Tag: life

Articles

God of the Living not of the Dead

Pete

God of the Living not of the Dead

We, as servants of Christ, are led to write to our scattered spiritual family and fellow sojourners.  Our desire is to encourage all to continue in the things we have learned and what we have heard through many hardships and to not lose our crown of righteousness. Having now being made a pillar in the Temple of the Lord, we stand steadfastly in full assurance of the realization of the promises [rewards, Rev 2-3] through the Gospel.

Rom 1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 

All men are born spiritually dead and it is only through Truth and grace which came with Christ, that we are being made alive and are now being seated with Christ and our fellow saints in heaven. The Lord’s people are the children of the resurrection, who were once dead [without God and Christ] but now have been raised up through the precious gift of faith, the faith of Christ [as He is, so are we 1 John 4:17].

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus

Our land has now been married to Christ and we now rest in Him, no longer partaking of the back and forth carnal reasonings [meat] that holds all men in bondage to Satan, of their father, the devil, who is a murderer from the beginning [John 8:44].

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 

Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 

Before faith came and before our conversion takes place, all prior works are dead works, thus our deliverance from sin and overcoming were not being made manifest. Yet when faith IS come, the true work of God is being done by those made faithful by the hand of the Lord.

Jas 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 

The true work of God is this:

Joh 6:28  Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work   the works of God?” 

Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 

Those given this precious faith, now partake of the living Bread and have obtained age-abiding life; which is to know and abide in Christ [Joh 17:3]. Henceforth the Lord promises we shall never die.

Joh 11:25  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 

Joh 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 

Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 

God is a living God through the Son. Those being conformed into His image are likewise living and thus also alive in the Spirit. Coming to see this truth is far bigger than we once knew when we were bound by the law of sin and death in our members and not yet converted. Jesus spoke of things that are not yet as if they were when answering Peter and the Sadducees who did not understand what a living God and being alive to Christ meant.

Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 

Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 22:31  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 

Mat 22:32  ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 

When Christ comes into His people for salvation, He gives us His Spirit that brings the fire that henceforth purges His Temple and guides those ordained to be faithful before the foundation of the world.

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

Despite our claims to believe in Him [Joh 8:30], the Lord is not the Lord of those who walk according to the flesh doing the works of the flesh [Gal 5:19-21] which exemplifies those that are dead and not alive to Christ.

In every generation, a carnally minded Israel remains spiritually dead and God is not their God as they continue to do the deeds of their father the devil.  Before faith comes, all abide in unbelief to the Gospel who claim to be wise but remain reprobate walking as fools [Romans chapter 1] and worshipping the creation rather than the Creator.

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 

Joh 8:45  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 

Those bound by the carnal law of sin and death, follow after strange gods [idols of the heart] who are no gods at all in corrupting the Gospel and twisting the Lord’s commandments to their own destruction. This is how flesh seeks to keep itself alive all the while claiming the Name of Christ. We remain dead in our sins and trespasses, pursuing the error of Balaam and twice plucked up by the roots. The living God is only the God of those who are led by His Spirit who have come out of the bondage to the law that binds them in spiritual death.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

When one abides in spiritual death, they are not alive unto Christ. All men at this stage of deception are hypocrites, scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees that oppose Christ and who teach and follow man’s reasoning [carnal doctrines] rather than obeying His clear commandments.

Mat 15:7  Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 

Mat 15:8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 

Mat 15:9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 

We can look behind ourselves and see how great an escape the Lord has provided.

2Th 2:9  The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 

2Th 2:10  and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

2Th 2:11  And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 

The Lord uses the Sadducees in every generation, who remain bound to the law of the gentiles [accusing and excusing, Rom 2:15] and who deny His resurrection, saying it is past; to teach us that He is the God of the living and not of the dead. Sadducees are devoid of faith, who holds the Truth in unrighteousness as it is this day. They come to Christ in every age, being the spirit of anti-Christ, denying the Lord who has bought them with a price. They know the Truth but deny it by their works. This is us in our times and seasons.

Mat 22:23  The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 

Mat 22:24  Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 

Mat 22:25  Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 

Mat 22:26  Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 

Mat 22:27  And last of all the woman died also. 

Mat 22:28  Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 

Christ rebukes the Sadducees for their denying the power of God. Sadducees symbolize those who trust in their own reasoning and deny the power of God which is the resurrection of the dead [to bring Christ up again] to a lively hope in His people.

Mat 22:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 

Those not knowing the power [Christ] of God, do not know the Lord and are not alive to Christ and His Christ. Such is the state of all those who claim His Name that have not faith.

