(…continued from the first part)         It is all about Jesus, hence, another scripture, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” found in Titus 2:13. John used three verses: “1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; v2) (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) v3) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” [1Jn 1:1-3]. If there are only two forces: good and evil; and only one of them is merciful as Jude 1:21 “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” clearly evinces, should there be any wonder why a father will cry out in a desperate sincerity in Mark 9:24, “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief?” Amen!

It is so evident that the great God [Titus 2:13], and the One who framed the world (Hebrews 11:3) should, no doubt, be the Author of our faith. Christ Jesus is our chief leader when exercising faith; and being in possession of this gospel fact, the disciples approached Him in Luke 17:5, “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.” Acts 5:31, “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” ‘Saviour’ is sōtēr (so-tare’): ‘saviour, deliverer, preserver; a deliverer, that is, God or Christ’. This sōtēr comes from sōzō (sode’-zo): ‘to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction’. The chief reason for the exercising of faith is to come into spiritual contact with God to enable one’s celestial citizenship.

Revelation 1:8 is an indubitable authentication that only Jesus holds this dual office of the ‘Author’ and ‘Finisher’, which reads, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” As the Alpha and Omega He also spans the entire twenty-four letters of the Greek alphabets.

Every word of faith must have a Logos corroboration. Is this Lord a One said to be “which is, and which was, and which is to come”? Then this One spans the three realms of time. He ‘is’, as the Lord of this Adamic age. He ‘was’ because His existence was the ancient of days at creationism. He ‘is to come,’ to perfect a sinless eternity to come, being the One by whom all things consist as it is revealed in Colossians 1:17, “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist”.

Hebrews 7:19 makes Him the ‘Finisher’, which reads, “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God”. Christ remains the only hope for mankind. Our faith must be in response to His finished work. Hebrews 10:14 informs, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” His works of faith make meaningful, every step of the journey of faith we embark on. The Bible says in Psalms 138:8, “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” Who is this LORD who perfects that which concerneth me? It is the same Christ of Hebrews 12:2. How do I know this? The Bible clarifies this in Romans 11:36, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

It pays huge dividends to rest in Jesus who will be with us forever as 1Corinthians 1:7-8 attests to. 7) “So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8) Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Philippians 3:9, true faith that is responsible takes its seminality from its Author and Consummator as it quotes, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

The reason for all this exegesis on faith is to get us to the right place; and that happens to be in Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” for at His appearance we would need not exercise any more faith having come face to face with Him who is the Amen. A multi-millionaire does not need faith to acquire a fifty-dollar pair of shoes. At the Lord’s appearance it is time to enjoy an unspeakable love! Amen!! Hallelujah!!!

   (Conclusion)

Click to read the 1st part.

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