It Is Not Talking But Walking That Will Bring Us To Heaven....

Why reading / studying the WORD (BIBLE ONLY) is very important.....that JESUS might sanctify her (church without walls = christians), having cleansed her (church without walls = Christians) by the washing of water with the 》》word《《

Christ Has Set Us Free

Galatians 5:1-3

5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision (children baptism), Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.....

Ephesians 5:26-27

26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5: 26-27:  that He might sanctify her (church without walls = christians), having cleansed her (church without walls = Christians) by the washing of water with the 》》word《《,  So that He might present the church (church without walls = Christians) to Himself in splendor

➡ (washed (baptised) by the cleansing of God's word.)

Your soul is like a cellphone and need to be charged daily... are you reading your bible daily? Remember Cain and Abel both knew God but only Abel's offer was accepted because he spend quality time with God.... He give his best offers... are you given your best time each day to the Lord?

Ephesians 5

V 1–7: IMITATION In imitating God and walking in love as Christ did both in His life and in His death, the Ephesian Christians must reject fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish and coarse talking, and idolatry. They must reject empty words of false teachers that do not come from God’s word. V 8–14: ILLUMINATION All those things to reject belong to the darkness of the past life. The Christian is now filled with God’s light and shows forth the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Pleasing God demands separation from sin and leads to personal revival and illumination. V 15–21: INTOXICATION Christians are to be filled with the Holy Spirit, not with intoxicating wine. They will know God’s harmony in their hearts. They must walk wisely, redeeming the time, and honouring God in their conversation, worship, thanksgiving and praise. Submission to each other will result from a proper fear of God. V 22–33: INSTRUCTION The theme of submission to each other is focused on husband and wife. The relationship between them must glorify God. It parallels the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church. The husband is to take the lead and love his wife. She is to be subject to his authority, which he will exercise in a God-honouring way. Marriage is between one man and one wife as long as life shall last. It is to be marked by love and respect.

