Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

Meditations ON LIFE’S PHILOSOPHY: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WORLDLY AND GODLY VIEWS.



The measurement of RESPECT of the world is wealth, power, educational attainment and title. The measurement of RESPECT of the godly is goodness, kindness and love.

The measurement of RIGHTEOUSNESS of the world is self centered, self gratifying, men’s appealing. The measurement of RIGHTEOUSNESS of the godly is no other than the righteousness of Christ through faith alone in Him.

The measurement of LOVE of the worldly is self-love through financial stability, wealth and power,( they called it practical love). The measurement of LOVE of the godly is sacrificial, selflessness, passion in accordance to the pleasure of God, and the emotion that God is the center and is above all.

The measurement of HAPPINESS of the worldly is unsatisfying, unending pursuit of worldly pleasures on earth through wealth, power and fame. The measurement of HAPPINESS of the godly is God through Christ alone who is the all in all.

The measurement of the ABILITY of the worldly is trusting one’s self. The measurement of the ABILITY of the godly is to TRUST God with all its heart.

Lastly, the measurement of LIFE of the worldly to live a life to the fullest of all the pleasures in the world, while the measurement of LIFE of the godly is to live a life in Christ and to die with Him is gain.

The sad thing is this, most of the professing godly/christians fall into the worldly philosophy of life.
Paul says: Colossians 3:1-3 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Additional bible readings(kjv).

Matthew 16:25-26″For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”.
Romans 8:7-8 ” Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God”.
1 John 2:15-16″ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world”.
Galatians 5:16-17 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would”.

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

The Things that are Impossible for God : God the Author of Sin?

Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

Our topic is an eyebrow-raising one because we know that there is nothing that is impossible for God; He can do whatever he wants as long as it pleases Him (Psa. 115:3), yet we still affirm, as far as the scriptures show, that there are certain things God will not and cannot do despite being the Supreme Being over all creation. To move further, what are these things that are impossible for God to do? Let’s find out here.

I- Let us stablish that God is God and nothing is Impossible to Him.

A. God is omnipotent an Almighty God – Gen. 17:1; Matt. 19:26; Isa. 45:18; Rev. 19:6

B. God is omnipresent, He is present everywhere – Psa. 139:7-10; Jer. 23:23-24

C. God is omniscient, Acts 15:18; Heb. 4:13; Psa. 139:1-6; Matt. 10:29-30; Prov. 15:3

D. God is Sovereign, * He has set all things in order after the counsel of His own will Psa. 115:3; Isa. 44:6-7; 46:9-10; Eph. 1:11

* God Sovereignty extent in:

1. Governing the Nations – Judges 8: 22-23; Psa. 22:28; 47:2; Dan. 4:17,32-35; Rom.13:1

2. Turning the hearts of men in order to Fullfil His eternal purpose – Prov. 21:1; Rev. 17:17.

3. Bringing sickness and healing in all manner of sickness- Deut. 28:61; 29:22 cf. Deut. 7:15; Matt. 4:23; 10:11

4. Bring calamities like what happened to Egypt in the days of Moses- Isa.47: 7; Jonah 1:4

5. Bring death and give life- Deut.32: 39-40, 1Sam.2:6; Psa. 102:19-20; 104:29

6. Makes poor and makes rich – 1Sam. 2:7

II. Though there is nothing impossible for God, still He is God and is not like a man.

A. That He can lie – Num. 23:19; Rom.3:4; Tit. 1:2; Heb. 6:17-18

* The arch enemy of God, who is Satan, is the father of lies (John 8:44), the total opposite to Christ, who is The Truth (John 14:6), the God of truth (Isa. 65:16; Deut. 32:14), and the truth of the Lord endures forever (Psa. 117:2).

B. That He will change – Mal. 3:6; Psa. 89:34; James 1:17

Arthur Pink gave his profound understanding about the immutability of God, he said: God is immutable in His essence. His nature and being are infinite, and so, subject to no mutations. There never was a time when He was not; there never will come a time when He shall cease to be. God has neither evolved, grown, nor improved. All that He is today, He has ever been, and ever will be. “I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal. 3:6) is His own unqualified affirmation. He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything outside Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same. He only can say, “I am that I am” (Ex. 3:14). He is altogether uninfluenced by the flight of time. There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity. Therefore His power can never diminish nor His glory ever fade. (The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink p. 22)

Immutability of God is a comfort also to those who obtained salvation through Christ alone. Why? Because God can neither change His affection to those who are the object of His mercy and love (Rom. 8: 31-39; 9:18,23; Psa. 103:17). The solid foundation of our assurance of salvation is the immutability of God (Heb. 6:17-19). Salvation given by God isn’t give then afterwards He will take back, that will mock God’s immutability. We received our full salvation from God that cannot be taken back by Him because His mercies endures forever (Psa.118:1; Phil.1:6;) Christ said” I should lose nothing” (John 6:37-39).

All of God’s creatures are mutable and capable of change; God alone is immutable. Lucifer, the perfect being in beauty and wisdom, has changed into Satan. Adam, the perfect human who was created directly by God, has changed from being holy and communed with God to being separate from God, falling into sin, from holiness to corruption. The whole creation that God made, of whom He said all things are indeed good, has now become ruined and changed because of sin, is subject to restoration, and shall be gathered in the fullness of time in Christ (Eph. 1:10).

C. That He can tempt anyone to sin –

Apostle James stated:

James 1:13-16
[13]Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
[14]But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
[15]Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
[16]Do not err, my beloved brethren.

It is Satan who is the tempter since the beginning (Gen. 3:1-5; Matt. 4:1). Those haters who misrepresent the Reformed theology/Calvinism/Sovereign Grace Doctrines as if God allegedly, according to these antagonists, is the author of sin. No! No one teaches that even Calvin himself, God is not the author of sin.

The existence of sin is part of God’s eternal purposed however that can neither pointed to God to be the author of sin. Yes, it is God’s predetermined purposed, who works all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11), that even to ordained to allow the existence of sin in order for the Covenant of Redemption may come to its full completion. Christ said, “It is finished”.

Christ was Foreordained before the foundation of the world to die at the cross for the redemption of God’s people (1Pet.1:18-20). We understand that this Foreordaining purposed of God was happened from eternity past before all things were created, before angels were created, since God alone in the beginning and all created beings are existed after His creation.

Now the fall of Satan was included in that eternal purposed of redemption of God. God knew the heart of Satan, He knew the sin of pride grows, God never created sin however sin was found and came in its first existence in the perfect created being who was Lucifer. He willfully and freely choose to rebel against God as his pride grows, “Sin was found in thee”. (Ezek. 28:14-17; Isa. 14:12-14). If the existence of sin wasn’t part on God’s eternal purposed of redemption, then by Omniscience of God, He would have had refrained satan, by Omnipresence of God He would have had rebuked satan, and by Omnipotence of God He would have had stop and change satan. To deny God who wasn’t determined to permit the very existence of sin, I tell you, that would violate the very essential attributes of God, His Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence.

Nevertheless God ordained to allowed sin to come to passed that His Holiness might manifested. God’s laws are the manifestation of His Holiness and perfection and by violating His laws His Holiness shines brighter. God knew that satan entered His beautiful Garden of Eden, God Omnisciently knew and Omnipresently heard that Satan tempted Eve. So why not stopping Satan such wickedness? As i also provided the answer above, Christ was Foreordained to suffered and died before the creation of all things, Apostle Paul stated:

Ephesians 3:11-According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

Ephesians 1:9-11
[9]Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
[10]That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:[11]In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Objection:

Someone had told me that believing the Sovereignty of God that is intricately and meticulously working all things would be a clear implications that God is the author of all sinfulness and wickedness since the beginning of time and in all the history.

Answer:

It is undeniably true that God is working all things after the counsel of His own will however freewill advocates could glimpse the surface of God’s working merely on positive events they have negated sins as part of God’s eternal purposed.

Alright, let us elaborate this in a brief manner to convey to our readers mind that God whose in charge in the human history could not be the author of sin neither in any instances since the beginning of time.

