In this study from Matthew 6:25-34, we examine Jesus’ repeated command not to be anxious and confront the common misconception that anxiety is merely a weakness rather than sin. Just as anger, lust, lying, revenge, and the love of money are condemned in the Sermon on the Mount, so too is anxiety. Jesus teaches…
In this study from Matthew 5 and 6, we examine Jesus’ correction of wrong attitudes—particularly seeking honor from men and the love of money. Jesus teaches that giving, praying, and fasting must be done in secret (Matthew 6:1–18), with the Father alone as our rewarder. He then warns that earthly treasure captures the heart…
In this study on Matthew 6:9–13, part of the broader command in Matthew 28:20 to teach “all that Jesus commanded,” the focus is on how Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Rather than repeating a formula mechanically, believers are instructed to approach God as “Our Father,” recognizing both His intimate love and sovereign power….
In this continuation of the All That Jesus Taught study, this message explores Matthew 6 and Jesus’ command that giving, prayer, and fasting must be done in secret before God rather than to gain honor from men. It contrasts Old Covenant practices such as public tithing with New Covenant principles of cheerful, voluntary, proportionate…
The Hard Truth of Jesus There is a statement Jesus made that may be the most sobering words ever spoken. It is not obscure. It is not unclear. It is not difficult to understand. It is simply difficult to accept. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is…
The Myth of the Majority: Why God Only Saves a Remnant A Pattern We Would Rather Ignore One of the most uncomfortable truths in Scripture is also one of the most consistent: God has never saved by majority. From Genesis to Revelation, the testimony of Scripture stands against human assumptions about numbers, popularity, and…
In this study from Matthew 5, we examine Jesus’ radical commands concerning revenge, mercy, lending, and loving our enemies. Moving beyond the letter of the law to the spirit of Christ’s teaching, this message explains what it truly means to “turn the other cheek,” lend without expecting return, bless those who curse us, and…
In this study on All That Jesus Taught, we examine Matthew 5:33–37 and Christ’s command that our “yes” must be yes and our “no” must be no. Jesus raises the standard beyond the Old Testament prohibition of false witness and calls His disciples to radical inner truthfulness empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit…
In this message from the “All That Jesus Taught” series, the focus is on Matthew 5:27–32, where Jesus declares that lusting after a woman is adultery in the heart and that divorce (except for unchastity) also constitutes adultery. The teaching emphasizes that overcoming anger, lust, and compromise requires more than outward religion—it demands the…
In this continuation of the “All That Jesus Taught” series based on Matthew 28:20, this message emphasizes that Jesus came not only to forgive sins but to save His people from them (Matthew 1:21). Focusing particularly on anger and lust from the Sermon on the Mount, the study challenges believers to examine whether they…
In this study, we examine Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 28:20 and the Sermon on the Mount that true discipleship means teaching believers to obey everything He commanded—especially in the areas of anger and lust. Jesus raised the Old Covenant standard from avoiding murder and adultery to dealing with anger and lust at the heart…
In this continuation of “All That Jesus Taught,” we examine Jesus’ sobering words in Matthew 5:20 that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Moving beyond external obedience, Jesus exposes the heart-level sin behind anger, bitterness, and unreconciled relationships, revealing that internal…
In this continuing study on All That Jesus Taught (Matthew 28:20), we examine Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13–20 where He calls His disciples to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” Emphasizing quality over quantity, this message highlights how God often works through a faithful remnant—whether in Genesis, Jeremiah,…
In this continuation of the study on “All That Jesus Taught” from Matthew 28:20, this message examines the final Beatitudes in Matthew 5:9–12, focusing on the marks of true sons of God: peacemaking, standing for righteousness, and enduring persecution for Christ’s sake. A genuine disciple pursues peace by dying to self, refuses grumbling and…
In this study from Matthew 5, we examine what it truly means to hunger and thirst for righteousness as part of fulfilling the neglected half of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:20). Jesus teaches that desperate longing for holiness, mercy toward others, and purity of heart are essential characteristics of true disciples. Drawing from Jeremiah…
In this lesson from the “All That Jesus Taught” series, we begin exploring the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), focusing on the first three Beatitudes: being poor in spirit, mourning over sin, and walking in meekness. Jesus spoke these words primarily to His disciples, revealing the foundational attitudes required to possess the Kingdom…
In this continuation of our study on All That Jesus Taught, we examine Matthew 28:20 and clarify that Jesus did not command believers to replicate His healing ministry, but to teach disciples to obey everything He commanded. By comparing Matthew 10, Mark 16, Luke 22, and John 14, we see that Christ distinguished between…
In this lesson from the All That Jesus Taught series, we examine the often-neglected command in Matthew 28:20—Jesus’ instruction to teach believers to obey all that He commanded. While much emphasis is placed on evangelism and baptism, true fulfillment of the Great Commission requires forming disciples who walk in lifelong obedience. This study challenges…
In this lesson from the All That Jesus Taught series, we examine Jesus’ command “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19) and uncover the profound meaning of biblical discipleship. Christ, though fully God, emptied Himself of divine privileges (Philippians 2:6) and became fully man (1 Timothy 2:5), tempted in all points as we are (Hebrews 4:15), so…
This study continues an in-depth examination of all that Jesus taught, focusing on the often-neglected command to teach believers obedience to everything Christ commanded. Tracing the consistent biblical message of repentance from John the Baptist through Jesus, the apostles, and Pentecost, it clarifies the true nature of the Kingdom of God—not material prosperity or…
This study explores the often-neglected half of the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:20—Jesus’ command to teach disciples to obey all that He commanded. Using Jesus’ own words, the message contrasts conversion-focused Christianity with true discipleship, emphasizing obedience, undivided loyalty to God, and worship in spirit and truth. Believers are challenged to examine their…
In this teaching from Matthew 21–22, Jesus exposes the danger of religious hypocrisy by contrasting outward profession with inward obedience. Through the parables of the vineyard, the cornerstone, and the wedding feast, He reveals that God’s Kingdom is entrusted only to those who repent, bear fruit, and submit to being broken. Religious knowledge, activity,…
