THE GOOD NEWS OF REDEMPTION (Part 1-3)

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Eric Aboadwe
November 15, 2017 ·

THE GOOD NEWS OF REDEMPTION (1)

Our Scripture reading is taken from Isaiah 61:1-3. However, because the verse is long, we will take them verse by verse to explore them in order to comprehend each verse. So we will look at the VERSE 1 for today, and the subsequent verses will follow.

VERSE 1 says: “The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach GOOD TIDINGS to the POOR; He has sent me to HEAL the brokenhearted, to proclaim LIBERTY to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound."

When the Lord JESUS says, “The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon Me,” we must know that right from conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary, JESUS was clothed with the POWER of the “Holy Spirit” to deliver the mankind from the SLAVERY of SIN. He was sent by “God” for this purpose, and He was sent by the “Holy Spirit” for the same purpose, and He sent Himself for this very purpose because He is the True God who was manifested in the FLESH (1 Timothy 3:16) due to His unconditional and everlasting “LOVE” for the human race.

As “A child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18), JESUS grew and became STRONG in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the GRACE of God was upon Him (Luke 2:40). Therefore our MESSIAH was sent into this world to come and preach to us the “GOOD TIDINGS” which refers to the GOOD NEWS of our salvation. That’s why when CHRIST was born, an angel came to announce this “GOOD TIDINGS” to us.

The Angel proclaimed, “...I bring you GOOD TIDINGS of great JOY which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a SAVIOR, who is CHRIST the Lord... “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:10,13).

He started His assignment (His mission on earth) when He was baptized by John the Baptist as “The LAMB of God who takes away the SIN of the world” (John 1:29). After this, JESUS went about all the cities and villages teaching and preaching the GOSPEL of the Kingdom, healing every sickness and every disease among the people, and He was moved with COMPASSION for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9:35-36).

When JESUS was preaching the GOOD NEWS, He did not “JUDGE” or “CONDEMN” anyone for their incapacities in obeying the LAW of Moses. It would have actually been a BAD NEWS if He had come to “JUDGE” the mankind for their transgressions and iniquities. But He told everybody, “For God did not send His SON into the world to CONDEMN the world, but that the world through Him might be SAVED (John 3:17).

He preached the GOOD NEWS to the “POOR” (those who don’t have any RIGHTEOUSNESS of their own), and He told them, “Son, your sins are FORGIVEN you” (Luke 2:5), He also told another woman, “Where are those ACCUSERS of yours? Has no one CONDEMNED you? Neither do I CONDEMN you; go and SIN no more” (John 8:10,11).

But we must be very careful here! The words “Go and SIN no more” has been misinterpreted by many preachers. However JESUS was telling the woman, “go and live a SIN-FREE LIFE.” That’s why the LORD Himself said that, “Therefore if the SON makes you FREE, you shall be FREE indeed” (John 8:36). But the FALSE pastors and teachers have been telling people that they are not “FREE” yet, but they must confess their SINS everyday and offer the Prayers of Repentance. These are the FALSE prophets who have made the Christian FAITH powerless.

We must therefore understand that JESUS came for those who were spiritually “POOR” in order to make them “RICH” by clothing them with His garment of “RIGHTEOUSNESS” so that they will be qualified to enter His Kingdom. That’s why He said, “Blessed are the POOR in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Paul the Apostle also said, “For you know the GRACE of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, that though He was RICH, yet for your sakes He became POOR, that you through His POVERTY might become RICH” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

But once again the FALSE pastors, prophets, and teachers have been misinterpreting these passages to suit their CARNAL desires and thoughts. However when JESUS was born in a manger, it was because of our SINS. He was born there for a spiritual purpose. And when He reached the age of 30, He took our SINS upon Himself in the Jordan River through John the Baptist. This is how God “made Him who knew NO SIN to be SIN for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), and this is how JESUS because “POOR” for us.

By this act of JESUS, we became “RICH” when He fulfilled all RIGHTEOUSNESS for us so that we will be able to enter the Kingdom of God and walk on The Land of Gold which is glittering with golden splendor of glory. JESUS therefore came to preach the GOOD NEWS to the “POOR” people like us who have NO RIGHTEOUSNESS of our own in order to make us “RICH” through His RIGHTEOUSNESS.

This is how JESUS proclaim “LIBERTY to the captives” and the “opening of the prison” to those who were “bound” in the “prison” of SIN. The Almighty JESUS broke the chains of SIN through His “Spirit, water, and blood (1 John 5:8). And just like Lazarus who was bound by the power of death because of SIN, JESUS declared, “Loose him, and let him go” (John 11:44).

These words were proclaimed by the Omnipotent JESUS who said, “I have the KEYS of Hades and death” (Revelation 1:18). And He is the One who proclaimed to us, “I am the RESURRECTION and the LIFE. He who believes in Me, though he may DIE, he shall LIVE” (John 1:25).

Our study continues...................




