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This book of the bible is frequently and
erroneously
referred to as the start of "The Church, The Body of Christ".
99.44% of fundamental, bible-believing teachers and pastors
embrace this falsity as truth! The fact is, The Book of Acts is
primarily about the unbelief of Israel and God's postponement of
her program. |
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These books of the bible are where believers in this dispensing
of God's grace should go for their day-to-day doctrine on
living. These books contain the revelation of the mystery,
otherwise known as the gospel of Jesus Christ. |
Click here to
contact LMM

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For though
I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity
is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the
gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward:
but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is
committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that,
when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ
without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
1
Corinthians 9:16-18
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REMEMBER,
THE FOUR SYNOPTIC GOSPEL ACCOUNTS OF THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF JESUS
CHRIST WERE WRITTEN
TO
ISRAEL UNDER THE LAW:
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SINCE
PROPHECY IS SUCH A HOT TOPIC THESE DAYS, DID YOU EVER WONDER WHAT THE
TRIBULATION SAINTS WILL STUDY AFTER THE BODY OF CHRIST IS RAPTURED?
Doctrine
for
The
Tribulation Saints after the rapture of the Body of Christ:
Here Israel is now back at the forefront under the law against the
imminent judgment and earthly return of The Messiah, Jesus Christ.

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1 For this cause I Paul, the
prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of
the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to
you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the
mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye
read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5
Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as
it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the
same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the
grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his
power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is
this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 And to make all men see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus
Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and
powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose
which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have
boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. 13
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my
tribulations for you, which is your glory -
Ephesians 3:1-13 |

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The Hall of Faith
and the faithful
members of God's Inductees! - Part IV
This is the
fourth part in a series of studies that will investigate members
of The Hall of Faith. Hebrews 11 is an
astounding chapter that gives us detailed information on those
saints who took God at His Word without seeing a clear picture
of what would lie ahead for them. Let me first say that under
this wonderful dispensing of God's grace, there is no expression
of faith required for us since Jesus Christ has accomplished
everything we need! Unlike the saints that we will read about,
an expression of faith or action was indeed required of them in
their response to God's commands.
Hebrews
11:14-16
-
These all died
in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare
plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of
that [country] from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to
have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly:
wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared
for them a city.
As we continue our series describing the heroes of the “Hebrews Hall of
Faith”, one may ask about verse 14. More specifically, who are the
“these all” who died in faith? We must remember who has been discussed up
until this point:
-
Abel
-
Enoch
-
Noah
-
Abraham
-
Sarah (through Abraham)
Each of these saints expressed faithfulness by acting upon God’s
commands. Each saint was renowned by a particular testimony that
demonstrated their faithfulness because it was required of God to do so! The
only thing that they had was a belief that God would perform what He said He
would friends and they died with the anticipation that He would fulfill
what He promised to them!
These saints saw these promises from afar off to indicate the fact that
these promises were not imminent but they were still true. The
Greek
word peitho (were persuaded of)
reveals that these saints were so convicted of God’s promise that they moved
upon it through their actions despite the gainsayers and the environment.
They not only moved but they embraced this promise which means that they
saluted God in the process while joyfully receiving His word despite the
God-less environment that surrounded them!
The bible goes on to say that they 'conceded and agreed' with God that they
were nothing more than strangers and pilgrims on this planet. They “spoke”
