The Bible describes the Holy Spirit as a person who has been present with the Father and the Son since before time began. The Holy Spirit is connected to all of the things that God does in the Bible. 

• The Spirit of God was present at and involved in creation “and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2).
• The Holy Spirit moved the prophets of God with the words of God, “no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21).
• Jesus informed Nicodemus that to be “born again,” to become a Christian, one must be born “of the Spirit” (John 3:5). 

Jesus told His disciples that the Father would send the Helper, the Spirit of truth, after Christ went back to heaven. The Spirit would reside in the believer (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and speak through Christ’s disciples and would remind them of everything Jesus had said to them (John 14:25–26; 15:26–27; 16:7–15). 

Throughout the Bible, the Holy Spirit equips people for ministry, gives people specific insight and wisdom, teaches people how to interpret God’s Word, He communicates with the Father on people’s behalf, and empowers Christians to live according to God’s purpose. 

Jesus mentions all three persons ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit’ (Matthew 28:19). They belong to the Godhead while being distinct from each other within the Trinity. As God, the Holy Spirit can truly function as the Comforter and Counselor that Jesus promised He would be. 

The three members of the Trinity show up, together yet distinct, at Jesus’ baptism. As Jesus comes up from the water, the Spirit descends on Him like a dove while the voice of the Father is heard from heaven saying that He is pleased with His beloved Son (Mark 1:10–11). 

The Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit is, in fact, God, just as Jesus Christ is God and the Father is God. 

Scripture describes the Holy Spirit in personal terms, not as an impersonal force, when it says that: 

• He teaches, guides, comforts and intercedes (John 14:26; Romans 8:14; John 14:26; Romans 8:26).
• He possesses emotions, intellect and will (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Corinthians 2:10–14; 1 Corinthians 12:11)
• He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30).
• He searches all things, even the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10).
• He has fellowship with believers (2 Corinthians 13:14). 

Peter reveals lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God. “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the proceeds of the land?” (Acts 5:3) and concluded by saying “you have not lied to men, but to God” (verse 4). 

We can also know that the Holy Spirit is God because He possesses the characteristics of God. For example, His omnipresence is seen in Psalm 139:7-8, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” 

Then in 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, we see the characteristic of omniscience in the Holy Spirit. “These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” 

In Zachariah 4:6 we see the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” 

And in Hebrews 9:14 we see His eternality. “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” 

As we see, the Holy Spirit possesses all the attributes of deity, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence and eternality and He does works only God can do, such as creating, regenerating and sanctifying (Genesis 1:2; John 3:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). 

He is equally associated with the other members of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14). 

Today, the Holy Spirit plays a major role in the application of salvation to the individual. It is the Spirit who brings conviction to the unbeliever and causes him to see the truth of the gospel in a clear light (John 16:8–11). 

Those who respond to this conviction and place their faith in Jesus Christ receive eternal life and a new nature (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5).  The Holy Spirit unites the believer with Christ and places him in the body of Christ, the church (1 Corinthians 12:13). He also unites the believer with Christ in His death, enabling him to live victoriously over sin (Romans 6:1-10). 

The Holy Spirit controls the believer who yields to God and submits himself to God’s Word (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16). And when these conditions are met, the believer lives in the power of the Spirit and produces the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 22-23). 

The Holy Spirit indwells the true believer permanently (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and while the child of God can sometimes fail and sin, the Spirit will never leave the true believer, (Ephesians 4:30). 

The Holy Spirit seals the believer (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30) and guarantees the security of the believer “until the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30), and He sovereignly bestows spiritual gifts and abilities for service to every believer (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4). 

He gives believers the power to share their faith. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). 

The Holy Spirit is dynamic and the more you allow Him to guide and direct your life, the more you will become like Christ and experience the love of your Father in heaven. 

In conclusion, Scripture indicates that the Holy Spirit is an equal and a true member of what is known as “the Godhead” that is made up of three equal persons living in perfect unity with each other. 

Believing this is vital to understanding the powerful role the Spirit plays in the lives of Christians and the way God is active in the world. Therefore, based on biblical evidence, we believe that the Holy Spirit is God in the same way that the Father is God and the Son is God. 

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In 1 Peter 2:9, the apostle Peter describes believers in Jesus Christ with these remarkable words: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” 

Peter is listing all the blessings and privileges these suffering believers have received from God. He wants them to know how special they are because of their faith in Jesus. 

