I am the true vine and my father is the gardener (John 15:1)

2

The one who remains in me, and I in him, bears much fruit, John 15:5

In this month’s issue:

4. God’s Mighty Minority Edwin & Lillian Harvey (USA)

5. The Right Kind of Ambition Doreen Harrison (UK)

6. Enemies of Faith Don Sanderson (USA)

8. First Love Discipleship Series – Ephesians Dr. Tony Keys (Australia)

11. Revelation 15-16 Righteous Saviour & Judge Mathew Bartlett (UK)

14. The Surrendered Will Daniel Kolenda (CfaN)

15. Neither Angels nor Principalities Reinhard Bonnke (CfaN)

17. Faith-builders Bible Study Mark 9 Derek Williams (UK)

21. Christ-dependent Christianity Kenn Legg (Australia)

23. In Depth Study – 1 Corinthians 15 Mathew Bartlett (UK)

Back: Britain’s’ Cheapest Gospel Tracts Bible Studies Online

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Living Word is published in the UK by Sharon Full Gospel Church, 7 Park View, Freeholdland Road, Pontnewynydd, Pontypool, NP4 8LP Editor: Mathew Bartlett

3

Faithbuilders Bible Study Guide – Mark

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The Prophet of Messiah: Zechariah

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4

God‘s Mighty Minority

An extract from “Royal Insignia” by Edwin & Lillian Harvey

BUY ON KINDLE! £3.86

Image © Subbotina

Reproduced by kind permission of Harvey Publishers.

www.harveycp.com

The flight shall perish from the

swift, and the strong shall not

strengthen his force, neither shall

the mighty deliver himself (Amos

2:14).

GOD has always blessed quality

rather than quantity in the

promotion of His cause. He seeks

not men but a man. Never has He

been impressed or depressed by

numbers, equipment, and ability.

Never has He been impressed or

depressed by personality, prestige,

or popularity. Much of what we call

wisdom is sheer foolishness with

God. Some jobs may depend on

what you know, but the work of

God depends upon Whom you

know. You must know God. As far as

God is concerned there are no “big

men” in His work, for He putteth

down one and setteth up another.

He inspects rather than respects our

person. Fact is—humanity must be

reduced to practically nothing

before it can be induced to do much

of anything for Heaven. When a

person feels he has nothing, is

worth nothing, and can do nothing,

aside from Divine assistance, he is

eligible for membership in the ranks

of God’s “mighty minority.”

It matters little what you have so

long as you have God; it matters

little where you have been so long

as you have been to Calvary; it

matters little whom you know as

long as you know God; it matters

little what you possess as long as

you are possessed of the Holy

Ghost. God has been known to use

a stick in the hand of Moses, a

stone in the sling of David, and a

staff in the hand of Benaiah. He

used vermin to move Pharaoh, as

ass to move Baalam, and a fish to

move Jonah. His equipment is

inexhaustible, and His methods of

labor innumerable. All He needs is a

yielded instrument.

History usually marks the man who

has made a mark for God. Those

who have succeeded in

surrendering to God the whole man

have been known throughout the

whole world. Too many are waiting

for God to move upon them, when

they ought to be prevailing upon

Him. We may all sing, “God is still

on the Throne,” but I wonder who is

sitting upon yours? He stood in

honor of His faithful martyr,

Stephen, and, no doubt, would

stand more often if we gave Him

occasion to do so. It is not a matter

of whether or not we have

numbers—but do we have God?

Someone has said, “If God be for us,

what difference does it make who is

against us?” Anyone plus God is a

sufficiency. Some of history’s

greatest conflicts have been

decided by a minority of men in the

hands of Divinity. —George Bowen.

As for me my bed is made: I am

against bigness and greatness in all

their forms, and (am) with the

invisible, molecular, moral forces

that work from individual to

individual, stealing in through the

crannies of the world, like so many

soft rootlets, or like the capillary

oozing of water, and yet rending the

hardest monuments of man’s pride,

if you give them time.

I am against all big organizations as

such, national ones first and

foremost; against all big successes

and big results, and in favor of the

eternal forces of truth which always

work in the individual...underdogs

always, till history comes, after they

are long dead, and puts them on

top. — William James.

F. A. Schaeffer years later reiterates

the truth of William James and

George Bowen: “Nowhere more

than in America are Christians

caught in the twentieth-century

syndrome of size. Size will show

success. If I am consecrated there

will necessarily be large quantities

of people, dollars, etc. This is not so.

Not only does God not say that size

and spiritual power go together, but

He even reverses this and tells us to

be deliberately careful not to

choose a place too big for us. We all

tend to emphasize big words and

important places, but all such

emphasis is of the flesh. To think in

such terms is simply to hearken

back to the old, unconverted,

egoistic, self-centered me.”

5

(Here’s one for all of you studying

hard for exams right now! – Ed.)

Is it right that so much should rest

on the results of High School or

College exams? Is the future really

determined by our present

achievement? Can someone’s

potential be accurately defined by

success or failure in particular tests?

A century ago, a small lady named

Gladys Aylward, who lived in

London, was quite unable to pass

exams. She was a parlour maid but

she had a burning ambition to go to

China as a Christian missionary. So

she enrolled in a college for

missionary training.

However, after a few weeks the

Principal sent for her and gently

suggested that she should go back

to her work as a parlour maid. “We

do not think you are equipped to

study,” he explained.

Gladys was certain that God wanted

her to go to China and so she

decided to take herself there. She

took extra cleaning and serving jobs

until she had saved enough money

to pay for a one-way ticket to China.

She learned the local language and

became a hard working witness for

the Lord Jesus Christ, often on her

own in remote villages, for many

years.

One day, the Governor of the local

prison in the Chinese town sent for

Gladys in a hurry.

A riot had broken out in the prison

and he wanted Gladys to come and

stop the riot. “I can’t do that!”

protested Gladys. “Why, they’ll kill

me as well.”

The Governor looked puzzled. “How

can that happen?” he inquired.

“You tell us that the Living God is

with you. God cannot die — so how

can you?”

This was not the time for a

theological debate. Quietly, Gladys

waited for them to open the prison

gates. She stepped inside. The

scene was violent, blood

everywhere, dead bodies. She remembered a Bible verse, “I can do

all things through Christ who

strengthens me.” Taking a deep

breath, she yelled, “Stop it at once!

Line up, here, in front of me!”

No schoolteacher was ever as

successful as was Gladys! The noise

stopped. So did the fighting. Those

men came and stood in front of

Gladys. With tears in her eyes she

tried to share with them the power

and the presence of Jesus.

Gladys Aylward had ambition. She

had determination. She was not

afraid of hard work. And, most of

all, she had faith in God.

The Right Kind of Ambition Doreen Harrison

Ask our office for more information about devotional books by Doreen Harrison here.

© Brett Critchley

© J6789

6

Don Sanderson is Lead Pastor at

Grace Community Assembly of God,

California.

It is no secret that we are living

in troubled times – right before our

eyes we are seeing scripture

being fulfilled as a culture runs

wildly towards destruction. In my

lifetime I never imagined witnessing

what we see today: evil being called

good and good being called evil. My

heart hurts for our community and

our nation as I realize there is not

one thing you or I can do naturally

to change things for the better.

Our voting will not turn the tide of

evil. Nor will greater community

organization, immigration reform,

health care reform, a balanced

budget or greater military power.

Whilst all these are all things are

important and relevant to the

security and prosperity of our

nation, they fail to address the root

of our problem - the heart of man

remains hardened in unbelief. But

faith is the victory which

overcomes! In a day when our faith

is under attack, we as Christians

need to stand firm in our faith. As

we understand the nature of our

faith will we be able to defeat the

enemies of faith.

Defining Faith

When someone asks a follower of

Jesus, “what is faith?” most of us

will quote this passage:

Faith makes us sure of what we

hope for and gives us proof of what

we cannot see… But without faith

no one can please God. We must

believe that God is real and that he

rewards everyone who searches for

him. (Hebrews 11:1, 6)

Faith is absolute trust and

confidence in God; that he is who

he says he is and he will do what he

says he will do. Yet the Bible defines

several modes of ‘faith’ which a

Christian can have. Firstly, and most

importantly, there is:

Saving faith

This faith comes to us as a gift from

God and is the exclusive possession

of all Christians. All true Christians

possess saving faith, and only

Christians possess it. Without it we

would not be Christians!

For we are saved by grace through

faith, and that not of ourselves, it is

the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)

The Gift of Faith

All the gifts of the Spirit are

supernatural manifestations of

power; and so when Paul in 1

Corinthians 12:9 speaks of faith

(Greek: ‘pistis’) as a gift of the Spirit,

Enemies of Faith by Don Sanderson

Image © Salvador Ceja

7

he is referring to a supernatural

ability (given by God at a particular

time) to meet a particular need or

situation. The good news is all

Christians can be recipients of this

gift, if and when it is needed.

The fruit of faith

Although exactly the same word for

faith (‘pistis’) is used in Galatians

5:22 in reference to the fruit of the

Spirit which is ‘faith’, we must

understand that there is a

difference between the fruit of the

Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. The

gift of faith is a supernatural

manifestation of Divine power;

whereas the fruit of faith one of the

fruits of the Spirit which are

manifestations of Christ's character

springing from his indwelling Spirit

within us. Indeed, the word

‘faithfulness’ is probably a better

translation than ‘faith’ in this

context (I am indebted to David

Petts’ book ‘Body Builders’ for the

definitions used in this article).

Whilst Christians are only expected

to exercise some of the gifts of the

Spirit, they are required to show all

of the fruit of the Spirit in their

lives.

In Luke 18:8 Jesus asked a

challenging and searching question:

‘When the Son of Man comes, will

he find faith on the earth?’

During days of evil and backsliding

in our nation, if we are to stand firm

in the faith in the way Jesus implies,

then we need to understand what

our faith is; use the gift of faith, and

develop the fruit of faith (or

faithfulness). Of course, we will

never be able to stand in our own

ability; ‘reaching for our

own bootstraps’ simply won’t be

enough; but our faith in God will

enable us to stand.

What are the Enemies of

Faith?

The enemy of our souls uses a

variety of weapons to undermine

our faith; his ultimate objective

being the destruction of our souls.

These weapons can rob us of the

joy of our salvation, faith to see the

answers to our prayers and

experience God’s miraculous

provision for our needs.

Doubt and Fear

I believe these two are very

effective tools of the enemy to steal

away our confidence in God. Satan

lies to you and me with accusing

thoughts which sound something

like this:

You’re worthless! Your sin is too

great! God can’t love you! God

won’t heal you! It’s all your fault!

If you listen to these lies for long

enough you will begin to believe

them and then develop a fatalistic

attitude and belief system that says

“what’s the use; why bother

praying, why bother serving, why

bother, period?”

These very things have been

instrumental in bringing down some

incredible men and women of God

– no one is immune in our own

strength.

Spiritual depression, a fatalistic

outlook to life and a mere ‘going

through the motions’ are sure signs

that doubt and fear are winning the

battle in the life of a believer. If you

are living in this place right now – I

want you to know that this enemy

of faith can be defeated!

Unbelief

Unbelief (Greek: ‘apistos’) is the

opposite of faith (‘pistos’). It is a

lack of faith, a withholding of belief:

in the divine power (Mark 16:14);

the promises of God (Rom. 4:20;

Heb. 3:19); the divine mission of

Jesus (Matt. 13:58; Mark 6:6); and

by opposition to the gospel (1Tim.

1:13). It carries with it he added

notion of obstinacy (Rom. 11:20,23;

Heb. 3:12). It is a weakness of faith

(Matt. 17:20).

Unbelief is an intentional decision

demonstrated by our refusal to

surrender to the Holy Spirit and his

purposes.

Our unbelief in God’s ability to

move in us and through us can be

seen in our attitudes and behaviour

towards others, especially those in

authority over us.

