Devotional Notes Romans 8

B1 What does this mean?

C1 We Need to Live By Our Holy Spiritual Nature Not Our Fleshly Nature

D1 “...in Christ Jesus.” Some have difficulty with the idea of “in” Christ Jesus.

E1 Picture a set, say, a circle.

E2 Label it Christ Jesus.

E3 Put a dot somewhere inside the circle.

E4 The dot is in Christ Jesus.

E5 This illustrates agreeing and believing with His ways, lifestyle, leadership, and decisions. It includes living according to His rules and teaching the Gospel and the principles of the Kingdom of God to all people. This means we have to study. We are in His kingdom, ascribing to His laws, worldview, lifestyle, etc. See also: What does it mean to be in Christ?

D2 Note that those who are in Christ Jesus do not live by the desires of our flesh, even though some are OK in moderation such as eating, sleeping, etc. It is those who live by the Spirit, which is the desires of God as taught in the New Testament. Things God desires:

E1 Psalm 51:6 NRSV You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

E2 God would rather show mercy and for us to show mercy: Hosea 6:6 NIV For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

D3 The law of sin and death is Mosaic law, works, failure, sin, and death.

D4 The law of the Spirit of Life is the rules of Jesus in the New Testament. A couple of those laws. There are over 1,000.

E1 Colossians 3:5 NIV Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

E2 Colossians 3:8-9, 12 NIV But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ... 12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

D5 Verse 3, no son of Adam could obey the Mosaic Law, so God sent His Son, who did obey perfectly in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds.

D6 Verse 4, since Jesus obeyed perfectly, those who believe have righteousness also. We deserved death, a substitute (our Passover Lamb—Jesus) was punished in our place. Jesus died, was buried, was resurrected, was ascended, and is returning for us.

D7 We are in Christ. We are justified (all punishment for sin has been fully paid).

D8 Verse 6-7, if Christians live by the desires of the flesh (carnal), it is offensive to God and results in death. It cannot obey God’s laws. (Some fleshly desires: see Mark 4:19, Mark 9:35, Mark 10:43, John 8:44, Galatians 5:24, 2 Timothy 4:3, and James 4:1).

D9 If Christians live by the desires and wishes of God, it results in peace and life. (Some spirit desires: see Luke 9:23 and Revelation 22:17).

D10 Verse 9, those who have the Holy Spirit are Christians. We have a helper, one who reminds us, one who gives us grace and desire to live by the Spirit. So, we must do so.

E1 John 14:16 NASB I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.

E2 Ephesians 3:16 NIV I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

D11 The body, in a sense, is dying—dead. It’s desires, motives, and deeds are doomed for death.

E1 Verses

F1 From breaking God’s laws (sin): Romans 6:23 NLT For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

F2 God’s angry judgment is eternal, conscious torment: John 3:36 NLT And anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment.

E2 Article: Don Stewart What Is Spiritual Death?

D12 Verse 11-12 is the promise of resurrection. The proof is Christ raised and we are in Christ. So, there is no reason to live surrendering to our fleshly desires.

D13 verse 13, God’s ways lead to life, but any other way leads to death. There are only 2 kingdoms—God’s or the devil’s.

D14, Verse 14, lead refers not to some mystical experience but to the rules and principles of the New Testament. The Holy Spirit might bring a verse to memory, etc.

E1 Psalm 143:10 Amp Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me into a level country and into the land of uprightness.

E2 The Holy Spirit that lives in us has given us the gift to read and study the Bible: 1 John 2:26-27 BSB I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.

D15 Anything but God’s way is a way of slavery (think of addiction) to sin.

D16 Witness of the Spirit with our spirit:

E1 Olshausen beautifully says "in His comforting us, His stirring us up to prayer, His reproof of our sins, His drawing us to works of love, to bear testimony before the world, etc. On this direct testimony of the Holy Ghost rests, ultimately, all the regenerate man’s conviction respecting Christ and His work. (Source).

E2 Over a period of a few months, I visited two dying people—a man of 82 and a woman of 52. Neither wanted to die. Both were greatly loved by their families. Each had many reasons for wanting to keep on living. Along with many others, I prayed earnestly for their healing, but God had other plans.

As soon as these two people realized that God wasn’t going to heal them, I saw an amazing transformation in them. They both displayed a calm acceptance of death. Their faces took on a new glow, and from their lips came words of testimony and praise. They knew they were God’s children and had the assurance that they would soon be with Jesus in heaven. The peace and joy they radiated brought comfort to their loved ones and friends.

