2020-12-11
Good Morning Dear Ones,
By what names did Jesus command that believers be baptized? This very basic question really matters. To find the answer, one must look at MT 28: 19-20. “God then, to all peoples everywhere and make them My disciples: Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And I will be with you always to the end of the age.” It’s quite apparent that this task goes far beyond our lifetime on earth. Surely it extends to studying the Scriptures to the point of knowing them well and looking for God-given opportunities to share it with potential believers. I’ve written before about my belief that establishing relationships with the latter helps us to know where an individual is on his faith walk, before witnessing can be effective. Most important of all, we should be aware that the Lord is always with us and urges us to live in accordance with the commands and advice of the Holy Spirit. If we listen for Him, we will hear Him. If we pray often, the Lord learns what is on our minds and in our hearts. If we listen for His answers, we will be given direction and learn His will for us.
What does Jesus do ultimately with our mortal bodies? We need to examine what 1 COR 15: 42-58 to find what the Lord tells us. “This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life. When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised, it will be immortal. When buried, it is ugly and weak; when raised, it will be beautiful and strong. When buried, it is a physical body; when raised it will be a spiritual body. There is, of course, a physical body, so there has to be a spiritual body. The Scripture [GN 2: 7] says, ‘The first man, Adam, was created a living being;’ but the last Adam is the lifegiving Spirit. It is not the spiritual that comes first, but the physical and then the spiritual. The first Adam made of earth came from earth; the second Adam came from heaven. Those who belong to earth are like the one made of earth; those who are of heaven are like the one who came from heaven. Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth, so we will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven. What is made of flesh and blood cannot share in God’s Kingdom, and what is mortal cannot possess immortality. Listen to this secret truth: We shall not all die, but when the last trumpet [shofar] sounds, we shall all be changed in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye. The dead will be raised never again to die, and we shall all be changed. For what is mortal must be changed into what is immortal; what will die will be changed into what cannot die. So, when this takes place, the mortal is changed to the immortal, then the Scripture [IS 25: 8] will come true, ‘Where death is your victory? Where death is your power to hurt?’ Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power to hurt from the law. But thanks be to God, Who gives us victory through Jesus Christ, our Lord!... Nothing we do for the Lord is ever useless.” Would you have ever imagined that God would have given us so much information? It came as a surprise to me. Our God is so much more capable of taking care of us, even though it’s through His use of power that is supernatural.
All of the three personalities of the Trinity possess the same powers-divine attributes. This is true even though their various functions are different. As a person raised in traditional Judaism, I find it curious that references made to God in the Hebrew language version of the Bible are the Hebrew word, Eloheim. [note GN 1: 1 and 2: 7, for examples; pronounced El-o-heem]. The word Eloheim is plural, not singular. This is so, even through traditional Jews reject the use of the name, Yashua HaMashiah, [pronounced Ya-shoo-ah Ha-Mesh-ee-ah] which in English means “Jesus Christ, the Messiah!” The Hebrew word for Holy Spirit is Ruach HaKodesh [pronouncedRoo-ach Ha-Ko-desh]. It helps to put how these functions relate to something physical as a metaphor. A molecule of water has one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms combined. Alone these atoms have their own unique properties, but together in the form of this molecule, they form water, and they take on different qualities. Water can occur in solid, liquid, and gaseous forms. These forms are interchangeable, i.e. a solid has less space between the atoms than a liquid or a gas does, but it is all the same molecule. The expression of one God for all is seen in DT 6: 4-5.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your mighty throne today to express our extreme gratitude for the blessings and kindness You bestow upon us. As we take up the subject of Your Trinitarian nature, we accept as far as we are able to understand, Your attributes and acknowledge Your remarkable deeds. You alone, through the sacrifice by Your Son of His physical life, can change the mortal into the immortal, the earthly into the heavenly life. Your love for us is so great that You do this for all of us who obey Your commands and let Your Spirit lead in our lives. We are grateful for Your omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. All Your powers are always used for our best eternal interests. You teach us to think in terms of an eternal life and not just an earthly one. You are the one who abhors idolatry and teaches us to walk always from idolatrous ways. Your Son is a great Paradigm for us to follow. His gentleness, kindness, goodness, and other fine qualities help us to know how to follow Your will for our lives. You convey that the faithfully obedient of Your followers are at peace with You. By listening for the commands of the Holy Spirit Who dwells within us, we can eventually gain eternal life with You. We thank and praise You for the love You have for each of us. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about the responsibilities of each personality of the Trinity next week. All of this information we are given is designed to help us gain eternal life. When we witness to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to someone willing to listen, we improve the chances that person will accept Christ as his personal Savior. Learning to look for God’s work in our lives, for the blessings He bestows on us, we move forward in our spiritual maturity. Spiritual adulthood is when we dedicate our lives to Him and take responsibility for our actions. At that time, we become aware of His presence with us, which is constant, and we hear and take the advice/wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Remember God’s mystery is Christ within us, Who opens the vastness of God’s wisdom to us [COL 1: 26-27 and COL 2: 2-3]. As for studying the Scriptures, it can only be beneficial, if we take the time to understand what we are reading. 2 TIM 3: 16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful in teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully equipped to do every kind of good thing.” We are blessed that God has used numerous humans by inspiring them to write His will, His methods, and His motivations in His word. This makes it a Love Letter to us! Thanks and praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved
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