“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake :
“ will find it”, “will save it”, “preserve it”, “keep it to eternal life”
Principle - You are not prepared to live the supernatural Spiritual Life, unless you are prepared to die.
1 Co 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
1 Co 15:31 I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Rom 8:36 Just as it is written,
“FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”
Rom 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
Rom 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Heb 2: 14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
Ecc 7:1 A good name is better than a good ointment,
And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
The Victory He won over sin and death, which now we can enjoy being redeemed to our God and Creator for eternity.
Heb 2:9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
1 Co 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Phi 1:18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Rom 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
Rom 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
1 Peter 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
2 Ti 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
Luke 13:3 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
1Pe 3:19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,
1Pe 3:20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
1Pe 3:21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
1Pe 3:22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
1 Pe 3:18 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust [the righteous One as a substitute for the unrighteous ones], in order that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit.”
The word for died here is apothnesko = means to die by separation;
1 Co 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 Pe 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
The humanity of Christ remained impeccable on the Cross; No Sin, He was the “lamb without spot and without blemish,” as He underwent the greatest possible temptations.
- Jesus was sustained by the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit inside the predesigned plan of God, HEB 9:14.
Heb 9: 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
- He used the problem-solving devices, like FRD, 1 Pe 2:23; sharing the happiness of God, HEB 12:2 and others.
1 Pe 2:23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
Heb 12: 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The Greek noun adikos, translated “unjust” or “unrighteous ones,” includes all our failures when under the control of the old sin nature.
The phrase “in order that”, introduces the purpose of the Cross, found in the verb prosago (pros = face-to-face; ago = to bring near or summon), which means to bring us face-to-face with God.
If you have personally believed in Jesus Christ, you have been brought face-to-face with God, EPH 2:6, COL 1:22.
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Col 1: 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach--
2 Co 5: 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
Luke 16: 22 Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom;
The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit had custodianship of our Lord’s human soul after His physical death,
Our Lord’s human soul was in Hades for three days, and in Tartarus, He visited the fallen angels of Gen 6,
1 Pe 3:19 …“In which [the Holy Spirit] also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison [fallen angels]“
The Greek verb for “went” = poreuomai (in the passive voice) = means to traverse; that is the Lord Jesus Christ received transportation.
“Made proclamation” = ekeruxen ; in the aroist from the root word kerusso = to herald or proclaim divine truth; that is, some truth was preached, but not reference to the Gospel.
The “spirits in prison” are the fallen angels (beni ha Elohim, the sons of God) of GEN 6:1-2.
They were judged and incarcerated in Tartarus when the Flood came on the earth, JUD 1:6, 2PE 2:4.
Jude 1: 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
2PE 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;
- Paradise is where the Old Testament believers resided after their physical death, before the resurrection of our Lord.
- Torments is the place where all unbelievers currently reside, (a separate compartment), LUK 16:23, 26.
Luke 16:23 In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke 16: 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.
- Tartarus is the current prison of the fallen angels of Gen 6. Jude 1:6.
- The Abyss contains demons who transgressed certain rules of the angelic conflict and the boundaries of the human race. Rev 9:11, 20:3.
Rev 9:11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
Eph 4:8 “Therefore it says, ‘When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.’
Eph 4:9 (Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)”
1PE 3:20 “Who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”
The patience of God had waited 120 years, during which the world received intensive Gospel proclamation.
God kept waiting under the principle that grace always precedes judgment.
Water was an instrument of destruction for unbelievers, but physical deliverance for believers.
1Pe 3:21 “And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you-not the removal of dirt from the flesh [not water], but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”
God the Holy Spirit entered you into union with the person of Jesus Christ, making you Royal Family and children of God resulting in becoming a new spiritual species.
1 Pe 3:22 “Who [Jesus Christ] is at the right hand of God [the Father], having ascended into heaven after angels and authorities and powers had been subordinated to Him.”
Operation footstool!
Jesus was seated at the right hand of God the Father and received his third Royal Title, Rev 19:16,
Rev 19:16 “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'”
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
The Cross, Jesus’ crucifixion, stands for all time and eternity as the ultimate example of honor, integrity, selflessness, and the power of Bible doctrine.
- God can convert any evil situation into divine good, Gen 50:20.
Gen 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
- Whenever someone tries to curse or destroy another believer, the Lord will turn the curse into a blessing when the believer operates in the faith-rest drill.
Luke 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
- When evil comes against you, the Lord can turn it into a blessing, providing that you operate in the faith-rest drill and let Him handle the situation.
Deu 23:5 but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you.
- The believer does not have to fight and defend himself; God will do that for the believer who operates in the faith-rest drill, 2TH 1:6.
2 Th 1:6 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
- We are also told to stop being anxious and worried and let God handle any unjust and unfair situation, ISA 35:4.
ISA 35:4 Say to those with anxious heart,
“Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you.”
- We are commanded never to take revenge on anyone for any reason, Rom 12:19.
Rom 12:19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.
- If you are being mistreated in any situation, do not lift up your hand against another person, 1SA 24:12.
1 Sa 24: 12 May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.
- If you have been robbed by another believer, do not take out your vengeance and frustration on him, but give it over to the Lord. Luke 6:37.
Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
- Never repay evil with evil and give someone what you think they deserve, Pro 20:22, 1Th 5:15
Pro 20: 22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.
1Th 5:15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
2 Ti 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds
Mat 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.
Phi 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Phi 2:1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
Phi 2:2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
Phi 2:3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
Phi 2:4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Phi 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.
1 Co 1:18 For the word of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.