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Topics under testimonials:

What God has already Done

Behold the man

The Love of God

Created in His image and likeness

What God has already Done

God has fully fulfilled the promise He made to give man a second chance. "Her seed shall bruise thy head, and thoushalt bruise his heel" has been fulfilled. Almost two thousand years ago, God sent His only beloved Son into the world as He promised.

Jesus Christ, seed of the woman, has already come and paid in full the price needed to free every one of us from the bondage and influence of sin, from the power of Satan and death, and to bestow upon us the lost glory:

"But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law" (Galatians 4:4).

"No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John 1:18).

God has given the human race a savior, Jesus Christ. He is the full revelation of God to man and the only mediator between man and God:

"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (1 Timothy 2:3-6).

God has done what He said He will do, He has done His part, it is now up to you and me to decide what to do with what has been done for us. Jesus paid for our offences with His own life. He gave His life a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:6).

The price he paid, He paid for every one in the world. God through Christ has paid for the sin and sins of the whole world. Through Christ the ransom, He has purchased the world and everything in it. The salvation of mankind was purchased not with silver and gold, but with the very life of the Son of God:

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:1819).

However, be aware that even though God has purchased us and the world through Christ, He can only plead with us to accept His generous offer; He will not force or do anything without our consent. His salvation is not universalism.

What God has done through His Son is awesome; it by far exceeds the crime committed by both Adam and Eve. God's overflowing grace for every man's salvation is that where sin abounds, grace much more abounds. No one is off limits.

No matter what the nature of your sin there is room for you: "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18):

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:12-21).

As quoted, by one man, sin entered the world and death and condemnation by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.

By the offence of one man, death and judgment came upon all men to condemnation; by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. In the same way, through the obedience and righteousness of one man Jesus, righteousness and life comes to all who will believe:

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Further, the one sin of Adam plunged the whole of humanity into death, judgment, and condemnation; likewise, by the one time sacrifice of the righteous man Jesus Christ, many sins are covered.

For example, I was seventeen years of age when I was born again, and you can just imagine how many sins I had already committed against the Lord. But on that day, all (not just a few) of my sins, were instantly washed away by the one-time vicarious sacrifice of Christ on the cross when I believed.

What a great Salvation, a Salvation that has provision even for future sins. Beloved reader, you are included in God's plan, seize the opportunity while you can:

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:7-9).

Again, recounting on the overwhelming benefits of the sacrifice of Christ in contrast to the sin of Adam, this is what the Bible had to say:

"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

"And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Corinthians 15:45-49).

The generosity of God is overwhelming; in spite of the death brought about by the sin of Adam, He is willing to grant immunity from spiritual death to anyone simply by believing and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

According to the Word of God, through many means and in diverse ways God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets, priests, kings, men and women, symbols and sacrifices and types, but now and finally, in these last days, He has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ also known as the last Adam:

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Jesus, as the final Word or message from God, may be hard for some to believe (probably including you), but it is the truth; it is absolutely impossible for God to lie.

Many men, women, and founders of religions over the ages have laid claim to possessing divine powers. Many founders lay claim to having had divine callings from angels or having experienced some supernatural manifestations and revelations or divine callings to lead people into the light, immortality, or to God. Many Jesus, messiahs, and prophets have come and gone, and many more are yet to come.

But, believe it or not, none can save their followers or even themselves from the bondage to sin and its ramifications. None of their writings can redeem man from sin and neither can they declare or make any man righteous before the Holy God.

No man comes close to Jesus in His birth, works, teachings, death, resurrection, ascension, enthronement, and the continuous and powerful works done through His name by His disciples. He stands alone and above all men throughout history. Never shall the earth witness another man like Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus did not just claim to be a man, but also God. He left behind many infallible proofs of His deity. Witnesses heard voices from heaven; angelic beings testified of His deity, even demons testified of Him. On the morning of His resurrection, many saints also rose from the dead, all testifying to His deity. Jesus Christ is more than a man; He is God becoming man. He is the God-Man.

How comforting it is to know there is only one God; think about how confusing it would be if the United States, as one country, had fifty independent presidents. We must admit, Jesus being the only way and Savior is good for humanity. We don't have to search the whole universe looking for all the Saviors and many ways.

There is only one God; He is not one God among many, but the one and only true God:

"Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior" (Isaiah 43:10-11).

John speaks of the existence of Jesus Christ beyond the beginning of the creation of all things. Before He came into the world, He is titled as the 'Word.' He is the Eternal Word:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1).

