Jesus gave us some rather definitive statements when He was conducting His ministry in person here on earth. In one instance He told us, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing (John 15:5b). That is a rather bold and telling statement from the One and True God. Remember, Jesus never said anything unless God directed Him to say it. It is very interesting that Jesus understood clearly that as a person He was not able to do anything of value for the Kingdom without directly involving God in it. He told us, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the Son is able to do nothing of Himself (of His own accord); but He is able to do only what He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does is what the Son does in the same way [in His turn] (John 5:19). And a bit later in the same discussion He said it again, I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord—but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me (John 5:30)

Jesus is our paradigm, and shows us exactly how to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to our Father. Right before He told the disciples that they could do nothing without Him, he told them I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit (John 15:5a). Grape vines are botanically interesting because they bear their fruit on the current year branches that grow out of last year’s branches. Current year branches that come out of three-year old or older branches do not bear fruit. So, in viniculture, the vines must be pruned to keep last year’s branches and remove older ones that won’t be bearing fruit. In addition, the fruit bearing branches are pruned during the season so as to control their vegetative growth and force more of the photosynthetic products into the fruit.

Not only did Jesus tell us that He is the Vine and we are the fruit bearing branches, but He further told us that the Father is the vinedresser, cutting away all non-fruit bearing branches and carefully pruning the fruiting branches so they will bear more, richer, and more excellent fruit (John 15:1-2). Then He made a very powerful statement about the actual pruning process when He said, You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you] (John 15:3). We are pruned by the Word. Remember, the Word is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12)—more than sharp enough to prune the vine! As we read, study, meditate, memorize, and act in the power and authority of the Word, our lives are pruned so that we can bear abundant fruit of excellent quality. The more we involve our lives in God’s Word, and thereby involve Him in our personal relationship with Him, the more, richer, and more excellent fruit we bear.

The nine fruits of the Spirit that God want sprouting out of every corner of our lives are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, and self control (Gal 5:22-23). These fruits are not like Christmas ornaments that the Holy Spirit merely hangs on us. They are fruits that He plants in us, but which we must allow and encourage to grow. Always, always keep squarely in mind that everything, everything that we do is based upon our right to choose (Deut 30:19). The fruits only grow when we allow them to grow. If we don’t want to show love to others, then no matter how much the Spirit presses us to show God’s love, it won’t show. The fruit will rot on the vine. Bearing fruit for God means being 100 percent in tune with Him. Again, Jesus is the paradigm of such co-operative effort with the Father. He told us with extreme clarity, that He did not seek to do His own will in anything, but only the will of the Father (John 5:19-30).

Often we look to ourselves to determine what God wants from us. Church traditions, built by humans for humans, are often a cause of our bearing sour fruit. Jesus, ever the iconoclast, was confronted by some Pharisees who demanded to know why some of His disciples were eating without the ceremonial washing of hands that Jewish custom dictated. He quoted Isaiah to them, noting that God had said that the Jewish people honored Him with their lips but not with their hearts (Isa. 29:13). He noted that the Pharisees taught rules and doctrines put together by men, clinging to them rather than the commandments. He then gives an example of the way the religious leaders have twisted God’s law so as to exempt themselves for caring for their elderly parents (Mark 7:5-12), and tells them, Thus you are nullifying and making void and of no effect [the authority of] the Word of God through your tradition, which you [in turn] hand on. And many things of this kind you are doing (Mark 7:13). It is not tradition that grows fruit in us, it is the enduring Word of God planted in us by the Holy Spirit as we work hand in hand with Him to rightly understand and divide the Word of Truth (2Tim. 2:15).

