Jesus had been discussing a number of topics with the Pharisees, explaining to them that He was Messiah and that God testified with Him that this was true. He also prophesied that when they crucified Him they would know He was the Son of God. As He said these things, many believed in Him [trusted, relied on, and adhered to Him]. So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free (John 8:30-32).

We hear the latter part of Jesus’ statement over and over, “You’ll know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” We hear it in commercials, we hear it in Hollywood blockbusters, we hear it on the radio, we read it in novels. All of these have taken Jesus’ words out of context for the simple reason that they pay no attention to the first part of His statement. In the first part, He used the great word of decision, the word that all eternity hangs on, “if.” We get to choose (Deut 30:19) whether we will do what comes after the “if.” He said, “if you abide in My Word.” Being set free by the Truth only comes when we abide in God’s Word. Reading, studying, meditating, and memorizing the Word are all steps that lead to knowing the Truth.

The Greek word translated as Truth in this passage is aletheia. It has several shades of meaning, but as Jesus used the word, it focuses on the revealed reality and character of God. In other words, it is knowing God that sets us free. Christianity is not a religion, it is not a lifestyle, it is a personal, one-on-one relationship with the Living God. He has told us very specifically. I desire and delight in dutiful steadfast love and goodness, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of and acquaintance with God more than burnt offerings (Hos. 6:6). It is knowing the Truth that is the key to freedom, and that Truth is God.

Jesus was not only a paradigm of selfless obedience to God, He was the very revelation of God. He very specifically told us, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me (John 14:6). He then immediately goes on to say that since His disciples know Him they also know the Father. Phillip, puzzled by Jesus’ remark ask Him to show them the Father, and Jesus replied, Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say then, Show us the Father? (John 14:9).

Through Jesus we not only gain entry into the Kingdom of Love and Light (James 1:18), but we gain a relationship with God in which we come to know Him on a personal level. This is not knowledge about God, this is personal knowledge of Him on the most intimate level. A level on which we can discuss the most difficult questions and problems of our lives. A level on which He listens with absolute attention to every detail that we discuss with Him. A level on which He wants to know us better than anyone else could, or ever will, know us. When God first calls the youth Jeremiah into service as His prophet, He tells him, Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations (Jer. 1:5). That’s a rather intimate knowledge, I’d say. And that’s the kind of intimate knowledge that God wants with each of His children.

As God’s children (Rom. 8:17) we are to grow into maturity in our relationship with Him (Matt. 5:48). The process of growing into maturity is called sanctification. When Jesus was writing His last will and testament, He specifically asked that God make provision for our sanctification—the process by which we can grow to maturity in who we are in and through Christ Jesus–when He asked the Father to Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth (John 17:17). Your Word is Truth. A rather powerful statement that shows us God revealed in His Word.

God’s Word is not just a bunch of dried ink on a page. For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart (Heb. 4:12). God’s Word is alive, meaning that it has the power to grow in us and transform us from who we are to who God wants us to be. Paul, writing to the believers in Thessalonica, tells them, we also [especially] thank God continually for this, that when you received the message of God [which you heard] from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the Word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its superhuman power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it] (1Thes. 2:13).

But before the Word can do anything transforming in our lives, it is essential to get that living Word in us. When writing to the Philippians, Paul says, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight (Phil 2:12-13). We are the ones who get to work it out. We are the ones who have been given the chance and the choice. But note very carefully that we don’t have to, nor should we even try, to do it on our own. If we make the quality decision to get into God’s Word and be the workman that we are directed to be (2Tim. 2:15), then God will give us the strength to carry out all that needs to be done (see also Phil. 4:13, and 4:19). Then, we will truly know the Truth and He will set us free.

Key Verses: John 8:31-32

Associated Keys: John 14:6, 17:17

Using the Key: “Precious Lord, I want to know You intimately and live my life in the fullness of that knowledge. I want to grow to maturity in You. I know that Your Word is transforming and will give me what I need to become all you intend for me to become. Therefore, Gracious King, I ask You to please help me to organize my life so that I will have the necessary time to read of the Truth in Your Word and grow in who I am in Christ Jesus. And Father, please be with me to help me clearly understand Your Word so that I can live in the freedom that You designed for me. In Jesus Precious Name, Amen.”

Safe deposit boxes require both the key of the box owner and the key of the bank. They have to be inserted into the lock at the same time, and both have to be turned simultaneously. Likewise, there is a great master key that must be used with all the other Keys of the Kingdom. This Great Master Key is essential to the use of all the other keys. None of them can work alone, they must all be used in concert with this one, Great Master Key. All the other Keys of the Kingdom can only work with and through this one key. The Great Master Key is clearly depicted and defined in Hebrews 11:1. NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. There are three prominent characteristics of this key.

