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Bid dat deze pandemie spoedig zal eindigen en dat de postdienst wordt hervat.
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Subject 3 : The Gospel of the Water and the Spirit
[3-21] Do You Really Wish Your Faith Could Be the Same As Peter’s Faith? (Matthew 16:13-20)
(Matthew 16:13-20)
“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”
How Is Your Faith?
Today, I would like to share the Word with you on how you can strengthen your faith to be as strong as Peter’s faith. Here in this passage of Scripture Jesus asked His disciples who people were saying He was, what was their response? They answered by saying, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14). Peter then confessed his faith and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).
In Scripture we find three anointed offices. Firstly, kings were anointed when they ascended to the throne of Israel. For instance, when David became king, the Prophet Samuel filled the horn of a ram with oil and poured it on his head. The Scripture says that “the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13). Secondly, the High Priest, that is, the chief of the priests were anointed when they assumed their office. Thirdly, prophets were anointed.
When Peter said to the Lord here in the Bible, “You are the Christ,” he was confessing his faith, saying that Jesus was his King. He was also confessing that the Lord was his Prophet. Peter was confessing his faith in the following way: “Jesus Christ is the Savior, and He has saved sinners by shouldering the sins of this world through His baptism and shedding His blood on the Cross.”
Jesus Christ is the God of creation and in the beginning made the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1-31). By making the heavens and the earth, the Triune God made it possible for us to be born and exist on this earth. Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit together made Adam and Eve, the first man and woman. The universe and mankind now exist because they were created by God. It’s by the will of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that we were born and to exist in this world.
The fact that the Triune God is alive teaches us and makes it known to us who our Creator is, and who our Savior is. What role does the Holy Spirit play for us? The Holy Spirit testifies and guarantees that Jesus Christ the Son of God has indeed washed away all the sins of this world by coming to this earth, being baptized by John the Baptist, the representative of mankind, and shedding His blood on the Cross. The Holy Spirit assures us that Jesus Christ has blotted out all the sins of this world with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And He guarantees us that our salvation has been fulfilled by God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He teaches us that Jesus Christ came to this earth to save all sinners from the sins of the world, was baptized by John the Baptist, shed His blood on the Cross, rose from the dead again, and has thereby become the true Savior. Unless Jesus Christ became our Savior by being baptized by John the Baptist, shedding His blood, and rising from the dead again, no one could ever blot out our sins. Jesus is our Savior, our Creator, and our true Shepherd.
The faith that sustains us in these end times is the faith Peter had with him confessing, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Satan is causing confusion and void to many people in this age with many different false religions. I am keenly aware of the dire need for the gospel of the water and the Spirit to be preached to every corner of the world. To this end, I have been preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to all those who are unaware of it. These people do not know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit because they are yet to realize from the Word of Truth that Jesus indeed is the Son of God, the Savior of mankind, and the true Prophet. Whether or not we know Jesus Christ depends on whether or not we know the gospel of the water and the Spirit which God gave to us.
Jesus is the Creator, and He is the Savior who has delivered us from all the sins of this world. I urge you to believe in this Truth. Jesus is the true Prophet who has taught us all truths, He is the Savior, and He is our King. To deliver his people from their sins, the King of kings bore the sins of the world on His body by being baptized by John the Baptist, sacrificed Himself by shedding His blood on the Cross, and has thereby become our true Savior. To you and me, Jesus is the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven, the King of kings, and our true Prophet. Do you believe that Jesus is our Savior and our true God?
Let me state it clearly here that if you and I neglect even just one of these three understandings and neither grasp it nor believe in it, then you will forever be unable to receive the remission of sins and end up being destroyed. If you and I were not to know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it would only mean that we do not know Jesus Christ the Savior of mankind either. What are we relying on and what do you believe in now? Isn’t it the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Or do we believe in Jesus as our Savior only as a matter of religion?
No religious faith is recognized in the Kingdom of God. So you need to think about how you can wash away the sins that are in your heart now. Is it possible for you to have the true faith that Peter had without faith in the gospel power of the water and the Spirit? No, of course not. You must, therefore, of necessity, believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit without delay.
Do you really appreciate that the most precious thing on this earth is the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit? We must know that Jesus Christ the Savior has given us the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and we must believe that He has saved us from the sins of the world through His birth, baptism, shed blood, death, and His resurrection. Our Lord has saved us from the sins of the world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit in these end times. So, let us build our faith on the Truth, the gospel rock of the water and the Spirit.