Jesus was headed toward Jerusalem with His disciple and saw a fig tree in leaf. The fruit of the fig develops at the same time as the leaves, so Jesus headed over to get something to eat. The tree was barren; it should have been loaded with tasty fruit. He cursed the tree and it withered from the roots and died (Matt. 21:19, Mark 11:20). This is not to say that any of God’s children that don’t bear fruit will be cursed and wither away. No, once God’s child, always God’s child (John 10:28-30). But, a life of useless works is a withered life and of no value to anyone. Such useless works (fruits not of God’s planting) will be burned off the life of every child before that person comes into the full presence of God (1Cor. 3:11-15). When we allow God’s love to dominate our lives, then we will indeed want to bear fruit, and we will be in a position to work with the Holy Spirit to be vines that bear abundant, rich, and more excellent fruit.

Key verse: John 15:5

Associated Keys: John 5:19, 5:30.

Using the Key: “Loving Father, I want to bear abundant, rich, and more excellent fruit for You. Please plant the seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, and self control in my spirit. And then, as I nourish them with the Truth of Your Word, help them to grow to fullness in my life. I ask this gracious King in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.”

One of the truly great Keys to the Kingdom is clearly described for us in Colossians 3:17, And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him. Look carefully at what this key says: (1) whatever you do. That means whatever. Not just some things. Not just when we pray, or when we are in church, or when we are reading the Word, or when we are doing other things with God. This says whatever you do, meaning all things that we do. (2) Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. Everything is all inclusive, nonexclusive; it means everything. Everything includes all things, whether “church related” or not. Everything is everything. (3) We are to do everything in dependence upon Jesus, Who is the Head of the Body to which we belong (Eph. 1:22-23).

Jesus was talking with the disciples and telling them that He would be crucified and rise again, and then told them And when that time comes, you will ask nothing of Me [you will need to ask Me no questions]. I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that My Father will grant you whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM] (John 16:23). Note how this ties in with the part of our key verse from Colossians: giving praise to God the Father through Him. When we ask God for things, we are to do so in Jesus’ name because this honors both Jesus and the Father. Jesus has been given the Name above every name and the Title above every title (Eph. 1:21). It is the name and title above everything. Su when we ask in Jesus’ name we are asking in the name of the ultimate authority Who also has all power (Matt. 28:18).

But this key is more that just using the Name of all power and authority when we ask God for things. We are told to walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God) (Gal. 5:16). Furthermore, we are directed to test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast (1Thes. 5:21). These are not mere suggestions from God. They are directives to which we are to hold fast and apply in our lives every day. But we are not told with great specificity in these passages exactly how to do this. Every child of God wants to please Him and do all that is possible to work intimately with Him and stay in His presence at all times. But without clear direction of how to do this, we often veer away form our intents and end up where we never intended to end up.

This is where the Key in Colossian 3:17 comes into play. As noted earlier, this key is not merely an instruction on the proper way to ask things of God. It is the way that we test all things and the way we are enabled to walk in the Spirit at all times. The instruction is to do everything in Jesus’ name. So, if there is anything that we wouldn’t do in Jesus’ name, then we shouldn’t do it. If it doesn’t bring honor and glory to God through Jesus, then we shouldn’t do it. I once heard a great way to test every situation. Remembering that Jesus is always with us, we can merely turn to Him and ask Him if He’s enjoying the activity as much as we are. I can guarantee you that this is a most sobering way to evaluate situations that might have questionable or negative value in our lives. For example, if one is inclined to go to an “X” rated move, turning as asking Jesus if He would like to go with us will certainly point the way to correct behavior. It’s easy to see how ludicrous it would be to bless such activities in the Name of Jesus.

Jesus’ Name is the Rosetta Stone for interpreting all thoughts and actions. For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him. And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together) (Col. 1:16-17). This is a most revealing passage concerning Who Jesus really is. He is not just some guy that gave His life for us. He is the Creator God that holds all life and through which all things exist. At the end of John, he writes that Jesus performed many other signs and miracles that were not recorded in the Gospels, but the ones that he, John, recorded were give to help us believe that Jesus in the Christ and that through believing and cleaving to and trusting and relying upon Him you may have life through (in) His name [through Who He is] (John 20:31b).