1. Faith is a NOW characteristic. It’s not dependent upon how strong it was at some time in the past, and it’s not dependent upon how strong it might be in the future. Everything depends upon how strong it is right NOW. Thus, it is important that faith’s strength be sustained at all times.

For without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out] (Heb. 11:6). As God’s own children, His heirs and coheirs of Jesus (Rom. 8:17), we are to walk by faith and not by sight (2Cor. 5:7). Our lives are to be lives of absolute trust in God’s ability and desire to love and care for us.

2. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Faith is absolute trust and it acts upon hope, which is absolute expectation. The woman with the issue of blood is a great example of hope and faith working hand in hand. She kept saying to herself, If I only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health (Matt. 9:21). That is most certainly Bible Hope in action. Hope is always in the future. Then comes the act of faith. She came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, and immediately her flow of blood ceased (Luke 8:44). Her hope led her to Jesus, her faith caused her to act. Faith is an action word—it always causes us to act. That’s why James, one of Jesus’ younger brothers said that if faith does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead) (James 2:17).

Please note very carefully that it is not just any old “good” work that James is talking about. He’s not saying that faith is dead if you stop to help someone get out of a ditch. He is not saying that faith is dead if you don’t take a dog or cat from the pound. He is not saying that faith is dead if you allow someone else to go ahead of you in the supermarket line. He is specifically saying that faith which does not apply the Word of God in one’s life is merely “dead” intellectual knowledge without any force in one’s life. It has no effect on the way one lives. A person with intellectual faith only is no different from any other person of the world. Again, let me point out that faith is the currency of the Christian’s everyday life.

3. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. As a scientist, I clearly understand the advantageous  functionality of scientific methodology. At the same time, I also know, very clearly, its limitations. Science is the study of the way the natural world operates. That’s it. It cannot, I repeat, cannot, access the supernatural. The job of accessing the supernatural realm belongs to faith. Faith, thus, is our eyes by which we “see” into the spirit realm. Read this passage from Colossians very carefully.

Col. 2:20 If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as]

Col. 2:21 Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them],

Col. 2:22 Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines.†

Col. 2:23 Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.]

This passage does not say that science is wrong, only that it does not lead us to God. It can’t. Our way to God’s realm is by faith in Jesus Christ through God’s Word.

When the Pharisees asked Jesus, and I’m certain they did it in such a way as to mock Him, “What then Good Master, is our work?” He immediately relied, “To believe in the One Whom was sent.” (John 6:28-29).  That’s our work. Our work is to shine up the big FAITH key. Like the song from the HMS Pinafore, we want people to sing about us, “He polished up that Key so faithfully that now he’s a rule in the King’s Navy.”

Faith that sees into the Kingdom is not something that we naturally have. Our unregenerated self is blind to Kingdom events. It is Jesus that gives us the faith (through His Holy Spirit) to see Him clearly and become a child of God. Once we get into the Kingdom, it is still Jesus that spurs us on in our faith walk. In Hebrews, we are told to look away from the way the world operates and to run the course that God has set before us (Heb. 12:1),  looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2).

And how do we polish up that Key. Well get out ye olde Bible and polish, polish, polish. So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself) (Rom. 10:17). When you encounter a situation that requires the ability to see into the Kingdom and pluck out what God has for you, then get into the Word. Find verses that apply to the situation at hand, and read them over and over. Study them, Memorize them. Get them into your heart. When they become reality to you, then true Bible Hope will leap up in your throat, and like the woman with the issue of blood, you will say, “If only I can just touch the hem of His garment, I will be free.”

Key Verse: Heb. 11:1

Associated Keys: Heb. 11:6, 12:2, Rom. 10:17

Using the Key: “Father, I clearly understand that faith is the eyes by which I see You and Your will for me. I want to live everyday walking by faith and not by sight. Please help me as I read Your Word so that it lodges in my being and directs my every step. I ask this, Gracious King, in the name of my Brother Jesus, Who is both the Author and Finisher of my faith. In faith I say: So I have asked You, so it will be.”

The transformation that comes from asking God to make you His child is more than just a new outlook on life. It is a spiritual transformation in which the old you becomes a totally new you. Paul writing to the Galatians said, I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Gal 2:20). This is a rather powerful and revealing statement regarding God’s work in the transformation process that makes us His children. Notice first that those who become God’s children are first crucified with Christ. This does not mean physical death, it means that the old spirit nature of man is crucified. The reason that Jesus’ died on the cross was so that all who want to become God’s children can share in His death and resurrection. Paul told the Corinthians, The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life] (1Cor. 15:45).

