MYSTERIES OF GOD'S KINGDOM. Kenneth B. Alexander
told us to do, then walk in it when He answers.
4. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Many think this verse means to give us our physical food each day. While it may mean that, it means much more in the context of walking with God. Jesus said: “I have meat to eat that you know not of. My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work” (John 4:32, 34). Christ is our daily bread our true spiritual nourishment (John 6:48-51). He is the bread of Heaven, and God’s Word, like bread, is the spiritual staff of life (Matthew 4:4). When we are praying for bread, we are praying for Christ, our spiritual subsidence. He is the “way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Like communion, we partake of Him, His body and blood. “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (I Corinthians 10:16-17).
Therefore, by partaking of Christ, our spiritual bread, we grow in Him and become more like Him. And we still get fed our daily meals on the physical plain.
5. Forgive Us Our Trespasses (Debts) As We Forgive Those Who Have Trespassed Against Us (Our Debtors).
We are asking God to forgive us our sins, which are many and are constant. There are sins we commit that we are not even aware of. But God in His mercy has given us Christ, who is able to forgive sins. “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (Matthew 9:6). In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1:14). If we do not allow Christ to forgive us our sins, we can hardly forgive someone else. Sometimes it is more difficult to allow Christ to forgive us our sins or to forgive ourselves through His provision, than it is to forgive others. We are harder on ourselves. However, we must remember: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
Forgiveness of sins is crucial in our walk with God. If we do not forgive others, we will not be forgiven. “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (Matthew 6:14-15).
How deeply do we forgive? There must be a limit. “Peter came to the Lord and asked, “How often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times?” Jesus replied, “Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21–22). In other words, there is to be no limit to our forgiveness of the sins of others.
Christ came to save the entire world (John 3:16), including the evil and the good. He would that not one would perish. If we love only those who love us, do not even the Gentiles do the same? (Matthew 5:46). His grace is so great that “He causes the sun to shine on the evil and on the good, and the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). Christ even said of those who had beaten him, whipped Him, falsely accused Him and pounded nails through His hands and feet and left Him to die on a cross: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). If we are to be like Him, we must be able to forgive others to that degree. How do we do that? We pray; the Lord’s Prayer. Although we are unable in ourselves to do these things, with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
6. And Lead Us Not Into Temptation but Deliver Us From Evil
Temptation is all around us, especially in this present age. Around every corner, we are tempted by this or that. John the Disciple said: “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. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abides for ever. (1 John 2:15-17). You may say “I am not tempted by this world”. However, we are tempted where we do not even know we are tempted. Satan is the God of this world and smarter than any of us; he deceives the whole world. “Unless those times be cut short, there will be no flesh saved alive” (Matthew 24:22), because the wrath of Satan is to deceive and destroy the whole world.
The wicked are tempted and drawn to it. They have no defense against temptation, save a set of human morals and their will. However, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. “Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41). Our wills are not enough to save us in the face of temptation, neither are our religious convictions. We must pray, as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew what He had to go through, but He recognized that His flesh was weak. He prayed, in his weakness, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:” (Matthew 26:39). If our Lord had to pray in order to gain the strength to complete His final trial, so we who are imperfect have much more need to do the same thing.
This prayer of temptation is two-fold. First, He promises us He won’t lead us into temptation in the first place. We can even form wicked plans in our minds and God will frustrate them if we are His. For those who have fallen into evil for whatever reason, He is able to deliver them from it. God looks on the heart, not the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7) and even in the midst of evil or extreme temptation, He sees our heart and is able to manipulate circumstances so everything turns out all right.’ all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Romans 8:28). Therefore in the midst of extreme circumstances beyond out province to solve, rather than despair and condemn ourselves, we pray. God is able to solve the problem and even turn it to good.
7. For Thine Is The Kingdom and the Power
“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen”. Some recorded versions of the prayer do not include this last sentence in verse 13. But it a solemn reminder of who and what God is. The Kingdom of God “is His”. It is for us, but all for His own glory. It is His power that created the heavens and the earth, it is His power that delivered His Son from the dead and it His power that delivered us from the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). We will always remember that. We will not be like Satan who, although created by God, wanted to take His place. We will inherit the Kingdom, not by our own righteousness, but by His. He will always receive the glory. We will give it to Him. We will throw any crowns we receive at His feet (Revelation 4:10). We will worship Him forever.
WHAT IS SALVATION?
Salvation is an experience that all Christians must have in order to walk on with God. It is a gift of God bought for mankind by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. The oft quoted scripture of John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”. Salvation is eternal life and, as the experience is expanded, a lot more.
In this article we will refer to initial salvation, which is the first experience an individual can have in Christ. We will also go further to explain a greater degree of salvation that is available, that is salvation “to the uttermost”. Salvation to the uttermost is the obtaining of the state of perfection that is available from the Lord and leads to a resurrection from the dead, as Christ attained as the first-fruits Son of God. Salvation to the uttermost is the obtaining of that same resurrection obtained by Christ so that Christ becomes the first of many brethren that become like Him in every respect.
In principle, initial salvation is very easy to receive. The only requirement to receive salvation is: “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; (Romans 10:9).
Thus there are only two requirements: BELIEVE in your heart and CONFESS with your mouth. Simply mouthing the phrase won’t help. You must really believe in your heart. Then by the confessing of that belief you immediately receive God’s eternal gift. It doesn’t completely manifest itself at that time but you do receive the entire gift of grace at that time.
The word salvation is used in both the New and Old Testament. In the New Testament, the Greek word is “Soteria”, which means deliverance, preservation and salvation. In the New Testament the word is used in many contexts but always denotes the personal and eternal deliverance