Christ Revealed to You

Christ is revealed to you through the Bible. All Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). He reveals Christ in Messianic prophecies and promises of the Old Testament, as well as the fulfillment and assurance of those promises in the New Testament. 

Christ is revealed to you by the Holy Spirit. He opens your eyes of understanding to see the light of Christ (John 1:9). Without the Holy Spirit, the purpose and point of God's truth is not seen (John 16:13). The hymn Amazing Grace includes these words, "I once was blind, but now I see." That's spiritual blindness, but the Holy Spirit opens your eyes of understanding to see the truth of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christ is revealed to you in the Old Testament, with foreknowledge and vision given to the prophets. The Holy Spirit revealed Christ in prophecy. Today, the same Holy Spirit reveals Christ to you. Scripture is the revelation of the Holy Spirit, given through the prophets and apostles (Ephesians 2:20). Christ is the Revelation (Revelation 1:1).

Christ is revealed to you through the gospel (1 Thessalonians 1:5). He is revealed to you in salvation, by the Spirit of grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9, 18). The Lord Jesus saves to the uttermost all who come to him by faith. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ saves and keeps you (John 3:8, 16). What he begins in you, he is more than able to complete (Philippians 1:6).

Believing Is Receiving

Charles H. Spurgeon defined faith as an "immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, and resting upon him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace." 

Believing is receiving Christ (John 1:11-12). We come to Christ by faith, through the Spirit of grace working in your heart. The Spirit of God leads us to receive the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Believing Christ is receiving eternal life as the gift of God (Romans 6:23). Eternal life is a personal relationship with the eternal God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (John 17:3). It is fellowship or communion with God (1 John 1:7). Believing in Christ is receiving from God through a covenant relationship (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Believing Christ is receiving God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ works in us and through us, to the praise of His glorious grace (Ephesians 1:6). It is not what we do for Christ, but what He has done for us, and continues to do in us (Philippians 1:6; 2:13). Believing Christ is receiving grace to do in us what we could never do by ourself. 

Believing in Christ is receiving the gospel, according to the Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believing is receiving Christ by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). We are believing Christ died for our sins and he is risen from the dead.

How God Draws Us

Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44). Again, Jesus said,"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself" (John 12:32, NKJV).

No one comes to Christ unless the Father draws us (John 6:44-45). Albrecht Oepke, the author of a Kittel's article on John 6:44 and 12:32, explains how the Father draws us: "There is no thought here of force or magic. The term figuratively expresses the supernatural power of the love of God or Christ which goes out to all ... but without which no man can come" (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged Edition, ed. Gerhard Kittel) 227.

God the Father draws us to Christ without any violence to our will. There is no coercion. The Spirit of God's love works in our hearts to transform our lives (Romans 5:5). Those who come to Christ "love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

John 12:32 teaches that God draws us to Christ, as well as people out of all nations. Likewise, Jesus said that He would be lifted up from the earth, that is Christ crucified, drawing all people unto Himself. The word draw in John 12:32 is the same word used in John 6:44. Understand that God "works in you both to will and do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). He draws and enables us to come by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Way of Salvation

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "I saw the way of salvation ... There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away ... I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to HIM."

Charles Spurgeon believed the precious blood of Jesus Christ cleansed him of all sin (1 John 1:7). The way of salvation is faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved by faith alone in Christ, according to the gospel. Our salvation is by the same gospel, according to the Scripture. Saving faith looks to the One who endured the cross for our sins. 

The way of salvation is faith looking unto Jesus Christ. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Salvation is by faith looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ dying for our sins, and risen to the right hand of God.

The way of salvation is in the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Saving faith based upon Scripture and focused upon Christ (Acts 16:31). Salvation is through faith alone in Christ. The Holy Spirit works through the gospel, bringing conviction and convincing you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving faith is believing the gospel of Christ. Christ died for our sins. He is risen from the dead. 