When we speak of being born again we are using Jesus’ own words to describe what is happening. One night, Jesus was visited by Nicodemus, a Pharisee (a sect of Jews that believed that obeying rules was all that was necessary to receive eternal life). He asked Jesus, Rabbi, we know and are certain that You have come from God [as] a Teacher; for no one can do these signs (these wonderworks, these miracles—and produce the proofs) that You do unless God is with him (John 3:2). Jesus saw right through Nicodemus. He knew that as a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a legalist and that he needed to be made aware of the Truth that was before him. So, Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born again (John 3:3). Confused, and probably a little perplexed at the answer that Jesus had given him, he asked Jesus how that could possible be. Did one somehow go back into his mother’s womb and get reborn? Well, the silliness of Nicodemus’ question clearly pointed out that he was out of touch with the reality of Who God is. Jesus’ must have laughed, and putting His hand on Nicodemus’ shoulder said, What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). In order to become God’s child one must be born again spiritually. And that is exactly what Jesus provides for us.

When Jesus was writing His Last Will and Testament (John 17), He specifically said to God, Father, the hour has come. Glorify and exalt and honor and magnify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify and extol and honor and magnify You. [Just as] You have granted Him power and authority over all flesh (all humankind), [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent. (John 17:1-3). Jesus has been given the specific power to grant eternal life to all who ask for it. They are to ask God in Jesus’ name (John 16:24).

When they ask, they are literally born again in their spirit being. Paul writing to the Corinthians told them, Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! (2Cor. 5:17). It just can’t get any clearer than that. One translation says, “a new species.” Being a biologist, when I read that translation, I immediately said to God, “Ok, I know humans have given themselves the name Homo sapiens, which means the ‘wise one,’ so what is my new scientific name”? Immediately God answered, “‘Homo christos,’ one with Christ.” I am no longer just a human with my old human nature, I am now a human with a new spirit liked eternally to the Spirit of Christ Jesus. I am now a child of the King. Everyone who believes (adheres to, trusts, and relies on the fact) that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah) is a born-again child of God; and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him (His offspring) (1John 5:1). Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) (Eph. 2:5). The very life of Christ! Amazing.

Furthermore, the transformation from Homo sapiens to Homo christos is free. It costs nothing. For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8 ). God loves us so much that He gives us, absolutely free of all charges, the right to become His children. All that is required is a sincere desire to become a child of God, and then to ask. He is ever ready and ever vigilant to transform every person who asks. For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live] (Eph. 2:10).

We are not simply born again so that God can have a bunch of kids. We are born again so that we can live in all the fullness that God has available. We are born into a new life of blessing and fulfillment that is so far beyond our old life that there’s not even words enough to describe the transformation.

Key Verse: Gal. 2:20

Associated Verses: John 3:6, 2Cor 5:17, 1John 5:1, Eph. 2:5, Eph. 2:10

Using the Key: Father, I want to cast off my old self. I want to become Homo christos. I want to be born again. I want to be renewed in Christ Jesus and have my spirit eternally linked to You through Him. So, Father, I am asking that you forgive me for doing things my own way, and I am asking that You make me Your child with Your nature in me. I ask this in Jesus’ precious name, the Name above name, and I give You praise and thanksgiving that You have now done so. So You have said, so it is.

When one uses the Key of keys that unlocks the gate to the Kingdom of God and becomes a child of the King, it is the start of a totally new life, a new way of seeing the world, a new way of being. The question that we have to ask is, how does one act and react as a new being indwelt with the Living God, Himself (John14:20)? It is not an automatic reflexive life in which we become God’s robots. Rather it is like being in the armed forces. Before anyone in the armed services is thrust into combat, they have to undergo training, rehearsal, and dress parades. They have to learn to work with others in a very coordinated way. They have to develop skills with their weapons. And they have to obey their commanders. Furthermore, everyone who enters the armed services is given a series of “manuals” that they have to read and re-read until they know the contents backwards and forwards. This assures that everyone is “on the same page” when it comes to being a functional member of the service.

God’s children have a manual, too. It is the Bible. The Bible is not just a collection of historical notes, stories of ancient lives, and guidelines for living the “good life.” The Bible is the instruction manual for the children of God. Here’s how Paul described the scriptures to Timothy, Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work (2Tim. 3:16-17).

Notice the following points. First, the Bible is “God-breathed.” This means that those who wrote the Bible were guided by the Holy Spirit, so that they wrote what God wanted written. Second, the Scriptures (the Bible) is not just a book about God, it was given to us as our instruction manual so that we can understand how to live as God’s child. Third, when we live the way God’s intends for us, we will be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work. That’s quite a statement.

Jesus, being also God, clearly understood the need to study the Bible. So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free (John 31-32). Again, look closely at what is being said. First, “if,” the conditional word upon which all eternity hangs. Guess who it’s up to? Yup, it’s up to us. As we’ve noted, everything, and that means everything, is our choice (Deut 30:19, Josh. 24:15).

