Why Jesus cried out on the cross, 'Eli Eli lama sabachthani' if He is the Second Person of the Godhead?

In Mat 27.46 we read that Christ cried out in loud voice asking God why He had forsaken Him.  This verse is used by skeptics and cynics to present their case against the Triune God and that Jesus was not one with the Father.  These doubters would argue that if the Father and the Son are one, how could the Father forsake the Son? Is it really possible?  

Let us start with the fact that God forsook Christ on the cross and this forsaking is not exactly the abandonment of the Son but the people whom He had come to save because He replaces us the believers on the cross (1 Pet 3.18).  He bore oursins (1 Pet 2.24, Isa 53.6).  He was made sin for us(2 Cor 5.21).  Isa 53.6 says that our iniquities fell on Him.  1 Pet 2.24, says that He bore our sins in His body on the cross, in order we having died to sins, might live to righteousness by whose bruise we were healed.  1 Pet 3.18 says that ‘…..being put to death in the flesh, but on the other hand made alive in the Spirit.’  In 2 Cor 5.21 says, ‘–Him who did not know sin was made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.'

The above verses clearly indicate that though it was Christ on the cross, we the believers are actually crucified for our sins with Christ.  Now, Imagine if we were crucified for our sins without Christ's redemptive work, then God’s Holy nature will demand Him to abandon us because of our sins.  Unless and until we obtain forgiveness for our sins and sinful nature before our time comes to an end, we would never have an escape from our condemning crosses.  However, the Lord Jesus took our sins and was made sin for us on the cross.  Now, God’s abandonment of His Son was actually His abandonment of the creation that was under sin.  Simply put, the abandonment of the Father which Jesus suffered was in fact our abandonment, but Hallelujah for Christ who suffered on our behalf.  Isn’t this a mighty and a wonderful plan?  What a wisdom!  Hallelujah!  I have no words to praise our wonderful and great God.  

Next, if the Father and the Son were separate, then it would be sadistic for the Father to punish an innocent Person on our behalf.  However, the Father and the Son are one, so the Father suffered along with the Son on the cross.  This only states how infinitely loving our God is.  Hallelujah.  To understand this further, let us read an illustration.  Imagine your child is fast asleep on your shoulder in a church meeting.  Your arms are paining due to the weight of the child, but your love for the little one makes you ignore your paining arm and you will continue to hold your sleeping child carefully because of your love for him or her.  You just forsook your arm just to keep the child comfortable.  Similarly, the Lord Jesus as the arm of God was forsaken to suffer for us, so that we can be drawn back to the Father once and for all.  Hallelujah.  The fact that the Lord Jesus suffered even this abandonment gives credibility to our great God and how meticulous He is to satisfy His righteous requirement by receiving the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  Amen

What is the future of the world according to the Bible?

The judgement mentioned in Matthew 25:31-46 is different from the great white throne judgement which will be the final one issued by the King of kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.  This ultimate judgement (Rev 20:11-15) is primarily for the dead unbelieving sinners.  The three realms sea, death and Hades will give up their dead to be judged by the Lord according to their works because of their rejection of Christ's atonement when they were alive.  Along with the dead, death and Hades are judged and cast into the Lake of fire.  

The judgement mentioned in Joel 3.12 and Mat 25:32 is for the people who are alive during the time of the Lord's open Second coming in the glory along with His angels soon after the battle of Armageddon (Rev 16:14, Rev 16:16; Rev 19:11-15, Rev 19:19-21, Joel 3:12).  The Lord will carry out this judgement in two phases.  

The first phase will be the judgement of the believers alive during the Second coming of the Lord as mentioned in Mat 25:19-30.  The careful believers who are faithful slaves of the Lord will be given authority over many things along with the overcoming saints of all ages.  This role of authority is akin to the role of angels in today's age of grace as ministering spirits in the spiritual realm (Hebrew 1:14).  On the other hand, the careless believers will be transferred to the realm called outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat 25.30).  The punished believers who will suffer the loss of the millennial kingdom will join the believers (who overcame and are part of the kingdom) in the new heaven and new earth as promised by the Lord to all who believed in His name (John 3:16). 

