living word june 2014
DESCRIPTION
The free online Bible study magazine for those wishing to go deeper into God's Word.TRANSCRIPT
I am the true vine and my father is the gardener (John 15:1)
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The one who remains in me, and I in him, bears much fruit, John 15:5
In this month’s issue:
4. God’s Mighty Minority Edwin & Lillian Harvey (USA)
5. The Right Kind of Ambition Doreen Harrison (UK)
6. Enemies of Faith Don Sanderson (USA)
8. First Love Discipleship Series – Ephesians Dr. Tony Keys (Australia)
11. Revelation 15-16 Righteous Saviour & Judge Mathew Bartlett (UK)
14. The Surrendered Will Daniel Kolenda (CfaN)
15. Neither Angels nor Principalities Reinhard Bonnke (CfaN)
17. Faith-builders Bible Study Mark 9 Derek Williams (UK)
21. Christ-dependent Christianity Kenn Legg (Australia)
23. In Depth Study – 1 Corinthians 15 Mathew Bartlett (UK)
Back: Britain’s’ Cheapest Gospel Tracts Bible Studies Online
www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk
©Photos - above: Dave Bredeson. Cover: Andreus Left from top: Xxknightwolf, Luca Oleastri , Subbotina,. Brett Critchley. Facing Amandee Back Cover: A. J. Cotton.
Living Word is published in the UK by Sharon Full Gospel Church, 7 Park View, Freeholdland Road, Pontnewynydd, Pontypool, NP4 8LP Editor: Mathew Bartlett
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Faithbuilders Bible Study Guide – Mark
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The Prophet of Messiah: Zechariah
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The Blessings of God’s Grace
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Jubilant Jeremy Johnson (CHILDRENS)
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Non-profit books for your Christian ministry.
The Donkey Boy – Tales from the Life of Jesus (CHILDRENS)
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The Prophecy of Amos
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The Revelation of Jesus Christ
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God‘s Mighty Minority
An extract from “Royal Insignia” by Edwin & Lillian Harvey
BUY ON KINDLE! £3.86
Image © Subbotina
Reproduced by kind permission of Harvey Publishers.
www.harveycp.com
The flight shall perish from the
swift, and the strong shall not
strengthen his force, neither shall
the mighty deliver himself (Amos
2:14).
GOD has always blessed quality
rather than quantity in the
promotion of His cause. He seeks
not men but a man. Never has He
been impressed or depressed by
numbers, equipment, and ability.
Never has He been impressed or
depressed by personality, prestige,
or popularity. Much of what we call
wisdom is sheer foolishness with
God. Some jobs may depend on
what you know, but the work of
God depends upon Whom you
know. You must know God. As far as
God is concerned there are no “big
men” in His work, for He putteth
down one and setteth up another.
He inspects rather than respects our
person. Fact is—humanity must be
reduced to practically nothing
before it can be induced to do much
of anything for Heaven. When a
person feels he has nothing, is
worth nothing, and can do nothing,
aside from Divine assistance, he is
eligible for membership in the ranks
of God’s “mighty minority.”
It matters little what you have so
long as you have God; it matters
little where you have been so long
as you have been to Calvary; it
matters little whom you know as
long as you know God; it matters
little what you possess as long as
you are possessed of the Holy
Ghost. God has been known to use
a stick in the hand of Moses, a
stone in the sling of David, and a
staff in the hand of Benaiah. He
used vermin to move Pharaoh, as
ass to move Baalam, and a fish to
move Jonah. His equipment is
inexhaustible, and His methods of
labor innumerable. All He needs is a
yielded instrument.
History usually marks the man who
has made a mark for God. Those
who have succeeded in
surrendering to God the whole man
have been known throughout the
whole world. Too many are waiting
for God to move upon them, when
they ought to be prevailing upon
Him. We may all sing, “God is still
on the Throne,” but I wonder who is
sitting upon yours? He stood in
honor of His faithful martyr,
Stephen, and, no doubt, would
stand more often if we gave Him
occasion to do so. It is not a matter
of whether or not we have
numbers—but do we have God?
Someone has said, “If God be for us,
what difference does it make who is
against us?” Anyone plus God is a
sufficiency. Some of history’s
greatest conflicts have been
decided by a minority of men in the
hands of Divinity. —George Bowen.
As for me my bed is made: I am
against bigness and greatness in all
their forms, and (am) with the
invisible, molecular, moral forces
that work from individual to
individual, stealing in through the
crannies of the world, like so many
soft rootlets, or like the capillary
oozing of water, and yet rending the
hardest monuments of man’s pride,
if you give them time.
I am against all big organizations as
such, national ones first and
foremost; against all big successes
and big results, and in favor of the
eternal forces of truth which always
work in the individual...underdogs
always, till history comes, after they
are long dead, and puts them on
top. — William James.
F. A. Schaeffer years later reiterates
the truth of William James and
George Bowen: “Nowhere more
than in America are Christians
caught in the twentieth-century
syndrome of size. Size will show
success. If I am consecrated there
will necessarily be large quantities
of people, dollars, etc. This is not so.
Not only does God not say that size
and spiritual power go together, but
He even reverses this and tells us to
be deliberately careful not to
choose a place too big for us. We all
tend to emphasize big words and
important places, but all such
emphasis is of the flesh. To think in
such terms is simply to hearken
back to the old, unconverted,
egoistic, self-centered me.”
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(Here’s one for all of you studying
hard for exams right now! – Ed.)
Is it right that so much should rest
on the results of High School or
College exams? Is the future really
determined by our present
achievement? Can someone’s
potential be accurately defined by
success or failure in particular tests?
A century ago, a small lady named
Gladys Aylward, who lived in
London, was quite unable to pass
exams. She was a parlour maid but
she had a burning ambition to go to
China as a Christian missionary. So
she enrolled in a college for
missionary training.
However, after a few weeks the
Principal sent for her and gently
suggested that she should go back
to her work as a parlour maid. “We
do not think you are equipped to
study,” he explained.
Gladys was certain that God wanted
her to go to China and so she
decided to take herself there. She
took extra cleaning and serving jobs
until she had saved enough money
to pay for a one-way ticket to China.
She learned the local language and
became a hard working witness for
the Lord Jesus Christ, often on her
own in remote villages, for many
years.
One day, the Governor of the local
prison in the Chinese town sent for
Gladys in a hurry.
A riot had broken out in the prison
and he wanted Gladys to come and
stop the riot. “I can’t do that!”
protested Gladys. “Why, they’ll kill
me as well.”
The Governor looked puzzled. “How
can that happen?” he inquired.
“You tell us that the Living God is
with you. God cannot die — so how
can you?”
This was not the time for a
theological debate. Quietly, Gladys
waited for them to open the prison
gates. She stepped inside. The
scene was violent, blood
everywhere, dead bodies. She remembered a Bible verse, “I can do
all things through Christ who
strengthens me.” Taking a deep
breath, she yelled, “Stop it at once!
Line up, here, in front of me!”
No schoolteacher was ever as
successful as was Gladys! The noise
stopped. So did the fighting. Those
men came and stood in front of
Gladys. With tears in her eyes she
tried to share with them the power
and the presence of Jesus.
Gladys Aylward had ambition. She
had determination. She was not
afraid of hard work. And, most of
all, she had faith in God.
The Right Kind of Ambition Doreen Harrison
Ask our office for more information about devotional books by Doreen Harrison here.
© Brett Critchley
© J6789
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Don Sanderson is Lead Pastor at
Grace Community Assembly of God,
California.
It is no secret that we are living
in troubled times – right before our
eyes we are seeing scripture
being fulfilled as a culture runs
wildly towards destruction. In my
lifetime I never imagined witnessing
what we see today: evil being called
good and good being called evil. My
heart hurts for our community and
our nation as I realize there is not
one thing you or I can do naturally
to change things for the better.
Our voting will not turn the tide of
evil. Nor will greater community
organization, immigration reform,
health care reform, a balanced
budget or greater military power.
Whilst all these are all things are
important and relevant to the
security and prosperity of our
nation, they fail to address the root
of our problem - the heart of man
remains hardened in unbelief. But
faith is the victory which
overcomes! In a day when our faith
is under attack, we as Christians
need to stand firm in our faith. As
we understand the nature of our
faith will we be able to defeat the
enemies of faith.
Defining Faith
When someone asks a follower of
Jesus, “what is faith?” most of us
will quote this passage:
Faith makes us sure of what we
hope for and gives us proof of what
we cannot see… But without faith
no one can please God. We must
believe that God is real and that he
rewards everyone who searches for
him. (Hebrews 11:1, 6)
Faith is absolute trust and
confidence in God; that he is who
he says he is and he will do what he
says he will do. Yet the Bible defines
several modes of ‘faith’ which a
Christian can have. Firstly, and most
importantly, there is:
Saving faith
This faith comes to us as a gift from
God and is the exclusive possession
of all Christians. All true Christians
possess saving faith, and only
Christians possess it. Without it we
would not be Christians!
For we are saved by grace through
faith, and that not of ourselves, it is
the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)
The Gift of Faith
All the gifts of the Spirit are
supernatural manifestations of
power; and so when Paul in 1
Corinthians 12:9 speaks of faith
(Greek: ‘pistis’) as a gift of the Spirit,
Enemies of Faith by Don Sanderson
Image © Salvador Ceja
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he is referring to a supernatural
ability (given by God at a particular
time) to meet a particular need or
situation. The good news is all
Christians can be recipients of this
gift, if and when it is needed.
The fruit of faith
Although exactly the same word for
faith (‘pistis’) is used in Galatians
5:22 in reference to the fruit of the
Spirit which is ‘faith’, we must
understand that there is a
difference between the fruit of the
Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. The
gift of faith is a supernatural
manifestation of Divine power;
whereas the fruit of faith one of the
fruits of the Spirit which are
manifestations of Christ's character
springing from his indwelling Spirit
within us. Indeed, the word
‘faithfulness’ is probably a better
translation than ‘faith’ in this
context (I am indebted to David
Petts’ book ‘Body Builders’ for the
definitions used in this article).
Whilst Christians are only expected
to exercise some of the gifts of the
Spirit, they are required to show all
of the fruit of the Spirit in their
lives.
In Luke 18:8 Jesus asked a
challenging and searching question:
‘When the Son of Man comes, will
he find faith on the earth?’
During days of evil and backsliding
in our nation, if we are to stand firm
in the faith in the way Jesus implies,
then we need to understand what
our faith is; use the gift of faith, and
develop the fruit of faith (or
faithfulness). Of course, we will
never be able to stand in our own
ability; ‘reaching for our
own bootstraps’ simply won’t be
enough; but our faith in God will
enable us to stand.
What are the Enemies of
Faith?
The enemy of our souls uses a
variety of weapons to undermine
our faith; his ultimate objective
being the destruction of our souls.
These weapons can rob us of the
joy of our salvation, faith to see the
answers to our prayers and
experience God’s miraculous
provision for our needs.
Doubt and Fear
I believe these two are very
effective tools of the enemy to steal
away our confidence in God. Satan
lies to you and me with accusing
thoughts which sound something
like this:
You’re worthless! Your sin is too
great! God can’t love you! God
won’t heal you! It’s all your fault!
If you listen to these lies for long
enough you will begin to believe
them and then develop a fatalistic
attitude and belief system that says
“what’s the use; why bother
praying, why bother serving, why
bother, period?”
These very things have been
instrumental in bringing down some
incredible men and women of God
– no one is immune in our own
strength.
Spiritual depression, a fatalistic
outlook to life and a mere ‘going
through the motions’ are sure signs
that doubt and fear are winning the
battle in the life of a believer. If you
are living in this place right now – I
want you to know that this enemy
of faith can be defeated!
Unbelief
Unbelief (Greek: ‘apistos’) is the
opposite of faith (‘pistos’). It is a
lack of faith, a withholding of belief:
in the divine power (Mark 16:14);
the promises of God (Rom. 4:20;
Heb. 3:19); the divine mission of
Jesus (Matt. 13:58; Mark 6:6); and
by opposition to the gospel (1Tim.
