About The Author
Diane Jurino is a
Spirit-filled Christian who resides in Erie,
Pennsylvania. She is the mother of three grown
children, and four grandchildren. Her professional
background is in Copywriting, Sales, Advertising, and
Marketing. She has developed and conducted custom
training courses in Human Relations, Communications,
Personal and Professional Development.
Disclaimer:
Unless otherwise
indicated, all Scripture quotations in this volume are
from the King James Version of the Bible.
Dedication:
Job 22:26 For then
shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt
lift up thy face unto God.
The more we know and
understand Him, the better we will love and serve Him!
Preface
1Chronicles 16:27
“Glory and honour [are] in his presence; strength and
gladness [are] in his place.”
Ours is a great and
glorious God; to know Him is to love Him. He is not
distant or forbidding; He is not to be feared or
dreaded. He created us in His very own image and
likeness to fellowship with Him in love and intimacy
for all eternity. While we may have enjoyed our
relationship with Him all our lives, we have yet to
see His face or experience the personal closeness that
He has promised us. However, all that is about to
change. He is drawing us closer than ever before, and
we must prepare to meet Him as He is.
This book will
examine the many divine attributes of God and how they
affect us in our relationship with Him, now and for
the future. We will study the love and kindness of
God, and examine His mercy and goodness to us. He is
the source of all truth and wisdom, and gives us hope,
peace and joy as fruit of His Spirit. We will develop
a new appreciation for His power and glory, justice
and judgment. And we will revel at the fact that He
takes vengeance on all our enemies and restores what
has been taken from us.
1Chronicles 29:11
“Thine, O LORD, [is] the greatness, and the power, and
the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all
[that is] in the heaven and in the earth [is thine];
thine [is] the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted
as head above all.”
The Lord knows the
end from the beginning. As we approach the end of the
ages, we can look forward to actually dwelling with
Him in His Kingdom right here on the earth. He has
promised us that He will be a personal God to us, that
we will see Him face-to-face. He will anticipate all
that we require even before we ask. The Lord will wipe
away all our tears and sorrow, and give us
immeasurable joy and gladness instead. He will provide
all of our needs in abundance, and make certain that
we enjoy peace and prosperity for all eternity.
Our God is strong
and almighty. He is the ultimate source of all power
in the universe. We will be perpetually safe and
secure in His presence. No evil will ever enter into
the Kingdom of God. He will protect and guide us, and
we will give Him all the thanks and glory that He so
rightly deserves. He is the Supreme Being and we exalt
Him over all others. Our children and our children’s
children will all know the Lord, and rejoice in what
He is and all that He does for us.
Psalm 140:13 “Surely
the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the
upright shall dwell in thy presence.”
If we will live
forever in the presence of a holy and perfect God, we
should prepare ourselves through sanctification of our
bodies, souls and spirits. We must crucify our fleshly
lusts and soul’s ambitions. We should strive for
spiritual maturity and lay down everything that would
interfere with our enjoying our relationship with God.
We should practice walking in love and righteousness,
and aspire to a closer relationship with Him than we
have ever known before.
We should let
nothing stop us from receiving our eternal rewards.
Life in the Kingdom of God will be paradise on the
earth. All of creation will be re-created and restored
to its original beauty and balance. We will have
dominion over the plant and animal kingdoms, as well
as all natural elements. Glorious, resurrection bodies
that are impervious to disease and death will be given
to us. We will have the heathen for our inheritance
and rule and reign with Christ in honor and glory. And
most important of all, we will dwell in the presence
of our loving God for all eternity!
Introduction
Deuteronomy 30:6
“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and
the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with
all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou
mayest live.”
We know that there
is a power higher than ourselves in the universe, a
Supreme Being that created all things and watches over
us to guide and protect us in all our ways. He is the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all
things. He expresses Himself as three distinct and
different personalities – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our hearts and spirits cry out to almighty God with a
deep yearning, even though we are not personally
acquainted with Him. Only He can fill the void that
exists in many of our lives.
God cares for us
with a total unconditional love. He is always generous
and kind, and never fails to meet our needs in the
abundance of His riches. He is worthy of all our love
and respect, despite the fact that we have never seen
Him face-to-face. Even though we may not be intimately
acquainted with Him, we should show Him deference and
respect. We are obligated to give Him honor and glory,
and all the praise and thanks that He deserves. Loving
God is not an option for us if we are believers.
Deuteronomy 6:5 “And
thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
We are commanded by
Jesus Christ Himself to love the Lord God with all our
hearts, minds, souls and strength, and to love our
neighbor as we love ourselves. The law of love should
be of utmost importance to us and affect us in all our
relationships. It is a summation of the ten
commandments of the law, and it is critical that we
obey it. Our future welfare for all eternity will be
determined by how well we love and serve the Lord in
His plan and purpose in the days ahead, as we usher in
His Kingdom on the earth.
It will be much
easier for us to love God and serve Him, if we develop
a better understanding of His character and
personality, His attributes and qualities, and His way
of doing things. If we examine the scriptures, we will
discover that He is loving and kind, merciful and
good. The Lord is ever wise and the source of all
knowledge, truth and understanding. He exudes joy,
hope and peace in His very essence. He is also holy
and perfect, glorious and powerful, fair and just, and
He will take vengeance on all our enemies.
Zephaniah 3:17 “The
LORD thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty; he will
save, he will rejoice over thee with singing.”
God loves us with an
everlasting love. He created man in His very own image
and likeness, and desires nothing more than to have a
close personal relationship with us. Through prayer
and meditation, we communicate with God. He wants to
be our source for all good things, and generously
supply all our needs. His goal is to bear our burdens
and share our victories. He will save us from all our
pain and sorrow and replace it with His joy and peace.
The Lord takes pride
and pleasure in His people; we are a great source of
joy to Him. We are members of His very own family. He
delights in our prayers and encourages us to reach out
to Him with our requests. He is infinitely kind and
merciful to us in our time of need. He has compassion
for us when we are afflicted, is patient with us when
we sin, and boasts in all our successes. He has saved
us from eternal condemnation, and has a glorious plan
for our lives.
The Lord keeps all
of His promises to His people. All that is required of
us, in return, is to have faith in God and the faith
of God. We should believe that He is capable of doing
what He says He will do. He is not a man that He
should lie; He will never leave us or forsake us. He
will be with us all the days of our lives, and show
Himself strong on our behalf. God rewards those who
diligently seek Him, and He will never cause us to be
ashamed for our faith in Him.
Romans 15:13 “Now
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the
power of the Holy Ghost.”
We have a real hope
and confidence for the future. The Lord has promised
us that He will bring heaven to the earth and unite
all things in His Son, Jesus Christ, with the coming
of the Kingdom of God. If we repent of all known sin,
believe that Jesus died for us and was raised from the
dead, we will remain continuously righteous in God’s
eyes. If we walk in love and do His will, we will be
overcomers who inherit God’s Kingdom and all of its
promises.
Instead of our
former shame and guilt, we will know peace with God
through righteousness. We will experience life in His
very presence, and He will supply all of our needs in
abundance. We will dwell in love and unity with all
men, and enjoy blessings and prosperity. We will have
safety and security in the Kingdom of God; nothing
evil or defiling will mar its perfection. The Lord
will take vengeance on all our enemies and restore all
that has been taken from us.
Isaiah 65:17 “For,
behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the
former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
Life in the Kingdom
of God will be perfect, just as it was in the Garden
of Eden, only bigger and better. All the blessings of
heaven will be available to us right here on the
earth. All of creation will be re-created and
restored. We will walk in total dominion over nature,
plants and animals. There will be no death or
destruction in God’s Kingdom. We will have perfectly
healthy, glorious, resurrection bodies that are
perpetually self-sustaining.
All believers will
enjoy prosperity and life in abundance, under fair and
equitable Kingdom standards of justice. Christ Himself
will rule and reign to make certain that everything is
peaceful and orderly. The nations of the world will
all join together in worshipping the Lord and giving
Him thanks for His infinite mercy and loving kindness
for generation after generation. So will we all be
together with the Lord for all eternity!
Chapter
1 – God Is Love And Kindness
1John 4:7-8
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God;
and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth
God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is
love.”
The very essence of
God is love itself, what the Greeks call “agape.” His
love nature is a spontaneous overflow of goodness,
kindness and benevolence. He has an intense,
passionate and everlasting affection for mankind. He
created us in His own image and likeness to be His
beloved children. He knew us and called us from the
very foundation of the world. We are able to love
others because He first loved us and gave us His very
own example.
Regardless of
whether or not we love Him in return, God has a total
unselfish, unilateral love for us that defies logic
and reason. He has only our best interest at heart and
wants to freely supply us with all good things that
enrich our lives. He is ever giving and pours out His
kindness to us in all abundance. His love is
unconditional and indulgent, and is not based on our
deserving His attention or reciprocating it in any
way.
The Lord loves us
with a deep, abiding devotion. He longs for our
fellowship, and desires a close relationship with us.
He created man to be His intimate companion for all of
eternity, and has a wonderful plan in place that will
guarantee that. He will actually reside with us in the
Kingdom of God on the earth in the fullness of days.
All that being said, if we do not love God as He loves
us, we have no knowledge of Him and the love of God is
not in us.
1John 2:5 “But whoso
keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God
perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”
If we do love Him as
He loves us, we are literally born of God and know Him
intimately as He knows us. We actually dwell in Him
and He dwells in us in all His fullness. If we love
others, as He has commanded us, His love nature is
perfected in us and we walk in the divine realm. The
love of God requires that we put others’ needs on an
even plane with our own, and treat them as we
ourselves would like to be treated. This determines
our righteousness in His eyes.
It is the Lord’s
heart-felt desire to reveal His character and
personality to us. He wants to share all that He is
and all that He has with us. He wants to give us His
very own divine attributes to help us succeed in all
that we do. God will provide us with every good thing
in our lives; He wants us to be healthy, joyous and
prosperous in all our ways. He longs for us to know
Him intimately and walk in a close relationship with
Him on a daily basis.
How God Showed His
Love For Man
Genesis 1:27 “So God
created man in his [own] image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them.”
We are formed and
fashioned in the very image and likeness of God. We
have the potential for the divine in us. The Lord knew
us from the foundation of the world and created
mankind to fellowship with Him in loving intimacy for
all time. He anticipated all of our needs and kindly
provided for them in abundance. All that was required
of man to enjoy God’s blessings for all eternity was
perfect obedience to His will.
God created Adam to
be in close fellowship with Him and to have dominion
over the entire earth. But the first man was lonely
for his own kind, and God gave him Eve to be his
helpmate. Her role was to love and encourage him in
his efforts to care for the paradise that God had
given them. The Lord told Adam and Eve to be fruitful,
multiply and subdue the earth. They enjoyed life in
abundance, and every plant and animal was subject to
their will.
The Lord took great
pride in Adam and Eve and provided for all of their
needs, but there was a condition to their continuous
enjoyment of His kindness and generosity. There was a
tree in the Garden that they were not to touch – the
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Lord told
them that they would surely die if they came in
contact with it. This was a test to see if they would
indeed obey God and trust His love and judgment in all
things.
1John 3:8 “He that
committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth
from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God
was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the
devil.”
The devil was a
fallen angel who had once enjoyed a privileged
relationship with the Lord, but fell from grace due to
his disobedience. He had been expelled from heaven and
came down to the earth in great fury. He was jealous
of man and his intimate relationship with God. It was
his primary mission to steal, kill and destroy all
that the Lord had created. He deliberately interfered
with God’s plan and purpose for mankind, and enticed
Eve to disobey God and defy His one command.
Satan told the woman
that if she and Adam ate of the Tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil that their eyes would be opened and
they would be more like God, and that they surely
would not die. Eve was tempted to sin and told all
this to her husband. Spirits of lawlessness and
rebellion entered into Adam, and he transgressed God’s
law. He desired to know all things as God did; he set
himself up to be equal with God, which proved to be
his undoing.
In partaking of the
forbidden fruit, Adam betrayed God’s trust and
disobeyed His wishes. He revoked his own divine rights
and privileges with his sin, and relinquished them to
Satan. While Adam had original dominion over the earth
given to him by God Himself, he transferred that
authority to the devil with his disobedience. He gave
the enemy power to oppress and destroy him, and he
sealed his fate for the rest of his life.
It is interesting to
consider what might have happened if Eve alone had
transgressed God’s law. Perhaps only females would
have been cast out of Eden. As it was, she was
successful in enticing her mate to sin as blatantly as
she had. Adam also chose to transgress the Lord’s
commandment and was punished accordingly.
Genesis 3:22-23 “And
the Lord God said, Behold the man has become as one of
us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth
his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat,
and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him
forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from
whence he was taken.”
Adam and Eve had
once known loving kindness and divine privilege, and
freely enjoyed God’s providence. However, their
disobedience brought hardship and heartache on them.
They were ultimately expelled from paradise and
subjected to punishment and hard labor. God was deeply
saddened and disappointed by this turn of events, but
man himself had given Satan legal entry to his life
through his own free will. There was nothing that the
Lord could do to change that.
While the Lord loved
Adam and Eve with all His heart, He was unable to
excuse them for their sin. God is not only loving but
also just, and justice requires payment for violation
of God’s commands. The wages of sin are death, the
Bible tells us. Adam paid a high price for his
transgression, even though the Lord did not take his
natural life from him. Instead, he experienced
spiritual death and separation from God. That affected
him and his seed for many generations.
Genesis 6:5-8 “And
GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the
earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart [was] only evil continually. And it repented
the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it
grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the face of the
earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing,
and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I
have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of
the LORD.”
Men were cold and
corrupt without fellowship with God, and they
repeatedly offended Him with their sinful pride and
arrogance in the generations after Adam. They were
evil in their thoughts, words and actions. They
deliberately and purposefully defied the Lord and were
severely punished for their disobedience. The Lord
will not tolerate evil in His presence; He is a holy
and perfect God and requires man to be humble and
contrite in heart.
The Lord has always
looked for a man that he could trust to walk with Him
in love and obedience.
Noah found favor
with God; he alone was righteous in all his
generation. Our Creator was forced to destroy all of
mankind except Noah and his family, and begin again in
His relationship with mankind. He promised Noah that
He would re-establish him on the earth and never
destroy creation with floodwaters again.
However, men soon
became corrupt again, and worshipped other gods. They
abandoned their love of their Creator, and sought
solace from man-made idols and pagan deities. The Lord
sent them prophets to warn them of their sin, but they
ignored these holy men. Repeat transgression and
flagrant disobedience in God’s people caused them to
suffer plagues and pestilences, droughts and famines,
wars and exiles for many generations.
Genesis 9:9 “And I,
behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with
your seed after you;”
There were a few
righteous individuals like Abraham and Joseph, with
whom the Lord cut a special covenant. Abraham believed
God, and that faith was accounted as righteousness to
him. He was blessed due to his obedience and became
the father of many nations. Joseph was sold into
slavery by his brothers, but he never forgot his God.
The Lord positioned and protected him in the court of
Pharaoh in Egypt, and used him to save his people from
poverty and famine.
By and large, God’s
people never quite recouped their close relationship
with Him. They vexed Him with their complaints, and
never yielded their lives to Him. He was not able to
provide for them as He wanted due to their
disobedience, and they continually suffered from the
serious repercussion of their sin. Once again, God and
man were at an impasse, and He was compelled to
intervene to save them from total destruction.
Merciful Kindness
Psalm 119:76 “Let, I
pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort,
according to thy word unto thy servant.”
God was merciful and
compassionate to their plight. A man named Moses found
favor with the Lord and was chosen to lead millions of
God’s people out of captivity in Egypt, to begin life
anew in a land that the Lord had specifically chosen
for them. Moses was respectful, humble and obedient to
the Lord. He entered into the very presence of God on
several occasions and actually conversed with Him in
all His glory and survived the encounters.