1Jn 4:2  By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 

1Jn 4:3  and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 

1Jn 4:4  You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 

1Jn 4:5  They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 

1Jn 4:6  We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 

Those in faith are married to Christ and no longer know any man after the flesh [2 Cor 5:16]. There are no male or female, bond or free, in the risen Body of Christ; but all are One in Christ through the Spirit who have been made free in our Day of the Lord.  Those with the faith of Christ are the true descendants of Abraham, the true Jews of the seed of Isaac, whose seed are blessed.

Mat 22:30  For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 

Mat 22:31  But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 

Mat 22:32  I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 

There is only one seed that brings forth the righteousness of Christ and that is faith.

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “AND TO YOUR SEED,” who is Christ. 

We are first baptized with water and not with fire [Spirit] and at this time,  continue to live in pleasure being led by various lusts, full of dead men’s bones. We are dead while we live, all part of fulfilling the Scriptures [living by every word of God, Luk 4:4]. At this stage, we are without the Law of Liberty [Christ] and remain dead in our sins.

1Ti 5:6  But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. 

Mat 23:27  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 

Mat 23:28  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 

Rising above death [being carnally minded under the law] only comes when Christ comes to us a second time without sin.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 

Heb 9:28  so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. 

Whatever is not of faith is sin [lawlessness] and it is sin that is the sting of being carnally minded where victory and overcoming remain elusive. Victory does not come until faith is come and Christ, the morning star, rises within our hearts. Then we are released from the law of sin and death and are being made alive with the Lord through the White Throne Judgement, the Lord bringing the reward.

Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin. 

Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 

When the Lord comes our works will be revealed by the light that is also the fire which is burning out all the wood, hay and stubble that represents our carnal reasonings.

1Co 3:11  For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 

1Co 3:12  Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 

1Co 3:13  each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 

1Co 3:14  If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 

1Co 3:15  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 

The living are never found among the dead. They are separated [being made holy, set-apart] through faith, the faith of Christ, doing the will of the Father, who sent Him. It is the great gulf fixed that no man can cross unless it is given unto them. Thus, the parables of the cross and the resurrection tells of this mystery to those given ears to hear and eyes to see.

Luk 24:5  And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

Those alive to Christ come out from among the spiritually dead and after they have been crucified, separate themselves from those that walk after the flesh who are still bound to the law for the lawless.

1Pe 1:13  Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 

1Pe 1:14  as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 

1Pe 1:15  but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 

1Pe 1:16  because it is written, “BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” 

Those that die to death [their carnal mind] die to the Lord and are the same as those that live to the Lord.

Rom 14:8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. 

Rom 14:9  For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

We are redeemed with the precious blood of the Lamb, without spot and wrinkle. The Lord is the Lord of all when all things are put under His feet.

1Co 15:25  For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 

1Co 15:27  For “HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 

1Co 15:28  Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. 

Our spiritual enemies within and without ourselves are those that are bound to the law of carnal reasoning and walk therein. Such remain separated from Christ and His righteousness. These are the men [lies] that oppress us and merchandise rewards and gain, so flesh can reign supreme. The one does it for reward and the other for a bribe [immediate gratification].  We are to earnestly contend for the faith against those that pursue such folly and turn God’s grace into lasciviousness.

Jud 1:10  But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 

Jud 1:11  Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 

Jud 1:12  These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 

Jud 1:13  raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. 

Having already escaped the corruption, which is the world’s way of thinking, we need to be vigilant to guard our gates against the Sadducee’s spirit who knows to do right but suppress the truth. Wresting judgment away is the gall and vinegar or root of bitterness offered by those who crucified Christ and His Christ. Christ as our example, rejects and does not drink the gall but instead dies to the world.

Mat 27:34  They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. 

Those who seek to save their carnal lives will lose it and not enter into the Kingdom of God where the living are found. When we partake of the world’s meat, we suppress the Truth of Christ’s commands, and drink spiritual gall and will not find the rest from our own carnal works. David prays the Lord to put those enemies and mindset within him under the feet of Christ.

Psa 69:21  They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 

Psa 69:22  Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. 

Psa 69:23  Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. 

Psa 69:28  Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. 

The battle with these carnal enemies and the law is all over the Psalms.

Psa 56:11  In God have I put my trust [not the reasonings of men, their flesh – Phi 3:3]: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. 

Psa 56:12  Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. 

Psa 56:13  For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? 

We enter the land of the living [draw near to Jerusalem above] when we are released by Christ from the prison that is Mystery Babylon [Rev 17:5], yoked with the yoke of hypocrisy. Being released from this harlot that binds us to the earth is the same as being called up hither into the heavenly realm. This is where the faithful saints who become the righteous compass about the throne being one Spirit with the Lord. This is our inheritance in the saints.

