Wednesday, May 16, 2018

He Gives More Grace (SD05)

           'Sound Doctrine'

Jam 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
    What are these more or extra grace that He will give to us on condition that we are humble.

Predestination of Saving Grace
Eph 1:3-4, 7 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...In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
    God before the foundation of the world had already destined that the Word was to be made flesh (in the Person of Jesus Christ) for the salvation of all men (not angels).
Note -there are two fallen creations - men and the fallen angels.

God's Plan of Salvation
Luke 24:46-47 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
    God has given a fair chance to every man who is humble enough to believe the gospel and accept Jesus as the Christ will be saved. When God seals him with the Holy Spirit of redemption, he becomes a born again Christian.
Eph 1:7, 13 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.

More Grace to the humble
John 14:15-17a, 26; 16:13 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth... But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you... However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
The OT and NT are covenants God. When we fulfill our part of the covenant, He will fulfill His part, for He is faithful to His words and commitment. He is also a righteous God and He cannot and will not sin.
    So when a Christian keeps His commandments, God will have to admit that he loves God and He will grant him another Helper, the Spirit of truth, who will guide him into all truth so that he is free from the bondages of this wicked world, deceptions, lies, heresies.
(John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.")
The Spirit of truth will also tell (teach) him the end time signs and prophecies.

Grace overcomes the Flesh
2Cor 6:1,4-10 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain... But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes... by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God... as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.