openly of it through their actions. Literally speaking they were aliens
or foreigners, holding out for the hope of God, in order to await for the
preparation of a new city and a better country, so much so that they were
not mindful of the city from where they came from since it was not their
home!
Before we move on it is worth pointing out that believers today under God’s
glorious dispensing of grace are not required to perform any type of
faith expression. Why is that? Because Jesus Christ is our
“expression of faith”. There is no outward manifestation that pertains to
our salvation friends because that is a false gospel.
"Literally speaking they were aliens or foreigners, holding out for the hope
of God, in order to await for the preparation of a new city and a better
country, so much so that they were not mindful of the city from where they
came from since it was not their home!"
We are saved through a change of mind which should change our deeds,
but the two are not relational! Under previous dispensings when God
dealt with man, faith resulted in actions such as the following examples:
-
Abel brought the sacrifice that God required and testified to his
righteousness unto his own death.
-
Enoch walked and had fellowship with God which was known by all at that
time especially when they could not find him!
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Noah being warned of God, moved with fear and built the ark.
-
Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac knowing nothing more than trusting in
God's word.
-
Sarah (through Abraham) believed that God could give her a son judging
him to be faithful according to His promises!
17By
faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received
the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was
said, in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God
was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received
him in a figure.
By faith, (to denote an action) Abraham when he
was tried or tested by God offered up his only son Isaac. One must remember
how difficult this was with Abraham now over 100 years old being asked of
God to sacrifice his pride and joy! What a glorious picture of God the
Father and The Lord Jesus Christ.
The Greek word
logizomai is used to describe how that in accounting or financial
terms Abraham reconciled past experiences with God to conclude that
factually
speaking
God would deliver! Somehow, someway he believed his beloved Isaac would be
raised form the dead and by doing this Abraham received Christ’s
resurrection figuratively. (This is not to imply that Abraham knew of
Christ’s death on the cross. – RICK)
20
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
In verse 20, the bible tells us simply that “by faith” Isaac
performed some action to demonstrate that he had taken God at His word. In
this example he blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. We must
not read anything else into this demonstration of faith other than the fact
that Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come! Because
they were both blessed does not mean that both men embraced
the blessing for as we read in Romans and Malachi that Esau was hated by
God.
For a detailed account of Isaac’s blessings to his sons, please read
Genesis 27
as the relationship of Jacob and Esau would be forever changed impacting
the nations existing today!
21
By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and
worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
In a demonstration of faith, Jacob sick and dying positioned himself up on
the bed to administer the blessings to his grandsons begotten from Joseph.
In Genesis 48 and 49, he accounts of his life, his trials and his
faithfulness to God and hereby became a member of “The Hall” “having
obtained a good report through faith, while not yet receiving of the promise
of God”! In like fashion Joseph:
22
By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children
of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
Joseph’s life, suffering and rule typified the life of Jesus
Christ
and we can do an entire study on it! But it is interesting how the author of
Hebrews took note of only the death of Joseph in roughly 12 chapters of
Genesis which described his life’s account. But the fact is his
expression of faith in response to God was that before he died and despite
being almost the highest ranking official in Egypt, his desire was to be
buried (therefore identified) in the promised land and with the people who
worshiped the One, True and Living God of Israel! For we read in
Genesis 50: 22-26:
23
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents,
because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the
king's commandment.
As
recorded In Exodus 2 and despite the king's edict to kill the firstborn in
each household, Moses' parents Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:20), hid the infant three months in their house
and did not follow the commandment of the king! Although not mentioned by
name in Hebrews 11, these two saints were members of the Hall of Faith.
Their "expression of faith" was to obey God rather than sacrifice their son
to an evil king. They did not know at that time that their son would be
God's instrument of salvation for the nation of Israel!