Exodus 32:15 “And
Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the
two tables of the testimony [were] in his hand: the
tables [were] written on both their sides; on the one
side and on the other [were] they written. And the
tables [were] the work of God, and the writing [was]
the writing of God, graven upon the tables.”
The ten commandments
of the law, which God gave His people through Moses,
were meant to keep them on track and sin-free so that
they could commune regularly with Him and enjoy His
blessings on their lives. They were intended to
prevent men from digressing from His will, so that
they could enter peacefully and orderly into the
promised land that He had chosen for them. They were
meant to establish guidelines and boundaries for
successful living.
Men still
disregarded God’s commandments, although they were
simple and specific. They continually violated His
will for their lives. They were rebellious and
ungrateful, and challenged all authority. They were a
stubborn, hard-hearted group that repeatedly ignored
His wishes and openly defied Him throughout their
history. But the gifts and callings of God are without
repentance. He kept His covenant with Moses despite
the bad behavior of His people.
1Samuel 15:23 “For
rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because
thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also
rejected thee from [being] king.”
As time progressed
and men became increasingly rebellious, the Lord gave
them more stringent guidelines for their worship,
obedience and service. He was grooming them to be His
chosen people, a nation of priests and kings. While
His intent was to perfect them in holiness, the people
still remained lawless. The Israelites had to offer
burnt offerings and animal blood sacrifices in
remission for their sins at various times during the
year.
Their priests would
enter into the Holy of Holies and plead the people’s
case before God, and invoke His grace and mercy on
their sin offerings. They were hoping for forgiveness
of their sins and total restoration in His sight. The
Jewish people instinctively knew that their blessings
were tied to their obedience. However, they were weak
and ongoing sin was their major problem; total and
complete reconciliation with God was out of the
question.
The law that the
Lord ultimately gave them was so specific and
detailed, that it was all but impossible for them to
attain to its standards. It was comprised of rituals
and ceremonies to assist them in cleansing themselves,
but it held no power in it for forgiveness of their
sins. Yet the Lord was compelled to enforce the law
because men were flagrantly disobedient and lacked
reasonable limits and boundaries to their behavior.
(See the Book of Leviticus)
1Kings 2:3 “And keep
the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways,
to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his
judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in
the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that
thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:”
In His infinite
wisdom, the Lord set up judges and kings to rule over
His people, to lead and guide them and settle all
their disputes. While this was moderately successful,
the people were a stubborn lot and still strayed from
God. King David and his son, King Solomon, were
righteous men after the Lord’s own heart. They loved
and obeyed the Lord and found favor in His sight. The
people thrived under their leadership, and their
hearts were drawn back to the Lord.
However, Solomon’s
descendants were for the most part weak kings or
corrupt in and of themselves. They intermarried and
their people soon violated the law again, and began
worshipping other gods. They forgot the Lord,
abandoned His law, and everyone did what was right in
his own sight. The Lord wanted nothing more than to
fellowship with men, but His relationship with them
had been permanently broken.
Man had relinquished
all of His rights on the earth from the fall of Adam,
to include His right standing with God. None were
consistently righteous in His sight, and He longed for
the day that He could be reconciled with them on a
permanent basis. The Lord had a plan that would
rectify this situation once and for all, and restore
mankind to right relationship with Him for all time.
A New Plan
John 3:16-17 “ For
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not
his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved.”
God loved men so
much that He sent His very own Son, Jesus Christ, to
the earth to redeem them from sin and restore what had
been stolen from them through Adam’s transgression.
Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but rather,
to save it from destruction. His primary goal was to
visit mankind, teach them God’s way of doing things,
and reinstate them to right standing with God for all
time.
Jesus did not come
to the earth realm as God, however. He laid down His
deity; He was actually born of a woman through the
power of the Holy Spirit, flesh of our flesh. He
experienced everything that we do, but He remained
sinless and perfect during His earth walk. He was the
pattern Son of God, the first born of many sons and
daughters, and He served as our role model for
righteousness in every area of His life.
Christ was always
did the will of the Father and made God’s eternal
redemption plan His top priority. He was human in
every respect, yet He was perfectly obedient to all
that the Lord directed Him to say and do. Jesus
received the anointing power of God Himself – a full
impartation of the Father’s own power and glory – to
do good and overcome evil on the earth. He proved that
a human being could indeed be perfectly obedient and
totally righteous before God.
Romans 8:39 “Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Jesus mirrored the
very love and kindness of the Father in all things. He
did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He
taught us principles for righteous living; He gave us
the law of love. He said that we are to love the Lord
with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength and
others as we love ourselves.
Christ demonstrated
the law of love in His own life on the earth. He
healed the sick, raised the dead and set men free of
demonic oppression. He willingly took on our
transgressions and suffered the penalty for our sins.
He bore all our infirmities and carried our diseases,
and by His suffering we were healed. He provided us
with a divine exchange – sin for righteousness, sorrow
for joy, and death for eternal life.
Despite the heavy
cost in agony and shame that He was forced to bear,
Jesus assumed our sin burdens and made them His own.
He was rejected by His own people and betrayed by an
intimate friend. He was the object of public derision,
tried and convicted for treason and blasphemy against
God, and sentenced to death on the cross. He was
humiliated, brutally beaten, and made to carry the
very instrument of His own death.
Christ was sinless
and righteous; He was also the Son of God and He could
very well have escaped His fate. But instead, He
willingly laid down His life as the perfect unspotted
Lamb of God, so that we might be made free through His
personal Blood sacrifice. Because of His obedience
unto death, all men were set free from the penalty of
sin for all time. The sin debt was finally paid and it
was the turning point in history for all of mankind.
Victory Over Evil
Colossians 2:15 “And
having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a
shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
Jesus made an open
show of Satan with His victory over sin, death and the
grave. He stripped him of his power, took back
dominion and control over the earth, and transferred
it back to all men who believe in Him and the power of
His resurrection. The enemy was defeated for all time
at Calvary. We who believe in Jesus Christ and the
power of the cross were made joint-heirs with Him to
all the promises of God.
Christ’s atoning
death not only saved us from our sin penalty, but it
also restored us to right standing with the Father. We
now have the possibility of intimate fellowship with
Him as it was intended from the beginning of time. In
fact, we enjoy sonship rights and privileges and are
actually seated with Christ in heavenly places. Jesus
was the first born of many sons and daughters. The
Lord communicates with us on a regular basis as His
very own children.
We are actually
seated with Christ in heavenly places, at the right
hand of the Father. We are able to go boldly to the
throne of His grace with every thought or concern. The
Lord hears all our prayers and answers every petition.
We don’t have to wail and whine to get God’s
attention. We know in confidence that we have what we
ask of Him. The Lord shows us love and kindness, mercy
and compassion, and always meets our needs in
abundance.
A New Paradise
1Corinthians 2:9
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love
him.”
While we do not yet
enjoy life in paradise, we will one day enter it as
the Kingdom of God comes to the earth. It will be
Christ’s eternal reward and He will share it will all
those who believe in Him. It will be a new and
improved version of the Garden of Eden, only bigger
and better. There will be no evil, no death or
destruction in God’s Kingdom. Our bodies will be
changed into glorious, incorruptible ones that are
impervious to pain, disease and death.
All of creation will
be re-created and restored to its original beauty and
balance. Plants and animals will be in harmony with
one another and subject to man’s dominion once again.
The climate will be regulated and all of nature will
be tamed; there will be no natural disasters that
frighten and harm mankind ever again. All evil and
defilement will be expelled and banished from the
Kingdom for all time.
Life will be idyllic
and the Kingdom of God will be a perfect home for both
God and man for all eternity. We will experience love,
unity and joy in the very presence of God Himself. He
will anticipate all of our needs and supply them in
abundance. We will have peace and prosperity, and long
enjoy the works of our hands. There will be safety and
security for all men; no one will cause us fear or
harm of any kind.
Get Ready For The
Promises
Micah 6:8 “He hath
shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the
LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
However, only those
who walk in love and do the will of the Father will
enter into Christ’s Kingdom. We must purposefully
renounce all known sin, crucify our flesh and walk
after the Holy Spirit. We must strive for spiritual
maturity, holiness and perfection, even as the Lord
Himself is holy and perfect. Righteousness will be
required of all men if they would dwell in the
presence of almighty God.
We should be humble
servants of God and others. We should glorify our God
in all that we say and do. We must be willing and
obedient to do all that the Lord requires of us, and
present our bodies as living sacrifices to Him. We
have to be loving, merciful and compassionate to one
another. We should judge all matters, great and small,
as the Lord Himself judges, and treat others fairly
and equitably, as we would hope to be treated.
1 John 4:11-12
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love
one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we
love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is
perfected in us.”
The Lord insists
that we love others as we love ourselves. We should
always be polite and courteous, warm and affectionate,
in our dealings with others. We should put their needs
on an even plane with our own. We should be at peace
with all men wherever possible, and be ready to
forgive and forget all offenses committed against us.
If we walk in love, we dwell in God and He dwells in
us. His love is perfected in us as we practice it in
our lives.
We should desire
God’s way of doing things and being right more than we
desire life in the world as it is today. There is only
sin and evil, death and destruction surrounding us
now. We must take the high road and look to the
future. That will require that we renew our minds,
think like God thinks, and act like He acts. His is
the standard of excellence that we should imitate in
all matters pertaining to righteousness.
1John 5:3 “For this
is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and
his commandments are not grievous.”
We should follow
God’s commandments to us. They are never heavy or
burdensome; they are meant for our ultimate
well-being. We should always walk in love for Him and
with others. We must strive for peace and unity in all
of our relationships, as Christ Himself commanded us.
Jesus said that He came to fulfill the law by which no
man could be made perfect, and He taught us His law of
love instead. It is essential that we follow it in all
that we do.
If we keep it
simple, we will love God and one another as we
ourselves hope to be treated. We will not sin, because
sin hurts God and others. We must strive for spiritual
maturity and cultivate divine attributes like those of
God Himself as we develop our relationship with Him.
We should be loving and kind, merciful and good,
hopeful, peaceful, joyous and wise. All of these
traits will enable us to serve God and one another
more effectively.
1John 3:1 “Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God: therefore
the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
We are the very sons
and daughters of the Creator of the universe. We are
to walk in love and peace with all men wherever
possible, just as God Himself does. That means that we
have to purposely overlook all offense, forgive and
forget all wrongs done to us. We should be living
examples of God’s righteousness and love in all that
we think, say and do.
The world today is
covered with gross darkness and the deceitfulness of
sin. We are responsible for walking in the knowledge
that we have and sharing our faith with others. The
church should witness to the Lord’s great love for us,
by loving others as we love ourselves. We should tell
them the good news of the Kingdom of God, and persuade
them to repent and be baptized into knowledge of the
truth.
If we walk in love
and keep His commandments we will please God and
demonstrate our obedience to Him. We should share our
faith with others even though it may be difficult.
While those in the world may reject us as they have
rejected Him, we will know beyond a shadow of a doubt
that God approves of us. Righteousness has its own
rewards and staying in the love of God is more
important than being popular with those in the world.
Imitation Of Love
Romans 5:5 “And hope
maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given
unto us.”
The ability to love
is a divine attribute, and one that we should imitate
for ourselves. It goes without saying that we should
always love and revere God. We have the power through
the Holy Spirit to love all men at all times,
regardless of how they might behave towards us. We can
purposely choose love as a way of life, and enjoy
eternal rewards for our efforts.
In the days ahead,
the people of God will shine brightly in the world. We
will be filled with God’s very own power and glory,
and have immeasurable strength and wisdom given to us.
All men will gravitate towards us in hopes of learning
our secret to happiness and well-being. We should not
send them away empty handed, or disappoint them in
their search for truth. We are responsible for
bringing in the end-time harvest of souls.
We should be quick
to share the good news of the Kingdom of God and
persuade them to repent of their sins, and be baptized
into the faith. The Lord loves each of us totally and
completely and it is not His will that anyone would
perish. All those whose names are written in the Book
of Life will be called into the Kingdom of God, and
benefit from the blessings that He has in store for
us.
Jude 1:21 “Keep
yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy
of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
We should be living
testimonies to the power of God at work in us through
love. We have been mercifully spared destruction by
the merits of the Blood of Jesus Christ. We should
renounce all known sin in our lives, overcome our
souls and crucify all fleshly desires. If we have
consecrated ourselves to His plan and purpose for
mankind, the Lord will empower us to walk as Jesus
Christ walked on the earth and give us a full measure
of His anointing power to do good.
We will have the
distinct privilege of preaching the gospel, laying
hands on the sick so that they recover, and even
raising the dead back to life as Christ Himself did.
We will set all captives free of demonic oppression
and destroy strongholds that keep men in bondage. We
will even rule and reign with Christ as kings and
priests in His Kingdom, and become loving, merciful
and just rulers of God’s people for all eternity.
Topics For Discussion
1. God’s Essential Nature
2. How God Showed His Love For Man
3. What happened to interrupt His plan?
4. The New Plan – Redemption
5. What Jesus Did For Us
6. Our Future In The Kingdom
7. Imitation Of Love
Chapter 2 –
Goodness And Mercy
Psalm 23:6 Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.”
We see tangible
evidence of God’s goodness and mercy in every area of
our lives. He created us; He redeemed us from our sin;
and He fellowships with us in love and intimacy. The
Lord provides for all our needs in abundance, and
never leaves us without guidance and direction. He
loves us deeply, and will actually come to live with
us for all eternity in the Kingdom of God.
When Adam sinned in
the Garden of Eden, the Lord could have abandoned us
for all time. But in His infinite mercy and goodness,
He relented in His punishment. His eternal redemption
plan is nothing short of genius. He sent His Son,
Jesus Christ, into the world as the perfect unspotted
Lamb. Christ’s Blood sacrifice served as the total
covenantal expiation for our sins, and His
resurrection from the dead paved the way to bring us
eternal life.
1Peter 2:10 “Which
in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the
people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now
have obtained mercy.”
As a result of
Christ’s victory over sin, death and the grave, we
have our fellowship with God restored for all time. He
became the propitiation for our sins and restored us
to righteousness in Him. As if that weren’t enough, we
also have inherited better covenant promises than our
forefathers had. We are actually joint-heirs with
Christ to all the honor and glory promised to Him for
His part in our redemption.
We are seated with
Him in heavenly places, sons and daughters of the
living God and members of His very own family. We
surround the very throne of God and communicate with
Him at will. Though we were once estranged from God
and wanderers on the earth, we now enjoy royal blood
and are called His people after His very own heart.
The Lord wants nothing more than to bless us in all
things and to fellowship with us for all eternity.
Compassion And
Longsuffering
Psalm 86:15 “But
thou, O Lord, [art] a God full of compassion, and
gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and
truth.”
We experience God’s
grace and generosity in every area of our lives.
Although we have not earned it, we enjoy unmerited
favor in His eyes. When God sees us, He sees the
righteousness of Jesus, and we have manifold blessings
as our reward. He not only meets our needs, but
supplies our hearts’ desires, as well. He is a God of
“more than enough,” and always shares His abundance
with His people.
The Lord is patient
and longsuffering, merciful and compassionate. He puts
up with a great deal in mankind. We are often
ungrateful and distracted in our relationship with
Him. Although we go astray, He is a good God that
never hurts or punishes us, as some would have us
think. He never brings distress on us to teach us
anything. He is not to be feared or dreaded, but
rather loved and appreciated, admired and imitated.
God is infinitely
kind to lead and guide us into all truth with
gentleness and persuasion, rather than harsh,
dictatorial commands that hurt us. It is His desire
that we remain sin-free and obedient to His
commandment to walk in love and compassion for others.
He sees that as being in our best interest. However,
He has given us free will, and we must purposefully
choose to walk in His ways, rather than our own.
Mercy For Our Sins
Psalm 51:1 “Have
mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies
blot out my transgressions.”
