Romans 1:4
4 And declared [horizo] to be the
Son [huios] of God [theos] with [en] power [dunamis], according [kata] to the
spirit [pneuma] of holiness [hagiosune], by [ek] the resurrection [anastasis] from the dead [nekros]: KJV-Interlinear
4 who was declared the Son of God
with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of
holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, NASB
The gospel of Christ is from God. It was revealed in the Old Testament scriptures
and throughout the Bible. The main
subject is Jesus Christ who was declared.
Declared, ‘horizo,’ means to be determined,
predestinated, to bound, to fix limits, to define, to determine, to ordain, to
decree.
The Son of God is a title, bestowed on the second
person of the Trinity to distinguish Him from the first person, that Father,
and the third person, the Holy Spirit.
All power and authority was given to Christ, to be
seated at the right hand of the Father, to be recognized as the ultimate and
supreme sovereign over all that is.
This is the seat of power that Satan desired prior
to, and during, his initial fall. To be
like the most high, to occupy the seat on the north, which is the place of
honor and authority at the right hand of the Father. We studied this in Isaiah.
The Father sits facing the temple. The Father faces west, the temple faces
east. The seat of honor is at the
Fathers right hand, which is to the north.
This is the predestined place that Christ will occupy upon completion of
the work of salvation, including the cross, death, burial, and
resurrection. This was decreed in the
divine decrees that were set out in eternity past.
Satan rejected this plan. Satan rejected Christ.
According to the spirit of holiness, is a phrase
set in contrast to the flesh. The flesh
is corruption and limited and temporary. The spirit which is the realm of God,
is incorruptible and infinite.
This incorruption was accomplished by the resurrection,
wherein Christ defeated death. Death
could not hold Him. He was restored to
life by resurrection, following the spiritual death on the Cross and then the
physical death from which He was placed in the grave for three full days.
He arose on the morning as the first of the first
fruits, or the first of many more people who will likewise be raised in
resurrection.
Thus far in history, only Christ has been
resurrected. The next resurrection is scheduled at the Rapture wherein
believers in our current dispensation, will be raised. We are the second of the first fruits. The third resurrection for all Old Testament
believers and tribulation martyrs, will occur following the Second Advent. The fourth and final resurrection of the
first fruits will occur at the end of the Millennium.
There is a resurrection called the second fruits,
which is all unbelievers who will be brought before Christ at the Great White
Throne, judged and then to the Lake of Fire.
Whether any will repent at that last and final court is unknown. It is
the final sentencing and execution of that sentence, and Christ certainly has
the power and authority to be merciful.
Any repentance would be required to follow the same
pattern of faith in Christ as it has been since the time of Adam. Continued defiance
and rejection of Christ would guarantee the unbelievers eternal sentence to the
Lake of Fire. The penalty for the rejection
of Christ is the Lake of Fire.
Life is a very serious matter.
It is not merely what you can accomplish in this
world, not what you can achieve in wealth or station or status, not even basic
survival.
For despite all the priorities and distractions
that exist in this world, despite all the things that seem important, despite
the circumstances of basic survival or maintaining ones comfort or status, the
single most important decision that you can make is to believe in Jesus Christ
as our Lord and Savior.
Following that, the next priority you have is to
grow up in your spiritual life, to fulfill your meaning and purpose, to
complete yourself as a person, to be a productive believer, and not an incomplete
unproductive one. And that requires your
learning by means of a daily study.
Why? Because
you face all of eternity, regardless of whether you believe it or not.
You were born, and you will someday die. Then what?
Do not be a fool and stick your head in the sand
and ignore that which is obvious.
Of all the belief systems out there, only one,
Christianity, has existed for all of human history. Only one person, Jesus Christ, has the
credentials to be the Lord and Savior.
All other religions are figments of the
imagination, inventions of the sin nature, worthless and empty ideas that have
no basis in fact or reality.
The single common thread that all religions have,
is the rejection of Jesus Christ.
Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship with God, through Christ. A relationship that is free and accessible through
faith. The very simplest thing that
anyone can do is to believe in Christ. A
simple thought that takes but a second of time.
How can anyone live their whole life of years and
decades, and continue resisting that simple faith thought? And lose eternal life.
Likewise, how can anyone live their whole life of
years and decades, and not grow up in their spiritual life by not engaging in a
simple daily study? And lose eternal
reward.