Second, if we really dig in and stay with the study of the Word, then we really are disciples of Jesus. A disciple is one who is disciplined—one who is willing, able, and determined to accomplish the task. In this case, it means reading, studying, meditating, and acting on God’s Word so that our lives are transformed, renewed, strengthened, and built up in the ways of our Father. God told us, My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts (Isa. 55:8-9).

He never said that we can’t think His thoughts and act as He acts, He just said that His thoughts and His ways are higher than those of the human condition without God. In fact, the very reason that he guided the writing of the Scriptures was so that we could have His thoughts and understand His ways, and then act upon them. That’s why Paul also told Timothy, Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth (2Tim 2:15).

The Scriptures stand as the Word of Truth, the Word of God, the very essence of Who God is and what He wants for us. Peter, who walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, rubbed shoulders with Him, ate with Him, and saw His eternal glory not once, but twice (Mark 9:2-3, Luke 24:50-52), wrote that even though he had been with Jesus on the most personal of terms and knew Him the way few others every have or ever will, that even though he had heard God’s voice from Heaven saying, This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased and delight (2Peter 1:17), that even after all that he had experienced of God dwelling in a human body, even after his experience at the tomb when he met the risen Christ, even then he says, we have the prophetic word [made] firmer still. You will do well to pay close attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dismal (squalid and dark) place, until the day breaks through [the gloom] and the Morning Star rises comes into being) in your hearts. [Yet] first [you must] understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of any personal or private or special interpretation (loosening, solving). For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it [to do so—it never came by human impulse], but men spoke from God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit (2Peter 1:19-21). For Peter, the Scriptures were the “last word.” They not only tell about Jesus, they are His representative for all humanity for all time. It is through the Scriptures that we come to know God and develop our trust in Him (Rom. 10:17)

Third, when we spend the time, reading, studying, analyzing, praying about, meditating, discussing, and digging deep into God’s Word, we find God right there with us, helping us, encouraging us, and building up our understanding so that we can be all the he intends us to be. Jesus tells the story of a man who gave money to his servants and then went on a journey. When the man came back, he asked each of his servants what they had done with the money. The first servant had used it to earn ten times as much as he had been given, the second had earned five times as much as the money he had been given. The third, however, has hidden the money he was given, and had not earned anything with it. The angry master took away the money that was given to the third servant and gave it to the first servant. Then Jesus tells the moral of the story: I tell you that to everyone who gets and has will more be given, but from the man who does not get and does not have, even what he has will be taken away (Luke 19:26).

By this he meant that once we enter the Kingdom of God, we are expected to grow in wisdom and understanding and use it to help others. If we abandon God’s Word, and fail to be disciplined about our involvement with God in His Word, then even the knowledge that we have gained will slip away. And God has told us most clearly that My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6a).  Satan is ever ready to help us give up our study. Every trying to draw us away from God’s teachings. Ever eager to dissuade us that we must exercise the knowledge that we have. Every striving to pull us away from the Truth and draw us back into slavery to his ways. We beat the lusting desires of the Evil One to rule our lives by remaining disciplined to the studying God’s Word If we are disciplined, Jesus goes on the say in John 8:32, then we will know the truth and it will set us free. Free from the cloying stench that is the way of the Evil One, so that we may dance in the Light and Love of God’s eternal Kingdom.

Key Verse: 2Tim 3:16

Associated Verses: Hos. 4:6, John 8:31-32, 2Tim. 3:16, and 2Peter 1:18-21.

Using the Key: “Loving Father, I ask that You help me today and every day to live a life of discipline in You. Not a harsh, ascetic life, but one of joy and celebration of who I am in Christ Jesus. I want to be all that I can be for You, gracious King, and I ask You to help me as I read and study Your Word so that I can become all that You intend, to Your honor and glory. Thank You Lord. In Jesus’ name, it is so.”

Jesus makes only one key available to everyone, and that is the key that unlocks the gate into His Kingdom. But it is THE key to life, the key to all the other keys that strengthen, encourage, and comfort His children for eternity. The Bible contains many verses that clearly describe the key, but the most well known, in fact probably the most well known Bible verse, is John 3:16, For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

It’s a rather simple key. And that’s the way God wants it. He wants nothing more than personal choice to stand between us and His Kingdom. Note the following important points:

1. God loves us so much that He willing gave up His Son for our salvation.

2. Who ever believes that Jesus is the Son of God and trusts Him, will get into the Kingdom.

3. The Kingdom is eternal and all in the Kingdom will live eternally.

These are all easily understood points. The terms are mighty simple. Believe and you get in.

