Tag: Resurrection

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!

 

Articles

Knowing the Lord

Pete

In today’s study, we are focusing on the truth that we are being transformed with a renewed mindset (Rom 12:2) meaning God being all and all which is the end purpose of Christ. This will come to pass exactly on schedule in the appointed times for all men as death (the carnal mind) is destroyed in every man.

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

Dying to this death is the function of the lake of fire and how we overcome all that is at enmity with God. This is the only way we become like Christ and are being given His mind.

Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death [second death – Heb 2:14-15], we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 

Life cannot be “all in all” with God when enmity between Him and man still exists. Hence death has to be destroyed.

Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 

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.

Man profess the Name of the Lord and proclaim to know Him, yet we only know Him in the flesh at first. It takes the coming of Christ in the Spirit, in faith, giving us eyes to see and ears to hear to usher in the age of the day of the Lord by which we grow into our true knowledge of the Lord and be given His mind through a fiery process.

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

It is those being judged now in all areas of their lives that are being purified through the lake of fire that is simultaneously giving them the mind of Christ the more we endure in the fiery furnace in our day of the Lord.

1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? [only those judging all things now] But we have the mind of Christ. 

We have this crown in down payment form now as our foreheads have been sealed with the Spirit of Truth. Yet we have to endure to the end to receive the full prize of the upward calling of God, which is to have His mind, a crown of glory.

1Pe 5:4  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Obedience Manifested by the Fear of the Lord

Knowledge of the Lord comes from understanding which originates from us fearing the Lord.

Pro 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Knowledge of the holy is speaking of our obedience which conforms us into the image of the Lord. The gold we are buying in the fiery trials of our judgment (Rev 3:18, 1Pe 4:12) is the fear of the Lord. This is the beginning of us having wisdom into God’s ways.

Isa 33:5  The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

Isa 33:6  And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

It is our fiery lake of fire experience we have to endure to receive a new heart of the Lord. This is the true spiritual circumcision, made without man’s hands (Col 2:11) that brings with it a growing and healthy fear of the Lord.

Jer 32:39  And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

Jer 32:40  And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

God’s judgments teach us the righteousness of Christ. It teaches us the fear of the Lord and leads to our receiving the great reward, the mind of Christ as a result.

Psa 19:11  Moreover by them [the judgments] is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. 

The fear of the Lord is how our obedience is being made manifest in our lives. It is through this fiery process, in our heavens and earth that the Lord is giving us age-abiding life. That is the Lord’s will for all men beginning with the house of God upon which judgment is first fallen (1Pe 4:17).

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

This fear is being taught in a similar way our earthly or physical father taught us and demonstrated they are in charge and we are to be obedient to their commandments. The Lord’s favor upon us is His grace which is chastening and scourging us into following His ways and commandments as His sons.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence [feared them]: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit [our good], that we might be partakers of his holiness.

So right there is the purpose for all judgment and all chastening that is scourging and bringing to naught the man of sin within us. To be made partakers of His holiness, we go through our chastening judgment and not cut those words out of our life. If we want to be like our Lord, we obey His Word as He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek that Word. If we hearken to Him, we are taught the fear of the Lord which hastens His coming within us.

Psa 34:11  Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 

Our Lord sets for us the supreme example of obedience and fearing God and how the prayers of one being made righteous are answered mightily.

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 

Learning anything takes experience in doing it right but also doing it wrong. Our judgment is the correction of our Father bringing upon those whom He loves. We learn that it’s not just about doctrine, it is about doing righteousness, being obedient. The Lord rules not only in heaven with His truth but also in our earth as all things are being brought into subjection.

Act 7:49  Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? 

Act 7:50  Hath not my hand made all these things? 

The Lord is Lord of the outward heavens and earth but also the inward heaven (our mind) and the earth (our walk/bodies). The work of God in His Kingdom in ushering in righteousness is happening within our hearts and minds.

Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Eternal Life is to Know the Lord

When we are dead to death, we are alive to Christ and the Father. This is the definition of “eternal” or “age abiding” life that the faithful receive first as they are the first to go through judgment and die to death.

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 

Christ has already come in the hearts and minds of His sons. We henceforth are coming to know Him as we follow Him to the old man’s death (death to death) in the lake of fire.

1Jn 5:20  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding [His mind], that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 

This gift of God that comes via grace is what makes us One with the Lord and our Father. This begins with the household of God separated from this world who are the first to partake of the Lord’s mind.

Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 

Joh 17:22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 

Joh 17:23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 

Our suffering through our judgment, carrying our cross to death is what we do in order to receive the gift of God which is eternal life.

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into [the second] 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. 

It is a desire to love (obey) God and to know Him that is the reward and the prize we as the possessor’s of God’s oracles are pursuing. If the love of God is in our hearts, we are pressing onward and upward for this high calling to know the Lord.