I believe that every individual after the fall of Adam into sin human being never lose its will, however it is not in the same concept of libertarians that could be extended beyond the fallen sinful condition of man, I believe that the will of a sinful being is enslave of sin (John 8:34), free to fulfill the sinful desires but incapable of any holiness acceptable by God not unless by Divine regeneration. Ephesians 2:1-5 clearly stated:

1 • And you hath he quickened, who were DEAD in trespasses and sins;
2 • Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: [noticed that man who is being dead in sins is walking in sinfulness and in accordance to satan’s will]
3 • Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. [ the desire of a man who is dead in sins is only to fulfill the desire of sinful flesh being as children of wrath]
4 • But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 • Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) [it is only by Divine subjective Love some sinners are regenerated from deadness of sin that they may live together with Christ and be in Heaven] 6 • And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: [ Emphasis mine: JJM]

Now my point is that when man commits sin, God never give impulse, commands, tempts, nor authored the intention, desire, or enactment of sin. God is simply letting man to fulfill his own sinful will and lusts.

Psalms 81:12
So I GAVE THEM UP unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

Romans 1:26
For this cause God GAVE THEM UP unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
[10]And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because THEY RECEIVED NOT the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
[11]And FOR THIS CAUSE God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
[12]That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

When God determined to Permit man’s own sinful lust that is, on the other hand, the exact fulfillment of His eternal purpose.

We may cite an  example the predetermined suffering and death of Christ. God did determined the worst sin, the worst crime committed by man, even to permit the killing of His only Begotten Son, and it can’t be deny that the predetermined purposed of that act of sinning wasn’t an accidental, it was an apparent determined purpose of God before hand that Christ should be killed by the hands of wicked men. However, God the Father never tempted these wicked men into killing His Only Begotten Son, or else these crucifiers weren’t accountable for their sins and God would be the prime accountable for this death. God forbid that kind of thinking! God permitted the evil intentions of these men to come to pass which is in accordance with His determined purpose and foreknowledge.

Acts 2:23
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

Acts 4:27-28
[27]For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
[28]For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Prior to the time of His death, Christ said, “My time is not yet full (John 7:8). A lot of men intended to kill Christ, but no one touched Him to harm Him because it was not yet time (John 7:30, 8:20); He even knew His time was near (Matthew 26:18; John 17:1).

Here we see that God’s working is not like a string attached to everything, or a remote control, like what false accusations and misrepresentations promoted by the libertarian freewill advocates against Calvinistic thinking on God’s sovereignty, but rather the time and seasons in which every purpose takes place as revealed by God to King Solomon.

Ecclesiastes 3:1,11,14
[1]To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
[11]He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
[14]I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

In Calvinistic concepts about the will of a fallen man into sin, its will has never been gone or extinguished, but it is influenced by being enslaved to sin, and even though its will is under sin, it is not autonomously capacitated to surpass God’s eternal purpose and make God surprised, seeing; “that’s not included in My plan” . Scriptures revealed that men has many plans nevertheless God’s eternal plan shall come to pass;

Psalms 33:10-11
[10]The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
[11]The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Proverbs 19:21
[21]There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

Proverbs 16:9,33
[9]A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
[33]The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

James 4:13-15
[13]Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
[14]Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
[15]For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Creatures will cannot be equal to or above to the Almighty and Sovereign will of God, because if it were, man would be equally or more sovereign than God, and man would thwart and change the purpose of God written in the scriptures. The fact is that God can use man’s evil intentions and desires to turn their wicked hearts to bring God’s predetermined plan into existence.

Genesis 50:20
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Psalms 105:25
He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.

Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

If you have questions you can freely ask and we’ll try to answer that as far as scriptures reveal. God bless.

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

The birth Month of Christ According to the Scriptures

Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

What if I told you that the Bible points out the true month of Jesus Christ’s human birth? Would you agree with me? I believe the month of Sivan in the Hebrew religious calendar is the month of Christ’s birth, and this month falls between May and June in our calendar. Why? Here are the proofs.

First, we need to know the religious Jewish calendar.

The Bible declares that there are twelve months that compose a year on the Jewish religious calendar.

1st month: Nisan or Abib (Ex. 12:1-2, 13:4, Deut 16:1, Ester 3:7) This first month was declared by God Himself through prophet Moses.

2nd month: Ziv Kjv used zif, also called Iyyar Ikings 6:1.

3rd month: Sivan Ester8:9

4th month—Tammuz—not found in the Bible however known my all Jewish and Bible scholars.

5th month—Ab—is the same as 4th month.

6th month: Elul Neh.6:15

7th month, Ethanim or Tisri 1 Kings 8:2.

8th month: Marchesvan or Bul; 1 Kings 6:38

9th month, Chislev Zech7:1.

10th month: Tebeth Ester 2:16

11th month: Shebath Zech.1:7

12th month: Adar Ester3:7,13,8:12.

Now what is amazing here is that the Bible says, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto the city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.” (Luke 1:26–27)…

That was also the sixth month of John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth. Luke1:36..

Now the sixth month of the Jewish religious calendar is Elul, and if we start counting a complete 9-month cycle of an infant in the womb from the month of Elul, we fall on the month of “SIVAN”, the third month of the Jewish religious calendar, which in our calendar falls between the last two weeks of May and the first to second week of June.

In Luke 2:6, we read that “the days were accomplished that she (Mary) should be delivered.” This implies that Christ has completed the nine-month cycle in the womb of Mary.

Before Sivan is Zif, and Zif means “month of flowers,” it seems it was the right time to spend the night with flocks (Luke 2:8).

The most widely accepted celebration in the world about the birth of Christ is between the months of Chislev and Tebeth, which are in our calendar December. Before Chislev is the month of Marchesvan, or Bul, and Bul means rain, yet Chislev, the ninth month, has been proven in the Bible to be a month of great rain. Ezra 10:9–13: “It is a cold season.” It seems it is not the right time to spend a night with the flocks in the field (Luke 2:8).

And back to our point, what is more amazing is that the month of Sivan is the month of the festival of Shabuoth, known as Pentecost, and the thanksgiving for the gift of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai.We all know that during Pentecost the Holy Spirit CAME DOWN from heaven to empower the church of our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:1–12) and the giving of the 10 commandments. The Bible declares, “The LORD will COME DOWN” (Exodus 19:1, 11–chapter 20). Therefore, I firmly concluded that the Triune God came on earth in the month of Sivan, which would fall between the months of May and June; however, the exact date is not for us to state because the Scriptures are silent on that, but perhaps likewise the exact dates of Shabuoth and Pentecost.

Truly, the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).May God bless you.

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

Man:Tripartite Being

Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV


The whole human existence is a composition of spirit and soul and body. The spirit cannot be the soul and body cannot be the spirit and soul or else we deny the plain words of apostle Paul. But there are newly founded groups like the Russelites and other Soul Sleepers who make the Bible passages contradict to one another through their teachings that man ceased its existence after death. That is the result of lacking in understanding of spiritual things who confine themselves to few verses of the Bible but not holding the whole counsel of God. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.(Isa.8:20)


Thus we have this study to enlighten the minds of those who are confused and blinded by these false teachers. We showcase here the the Trichotomy of the human nature and other related truths concerning the spirit, the soul and the body of man according from the words of God.

–THE SPIRIT


A) In Hebrew

The Hebrew ruach is 396 times found in the King James Version but primarily rendered 240 times as spirit, and secondarily 92 times wind, and 28 times breath.


B) In Greek

The Greek word pnuema is 382 times found in the King James Version and rendered 288 times as spirit.


C) The spirit has no flesh and bones (Luke 24:39)


D) God is a Spirit (Jn. 4:24; 2Cor.3:17)


E)Angels are spirit both good (Heb.1:14;Psa.104:4) and evil(Eph.2:2;Rev.16:14)


F) Breath and wind are only secondary meaning that describes like spirit (Jn.3:8) but spirit is not breath nor wind (Job 34:14).

  • Russelites(the so called Jehovahs witnesses) denied the personality of the Holy Spirit but the Bible clearly revealed to us as a person, or else they should believe that GOD and all angels including Archangel Michael and the Devil are but a mere puff of wind and are not persons?

  • The fact that our Lord Jesus Christ used the masculine pronoun refers to the Holy Spirit “He and Himself” in John 14:16-17 & 16:13-14 that shows His personality.