He’s reminding them of Deuteronomy 7:6, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord, your God, has chosen you out of all the peoples on the earth to be His people, His treasured possession.”   

God said that through Abraham all nations on earth will be blessed. The blessing of Abraham finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the “Seed” of Abraham (Galatians 3:16) and the Redeemer of the world. This selection is the prophetic grace of God that’s available for all people to draw them to the Person of Jesus Christ. 

While Peter is writing to Jewish believers, those believers who are not Jewish in their ethnicity might wonder whether they are a royal priesthood, or whether that pertains only to the Jewish people. God introduces the idea of a royal priesthood, describing Israel as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6), and later John writes to the churches explaining that we, the church, are a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father (Revelation 1:6). 

The four living creatures echo this in Revelation 5:9-10, singing that God had redeemed people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and they add that this ethnically diverse multitude is a kingdom of priests, similar to the royal priesthood concept that Peter references. 

Have you ever wondered how God sees you as His child? In today’s passage God tells us exactly how loved and cherished we are and it describes just four of the many ways our Father sees us: 

1. A Chosen People. Believers in the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ are the people God has chosen to possess. 

1. A Royal Priesthood. As believers, we are children of God and, therefore, part of a royal family. In other words, we are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).  

1. A Holy Nation. The church, or body of Christ, is a group of people who are holy, which means “set apart” for the purposes of God. Our lives are never meaningless, because living for the Lord is the greatest purpose one can have. 

1. God’s Special Possession. Believers are precious possessions of God; we belong to Him (Deuteronomy 14:2; Titus 2:14).

Those who are born again are different from the world around them because they are being transformed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. They are also different because, having been born again by the Spirit of God and believing in Christ for salvation, they have received “the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). 

We are to be teachers of God’s commandments to the nations. We are to be the light to the world revealing the way to God. We are to be those who draw people to God, and not to be a hindrance to their acceptance of Jesus Christ. 

We are set apart as priesthood, so we are not to act like the world, but be imitators of Jesus. This does not mean that we are not interacting with the world. Often Christians get the idea that we need to stay away from the world because of its sinfulness. But we are called to access the world, while maintaining our holiness. We interact with the world and show them the way to God by teaching His truths. 

Christians are God’s special possessions who have obtained mercy because they have trusted in Him. Believers are part of God’s spiritual house and a holy nation; and as such, we must abstain from the passions of the flesh. 

Since we are God’s special possession we must proclaim the goodness of being God’s people. In being different and being set apart, we need to tell people what a blessing it is to live this way knowing that “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. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4). Amen!

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John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” and continues, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). 

Jesus is God in the flesh and for that reason as God, Jesus could satisfy God’s wrath. As a man, Jesus had the capability of dying, and as the God-man, Jesus is the perfect Mediator between heaven and earth (1 Timothy 2:5). 

The key statement to focus on is that salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ. As Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). 

In Colossians 1:15, Paul states that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, since “the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:3). Those who have seen Jesus have seen the Father (John 14:9). 

Jesus is not only the perfect image or representation of God, but He is God as well “for it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him” (Colossians 1:19). The Son, being “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15) makes visible the One who is by nature invisible. The Son’s power, wisdom, and goodness fully and accurately reveal to us the character and perfections of God. 

God the Father bears witness of Jesus’ identity as well: “But about the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8; cf. Psalm 45:6). 

Old Testament prophecies such as Isaiah 9:6 announce the deity of Christ: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” 

In John 8:58 Jesus claims pre-existence which is an attribute of God: “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” In response to this statement, the Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus (John 8:59). In claiming pre-existence, Jesus applied a name for God to Himself, “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The Jews rejected Jesus’ identity as God Incarnate, but they understood exactly what He was saying. 

Again in John 10:30 Jesus said, “I and the Father are one,” and again they tried to stone Him “for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:33). The Jews understood Jesus’ statement that He truly was claiming equality with God and they could not bear the truth. 

The true nature and identity of Jesus Christ has eternal significance and every person should answer the question Jesus asked His disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). 

This is what some of those who were close to Him said: 

• Thomas declared to Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28), Jesus does not correct him.
• Paul describes Jesus as “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). And,
• Peter says the same, calling Jesus “our God and Savior” (2 Peter 1:1). 