1:13). It carries with it he added
notion of obstinacy (Rom. 11:20,23;
Heb. 3:12). It is a weakness of faith
(Matt. 17:20).
Unbelief is an intentional decision
demonstrated by our refusal to
surrender to the Holy Spirit and his
purposes.
Our unbelief in God’s ability to
move in us and through us can be
seen in our attitudes and behaviour
towards others, especially those in
authority over us.
In these days of unbelief, Christians
must stand firm in the faith to
overcome these enemies of faith. If
we want to see the blessing of God
on our lives and our families, and to
see his miraculous power at work,
we must do two things:
1. Take authority over doubt and
fear, recognizing that Christ has
overcome the world, the flesh and
the devil and through faith in him
that we too, have the victory. This is
the victory that has overcome the
world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4)
2. Crucify our flesh – bring this sin
of unbelief and obstinacy to Christ,
repent of our sin and rebellion
towards God and those in authority
over us.
Today, Christian, you can live in
victory over the enemies of doubt,
fear, and unbelief; and you can
overcome all the world throws at
you if you walk by faith in God.
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This Month’s
Featured
Resource:
First Love
Discipleship
Series -
Ephesians
By Dr. Tony Keys. Available now
for £8.80 from Amazon.co.uk
Ephesians – The Believer’s
Riches in Christ!
Week One All Spiritual Blessings -
Ephesians 1: 1-23
Day 1: Read Introduction & then
Ephesians 1: 1-6.
Whilst reading today’s commentary
shown below, think about the
following points, keeping in mind
what they mean to you as a
believer.
• Why the phrase ‘heavenly places’
is an important phrase in
understanding the book of
Ephesians
• The doctrine of adoption –
considered to be one of the
cornerstones of the Christian belief.
• What Paul meant when he wrote,
“by which He made us accepted in
the Beloved”.
When Christians begin to read and
understand Paul’s Epistle to the
Ephesians, something wonderful
happens in our spiritual lives. We
discover how rich we already are,
for reading Ephesians is like reading
the catalogue of our own treasures
that we have in Christ.
A. The Greeting (1: 1-2)
Paul begins his letter with the
conventional first century Greek-
style writing of his day, which is that
of the writer sending greetings to
the reader. Yet, Paul takes this style
of writing and lifts it to a higher
plane, for he describes both writer
and reader from the standpoint of
their relationship in God through
Christ Jesus.
The words found in these opening
verses do not roll easily from Paul’s
lips, nor are they words that are
artistically shaped in the mind. They
are words that come from one
whose heart and mind are
thoroughly Spirit-controlled.
V.1 Paul begins this verse by first
describing his own personal
relationship in God through Christ
Jesus. He says, “Paul, an apostle of
Jesus Christ by the will of God”. Paul
calls himself an ‘apostle’. The word
‘apostle’ comes from the Greek
word ‘apostolos’, which comes from
the verb ‘apostellein’, meaning ‘to
send out’. The word was used of a
naval squadron or an ambassador
sent out on a special expedition.
Paul, by this word, not only shows
that he is a member of a large task
force for Christ but also that he is a
man with a special mission. Yet, by
coupling the word ‘apostle’ with ‘of
Jesus Christ’, he gives the fullest
meaning that can properly be
applied to the word ‘apostle’, for he
shows that he not only belongs to
Christ and is under the authority of
Christ, but also that the marks of his
apostleship are clearly evident in his
life and work.
Even though Paul makes the claim
of one writing with authority, he
goes to great pains to show us that
this authority is not due to his own
personal merit, aspiration or
through usurpation, nor was he
nominated by men, but that it came
as a result of God’s initiative and
sovereign will, for he says “by the
will of God”.
Paul then continues on to describe
the personal standing of his readers
in Christ Jesus. He calls them both
“saints” and the “faithful in Christ
Jesus”. By the word ‘saints’, Paul
describes the work of Christ’s
salvation for them, that they have
been set apart and consecrated to
glorify Christ and to proclaim the
message of Christ. By the word
‘faithful’, Paul expresses their part
in remaining set apart in God and of
proclaiming the message and yet he
is quick to point out that, like him,
they also need the strength of
Christ to accomplish such a feat, for
he says ‘in Christ’. Just as the
strength of any tree is found in the
soil and how deep its roots go into
that soil, so the strength of any
Christian is found in Christ and how
deep we have placed our roots in
Him.
V.2 Paul then continues with the
greeting of that day, “Grace to you
and peace”. These words capture
the riches of the Christian faith, for
‘grace’ represents a believer’s
standing, and ‘peace’ the believer’s
present and continued experience
with God, the continued experience
being expressed by describing God
as “our Father”. The word ‘Father’
in the Aramaic is ‘Pater’, a word
describing a father in a happy family
relationship.
B. Praise to God for His Purpose
and Blessing for Us in Christ (1: 3-
14)
In the Greek, V.3-14 is one long
sentence. Paul’s mind seems to go
on and on as each successive
thought crowds one upon the
other. His thoughts are like a
snowball gathering momentum as it
races down a hillside, as his mind
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first contemplates the blessings of
God, then the purpose of God in our
lives, then the privileges we have in
Christ.
As we read his words and take time
to contemplate them, they almost
seem like steps leading to an
illustrious castle. Once we, like a
pilgrim, begin to climb, the aim
becomes to quickly ascend those
steps without taking a breath in our
bid to reach the castle as quickly as
possible.
1. The Divine Plan of Salvation (1:
3-8)
V.3 In this passage, Paul’s thoughts
erupt into loud resounding praise to
God. We can almost hear his voice
ringing through the prison as he
blesses God the Father or Our Lord
Jesus Christ “who has blessed us
with every spiritual blessing”. These
words hardly seem the words of a
man in prison facing the possibility
of execution, and yet they are,
though in this case the prisoner
looks ahead to something far
greater.
In July 2009, the reticent billionaire
Chuck Feeney gave Queensland its
biggest ever single gift of $102
million to three medical projects.
These projects are overseen by
Queensland University of
Technology (QUT). The university’s
Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter
Coaldrake remarked that the
donation underscores Mr Feeney's
personal commitment to giving;
"The contribution of Chuck Feeney
to QUT and the state of Queensland
has been nothing short of
remarkable," he said. Born in 1931
in New Jersey, Mr Feeney earned
his fortune after setting up the Duty
Free Shopping Network in
Mediterranean seaports in the
1950s. By 1982, he had established
a philanthropic institution called the
Atlantic Philanthropies and,
according to Wikipedia estimates,
by 2005 he had given away $3.457
billion, with most of it done in total
anonymity. He eventually sold his
interests in 1997, a sale which
boosted his personal wealth and for
the first time brought this shy,
mysterious man to the public arena.
Up until that time, Feeney was the
world's biggest secret
philanthropist. There are only two
other charities that have out-given
him: the Ford Foundation, and the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Feeney’s foundation does not
accept requests but rather it seeks
out those who are most needy. He
gives his money away because it
brings him great satisfaction in
helping others.
Yet how differently Paul in this
verse describes our relationship
with the One who blesses us with all
spiritual blessings! To the world,
Chuck Feeney is an enigma, a shy
reclusive man whom we can never
really know, who seems to appear
out of nowhere, donating large
sums of money and then, as
surreptitiously as he appears, he
vanishes. Paul does not describe
God as shy or one difficult to reach
but as “Father”. Throughout this
wonderful Epistle, Paul continually
assures us that it is from the
parental heart of God the Father
that the fountain of all blessing
flows down upon our lives. Paul
tells us in Rom 8:17 that every true
believer is a joint-heir with Christ.
Our unique family relationship with
Christ is further stressed by His
words at His resurrection (Jn 20:17)
when He said, “I am ascending to
My Father and Your Father”. Jesus
is a Son by nature and we are ‘sons’
by adoption.
Paul continues to say that God has
blessed us with “every spiritual
blessing”. Writing of the blessings of
God upon us, Paul is not speaking of
them as being in the past or
remaining only in the present, but
rather as one continuous flow of
blessing. Though the benefits of
Chuck Feeney’s donations will aid
tens of thousands of people, not
everyone can access them; many
billions of the world’s population
will be left wanting and, even if he
was to give away all his money, he
could not assist all of them. Later on
in Eph. 3:8, Paul describes these
spiritual blessings from God as “the
unsearchable riches of Christ”
which he and the church are
commissioned to preach to all. The
word ‘unsearchable’ describes a
resource that can never be emptied
or measured, like a great
unfathomable ocean. The verses in
Eph. 1:3 and 3:8 tell us that God not
only seeks us out to bless us but He
also accepts requests to bless us.
God does not just bless us with
temporal blessings that are
consumed with time and effort but
with spiritual blessings that find
their source “in the heavenly places
in Christ”, and this makes these
blessings eternal, inexhaustible,
glorious and wonderful beyond
compare. The phrase ‘in Christ’ also
shows us that we cannot enjoy
these blessings without Christ.
Starting from this verse, the whole
Epistle of Ephesians is a magnificent
anthem of the believer’s riches in
Christ, beginning with the grace and
mercy with which God through
Jesus Christ brought us into a
special relationship with Him in that
He, God, is now our Heavenly
Father, the One who blesses us with
every spiritual blessing. Amen!
10
The opening line of this verse so fills
our heart and spirit with joy that we
just want to jump up and sing for
joy the praises of God, just as the
hymn writer Fanny J. Crosby so well
put it: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is
mine… Praising my Saviour all the
day long”.
One of the key phrases in
understanding the book of
Ephesians is the phrase ‘heavenly
places’.
Paul sees that the heavenly places
are those places where the real
issues of life take place.
Paul speaks of these blessings as
being both spiritual and of coming
from heavenly places in Christ. He
impresses upon us the fact that the
blessings of God eclipse and are
unlimited compared to material
things that pass away, because their
origin is not found in the
commonplace of this world but far
above, in Christ who is in the
heavenlies. Paul here in this verse
claims the privileged position of a
Christian. As a citizen of Rome he
may be in prison but, as a citizen of
heaven, he is in heaven. He urges
us, the readers, to accept the same
privilege (Eph. 2: 6-7).
This verse in Eph. 1:3 is also directly
linked to Eph. 6:12 where Paul
speaks of wrestling with
principalities and powers in
heavenly places. Therefore, the
spiritual blessing of which Paul is
speaking relates to our success with
wrestling with principalities and
powers in heavenly places. The two
verses (Eph. 1:3 & 6:12) resemble
the beginning and ending of a
document of war that contains
military strategies to overcome
principalities and powers in
heavenly places.
In fact, Eph. 1:3 is also the
declaration of a counsel of war. The
words ‘heavenly places’ could be
translated here as ‘God’s heavenly
counsels’, a place where God puts
His plans into operation. It is as if
we have been ushered into the war
counsel room of God and there in
the heavenly places we have
become privy to the plans and
purposes of God.
Paul continues to tell us in Eph. 1:3
that the plans and purposes of God,
of which we are made part, are only
accomplished ‘in Christ’. But, why
does Paul say ‘in Christ’? It is
because Paul sees that our
relationship ‘in Christ’ is vital to the
outcome of anything that we do.
V.4-5 The story is told of a group of
theologians who were discussing
the tension between the schools of
thought of predestination and free
will. Things became so heated that
the group broke up into two
opposing factions, but one man, not
knowing which faction to join, stood
for a moment trying to decide. At
last he joined the predestination
group. "Who sent you here?" they
asked. "No-one sent me," he
replied. "I came of my own choice."
"Free will!" they exclaimed. "You
can't join us! You belong with the
other group!" So he followed their
orders and went to the other clique.
There someone asked, "When did
you decide to join us?" The young
man replied, "Well, I didn't really
decide - I was sent here." "Sent
here!" they shouted. "You can't join
us unless you have decided by your
own free will!"
