This morning I am realizing a need to write out some of the basic truths I have discovered in God’s Word. All of my studies hold pieces of these truths but in these studies, I am not reaching out to you; I am trying to understand some verse or portion of scripture that has intrigued me, and including you.
Almost all Christianity points to John 3:16 and says all you have to do to be saved eternally is to believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins. Let’s look at what John 3:16 actually says though: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” According to this verse, you must believe in the only begotten Son of God in order to gain everlasting life, so when was Jesus begotten of God?
According to John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God,” but Philippians 2:6 tells us Jesus “Thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made Himself of no reputation, and took on himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.” So God became man, and of course John 1:14 reveals, “The Word became flesh.” The word, begotten, means, to give life to, so Jesus was not begotten of God when He was born of Mary. He was God and became man. When God begat Jesus, He was man and became God, which means, it is not belief in the Jesus who died on the cross that provides eternal life.
Likewise, most churches point to Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast,” but Hebrews 5:9 states: “And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” In that both verses are in the same Bible, both have the same credibility and importance; but Ephesians 2:8 speaks of salvation and Hebrews 5:9 speaks of eternal life. If we are going to pin our hopes on eternal life, I think Hebrews 5:9 might be a better verse.
And, in John 15:10, Jesus says, “If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love.” Turned around, this verse would read, If you do not keep my commandments, you will not abide in my love. Do you really think you can receive everlasting life by faith alone if you have to keep Jesus’ commandments to abide in His love? It does not seem reasonable to me. John 15:10 agrees with Hebrews 5:9, in that, if you kept Jesus’ commandments, you would be obeying Jesus.
Romans 10:9 is another go to verse for many to describe how to be saved eternally, but it says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Again with these pesky details, but the verse says you must believe God raised Jesus from the dead. If God raised Jesus from the dead, God would have to infuse His own life into Jesus, and this is the meaning of the word, begotten, in John 3:16. So Romans 10:9 and John 3:16 are in agreement; you must believe in a Jesus that the Father raised from the dead in order to gain eternal life. The Jesus who died on the cross was not that Jesus.
Moreover, the first half of Romans 10:9 states: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.” It does not say you must confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, it says: “You confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.” Romans 10:9 agrees with Hebrews 5:9 and John 15:10 because if obedience of one of Jesus’ commandments caused words to flow from your mouth, you would be confessing with your mouth the Lord Jesus.
So, we have reached a consensus. Eternal life is gained through belief in a Jesus that was raised from the dead by the Father and that belief produces obedience of commandments Jesus issued as Lord. So, if we go back to Philippians 2, and read further, verse 8 tells us “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God has also highly exalted Him… and gave Him a name above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”
According to Philippians 2:8-11, the Father gave Jesus the title Lord after Jesus died on the cross, but did you notice it does not say the Father raised Jesus from the dead? It says the Father highly exalted Jesus. We know the Father raised Jesus from the dead because Jesus is the only begotten of the Father, the Son of God, which means the Father infused His own life into Jesus. Genesis 1:11 states, everything “produces after its own kind,” which means, when the Father begat Jesus, Jesus became Lord. Galatians 1:1, “Paul, an apostle (Not of man, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),” actually states the Father raised Jesus from the dead.
Now, we know we must believe in this Jesus the Father raised from the dead in order to gain everlasting life and we know we must keep commandments Jesus issued after He was made Lord and we know both of these events happened after Jesus died on the cross. So how did it happen? We know Jesus laid aside His Godhood and came to earth as a man and as a man He died on the cross. John 19:30 records how Jesus said, “It is finished; and bowed His head and gave up the ghost” or spirit. Jesus descends into hell and preaches to the souls held there.
1Peter 3:18-19 informs us, “For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which He also went and preached to the spirits in prison.” Now Jesus told us, “As the prophet Jonah was three days in the belly of the whale, so shall the son of man be three days in the heart of the earth,” Matthew 12:40.