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;

This will take us going to our death and experiencing all the vengeance of the Lord for His Holy temple that we have defiled (1Co 3:17).

Heb 10:30  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

The best litmus test of do we truly “know the Lord” is to examine ourselves on which will help us stay on the narrow way.

1Jn 2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jn 2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

All of us are the many that at first say we know Him, but we have yet to go through the fire and die that is necessary to know Him in Spirit and Truth.

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

It’s the same lesson for the foolish virgins who we are before we become wise and gain understanding and know Him by going through the fire. That is the only place oil can be purchased that will give us what is needed to keep our internal lamps burning.

Mat 25:12  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 

No man can enter in any other way except by living out all the wrath of God. That wrath is the same as the seven plagues brought to us by the seven angels of the Lord.

Rev 15:8  The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. 

When carnal mindedness, which is death, is destroyed; then all men will have a new mind.  This comes by losing the old mindset, which spiritually speaking is a beheading of our old man in our day of judgment. The new man (the overcomer in us) is raised to life as the dead in us (the old man and his mind) is destroyed.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

New life comes forth from death in the Lord’s fire. If we die with Him, we live with Him and that is how we come to know Him and His power. The plan of our redemption and overcoming the world has never been changed. It was always there from Genesis to Revelation. The process is how we gain knowledge and receive His mind, knowing the Lord.

Exo 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:

Exodus 6:7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

To know He is the Lord of our heavens and our earth, we are given not only a new mind (heaven) but also a new heart.

Jeremiah 24:7 And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

Eze 36:26  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

How does the Lord do this and by what process? We need not guess or speculate but go to the source of Truth (Psa 119:160).

Eze 36:27  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Rom 5:5  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God (zeal to obey the Lord) has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Agape or true love really means.

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Our carnal minds are being slain right before our eyes.

Ezekiel 6:7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

The carnal mind being slain by the sword of the Lord is what brings us to life. Only the faithful are given to experience salvation in this age when the armies of Christ bring the fiery words of life to our hearing.

Rev 19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him [died to second death by the Body’s sword] that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. 

Ezekiel 11:10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Looking behind ourselves, it is the entire experience that will be attributed to the Lord and His works in us. Every step we take including our eating of the tree of good and evil is all the Lord’s work.

Ezekiel 12:15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, WHEN I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.

Our time of judgment, the time when the wrath of God is at hand (Rev 1:3) is when we are blessed and begin to come into the true knowledge of the Lord.

Ezekiel 25:17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.  

Judgments are what brings about death to the old man which is life for the new man. The other side of the same two-edged sword (Heb 4:12)! We know He is the Lord when He is destroying the old mindset replacing it with the new.

Ezekiel 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

There is no boasting for resurrecting ourselves from the spiritually dead. We know we are unworthy and unprofitable servants (Luk 17:10) who have simply been blessed by the Lord and are doing our reasonable service (Rom 12:1).

Ezekiel 37:13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves

Knowing all of this and the Lord’s plan for His people what shall we be doing?  Our lives do not continue in the same way and manner as before.

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love [obedience unto holiness] and to good works:

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

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.

 

Studies

Raising the Dead to New Life

Pete

For Our Admonition Part 5

“Raising the Dead to New Life”

Key Verses:  1Ki 17:17 – 17:24

We continue with the events recorded in 1Kings 17 regarding Elijah and the widow of Zarephath.  This is the second part of this parable (Click here for the first part) and in this study we will see the first instance of anyone being resurrected from the dead in the Scriptures.   Here are the verses and remainder of 1Kings 17 that complete this part of Elijah’s ministry.

1Ki 17:17  And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 

1Ki 17:18  And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 

1Ki 17:19  And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 

1Ki 17:20  And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 

1Ki 17:21  And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. 

1Ki 17:22  And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 

1Ki 17:23  And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 

1Ki 17:24  And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

We are saved and raised to newness of life in spirit by the grace of God that is chastening us and is working through our faith.  God’s grace is what teaches and motivates us to do righteousness and perform the greater works.  The good works are the result not the cause of our salvation.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

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.

In the last study, Elijah came and imparted faith in the widow and that faith was blessed with a multiplication of the meal that sustained Elijah, the widow and her son.  In this study, we see what follows our initial coming to faith and in Elijah’s case, growing in faith to raise one from the dead.  This event is just a shadow of the truth because the grace of God had not yet been poured out nor the Spirit of truth given (Joh 7:39).  This story is a parable and an ensample for us, the Lord’s ministers (priests) in performing the greater works and doing unto others as is, was and will be done unto us.

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

Joh 5:25  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

Christ raised many from the physical dead, yet we are told our works (through  Him) are the greater works we can and will do when we operate in faith.

Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Joh 14:13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

This all points to the truth that physical death in the Scriptures are a shadow of spiritual death which is also likened to sleep. The truth is that death in the Scriptures symbolizes spiritual death as these words of the Bible are all spirit (Joh 6:63).  That was the primary lesson from the exchange with the carnal disciples about Lazarus and whether he was dead or just sleeping.

Joh 11:11  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

Joh 11:12  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

Joh 11:13  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Several other events and admonitions in Scripture reveal that physical death is used as a symbol of spiritual death (Luk 8:53, Mat 9:24, etc) which is outcome of our sleeping and not taking heed the narrow way.

1Co 11:29  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

1Co 11:30  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 

The Elect of God are in the business of bringing spiritual healing and raising others from spiritual death.  That is what we do when we abide together, speaking words of fire (new tongues) freely giving what we have freely received.

Mar 16:17  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

Mar 16:18  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

This miraculous story is said to be “after these things” meaning it follows our coming to faith and being sustained in the wilderness during the first half of our witness (Rev 12:6).  The Lord tries all faith by trials (1Pe 1:7) and afflictions which is where we obtain the gold (truth) and come to know the Lord and receive garments of His righteousness (Rev 3:18).  It is through these many tribulations (Act 14:22) we are building our faith muscles, increasing our patience, hope and trust in the Lord.

Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

This OT parable is a shadow of the truth regarding the process of salvation after we have left Orthodoxy when we only know the other jesus (2Co 11:4).  As a new born babe in Christ, we are both this widow and her son.  Coming to faith releases us from the law for the lawless (1Ti 1:9) that kept us bound our entire life prior.  With that husband being dead, we are in-between the old and the new and are now free to marry Christ.

Rom 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

The widow’s son is a child (1Ki 17:23), representing a babe in Christ which signifies our emerging and yet carnal and immature mindset that comes from only hearing the Word.  Faith comes by hearing and which is eating (taking to heart) the words of truth served up by the Lord’s preachers and prophets.  When we begin to hear of the real Jesus and the truth of the Lord’s commandments, it brings bitterness and woe and ultimately death to our fleshly way of life.

Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 

Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

The first half of our witness for Christ will end in death as we are being overcome.  It takes the second coming of Christ with grace via judgment to revive us and make us into doers and overcomers.

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Paul came to see his wretchedness (Rom 7:24) by being unable to be obey the law and reaping the wages of his sin which is death.

Rom 7:9  I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

Rom 7:10  And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.

Rom 7:11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me ……..

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

Only the second coming of Christ frees us when grace is poured out. The end of our disobedience is a promised destruction through the Word (Php 3:18-19) as Christ brings life through death. When we give up trying to save ourselves and can see ourselves as the chief of sinners (1Ti 1:15) then we begin to be die to our flesh and the new man is able to rise.

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

All men are sinners (Rom 3:10, Ecc 7:20) and in due time go through the process of dying and being resurrected spiritually (Mat 4:4). Sin works death in us which is necessary for us to see our need for a Savior and have no more confidence in our flesh.  This is how Satan is overcome when we become dead to self (Heb 2:14).  To get to this point we are first given to see the fruits of our own works.

Eze 18:4  Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Yet Praise the Lord even while we are dead in sin, Christ comes to save us and raises us up to sit together in heaven sharing one mind

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:

When we are touched by the Lord’s prophets and given to partake of the Word, it brings darkness to the light and produces death.  Our reaction is the same as the woman as we first stumble in in our judgment.

1Ki 17:18  And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 

Saying and doing are two different things.  When the going (faith trials) gets tough, we first fall down our seven times (Pro 24:16) until we learn to trust the Lord and His working righteousness within us (Phi 2:13, Isa 64:8).  But when our son is slain we have not counted the costs and our weak faith is manifested.  It is not until we can look behind us where Lord has brought us that we can see His wondrous works to the children of men in all of our trials.  A mature mindset knows that being faithful to death is how receive the prize.

Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

This is where the Body of Christ is brought together to minister and comfort each other during our times of weakness and unbelief.  When we see a brother or sister in error, abiding in death, we are to go to them to correct and restore them.  The woman turns to Elijah and his righteous prayers, which along with the process, succeed in time with bringing the child back to life.

1Ki 17:19  And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 

1Ki 17:20  And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 

It is Christ’s Christ, the Body, who are the instruments of judgment and salvation for all men including ourselves now (1Co 11:31-32, Mat 19:28) and the rest of mankind in the Lake of Fire (1Co 6:2, Rev 20:4).   James cites Elijah and the power of his prayers with these instructions.

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Jas 5:17  Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

Jas 5:18  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Jas 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

These verses may not seem like they relate to judgment, but they very much are speaking about our day of the Lord in type and shadow.  The Lord’s people are being saved (redeemed) only by going through the process of judgment.

