Faith in His Work Brings Down All Walls

"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." (Hebrews 11: 30)

Just as the faith of God lives in us because of Jesus, so too everything that we do by faith is not our effort, but rather His life living in us:

"20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)

This faith is not just some visionary desire for things, but an invested acceptance in righteousness granted to us by faith:

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1: 17)

and then

"What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith." (Romans 9: 30)

Faith is not some force that we exert in our lives, but rather a recognition based on God's Word of all that He has done and is doing in our lives.

Let us consider what the Israelites did in regards to the walls of Jericho:

"1Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. 3And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. 5And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him." (Joshua 6: 1-5)

Notice that the LORD God spoke to Joshua: "I have given you Jericho." The Israelites did not take something that was not already given to them. Faith in action speaks to the fact that God has taken care of all our needs (Philippians 4: 19)

Yet what is the significance of the Israelites going around the city of Jericho seven times, blowing their horns with the Ark of the Covenant? Let us not derive from these actions that the blowing of horns and passing around city walls brought them down. The horns speak of the Finished Work of Jesus, as we consider the ram caught by his horn in the thicket, sacrificed in place of Isaac in Genesis 22: 13. Seven priests and seven times speak of perfection, or completeness. The long blast and the grout shout speak of Jesus  shouting on the Cross "It Is Finished!" (John 19: 30)

Everything in the Bible speaks of Jesus and all that He has done for us. The more that we grow in grace of all that He has done, the more that we see the walls of  bondage and difficulty falling down in our lives. When we receive the grace of God by faith, we overcome.

By Faith, Not Efforts, We are Saved

"By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned." (Hebrews 11: 29)

We are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2: 8-9)

We are not saved from the world by what we do, but by what Christ Jesus has done.

This truth is revealed in the types presented in the above verse

By faith, the Israelites passed through the Red Sea. Not relying on their efforts, they had the power and wisdom of God on their side, ushering them through a parted sea, walking on dry land:

"He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him." (Psalm 66: 6)

Notice that God turned the sea into dry land, and the Israelites had nothing to do with it:

"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever." (Exodus 14: 13)

Faith is the evidence of things unseen: His salvation was present to the Israelites, even though they could not physically see Him. Yet he divided the Red Sea, and bore them away from the Egyptians.

Compared the passage of the Israelites with the attempts of the Egyptians, who represent the world, who "assayed" or tried to pass over on their own.

In the same way, if we try in our own efforts to save ourselves, we will drown:

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5: 8)

and also

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" (Titus 3: 5)

This regeneration, this renewing of the Holy Spirit we find typified in the above passage, too:

"They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." (1 Corinthians 10: 2)

While the Israelites at that time were baptized into Moses, we today are baptized into Christ:

"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3: 27)

We are not saved by our efforts, but rather by the grace of God, which we receive by faith.

Saved from Sin, Granted New Life

"Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them." (Hebrews 11: 28)

When we see the Passover, we need to recognize that there is more going on than just a lamb eaten, blood painted on doorposts.

Everything in the Old Testament testifies to Jesus, and the Finished Work He completed for us at the Cross.

He was punished for our sins, taking our place, the just for the unjust (1 Peter 3: 18)

Yet not only did the punishment for our sins pass over us to Someone else, we received the blessed standing of God's Son in His place:

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1: 19)

Then we receive this revelation:

"16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3: 16-18)

Not just released from condemnation, we receive eternal life in Christ Jesus.

The Passover, the sprinkling of blood, all testify to the new glory, the grace of God which we receive through Jesus:

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" (1 Peter 1: 18-19)

and

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Revelation 12: 11)

The Passover, the blood speaks not just of freedom from sin and death, but victory and new life, all of which we receive because of Jesus our Passover Lamb.
"

See Him Who is Invisible, the King of Kings

"By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." (Hebrews 11: 27)

He is with you, and will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13: 5).

