Biblical Christianity

What is the idea of Covenant in the Bible

What is Covenant in the Bible?

By Alice | February 21, 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

The concept of “covenant” has been revolutionized by research in recent decades of studying the Old Testament. What is the idea of covenant in the Bible?

Many scholars, whether conservative or liberal, have maintained that “covenant” is the organizing principle around which Old Testament theology must be constructed and understood.

It has become clear that in the near eastern world of the second millennium before Christ, formal covenants were the primary way people who were not blood relatives related to one another.

The Meaning of Covenant

The word “covenant” basically means “contract;” it is an agreement between God and His people. In the said agreement, God makes promises to His people and usually requires certain conduct from them.

As used in Scriptures, the word “covenant” is the Hebrew word “Berith” which means “to cut or divide.” This is an allusion to the Jewish sacrificial custom in connection with covenant-making, where the two parties involved would divide the animal by which the covenant was ratified and laid them out in two halves.

After that, the contracting parties would then “walk between the pieces” to establish the covenant.

In the Greek Septuagint, covenant is the Greek word “Diatheke.” Unlike Hebrew, the Greek differentiates between a covenant where one party is the recipient (diatheke) and the other the benefactor, and other covenant made between equal parties.

If the two parties come together in agreement, making it a two-way arrangement, the word “Suntheke” is used, which means “to place together.”

Of Meals and Marriages

People in Asia Minor, ancient Mesopotamia and first century Palestine depended on covenants to appease the gods, regulate personal affairs, international relations and business deals. All kinds of covenants existed between equal partners, between greater and lesser partners, and between absolute sovereigns and object servants.

Covenants were often memorialized with stone pillars (stellae) as Jacob and Laban did (Genesis 31:44-47). A ceremonial meal between the parties involved would signify the harmonious nature of the new relationship and a marriage between the two families seals the compact.

In every case, the gods of all parties involved were called to witness and guarantee the contract, agreement, vow or treaty.

Fortunately for Bible scholars, the people of the ancient Near East went out of their way to write down all kinds of covenants. All during the twentieth-century archaeologists dug up, dusted off, and deciphered clay tablets and stone monuments that recorded countless covenants regulating the commercial, political and religious life of nation after nation.

Perhaps the most significant covenants for Old Testament studies turned up in the archives of the Hittite monarchs, which were discovered in 1906 among the ruins of Boghaz-koi in Turkey.

*Related Article: What is the Adamic Covenant?

The Covenant Form

It has been demonstrated quite conclusively by Meredith Kline and others that the structure of the Hittite treaties between oriental monarchs and their abject vassals parallels in close detail the covenant format between Yahweh and Israel found in Exodus chapters 20 to 23, Joshua 24 and the Book of Deuteronomy.

When the one, true living God initiated a relationship with the descendants of Abraham, He utilized a covenant style universally understood at the time:

a preamble identifying the absolute sovereign
a brief history of relations between the absolute sovereign and the subject people
the benefits for and obligations of the subject people
an oath of allegiance and its accompanying blessings for obedience
a list of witnesses and directions for keeping the covenant

At times there followed instructions for periodic renewal of the covenant.

The Old and New Testament

The Bible is divided into an Old Testament and a New Testament. “Testament” was a synonym for “covenant” in the English era of King James I. All of God’s Word concerns an old and a new form of the way in which He provides for a personal, mutually committed relationship between Himself and those who He calls and who respond in faith to Him.

Various other biblical covenants predate the “old covenant” or elaborate aspects of it. People of God’s covenant have a basis for saying, “My beloved is mine, and I am his” (Song 2:16).

*Reference: NKJV Prophecy Study Bible, 2015 Edition
Understanding God’s Message in the Last Days
General Editor: John Hagee

The prophecies of the Bible assure us that God will prevail. The NKJV;Prophecy Study Bible, 2015 Edition; has hundreds of pages of special features that offer a broad understanding of prophetic themes, salvation, covenants, and other important doctrines of the Christian faith.

Features include:

Introduction to Bible Prophecy
Index to Prophetic Passages
Top 20 Questions about Bible Prophecy
Diamonds for Daily Living
Evidences
Spokesmen for God
Bible Insights
Bible Prophecy Charts
Full concordance

What Is God’s Covenant With Adam?

By admin | January 19, 2019 | Comments 4 comments

God’s covenant with Adam, also called the Adamic Covenant found in Genesis 3:14-21, is the second general or universal covenant. But what is this all about? The Adamic Covenant could be called God’s covenant with mankind, for it sets forth the conditions which will hold sway until the curse of sin is lifted.

The conditions within the Adamic covenant include:

The serpent, the tool used by Satan to effect the fall of man, is cursed (Genesis 3:14).
Satan is judged; he will enjoy limited success but will be judged ultimately (Genesis 3:15).
The first prophecy of the coming Messiah is given (Genesis 3:15).
Multiplication of conception, necessitated by the introduction of death into the human race (Genesis 3:16).
There will be pain in childbirth (Genesis 3:16).
The woman is made subject to her husband (Genesis 3:16).
The ground is cursed and will bring forth weeds among the food which man must eat for his existence (Genesis 3:17-19).
Physical change takes place in man; he will perspire when he works and will have to work all his life (Genesis 3:19).
In sinning, man dies spiritually and ultimately will die physically. His flesh will decay until it returns to dust from which it was originally taken (Genesis 3:19).

The Sin of Adam

From man’s perspective, Adam’s sin does not seem to be a very great sin. All he did was take a bite of some fruit. But what made Adam’s sin serious is that the fruit was of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which God specifically said that he was not to eat under the penalty of death (Genesis 2:17).

Up to this time, Adam was morally innocent. But when he sinned, he became a sinner by nature. So he died. He not only died spiritually immediately, but he also began to die physically.

The story of creation tells us that Adam was the first man ever to live upon the face of the earth. From Adam and Eve has come every other human being who ever has lived. Thus, Adam is the “federal head” from whom every other man came. Like begets like. Dogs beget dogs. Apples beget apples. Human beings beget human beings.

Since Adam sinned before Eve conceived a child, every human descended from him is a sinner just like him except Christ. As a result of Adam’s sin, death entered into the human race (Romans 5:12-14); every human being needs to have the new life (John 3:3, 5-7).

Forbidden Fruit and Lost Innocence

Imagine what may very well have been the single worst moment in the history of humanity: Adam and Eve standing outside the gorgeous Garden of Eden – banished, an angel with a flaming sword to make sure they will never again experience the intimate walks and talks with God or the delicious fruit from the tree of life.

The blissful feelings of joy and security they had felt in the Garden of Eden were forever gone. In their place, Adam and his wife Eve felt only nagging, haunting emotions of fear, guilt, and shame.

Lost Paradise

Adam and Eve had declared their independence by a single act of rebellion against God. What they had done was more than merely eat a piece of forbidden fruit. At a deeper level, they had defied God’s clear-cut command. They chose to listen to the seductive voice of the serpent and succumbed to their own pride.

They made a huge mistake of overtly challenging the right of the Almighty God to guide and direct their lives, exercising authority and power over their own lives. The consequences of that deplorable decision were catastrophic: the curse of God their Maker, sorrow, death, and a life of pain and regret – not only for them but for all their descendants.

We can’t help but think that at some point, Adam and Eve must have taken one last look at Eden before turning away. Were they quiet? Who broke the silence? Did they blame each other? Or did they fall into each other’s arms?

The Curses Pronounced By God

1) A Curse on the Serpent

The first curse of God’s covenant with Adam and mankind is on the serpent, the tool used by Satan to deceive and seduce Adam and Eve into sin (Genesis 3:14-15). The curse affects not only the instrument, the serpent, but also the indwelling Satan who is still working hard to destroy God’s creatures (Revelation 12:9).