Through Jesus we have life. This doesn’t mean just our physical existence; it means life with the Father. Life that is lived eternally in the glorious presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Life that is continually upgraded from glory to glory (2Cor. 3:18). Paul told the Ephesians that they were not to live like the heathen any longer, thinking and acting as they do. He notes that their understanding is darkened and their reasonings beclouded because they do not know God and are hardened of heart. This has lead them to abandon themselves to all sorts of ungodly behavior such as sensuality, eager and greedy indulgences in every form of impurity that their depraved lives demand. Then He goes on the say, But you did not so learn Christ! Assuming that you have really heard Him and been taught by Him, as [all] Truth is in Jesus [embodied and personified in Him], Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion; And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:20-24).

When we do all things and test all things in the Name of Jesus, we are constantly putting on our new nature and living in the righteousness and holiness that God has made available to all His children.

Key Verse: Col 3:17

Associated Keys: Gal. 5:16, 1Thes. 5:21

Using the Key: “Gracious Father, Lover of my life, I give You praise and thanksgiving that You have made me to be all that I can be. Thanks You for giving us Jesus in whose name I am able to walk in Your Spirit at all times and test all things.  In the name of Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, Whose Name is above every name and Whose Title is above every title, it is so.”

John the Baptist spoke one of the truly great keys in Scripture when he said, He must increase, but I must decrease. [He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.] (John 3:30). And while John was speaking specifically about his ministry relative to Christ’s, it is a key that also fits perfectly the life of every believer because every one of us must allow Christ to increase in us as we decrease in who we were in our old lives.

When Jesus said, You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48), he was saying that we need to grow in who we are in Christ, casting off the old and putting on the new. As new, reborn creatures in Christ Jesus (John 3:6, 2Cor, 5:17) we are just like babies in our understanding of precisely who God has made us to be. So, it is necessary for us to learn not only who we have become but all that has been made available to us as children of the Living God, and all that we can do in service of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

The Bible is God’s instruction manual to His people. We, as individual members of the Body of Christ, are expected to follow the guidance of our Head, Who is Christ the Lord (Eph. 1:22), and Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself] (Eph 1:23). We are to be filled with the fullness that is Christ. Now please note, this is not a one-sided process whereby Christ just fills us up the second that we become a child of God. It is a process whereby we must yield to Him and then work with and through Him to become a vessel of silver or gold that is suitable for the use of the King (2Tim. 2:20). Deuteronomy 30:19 must always be our by-word whenever we think of doing anything in our lives—we get the right, the responsibility, to choose what we will and won’t do.

So before you begin working with God to increase His presence in you, and decrease the presence of your old self in you, it is necessary to make up your mind exactly how much effort you are going to put into becoming all that God wants you to be. The right answer, of course, is that you will do whatever you need to do to become all that God wants you to be. But such an answer has a cost associated with it. And that cost is a commitment of time, and perhaps resources, to learn all that God has to teach you. So, let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us (Heb. 12:1).

The writer of Hebrews chastised his readers for not growing up in the Lord. He told them, that he had much to say to them, but that they had become dull of hearing, even slothful, in achieving Godly insight, Further, they should be teaching others but needed teaching all over again, themselves. He chided them that they were still babies and needed to drink milk instead of eating solid food like the adults they should have been (Heb 5:11-12), and then goes on to say, For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law (Heb 5:13-14).

Our job, as Jesus described it is to have faith in Him (John 6:29). That doesn’t mean to simply believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Savior, and King of kings. It means to trust Him for everything in our lives so that we may become all that God intends us to be. It means that we like James have to understand that faith without works of obedience is dead (James 2:26). Simply trusting Jesus for salvation and nothing more is a travesty of our responsibility to God. But more than that, it is a direct denial that we truly love God. The Agape love of God was put in us when we became His children (Rom. 5:5), and that love compels us to give the best we have back to God without consequence to ourselves. It is what separates Christians from all other people.

