Expositional commentary on Scripture using an inductive exegetical methodology intent upon confronting the lives of Christians with the dogmatic Truths of God's inspired Words opposing Calvinism and Arminianism, Biblical commentary, doctrine of grace enablement, understanding holiness and wisdom and selfishness, in-depth Bible studies, adult Bible Study books and Sunday School materials Dr. Lance T. Ketchum Line Upon Line: January 2010

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Obeying from the Heart and the Filling with the Spirit

To define outward conformity to laws or rules as a relationship to God is to somehow personify laws or rules reducing God to little more than a tyrant. Although God is just, God is also merciful and longsuffering in His mercy. God is a Person and all that a believer does should be part of the relationship we have with the Person Who is God. The filling of the Spirit is an outcome of a right relationship with God that comes from completely yielding our will to Him. The qualities involved in this relationship are twofold; FAITH/TRUST and LOVE. As we have already emphasized, there are five commands regarding the believer’s maintenance of his relationship with the Person of the Holy Spirit.

1. Be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18)

2. Grieve not the Spirit (Eph. 4:30)

3. Quench not the Spirit (I Thess. 5:19)

4. Walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16 & 25)

5. Be transformed/transfigured (Rom. 12:2)

In our last chapter, we saw that being filled with the Spirit is connected with walking “in the Spirit” or walking “in the light” (I John 1:7). A person cannot “walk in the Spirit” if he is not “filled with the Spirit.” In this chapter, I want to deal with the two negatives; “grieve not the Spirit” and “quench not the Spirit.” These negative outcomes happen at anytime the believer is not “filled with the Spirit.” There is nothing a person can do in the strength of his own flesh that can be pleasing to God. Obedience from the flesh is still carnal. Even if your sepultures are white washed, they are still “full of dead men’s bones” (Matt. 23:27) apart from the supernatural operations of the indwelling Spirit. This is why Christ so emphatically condemned the “scribes and Pharisees” as “hypocrites.” His opinion of the pseudo-spirituality of externalism has not changed.

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:16-23).

“Grieve not the Spirit”

26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not {lit., stop grieving} the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:26-32).

To “grieve” the Holy Spirit is to cause Him to be mournful or sorrowful. A believer grieves the Spirit of God at anytime the things in Eph. 4:26-31 are manifested through the believer’s life. These things are a contradiction against the manifestation of the Spirit. A believer grieves the Spirit at anytime he yields his will to his fallen nature regarding anything that is contrary to the will of God. Any sinful thought, emotion, or action grieves the Spirit of God because it enjoins Him to the sinful act. God hates all sin, but He certainly hates the sin in the life of a believer who professes to love Him. To profess to love God and do the things listed in Eph. 4:26-31 is a contradiction of that profession and is unfaithfulness to God in spiritual adultery. This spiritual adultery grieves Him.

I find it interesting that only one act of what we call moral turpitude is included in Eph. 4:26-31, i.e., stealing. The rest of the things listed are issues involving the temper and sinful use of language to the spiritual harm of others. Most professing Christians would not even consider their carnality in these areas of life let alone that the failure to yield to the Spirit in these areas would grieve Him. However, it is apparent that even allowing this kind of thinking is to grieve the Holy Spirit in that it is a contradiction against His holiness.

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the body of the believer is God’s seal upon that believer’s life (Eph. 4:30). Although the believer forfeits the power of God when the Spirit is grieved by manifestations of yielding to the carnal flesh, the believer never leaves nor “forsakes” the believer. The presence of the Spirit is never lost. The seal of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is a testimony in His presence that the believer is a part of the body of Christ and the bride of Christ. Therefore, the seal of the indwelling Spirit is a supernatural testimony to the world of spirit beings that the believer has willfully made a choice to accept God’s redemption payment and has chosen to be His eternal servant.

However, when the believer yields his will to his Sin Nature, he joins himself in an unfaithful, adulterous relationship with the cursed world that is under the sovereignty of Satan and his emissaries. The great tragedy in this dynamic is that the cursed world that is under the sovereignty of Satan and his emissaries, to which the carnal Christian joins himself in spiritual adultery, is at enmity (war) against God and God is at war against the sinful rebellion of this satanic cosmos of corruption. When the carnal Christian yields to his carnal flesh, he joins himself to that rebellion against God and becomes part of the enmity against God. An aspect of God’s grief regarding this is that God must then war against His own “born again” children who are living in their flesh. The depth of God’s grief regarding this is hard to even comprehend. This reality is expressed in numerous Scriptures.

4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:4-6).


40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! 41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. 42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy” (Psalm 78:40-42).


7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. 8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them” (Isaiah 63:7-10).

“Quench not the Spirit”

16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19 Quench not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesyings. 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:16-23).

