My path to house church

Throughout the nineteen eighties, I was an elder and teacher in a small congregation of about 60 people in Central Ohio in the US. We had some ups and downs over the years but by 1990 we had become part of an interesting network of churches and ministers from all over the US, and had contacts in Canada, Mexico and Australia and South Africa. At least once every October we would hold conferences where people from many areas would come to hear preaching and teaching by the men and women in this circle of fellowship.

In this period we had a visiting pastor from Sidney, Australia who suggested we hold a minister's conference for several days before the weekend meetings that we had always planned. In our case, the conference was not limited to ministers. Anyone could come, but those who did come were there because they desired a deeper understanding of God.

The sessions would last from about 10AM to 4PM. After a key-note speaker we would break up into small groups to discuss the message. This particular group of meetings and at this particular time was a revelation to me. It wasn't what we had previously thought in the sense of a revelation of understanding from the Scriptures. It was a revelation of how wrong I was about Christian ministry.

My assumptions were that we as pastors and preachers were actually building up the members of the body of Christ with our knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, with our insights and cliches we picked up from one another, with our oratory skills. What I found out in these small groups was that many were simply confused by them. These individuals were just too polite, or might have been too embarrassed to admit this.

This was a real shock to me. It seemed, however that my wife and I were the only ones in leadership that were affected in this way. I kept hearing Jesus saying to Peter, "feed my sheep. Feed my lambs." Then I also remembered Paul's instruction to the elders at Ephesis, to "shepherd the church God, which He has purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28). Again, Peter, knowing that he would not always be available, passed the responsibility he received from Jesus down to other leaders as well. (1 Peter 5:1-5)

At this time I need to explain my perspective on the purpose of God which drives me. It is very plain to me that Christ is building a church that is destined to break down the gates of hell. His practical means for that is drawn out for us in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. An important part in that plan is revealed in chapter four from verses 11-16. The purpose of the apostles, prophets, evangelists and teachers is to equip the saints, the born-again believers in Christ, to do the work of the ministry! And yet for the most part we are led to believe that ministers are a separate class of people from the rest of us!

No, all of us are called to follow Christ. He came not to be ministered unto, or to be served. He came to serve others. Now we know from Paul's writing and Peter's writings as well, that our gifts are different, but all from God. Those of us as preachers and teachers in our circle were all aware of this, and yet our habits and methods did not reflect these beliefs. Not only did we hold the center stage in the gatherings, we created a gap between us and those we were supposed to be equipping and building up. The problem is that this system is so well established that everyone just accepts it.

In those small group meetings I learned so much about where others, including myself were in our spiritual development. I could not go back, but I did not know where to go from there. The church family I was a part of for over a decade did not understand me. It was very uncomfortable for all of us.

My wife and I had always enjoyed small group bible studies and prayer meetings. We were always eager to fellowship with others who loved the Lord. Yet we never saw how this essential form of the church was pushed into the background from where it started 2 thousand years ago. Then we discovered the house church movement. The internet community was just forming at the time, and we discovered through email lists and web sites that it was breaking forth all around the world. It was an exciting time.

Thirty years later we are still learning. I still believe that Christ is building His church. God is using many groups and ministries in ways that I do not understand. Maybe I don't even need to understand it all. I do have to be faithful to follow Him where ever He is leading me. I strongly believe that He desires to gather us together in His Name and in a simpler form. We can lay aside every weight from traditional and cultural forms that have held us back. We can stand fast in the freedom in which Christ has set us free! We are free to love and serve one another for His glory as the Body of Christ Himself!

The Kingdom of Heaven in the Epistle to the Romans

By: Irnawan Silitonga

Summary: A systematic explanation of perfect salvation using three terms: justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith.

Call to action: Believe in Elohim for the perfect salvation He has provided.

At this time, we will discuss the Kingdom of Heaven as revealed in the Epistle to the Romans, written by Paul. Although the term ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ or ‘Kingdom of God’ appears only once in this letter, that does not mean Paul preached a different gospel from the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God. During his two years in Rome, Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ in the house he rented for himself (Acts 28:31). Clearly, Paul preached only the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven throughout his ministry. Indeed, the Lord Jesus, John the Baptist, and all the apostles preached only one gospel — the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Consider Romans 14:17, which says: “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (LITV). In this verse, Paul explicitly declares that the Kingdom of Heaven is not about external things such as food, drink, or other material matters. The Kingdom of Heaven consists of things within the heavenly dimension — matters of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

However, this does not mean that the heavenly dimension exists outside of us. Let us examine several verses. Ephesians 2:6 affirms, “And raised us up together, and seated us together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.” The phrase ‘seated us together in the heavenlies’ in the original text means ‘to cause us to sit together (with Christ) in the heavenly dimension’. This means that we are already in the heavenly dimension (seated with Christ) right now, even though we still live in physical bodies. Philippians 3:20 also declares, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” The phrase ‘from which also’ is translated from the Greek ‘ek hos’, meaning that ‘we are already in the heavenly dimension, and therefore we await the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ from within the same dimension in which we dwell — the heavenly one’.

Luke 17:21 says, “…for behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” The term ‘among’ is translated from the Greek word ‘entos’, which is used only twice in the New Testament — here and in Matthew 23:26. In Matthew 23:26, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, saying they should first clean the ‘inside’ (entos) of the cup so that the ‘outside’ would also be clean. The meaning of a word is determined by its usage in context. In Matthew 23:26, ‘entos’ clearly cannot be translated as ‘among’, but must be ‘within’. Therefore, ‘entos’ means ‘within’. Hence, Luke 17:21 should be translated, “The kingdom of God is within (‘entos’) you.” Truly, the Kingdom of God — or the Kingdom of Heaven — is within us, in our inner being or spirit, the spiritual dimension of our own selves.

We are already in heaven now. We are already citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven now. We are already seated with Christ in the heavenly realm now. We do not need to die physically first in order to enter heaven.

Generally, in much of Christianity today, the concept of entering heaven is thought to be determined only after physical death. In fact, the matter of entering heaven has become a kind of commodity — where religious leaders often claim that people must do this or that, give this or that offering, in order to enter heaven. But the teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus and His apostles proclaimed does not support such a concept at all.

Returning to Romans 14:17: “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The Kingdom of God is about righteousness. Indeed, the main theme of the Epistle to the Romans is ‘the righteousness of God’. Paul unfolds this letter by explaining how one may receive the righteousness of God through faith. In chapters 1 through 5:11, Paul discusses justification by faith. Then, from 5:12 through chapter 7, he explains sanctification by faith. And in chapter 8, he presents glorification by faith. We will explore this more later, but for now it is enough to understand that when one receives grace to accept the righteousness of God, that person automatically becomes a servant of righteousness (Romans 6:18). This means the believer must follow and obey the righteousness of God. Thus, the believer is justified, sanctified, and will be glorified at His coming. Therefore, justification, sanctification, and glorification by faith form one ‘complete package of perfect salvation’ for those who receive the grace to partake of the righteousness of God.

Let us begin with a discussion of the righteousness of God. When Jesus said, “…Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20), the word ‘righteousness’ here translates the Greek ‘dikaiosune’, which means ‘righteousness’ or ‘uprightness’. What did Jesus mean? The righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes was based on their attempt to obey the Law. But the righteousness of believers is ‘the righteousness of God’ that is granted through faith. Hence, the believer’s righteousness ‘surpasses’ that of the Pharisees and scribes, because it is not achieved through works of law, but received as a divine gift by faith.

Therefore, the kind of righteousness possessed by the Pharisees and scribes differs entirely from that of believers. This must be emphasized so that we do not fall into the same pattern — trying to be justified or accepted by God through our own efforts, as the Pharisees and scribes did under the Law. In Christianity today, believers easily fall into the same trap of ‘self-righteousness’. Why? Because the modern church world is filled with religious rules created by leaders, requiring believers to perform them in order to be pleasing to God, to grow spiritually, or to “enter heaven.”

People are told they must attend Sunday services in certain denominational buildings, perform certain rituals, pay tithes, firstfruits, or “faith pledges.” All these are efforts to establish one’s own righteousness — just like the Pharisees and scribes — because they do not know the righteousness of God. Romans 10:2–3 declares: “…they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God” (NASB). Zeal for God without understanding His righteousness is a common phenomenon in Christendom, which has become full of man-made religious rules.

Let us continue our study of the righteousness of God. We have affirmed that those who receive grace to partake of God’s righteousness possess a kind of righteousness far above that of the Pharisees and scribes, who sought it by works of law. The believer’s righteousness is the righteousness of God granted solely through faith. This truth is further explained in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (LITV). Several points arise here:

1. Christ knew no sin, meaning that He never committed sin (John 8:46; 1 Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26).

2. Sin entered humanity through Satan (Romans 5:12), making mankind not only sinners but actually sin itself, bringing us under God’s judgment. When Christ became human (John 1:14), He was made to be sin (not ‘a sinner’) for us, so that judgment might fall upon Him (Romans 8:3).

3. The purpose of this was that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We are not merely declared righteous, but we ‘become’ the righteousness of God. This means we receive the righteousness of God because of Christ and in Christ. Indeed, Christ Himself is the righteousness of God. Therefore, those who are ‘in Christ’ have ‘become’ the righteousness of God.

We must understand Paul’s frequent use of the term ‘Christ’. Many think the term refers only to Jesus as the Anointed One. Yet the Epistle to the Colossians clarifies this:

Colossians 1:27 — “…Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 3:4 — “When Christ, who is our life, appears…” From these two verses, we understand that: (1) Christ dwells within us, and (2) Christ is our life (‘zoe’). Thus, Christ — who is the righteousness of God — is our very ‘divine life’ (zoe), dwelling within our inner being. The zoe life we receive at new birth begins as a seed and must grow. That is why Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came so we “may have life (zoe) and have it abundantly” — that is, life in its full growth and maturity. Because Christ — our ‘zoe’ — is the righteousness of God, and because this ‘zoe’ life grows, we too must grow in the righteousness of God. We grow in the righteousness of God in proportion to the growth of our faith, for God’s righteousness is received by faith. Paul defines faith in Romans 1:17 as ‘from faith to faith’, that is, faith that grows and progresses.

Returning again to Romans 14:17: “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” We have established that the Kingdom of God exists within the heavenly dimension and within our inner being. Now let us briefly discuss peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus said to His disciples: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you…” (John 14:27).

He clearly stated that His peace — not worldly peace — is given to His followers. This peace is not something external, nor does it refer to material blessings such as food, wealth, or possessions, but rather the very peace that belongs to Christ Himself. This is the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven, for the Kingdom consists of His peace — the peace of Jesus.

Of course, this does not mean that Jesus did not care about the physical needs of His disciples and the multitudes who followed Him. The case of the five loaves and two fish in John 6 proves that Jesus deeply cared about the physical needs of the people who followed Him, even though in this case they did not ask Him for physical bread. However, Jesus firmly rebuked the crowds who sought Him merely because they had eaten physical bread and were filled (John 6:26). In the Gospel of John, this miracle is called a ‘sign’, or symbol, meaning that there is a spiritual truth behind the sign (miracle) that Jesus performed. If a person “sees the sign” as Jesus intended the crowd to do in the above verse, they would seek Jesus to receive the ‘bread of life’, which is the Person of Jesus Himself. Jesus is that bread of life, the One who ‘gives life (zoe) to the world’ (John 6:33).

Let us now pay attention to the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew 5:1–12, commonly known as the Beatitudes. There are nine instances of the word ‘blessed’ (‘makarios’ = blessed or happy), all of which are completely unrelated to physical matters. Being blessed or happy always relates to being poor in spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, being merciful, pure in heart, peacemaking, being persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and being reviled, persecuted, and falsely accused because of Jesus.

Jesus proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven, and His message was never about food, drink, or other physical matters. Once again, Jesus was not indifferent to physical needs, but His message was clearly focused on the inner, spiritual matters that form the good news (Gospel) of the Kingdom of Heaven. The same was true of Paul and all the other apostles. Indeed, the central theme of the New Testament is the good news (Gospel) of the Kingdom of Heaven. The miracles that occurred merely confirmed the preaching of the Word of the Kingdom (Mark 16:20).

If a preacher focuses on material things such as wealth, prosperity, health, miracles, or anything of a physical nature, then he is preaching a different gospel from that which Jesus and the apostles preached. The false teachers mentioned in Jude 1:4 are said to ‘pervert’ (‘metatithemi’) the grace of God into ‘aselgeia’ (sensuality), which refers to things related to the physical body. Preaching about the goodness of God and then twisting it to prioritize material things is a hallmark of false teachers. That is not the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven.

We have already affirmed that the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Kingdom of God, is not about eating and drinking, but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, and that both Jesus and all the apostles proclaimed the good news (Gospel) of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is about the righteousness of God, and now we turn to Paul’s explanation of the righteousness of God that is given through faith.

Paul elaborates on how one may receive the righteousness of God through faith in chapters 1 through 5:11 of his letter. Let us begin with several Greek terms related to the concept of ‘righteousness’.

First, ‘dikaioo’ (verb) means ‘to declare righteous’ or ‘to justify’. This term frequently appears in Paul’s letters — 27 times out of its 39 occurrences in the New Testament. No one can be declared righteous by observing the Law, but only through faith in Christ Jesus. This is Paul’s main message in Romans 3:21–28.

Second, ‘dikaiosyne’ (noun) means ‘righteousness’ or ‘justification’. This term occurs 58 times in Paul’s letters out of its 91 total occurrences in the New Testament. In Romans 3:5, Paul refers to and explains the righteousness of God, and that this righteousness is given to a person through faith in Christ Jesus, as we have previously discussed.

Third, ‘dikaios’ (adjective) means ‘righteous’. This term appears 79 times and often refers to the righteous and sinless character of God. Jesus called God the righteous (or just) Father (John 17:25). The Book of Revelation affirms that God is righteous in all His ways (Revelation 15:3), in His judgments (Revelation 16:5,7; 19:2). Likewise, 2 Timothy 4:8 emphasizes that God is the righteous Judge.

Before Paul explains the righteousness of Elohim which is granted to believers through faith in Christ Jesus, he first defines what the Gospel is, and what ‘saving faith’ means. Let us observe Romans 1:16–17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of Elohim for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of Elohim is being revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, ‘But the righteous shall live by faith’” (ILT).

Indeed, the Gospel is something that was once a mystery. In Ephesians 6:19, the Greek expression ‘musterion tou euangeliou’ is often translated in various versions as ‘the mystery of the gospel’. However, we should not understand the word mystery as something forever unknowable. In the biblical sense, a mystery is something hidden until it is revealed—unknown until it is made known. Thus, the Gospel is a mystery only to those who have not yet received revelation from God; but once God, by His grace, grants revelation, the Gospel ceases to be a mystery to that person.

Many Christians assume that the Gospel is only for unbelievers or the unrepentant. Yet, in Romans 1:15, Paul expresses his desire to preach the Gospel to the believers in Rome. The Gospel—though once a mystery—must continually be proclaimed even among believers, for they must keep growing in their understanding of it. The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven cannot be fully grasped immediately upon belief. This is why the believers in the Book of Acts were called disciples—they were learning the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Let us continue examining Paul’s definition of the Gospel in Romans 1:16. Paul declares that the Gospel is ‘the power of Elohim for salvation to everyone who believes’. The Gospel is not merely a set of doctrines or theological concepts. The Gospel is the power of Elohim. When, by God’s grace, one believes the Gospel, ‘the power of Elohim’ enters into him, bringing salvation.

A person is saved not because of any ability within himself, but because by divine grace, the power of Elohim—the Greek word being ‘dunamis’—enters him. Dunamis refers not only to power in the hands of God, but, as Vincent’s Word Studies (Vol. III, p. 9) explains, contains within itself ‘divine energy’. Energy is the ability to perform work. Thus, when a person receives grace for salvation, a divine energy—the energy of Christ—enters his inner being, enabling him to have faith. No one can believe in Elohim unless the energy of Christ first enters his inner life.

But what kind of faith is saving faith, according to Paul? Romans 1:17 says: “For in it the righteousness of Elohim is being revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, ‘But the righteous shall live by faith’” (ILT). The phrase ‘from faith to faith’ (Greek: ‘ek pisteos eis pistin’) implies progression. Marvin Vincent notes in Word Studies in the New Testament (Vol. III, p. 14) that ‘the idea is that of progress in faith itself… faith is a progressive principle’. Therefore, faith is dynamic—it grows and develops. Faith that does not grow is dead; and such faith is not saving faith as Paul describes.

What causes faith to grow? James explains: “…faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect” (James 2:22). Faith becomes perfect through works—‘works that are born of faith’. As James says, “I will show you my faith by my works” (2:18). These are not external, human works apart from faith, but actions that proceed from faith itself. Such works perfect faith, causing it to mature. Thus, Paul’s and James’s teachings on faith complement each other.

Paul also emphasizes that faith cannot be separated from obedience. In Romans 1:5 and 16:26, he speaks of ‘the obedience of faith’ (ILT). Faith produces obedience, and obedience, in turn, perfects faith—causing it to grow. This is biblical faith, saving faith. Hence, when James says that Abraham was justified by his works, he means the works that emanated from faith, not works apart from it.

We have established that the Gospel is the power of Elohim, and that those who receive grace to believe it receive within themselves the divine energy—‘dunamis’—that enables faith and faith-filled action. As a result, their faith grows—‘from faith to faith’. This saving faith must be centered on the divine energy of Elohim working within the believer’s inner being. If a person acts not by the impulse of that divine energy, but by his own soul’s strength, his actions are not counted as works of faith. Such actions do not cause faith to grow. Faith itself is the ‘divine energy’ of Elohim in a person’s spirit. True faith produces acts of faith, and those acts in turn nurture and strengthen faith.

This distinction is crucial. Within institutionalized Christianity, many religious regulations have been imposed by religious leaders. When believers carry out these practices without being moved by the energy of Elohim—merely out of human or religious effort—their deeds are ‘works outside of faith’. Such works, however pious they appear, do not foster spiritual growth.

A believer may faithfully attend church services, perform rituals, pay tithes, and observe other religious acts for decades—but if these are not prompted by the divine energy of Elohim within, all such religious activities are futile. This is what Paul meant in 2 Timothy 3:5: “Having a form of godliness but denying its power (‘dunamis’)…”

Worship that is performed apart from the energy (‘dunamis’) of Elohim is merely external. Those who engage in it, in truth, deny the power of Elohim. True worship, as Jesus said in John 4, is ‘in spirit and in truth’—moved by divine energy, not religious regulation. There are no external religious rules other than following the leading of Elohim’s energy—His Spirit. This was the reality of the early church in Acts; their movements and worship were directed entirely by the Holy Spirit.

Let us ponder Paul’s solemn declaration in Romans 14:23: “…whatever is not of faith is sin.” Though the immediate context refers to food, the principle extends to all religious acts: Worship without faith is sin. Any deed performed outside the divine energy of Elohim—apart from His prompting—is sin. Thus, the saving faith described as ‘from faith to faith’ is a faith that progresses. Even when Paul sometimes says ‘by faith’ alone, his meaning includes the dynamic, growing nature of faith.

In Romans 1:17, what is being revealed from faith to faith is the ‘righteousness of Elohim’. As previously stated, when someone receives grace to believe the Gospel, ‘he becomes the righteousness of Elohim’—not merely declared righteous, but made righteous. Since the righteousness of Elohim is revealed through progressive faith, the believer who is justified becomes the righteousness of Elohim ‘in a growing sense’. This is significant, for much of traditional Christian teaching claims that once a person believes, he is justified “once and for all.” Rarely is it taught that the righteousness of Elohim within a believer is progressive—ever increasing.

Paul’s teaching in Romans reveals that salvation is not limited to justification by faith, but also includes sanctification by faith, and ultimately glorification by faith—when our mortal bodies are transformed into glorified bodies. This is the fullness of salvation. If preachers proclaim only justification by faith, and add shallow phrases such as “once saved, always saved,” “once you believe, you’ll surely go to heaven,” or “believe in Jesus and you’ll be raptured,” while ignoring the full scope of salvation in Romans, they are preaching another gospel—not the one Paul proclaimed.

Hence, it is essential to understand that believers ‘become’ the righteousness of Elohim, and that this righteousness must ‘grow’ alongside their faith. Justification, sanctification, and glorification by faith unfold progressively as faith develops.

Jesus described this growth experience in Matthew 7:13–14: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and few find it.” The Sermon on the Mount was addressed primarily to His disciples (Matthew 5:1). Thus, the “gate” and “way” imagery applies to believers.

When one receives grace to believe the Gospel, he enters through the “gate,” experiencing justification, sanctification, and glorification ‘positionally’. Yet this “gate” experience must lead into the “way”—the lived journey of growth toward full salvation. If a Christian hears only the message of justification (or even sanctification) but is told that he is guaranteed heaven regardless of further growth, the Gospel he received is incomplete—for two reasons:

1. He has not been taught that faith must be progressive—from faith to faith.

2. He has not been shown that perfect salvation includes justification, sanctification, and glorification by faith.

Without this understanding, he cannot walk the “way” of growth, where faith matures daily. This “way” is vital. Believers must continually grow in the knowledge of the righteousness of Elohim, in sanctification, and in glorification—being transformed ‘from glory to glory’.

Let us briefly touch upon glorification by faith, a truth seldom discussed. Romans 8:19–21 says:  “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of Elohim. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope, that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of Elohim” (ILT). Glorification by faith involves the deep longing of all creation. Ultimately, all creation will be set free into the glorious liberty of the children of Elohim. Through the ministry of glorified sons, all creation will be liberated from corruption. This is the ‘perfect salvation’ Paul reveals in Romans.

When believers walk this “way” of growth toward full salvation, they will no longer teach or believe in the doctrine of eternal hell—a belief that depicts creation as tormented forever. Many Christians hold to that view because they have not grown in the “way,” and therefore fail to understand glorification by faith, which encompasses the redemption of all creation.

Now we shall see that the Gospel (the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven) proclaimed by Paul had been promised beforehand. Observe Romans 1:2–3: “The Gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.” There are two important points to note from these verses.

First, the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven centers on His Son, Jesus Christ. We must understand the purpose of Jesus Christ’s coming into this world. Clearly, Jesus did not come merely to take believers to “heaven” far away somewhere, as is commonly believed in much of Christendom. Let us observe the true purpose of His coming to the earth. In John 14:31, Jesus declared that He was doing the Father’s will on earth so that the world might know that He loves the Father. Then, in 1 John 3:8, the Scripture reveals that the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil. Furthermore, He came so that humanity might receive His Life (John 10:10 — ‘zoe’), and through that Life, come to know the Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3).

To Pilate, Jesus affirmed the purpose of His coming into the world: that He is a King and came to establish His Kingdom on the earth (John 18:37). That is why Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus came to the earth so that the world might know that He loves the Father. He also came to destroy the works of the devil. He came that humanity might know the Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent. And finally, He came to establish His Kingdom on the earth, so that the Father’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. We see that the Gospel focused on Jesus is a Gospel focused on the earth—not on heaven.

Second, although according to the flesh Jesus was descended from David, His Kingdom is not the same as David’s, which was merely a symbol, a shadow, or a prophetic type of the Messianic Kingdom. Consider Matthew 22:44: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’” When Jesus asked the Pharisees whose Son the Messiah was, they replied, “The Son of David,” thinking that the Messianic Kingdom would resemble David’s earthly kingdom. But Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1, where David calls the Messiah ‘my Lord’.

Then Jesus asked them, “If David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” The Pharisees could not answer, because their understanding of the Messianic Kingdom was mistaken. The Kingdom of the Messiah is higher than David’s—it is heavenly. The Kingdom of the Messiah is the Kingdom of Heaven, yet it is to be established on earth. The heavenly throne will descend to the earth. The New Jerusalem will come down from heaven to the earth.

Therefore, the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven is focused on the earth. Indeed, the earth is the focus of the Father’s plan (Genesis 1:26–27). Psalm 115:16 affirms, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the children of men.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared that the meek shall inherit the earth.

Generally, in Christendom, the gospel that is preached is focused on going to heaven. However, the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, which had already been promised in the Old Testament, is focused on the earth.

Let us now continue our discussion on justification by faith. Before Paul explains what justification by faith is, he first shows the wrath of God against mankind who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Paul expounds God’s judgment upon humanity in detail. From Romans 1:18–32, he describes God’s judgment on mankind in general. Then, in 2:1–16, Paul deals with God’s judgment upon those who consider themselves righteous. Likewise, in 2:17–3:8, he discusses God’s judgment upon the religious—particularly the Jews. Finally, in 3:9–20, he concludes with God’s judgment upon all mankind.

