All posts tagged: atonement

Day #18: I am Seated with Christ

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The only viable way to advance in our faith life is to learn what every child learns first to do – sit. To sit is to come into rest and rest is in the finished work of Christ. “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.” Colossians 3:1-3 To be seated with Christ is to be in a place of authority “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” Luke 10:19 To be seated with Christ is to be in a place of victory “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57 To be seated with Christ is to be is to have the mind of Christ “For who …

Calvary Covers it all

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Whenever there is an accident, an illness or a disaster, the first thing that comes to mind is – “do I have insurance… do I have full coverage?” It is reassuring to know you are fully covered. Jesus is not an insurance policy,  but He has provided full coverage for everything we can ever imagine, through His work on Calvary. Our past, present, and future is fully covered. Take a look at these scriptures: Colossians 2:14 AMP Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross. Romans 8:35-39 AMP Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword? For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, …

Divine Healing Is an Integral Part of the Gospel

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The ministry of both Jesus and the apostles gives evidence that divine healing was integral to the proclamation of the gospel message. It was an important witness to Jesus as the revelation of the Father, the promised Messiah, and the Savior from sin (see John 10:37,38). The Bible shows a close connection between the healing ministry of Jesus and His saving, forgiving ministry. His power to heal was actually a witness to His authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:5–12). Frequently the gospel writers testify that His healing miracles parallel His preaching of the gospel, both being the purpose of His ministry (Matthew 4:23; 9:35,36). People came from all directions both to hear Him and to be healed (Luke 5:15; 6:17,18). He never turned any away but healed all varieties of sicknesses, diseases, deformities, defects, and injuries (Matthew 15:30,31; 21:14). He also delivered people from demons and the problems they caused (Matthew 4:24). Jesus recognized that sickness is ultimately the result of the fall of humans into sin, and in some instances may be linked to specific sin (John 5:14) or to the activity of Satan (Luke 13:16). …

Divine Healing Is a Gift of God’s Grace for All

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Just as salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), so all God’s blessings and gifts are ours by His grace, or unmerited favor. They cannot be earned or deserved. It should be noted that instead of demanding healing from Jesus, the New Testament records that people came asking for His compassionate ministry. They did not look on healing as their right, but as a gracious privilege extended to them. That we cannot earn God’s blessings, including divine healing, should make us realize the importance of cultivating our life in the Spirit, for the Spirit will “give life to your mortal bodies,” and that is our real hope (Romans 8:11). In fact, even though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). It is this inner renewal that makes us best able to have the faith to receive the gift of divine healing. To the woman healed of her twelve-year-long bleeding, Jesus said, “Your faith has healed you” (Mark 5:34). Paul at Lystra, when he saw that …

Divine Healing Will Be Fully Realized When Jesus Returns

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We are living at present between the first and second appearances of Jesus Christ. At His first coming He provided, through His life, death, and resurrection, atonement for sin and its consequences. In this era divine healing, a gift of God’s grace, is seen as a proleptic expression of the complete redemption of the human body. At His second coming what was begun will be brought to completion—salvation from sin and all its effects will be realized. In this period of the “already and not yet” some are healed instantly, some gradually, and others are not healed. The Bible indicates that until Jesus comes we groan because we have not yet received the full redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23). Only when the dead in Christ rise and we are changed do we receive the new bodies which are like His glorious body (1 Corinthians 15:42–44,51–54). Even followers of Christ groan and travail in pain like the rest of creation, waiting patiently for the fulfillment of our hope (Romans 8:21–25). In that the human body …

Divine Healing Is Provided in the Atonement

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The ministry of the priests under the Law foreshadowed the ministry of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is able “to sympathize with our weaknesses (astheneia, weakness, sickness, disease, timidity, infirmity)” (Hebrews 4:14,15). The Old Testament priests, through the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifices, made atonement for the sins of the people. An examination of the concept of atonement in the Bible shows that in most cases it refers to a ransom price paid for redemption and restoration, which points to the redemption through Christ accomplished by the shedding of His blood in our behalf. The apostle Paul described it this way: “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood” (Romans 3:25). The phrase, “sacrifice of atonement,” translates the Greek hilastērion, which can be also translated expiation, propitiation, atonement, or mercy seat. Leviticus 16 records God’s expectations for Israel’s Day of Atonement and the ministry of the high priest sprinkling the blood of a sin offering on the atonement cover (the solid gold lid on top of …

Biblical Descriptions of the Atonement

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Sometimes we read the bible and it all seems like gibberish, nothing makes sense and nothing connects. But with a closer look, everything falls in place. When it comes to getting a message across, the Lord has done a great job making himself amply clear. Nothing is vague, hidden or obscure, if, through the eye of the Holy Spirit, we could just stay patient and dig a little deeper – That’s when all these gems, treasures begin to unfold. Type of Language Biblical Words Human Need The Result Language of OT sacrifices Blood, lamb, sacrifice We are guilty We are forgiven Language of personal relationships Reconciliation We are alienated from God We are brought back into intimate fellowship with God Language of righteous anger at wrongdoing Propitiation We are under God’s holy wrath God’s wrath is satisfied/quenched Language of the marketplace Redemption, ransom We are enslaved We are set free Language of the law court Justification We are condemned We are pardoned and counted as righteous Language of the battlefield Victory, deliverance, rescue We are …