What was the source of such absolute certainty in the face of dying? It wasn’t what any of those who ministered to them said or did. It was supernatural grace imparted by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul put it like this: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).

Praise God! All who trust Christ and who walk in fellowship with Him need not dread the hour of death. —HVL

By: Herbert Vander Lugt (Source).

C2 The Holy Spirit Helps Us In Our Suffering

D1 In support of the preceding comment, we read about suffering. We have confidence and comfort because of grace from the Holy Spirit.

D2 Everything non-human waits until Jesus comes to restore all things.

D3 Verse 24, faith is believing God (for example, a promise); hope is the wish of it happening today.

D4 Verse 26, weakness helped by the Holy Spirit. Whether sorrow, suffering, sickness, etc. God gives grace to survive.

D5 Verse 27, God’s will is always done, because we are in God’s school and being taught God’s ways by God Himself.

D6 Verse 28, regardless of what happens to us. God does not abandon us (Hebrews 13:5). We may feel He has, but He has promised. Somehow, He uses all these things to teach us and mold us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

D7 Image of Christ: Jack Wellman identifies this as: It is God’s Spirit that is shaping us, molding us, and forming us into the same image or likeness of Jesus Christ. Of course, we’ll not have the same glory that He has, but we should be living so much like Christ that if a person who had never met Christ saw you, they’d think it was Christ by the way you acted and the way you lived.

D8 Predestination= decide beforehand. God has a plan. His plans are always in wisdom, love, and holiness.

E1 Verses

F1 The Greek word for predestination is προορίζω proorízō. It means to decide beforehand.

F2 It is used 6 times in Scripture:

G1 Acts 4:28 NLT But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will.

G2 Romans 8:29-30 NLT For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

G3 1 Corinthians 2:7 NIV No, we declare God's wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

G4 Ephesians 1:5, 11 NLT God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ... 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

F3 God has plans and some of those are conditional but, as we read, some are unconditional

E2 Articles:

F1 Jabez Burns, “Conversation on Predestination”

F2 Harry A Ironside Answers Questions About Predestination, Election & Assurance

C3 God Loves Us and Helps Us To Be Conquerors

D1 God the Father loves the Son. Fathers love their children in a greater way than other children. If God so loved His Son to send Him to die the death we deserved, God shows His great love for us.

D2 Regardless of what we go through, He still loves us.

D3 God is the justifier. Who can accuse?

D4 Verses 38-39 are both a promise and a hope.

C4 Questions

D1 What is the difference between the fleshly nature and spiritual nature?

D2 What does it mean to be in Christ?

D3 How do we know what the Christian life is and how to live it?

D4 What does it mean that we are addicted to sin?

D5 In what ways does the Holy Spirit help us live a Christian life?

A Few Thoughts on Romans 9

Before finishing the next part in Romans, I wanted to study Romans 9 before consulting commentaries, theological articles, etc. in order to understand the primary meaning of the passage. I’m not finished, but I thought I would post this until I have time to study it more.

Definitions

B1 Foreknowledge

C1 Secular dictionary: Knowledge or awareness of something before its existence or occurrence; prescience. [Source]

C2 Theological/biblical dictionary

D1 Most have a Calvinistic redefining as knowing the future before it happens, but it also has the idea of a predetermined plan.

D2 It is hard to find anything honest.

C3 Greek word with examples

D1 The Greek word is πρόγνωσις prógnōsis. It is used 2 times in the New Testament.

D2 It means to know before something happens.

D3 It is an attribute of God. Personally, I think it is near blasphemy to believe that God does not have foreknowledge as it is commonly defined. To have it mean “prearrangement” (Source) or When the Bible speaks of God’s foreknowledge it means more than merely that he knows what will happen. Usually God’s foreknowledge is linked with God’s purpose, which means that it is often the same as his pre-determined will (Source) takes away from the simple idea that God truly knows the future before it happens instead of predetermining it. Having a plan is different than predetermining a plan and rendering it certain. Foreknowledge is not causative. See Ed Jarrett, “Arminianism: Foreknowledge, Predestination and Election” This article also addresses some point in this topic of Romans 9.

D4 Bible verses:

E1 How can this verse have foreknowledge mean predetermined? ...according to God’s determined plan and predetermined purpose? Acts 2:23 CSB Though he was delivered up according to God's determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.

