Robyn Banks
July 22nd 2003, 05:30 AM
The New Testament presentation of God is overwhelmingly a presentation of the divine plan of salvation (the life/ death/ resurrection & second-coming of Christ).
- The story concerns God unfurling his mysterious plan [1 Cor 2:1, 7-11; Eph 1:9-10; 3:3-5, 9-11, Col 1:26-27; 2:2],
- which is his plan from the beginning that, through Christ, all may be reconciled to God. [2 Cor 5:18-19]
Christ is presented as the exact nature of God, [John 10:30 (“The Father and I are one.”)]
- and his perfect life presented in the gospels.
Creation is said to be made through Jesus, [Heb 1:3 (“He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being”), Col 1:15-17 (“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”), 19 (“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”); 2:9-10 (“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”)]
- And Christ has made God known [John 1:18 (“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.”); 8:19 (“Then they said to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."”); 10:14 (“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father”); 14:6-11 (“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me"”); 15:15 (“I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.”)]
- by Jesus being sent from heaven. [John 6:38ff (“for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.”), 62 (“Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?”); 12:44 (“Then Jesus cried aloud: "Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.”); 13:3 (“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God...”); 17:28 (“I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”)]
Through Christ’s humility and poverty, Christ became exalted [2 Cor 13:4 (“Christ was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God.”); Phil 2:6-11 (“Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”), John 3:13-15 (“No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”)]
- and believers become rich in receiving the blessings he received. [2 Cor 8:9 (“You know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”)]
He became the substitutionary sacrifice for sins, [Eph 2:4-5 (“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.”)]
- once for all, [Heb 9:24-28 (“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”)]
- for those who come to God by believing in him. [Heb 7:24-28 (“Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.”)]
As Christ belongs to God, believers belong to Christ, and become inheritors of the eternal life which Christ owned first. [1 Cor 3:22-23 (“All belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”), Acts 26:22-23 (“To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”); 1 John 2:23-24 (“No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father.”), 5:9&11 (“For this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son: ... God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”)]
God raised Christ from the dead, so that all may be made alive in Christ. [1 Cor 15:22 (“God raised Christ from the dead, so that all may be made alive in Christ”), Col 1:18 (“The Son is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”)]
- Believers were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of God. [1 Cor 6:11; Matt 20:18-20 (“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded”)]
- For our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin, [Gal 3:13-14, Eph 1:7-8]
- so that in him believers might become the righteousness of God. [2 Cor 5:21]
Christ has now been exalted to the place of God, [Heb 1:3 (“After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”), 8:1-2 (“We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.”), 10:12 (“But when this priest [Jesus Christ] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”), 12:2 (“Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”); Eph 1:19-23 (“... The working of God's mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”), Eph 2:6-7 (“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”); Col 3:1-4 (“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”); Acts 7:55-56 (“But filled with the Holy Spirit, Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"”)]
- and been given the name of God, to the glory of God. [“God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11)]
In the same way that there is one God from whom believers receive existence, there is one Lord Jesus through whom believers receive existence. [1 Cor 8:4-6 (“...for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”)]
- In the same way that Jesus died and rose again, God will also resurrect dead believers with Jesus. [1 Thess 4:14 (“As Jesus died and rose, God will also resurrect dead believers with Jesus”), 2 Cor 4:14 (“We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence.”), 5:5 (“God has given us the Spirit as a guarantee of eternity with him”)]
In the NT, God’s holy spirit is poured out on all people. [Acts 2:16 (“Peter explained: "No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh”), 1 Cor 3:16 (“You are God's temple and God's Spirit dwells in you.”), John 3:3,5-8]
- God called us to live a holy life, which the blood of Christ allows us to do, [Heb 9:14 (“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”)]
- and God gives his holy spirit to enable it. [1 Thess 4:7-8 (“God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.”); John 4:23-25 (“"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."”)]
Indwelt by his spirit, [1 Cor 6:15 & 19 (“Your bodies are members of Christ, so should not be used for immoral purposes. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God.”)]
- believers should therefore produce righteousness through Jesus Christ for the glory of God, [Phil 1:11(“...having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.”); Gal 5:24 (“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”)]
- and be filled with spiritual understanding of the will of God. [Col 1:9 ; John 16:13-15]
God continues at work in believers for them to follow his purposes, [Phil 2:13 (“for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”), 1 Thess 2:13 (“...God's word, which is also at work in you believers.”), 3:12-13 (“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”)]
- and transforms them. [2 Cor 3:17-18 (“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”)]
- Believers should become one spirit with God, [1 Cor 6:17 (“anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”)]
- children of God, [2 Cor 6:16 & 18 (“we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people... and I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."”)]