  • Another thing is, the faculties of a person are identifies to the Holy Spirit; HE has will(1Cor.12:11; Heb.2:4), HE has knowledge(1Cor.2:10-11; Isa.40:13-14), HE has emotions(Rom.15:30; Eph. 4:30; Isa. 63:10)*

G) Human spirit is God’s given Isaiah 42:5 states”
Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein”.

Zechariah 12:1
[The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

H) Human spirit is not the same as the human soul

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart..


I) The human spirit after fall into sin:


Became spiritually dead in trespasses and sins( after Adam’s disobedience to God on the day he ate the forbidden fruit. He already in the state of death but not physically because he died at the age of 930 yrs old (Gen5:5), he died spiritually at the day he did eat the fruit(Gen. 2:17 compare Rom.5:12,15-19; Matt.8:22; Eph.2:1-;1Tim5:7).
The original state of human spirit is in connection or in other words communion to God but it become separated from Gods holiness because of sin (Isa. 59:2), it became alienated from the life of God(Eph.4:18).
Spiritual death is separation or losing connection from the holiness of God into sin, as the same in the physical death the body is dead when it is separated from the spirit (James 2:26).
The spiritual death resulted into to the lost of soul (Mk. 8:36) and inability to comprehend the spiritual things (1Cor.2:14- the greek word for natural man in this verse is psuchicos which means soulish), and the flesh which is the body cannot please God(Rom.8:8) but lust against the Holy Spirit(Gal.5:17,19-21).


J) The spirit of a regenerated man is quicken or born again by the Spirit of God
(Jn.3:3,5-8; 6:63; Eph. 2:1 & 5).


The spirit of the regenerated man is now again connected to God being led & bear witness by the Spirit of God (Rom.8:14-16) and that resulted for man to call God(Psa.80:18 compare Rom. 10:13), that he can now understand spiritual things(Job 32:8), being renewed in the knowledge after the image of God (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10; Tit. 3:5), having a willing spirit(Matt. 26:41) that sin not(1Jn.5:18), being sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the praise of Gods glory(Eph.1:13-14).
A quicken spirit of man is turning the soul into a saved condition(1Pet.1:9 & 22) and walking in the newness of life (2Cor.5:17)and thereby the body manifesting the fruits of the Spirit outwardly(Gal.5:22-25), that even the body is dead because of sin the Spirit is life because of righteousness(Rom. 8:10).

THE SOUL


1. In Hebrew

The Hebrew word of soul is nephesh occurs 753 times in KJV, primary meaning is soul as it is rendered 475 times, life 117 times as secondary meaning as well as the others.


2. In Greek

The Greek word of soul is psuche occurs 105 times in KJV, primary meaning is soul which rendered 58 times, life 40 times, mind 3 times, and heart 1 time.


3. The Soul within

Soul is the inner activeness and consciousness of man that makes the body interact outwardly( Job 14:22; Psa. 42:4-6), that is what it mean in Genesis 2:7 as the LIVING SOUL in Hebrew chay nephesh-chay from the primary root chayah which means alive, active. The reason why soul is said to be in mans blood(Gen.7:4; Lev.17:11; Psa. 22:20; Jer. 4:10), and is said to be destroy(Josh.11:11). In other times soul denotes nothing more than animal life in inferior creatures(Gen. 1:30; Rev.16:3).


*Ezekiel 18:4 is the most used by the soul sleepers in spreading their teaching that the soul die. But if we carefully examine its context it does not prove their notion. Why? Because it was the Lord who spoke here Ezek.18:30-32, the Lord says He will judge the house of Israel according to their ways. That implied the coming judgment of the Lord who is able to destroy both body and soul in the hell which is the second death, but men can only kill the body after that have no more that they can do(Matt. 10:28; Lk. 12:4; Jn.5:22,29 cf Rev. 20:10-15). So the soul that die in Ezek.18:4 does not prove the soul sleep theory but rather it nullifies it because the soul that dies in this verse is referring to the second death at the coming judgment. Further to that theres nowhere in the Bible we find the soul sleep term nor it is implied. We can only find the body sleep (Matt. 27:52) but not the soul.


4. Soul is the seat of all mans natural ability

Emotion– 1 Sam.18:1; S of S 3:1-4; Matt. 22:32; 2Sam 5:8; Job 3:20; Psa. 143:1


Intellect– Psa. 13:2; Prov. 2:10; 19:2,8; Lam. 3:20


Appetite– Num. 21:5; Deut. 12:20; Prov. 19:15; Lam. 1:9


Conscience- Rom. 2:15


Will– Deut.11:13, Matt.22:37


5. Soul is not the body, but it is the life and personality that lives within the body and it will exist even without the body.


>Matt. 10:28; Lk. 12:4- men cannot kill the soul


>Gal. 2:20- Paul says the life which I now live in the flesh- mark these words the “LIFE which “I”(personal pronoun) live in the Flesh”


>Phil.1:22-24-Take note the first personal pronoun I that lives in the Flesh, in verse 23 be with the Lord.


>2Cor.12:1-3; Man exist with or without the body,
Theres a man (Paul himself) who was caught up to third heaven, whether he was in the body or out of the body -God knows.


>Rom. 7:22; 2Cor.4:16 inward man; Eph. 3:16 inner man.


>Rev. 6:9; 20:4- Soul exist after physical death.


6. Soul is the seat of moral consciousness however tended to immorality due to alienation from the Holy Spirit thus it is an unconverted soul and the person is:


-A sinful soul ( Lev. 6:2; Psa. 41:4; (Mic. 6:7, Hab 2:10)


-An evil doer (Rom.2:9)


-Not upright in the Lord (Hab.2:4)


-Hated by God (Psa.11:5)

-A sin sick soul that needed healing ( Psa. 41:4; Isa. 53:5 cf Matt. 9:12-13)


7. The soul after regeneration of the Holy Spirit is said to be:


a) Converted (Psa.19:7)

b) Saved ( Heb.10:39; James 1:21; 1Pet.1:9)


c) Redeem (Psa. 34:22; 49:8)


d) Restored in the Lord (Psa.23:3)


e) Thirst for God (Psa. 42:2)


f ) Find rest in Christ (Matt. 11:29)


g) Joyful in the Lord (Psa.35:9)


h) Wait faithfully to God (Psa. 62:1,5)


i) In war against the fleshly lusts (1Pet. 2:11)


8. After death the soul is:


• said to be separated from the body (Gen. 35:18; 1 Kings 17:21-22)


• said to be under the altar of God to those who are dead for Christs sake (Rev. 6:9-11),waiting to reign with Christ (Rev.20:4)


• said to be lost to those who are unbelieving (Mk.8:36)


• said to be destroy by God at the judgment day with resurrected body(Matt. 10:28 cf: John 5:29)

– BODY

1. In Hebrew
The Hebrew word most often translated “body” is ʿēṣem or sōm (often related to soma in Greek), referring to the physical, tangible part of man — the flesh, bones, and outward form described throughout Scripture.


2. In Greek
The Greek word sōma (σῶμα) is used in the New Testament to refer to the body — the physical organism made of flesh and blood that interacts with the material world through the senses. Paul contrasts it with the “spiritual body” in the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:44), showing a biblical distinction between the present physical body and the future glorified body.


3. The Body is the Physical Housing of Man
The body is the material, visible part of human existence. Scripture demonstrates that it is the vessel or tabernacle that houses the soul and spirit while we live:
It enables perception through the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch).
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The body is subject to decay, weakness, and physical death (Romans 6:12; 8:10).

At physical death, the body returns to dust while the soul and spirit continue (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

4. The Body is Distinct from the Soul and Spirit
Though unified with the soul and spirit in life, the body is a separate part of man’s trichotomy:
Paul distinguishes body from spirit and soul in 1 Thessalonians 5:


In resurrection teaching Paul says there is a natural body and a spiritual body, showing their distinct nature (1 Corinthians 15:44).

5. The Body and Sin
Because of Adam’s fall, the physical body became subject to sin and death:
The body cannot please God when dominated by fleshly lusts (Romans 8:8).


Death of the body is a consequence of sin, fulfilling God’s warning in Genesis 2:17.


