salvation by grace through faith and then to attempt sanctification and holiness through every imaginable form of legalism.
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The victorious Christian life is not obtained on the basis of performance, but rather on the basis of grace.
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Many preachers are telling believers that they have to exhibit more Christian character, more self control, more godliness and more brotherly kindness. I totally agree that all these qualities are good and necessary, but the question is, how do we develop them? Most people would say discipline. We need to focus more on the Ten Commandments and develop discipline, and then self-control, godliness, and brotherly kindness will come. “While all that sounds very good (to the flesh), that is not what the Word of God says, and I for one want to go by what it says:
……… and to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
2 Peter 1:5-9
It is clear from the above scripture that if a person lacks good Christian qualities like self-control, godliness and brotherly kindness, it is not because he lacks discipline, but he forgotten the main clause of the new covenant. He has forgotten that the blood of Jesus has purchased for him the forgiveness of all his sins.
The secret behind every godly man and woman is their belief in the truth that they have been forgiven. Their godliness stem from a revelation of their forgiveness.
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The secret behind every godly man and woman is their belief in the truth that they have been forgiven
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No one can be good and do good unless God’s grace first makes him good; and no one becomes good by works, but good works are done only by him who is good. Just so the fruits do not make the trees, but the tree bears the fruit.. Therefore all works, no matter how good they are and how pretty they look, are in vain if they do not flow from grace.
Proper understanding about grace will transform our life altogether and will enable us to live a Godly life.
Many Christians constantly doubt that God's will for them is to continue to relate to him on the basis of grace alone. Is this Biblical? Is it Orthodox? Can it produce Christian maturity? The answer to this question is revealed in the verse Titus 2:11-12, Romans 11:6 and Galatians 2:21
“For the grace of God that brings salvation as appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” Titus 2:11-12
Clearly it is the grace of God that will produce sober, righteous, and godly living.
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace
Romans 11:6
I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly Galatians 2:21
Therefore the only way you will ever get free from sin is to get under grace and stay there. Paul said sin shall not be master over you because you are not under law but under grace. It makes sense, then, that the opposite is also true: To put a Christian under legalism is to bind him under sin! Remember that legalism has the power to actually arouse sinful passions.
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Right believing leads to right living.
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For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:14
Understanding our freedom from the O.T. law or man made law’s is a prerequisite to breaking the dominion of sin in our lives. Christians need to be taught to completely forsake any performance basis for relating to God and to forever embrace the grace alone
Always remember that Jesus plus something will give nothing. Jesus plus nothing will give everything. Grace and mercy are at the heart of the Christian Gospel. Grace is receiving something good that you do not deserve. Mercy is not receiving something bad that you do deserve. Love is where grace and mercy meets together.
Let me be clear. When you come to Christ, you do not come to give, you come to receive. You do not come to try your best, you come to trust. You do not come just to be saved, but to be rescued. You do not come to be made better (although that does happen), you come to be made alive. You do not come to Christ to make a promise; you come to depend on His promise. It is the faithfulness of God and not your own that gives the gift of grace.
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Jesus + something = nothing
Jesus + nothing = everything
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.
We should pay attention the two important things when reading the book of revelation.
1. The book of revelation does not talk only about the future events, It talks about the past, present and future. This is significant.
2. Most of the truths in the book of revelation is primarily conveyed in the form of signs and symbols.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servant’s things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Revelation 1:1
· The book of revelation reveals what Jesus Christ is to us today.
· Greek word for signified is esemanen, it refers to conveyance of truth by means of signs and symbols. Symbols must be interpreted either from the context or from other scripture.
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True witness, the Beginning of the creation of God. Revelation 3:14
At the beginning of each letter to the different churches, the Spirit of the Lord identifies himself with some titles. In this letter to the Laodecians we see the titles as The Amen, The faithful and the true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.
Each letter has the sections like whom it is addressed to, Commendation, failings, Advice and Promise. When God addressed the Laodecians, He revealed himself in terms of what they lack. For example, When Paul was weak (lacking strength), God addressed Paul my strength is made perfect in your weakness.
And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
The Laodicea church lacks the following.
a) Laodicea church lacked in their right belief and God revealed himself as the Amen, which means to believe.
b) They failed to continue in faith alone which is the source of righteousness. (Romans 4:3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."). Thus God revealed himself as the faithful (He is our faith, righteousness and wisdom/understanding).
c) The church lacked in communion and fellowship with God and God reveals himself as the True witness. True witness to people is when they see our fellowship with God and the blessings in our life.
d) Finally the church has lost the leadership of Jesus and God revealed himself as the beginning of the creation of God. God wants the headship of Jesus to be restored in that Church.
The church did not receive any commendation, but only failings, advice and promise. The following shows verses corresponding to each lack in this letter to Laodicea church.
The Amen - V 15, 16 (Belief)
The Faithful - V 17, 18 (Faith & Righteousness)
The True Witness - V 19, 20 (Fellowship & Blessings of God)
The Beginning of Creation of God - V 21 (Head ship of Christ)
The Amen - V 15, 16 (Belief)
Amen means Belief. Hebrew word for Amen is אמן. The Hebrew words are read from right to left. There are twenty two Hebrew alphabets. Each Hebrew alphabet has a picture.