This gospel of the water and the Spirit is the true gospel that has saved all of us from all our sins. Those who do not believe in this gospel will be forsaken, but those who believe in it will obtain absolutely perfect salvation. The gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit has the power to bring true salvation to all who believe in it fully. If you believe in this gospel, you will not only be saved from your sins but also receive God’s love forever. However, if you do not believe in this gospel, then not only will you betray God’s love, but the Lord’s love will also remain forever out of your reach.
Do you not know that even your future sins have already been washed away once and for all by the God-given gospel power of the water and the Spirit? If not anything else, you must know this Truth without fail no matter what the cost. And you must believe in it. The salvation of your soul depends on whether or not you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If you believe in this gospel, you will come to know its true worth.
Believing In the Gospel Truth of the Water and the Spirit Is the Key to the Kingdom of Heaven
It is on account of Peter’s faith that the Lord said that He will give him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. What, then, was Peter’s faith, do you know? His faith is shown by the confession he made, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). This faith is the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. To deconstruct this faith in detail for understanding purposes and to possess it as well, we must first understand clearly and believe in what the gospel of the water and the Spirit is saying. Jesus Christ has come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and whether or not we believe in Him as our Savior will determine whether or not we can receive the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Lord said to Peter in Matthew 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” The key to the Kingdom of Heaven here refers to the understanding of the gospel of the water and the Spirit and the faith in the real Truth. This faith is all about knowing and believing clearly that Jesus is our Savior, and that He has saved us from the sins of the world by the gospel power of the water and the Spirit.
Peter’s faith teaches us that the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit is the perfect Truth. If you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit now, you will be saved perfectly even if the whole world were to crumble down. If we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, our souls will not stumble and we will overcome all our adversaries. The Lord said that if we have faith even as small as a mustard seed, then with this faith we will overcome the world on the day the Lord returns. On the very last day of this world, we will be able to receive the Lord boldly, all thanks to the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can therefore defend their faith until the day this world ends.
It’s because we have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we are able to raise God’s Church and save many souls from their sins. It would be impossible without this faith. The Lord said that we can build God’s Church on this earth and lead the sinful to Him only if we have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Just as the Lord said to Simon Peter that He would give him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven on account of his faith, we must also make sure we have the exact same faith that Peter had. After all, it’s only after the Lord heard Peter’s confession of faith that He said to him, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Given the fact that the Savior and our God fulfilled His three offices as our King, our Priest, and our Prophet in his earthly ministry, how could we not also fulfill the duties by believing in these three offices?
Jesus Christ is God Himself and the Savior to you and me. To become the Savior of sinners, Jesus was incarnated in the flesh of man and born into this world from the body of Mary. Matthew 1:1 says, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” This, of course, teaches us that Jesus came to this earth as the Savior through the household of David. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, David said,
The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Psalm 110:1).
David was speaking of Jesus when he spoke of “my Lord” here. In other words, David was confessing that Jesus was his God. However, when the Messiah actually came, people failed to recognize him and treated Him as a mere human being. In contrast, moved by the Holy Spirit, David confessed that Jesus Christ was his God.
Jesus is our God and our Savior. He is our Shepherd. Peter confessed that Jesus was his God, his Savior, and his Prophet. These three beliefs are denoted by the word “Christ.” We believe that as the One who has saved us from the sins of the world, Jesus is the King of kings, our Savior, and our true Prophet and Shepherd who teaches us everything.
It’s absolutely indispensable for us today to also believe in Jesus as our God, our Savior, and our Prophet. Jesus is my God and yours, and He is our Savior and our King, just as Peter said to the Lord, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” All of us must have this faith. Because faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is absolutely indispensable to us, the Lord has enabled us to have the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven - only by this faith. Yet, many people today are dismissive of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This is the same as dismissing what God Himself did when He came to this earth.
If Jesus says that He has blotted out all our sins once and for all by the gospel power of the water and the Spirit, then we ought to just believe accordingly without questioning. Jesus was more than able to blot out all the sins of the whole world and become the Savior. Having come to this earth, He has saved us once and for all from all the sins of the world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. He is our Savior and our King. When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we must believe that the baptism He received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross were for the remission of sins. If we do not believe in either one of them, then our faith, which is supposed to save us from our sins, will collapse all at once.
