Lesson 4 - What the Church Has Failed to See
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GOD KNEW what He must do to redeem man. He knew the hopelessness of man under Satan’s dominion.
Ephesians 2:12, “That ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
First, the Gentile world was separated from Christ and Christ alone had Eternal Life. They were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, did not have any share in the Abrahamic Covenant, and were strangers from the covenants of promise. They had no part in the common lot of Israel—”having no hope and without God.”
And yet, they were Eternal Beings.
That Scripture ought to make evangelists of every believer.
Satan Was Conquered by Jesus
Hebrews 9:12, “Not with the blood of goats and of calves but with His own blood He entered once for all into the Holy Place having obtained Eternal Redemption.”
What God has said about our Redemption has meant nothing to the multitudes in the church. To the teachers it is a theological fact, but it is not vital.
Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have our Redemption through His blood, the remission of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace.”
Three Mighty Facts
Here are three mighty facts:
In Christ we have our Redemption from Satan’s dominion. It is an Eternal Redemption. It is operative now.
We have the remission of our trespasses. The word, “for giveness,” is not properly translated. It comes from the Greek word, “aphesis.” It should always be translated “remission.”
Remission means to wipe out everything we have ever done up to the time we come to Christ. No matter how much Satan has enwrapped us in his snares, the minute we are Born Again we stand before God New Creations without the smell of our past life upon our spirits. The instant we are Born Again, we become the Righteousness of God in Christ. (II Corinthians 5:21.)
The instant that we become the Righteousness of God, Satan’s dominion over us is broken. Instead of being slaves of the Adversary, we become masters of the Adversary. Instead of circumstances lording it over us, we become the masters of circumstances.
Philippians 4:11 (Twentieth Century Translation), “Not that I speak in respect to want, for I have learned that in whatsoever state I am, therein to be independent of circumstances.”
Revelation 1:18, “I am the First and the Last and the Living One. I was dead; behold I am alive for evermore and have the keys of Hades.”
This One Who has the keys of Death and Hades is the Head and Lord of the New Creation.
Colossians 1:18, “And He is the Head of the Body, the Church, Who is the Beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence.”
He is sitting upon the Throne at the right hand of the Majesty of Heaven.
Ephesians 2:6 declares that we are legally sitting with Him in Heaven.
We were dead in our trespasses. He made us alive with Christ and raised us up with Him and He made us sit with Him in the Heavenlies in Christ. That is our legal standing with God today, and the foundation of our legal rights.
The Holy Spirit through the Word can make our present vital rights in Redemption a reality. The days of weakness and failure are ended for the man who knows the Word and dares to act upon it.
The Reality of the New Creation
This is not only a theological fact but a living reality.
II Corinthians 5:17, “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a New Creation: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new, and all these things are of God Who has reconciled us unto Himself.”
Now note it carefully, “If any man is in Christ.” When we accept Christ as our Savior and confess Him as our Lord, we become a branch of the Vine.
“I am the Vine and ye are the branches” (John 15:5).
We become utterly one with Christ.
II Peter 1:4 tells us that we become partakers of the Divine Nature and have escaped the corruption that came into the world through Adam’s transgression. That corruption is Spiritual Death. The escape is Eternal Life.
“I am come that they might have life and have it abundantly.”
That word “life” is from the Greek word “Zoe.” It means God’s Divine Nature.
I John 6:7, “He that believeth hath Eternal Life.”
You see, the Spirit would have us know this fact: that believing is possessing. The instant that you believe, you have.
You may mentally assent and never have. You may hope, and never have; but the instant you believe it is yours.
I John 5:13 is a reality in the New Creation. “These things have I written unto you that ye may know that ye have Eternal Life, even to you that believe on His Name.”
The instant you believe you become a possessor of the Father’s nature. You become as much a child of God as Jesus was in His earth walk. You may not have developed; you may not have grown in grace and in the knowledge of the Word; you may not have taken advantage of your privileges as a son; but you are a son, an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. Until we recognize that we are New Creations, the very sons and daughters of God, we will never take our place.
One translation says, “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new species.” In the mind of God the old man has stopped being. A new man has taken his place, and Ephesians 4:23, 24 has become a living, thrilling reality.
The Authority of His Name
The Church has never recognized the authority that has been given the Name of Jesus. When God planned our Redemption, He knew the measure of the ability of our Enemy. He knew that Jesus had paralyzed the death-dealing power of the Enemy. He knew that He must give us ability to dominate Satan and all his works; for if He did not, the New Creation would fall a prey to the Adversary as the First Creation had.
