If Ye then be Risen with Christ - Now We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the Children of Promise

• Isaac is Abraham’s “Only Begotten” Son - In Gen 22:1-2 we learn about how God tested Abraham with regard to his son, Isaac: “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of”. In order to appreciate the significance of this severe test, we must consider what led up to this. Many years before, God had promised a son to Abraham and Sarah. We know from the Bible that Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born – a result of Sarah giving her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, to Abraham in the hope of achieving conception, which did take place. However, when Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah was 90, God informed them in Gen 17:21, “But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year”. That was just as God had indicated to them initially. The reason God did this was to show that his salvation program would be established through the son of promise (pointing spiritually to Jesus Christ as the Savior) and not by the son after the flesh – a picture of salvation by works as we learn from Gal 4:22-23: “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants”. The Bible also highlights the fact that Isaac was indeed a gift – a “miracle baby”, if you will – as Rom 4:19-21 teaches: “And being not weak in faith, he [Abraham] considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he [God] had promised, he was able also to perform”. But, now God is telling Abraham to take this son of promise, Isaac, and kill him! Notice how quickly Abraham obeys God’s command in Gen 22:3-5.

Gen 17:16-21 “And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed [pointing to the Seed, the Lord Jesus] after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.”

Gen 22:3-5 “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him... And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Gen 22:9-14 “And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh [LORD will provide]: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.”

• Jesus Christ is the “Only Begotten Son” of the Father - In the Genesis 22 account we find the following three verses with the phrase “thy son, thine only” that relates to Isaac, whom Abraham “offered up” as a sacrifice to God. God’s testing of Abraham’s faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah in this beautiful historical parable is to emphasize the point that God’s love is an important aspect of His salvation program as we see in 1 John 4:9: “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” The term “only begotten” is translated from the compound Greek word monogenes (G3439). The first part of the word, mono, is not a problem because it means “only” and Jesus Christ is the only Son of God. The second part of the word “begotten”, genes, which means “to come into being”, “to beget” or “to be born”. It is a word that has to do with a beginning, and that makes it a very problematical word when applied to the Lord Jesus. After all, He is Jehovah God (Isa 9:6), Who is from everlasting to everlasting – that is, He has no beginning and no end (Rev 22:13). Wonderfully, the Bible is its own dictionary and commentary; and God has given us sufficient information so that we can know why Jesus is repeatedly called God’s “only begotten Son”. We will see how God defines the spiritual meaning of monogenes by using the three elements of an “only begotten” - only child, the child has died, and the child was raised from the dead (Col 1:15, 18): “... Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature ... And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence”. Spiritually, it points to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, who would come as the Lamb of God. Therefore, when God uses the special term “only begotten” (monogenes) in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, we know for certain that it has nothing to do with His taking on a human nature and being born of Mary. Instead, it has everything to do with the fact that Christ is the Only Son within the Godhead and the fact that He endured the most horrible second death – the eternal death in hell – and was resurrected unto eternal life (Col 1:18). We can clearly see from the account in Genesis 22 how Abraham and Isaac are figures or types of God the Father and His “beloved Son”, in the Atonement at the Cross. God does not require Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac – and yet God willingly offered up His beloved Son – the Lord Jesus – to suffer the punishment of eternal damnation. This fact is vividly highlighted in 2 Cor 5:21, “For he [God the Father] hath made him [God the Son] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”. Is it any wonder that Rom 8:32 asks this vital question, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

Gen 22:2, 12, 16 “And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 16And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:”

John 3:14-16, 18 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”

