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Subject 19 : The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the EPHESIANS
[Chapter 1-3] Who Is Spiritual in The Eyes of God? (Ephesians 1:1-14)
(Ephesians 1:1-14)
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Today’s Scripture reading states that God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. What exactly are these spiritual blessings? Some things in this world are of the flesh, while the others are spiritual. We often describe certain people as fleshly. To be specific, worldly things such as large luxurious apartments and homes and gourmet foods are what provoke the lust of the eyes or the lust of the flesh. Those who place the highest values on and live for the things in this world such as movies, arts, cultures and beauty are called fleshly people. These types of people are those who do not look within themselves or care for their own souls. Worldly people do not live a life that follows the will of God. They do not try to receive the remission of their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in Christ, but instead they work very hard for external pleasures. In contrast, the word ‘spiritual’ in today’s passage has the completely opposite meaning of being worldly.
Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the Will of God
The book of Ephesians starts with this following phrase:
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus.”
The Apostle Paul wrote this epistle specifically to the faithful saints in Ephesus. He did not send the letter to the carnal peoples of this world, but to those who received the remission of sins by believing in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He wanted to share with them these spiritual blessings of heaven.
Whom then does the ‘saints’ refer to here? The ‘saints’ means the righteous by the will of the Lord. Saints are those who have become complete, holy and without sins by receiving the remission of their sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Today’s passage also mentions “the faithful,” which refers to those who do not take joy in the things of this world, but live for the things of Heaven. In other words, they are those who are now working for the heavenly assignments after receiving the remission of their sins by putting their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
There are two kinds of people among those who claim to believe in Jesus as their Savior. One kind of Christian has been born again from all of his sins, whereas the other kind still remains in sin. Those who are not freed from their sins even after putting their faith in Jesus are sinners.
On the other hand, those who have received the remission of their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the saints, who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Have you become one of God’s saints by accepting in your heart the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Even among those who received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we find two types of saints. One type seeks after worldly things, and the other seeks after the righteousness of God.
Today even among so-called Christians, there are so many people who are still bound in their sins as mere church-goers. No matter how earnestly they serve the Lord, God simply calls them sinners, for they do not know the Truth of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God does not regard them as saints. Whether they are pastors, elders, deacons, evangelists or just regular church attendants, they do not have the Holy Spirit in their hearts because they have not been freed from their sins by accepting the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Even people with the title of “pastor” in Christian denominations are mere sinners in the eyes of God, if they still harbor sins in their hearts. Since they have not had all their sins washed away by faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, their ministries are no more than worldly businesses. Their work is to feed themselves and they are mere hirelings. They treat their jobs as one of the many professions they can hold in the world in order to make their living. God calls them “hirelings.” The title of a pastor comes from the meaning that they pasture and guide God’s flock to the road to salvation and blessings from God. Therefore, if some ministers are only taking care of themselves, they are not God’s servants but just mere hirelings.
Hence, pastors should get their sins completely washed away prior to taking on any pastoral position. Among pastors, some are not even saints let alone spiritual leaders; they are just hirelings who have never received the remission of their sins. Regardless of their positions in the church, people can only become saints by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in their hearts. Christians should have their sins washed clean away first by accepting in their hearts the gospel of the water and the Spirit; only then can they become saints who are holy and ready to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. If you want to introduce yourself as a saint with confidence, you should stand strong in faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The recipients of this Pauline Epistle were a group of saints who were sinless by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit before God.
The Apostle Paul Wrote This Letter to the Faithful
Those who are faithful before God refer to the saints who have received the remission of their sins by accepting the gospel of the water and the Spirit and are faithfully carrying on the work of God; they neither follow the lead of their emotions nor do they live as they please; but rather by having faith in the Word of God, they lead an obedient life to the will of the Lord.
Do you know of one prerequisite of those who want to live by faith in the world? However honest someone is with their emotions or however confident that person is of their faith, they must not be ignorant of the Truth of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Without a doubt this is why the Word of Christ places its utmost importance on this gospel. For this reason, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit should lead a faithful life according to the will of the Lord. Only such people can be acknowledged by God.
Ephesians 1:2 says, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace comes into the hearts of those who have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Those who have received the remission of sins believe that the Father of Jesus Christ is also their Father. They are convinced that God the Father is the Father of all those who have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. People of this world are born to their fleshly parents. Likewise, we are born to God the Father spiritually by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And the fact that we have become the children of God by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit means that we have been blessed greatly in the presence of God.
Others however are born to Satan. They have the worst father. Whether you become a child of God or a child of Satan depends on only one thing: And this is, whether you have received the remission of all your sins or not by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The Apostle Paul professed God as “God our Father.” Only the believers of the gospel of the water and the Spirit who have received the remission of all their sins can state such profession. The non-born again who do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit and whose sins have not yet been remitted cannot call God “our Father.” For those Christian sinners who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God is not yet their Father. Christian sinners will hear any response from God no matter how fervently they call God as Father. They are not sure if God has heard their prayers. For this reason, sinners feel frustrated.
Nevertheless, those who have become saints by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have the true grace and peace that comes from Jesus Christ and God the Father. The grace of salvation and the true peace are in our hearts because we have believed in God according to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, it is not appropriate for sinners to call God “Abba Father.” Why is that so? Because their hearts have never accepted the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the righteousness of God, they live as sinners who have not yet been born again in spirit.
Only those of us who have received the remission of sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit can call God as our Father. We have the confidence that God our Father gladly answers our prayers, since God the Father surely hears us His children whenever we are praying for what we need. The righteous tell God about their needs through their prayers. Saints pray according to God’s will whenever they pray. The righteous pray, “Dear God, our Father, please do this for us.” We who do not have sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit make our requests known to God clearly and confidently. Then God our Father answers our prayers according to His will.
Those who are born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have the Word of God in their hearts; their prayers are answered when they pray to God with their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit; they live a blessed life fulfilling the will of God. They pray with the faith that God answers the prayers of the righteous. Their hearts are always peaceful thanks to the Word of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, those who pray to God wait for God’s response. Then they get their prayers answered without fail.
A Funny Story
There is a funny story regarding the title of “God our Father.” Once upon a time, there were two brothers. But the older brother passed away leaving his son in the care of his younger brother. So he took care of his nephew. This nephew was lonely and depressed even though he had his uncle. So he started to attend church, and there he found the Word of God very comforting. He enjoyed the Word of God so much that one day he wanted to invite his uncle to his church. He was always grateful to his uncle for taking care of him like one of his own.
So he pleaded to his uncle, “Uncle, please come with me to the church I attend. I wish you will come and hear the Word of God today. Please let me take you, Uncle.” At his earnest request, his uncle reluctantly followed him to the church. He and his uncle went into the church hand in hand. The nephew started to pray as soon as he sat down. He prayed, “Dear Father God, my uncle is here today. Please help him put his faith in the gospel and hear Your Word.”
What do you expect from a new comer like his uncle? His uncle was sitting uncomfortably but he heard carefully his nephew’s prayer. When he heard this prayer, “God, our Father,” he began to wonder. “If God is Father to my nephew, He should be a brother to me. What does that make me? How should I address God? Since my nephew calls Him Father, I should call Him Brother.” He carefully pictured his family tree in his mind. Finally he came to a conclusion about how to address God. So he prayed like this: “Dear God Brother, I came today. I came with Your son, my nephew. God Brother, do me a favor and do my nephew a favor.” When I heard this story for the first time, I laughed so hard.
As in this example, treating God as if He were another human being brings out absurd results. It is wrong for a non-born again person to address God as ‘Father’ just because someone calls Him as his Father. If you call God as your Father without having faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, or if you call Jesus Christ as your Brother by thinking that you are on the same level as He is, you are greatly mistaken.
What Should We Believe to Acknowledge Jesus as the Savior?
Those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have all of their sins remitted. That is why the Apostle Paul could bless others addressing God as “our Father.” Can we ever call God “our Father” without the faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Only the saints whose sins have been perfectly remitted can call God “our Father.” The Lord prayed in the New Testament like this,
“Our Father who are in Heaven,
Hollowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven” (Mathew 6:9-10).
Also in this prayer, God was addressed as our Father.
God our Father so loved us that He passed all our sins once and for all onto Jesus Christ His Son through baptism. He has thus made us the true believers sinless. Through His Son, He remitted our sins all at once with the gospel of the water and the Spirit and delivered us from all our sins. Despite all this there are people who do not have this faith to address God as Father because they do not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This is very pitiful. They do not know that Jesus Christ has already taken care of their sins once and for all with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and as a result they cannot but harbor sins in their hearts. That is why they cannot address God as “Our Father” in spirit and in truth. Such people cannot see the Holy God due to their sins that still remain intact in their hearts. They may repeat, “Dear our Father” or “Our Lord” in their prayers, but in reality they are leading an alienated life outside of Jesus Christ because of their sins. Since they do not have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they are fearful and conscious of other people when they call to God or pray to Him.
Whoever believes in Jesus as the Savior should understand and believe that God has already saved them from all their sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As a Christian, can you profess that you truly believe the Truth that Jesus has remitted all the sins of the world away with the gospel of the water and the Spirit? If you still do not know the Truth that came by the water and the Spirit, you must definitely learn the Truth to be saved. This is the faith of those who have been saved from all their sins by believing in Jesus as their Savior: Jesus came to this earth and saved the whole human race from their sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We need to spread this faith in the gospel of salvation to the end of the earth. You should receive the remission of sins in your heart by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
When you understand Jesus through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you can truly believe in Jesus as the Savior. If you say, “I just believe in Jesus,” without this proper knowledge that Jesus has delivered us from all our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you cannot but still remain sinners. Such faith is not based on the Truth; instead, it is blind faith and it is no more than a superstition. God does not become your Father automatically no matter how long you have attended church if you still have sins in your heart. God our Father takes only the sinless as His children. He does not take any sinners as His children just because they call God as their Father. No matter how many times a sinner calls the name of the Lord God; His only response is nothing but the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Do you know why we call Jesus “the Lord Jesus” not just Jesus? It is because He has made us and cleansed us from all our sins. We call Him “the Lord” because He made us and has become our Master by blotting out all the sins of mankind with the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
From such meaningful expressions by the Apostle Paul we can see that he preached the Truth in laymen’s terms. From the very ignorant to the well-educated like Doctors of Divinity they think they can understand the Bible. However, the title “Jesus Christ our Lord” is indeed very difficult for the non-born again to comprehend. Those who blindly believe in Jesus and do not know who Jesus Christ is or what He had done by coming to this Earth, and as a result they cannot understand what His title really implies. So when we ask what the name of Jesus means to those who confidently confess they believe in Jesus, they say, “I don’t know, but does it really matter?” When they start their prayers, they cry out loud three times, “Lord! Lord! Lord!” Furthermore, while they are praying, they make an emotion-inspiring tumult with loud drums and bands; when they become more psyched up, they offer tearful prayers of repentance at the top of their lungs. They believe that God will answer them if they pray “fervently” like this crying over their sins. In many Christians’ minds, they think they can still receive the remission of sins by offering these prayers of repentance even if they don’t know the meaning in the name of Jesus. They think that God will hear them if they call to God at the top of their voices, even if they do not know the meaning of the name, “Jesus Christ.”
But their beliefs are all in vain. Unfortunately, there are many pastors who claim to believe in God as their Savior but do not show any interest in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but only exert themselves to work harder. They put great emphasis on praying to God. While they cry out loud, “Lord! Lord! Lord!” the background bands, drums, and the pipe organs join them in this tumult. Then everybody bursts into tears and starts to confess their sins. Their pastors escalate their excitement by shouting out, “By the fire! By the fire! By the fire!” and their hearts start to pound. As soon as the leading pastor of the prayer meeting says, “Let’s pray out loud altogether,” people start their prayers of repentance even more fervently with their loudest voices. The drum starts rolling louder their hearts are now wide enough to say everything in their hearts; people then would shout out with all their energy. Now their prayers are more like incomprehensive madness with deafening music.
They do not know how to receive the Holy Spirit as a gift, but they keep trying to receive Him by their fervent prayers of repentance. Such people do not care to know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but they just want to believe in Jesus blindly without the knowledge. They think they are living out their faith well only if they give their time and money to God. For this reason they cannot be the born-again Christians but instead are being misled by the Devil. Those who have such faith do not get any credit from God. They are so fascinated by their fleshly thoughts and follow the lead of their human emotions not realizing that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the real Truth for our salvation. They claim to believe in Jesus without knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and this means they still have sins in their hearts.
Some people say that they have received the gift of tongues one day at their church. Frankly speaking, they are demon-possessed. The work of Satan is manifested in many different forms; it sometimes appears in the form of an evil spirit and other times it appears in the form of an angel of light. Therefore, Satan can work through the Christian sinners, enabling them to speak in tongues or to drive out demons. Sometimes it also appears as a healer of diseases.
What happens to us if we lose our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and fall into an emotion-filled situation? In the end we will become subject to false prophets or the Devil. Then our pastors urge the saints to pray to God fervently to receive the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, but to no avail they will all die in no time spiritually. Such pastors push themselves in collecting a lot of offerings. Even in selecting a hymn, they try to create a most exciting atmosphere for their congregation. Those who were enchanted by the exciting music and who are indulgent in their own emotions, lose the ability to think logically and empty out their pockets into a collection box or an offering envelope.
Some pastors among the non-born again even ask their members to write their names on envelopes and bring them to the pulpit each time they give offerings. Other pastors pray for each of the donors in turn according to the amount they have offered on the pulpit. They preach to their members that the more money they give, the more blessings they will receive. They even say that offering all of their possessions will bring two-fold blessings, so they should offer as much as they can. Beware! These people are the servants of Satan. Such people do not have what God and Jesus Christ gave us―the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, the grace of salvation and peace from God.
God encouraged Apostle Paul to write to the saints who believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Paul wrote to those who had been born again with the gospel of the Truth that was given to the Church of God. So, those who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot recognize the Word of God in this Epistle. These non-born again do not understand what Paul meant when he said to the saints in Ephesus in the greetings of this Epistle that the peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ would be with the saints there. They would still argue that they know at least the following concepts: Jesus, salvation, the Cross, prayers of repentance, service, sanctification, and predestination. They claim to know these things for sure. In reality, they cannot believe in the righteousness of Jesus Christ without the knowledge of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Although such people have known these Christian doctrines and believed in Jesus as the Savior, they have nothing to do with the Word of God. Only those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have something to do with God, but those who do not believe have no relations with the grace and peace of God.
The Apostle Paul writes to the saints in Ephesus about these “spiritual blessings of Heaven.” In Ephesians 1:3 he wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” It is written that even before the creation of the world, God the Father had planned to bless us with spiritual blessings in Christ. God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit had a discussion in Heaven and came to a decision to create us and adopt us as God’s children. The Triune God had a plan to give spiritual blessings to us humans even before the creation of the universe. In other words, God had already determined to give these spiritual blessings of Heaven to those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
How does God give us all these spiritual blessings in the heavenly places? We really wonder what God had in His mind when He has saved us from all the sins of the world once and for all. Let’s think about why God gave us our salvation and why He created us according to His image.
God Planned Our Salvation Even before the Foundation of the World
God first created the universe, in where He was going to reveal His glory and then He fulfilled the salvation from all sins. God created His children to be with Him for eternity, and we who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are His very own children. The first man Adam was created with love, and God invited him to come into the master plan by faith to be loved forever. God foresaw Satan’s temptation of Adam to sin, and He also knew all men would become sinners. But He planned and promised His eternal salvation for mankind.
God made us as the object of His love. That is why He has saved us in the love of Jesus Christ. What we are promised in God’s love and through His Son is the promise of salvation towards us. God has saved us from all sins and made us His children in order for us to praise and take pride in His salvation.
I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon that there are two kinds of people: the carnally-minded and the spiritually-minded. The former are those who belong to this world. They also were born to fleshly parents in this world. But they do not know God the Father and will die not knowing the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
However, the people the Apostle Paul was addressing were holy citizens who belong to Heaven. Heaven is for such spiritual people who have become God’s children thanks to His love.
Then how can we become holy before the presence of God? How can we receive the remission of our sins from Him? All of these can be done by the love of God and by our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is not we who loved God, but it is God who loved us with the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit and turned us into His people.
God had to remove our sins personally with the gospel of the water and the Spirit so that He might turn us into His people. That was the only way for us to dwell with Him. God the Father did something to make us His people. He had long planned the salvation by the gospel of the water and the Spirit in the Christ since before the creation of the world; and He fulfilled this profound plan once and for all. In His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, God the Father made us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit into His people.
The Triune God made us His people out of His love. Then how exactly did God turn us into His people? The procedure was done as this: Jesus Christ came to this earth and eradicated all our sins with the water and the blood. Jesus Christ, God the Father’s only begotten Son, took care of the entire sins of mankind―from our inherited sins, that is, the very first sins that remained intact in our ancestors by the deception of Satan to our daily and personal sins we commit in our minds or with our bodies out of our weaknesses. Jesus Christ took over all of our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist, washed them clean and turned us the believers of the gospel of the water and the Spirit into God’s people. Jesus Himself came to this earth, took all our sins away by the baptism He received from John the Baptist, and bore the punishment for those sins on the Cross in our place.
That is how the Lord saved us. We became heirs of all these spiritual blessings of Heaven thanks to the love of God who saved us with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The blessings to be God’s children and to become the citizen of the Kingdom of God are now available to anyone who believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The spiritual blessings the Apostle Paul talked about in the Book of Ephesians have been given to those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Now, those who have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are sinless in the presence of God. So those who have received the remission of sins by believing in this genuine gospel from Jesus Christ are those who have received the spiritual blessings of Heaven. In this regard, we who have received the remission of sins by faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the children of God and are truly the righteous people who have received the Savior Jesus Christ into our hearts. Although we the born-again also live in the same world with the non-born again, we are not of this carnal world but are of God. We are not the citizens of this earth but we have become the citizens of God’s Kingdom.
According to God our Father’s pleasing will, we have become His people by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in Jesus Christ. Ever since we became God’s children, we have always been as busy as bees. We are preaching this genuine gospel to the whole world because we can’t keep this beautiful gospel just to ourselves. Just as the Apostle Paul wrote to the saints in Ephesus, our coworkers do not take a break to hand out the books on the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the whole world. We are devoted to the preaching of this beautiful gospel through our literature ministry. Our books are being translated into many different languages and we are working even harder to introduce and distribute these books. We the born-again have been working together in praising the glory of the Lord, who granted this salvation freely to us.
How many blessings of peace has God given into your heart? He has indeed given many blessings of peace to all of us. We are thankful for all these spiritual blessings of the heavenly places and we are even more thankful for the blessings on earth. When we meditate on the blessings from God, our mind becomes very peaceful. When I contemplate on the gospel of true salvation through which God saved me, my mind becomes peaceful. Whenever I count my many blessings that I have received since I put my faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, I feel so thankful. God blesses us not only financially but also spiritually.
It is such a great blessing that we, despite our insufficiencies, have been chosen to preach these great blessings of Heaven to many people. Today so many people commit suicide after suffering from their sins. When we preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to those who are suffering from depression, they get released from the bondage of sorrow. This is such an amazing grace that only this true gospel can give. We are amazed at the power of God when we see their faces glowing after their sins were remitted through having faith in this gospel of the water and the Spirit. And I am marveled and deeply grateful for being used in such an amazing work of God. It makes me so happy to see sinners become free from sins and live a bright and delightful life by faith, for which I truly thank God. I strongly believe we have been greatly blessed with spiritual blessings.
Dear fellow believers, we should not forget the fact that we are not of this world though we are living in the world. The world is entangled with fleshly things. Just to take care of our own bodies we need so many things: we have to have a place to stay in; we need a refrigerator; we have to have a heating system; we need electricity and food. Taking care of just one individual is hard enough. Another reason we are living in such a complicated world is that the world is overflowing with the things that provoke our carnal lusts. Besides, there are so many ungodly people in this world who are not interested in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
What greater blessings can we ask from God other than these spiritual blessings? Whenever my mind becomes filled with too many complicate thoughts before God, I remind myself of the fact that I have been blessed with these spiritual blessings from the Lord. Then I can get my mind cleared again.
As I meditate on today’s Scripture passage, I feel my mind becoming relaxed. So I cannot but profess, “I am truly blessed with so many blessings from God.” I think to myself in such a way and set my mind to meditate the gospel of the water and the Spirit, thanking God. So, casting away all my tangled thoughts all at once, I make up my mind by having the following thoughts: “I will gather up all my complicated thoughts and cast them away as rubbish, and live by faith remembering what God has given me. I, along with my fellow saints, will get rid of all complicated things instead of collecting them, and I will remember God’s blessings only and give glory to God as long as I live. Live joyfully in the grace of God and in peace in my mind. I will always rejoice, always be thankful and pray without ceasing in the peace that God gives me.”
Let bygones be bygones, and work out your problems by faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Let’s learn from our previous mistakes and then just focus on how we are going to live by faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Let’s only think about what blessings we have been given, what we will receive from God and what we should do. We just need to pray for the blessings and live by faith for the things we need physically and spiritually. Let’s live a simple but sincere life.
There are so many mental patients in this era. Why is that so? It is because the world is so complicated. I am one of the most complicated persons around. I am an extremely complicated person. Paradoxically, I am also very simple. I have too many personal thoughts, but I become simpler as soon as I ponder on the grace of God I have received. There is a limit to how much we can think. We must therefore rely on God. Furthermore, these spiritual blessings from God are the greatest, so we must just rely on Him.
Since we have become the children of God, we can pray to God the Father, and when we pray, He will answer to our prayers. The greatest response from God is His peace, and not physical prosperity of this world. Having become sinless in your heart is the most wonderful grace and the greatest gift. One hymnal note says, “Peace, peace wonderful peace, coming down from the Father above.” The remission of sins is the greatest gift of peace, which nothing can replace. That is the unfathomable gift.
I praise the Lord God for these spiritual blessings, in His peace and in His grace. Let’s live the rest of our life praising, praying to God and receiving these blessings from Him. I hope you will ruminate in your heart the grace of God and the peace that God has given you through the remission of all your sins. Dear born-again saints, live in peace by faith. I forever praise the good work of salvation God did through His Son Jesus Christ.
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