May 2001

[Part 149]

“Issues of the heart”

[Part Sixty-seven]

Hope For the Fearful Heart! [YY]

“WHO CAN I TURN TO?”

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn 1:29)

               Carefully note this sequence of events: First, Jesus took the sin of the world upon Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane where “He sweated great drops of blood” (Lu 22:44) and He cried, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful [Gk 3076 “In distress, heavy, and grieved”] even unto death!” (Mt 26:38) Secondly, Jesus subjected the world’s sin to be judged by a high priest who condemned it to death. Third, Jesus took the world’s sin to be scourged, and pierced with a crown of thorns. Fourth, He bore the world’s sin on a cross up the hill called “skull” [or “dead head” to typify carnal-minded death (Ro 8:6)! Fifth, He suffered the sin of the world to be “Nailed to the cross” (Col 2:14). Sixth, Jesus secured His Father’s forgiveness for all the world’s sin. Seventh, Jesus let the world’s sin die on the cross so as to be sanctified by His Blood! Eighth, (8 = new beginning; and new creation) Jesus buried that world’s secured sin in a tomb. Ninth (9 = fruit of the spirit), Jesus resurrected and metamorphosed the world’s sin to its original state as GODLY VIRTUE! Tenth (10 = Royal Law of Love) Jesus glorified and raised these transformed Godly Virtues to His Father’s Kingdom forevermore!
                Hear and learn! Every negative of our world of sin and death is just a perverted Positive of God’s world of Grace and Life! Now if our Creator can transmute His (soul) Life (with all its lovely attributes) into death, He can surely transfigure that same death back to Life again! If our flesh mind can believe that His Life could appear corrupted by death, then our spiritual mind has to believe that death was utterly defeated by Resurrection Life and restored to its former beauty! How could the glory of God be mutated into human vainglory, and remain vainglorious forever?! No! ALL VAINGLORY MUST BE REMANDED TO THE INVIOLATE GLORY OF GOD! To declare anything less is heresy!
                Only the mind of death would preach a “gospel” that claims death can triumph over Life- even in the smallest measure! Carnal-minded men look at other carnal-minded men and call them hopeless! And apart from Christ we are! But the worst expression of our humanity is to whitewash the exterior of our sepulcher of sin with blind self-righteousness which creates the vile spectacle of one man of flesh claiming to be better than another man of flesh! How absurd!! Can one dead man be LESS DEAD than another dead man?!! The only true sign of Life Eternal is when we “KNOW (have intimate fellowship with) the only true God and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent!” (Jn 17:3) This means we are compelled to believe that every Word of God is true; and this has to begin with God’s repeated reference to His Christ as the “SAVIOR OF THE WORLD”! (Jn 4:42; 1 Ti 4:10; 1 Jn 4:14) We must come to understand that if the Lamb of God (Christ Jesus) was empowered to “TAKE AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD”, such an extraordinary act of Grace meets every possible requirement to be called the “SAVIOR OF THE WORLD”!! Only a Life-minded man of spirit can see or acknowledge this Blessed Truth! We mustn't be deceived or discouraged by the outward appearance of man’s flesh for Paul tells us that God will “Change our vile body so that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious Body according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself!” Amplified Bible says: “He will transform and fashion anew the body of our humiliation to conform to, and be like, the Body of His Glory and Majesty, by exerting that power which enables Him to subject everything to Himself!” (Php 3:21) Rotherham says: “He will transfigure our humbled body”; Goodspeed adds:“He will make our poor bodies over”; Taylor says: “When He comes back He will take these dying bodies of ours and change them into bodies like His Own...using the same mighty power He will use to conquer all else everywhere!“
                Consider these words of Paul prayerfully, “If we preach Christ ‘raised from the dead’, then why do some of you preach that there is no Resurrection of the dead (for all)! For if Christ is not risen, our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain! It also means we are false witnesses of Christ because we have testified that God raised up Christ ...but if Christ has not been raised, YOU ARE STILL IN YOUR SINS (and Christ did not take away our sins at all); and all who are fallen asleep in Christ are also perished! For if we only have hope of Christ in this world, then we are the most miserable of all men !” (1 Co 15: 12-18) But God has promised all men, “Your (true, spiritual, Eternal Life) is HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD; so when Christ, Who is our Life, appears, then you shall appear with Him in Glory!”(Col 3:3-4) Remember Christ once identified Himself by saying, “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE!” (Jn 11:25)

[TO BE CONTINUED]