Whenever our faith is weakened, we must confess our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Whenever we encounter difficulties in our lives, we must pray to God to help us by trusting the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What we need to realize is that praying to Jesus is the same as praying to God the Father. When we believe with our hearts that God the Father and His Son are the same God to us, our prayers are not shaken. It is by believing in Jesus that we were able to be saved from all our sins, and it is also by this faith that we are able to pray to Jesus for His help. Jesus is our Creator and our God. It’s because of our faith in Jesus the Savior that we’ve come to know who God the Father is, and to realize His love. That is why we are now living as those who have been saved from all sins.
Whenever we encounter difficulties, we pray to Jesus to help us overcome these hardships and to bless us. There is absolutely nothing wrong with such prayers. Some of us may wonder to whom we should pray, whether we should pray to God the Father or His Son Jesus Christ. We can pray to either One. The reason is because God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ are the same God to us.
You may then wonder if this means the Holy Spirit is not divine. That’s not what it means. The Holy Spirit is also the same God to us. It’s just that the Holy Spirit assures us of the work of salvation completed by God the Father and the Spirit, and so we don’t pray in His name. Other than this difference, the Holy Spirit is clearly the same God to us also. That’s because when God created the heavens and the earth, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together created the universe and us (Genesis 1:26-28).
It’s absolutely important for us to believe that Jesus is the God who created us, and the Savior God who has delivered us from the sins of the world. If we recognize Jesus just as our Savior and deny that He is our God, then our faith will flounder. Jesus is indeed our God, but if we deny this, then it would be to our loss. You may be still wondering, “Is Jesus divine? Is He really God Himself? I do believe without a doubt that Jesus was indeed born from the body of Mary, took upon all our sins by being baptized, and bore the condemnation of all these sins by shedding His blood. But where is the evidence showing that Jesus is God?” Countless evidences are found everywhere in the Scripture. The Bible is full of passages testifying the divinity of Jesus.
What God Says in the Epistle to the Hebrews?
Let’s all turn to the Epistle to the Hebrews and see what the Word of God says. It’s written in Hebrews 1:8-12:
“But to the Son He says:
‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.’
And:
‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.’”
The Bible says here in verse 10, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,” and the “Lord” here refers to the Son of God mentioned in verse 8. It says clearly here that Jesus is God, as it says, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth.” Who made this world? He is none other than Jesus Christ. Who is God then? He is God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who had all decided to save us from our sins. Jesus is our Savior, just as the Bible says:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail” (Hebrews 1:10-12).
Who is the “Lord” written about here? It is none other than Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things. The heavens and the earth of this present world will all disappear one day. Even though all these things will disappear, the Bible says, “You are the same, and Your years will not fail.” This means that only God is eternal and forever living. Jesus Christ is the forever-living God, and He is the Son of God the Father. Jesus Christ is our God.
When the Bible says here in Hebrews 1:10, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands,” it is speaking of no one else than Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true Prophet of mankind, and He is the Savior God who, according to His Word of prophecy, came to this earth, received baptism, and shed His blood to save us from the sins of the world. God Himself has saved us from all the sins of the world by the gospel power of the water and the Spirit. It is an absolute must for you and me to recognize these three offices.
Let me pause a moment and tell you a funny story. Long ago, there was a certain man who, upon converting into Christianity, began insisting on his uncle to also start attending church. After being pestered endlessly by this nephew, the uncle finally relented and accompanied him to the church. He saw his nephew praying as soon as he sat down on the pew, and he heard him saying, “Father, thank You for this wonderful day.” Hearing this, the uncle thought to himself, “Hmm… if God is my nephew’s Father, then God and I must be brothers.” So he began praying by saying, “Brother, how are you?”
If we do not know nor believe that Jesus is God Himself even after receiving the remission of sins through Him, how could we pray to Him? Given the fact that God the Father has saved us from the sins of the world by sending His Son, it becomes clear that Jesus is our Creator and our Savior. It is therefore Jesus Christ who made us in the beginning, and it is He who has delivered us from our sins. The Creator who made the heaves, the earth, and us human beings is none other than Jesus the Son of God. Jesus is our Savior and God Himself. Lacking clarity, we may think that even though we have been saved by Jesus, it would be wrong to pray in the name of the Son when there is God the Father, whom we think is higher than the Son. So we may be worried about mistakenly calling the Son as our God. But this is an unfounded worry. It is in fact correct to call Jesus our God. That’s because Jesus Christ is indeed God Himself to us.