Let us take a closer look at Paul’s exposition of God’s judgment on humanity. In his treatment of general humanity (1:18–32), Paul affirms that mankind can ‘know’ God through His works since the creation of the world (v. 20). Though His eternal power and divine nature are invisible, they can be clearly understood by the human mind. Theologically, this is called ‘general revelation’—that humanity should worship God upon beholding the grandeur and order of the created universe, recognizing the “Hand” that governs it all.

‘Special revelation’ refers to God’s self-disclosure through His Son, Jesus Christ. Through general revelation, mankind should have glorified God and given Him thanks. But in their vain reasoning, they exchanged the glory of God for images resembling men, birds, animals, and other creatures. Because of the hardness of their hearts, God gave them over to their impurity. The phrase ‘gave them over’ appears three times (vv. 24, 26, 28). Thus humanity fell into shameful sins such as homosexuality and lesbianism. These sins are the result of God giving them over to their own evil desires, because they refused to acknowledge and glorify Him.

After exposing mankind’s general sinfulness, Paul turns to the sins of the religious, especially the Jews (2:17–3:8). He rebukes them sharply: they teach others not to steal, commit adultery, or worship idols, yet they themselves do such things. They boast in the Law, yet because of them God’s name is blasphemed among the nations (2:24). Paul also addresses circumcision, emphasizing that the uncircumcised who keep the Law will judge the circumcised who possess the written Law but break it (2:27).

In conclusion (3:9–20), Paul declares that all have sinned—both Jews with the Law and Gentiles without it. No one can be justified before God by observing the Law or by performing good works. All are under sin’s power (3:9).

Before discussing how Paul proves justification by faith through the Old Testament, let us summarize a few key points we have covered so far: First, when a person receives grace to believe the Gospel, there is within them a divine energy—what we may call ‘the energy of Christ’—which enables them to have faith. Second, saving faith is progressive. Paul describes it as ‘from faith to faith’. This means that when a believer acts according to the faith already within them, that act of faith strengthens and increases their faith. Faith grows when it is exercised. Conversely, when a believer acts outside of faith, their action neither grows nor strengthens faith. In fact, whatever is not done from faith is sin.

This point is crucial, because Christendom has been filled with religious regulations—rules not taught in the New Testament, such as mandating Sunday worship as “the Lord’s Day,” or enforcing Old Testament practices like tithes and firstfruits. Some leaders even impose their own local rules upon their followers. Such religious regulations function just like the Law of Moses: believers obey them to seek blessing, divine approval, or entry into heaven. In principle, these are no different from the Pharisees’ pursuit of justification by the Law.

Therefore, when justification by faith is preached but believers are bound by religious regulations that enslave them, the doctrine of justification remains merely theoretical, while in practice people still seek righteousness through obedience to man-made laws. The only way for God’s people to be free from such religious bondage is to live daily by faith, apart from every religious rule that operates as a new “Law.”

Third, to be justified by faith means to ‘become’ the righteousness of God. Yet we must remember that saving faith is progressive. Thus, the justified believer becomes the righteousness of God ‘in a growing, advancing sense’. This is often overlooked in modern Christian teaching, which claims that once a person believes, they are justified once and for all. Seldom is it mentioned that the righteousness of God within believers must grow and mature. When a Christian chooses to live and act solely by the faith within them, the doctrine of justification by faith becomes living and practical—not mere knowledge.

Now we will see how Paul demonstrates justification by faith through the Old Testament. He takes Abraham as the example—the father of all who believe, not only among Israel but also among all nations, for Abraham was appointed the father of many nations. Romans 4:3 states: “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’” James, however, writes: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?” (James 2:21). At first glance, these verses seem contradictory.

Many have attempted to reconcile this, but let us return to Paul’s definition of faith. Saving faith, according to Paul, is ‘from faith to faith’. If faith does not produce action, James calls it dead faith (James 2:14). Living faith—the faith that saves—is the divine power, the energy of Christ, that moves a person to obey God. It is impossible to have living faith without corresponding acts of obedience. If a Christian claims to have faith but no actions spring from it, then that “faith” is not the energy of Christ. For true faith—Christ’s energy given freely to the elect—will inevitably produce works of obedience born from faith.

Faith grows. It is not static but dynamic—ever moving toward perfection. Faith that does not grow is dead, and such faith does not save. What, then, causes faith to grow? James answers: “Faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect” (James 2:22). Faith becomes perfect through works—works born out of faith, as James also says, “I will show you my faith by my works” (2:18).

Therefore, not all deeds perfect faith—only those that ‘originate from faith’. Thus, Paul’s and James’s teachings complement one another beautifully. We must continue to emphasize this truth, for Christendom today remains bound under religious slavery—burdened with countless human rules. But if God’s people truly live by faith daily, they will naturally stand outside the worldly system of organized religion that enslaves believers.

Before continuing with Paul’s proofs of justification by faith through Abraham and David, it is necessary to clarify the meaning and definition of ‘justification by faith’ as Paul describes in Romans 3:21–31. First, justification by faith is God’s method of administering His people in every age or dispensation. Verses 21–22 declare: “But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe—for there is no distinction” (LITV). These verses reveal that justification by faith was already witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.

Many Christians mistakenly think that the saints of the Old Testament were justified by keeping the Law. Hence they contrast the Law with grace—asserting that the Old Testament was the age of Law, and the New Testament the age of grace—as though grace did not exist before Christ.

This is a grave misunderstanding, for in every age God has justified His people by the principle of faith. Justification by faith has always been God’s way—both under the Law and beyond it, throughout all time. 1 Timothy 1:4 confirms this: “…which promotes God’s stewardship that is in faith” (LITV). The term ‘stewardship’ here is translated from the Greek term ‘oikonomia’ means ‘household management’ or ‘stewardship’. This implies that Elohim has His own way of managing or administering His people—and this divine administration operates ‘within faith’. Thus, in every age, Elohim has always justified His people through the principle of faith.

In Hebrews 11, we can see that from Abel to the figures of the Old Testament, all are called ‘heroes of faith’. They all won the struggles of life solely through faith. Therefore, justification by faith is not only witnessed by the Law and the Prophets but, from the very beginning, Elohim has managed and justified His people through the principle of faith.

Secondly, to understand justification by faith, we must clearly see that as a result of sin, mankind has lost or fallen short of the glory of Elohim. Verse 23 affirms, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of Elohim” (ILT). The glory of Elohim is the manifested expression of His being. When Elohim is expressed, His glory is revealed. Man was created in the image and likeness of Elohim so that he might express Him for His glory. However, because man fell into sin, instead of expressing Him for His glory, man expresses sin and his fallen condition.

When one understands how sin has caused man to lose the glory of Elohim, he will not speak of justification by faith without also speaking of glorification by faith. Humanity’s problem is not only that it has fallen into sin, but also that it has fallen short of Elohim’s glory—a problem that must also be resolved. The solution to the loss of the glory of Elohim is ‘glorification by faith’. Therefore, we must proclaim the full salvation: justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith.

We continue now with further understanding and ‘definitions’ of justification by faith as explained by Paul in Romans 3:21–31. We come to the third point, where Paul speaks of “reconciliation” through faith in His blood.

Thirdly, note verse 25: “Whom Elohim has set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance Elohim had passed over the sins previously committed” (ILT). The Greek term for ‘propitiation’ here is ‘hilastērion’, which differs from ‘hilasmos’ in 1 John 2:2 and 4:10, and from ‘hilaskomai’ in Hebrews 2:17. The term ‘hilasmos’ means ‘that which makes propitiation’, referring to a propitiatory sacrifice. In 1 John 2:2 and 4:10, the Lord Jesus is the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins.

Meanwhile, ‘hilaskomai’ means ‘to make propitiation by satisfying the demands of the other party’. In Hebrews 2:17, the Lord Jesus made propitiation for our sins, reconciling us to Elohim by fulfilling His righteous demands.

However, ‘hilastērion’ means ‘the place of propitiation’ or ‘the mercy seat’. Thus, in Hebrews 9:5, ‘hilastērion’ refers to the ‘covering’ of the Ark of the Covenant (translated as ‘mercy seat’ in the King James Version), which was located in the Most Holy Place. In Exodus 25:16–22 and Leviticus 16:12–16, this term refers to the ‘covering of the Ark’.

The Ten Commandments (the two stone tablets) were inside the Ark, revealing and condemning sin through their righteous demands against the people who approached Yahweh. Yet through the ‘covering of the Ark’, with the atoning blood sprinkled upon it on the Day of Atonement, the entire sinful situation was completely covered. Therefore, upon this mercy seat, Elohim could meet with His people—though they had violated His righteous law—without contradicting His righteousness. Even in the sight of the cherubim, who bore and reflected the glory of Elohim above the mercy seat, there was no contradiction to His righteousness.

The atoning sacrifice, which foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ, fulfilled every requirement of Elohim’s righteousness and glory. Therefore, He could pass over the sins of His people committed in those former times. In doing so, Elohim demonstrated His righteousness—this is precisely what Romans 3:25 means.

Thus, Romans 3:25 uses ‘hilastērion’ to declare that the Lord Jesus is the ‘place of propitiation’ or ‘mercy seat’, through whom Elohim manifests His righteousness by passing over the sins of the Old Testament saints. He made full atonement on the cross for their sins and completely satisfied the demands of Elohim’s righteousness and glory.

We continue our discussion of how Paul proves justification by faith through the Old Testament, now using the example of David. Previously, we examined Abraham, who was justified before Elohim by faith, not by works. Paul deliberately chose David to demonstrate justification by faith because David lived under the Law. By using Abraham (before the Law) and David (under the Law), Paul conclusively proves that the Old Testament teaches justification by faith.

In Romans 4:7–8, David declares the blessedness of the one whom Elohim justifies apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” These verses, quoted from Psalm 32:1–2, though not explicitly stating ‘man is justified by faith’, reveal that forgiveness and the covering of sin demonstrate justification by faith.

Why? Because justification by faith is by grace (Romans 4:16). If one’s sins are forgiven and not counted against him, this clearly manifests God’s grace toward him. Justification by faith is grace, for no one can ‘believe’ on his own—saving faith itself is a ‘gift of God’. To live by faith is to live within and under grace. When a Christian lives by faith, even his labor and diligence are expressions of grace, as Paul affirms in 1 Corinthians 15:10: “I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (LAI). Paul could say this because he acted entirely by the faith granted to him by God. Ephesians 2:8–9 confirms this truth: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God—not of works, lest anyone should boast” (LAI).

In much of Christendom, the doctrine of justification by faith is well known. Yet, many religious leaders have imposed man-made regulations—such as mandatory Sunday attendance, tithing, or “firstfruits” offerings—which lead God’s people to act outside of faith and grace. Why? Because these religious regulations are ‘not’ teachings of Jesus or His apostles; they were created by religious leaders to draw the Lord’s disciples to themselves (Acts 20:28–30). Thus, while they preach justification by faith and grace, they simultaneously teach people to live outside of both. This is a profound contradiction in Christianity. Such practices do not glorify God. In Romans 4:20, it is said of Abraham that he “gave glory to Elohim.” Christians who follow man-made religious regulations outside of faith do not give glory to Elohim but rather open the door to boasting.

We have discussed justification by faith—its definition and examples in Abraham and David—and now we move to the results of justification by faith (Romans 5:1–11). Yet we must remember Paul’s definition of saving faith: ‘from faith to faith’. In other words, saving faith is a growing faith. We have also affirmed that we are not merely justified by faith but have become the righteousness of Elohim. Christ is the righteousness of Elohim, and Christ within us as Life (zoe) must continue to grow. All these points must be kept in mind before we discuss the fruits of justification by faith, lest we produce complacent believers who misunderstand salvation with phrases like “once saved, always saved,” “salvation cannot be lost,” or “whoever believes in Jesus will surely go to heaven.” Such slogans often arise from misunderstanding Paul’s concept of saving faith.

Let us now consider the results of justification by faith—faith that truly saves:

1. Peace with Elohim (Romans 5:1).

2. Access by faith into grace (5:2).

3. Rejoicing in the hope of the glory of Elohim (5:2)—this is crucial, for justification by faith inevitably leads to ‘glorification by faith’, when we shall receive the glory of Elohim at His coming, being given glorified bodies and sharing in His glory. However, this progression continues only as we remain in His grace. Paul will later explain how to live continually in this grace.

4. Rejoicing in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, character, and hope that does not disappoint (5:3).

5. Deliverance from the wrath of Elohim through justification by His blood (5:9).

6. Salvation by His Life (zoe) (5:10)—again showing that the growing ‘zoe’ life within us brings salvation.

If we observe points 3 and 6, justification by faith surely leads to glorification by faith. This is the perfect salvation Paul describes in Romans. As long as we remain in His grace and the ‘zoe’ life continues to grow within us through saving faith, we will certainly be glorified with Christ at His coming.

However, in reality, Scripture testifies that the Church has fallen and divided into tens of thousands of competing denominations. Revelation 2 and 3 attest to this fall by calling for ‘overcomers’. Acts 20:28–30 warns that savage wolves would arise among church leaders, leading to human hierarchy and control. Because of this, not all church members will experience the full salvation Paul describes in Romans at Christ’s coming.

We now turn to the second aspect of salvation Paul outlines in this epistle—sanctification by faith (Romans 5:12–7:25). Let us consider the term ‘sanctification’ as used in Romans 6:19: “... so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for sanctification.” And in Romans 6:22: “... you have your fruit to sanctification, and the end, everlasting life.”

The term ‘sanctification’ is translated from the Greek ‘hagiasmos’ (a noun), which appears ten times in the New Testament. According to Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words by William Mounce (p. 338), ‘hagiasmos’ denotes both a process and its result—making something pure and holy. The opposite of holy is common. Thus, when something (a person or a temple object) is set apart for Elohim’s purpose, it becomes holy. Christians are called saints because they have been set apart for Elohim’s purpose. According to Mounce, sanctification is a process—and this is true, for just as ‘justification by faith’ is a process, ‘sanctification by faith’ is also a process, because saving faith is a growing, developing faith. Hence, sanctification, too, is progressive.

We must not associate holiness merely with sinlessness. Even though Christians are called ‘holy ones’ immediately upon being born again, they are still in the process of sanctification—just as the Corinthian believers were called ‘saints’, though they had many moral failures.

Next, we must understand: from what are we sanctified or set apart?

1. From sin (singular)—the power of sin. Sin is a ruling power that causes one to commit sins, or more precisely, the personification of Satan working within the human body. Paul explains deliverance from this power in his section on sanctification by faith.

2. From the Law—believers are no longer under the Law but under grace. Paul explains the difference between living under Law and living under grace.

3. From the sting of death (1 Corinthians 15:55–56)—the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law.

Christians experience sanctification as long as they remain under grace and under the law of the Spirit of Life (zoe). If a Christian steps out from the protection of this law of the Spirit of Life, he

falls again under the bondage of sin, death, and the Law—even though he has been born again and possesses the seed of ‘zoe’.

Paul uses both ‘blood’ and ‘cross’ to explain Christian salvation. For justification by faith, he speaks of the blood of Christ; for sanctification by faith, he speaks of the cross of Christ. In justification, Christ died for us—His blood removes our sins. In sanctification, we die with Christ—our old man is crucified with Him on the cross. We shall explain this further later.

Let us continue our discussion on sanctification by faith, as we now enter the passage of Romans 5:12–21, where two men, two acts, and two corresponding results are discussed. These two men are Adam and Jesus Christ. Notice verse 12, which says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” This verse affirms that sin and death entered the world through the act of one man—Adam. Before we examine Adam’s act, let us first consider why the act of one man, Adam, brought consequences upon all mankind—namely, sin and death. This is because Adam was the head of the human race. Thus, this passage speaks about headship.

Elohim regarded Adam’s act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden not as an individual act, but as a collective act—an act representing all humanity—because Adam was the head of mankind. Similarly, the act of Jesus Christ before Elohim was not an individual act either, but a collective act, for Jesus Christ is also the head of mankind. This concept of headship becomes clearer when we consider 1 Corinthians 15:45–49. Look at verses 45–47: “So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving Spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.”

Let us note two important facts here. First, the first man, Adam, became a living soul. Yet we know that this first man fell into sin—into the realm of death—and brought all his descendants into that same realm of death. Then Christ Jesus, as the last Adam, settled the entire debt of Adam’s descendants. Through His death, Christ Jesus fully paid the debt of sin and all its consequences. Through His resurrection, Christ Jesus became the last Adam, the Spirit who gives life. The Greek word translated ‘gives life’ is ‘zoopoieo’ (a verb), meaning ‘to make alive’, from ‘zoe’, divine life. Thus, Christ Jesus is the Spirit who imparts ‘zoe’—divine life—to all the descendants of fallen Adam, according to their order (1 Corinthians 15:23–24).

Second, the first man was of the dust of the earth, but the second man is from heaven. This is what we mean by headship. Just as the head of the first humanity fell and brought all his descendants into death, so also the head of the second humanity will bring all mankind into heavenly humanity. The second man is the new creation. Jesus Christ is the head of this second humanity. That is why Revelation calls Him ‘the beginning of the creation of God’ (Revelation 3:14)—not meaning that Jesus Himself was created, but that He is the head of the new creation, just as Adam was the head of the old creation.

Thus, we see that Elohim created man—Adam—and that Adam and all his descendants fell into the realm of death. Then Elohim created a new creation—the second man. The head of this new creation is Jesus Christ, who, through His death and resurrection, became the life-giving Spirit. As such, Jesus imparts His life to all the descendants of the first man, but each in due order. As He said, “…and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32).

From 1 Corinthians 15, the principle of headship becomes clear. Let us now return to our passage in Romans 5:12–21. Verse 12 again says: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” Let us now explore further what sin and death mean, since both entered through Adam’s transgression. Concerning sin (singular), we have already stated that it refers to a personified power—Satan himself. This will be seen more clearly in chapter 7. For now, we understand that sin is a power that causes all the descendants of Adam to commit sins. Sin operates as a law, ‘the law of sin’ (Romans 8:2). A law is something general—it applies universally. For example, the law of gravity applies to all; whoever throws an object upward will see it fall down. Likewise, the law of sin applies to all the descendants of Adam and resides in every human body. As Romans 7:23 says, “…the law of sin which is in my members.” We will later see how Elohim provides the way for us to be sanctified—set apart for Him—and freed from this law of sin.

Now, what does death mean? Many Christians think that death means physical death, but that understanding is incomplete. Let us look at Genesis 2:17: “…for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die.” What does ‘die’ mean here? When Adam ate of the tree, he did not immediately die physically. The Hebrew phrase used is ‘muth ta-muth’, which literally means, as rendered in Young’s Literal Translation, ‘dying thou dost die’. This means: ‘the moment you eat of it, you will receive a kind of life called death, which will eventually result in physical death’.

Thus, when Adam ate of the forbidden tree, he immediately entered into a kind of life called death—a death-life—which in time led to physical death. Hence, when Adam and Eve sinned, they were expelled from the Garden of Eden (the earthly expression of the Kingdom of Heaven) and began to live a death-life that ultimately ended in physical death. This is the wages of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23).

The book of Hebrews affirms that the devil holds the power of death (Hebrews 2:14). This means that since Adam and Eve fell, all humanity has lived under the dominion of a death-life ruled by Satan. Ecclesiastes describes this death-life as life ‘under the sun’, concluding that ‘all is vanity’. Indeed, every human life lived under death—whether rich or poor, wise or foolish—is ultimately vanity. Thus, all the descendants of Adam and Eve live under the law of sin and death. This is the true consequence of Adam’s fall—not eternal hellfire as is often misunderstood.

Now we come to the conclusion of the passage on sanctification by faith (Romans 5:18–19): “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous.”

Among many Bible teachers within mainstream Christianity—where the doctrine of eternal hell has become an established tenet—the word ‘all’ in these verses is reinterpreted to mean something less than what Paul intended. Why? Because within the ‘kosmos’ of organized Christianity, the teaching that all people will eventually be saved has been labeled heresy—universalism.

However, for Christians outside this kosmos—those who do not depend on denominational salaries or positions, and who therefore seek no honor from men—the term ‘all’ in these verses confirms that, in the end, ‘all people will be saved’. We must say this because for many professional theologians, this issue of ‘all’ is not merely theological—it is also a matter of livelihood. Who would leave the religious ‘kosmos’ when one’s income depends on it, even though it is known that the ruler of religious systems—including Christianity supported by the three false doctrines of Jezebel, Balaam, and the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2–3)—is Satan himself?

Let us now examine the word ‘all’ in its context. Paul is speaking of two men: Adam and Christ Jesus, where Adam is called a ‘type’ (‘tupos’) of Christ (5:14)—that is, a model or pattern. A model bears resemblance to the original; therefore, Christ’s act must have effects corresponding to Adam’s act. If Adam’s act brought ‘all’ men under sin and death, then Christ’s act, as the anti-type of Adam, must bring ‘all’ men into righteousness.

Paul then explains that the grace of Elohim surpasses the effects of Adam’s transgression (5:15–17). If through one man all fell under sin and death, then by the far greater grace of Elohim, ‘all’ must ultimately experience His grace. Otherwise, Adam’s sin would be more powerful than Christ’s redemptive act—a blasphemous idea.

We may briefly refer to 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, where Paul lays out the order of resurrection. The ‘all’ here is clear: as in Adam ‘all die’, so in Christ ‘all will be made alive’ (vv. 21–22). Each, however, in his own order (v. 23). The context unmistakably refers to all humanity. Thus, the conclusion of Romans 5:18–19 is that all were condemned through Adam, and all will receive life through Christ Jesus.

We now proceed to Romans chapter 6, which continues the theme of sanctification by faith. This entire chapter shows how we die and rise with Christ into sanctified living. We have already seen that justification by faith is a process; likewise, sanctification by faith is also a process. The faith that saves is an ever-growing faith—‘from faith to faith’.

However, we must remember that the moment a person believes in the Lord Jesus, they immediately experience justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith. This initial experience we may call the “gate experience.” Yet there must also be a continuing “path experience,” a growth toward the full realization of salvation.

Romans 6:4 says, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (‘zoe’).” This verse speaks of our identification with Christ—not only did Christ die for us, but we also died with Him.

When Christ was raised by the glory of the Father, we received new life—zoe, the divine life. The basis of this ‘zoe’ life is Christ’s resurrection. 1 Peter 1:3 confirms this: “He has caused us to be born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to a living hope.”

Romans 6:6 further explains, “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” To be sanctified means to be ‘set apart for God’. Yet through Adam’s fall, we became slaves to sin; thus, we must be freed from the power (law) of sin dwelling in our bodily members.

How does this deliverance take place? Romans 6:6 shows three elements in the process of sinning: (1) the ‘old man’—our Adamic self, inherited through natural birth; (2) the ‘law of sin’ operating in our members; and (3) the resulting sinful acts. Our old man responds to the enticement of sin’s power, resulting in sinful deeds. First, the old man. This old man is the person we inherit because we are descendants of Adam who has sinned. Our old man will respond to every enticement of sin (the power of sin that dwells in our bodies), causing us to commit sinful deeds.

Second, the body of sin. Why is our physical body called the “body of sin”? Because the law of sin, or the power of sin, dwells within our physical body. Third, sin (in the singular form), which is the personification of the Devil within our body—a power that drives us to commit sins.

What is the Word of God’s solution to these three factors that cause us to sin? God’s solution is not to “extract” the root of sin that dwells in our physical body, as one would extract a decayed tooth. Nor is it to “suppress” the physical body, as ascetics do by “punishing” their bodies to avoid sin. Rather, God’s solution is to crucify our ‘old man’ together with Christ, so that when the power of sin tempts us to commit sin, we give no response to it—just as a dead person gives no response when tempted. If we have been delivered from sin (the power of sin), then we can be sanctified (set apart) for God’s purposes. Romans 6:18 affirms, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”

Let us continue our discussion on “dying with Christ,” where our old man has died to sin (Romans 6:2, 6), so that we can be set apart for God, leading to ‘sanctification by faith’ (6:22). The fact that our old man was crucified with Christ on the cross must be properly responded to. When we see this fact in God’s Word and respond correctly, we grow in ‘sanctification by faith’.

Let us look at several things that believers (those who have been born again) must respond to—those who have already experienced the “door” of sanctification by faith.

First, knowing. Romans 6:6 says, “For we know…” In the New Testament, the term ‘know’ comes from two Greek words: ‘ginosko’ and ‘oida’. Ginosko refers to outward or objective knowledge, while oida refers to inward consciousness or subjective knowledge. Romans 6:6 uses ginosko, but Romans 6:9 and 16 use oida. This means our knowledge must mature—not remaining merely outward (ginosko), but becoming inward and experiential (oida).