In this video, Zac Poonen teaches that the Great Commission extends far beyond conversion and baptism, calling believers to a lifelong pursuit of obedience to everything Jesus commanded. He challenges churches that prioritize music, programs, or outward excellence over the spiritual maturity of their members, stressing that true discipleship requires teaching people not just…
This video explores the often-neglected second half of the Great Commission—Jesus’ command to teach believers to obey all that He commanded. While evangelism brings people into the body of Christ, true discipleship transforms them into functioning, Christlike members through sustained teaching, shepherding, and obedience. Using Scripture, practical illustrations, and decades of ministry experience, the…
This video emphasizes the importance of fulfilling the Great Commission in its entirety, as outlined in Matthew 28:18-20, not just the evangelistic aspect in Mark 16:15. True discipleship involves more than having sins forgiven and being baptized; it requires a total commitment to Jesus as Lord. Understanding God’s truths comes through divine revelation by…
Christianity has largely failed to maintain an appropriate balance in fulfilling the Great Commission, prioritizing evangelism over discipleship. While most Christians, churches, and missions emphasize preaching the gospel as commanded in Mark 16:15, the equally vital command in Matthew 28:18–20—to make disciples—is neglected by the vast majority. Imagine many people lifting one end of…
THE CONQUEST OF THE OLD NATURE God gives us very clear and definite instructions regarding our part in the dethronement of this usurper self and the enthronement of Christ as sole Possessor and only Ruler over His inheritance in us. We Must Condemn the FleshGod condemns the flesh as altogether sinful (Romans 8:3); He…
THE CONFLICT OF THESE TWO NATURES IN EVERY BELIEVER To admit the coexistence of these two diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive natures is to acknowledge the necessity of fiercest conflict. It is indeed the agelong conflict between Satan and Christ, with the believer’s inner life as the battlefield. It is self contesting Christ’s right…
There are two kinds of Christians, easily identified and clearly distinguished from each other. How can there be such a paradox? It is the question that must present itself to every thoughtful mind. The fountainhead of the Christian life is the same for all. Then how can two streams from it flow so widely…
It is a Life of Winsome Holiness Exodus 15:11 “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” 1 Peter 1:15-16 “But like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; Because…
It is a Life of Devoted Separateness 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” Hebrews 7:26 “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” John 14:17 “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot…
It is a Life of Constant Growth into Christlikeness 2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.” There is nothing static in true spiritual experience. The…
It is a Life of Abiding Peace John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 16:33 “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might…
It is a Life of Adulterous Infidelity James 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” 1 John 2:15-16 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the…
It is a Life of Protracted Infancy The carnal Christian never grows up. Stunted and dwarfed, he remains a mere “babe in Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and…
The up and down line in the diagram is photographic. It is almost cruelly self-revealing. It visualizes the average church member. It is like a costly picture cheaply framed or an exquisite garment illy fitted. One look tells you that something is wrong, and no matter how often you look, it never seems right….
That God has made ample provision in Christ for each person to live his life on the highest plane is evident from our previous studies. But that every believer does not exercise this privilege needs no argument. We feel how far short of it we ourselves fall, and we observe the low spiritual level…
IT IS A LIFE LIVED ON GOD’S APPOINTED PLANE As God has never had but one plan for the life of man, and that is a spiritual one, He has never had but one plane on which He means man to live, and that is the plane of the spiritual. Life lived on the…
IT IS A LIFE FASHIONED ON GOD’s ORIGINAL PLAN (3) The human body becomes the habitation of the triune God on earth. The spiritual man apprehends the spiritual significance and sacredness of his body. Under the Holy Spirit’s illumination, he learns what it becomes through the new birth. 2 Corinthians 6:16“And what agreement hath…
Through this act of God in regeneration, the maladjustment within the believer’s human personality is remedied. A proper balance between the constituent parts is restored; the sovereignty of the spirit over the soul and body is revived. The human spirit is again the premier in the governmental affairs of the human being, and the…
In God’s original plan, the human personality was a unity. The human spirit, dominated and directed by the Holy Spirit, was supreme in authority over the soul and the body, so the Holy Spirit, through the channel of the human spirit, made and kept the whole being spiritual. As we have seen in chapter…
IT IS A LIFE FULFILLING GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSE Before the world was created or man was made to inhabit it, God had a purpose that He intended to carry out through His Son. Ephesians 3:11 “According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved…
IT IS A LIFE PERFECTED BY GOD’S HOLY PRESENCE I hasten to this point because I would not have anyone think even for an instant that conformity to the image of Christ is affected by imitation of a pattern, no matter how perfect. Such conformity as the Bible speaks of is not wrought in…
IT IS A LIFE CONFORMED TO GOD’S PERFECT PATTERN (CON’T) But the perfection of His character did not consist so much in the negative quality of sinlessness as in the positive one of holiness—a holiness so rare, so wondrous, so unearthly that it compelled His Father to break the silence of heaven three times…
IT IS A LIFE CONFORMED TO GOD’S PERFECT PATTERN The purpose of the wondrous plan of salvation wrought out in the eternal counsels of the triune God before the world or man was made was the complete conformity of the penitent, believing sinner to the image of his perfect Savior. God laid the foundation…
IT IS A LIFE SAVED THROUGH GOD’S GRACIOUS PROVISION The salvation which God has provided for the sinner is a perfect salvation. It is without flaw. It provides for his past, present, and future. It covers every need of every part of his being under every circumstance. It relates him rightly to heaven and…
In a quiet Swiss village, God taught me valuable lessons about ascending to life’s highest plane. From my window in Grindelwald, I marveled at four towering, snowcapped peaks, feeling completely satisfied—until glimpses of hidden summits stirred a desire to climb higher. One day, a group set out on such a climb, following green-marked paths….