My fellow believers, the Jesus who has saved us from our sins is God Himself. There is nothing strange about calling Jesus as “our Lord,” “our Savior,” and “our God,” just as we call God as “our God” and “our Father.” This is all correct. Having delegated to His Son all the authority to judge, God the Father has saved us from our sins and destruction by sending the Son to this world. The Son of God, our God and our Messiah, is none other than Jesus our Savior. It is the Son of God who has saved us from the sins of the world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Of course, this was done at the behest of the Father, but Jesus has absolutely no defect at all for us to call Him our Savior and our God.
When it comes to our faith, we must not only believe clearly that Jesus is the Son of God who has saved us from our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but we must also believe that He is our Creator, our Savior, and our Shepherd. And we must also believe that He is our Judge, and that He has all authority and power over us. If we pray to God and live by this kind of faith, then we can all overcome any and all difficulties that come on our way.
In these end times, let us never lose the faith that the Triune God planned to deliver us from our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and that He has in fact delivered us as planned. Let us never let go of the faith that Jesus is our God. Let us instead live by believing that Jesus is our Savior, and that He is the God of salvation who has delivered us from our sins. Let us carry on with our lives in these end times with courage, believing unwaveringly that Jesus Christ is the true Prophet who has taught us everything.
We Must Know the Gospel Truth of the Water and the Spirit
Only when we know the gospel of the water and the Spirit can we rely on Jesus Christ in our lives no matter what difficulties we may encounter. Some people still hesitate when they pray, wondering, “Should I pray to God the Father or the Son?” But it doesn’t matter whether we pray to the Father or His Son Jesus Christ. What really matters is that we pray by faith, believing clearly with all our hearts that the Jesus who has saved us from all our sins is fundamentally God Himself.
You and I must have a clear grasp of what it means to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and what it means to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. Everything is so evil in these end times. We can see just how little faith people have in one another nowadays, and just how hard Satan is shaking their hearts to prevent them from believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Devil is doing everything he can to shake not only our trust in fellow human beings but also our faith in God, trying to throw us back into a state of confusion before the foundation of the heavens and the earth. Therefore, as those who are living in the end times, we must believe unwaveringly that our Savior is none other than Jesus Christ, and that He is our God. Jesus has saved you and me from all our sins, and the condemnation of sins; and He is our God, the Creator who made us, and the true Prophet who has taught us everything about the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Jesus told us that those who are saved from their sins by believing in God the Father and the Son, but lose everything of this world as a result, will be rewarded a hundredfold. Jesus Christ promised that when His Kingdom descends on this earth, He will give His believers the right to become God’s very own children. Sadly, however, we see many impostors scamming people with a false and fallacious gospel.
Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4). When it comes to believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you must become simpleminded like a child even if you are old or learned. Even if you are old, you must be honest before God, and even if you are a pastor, when you see unrighteousness you must get angry at the congregation, rant at them, and rebuke them. Your heart and spirit must be like a child. Before God, you must be naïve and honest like a child.
It’s absolutely important for us to understand and believe in the Word of God properly. So we must first grasp exactly what God is saying to us, and believe according to this Word. Only when we clearly know the will of God revealed in His Word can we defeat Satan by faith. It is when we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that our faith remains unshaken. Even though we have received the remission of sins, we still must know the will of God clearly. And the will of God is to make the gospel of the water and the Spirit abound on this earth.
Let me explain this with an illustration. Let’s say that you heard someone saying to you at this hour, “The gospel of the water and the Spirit is too rudimentary. It is really nothing.” If the gospel of the water and the Spirit were nothing, then what other gospel would you believe in to receive the remission of sins and become God’s child? Wouldn’t you pursue some other gospel, if the gospel of the water and the Spirit is not the answer? The moment we hear someone saying, “The gospel of the water and the Spirit is nothing,” we realize even more that this gospel is the genuine gospel. If you have no faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you will likely end up seeking false teachings and signs, such as speaking in tongues or performing miracles. You will then look for shallow, outward signs of spirituality from your church leaders, you will judge them based on their outside appearance, and you yourself will, in likeness, be trying to spruce up your own outside appearance. If the gospel of the water and the Spirit were nothing, then your faith will flounder. If the purpose of our faith is set on something else other than becoming God’s children, then we are bound to drift towards destruction.