Col 1:14-18 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

• God Gave His “Only Begotten Son” as a “Sacrifice” - In Gen 22:9-12 we see that Abraham proceeded to sacrifice Isaac in principle. God stopped Abraham from killing his son in actuality at the last second; but why would Abraham do such a terrible thing? In the historical setting and from a human perspective, this seems to be such an unemotional, matter-of-fact conversation between Abraham and Isaac. After all, God had instructed Abraham to kill his son and offer him as a burnt offering, and they have been carrying wood for the fire on a three-day journey at this time. Finally, Isaac asks his father, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Then Abraham’s answer “God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” indicates his great faith in God’s promise to establish an everlasting covenant with his seed, as we read in Gen 17:19. What constantly amazes and humbles me (and if you are a parent, you can certainly identify with this) is that God did not require Abraham to actually sacrifice his “only son… whom thou lovest”, yet God [Jehovahjireh] willingly offered up His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to pay the equivalent of eternal Hell for each child of God. Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ was the spiritual fulfillment of Gen 22:13 “… the ram caught in a thicket by his horns…” as He hung on the Cross, as the Lamb of God , “…slain before the foundation of the world”. In fact both the ram’s horns and the altar which Abraham built in Gen 22:9 are ceremonial observances which identify altogether with Christ. Of course, the altar and all the Old Testament animal sacrifices pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Thus, Jesus had to “go unto the altar of God” as the Ultimate Sacrifice for the sins of His people, according to Heb 9:24-26.  Obviously, God knew in advance that Abraham would not fail the test. Abraham could not possibly have known God’s ultimate purpose at the time; but he obeyed God’s command solely “by faith” as we read in Heb 11:17. We also read the reason in Heb 11:19: “Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead”. This New Testament verse explains that Abraham was confident that God would raise his son from the dead in order to keep His promise to “establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him” (Gen 17:19).  We know from Gal 3:16 that the “Seed” in view is physically the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The sacrifice of His “only begotten Son”, is the centerpiece of God’s salvation plan. Lord Jesus Christ was “lifted up” (hupsoo:G5312) on the Cross (John 3:14) to indicate that He was made a curse for us. The “seed” of Abraham through Isaac also refers spiritually to the eternal body of believers, who will be as “the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore” (Gen 22:17). Then, in Gen 22:16-18 God is speaking directly to Abraham about his unwavering obedience. Heb 11:19 is also superb example of the faith that true believers have in God’s many promises in the Bible to raise them from the dead unto eternal life. We saw that Isaac, who typified Christ in the Atonement, did not actually die there. Nevertheless, God insists that he died and was resurrected in principle in verse Heb 11:19. We can clearly see from the account in Genesis 22 how Abraham and Isaac are figures of God the Father and God the Son in the Atonement at the Cross. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the pinnacle, the keystone, and the centerpiece of Gospel. It is the most critical factor of God’s whole salvation program, as is emphasized in 1 Cor 15:16-18. Concerning the Lord Jesus, we read in Acts 10:43, “... through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission [forgiveness] of sins”. This is how a sinner — and it is the only way — can escape the judgment of God. It is only through His blood that anyone can find forgiveness and have their sins washed away and be cleansed. 

Heb 11:17-18 “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him [Isaac] in a figure [figure of Christ].”

Heb 9:24-26 “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”.

Heb 10:11-18 “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man [Lord Jesus Christ], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”

• Promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – God first called Abram in Genesis 12 and 13 to leave his country and go to a land that He would show him. God promised in verse Gen 12:3, “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” and in Gen 13:15, “all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever”. God repeated that promise to Abraham (Gen 12:2-3, Gen 17:5, 8, Gen 13:14-15) many times afterwards. Moreover, after Abraham’s death, He reassured Isaac of that promise in Genesis 26 (Gen 26:2-4) and to Jacob in Genesis 28 (Gen 28:13-14). Back in Genesis 13, when Abram and Lot separated, and later in Genesis 17, when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham (which means “father of a multitude” ), He said in verse 5, “for a father of many nations have I made thee”. What did God mean, when God promised Abraham in verse Gen 12:3, “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”? or in Gen 17:5 “thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee”? Notice that with both Isaac and Jacob, God linked the giving of land, to His promise that in them shall all nations be blessed. Actually, that was also a reiteration of what God had previously promised Abraham. In Gal 3:8, the Bible is giving us a tremendous statement saying that it has always been God’s plan to save the heathen, the non-Jewish people, through faith in Jesus Christ. Foreseeing that, or anticipating that, the word of God announced in advance the Good News or “The gospel of Christ” to Abraham by telling him, “in thee shall all nations be blessed” (Gal 3:8). Actually, Abraham was by no means the only one who was preached the gospel of grace in the Old Testament. We read in Heb 4:2, that “unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them”. The Gospel was preached to “them” referred to the millions of Israelites that perished in the wilderness. They were preached the gospel, but they did not profit, or benefit, from it because of their unbelief. In verse Gen 17:8, it’s highly significant that the promised land was to be given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their seed for an everlasting possession. That’s because they never received the promised land in their lifetime. Since God is faithful in fulfilling all His promises, He will have to raise them up at some point to give them the land. When might that be? Four times in John 6, Christ says that He will raise up those who have become saved on the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54). The last day, of course, is the final day of this earth’s existence (2 Pet 3:10) : “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up”. The land that God promised to give Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their seed thus has to be the new creation, eternal new heavens and new earth. Only then will they have it for an everlasting possession. So “Canaan” is a picture of the Kingdom of God. Inheriting the New Holy city - “a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God”, of course, is the ultimate outcome of the salvation of all believers (Heb 11:8-16). The Bible is thus saying that there is no difference between Old Testament and New Testament believers, they are all saved by the same gospel of grace; they all have “obtained a good report through faith”, and their salvation will be all consummated on the last day, when they will all receive the promise.

Gal 3:8 “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

Rom 9:27, 30-31 “Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 30What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31But Israel [as a nation], which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.”

Heb 4:2 “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them [Israel as a nation]: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”

Rom 4:16-17 “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law [remnant of Israel], but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham [remnant of Gentiles]; who is the father of us all, 17(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”

Heb 11:8-10 “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise [earthly], as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

Rev 21:1-2 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

• Now We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the Children of Promise - We read in Gen 17:19: “And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him”. We know from Gal 3:16 that the “Seed” in view is physically the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (according to John 1:29) as declared by John the Baptist. Gal 3:16 declares: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ”. Abraham, of course, is the progenitor of national Israel. The Jewish people have, therefore always assumed that they are the seed of promise. Since the Old Testament Scriptures make up over 70 percent of the Bible, those who fail to recognize the typology between the OT and NT miss out on much of what God has to teach us about His salvation program. For eg; in Gal 4:22-28, Hagar and her children and Sarah and her children are two covenants, “Which things are an allegory”, typifying the two Gospels, the gospel of works – where people trying to get right by keeping the law of God and the Gospel of grace – where people are saved by God’s grace and mercy. The Covenant (or the Gospel) describes the astounding and incomprehensible facts about how God became a man, became sin, and suffered Hell for those He came to redeem, as Mat 1:21 indicates, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins”. The Bible also highlights the fact that in the same way that Isaac was indeed a gift to Abraham and Sarah – a “miracle baby”, if you will – so was the Savior Who would be born over 2,000 years later in their bloodline. Thus, Isaac was a type, or figure, of the Lord Jesus according to Rom 4:19-21. The birth of Isaac underscores the fact that God can create life even out of that which is physically impossible – a miracle indeed! The spiritual implication of this historical parable is even more miraculous, as it meant that God would infuse eternal life into a previously dead soul. To accomplish such a feat, the Lord Jesus had to suffer the equivalent of eternal damnation in Hell for each individual He had chosen to save from before the foundation of the world. In Genesis 17 God further told Abraham that he is making “everlasting covenant”. The word “everlasting” immediately tells us that “thy seed” there refers to those who are in Christ, because they are the only ones who will inherit the new heaven and the new earth. Everything on this earth will be destroyed by fire on the last day (2 Pet 3:10). The seed in Christ are who are saved by grace through faith, which is the gift of God. God specified in His will that the beneficiaries were to be Abraham and his seed. In Gal 3:16, the apostle calls particular attention to the word “seed”, as distinguished from “seeds”. And that singular seed that God had in Christ, NOT all the blood descendants of Abraham. The promises, as we learned earlier in this lesson, is the free gift of eternal life. As the testator of the will, Christ had to die to activate the bequest. But because Lord Jesus Christ is testator of the Will and also a beneficiary of that will and because the Lord Jesus is the promised seed of Abraham, all those who are in Christ are joint heirs according to the promise. Rev 21:9b-11 speaks of the heirs of salvation as the Bride of Christ – the Lamb of God – Who is the principal Heir.