E2 1 Peter 1:2 CSB according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

B2 Predestination

C1 Secular dictionary: previous determination as if by destiny or fate [Source]

C2 Theological/biblical dictionary: Divine predestination means that God has a purpose that is determined long before it is brought to pass. It implies that God is infinitely capable of planning and then bringing about what he has planned… [Source]

C3 Greek word with examples

D1 The Greek word is προορίζω proorízō. It means to decide beforehand. It is used 6 times in the New Testament.

D2 Bible verses (Acts 4:28, Romans 8:29-30, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:5, and Ephesians 1:11)

E1 Romans 8:29-30 NIV For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

E2 Ephesians 1:5 NIV he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will

Side note topic on Romans 9

B1 We know

C1 God knew the outcome of these two boys before birth

C2 Note that it was before they had done any good or evil

C3 A prophecy was given to Rebecca that older will serve younger

B2 God had a purpose

C1 A choosing not based on works but on God’s call

C2 Teaches us that just because both are sons of Isaac does NOT mean both are chosen. One is the chosen, Jacob, the younger. The DNA relationship does not effect spiritual outcome. God foreknows the future. His foreknowledge is truly knowing the future, not decreeing the future and having a perfect memory for what was decreed. Truly knowing the future is a character trait of God.

B3 We see a hardening

C1 Hardening is not for heaven or hell, salvation or damnation.

C2 It appears to be related to a decision on the part of individuals towards God and His ways instead of an arbitrary decision based on some secret will of God.

C3 Romans 11:25 NIV I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,

C4 Ephesians 4:18 NIV They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

B3 Romans 9:15-16 NIV For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

C1 Why does God show mercy?

D1 Asking God for mercy:

E1 Isaiah 55:6-7 NIV Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

E2 Seeking God’s help: Daniel 2:18 NLT He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.

E3 Psalm 4:1, Psalm 9:3, Psalm 25:16, etc.

D2 Humility:

E1 Pharaoh did not humble himself, so he was given no mercy: Exodus 10:3 NIV So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

E2 Daniel did humble himself, so he was given mercy. Daniel did not merit this mercy of answered prayer, but it was a condition for receiving God’s mercy: Daniel 10:12 NIV Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.

D3 Truth: Matthew 9:13 NLT Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.' For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.

D4 Showing mercy to others: Matthew 5:7 NIV Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

D5 A contrast of one who does not seek God’s mercy and one who does. One depends on what he does; the other depends on his plea for mercy. Luke 18:9-14 NIV To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

C2 Why doesn’t God show mercy?

D1 Not seeking God’s help and trusting Him: Isaiah 27:11 NLT The people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots. Israel is a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, the one who made them will show them no pity or mercy.

D2 Seeking false gods and sinful pleasures: Jeremiah 16:5, 10-12 NLT This is what the LORD says: "Do not go to funerals to mourn and show sympathy for these people, for I have removed my protection and peace from them. I have taken away my unfailing love and my mercy. ... 10 "When you tell the people all these things, they will ask, 'Why has the LORD decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to deserve such treatment? What is our sin against the LORD our God?' 11 "Then you will give them the LORD's reply: 'It is because your ancestors were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They abandoned me and did not obey my word. 12 And you are even worse than your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to listen to me.

D3 Concealing sins instead of confessing them: Proverbs 28:13 NLT People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

D4 Not showing mercy to others: Exodus 1:13 NLT So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.

D5 Refusing to give God credit for what He has done, does, and will do, and also, not being thankful for what He has done.

E1 Romans 1:21 NIV For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

E2 Punishment starts here: Romans 1:24 NIV Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

D6 Hardening their hearts (resisting the Holy Spirit [Acts 7:51] and refusing to believe [Numbers 14:11 NIV version and John 10:26 NET version]): Psalm 95:7-11 NET For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture, the sheep he owns. Today, if only you would obey him! 8 He says, "Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, like they were that day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors challenged my authority, and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I was continually disgusted with that generation, and I said, 'These people desire to go astray; they do not obey my commands.' 11 So I made a vow in my anger, 'They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.

D7 It is a principle of God. The punishment God gives is frequently delusion. God is the God of truth. When truth is rejected, people turn to imagination, a lie that they believe is truth. We note this today in that for many people truth is their personal opinion. 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 NIV For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

D7 Pride

E1 Proverbs 16:5 NIV The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

E2 Luke 18:14 NLT I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

C3 Why did Jacob receive mercy but Esau did not?

D1 Jacob confessed sins (it took until he was an old man), built an altar, believed God (shown in that he obeyed God), etc.

