Fresh Bread - 5/17

Daily Bread

Ephesians 1:1- Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the holy ones, which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus;"

Those who have been born of God are called saints in the New Testament 60 times and are only referred to as Christians three times. Therefore, it is more proper to refer to a New Testament child of God as a saint. Many think of this as an earned status but in reality it is part of God's unspeakable gift to us. The Greek adjective 'hagios' may be translated 'sacred, holy or saint.' It is used of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, of angels, and of men who are consecrated to God. Its meaning implies that which is made pure, perfect, worthy of God, and that which is set apart unto the service of God. This word is used 233 times in the New Testament and 831 times in the Septuagint. It first occurs in the Old Testament in Exodus 3:5, when God commanded Moses to remove his shoes because he stood upon holy ground. The Greek word 'hagios' is translated from the Hebrew word 'kodesh.' The first occurrence in the New Testament of 'hagios' is in Matthew 1:18 "and she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." Those who are holy or saints are those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus (Acts 26:18; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Hebrews 2;11; 10:10; 13:12). Holiness or purity is supplied to us through the purification that is in the blood of Jesus. The blood purifies by absorbing all sin and transmitting it into the offering, which in this case is not a goat or calf but the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus. Jesus took all sin and bore it in his body and carried it away to Calvary where it was justly put to death. Our sanctification is found in the fact that we were crucified with Christ, we were buried by baptism into His death, we were raised up together with Him, and we are now placed in a position of authority with Him in the Heavens. Our life of sin, the old nature, was crucified with Christ insomuch that Christ is not only our representative but we were also crucified with Him that the body of sin might be destroyed (Romans 6:3; Colossians 2:11-12). As new creatures begotten of the Father being born by the Spirit we are holy and pure (1 Timothy 1;5; 3:9; 2 Timothy 2:22; Titus 1:15; 1 Peter 1:22; 2 Peter 3:1; Matthew 5:8).

Blessings

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
www.abidingplace.org