Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.
Hebrews 3:1 Holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling...
We who belong to flesh and blood have been freed from sin and death by the atoning grace of the Lord's death and resurrection, and have been transferred from devil into Christ.
We become holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling.
Even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
And he has sent the Spirit of truth into us.
The Holy Spirit lets us know that Christ the Son is in us and we are in Christ the Son.
It is new covenant.
We have become new creations in Christ.
By believing and being baptized, we die to sin and are alive to God.
Water baptism dies by being immersed in water, but Holy Spirit baptism immerses in the Holy Spirit and lives.
Through Holy Spirit baptism, we are united to the body of Christ.
Why do we receive baptism?
It is the resurrection of the dead.
We, who were dead in trespasses and sins, were made alive with Christ and made to sit in heavenly places.
The Holy Spirit makes us aware of this fact and guarantees it to us.
So we are certain that we are a partaker of the heavenly calling.
We are God's house.
It is the house where the Son and the Father dwell.
It is God's temple.
God's temple is where God's glory abides.
But objective knowledge must become subjective reality through the Holy Spirit.
We must see the glory of the Lord.
The light of the Lord's glory must shine within us.
Only then we truly are God's house, God's temple, and the temple of the Holy Spirit.
To do this, we must understand the book of Romans.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Being justified in Christ Jesus,
we are sanctified through Jesus Christ, the one who makes us holy. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call us holy.
We believe that Christ died for our sins and rose again from the dead for our righteousness.
And he sent the Spirit of truth into us, so that we may receive eternal life by believing that Christ, the Son, dwells in us.
Through baptism, we become one body and one spirit with Christ, dead to sin and alive to God.
By faith with baptism, we attain righteousness, have peace with God, and come to the glory of God.
Glory, glory, hallelujah, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, hallelujah. We are victors.
The song of the Lord's joy and victory bursts forth from within us.
This is praise.
It is the true house of God and is being built as God's house.
The whole world is filled with carnal and soulish praises.
Like the temple built by Herod, God's glory does not abide.
They do not know the way to God.
They refuse to hear the voice of the Son.
They would be alive if they heard the voice of the Son, but their hearts harden.
They refuse to receive Christ, the Son of God, as Lord into their midst. This is the Antichrist.
We must repent and receive forgiveness of sins through baptism for the Holy Spirit to work within us.
But by refusing to become one with Christ, we become slaves to sin and death, opposing God and ultimately suffering the harm of the second death, the lake of fire.
But we, the chosen ones, the blessed, hear the Word.
We long for the Word. We are constantly drawn to the Word, for it is in it that our life is found.
Every time I deny myself, take up my cross, and follow the Lord, Christ grants me his Spirit and life, and He gives it to me more abundantly. And because the light of his glory shines within me, I know his joy, and like Paul, I die daily, longing for the power of resurrection to be revealed within me.
Just as the golden lampstand in the sanctuary always burns, Christ the anointing of the Holy Spirit must always be within us.
The light of the Holy Spirit must be shined within us.
Only then, eating Christ, the Bread of Life, and filled with righteousness, can we approach the throne of grace that filled with praise and glory.
Those Who Partaker of Christ
Why are we baptized in the name of Jesus Christ?
It is because of the resurrection of the dead.
By saying "yes" that we were baptised with Christ's death and resurrection together (Romans 6), we counte dead to sin and alive before God.
The old has passed away, the new has come.
Before the cross of Christ, we were partakers of flesh and blood, but after the atoning grace of Christ's cross, we have become partakers of Christ.
We must hold firmly to the end what we were assured of at the beginning.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY
CNS CEBU CHURCH