The Lord knows our
human frailties and understands our limitations. He is
always willing to forgive us when we miss the mark. If
we sin and fall short of His glory, He is ever ready
to forgive and forget our transgressions. He is moved
with compassion for our weakness, and shows mercy and
kindness towards us. He always restores us to right
relationship and reinstates our blessings as they were
before.
Deliberate
lawlessness and rebellion subject us to potentially
harsh penalties, however. God is not mocked. Whether
our offense is grievous or slight, sin is sin and
justice requires payback. When we repent and turn from
all unrighteousness, the Lord is quick and ready to
forgive us. In His mercy, He forgets our sin as if it
never occurred. We always get a fresh start in our
relationship with Him, and He is ever willing to
restore our right standing with Him.
It should be noted
that God is under no obligation to forgive us again
and again – particularly if it is the same offense
that we commit repeatedly. There may come a time in
the future when He draws a line in the sand that no
man can cross, and simply stops giving us second
chances. That is His prerogative. We should never try
His patience or take advantage of His loving kindness
and mercy towards us. His judgment will be final and
permanent.
Micah 7:18 “Who [is]
a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and
passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his
heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because
he delighteth [in] mercy.”
We were once heirs
to unrighteousness and subject to spiritual death for
all eternity. However, the Lord forgot His anger
towards mankind, and pardoned us in His mercy and
goodness. He totally blotted our transgressions from
His memory, through the Blood of Jesus and His victory
over sin on our behalf. We have been restored to our
fellowship with Him, and all our blessings are secure.
Although we did
nothing to earn it in and of ourselves, the Lord
reinstated all our rights and privileges as His
people. He forgave and forgot the iniquity of our
ancestors and began again with us. We enjoy unmerited
favor in all our dealings with Him, instead of guilt,
shame and condemnation. We are highly privileged to be
free of our transgression, and we should be grateful
for the mercy He has shown us.
Goodness Of God Leads
To Repentance
Romans 2:4 “Or
despisest thou the riches of his goodness and
forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the
goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”
Even though we may
not deserve it, the Lord is ever ready to lift us up
rather than allow us to be destroyed in the
deceitfulness of our sin. He convicts us by the power
of the Holy Spirit and urges us to seek His presence
again. His very goodness and mercy are what lead us to
repentance and righteousness. We know in our hearts
that He is worthy of our obedience and devotion,
because of all that He does for us.
We should follow
God’s example and treat others as He treats us.
Whenever we are offended or injured by someone, we
should be merciful and quick to forgive and forget
whatever has been done to us. We should completely
blot the episode from our memory, just as the Lord
does with us. We should continue our relationship with
a clean slate, and be ready and willing to walk in
love and unity with our neighbors again.
Merciful Deliverance
From Our Enemies
Psalm 57:3 “He shall
send from heaven, and save me [from] the reproach of
him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send
forth his mercy and his truth.”
The Lord is
compassionate to our needs for safety and security. He
created us to be strong and have dominion over
everything in the earth, but we are sometimes
overwhelmed in the face of our enemies. Satan wants to
attack us to the point that we are tempted to sin and
overcome by shame, guilt and condemnation. He wants us
oppressed and depressed, so that we cannot serve the
Lord. It is his primary goal to steal, kill and
destroy man off the face of the earth.
However, God will
not permit that to happen. In His infinite wisdom and
mercy, He has provided a way of escape for us in every
demonic battle. He reminds us that we have full
authority over all of our enemies, and that we need to
take back control in every situation. By the power of
the Holy Spirit, we can bind Satan and all his efforts
to destroy us, and loose blessing in our lives
instead. We can overcome evil with good and prevail in
every demonic encounter.
Psalm 59:17 “Unto
thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God [is] my
defence, [and] the God of my mercy.”
So too, the Lord
supernaturally protects us from evil when we seek His
face and continually dwell in His presence. The closer
we become to Him, the better off we are. If we make
Him our source in all things, He will give His angels
charge over us to protect us in all our ways. (See
Psalm 91) He will deliver us from all evil and
surround us with Christ’s very own hedge of protection
that no devil in hell can penetrate.
The Lord delights in
protecting and defending His people. He is our God and
is eminently capable of guarding us from harm. He will
not allow Satan to utterly destroy us, nor will He
permit us to be overcome by anything destructive or
defiling in our lives. He will convict and guide us
through the power of the Holy Spirit, supernaturally
intervene and deliver us from all evil that threatens
our welfare.
Isaiah 54:10 “For
the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed;
but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither
shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the
LORD that hath mercy on thee.”
The Lord keeps all
of His promises; He never lies or misleads us. If He
tells us that He will always be with us to show His
mercy and kindness, we can rely on His covenant word.
It is reassuring to us that the Lord will never leave
us or forsake us. Despite what we may encounter in the
days ahead, He will show Himself strong on our behalf.
Regardless of what
happens on the earth, we have divine promises of
protection and blessing. The Lord will dispatch His
angels to assist us in all that we are asked to do. We
will walk in supernatural peace and experience the
very anointing power of God Himself to overcome the
flesh, the world and the devil, and pave the way for
the coming of His Kingdom on the earth.
Mercy In The Time Of
Need
Psalm 4:1 “Hear me
when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast
enlarged me [when I was] in distress; have mercy upon
me, and hear my prayer.”
We enjoy a highly
favorable position with God when it comes to our
prayers being heard. As believers in Christ, we are
seated with Him in heavenly places. We are seated at
His right hand in the very throne room of heaven, the
Bible tells us. We don’t need to beg and grovel, or
weep and wail, to have the Lord hear our petitions; we
are permitted and encouraged to go boldly to the
throne of grace with every need.
Whether we have a
need for healing or financial breakthrough, or
deliverance from any number of human problems and
challenges, we can take them to the Lord. He is ever
ready to hear our complaints and discuss all our
thoughts and concerns. Our welfare is of the utmost
importance to Him. He is merciful and kind, and
compassionate to our needs. We should believe that God
hears every word and is indeed able to meet all our
requests.
So too, we know that
we have what we ask, if it is according to the will of
God for our lives. He wants us to enjoy life in
abundance and be free of all anxiety. He has the
answer to every perplexity that we face. It delights
the Lord that we depend on Him, and He is ever ready
to answer our prayers according to His loving
goodness. If we seek God’s guidance and direction for
our lives, we will be assured of His continual
blessings.
Goodness For
Obedience
Romans 11:22 “Behold
therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them
which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if
thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also
shalt be cut off.”
The Lord is under no
obligation to provide for those who deliberately
disobey and defy Him. If we continue to remain in
right standing with Him, He will provide us with
protection from all our enemies and supply all of our
needs according to His riches in glory. He seeks to do
us good, not harm. He has beneficial plans for us,
plans for our welfare and not for evil. The Bible
tells us, that He will withhold no good thing from
those who walk righteously before Him.
If we are willing
and obedient to His guidance and direction for our
lives, the Lord will continue to supply all of our
needs. His generosity abounds for those who walk in
His ways and keep His commandments. So too, if we are
righteous and obedient, we will enter into the Kingdom
of God and dwell in His very presence. His goodness
will surround us as we enjoy peace and prosperity,
health and wellness, safety and security for all
eternity.
1Kings 8:23 “And he
said, LORD God of Israel, [there is] no God like thee,
in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest
covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before
thee with all their heart:”
The more we love and
serve God and imitate His divine qualities in our
lives, the more He will do for us. He is highly
flattered when we walk in His ways; we simply cannot
do too much to please Him. If we remain humble and of
contrite hearts, He will always bless us. He delights
in our righteousness and is ever ready to reward us
for our efforts.
In the days ahead,
the Lord will encourage us to walk as Christ Himself
walked on the earth. He will anoint us with His very
own power and authority to do good works and attract
men to our faith. We will heal the sick, set captives
free of enemy oppression and even raise the dead. If
we are willing and obedient to serve Him and others
unselfishly, we will enjoy many blessings and rewards
in His Kingdom.
We walk in a
covenant relationship with the Lord, but ours is a
better covenant than our forefathers had. We are under
the Messianic covenant. We are joint-heirs with Jesus
to all the promises of God for His very own
righteousness and obedience. We have sonship rights
and privileges. We will be kings and priests unto our
God and rule and reign with Christ in His Kingdom. We
will actually share in His honor and glory for all
eternity.
Psalm 136:26 “O give
thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy [endureth]
for ever.”
We should always
give the Lord the honor, glory and thanks that He so
rightly deserves. He is a loving and generous Father,
and a kind and just ruler of all men. He is ever
compassionate to our complaints, and merciful and kind
in our time of need. His goodness is evident in every
area of our lives. We walk in blessings every day, and
have glorious promises for our future.
God is the same
today, yesterday and tomorrow. He is no respecter of
persons. What He does for one of us, He will do for
all. He is consistent in His goodness towards us, and
merciful in our time of need. It is not His will that
any man should perish; His heart-felt desire is for
all of mankind to repent and turn to Him in these last
days. He wants to fellowship with us for all eternity
in the Kingdom of God when it comes to the earth.
Mercy And Kindness
Psalm 117:2 “For his
merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of
the LORD [endureth] for ever. Praise ye the LORD.”
Mankind has come
full circle thanks to the loving kindness of God
towards us. We now have favor with Him and enjoy a
renewed intimacy with Him as our Father. Through our
faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, we have better
promises than our ancestors had. We enjoy sonship
rights and are heirs to all the promises of God.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have guidance
and direction and are able to develop all the
attributes of God Himself.
We will be eternally
rewarded for our righteousness and obedience in the
Kingdom of God when it comes to the earth. The Lord
will take vengeance on all our enemies. We will share
in Christ’s own honor and glory, and rule and reign
with Him for all eternity. He will boast of us to all
creation, and we will dwell in love and unity with our
God just as He intended from the very foundation of
the world.
Topics For Discussion
1. Goodness And Mercy Of God
2. Compassion And Longsuffering
3. Mercy For Sin
4. God’s Goodness Leads To Repentance
5. Deliverance From Our Enemies
6. Mercy In Time Of Need
7. Goodness For Obedience
Chapter 3 – The Source Of All Wisdom, Truth, Knowledge
And Understanding
Romans 11:33 “O the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his
ways past finding out!”
The Lord is the
source of all wisdom, truth, knowledge and
understanding; we see tangible evidence of that all
around us. It was His genius that created the universe
and everything in it. The sheer majesty of God was at
work in His creation; we are surrounded by beauty and
awesome wonders throughout the cosmos. Everything is
distinct and unique in its own way, yet systematic and
orderly, purposeful and planned. The greatest wonder
of all is that the Lord merely had to speak forth His
words and everything came into being.
When you think of
the intricacy of life in all its many forms, it
staggers the imagination. The entire creation is
interdependent, yet ultimately dependent on God’s very
own sustaining power for its existence. It is
absolutely amazing that one Supreme Being could be so
wise as to actually conceive all that exists and have
it operate so smoothly. The Lord was not only able to
design life in all its beauty, but also execute it
perfectly according to His plan and purpose.
In His infinite
wisdom and power, God mapped out a plan for all life
so that it would be perpetually self-sustaining. He
designed the cosmos with all the stars and planetary
systems. He created the angelic realm to worship and
serve Him in the third heaven. He formed the earth and
actualized all of nature, including the plant and
animal kingdoms. Man is His ultimate creative
masterpiece; our bodies alone are perfectly and
intricately made. (See
Genesis 1)
Our creation was
planned from the very foundation of the world. The
Lord formed us in His very own image and likeness to
share in His unlimited resources for all eternity. He
supplies all of our needs, both temporal and
spiritual. We have the potential to acquire every
divine attribute that God has available to Him –
including wisdom, truth, knowledge and understanding.
He is complimented that we want to be like Him in all
respects. We need only ask Him, and He will richly
supply all that we lack in and of ourselves.
Wisdom And
Understanding
James 1:5 “If any of
you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall
be given him.”
Human beings are
capable of having divine attributes and God-like
character in their own lives. We have been given
dominion over the earth and everything in it. That
requires that we have the wisdom to manage and
organize things and knowledge of how they operate. We
should seek eternal truth to help us maintain our
priorities, and understanding to help us apply wisdom
and truth to our situations and circumstances.
Wisdom, truth,
knowledge, and understanding are all interconnected,
and as we acquire one attribute, the others will
manifest in our lives, as well. They are provided to
us by the power of the Holy Spirit of God that
indwells us. We should be consecrated to the will of
God, and He will give us spiritual discernment in all
matters pertaining to life. As we practice our
discernment, it will become sharper so that we
continually demonstrate it in our everyday lives.
Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom
[is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and
with all thy getting get understanding.”
Divine wisdom and
knowledge into all truth are accessible to us by the
power of the Holy Spirit of God that works in us. King
Solomon chose wisdom above every other gift from God.
We should imitate that desire; acquiring wisdom should
be our primary goal. It is a highly practical gift
that will serve us well in many areas. We don’t have
to grope around for answers to the perplexities of
life. We have God’s very own wisdom available to each
and every one of us.
Human understanding
is critical; it helps us apply what we have learned.
We need to develop our comprehension and understanding
to interpret the wisdom, knowledge and truth that we
receive. That will enable us to apply it in our
everyday lives, and relate it to our own individual
situations and circumstances. It will help us to
develop practical solutions to our problems and
successfully implement them.
For example, if I am
faced with a particularly difficult task and require
additional insight, I can always pray and ask God to
give me wisdom and creative knowledge to solve the
problem. He will answer my prayer and provide me with
what I request. However, it may very well be that He
gives me so much information that I become confused.
If I do not have
sufficient understanding to comprehend all wisdom,
knowledge and truth – and apply it to my particular
situation – the task will still be challenging for me.
When we pray for wisdom, we must also pray for
understanding. That makes us capable of interpreting
the information we receive and using it appropriately.
2Timothy 2:7
“Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee
understanding in all things.”
If we do not
understand something, the Lord will always take the
time to explain it to us in light of His eternal
truth. He delights in our reliance on Him and will
never leave us empty handed. He gives us practical
insight and even reveals deep mysteries and complex
intricacies to us. If we request His help, He will
give us a fresh anointing in His Holy Spirit to be
able to comprehend and apply our knowledge in all
matters pertaining to life.
The Lord reduces
complicated information into simple, understandable
terms for us. He is a proud and pragmatic God who
delights in having His people outshine those in the
world. He often gives us brilliant creativity and
supernatural wisdom to solve highly complex problems.
He facilitates our human understanding, so that we can
apply His wisdom and truth to our real life situations
and be successful in everything we say and do.
Job 12:13 “With him
[is] wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and
understanding.”
Perhaps I am faced
with a serious decision in my personal life that
requires the Lord’s assistance. I can pray for wisdom
and understanding, and seek counsel from Him for every
perplexity that I face. He is ever ready to offer His
help and wants only the best for me. If I will be
attentive to His response and meditate on His words, I
will have all the practical information I require to
make the correct choice and spare myself much
aggravation.
While all this may
seem convoluted, with God all things are indeed
possible. He wants us to be dependent on Him for
everything we need. He will give us wisdom, truth,
knowledge and understanding if we only ask Him. He
wants us to know all things and will reveal them to
us. He makes the complex simple if we pray for His
wisdom and understanding, and apply proper discernment
to our particular circumstances.
Wisdom Of The World
1Corinthians 3:19
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.
For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own
craftiness.”
There are those who
are proud and wise in their own eyes, yet lack
supernatural wisdom and knowledge of the truth that
God has made available to us through His Word and the
Gospel of the Kingdom. The Lord reveals His way of
doing things and being right and sets them up as a
standard for us to follow. This is true wisdom, and
all earthly wisdom is secondary to God’s truth.
He debases the proud
and arrogant, and confutes all worldly wisdom. He
confounds those who think they have all the answers,
but are ignorant of His discernment. He alone is the
source of all wisdom and truth for total success in
every area. He will share His wisdom with the humble
and manifest His omniscience in the lives of ordinary
men and women who seek the truth.