Now, let’s look a bit more into this process. In John 1:12, God tells us, But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name. When we believe in Jesus and welcome Him into our lives, God gives us power and authority to become His children. It’s not just a key that gets us into the gate of the Eternal Kingdom of Love and Light, it’s the key that gets our adoption papers signed. We become God’s very own children. And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory (Rom. 8:17). It only gets better. This key unlocks the gate into the Kingdom, makes us God’s children, and establishes us as heirs of God and coheirs of Jesus Christ. Rather astounding. All for making one decision and acting upon it.

Now, look again. Coheirs of Christ Jesus. Exactly what does that mean? It means exactly what it says. If it’s available to Jesus, then it’s available to us. No we can’t be the Messiah. There was only need for one Messiah, and that was Jesus. But through His sacrifice we get access to all the other blessing of God. In fact, this is part of Jesus’ last will and testament, as it is recorded in John 17. In verse 22, He states very clearly, I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one: This is an astounding statement, to be sure. The glory of God is beyond our imagining. Look at the way it is described:

Ex. 24:17 And the glory of the Lord appeared to the Israelites like devouring fire on the top of the mountain.

Ex. 40:35 And Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

1Kings 8:11 So the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.

It is God’s glory in us and on us that helps us become all that he wants us to be, for all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit (2Cor. 3:18). It is God working in us through His Word, the Bible, that brings His glory into our lives and transforms us to become all that He intends. Which, of course, means that we have to read, meditate, memorize, and study God’s Word so that our lives can become all that He intends. And in the reading we will encounter the keys that unlock behavior that brings that glory into our lives.

This Key of keys is revealed in any number of other places in God’s Word. One that all of God’s children should know is Romans 10:9-13. It’s not necessary to memorize each verse, rather if we know where to find this passage and the understand its overall intent, then we can use it to help others understand how truly simple this Key is to actually use.

Rom. 10:9 Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Rom. 10:10 For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

Rom. 10:11 The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.

Rom. 10:12 [No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith].

Rom. 10:13 For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.

Compressed and paraphrased, this passage says that if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Who came and became the Messiah, and if we ask to get into the Kingdom through Jesus’ work for us, we get it. No one will ever be denied if they ask with sincerity. That’s very simple. The Bible says it this way, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Luke 11:9 NIV).

And then there’s Acts 4:11-12, which is so clear that it can’t be said any other way to make it clearer: This [Jesus] is the Stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which has become the Head of the corner [the Cornerstone]. And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved. Too, there are the very words of Jesus, Himself, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me (John 14:6). Jesus also told us, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that I Myself am the Door for the sheep (John 10:7). I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture (John 10:9). And how do we unlock the door and enter into the Sheepfold (God’s Kingdom)? Easy, we simply ask. We just tell Jesus that we believe in Him and want to live in the Kingdom of Light, and then we ask Him to make it so (see Rom. 10:13 above).

When we ask to become a child of God and live in the Kingdom of Light, God lives in us so that we can become all He wants us to be. Jesus very pointedly told us, Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me (John 15:4).

So, the Key of keys is actually in all our hands. It’s our right to choose to use it or not to use it. It’s our choice to enter the Kingdom or stay on the outside.

Key Verse: John 3:16

Alternate Verses: John 1:12, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Rom; 10:9-13

Using the Key: “Precious Lord, I want to live with You eternally in the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of Your dear Son, Jesus. Please forgive me for not living according to Your desires for me, and please make me Your child. Come and live in me that I may become all You intend me to be. I ask this in the name of Jesus with absolute certainly that You hear me and grant this request. I give You praise and thanks that I am now Your eternal child. According to Your Word, it is so.”

The first key that all believers receive is the key to choose. Oh yes, that’s Deut. 30:19, but there are others too.

Deut. 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.

Deut. 28:1 IF YOU will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

Josh. 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Prov. 1:28 Then will they call upon me [Wisdom] but I will not answer; they will seek me early and diligently but they will not find me.

Prov. 1:29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord.

1Cor. 8:9 Only be careful that this power of choice (this permission and liberty to do as you please) which is yours, does not [somehow] become a hindrance (cause of stumbling) to the weak or overscrupulous [giving them an impulse to sin].

Luke 12:57 And why do you not judge what is just and personally decide what is right?

Acts 4:19 But Peter and John replied to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you and obey you rather than God, you must decide (judge).

Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

God’s Word (His Blood Covenant) with humankind is one in which we get to decide. God wants us to choose His ways. He wants us to live in His freedom and His love, but we have to choose to do that. God cannot choose for us. Of course He is the Mighty King, Master of Everything, but at the same time, He has made an agreement with us that allows us (requires us) to choose. I love the wording in Josh, 24:15, And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

We can never say in all honest that “The Devil made me do it.” Likewise, we can never say in all honesty that “God made me do it.” We can only say, “I chose to do it.” And it is in the choosing that all eternity hangs. We can choose God, or we can choose other gods.

