Devotional for April 2013

by John Carpenter | Apr 3, 2013 | Devotional

“He that believeth in me — though he were dead — yet shall he live!” Jn.11:25

With these words — our Lord utters something of a mystery. For how can any one who is dead — believe? Obviously this is a gospel truth — or, Jesus would not have said it. But, what does He really mean by this?

He already taught from Jn.6:63 — that it is the Holy Spirit who quickens unto life. So, the answer must in some way include Him — the Holy Spirit — in the working out of this matter. Indeed — a regenerated sinner — is a true believing sinner. And, a living soul who has been quickened by the Spirit of Christ — in essence — is a living
“dead man”! You may say, how can this be? There is a mysterious mysticism about this. We can be quickened by the Holy Spirit — where all we once were — was dead in our sins! According to the “law of Moses”– we are — in these bodies of dust — still on a course to keep an appointment with death — even though we have been blessed with God’s grace of saving faith. Now, we are just true believing sinners — saved by grace! “For by grace — are ye saved through faith — and that not of yourselves.”

Jesus tells us that it is the work of God — that we believe in Him — whom the Father sent. And, it is because of this grace of faith — that we call upon the Name of the Lord — and seek the Lord daily, in our living out our lives while still in this world. It is by faith — that we hunger and thirst after His righteousness — and experience being filled. It is by faith we look — not at the things which are seen — for they are temporal — but, at the eternal things which are not seen. We focus our thoughts and our perspective opinions on the blessed things of the person and work of the eternal Son of God!! And, dwelling upon these wonderful things — we are content — even though we still traverse — through the darkest of trials.

In doing this — we become fixed on our risen Savior — who is our very life…even though we are very dead. Col.3:1-3 puts it this way: “If ye then be risen with Christ -seek those things which are above — where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. (2) Set your affection on things above — not on things on the earth. (3) For ye are dead — and your life — is hid with Christ — in God!”

This is knowing Christ — and the power of His resurrection — as described from Phil.3:10. Which occurs by being blessed with a regenerating revelatory realization that is spoken of from Eph.2:6. Quickened to believe that you have been raised up together with Christ — and made to sit together in heavenly places in Him. Indeed, our resurrected Lord — is made to be unto us a life quickening spirit. [1Co.15:45]
In this way, therefore, we — by the grace of faith — see the connection between the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ — and our experience — in Him — of putting away the dross — of our dead, worthless flesh!

Devotional for March 2013

by John Carpenter | Mar 14, 2013 | Devotional

“The Lord hath laid on Him — the iniquity of us all!” Is.53:6 “For He hath made Him to be sin for us…” 2Co.5;21 “Who His own self — bare our sins — in His own body — on the tree…” 1Pe.2:21

In these terse statements of holy scripture — from three different men — Isaiah, Paul and Peter — there is reference being made to the one and the same person — the Lord Jesus Christ. And, that which is being referred in regards to Him is the eternal purpose — of the eternal three-in-one, holy and almighty God! This is referring — specifically — to when God the Father and God the Holy Spirit — literally “cut”– in the person and work of God the Son — the — from everlasting unto everlasting — covenant — to eternally save all His loved and chosen ones “in Christ” [Eph.1;1-3] .

Let’s reflect and meditate upon these three texts — written by these three different men. Let’s begin with Peter’s first. Peter was an eyewitness of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. He could bare testimony to what had actually happened at Calvary. The Holy Spirit revealed to Him — that what He actually saw was when God the Father made Christ Jesus, the Savior the owner and the bearer — in His own body — of all our sins — on His own cross — at Calvary. His death was truly an holy and eternally atoning death! His death was divinely directed and approved — by Triune God!

Paul’s statement dogmatically clarifies the gospel grace truth — that Christ’s death was a substitutionary death. As you may recall, the whole of 2Co.5:21 says: “For He hath made Him to be sin for us — who knew no sin — that we might be made the righteousness of God — in Him!” What a perfectly wonderful transaction of substitution was historically made on that day by the determinate counsel of the most high God!

Finally, Isaiah’s statement — because it was prophetically revealed and written over seven centuries before the actual time that the eternal, incarnate Son of God would historically come to pass — is perhaps the most remarkable! Isaiah is the only one of the three who gives us a graphic description our crucified Lord and Savior. We know, therefore, that what He wrote was entirely by — and because of — divine revelation! But, like Peter and Paul — Isaiah was granted a revelatory realization of the purpose of the Savior’s death, viz., to eternally redeem His people from their sins. He explicitly says: “the Lord hath laid on Him — the iniquity of us all”. Note the tense of the verb. He saw that the Lord — had already caused it happen — our sins — and our Savior — to meet! How wonderful is that? Because the Lord Jesus Christ was (and, still is — thanks to His resurrection) the eternal Son of God — all the sins and iniquities — of all the eternally loved and chosen children of God — were, in essence, taken away — from eternity — in eternity — and for eternity! Hence, does Rev.13:8 refer to the Book of Life as: “the Book of Life — of the Lamb slain — from the foundation of the world!” Praise the wonderful name of our Lord!

– For Christ’s Glory Only!
John Carpenter