The Rock Almighty Your Super Powers Revealed & Is It True That God Has Made Me Like This?

Is It True That God Has Made Me Like This?

• Author James Rondinone

PART 8 TESTIMONY                                                                

God Made Me Like This

As I was working on this study, I took a break and turned on my favorite morning news station. The panel had a guest who claimed to be a Christian and disclosed that he was married to someone of the same gender. He went on to say something like, if anyone has an issue with this, then go to God because He made me like this. This resonated with me in the sense that this statement sounded right, and I’m sure those that listened to it agreed, but I have learned over the years that Scripture should give us the answers to any question or comment that has any connection to do with God. So, let’s see if what was said is indeed supported by God’s Word.

Many of us are familiar with the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. Let’s begin by going to this book.

Genesis 2:7

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 soul.

God made Adam’s body from the dust of the ground. I wouldn’t even begin to try to figure that out. And then it says He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul. The word breath refers to the breath that causes man to live, or in other words, it was the breath from God that caused Adam to live or become a living soul (a living creature).

    

But there is something else that God did to man when He made him.

Do you know what this was?

Genesis 1:26a

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:…        

He made man after His image and likeness. The word image conveys to us the nature of Adam’s soul in that it was not corrupt, and as to its moral disposition, it could be otherwise called original righteousness. The soul of Adam was created in the moral image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness.99

Genesis 3:8a And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:

After Eve was made from Adam’s rib, we are told that both of them were placed in a geographical location called the Garden of Eden, where Scripture suggests they communicated with God and subsequently shared in His wisdom, love, truth, etc. Along with this, we are also told that they were made in the likeness of God. This word likeness refers back to the word image and describes it as being a resemblance in any quality, internal or external. So, as Adam and Eve responded to God’s communication inwardly, they revealed His characteristics outwardly in their bodies.

Are there any other verses that give us more insight into man’s nature at the time when he was first created?

Yes, there is. Further information is found in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 7:29

Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

This verse tells us that God, as the creator of human life, made man upright. The word upright means that he was possessed of [the] ability to choose and follow what was just and right.100 How did Adam know what was just and right? He knew what was just and right because he communicated with the one God who was, is, and always will be just and right in the Garden of Eden.

    

Did man remain upright, or in other words, did he remain made in God’s image?

To answer this, we must go back to the sad story that took place after Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, which tells us that both of them were instructed not to eat from one particular tree in the Garden called the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. What we have come to learn is that an angel, who we now know was the Devil, was also on the earth at this time in the exact geographical location with the purpose of causing one or both of them to disobey God’s command. Through his cunning, he deceived Eve into eating from this tree. She, in turn, convinced her husband also to eat from it.

As a result of their disobedience, there was one major impact that would affect all of their descendants. Do you know what this was?

Romans 5:12

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

By one man, Adam, sin (human depravity) entered into the world. In other words, every human being born after that fateful decision would have a fallen nature passed onto them. Therefore, the uncorrupt moral disposition that characterized Adam and Eve’s original nature became corrupted with a nature that sins.

Genesis 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

And thus, mankind was no longer made in God’s image but after the image of Adam, which is a morally depraved image. While his son would be born with the likeness (outward features) of his father and mother, his soul would be subject to moral disorder. And subsequently, a person’s sinful character would be formed and described in the following manner according to Webster’s dictionary. The peculiar qualities, impressed by nature or habit on a person, which distinguish him from others; these constitute real character, and the qualities which he is supposed to [possess] constitute his estimated [character] or reputation. [Hence,] we say, a character is not [formed] when the person has not acquired stable and distinctive qualities.101

However, some may argue that every human being is still made in the image of God at birth. Is this true? Please go to the book of Colossians, and we’ll find out.

Colossians 3:10

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

The words of him that created him are to be taken as an analogy of the spiritual man or born-again Christian to Adam in the Garden of Eden before the fall. As Adam was created in God’s image so the new man, the new creation, the Christian at the new birth, was recreated in God’s image. 

So, to say that God initially created mankind in body and soul after His image and likeness is correct. To say that the nature that I now possess, along with its propensities and inclinations, is from God is incorrect. Therefore, the insinuation by the person running for political office that God made him gay is unscriptural. However, what we can say is true in this sense is that the whole universe of things was made by Christ. And all created beings are without independent existence apart from God.

Some insinuate that there are other verses that support the conjecture that God made them in whatever way their actions indicate. Let’s begin by going to the book of Psalms.

Psalms 100:3

Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

This verse talks about the Jews who Know (to know by experience) that the Lord (Yahweh) he is (the one true) God. We are then told that Yahweh made them and not they themselves. This means that "Jehovah constituted us as a nation, His chosen people,"102, and not we ourselves (how altogether of God's grace, not of our working even in part103).