THE CONQUEST OF THE ENEMY In Ephesians 6:10-18 our Captain tells us that the power to stand against the enemy depends upon our position and upon our protection. Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye…
THE CAPTAIN OF THE HOST Satan ensnares some believers because they fail to realize his power and to recognize his tactics. But others make the equally fatal mistake of overestimating his power and overemphasis his activities. He is mighty, but there is One infinitely mightier. He is powerful, but there is One who is…
But the devil goes still further and presses on in an attack upon the individual members of Christ’s Body who have entered into real oneness with their Lord. He sends forth his fiery darts to carry depression of spirit, delusion of mind, distraction of heart, deflection of will, and distress of body. The human…
Against the corporate Body of Christ, Satan is working in two very distinct and definite ways at the present time: through degeneration and through division. First, he is sowing tares among the wheat. He is placing his emissaries in the pulpit and pews for the sole purpose of leavening the whole. He is mixing…
In the Garden of Gethsemane, we see the devil making his final attack upon the God-man by trying to drive a wedge between the Father and the Son. To accomplish this, he aimed his fiery darts at our Lord’s spirit, soul, and body. All the hosts of hell were united in that spiritual battle…
“In Christ” in the heavenlies is the believer’s promised land. This is his God-given inheritance promised even before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4, 11). “In Christ” in the heavenlies, every spiritual blessing is his possession by right (Ephesians 1:3). Through his identification with Christ, the believer has already entered into the heavenlies…
When Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, He went as Conqueror over the evil one and all his hosts. When God exalted Him to Lordship over the universe, He set Him at His own right hand far above all the principalities and powers that belonged to the kingdom of Satan and put them all under…
But the divine-human God-man can never be satisfied with negation if He died and rose again to separate us from sin. He ascended into heaven and was exalted to the throne that He might separate us unto the Lord. The work of the cross is to be perfected through the work of the throne….
The Believer Becomes “Alive Unto God” Having been born into God’s family as a child and into His Kingdom as a citizen, his whole life is now centered in the family and Kingdom interests. Having been accepted as Savior, united with as Head, and crowned Lord, Christ has become both the center and the…
The Believer Becomes Dead to the World Christ, as our sanctification, brings out a very radical reversal in the believer’s relationship to the world and in its relationship to the believer. The apostle Paul uses a very strong expression in stating it. Galatians 6:14 “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the…
The Believer Becomes Dead to Self The exact words are not in Scripture, but the thought is clearly there in the following passages, which show the believer’s radical reversal in his relationship to self. 2 Corinthians 5:15 “And he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto…
The Believer Becomes Dead to the Law If one is to come into real liberty in the Lord and be released from the futile striving to attain by his own effort what by faith he may obtain as God’s gift, he must apprehend this second reversal in his relationships. In light of his own…
The Believer Becomes Dead to Sin God does not speak of being dead to “sins” but to “sin.” He does not talk of “victories” but of “victory.” He does not command us to be troubled over our sin but to be “dead” to it. He makes it very clear that He does not mean…
This positional victory over sin through grace is perfect. In Christ, God has taken the believer beyond the necessity of sin’s lordship. In Christ, sin’s power is broken, and its claim is canceled. Several times in Romans 6 God declares the believer’s perfect freedom from the power of sin. Romans 6:18, 22 “And being…
Entrance into the new sphere involves a decisive, clean-cut reversal of every relationship obtained in the old sphere. What the sinner was alive to the saint becomes dead to, and what the sinner was dead to the believer becomes alive to. The radical change wrought in the believer’s position demands a complete reversal in…
A holy God must have a holy people. That which God has taken to be His own, which He has separated unto Himself must be holy even as He is holy. God took Israel out of Egypt into Canaan that they might be made a separate people shut in to Himself that through His…
When, where, and how is the believer sanctified? At what point of time, at what stage in spiritual experience, and through what means is the believer wholly separated unto God and set apart as the special possession of the Lord? There has been much confusion on these points that has led to bewilderment on…
The Christian is a new creation, in a new sphere with a new Sovereign, living a new life, which speaks of differentiation and distinctiveness. The Christian is a marked man. There is a distinct line of cleavage between the man “in the flesh” and the man “in the Spirit.” There is a definite boundary…
The spiritual history of a believer could be written in two phrases, “Ye in me” and “I in you.” In God’s reckoning, Christ and the believer have become one in such a way that Christ is both in the heavenlies and upon earth, and the believer is both on earth and in the heavenlies….