א - Aleph - OX - Sacrifice of Jesus Christ
מ - Mem - Rivers - Holy Spirit
ן - Nun - Fish - Believer
By combining the representation of these three alphabets, we can conclude that Believer can believe and understand the true meaning behind the sacrifice of Jesus Christ only through the Holy Spirit. Believer can understand the true meaning behind truth that told in the bible only through the revelation of Holy Spirit.
For example, let us take a mixture of people watching the movie passion of Christ. After watching this movie each people will have different opinion as said below.
a) Unbeliever watching passion of Christ, will feel bad that Jesus a good /moral person or teacher was unjustly crucified. Unbeliever will feel pity for Jesus. He might even go so far and cry.
b) Newly born again believer watching it, will feel like, we should also suffer as Christ suffered in order to be called worthy of Jesus Christ.
c) Matured believer lead by the Holy Spirit watching it, will feel like, Christ suffered for me so much that I should not suffer in this life, Christ took all my pains, diseases so that I should be free from all pains and diseases in this life. From now on I will rebuke all the diseases in my body and will not worry for anything.
Do you see the differences in the above three people’s conclusion? Who is right in their thinking among these three people? Obviously it is believer lead by the Holy Spirit is correct in his thinking. It takes the Holy Spirit to understand the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The world says do good get good, do bad get bad. You don’t need God to understand “do good get good, do bad get bad”. Any common man can understand this.
Bible says you get good because Jesus got all your bad. Certainly it takes the help of Holy Spirit to understand or digest that you get good because Jesus got all your bad.
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You get good because Jesus got all your bad
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Let us look at the first failing that they received.
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:15-16
History says that Laodicea had to fetch its water through high-pressure stone pipes from hot springs at Denizli, some five miles away, and by the time it reached Laodicea the water was lukewarm’ . The contrast is between the hot medicinal waters of Hierapolis and the cold, pure waters of Colossae.
What is God saying in this verse? Before explaining this verse, I would like to explain the biblical meaning for the word “works” in the above verse Revelation 3:15
Work in this verse mean ergon in Greek. Let us see what Jesus defined work as.
Then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. John 6:28
The work mentioned in John 6:28 are also the same Greek word ergon. Jesus in His own words says that Work is to Believe in Jesus.
Let us look at the traditional interpretation for this verse(revelation 3:15-16) before we see the true meaning of this verse especially for the word “hot” and “cold”
This is the traditional interpretation for the word “hot”. You should attend the church meeting, fasting prayer meeting and regular prayer meeting regularly. You should read the bible regularly. You should have zeal for God as Jews were zeal for law. Shortly it can be said that hot means being actively and passionately involved in the things of God.
This is the traditional interpretation for the word “Cold”. It is just opposite to hot. Shortly it can be said that Do not caring about the things of God or completely abstaining from all the things pertaining to God.
This verse has always been preached as though it were about our actions and behavior. But Jesus said that He would rather we be cold or hot, and not lukewarm.
Please think for a moment, this traditional interpretation would not make sense if Jesus was referring to actions and behavior, because wouldn't being lukewarm for Jesus still better than being completely cold? I see more hope in bringing a lukewarm person to hot for Jesus than bringing cold person to Hot for Jesus.
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Wouldn’t being lukewarm for Jesus still better than being completely cold?
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The two (15, 16) verses would make sense only when they are interpreted in the light of the mixture of the covenants of law and grace in the church of Laodicea.
We know that God always sees His people in the covenants. The Lord was saying that He would the church be cold - entirely under law (Old covenant), or hot - entirely under grace (New Covenant).
Why would God want us to be entirely under old covenant or entirely under new? There should be great significance as it is mentioned as condemnation to this church and the result is God will spew us out if we are under mixture.
Primary issue in Laodicea church.
This is the problem; the church of Laodicea is mixing Law and Grace.
Today, wherever we look, the majority of churches all over the world, in order to get the saints to live godly, righteous lives, are attempting to accomplish this exalted goal by putting God’s children under a legal system of some sort.
What, you ask, is a legal system? A legal system may be the Ten Commandments, a series of Do’s or Don’ts, or the application of certain good habits or routines to the believer’s life in order to produce a godly lifestyle. When we add anything to the life of faith in Christ we sow the seeds of failure and frustration. It reminds us of Paul’s statement in Galatians 2: 21, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”
We often extend grace to the drunk or prostitute who are not born again. We tell them of God's love and how He wants to help them. But let them get born again and then sin again, and the very people who told them how much God loved them before they were saved will now damn them to hell for the slightest infraction. If that was really the way things were, they would be better off to wait until their last breath to get saved so that God would keep loving them. That is not the gospel. We are not started by grace then maintained by works.
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith. Galatians 3:2
Paul is the one who shared the gospel with the Galatians. He knew they received the Spirit by grace because that's how he ministered it to them. Now he's reminding them whether you received the Spirit by observing the law or by hearing of the faith. The obvious answer to this question is that faith alone produced the dramatic change in Galatians. If they started by faith, how could they be so stupid to think that now they have to earn the favor of God?