As we can clearly see, these verses do not pertain to Yahweh, making each of those who are members of the Jewish nation in a certain actionable way. The next verse that we will look at tells us that God created a nation of people whom He would mold into a certain form.

Isaiah 43:1

But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

The book of Isaiah embraces all that was seen during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and [Hezekiah,] that is, during the whole prophetic life of the prophet.104 This includes the whole collection of prophecies delivered in the course of his ministry.105 In this instance, he is communicating the thoughts of the Lord to the children of Israel who are currently under captivity to Babylon.

They are reminded by God that He created (brought them into existence) and formed (to mold into a form) them. In order to mold someone into a certain form, they would need to believe in the one who desires for changes to take place in their life and subsequently obey his instructions as delineated in the Mosaic Law.

The psalmist also assured them that they had nothing to fear. Their God will see to it that they will be redeemed (ransomed by means of a price) from their captivity and restored again to their homeland. The price will be the destruction of Babylon in the place of the ransomed captives.

Those who claim that God made them a certain way believe that their perspective is supported by the verses found in Psalms 139.

Psalms 139:13-14

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

This psalm has been attributed to King David. However, there are certain aspects that appear to indicate that it was written by someone else either during the Babylonian Captivity or after it ended. "In the first twelve verses of this [psalm] the author celebrates God's perfect knowledge of man's thoughts and actions; and the reason of this wonderful knowledge, namely, that God is the Maker of man.106 Now, let’s take a look at these verses.

This person goes on to say that God hast possessed (owned; created) my reins (kidneys; the whole body; conscience; personality; inward parts). There it is. What meaning should be used when talking about this persons’ reins? I would say that it depends on the context or what do the other verses that accompany it talk about.

He goes on to say that God has covered (woven) him in his mother’s womb. The word woven means that God had put his parts together, as one who weaves cloth or who makes a basket.107 With this additional insight, we could suggest that the word reins refer to either the whole body and/or the inward parts.

However, he that said God made him in a particular way would say that God has possessed (created) his reins (his personality).

This appears to be a possible conclusion, but unfortunately, it doesn’t take into account certain things. One of which is that the person who wrote this psalm was not only Jewish but someone who believed in Yahweh as He revealed Himself to him as his ancestor Abraham.

Romans 4:1-3 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Abraham, as to what he achieved by his flesh (circumcision), was found not to be justified (declared righteous; accepted as righteous) by his works (his own efforts). However, because he believed God (of trust in and acceptance of God's blessings108; of his unwavering assurance that what God had promised he would perform109, i.e., that he would be a father of many nations; that his posterity should be like the stars of heaven110, and that unto him and his descendants would be given land for an inheritance), it was counted unto him (put to his account; credited to his account) righteousness (to regard and treat him in connection with this as a righteous man; as one who was admitted to the favor and friendship of God110; a seal of righteousness was put on him).

Abraham, at one time, was an unbeliever whose sin nature characterized his thinking, speaking, and actions. And at some point in time, he believed in what God declared to him and subsequently in Him as the one true God. This caused him to become a new person, one who had become a friend of His. So, with these thoughts in mind, we could say that the Lord possessed (owned; created) his reins (his personality).

What this suggests is that the psalmist’s personality was owned and thus created by Yahweh through cultivation and development by means of many areas such as obedience in following the godly instructions given by Israel’s leaders along with adherence to the tenets of the Mosaic Law. This tells us that the psalmist’s new personality was formed by the appropriation of divinely instituted principles.

We could conclude that at birth, sin or the sin nature is passed on. However, when someone believes in Yahweh in the Old Testament or repents to God the Father and believes in His Son in the New Testament, they become a new person whose new personality is developed as they appropriate God’s perspective for spiritual growth.

Now that we know what sexual practices are condoned by God and which ones are not, along with the fact that all of us have a sin nature that has inclinations and passions in many areas, especially in the sexual realm, which is the result of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we have a significant question before us. How do we as Christians learn how to no longer be in subjection to the cravings and desires of our flesh? We’ll find this out in the next chapter.

    

Endnotes

99Adam Clarke's Commentary.

100 The Pulpit Commentary.

101American Dictionary of the English Language. 6 October 2021 .

102 Bible Exposition Commentary/Old Testament, 2004. BIBLESOFT. WEB. 2 October 2021 http://www.biblesoft.com

103 Jamieson, Faucet, and Brown Commentary Pc Study Bible version 5, 2005. BIBLESOFT.

WEB. 2 October 2021 http://www.biblesoft.com

104Barnes.

105Adam Clarke’s Commentary Pc Study Bible version 5, 2004. BIBLESOFT. WEB. 3 October 2021 http://www.biblesoft.com

106Adam Clarke's Commentary.

107Barnes.

108Weust’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament.

109Barnes.                            

110Weust.