We can give up this world, which is passing away (1 John 2: 15-16), because we see Him who holds Egypt, and its corrupting wealth, as well as Him who holds everything else together, too:

"[He[ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." (Colossians 1: 15-20)

We receive all things from Him, including our standing before God the Father:

"3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 3-6)

Seeing Jesus, who is invisible because He is holding all things in His hands, we see the King of Kings, greater than any other ruler:

"13I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; 14That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen." (1 Timothy 6: 13-16)

Jesus is the King of Kings, whom no man has seen, yet one day we will see Him:

"2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." (1 John 3: 2-3)

Moses could leave Egypt behind, fearing nothing of Pharaoh, because he could see by faith the King of Kings, Him who has been from the beginning (1 John 2: 12-14). We can have this same boldness, too, because we are in Christ, and God our Father sees as Jesus (1 John 4: 17)

Reproach of Christ Yields Greatest Reward

"Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." (Hebrews 11: 26)

Jesus endured the greatest shame and desperation, that we would receive His righteousness, honor, and hope:

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

Also

"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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12: 2)

Jesus became sin, rejected by God as our sin offering, yet beloved at the same time of the Father:

"9And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand."  (Isaiah 53: 9-10)

 

Why was God the Father pleased to crush His Son?

 

"16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3: 16-17)

 

God wants to save us, not condemn us, so He condemned our sin in His Son:

 

"1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8: 1-4)

 

Now, consider also that last part of Hebrews 11: 26: "He had respect unto the recompence of the reward."

 

In Christ, we receive eternal life, and we receive all things through Jesus:

 

"For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." (Romans 4: 13)

 

and

 

"31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? " (Romans 8: 31-32)

 

and

 

"21Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." (1 Corinthinas 3: 21-23)

Persecution in Christ Greater than Pleasure in the World

"Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;" (Hebrews 11: 25)

When we read about the persecution that Moses suffered with the people of God, we have to look a little deeper. What does it really mean to suffer?

It does not speak of financial lack of physical abuse, nor do we find ourselves enduring the same harrowing torture that Jesus took for us, because no can ever die as He did for us:

"1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2: 1-2)

and

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" (1 Peter 3: 18)

and also

"13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)

Jesus explained to His disciples, before He was crucified then rose again, and before they would receive His spirit, that they would face persecution. Yet he prefaced this stern reality with greater glory:

"28Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 30But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31But many that are first shall be last; and the last first." (Mark 10: 28-31)

We may feel that we are giving up everything, yet if we truly understand our dead state apart from Jesus ("Apart from me, ye can do nothing" (John 15: 5), we understand that we have nothing, and thus we need everything from him.

Just as Paul had explained to the Philippians that he counted his past, life and works of self-righteousness, for naught (Philippians 3: 7-11), so too we recognize that the pleasures of this world are nothing compared to the glory we receive through Jesus, even in the face of persecution in the world:

"28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now." (Galatians 4: 28-29)

We are children of God, and have receive the promise of His Spirit. Men and women under law will persecute us, much of the time because they work and receive not benefit for their efforts (cf. Isaiah 55: 1-5)

Regarding the pleasures of sin for a season, we should not hesitate to reject it:

15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (1 John 2: 15-17)

Why settle for what does not last, when He has called us to eternal things?

Consider even this account:

"7My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.

8With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" (Numbers 12: 7-8)

 

Better than Pharaoh, Moses spoke to God face to face.

 

Why would we settle for the pleasures of this empty world? Today, we receive the eternal life, glory, and power which comes from Jesus!

Beyond Former Failures and Successes, Children of God

"By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;" (Hebrews 11: 24)

Now, Moses did not initially choose to follow God's call on his life. He could not help but defend his Hebrew brethren when they were attacked:

"11And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. " (Exodus 2: 11-12)

When Pharaoh learned that Moses had killed this Egyptian, he fled for his life.

Yet the writer of Hebrews does not describe Moses as a self-preserving coward, but rather highlights that he was stepping into God's call on His life.