Asbury Bible Commentary

• f. Hanani's sermon (16:7–10)
• IV. Summary of Ezekiel's Teachings
• J. Israel and Judah, the Harlot Sisters (23:1–49)
• H. The Trial (22:63–23:25)
• 2. Love as the standard of Christian conduct (12:9–21)
• III. Functions Within The New Community (4:1–6:20)
• B. Living in the New Community (4:4–6:9)
• 5. Submission as the standard for human relationships (5:21–6:9):
• To close the section on life within the new community, Paul takes up the volatile question of human relationships. If Christianity delivers from bondage to the law, how are interpersonal relationships to be conducted? Is there a principle that can be applied to all Christian relationships? Yes, there is. The principle is submission out of reverence for Christ. It was taught with general uniformity in the early church (e.g., 1Pe 2:13-3:7; 5:5). Probably the instruction “does not so much mean that every Christian must be subject to every other Christian, but rather that among Christians there should be willingness to accept the Christian conventions about the deference one group should pay to another” (Mitton, 195-96), subordinating their own interests to the interests of others. Paul said much the same thing in 1Co 8:12-13 in regard to his right to eat meat. Of course, such submission is not to replace reverence for Christ or run counter to obedience to God.
  The apostle now applies the principle in representative situations: husband-wife, parent-child, and master-slave. In every permanent relationship, someone has to assume responsibility. Parents exercise authority over their children; masters over their servants; and, in the culture of that day, husbands over their wives. In each of the cases mentioned here, however, the one who has authority is cautioned against abusing it. This may well have been a unique concept in the Roman world.
  While wives are instructed to submit to husbands, they are told to do so as to the Lord (cf. Col 3:18). As v. 29 indicates, however, wives' submission must be earned by the husbands, who are to love their wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself to make her holy. While submit is a stronger word than the “obey” of 6:1 and 6:5, both carry much the same idea. The rationale is as follows: the husband has authority over the wife as Christ has authority over the church, of which he is the Savior. In v. 33 the author softens the command, instructing wives to respect their husbands.
  Paul, in 1Co 11:8-12, offered a Christian perspective on husband-wife relationships. Both that passage and this show signs that he was a product of his culture even while advancing a loftier, Christian position. Because in relation to faith men and women are the same (Gal 3:28), the new freedom and status given women in Christianity must be practiced in such a way that onlookers will not misconstrue the Christian wives' relationship to their husbands.
  Moreover, the author complements the word to the wives by offering a word to husbands: as a wife, who has been freed from second-class citizenship by Christ, submits in order to maintain both harmony in the home and a Christian witness among her neighbors, her husband must reciprocate. He must love . . . just as Christ loved.
  Certainly there is more here. Paul believed that submission by wives to husbands was proper. In fact, only in relatively modern times has this idea been questioned. Someone had to be head of the home and take responsibility for discipline and decision-making if chaos was to be avoided. Christian leaders wanted strong homes and model families. To turn society upside down would not have helped their cause in either the Roman or the Jewish world. So the kind of hierarchy about which Paul spoke in 1Co 11:3 is implied here, and as the church submits to Christ its Head, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. However, whereas the emphasis in 1 Corinthians is on the hierarchy, the language here suggests something more profound, using two ideas to illustrate each other. The idea of the husband's authority over his wife helps Christians to understand Christ's authority over his church; the relationship of Christ to the church illuminates the relationship between husband and wife in Christian marriages. Against those who taught that subjection of wives to husbands was a natural duty, Paul argues that submission is a Christian duty.
  Moreover, Christ, as Head of the church, does not demand obedience, but, as the Savior who gives the church its life, he deserves obedience. Therefore, the subjection of wives to husbands is governed by several principles: out of reverence for Christ (v. 21), as to the Lord (v. 22), as Christ is head of the church (v. 23), and as the church submits to Christ (v. 24).
  Similarly, the husband's obligation to his wife is illustrated by the author in two ways. First, it is patterned after Christ's love for his church (vv. 25-27). How much did Christ love the church? He loved so much that he gave himself to make the church holy and radiant. Also, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. After all, persons do not despise or neglect their own bodies, but feed and care for them. Therefore, as Christ gave himself to nurture his body, the bride-church, so the husband must give himself to nurture his bride. In quoting from Ge 2:24, Paul illustrates the unity that characterizes marriages within the Christian community. Therefore, each husband must love his wife as he loves himself, for in the marriage the two are one, and in Christ they are equally a part of the church. (See also 1Pe 3:1-7.)
  Next, the author applies the principle to the parent-child relationship (6:1-4). In doing so, of course, he has on his side the fifth commandment (a slightly edited LXX reading of Dt 5:16). Furthermore, disrespect for and disobedience to parents were seen as signs of disintegration of society (Ro 1:30; 2Ti 3:2), and the early Christians hoped that believers might check the disintegrating tendencies of their time. But notice that again Paul does not allow parents to abuse their authority. To obey is to accept authority; but in exercising authority, parents must not exasperate their children. Instead, they should use their God-given position of authority to provide Christian training and instruction, telling about Jesus and his teachings, and teaching, as Jesus did, by example.
  Similarly, the principle can be applied in master-slave relationships (6:5-9). Slaves should obey their earthly masters in the same way as they obey Christ. Such obedience is essential not only when they are under the watchful eye of the master, but even more when they are not. They must remember that they serve another master, that they are slaves of Christ and full of love. Therefore, they are to serve wholeheartedly, for by doing so they demonstrate that they serve the Lord, not merely men in authority over them.
  Masters, too, are under the authority of Christ and must demonstrate that fact in the treatment of their slaves. They are exhorted not to threaten them, since Christ, who is Lord of both the master and the slave, makes no distinction between slaves and free men (cf. Gal 3:28) and shows no favoritism (cf. Ro 2:11). To threaten another person unfairly uses one's authority over that person, provoking resentment and destroying the unity that the Christian is to maintain (4:3). (See 1Pe 2:13-25.)
  Thus, Paul, through these three examples, illustrates how all Christian relationships are to be conducted. There is always, for the Christian, a third party involved. Not only is Christ the “unseen guest” in every conversation, but he is the Model for all conduct. Every relationship, therefore, must be conducted in the light of Christ's Spirit.
• IV. About Timothy And Epaphroditus (2:19–30)

      

King James Study Bible Notes:

• Marriage:  Genesis  2:24 God’s ideal plan for marriage is one man for one woman for one lifetime. God’s pattern for marital happiness is evident when a man loves and leads his family, with children who obey... 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Ex. 30:18   Laver of brass: This is the laver of cleansing located between the altar of burnt offering and the door of the tabernacle. It was actually made of bronze and set aside for ceremonial... 
  
  
  
  
• Introduction to the Song of Solomon  

Introduction to the Song of Solomon

This book has been done in the allegorical view and not the literal view (see description below). I was taken back when if in the literal sense this is about the Shulamite, then why wasn't the Shulamite mentioned until 75% of the book was completed (SOS 6:13 in the KJV)?

• Introduction to the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians  

Introduction to the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians

Book of Ephesians Explained Title: The letter is addressed to the church in the city of Ephesus, capital of the Roman province of Asia (Asia Minor, modern Turkey). Because the name Ephesus is not mentioned in every early manuscript, some scholars believe the letter was an encyclical, intended to be circulated and read among all the churches in Asia Minor and was simply sent first to believers in Ephesus.

• Eph. 5:22–33   The theme of submission, mentioned in verse 21, is now taken up and developed in detail from the church in general to the Christian household in particular. Accordingly,... 
  
  
  
  
• Eph. 5:26   This verse may be paraphrased: “That He might perfectly sanctify the church, having cleansed her by the gospel accompanied with the washing of water.” When will He “perfectly sanctify” the... 
  
