Tune and Prepare!

According to the apostle Paul in his letter for Ephesians As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us , God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not...

"Put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:14) conveys a profound and important message. The passage reads: “Put on” the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not indulge the old nature* or fulfill its desires! Romans 13:14 * sarx: flesh In this verse, the Apostle Paul warns believers to clothe themselves in Christ, symbolizing the life of a believer, which signifies a relationship with Christ. The apostle makes it clear that this is not merely about outward appearance, but also refers to inner transformation and fellowship with God. It is important to understand that Paul focuses here on the inner purity of worship and character. Nourishing the “flesh”, that is, the physical nature, leads toward sinful desires, while putting on Christ signifies divine desires and a deeper communion with the Lord; Walking with the Lord and acknowledging Him in all things. This walking and living together is a fundamental statement...

Tom Wright About Paul's conversions Q. Talking about Paul the Apostle and I was thinking Tom about his remarkable, supernatural, dramatic conversion. Why doesn't the Lord do that more often? A. It's a good question. But probably a third of the questions that people ask me are about : why did God do this or why does God do that? And my usual response is you better ask him... ...I think here it's quite clear that something dramatic had to happen because here is, if you like, God's sense of humor that when God wants to reach out to the great, unwashed, idolatrous Gentile world, who does he call to do that? A hardline, zealous, pharisaic Jew. Because if it had been a kind of anything goes sort of Jew who had always been a bit soft on Torah, etc. If such a person had gone off to say to Gentiles, by the way, "the God of Israel loves you too", then everyone would have said, "well, of course, you would say that because that was the way you ...

God, being rich in mercy... • made us alive together with Christ • raised us up with him • seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus     Eph 2:4     Paul uses past tens here. This is the apostolic perspective. ☆

Simon Elliot — Everyday Church Wimbledon Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians Paul here refers to specific people who represent a specific ministry with a specific purpose. Paul is not talking about titles or professional positions; he is speaking about people with purpose, and that purpose is to equip and enable the believing community in intentional discipleship. Why can I say this? Because, as we shall see, the fruit of intentional discipleship is mature and fruitful believers. These ministries equip the saints, all the believers, for works of service – for activity which will bring maturity through intentionality. John Stott puts it like this: Paul sets out two purposes – one immediate and the other ultimate – for which Christ gave gifts to his church. His immediate purpose was to equip his people for w...

These are verses I return to again and again—not to interpret them, but to listen to them. The apostle Paul’s way of thinking cuts through centuries of religious noise with surprising freshness. Let’s read them slowly and let the words settle wherever they may. Now we know that whatever the Law says it speaks to those who are under the Law , so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the Law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law , although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe . For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus... It was to show ...

short study Paul's Focus: have a faithful, genuine heart! Throughout the entire teaching of the Bible, we can see the truth that concerns the condition of the heart { "lébab" or "leb" in the Old Testament}. Leb is a powerful Hebrew word meaning the heart, but it signifies much more than the physical organ. The heart is the central part of our thinking and personality before God. It is not only the seat of our emotions, but also the central place of our personal decisions and convictions. Leb representing the inner self, mind, will, emotions, and core personality, the "control center" where intellect, desires, and morality reside This makes it easier to understand the teaching of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans: One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Romans 14:5 Recommended book   Hans Walter Wolff: An...

study Our modern Bible editions spoil us, giving cosy overview of the biblical scriptures and helpful case studies when we meandering through the labyrinth of doctrines. However, our helpers sometimes mislead us by slicing up the original composition of thoughts. In the letter for the Galatians ap. Paul discusses spiritual slavery versus spiritual freedom. He is concerned about the status of the early Galatian churches. Due to the constant influence of Jewish traditionalism and its followers, the local believers cannot withstand the pressure to restore the Law by partially keeping the circumcision. {or any other parts of the old covenant} As Paul often points out, it is impossible to maintain the old and develop the new. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the Law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 2 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, 3 while the son...

The writer of the Hebrew letter wrote about the good conscience and assurance: Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Heb 10:19 Our dear brother and not-so-conflict-averse apostle, the Apostle Paul often appeals to his good conscience. Let's not forget that he was incessantly acting in front of his accusers, often suffering physical abuse because of them. He was constantly, consciously proclaiming the new covenant: the grace and righteousness above the Law , the untouchable spiritual status of the Christ followers - and the confrontation between the two realm. Paul's conscience was rooted in the Cross. ...

I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies 18:3 Since the Mighty Holy Spirit of God is working around - by prayer by the father's grace & will - the great fight is quite different from the OT type situation. God's glory is fearful and unbearable for the Evil one. We represent His glory - we, believers are the fruits, results of His glory as we stand: justified by the work of the blood of the lamb. Our glorious, intimate heritage is incomparable to the old, religious conditional system we can see in the Holy & devoted tasks of the Levitical priesthood. Our heritage comes from the Ultimate High Priest of Gd Most High. Our priesthood works in righteousness. It has infinite power-background for deliverance, for caring, for the representation of glory in Christ, by the glory of God. Let us see some examples: For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed i...

We cannot live a full and holy life apart from God. We were created to live and work with Him in community. If we accepted the propitiation we have done with the old life. We are new citizens, new breed, we have new ID in the Holy family. Unlike Adam and his heritage, we are not in the domain of the evil one. Jesus took of the price of our Sin status — once and for all. But due to humanity's dark past, we are still prone to continue making mistakes, living insensitively, falling, and occasionally committing harsh sins. However, Jesus, the faithful High Priest, intercedes for us from the very moment of our first repentance with His holy blood. We repent, confess our sins, and are cleansed. Reset . Everything is back to the original state. Adam's dark legacy and his descendant has passed away. I repeat: salvation is Christ's work, but sanctification is a process and a joint action with God. His Holy Spirit and His Holy Son will work in the life of the believer. ...