So often we get caught up in the
debate of predestination that we
lose sight of the wonderful treasure
of our own adoption into the family
of God, of which Paul wants us to
grasp hold. Paul now becomes
deeply aware not only of his own
conversion and calling but also that
of his readers. The words of Jesus in
John 15:16 no doubt ring in Paul’s
ears: “You do not choose me but I
choose you”. As Paul contemplates
his and our salvation, he becomes
overwhelmed with the wonder of it,
that it was not a last minute idea of
God’s or a happy accident of fate,
but rather an achievement of God’s
that He initiated before the
foundation of the world. Paul sees
that this privilege could not possibly
bring about the occasion of pride or
boasting, for he says that we are
adopted. Paul uses this word to
describe both our present and past
condition. Paul looks into the past
and does not see us as a perfect
child, squeaky clean and pressed by
an adoption agency, presenting us
to God as our parent-to-be, hoping
that He will adopt us! Rather, he
sees us as we really are: orphans of
the street, dirty, neglected,
wretched little urchins living in the
gutters, repulsive to many people,
living like dogs scavenging for food
in the dumps of life, as sadly many
children still do today. Also, we
must remember that Satan has no
desire to give us up and present us
as squeaky clean to God
Dr. Tony Keys (from Victoria in
Australia) is a prolific author with
degrees in biblical/theology,
education and leadership/
management. Tony is passionate
about developing leaders and
conducts leadership seminars for
pastors around the world.
11
It is important to remember that
the Book of Revelation was given to
John by a series of signs and visions
(Rev. 1.2) and that the events
depicted in the visions do not
necessarily follow each other in
chronological order. Sometimes the
same event is referred more than
once, and the events in chapters
fifteen and sixteen actually occur
before events in chapter fourteen.
The scene of this vision is the
fulfilment of God’s wrath - no more
patient forbearance and holding
back in mercy, for the day of
salvation will be over. Men will have
no more opportunity to repent, for
their hearts are long past
repentance. The great and
wonderful sign John sees in heaven
is seven angels carrying the seven
last plagues. The word last denotes
the finality of these plagues.
Throughout these chapters we see
God as righteous in his character
both as Saviour and as Judge.
God the Righteous Saviour
V2,3 Before the angels are sent out,
we see a vision of those who
standing on a sea of glass blended
with fire, representing God’s holy
judgment. These people are
victorious over judgment, for they
have not bowed down to worship
the beast or his image or received
his mark. They share in the victory
which was won for them by the
Lord Jesus Christ, the harps in their
hands represent his salvation. This
vision interrupts the vision of God’s
wrath for a reason: to show that
God is unwilling to pour out his
wrath - so he has offered a way of
salvation to all men. Those who
respond and receive His salvation
stand perfect before him in Christ,
without fear of condemnation, for
our God is a Saviour before he is a
judge. How tragic it is then, for
those who suffer God’s wrath -
tragic, for it need never have been,
they have only themselves to
blame.
In contrast, how wonderful it will be
to join in the song of the redeemed!
The song of Moses and the Lamb
are not two different songs, but two
blended into one. Derek Williams
writes: “Just as the Israelites sang
with Moses after their deliverance
from Egypt, so the Lord’s people
sing to the Lamb, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who has delivered from sin,
its power and its judgment.” What
God has done is marvellous in our
eyes. It is done in grace, for it is
undeserved on our part, but it is
done in justice, for God has fulfilled
his own law in making us right with
him.
No one could fail to revere the
Name of such a God, bow down to
Him, honour and praise Him (Phil.
2:9 - 11). God alone is “perfectly
and to the highest degree, holy”.
All the redeemed from every nation
on earth will give Him due worship
because of his righteousness in
their justification, and his works on
earth. Ps. 86:9.
V5 At this point, John saw the way
into God’s presence open. It has
been opened once and for all and
will never again be shut, for Christ
has made the way for all who
believe.
Therefore, brethren, having
boldness to enter the Holiest
by the blood of Jesus, by a
new and living way which He
consecrated for us, through
the veil, that is, His flesh
(Heb. 10:19-20)
Revelation 15 & 16
The Righteous
Saviour and Judge
Truth for Today
A brief extract from our forthcoming book.
By Mathew Bartlett
Image © Pidiyath100
12
How sad that even though the door
is open, those who refuse to believe
refuse to enter through it. The
tabernacle of the Testimony in
heaven is “the dwelling place and
throne of God (the heavenly holy of
holies).”DRW But if God is a
righteous Saviour, he is also a
righteous judge.
God the Righteous Judge
V6 John’s attention now turn again
to the seven angels bearing the
plagues as they come out from the
presence of God. Since they are to
be the executors of God’s
judgment, they are sent with marks
of his divine authority, the white
robes speak of His judicial
impartiality and the golden sash is
the mark of their office.
V7 From one of the four living
creatures, each angel receives a
golden bowl filled with the wrath of
God “Who lives forever and ever.”
“The particular object in referring to
this attribute here appears to be,
that though there may seem to be
delay in the execution of his
purposes, yet they will be certainly
accomplished, for he is the ever-
living and unchangeable God”
(Barnes). God has always been the
same. His anger against sin has
never changed. It is simply that in
his love and long-suffering, he gave
all men opportunity to repent. But
there is a time with God, when
disobedience can no longer be
overlooked. The time has come to
carry out due sentence.
V8 As the angels were entrusted
with their commission, God’s
sanctuary in heaven was filled with
the smoke of His glory and His
power. No one could enter until the
seven plagues of the seven angels
were completed, indicating that no
intercessions could be made during
this time for the guilty - the worthy
recipients of God’s wrath.
The First Bowl: Ulcerated Sores.
V1,2 The angels are sent to empty
their bowls, and as the first angel
pours out his bowl, painful
ulcerated sores break out on all
those who have the mark of the
beast, this is similar to the sixth
plague that God sent to judge the
Egyptians (Exodus 9:8 - 12) and may
I remind you that the Egyptians had
never heard of silicon chips.
The Second Bowl: All Seas
Turned to Blood
V3 The second angel empties his
bowl on the sea which turns it not
only into blood, but the foul, ill-
smelling blood of a dead body. In
contract to the seven trumpets,
when one third of marine life died,
now every living thing in the sea
dies. So we see God’s word means
what it says - these are the final
judgments.
The Third Bowl: All Fresh
Waters Turned to Blood
V4-6 The third angel pours his bowl
on the rivers, springs and all the
water sources which are turned into
blood. This leaves no drinking water
on earth. Truly God’s final judgment
has begun. The angel who was in
charge of the waters asserts that
God is quite right to inflict this
judgment, for those affected had
shed the blood of God’s children
and were only receiving what they
deserved - they must now drink
blood to survive. I was interested,
when I heard someone say after the
Tsunami of 2005, when thousands
were wiped out in a moment in
Bande Ache, Indonesia, “Why would
God judge the poor innocent fisher
folk of Indonesia?” May I point out
that in those poor innocent fishing
villages, Christians were being
publicly beheaded for their faith in
Christ and their heads were bring
carried around on poles in front of
the jubilant villagers. I have seen
photographs of these atrocities
myself. Were they really poor
innocent fishermen or callous
murderers of God’s children?
National crimes merit national
chastisement, and international
crimes merit universal punishment.
Christ himself, who gave himself up
as a sacrifice for our sins on the
cross, echoes the sentiments of the
angel, Yes, Lord God Almighty - they
deserve this - for your judgments
are true and right.
The Fourth Bowl: Men are
Burned by the Sun
V8,9 Scientists expect the sun to
last at least another 100, 000 years.
But the sun is not under its own
control. As the fourth angel pours
out his bowl on the sun, it flares up
to such an extent that people are
severely burnt by its heat. Yet they
do not repent or give God glory.
Instead they blaspheme and curse
God for sending these plagues on
them, as if they were not fair. I have
said that God is righteous, that is all
his ways are right. But man’s heart
is so crooked that he calls God’s
right way wrong. We have read how
Christ and the angels have
described God’s judgments as holy
and fair; true and right. How many
people today would say when
hearing of these judgments, “This is
13
terrible, I will never believe in a God
who could do such things - it is cruel
and wrong.” In saying this, they
reveal the sinfulness of their hearts
in their perverted sense of right and
wrong. Let me assert with serious
dogmatism this morning- God is
right even if the rest of the world is
wrong! Let God be true and every
man a liar; that you may be proved
right when you speak and justified
when you judge.
The Fifth Bowl: Darkness
V10,11 Divine judgment draws
nearer to the Anti-Christ himself as
the fifth angel empties his bowl on
his throne in Jerusalem, although as
DRW says it does not yet touch him
personally. His kingdom was
plunged into supernatural darkness,
bringing confusion, disorder and
distress (see Ex. 10:21-23). So
terrible was this darkness that men
“gnawed their tongues in anguish”
(physical and mental pain, like hell
had already begun on earth). DRW
says: This is the only place in
Scripture where this expression is
found. Yet once again their only
response to this judgment is to
blaspheme and curse God.
The Sixth Bowl: Euphrates
Dried Up
V12 - 16 When the sixth angel
poured out his bowl on the river
Euphrates it was dried up, making it
a road for the armies of the eastern
nations as they march toward Israel.
Bear in mind that at this stage of
the proceedings it is not Israel or
the Jews they are attacking. This is
made clear in later verses (Rev.
19:19). The devil sends out three
filthy and grotesque evil spirits to
raise up a worldwide army,
deceived into believing they have a
chance in the fight by the miracles
the demons perform, and gather
them to fight Christ in the valley of
Megiddo. The drying up of the
Euphrates could be seen as God
throwing down the gauntlet to the
wicked, despising their rebellion.
Palm 2:1 At this point comes
another interjection (v15).
Since all these things are about to
be fulfilled - the coming of Christ is
inevitable, even the demon inspired
armies testify to this - so at the
present time opportunity is given to
us to be ready for Christ’s coming.
The Lord promises those who watch
for His coming, those who stay loyal
and faithful to Him, that they will
not have reason to be ashamed
when he comes.
The Seventh Bowl: The Earth
Shaken
v17 The seventh and final bowl is
emptied into the air and is followed
by a mighty voice from the throne
of God, which cries, “It is finished!”
Tatford says “This is the last stroke,
before the Saviour descends to
battle.”
V18 The result of the outpouring of
the bowl into the air is a great
noise, with thunder and lightning,
accompanied by an earthquake
greater than any which have ever
occurred since the creation of man.
V19-21 The great city (is that
Jerusalem?) was rent into three
parts by gaping wide chasms. All the
cities of the nations fell flat in heaps
of rubble. For now the entire Christ
rejecting world system (symbolized
by Babylon) is to be fiercely
punished. All the islands of earth
were destroyed (Derek Williams
says they are possibly submerged
by the earthquake) and every
mountain was flattened down. At
the same time comes a terrible
hailstorm, with each hailstone
weighing about 43 kg - that’s a
builders bag of wet sand falling out
of the sky. Once again, men
blasphemed and cursed God, such is
the enmity of the human heart
against its creator. The language of
these verses is neither poetic nor
symbolic; but indicate quite literally
that the end of the world has
arrived.
Conclusion
The world, as it is today, will not last
forever. By divine decree it will
come to an end. Where is your
heart fixed? Is it on the good of this
life - that will pass away? Or is it
fixed on Christ who will return not
only to judge the world, but to bring
salvation and victory to those who
trust and follow him? If so, then you
will not be disappointed. The
Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus
Christ. It reveals him as the
everlasting and overwhelming
victor. You cannot be safe without
Jesus, and you cannot but be safe
with Him. If you are not a Christian,
may I urge you in light of God’s
word to put your trust in the Lord
Jesus today and ask him to save you
from your sin and the wrath to
come. If you are a Christian, then
set your heart fully on those things
in heaven which are yours, and will
be yours long after this world has
passed away. The hymn says,
“When we’ve been there ten
thousand years, bright shining as
the sun, we’ve no less days to sing
God’s praise than when we’ve first
begun.” For our God is a righteous
God.
14
I love the way the Lord’s Prayer
is rendered in the King James
Version. Jesus prayed,
“Thy kingdom come, Thy
will be done in earth, as it
is in heaven.”