• Eph. 5:27  The ultimate purpose of Jesus’ love for the church is to present her to Himself as a chaste bride. As a man wants a sexually untainted virgin as bride, so Jesus wants His church to be... 
  
• Eph. 5:28  This verse develops the idea, introduced in verse 27, that sacrificial love benefits the giver as well as the receiver. The church certainly profits from Christ’s love (v. 26) in that she is... 
  
• Rev. 14:2–5  The 144,000 sing a new song of worship and redemption. The four beasts and elders are the same as in chapter 4. That the 144,000 were virgins and not defiled with women may indicate either... 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Rev. 19:6–10  19:6–10. Omnipotent: God is all-powerful, and reigneth over His universe. The marriage of the Lamb: The wife or bride of Christ is the church (cf. Matt. 22:2–14; John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph.... 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;"

Man was created first and was given headship over the woman and over creation. But their original relationship was so pure and perfect that his headship over her was a manifestation of his consuming love for her and her submission to him was a manifestation of her consuming love for him.

No selfishness or self will marred their relationship. Each lived for the other in perfect fulfillment of their created purpose and under God’s perfect provision and care. The Fall itself involved a perversion of marital roles and God’s curse because of the Fall also affected marriage.

Eve sinned not only in disobeying God’s specific command but in acting independently of her husband and failing to consult Adam about the serpent’s temptation. Adam sinned not only by disobeying God’s command but by succumbing to Eve’s leadership, thus failing to exercise his God given authority. Because of her disobedience, God cussed the woman to pain in childbirth and to a perverted desire to rule over man.

The man was cursed to toil, to difficulty, to frustration in wresting sustenance from the land, and to conflict with his wife over her submission. Both were cursed with death as the penalty for their sin (Gen. 3:16-19; Rom. 5:15-19). Marriage was corrupted because both the man and the woman twisted God’s plan for their relationship. They reversed their roles, and marriage has been a struggle ever since.

The command, husbands, love your wives, continues Paul’s explanation of the mutual submission mentioned (in verse 21). The husband’s primary submission to his wife is through his love for her, and the apostle makes clear that this is a boundless kind of love. Christ loved the church before He brought the church into existence. He chose and loved His own even “before the foundation of the world” (1:4), because God’s love is eternally present, having no past and no future.

“Love your wives”: Though the husband’s authority has been established (verses 22-24), the emphasis moves to the supreme responsibility of husbands in regard to their wives, which is to love them with the same unreserved, selfless, and sacrificial love that Christ has for His church.

Christ gave everything He had, including His own life, for the sake of His church, and that is the standard of sacrifice for a husband’s love of his wife (Col. 3:19).

God provides for husbands to love their wives with a measure of Christ’s own kind of love. The husband who submits to the Lord by being filled with His Spirit (verse 18), is able to love his wife with the same kind of love Jesus has for His own bride, the church. The Lord’s pattern of love for His church is the husband’s pattern of love for his wife.

The world’s love is always object oriented. A person is loved because of physical attractiveness, personality, wit, prestige, or some other such positive characteristic. In other words, the world loves those whom it deems worthy of love. And such love is necessarily fickle.

As soon as a person loses a positive characteristic, or that characteristic is no longer appealing, the love based on the characteristic also disappears. It is because so many husbands and wives have only that kind of fickle love for each other that their marriages fall apart. As soon as a partner loses his or her appeal, love is gone, because the basis for the love is gone.

God can command His own kind of love from those who belong to Him because He has given them the capacity to love as He loves (Romans 5:5; 1 Thess. 4:9), and because His commanded love must, therefore, be a matter of choice (James 2:8; 1 John 3:7, 16-18, 23; 4:7, 11). It is an act of the will as well as of the heart.

And it seems to be a principle that whatever we choose to love and practice loving soon becomes attractive to us. But a Christian’s loving with Christ’s kind of love is not based on the attractiveness of the one loved but on God’s command to love. Loving as Christ loves does not depend in the least on what others are in themselves, but entirely on what we are in Christ.

A husband is not commanded to love his wife because of what she is or is not. He is commanded to love her because it is God’s will for him to love her. It is certainly intended for a husband to admire and be attracted by his wife’s beauty, winsomeness, kindness, gentleness, or any other positive quality or virtue. But though such things bring great blessing and enjoyment, they are not the bond of marriage.

If every appealing characteristic and every virtue of his wife disappears, a husband is still under just as great an obligation to love her. If anything, he is under greater obligation, because her need for the healing and restorative power of his selfless love is greater. That is the kind of love every Christian husband is to have for his wife.

The Greek word rendered “love” is agape (Greek agapao), which denotes the willing sacrificial giving on the husband’s part for the benefit of his wife, without thought of return. As Christ “gave himself” for the church, so there is to be no sacrifice, not even the laying down of his life that a husband should not be willing to make for his wife.