The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1: 7) and wipes away all our failures, so that we can trust that He will be a God to us, and remember our sins no more (Hebrews 8: 10-12)

When we recognize all that Jesus has done for us at the Cross, we stop identifying with who were in Adam, with our sin and our failures, but we also stop identifying with the great things that we accomplished in ourselves:

"15But 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. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 15-17)

Paul had arrived at the point where, in spite of all that he had accomplished as a devout Jew under the law, it was nothing compared to Jesus and all that He had done for Him:

"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:" (Philippians 3:7-9)

Today, because we are sons of God in Christ (1 John 3: 1-3), we can reject the failures of our old man, and also turn away from our former successes. In Christ, we reign in life, living by His faith (Galatians 2: 20-21), and His grace (1 Corinthians 15: 10)

Faith to Obey the King's Commandment

"By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment." (Hebrews 11: 23)

In this verse, we learn about the faith of Moses' parents, that they would hid their son Moses, so that he would not be killed with the other Hebrew children.

There is more to this verse than the parents' faith in God as opposed to their fear of an earthly monarch.

They recognized the power of a great King, God our Father, and put trust in His Word:

"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12: 1-3)

 

and then

 

"5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." (Genesis 15: 5-7)

 

Moses' parents remembered God's promise, and they took His Word that their people would one day leave Egypt and take the Promised Land for themselves.

 

While the disobeyed the command of one evil ruler, they obeyed the promise of the King of Kings instead:

 

"Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?" (Ecclesiastes 8: 4)

 

and

 

"But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen." (Malachi 1: 14)

 

When the King of Kings came in human flesh, He gave one commandment:

 

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6: 29)

 

Let us have faith, and obey the King's commandment, to believe on Jesus, and trust Him to deliver us.

 

Joseph's Faith: In Christ

"By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones." (Hebrews 11: 22)

Joseph believed in the LORD, and overcame many challenges. From the dreams in his youth, the his ascendancy through the grace of God from slave to master of an officer's home, to the ruler in a jail, to second in command of the most powerful nation in the world.

He trusted in the LORD for all things.

Yet when it comes to faith, the writer of Hebrews did not focus on all that he had overcome. Instead, the writer focused on Joseph's trust in God's promise, i. e. the Promised Land:

"And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 25And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence." (Genesis 50: 24-25)

Not only did Joseph tell his family to prepare his bones, but that they would carry his bones when they left Egypt and claimed the Promised Land for themselves.

"And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you." (Exodus 13: 19)

Yet this Promised Land was more than a physical place, but a picture of Jesus and His Work on our behalf:

"1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." (Hebrews 4: 1-2)

and

"9There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4: 9-11)

For all the things that Joseph did, his faith was recognized only for his belief in God's Promise to Abraham, about the Promised Land, and that through Abraham's seed (Jesus!) all the world would be blessed (Genesis 12: 1-3); Romans 4: 13)

What Jacob's Blessing Means

"By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff." (Hebrews 11: 21)

When we read this account in the Old Testament, there may be some confusion:

"1And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine." (Genesis 48:1-5)

Jacob had feared that he would never see his son Joseph ever again (Genesis 37: 34-35), yet not only did he see Joseph as second-in-command in Egypt, but he saw his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Manasseh means "causing to forget", for through all that Jesus did for us, God has forgotten all our sins. Ephraim means "doubly fruitful", because God gives us double for all our trouble.

Now, there seems to be a discrepancy between the Genesis account and the report in Hebrews.

In Genesis, Jacob sat up on his bed, while the verse in Hebrews records someone who leans on his staff.

The same word in Hebrews "mateh" can be translated to mean both.

What is the Holy Spirit sharing with us in this verse, however, and what revelation does He want us to receive?

Staff speaks of strength and authority. Bed speaks of rest.

We find our strength when we rest in Christ's Finished Work.