1 Thessalonians
4:14-18 -
14 For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in
Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by
the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto
the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.


"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord
Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us
from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our
Father."
3 But
I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is
in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have
not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not
received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well
bear with him. -
2 Corinthians 11:3,4
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Today's World News

Ephesus -
The saints at
Ephesus had been given something to watch over and they passed it to us
2,000 years later!
Please note that this is an excerpt from
our "Empowerment
Through Ephesians" series. For the comprehensive study on this
glorious book, click the link!
God has entrusted to us His “roadmap” for
this age so that we would understand
all things in Christ. It is no
longer a mystery! This
does not present any conflict since we are in Christ and this is part of our
inheritance as believers of “the faith”.
Christ has entrusted to us knowledge (complete and perfect) of what he intends
to do. It is there for us to find out if we want to roll up our sleeves! We are to study in order
to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman, that does not need to be
ashamed by correctly partitioning or dividing God’s counsel from our Lord’s
previous instructions to mankind! God has pre-determined (before Genesis 1:1) to do this according to His
counsel.
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit as proof positive (verse 13).
God’s pledge or promise to us, is not a covenant of something to come, it is God
Himself, The Holy Spirit living in us. This verse indicates that we are marked as "His
possession" according to God's word. This "sealing" is eternal for since we did
nothing to earn it, we could certainly do nothing to remove it! The only thing
we can do to assure salvation is to simply take God at His word concerning the
accomplishments of His Son Jesus Christ on our sinful behalf!
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THE HOLY SPIRIT AT
PENTECOST
by
Cornelius R. Stam
The one
hundred twenty disciples in the Upper Room had, of course, been much
like any other
group of believers in history. They had not all been equally spiritual
or devoted, or faithful. Some had been more so than others, and where
some had excelled in one virtue, others had excelled in another. Yet now
they were all FILLED with the Spirit, from the least to the greatest of
them.
The thoughtful student of Scripture will, of course, ask why all these
believers were now filled with the Holy Spirit. Was it, perhaps, because
they, as a group, had been more godly than those before them? The gospel
records prove that this is not so. Peter boasted, Thomas doubted, James
and John sought personal gain, and when our Lord was taken prisoner,
"they all forsook Him and fled."
Was it then because they had prayed long enough or earnestly enough for
the Spirit to come upon them and take control? No; they had been
instructed to go to Jerusalem, not to pray for the Holy Spirit to come,
as some suppose, but to "wait for the [fulfillment of the] promise"
regarding the Spirit (Acts 1: 4,5) -- and right here is the answer to
our question.
The believers at Pentecost were filled with the Holy Spirit, not because
they had prayed long or earnestly enough for the Spirit to come, but
because the time had arrived for the fulfillment of the divine promise.
The Old Testament prophets and the Lord Jesus had promised that the Holy
Spirit should some day come to take control of God’s people (Ezek.
36:26,27), and that day had come. They were filled with the Spirit
because God, according to His promise, had baptized them with the Spirit
(Acts 1:5).
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Hall of faith (continued)
24 By faith
Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people
of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt:
for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 27 By faith
he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as
seeing him who is invisible. 28 Through faith he kept the
passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn
should touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as
by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
In
like fashion, Moses when he was come to years (Hebrew - ginomai:
to come upon the scene or to be know of) refused to be called the son of
Pharaoh's daughter. As the son of royalty, Moses would have had to
experience preferential treatment and training. Although Exodus does not
go into the details of this, God would use this network of training and
experience for His purpose in providing liberty to Israel. Once the
truth was revealed to Moses, the bible tells us in Exodus 2:11 that he
went out to his brethren and looked on their burdens to the point of
killing a man in defense of them! In addition Moses by and through
faith:
-
Chose affliction with the people
of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.
-
Led the people of God and in
essence (but unknowingly) put Christ's sufferings ahead of his own
agenda. He focused on the plan of God rather than the power and position
of Egypt.
-
Forsook or abandoned Egypt, its
throne and its king while not being fearful of his wrath. Moses saw God
who was invisible!
-
Kept the Passover, and the
sprinkling of blood, so that the Angel of Destruction would not harm the
firstborn in his household.
-
Led the nation of Israel
through
walls of water as high as the Empire State building while walking on
"dry ground" of the Red Sea!
It is interesting to note the bible tells us by faith "they" passed
through the Red Sea indicating that each member of the nation of Israel
demonstrated faith by walking through those columns of water! The Egyptian
army tried to do the same thing but perished as tons of water crashed down
upon them.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about
seven days.
31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when
she had received the spies with peace.


The
Gospel of the Grace
of God:
-
God’s Son Jesus Christ died
on the cross for all
of
your sin (past, present and future), He was buried, and gloriously
rose again for your justification (1 Cor. 15:1-4)!
-
Not only did Christ die for
the debt and penalty of your sin but at the moment you take God The
Father at His Word concerning the finished and all-sufficient
cross-work of Christ His Son, you take on
His (Christ’s) very righteousness
(justification) Rom. 3:21-26!
-
As a result of just
simply believing the above (1 Cor. 15), God The Holy
Spirit tabernacles in you,
forever (Eph.1:13) until we die (to be with Christ) or
meet Him in the air (1 Thes 4:16-20).
-
No strings attached, no
outward expression of faith, no
incremental forgiveness since
it was taken care of all
up front, no kidding!



"All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness" - II Timothy 3:16
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For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -
Romans 8:38,39
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COFFEE
CORNER