In John 14:9-10, Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work.”

The Bible is clear about the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ as Philippians 2:5-7 also confirms it: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.”

Jesus is fully God and fully man and the fact of His incarnation is of utmost importance. He lived a human life but did not possess a sin nature as we do. He was tempted but never sinned (Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:15). Sin entered the world through Adam, and Adam’s sinful nature has been transferred to every baby born into the world (Romans 5:12), except for Jesus. Because Jesus did not have a human father, He did not inherit a sin nature; He possessed the divine nature from His Heavenly Father. 

Mary was the human body that nurtured Jesus until He was ready to be born since the placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to a growing baby. The mother’s and baby’s blood never mix, so Jesus’ blood was not only unique but was His own sinless blood that was shed for us on the cross.

Jesus’ divine nature made Him fit for the work of Redeemer; His human body allowed Him to shed the blood necessary to redeem us. No human being with a sin nature could pay such a debt. No one else could meet the requirements to become the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (Matthew 26:28). 

If Jesus is not God, His death would have been insufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). Only God Himself could provide an infinite, eternally valuable sacrifice (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Because Jesus was God in the flesh, He alone could pay the debt we owed to God. His victory over death and the grave won the victory for everyone who puts their trust in Him (John 1:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 17). 

Jesus Christ has always existed as He personally states: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13). He is “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God” (1 Timothy 1:17). He existed before the creation of the world and is the Creator, our source of life, and first in everything (Revelation 1:8). Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, the only One sufficient to reconcile sinners to God. “And He is God, the One who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen” (Romans 9:5). 

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Upon salvation, a person becomes a new creation, holy and blameless in God’s sight. Some people however, think they can receive salvation and go on living as they did before. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 states: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 

It is important to realize that this new creation is not an addition to the old you but, rather, a completely new self. 

A person in Christ is a person forever changed. According to Ephesians 4:22-24 in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. 

Not only will sin lose its attraction for the believer, but there will also be an appreciation for God’s Word and a desire to reflect His righteousness more and more. If we don’t see evidence of these things in our life, what does that say about the state of our heart? 

To understand the new creation, John 1:13 tells us that this new birth was brought about by the will of God. We did not inherit the new nature from our parents or decide to re-create ourselves anew. Neither did God simply clean up our old nature; He created something entirely fresh and unique. Only the Creator could accomplish such a feat. 

Old things have passed away. The “old” refers to everything that is part of our old nature such as pride, love of sin, reliance on works, and our former opinions, habits and passions. Most significantly, what we loved has passed away, especially the supreme love of self and with it self-righteousness, self-promotion, and self-justification. The new creature looks toward Christ instead of inwardly toward self. The old things died and were nailed to the cross. 

Behold new things have come. Old things are replaced with new ones that are full of life and the glory of God. The newborn soul delights in the things of God and despises the things of the world and the flesh. 

Our new purposes, feelings, desires, and understandings are new and different. We see the world differently. The Bible is now a joy to read and study. There are new feelings toward people and a new love toward family and friends. 

The things we once loved, we now hate. The sin we once held onto, we now want to get rid of forever. We “put off the old man with his deeds” (Colossians 3:9), and put on the “new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). 

Please note that there is a difference between continuing to sin and continuing to live in sin. No one reaches sinless perfection in this life, but the redeemed Christian is being sanctified, made holy day by day, sinning less and hating it more each time he fails. Yes, we still sin, but against our better judgment and less and less frequently as we mature in our walk with Christ. 

Our new self hates the sin that still has a hold on us. The difference is that the new creation is no longer a slave to sin, as we formerly were. We are now freed from sin and it no longer has power over us (Romans 6:6-7). 

Now we are empowered by righteousness. We now have the choice to “let sin reign” or to count ourselves “dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11-12).

All things have become new illustrates the beginning of our transformation, our inward renewal and regeneration that will culminate in the fullness of our salvation to be experienced in eternity. Our Savior’s death and resurrection ushered in a foretaste of an entirely new world still to come: “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). Eventually, everything in creation will be made new (Romans 8:19–20; Isaiah 65:17–25). 