Great physical changes took place in the serpent. Apparently, the serpent walked upright before the curse; since, it has gone on its belly (Genesis 3:14). It used to be the most desirable animal of the animal creation; since, it has been the most despicable. The sight or thought of a snake should be an effective reminder of the devastating effects of sin.

The other half of the curse on the serpent is the predicted final judgment of Satan (Genesis 3:15). Satan will injure the “Seed” of the woman; however, ultimately he will be destroyed by the promised “Seed.” Satan wounded Christ through His suffering and death on the cross, but his apparent victory was only a “bruise” as the Resurrection proved.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ delivered the crushing blow to Satan as it defeated death, the legacy of the fall.

2) Curses on the Ground Causing Chaos to Return to Earth

When Adam and Eve sinned in rebellion against God by doing exactly what God has commanded them not to do, God pronounced curses on the ground which Adam and mankind were to tend as God’s representatives (Genesis 3:17-18; Genesis 2:15).

When God had created the earth, He caused order to replace chaos (Genesis 1:2). After Adam sinned, a measure of chaos was brought back into God’s ordered world. “Thorns and thistles” (Genesis 3:18) represent everything in life that resists human efforts to create order in God’s name.

Further Effects of Sin

Aside from the two curses, God also proclaimed how sin would affect both genders of humanity. The focus of sin’s effects on women is in childbearing, child rearing and in their relationships with men (Genesis 3:16).

The injection of physical pain into childbearing also hints at the years of emotional pain spent on child rearing. Within women’s relationships with their husbands, they are caught between their desire and need for intimacy and the tendency of their mates to dominate them, a clear violation of God’s intention of loving leadership.

On the other hand, men would find the effects of sin permeating their efforts to provide a livelihood for themselves and their families (Genesis 3:19).

The disorder loosed in the soil and in all human enterprise reduces men to toilers who can never win for long in their efforts to make a living. They continue to struggle in order to get ahead of the chaos represented by the thorns and thistles which in effect will distract them from God.

The Gift of Hope

As Adam and Eve began to reflect on the terrible, final moments in the Garden of Eden, they must have thought of the sorrow in God’s voice when He had called out, “Where are you?” And the puzzling curse on the serpent kept running through their minds (Genesis 3:14-15).

God said the serpent would inflict yet more pain and suffering upon humans, but in the end, he would be crushed by the Seed of Eve. It was a small ray of hope, a glimmer of a promise that Paradise would not remain lost forever, a promise of a Deliverer and Savior (fulfilled in Jesus Christ, see Galatians 3:16, 19-26).

It could be that Adam and Eve also recalled the gentle way the Lord had graciously provided them with clothes before sending them away – a hint of God’s love and mercy. The more they reflected, the more they must have become convinced that God wanted to restore them to Himself.

Great news! The long wait for God’s promised salvation has come. Today, unlike Adam and Eve, we don’t have to wait. The day of salvation is already here (2 Corinthians 6:2). Jesus has already come to save us from our sins.

Did you receive God’s offer of salvation through the finished works of Christ? If you haven’t, now is the time to do it. Now is the day of salvation!

*Reference:

NKJV Prophecy Study Bible, 2015 Edition (Understanding God’s Message in the Last Days)

General Editor: John Hagee

The prophecies of the Bible assure us that God will prevail. The NKJV Prophecy Study Bible 2015 Edition has hundreds of pages of special features that offer a broad understanding of prophetic themes, salvation, covenants, and other important doctrines of the Christian faith.

Features include:

Introduction to Bible Prophecy
Index to Prophetic Passages
Top 20 Questions about Bible Prophecy
Diamonds for Daily Living
God’s Great Promises
God’s Great Salvation
Evidences
Spokesmen for God
Bible Insights
Bible Prophecy Charts
Full concordance

Reasons why Christians to celebrate Christmas

Why Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?

By Alice | December 24, 2018 | Comments 16 comments

Do you notice how the ambiance or mood changes whenever the “BER” months start? As early as September 1st when radio stations begin playing our favorite Christmas songs, we all get very excited knowing that Christmas is just around the corner. But what is the true meaning of Christmas and why should Christians celebrate it?

While many Christians today celebrate Christmas, there are others who don’t because they claim that Jesus Christ wasn’t really born on Christmas day which falls on the 25th of December. And they are right.

As I said in my article, Jesus: The Reason for the Christmas Season, historians and Bible scholars have found no solid, documented evidence that Jesus was born on December 25th. But based on Luke 2:8 and other indicators such as the birth of John the Baptist, they place the birth of Christ in the late summer or early autumn (that is September).

A Powerful Story

Before going any further, I would like to share a story that was told by Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias in one of his Christmas sermons. It’s about a shepherd from New Zealand who woke up one morning and finding himself in a dilemma.

This shepherd had two mother sheep that were ready to give birth to their lambs. But each in its own way ended up with a misfortune. One of them had just given birth to its little lamb but shortly thereafter, the mother had contracted various problems and died, leaving this lamb without a mother to take care of it.

Then shortly thereafter, the other mother sheep gave birth to its own little lamb and rather than her developing complications, the little lamb ended up with problems and lost its life.

So all of a sudden the shepherd looked at that situation which he found himself. On the one hand, he had a kind of a “motherless” lamb. On the other hand, he had a “lambless” mother. The solution looked rather obvious, didn’t it? All the shepherd needed to do was to get this little lamb over to that mother, have it nursed this little one and give it strength and life.

But it’s not as simple as that, because every time he made an attempt to bring this little lamb over to that mother to be fed, the mother, smelling a different aroma on the body of this lamb sensing it wasn’t its own, would turn away and back off from it.

The shepherd came up with a genius plan. He went and found the dead body of the actual little lamb, took the skin off its body, formed a little coat and put it on this one that was still alive. And then he carried this little lamb over to this mother to be nursed. The mother was ready to back off, sensing it was not its own. But suddenly it smelled a different aroma, one that was familiar to it and began to nurse this little one.

Meaning of the Story

This story is a powerful little illustration but really points beyond itself to the predicament to which we find ourselves as human beings in a sense of alienation from God. Because of sin, man who used to have an intimate relationship with his Creator was alienated from God (Isaiah 59:2).

Without God, man’s destiny is hell. We can read this in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. But God who is love does not want anyone to perish (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9). So what did He do? He sent His only begotten Son to take upon Himself the penalty for our sins, to die on the cross so that everyone who believes will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

God is love but He is also holy and just. He will not just let sin slide and let man get away with it. God made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might bec0me the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

In theology this is called the “Doctrine of Justification.” Not only is Christ’s righteousness imputed to us through faith, but our sin is imputed to Christ. That is how Christ paid for our sin debt to God. By having the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, we can be seen as sinless, as Jesus is sinless.

In the same way that the little lamb was eventually cared for, love and nurtured by the mother lamb because it smelled the aroma of its own little lamb that died, we too can come to the Father. Because when God looks at us, He does not see us for who and what we are – sinful and unclean. Instead, He sees the holiness, perfection, and righteousness of Christ.

The True Meaning of Christmas

What then is Christmas all about?

A. Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Man sinned by deliberately disobeying God and so he deserves to be separated from God for all eternity. But because God is forgiving and merciful He made a way for man’s relationship with him to be restored. How? Through Christ!

We are forgiven because Jesus took upon Himself the penalty for our sins on the cross. Jesus gave His life; He shed His blood because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22 NIV). God did not only forgive us our sins, but He also reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). It’s important to emphasize that God initiated the reconciliation, not man.

This is what Christmas is all about. Jesus came so that our sins would be forgiven and be reconciled with God. What then should our response be? We must separate ourselves from the world. This is what it means to be holy (1 Peter 1:16). We are to share the love of God and the good news of salvation to everyone but we are not to conform to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2).