2Timothy 3:7 “Ever
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of
the truth.”
Some people have an
answer for everything, but no inherent wisdom. While
they may pursue extensive education and multiple
degrees, they lack common sense. They are foolish in
God’s eyes, and ever searching for what is relevant
and meaningful in life. There is no point in acquiring
worldly knowledge if it never brings us closer to the
truth.
God resists the
wise, but always exalts the humble. We need not be
highly skilled, particularly talented or well educated
for Him use us in His divine service. We must only
make ourselves available, and be willing and obedient
to His lead. We can be consecrated and dedicated
vessels for His holy purpose, if we remain teachable
and pliable.
The Lord will
provide us with all the resources that we need to
excel in everything we do. He is our divine
empowerment even in practical matters. His wisdom is
all that we need to shine His light in a darkened
world. He is the source of all truth, and if we walk
in close fellowship with Him we will be wise in all
things.
1Corinthians 1:21
“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe.”
Those who are wise
in the ways of the world are usually ignorant of the
things of God. They may be proud and arrogant and sure
of themselves, but they are grossly deceived if they
think that they can prosper without the Lord in their
lives. What they desperately need is someone to preach
the gospel and share the truth with them.
The Lord will often
use us to spread the knowledge of Him, for the benefit
of those who will ultimately repent and be saved. Men
in the world system think they have all the answers,
but they are drastically mistaken if they don’t know
God. The Lord is the source of all wisdom and truth;
without Him, men know nothing.
The Beginning Of
Wisdom
Proverbs 9:10 “The
fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the
knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.”
Ours is a loving and
generous God, but as we will see, He is also to be
feared if we are rebellious, disobedient and
transgress His law. The reverential fear of the Lord
is the beginning of all wisdom and understanding in
the truth. We should always have deference and respect
for God. He is almighty and powerful, and capable of
destruction as well as creation. We need only take a
look at Bible history to prove that point.
The Lord destroyed
the very world that He had so lovingly created because
His people had become lawless and corrupt in their
sin. Noah alone was righteous before God. He was used
as an instrument to save what could possibly be
salvaged. Only he and his family, plus the plant and
animal species that he was able to carry on board the
ark, were spared in the catastrophic flood that
covered the entire earth.
(See Genesis Chapters 6-9)
Deuteronomy 32:4
“[He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his
ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without
iniquity, just and right [is] he.”
The chosen people
walked in fear, doubt and unbelief after their release
from captivity in Egypt. They quickly forgot all that
the Lord had done for them, and they could not
visualize life in the promised land, because they had
never seen it. They mistrusted God and their leaders;
they lacked wisdom and understanding, and failed to
ask for it.
Their grumbling and
complaining vexed God; they were ungrateful and
rebellious. They disputed among themselves and openly
defied the Lord and the leaders He appointed to guide
them. The Lord brought a fearsome judgment on His
people, despite the fact that He deeply loved them. He
chastises those whom He loves if they fail to walk in
His ways.
Under ideal
conditions, their journey should have taken them only
a few weeks, but it ultimately lasted forty years.
They brought chaos and confusion in their midst
through their errant ways and ignorance of the truth.
The chosen people kept re-hashing the same old
complaints and they wandered around like lost souls,
despite the fact that the Lord Himself directed the
way.
There were no sick
or feeble among them when they started on their
journey. However, the Lord allowed them to become sick
and die on their way because they displeased Him. He
smote them with plague, and destroyed an entire
generation of His chosen people in the Sinai desert,
because of their lack of faith and understanding.
(See the Book of Exodus)
Knowledge Of The
Truth
1John 5:20 “And we
know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we may know him that is true, and
we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”
The Lord sent His
only Son into the world, not only to save us from our
sins, but also to lead us into all truth in Him.
Christ went about doing good to all men and preaching
the good news of the Kingdom of God. He wanted men to
be set free through knowledge of the truth. The truth
is that with God all things are possible, but without
Him nothing is possible. If we fail to walk in His
ways we are doomed for all eternity.
God’s ways are not
burdensome and they are only meant for our benefit.
Jesus came to fulfill the law, by which no man could
be made perfect. It was impossible to attain to all
its precepts. He simplified the law and summed it up
into two basic precepts. We should love the Lord our
God above all things and love our neighbors as we love
ourselves. Our love walk assures us that we are
righteous before God.
This is the wisdom
that the world lacks without it being taught to them.
However, whether God or man tries to teach them, many
still reject the wisdom of God. Without spiritual
understanding, the wisdom of God is foolishness to
them who perish. They are doomed to eternal damnation
and perpetual bondage if they continually reject His
truth.
1Timothy 2:4 “Who
will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth.”
The Bible tells us
that men perish for lack of knowledge. The Lord does
not want a single soul to be lost that is destined to
spend all eternity with Him. He needs our help to
proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God and
preach the gospel to all the world, so that men
everywhere have an opportunity to repent and be
baptized in the knowledge of the truth.
As we approach the
end-time harvest of souls that is coming on the earth,
it will be critical that every believer shares the
eternal truth with his fellows. There is a full number
of souls that must be brought in before the Kingdom of
God can come on the earth, and that will require
aggressive evangelization and mighty demonstrations of
the power of God for good.
We will have an
anointing of God’s very own power to do good works and
attract all men to Him. We will lay hands on the sick,
and they will recover. We will set captives free of
enemy oppression and loose blessings in their lives.
We will even raise the dead back to life as Jesus
Himself did when He walked on the earth.
What we may lack in
head knowledge, we compensate for in heart knowledge
of the truth. If we genuinely love God and others, we
will be happy to serve Him by spreading our faith.
When we tell others about Jesus Christ and His
sacrifice for our sins, their hearts will be touched
and their lives will be empowered for change with His
promises.
We Are Responsible
For The Truth
Hebrews 10:26 “For
if we sin wilfully after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more
sacrifice for sins,”
Once we are saved
and baptized in Christ, we are redeemed from all
unrighteousness and our right standing with God is
restored. If we purposely sin, we are guilty of
lawlessness and rebellion for our flagrant disregard
of the truth. We are responsible to walk in the light
that we have at any given time, and to carefully guard
our salvation.
To deliberately
disobey God means that we run the risk of losing our
salvation altogether. Our consciences can become so
seared and our hearts so hardened, that we are
oblivious to the truth and choose to walk in total
defiance of God. He is under no obligation to forgive
us unless we repent from the heart and turn again
toward righteousness.
Knowledge Of God’s
Will
Colossians 1:9 “For
this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do
not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might
be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding;”
Paul prayed that His
followers would be filled with the knowledge of God’s
will for their lives. He wanted them to seek wisdom
and spiritual understanding for His specific plan and
purpose, rather than their own ambitions. We all have
divine destinies to fulfill. We should pray for one
another in the church to receive knowledge of God’s
will for our lives.
It is important to
note that there is an express will of God for our
lives and a permissive will. It is His express will
that we walk in love for Him and others, and follow
His commandments. His permissive will involves our own
free will to a greater extent, and allows us to do
things that are not necessarily sinful, but may not be
according to His perfect will for us.
In the days that lie
ahead before the coming of the Kingdom of God to the
earth, it will be critical that we walk in God’s
express will for our lives and discover our specific
calling and divine purpose. We will need wisdom and
understanding to fulfill our destinies. Some of us
will be members of the Bride of Christ, while others
may be called out as His Body on the earth.
Whatever our
particular function is in establishing the Kingdom, we
have to be quick to obey the Lord’s lead, and willing
to fulfill our role. We should function as one, under
Jesus Christ’s leadership. We must walk in love and
unity and do the will of the Father. That way we will
be guaranteed a place in His Kingdom for all eternity.
Wisdom, Truth,
Knowledge And Understanding
Proverbs 2:6 “For
the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh
knowledge and understanding.”
Wisdom, truth,
knowledge and understanding are key attributes of God
that we should desire if we wish to be successful in
every area of our lives. He will endow us richly with
all of these, if we will remain righteous and humble
before Him. All we need do is come boldly before the
throne of grace and petition Him for these gifts. He
will respond as He did with King Solomon’s request,
and grant us all that we require to be successful.
We need the wisdom
of the Lord to discern all things and to exercise
righteous judgment in all natural and spiritual
matters. We need a full impartation of the truth to
keep us on track and show us the deeper mysteries of
God. We require knowledge and keen insight to know His
will and plan for our lives, and we should develop
heightened understanding to practically apply all that
we have learned.
Topics For Discussion
1. God’s Wisdom Evidenced In Creation
2. Wisdom And Understanding
3. Wisdom Of The World
4. The Beginning Of Wisdom
5. Knowledge Of The Truth
6. Knowledge Of God’s Will
Chapter 4 – Hope, Peace And Joy In The Lord
Ecclesiastes 2:26
“For [God] giveth to a man that [is] good in his sight
wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he
giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may
give to [him that is] good before God. This also [is]
vanity and vexation of spirit.”
God gives good
things to the righteous. We don’t need to struggle to
make our way in this world. The Lord will come to our
aid; He is ever compassionate and concerned about our
welfare. He shares all that He is and all that He has
with us freely and generously. He will bestow all of
His resources and His very own attributes on His
people, so that we might enjoy life in abundance and
be successful in all our endeavors.
Hope, peace and joy
in the Lord are our birthrights in Christ Jesus. They
are rewards for our righteousness and given to us to
enhance our lives and improve our effectiveness as the
sons and daughters of God. We should desire these
divine attributes in all their fullness in the days to
come as we face the ultimate challenge and bring
heaven to the earth realm.
We will require hope
and confidence to endure all the trials and
tribulations that we face. We need the very peace of
God that passes understanding to remain calm in the
midst of trouble and confusion. We should desire the
joy of the Lord to keep us strong and healthy, well
balanced, optimistic and enthused in our service for
Him and others.
Romans 15:13 “Now
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the
power of the Holy Ghost.”
We know that we can
always pray in faith and receive every good thing from
God. He loves us with an everlasting love, and wants
to supply all that we need in abundance. When He sees
us approach the throne of grace, He sees Jesus coming
to Him with a need. Our righteousness is our guarantee
of His favorable response.
Believers are
joint-heirs to all the promises of Christ. He is our
Redeemer and our Benefactor. We can develop in
Christ-like character if we walk in love and humility.
We experience His peace in our present situations and
circumstances; we have hope and confidence for the
future; and we possess the supernatural joy of the
Lord to endure in all things.
Through the power of
the Holy Spirit of God, we can acquire all the divine
attributes that we desire, including hope, peace and
joy. They are fruit of the Holy Spirit that manifest
in our lives, as we crucify our flesh and lay down our
soul desires. As we mature spiritually, these
characteristics grow in us and are demonstrated in our
godly behavior towards others.
Hope In God
Psalm 42:11 “Why art
thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted
within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise
him, [who is] the health of my countenance, and my
God.”
The Lord is our
eternal hope and confidence. We can trust Him in every
situation; He will never leave us or forsake us. He
created us to be in close, intimate relationship with
Him and wants us to rely solely on His providence for
our lives. He will always answer our prayers and
supply all that we need to overcome the challenges
that we face in serving Him and others.
When the burdens of
life become heavy and threatening, we can hope in our
God who has the answer to all our perplexities. If we
need strength and stamina to endure hardship, He will
supply it in abundance. If we require supernatural
healing or financial breakthroughs, He will be our
source for all that we lack. If we need guidance and
direction, we can trust the Lord to provide it.
He will never ignore
our needs or minimize their importance. He is ready to
share our innermost thoughts and feelings. We can
discuss all of our dreams and concerns with God. He
wants intimacy in our relationship more than anything
else, and He will always respond with loving kindness
towards us. He meets all our needs, both spiritual and
temporal, and is always generous in sharing His
abundant resources with His people.
Romans 5:5 “And hope
maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given
unto us.”
It is comforting to
know that the Lord is always there for us. We have the
Holy Spirit of God itself to lead and guide us in all
truth. That keeps us looking up at Him, rather than at
the darkness that surrounds us. Hope fuels our faith
and stimulates our love for God. It gives us peace in
our present circumstances and confidence in our
future. So too, we have a blessed hope for the coming
of God’s Kingdom on the earth.
We will have all our
needs met in abundance in the Kingdom of God. The Lord
will take vengeance on all our enemies and root out
all evil in our midst. We will enjoy long life in
healthy, incorruptible bodies that never decay or die.
We will have peace and prosperity, safety and security
for all eternity. We will dwell in the very presence
of God in supernatural love and joy.
Hope Of Eternal Life
Romans 6:23 “For the
wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is]
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Just as the sin of
one man doomed all of us, so did the obedience of one
man make us all righteous. All we must do to gain
eternal life is to believe that Jesus was the Son of
God, who died for our sins and was raised again from
the dead. His resurrection set the precedent, and is
our assurance that death has lost its sting for all
time.
The eternal
redemption plan is one of the greatest gifts of God to
us since creation itself. While we were once lost in
sin and doomed to eternal damnation due to Adam’s
transgression, we have been made righteous again by
the merits of Christ’s atonement on the cross. His
Blood sacrifice is our guarantee of right standing
with God, and our hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:7 “That
being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life.”
We have unmerited
favor with God through the Blood of our Savior, Jesus
Christ. We abound in His grace, and are privileged to
be in right standing with God. Christ’s victory over
sin, death and the grave brought us eternal
righteousness, and made us heirs to better promises
than our forefathers had.
We have the hope of
eternal life, both in the spirit and in the flesh. We
will have our decaying, corruptible bodies changed in
the twinkling of an eye, into glorious, resurrection
bodies that are impervious to disease and death. We
will dwell in the presence of almighty God for all
eternity in the Kingdom of God when it comes to the
earth. We will experience joy, peace and hope as never
before!
John 17:2-3 “As thou
hast given him power over all flesh, that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent.”
Christ’s sacrifice
provided us with a divine exchange. We have the
promise of eternal life through His suffering death.
All believers in Christ are justified by their faith
in His Blood, and the power of His resurrection. His
victory over sin, death and the grave makes us
righteous and eligible for life in the Kingdom of God
for all eternity.
No man that believes
and trusts in the Lord will be disappointed. We will
be sanctified by the purging fire of God Himself, and
glorified with Christ in His coming Kingdom. We are
joint-heirs with Him to all the promises of God. We
will be priest and kings, rulers and judges. The Lord
will boast of us to all creation, and we will live
forever in the actual presence of God Himself.
Hope Of Glory
Romans 5:2 “By whom
also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
We are blessed
beyond measure and enjoy an abundance of God’s grace.
We have unmerited favor with Him because of our faith
in Christ and His atonement. We are heirs to all the
promises of God, and can experience intimate
fellowship with Him. We enjoy many rights and
privileges and will inherit eternal rewards for our
obedient service.
The Lord trusts us
with all His secrets and gives us revelation
concerning the future. He delights in partnering with
man and He relies on our active assistance in
performing His will on the earth. He wants our lives
to be a continual demonstration of His love for all
mankind, and a testimony of His mercy and goodness to
us.
So too, we have
important roles in His eternal redemption plan. If we
are willing and obedient, we have hope and confidence
of His power and glory manifesting in and through us,
as we approach the end of the ages and the end-time
harvest of souls. He will perform miraculous feats
through His people that are yielded to His purpose.
1Thessalonians 5:23
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I
pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
We must sanctify
ourselves, crucify our flesh and all its desires, and
lay down our soul lives in consecration and dedication
to the Lord’s holy plan and purpose for mankind. As we
do this, we will experience a full anointing of
Christ’s very own power and authority to help us usher
in the Kingdom of God on the earth.
