by the gift of God’s grace given me through the

working of His power. Although I am less than

the least of all God’s people, this grace was given

me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable

riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone

the administration of this mystery, which for

ages past was kept hidden in God, Who created

all things. His intent was that now, through the

church, the manifold wisdom of God should be

made known to the rulers and authorities in the

heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose

which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Him and through faith in Him we may approach

God with freedom and confidence.

(Ephesians 3.7-12).

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOREVERMORE!

 the  Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

(II. Corinthians 3.17).

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOREVERMORE!

But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature,

rather, serve one another in love.

(Galatians 5.13).

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOREVERMORE!

Stand firm, then, and do not let

yourselves be burdened again by a

yoke of slavery.

(Galatians 5.1).

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOREVERMORE

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,

there is freedom.

And we , who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are

being transformed  into His likeness with ever-increasing flory,

which comes from the Lord, Who is the Spirit.

(II. Corinthians 3.15-18).

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOREVERMORE!

We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face

to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance

was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to

this day tha same veil remains when the old covenant is read.

It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.

Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,

there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the

Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever

increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, Who is the Spirit.

(II.Corinthians

“What is born of the flesh is flesh ( of the physical is physical) and

what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not

(do not be surprised)

at My telling you, You must all be

born anew (from above).

The wind blows (breathes) where it wills;

and though you hear its sound, yet you

neither know where it comes from nor where

it is going. So it is with everyone

who is born of the Spirit.”

(John 3. 6-8).

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOR OUR

NEW BIRTH!

Born into our life in You! A life that is truly life!

Abundant eternal life!

Thank You Holy Spirit! The Spirit of freedom and sonship!

The Comforter!

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are

sons of God.

For you have now received not a spirit of slavery

to put you once more in

bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of

adoption (the Spirit producing sonship) in

(the bliss of ) which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!

The Spirit Himself testifies together with our own spirit

(assuring us) that we are children of God.

And if we are His children, then we are His heirs also:

heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ

(sharing His inheritance with Him); only we must

share His suffering if we are to share His glory.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present

time (this present life) are not worth being

compared with the glory that is about to be

revealed to us and in us and for us

and be conferred on us!

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOREVERMORE!

The knowledge of the One True God totally

depends on God’s self revelation.

In every other field of study we depend

on our effort, exploration and education.

Our only source of correct information

about God is His Word Who became flesh

as Jesus Christ full of grace and truth, the

Unique Son of the Father, the Eternal I AM,

the way, the truth and the life.

THE LIFE

” The life was manifested and we have seen

and bear witness and declare to you that

eternal life which was with the Father and

was manifested to us.” ( I. John 1.2).

THE WAY

He is the way and the truth. There is no

other way to access the Father and He

is the truth of God’s revelation full of glory.

THE TRUTH

Here is what Karl Barth says in Church Dogmatics:

” As a man among men He is a human Thou, and as

such distinct from all mere things. Now as a Thou,

man is not merely an existential determination of

the I, but the sum of  all the objective reality of

the world”.

This is another way of saying that He is The Truth.

GOD BECAME A MAN IN JESUS CHRIST

Again continuing from where we left, Karl Barth says:

” And in Jesus Christ God becomes and is man, the

fellow- man of all men. As God He is not merely one

of many such fellow-men, nor is He merely the idea

of fellow-humanity. We are speaking of  ” the Father’s Son,

by nature God.” He became and is man, the fellow-man of

all men; and therefore Thou, not merely in a simple, but in

a supremely objective reality, the human Thou, which as

such is also directly the Thou of the one eternal God.”

SINCE GOD IS WITH US (IMMANUEL)

THE WHOLE HUMAN SITUATION CHANGES

The fact that we just saw here changes the scope,

prospect and context of what it means to be human.

Again, Karl Barth continues:

” The fact is rather that God Himself, in His deep mercy

has taken upon Himself to exist also in human being

and essence in His Son, and therefore to become and be

a man, and therefore this incomparable Thou.