Second, reckoning. Romans 6:11 says, “So you also must consider yourselves…” The Greek word ‘logizomai’ (a verb) used here does not merely mean to look briefly but also to reason, to conclude, and to decide with understanding. It signifies a deep, deliberate act of reckoning.

Third, presenting the members of our body to God. Romans 6:13 says, “Do not present the members of your body to sin… but present yourselves to God…” (NASB). Here, the act of presenting oneself to God is particularly related to the members of our body. Although Romans 6 mainly speaks of sinful acts committed through the body, this does not mean sins of the soul and spirit are ignored. The sins committed by born-again Christians through their bodily members are often called “specific sins,” “particular weaknesses,” or “habitual sins”—those recurring failures that cause believers to fall into despair in their struggle against sin.

Now let us enter our personal experience as Christians who struggle against the law of sin within our physical body. Often, though we believe our old man has died with Christ, and though we have reckoned it so, and have presented our members to God to be used as instruments of righteousness, we still fall into certain sins. Why is that so?

Romans 8:2 provides the answer: “For the law of the Spirit of life (‘zoe’) in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” We cannot overcome the power of sin in our body through our MIND’S STRENGTH, even after following the steps of knowing, reckoning, and presenting our members to God. We can only overcome sin through the divine life (‘zoe’) within us. If our ‘zoe’ life has not yet matured sufficiently, then even after following these steps, we will still fall into our particular sins. Growth in ‘zoe’ life takes time. We will discuss this further when we reach chapters 7 and 8.

Before entering chapter 7, we must first discuss Romans 6:23, which says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (LITV). There are at least two reasons we must revisit the statement that “the wages of sin is death.”

First, within Christianity, the doctrine of eternal hell—understood as “hell forever and ever”—is commonly accepted. If the doctrine of eternal hell truly originated from the Bible, then JESUS NEVER PAID OUR DEBT OF SIN. For if paying the debt of sin for even one person required eternal punishment, Jesus would have to remain in hell forever. How much more, then, for two, three, or countless people chosen by the Father for salvation? Clearly, this is irrational and illogical.

Second, as we have already discussed, death is a form of life under the dominion of the Devil. Therefore, to save mankind, Jesus only needed to conquer this death-life controlled by the Devil. How did Jesus conquer death? His life (‘zoe’) itself conquered the life of death. The coming of Jesus as the Savior of the world, through the power of the Gospel, broke the power of death and brought ‘zoe’ life (2 Timothy 1:10). Jesus only needed to remain in the realm of death for three days—then He rose again. His resurrection proves that His ‘zoe’ life triumphed over death. And Jesus imparts His ‘zoe’ life to all who believe in Him (John 10:10). The life of death is swallowed up by the abundant ‘zoe’ life, which continues to grow. Salvation and victory for believers occur as the ‘zoe’ life within them continuously “swallows up” the death-life that is the wage of sin.

It is helpful to review a brief history of the doctrine of eternal hell so that believers may reconsider it. For the first few centuries of church history, the majority of Christians believed in the ultimate salvation of all mankind. Through historical study, it is evident that Augustine (354–430 AD) was the first church father to teach eternal damnation in his famous book The City of God. Then Jerome (345–420 AD), who translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate) around 380 AD—making it the official Bible of the Roman Church—translated the Greek word ‘aion’ (meaning age or era) into Latin as aeternus, which he should have rendered as era. Later English translations followed Jerome’s version and rendered ‘aeternus’ as ‘eternal’ or ‘forever and ever’. Thus, nearly all English Bibles today use the term ‘eternal’ or ‘forever and ever’.

During Emperor Justinian’s reign (527–565 AD), the Justinian Code—a 50-volume work—was published, and in 540 AD, he decreed that certain doctrines be established, particularly that the life of the saints was eternal, and likewise, the punishment of the lost was eternal. He made this decree under the influence of Augustine’s teachings, ignoring the views of Origen (185–254 AD) and other church fathers, as well as the Apostles, who believed that all would ultimately be saved. Thus, Augustine, Jerome, and Emperor Justinian are chiefly responsible for the doctrine of eternal hell. Therefore, the wages of sin is death—not eternal hell, as the majority of Christians today believe.

Now we enter chapter 7, where Paul discusses ‘bondage in the flesh under the Law because of the law of sin dwelling in the body of believers’. Paul here clarifies Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” We must understand this verse before proceeding to chapter 7. Romans 6:6 states that we have died with Christ—our old man crucified with Him. Therefore, the law of sin within our body receives no response when it tempts us to sin. That means we are no longer under the dominion of sin (the power of sin). But Paul emphasizes that we are no longer under sin’s dominion ‘as long as we live under grace and not under the Law’.

Why is that? Because the power of sin is “revived” when someone lives under the Law and not under grace. Romans 7:8–10 explains, “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law, but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died.” This does not mean that the Law is unholy, unrighteous, or bad—but because of the flesh (‘sarx’, meaning human nature or the condition resulting from Adam’s fall), the commandment intended to bring life instead brought death (7:10).

Romans 7 describes the ‘experience of a born-again believer’ who does not continue to live under grace. We will later discuss in detail what it means to live under grace and not under the Law. For now, understand that living under the Law means that ‘I’ (the ‘sarx’, the human being) must perform this or that requirement. But living under grace means that the ‘Spirit’ performs in us what must be done as believers.

We must also recognize that the Law in Christian terms often refers to religious regulations. If a Christian worships God by observing religious rules—“must do this, must not do that”—he is living under the Law. This means he is practicing religion in his own strength, as ‘sarx’ (flesh). We must remember that human flesh can do both ‘good’ and evil, since Adam ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Thus, Christians may perform many ‘good’ acts (observing religious regulations, avoiding obvious sins like theft or lying), yet still live under the Law, not under grace.

Such Christians are religious Christians. Religious Christians, with all their outward observances, actually live outside of grace—because it is not the Spirit acting within them, but their own effort following religious rules. We shall see in chapter 7 how believers are freed from the Law and live under grace.

Continuing in chapter 7, Paul explains what it means to live under grace and not under the Law. Living under the Law means striving to gain God’s favor by one’s own effort, but living under grace means that the Spirit performs what must be done within us as believers.

Paul explains that the Law has dominion over a person only as long as he lives (7:1). Just as a wife is bound to her husband by law while he lives, but is released if he dies—so we, having died with Christ to the Law, are released from it. Like the wife who becomes free when her husband dies, we have died to the Law and are now free to belong to Another—to Him who was raised from the dead—so that we might bear fruit for God (7:4).

Romans 7:6 says, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” The phrase ‘serve in newness of the Spirit’ is equivalent to living under grace. Why? Because the Holy Spirit within us empowers and performs what we should do as followers of Christ—unlike ‘the oldness of the letter’, which refers to serving according to legal regulations.

For Jews bound under the Mosaic Covenant, they indeed served Yahweh under the Law. Yet they were not meant to ‘earn’ God’s favor or ‘justify’ themselves before Him by keeping the Law—for it is clear that no one can be justified before God by the Law. Israel was called to ‘believe’ in Yahweh and express that faith by obeying the Law’s requirements. The saints of the Old Testament were people of faith who expressed their belief by fulfilling the Law. But the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ time sought justification by their own observance of the Law, thus falling into religious bondage.

We must continually emphasize what it means to ‘live under grace’. For in modern Christianity, worship is often no longer ‘under grace’—that is, in spirit and in truth—but rather external and ritualistic, following man-made religious systems. Paul warned against such outward worship in 2 Timothy 3:5: “Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such people.” The word ‘form’ (Greek ‘morphosis’) means external appearance. Christians who worship under religious rules display an outward appearance of godliness but deny its inner reality and power.

When a believer sees that he has died with Christ, freed from the Law and from religious regulations imposed by church leaders, he will live under grace and follow the Lord Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. We have established that sin will no longer have dominion over us as long as we live under grace—not under the Law—and that we have died to the Law and to religious ordinances made by Christian leaders. Therefore, we now serve the Lord in newness, solely by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

We will now discuss the ‘three laws within us’, to further understand why we must continue living under grace—that is, following the Lord Jesus. Wherever He went, day after day, it was by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us not become enslaved again by a new ‘Law of Moses’, that is, by religious regulations, so that we fall back under the power of sin. This is the struggle of Christians that Paul describes in chapter 7.

Consider Romans 7:23, “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (ILT). Also, Romans 8:2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free…” (ILT). Compare this with Young’s Literal Translation, Romans 8:2: “for the law of the Spirit of the life (‘zoe’) in Christ Jesus…”.

Thus, there are three laws within us: first, the law of sin that dwells in our physical body; second, the law of the mind that is in our soul; and third, the law of the Spirit of Life (‘zoe’) that dwells in our spirit, because the Holy Spirit abides in our spirit. Let us now explain how these three laws operate in the life of a Christian (a born-again person). When the law of the Spirit of Life (‘zoe’) is active in us, we respond in obedience, because the law of the mind in our soul ‘delights’ in the laws of God (7:22). However, if for some reason the law of sin becomes active, then we will commit sinful acts, especially through our physical body, since the law of sin resides in it.

When, then, is the law of the Spirit of Life active, and when is the law of sin active? If we live under grace — meaning we are not enslaved by religious regulations of any kind — and we simply ‘flow’ with the leading of the Holy Spirit day by day, then the law of sin does not operate, or more precisely, remains ‘inactive’ within us. Why call it inactive? Because the moment we live the Christian life by our own strength (not under grace) and continue following religious rules, the law of sin becomes active again within us. The law of sin is never removed from our body permanently; it remains in our physical flesh as long as we live in this world. However, when we ‘flow’ under the leading of the Holy Spirit, the law of sin becomes inactive in our body. THE ONLY WAY TO BE FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN IN OUR BODY IS TO FLOW WITH THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT DAY BY DAY.

Perhaps an example will help clarify these three laws at work within us. Suppose a preacher — whether a pastor or any other title — is preaching from the pulpit; most likely, the Holy Spirit is at work, enabling him to preach under anointing. But if he does not live under grace, meaning he conducts his Christian life under religious regulations and does not ‘flow’ with the Holy Spirit daily, then he may fall into sins of the body, such as immorality or adultery, just like unrepentant sinners.

Many Christians are puzzled as to why a preacher who is anointed on the pulpit can commit sexual immorality after leaving it. The explanation is this: while preaching, the Holy Spirit was working through him; but since he does not live under grace day by day, the ‘law of sin’ in his body becomes active again.

The law of sin within the body of a ‘senior’ servant of God, who may be greatly anointed on stage, is just as ‘brutal’ as the law of sin within any human being. Why? Because God’s solution was not to ‘remove’ the law of sin from the human body, but to teach mankind to live continually under grace — to keep ‘flowing’ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit day after day. The moment someone steps outside the Spirit’s leading, he falls under the power of the law of sin.

We can summarize Paul’s struggle in chapter 7 as follows: “Bondage in the flesh under the Law due to the presence of the law of sin in the believer’s physical body.” The conclusion of chapter 7 is written in verse 25: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (ILT).

This verse shows that after giving thanks to God, Paul writes his conclusion: “With the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” It seems as though Paul has two personalities — one serving God’s law with the mind, the other serving sin with the flesh. But that is not the case.

Paul is emphasizing that the law of sin within our physical body — our ‘flesh’ (sarx) — is never removed or erased from a believer. In fact, he firmly declares that the body is subject to death because of sin: “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin…” (8:10). The desires of the flesh cease (become inactive) only as long as we live by the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 affirms this: “…walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

We may compare this with the Galatian church, which sought perfection by returning to the Law. They observed special days, months, seasons, and years, and practiced circumcision — in short, they wanted to live under the Law (Galatians 4:10,21). They began with the Spirit but tried to perfect their Christian life by the flesh. Paul offers only one solution: “LIVE BY THE SPIRIT.” To live by the Spirit, in the Galatian context, means not to be enslaved by the Law. Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; therefore stand firm, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

A life led by the Spirit is a life of freedom — not lawlessness, because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of order — but freedom from religious enslavement. A truly free Christian is one who becomes a servant of the Holy Spirit, following His leading daily, without bondage to any religious system.

Looking briefly at the Christian world today, if asked what is most dangerous and destructive among believers, my answer would be ‘religious bondage’ imposed by Christian leaders. Why? Because Acts 20:28–30 warns that savage wolves will arise, drawing the Lord’s disciples after themselves through false teachings. The apostle John identifies these false doctrines as those of Jezebel, Balaam, and the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2–3). These, I believe, are the most perilous forces in Christianity.

Returning to Paul’s conclusion in Romans 7: the law of sin remains in the believer’s physical body (the fleshly nature) and can only be rendered inactive if the believer is led by the Spirit daily. Therefore, throughout church history, whenever believers fall into moral corruption, it confirms Paul’s conclusion that fleshly bondage becomes active through religious regulations.

Now, as we enter chapter 8, verse 2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Young’s Literal Translation reads, “for the law of the Spirit of the life…” The more accurate rendering emphasizes that ‘the law of the Spirit of Life’ (‘zoe’) sets believers free from the law of sin and death.

We must understand what ‘the Spirit of Life’ (‘zoe’) means. When Jesus came into the world, He declared His purpose clearly — to give ‘zoe’ life to believers. John 10:10 says, “…I have come that they may have life (‘zoe’), and have it abundantly.” This means that the life (‘zoe’) in believers must grow until it overflows. Abundant life has nothing to do with material wealth, health, or worldly prosperity. When ‘zoe’ life is given to a believer, it begins as a seed that must grow — just as Jesus described in the parable of the sower.

When someone is born again, he receives the seed of ‘zoe’ life in its initial stage, just as a baby receives life from its parents. The ‘zoe’ life within the believer must continue to grow so that it can overcome the law of sin and death. In the early stage of the Christian life, when ‘zoe’ is still weak (like an infant), the believer experiences a weary struggle against the law of sin and death within. Such a person repeatedly falls into certain sins, especially those committed by the body. Despite all efforts and resolutions, he fails — because only the power of ‘zoe’ life can free us from the law of sin and death, and that ‘zoe’ may still be immature. Thus, his struggle is driven merely by willpower, not by life-power. This is why he keeps falling, feeling defeated, unworthy, and condemned.

Yet if he does not give up but continues to follow the leading of the Spirit of Life day by day, the ‘zoe’ within him will grow and eventually overcome the law of sin and death. Still, this victory remains only as long as he continues walking in the Spirit daily. The moment he acts out of self-will or pride, he will fall again into sin. We must always remember that the law of sin remains in our members as long as we live in this world. This law can only be overcome by the law of the Spirit of Life, as long as we keep walking by the Spirit.

Every Christian experiences the reality of Romans 7 in the early stages of faith — wanting to do good but doing the evil he hates (7:15,17). But ultimately, he will triumph if he continues to live under grace, following the Spirit’s guidance day by day. Let us continue with Romans 8:3–4: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (LAI). Several points arise from these verses:

First, what does ‘weak through the flesh’ mean? Those who live under the Law must fulfill all its demands. James even says that if one breaks just one part, he is guilty of all (James 2:10–11). But the problem is that fallen humanity, being fleshly, cannot fulfill the Law’s demands. That is the meaning of ‘weak through the flesh’. The Law is good, but humans, being fleshly, cannot carry it out.

Second, God’s solution was to send Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh — having a body like ours, though without sin — and He died on the cross to condemn sin in the flesh.

Third, Jesus condemned sin in the flesh so that ‘the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us’. What does ‘fulfilled’ mean? It means WE NO LONGER HAVE TO PERFORM THE ENTIRE DEMANDS OF THE LAW. Instead, WE LIVE LED BY THE SPIRIT DAY BY DAY.

This third point is crucial. In today’s Christianity, a substitute for the Law has emerged — religious regulations. These rules combine selected portions of the Law, often related to money, with denominational traditions and leadership decrees. Examples include: “You MUST attend Sunday services at a particular denomination,” “You MUST give tithes, firstfruits, faith pledges, or offerings,” “You MUST follow denominational rules or senior pastors’ instructions.” The word “MUST” itself reveals a demand. Yet Paul clearly states that the Law’s demands are fulfilled in us who worship according to the Spirit’s leading day by day.

I have already written elsewhere about the origin and motives behind these religious regulations — mainly that church leaders, attacked by savage wolves (Acts 20:28–30), use false teachings to draw the Lord’s disciples after themselves. To gain followers, they must impose religious rules. WITHOUT RELIGIOUS RULES, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR CHRISTIAN LEADERS TO MAKE THE LORD’S DISCIPLES THEIR FOLLOWERS — OR TO CONTROL THEIR MONEY.

If the servants of God truly taught that Christians must worship ‘according to the Spirit’ — meaning led by the Spirit daily, without a single religious rule — no believer would ever fall into bondage to religious systems or become a follower of men. Paul, Peter, and John never sought followers; the early church worshiped ‘in spirit and in truth’, as Jesus taught in John 4. Thus, Paul firmly teaches that the requirements of the Law are fulfilled in those who live and worship according to the Spirit’s daily leading.

Let us reemphasize the third point (Romans 8:4): Jesus condemned sin in the flesh so that ‘the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us’. What does ‘fulfilled’ mean? It means WE NO LONGER HAVE TO KEEP ANY PART OF THE LAW. This does not mean we must observe ‘some’ of its regulations, as many Christian leaders claim, but that WE LIVE LED BY THE SPIRIT DAILY. This was the life of the early church in the book of Acts — a truly living ‘organism’, not a religious organization. This is the church Jesus meant when He said, ‘I will build My Church’ — the Body of Christ, in which Jesus Himself, by the authority of Life (‘zoe’), governs every member directly.

If that is the case, does the Organism not have human leaders? Of course, the early church did have its leaders. Jesus Himself gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and shepherds. Yet, all of them functioned as leaders ‘within the context of the Organism’.

We need to briefly discuss human leadership within the context of the Organism, which we may call Body Leadership, as opposed to leadership within the context of the Organization (the “managers” in the realm of Christendom). Let us examine Colossians 2:19 and Ephesians 4:16. We will not expound the entire verses, but we shall compare and relate them through the word ‘growth’ that appears in both passages.

Colossians 2:19 speaks of ‘its growth which is from God’ (NASB). In the Greek text, two words are used—‘auxanō’ and ‘auxēsis’—which are rendered in the Indonesian Bible as ‘its divine growth’. However, the more accurate rendering should be, ‘may increase with the increase of God’ (Young’s Literal Translation). This means that the growth of the Body is the growth of God Himself—the growth of the divine Life (‘zoe’).

In this verse, the “joints and ligaments” (the leaders of the Body) function to support and knit the Body together. Meanwhile, Ephesians 4:16 affirms that “the growth of the Body” occurs as it is joined and held together by what every joint supplies. When we compare these two passages, we may conclude that the growth of the church as an Organism is the growth of the divine Life of God, wherein the leaders (“joints and ligaments”) function to support and unite the Body.

What we have just discussed is ‘Body Leadership’. We can see here that such leaders (the joints and ligaments) must absolutely move and function according to the authority of Life. Within the context of the Body, the joints and ligaments cannot move independently or act in a way that harms the Body. Therefore, the leaders of the Organism are completely under the authority of divine Life and possess no authority of their own over the Body or its members.

Leaders within the Organism can only ‘equip’ and ‘serve’ the Body. Should a leader disobey the authority of Life, he will be cut off from that Life himself, while the Body remains unharmed. Why? Because the growth of the Body is determined solely by the growth of Life. Do we now see the true nature of leaders in the Organism?

First, they possess no authority whatsoever (no “seat of Moses”), for all authority remains in Life.

Second, they can only equip and serve the Body as servants, not as managers in the realm of Christendom—servants in the truest sense of the word.

Third, they cannot control the Body, nor take any material advantage from it.

If we ourselves stand in the position of leadership within the context of the Organism, our conduct will reflect these characteristics. Conversely, if leaders behave as though they have the right to rule, to profit, or to dominate, this proves that they are not functioning within the context of the Organism.

Thus, the role of leaders in the Organism—which is the Body of Christ—is entirely different from that of religious leaders in Christendom, who divide the Body of Christ by drawing the Lord’s disciples after themselves and sitting on “Moses’ chair” as denominational managers. If church leaders were to function as leaders within the Organism, then every member of the church would be able to minister and worship according to the leading of the Holy Spirit day by day. The requirement of the Law has been fulfilled within the church as an Organism.

Let us now turn to Romans 8:6: “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” This verse defines both ‘death’ and ‘life and peace’. Consider, for instance, the definition of an ‘island’: “An island is a piece of land completely surrounded by water.” This statement can also be reversed: “A piece of land completely surrounded by water is an island.” The meaning remains the same.

Likewise, ‘the mind set on the flesh is death’ means that ‘death’ is the mind set on the flesh. The Greek term ‘phronēma’ refers to one’s ‘mind, disposition, or purpose’. The word ‘flesh’ (sarx) refers to ‘human nature’, the totality of man as a result of Adam’s disobedience. Scripture declares, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” Therefore, all humans are of the flesh, within which the law of sin dwells.

Thus, ‘death’ is the mind, disposition, and purpose of fallen humanity. Death is the wages of sin (Romans 6:23), and death is under the power of the devil (Hebrews 2:14). Death is not merely physical death, as many Christians suppose. When Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, God said, “You shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). The Hebrew phrase ‘mut tamut’ literally means that at the moment he ate, he received a ‘kind of life’ that is death—a life under Satan’s dominion—which would eventually lead to physical death.

When Adam and Eve obtained this kind of life, they immediately felt shame and tried to cover their nakedness. Their nakedness was not a problem as long as the glory of God clothed them. But because they sinned and lost that glory (Romans 3:23), they felt shame and covered themselves with fig leaves. This attempt represents ‘religious effort’—for since the fall, every human being has religion. Religion is man’s effort to cover the shame caused by sin. Even atheism is a form of religion—a religion that denies God.

Religion consists of human beliefs and rules concerning good and evil. It originated when man ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Why is this important? Because Christianity, which in its beginning was not a religion, has now become a religion within the world (the ‘kosmos’) of Christendom. The early believers were not religious, for they lived under the moment-by-moment guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not come to establish a religion but to impart His Life (‘zoe’, John 10:10).

Let us again note our verse above, ‘the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace’…? The desires of the Spirit and the desires of the flesh are opposed to each other. A person who lives according to the desires of the flesh cannot possibly be pleasing to Elohim. The desire of the Spirit is ‘zoe’, meaning that Christians must follow the leading of the ‘zoe’ life day by day if they want to fulfill the desire/thought/purpose of the Holy Spirit, and not merely practice religion with all its religious regulations. The Christian world has become filled with religious rules, ranging from Old Testament regulations (tithing, firstfruits), denominational/organizational rules, and rules made by senior leaders in every local congregation.

We will take only one example to prove that the Christian world has become a religion. We have already emphasized above that religion was born because humans ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The wages of sin is death, and death is the desire of the flesh. Let us consider just one work of the flesh—namely the spirit of division (Galatians 5:20). Throughout the history of Christianity, from the time of the apostle John until today, Christianity has become fragmented into tens of thousands of denominations. Why has this happened? Because of the desire of the flesh, as a result of eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Or in other words, because the Christian world has become a religion in which religion is human effort resulting from the fall.

In reality, the desire, thought, and purpose of the Spirit is only one—that Christians live by the ‘zoe’ Life or follow the leading of the ‘zoe’ Life day by day. The religious rules made by Christian religious leaders do not apply at all to the sheep of Jesus who follow Him wherever He goes (John 10:27; Revelation 14:4).

Let us continue discussing chapter 8, and now we will speak about the definition of the children of Elohim. Note Romans 8:14, which says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of Elohim, these are the sons of Elohim” (ILT). Paul provides a very clear definition of the children of Elohim: those who are led by the Spirit of Elohim.

To understand further what it means to be led by the Spirit of Elohim, let us first discuss John 10. The matter of ‘being led by the Spirit’ has already become a “rare item” in the Christian world which has now become a religion. For example, if someone comes to a certain denomination and says that he wants to serve the Lord, but according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, surely the leaders of that local denomination will say that perhaps he is “in the wrong place.” Why? They will explain that everything here is already arranged by the highest leadership. There are job descriptions, there is a structure in which a person must know to whom he is accountable and who his subordinates are. There are office hours, programs that must be followed, and of course a salary. So the denominational leaders will wonder and ask, what do you mean by being led by the Spirit? Or perhaps they assume that if a “servant of God” follows all the programs, obeys organizational rules, and submits to his superiors, then he is already being led by the Spirit.