We will have
supernatural strength and endurance to overcome all
obstacles in our path. We will tear down demonic
strongholds that interfere with our efforts. We will
take back total dominion over the earth. All of our
authority will be restored as we defeat Satan and all
his minions, and deliver the Kingdom to Jesus Christ
at His coming.
Colossians 1:27 “To
whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory:”
We will walk as
Christ Himself walked on the earth in power and glory,
and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all the
nations of the world. We will have the distinct
pleasure and privilege of sharing our faith and our
love with all men. We will baptize them unto
repentance and possess the heathen for our
inheritance. We will bring in the full harvest of
souls that will enter the Kingdom on the earth.
The Body of Christ
will demonstrate god’s very own love and mercy to all
men in the days to come. We will partake of the divine
when we lay hands on the sick and minister healing to
their minds and bodies. We will set men free from
enemy oppression and affliction of all types and
change lives as never before. We will even raise the
dead back to life and give them and their loved ones
hope for the future again.
1Thessalonians 1:3
“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and
labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;”
Reorganization and
restructure of world governments will be another
important task for us. We will teach the nations of
the world Kingdom principles for justice and right
judgment. There will be no more wars and
insurrections. We will help to restore all of creation
to its original beauty and balance. We will take
dominion over the plant and animal kingdoms so that
nothing defiles or destroys. We will subdue all of
nature and the climate to prevent natural disasters
from occurring.
In return for our
efforts, we will experience all the benefits of
Kingdom life plus eternal rewards for our service. We
will dwell in the actual presence of God; He will
generously supply all our needs. We will enjoy peace
and prosperity, joy and unity. We will rule and reign
with Christ and be kings and priests to our people. We
will share in all His honor and glory.
We wait patiently
for the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
with hope and confidence in our future. We know that
Christ will destroy all the ungodly and their
ungodliness in the wrath of His coming, and take
vengeance on all our enemies. He will banish all evil
from the face of the earth, so that men will have a
safe and secure future for all eternity. We have peace
with God and experience joy in all that He will do for
us.
The Peace Of God
Romans 14:17 “For
the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
The Kingdom of God
will be ushered into the earth realm with all divine
power and glory, as the Lord’s eternal redemption plan
is consummated. It will be a new and improved version
of the Garden of Eden, a virtual paradise for both God
and man to enjoy for all time. It will be
characterized by righteousness, peace and joy for all
who dwell there.
The peace of God
will permeate the entire atmosphere in His Kingdom.
Men will dwell together in love and unity, with a sure
hope for their future. No one will oppress or exploit
his neighbors; all evil will be rooted out and
destroyed. Everyone will be treated fairly and
equitably. There will be no poverty and lack, no
insurrection and unrest, no strife or division of any
kind in the presence of our almighty God.
Philippians 4:6-7
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”
The Lord Himself
will anticipate our every need, and generously provide
all things in abundance for our pleasure and
enjoyment. We will not be anxious about what we will
eat or drink, nor give any thought to what we should
wear. We will experience total health and wellness in
our glorious, resurrection bodies and enjoy eternal
life.
We will build
habitations on the earth and dwell with our families
for generation upon generation. We will long enjoy the
works of our hands; everything that we touch will
prosper. We will have the peace that passes
understanding, which is totally incomprehensible to
our finite minds. The Lord will receive all the glory
and praise that He deserves as we worship and thank
Him for His love, mercy and generosity to His people.
Philippians 4:9
“Those things, which ye have both learned, and
received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God
of peace shall be with you.”
All we must do to be
eligible to enjoy life in the Kingdom of God is to
have faith, and act on it. We should be loving,
obedient and do the will of the Father. We have to
follow the law of love, and love the Lord and others
as we love ourselves. We must be quick to hear the
Lord’s direction for our lives and immediately obey
Him.
We should forego our
own short-term plans and agendas and make the Lord’s
eternal plan and purpose for mankind our very own. We
must continue to sanctify ourselves on a daily basis,
and cleanse ourselves of all defilement of spirit,
soul and body. We ought to strive for holiness and
spiritual maturity by walking in the Spirit instead of
our flesh.
The Lord will be
pleased and proud of us as we spend our days in
service to Him and to all mankind with the coming of
His Kingdom. He will be with us in all that we do to
promote the gospel and bring in the end-time harvest
of souls. He will glorify us with His very own power
and authority to be Christ’s hands and feet on the
earth, as we perform miraculous signs and wonders in
His Name.
2Corinthians 13:11
“Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good
comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of
love and peace shall be with you.”
Love and unity are
no longer optional for us. We must be of one mind in
Christ to do all that we are asked to do in the
critical days ahead. We should pray for one another
and encourage ourselves in our faith. We should be
living testimonies of God’s hope, peace and joy to all
the nations of the world, and godly examples of His
love and goodness towards all men.
Whether we are asked
to serve in the Body of Christ, or act as His Bride is
irrelevant. We should be ready and willing to do all
that the Lord requires of us in the days ahead. He may
arrange for us to meet new people that require us to
minister to them; we will need to be above and beyond
reproach in all that we say and do. Eternal lives will
depend on our faithfulness.
The Lord will enable
and empower us to be His ambassadors for the Kingdom
of God. He will give us a full impartation of Christ’s
very anointing to serve others. We will preach the
gospel and lay hands on the sick. We will do spiritual
warfare and release all captives of enemy oppression.
We will even raise the dead back to life and give them
hope again.
The Joy Of The Lord
Matthew 25:23 “His
lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful
servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I
will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into
the joy of thy lord.”
The Lord will infuse
us with His very own joy as a reward for our
righteousness and unselfish love for others. Joy is
supernatural optimism, zeal and gladness. The joy of
the Lord will empower us to be healthy and well
balanced in every area of our lives. It stimulates
good hormone production in our bodies and enhances our
sense of well-being. It improves our mental
performance and optimizes our emotions.
The joy of the Lord
is a tremendous gift from God, a fruit of the Holy
Spirit itself. Together with love, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
and temperance, the joy of the Lord will promote
spiritual maturity in us so that we are better able to
relate to others. It will enable us to walk in the
Spirit, rather than our fleshly way of doing things.
It will produce zeal and enthusiasm in us as we serve
the Lord.
Joy stimulates love
for God and others, brings peace and confidence to us,
causes hope for the future, and propels our faith into
action. While it has many spiritual benefits, joy also
makes us more attractive on a human level. It is
characterized by exceeding gladness, positive
exuberance and supernatural optimism. It is expressed
in our eyes, our smiles, in our words and gestures
towards others. When we have joy, we can be most
effective in our service to others.
Nehemiah 8:10 “…for
the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
When we have the joy
of the Lord we seem to have a secret weapon in life.
We are positive and optimistic, enthusiastic and
strong. We have the stamina and endurance to face any
trial and tribulation that we experience with an
upbeat attitude and confident hope for success. We are
a real threat to the enemy, who cannot penetrate our
defenses. We always overcome his efforts to oppress
and destroy us when we are joyous.
Our joy in the Lord
will be our greatest strength for the future. We will
enthusiastically serve Him as we usher in His Kingdom
and attract many to the gospel. We will be able to
persuade them in our faith and encourage them to
repent and be baptized. So too, we will rejoice as we
minister to the needs of God’s people for healing and
deliverance. Our joy will be at its peak when we raise
the dead back to life again and deliver the Kingdom to
Jesus Christ at His coming.
Fullness Of Joy
Psalm 16:11 “Thou
wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence [is]
fulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are]
pleasures for evermore.”
We will have joy
unspeakable and the peace that passes understanding in
God’s Kingdom. Life in His presence will be heaven on
the earth for all those who believe. He will show us
His way of doing things and being right. Strict
adherence to Kingdom principles will ensure us peace
and prosperity, love and unity, safety and security
for all eternity.
The Lord will supply
all of our needs in abundance and we will long enjoy
the pleasures that He provides for us. There will be
no poverty and lack in the Kingdom of God. There will
be no death and disease, as we trade our corruptible
flesh for glorious resurrection bodies that live
forever. There will be no strife and division among
us; all men will be treated fairly and equitably.
Habbakuk 3:18 “Yet I
will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my
salvation.”
We will dwell in
love and unity with one another for generation after
generation. We will build homes and raise happy,
healthy families. No evil will enter into God’s
Kingdom; nothing that defiles will harm us in any way.
We will walk in dominion over all nature and the plant
and animal kingdoms. The earth will be a veritable
paradise once again.
The Lord has been
faithful and generous to us. We should rejoice in all
that He is and all that He does for us. He deserves
all our praise and honor for all eternity. He will
meet all our needs even before we ask. We will be
appointed as kings and priests unto our God, and just
rulers of His people. We will receive eternal rewards
for our service and He will boast of us to all
creation.
We will long enjoy
heaven’s blessing right here on the earth!
Topics For Discussion
1. Inherited Hope, Peace And Joy
2. Hope In God
3. The Hope Of Glory
4. Peace Of God
5. Peace That Passes Understanding
6. The Joy Of The Lord
7. Fullness Of Joy
Chapter
5 – The Power And The Glory
2Chronicles 20:6
“And said, O LORD God of our fathers, [art] not thou
God in heaven? and rulest [not] thou over all the
kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand [is there
not] power and might, so that none is able to
withstand thee?”
While the Lord has a
soft side – particularly for His people – He is also
strong and eminently powerful. He created the entire
universe and everything in it with raw, dynamic,
explosive power that the Greeks call “dunamis.”
He is the source of all power and authority. It was
His very own power and glory that He used to overcome
death and the grave, to resurrect His Son, Jesus
Christ, for all eternity.
The same creative
power of God will also manifest in the end times with
the resurrection of the righteous dead in Christ. The
Bible tells us that we will all be “changed in the
twinkling of an eye.” The Lord will intervene, and
there will probably be an atomic reaction of sorts or
a molecular transition of our corruptible bodies into
glorious, resurrection forms. Our new bodies will be
impervious to death and disease, and we will live
forever in the very presence of God.
Power In His Words
Isaiah 35:2 “…they
shall see the glory of the LORD, [and] the excellency
of our God.”
The Lord’s power is
both creative and destructive in its capability. He is
so mighty and powerful that He was able to create
everything that exists in the heavens and on the
earth, merely by speaking it into existence. He took a
concept that resided in His wise and omniscient mind
and meticulously actualized it into being. He spoke
the entire cosmos and every form of life into its
systematic order. He Is a God of detail, intricacy and
perfection.
His words themselves
are potential dynamos and hold the seed of all
possibility. They cause a tangible demonstration of
His almighty and glorious power. They contain the very
substance of His nature within them. When God speaks,
the impossible occurs. The entire universe lines up
and obeys His will in whatever He says. His judgment
is final and immutable and nothing can undo His
powerful words.
Our words that line
up with the Word of God are virtual powerhouses, as
well. We are created in God’s image and likeness. We
should speak only positive words that we want to see
manifest in all our situations and circumstances. We
should decree what we would have happen; we should
never speak negatively. We put our faith into action,
by speaking it forth with all divine power and
authority, as the Lord Himself has taught us to do.
The Power And Glory
Of God In Nature
Psalm 19:1 “The
heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
sheweth his handywork.”
Since the Lord is
loving and kind in His very essence, He created the
universe in perfect beauty and balance to specifically
bless all creatures. The earth is a masterpiece of His
creative genius, and man is its ultimate expression.
The Bibles tells us that our bodies themselves are
“fearfully and wonderfully made;” the Lord Himself
designed us in His very image and likeness. We have
all the potential capabilities of the divine contained
within our bodies, souls and spirits.
All of nature
manifests God’s glory and expresses His majesty with
infinite variety. The plants and animals are all
unique and different, yet interdependent upon one
another for their sustenance. The beauty and intricacy
of life in all its various forms, demonstrates the
Lord’s almighty capability for establishing peace and
order in the utmost complexity of things.
Psalm 29:3 “The
voice of the LORD [is] upon the waters: the God of
glory thundereth: the LORD [is] upon many waters.”
The Lord has the
ability to uphold or defy the very laws of nature that
He created. His power is evidenced in the wind and the
weather; His voice is heard in the thunder; and His
glory is demonstrated with the lightning that
brightens the earth in the midst of darkness. We see
His love of beauty and variety in every snowflake that
falls to the earth.
He controls the
climate and can withhold the rains in drought, or
cause a deluge to occur. He is the power source of
cyclones and tornadoes, tidal waves and tsunamis. He
causes the planet itself to subside with earthquakes,
avalanches and volcanic eruptions. He can move
mountains and control the seas.
God is able to
initiate or prevent every climatic disturbance or
natural catastrophe that ever occurs. He either vents
His wrath or expresses His pleasure on the face of the
earth. He makes His presence known in a grandiose way,
and gets our attention with dramatic expressions of
His awesome glory, power and might.
Habbakuk 3:3 … His
glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of
his praise.
The Lord is in
control of the entire universe. He created angelic
hosts to worship and serve Him. He knows the function
and path of every celestial body. So too, every
terrestrial being is dependent on His benevolent will.
He intervenes in the natural order of things to suit
His own plan and purpose, and to protect and benefit
mankind.
God controls the
stars and the planets, and prevents them from
colliding with the earth. He has even halted the sun
and the moon in their natural progression, and stopped
time as we know it to aid His people in overcoming
their enemies. He overrides the laws of gravity and
natural physics as if it were commonplace. He has even
supernaturally transported human beings from one place
to another to suit His needs, as He did with Jesus.
Manifestations Of The
Power And Glory
Ezra 8:22 “… The
hand of our God [is] upon all them for good that seek
him; but his power and his wrath [is] against all them
that forsake him.”
The Lord is able to
bless His people or utterly destroy His enemies. He is
good and loving, merciful and kind, but is also a
supremely autonomous entity. He has His own set of
standards and ways of doing things, and decides
Himself who will be rewarded and who will be punished.
There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun, and our
God is sovereign in all of His operations.
While the Lord is
kind and beneficent, He is also a righteous and just
God. He destroyed all of creation when it became
corrupt in the generations after Adam. The
catastrophic flood of Noah’s day was total and
complete in its power and scope. All life on the earth
was obliterated, and the very structure of the earth
was altered. Only the supernatural mercy and
providence of God spared a few righteous men, plants
and animals from utter extinction for all time.
Psalm 66:3 “Say unto
God, How terrible [art thou in] thy works! through the
greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit
themselves unto thee.”
So too, the Lord is
able to perform any type of miraculous sign and wonder
to support His plans and purposes, and to bless and
protect His people. He got the Egyptian pharaoh’s
attention in a big way with His dramatic show of
power. He brought horrific pestilence and plague on
the nation when the leader refused to release His
people from captivity.
Pharaoh finally
relented and set the Jewish people free, but he
underestimated the Lord when he sent his armies to
bring them back into captivity. God was able to
supernaturally part the Red Sea so that His people
could cross dry-shod to the other side. Yet when the
Egyptian armies went to follow them, they were all
drowned and destroyed in the floodwaters that ensued.
This mighty intervention in nature is both common for
the Lord, yet unfathomable to our finite minds.
The Lord brought
disease and death on His chosen people in the Sinai
desert when they rebelled against Him in their journey
to the promised land. He has championed the cause of
His anointed ones in their battles for thousands of
years. He can effect spectacular victories or cause
agonizing defeats, many times without a drop of blood
being shed. His battle strategies are themselves so
excellent and powerful, that the enemy always
concedes.
Unusual
Manifestations
Ezekiel 1:4 “And I
looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the
north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and
a brightness was about it, and out of the midst
thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of
the fire.”
The Lord’s power and
glory often manifest in unusual ways. We are sometimes
privileged to witness evidence of His very presence.
It defies natural logic and eludes accurate
description in human terms. The power and glory of God
are tangible when He shows His face to His people, yet
He has to conceal Himself to protect us from
destruction through the very force and magnitude of
His almighty power.