Some seem to think that we become more holy or spiritual by keeping the laws which is exactly the same mistake the Galatians and Laodicea church were doing. If we take some time to notice, the same is happening today in most of the churches.
Colossians 2:6 says, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." That means if you were saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8), then that's the way you should continue to walk with the Lord. Yet it is a common mistake for people who come to the Lord, "Just as I am, without one plea" to fall back into the deception that they have to be holy enough for the Lord to answer their prayers. That's inconsistent and it's what bible is pointing out here.
Receiving salvation by Grace alone and then maintains the salvation by observing laws is termed as Lukewarm in Revelation 3:16
No wonder why we are not seeing Abraham blessings in many Christians today: They have tried to earn God’s blessings by their own efforts, and that never works. The flesh (self) can never produce righteousness. The flesh in to mix the works of the law with grace. a believer is no better than the flesh in an unbeliever. We are attempting
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The flesh in a believer is no better than the flesh in an unbeliever
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Now we identified the issue. What is that causing majority of peoples at all times to mix law and Grace?
The reason they are mixing law and grace is because they do not understand the Law and Grace completely. When one does not understand law and grace they mix the two together.
Following are the reasons for mixing law and grace
No clear understanding on Law and Grace
Not able to digest God goodness
Individual want to play a part in the things he does for God
Not aware of who we are in Christ
Assuming that Grace alone provides licence to sin
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When one does not understand law and grace completely they mix the two together
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Law and Grace
Law and Grace are mutually exclusive. It is like oil and water, will not mix together. There is a world of difference between law and grace. The law was given by Moses to Israel. It demanded obedience to be blessed, but gave the person no power to obey. Grace, on the other hand, is God doing in man and for man what he does not deserve and cannot work for.
What is the purpose of the Law?
1. To produce Guilt
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Romans 3:19
This very clear statement by Paul comes as a complete shock to most Christians. Christianity as a whole has embraced the Old Testament law and most Christians have never thought that the law was not intended for them. However, Paul is saying that the law was given to the Jews. The purpose of that law was to produce, therefore, anyone who is denying their guilt before God can profit from its condemning effect (2 Cor. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:9). But a Christian who embraces the Old Testament law as God's gift to them has misunderstood its purpose.
2. To give knowledge of sin
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin Romans 3:20
Many people think that the law of God was given so that we could earn our salvation or Justification or God’s blessings through keeping it. That wasn’t its purpose. The law was not given for the purpose of producing justification or to earn God’s blessings and favour.
The law was given to show that we do not have the ability to keep the law.
3. To Kill (2 Corinthians 3:6, 7)
4. To Condemn (2 Corinthians 3:9)
5. To strengthen sin (1 Cor. 15:56)
6. To bring sin alive (Rom. 7:9)
On considering the above six points, no wonder God found fault on the law as it is said in the book of Hebrews 8:7-9.
7For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8But God found fault with the people and said[a]:
"The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
Hebrews 8:7-9.
God tells us in Psalm 19:7."The Law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul." Our apostle, Paul, has no argument with this (though he was constantly accused of being wrong in regard to the Law), nor has any true Grace Believer. Paul, for that matter, treats the Law always with the highest regard, lavishing praise upon it, recognizing that to keep it lies beyond the reach of sinful man (Romans 7:12,14). Ironically, perfect law that made nothing perfect.
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Perfect Law that made nothing perfect
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Why would perfect law cannot make any thing perfect? Because we are not perfect. You cannot give a meat to one year old baby; baby’s stomach cannot digest it. There is nothing wrong with meat but with baby’s ungrown digestive system.
Why would God give us Law that strengthened our enemy? Or Why would God give us Law to produce things mentioned in the above six points? Because sin had already beaten us and we didn't know it. Mankind was deceived into thinking that although we weren't perfect; surely our sins weren't that bad. We really are pretty good people and the outcome would be "okay." The only thing that is wrong with that thinking is that God doesn't grade on a curve. It doesn't matter if you are better than someone else. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (v. 23) and the wages for sin (any sin) is death (Rom. 6:23).
James 2:10 says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." If a person commits any sin he is guilty of them all. It's similar to breaking a window. It doesn't matter how big a hole you make in the glass window. If it's broken, the whole window has to be replaced. If we break even the slightest command, we are guilty of breaking them all.
So God had to break the deception that people had fallen into, of thinking they were surely good enough to be accepted by God. The way He did this was to give the law. It made sin and its lust come alive in us. The law gave sin an occasion against us to deceive us and work all manner of lust in us (Rom. 7:8, 11). In short, the law strengthened our enemy, sin, not us.
To those who would receive it, it became obvious that if this holy perfection of the law was what God demanded, no one could be saved by his own goodness.
That was the point that God wanted to make and that is the point that Paul is making here. No one can be saved by keeping the law because all have sinned and come short of the law's perfection (v. 23).