Why does this happen? Let us look at John 10 for the answer. The background of John 10 begins with the event when Jesus healed a man born blind (John 9). Because of his testimony, the formerly blind man was cast out by the Pharisees. After Jesus learned this and found him, the

man then believed that Jesus was LORD (Greek: ‘kurios’, the sole Master who rules the life of the formerly blind man). Jesus then said that He came into the world so that the blind would see, and those who see would become blind. These words were heard by the Pharisees (9:40), and Jesus then answered these Pharisees. The apostle John arranges his narrative so that all the way until John 10:39, the same theme continues. We call this theme “excommunication” by the Jewish religious leaders. Indeed, John writes his gospel and his epistles from the perspective of “excommunication,” but we will not discuss this further here.

Let us look at John 10:10, which is very often interpreted incorrectly by Christian religious leaders. John 10:10 states: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” In general, Christian religious leaders interpret the thief Jesus refers to as the Devil. This means interpreting without considering context. Jesus was speaking to the Jewish religious leaders, not to the Devil. Therefore, the thieves and robbers are the Pharisees or the Jewish religious leaders.

Why is this so? Just imagine when Pilate asked the crowd whether Jesus or Barabbas should be released. Then the Jewish religious leaders stirred up the crowd so that they chose Barabbas to be released (Matthew 27:20). The Jewish religious leaders “STOLE” the hearts of the people, causing them to choose Barabbas and reject Jesus. Likely, among those people were many who had already received and experienced Jesus’ miracles. So the thief in John 10:10 is the Jewish religious leaders. They were the ones who killed Jesus, not Pilate. Pilate was merely used as an instrument by them, because the Sanhedrin was not permitted to execute someone under Roman rule.

Let us return to the Christian world. Generally, Christian religious leaders have DRAWN the Lord’s disciples to themselves, making them their own followers (Acts 20:28–30). The Lord’s disciples who have become followers of Christian leaders must submit and obey the organizational rules of these leaders. Is it still possible for the Lord’s disciples to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit wherever the Lamb goes, as written in Revelation 14:4? What is “killed” by Christian leaders is no longer Jesus physically, but the Holy Spirit who has the right to direct the Lord’s disciples—that is what is “killed” through their religious regulations. So, if we apply John 10:10 to the Christian world, who then are the thieves and robbers? Surely you can now answer. But again, the definition of the children of Elohim is those who are led by the Spirit day by day and who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

Let us continue our discussion in Romans chapter 8. We have emphasized that the definition of the children of Elohim is those who follow the Spirit of Elohim wherever He leads them day by day. Again, we emphasize that the sheep of Jesus certainly hear the voice of Jesus (John 10:27). Hearing the voice of Jesus is the RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SHEPHERD—JESUS HIMSELF—and not the responsibility of Jesus’ sheep. If we ARE the sheep of Jesus, then we WILL DEFINITELY hear His voice day by day.

Hearing the voice of Jesus or being led by the Spirit day by day is not a strange thing for the sheep of Jesus. Unless a Christian (though born again) has a human shepherd or pastor whom they follow, then indeed hearing the voice of the Spirit day by day becomes “out of context”—outside the matter at hand, and no longer needs to be discussed, because such Christians are following a human leader (pastor or shepherd) and not the Lamb wherever He goes (Revelation 14:4). The sheep of Jesus do not need to be taught how to hear the voice of Jesus (1 John 2:20, 27). Christian leaders often teach “their sheep”—or rather, their stolen sheep—how to hear the voice of God. But for the sheep of Jesus, such teaching is unnecessary.

Let us continue with verse 17, which states: “And if children, then heirs—truly heirs of Elohim and joint-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer together, that we may also be glorified together” (ILT). There are several things to observe here. First, the children Paul is referring to are defined as those who are led by the Spirit day by day (8:14). Second, these children are joint heirs with Christ Jesus. Third, these children will suffer together with Christ. Fourth, these children will be glorified together with Christ. We will discuss these points one by one.

First, those who will receive the inheritance together with Christ are the children of Elohim who are led by the Spirit day by day. Why must we emphasize this? Because a child who has not yet come of age cannot receive his inheritance. Note Galatians 4:1: “…as long as the heir is not yet of age, he is no different from a slave, although he is master of all.” So if a Christian (though born again) has not yet come of age, he cannot receive his inheritance.

The meaning of a child “coming of age” is that he has reached a certain maturity, enabling him to inherit something from his father. Christians who follow human leaders (pastors or church shepherds) and do not follow Jesus wherever He goes will certainly not reach maturity. Becoming a mature Christian does not come through the Christian’s own efforts but is determined beforehand by the Father. James 1:18 states, “He has determined that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures…” (ILT). The firstfruits here refer to Christians who have matured earlier. These Christians who have matured earlier are what we call “the firstfruits of the church”—those who have been predestined by the Father to mature first. They are the ones who will receive the inheritance later.

Let us now continue with Romans 8:17, where we come to the second point: ‘the children referred to by Paul are fellow heirs with Christ Jesus’. The term “fellow heirs” comes from the Greek word ‘sugkleronomos’, meaning to participate or share in the inheritance of Christ Jesus. Here, we will discuss the inheritance of Christ Jesus as the Only Begotten Son of God—that is, as King and High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

When Jesus asked the Pharisees about the Messiah, they quickly replied that the Messiah was the Son of David. Their concept of the Messianic kingdom resembled that of David’s earthly kingdom—with physical enemies, physical armies, physical blessings, and all things of a material nature. However, when Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1, saying, “The LORD said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool,” and asked why David called the Messiah “Lord” if He was his son (Matthew 22:41–45), the Pharisees could not answer.

This shows that the Messianic kingdom exists in a higher dimension than David’s kingdom. David’s kingdom was merely a shadow or symbol of the Messianic kingdom, which is a heavenly one—the Kingdom in Heaven. Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world. Yet, His kingdom will be established on the earth. That is why Jesus taught His disciples to pray for the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven—meaning, for the heavenly kingdom to come to earth. And why should the heavenly kingdom come to earth? As stated above, it is so that all the Messiah’s enemies may be subdued.

This is one of Christ Jesus’ inheritances—to be the King of kings. At present, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, waiting until all His enemies are defeated. The last enemy to be destroyed is “death” (1 Corinthians 15:20–28). We must remember that “death” is a kind of life inherited by all mankind because of Adam’s fall (Romans 6:23), in which the devil became the ruler of the realm of death (Hebrews 2:14). Death, then, is the final enemy; and when it is defeated, there will be no more enemies. This means that once death is destroyed, all humanity held captive by the life of death will be set free—thus fulfilling the prophecy that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord (‘kurios’ = sole ruler). Jesus firmly declared that when He is lifted up (referring to His death, resurrection, and exaltation at the right hand of the Father), He will draw ‘all men’ to Himself (John 12:32). This is one of Christ Jesus’ inheritances as the Only Begotten Son of the Father—to be the King of kings until all His enemies are subdued.

What about us who believe? We, too, will share in Christ’s inheritance. Those who believe will become kings under the leadership of the Messiah. Even now, we have been seated together with Christ Jesus in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). This, of course, refers to the spiritual reality—that we are already seated with Christ’s kingdom in heaven. We do not have to die physically to enter “heaven” somewhere far away, as commonly taught by many religious leaders. For those who believe, we are already in Christ’s heavenly kingdom.

When Jesus returns to earth (His “second coming”) as the righteous Judge over His people, He will establish His kingdom on earth together with His overcomers. For what purpose? To defeat all His enemies, so that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28). In Revelation 20:4, this earthly reign of the Messiah is called the ‘Millennial Kingdom’, in which Christ will rule with His overcomers on earth—with glorified bodies, of course (Revelation 5:10).

In mainstream Christianity, it is commonly believed that when Jesus returns, He will “rapture” His church to a beautiful place called heaven, or the Father’s house, to sing and worship forever; while those not chosen will go to eternal hell (the doctrine of eternal damnation). Such teachings are repeatedly emphasized in Sunday sermons and theological schools alike.

However, Amos 3:3 reminds us, “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” Another version says, “unless they have agreed to do so.” The answer, of course, is no. If a Christian (born again) does not agree with Jesus’ plan to establish His kingdom on earth to subdue all enemies, then such a Christian cannot walk with Him in the age to come after His return.

We have established that the inheritance of Christ Jesus as the Only Begotten Son of God is to be King and High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek—and that we share in this inheritance. Indeed, Christ’s inheritance encompasses all things, and we share in all of them. That is why Paul said that he possesses all things (2 Corinthians 6:10). Romans 8:32 confirms this: “…how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Yet, the aspect of Christ’s inheritance we are discussing here pertains specifically to His ministry.

Now, we turn to Christ’s inheritance as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6). The author of Hebrews emphasizes that the priesthood of Melchizedek is higher and superior to that of Aaron. We need not examine all the details of how Melchizedek’s priesthood surpasses Aaron’s, but we must note that when a priesthood changes, the governing law also changes accordingly. Hebrews 7:12 declares, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.”

So, what law governs the priesthood of Melchizedek? Hebrews 7:15–16 says, “…a priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.” The priesthood of Melchizedek is based on ‘life that cannot perish’—that is, on ‘zoe’, divine life. Therefore, Jesus became High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek under the Law of Zoe that governs His priesthood. The priesthood of Jesus cannot be governed by the Law of Moses, for Jesus Himself ‘is’ the ‘zoe’ (“I am the life,” John 14:6). Because He is ‘zoe’, His entire priestly ministry is ruled by the Law of Zoe.

I Peter 2:9 declares, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood…” This means that believers are both kings and priests. Since Jesus is the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, believers, too, are priests according to that same order. Thus, what law governs the priesthood of believers? It is the Law of Life (‘zoe’). The early church was governed solely by this law—the Law of Christ’s Life (‘zoe’). The church moved only by the whisper, the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Paul called himself “a prisoner of the Spirit.” There were no religious ordinances or institutional regulations in the early church; it was entirely led by the Spirit’s life-giving law.

Let us now apply this truth to the modern Christian world to see what kind of corruption has taken place. The primary corruption lies in its priesthood. The priesthood of modern Christianity is not governed by the Mosaic Law—except, perhaps, in matters of money (tithes, firstfruits, and other financial regulations). Nor is it governed fully by the Law of the Spirit of Life (‘zoe’). Instead, it is a “mixed” priesthood—because the laws that govern it are also mixed. Each denomination has its own rules, and even local congregations create their own variations. This confusion has destroyed the priesthood of ‘all believers’.

What caused this corruption? Fierce wolves infiltrated the flock, leading religious leaders to exalt themselves and create their own ecclesiastical laws (Acts 20:28–39). The Catholic Church divided believers into clergy and laity; Protestantism further divided them into ministers and congregants.

We will add a little more about Christ’s inheritance as King of kings and High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, in which we share as fellow heirs with Christ. Revelation 5:10 declares, “And You have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth” (ILT). The ‘us’ here refers to the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders, who were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb from every tribe, language, people, and nation (Revelation 5:8–9). The four living creatures symbolize the priests, and the twenty-four elders represent the kings. Thus, the overcomers of the church—those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb—are made kings and priests according to the order of Melchizedek.

They will reign upon the earth in glorified bodies when the Lord Jesus establishes His kingdom for a thousand years—the Millennium (Revelation 20:4). They will also be given authority to judge. To ‘judge’ means not merely to pronounce sentences, but to teach people righteousness, as Isaiah 26:9 says, “…when You come to judge the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” Therefore, our inheritance as kings and priests according to the order of Melchizedek will be received at His coming, when He establishes His kingdom on earth. Even now, we are being prepared to serve and reign with Him in that coming age.

We have discussed the first and second points of Romans 8:17: “And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (ILT). Now let us examine the third point: ‘the children who are fellow heirs with Christ Jesus will also suffer with Christ’. At first glance, this third point might seem to imply that suffering with Christ is a condition for sharing His inheritance. However, suffering with Christ is not a prerequisite but rather an inevitable consequence for the children of God who are led by the Spirit daily. It is something that naturally happens to all who walk in the Spirit.

This does not mean that our sufferings are equivalent to Christ’s, for His sufferings were infinitely greater. Yet the principle stands: a disciple is not greater than his teacher. If the Teacher was rejected by the religious world of His time, then His disciples will also be rejected by the religious systems of theirs. Thus, we suffer with Christ as a natural outcome of following the Lamb wherever He goes. We do not belong to the ‘kosmos’ (the religious world system), and therefore we do not receive its glory, positions, wealth, or human praise. No—we live outside the ‘kosmos’ of Christianity, serving Him wherever He leads.

We have now discussed three points from Romans 8:17, and we come to the fourth, which we must understand deeply. Let us review the verse once more: “And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (ILT). The three points already discussed are:

1. The ‘children’ Paul refers to are those defined in verse 14—Christians led by the Spirit of God daily.

2. These children are fellow heirs with Christ Jesus.

3. These fellow heirs will suffer with Christ.

Now we turn to the fourth point: ‘these children will be glorified together with Christ’. There are several key truths we must grasp about being glorified with Christ, for the topic of ‘glorification by faith’ is rarely discussed in modern Christianity. Most teachings focus on ‘justification by faith’ and ‘sanctification by faith’, but ‘glorification by faith’ is the ultimate and perfect consummation of salvation revealed in Paul’s Gospel in the book of Romans.

First, glorification by faith has not yet occurred. That is why Paul says, “For in hope we were saved…” (Romans 8:24). This means that perfect salvation—justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith—remains a hope yet to be fulfilled. This does not imply that a believer has not experienced these aspects at conversion; they begin at faith, but must grow and mature continually.

The glorification experienced by believers is ‘inward’. Colossians 1:27 says, “…Christ in you, the hope of glory” (ILT). Likewise, Colossians 3:4 declares, “When Christ, who is our life (zoe), appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” The zoe life within us must continue to grow; thus, these verses affirm that Christ, who is our zoe, is the hope of glory—and that our inward glory will be revealed when Christ appears at His coming.

Second, glorification by faith means the ‘adoption as sons’—that is, when the children of God receive glorified bodies like that of Jesus Himself. Romans 8:23 says, “…waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” This redemption refers to the liberation of our physical body, to be transformed into a glorified body. The meaning of ‘adoption as sons’ does not imply that we are not yet sons of God, but that our full sonship will be publicly manifested when our bodies are glorified. The meaning is that we have reached spiritual maturity (of full age) and are now able to receive our inheritance from the Father in heaven together with Christ.

Third, and very importantly, the event of glorification by faith involves all creation (Romans 8:19–21). We will discuss this later.

Let us now continue with the third point of glorification by faith, namely that this event involves all creation. The participation of all creation in the event of glorification by faith is clearly written in Romans 8:19–21: “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope, that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (LITV). There are several things we must discuss from these verses.

First, creation eagerly awaits the revealing of the sons of God.

Second, creation was subjected to vanity not of its own will, but by the will of the Father in heaven.

Third, creation will be liberated from the bondage of corruption — that is, it will take part in or enter into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Let us begin with the first point. Creation — meaning all created beings — indeed eagerly awaits the event of glorification by faith. This does not mean that every creature consciously understands the doctrine of glorification by faith; even the majority within Christendom hardly understand it, as it is very rarely, if ever, taught from Sunday pulpits or theological seminaries. What it means is that all creation possesses an inner awareness or longing — an unspoken desire — to be set free from the bondage of this mortal life.

The second point emphasizes that the fall of all creation into vanity was not by the will of creation itself, but by the will of the Father in heaven. We know that all creation fell into vanity through Adam’s fall as the head of mankind. The important question now is: who caused Adam to fall into sin? Many theologians have attempted to explain the origin of sin and suffering in the world. Who, then, is responsible? If we observe the above verse carefully, the answer is simple: the Father in heaven is responsible for Adam’s fall, for He was the One who willed and designed it. Adam did not ‘want’ to fall into sin, but the Father willed it so, for His own purposes. Many theologians and Christians cannot accept this truth, for they ask, How could the Father in heaven, who is Love, design Adam’s fall, causing all creation to descend into vanity, suffering, and death?

Theologians have tried to “defend” God by arguing that Adam, through his free will, chose to eat of the forbidden tree. Others attribute it to the fall of Satan. These stories have long been believed by many Christians. Such “defenders of God” have persuaded believers that the Father could never do such “evil,” since all good comes from Him, and all evil comes from Satan or from Adam’s fall.

Let us cite a few verses before explaining Adam’s fall further — or perhaps we should first touch on the “fall” of Satan. Isaiah 45:6–7 says, “…I am the LORD, and there is no other, who forms the light and creates darkness, who makes peace and creates calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.” Amos 3:6 also declares, “…If there is calamity in a city, has not the LORD done it?” We could discuss much more about how the Father designed calamity in Job’s life through His servant, Satan.

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)

Let us continue with Adam’s fall. We have seen from Romans 8:19–21 that Adam’s fall was planned by the Father in heaven. Does that mean Adam was not responsible? He still must be held accountable. Why? Because Adam and Eve were created with free will, making them responsible for their actions. However, we must understand that Adam and Eve did ‘not possess ‘absolute’ free will. Why not? Because of God’s sovereignty. If any creature — whether in heaven or on earth — possessed absolute free will, then God’s sovereignty would cease to exist. God would no longer have authority over His creation.

Many Christians, including Bible teachers, believe that both Satan and Adam had absolute free will. Such teaching severely undermines the sovereignty of God. Yet Scripture affirms that not even a sparrow falls apart from the Father’s will (Matthew 10:29) — how much more Adam’s

“fall”! Everything had already been designed by the Father beforehand. Jesus was crucified ‘before the foundation of the world’, meaning redemption had already been planned long before Adam and Eve existed (Revelation 13:8). Christ’s death on the cross was not a sudden reaction in the Father’s mind after Adam’s fall. Even the course of every human life was determined beforehand. Psalm 139:16 states: “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written — the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

Some Bible teachers say this refers merely to God’s foreknowledge — that He knew all things beforehand, and thus later determined them. But Psalm 139:16 does not say that. It says, “They were all written” — meaning ‘already determined’. Who, then, determined all that was written before anything existed? When nothing yet existed except God Himself (the Triune God), everything was ‘already written’. Clearly, it was determined by God Himself. Thus Romans 11:36 is fulfilled: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever.”

Therefore, the life of every human being has been determined by the Father in heaven before creation itself. Does this mean humans bear no responsibility for their actions? Certainly not. All are still accountable, because humanity has free will — though not ‘absolute’ free will. Thus, even though Adam’s fall was part of the Father’s divine plan, Adam remained responsible. God has established a law: whatever one sows, that he shall also reap. Why, then, did the Father design Adam’s fall? Because it was a process by which all mankind would ultimately be conformed to His image and likeness.

Genesis 1:26 affirms, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Many Christians think Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were already fully in God’s image and likeness. In reality, they were not yet. They were still innocent — neither sinful nor holy (not yet having eaten from the Tree of Life). They needed to undergo a process — eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and then the Tree of Life. Both trees had to be partaken of as a divine process.

The Father’s plan to make all humanity in His image and likeness cannot fail. Therefore, we should not call Adam’s fall a ‘catastrophe’; rather, we should view it as a process — the Father’s process to make all humanity like Himself. Everything was designed by the sovereign will of the Father and cannot fail.

We are still discussing the second point of glorification by faith (Romans 8:19–21): that the fall of all creation into vanity was not by the will of creation, but by the will of the Father in heaven. We have seen that Adam’s “fall” was in fact the Father’s plan — a process of His will.

Perhaps we should now briefly address the subject of Satan, since many Bible teachers claim that evil, suffering, and death entered the world through Satan’s rebellion, assuming he possessed ‘absolute’ free will. But if we believe that, it disrupts the entire doctrine of glorification by faith involving all creation.

So where did Satan actually come from? Genesis 3:1 states, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.” Clearly, this serpent — who tempted Eve — was created by God. Revelation 12:9 explains that “the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan.” The phrase “of old” literally means original or from the beginning. In other words, the great dragon — the original serpent — was Satan himself, created by God. Therefore, Satan is an evil being created by God. John 8:44 affirms that Satan “was a murderer from the beginning,” and 1 John 3:8 says that “the devil has sinned from the beginning.” Thus, Satan was not originally a good angel (Lucifer) who later rebelled; he was created by God as a liar and a murderer from the beginning.

Many theologians cite Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 to describe Satan’s supposed fall from heaven. However, those passages refer contextually to the kings of Babylon and Tyre. To lift them out of context is to fabricate theology. Anyone could invent “sensational” stories by cherry-picking verses out of context.

Some might still ask: how could a God of Love create such an evil being? We can understand this through natural analogies, as Jesus and Paul often used physical realities to illustrate spiritual truths. Consider Newton’s experiment with light — the white light that, when passed through a prism, splits into many colors. Similarly, God, who is Love (the “white light”), can express Himself in many “colors” according to His will. He can create good angels and also create Satan and his evil spirits — and He uses them for His own purposes. In Job’s case, God used Satan to shape Job’s faith and deepen his knowledge of God (Job 42:5). Satan is God’s servant — he has a will as a creature, but not absolute will. Through this explanation, we may better understand God’s sovereignty, and thus more clearly grasp the meaning of glorification by faith.

It now seems necessary to discuss briefly the concept of creation before continuing with the doctrine of glorification by faith. Many theologians hold to Augustine’s view — ‘creatio ex nihilo’ — the belief that God created everything from nothing. Accordingly, man was created ‘out of nothing’. If that were true, humanity would be of little “value” to God. For this reason, Augustine proposed the doctrine of eternal hell in his book The City of God — that the reprobate would be cast into the lake of fire forever. If mankind were truly created “from nothing,” perhaps such an idea would seem acceptable, since God could easily make new humans “from nothing.” But is ‘creatio ex nihilo’ truly the biblical concept of creation? Christians who believe in eternal hell cannot possibly understand glorification by faith that involves all creation.

Let us examine Scripture. Romans 4:17 says, “…God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” This verse appears to support creatio ex nihilo, but the word translated ‘calls’ in the Greek is ‘kaleō’, meaning ‘to summon’ — to call something to appear where it was not before. The verse speaks of God’s ‘omnipotence’, the power in which Abraham placed his faith (Romans 4:16–21). The verse is not about creation in the Genesis sense, but about God’s ability to fulfill His promises.

Hebrews 11:3, however, does speak of creation: “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” This means that creation came ‘from’ what is invisible — namely, from God Himself. God is the “substance” from which creation came. Creation is ‘from Him’, not from ‘nothing’. Thus Romans 11:36 is fulfilled again: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Even natural law affirms that something cannot come from nothing. This view does not support pantheism, which claims that God is creation; rather, it proclaims that creation ‘comes from’ God, yet is distinct from Him.

The biblical concept clearly distinguishes between the Creator and the creation. Yet, creation ‘comes from’ Him. That is why Acts 14:28 affirms that we are the ‘offspring of Elohim’. He is the Father of all spirits (Hebrews 12:9). Creation exists ‘in Elohim’—not Elohim in creation. Elohim is greater than His creation. If I were to make a wooden chair and it became damaged, I could easily throw it into the fire to be burned forever, similar to the concept of eternal hell. But if my children were to become utterly rebellious and disobedient toward me, I would never throw them away, much less into the fire forever. Why? Because the chair does not come from me—it comes from wood. But my children come from ‘my own seed’. Therefore, no matter how bad their behavior, I would never cast them into the fire to burn forever, because they are my offspring; they come from me; they ‘exist in’ me.

The doctrine of eternal hell—believed by the majority of Christians—has succeeded in portraying our heavenly Father, who is Love, as a cruel, monstrous, and terrifying being. In a discussion once, I was even called a child of the devil for rejecting the doctrine of eternal hell. I replied, “Then the ‘heavenly Father’ you believe in is far more evil than I am as a father to my children.”

All these understandings are crucial for Christians who wish to comprehend the doctrine of glorification by faith, which involves all creation.

We have already discussed the second point—that creation has been subjected to futility not by its own will, but by the will of the heavenly Father. Let us recall Romans 8:19–21 and the points we have examined, since these verses are central to the doctrine of glorification by faith. Romans 8:19–21 says: “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (ILT). We have already discussed the first two points from these verses:

1. The creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of Elohim; and

2. The creation was subjected to futility not by its own will, but by the will of the heavenly Father.

Now we come to the third point—the core of the doctrine of glorification by faith—that creation will be set free from the bondage of corruption, meaning that it will share in or enter into the glorious liberty of the children of Elohim.

If we understand the sovereignty of Elohim—meaning that nothing can resist His will—then this third point becomes clear. Romans 9:19 says, “…For who has resisted His will?” The original text means, “Who can oppose His purpose?” Paul’s rhetorical question must be answered: ‘No one can oppose His purpose or His will’. As we have previously established, both Satan and humanity possess free will, but not absolute free will. In other words, neither Satan nor humans can resist the will of the heavenly Father. Once the Father has purposed and willed something, nothing can annul or oppose it.