How to Be Blessed

The terms blessed and cursed are covenant words. God works through covenant to bless people. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are blessed through the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20-21). By faith in Christ, believers enter a covenant relationship with God. Those who reject salvation in Christ are cursed, cut off from a covenant relationship with God.

Be blessed by God, as Abraham was in Genesis. He was justified before God by faith. And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it unto him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Be blessed by God today through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be blessed receiving the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

God promised to bless Abraham and make him a blessing through the covenant promise in Genesis 12:1-3. God gave him this promise: In you all the nations shall be blessed. God promised to bless the nations through Abraham's Seed who is Christ (Galatians 3:16).

Old Testament believers were blessed by the promise of the Messiah who was coming. As believers today, we know that He has come that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:14). Be blessed with every spiritual blessing, believing in Jesus Christ our Lord (Ephesians 1:3).

From Guilt to Grace

Guilt is a cruel master. Guilt attacks our memory, with constant reminders of all that we have done wrong. Guilt has no solution and gives us no hope. Guilt not only condemns us, but prods us to condemn ourselves. Guilt will not go away, but day and night its work continues without end.

God's saving grace is greater than all of our sin (Romans 5:20). Grace is the sure solution for our guilt. Grace sets us free from all condemnation (Romans 8:1). Grace releases us from guilt. Grace will not fail, because grace comes from God. Guilt becomes helpless in the face of grace. God's saving grace sets us free from all guilt in Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's saving grace is at the cross where Jesus died in our place. Grace shows us the Savior of sinners, who suffered in our place. Grace teaches us that Christ died for all our sins."But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone"(Hebrews 2:9). That's God's saving grace for you.

God's saving grace introduces us personally to Christ risen from the dead. Grace will bring us into union and communion with Christ. Then we can say, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). God's saving grace redeems believers in Christ from the guilt of sin.

The Circumcised Heart

John Owen wrote, "What is it to have the heart circumcised, the apostle declares, 'It is the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ' (Colossians 2:11); that is, our conversion to God. It is the giving 'a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear (Deuteronomy 29:4)."

In the Old Testament, circumcision was a sign of entering into a covenant relationship with God. It was performed by man in the flesh. However, only the Spirit of God can circumcise the heart. The New Testament teaches circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit (Romans 2:29). Circumcision here is used as a metaphorical expression for a change of heart.

Your circumcised heart makes you a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your heart is a symbol of your inward person. It's your mind, will, and emotions. Your mind is transformed to understand the will of God (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:16). Your will is changed with a desire to do God's good will (Philippians 2:13). Then, you love the LORD your God with all your heart (Deuteronomy 30:6). 

Your circumcised heart becomes responsive to the things of God (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14). Our hearts are changed to become responsive to God's word and will. The mind, will, and emotions are changed by the grace of God in Christ. How about your heart?

God's Adopted Children

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). He was begotten by the Holy Spirit through the virgin birth. All who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are God's adopted children. In Christ alone, God adopts believers into His family. Believers are redeemed, that we might receive the adoption as sons (Galatians 4:5).

Adoption of believers in Christ is freedom from the bondage of sin. At the cross, Jesus died to redeem us from the slavery of sin. Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son (Galatians 4:7). We are adopted as children of God, because of redemption in God's only begotten Son. In Christ alone, we are adopted as children of God.

Adoption of believers is a personal relationship with our heavenly Father. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba Father (Galatians 4:6). The Holy Spirit indwells every believer to confirm our adoption. We experience God the Father's love in our hearts as His adopted child (Romans 5:5).

Adoption makes every believer an heir of God in Christ (Galatians 4:7). We have a blessed hope for the future. We have a predestined inheritance to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Galatians 4:7). For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). That is our glorification in Christ, as God's adopted children. 

The City of God

Revelation 21:12-21 gives a detailed description of God's city, the New Jerusalem. This is the place Jesus went to prepare (John 14:1-3). This is the city that comes down out of heaven from God. It is the eternal dwelling of God with His people. The number twelve is repetitious with meaning in the city of God. There are twelve gates with twelve angels. There are twelve foundations of the city, with walls filled with twelve types of precious stones.