Rom 4:17-21 “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”

Gen 22:16-18 “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only [begotten] son: 17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Rom 9:6-8 “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”

Gal 4:22-28 “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh [unbelievers from both Jews+ Gentiles]; but he of the freewoman was by promise [believers from both Jews+ Gentiles]. 24Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.”

Gal 3:16-18 “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”

Gal 3:26-29 “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

If Ye then be Risen with Christ - Out of Egypt … Out of the House of Bondage

• Egypt … the House of Bondage - As we go through this study we will encounter God’s Law (or Word), man’s rebellion, and God’s inexplicable grace in redeeming a people for Himself through various metaphors, or types and figures. In Exo 3:7 we learn that the intense agony of the Hebrew slaves under their Egyptian masters is a portrait of being in spiritual bondage to sin and Satan. Heb 11:24-26 helps us to understand the spiritual significance and to see how God figuratively associates Egypt with sin. The Bible only knows of two great kingdoms that have opposed each other throughout history – the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. The world is characterized by slavery to sin and to Satan, the spiritual father of all who are unsaved. Every human being is born spiritually dead in “bondage” and begins his life as a servant of sin in Satan’s kingdom as one of the Devil’s unwitting dupes as Eph 2:12 states. Rom 6:16 states, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”. In accounts in John 8:32-36, we see the Pharisees’ blindness to their own sinfulness. Such hard-heartedness is evidenced in many places in the Bible and is a characteristic of everyone who is not saved. Those who remain in Satan’s dominion are likened to prisoners, according to 2 Tim 2:26b, “… who are taken captive by him at his will”. Satan loves religion because he uses it to keep unsaved people in spiritual bondage, as we read in 2 Cor 4:3-4, whatever a person believes about God and spiritual matters is his “religion”: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”. As we approach the Last Day when the Lord Jesus Christ will return, Satan will be actively deceiving many unsaved churchgoers who profess to have a relationship with Jesus Christ: “While they [religious leaders] promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage” (2 Pet 2:19). Eventually, all the unsaved will end up in the Lake of Fire, along with Satan and all his demons, according to Rev 20:10.

Exo 3:7  “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;”

Heb 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” 

Eph 2:1-3 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

John 8:32-36 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Isa 14:16-17 “They that see thee [Satan] shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?”

Rev 20:10 “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

• Out of Egypt … Out of the House of Bondage - “which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt…” in Exo 20:2, is a reference to the historical deliverance of the Israelites from their Egyptian masters that ended a period of 430 years of slavery, according to Exo 12:41. The “iron furnace” in Deu 4:20 provides additional information for us to take into account. In Psa 105:17-19, we see Joseph being “laid in iron”. Keep in mind that Joseph in prison is a type, or figure, of the Lord Jesus Christ in that Christ was spiritually imprisoned when He suffered the wrath of God. Although He had become sin for the elect, He was without any sin of His own, even as Joseph was innocent of any crime according to Gen 40:15: “For indeed I [Joseph] was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon”. Yes, the Lord Jesus is altogether identified with Egypt (a picture of bondage to sin) as Mat 2:15 teaches, “And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son”. We would do well to recollect the words of Isa 61:1, which outline the Savior’s mission, “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound”. Moses was God’s chosen instrument to free the Israelites from 430 years of bondage typifying Christ. In Mat 1:21, we learn, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins”. The only way that He could save His people from their sins, was to become sin on their behalf and He forfeited His own life in order to ransom His people from slavery to Satan and bondage to sin, as 2 Cor 5:21 teaches: “For he [LORD] hath made him [Lord Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”. Indeed Christ came to set men free from their terrible bondage to sin and to Satan , as Isa 58:6-7 so beautifully acknowledges: “Is not this the fast [or “Gospel”] that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”. God declares in John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” and in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”.  Christ’s death served to free the true believers from their bondage to sin, the world, and Satan as Heb 2:14 declares, “… that through death he [Christ] might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil”.