Although anything that grieves the Holy Spirit would also quench the Holy Spirit, the idea of quenching has more to do with failing to yield to doing what God commands us to do regarding the “work of the ministry” than it has to do with sins of moral turpitude. When a believer is filled with the Spirit of God, but fails to do the work that the Spirit filling empowers him to do, the believer quenches, or extinguishes, the power that is potentially released through the work God has saved him to do.

God’s filling of the believer can only be manifested when the yielded believer is in motion (doing) according to God’s will. We quench the potential power of the Spirit of God at any moment we resist the leading of His will as He directs the believer to witness, to speak to someone about Christ, or to initiate conversation that would involve another believer in discipleship. What God loves, the Spirit filled believer will love and in the same way God loves. The loving compassion, mercy, and the longsuffering of God are intended to be communicable attributes that are manifested through the life of a Spirit filled believer. These communicable attributes are never intended to be merely possessed by the believer. These communicable attributes are only communicable when they are communicated through our lives to those to whom God directs us. To somehow think that we can possess these communicable attributes and never express them in any real, tangible way is the most subtle form of spiritual self-deception imaginable. Yet, this self-deception is common amongst the vast majority of professing Christians (even evangelicals and fundamentalists). This is undoubtedly the common way the Spirit of God is quenched in his supernatural enabling of the believer’s life. We are filled, but never engage our Spirit filled life in any kind of real ministry. Grieving the Spirit keeps the believer from being filled. Quenching the Spirit is extinguishing the empowering of the Spirit by not using that empowering for its intended purpose of fruit production and disciple making.

Once we understand the five commandments regarding our relationship with the indwelling Spirit of God, we must understand the four conditions necessary to restoration when we grieve or quench the Holy Spirit. These four conditions are necessary to restore the ongoing inner creative work of the Holy Spirit that progressively transfigures the way a believer lives his life and that brings forth “fruit” to God’s glory. Salvation is presumed: the first prerequisite to a personal relationship with the indwelling Holy Spirit is salvation “by grace through faith” (Eph. 2:8-9). The natural, unregenerate man cannot have “fellowship” with God or neither the indwelling or filling of the Spirit of God.

1. Repentance: the saved sinner must live in the ongoing, moment-by-moment, repentance of sin. Repentance simply refers to a complete (180o) change of mind and heart about sin. This involves more than a mere change of mind about selfish acts of sin, but a complete turning away from allowing the Sin Nature to dominate our will. The turning must be so radical that we come to hate the very innate desires/lusts of our own fallen natures.

2. Confession (I John 1:9): the saved sinner must live and think within the framework of constant awareness of God’s presence, openness with Him regarding our weaknesses and the fragility of our character, and a transparency about ourselves with Him that necessitates constant communication with Him regarding our failures and weaknesses. To “confess our sins” simply means to have the same mind as God has about our sins. It does not mean to merely tell Him what we have done or not done that is sin. God already knows what we have done and He knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts. In other words, He knows the sins of the heart as well as those that we perform before His eyes. God is not concerned about low self esteem or high self esteem. God wants us to think of ourselves as He thinks of us. We are sinners that He loves. He knows we are sinners, hates our sin, and loves us enough to establish a partnership with us to overcome that which He hates.

3. Yield: we must completely yield our wills to His will. There is no middle ground here. This is where the vast majority of “born again” people fail miserably. They think that total yielding is only for pastors, evangelists, and missionaries. Total yielding of our wills to God’s will is His expectation of all His “born again” children. This yielding involves completely trusting God with every aspect of our lives as each moment of the day we seek to be filled with His Spirit and obey from the heart both the things He tells us NOT TO DO and the things he tells us TO DO. We cannot say we are totally yielding if we are not committed/dedicated to both of these aspects of yielding.

4. Dependence or Faith: “the just shall live by faith.” We must live every moment of our lives in complete dependence upon the supernatural enabling of the Holy Spirit intent upon bringing God glory through each and every moment our lives.

At any moment that a believer fails to fulfill any one of these four conditions, that believer will break all five of the commandments regarding his relationship (“fellowship” or working partnership) with the indwelling Holy Spirit. Primarily, at the moment when any one of the four conditions is not met, the believer will grieve the Spirit of God, quench the Spirit of God, or both. These are two outcomes of two different forms of failure to yield to the indwelling Holy Spirit.

An issue that must be addressed at this point is the false notion that the Mosaic Covenant believer “under the Law” had no other option than mere outward conformity (externalism) to God’s moral commands. Although these believers did not have the indwelling of the Spirit, they did have the filling of the Spirit and the anointing of the Spirit. These operations of the Spirit of God were with or upon them, not from within them.

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:15-17).

The failure of Israel, both the saved and natural Israel, was that the failure of the priesthood; who were anointed for the purpose of teaching the people and who were responsible for teaching them both how to be saved “through faith” and how to live their new lives empowered by the Spirit of God Who was with them and upon them. Because of this failure of the priesthood of Israel in understanding this dynamic and teaching it to the people, the vast majority of the priesthood and the vast majority of the people of Israel never were saved and regenerated. As a result of this, they sought to obey the Law through the outward conformity through the strength of their own will power (“flesh”) rather than through God’s supernatural enabling “from the heart.”

