The Assurance of Spiritual Life

John 3 verses 3 and 5, Jesus said, “I assure you and most solemnly guarantee to you, unless a person is born from above... spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified... you cannot enter nor even SEE the kingdom of God.” AMP

And in verse 6 He said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

If you are born of the Spirit, you have a spiritual life. Anyone who does not have the Spirit born spiritual life is still DEAD in their sins.

Rom. 8:2, ...the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. The liberating law of the life-giving Spirit has freed us from the enslaving law of death-giving sin.

Rom. 8:3-4 God, by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh guided by worldliness, but live our lives in the ways of the Spirit guided by His power.

The Scriptures Speak of Christ

John 5:39 says, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”

Search the scriptures. Jesus was speaking to the ruling Jews who were persecuting Him “because He had done “these things” on the Sabbath” (John 5:16). The Jews of that day had what we today might call the Old Testament. Most believe they had the Torah, or the first five books of the bible (Pentateuch); as well as the Prophets and Psalms, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth, Esther and some minor prophets... not necessarily all in every synagogue.

Infinite Distance

We must occasionally bring to mind the great gulf between sinful man and our Holy Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer. We must recall Who and What He is, and who and what we were in order to more fully comprehend and appreciate what He did! We should not want to dwell on who we “were” but rather appreciate more what He did for us.

This Do In Remembrance of Me

In 1 Cor. 11, the Apostle to the Gentiles writes to the Corinthian assembly. I say that purposely to draw attention to Paul because He was the only one ordained by the risen Lord Himself to go specifically out from the Jews directly to the Gentiles, even though his ministry would include everybody and anybody. A point I believe very much missed by Christendom today. Catholicism, for example, may as well be a pharisaical religion under Law. And although Protestantism tried to break away, it hasn’t gone very far. The mysteries of the “Body of Christ” were revealed to only Paul. And, as Peter writes in his letter, they are HARD to understand. Wrong perspective.

Many scholars believe this letter to be the first written description of the Lord’s Supper since this letter from Paul is dated earlier than most of the Gospels. This is very edifying to contemplate since Paul was NOT at the “Last Supper.”

Humility and Love

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, The steadfast love of the LORD (Jehovah) never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

In the four Gospels we read the accounts of the life and death of Jesus (Jehovah incarnate). There is an infinite volume of truth about Jesus’ life, His birth, His death, His purpose(s), His words, His miracles, His righteousness, His divinity, His judgments, His sorrows, His joy, etc., which we will not fully comprehend in this life.

Behold the Man

In John 18 and 19 we read of Jesus’s arrest. Then He was sent to Caiaphas, then to Pilate who questioned Him and scourged Him. After that, Pilate brought Him out to the crowd and said, “Behold the Man!” John 19:5

Pilate was essentially saying, "Here is Jesus. He is not your Messiah, He is not your king, He is not God. He is just a man."
Let us consider the man... Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross. Heb. 12:3. 

What joy could possibly be worth enduring the pain, torture and humiliation of crucifixion? Could it be that Jesus would be exalted above all else in Heaven and Earth? Or that He would be King of Israel... and the world? Wouldn't that be selfish and vain of Jesus? The joy set before Jesus was redeeming the human race and all of creation, for God so loved the world.
See also John 10:11.

In The Beginning Was The Word

John 1:1, In the beginning... was the Word, and the Word was WITH God, and the Word was God.

This study begins with “the beginning” because it requires understanding. In the beginning is a vague and indistinct phrase. There is no definite place in time specified. We naturally think of Genesis 1:1 as the beginning of the time of creation. But in John 1:1, we should consider a “time” before creation, which was not a “time” in our sense of the word, but the eternity before time, or it could mean during the time of creation. In any case, the entire triune Godhead is outside of time but works within time as well. We are here introduced to a relationship before anything is created; the relationship of “the Word” to God.