D2 Esau did none of the above.

C4 Why do some receive mercy today?

D1 After God initiates salvation, some do not resist God. They believe God, obey God (repent and believe the Gospel [Mark 1:14-15]), place their trust into Jesus alone (Acts 4:12). The others resist because of pride and love of sinful pleasures.

D2 It is not the secret will of God. God wants all people to repent.

E1 Acts 17:30 NIV In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

E2 Real repentance is seen by a change of life in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds: Acts 26:20 NIV First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.

D3 Belief that God (Yahweh) exists:

E1 Hebrews 11:6 NIV And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

E2 Exodus 5:2 NIV Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.

D4 God shows mercy to all but most resist and refuse to believe: Romans 11:30-32 NLT Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. 31 Now they are the rebels, and God's mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God's mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

C5 God has a purpose as well for choosing. Consider:

What was/is God’s purpose in election; what is his purpose for choosing people? 1 Peter 2:9-10 gives at least a partial answer to that.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. – 1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV

We are a chosen, or elect, people so that we can declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness and into his light. In the parable of the wedding banquet, who was it that would be praising the king who had invited them? It was the chosen ones. But would they praise because they were chosen, or were they chosen because they were the ones who would praise him? It is likely that it is the later; the ones not chosen couldn’t be bothered to come and were likely not inclined to praise the king. (Source)

C6 I believe that God created humans to have fellowship with Him and to serve Him forever. God does NOT need fellowship. It seems that He enjoys it.

D1 1 Corinthians 1:9 CSB God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

D2 2 Corinthians 13:13 CSB The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

D3 1 John 1:3 CSB what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:1-14

Chapter 1

Chapter 1:1-14

A1 Scripture

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, (Ephesians 1:1-11 NKJV)

A2 Outline

B1 Intro

C1 Author: Holy Spirit

C2 Writer: Paul

B2 Addressees

C1 God's people in Ephesus

C2 The faithful in Christ Jesus (the rest of us)

A3 Notes: Dealings with God and His people (Christians)

B1 Who has blessed us .

C1 When the lesser blesses, he thanks and praises the greater.

C2 When the greater blesses, it is gifts of many types.

D1 Spiritual blessings

E1 Fruit of the Spirit: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control–against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23, WPNT)

E2 Some blessing listed here

F1 Adoption

F2 Forgiveness of sins

F3 Knowledge of the mystery (The Gospel)

F4 Our gathering together (Unity—God's unity not the worldly unity that is currently preached uniting believers with heretics and apostates).

F5 An inheritance (Heaven and especially fellowship with God).

E3 God himself. (Jesus Christ is the ultimate blessing in this life, because of all He is and is, has, and will do).

D2 Heavenly blessings

B2 He has chosen us.

C1 Meaning of the word

D1 A choosing for Himself.

D2 To pick out as in upon seeing a number of choices, one is picked out. If I went with a brother to a cafe, and he said, "Pick out something on the menu; I'll pay for it," and I picked out the fried ehis word means.

C2 He chose us.

D1 This decision, the plan, was made before the creation of the world.

D2 This decision is God's plan.

D3 This does not seem to involve individuals as much as the group/set consisting of Christians. (Consider corporate election).

D4 Election is different than unconditional election.

E1 Unconditional election, in its various versions, is where God makes His choice of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. The elect for heaven have no choice in the matter, nor those who are the elect for hell. God does the choosing. (See, Election is, therefore, that decree of God which He eternally makes, by which, with sovereign freedom, He chooses to Himself a people, upon whom He determines to set His love, whom He rescues from sin and death through Jesus Christ, unto Himself in everlasting glory.

This election is sovereign - God's sovereign and free choice. This election is eternal even as God's counsel is eternal. This election is unchangeable even as God's counsel is unchangeable. This election is efficacious so that the decree of election itself is, through Christ, the power by which the elect are actually saved. Source).

E2 Conditional election is, Therefore, election is corporate and embraces individual persons only as they identify and associate themselves with the body of Christ, the true church (Ephesians 1:22-23 and source).

C3 Chose for a purpose.

D1 For us to be holy

D2 And blameless

D3 To be adopted

E1 Sons and daughters of God

E2 Privileges of the family

E3 Possible because of the atoning death of Jesus Christ

E4 2 Corinthians 6:18 WPNT And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the LORD Almighty.”

B3 He predestined us.

C1 Meaning of the word

D1 Plan, though, because of theology it has picked up the meaning of exhaustively determined.

