“For by grace are you saved through faith.” Ephesians 2:8
Most Churches today observe Good Friday as the day Jesus died but what if that is the wrong day? “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away,” John 19:31. John plainly states the day after Jesus’ death was a high Sabbath. What in the world is a “High Sabbath” and how does it differ from a regular Sabbath day?
In Leviticus 23:1-7, God instructed the Jews to keep certain days holy regardless of which day of the week they fell on. These holy days were designated by the day of the month in which they occurred. Jesus died on the Passover, as the Passover Lamb, and the Passover occurred on the 14th day of Nissan, the first month of the Jewish calendar. The next day was the first day of unleavened bread, designated a high Sabbath day by God, the 15th day of Nissan. Jesus died on Passover, the next day was a High Sabbath day, “on which thou shalt do no servile work.” The following day was a regular work day but the day after was the 7th day of the week, a regular Sabbath day and all work for the regular Sabbath had to be done the day before so the women would have been busy preparing meals and spices to take to the tomb. Jesus arose from the dead early on the fourth day, the first day of the week. This would have been the first day the women had the ability to go to the tomb. By this reckoning Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights.
By this rendering, Jesus died on Wednesday. Thursday was the first day of the feast of unleavened bread and a high Sabbath day. Friday was a work day and Saturday was the seventh day making it a Sabbath day. The next day was the first day of the week, the day Jesus arose according to John 20:1. This makes three days and three nights. Now, in that 15 is not devisable by 7, while it is certainly reasonable that the 15th of Nissan and the seventh day of the week would coincide once every seven years, it is unlikely that it did the year Jesus died.
Moreover, Jesus said, “Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, I will be in the heart of the earth,” Matthew 12:40. There is no way to get three days and nights between Friday evening and Sunday morning. While we are told Jesus died on Friday, by His own word it cannot be true. However, why would the Church of Jesus Christ observe Friday as the day of Jesus’ death when He actually died on Wednesday? If Church leaders thought the day Jesus died was immaterial and Friday was as good a day as any and would provide a long weekend, what other liberties have they taken with the scriptures? Why would we not take Jesus’ Word for the truth and correct this mistake?
Just to remind you, the Church taught for 1500 years that you could pay your way to heaven through monetary gifts to the Church. Martin Luther, a German theologian, posted a list of challenges to Church theology on the door of his local parish, which brought light to the meaning of Ephesians 2:8-9: “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 what if even Martin Luther failed to see the whole truth. What is it the scripture is trying to tell us?
Words have meanings. There are specific definitions of words. The definition of each word must be considered when trying to understand what specific passages of scripture mean. Take Acts 1:4 for example. I was baptized in the Spirit when I was 21 years old, some 39 years ago and for years thought that I was baptized in the Spirit as that is what everyone said. That is, until I started studying the scripture for myself. That’s when I realized the word the Bible used is the word “with.” To be baptized with the Spirit is a totally different experience than to be baptized in the Spirit.
You see, the word, “with” means, “a long side of,” while the word, “in” means, “to be contained or enclosed by.” Jesus never promised a baptism in the Spirit and no Christian has ever been baptized in the Spirit; Jesus promised a baptism with the Spirit. The word, “baptism,” was a common word in Jesus day. Anytime someone dyed a piece of cloth, it was baptized in the dye; clothes were baptized in the course of washing. The word, “baptize,” means, “to saturate.” If a piece of clothing were placed on a clothes line outside and it rained, the clothing would be baptized with water but if the clothing were placed down inside a tub to be washed it would also be baptized in water.
The baptism with the Spirit is more like the clothing on the clothes line than it is like the clothing down in the tub. Jesus commanded the charter members of the Church to wait for the baptism with the Spirit and the Spirit resides in our hearts through the new birth, John 4:10 and 14. In order for us to be baptized with the Spirit, we have to release the Holy Spirit out of our hearts, allowing Him to flow over us, saturating us with Himself. This is the experience described by Acts 2:4. The well of water bequeathed at the new birth, sprang up within them, filled them, and poured out of them, thus the Holy Spirit came upon them. In Acts 1:4, Jesus described the experience as the baptism with the Spirit and in Acts 1:8, He said, “When the Spirit comes upon you.” When we understand the meaning of the words, we understand the two to be the same experience. The Spirit of God comes upon you as you release Him out of your belly.