In these days of unbelief, Christians

must stand firm in the faith to

overcome these enemies of faith. If

we want to see the blessing of God

on our lives and our families, and to

see his miraculous power at work,

we must do two things:

1. Take authority over doubt and

fear, recognizing that Christ has

overcome the world, the flesh and

the devil and through faith in him

that we too, have the victory. This is

the victory that has overcome the

world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4)

2. Crucify our flesh – bring this sin

of unbelief and obstinacy to Christ,

repent of our sin and rebellion

towards God and those in authority

over us.

Today, Christian, you can live in

victory over the enemies of doubt,

fear, and unbelief; and you can

overcome all the world throws at

you if you walk by faith in God.

8

This Month’s

Featured

Resource:

First Love

Discipleship

Series -

Ephesians

By Dr. Tony Keys. Available now

for £8.80 from Amazon.co.uk

Ephesians – The Believer’s

Riches in Christ!

Week One All Spiritual Blessings -

Ephesians 1: 1-23

Day 1: Read Introduction & then

Ephesians 1: 1-6.

Whilst reading today’s commentary

shown below, think about the

following points, keeping in mind

what they mean to you as a

believer.

• Why the phrase ‘heavenly places’

is an important phrase in

understanding the book of

Ephesians

• The doctrine of adoption –

considered to be one of the

cornerstones of the Christian belief.

• What Paul meant when he wrote,

“by which He made us accepted in

the Beloved”.

When Christians begin to read and

understand Paul’s Epistle to the

Ephesians, something wonderful

happens in our spiritual lives. We

discover how rich we already are,

for reading Ephesians is like reading

the catalogue of our own treasures

that we have in Christ.

A. The Greeting (1: 1-2)

Paul begins his letter with the

conventional first century Greek-

style writing of his day, which is that

of the writer sending greetings to

the reader. Yet, Paul takes this style

of writing and lifts it to a higher

plane, for he describes both writer

and reader from the standpoint of

their relationship in God through

Christ Jesus.

The words found in these opening

verses do not roll easily from Paul’s

lips, nor are they words that are

artistically shaped in the mind. They

are words that come from one

whose heart and mind are

thoroughly Spirit-controlled.

V.1 Paul begins this verse by first

describing his own personal

relationship in God through Christ

Jesus. He says, “Paul, an apostle of

Jesus Christ by the will of God”. Paul

calls himself an ‘apostle’. The word

‘apostle’ comes from the Greek

word ‘apostolos’, which comes from

the verb ‘apostellein’, meaning ‘to

send out’. The word was used of a

naval squadron or an ambassador

sent out on a special expedition.

Paul, by this word, not only shows

that he is a member of a large task

force for Christ but also that he is a

man with a special mission. Yet, by

coupling the word ‘apostle’ with ‘of

Jesus Christ’, he gives the fullest

meaning that can properly be

applied to the word ‘apostle’, for he

shows that he not only belongs to

Christ and is under the authority of

Christ, but also that the marks of his

apostleship are clearly evident in his

life and work.

Even though Paul makes the claim

of one writing with authority, he

goes to great pains to show us that

this authority is not due to his own

personal merit, aspiration or

through usurpation, nor was he

nominated by men, but that it came

as a result of God’s initiative and

sovereign will, for he says “by the

will of God”.

Paul then continues on to describe

the personal standing of his readers

in Christ Jesus. He calls them both

“saints” and the “faithful in Christ

Jesus”. By the word ‘saints’, Paul

describes the work of Christ’s

salvation for them, that they have

been set apart and consecrated to

glorify Christ and to proclaim the

message of Christ. By the word

‘faithful’, Paul expresses their part

in remaining set apart in God and of

proclaiming the message and yet he

is quick to point out that, like him,

they also need the strength of

Christ to accomplish such a feat, for

he says ‘in Christ’. Just as the

strength of any tree is found in the

soil and how deep its roots go into

that soil, so the strength of any

Christian is found in Christ and how

deep we have placed our roots in

Him.

V.2 Paul then continues with the

greeting of that day, “Grace to you

and peace”. These words capture

the riches of the Christian faith, for

‘grace’ represents a believer’s

standing, and ‘peace’ the believer’s

present and continued experience

with God, the continued experience

being expressed by describing God

as “our Father”. The word ‘Father’

in the Aramaic is ‘Pater’, a word

describing a father in a happy family

relationship.

B. Praise to God for His Purpose

and Blessing for Us in Christ (1: 3-

14)

In the Greek, V.3-14 is one long

sentence. Paul’s mind seems to go

on and on as each successive

thought crowds one upon the

other. His thoughts are like a

snowball gathering momentum as it

races down a hillside, as his mind

9

first contemplates the blessings of

God, then the purpose of God in our

lives, then the privileges we have in

Christ.

As we read his words and take time

to contemplate them, they almost

seem like steps leading to an

illustrious castle. Once we, like a

pilgrim, begin to climb, the aim

becomes to quickly ascend those

steps without taking a breath in our

bid to reach the castle as quickly as

possible.

1. The Divine Plan of Salvation (1:

3-8)

V.3 In this passage, Paul’s thoughts

erupt into loud resounding praise to

God. We can almost hear his voice

ringing through the prison as he

blesses God the Father or Our Lord

Jesus Christ “who has blessed us

with every spiritual blessing”. These

words hardly seem the words of a

man in prison facing the possibility

of execution, and yet they are,

though in this case the prisoner

looks ahead to something far

greater.

In July 2009, the reticent billionaire

Chuck Feeney gave Queensland its

biggest ever single gift of $102

million to three medical projects.

These projects are overseen by

Queensland University of

Technology (QUT). The university’s

Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter

Coaldrake remarked that the

donation underscores Mr Feeney's

personal commitment to giving;

"The contribution of Chuck Feeney

to QUT and the state of Queensland

has been nothing short of

remarkable," he said. Born in 1931

in New Jersey, Mr Feeney earned

his fortune after setting up the Duty

Free Shopping Network in

Mediterranean seaports in the

1950s. By 1982, he had established

a philanthropic institution called the

Atlantic Philanthropies and,

according to Wikipedia estimates,

by 2005 he had given away $3.457

billion, with most of it done in total

anonymity. He eventually sold his

interests in 1997, a sale which

boosted his personal wealth and for

the first time brought this shy,

mysterious man to the public arena.

Up until that time, Feeney was the

world's biggest secret

philanthropist. There are only two

other charities that have out-given

him: the Ford Foundation, and the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Feeney’s foundation does not

accept requests but rather it seeks

out those who are most needy. He

gives his money away because it

brings him great satisfaction in

helping others.

Yet how differently Paul in this

verse describes our relationship

with the One who blesses us with all

spiritual blessings! To the world,

Chuck Feeney is an enigma, a shy

reclusive man whom we can never

really know, who seems to appear

out of nowhere, donating large

sums of money and then, as

surreptitiously as he appears, he

vanishes. Paul does not describe

God as shy or one difficult to reach

but as “Father”. Throughout this

wonderful Epistle, Paul continually

assures us that it is from the

parental heart of God the Father

that the fountain of all blessing

flows down upon our lives. Paul

tells us in Rom 8:17 that every true

believer is a joint-heir with Christ.

Our unique family relationship with

Christ is further stressed by His

words at His resurrection (Jn 20:17)

when He said, “I am ascending to

My Father and Your Father”. Jesus

is a Son by nature and we are ‘sons’

by adoption.

Paul continues to say that God has

blessed us with “every spiritual

blessing”. Writing of the blessings of

God upon us, Paul is not speaking of

them as being in the past or

remaining only in the present, but

rather as one continuous flow of

blessing. Though the benefits of

Chuck Feeney’s donations will aid

tens of thousands of people, not

everyone can access them; many

billions of the world’s population

will be left wanting and, even if he

was to give away all his money, he

could not assist all of them. Later on

in Eph. 3:8, Paul describes these

spiritual blessings from God as “the

unsearchable riches of Christ”

which he and the church are

commissioned to preach to all. The

word ‘unsearchable’ describes a

resource that can never be emptied

or measured, like a great

unfathomable ocean. The verses in

Eph. 1:3 and 3:8 tell us that God not

only seeks us out to bless us but He

also accepts requests to bless us.

God does not just bless us with

temporal blessings that are

consumed with time and effort but

with spiritual blessings that find

their source “in the heavenly places

in Christ”, and this makes these

blessings eternal, inexhaustible,

glorious and wonderful beyond

compare. The phrase ‘in Christ’ also

shows us that we cannot enjoy

these blessings without Christ.

Starting from this verse, the whole

Epistle of Ephesians is a magnificent

anthem of the believer’s riches in

Christ, beginning with the grace and

mercy with which God through

Jesus Christ brought us into a

special relationship with Him in that

He, God, is now our Heavenly

Father, the One who blesses us with

every spiritual blessing. Amen!

10

The opening line of this verse so fills

our heart and spirit with joy that we

just want to jump up and sing for

joy the praises of God, just as the

hymn writer Fanny J. Crosby so well

put it: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is

mine… Praising my Saviour all the

day long”.

One of the key phrases in

understanding the book of

Ephesians is the phrase ‘heavenly

places’.

Paul sees that the heavenly places

are those places where the real

issues of life take place.

Paul speaks of these blessings as

being both spiritual and of coming

from heavenly places in Christ. He

impresses upon us the fact that the

blessings of God eclipse and are

unlimited compared to material

things that pass away, because their

origin is not found in the

commonplace of this world but far

above, in Christ who is in the

heavenlies. Paul here in this verse

claims the privileged position of a

Christian. As a citizen of Rome he

may be in prison but, as a citizen of

heaven, he is in heaven. He urges

us, the readers, to accept the same

privilege (Eph. 2: 6-7).

This verse in Eph. 1:3 is also directly

linked to Eph. 6:12 where Paul

speaks of wrestling with

principalities and powers in

heavenly places. Therefore, the

spiritual blessing of which Paul is

speaking relates to our success with

wrestling with principalities and

powers in heavenly places. The two

verses (Eph. 1:3 & 6:12) resemble

the beginning and ending of a

document of war that contains

military strategies to overcome

principalities and powers in

heavenly places.

In fact, Eph. 1:3 is also the

declaration of a counsel of war. The

words ‘heavenly places’ could be

translated here as ‘God’s heavenly

counsels’, a place where God puts

His plans into operation. It is as if

we have been ushered into the war

counsel room of God and there in

the heavenly places we have

become privy to the plans and

purposes of God.

Paul continues to tell us in Eph. 1:3

that the plans and purposes of God,

of which we are made part, are only

accomplished ‘in Christ’. But, why

does Paul say ‘in Christ’? It is

because Paul sees that our

relationship ‘in Christ’ is vital to the

outcome of anything that we do.

V.4-5 The story is told of a group of

theologians who were discussing

the tension between the schools of

thought of predestination and free

will. Things became so heated that

the group broke up into two

opposing factions, but one man, not

knowing which faction to join, stood

for a moment trying to decide. At

last he joined the predestination

group. "Who sent you here?" they

asked. "No-one sent me," he

replied. "I came of my own choice."

"Free will!" they exclaimed. "You

can't join us! You belong with the

other group!" So he followed their

orders and went to the other clique.

There someone asked, "When did

you decide to join us?" The young

man replied, "Well, I didn't really

decide - I was sent here." "Sent

here!" they shouted. "You can't join

us unless you have decided by your

own free will!"