- able to call God “Father” as Jesus did, [Matt 12:50 (“Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother”), Eph 2:18 (“Through Christ Jesus we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”)]
- and therefore to call Jesus “brother”. [Heb 2:9-11 (“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.”)]
God keeps believers blameless until the second coming, so they may be saved. [1 Thess 5:23 (“May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”), 1 Cor 1:7-8 (“so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”)]
Believers now eagerly await the second coming of our saviour from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, in glory. [Phil 3:14 (“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”), 1 Thess 2:19 (“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?”); Acts 3:19-21 (“Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets.”)]
- They will be in the presence of their God & Father when the Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. [1 Thess 3:13 (“And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”), 4:16-17 (“For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.”); Luke 21:27 (“At the end of the age: Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.”)]
- “We who know Christ are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved.” [2 Cor 2:15 , Acts 24:14 (“according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors, believing everything laid down according to the law or written in the prophets. I have a hope in God--a hope that they themselves also accept--that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”)]
Jesus Christ has been given all things [John 3:34-36 (“He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath.”)]
- including being assigned the divine judgement, [1 Cor 15:27-28 (“For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "All things are put in subjection," it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.”), 2 Cor 5:10 (“All of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.”), Matt 11:25-27 (“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”), 13:41-43(“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”), 16:27-28 (“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”); Luke 10:21-22 (“At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."”); John 5:21-27 (“Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life. Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.”); 6:38-40 (“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day."”); 8:16 (“For it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.”)]
- as have believers. [1 Cor 6:2 (“Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”), Matt 19:28 (“Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”)]
Believers [Matt 10:32-33 (“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”)]
- with pure hearts from God [1 Cor 4:4-5 (“It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.”)]
- will be saved from the divine wrath. [1 Thess 1:10 (“wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.”), 5:9 (“For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”), Matt 24:30-31 (“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see 'the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”); Rom 2:5 (“the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.”)]
- However the wicked will be punished. [Heb 10:27 (“a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”), 13:4 (“God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”); Col 3:6 (“Because of [immorality], the wrath of God is coming.”)]
The Day of the Lord of OT passages has become the “day of Jesus Christ”. [Phil 1:6&10]
- “Resurrection came with Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power.” [1 Cor 15:23-24]
- Together with Christ, believers may live in heaven in the glory of God. [Matt 26:29 (“I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”)]
- The story concerns God unfurling his mysterious plan [1 Cor 2:1, 7-11; Eph 1:9-10; 3:3-5, 9-11, Col 1:26-27; 2:2],
- which is his plan from the beginning that, through Christ, all may be reconciled to God. [2 Cor 5:18-19]
Christ is presented as the exact nature of God, [John 10:30 (“The Father and I are one.”)]
- and his perfect life presented in the gospels.
Creation is said to be made through Jesus, [Heb 1:3 (“He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being”), Col 1:15-17 (“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”), 19 (“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”); 2:9-10 (“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”)]
- And Christ has made God known [John 1:18 (“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.”); 8:19 (“Then they said to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."”); 10:14 (“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father”); 14:6-11 (“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me"”); 15:15 (“I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.”)]
- by Jesus being sent from heaven. [John 6:38ff (“for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.”), 62 (“Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?”); 12:44 (“Then Jesus cried aloud: "Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.”); 13:3 (“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God...”); 17:28 (“I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”)]
Through Christ’s humility and poverty, Christ became exalted [2 Cor 13:4 (“Christ was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God.”); Phil 2:6-11 (“Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”), John 3:13-15 (“No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”)]
- and believers become rich in receiving the blessings he received. [2 Cor 8:9 (“You know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”)]
He became the substitutionary sacrifice for sins, [Eph 2:4-5 (“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.”)]
- once for all, [Heb 9:24-28 (“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”)]
- for those who come to God by believing in him. [Heb 7:24-28 (“Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.”)]