The second phase of the judgement is mentioned in Mat 25:31-46.  Here the Lord Jesus Christ will appear with His angels and gather all nations which will be remaining post the battle of  Armageddon.  It is understood these gentiles will have never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and yet are not part of the armies of the Antichrist annihilated in the war.  Among them the Lord will separate the goats and the sheep.  The sheep represent the people who will be merciful and compassionate towards the brothers of the Lord (believers) and took care of them during the tribulations, while the goat represent the unkind and hateful ones who will hate the brothers of Jesus Christ.  The goat population will perish in the lake of fire soon after the perishing of the Antichrist and the false prophet mentioned in Rev 19:20.  They are followed by the dead sinners who will be judged by the Lord on the great white throne (20:10-15) 

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/2co.4.6.NIV

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Walking by the Spirit

Walking by the Spirit, not by the flesh

Scripture readings: Rom 8, Gal 5:16-26

The Bible is crystal clear about how our lives should be before God in the above chapters.  We find nothing that condones or rationalizes any sort of wrongdoings, habits or sins, in the name of grace.  Hence, we should be very careful lest anyone deceive us by wrong teachings that might tend to dilute or overlook our indulgences or encourage our careless living as Christians instead of condemning our sinful acts and guide us towards the real path.  This needs to be clear in our hearts because God has given us the Holy Scriptures to understand His good Will and what He expects of us.

  

'Walk by the Spirit and do not fulfill the lust of the flesh.'  

To understand the above sentence, we need to know who the Spirit is and what is flesh? 

Spirit here is the Holy Spirit who is everywhere and also He is living in us.  To walk by the Spirit is to have our living in accordance to the indwelling Holy Spirit.

The works of the flesh are fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, divisions, sects, envying, bouts of drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.  The list is elaborate, however, we know that these sinful things arises from the Sin that is in us all (Rom 7:21).  This Sin needs to be dealt with at the cross by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Our belief in the Lord's death and resurrection opens us the way of life.  To lead a victorious life in Christ, we need to look away unto Christ.  Our back sliding and leading a carnal life is wasting the precious grace.  Rom 8:8 says that those who are in the flesh cannot PLEASE God.  And what is more important to us in this life than pleasing God?

Hence, Walking in the Spirit is living in accordance to the indwelling Spirit, having a strong and real belief that our God is a living God and He is near us, seeing everything. While living such a spiritual living, we must put to death the practices of the flesh by walking according to the Spirit, so that we may live a Holy life (Rom 8:13). Amen

A Simple morning Prayer

O Lord Jesus, I love You because You loved me first with an uttermost and perfect love.  You have conquered everything and now is seated at the right of God.  I surrender everything unto You, O Almighty.  You are my Rock and salvation.  You are my fortress where I can now remain in safety.  You are the life giving Spirit in me and everything to me.  Thank you for this morning and the peace I am enjoying.  I give all my activities of the day into your hands.  Give me grace, wisdom, and strength to keep You continually before my face. I praise You and thank You for everything.  Hallelujah.  In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Three Realms Conquered

The Lord Jesus forfeited His throne in Heaven and was made lower than angels that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man on earth (Hebrew 2:9).  After His death and before His resurrection, He visited Hades (Acts 2:24,27).  This is a region of death and of Satan’s power of darkness, which is the lower parts of the Earth (Rom 10:7, Eph 4:9). Until that point, the Lord Jesus endured increasing sufferings and shame.  In the Hades, death had no way to hold Him, in other words, death was defeated, because the Lord Jesus is both God and resurrection (John 1:1, 11:25).  He possessed an indestructible life (Hebrew 7:16). He rose from the abyss, conquering it in His resurrection.  After this, there was the Lord's ascension, during which  He led captives to the Father.  Also, in His ascension, He obtained a position far above the Heavens that He might fill all things (Eph 4:10). Here we see that in His ascension, He has conquered Hades, Earth and Heavens.  The Word of God clearly states that the Lord Jesus is the true conqueror and His glory extends beyond the universe.  Hallelujah, glory to God.  Praise You Lord Jesus.  Amen. 