Psa 142:5  I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. 

Psa 142:6  Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. 

Psa 142:7  Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

 

1Co 6:16  Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “THE TWO,” He says, “SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.” 

1Co 6:17  But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 

Our own righteousness and reasonings of right and wrong are filthy rags to Christ. The only righteousness that counts is His Righteousness that comes only through the gift of faith, the faith of Christ. Giving up our lives, dying daily is what conforms us into the Lord’s death and enables us to attain to the resurrection to the living.

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 

Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 

It takes Christ’s blood within us, our dying to death and forsaking all we have, to have spiritual death and carnality purged from our minds. Then we enter into His rest and serve the Lord in power, the Spirit of Glory resting upon us as unworthy servants.

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

Col 1:24  I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 

Col 1:25  of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 

Col 1:26  the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 

Col 1:27  To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

While we wait for the Lord to finish His sanctifying work, as the pillars in His Temple, we guard and keep our gates, being made holy, guarding the way of the tree of Life [Christ]. Knowledge [speaking in angel tongues] and pursuit of riches [spiritual drunkenness] is passing away and as the faithful, we now seek the things of the Spirit [doing His pleasure] and rest in the Lord and wait for Him, to finish what He has begun in us.

Eph 5:14  Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Eph 5:15  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Eph 5:16  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Being raised to life, we seek heavenly things and not those things on the earth.

Col 3:1  If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 

Col 3:2  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 

Col 3:3  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

Grace be with you. Amen!

 

Studies

Intimacy with Christ Raises the Dead

Pete

For Our Admonition Part 8

“Intimacy with Christ Raises the Dead”

Key Verses:  2Ki 4:29 – 4:37

All true men and women of God have to come to their wits ends (Psa 107) and cry out for deliverance before they are being raised up with Christ.  It is a long and arduous process  (Rom 8:22, Act 14:22) that we cannot endure on our own.  We will discover or rediscover in this study the immutable truth that intimacy with Christ is needed to know Him and that oneness of mind is the very thing that is saving and raising us up.

Joh 5:39  NKJV You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

Joh 5:40  But you are not willing to come to Me (My Body, The Christ) that you may have life.

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another (Christ), and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Here are the final verses of this story of death and resurrection of the young son.

2Ki 4:29  KJV Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. 

2Ki 4:30  And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. 

2Ki 4:31  And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. 

2Ki 4:32  And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. 

2Ki 4:33  He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. 

2Ki 4:34  And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. 

2Ki 4:35  Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 

2Ki 4:36  And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. 

2Ki 4:37  Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. 

This is a story about resurrection from the dead.  Yet it is also a marriage story because it is a story about oneness with the Body of Christ who is also the wife (Eph 5:32) and Bride of Christ (Rev 19:7, 2Co 11:2).  This intimacy is both: 1) how we ourselves are saved from our sins and 2) in turn help save one another by having the same mind.  Such is the importance of fellowship and being connected to the living Christ via true communion.

Luk 22:17  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 

Luk 22:18  For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

His Kingdom has come within us, His elect in every age since Pentecost, and we are communing together eating the Bread of life and drinking His wine.  This intimacy is in matters of the Spirit and not physically whatsoever (Joh 6:63) as we all lie in the bed of Christ sharing one mind and resting in His truths.  Our spiritual body is the Body of Christ, of which we are just a part (1Co 12:12) if we are connected.

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

We continue to learn from this story both the do’s (Elisha) and the don’ts (Gehazi) of raising up the dead which is an integral part of our calling and election as the Lord’s disciples.

Mat 10:8  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

We saw last time that Gehazi represents a leprous “mixed multitude” spirit of faith and flesh (2Ki 5:27).  This is us trying to serve two masters and do right by God but keeping the old man alive.  Gehazi and we serve Christ with zeal yet before our hearts have been changed through heavy trials.  We have a lot of strong meat left to eat (Heb 5:13) before our obedience is being fulfilled and we are caused by scourging grace to obey the Lord (Rom 5:20, Eze 36:27).

Psa 37:28  For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

Elisha instructs Gehazi to prepare for the tough task and not to engage with the world on his way to raise the young son of faith back to life.  Walking the straight and narrow way is the walk of the people of God in following Christ’s commandments.