Christ Jesus was made like us so that we might be made like Him. In the incarnation was the union of Deity with humanity; in regeneration, there might be the union of humanity with Deity. When the Holy Spirit begat in the believer a new nature, He opened the door to a living, organic…
The believer enters the Kingdom of God through the new birth, where God’s will is supreme. The life of every loyal subject is lived wholly in the will of God. The government of God has spiritual laws that operate beneficently for the well-being of both the individual and society in every department of life….
In Christ Jesus, the believer shares with Christ all His possessions. Every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ. Dare we believe it? All things are ours in Christ. Dare we act as though we believe it? Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with…
The believer in Christ is where Christ is. Christ is in His Father’s immediate presence, at His Father’s right hand, and in His sight; so is the believer in Christ. Ephesians 2:6 “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.” Colossians 3:3 “For ye are dead,…
The moment a repentant sinner puts his faith in the atoning blood of the crucified Christ, that moment he steps out of life “in Adam” and enters into life “in Christ.” Forever after, he is ensphered and environed by the Lord of glory. He is “in Christ Jesus” and will be through the ages…
Co-crucifixion opens the door into co-resurrection. Death is the gate to life. Identification with Christ in His death and burial is but the beginning of the believer’s union with Him in endless life. Death is both an ending and a beginning, an exit and an entrance. Romans 6:5 “For if we have become united with him in…
What, then, shall be done with this most stubborn foe? This most tyrannical sovereign? This bold usurper of God’s place? God has plainly declared what He has already done with him in His Word. He has but one place for “the old man,” and that is the cross, and but one plan for the…
Self-trust—”the old man” is very self-confident and feels no need for one wiser and stronger than himself. Trusting in his own powers and resources, he is prone to say, “Though all men shall deny Thee, yet will not I.” Self-sufficiency—the self-confidence of “the old man” fosters an egotistical, smug self-satisfaction that leaves him stagnant….
Let us, then, pause for a moment to take a full-length portrait of this hideous, heinous self; let us face his manifold operations honestly and see if we are not forced to accept God’s estimate of him and to acquiesce in the method of deliverance from his sovereignty. The foundation of life in the…
The vast majority of Christians stop short in their experience of the blessings of salvation, with the joy of forgiveness of past sins and the hope of heaven in the future. But the present is a forty-year wilderness experience full of futile wanderings, never enjoying peace and rest and never arriving in the promised…
In each of these spheres is a sovereign who purposes to rule with undivided authority. Colossians 3:9-10 9 ”Lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”…
Crossing God’s bridge of salvation, the believer enters into a totally new sphere, which requires the enthronement of a new Sovereign over his life. The Head of the new creation must become its Lord if all things are to become new. When the risen Christ ascended to heaven, His Father exalted Him to the…
The new order demands a new standard of life. Self-exaltation was the norm of the old life. Sin was less sinful than it really is, and holiness was less holy than it really is. In this new creation, there is a new conception of sin. Things that before seemed altogether right now seem entirely…
The new birth entitles the believer to membership in the new order of beings, of which the risen Christ is the Head. The implantation of the divine life and the impartation of the divine nature in the believer form a completely new entity. The man in Christ is a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17…
The Lord Jesus has told Nicodemus of the necessity, the nature, and the Author of the new birth, but he still said, “How can these things be?” Was it a personal question? Did Nicodemus want to know how such a miracle as regeneration could be wrought in himself, even though he might still be…
“Born” — “not of the will of man.” Regeneration has no connection with natural relationships. God uses the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word by pastors and Sunday school teachers, the believing prayer of parents and friends, the earnest exhortation, warning, and pleading of the personal worker to show another his need of…
But Nicodemus did marvel at what our Lord was saying and could only reply “How can these things be?” Nicodemus like many others today had preconceived ideas and prejudices which made it difficult for him either to understand or to accept the divine simplicity of God’s plan of salvation. “He had to descend from…
What then does God purpose to do to equip a repentant, believing sinner for membership in the new order of heavenly holy men? He purposes to endow him with a new nature that fits him for citizenship in His Kingdom and for sonship in His family. He purposes to bestow upon him his own…
Jesus has expressed to Nicodemus the imperativeness and inflexibility of the necessity of a new birth for the implantation of the new life. But has Jesus made an arbitrary, perhaps even unreasonable, demand, or has He only stated a law of the spiritual Kingdom, which is as reasonable as the law that governs the…
John 3:4 “Nicodemus said unto Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” What could Nicodemus have thought a man could gain through a second physical birth that he had not received through the first? What additional inheritance…
Crossing God’s bridge of salvation begins with the believer’s justification. Still, it does not end there, for justification in its twofold aspect deals mainly with our past and carries us only over the borderline into the new sphere. It gives us a new standing before God but does not equip us to live in…
THE GREAT REFUSAL (2) Every sinner is guilty of countless sins, but there is one above all others for which God is today condemning him and holding him accountable, and that is the sin of refusing Jesus Christ as his Savior. Wrapped up in that sin are all the others. That is the sin…
THE GREAT REFUSAL (1) Jesus Christ spoke some very sad and solemn words during His earthly ministry, but among the saddest and the most solemn are these: John 5:40 “And ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.” These words were spoken to men who professed to believe and love the…
THE FIRSTFRUITS OF FAITH (2) But the forgiveness of sins is but half, and that is the negative half of the first fruits of faith. Merely removing the penalty for and the punishment of sins does not undo all the work of sin. The natural man is a sinner, rebel, and outlaw. He needs…
THE FIRSTFRUITS OF FAITH The inheritance into which the believer enters as a son and heir of God is a very rich and beautiful one and includes every spiritual blessing in Christ. But the blessing primarily coveted is relief from the burden of sins, the sense of forgiveness, the assurance of pardon. The circumstances…