The number twelve represents the redeemed people of God. There were twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament. We see the twelve apostles of the Lamb in the New Testament. The number represents all of God's people. The inhabitants of the city are God's covenant people. They are the redeemed of the Lord.

The twelve gates represent the entrance to the city by all of God's people. The twelve angels represent the heavenly host who ministered to those who are heirs of salvation. There is no need for the gates to be closed. That's because all that have done evil to them have been cast into the lake of fire.

Twelve precious stones or jewels compose the walls of the city. They represent the twelve stones in the breastplate of the High Priest of Israel in the Old Testament. He foreshadowed our Lord Jesus Christ, the great High Priest of the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20-21). That testifies to our redemption from sin by the blood of the Lamb (John 1:29).

All to God's Glory

The purpose of life is all to God's glory. He is at work in all things. No event, great or small, is beyond God's purpose. However, it is not a passive purpose. God works in all things according to a purpose. That purpose is good for those who love God (Romans 8:28). The purpose of our lives is to the praise of God's glory.

We were created for a purpose. That purpose is to the glory of God. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). Believers in Jesus Christ our Lord are saved from the condemnation of sin to the praise of God's glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). 

The purpose of our salvation is to God's glory. God knew that we would sin. The mercy, grace, and love of God in Christ for sinners is to the praise of God's glory. Our salvation in Christ is to the glory of God's grace. Give God the glory for the grace that saved you in Christ. Our purpose in life through Christ is to the glory of God.

The purpose of worship is to God's glory. The word for glory in the Greek New Testament is doxa, from which we get our English word doxology. That word speaks of our worship as praise to God. We give God all the glory, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below." He is worthy of our praise! We give God all the glory, now and forever more.

The Gospel in Power

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. "For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and much assurance" (1 Thessalonians 1:5). Confessing Jesus as Lord is the work of the Holy Spirit in us (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit enables us to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The gospel in power is God leading us to repent (Romans 2:4). This change of mind enables is turning from unbelief, that we may turn to the Lord by faith. We are enabled to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Acts 16:31). 

The gospel the power is God changing our hearts, which is our mind, will, and emotions. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. Our conversion is made possible when the Holy Spirit works in us through regeneration, also known as new birth. Conversion is through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The word of the gospel is the Holy Spirit's instrument to transform our lives. 

The gospel in power is God transforming our minds (Romans 12:1-2). It can never be accomplished without the Spirit of God working in us. Without the gospel in power, we may spend a lifetime in study without understanding the truth of God. The renewal of the mind is transformation by God's power in the gospel.

How God Calls Us

You may think of God's call to those who are to be pastors or missionaries. Yet, there is the call of God in the New Testament to believe on our Lord Jesus Christ. God's call is out of darkness into the light of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:9). 

God calls us to respond to the gospel of Christ. We do so in repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). The gospel is for whoever, but not all will respond (Romans 10:13). Those who do are the called of God (Romans 8:28).

God calls us out of spiritual darkness into the light of Christ. Our eyes of understanding are opened to Christ crucified for our sins and raised from the dead for our justification. We are enabled to live in the light. "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

God calls us by the Holy Spirit and the word of the gospel (Romans 1:16). When God calls us in this sense, we may respond to the gospel by turning to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our hearts are changed by the grace of God. Certainly, the gospel is preached to all, but the effective call is when we repent, or turn to God, through faith in Christ. 

How God Gives Faith

God gives faith looking not to yourself nor anyone else, but looking unto Jesus. All the faith that you will ever need is a gift. Look to Jesus through the teaching of the word of God in your Bible. So then God gives you faith. If you need more faith, seek not greater faith. Seek the One who gives you faith, greater faith, and manifesting faith."Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith"(Hebrews 12:2).

God gives faith through the gospel of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-4). When the Holy Spirit enlightens your heart, the darkness of doubt and unbelief is dismissed. God gives faith received through the word of God. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).

God gives faith through the Holy Spirit. Faith is one of the three abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). Notice that faith comes not without the gifts of hope and love. The Holy Spirit always gives these three gifts together. They come to abide in all who are born of the Spirit.