While some translations say,
“Your will be done on the earth,”
the King James says, “Thy will be
done in earth.” Genesis 2:7 says,
“God formed man of the dust of
the ground.” We are made from
the earth, we are vessels of
“earth,” and when God’s will is
done in us, or “in earth,” then
and only then can God’s will be
done “on the earth.”
Jesus prayed, “Thy kingdom
come,” and continued by saying,
“Thy will be done.” These are
two inseparable conditions.
Wherever God’s kingdom has
come, there His will is being
done. Likewise, when God’s will
is being done, there His kingdom
has come. If we are seeking the
kingdom first, then the kingdom
is our main ambition, and this is
demonstrated in two ways.
First, we want to see God’s will
done “in earth” (in our own
lives), and second, we seek to
see His will done on the earth (in
the whole world).
It all begins with the heart—it all
begins with us. Many people
want to change the world. They
want to see the nations bow
their knees to the King of kings
and the Lord of lords. Yet the
hearts and lives of many of
these people still aren’t
surrendered. Jesus said, “The
kingdom of God is within you”
(Luke 17:21, NKJV). What was
Jesus talking about? He was
talking about God’s will being
done in the hearts of men.
Human kings fight over land and
spoil, but the real estate God
desires is that of the heart.
Jesus said in John 7:38, “He who
believes in Me, as the Scripture
said, ‘From his innermost being
will flow rivers of living water’”
(NAS). He didn’t say we would
see rivers of water flow from
heaven— He said they would
flow from inside His people!
God’s kingdom is not coming
out of the blue sky; it’s coming
from within us! God’s will is that
every believer becomes an
annexation of His kingdom, a
portal through which He can
pour His glory and release His
power into the world. If you
want to see God’s kingdom
come on earth, it starts with
God’s will being done in earth—
in you! Romans 14:17 says,
“For the kingdom of God
is not meat and drink; but
righteousness and peace,
and joy in the Holy
Ghost.”
This is the inward condition of
people who have submitted
themselves to God. They are
filled with righteousness, peace,
and joy in the Holy Ghost! It’s
heaven in earth!
The Surrendered Will
A Bible Study by Daniel Kolenda (CfaN) Photo: © Sebastian Grecu
By kind permission of CfaN, an extract from Daniel’s new book- Live before you die. £9.99 BUY NOW.
15
The opening words of Genesis are
like a Big Bang explosion of truth:
“In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.” Three
realities confront us: God, the
heavens, and the earth! They form
the triune environment in which we
humans live. We came from God,
we are creatures of the earth, and
we are destined for the heavens.
God made the heavens and the
earth as the two sides of Creation –
the invisible and the visible – in a
single act. God Himself is invisible
because He is spirit (John 4:24). But
He also made an invisible realm that
is very real. At times we seem to
sense and experience it – both for
good and evil – which reminds us
that it is there.
The Mystery Beyond Ourselves
Creation transcends all science and
human understanding. What our
eyes can see is not the whole
picture. There is something else – a
mystery beyond us. And our spirit
reaches out to that realm beyond
the earthly and material sphere. But
not everything in that invisible
world is good. Even angels have
sinned and fallen from grace (2 Pet
2:4). Perhaps to our surprise we
read that, “the heavens are not
pure in His sight” (Job 15:15) or
“from [His] face the earth and the
heaven fled away” (Rev 20:11). Yet
one day there will be a new heaven
and a new earth “in which
righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13).
Humankind belongs to God, to the
earth, and to the heavens. People
do not consist only of flesh, but also
of spirit. Animals, on the other
hand, are not made of spirit and
flesh like humans; therefore, they
are not morally responsible. But we
are. We are the only creatures that
sin – the only creatures on this
earth that have a true spiritual
nature combined with their flesh.
This combination will remain till
death, when the spirit separates
from the flesh. But even that is not
the end of the flesh. For we receive
a resurrection body – a whole new
physical existence, perfectly fused
with our spirit for immortality (Luke
24:39; Phil 3:21; 1 Cor 15).
Therefore, the work of Christ
related to both realms. He came to
deal not only with spiritual evil, but
also with physical evil. 1 John 3
makes this clear. First it proclaims
our spiritual liberation: “He was
manifested to take away our sins”
(1 John 3:5). Then it declares our
physical release: “For this purpose
the Son of God was manifested,
that He might destroy the works of
the devil” (1 John 3:8). What are
these “works of the devil?” Acts
10:38 explains: Jesus “went about
doing good and healing all who
were oppressed by the devil.” Jesus
came with concern for people as
they were – to be a Saviour for
sinners and a Healer of those
afflicted by Satan. He forgave sin,
healed the sick, and expelled devils.
Spirit-filled Evangelism
Evangelists in the New Testament
were called to continue His work. In
fact, Christ commanded them – and
us – to continue His work. His work
is our work. Pentecostal and
charismatic evangelists have carried
out the command to address both
the visible and invisible from the
start. They have recognized and
emphasized the Scripture’s teaching
about both the spiritual and natural
realms. We must carry on this
legacy!
Some ministers have ignored the
evidence of the invisible world
manifesting in the visible. Others
even say that scriptural
manifestations like miraculous
healing and tongues are demonic.
Yet, biblical faith is filled with
Neither Angels nor Principalities
Image © Luca Oleastri
Part one of a three part Bible
study by Reinhard Bonnke
16
miraculous and supernatural signs
occurring on earth. People
throughout biblical history knew
they were dealing with a miracle-
working God. “You are the God who
does wonders,” the Psalmist wrote
(Ps 77:14). So we have a right to ask
as Gideon did, “Where are all His
miracles which our fathers told us
about?” (Judges 6:13). The same is
true in the New Testament. Jesus
performed signs, wonders, healing,
and deliverance. Then His apostles
and followers did the same. Acts 2:4
describes them speaking with
tongues, displaying a unique
example of the Spirit working in the
natural world – through the flesh of
people. Tongues are a spiritual and
physical work of God: “They began
to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.”
God has not retired or set His
miracle-working powers aside.
Neither has He “pensioned off” the
angels, even if we, like Elisha’s
servant, do not see them (2 Kings
6:17). Too often the same people
who declare their faith in the Bible
– with its many references to angels
– treat modern reports of angels
with skepticism. Or they treat the
devil and demons as mythical
figures. Yet, in Scripture, Christ and
His followers would never deny
these realities. People’s lives were
at stake!
For example, a demon once
interrupted a synagogue service
(Luke 4:31-37). (Perhaps because
there was something worth
interrupting.) Today they rarely
upset the order of church worship,
with hymn numbers on a board and
sermons without fire. But if one did
interrupt, how many ministers
would know how to handle it? Yet
the clash of good and evil in the
spirit world is still real today.
Devotees of voodoo work hard at
becoming possessed; they want
special powers to carry out spells
and curses. And when we preach
Jesus in the power of the Spirit,
they become extremely distressed.
It is common in CfaN’s African
meetings to minister to sixty
demonized people at a time,
expelling the unclean spirits.
A Continent Steeped in the
Supernatural
Recent times have enthroned
reason and encouraged ignorance
of heavenly realities. Education and
knowledge have been secularized,
dismissing demons as medieval
nonsense. The great maxim has
become “seeing is believing.” Only
the visible is real. In Europe, science
has become the judge of all truth,
and has denied what it cannot
control. New authorities have
appointed themselves above the
Word of God. Faith in natural
reason has usurped faith in divine
reason. Secularism is the modern
worldview, and nobody escapes its
influence. We in the West were
born and raised in the naturalist
tradition. We live in secular waters
like fish live in the sea. In my early
days as an evangelist in Africa, I
observed missionaries taking a non-
supernatural Gospel to a continent
steeped in the supernatural. Africa
was – and still is – a different world
from the West. But those
missionaries were strongly
orientated to the sphere of the
visible. Meanwhile, Africans took
full account of the invisible world in
their day-to-day life. Africans lived
in an environment of witchcraft,
demonism, possession, spirit
worship, ancestor worship, tribal
gods, and animism. They feared
haunting, curses, spells, and dark
forces living in trees, rivers, and
graves. Missionaries believed it was
all unscientific and primitive, while
Africans shared their world with
spirits.
So while missionaries suffered from
naturalistic tunnel vision, Africans
accepted the reality of the spirit
realm. But their belief in the
invisible realm was not a positive
experience. To them the spirit
world was unfriendly, even
dangerous – a dimension of ever-
present terror. Now, even today,
witchcraft continues to flourish. The
press reported that the President of
Zimbabwe supports witchdoctors –
alongside western-style physicians –
as part of the African culture.
Apparently people still seek
witchdoctors for protection from
spirits, spells, and curses. They need
deliverance from this oppression!
And the full, supernatural Gospel of
Jesus Christ has the answer!
This article reproduced with the kind
permission of Christ for all Nations.
© Lucian Coman
17
The ‘Faith-builders Bible study series’ has been developed a useful resource for today’s students of God’s Word and their busy lifestyles.
Pastors, home or study group leaders and indeed for anyone wishing to study the Bible for themselves will benefit from using Faith-builders studies.
Each volume is the result of many years of group Bible study, and has been revised again and again to be relevant, challenging and faith building whilst remaining clear and easy to understand.
Each chapter has thought provoking questions to aid study and sample answers are provided.
Below is an extract from the study notes for Mark chapter 9.
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The ‘Faith-builders Bible study series’ has been developed a useful resource for today’s students of
God’s Word and their busy lifestyles.
The Glory of the Coming
Kingdom
9:1 And he said to them, ‘I tell you
the truth, there are some standing
here who will not experience death
before they see the kingdom of God
come with power.’
What did Jesus mean? There were
those who were standing among
the people who would still be alive
when the kingdom of God was
ushered in; that is after the death
and resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ. From that time on the
kingdom would be seen amongst
the people, coming into being with
great power (probably a reference
to Pentecost).
9:2-3 Six days later Jesus took with
him Peter, James, and John and led
them alone up a high mountain
privately. And he was transfigured
before them, and his clothes
became radiantly white, more so
than any launderer in the world
could bleach them.
Jesus chose Peter, James and John
to go with him to the summit of a
high mountain where they could be
alone. Jesus’ choice of these three
was not based on favouritism, for
we are all equal in God's sight (Acts
10:34). Rather, it appears that these
three were the most spiritually
responsive to the teachings of
Christ.
Whilst they were on the mountain
(presumably in prayer) Jesus’
physical body was transformed as
the glory which he had with the
Father before he came to earth
shone through (John 17:5). The
disciples saw his eternal glory
shining from him to such an extent
that his garments appeared whiter
than anything on earth.
9:4 Then Elijah appeared before
them along with Moses, and they
were talking with Jesus.
The text does not explicitly state
that the disciples recognised Elijah
and Moses; the Lord may have
addressed them by name. The
presence of these two men was full
of significance. For Elijah
represented the prophets, and
Moses the law of God. Jesus Christ
is the fulfilment of both the law and
the prophets.
One would very much like to know
what they were talking about with
Jesus. It seems most likely that it
was concerned with his
approaching crucifixion and the
The Faith-builders Bible study series
Mark Chapter 9 (an extract) By Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett (UK) Image © Rorem
Mark Chapter 2 (abstract) By Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett (UK) Image © Rorem
18
salvation that he would obtain
through it. These two men had
waited in faith for this salvation;
and the sacrifice of Christ which
made it possible is the endless
theme of the glorified saints in
heaven (Rev. 5:9).
9:5-6 So Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi,
it is good for us to be here. Let us
make three shelters -- one for you,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’
(For they were afraid, and he did
not know what to say.)
The disciples seemingly could not
understand what was happening,
and this strangeness brought fear to
their hearts. Peter, for want of
something to say proposed to build
three booths (made of tree
branches) for each of them. Such
booths were often made as
temporary protection from the hot
sun. The text does not reveal what
Peter had in mind – for he did not
know himself! Even so, Peter did
get one thing right - it was good for
them to be there. What better place
could there be than where we can
behold the beauty and the glory of
the Lord?