As the 'Word' He was in the beginning with God. He did not join God at a later date, and neither was He born by God. As the 'Word,' He was not inferior to God, but equal to God:

"All things (universe) were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3).

He is the source of life to all men. He was part of the "Let us" in Genesis 1:26 and the "in-breathing" of man (Genesis 2:7). He is the light of men and the teacher of all who enter the world:

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

"And the Word was made flesh;" That is the Word became man. The Word took upon Himself a human nature. Jesus is therefore presented to mankind as the 'Word become flesh.'

In His incarnation He became identified with Adam's race. This is what God had to say about His Son Jesus when He sent Him to earth:

"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight" (Colossians 1:15-22).

This is what Jesus had to say about Himself while on earth. It was for the fact that He claimed to be God or the Son of God that the religious leaders of His day crucified Him (Luke 22:66-71; Mark 14:62-65):

"For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" (John 5:26).

"For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world" (John 6:33).

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12).

"I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness" (John 12:46).

"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:5).

This is what His disciples who saw, touched, and ate with Him daily for over three years had to say:

"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (1 John 5:20).

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us" (1 John 1:1-2).

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).

"And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son" (1 John 5:11).

"And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses" (Acts 3:15).

This also what the Apostle Paul had to say about Jesus the Christ:

"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Colossians 3:4).

Jesus became man because the people He had to redeem were men; they had a human nature, (not the angelic nature) and for that reason He also took upon Himself the human nature. He added to His divine nature our human nature:

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted" (Hebrews 2:14-18).

God cannot die; it was therefore necessary if Jesus, the Son of God, had to taste death, or die for man, that He becomes man.

Death for the Son of God was the only way to pay for the wages of sin, destroy Satan who had the power of death and restore relationship between God and man:

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:5-11).

Jesus dying for our sins broke the power of death; the sting of death is sin, and where there is no sin, Satan is powerless.

Those who are made righteous by faith in Christ Jesus obtain eternal life; they shall not die but live. Satan having the power of death does not mean he created death, but that he introduced it into this world; he deceived man into choosing death rather than life.

Jesus did not come to kill Satan or the devil (to take Satan and his demons out of existence); He came to destroy his work, to crush his power over man; to destroy the kingdom of Satan and to set up the kingdom of God:

"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered; Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice" (John 18:36-37).

Men throughout the ages for fear of death had invented many idols, gods, and engaged in various religious rituals for protection.

Efforts to please the so-called gods have never been cheap; it has always been done at a great cost to the worshippers. Jesus came to set us free from the fear of death. Christians or believers need not therefore fear death. Jesus our brother has infinitely conquered death and Satan for us:

"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus" (Hebrews 3:1).

To Abraham was promised, "through your seed (not seeds), all families of the earth would be blessed." It was therefore appropriate that the Messiah or Savior should come from the lineage of Abraham.

Jesus died for both Jews and Gentiles. As already mentioned, Christ died to purchase the entire world (man, beast, plants, rivers, etc). He died to redeem all those who will believe in Him from sin and sin's power. He came to re-clothe fallen man with the righteousness of God and to offer them eternal life:

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. . . Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:13-14, 16).

As a descendant of Abraham, he shared the same ancestry with the physical and spiritual descendants of Abraham (Galatians 3:7); it was therefore proper that He called us brethren.

He is compassionate and merciful to all, for He had a nature like our own and can relate to our feelings and pain. Coming into a world filled with violence, sin, sorrow and death, and having experienced the struggles of mankind against the tyranny of sin, He stands to sympathize with our sufferings:

"The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken" (Deuteronomy 18:15).

"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" Hebrews 8:1; cf. Hebrews 8 & 9).

To my Jewish brethren, Jesus is that Prophet Moses spoke about to our forefathers in the wilderness "unto Him ye shall hearken."

Jesus Christ, our current high Priest, replaces the Levitical High Priesthood of Aaron and Moses. His High Priesthood is of the order of Melchisedec (Hebrews 7), the man to whom Abraham paid tithe (Genesis 14:20). As the High Priest, He makes reconciliation for the sins of all His people.

Reconciliation was not necessary from God's side. Man has always been the offender; he is the one who has made God his enemy. For this reason, someone other than man has to step in to negotiate peace and reconciliation on man's behalf and this is where Jesus stands in as our High Priest. He won peace for us by offering Himself as the propitiation.