I Timothy 2:3–4 declares: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (LAI). This verse clearly reveals the will of the heavenly Father—that all people be saved and come to know the truth. And since no one, neither Satan nor humanity, can resist His will and purpose, it is evident that all people will ultimately be saved and know the truth.

But how will all people eventually be saved and come to know the truth? Let us return to the third point. If we understand the ministry of the glorified sons of Elohim as kings and priests, then it becomes clear that ‘all humanity, even all creation’, will be set free from the bondage of corruption through the ministry of the glorified sons of Elohim. When the Lord Jesus returns (commonly called His second coming), after He judges His church, it is at this moment that the sons of Elohim are glorified. The Lord Jesus judges His church to reveal the mature sons of Elohim—those who have reached ‘spiritual adulthood’ and can receive their inheritance: to reign together with Christ on earth in the age to come with glorified bodies. In the book of Revelation, this period is called the Millennial Kingdom—the thousand-year reign on earth.

We are still discussing this third and central point: that creation will be set free from the bondage of corruption to share in the glorious liberty of the children of Elohim. Several important things must be understood regarding this doctrine of glorification by faith. These are crucial because within Christendom, many teachings have obscured its meaning.

First, there is the teaching that grace will cease after the Lord Jesus returns (the so-called “age of grace”). Implicitly, this means that after this present age, there will no longer be grace, and those not chosen by the heavenly Father will be cast into eternal hell. This teaching fails to understand that the next age—after this present one—is called the Millennial Kingdom, where the sons of Elohim function as kings and priests according to the order of Melchizedek. Revelation 5:10 declares: “And You have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth” (ILT).

The word ‘us’ refers to the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders—symbols of kings and priests, representing the overcoming church (Revelation 5:8–9). This means that there will still be ministry on earth, where the overcoming church, with glorified bodies (having experienced glorification by faith), functions as kings and priests. Thus, there is still grace through the ministry of the overcoming church.

The difficulty most of Christendom has in understanding this doctrine stems from its focus on heaven rather than earth. If we observe carefully, the majority of Christians who attend denominational buildings do so with the goal of “going to heaven after death.” Yet, the focus of the heavenly Father is earth. From Genesis to Revelation, His plan is clear—that humanity should subdue the earth. His plan has never changed. This very earth we stand on will, through the ministry of the overcoming church, progress toward becoming the New Earth and the New Heaven. The overcoming church will bring heaven down to earth.

After the Millennial Kingdom, the earth will enter the New Heaven and New Earth era (Revelation 21–22). In that age, grace will still be offered by the Holy Spirit and the Bride (the Church): “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17, ILT). The water of life being offered freely proves that grace still exists in the New Heaven and New Earth.

Similarly, Revelation 22:2 declares: “…and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” This reveals the ministry of the New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:9–10). The ministry of healing the nations proves that grace continues. How could Christendom ignore the Bride’s ministry of healing and still claim there is no grace after this present age?

Second, Christendom’s misunderstanding of judgment—particularly the Lake of Fire—makes it difficult to grasp glorification by faith. Most religious leaders equate the Lake of Fire with eternal hell. Let us examine Revelation 20:13–15: “The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” These verses must be understood properly, because after the ‘Great White Throne’ judgment, John sees the ‘New Heaven and New Earth’.

We must note two things: the Lake of Fire and the second death. We have already discussed the meaning of the second death as the death that removes all effects of the first death. Now we examine the second death in relation to the Lake of Fire. Scripture defines it clearly: the second death is ‘Death and Hades cast into the Lake of Fire’. Therefore, we must not arbitrarily define the second death as eternal hell, as commonly done in Christendom.

The teaching about the Lake of Fire appears only in Revelation (14:10–11; 19:20; 20:10, 13–15; 21:8). It is thus a ‘symbol’, consistent with the symbolic nature of Revelation (1:1). The expression “Lake of Fire and Sulfur” (Revelation 14:10; 19:20; 21:8) carries a deeper meaning. J. Preston Eby explains: “The Lake of Fire and Sulfur signifies fire burning with brimstone. The Greek word ‘theion’, translated ‘sulfur,’ also means ‘divine’. Sulfur was sacred to the gods among the ancient Greeks and used for fumigation, purification, cleansing, and consecration to the gods. Hence, burning brimstone signified divine purification. The verb ‘theioō’ means ‘to make divine’ or ‘to purify.’ Therefore, to the Greek mind, the ‘Lake of Fire and Sulfur’ meant a ‘Lake of Divine Purification,’ not endless torment.”

If we recall the definition of the second death—Death and Hades cast into the Lake of Fire—we know that the wages of sin is death, not eternal hell (Romans 6:23). Those within Death and Hades are described in Revelation 21:7–8: “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (ILT).

Only those appointed by the Father to overcome and inherit the Kingdom (Luke 12:32) will not experience the Lake of Fire. All others will undergo divine purification through the judgment of the Great White Throne. That is the meaning of the second death in relation to the Lake of Fire. After this divine purification, John sees the New Heaven and the New Earth (Revelation 21:1). If the Christian world properly understood the judgment of the Lake of Fire, it would not find the doctrine of glorification by faith difficult to comprehend—where the overcoming church will administer judgment as kings and priests (Revelation 20:4).

Third, the inability of the Christian world to understand this doctrine stems from layered misconceptions preserved by the system (kosmos) of religion. These include:

* focusing on heaven instead of earth,

* the concept of eternal hell,

* misunderstanding Adam’s fall as outside the Father’s will,

* confusion about the origin of Satan and evil spirits,

* misinterpretation of the Kingdom of Heaven,

* equating denominations with the true church,

* and misunderstanding the church’s decline under “fierce wolves.”

These errors are perpetuated by the system (kosmos) of Christianity—built upon the three false teachings of Jezebel, Balaam, and the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2–3). Being preserved by the system means these errors have been legitimized within institutional Christianity. Therefore, anyone who perceives them must stand ‘outside’ the system, for those within it cannot see its deceptions. We must understand what the Christian system (kosmos) is—and who rules it. To grasp this, we must learn from the writings of the apostle John, for it is through his writings that we can trace how the early church transformed into a religious system.

Note that the term ‘kosmos’ appears 186 times in the New Testament—78 times in the Gospel of John and 24 times in his letters—over half of all occurrences. In most Indonesian translations, ‘kosmos’ is rendered as ‘world’. The frequency of its use in John’s writings indicates a special theological significance. The meaning of a term is determined by its usage. For example, in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world,” the word ‘world’ clearly means ‘all humanity’. However, if the term ‘world’ appears in 1 John 2:15, which says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,” then certainly the meaning of ‘world’ here is not all the people on the earth. The ‘world’ here refers to a system in which the values that operate within it are contrary to the values of God.

According to the dictionary, a system is a group of things working together under certain rules or principles. Economics, politics, society, and even religion have all become systems. Christianity, too, has become a system. Before we go further into this matter, let us look at some passages from the writings of John that will clarify this concept of the system.

Let us look at John 15:18–25. In the Indonesian Bible (LAI), this passage is titled The World Hates Jesus and His Disciples. When we read the whole passage, we can see who the ‘world’ refers to here. Verse 25 says, “But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason’”. Clearly, the world here refers to the Jewish religious system—Judaism—with its Law. They were the ones who killed Jesus and hated and persecuted His followers. Why did Judaism kill Jesus and hate His followers? Because Judaism did not know the Father in heaven who sent Jesus.

Next, let us turn to the entire seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John, where the word world appears eighteen times. John 17 records Jesus’ prayer on the night before His crucifixion, in which He said, “…I am not praying for the world” (v.9); “…the world has hated them” (v.14); and “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you…” (v.25). In this chapter, Jesus clearly states that the world (Judaism) did not know the Father who sent Him. Indeed, Jesus did not pray for the ‘world’ (Judaism as a religious system), but only for His disciples and those who would believe through their message.

In John 12:31, we read, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.” Likewise, Revelation 12:9 says, “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray…” Thus, we can understand that the devil is the ruler of the ‘world’, in the sense of the religious system, and he is the one who deceives the religious world.

Has Christianity today also become a religious system—a world? Are there false teachings so widely accepted within Christianity today? Has the Church fallen? These are questions that we, as God’s chosen people, must answer honestly. In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, three false teachings are described as having infiltrated the Church: the doctrines of the Nicolaitans and Jezebel, through which hierarchy entered the Church and leaders usurped Christ’s authority as the Head. This divided the Church into clergy and laity—priests and congregation. Then there is the doctrine of Balaam, involving trade and profit. Is not today’s Christianity full of commerce, just as the Temple was in Jesus’ day?

If we have ears to hear God’s word, we will recognize that modern Christianity has indeed become a religious system—a ‘world’. Consequently, it rejects the true disciples of Jesus. The devil, as the ruler of this ‘kosmos’—this religious system—has deceived and destroyed God’s people, for he was a murderer and deceiver from the beginning (John 8:44).

If we receive the grace to come out of this Christian ‘system’, which offers money, position, and human honor, we will begin to see the errors within it. Then we can serve Christ’s body ‘outside the system (kosmos)’ and more easily understand the meaning of glorification by faith.

We have already affirmed that the core of the doctrine of glorification by faith is that creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption—that is, sharing in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We have also discussed three reasons why modern Christianity struggles to understand this doctrine:

1. The teaching that grace will no longer exist ‘after’ Christ’s return (the so-called “second coming”).

2. Its misunderstanding of judgment—especially the concept of the “Lake of Fire.”

3. The multiple layers of error preserved within the system (kosmos).

If a believer receives grace to be freed from these hindrances, they will understand the doctrine of ‘glorification by faith’ and will have the hope of sharing in the glory that will be revealed at His coming.

Now, let us connect justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith using the term ‘trilogy’. According to the dictionary, a trilogy means a group of three plays, novels, operas, etc., to be performed or read in succession, each complete in itself but sharing a common theme. Thus, a trilogy is a set of three complete works bound by a shared subject. Applied to our discussion, justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith are three complete ‘stories’ sharing a common theme—‘perfect salvation’.

The concept of a trilogy appears in Proverbs 22:20: “Have I not written to thee excellent things in counsel and knowledge?” (KJV). The Hebrew word translated as ‘excellent things’ is ‘shalosh’, meaning ‘a triple’, ‘a threefold’, or simply ‘three’. The Young’s Literal Translation renders it, “Have I not written to thee three times…” Thus, combining the meanings, we can say that speaking three times in counsel and knowledge is indeed ‘excellent’. The concept of a trilogy is therefore embedded in Proverbs 22:20.

The culmination of perfect salvation is, of course, glorification by faith, which will take place when Jesus (at His so-called second coming) returns to establish His kingdom on earth. As we know, not all Christians (children of God) have reached spiritual maturity. Therefore, when He comes, only those appointed to be the firstfruits (James 1:18, LITV)—those who have matured first—will be glorified with Christ. These firstfruits form the ‘overcoming church’, and with them, Christ will establish His kingdom on earth, transforming the present earth into a new heaven and a new earth.

Through the ministry of the glorified sons of God, this old earth will move toward becoming the New Earth and New Heaven. When God creates the New Heaven and New Earth, it does not mean that the first heaven and earth are completely destroyed and replaced. The proper theological term is not ‘creatio ex nihilo’ (creation out of nothing) but ‘creatio ex vetere’ (creation out of the old). In other words, the New Heaven and New Earth are the first heaven and earth radically transformed through the ministry of the glorified sons of God.

We are still studying Romans 8 regarding glorification by faith, particularly verses 29–30: “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. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” From these verses, we see a clear sequence: foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and glorified. The climax of perfect salvation occurs when we are glorified with Christ at His coming.

However, there is a problem within modern Christianity concerning this doctrine of perfect salvation: glorification by faith is rarely discussed—neither in seminaries nor from church pulpits. I examined several systematic theology books in my personal library to confirm whether glorification by faith is indeed neglected compared to justification by faith and sanctification by faith.

In L. Berkhof’s Systematic Theology, justification is discussed over 16 pages (pp. 510–525), sanctification over 17 pages (pp. 527–543), but glorification by faith is not discussed at all—not even listed in the subject index.

In Millard J. Erickson’s Christian Theology (3 volumes, published by Gandum Mas), the doctrine of glorification is covered in only 8 pages (Vol. 3, pp. 235–243), without addressing its core meaning—that creation itself will be set free from corruption to share in the glory of God’s children. Erickson admits that glorification is the final stage of salvation and that it overlaps with eschatology, but it is rarely discussed in standard theological texts or sermons. He relates glorification to believers’ resurrection bodies and briefly to the renewal of creation (Romans 8:18–25), yet he still holds to the doctrine of eternal hell (Vol. 3, p. 582), which contradicts the idea of the renewal of all creation.

Similarly, A.A. Hodge’s Outlines of Theology devotes 19 pages to justification and 22 to sanctification, but after that moves directly to the perseverance of the saints, following Calvin’s TULIP framework. Like Calvin and most Evangelical theologians, Hodge does not recognize glorification by faith as involving the whole creation (Romans 8:19–21). Hence, they hold to the doctrine of limited atonement, asserting that Christ’s redemption applies only to the elect, while the rest are condemned to eternal hell.

Henry C. Thiessen’s Systematic Theology, revised by Vernon Doerksen (Gandum Mas), follows the same pattern—discussing justification (7 pages), sanctification (10 pages), and then perseverance, without mentioning glorification by faith at all.

Thus, nearly all Reformed systematic theology books neglect this crucial doctrine, which reveals God’s redemptive plan for ‘all creation’ and demonstrates the total victory of Christ’s cross. If Satan succeeds in dragging most of humanity into eternal hell while only a few are saved, would

that not imply the devil’s victory over Christ’s sacrifice? Surely not! For Scripture says that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).

Some argue that this is because humans have absolute ‘free will’, enabling them to reject God’s will to save all. But such reasoning diminishes the victory of Christ’s cross and insults the sovereignty of the Father, who ordains all things.

Concerning the victory of Christ’s cross—it is not limited atonement as Calvin taught, but unlimited atonement. Christ’s atonement extends to the entire world. 1 John 2:2 says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” I once heard a sermon by Budi Asali explaining that ‘our sins’ refers only to the Jews, so “the whole world” means all believers. Even if he claims to have a more detailed explanation, such an interpretation imposes a doctrine (eternal hell, or limited atonement) upon Scripture rather than drawing meaning from it—it is eisegesis, not exegesis.

John was clearly writing to his “children,” the churches of Asia Minor, composed of both Jews and Gentiles (1 John 2:1). Thus, “we” means both Jews and Gentiles, and “the whole world” means all humanity. Hence, Scripture affirms the unlimited atonement and the total victory of Christ’s cross.

Lastly, to further verify whether glorification by faith is indeed neglected, we can look at Roger E. Olson’s The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform, a comprehensive survey of Christian theology from a Reformed perspective. Olson begins with the second century—addressing Gnosticism, Montanism, and the early church fathers (Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp), moving through Augustine, Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin—and ends with a discussion of Liberals and Conservatives Respond to Modernity.

The story of Christian theology is not finished. Perhaps it will never come to a final conclusion (p. 611). It seems rather strange that a professor of theology who wrote the history of theological struggles within Christianity over the past 2,000 years did not mention at all the Pentecostal Movement (1901), the Latter Rain Movement (1948), or the Charismatic Movement (1960). Does Olson consider all these movements to have contributed nothing to Christian theology? Is it because he is a Reformed theologian that, although he wrote a book entitled ‘The Story of Christian Theology’ (published in 1999), he did not discuss any theology other than Reformed Theology? If that is the case, it would have been more appropriate to title his book ‘The Story of Reformed Theology’.

Why do we make such a comment? Because the doctrine of glorification by faith, which involves all creation, actually began with the Latter Rain Movement in 1948 in Canada. It’s just that the pioneers of that movement did not publish books to be sold in Christian bookstores, unlike the Pentecostal or Charismatic movements. Through the advancement of information technology, all writings, videos, and books can now be accessed online. Since the world of Christianity has long been dominated by Reformed Theology, it is understandable that the doctrine of glorification by faith is not widely known among Christians.

Let us continue with the book ‘Integrative Theology’ written by Gordon R. Lewis, a professor of systematic theology at Denver Seminary, and Bruce A. Demarest, also a professor of theology at the same institution. This book is very thick (almost 1,500 pages), as it combines three volumes into one. In Integrative Theology, these two professors devoted only about 45 pages to explaining ‘Justification and Reconciliation’, and 63 pages to explaining ‘Sanctification and Perseverance’. After that, they discussed ‘Social Transformation’, but made no mention at all of the doctrine of ‘glorification by faith’, which represents the climax of perfect salvation as explained by Paul in the Book of Romans.

There are still several systematic theology books in my personal library, such as Basic Theology by Charles C. Ryrie, The Foundation of Christian Doctrine by Kevin J. Conner, and other similar works, but all of them resemble the ones we have already discussed. Romans chapter 8, which explains the doctrine of glorification by faith, is generally not recognized by these theologians. This is truly unfortunate. The Christian world has heard a gospel of salvation that is incomplete and imperfect. It is no wonder that the average Christian’s understanding of salvation is far removed from the perfect salvation proclaimed by Jesus and His apostles.

We have briefly discussed how the doctrine of glorification by faith, which involves all creation, is almost never addressed in standard (Reformed) systematic theology books. This means that in nearly all theological schools and pulpits across the Christian world, this doctrine is not discussed, since the Christian world (particularly the ‘born-again’ community) is dominated by Reformed (Evangelical) theology.

Now, let us discuss Romans 8:31–39, a passage titled ‘The Assurance of Faith’ in the Indonesian Bible (LAI). Within Christianity, this passage is commonly used to teach about the ‘assurance of salvation’. Perhaps from this understanding arose well-known Christian phrases such as “once saved, always saved,” “whoever believes in Jesus will surely go to heaven,” and “salvation cannot be lost.” These slogans need to be evaluated. Why? Because the gospel of salvation commonly preached within Christianity focuses only on justification by faith and sanctification by faith. If the doctrine of glorification by faith, which involves all creation, is not preached, then the salvation presented within Christianity is not the perfect salvation described by Paul in Romans. And if it is not perfect salvation being preached, then this passage (Romans 8:31–39) cannot be used to support those slogans.

So, how should we understand this passage on the assurance of faith? Let us note several points:

1. No one can be against us, because God is for us (Romans 8:31).

2. The Father in heaven gives us all things together with Christ (8:32).

3. No one can accuse or condemn God’s elect (8:33).

4. Christ, who sits at the right hand of the Father, is our advocate (8:34).

5. Nothing can separate us from His love—neither tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, nor sword (8:34).

6. We are more than conquerors, even in the midst of all these struggles (8:37).

7. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, not even any other creature (8:39).

We must view this passage within the full context of Romans, particularly the first eight chapters, before applying it. It is clear that Paul wrote this assurance of faith to believers who had received grace to understand and experience justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith—the perfect salvation he describes in this letter. More specifically, this passage applies to the ‘sons of God’ who will liberate creation from the bondage of corruption (Romans 8:19–21).

At His coming (commonly called the Second Coming), Jesus will judge His church as the righteous Judge. Paul received grace to know that he would receive the crown of righteousness when he was judged (2 Timothy 4:8). This crown of righteousness does not refer to a literal crown made of gold, which would be meaningless, but rather to a trust and responsibility from the Lord Jesus to participate in the ministry of the glorified sons of God, who will free creation from the bondage of decay (Romans 8:19–21).

We continue our discussion of the doctrine of glorification by faith. We have seen how Paul received grace to share in the glory that will be revealed at Christ’s coming. Peter also said the same: “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and one who will share in the glory to be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1). Here Peter expresses his conviction that he will partake in the glory to be revealed when Christ comes.

We must now summarize what will happen when Jesus comes in His glory with all His angels (Matthew 25:31):

1. We will be adopted as sons. This does not mean we were not previously God’s children, but that we will be placed as mature sons—ready to receive our inheritance. Thus, when Jesus returns, He will judge His church, and those mature sons of God will be glorified with Him. Not all born-again Christians are mature, and therefore not all will share in that coming glory.

2. We will receive the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23 declares that we await ‘the adoption, the redemption of our body’. This means we will receive a glorified body like that of Jesus. Paul explains this further in 1 Corinthians 15. At His coming, only the mature sons of God will receive this glorified body.

3. We will receive the ministry of liberating creation from its bondage to decay so that it may share in the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Romans 8:21). The glorified sons of God will reign with Christ as kings and priests according to the order of Melchizedek (Revelation 5:10; 20:4).

4. We will receive perfect knowledge. As 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Likewise, 1 John 3:2 says, “When Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Those who will be glorified with Christ at His coming must remember that all this is by His grace and sovereign choice. As James 1:18 states, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created” (ILT). To be “firstfruits” means to mature earlier than others. In the end, all people will be resurrected, as 1 Corinthians 15 declares, but each in his own order.

We conclude our discussion of glorification by faith by reflecting on Philippians 3:14: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (LAI). Paul’s motivation in pursuing this ‘heavenly calling’ was his desire to know God, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, so that he might attain the resurrection from the dead (3:10–11). His ultimate goal was to attain ‘the resurrection from among the dead’.

Thus, the final goal—the summit of perfect salvation—is to be glorified with Christ at His coming: to receive the glorified body, to attain the ‘resurrection from among the dead’, and to participate in liberating creation. Paul calls this the heavenly calling of God for those who hear and pursue it. In reality, not all Christians (even those born again) receive the grace to hear this heavenly calling. Many, perhaps the majority, simply hope to be “raptured” to leave the earth or hold to the concept of “eternal hell,” with no desire to be used by Christ to free creation from corruption. In fact, within Christianity, those who believe that ‘all creation’ (including all humanity) will ultimately be freed from bondage are labeled as heretics—universalists. This only proves that, generally speaking, the Christian world has rejected the doctrine of ‘glorification by faith’ explained by Paul in Romans 8.

However, we must understand that not all Christians are granted the grace or appointed by God to hear this heavenly calling. Let us look at the example of Zerubbabel to illustrate those who respond to such a call. Ezra 1:5 states: “Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem” (LAI).

Why did the Israelites exiled in Babylon have to be moved in their hearts to return and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem? We must understand their condition. After about seventy years in Babylon, they had acquired fields, built houses, and established synagogues for worship and study of the Law, though they could not offer sacrifices as required by the Law. They had grown comfortable in Babylon, even though they knew their exile was due to sin.

The journey from Babylon to Jerusalem took months, through harsh terrain and danger from robbers. Jerusalem lay in ruins; there were no homes to live in—they would have to rebuild everything. These hardships made them reluctant to return, so God had to move their hearts.

Similarly, Christians who hear the heavenly calling must also be moved out of the comfort of “Babylon”—the modern Christian world that promises wealth, position, and human honor to those who serve within it. Those who respond to this heavenly calling are like “Zerubbabel’s company” who rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem.

Now we enter the long section of Romans 9–11, where Paul reveals his deep anguish over Israel. He says, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race” (9:2–3). Why did Paul say this? Romans 10:1 explains: “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.” Thus, Paul struggled inwardly over Israel’s rejection of Jesus as their Messiah—but he received an answer. He explains this over three chapters (9–11).

In his explanation, Paul emphasizes the sovereignty of God—that He determines all things. If a Christian understands the sovereignty of God as determining everything, it becomes easier to grasp Paul’s reasoning. Paul concludes with this affirmation of divine sovereignty: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:36).

Let us first discuss the sovereignty of God that determines everything, as stated in Romans 11:36:

1. All things are from Him. This refers to all His creation. Nothing happens, exists, or moves apart from His decision. He determines everything. Here we must distinguish this truth from the false idea of fatalism.

Fatalism teaches that everything is predetermined and unavoidable—up to this point, Scripture agrees. But fatalism also claims that there is ‘no free will’—and that is where it errs. The Bible affirms that all creatures have free will. That is why God holds His creatures accountable for their actions. Even for believers, God promises rewards for those who do His will.

Perhaps some may ask, how should we understand “free will” if everything is determined by Elohim, and NOTHING CAN OPPOSE HIS WILL? The answer is simple for those who acknowledge the sovereignty of Elohim and accept it by faith. ELOHIM POSSESSES ABSOLUTE FREE WILL, WHILE CREATED BEINGS ONLY POSSESS LIMITED FREE WILL. This means that the free will of humans, angels, or even the Devil and his evil spirits, is SUBJECT TO THE ABSOLUTE FREE WILL OF ELOHIM.

It is indeed difficult to find an analogy or a satisfactory comparison to explain the absolute free will of Elohim and the limited free will of His creatures. If we use the example of a “puppet master and puppets,” it would imply that the puppet master possesses absolute free will, while the puppets have none. But this does not represent the relationship between Elohim’s absolute free will and human free will. If we use the example of a film director and the actors, the director does not have absolute free will, because the actors have their own degree of freedom according to their acting skills. As long as the actors follow the script, they are free to act according to their talent and ability. Yet this too fails to describe the relationship between God’s absolute free will and the free will of His creatures. Therefore, there is no analogy that can fully capture it. Believers can only accept this truth by faith in Christ.