9:7 Then a cloud overshadowed
them, and a voice came from the
cloud, ‘This is my one dear Son.
Listen to him!’
At this point God intervened,
descending in a cloud which
covered the frightened disciples. As
he spoke to them, acknowledging
Jesus as his beloved Son, God gave
these disciples the true lesson
which the experience was meant to
teach them – by commanding that
they should listen and obey him.
9:8 Suddenly when they looked
around, they saw no one with them
any more except Jesus.
Suddenly it was all over - the cloud,
the voice, Elijah and Moses had
gone; only Jesus remained.
9:9 As they were coming down from
the mountain, he gave them orders
not to tell anyone what they had
seen until after the Son of Man had
risen from the dead.
As they were coming back down the
mountain Jesus strictly ordered
them to tell no one about the things
they had seen until after he had
risen from the dead.
9:10 They kept this statement to
themselves, discussing what this
rising from the dead meant.
And this is what they did; although
they did not understand what he
meant about being raised from the
dead.
9:9-13 Then they asked him, ‘Why
do the experts in the law say that
Elijah must come first?’ He said to
them, ‘Elijah does indeed come first,
and restores all things. And why is it
written that the Son of Man must
suffer many things and be despised?
But I tell you that Elijah has
certainly come, and they did to him
whatever they wanted, just as it is
written about him.’
Realising afresh from this
experience that Jesus was the
Christ, the Son of God, the disciples
asked why the experts in the law
taught that Elijah (whom they had
witnessed speaking with Jesus)
must first come before the Christ
would be manifested (Mal. 4:5-6).
Jesus replied that the lawyers were
correct in their interpretation of
scripture, for truly someone must
first come in the spirit and power of
Elijah to make Israel ready to
receive the Christ. But this Elijah-
type role had been fulfilled by John
the Baptist (Luke 1:17); and just as
the religious and political leaders of
Israel had rejected John and
mistreated him, so they were about
to do to Jesus.
Belief and Unbelief
9:14 When they came to the
disciples, they saw a large crowd
around them and experts in the law
arguing with them.
While the three disciples were with
Jesus enjoying the mountain top
experience the other nine were
having a tough time down in the
valley. When Jesus arrived on the
scene he found them being
interrogated by the scribes and
losing the argument.
9:15 When the whole crowd saw
him, they were amazed and ran at
once and greeted him.
Something of the glory of the
transfiguration must have still been
upon the Lord for when the people
saw him they were amazed at his
appearance and eagerly ran to greet
and welcome him.
9:16 He asked them, ‘What are you
arguing about with them?’
Seeing his disciples greatly
disturbed he asked them what they
were discussing. This was not
because Jesus did not know, but he
wanted to bring the subject out into
open discussion.
9:17 A member of the crowd said to
him, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son,
who is possessed by a spirit that
makes him mute.
Neither the scribes nor the disciples
answered him; instead someone
from among the crowd called out.
He had brought his son who was
19
possessed by a dumb spirit to Jesus
to be delivered.
9:18 Whenever it seizes him, it
throws him down, and he foams at
the mouth, grinds his teeth, and
becomes rigid. I asked your disciples
to cast it out, but they were not able
to do so.
On discovering that Jesus was not
with the disciples, he had turned to
them expecting that they could cast
out the dumb spirit. The man must
have heard, or may have witnessed
the disciples casting out demons
when Jesus sent them on an earlier
mission (Mark 6:13). By the
description that the man gave it
would seem that it was only at
certain times that this demon took
hold of his son throwing him into a
fit which left him almost lifeless and
that it was slowly destroying his
body. The disciples had been
powerless to cast out this demon.
9:19-20 He answered them, ‘You
unbelieving generation! How much
longer must I be with you? How
much longer must I endure you?
Bring him to me.’ So they brought
the boy to him. When the spirit saw
him, it immediately threw the boy
into a convulsion. He fell on the
ground and rolled around, foaming
at the mouth.
One might wonder to whom the
Lord addressed these words: the
scribes, the crowd, the father of the
boy or to his own disciples. They are
certainly words of rebuke to all who
have no faith. They would certainly
apply to the scribes, who did not
believe in Jesus at all. There were
probably many in the crowd who
were sceptical of Jesus’ claims. The
father of the boy had some faith in
bringing his son to Jesus in the first
place, yet confesses later that his
faith is small. What about the
disciples? The Lord had rebuked
them on a previous occasions for
lacking faith (Mark 4:40). So
perhaps all of those standing there
merited the rebuke.
Jesus reproof was aimed at
provoking faith in those who lacked
it. When he asked “how long am I to
put up with you?” he already knew
the answer; for he knew when his
hour would come. As the boy was
brought to Jesus the demon
immediately manifested itself in the
presence of the authority and
power of Christ, throwing the boy
to the ground in a convulsion.
9:21-22 Jesus asked his father, ‘How
long has this been happening to
him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood.
It has often thrown him into fire or
water to destroy him. But if you are
able to do anything, have
compassion on us and help us.’
Jesus’ purpose in asking the boy’s
father for details of his son's
condition was not to enable him to
diagnose; but to bring a full
realization to the father and the
disciples of the hold and length of
time the demon had bound this
child (the importance of this fact is
brought out later in verse 29).
9:23 Then Jesus said to him, ‘If you
are able? All things are possible for
the one who believes.’
Jesus placed the responsibility for
the boy’s deliverance on the father.
'If you can believe - for all things are
possible to him that believes’. This
is a promise that we can also claim
(see Mark 11:24).
9:24 Immediately the father of the
boy cried out and said, ‘I believe;
help my unbelief!’
The man realized what Jesus was
saying to him and knowing his own
deficiency gave out an heart
rending cry; and weeping confessed
‘Lord, I believe’ but, ‘constantly help
my weakness in faith’ (Amp. N. T.)
or ‘when I begin to doubt help me
to continue to believe’.
9:25 Now when Jesus saw that a
crowd was quickly gathering, he
rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to
it, ‘Mute and deaf spirit, I command
you, come out of him and never
enter him again.’
On seeing the crowds approaching
the Lord immediately rebuked the
unclean spirit and commanded it to
come out of the boy. He further
charged the spirit never to enter
him again (this is the only time that
it is recorded that Jesus does this).
9:26 It shrieked, threw him into
terrible convulsions, and came out.
The boy looked so much like a
corpse that many said, ‘He is dead!’
The demon did not leave willingly;
yet it simply had no choice but to
obey the authority of Jesus. Such
was the violent exit of the demon
that the boy appeared to be dead.
9:27 But Jesus gently took his hand
and raised him to his feet, and he
stood up.
But whenever the Lord delivers or
heals he does so completely
without any adverse effects. Taking
the boy by the hand, Jesus lifted
him; he had been made completely
whole.
9:28 Then, after he went into the
house, his disciples asked him
privately, ‘Why couldn't we cast it
out?’
The disciples were eager to find out
why it was that they failed to
deliver the boy. Was it their lack of
faith? It is always good for us to
20
enquire of the Lord why we seem to
fail at something which we have
tried to do for him.
9:29 He told them, ‘This kind can
come out only by prayer.’
Jesus tells them that it was not their
lack of faith alone which hindered
them. The demon was so powerful
and had such a hold on the boy
(having possessed him since he was
a young child) that it could only be
effectively dealt with after time
spent in prayer and fasting.
A Quiet Time with Jesus
9:30 They went out from there and
passed through Galilee. But Jesus
did not want anyone to know,
At last Jesus found an opportunity
to spend time with his disciples
alone, leading them through Galilee
in order to avoid the crowds. There
are times when the Lord leads us in
quiet paths so that he might teach
us and show us the way in which he
would guide us.
9:31-32 for he was teaching his
disciples and telling them, ‘The Son
of Man will be betrayed into the
hands of men. They will kill him, and
after three days he will rise.’ But
they did not understand this
statement and were afraid to ask
him.
Jesus wanted to use this time to
teach his disciples. Mark records
only a summary of the content of
Christ’s teaching: the Son of Man
(Jesus may have explained to them
the meaning of his preferred title -
that it meant him to be God
manifest in human form) would be
delivered into the hands of men and
killed; and that he would be raised
from the dead on the third day.
Whether or not Jesus went into
greater details about his offering of
himself being sacrifice for sin, or
about his resurrection bringing
victory over death is not clear.
Whatever the case, the disciples
clearly did not understand what he
was saying to them and were afraid
to ask him to explain it more clearly.
The Greatest is the Least
9:33 Then they came to Capernaum.
After Jesus was inside the house he
asked them, ‘What were you
discussing on the way?’
On their way to Capernaum all was
not well between the disciples; for a
dispute had arisen among them
(which they thought the Lord had
not heard) about which of them
was be the greatest. Jesus, as the
Master, would have walked in front
and the disciples would have
followed in single file behind him;
so it was quite possible for them to
talk among themselves without
Jesus hearing. Nevertheless, when
they arrived at the house they were
surprised and embarrassed when
Jesus asked them what they had
been arguing about. He knew of
course; for nothing is hid from his
sight or hearing (Heb. 4:12-13).
9:34 But they were silent, for on the
way they had argued with one
another about who was the
greatest.
The disciples were too ashamed to
admit that they had been arguing
about who would be the most
important and have the most
honoured place in the kingdom of
God. They were all rather ambitious
and sought to exalt themselves.
9:35 After he sat down, he called
the twelve and said to them, ‘If
anyone wants to be first, he must be
last of all and servant of all.’
Jesus soon brought them down to
earth as he sat with them to resolve
the argument. Whoever has a
desire to be first, or the greatest,
must humble himself and consider
himself to be the least and servant
of all.
9:36 He took a little child and had
him stand among them. Taking him
in his arms, he said to them,
Taking a little child, Jesus placed
him in the middle of the disciples so
that they might compare their self-
importance to the humility of a
child. Then he takes the child into
his arms to show that those who
become as little children are the
ones welcomed in the kingdom of
heaven (Matt. 18:4; Matt. 10:15).
9:37 ‘Whoever welcomes one of
these little children in my name
welcomes me, and whoever
welcomes me does not welcome me
but the one who sent me.’
Whoever accepts and receives a
child in the Lord's name and for his
sake is counted as having received
Jesus Christ and the Father who
sent him into the world to save
sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).
© Regina555
21
Christ-dependent Christianity
An Extract from Grace Roots by Ken Legg
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A group of scientists were confident
that they were so advanced in their
knowledge and ability, that God was
no longer needed. They said to Him,
“Through cloning we can even
create a man. In fact we challenge
you to a man-making contest.
Anything you can do, we can do.”
God agreed. As one of the scientists
bent down and grabbed a handful
of dirt to begin his work God said to
him, “Hey, put that down! You go
and get your own dirt!”
Whether people like it or not there
really is no such thing as total
independence from God. We owe
our existence to Him and we
depend on Him for our next breath.
Dependence upon God is the way
life is structured. It is the norm. Yet
people seek to live their lives more
and more detached from Him.
The gospel is a message of
reconciliation to God. Those who
believe the good news of the gospel
are restored to favour and
fellowship with Him.
Then, the main goal of Christian
ministry is to help believers learn to
live Christ-dependent lives.
There are two enemies to Christ-
dependent Christianity; these are
independence and co-dependency.
1) Independence
There is something very unique
about mankind. Only he has body,
soul and spirit. Plant-life has body.
Animals have body and soul. But
only man has a spirit. This is
because we were created to be
indwelt by God.
As God resided in man, He would
live His life through him. Then the
world would see the moral image of
God; they would see God behaving
in man. But when Adam sinned,
God vacated the human spirit and
the soul was plunged into darkness.
The original image of God was lost
and man ended up with the image
of a fallen, independent Adam. This
is emphasized in the following two
verses:
First the original created man - “In
the day that God created man, He
made him in the likeness of God”
(Gen.5:1 – emphasis mine).
Then after Adam sinned we read,
“And Adam lived one hundred and
thirty years, and begot a son in his
own likeness, after his image…”
(Gen.5:3 – emphasis mine).