111Barnes.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ITJ1wj

Website: https://bit.ly/3mWKJ2r             

New Covenant Ministries - Ministerios NuevoPacto - Harbor Church, Block Island                                                                                                                                                                                                          

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My name is James Rondinone. I am a husband, father, and spiritual leader.

I grew up in Massachusetts and began my own spiritual journey early on in life.

I attended Bible college, having completed a two-year Christian Leadership Course of Study and graduated as valedictorian (Summa Cum Laude).

Studying and teaching the Word of God has been a passion of mine for over 20 years.

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The Rock Almighty. Being Steady In Faith & Perseverance - The Key To Answered Prayer

 

Perseverance - The Key To Answered Prayer

• Author Rob Marshall

There is a somewhat strange parable in Luke 11. It comes in the middle of some teaching that Jesus is doing in answer to the disciple's request: Lord, teach us to pray.

What immediately follows their request is a sample prayer that we now call the Lord's Prayer. In our church we have a time of community prayer every Sunday when we praise God for answers to prayer, and bring our requests to Him as a church. We always conclude that time with the Lord's Prayer. It's a great example of prayer, one of many in the Bible, and we can all learn from applying the principles that Jesus teaches us through it.

But right after this model prayer Jesus tells us a parable about a man who is visited by a friend, has nothing to set before him, and who then goes to another friend at midnight to ask for three loaves of bread. I don't know about you, but in my way of thinking, and based on what I've been taught about prayer, this parable seems a little odd.

Since Jesus is teaching about prayer, and if we represent the man who gets visited and doesn't have any bread, in other words the one who has a need, then who is represented by the other friend? In other words whom do we go to in prayer when we have a need?

As our pastor likes to remind us, the answer that is almost always right in Sunday school and church is: God. God is the one that we go to and in this parable the man who answers from behind his door and tells his needy friend to go away represents God Himself.

Now I don't know what you've been taught about prayer, but I don't remember anyone ever telling me that I will go to God with my need and He will say, "I'm in bed, don't bother me, go away." And I have a hard time imagining that God would do that, but that is exactly what Jesus is teaching the disciples.

I suppose that I could look for symbolic meaning in all of this and wonder if the problem was that the man waited too long to go to his friend. After all, Jesus didn't say that the visitor came at midnight; all He said was that it was midnight when the man went to his friend. Was it possible that the man created the difficulty, this resistance from God, because he put off going until he had tried everything else first? That's hard to say.

But what we do know is that the man goes with a need and gets resistance rather than the assistance he was looking for.

James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Maybe James was thinking about this parable when he said that many kinds of trials, perhaps even some resistance from God Himself would test our faith. And he even goes further and tells us that we should consider it all joy, which makes no sense to me. After all, when was the last time that I rejoiced when I received more problems rather than answers to my prayers?

The only way we can look at these trials and rejoice in them is if we understand that we need perseverance. As long as our faith can't handle resistance, our faith will always fail.

Jesus taught, and James repeats it here, that we need to have perseverance. If our faith can't withstand trials and disappointments, if we allow ourselves to get discouraged and give up, then we have little chance of receiving anything from God. If our faith wavers based on the circumstances we see in front of us, and isn't built on the solid rock of God's word and promises, then we will almost always be disappointed.

The problem that I've found is that I tend to blame God. I keep asking Him why He doesn't answer my prayers, and the answer I keep getting back from Him is: "Why won't you believe? Don't you know that all things are possible for the person who believes?"

God's goal is to bring us through our trials and help us develop the perseverance to overcome any resistance that we might encounter. The resistance will begin to expose the doubts and fears that we have which will allow us to confront and overcome the lies that are causing them. God understands that the perfecting of our faith is more important than getting the answers to our prayers.

It's not that God won't answer our prayers, because He has promised that He will. The truth is that God wants our faith to stand up under any difficulty, in spite of any trial, and in the face of overwhelming problems. He knows that if we will let perseverance finish its work, if we will continue to rejoice in the trials because we understand what He is doing, we will perfect our faith and we will then never lack anything again.

The only question we need to ask ourselves is: Are we willing to let perseverance finish its work? If we do, the rewards are exceedingly abundantly beyond anything we could ask or imagine. Then we will finally experience the promise of Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd, I do not lack."

The same faith that helped David defeat Goliath is in everyone of us. In "Taking On Goliath - How To Unleash The David In All Of Us," author Rob Marshall shows you how to unleash your faith, overcome any obstacle, and live your dreams. Get two free chapters at:

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The Rock Almighty God's Mercy. The Key To Answered Prayer? & What is the Baptism of the Spirit, and what are the bundle of benefits received at salvation?

 

 

 

What is the Baptism of the Spirit, and what are the bundle of benefits received at salvation?

• Author James Rondinone

PART 6 THE SPIRITUALITY PUZZLE 

Salvation by Repentance and Faith: What Is the Baptism of the Spirit, and What Are the Bundle of Benefits Received at Salvation?

