OUR FATHER WHOSE KINGDOM IS RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE AND JOY

The book of Romans chapter 14  - 23 conveys the concept of love being the highest principal that we should adopt because in the practice of love, all the law is fulfilled.

In our liberty, we are to live in consideration of others and if our liberty causes doubt in others, we should constrain ourselves willingly in order to maintain peace and preserve those who are fragile in their faith.

 14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.

19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER TO WHOM WE LIVE

The book of Romans chapter 14 verses 1 -  13 says this:

1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

In this passage, the Apostle Paul discusses each believer's liberty in Christ to follow Christ as He leads them or as He deems appropriate for them.

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER´S LAW IS FULFILLED BY LOVE

Romans chapter 13 verses 8 - 14 says this;

8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

In bringing chapter 13 to a close, the Apostle Paul declares that loving other people is the fulfilment of the law because the law is a code of being harmless towards neighbours which is fulfilled ( and even more than fulfilled ) by the practice of love.

Paul urges his readers to spurn the the attractions of the kingdom of darkness and instead put on the armor of light. As the time is quickly passing, we should avoid lusts, revelyry, drunkenness, lewdness, strife and envy and instead put on the Lord Jesus and make no allowance for the corrupt spirit within us ( called the flesh ). 

Amen.

6

 OUR FATHER WHO INSTITUTED GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY

Romans chapter 13 verses 1 -  7 says this:

1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Amen.

10

 OUR FATHER TO WHOM VENGEANCE BELONGS

Romans chapter 12 verses 17 - 21 conclude the chapter with this;

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have[e] regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

If he is thirsty, give him a drink;

For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Amen.

10

 OUR FATHER TO WHOM WE SHOULD GIVE OUR FERVENT SERVICE

Romans chapter 12 verses 9 -  16 says this;

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Amen.

2

 OUR FATHER WHO HAS DEALT EACH OF US MEASURE OF FAITH

Romans chapter 12 verses 3 - 8 says this;

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER WHOSE GOOD, ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT WILL OF GOD CAN BE PROVEN

Romans chapter 12 verses 1 - 2 says this;

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER TO WHOM BE GLORY FOREVER

Romans chapter 11 verses 25 -  36 says this;

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, 

and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

27 For this is My covenant with them,

When I take away their sins.”

28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has become His counselor?”

35 “Or who has first given to Him

And it shall be repaid to him?”

36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO 

Romans chapter 11 verses 11 - 25 says this;

 11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

In this passage, the Apostle Paul discusses the dispensations that governed the natural descendants Abraham and that governed the gentiles. The elected ones of God are then given access to the family of God through faith but in order for faith to by conveyed to the Gentiles, the natural descendants of Abraham rejected the message of salvation as it was conveyed to them and the gentiles were able to be grafted into the family of God.

Paul warns that if the natural children of Abraham could be cut off from the tree, so could those who were grafted in from wild sources and thus the gentiles should be humble and fear God. 

Paul also describes how glorious the grafting in of gentiles in to the family of God and if so, how much more glorious is the grafting in of the those who were naturally growing on the olive tree that is Israel.

Amen.

 OUR FATHER WHO ELECTS HIS OWN

The book of Romans chapter 11 verses  7 -  10 says this;

 7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 

8 Just as it is written:

“God has given them a spirit of stupor,

Eyes that they should not see

And ears that they should not hear,

To this very day.”

9 And David says:

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,

A stumbling block and a recompense to them.

10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see,

And bow down their back always.”

Amen.

 OUR FATHER WHO IS FAITHFUL TO HIS PEOPLE

Romans chapter  11 verse 1 - 6 says this;

1 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? 4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

Amen.

10

 OUR FATHER WHO WOULD FOUND  BY PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT HIS PEOPLE

The book of Romans chapter 10 verses 14 - 21 says this;

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:

“Their sound has gone out to all the earth,

And their words to the ends of the world.”

19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:

“I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,

I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.

20 But Isaiah is very bold and says:

“I was found by those who did not seek Me;

I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”

21 But to Israel he says:

“All day long I have stretched out My hands

To a disobedient and contrary people.”

The Apostle Paul  surveyed the scriptures and in this passage showed where the prophets had long before foretold of  the ground movement that would be employed to propagate the good news of the provision that God had made for the salvation of mankind. From the prophet Isaiah in chapter 52 verses 7 where he exclaims how beautiful were the feet of those who brought good news. In Psalm 19, the mechanics of the dispensing and recieving of the gospel is described as a sound that goes throughout the earth seeking out those who had not yet heard.

Paul then discusses the point of  Israel's rejection of entreaties of their God and which provided the opportunity for the Gentiles to find God even though they were not serving or even seeking Him.

Paul finds the words of prophets who foretold that the children of Israel would be disobedient to the gospel and that they would spurn God's outreach to them. This would then justify the dispersion of the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth and that this displacement would ultimately stir the Israelites to jealousy as the gentiles are enfolded into the family of their God.

Amen.