Pro 4:27  Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Eze 1:12  And they (The Cherubims, God’s Elect, Whirling Wheels) went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

It is when we turn (do not go straight) that we turn to the left or to the right that we go above what is written and engage with a carnal world.  This is how we add to or take away from the Word of God which are the Lord’s instructions.  Such disobedience brings spiritual sickness and delays our entering into age abiding “eternal” life (Rev 22:18-19).

2Ki 4:30  And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he (Elisha) arose, and followed her. 

2Ki 4:31  And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. 

Gehazi’s efforts of raising the boy via Elisha’s staff failed to raise up spiritual life.  Knowledge alone does not cut it, it takes abiding in the fire that is Christ, which is evidence of our believing, by which we are set free from sin and prove ourselves (Joh 8:32).  The child did not hear, nor did he speak and remained dead in his bed.  Several lessons and inferences can be drawn from Gehazi’s spiritual impotence and failure at performing the greater works of Christ (Joh 14:12) in raising the spiritually dead to new life.

Mat 13:58  And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Unable to hear and speak spiritually is all of us when we are bound by lies (demons) that vex us in our unbelief.  It reminds us of a story of some carnal disciples, not yet converted, who themselves doubted and served two masters like Gehazi and who could not cast out the demon spirits keeping a boy vexed of the devil.  But Christ (Elisha) can and will and teach us how we can do it through Him (prayer and fasting).  The parable in Mark 9 is a NT witness to the failure of Gehazi and the success of Elisha in casting out deaf and dumb spirits which allows the boy to be raised to new life.

Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Mar 9:25  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

Mar 9:26  And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

Mar 9:27  But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

Mar 9:28  And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?

Mar 9:29  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Another lesson is that those the Lord is working with in this age, His sheep, will not hear nor follow the voice of a stranger.  Gehazi, as a leprous gainsayer, is a stranger and a thief and a robber (Joh 10:1).  Those of God hear God’s Word when spoken by His sent preachers and angels (1Jo 4:6) and the voice of a stranger they will not follow.

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

When we have exhausted our own efforts of raising the dead by the strength and power of the flesh then Christ (Elisha) comes.

2Ki 4:32  And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. 

2Ki 4:33  He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. 

2Ki 4:34  And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. 

The details of Elisha’s actions here are very instructive in how we, as God’s elect, are to raise up the dead (Christ in us doing the work).  We are His instruments of salvation (Oba 1:21, 1Co 6:2) doing the greater works (Joh 14:12) to one another now and all men in the Lake of Fire age to come.

Shutting the Door:  Shutting the door is symbolic of what Christ does for us in separating (dragging) us from the world and our former way of life (disobedience).

Rev 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

Christ is the door and the only way to find truth and life (Joh 14:6).  It is the Lord’s prophets and ministers that as His Christ, are the door, that all men must one day enter into the Temple that is the Body of Christ and the Tree of life.

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

By virtue of our entering in this way, we also then become shepherds of the sheep and able ministers of the grace of God.

Joh 10:2  But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

Praying to the Lord:  We are told that everything we ask, we shall have, if we ask in faith consistent with the Lord’s will.  That prayer is also to be done in secret and not to win the praise or esteem of men (Mat 6:6).

1Jn 5:15  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Joh 15:7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Elisha gets to know the boy: Elisha then lays down upon the boy symbolizing laying down his life for the sheep after the example of our Lord (Joh 20:21).  Like our Lord, we know who the Lord’s and we are following Christ’s example in laying down our lives for His sheep.

Joh 10:14  I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Joh 10:15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

A hireling like Gehazi is at this time, does not lay down his life (Joh 10:12-13) like the example of Elisha, a representation of Christ in type and shadow.  We see the spiritual example of breathing life into a person dying (Rom 1:20) by Elisha stretching and touching the boy.

Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation:  To be of one mind, we must kiss the Son that is the Body of Christ.  This is not a literal kiss, it is a commandment to not forsake the assembling of ourselves with one another (Heb 10:24-25).  This Body and our Lord is the only sacrifice for sins we have been given and we best take full advantage of our election.

Psa 2:11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Psa 2:12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Rom 16:16  Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

Eye to Eye:  There is not division within the true Body.  We all see eye to eye and are being like minded, with the mind of Jesus Christ.  We see things the same way and stand on the Word to judge righteous judgment and guide us in every action and thought.

Isa 52:8  Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.

Luk 11:34  The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

Act 2:46  And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 

Hand to Hand:  The work of God gets done by the hands of God which hands we are if we belong to Him.  God has brought us together in a Body for the express purpose of manifesting good works.  We saw the Mark 9 parable earlier where Christ takes the boy by the hand and lifts Him up.  That is an example of good works we The Christ do today.