B. Love Demonstrated by Giving

You know what they say, “You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving.” God proved this to be true when He sent His Son to die on the cross, even when we were still in our sins so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (Romans 5:8; John 3:16). God gave first and He gave us the best gift; a gift that we did not deserve.

Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given …” We have to understand that Jesus as man has been born but as God, He existed eternally with the Father. And again, this verse tells us that God gave us Jesus Christ His Son, not because we asked Him to but because He knew exactly what we needed.

When Christmas comes, are you more focused on what you want to receive or on what you can give to God and your loved ones? There’s nothing wrong with exchanging gifts as part of the Christmas celebration. However, let us not forget that the true meaning of Christmas is love which is demonstrated in our giving. We should aim to be the giver, not the recipient.

C. Life (Physical, Spiritual & Eternal)

Can man live without God? Someone once said, “God without man is still God, but man without God is nothing.” And while we do not find this exact phrase in the Bible, this truth is explicitly stated in many places in Scriptures such as John 15:5, John 1:3 and Jeremiah 10:23 among others.

We are also familiar with the acronym CHRIST–IAN which means without CHRIST in my life I Am Nothing (I-A-N). What about those who continuously reject Christ, are they dead? Yes! They may be physically alive but they are spiritually dead and do not have eternal life.

We are all spiritually dead because of sin but the moment we receive God’s offer of salvation, our spirit gets regenerated or born again and we will receive eternal life. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Without God, we would have no life at all. There is no reality outside of Christ; no logic, no reason, and purpose for anything. But all these have changed because Christ came on that first Christmas eve.

D. Hope

It’s because of Christmas that we have hope. And unlike ordinary hope, the hope that we have in Christ does not disappoint (Romans 5:5). Why? Because biblical hope – the hope that is found in Christ – is a confident expectation of what God has promised and there is moral certainty in it because it is rooted in the faithfulness of God.

When God promises something, He is sure to fulfill it. God remains faithful to us even when we are unfaithful to Him because He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). The Bible says that faithfulness is part of God’s nature. Being faithful isn’t just part of what He does; it’s part of who He is.

Conclusion

So why should Christians celebrate Christmas? We celebrate this season for one reason and one reason only – Jesus Christ. We celebrate Christmas because a Savior has been born to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21).

Christmas is all about God coming in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life of obedience to the Father, set an example for us to follow, to suffer and die on the cross for our sins and to rise again to conquer death and hell, in order to set us free from the power of sin and death and to rescue and deliver us from the wrath of God and the judgment that is to be poured out upon all flesh on the earth in a future event known as the “Great Tribulation.”

If that is not enough reason to celebrate the Christmas season, I don’t know what is. What about you, do you celebrate Christmas? Why or why not?

Recommended Resource: Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ by Timothy Keller

From pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller comes the perfect gift for the Christmas holiday—a profoundly moving and intellectually provocative examination of the nativity story

Even people who are not practicing Christians think they are familiar with the story of the nativity. Every Christmas displays of Baby Jesus resting in a manger decorate lawns and churchyards, and songs about shepherds and angels fill the air.

Yet despite the abundance of these Christian references in popular culture, how many of us have examined the hard edges of this biblical story?

In his new book, Timothy Keller takes readers on an illuminating journey into the surprising background of the nativity.

By understanding the message of hope and salvation within the Bible’s account of Jesus’ birth, readers will experience the redeeming power of God’s grace in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Never Ever Doubt God’s Power

By Michael Heilman | December 8, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Bible Verse: Revelation 17:17 (KJV)

“For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”

Reflection and Challenge

God’s will is always done. Many Christians believe that people can thwart God’s will. That’s like saying we can lose our salvation because we sinned one time. We cannot thwart God’s power. He is in control.

It is true that Christians should be the preserving agent in the world today, but due to the fact that all people are sinners, our sinful nature will result in the destruction of humanity on earth. God must punish the world for rejecting Him.

Then the question is: “How will this come about?” Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus never changes. God’s methods are always the same. God’s will always happen even if the world thinks their actions benefit them. It is not possible that 10 godly kings would give their power to the Anti-Christ.

Revelation 17:17 definitely says, “For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill HIS will, and to agree.” They won’t even do it hesitantly. They will agree that it’s in their best interest. They think giving their power to the Anti-Christ will only hasten the end of the Great Tribulation and their destruction.

There is no beneficial reason to resist God’s will. It only ever leads to pain and suffering for you. God only promises a good ending for those that love Him and keep His commandments. If He does not have your heart, you can’t keep His word.

We all have a choice because we are responsible to suffer the consequences, but that does not mean God’s hands are tied. God always reserves the right to respond. Shouldn’t we all just follow His revealed will found in the Bible rather than hurting ourselves with sin? The choice is yours. How do you respond to His word?

The compound names of God and their meanings

The Names of God Reflected in Psalm 23

By Alice | October 4, 2018 | Comments 10 comments

The Old Testament gives us the many names of God and each one of them has its own meaning. But do you know that Psalm 23 reflects the compound names of Yahweh God (or Jehovah God), the covenant-making God of Israel?

Jehovah – Jireh

– means “The Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:14).

The name literally means “The Lord Who Sees,” or “The Lord Who Will See To It.” When we have a personal or special need, we long for the One who will provide. Jehovah-Jireh means the Lord who will see to it that all my needs and yours are met.

Jehovah-Jireh knows our every need because He sees. If the Lord was able to meet Abraham’s need by providing a ram caught in the thicket that was offered in place of Isaac, He’s also able to meet our needs in just the right time. The name Jehovah-Jireh assures us that our Heavenly Father is able to provide any need we have.

Jehovah – Shalom

– means “The Lord is peace” (Judges 6:24).

When Gideon thought that he would die because the Angel of the Lord visited him, God spoke to him and said, “Peace be with you; do not fear for you shall not die.” This made such a great impression on Gideon that he built an altar to the Lord and gave it the name “Jehovah Shalom” (Judges 6:22-24)

The Hebrew word “shalom” translated as “peace” does not only speak of the absence of noise, strife or conflict; it speaks of wholeness, completeness, soundness, and welfare (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance).

One of the many problems we encounter today is the problem of anxiety. Medical experts say that most major disorders of the mind are those related in some way to anxiety. In fact, people who suffer from chronic anxiety often end up physically ill.

True and ultimate peace is found in God alone, and this comes to us when we focus our lives on God and trust Him. Are you weary and troubled? Why not place your trust in Jehovah-Shalom and He will keep you in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3)?

Jehovah – Rapha

– means “The Lord who heals” (Exodus 15:26).

It was in the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites that God first revealed His name as Jehovah-Rapha. After crossing the Red Sea, Moses led them into the Wilderness of Shur where they went three days without water (Exodus 15:22). Apparently, the Lord was testing their faith.

Eventually, they came across the waters of Marah, but they could not drink them for they were bitter. So they complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we to drink?” Moses then cried to the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet (Exodus 15:23-25).

The Lord does not only heal waters, He heals people too. If the Lord was able to heal the waters at Marah so the Israelites could drink, He is also able to heal us from any disease. When we’re weak, Jehovah-Rapha will renew our strength, the same way He did for David (Psalm 23:3 NLT).

Living in a stressful and chaotic world, the name Jehovah-Rapha speaks to us and our needs today. Yes, we are confronted with new problems every day that often times our body just wants to give up and give in. But we can count upon the Lord to heal and renew our strength. Jehovah is the Great Physician who not only heals the physical and emotional needs of His people; He also heals their spiritual needs.

Jehovah – Tsidkenu

– means “The Lord is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16).