The husband who loves his wife as Christ loves His church gives everything he has for his wife, including his life if necessary. If a loving husband is willing to sacrifice his life for his wife, he is certainly willing to make lesser sacrifices for her. He puts his own likes, desires, opinions, preferences, and welfare aside if that is required to please her and to meet her needs. He dies to self, in order to live for his wife, because that is what Christ’s kind of love demands. That is his submission.

The love of Christ was the agape love. This type of love is not because of what it can get in return, but is unselfish love which loves even the unlovable.

Verses 26-27: Sanctify … cleanse … holy … without blemish”: This speaks of the love of Christ for His church. Saving grace makes believers holy by the agency of the Word of God (Titus 2:1-9; 3:5), so that they may be a pure bride. For husbands to love their wives as Christ does His church, demands a purifying love.

Since divine love seeks to completely cleanse those who are loved from every form of sin and evil, a Christian husband should not be able to bear the thought of anything sinful in the life of his wife that displeases God. His greatest desire for her should be that she becomes perfectly conformed to Christ, so he leads her to purity.

Ephesians 5:26 "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,"

For husbands to love their wives as Christ loves His church is to love them with a purifying love. Divine love does not simply condemn wrong in those loved but seeks to cleanse them from it. Christ’s great love for His church does not allow Him to be content with any sin, and moral or spiritual impurity in it.

As we continue to confess our sins, Christ “is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The word is the agent of this sanctification (Titus 3:5), the objective of which is a blamelessness and holiness that makes us fit to be presented to Christ as His own beloved and eternal bride, to dwell in His glorious presence forever (Rev. 21:1).

Love wants only the best for the one it loves, and it cannot bear for a loved one to be corrupted or misled by anything evil or harmful. When a husband’s love for his wife is like Christ’s love for His church, he will continually seek to help purify her from any sort of defilement. He will seek to protect her from the world’s contamination and protect her holiness, virtue, and purity in every way. He will never induce her to do that which is wrong or unwise or expose her to that which is less than good.

When a young man says he loves a young woman, but wants her to compromise her sexual purity before they are married, his love is the world’s lust, not God’s love; and it is selfish, not serving. That sort of love defiles’ rather than purifies.

This verse may be paraphrased: “That He might perfectly sanctify the church, having cleansed her by the gospel accompanied with the washing of water.”

When will He “perfectly sanctify” the church? When He returns for her in glory.

When was the church “cleansed”? At conversion. How was her conversion effected? “By the gospel” (word).

And what ritual is to be associated with one’s conversion? “The washing of water,” that is, water baptism, which is the outward symbol of an inward change.

This is speaking of Christ and the church. "Sanctify" means made holy. The washing of water by the Word. The Word of God does cleanse the person.

DICTIONARY OF BIBLE THEMES:

• 1680 types  An OT institution, person, place or event regarded as anticipating the person of Jesus Christ or some aspect of the Christian faith or life.
• 2030 Jesus Christ, holiness of  The holiness of Jesus Christ is seen in his divine nature and work, as he stands apart from and above the created world with divine power, authority and purity. Recognition of the holiness of Jesus Christ leads both to a realisation of sin and unworthiness and to worship and adoration.
• 2212 Jesus Christ, head of the church  Jesus Christ rules and governs his people and directs them towards the fulfilment of God’s purposes. All power and authority within the church derive from Jesus Christ as the head.
• 2324 Jesus Christ, as Saviour  God’s work of salvation is accomplished supremely through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through faith, the believer is able to share in all the saving benefits won by Jesus Christ through his obedience to God.
• 2414 cross, centrality of  The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is central to the Christian faith. Through the cross and resurrection of Christ, God achieved the redemption of believers and brought hope to the world.
• 3230 Holy Spirit, and regeneration  God’s Spirit works to bring the gift of new birth and renewal to those who have been called to faith.                                                    ❤ It cannot be achieved by human means and                                                          ❤  It cannot be achieved through the works of the law
• 4293 water  The colourless, odourless liquid that is essential for sustenance of life in human beings and animals. God is described as the spring of living water, being the source of life and salvation to those who come to him.
• 4836 light, and people of God  Scripture often uses light as a symbol of the people of God, and especially the manner in which believers are able and required to reflect the glory of God in a dark world of sin.
• 5218 authority, in the home  The exercise of God-given authority within the husband-wife and parent-child relationships.
• 5504 rights  The basis of a claim to respect, and just and fair treatment. God has rights over his creation as a result of his sovereignty and authority. Through being the height of his creation, human beings also have rights, which are to be respected.
• 5654 betrothal  The period of engagement preceding marriage; betrothal was a binding contract established between two families and sealed by the exchange of gifts. During this period the couple did not live together; sexual relations with each other at this stage was regarded as equivalent to adultery. Betrothal describes the relationship between God and his people and between Jesus Christ and the church.
• 5659 bride  A woman who is about to be married or who has just got married. In the NT the church is described as the bride of Christ.
• 5660 bridegroom  A man who is to be married or who has just got married. In the NT Jesus Christ is portrayed as a bridegroom and the church as his bride.
• 5700 headship  The quality of being in a position of leadership or guidance. Headship has to do with God’s relation to this created world, and to his ordering of relationships within it. Headship among human beings does not necessarily signify superior status, but rather a role of leadership and care. Scripture sees it as involving servanthood, and views Jesus Christ as the supreme model of this.
• 5702 husband  The male partner in a marriage relationship. The origin of this God-ordained institution is traced back in the Bible to the Garden of Eden. Scripture stresses that marriage is a God-ordained institution, within which the husband is pledged to love and care for his wife. Scripture contains many examples, both good and bad, of how husbands behaved. The ultimate examples of a good husband in Scripture are God as the husband of Israel and Jesus Christ as the bridegroom of the church.
• 5707 male and female  God created humanity as male and female. Although gender differences are evident in behaviour and role, Scripture teaches the equality and complementarity of the sexes.
• 5712 marriage, between God and his people  Marriage is used to describe the relationship between God and Israel in the OT and between Jesus Christ and the church in the NT. Contemplating marriage deepens understanding of God’s love for his people; examining God’s covenant love for his people similarly enriches an understanding of marriage.
• 5714 men  God created both men and women in his image and likeness. Scripture portrays men in both their strengths and weaknesses, their successes and failures. While noting that they are incomplete without women, and share equally in the privileges and tasks entrusted to them by God, men have nevertheless been given specific responsibilities by God.
• 5731 parents  Scripture stipulates that children should show respect and concern for their parents.
• 5740 virgin  Generally a young person, especially a female, who has not had sexual intercourse. Virginity is an important quality in a bride, and its surrender or violation prior to marriage is sternly condemned. In the miracle of the incarnation, Mary was still a virgin when Jesus Christ was conceived. Virginity is also used metaphorically to denote purity and innocence.
• 5744 wife  The female partner in a marriage relationship. The origin of this God-ordained institution is traced back in the Bible to the Garden of Eden. Scripture stresses that marriage is a God-ordained institution, within which the husband should love and care for his wife, just as the wife should obey, honour and care for her husband. A good wife is portrayed as a great blessing, but a bad wife influences her husband for evil. In the OT, Israel is sometimes portrayed as God’s wife; in the NT, the church is described as Christ’s bride.
• 5895 intimacy  Close relationships are part of God’s will for human life. Scripture speaks of intimate relationships between Jesus Christ and the Father, between God and his people, and between various individuals.
• 5959 submission  A humble attitude where obedience is rendered within a relationship; whether it be to God, authorities or other people at work, in the church, in marriage or in the family.
• 6028 sin, God’s deliverance from  The gospel reveals the purpose and power of God to deal with sin and all of its effects. Scripture uses a range of images to express the comprehensiveness of salvation.
• 6118 blemish  A mark or stain which spoils something or lessens its value. The term is often used symbolically to refer to sin. The OT sacrificial system specified that only unblemished animals should be sacrificed.
• 6163 faults  Human weaknesses and failings which are sinful in themselves, and may lead to further sin. It is common, often as a means of averting blame, to put undue focus on the faults of others. However, where necessary, faults should be exposed and responsibility properly attributed. Jesus Christ lived a faultless life and God’s people are challenged to live lives that are above reproach. The church will one day be presented without fault before God.
• 6201 imperfection, and God’s purposes  The unacceptable falling short of the God-given ideal must be resisted and overcome.
• 6660 freedom, through Jesus Christ  Jesus Christ, the promised deliverer, sets his people free from the present effects of sin and from the power of sin and will finally deliver them completely from its presence.
• 6728 regeneration  The radical renewal of a person’s inner being by the work of God’s Spirit.  

  Regeneration is given to those who believe in Jesus Christ

  Baptism is the sign of regeneration

  The results of regeneration:

  * Entry into God’s kingdom 
  * A new holiness of life
  * Love for other people
  * Victory over the world’s sinful pattern of life 
• 6745 sanctification, nature and basis of  The process of renewal and consecration by which believers are made holy through the work of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is the consequence of justification and is dependent upon a person being in a right relationship with God. 

  Sanctification is grounded in the holiness of God:

  * God is holy 
  * God demands that his people should reflect his holiness
• 7021 church, OT anticipations of  As the people of God, the Christian church is continuous with Israel. The OT provides important anticipations of the church.
• 7024 church, nature and foundations of  The church is the people called by God, who are united by their faith in Christ and by their common life in him. Various descriptions and metaphors emphasise the continuity between the people of God in the OT and NT.
• 7328 ceremonies  Formal outward practices and rituals symbolising or marking events of importance or spiritual significance. Although they had their place in biblical cultural life, they may become empty and hypocritical, losing their deep spiritual meaning. Ceremonies thus become symbolic of empty legalism which should be rejected. 