THE RESPONSE OF FAITH Faith is very simple, yet it is a very comprehensive thing and involves in its operation the mind, the heart, and the will. Faith includes belief, which is the assent of the mind to the things written in God’s Word concerning the Savior. We believe He is the Christ, the…
THE RESPONSE OF FAITH In the parables of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:1-52), Christ likened the Kingdom of heaven to a field in which there were both wheat and tares, and to a net in which were both good and bad fish. He states that no attempt will be made to separate them until the…
THE RESPONSE OF FAITH — THE BRIDGE CROSSED Man has had nothing to do with building the bridge of salvation. That was God’s work and His alone. God furnished both the material and the workmanship by which this wondrous bridge was built. “By grace are ye saved.” Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God…
THE GRACIOUS INVITATION God not only provided a Savior for every sinner, but He has, through the Gospel, sent forth an invitation to those “of every tongue, and people, and nation” to accept His gift, to partake of His feast, to inherit His riches, to share the blessings of His heavenly home. His infinite…
In this book, we are writing, as it were, the spiritual biography of man. Our story encompasses his life in creation, in the Fall, in grace, and glory. We have seen what God meant for him to be in creation, what he became in the Fall, and what God has done for him through…
THE MOST TRIUMPHANT WORDS ever spoken were those which fell from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ when on the cross He said, “It is finished.” It was the divine proclamation that grace had triumphed over sin. It was God’s pronouncement to the world that all that had been lost both to Him…
THE RESULT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT’S BAPTISM Through His death, resurrection, and exaltation, the Lord Jesus removed the penalty of sin and broke its power. Through union with Him by faith, He made it possible for the believer on earth to live the same life of victory, power, and holiness as He lived in…
THE PROMISE OF CHRIST FULFILLED Christ had promised that if He went away, the Holy Spirit would come, and His promise was fulfilled literally. He died and rose again. He met the disciples individually and collectively several times, revealing Himself to them as their risen Lord. He gave them a last commission, then repeated…
There remains yet one thing to be done to perfect God’s gracious plan of salvation. A connecting link between the Savior in Heaven and the sinner on Earth is needed. The finished work of Christ by some means must be made applicable to and operative in the souls of men. A way must be…
The Sympathetic Advocate God cannot condone sin nor company with it, whether that sin is in the sinner or in the saint. Sin always, everywhere, separates from God. When the believer sins, his fellowship with God is broken, but he cannot restore himself any more than the sinner could save himself. As the sinner…
THE PRESENT WORK OF THE LIVING CHRIST There are three tenses in salvation: past, present, and future. Three statements may be made regarding the sinner, which are apparently contradictory yet absolutely true: the believer has been saved, the believer is being saved, and the believer will be saved. There is a salvation that is…
There remains but one double span to complete God’s wondrous bridge of salvation. The God-man, crucified, buried, and risen, must go back to His Father in glory and be exalted to the place of honor and power at His right hand. Only then would His work be completed. At the resurrection, Christ Jesus was…
THE RESURRECTION — A SURE PLEDGE The body that had been specially prepared for Him in the incarnation (Hebrews 10:5), that had been laid down in death upon the Cross (Hebrews 10:10) was now raised and came forth from the tomb. Matthew 28:5-6 5 “And the angel answered and said unto the women, “Fear ye…
THE RESURRECTION — A CONSUMMATED VICTORY Acts 2:23 “Him, being delivered by the determinate will and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” In undertaking the reconciliation and redemption of the world, God obligated Himself to deal fully and finally with sin and all its consequences. Every…
Having granted that incarnation and crucifixion are necessary spans in the bridge of salvation, one is driven to the acceptance of resurrection as the third span or all that has been gained through the other two will be lost. The intimate relationship between these three fundamental truths, their unbreakable connection in fact, is brought…
THE CROSS OF CHRIST — THE PLACE OF DECISION THAT DETERMINES DESTINY “The cross of Christ has measured out the moral distance between God and man and has left them as far asunder as the throne of heaven and the gates of hell” (Sir Robert Anderson, The Gospel and Its Ministry, p. 25). Scripture…
THE CROSS OF CHRIST — A DIVINELY PREPARED TURNING POINT A double barrier separates God and the sinner. Sin has caused man to be offended toward God as truly as it has caused God to be offended toward man. The cross of Christ shall have failed to deal adequately with sin if it only…
But how could a righteous God be just and the justifier of sinners (Romans 3:26)? How could God maintain His holiness in His dealing with sin and at the same time manifest His graciousness in mercy toward the sinner? How could God provide such a meeting place and not deny Himself through compromise? Before…
THE CROSS OF CHRIST — A DIVINELY PROVIDED MEETING PLACE In becoming the Sin-bearer, Jesus Christ fully met and solved the problem of sin. “In His death, everything was made His that sin had made ours . . . everything in sin except its sinfulness” (James Denney, The Death of Christ). The cross of…
THE CROSS OF CHRIST — THE PLACE OF VICTORY God has but one problem in His universe, and it is sin. All other problems of whatever nature emanate from this one. The sweat of grinding toil, the suffering of broken hearts, and the sorrow of the world’s crushing maladjustments all have their beginning in…
THE CROSS OF CHRIST — THE GREAT DIVIDE The cross of Christ makes a clean-cut cleavage between the two spheres, the sphere of death, darkness, and disorder, and the sphere of life, light, and liberty, and it challenges sinners to decide in which they purpose to live. The cross of Christ is the battlefield…
But the weight and wickedness of the world’s sin was not all the “cup.” Sin separates from God. God cannot stay in the presence of sin even when that sin is upon His own beloved Son. The Son of Man in the garden faces this awful consequence of Saviorhood. Could He assume this consequence…
But, would the death of Christ also deal with the sin question in such a way as to bring satisfaction to God? God has an unalterable, irrevocable attitude toward sin, which is most clearly revealed in His judgment upon it. ” The wages of sin is death.” Death is the expression of God’s implacable…
But why should He dread the inevitable “hour” or shrink from its approach? But an hour or two before, He had said, “Now I go my way to him that sent me.” Would not death be to Him an hour of glorious release from a life environed by sin, suffering, and sorrow? Would it…