6. The Body’s Redemption in Christ
While the body is currently mortal and perishable, Scripture promises its future redemption:
Paul teaches that believers will receive a glorified body like Christ’s at the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

At the final day, body, soul, and spirit will all be preserved blameless at the coming of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

Sure Foundation of Our Assurance of Salvation

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Sure Foundation of Our Assurance of Salvation 
Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (KJV Hebrews 10:38-39)

Professing Christians nowadays are more modernistic in ways of worship. They’re appealing to modern theology that mislead them to know the true God of the scriptures. There are more professing Christians today are having no security about their salvation, the most popular practices today is that they just being pinpointed, prayed, and proclaimed by a preacher that they are saved after raising their hand and following after the preacher’s “repeat after me prayer”, the so called the “sinner’s prayer”. After all of that the person hasn’t truly experienced what is being saved! Unsure if he/she is truly saved at all. Not saved but deceived!

They are some folks also who opposes the truth of Eternal security of God’s children, the OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved). They said that every child of God loses salvation, that simply says; that in our daily living salvation maybe given or taken by God anytime depended on our works of obedience to Him, that on this day you maybe a child of God and then the next day a child of the devil. That is heresy resulted of having no firm foundation from the scriptures but only handpicking few verses, quoting out of context and makes it contradict to the other scriptures. But there is no contradiction in the scriptures, the real problem is their lacking of understanding about the nature of the true God of the scriptures and the understanding of the the scriptural salvation.

Now I give you a brief notes on the Four Fundamental Truths about the Doctrine of Eternal Security, others called it OSAS, while we called it “Preservation and Perseverance of the Saved”.

So why there is Sure Foundation of Our Assurance of Salvation? Just follow our study below.

1- God is the source of our salvation from beginning until the coming of Christ.

Romans 8:28-30
[28]And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
[29]For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
[30]Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. ( The unbreakable chain of salvation)

Philippians 1:5-6
[5]For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
[6]Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jonah 2:9
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

Psalms 74:12
For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

👉Yes anyone may or can lose their salvation because at first their salvation does not depend on God but depended on their own selves like the Jews mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5:1-4
[1]Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
[2]Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
[3]For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
[4]Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

👉Regeneration is the work of God to the sinner and that is the beginning of being saved. This cannot be proclaimed by any man but this is to be experience and already experienced to every child of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

Ezekiel 36:26-27
[26]A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
[27]And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Jeremiah 24:7
And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

John 3:3
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

👉Regeneration or being Born in the Spirit is the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God that bear witness to our spirit that we are a true child of God.

Romans 8:14-16
[14]For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
[15]For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
[16]The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

👉Even though a child of God may commit sins in the flesh but the seed of the Holy Spirit can never sins before God.

1 John 3:9 -Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Romans 8:10-And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

👉Thus the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is forever within to every child of God, working all that pleases God.

John 14:16-17
[16]And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[17]Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Philippians 2:13
[13]For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

2- The God of the scriptures is an unchangeable God

Job 23:13
[13]But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

Malachi 3:6
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Psalms 89:34
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

👉God never changes His affection towards those whom He had showed His mercy

Romans 9:16,18,23-24
[16]So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
[18]Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
[23]And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
[24]Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Psalms 103:17
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.

👉Yes the God of the scriptures is an immutable God that is worthy to be trust. A God who has no eternal Purposed and plans but suddenly changes His mind depended on the actions of his creatures is not the true God but a false god who is undermined by the outcome of human will (Eph. 1:9-11; 3:11). But we trusted on the only true God, an immutable that never change, that is why we always have a living hope on our eternal dwelling with Him.

Psalms 36:7
How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Titus 1:1-2
[1]Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
[2]In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.

Hebrews 6:17-19
[17]Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
[18]That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
[19]Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.

Yes, salvation can never be give and take to the true God who is impossible to change!

3- God who is the one who preserves His children from falling into condemnation

* No condemnation anymore to every believer of Christ/ child of God.

John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 3:17-18
[17]For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
[18]He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

* Every saved person is preserved by God, the main reason why a child of God persevere unto the end.

Jeremiah 32:40
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

Jude 1:1,24
[1]Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
[24]Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

Psalms 40:11-12
[11]Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
[12]For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

John 10:28-29
[28]And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
[29]My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

* When a child of God commits sin, God deals His child of course as a loving Father but not as Judge.

Liken to our earthly father that when we trespass against them, though they reproved us, chastised us, but our relationship as a child to our father and a father to a child can never ever change even if turn the world upside down.

Hebrews 12:6-11
[6]For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
[7]If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
[8]But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
[9]Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
[10]For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
[11]Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

1 Corinthians 11:32
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Isaiah 49:15-16
[15]Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
[16]Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

✔️Yes, every child of God is preserved by God until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
[23]And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[24]Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

4- God’s Loving kindness towards His children never ends.

Psalms 103:17
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.

Jeremiah 31:3
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

1 John 4:19
We love him, because He first loved us.

* None can separates us from the Love of God

Romans 8:33-39
[33]Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
[34]Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
[35]Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
[36]As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
[37]Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
[38]For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
[39]Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

5- Objections

There are texts used by those who are against to this Eternal Security of God’s elect and we need to address this, as to what do they mean.

1- Matthew 24:13
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

> this verse refers to the salvation from the general calamity, persecution, false teachings and corrupt men as shown in the whole context of this chapter. Apparently this is not Salvation from the penalty of sin and condemnation from the wrath of God because that work belongs to Christ (Jn.14:6; Rom.5:8-11).

Through the course of our study we learned that only child of God will endure to the end because God preserve them from fallen into condemnation.

2- Hebrews 6:4-6
[4]For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
[5]And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
[6]If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

These verses doesn’t mean that salvation may lose to those who truly been partakers of the Holy Spirit. Take the key word “IMPOSSIBLE”, then noticed the conjunction” IF”, that’s implicit about supposition. However IF THey shall fall away, there’s no chance or time for them to be saved again and repent for their sin, there’s no way Christ will be crucified again for them. Therefore these verses never sided to those who denied the eternal security of the children of God.

We’ll try to find other objections against our study so this to be continue.. God bless 🙏

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

SALVATION AND ITS TENSES

Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.- 2Cor. 1:10 ( KJV)  This passage refers to the sacrifices and sufferings of the apostles in spreading the Gospel, but this has an application also to their spiritual state and not only to them but to all believers in Christ of all ages. Thus this study was made to teach God’s way of salvation and its tenses.

I – Truths need to know about salvation.

• Salvation in Hebrew word is Yeshuwa, in Greek  Soteria which means – deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, soundness and salvation.( Our Savior’s name Yeshua, relates to the salvation with the meaning Yehovah will save.)

• Salvation is of the Lord ( Jonah 2:9, Psa.3:8, 74:12).

•Salvation is by Grace and mercy of God and its not depended upon human will and effort( John 1:12-13,Rom.9:16 compare to Phil.2:13 ,Eph.2:8-10, Titus 3:5, Acts 15:11, 2Tim.1:9)

II – The tenses of salvation.     

* The past salvation.

1- The past salvation is the stage of regeneration, being born again experienced by every child of God. ( Jn.3:3,1Jn.5:1,4; Psa.80:18-19 compare 1Cor.2;14)     

1a- The past salvation is the salvation from guilt and penalty of sin ( Jn.3:18, Jn.5:24, Rom.8:1,Eph.2:8).      

1b- The past salvation in every believer is the work of God that effect in the spirit of man by the quickening Spirit of God( Eph. 2:1,5; Rom.8:16;Psa.80:18-19 compare Matt.8:21, 1Tim.5:6). 

*The present salvation. 

2- The present salvation is the stage of newness of life or conversion which is the result of regeneration [past salvation]. ( Rom.6:3; Rom.12:1-2; Eph.4:22-24).

2a- The present salvation is the salvation from the dominion of sin ( Phil.1:18-20; 2:12; Gal.2:20; Rom.6:12-14&22,1Jn.5:18).

2b-  The present salvation of every believer is the work of God that effect in the conversion of the soul (Psa.19:7; 1Pet.1:9), and the soul is no longer in the dominion of the lust of the flesh but with the quicken spirit fight against the enticement and desire of the flesh ( Gal.5:16-18; Phil.2:13). 

*The future salvation. 

3- The future salvation is the stage of glorification with Christ at His second coming ( Rom.13:11;Col.3:4; Heb.9:28;10:36;1Pet.1:5; 1Jn.3:2).

3a- The future salvation is the salvation from the presence of sin or the state of sinless perfection in the presence of the Lord (1Thess.5:8-10;Matt.25:46;Mark 10:30; Titus 1:2; 3:7). 