Exo 12:41 “And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.”

Jos 24:17 “For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:”

Deu 4:20 “But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.”

Psa 105:17-19 “He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: 19Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.”

Isa 53:3-4 “He [Lord Jesus] is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”

Isa 42:6-7 “I the LORD have called thee [Lord Jesus] in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”

Heb 2:14-15 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

• Saved to Serve as Servant of Christ - Our spiritual bondage to sin and subsequent salvation by the work of Christ is illustrated by the Israelites, who were slaves in Egypt for over 400 years until God delivered them out of Pharaoh’s hand using Moses as chosen instrument. The Christian, by God’s grace, has been set free from that bondage as Col 1:13 declares: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son”. Acts 26:18 pictures the transfer of power and spiritual metamorphosis that occurs when one experiences birth from above to become a servant of Christ: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me”. In the incisive passage, Rom 8:5-8, God is making the distinction between the two kingdoms we have been discussing. The phrases “after the flesh” and “carnally minded” describe the nature of one who is unsaved and in the kingdom of Satan. On the other hand, the language “after the Spirit” and “spiritually minded” illustrate the nature of a true Christian – one who has become a citizen of God’s kingdom. The words of 2 Cor 5:17-21 depict the wonderful salvation that God has provided by His infinite mercy and grace. Those who have been redeemed are the servants of God, and they live to do His divine bidding, to be “ambassadors for Christ”. True believers have been raised from spiritual death to life and have an insatiable desire to be obedient to the Word of God. Rom 6:12-13 becomes part of the new “marching orders” (the whole Bible) the believer now follows. We discover the terrible plight of the Israelite slaves during their sojourn in Egypt, according to Exo 1:13, “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:” During this same time frame we find this statement in Exo 3:12: “...When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain”. Perhaps you will recollect the setting between the Lord Jesus and the woman of Samaria who came to draw water from “Jacob’s well” at mid-day as John 4:20-24 asserts, to “worship the Father in spirit and in truth”. Psa 40:3 says, “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD”. Rev 15:3 declares, “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints”. What is this “song” that God has placed on the lips of all Christians? Rev 5:9 affirms, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation…”. God is a very jealous God, and we see in Exo 20:1-6 and Rev 5:9-12, that He alone is God and He alone is supremely worthy of the worship of His creatures.

Rom 8:5-8 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

2 Cor 5:17-21 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Rom 6:12-13 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

Exo 20:1-6 “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

Rev 5:9-12 “And they sung a new song [the song of Moses, the song of the Lamb], saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”

If Ye then be Risen with Christ - Work out your Own Salvation with Fear and Trembling