You see, the cloth down in the washtub is baptized in the water as long as it remains in the water but the cloth on the clothes line is only baptized as long as it is raining. Once the rain has stopped, it is no longer baptized. Therefore, Jesus was not commanding the Church to wait to be baptized in the Spirit; He was commanding the Church to wait to be baptized with the Spirit. One is a daily occurrence, the other is a once in a lifetime experience. When I was baptized in the Spirit I didn’t need to speak with tongues ever again; I had been placed inside the Holy Spirit. But when I was baptized with the Spirit, I saw the need to re-baptize myself again and again, each time waiting for the Holy Spirit to saturate me as I released Him out of my belly. Once again, what the Church taught me was erroneous.
This brings us back to Ephesians 2:8. According to this verse we are saved by grace through faith. For years I understood the verse to say, “saved by faith through grace,” even though I could see it the other way around. I allowed my understanding to change the Word of God. I understood that we were saved by faith in Jesus’ blood, a gift of God. I understood salvation from sins to be eternal salvation but that’s not what Paul is saying at all. In Paul’s understanding, the grace comes first. The word, “through,” means, “in one side and out the other.” The word “through” suggests a journey. If we are to be saved through faith we must enter faith on one side and come out faith on the other. We are saved from faith to faith.
The word, “by,” means, “near to.” In my view, one of the failings of the Church is that most teachers/preachers fail to point out the differences between the old and new covenants. A covenant is a contract and our God is a righteous God. He will not breach His contract. The old covenant was made with the Jews, the Children of Israel, and no non Jewish person had rights to the old covenant. Non Jews, or Gentiles, were strangers and foreigners to the covenants of God, Ephesians 2:12. They had no access to God, no rights to His covenant. His definition of sin and unrighteousness did not apply to them. “But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Now, again, we must be careful how we understand this verse. The title, “Christ,” is a name Jesus earned by His death on the cross. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul,” Leviticus 17:11. When Jesus’ blood was poured out, He died. Even though Paul uses the word, “blood,” we know from the two uses of the title of “Christ” in this verse and from the understanding of Leviticus 17:11 that it is belief in Jesus’ death that makes us that were afar off near. This is the grace of Ephesians 2:8.
The phrase, “by grace are you saved,” means, because of faith in Jesus’ death we have entrance to the old covenant when no entrance was afforded us before. It means saved from sins because the old covenant defined sins. Instead of being “strangers and foreigners,” we are now “fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,” (Eph.2:19). However, believing Jesus’ death on the cross paid for sin does not only give us access to the old covenant. Because Jesus perfectly kept the old covenant’s definition of sin, those who believe in Jesus’ death for sin are transported out of the old covenant and into the new covenant, clothed with Jesus’ righteousness. In Galatians 4:4-5, Paul says, “When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” The word, “redeem,” means, “to buy back.” We must be “bought back” from the law before we can become sons.
Belief in Jesus’ death does two things for us; it gives us entrance to the old covenant whereby we become children of God, but then it also delivers us from the old covenant and into the new covenant. You see, to have your sins washed away is old covenant blessings. Jesus died on the cross so that the sins of the entire world might be washed away through His death (1Jn. 2:2), but His purpose was to establish a new covenant to replace the old and invite the entire world to become sons of God. Nowhere in the old covenant was it promised to be joint heirs with the Son of God; none of the Jews were promised power to witness of God. The new covenant is an entirely new document and requires an entirely different faith to enter. We are brought near by grace, according to Ephesians 2:8. That’s Jesus’ death on the cross, but now we must go through faith.
