It's Jesus, Just Jesus, Part 3
Manage episode 396407313 series 3550502
Why Are We Here?
By Tammy Lacock
“But when it pleases God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.” (Galatians 1:16)
In this podcast series, it is Warren Litzman’s ultimate goal to help us understand the Apostle Paul’s gospel, the final gospel to the world, so that we might understand who we are and why we are here. Paul, the meanest man on earth at the time by his persecuting Christians, was raised up by Christ Himself to bring us this new gospel.
Only two men in the Bible were raised up by God to bring us a gospel. Moses brought us the law (Old Testament); and Paul brought us grace (New Testament), the gospel of Christ. Paul’s gospel of grace supersedes any other gospel, including the Kingdom gospel preached initially by Peter and the disciples.
In Galatians 1:16, the Apostle Paul tells us something that has never been told before, that the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that Christ is now living in him, literally, not figuratively. Paul taught of Christ living in us and we in Him over and over throughout his letters. This is Paul’s gospel, the final gospel of God’s grace for humanity. That by Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, we as believers, have been rebirthed by the very seed of Christ in our spirits (1 Corinthians 6:17). By just believing, God can now uproot Satan’s sin-nature passed down by the curse through Adam and replace it with the incorruptible seed of Christ (1 Peter 1:23). By this, we are made brand-new creations, no longer bound by law, sin, and death. God now sees Christ in us as our righteousness, making us His bona fide sons and daughters. By Christ, we are complete. Only by Christ. Our identity is Christ. In Him, we are now free to live who God created us to be.
Warren Litzman points out the importance of understanding the role of the Holy Spirit, part of which is to teach God’s born-again children about our new identity. Jesus tells us in John’s gospel that the Holy Spirit will come upon us to be our teacher and our comforter, helping us to understand our new life in Christ, our new life in grace. The Holy Spirit’s power is revealing Christ and who He is now living in us.
“At that day (Pentecost) ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” (John 14:20)
The Holy Spirit renews our minds, as Paul says, helping us to understand and cultivate a beautifully unique and reciprocal love affair with Christ, the Christ that now lives in each of us who believe. The Christ that is our strength, our hope, our peace, our very life. This is why we are here, to learn of Him, to know Him, to rest in Him, and to fall in love with Him more and more every day.
197 episodes