Let us continue our discussion about the sovereignty of Elohim from Romans 11:36, which says, “For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever.” We have already discussed the first point, that all things are from Him, and now we move on to the second point—THROUGH HIM. The Greek preposition ‘through’ indicates that all things happen ‘by means of’ or ‘because of’ Him. This means Elohim is the cause of all things.

Elohim is the mover of everything. This is what Paul meant when he said, “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Here Paul was speaking to the unconverted people of Athens. Thus, all humans live, exist, and move because of Him, or in Him. No creature exists outside of Him. Everything is under God’s control and governance. Even the fall of a sparrow does not occur outside the will of the Father in heaven (Matthew 10:29).

He is the cause of all things. Many Christians believe that all good things in the world come from God, but disasters, calamities, or anything unpleasant do not—they attribute those to the Devil. Consider Isaiah 45:6–7, “…I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness; I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.” God creates calamity just as He creates blessing. Likewise, Amos 3:6 says, “…If disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?” This verse affirms that it is the Lord who causes disaster to come upon a city.

One reason many Christians find it difficult to accept God’s sovereignty is the influence of ‘humanism’ that has infiltrated Christianity. Humanism places man at the center, as if humans determine their own direction and purpose in life. Dictionaries define humanism as a philosophical view that emphasizes human potential—both individual and social—as well as the human will as the starting point for moral and philosophical reflection. In essence, man becomes the center of everything. Religion, education, culture, and all other aspects of life—including God—are seen as “tools” through which humans can express and actualize themselves for success in life. This is why many Christians use God as a “means” to achieve their own success. For such Christians, God is not the center of all things—they themselves are. In contrast, Paul declared that for him, ‘to live is Christ’. For Paul, Christ was everything.

This is also why many Christians struggle to accept Job’s words: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away” (Job 1:21). After Job said this, the next verse adds, “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.” This means Job’s confession was true according to Scripture—that indeed the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Yet most preachers say, “The Lord gives, but the Devil takes away or steals.” Christians who believe this have not yet grasped the sovereignty of Elohim.

Now we come to the third point of Romans 11:36—TO HIM. The Greek preposition ‘eis’, translated as ‘to’, actually means ‘into’, indicating a goal or destination. This means that everything moves toward or fulfills its purpose in Him.

There are several things we must reflect upon regarding this expression and the sovereignty of God. First, all things (all creation) exist and move toward His purpose and His absolute will. No creature has its own independent goal according to its own will. All creatures serve His purpose, His intent, and His absolute will.

The idea that Satan, who was originally a good angel (Lucifer), later rebelled against God and became the Devil, is actually A CONCEPT THAT COMPLETELY FAILS TO UNDERSTAND THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD WHO DETERMINES ALL THINGS. The doctrine of Lucifer’s fall insults God’s sovereignty, though it is widely believed within Christianity. It assumes that this good angel (Lucifer) somehow had absolute initiative or an independent will, making himself evil apart from God’s decree—as though God was surprised that one of His good creations suddenly became evil. Is that not absurd? Even more absurd is that this “strange tale” is believed by the majority of Christians.

Is it possible for a created being to move on its own, set its own goal, and even make itself evil by its own will—thus becoming God’s enemy? If so, could such a “god” who allows this truly be called God? If that were true, then such a god would not be all-powerful, all-sovereign, or all-determining.

Many Christians believe that God gave His creatures absolute free will, so that GOD CAN NO LONGER DO ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR CHOICES. Suppose the Devil suddenly slapped my face, and when I cried out to God, He said, “Sorry, My child, I cannot protect you, because I have given the Devil free will.” I would immediately abandon such a “god” and seek another who truly reigns sovereignly over His creation. Praise God, I have found the God who reigns absolutely sovereign over His creation in the Scriptures. Christians who believe that Lucifer fell and became the Devil, in reality, have two “gods”—one good (Jesus) and one evil (the Devil). This is what is known as ‘dualism’, and it is widely taught within Christianity.

But the truth taught by Scripture is that ALL CREATION EXISTS AND MOVES TO FULFILL HIS PURPOSES AND PLANS. This is the meaning of the phrase TO HIM.

The second reflection from the phrase TO HIM is that all glory must return to Him. That is why the next phrase in Romans 11:36 says, “To Him be glory forever.” The concept of humanism that has entered Christianity, in fact, GLORIFIES MAN. Jesus, as the Son of Man, was tempted by Satan in this very matter. Matthew 4:8–9 says, “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said to Him, ‘All these I will give You, if You will fall down and worship me.’” Here, Satan offered worldly glory, but Jesus, as the Son of Man, rejected it.

Many Christians believe that the Father in heaven desires to save all people (1 Timothy 2:4), but unfortunately, mankind is stubborn and chooses the Devil, thus ending up in eternal hell. Such a belief glorifies humanity—because man can resist the Father’s will—and also glorifies the Devil—because apparently more people choose him than Jesus. But the sheep of Jesus give glory to the Father in heaven.

After understanding God’s sovereignty, let us return to Paul’s struggle regarding why the nation of Israel rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Paul offers several explanations. First, not all who are descended from Israel are Israel (Romans 9:6). Paul said this because Israel had received adoption, glory, covenants, the Law, worship, and promises (Romans 9:4). Yet if those who received all these rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah, did that mean God’s word had failed? Paul answers, no—not all who are descended from Israel are truly Israel.

Paul then defines who ‘true Israel’ really is—the Israel that receives the glory of God’s word. True Israel does not reject Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Paul begins his explanation by noting that true Israel are those “from Isaac,” meaning the children of promise. But the case of Rebekah clarifies this further. Rebekah had two sons, Esau (the older) and Jacob. Before they were born, God told Rebekah that the older would serve the younger, and God declared, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Here Paul explains the doctrine of election based on God’s sovereignty—Elohim has the right to choose whom He wills.

After presenting this argument, Paul concludes that true Israel consists of those chosen by God according to His sovereign will. But Paul also explains that God not only chose some from Israel, but also some from the Gentiles. Paul quotes Hosea, saying, “Those who were not My people I will call My people, and her who was not beloved I will call beloved” (Romans 9:25).

Before moving to Paul’s second point, let us summarize the doctrine of election. Some Christians claim that God chooses people because He foreknew that they would respond to the Gospel in faith, and thus He chose them. This view is incorrect. If that were true, then all events would exist before Him without it being clear WHO DETERMINED THEM. Thus, God would simply be choosing those He foreknew would believe.

In reality, no one can believe the Gospel unless they have been chosen. Jesus clearly said that no one can come to Him unless the Father grants it (John 6:44). Therefore, if someone believes in the Gospel, it proves that he was chosen beforehand—even before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Thus, Elohim chooses people according to His sovereign will, not based on His foreknowledge.

Returning to Paul’s question—why did Israel reject Christ as Messiah?—we have seen the first point: not all who are descended from Israel are Israel (Romans 9:6). This reveals the doctrine of God’s sovereign election. Now, the second point: only a remnant of Israel will be saved. Romans 9:27 says, “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.”

This second point continues the first. Since not all Israelites are true Israel, only the “true Israel”—those chosen and saved by God—will be redeemed. Thus, God chose and saved only the remnant of Israel, as Scripture says. What about the rest of Israel who are not part of that remnant? Are they rejected forever, doomed to eternal hell as traditional Christianity teaches?

Augustine’s doctrine, continued by Calvin, claims that God chose only some people (from Israel and other nations), and the rest—those not chosen—will spend eternity in hell. This is why Calvin’s teaching emphasizes ‘Limited Atonement’, that Christ’s atonement is only for the elect. But is that true?

Let us continue with Paul’s answer. Romans 11:1–2 says, “I ask then: Did God reject His people? By no means! … God did not reject His people” (ILT). Thus, God did not reject Israel as a whole. God’s election of a remnant of Israel had a specific purpose. Let us look at that purpose.

Romans 11:25–26 explains, “…I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.” These verses teach that God chose a remnant of Israel so that, once the full number of Gentiles is complete, the time will come when ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED. So, God’s hardening of the rest of Israel does not mean He rejected them forever. At the appointed time, the entire nation will be saved.

From this case of God’s election of the remnant, we learn an important principle about how Elohim works in salvation: ELOHIM BEGINS WITH A FEW TO REACH ALL. We will explain this principle further later, but for now, it is enough to say that Augustine, Calvin, and most Christian teachers have misunderstood it. They believe that God chooses a few people and condemns all the rest to eternal hell. Clearly, they have misunderstood the divine purpose in choosing only some to be saved in this present age.

Now we will examine how God chose a remnant of Israel but will ultimately save all Israel in due time. We call this divine principle of salvation: BEGINNING WITH A FEW TO REACH ALL. Let us see how Elohim chose Abraham. Genesis 12:3 says, “…through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The Hebrew term ‘kol’, the word translated as ‘all’ means ‘every’ or ‘the whole’, and it is never translated as ‘whole’ in the sense of ‘partial’, depending on certain conditions. Thus, Abraham was chosen by God so that through him, all peoples or families on earth, without exception, would be blessed.

Here we can see God’s principle in saving or blessing ALL HUMANITY. The Father in heaven did not immediately save all humanity at once, but He began with one man—Abraham—so that through Abraham, all people might be blessed or saved.

How, then, does the blessing of Abraham, which brings salvation to all humanity, reach the nations? Galatians 3:14 affirms, “Jesus Christ has done this so that in Him the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, that by faith we might receive the promised Spirit.” The blessing of Abraham is the Holy Spirit. Through His death, resurrection, and ascension (to sit at the right hand of the Father), Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16–36). The basis for giving the Holy Spirit to humanity is the fact that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father.

However, is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost—and throughout the church age—the complete fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, as written in Acts 2:17: “...I will pour out My Spirit on ALL PEOPLE…”? Clearly not. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which is the blessing of Abraham for all humanity, is not yet the complete fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. It is only a ‘partial fulfillment’. The ultimate fulfillment—the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all humanity—is yet to come. Even the Holy Spirit received by the Church throughout history is only a “pledge” or “down payment” (Ephesians 1:13–14; the Greek term ‘arrabon’ means an advance or partial payment).

When, then, will the Church receive the Holy Spirit in full measure, as Jesus received it when the Spirit descended upon Him (John 3:34—without measure)? It will happen at His coming—what is commonly called His second coming—when the Church will receive its inheritance, that is, the fullness of the Holy Spirit, poured out without limit, just as Jesus experienced during His earthly ministry. The final outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the end of the age does not mean a mass conversion, as many denominational leaders tend to interpret it.

The end-time outpouring of the Holy Spirit, or the final harvest, will occur only upon the Church that is ready to be harvested—those who have reached maturity. Not all church members throughout the ages are ready for the harvest. Only those who are appointed as the ‘firstfruits’ (those who mature earlier—James 1:18, ILT: ‘firstfruit’) will receive their inheritance, namely the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and will experience the final harvest.

Why will the “firstfruit” Church receive the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Clearly, to minister in the ages to come and to do greater works than Jesus did, as He promised (John 14:12). These greater works refer to bringing all humanity to Jesus Christ so that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Jesus Himself declared that He would draw all people to Himself (John 12:32).

From the explanation above, we see God’s working principle in saving humanity: “from the few to reach all.” Abraham was chosen so that all people might be blessed. The “firstfruit” Church is chosen so that all people might come to Jesus Christ.

Now we return to Paul’s struggle—why did Israel reject Jesus Christ as their Messiah? We have already discussed two points from Paul’s answer: first, not all who are descended from Israel are Israel (Romans 9:6); and second, only a remnant of Israel will be saved (Romans 9:27). We have also seen God’s principle in saving all Israel—He begins with a few to reach all.

Now we come to the third point in Paul’s answer: the salvation of all Israel will take place within the context of the New Covenant. Romans 11:26–27 says, “And in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.’” There are several things we must note here. First, Israel will be saved by the Redeemer who comes from Zion. The Greek term translated as ‘Redeemer’ (in most versions) literally means ‘the one who delivers’, and it uses the definite article, referring to a specific person. This particular deliverer who comes from Zion is, of course, the Messiah—our Lord Jesus Christ.

Second, the problem is that Israel, as a nation, still does not accept Jesus as their Messiah. However, the preceding verse (v.25) gives us the answer: “...Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” Thus, all Israel will be saved by Jesus Christ after the full number of the Gentiles has come in. The phrase ‘the full number of the Gentiles has come in’, in this context, means that in this present time only a remnant of Israel is saved (Romans 11:5), and likewise only a certain number of Gentiles. When the full number of Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved.

Third, the Messiah will save Israel through a Covenant—not the Old Covenant, where the forgiveness of sins was only symbolized by animal sacrifices, but through the New Covenant, as verse 27 states clearly: the Lord will take away Israel’s sins. Therefore, the Messiah will save all Israel through the New Covenant.

These three points clearly reveal God’s program for Israel, which was Paul’s concern throughout Romans chapters 9–11. Paul indeed calls this understanding a ‘mystery’ (Romans 11:25). However, ‘mystery’ does not mean something unknowable—it means a truth that must be revealed to us. Once it is revealed, it is no longer a mystery.

Let us explore a bit further Paul’s concern regarding God’s program for Israel. There are several prevailing ideas in Christianity that hinder people from understanding God’s plan to save all Israel through the New Covenant—such as misunderstandings about “the second coming of Jesus,” the concept of “the Antichrist,” and the belief that “the Third Temple” will be rebuilt.

I have briefly written about the concept of the Lord’s coming, pointing out that throughout the New Testament, there is no phrase “second coming,” and that His coming need not be physical. The Lord ‘has come, is coming, and will come’. I have also written briefly on the concept of the Antichrist’. It seems that for anyone to understand God’s plan for Israel, they must re-examine these long-held concepts.

Now, let us read Jeremiah 31:31–34 to see why God made a New Covenant with Israel: “Behold, the days are coming,” declares YAHWEH, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah—not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors… they broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them.… I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.… I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more” (ILT).

Several important points emerge here. First, God made the New Covenant primarily with the house of Israel and the house of Judah—not with the Gentiles. Later, however, God used Paul to open a new dispensation by proclaiming and offering the New Covenant to the Gentiles.

Second, Yahweh clearly states why He made a new covenant for Israel—because Israel broke the old covenant made through Moses at Mount Sinai.

Third, the key difference between the Old and New Covenants is clear: the Law, once written on stone tablets, is now written within the hearts of Israel.

These verses are the prophecy spoken by Jeremiah, and Jesus fulfilled it on His last night, when He celebrated the Passover with His disciples. Matthew 26:28 records, “For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Thus, the New Covenant God made with Israel that night was ratified by the blood of Jesus.

Hebrews 8:13 declares, “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” This verse shows that the Old Covenant was nearing its end. Indeed, in A.D. 70, a few years after Hebrews was written, the Roman general Titus destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem—and to this day, it has never been rebuilt. Practically speaking, the Old Covenant can no longer be practiced by the Jewish people, for the Law with its priesthood and sacrificial system required the Temple. The synagogues are merely gathering places for the study of the Law. Thus, Hebrews 8:13 has been fulfilled—the Old Covenant is not merely ‘near disappearance’; it has truly vanished and been replaced by the New.

Many Christians still believe that Israel will rebuild the Third Temple, that an Antichrist will arise in the middle of Daniel’s “seventy weeks,” and that the Church will be raptured before the Great Tribulation. However, if we understand God’s plan to save Israel through the New Covenant, we will not hold to such mistaken concepts.

I personally believe that God will not permit Israel to rebuild a Third Temple, nor will there be an Antichrist in the sense of a world leader entering that temple to declare himself as God. These ideas are taught in much of Christianity due to the theological misunderstandings mentioned above. God’s plan always moves forward—He does not revert to restoring Israel within the framework of the Old Covenant.

Let us return to Paul’s concern regarding Israel’s rejection of Jesus as their Messiah, even though Israel had been adopted as sons, had received the glory, the covenants, the Law, the worship, and the promises (Romans 9:4). Now we come to a section that seems like a ‘repetition’ of the theme of justification by faith—Romans 9:30 through 10:21.

It begins: “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it—a righteousness that is by faith” (Romans 9:30). Paul’s answer is clear: First, the Gentiles attained righteousness though they did not pursue it because they were chosen by God according to His sovereignty.

Second, Israel, though they pursued righteousness, failed to attain it because they sought it not by faith but by works.

Paul then contrasts righteousness by faith with righteousness by works. He explains the righteousness of the Law this way: “The person who does these things will live by them” (Romans 10:5). The problem is that no one is able to achieve righteousness by obeying the Law. Why? Romans 8:3 explains, “For what the Law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh…” The Law offered righteousness through perfect obedience—but humanity is flesh, and therefore unable to keep it. Even when people try, it results only in hypocrisy—appearing righteous outwardly while full of corruption inwardly. That is why Jesus exposed the sin of the Pharisees and scribes as hypocrisy (Matthew 23). The problem is not the Law itself, but the human weakness of the flesh.

How, then, does righteousness by faith work? Paul explains in Romans 10:6–10. In essence, NOTHING needs to be done—no works at all. Righteousness by faith requires Jesus to come down from heaven and die for us, and also requires Him to rise from the dead. But we do not need to “bring Christ down” or “raise Him up from the dead” by our own actions—because God has already done everything necessary. The word of faith is already within us—in our mouth and in our heart. If one believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth, they are saved. This “word of faith” is what we must proclaim if we truly preach justification by faith.

Does the Christian world preach righteousness by faith in this sense—without works, by proclaiming the word of faith? In doctrine, yes—but in practice, how is it lived? We see that Christianity has become a religion filled with religious regulations: You must attend church on Sunday because it is the Lord’s Day, the day of Christ’s resurrection… You must give tithes because they belong to God… You must offer your “firstfruits” (your entire January salary) because that’s how you honor God with your wealth… and countless other “musts” and “supposed tos.”

But the children of God are those who are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). The sheep of Jesus hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:27). The anointing within teaches them all things, and they do not need anyone to teach them (1 John 2:27).

In conclusion, why do religious leaders within Christianity love to make religious rules? The answer is clear: such rules are needed to draw the Lord’s disciples after themselves—and to draw their money to build their own kingdoms. They do not realize that this is the result of the attack of savage wolves upon the leaders (Acts 20:28–30).

A true servant of God, who ministers only to equip the saints, not to draw followers after himself or to gather money to build his ministry, DOES NOT NEED ANY RELIGIOUS RULES. Paul and the other apostles never taught or established religious regulations like those found in institutional Christianity today.

All of this will be revealed later at the judgment seat of Christ, for we all will—and must—stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for all our deeds and teachings.

We are still discussing a passage that is like a “repetition” of the theme of justification by faith, namely Romans 9:30 to 10:21. Let us take note of Romans 10:4, which says, “For Christ is the fulfillment of the law, so that righteousness may be granted to everyone who believes.”

The Greek term ‘telos’, translated by the Indonesian Bible as ‘fulfillment’, actually means ‘end’. The phrase ‘Christ is the end of the Law’ means that the Law has come to an end, and a NEW LAW begins—namely, CHRIST Himself. John 19:28,30 records the final words of Jesus on the cross: “It is finished… It is finished.” What was finished? Notice that Jesus had previously explained the purpose of His coming into the world: to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17). Thus, what Jesus finished was the complete fulfillment of the entire Law. Nothing was left unfulfilled. The Greek word ‘tetelestai’ means ‘completely complete’ or ‘perfectly perfect’. This means that no part of the Law remained unfulfilled by Jesus.

Why must we emphasize this? Because in the Christian world, many Bible teachers claim that Jesus has not yet fulfilled the entire Law—especially when it comes to the matter of tithing. In this issue, both Charismatics and Reformed teachers agree. We can see on social media that figures like Stephen Tong, Budi Asali, and other Reformed teachers in Indonesia all teach tithing just as the Charismatic teachers do.

However, the Bible clearly states that the Law has come to an end, and the Lord Jesus inaugurated a NEW LAW—the LAW OF CHRIST. The expression “but I say to you,” repeated many times in the Sermon on the Mount, proves that Jesus introduced a new law—the law of Christ, or the law of love (John 13:34–35).

This new law is in fact the Law written in the hearts of believers (Jeremiah 31; Hebrews 8). A good example of how the Holy Spirit “writes” the Law in the heart of believers can be seen in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8). In this case, the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with the question of whether the woman should be stoned or not, since according to the Law of Moses she had to be stoned. Then Jesus wrote on the ground—a symbolic act representing how He writes the Law (the law of stoning) into the heart of believers. When the Pharisees persisted, Jesus revealed the New Law—the Law written within—the law of forgiveness, saying that the one without sin should cast the first stone. This is the true meaning of the Law written in the heart of believers. This is the NEW COMMANDMENT that Jesus taught His disciples.

Next, what is the meaning of CHRIST as the end of the Law? The term Christ as used by Paul means that Christ is our Life (‘zoe’), Christ within is the hope of glory, and Christ is the Kingdom (the Kingdom of Christ). So when Paul says, “For to me, to live is Christ,” it means his entire life was governed by Christ within. This is the NEW LAW that Paul lived out daily. Paul never taught any religious laws or human-made rules as is commonly done by religious leaders in Christianity. THE LAW OF MOSES HAS ENDED AND BEEN REPLACED BY THE LAW OF CHRIST FOR BELIEVERS.

We will conclude Paul’s discussion (Romans 9–11) on why Israel did not receive their Messiah by quoting his testimony in Romans 10:2–3: “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to the righteousness of God” (LITV).

Paul testified that Israel had “zeal” for God. The Greek term ‘zelos’, translated as ‘zeal’, also means ‘fervor or earnest devotion’. We should understand how passionate the Jews of Jesus’ time were in their religious life. Jewish children were taught by their parents until age six. From ages six to eleven, they studied the five books of Moses in the synagogues under the guidance of

scribes and Pharisees. Upon completion, they were called “sons of the Law.” From ages eleven to seventeen, they studied the ‘Nevi’im’ (Prophets) and ‘Ketuvim’ (Writings). By the age of seventeen, they had already mastered the Old Testament. Later, they married and learned to earn a living from their parents.

Those who wished to become scribes or Pharisees studied further until about forty or forty-five years old. Thus, the scribes and Pharisees were not ignorant of the Scriptures—they were deeply devout. Some Pharisees were even known as “The Bleeding Pharisees,” who would close their eyes while walking to avoid seeing women, even if it meant hitting walls and bleeding. Therefore, we should not think of the Pharisees and scribes merely as “corrupt” Jewish leaders.

However, we know that they were the very ones who plotted Jesus’ crucifixion. They influenced the crowds so that people chose Barabbas over Jesus (Matthew 27:20). Yet Paul testified that their zeal was without true understanding—they tried to establish their own righteousness rather than submitting to God’s. Zeal without true understanding is tragic and lamentable.

We know they became such because God, in His sovereignty, had His own purposes. John 12:37–40 confirms this: although Jesus performed many miracles before them, they still did not believe, because God blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts (v. 40). This was God’s way to ensure that Jesus would be crucified so that salvation could come to the Gentiles—but eventually, all Israel will be saved in due time.

What about the church, which has transformed from an organism (the Body of Christ) into tens of thousands of denominations—human kingdoms led by Christian religious leaders, each with their own followers? Scripture has already revealed this as well, and God has His own purposes. May we be among those who are not only called but also chosen and faithful (Revelation 17:14).

Now we enter the final chapters of Romans, chapters 12–16. We will first analyze these five chapters to see how they relate to our theme of the Kingdom of Heaven. These five chapters can be divided into two sections: chapters 12–15:13, titled ‘Transformation’, and chapters 15:14–16, titled ‘Conclusion’.

The first section, ‘Transformation’, speaks of the practical aspects of life after one has received Paul’s gospel (chapters 1–8). Let us look at its sections:

1. Presenting our bodies and renewing our minds (12:1–2).

2. Using our gifts as members of the Body of Christ (12:4–8).

3. Living a life of love (12:9–21).

4. Submitting to authorities (13:1–7).

5. Walking in love and rejecting deeds of darkness (13:8–14).

6. Accepting fellow believers (14:1–15:13)

The second section, ‘Conclusion’ (15:14–16:27), includes offering the nations to God and the relationship between the Gentiles and the Jews (15:14–33), fellowship among the saints (16:1–24), and praise for the mystery of God in the gospel (16:25–27).