When the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were carried into captivity, it would seem that the promises of God would never be fulfilled. However, God spoke through Jeremiah of the day when a righteous king would return to set up His righteous kingdom on earth, and to reign and judge.

To call the Lord Jehovah-Tsidkenu is to say that all He does is righteous and He is the source of all that is righteous and good. This name applies not only to the Father but to Jesus as well. He is our Jehovah-Tsidkenu; He covers us with His righteousness that allows us to stand before His presence (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The Lord led David down the paths of righteousness during his reign as king and He will do the same for us if we allow Him to shepherd us. It is God’s desires for His children to live a righteous and sanctified life.

Jehovah – Shammah

– means “The Lord is there” (Ezekiel 48:35).

One of the purposes of the Millennial Kingdom is that God might fulfill His promises to His people. During this time, Israel will again trust the Lord, obey Him and worship in His Temple. And the city of Jerusalem will be given the name Jehovah-Shammah to indicate that the once-departed glory of the Lord had returned.

In Psalm 23, David relates that the Lord did not leave him in the dark valley. God stayed beside him and calmed his fears. In the same way, God promises the believers that He will always be there for them; that He will never leave them nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:5).

Jehovah – Nissi

– means “The Lord is my banner” (Exodus 17:15).

Only once does the name Jehovah-Nissi appear in the Bible, in Exodus 17:15. After the Israelites defeated the Amalekites, a powerful and warlike group of people, Moses built an altar to the Lord and named it Jehovah-Nissi.

Moses recognized that the Lord was Israel’s banner under which they defeated the Amalekites. For as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.

The revelation of the name Jehovah-Nissi has to do with warfare, and this warfare involved God’s very own. Christians today are involved in warfare; they war against the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:17), against principalities and rulers of this dark world (Ephesians 6:11-12).

The great news is, the Lord our banner desires to give us victory. But we need to maintain a healthy prayer life. We are involved in a spiritual battle every day and the way to fight these battles is to be prayerful at all times (1 Thessalonians 5:17). As quoted by a character in the movie “War Room,” Christians must fight their battles on their knees.

Jehovah – M’kaddesh (or Jehovah – Mekoddishkem)

– means ‘The Lord who makes you holy” or “The Lord who sanctifies you” (Leviticus 20:8).

The name Jehovah-M’kaddesh is used 7 times in three chapters in Leviticus, the book of life that explains how a people already been redeemed must walk and worship. God wanted the Israelites to consecrate themselves and be holy (Leviticus 20:7).

God’s requirement hasn’t changed; He demands holiness. Although we cannot be holy in and of ourselves, our Jehovah-M’kaddesh will sanctify us daily as we live for Him.

The anointing of oil symbolizes the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. The Holy Spirit not only empowers believers to live the victorious Christian life and equips them to be effective in their ministry, but He also enables them to live holy and sanctified lives.

*Related Article: Bible Study on Psalm 23

Conclusion

We learn in the Bible that names serve a variety of functions. Interestingly, God often changed the names of people in order for Him to use them more effectively for His own purpose. We also learn that God has several names, some of which are reflected in the contents of Psalm 23.

But why is it important for us to know God’s names and their meanings? Knowing the meaning of each name that God uses for Himself is important because they reveal to us an aspect of His character to help us get to know Him better.

What name or names of God in this Psalm do you most relate to? Please do share it by leaving your comments below.

Is God in Complete Control of Everything?

By Alice | August 10, 2018 | Comments 20 comments

One of the areas Christians often struggle with has to do with trusting God’s hand in every situation. When things do not happen the way we want them to, we immediately assume that God is silent. But the Bible assures us that God is in complete control of everything.

In theology, this doctrine is called “Divine Providence.” It is the means by which God directs all things – seen and unseen, good and evil, animate and inanimate – toward a worthy purpose. We may not always understand the reason behind every event that transpires in the world and in our lives personally and individually, but God wants us to trust Him because He always works things out for our good.

In just about every book in the Bible, we see God’s Providence at work. God has a hand in everything and He is never OUT OF CONTROL. We also see this taught in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

The verse says, “all things,” which means ALL things – whether good or bad. It may seem to us like evil is tearing the world apart, but if we look at it from God’s perspective, we realize that it is actually playing a secondary role for God to carry out His greater purpose. God allows things for a reason and His plan is always good.

God’s Providence in the Life of Joseph

The Joseph Narrative contained in Genesis chapters 37 and 39-50 is one of the best illustrations of God’s providence. When we read through these chapters, we see that Joseph is the central human character at nearly every point.

Who is Joseph? And how did God use every detail in his life to fulfill His plan? Joseph was the 11th among the 12 sons of Jacob, he was the first son of Jacob with Rachel, he had a younger brother named Benjamin and he was Jacob’s favorite and most loved among all his sons.

A. Joseph Sold by His brothers

Out of hatred, Joseph’s brothers conspired to kill him when he followed them to Shechem and into Dothan pasturing their flocks (Genesis 37:18-20). They hated Joseph for three reasons: 1) he reported to his father the bad things that they were doing (Genesis 37:2), 2) he was their father’s favorite son and made him a coat of many colors (Genesis 37:3-4), and 3) he told them his dreams of arrogant superiority (Genesis 37:6-8, 9-10).

“Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph – a beautiful robe.” – Genesis 37:3

God's Greater Purpose in the Life of Joseph — Photo Credits: Fox On Green

But God used Reuben, their eldest brother, to deliver him out of their hands (Genesis 37:21-22). Eventually, they sold him to the Ishmaelite traders for 20 shekels of silver (Genesis 37:28), who in turn sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard (Genesis 37:36).

B. Joseph Becomes Administrator

While in Egypt, Joseph worked for his master Potiphar and became a successful administrator. Why? Was it because he was smart and possessed extraordinary administrative skills? Not really!

The Bible clearly identifies the reason. Joseph succeeded in everything he did because the Lord was with him … the Lord was with Joseph (Genesis 39:2-3) and for Joseph’s sake, the Lord blessed Potiphar’s household and all that he had (Genesis 39:5).

Unfairly jailed, Joseph rose to inmate administrator (Genesis 39:19-20). Why? Again, the Bible leaves no doubt as to who is responsible for Joseph’s success. The Lord was with Joseph in the prison; He showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the warden, who put him in charge of all the other prisoners and everything that happened in the prison (Genesis 39:21-23).

“But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison … the Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” – Genesis 39:21, 23

The inspired narrator pointed to God as the One working things out for Joseph. It’s all God. God is in complete control of everything that‘s happening in the life of Joseph. Whatever managerial skills Joseph might have had clearly played a secondary role in God’s intervention in his life.

C. Joseph Interprets Two Dreams

When we read that Joseph was thrown into prison, we would think that it’s the end of the narrative. But God isn’t finished yet, not by a long shot. When Pharaoh’s chief cup bearer and chief baker who were put in prison by their master each had a dream, Joseph interpreted it for them. However, the chief cup bearer who was restored to his former position as Joseph predicted forgot all about him (Genesis 40:23).

D. Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

Two full years had passed when Pharaoh had two dreams that no one could interpret; not even the magicians and wise men of Egypt. And that was when the chief cup bearer remembered Joseph who was still in prison. He told Pharaoh about Joseph who interpreted his and the chief baker’s dreams.

Pharaoh sent for Joseph and asked for the interpretation of his two dreams, which are about the 7 years of plenty that are about to come followed by 7 years of famine. Because of the wisdom that God gave Joseph to interpret his dreams, Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over all Egypt, second in rank to him.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” – Genesis 41:41

During the 7 years of prosperity, Joseph gathered and stored an immeasurable amount of grain in Egypt. So when the 7 years of famine began, people all around the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph.

E. Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

While in Canaan, Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt. So he sent his sons, except Benjamin, to Egypt to buy grain. After 13 years, Joseph came face to face with his brothers once again. But they did not recognize him.