The prophet Ezekiel
described the glory of God in great detail in Ezekiel,
Chapter 1. He had visions of the Lord’s presence
appear to him repeatedly. His descriptions are filled
with sound, color and action that characterize the way
God move from place to place in all of His awesome
power and glory. He was purposeful and systematic and
was usually accompanied by strange angelic escorts,
called cherubim.
Ezekiel 43:2 “And
behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the
way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of
many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.”
The glory of God
that Ezekiel described that entered and departed from
the temple, was tangible and real. The Lord appeared
to enter in one way and depart from another, leaving a
flurry of activity in His wake. His glory manifested
in brightness on the earth, and His voice was audibly
heard as a multitude of rushing waters, and in the
moving wings of His angels.
Exodus 13:21-22 “And
the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a
cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar
of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor
the pillar of fire by night, [from] before the
people.”
The chosen people
perceived God’s glorious presence in a pillar of fire
by night to light their way, and a pillar of clouds by
day to lead and guide them. The Lord Himself went
before His people on their journey to the land He had
promised them, and manifested His power and glory to
their leader, Moses, on more than one occasion.
Almighty God was
able to supernaturally provide for the people’s needs
and rained down bread from heaven in huge quantities
to feed them along their way. He sent them flocks of
quail to be their meat, in such abundance that they
grew tired of eating this delicacy. He brought forth
water from rocks when they were thirsty and sated
every one of them.
Deuteronomy 5:24
“And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us
his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his
voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this
day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.”
Moses entered into
the presence of God on several occasions, while He led
the chosen people on their journey to the promised
land. He would have to climb up on a mountain to speak
with the Lord, because God’s presence was too powerful
for the people themselves to endure at close range.
The Lord would speak with a thunderous tone and
manifest Himself in fire and smoke.
The mountain itself
would catch fire from the very presence of God. The
Lord would appear as a burning bush, in a pillar of
fire or as a cloud of smoke. He had to mask Himself to
prevent utterly destroying the man of God. Moses’ face
even became burned and discolored as a result of his
experience in the light of God’s awesome power and
glory.
The Anointing Power
Of God On Jesus’ Life
Acts 10:38 “How God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and
with power: who went about doing good, and healing all
that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with
him.”
Authority is simply
delegated power. God gave His Son, Jesus Christ, the
same powerful capabilities that He has in and of
Himself. He gave Jesus the authority to do His will in
the earth realm, even though Satan had been made the
god of this world due to man’s disobedience. While
Jesus walked as a mere man on the earth, He had the
full anointing power of God resident within Him to
overcome the devil and take back dominion over the
earth for mankind.
Christ was able to
heal the sick of all their afflictions, set captives
free of demonic oppression and even raise the dead
back to life. He transported Himself on water and
spoke to all of nature, and it obeyed Him. He was able
to spontaneously slip away from the crowds and
reappear in another location miles away. He was able
to read men’s minds and know the inner secrets of
their hearts.
Jesus Christ was the
physical manifestation of all divine power and
authority in the earth realm.
1Corinthians 1:18
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the
power of God.
Jesus bore our
infirmities and carried our diseases, and by His
agonizing passion and death, we were healed. His
victory over sin, death and the grave set us free to
enjoy eternal life. The divine exchange of sin for
righteousness occurred so that all men who believe in
Christ are restored to right standing with God. Our
relationship secure, we are able to approach the
Father in petition and know that we receive what we
ask of Him.
We now enjoy close,
intimate fellowship with the Lord as was intended from
the beginning of the world. We are actual sons and
daughters of the Creator of the universe, and
joint-heirs to all the promises of God. We are seated
with Christ in heavenly places, at the right hand of
God Himself and we share in His honor and glory for
all time.
Christ’s
resurrection from the dead was the single most
powerful demonstration of God’s might and glory that
has occurred since the creation itself. The Lord
invested all of Himself in this act, and the Bible
tells us that the stone tomb was split open and filled
with the light of God’s glory. Christ’s ascension into
heaven was both spectacular and miraculous; it
consummated His first appearing with a mighty show of
God’s power and glory.
Preparation For The
Anointing
Psalm 79:9 “Help us,
O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and
deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's
sake.”
If we believe in
Christ, and the power of His resurrection, we will
live forever and share His rewards in the Kingdom of
God when it is ushered in on the earth. But first we
must sanctify ourselves, and submit to the Lord’s
chastening for our lives. We should ask for the
purging fire of God in our lives to overcome our
souls, bad habits and all unrighteousness.
We should judge
ourselves so that we will not have to be judged. We
have to crucify our fleshly desires and lay down our
personal goals and agendas in favor of God’s way of
doing things and being right. We should walk in the
Spirit instead of the flesh and overcome all efforts
of the enemy to deter us in our quest for spiritual
maturity.
Romans 3:23 “For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
We should strive for
holiness and spiritual perfection, by developing the
Lord’s very own divine attributes, which are available
to us by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. These
include love, joy, hope, peace, temperance, meekness,
and longsuffering. The Lord will empower us to be more
like Him as we grow and develop in His divine nature.
Christ commanded us
to walk in love for God and for one another. We should
have the joy of the Lord that permeates our very
being. We need hope and confidence for the future, and
the peace of God that passes understanding. Men should
lead temperate lives and be meek, patient and
longsuffering in their dealings with others. We should
be gentle and kind, patient and good.
We ought to be
wholly consecrated and dedicated to the Lord’s eternal
redemption plan for mankind in the Kingdom of God.
We can and should imitate the life of Jesus
Himself and do the works that He did on the earth in
the critical days to come. We must be willing and
obedient, sanctified vessels for the Lord’s holy
purpose, and look to Him alone for our direction.
The Kingdom And The
Power And The Glory
2Corinthians 4:6
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus told His
followers that they should do what He did in the
world. While we will never be called to actually lay
down our physical lives in His service, we do have to
present our bodies as living sacrifices and do the
will of the Father in all things. That will require
that we consecrate and dedicate all our efforts to His
plan and purpose in the days to come.
It is the Lord’s
will that we help to usher in the Kingdom of God on
the earth. We are responsible for sharing our faith
with all men and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom
to the entire world. We will persuade them to repent
and be baptized in the Name of Jesus, and help bring
in the end-time harvest of souls that is required to
populate the Kingdom.
1Corinthians 4:20
“For the kingdom of God [is] not in word, but in
power.”
Man was created for
total dominion and authority on the earth. Christ
restored that to us at Calvary. We will be given a
full impartation of God’s very own power and glory
– the same raw, explosive power with which He
created the universe – to accomplish all that
He assigns us to do.
The anointing will
facilitate our effectiveness in destroying all demonic
efforts to prevent the coming of the Kingdom to the
earth.
The people of God
will overthrow all of Satan’s strongholds that oppress
and afflict mankind. We will set men free from demonic
captivity, heal the sick from all the diseases that
plague them, and even work creative restorative
miracles that require new body parts so that men might
be made whole. We will demonstrate the ultimate power
and glory of God by raising the dead back to life.
We will help to
restructure and reorganize all world governments to
line up with Kingdom principles of fairness and
justice. We will help bring peace on the earth, so
that there is no war and unrest of any kind. All men
will learn to dwell in love and unity or be expelled
from God’s Kingdom for all eternity.
The Anointing Power
Of God On Us
Ephesians 3:20 “Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that
worketh in us,”
We are the Lord’s
hands and feet on the earth, consecrated vessels for
His holy purpose. He will imbue us with all His divine
power and glory so that His Name is made a praise on
the earth. We will work miraculous signs and wonders
to attract all men to the Lord and His Kingdom
principles of love and righteousness.
The Lord Himself
will supernaturally empower us to discern men’s hearts
and persuade them to believe in the God of all truth.
We will preach the Gospel of the Kingdom in all its
power and authority, so that men are baptized into our
faith. Demonic powers will acquiesce as we heal the
sick, deliver the oppressed and raise the dead.
We will help to
re-create and restore all of nature to its original
beauty and balance prior to the fall of Adam. We will
exercise total dominion on the earth so that nothing
will hurt or destroy in all of God’s Kingdom. There
will be no more natural disasters as we take back
control of the climate. All plants and animals will be
inherently changed to live in harmony with man and
with each other.
The earth will be a
veritable paradise again, and we will long enjoy the
works of our hands. The Lord Himself will come and
take up residence with His people. He will fellowship
with us as He intended from the very foundation of the
world. He will wipe away all our tears, and share His
supernatural joy with us. God will supply all our
needs even before we ask Him, and all men will dwell
in love and unity, peace and prosperity for all
eternity.
Topics For Discussion
1. Power In God’s Words
2. The Power And Glory Of God In Nature
3. Divine Manifestations Of Power And Glory
4. Unusual Manifestations
5. The Anointing Power Of God On Jesus’ Life
6. Power And Glory In The Kingdom Of God
7. The Anointing Power On Us
Chapter 6 – Grace, Justice And Judgment
Deuteronomy 32:4
“[He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his
ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without
iniquity, just and right [is] he.”
Ours is a great and
glorious God, just and fair in all His ways. He is no
respecter of persons and judges all, both great and
small, by the same fair and equitable standards. Sin
is sin, and justice requires pay back. Whether it is a
grievous offense against God or a small one is
irrelevant, we still owe God recompense in penalty for
our transgression.
His ways are not our
ways, the Bible tells us. The Lord has His own set of
standards for righteousness and justice. His way of
doing things and being right is the only way
permissible in all of His creation. He is omnipotent
and will render eternal judgment for anything and
anyone that does not line up with His perfect will.
The Lord has granted
the righteous judgment of both men and angels to His
Son, Jesus Christ. Christ will return to destroy all
the ungodly and their ungodliness in the wrath of His
coming, the Bible tells us. He will judge both the
living and the dead to see whether or not they will be
allowed to enter the Kingdom of God for all eternity.
2Chronicles 6:23
“Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy
servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his
way upon his own head; and by justifying the
righteous, by giving him according to his
righteousness.”
The Lord will no
longer blink the eye at evil on the earth. He will
intervene from heaven and restore peace and order,
justice and fairness for all men. His Son, Jesus
Christ, is not returning as a meek and mild Lamb this
time. He will destroy all evil off the face of the
earth, and wreak vengeance on all our enemies.
We must be quick to
repent from all known sin and turn from all
unrighteousness, with a firm resolve never to offend
God again. If we do His will and walk in love for Him
and others, He is merciful to forgive us all of our
sins, and we are restored to right standing with Him.
If we refuse to acknowledge our sin debt, He has just
cause and every right to bring severe judgment on us.
Not all men will be
saved, despite the Lord’s wishes to the contrary.
There are some who will always continue in sin and
unrighteousness. They will be forever banished from
the rewards and blessings in God’s Kingdom. They have
had their rewards on the earth, but will be on the
outside looking in for all eternity. They will gnash
their teeth and lament having been stubborn and evil.
The Grace Of God
Romans 5:15 “But not
as the offence, so also [is] the free gift. For if
through the offence of one many be dead, much more the
grace of God, and the gift by grace, [which is] by one
man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.”
The Lord has His own
perfect values and ideals. He sets high standards for
obedience and righteousness. If we do not believe in
Christ and the power of His atonement and
resurrection, we are subject to eternal damnation for
our sins. The wages of sin are death, physical and
spiritual demise. It is that simple and a topic not
open to argument or discussion.
Fortunately however,
He doesn’t give believers in Christ the punishment
that we deserve for our sins. We are covered by the
Blood of Christ’s obedient sacrifice. When the Lord
sees us, He sees Jesus in all His spiritual
perfection. He judges us by our righteousness in
Christ, and always gives us grace – His
unmerited favor – in all matters.
We all miss the mark
from time to time, and fall short of the glory of God
Himself. If we do make a mistake and sin after having
received such a great salvation from Christ, we must
be quick to repent and renounce our sin. If we do so,
the Lord will be merciful and compassionate to forgive
us our transgression. He will blot our sin from His
memory and restore us to right standing with Him. He
will reinstate our promises in Christ and our
blessings for righteousness.
Ephesians 2:8 “For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:”
Salvation is God’s
gift to us. Our faith in Christ’s atonement for our
sins is our guarantee of right standing with God. We
cannot only approach Him for all of our needs, but we
do so from a most favorable vantage point. We are
joint-heirs with Christ to all the promises of God; we
are actually seated with Him in heavenly places, the
Bible tells us. We can go boldly to the throne of
grace and have all our petitions heard at any time.
So too, if we have
faith and confidence that God hears us, we know that
we will have whatever we ask. Christ is ever ready to
make intercession for us. By the Blood and the Name of
Jesus, we enjoy great favor with God. He always
blesses us and provides our needs in abundance. If we
do His will in all things, we will continue enjoy His
grace and favor in our lives.
Justice For All
Deuteronomy 16:20
“That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that
thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD
thy God giveth thee.”
The Lord hates sin;
he is holy and perfect and cannot abide in the
presence of evil. He neither tolerates nor excuses sin
in any of us. He is a just and fair God, and demands
that we comply with His way of doing things and being
right. His is the standard by which all human and
angelic behavior will be judged throughout the entire
universe.
Only perfect
obedience will save us from eternal damnation. We have
to walk in love and do the Lord’s will in all matters.
We must be living examples of His very own
righteousness on the earth, so that all men will
imitate our ways and be spared from punishment. We
will enjoy eternal life in the Kingdom of God when it
comes to the earth, and have manifold blessings and
rewards for our righteous service to the Lord and to
others.
The Judgment Of God’s
People
1Peter 4:17 “For the
time [is come] that judgment must begin at the house
of God: and if [it] first [begin] at us, what shall
the end [be] of them that obey not the gospel of God?”
We have reached the
end times, the period of judgment of the very
household of God. All believers in Christ are being
scrutinized and appraised to see that their behavior
is above reproach as we enter into the Kingdom of God.
We are being held to much higher standards of
accountability than ever before. We should judge
ourselves so that we do not need to be judged by
Christ; we must make any necessary alteration to our
behavior quickly and permanently.
The judgment of the
nations of the world will soon take place, as well.
Nothing that defiles will be tolerated in God’s
Kingdom. We will help to reorganize and restructure
world governments to line up with Kingdom principles
of justice for all. We will be ruling and reigning
with Christ Himself. We will judge both men and angels
and we need to learn principles of righteous judgment,
in order to be fair and equitable in our dealings with
others.
Romans 2:1-3
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou
art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another,
thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest
the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of
God is according to truth against them which commit
such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that
judgest them which do such things, and doest the same,
that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?”
While we have been
made righteous by the Blood of Jesus, and enjoy grace
in our own lives, we have no right to look down on,
criticize or condemn others. We may have a tendency to
become proud and arrogant because of our right
standing with God, but this is a trap of the enemy and
will lead us into disobedience of the law of love. We
are all important to the Lord’s plan and purpose. None
of us is more righteous or more deserving of
forgiveness than another.
If we hypocritically
judge others when we have the same faults as they do,
we bring ourselves under judgment for the very same
sins that they have. If we judge at all, we should use
the righteous judgment of God and be fair and just. We
should always hold ourselves to the same standard of
accountability that we use in judging others.
In the days to come,
we will indeed judge both angels and men as we rule
and reign with Christ for all eternity. This is a
grave responsibility. Eternal destinies will lie in
our hands. We must see things as the Lord does and be
just, fair and equitable in our dealings with others.
There will be safety and security for all men in the
Kingdom of God; we must learn to be fair and just
rulers.
Justification Of The
Believer
Romans 2:13 “(For not
the hearers of the law [are] just before God, but the
doers of the law shall be justified.”
We should judge
ourselves so that we will not need to be judged by
God. We know the truth of His law, and are accountable
for acting on it. All believers must be walking in
righteousness and love for God and for one another at
all times. There must be no strife and division among
us; we are to be one with each other and with the Lord
Jesus Christ.
We must renounce all
known sin and repent of it from the heart. We should
purge ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and
willfulness of the soul. We are required to be
spiritually mature and strive for holiness and
perfection. We should be doers of the law and humbly
consecrate and dedicate ourselves to the Lord’s plan
and purpose for our lives.
