“Amen.”  How many times has that word been uttered following a prayer–billions?  Perhaps trillions?  But do the speakers know what that word means?  It means: “So be it,” and “it is done.”  “Amen” is intricately tied to the word “yea” and to the expression “in Him.”  A spiritual statement containing the words “in Him, yea and amen” settles the issue when referring to a Biblical promise of God.  The first two words tell the prayer what is commanded of him in order to receive what he, by saying “amen,” has just declared “it is done.”  Everyone knows the “amen” part.  However, no one wants to know about the “in Him” part.  My job is to provide that latter– most important–part.  Without meeting the “in Him” requirement, the “amen” promise is meaningless.  The “in Him” part is what I call God’s “fine print.”  As I have noted in previous postings, CHURCH PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THE FINE PRINT.”  And when I point it out to them in their own Bibles, they reject it 99.99% of the time.

We find the Apostle Paul writing about this Spirit-proclaimed Truth in 2 Corinthians 1:18-20: “But as God is true, our (the apostles’) word (concerning God’s promises) to you was not ‘yea’ (yes) and ‘nay’ (no).  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who (Whose Word) was preached to you by us … was not “yea” and “nay,” but “in Him” was “yea.”  FOR ALL THE PROMISES OF GOD “IN HIM” (CHRIST) ARE “YEA” AND “IN HIM” “AMEN” TO THE GLORY OF GOD AS WE HAVE SAID.”

I have spent a number of years telling people about the promises of God which He preserved in writing for whosoever will believe and obey that writing known as the Holy Bible.  Believers/doers are the true saints who are “in Him”–Christ.  Any honest seeker of God’s Truth will learn that being in church and being in Him are not necessarily the same.  Many “belong to (are “in”) the (Catholic/Protestant) church” but few are “IN HIM” (CHRIST)–Matthew 7:13,14.  One cannot be in professing Christendom and “in Him.”  Such are “luke warm” churchites, which God likens to vomit.  Christ’s words to the Church at Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22) proves this Truth beyond a doubt.  Here Jesus is addressing His true church.  Notice what He declares they must do in order to be saved.  Remember that Peter said the same thing in 1 Pet. 4:17,18 where he noted that only the righteous in the church would be saved.

Many are called to be in Him, but few are chosen for answering His call to oneness (Mat. 20:16).  God calls the obedient His “elect” (Mk. 13:20).  Certain of the elect are commissioned to lead others to become part of His elect body by attaining “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).  These will overcome Satan and sit with Christ on His throne in the Kingdom of God (Rev. 3:21).  These are those who are “IN HIM” and therefore eligible to receive God’s promises that, to them, are “yea and amen” IF they endure in righteousness until the end (Mat. 10:22).

It is said of Jesus that He came to “confirm the promises (God) made to the fathers” (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob–“Israel”–Rom. 15:8) whose biological and spiritual descendants (saints) make up most of God’s true, tiny Israelite church today.  Gentile saints are those who have become spiritual Israelites by believing and obeying God’s Word.  Israelite saints are biological Israelites who have returned to the God of their fathers in total obedience to Him.  Such Israelites and Gentiles make up that which God calls “the church” and “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16).  It is to His church that He made the promises found in the Covenant He calls the Holy Bible.  It is these promises that Jesus came to confirm.  One of the purposes of this ministry is to proclaim God’s promises to whosoever will believe and obey His Word.  The other two purposes are 1) to tell believers how to appropriate God’s promises (obey His Words) and 2) to reveal the penalties for not doing so.

One of those “yea and amen” promises concerns the forgiveness of PAST sins (Rom. 3:25)–an act of grace known as JUSTIFICATION which is universally mistaken for salvation.  Justification has a much deeper meaning than simple forgiveness on the part of the Lord.  It involves rendering those sins as NEVER HAVING HAPPENED.  NOT EVEN THE MEMORY OF THEM REMAINS.

This is brought out in 2 Corinthians 5:17 where Paul proclaims that to be “in Christ,” one must be a “new creation.”  Old things must pass away, behold “ALL THINGS ARE MADE NEW.”  “New” in the eyes of God means “NEW.”  Totally new.  In spiritual realm symbolism, both the wineskin and the wine must be new.  Nothing of a spiritual nature from the past can be brought forward into the convert’s new life.  His past life contained sin.  His present life must be free of sin.  Otherwise forgiveness of his past sins is voided, causing him to “treasure (save) up” his past, present and future sins against (until) the Day of Judgment (Rom. 2:5).  Following justification, with each sin one “crucifies Christ afresh” (Hebrews 6:6).

Which brings us to the point of this posting: WHEN GOD FORGIVES THE TRUE CONVERT’S PAST SINS, HE RENDERS THEM AS NEVER HAVING EXISTED.  The saint is totally clean, spiritually sanitized, completely delivered–he is indeed a new creation of God–holy, meaning without sin and sanctified–set aside from the world and fit for holy use.  God does not remember the true saint’s past sins.  He is now “IN CHRIST”–meaning “one with” Him and the Father, Who are sinless.  As Christ and God are “one,” the saint is “one with” and “one in” Them and “one with” Them.  We must be aware that “IN HIM (CHRIST) THERE IS NO DARKNESS (SIN) AT ALL” (1 Jn. 1:5).  We are told that only those IN HIM will rise to meet Him upon His return to earth (1 Thes. 4:16,17), and that they will be WITH HIM in the kingdom of God forever (1 Thes. 4:15,16).  Read The Kingdom of God.  Key word–Kingdom.  In order to retain one’s justification one must obey God: “For not the hearers of the Law (Word) are (remain) just(tified) before God, but the doers of the Law shall (continue to) be justified” (Rom. 2:13)–will maintain their justification.  Church people who continue to sin are not justified because they continue to “crucify Christ afresh” (again) with each sin.  Christ did not die so that one can continue to sin with impunity; He died to make available the Holy Spirit with which one can resist Satan’s call to sin.

Which brings us to a little-understood aspect of the true Christian walk which involves a promise from God that was voiced by Jesus of Nazareth and read by billions.  However it is understood by a minutely few.  The passage is found in the Apostle John’s gospel, chapter 17, verses 14-21.  The Truths I will write in the following posting came to me through revelation directly from Jesus Christ.  I have been criticized for writing the Truth found in the focal passage because it reveals the will of God which those who would join Him and His Son in paradise must fulfill.  What you will read is indeed “strong meat” (Heb. 5:12,14) which must be consumed and allowed to do its transforming work in the life of the believer.  Just as “the Word (Jesus) became flesh and walked among men,” so must the believer manifest the Word as he walks among men.  As I have said many times: EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO THE WORD.  That Word can be understood only by revelation through God’s Holy Spirit.  Revelation must always square with God’s Word.   L.J.