Christ Jesus not only came into the world to die, but He knew that He came for that purpose. From the very beginning of His public ministry, the Son of Man had a brooding anticipation of “an hour” that was to come — an hour which, in some eventful way, would be the culmination…
Incarnation brought God to man, but it could not bring man to God. The first span in the bridge of salvation demands a second. In the incarnation, God had not yet dealt with the sin question. He could go no further through the revelation of His own sinless, perfect life than to show men…
The revelation of God in Christ to man and the redemption by God in Christ of man were undoubtedly the preliminary and the primary purpose in the incarnation. But they do not exhaust the exceeding riches of God’s grace in salvation nor complete His purpose in sending His only begotten Son into the world….
But the temptation in the wilderness was humanity’s test as well as Christ’s. God was giving man another chance, a last chance. Therefore, the victory was humanity’s victory. The Lord Jesus was there as God’s second Man qualifying to become man’s Savior and as the last Adam preparing to become the Head of a…
In this wilderness conflict, the God-man is there not alone as a man but as the Son of Man, not only as an individual but as the Representative of mankind. Satan is there not only as a personal enemy of “the seed of the woman” but as the avowed foe of God and of…
In coming into the world, Christ Jesus declared that the purpose of the incarnation was to do His Father’s will. John 6:38 “For I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.” Part of His humbling in becoming the Son of Man was His…
God’s second Man had a tripartite human nature. Luke 23:46 “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” And having said thus, He gave up the ghost.” Matthew 26:38 “Then He said unto them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death;…
God was faced with two necessities in any effectual plan of salvation: first, the sending forth of a second Man who would fulfill His original intention in man’s creation; second, the providing of another Adam who would act representatively for the human race as the Head of a new order. The Man Christ Jesus…
Revelation in itself is not a sufficient reason for the incarnation. God was not manifest in the flesh to mock sinners by giving them an example of a perfect life that they had no power to imitate. The God-man is an example for the saint to follow but not for the sinner. Again, Jesus…
God gave that twofold revelation in Christ Jesus, the God-man. Only the Son could reveal accurately and authoritatively the Father because He alone had seen the Father. John 1:18 “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Matthew…
God, in His infinite love, has undertaken the restoration of mankind and the reconciliation of all things to Himself through the mediation of Christ Jesus. It is to be salvation through a Saviour. If man’s complete salvation is effectually accomplished, five things must be done. First: Man must be restored to such a relationship…
All that God is, Christ Jesus is. All that unfallen man was, He is. Nothing that belonged to Deity or to sinless humanity was lacking in Him. The divine and the human nature are each fully manifested in His unique personality. Both God and man are equally represented in the constituent elements of the…
That Christ Jesus was a divine-human Mediator is not only a fact of revelation but of history as well. Not only the words of Scripture but the A.D. on our desk calendar tells us that at some point in time, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Luke 2:11-12 11 “For unto you…
In no book of the Bible is the person of Christ Jesus, the God-man, and His work as the divine-human Mediator more clearly set forth than in the Epistle to the Hebrews. In it, we can trace back to glory the unfolding of truth regarding His glorious person and follow from Heaven to earth…
But where could God find one who would qualify as the God-man? Most surely not among the sons of men on earth, nor among Heaven’s angelic hosts, for they are neither God nor man. One and only One, even in Heaven itself, could ever be thought of for such an exalted task — the…
God will redeem man through a Man. What, then, would be required in a Redeemer? Remember that sin has caused a terrible breach between God and man. God is morally unable to have fellowship with the sinner, and the sinner is morally unable to have access to God. If any real reconciliation is to…
A perfect reconciliation was brought about within God’s being by synthesizing His holiness and His love, by which each claim was satisfied. God’s holiness and righteousness compelled Him to pronounce the curse upon the serpent, the man, the woman, and even upon the earth. God had said, “For in the day that thou eatest…
The Bible is the Book of Redemption; it’s one theme from the beginning to the end is salvation through a Saviour. Luke 24:27 “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:44 “And He said unto them, “These are the words…
But just here we may ask — and reverently so — Did Adam’s and Eve’s sin take God by surprise, and did He have to think out a way of escape for man after his fall? Here we come to the very acme of the infinite grace of God. May the Holy Spirit grant…
There is a gospel of Satan and a Gospel of Christ; the one is the exact antithesis of the other. Satan’s gospel has no place for the grace of God. Satan’s gospel reverses God’s estimate of the natural man. It does not admit that in himself, he is hopelessly incurable and incorrigible, even though…
How does this gospel of the rationalist deal with sin? Sin is in the world. Sin is in man. How does the rationalist account for its origin, and what does he say of its end? He evades the issue altogether by calmly denying the necessity of anyone having such knowledge. I recently read a…
The revelation of this conflict is unfolded in a Book. The incarnate Word has gone home to His Father, but the written Word is still on earth. In it, the defeat of the devil and the victory of the Christ is recorded in large type. The way of salvation through the atoning death and…
Someone has said, “Man is incurably religious.” Another beautifully wrote, “God created man a deep and everlasting void. The soul in its highest sense is a vast capacity for God but emptiness without God.” It is most assuredly true that man was made for God, and his heart can never be fully satisfied until…
One man looks for salvation through character or what he is; another trust in education or what he knows; while a third seeks it in service or what he does. He believes he can be saved through good works. He comes to God with self-confidence and says, “What shall I do that I might…
Another bridge that men attempt to erect over the yawning sin-made chasm between God and man is that of education. Ignorance due to lack of opportunity is believed to be the cause of much of the world’s sorrow, suffering, and strife. The cry is, “Educate everyone, elevate standards, raise ideals, and change the environment….