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

We teach one another through the Word and by our examples of how we live our lives.  Laying hands on one another is how the Spirit of God is imparted and we grow in the faith and Lord willing move onto maturity by doing likewise as was done unto us.  Elisha putting his hands on the lad’s hands is illustration of the Body being joined together and learning and teaching one another through the Living Word.  The physical stories and events in the Bible are parables (Mar 4;11).  They show us that is it thru oneness with the Body of Christ that the Holy Spirit comes.

Act 19:6  And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

This oneness brings warmth, there is heat that emanates from a physical body and there is also spiritual heat (via the Words of Fire) that emanates from the Body of Christ (Rom 1:20).  The Body is the fire (Isa 33:14-15) and we are each a flame of fire when we act according to faith and the commandments of the Lord.

Heb 1:7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

It is that fire that warms us to Christ and ultimately gives us a zeal for Christ and brings salvation and our ability to walk uprightly in obedience (Eze 36:27, Isa 48:10).

Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Being raised from the dead is a process as that is the same process of judgment that redeems us to the Lord (Exo 6:6, Isa 1:27, Rev 20:4).  Elisha’s patience and perseverance of stretching (bowing) himself over the dead child eventually pays off and the child sneezes seven times and opens his eyes awake and alive.

2Ki 4:35  Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

The word for sneezing or sneeze is found nowhere else in the KJV Bible and there is some dispute that this verse is mistranslated as sneezing is not found in the Septuagint.   Strong’s seems unsure of himself in guessing at an extended meaning.

H2237, zârar,zaw-rar’ – Total KJV occurrences: 1

A primitive root (compare H2114); perhaps to diffuse, that is, (specifically) to sneeze: – sneeze.

Breathing is a most important bodily function because without air, without sufficient oxygen, flesh dies very quickly.  We can survive days without food and water but only a couple of minutes without air.  The most vital sustenance of life is our process of breathing in and out.  Sneezing is an important part of this vital life function.  Here is Wikipedia’s explanation of what sneezing represents in the physical.

Wikipedia:  The function of sneezing is to expel mucus containing irritants from the nasal cavity. A sneeze is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal membranes

Spiritually speaking, applying Romans 1:20, sneezing is a very appropriate symbol of how we expel the toxins and poisons of our unbelief that keep us bound in sin and abiding in death.

Mar 7:20  And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.

Mar 7:21  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

Mar 7:22  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

Mar 7:23  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Abiding in truth will have us spontaneously expel (sneeze) out over times, the spiritual toxins (the sins, lies, unbelief) that are polluting our air and defiling our earth.  As we believe and receive Christ, we are given more power to stand and walk in righteousness.

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The bowing and sneezing seven times is no random number.  We know the number 7 symbolizes COMPLETION. To be raised to new life and being matured in Christ, we, must be completed and live through the life and trials the Lord has written in our books before the world was even formed (Psa 139:16).  It is God’s elect, “The Christ” who are the priests (Rev 5:10) of God who carry the Word (Ark) and blow the seven trumpets of judgment in both the OT (Jos 6:4) and the NT (Rev 8:2).  As a type of Christ, Elisha, is showing us our role and duty as God’s angels to minister to one another.

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

One mind, one baptism, in the bed of Jesus Christ is our entering into the rest that remains for the people of God, which people we are Lord willing (Heb 4:9-10).  It is abiding in the Body where we are being judged and saved and raised to newness of life.

Joh 5:25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 

Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

Our story ends with the boy awakening and being given back to his mother.

2Ki 4:36  And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. 

2Ki 4:37  Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

It is our coming to Christ in the upper room where we will take up our new born son of faith.  We cannot just read our Bibles and warm ourselves by the fire.  We have to abide in the fire and become the fire to be saved and save others.

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world (later in the lake of fire)

This baptism by fire (Mat 3;11) is the second coming of Christ (Elisha) and is our entering into His rest.  This is what kills the old man, purge sin from our midst and raise us up to the glory of our Lord.  This is the goal we all should have in mind daily.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Rom 6:7  For he that is dead (to the flesh and the world) is freed from sin.

If one is struggling with sin and battling giants in the land, all of us in our times and seasons, these lessons are a great reminder of where we need to be focused to get deliverance.  The inclination of the carnal mind is to run and hide and cover ourselves.  Yet it is running towards Christ, towards the fire that will hasten (accelerate) the appearing of Jesus Christ within us (2Pe 3:12-13).  Hopefully that is the desire and goal of everyone reading this study.

Sincere questions and comments are always welcome.  You can also email me directly at peterjwilson56@gmail.com.