God Himself is in the world, earthly, conceivable and

visible, as He is this man. We have to do with God

Himself as we have to do with this man.

God Himself speaks when this man speaks in human

speech. God Himself acts and suffers when this man

speaks and suffers as a man. God Himself triumphs

when this One triumphs as a man. The human speaking

and acting and suffering and triumphing of this one man

directly concerns us all, and His history is our history

of salvation which changes the whole human situation,

just because God Himself is its human subject in His Son,

just because God Himself has assumed and made His own

our human nature and kind in His Son, just because God

Himself came into this world in His Son, and as one of us

” a guest this world of us He trod.” ”

THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES

As Karl Barth continues:

“And as  and because the Holy Spirit is the coming of

Jesus Christ Himself, and His witness this disclosure

to men concerning themselves, He and His witness are

in fact the self revelation of Jesus Christ and as such

the basis of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

We have to realize that God’s own revealedness for us

is God’s own person and God’s own work.

All the comfort, all the power, all the truth of this

revealedness depends upon the fact that it is with God

that we are dealing.

All our understanding of this revealedness depends upon

the fact that we identify it with God Himself, ruling out all

other possibilities but God’s possibility. We have therefore to

realize that as the recipient of revelation man is brought

under God’s judgement. It is only because of this that he is

brought under God’s promise. It is only because of this that

God meets him as the One who intercedes for him,  who

undertakes and directs his cause, who does not quench his

own ability and will and accomplishment but subordinates

it to His own, since man must always be subordinated to God,

if God’s glory is to triumph and man is to be helped.”

HUMAN FREEDOM VS DIVINE FREEDOM

Again continuing from above:

” We are to understand, therefore, that for God to be

revealed involves the dislodging of man from the

estimation of his own freedom, and his enrichment with

the freedom of the children of God. This negation, the

negation of man through God’s eternal grace and mercy, is

only the obverse of his position as a child of God, as a member

of the covenant between God and man. But this obviously means

that the negation of man cannot be put into effect any more than

his position as a child of God except through God’s own action.

Thus God’s possibility triumphs over the very imprisonment

in which we are involved, where we only fulfill our own

possibilities and only believe in our own possibilities.

The self-enclosed uniqueness of  man, who only has and

knows his own freedom, is overarched and enclosed and

finally relativized through the uniqueness of God and His

freedom in which He is resolved to have fellowship with this

man and once and for all to be his Lord.”

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU LORD JESUS!

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,

appeal  to and beg you to walk worthy

of the divine calling to which you have

been called (with behavior that is a

credit to the summons to God’s service.

(Ephesians 4.1).

POINTS FOR PRAISE

AND MEDITATION

1) St. Paul considers himself the prisoner

of the Lord. This is not to indicate lack

of freedom. On the contrary our freedom

is God’s freedom. We enter into God’s

freedom. Where the Spirit of the Lord is

there is freedom.

2)This in essence is the summons to

joy and freedom.

3)St. Paul is set in His course for His life

thoroughly committed to God’s way.

4) God’s way of life is His lifestyle, to

live a life worthy of the divine calling to

which we have been called, to His glory,

not seeking our own, but seeking His way

of life.

HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU LORD JESUS!

This is in accordance with

the terms of the eternal

and timeless purpose which

He has realized and carried

into effect in Christ Jesus

our Lord.

In whom, because of our

faith in Him we dare to have

the boldness (courage and

confidence) free access (an

unreserved approach to

God with freedom and

without fear.

(Ephesians 3.11 and 12)

POINTS FOR PRAISE

AND MEDITATION

1) God’s plan and purpose

for humanity was effected

through Jesus Christ who

is divine and human.

2) This is why in Him and by

thorough faith in Him we now

dare have free,

unhindered and confident

access to God.

HALLELUJAH!

THANK YOU LORD JESUS!