Though originally created in the
image of God, man is now born with
the image of a fallen Adam. The
Bible has a term for this, i.e. ‘flesh’.
Flesh refers to man as he is apart
from God. Man in Adam lives
independently of God, trusting in
his own understanding, ability and
resources. It is said that the most
requested song at a funeral in the
UK is, ‘I Did It My Way’. That sums it
up!
This life form is passed down to us
from Adam. Jesus said, “That which
is born of the flesh is flesh” (Jn.3:6).
In the next verse He revealed
mankind’s only hope: “You must be
born again.” When we are born
again we are no longer in the flesh,
but in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit,
through the new birth, comes to
live in our spirit, imparting the life
of Christ to us. We then have access
to divine resources. God’s life can
once again be manifested through a
human being. We refer to this as
the fruit of the Spirit.
Yet, although we no longer live in
the flesh the Christian can still live
according to the flesh. We can still
choose to live independently of
God, trusting in our own efforts and
resources to succeed in life. Before
we came to Christ that’s how we
learned to survive. We developed a
lifestyle of self-sufficiency.
We trained ourselves to be
comfortable with, and confident in,
our strengths. But the Christian life
is one of abiding in Christ, i.e.
trusting that in Him we are
sufficient for the totality of life.
Jesus said, “Without Me you can do
nothing” (Jn.15:5). He is the true
vine. God doesn’t want us to do
anything but be branches. A branch
does not produce fruit; it bears
fruit. We don’t have to try to make
things happen. Resting in Christ, we
are conscious of His life flowing
through us. Divine fruit is the result.
22
Our Father is the vinedresser. It is
His role to see that we abide in
Christ. “Now He who establishes us
with you in Christ and has anointed
us is God” (2 Cor.1:21). He does this
best of all when we are conscious of
our inadequacies.
What is your weakness or problem
right now? Is there an area where
you feel insufficient? Maybe in your
marriage, your health, your
finances, your job, your Christian
walk, your ministry, etc. you are
experiencing lack. Your Father, the
vinedresser, will use these things to
remind you to abide in Christ. He is
your sufficiency. By trusting in Him
you will experience supernatural
grace. “God gives grace to the
humble” (James 4:6; 1 Pet.5:5). To
be humble is not to say that we are
nothing, because God does not say
that about us. Rather it is to say,
“Without you, Lord, I can do
nothing.” That’s humility. And God
gives grace to the humble.
2) Co-dependency
When we discover the limitations of
independence there is a temptation
to look to others, instead of trusting
in the Lord.
Sadly, some consider the local
church as their life source. They
even shop around from church to
church in search of one that can
meet their perceived needs. This
consumer mentality turns people
into parasites.
In a survey conducted amongst
several Christians the question was
asked, “What is the purpose of the
Church?” 84% answered, “The
Church exists to meet my needs and
the needs of my family”. Only 16%
said that the Church’s role was to
bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to a
dying world.
Why is it that people will depend
upon those who represent God, but
not upon God Himself? Ministries
are meant to be channels of God’s
grace to others, not the source of
life to them.
The co-dependent person is taught
to look to people and ministries
instead of fixing their eyes upon
Jesus. Spiritual co-dependency dis-
empowers the one whom Christ
wants to empower.
Dear friend, feel comfortable about
your dependence upon God. That’s
the way He created you. And
remember, the goal of true
Christian ministry is to help others
make the transition from
independence and co-dependency
to Christ-dependence. This is how
success in Christian ministry is
measured.
Our Father is the VinedresserImage © Otmar Winterleitner
23
The Resurrection of the Dead
Introduction
Having dealt with spiritual gifts and
order in public worship, Paul turns
his attention to challenge a certain
false teaching which had arisen in
the church at Corinth. The key verse
for this section is verse 12. How is it
that some of you preach that there
is no resurrection from the dead?
The tone of Paul's letter shows that
many who formerly had sincerely
trusted Christ had more recently
become enthralled by this teaching
– that there is no resurrection. Yet,
as Johnson notes, ‘the resurrection
of Christ and the resurrection of
believers were early in the church
recognised as absolutely essential
matters of Christian belief’.
In response to this theological
problem at Corinth, Paul declares
the absolute historical certainty and
the doctrinal necessity of the
resurrection of Christ.
The Gospel of Christ
15:1-4 Now I want to make clear for
you, brothers and sisters, the gospel
that I preached to you, that you
received and on which you stand,
and by which you are being saved, if
you hold firmly to the message I
preached to you -- unless you
believed in vain. For I passed on to
you as of first importance what I
also received -- that Christ died for
our sins according to the scriptures,
and that he was buried, and that he
was raised on the third day
according to the scriptures.
When Paul came to Corinth he
preached the gospel, which many
Corinthians had believed. As
elsewhere in the New Testament,
Paul emphasizes that the gospel
was not his own idea, for it
originated with God and he had
received it directly from God (Gal.
1:11-12; 1 Tim. 1:11). The very fact
of the tremendous change which
the gospel had wrought in their
lives should be taken as proof
positive of the validity of the
resurrection. The Corinthians had
been dead in trespasses and sins,
living in a darkness which was
characterized by the behaviour
described in 1 Corinthians 6:10-11.
The gospel of Christ had delivered
them from death and darkness, and
brought them to light and new life
in Christ. So Paul finds it necessary
to begin by reminding them of the
content of the gospel which he
preached.
Christ died for our sins. Christ's
death was one of ‘vicarious
atonement – paying the penalty we
deserved to pay on our behalf’.
Jesus Christ had no sin of His own,
but died on behalf of guilty sinners,
satisfying the righteous demands of
the law both by fulfilling its
obligations and by discharging its
penalties. The fact that Christ truly
died is attested by the Old
Testament prophetic writings
(according to the Scriptures - e.g.
Isa. 53:8; Ps. 22:15).
He was buried. This phrase
emphasises the finality of our Lord’s
death. Christ did not swoon or faint,
He died. The burial of Christ is
mentioned in all four gospels as
conclusive proof that Jesus actually
died. Morris says ‘the burial of a
dead body is the necessary prelude
to an empty tomb’.
The third day He was raised to life.
God the Father raised Christ from
death to live forever. Once again
this was in accordance with the
Scriptures; for just as Christ's death
is attested by the Old Testament
prophetic writings, so also is His
resurrection (e.g. Isa. 53:10; Ps.
16:9-11).
Indeed, no one in the early church
could fail to understand the
Our In Depth Study
1 Corinthians 15
By Mathew Bartlett
Photo © Xxknightwolf Scripture taken from the NET Bible®.
This article is an extract from The Pentecostal Bible Commentary available for £7.60 at Amazon.co.uk
24
prophetic meaning of Psalm 16:9-11
in the light of Peter’s sermon on the
Day of Pentecost, where having
quoted those same verses, he went
on to declare:
Brothers, I can speak confidently to
you about our forefather David,
that he both died and was buried,
and his tomb is with us to this day.
So then, because he was a prophet
and knew that God had sworn to
him with an oath to seat one of his
descendants on his throne, David by
foreseeing this spoke about the
resurrection of the Christ, that he
was neither abandoned to Hades,
nor did his body experience decay.
This Jesus God raised up, and we
are all witnesses of it. So then,
exalted to the right hand of God,
and having received the promise of
the Holy Spirit from the Father, he
has poured out what you both see
and hear. For David did not ascend
into heaven, but he himself says,
'The Lord said to my lord, "Sit at my
right hand until I make your
enemies a footstool for your feet."
'Therefore let all the house of Israel
know beyond a doubt that God has
made this Jesus whom you crucified
both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:29-36).
That Christ’s resurrection from the
dead was literal and bodily is
attested to by all the gospel writers.
For example, at His resurrection
appearance in Luke 24:39, Christ
challenged His disciples to, look at
my hands and my feet; it's me!
Touch me and see; a ghost does not
have flesh and bones like you see I
have. The fact of Christ’s bodily
resurrection is further
demonstrated by His eating with His
disciples (Luke 24:42-43; Acts
10:41). As Wright affirms,
‘Resurrection’ does not refer to
some part or aspect of the human
being not dying but instead going
into a continuing life in a new
mode; it refers to something that
does die and then is given new life…
When Paul said ‘resurrection,’ he
meant ‘bodily resurrection’ (Wright
2003:314).
The gospel which Peter had
preached was the same gospel
which Paul had preached, and it
was that which the Corinthians had
believed (Rom. 10:9). At its heart
was the atoning death and bodily
resurrection of Christ. It was only as
they held on to the truth of this
gospel that the Corinthians would
stand firm in Christ (that is, be kept
from falling away); for since there is
no other gospel, letting go of this
rudimentary Christian teaching
would entail abandoning their
Christian faith altogether.
Evidence for the Resurrection
15:5-6 And that he appeared to
Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he
appeared to more than five hundred
of the brothers and sisters at one
time, most of whom are still alive,
though some have fallen asleep.
Not only did the prophetic
Scriptures of the Old Testament
bear witness to the fact of Christ's
resurrection, many people who had
seen and heard the Lord Jesus after
He rose from the dead also bore
witness. They touched Him (1 John
1:1; Luke 24:39), ate and drank with
Him after His resurrection (Acts
10:40-41).
Paul's list of sightings of the risen
Christ is not exhaustive. The first
witness he calls is Peter. He was not
the first person to see the risen
Lord (that was Mary Magdalene),
but the first of the twelve apostles
to see Him.
It may perhaps be the case that
Peter was singled out for mention
since he had denied his Lord and
utterly failed to stand by Him during
His trial. Yet this personal and
individual appearance of the risen
Christ to Peter revealed God’s full
acceptance of Jesus’ atoning work,
which sealed forever Peter’s
acceptance with God; thus paving
the way for his full restoration and
later ministry.
Later that same day, the Twelve met
the risen Lord. This phrase the
Twelve is taken to be a generic term
of reference for the original
apostles of Christ, bearing in mind
that they were no longer twelve in
number, for Judas was no longer
present, having killed himself.
Thomas, also, was not present at
Christ’s first manifestation to this
group of men, but was present
when He reappeared to them a
week later (John 20:24-28).
After this, Christ appeared to over
500 at once, whom we may safely
assume to be the crowd of disciples
gathered in Galilee at a place
appointed by Christ in obedience to
His command (Matt. 28:7-16). Not
only were these witnesses reliable,
most of them could still be called
upon and questioned, for they were
still alive at the time of Paul's
writing. The law required two or
three witnesses to establish
whether any matter was conclusive.
Here were over 500!
Blomberg comprehensively
demonstrates how verses 3-7,
‘refute all the classic suggestions’
that the account of Christ’s
resurrection might be explained by
something other than ‘a literal
bodily resurrection’. The idea of
Christ’s not actually dying but
swooning is refuted, as is the
suggestion that His body was stolen,
because ‘eventually a body could
have been produced and the
25
disciples story laid to rest’.
Furthermore, the ‘number of
witnesses… seems to rule out mass
hallucination’.
15:7 Then he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles.
From the gospels we piece together
how Jesus' family only came to
believe in Him after He appeared to
them subsequent to the
resurrection. That is why they were
not among the original disciples,
but were all in the upper room at
Pentecost. So at some point during
the forty day period over which
Christ manifested Himself to His
disciples after He had risen from the
dead (Acts 1:3), He appeared to
James (his brother, the eldest child
of Mary and Joseph) and to the
others whom (although not among
the original Twelve) were similarly
commissioned to take the gospel to
the world. Christ's last appearance
was on the Mount of Olives near
Jerusalem from which He ascended
to heaven (Luke 24:50-51).
15:8 Last of all, as though to one
born at the wrong time, he
appeared to me also.
But there was to be one final
appearance; last of all implies an
event never to be repeated. The
risen Christ appeared to Paul - not
in a vision, but in person - on the
Damascus road. By one born at the
wrong time Paul indicates that if he
had been born at all during Christ’s
ministry, then he was but a small
boy by the time of Christ’s
resurrection and ascension. So his
own personal meeting with Christ
came much later, after Christ's
ascension, at which time he was
commissioned to be an apostle.
