Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely
2 Timothy 2:11
11 It is a faithful [pistos] saying: [logos] For [gar] if [ei] we be dead with [sunapothnesko] him, we shall [suzao] also [kai] live with [suzao] him: KJV-Interlinear
11 It is a
trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him; NASB
‘It is a trustworthy
statement,’ is an expression that means, the following is a true principle, or,
it is true when we say…
If we died with Him? That is Christ died on the cross. He died two deaths.
The first death was the
spiritual death wherein Christ was subjected to the sins of the world and thus paid
the penalty for sin. He was physically alive
when this judgment occurred.
The judgment for sin,
occurred during the three hours from noon until 3pm on the day of
Passover. A supernatural darkness
covered the land for those three hours and only Jesus’ cries could be heard in
the darkness as the judgment was being carried out.
Jesus was very much
physically alive during that first death, the spiritual death, wherein He was
made sin in our place.
Then after judgment was
finished, He made the statement ‘It is finished.’ And as the light was restored He pushed
Himself forward and died a physical death.
His second death on the cross.
That of course was followed by several events which we have already
studied in detail in other studies.
From there He was taken
down, and placed in the grave for three days and then arose in the first
resurrection.
Now, by believing in
Him, among other things, we believe in what He was subjected to and
accomplished while on the Cross, before, during and after, and in His
resurrection.
By believing in Him, we
then are baptized with the Holy Spirit, and as such we in effect are identified
with Christ, symbolically for us, for what He did in reality, on the Cross.
So, through our faith
in Christ, we recognize and identify with, His work in salvation.
Likewise, through our
faith, we recognize and indentify with, His resurrection and eternal life.
Faith in Christ is not
partial, or cafeteria choices in salvation or the hereafter, nor is it limited
in some fashion.
Just as God did not
predetermine or cause or limit who would be saved, so likewise we should not compromise
or adjust what it is we receive in Salvation and the hereafter. Humanity cannot define salvation to match
some standard or rule he happens to invent for religious or cult purposes.
Humanity does not have
the right to tell people that they must adhere to their rituals, in order to be
saved. These would all be untruthful
sayings.
But Paul tells us that
the gospel and doctrine as spelled out in the Bible, is true, and will not change. But of course we have to study on a regular
basis, in order to learn exactly what the Bible has to say, and of course what
it all means.
Therefore, salvation is
true and a truthful concept. There is
life after physical death. There is an eternity
that lay before us. And there is a
reward for advancement in the spiritual life.
And likewise, there is great loss, if one does not comply with Gods
mandates.
To look at this life as
one series of social activities all geared to entertain us throughout our life,
to look at life as filled with pleasures, or taking because you can, or playing
games with society, and so forth, makes you a very short sighted person.
To live for a few
decades and ignore the next life is the attitude of a fool.
Eternity is a very long
time, and to ignore it completely would be a huge mistake.
If there is a God, and
if we assume that God is truth, fair, righteous, responsible, and so forth,
then we have to know that He would not create all of this for no reason. That He would not have limited lifespans in
this world, without something to replace it afterwards.
To presume that God is
just like us or equal with us, or that all of this creation stuff is nothing
more than an accident, and therefore there is never going to be anything
better, is a fools conclusion.
The whole basis for
Christianity is that there is a God, who became human, who paid the price for
sin, and therefore made eternity possible.
That it is He who did all of the work and that man is the beneficiary of
His work.
So by believing in
Christ, we subscribe to His existence, to His plan, to truth, and therefore
symbolically identify with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. And we believe it because it is so. We believe in the preeminence of Christ, in
the power of the scriptures, in His purpose here for us, and in the eternal
reward that awaits those who advance in their spiritual life.
But life does not stop
with salvation, there is still a huge part of the spiritual life that occurs
after salvation, and that too is something that folks generally mess up.
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