We know mankind was sentenced to hell by the law, so in order to redeem mankind from the law; Jesus had to spend time there. Having done so, according to 1Peter 3:18, it was the Holy Spirit who quickened Jesus in hell, and, in Romans 8:11, it is revealed, “If the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you,” so again, the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from hell. Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it up on the third day,” speaking of His body, John 2:19, so when did the Father raise Jesus from the dead? We must believe in the Jesus the Father raised from the dead in order to gain everlasting life.
After Jesus raises His body from the grave, He appears unto Mary, who rushes to hug Him. Jesus stops her and says, “Don’t touch me, I have not yet ascended to my Father.” So far we know Jesus died on the cross, descended into hell, was released from hell by the Holy Spirit, and raised His body from the grave, and ascended to the Father. The only time the Father could have raised Jesus from the dead was after this point, after Jesus presented Himself before the Father in heaven, which means, Jesus died again.
Let’s look at Hebrews 9:14: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscious from dead works to serve the living God.” We know it was the Holy Spirit who released Jesus from hell but how was this accomplished? In this verse we find that Jesus offered Himself “without spot” to God. In other words, Jesus was certified sinless. When Jesus descends into hell, He has died under the penalty of our sins; He had none of His own. After He had been there three days and three nights, the same amount of time Jonah was in the belly of the whale, the Holy Spirit descends into hell to ask Satan if He has found any sin in Jesus. Satan examines Jesus, finds no sin and has to release Him from hell. Jesus raises His body from the grave and ascends to heaven, where He presents Himself before the Father as the perfect sacrifice for sin, certified so by the king of sin, Satan himself.
The old covenant law required the death of animals for sin. Jesus, being a man, could not die for sin under the law. It was not permitted. The old covenant law had to be fulfilled before Jesus could offer His sacrifice for sin. It was the blood of animals that atoned for mankind's sin under the law but Jesus' blood ratified a new covenant, one that defined sin differently and covered it differently.
Notice Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, (that is the earthly tabernacle) which are figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” And Hebrews 10:12 “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins.” The sacrifice Jesus offered for sin was His own body, Hebrews 10:10: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.” Leviticus 17:11 reveals, “The life of the flesh (body) is in the blood and I have given it to you on the altar to make an atonement for your souls.” The body of mankind and its blood has a symbiotic relationship. When Jesus offered His body, He offered His blood. Now, these verses cannot be taken out of context or we can miss their meaning.
The book of Hebrews is not talking about crucifixion. The writer spends an awful lot of time comparing the sacrifices of the animals in the earthly tabernacle with a sacrifice Jesus offered of His own body in heaven. The subject matter is not the cross. According to Hebrews, Jesus died on a sacrificial altar in heaven just like animals were sacrificed on an altar on earth. Hebrews 8:5 reveals how Moses was instructed to make a tabernacle on earth exactly like one God showed Him in heaven, which means, heaven had a sacrificial altar long before any animals were sacrificed on earth. Leviticus 17:11 takes on a much more personal message from Jesus to us.
Again, Hebrews 5:9, “And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,” states Jesus became the author of eternal salvation after He was made perfect. When was Jesus imperfect and how was Jesus made perfect? In 1Peter 2:24, we find Jesus “Bore our sins in His own body on the tree,” and this would certainly make Jesus imperfect. Jesus was, therefore, made perfect after this event and it is after this event that Jesus became the author of eternal salvation. It is this Jesus we must obey to gain everlasting life.
As strange as it may sound, when Jesus presented Himself before the Father in heaven, the Father took Jesus and sacrificed Him on the altar in the tabernacle of heaven. In Matthew 26:28, Jesus says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus’ blood oozed from open cuts at the torture and crucifixion but it did not pour from any. When His throat was cut on the altar in heaven, His blood poured out and was caught in a bowl. The Father raised Jesus from the dead, because after His blood poured out, He was dead; His body had no life in it. The Father infused His life into Jesus and begat Him as His own Son. Jesus took His blood and sprinkled it over the new covenant tabernacle, the one there in heaven, which ratified the new covenant and Jesus came back to earth, this time as Lord, and issued three commandments to His disciples. These three commandments make up the commandments of the new covenant.