In Him the wrath of God was fully satisfied. There is, therefore now peace between Man and God. He has also broken the middle wall that separated the people under the Old Covenant from the rest of the nations (cf. Ephesians 2:14). Ascended into heaven and sitting on the throne, He guarantees the salvation of all who will believe:

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1John 2:1-2; cf. Acts 20:28).

By the sacrifice of His own blood and life, he is able to cleanse us from sin and sins and to purify, and then present each of us to God without blemish:

"Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14).

Jesus died as our Substitute. The substitutionary work of Jesus Christ is the heart of the Gospel.

There are serious charges against the human race, and for this reason Jesus came down from heaven to represent man. He came to provide a way out of the mess and to pay the ransom needed for our redemption.

He died for all because all were dead in trespasses and sins without exception. Each of us can rightly say He died for me:

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6).

God punished us in Christ. Jesus received the punishment that was due to us all. Even though He was without sin, God laid on Him the iniquities of us all:

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6).

He was sinless all the time He was on earth, never committed a single offense. He was spotless and blameless; yet, what should have befallen us fell upon Him. He suffered in our place:

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18).

Because the Just suffered for the unjust, God is free to credit His righteousness to any one who accepts Him as his substitute.

The atoning death of Christ validated the justice of God; it gave God the freedom to forgive, acquit and declare righteousness, and still be the just God. Through Christ we can be what God wants us to be - holy and righteous:

"Declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:26).

He died for me, sums up all that Christ came to do. Jesus tasted death for every man. Now you can understand why you must be saved and why you must not go to hell. Jesus died for you:

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).

Jesus died for all is very humbling; it eradicates all pride and classifications among men. It levels all men before God.

The fact that one cannot actively contribute anything to his salvation may be too much for some people to swallow, but that is God's plan and not human works. Salvation is a gift from God to each of us, fully paid for by Jesus Christ. His coming was the beginning of a new order, and to prepare a people for God. J

esus died and rose again to become the representative of a new order. He is representative of all those who will be made new:

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1Corinthians 15:20).

The human race was under the curse of God for breaking His Law. Instead, Jesus became a curse for us by His death on the cross; thus removing the curse, so that the blessing of God could freely flow to all who believe:

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).

We become identified with Him in His death by accepting Him as our savior.

Those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior are considered crucified with Him and resurrected with Him; they resurrect to a whole newness of life:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Let me give you some biblical examples to clarify this very important chapter. Take the Old Testament way of expiating sins for example.

On the Day of Atonement, the great day the sins of the Nation of Israel were expiated, two goats are presented before the Lord, and Aaron is to cast lot upon the two goats; one goat for the Lord and the other lot as a scapegoat.

The goat for the Lord is killed and its blood carried within the veil and sprinkled once upon the Mercy-Seat and seven times before it. The scapegoat is presented alive before the Lord, and the sins of the people confessed over it by the High Priest and let go into the wilderness.

This ceremony portrays the two main aspects of Christ's death; He makes peace with His own blood in the heavenly Tabernacle of which that of Moses was only a shadow. He is also the sin bearer, the dumping place of the sinner's sins.

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world which is represented in the case of the scapegoat (Leviticus 16):

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

Further, Aaron had to take the blood of the sacrificial goat to atone for his own sin and that of the nation.

Jesus, had no sin of His own to atone, He offered His own blood instead of the blood of animals for us. His sacrifice was a one-time offering and needed no repetition like the Aaronic sacrifices. God accepted His sacrifice as sufficient for all time, all ages and for all men.

Never again will animal sacrifice be accepted by God to expiate sin. The blood of goat and sheep could only atone for the people of Israel externally and was therefore limited, but that of Jesus is for all mankind externally and internally:

"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:11-14).

The Old Testament sacrifices were only a shadow of the better things to come in Christ Jesus (Colossians 2:17).

Animal and human sacrifices, libations, curious arts, shapes and numbers and all kinds of rituals are abominations in the sight of God. Those of us who engage in ritualistic forms of worship as a means of placating sins or pleasing God must stop or else we shall be found to be enemies of God instead.

Let us do what the early believers in Christ did by saving the time and money for good works:

"And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver" (Acts 19:18-19).

All the Old Testament Covenants, Laws, Sacrifices and Ceremonies have their fulfillment in the person of Christ Jesus.