So often we get caught up in the

debate of predestination that we

lose sight of the wonderful treasure

of our own adoption into the family

of God, of which Paul wants us to

grasp hold. Paul now becomes

deeply aware not only of his own

conversion and calling but also that

of his readers. The words of Jesus in

John 15:16 no doubt ring in Paul’s

ears: “You do not choose me but I

choose you”. As Paul contemplates

his and our salvation, he becomes

overwhelmed with the wonder of it,

that it was not a last minute idea of

God’s or a happy accident of fate,

but rather an achievement of God’s

that He initiated before the

foundation of the world. Paul sees

that this privilege could not possibly

bring about the occasion of pride or

boasting, for he says that we are

adopted. Paul uses this word to

describe both our present and past

condition. Paul looks into the past

and does not see us as a perfect

child, squeaky clean and pressed by

an adoption agency, presenting us

to God as our parent-to-be, hoping

that He will adopt us! Rather, he

sees us as we really are: orphans of

the street, dirty, neglected,

wretched little urchins living in the

gutters, repulsive to many people,

living like dogs scavenging for food

in the dumps of life, as sadly many

children still do today. Also, we

must remember that Satan has no

desire to give us up and present us

as squeaky clean to God

Dr. Tony Keys (from Victoria in

Australia) is a prolific author with

degrees in biblical/theology,

education and leadership/

management. Tony is passionate

about developing leaders and

conducts leadership seminars for

pastors around the world.

11

It is important to remember that

the Book of Revelation was given to

John by a series of signs and visions

(Rev. 1.2) and that the events

depicted in the visions do not

necessarily follow each other in

chronological order. Sometimes the

same event is referred more than

once, and the events in chapters

fifteen and sixteen actually occur

before events in chapter fourteen.

The scene of this vision is the

fulfilment of God’s wrath - no more

patient forbearance and holding

back in mercy, for the day of

salvation will be over. Men will have

no more opportunity to repent, for

their hearts are long past

repentance. The great and

wonderful sign John sees in heaven

is seven angels carrying the seven

last plagues. The word last denotes

the finality of these plagues.

Throughout these chapters we see

God as righteous in his character

both as Saviour and as Judge.

God the Righteous Saviour

V2,3 Before the angels are sent out,

we see a vision of those who

standing on a sea of glass blended

with fire, representing God’s holy

judgment. These people are

victorious over judgment, for they

have not bowed down to worship

the beast or his image or received

his mark. They share in the victory

which was won for them by the

Lord Jesus Christ, the harps in their

hands represent his salvation. This

vision interrupts the vision of God’s

wrath for a reason: to show that

God is unwilling to pour out his

wrath - so he has offered a way of

salvation to all men. Those who

respond and receive His salvation

stand perfect before him in Christ,

without fear of condemnation, for

our God is a Saviour before he is a

judge. How tragic it is then, for

those who suffer God’s wrath -

tragic, for it need never have been,

they have only themselves to

blame.

In contrast, how wonderful it will be

to join in the song of the redeemed!

The song of Moses and the Lamb

are not two different songs, but two

blended into one. Derek Williams

writes: “Just as the Israelites sang

with Moses after their deliverance

from Egypt, so the Lord’s people

sing to the Lamb, the Lord Jesus

Christ, who has delivered from sin,

its power and its judgment.” What

God has done is marvellous in our

eyes. It is done in grace, for it is

undeserved on our part, but it is

done in justice, for God has fulfilled

his own law in making us right with

him.

No one could fail to revere the

Name of such a God, bow down to

Him, honour and praise Him (Phil.

2:9 - 11). God alone is “perfectly

and to the highest degree, holy”.

All the redeemed from every nation

on earth will give Him due worship

because of his righteousness in

their justification, and his works on

earth. Ps. 86:9.

V5 At this point, John saw the way

into God’s presence open. It has

been opened once and for all and

will never again be shut, for Christ

has made the way for all who

believe.

Therefore, brethren, having

boldness to enter the Holiest

by the blood of Jesus, by a

new and living way which He

consecrated for us, through

the veil, that is, His flesh

(Heb. 10:19-20)

Revelation 15 & 16

The Righteous

Saviour and Judge

Truth for Today

A brief extract from our forthcoming book.

By Mathew Bartlett

Image © Pidiyath100

12

How sad that even though the door

is open, those who refuse to believe

refuse to enter through it. The

tabernacle of the Testimony in

heaven is “the dwelling place and

throne of God (the heavenly holy of

holies).”DRW But if God is a

righteous Saviour, he is also a

righteous judge.

God the Righteous Judge

V6 John’s attention now turn again

to the seven angels bearing the

plagues as they come out from the

presence of God. Since they are to

be the executors of God’s

judgment, they are sent with marks

of his divine authority, the white

robes speak of His judicial

impartiality and the golden sash is

the mark of their office.

V7 From one of the four living

creatures, each angel receives a

golden bowl filled with the wrath of

God “Who lives forever and ever.”

“The particular object in referring to

this attribute here appears to be,

that though there may seem to be

delay in the execution of his

purposes, yet they will be certainly

accomplished, for he is the ever-

living and unchangeable God”

(Barnes). God has always been the

same. His anger against sin has

never changed. It is simply that in

his love and long-suffering, he gave

all men opportunity to repent. But

there is a time with God, when

disobedience can no longer be

overlooked. The time has come to

carry out due sentence.

V8 As the angels were entrusted

with their commission, God’s

sanctuary in heaven was filled with

the smoke of His glory and His

power. No one could enter until the

seven plagues of the seven angels

were completed, indicating that no

intercessions could be made during

this time for the guilty - the worthy

recipients of God’s wrath.

The First Bowl: Ulcerated Sores.

V1,2 The angels are sent to empty

their bowls, and as the first angel

pours out his bowl, painful

ulcerated sores break out on all

those who have the mark of the

beast, this is similar to the sixth

plague that God sent to judge the

Egyptians (Exodus 9:8 - 12) and may

I remind you that the Egyptians had

never heard of silicon chips.

The Second Bowl: All Seas

Turned to Blood

V3 The second angel empties his

bowl on the sea which turns it not

only into blood, but the foul, ill-

smelling blood of a dead body. In

contract to the seven trumpets,

when one third of marine life died,

now every living thing in the sea

dies. So we see God’s word means

what it says - these are the final

judgments.

The Third Bowl: All Fresh

Waters Turned to Blood

V4-6 The third angel pours his bowl

on the rivers, springs and all the

water sources which are turned into

blood. This leaves no drinking water

on earth. Truly God’s final judgment

has begun. The angel who was in

charge of the waters asserts that

God is quite right to inflict this

judgment, for those affected had

shed the blood of God’s children

and were only receiving what they

deserved - they must now drink

blood to survive. I was interested,

when I heard someone say after the

Tsunami of 2005, when thousands

were wiped out in a moment in

Bande Ache, Indonesia, “Why would

God judge the poor innocent fisher

folk of Indonesia?” May I point out

that in those poor innocent fishing

villages, Christians were being

publicly beheaded for their faith in

Christ and their heads were bring

carried around on poles in front of

the jubilant villagers. I have seen

photographs of these atrocities

myself. Were they really poor

innocent fishermen or callous

murderers of God’s children?

National crimes merit national

chastisement, and international

crimes merit universal punishment.

Christ himself, who gave himself up

as a sacrifice for our sins on the

cross, echoes the sentiments of the

angel, Yes, Lord God Almighty - they

deserve this - for your judgments

are true and right.

The Fourth Bowl: Men are

Burned by the Sun

V8,9 Scientists expect the sun to

last at least another 100, 000 years.

But the sun is not under its own

control. As the fourth angel pours

out his bowl on the sun, it flares up

to such an extent that people are

severely burnt by its heat. Yet they

do not repent or give God glory.

Instead they blaspheme and curse

God for sending these plagues on

them, as if they were not fair. I have

said that God is righteous, that is all

his ways are right. But man’s heart

is so crooked that he calls God’s

right way wrong. We have read how

Christ and the angels have

described God’s judgments as holy

and fair; true and right. How many

people today would say when

hearing of these judgments, “This is

13

terrible, I will never believe in a God

who could do such things - it is cruel

and wrong.” In saying this, they

reveal the sinfulness of their hearts

in their perverted sense of right and

wrong. Let me assert with serious

dogmatism this morning- God is

right even if the rest of the world is

wrong! Let God be true and every

man a liar; that you may be proved

right when you speak and justified

when you judge.

The Fifth Bowl: Darkness

V10,11 Divine judgment draws

nearer to the Anti-Christ himself as

the fifth angel empties his bowl on

his throne in Jerusalem, although as

DRW says it does not yet touch him

personally. His kingdom was

plunged into supernatural darkness,

bringing confusion, disorder and

distress (see Ex. 10:21-23). So

terrible was this darkness that men

“gnawed their tongues in anguish”

(physical and mental pain, like hell

had already begun on earth). DRW

says: This is the only place in

Scripture where this expression is

found. Yet once again their only

response to this judgment is to

blaspheme and curse God.

The Sixth Bowl: Euphrates

Dried Up

V12 - 16 When the sixth angel

poured out his bowl on the river

Euphrates it was dried up, making it

a road for the armies of the eastern

nations as they march toward Israel.

Bear in mind that at this stage of

the proceedings it is not Israel or

the Jews they are attacking. This is

made clear in later verses (Rev.

19:19). The devil sends out three

filthy and grotesque evil spirits to

raise up a worldwide army,

deceived into believing they have a

chance in the fight by the miracles

the demons perform, and gather

them to fight Christ in the valley of

Megiddo. The drying up of the

Euphrates could be seen as God

throwing down the gauntlet to the

wicked, despising their rebellion.

Palm 2:1 At this point comes

another interjection (v15).

Since all these things are about to

be fulfilled - the coming of Christ is

inevitable, even the demon inspired

armies testify to this - so at the

present time opportunity is given to

us to be ready for Christ’s coming.

The Lord promises those who watch

for His coming, those who stay loyal

and faithful to Him, that they will

not have reason to be ashamed

when he comes.

The Seventh Bowl: The Earth

Shaken

v17 The seventh and final bowl is

emptied into the air and is followed

by a mighty voice from the throne

of God, which cries, “It is finished!”

Tatford says “This is the last stroke,

before the Saviour descends to

battle.”

V18 The result of the outpouring of

the bowl into the air is a great

noise, with thunder and lightning,

accompanied by an earthquake

greater than any which have ever

occurred since the creation of man.

V19-21 The great city (is that

Jerusalem?) was rent into three

parts by gaping wide chasms. All the

cities of the nations fell flat in heaps

of rubble. For now the entire Christ

rejecting world system (symbolized

by Babylon) is to be fiercely

punished. All the islands of earth

were destroyed (Derek Williams

says they are possibly submerged

by the earthquake) and every

mountain was flattened down. At

the same time comes a terrible

hailstorm, with each hailstone

weighing about 43 kg - that’s a

builders bag of wet sand falling out

of the sky. Once again, men

blasphemed and cursed God, such is

the enmity of the human heart

against its creator. The language of

these verses is neither poetic nor

symbolic; but indicate quite literally

that the end of the world has

arrived.

Conclusion

The world, as it is today, will not last

forever. By divine decree it will

come to an end. Where is your

heart fixed? Is it on the good of this

life - that will pass away? Or is it

fixed on Christ who will return not

only to judge the world, but to bring

salvation and victory to those who

trust and follow him? If so, then you

will not be disappointed. The

Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus

Christ. It reveals him as the

everlasting and overwhelming

victor. You cannot be safe without

Jesus, and you cannot but be safe

with Him. If you are not a Christian,

may I urge you in light of God’s

word to put your trust in the Lord

Jesus today and ask him to save you

from your sin and the wrath to

come. If you are a Christian, then

set your heart fully on those things

in heaven which are yours, and will

be yours long after this world has

passed away. The hymn says,

“When we’ve been there ten

thousand years, bright shining as

the sun, we’ve no less days to sing

God’s praise than when we’ve first

begun.” For our God is a righteous

God.

14

I love the way the Lord’s Prayer

is rendered in the King James

Version. Jesus prayed,

“Thy kingdom come, Thy

will be done in earth, as it

is in heaven.”

While some translations say,

“Your will be done on the earth,”

the King James says, “Thy will be

done in earth.” Genesis 2:7 says,

“God formed man of the dust of

the ground.” We are made from

the earth, we are vessels of

“earth,” and when God’s will is

done in us, or “in earth,” then

and only then can God’s will be

done “on the earth.”

Jesus prayed, “Thy kingdom

come,” and continued by saying,

“Thy will be done.” These are

two inseparable conditions.

