MYSTERIES REVEALED 3
LIFE AND IMMORTATLITY
2 Peter 3:16 GNT
He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
The church of Jesus Christ is marching on and Gods desire for the church is for it to walk in unity of faith and knowledge measuring up to the stature of the fullness of Christ. As we delve deep into scripture we will take an intense study into some of the Apostle Pauls letters which clearly define Gods divine plan for where the church should be headed regarding its insight into Gods word. The Apostle Paul in his letters has shared many of these insights and we aim to explore and expose these mysteries.
A mystery that we will examine is Life and Immortality.
In (1 Corinthians 15:51) the Apostle Paul says, “But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die – but we are all going to be changed.
This is the mystery that has been revealed in the epistles which was also not easy for the Apostle Paul to fully comprehend and perhaps maybe the Apostle Peter might’ve come across this scripture and spoke in this manner from our opening verse, “... His letters contain some things that are hard to understand…” (2 Peter 3:16). The mystery is we shall not all die.Indeed, the Apostle Paul admitted that this may be one of the most difficult mysteries he’ll probably never fully understand, but today the church should seek to understand these truths. Irrespective of that factor, it is pivotal that we become life and immortality conscious. We should not even have death in our vocabulary (proverbs 18:21) or thoughts because “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). We should consciously set our minds on “…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4-8), because not everyone is going to die, rather we shall see the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember there are two groups of people.
1. The dead in Christ who shall rise first,
2. Those who are alive who will be caught up to meet the Lord one day.
It is important that we understand that there is no declaration of who falls into which group.
(Romans 8:2) informs us that “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” This is the reality the church should ponder upon. There is a law of life like the law of gravity, and the law of the spirit of life is at work in every born again Christian. This law has abolished the possibility of death in our path. An important reality to note is that every man born of a woman is born into the realm of death, however, once you’re born again your born into life. (1 John 3:14) affirms this truth, “We know that we have passed from death unto life…”. This is why Jesus came. In (John 10:10) he said, “…I came that you may have life” Jesus was not referring to the human life when he said this but rather to the life of God. This is the life that causes us to be invincible and incapable of dying.
Furthermore, (2 Timothy 1:10) says, “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:”
Jesus has destroyed death there is therefore absolutely no reason for man to fear death or be death conscious. So then regarding the matter of life and death of a man it is no longer up to God or Satan on if he lives or dies rather it is a choice. This means if a Christian chooses to pass on to Glory it is gain for him because he goes to be with the Father but if he chooses to live and stay on earth he chooses to do this for the benefit of others that is; the furtherance of the Gospel. This is why Gods word says, “I have set before you life and death…Now you choose life…” (Deuteronomy 30:19). Death is not from God neither is it a friend of God.
With all the mysteries that have been revealed to us we can deduce that the Apostle Paul was a peculiar man and it seems as though, amongst all the other Apostles, he was one of the few who was able to grasp these mysteries. There are disciples who walked directly with Jesus yet they didn’t have a revelation of or write at least half of what he wrote. Question is why were the mysteries only revealed to the Apostle Paul? Let’s have a look at his lifestyle.
Paul made a statement and said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect…” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul acknowledged that by the Grace of God mysteries were revealed to him, however that was not all there was to it. Paul in the same scripture said “No, I worked harder than all of them—…” (1 Corinthians 15:10) meaning in addition to the Grace of God at work in him he didn’t just fold his arms and expect grace to do all the work but he worked harder than all the other Apostles explaining why these mysteries were revealed to him. Question is what exactly did the working hard encompass?
When we look at (1 Corinthians 14:2) Paul explains, (For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God… howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.” Additionally, Paul says, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all…” (1Corinthians14:18). Reading from the above we can clearly see that speaking in tongues meant speaking forth mysteries and the Apostle never took speaking in tongues lightly. He spent quality time speaking in tongues thus speaking forth mysteries and as a result many were the mysteries that were revealed to him. In the same chapter Paul says, let he who speaks in tongues pray that he may interpret (1 Corinthians 14:13). It may be safe to believe that when Paul prayed in tongues he might've received an interpretation of these mysteries and wrote them down. What would happen if you spent quality time speaking in tongues?
What’s more that we find out is that Paul encouraged speaking forth the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 2:6-7) The wisdom of God are the mysteries that have been revealed to us. Paul encourages that this wisdom should proceed out of our mouths. From the content of our prayer to our everyday language Paul says we ought to speak wisdom. Declare “I shall live and not die”, “Christ lives in me", “I’m one with the Lord.”
And finally in (Genesis 13:14-15) God says “…and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:” “For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.” Reading from the above we see from God’s word that God says to Abraham I’ll only give you the land that you manage to see. That means it was possible for God to have a specific vision for Abraham's life however for it to come to pass it was dependent on Abraham's spirit; that is how far the eyes of his spirit could see. This same principal applies to the Church, when we begin to see the mysteries that have been revealed to us we will also begin walk in the reality of them. This means you need to see yourself as one with the Lord, see yourself as one who cannot die but has life and immortality, see that God lives in you and when you do so you’ll walk in the reality of these scriptures. Hallelujah!
CONFESSION
Dear Father I thank you for granting me supernatural insight, wisdom and knowledge into your divine plan. The law of the spirit of life is at work me therefore I shall live and not die. There’s no death in my path or near my dwelling in Jesus Name.
Scriptures to Ponder on:
2 Peter 3:14 GNT
Ephesians 3:3-4 KJV
Romans 8:2 KJV
John 10:10 KJV
2 Timothy 1:10 KJV
1 Corinthians 15:10 KJV
1 Corinthians 14:2 KJV
1 Corinthians 14:18 KJV
1 Corinthians 14:2 13 KJV
1 Corinthians 2:6-7 KJV
Genesis 13:14 KJV