3b-  The  future  salvation  in   every  believer  is  the  work   of  God  in  redemption  of our  body(  Rom.8:23-24; 1Thess.4:13-18;  1Cor.15:51-57).

Conclusion:   Salvation  has  tenses  upon  the effect  of  all  believers,  its  tenses  are stages  of  salvation  in  the  whole human  composite  such  as  the  spirit, soul,  and  body.  The  trichotomous doctrine  coincided  the  doctrine  of three  tenses  of  salvation,  thus apostle  Paul  rightfully  says:  “And  the very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you wholly;  and  I  pray  God  your  whole spirit  and  soul  and  body  be preserved  blameless  unto  the coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ (1Thess.5:23  KJV).To  accept  this  truth is  to  make  sure  that  you  are eternally  secure  of  your  salvation because  salvation  is  God’s  work from  beginning  to  end  (Phil.  1:6).  Are you  assure  of  your  salvation?  If  not, Christ  came  to  save  sinners  like you (Matt.9:13), repent  and  believe the  Gospel  (Mark  1:15  compare Jn14:6;1Cor.15:1-3).  May  God  bless you..

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

Questions on Natural man’s Freewill

Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

Corinthians 2:14 –“But the NATURAL MAN receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them for they are spiritually discerned”.(KJV)

Nowadays, almost 100 percent of different sects and denominations adhere to, believe in, and teach that man’s salvation depends on how he exercises his own free will. Some have contention and criticize others, not knowing that they are in agreement with the teaching about the freewill doctrine. They teach different ways of salvation, like salvation by good works, obedience to the law, baptism, and church membership, while others are right in their view of salvation by pointing only to the merits of Christ at the cross of Calvary. But then the essence of their teachings is harmonized by the freewill doctrine, as they preach that man should initiate first in exercising his God-given freewill or decision and to do good works, obey the law, be baptized, be a church member, or choose Christ in order to be born again and be saved. By their differences, they agreed that salvation depended upon the decision or choice of man. Is that really what the Bible revealed to us—that our salvation is dependent upon our own decisions and that even in our natural state we can be saved by exercising by our own will/decision? I can’t even imagine that God, who created a creature who is greater than Himself because of freewill, God cannot do as He pleases or dispose of His plans over man, as long as he decide either to allow God or not? This reason compels us to study the will of the natural man, according to the passage given above.

1. What does it  mean of  being  a Natural  Man?

Answer: To understand the meaning of being natural man we must first examine the term “natural”.

A.– Natural means- of or pertaining to one’s nature or constitution; inborn. (Webster Illustration Contemporary Dictionary pg. 482).

Merriam Webster dictionary 11th definition says-  being in a state of nature without spiritual enlightenment : UNREGENERATE natural man

B – Natural according to Vines– PSUCHIKOS, belonging  to the PSUCHE, “soul” ( as the lower part of the immaterial in man), natural, physical, describes the man in Adam and pertains to him(set contrast to PNUEMATIKOS,” spiritual”)I Cor.2:14;15;44(twice) 46 (in the latter used as a noun); Jas.3:15”sensual” (RV.marg. natural or animal), here relating perhaps more especially to the mind, a wisdom in accordance with, or springing from, the corrupt desires and affection; so in Jude19. (Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, pg. 426-427).

C – The Bible describes the natural man as:

A sinner from the womb (Psa.51:5; Isa.48:8).

Born in the flesh Jn.3:6.

Evil from childhood (Prov.22:15; Gen.8:21).

Defiled by sin from head to toes (Isa. 1:5).

The faculties of the human nature are being ruled by sin: heart – (Gen. 6:5;8:21; Jer.17:9; Matt. 15:18); Mind – (Rom.8:5,7); Conscience – (Tit. 1:15); Eyes –( Prov. 21;2;IICor.3-4;Rom.3:8); Ears – (Jn.8:43,47;Jer.5:21;Isa. 43:7).

Unregenerate having not the Spirit of God (Eph.4:18; Jude19, Rom.8:8-9).

By nature (rendered in Greek Textus Receptus- “phusei” from phusis means- by birth,in born) children of wrath (Eph.2:3).

Therefore, the natural man is corrupted by sin and is dominated by his sinful nature (Job 25:4-6).

2. Why the Natural Man become corrupted, depraved and dominated by sin?

Answer:

Back in the days of the first human being, our human father Adam, God created for him a body out of the dust (Gen. 2:7; I Cor. 15:44–46); God gave Adam a helpmate that was created out of his body, whom he called Eve (Gen. 2:21–23). Before Eve was created, God had already commanded Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because in the day you eat the forbidden fruit, you shall surely die (Gen. 2:16–17). Although Eve knew about the forbidden fruit, perhaps through Adam, she was beguiled and fell victim to the shrewdness of Satan. Adam, after he saw Eve holding the forbidden fruit, knowing Eve had eaten it and disobeyed God’s commandment, exercised his undefiled freewill and did eat the fruit. He chose to disobey his Creator rather than lose a beautiful wife like Eve. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God forbade them from eating, they actually experienced death on the day they ate the fruit. It was not by the substance of the fruit that they died and fell into sin, but because of their disobedience to God, death came upon them—not the physical death that they had experienced at that time but spiritual death—and Adam lived 930 years physically after he did eat the fruit (Gen. 5:1). In the Bible, death means separation; like in physical death, when the body and the spirit are separated (Jas. 2:26), in spiritual death, as experienced by our first parents, they become separated from the holiness of God because of sin (Isa. 59:2; Eph. 2:1), and they fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), thus we are all by nature children of wrath even as others (Eph. 2:3).

Adam, the first human, did not lose his freedom of will after his fall into sin, but the freedom he possessed could not extend anymore to spiritual life, apprehension, knowledge, and emotion. He loses the spiritual ability and connection to God whereby Adam is free to will only to fulfill the desires of his sinful and fleshly fallen condition; he became a slave to sin (Jn. 8:34; Rom. 6:20; 2 Peter 2:19), which made him not to seek God but instead decide by his own will to hide and cover his sins (Gen. 3:8; Job 31:33; Rom. 3:10–11). After his fall into sin, Adam eventually exercised his will to dress himself in the presence of God, but it did not meet the standard required by God, so it was needed that God clothed him (Gen. 3:21). As far as the Bible is concerned, cloth symbolizes two kinds of righteousness: 1) man’s righteousness (Isa. 64:6);and 2) the righteousness of God (Rev. 19:8; Rom. 8:33; 2 Cor. 5:21).

The consequence of Adam’s disobedience was death, and as Adam was the first human being created directly by God, he represents the entire human race, thereby putting all his descendants physically and spiritually to death (Rom. 5:12, 17–19).

Every human being born naturally in this world inherits the corrupt, depraved, and dominant sinful fleshly nature of Adam (Psa. 51:5; Isa. 48:8; Gen. 8:21; Job 14:4).

3. Why  the  Natural  Man  received not  the things  of  the Spirit of  God and neither can he know them according to passage above?

Answer:

Because natural man is:

•Dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). As stated above, death is separation, like a physically dead person who is separated and inactive in any physical activities that make it impossible to understand because he or she neither can see nor hear physically (Eccl. 9:10). The same is true of a spiritually dead person who is separated in life and holiness from God, one who is physically alive (1 Tim. 5:6) yet spiritually dead, separated, and dormant in any spiritually good activities, and thereby cannot receive and understand spiritual things (Matt. 13:13).

•Still in the flesh (Jn3:6) and those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom8:8), always mind and do the things of the flesh (Rom.8:5; Gal.5:19-21).

•Not born again in the Spirit. John 3:3 states-“Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God”. The word see rendered in Greek ιεδο “iedo” which means to know, understand, perceive. Man must be born again to know/understand the spiritual realm of God, 1Cor.2:14 says – …”spiritually discerned”.

•Alienated from the life of God; “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of the heart”(Eph.4:18).

•Servants of corruption (2Pet.2:19).

4. What is the will of a Natural Man?

Answer:

Loves darkness rather than light (Jn.3:19).

Wise to do evil than good (Jer.4:22).

Likes to fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Gal.516-21; Eph.2:3)

Cannot cease from sin (2Pet.2:14)

Never seek God (Psa.10:4; 14:1-3; Rom.3:10-12).