The Vengeance Of The
Lord
Hebrews 10:30 “For
we know him that hath said, Vengeance [belongeth] unto
me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The
Lord shall judge his people.”
The Lord has a sure
judgment in mind for both the believer and the
unbeliever. He has given that responsibility to His
Son as His reward. Jesus Christ is not returning as a
meek and mild Lamb of God this time. He will be coming
with all vengeance to do the will of His Father and
defend His people from all their enemies. He will
judge both the living and the dead with the same fair
and equitable standards.
Jesus Christ will
determine who is eligible to enter into the Kingdom of
God. Only those who walk in love and do the will of
the Father will enjoy life there. Those who deny
Christ and refuse to walk in His ways will be
excluded. They will not be given another opportunity
to get it right. Their judgment will be final and
permanent, as they are banished from entering God’s
Kingdom.
Isaiah 63:4 “For the
day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the year of
my redeemed is come.”
The angels of God
have already been dispatched to rid the earth of evil.
There is war being waged in the heavenlies right now
between the angels of God and the minions of Satan.
Its fallout often extends down to the earth, as we do
spiritual warfare here to prevent the devil from
oppressing and attacking us in backlash.
Satan is technically
already a defeated foe; Christ made an open show of
Him with His victory over sin, death and the grave two
thousand years ago. The devil knows that his time is
short, so he will try to do as mach damage as
possible. He will harass and oppress God’s people as
never before, and attempt to prevent heaven from
coming to the earth realm as the Lord plans.
He will not succeed
in his efforts, however. The people of God will
overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of
their testimonies. We will use the same awesome power
of God that was used to form the universe in our
combat with him. We will bind him with our
faith-filled words and cast him out of our affairs on
the earth for all time. The Blood and the Name of
Christ are our assurance of victory.
The scriptures tell
us that Jesus Himself is returning to destroy all the
ungodly and their ungodliness in His coming wrath. He
will banish all evil from the Kingdom of God for all
eternity. Satan will be captured and bound in the
bottomless pit where he belongs, so that he can no
longer accuse or oppress God’s people.
Deuteronomy 32:43
“Rejoice, O ye nations, [with] his people: for he will
avenge the blood of his servants, and will render
vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful
unto his land, [and] to his people.”
This will be our
greatest hour. No longer oppressed or scorned for our
faith, we will share in Christ’s very own honor and
glory. He will take vengeance on all our enemies and
avenge all wrongs that have been done to us. The Lord
will boast of us to all creation and give us our
eternal rewards for righteous service to Him and to
others.
He will appoint us
to be kings and priests unto our God. We will rule and
reign with Christ for all eternity in fairness and
equity for all of God’s people. We will be given the
heathen for our inheritance and dwell in the very
presence of God Himself. He will provide all our needs
in abundance for all eternity.
The Lord will have
mercy on His people and provide them with blessings of
love and unity, peace and prosperity, safety and
security in His Kingdom. We will have glorious
resurrection bodies without disease or affliction of
any type. We will long enjoy the work of our hands and
be in harmony with all of nature; the earth will be a
paradise for all men. We will give thanks and praise
to the Lord for all generations.
Topics For Discussion
1. The Lord’s Standards Of Justice
2. Justice For All
3. Judgment Of God
4. Grace Of God
5. Judgment Of The Household Of God
6. Justification Of The Believer
7. Vengeance Of The Lord
Chapter 7 – Holy And Perfect - The Promise Keeper
1Samuel 2:2 “[There
is] none holy as the LORD: for [there is] none beside
thee: neither [is there] any rock like our God.”
The Lord is holy and
perfect; there is none to compare with Him in the
entire universe. He sets a high standard for His
people to imitate with excellence in all His thoughts,
words and actions. While we will never be able to
attain to the holiness and perfection of God Himself,
we certainly can strive for increased righteousness,
and follow His example in all that we think, say and
do.
If we will
fellowship with God for all eternity in the Kingdom of
God, we must remember that no evil can abide in His
presence; nothing defiling can come in contact with
Him. Therefore, we must be holy as He is holy. We
should lay down our fleshly desires and soul
ambitions, and walk in the Holy Spirit of God.
We ought to seek the
express will of God in all matters. If we know His
divine character and attributes, we can better
understand His wishes and adapt ourselves to His
standards. We should always follow the commandments of
God. They are not burdensome, but intended for our
happiness and well-being in every area of our lives.
Holiness And
Perfection In God’s People
1Kings 8:61 “Let
your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God,
to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments,
as at this day.”
Keeping God’s
commandments is not an option for us as believers. If
we strive for holiness, we must be perfectly obedient
to walk in His way of doing things and being right.
Christ did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill
it. Jesus Himself taught us that we are to love the
Lord with all our mind, heart, soul and strength, and
love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
The Lord wants us to
bear one another’s burdens in all mercy and
compassion. He delights in the fact that we share each
other’s joys with love and enthusiasm. So too, we have
to develop our sense of fairness and justice, so that
we can be effective judges and patient rulers of His
people in the Kingdom of God.
We should try to
perfect our spiritual maturity, so that we have some
basis for intimate fellowship and communication with
the Lord when we enter into His presence. The fruit of
the Spirit must be fully developed in us, so that we
walk in love, peace, joy, hope, meekness, temperance,
gentleness, and longsuffering. We should imitate God
in all respects, and think like He thinks.
Romans 12:2 “And be
not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is]
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Jesus told us that
not everyone will enter into the Kingdom of God, but
only those who do the will of the Father. We have to
renew our minds and consecrate our hearts. The Lord
insists that we walk in unselfish love and unity with
one another. No strife or division will be tolerated
in God’s people. We are to be at perfect peace with
God and with all men wherever possible.
It is the Lord’s
express will that we be happy and healthy, prosperous
and blessed in everything that we do. All that is
required of us is obedience to His perfect plan and
purpose for our lives. He has plans for our welfare
and not for evil. We have divine destinies and He is
anxious that we fulfill them – for His benefit as well
as ours!
We must walk in
God’s way of doing things and being right. We should
desire His companionship over popularity and prestige
in the world. We should take a strong stand for our
faith, and persuade all men to come to knowledge of
the truth of the gospel. We should be anxious for
nothing, but rely on the Lord’s very own empowerment
to serve Him and others.
The Lord Empowers Us
To Be Perfect
2Samuel 22:33 “God
[is] my strength [and] power: and he maketh my way
perfect.”
Almighty God will
purge us of all filthiness of the soul and the flesh
and sanctify us for His service, so that He might be
glorified in us. He has known us from the very
foundation of the world. He called us specifically to
respond to His promise of eternal life. We are
justified by our faith in Christ, sanctified by His
Blood and we will soon be glorified with Him for all
eternity.
The Lord wants us to
be humble servants of all men, sharing our faith and
our gifts with all the nations of the world. We give
Him high praise and honor when we walk as living
gospels of the Kingdom of God and its righteousness.
We are His hands and His feet on the earth, and we
demonstrate His love for all mankind by unselfishly
serving others.
We have a high
calling and a divine purpose for our lives. The Lord
desires that we minister to the weak and afflicted
among us, heal the sick and set captives free of enemy
oppression. It is not His will that any man should
perish. He will endow us with supernatural power and
authority to destroy all the works of the devil, and
change men’s lives as never before possible.
2Corinthians 13:11
“Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good
comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of
love and peace shall be with you.”
The Lord will be
with us in all that we are called to do in ushering in
His Kingdom in the days ahead. He will be our strength
and our capability. All we must do is be willing and
obedient to serve Him and others. We should walk in
love, peace and unity with one another at all times,
and be quick to follow the lead of Jesus Christ in all
that we do.
The Lord may ask us
to do things that seem impossible in the natural, but
He will enable us to fulfill His wishes. If we are
willing and obedient, we will indeed see the power and
glory of God manifested in our lives for the benefit
of others. We will walk in the divine, as we usher in
God’s Kingdom, and take hold of our eternal destinies.
We should have hope
and confidence in our future rewards, and comfort
ourselves in the knowledge that heaven will indeed
come to the earth. We will dwell in the very presence
of our holy and perfect God and be suitable companions
to Him. We will experience peace and prosperity, love
and unity, safety and security in the Kingdom of God
for all time.
Promised Rewards
2Corinthians 7:1
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Our God is a holy
and perfect deity – He deserves all of our deference
and respect. We should have a reverential fear of Him,
because He is capable of creation and destruction,
blessing and cursing. If we are obedient to His will
and cooperative with His plans and purpose for our
lives, we can expect many promised rewards, as well as
Kingdom blessings.
If we have fear,
doubt or unbelief and shrink back from His calling, we
will endure eternal punishment for our disobedience.
If we deliberately sin and transgress God’s law, we
will be excluded from His presence in the Kingdom of
God altogether. We will be on the outside looking in
for all eternity. Hell was not made for man, but as an
abode for the devil. It is not the Lord’s will that
any man should perish and be eternally condemned.
Psalm 18:30 “[As
for] God, his way [is] perfect: the word of the LORD
is tried: he [is] a buckler to all those that trust in
him.”
The Lord always
keeps His promises and will never leave or forsake us.
He is with us in all that we face in the days ahead.
He has given us His very own Spirit to comfort and
encourage us, to lead and guide us into all
righteousness and unselfish service to others. He will
imbue us with a full impartation of His power and
authority to perform miraculous signs and wonders to
attract all men to our faith.
We now have a better
understanding of God’s character and attributes. We
know that He is trustworthy and reliable, and that we
can count on Him for many blessings and eternal
rewards. The Lord will fellowship with us for all
eternity and share His glory and honor with His
people. He will boast of us to all creation, and
eliminate our former shame. He will take vengeance on
all our enemies, and protect us from all evil.
He will give us the
nations of the world as our inheritance. We will serve
as kings and priests in His Kingdom, just rulers and
able teachers of all men. The Lord will meet all of
our needs in abundance and give us peace and
prosperity in every area of our lives. We will have
healthy bodies that live forever, and long enjoy the
work of our hands. We will give Him praise and thanks
for all generations.
The Promise Keeper
2Peter 3:9 “The Lord
is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance.”
While it may appear
that the Lord is not quick to keep His promise of our
blessings and rewards in the Kingdom of God that is
not really the case. The full number of souls must
first be brought in before the Kingdom itself can be
ushered into the earth realm. It is not the Lord’s
will that any man should perish or be denied eternal
life.
We are all
responsible for preaching the good news of the Kingdom
and sharing our faith with all the nations of the
world. We may not be able to travel abroad as
ministers of the gospel, but we can reach out to those
in our workplace and neighborhood, to our friends and
family members. We can share the truth of our faith
with all with whom we come in contact.
Believers will
attract many to the Gospel of the Kingdom in the days
ahead through a dramatic display of God’s almighty
power and glory. There will be many supernatural
manifestations as we heal the sick, deliver the
captives and raise the dead. God will be with us in
all that we are called to do, and will show Himself
strong on our behalf.
Acts 2:39 “For the
promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all
that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God
shall call.”
The Lord will
empower us with an anointing of Christ’s very own
power to do good and attract all men to Him. We will
be living testimonies to the power and glory of God in
the days ahead. We will lay hands on the sick and
perform miraculous wonders; we will set men free of
all sorts of demonic oppression and affliction; and we
will even minister to the dying and restore their
lives.
God created all men,
and has called them to eternal salvation. But if the
gospel is not preached, how will they learn the truth?
We must share our faith and bring in the full number
of souls that will repent and be baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ. After the end-time harvest is brought
in, there will be nothing to stop heaven from being
ushered in on the earth.
Numbers 23:19 “God
[is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of
man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he
not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make
it good?”
While human beings
are not honest and trustworthy, we can always rely on
the Lord to keep His word. He is all powerful and
eminently capable of doing all that He has promised
us. He is loving and good, merciful and compassionate.
It is His heart’s desire to bless us, and fellowship
with us for all eternity. He has promised us that He
will bring heaven itself to the earth realm, so that
all things may be united in His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Lord is faithful
and true to His word. We can look forward to our
future with hope and confidence, excitement and
anticipation. We will share in His very own honor and
glory. He will be a God to us, and we will be His
people that walk in His ways, in all holiness and
perfection. We will overcome all evil and bless
humanity with divine love and benevolence for all
eternity.
2Peter 3:13
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for
new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness.”
We are promised new
heavens and a new earth. We will enjoy life in the
Kingdom of God as our eternal reward. There will be
love and unity, peace and prosperity, safety and
security for all men who believe in Jesus Christ and
do the will of the Father. All evil will be expelled
from God’s Kingdom for all eternity.
The Lord Himself
will blot out all pain and sorrow from our memories.
He will give us peace, hope and joy instead. He will
anticipate all our needs and provide for them in
abundance. We will build habitations and dwell there
with our families for many generations. We will have
new resurrection bodies that live forever in the very
presence of almighty God.
All of creation will
marvel at the children of God as they restore the
earth and establish peace and harmony in all of
nature. We will walk in divine power and authority,
and judge both men and angels. We will help to
establish Kingdom principles of fairness and equality,
and assist Christ in ruling and reigning over all the
nations of the world.
Topics For Discussion
1. The Lord Is Holy And Perfect
2. Holiness And Perfection In God’s People
3. The Lord Empowers Us To Be Perfect
4. Promised Rewards
5. Promise Of The Kingdom
6. The Promise Keeper
Chapter 8 – To Know Him Is To Love Him
Ephesians 4:6 “One
God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through
all, and in you all.”
Our Father is the
God of love and goodness, and His very essence
permeates all of creation and sustains life in all its
forms. He is everywhere at one and the same time in
all of His majesty and fullness. He is a God of “more
than enough,” and His presence covers the entire
universe with awesome glory. His character and
personality are evidenced in all of nature and in
every creature that He has made, particularly man.
The Lord is above
us, in us, through us, and all around us. He is
omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. His very
nature is so complex that it eludes human
understanding, yet He yearns to disclose Himself to us
in all intimacy. He reveals His secrets and all His
mysteries to those who deeply love and appreciate Him.
We are privileged to get glimpses of the Lord’s
personality and character from time to time. To know
Him is to love Him!
Job 11:7 “Canst thou
by searching find out God? canst thou find out the
Almighty unto perfection?”
God is above us in
every respect; He is the ultimate perfection. His is
the sovereign authority and highest standard for
excellence. He is holy and perfect and infallible in
all His judgment. His word is immutable and His
character is beyond reproach. He lives in us to do His
perfect will in our lives, and works through us for
the benefit of all mankind. His love perfects us and
motivates us to be better than ourselves, to be more
like Him in every way.
The Lord is
everywhere at all times; He is omnipresent. He is all
around us and never leaves us or forsakes us. He
defies logic and overturns all natural laws. The
Spirit of God has no confines of time or space; it is
limitless and infinite. The Lord is able to meet your
needs and mine, every time and on time. He is capable
of multi-tasking to the highest mathematical degree,
and His power and authority never diminish in strength
or energy.
Romans 11:33 “O the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his
ways past finding out!”
The Lord is
omniscient; He created all things and has a total
comprehension of how they operate separately and
combined together. He is the source of all wisdom and
truth, in finite matters and spiritual mysteries. He
is all knowing and has perfect understanding. He has a
solution for every problem and an answer for every
perplexity. He reduces the most complex matters into
their least common denominators for our human
understanding.
Almighty God is the
omnipotent source of all power and authority. He is
capable of both creation and destruction. His power
upholds all that exists in the cosmos, and is
dramatically displayed in all of nature. The Lord
delegates His very own awesome power to those whom He
trusts, and He imbues them with His anointing to do
good and overcome evil.
The Lord Is, Was And
Always Will Be
Revelation 11:17
“Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou
hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.”
Our God has existed
for all time, and will last for all eternity, as well.