The Christian’s new self “is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:10). And through the inner working of the Holy Spirit, believers grow into the image of Christ “with ever-increasing glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). God promises to give us a new heart, by removing our “heart of stone” and replacing it with a “heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26). The changes begin in the heart but then spill out to our actions and behavior (Romans 12:2). 

Jesus promises that salvation cannot be lost (John 10:28), once a child of God, always a child of God. But it is possible to become apathetic about our identity in Christ. Does your lifestyle demonstrate that you are a “new creation?” What is your attitude toward sin and the pursuit of righteousness? Though none of us will live perfectly, the desire of our heart should be to move in the direction of our new self, which has been created in Christ’s likeness. 

Remember that once we are a new creation instead of living to please ourselves, we now live to please Christ, serve Him (2 Corinthians 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1), and look out for the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4; Galatians 6:2). 

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You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.  (1 John 4:4) 

The believer has the Holy Spirit living in them, which is a resource for strength and makes victory possible. We need however to be strong and rely on the One who is in us instead of relying on ourselves or the enemies temptations. This means that we need to rely on the power given to us, so that we may fight the worldly enemy that is all around us, without fear. We need to be watchful since we have many spiritual enemies, but not one of them is greater than the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 

After speaking about false teachers in verses 1 through 3, John offers reassurance when he refers to his readers as “dear children,” using the same words he did in 1 John 2:12. He then offers three expressions of comfort concerning their life. 

First, John encourages them, “you are from God.” In other words, John saw them as true believers in whom God lived. 

Second, he adds that these believers have “overcome” these antichrists. John uses the concept of overcoming five times in his letter. Believers have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:13-14) and have overcome the world (1 John 5:4-5). 

Third, John reminds the reader that the power of Christ, who lives in the believer, is greater than the power that lives in the world. The Holy Spirit living in the Christian is far stronger than any attack by the Devil. This encouragement should empower believers not to fear Satan, but rather trust the Lord and obey His commands. By doing so, we can overcome the powers of darkness and walk with boldness in this life. 

The apostle John begins chapter 4 with an exhortation for believers to test the spirits of prophets or teachers: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). What a prophet or teacher proclaims reveals whether he is of God or a false prophet of the world. 

John tells us how to recognize a false prophet, “and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3). Anyone who teaches or proclaims falsehood about Jesus, such as denying His divinity, is a false prophet. These false prophets are actually speaking in the spirit of the antichrist on behalf of “the one who is in the world,” Satan. 

The word antichrist means “against Christ.” Satan is the ultimate spirit against Christ. He is the father of lies and is against truth (John 8:44). He is called “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is “the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2). 

Satan uses false prophets to lead people away from Christ by deceiving them with a false view of Jesus. Twisting who Jesus is perverts the gospel; it keeps people in the bondage of sin and in darkness. Yet Satan is far from being as powerful as God, and John reminds the believers that greater is He that is in believers than he that is in the world. 

The body of believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within them (1 Corinthians 6:19). John encourages those in whom God lives: “You are from God” (1 John 4:4). They are not of the world. So, John reassures them that they have “overcome” those who teach false doctrine and who can rightly be called “antichrists.” 

The Holy Spirit is far stronger than Satan or any of his minions, the Spirit’s wisdom is greater than any of Satan’s schemes, and the Spirit’s protection is more than enough to thwart any of Satan’s attacks. Because, He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world, we have confidence in God and at the same time put no confidence in the flesh. The power we receive comes from the Holy Spirit as we obey the will of God. 

By these encouragements believers can have peace and rejoice because Jesus has “overcome the world” (John 16:33). Believers need not fear Satan; rather, they need to trust in the Lord and obey Him. By the living Spirit of God within them, believers can overcome the lies and temptations of the powers of darkness. Those who are of God can boldly say, “Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.” 

As powerful as the spirit of the antichrist and the false prophets might be, we Christians have the upper hand. Therefore, to live a healthy spiritual life, it’s essential to recognize that power comes from the Holy Spirit who is in us. Our salvation is the work of God, as is every bit of our sanctification throughout the rest of earthly life. 

The apostle was able to have this attitude only because he sought the strength of Jesus, and the same is true for us. We can try to live the Christian life by our own efforts, but we won’t succeed. Jesus Himself told the disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.”

Jeremiah 17:7 

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Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 

The idea behind this verse and others like it is that, when we truly rejoice or “delight” in the eternal things of God, our desires will begin to parallel His and we will never go unfulfilled. 

