Saturday, February 23, 2013

The (new) 4 Spiritual Laws


The Four Spiritual Laws

Law 1

God loves his creation and loves himself.  God desires a mutually beneficial give-and-take relationship with humanity.

God’s love

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them (1 John 4:16).  Since God loves himself, he expects to be given his due.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5).

God’s desire

[God] desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4)

To be ‘saved’ here is tantamount to the blessing of having life (John 10:10).

Why do we not experience this abundant life?

Because…

Law 2

Humanity has not loved God as they ought; therefore, they incur God’s wrath which includes the curse of death.

 Death as consequence of disobedience

The wages of sin is death (Romans 3:23).  Sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned (Romans 5:12).

Adam’s disobedience compromised his God-given purpose to have dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28).  This is why all creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God (Romans 8:19).

This situation is desperate, but…

Law 3

God is continually working to set things right.  God chose Abraham and through him Israel to bless the world, that is, to undo Adam’s curse.

Abraham’s blessing (the Promise)

In Abraham, all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3).  Abraham trusted the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6).  The ‘righteousness’ here is God’s righteousness, that is, his promise to set things right.

Israel and the Law (Old Covenant)

Israel’s obedience to the law was meant to give life (Leviticus 18:5).  However, Israel did not obey the law and came under the law’s curse of death (Romans 9:31).  Both Jews and Gentiles are under the power of sin (Romans 3:9).  However, this was not the end of the story.

Jesus as true Israel (New Covenant)

Jesus fulfilled Israel’s function to bless the world.  As the new Adam, Jesus reverses the curse of death because he was obedient.  The righteous [Jesus] by their faithfulness [obedience] will live [resurrect] (Habakkuk 2:4). Jesus rose from the dead conquering sin and death for all (1 Corinthians 15:22).  With Jesus, the Holy Spirit-infused new creation makes its appearance.  We can partake of this resurrected new creation.

What Jesus accomplished is available to all, but…

Law 4

To be saved, that is, to gain abundant life, humanity must enter into a mutually beneficial give-and-take relationship with the triune God and with all of God’s creation.   

Love is the key

Faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Obedience is a part of love

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love (John 15:10).

Self-sacrificial love is the highest love

Jesus gave of himself and we must take up our cross and give.  We are never more Christ-like then when we love self-sacrificially—it proves our love (John 15:13).

Our destiny

When we are like Jesus, then we will fulfill our God-given purpose of a Godly-dominion over a new earth forever (Isaiah 65:17).  AMEN!

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