Jesus was very straightforward with us concerning the Agape love in us and our desire to obey God in all regards. In fact, He boldly stated, If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands (John 14:15). That’s about as straightforward as it gets. Christians want to do what God directs us to do. Doing what pleases God should be our primary driving goal in life. Therefore, 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) (Phil. 2:12).

Salvation is the process of being made complete, spirit, soul, body, finances, and social life in Christ Jesus. This process starts when we receive Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, and continues for the remainder of our days here in earth. When we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Love and Light through God’s  all-encompassing grace, we get a new spirit linked permanently to the Spirit of Christ Jesus (Gal. 2:20, 2Cor. 5:17). But, we still have the same old body, same old friends, same old information in our brains, same old everything. Our job is to work to reform our lives to line up with God’s Word. Paul, writing to his young disciple, Timothy, pointed out that Christians need to 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 ). We can only do this through honest, one-on-one study time with God, reading, meditating, memorizing, praying about His Word. And don’t do it 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 2:13). Work with Him because you have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers you [you am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; you are self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency] (Phil 4:13, my paraphrase–GB).

Make the quality decision today to dig into the Word and allow God to help you become all that he intends for you to be. Allow Him to increase in you until He is all that there is in you.

Key Verse: John 3:30

Associated Verses: Matt. 5:48, Eph. 1:23, Heb 12:1, Phil. 2:12

Using the Key: “Loving Father, please help me to work with You so that I may decrease and You may increase in my life. I want to live my life fully in You. Please help me to use the strength that You have given me to so order my life and time that I will be able to work diligently at becoming all You have for me to be. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Thank You for making it so.”

The key verse in the last lesson, Gal. 3:13, is the first half of what is perhaps the best description of the Gospel in the entire New Testament. In this lesson we will examine verse 3:14 in detail. It helps to read verses 13 and 14 together because verse 14 is the out-flowing result of verse 13.

Gal. 3:13 Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);

Gal. 3:14 To the end that through [their receiving] Christ Jesus, the blessing [promised] to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might [all] receive [the realization of] the promise of the [Holy] Spirit.

Notice there are two distinctly separate results of Christ’s work on the cross. The first of these is to transfer the blessing provided under the Abrahamic covenant to all those who believe in Christ. It is extremely important to understand that the promises under which we live were made to just two people, Abraham and Jesus. Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his Seed (his Offspring, his Heir). He [God] does not say, And to seeds (descendants, heirs), as if referring to many persons, but, And to your Seed (your Descendant, your Heir), obviously referring to one individual, Who is [none other than] Christ (the Messiah) (Gal 3:16). But then look what God has done for all who will believe in Christ Jesus and His work on the cross for us. For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God (2Cor. 1:20). Amazing, astounding, and stunning all wrapped up in God’s love for us.

The blessings of Abraham, which are the inheritance of every one of God’s children are listed in Deut. 28:1-15. Read them carefully and claim them as operative in your life. But as you read, notice the conditions set forth in the first two verses:

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.

Deut. 28:2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the Lord your God.

All the promises are “yes” in Christ Jesus a long as we are in Christ Jesus. These blessings are not for everyone; they are for God’s children. As His children, we want to do what He commands, not so we get the blessings, but because we love God (Rom. 5:5) and want to honor Him with our lives. The blessings flow to us because God loves us. If you read Deut. 28:2 carefully, you will notice that the blessings don’t just come to us, they overtake us; that is, God sends them to encompass us, to settle upon us, to flow around us from all directions, to push in through every pore of our lives. They are not tenuous and fragile; they are strong and purposeful, persistent and lasting.

But that’s not all. The blessing of the Abrahamic covenant are really no different than what the people of the Old Testament were promised if they walked in God’s love. We get more. We get to be born again, to have our spirits linked permanently to the Spirit of Christ (Gal. 2:20, 2Cor. 5:17). As God’s children with the spirit of Christ living in us, we also get to sit at the right hand of God (the hand of power) (Col. 3:1, Eph. 2:5-6), and be called His friends (John 15:14-15). That makes us something that the Old Testament people could not be, it makes us victorious over the Evil One (John 10:10, 16:33, 1John 4:4, 5:4-5, 5:18) and his sinful nature (Rom. 6:6). We are conquerors (1Cor. 15:57), nay, more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37), we are rulers (Rom. 5:17). And as rulers of our lives, that authority is enforced by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 6: 17, 1John 4:4).