8

OUR FATHER SAVES THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT HE RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD

The book of Romans chapter 10 verses 5 - 13 says this;

5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Faith is different from works of the law as a means of producing righteousness because it does not undertake any portion of the salvation process. It neither builds steps up to heaven in self-generated righteousness nor does it build steps down to the hell to devise a way to pay for its own sins but rather, by sincerely believing in the privacy of one's heart, we obtain righteousness and then by confessing to that sincere belief as a testimony to the voluntarily accepted inner belief, justification is obtained.

Belief is the only sincere mental assent that cannot be tampered with to either force it into a person or to force it out of a person.  One cannot, even when great pressure, force one's own self to believe something that they don't voluntarily come to terms with and accept as a belief.

Amen.

2

 OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDES RIGHTEOUSNESS AND NOT WE OF OURSELVES

Romans chapter 10 verses 1 - 4 says this;

1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

The Apostle Paul mentions the people from whom he came and he testifies to their zeal for God but notes that their zeal is misdirected because they did not understand that the law that they had been under was ultimately a prefiguration of the righteousness of Christ and that He was the fulfilment of the law.

To believe in Christ is then to appropriate His total fulfilment of the law to oneself.

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER WHO LAY IN ZION A STONE ON WHICH MEN STUMBLE

Romans chapter 9 verses 30 - 33  says this;

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,

And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

The apostle Paul, in this passage, discusses the paradox of the Gentiles, who had not been seeking righteousness, through faith in Christ, were ushered into righteousness while the Children of Israel were trying to achieve righteousness by the law but stumbled on the revelation of the Christ who was the fulfilment of the law and through whom righteousness was fulfilled.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO CALLED A PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT HIS PEOPLE

The book of Romans chapter 9 verses 22 - 29   says this;

22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

25 As He says also in Hosea:`

“I will call them My people, who were not My people,

And her beloved, who was not beloved.”

26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,

‘You are not My people,’

There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,

The remnant will be saved.

28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,

Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”

29 And as Isaiah said before:

“Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed,

We would have become like Sodom,

And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

The Apostle Paul, by referencing scriptures from the old testament, demonstrates that the theology from the beginning was that faith was the fulcrum by which people were restored to righteousness and because this was the universal application, gentiles could be saved and some of the children of Israel could be excluded leaving only a remnant.

Amen.

4 

OUR FATHER WHO SHOWS MERCY

The book of Romans chapter 9 verses 14 - 21 continues with the Apostle Paul's exposition of the discretion that God reserves for Himself so that the path of  any man is not charted by his own will but rather by the will of God.

The example used here is the story of Pharaoh who was holding God's people in bondage and in his contention with Moses, had his heart hardened by God so that he refused to release the Israelites he was holding even though it was against his own interest.

14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

The metaphor used by Paul to clarify the discretion of God to  do with His own property what He wished is that of a potter who can chose at any juncture to create an earthen vessel for one purpose of honor while being able to make the next one for a common purpose and Paul emphasizes that it is not appropriate for the lump of clay that the potter uses to object to the functions that the potter choses to use it for.

Amen.

12

OUR FATHER WHOSE PURPOSES ARE BY ELECTION

Romans chapter 9 verses 10 - 13 says this;

10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” 

Paul indicates that the paths of the lives of the two sons of Isaac and Rebecca were an illustration of how being elected for the purposes of God  were not a function of personal actions but rather a predetermined outcome where even Jacob and Esau, who were twins, had the decision of their destiny decided before they had a chance to do any good or evil.

God's calling on the lives of men predates them to even before they were born. 

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHOSE WORD NEVER FAILS

In the book of Romans chapter 9 verse 6 - 9, the Apostle Paul makes clear that membership in the family of God by citizenship under the godly nation of Israel is not guaranteed by genetic descendancy from Abraham and he uses Abraham's son Ishmael's exclusion from the promise God made to Abraham and his offspring as an Illustration of this. 

6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO IS PRAISED OVER ALL

Romans chapter 9 verses 1 - 5 captures the Apostle Paul's personal dismay over the rejection of Christ by his own people and he lists the incredibly long and close association that his people have with the story of salvation.

1. Original adoption into sonship
2. Carried God's glory first
3. Carried the covenants
4. Carried the law
5. Supported the temple worship
6. Carried the promises
7. Came from the patriarchs
8. Were the lineage of the Messiah who was God over all.

1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER FROM WHOSE LOVE WE CANNOT BE SEPARATED

The book of Romans chapter 8 verses 31 - 39, concludes the chapter with the apostle Paul expounding how awesome it is to be among Godˋs elect.  Paul asks that if God is for us, who could possibly successfully be against us? Who could possibly bring a valid charge against those who God has chosen for Himself for it is Him who justifies and who can possibly condemn those whom God has undertaken so costly a sacrifice to save us and furthermore, He who was sacrificed, sits at the right had of God and intercedes for us. 

What God has done for those He has chosen to make His own is beyong imagination and demonstrates how deep the love that God has for us actually is and that there is nothing in existance that can separate us from the love of God.

Paul then rhetorically proclaims that in view of this stupendous gift that God has given us, is there any contrary circumstance that we should be unwilling to undergo for the sake of Him who saved us?. 