• Examine Yourselves, whether ye be in the Faith - God admonishes each of us to conduct a soul-searching examination of ourselves with the Word of God, to evaluate our spiritual condition to determine if we are truly “in the faith”, if we truly have received the gift of eternal life based on what the Bible teaches about salvation. Am I really in the faith? Have I been born from above? or Have I been deceived? This is not an idle question given the fact that deception is not only the hallmark of the human heart (Jer 17:9), but the very essence of the time period we are now living in, known as the Great Tribulation as Jesus so emphatically stressed three times in Mat 24:5, 11 and 24: “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect”. It requires that each of us soberly examine ourselves in the light of God’s Word, according to 2 Cor 13:5: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”. Even in this, we need God’s help, as Psa 139:23-24 acknowledges: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”. And what is the evidence of being “in the faith” or the Salvation? It's the Obedience to the Word of God. In light of the gravity of this question, we would do well to heed the admonition of Jam 1:21-25: “... be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves”. 1 Cor 1:12 makes this serious warning: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” These and other similar verses in the Bible highlight the enormous importance of honestly assessing the spiritual condition of our souls.

1 Kin 8:39 “Then hear thou [LORD] in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men)”

Jam 1:21-25 “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

• Work out your Own Salvation with Fear and Trembling - Reverential fear of God is a characteristic of the Lord Jesus Christ and of each true believer. The chief characteristic of the child of God is that of steadfast obedience to the Bible out of love for His Savior. Only true believers are qualified to obey God’s commandments as He works in the lives of His people (Eze 36:26-27). The indwelling work of God the Holy Spirit (by the gift of God’s grace), is a dominant factor both as God draws us to Himself and after we have become saved. Even after we have become saved, we are admonished to live out our lives in the fear of the Lord as Php 2:12-13 points out : “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”. Those whom God has saved, or reconciled, have a deep fear and sensitivity to God’s Holy Word, the Bible, because they are fully aware that His Word is an extension of God Himself. Everything in the Scriptures shows us that God is not to be trifled with or lightly esteemed. The child of God fully comprehends the ominous warning of Gal 6:7: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”. Heb 12:28 alludes to how this new life in Christ is to be expressed: “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire”. We are commanded to glorify God with our lives, with our bodies, and all that we have – our time, our talents, our money, our speech, and our actions. Yet when all is said and done we can only humbly say in the words of Luke 17:10, “We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do”. May God give us the respectful “fear of the Lord” – if we do not already possess it – according to His infinite pity and compassion. May each of us, by God’s mercy, examine ourselves to see if we can identify with Isa 8:13: “Sanctify the lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread”.

Eze 36:26-27 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

1 Pet 1:17 “And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear …”

2 Cor 7:1 “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

1 Cor 11:31-32 “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

Ecc 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

• We are more than Conquerors through him that Loved us - As we have seen, Matt 10:28 warns, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him [God] which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”. Another very helpful verse that can aid in our understanding of the “fear of second death” is 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love”. Why does “fear” have “torment”? Mat 25:46 describes the end of the world and the final destinations of the unsaved as well as the saved: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal”. Now we can see why “fear hath torment” (or “punishment”), and why unsaved man fears death because of what awaits him – the trial of the last day and the sentence of eternal damnation in Hell. 1 John 4:18 also indicates that “perfect love casteth out fear”. What is “perfect love” and how can it “cast out fear”? 1 John 4:16-19 gives the answer. The Christian has “boldness in the day of judgment” because his salvation is totally dependent on the work and faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, “We love him, because he first loved us”. Wonderfully, he can rejoice in what 2 Tim 1:9-10 proclaims: “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel …”

1 John 4:16-19 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.”

Rom 8:31-39 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If Ye then be Risen with Christ - Bear Witness to the Light as Ambassadors for Christ

• Thy Word is a Lamp unto My Feet, and a Light unto My Path - Since God’s Word is Truth, and the only Truth, it provides the only hope for escaping from our slavery to sin and the penalty we deserve, which is eternal Hell, and reveals mankind’s only possible hope of eternal life. Since faith (which is a synonym for salvation) “cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God”, (as we read in Rom 10:17), God saves His people through the truth of His Word. We also read in Jam 1:18, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures”. The word “begat” means to be “brought forth”, or to be spiritually “born from above”. God gives His children a love and a hunger for His Word, as we find in Mat 4:4: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God”. The Bible must be our sole guide for life and godliness as we read in 2 Pet 1:3: “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” and we are to flee to the Bible in all things. This is why Israel was told to bind the Law on their “foreheads”. This symbolized that God’s Word was to be in front of their eyes (on their minds) at all times – in their personal lives, in their marriages, in raising children, in their vocations, in their “spare time” activities, in their use of money, in their social relationships – in every area of their lives. May God give us grace to hunger and thirst after God’s Word for truth.