“Character — homebrew” is the sign over the door of the self-righteous man’s life. He must admit weakness and failure, but he does not call sin sin or admit that he has any great need. There is nothing wrong with him that he cannot remedy himself if given time, a proper environment, and enlarged…
But there are those who, refusing to accept God’s estimate of the natural man, deny the necessity of any radical and revolutionary change in him. They delight in the exaltation of the flesh and reject the self-evident fact that human nature is in utter ruin though they are compelled to admit that it is…
God has taught one truth beyond all contradiction in His Word. It is that sin has created an awful chasm between Himself and man. Man may ignore or condone sin, treat it very lightly, and even be so foolish as to deny its reality, but that does not alter the unalterable fact that sin…
God’s eternal purpose in man’s redemption has been in the gradual process of fulfillment ever since it was formed, and each succeeding century has brought it nearer to its consummation. The heart of God’s plan of redemption was a Savior. This Savior was to come through the seed of a woman. God was to…
Although Satan has a cleverly thought-out plan, God has a divinely wrought-out purpose! God’s purpose antedated Satan’s plan. God’s purpose anticipated Satan’s plan. God’s purpose annulled Satan’s plan. God’s purpose was formed in the eternity of the past and reaches into the eternity of the future. “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto…
Man “Became” Flesh God says that this satanic system is inherently “evil,” hopelessly “corrupt,” thoroughly “polluted,” and irreconcilably hateful. This satanic system, “the world,” is like an enormous octopus that has sent forth myriad tentacles to lay hold upon every phase of human life and draw it unto itself. Galatians 1:4 “Who gave himself…
You may be surprised to learn that Satan has a purpose, a project, and a program. His purpose is to “be like the Most High.” His project is to set up a kingdom in opposition to the Kingdom of God. His program is to better the condition of the world and the circumstances of…
What has Satan been doing since he set up a kingdom of his own? He has been busy recruiting subjects and mobilizing his forces for warfare. Today, he has innumerable Satanic hosts in the aerial heavens, on earth, and in the underworld. The Bible speaks of “the devil and his angels.” It tells us…
Satan thought he had won the first step in God’s defeat and dethronement due to Adam’s defection. A horrendous conflict began. God did not minimize its sinister seriousness, but he triumphantly claimed victory over his enemy on the very threshold of the conflict. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the…
In Manaus, Brazil, a remarkable phenomenon can be seen between the Rio Negro and the Amazon Rivers. The meeting point of these two rivers is referred to as the Meeting of Waters. The coffee-colored water of the Amazon River joins together with the waters of the Rio Negro, which appear to be black. If…
The die has been cast. From this time forward, Satan will contest with God for the possession of the earth and all therein. He has set himself up as an opposing rival claimant to the world’s sovereignty and to man’s worship. He will establish a kingdom of his own. God, for a purpose, will…
“Satan” means opponent or adversary. This title is used 56 times, and it always reveals him as the opponent of God and the adversary of man. Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” 1 Peter 5:8…
None of us can deny that evil exists in the world. There are evil forces at work in numerous ways and through various channels. This evil power works intelligently everywhere for the disintegration of mankind and the defeat of God. There is a forceful opposition to God and His purpose in our world. Power…
God and sin are exact opposites. God and sin cannot stay in the same place at the same time for they are mutually exclusive. They cannot dwell together. Suppose you are sitting in a room that is full of light. After a few hours, darkness will fill the room. Where did the light go?…
Sin had its beginning at the core of Adam’s being, his human nature. This deadly work began in his core and it became sinful. Sin was now the governing and driving principle within. Sin became its intrinsic atmosphere. The source of his thoughts, emotions, attitudes, purposes, and instincts, was corrupted by sin. Today the…
Not only was the realm of the spirit and the soul invaded by sin, but the body, which was intended to be the spirit’s cordial home became its prison. That which was supposed to be spiritual tends to become sensual. God purposed the body to be the channel through which the spirit within man…
Man’s highest privilege is to will to do God’s will. It is his most godlike privilege. To live entirely within the will of God is to have the reigning of peace, righteousness, and harmony everywhere. This was God’s purpose in His universe. All of the angelic beings, as well as man, was made to…
In 2013 the word “selfie” was crowned Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionaries. In God’s studio, the Bible, a photograph can be found of each of His created beings. Our photograph is there. It has been taken by the Divine Photographer; therefore, it is accurate. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can…
Sin conquered the sphere of the soul and laid hold of man’s intellectual, emotional, and volitional life. Man’s mind was blinded. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,…
Since we have already studied the “three parts” of man, let’s look at the impact of sin and death on each of these parts. The first “part” of man to be touched by the devastating breath of death was the human spirit. Sin shut the windows of the spirit Godward and made it a…
Man, no longer under the loving rule of God, is now under the tyrannical rule of sin. Sin not only “entered” and “abounded,” but it also “reigned” in man. Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— Romans…
Adam’s sin brought innumerable suffering and grief to himself and his descendants. However, God was the One most wounded and wronged by sin. His purpose in the human race was not only defeated but He Himself was dethroned in his own universe. This was the twofold aim of Satan in the tragedy in Eden….
