Series on "The Message of the Cross" - (10)
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 12609 |
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May 28, 2006 |
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 The Hidden Wisdom which God Predestined Before the Ages
"Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden [wisdom,] which God predestined before the ages to our glory" (1 Corinthians 2:6-7).
Jesus the Son of God came to this world in flesh and was crucified on the cross. This was, however, God's Providence aimed at delivering all people ? the sinners ? of the world. Therefore, anyone who comes to believe in Jesus Christ will be forgiven of his sins, receive salvation, and lead a blessed life with the authority to which he is entitled as a child of God.
1.The Path to Human Salvation Predestined Before the Ages
God prepared the way by which He would save all people of the world, who had become sinners, and kept His plan a secret until the time of His choosing (1 Corinthians 2:7). What, then, is the secret of salvation which God had hidden before the ages?
When God cursed Adam and Eve for eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil after they had been tempted by the serpent, God prophesied on the salvation of mankind. In Genesis 3:15, He said, "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." Spiritually speaking, "the woman" stands for Israel while "her seed" symbolizes Jesus Christ who was to come amongst the people of Israel (Revelation 12:5).
God prophesized on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, who was to come from the nation of Israel, destroy the authority of the enemy devil and Satan, and deliver all mankind. As the enemy devil and Satan were also aware of this, they were always on a desperate and frantic lookout for the coming of the Savior.
Then Jesus was born in a town called Bethlehem in Israel about 2,000 years ago and the enemy devil and Satan tried to have Him killed by instigating King Herod, who reigned over Israel at the time. God appeared in the dream of Joseph, the physical father of Jesus, and Joseph escaped to Egypt with Jesus. Later on in His life, the enemy devil and Satan tried to have Jesus killed many times by instigating evil Pharisees and priests but God always kept Him safe.
When the time of God's choosing arrived, however, Jesus was captured by the evil ones and died an atrocious death on the cross. The enemy devil and Satan thought everything was resolved through the death of Jesus but here lay God's secret. By having killed the sinless Jesus, the enemy devil and Satan actually ended up becoming an instrument in fulfilling God's Providence.
2.The Enemy Devil Violates the Law of the Spiritual Realm by Crucifying Sinless Jesus
According to the spiritual law found in Romans 6:23, which reads "The wages of sin is death," the punishment of death applies only to sinners. In other words, this punishment cannot be applied to someone without sin. However, as the enemy devil killed the sinless Jesus, it ended up violating the law of the spiritual realm and as the price of its violation, the devil had to relinquish its authority ? the authority to rule over man and call for death.
Even though Jesus died on the cross, He shattered the authority of death and resurrected for He was without sin. Therefore, anyone believing in the Lord, who died on the cross and resurrected, will be set free from the authority of death of the enemy devil and Satan and allowed to enter heaven (Romans 5:18-19). Moreover, God's Word found in Genesis ? "He shall bruise you on the head" ? was fulfilled.
If the enemy devil had known about the providence of the cross, it would not have had Jesus captured and killed (1 Corinthians 2:8-9). For Jesus, who is one with God, knew about the providence, He died on the cross in obedience to God's will and thus fulfilled the providence of salvation.
Hence, as Romans 10:10 tells us, "For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation," whoever becomes one with the Lord by faith, he can receive salvation by the grace of God.
3.Becoming One with the Resurrected Jesus Christ by Faith
What does it mean to say, "We become one with the Lord by faith"? In John 6:56, Jesus tells us, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." Eating and drinking the flesh and the blood of the Son of Man refer to our making bread of His Word, living by it, and showing Him the proof of our faith. We will then abide in the Lord and the Lord in us.
Of course, it is not easy to obey and live by the Word of the truth immediately after accepting the Lord. However, when one strives from the heart to obey God's Word, God will recognize his deeds as faith. Making bread of God's Word and taking after our Lord are the way for us to become one with the Lord by faith.
As 1 John 1:7 tells us, "If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin," when we walk in God's Word "the light," the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all sin. Furthermore, we will be able to partake in the glory of resurrection and live a blissful life in the eternal kingdom of heaven.
One critical factor to bear in mind here is that there is a huge difference between the names "Jesus," and "Jesus Christ." As we read in Matthew 1:21, "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins," on the one hand, the name "Jesus" refers to the Savior "who will save His people from their sins." On the other hand, "Christ" means "the Anointed One" and refers to the One who is qualified to be the Savior. It is a Greek term and its Hebrew equivalent is "Messiah." In Korean or English, we refer to the Savior as "Lord." Therefore, when we refer to our Savior as "Lord Jesus" or "Jesus Christ," we are referring to the One who has already saved His people from their sins.
Then, when did Jesus become the "Savior"? This happened with Jesus' resurrection after His crucifixion and His shattering of the authority of death. The name "Jesus" is the one He had before taking up the cross and He is to be called "Jesus Christ" after His resurrection. This is why His disciples and apostles referred to the resurrected Jesus not as "Jesus" in their prayer and preaching but added "the Lord" or "Christ" to His name (Acts 3:6).
In this is a very important spiritual significance. When we are aware of the differences between "Jesus" and "Jesus Christ" and pray in the name of "Jesus Christ" with a clear understanding of the providence of salvation, the enemy devil and Satan will tremble in fear and be driven away as we believe, confess, and pray with the firm belief that what is impossible for us is possible in the Lord.
4.We Receive the Holy Spirit if We Accept Jesus as Our Savior
In Revelation 3:20, our Lord tells us, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me." Whoever opens the door to his heart and accepts the Lord, our Lord is promising to forgive him (1 John 1:7) and be with him.
Opening the door to our hearts requires the opening of the door to our mind. When listening to God's messages, we must not hold fast to our own thought and knowledge but acknowledge and accept His Word. Only then will God give us the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and the strength to live by true faith and His Word.
This is how we are born again by the water and the Holy Spirit, and whoever is born again in this manner is God's child whose name is recorded in the book of life in heaven, where he now has his citizenship. Just as there are rules and regulations to be obeyed and followed in this world, there are heavenly laws, which are found in the Word of God the Creator and Our Father, and which are to be obeyed as we live by His Word. When we walk in the light, we will not be instigated by the enemy devil and Satan. Instead, until the day we reach heaven, we will live under God's protection and in His overflowing blessings.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, according to the law of righteousness, God has fulfilled the process by which we are to receive salvation by faith, and the providence of salvation has been accomplished in secret by the grace of Our God and the love of Our Lord. The God of love is still seeking good souls and leading countless souls to the path of salvation.
May each of you accept Jesus Christ, become one with Him by faith, and live an eternally blissful life with the resurrected Lord in heaven, in the name of Our Lord I pray!
Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee's powerful bestsellers include Tasting Eternal Life before Death, The Message of the Cross, The Measure of Faith, Heaven I & II, Hell and many others.
Urim Books (+82 2 837 7632 / 818 7320; http://www.urimbook.com)
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