"28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11: 28-30)

He rests us, and His yoke blesses us, for that is the deeper meaning of "easy" in this verse.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15: 10)

He is our life, and by His grace we are who we are, and we do what we do.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4: 13)

Many of us read this and think of Jesus as a resource that we derive power from. The truth is that He is our life, and our power living within us.

How? Because we believe that He has paid for  all our sins and makes us doubly fruitful:

"2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8: 2)

and

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15: 5)

We are Blessed, All Things Have Come

"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come." (Hebrews 11: 20)

Isaac was the child of promise to Abraham, even in his old age.

Guess what? You and I are children of promise in Christ Jesus:

"Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise." (Galatians 4: 28)

There will be challenges to our new, blessed standing in Christ:

"But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now." (Galatians 4: 29)

We will face persecution not just from the world, but men and women in the Body of Christ who trust in the flesh, who see their efforts fail, and who still seek to justify themselves through the law.

Which is why Paul warned the Galatians, who were going back to the Ten Commandments:

"But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." (Galatians 5: 15)

Now, the remedy for avoiding these divisions is found in the next verses in Galatians chapter four:

30Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

31So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free." (Galatians 4: 30-31)

 

We are free from the law in Christ (Romans 7:4-7), and we now have the law of the Spirit of life living and directing us from within (Romans 8:2-3).

 

 

We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1: 3) because of what He did on the Cross, the very things which Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, concerning things to come.

 

Today, because of Jesus, we are blessed, because the things prophesied concerning Jesus, have all come to pass!

Jesus Brings Dead Things to Life

"Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." (Hebrews 11: 19)

Do you believe that God can bring to life dead things in your life today?

Jesus went about healing and doing good (Acts 10: 38), and His Good Work included bringing people from death to life time and again.

Consider the widow of Nain and her son:

"Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother." (Luke 7: 12-15)

Jesus also brought Jairus' daughter to life:

"And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. 42And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment." (Mark 5: 41-42)

Then there was the powerful resurrection of Lazarus, after four days dead in the tomb:

"Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? 41Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go." (John 11: 40-44)

Jesus was in the business of bringing dead things, dead people to life:

"I have come that ye might have life, and that more abundantly." (John 10: 10)

Most importantly of all, he brought you and me who were dead, and now we are alive in Christ Jesus:

" But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:  " (Ephesians 2: 4-6)

Today, Jesus brings dead people to life, and He lives in us ever more. The promise which Abraham believed, is true for us today.

Called the Seed of Abraham through Christ

"Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:" (Hebrews 11: 18)

We are all children of God through Christ Jesus, and through Christ we receive the blessings of Abraham, because in Isaac, God's Promised child, we are all called:

"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." (Galatians 3: 16)

Through Jesus' death, He made us all sons of God:

"For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." (Hebrews 2: 10)

How do we receive this sonship specifically? By faith in Jesus!

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)

and then

"26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:26-29)

We spend too much time focusing on ourselves. God is very clear in His Word: let us grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3: 18), for "As He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:1 7)

Faith: He Has Taken Care of Everything

"By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son," (Hebrews 11: 17)

Many people look at the phrase "trying of faith", and believe that everyone of us must offer some compelling act despite our strongest convictions.

The truth is, God was proving Abraham's faith, having blessed him and multiplied his stocks, his wealth, and his influence in the land of Canaan.

God proved that He was faithful in all of His promises. He provided for and protected Abraham, and in the fullness of time, Sarah gave birth to a child.

He had promised time and again that through Isaac, all the nations of the world would be blessed.

So, when God asked Abraham to offer up his son, Abraham did not hesitate to believe that he would get his son back. God promised to ble s the world through Isaac, and God had kept every other promise. Why would He not keep this one too?