Experiencing the Presence of God

>> Blessed Christian Life 

Over the last few days, I learned a significant life lesson from the Holy Spirit.  During the period, I experienced the Lord's protection throughout, without which I would have broken under stress because the topic I was pondering was one of the high peak truths of Christianity.

Bible reading: 2 Cor 3:17-18
And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.

Experiencing the Presence of God

1.  Being in the Spirit

In my previous posts, I have explained to you about the meaning of 'being in the Spirit'.  We know that God is a Spirit and those who worship Him should do it in spirit and in truthfulness.  More than a theoretical knowledge, the Holy Spirit taught me how to be in the spirit subjectively over a period of several years.  Being in the spirit is not about shouting and jumping and at the same time, it is not about being silent and still.  In fact, it has nothing to do with the outward expressions which are but the reactions of our souls to the presence of the God.  When we are filled with the Spirit, we may jump, shout or we may sit quietly as led by the Lord to respond to His presence.  Hence, the endeavor here is not to perform certain activities or physical actions, rather, be in the presence of God and enjoy Him.  

2.  Aware of the deception

Being in the spirit is being in the reality of the Triune God.  When we truly feel the presence of the Lord we are in the spirit.  Earlier, I used to think that it was difficult, but that was a deception of the devil due to my inferior knowledge about God.  In fact, recently I understood that this deception work might be Satan's greatest work on Earth right now.  To sum it up - feeling the presence of God is both easy and difficult at the same time.  Easy because He is present everywhere truly and difficult because we are distracted easily and lose our focus at the drop of a hat.

3.  God is omnipresent 

Since we believe in God we know that there is no place where God cannot be in His whole creation.  He is not a person who is limited to the churches, but He is present everywhere. Even in the places where we think we can escape from Him with our petty sins and indulgences, God is present.  I would say that losing this consciousness of the presence of the Almighty God is the curse upon mankind because of the Sin.  When Adam sinned, he was cast out to a miserable and insensitive state, losing the ability to experience the presence of God continually.   However, on God's part, He didn't forsake us, but throughout the centuries, He toiled to earn a set of people for Himself, who could work their way back to regain what Adam lost in the Garden of Eden. This He made possible because of what the Lord Jesus Christ had accomplished for us.

4.  An illustration

Let me give an illustration to understand being in the spirit.  When I am with a person in a room, I will behave in a way acknowledging the presence of that person.  The more I know about the person, the more I would try to alter my behavior that suits him.  If the person left, then I would relax, stretch myself and get comfortable.  But if I knew that he was watching me through a CCTV camera from another room, then I will be still on my guard.  There is yet another scenario that could be very apt to our today's world regarding God and our faith in Him, i.e., I am in a room, but I can't find any CCTV camera and nor there is any person.  I have been told by the previous occupants that someone will be watching me while I am in the room.  Now, though there is no person or cameras, I will behave in a particular manner according to our belief.  I hope you are getting what I am trying to illustrate.  So, being in the spirit is exercising our faith to believe in the presence of God.

Lately, when I began seeking and practicing the presence of God, I suffered a number of petty attacks from the devil.  I knew that I could be doing something right here considering the increased disturbances and I continued to seek the Lord's presence.  Later I came across a book, 'The practice of the presence of God', which was a compilation of the letters written by Brother Lawrence in the 17 century.  Once I started reading it, I was overjoyed at the thought that a person centuries before had experienced what I had begun to understand today.  Brother Lawrence constantly endeavored to live in the presence of God, and when his mind wandered, he would bring it back to focus God by leaving things that had nothing to do with God.  This he had done for decades to experience a continual presence of God.  Brother found real freedom and courage, which the Lord Jesus Christ had purchased for us, and he was like reliving the Garden of Eden life before the fall.