II Corinthians 2:11, “That no advantage may be gained over you by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
The Scripture describes the Adversary, tells us much about him. But it tells us more of what we are in Christ; and as we come to know our place in Christ, our rights and privileges, we become very conscious of any division in our walk. We know the moment we step out of love, we step into No-Man’s-Land where the Adversary gains the ascendancy.
In II Corinthians 11:3, Paul says, “But I fear, lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds might be corrupted from the purity that is in Christ.”
And so, when He left us, He gave us the Sword of the Spirit—the Word.
Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.”
This Sword of the Spirit is never used to wound or to slay men, but it is used against the Adversary; for our combat is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world’s powers. You see, we have come out of darkness into light, out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of the Son of His love, and our combat is against the forces of darkness that surround us. For we are in the light and we walk in the light as He is in the light. That light is the Word. That light is love. That light gives us a fellowship, companionship with the Father and with Jesus.
You remember in I John 3:8 that the Spirit tells us about Jesus: “To this end was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil.”
But He is now sitting at the right hand of the Father. He is with us in this Word. His ability and wisdom have been given to us. But He is giving us one weapon besides the Sword of the Spirit that Satan cannot withstand.
You remember John 14:13, 14, where Jesus said, “He that believeth on Me the works that I do he shall do also and greater than these shall he do because I go unto the Father, and whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do.”
You remember in the sixteenth chapter, “In that day you will not pray to Me.” So this - does not mean prayer, but this is the use of Jesus’ Name in another form, in combat with the Enemy and with the Enemy’s works. Jesus came to destroy the works of the Adversary.
Well, we are to take Jesus’ place now and use His Name just as Peter and John did in Acts 3:16. That impotent man held out his hand to Peter, sitting as he did at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. And Peter said, “Look on us.” And he gave heed, expecting to receive something from them. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Peter raised him up and immediately his ankle bones received strength. And leaping up, he began to walk and entered into the Temple with them walking and leaping and praising God. A miracle had happened, a startling manifestation of the living Christ.
A crowd gathered about them and Peter said, “And His Name, through faith in His Name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know” (Acts 3:16).
The disciples were arrested for this—locked up; but the next morning they were brought before the Sanhedrin, the same com pany of men who had judged Jesus and insisted upon His cruci fixion. When they had brought the apostles, they said, “By what authority have you done this?” And Peter said, “If we this day are examined for -a good deed concerning a good man by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, that in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, Whom ye crucified, even in His Name does this man stand whole before you.”
Read carefully now the whole story in the fourth and fifth chapters and see how the Name of Jesus conquered the Sanhedrin, defeated them thoroughly. They said, - “Lest it spread among the people.” They scourged them and sent them out and forbade their speaking that Name. But the Name had begun to do its mighty work. Multitudes were healed. Thousands upon thousands flocked into the city from the surrounding towns and were healed.
The disciples were arrested again. Acts 5:19, “But an angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors and let them out and said unto them: ‘Go, stand and speak in the Temple to the people all the words of this life.’”
The Sanhedrin gathered in the morning. They sent officers to the jail to bring the disciples. When they came to the jail, they found the keepers standing at the doors, but when they opened the prison, the disciples could not be found. Then consternation filled the hearts of the Sanhedrin. They sent for the men who were preaching in the Temple and brought them without violence.
The High Priest said, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this Name, and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with this teaching and attempt to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
Peter answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, Whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him bath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”
They were cut to the heart. They were staggered. A man named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who had the honor of the people, commanded to put the men from them and said that a noble miracle had been done. He admonished them not to take further action for they might find themselves fighting against God. Then they called the apostles and charged them not to speak in the Name of Jesus, and let them go.
You notice that they did not object to the teaching of the Resurrection, but they were afraid of the authority that that Name held.
Has that Name lost any of its authority? The Church has never used it. You hear them pray to Jesus and for Jesus’ sake, but we hear almost no one pray intelligently to the Father in this Name.
The Power of Attorney
You see, Jesus gave us the power of attorney to use His Name.
John 15:16, “And whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My Name, He may give it you.”
And in John 16:23, 24, we read, “And in that day you shall not pray to Me but verily, verily, I say unto you that if ye shall ask anything of the Father in My Name He will give it you. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.”
Also in Mark 16:17, we read in the Great Commission: “And these signs shall accompany them that believe.”
Then we find, “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following.”