Therefore, the law stripped us of every excuse and made us guilty before God. The law gave us knowledge of just how sinful we were and removed any deception of us ever being saved because we were such "nice guys" in comparison to others. As Paul said in Galatians 3:23, "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed." The law took away every hope of salvation except faith in a savior. That was the purpose of the law.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 but after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Galatians 3:24, 25
Law leads us to Christ. If we are lukewarm (Picture of mixture of law and grace) we neutralize the convicting power of the law to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we will cry out for the grace of the savior. This is why we cannot be both hot and cold at the same time.
There is an illustration given by Jesus in Mark 2:22 about mixing law and grace.
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Mark 2:22
Old wine skins are brittle, hard and inflexible. That is the old covenant, the law. It is inflexible. If we put new wine (grace covenant) in the old wine skins, the bottle will burst and we will lose both.
Point always ignored who insist on performance.
a) For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” Galatians 3:10
People, who preach performance as a source to the blessings, conveniently fail to mention. Deuteronomy 27:26 says, "Cursed be he that confirmeth not ALL the words of this law to do them."
Those who trust in the law must keep every word of the law perfectly or they come under the curse (Dt. 28:15-68) instead of the blessing (Dt. 28:1-14). Since all have sinned (Rom. 3:23), no one can ever attain to the blessing of the law through his own effort. We must put faith in the grace of God and receive the blessing as a gift (Rom. 6:23).
Galatians 3:10 does not say if people break the law then they come under grace. It says that the moment we start exercising the law, we come under curse. This is radical statement.
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The moment you start exercising Law, you come under curse.
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b) But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Galatians 3:11
Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Galatians 3:12
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin Romans 14:23
It clearly says that no one is justified by combination of Law and Grace. Please remember that Galatians were living in both law and grace. We can formulate the logical flow as said below by combining the two verses
a) Law is not of faith
b) Whatever is not from faith is sin
c) Therefore, law is sin.
Whoever is living based on performance is living under sin. Whoever is preaching performance as a source to earn God’s blessings is ministering sin into people’s life.
Grace
Most blood-bought, born-again believers in Jesus Christ realize that they came to God initially as nothing more than lost sinners and the Lord reconciled them to himself on the singular basis of the blood of Christ. In other words, they began with grace alone. But does God intend to produce Christian maturity in us through exactly the same grace whereby he saved us to begin with? The answer to this question is an emphatic yes!
Church history demonstrates that believers in every generation become enslaved to a performance basis for earning God's approval and blessing. In other words, they believe they are right with God because they do the right things. They believe that they should do right right things in order for God to bless them. This is a constant temptation for all who desire to please God. I'll be using the term performance basis interchangeably with the term legalism.
Because performance-based living is so deeply rooted in human nature, the entire world, not just the Christian world, is filled with people who either thrive on it or who are constantly striving to extricate themselves from it. But apart from the applied grace of God - the exact opposite of performance-based living - nothing more than superficial relief is ever realized by anyone, Christian or not.
The 'victorious Christian life' is not obtained on the basis of performance, but rather on the basis of grace. God's grace continues to set us free from legalism, and instead allows us to become expressions of Jesus who lives in and through us.
Before we proceed further let us see the biblical definition of Grace.
In the New Testament, grace is the Greek term charis, and like our English word, it may mean “graciousness” “attractiveness” or even “charm.” But when we consider the meaning of this word as it is used in the New Testament theologically, it refers to the free, unmerited favor of God; to the favor or kindness given to those who can never deserve it or earn it by anything they do or refrain from doing.
As Chuck Swindoll aptly puts it, “Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver.”
Since God’s grace isn’t based on our actions, it is the same to every one. No matter how good we are, we get no more grace. No matter how bad we are, we get no less grace. Grace is totally dependent on the nature and character of God—it isn’t dependent on our actions. God chose to give us grace no matter what we may deserve.
Human nature drives to love people as long as others are ok with us. We love people who love us or doesn’t harm us. . We respect who respect us. This is human nature. But God is not like man, God loves everyone irrespective of how bad or good we are. God loves us not because we are lovely because he is love.
There are many people who do not really understand how amazing grace is. They see grace as nice, helpful—even necessary—but not really amazing. God loves you irrespective of your performance.
There is always a tendency in the body of Christ to preach salvation by grace through faith and then to attempt sanctification and holiness through every imaginable form of legalism.
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The victorious Christian life is not obtained on the basis of performance, but rather on the basis of grace.
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Many preachers are telling believers that they have to exhibit more Christian character, more self control, more godliness and more brotherly kindness. I totally agree that all these qualities are good and necessary, but the question is, how do we develop them? Most people would say discipline. We need to focus more on the Ten Commandments and develop discipline, and then self-control, godliness, and brotherly kindness will come. “While all that sounds very good (to the flesh), that is not what the Word of God says, and I for one want to go by what it says:
……… and to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
2 Peter 1:5-9
It is clear from the above scripture that if a person lacks good Christian qualities like self-control, godliness and brotherly kindness, it is not because he lacks discipline, but he forgotten the main clause of the new covenant. He has forgotten that the blood of Jesus has purchased for him the forgiveness of all his sins.
The secret behind every godly man and woman is their belief in the truth that they have been forgiven. Their godliness stem from a revelation of their forgiveness.