Now, in order to gain everlasting life, you must believe in the Jesus the Father begat from the dead and keep the commandments of that Jesus. Jesus served in two capacities. He served mankind as the Christ but He also serves as Lord. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, “Think not that I have come to destroy the law, I came not to destroy but to fulfill.” In order for the law to be fulfilled, a man must keep it perfectly and then die under the penalties of disobedience it prescribes. The old covenant had to be fulfilled before a new covenant could be instituted. Jesus could not issue new covenant commandments until the old covenant was fulfilled, which means, they were issued after the cross and not before.
In John 15:10, again, Jesus said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” He did that for us and in our stead. When He died on the cross, that is what He was doing; fulfilling the old covenant law for us. His death on the cross could not redeem us from the old covenant law and provide an offering for sin. Jesus died on the cross under the curse of the law for us; an offering for sin could not die under a curse.
Jesus is called the Lamb of God, come to take away the sins of the world by John the Baptist but lambs are not crucified on crosses. The death of Jesus on the cross was so hideous to the Father, He turned His face away. There is no way you can equate that to the death of the lamb, which was to be held in a loving embrace by the head of household, its throat gently cut and its blood collected in a bowl, the exact opposite picture of the torture and death of the cross. How anyone can equate Jesus’ death on the cross to that of a Lamb, come to take away the sins of the world, is beyond me. Moreover, how was Jesus’ blood collected in a bowl and transported to heaven to be sprinkled over a heavenly tabernacle after the cross? It was not poured out in any one place.
Isaiah 53:6 tells us “The Lord placed on Him the iniquity of us all.” This is the language of sacrifice and it was done while Jesus lay across the altar. Notice the Father was Lord when the iniquity of all mankind was placed on Jesus but afterward, Jesus is Lord. When the Lord gave birth to the Lord, that’s when Jesus was begotten by God. Jesus is the legitimate Son of God and heir to His throne and kingdom. Now, in Deuteronomy 6:4, we read, “Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is one Lord,” so there cannot be two. The name, title, and authority of, Lord, was transferred to Jesus from the Father after His death on the altar and before Jesus issued the commandments of Acts 1.
Now, Paul said we must confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus in order to receive everlasting life and Jesus was given the title, Lord, when the Father begat Him and highly exalted Him. Jesus was highly exalted when the Father infused His own life into Him after His death on the altar. The commandments Jesus issued in Acts 1:4, 5, and 8, were issued after He was made Lord and after He was made perfect. The first commandment is to wait for a baptism with the Holy Spirit. This baptism occurs as a gift of tongues pours out of the mouth; it is a confession of Jesus’ Lordship.
Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments,” and the word, keep, means to maintain a prescribed condition. The prescribed condition of Jesus’ first commandment as Lord is baptized with the Holy Spirit. The word, baptize, means, to saturate, so to keep this commandment, one needs to maintain a saturation with the Holy Spirit by speaking in tongues regularly. It is why Paul admonishes us to pray without ceasing and be being (perfect present tense of verb) filled with the Spirit. It is also why he admonishes us to work out our own salvation through obedience and with fear and trembling, Philippians 2:12.
Saturation is a moving target. There are a lot of factors that affect saturation, some more draining than others, and only you can judge when you are saturated and each one of us is responsible for our own saturation. This is the reason Paul tells us to work out our own salvation. I will remind you of Hebrews 5:9 “And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” Jesus was made the perfect sacrifice for sin by Satan, who certified Him sinless. It was because Jesus was certified sinless that He could present Himself before the Father and die on the altar. Because He died on the altar, His blood was collected and He sprinkled it all over the new covenant tabernacle, thus ratifying it. And it is because He ratified the new covenant that we can obey His commandments and gain everlasting life.
Jesus issued two more commandments. He commanded His followers to preach this gospel of saturation and disciple converts. In Acts 1:5, Jesus said, “John truly baptized with water, but you.” The word, but, is a conjunction and is used to contrast two opposing thoughts. It would be like saying, Jeff mowed the yard but you clean the house. Jesus contrasted John’s baptism, which was a baptism in water unto repentance, looking forward to Jesus’ coming as Christ, and a baptism with the Holy Spirit. These two things are completely different. John’s baptism was completely appropriate under the old covenant law, but once Jesus had fulfilled the law, it is altogether inappropriate.