"And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." (Genesis 22: 7-8)

God did indeed provide an offering:

"11And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen." (Genesis 22: 11-14)

Jesus, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (John 1: 29), would then convict the Pharisees for their lack of faith:

"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." (John 8: 58)

So did Moses and Elijah:

"9And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. 30And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: 31Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." (Luke 9: 29-31)

When Jesus died on the Cross, He accomplished many things, including the eternal provision for all our needs:

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8: 31-32)

and also

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4: 19)

Faith is all about believing that God took care of everything in our lives when Jesus died on the Cross. He has taken care of everything. Believe Him!

Not Fighting, But United in Jesus

"But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God." (1 Corinthians 11: 16)

Paul was writing to the Corinthian church about abnormal habits which had crept into the churches. Men were covering their heads, while women were uncovering their hands and letting the glory of their long hair have precedence.

Paul made clear his instructions about proper behavior, and refused to argue.

To this day, however, Christians want to argue about how to dress, what to wear, and deeper issues like the definition of marriage, the value of life, and the fullness of Christ' Work at the Cross.

Paul responded to these insistent arguments: "We have no such custom."

In other words: this is how it is.

The Truth of God's Word is not subject to debate.

Either we believe Him, or we don't.

Jesus declared the one work which He called us to do:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6: 29)

What Jesus did at the Cross is not subject to debate, but rather to submission and revelation.

Paul defined maturity in the Body of Christ based on unity in Christ:

"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; " (Ephesians 4: 13-14)

Unity is all about Jesus. We glorify Him, because He has glorified us, and in Him is all glory.

We are no longer interest in winning an argument, because we are more than conquerors in Christ (Romans 8:37). We are no longer trying to prove ourselves right, because He has made us the righteousness of God in Himself (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

Instead of disputing over minor conflicts, we let the Word of God testify, and then proclaim Christ and Him crucified:

"10Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Corinthians 1: 10)

followed by

"17For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." (1 Corinthians 1: 17)

Forget Where You Were, Receive Where You Are

"And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned." (Hebrews 11: 15)

Abraham wasn't thinking about where he was coming from.

Why? God had promised something better:

"1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

 

2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

 

3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12: 1-3)

 

God offered to him a better land, with a better legacy than what awaited him in his home country.

 

This blessings, this Promised Land, speaks of the Promised Person: Jesus:

 

"That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Galatians 3: 14)

 

Through the Spirit of God, we receive life and sonship in Christ:

 

"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (Romans 8: 10)

 

and then

 

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8: 15)

 

We are no longer dead in our trespasses, but we are alive and seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus:

 

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: " (Ephesians 2: 4-6)

 

We were dead, and now we are live. There is no going back to where we were, because we have

 

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10: 28)

 

You cannot be removed from this hand, not even yourself. That is what eternal life is all about!

 

The Old Testament saints never worried about where they had been. They trusted where God was taking them, and believed that He would keep them. Today, those promises have been fulfilled for us.

 

Let no one deceive you into thinking that you can backslide, or be lost again. We were dead, and now we are live in Christ. We were alienated, and now we are accepted (Ephesians 1: 3). We have no reason to be mindful of where we were, because we are in Christ today, and He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13: 5)

The Country They Sought, We Have!

"For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country." (Hebrews 11: 14)

When we receive Jesus as our Savior, we are not just forgiven all our sins.

We are brought into a new country, a new nation:

"[God the Father] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:" (Colossians 1: 13)

Paul writes to the Philippians:

"Only let your conversation [citizenship] be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;" (Philippians 1: 27)

and also:

"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:" (Philippians 3: 20)

Peter shares:

"9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2: 9-10)

Because of the Gospel of grace, we are now children of God, seated in heavenly places. God our Father loves us as much as His own Son, and just as His kingdom stands forever (Isaiah 9: 6-7), so too we reign with Him:

"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 17)

The country sought by the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, we live in today, because of Jesus, our King of Kings!

We Have Received the Promises

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Hebrews 11: 13)

When the writer of Hebrews describes the men and women of the Old Testament who lived by faith, he was not suggesting that we will die without receiving the promises, too.