Faith is the gift of God to you. And, how do you receive such faith? It comes from the word of God through the Son of God, as a gift of the Spirit of God. God gives faith looking unto Jesus.

Pray God's Promises

Prayer is based on the covenant promises of God. We are praying the promises of God that cannot fail."God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began" (Titus 1:2). The covenant promises of God are sure to you as a believer in Christ. He is the Yes to your prayers. "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and Amen, to the glory of God through us" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Pray the promises of God that cannot fail. God's promises are for all who trust in Him. Those promises are for all who trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Yes and Amen to your prayers, based on all the covenant promises of God. "He remembers His covenant forever" (Psalm 105:8). Herein you find that prayer receives. 

Pray the promises of God in Jesus name. In Jesus Christ, all the promises of God are "Yes and Amen" for believers (2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus is the surety of all the everlasting covenant promises. "Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant"(Hebrews 7:22). That's the reason you pray in the name of Jesus. 

Prayer by faith the promises of God. You will receive the promises of God that cannot fail. "God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began" (Titus 1:2). The promises of God are sure to you as a believer in Christ. He is the Yes to your prayers. "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes."

Revealed Knowledge

The Bible is revealed knowledge inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. It is infallible because God is indeed infallible in all things, including prophecy of the Bible. It is inerrant because God speaks only truth throughout the Bible. 

The Bible teaches the faith once for all delivered to God's people (Jude 3). Revealed knowledge in the Bible is truth without any mixture of error. The same Holy Spirit, who inspired the Bible, reveals God the Father to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Bible is revealed knowledge of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is revealed to us in Christ through the Bible (John 14:9). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He guides us into all truth (John 16:13). Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).

The Bible is revealed knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:16; Hebrews 1:1-3). God the Father reveals Himself to you through God the Son, as revealed by God the Holy Spirit in the Bible. We know God through the Bible, revealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit. To know the only true God in Christ is to receive eternal life (John 17:3). The Bible is revealed knowledge inspired by the Holy Spirit.

How God Chose Us

God chose us in Christ as the church (Grk: ekklesia), the called out ones. God chose us in Christ to be holy before him in love (Ephesians 1:4-8). God the Father chose us in Christ. The Bible uses marriage imagery to describe our salvation. In Bible days, a father chose a bride for his son, so God our Father chose the bride for his Son. God chose the church as the bride of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:24-26). 

God the Father chose us in Christ the Son. The chosen of God are all believers in Christ. All who repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are chosen. Our calling and election is sure in Christ alone (2 Peter 1:10-11). 

God chose us in Christ, because in Christ alone sinners are saved (Acts 4:12). He is the only one who died for sinners. He is the only one raised from the dead to justify sinners and save us from condemnation and eternal judgment. The Son of God is the only way to God our Father (John 14:6). Those who refuse to believe in Christ reject God's one and only way of salvation (Acts 4:12).

Scripture makes it clear that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. God foreknew all who shall be in Christ (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:4). God knows all things, the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). God foreknew his people in Christ before time began. God chosen us in Christ alone. 

Christ Our Substitute

J. I. Packer wrote, "thus knowledge of Christ's death for us as our sin-bearing substitute requires us to see ourselves as dead, risen, and alive forevermore in him. We who have died, painlessly and invisibly, we might say, in solidarity with him because he died, painfully and publicly in substitution for us."

The apostle Paul testified, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20). 

Paul understood that Christ is our substitute in his death and resurrection. Believers trust Christ as our substitute. He was crucified in our place. He is risen from the dead as our justification. So it is with all true believers. We died in Christ as our substitute. We are risen in Christ as our living Lord.

Baptism symbolizes every believer's union in Christ, through his death, burial and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). He died for our sins. He took our judgment at the cross. We are risen with him to new life through the Holy Spirit. 

As we were born unto sin in Adam, so we are born again to new life in Christ. Therefore, we have become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). As true believers, we died to our old life in Christ our substitute.