Since Abraham was saved through faith, perhaps we should consider how Abraham’s faith worked. God came to Abraham, then called Abram, while he was living in Ur; a busy metropolis. God said to Abram, I want you to go out into the desert and seek a city I’ve built. I will give you the general location but you are going to have to look for it. Even though Abram lived in a commercial hub and had never heard of this city, he trusted in God’s Word and went out into the desert to seek out the city of God. Abraham left Ur by faith, traveled up and down in the land of Canaan for his entire life looking for a city he believed existed even though he could not find it. He then died still believing (Heb:10).
Faith in Jesus’ death is not enough to save us under the new covenant. It is enough to give us entrance to the old covenant where no entrance was before and it is enough to deliver us from the old covenant’s definition of sin and unrighteousness. However, having been delivered from the old covenant, we are now beholden to the new covenant.
Every covenant God ever made with man had at least one commandment that required faith and obedience in order to remain in covenant with God. In that there is a new covenant and faith in Jesus’ death delivers us from the old covenant, where is the commandment of the new covenant? What is the definition of righteousness under new covenant law? We learn of the new covenant through the book of Hebrews. According to the book of Hebrews, the new covenant is being administrated by the risen Lord in heaven while the old covenant was administrated by human priests on earth.
The only official executive action Jesus did on earth as Lord was to command His disciples to wait for the baptism with the Spirit. I always sensed there was more to the gift of tongues than I realized, then I realized the only executive action Jesus executed as Lord was regarding the gift of tongues. Yet all churches disavow the only executive action the Lord performed under the authority of the new covenant. To wait for the baptism with the Spirit is the only instruction Jesus gave with all authority in heaven and in earth. What does this say about the importance of the gift of tongues and us as we ignore this commandment?
While Jesus was still approaching the cross, having laid aside all authority, He said, “If you love me, keep my commandments,” because Jesus had no authority to command anyone, Philippians 2:6-8. He could only appeal to whatever love might be generated by the great gift He was about to give to all mankind. It seems strange to me that all those who loudly proclaim their love for Jesus nonchalantly ignore the commandment He gave with all authority. It would make sense that the commandment Jesus gave with all authority would be the greatest commandment of all those He gave and the most important to Christians, Matthew 28:18 and Acts 1:4. We are talking about Lordship. If Jesus is Lord, it is certainly reasonable to keep His commandment (Phil.2:9-11); we reveal that we have made Jesus Lord by our obedience, but if we want to remain Lord over ourselves, ignoring Jesus’ commandment is the right course of action.
Now, I’m not overlooking the command to love one another, it’s just that Jesus never commanded anyone to love; what He said was, “A new commandment I give to you.” Again, the commandment given as a commandment, the commandment given with all authority, an authority not previously wielded by any single entity, the only commandment given in the new covenant age, under the authority of the new covenant would seem to far outweigh the importance of a commandment given with no authority under the authority of the old covenant. Ask yourself this question, “If the commandment to love one another was the greatest commandment, why did Jesus not restate the commandment after being given all authority in heaven and earth.” Why did He not restate it in the age of the new covenant with the authority of the new covenant? The fact that Jesus issued this one commandment, to wait for the baptism with the Spirit, after He had been exalted by His Father to Lord of Lords and King of Kings, after the Father and Holy Spirit had stripped themselves of their authority to convey all authority onto Jesus (1Tim.6:15), is insurmountable evidence of the importance of this commandment. Again, the only executive action Jesus took under the authority of the new covenant was to command the Church to wait for the baptism with the Spirit.
Why would a commandment to wait for the baptism with the Spirit be more important than a commandment to love one another? Well, Jesus could best answer that question since He is the one who issued one with no authority and the other with a greater authority ever wielded by any one single entity. Moreover, if we love Jesus what difference does it make, isn't obedience more important than understanding? However, allowing the Holy Spirit to flow out of your belly daily might be the best way to practice loving one another; after all, the Holy Spirit is God and who better to help one another than God?