Wherever God’s kingdom has

come, there His will is being

done. Likewise, when God’s will

is being done, there His kingdom

has come. If we are seeking the

kingdom first, then the kingdom

is our main ambition, and this is

demonstrated in two ways.

First, we want to see God’s will

done “in earth” (in our own

lives), and second, we seek to

see His will done on the earth (in

the whole world).

It all begins with the heart—it all

begins with us. Many people

want to change the world. They

want to see the nations bow

their knees to the King of kings

and the Lord of lords. Yet the

hearts and lives of many of

these people still aren’t

surrendered. Jesus said, “The

kingdom of God is within you”

(Luke 17:21, NKJV). What was

Jesus talking about? He was

talking about God’s will being

done in the hearts of men.

Human kings fight over land and

spoil, but the real estate God

desires is that of the heart.

Jesus said in John 7:38, “He who

believes in Me, as the Scripture

said, ‘From his innermost being

will flow rivers of living water’”

(NAS). He didn’t say we would

see rivers of water flow from

heaven— He said they would

flow from inside His people!

God’s kingdom is not coming

out of the blue sky; it’s coming

from within us! God’s will is that

every believer becomes an

annexation of His kingdom, a

portal through which He can

pour His glory and release His

power into the world. If you

want to see God’s kingdom

come on earth, it starts with

God’s will being done in earth—

in you! Romans 14:17 says,

“For the kingdom of God

is not meat and drink; but

righteousness and peace,

and joy in the Holy

Ghost.”

This is the inward condition of

people who have submitted

themselves to God. They are

filled with righteousness, peace,

and joy in the Holy Ghost! It’s

heaven in earth!

The Surrendered Will

A Bible Study by Daniel Kolenda (CfaN) Photo: © Sebastian Grecu

By kind permission of CfaN, an extract from Daniel’s new book- Live before you die. £9.99 BUY NOW.

15

The opening words of Genesis are

like a Big Bang explosion of truth:

“In the beginning God created the

heavens and the earth.” Three

realities confront us: God, the

heavens, and the earth! They form

the triune environment in which we

humans live. We came from God,

we are creatures of the earth, and

we are destined for the heavens.

God made the heavens and the

earth as the two sides of Creation –

the invisible and the visible – in a

single act. God Himself is invisible

because He is spirit (John 4:24). But

He also made an invisible realm that

is very real. At times we seem to

sense and experience it – both for

good and evil – which reminds us

that it is there.

The Mystery Beyond Ourselves

Creation transcends all science and

human understanding. What our

eyes can see is not the whole

picture. There is something else – a

mystery beyond us. And our spirit

reaches out to that realm beyond

the earthly and material sphere. But

not everything in that invisible

world is good. Even angels have

sinned and fallen from grace (2 Pet

2:4). Perhaps to our surprise we

read that, “the heavens are not

pure in His sight” (Job 15:15) or

“from [His] face the earth and the

heaven fled away” (Rev 20:11). Yet

one day there will be a new heaven

and a new earth “in which

righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13).

Humankind belongs to God, to the

earth, and to the heavens. People

do not consist only of flesh, but also

of spirit. Animals, on the other

hand, are not made of spirit and

flesh like humans; therefore, they

are not morally responsible. But we

are. We are the only creatures that

sin – the only creatures on this

earth that have a true spiritual

nature combined with their flesh.

This combination will remain till

death, when the spirit separates

from the flesh. But even that is not

the end of the flesh. For we receive

a resurrection body – a whole new

physical existence, perfectly fused

with our spirit for immortality (Luke

24:39; Phil 3:21; 1 Cor 15).

Therefore, the work of Christ

related to both realms. He came to

deal not only with spiritual evil, but

also with physical evil. 1 John 3

makes this clear. First it proclaims

our spiritual liberation: “He was

manifested to take away our sins”

(1 John 3:5). Then it declares our

physical release: “For this purpose

the Son of God was manifested,

that He might destroy the works of

the devil” (1 John 3:8). What are

these “works of the devil?” Acts

10:38 explains: Jesus “went about

doing good and healing all who

were oppressed by the devil.” Jesus

came with concern for people as

they were – to be a Saviour for

sinners and a Healer of those

afflicted by Satan. He forgave sin,

healed the sick, and expelled devils.

Spirit-filled Evangelism

Evangelists in the New Testament

were called to continue His work. In

fact, Christ commanded them – and

us – to continue His work. His work

is our work. Pentecostal and

charismatic evangelists have carried

out the command to address both

the visible and invisible from the

start. They have recognized and

emphasized the Scripture’s teaching

about both the spiritual and natural

realms. We must carry on this

legacy!

Some ministers have ignored the

evidence of the invisible world

manifesting in the visible. Others

even say that scriptural

manifestations like miraculous

healing and tongues are demonic.

Yet, biblical faith is filled with

Neither Angels nor Principalities

Image © Luca Oleastri

Part one of a three part Bible

study by Reinhard Bonnke

16

miraculous and supernatural signs

occurring on earth. People

throughout biblical history knew

they were dealing with a miracle-

working God. “You are the God who

does wonders,” the Psalmist wrote

(Ps 77:14). So we have a right to ask

as Gideon did, “Where are all His

miracles which our fathers told us

about?” (Judges 6:13). The same is

true in the New Testament. Jesus

performed signs, wonders, healing,

and deliverance. Then His apostles

and followers did the same. Acts 2:4

describes them speaking with

tongues, displaying a unique

example of the Spirit working in the

natural world – through the flesh of

people. Tongues are a spiritual and

physical work of God: “They began

to speak with other tongues, as the

Spirit gave them utterance.”

God has not retired or set His

miracle-working powers aside.

Neither has He “pensioned off” the

angels, even if we, like Elisha’s

servant, do not see them (2 Kings

6:17). Too often the same people

who declare their faith in the Bible

– with its many references to angels

– treat modern reports of angels

with skepticism. Or they treat the

devil and demons as mythical

figures. Yet, in Scripture, Christ and

His followers would never deny

these realities. People’s lives were

at stake!

For example, a demon once

interrupted a synagogue service

(Luke 4:31-37). (Perhaps because

there was something worth

interrupting.) Today they rarely

upset the order of church worship,

with hymn numbers on a board and

sermons without fire. But if one did

interrupt, how many ministers

would know how to handle it? Yet

the clash of good and evil in the

spirit world is still real today.

Devotees of voodoo work hard at

becoming possessed; they want

special powers to carry out spells

and curses. And when we preach

Jesus in the power of the Spirit,

they become extremely distressed.

It is common in CfaN’s African

meetings to minister to sixty

demonized people at a time,

expelling the unclean spirits.

A Continent Steeped in the

Supernatural

Recent times have enthroned

reason and encouraged ignorance

of heavenly realities. Education and

knowledge have been secularized,

dismissing demons as medieval

nonsense. The great maxim has

become “seeing is believing.” Only

the visible is real. In Europe, science

has become the judge of all truth,

and has denied what it cannot

control. New authorities have

appointed themselves above the

Word of God. Faith in natural

reason has usurped faith in divine

reason. Secularism is the modern

worldview, and nobody escapes its

influence. We in the West were

born and raised in the naturalist

tradition. We live in secular waters

like fish live in the sea. In my early

days as an evangelist in Africa, I

observed missionaries taking a non-

supernatural Gospel to a continent

steeped in the supernatural. Africa

was – and still is – a different world

from the West. But those

missionaries were strongly

orientated to the sphere of the

visible. Meanwhile, Africans took

full account of the invisible world in

their day-to-day life. Africans lived

in an environment of witchcraft,

demonism, possession, spirit

worship, ancestor worship, tribal

gods, and animism. They feared

haunting, curses, spells, and dark

forces living in trees, rivers, and

graves. Missionaries believed it was

all unscientific and primitive, while

Africans shared their world with

spirits.

So while missionaries suffered from

naturalistic tunnel vision, Africans

accepted the reality of the spirit

realm. But their belief in the

invisible realm was not a positive

experience. To them the spirit

world was unfriendly, even

dangerous – a dimension of ever-

present terror. Now, even today,

witchcraft continues to flourish. The

press reported that the President of

Zimbabwe supports witchdoctors –

alongside western-style physicians –

as part of the African culture.

Apparently people still seek

witchdoctors for protection from

spirits, spells, and curses. They need

deliverance from this oppression!

And the full, supernatural Gospel of

Jesus Christ has the answer!

This article reproduced with the kind

permission of Christ for all Nations.

© Lucian Coman

17

The ‘Faith-builders Bible study series’ has been developed a useful resource for today’s students of God’s Word and their busy lifestyles.

Pastors, home or study group leaders and indeed for anyone wishing to study the Bible for themselves will benefit from using Faith-builders studies.

Each volume is the result of many years of group Bible study, and has been revised again and again to be relevant, challenging and faith building whilst remaining clear and easy to understand.

Each chapter has thought provoking questions to aid study and sample answers are provided.

Below is an extract from the study notes for Mark chapter 9.

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The ‘Faith-builders Bible study series’ has been developed a useful resource for today’s students of

God’s Word and their busy lifestyles.

The Glory of the Coming

Kingdom

9:1 And he said to them, ‘I tell you

the truth, there are some standing

here who will not experience death

before they see the kingdom of God

come with power.’

What did Jesus mean? There were

those who were standing among

the people who would still be alive

when the kingdom of God was

ushered in; that is after the death

and resurrection of the Lord Jesus

Christ. From that time on the

kingdom would be seen amongst

the people, coming into being with

great power (probably a reference

to Pentecost).

9:2-3 Six days later Jesus took with

him Peter, James, and John and led

them alone up a high mountain

privately. And he was transfigured

before them, and his clothes

became radiantly white, more so

than any launderer in the world

could bleach them.

Jesus chose Peter, James and John

to go with him to the summit of a

high mountain where they could be

alone. Jesus’ choice of these three

was not based on favouritism, for

we are all equal in God's sight (Acts

10:34). Rather, it appears that these

three were the most spiritually

responsive to the teachings of

Christ.

Whilst they were on the mountain

(presumably in prayer) Jesus’

physical body was transformed as

the glory which he had with the

Father before he came to earth

shone through (John 17:5). The

disciples saw his eternal glory

shining from him to such an extent

that his garments appeared whiter

than anything on earth.

9:4 Then Elijah appeared before

them along with Moses, and they

were talking with Jesus.

The text does not explicitly state

that the disciples recognised Elijah

and Moses; the Lord may have

addressed them by name. The

presence of these two men was full

of significance. For Elijah

represented the prophets, and

Moses the law of God. Jesus Christ

is the fulfilment of both the law and

the prophets.

One would very much like to know

what they were talking about with

Jesus. It seems most likely that it

was concerned with his

approaching crucifixion and the

The Faith-builders Bible study series

Mark Chapter 9 (an extract) By Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett (UK) Image © Rorem

Mark Chapter 2 (abstract) By Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett (UK) Image © Rorem

18

salvation that he would obtain

through it. These two men had

waited in faith for this salvation;

and the sacrifice of Christ which

made it possible is the endless

theme of the glorified saints in

heaven (Rev. 5:9).

9:5-6 So Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi,

it is good for us to be here. Let us

make three shelters -- one for you,

one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’

(For they were afraid, and he did

not know what to say.)

The disciples seemingly could not

understand what was happening,

and this strangeness brought fear to

their hearts. Peter, for want of

something to say proposed to build

three booths (made of tree

branches) for each of them. Such

booths were often made as

temporary protection from the hot

sun. The text does not reveal what

Peter had in mind – for he did not

know himself! Even so, Peter did

get one thing right - it was good for

them to be there. What better place

could there be than where we can

behold the beauty and the glory of

the Lord?

9:7 Then a cloud overshadowed

them, and a voice came from the

cloud, ‘This is my one dear Son.

Listen to him!’

At this point God intervened,

descending in a cloud which

covered the frightened disciples. As

he spoke to them, acknowledging

Jesus as his beloved Son, God gave

these disciples the true lesson

which the experience was meant to

teach them – by commanding that

they should listen and obey him.