But there’s still more. Once we become God’s children, we have the right to be “filled” with the Holy Spirit. This can only happen once we become God’s children. The people of the world cannot be imbued with the Spirit of the Living God (John 14:17), but all of God’s children can be (Matt. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 14:23). The infilling of the Holy Spirit is the enabling step that allows us to become all that God intends (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is the One who guides and directs the Church (John 14:26). His entire focus is to bring honor and glory to Jesus (John 16:14). Jesus told us very plainly that Everything that the Father has is Mine. That is what I meant when I said that He [the Spirit] will take the things that are Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you (John 16:15).

Just look at that verse again. Everything that God has also belongs to Jesus, and God sends the Spirit to us at Jesus’ request (John 14:16) so that we can have everything that God gave to Jesus. It’s hard to get one’s mind around that. That’s why we need to work at being all that God intends us to be (John 6:28-29). We are not to be downtrodden and suppressed by the Evil One and his curses. We are to be strong in the Lord and walk with hand in hand with Him in all we do (Gal. 5:16-18).

Key Verse: Gal. 3:14

Associated Keys: John 16:15

Using the Key: “Precious Lord, in Jesus’ name I give You praise and thanks for making me Your child and for caring for me with such intensity. I want to bring honor and glory to You in all I do. I claim the blessing of Abraham and the promise of the Spirit as operative in my life, and I ask that You continue to strengthen my understanding of all that Jesus did for me to make me all that You want me to be. Thank You, gracious King, Amen and Amen.”

The living Word of God does indeed set us free, but the question quickly becomes, free from what? The answer is a powerful key indeed. Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified) t (Gal. 3:13)

Jesus came to set us free from the curse of the law of sin and death that Satan holds over us (Rom. 8:2). This law specifically states that the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). Those who choose to live a life that denies God and which refuses His saving grace, are living under the control of the Evil One, and will spend eternity with him. That was never God’s intent for humanity. His intent is that we should live with and in Him. Jesus’ death on the cross made that possible; God will grant citizenship in His Kingdom and confer the title of son or daughter on all who sincerely ask in Jesus’ name (Acts 4:11-12, Rom. 8:17, Gal. 4:4-5). Each one who asks will indeed become a reborn child of God; none will be denied (Rom. 10:13). This is the Good News, the Gospel.

But note, gaining freedom from the curse is a choice that we have to make. We are the ones who have to choose to become sons and daughters of the King (John1:12). Remember the great Key of Choice must be applied to the use of all other keys. The great Key of Choice gives us the right to choose living under the curse or living under the blessings of the King of kings. God has specifically told us, 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. 30:19). The entire creation–all of heaven and earth–stands as a witness against us, not as witness for us. We can choose the life and blessings of God, or we can choose death and the curses of that have put on Satan. Death and the curses are the condemnation that God put on Satan and his followers. Not choosing to live in, for, with, and through God is automatically choosing to live in, for, with, and through Satan.

When Adam bowed his knee to Satan and choose to believe him rather than God, all humanity came under curse of slavehood to the Evil One. Jesus told us in a most straight-forward manner that whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin (John 8:34). And we know that all humans have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives (Rom. 3:23). So the default condition of humanity is that of living under the thumb of the Evil One. There is nothing that we can do, in and of ourselves, to escape the cloying grasp of Satan. God’s Law was not given to set us free. It was given to help us recognize and be conscious of sin, so that we might turn away from it (Rom 3:20). Furthermore, trying to please God by living strictly according to the Law and not living in His grace is a sure-fire way to put oneself under the curse, simply because no one can live perfectly, keeping every law without fail. All who depend on the Law [who are seeking to be justified by obedience to the Law of rituals] are under a curse and doomed to disappointment and destruction, for it is written in the Scriptures, Cursed (accursed, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment) be everyone who does not continue to abide (live and remain) by all the precepts and commands written in the Book of the Law and to practice them (Gal. 3:10).