After several trips to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers settled there. Their father Jacob also went to Egypt, along with all his descendants, livestock and goods, and they all settled in Goshen.

God’s Greater Purpose in the Life of Joseph

The entire process of Joseph’s fall and rise to power was God’s doing. His release from prison because of his God-given interpretation skills, his exaltation to power and the opportunity to help his family during the famine all point to God’s providence.

The focus in the narrative was on God, and He can accomplish what He wills. Even the evil intent of Joseph’s brothers toward him was used by God to fulfill His purpose. As he said to his brothers, “Am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:19-20).

The chain of events that took place was part of God’s bigger plan for Israel as a nation. God sent Joseph to Egypt ahead of his family in order to make way for the preservation of the Canaanites and Egyptians together with them during the time of famine. How did God get Joseph to Egypt? By allowing his brothers the freedom to sin.

As it turned out, Egypt was where God built up and multiplied His people. God prepared them there for the exodus and conquest that He would use to give them the land that He promised to Abraham – the land that’s flowing with milk and honey: Canaan.

Conclusion

God is in control of everything. In the same way that God worked in the life of Joseph, and used even his mistakes and allowed him to experience misfortunes in order to accomplish His purpose, God is also working in the life of every believer who loves Him to carry out His will.

Whatever you’re going through, know that God will use them all for your own good. He can even turn the bad things into blessings for you. God called all believers for a purpose and He will accomplish it. We can make many plans but in the end, it’s the Lord’s purpose that will prevail (Proverbs 19:21).

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission when you use any links on this page to make a purchase, but at no additional cost to you.

Recommended Resource: Joseph the Dreamer: Insights from the Life of a Favorite Son by John Eckhardt

See the life of Joseph in a different light!

In this character study, John Eckhardt examines the uplifting life of Joseph, the dreamer. Many know of his plight and coat of many colors, but few know how his life shares multiple similarities with Jacob and Jesus.

Jealousy, betrayal and lies put Joseph in the lowest of all places before favor brought him to rule over Egypt. Through slavery and prison his story emphasizes how forgiveness & integrity will lead you to your destiny.

Joseph’s story is one of the most compelling in scripture and we can all learn from this great man!

The difference between the soul and spirit

Man: A Tripartite Being with Body, Soul and Spirit

By Alice | May 3, 2018 | Comments 19 comments

How many parts are there to a man? The Bible says that man consists of three component parts: body, soul and spirit. Man is a triune being because he is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), who Himself is a Trinity. But what is the difference between the body, soul and spirit?

The view that man is made of three parts is called “trichotomy.” But there is an idea also that prevails largely today that man consists of only two component parts: namely, body and soul/spirit (dichotomy). They say that “spirit” is not a separate part of man, but simply another term for “soul”, and that both terms are used interchangeably in Scripture to talk about the immaterial part of man, the part that lives on after our bodies die.

Those who hold to this view argue that Scripture uses the word spirit (Hebrew rûach, and Greek pneuma) more frequently when referring to our relationship to God, but the use of such is not uniform, and the word “soul” is also used in all the ways that spirit can be used.

But this view has often caused confusion in the minds of Christians. While soul and spirit are so closely related that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish accurately between them, the Bible makes it clear that they are not the same; they’re divisible.

The Origin of Man

The Bible says that God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27); but this does not mean physical likeness because God is Spirit (John 4:24). Being in the image of God refers to our personality, conscience, intelligence, awareness of right and wrong, etc.

We are individual and moral creatures capable of loving, sacrifice, doing good deeds and many more, because we were created in the image of God.

If Genesis 1:26-27 records the fact chronologically that man was created on the 6th day, Genesis 2:7 tells us how it was done. It says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

The three parts of man are referred to in this verse: the body of man which is made of the dust of the ground, the spirit breathed into man’s nostrils by the LORD God and the soul which is the union of the other two.

Man is a Tripartite Being

There are two passages from the Bible that clearly establish the fact that man has three parts.

A. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This verse clearly states that man has three separate, distinct parts; the distinction maybe slight but they exist nevertheless.

B. Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Although some people teach that the soul and spirit are two words that mean the same thing, this verse definitely tells us that they are divisible. While it’s true that the terms soul and spirit are used interchangeably in Scriptures, there are other passages where this is impossible.

The Body

This is the part of man which we are most familiar with – the physical part. Everything physical is our body and it is the part of us that decays over time and will eventually cease to exist and function when we die.

The Bible tells us that our body – our flesh and bones, was made of the dust of the ground. Did you know that dust contains 96 elements which are the same elements found in man? What a wonderful proof of creation!

Some of these 96 elements include: calcium, carbon, chlorine, fluorine, hydrogen, iodine, iron, magnesium, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, potassium, silicon and sodium. The body of man also has five senses: hearing, taste, sight, smell and touch. All pain, sensation or ability is expressed in and through the physical body.

After the fall, God in pronouncing curse upon man says, “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

And after the fall, the body became a dying, death-doomed body. Ever since man fell into sin in the Garden of Eden, every man born has an appointment with death (Hebrews 9:27).

The Soul

The Hebrew term for soul is “nephesh” and it is found more than 780 times in the Old Testament. We read in Genesis 2:27 that man not only has a living soul; he is a living soul. It is the immaterial part of man midway between the body and the spirit, yet it is not a mixture of the two, though at times it seems to take on characteristics of one or the other.

The soul is self-consciousness; it stands for the individual, personal life. The ingredients which make us human beings belong to the soul. The intellect, thought, ideals, love, emotion, understanding, decision, choice and other like qualities are all associated with the soul. In other words, the soul is also the seat of all affections and Satan knows this very well that is why he operates making his appeal to the affections and emotions of man.

*Read here how to love the Lord with all your soul: The Greatest Commandment of God

It is the soul of man that Jesus died to redeem on the cross (Hebrews 10:39; Psalm 49:8). But the soul is never directed towards God until after the spirit has become regenerated. Man is not able to love God or the things of God until he is born from above.

Man’s desires and affections are turned toward God when he realizes his sinful condition and accepts God’s gift of salvation. But even though we have died to sin and been raised to life through Christ, our souls still need to be transformed and purified by the washing of the word (Ephesians 5:26).

Unlike the body, the soul cannot be destroyed by physical death but lives on beyond the grave. The soul does not die when the body dies because Jesus said to not fear those who can kill the body, but rather fear Him (God) who can destroy both body and soul in hell (Matthew 10:28).

The Spirit

John 4:24 says that “God is Spirit” and the spirit of man is the part that resembles God most. This is manifested in our assurance of salvation when it says in Romans 8:16 that “the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.”

It is the spirit that gives man the ability to have an intimate relationship with God; it is that part of us that is enabled by God to know and worship Him. The spirit of man is what gets born again or regenerated. Just as the soul is the sphere of activity where Satan operates, the spirit of man is the sphere of activity where the Holy Spirit operates in regeneration.

When we become new creations, it is in our spirit that the Spirit of God comes to reside. Man in his unregenerate state does not understand the things of God because the spirit of man is limited to the things of man (1 Corinthians 2:14). The spirit of the unregenerate man has no more capacity to appreciate the things of God than a dog has to appreciate holy things (Matthew 7:6).

Conclusion

God created a tripartite being to love the Lord and to enjoy life and nature. Man was made for God; the spirit of man was made to commune with God.

As we prepare for the day of resurrection when our component parts will be reunited and we will stand before the Judge, let us continue in the process of renewing our minds and transforming our souls to line up more and more with the Spirit of God that is working in us.

Let us then put more effort to learn what the Bible really says about who we are in Christ once we’re born again and live according to the will of Him who called us.