John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Psa 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”

Psa 119:130 “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

2 Pet 1:3 “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things [the Bible] that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”

Deu 6:6-9 “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

Isa 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

• I [Jesus Christ] am the Light of the World - One of the most marvelous truths of Scripture is the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word “incarnation” means “in the flesh”. We read about this in John 1:1 and 14: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”. After all, would we expect anything less from the One Who proclaimed Himself to be “… the way, the truth, and the life…” according to John 14:6? In John 3:19-21: “that light is come into the world”,  is a dual reference to Christ, Who is the Light of the world, as well as to His Word, the Bible. These verses also illustrates man’s sinfulness – as he hates the light. Man, who hates the light and loves darkness, is spiritually dead. Because he loves sin and his deeds are evil, he absolutely does not want to consult the Bible, which alone exposes his sin and reveals the God of Light and Salvation. Thus, one of the main functions of God the Holy Spirit is to use the Scriptures to “reprove”, or convict, the people of the world of their sins and the judgment to come, as we read in John 16:8, “… reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment”.

John 1:1-5, 9 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”

John 3:19-21 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

John 12:46 “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. 47And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

Luke 1:78-79 “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

• Ambassadors for Christ - Sent to Bear Witness of that Light - The “darkness” and “power of Satan” underlies an unsaved person’s life. Prior to salvation everyone is spiritually blind and under Satan’s authority, as 2 Cor 4:4 indicates: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds ... lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ ... should shine unto them”. Salvation occurs when God shines the light of the true Gospel into the souls of those He came to save and dispels the spiritual darkness. The believer recognizes that God has saved him to serve – that is, to be a witness to those around him who remain prisoners in Satan’s kingdom. God saved and commissioned Paul, as an “ambassador for Christ”, to be the apostle to the Gentiles, as we see from Acts 13 and Acts 26: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God”. God has not only commissioned Paul but every believer and commands to “go ye into all the world”, to the lost by being a witness, or an “ambassadors for Christ” and proclaiming the “Gospel of Christ” or nurturing them spiritually. Born-again Christians, as recipients of the Holy Spirit, would be qualified to be ambassadors for Christ in accordance with God’s plan to evangelize the world. May God also use each one of His children as humble ambassadors of His glorious Gospel. May God grant us His grace to uphold the truth of the Bible in these last days of great apostasy!

2 Cor 4:4, 6 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

John 1:6-8 “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.”

Acts 26:17-18 “Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee [Paul], 18To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

2 Cor 5:18-20 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

If Ye then be Risen with Christ - Walk as Children of Light in this Perverse World

• Thanks unto the Father, who has Delivered Us from the Power of Darkness - The “darkness” and “power of Satan” underlies an unsaved person’s life. Psa 107:10 reveals the sinful nature of all who are unsaved: “Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron”. This verse is also quoted in Isa 9:2, Mat 4:16 and other New Testament passages as well, and adds that there is genuine hope in spite of man’s sinfulness: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined”. Prior to salvation everyone is spiritually blind and under Satan’s authority, as 2 Cor 4:4 indicates: “In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not ...”. 2 Cor 4:6 highlights the necessity of salvation, by the Lord Jesus Christ who is the “light of the world” and the only Savior for sinners. 2 Pet 1:19 declares, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts ...”. Salvation occurs when God shines the light of the true Gospel into the souls of those He came to save and dispels the spiritual darkness, as we read in John 8:12, “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”. True believers are “translated” out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Christ at the moment the spiritual “first resurrection” of their souls takes place, according to Col 1:12-13, and pictures the transfer of power and spiritual metamorphosis that occurs when one experiences birth from above to become a servant of Christ. The spiritual “everlasting light” spoken of in Isa 60:19-20 will one day be fulfilled literally in the New Heavens and the New Earth. It is His glory, indeed, that was the source of light when He declared in Gen 1:3 “Let there be light” even though He had not yet created the sun; and it will be His inexpressible glory that will illuminate the “New Jerusalem” for eternity, according to Rev 21:23, “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof”.