D2 Predetermine in the sense of a decision was determined before the situation that demanded it. So, it is a plan, a decision, that occurred in the past before creation.

D3 It does not mean to pick out an individual and determine him/her to heaven or hell.

D4 I would never chose him for I was dead and could not, but the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and heart to the Gospel and offered me salvation. I could resist or not resist. If God had not predestined me, I would never have believed.

C2 Predestination was done "in love," though "in love" might refer to verse 4 in which it would refer to our love to Him.

C3 Predestination is for adoption not salvation. It was God’s plan.

C4 The good pleasure of His will, that is, this was a happy decision.

C5 It is of grace, which is receiving what we do not deserve.

B4 He has made us accepted in the beloved.

C1 Grace has made us accepted.

C2 Grace is getting what we do not deserve.

C3 We deserve hell, but instead, because of His grace we are accepted, not rejected.

C4 Those who are rejected are those who resisted God's gracious call.

D1 Luke 13:34 EMTV "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

D2 John 5:40 EMTV But you are unwilling to come to Me, so that you may have life.

B5 We have redemption.

C1 Meaning of the word

D1 Freedom because of something paid.

D2 Deliverance

D3 Jesus suffered and died to pay the penalty of sin.

C2 How

D1 Through His blood. No blood shed, no salvation.

D2 Because of His shed blood, we have forgiveness of sins.

C3 Some cross references

D1 Galatians 3:13-14 EMTV Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree," 14 so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

D2 Colossians 1:13-14 WPNT who delivered us out of the dominion of the darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins.

D3 Romans 5:6 EMTV For while we were still weak, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

D4 Hebrews 13:12 EMTV Therefore Jesus also, so that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

D5 John 19:30 EMTV Therefore when Jesus received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

B6 His grace is abounded.

C1 Not just a little grace but lots of grace.

C2 Wisdom

D1 Wisdom deals with decision making.

D2 God shows His wisdom in salvation and the plan of salvation.

C3 Prudence

D1 Making a choice with moral insight

D2 Deals with the practical details of how to carry this plan/decision out.

B7 He made known to us the mystery of His will.

C1 The mystery of His will is the Gospel.

D1 1 Timothy 3:16 EMTV And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among [the] Gentiles, believed on in the world, [and] was received up in glory.

D2 t2 Timothy 1:10 EMTV but has now been revealed through the appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ, having abolished death on the one hand, [and] having brought to life immortality through the gospel on the other.

D3 A mystery: what was hidden is now known

C2 He knew the plan but did not reveal it until the time of Jesus on this earth.

D1 This plan was done in

E1 Accordance with His good pleasure (satisfaction, delight)

E2 His plan not a plan put together by others

E3 Psalms 33:11 GNB92 But his plans endure forever; his purposes last eternally.

D2 A plan hatched in justice and love

B8 He will gather us together.

C1 The true unity of believers is not the forced, and we are still a family in the 21st century.

C2 God does this gathering, not some pastor, church, or group of people.

B9 We have an inheritance.

C1 Our main inheritance is God himself.

C2 Jesus shares His inheritance with us (Romans 8:17 CSB - and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him).

C3 Includes

D1 Forgiveness of sins

D2 Heaven

D3 Fellowship with God, holy angels, and God's people

D4 Relief from the sufferings caused by sin.

B10 Applications

C1 God made a plan. He followed that plan.

C2 Jesus always was, is, and will be Messiah.

C3 God’s plan, through Abraham, was to have a physical nation, Israel, and a spiritual nation, the church. When one is born again, they enter the spiritual nation, the church, which is Christ’s body.

C4 We are a family of believers.

C5 We have an inheritance.

C6 We need to preach the Gospel.

Judas Iscariot Prepared by God?

Was Judas Iscariot created, prepared, to be the betrayer?

The thought being that God created Judas to be the betrayer.

Judas became the betrayer because of his own choices.

Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. (Luke 6:16, EMTV)

Now He was speaking about Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he was intending to betray Him, though he was one of the twelve. (John 6:71, EMTV)

And after supper, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, (John 13:2, EMTV)

"Men and brothers; it was necessary for this Scripture to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; (Acts 1:16, EMTV)

Judas began as a follower but ended as a traitor.

Judas began with God but ended up following the devil's suggestion.

Judas began as a follower but ended as a leader, guide, to those who were to arrest the Lord Jesus.

Many start well but end up in disaster.

Let us do things God's way and be humble.