What is your greatest desire? We often read this passage and assume that it means God will give us whatever we want. However, this Scripture reveals that we will have the desires of our heart if we desire fellowship with Him. 

To delight in the Lord means to take pleasure in discovering more about Him and in following Him, and as we do, the Holy Spirit aligns our heart’s desires with His, which places us in a position to experience His blessings. 

When we commit our way to God, we allow our thoughts, goals, and lifestyle to be shaped by His will and the things He loves. In other words, we acknowledge His right to determine whether our longing fits His plan. 

If we rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him, we can rely on Him to work out circumstances, even when the desire He’s given us seems impossible. When He is our first love, our heart becomes focused on making His glory known within our life. 

God wants to give us our heart’s desires in His time, meaning, when we’re aligned with His will. Consequently, as we learn to enjoy Him for who He is, our self-focused desires are replaced by His perfect will and purpose for us. 

When we learn to delight in the Lord, we are forever changed and discover unspeakable joy. 

The reason many supposed Christians do not delight in God is that they do not know Him very well, and the reason they do not know Him is that they do not spend time with Him. A true believer on the other hand, who trusts God, has the capability to find true delight in the Lord. 

Trust, obedience, patience, and humility can all be summed up in the phrase, “Delight yourself in the Lord.” We should be awestruck with the Lord and all that He is, rather than focusing on the things which the world seeks. 

We need to come to the realization that in delighting in the Lord, “He will give you the desires of your heart.” This doesn’t mean however, that He will give us anything our selfish heart desires. If we are delighting ourselves in the Lord, then our desires will be in line with His desires. The verse in Matthew 6:33 tells us similarly what the Old Testament says: “Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and all these things [your desires] will be added unto you.” Thus we see that finding delight in God is a key to a happy, satisfied life. 

This world can never satisfy our deepest longings, but if we choose to delight in God’s way, He will always provide above and beyond our expectations. Jesus said, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). 

When we look at this psalm in its entirety it is to encourage those who trust in God that the wicked will not win. If God’s people will continue to “trust in, submit to, and wait on” God, their “desire” for righteousness to prevail will be satisfied. 

• Justice will be done. The wicked will be punished (Psalm 37:2, 13, 17, 35-36, 38).
• The Lord will protect His children and give them strength in times of difficulty (Psalm 37:15-17, 24, 39-40).
• The righteous will receive an eternal inheritance (Psalm 37:18, 29, 37).
• The Lord will sustain them in times of need (Psalm 37:19).
• The righteous will experience the Lord’s love and faithfulness (Psalm 37:28). 

When we patiently trust in God and submit ourselves to His care and protection, He will be faithful to sustain, protect, and provide. And we will see His justice carried out in His time. The wicked will not prevail. 

Therefore, rather than becoming incensed because of what the wicked do, it is far better to trust in God and continue to do good, because, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him” (Jeremiah 17:7). 

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“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2) 

When we trust Christ as our personal Savior, we undergo regeneration or new birth because, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5-6). At this moment, we are babes in Christ. There is joy when one is saved and born into the family of God, but there is sadness when a person remains a babe and doesn’t grow spiritually. 

Paul writes that when he was with them, when they were first saved, he fed them with milk. By this, he means that he taught them the most basic things about God and what it means to be a Christian. As with any newborn, they were only prepared to consume and digest something very basic. Like babies, they began with milk. By now, they should be ready for solid food. Milk is meant to inspire growth to mature and empower a believer until they are ready to receive solid food. 

These believers should now, be ready for more challenging truths of unselfishly walking in Christ and living according to the Spirit. However, they’re still not ready to chew. Why is it that the Corinthian Christians gained so little maturity? 

The Corinthian church was failing to grow in Christ, and this grieved Paul, since he longed for that joy of watching babes in Christ grow. He writes similar words to the church in Ephesus, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:13-15). Therefore, Paul holds all of them responsible for their own lack of growth. 

Human babies and “babes in Christ” have similar characteristics. Babies are dependent and unable to feed themselves. They often get into trouble and make a mess. They need to be watched closely and demand a lot of time and attention. They have no control and no concern for others. They fuss, cry, and want their way. These are natural things that are typical and expected of babies, but when believers like the Corinthians, who were no longer new to the faith, exhibited characteristics like this, something was wrong, and it was time for them to grow up. 