QUESTIONS
Ephesians 2:12, “That ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
First, the Gentile world was separated from Christ and Christ alone had Eternal Life. They were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, did not have any share in the Abrahamic Covenant, and were strangers from the covenants of promise. They had no part in the common lot of Israel—”having no hope and without God.”
And yet, they were Eternal Beings.
That Scripture ought to make evangelists of every believer.
Satan Was Conquered by Jesus
Hebrews 9:12, “Not with the blood of goats and of calves but with His own blood He entered once for all into the Holy Place having obtained Eternal Redemption.”
What God has said about our Redemption has meant nothing to the multitudes in the church. To the teachers it is a theological fact, but it is not vital.
Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have our Redemption through His blood, the remission of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace.”
Three Mighty Facts
Here are three mighty facts:
In Christ we have our Redemption from Satan’s dominion. It is an Eternal Redemption. It is operative now.
We have the remission of our trespasses. The word, “for giveness,” is not properly translated. It comes from the Greek word, “aphesis.” It should always be translated “remission.”
Remission means to wipe out everything we have ever done up to the time we come to Christ. No matter how much Satan has enwrapped us in his snares, the minute we are Born Again we stand before God New Creations without the smell of our past life upon our spirits. The instant we are Born Again, we become the Righteousness of God in Christ. (II Corinthians 5:21.)
The instant that we become the Righteousness of God, Satan’s dominion over us is broken. Instead of being slaves of the Adversary, we become masters of the Adversary. Instead of circumstances lording it over us, we become the masters of circumstances.
Philippians 4:11 (Twentieth Century Translation), “Not that I speak in respect to want, for I have learned that in whatsoever state I am, therein to be independent of circumstances.”
Revelation 1:18, “I am the First and the Last and the Living One. I was dead; behold I am alive for evermore and have the keys of Hades.”
This One Who has the keys of Death and Hades is the Head and Lord of the New Creation.
Colossians 1:18, “And He is the Head of the Body, the Church, Who is the Beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence.”
He is sitting upon the Throne at the right hand of the Majesty of Heaven.
Ephesians 2:6 declares that we are legally sitting with Him in Heaven.
We were dead in our trespasses. He made us alive with Christ and raised us up with Him and He made us sit with Him in the Heavenlies in Christ. That is our legal standing with God today, and the foundation of our legal rights.
The Holy Spirit through the Word can make our present vital rights in Redemption a reality. The days of weakness and failure are ended for the man who knows the Word and dares to act upon it.
The Reality of the New Creation
This is not only a theological fact but a living reality.
II Corinthians 5:17, “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a New Creation: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new, and all these things are of God Who has reconciled us unto Himself.”
Now note it carefully, “If any man is in Christ.” When we accept Christ as our Savior and confess Him as our Lord, we become a branch of the Vine.
“I am the Vine and ye are the branches” (John 15:5).
We become utterly one with Christ.
II Peter 1:4 tells us that we become partakers of the Divine Nature and have escaped the corruption that came into the world through Adam’s transgression. That corruption is Spiritual Death. The escape is Eternal Life.
“I am come that they might have life and have it abundantly.”
That word “life” is from the Greek word “Zoe.” It means God’s Divine Nature.
I John 6:7, “He that believeth hath Eternal Life.”
You see, the Spirit would have us know this fact: that believing is possessing. The instant that you believe, you have.
You may mentally assent and never have. You may hope, and never have; but the instant you believe it is yours.
I John 5:13 is a reality in the New Creation. “These things have I written unto you that ye may know that ye have Eternal Life, even to you that believe on His Name.”
The instant you believe you become a possessor of the Father’s nature. You become as much a child of God as Jesus was in His earth walk. You may not have developed; you may not have grown in grace and in the knowledge of the Word; you may not have taken advantage of your privileges as a son; but you are a son, an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. Until we recognize that we are New Creations, the very sons and daughters of God, we will never take our place.
One translation says, “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new species.” In the mind of God the old man has stopped being. A new man has taken his place, and Ephesians 4:23, 24 has become a living, thrilling reality.
The Authority of His Name
The Church has never recognized the authority that has been given the Name of Jesus. When God planned our Redemption, He knew the measure of the ability of our Enemy. He knew that Jesus had paralyzed the death-dealing power of the Enemy. He knew that He must give us ability to dominate Satan and all his works; for if He did not, the New Creation would fall a prey to the Adversary as the First Creation had.
II Corinthians 2:11, “That no advantage may be gained over you by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
The Scripture describes the Adversary, tells us much about him. But it tells us more of what we are in Christ; and as we come to know our place in Christ, our rights and privileges, we become very conscious of any division in our walk. We know the moment we step out of love, we step into No-Man’s-Land where the Adversary gains the ascendancy.