Not that God has cancelled them, but that they have done their job, they have been fulfilled and therefore laid to rest in Christ Jesus:

"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.

He taketh away the first that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctifi ed through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:1-10; cf. Colossians 2:17).

Christ was our substitute while on earth; He was our substitute while on the cross and still our substitute in heaven. I can gladly say He was our substitute even before He became a man.

He was our substitute before the world was made (Romans 4:21). Even now in heaven, He is the advocate of all believers:

"Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God" (1 Peter 1:21).

Another great example of the substitutionary work of Christ is that of Abraham and his son Isaac on Mount Moriah.

At God's command Isaac was bound and placed upon an altar Abraham had built for the purpose. Abraham, with knife raised, ready to slaughter his son, was halted by an angel of the Lord. He was told to use a ram caught by the horns in the thicket. Abraham offered the ram instead of his son Isaac.

We can see Christ as the ram caught by the horns in the thicket. Again, we can see Christ in Isaac, who was obedient even to the point of death (Genesis 22). Isaac the beloved son of Abraham was not sacrificed, but Jesus the beloved and only Son of God was sacrificed for each of us.

Jesus came down from heaven purposely to be our substitution. He came to live, die, and rise again on our behalf. He willingly offered Himself for us all. His was voluntary; He gave Himself voluntarily. God did not force Him to be our substitute; He did it because of His own love for us.

He offered to take our sin and sins upon Himself so that we could be free to serve God in holiness and with a pure conscience. Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He came to seek for that which was Lost; a lost humanity:

"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).

God set forth Christ as the all-suffi cient propitiation. He is the one who propitiates and offers Himself as the propitiation.

He is the Savior of the world ( John 4:42):

"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world" (1John 4:14).

The wrath against Adam and the rest of humanity was satisfied in our substitute. Not only did His death break a peace deal for us, but He Himself became our peace.

Believers through Him can approach God with boldness and not in fear. Believers can approach God as a loving Father without guilt and the threat of punishment from an angry Holy God:

"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do" (1Th essalonians :9-11).

"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. . . For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 21).

The death of Jesus removed the barrier that stood among men, for example between Jews and Gentiles, male and female, literate and illiterate, rich and poor, slave and free (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11).

No human classifications can qualify any man before the holy God; they are of no use to Him. The cross of Jesus is a leveler; all must come to the cross if all are to be saved. Adam's sin was judged at the cross and done away with forever.

Positionally, I mean before God, Adam's race has become a thing of the past. All those who put their faith in Jesus Christ are considered dead with Him. If Jesus rose again then, all believers will also rise to a new life. "As He is, so are we," or so we will be. Because He lives, we shall also live ( John 14:19):

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Jesus Christ "was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25).

Because of what Jesus has done for all mankind, God has committed to every believer the ministry of reconciliation, which is to preach the Gospel of Christ to every one; and this is the message we preach:

"God has punished humanity in His Son; He has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." As a result, He is inviting and pleading with each of us to accept His offer and live. Why should you die and perish? (2 Corinthians 5: 18-20):

"Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile" (Psalm 32:2).

The one and only sin that can condemn any one to etenal punishment is the rejection of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

The will of God is that each of us be saved (2 Timothy 4:1):

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:17-18).

Jesus is not a Christian god or guru, martyr, good man, prophet or perfect man; He is God who became man to die for you.

In conclusion, Jesus died for all; Jews and Gentiles, poor and the rich, educated and uneducated, slaves and masters, and most importantly you.

If you were the only sinner on the face of the earth, still Jesus would have come to die for you; this is how much God loves and cares about you.

You are not just a number, a Buddhist, Islam, Bahaullah, Krishna, black or white etc. (none of these matters). The most important truth is that, Jesus died for you. God loves you enough to make His only Son to die for you.

You are precious in the eyes of your maker.

2010-10-01. You can order the entire book from any bookstore or from us. Simply ask for "A Second Chance ISBN 978-1-6064352-6-7" by Joseph DeGraft-Amanfu

2010-10-27

Behold the Man

Oh what a man! I cannot wait to visibly greet Him and express my greatest gratitude. How can I stop writing on such an august man? How do I put down my pen?

John was right, if all that Jesus did and said should be written, "I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that could be written. Amen."

The trouble is who would belief our report? How would the unaided mind accept the truth that, God the Creator of the universe once walked on the streets of the earth purposely to save His human creatures? Truth that transcends reason but not contradict.