The churches that proclaim this salvation message would also, with extreme joy, tell those who’ve become converted that their salvation has brought many benefits into their lives. What are these?

John 7:38-39 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

1 John 3:24b …And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

The first benefit is the receiving of another member of the Trinity called the Holy Spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit, which some would describe as being Baptized with the Spirit. Many churches don’t teach on this at all and yet emphasize another baptism--that being of water instead. Some of those who do teach on the Baptism of the Spirit tie it together with an endowment of the Spirit called the gift of tongues or prayer tongues which they proclaim provides evidence as to whether the unbeliever was truly saved.

I’m not going to talk about the gift of tongues or prayer tongues here; however, if you want to find out more about their relationship to the Baptism of the Spirit, I’ve done a thorough study on this subject in one of my books entitled, Do We Know Why We Believe What We Believe? – Volume 1, which you can find on Amazon. 

Let’s begin by asking the following question.

What is the scriptural basis for claiming that the receiving of the Holy Spirit is the same as being Baptized with the Holy Spirit?

THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Suggested Reading: Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:2, 4-5; Acts 10:43-44; Acts 11:15-17

Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Acts 1:2, 4-5 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

The Baptism of the Spirit refers to the receiving of the indwelling Spirit, which was foretold by John the Baptist and of which Jesus reminded His apostles to wait for this promise at Jerusalem in the upper room. The Baptism of such would and did occur very soon after on the day of Pentecost. 

For further confirmation, please go to the book of Acts.

 

Acts 10:43-44

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

This receiving of the indwelling Spirit was also mentioned when the Apostle Peter entered the house of a Gentile named Cornelius, who was accompanied by his kinsman. As Peter was preaching the salvation message of Christ, the Spirit fell upon those who heard the word. The words fell on means to take possession of.

Let’s stay in the book of Acts.

 

Acts 11:15-17

And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

This idea that the Spirit had fallen on those who heard the word in Cornelius’ house was reiterated in these verses and conveyed to the Jewish Christians by the Apostle Peter when he returned to Jerusalem from Caesarea. Scriptures tell us that the Spirit fell on them, as the apostles at the beginning, i.e., at Pentecost52 and that they were baptized with the Holy Ghost.

    

Did you know that there are other benefits that take place in a believer’s life at the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Let’s find out what these are.

THE OTHER BENEFITS (SPIRITUAL REALITIES) OF THE BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT

Did you know that after the Holy Spirit comes to indwell new believers, there are over twenty things that take place in each of their lives, which I’ll call spiritual realities and by the way, are permanent? I’ll mention quite a few of them to make it clear what this baptism provides.

     The Baptism (indwelling) of the Spirit:

Provides the unity of the Spirit

Ephesians 4:3-5 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

The Holy Spirit provides unity among the members of the body of Christ wherein each member should be endeavoring (to try their best; to intensely labor) to keep. This unity has its root in the peace of God, which is one of the spiritual qualities of the Spirit. The unity of the Spirit is kept when each Christian learns how to operate in the fruit of the Spirit.

Baptizes us into one body

1 Corinthians 12:7, 11-13 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

At salvation, the Holy Spirit gives each believer at least one gift (spiritual endowment) severally (individually) as He chooses (as he sees to be right and best53). Each gift shall manifest the work and nature of the Spirit’s operation on the mind, which gives each person some proof of the Spirit’s presence in order to promote harmony in the church.54 And by the agency of the one (same) Spirit we’re all baptized (joined; united) into one body (the body of Christ, the church), whereby all have been suited, each to his appropriate place.55

 

Provides equal privilege and opportunity

Galatians 3:26-28 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There 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.

There are no national, class, or gender distinctions in Christ. All are equally accepted through the Lord Jesus Christ. Another way to say this is that we’re all on the same [level] and entitled to the same privileges in your Christian profession.56

Provides placement into Christ

Galatians 3:26-27 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

When whosoever will, repents and believes in Christ, they receive the indwelling Spirit, who baptizes them into spiritual union and communion with57 Christ.

 

Baptizes us into Jesus Christ

Romans 6:1-4 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

The Apostle Paul was instructing the Christians at Rome concerning sin and grace. He asked them if they should continue to sin habitually, so that grace (the divine influence upon the [heart] and its reflection in the life58) shall abound (increase). In other words, should believers sin all the more so that they could experience more grace?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Paul’s answer was no. He told them that they were all dead to sin; the spiritual reality of such took place at a point in time, at salvation, when they were separated from sin’s power.