Understanding the Personality of the Holy Spirit

By Alice | February 24, 2018 | Comments 10 comments

While it is a fundamental revelation that the Holy Spirit is a Person, there have been a lot of misconceptions about the Holy Spirit. The personality of the Holy Spirit has been misunderstood, attacked and reduced to merely an inanimate force such as electricity which is very powerful but completely devoid of any sort of life, or Divine life.

As a Bible-believing Christian, I believe that the Holy Spirit is a living Person, for He can be approached or shunned, trusted or doubted, loved or hated, adored or insulted. The Bible makes it very clear that the Holy Spirit is a Person, in the sense that the Father is a Person and the Son is a Person.

The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and Son to indwell and guide believers and being God, He is equal to and in no way inferior to the other two.

An Encounter with Young JW’s

One Saturday morning while I was writing an article about John 3:16 as it relates to the doctrine of salvation, a group of young Jehovah’s Witnesses came knocking at our door to give us a copy of their latest Watchtower Magazine.

I really had no intention of inviting them in for sharing or discussion, but seeing how young they were (one of them just completed a college degree while the other two are still in school) made me curious to know how prepared they really are to defend what they believe in case somebody would try to challenge them.

Since the cover of the Watchtower magazine is about the greatest gift one could ever receive, I asked them what the best gift they’ve received so far was. To be honest, I was a bit surprised when they said that the greatest gift they have received was Jesus Christ, who was sent by the Father.

I then took that as a sign to dive right in on the topic of the Trinity. According to them, Jesus is the Son of God but He’s not God. Then I asked what they believe about the Holy Spirit. As expected, they said that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force through which God does His works.

Proofs from Scripture that the Holy Spirit is a Person

So why do I believe that the Holy Spirit is a person?

1) The Bible uses personal pronouns in referring to the Holy Spirit.

In the Greek language the pronoun for “spirit” is ordinarily in the neuter gender. However, in several instances such as in John 15:26, John 16:7-8 and John 16:13-15, the Greek masculine pronoun He ( “skeinos”) is used for the Holy Spirit 12 times.

The same use of the masculine may be observed in the use of the relative pronouns in Ephesians 1:13-14, and in such a connection and supporting the thought of personality. The use of personal pronouns in relation to the Holy Spirit in Scripture is sufficiently frequent to justify a conclusion that He is a Person.

“He is introduced as a person so often, not merely in poetic or excited discourse, but in simple narrative, and in didactic instructions; and his personality is sustained by so many collateral proofs, that to explain the use of the personal pronouns in relation to him on the principle of personification, is to do violence to all the rules of interpretation.” – Charles Hodges

2) The Holy Spirit is a person for He possesses certain personal characteristics.

All the distinctive characteristics of personality, knowledge, feeling, and will, are ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the Bible. When we say that the Holy Spirit is a person, we’re not saying that He’s human like us with a physical form; having hands, feet, eyes, nose, and so on.

When we say that the Holy Spirit is a person, we mean that He is not merely an influence or power that God sends into our lives but that He is a being who knows, feels, and wills; for anyone who has these three characteristics is a person.

“If you deny the Trinity, you’ll lose your soul. If you try to explain the Trinity, you’ll lose your mind.” – Augustine

During our Bible sharing and discussion on Facebook regarding the doctrine of the Trinity, I was trying to explain that the concept of “God as one in being and three in person” is not a contradiction, when a Unitarian accused me of reducing God’s nature into a mere human by saying that He is a Person. Needless to say, I was shocked!

a) Knowledge

In 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, knowledge is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not just some kind of illumination that comes into our minds, but He is a Being who knows the deep things of God and who teaches us what He Himself knows.

b) Feelings

Love is ascribed to the Holy Spirit in Romans 15:30. The Holy Spirit is a person who loves as tenderly in the same way that the Father and the Son Jesus Christ do. Sadly, while we think of the love of the Father and the love of Christ every day of our lives, only a few of us meditate upon the love of the Spirit.

“Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me.” – Romans 15:30

We kneel down every day looking up into the face of the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, thanking them for their great love. But how often do we kneel down and thank the Holy Spirit, considering that we owe our salvation not only to the love of the Father and the love of the Son but also to the love of the Spirit?

The Holy Spirit does not only love but can also be grieved (Isaiah 63:10 & Ephesians 4:30). The Holy Spirit is a person who not only dwells in our hearts to observe all that we say, do and think but He is a person who is grieved by anything we think, do and say that is impure, selfish or evil in any way.

We also read in Matthew 12:31-32 that the Holy Spirit can be blasphemed. Only a person can be blasphemed; you cannot blaspheme an influence or power. We are told further that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin.

c) Mind and Will

Mind is ascribed to the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:27. The word translated as “mind” here is a comprehensive word that includes the ideas of feeling, thought, and purpose.

We also read in 1 Corinthians 12:11 that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person who uses us according to His will; He is not a mere influence or power which we are to use according to our wills.

“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” – 1 Corinthians 12:11

* Furthermore, the Holy Spirit can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29), lied to (Acts 5:3) and blasphemed (Matthew 12: 31-32).

* The Holy Spirit is a person because He thinks, feels, purposes, knows, wills, loves, and grieves. He is certainly not merely an influence, for He has the abilities of intelligence and emotions which are foreign to inanimate objects.

3) The Holy Spirit does things that only a person can do.

a) Teaches

We read in John 14:26 & John 16:12-14 that the Holy Spirit, who is called the Spirit of truth, teaches and guides the believer into all truths. In these passages, the Holy Spirit is set forth as a teacher of the truth who personally comes to us to teach us the truth, not a mere illumination that enables our mind to see the truth.

b) Guides

The Holy Spirit is represented in Romans 8:14 as our personal guide who takes us by the hand to direct and lead us into doing things that are pleasing to God. In Acts 16:6-7, we see the Holy Spirit taking command of the life and conduct of a servant of Jesus Christ when He did not permit Paul and his companions to preach in Asia and Bithyna. We also see the Holy Spirit calling men to work and appointing them to office in Acts 13:2 and Acts 20:28.

c) Comforts

We are told in John 14:16-17 that the Holy Spirit is to be “another Comforter” who would take the place of our Savior Jesus Christ who has gone back to be with the Father. The word translated “comforter” means so much more than just the word itself and that is why the revisers found a great deal of difficulty in translating the Greek word.

The Greek word “parakleetos” means one who stands by your side as your helper, counselor, comforter, and friend. Jesus, Himself had been the parakleetos to His disciples; the one who stood by their side

“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” – John 14:18

When Jesus was about to leave the disciples, He said that He would not leave them orphaned (John 14:18), but that He would pray to the Father to send them another Comforter to take His place. It wouldn’t have made sense for Jesus to say this if the One who was going to take His place was only an influence or power and not a person.

Conclusion

The Scriptures make it plain that the Holy Spirit is a Person. I honestly think that most of us believe this. But do we really treat Him as a person in our real thoughts and in our practical attitude toward Him? Do we regard Him as a real person as Jesus Christ, worthy of our love, adoration, and surrender? Do we constantly walk in conscious fellowship with Him?

Understanding the doctrine of the personality of the Holy Spirit is of the highest importance because if we think of the Holy Spirit only as an impersonal power or influence, we will be constantly thinking about how to get hold of and use Him. But if we acknowledge the Holy Spirit as a divine Person, we will be constantly thinking about how He can get hold of and use us.

The Holy Spirit not only walks by our side every moment of every day; He dwells in our hearts and lives and is always ready to take complete possession of our lives. Being fully submitted and surrendered to the Holy Spirit is the secret of a real Christian life, a life of fullness, joy, power, and liberty.

