It is Me Indeed!

I nearly jumped through the roof of my car this morning. Dr. Adrian Rogers was preaching on I Corinthians 15:12-19 regarding the resurrection of Jesus. It was when he read verse 17, "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins" that I resisted the urge to leap for joy. Why?

Because just the opposite is true. Christ is raised; my faith is not vain, and; I am not in my sins!

Christian friends, when you are awake, you are dead indeed to sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ.

This word "indeed" is a powerful Biblical word and I want to share some of its fruits with you today. Both in the Old Testament and the New Testament the word carries the element of absolute certainty. It's associated subject is without a doubt. For instance, in Genesis 17:19 God told Abraham that his wife Sarah "shall bear thee a son indeed...." You know the story. Sarah was way beyond her childbearing years. She and Abraham believed God only upon the certainty of His Word and character. On these same things can we base our certainty today regarding the things He says of us. Here are some examples that should bring you to your feet (unless you are driving - do be careful!).

Exodus 19:5-6, "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." (Notice this verse is repeated in Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 applied now to the Church as well.)

I Chronicles 4:10, "And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested." (Remember that wonderful little book, "The Prayer of Jabez"?)

Matthew 20:23a, "And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with...."

Luke 24:34, "Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon."

John 4:42, "And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." (Unless you hear Jesus personally, your faith and salvation are in vain. He alone is the Savior, not the pastor, not your friend, or any other person who ever witnessed to you. They did their job in righteousness, but unless you heard Jesus, you are still in your sins.)

John 8:31, "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed."

John 8:36, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."

Romans 6:11, "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 8:7, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."

As you can see by this short post, there are things God says with certainty about His children. Some are positive, some negative. Surely we want all the positive ones to apply. But we must be circumspect to ensure the negative ones are in their proper place (e.g. - Be not carnal in your minds, but spiritual that you may indeed serve the law of God according to Romans 7:25b, "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.")

Rejoice that He is risen indeed. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life."

A Favorite

The resurrection of Lazarus in John 11:1-46 is one of my favorite passages from God's Word. It brings to front one great reality of God and that is His eternal "now". That's a term I borrow from Oswald Chambers. I'll take you right to the point to show you why the eternal "now" of our Lord Jesus Christ is so important.

Mary and Martha both lamented to Jesus, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." All around Himself Jesus saw the signs and heard the words of unbelief. He groaned within Himself and openly wept for these. Nevertheless, in His unsurpassable grace, mercy, and power, He said to Martha, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

Did you see the "now"?

Jesus said, "I am...." I am - right NOW! Standing before your very eyes. No waiting necessary. No tomorrow. No uncertain time in the future. NOW. I am. Present tense. Do you believe?

Do you know the power and presence of "I am" right now? This term "I am" is actually a very special name God reserved for Himself. It is how He introduced Himself to mankind through Abram in Genesis 15:7 right after this excellent interchange:

"And he (Abram) believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the LORD...."

It is how He magnified Himself to Moses and Israel in Exodus 3:13-14, "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."

It is how Jesus declared Himself God to a hard-hearted people in John 8:58, "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."

It is how Jesus proclaims the eternality of God in Revelation 22:13, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

Christians are often ignorant or confused about the "when" of eternal life. Does it start at birth, salvation, death? When? This is an oxymoronic question. Eternal life has no beginning or end. No starting point.

We are beings created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27) When sin came along, it did not put an end to our eternality. It changed our destination. In the beginning we had perfect "one" relationship with God, a perfect "now". Sin brought the curse of death and separation from God and this condemnation:

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." - John 3:18

We are conceived and born in sin. Thus we are separated from God. We are still eternal, and we still have eternal life, but it is a life apart from God condemned to hell. Upon salvation, we are raised to a new life through the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now our eternal life is brought to a new destination, back to what it once was in perfect creation before the "Fall". It is the answer to Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-24, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

This leaves you, Christian, with one final question. It is a question that can help you to know for certain that you are saved. Perhaps you answered in the affirmative Jesus' question as He posed it to Martha, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

Do you believe right now? If so, Jesus said that you will be with Him where He is and behold His glory right now. Here's the question....

Are you beholding His glory right now?

Enjoy the blessings in heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Copyright 2009 Lawrence J. Caldwell