Impenitent (Rom.2:5).

Never come to Christ (Jn.5:40 compare Jn.6:44).

No love of God in them (John 5:42; 1John 2:15 compare Rom. 5:5).

The Bible declares that man may obtain salvation not of his own will but only by the grace of God as apostle Peter said: “But we believe that through grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they”(Acts 15:11), apostle Paul added: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. “(Eph. 2:8-10). Now, from this stand point, it is very clear that it is only by God’s grace that we are saved, for IT IS NOT OF OURSELVES; IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD, and no man can add to or mingle with it by his own decision or free will or other efforts because salvation is purely the free grace of God and not by man’s free will or decision.

5. How does the sinful nature influence the will of a Natural Man?

Answer: 

The sinful nature of a natural man affects the will in the same way that nature controls the will, and the will is the cause of man’s action. Let us elaborate this in a backward effect sequential way: 1st, action is being executed through will; 2nd, the will is influenced by the inducement and reason of the mind and the desire and inclination of the heart; 3rd, the mind and heart are ruled by the nature. In the case of a natural man, his knowledge and emotions are bound to follow his sinful nature as he acts as an agent or servant of it. The nature does affect the heart and mind to incline and convince the will to cause an action. The Bible shows examples of how humans exercise their will.

Eve, the very first woman and mother of all humans, By her eyes, she got knowledge of the fruit, as it states, “It was pleasant to the eyes.” Her mind induces the will because of the pleasantness of the fruit that she saw. Her heart desired the fruit from which she gained knowledge. Then she will cause action by picking the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:6).

-Delilah, she willed to beguiled Samson because she knew that from doing so she could earn money, because her heart was before then a lover of money (Judges 16:4-6).

-Saul, the first to reign as king of Israel, had a heart that was envious and a mind that was troubled because of David’s fame. Saul’s envied affection and troubled mind caused him to have the willful intent to kill David, but it failed (1 Sam. 18:8–11).

By these examples, we can see how the mind and heart influence the will and cause one to act. The will is not independent in itself so as to act contrary to and separately from the faculties of human nature. Christ said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, and blasphemies” (Matt. 15:19). 

Now that the natural man is in his sinful state and is enslaved by the sinful nature, we can certainly say that his will and volition acted freely in harmony with the affection and knowledge of the dominant sinful nature. Our Lord Jesus Christ already taught this truth: ”Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by his fruit.” O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matt. 12:33–35). That is the reason why spiritual things are only foolishness to the natural man, because his heart is set to love darkness over light (Jn. 3:19), having a deceitful heart (Jer. 17:9). His mind is set to do the things of the flesh (Rom. 8:5), having a mind that is wiser to do evil than good (Jer. 4:22). He cannot discern spiritual things because he is still in the flesh, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8).

6. Is the Natural Man’s will is free ?

Answer:

When we talk about the freedom to will of a natural man, he is free to will but not in the sense that his will is free beyond his natural sinful state; he is free within the boundaries of his sinful condition but could not surpass or extend in exercising and attaining spiritual things. The natural man’s will is subjected only to one direction, which is downward; he is free to act sinfully according to the lust and will of the flesh (Rom. 8:5, Gal. 5:19–21). The prevalent thoughts among free will advocates nowadays is that man, in his sinful natural state, has not lost his freedom to will, that free will and decision remain in him in spiritual things, and that God is waiting for the sinner’s permission, to exercise that will or decided to allow Him to save and come to Him. However, that would be a direct contradiction to the plain statement of Christ, “No man CAN come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him”… (Jn.6:44 KJV). If men are free and not under the bondage of sin, the question is, what is the sense of Christ freeing sinners from their sins? Christ said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall free indeed.” (Jn8:34-36 ). Is there any wise man in the Christian denominations who could say Christ is wrong for stating we are slaves of sin?

In further explanation and illustration of this, I prefer to quote Elder Tom Ross from his book, The Abandoned Truth, which says: 

“Man’s will is free only within the boundaries of his nature. It is free in only one sense; it is free to act according to its sinful nature but totally free from holiness. Romans 6: 19-20 states: I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmities of your flesh: for as ye have yielded (willfully submitted to) your member servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now(now that you are saved) yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were FREE FROM RIGHTEOUSNESS (emphasis Tom Ross). Jesus taught precisely the same truth in John 8:34; ..”Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin”. Jeremiah 13:23 states: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” This truth can be illustrated in several ways. A. W. Pink wrote: I hold in my hand a book. I release it; what happens? It falls. In which direction? Downwards; always downwards. Why? Because answering the law of gravity, its own weight sinks it. Suppose I desire that book to occupy a position three feet higher; then what? I must lift it; a power outside of that book must raise it. Such is the relationship which fallen man sustains toward God. Whilst Divine power upholds him, he is preserved from plunging still deeper into sin; let power that power be withdrawn, and he falls his own weight of sin drags him down. God does not push him down, anymore than I did that book. Let all Divine restraint be removed, and every man is capable of becoming, would become a Cain, a Pharaoh, a Judas. How then is the sinner to move heaven wards? By an act of his own will? Not so. A power outside of himself must grasp hold of him and lift him every inch of the way. The sinner is free, but free in one direction only free to fall, free to sin…. The sinner is free to do as he pleases(except as he is restraint by God), but his pleasure is to sin… G. S. Bishop gave the following illustration: A man is free to use his hand. The man is free, but the hand is not free; the arm and muscles control it. The hand is the slave of the muscle, and acts as the muscle compels. In like manner, man is free to use his will, and is therefore always a free agent; but the will itself is not free. It is controlled by the affections, which are evil and earthly and sensual, and these again are controlled by the understanding and judgment, which call evil good and which are perverted, blinded, deluded, by the god of this world. (Tom Ross, Abandoned Truth, “The Doctrines of Grace”. Pg.48-49)

Prophet Isaiah illustrated vividly the sinfulness of man liken to a filthy rags and as a fallen leaves that has no ability and will to contrast the wind of sin.

Isaiah 64:6
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

7. Does the Natural Man by exercising his own will save himself ?

Answer:

Of course not. If a man can save himself by exercising his own free will, God would not suffer to send His only begotten Son to die at the cross of Calvary, and He would not have also sent the Holy Spirit to regenerate and give us a heart to know Him (Jer. 24:7). But the fact still remains that we are unable to save ourselves by just exercising our own will since it is under the dominion of sin and always loves to sin (Jer. 13:23; John 8:34) and cannot do what is pleasing in the eye of God (Rom. 8:8; 1 Cor. 2:14). That is why God, from eternity, ordained Christ to die for our sins (1 Peter 1:18–20) and send the Holy Spirit to make us alive and guide us in all spiritual things (John 6:44–45; 14:26). 

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God[children of God], even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood [not by bloodline], NOR THE WILL OF THE FLESH[decision of the flesh], NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN[decision of the man], but of God” (John 1:12-13).[emphasis mine]

“So then it is NOT OF HIM THAT WILLETH[ that decides], nor of him that runneth[that works] but of God that sheweth mercy”(Rom.9:16)[emphasis mine]

“For it is GOD WHICH WORKETH IN YOU BOTH TO WILL and to do His good pleasure” (Phil.2:13)[emphasis mine]

“Of HIS OWN WILL BEGAT HE US with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures” (James 1:18).[emphasis mine]

8. Is Faith a product of Freewill of man?

Answer:

No, of course. Faith is the result of God’s grace and cannot be the cause of grace. Acts 18:27 says “believed through grace.” Freewill advocates twisted Eph. 2:8 by saying that grace and salvation come through faith, so a man must first believe in Christ for him to be saved. But don’t get me wrong and say that faith is not needed in salvation; no, that’s not what I mean. Salvation is through faith in Christ alone, but that faith comes because of God’s grace, as it says, “For by grace, not of ourselves.”

When you ask them why they believed, why do they come to Christ? They become quite; they should accept the fact that faith is a gift from God and not of ourselves because man receives nothing except that it be given to him from heaven (Jn 3:27). Isn’t it enough that Christ says in Jn. 6:44, “No man can come to me except the Father who sent me draw him”?

At the course of this study as stated above Freewill apparently cannot produce a saving Faith.