  Ceremonies marking important events:

  Different stages in life 
  Temple worship Some psalms include excerpts from temple liturgy relating to parts of temple-based worship ceremonies:
  Appointing leaders 
  Historical events 

  Ceremonies as spiritual symbols of God’s presence:

  There is a sense in which any gathering of believers is ceremonially symbolic of God’s presence. The ark of the covenant was a symbol of God’s presence among his people. It, and its location, the tabernacle and later, the Most Holy Place, were therefore centres of the most elaborate ceremonies; 

  Initiation ceremonies

  * Circumcision 
  * Baptism 

  Ceremonies relating to ritual cleansing

  Many aspects of ritual activity were added to the biblical ones in Jewish laws and regulations.

  Ceremonies relating to atonement

  Ceremonies conveying spiritual realities

  Passover: a ceremony symbolising salvation history 
  Baptism: a ceremony symbolising new birth 
  Marriage: a ceremony symbolising faithful partnership

  Ceremonies which lapsed into hypocrisy:

  * Washing ceremonies without accompanying inner cleanliness 
  * Sacrificial ceremonies without inner repentance 
  * Initiation ceremonies without real commitment 

  Jesus Christ brings freedom from meaningless ceremonies

• 7342 cleanliness  Careful, fastidious attention to personal hygiene, particularly important in the climate of the Near East. In Scripture, sin is associated with lack of cleanliness, whereas redemption and baptism are linked with washing.                           * Baptism compared to washing away sins
• 7478 washing  The physical or ritual cleansing of part or all of a person’s body, a person’s clothing or certain vessels. Washing can be symbolic of purification from defilement or cleansing from sin. It can also be part of preparation for a special act of religious service.
• 7797 teaching  The apostles’teaching formed the basis of the instruction given to the first Christians. Parts of the NT draw a distinction between preaching and teaching, seeing the former as a means of converting individuals, and the latter as a means of instructing them after conversion.  

  Examples of major themes taught in the NT church:

  * Righteousness from God through faith in Jesus Christ 
  * Freedom in Christ from the demands of the law 
  * The humility of Jesus Christ
  * The supremacy of Jesus Christ 
  * The superiority of Jesus Christ 
  * Godly behaviour 
• 7950 mission, of Jesus Christ  Jesus Christ came to reveal God, to announce the coming of God’s kingdom and to redeem a fallen humanity through his death on the cross. Though he came first to the Jews, the scope of Christ’s mission includes the whole human race and continues through the Spirit-empowered witness of the church.
• 8201 blamelessness  A quality of life apparent in an individual against whom no just charge can be made. This is exemplified supremely in the blameless life and death of Jesus Christ. Though believers remain imperfect in this life, they are counted blameless in God’s sight on account of the atoning death of Jesus Christ.  

  * Believers should be blameless in their Christian lives

• 8271 holiness, purpose of  God in his holiness desires a holy people amongst whom he can dwell, and who can effectively worship, witness to and serve him as they prepare for a future with God and to be like God.  

  The goal of holiness is to be like God

  God dwells with holy people:

  * God dwelt with the people of Israel 
  * God dwells with Christians 

  Holiness is required for acceptable worship

  Holiness is needed for effective witness

  Holiness is needed for godly service

  Holiness leads to a future hope:

  * Holy people will see God 
  * Holy people will receive eternal life 
  * Holy people will inherit the kingdom 
  * Holy people will judge the world 
  * Believers’ultimate destiny is to share God’s holiness for ever 
• 8272 holiness, believers’growth in  Believers are enabled to grow in holiness on account of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, foreshadowed by the OT sacrificial system, and through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.  

  Holiness through Jesus Christ:

  * Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ 
  * Through relationship with Jesus Christ 

  Holiness through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit

  The human response to holiness:

  * Repentance 
  * Faith 
  * Obedience 
• 8299 love, in relationships  Human love is ennobled by being patterned on God’s love for his people. It is also safeguarded by God’s commands.
• 8322 perfection, human  Human wholeness in the image of God, given at creation and lost in the fall, is to be fully restored in Jesus Christ.  

  Characteristics of perfection:

  * Perfect love 
  * Perfect holiness
  * Perfect obedience
  * Perfect speech
  * Perfect unity with other believers
  * Perfect joy
  * Perfect peace 
  * Perfect knowledge 
• 8348 spiritual growth, nature of  Having given spiritual life to his people, God expects them to grow to maturity.  

  * God desires the spiritual growth of his people

  * Christlikeness is the goal of spiritual growth

  * Aspects of spiritual growth: 

  Growth in grace 
  Growth in faith 
  Growth in love
  Growth in understanding 
  Growth in holiness 
  Growth in fruitfulness 
  Growth in contentment 
• 8349 spiritual growth, means of  God has provided various means by which believers may grow spiritually.  