Paul pointed out to the Corinthians, “I gave you milk, not solid food.” The Word of God is our spiritual food. We receive spiritual nourishment through taking in God’s Word by reading, studying, and hearing it taught. Just as much as we need physical nourishment to live and grow, we need spiritual nourishment through the regular intake of God’s Word to live and grow. 

Like newborns, babes in Christ begin with milk. The milk of the Word needs to be taught by someone credible (Hebrews 5:12). Then as newborns grow, they need more and more solid food. So it should be with babes in Christ that, as they grow, they should begin taking in the concrete food of the Word and be able to receive “the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). 

God calls each believer to grow and mature in Christ by His Word since “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

And when it comes to our spiritual growth, we should never think that we’ve arrived because if we are hungry we will continue learning until Jesus calls us to be with Him. 

We believe that we will continue to be fed in eternity since in the eternal state, man will be sinless and have eternal life, but the creation and the human being will always and forever remain dependent upon the Creator as the source of life. The ongoing need to access the tree of life for eternity reflects the continued dependence of the creatures upon the Creator, a reality which God apparently has chosen to manifest via the tree thru its fruits and leaves. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2). 

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (Colossians 2:6-7). 

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Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25) 

When Jesus said do not worry, it was not a suggestion. It is a command. People may say, “But I can’t help feeling anxious, I have always been like this!” 

Our response should be, “Oh, yes you can, if you want to.” 

As Christ instructs against worrying, He lists five specific things that we should not worry about, namely our lives, what we will eat, what we will drink, about our bodies, and what we will clothe ourselves in. He closes the verse with a rhetorical question asking whether or not there is more to life than just food and more to the body than its clothing. 

Worry is a sin and demonstrates unbelief in God to keep His promises and His power to save… and worry is one of the greatest hindrances to our spiritual growth, Christian witness and effective ministry, because worry is one step towards unbelief – and for this reason Jesus said, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” 

Let us take a look at the key parts of this verse: 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry…” Having spoken of the love of money and treasure in heaven, Jesus now says, “Do not worry.” The Christian is here commanded not to worry. This should be a source of great encouragement as Paul tells the church at Philippi “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). 

“…about your life,” God holds your life in the palm of His hand, “so do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Jesus teaches us that our heavenly Father cares for us, and our life is important to our Creator, so we should trust Him and not doubt. 

“What you will eat or drink;” God is the One who provides our daily bread. He created us and commanded us to be productive, but even in our own productivity, we are to look to Him for our sustenance. As the psalmists write, “the eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15-16). 

“Or about your body, what you will wear.” Indeed, when Adam and Eve made their own clothes to cover their shame (Genesis 3:7), God made the first animal sacrifice to make clothes for them, forecasting the future sacrifice of His only Son to cover their nakedness and shame. 

“Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?” Jesus calls us to trust God for the basic things of life and to focus our eyes higher on more important things like His love, justice, mercy and truth. 

Worry occurs because of the way we respond to a problem or troubling situation because of our lack of faith. Our ability to choose is part of God’s gift of free will to every human being. We can choose how we feel, what we think about and how we will respond to a circumstance. 

There is a difference between a godly sense of responsibility and an ungodly, therefore we need to learn how to trust and leave the management of worry over material things with our heavenly Father. 

It is important to know God’s Word, believe His Word, and apply His Word in our lives – but too easily we allow the cares of the day to adversely impact our lives, causing anxieties, worries and fear to come back. 

May we take to heart the simple truth of this simple command from Christ and live by faith in His promises and not by flawed human reasoning which lead to worrying, anxiety and most of all unbelief because we are not trusting in the One who loves us and cares for us. 

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He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’  (Luke 24:6-7) 

The death and resurrection of Christ is the core of the Christian message. The placing of Jesus’ body in the tomb after His death on the cross is as equally important as His exit from the tomb (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). It is impossible to separate the death of Christ from His resurrection. 

To believe in one without the other is to believe in a false gospel that cannot save. In order for Jesus to have truly arisen from the dead, He must have truly died. And in order for His death to have a true meaning for us, He must have a true resurrection. We cannot have one without the other. 