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The secret behind every godly man and woman is their belief in the truth that they have been forgiven
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No one can be good and do good unless God’s grace first makes him good; and no one becomes good by works, but good works are done only by him who is good. Just so the fruits do not make the trees, but the tree bears the fruit.. Therefore all works, no matter how good they are and how pretty they look, are in vain if they do not flow from grace.
Proper understanding about grace will transform our life altogether and will enable us to live a Godly life.
Many Christians constantly doubt that God's will for them is to continue to relate to him on the basis of grace alone. Is this Biblical? Is it Orthodox? Can it produce Christian maturity? The answer to this question is revealed in the verse Titus 2:11-12, Romans 11:6 and Galatians 2:21
“For the grace of God that brings salvation as appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” Titus 2:11-12
Clearly it is the grace of God that will produce sober, righteous, and godly living.
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace
Romans 11:6
I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly Galatians 2:21
Therefore the only way you will ever get free from sin is to get under grace and stay there. Paul said sin shall not be master over you because you are not under law but under grace. It makes sense, then, that the opposite is also true: To put a Christian under legalism is to bind him under sin! Remember that legalism has the power to actually arouse sinful passions.
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Right believing leads to right living.
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For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:14
Understanding our freedom from the O.T. law or man made law’s is a prerequisite to breaking the dominion of sin in our lives. Christians need to be taught to completely forsake any performance basis for relating to God and to forever embrace the grace alone
Always remember that Jesus plus something will give nothing. Jesus plus nothing will give everything. Grace and mercy are at the heart of the Christian Gospel. Grace is receiving something good that you do not deserve. Mercy is not receiving something bad that you do deserve. Love is where grace and mercy meets together.
Let me be clear. When you come to Christ, you do not come to give, you come to receive. You do not come to try your best, you come to trust. You do not come just to be saved, but to be rescued. You do not come to be made better (although that does happen), you come to be made alive. You do not come to Christ to make a promise; you come to depend on His promise. It is the faithfulness of God and not your own that gives the gift of grace.
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Jesus + something = nothing
Jesus + nothing = everything
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The Faithful - V 17, 18 (Faith & Righteousness)
17'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
Revelation 3:17-19
Jesus Christ revealed himself as the Faithful. God's definition of Faith means to believe in truth. Faith comes from Jesus Christ.
“If we look at the history of the people of Laodecia we know the following things.
a) Of specific note is Laodicea’s black wool which earned a reputation for itself for numerous centuries.
b) The city appears to have been a centre of banking and financial institutions, being a place where money-changing were common practice. It minted its own coins a number of centuries before the first century AD due to its wealth. This seems to have been a result, however, of the city’s success in agricultural products such as the black wool for which it was renowned.
c) Laodicea has also often been labeled as the chief medical centre of Phrygia and Zondervan notes that ‘...”its production of a poultice was widely sought for treatment of eye ailments’”
By looking at the history we can surely know that Laodecia church gloried in its own self-effort and riches. There is no dependence on God for none of their needs.
God has given everyone “the measure of Faith” and have also said that if we have the faith like a mustard seed then we can say to a mountain “Be thou removed and it shall be done”. One thing we should remember is that it is not for us to see our Faith, We have to see Jesus in His Grace and He sees us in our Faith.
Remember the women with the issue of blood; she said to herself in her heart, if only I can touch the hem of His garment, I shall be healed. She did not say that she had faith in Jesus. She looked to Jesus in His Grace healing everyone and Jesus turned around and said, daughter your faith has made you well.
Gold is a metaphor used for faith. Just as Gold is refined in a furnace and removed of its impurities, Faith when tried produces its fruit.
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 1 Peter 1:7
Do not think for a moment, God brings trials in our life. We do not have to go in search for trials or pray for more trials. Being a Christian qualifies you for receiving trials, because our enemy as a roaring lion prowls and sees on whom he may devour. Praise God when trials come, when the enemy throws lemons at us, God turns it into lemonade. All things work out for good for those who love God. You may say that we have to persevere like job. Certainly but make sure that you end us blessed like Job at the end.
Trials do not produce more godliness in our life but expose the godliness that we already have in us through the love of Christ. It is like a thermometer does not cause temperature in your body, it only reveals your body temperature. Trails shows how far we are confidently trusting God.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-5
18 Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. 20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: 21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. Proverbs 8:18-21
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Trials do not produce godliness in us but reveals godliness that we already have through love of Christ
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Cloth is a metaphor used for righteousness. Consider the following verses.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:14
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Romans 3:25there are two kinds of righteousness as mentioned in Romans 10
1. Our Righteousness /Self Righteousness/Righteousness by law.
2. God's Righteousness / Righteous by Faith
People in Laodicea church are trying to establish their own righteousness which is completely offence to God. They fail to understand that we do not have any right standing with God apart from Jesus and His finished work on the cross. If we could make ourselves right by our actions, then what is the need for Jesus to come to the earth and take our place on the cross? We nullify the sacrifice of Jesus by our self-effort. Also they fail to understand that Christ is the end of the law.