9:8 Suddenly when they looked

around, they saw no one with them

any more except Jesus.

Suddenly it was all over - the cloud,

the voice, Elijah and Moses had

gone; only Jesus remained.

9:9 As they were coming down from

the mountain, he gave them orders

not to tell anyone what they had

seen until after the Son of Man had

risen from the dead.

As they were coming back down the

mountain Jesus strictly ordered

them to tell no one about the things

they had seen until after he had

risen from the dead.

9:10 They kept this statement to

themselves, discussing what this

rising from the dead meant.

And this is what they did; although

they did not understand what he

meant about being raised from the

dead.

9:9-13 Then they asked him, ‘Why

do the experts in the law say that

Elijah must come first?’ He said to

them, ‘Elijah does indeed come first,

and restores all things. And why is it

written that the Son of Man must

suffer many things and be despised?

But I tell you that Elijah has

certainly come, and they did to him

whatever they wanted, just as it is

written about him.’

Realising afresh from this

experience that Jesus was the

Christ, the Son of God, the disciples

asked why the experts in the law

taught that Elijah (whom they had

witnessed speaking with Jesus)

must first come before the Christ

would be manifested (Mal. 4:5-6).

Jesus replied that the lawyers were

correct in their interpretation of

scripture, for truly someone must

first come in the spirit and power of

Elijah to make Israel ready to

receive the Christ. But this Elijah-

type role had been fulfilled by John

the Baptist (Luke 1:17); and just as

the religious and political leaders of

Israel had rejected John and

mistreated him, so they were about

to do to Jesus.

Belief and Unbelief

9:14 When they came to the

disciples, they saw a large crowd

around them and experts in the law

arguing with them.

While the three disciples were with

Jesus enjoying the mountain top

experience the other nine were

having a tough time down in the

valley. When Jesus arrived on the

scene he found them being

interrogated by the scribes and

losing the argument.

9:15 When the whole crowd saw

him, they were amazed and ran at

once and greeted him.

Something of the glory of the

transfiguration must have still been

upon the Lord for when the people

saw him they were amazed at his

appearance and eagerly ran to greet

and welcome him.

9:16 He asked them, ‘What are you

arguing about with them?’

Seeing his disciples greatly

disturbed he asked them what they

were discussing. This was not

because Jesus did not know, but he

wanted to bring the subject out into

open discussion.

9:17 A member of the crowd said to

him, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son,

who is possessed by a spirit that

makes him mute.

Neither the scribes nor the disciples

answered him; instead someone

from among the crowd called out.

He had brought his son who was

19

possessed by a dumb spirit to Jesus

to be delivered.

9:18 Whenever it seizes him, it

throws him down, and he foams at

the mouth, grinds his teeth, and

becomes rigid. I asked your disciples

to cast it out, but they were not able

to do so.

On discovering that Jesus was not

with the disciples, he had turned to

them expecting that they could cast

out the dumb spirit. The man must

have heard, or may have witnessed

the disciples casting out demons

when Jesus sent them on an earlier

mission (Mark 6:13). By the

description that the man gave it

would seem that it was only at

certain times that this demon took

hold of his son throwing him into a

fit which left him almost lifeless and

that it was slowly destroying his

body. The disciples had been

powerless to cast out this demon.

9:19-20 He answered them, ‘You

unbelieving generation! How much

longer must I be with you? How

much longer must I endure you?

Bring him to me.’ So they brought

the boy to him. When the spirit saw

him, it immediately threw the boy

into a convulsion. He fell on the

ground and rolled around, foaming

at the mouth.

One might wonder to whom the

Lord addressed these words: the

scribes, the crowd, the father of the

boy or to his own disciples. They are

certainly words of rebuke to all who

have no faith. They would certainly

apply to the scribes, who did not

believe in Jesus at all. There were

probably many in the crowd who

were sceptical of Jesus’ claims. The

father of the boy had some faith in

bringing his son to Jesus in the first

place, yet confesses later that his

faith is small. What about the

disciples? The Lord had rebuked

them on a previous occasions for

lacking faith (Mark 4:40). So

perhaps all of those standing there

merited the rebuke.

Jesus reproof was aimed at

provoking faith in those who lacked

it. When he asked “how long am I to

put up with you?” he already knew

the answer; for he knew when his

hour would come. As the boy was

brought to Jesus the demon

immediately manifested itself in the

presence of the authority and

power of Christ, throwing the boy

to the ground in a convulsion.

9:21-22 Jesus asked his father, ‘How

long has this been happening to

him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood.

It has often thrown him into fire or

water to destroy him. But if you are

able to do anything, have

compassion on us and help us.’

Jesus’ purpose in asking the boy’s

father for details of his son's

condition was not to enable him to

diagnose; but to bring a full

realization to the father and the

disciples of the hold and length of

time the demon had bound this

child (the importance of this fact is

brought out later in verse 29).

9:23 Then Jesus said to him, ‘If you

are able? All things are possible for

the one who believes.’

Jesus placed the responsibility for

the boy’s deliverance on the father.

'If you can believe - for all things are

possible to him that believes’. This

is a promise that we can also claim

(see Mark 11:24).

9:24 Immediately the father of the

boy cried out and said, ‘I believe;

help my unbelief!’

The man realized what Jesus was

saying to him and knowing his own

deficiency gave out an heart

rending cry; and weeping confessed

‘Lord, I believe’ but, ‘constantly help

my weakness in faith’ (Amp. N. T.)

or ‘when I begin to doubt help me

to continue to believe’.

9:25 Now when Jesus saw that a

crowd was quickly gathering, he

rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to

it, ‘Mute and deaf spirit, I command

you, come out of him and never

enter him again.’

On seeing the crowds approaching

the Lord immediately rebuked the

unclean spirit and commanded it to

come out of the boy. He further

charged the spirit never to enter

him again (this is the only time that

it is recorded that Jesus does this).

9:26 It shrieked, threw him into

terrible convulsions, and came out.

The boy looked so much like a

corpse that many said, ‘He is dead!’

The demon did not leave willingly;

yet it simply had no choice but to

obey the authority of Jesus. Such

was the violent exit of the demon

that the boy appeared to be dead.

9:27 But Jesus gently took his hand

and raised him to his feet, and he

stood up.

But whenever the Lord delivers or

heals he does so completely

without any adverse effects. Taking

the boy by the hand, Jesus lifted

him; he had been made completely

whole.

9:28 Then, after he went into the

house, his disciples asked him

privately, ‘Why couldn't we cast it

out?’

The disciples were eager to find out

why it was that they failed to

deliver the boy. Was it their lack of

faith? It is always good for us to

20

enquire of the Lord why we seem to

fail at something which we have

tried to do for him.

9:29 He told them, ‘This kind can

come out only by prayer.’

Jesus tells them that it was not their

lack of faith alone which hindered

them. The demon was so powerful

and had such a hold on the boy

(having possessed him since he was

a young child) that it could only be

effectively dealt with after time

spent in prayer and fasting.

A Quiet Time with Jesus

9:30 They went out from there and

passed through Galilee. But Jesus

did not want anyone to know,

At last Jesus found an opportunity

to spend time with his disciples

alone, leading them through Galilee

in order to avoid the crowds. There

are times when the Lord leads us in

quiet paths so that he might teach

us and show us the way in which he

would guide us.

9:31-32 for he was teaching his

disciples and telling them, ‘The Son

of Man will be betrayed into the

hands of men. They will kill him, and

after three days he will rise.’ But

they did not understand this

statement and were afraid to ask

him.

Jesus wanted to use this time to

teach his disciples. Mark records

only a summary of the content of

Christ’s teaching: the Son of Man

(Jesus may have explained to them

the meaning of his preferred title -

that it meant him to be God

manifest in human form) would be

delivered into the hands of men and

killed; and that he would be raised

from the dead on the third day.

Whether or not Jesus went into

greater details about his offering of

himself being sacrifice for sin, or

about his resurrection bringing

victory over death is not clear.

Whatever the case, the disciples

clearly did not understand what he

was saying to them and were afraid

to ask him to explain it more clearly.

The Greatest is the Least

9:33 Then they came to Capernaum.

After Jesus was inside the house he

asked them, ‘What were you

discussing on the way?’

On their way to Capernaum all was

not well between the disciples; for a

dispute had arisen among them

(which they thought the Lord had

not heard) about which of them

was be the greatest. Jesus, as the

Master, would have walked in front

and the disciples would have

followed in single file behind him;

so it was quite possible for them to

talk among themselves without

Jesus hearing. Nevertheless, when

they arrived at the house they were

surprised and embarrassed when

Jesus asked them what they had

been arguing about. He knew of

course; for nothing is hid from his

sight or hearing (Heb. 4:12-13).

9:34 But they were silent, for on the

way they had argued with one

another about who was the

greatest.

The disciples were too ashamed to

admit that they had been arguing

about who would be the most

important and have the most

honoured place in the kingdom of

God. They were all rather ambitious

and sought to exalt themselves.

9:35 After he sat down, he called

the twelve and said to them, ‘If

anyone wants to be first, he must be

last of all and servant of all.’

Jesus soon brought them down to

earth as he sat with them to resolve

the argument. Whoever has a

desire to be first, or the greatest,

must humble himself and consider

himself to be the least and servant

of all.

9:36 He took a little child and had

him stand among them. Taking him

in his arms, he said to them,

Taking a little child, Jesus placed

him in the middle of the disciples so

that they might compare their self-

importance to the humility of a

child. Then he takes the child into

his arms to show that those who

become as little children are the

ones welcomed in the kingdom of

heaven (Matt. 18:4; Matt. 10:15).

9:37 ‘Whoever welcomes one of

these little children in my name

welcomes me, and whoever

welcomes me does not welcome me

but the one who sent me.’

Whoever accepts and receives a

child in the Lord's name and for his

sake is counted as having received

Jesus Christ and the Father who

sent him into the world to save

sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).

© Regina555

21

Christ-dependent Christianity

An Extract from Grace Roots by Ken Legg

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($22 outside Australia)

A group of scientists were confident

that they were so advanced in their

knowledge and ability, that God was

no longer needed. They said to Him,

“Through cloning we can even

create a man. In fact we challenge

you to a man-making contest.

Anything you can do, we can do.”

God agreed. As one of the scientists

bent down and grabbed a handful

of dirt to begin his work God said to

him, “Hey, put that down! You go

and get your own dirt!”

Whether people like it or not there

really is no such thing as total

independence from God. We owe

our existence to Him and we

depend on Him for our next breath.

Dependence upon God is the way

life is structured. It is the norm. Yet

people seek to live their lives more

and more detached from Him.

The gospel is a message of

reconciliation to God. Those who

believe the good news of the gospel

are restored to favour and

fellowship with Him.

Then, the main goal of Christian

ministry is to help believers learn to

live Christ-dependent lives.

There are two enemies to Christ-

dependent Christianity; these are

independence and co-dependency.

1) Independence

There is something very unique

about mankind. Only he has body,

soul and spirit. Plant-life has body.

Animals have body and soul. But

only man has a spirit. This is

because we were created to be

indwelt by God.

As God resided in man, He would

live His life through him. Then the

world would see the moral image of

God; they would see God behaving

in man. But when Adam sinned,

God vacated the human spirit and

the soul was plunged into darkness.

The original image of God was lost

and man ended up with the image

of a fallen, independent Adam. This

is emphasized in the following two

verses:

First the original created man - “In

the day that God created man, He

made him in the likeness of God”

(Gen.5:1 – emphasis mine).

Then after Adam sinned we read,

“And Adam lived one hundred and

thirty years, and begot a son in his

own likeness, after his image…”

(Gen.5:3 – emphasis mine).

Though originally created in the

image of God, man is now born with

the image of a fallen Adam. The

Bible has a term for this, i.e. ‘flesh’.

Flesh refers to man as he is apart

from God. Man in Adam lives

independently of God, trusting in

his own understanding, ability and

resources. It is said that the most

requested song at a funeral in the

UK is, ‘I Did It My Way’. That sums it

up!