The biblical declaration of righteousness is best understood in "Paul's gospel." The apostle gives one of the most comprehensive explanations of our righteousness, which is central to the gospel, in his letters to the Galatians and the one of the most comprehensive explanations of our righteousness {justification} at the heart of the Gospel in his letters to the Galatians and Romans. The great transition: "But now" Paul declares in Romans 3:21 that "now the righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed" . These words mark one of Scripture's most glorious transitions—from humanity's hopeless condemnation to God's gracious justification . The Law points out sin, but it cannot save us. But God has prepared us a plan: he created and brought us a righteousness that will save us, apart from the law, apart from our own earning and deserving, apart from our own merits. ... The Divine Exchange God's solution to our sin ...

Az igazság/osság bibliai kijelentése talán "Pál evangéliumából" érthető meg leginkább Az apostol az Evangélium középpontjában álló igazságunkról {igazságosságunkról} a Galatákhoz írott levélben (Gal. 4) illetve a Rómaiakhoz írt levelében adja az egyik legátfogóbb magyarázatot. A nagy átmenet: „De most” Pál a Rómaiakhoz írt levél 3:21-ben kijelenti, hogy „most pedig törvénytől függetlenül jelent meg {nyilatkoz­tatott ki} az Isten igazsága” . Ezek a szavak a Szentírás egyik legdicsőségesebb átmenetét jelzik – az emberiség reménytelen elítéltségétől Isten kegyes igazolásáig . A Törvény felmutatja bűnt, de nem tud megmenteni minket. Isten azonban elkészített nekünk egy tervet: létrehozott és elhozott nekünk egy igazságot, amely meg fog menteni minket, a Törvénytől függetlenül, a saját érdemeinktől és "érdemességünktől" függetlenül... ... Az isteni csere Isten megoldása a mi bűnünkre és elítélésünkre csodálatos megoldás: elküldte Fiát, Jézust, hogy megh...

Our enemy, satan, tries to make us hate our fellow humans. The apostolic teaching warns: we do not have war on a physical and visible level, but in the invisible, heavenly world. {Eph 6:10} At work, in the marketplace, among rivals, on the battlefield: The "enemy" almost doesn't matter. War always starts with condemning-judging others. But who am I to do so? {Mt 7:1-2} Whoever proclaims a war {by the secular power of any religion/trend} lives in a carnal way, under a battle psychosis. Under judgement. Why? Because it is the means /tools, not just the end that counts. If the fight is physical, the person eventually begins to follow the path of satan and serves it with physical warfare. And he dies. {Jesus warns in Mt 26:52} Since life and death are basically spiritual things, it would make sense to keep all of these in God's power. He gives us grace to have life. {Jn 10:10} He is the way, the truth, the life. {Jn 14:6} The good news is that believers have de...

As the majority of modern Christians struggle with a kind of Judaized-Christian worldview, every Bible teacher has a constant duty to maintain an apostolic view of justification by faith and righteousness. On this page we learn from the epistle of Galatians. Here we read an important exposition of how the new state of being redeemed in Christ and justified by faith is distinct from the Jewish view of the law. Background: Paul writes to the churches he established in the southern part of Galatia during his first missionary journey (Acts 13:1–14:28). Unlike Paul’s other greetings here you can not find thanksgiving for or reference to the Galatians’ faith, or love. Earlier, in the chapter 2 he explains, warns that "Justified” life means “counted righteous” or “declared righteous” by God. He points out that by human nature this is not possible: If people obeyed all of God’s perfect moral standards, they could be justified by their own merits. But Paul says that thi...

you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels in festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to God who is the Judge of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, to Jesus (mediator of a new covenant), and to the sprinkled blood.. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has been victorious so that He may open the scroll... Recommended: Seeing with a God - lens The fullness of God’s nature The Radically New Man ☆

.. faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God Rom 10:17 (NKJV) Supernaturally faith is built into us as we hear, as we understand, as we trust in God's word. David Guzik Enduring Word – YouTube channel

Paul’s instructions on discipline Purity, Relationships, Mind, Devotion, Integrity, Tongue, Work, Perseverance... by: R. Kent Hughes Train in God's Gym Men, we will never get anywhere in life without discipline, and doubly so in spiritual matters. None of us is inherently righteous, so Paul’s instructions regarding spiritual discipline in 1 Timothy 4:7–8 take on personal urgency: “Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." That word “train” comes from the Greek word from which we derive gymnasium. So, I invite you into God’s Gym—to some pain and great gain! 1. Discipline of Purity Sensuality is the biggest obstacle to godliness among Christian men. The fall of King David should not only instruct us but scare the sensuality right out of us! Fill yourself with God’s Word—memorize passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8, Job ...

brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, dwell in these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Phil 4:8

Joseph Marie Vien: Sarah Presenting Hagar to Abraham Based on the Galatians 4 you can read here an overview +teaching about the old and new status of the believers. According to the apostolic teaching the old, child like status describes Israel and the new status refers to the adoption we have got in Christ. Meanwhile, the symbolic image of the two women, the two mothers (Abraham's concubine and his wife), gives a detailed picture of the complex spiritual family relationship between the Jewish and the Christian believer. We will use the ESV Bible. Pre When the apostle Paul speaks of the life of Abraham and about the Law, we need to see two states. One is a blessing: based on the voluntary mercy and grace of God, the other is a system: which God has prepared for the deliverance of His people and the building up of the Jewish nation. We can see that the promise, Abraham's blessing came 430 years before the giving of the Law. Moreover we will see that th...