While I was learning this valuable truth, the petty devilish attacks continued but feeling the presence of God made all the difference to me.  I am not alone and I don't have to be alone anywhere-anytime.  An ever-present and an all-powerful God is my Father.  I can depend on Him continually because He loved me to the uttermost.  He is with me when I am writing this message and He is there with you when you are reading it. Amen.

To summarize, practicing the presence of God is not some kind of a mental exercise, rather it is surrendering to God wholly, trusting Him completely and making Him our goal.

Read the book 'The practice of the presence of God'  for more clarity and understanding. 

Grace - meaning & its application in life

>> What is Grace?  Is it a license to Sin?

Rom 6:1-10, Gal 2:20, Col 2:12

There is quite a lot of buzz about this word, ‘Grace’ in the Christian world.  The word ‘Grace’ means experiencing God in Jesus Christ in our lives.  Grace is Jesus Christ dying in our stead, thus we are at peace with the Almighty.  It is something that we received freely.  It is not a license to sin, but rather a provision to lead a holy life.  When I was explaining the meaning of grace years ago to a brother, he was offended thinking that I am proposing some kind of restrictions akin to law.  That was a shallow understanding.  Law has been fulfilled by the Lord Jesus and now we are not in the Law which is the oldness of letter (Rom 7:6), but rather we have been discharged from Law and now we need to serve the Lord in newness of spirit (Rom 7:6). 

We are born in the old man which is the realm of the first Adam.  Then one day we believed in the Lord and proceeded to receive baptism.  This baptism into Christ is, in reality, a baptism into Christ’s death.  We have been buried with Him through the baptism because in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in the newness of life.  If somebody says to you, ‘brother, you took baptism in the Lord, so you ought to walk in the newness of life’, then do not be offended because it is not law.  When we have grown with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection.  So walking in the newness of life is grace.  I request all the brothers and sisters to understand this deeply, - 'Grace is experiencing God in Christ and this is possible when we walk in the newness of life.’  Gal 2:20 says, ‘I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.’  Is it Law?  Absolutely not, this is the newness.  Grace does not mean that you can keep sinning because Christ has paid the price for your sins that have been committed and will be committed in the future.  Yes, it is paid in full and then some.  It is the perfect sacrifice to the satisfaction of God.  Therefore, Grace is our reaction to this perfect sacrifice on our behalf by the Lord Jesus Christ. 

How can we walk in the newness of life?

Knowing that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves (Rom 6:6).  Have you come across anywhere written in the Bible that you are free to go around and sin without inhibitions, as the Lord Jesus Christ had died in your stead?  No!  We need to believe that in our baptism, our old man has been crucified with the Lord and we are no longer slaves of sin.  We are free in the Lord and we have newness in life and a responsibility to walk in it.  Further, since we believe that we have been crucified with the Lord, we also believe that we will live with Him.  For the death that the Lord died to sin was once and for all; but the life which He lives, He lives to God.  Hence, we who are in the resurrection of the Lord, live our lives to God.  This is Grace.  Amen.

Why Jesus Christ died for the sins of many?

Through one man death entered and through another Man 
resurrection from death

Bible readings: Rom 5:12-21, 1 Cor 15:20-28

Why should God Incarnate - Jesus Christ die to save Mankind from sin?  Why should an innocent man die for the sins of others? 

