The Rapture 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 As a young man in my early twenties, I was just beginning to really take hold of Bible Doctrine. I had learned already about salvation, and then I learned about the “Rapture of the Church” (called the body of Christ, made up of believers) and this doctrine really turned me on to learning more. It…
The Human Soul Part Two In our previous study we examined the unbeliever at physical death. Let’s now briefly look at the physical death of the believer: When the believer dies, the soul and spirit leave the body and go into the presence of the Lord ( 2 Corinthians 5:8 ). In the original language the literal interpretation is “face…
The Human Soul Part One The real you is your soul. It is the immaterial part of your being. Our soul — Psuche in the Koiné Greek — is designed by God to respond to Him. How do we know? “Psuche” is in the feminine, meaning responder. God is an aggressor, as in He designed man to respond to Him….
Life in Christ To live, we have the Trinity in us. To die, we enter heaven divorced of corruption. Every day can be a new adventure walking with God in fields of grace. Life in Christ is interesting. It is uniquely yours, and our attitudes must be in line with that of Christ Jesus. The Lord gave up His rights…
The End of Creation As scientists have discovered, the Earth and the universe are composed of atomic structure (held together omnipotent God who created atomic structure out of nothing). After the millennial reign of Christ, God will dismiss the earth and universe back to nothing by the same power He created it with—His spoken word. Peter, examining this very point,…
Confidence in God’s Plan By understanding the complete picture of history (the mosaic) of the first Adam and the second (last) Adam (Christ) and the purpose of the cross-work of Christ, believers can have extreme confidence in God’s perfect plan for them. The purpose of the cross-work of Christ resulted in Christ’s resurrection, ascension, glorification, and session at the right…
The Flowing River of God A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden. We drink from the river of life to bring much to fruition God’s life, eternal life, flows in us to fulfill God’s plan. The flowing river of God’s Word enriches our spirit with divine viewpoint (Scripture) depositing a wealth of God’s essence into the fabric…
The Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies is located in the most inward place in the center of the temple. The Holy of Holies was holy because of God’s presence. The believer’s human spirit is in the most inward part of themselves and it is here where God resides (John 4:23,24). The temple in Jerusalem had three main sections:…
Words of Wisdom Part Two The universe declares God’s glory and His handiwork. Day after day, night upon night we see in creation His wisdom, His evidence. Creation speaks of the Creator, even those who doubt hear its voice. By His Word, existence began and the sun and stars took their seat, each in its own place. Blessed is the…
Thoughts on the Humanity of Christ During Jesus’ earthly ministry (His incarnation), He was in His humanity. Jesus was not lofty. His head was not somewhere in the clouds that He had made. He is omniscient but He didn’t come across as a know-it-all. The Almighty Himself wasn’t high and mighty in attitude. He was perfect God but not too…
The Purpose for Our Lives God’s personal love for the believer emphasizes the object—those who express faith alone in Christ alone. Through grace, the love of God has provided everything necessary to make us acceptable (1 John 4:10). This is the doctrine of propitiation (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2) as the foundation for the doctrine of justification (Romans 3:28; 2…
Characteristics of Self-Contained Happiness (or The Signs of Maturity in Christ) Tranquility in the soul—contentment, peace. Capacity for life—thanksgiving, gratitude, appreciation, forgiveness, mercy, and love. Never feeling threatened by emergencies, adverse circumstances, other people, serious health issues, or death. A true sense of security in God’s Word, promises, and His love and forgiveness because of Christ in you. Freedom from…
The Cross — The Eternal Place of Communion Christ died so that even the ones who crucified Him could be saved. His cross work stands in total contrast to the darkness in man’s soul, reaching out and shining forth like a beacon to light the way back to God. This lighted cross of Christ stands in stark contrast to human…
By His Stripes Christ stepped down from His throne over the universe that He might save the perishing. Christ came to do the Father’s will, which was to give His life to save me. Christ came down to die on my cross—to pay for my iniquity (Hebrews 10:5-7). “A body thou hast prepared for me.” We could not have endured…
“A Good Global Citizen” If truth will set you free (it will, and it does) then the opposite is also true—lies and deception will eventually imprison you. If knowledge equals power then lack of knowledge equals powerlessness. If wealth equals power, no wealth means no power. Can there be untrue honesty? Our educational system teaches it in our public schools…
More On Sin These are just a few more thoughts of depravity—our falling short of God’s righteousness… Sin connotes the serpent in the minds of men and is a transgression of God’s laws (1 John 3:4). Sin is the inherent unwillingness of man to abide in the sphere of limitation set by God. While an angel became sin (the source…
The Indwelling of God God indwells every believer for fellowship and relationship. If you are indeed a believer in the finished work of Christ on the cross, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. But do we truly realize what that means? Do we understand the significance of the indwelling of God? No one else in the world can read…
God Detests Religion Andy Stanley said: “Jesus taught that good people do not go to heaven. Furthermore, he taught that God was intent on not giving people what they deserved.” God has given us exactly what we do not deserve—Jesus Christ, His Son. And Jesus taught against religion. His message was a departure from anything that had ever been taught….
Pursue Christ God’s perfect love pursues the believer all of his or her life. God loves the believer with personal love, and the unbeliever with impersonal love, demonstrated by the cross where God imputed our sins to Christ, where He imputed Christ’s (God’s own) righteousness and eternal life to the believer. God provided the solution to sin —Christ. God provided…
Bible Doctrine Transforms Discipline, trials, and suffering… all are testing from the Lord designed to transform us. These are signs—evidence that God is in our lives conforming us to the image of His dear Son. If you want to get closer to Jesus, endure, persevere, be patient, be thankful for the good and the bad (“in all things give thanks”),…