As Christ belongs to God, believers belong to Christ, and become inheritors of the eternal life which Christ owned first. [1 Cor 3:22-23 (“All belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”), Acts 26:22-23 (“To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”); 1 John 2:23-24 (“No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father.”), 5:9&11 (“For this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son: ... God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”)]
God raised Christ from the dead, so that all may be made alive in Christ. [1 Cor 15:22 (“God raised Christ from the dead, so that all may be made alive in Christ”), Col 1:18 (“The Son is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”)]
- Believers were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of God. [1 Cor 6:11; Matt 20:18-20 (“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded”)]
- For our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin, [Gal 3:13-14, Eph 1:7-8]
- so that in him believers might become the righteousness of God. [2 Cor 5:21]
Christ has now been exalted to the place of God, [Heb 1:3 (“After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”), 8:1-2 (“We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.”), 10:12 (“But when this priest [Jesus Christ] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”), 12:2 (“Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”); Eph 1:19-23 (“... The working of God's mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”), Eph 2:6-7 (“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”); Col 3:1-4 (“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”); Acts 7:55-56 (“But filled with the Holy Spirit, Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"”)]
- and been given the name of God, to the glory of God. [“God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11)]
In the same way that there is one God from whom believers receive existence, there is one Lord Jesus through whom believers receive existence. [1 Cor 8:4-6 (“...for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”)]
- In the same way that Jesus died and rose again, God will also resurrect dead believers with Jesus. [1 Thess 4:14 (“As Jesus died and rose, God will also resurrect dead believers with Jesus”), 2 Cor 4:14 (“We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence.”), 5:5 (“God has given us the Spirit as a guarantee of eternity with him”)]
In the NT, God’s holy spirit is poured out on all people. [Acts 2:16 (“Peter explained: "No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh”), 1 Cor 3:16 (“You are God's temple and God's Spirit dwells in you.”), John 3:3,5-8]
- God called us to live a holy life, which the blood of Christ allows us to do, [Heb 9:14 (“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”)]
- and God gives his holy spirit to enable it. [1 Thess 4:7-8 (“God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.”); John 4:23-25 (“"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."”)]
Indwelt by his spirit, [1 Cor 6:15 & 19 (“Your bodies are members of Christ, so should not be used for immoral purposes. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God.”)]
- believers should therefore produce righteousness through Jesus Christ for the glory of God, [Phil 1:11(“...having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.”); Gal 5:24 (“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”)]
- and be filled with spiritual understanding of the will of God. [Col 1:9 ; John 16:13-15]
God continues at work in believers for them to follow his purposes, [Phil 2:13 (“for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”), 1 Thess 2:13 (“...God's word, which is also at work in you believers.”), 3:12-13 (“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”)]
- and transforms them. [2 Cor 3:17-18 (“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”)]
- Believers should become one spirit with God, [1 Cor 6:17 (“anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”)]
- children of God, [2 Cor 6:16 & 18 (“we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people... and I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."”)]
- able to call God “Father” as Jesus did, [Matt 12:50 (“Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother”), Eph 2:18 (“Through Christ Jesus we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”)]
- and therefore to call Jesus “brother”. [Heb 2:9-11 (“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.”)]
God keeps believers blameless until the second coming, so they may be saved. [1 Thess 5:23 (“May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”), 1 Cor 1:7-8 (“so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”)]
Believers now eagerly await the second coming of our saviour from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, in glory. [Phil 3:14 (“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”), 1 Thess 2:19 (“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?”); Acts 3:19-21 (“Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets.”)]
- They will be in the presence of their God & Father when the Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. [1 Thess 3:13 (“And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”), 4:16-17 (“For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.”); Luke 21:27 (“At the end of the age: Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.”)]
- “We who know Christ are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved.” [2 Cor 2:15 , Acts 24:14 (“according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors, believing everything laid down according to the law or written in the prophets. I have a hope in God--a hope that they themselves also accept--that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”)]
Jesus Christ has been given all things [John 3:34-36 (“He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath.”)]
- including being assigned the divine judgement, [1 Cor 15:27-28 (“For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "All things are put in subjection," it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.”), 2 Cor 5:10 (“All of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.”), Matt 11:25-27 (“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”), 13:41-43(“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”), 16:27-28 (“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”); Luke 10:21-22 (“At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."”); John 5:21-27 (“Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life. Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.”); 6:38-40 (“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day."”); 8:16 (“For it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.”)]
- as have believers. [1 Cor 6:2 (“Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”), Matt 19:28 (“Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”)]
Believers [Matt 10:32-33 (“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”)]
- with pure hearts from God [1 Cor 4:4-5 (“It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.”)]
- will be saved from the divine wrath. [1 Thess 1:10 (“wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.”), 5:9 (“For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”), Matt 24:30-31 (“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see 'the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”); Rom 2:5 (“the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.”)]
- However the wicked will be punished. [Heb 10:27 (“a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”), 13:4 (“God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”); Col 3:6 (“Because of [immorality], the wrath of God is coming.”)]
The Day of the Lord of OT passages has become the “day of Jesus Christ”. [Phil 1:6&10]
- “Resurrection came with Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power.” [1 Cor 15:23-24]
- Together with Christ, believers may live in heaven in the glory of God. [Matt 26:29 (“I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”)]