These are a couple of questions, a believer has to face while working in a multicultural environment someday in their lives.  In a way, these queries are good for spiritual nourishment, if we with a seeking heart ponder upon them with the help of the Holy Spirit.  However, these questions could prove negative and time wasting if the people who are asking them are applying their shallow minds or if their hearts are stubborn or have a malicious intent to damage the faith of a believer.  Hence, beware of the children of the Devil in disguise and their lies.  It is futile to talk them, as they selectively choose topics to propagate their lies aiming to influence the gullible.  And to face such liars, a child of God has to build a strong faith upon sound reasoning.  I have heard hypocrites saying that God has given human beings two ears and one mouth to speak less and listen more as if God had given them two mouths and one ear.  These are people who don’t want to learn from you the Way of God, instead toil hard to corrupt your hearts with lies.  So, be watchful and beware of these Antichrists because the Lord has forbidden us to cast our pearls before such hogs, i.e., minister the truths of God to people who consider themselves religious but are unclean in the sight of God:

Matthew 7:6

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden and through him, Sin entered mankind.  With the entry of Sin, death entered and started to rule.  Here we can see that Sin and death are closely connected like buddies.  Now, how can the disobedience of our forefathers affect us?  This is the reason that unbelievers might thrown at you.  They see themselves not at all responsible for a mistake which Adam did.  This is not important at the moment, as Sin had entered the world through one man and it is affecting every one of us.  If you move to another country today, will it not affect your children and their children?  You might be gone, but your decision will affect the generations to come.  This is the law of nature.  If you are brown, your children will have the same features.  If your father has left behind a huge inheritance, will you not legally claim it?  Or would you say that it doesn’t belong to you?  In another scenario, you are liable to pay your father's debt.  It's completely legal.  No court will accept the argument that it was your father who took the debt and you are not bound to pay it back.  Therefore, When Adam, the father of the human race had disobeyed God, the entire human race had disobeyed in him.  Do we not die today?  If we believe that death came because of Adam, it is a glaring fact that everybody faces death today. 

What is then the hope for humanity?  We need another great Man who could give us hope, i.e., resurrection from death.  When Adam had sinned against God, man as a creation failed.  God being the Creator, could wipe out the defective creation and start all over again or make it successful by some other means.  So, to make man glorious once again from the fallen state, another Man has to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law which the first man had failed.  Can you now figure out the need for another Man to die for the sins of many?  Remember we are not talking about any ordinary man here; this is Jesus Christ, the Second Person in the Trinity who became a divine human.  For the second person in the Godhead to successfully take on our transgressions, He had to put on flesh.  Hallelujah.  For all those who say that God cannot become a creature, are you saying that God’s power is limited that He is powerless to do a certain thing?  You may then say, “Yes, God can become a human being, but there is no need for Him.”  So, let us first understand that God can do everything and to ponder upon the need of incarnation, we need to first understand that God is able to become a Man if He wills.  The Christian message is that God didn’t have the need to, but He did it because He loved us to the uttermost.  The freedom He had given Man in the Garden of Eden was still intact and He received those who voluntarily accepted Him.  Then, to those who believed that Christ was the only begotten Son, eternal life is promised and this is our true hope.  Therefore, this message does not limit the ability of God rather proves that He can do anything He wills. 

Was there a need to die for the sins of mankind?  He could have just forgiven them from His throne.  Again to those people who propound such a theory to reject Christ, I say, do not make the Lord Almighty less righteous and unjust.  If God had, without any compensation, accepted mankind with their sinful nature to Him, He will have to make a compromise in His attribute of being infinitely righteous.  Next, why would He accept people with the same sinful nature which was not dealt with or say put to a dormant state?  The man was fallen and will God do the same mistake of accepting the man to Heaven, once again.  Hence, there needs to be a process which renews man.  This is another message of the cross, where the old creation is annulled and new creation is formed in its place.  This new creation is because of the One divine Human, the Second person in the Trinity, Son of God, Jesus Christ, who came to Earth in flesh, lived, died, resurrected and then ascended to the right Hand of God.  Not only a person is saved from Sin and death, but he also reigns in life through this One Person, Jesus Christ.  Hallelujah.