Since we have already received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can now reach a clearer understanding of the Word of Truth and grow exponentially. From our perspective as the believers in the Truth, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is not rudimentary at all, but it is everything. However, the imposers defrauding the people with a false gospel use seemingly similar Christian doctrines to beguile them. They use dogmatic beliefs to hoodwink Christians cunningly. Crooks dupe people by stroking their greed and making all kinds of wonderful promises that cannot be met.
For instance, when they hear about some successful business, they use this to float their scheme, saying, “If you invest in this, you will strike it rich!” Because the imposters always have some plausible grounds behind their story, it doesn’t sound so far-fetched. They talk about how someone else struck it rich from making the same investment, assuring the victims that if they invest, they, too, will see spectacular returns on their investment. Many people end up buying into such assurances, and once they do, they become completely hoodwinked. Even the victims of fraud do not succumb to any scheme that is totally ridiculous. But when they hear something that sounds somewhat plausible, that’s when they begin to slide into the trap. That is exactly how Satan works. Even when the Devil doesn’t say much, he speaks his words so cunningly that almost everyone who hears him succumbs to his influence.
So, today, I am telling you with absolute certainty that Jesus is God Himself, so that you may not be misled by the Devil telling you otherwise. Jesus is God. He is the Savior. He is the Prophet. He fulfilled His threefold offices, and if we deny any of the three offices fulfilled by Jesus, then our faith will drift towards the wrong direction and ultimately end up being corrupted. I believe that Jesus is our Savior and our God. I believe that Jesus is God Himself. It’s absolutely important for us to believe without a trace of doubt that Jesus is our God, just as we believe in the Word of God that says, “The world was made through Him” (John 1:10). It’s also absolutely indispensable for us to have the undeniable evidence with us. And we must understand and believe in the Scripture exactly as it is written. You and I should never listen to anyone who says otherwise using their own thoughts.
Jesus is the vine, and God the Father is the vinedresser. And we are the branches of the vine. Using these three figures of speech in John chapter 15, Jesus told us that He is the vine, God the Father is the vinedresser, and we are the branches. The Lord said that if we abide in Him as His branches, we will bear much fruit, but if we do not abide in Him, we will wither away. The branches of the vine refer to the members of God’s Church. Jesus is the Head of God’s Church, while the saved saints are God’s children and part of His body. To put this in terms of the vine, the saints are the branches, while Jesus is the root. So if the saints abide in Jesus, they will bear abundant fruit.
This very place where the saints are gathered is Jesus’ Church. As the Head of the Church and our Prophet, Jesus is teaching us the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. As our Savior, He is blessing us with the grace of the remission of sins. As our God as well, Jesus is guiding His people to the land of Canaan. That we are abiding in Jesus as His branches means that we believe that Jesus is our Savior and our God, that we are one with Him, and that we trust in every Word Jesus has taught us.
Jesus is the Master of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. He is our God and our Savior. God is our Savior and the Creator who made us. We were all made by Him (John 1:11). It’s because He has taught us that we have come to know and believe in the Truth. As Peter confessed, the Lord is indeed the Christ and the Son of the living God. Can you make such a confession of faith to God?
What we need to do in God’s Church which the body of Christ for the rest of our lives is the following: We must know and believe clearly that Jesus is our God; we must have the evidence with us; and we must preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Truth through which Jesus Christ has saved us from all the sins of this earth, so that we may deliver as many souls from sin as possible in these end times. If God’s Church were to devote itself to saving even just one soul, it would be doing something that’s approved by God. This work is what God’s Church must do. The saints who have already received the remission of sins must believe that Jesus is God, fight against Satan, fight against themselves, defend their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit until the day the Kingdom comes, and live a life of faith that glorifies God before they go to see the Lord face to face.
Our duty is spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit in this world. And another must for all of us is believing in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit that Jesus has taught us as our Prophet, let ourselves be led by the spiritual guidance of God, and submit to His teachings in our everyday lives. To the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Lord has given the keys to enter the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven.
Many Christians nowadays practice hypocrisy, commit spiritual fraud while trying to look like they are spiritual. In fact, many of them pretend to have been sanctified for fraudulent purposes. But there is no incremental sanctification for anyone. We are transformed once and for all by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The false prophets practice spiritual hypocrisy to defraud others. And as their hearts are drawn to the lust of the flesh, they try to adorn themselves with something that is outwardly visible. Rather than seeking to build and strengthen their faith in God, these spiritual imposters only care about meeting their own greed. Such spiritual crooks have no faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and they are bound to drift toward their own lust of the flesh. Jesus Christ is our Savior, our Creator God, and our true Prophet. If we leave out and fail to recognize even one of them, then we would find ourselves among the spiritual imposters.
Even if you believe in God, unless you actually preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you would have nothing to preach. What should we then do for God? We ought to do God’s work, and none other than serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit is doing God’s work. James 4:17 says, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Clearly, then, we ought to serve God rather than ourselves, but what exactly should we do to serve God? We should believe in and preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That is how we serve God. Without believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is impossible to do anything good in God’s sight. God alone is good. Therefore, we must grasp that serving God is believing in and preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Believing in and preaching this gospel is the most virtuous work in God’s sight.
We Must Defend Our Faith in the Gospel Truth of the Water and the Spirit
God said in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” There is a good reason why God said this. At all times, whether we are struggling, weary, sad, in pain or joyful, we must defend our hearts’ faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That’s because unless we believe in this gospel and keep our hearts, we cannot stand before God. It’s absolutely imperative for us to have the faith to say to God, “Lord, You are my God, the Creator who made me, the Savior who has delivered me from all the sins of the world, and the true Prophet who has taught me the Truth.” And we must defend this faith of ours. Therefore, we should never let ourselves be drawn to any other gospel other than the gospel of the water and the Spirit, nor be shaken by any ludicrous claims made by anyone.
To be frank, what spiritual work could there be, if not serving God and the gospel of the water and the Spirit? There is none! Now that we have received the remission of sins, unless we believe in, follow, and preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit in our everyday our lives by faith, would we be able to manifest anything spiritual? No, of course not! How could we manifest anything of a spiritual nature, when we would be too busy with our own affairs and boast of just our own achievements?
Believing in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, the Word of prophecy that God spoke to us beforehand, we must serve the Lord and follow Him. When we believe that God is not only our Savior but also everyone else’s Savior, when we follow Him, when we offer our material possessions for the spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, when we pray for it in unity, when we work with one heart, and when we serve the Lord with self-sacrifice, all these things we do are God’s spiritual work. In the life of faith, there is the spirit and the flesh; believing in God, following Him by faith, and serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit are of the spirit, and these are the works that save lives.
My fellow believers, our hearts must lean toward ever greater faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must believe in Jesus as our Creator God, as the God of our salvation, and as the Prophet who teaches us everything. When you and I believe with our hearts that Jesus has saved us from all our sins, we cannot help but thank Him from the depth of our hearts; when we realize that this God is our Creator God, we can’t help but obey His Word; and when we believe that Jesus Christ has taught us every Word beforehand to protect us, so that we would not be deceived by Satan, we can’t help but realize even more profoundly that Jesus is indeed God Himself and our Savior, and thank Him even more. We are so grateful to God for teaching us everything that we are compelled by our gratitude to serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit, follow it, believe in it, and obey it.
When the Lord said to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” He meant that He would build His Church on this confession of faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Our God has indeed built His Church on Peter’s faith and his confession. The same is true for us as well. We admit our present faith and recognize the entirety of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. By believing in Jesus as our Savior, we are recognizing that He has saved us from all our sins, and if this is the case, then we are also recognize that He is our God. Moreover, we are also acknowledging Him as our Prophet. We admit that Jesus is our Savior. It is on such faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has built His Church. And He has kindly called us to be the members of His Church.
Having said that He would build His Church on the Peter’s faith, Jesus said, “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Now then, no matter how hard Satan tries to harm God’s Church, he cannot take away God’s children whom the Lord has saved through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
My fellow believers, wherever those who believe in and preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit are gathered together, that is God’s Church. Through our faith in the baptism of Jesus and His blood, we passed all our sins to Him, we died with Christ, and we were brought back to life with Christ. The Church of the born-again believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the very Church that the Lord spoke of to Peter, and the saints are the members of this body of Christ. I am so grateful to God for such wonderful blessings.
The believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are God’s own people. And they are the ones whose faith is just like Peter’s faith. I give all my thanks to the Lord for giving us such unwavering faith. Hallelujah!
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