Spiritual gifts part 53: What survives the destruction of the universe defines the highest values.

Pastor-Teacher

John Farley

Thursday,
November 18, 2010

Spiritual Gifts Part 53: What survives the destruction of the universe defines the highest priorities in life.

The Doctrine of Spiritual Gifts

Point 2. The Giver of the Gifts: The Person and Work of God the Holy Spirit.

B. The second ministry of the Holy Spirit at salvation is called regeneration or being born again. It is taught in John 3:3-8; Tit 3:5; 1Pe 1:23.

1Pe 1:23
for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

Regeneration is the technical term for being “born again”. Being born again is a result of faith in Jesus Christ, and it occurs at the instant you personally believe in Jesus Christ.

Regeneration consists of all that is represented by eternal life in a human being, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Regeneration is the new birth performed by God the Holy Spirit at salvation whereby He provides the life of God, eternal life, to the believing sinner.

The Holy Spirit’s work includes (1) bringing the human spirit to life, (2) imparting eternal life to the believer, and (3) an act of creation whereby He makes the Church Age believer a new spiritual species.

Believing in Christ is the only prerequisite on the human side to regeneration.

The result or effect of regeneration is summed up in the fact of possession of eternal life.

The seed that is imperishable is the living and enduring WORD OF GOD; 1Pe 1:23.

Jam 1:18
In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is called the living Word of God; Joh 1:1-3.

The same word of God created the universe; Heb 11:3.

The same word of God will survive the destruction of the universe.

Mat 24:35

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

What survives the destruction of the universe at the end of human history establishes the highest and permanent values of life at the present time.

When you understand that God has placed eternal life in you, you start to understand the importance of the principle of living your life in the light of eternity.

In 2Pe 3:10, what survives the destruction of the universe establishes the only permanent values for the new creature in Christ, and the highest priorities for us right now.

You start with the permanent values and all other values are built around that.

2Pe 3:12 relates your ultimate destiny to permanent spiritual values.

2Pe 3:13 reminds us that our regeneration connects our spiritual life in time to the eternal state.

In 2Pe 3:14, understanding your eternal destiny relates our spiritual life to the rapture or resurrection of the Church.

Luk 9:25
"For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?"

What survives the destruction of the universe at the end of human history establishes the highest and permanent values of life at the present time.

The word appropriate is the Hebrew adjective japheh which means “meaningful, beautiful, pleasant, well”.

Our problem is not so much what happens; our problem is our perspective on it after it happens.

What we miss is God’s timing.

What we miss is God’s priorities and values.