The old covenant was administrated by human priests on the earth but we are delivered from the old covenant by faith in Jesus’ death because Jesus died under the penalty of old covenant law, under the authority of the old covenant. Moreover, the old covenant is now a non-operational covenant. There are no priests officiating in Jerusalem. The new covenant is administrated out of heaven in this present age by the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, a title and authority Jesus received at His resurrection. We are delivered out of the old covenant and into the new covenant by faith in the Saviour. Which commandment do you think we should keep in the new covenant age; the one issued by the Saviour, or the one issued by the Lord? Which commandment seems to be the more important in the new covenant age; the one issued by the Saviour of the old covenant or the one issued by the Lord of the new covenant? Which covenant do you serve?
If you serve the old covenant then by all means repent of sins defined by old covenant law but know the old covenant cannot provide eternal salvation. If your goal is to serve the Lord, Christ, Jesus and gain new covenant salvation then you only need to repent of one sin but you must first acknowledge the commandment of the Lord. We cannot keep a commandment we don’t acknowledge.
Jesus is no longer the Saviour of the World. He has moved past that title and is now the only blessed potentate (1Tim.6:15). He wields all authority in heaven and in earth. He humbled Himself to die for man’s sins but now He is exalted above all principality and power (Eph.1:21,Col.2:10) and the only one He will bow to is His Father, once He has placed all things under His feet. The respect due Him and the commandment He gave is equivalent to the power and authority He wields. Not only that, but He is the Lord of salvation. In order for us to gain the salvation Jesus offers to mankind, we must follow the way of salvation Jesus has laid out. It is belief in Jesus’ death that inducts us Gentiles into the covenant of the Jews but then sets us free from its definition of sin, clothed with its definition of righteousness. Saved by grace; brought near by the blood of the Christ. The question is; what is the definition of righteousness in the new covenant?
Every Easter the Church observes the death of Jesus on Good Friday even though John told us the day after Jesus died was a high Sabbath day, not a regular Sabbath day, some 2,000 years ago. The definition of a high Sabbath day has been right there in Leviticus 23 all this time. Moreover, Jesus, Himself said, “I will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” How much evidence do we need to convince us Jesus was not crucified on Good Friday? There is no baptism in the Spirit promised by the scripture even though thousands of Christians think they have received one. How can we trust what we are being told when it is so blatantly wrong? And how can we gain the salvation Jesus offers while ignoring the one commandment He issued to the Church? There are two faiths necessary to salvation. The first one brings us near when we had no access to God but the second one makes us sons of God. Speaking with tongues is a miraculous occurrence and only God performs miracles.
How long will we halt between two ways, 1Kings 18:21? If the old covenant is your choice, then serve it: but if the new covenant is your choice serve it with your whole heart. Why do we trust the traditions of the Church over the Word of God? How long will we ignore what God said to keep our traditions, Mark.7:6-13? Most people will tell you what the Word of God says is immaterial; it is what they believe that is important! In their defense the Word of God has been so distorted by teachers/preachers; who knows what to believe any more. However, to define sin by old covenant commandments and repent of that sin using the blood of Jesus to cleanse it is old covenant theology while we live in the new covenant age. The Church is living in a no man’s land between the old and new covenants.
Romans 1:17 states, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” This is the same as saying we are saved through faith, Ephesians 2:8. The righteousness of the old covenant is the keeping of its commandments. Jesus perfectly kept the old covenant commandments and died under the penalty of its transgressions. Through faith in Jesus’ death all our sin is transferred to Jesus and all Jesus’ perfect keeping of the law is transferred to us. This is the first faith, this is grace, and it is the first definition of righteousness. We become the “just” through belief in Jesus’ death; justified through faith in His death. However, after being delivered from the old covenant’s definition of righteousness, Jesus issued a commandment under the authority and with the power of the new covenant and it is faith in this commandment that causes a stream of words to flow over our tongue, a confession of Jesus as Lord, the second definition of righteousness. Allowing this stream to flow out of your belly daily is the definition of righteousness under the new covenant. “The just shall live by faith.” “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith,” Romans 1:17. Look, is that not what Romans 10:10 states: “With the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” While mankind is clothed with the righteousness of the old covenant through faith in Jesus’ death, the confession of Jesus as Lord is made by believing on Jesus’ Lordship, therefore, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith
Just as Abraham lived His life faithful to the commandment to seek the city built by God, Hebrews 10, and his faithful obedience was accounted to him as righteousness, we must live our lives faithful to the commandment of the Lord and our faithful obedience is accounted to us as righteousness. Abraham died seeking the city by faith and so must we keep Jesus’ commandments throughout our lives. “The just shall live by faith.”