THE GOOD NEWS OF REDEMPTION (Part 2)
We are resuming our studies which we started the previous day. In the previous day, our attention and focus was on Isaiah 61:1. So we are now going to look at the next verse.
VERSE 2 says: “To proclaim the acceptable YEAR of the LORD, and the day of VENGEANCE of our God; To comfort all who mourn.”
In Ecclesiastes, the Word of God tells us that to everything there is a “season” and a “time” for every PURPOSE under Heaven, and therefore there is a “time” to be BORN and a time to  DIE (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2). This time and season was first given to Adam and Eve, and it was then given to Noah after the “flood” when God told him, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and DAY and NIGHT shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).
Therefore when the Lord JESUS says, “To proclaim the acceptable YEAR of the LORD,” we must understand that our SALVATION was plan by God who appointed time and season, day and night, and years. But let us also understand that “with the LORD one DAY is as a thousand YEARS, and a thousand YEARS as one DAY” (2 Peter 3:8). This is because the mind of the infinite God is wider in scope and far beyond our finite (bounded and limited) capabilities.
So JESUS was “BORN” by the Virgin Mary after 700 years have passed since God gave the prophecy in Isaiah’s “time.” And it is the Lord God who appointed the “time” for JESUS to be “BAPTIZED” by John the Baptist in the Jordan River for our SINS to be laid on Him. After this, God also appointed a “time” when JESUS will “DIE” on the Cross. He also appointed a “time” for the “RESURRECTION” of CHRIST in order to complete our SALVATION.
Also when God spoke in Genesis, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:13), it was a prophecy about the “acceptable YEAR of the LORD” when JESUS CHRIST will come to the earth to save Adam and His descendants through His birth, baptism, blood and resurrection. It was also a prophecy about “the day of VENGEANCE of our God” when JESUS will overcome Satan.
Therefore God who appointed months, sent John the Baptist 6 months ahead of JESUS before He was BORN (Luke 1:36), and JESUS received the BAPTISM from John when He was 30 years old to begin His ministry (Luke 3:23). This was in fulfilment of the required age of assuming the priesthood in the Old Testament (Numbers 4:45-47) and also to fulfill the prophecy of the laying on of hands on the head JESUS by John the Baptist who was from the tribe of Aaron (Leviticus 16:21; Luke 1:5).
And 3 years after JESUS was BAPTIZED by John, He was chastised, beaten, scourged, spat upon, condemned, crucified, and He DIED on the Cross to SAVE everybody from SIN. All these things were done according to “the acceptable YEAR” of the LORD God Almighty. But we must also understand that the “sufferings” of JESUS was permitted by God in order for Satan to “bruise” the “heel” of JESUS CHRIST as a result of our SINS.
However when JESUS was hanging on the Cross and He uttered, “It is FINISHED” (John 19:30), it was “the day of VENGEANCE of our God” when JESUS CHRIST “disarmed principalities and powers,” and “made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:16). In other words JESUS vanquished, annihilated, and overpowered Satan and his hosts through His REDEMPTION POWER so that the Devil and his fallen angels will have no power over us.
So “The day of VENGEANCE of our God” on the other hand refers to Jesus bruising Satan’s head as prophesied in Genesis 3:15. Satan infected us with sin, but Jesus crushed him to make us righteous. Thats why God said, “For the day of VENGEANCE is in My heart, and the YEAR of My redeemed has come” (Isaiah 63:4). This is the God-spoken Word of  deliverance from SIN.

Therefore because JESUS CHRIST came to SAVE us in “the acceptable YEAR of the LORD” and He completed “the day of VENGEANCE of our God,” whoever believes in His water, blood and the Spirit is saved from SIN forever. This is the reason why the Apostle Paul said that, “For He says: In acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of SALVATION I have helped you. Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the DAY of SALVATION” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
The Word of God is so precise and so elaborate. It is the “fine woven linen.” This “Word” is JESUS, and He is so white and bright to the extent that whoever BELIEVES in His water and blood will see the POWER of His Word which has made our “DARKNESS” of SIN become “WHITE than snow” and “WHITE” as “wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
JESUS CHRIST is too much for us! And for this reason, the Apostle Paul said that, “If anyone does not LOVE the Lord JESUS CHRIST, let him be ACCURSED. O Lord, come” (2 Corinthians 16:22).
Our study continues........................






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Eric Aboadwe
November 17, 2017 ·

THE GOOD NEWS OF REDEMPTION (Part 3)

Let us now look at the Verse 3 of our Scripture reading in Isaiah 61 which says:

“To CONSOLE those who MOURN in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the OIL of JOY for mourning, the garment of PRAISE for the SPIRIT of HEAVINESS; That they may be called TREES of RIGHTEOUSNESS. The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:1-3).

When our LORD came into this world, He came to “CONSOLE” (comfort) those who were “mourning” for their lack of power to perform or keep the Commandments and the LAWS of God. These LAWS revealed God’s unblemished nature and His PERFECT HOLINESS which at the same time reveals the imperfections and the flaws of men.

Therefore those who “MOURN” are the one who were “mourning” like the Apostle Paul who was lamenting in great sorrow when he said, “I was ALIVE one without the LAW, but when the Commandment came, SIN revived and I DIED. And the Commandment, which was to bring LIFE, I found to bring DEATH. For SIN, taking occasion by the Commandment, deceived me, and by it KILL me” (Romans 7:9-11).