This life form is passed down to us

from Adam. Jesus said, “That which

is born of the flesh is flesh” (Jn.3:6).

In the next verse He revealed

mankind’s only hope: “You must be

born again.” When we are born

again we are no longer in the flesh,

but in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit,

through the new birth, comes to

live in our spirit, imparting the life

of Christ to us. We then have access

to divine resources. God’s life can

once again be manifested through a

human being. We refer to this as

the fruit of the Spirit.

Yet, although we no longer live in

the flesh the Christian can still live

according to the flesh. We can still

choose to live independently of

God, trusting in our own efforts and

resources to succeed in life. Before

we came to Christ that’s how we

learned to survive. We developed a

lifestyle of self-sufficiency.

We trained ourselves to be

comfortable with, and confident in,

our strengths. But the Christian life

is one of abiding in Christ, i.e.

trusting that in Him we are

sufficient for the totality of life.

Jesus said, “Without Me you can do

nothing” (Jn.15:5). He is the true

vine. God doesn’t want us to do

anything but be branches. A branch

does not produce fruit; it bears

fruit. We don’t have to try to make

things happen. Resting in Christ, we

are conscious of His life flowing

through us. Divine fruit is the result.

22

Our Father is the vinedresser. It is

His role to see that we abide in

Christ. “Now He who establishes us

with you in Christ and has anointed

us is God” (2 Cor.1:21). He does this

best of all when we are conscious of

our inadequacies.

What is your weakness or problem

right now? Is there an area where

you feel insufficient? Maybe in your

marriage, your health, your

finances, your job, your Christian

walk, your ministry, etc. you are

experiencing lack. Your Father, the

vinedresser, will use these things to

remind you to abide in Christ. He is

your sufficiency. By trusting in Him

you will experience supernatural

grace. “God gives grace to the

humble” (James 4:6; 1 Pet.5:5). To

be humble is not to say that we are

nothing, because God does not say

that about us. Rather it is to say,

“Without you, Lord, I can do

nothing.” That’s humility. And God

gives grace to the humble.

2) Co-dependency

When we discover the limitations of

independence there is a temptation

to look to others, instead of trusting

in the Lord.

Sadly, some consider the local

church as their life source. They

even shop around from church to

church in search of one that can

meet their perceived needs. This

consumer mentality turns people

into parasites.

In a survey conducted amongst

several Christians the question was

asked, “What is the purpose of the

Church?” 84% answered, “The

Church exists to meet my needs and

the needs of my family”. Only 16%

said that the Church’s role was to

bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to a

dying world.

Why is it that people will depend

upon those who represent God, but

not upon God Himself? Ministries

are meant to be channels of God’s

grace to others, not the source of

life to them.

The co-dependent person is taught

to look to people and ministries

instead of fixing their eyes upon

Jesus. Spiritual co-dependency dis-

empowers the one whom Christ

wants to empower.

Dear friend, feel comfortable about

your dependence upon God. That’s

the way He created you. And

remember, the goal of true

Christian ministry is to help others

make the transition from

independence and co-dependency

to Christ-dependence. This is how

success in Christian ministry is

measured.

Our Father is the VinedresserImage © Otmar Winterleitner

23

The Resurrection of the Dead

Introduction

Having dealt with spiritual gifts and

order in public worship, Paul turns

his attention to challenge a certain

false teaching which had arisen in

the church at Corinth. The key verse

for this section is verse 12. How is it

that some of you preach that there

is no resurrection from the dead?

The tone of Paul's letter shows that

many who formerly had sincerely

trusted Christ had more recently

become enthralled by this teaching

– that there is no resurrection. Yet,

as Johnson notes, ‘the resurrection

of Christ and the resurrection of

believers were early in the church

recognised as absolutely essential

matters of Christian belief’.

In response to this theological

problem at Corinth, Paul declares

the absolute historical certainty and

the doctrinal necessity of the

resurrection of Christ.

The Gospel of Christ

15:1-4 Now I want to make clear for

you, brothers and sisters, the gospel

that I preached to you, that you

received and on which you stand,

and by which you are being saved, if

you hold firmly to the message I

preached to you -- unless you

believed in vain. For I passed on to

you as of first importance what I

also received -- that Christ died for

our sins according to the scriptures,

and that he was buried, and that he

was raised on the third day

according to the scriptures.

When Paul came to Corinth he

preached the gospel, which many

Corinthians had believed. As

elsewhere in the New Testament,

Paul emphasizes that the gospel

was not his own idea, for it

originated with God and he had

received it directly from God (Gal.

1:11-12; 1 Tim. 1:11). The very fact

of the tremendous change which

the gospel had wrought in their

lives should be taken as proof

positive of the validity of the

resurrection. The Corinthians had

been dead in trespasses and sins,

living in a darkness which was

characterized by the behaviour

described in 1 Corinthians 6:10-11.

The gospel of Christ had delivered

them from death and darkness, and

brought them to light and new life

in Christ. So Paul finds it necessary

to begin by reminding them of the

content of the gospel which he

preached.

Christ died for our sins. Christ's

death was one of ‘vicarious

atonement – paying the penalty we

deserved to pay on our behalf’.

Jesus Christ had no sin of His own,

but died on behalf of guilty sinners,

satisfying the righteous demands of

the law both by fulfilling its

obligations and by discharging its

penalties. The fact that Christ truly

died is attested by the Old

Testament prophetic writings

(according to the Scriptures - e.g.

Isa. 53:8; Ps. 22:15).

He was buried. This phrase

emphasises the finality of our Lord’s

death. Christ did not swoon or faint,

He died. The burial of Christ is

mentioned in all four gospels as

conclusive proof that Jesus actually

died. Morris says ‘the burial of a

dead body is the necessary prelude

to an empty tomb’.

The third day He was raised to life.

God the Father raised Christ from

death to live forever. Once again

this was in accordance with the

Scriptures; for just as Christ's death

is attested by the Old Testament

prophetic writings, so also is His

resurrection (e.g. Isa. 53:10; Ps.

16:9-11).

Indeed, no one in the early church

could fail to understand the

Our In Depth Study

1 Corinthians 15

By Mathew Bartlett

Photo © Xxknightwolf Scripture taken from the NET Bible®.

This article is an extract from The Pentecostal Bible Commentary available for £7.60 at Amazon.co.uk

24

prophetic meaning of Psalm 16:9-11

in the light of Peter’s sermon on the

Day of Pentecost, where having

quoted those same verses, he went

on to declare:

Brothers, I can speak confidently to

you about our forefather David,

that he both died and was buried,

and his tomb is with us to this day.

So then, because he was a prophet

and knew that God had sworn to

him with an oath to seat one of his

descendants on his throne, David by

foreseeing this spoke about the

resurrection of the Christ, that he

was neither abandoned to Hades,

nor did his body experience decay.

This Jesus God raised up, and we

are all witnesses of it. So then,

exalted to the right hand of God,

and having received the promise of

the Holy Spirit from the Father, he

has poured out what you both see

and hear. For David did not ascend

into heaven, but he himself says,

'The Lord said to my lord, "Sit at my

right hand until I make your

enemies a footstool for your feet."

'Therefore let all the house of Israel

know beyond a doubt that God has

made this Jesus whom you crucified

both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:29-36).

That Christ’s resurrection from the

dead was literal and bodily is

attested to by all the gospel writers.

For example, at His resurrection

appearance in Luke 24:39, Christ

challenged His disciples to, look at

my hands and my feet; it's me!

Touch me and see; a ghost does not

have flesh and bones like you see I

have. The fact of Christ’s bodily

resurrection is further

demonstrated by His eating with His

disciples (Luke 24:42-43; Acts

10:41). As Wright affirms,

‘Resurrection’ does not refer to

some part or aspect of the human

being not dying but instead going

into a continuing life in a new

mode; it refers to something that

does die and then is given new life…

When Paul said ‘resurrection,’ he

meant ‘bodily resurrection’ (Wright

2003:314).

The gospel which Peter had

preached was the same gospel

which Paul had preached, and it

was that which the Corinthians had

believed (Rom. 10:9). At its heart

was the atoning death and bodily

resurrection of Christ. It was only as

they held on to the truth of this

gospel that the Corinthians would

stand firm in Christ (that is, be kept

from falling away); for since there is

no other gospel, letting go of this

rudimentary Christian teaching

would entail abandoning their

Christian faith altogether.

Evidence for the Resurrection

15:5-6 And that he appeared to

Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he

appeared to more than five hundred

of the brothers and sisters at one

time, most of whom are still alive,

though some have fallen asleep.

Not only did the prophetic

Scriptures of the Old Testament

bear witness to the fact of Christ's

resurrection, many people who had

seen and heard the Lord Jesus after

He rose from the dead also bore

witness. They touched Him (1 John

1:1; Luke 24:39), ate and drank with

Him after His resurrection (Acts

10:40-41).

Paul's list of sightings of the risen

Christ is not exhaustive. The first

witness he calls is Peter. He was not

the first person to see the risen

Lord (that was Mary Magdalene),

but the first of the twelve apostles

to see Him.

It may perhaps be the case that

Peter was singled out for mention

since he had denied his Lord and

utterly failed to stand by Him during

His trial. Yet this personal and

individual appearance of the risen

Christ to Peter revealed God’s full

acceptance of Jesus’ atoning work,

which sealed forever Peter’s

acceptance with God; thus paving

the way for his full restoration and

later ministry.

Later that same day, the Twelve met

the risen Lord. This phrase the

Twelve is taken to be a generic term

of reference for the original

apostles of Christ, bearing in mind

that they were no longer twelve in

number, for Judas was no longer

present, having killed himself.

Thomas, also, was not present at

Christ’s first manifestation to this

group of men, but was present

when He reappeared to them a

week later (John 20:24-28).

After this, Christ appeared to over

500 at once, whom we may safely

assume to be the crowd of disciples

gathered in Galilee at a place

appointed by Christ in obedience to

His command (Matt. 28:7-16). Not

only were these witnesses reliable,

most of them could still be called

upon and questioned, for they were

still alive at the time of Paul's

writing. The law required two or

three witnesses to establish

whether any matter was conclusive.

Here were over 500!

Blomberg comprehensively

demonstrates how verses 3-7,

‘refute all the classic suggestions’

that the account of Christ’s

resurrection might be explained by

something other than ‘a literal

bodily resurrection’. The idea of

Christ’s not actually dying but

swooning is refuted, as is the

suggestion that His body was stolen,

because ‘eventually a body could

have been produced and the

25

disciples story laid to rest’.

Furthermore, the ‘number of

witnesses… seems to rule out mass

hallucination’.

15:7 Then he appeared to James,

then to all the apostles.

From the gospels we piece together

how Jesus' family only came to

believe in Him after He appeared to

them subsequent to the

resurrection. That is why they were

not among the original disciples,

but were all in the upper room at

Pentecost. So at some point during

the forty day period over which

Christ manifested Himself to His

disciples after He had risen from the

dead (Acts 1:3), He appeared to

James (his brother, the eldest child

of Mary and Joseph) and to the

others whom (although not among

the original Twelve) were similarly

commissioned to take the gospel to

the world. Christ's last appearance

was on the Mount of Olives near

Jerusalem from which He ascended

to heaven (Luke 24:50-51).

15:8 Last of all, as though to one

born at the wrong time, he

appeared to me also.

But there was to be one final

appearance; last of all implies an

event never to be repeated. The

risen Christ appeared to Paul - not

in a vision, but in person - on the

Damascus road. By one born at the

wrong time Paul indicates that if he

had been born at all during Christ’s

ministry, then he was but a small

boy by the time of Christ’s

resurrection and ascension. So his

own personal meeting with Christ

came much later, after Christ's

ascension, at which time he was

commissioned to be an apostle.

Thus we see that all the apostles

were appointed by Christ in person.

15:9 For I am the least of the

apostles, unworthy to be called an

apostle, because I persecuted the

church of God.