We live in the new covenant age, a covenant Jesus is administrating from heaven under His authority as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, an authority conferred on Him by the Father and Holy Spirit, but we are trying to keep old covenant law and ignoring the one commandment He issued as Lord. How will any of us attain an eternal salvation while clinging to an obsolete covenant that no longer has any power to save? The old covenant was superseded by the new covenant two thousand years ago. The salvation offered by the new covenant is as much greater than the salvation offered by the old covenant as the blood of Jesus is superior to the blood of calves and goats. However, the new covenant also has a different definition of righteousness which is why Paul says, “The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,” (Rom.1:17). Belief in Jesus’ death reveals a new faith to keep for righteousness under the new covenant.
Romans 1:17 follows Romans 1:16 and the word, “therein,” refers to the gospel Paul was not ashamed of; a gospel that required two faiths. You see, there were some in Church circles who were preaching another gospel; a gospel that required one faith. Certain individuals were feeling embarrassed about the gift of tongues and resented Jesus being Lord of the Church and wanted control for themselves. They preached faith in Jesus’ blood as a replacement for the blood of bulls and goats and since the blood of bulls and goats could only cover sin temporarily and Jesus’ blood could wash away sin eternally, they preached a gospel of eternal salvation. Only their gospel relied on the old covenant; a covenant now obsolete.
Paul was not ashamed of the gift of tongues. In fact, in the light of the excesses of the Corinthians, Paul said, “I speak with tongues more than you all” (1Cor.14:18), and thanked God that he did!! He also told those who were disturbing the Corinthians to stop forbidding anyone from speaking with tongues (1Cor.14:39). Obviously, Paul was not ashamed of the gospel he preached, a gospel that relied on speaking with tongues to gain salvation. So why are speaking with tongues not works? Well, first of all, Paul never said that we were not saved by works. He said, “not of works lest any man should boast.” 1Corinthians 13:4 tells us love does not boast and did Jesus not say, “If you love me, keep my commandments?” Jesus had previously stated, “The work of God is to believe on the Son” (Jn.6:29), and James said, “faith without works is dead” (Ja.2:17). So of course we are saved by works, but they are works God has given us to perform, not works we devise on our own.
The salvation authored by Jesus is a salvation offered to all mankind, not just the Jews. Through His death on the cross He has washed away the old covenant and its definition of righteousness for all who trust in His death for sin as their own penalty for their own sins. Furthermore, by His resurrection He has provided a new covenant, a covenant of life, the very life of God, but we must adhere to the commandments of the new covenant in order to gain the salvation it offers. Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except it were given unto him of my Father” (Jn.6:65), and Jesus also told us the baptism with the Spirit is the Father’s gift to the Church, Acts 1:4. If we in any way despise or reject the gift given to the Church by God, our chances of getting to Jesus are slim. Why would anyone think they could receive the salvation Jesus purchased by His own body and blood without keeping the commandment Jesus issued as the Lord of the new covenant? Why would anyone think they could receive the Lord’s salvation while disobeying the Lord’s commandment?
Look, I’ve read the back of the book and some who’ve had their names written into the book of life will also witness them being removed, Revelations 22:19. Jesus said not all those who come to me crying Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven and even doing many wonderful works in my name will not gain you entrance, Matthew 7:21-24. We must keep the commandment of the Lord, the one commandment Jesus issued the Church after being granted all authority in heaven and in earth. We must honor the one who is administrating the new covenant from heaven in order to gain the salvation He authored. To ignore the one commandment is not honoring, in fact, it is very much a dishonoring of the one who gives the greatest salvation, a salvation without breadth or height.