Isa 1:27  Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

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.

Truly amazing, how Orthodoxy reading the same Bibles we do,  think salvation means avoiding judgment and the lie of eternal hell.  Our spiritually dying is the prerequisite for judgment to begin at the house of God which house we are.  This is the Lord’s purpose in causing us to sin (Isa 63:17) so we reap the wages of sin which is death. This provides Him the occasion sought to cleanse His Temple and raise us up in new life.  That is very good news!!!

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

Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Our judgment like the son’s judgment here requires us to be weaned off the bosom (the milk) of his mother and move beyond the basic oracles of God.  We have to be drawn away from the bosom of our immaturity and taught to eat the strong meat.

Isa 28:9  Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Other resurrection’s from the dead stories (2Ki 4:34, Act 20:8, Act 9:37) also take place in the upper chambers of the dwelling.  We are the temple of the Lord (1Co 3:16) and it is in us, in heaven (our mind) where Christ sits.   In due time, we are called up to heaven (Eph 2:6), gathered in the upper room (Act 1:12) and seated with Christ (Rev 11:12).  In type and shadow this is what Elijah’s actions in bringing the child upstairs into his abode signify.  It is the one who judges all things according to the spirit, that knows the mind of the Lord and can instruct others by example.

1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

A bed is a place of rest and where we lay our bodies for support and comfort.  Carnal thoughts and beliefs keep us bound to a bed of flesh and is death (Rom 8:6).  In the positive the bed upon which God’s people rest in His Word is a place of repentance from our “carnally minded” and dead works.

Heb 4:10  For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Heb 4:11  Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

Repentance from these dead (carnally minded) works precedes the coming of Christ with judgment.  The spirit of Elijah is the spirit of John that brings us to repentance by laying us onto the resting place of the Lord, preparing us for judgment and the trials to follow (Mat 3:11-12).  When judgment comes, the old man will be taken away and the righteous man rises in his place.

Luk 17:34  I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

Elijah then acts to save the woman’s son.

1Ki 17:21  And he stretched [H4058] himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. 

1Ki 17:22  And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 

When it says Elijah stretched himself upon the boy three times, it really is saying Elijah measured the son three times.  The usage of H4058 “madad” in the KJV English translations make this perfectly clear.

 H4058, mâdad

Total KJV Occurrences: 51

measured, 40

measure, 7

mete, 3

stretched, 1      1Ki_17:21

The number three symbolizes the process of our spiritual completion through judgment.  Knowing this, there is no mistaking what these activities in the upper room are symbolizing.  They symbolize judgment which is reviving us from the dead, awakening us to righteousness.

Hos 6:2  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

Isa 51:17  Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk at the hand of the LORD The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling ….

The Lord hears our prayers if they are made according to His will.  He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Mar 11:22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

1Jn 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

1Jn 5:15  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Elijah now returns the son to the mother who has now experienced two miracles and as a result she now believes in Elijah and the words of the Lord he speaks.

1Ki 17:23  And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 

1Ki 17:24  And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. 

We pass from death to life by coming through judgment now in this age.  That is how we do not come into judgment in the lake of fire to come.

Joh 5:24  “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

Christ is now ascended into the heavens of His people.  His words are now being heard when spoken by the Body of Christ who are His instruments of salvation and the greater works.  Those who hear our words are being judged and they will rise from the dead.

Joh 5:25  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

Elijah returns the son to the house and delivers him to his mother.  This is symbolism of us being brought hearing the words of Christ in the Body of Christ who is the mother of us all.

Mat 12:49  And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

Mat 12:50  For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. 

Receiving back a son or daughter in Christ, brought to life and raised from the death of being carnally minded is indeed a miracle.  This is indeed a proof text of knowing whether someone is truly a man of God or not.

Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

This resurrection story in Kings is a shadow of the truth and grace that would only come later by Jesus Christ.  The first raising from the dead by the Lord in the gospels was raising the widow of Nain’s son.

Luk 7:12  Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

Luk 7:13  And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

Luk 7:14  And he came and touched the bier (open coffin): and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

Luk 7:15  And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

Luk 7:16  And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

Jesus Christ came with all authority and power in heaven and in earth (Mat 28:18).  The resurrections in the New Testament are immediate at the speaking of the Word to “arise”, “come forth” etc.  We are the Body of Christ including His Mouth thru which the Lord is speaking and His hands through which we are touching those He has prepared to hear and arranged to meet Christ.

Eph 2:10  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

We have been called and separated from the world to work in His Kingdom now and in the ages to come.  May we remember why we have been raised from the dead?  It is so we can do unto others what has been done unto us.  Such a high calling we have been given

Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mat 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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

Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

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