  God supplies the resources for spiritual growth

  God’s people must make efforts to grow spiritually

  Specific means of spiritual growth: 

  * Death to self-interest 
  * The Scriptures 
  * Prayer 
  * Focusing on Jesus Christ 

  The role of the Holy Spirit in spiritual growth:

  * Christian leadership
  * Faith in God 
  * Suffering and testing 
  * Perseverance
  * Cultivating wholesome thinking
• 8441 goals  Jesus Christ’s basic aim was to do his Father’s will. Believers have the same objective, which Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit enable them to achieve.   

  God’s goals:

  * To live with his people 
  * To build his church in Christ 
  * To perfect his church in Christ 

  Jesus Christ’s goals:

  * To do his Father’s will 
  * To preach the gospel 
  * To save the lost 
  * Jesus Christ achieved his goals 

  Believers’goals:

  * To please God 
  * To know God 
  * To be faithful to Jesus Christ 
  * To love one another 
  * To live at peace
  * To spread the gospel
  * To grow to maturity 
  * Believers’final goal is heaven 
  * God guarantees that believers will reach their goal 

☆●●>> What is the New Covenant?

The New Covenant (or New Testament) is the promise that God makes with humanity that He will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant, and His death on the cross is the basis of the promise (Luke 22:20). The New Covenant was predicted while the Old Covenant was still in effect—the prophets Moses, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all allude to the New Covenant.

The Old Covenant that God had established with His people required strict obedience to the Mosaic Law. Because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), the Law required that Israel perform daily sacrifices in order to atone for sin. But Moses, through whom God established the Old Covenant, also anticipated the New Covenant. In one of his final addresses to the nation of Israel, Moses looks forward to a time when Israel would be given “a heart to understand” (Deuteronomy 29:4, ESV). Moses predicts that Israel would fail in keeping the Old Covenant (verses 22–28), but he then sees a time of restoration (30:1–5). At that time, Moses says, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (verse 6). The New Covenant involves a total change of heart so that God’s people are naturally pleasing to Him.

The prophet Jeremiah also predicted the New Covenant. “‘The day will come,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. . . . But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,’ says the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people’” (Jeremiah 31:31, 33). Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) and to establish the New Covenant between God and His people. The Old Covenant was written in stone, but the New Covenant is written on our hearts. Entering the New Covenant is made possible only by faith in Christ, who shed His blood to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Luke 22:20 relates how Jesus, at the Last Supper, takes the cup and says, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (ESV).

The New Covenant is also mentioned in Ezekiel 36:26–27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel lists several aspects of the New Covenant here: a new heart, a new spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and true holiness. The Mosaic Law could provide none of these things (see Romans 3:20).

The New Covenant was originally given to Israel and includes a promise of fruitfulness, blessing, and a peaceful existence in the Promised Land. In Ezekiel 36:28–30 God says, “Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. . . . I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.” Deuteronomy 30:1–5 contains similar promises related to Israel under the New Covenant. After the resurrection of Christ, Gentiles were brought into the blessing of the New Covenant, too (Acts 10; Ephesians 2:13–14). The fulfillment of the New Covenant will be seen in two places: on earth, during the Millennial Kingdom; and in heaven, for all eternity.

We are no longer under the Law but under grace (Romans 6:14–15). The Old Covenant has served its purpose, and it has been replaced by “a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). “In fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).

Under the New Covenant, we are given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8–9). Our responsibility is to exercise faith in Christ, the One who fulfilled the Law on our behalf and brought an end to the Law’s sacrifices through His own sacrificial death. Through the life-giving Holy Spirit who lives in all believers (Romans 8:9–11), we share in the inheritance of Christ and enjoy a permanent, unbroken relationship with God (Hebrews 9:15).

 "What is the law of Christ?"

Answer: Galatians 6:2 states, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (emphasis added). What exactly is the law of Christ, and how is it fulfilled by carrying each other’s burdens? While the law of Christ is also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:21, the Bible nowhere specifically defines what precisely is the law of Christ. However, most Bible teachers understand the law of Christ to be what Christ stated were the greatest commandments in Mark 12:28–31, “‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’”

The law of Christ, then, is to love God with all of our being and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. In Mark 12:32–33, the scribe who asked Jesus the question responds with, “To love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” In this, Jesus and the scribe agreed that those two commands are the core of the entire Old Testament Law. All of the Old Testament Law can be placed in the categories of “loving God” or “loving your neighbor.”

Various New Testament scriptures state that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Law, bringing it to completion and conclusion (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23–25; Ephesians 2:15). In place of the Old Testament Law, Christians are to obey the law of Christ. Rather than trying to remember the over 600 individual commandments in the Old Testament Law, Christians are simply to focus on loving God and loving others. If Christians would truly and wholeheartedly obey those two commands, we would be fulfilling everything that God requires of us.

Christ freed us from the bondage of the hundreds of commands in the Old Testament Law and instead calls on us to love. First John 4:7–8 declares, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” First John 5:3 continues, “This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome.”