Jesus didn’t come to make people obey God. Jesus didn’t come to judge the world. Immediately after Jesus tells Nicodemus what has become the best know verse in the Bible (John 3:16), He goes on to say, For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him (John 3:17). Jesus came to bring salvation and make us safe and sound by our trust in Him (John 10:10, 16:33). But we still have to choose. And once we are in God’s Kingdom, we still have to choose. Everything, and that means everything, that we do is our choice. Of course, God wants us to do things His way because that is the way to fullness of life and eternal blessings.

So the PRIME KEY, the Numero Uno Key, the Overarching Key, the Key Upon Which All Else is Based, the Key That Unlock Heaven’s Gates, the Key to All The Other Keys is the CHOOSE KEY.

And how do we know what to choose? We’ve been given the Book Of Choices, otherwise known as the Bible. It’s our guidebook to choosing. It is the revelation of restoration through redemption, and it’s filled with keys that allow us to operate the way God designed us to operate. But still, we have to choose to read the guidebook, we have to choose to study and show that we are eager workmen, ready and able to divide the word of Truth (2Tim. 2:15), then we have to choose to obey God’s directives and outlined in His Book of Choices. We have to choose to …. All the choices are ours, not God’s. If He could make all the choice for us, don’t you think that He would? If He could choose, everyone would immediately be saved and live a pure and righteous life. That’s what He wants. But He has allowed us to choose.

I say all this to point out that since the choice is ours, it behooves us to know what we are choosing, either consciously or by default. Personally, I don’t like the default mode because it’s the mode of ignorance, and that usually means it’s the mode of the wrong decision. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and God’s ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-9). And when we operate in default mode, we are operating in “human mode,” and that is not “God mode.”

We MUST CHOOSE to learn God’s thought and learn God’s ways so that we can choose to use God’s thought and live in His ways. Decide today to do just that.

“Father, I want to live my life in such a way that it always brings honor and glory to You. I want to think Your thoughts and do things Your way. I know that in order to do this, I must know Your Word. I give You praise and thanksgiving for Your Word, and I ask that this year, as we study the Keys to the Kingdom, that You will personally help me to learn so that I may think Your thoughts and live Your way. In Jesus name I ask this, Most Gracious King. Amen and Amen.”

In Matthew 16:19, and again in 18:18, Jesus made a promise to those who believe in Him. It is a promise with far reaching consequences and implications. If fact, it the basis of who we are and what we are able to do in the Kingdom. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven (Matt. 16:19).

Keys lock and unlock (bind and loose), and we are to use the keys that Jesus has given us to bind things out of our lives and loose others in our lives. We are the ones given the authority to use the keys. So, it behooves us to know what the keys are and how to use them most effectively to live the life that God intends for us.

The keys that Jesus gave us are His Words, the Bible. It is our instruction manual for living a life that is a Kingdom life. We are the ones that are responsible for our lives. True, God has made the way for us to live as He intends, but we are the ones who actually have to do it. We can’t go to God and say, “OK, make me keep your commandments.” We have to say, “OK, I want to will keep Your commandments, please help me and give me the strength and ability to do what You want.”

Most translations of Matt. 16:19 and 18:18, record the words like this: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (NIV). This translation sounds very much different from the Amplified Bible translation that I used to open this lesson. But, think carefully. God will never, never, allow us to simply dictate to Him what is to be bound and what is to be loosed. And yet it sounds this way when translations like the NIV are not read with great care. Actually, it sounds like we get to dictate to God because we have taken the verse out of context.

Back up a couple of verses to see the relationship of verse 16:19 to the whole of the discussion.

Matt. 16:13 Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

Matt. 16:14 And they answered, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

Matt. 16:15 He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am?

Matt. 16:16 Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matt. 16:17 Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.

Matt. 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros—a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra—a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

Matt. 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.†

Jesus is recognized by Peter as being the Christ (the Messiah), and Jesus praises him for revealing what God has allowed him to understand. Then Jesus says that He will build His Church on revelation knowledge (not on Peter nor on Himself). Next, he talks about binding and loosing. In other words, we bind and loose what it is that God has revealed to us that we can bind and loose. We are not to run off, binding and loosing at our whim, but rather as God has directed. Imagine the foolishness of allowing humans to bind and loose as they see fit. Very shortly, everyone on earth would be bound.

The Bible is God’s Word to us, directing us, guiding us, encouraging us, building us up, etc. The Bible is God’s Word revealed to us (2Tim. 3:16-17), and intended as the guide to our binding and loosing (2Tim. 2:15).