2 Cor 4:4 “In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

2 Cor 4:6 “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Col 1:12-13 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

Isa 60:19-20 “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.”

• Walk as Children of Light in the Midst of a Crooked and Perverse Nation - John 3:21 teaches, “… he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought [worked] in God”. Here the true nature of the Christian becomes apparent. Notice how the verse says, “he that doeth truth cometh to the light”. Truth is not merely a principle to be believed, but is intended to be lived out, as 1 John 3:18-19 explains: “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him”. Jam 1:22 repeats this vital axiom: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves”. John 3:21 says that the one doing truth does so openly, letting his light shine as a witness – to demonstrate that his good works are done by God, who is working to will and to do of His good pleasure in the believer’s life. Isa 26:12 maintains: “LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought [worked] all our works in us”. The sacrifice of Christ, in paying the staggering price of eternal damnation for His elect children, that God constantly highlights, compels the true Christian to a life of greater thanksgiving and illustrates the chief characteristic of the child of God is that of steadfast obedience to the Bible out of love for His Savior, according to Php 2:12-15: “... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world”. The terms “crooked and perverse nation” vividly portray the depths of man’s spiritual depravity. This verse underscores the preeminent quality that characterizes true service to God is faithfulness to the Word of God. The injunction in Rom 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” is given to all believers, and underscores the true Christian’s desire to be obedient to the Word of God in thought, word and deed. Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices involves giving of ourselves – our time, talents, and finances – as a visible expression of our heartfelt gratitude to the Lord for His marvelous salvation. The task of spreading the Gospel to the lost and personal growth in God’s grace is of utmost importance in a believers life. Dan 12:3, speaking of the believer’s mandate to send forth the Gospel: “And they that be wise [saved] shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever”.

1 Pet 2:9-11 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”

Matt 5:14-16 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

1 John 2:8-11 “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”

Php 2:15-16 “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”

• What Communion hath Light with Darkness? - Whatever is of utmost value to a person will receive the greatest amount of attention in terms of time, labor, and money. It is that which consumes our thoughts, is the object of our words, embodies our hopes, shapes our goals, molds our future, and ultimately gives meaning and purpose to life. In essence, one will either be serving Christ in the Kingdom of God or Satan and his kingdom. Another factor that affects all of us who have been redeemed is the body of flesh that we inhabit, and that has not yet become saved. 2 Cor 6:16 informs us that believers “are the temple of the living God” and 1 Pet 1:15 remind us “he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation”. The world is anything but holy, yet to live a “holy” life in this world means to just simply obey God and Keep His commandments. A true believer recognizes that he is a “pilgrim” and a “stranger” in this world and separates himself from the World. These verses are in no way suggesting to be judgmental towards others but rather to be a good witness to them. God tells us to have our “conversation”, the way that we live, “honest”, in agreement with what we are professing. We need to “put on the armour of light”, to fight this spiritual battle always praying and watching for the judgement day. “The whole armour of God” according to Eph 6:14-18 comprises of spiritual weapons “truth of the Word of God”, “breastplate of righteousness”, “preaching the gospel of peace”, “the shield of faith”, “the helmet of salvation”, and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”.

1 Pet 2:9-11 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; 10Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”

Luke 11:34-36 “The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. 35Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 36If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.”

Rom 13:12-14 “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

2 Cor 6:14-17 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”