We will not discuss every passage but will focus on presenting the body (12:1), which concerns true worship. The Greek term ‘latreia’, translated as ‘worship’ or ‘service’, literally means service or ministry to God. Thus, true worship or service to God is the presentation of one’s body. Paul emphasized that after one has believed the gospel and experienced justification, sanctification, and glorification by faith, the next step is to present the body.

Many Christians view worship or service to God merely as religious activities—evangelism, meetings, offerings, and similar things. These are good if led by the Holy Spirit, but TRUE worship or service is the presentation of the body. It seems we must revisit the definitions of ‘service to God’ and ‘worship’, so that what we do may truly be according to Scripture. Service to God is clearly DOING THE WILL OF GOD. If a Christian performs any religious activity that is not God’s will for them, then it cannot be counted as service to God—especially if motivated by personal gain. Likewise with worship. Many Christians think worship means singing worship songs in a church building. But is that the true meaning of worship? We will discuss this further.

Continuing in Romans 12:1, presenting our bodies as true worship and service to God—what is the real meaning of worship? To understand a term, we must look at its first occurrence in Scripture. In Hermeneutics, this is called the principle of first mention, which means that the first appearance of a word in the Bible carries a meaning that remains consistent throughout Scripture. Later uses may add nuance, but the original meaning cannot be removed.

The first appearance of the Hebrew word ‘shachah’ (worship) occurs in the story of Abraham offering Isaac (Genesis 22). Verse 5 says, “And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there and worship (shachah)...’” We know the rest of the story—Abraham did not sing songs or perform rituals. He built an altar, arranged the wood, bound Isaac, laid him on the altar, and raised the knife to sacrifice him. Had the Angel of the LORD not intervened, Abraham would have offered Isaac as a burnt offering ‘according to God’s command’.

From this first mention of ‘shachah’, it is clear that worship is not about singing or performing religious rituals but about offering one’s “Isaac” in obedience to God’s command and leading. Before exploring ‘shachah’ further, consider several facts:

1. In Abraham’s time, it was common for people to offer their children—often infants—to their gods. Thus, Abraham did not struggle as a modern father might when told to offer his son.

2. This does not mean Abraham found it easy to obey. Hebrews 11:19 explains, “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead.” Genesis 22:12 adds, “Now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Abraham could offer Isaac because he had been transformed into a man who feared God, knew Him deeply, and believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead. It takes grace for believers to be processed until they can perform true ‘shachah’—to offer their “Isaac.”

3. Abraham’s act of offering Isaac was a ‘work born of faith’. James 2:21 says, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?” This may seem to contradict Paul’s teaching that we are justified by faith alone, but Paul and James complement each other if we understand Romans 1:17: “The righteous shall live by faith.”

We must remember that saving faith, according to Paul, is ‘from faith to faith’. Saving faith is progressive. What makes faith grow? James explains, “Faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect” (James 2:22). Thus, faith is perfected by works—works that are born of faith. As James says, “I will show you my faith by my works” (2:18). Not works apart from faith, but works produced by faith perfecting faith so that faith grows toward its fullness. Thus, the explanations of Paul and James about faith complement each other.

Therefore, we can conclude that faith produces obedience, and in turn, obedience perfects faith. In this way, faith grows and progresses. This is biblical faith. This is saving faith. That is why James said that Abraham was justified by his works. This does not in any way contradict Paul’s explanation of faith, because what James meant by ‘works’ were works that are born out of faith.

Thus, the fundamental meaning of ‘shachah’ is an act born of faith in offering our “Isaac” in obedience to God’s command and guidance. This is the essence or nature of worship. If a person has not understood the essence of worship, they can easily fall into mere ‘forms’ or ‘rituals’ of worship, performing them apart from faith.

Paul emphasizes that true worship is offering our bodies. Our inner being is the dwelling place of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; therefore, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. For Christians who have experienced justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith, practical things such as eating, resting, exercising, or any bodily activity must be done according to the Lord’s leading. This is true worship.

We are still discussing the final chapters of Romans, namely chapters 12 through 15:13, which we have titled ‘Transformation’. Now we enter Romans 12:2, which says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God” (ILT).

There are several things we should reflect on from the verse above: first, do not be conformed to this age (the world); second, the renewal of the mind; third, proving what is the will of God. The third point is the purpose of the first and second points, and it is the most important. We have seen that serving God means doing His will. But what if a Christian does not understand God’s will for their life? Then all they do cannot be counted as serving God. Jesus clearly said that His food is to do the will of the Father. Therefore, if a Christian does not know God’s will for their life, they are like someone who does not eat, and therefore will die.

Let us now discuss what ‘renewal of the mind’ means, so that we may not be conformed to this world. The term ‘mind’ here is translated from the Greek word ‘nous’, which appears 24 times in the New Testament. To understand ‘nous’, we need to be aware that humans consist of spirit, soul, and body. When someone believes in Jesus, they receive a new heart and a new spirit, as emphasized in Ezekiel 36:26: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…”

How does the Heavenly Father give a new heart and a new spirit to a believer? According to Jesus’ words, He came to give life (zoe). Therefore, believers receive ‘zoe’ life, so that their spirit and heart are made new. The purpose of ‘zoe’ life is that we may know the Heavenly Father and know Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3). Without ‘zoe’ life, it is impossible for anyone to know the Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent.

However, we know that the ‘zoe’ life given by the Heavenly Father begins as a “seed.” It needs to grow so that the believer’s knowledge of the Father and the Lord Jesus becomes deeper. Here we see the importance of the renewal of the mind (nous). If a believer’s mind is not renewed day by day, the growth of ‘zoe’ life within them will be “hindered.” Let us take an example: a room with glass windows. If the windows are dirty, sunlight cannot enter the room. The Christian mind (nous) is like the glass of a window. If it is not renewed daily (“dirty”), then the ‘light of God’s revelation’ cannot enter their inner being (spirit). How can the zoe life within them grow if the light of revelation cannot enter?

So then, how can we renew our minds (nous)? There is no other way except through experiencing God’s shaping and discipline day by day. Christians who seldom experience God’s discipline will have minds very similar to worldly people. Just as worldly people desire physical success and wealth, Christians who lack God’s discipline will have the same desires.

Christians who lack God’s discipline will have little desire to know God, to love Him, or to suffer for following Him. But if we find grace before Him and receive sufficient discipline from Him, then our minds will be focused on knowing God. Our minds will no longer be like the minds of the world. Thus, we will easily receive the ‘light of God’s revelation’ and understand His will for us day by day. In the end, all of this depends on God’s grace and His willingness to discipline us. May we be among those Christians who experience God’s discipline daily, continually receive His light of revelation, and grow in our knowledge of the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent.

We are still discussing the section on ‘Transformation’ (12–15:13), and now we turn to the term ‘Body’ found in Romans 12:4–8. Notice verse 4: “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function.” Many Christians talk about the ‘Body of Christ’ meaning all born-again believers (those who have received ‘zoe’ life). This sounds correct, good, and consistent with New Testament revelation, but in reality, it is not so.

Let us look at the revelation of the ‘Body of Christ’ as revealed in the New Testament. Only Paul uses the term ‘Body of Christ’. Peter and his team, as well as John and his team, never used the term ‘Body’. To understand what Paul meant by ‘Body’, we need to analyze the New Testament according to the principle of the ‘Trilogy’. (We will not discuss this principle here, as it has been explained elsewhere.) What is important to understand is that there is a difference between the community of Peter, the community of Paul (the Body of Christ), and the community of John.

Let us quickly examine the difference between the communities of Peter, Paul, and John. Consider 1 Corinthians 11:16: “But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God” (ILT). Here, Paul clearly distinguishes his community, which he calls ‘we’, from the ‘churches of God’, which refers to Peter’s community. How do we know that the churches of God belong to Peter’s community? Because John’s community is entirely different.

Now let us look at the revelation of John’s community. In 1 John 1:3 it says, “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship (koinonia) with us…” The First Epistle of John was a general letter to the churches under John’s and his team’s ministry. We know John ministered to the churches in Asia Minor (the seven churches in Revelation 2–3), and when John ministered, both Peter and Paul had already died as martyrs. Notice this fact: John and his team DID NOT HAVE FELLOWSHIP (koinonia) WITH THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR. John wrote this letter SO THAT fellowship (koinonia) might exist with them. Yet ‘koinonia’ (fellowship) was one of the chief marks of the early church (Acts 2:42). The true meaning of ‘koinonia’ is not merely ‘a prayer fellowship’ or a denomination (a local church), but rather a deep sharing of life: “…and all who believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44).

We will not go further into that. The reason John and his team had no ‘koinonia’ with the seven churches of Asia Minor is that those churches had fallen into idolatry through three false teachings — the teachings of Jezebel, Balaam, and the Nicolaitans. Therefore, John emphasizes, “…our koinonia is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). In Revelation 2–3, there is always the call ‘to him who overcomes’ addressed to the seven churches of Asia Minor. Why? Because those churches had been defeated, and God was calling forth His overcomers. These overcomers throughout church history are what we call the ‘John community’.

Looking at Christendom today, denominational teachers always refer to the Christian world as the “church,” and that Christendom is the Body of Christ. Even Martin Luther was the first to teach about the “visible church” (denominations) and the “invisible church” (all born-again believers), thus removing the distinction between denominations and the true church. Indeed, the revelation of the church was not given to Martin Luther; he received another revelation.

Bible teachers who equate denominations with the church, and who do not understand the difference between denominations and the true church, fail to see the difference between the communities of Peter, Paul, and John.

Let us continue with our discussion of the term ‘Body’, used only by Paul. As Paul neared the end of his ministry, his community began to fall. During his third missionary journey to Jerusalem, Paul summoned the elders (leaders of the early church, plural) of Ephesus, but they met him in Miletus. There, Paul expressed his understanding that fierce wolves would come and attack some of the leaders. Acts 20:29–30 says, “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” This was not Paul’s speculation; he knew for certain it would happen.

Years later, Paul testified to Timothy that all Asia Minor (including Ephesus) had turned away from him (2 Timothy 1:15), even mentioning two prominent leaders, Phygelus and Hermogenes, who likely incited others to abandon him. This confirms that the attack of the “fierce wolves” (the devil) on the leaders had indeed taken place.

This “fierce wolf” attack caused leaders to teach false doctrines with the goal of drawing the Lord’s disciples after themselves. If we receive grace to see the reality of Christendom, it is clear that Christendom corresponds to Paul’s community that has been attacked by “fierce wolves.” Why? Because in general, religious leaders within Christendom attract the Lord’s disciples to themselves — not only the disciples, but also their money, through various false teachings. These leaders begin to build buildings and facilities, essentially constructing their own “kingdoms.”

Christendom is not the Body of Christ as Paul described it. Leaders in the Body of Christ MUST NOT draw the Lord’s disciples to themselves, nor draw money from them to build their own kingdoms. The leaders in the Body (the organism) are only to EQUIP the disciples, so that in turn the disciples build up the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–12). The leaders of the Body (organism) function like the “joints and ligaments” in Colossians 2:19: “...holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”

Because the leaders of the Body only equip the disciples, the Body of Christ is not divided; instead, it becomes ONE. We see that Christendom is divided into tens of thousands of denominations — why? Because its leaders draw disciples to themselves. Therefore, what Paul foresaw has happened: the attack of the “fierce wolves” has torn apart the Body of Christ. Does the Body of Christ still exist? No, what remains is the John community (the community of overcomers) who serve Christendom without drawing the Lord’s disciples or their money to themselves to build personal kingdoms.

But why is it that within Christendom, the practice of leaders drawing disciples and their money to themselves has become accepted and normal? Because there are TEACHINGS that justify such practices — the false teachings of Jezebel, Balaam, and the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2–3). We understand the difference between practice and doctrine: if it is only a practice, it is limited to certain individuals; but if it has become an accepted and formal doctrine, even taught in theological schools, then surely most Christian leaders practice it — except those who serve Christ outside of Christendom (the ‘kosmos’, the world, whose ruler is the devil).

We are still discussing the term ‘Body’ as used by Paul in Romans 12:4–8. Verse 4 emphasizes: “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function.” The word ‘function’ is translated from the Greek word ‘praxis’, meaning ‘function’ or ‘operation’. Notice that Paul is not talking about positions, authority, or hierarchy within the Body, even though we later see a function of ‘leading’ (verse 8).

Let us first observe the functions of the members within the Body (the organism). There are functions of prophesying, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading (leadership function), and showing mercy (Romans 12:6–8). Here we will discuss the ‘leadership function’, because in Christendom, denominational leaders (whether pastors, senior elders, or others) possess HUMAN authority.

We must understand what Paul meant by the AUTHORITY OF THE BODY (the ORGANISM). To grasp this, we need to see the difference between leadership in the Body and leadership in an organization (denominations). According to the Indonesian Dictionary (4th edition), leadership is the matter or manner of leading, whereas an organism is a systematic structure composed of various living parts for a particular purpose. As a noun in biology, an organism is a living being. Thus, the meaning of organism here refers to the interconnectedness of the parts of a living body, such as the connection between hands, feet, and other body parts, all working together to accomplish the specific purpose of that living being.

To make it easier for us to understand the term organism, we first need to properly understand the term organization. In the same dictionary, the word organization means a unity or structure consisting of parts (that is, people) in an association for a specific purpose. Another definition of organization in that dictionary is a group of people cooperating together to achieve a common goal. Therefore, it is clear that an organization is the interrelation between one person and another within a structure, while an organism is the interrelation between the hand and the foot within a living being.

The interrelation between one person and another in the context of an organization requires leadership. There must be a form of AUTHORITY (HUMAN AUTHORITY) that governs these relationships. Authority in the context of organization is called the ‘chain of command’. In an organizational structure, we can see this chain of command linking one person to another. This chain of command determines who leads whom and who is accountable to whom. The person at the top of the organizational structure holds the highest human authority.

The interrelation between the hand and the foot in the context of an organism also requires leadership. There must also be a kind of AUTHORITY that governs the relationship between the hand and the foot. Authority in the context of an organism is called life, the life of that being. The life of the organism is what regulates the coordination between the hand and the foot. If there is no life within that being, then there is no authority governing the relationship between the hand and the foot—no movement of hands or feet—meaning the organism is dead.

Therefore, it is clear that leadership in the context of an organization IS A PERSON (that is, the person at the top of the structure), but leadership in the context of an organism IS LIFE. Speaking of leadership in an organization is speaking of a person and how that person leads. Speaking of leadership in an organism is speaking of life and how that life governs the hand, the foot, and all the living parts of a being.

Thus, in the Body of Christ, there is no human authority (no human leader) whatsoever. The authority of the Body of Christ is the Life of Christ (zoe). The Life of Christ is Jesus Himself, for He said, “I am the Life (zoe).” Therefore, Jesus directly governs His Church through His Life. There must be no human leader in the sense of human authority, for Jesus alone is the Head of the Body (Matthew 23:1–12). What exists within the Body of Christ are only DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS.

Many denominational leaders claim that organization is merely a TOOL. That is true—it is indeed only a tool. However, it is a tool IN THE HANDS OF LEADERS WHO USURP THE AUTHORITY OF LIFE—THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHRIST AS THE ONLY HEAD OF THE BODY. The teaching that usurps the authority of the Body, as taught within Christendom, is the teaching of Jezebel and the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2–3). The Body of Christ does not need an organization. We will now see how the early church (the Body of Christ) functioned and how the roles of its leaders operated without having any authority over other members.

Let us discuss how the early church (the Body of Christ) functioned and what the role of its leaders was, who possessed no authority over others. In brief, the role of the leaders in the Body of Christ was to enable the Body to GROW. However, we must understand what “growth of the Body of Christ” means as taught by Paul. The growth of the Body of Christ is NOT the same as what is called ‘church growth’ in Christendom. Common reference books used in theological schools regarding ‘church growth’ include Understanding Church Growth by Donald McGavran (recognized as the father of church growth) and A Theology of Church Growth by George W. Peters. We mention these books to clarify that the theologians in Christendom are speaking about the GROWTH OF THE “CHURCH” ORGANIZATION, or DENOMINATIONAL GROWTH.

To understand the role of the leaders in the Body of Christ in relation to the growth of the Body, we need to examine Colossians 2:19 and Ephesians 4:16. We will not discuss these verses in full but will compare and connect them through the concept of ‘growth’. Colossians 2:19 (Indonesian Bible) speaks of ‘its divine growth’. In the Greek text, two words are used: ‘auxano’ and ‘auxesis’, which the Indonesian translation renders as ‘its divine growth’. This translation is inaccurate; it should read, ‘may increase with the increase of God’ (Young’s Literal Translation). This means the growth of the Body IS THE GROWTH OF GOD HIMSELF—that is, the growth of God’s Life. The verse also mentions the function of joints and ligaments that support and unite the Body. Meanwhile, Ephesians 4:16 affirms that “the growth of the Body happens because the whole Body, being joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love.” Comparing these verses, we can conclude that the growth of the Church as an Organism is the growth of the Life of God, with the leaders (“joints and ligaments”) functioning to support and unite the Body.

What we have discussed above concerns Body Leadership. We see that leaders (the “joints and ligaments”) must ABSOLUTELY FUNCTION UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF LIFE. In the context of the Body, it is impossible for the joints and ligaments to move independently and harm the Body. Therefore, leaders within the Body (organism) are entirely under the authority of Life and HAVE NO AUTHORITY WHATSOEVER over the Body or its members. Leaders in the context of the Organism can only EQUIP and SERVE the Body. If any leader disobeys the authority of Life, they themselves are cut off from that Life—yet the Body remains unharmed. Why? Because the growth of the Body DEPENDS SOLELY ON THE GROWTH OF LIFE.

Let us summarize the role of leaders in the organism. First, they have no authority at all, because authority remains within the Life. Second, they can only equip and serve the Body as true SERVANTS, not as MANAGERS (such as senior pastors or elders) in the organizational sense. Third, they cannot rule over the Body or take material advantage from it. If a leader behaves as one who has the right to control or profit from the Body, it proves that they are functioning within the context of an organization, not an organism.

We have seen that the leaders of the organism (Body leadership), referred to in Colossians 2:19 as “joints and ligaments,” depend entirely on the Life of Christ. Therefore, the exhortations to leaders in the New Testament focus on building character that results from the growth of that Life. Paul’s instructions to Timothy, Titus, and other passages regarding leadership all focus on forming Christ’s character within leaders. The emphasis on leadership within the Body is on being an example—in dedication, sacrifice, carrying the cross, following the Lord, denying oneself, and being a servant in the truest sense, with no authority and no personal gain over others in the Body. This is not surprising, for the growth of the Church or the Body is entirely determined by the growth of Life, and therefore the role of leaders is to BE EXAMPLES AND MODELS IN FOLLOWING THE LIFE OF CHRIST.

Let us now discuss the relationship between the Church (the Body of Christ) and the Kingdom of Heaven. The Church, according to the term ‘ekklesia’, refers to those who are called out for God’s purpose. These called-out ones receive grace and experience the salvation accomplished by Christ Jesus. These believers receive the seed of ‘zoe’ life, which is expected to grow so that they may know the Father in heaven and Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3). This is the purpose for which Jesus came—to give ‘zoe’ life to believers (John 10:10).

To understand the relationship between the Church and the Kingdom of Heaven, we must understand the term ‘Christ’, which Paul often uses in his letters. First, Christ is our Life (zoe) (Colossians 3:4). Second, Christ within us is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Third, Christ takes the form of a kingdom—the Kingdom of Christ (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 1:13). Luke 17:21 affirms that “the kingdom of God is among you.” The Greek word ‘entos’ appears only twice in the New Testament. In Luke 17:21 it is translated ‘among’, but in Matthew 23:26 it must be translated ‘within’ (“clean first the inside—‘entos’—of the cup”). Thus, the real meaning of ‘entos’ is ‘within’. Many English translations render it as “the kingdom of God is within you.” Therefore, the Kingdom of Christ is within us. Ephesians 2:6 declares that we have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, and Philippians 3:20 says that we are citizens of heaven. From these truths, we understand the relationship between the Church and the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven first came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament was only a symbol, a shadow, and a prophecy of the coming Kingdom. The reality was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom, but he himself did not enter it, for he belonged to the Old Testament dispensation and was the last of the prophets of that era.

Through Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit descended upon the 120 believers on the day of Pentecost, and they became the people of the Kingdom of Heaven. They were called disciples in the book of Acts because they were learning about the Kingdom. The focus of Jesus and the apostles’ teaching was the Kingdom of Heaven. Indeed, the central theme of the New Testament is the Kingdom of Heaven.

From the explanation above, we can see the relationship between the Church and the Kingdom of Heaven. The Church serves as the vessel through which the Kingdom of Heaven is manifested on earth. The Kingdom has already come in the person of Jesus Christ, is presently coming through the Church, and will come in its fullness (manifest on earth) at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

However, we know that the Church has fallen and split into tens of thousands of denominations through the attacks of savage wolves (Acts 20:28–30). Yet God has always preserved His overcomers throughout church history—what we call the ‘John community’. To this ‘John community’, referred to as the “little flock” in Luke 12:32, the Father is pleased to give the Kingdom. At His coming, Jesus will judge the Church, and those who are called, chosen, and faithful (the little flock) will receive the Kingdom of Heaven. The little flock will reign as kings and priests on the earth with glorified bodies to rule and liberate creation from corruption together with Christ (Revelation 20:4). Thus is the relationship between the Church and the Kingdom of Heaven, which will be fully established on earth at His coming.

We now turn to Romans 13:1–7, which discusses the role of ‘government’ in this world. Verse 4 states, “For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is God’s servant, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” We see clearly here that God uses government to punish evildoers. Therefore, government is called God’s servant. God rules mankind on earth through His instrument—the government.

Since government is God’s tool to regulate human life and is given the “sword” to punish wrongdoing, everyone must submit to governmental authority, pay taxes, and honor public duties. We are also commanded to pray for those in authority so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives (1 Timothy 2:2). But what if the government oppresses its people? We can only pray and express our concerns lawfully without violating established laws.

Let us see how it began that God used human government to rule mankind. After the fall, God ruled human life through what scholars call ‘conscience’. This lasted from Adam to Noah. When God ruled through human conscience, the earth became corrupt. Therefore, He destroyed mankind in Noah’s time. Then God declared to Noah, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed” (Genesis 9:6). This marked the beginning of God’s use of government to repay human evil. The first earthly kingdom was built by Nimrod, the grandson of Ham (Genesis 10). Since then, God has used government—which bears the sword—to punish wrongdoing.

What about the Kingdom of Christ that will be established on earth at His coming? This truth is rarely heard in Christendom, for many Christians are taught and firmly believe that they will be “raptured” to heaven to sing and worship God forever—LEAVING THIS EARTH BEHIND. Many Bible teachers fail to realize that God’s plan has always been for humanity to REIGN ON THIS EARTH—to subdue the kingdom of darkness so that the earth will be filled with His glory, moving toward the new heaven and new earth. God’s plan has never changed.

Revelation 11:15 declares, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.” Many translations capitalize ‘His Christ’, implying Jesus Christ, but it should actually be lowercase ‘his Christ’, referring to the overcoming Church. Revelation 5:10 confirms, “You have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.” The ‘us’ here refers to the four living creatures and twenty-four elders—symbols of the overcoming Church as priests and kings. Thus, at His coming, the authority of earthly governments will be transferred to the overcoming Church. The overcoming Church will reign on earth (the so-called millennial kingdom) with glorified bodies (Romans 8:19–21). This is the event of ‘glorification by faith’—a truth seldom taught in theological seminaries or Sunday pulpits within Christendom.

Let us continue our discussion about the victorious church that will reign upon this earth—the very ground we now stand on—with glorified bodies. We will look at the prophecy in Isaiah 65:17–25, where the Indonesian Bible (LAI) titles this passage ‘The Promise of a New Heaven and a New Earth’. Verse 17 declares, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth….” When Elohim says that He creates a new heaven and a new earth, we should not think that the first heaven and the first earth will be entirely abolished and then replaced by newly created ones.

The meaning of Elohim creating a new heaven and a new earth is not the annihilation of the old ones, but rather a ‘radical transformation’ of the first heaven and earth, such that Elohim calls them “new.” We will see that in this new heaven and new earth there is still life similar to what exists on our present earth (Isaiah 65:20–23).

But before we look at the characteristics of life in this new heaven and new earth as prophesied by Isaiah, we must first consider Elohim’s original plan, which was focused on this earth we now inhabit. In Genesis 1:26, it is affirmed that Elohim’s purpose in creating humankind was that man should have dominion over the whole earth. Clearly, the ‘earth’ mentioned here refers to this very earth we stand upon. Then, in verse 27, Elohim created man in His image. Many people assume that Adam and Eve were already fully in His image and likeness when they were created and placed in the Garden of Eden. However, notice the Hebrew term ‘bara’, translated ‘created’, in verse 27—it is in the ‘present progressive’ form, not the ‘past tense’. This means that humanity ‘is being created’ in His image and likeness, not that they were already completely created as such. In other words, mankind is ‘in process’ of being made in His image and likeness. As we have discussed before, Elohim used the two trees in the Garden of Eden to process humanity.

