Sunday, January 19, 2014

ikilem


Greater Grace Istanbul Church
2014,  January 19th
Sunday Fellewship.
                                                                                        www.istanbulggtr.blogspot.com in Turksih


“ power of God unto salvation”

First,when it comes to understanding man, we must also understand the 2 kingdoms 
Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Power: exousia  = Authority. It is these two realms that man has operated in.
He was born physically into the 1st ( authority of darkness) and is born again into the 2nd.  The kingdom of the son of His love.  Apart from this new kingdom, every person remains under the authority of the “prince of this world system Col. 2.2  Eph. 4.4.  1John 5.19b
When the Gospel was preached, it was presented to us as the “ power of God unto salvation” Rom. 1.16. Here the word for power is “dynamis” = operational power; that which gives a human practical victory in the devils world by separating the man from it.
This is what Jesus mean by saying, man does not live by bread alone, but by ever Word that proceeds out from the mouth of God. Luke 4.4 Matt. 4.4 
In the world system created by the devil and governed by him and the fallen angels, a man of God lives by “ordered steps”:  steps that direct him by means of the Word of God that is in his soul. Psa. 119.133  Thus, the Word of God has the final authority (power) affecting the believers mind, will and emotions.  He is learning to walk by faith and not by sight Habakkuk 2.4 Rom. 1.17  Gal. 3.11.

How about Apostle Paul, was his condition different than us?
Paul would not have had enough will power to not sin again. Else, he would have reason to boast. Eph. 2.9 He had reason to not trust in his flesh: Rom. 7.18 Paul had his will, which is his ability to choose, but it had no power in itself. ( Like a light switch, when not connected to the wires, can be flipped on and off with no effect. It must be hooked up to a power source outside of itself). So instead of being connected to the old sin nature and its energy from the flesh, Paul would trust in the authority (power) of the Finished Work of Christ to give him victory over the old sin nature, that produces personal sins.  Rom. 6.6 Rom. 7.12-25   (remember, this was Paul describing his condition after salvation, not before.) 

So, for him and for us, our practical victory over sin must include the following. 
1.  Each day I consider myself dead to the world, flesh, devil.  Gal. 2.20  I am to state that I have overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ that speaks ( Heb. 12.24) of a better covenant. 
2. Word of my testimony: the statements from the mouth of God (Bible) and what it says about who I am in Christ. 
3. Not loving my life in this life (temporal value system).
All summed up in Rev. 12.11 When one does sin, he must “confess” = homolego, 'say the same thing that God says' both in calling it what it is, and WHAT CHRIST HAS ALREADY DONE ABOUT IT. !John 2.2 Heb. 9.26  2Sam 12.13 

There are other supporting verses relating to my human weakness, the absence of will power...  John 1.13