1 BRETHREN, [with all] my heart's desire and goodwill for [Israel], I long and pray to God that they may be saved.
The Holy Spirit had shown Paul that only a few of his fellow countrymen could be saved, Romans 9:29. Paul also writes repeatedly in his letters that he is dead, yet he lives, but it is not him who is alive, it is Christ in Him, Galatians 2:20. So the Truth is that it is actually our Father using Paul to pray that Israel is saved and amen they will be. Not many of them will be saved as the Bride, but many will be saved as guests of the Bride. Our Father would that all men be saved and He allows us to be part of His plan by empowering us to ever live to intercede for people. He uses us to give His Grace and His Mercy. Our Father places in us a heart and a Spirit that desires what He desires and He causes us to love and forgive as He forgives.
2 I bear them witness that they have a [certain] zeal and enthusiasm for God, but it is not enlightened and according to [correct and vital] knowledge.
The same holds true for so many Christians today, they have a zeal for our Father, but it is based on serving Him through rules and laws. They try to serve Him through their own works.
Yet we know that a man is justified or reckoned righteous and in right standing with God not by works of the Law, but [only] through faith and [absolute] reliance on and adherence to and trust in Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). [Therefore] even we [ourselves] have believed on Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law [for we cannot be justified by any observance of the ritual of the Law given by Moses], because by keeping legal rituals and by works no human being can ever be justified (declared righteous and put in right standing with God). Galatians 2:16
People who believe that they have to do things on their own have not been enlightened to know the glorious Truth that we have now become one with God through Jesus. They do not understand that there is now no separation at all between us. They do not know that we are now flesh of Jesus’ flesh and bone of His bone, Ephesians 5:30. They have not been shown that we are now as He is, even though we are still in the earth and even though we still have these bodies, 1 John 4:17. So these people zealous try to impose laws on people because they are always trying to feel the connection with our Father through their own works.
Our Father had the whole Book of Romans written to show us that there are no longer any laws. He has repeatedly told us that the only way to now live is by Grace. The only way to not lie, steal, covet, murder, or any other bad thing is not to believe that it is against His Law, but to have faith that there is no law that makes it a sin. Our faith has to be Authored and Finished by Jesus to know that it is our Father exerting His influence on our souls. That means there is no condemnation for any of us, because there are now no laws for any of us. A true Christian has more faith in our Father’s abilities then man’s abilities. We have been empowered to know that Jesus is in complete control of everything. We have our Lord’s peace that we are all exactly where our Father wants us to be. He may be taking us to a different place, but right now we are all exactly where our Father wants us. Therefore there is now no condemnation for us, Romans 8:1
No comments:
Post a Comment