Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Ephesians 4:3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 4:3 Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful]. |
Subject: Who constitutes the church? |
Bible Note: Greetings Val! Here is a repost of mine on the doctrine of Entire Sanctification. It is in two parts. ***************** Greetings Forum! Some of you are aware that I am in the process of transfering my ordination to the Church of the Nazarene. In the process, I had to write a paper on my view of Sanctification. Here is what I wrote - for your reading pleasure! :-) ********************************** Part I The Doctrine of Entire Sanctification The doctrine of entire sanctification is basically an attempt to come to grips with the ethical demand of Scripture to "….be holy, because I am holy!" (Lev. 11:45, 19:1; and 1 Pet. 1:15-16 among other verses.) I say that it is an attempt to come to grips with the ethical demand to be holy because holiness is not our natural state. Scripture is very clear about our fallen nature: Rom. 3:23 tells us that "…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:10 tells us that "….There is no one righteous, not even one." Even the best intentioned among us, find Paul’s words in Rom. 7:14-20 to be true of our lives apart from Christ, "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." Yet, Scripture assures us that it is possible to be holy! The prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, both prophecy of a time when man will be able to live holy lives. Jeremiah says: 31 ‘‘The time is coming," declares the LORD, ‘‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33 ‘‘This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. ‘‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Jer. 31:31-33) Ezekiel says, "I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. 24 "‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:23-27) Luke 1:74b-75 says that part of the reason Christ came was "…to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days." In Romans 6, Paul makes the case that it is possible to be holy. He says there that: · We died to sin - Rom. 6:2. · Our old nature was crucified with Him - Rom. 6:6. · We are no longer slaves to sin - Rom. 6:6. · We are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies - Rom. 6:12. · Sin shall not be our master - Rom. 6:14. · We have been set free from sin - Rom. 6:18. How is this possible? How can a depraved and fallen human being be set free from the power, presence, and penalty of sin? Entire Sanctification is the answer. It is the bridge between what we are apart from Christ and what we can be in Christ. Continued........... ********************************************* Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |