1 Thessalonians 5:8-11

1 Thessalonians 5:8-11  Since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 

Ephesians 1:3-6  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

God's plan from the beginning was not to have us suffer wrath because of our disobedience and sin but to deliver us from our fallen state through faith in Jesus Christ and his saving works.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  We who are part of the body of Christ are cleansed by the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God.  In John 1:29 we read, The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  Christ alone makes us holy and blameless before God's eyes and presents us to the Father as his spotless bride.  Others might view our imperfections, our lack of holiness in certain areas, but their assessment of our lives does not count, only God's assessment counts in eternity.  He alone has the right to judge our lives, and He judges us through the lens of his Son, Jesus Christ.  We, who are IN CHRIST by faith, have been cleansed by the precious blood of the Lamb and clothed in Jesus' righteousness.  We come boldly before the Father's throne as sons and daughters of the Most High.  We do not come fearfully, expecting the judgment we deserve, for we know Christ himself said, Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:14-16)  God did not create us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation though our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, by the powerful unction of the Holy Spirit, Paul states his confident hope: whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.  

Someday the resurrection will happen for all believers who await the coming of the Lord.  Either at the time of our deaths or at his second coming, we will understand fully that our lives since our rebirth have existed in reality totally IN CHRIST.  And because He is eternal, we who are IN HIM are eternal.  He cannot deny eternal life to his own body.  Pumping through the newborn life is the life-giving Holy Spirit.  He is the earnest of our inheritance.  His presence in us means we are alive forever.  Death has been defeated, the grave has no hold on us. The Holy Spirit's eternal power will draw us to heaven.  We will know at that time that we have never really been separated from Jesus.  When He said I must go away so that I might send the Holy Spirit to you, this was a pronouncement He intended to dwell in each of us through the Holy Spirit.  And the basic truth of the gospel is that we are alive eternally because when Jesus rose from the dead, we rose with him.  We have access to heaven's domain because He lives there.  The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in every Christian.  That Spirit makes us alive in Christ and teaches us all things by revealing the truth to us.  He guides us, comforts us, and brings us the perfect peace and inexpressible joy of the Lord.  Paul expresses our position in the Spirit well by saying, But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.  (Romans 8:11 NKJV)  We are in the family of God because Jesus is in us and we are in him through the power of the Holy Spirit.  No other gospel is the true gospel of salvation.  We do not earn our place in heaven; Jesus earned it for us by redeeming us and setting us free from the power of sin.  We are truly HOLY AND BLAMELESS BEFORE GOD'S EYES.  We should rejoice, shout, sing praise to our Lord and King! 

Therefore, since we have such a great salvation, how should WE LIVE?   Many times Christians seem discouraged and downhearted as if they just came from a dark dungeon, or their lives were taken captive by Satan and his demons.  They seem to focus on their many trials and disappointments--seeing only the darkness around them.  Should we spend our lives shouting at the darkness or rejoicing in the light?   Should we bemoan the strongholds of the enemy or share the Good News that Christ has come to set the captives free and to lift us up into heavenly places?  Believers should have an up-to-date testimony that Christ is alive in their hearts.  People around them should hear them praising God for the light that has shined in the darkness of their lives.  This will not happen if our families and friends see hatred, bitterness, and anger permeating our interactions.  It is not our words but our actions that will show the world we have been SET FREE to serve a wonderful Savior and to display his image to the unsaved.  Rather than retaliating with criticism, bitterness, and rage, when we yield to Christ, He allows us to fulfill his commands to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, and to pray for them always.  When we walk in the Spirit, we fulfill the will of our Father who loved us while we were yet sinners.  The Bible says we are NOW TEMPLES OF THE LIVING GOD.  How should we walk then?   What should emit from God's temple?  The Bible is not vague or quiet ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE TEMPLE, FOR THE TEMPLE IS THE ABIDING PLACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.  In our last breakfast we listed the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  These attributes are more than a harvest, they are the essence of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit's nature is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live BY the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  (Galatians 5:22-26)  When Christians become arrogant, conceited, critical, provoking, when the world sees Christian as red-faced, shouting damnation to the world and its leaders, we have lost sight of the plan of God:  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”  (Luke 2:13-14) Look to Jesus, little children.