Recommended Resource:

Understanding the Personality of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit’s Work in You

By Fuchsia Pickett

Dr. Fuchsia Pickett reveals the character of the Holy Spirit in understandable language. He is here to take possession of you and to work out God’s plan and predestined will in you, for you, and through you. Learn to acknowledge the Person of the Holy Spirit and thank Him for His love. (128 pages)

God’s Natural and Moral Attributes

By Alice | November 16, 2017 | Comments 22 comments

One day, my friend asked me if it’s possible for someone who willfully rejects God to be forgiven of his sins and be welcomed into heaven when he repents and receives Christ as Lord and Savior on his deathbed. If a person keeps putting off surrendering his life to God because he thinks he has all the time to do that a few seconds before his death, will God forgive him when he asks?

I said, “Yes, as long as he is sincere, God will forgive him and will welcome him into heaven.” This is because of the very nature of God, His character that is constant. God is a loving, forgiving, and merciful God and He will never change regardless of who or what we are. The only problem I see in this scenario is that, what if that person won’t get the chance to repent and dies instantly?

Attribute

An attribute refers to the quality, property, or unique characteristic of something. When we speak of God’s attributes, we are talking about those characteristics that help us to understand who He truly is. God’s natural and moral attributes are the inherent characteristics that are closely associated with or belonging to Him.

A. God’s Natural Attributes

These are those permanent qualities that belong to His nature; those qualities without which He would not be God.

1) Eternity – God is eternal.

To be the true God He must have neither beginning nor end. Even before this world came into existence, God has existed from time everlasting (Psalm 90:2); He is above the conditions of time and space. As an absolute self-existent being, He sustains no such relations to time and space as those sustained by every finite being.

To God, there is no time, past, present, or future while we all exist under relations of time and our existence passes through successive moments. What to us is eternity, past and present, is the same to God. The eternal attribute of God is explained in His self-existence; He never began to be, and He never can cease to be.

2) Immutability – God is unchangeable.

God is so constituted that He cannot change; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Psalm 102:25-27; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). While all creatures change, God is perpetually the same. God has never been changed in His essence, not even in His incarnation. God remains everlastingly, eternally, the one unchanging God.

God’s immutability is so vitally important because it is this attribute that enables us to depend on God to be God. It is because of God’s unchanging nature that we can be certain of all His promises. We are assured as we lie down at night and wake up in the morning that God loves us and His mercy endures forever.

3) Omnipotence – God is all-powerful.

Power is certainly an attribute of God; to lack this attribute, He could not be God. God is omnipotent in creation (Genesis 1:1-3; Isaiah 44:24), omnipotent in salvation (Jude 24-25), and omnipotent in the resurrection (John 10:17-18).

But it is important to note that although God has the power to do anything, He cannot do anything that is contrary to His nature. For instance, God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). God can do anything according to His infinite ability but will do only those things that are consistent with Himself and that is why He cannot lie and tolerate sin.

4) Omnipresence – God is present everywhere at once.

The Bible teaches that in every place in the universe God is present; He is not limited by space (Psalm 139:7-9). There is no place in the universe that is away from God’s presence.

How can God be in more than one place at a time? God is a spirit (John 4:24) and is not limited by time and space. While it is true that God is in all space, His existence does not occupy or fill space in the sense of excluding anything from it, nor in such a sense that its existence is a condition of His existence.

The fact that God is present everywhere is a source of comfort for all believers because wherever the believer goes, he finds himself in the protection of God’s presence. We may experience God’s presence at any time and at any place because He has promised to be with us always (Isaiah 43:2; Hebrews 13:5).

5) Omniscience – God is all-knowing.

Omniscience means the actual and necessary knowledge of all objects, actual or possible. Omniscience is intended for infinite knowledge. When we say that omniscience is a natural attribute of God, it means that God does not obtain knowledge by study, reflection or experience, or that He obtains knowledge at all; but that all knowledge is absolutely necessary to Him.

The Bible is pretty clear that God knows everything, He searches all hearts and understands every intent of our thoughts (1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalm 94:11). What a comfort that God knows everything about us and had a plan for our lives even before we were born. God does not only know our past but He knows all about our future.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission when you use any links on this page to make a purchase, but at no additional cost to you.

Recommended Resource:

God, Himself: A Journey Through His Attributes by Tony Evans

How often do we stop to consider who the God is that we worship?

When we draw near and learn more about this God, we become amazed at who He truly is. Join Tony Evans as he dives into the character of our awesome God—one attribute at a time.

In God, Himself, we are invited, with unveiled faces, to behold the glory of the Lord—just as the Apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians to do.

Dr. Evans offers insights about the character of God that will challenge you to pursue greater intimacy with Him and help you understand more fully what it means to be made in His image.

For after all, as image-bearers knowing who He is defines who we are.

You’ll learn about attributes like God’s wisdom and word, His sufficiency, and sovereignty, and His goodness, grace, and glory that make Him the great God that He is.

Dr. Evans also includes activities and challenges to help you know how to both process and respond to learning about God. Find your heart encouraged and your worship enriched as you learn about the beautiful nature of our God, the source of all goodness and life.

B. God’s Moral Attributes

These are sometimes described as the communicable attributes of God. It means something corresponding to them is to be found in men and women.

1) Holiness – God’s holiness primarily means that He is separated from sin.

God, Himself is the Most Holy One (Isaiah 6:3; Psalm 99:3, 5, 9; 22:3). To be holy means to be free from all defilement and to be pure. The Bible teaches that God is holy, and a part of the manifestation of this holiness is His hatred of sin and His separation from sin, from the sinner, and from all that is evil.

God’s holiness provides the pattern for His people to follow. He commands us to be holy because He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). As new covenant believers, we are to strive for holiness because without it we cannot see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). We are also exhorted to be separate from the dominating influence that comes from close association with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) and to grow in holiness.

2) Love – God is not full of love but He Himself is love.

This attribute of God shows that it is part of His nature to give Himself in order to bring about blessing or good for others. The love of God is manifested toward the Son and all believers in particular. God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

We imitate this communicable attribute of God by first loving Him in return and secondly by loving others the way God loves them (Matthew 22:37-38). We love God by obeying His commandments and doing what pleases Him (1 John 5:3), and we will do this because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

3) Faithfulness (Truthfulness)

To be faithful means to be safely trusted, reliable and dependable. God is faithful for He is honest and never changes, He will always do what He has said and fulfill what He has promised (Numbers 23:19; 2 Samuel 7:28).

God can be relied upon and He will never prove unfaithful to those who trust what He has said. Every word of God proves true (Proverbs 30:5; John 17:17). God’s word is truth in the sense that they are the final standard by which truthfulness is to be judged. Whatever conforms to God’s word is true and what fails to conform to His word is not true.

We can imitate God’s faithfulness by striving to have true knowledge about God and by allowing the Scriptures to guide us in our observation and interpretation of the natural world. As God’s children, we are to imitate God’s truthfulness in our reaction to truth and falsehood. Like God, we should love the truth and hate falsehood.

4) Goodness – this can be understood to mean “worthy of approval.”

Luke 18:19 says, “No one is good but God alone” which makes God the final standard of good. God is the source of all good in the world (James 1:17). The Bible says that God only does good things for His children (Psalm 84:11) and His goodness is closely related to several other characteristics of His nature such as love, mercy, patience, and grace.

By doing only good things, that is, those that God approves, we are imitating God’s moral attribute of goodness. As we have the opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:10).

Moreover, when we realize that God is the definition and source of all good, we will come to realize that God Himself is the ultimate good that we seek (Psalm 73:25-26).

5) Peace – God’s peace is His actions characterized by order and not confusion.