To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Romans 4:5
Righteousness from God is apart from our works, we did not earn it. It is given by grace. It is a gift from God. In the Old Testament Sin offering, when the sinner brings the lamb for the sacrifice of his sins, the priest examines the lamb for blemishes and accepts it when it does not have any defect. Then the sinner is made to lay the hands on the lamb as an act of transferring the sins to the lamb. In burnt offering the person bringing the lamb lays his hands on the blemish less lamb and the purity of the lamb is transferred to the person bringing the burnt offering.
Jesus is both our sin and burnt offering. Through sin offering He has taken our sins on the cross and through burnt offering He imputed His righteousness to us. Therefore the righteousness that the believer has today is not the result of his deeds, but is the result of accepting Jesus death on the cross. We are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ today.
God’s righteousness is obtained by believing. Many people think that we have righteousness until our next sin. It is wrong. We have an everlasting righteousness and holiness according to the below verses in Daniel 9:24 , Luke 1:74-75 and 1 john 4:17.
Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.
Daniel 9:24
74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days Luke 1:74-75
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17
Blind/Sight is a metaphor used for not seeing Grace.
People in Laodicea church don't see who they are in Christ. They still see themselves defiled and sinful.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9
Laodicea church has forgotten the main clause of the new covenant. They forgot that they have been cleansed from their sins. They try to get clean by their law keeping and self-effort. In II corinthians3:14 and 4:4 and Ephesians 4:18 God speaks about the blindness of mind and hearts. The Primary reason for such blindness is alienation from depending on God.
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God does not keep an itemized account of all your sins
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The True Witness - V 20 (Fellowship & Blessings of God)
20'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Acts 1:8
It is not you shall do witnessing, you shall be /become. Our lifestyle is a witness. When people see our lives and everything concerning us, health, wealth compassion etc, it provides as a witness to the people. Everything that we do in our life flows out of a relationship with our saviour. If we have a quality fellowship and communion with our Lord Jesus Christ, then we lack nothing and perform good works and people of the nations will see our good works and glorify God.
Primarily there should be fellowship and communion with God.
In church of Laodecia, we see Jesus standing outside the door and knocking. Our Lord Jesus Christ always likes to be in our midst. But in this case He is outside the church. Their sermons lacked revelation of Jesus. Only when we preach about Jesus and His finished work at the cross, there will be Good news. We do not have good news in preaching law, though it is holy and is given by God. Let us bring Jesus Christ in our midst and know what He has done for us at the Cross.
If Jesus were to preach a Sunday morning what would He have preached? Let us go to Bible and see a Sunday morning preaching by our Lord Jesus Christ. Consider what happened on the road to Emmaus in the below verse
27Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 28And they approached the village where they were going, and (Y)He acted as though He were going farther. 29But they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." So He went in to stay with them. 30When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. Luke 24:13-32
Secondly Jesus mentioned that when they will open the door, He will come in and sup with them. This speaks of communion. Jesus Christ has asked us to do this in remembrance of Him. Let us see how often the early Church did this.
42And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:42 and 47
What should we remember when taking communion? There are two elements, His body and His blood. Jesus Christ said Take, eat this is my body,
We know that His body is broken for our diseases, sorrows, pain, infirmities and every kind of affliction. And His blood for the forgiveness of our entire life sins.
4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5
When the initial Passover was instituted during Old Testament times, when the elder of the family broke the bread, He mentions, this is the bread of affliction (representing their troubles in Egypt). Jesus has changed it in this new Passover which is no more a shadow, but a reality.
When we eat His body, we should remember that His body carried all our diseases, right from common cold to incurable diseases. We should proclaim that by His stripes we are healed, So that the diseases in our body will be smitten and removed.
Remember that there is no power or holiness in the elements themselves. The benefit that is derived from observing the Lord’s supper comes from our faith as it is stirred up through remembering what Jesus did for us.
Similarly His blood represents the new covenants and is shed for the forgiveness of sins. The main clause of the new covenant is that “I will remember your sins and lawless deeds no more”. All our sins have been remembered at the cross of Jesus and the wrath of God has been fully poured out on Jesus. There is no more wrath left out beloved.
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Hebrews 8:12
When we drink the blood of our Lord Jesus, we should proclaim that our past, present and future sins have been washed away clean at the cross and God sees us justified, sanctified and righteous. God sees us in Christ. His blood has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Galatians 3:13
When we do not value the elements for what it represents, that is when our taking of communion becomes unworthy. Jesus Christ said that we should not take it unworthily or unworthy manner. He did not say unworthy people should not take it. We are all unworthy, Christ died for unworthy people. Taking communion unworthily does not make us weak or sick or lead us to death. We know of many people who don’t take communion and yet are sick, weak and they die. Sickness and death are the result of Adam’s sin. Communion is given to free from sickness, weakness and early death.
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Blood of Jesus already qualified you to partake in communion all the time
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When we take it in worthily manner or know what the body and blood represent, we release our faith for healing by saying, “By His stripes I am healed” and “By the blood I am made clean”. This revelation of the body and blood helps us to claim what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us on the cross.
Communion is a way to appropriate all that Jesus has accomplished on the cross. Christ has taken upon himself our poverty, sickness, death, rejection/separation from God etc. So that today we can claim health, wealth and right standing with God. We overcome all the curses in Jesus Christ. We are more than over comers. We will enjoy the spoils of war that Christ has fought and won.
