The Battle of the Wills or God’s Will for the Heavens and the Earth In the Fullness of Time
Volume 5, Number 22The English dictionary gives a number of synonyms for the word “will:” “choice, discretion, determination, purpose, command, direction, desire,” etc. The Greek word translated “will,” referred to later in this study means that faculty of the mind by which is determined either to do or not to do something so this is what is referred to as “will” in this presentation.All humans have a will; some strong, some weak; we all have desires, choices, purposes, etc. and it appears God’s heavenly creatures have wills from what is recorded about the one that was probably the most prominent:“How art thou fallen... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans, Introduction to Chapters 9, 10 & 11; God’s promises to Israel and what has happened to them:
Volume 5, Number 21About 3844 years ago, at a time when the entire human race worshiped pagan gods, God called Abram (later Abraham) out of that morass of sin. He promised Abram that his progeny would become a great nation, God would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him and all nations of the earth would be blessed through him, Genesis 12:1 - 3. Abram believed and did as God instructed, i.e., he obeyed in faith. God subsequently promised Abraham that if man can number the dust of the earth, then shall his seed be numbered and they will... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans, Chapter 8, Part 3: The Sovereignty of God; While Believers suffer The Holy Spirit Intercedes & All Things Work Together for Good to Them:
Volume 5, Number 20Part 1 in our study of Chapter 8 (Vol 5, No 19) recapped the good news that there is no judgement against believers in Christ Jesus who formerly were sinners condemned to death, Romans 8:1 - 11. Part 2 (Vol 5, No 19) examined the believer’s personal relationship as children of God who call Him “Abba Father,” notwithstanding the suffering endured in these bodies of flesh while looking forward to the Glory that will follow, Romans 8:12 - 23. Reviewing verses 22 & 23: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now,” Romans... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 8, Part 2: The Believer’s “Abba Father,” Present Suffering & Glory to Follow:
Volume 5, Number 19Our last study covered Romans 8:1 - 11, recapping the good news that there is no judgement against believers in Christ Jesus who formerly were sinners condemned to death. Today, we continue with Romans 8:12 that begins with the word “therefore,” which means “accordingly, consequently, those things being so,” introducing the statement “…. we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh,” Romans 8:12. Thus, since believers are no longer under condemnation, they no longer owe or have an obligation to live after the lusts of the sinful flesh in which they were born. But the next... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 8: No Condemnation/ Judgement on Believers in Christ Jesus who before were Sinners Condemned to Death:
Volume 5, Number 18The first verse of Romans chapter 8 sums up the previous 3 chapters: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1. (The King James Version [KJV] adds the phrase “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The New International Version [NIV] is correct in omitting this phrase as it does not appear in the original manuscripts. However, this phrase is in Romans 8:4 in both the KJV and the NIV.) The Greek word translated “condemnation” in Romans 8:1 is from the Greek “katak’rima” (G2631), a particular form found only 3... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 7: The Believer’s Relationship to the Law while being Born of Adam but Alive in the Body of Jesus Christ our Lord:
Volume 5, Number 17The word “faith” occurs 40 times in Romans and 27 of those are prior to Romans 5:2, about 68% of the total. It doesn’t appear in the rest of the 5th chapter, nor in the 6th, 7th or 8th chapters. Of course, there is a good reason for this. Romans 5:1 - 2 reads: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” These are blessed assurances for believers; we stand... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 6 - Part 2: Law vis a vis Grace; Yielding as Slaves to Sin and Death vis a vis To Righteousness:
Volume 5, Number 16Our previous study noted the word “God” in the phrase “God forbid” in the King James Version (KJV) in Romans 6:2 and Romans 6:15 is not in the original manuscripts, whereas the Greek actually translate into English as “let it not be.”* Thus, believers are warned: “let it not be” that we live any longer in sin since we are dead to sin having been baptized (identified with) the death of Jesus Christ, Romans 6:2 - 7. And, though we are not under law but under grace, “let it not be” that we sin, Romans 6:14 - 15.Law vis a... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 6 - Part 1: Since Believers are dead in Christ, should they continue in sin? - Let it not be; God’s Grace is not license to sin:
Volume 5, Number 15“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1 - 2. These rhetorical questions are a linchpin that transitions from doctrine in previous chapters to practical application that follows. The last three verses of chapter 5 somewhat recap the doctrine: “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 5 - Part 4: Death by Adam - Eternal Life by Jesus Christ our Lord:
Volume 5, Number 14“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12. There’s been a lot of death since Adam, in fact, everyone born after Adam has died (except Enoch and Elijah). One Internet site estimates that at the time of the worldwide flood, the earth’s population could have been 30 billion people, considering the fact people lived long healthy lives and taking into consideration the earth’s maximum sustainable food production, http://www.amunrud.com/noah/population.html. Of course, there’s no way of knowing for sure, but most likely... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 5 - Part 3 - From Being Enemies of God to Rejoicing in Christ’s Finished Work of Atonement and being Blessed with all Spiritual Blessings in Heavenly Places:
Volume 5, Number 13The last study wound up at Romans 5:6 - 8, observing that many believers don’t fully grasp the impact of these 3 verses. They teach that no one deserves Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death, so no one will ever be able to say they even remotely earned what He did for them on the cross. On the contrary, Christ died for us when we were sinners and totally alienated from God. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. The Greek word translated “commendeth” means “to show, prove, establish,... Continue reading →