For we have:

"13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)

We are more than conquerors in Christ (Romans 8: 37), because the Deliverer came, died for us, rose again from the dead, and ministers on our behalf to this day:

"31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-34)

Peter also affirms that what the prophets envisioned, we have today:

"Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." (1 Peter 1: 10-12)

What the Old Testaments talked about, we have today. What they suffered, we will not have to, because we are not waiting for the promises. We have them today!
"3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; " (Ephesians 1: 3-7)

He has blessed us. We have redemption, we have forgiveness of sins, He has chosen us, we are accepted.

Do not read Hebrews and think that you will have to suffer as the Old Testament saints. What they hoped for, we have today, because Christ is in us today, our hope of glory (Colossians 1: 27-29)

Sons of Faith through Christ Jesus

"Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable." (Hebrews 11: 12)

This verse speaks of you and me, Beloved. We are all sons of Abraham by faith in Christ Jesus.

For a little background, consider once again the promises of a Deliverer for us:

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:1 5)

and also

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.: (Isaiah 7: 14)

Notice that God prophesied about "her seed" and a virgin giving birth to a child, all of which speaks of Jesus:

"Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1: 34-35)

Jesus was born king of the Jews, and yet He became sin to make us all the righteousness of God in Himself (2 Corinthians 5: 21).

Through His death and resurrection, we receive life and the Spirit of Adoption, sons of the Most High God:

"4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" (Ephesians 2: 4-6)

and

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. " (Romans 8: 15)

and also

"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4: 6-7)

Paul summarizes why the Barren Woman in Isaiah 54 can rejoice:

"7For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now." (Galatians 4: 27-29)

Believe that He is Faithful

"Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised." (Hebrews 11: 11)

Faith comes from believing what God promised.

Indeed, Abraham believed God when He declared that Abraham would have innumerable descendants:

"And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. " (Genesis 15: 5-6)

Gideon believed God when He said that he would give them victory over the Midianites:

 

"9And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand." (Judges 7: 9)

Most importantly, though, God promised that He would remember our sins no more:

"10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)

 

How did a holy God accomplish this? Through His Son:

"3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 

"4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." (Isaiah 53: 3-4)

 

Then

 

"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3: 17)

 

Followed by:

 

"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." (John 19: 30)

 

So, today, do you believe His promise that all your sins are forgiven in Christ? That is the one work:

 

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6: 29)

 

 

Our New Kingdom, Based on His Righteousness

"For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Hebrews 11 :10)

Did you know that you and I today are members of a new city?

We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven:

"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:" (Philippians 3: 20)

How did we get there?

We did not get there through anything that we did, but what Jesus did for us:

"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" (Colossians 1: 12-14)

 

When Jesus died on the Cross, He died for us, but He also died as us. We were dead in Adam, and now we are alive in Christ.

 

We reign with Him, because we are in Him (Romans 5: 17), and God the Father sees us as His own Son (1 John 4: 17)

 

Today, we are member of Jerusalem above, which is free. Free from the law, abiding in His grace:

 

"26But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

 

27For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

 

28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise." (Galatians 4: 26-28)

 

Now, what are the foundations of this city? They are the bold, precious stones:

 

"And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;" (Revelation 21: 19)

 

These stones are specifically referenced in the breastplate of the High Priest:

 

"And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row." (Exodus 28: 17)

 

This breastplate is a picture of Jesus' righteousness accorded to us:

 

"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54: 14)

 

Notice that righteousness is a foundation.

 

then

 

"For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke." (Isaiah 59: 17)

 

And finally:

 

"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;" (Ephesians 6: 14)

 

Righteousness is the foundation in our new Kingdom:

 

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." (Romans 14: 17)

 

 

Jesus, Our Tabernacle By Faith

"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:" (Hebrews 11: 9)

Abraham believed the Lord, and that was His righteousness (Genesis 15: 6)

Faith to do anything begins and ends with the LORD. Faith rests in an object.