The definition of, “sin,” is, “to go beyond the mark.” If we keep all of the laws of the old covenant but fail to keep the law of the new covenant we have gone beyond the mark. We have sinned against the new covenant. James said, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways, let not that man think he will receive anything of the Lord” (James 1:8). In order for us to receive the salvation Jesus authored we must keep the righteousness defined by the Lord of the new covenant. We must be singularly minded in our obedience. Jesus has already perfectly kept all the law of the old covenant and is completely willing to impute His righteousness to us through faith in His death, Romans 4:5-9, but we must keep the law of the new covenant ourselves just as Abraham had to keep the definition of righteousness given to him and just as Abraham’s faith, revealed by His obedience, was accounted to him as righteousness, and none other of His behavior counted against him as unrighteousness; our obedience to the Lord’s commandment will be accounted to us as righteousness and no other act will count against us as unrighteous. The commandment of the Lord is the only pertinent commandment in the Lord’s kingdom.
In Ephesians 2:8-9, “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,” the word, gift, refers to the faith. It is the faith that saves us that is the gift of God. “How beautiful are the feet of them who bring good news,” Romans 10:15. The whole of the five fold ministry is charged with preaching the good news; called and sent out by God for this purpose. God gifted mankind with the knowledge of Jesus’ death and resurrection and faith comes by hearing and hearing by God’s Word, Romans 10:17. Salvation is not a gift per se because we are saved by faith and faith without works is dead. We must work for our salvation. Paul said, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” therefore it is not a gift bestowed upon us; with fear and trembling because of the awesome authority bestowed on the Christ in the new covenant age. The next phrase of Ephesians 2:8-9, “not of works lest any man should boast,” refers to the works of man. Again, in Matthew 7:21-24, the men who came to Jesus were performing works that Jesus called works of iniquity. The word, “iniquity,” means, “lacking in righteousness,” which means these men’s works lacked the works prescribed by Jesus.
Why? What was it about their works that lacked righteousness? The word, “righteousness,” speaks of behavior. God has always defined righteousness by commandment but mankind, from Adam on down, has sought to define righteousness by their own standards instead of following God’s standard. In the new covenant, Jesus set the standard for righteousness by commandment. Only the keeping of the Lord’s commandment is deemed righteous by the Lord in the new covenant. As long as Christians work the works prescribed by Jesus, all their other works are deemed righteous but to fail to work the works prescribed by Jesus means that all your works lack righteousness. They are works of iniquity; works lacking in righteousness. This is why in Matthew 7:21-24, those feeding the poor, giving money to those in need, casting out devils, prophesying, and all other works deemed righteous by man were told by Jesus to depart. Their names, while being written into the book of life, were removed because they had failed to work the work that made them righteous in Jesus’ eyes. Belief in Jesus for the remission of sins imputes to us the righteousness of the old covenant but we don’t live in the old covenant age. In order to be found righteous by the Lord, we must work the works prescribed as righteous by the Lord of the new covenant. While the Church is busy working works it deems righteous or works defined by the old covenant as righteous, it is failing to work the works Jesus deems righteous and it is Jesus who is the judge of all the earth; it is Jesus we will stand before to give account of our lives. Getting back to Ephesians 2:8-9, no man is going to brag about doing works God provided for him to do as there is no room for bragging, but if a man was going beyond the mark, doing deeds not required of him; he will boast.
So many churches teach that the gift of God is salvation and to try to work your way to heaven is foolishness but Jesus said the work of God is to believe on the Son, John 6:29. If believing on Jesus is the work of God then we must work our way to heaven. The question is, “What does believing on Jesus look like and how does it differ from believing in Jesus? One thing is for sure, “Faith takes work.” However, it is not our works that saves us; it is our faith, the gift of God.