How Are We Saved?

The Bible tells us clearly how we are saved. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). 

We are saved by grace alone as the gift of God. We cannot earn nor do we deserve God's salvation in Christ. It's by grace through faith. That means it's not of yourself. God saves you by grace, and it's through faith in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

We are saved by grace alone, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That faith is one of the three abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13). The Holy Spirit enables you to come to God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, who inspired the Holy Scripture, uses the word of God to bring the gift of faith to you (Romans 10:17).

We are saved by grace alone, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to know Jesus as your Lord (Romans 10:9) "And no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit applies God's grace in Christ to save you.

We are saved by grace alone to the praise of God's glory (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). To God alone be the glory! There is no room for us to receive the glory when it's all of grace. It is not your work for God, but God's gracious work in you, to the praise of His glory.

Salvation of the Lord

Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, "Salvation is the work of God. It is he alone who quickens the soul dead in trespasses and sins, and it is he also who maintains the soul in its spiritual life. He is both Alpha and Omega. Salvation is of the Lord." 

Salvation is of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8). Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter. From beginning to the end, salvation is God's work in Christ our Lord (Romans 10:9).

Salvation is of the Lord for those who are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). To be spiritually dead means our sins have separated us from God. Our inability to come to God was our unbelief and hardness of heart. But, God who is rich in mercy, comes to us as sinners with the goodness of grace, making us alive to new life in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5).

Salvation is of the Lord through the gospel. The Spirit of grace enables us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31; 1 Thessalonians 1:5). God in Christ is the Alpha and Omega of our salvation (Revelation 22:13).

Salvation is of the Lord from beginning unto completion. He began the good work in us. Likewise, he continues to work in us (Philippians 1:6; 2:13). The Lord begins and completes our salvation. Christ is the Alpha and Omega of our salvation. Salvation is of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If You Look to Jesus

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "If you look to Christ at the beginning of your Christian life, but then begin to look to yourself for its continuance to the end, you will fail. Jesus is the Alpha (the beginning), and be sure you make him Omega (the ending) as well." 

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Focus your faith upon Jesus by trusting him to do in us, what we cannot do for ourselves. Focusing our faith upon Jesus dying for our sins and risen from the dead is believing the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Then, we are saved and begin to live the Christian life.

Believers look to Jesus trusting him to continue working in us. Living our Christian life is knowing Christ works in you to please God (Hebrews 13:20-21). Indeed, Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega of every Christian's faith. He who began the good work in us will continue until the day of completion (Philippians 1:6; 2:13). 

Believers continue looking to Jesus, and one day our faith shall become sight. Understand that's the day when you see him face to face. You shall be glorified into his likeness (Romans 8:30). "We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). The Christian life is looking unto Jesus Christ until that day.

How We Are Redeemed

"Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are wrttten in the book of the law" (Deuteronomy 27:26). This reference is quoted in Galatians 3:10. To offend the law in one point is to be guilty of the whole law (James 2:10). No one can be justified by keeping the law, because we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). We are all under the curse of sin and need to be redeemed.

The word redeemed refers to a price paid to set a prisoner or slave free. Christ paid our sin debt in full, with His own blood at the cross. Believers are redeemed in Christ. He redeemed us from the curse of the law.

"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (Galatians 3:13). This Scripture quotes Deuteronomy 21:23. Christ, who had no sin, took our sins upon himself at the cross. He shed his blood and died for the curse of our sins. 

Believers are redeemed from the curse through faith in Christ. Believers are redeemed from the curse unto every blessing in Christ. As God blessed Abraham in all things, so believers are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Genesis 24:1; Ephesians 1:3).

Who You Are In Christ

In Christ you are somebody who is loved and cherished. Your life has meaning because of who you know. When you know Jesus as your Lord, you are a child of God. That's who you are as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ now and forever.

You have a Father who made all things. You have a Lord who died in your place to take away all of your sins. You have eternal life with an eternal family, the family of God. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name" (John 1:12).