Thus we see that all the apostles
were appointed by Christ in person.
15:9 For I am the least of the
apostles, unworthy to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the
church of God.
Of all the evidence given for the
resurrection so far, Paul’s own
experience was perhaps the most
compelling. As Saul of Tarsus he had
persecuted and made havoc of the
early church until the day when he
met the risen Christ on the
Damascus road. If Christ were not
raised, then there would be no
possible way of accounting for this
dramatic conversion.
Although by His grace Christ had
called Paul to ‘the highest office in
the church’, Paul constantly
recognized his unworthiness.
Remembering the injury which he
had previously caused to Christ and
His church, Paul did not even
consider himself worthy to be called
an apostle, remaining continuously
amazed at the grace of God which
had saved his soul and changed his
life completely.
15:10 But by the grace of God I am
what I am, and his grace to me has
not been in vain. In fact, I worked
harder than all of them -- yet not I,
but the grace of God with me.
It was God's will that by showing His
grace to the chief of sinners He
might provide an example for
others who would later believe (1
Tim. 1:15-16). When, by God's
grace, Paul was made the apostle of
Christ to the Gentile nations, this
grace had such an effect on him
that he worked more tirelessly and
strenuously for his Lord than any of
the other apostles. Yet whatever
had been accomplished by his
efforts had been achieved through
the help of God's grace which
strengthened and enabled him to
do all that God asked of him. So not
only Paul’s conversion but the
whole of Paul’s subsequent life and
ministry provided adequate
evidence of the resurrection of
Christ. Throughout his life, the living
Christ was manifested, as Paul
declared to the Galatians, it is no
longer I who live, but Christ who
lives in me (Gal. 2:20).
15:11 Whether then it was I or they,
this is the way we preach and this is
the way you believed.
The Corinthians could not fail to
recognize that the message of
Christ's death and resurrection was
the universally accepted truth
within the Christian church, which
was preached not only by Paul but
by all the other apostles as well.
The Significance of Christ's
Resurrection
15:12-13 Now if Christ is being
preached as raised from the dead,
how can some of you say there is no
resurrection of the dead? But if
there is no resurrection of the dead,
then not even Christ has been
raised.
The resurrection of Christ is the
cornerstone of the Christian faith.
The Corinthians had become
Christians through the preaching of
a crucified and resurrected Saviour,
and so Paul questions the sagacity
of their claim that there was no
resurrection of the dead. Paul
maintains that if the dead do not
rise, then Christ Himself, whom
until now you have believed in, is
not risen either.
15:14 And if Christ has not been
raised, then our preaching is futile
and your faith is empty.
If Christ had not actually risen from
the dead then the gospel message
would be nothing but a fairy story -
26
empty words without substance;
and the faith of the Christians
would be make believe, unable to
accomplish any real spiritual
change.
15:15 Also, we are found to be false
witnesses about God, because we
have testified against God that he
raised Christ from the dead, when in
reality he did not raise him, if indeed
the dead are not raised.
If Christ were not actually raised
from the dead then all the
witnesses whom Paul has set forth
in earlier verses would be found out
as impostors who had
misrepresented God. For if they said
that God raised Christ from the
dead, and in fact He could not
possibly have done so, if the dead
do not rise.
15:16 For if the dead are not raised,
then not even Christ has been
raised.
If the general fact is that there is no
resurrection then the particular fact
is that Christ is not raised, a
circumstance which if it were
proven would have serious
ramifications for the Christian faith.
15:17 And if Christ has not been
raised, your faith is useless; you are
still in your sins.
If Christ is not alive, then either God
has not accepted His sacrifice as
sufficient atonement for the sins of
all people, or the whole thing was
just a hoax from the beginning.
Belief in Christ is useless if He is still
dead, for a dead Saviour cannot
save anyone. If Christ is not raised
then we are all still under the
condemnation of our sin.
15:18 Furthermore, those who have
fallen asleep in Christ have also
perished.
Consequently, there is no way of
salvation, and those who have
fallen asleep (i.e. died) trusting in
Christ are now in hell.
15:19 For if only in this life we have
hope in Christ, we should be pitied
more than anyone.
If our hope in Christ does not
extend to life after death, then we
are to be pitied more than all
people, for why should we deny
ourselves anything at all, or suffer
persecution for our faith, if life on
earth is all that there is?
The Consequences of Christ's
Resurrection
15:20 But now Christ has been
raised from the dead, the first fruits
of those who have fallen asleep.
But... It is to be remembered that
Paul has previously stated and
substantiated the fact that Christ is
indeed risen from the dead. The
first fruits were the part of the
harvest which grew first and were
offered to God as holy, thus
consecrating the whole harvest.
They were taken as a pledge of
God's favour, an indication that the
whole harvest would follow.
Though Christ was the first to rise
from the dead He will not be the
last. Christ has risen from the dead
as the head of a new creation, and
all those who receive Him become
part of this new creation and will
share in His resurrection. Those
whom Christ raised from death
during His earthly ministry died
again. But Christ has become the
first of a new order, the children of
God who will rise from the dead
never to die again (Heb. 7:16).
15:21 For since death came through
a man, the resurrection of the dead
also came through a man.
Death was not the original purpose
of God for His world. It was through
the sin of one man, Adam, that
death came to all humankind. Even
so it is by one man, Jesus Christ that
resurrection from the dead to
eternal life is made available to all
humankind.
15:22 For just as in Adam all die, so
also in Christ all will be made alive.
Just as all people (who are all the
descendants of Adam and so share
his nature) are subject to mortality
and death, so all those who are in
Christ already share the nature of
His resurrection life and will one
day share in His immortality (Phil.
3:21; 1 John 3:2).
15:23 But each in his own order:
Christ, the first fruits; then when
Christ comes, those who belong to
him.
All people will not be raised from
the dead at the same time. First, it
was necessary for Christ to rise
from the dead as the prototype of
the new creation. Then those who
belong to Him shall rise from death
at His coming (1 Thess. 4:13-18).
© David A.
27
15:24 Then comes the end, when he
hands over the kingdom to God the
Father, when he has brought to an
end all rule and all authority and
power.
Then comes the end. The events
which lead up to the occasion
described as the end are clarified in
the book of Revelation. Following
the resurrection of believers
(referred to as the first resurrection
in Revelation 20:5) Christ shall reign
over all the earth until no other
authority remains but His. This must
be understood in the context of the
thousand year reign of Christ on the
earth (Rev. 20:4-6). Immediately
following this millennial period
there will be a second resurrection,
when unbelievers shall rise in their
bodies to stand before the Great
White Throne of God (Rev. 20:11-
15). Only after this has occurred
shall the final blessed state of
believers begin, which is ultimately
what Paul is referring to here by the
end, or the end state (see Rev.
21:1).
15:25-26 For he must reign until he
has put all his enemies under his
feet. The last enemy to be
eliminated is death.
The last enemy to be destroyed is
death. Morris says that ‘at present
no man can resist the touch of
death - then death will be able to
touch no man’. With the matters of
eternal life and judgment having
been forever settled, sins
punishment (death, both physical
and eternal) will never again be a
matter requiring God's (or our)
attention.
15:27 For he has put everything in
subjection under his feet. But when
it says "everything" has been put in
subjection, it is clear that this does
not include the one who put
everything in subjection to him.
Paul quotes Psalm 8:6 to show that
God has subjected all things to His
risen and exalted Son (Eph. 1:20-22;
Heb. 2:8; Matt. 28:18; Phil. 2:9-11).
Since it is God who put all things
under Him, it should be apparent
that God Himself is not put under
Him, for the Son enjoys equality
with the Father rather than
dominion over Him.
15:28 And when all things are
subjected to him, then the Son
himself will be subjected to the one
who subjected everything to him, so
that God may be all in all.
Yet Paul tells of a time when the
Son, though co equal and eternal,
will joyously submit Himself to the
Father, that God may be all and in
all. All that God has given to Him,
He will gladly hand back to God,
that God might reign through Christ
eternally. There follows my own
adaptation of a lengthy comment
by Gill:
It is best to understand it of the
Son's giving up the account of His
kingdom to His Father; when it will
be seen that He has done all things
in His name, acting by His power,
and to His honour and glory. Having
accomplished everything he
undertook and was entrusted with,
he delivers up the result of His work
to God. His work being finished, he
remains as God-man and our High
priest for ever, for the virtue of His
sacrifice and intercession will
always remain, but he will no longer
need to plead and intercede for us
as he now does; He will then be the
immediate light of the saints and
will reign in and over them for ever
- but not on His own, but as God
and with God - the Father, Son, and
Spirit.
That God may be all in all; for by
God is not meant the Father
personally, but God essentially
considered, Father, Son, and Spirit,
who are the one true and living
God; to whom all the saints will
have immediate access, in whose
presence they will be, and with
whom they shall have
uninterrupted fellowship. All the
three divine Persons will have equal
power and government in and over
all the saints.
Baptism - The Symbol of Death and
Resurrection
In order to further defend the
doctrine of the resurrection, Paul
reminds the Corinthians of their
baptism.
15:29 Otherwise, what will those do
who are baptized for the dead? If
the dead are not raised at all, then
why are they baptized for them?
Some of the most capable
commentators remain undecided
about the correct translation of this
verse. Whilst over thirty
explanations have been given, I will
treat the verse as referring to
baptism which all believers undergo
following their conversion. Why
were you baptized if the dead do
not rise? For baptism is an outward
expression of our inward faith in the
risen Christ. By it we affirm our
union with Christ by burial into His
death and inclusion in His
resurrection. We have died to the
old life that we might live for Christ.
If there is no resurrection then the
symbol of baptism is meaningless.
Christian Endurance – Further
Evidence for the Resurrection
15:30 Why too are we in danger
every hour?
28
Why would the apostles continually
put their lives on the line by
preaching the gospel of a crucified
and risen Saviour if it was all
untrue? What advantage did they
gain by suffering in this life, if in
reality this life is all that men and
women can expect to see?
15:31 Every day I am in danger of
death! This is as sure as my
boasting in you, which I have in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
The believers knew that Paul was
continually laying down his life for
the church, and that their own
church in Corinth was a result of his
selfless ministry - a daily dying to
this world for Christ's sake. Why
would he give his life for others,
gaining no worldly advantage, if
there was no profit in the next life
either for them or him?
15:32 If from a human point of view
I fought with wild beasts at
Ephesus, what did it benefit me? If
the dead are not raised, let us eat
and drink, for tomorrow we die.
The same thing could be said of his
ministry in Ephesus, where Paul
carried his life in his hands at all
times. A violent riot which lasted
over two hours was stirred up by
the silversmiths, who were angry
that the conversion of many to
Christ was destroying their trade,
which was associated with idol
worship. These furious men are the
wild beasts referred to in this verse.
Why would Paul choose to make a
stand in the face of such opposition
if he - and his converts - had
nothing eternal to gain by it - for
they certainly made no material
gain by it?
Paul sums up the attitude of those
who deny the truth of the
resurrection by quoting from Isaiah
22:13 let us eat and drink for
tomorrow we die. In other words,
enjoy life while you can, for there is
nothing hereafter. If there truly
were nothing hereafter then such
advice might be suitable. But the
plain truth is that it is appointed to
men once to die, but after this the
judgment (Heb. 9:27); and that is
why Paul (like Moses) chose rather
to face hardship and persecution
with the people of God than enjoy
the passing pleasures of sin (Heb.
11:25).
False Teachers Rebuked
15:33-34 Do not be deceived: "Bad
company corrupts good morals."
Sober up as you should, and stop
sinning! For some have no
knowledge of God -- I say this to
your shame!
These verses provide both a stern
rebuke and a warning. A person is
what they believe, in the sense that
their belief will govern their
behaviour. Those who gave their
ears to false teaching were allowing
their good character to be
undermined, for the teaching that
there is no resurrection produces
the licentiousness described in
verse 32 (i.e. the attitude that that
it doesn't matter how we live). Such
false teaching can lead us from
Christ to everlasting despair.