The fall of Adam and Eve into sin was part of that divine process (Romans 8:20). And Elohim’s plan cannot fail—to form man into His image and likeness and to make him rule over this earth. His original plan has never changed: humanity is to rule the very earth on which we now stand. Elohim does not destroy or replace this earth with a new one, for if He did, His original plan for man to rule this earth would have failed. The truth is, His plan will succeed—mankind will be made in His image and likeness and will rule over this same earth.

Now let us look at Isaiah’s prophecy about life in the new heaven and new earth. First, there will still be childbirth, infants, and elderly people who live long lives—and, of course, there will still be death (Isaiah 65:20). Second, people will still build houses, plant vineyards, bear children, and enjoy their descendants (Isaiah 65:21–23). Third, there will be no more harm or destruction (Isaiah 65:25). This is what distinguishes the new heaven and new earth from the present one—today’s world is full of wickedness.

Thus, at the return of Jesus Christ, the victorious church will reign upon this earth under conditions described in Isaiah 65:17–25. When we compare Isaiah’s prophecy with Revelation 20:4, we see that our earth will enter the ‘Millennial Kingdom’, during which the victorious church will rule. Though Satan will later be released to deceive the nations again (Revelation 20:7–8), he will ultimately be defeated, and this same earth will enter the age of the ‘New Heaven and New Earth’.

It is therefore clear that the earth we stand upon will not be erased, destroyed, or replaced by a completely new one. In fact, this earth will be the inheritance (reward) of the meek, just as Jesus promised (Matthew 5:5).

We have already stated that the final five chapters of the Book of Romans are divided into two parts: chapters 12 to 15:13, titled ‘Transformation’, and chapters 15:14 to 16, titled ‘Conclusion’. We are still discussing the Transformation section (12–15:13), focusing on the long passage concerning judgment (14–15:13). Paul here is actually addressing the issue of food, which is not a central doctrine, because “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

However, this topic is important to discuss because many Christians confuse ‘judging’ with ‘rebuking’ or ‘correcting’ a fellow believer. Paul himself rebuked Peter publicly and instructed Timothy to rebuke elders who sinned in the presence of others so that the rest would fear (1 Timothy 5:20; 2 Timothy 4:2).

Let us therefore examine the issue of judgment correctly. Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1). Yet in John 7:24, He said, “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” The Greek verb ‘krinō’ in both verses means ‘to decide, to discern, to evaluate, to determine’. If we read these verses without context, they seem contradictory. On one hand, Jesus says not to judge, yet on the other He allows judging if done justly. So, are we to judge or not to judge?

Let’s consider the context of Matthew 7:1. To whom was Jesus speaking? Matthew 7:1 is part of the Sermon on the Mount, addressed specifically to His disciples (see Matthew 5:1–2). He was not speaking to the general crowd, but to His followers. Thus, ‘do not judge’ was directed to His disciples.

In contrast, in John 7:24, Jesus was speaking to the Jews, particularly the scribes and Pharisees, who were judging Him unjustly. They were permitted to judge—but only if their judgment was fair. Why were the Pharisees allowed to judge, but the disciples were not? Matthew 23:1–11 explains this: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you... But you (My disciples) are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers... The greatest among you will be your servant.” These verses make it clear that the scribes and Pharisees could judge because they held Moses’ seat—an authority valid only under the Old Covenant. But in the Church (New Covenant), there is no Moses’ seat. Church leaders exist, yes—but not with judicial authority. In the New Covenant, authority belongs only to the Life of the Body, which is Christ Himself, for Jesus said, “I am the Life.”

Sadly, Christianity today has fallen from being an organism into thousands of organizations, ruled by modern “Jezebels” who usurp Christ’s authority over His church, just as Jezebel usurped Ahab’s authority over Naboth’s vineyard. These organizational leaders, sitting atop church hierarchies, claim the authority to judge their congregations—just like the Pharisees did. The authority of church organization leaders is illegal. Jesus never delegated His authority over His church.

Now let me summarize. This conclusion is somewhat personal. I am often accused of judging others or church leaders. Let’s be honest: I hold no position in any Christian organization; I have no authority over the church—and rightly so. Therefore, I cannot judge. I merely rebuke, admonish, and expose errors, as Paul instructed Timothy, but I do not pronounce verdicts, because I have no authority to do so.

In truth, those who love to judge are the very ones who possess illegal authority within the church—those who evaluate, rebuke, and issue decisions (or verdicts) over others, even excommunicating members within their organizations. They do so regularly, for it is part of their role—the role of judging fellow believers.

Hence, denominational leaders are the ones most inclined to judge. Indeed, it may have been they who popularized the phrase ‘do not judge’, interpreting it to mean ‘do not expose wrongdoing’. Such leaders resist correction and reject criticism of their actions or teachings.

Now we understand the difference between judging and rebuking. Judging means to declare someone guilty and issue a verdict—something only organizational leaders with official authority do. Rebuking, however, means simply pointing out wrongdoing, as Paul instructed believers to do.

We close this brief discussion with Paul’s warning in Romans 16:17–18: “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

From these verses we can identify three traits of false teachers:

1. They cause division in the church.

2. They serve their own appetites.

3. They use flattering speech to deceive sincere believers.

Many Christians believe that false teachers and prophets exist outside the church—that they are unbelievers. This view itself proves they have been deceived. One reason is that the message of the Kingdom of Heaven is rarely taught or emphasized in modern Christianity, even though it was the central theme of Jesus and His apostles. The parables of the Kingdom in Matthew—the sower, the weeds, the net, the talents, the faithful and evil servants, the wise and foolish virgins—all refer to born-again believers.

Let us compare this with Jude’s description of false teachers. Jude 4 says, “They pervert the grace of our God into sensuality…” That means these teachers speak beautifully about God’s grace, goodness, and faithfulness, yet they ‘twist grace for fleshly gain’—for their own appetites. The Kingdom of Heaven is not about eating and drinking, but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). This does not mean God ignores our physical needs, but our teaching must focus on inner, spiritual matters.

Jude 5 reminds readers of Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land: the Lord saved His people out of Egypt but later destroyed those who did not believe. Those destroyed in the wilderness were God’s own covenant people. Likewise, false teachers—church members under the New Covenant—are compared to those Israelites who perished for unbelief.

Why does God destroy such false teachers? Because, as 1 Corinthians 3:17 says, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” The context here is the Judgment Seat of Christ, when all must give account for their ministry. False teachers destroy the Church (the temple of God) through division, and thus they themselves will be destroyed at Christ’s coming.

Paul had already warned that savage wolves would come, even from among church leaders, to draw disciples—and their money—after themselves (Acts 20:28–30). Such false teachings include tithing laws, firstfruits offerings, “faith promises,” and similar doctrines—forms of the Jezebel, Balaam, and Nicolaitan teachings condemned in Revelation 2–3. The Bible never speaks gently about false teachers. One day, everything will be revealed before the Judgment Seat of Christ. May we find grace so that we are not among those who divide the church or exploit “the belly” while serving the Lord Jesus—so that when the Kingdom of Heaven is fully established on earth, we may share in it. Amen.

THE COMMUNITY OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

By: Irnawan Silitonga

Summary: The community of the Kingdom of Heaven consists of born-again Christians who long for the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, so that the Father’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Call to action: Learn to function as members of the organic church who become instruments for bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.

Genesis 1:1 declares, “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” Elohim had a definite plan in creating all things. When He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them have dominion over all the earth,” His intention was that man, who bears His image and likeness, would be entrusted with the authority to rule the earth. The focus of Elohim is this earth. Yet, many Christians today have their focus set on heaven. Denominational pews are filled with people whose only goal is to “go to heaven.” Preachers often cry out, “Believe in Jesus and you will go to heaven.” Added to this is the teaching of the ‘Rapture’, which makes people long to be taken away from this earth to some geographical location somewhere in the universe. All of this stands in contradiction to the divine plan of Elohim.

The will of Elohim is that man should rule the earth. His will is that the Kingdom of Heaven should come upon the earth. His intention is that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Philippians 3:20–21 declares, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body …” Thus, it is from heaven that we await the manifestation of Christ upon this earth. The earth—yes, the earth—is the focus of Elohim.

In the fulfillment of His plan, Elohim placed man in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it (Genesis 2:15). Before man could have dominion over the whole earth, God intended that man first exercise authority over the Garden of Eden. His great plan began with something small—such is the way of the Lord. The man whom He placed in the Garden needed to undergo a process in order to be capable of ruling the earth. One of the processes man had to experience was the fall into the realm of death. Many people think that Elohim was surprised when man fell into sin and that He hastily devised a plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. In truth, it was Elohim Himself who ordained it all, as written in Romans 8:20: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope.”

Through a long process—from the Garden of Eden, through the fall, and through redemption by Christ Jesus—humanity finally arrives at the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is the Bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:9–10). It is clearly stated that the New Jerusalem (the Bride of the Lamb) ‘descends from heaven’ (v.10) to reign as kings (Revelation 22:5). Thus the plan of Elohim in Genesis 1:26, as quoted above, is fulfilled: that man should have dominion over the entire earth. The Man Christ Jesus, as King of kings (Revelation 19:16), together with His Bride as kings, shall reign over this earth.

What, then, is the true purpose of the coming of the Lord Jesus to this world? Indeed, it is true that He came that we might have life (‘zoe’) and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). It is also true that He came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). The purpose described in John 10:10 relates to the existence of man; whereas the purpose mentioned in 1 John 3:8 concerns the existence of the devil. But what is the purpose of His coming to this world as it relates to His own being? John 18:37 records: “Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.’”

Jesus came into the world because He is a King, and He came to bear witness to the truth—truth meaning reality, that is, the true nature of a thing. In other words, He came into the world to reveal what He truly is: a King. He further affirmed that everyone who is of the truth hears His voice (v.37). His Bride consists of those who are of the truth, who hear the voice of Jesus and confess Him as King. Thus, the purpose of Jesus’ coming is to manifest that He is King—and this necessarily implies that He will establish His Kingdom upon the earth.

The deepest purpose of the coming of Jesus, therefore, is that He will establish His Kingdom on this earth. In the end, all the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of Christ and of His Anointed One, as declared in Revelation 11:15: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ” (NKJV). This fulfills the prophecy in Daniel 2:44: “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

When Jesus came to the earth, He said, “… I will build My church …” (Matthew 16:18). The term ‘church’ today has been distorted and equated with ‘denomination’. Yet, the meanings of these two terms differ vastly—indeed, as far apart as heaven and earth. Today, many Christians casually refer to the church as a denomination, and a denomination as the church, without a sense of sorrow or conviction, as though it were a trivial matter.

What, then, is the difference between the church and a denomination? The difference is this: the church was founded by Jesus Himself, whereas denominations were founded by men—“Diotrephes-like” leaders (3 John 9). One was established by the “heavenly man,” the other by the “earthly man.” One was built by spiritual men; the other, by men of the flesh. One corresponds to the church of ‘Revelation 12’; the other, to the church of ‘Revelation 17’. When the Lord has revealed to us the difference between the woman in Revelation 12 and the woman in Revelation 17, we will no longer take these two terms lightly, much less treat them as synonymous. We will cease to play with the words church and denomination. The church is the church; a denomination is a denomination. And the purpose of Jesus’ coming was to build His church.

In the New Testament, we find three kinds of communities that are all referred to as ‘church’, although many Christians fail to distinguish among them. Yet Paul makes a distinction in 1 Corinthians 11:16: “But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.” Here, Paul clearly differentiates himself from the ‘churches of God’. These churches of God were communities of Jewish believers, of whom the Apostle Peter was the leader. This community we may call the ‘Peter community’—comprised of Jews who had believed in Jesus.

Meanwhile, Paul’s community—called the ‘Body of Christ’—consisted of both Jews and Gentiles, for within the Body of Christ there is no longer any distinction. Later, we see yet another community under the Apostle John, consisting of ‘overcomers’. When John ministered, the church had already fallen through the teachings of Jezebel, Balaam, and the Nicolaitans. Therefore, John called forth the overcomers to represent the fallen church (Revelation 2–3). Thus, within the New Testament we find three communities: the Peter community, the Paul community, and the John community.

Before we examine the difference between the ‘church’ and the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, we must briefly revisit the matter of the church’s fall. When Paul was about to end his ministry, around A.D. 65–66, he warned the elders at Ephesus that from among them some would arise, speaking perverse things to draw disciples after themselves (Acts 20:30). This was the seed of denominationalism! Certain leaders, with false teachings, would draw believers (the church) unto themselves. The false teachings that gave birth to denominationalism were the doctrines of the Nicolaitans, Jezebel, and Balaam (Revelation 2–3).

We will not discuss those three doctrines in detail here, but through them, the church was torn apart by “ravenous wolves,” fragmented into thousands of denominations. The large denominations today already number around five thousand; if the smaller offshoots are counted, there are about ten thousand—and the number continues to multiply. Why? Because the “ravenous wolves” remain and continue to multiply in every generation. Those leaders who have divided the church into thousands of denominations will one day stand before the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to give account for their deeds before the judgment seat of Christ. May we never be among them!

How, then, is the relationship between the church (the communities of Peter, Paul, and John) and the Kingdom of Heaven—also called the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God are two terms that carry the same meaning, for in the New Testament they are used interchangeably. The Kingdom of Heaven points to the Kingdom that is in heaven—a realm higher than the earthly dimension—whereas the Kingdom of God refers to the Kingdom belonging to God.

The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be seen with physical eyes, while the church can be seen with physical eyes. To enter the Kingdom of Heaven—in the sense of experiencing and abiding in this higher spiritual dimension—requires perfected faith. However, to become a member of the church requires only faith in Jesus (receiving the life of Christ). The Kingdom of Heaven has not yet come in its fullness upon the earth, but the church has already come fully into existence on the earth. Yet, because the church has been divided into thousands of denominations, the true church can no longer be seen with the natural eye.

If the church had never been divided, in a city such as Jakarta, for example, there would be only one church—the church in Jakarta. But today, that one church has been fragmented, and its members (those who are born again) are scattered among the various denominations that exist within the city.

To understand why the church is now invisible, we must comprehend the distinction between the woman in Revelation 12 and the woman in Revelation 17. Because of the fall of the church, as described in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, the church came to be represented by these two symbols—two women.

The first woman is seen ‘in heaven’ and cannot be perceived by the natural eye (Revelation 12:1). The second woman, however, sits upon ‘many waters’ (Revelation 17:1)—and the many waters symbolize multitudes of people—and therefore she is visible to the natural eye. This second woman represents the denominations in which the majority of God’s people are found today.

Thus, the denominations that we see outwardly with our physical eyes are not the true church. A denomination is a religious organization within which the people of God may be present, but as the manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth draws near, the Lord’s command is clear: ‘Come out of her, My people’ (Revelation 18:4).

If that is so, where then is the church? The church is the people of God upon this earth who take no part in the doctrines of Jezebel, the Nicolaitans, and Balaam. The church is symbolized by the woman in Revelation 12. The church cannot be seen with the natural eye, for only those who dwell ‘in the heavens’ (spiritually speaking) are able to perceive her.

We will not go into a detailed exposition of the characteristics of the woman in Revelation 12 and the woman in Revelation 17, but one thing is certain—their final destinies are entirely different. The first woman gives birth to a ‘man-child’—the ‘overcomer’—who will rule over the nations; whereas the second woman receives the judgment of Elohim (Revelation 17). For the purpose of our present discussion, we may therefore conclude that the community of the Kingdom of Heaven is the church symbolized by the woman in Revelation 12.

Let us now turn to the matter of entering the Kingdom of Heaven. We know that the Kingdom of Heaven is ‘within us’. The Greek term ENTOS, which appears twice in the New Testament—Luke 17:21 and Matthew 23:25—has been translated differently in the Indonesian Bible. Yet we know that the meaning of any word is determined by its context. In Matthew 23:25, ENTOS clearly means ‘within’. Therefore, the translation ‘among’ in Luke 17:21 is inaccurate. In many English versions of the Bible, Luke 17:21 reads, “The kingdom of God is within you.” Hence, the Kingdom of Heaven truly is within us.

If we observe the context of Luke 17:21, we see that the Lord Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees who opposed Him. This means that even within those Pharisees who resisted Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven was within them. Yet they did not experience or perceive the presence of that Kingdom within themselves. The Kingdom of Heaven within them had no effect upon them. The Kingdom was within them, but they were not within the Kingdom. This means that they had not yet ‘entered’ the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thus, although the Kingdom of Heaven exists within every person, if one rejects Jesus as King, he has not entered into the Kingdom of Heaven, even though the Kingdom is within him. How, then, does one enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Many Bible teachers claim that it is ‘by faith alone’. Preachers often proclaim, “Believe in Jesus and you will enter heaven.” Yet the apostle Peter writes that faith must be ‘added to’— “…make every effort to add to your faith … For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (2 Peter 1:5–11).

Faith must be perfected by works that arise from faith and are pleasing to God (James 2:22). Jesus is both the author and the perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2). Therefore, faith must be perfected in order for us to be granted full access into the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet, in the end, all depends upon the Father’s good pleasure. Blessed are we if the Father is pleased to give it to us (Luke 12:32).

Returning now to the matter of the community of the Kingdom of Heaven—we have seen that this community is symbolized by the woman of Revelation 12. We also know that from this woman is born a ‘man-child’, who will shepherd and rule all nations. Thus, the community of the Kingdom of Heaven will, in due time, bring forth the sons of Elohim who shall reign with the Lord Jesus upon the earth.

When the community of the Kingdom of Heaven “gives birth” to the man-child—that is, when the sons of Elohim are manifested—then the Kingdom of Heaven will have ‘come’ to the earth. When the sons of Elohim are revealed, the coming of Jesus to the earth will take place through them, for the purpose of restoring all things (Romans 8:19–21).

Jesus will not come in a physical, geographical descent from a visible sky, nor will He rapture the saints to a place away from the earth. The Kingdom of Heaven must be established on this earth. Jesus will come in and through His saints. The saints must reign on this earth. This is the plan of the Father.

Why must the Kingdom of Heaven be established upon the earth? Why must the sons of Elohim rule the earth? It is for the restoration of all things—for as Isaiah 9:7 declares: “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end …” (NKJV). The Kingdom of Heaven on earth will continually expand without end until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. John 12:32 further affirms: “… and I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

Through whom will Jesus draw all men to Himself? Through the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, where the sons of Elohim reign with Him. Romans 5:19 declares: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

It is thus clear that the Kingdom of Heaven on earth will conquer the kingdom of darkness. Light will continually increase ‘without end’, overcoming darkness. Life will swallow up death. Remember, dear brothers and sisters, the ‘wages of sin is death’—not eternal hell. Do not alter the Word of God! And death will be swallowed up by life.

Hallelujah! We shall become kings upon the earth, reigning together with the Lord Jesus, the King of kings. We shall restore all things by the power of the King above all kings. Though the community of the Kingdom of Heaven is now but a ‘little flock’, do not be disheartened, beloved brethren. We are more than conquerors. Hallelujah! Amen.

Church Offices

By: Irnawan Silitonga

Summary: The church is an organism. All its members are fellow servants, and none has authority over another. The offices in the church are merely functions for serving.

Call to action: By the grace of God, let us serve the church as true servants in the full sense of the word.

When we talk about positions or offices in the church, many Christians immediately think of titles such as senior pastor, synod chairman, or other positions within an organizational context. None of these exist in the Book of Acts. Yet most Christians—even those called Bible teachers—overlook the clear truth revealed in the Book of Acts.

There are around seventy instances in Acts referring to the Holy Spirit—phrases such as “the Spirit said,” “the Holy Spirit forbade,” “filled with the Spirit,” “the Spirit’s prompting,” and so on. This fact clearly shows that the early church was led directly by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul, Philip the evangelist, Stephen, Ananias, and all the Lord’s witnesses were directly guided by the Spirit. There was no manager leading the church, making plans, organizing, directing, and controlling systems. The church’s movement and expansion were entirely governed by the Holy Spirit. This fact is easily seen even with a single reading of the Book of Acts.

Although there were leaders such as Peter, John, Paul, and the elders, they held no authority ‘over’ the church. They were true servants—examples of how to serve and how to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Their leadership was not an organizational position but a ministry function.

Let us now look at the Greek term EPISKOPE, which appears only once in Acts 1:20 (and four times in the New Testament). It is translated as ‘office’ in many Indonesian versions, and as oversight, place of leadership, or office in various English versions. However, by looking at the surrounding verses, we can understand the true meaning of EPISKOPE—it refers to the responsibility of serving as a witness of Christ’s resurrection (v. 22). Therefore, EPISKOPE refers to a ‘function’ or responsibility of ministry, not a position or title as in an organization.

Next, let us consider the Indonesian words ‘penilik’ or ‘penatua’ (overseer or elder). These are translations of two Greek terms—PRESBUTEROS and EPISKOPOS. The New Testament uses these terms interchangeably, as seen in Titus 1:5–7 and Acts 20:17,28. This means that PRESBUTEROS and EPISKOPOS refer to the same person: PRESBUTEROS denotes an elder or mature one (in age and experience), while EPISKOPOS describes the function—‘one who oversees’, guarding the congregation from the attacks of the evil one. Once again, we see that an elder or overseer is not a position of authority like in an organization, but rather a function in ministry—to shepherd the flock.

Thus, we see that the early church, as described in Acts, never mentioned offices in the sense of a position carrying special authority as in an organization. If that’s the case, why then are there titles such as senior pastor, synod chairman, and other authoritative offices in Christianity today? Many Christians think, What’s wrong with having a senior pastor or synod chairman? What’s wrong with organizing the church? The church is an organism, but it needs organization. Isn’t the organization just a tool?” These are common arguments we often hear.

To see this issue clearly, we must understand how the church described in Acts eventually became what we now see in today’s Christian world. It began when some elders, through false teaching, drew disciples to themselves (Acts 20:28–30). The disciples who initially followed the leading of the Holy Spirit were drawn instead to certain leaders, and thus no longer followed the Spirit’s guidance fully. These leaders had “stolen” the Holy Spirit’s authority over the Lord’s disciples. The once-unified church was then divided into thousands of groups because some followers aligned with one leader, and others with another. Today, Christianity has become about 5,000 major groups—Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and so on. The Christian world now calls these groups ‘denominations’, though many people equate denominations with the church itself.

Let us now take a brief look at church history and its fall. History records that a man named Ignatius (around 117 A.D.) is regarded as the first to teach a distinction between elders (PRESBUTEROS) and bishops (EPISKOPOS). Ignatius was a church leader in Antioch (Syria) who was martyred under Emperor Trajan. He wrote letters on his journey to Rome where he was to be executed. I will quote portions of his letters that reveal something deeply hidden in human nature—the desire for power. These quotations are taken from The Apostolic Fathers (1956) by J.B. Lightfoot:

Plainly therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord himself. (p. 65)

Therefore as the Lord did nothing without the Father (being united with him), either by himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters. (p. 70)

‘…submitting yourselves to your bishop and presbytery, ye may be sanctified in all things’. (p. 64)

‘Be obedient to the bishop…’ (p. 72)

‘…he that doeth aught without the bishop and presbytery and deacons, this man is not clean in his conscience’. (p. 74)

‘Do ye all follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the presbytery as the Apostles’. (p. 84)

‘…he that doeth aught without the knowledge of the bishop rendereth service to the devil’. (p. 84)

Ignatius was a devoted leader who followed the Lord to the point of martyrdom in Rome, yet through his teaching, the Body of Christ fell under ‘human government’ with its hierarchy and organization. When bishops began competing for power, the office of “Archbishop” emerged. When Archbishops competed for the highest rank, the position of “Cardinal” arose. And when Cardinals strove among themselves, the office of “Pope” came into being. By the sixth century, the structure of human government within the church was firmly established—and the church entered its Dark Age.

Thus, the church today has fallen into a system of human rule built by its leaders. After nearly two thousand years of this condition, God’s people have grown accustomed to and have accepted positions within denominations as something normal—from senior pastors to synod chairmen—though Acts 20:28–30 describes these very developments as the attacks of savage wolves upon the leaders.

However, God’s chosen people will not partake in the church’s downfall. God’s elect will continue to serve as true servants, not drawing disciples to themselves—nor drawing money through teachings such as tithes, firstfruits, or other manipulative doctrines. Praise the Lord, hallelujah! Amen.