Jesus Christ had risen from the dead as He said He would. Some of the disciples went early in the morning to put some extra spices on the body but He was not there.

While wondering what had happened to the Jesus body, He appeared to two of His disciples who were on their way a village called Emmaus.

This is the narrative:

"And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

And he said unto them, what manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

And he said unto them, what things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

And they said one to another; did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

And he said unto them, why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen."

Wow, What a man! With whom can we compare Him? He cannot be just a man and neither can He be just God. Jesus Christ is indeed the God-Man - fully God and fully man.

God has given Him power over all flesh, that Jesus should give eternal life to as many as He would give Him (cf. John 17:2; cf. 1 John 1:1-4). There is life after death. Some men shall rise to enjoy eternal life with God and Christ, and others to everlasting condemnation in the Lake that burns with fire and sulfur:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

But, for those of us who receive Him as Lord and Savior, what can separate us from the love of God?

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39).

All who hate Him loves death (Proverbs 8:36). The Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus called the Christ of the New Testament. By Him all things were created and consist and by Him all men can find salvation and rest for their souls.

2010-11-18. You can order the entire book from us or from any bookstore. Siimply ask for "Transcended Life ISBN 978-1-60725-819-3" by Joseph DeGraft-Amanfu

2011-04-27

The love of God

God is love, and the source of love. God, who made all things and preserves the same, does not just have love - He is love itself. Love is rooted in the very nature of God.

No thought about God is adequate which does not have at center the boundless love of God:

"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God" (1 John 4:7).

Hatred, envy, greed, and pride have not their origin in God. God has no pleasure in wickedness, and neither shall evil dwell with Him (cf. Psalm 5:4).

Everyone who truly loves is born of God and knows God: "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love" (1 John 4:8). Of the three indispensable virtues; faith, love and hope, the greatest is love. True love abides forever:

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:5).

The love that God shares in the heart of His children by the Holy Spirit in Christ never fails - it is pure and holy:

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).

When God decided to share His love with us, He shared it equally and abundantly with every human being.

God's love is an all-inclusive love:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

It is this overwhelmingly great love from the dateless past to date, and throughout eternity that demands our unconditional reciprocal love toward God and among men.

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27; cf. Ephesians 5:2).

Even, the lower creatures are not left out in the ignominious love of the Creator.

Fallen humanity to some extent can even learn some useful lessons on love and unity from them. Outside the love of God, we share some common grounds with the wild beast of the field.

For example, the beast eat the flesh of their fellow beast, but we eat our fellow humans financially.

It is true that if a man does not know God, and experience the love of God, he or her cannot truly love the neighbor. Since, a man cannot give what he or she does not have; one must receive God's love to be able to share it with others.

The love that God expects among men is that which is beautifully and powerfully portrayed in and by Jesus Christ:

"For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

God is good to all His creatures, especially to those who are in His Son Jesus Christ.

For us, "neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

For the purpose of clarity and appreciation, let me show you some of the prominent features of the divine love, and beginning with creation.

Creation in profusion and perfection

As a gracious, merciful and loving Father, God began the creation of man by first, creating a lavish home with all that man can dream of.

For six days God worked to give us the earth and all that is in it. Man was created on the day six of the week of creation:

"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:11).

The earth is large and spacious to accommodate all who must live on earth; man, animals and plants.

And I must add, if it happened that there was no more room to accommodate all, God would take care of that.

For our needs - it was provision in perfection and profusion. Not only did God provide food in abundance, but provided a palace from which parents of the human race would rule the earth:

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it" (Genesis 2:7-15).

The creation of man, unlike the animals was special.

Man is related to God in the sense that man is a being created in the image and likeness of God. Man's exceptional making qualified him to have union and communion with his Maker.

Every human being possesses the power to act concretely, and by the gift of the conscience, distinguish between right and wrong. It may be true that animals like human beings possess soul and body, but what sets human beings apart and above them is our distinctive "inbreathing," which transmitted to us a "personality" in the image and likeness of God.

"Inbreathing" transmitted to man attributes such as personality, reason, will, intelligence, and a moral nature. Man, like the Creator, can comprehend concrete things, cognize abstract truth, communicate coherently and make intelligent choices.

Language, understanding, and coherent speech were a possession from the moment of creation:

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day" (Genesis 1:27-31).

The earth, nature, man, beast and plants were all created perfect from the moment of creation. Man was created upright.