We do not believe in ourselves, but we believe on Jesus!

That is exactly what Abraham did:

"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." (John 8: 56)

What did Abraham see, specifically?

Deeper understanding of passages in Genesis will help us understand:

"4Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off." (Genesis 22: 4)

"Afar off" carries implications of something very important that will happen there in the future.

Then:

"8And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." (Genesis 22: 8)

Then

"And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen." (Genesis 22: 13-14)

Everything that Abraham saw, everything that Abraham was called to do, all of it testified about Jesus, our Provider, Protector, Savior and King.

We even see a picture of Jesus our perfect covering in this verse, as heirs of the promise of everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9: 24) dwelled in tents.

Because of Jesus, we tabernacle in his perfect hope:

"25For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:

26Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:" (Acts 2: 25-26)

We Have His Faith When We See All Sin Crucified

20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Do we still see faith as something that we must do or think or even feel?

We have been crucified with Christ, which mean  that every sin, every shame, and even every thought and feelings has been crucified, condemned, and put away:

"1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8: 1-4)

Instead of focusing on our lack of faith, let us rest in the truth that we have God's kind of faith right now, through Christ Jesus, who lives in us and leads us.

We were crucified with Christ, we are raised with Him, and we are seated with Christ in heavenly places:

"1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4)

I submit at this time that some people are not seeing God's faith operating in their lives because they still some parts of their lives "not paid for", or that they have to think or feel a certain way in order to receive from Him.

When we rest in the full truth that all our sins are put away, and that we have received His life, then our faith cannot but operate fully.

We have the faith of the Son of God, and this faith operates not by our efforts, but through His grace.
Reckon yourself dead to sin, therefore, alive in righteousness, and believe that Jesus is giving you beyond what you can ask or think (Ephesians 3: 20-21)

In Christ, We are Protected

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." (Hebrews 11: 7)

Noah speaks of rest, and when we rest in Christ Jesus and all that He has done for us, we do not have to worry about what may come our way.

God led Noah to build the Ark, yet He closed the door to secure them:

"And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in." (Genesis 7: 6)

God the Father warns us before bad things may come.

We see many examples of Jesus warning us of many things to come.

He told His disciples to flee to the Mountains when the Temple would be destroyed (Luke 21: 21)

Yet we have the greatest promise recorded for us in the Psalms:

"1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

 

2I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." (Psalm 91: 1-2)

 

Now, when Noah stepped into the Ark, a picture of Jesus Christ, he broke away from the world condemned in sin.

 

Jesus spoke about this mission, to save us from death and give us life, when Nicodemus came to Him:

 

"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." (John 3: 16)

 

Without Jesus, we remain condemned:

 

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. " (John 3: 17-18)

 

For those of us who have done the one work of believing on Him (John 6: 29), then we are no longer condemned with the world, and now we are heirs of righteousness:

 

"For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." (Romans 4: 13)

 

and also

 

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

 

When we rest in Christ's Finished Work, and we receive His righteousness, we are protected from the condemnation of the world, and even of our sin:

 

"1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." (Romans 8: 1-3)

 

Because of Jesus, because you believe in Him, know that you are protected!

 

 

Speak Good Things, King-Priest in Christ!

"12And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be." (Leviticus 27: 12)

We have a High Priest in heaven today, and He speaks nothing but good on our behalf before God the Father:

"31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-34)

Not only that, but we are in Christ today, and God sees us in His Son, and we are now His own children:

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8: 15)

and also

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)

God the Father did not send His Son to die on the Cross for us to label ourselves with such demeaning, shameful identities.

He took away the sin, and made us all sons.

It is a deep shame that for so many years, I lived in a home where my other mother told me that I was an alcoholic, simply because she had been programmed to believe that garbage for so many years.

She also talked about how she was a flea, a dog, and a worm, as if there was any kind of humility in that.