Of all the evidence given for the

resurrection so far, Paul’s own

experience was perhaps the most

compelling. As Saul of Tarsus he had

persecuted and made havoc of the

early church until the day when he

met the risen Christ on the

Damascus road. If Christ were not

raised, then there would be no

possible way of accounting for this

dramatic conversion.

Although by His grace Christ had

called Paul to ‘the highest office in

the church’, Paul constantly

recognized his unworthiness.

Remembering the injury which he

had previously caused to Christ and

His church, Paul did not even

consider himself worthy to be called

an apostle, remaining continuously

amazed at the grace of God which

had saved his soul and changed his

life completely.

15:10 But by the grace of God I am

what I am, and his grace to me has

not been in vain. In fact, I worked

harder than all of them -- yet not I,

but the grace of God with me.

It was God's will that by showing His

grace to the chief of sinners He

might provide an example for

others who would later believe (1

Tim. 1:15-16). When, by God's

grace, Paul was made the apostle of

Christ to the Gentile nations, this

grace had such an effect on him

that he worked more tirelessly and

strenuously for his Lord than any of

the other apostles. Yet whatever

had been accomplished by his

efforts had been achieved through

the help of God's grace which

strengthened and enabled him to

do all that God asked of him. So not

only Paul’s conversion but the

whole of Paul’s subsequent life and

ministry provided adequate

evidence of the resurrection of

Christ. Throughout his life, the living

Christ was manifested, as Paul

declared to the Galatians, it is no

longer I who live, but Christ who

lives in me (Gal. 2:20).

15:11 Whether then it was I or they,

this is the way we preach and this is

the way you believed.

The Corinthians could not fail to

recognize that the message of

Christ's death and resurrection was

the universally accepted truth

within the Christian church, which

was preached not only by Paul but

by all the other apostles as well.

The Significance of Christ's

Resurrection

15:12-13 Now if Christ is being

preached as raised from the dead,

how can some of you say there is no

resurrection of the dead? But if

there is no resurrection of the dead,

then not even Christ has been

raised.

The resurrection of Christ is the

cornerstone of the Christian faith.

The Corinthians had become

Christians through the preaching of

a crucified and resurrected Saviour,

and so Paul questions the sagacity

of their claim that there was no

resurrection of the dead. Paul

maintains that if the dead do not

rise, then Christ Himself, whom

until now you have believed in, is

not risen either.

15:14 And if Christ has not been

raised, then our preaching is futile

and your faith is empty.

If Christ had not actually risen from

the dead then the gospel message

would be nothing but a fairy story -

26

empty words without substance;

and the faith of the Christians

would be make believe, unable to

accomplish any real spiritual

change.

15:15 Also, we are found to be false

witnesses about God, because we

have testified against God that he

raised Christ from the dead, when in

reality he did not raise him, if indeed

the dead are not raised.

If Christ were not actually raised

from the dead then all the

witnesses whom Paul has set forth

in earlier verses would be found out

as impostors who had

misrepresented God. For if they said

that God raised Christ from the

dead, and in fact He could not

possibly have done so, if the dead

do not rise.

15:16 For if the dead are not raised,

then not even Christ has been

raised.

If the general fact is that there is no

resurrection then the particular fact

is that Christ is not raised, a

circumstance which if it were

proven would have serious

ramifications for the Christian faith.

15:17 And if Christ has not been

raised, your faith is useless; you are

still in your sins.

If Christ is not alive, then either God

has not accepted His sacrifice as

sufficient atonement for the sins of

all people, or the whole thing was

just a hoax from the beginning.

Belief in Christ is useless if He is still

dead, for a dead Saviour cannot

save anyone. If Christ is not raised

then we are all still under the

condemnation of our sin.

15:18 Furthermore, those who have

fallen asleep in Christ have also

perished.

Consequently, there is no way of

salvation, and those who have

fallen asleep (i.e. died) trusting in

Christ are now in hell.

15:19 For if only in this life we have

hope in Christ, we should be pitied

more than anyone.

If our hope in Christ does not

extend to life after death, then we

are to be pitied more than all

people, for why should we deny

ourselves anything at all, or suffer

persecution for our faith, if life on

earth is all that there is?

The Consequences of Christ's

Resurrection

15:20 But now Christ has been

raised from the dead, the first fruits

of those who have fallen asleep.

But... It is to be remembered that

Paul has previously stated and

substantiated the fact that Christ is

indeed risen from the dead. The

first fruits were the part of the

harvest which grew first and were

offered to God as holy, thus

consecrating the whole harvest.

They were taken as a pledge of

God's favour, an indication that the

whole harvest would follow.

Though Christ was the first to rise

from the dead He will not be the

last. Christ has risen from the dead

as the head of a new creation, and

all those who receive Him become

part of this new creation and will

share in His resurrection. Those

whom Christ raised from death

during His earthly ministry died

again. But Christ has become the

first of a new order, the children of

God who will rise from the dead

never to die again (Heb. 7:16).

15:21 For since death came through

a man, the resurrection of the dead

also came through a man.

Death was not the original purpose

of God for His world. It was through

the sin of one man, Adam, that

death came to all humankind. Even

so it is by one man, Jesus Christ that

resurrection from the dead to

eternal life is made available to all

humankind.

15:22 For just as in Adam all die, so

also in Christ all will be made alive.

Just as all people (who are all the

descendants of Adam and so share

his nature) are subject to mortality

and death, so all those who are in

Christ already share the nature of

His resurrection life and will one

day share in His immortality (Phil.

3:21; 1 John 3:2).

15:23 But each in his own order:

Christ, the first fruits; then when

Christ comes, those who belong to

him.

All people will not be raised from

the dead at the same time. First, it

was necessary for Christ to rise

from the dead as the prototype of

the new creation. Then those who

belong to Him shall rise from death

at His coming (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

© David A.

27

15:24 Then comes the end, when he

hands over the kingdom to God the

Father, when he has brought to an

end all rule and all authority and

power.

Then comes the end. The events

which lead up to the occasion

described as the end are clarified in

the book of Revelation. Following

the resurrection of believers

(referred to as the first resurrection

in Revelation 20:5) Christ shall reign

over all the earth until no other

authority remains but His. This must

be understood in the context of the

thousand year reign of Christ on the

earth (Rev. 20:4-6). Immediately

following this millennial period

there will be a second resurrection,

when unbelievers shall rise in their

bodies to stand before the Great

White Throne of God (Rev. 20:11-

15). Only after this has occurred

shall the final blessed state of

believers begin, which is ultimately

what Paul is referring to here by the

end, or the end state (see Rev.

21:1).

15:25-26 For he must reign until he

has put all his enemies under his

feet. The last enemy to be

eliminated is death.

The last enemy to be destroyed is

death. Morris says that ‘at present

no man can resist the touch of

death - then death will be able to

touch no man’. With the matters of

eternal life and judgment having

been forever settled, sins

punishment (death, both physical

and eternal) will never again be a

matter requiring God's (or our)

attention.

15:27 For he has put everything in

subjection under his feet. But when

it says "everything" has been put in

subjection, it is clear that this does

not include the one who put

everything in subjection to him.

Paul quotes Psalm 8:6 to show that

God has subjected all things to His

risen and exalted Son (Eph. 1:20-22;

Heb. 2:8; Matt. 28:18; Phil. 2:9-11).

Since it is God who put all things

under Him, it should be apparent

that God Himself is not put under

Him, for the Son enjoys equality

with the Father rather than

dominion over Him.

15:28 And when all things are

subjected to him, then the Son

himself will be subjected to the one

who subjected everything to him, so

that God may be all in all.

Yet Paul tells of a time when the

Son, though co equal and eternal,

will joyously submit Himself to the

Father, that God may be all and in

all. All that God has given to Him,

He will gladly hand back to God,

that God might reign through Christ

eternally. There follows my own

adaptation of a lengthy comment

by Gill:

It is best to understand it of the

Son's giving up the account of His

kingdom to His Father; when it will

be seen that He has done all things

in His name, acting by His power,

and to His honour and glory. Having

accomplished everything he

undertook and was entrusted with,

he delivers up the result of His work

to God. His work being finished, he

remains as God-man and our High

priest for ever, for the virtue of His

sacrifice and intercession will

always remain, but he will no longer

need to plead and intercede for us

as he now does; He will then be the

immediate light of the saints and

will reign in and over them for ever

- but not on His own, but as God

and with God - the Father, Son, and

Spirit.

That God may be all in all; for by

God is not meant the Father

personally, but God essentially

considered, Father, Son, and Spirit,

who are the one true and living

God; to whom all the saints will

have immediate access, in whose

presence they will be, and with

whom they shall have

uninterrupted fellowship. All the

three divine Persons will have equal

power and government in and over

all the saints.

Baptism - The Symbol of Death and

Resurrection

In order to further defend the

doctrine of the resurrection, Paul

reminds the Corinthians of their

baptism.

15:29 Otherwise, what will those do

who are baptized for the dead? If

the dead are not raised at all, then

why are they baptized for them?

Some of the most capable

commentators remain undecided

about the correct translation of this

verse. Whilst over thirty

explanations have been given, I will

treat the verse as referring to

baptism which all believers undergo

following their conversion. Why

were you baptized if the dead do

not rise? For baptism is an outward

expression of our inward faith in the

risen Christ. By it we affirm our

union with Christ by burial into His

death and inclusion in His

resurrection. We have died to the

old life that we might live for Christ.

If there is no resurrection then the

symbol of baptism is meaningless.

Christian Endurance – Further

Evidence for the Resurrection

15:30 Why too are we in danger

every hour?

28

Why would the apostles continually

put their lives on the line by

preaching the gospel of a crucified

and risen Saviour if it was all

untrue? What advantage did they

gain by suffering in this life, if in

reality this life is all that men and

women can expect to see?

15:31 Every day I am in danger of

death! This is as sure as my

boasting in you, which I have in

Christ Jesus our Lord.

The believers knew that Paul was

continually laying down his life for

the church, and that their own

church in Corinth was a result of his

selfless ministry - a daily dying to

this world for Christ's sake. Why

would he give his life for others,

gaining no worldly advantage, if

there was no profit in the next life

either for them or him?

15:32 If from a human point of view

I fought with wild beasts at

Ephesus, what did it benefit me? If

the dead are not raised, let us eat

and drink, for tomorrow we die.

The same thing could be said of his

ministry in Ephesus, where Paul

carried his life in his hands at all

times. A violent riot which lasted

over two hours was stirred up by

the silversmiths, who were angry

that the conversion of many to

Christ was destroying their trade,

which was associated with idol

worship. These furious men are the

wild beasts referred to in this verse.

Why would Paul choose to make a

stand in the face of such opposition

if he - and his converts - had

nothing eternal to gain by it - for

they certainly made no material

gain by it?

Paul sums up the attitude of those

who deny the truth of the

resurrection by quoting from Isaiah

22:13 let us eat and drink for

tomorrow we die. In other words,

enjoy life while you can, for there is

nothing hereafter. If there truly

were nothing hereafter then such

advice might be suitable. But the

plain truth is that it is appointed to

men once to die, but after this the

judgment (Heb. 9:27); and that is

why Paul (like Moses) chose rather

to face hardship and persecution

with the people of God than enjoy

the passing pleasures of sin (Heb.

11:25).

False Teachers Rebuked

15:33-34 Do not be deceived: "Bad

company corrupts good morals."

Sober up as you should, and stop

sinning! For some have no

knowledge of God -- I say this to

your shame!

These verses provide both a stern

rebuke and a warning. A person is

what they believe, in the sense that

their belief will govern their

behaviour. Those who gave their

ears to false teaching were allowing

their good character to be

undermined, for the teaching that

there is no resurrection produces

the licentiousness described in

verse 32 (i.e. the attitude that that

it doesn't matter how we live). Such

false teaching can lead us from

Christ to everlasting despair.