As a believer, you have a right to be called a child of God. You are born again into the family of God. No one can take that right away from you. That right was paid at the cross by the blood of Jesus. It is your birthright. You are a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

Some may doubt. Others may be confused and uncertain. Many would like to know for sure. Yes, you can know who you are as a believer. You are a child of God by what is written in the Bible, what happened at the cross, and what Jesus has done for you. Doubt confesses, "I hope I'm a child of God. I'm just not sure." Faith says, "I am a child of God, because I'm a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe what the Bible says about me."

What Is God's Glory?

The word glory (Grk: doxa) in the New Testament is used in two ways, depending on the context. First, it may be used to give God glory. That is expressing praise and adoration to God in worship. However, the word glory may also express the manifest presence of God. Of course, God is omnipresent. He is present everywhere and all the time. Nevertheless, God does not manifest His presence everywhere.

In the eternal state of God's redeemed people, the apostle John has a vision of the glory of God on the new earth and in the New Jerusalem. John saw "the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God" (Rev. 21:9-11). He saw the light of God's glory. "The city had no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is the light" (Rev. 21:23). Certainly, the Lamb is our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the eternal state and the New Jerusalem, there will be one eternal day. "There shall be no night there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever" (Rev. 22:5). Indeed, that is the glory of God with His people in the eternal state. The new earth and city are illumined by the light of God's glory.

This old earth will pass away (2 Peter 3:10). Jesus has gone to prepare the new place for all who are redeemed (John 14:1-3). The New Jerusalem on the new earth will reveal the light of God's glory to every believer. We shall see God in our glorified bodies.

God Speaks to Us

God speaks to us through the Bible, written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. All scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16). That's Holy Scripture, most often known as the Bible. Inspired means God-breathed. The Bible is a book set apart from all others, because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. The word Scripture means writing. The Bible is inspired writing, which is God's written word to us.

God speaks to us through the Bible, able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15). Christ is the Word become flesh to save us (John 1:14). Only the Holy Spirit is able to give us the assurance of our salvation. He gives assurance to us through the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

God speaks to us through the Bible, bringing the gift of faith (Romans 10:9). So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). The gift of faith comes through the Holy Spirit. The Bible is inspired and used by the Holy Spirit to impart that faith (Romans 10:17).

God speaks to us through the Bible about the issues of life. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Holy Scripture is God's inspired word to us in the Bible. The Bible is God's will revealed to us. The Holy Spirit instructs us how to live through the Bible.

Pray with Boldness

Charles Spurgeon said, “There is no pleading with God like reminding Him of His Covenant! Get a hold of a promise of God, and you may pray with great boldness, for the Lord will not run back from His own Word—but get a hold of the Covenant and you may plead with the greatest possible confidence!”

Bold prayer stands on the covenant promises of God. Yes, God has sworn with an oath to fulfill every last covenant promise in the Bible. Take God at His word. Stand upon His promises. That's how you pray boldly. "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

Bold prayer is based upon the will of God. Bold prayer is sure about the will of God as revealed in the Bible. You will not struggle with doubt, because your faith is standing firm upon the word of God (Romans 10:17). As Spurgeon said, "You may plead with the greatest possible confidence!"

The covenant promises of God are everlasting, because the covenant is everlasting (Hebrews 13:20-21). They are for all of God's children, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the reason Spurgeon could say, "There is no pleading with God like reminding Him of His Covenant!" Boldness in prayer stands on the covenant promises of God.

The Elect In Christ

"Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame" (Isaiah 28:16). Christ is the elect of God, as the cornerstone of every believer's salvation. Therefore, believers are elect in Christ.

The elect are in Christ. He should always be the focus to understand our election. Christ is the Elect of God, precious to the Father and all who believe in him. Our election is sure in Christ alone. The Bible tells us to "make your calling and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10).

In eternity God purposed to justify people, who by grace believe in and through our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 1:9). Our election includes all true believers in Christ. Our election is sure in the elect one, even Christ Jesus our Lord.