Some use the fact that we are not under the Old Testament Law as an excuse to sin. The apostle Paul addresses this very issue in Romans. “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15). For the follower of Christ, the avoidance of sin is to be accomplished out of love for God and love for others. Love is to be our motivation. When we recognize the value of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, our response is to be love, gratitude, and obedience. When we understand the sacrifice Jesus made for us and others, our response is to be to follow His example in expressing love to others. Our motivation for overcoming sin should be love, not a desire to legalistically obey a series of commandments. We are to obey the law of Christ because we love Him, not so that we can check off a list of commands that we successfully obeyed.

1345 COVENANT

God’s commitment to, and requirement of, his people expressed in promise, law, judgment, faithfulness and mercy. Also used of commitment within human relationships based upon agreements.

This set of themes consists of the following:

1345 covenant

• 1346 covenants, nature of
• 1347 covenant, God’s with Noah
• 1348 covenant, God’s with Abraham
• 1349 covenant, God’s at Sinai
• 1350 covenant, God’s with Israel’s priests
• 1351 covenant, God’s with David
• 1352 covenant, the new

" CALVINISM, (Dutch Reformed and other Calvinist churches,) BELIEVE THAT JESUS' "LIMITED OR INCOMPLETE ATONEMENT" REQUIRES "SANCTIFICATION" OR THE SACRAMENTAL PROCESS OF 'BECOMING' HOLY.  Jesus Alone is the eternal Christ - the holy, unblemished, sacrificial Lamb of God, Who suffered all of God’s judgment and punishment in the place of all humanity, (or sincerely believing people, who would accept Him personally, Jn. 3:16-17; 1:12-13; Gal. 4:6; Jn. 3:3-5...)  When Jesus died on the cross, He declared, “It is finished!”  His atonement for the entire sinful, cursed state of all humanity was complete.  During His life and death, Jesus had fulfilled all the requirements of both the ritual, (ceremonial) as well as the moral, Old Testament law, (Mt. 5:17.)  Yet, both Catholicism and traditional Protestantism teach that Jesus’ atonement was only ‘limited or partial.’  Their church salvation needs the gradual, ritual fulfillment of their ‘atoning’ church sacraments, which ‘complete’ the ‘particular’ atonement of their christ through the process of sanctification.  This doctrine of ‘sanctification’ originated from pagan temple worship.  Just as in Christianity, pagan ‘sanctification’ means that any religious object or statue, (such as statues of ‘mother’ Mary, or Buddha,) is “set apart within that religion” as part of that religion, and therefore it is sanctified or sacred.”  

In both paganism and traditional Christianity, sanctification pertains to members, who are also ‘set apart within that religion’ through a process of ritual, ‘sin-atoning’ initiations such as the baby sprinkling-baptism, teenage confirmation, etc., until the initiate achieves complete ‘sanctification’ or ‘holiness.’  Different from Catholicism, which only ‘deify’ outstanding members of the Roman Catholic Church to sainthood or ‘godhood,’ traditional Protestantism churches such as Calvinism make all their church members into ‘saints’ through ritual ‘sanctification.’ 

However, In the truth of contextual Scripture, ALL sincere believers IN CHRIST are already completely holy or sanctified from the moment they sincerely accepted Jesus Christ personally, (1 Cor. 1:2; Rom. 1:1-7.)  The only growing process truly born again disciples of Christ experience, is “to grow in knowledge of God’s Word and in grace,” which is the “renewal of their minds, to understand [AND DO!] the good, acceptable, and perfect, will of God,” (2 Pt. 3:18; Rom. 12:1-2.)  These saints have nothing to do with Roman Catholic ‘saints’ or ‘sanctified’ Reformers.  These saints are all members of the “royal [or spiritual] priesthood of sincere believers; the “holy nation,” “the chosen nation,” [not ‘predestined’ as in Calvinism,] according to Jn. 3:16-17.  “His own special people…  who, [by personally believing in Him and accepting Him in all the truth of His Word,] were CALLED OUT OF [the kingdom of spiritual death and darkness] INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT,” (1 Pt. 2:9-10.)  

OF course, these SAINTS or completely holy people IN CHRIST, now have to repent from, and guard against living a life of sin.  They have to live AS fully sanctified saints in the Kingdom of Christ.   Thus, their life AS holy saints [their Scriptural ‘sanctification] ’ is “the will of God.”"

~Renette Vermeulen

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#JESUS design was that we should bear ▶FRUIT◀, and HIS command was that WE should ▶LOVE◀ each other ...

JESUS reaffirmed the importance and nature of 
LOVE and FRUITBEARING. 
The FATHER'S love for JESUS was the model for JESUS' love of the disciples; HIS obedient love for the FATHER was to be the model for theirlove for HIM; HIS self-sacrificing lovefor them was to be the model of theirlove for each other.
 The initiative in all this was HIS. HE chose them and not they HIM. HIS design was that they should bear fruit, and HIS command was that they should love each other...

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