Jesus was the only one who ever lived a perfect life, keeping all parts of the Law, and was thus able to be our Savior (2Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15). As part of His mission as Messiah, Jesus took the curse of the law on Himself, and beat it. His resurrection signaled to the entire spirit realm and the entire physical realm that He had beaten sin and death (Rev. 1:17-18), and that He had the power to grant freedom from the Curses of the Law to all who ask (2Cor. 3:17, Titus 2:14). He had to die on a cross in order to be cursed because “cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree” (Deut. 21:22-23). He did this so that all who believe in Him gets reborn and freed from the curse of the law For I through the Law [under the operation of the curse of the Law] have [in Christ’s death for me] myself died to the Law and all the Law’s demands upon me, so that I may [henceforth] live to and for God (Gal 2:19). This is powerful news indeed.

The Curses of the law from which God’s children have been freed are listed in Deut. 28:15-68. Read those verses carefully. None of the curses belong to you if you are God’s child. These curses have been bound out of Heaven, and you have the right to bind them out of your life, too (Matt. 16:19, 18:18).

When you bind any of the curses of the law out of your life, loose something of God in its place. Jesus told the story of a strong man who had much treasure, but then noted that when someone stronger comes along, he is able to conquer the strong man and plunder his treasure (Luke 11:21-23). He was talking about Satan and his “treasure” of human spirits over whom he has control. Jesus is the strong man that plunders Satan’s kingdom and retrieves all who want to be set free.

Jesus then goes on to say that when an evil spirit has been cast out of a person, it wanders around in a dry place looking for refreshment. Finding none, the spirit goes back to the person from whom it was cast out, And when it arrives, it finds [the place] swept and put in order and furnished and decorated. And it goes and brings other spirits, seven [of them], more evil than itself, and they enter in, settle down, and dwell there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first (Luke 11:25-26). Why was the person all swept and cleaned and empty? Because nothing had taken the spirit’s place.

When one binds something out of one’s life, something needs to take its place or the bound item will return. For example, if one binds anger, then it’s necessary to replace it with something or it will return as rage. If you bind anger (which has been bound out of Heaven) and immediately loose God’s Agape Love in you, you fill up the empty space so that anger has no toehold in your life. Since old habits die hard, it will be necessary to bind anger every time it comes and loose love or peace or patience in its place—every time. There are nine fruits that the Holy Spirit can cause to grow in us (Gal.5:22-23). Memorize them and use them to replace the things of the old human nature. I arranged them in an order that made it easier for me to commit them to memory: Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, and self control.

The things of old human nature that should no longer have any part in us are listed several different places in scripture and include immorality, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), envy, drunkenness, carousing, and so on (Gal. 5:19). Anxiety (Phil. 4:6), and fear (2Tim, 1:7). In Ephesians are also listed all impurity [of lustful, rich, wasteful living] or greediness, filthiness (obscenity, indecency), foolish and sinful (silly and corrupt) talk, coarse jesting (Eph. 5:3-4). Anytime any of these raise their ugly heads in your life, immediately bind them and loose in yourself the nine fruits of the Spirit. When you do, you will most certainly be walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16).

Key Verse: Gal. 3:13

Associated Verses: Deut. 28: 15-68; Gal. 2:19, 3:10,

Using the Key: “Precious Father, in Jesus’ name, the name above very name, I give You praise and thanksgiving for sending Jesus to free me from the Curse of the Law. Help me to live my life, day-by-day, in such a way that others see this freedom in me. Help me to show the freedom that Christ bestows on all who are God’s children. Help to stand solidly against all the curses and keep myself filled with the Word of the Living God so that my life might always bring honor and glory to You, most Gracious King. So I have asked, so it will be.”

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.”