God’s Word contains many Key Verses that open and close the doors of our lives, fitting us ever more closely into the Kingdom image that God has of each of us. In the next year we will look at some of these Key Verses and the implications that have for us.

The Holy Spirit is a gift to us from Jehovah, the Lord God Almighty (Acts 2:38, 10:45, 1Cor. 6:9, Heb. 6:4). A gift is something freely given. But then there’s the other side. The one receiving the gift can choose to accept it and use it, or, to reject it, set it aside, or otherwise disregard it. We need to understand that God has done all that He needs to do and is going to do for our salvation and restoration. We are the ones that must seize the opportunities that He has made for us and put them to use in our lives (Deut. 30:19). Whether we are filled with the Holy Spirit and functioning in the light of His presence is our decision.

If salvation and the subsequent infilling of the Holy Spirit were solely God’s options, then everyone would be saved and functioning fully in God’s Spirit. But these are not God’s options. They are His gifts. It is our option to accept these gifts and use them to the fullness that God intends. We all want God’s blessings, and that’s good. What isn’t good is that we want them with no strings attached. Up goes the cry of the Gimmie Bird, “Gimmie, Gimmie, I Want, I Want.” But when it comes to receiving and using those blessing in service of the Kingdom, on go the blinders, with hands over the ears.

In Deut. 28:1-14, God clearly sets forth the physical blessing that He has for every one of His children. But, read the very first word in this passage: “If.” The blessings are conditional. Continue to read on to see what the conditions are:

Deut. 28:1 IF YOU will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

We must be obedient to God’s desires for us. Rebelling against Him and then expecting Him to bless us is nonsense. Salvation is not free. We have to give God something in exchange for it—we must give ourselves. We must turn from the way we have lived and choose to live the way God wants. We must turn from unbelief to deeply dedicated reliance on God through Jesus Christ. This is not a bad thing, it’s a great, eternally blessed decision. The point is, God has made it all available to us. It’s up to us to make the quality decision to live our lives in close, intimate association with God.

He is so good, so loving, so kind, so generous, so focused on us, that He guided John to write:

1John 5:14 And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.

1John 5:15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.

Just imagine. If we ask anything in His will, He hears and grants it to us. It’s our job to receive it and use it. We receive God’s gifts with praise and thanksgiving and absolute confidence that God is God and will do what He says.

This is a long way around to say that receiving the gift of the infilling of the Holy Spirit requires that:

1.    We want to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit as much or more as we want anything else in life.

2.    We ask in absolute confidence that God will fill us when we ask.

3.    We receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit with praise and thanksgiving on our lips.

4.    We expect to speak in the language that the Spirit pours into us.

Let God fill you with His Spirit so that you can be all He intends you to be. Let Him empower your life and lead you on the journey that He designed just for you. That’s His great heart’s desire for you, accept this wondrous gift from the King of kings, and live in all the fullness that He intends.

“Father. In Jesus’ name I want your gift of the Holy Spirit in my life. Fill me right now and pour your holy words into me that I may speak to You in the perfect language of the Spirit. Empower my life; I want to be everything that you intend. I receive Your Holy Spirit with great elation in my heart. In Jesus’ prefect name, that Name above every name and Title above every title, I give You praise and thanksgiving for hearing me and granting this request.”

The title of this study series, Jacob’s Well, comes from John Chapter 4, where Jesus encounters the woman at the well in Samaria.

John 4:3 He left Judea and returned to Galilee.

John 4:4 It was necessary for Him to go through Samaria.

John 4:5 And in doing so, He arrived at a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the tract of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

John 4:6 And Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired as He was from His journey, sat down [to rest] by the well. It was then about the sixth hour (about noon).

Of course, the story goes on, disclosing the discussion between Jesus and the woman who came to draw water at Jacob’s Well. During this dialog, Jesus makes this rather profound statement,

John 4:21 Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither [merely] in this mountain nor [merely] in Jerusalem.

John 4:22 You [Samaritans] do not know what you are worshiping [you worship what you do not comprehend]. We do know what we are worshiping [we worship what we have knowledge of and understand], for [after all] salvation comes from [among] the Jews.

John 4:23 A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).

I say profound because Jesus notes that those who worship the Father will worship in spirit and in truth. I heard Ravi Zacharia say that the modern church thinks that worship is a half hour of music before the preaching. And sadly this is the case in some churches. But worship is more than just singing. It is defined as the adoration, devotion, and respect given to a deity; or the rites or services through which people show their adoration, devotion, and respect for a deity. In a general way it is great or excessive love, admiration, and respect felt for somebody or something. The act of worship is therefore to treat somebody or something as divine and show respect by engaging in acts of prayer and devotion; or to love, admire, or respect somebody or something greatly. Hmmm, no mention of singing. That’s not to discount singing because singing can express prayer, devotion, love, admiration, and respect.