So Paul tells his readers to wake up

to the truth which leads to

righteousness and godly living. Stop

listening to the lies which lead you

to godlessness by giving you an

excuse to sin! Stop sinning! Those

who propagated and received this

doctrine did so because they did not

know God or the Lord Jesus Christ.

This rebuke should have shamed

the Corinthians, for they were living

in such a way that these people

could feel at home among them

(compare Acts 5:13). They were so

careless in matters of faith that

lying teachers were accepted

without scrutiny (compare Rev.

2:2).

An Illustration from Nature

15:35 But someone will say, "How

are the dead raised? With what kind

of body will they come?"

Paul foresees an objection: ‘how

can the dead rise, seeing as their

bodies have returned to dust?’

(Gen. 3:19)

15:36-37 Fool! What you sow will

not come to life unless it dies. And

what you sow is not the body that is

to be, but a bare seed -- perhaps of

wheat or something else.

Such objectors are devoid of

understanding - fools. Even in

nature, what we plant in the soil

dies. When someone plants a grain

of wheat, what grows is not a grain

of wheat but a living plant. The

original grain is no more; it has died,

its purpose having been fulfilled.

Thus the principle of resurrection is

illustrated in nature.

© Nicalfc

29

15:38 But God gives it a body just as

he planned, and to each of the

seeds a body of its own.

God the Creator is behind this

spectacular every day miracle; and

God has purposed that each seed

should produce fruit after its kind

(Gen. 1:11-12).

15:39 All flesh is not the same:

People have one flesh, animals have

another, birds and fish another.

So it is with all living creatures.

Animals have bodies very different

from plants; and we may readily

observe the differences between

different kinds of animals, fish, and

birds.

15:40 And there are heavenly bodies

and earthly bodies. The glory of the

heavenly body is one sort and the

earthly another.

Such variety can be observed in all

things God has made - whether on

earth or in the heavens.

15:41 There is one glory of the sun,

and another glory of the moon and

another glory of the stars, for star

differs from star in glory.

The celestial bodies: the sun, moon

and stars, are all different. Each star

is unique in its size and glory.

Mankind is still finding out how vast

and varied the universe is. Cannot

the God who gave such differing

bodies to all these created things in

a moment of time by His Word, give

a resurrection body to the dead?

We Shall be Changed

15:42 It is the same with the

resurrection of the dead. What is

sown is perishable, what is raised is

imperishable.

In a similar way, the body which

shall be raised differs from our

present body of dust. The human

body is at present subject to

deterioration; but in the

resurrection it will not be subject to

any decay. This means it will never

age, weaken, or become tired or

sick. The principle of death will not

be present in it.

15:43 It is sown in dishonor, it is

raised in glory; it is sown in

weakness, it is raised in power.

The human body is sown in

dishonour, for the human body is

made of the dust of the earth. In

this sense, humanity is not of great

significance (Ps. 8:4). This is

humankind in its lowly state; yet

when we are raised in glory; our

nature will not be derived from the

earth, but from God. We shall then

possess the full honour of being

children of God (Matt. 13:43; 1 John

3:1-2).

Even the fittest and strongest

human body is feeble and weak. No

undefended human body can resist

a knife blade or bullet. This frailty is

derived from the dust of which we

are created. But the life of the body

that is raised shall not be sustained

by flesh and blood but by the power

of God.

15:44 It is sown a natural body, it is

raised a spiritual body. If there is a

natural body, there is also a spiritual

body.

Though exalted above all the animal

creation, people are made with

bodies which function rather like

the bodies of animals; for our

natural bodies are suited to our

earthly environment. We have lungs

with which to breathe oxygen which

is then carried into our

bloodstream; we have a heart to

pump that blood around the body,

and so on. The spiritual body will

need none of these organs, and will

not be subject to the present

limitations of earth. Vine describes

the spiritual body as being ‘such as

is suited to the heavenly

environment’.

15:45 So also it is written, "The first

man, Adam, became a living

person"; the last Adam became a

life-giving spirit.

The first man was merely a

prototype; men were never

intended to remain men of dust.

There would be a second Adam to

bring the second part of God's

glorious plan for humankind into

effect. God made the first Adam a

living, animate creature with an

eternal soul, and his progeny were

like him. So the second and final

Adam (Jesus Christ) has through His

resurrection become a life giving

spirit, who shares His resurrection

life with all those who are willing to

receive it by faith and so become

His children.

15:46 However, the spiritual did not

come first, but the natural, and then

the spiritual.

Here was the divine order. First, the

natural creation, and then the new

creation – both are brought into

existence by Christ. Just as we were

born as descendants of Adam with

bodies like his, of the dust of the

earth, so having been born again of

God’s Spirit we shall be clothed with

spiritual bodies which find their

origin in Christ’s heavenly nature,

with no part of their composition

originating from the earth.

15:47-48 The first man is from the

earth, made of dust; the second

man is from heaven. Like the one

made of dust, so too are those

made of dust, and like the one from

30

heaven, so too those who are

heavenly.

We shall receive new bodies like

Christ's glorified body. Christ not

only came from heaven, but dwells

there now, and so His resurrection

body is fitted for living eternally in

heaven. We are given very few

glimpses of the resurrection body of

Christ in the gospels, but from them

we can ascertain certain facts. It

was visible when He wished it to be.

He was manifested in personal and

visible form in one place and could

be miles way, without motion, in

the next instant. He could be

touched, He could eat and speak,

and when He wished to be was

easily recognisable. Barred doors

and walls were no barrier to His

entering. According to Paul this

resurrected Christ fills the entire

universe with His presence (Eph.

4:10). What a resurrection body!

We cannot begin to comprehend its

glories, but we shall be changed to

share in its likeness.

15:49 And as we have borne the

image of the man of dust, we shall

also bear the image of the heavenly

Man. (NKJVTM

)

It was for this purpose that Christ

shared our humanity: in order to

destroy death and bring us to

eternal life (Heb. 2:14-15).

15:50 Now this is what I am saying,

brothers and sisters: Flesh and

blood cannot inherit the kingdom of

God, nor does the perishable inherit

the imperishable.

It must be made clear that flesh and

blood cannot inherit the kingdom of

God. One day we shall share heaven

with God, who is an eternal Spirit -

but how could a body subject to

death and decay live in a place

where there is no decay?

Paul reveals a matter which can

only be known and understood by

divine revelation (this is why he

calls it a mystery). Firstly, not every

Christian will die. Hence our own

deaths are not the necessary

precursor to resurrection - Christ's

death and resurrection are. But

whether we are to be among those

who live until Christ’s coming, or

are among those who die in the

Lord, our end state will be the

same. We shall all be transformed,

for we shall receive a new body

fitted for eternity (Phil. 3:21).

This event will happen

instantaneously, quicker than the

smallest time that can be measured,

for time to God is immaterial. In the

Old Testament, trumpets were

sounded to indicate particular

events. Here, the event being

heralded is the coming of the Lord

Jesus Christ for His saints; it is the

last trumpet because it is the final

unveiling of God's eternal purpose

for His people (1 Thess. 4:16). God

alone knows the time of this

unveiling. It is not clear that a

physical trumpet blast or sound is

meant by these words. Indeed it is

highly unlikely. Since sound travels

significantly more slowly than light

and our change shall happen at

above light speed, the occurrence

will be over before a physical sound

could ever have time to reach our

ears. So the sounding of the

trumpet has spiritual rather than

physical significance. The idea of a

trumpet blast which no one was

expecting indicates the suddenness

of this coming change, whilst the

twinkling of an eye indicates both

its speed and its silence (for the

twinkling or reflection of light in the

eye makes no noise at all). When

men work they invariably make a

noise, but when God works there is

no sound. This is why the Temple

stones were to be fashioned away

from the Temple site (1 Kings 6:7).

When God’s living stones are

gathered together to be at last His

final dwelling place, there will be no

human agent in the change.

15:53 For this perishable body must

put on the imperishable, and this

mortal body must put on

immortality.

5:51-52 Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep,

but we will all be changed. In a moment, in the blinking of an

eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the

dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

© Sibel Aisha

31

In order to live and reign with

Christ, the saints must first be

changed in the way Paul has

described. Although we are at

present subject to decay and death,

we shall be so no longer. We shall

have need of a different kind of

body in heaven, or as Morris puts it

‘the body is but the clothing of the

real man. In the life to come the

real man will put on another suit’.

15:54 Now when this perishable

puts on the imperishable, and this

mortal puts on immortality, then

the saying that is written will

happen, "Death has been swallowed

up in victory."

The present frail body will be done

away with and we shall have new

bodies like Christ's. This will fulfil

the prophecy of Hosea (Hos. 13:14),

who predicted the ultimate

abolition of death with all its effects

(see Rev. 21:4). Death is to be

swallowed up in victory; or

completely consumed in Christ's

victory, the victory He has won by

His death and glorious resurrection.

Though this victory has already

been won on behalf of the church,

it awaits the time when the last

believer is gathered in before it will

find its ultimate fulfilment in our

lives.

15:55-57 "Where, O death, is your

victory? Where, O death, is your

sting?" The sting of death is sin, and

the power of sin is the law. But

thanks be to God, who gives us the

victory through our Lord Jesus

Christ!

The reality of the resurrection is the

motivation behind the selfless,

fearless service which Paul

described earlier. Death has no

more venom or pain for the

Christian. What harm can it do us?

None! That is not to say a Christian

will not experience physical pain in

dying; but rather that death is not

an event to be feared by the

believer. It cannot separate us from

the love of God which is in Christ

Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39).

Death cannot keep our bodies any

more than it can keep our souls, for

spirit, soul and body we belong to

the One who has conquered death.

It was because of our sin that death

had power over us, for the law

pronounced the death sentence on

sinners – the soul that sins shall die

(Ezek. 18:4). It was because of

Adam's sin that sin entered the

world, bringing death to all men;

not only physical death but also

separation from God. Jesus Christ

has delivered us from the death

sentence of the law, for He was

punished in our place fulfilling the

law's justice. Hence we are now

free, so that ‘the terrors of law and

of death with me can have nothing

to do’.

Living in the Light of the

Resurrection

15:58 So then, dear brothers and

sisters, be firm. Do not be moved!

Always be outstanding in the work

of the Lord, knowing that your labor

is not in vain in the Lord.

Having concluded his defence of the

all-important doctrine of the

resurrection, Paul exhorts his

readers that rather than allowing

false teaching to influence them to

behave badly - to live for now - they

should allow the blessed and

glorious truth that Christ is alive to

motivate and inspire them to live

for eternity. The fact of Christ’s

resurrection guarantees our own

resurrection to eternal life; our

eternal life is secured because

Christ has risen from the dead, and

so we may look forward to it with

confidence.

The truth of the resurrection has

not been shaken by the generations

of those who have sought to assail

it. It remains the unmovable rock

and foundation of Christian

doctrine. It produces an unshakable

conviction in the lives of those who

believe and know their risen

Saviour. Consequently, the Christian

who is trusting Christ’s resurrection

should be characterised by stability

in Christian life and dedication in

Christian service. They will abound

in exuberant activity for Christ,

being fervent and purposeful, for

they have the expectancy of a

blessed goal in view.

Yet they will not merely depend on

human activity for success, for the

truth of the resurrection is revealed

in the risen life of Christ working in

and through His people, motivating

and empowering them for acts of

service. In this sense Christian

service is not so much what we do

for the Lord as what we allow the

Lord to do in and through us (even

as Paul reported not what he had

done but rather what God had done

with him in Acts 14:27; 15:4). As a

result of His resurrection, wherever

the disciples went to preach the

good news, it was the Lord who

worked with them, and confirmed

the word with the accompanying

signs (Mark 16:20).

Whenever such divine activity is

seen within the church today, it can

never be in vain, for nothing God

does is ever empty or void, and His

life is within us, moving His

purposes forward to their happy

conclusion.

By doing the work of the Lord and

by desiring things spiritual, we can

never be the losers, but only

winners! We are more than

conquerors through Him who loved

us!

32

Contact Us Editor: Mathew Bartlett

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