The reason why the early church began to meet on the first day of the week was to celebrate Jesus’ defeat of death and His resurrection; Jesus “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4). 

We need to realize that without the resurrection, there would have been no church at all since after Jesus’ arrest and death, the disciples were lost, helpless, and afraid. Peter denied Jesus, as the rest ran away. It is hard to imagine of anything other than the resurrection of Jesus that would have led them to share the message of Christ in such a way that it grew into the largest spiritual movement ever known to man. 

Without Christ’s resurrection we would have no salvation from sin and no hope for our own future resurrection. That is why when Paul spoke about the gospel; he always announced the glorious victory of the risen King. It is this gospel that is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). 

When we ask most Christians about justification, they move straight to the cross, and Jesus paying the price for our sins. However, Paul emphasizes that: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25). 

What this means is that when Jesus resurrected He was declared to be righteous and the credit of Jesus’ perfection outweighed the debt of our sins. 

Without this wonderful truth, we will not fully grasp the joy of salvation. Jesus was our obedience substitute during His life, our punishment substitute in His death, and our rebirth substitute in His resurrection. 

The resurrection therefore, gives us the joy of knowing that Christ has promised that He will be with us to the end of time (Matthew 28:10), and that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Since our risen Savior is in heaven this gives us great confidence, especially since He told us before His resurrection, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be” (John 14:1-3). 

Because the tomb is empty and Jesus is on the throne, we can know for sure that we will be victorious no matter of what is happening in today’s world. The resurrection gives us hope, and because Jesus conquered the grave, we have confidence that one day we too will be lifted up, and so we will be with Jesus for all eternity, “For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died . . .For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:14, 16-17). 

The resurrection unites every Christian with the life-giving force that raised Jesus from the dead. It is through the resurrection that, “the last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). And Paul tells us that, “if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). 

This amazing power is available to transform, equip, and empower us as Paul tells the Ephesian church, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:18-21). 

Because of the resurrection, we can be sure that this same Jesus will return, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). 

We are eagerly awaiting His return so that He will take us home. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). 

The empty tomb is proof of Christ’s deity and guarantees the future resurrection of believers. 

Happy Resurrection Day! 

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“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:14-18) 

Hebrews 10 and 7:27 explains how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for sin was a once and for all sacrifice. “Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” As Scripture tells us, Jesus offered up Himself one time as a sacrifice and in so doing paid for all the sins of those that receive Him as their Lord and Savior. 

Unlike the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, in which sacrifices were continually made for sin, Jesus paid for sin once for all. His payment was complete and the cross is empty. 

There are several passages in the Bible that indicate that God forgives and forgets our sin. Isaiah 43:25 tells us:  “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” 

And in Isaiah 1:18 the Lord tells us: “Come now, let us settle the matter,” …though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” 

We need to understand that God is omniscient, He knows everything, and He forgets nothing. However, He chooses not to remember our sins. In human relationships, we can choose to remember the offenses someone has committed against us, or we can choose to forget. To forgive and forget, we must often put painful memories out of our mind. We don’t actually forget the sin, and it’s not that we are unable to recall the offense, but we choose to ignore it. Forgiveness is a choice that we make, that stops us from dwelling on past hurtful events. 

Because of God’s great mercies He chooses to remove our sins from us “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12); and Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. 

Second Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Him who had no sin [Jesus] to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 

Knowing the complete forgiveness of God in Christ, we can join King Hezekiah in praising our Redeemer: “You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back” (Isaiah 38:17). 

Even though theses verses tell us that God forgives and forgets, we need to repent and confess our sin as soon as we commit them. Otherwise, guilt will weigh heavily on us. We need to follow David’s example: “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). 

Again, it is important to note that, at the moment of true salvation, all of our sins are forgiven. On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins; once and for all time (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 5:6–11; Hebrews 10:1-18). After we are sealed with the blood of Christ’s covenant, there is nothing we can do that will keep us from heaven (Matthew 26:28). All of our sins – past, present, and future – are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. 

Yet, Jesus taught that believers must continue to seek God’s forgiveness daily, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us” (Matthew 6:12). The reason for this is that after salvation, Christians still make mistakes as James tells us: “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (4:17). For this reason, John wrote that when we fail, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). 

When our sins are confessed to God it enables us to walk in the pure light of genuine fellowship with Jesus Christ so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19). 

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