Today we continue our series entitled, “Grace and Truth” by continuing to look at by continuing to look at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our main scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. Let’s look at them again.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
In this series we studied Galatians 3, 4, and 5. Yesterday we stopped at verse 13 of chapter 5. I feel led to go back to that same verse again today.
(Galatians 5:13 The Passion Translation)
Beloved ones, God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Freedom means that we become so completely free of self-indulgence that we become servants of one another, expressing love in all we do.
So what does this mean for you today? I am going to do something different today. Instead of giving you a series of points, like a normally do, I am going to close out the week by helping you understand the big picture.
To understand what the Old Covenant (given my Moses) lacked and what the New Covenant (ratified by Jesus’ own blood) provides, we need to take a macro view of God’s plan. God created the world and everything in it in five days. On the sixth day, after everything else was done, God created Adam and placed him over everything He created. Adam was to be the ruler of this planet. As God ruled ‘up there’, Adam was to rule ‘down here’. Adam was God’s representative in this world Adam was supposed to extend heaven’s influence to the earth. Adam, and others like him, were supposed to be kings and rulers in this world, while God was to be the King of the kings and the Lord over the earthly lords. In this way God would be the king of the entire Kingdom, while Adam and others like him emulated God down here, as they ruled over their sphere of influence. To do this effectively, God equipped Adam for the job. God placed His OWN SPIRIT down inside of Adam. The Holy Spirit, inside of Adam, was Adam’s direct connection to his heavenly Father. Adam never went to school. He did not have an education. But it did not matter because he had revelation from heaven. Adam did not have to live by external inputs or rules. He lived by the internal leading of the Holy Spirit. To make a long story short, Adam sinned, the Holy Spirit was removed, his eyes were opened, he was resigned to live his life as a mere human, and every human born since was born with a hole that only the Holy Spirit can fill. Because it was the hole created when the Holy Spirit was removed.
God chose to bless a man named Abraham. He did this completely by grace. Abraham did nothing to earn or deserve it. God promised a piece of land to Abraham and His descendants. But He told Abraham that the time was not right. His descendants were not going to take possession of the land until over 400 years later.
430 years after God made the promise to Abraham, He gave Moses (one of Abraham’s descendants), The Law. These were rules written on tablets of stone. Later 603 more laws were added. The people who lived under the system of The Law looked NOTHING like God’s original intent, with Adam, in the Garden of Eden. These were not people with a direct connection to God. These were not people who were filled with God’s Spirit. These were not people who lived as rulers on this planet. These were people who focused on external rules, instead of internal power. Jesus came to change all of that. Jesus came to repair the breach between God and man. Jesus came to get us OUT OF the mess Adam got us INTO.
50 days after Jesus died on the cross for us, the Holy Spirit was restored to man and the New Covenant was established. The Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We are now restored back to God’s power and authority. We now have His Spirit living inside of us. We can now walk with God and enjoy life as He walks with us. We can now release supernatural power on this planet. We can now extend heaven to the earth every day. We are, because of Jesus, as New Testament believers, human conduits of the divine! This is why Paul said, “God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm.” If you receive the Holy Spirit, but then attempt to live life the same way you did before, you are living as a mere man. You are living a completely natural life (not supernatural). You are living like they did in the Old Covenant, when they did not have God’s Spirit or His power. And if you think that the point of God’s grace, His Spirit, His power and His freedom, is so you can go out and sin, you have missed the point altogether. If that’s how you think, then maybe you were never Born-Again, because when you have God living inside of you, everything is supposed to be different!
The message of grace has nothing to do with being free to sin. The message of grace has everything to do with living free from the limits of mere humanity. Once you are Born-Again, you are filled with the Holy Spirit, and your sin has been forgiven, you are then FREE to do what God called you to do from the foundations of the world. You are free to change the world by God’s grace and for His glory! If you have any other mindset, it’s time to make some changes!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, thank You for teaching me about Your grace, Your power, Your Spirit, and Your desire for this planet. Your Kingdom has come. Your will shall be done. On earth, as it is in heaven. It’s going to happen through me. I am a human conduit of the divine. I am walking around with Your Spirit in me. I am forgiven, empowered, emboldened and employed by You! Your Kingdom expands in this world, through me, every day! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