The
real meaning of the
impending perilous times and last days of 2 Timothy! - Part VII
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters,
proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers,
incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from
such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into
houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away
with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood
Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds,
reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no
further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as
their's also was. But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner
of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at
Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them
all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers
shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But
continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast
been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And
that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are
able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in
Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man
of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.-
2 Timothy 3:1-17
After six issues
totaling a year, we will have completed our last installment of
the true meaning of end time events as Paul wrote to Timothy on
our behalf. As displayed on previous studies we will discuss the
red, highlighted scripture by expounding on each word.
It is
interesting to note how Paul concludes this topic by taking a
step back and stating to his readers that all
scripture is given to us by God and all scripture is
profitable! But the apostle peals this down to another level
when he tells us specifically how God's word benefits us
today. Paul uses the word profitable which in most circles has
monetary associations with it. Simply speaking, all of God's
word benefits us but not all of it is written directly to us!
In the previous chapter, Paul was clear on how we are to study
God's word; rightly divided. (I have been personally
attacked by being accused of making too much out of this
scripture. The fact of the matter is this verse is only one of
many verses that magnifies the distinctiveness of Paul's
message as he received it from Jesus Christ!)
Scripture inspired by God
- All scripture from Genesis to Revelation is inspired
(God-breathed) and it profits us, but not all of scripture is
to us. This of course does not imply that it is not
important. However, God's direction for our lives must be read
literally, contextually and dispensationally (in other words
readers must understand the "house rules" God has in place based
on the audience spoken to)!
I will now discuss in detail how specifically it profits us.
Profitable for doctrine
- The bible tells us that all scripture profits us for doctrine.
The Greek here is "didaskalia" meaning teaching, that
which is taught or precepts.
Dictionary.com tells us that "doctrine" is a belief (or
system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or
school. In this case, the bible is authoritative through God
Himself who revealed it to 40 authors over several thousand
years in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit! Our "marching
orders", latest instruction or doctrine today under grace
is authoritative through Jesus Christ who revealed it to the
apostle Paul in order to pass it down to us to live by. The rest
of scripture that we cannot directly apply our lives to has
principle value to learn from. In this case we learn what not to
do! The entire Old Testament was given to us to read about the
failure of man and the greatness of God.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for
our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope. - Romans 15:4
Profitable for reproof
- The apostle Paul tells us that scripture profits us for
reproof. This means that being rebuked, chastised or reprimanded
by God's word ultimately profits us. In the book of Hebrews we
can glean from the principles of the Lord's chastisements to His
children:
For
whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening,
God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the
father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us,
and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily
for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for
our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no
chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of
righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
- Hebrews 12:6-11
Please take
note that under God's marvelous and glorious dispensing of
grace, He does not chastise us through lightning bolts,
sickness, death or other tragedies as many church leaders
erroneously
teach. Christ chastises us through His word friends. In both
books of Corinthians, as He received revelation from Jesus
Christ concerning a believers conduct, Paul reproved those
saints for many issues that still remain problematic for The
Body of Christ today! But under grace, God does not threaten us
with death as He poured out His wrath on His Son on our behalf.
Instead, He instructed Paul to remind us of our position in Him
and that we should act in accordance of how God sees us; perfect
and complete in the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ!
Profitable for correction
- The book of
Galatians is an excellent model for correction in this
context. Here, Galatian saints had been given wrong doctrine;
trying to keep the law for their righteousness! Paul encourages
Timothy by telling him that all scripture is profitable for
correction against the backdrop of having all of scripture
available to us in order to distinguish between what is written
to us and what was written to others for an
example! Friends, no other saints in recorded history had the
benefit of having the complete canon of scripture ready to
digest and read at their fingertips. We have all 66 books of the
bible. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling and living inside us
to guide us and teach us. We have the complete history of how
God mercifully and gracefully dealt with mankind in books, CD's,
DVD's and tapes. We have no excuse! The bible is profitable in
that it is there to correct us when we are exposed to bad
teaching and wrong doctrine which is different from wrong
conduct (as in the Corinthian epistles).
Profitable for instruction in
righteousness - The profitability of the bible as
it pertains to our righteousness is probably the most neglected
area of teaching across bible studies today. Paul successfully
presented the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ to all those
that simply believed and continually emphasized the
accomplishments of Christ's finished cross-work on our behalf.
Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God. - Romans 5:1-3
There is no recorded scripture for The Body of Christ where
Paul's writings threatened believers, warned them that they
would lose their salvation or face some type of corrective wrath
from God....no where! As evidenced by the church at Corinth,
Paul only reinforced the glorious righteousness that was imputed
to them as a result of Jesus Christ's death, burial and
resurrection. Instead, he begged (beseeched) them to embrace
their new identity which rested in Christ so as ambassadors, we
can collectively present this "Ministry
of Reconciliation" to a world blinded by the wiles of the
devil .
I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me.
-
Galatians 2:20
"But under
grace, God does not threaten us with death as He poured out His
wrath on His Son on our behalf. Instead, He instructed Paul to
remind us of our position in Him and that we should act in
accordance of how God sees us; perfect and complete in the
righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ!"
In closing this
wonderful third chapter of 2nd Timothy, the apostle concludes
his point by describing the benefit of learning and adhering to
the profitability of understanding scripture "rightly divided".
Believers of the gospel of the grace of God are equipped to
perfection. Notice, Paul says that the man of God would be
perfect in his understanding and "thoroughly furnished" unto all
good works. This tells us that we are completely furnished with
what we need in this life unto all good works for God as
concerning our stewardship of the gospel of grace. Beloved, we
have everything that we need to be of service to man for God so
that when we stand before Him at the Bema Seat Judgment (2 Cor.
5), we can anticipate our rewards approved before Jesus Christ!

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