He was the prime mover, the creator of all things. He
is now, was yesterday, and always will be the same
great and glorious deity that we have come to know and
love. He has prevailed in all things and reigns over
the entire universe. He is a perfect God and a just
and glorious King; all of His creation acknowledges
His greatness and sovereignty.
The Lord created us
in His very own image and likeness to have a strong
and lasting relationship with Him. It is His greatest
desire to fellowship with us up close and personally.
He will actually tabernacle with His people for all
time with the coming of the Kingdom of God to the
earth realm. He wants to enjoy intimacy with us for
all generations, and we will give Him all the love,
thanks and praise that He deserves. We will dwell in
God’s presence and finally see Him face-to-face.
The Godhead
Acts 17:29
“Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we
ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold,
or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.”
Our God is not an
idol made out of wood or stone. He is not a fable or a
man made myth. He is a Supreme Being, the Creator of
the universe – a real personality, with
characteristics and personal attributes that are
amazing and inspirational, and worthy of all our honor
and respect. We are His very children, created in His
image and likeness; we come from His royal bloodline,
grafted in by the Blood of Christ Himself.
The Lord has a
distinct, multi-faceted personality that is
simultaneously loving and gentle, yet powerful and
just. His character is above and beyond reproach; He
is perfect and holy in every respect. The Lord is
capable of doing all good and destroying all evil. He
sets the standards for excellence in every area and is
a God above all others.
Romans 1:20 “For the
invisible things of him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that
are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so
that they are without excuse:”
The very nature of
God is demonstrated in His creation, which is an
awesome complexity of creatures and systems that
interconnect and support one another. If we observe
life in all of its forms and develop an understanding
of its function in the universe as a whole, we can
grasp an idea of what God is like. He is attentive to
the minutest of details, without losing the
perspective of the whole. He is in all things and over
all things, to work His perfect will in every life
form.
Our God is a
versatile genius and a master builder. He engineers
major infrastructures down to the very last
specification. He is almighty by His very nature, and
sustains all creation through the power of His glory.
The Lord is attentive to even the minutest details.
His wisdom is manifested in all the intricacies that
He has created, and suggests His ability to establish
systematic order within the scope and magnitude of
utter complexity.
The Lord
demonstrates His character and personality in all that
He touches. He has empathy for every life form. He
shows Himself strong and powerful for good. His love
and passion are displayed in His works. His fondness
for beauty and balance are evidenced in all the
universe. His majesty governs the operation of the
entire cosmos. Man is His ultimate creation and the
epitome of His meticulous attention to detail. Our
bodies are masterpieces of craftsmanship; our souls
and spirits are distinctively like God’s very own.
The Holy Trinity
John 6:45-46 “It is
written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught
of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath
learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any
man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he
hath seen the Father.”
It is possible to
know and understand God in all His complexity.
However, we cannot develop a full understanding of His
nature and all of His characteristics, unless we
comprehend the concept of the Holy Trinity. God is
three distinct and different personalities in one
integrated godhead – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – all
at the same time. He is one Being with three separate
manifestations depending on the level of function that
is required of Him at any specific moment.
All the divine
characteristics and attributes intertwine and are
consistently demonstrated in the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit simultaneously. For example, God the Father is
the ultimate source of all love, peace and hope, and
His Son, Jesus Christ, also exhibits these
characteristics in His thoughts, words and actions.
These qualities are also fruit of the Holy Spirit of
God, and available as resources for all believers to
acquire.
The Hebrew word for
Lord is “Elohim;” it is a plural noun, suggesting more
than one aspect to God’s character and personality.
Every man can know the Lord and understand Him in all
of His various roles. As we develop a relationship
with God the Father, we will acquire a better
understanding of God the Son who was sent to save us
from our sin. If we know Jesus, we will be better able
to comprehend the Holy Spirit that He sent us after
His resurrection and ascension.
1Corinthians 8:6
“But to us [there is but] one God, the Father, of whom
[are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him.”
God is a unified
whole with three very different aspects to His
character. We are in Him and He is in us in all His
fullness. God the Father is the Creator of the
universe and our provider. He hears our prayers and
meets all of our needs.
His Son, Jesus
Christ, is the Word of God who was present at
creation, and by Him all things were made. Christ also
took on human form and came to the earth to teach us
all things and save us from our sins. Through Jesus,
we have our relationship with God secured for all
time.
The Holy Spirit of
God is His ethereal personality that actually comes on
us in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It indwells us,
comforts and encourages us, and convicts us of sin.
The Holy Spirit leads and guides us, and enables us to
imitate divine attributes.
God The Father
John 16:27 “For the
Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me,
and have believed that I came out from God.”
Our Father God loves
us with a deep and everlasting love; we are the apple
of His eye, the masterpiece of His creation. He formed
us in His very own image and likeness; the nature of
God Himself lies resident within mankind in all it
potential.
The Lord called us
from the foundation of the world and wants nothing
more than to provide all our needs and fellowship with
man in love and intimacy for all eternity. He will
bring heaven to the earth realm and actually dwell
with us in all His fullness in the Kingdom of God.
One reason that the
Lord loves us is because we love His Son, Jesus
Christ. We believe that He was sent to the earth as
the expiation for our sins. Our faith hinges on the
fact that we do indeed believe that Christ was God
made man for our specific benefit.
Galatians 1:3-4
“Grace [be] to you and peace from God the Father, and
[from] our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our
sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil
world, according to the will of God and our Father:”
God’s plan for
relationship with us was thwarted by Satan in the
Garden of Eden, when the first man fell short of God’s
glory and disobeyed Him. Adam traded his dominion over
the earth to the devil. Man lost his covenant
relationship with God and was expelled from paradise.
He no longer enjoyed the favor of God and was forced
into hard labor to provide for his needs.
The Lord was deeply
saddened by this outcome, and He was compelled to
develop a plan to redeem mankind from the
transgression that separated us from Him. It was His
express will that we be saved from eternal damnation
and restored to right standing with Him. He sent His
Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth realm to teach us His
ways and to atone for our sins with His very own
Blood. God Himself visited the earth in the form of
Jesus; He was Emmanuel – God with us.
God The Son, Jesus
Christ
Colossians 2:9 “For
in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily.”
Jesus is the Word of
God incarnate – God in the flesh. He is God in every
respect and has the very same divine characteristics
and personal attributes of His Father. He came to the
earth as a dramatic demonstration of God’s love for
us. He laid down His deity and operated as a mere man,
so that He could actually be one with us in all that
we experience. Christ was empowered in His earthly
ministry by the anointing power and authority of God
to do good and overcome all evil.
Although Jesus was
human in every respect when He came to the earth, He
was perfect and sinless in every way. He was the
pattern Son of God and serves as our role model for
all righteousness. He taught us godly principles for
living and actually laid down His life as a perfect
sacrifice to save us from our sins. He suffered, died
and was buried to give us eternal life, in the spirit
and in the flesh.
1Corinthians 1:30
“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption:”
Christ’s victory
over sin, death and the grave was the climax of the
Lord’s redemption plan for mankind. Jesus defeated
Satan for all time and took back dominion of the earth
for men. His Blood was the ultimate legal sacrifice
necessary to atone for our sins; it was a fulfillment
of the law. We are actually in Christ and He is in us.
He restored us to right standing with the Father
again, and He made us joint-heirs with Him to all the
promises of God.
We will enjoy
eternal life with many blessings and rewards, as
heaven is ushered into the earth realm in the days
ahead. The Lord will provide all our needs in
abundance. We will have joy instead of our former
sorrow. We will experience peace and prosperity, and
walk in love and unity with all men. The Lord Himself
will come to live with us in His Kingdom. We will be
elevated to the position of kings and priests, and
rule and reign with Christ for all eternity.
Acts 2:33 “Therefore
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost,
he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”
Jesus’ resurrection
from the dead was a supernatural manifestation of the
Father’s very own creative power and glory. It was
God’s greatest feat since the creation itself. It
assures us that we too will overcome death –
spiritually and temporally. Christ’s ascension into
heaven was also miraculous in nature; He transcended
the confines of time and space and was lifted up from
the earth to the third heaven, where the throne of God
currently resides.
This was necessary
so that He could be exalted to glory, and seated at
the right hand of His Father to wait for the
fulfillment of all things both in heaven and on the
earth. Jesus made arrangements to send us the Holy
Spirit of God as our Comforter and Counselor at the
feast of Pentecost as was promised. We are never alone
in our earth walk; the Holy Spirit is in us to
accomplish all things and to do God’s will in our
lives.
Colossians 3:17 “And
whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name
of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father
by him.”
In the days ahead,
we will walk as Christ Himself walked on the earth,
with all divine power and authority. We will preach
the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to all the nations of
the world in His Name. We will persuade men to repent
and be baptized in our faith. We will be living
examples of God’s righteousness, love and mercy.
A full impartation
of Christ’s anointing power to do good will be given
to us. We will heal the sick of all their diseases and
afflictions, and they will be made whole. We will
deliver all captives of enemy oppression and change
men’s lives as never before. We will even raise the
dead back to life, and give them hope and confidence
for the future.
The people of God
will help to restructure world governments to line up
with Kingdom principles of righteousness. We will
restore peace on the earth, and reinstate love and
unity among men. We will aid in the re-creation of all
nature and the plant and animal kingdoms. They will be
in harmony with each other and with mankind.
We will overthrow
demonic strongholds that try to deter the coming of
God’s Kingdom, and take back dominion over the entire
earth, as was intended from our creation. We will put
all Christ’s enemies under His feet and deliver the
Kingdom to Him at His coming. We will help to destroy
all evil and banish it for eternal punishment.
The Holy Spirit Of
God
Luke 11:13 “If ye
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
As born again
believers, we have the responsibility of being
baptized in water for the repentance of our sins, just
as Christ Himself was baptized. We then become
eligible for the baptism in the Holy Spirit of God.
All that we must do is ask the Lord to send His Holy
Spirit to us, and receive it with thanksgiving and
gratitude. The mighty Counselor and Comforter will
then take up residence deep within our spirit man.
One of the signs of
our baptism in the Holy Spirit is our newly acquired
ability to speak in other tongues using our
supernatural prayer language. Praying in the Spirit
will enable us to communicate more directly with God
without any threat of enemy interference. Our prayers
are encoded when we pray in the Spirit and they ascend
immediately to the throne room of God.
The Bible tells us
that the Spirit of God always makes intercession for
us according to God’s will, often with sighs and
groaning too deep to be heard. When we pray in the
Holy Spirit, we can be assured that the Lord always
hears us and intervenes on our behalf. He also
discloses the deeper things of God to us – His secrets
and mysteries – through revelation of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13 “In
whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also
after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy
Spirit of promise,”
The Holy Spirit
convicts us of all sin, and causes us to repent and
renounce it. If we crucify our fleshly desires and
forego our soul ambitions, we will be purged of all
unrighteousness and sanctified for the Lord’s use. So
too, the baptism in the Holy Spirit assures us that we
will have all the fruit of God’s very own Spirit
available to us in our own lives.
The fruit of the
Spirit – God’s very own divine attributes and
characteristics – will manifest in us as we grow in
the things of God. We will become more like Him and
develop in spiritual maturity. As we walk in love and
peace, we will experience hope and joy. Meekness,
gentleness, temperance and longsuffering will all
emerge as traits in us, and they will enhance our
relationships with others.
Ephesians 4:30 “And
grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are
sealed unto the day of redemption.”
We should never
grieve the Holy Spirit by being willfully disobedient
or blaspheming God in any way. That is blatant sin and
we are called to total righteousness. We must repent
of anything that interferes with our fellowship with
God. We should walk in the Spirit instead of our
flesh, and strive for holiness and spiritual
perfection, so that we will be qualified to dwell in
the presence of almighty God in His Kingdom.
We are sealed by the
Holy Spirit until our redemption is complete. When
Christ returns to receive His Kingdom, He will raise
the righteous dead back to life. He will also change
our decaying, corruptible flesh into glorious,
resurrection bodies that are impervious to disease and
death. Our redemption will be consummated, as we all
dwell together in love and unity in the Kingdom of God
for all time.
Knowing And Loving
God
Romans 8:28 “And we
know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to
[his] purpose.”
We have examined the
different aspects of God’s character and personality
in an effort to know and understand Him better. Now
that we have learned how we can acquire divine
attributes for ourselves, we should have a new
appreciation for our God and all His gifts to us. He
is loving, merciful and compassionate to all of our
needs. He is fair and just, and judges all matters in
righteousness. It is His deepest desire to fellowship
with us, and share all that is in His heart.
God is everywhere;
He is all knowing and all powerful. We see evidence of
His glory and excellence in all of creation. He is
now, was and always will be the same – today,
yesterday and tomorrow. We understand how He operates
through each person of the Holy Trinity. We know and
comprehend His function as Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. We interact with Him at every level and love
Him for all that He is, as well as all that He does
for us.
We have divine
destinies, and we know that all things work together
for good for us. The Lord will empower us to do His
will in the days ahead so that we will not be found
lacking in any good work. We will preach the gospel,
minister healing and deliverance and raise the dead.
We will reorganize world governments and restore all
creation. Christ Himself will lead and guide us in all
that we are assigned to do.
2Thessalonians 3:5
“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God,
and into the patient waiting for Christ.”
We should
acknowledge the Lord in all that we are and in all
that we do. Everything that is good and pure in us
comes from God Himself. He is our source for every
good thing in our lives, and our divine empowerment to
be holy and perfect just as He is holy and perfect.
With God all things are possible to us; without Him we
are powerless and incomplete. The Lord is behind every
success in our lives; He never leaves us or forsakes
us.
As followers of
Jesus Christ, we must purge ourselves of all known
sin, crucify our fleshly desires and abandon our
personal soul ambitions. We ought to consecrate and
dedicate all of our efforts to God’s eternal plan and
purpose. We should be willing and obedient to serve
God and others at all times. We must walk in love for
Him and for all men. The Lord’s own anointing power
and benevolence will permeate our very being, to
overcome all evil with good in the days to come.
The Beginning And The
End
Revelation 22:12-13
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with
me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the
end, the first and the last.”
We should eagerly
await the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
to consummate all things in heaven and earth and unite
them to Himself. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the
first and the last, the beginning and the end. He is
the Word of God made flesh that dwelt among us.
Christ is both
Creator and the Lamb of God. He was our Blood
sacrifice and is our Benefactor. He is the Prince of
Peace and Mighty Counselor. Jesus is God in every
respect, and will soon return to receive the Kingdom
of God as His inheritance for perfect righteousness.
He is the Faithful
and True who will lead the armies of heaven, and
destroy all the ungodly and their ungodliness in the
wrath of His coming. He will banish all evil to the
bottomless pit. The Lord of Lords and King of Kings
will bring vengeance on all our enemies.
Jesus will raise the
righteous dead and change our bodies into glorious,
resurrection forms that live forever. He will judge
both men and angels and give us our just rewards. He
will share His honor and glory with us for all
eternity and boast of His Bride and His Body to all of
creation.
Our Savior will
bring peace and order on the earth and establish
Kingdom principles of fairness and justice for all. He
will rule the nations with an iron rod, to ensure that
the Kingdom is a fit habitation for both God and man.
All men will dwell
in love and unity; there will be no strife and
division among us. We will enjoy peace and prosperity,
instead of poverty and lack. There will be safety and
security; nothing will in any way harm us. We will
have joy and pleasure instead of our former pain and
sorrow.
The Lord will
provide all our needs in abundance. We will give Him
all the praise and glory that He deserves for
generation after generation. We will enjoy the
blessings of Kingdom life for all eternity in the very
presence of our awesome, loving God!
Topics For Discussion
1. Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent
2. The Godhead
3. The Holy Trinity
4. Father God
5. Jesus Christ
6. The Holy Spirit
7. Divine Attributes
8. Know And Love God