The Redemption of the Body VII

Sunday 06/05/16

Series: Living in the Kingdom Pt. 36

Message – The Redemption of the Body VII

Living in the Kingdom

We’re on our 7^th and likely final week talking about life in the flesh and the redemption of the body as being an EQUAL part of our Great Hope.

Rom 8:22-25,

“(22) For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. (23) Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. (24) For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? (25) But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”

Our key points have been…

#1. We need to believe God cares for & redeemed our bodies.

#2. Life in the body is part of the work of the Kingdom.

#3. Healing is a benefit of the Kingdom.

#4. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit Who gives us life.

#5. Life in the body begins with an altered perception and tolerance for sin.

Life in the body through the Holy Spirit is where we are going today and in this is revealed what should be our heart response to the redemption of our bodies.

Point 1 – God is FOR our bodies

Remember 1 Cor. 6 told us that…

“the Lord is FOR the body
our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
We were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body

Points 2 & 3 – Healing is part of the message and work of the Kingdom

Jesus’ ministry ALSO had a focus on the body as well which is important because He did not preach the law – He preached the Kingdom of God (Luke 16:16). Remember…EVERYWHERE Jesus went He….

Preached the Kingdom of God
And He HEALED bodies and even raised some of them from the dead!

We have testimony of this in the gospels!

It is UNREASONABLE in the extreme to assume that Jesus was willing to DO ANYTHING

which worked against or misrepresented the work of the Kingdom!

Point 4 – Our Inheritance

We also looked at a new word last week – EARNEST.

The Holy Spirit is called the EARNEST of our inheritance. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1.

The word earnest means – a pledge, something which stands for part of the price and is paid beforehand to confirm the fullness of the completed transaction.

The Holy Spirit stands for PART of what is to come.

What is one thing we know is still to come? The full redemption of our bodies!

The GOOD NEWS IS – that the earnest we have is MORE than enough to establish God’s kingdom IN US.

This brings us to our new point we introduced last week…

Point 5 – Life in the body begins with an altered perception and tolerance for sin.

Our flesh has lost its grip and in fact even our bodies now at being trained by His Spirit to reject things it once craved.

As this happens we are experiencing the “life” in our mortal bodies that Romans was specifically talking about….let’s look at it.

Romans 8:11,

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.”

At this point it the message I felt it was necessary to back up to chapter 7 verse 16…and go through this whole process very slowly. We covered some VERY important truths which would help to set many Christians free if they were to hear it and spend time on their own worshiping God in the light of it.

Rom 7:16-25; 8:1-14 ,

“(16) If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.

This first verse neatly summarizes the “average” Christian life – which is NOT the same thing as the NORMAL Christian life. What is “normal” for a Christian is NOT determined by common experience, but by design. God designed that once we died with Christ we should live free from sin – not continue to suffer the results of guilt and shame that rightly accompany a duplicitous life-style.

Frankly, a life which cycles constantly through a pattern of sinning and repenting….sinning and repenting is NOT sustainable. No human can live with unending cycle indefinitely – something HAS to be done…and we only have two options.

1. Surrender to the inner work of the Holy Spirit in deep awareness and embracing of our weakness and draw our strength from Him to live holiness THROUGH us by His influence (grace) within our hearts.

2. Change the standard – so we don’t feel so bad about not living up to it.

The problem is:

WE HAVE BEEN CONDITIONED TO FAIL!

The NET result is of this conditioning is …

We lower our respect for God.
We alter the meanings of His words (or avoid them altogether) – changing God’s true image
We gravitate towards mediocrity.

(17) But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

(18) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

(19) For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

(20) Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

(21) I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

(22) For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

(23) But I see another law in my members*, warring against the law of my mind (soul)*, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

(24) O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

(25) I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Rom. 8

(1) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

(2) For the law of the spirit*** of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Here is when we looked at 1 Peter 3:18 & Ephesians 2.

(3) For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

(4) that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

(5) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

IN OTHER WORDS – YOUR WORKS FOLLOW YOUR FOCUS!

To establish what the “flesh” and the “spirit” are, like last week, we turned to Galatians 5:13-26.

We will pick up here after a short review next week….Blessings!

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Attendance at our church will NOT even be mentioned nor will money.

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Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!