3-4 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

They were baptized (an actual identification) into Jesus Christ (into close union with a person, coming to belong to Him, so as to be in a sense identified with him59) by the Holy Spirit, and along with this they were baptized into His death (in them was understood a death to sin, corresponding to His actual death,60 having become separated from its power) and likewise as He was raised up from the dead by the glory (power) of the Father (in them was understood that they too, were raised from the dead by the quickening of the Spirit) so that they would be able to habitually walk (live) in newness of life (in an entirely new way). Some would call this retroactive positional truth which links the time when we’re saved to the time when Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead. We take a point of time and superimpose it on another point in time.

Wow! So, what do you think about the results of the inward spiritual realities that have been provided for us at salvation by means of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? As such, this gospel is in effect stating that these spiritual realities aren’t provided for us by any other means, i.e., such as water baptism.

With what has been said, we’re ready to try and answer this question. What is the purpose of water baptism? But before we do, I’d like to leave you with some more of the spiritual realities that have taken place in our lives at salvation through the indwelling Holy Spirit. I don’t think most believers are aware of what these are. Are you? All I can say is, enjoy reading about the rest of them.

 

Quickened by the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

This means that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we’ve been spiritually resurrected, or another way of saying this is that we’ve been made spiritually alive with Christ. 

Received a human spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.     

The human spirit is a spiritual apparatus that is given to the new believer for them to store spiritual knowledge. From there, spiritual knowledge goes to the heart, thereby building rooms in our souls.

 

Are given eternal life

John 10:9-10 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

This can be otherwise called the zoe life and can be referred to as an abundance of ever-flowing streams or spiritual refreshment for oneself by means of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Crucified with Christ

Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

The old man refers to the sinful and corrupt nature that has been crucified with Christ on the cross through our identification with Him. The body, which has belonged to or has been ruled by the power of sin, may now cease to be an instrument of it and is no longer subject to its control.

Been made heirs of God through Christ

Galatians 4:6-7 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

We’re no longer to be treated as servants, being bound by the oppression of the Law, but as sons - members of God’s family. And because we’re sons, we’re also heirs as those who: possess God himself, partake of His nature, and possess every blessing to which we’re entitled.

Seated together with Christ in heavenly places

Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus

God the Father has raised us up from spiritual death to spiritual life — from death to sin to a life of righteousness, being made alive and raised spiritually with Christ. He has caused our spiritual position to be in heavenly places in Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father as our Head and Representative. We’re admitted to exalted honors in virtue of our connection with Him. Even [now,] our life and thoughts are raised to the heavenlies where He reigns.61

 

Are God’s handiwork

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them

We’re God the Father’s workmanship (denotes a work of art or masterpiece; spiritual handiwork), being made a new spiritual creature in which there’s a moral and spiritual renewal for good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared beforehand). This is a path of good deeds that He’ll perform in and through us as we choose to walk by faith.

 

Are redeemed and forgiven

Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins

In Christ, through our belief in Him, we’re in a permanent and continuous state of redemption (setting us free; to no longer be prisoners; on release on the payment of a ransom), and along with this we’ve received the forgiveness (the taking away of sins; these have been lost from God’s mind) of sins.

Consider what an amazing thing this is telling us. The words we have in Greek are classified as being in the present active indicative. Active means that the subject, we, those saved, are the agents of the action, i.e., of repentance and belief. Indicative is the mood or the way in which the action of the verb is conceived with reference to reality, which in this case is a statement of fact. Because of Christ, we have redemption. Finally, the word present refers to the tense or what kind of action is being expressed by the verb. This refers to continuous action in the present, meaning that we, believers, will be continually released from the payment of a ransom for our sins. Nothing can inhibit this. Not what we think, do, or say. Hallelujah!

 

Are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God

Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God

Whether Jew or Gentile, we’re members of the same family of God and are entitled to the same privileges and regarded by Him as His children.

 

Are complete in Him

Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power

This completeness includes the furnishing of men with all that is required for their present (i.e., to be richly furnished with the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit) salvation.62

Are known by the Lord

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.     

We’re marked by God so as to be recognized by Him as His, and this mark also serves as a perpetual reminder to them that they’re not their own.63 The mark or impression serves to identify what is sealed, together with its owner, and to specify its purpose or function.

 

Are reconciled to God the Father

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,                                                               

This reconciliation refers to a changed relationship between God and a lost world. The means of reconciliation is Jesus Christ. He was given as a propitiation for our sins, which removed the rebellious and sinful man’s enmity toward God, thus satisfying His justice.

2 Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation

Jesus has made it consistent for God to pardon. He has made atonement so that God can be just while He justifies the sinner, who repents and believes in His Son. And on the part of man, He (Jesus), by the agency of His Spirit, overcomes the unwillingness of the sinner to be reconciled, humbles his pride, shows him his sin, changes his heart, subdues his enmity against God, and secures, in fact, a harmony of feeling and purpose between God and man, so that they shall be reconciled forever.64

Are translated into the kingdom of His Son

Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son

God, the Father, has rescued us from the dominion (the spiritual power by which mankind is held) of darkness and placed us in the kingdom of his dear Son.   