Since God Himself is the God of peace, those who walk with the Lord have peace (Romans 15:33; 1 Thessalonians 5:23), but those who walk in wickedness do not have peace (Isaiah 48:22; Isaiah 57:21). Paul also lists peace as the third element of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

“God’s peace means that in God’s being and in His actions He is separate from all confusion and disorder and yet He is continually active in innumerable, well-ordered, fully controlled, simultaneous actions.” – Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology

When we truly understand God’s peace, we can imitate this attribute of God not only as part of the fruit of the Spirit but also as it relates to self-control. The more we draw closer to God the more of His peace we can enjoy.

6) Righteousness and Justice

These are the qualities of God in which He always does what is right because He is incapable of doing anything which is wrong. Righteousness and justice are the carrying out of God’s holiness and the expression of it in the government of the world.

Christ’s death to pay the penalty for our sins showed that God was truly righteous. God’s righteousness and justice are manifested not only in His wrath when He punishes the wicked and demands justice for sin but also when He keeps His words and fulfills all His promises.

Again, whatever conforms to God’s moral character is right because God is the final standard of righteousness. There can be no standard outside of God by which justice and righteousness are measured. We imitate the righteousness of God by not seeking to find revenge against those who sin against us (Romans 12:17-21).

Instead, let us suffer the injustice of men so that God might bring our enemies to repentance and salvation.

Conclusion

God is a balanced being. God is loving, holy, merciful, yet just and righteous. God’s love allows Him to forgive sin and show mercy to a repentant sinner. But the holiness and justice of God demand that sin must be punished to the full extent of the law.

So how can God be loving and just at the same time? How can He at the same time both be merciful and just to a guilty sinner? The answer can only be found in Calvary. Calvary was the expression of both the wrath of God against sin and the mercy of God toward the guilty sinner.

Do You Need to be Baptized in Order to be Saved?

By Alice | November 4, 2017 | Comments 8 comments

Water baptism is an important topic that often arouses much controversy and confusion. Many Christians around the world are asking whether or not water baptism is necessary for salvation. Do you need to be baptized in order to be saved? Some say that baptism is a requirement for salvation while others say it is not. But what does the Bible teach?

What is Water Baptism?

Baptism comes from the Greek word “baptizo,” which comes from bapto, meaning “to dip,” “to immerse,” “to plunge under” or “to change the identification of.” Among the Greeks, when a piece of white cloth was to be dyed, it was plunged under the colored liquid until changed into the color of the dye.

The idea of identification is central to the meaning of baptism because when an object is dipped or immersed, it becomes totally identified with the substance in which it was placed. When John the Baptist baptized Jesus, he publicly identified Him who was sinless with sinners in anticipation of His death and resurrection as their sin-bearer. Jesus referred to His own impending death as a “baptism” which He had to undergo (Mark 10:38-39; Luke 12:50).

Did you know that the rite of baptism was a ritual in the Jewish culture from the beginning? Ceremonial washing of priests and the dipping of temple utensils into water was part of the law. For instance, before a priest takes his office as priest, he is first baptized in order to dedicate and identify him in his position. The baptism of the priest set him apart to take part in the temple and worship sacrifices while the baptism of the utensils set them apart for a specific use in worship.

In the same way, the baptism of John the Baptist was an Old Testament economy baptism which only signified the participant’s willingness to confess his sin. John’s baptism was not for salvation because when the Jews came to him, the Lord Jesus had not yet paid the price for sin. John the Baptist’s baptism was for repentance (Acts 19:4).

Does Water Baptism Save?

Although there are some verses that seem to indicate the necessity of water baptism in salvation, the Bible clearly tells us that salvation is a gift that is received by grace through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ; no external act is necessary for salvation because it is only by divine grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:22-30; Galatians 2:16; Philippians 3:9).

If we are saved by faith, then we are saved by faith when we believe and not when we get baptized. Otherwise, we are not saved by faith. To require anything else in addition to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation is a works-based salvation. It’s like saying that Jesus’ death on the cross was not sufficient to purchase our salvation.

If baptism is necessary for salvation then anyone who receives Christ on his deathbed and who confesses Jesus as Lord and Savior of his life would go to hell if he doesn’t get baptized before he died. And also all babies who die go to hell since they weren’t baptized. Because when we say that baptism is necessary, there can be no exceptions – otherwise it isn’t necessary.

To say that one needs to be baptized in order to be saved is to say we must add our own good works and obedience to Christ’s death in order to make it sufficient for salvation. So how do we deal with some verses that seem to indicate that baptism is necessary for salvation?

The Necessity of Water Baptism in Salvation

There is a belief that’s been going around for quite some time now which teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation; it’s called “baptismal regeneration.” Those who hold to this view are quick to quote 1 Peter 3:21 (NIV) as proof text because it says, “baptism that now saves you.” But is this really what Peter was saying? If this were so then Peter would be contradicting many scripture passages that show people being saved prior to being baptized or without being baptized at all.

A closer look at 1 Peter 3:21 shows that Peter is not actually saying that water baptism saves. He says, “Not the removal of dirt from the body, but an appeal to God for a clear conscience.” Water can only remove dirt from the flesh but it is the blood of Christ which removes the filth from our hearts because, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

The apostle Paul in Titus 3:5 seem to be saying that God saves us through the washing of regeneration, but in the immediately preceding words he says that “God saved us not by the works of righteousness we have done.” How can Paul say something contrary to what he just said earlier in the same verse?

The New Testament On Water Baptism

If everyone who comes to Christ must be baptized in order to be saved, we would expect to find it stressed whenever the Gospel is presented in Scripture. But that is not the case. The apostle Paul never made water baptism any part of his Gospel presentation. Paul gives a concise summary of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and there is no mention of baptism.

Paul even said in 1 Corinthians 1:17 that “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel.” (It is important to note that Paul only baptized a few.) If baptism is part of the Gospel and is necessary for salvation, Paul would have made it a central theme of his ministry. If one needs to be baptized in order to be saved, why didn’t Paul baptize every one of those who received the Gospel message?

What good would it have done for Paul to preach the Gospel but not baptized? No one would have been saved! Clearly, Paul understood that water baptism is separate from the Gospel, and hence in no way efficacious for salvation.

What about Peter? Yes, Peter mentioned baptism in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38). But when he spoke from Solomon’s portico in the Temple, he made no reference to baptism (Acts 3:12-16). Instead, he linked the forgiveness of sin to repentance (Acts 3:19).

Mark 16:16 is another verse that is often quoted to prove the necessity of baptism in salvation. Aside from the fact that many textual scholars think that Mark 16:9-20 are not an authentic part of Mark’s Gospel, verse 16 is actually a proof of the opposite.

Reading the verse more carefully, one should notice that the basis for condemnation is not the failure to be baptized, but only the failure to believe. Baptism is mentioned in the first part of the verse because it was the outward symbol that always accompanied the inward belief. Water baptism is certainly important and required of every believer. However, the New Testament does not teach that baptism is necessary for salvation.

Conclusion

Sixteen years ago today I was water baptized, four months after I got saved. Did I have to be baptized in order to be saved? No! And you don’t either. Saying that we need to be baptized in order to be saved is dangerous because it is saying there is something we must do to complete our salvation. We cannot rest our hope of salvation on something that we can do for ourselves. We must recognize our need of a Savior and accept the Lord Jesus’ finished work for our redemption.

If water baptism were not necessary for salvation, why then would one be baptized? Baptism is the symbol of what has already occurred in the heart and life of one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an important step of obedience that every Christian should take as an act of testimony to others and a public declaration of the reality of our personal identification with Christ.

Scripture is also clear that genuine saving faith results in obedience. Thus, every true believer who has opportunity will be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is the result of salvation, not the means to it.

If you have a different understanding, I encourage you to study the Bible for yourself to see what it really teaches about water baptism and salvation. We must rely on Scripture alone as our authoritative standard, not Church tradition.

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