IT IS BECAUSE OF HIM - PART 6

SATURDAY 23 MARCH 2024

Hebrews 12:14 reads, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (NKJV). Beloved, Jesus suffered and died on the cross to make His people holy by means of His own blood. Therefore work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. More below!

Reference: 1st Corinthians 1:30 Berean Standard Bible (BSB)

"It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption."

The Bible says, "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV). From this Scripture, it is quite clear, that Christ in human flesh, did not entertain sinful pleasures, meaning that He functioned from a complete state of holiness, but the rest of mankind have been most prone to sensual manifestations, fleshly desires or to spiritual wickedness due to Adamic nature. In fact all men, being naturally born as the children of disobedience on account of Adamic nature, are by such nature, children of wrath. But because of God...

This is exactly what Paul expressed in the Scriptural passage below:

You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience. We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:1-5 World English Bible).

I'm still on exposition of the dimension of wisdom, by which Christ became our holiness. Firstly, He conquered sin in the flesh while He walked the earth realm. Secondly, He died for mankind and conquered the sinful nature, the Devil and the kingdom of darkness, as a man without sin, meaning that He prevailed over all by the efficacy of holy living.

On the cross, He became sin for us. Why? We were dead in sin and needed to be raised up together with Him from spiritual death. So the "raising up" followed the quickening of Jesus in the tomb, which represents the grave of our sins. Got it? And by the virtue of Christ's resurrection, we now partake of His triumphs, having been called to live a holy life in Him.

To that effect, Pauline epistolary dictates stated:

"For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time - to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. And now He has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Saviour. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News" (2 Timothy 1:9-10 NLT).

The meaning of the whole passage is that firstly, we were saved, and secondly, we were introduced to a holy living by being united to Christ. Having died with Him, been buried with Him and raised with Him, we now live with Him in the heavenly realms of glory as those who have become alive to God (read Romans 6:1-22 NIV).

Now this is what we are experiencing as our happenings in Christ: The effect of being quickened by His power is holy living. It is God's purpose, to which He called and prepared us, by blessing us with the knowledge of His will, and granting us the gift of Holy Spirit, who now produces a continuous transformation in our Christian character, words and actions, such that our way of life and conversations glorify God as we perfect in holiness (Romans 15:16; 1 Corinthians 1:2). Got it?

All of these are the provisions of salvation, the free gift of God, meaning that it is because of God. Hallelujah! Stay tuned for part 7. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Proverbs 4:24-27;  Matthew 5:48; Luke 3:8; Acts 26:18. 

Exuberant Declaration:

On earth, I am exalted to the realm of honour, dominion and glory to live a holy life and I partake of Christ's overwhelming triumph by exercising my faith in Christ Jesus. Blessed be God!