Michael continues that Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “If you continue in my word then you shall be my disciples indeed and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” The Apostle Paul said by inspiration, “That which you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou unto faithful men that will be able to teach others also.” These two verses summarize Jesus’ great commission in Matthew 28:19-20 which he spoke to his disciples before he ascended into heaven: “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations... teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” In Acts 1:8 he said, “Tarry ye here in Jerusalem and you shall be endued with (clothed with) power from on high not many days hence.” Jesus had told his disciples in John 14, “I have to leave you so that the Holy Spirit can come. The Holy Spirit is the comforter, called along side you and within you to teach you all (spiritual) things.”
In our own ability we have no power to share the gospel of the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Without “the power from on high”. we cannot help but sin ... to miss the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The power from on high is the Spirit of God that we received when we were born again, not of biological seed of the flesh we inherited from Adam. Instead, we were born-again of God’s Holy Spirit, a spiritual new birth by the Word of God which lives and abides forever.
As followers of Christ, we’re called to share the gospel of salvation. This message is in John 3:16-17, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus came not to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. According to 1 John 5:11-13, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written to you that believe on the son of God and that ye may know that you have eternal life and that ye may believe on the name of the son of God.”
No one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit. When we’re born-again of God’s seed, our spirit bears witness with God’s spirit that we are sons of God. When any man. Or women is in Christ, they are a new creation. The new creation is the spirit of God in Christ in us. Jesus said to his disciples in Galilee, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” They had dedicated their lives to be fishers of fish. Jesus changed the purpose of their lives ... to be fishers of men. He taught them to be nodes in God’s fishing net ... the fishing network that would spread unto the uttermost part of the earth. Jesus poured His life into twelve disciples and an inner circle of three: Peter, James, and John. The power of God is spread through an exponential explosion to the power of three.
Let's conclude Michael's message in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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