The Beginning of Creation of God - V 21 (Head ship of Christ)
21' He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:21
There is lack of headship in church of Laodecia. It seems like in loadcecia church every one is head over every one.
Jesus is the head of our families, Church and everything that we do. Jesus has become for us everything and through Him we receive everything. Jesus has promised that we are joint-heirs with Him.
and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Romans 8:17
When we have accepted Jesus Christ as our saviour, we become children and joint heirs with Christ. We are called more than over comers, because we enjoy what Christ has accomplished for us. He is the first fruit of everything. During the first Passover that Israel observed in the land of Egypt, Jesus represented the lamb that was slain, thus taking the place of the first born of all of Israel. He redeemed all of humankind by His blood on the cross and rose as the first fruit of resurrection.
Scripture says that now we are seated in the heavenly realms far above all the principalities and powers. Where are we seated? On the throne with Jesus. We are in Him and He in us. God sees us in Jesus Christ. We are hidden in the secret place of the most High where no evil can befall us.
17'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
Revelation 3:17-19
Jesus Christ revealed himself as the Faithful. God's definition of Faith means to believe in truth. Faith comes from Jesus Christ.
“If we look at the history of the people of Laodecia we know the following things.
a) Of specific note is Laodicea’s black wool which earned a reputation for itself for numerous centuries.
b) The city appears to have been a centre of banking and financial institutions, being a place where money-changing were common practice. It minted its own coins a number of centuries before the first century AD due to its wealth. This seems to have been a result, however, of the city’s success in agricultural products such as the black wool for which it was renowned.
c) Laodicea has also often been labeled as the chief medical centre of Phrygia and Zondervan notes that ‘...”its production of a poultice was widely sought for treatment of eye ailments’”
By looking at the history we can surely know that Laodecia church gloried in its own self-effort and riches. There is no dependence on God for none of their needs.
God has given everyone “the measure of Faith” and have also said that if we have the faith like a mustard seed then we can say to a mountain “Be thou removed and it shall be done”. One thing we should remember is that it is not for us to see our Faith, We have to see Jesus in His Grace and He sees us in our Faith.
Remember the women with the issue of blood; she said to herself in her heart, if only I can touch the hem of His garment, I shall be healed. She did not say that she had faith in Jesus. She looked to Jesus in His Grace healing everyone and Jesus turned around and said, daughter your faith has made you well.
Gold is a metaphor used for faith. Just as Gold is refined in a furnace and removed of its impurities, Faith when tried produces its fruit.
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 1 Peter 1:7
Do not think for a moment, God brings trials in our life. We do not have to go in search for trials or pray for more trials. Being a Christian qualifies you for receiving trials, because our enemy as a roaring lion prowls and sees on whom he may devour. Praise God when trials come, when the enemy throws lemons at us, God turns it into lemonade. All things work out for good for those who love God. You may say that we have to persevere like job. Certainly but make sure that you end us blessed like Job at the end.
Trials do not produce more godliness in our life but expose the godliness that we already have in us through the love of Christ. It is like a thermometer does not cause temperature in your body, it only reveals your body temperature. Trails shows how far we are confidently trusting God.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-5
18 Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. 20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: 21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. Proverbs 8:18-21
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Trials do not produce godliness in us but reveals godliness that we already have through love of Christ
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Cloth is a metaphor used for righteousness. Consider the following verses.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:14
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Romans 3:25there are two kinds of righteousness as mentioned in Romans 10
1. Our Righteousness /Self Righteousness/Righteousness by law.
2. God's Righteousness / Righteous by Faith
People in Laodicea church are trying to establish their own righteousness which is completely offence to God. They fail to understand that we do not have any right standing with God apart from Jesus and His finished work on the cross. If we could make ourselves right by our actions, then what is the need for Jesus to come to the earth and take our place on the cross? We nullify the sacrifice of Jesus by our self-effort. Also they fail to understand that Christ is the end of the law.
To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Romans 4:5
Righteousness from God is apart from our works, we did not earn it. It is given by grace. It is a gift from God. In the Old Testament Sin offering, when the sinner brings the lamb for the sacrifice of his sins, the priest examines the lamb for blemishes and accepts it when it does not have any defect. Then the sinner is made to lay the hands on the lamb as an act of transferring the sins to the lamb. In burnt offering the person bringing the lamb lays his hands on the blemish less lamb and the purity of the lamb is transferred to the person bringing the burnt offering.
Jesus is both our sin and burnt offering. Through sin offering He has taken our sins on the cross and through burnt offering He imputed His righteousness to us. Therefore the righteousness that the believer has today is not the result of his deeds, but is the result of accepting Jesus death on the cross. We are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ today.
God’s righteousness is obtained by believing. Many people think that we have righteousness until our next sin. It is wrong. We have an everlasting righteousness and holiness according to the below verses in Daniel 9:24 , Luke 1:74-75 and 1 john 4:17.
Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.
Daniel 9:24
74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days Luke 1:74-75
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17
Blind/Sight is a metaphor used for not seeing Grace.
