The Basics of the Christian Life – Salvation

Salvation

Salvation comes by faith through grace. Today a person is saved by believing that Christ died for their sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4¹. God is offering salvation by grace, not works2. Grace is God’s attitude whereby He gives a benefit without the consideration of merit. In other words, you cannot earn salvation because God is not offering salvation based upon works, who you are, or even who you will become – no merit is considered3. What God requires for salvation is that you take Him at His Word. Faith is the undergirding4 of that which is hoped for, the evidence of accomplished deeds5 not seen and is always based upon a promise6. Direct faith at Christ through the facts of the good news by which we are saved (believing that He died for your […]

The Basics of the Christian Life – SalvationLuther Walker2016-10-12T06:02:30-07:00

God’s Desires for the Christian’s Life

As members of the body of the Christ, God has revealed to us His desirous will for our lives. We are not to sleep as unsaved do, but arise out from them so that Christ shines in our lives. Not governing our lives as fools, but as those who are wise, because the days are malignantly evil, understanding the desirous will of the Lord. (Ephesians 5:15-17).

God reveals in Scripture many things about His desires for the life of a Christian. As we do what He has already revealed we learn how to identify His will in any situation; our knowledge of His will becomes a full experiential knowledge, not just head knowledge (Colossians 1:9).

What God has specifically revealed concerning His desirous will for you as a Christian

Present your body as a living sacrifice, Romans 12:1

This is a logical response to the fact that Christ has purchased you. He gave Himself in order to redeem us from our lawlessness (Titus 2:14). We are bought with a price and therefore are to express a proper opinion of God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20)

It is a one time act, giving to God what is rightfully His. Since we belong to God we should not serve men (1 Corinthians 7:23). Regardless of what position you have in life, serve God within that position, rather than man.

Bring transformed from the renewed mind that we now posses in Christ, Romans 12:2

Not being outwardly conformed to this world, as ones who are masquerading, but being transformed from the inside out by using the new mind we now have as a result of salvation, (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 But the soulish man does not receive the things […]

God’s Desires for the Christian’s LifeLuther Walker2023-11-23T14:09:58-08:00

Pastor’s Notes

Pastor’s Study

Truth is very powerful. When we see things as they really are and accept the truth concerning our lives as Christians and God’s purpose for us, every aspect of our life is affected.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman cutting straight the Word of Truth

Resources

Doctrine

Dispensations

Greek Grammar Rescue

Knowing The Desirous Will of God

Therefore, I encourage you brethren through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable religious service. Romans 21:1

And stop being outwardly conformed to this age, but to be transformed by your renewed mind, for the purpose to test for approval what is the desirous will of God, the good and well pleasing and mature. Romans 12:2

But now the God set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desirously wille. 1 Corinthians 12:18

And not just as we hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and us through the desirous will of God. 2 Corinthians 8:5

The servants, you all be subject to the lords according to the flesh with respect and trembling in sincerity of your heart as to the Christ, not according to eye service as men pleasers but as servants of the Christ doing the desirous will of the God out from [the] soul with a good mind, serving as to the Lord and not to men. Ephesians 6:5-7

For this is the desirous will of the God, your sanctification, […]

Pastor’s NotesLuther Walker2023-11-14T14:24:10-08:00

Knit-together (συμβιβάζω)

Knit-together (συμβιβάζω) expresses closely connecting things together in a logical way.

When we go back to the root of this word, without the concept of close together, it is used of prisoners being put onto a ship, Acts 27:6. It is not the same as embarking, which is articulated by ἐμβαίνω as seen in Matthew 8:23. Therefore while putting the prisoners in the ship, the centurion did this in such a way as to ensure they are not mixed with anyone else, not just causing them to get onto the ship. Therefore, it predominantly relates to connecting things together in a logical manner based upon the facts.

After Saul’s encounter with the resurrected Christ on the Damascus road and his time in the desert training to understand what new thing God was doing, he returned to the city. However, this time, rather than seeking to imprison those who followed the way, he returned proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ and was confounding the Jews by knitting together the facts in the Old Testament that prove Jesus is the Messiah, Acts 9:22. Therefore, Paul was properly and logically closely connecting the revelations in the Old Testament concerning Christ to reveal that, in fact, Jesus is the Messiah.

As Paul traveled around spreading the Gospel of the Christ, the Holy Spirit forbade them from entering Asia. Arriving at Troas, Paul is given a vision in the night of a man of Macedonia. Through all of this, Paul logically closely associated what had happened and his vision in the night, concluding that the Lord wanted them to go to Macedonia and proclaim the gospel to them, Acts 16:10.

In 1 Corinthians 2:16, Paul asks a question concerning who has known the mind […]

Knit-together (συμβιβάζω)Luther Walker2023-12-23T06:42:45-08:00

Filled and Filling

There are two terms in Scripture used for filling that uniquely describe how something or someone is filled. The differences between these two concepts for filling are very important to understand concerning the Christian life and how the Holy Spirit interacts with us today compared to saints prior to the dispensation of grace.

Pimplemi (πίμπλημι) describes filling in a way that controls or saturates. It is used of the sponge filled with wine given to Christ on the cross, Matthew 27:48, of a King having his servants fill his wedding hall with guests, Matthew 22:10, a woman’s time for giving birth, Luke 1:57, and even the completion of days of service for a Levitical priest, Luke 1:23. All of these occurrences are describing a permeating of what is filled. It is this type of filling that describes how the Holy Spirit interacted with Old Testament saints, such as John the Baptist was mentally controlled by the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, Luke 1:15; however, once his ministry had finished the Holy Spirit no longer filled him, which can be seen with him questioning Jesus if He is the One coming, Luke 7:18-20. In the upper room, on the day of Pentecost when the Church began, the Holy Spirit filled (πίμπλημι), mentally controlled, the disciples making it possible for them to speak in other dialects the wonders of God, Acts 2:4. This is not the Spiritual gift of speaking in tongues, which was given to the early Church as a sign to the unbelieving Jews along with other gifts for signs, wonders, confirmation, and edification of the body of the Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:10. The gifts given to the Church are not from a filling of […]

Filled and FillingLuther Walker2023-11-25T07:38:47-08:00

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