Before the tempter entered Eden, the social relationships were as God had intended for them to be. Not only were Adam and Eve perfect, but they were living in perfect adjustment with God; and between each other. Godliness and holiness were followed by righteousness and peace. Sin deadened the human spirit and broke its…
In the previous blog, we saw the devastating effect of Adam and Eve’s sin upon themselves. But did the impact of their sin affect anyone else? Can the sin in the human family today be traced back to the first sin in the first man? Let’s reason backward. Sin is a FactMan is a…
Upon Themselves After such an appeal, a response had to be made. The “will” must now either accept or reject this accusation against God. There is no neutral ground. Eve must decide either to be for or against God. “God said” and, “the serpent said,” and they said opposite things. Eve responded by listening…
Satan will now make his final and fatal appeal to Eve. Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eateth thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. With this statement, Satan implied that God was robbing man of knowledge which he…
In Genesis 1-2, the creation of Man is recorded. Genesis 2 reveals only three persons in the Garden of Eden. However, in Genesis 3, we find that Satan, God’s avowed enemy, is the fourth person in the garden disguised as a serpent. Revelation 12:9 tells us who the serpent was and how he ended…
God finished His creation work with His MASTERPIECE – MAN! We have been looking at the schematics relating to our design and function in the past few Blogs. God, as the Creator, did not leave us in the dark regarding His assessment of us. Genesis 1:31 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and…
Man can contact three worlds with the three parts of his being: body, soul, and spirit. The body is the lowest part of the three parts and takes the outermost place. It contacts with matter. Through the corporal (physical) body, man touches the physical world through the five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and…
The heart consists of four parts: Mind, Will, Emotion, and Conscience. The heart is not a separate part in addition to the soul and the spirit. The heart is a composition of all the parts of the soul (Mind, Will, Emotion) plus the first part of the spirit (conscience). Man does not have more…
Man not only has three parts within his spirit, but his soul also consists of three components. These parts have three main functions: the Mind is the leading part, followed by the Will and the Emotions. The parts of the soul are the inward parts. Psalm 51:6 declares “Behold, You desire truth in the…
In the previous blog, we looked at the difference between the spirit and the soul. We will now consider the different parts of the spirit. We will not go into great details in this blog about their functions but give an overview. The human spirit is composed of three parts, with three main functions:…
God and God’s first man enjoyed sweet and intimate communion until they were separated by sin. How could this great, impassable chasm sin had made between God and man be bridged? From the very nature of the case, man could do nothing, even had he wanted to, for sin had closed all possible access…
Dear Lord Jesus, I want to thank You for keeping us through 2021. Lord, You know we are all in a time we have never seen or experienced before. Lord, so much suffering, sorrow, death, bitterness, and hatred towards one another. But Lord, thank You, it doesn’t change who You are. You are the…
So what’s the difference between the spirit and the soul? The previous blog showed that man is composed of three parts, spirit, soul, and body. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Genesis…
I always heard growing up the terms “spirit” and “soul” used as if they were synonymous. (Two different words that had the same meaning). But according to 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the spirit and the soul are two totally different things. This verse shows that man was created with three distinct parts: spirit, soul, and…
One aspect regarding the creation of man is related to the center of the gospel, which is the Kingdom of God. In Genesis 1:26-27, God revealed His purpose for creating man. Genesis 1:26 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the…
How Did He Become Satan? Isaiah 14:13-14 “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;…
Humans were not the first beings created by God. In 1 Corinthians 15:40, two bodies are mentioned, celestial (heavenly) and terrestrial (earthly). In eternity past, God created the celestial bodies first, then the terrestrial. 1 Corinthians 15:40 There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and…
Events of the past year and a half have caused me to consider life and all it means. Because of the “silence of COVID,” no one knows when it will come and visit “their” house. Our niece contracted it first, then my friend’s son, our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Unfortunately, six relatives have passed…
It has been over 1900 years since the death of the Apostle John. In writing about my experience in “Why Have I Started Blogging,” I stated that according to 1 John 5:20, we believers had received understanding so that we “might know Him who is true.” But did I know Him? After attending…
The Apostle John was the last living apostle and was the only apostle who was not martyred. Before his death, Jesus gave John the responsibility of taking care of His mother. John was exiled to the island Patmos (Greece) by the Roman government around 94 AD. There he received “the revelation of Jesus Christ.”…
In early 2020 while reading 1 John, I was touched by 1 John 5:20. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we might know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God…