In II Corinthians 11:3, Paul says, “But I fear, lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds might be corrupted from the purity that is in Christ.”
And so, when He left us, He gave us the Sword of the Spirit—the Word.
Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.”
This Sword of the Spirit is never used to wound or to slay men, but it is used against the Adversary; for our combat is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world’s powers. You see, we have come out of darkness into light, out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of the Son of His love, and our combat is against the forces of darkness that surround us. For we are in the light and we walk in the light as He is in the light. That light is the Word. That light is love. That light gives us a fellowship, companionship with the Father and with Jesus.
You remember in I John 3:8 that the Spirit tells us about Jesus: “To this end was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil.”
But He is now sitting at the right hand of the Father. He is with us in this Word. His ability and wisdom have been given to us. But He is giving us one weapon besides the Sword of the Spirit that Satan cannot withstand.
You remember John 14:13, 14, where Jesus said, “He that believeth on Me the works that I do he shall do also and greater than these shall he do because I go unto the Father, and whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do.”
You remember in the sixteenth chapter, “In that day you will not pray to Me.” So this - does not mean prayer, but this is the use of Jesus’ Name in another form, in combat with the Enemy and with the Enemy’s works. Jesus came to destroy the works of the Adversary.
Well, we are to take Jesus’ place now and use His Name just as Peter and John did in Acts 3:16. That impotent man held out his hand to Peter, sitting as he did at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. And Peter said, “Look on us.” And he gave heed, expecting to receive something from them. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Peter raised him up and immediately his ankle bones received strength. And leaping up, he began to walk and entered into the Temple with them walking and leaping and praising God. A miracle had happened, a startling manifestation of the living Christ.
A crowd gathered about them and Peter said, “And His Name, through faith in His Name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know” (Acts 3:16).
The disciples were arrested for this—locked up; but the next morning they were brought before the Sanhedrin, the same com pany of men who had judged Jesus and insisted upon His cruci fixion. When they had brought the apostles, they said, “By what authority have you done this?” And Peter said, “If we this day are examined for -a good deed concerning a good man by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, that in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, Whom ye crucified, even in His Name does this man stand whole before you.”
Read carefully now the whole story in the fourth and fifth chapters and see how the Name of Jesus conquered the Sanhedrin, defeated them thoroughly. They said, - “Lest it spread among the people.” They scourged them and sent them out and forbade their speaking that Name. But the Name had begun to do its mighty work. Multitudes were healed. Thousands upon thousands flocked into the city from the surrounding towns and were healed.
The disciples were arrested again. Acts 5:19, “But an angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors and let them out and said unto them: ‘Go, stand and speak in the Temple to the people all the words of this life.’”
The Sanhedrin gathered in the morning. They sent officers to the jail to bring the disciples. When they came to the jail, they found the keepers standing at the doors, but when they opened the prison, the disciples could not be found. Then consternation filled the hearts of the Sanhedrin. They sent for the men who were preaching in the Temple and brought them without violence.
The High Priest said, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this Name, and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with this teaching and attempt to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
Peter answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, Whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him bath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”
They were cut to the heart. They were staggered. A man named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who had the honor of the people, commanded to put the men from them and said that a noble miracle had been done. He admonished them not to take further action for they might find themselves fighting against God. Then they called the apostles and charged them not to speak in the Name of Jesus, and let them go.
You notice that they did not object to the teaching of the Resurrection, but they were afraid of the authority that that Name held.
Has that Name lost any of its authority? The Church has never used it. You hear them pray to Jesus and for Jesus’ sake, but we hear almost no one pray intelligently to the Father in this Name.
The Power of Attorney
You see, Jesus gave us the power of attorney to use His Name.
John 15:16, “And whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My Name, He may give it you.”
And in John 16:23, 24, we read, “And in that day you shall not pray to Me but verily, verily, I say unto you that if ye shall ask anything of the Father in My Name He will give it you. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.”
Also in Mark 16:17, we read in the Great Commission: “And these signs shall accompany them that believe.”
Then we find, “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following.”
QUESTIONS
- What was the spiritual condition of the Gentile world before Christ came?
- What three great things has Redemption brought to us?
- What is the meaning of the word “remission”
- Explain the secret of the New Creation truth. What is the characteristic of the New Creation?
- How are we to use the Sword of the Spirit?
- What other great weapon has the Father given to us to use to combat the powers of darkness?