Are sanctified

Hebrews 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The will of God, which was for the sanctification of men, was accomplished through Jesus’ atonement for sins on the cross. When we repent and believe in Him, we’re placed in a sanctified state, meaning that we’re in a permanent and continuous state of salvation65 into which we’re brought and in which we live.

I can’t say enough how beautiful and unique it is what this verse is conveying to us. The words we are in Greek are in what is classified as a perfect passive participle. Passive is a tense that means that we, believers, at the time we repented and believed received sanctification or the status of being saved. Perfect is a tense referring to an action completed in the past with present results. In the past, we were sanctified, and currently, in the present, we continue in this state of sanctification. And the participle denotes the purpose as to why someone is doing something or why something is being done. Why is sanctification the state we’re in? It’s because of Christ being an atonement for sin once and for all.

With that said, remember, being saved is final and not based on what we do or don’t do. WOWZA!

Have become an adopted son

Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

God, in His foreknowledge, knew beforehand who would freely believe in his Son for salvation, and it’s on this basis that they’re selected (chosen). God implements a plan in time called predestination for whosoever will receive Him, with mankind (the elect) choosing to respond in their free will to His initiation for salvation.  

God responds to a believing sinner, regenerates him, and by means of this makes him His child [the Greek word transliterated (change the letters from the Greek spelling into similar characters of the alphabet of English), His teknon, a born one]. Then He takes this child and places him in a legal position as an adult (adopted) son (Greek word, huios).66

The apostle here uses, as an illustration, the Roman practice of legally adopting a child, and thus not only bequeathing [him] the material possessions of the one [adopting] but also giving him his civil status.67

Are ambassadors for Christ

2 Corinthians 5:20 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.

We’ve been brought into a permanent and continual state of ambassadorship (persons who represented someone else and who carried a message from the person whom they represented68), and in which we live.

Before we read this too fast and don’t really reflect on it; the words we are in Greek are classified as a present active indicative. To put it simply, way because we responded to the gospel, it’s a statement of fact that we’re positionally ambassadors for Christ. Positionally means this is how God sees us no matter whether our experience reveals otherwise. WOW!

    

Are made righteous

2 Corinthians 5:21 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.

God the Father has made Christ be a sin offering (the sin of the world, past, present, and future was placed on Him meaning that He bore the punishment due to them in his body) for all mankind (in place of us), the purpose of which was so that those who believed in Him would be made the righteousness of God in Him. Another way of saying this is, as Christ who was perfectly innocent, by a voluntary substitution, is treated As IF He were guilty, so we who believed in Him being guilty and who deserve to be punished, are treated, through his vicarious sufferings, as if they were perfectly innocent.69

And this righteousness shouldn’t to be taken as a quality or habit received by us but in the sense of that which is approved by or acceptable to God. On the grounds of Christ’s righteousness (acceptability) to God the Father, so have we become righteous (acceptable) by faith to God the Father.

Are declared righteous

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God and are no longer threatened by His wrath through Jesus Christ.

 

Are sealed

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 

Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,             

When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, He is the seal (the stamp of ownership) indicating to God who is His. He is God’s seal (mark of ownership), indicating that the transaction whereby the Son of God paid the penalty of human sin at the Cross is a finished transaction and that God owns us as His property by right of purchase70 until the day of redemption. This seal can also refer to a down payment in the sense of having tasted the Spirit, [we’ve] begun to taste the life of the future world that God had promised71 us. And as for the day of redemption, some say that it refers to the rapture of the church when we’ll meet the Lord in the clouds of the air, at which time, we’ll receive not only a glorified body but also eternal rewards regarding our works.

Are given access to God the Father

Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.                                                                                                                                                          

We (both Christian Jews and Gentiles) have access by the ministry of the Holy Spirit into God the Father’s presence by means of prayer and worship, confident that [He’ll] receive and answer us72 because we’re properly qualified.

Amazing! As one of my Christian friends would say, “Wowza!” I thoroughly enjoyed that. As I was reading about each of these spiritual realities, what came to my mind was how much more there is to understand concerning this salvation message than just repentance and belief. And yet there’s a lot more to learn if you want to know all that Scripture will reveal to us that makes up this perspective. Just think, we’re learning about doctrines that perhaps we’ve never taken a thorough look at before.

The next aspect of this salvation message that we’ll look at is in respect to answering the following question. What causes a believer to have fellowship, i.e., be a partaker of God’s nature? Please turn the page, and we’ll find out what this is all about.

Endnotes

52Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament Pc Study Bible version 5, 2005. BIBLESOFT. WEB. 8 March 2022

˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.

53Barnes.

54Barnes.

55Barnes.

56Barnes.

57Vincent.

58New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc; 31 November 2018

˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.