Furthermore, Psalm 100 clearly says that singing is a part of our worship of God.

Psa. 100:1 MAKE A joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!

Psa. 100:2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!

Psa. 100:3 Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.†

Psa. 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!

Psa. 100:5 For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.

Notice that in addition to singing, there’s thanksgiving and praise. These, of course can be folded into songs, but here the Psalmist is taking specifically about speaking out to God (not merely thinking , or “praying silently”) words of heartfelt praise and thanksgiving. In fact, I don’t believe it is possible for a Christian person not to give praise and thanksgiving to God for all He has done and continues to do for us (Rom. 8:9). One of the primary hallmarks of the Christian life is gratitude. Gratitude to God for all He has done for us through His Son, Jesus the Christ.

Praise and thanksgiving can be corporate, as when a congregation says something like, “Thank You, Father, for giving us Your Son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross.” But it is certainly also intended for individual use, as in praying, “Thank You, Father, for Your Son, Jesus, Who died for me on the cross.” But in all cases, our praise and thanksgiving should be done in spirit and truth. Which means exactly what?

Well, first of all, remember that all of God’s true children are no longer children of the world. That is, they have received a new spirit, linked eternally to the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:20). In Ephesians, Paul writes, May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm! (Eph. 1:3). It is this new spirit within us, guided by the Holy Spirit, by which we worship God. The spirit of the world, which we had before our new life in Christ, will not, indeed, cannot, worship God (Rom. 8:7). So for us to worship in sprit, we have to be God’s children. As His children, and with a heart of gratitude, we can offer our worship of praise and thanksgiving. Indeed, God considers such praise and thanksgiving as a sacrifice to Him through Jesus Christ, for as the writer of Hebrews says, Through Him (Christ Jesus—GB), therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name (Heb. 13:15).

And what about truth? Well. Jesus, really defined this for us, when He said, Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth (John 17:17). When the Word is in us, and we are in the Word (living and doing as it says) then we are in the Truth. We are sanctified, set apart as God’s children in thought, word, and deed by keeping God’s Word in our hearts and allowing it to guide our lives.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:9), and the Spirit of Truth (John 16:130). When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are filled with the very presence of God, and far more in tune with the “spirit and truth” by which we worship God. Paul, writing to the Philippians notes, For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances (Phil 3:3).

“Father, I want the fullness of Your Spirit in me so that I may worship You in all the fullness of the sprit and truth that You deserve. Help me to grasp that fullness and hold fast to it through my trust in You. In Jesus’ precious name, please make it so.”

The vast difference between living and operating with the thought processes and actions of the world and living and operating with the thought processes and actions of God is nicely explained in Romans 7:9 through 8:17. Here Paul is discussing his life as lived in the flesh as opposed to his life lived in the empowering, infilling presence of the Holy Spirit. He starts out by stating that the Law (the commandments) is holy and was given to help people avoid sin. However, human nature, influenced and controlled as it is by ungodly ideas and attitudes, used the Law as a springboard to sin. Not that the Law is to blame; it is human nature without God that draws people aside and causes them to revolt against the Law. And even if humans know what is right, and would like to live fully in the right, none-the-less, human nature, being what it is, draws us aside into rebellion against God and His Law.

Then Paul goes on to say, O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death? O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh (human nature without God—GB) the law of sin (Rom. 7:24-25). From this, Paul goes on to make one of the most important statements in the New Testament regarding all believers, Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice], So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit] ((Rom. 8:1-4).

“Controlled by the Holy Spirit.” That’s the life of the believer. Paul clearly states that those living without God are putting their minds to work on rebellious actions (sin) because the mind of the natural man (without God) is hostile to God and will not submit itself to God’s Law. He says, indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him. But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God]. But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you (Rom. 8:8-11).

Earlier in his letter, Paul noted that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), and here he repeats this certainly, noting that those who live by the dictates of the flesh will surely die, but if one is leading a life governed and directed by the Holy Spirit, then the result is eternal life. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father! The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God. And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory (Rom. 8:14-17).

The Holy Spirit is not an “it,” out there somewhere doing “Holy Ghost” hauntings of Christians. He is God, Himself, ready to fill us and maximize our ability to be all that God intends us to be. He is God, freeing us from sin and death and giving us life eternal. He is God, enabling us to speak life to others and carry on the mission that Jesus initiated when He was here on earth. Living with the fullness of the indwelling Spirit is living in the fullness that God intends for every one of His children.

Loving Father, I give you praise and thanks in Jesus’ name for making Your Holy Spirit available to me to indwell and fill me with Your presence. Help me to live my life in that Truth. Amen.