Now let us briefly show biblical proofs on how faith comes to man. Remember these texts as we prove to you that in order for man to be saved, regeneration must take place first for him to believe in Christ. 

Romans 10:9-10,17
[9]That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE IN thine HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[10]For WITH the HEART MAN BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
[17]So then FAITH COMETH by HEARING, and hearing by the word of God.

•Verse 17: “Faith comes through hearing; the question is, can a natural, unregenerate man hear God’s words in the sense of coming to spiritual discernment?” Our main text above 1 Corinthians 2:14 nullifies that, for it is foolishness to him, and no man can know them because they are to be spiritually discerned. 

Matt. 13:13 says “
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand”.

•Another thing, as declared in Rom 10:9–10, that “believing starts in the heart.” Question: Can a natural, unregenerate heart believe in God? If naturally, by exercising free will, man can believe in God, then why would God renew, open, or give us a new heart to know Him? Notice these passages.

Ezekiel 36:26-27
[26]A NEW HEART also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
[27]And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Jeremiah 24:7
And I will GIVE them an HEART to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall Return unto me with their WHOLE HEART.

Jeremiah 31:33
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their HEARTS; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Acts 16:14
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose HEART the Lord OPENED, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

•It is very evident that God works in the hearts of His people so that they will believe and follow Him; man has nothing to contribute to his own salvation. Yes, a saved man can work OUT his salvation that is already experienced from within, he already has a renewed heart because God already works his heart to do the things he pleases.

Philippians 2:12-13
[12]Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
[13]For it is God which worketh IN you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

• In addition to this, if faith is the condition that grace and salvation may come, then it would be very cruel to know that every dead infant and the dead mentally disabled persons since birth were all damned in hell because they didn’t exercise their freewill to believe and learn about Christ? How would you accept that such innocents would be burned in hell forever?

But we believed that all infants died in infancy and all dead inborn mentally imbecile persons are wondrously and miraculously saved by Christ at the Cross of calvary and their spirit is regenerated by the Holy Spirit at their death.

Baptists theologians explained that:

A. W. Pink said in God’s Sovereignty p.158: An idiot or an infant is not personally responsible to God, because lacking in natural ability. But the normal man who is endowed with rationality, who is gifted with a conscience that is capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, who is able to weigh eternal issues IS a responsible being, and it is because he does possess these very faculties that he will yet have to “give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

T. P. Simmons on his “Systematic Study of Bible Doctrines p.178-179” – The fact that human responsibility is dependent on knowledge explains why dying infants and native imbeciles will be saved. They are mentally blind to the principles of righteousness, and, therefore, are not responsible. This is the kind of blindness that the Pharisees thought Jesus meant in John 9:39. And Jesus perceiving the thought of their hearts, said unto them: “If ye were blind (in the sense you have in mind), ye would have no sin” (John 9:41). There are but three kinds of blindness: physical blindness, mental blindness, and spiritual blindness. Certainly the Pharisees did not suppose that Jesus meant they were physically blind. And certainly Christ did not mean in His reply to say that they were not spiritually blind. See John 12:37-40; 2 Cor. 4:3,4. He could have meant but one thing, and that is that if they were mentally blind, they would have no sin. Infants and imbeciles are mentally blind, as already stated, and are, therefore, not responsible for their conduct. It is for this reason that we believe they will be saved through the blood of Christ without the exercise of faith in the body. However, since they have a sinful nature, we must believe that it will be necessary for them to be regenerated and thus brought to faith in Christ. The Bible makes it clear that this is necessary before one is fit for the presence of God. But it does not tell us when it will take place with reference to infants and imbeciles. We are of the opinion that it will take place at the time of the separation of the spirit from the body in the hour of death. See also Deut. 1:39 as to personal responsibility of infants.

John Gill on his Body of Divinity” says- The truth of all this might be illustrated and confirmed by the case of infants dying in infancy; who, as soon as they are in the world, almost, are taken out of it. Now such a number as they are, can never be thought to be brought into being in vain, and without some end to be answered; and which, no doubt, is the glory of God, who is and will be glorified in them, some way or another, as well as in adult persons: now though their election is a secret to us, and unrevealed; it may be reasonably supposed, yea, in a judgment of charity it may rather be concluded, that they are all chosen, than that none are; and if it is allowed that any of them may be chosen, it is enough to my present purpose; since the election of them cannot be owing to their faith, holiness, obedience, good works, and perseverance, or to the foresight of these things, which do not appear in them.

C. H. Spurgeon “The New Park Street and Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit”, Volume VII,pahina 300-301.- Among the gross falsehoods which have been uttered against the Calvinists proper, is the wicked calumny that we hold the damnation of little infants. A baser lie was never uttered. There may have existed somewhere, in some corner of the earth, a miscreant who would dare to say that there were infants in hell, but I have never met with him, nor have I met with a man who ever saw such a person. We say, with regard to infants, Scripture saith but very little and therefore, where Scripture is confessedly scant, it is for no man to determine dogmatically. But I think I speak for the entire body or certainly with exceedingly few exceptions and those unknown to me, when I say, we hold that all infants are elect of God and are therefore saved, and we look to this as being the, means by which Christ shall see of the travail of His soul to a great degree and we do sometimes hope that thus the multitude of the saved shall be made to exceed the multitude of the lost. Whatever views our friends may hold upon the point, they are not necessarily connected with Calvinistic doctrine. I believe that the Lord Jesus, who said, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven,” doth daily and constantly receive into His loving arms those tender ones who are only shown and then snatched away to heaven. Our hymns are no ill witness to our faith on this point and one of them runs thus. “Millions of infant souls compose The family above.” Toplady, one of the keenest of Calvinists, was of this number. “In my remarks,” says he, “on Dr. Nowell, I testified my firm belief that the souls of all departed infants are with God in glory, that in the decree of predestination to life, God hath included all whom He decreed to take away in infancy and that the decree of reprobation hath nothing to do with them.” Nay, he proceeds farther and asks, with reason, how the anti-Calvinistic system of conditional salvation and election or good works foreseen, will suit with the salvation of infants? It is plain that Arminians and Pelagians must introduce a new principle of election and in so far as the salvation of infants is concerned, become Calvinists. Is it not an argument in behalf of Calvinism, that its principle is uniform throughout and that no change is needed on the ground on which man is saved, whether young or old? John Newton, of London, the friend of Cowper, noted for his Calvinism, holds that the children in heaven exceed its adult inhabitants in all their multitudinous array. Gill, a very champion of Calvinism, held the doctrine, that all dying in infancy are saved. An intelligent, modern writer, (Dr. Russell of Dundee), also a Calvinist, maintains the same views and when it is considered that nearly one—half of the human race die in early years, it is easy to see what a vast accession must be daily and hourly making to the blessed population of heaven.

God bless..

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

Biblical notes on God’s Sovereignty

Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

Eph. 1:11 – In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the councel of His own will,
PSA. 103:19 – The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all.

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty is commonly rejected nowadays by many professing Christians because of the world’s acceptance of the doctrine of man’s free will. The teachings that putting man’s future and salvation into his own decision or will is more agreeable and admirable to the world than accepting the truth that all things are under the will of God (James 4:14–15) and all things happen and move according to the predetermined plans of God. Accepting that God is in control and that God rules infinitely is truly a magnifying and glorifying truth for God, and it gives comfort to every child of God. Why? Because evil may rise and the world may have gone farther from godliness, but a child of God knows that he/she is safe in the hands of the Sovereign Creator and that all things work together for good to them that love God (Rom. 8:28).

This study is an exposition primarily through the presentation of biblical text. Although this biblical subject of God’s sovereignty may take hours or days to study, it has been exposed in the past by many forefathers of the faith. But here the writer is not claiming authorship but only to make it simple and brief as long as the reader uses the Holy Scriptures in searching for biblical truths. This is the fundamental basis of this subject because God is the only true author of His own doctrines. I am hoping that this may also be used as a guide for every Bible teacher who aims to glorify God through His words. May God bless you.

Sovereignty may define as: effectual and absolute control, govern, power, dominion, rule, and supremacy.

THE EXTENT OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

•God is an absolute Infinite Sovereign in all creation:
1 Chronicles 29:10-12; Job 23:13; Psalm 115:3;119:91; Isaiah 46-9-11; Romans 11:33-36; Ecclessiates 3:1-11, 14-15.