59The Pulpit.     

60The Pulpit.         

61Barnes.

62Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon.

63UBS New Testament.                                                                                                                        

64Barnes.

65Weust.

66Weust.

67Weust.         

68UBS New Testament.

69Calvin.

70Weust.             

71IVP.

72UBS New Testament.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ITJ1wj

Website: https://bit.ly/3mWKJ2r     

New Covenant Ministries - Ministerios NuevoPacto - Harbor Church, Block Island                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Sunday & Thursday Worship - Domingo & Jueves 7:00PM    

My name is James Rondinone. I am a husband, father, and spiritual leader.

I grew up in Massachusetts and began my own spiritual journey early on in life.

I attended Bible college, having completed a two-year Christian Leadership Course of Study and graduated as valedictorian (Summa Cum Laude).

Studying and teaching the Word of God has been a passion of mine for over 20 years.

 

The Rock Almighty. Kindness, The Oldest Trick In The Book? And What does it mean when God says you are beloved?

 

What does it mean when God says you are beloved?

• Author James Rondinone

17

You Are Beloved

I think you’d agree with me when I say that most people want to be loved. When we look for the right one, somehow, we have specific criteria that we look for: good looks, tall or short, rich, athletic, similar hobbies, fat or skinny, adventurous, free spirit, like-minded, funny, member of the same faith or political affiliation, etc. And if somehow the relationship becomes fulfilling, the couple decides to either live together or get married.

Along the way, situations will come up. Some are financial; others might involve physical, verbal, and/or emotional abuse, not being faithful, alcohol or drug issues, not being honest, declining physical health, not wanting to have children, sexual indifference, lack of communication, etc. Unfortunately, for many, separation or divorce is the result. We live in a world where love is desired, and yet when it wanes, it’s most often why so many people no longer remain together for one reason or another.

Here are some interesting statistics on divorce.

The current divorce rate in the US is 2.3 persons per 1,000 people. Overall, the rate of divorces in America is falling. Divorces amongst people aged 50+ years are rising. Fewer couples choose to marry than pre-1990. The most common causes of divorce are conflict, arguing, irretrievable breakdown in the relationship, lack of commitment, infidelity, and lack of physical intimacy.122

So, what is it that might help to keep the marriage union together? I found an interesting article on this topic. Let’s take a few minutes and see what it has to say.

HOW TO GET LOST IN GOD’S LOVE AND SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE

Every person on earth has a deep desire to be loved. And as wonderful as love in marriage is, it will never be a fulfilling love unless we first saturate ourselves in the unfailing love of God.

“Lord, fix my husband. Fix us!” As quickly as the prayer was on my lips, I felt God ask, Do you believe I can do what [you’re] asking Me to do?

I did not.

My husband, Bob, and I had reached a place of deep pain. Busyness. Sinfulness. Selfishness. I was angry with Bob. The circumstances don’t really matter. They’re probably a lot like the circumstances in your marriage from time to time. But convinced I [couldn’t] love him well until he loved me better, I dug myself into a prayer routine that proved futile.

I was, in fact, looking for love in the wrong place. As wonderful as love in marriage is, it will never be a fulfilling love unless we first saturate ourselves in the unfailing love of God.

Before you accuse me of sounding cliché, I’ve learned this on the hot pavement of life, and I’d like to offer four practical tips that have helped me to live it out.

ADMIT THAT WHAT YOU NEED MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THIS WORLD IS TO BE WELL LOVED.

Because love is a basic need of humanity, every person has a deep desire to be loved. During a difficult season of feeling unloved in my marriage, God led me to Proverbs 19:22 (NIV): “What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.”

The Bible uses the phrase “unfailing love” more than [thirty] times, and not one of them refers to any source other than God himself. He alone holds the answer to our deep craving for love. This means that your husband or wife will never be able to fulfill this need unless you first find satisfaction in God’s love.

LET YOUR SPOUSE OFF THE HOOK.

The greatest symptom that my need for love was misdirected was that I was praying for God to change my husband — without having the humility to ask God how He wanted to change me. [It’s] never wrong to pray for God to make your husband or wife more like Him. However, when your prayers are void of your own need, that might indicate you’re trying to have your needs met through a person’s love rather than through God’s. When I realized this in my own life, I simply asked God to make me hungry for His love.

It takes a lot of courage to admit that your marriage might not be exactly what you want because [you’re] not exactly what you need to be. Be brave. Put yourself under God’s care to be changed.

WRITE A LIST OF THINGS YOUR SPOUSE DOES TO EXPRESS HIS OR HER LOVE FOR YOU.