So Paul tells his readers to wake up
to the truth which leads to
righteousness and godly living. Stop
listening to the lies which lead you
to godlessness by giving you an
excuse to sin! Stop sinning! Those
who propagated and received this
doctrine did so because they did not
know God or the Lord Jesus Christ.
This rebuke should have shamed
the Corinthians, for they were living
in such a way that these people
could feel at home among them
(compare Acts 5:13). They were so
careless in matters of faith that
lying teachers were accepted
without scrutiny (compare Rev.
2:2).
An Illustration from Nature
15:35 But someone will say, "How
are the dead raised? With what kind
of body will they come?"
Paul foresees an objection: ‘how
can the dead rise, seeing as their
bodies have returned to dust?’
(Gen. 3:19)
15:36-37 Fool! What you sow will
not come to life unless it dies. And
what you sow is not the body that is
to be, but a bare seed -- perhaps of
wheat or something else.
Such objectors are devoid of
understanding - fools. Even in
nature, what we plant in the soil
dies. When someone plants a grain
of wheat, what grows is not a grain
of wheat but a living plant. The
original grain is no more; it has died,
its purpose having been fulfilled.
Thus the principle of resurrection is
illustrated in nature.
© Nicalfc
29
15:38 But God gives it a body just as
he planned, and to each of the
seeds a body of its own.
God the Creator is behind this
spectacular every day miracle; and
God has purposed that each seed
should produce fruit after its kind
(Gen. 1:11-12).
15:39 All flesh is not the same:
People have one flesh, animals have
another, birds and fish another.
So it is with all living creatures.
Animals have bodies very different
from plants; and we may readily
observe the differences between
different kinds of animals, fish, and
birds.
15:40 And there are heavenly bodies
and earthly bodies. The glory of the
heavenly body is one sort and the
earthly another.
Such variety can be observed in all
things God has made - whether on
earth or in the heavens.
15:41 There is one glory of the sun,
and another glory of the moon and
another glory of the stars, for star
differs from star in glory.
The celestial bodies: the sun, moon
and stars, are all different. Each star
is unique in its size and glory.
Mankind is still finding out how vast
and varied the universe is. Cannot
the God who gave such differing
bodies to all these created things in
a moment of time by His Word, give
a resurrection body to the dead?
We Shall be Changed
15:42 It is the same with the
resurrection of the dead. What is
sown is perishable, what is raised is
imperishable.
In a similar way, the body which
shall be raised differs from our
present body of dust. The human
body is at present subject to
deterioration; but in the
resurrection it will not be subject to
any decay. This means it will never
age, weaken, or become tired or
sick. The principle of death will not
be present in it.
15:43 It is sown in dishonor, it is
raised in glory; it is sown in
weakness, it is raised in power.
The human body is sown in
dishonour, for the human body is
made of the dust of the earth. In
this sense, humanity is not of great
significance (Ps. 8:4). This is
humankind in its lowly state; yet
when we are raised in glory; our
nature will not be derived from the
earth, but from God. We shall then
possess the full honour of being
children of God (Matt. 13:43; 1 John
3:1-2).
Even the fittest and strongest
human body is feeble and weak. No
undefended human body can resist
a knife blade or bullet. This frailty is
derived from the dust of which we
are created. But the life of the body
that is raised shall not be sustained
by flesh and blood but by the power
of God.
15:44 It is sown a natural body, it is
raised a spiritual body. If there is a
natural body, there is also a spiritual
body.
Though exalted above all the animal
creation, people are made with
bodies which function rather like
the bodies of animals; for our
natural bodies are suited to our
earthly environment. We have lungs
with which to breathe oxygen which
is then carried into our
bloodstream; we have a heart to
pump that blood around the body,
and so on. The spiritual body will
need none of these organs, and will
not be subject to the present
limitations of earth. Vine describes
the spiritual body as being ‘such as
is suited to the heavenly
environment’.
15:45 So also it is written, "The first
man, Adam, became a living
person"; the last Adam became a
life-giving spirit.
The first man was merely a
prototype; men were never
intended to remain men of dust.
There would be a second Adam to
bring the second part of God's
glorious plan for humankind into
effect. God made the first Adam a
living, animate creature with an
eternal soul, and his progeny were
like him. So the second and final
Adam (Jesus Christ) has through His
resurrection become a life giving
spirit, who shares His resurrection
life with all those who are willing to
receive it by faith and so become
His children.
15:46 However, the spiritual did not
come first, but the natural, and then
the spiritual.
Here was the divine order. First, the
natural creation, and then the new
creation – both are brought into
existence by Christ. Just as we were
born as descendants of Adam with
bodies like his, of the dust of the
earth, so having been born again of
God’s Spirit we shall be clothed with
spiritual bodies which find their
origin in Christ’s heavenly nature,
with no part of their composition
originating from the earth.
15:47-48 The first man is from the
earth, made of dust; the second
man is from heaven. Like the one
made of dust, so too are those
made of dust, and like the one from
30
heaven, so too those who are
heavenly.
We shall receive new bodies like
Christ's glorified body. Christ not
only came from heaven, but dwells
there now, and so His resurrection
body is fitted for living eternally in
heaven. We are given very few
glimpses of the resurrection body of
Christ in the gospels, but from them
we can ascertain certain facts. It
was visible when He wished it to be.
He was manifested in personal and
visible form in one place and could
be miles way, without motion, in
the next instant. He could be
touched, He could eat and speak,
and when He wished to be was
easily recognisable. Barred doors
and walls were no barrier to His
entering. According to Paul this
resurrected Christ fills the entire
universe with His presence (Eph.
4:10). What a resurrection body!
We cannot begin to comprehend its
glories, but we shall be changed to
share in its likeness.
15:49 And as we have borne the
image of the man of dust, we shall
also bear the image of the heavenly
Man. (NKJVTM
)
It was for this purpose that Christ
shared our humanity: in order to
destroy death and bring us to
eternal life (Heb. 2:14-15).
15:50 Now this is what I am saying,
brothers and sisters: Flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God, nor does the perishable inherit
the imperishable.
It must be made clear that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God. One day we shall share heaven
with God, who is an eternal Spirit -
but how could a body subject to
death and decay live in a place
where there is no decay?
Paul reveals a matter which can
only be known and understood by
divine revelation (this is why he
calls it a mystery). Firstly, not every
Christian will die. Hence our own
deaths are not the necessary
precursor to resurrection - Christ's
death and resurrection are. But
whether we are to be among those
who live until Christ’s coming, or
are among those who die in the
Lord, our end state will be the
same. We shall all be transformed,
for we shall receive a new body
fitted for eternity (Phil. 3:21).
This event will happen
instantaneously, quicker than the
smallest time that can be measured,
for time to God is immaterial. In the
Old Testament, trumpets were
sounded to indicate particular
events. Here, the event being
heralded is the coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ for His saints; it is the
last trumpet because it is the final
unveiling of God's eternal purpose
for His people (1 Thess. 4:16). God
alone knows the time of this
unveiling. It is not clear that a
physical trumpet blast or sound is
meant by these words. Indeed it is
highly unlikely. Since sound travels
significantly more slowly than light
and our change shall happen at
above light speed, the occurrence
will be over before a physical sound
could ever have time to reach our
ears. So the sounding of the
trumpet has spiritual rather than
physical significance. The idea of a
trumpet blast which no one was
expecting indicates the suddenness
of this coming change, whilst the
twinkling of an eye indicates both
its speed and its silence (for the
twinkling or reflection of light in the
eye makes no noise at all). When
men work they invariably make a
noise, but when God works there is
no sound. This is why the Temple
stones were to be fashioned away
from the Temple site (1 Kings 6:7).
When God’s living stones are
gathered together to be at last His
final dwelling place, there will be no
human agent in the change.
15:53 For this perishable body must
put on the imperishable, and this
mortal body must put on
immortality.
5:51-52 Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep,
but we will all be changed. In a moment, in the blinking of an
eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the
dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
© Sibel Aisha
31
In order to live and reign with
Christ, the saints must first be
changed in the way Paul has
described. Although we are at
present subject to decay and death,
we shall be so no longer. We shall
have need of a different kind of
body in heaven, or as Morris puts it
‘the body is but the clothing of the
real man. In the life to come the
real man will put on another suit’.
15:54 Now when this perishable
puts on the imperishable, and this
mortal puts on immortality, then
the saying that is written will
happen, "Death has been swallowed
up in victory."
The present frail body will be done
away with and we shall have new
bodies like Christ's. This will fulfil
the prophecy of Hosea (Hos. 13:14),
who predicted the ultimate
abolition of death with all its effects
(see Rev. 21:4). Death is to be
swallowed up in victory; or
completely consumed in Christ's
victory, the victory He has won by
His death and glorious resurrection.
Though this victory has already
been won on behalf of the church,
it awaits the time when the last
believer is gathered in before it will
find its ultimate fulfilment in our
lives.
15:55-57 "Where, O death, is your
victory? Where, O death, is your
sting?" The sting of death is sin, and
the power of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God, who gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ!
The reality of the resurrection is the
motivation behind the selfless,
fearless service which Paul
described earlier. Death has no
more venom or pain for the
Christian. What harm can it do us?
None! That is not to say a Christian
will not experience physical pain in
dying; but rather that death is not
an event to be feared by the
believer. It cannot separate us from
the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39).
Death cannot keep our bodies any
more than it can keep our souls, for
spirit, soul and body we belong to
the One who has conquered death.
It was because of our sin that death
had power over us, for the law
pronounced the death sentence on
sinners – the soul that sins shall die
(Ezek. 18:4). It was because of
Adam's sin that sin entered the
world, bringing death to all men;
not only physical death but also
separation from God. Jesus Christ
has delivered us from the death
sentence of the law, for He was
punished in our place fulfilling the
law's justice. Hence we are now
free, so that ‘the terrors of law and
of death with me can have nothing
to do’.
Living in the Light of the
Resurrection
15:58 So then, dear brothers and
sisters, be firm. Do not be moved!
Always be outstanding in the work
of the Lord, knowing that your labor
is not in vain in the Lord.
Having concluded his defence of the
all-important doctrine of the
resurrection, Paul exhorts his
readers that rather than allowing
false teaching to influence them to
behave badly - to live for now - they
should allow the blessed and
glorious truth that Christ is alive to
motivate and inspire them to live
for eternity. The fact of Christ’s
resurrection guarantees our own
resurrection to eternal life; our
eternal life is secured because
Christ has risen from the dead, and
so we may look forward to it with
confidence.
The truth of the resurrection has
not been shaken by the generations
of those who have sought to assail
it. It remains the unmovable rock
and foundation of Christian
doctrine. It produces an unshakable
conviction in the lives of those who
believe and know their risen
Saviour. Consequently, the Christian
who is trusting Christ’s resurrection
should be characterised by stability
in Christian life and dedication in
Christian service. They will abound
in exuberant activity for Christ,
being fervent and purposeful, for
they have the expectancy of a
blessed goal in view.
Yet they will not merely depend on
human activity for success, for the
truth of the resurrection is revealed
in the risen life of Christ working in
and through His people, motivating
and empowering them for acts of
service. In this sense Christian
service is not so much what we do
for the Lord as what we allow the
Lord to do in and through us (even
as Paul reported not what he had
done but rather what God had done
with him in Acts 14:27; 15:4). As a
result of His resurrection, wherever
the disciples went to preach the
good news, it was the Lord who
worked with them, and confirmed
the word with the accompanying
signs (Mark 16:20).
Whenever such divine activity is
seen within the church today, it can
never be in vain, for nothing God
does is ever empty or void, and His
life is within us, moving His
purposes forward to their happy
conclusion.
By doing the work of the Lord and
by desiring things spiritual, we can
never be the losers, but only
winners! We are more than
conquerors through Him who loved
us!
32
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Britain’s Cheapest Gospel Tracts!
Buy Tracts Now – choose from 15 titles Available now for £1.99 per pack of 50 (includes UK postage) Rest of world,
contact for shipping price. Request samples.