•God is Sovereign over all angels:
Job 38:7 cf. Psalm 147:4 & Revelation 12:4.
to holy angels ; Daniel 6:22; Psalm 104:4; Hebrews 1:7,14.
to evil angels; Psalm 78:49; 2 Chronicles 18:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
Satan and his angels can do no harm to any saints of God unless it will be allow by God like what happen to Job (Job 2:1-7).

•God is Sovereign in all things in the universe : Job 9:7; Jeremiah 31:35-36; Psalm 8:3; Joshua 10:12-13.

•God is Sovereign all over the earth:
Psalm 24:1; 47:2; 83:1
in land and sea – Proverbs 8:29
earth’s weather – Psalm 74:17; 107:25,29; Jonah1:4
earth’s kingdoms and nations- Psalm 22:28; Daniel 4:17; 5:21.

•God is Sovereign in the animal kingdom:
Job 39:27; Psalm 50:10-11; 1Kings 17:4; 21:23; Daniel 6:22; Jonah 2:10; Exodus 8:21-22; Genesis 7:9; Leviticus 26:21-22; Numbers 22:27; Hosea 2:18.

•God is Sovereign in all plants:
Genesis 1:11; Jonah 1:11; Isaiah 35:1; Luke 12:28; Acts 14:15-17; Genesis 2:9; Psalm 147:8; Exodus 9;23; 1Corinthians 3:6.

•God is Sovereign in all materials things:
1Samuel 20:20-24,35-39; Psalm 7:13; Isaiah 54:17;
Acts 12:10(at prison jail)
God created man out of the dust
God ceated serpent out of staff
God created wine out of water

•God’s Sovereignty in human existence:

Birth- Psalm 139:6; Job 23:14; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 1:21-23; Romans 9:11
Death – Ecclessiates 3:1-2; Hebrews 9:27; Job 14:5; John 7:30; 8:2, compare to John 12:23 & 27; 1Timothy 4:6.
Steps – Gen. 20:6; Job 23:11, Psalm 37:23, Proverbs 16:9, Job 14:16-> Jeremiah 10:23
Mind – Genesis 6:5; Psalm 94:11, Jeremiah 6:19; Matthew 9:4 & 15:19, compare to Numbers 24:13; Psalm 40:5-8.
Emotion –
of Depraved man- Jeremiah 17:9-10, Matthew 15:19, Exodus 4:21 compare to Proverbs 21:1;16:9; Joshua 11:20 & Revelation 17:17
of a Saved man- Ezekiel 36:26; Acts 16:14 compare to Philippians 2:13.
Life’s Situation- 1 Samuel 2:6-8, Daniel 4:17, James 4:12-15
Apprearance- Exodus 4:11; John 9:1-3
Sickness or illness
directly inflict- Deuteronomy 28:61; Numbers 12:9-10
indirectly inflict – Job 2:7
Healing – Jeremiah 17:14, 2Chronicles 30:20
Salvation – Psalm 3:8;74:12, Jonah 2:9 compare to John 1:12-13, Romans 9:16,20-21, Philippians 1:6; 2:13, Romans 8:1
Condemnation – John 3:18, Romans 9:22-23, Revelation 13:8;17:8 & 20:15.

THE NATURE OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

1.) Unstoppable or irresistible
Isaiah 14:24,27;43:13, Lamentation 3:37, Zephaniah 3:5, Romans 9:19, Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 21:45,23:14, 1Kings 8:56


2.) Endless
Isaiah 46:9-10, Ecclessiates 3:14-15, 1 Chronicles 29:10-12


3.) Limitless
-as studied above
-anywhere; Psalm139:1-10, Matt.6:10
-in every happening; Isaiah 45:7, Jeremiah 18:11

-in all man’s ways; Jeremaih 10:23, Job 14:16, Proverbs 16:9;19:21
-in man’s heart; Proverbs 21:1, Joshua 11:20

4.) Timeless or eternal
“Declaring the end from the beginning” Isaiah 46:10
“HE created all things beautiful in His time”Ecclessiates 3:11


A. in eternity past
Acts15:18;17:26, 2Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 1:4


B. at present
2 Corinthians 6:2, 1Samuel 7:12, John .5:17


C. and in future
James 4:13-15, Romans 4:17

5. )Unfathomable
Romans 11:33-36.

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

Notes: WHY SALVATION IS A PRESENT POSSESSION ?

Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (KJV-1John 5:10-13)

We come to study about salvation in the present possession because of some professing Christians today do not believe in such notion, that man may received eternal life or presently obtained salvation in this life. According to them salvation has not yet given, eternal life has yet received because people dies. Many non-catholics seemingly think that salvation is the resurrection of the body and be with Christ, but to the Catholics salvation maybe obtain by becoming members of the church, Baptism, indulgences, Eucharist and other ceremonies but that salvation hasn’t yet receive presently until man died, and also those who died in vices and unrepentant maybe save through repetitions of prayers of the living. They have their various interpretation of the scriptures but those who cannot believe that Salvation is a present possession are believers of salvation in cooperation with God and man. Notwithstanding of many Scriptural proofs we read from. Thus we have this study to answer a question, why salvation is a present possession?


1. Present possession of salvation is not a bodily salvation but it is a present possession in the body which is the soul of man.


1 Peter 1:9-Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
James 1:21-Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Hebrews 10:39-But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.


°Apostle Paul used the term inward man and inner man

2 Corinthians 4:16-For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the INWARD MAN is renewed day by day.
Ephesians 3:16-That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the INNER MAN;


°Apostle Peter also described the incorruptible hidden man.


1Peter 3:4-But let it be the HIDDEN MAN of the heart, in that which is NOT CORRUPTIBLE, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.


2. Salvation was purposed by God from eternity past to be presently obtain by man.


Notice these verses;


2Corinthians 6:2-(For HE saith, I have heard thee in a TIME ACCEPTED, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, NOW is the ACCEPTED Time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation.)
2 Timothy 1:9-Who hath SAVED us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus BEFORE the world began,
2 Thessalonians 2:13-But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath FROM THE BEGINNING CHOSEN YOU TO SALVATION through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth
Romans 11:5-Even so then at this PRESENT TIME also there is a remnant according to the Election of GRACE..
Ephesians 1:4-5-According as he hath chosen us in him BEFORE the foundation of the world, that we should BE HOLY and without blame before him in love: Having PREDESTINATED us unto the ADOPTION of CHILDREN by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
2 Timothy 2:10-Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.


3. Salvation is a present possession because we presently believed Christ and believing Christ will result to an assurance of Salvation through Christ.


Consider these passages:


John 3:18,36
[18]He that believeth on HIM IS NOT CONDEMNED: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [36]He that BELIEVETH ON THE SON HATH EVERLASTING LIFE: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.


John 5:24-Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and BELIEVETH on HIM that sent me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.


Romans 8:1-There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.


1 John 5:10-13
[10]He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.[11]And this is the record, that God hath given to us ETERNAL LIFE, and this LIFE is IN His SON.[12]He that HATH the SON HATH Life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.[13]These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.


°We learned from these passages that by believing in Christ is an assurance of Salvation or in other words having an eternal life presently in our souls, and the reason behind why there are people who believed and shall believe is because they were already ordained to eternal life.

Acts 13:48 -And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as WERE ORDAINED TO ETERNAL LIFE BELIEVED.


John 6:37-All that the Father GIVETH me SHALL COME TO ME; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.


John 17:2-As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that HE should give eternal life to AS MANY as thou hast GIVEN him.


4. Salvation is a present possession because we are presently called Children of God.


• Those who are presently born spiritually by God that causing them to received and believed Christ are now called Children of God Presently.


John 1:12-13 – But as many as RECEIVED him, to them gave he power to become the SONS of God, even to them that BELIEVE on his name:Which were BORN, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, BUT OF GOD.


• There are people who are predestinated to become children of God through adoption by Christ Jesus.


Ephesians 1:5 – Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.


• Presently we are called Children of God by the Holy Spirit who bear witness to our spirit that we children of God and are joint-heirs with Christ.


Romans 8:16-17 – The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Remember not all men are children of God, satan has his children too and those are who refused and continue to rebelling against God.


Remember not all men are children of God, satan has his children too and those are who refused and continue to rebelling against God.


John 8:44-47 – Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.