To be in Christ means you are a believer, baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). The body of Christ is the church. The word church does not refer to a denomination nor a sectarian group. It refers to all of God's people, saved through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The love of God to save believers from condemnation has its eternal purpose and fulfillment in Christ. God's purpose to save is to the praise of His glorious grace in Christ (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). Make your election sure by God's grace, through faith in Christ. The elect are in Christ.

Saved In Christ Alone

God saves us by grace through faith in Christ alone. We can never earn nor deserve our salvation. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23). Christ alone saves sinners from the condemnation and curse of sin. God saves sinners by grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-10). Salvation is God's workmanship in Christ.

The Bible teaches that God saves us in Christ alone (Acts 4:12). The Gospel of Christ is the message of salvation (Romans 1:16). Christ died for our sins. He is risen for our justification. Old Testament believers were saved by the promise of Christ coming. New Testament believers are saved because Christ has come.

God saves us through faith alone in Christ. Our faith is trusting and relying upon Christ alone. Faith is relying upon Christ Jesus our Lord to save us to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25). Faith is trusting Christ to begin and complete our salvation (Philippians 1:6). 

God works all things to the praise of His glory. That includes our salvation in Christ. God saves sinners to the praise of His glorious grace (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). Christ is the fulness of God's grace (John 1:14-16). God saves us by grace through faith in Christ alone. That gives all the praise and glory to God. 

How God Forgives You

God will forgive you, when you believe the gospel of Christ. Your sin debt was paid in full, "through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). The gospel of grace is Christ crucified for your sins and risen from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Grace is what Christ alone did for believers on the cross. His resurrection is assurance that your sins are taken away.

God will forgive you by faith in Christ. You are not forgiven of some sins. It's far better than that. You are forgiven of all sin. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you receive the forgiveness of all your sins. 

God will forgive you, as you confess your sins. Christians are not perfect, just forgiven (1 John 1:8-10). When you confess your sins to God, fresh cleansing is available. The promise of God is sure. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

God will forgive you in Christ to the praise of the glory of His grace (Ephesians 1:6). If you have any doubt about God's willingness to forgive you, look at the cross of Jesus. "Mercy there was great and grace was free." Because of God's mercy and grace in Christ, your sins are forgiven. 

How God Seeks Us

W.T. Conner wrote,"The gospel of Christ is the gospel of a seeking God. He seeks worshipers (John 4:23). The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). The seeking of the Son of man is a revelation of the heart of God. Drawing men to Christ is the work of God." 

God seeks us, because we do not seek God. No one does."There is none that seeks after God"(Romans 3:11). Jesus was sent by God the Father to seek and save that which was lost. The Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, seeks the lost sheep. The sheep have no sense of direction. The Shepherd must seek them and find them.

Only after we become believers do we seek God (Hebrews 11:6). The lost do not seek God. Believers seek God and follow the Shepherd's voice (John 10:4). That is to say, we seek the One who first sought us. 

God seeks us and draws us to Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. Christ is revealed to us through the gospel. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance (1 Thessalonians 1:5). The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe (Romans 1:16).

Christ at the Door

Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). That's Christ coming into your life.

While some Bible teachers say the words of our Lord in Revelation 3:20 were only to the church as a whole and not to individuals, Charles Spurgeon had another opinion. He was quite convinced that it was a personal invitation to everyone.

Spurgeon made this comment about the above verse: "Dear reader, hearken to His invitation, and let His good words sink into your soul. As you do so, your life will begin anew and you will be on your way to Heaven." Spurgeon clearly believed that Christ knocks at the door of individuals.

Spurgeon tells us at whose door Christ knocked in Revelation 3:20. He wrote, "Therefore, I urge you not to refuse the Lord Jesus who is knocking at the door of your heart. Remember that He knocks with a hand that was nailed to the cross for you. Your good is His object, so incline your ear to Him and let Him come in."

The personal invitation issued by the Lord Jesus Christ is to everyone who will hear His voice. The Lord's voice comes to you through words in the Bible. His promise is sure to everyone who is open. Jesus Christ says, "I will come in to him."