As to the extent of their innocence - parents of the human race Adam and Eve, were both naked, and were not ashamed (cf. Genesis 2:25).

Hence, we are all called to imitate God: "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children." We do this when we love God above ourself and things, and our neighbor as ourself.

2011-07-19

Created in His Image and Likeness

Created in the image and likeness of God makes man a unique being - it conveys to man all the attributes that differentiate him from all other creatures, and connects man directly to his Creator. The in-breath of lives not only gave to man life, but a spirit - a spirit which is in union with the triuine God and can commune with Him.

Further, created in the "image and likeness of God," conveyed to man virtues such as leadership, kingship, entrepreneurship, duty, and power. Also, it enabled capacities such as coherent speech, will, desire, holiness, rights, and knowledge.

All of these made man resemble God and qualified man for dominion and responsibility. Further still, it made man a responsible, blessed and moral being. The creation of man is the first of its kind in God's universe.

Now, let us examine some of these blessings individually and briefly.

Man of Faith

Man was created as a man of faith - faith obeys, and Adam was obedient to the commandment of God until sin was found in them. Adam's faith meant his will, desires, and purposes were in alignment with that of the divine - what God wanted was what Adam wanted.

From the hands of the Creator, man came out clean, upright, and full of faith - the nature of man was perfect from the day he was created. Man was created in righteousness and in true holiness, but man "have sought out many inventions" (Ecclesiastes 7:29):

"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24; cf. 2:10; Titus 2:14).

Adam, who was created after the image of the Son of God, is the only man that is said to be the figure of Jesus Christ - Adam was as holy as his Creator wanted him to be:

". . . Who is the figure of him that was to come (cf. Romans 5:14b).

Heaven and earth enjoyed oneness and togetherness under innocent Adam - the commandment of God was their delight and covering.

As already mentioned, human beings are worshipping species; we are designed to worship the Creator in truth and in Spirit. Like the holy angels who daily minister before the Lord, man was made holy and without blemish:

". . . The people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise" (Isaiah 43:21)

Our first parents lived in the presence of the Lord God, and were clothed with His radiance and glory.

All creation was in harmony with the divine goodness, will, and holiness - the whole earth was the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God was all. The will of God was on earth as it was in heaven (cf. Mathew 6:10; Psalm 112:1).

The will of God was the will of man; "thy kingdom come," was already a possession (cf. Mathew 6:10). Unfortunately, today, man has to pray for the will of God to be done in life and on earth, but in the beginning it was not so:

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31a).

Innocent Adam and Eve, parents of the human race, were friends of God from the beginning - they delighted and enjoyed in their Creator for a while before sin entered and separated them from each other and from God (Genesis 2:19).

From the hands of the Creator, man was perfect. Man was not a sinner, and neither was there any rebellion in him. Further, there was nothing neither obscure nor obtuse in the nature of man. But, mark, even though created holy, man had the ability to sin and not to sin.

There is a hint in Genesis that our first parents were familiar with God, perhaps in a way never known to the rest of humanity apart from the man Jesus Christ; the couple knew God intimately:

"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8a).

Think about it, even in their fallen state, the couple "heard the voice of the LORD God" - oh, that God would open our ears and eyes to see His glory the seed of the woman, and draw each of us to Him again.

Further, can you believe in the beginning Adult Adam and Eve were naked, but were not ashamed, and why? Man had no shame being physically naked because there was nothing to make man ashamed - man knew no sin or evil:

"And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:25).

Their level of holiness was exactly like Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The couple was clothed with the glory of God - man was a holy being clothed with the majesty of heaven. Our parents were majestically clothed with salvation from the moment of creation (cf. Psalm 132:9).

God Himself was our covering - His righteousness was our only garment from the moment of creation and needed no change and cleaning, and neither was it susceptible to decay, corruption and fading:

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10).

The closest we can get for their type of clothing is that which Jesus Christ had on when He arose from the dead.

The New Testament records that Jesus Christ arose from the dead leaving His material grave clothes in the tomb, and yet we have no record that He walked naked among His disciples with whom He stayed for forty days before ascending to heaven (cf. John 20) - Jesus Christ was spiritually clothed with the radiance and the glory of God.

Adam and Eve lost this kind of righteous covering to sin, but here is the good news; someday, all believers in Christ shall be clothed like the Son of God:

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:1-3).

God is the moral governor of the universe - He is the moral standard for all His creatures, and man was in line with the divine moral requirement (man was righteous).