You see, Jesus’ first order of business under the new covenant was to convey His righteousness on all mankind. 1John 2:2 tells us Jesus propitiated the sins of the entire world. This means the whole world, all humanity, is right with God, and as a result, has a gift of the Holy Spirit. He resides in each of us, which means, any of us can keep Jesus’ commandments. It just means letting the Holy Spirit flow out. This is harder for some than others. And, that righteousness is experienced through faith, so though the whole world is righteous before God, only those who express faith experience it.
This is the meaning of Ephesians 2:8. Righteousness is a free gift of God’s grace. Mankind can do nothing to earn it and can do nothing to lose it. Now, Jesus fulfilled the law without destroying it, and the law has authority to condemn for sin and assigns blame and guilt but we don’t have to accept that blame or guilt. We don’t have to live under the shame of the old covenant law.
Look at Hebrews 9:14 again: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscious from dead works to serve the living God.” How does the blood of Christ “purge your conscious from dead works to serve the living God”? What are the dead works your conscious demands you keep? Your conscious will demand you keep the old covenant law, the Ten Commandments specifically, but with the old covenant fulfilled, these would be dead works.
In other words, the old covenant, or contract if you will, is void. Keeping it does nothing. Belief in the blood poured out on the altar of heaven will purge your conscious of dead works because you will be busy keeping the commandments of the new covenant. Contrary to popular belief, the new covenant commandments are not void. Most, if not all Christians, overlook Jesus’ first commandment entirely. It is deemed not actionable by Bible scholars and that is what they teach the masses. No one even considers whether it should be kept.
To serve the Living God, that is, the God who died but was raised again, is to keep the Living God’s commandments, the first being the most important. If you were Satan, and you had just committed the greatest blunder of all time, how would you go about straightening out the mess you had made? The only thing Satan had to do was to somehow get the Church to stop keeping Jesus’ first commandment. That one act would void the new covenant. It is absolutely amazing how successful Satan has been.
Jesus called His Church to baptism with the Holy Spirit. Look at Acts 1:5 again. “John truly baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.” The word, baptize, means, saturate. Jesus called the Church to saturate itself in baptism with the Spirit. That is to experience it, live it, teach it, sleep with it, eat it, and drink it. The Church, instead, baptizes itself in John’s baptism of repentance from sins, after Jesus clearly said, Yes, John baptized in water, but you.
It is interesting to go through the scriptures, looking at how Jesus is called Christ and Lord, respectively. Jesus died on the cross as the Christ, thus the blood shed on the altar is the blood of Christ. In 1John 5:13, John says, “These things have I written to you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life,” because it is not faith in the Christ that conveys eternal life. The old covenant never promised eternal life and Jesus’ death on the cross in fulfillment of the law cannot deliver any more than the law promised. Eternal life is a promise of the new covenant but you’ve got to keep the covenant to gain it. In other words, you must keep the Lord’s commandments. Though it is the blood of the Christ that is sprinkled over the new covenant tabernacle; it is the Lord who mediates the new covenant.
The book of 1John was written to new covenant Christians, so 1John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” was written to those for whom the old covenant was fulfilled. John knew Christians couldn’t sin against God by breaking the Ten Commandments but they could sin against the body and blood of the Lord if they failed to keep the Lord’s commandments. Therefore, he says, “If we say we have no sin (in failing to keep the Lord’s commandments) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” The church he was writing to was saying the Lord’s commandment did not apply to them and their failure to keep it was not sin.
The point I am making however, is that if we should fail to keep ourselves saturated with the Holy Spirit, all we have to do is repent and go back to striving for saturation. Even if you have never received a baptism with the Spirit, you can repent, ask for forgiveness, and be cleansed; it is faith in the blood of the altar that cleanses however, not the blood of the cross. According to Hebrews 12:24, “The blood of sprinkling speaks;” the blood of the cross says nothing.
In conclusion, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” actually says you must believe on the only begotten Son in order to gain everlasting life. Belief in the Christ will not do it.
Now, there is a lot more I could say, but this teaching has gotten rather long, so I’ll stop here.