We need to be freed from ourselves, and look at Jesus, the author and Finished of faith (Hebrews 12: 1-2).

Not at ourselves, but at Jesus, and we are saved (Isaiah 45: 22), for He is our salvation.

He has made us kings and priests (1 Peter 2: 9), and in the words of a king there is power, and the word of a priest determines value.

We need to speak God's word over our lives, our circumstances, not our thinking, nor the opinions of men.

Enoch Pleased God, Because He Believed Him

"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." (Hebrews 11: 5)

Before looking at the verse about faith pleasing God (which is the faith that He is fully satisfied in Jesus' sacrifice for our sins and we have His Son's standing in this life), we need to take a closer look at this wonderful person Enoch.

His name means "teacher", and we can learn from His example about what pleases God.

Let us look at the Old Testament reference to understand Him:

"21And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." (Genesis 5: 21-24)

His life is a picture of every day of the year. "Walk" in the Bible, and specifically in Hebrews, speaks of identity.

Every day of our life, we are called to understand our new identity in Christ:

"15But 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. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 15-17)

and then

"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:" (Colossians 1: 27)

and finally

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)

When we believe that Jesus has done a perfect work, and the more that we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, our faith in all that He has done for us grows.

And that pleases God.

Faith is About Righteousness in Christ

 "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh." (Hebrews 11: 4)

To understand why Abel offered by faith, let us go back to the  definition of faith as recorded in the Bible.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11: 1)

What is the "thing hoped for"?

Jesus!

"1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." (Hebrews 11: 1-5)

The prophesy of the serpent-crusher (Genesis 3: 15-17), the Prince of Peace whose kingdom would never end (Isaiah 9: 6), seemed afar off, though, for the Jews of Isaiah's day:

"We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us." (Isaiah 59: 11)

Yet there were many prophesies of hope:

"By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:" (Psalm 65: 5)

The LORD spoke to the prophets that He was coming:

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait [lit. hope] for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." (Habakkuk 2: 3)

and then

"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2: 4)

Jesus is this hope:

"That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted [hoped] in Christ." (Ephesians 1: 12)

and then

"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:" (Colossians 1: 27)

So, what does all of this have to do with Abel? He offered a lamb, a picture of Jesus, "our witness", and he was made righteousness because of the blood.

"11For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." (1 John 3: 11-12)

Faith is about righteousness in Christ, and Abel understood that in the sacrificial lamb, a picture of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1: 27-29)

 

Faith is the Basis for Understanding (Our Redemption)

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11: 3)

Many people think of faith as something fantastic or intangible, fanciful and impractical

Yet without faith, we cannot understand anything.

Faith is a recognition of those things that we do not see with our physical eyes.

Faith is not about conjuring up something in our minds, but recognizing something as true, even without our senses.

We did not see God create the heavens and the earth, yet behold we see the results of His creation.

In the same way, we live from faith to faith, seeing more of Jesus at Work in our lives:

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1: 17)

The most important element of faith, though, is not about creation, but redemption.

For God to create, He only had to speak:

"3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. " (Genesis 1: 3)

then

"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. " (Genesis 1: 6)

And God said.

Yet for God to redeem the fallen world, He had to bleed.

"Whom God hath set forth [His Son] to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;" (Romans 3: 25)

then

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9: 14)

for:

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." (Hebrews 9: 22)

God as God could not die, so He sent His Son in the form of a man to shed his perfect blood for us.

Now, faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the substance of things unseen  (Hebrews 11: 1).

This faith is not about making lots of money, although God does want us to prosper (3 John 2). This faith is not about wishing for something to make it happen, for He grants us beyond what we can ask or think (Ephesians 3: 20).

Faith is about accepting once and for all that Jesus' death is enough. He cannot die again, so that there can be no physical proof a second time of His death. We take God at His Word because He gave His Son:

"

10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)

 

Faith has everything to do with the last part: that He has paid for our unrighteousness, and He remembers our sins and iniquities no more.