Do this as an act of thanksgiving to God. My counselor assigned this task to me and, although I took it on reluctantly, it had a dramatic impact on my heart. I am, in fact, a very loved woman. I have a husband who never fails to ask for forgiveness, prays with me each night at bedtime, willingly enters into counseling when we need it, manages our money well, begs me to sneak away with him from time to time, and tolerates my weaknesses as much as I tolerate his. It’s easy to lose sight of all this when we’re hurting each other, and [it’s] so important to refocus our thinking to be grateful. As I did this, it became an act of loving my husband through God’s love in me.

INVEST IN THE FRIENDSHIP OF YOUR SPOUSE.

This world’s paradigm of love can often put a lot of emphasis on sex, [romance,] and passion in marriage. If those things aren’t on full boil, we tend to think our relationship lacks love. But God’s Word defines marital love more in terms of friendship and commitment than sex and romance. Take a night to play a board game or enjoy a hike together on a Sunday afternoon. If you can meet your spouse for lunch, consider canceling an appointment with a personal trainer or even a friend.

I’ve long embraced the biblical story of the woman at the well (John 4). She tried man after man but never felt that her thirst for love had been quenched. She was desperate and love-sick. Then, when Jesus showed up, He offered her the love she really needed. But she said, “You have nothing to draw water with, and the well is [deep.”]

How like us! How like me. You don’t have to be a woman who has had many husbands to be parched with a thirst for love. You just have to be a woman [who’s] trying to get something from her husband that only God can give. I know. [I’ve] been there many times, just waiting for God to show up. And when He does, I’m prone to tell him, “But God, I’m in so deep, and you don’t have a bucket!”

It doesn’t matter how deep the problem; the solution is still God’s love. And He has buckets and buckets of love to fix your marriage. And to fix your heart.123

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, relationships have been fractured. Each of us has a sin nature that contains passions or tendencies that evidence, in some instances, more good human traits than bad or worse human traits than good. The causes are varied, such as the fallen nature, genetics, family upbringing, peer group affiliations, etc.

Along with this, there have been countless books on how to save a relationship. It’s unfortunate that when a marriage deteriorates, we tend to look at our partner differently. No longer as the one who’s our teammate, our best friend, our confidant but as an enemy. How much child support are they requesting? How much of what we own together will they want? Who will have custody of the children? And what will the visitation rights be?

But when we become a child of God, a verse from the book of Colossians tells us how He continually chooses to treat us no matter how we’ve chosen to treat Him.

Colossians 3:12

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Did you know that at salvation, God calls you, the elect, beloved? Let’s begin by clarifying what it means for you to be called God’s elect. God has chosen you, the elect, to salvation as those who would believe [in] his Son.124 Why did God single you out in eternity past? He didn’t choose you because He chose some to heaven and others to hell. You were chosen because He knew beforehand that when the gospel was presented to you in your time on earth, you’d decide to respond to it.

Another misperception as to why God selects certain ones is as some might say is because of their excellent works. Clarification concerning this misconception is found in the following verse from the book of Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

And because of your unmerited response, i.e., not of works to the gospel of grace, God declares you holy (you’re standing in grace as someone set apart from the world unto the Lord),125 and beloved (dearly loved; this is God’s love, … a love that denies self for the benefit of the object loved).126

The word beloved is a verb that, in Koine Greek, is in the form of a perfect passive participle.

With this designation, we could rewrite this verse and state it this way. When you responded to God the Father’s invitation of salvation, you, the elect, at this point in time, became profoundly loved and the reality of God loving you personally continues with the present result that [you are the object] of His love.127

And as you learn about the spiritual qualities of God’s love and apply them to yourself, you’ll begin to express these self-less qualities for the benefit of your believing or unbelieving husband or wife, friends, enemies, associates at work, fellow believers, unbelievers, those that have hurt you, etc. Whether they receive this love doesn’t change the love of God that’s emanating from your life. And no matter what the ultimate result is of these relationships, you’ll evidence to them what the Bible says is of great gain.

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Godliness with contentment is an inner sufficiency that keeps us at peace in spite of outward circumstances.128

Have you ever bought something and said something like, it’s perfect? In my younger years, there was something that I had the same sentiment about. What was it and what’s the spiritual blessing associated with it? Please continue on, and we’ll soon find out.

Endnotes

122“What are the current statistics on divorce?” 20 November 2022

.

123Dannah Gresh. “HOW TO GET LOST IN GOD’S LOVE AND SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE” FOCUS ON THE FAMILY 19 November 2022

.

124The Pulpit Commentary.

125The Bible Exposition Commentary/New Testament.

126Weust’s Word Studies.

127Weust’s Word Studies.

128The Bible Exposition Commentary.

My name is James Rondinone. I am a husband, father, and spiritual leader.

I grew up in Massachusetts and began my own spiritual journey early on in life.

I attended Bible college, having completed a two-year Christian Leadership Course of Study and graduated as valedictorian (Summa Cum Laude).

Studying and teaching the Word of God has been a passion of mine for over 20 years.

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