People in Laodicea church don't see who they are in Christ. They still see themselves defiled and sinful.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9
Laodicea church has forgotten the main clause of the new covenant. They forgot that they have been cleansed from their sins. They try to get clean by their law keeping and self-effort. In II corinthians3:14 and 4:4 and Ephesians 4:18 God speaks about the blindness of mind and hearts. The Primary reason for such blindness is alienation from depending on God.
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God does not keep an itemized account of all your sins
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The True Witness - V 20 (Fellowship & Blessings of God)
20'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Acts 1:8
It is not you shall do witnessing, you shall be /become. Our lifestyle is a witness. When people see our lives and everything concerning us, health, wealth compassion etc, it provides as a witness to the people. Everything that we do in our life flows out of a relationship with our saviour. If we have a quality fellowship and communion with our Lord Jesus Christ, then we lack nothing and perform good works and people of the nations will see our good works and glorify God.
Primarily there should be fellowship and communion with God.
In church of Laodecia, we see Jesus standing outside the door and knocking. Our Lord Jesus Christ always likes to be in our midst. But in this case He is outside the church. Their sermons lacked revelation of Jesus. Only when we preach about Jesus and His finished work at the cross, there will be Good news. We do not have good news in preaching law, though it is holy and is given by God. Let us bring Jesus Christ in our midst and know what He has done for us at the Cross.
If Jesus were to preach a Sunday morning what would He have preached? Let us go to Bible and see a Sunday morning preaching by our Lord Jesus Christ. Consider what happened on the road to Emmaus in the below verse
27Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 28And they approached the village where they were going, and (Y)He acted as though He were going farther. 29But they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." So He went in to stay with them. 30When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. Luke 24:13-32
Secondly Jesus mentioned that when they will open the door, He will come in and sup with them. This speaks of communion. Jesus Christ has asked us to do this in remembrance of Him. Let us see how often the early Church did this.
42And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:42 and 47
What should we remember when taking communion? There are two elements, His body and His blood. Jesus Christ said Take, eat this is my body,
We know that His body is broken for our diseases, sorrows, pain, infirmities and every kind of affliction. And His blood for the forgiveness of our entire life sins.
4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5
When the initial Passover was instituted during Old Testament times, when the elder of the family broke the bread, He mentions, this is the bread of affliction (representing their troubles in Egypt). Jesus has changed it in this new Passover which is no more a shadow, but a reality.
When we eat His body, we should remember that His body carried all our diseases, right from common cold to incurable diseases. We should proclaim that by His stripes we are healed, So that the diseases in our body will be smitten and removed.
Remember that there is no power or holiness in the elements themselves. The benefit that is derived from observing the Lord’s supper comes from our faith as it is stirred up through remembering what Jesus did for us.
Similarly His blood represents the new covenants and is shed for the forgiveness of sins. The main clause of the new covenant is that “I will remember your sins and lawless deeds no more”. All our sins have been remembered at the cross of Jesus and the wrath of God has been fully poured out on Jesus. There is no more wrath left out beloved.
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Hebrews 8:12
When we drink the blood of our Lord Jesus, we should proclaim that our past, present and future sins have been washed away clean at the cross and God sees us justified, sanctified and righteous. God sees us in Christ. His blood has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Galatians 3:13
When we do not value the elements for what it represents, that is when our taking of communion becomes unworthy. Jesus Christ said that we should not take it unworthily or unworthy manner. He did not say unworthy people should not take it. We are all unworthy, Christ died for unworthy people. Taking communion unworthily does not make us weak or sick or lead us to death. We know of many people who don’t take communion and yet are sick, weak and they die. Sickness and death are the result of Adam’s sin. Communion is given to free from sickness, weakness and early death.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blood of Jesus already qualified you to partake in communion all the time
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When we take it in worthily manner or know what the body and blood represent, we release our faith for healing by saying, “By His stripes I am healed” and “By the blood I am made clean”. This revelation of the body and blood helps us to claim what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us on the cross.
Communion is a way to appropriate all that Jesus has accomplished on the cross. Christ has taken upon himself our poverty, sickness, death, rejection/separation from God etc. So that today we can claim health, wealth and right standing with God. We overcome all the curses in Jesus Christ. We are more than over comers. We will enjoy the spoils of war that Christ has fought and won.
The Beginning of Creation of God - V 21 (Head ship of Christ)
21' He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:21
There is lack of headship in church of Laodecia. It seems like in loadcecia church every one is head over every one.
Jesus is the head of our families, Church and everything that we do. Jesus has become for us everything and through Him we receive everything. Jesus has promised that we are joint-heirs with Him.
and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Romans 8:17
When we have accepted Jesus Christ as our saviour, we become children and joint heirs with Christ. We are called more than over comers, because we enjoy what Christ has accomplished for us. He is the first fruit of everything. During the first Passover that Israel observed in the land of Egypt, Jesus represented the lamb that was slain, thus taking the place of the first born of all of Israel. He redeemed all of humankind by His blood on the cross and rose as the first fruit of resurrection.
Scripture says that now we are seated in the heavenly realms far above all the principalities and powers. Where are we seated? On the throne with Jesus. We are in Him and He in us. God sees us in Jesus Christ. We are hidden in the secret place of the most High where no evil can befall us.
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