Weekly Message: We more than conquer through Christ who loved us.
By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical Precepts & Gospel music Date: 6/27/2021
The
righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel to our faith. Apostle Paul’s
letter to the church in Rome at Corinth, in approximately A.D.60, Paul was on third
ministry journey. The book of Roman can be divided into eight sections:
introduction, condemnation, justification, sanctification, glorification,
selection, transformation, and conclusion. The book begins with man’s fall
(Romans1:18) in contrast to Ephesians, which begins with God’s selection and
predestination in eternity past); continues through Christ’s redemption, God’s
justification, sanctification, transformation, conformation, and glorification;
and, finally, touches the mystery of God in eternity past (Romans16:25). In the
preceding verse the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of faith;
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men. However, since the gospel of God has come, the scene
has changed. Now the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel to our
faith.
The central thought of the book of
Romans is that God’s salvation makes sinners His sons, who have His life and
nature so that they can express Him, that they may become members of Christ to
constitute the Body of Christ for His expression. Therefore, Sonship is
stressed in chapter 8:14-17 says, “ For
many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God, for you have not
received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of Sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father! The Spirit himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of
God. And if Children, heirs also; on the one hand, heirs of God; on the other,
joint heirs with Christ. If indeed we
suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Roman8:14-17).
Apostle Paul encouraged the saints in Rome
that they have received a spirit of Sonship , and they not only have been
regenerated in their spirit and are growing in the divine life, but they also
are living and walking by being led by the Spirit. Heirs are the sons of God
who, through the transfiguration of their body in the stage of glorification,
will be fully matured in every part of their being. Therefore, they will be
qualified as the legal heirs to claim the divine inheritance. “And we know that all things work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He
also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son that He might be the
Firstborn among many brothers;
(Roman8:28-29) and those whom He predestinated, these He also called. And those
whom He called, these He also justified, and those whom He justified, these He
also glorified. (v.30) what then shall we say to these things? If God is for
us, who can be against us? Indeed, He who did not spare His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all
things? (vv.31-32) who shall bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is
God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died and
rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also
intercedes for us. (vv.33-34) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or
sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being put to death all day long;
we have been accounted as sheep for slaughter.” (vv.8:35-36) But in all these
things we more than conquer through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that
neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor
things to come nor powers, nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
((Roman8:37-39)
God has predestinated us not
simply that we may be sanctified, spiritual, and victorious but that we may be
fully conformed to the image of His Son. This is our destiny, determined by God
in eternity past. Conformation is the end result of transformation. It includes
the changing of our inward essence and nature, and it also includes the
changing of our outward form, that we may match the glorified image of Christ,
the God-man. In Philippians3:21 says, “ Who will transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to
the body of His glory, according to His operation by which He is able even to
subject all things to Himself.” The
transfiguration of our body is the ultimate consummation of God’s salvation. In
His salvation God first regenerated our spirit (john3:6), now is transforming
our soul (Rom.12:2), and consummately will transfigure our body, making us the
same as Christ in all three parts of our being.
The purpose of God’s foreknowledge,
predestination, and calling is to prepare and produce many brothers for His
firstborn Son (John20) that , on the one
hand, they , together with God’s firstborn Son, may be the many sons of God
with the divine life and nature for the expression of God, and that, on the
other hand, they may be the many members who constitute the Body of God’s
firstborn Son as the corporate expression of God in His firstborn Son, which is
the fullness of God’s firstborn Son, that is, the fullness of God in His
firstborn Son. (Eph.1:23;3:19). Justification
is a bridge that brings sinners, who are redeemed by Christ, from the law’s
condemnation (Romans3:19) into God’s acceptance (5:1-2). In this acceptance God
works to conform them to the image of His Son until He brings them into His
glory. (Heb.2:10) Glorification is the step in God’s complete salvation in
which God will completely saturate our body of sin, which is of death and is
mortal (Romans 7:24;8:11;6:6), with the glory of His life and nature according
to the principle of His regenerating our spirit through the Spirit . In this
way He will transfigure our body, conforming it to the resurrected, glorious
body of His Son.(Phil.3:21) This is the
ultimate step in God’s complete salvation, wherein God obtains a full
expression, which will ultimately be manifested in the New Jerusalem in the
coming age.
My friends, In God’s salvation, He, first regenerated our spirit, now is transforming
our soul, and consummately will transfigure our body, making us the same as Christ
in all three parts of our being. Why, many saints are not able to reach to the stage
of glorification? Because their soul being
attacked by worry and anxiety of this world, which comes from Satan, is the sum
total of human life and disturbs the believers’ life of living Christ.
Be aware of the Biblical precepts of “Mark: Χαραγμα”(charagma in Rev.13:17) According to the Revelation 13:17 indicates “Mark”, in Greek “Χαραγμα charagma”, it portrays as “Beast”- “False Prophet”. In this era technology named “tattoo” and it’s already available today. Christians aware of this “Mark” and keep themselves from having tattoo in their hands and bodies. In Revelation 13:11-18 indicates the second Beast out of the Earth this other beast, the false prophet will come out of the Jews this one may be Judas Iscarior (John6:70-71) because after Judas died, he went to his own place (Acts.1:25) not to his people as other did. Geographically, this false prophet will come up out of the earth, and figuratively, he will come out of the Jews. This False Prophet looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon. That he appears to be a lamb but speaks like the dragon, Satan, indicates his falsity. The false prophet will employ satanic power to perform great signs, such as calling down fire out of heaven as Elijah did. Thus, it will be difficult for people to distinguish the real prophets from the false prophet. “And the second beast (False Prophet) causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the freemen and the slaves, to be given a “MARK” on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no one may be able to buy or sell except him who has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of his name. The number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.” (Rev.13:16-18). The number of the beast is the number of a man. Some Theologians view this man is Roman emperor Caesar Nero, who is the coming Antichrist. The number represented by the Hebrew letters of the name Caesar Nero is 666 as follows,
Nε נ 50 ρ 200דω ז 6 ν ב 50 = 306
Και ק 100 σα ס60 ρד 200 =
360 + 306 total 666
And by this mark the second beast will control
the population of the world. No one will be able to survive economically with
this mark. (v.17). The reference to wisdom in verse 18 means the Tribulation
saints will understand what is happening when they see this mark and its number
required of all people on the earth.
All Saints, Christians, we need to remind ourselves
again and again that the love of God is the source of His eternal salvation. This love is in Christ and
has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans5:5). Nothing can separate us from
the love of God. (vv.38-39). In God’s salvation this love to us has become the love of Christ.(v.35), which does many marvelous things for
us through the grace of Christ until God’s complete salvation is accomplished
in us. These marvelous things provoke God’s enemy to attach us with all kinds
of sufferings and calamities (vv.35-36) However, because of our response to the
love of God in Christ, these attacks have become benefits to us (v.28). Therefore,
we more than conquer in all our afflictions and calamities (v.37). In another words, We are in God’s acceptance
enjoying the source of this salvation, which is God’s love in Christ, from
which we cannot be separated by any person, matter, or thing, and, on the other
hand, we are in God’s life being conformed
by the Lord Spirit to reach the
ultimate goal of this salvation that is, to enter into the incomparable divine
glory and be glorified together with God. (Roamns8:18, 30). Because of God’s
unchanging love for us and the fact that Christ has accomplished everything on
our behalf, neither tribulation nor persecution can suppress or defeat us;
rather, in all these things we more than overcome and conquer through Him who
loved us.
Bibliography,
King James, The Holy Bible, Cleveland,
OH: The world publishing company
Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.
Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.)
Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