In fact the Apostle Paul went further to express his “mourning” by saying that, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to DO, that I do not practice; but what I HATE, that I do. For I know that in me (that is, in my FLESH) nothing GOOD dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to PERFORM what is GOOD I do not find” (Romans 7:15,18)

Here, we must note that when Paul says, “but how to PERFORM what is GOOD I do not find” it confirms what JESUS told the ruler when He said, “Why do you call me GOOD? No one is GOOD but One, that is, God” (Luke 18:19). Only those who accept the Words of JESUS can “MOURN” for their SINS by accepting their sinful nature.

When the “mourning” of the Apostle Paul reached the highest point, he could no longer BEAR it. Therefore he confessed, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall DELIVER me from this body of DEATH? (Romans 7:24). At this point here, Paul was in “the SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS” which refers to the BURDEN of keeping the 10 Commandments and the 613 Articles.

It is really a herculean task (extremely difficult) for the fallen human beings who were conceived and born in iniquity to roll away this BURDEN. But the GOOD NEWS of the REDEMPTION of CHRIST tell us that He came to roll that BURDEN away through the sacrifice of His water baptism and blood. That’s why He said in Isaiah that He will give such people “the OIL of JOY for mourning.”

In the Bible, “OIL” refers to the “Holy Spirit.” Therefore those who receive “the OIL of JOY” are the ones of whom the Apostle Paul addressed, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the Word of Truth, the GOSPEL of your SALVATION; in whom also, having BELIEVED, your were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). It means that the “OIL” (Holy Spirit) can only be received when we believe in the true gospel of the water and the Spirit of CHRIST (John 3:5).

However, it is not only the “OIL” which JESUS promised to give, but He also said that He will give to those who “MOURN” for their sins the “garment of PRAISE for the SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS.” Therefore when JESUS gave this “garment of PRAISE” to Apostle Paul in the midst of his “mourning,” he confessed, “I THANK God – through JESUS CHRIST our Lord! So then, with the MIND I myself serve the LAW of God, but with the FLESH the LAW of SIN” (Romans 7:25).

It is only by our true faith in JESUS CHRIST which can make us confess like this. JESUS prophesied in Isaiah that through His own acts of RIGHTEOUSNESS He will “CONSOLE” all those who “MOURN” for their SINS once and for all. That’s why He said in Matthew, “Blessed are those who MOURN, for they shall be COMFORTED” (Matthew 5:4). Our Lord cannot lie, and therefore He fulfils everything according to His Word.

Those who really know very well that because of their SINS they are bound for hell will surely “MOURN” and seek for God’s “MERCY.” But those who don’t accept the horrible nature of their SINS cannot “MOURN.” This is because they think they can be JUSTIFIED by the works of the LAW, and so they are complacent with themselves. But for those who sincerely “MOURN” for their sinful nature, JESUS will COMFORT them with His baptism, blood and resurrection that has “PURGED” away their sins (Hebrews 1:3).

This is because He came to remove the BURDEN of the Commandments and the Articles of the LAW from us. That’s why He said, “COME to Me, all you who LABOUR and are HEAVEN LADEN, and I will give you REST” (Matthew 11:28). We must notice something here. The phrase “HEAVEN LADEN” is the same thing which JESUS spoke of in Isaiah as “the SPIRIT of HEAVINESS.”

But many Christians are “stubborn hearted” (Isaiah 46:12). And so even though JESUS is telling them to cease and abstain from LABOURING in the LAW they don’t listen to Him. Instead of coming to JESUS, they rather went to false pastors and prophets who told them to “LABOUR” in the LAW of Moses and pay their tithes. They even tell them that if they don’t do that God will “curse” them. Such leaders are working for their stomach, and so the Apostle Paul said that their “god is their belly” and they “set their mind on earthly things” (Philippians 3:19).

We must all obey the voice of JESUS CHRIST and “COME” to Him no matter how long we have been in the Christian religious FAITH. Religion has nothing to offer us. It is actually a poison which Satan has used it to kill so many people. Whether we have been 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, or 100 years in the Christian religion, JESUS says we must still “COME” to Him even if it will cost us to forsake our false denominations.

Nobody can follow JESUS CHRIST in the true path of FAITH if he does not deny himself by forsaking his or her religious ways and thoughts of the flesh (Luke 9:23). To be born again in just one day of the water and the Spirit of JESUS is better than living in 100 years of a religion which is based on doctrines and the commandments of men. JESUS said that such people, “WORSHIP Me in vain (Matthew 15:9).

In our Scripture reading, our LORD also said, “That they may be called TREES of RIGHTEOUSNESS. The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” But this passage have already been explained in some of our previous study titles which includes, “A TREE PLANTED BY THE RIVER SIDE” and also “THE FRUITS OF RIGHTEOUNEESS” (Part 1, 2 & 3). Those who miss it can make a personal request and I will make it available to them.

Our study continues with a new topic in Isaiah.

PRAISE be to God!