Paul points out the prophecy that decribes the people of God being slaughtered all day long and being marked for slaughter and he indicates that this fate is an honor in light of what God has in store for those whom He has foreknown and predestined and called and justified and glorified.

There is nothing, even life nor death, nor angles nor principalities nor powers nor present things nor things in the future that can separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ who has made us more than conquerors like himself.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes 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 Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who 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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

1

OUR FATHER WHO WORKS ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSES

Romans 8 verses 26 - 30 says this; 

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans that God worked circumstances (both good and bad) for the benefit of those who loved God and were called to fulfill the purposes God set for them to do and having explained this, he lists where in the progression of spiritual milestones this calling was.

1. Foreknowledge - God knows in advance of the advent of time, whom He wants as His confidants
2. Predestination - God then sets a purposeful destiny where those people are made to be like His Son Jesus
3. Calling - When each person enters into time, God then places a call on each person that is a prerequisite of that eternal destiny
4. Justification  - Then God justifies each person by the faith they have towards the provision of salvation that was made through the Lord Jesus.
5. Glorification - Then each person is  lifted up to the great eternal calling that they were predestined to occupy

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER WHOSE CHILDREN ENTER INTO GLORIOUS LIBERTY

The book of Romans chapter 8 verse 18 - 25 says this; 

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER TO WHOM WE CRY ˋABBA, FATHERˋ

In the book of Roman chapter 8 verses 12 - 17, the Apostle Paul continues explaining the transition that a believer undergoes from being a creature of the flesh to a being of the spirit.

Whereas the directives and actions of the flesh lead to death, the directives and actions of the spirit lead to life. The Spirit of God will guide us to put to death the deeds of the flesh and everyone who is led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God because after having believed and having been freed from bondage of sin and having begun to walk by the the Spirit of God, we received the Spirit of adoption that translates us into the sons of God who related to God as their father in the way a young child relates to their loving father.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

This translation into sons of God is witnessed to our spirits by the Spirit of God and we can then live fully as heirs with Christ (who is the first born among many sons) where our lives are rendered to God such that we would suffer for him and after suffering, be glorified with Him.

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER WHOSE SPIRIT RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD

The book of Roman chapter 8 verses 1 - 11 says this;

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER WHOSE SON DELIVERED US FROM CONDEMNATION

The Apostle Paul, in the book of Romans chapter 7 verses 13 - 25 explains that in each of us is a duality whereby our mind serves the law God but our flesh serves the law of sin.

Paul shows us that when a believer finds that they are sinning when they intend to do good, it is not they who are sinning but rather the sin that dwells in us is expressing its contrary nature. This contrary nature compels us to do that we do not wish to do and to fail to do that which we ought to do.

This frission is so distressing that Paul cries out, ˋWretched man that I am - who will deliver me from this body of deathˋ.

He answers his own question by simply stating that it is thanks to God through Jesus Christ that he has any hope because he himself serves the Lord but the flesh serves the law of sin.

13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE THE LAW THAT WE MIGHT KNOW OUR NEED FOR GRACE

In the book of Roman chapter 7 verses 7 -  12, the Apostle Paul asks of there is something corrupt with the law if sin was able to take advantage of it to produce the array of evils desires that the law maps out regarding our conduct.

Paulˋs answer is that the law is not corrupt but is instead a chart by which we are informed of our corrupt proclivities and reveals to us our true nature of rebellion against a standard that is set by God. The law, which is clearly a presciption to preserve life if it were possible to obey it, instead, prescribes death as we are deceived by sin and killed by it under the standard of the law. 

Sin stirrs up rebellion against the law within us and when we contravene the law, then sin condemns us ti death using the same the law for the ulitmate aim of sin is to compel  us to continually bear the fruit leading towards death.

Paul concludes that the law is holy and just and good because it provides us with benchmarks against which we can confirm our sinfulness and thus our need to be saved.

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Amen

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OUR FATHER TO WHOM WE BEAR FRUIT BY DYING TO THE FLESH AND BECOMING ALIVE IN CHRIST

Romans chapter 7 says this;

1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

In this passage, the Apostle Paul explains that just as a woman whose husband had died was free to marry again because she was no longer obligated to the law of her first marriage,  so are we, having died to the law through the death of the Lord Jesus, no longer obligated to fulfill the letter of the law but rather to live in the newness of the Spirit.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE GIFT IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD

In the book of Romans chapter 6 verses 15 - 23, the Apostle Paul, having previously discussed the fact that a believer in faith is not under the law but under grace,  rhetorically asks if a believer was now free to sin because they were not under the law but under grace. 

Paul emphatically refutes that notion by explaining that we will become the slaves of whomever we present ourselves to obey. If we chose to obey the coersion of sin, we become a slave of sin and conversely, if we are obedient to the mandates of righteousness, we become slaves of righteousness.

When we were slaves to sin, our God who loved us was able to place a command in our hearts that we were able to obey and that obedience to the doctrine of salvation set us free from the dominion of sin and we, having obeyed the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation (Romans chapter 1 verse 16), took the first step in a life of obedience.

To continue in the life that is set free from sin and death, we must continually present ourselves to righteousness that leads us to holiness.

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

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