The God Who Lives and Works

God is alive and He is still doing His work. The wind blows, clouds move, rain falls, the earth continues to spin and rotate around the sun, trees grow and produce seeds, and people toil and thrive. All these are the work of God, and everything that we experience and know through our senses exists by the work of the living God.

Jesus came to the earth because God sent Him to do His work. We know this because of how Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will but Yours be done.” Even though Jesus was the sinless Son of God, He endured much affliction because He associated with sinners and eventually He died on the cross. He was not afflicted because He was unlucky. He was accomplishing the work that God sent Him to do.

Jesus also had His own will. But He gave up His own will for the will of the Father. He said that He could do nothing of His own will, and that He was doing what the Father told Him to do. Right before he died, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” From this we can see that He obeyed the Father even when it was difficult for Him to understand.

Everything Jesus did, no matter how trivial it appeared, was done to fulfill the will of the Father. Therefore, He is the Word. His life is the Word, His experience is the Word, and His works are the Word. The Holy Spirit is He who bears witness of the Word, and the Word is the truth. The Holy Spirit testifies of the truth. Therefore, without the Holy Spirit, no one can know who Jesus is, or understand His work.

The Three Destinies for a Man’s Soul

Not all those who come to church and worship know why they should believe in Jesus or call Him Savior. It is no wonder that the world is indifferent that Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross. But those who witness to others and evangelize must know why Jesus shed His blood and died.

There’s a misconception among new believers that they are now religious and that they should listen to their conscience and distinguish between good and evil. As their knowledge of the Law grows, so does their conscience and they begin to feel conviction under the Law. They resolve this guilt-conscience problem by becoming more outwardly religious and exercising more discipline over their actions and their body. When they feel they have reached a good level of personal discipline, they begin to judge others based on the standards of their own conscience. Can these people take part in the first resurrection?

There are three kinds of people in the sight of God. The first are those who are completely ignorant of Him, who don’t even recognize the difference between good and evil. They will not be judged after they die because they are already condemned and when they die they will enter into Abyss. From there, they will eventually be thrown into the eternal lake of fire.

Next are people who believe in God but who were still under the Law or conscience. They are continually overwhelmed by conviction from the Law or their conscience and they alleviate it by their own actions and strength. In spite of all their effort, because they have not accepted God’s grace, or they have received grace but then ignored it and went back to trying to earn their way by their own efforts, they will be judged according to their own actions. (Revelation 20:12)

Lastly, there are those who have been united with Jesus. These have admitted that they are sinners, and they were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and have been united with Him. When they die, their flesh will return to dust but their souls will go into the paradise to rest until the resurrection of life when they will enter into heaven with Jesus Christ.

Christians Have Been Forgiven by Grace

Some people say that a soul cannot feel pain in hell because it lacks a physical form. There is a big misunderstanding concerning this. Whether a person enters into heaven or is cast into hell, these things will happen after the resurrection (John 5:29). Therefore no one should ignore the warnings about the punishment of hell. This is why Jesus Christ shed His blood and died on the cross.

All men are sinners from birth. This is independent of each person’s actions. When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, it affected all mankind. Just as the eggs inside a fish die if the fish dies, all mankind became sinners by Adam’s sin and death came to all men. Since life is the only thing that can free you from the death, where would this life come from? It is in the blood. The life of an animal is in its blood. The life of a man is in his blood. And the life of a soul is in blood. The blood is the life of an animal, of a man, and of a soul. But for a soul to have life not any blood will do. It must come from one who is eternal.

That is why Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross and died. In the beginning Jesus was with God, but He was born of a virgin and lived a life like any other man. He is the second Adam, preceded by the Adam from Eden, and He is also the last Adam. The first Adam was cut off from the life of God and condemned to hell because of sin. But before the punishment of hell was imposed, the last Adam came into the world and died in the place of the first Adam. By this act the sin-debt of Adam’s transgression was paid, and from that moment on, anyone who acknowledges this can come to Jesus Christ and receive forgiveness.

Christians have been forgiven, not by their own actions, but by grace. Anyone who receives Jesus Christ and is baptized can immediately confess, ‘I have received grace.’ No one should be prevented from making such a confession. Those who have received grace may gather together every Lord’s Day to celebrate Christ’s work and the grace it brought forth.

The Last Sour Wine that The Lord Received

The Bible says in John 19:28-30, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received it, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, he gave up His spirit.”

This sour wine was wine which had fermented for too long and turned sour. It was not a good wine. The Law is like sour wine which does not edify our souls. Jesus said all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John (Matthew 11:13). Neither the Law nor conscience could give life to a man’s soul. If you have received grace but still rely on the Law or on conscience, you are calling judgment upon yourself.

When Jesus said, “I thirst,” He was speaking for the souls of all mankind. This is the condition of man’s soul. We are familiar with the story of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man had no lack while he was in this world, but after he died his situation completely changed. He begged Abraham to send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue. The story reveals the ultimate and most urgent matter to man, the thirst of the soul.

What can quench that thirst? The Law is like vinegar and it cannot quench a soul’s thirst for God. Neither can conscience. After Jesus took the sour wine He said, “It is finished,” and then He died. Jesus fulfilled the Law. He made a way for us to quench the thirst of our souls with the new wine He provided. It couldn’t have been possible by the Law or by conscience.

Many who believe in Jesus still label good and evil based on their conscience rather than relying on grace. Initially they are plagued by guilt until they figure out a way to justify themselves, then they begin to judge others based on their own standards which are derived by their own conscience. They become jealous of those who enjoy freedom in grace, and they try to make them feel guilt. This comes straight from the devil, not from Christ.

We have been united with Jesus Christ. Therefore we are free from judgment and we, along with Jesus Christ, are enjoying everything God has prepared for Him. Having this assurance, we are full of eternal joy. Since this is who we are, what then should we offer to God when we worship Him? Should we offer sour wine? Jesus already took sour wine on the cross, and He will not take it again. Let us quench our Lord’s thirst while we still have a chance; before it’s too late.