There are many today who claim that God never expected obedience “from the heart” under the Mosaic Covenant. They make that claim on the false premise (presupposition) that God could not expect of people what they were powerless to do. The fact is that many Scriptures teach us that God did expect obedience “from the heart.” Obedience “from the heart” was the emphasis and daily reminder of the Shema, recited twice daily at morning and evening prayer (Shema is the shortened version of Sh'ma Yisroel, which are the two Hebrew words hear and Israel).

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

Although the Shema was a twice daily reminder of obeying “from the heart,” this became little more than a vain repetition and outward conformity where the words were said, but never heeded or obeyed except in a very external way. The Jews lived primarily according to the Pentateuch, or the five books of Moses commonly called the Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). In the book of Deuteronomy alone there are 44 different verses spreading through almost every chapter from beginning to end warning about heart obedience to God and maintaining their relationship with God out of love for Him. By the time of Isaiah, Israel had fallen almost completely into dead ritualism and outward moral conformity.

13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. 15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding” (Isaiah 29:13-16)?

Christ quotes Isaiah 29:13 to the Pharisees and applies it to them in Matthew 15:8 and Mark 7:6. Neither has Christianity escaped this façade of outward conformity. This is what defines the hypocrisy of Pharicism. Pharicism is not about expecting people to live by rules or according to God’s standards of holiness. Pharicism is teaching people that mere outward conformity and white washed sepulchers are somehow pleasing to God (Gal. 3:1-4).

The great tragedy of New Covenant Christianity is that the vast majority of people who profess to be believers (however they might define that) have failed in exactly the same way Israel failed. They have trusted their souls to the teaching of priests, pastors, or clergymen who often are not saved themselves and who certainly do not understand the spiritual dynamic of being “filled with the Spirit” and “walking in the Spirit.” Therefore, the vast majority of professing Christianity is doomed to either misplaced faith and a false hope of eternal life or being saved but living out their lives in mere externalism to outward conformity to the commandments of God and thinking that somehow God is pleased with them for such nonsense. This latter failure is not limited merely to the liturgical/sacramental Christianity. The vast majority of both evangelical and fundamental Christianity fall into this subtle deception as well.

Once a person is saved out from the condemned old creation in Adam and made part of the New Creation “in Christ,” there ought to be a change in the way he lives. Not just an outward change, but an inward change of heart; i.e., motivation and desires. When I refer to a new way, I am referring to the supernatural enabling of the indwelling Spirit of God. There ought to be a change from living under the control (lordship) of the fallen nature of Pharicism, and under the dominion of a fallen angel called Satan, to living under the control (Lordship) of his new nature (II Peter 1:4) and within the New Creation (“into this grace in which we stand,” Rom. 5:2) through the indwelling Holy Spirit. That is God’s expected transition for the life of every believer. If a person is genuinely saved, God expects that believer to chose to cease being a servant to sin (his sin nature) and to choose to become a servant of righteousness “from the heart” through the supernatural enabling (“grace”) provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit. There should be a change of heart!

This chapter can be heard in two audio sermons at SermonAudio.com links below:

I. Obeying from the Heart and the Filling with the Spirit

II. Obeying from the Heart and the Filling with the Spirit

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.
Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:
http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/

Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Ten new chapters


Ten new chapters in the commentary on Romans are put up in PDF. These are provided for free use.

The link to the various chapters in the commentary is below:
Dr. Ketchum's Commentary on the Book of Romans

These ten new chapters cover the text from Romans 9:25 through 11:11.


The links are below:

The Faith Seed of the Abrahamic Covenant
The Melchisedecan Priesthood of Christ Equals the Sons of Zadok
How a National Israelite Becomes a Spiritual Israelite
The Debilitating Façade of Hope in Legalism
Whosoever Shall Call . . . Shall be Saved!
The Synergism with the Lord of Hosts and the Soteriological Responsibilities of His Redeemed
Salvation Invitation to Whosoever: Response Required
From Where Does Faith Come?
The Remnant According to the Election of Grace
The Fulfillment of the Prophecy of Reprobation of the Corrupt Priesthood

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.
Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:
http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/

Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Five New Chapters in Romans Commentary


Five new chapters in the commentary on Romans are put up in PDF.


The link to the various chapters in the commentary is below:
Dr. Ketchum's Commentary on the Book of Romans

These five new chapters are all on Romans chapter 9:1-24.


The links are below:
Understanding Election from the Old Testament
The Seven Folds of the Abrahamic Covenant
“Who are Israelites”: Statement of Fact, Not a Question of Reality
That the Purpose of God According to Election Might Stand
Is there unrighteousness with God?

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.
Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:
http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/

Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

Monday, January 4, 2010

ROMAN'S ROAD VIDEO

A new video sermon on The Roman's Road to Salvation is available at: Sermonaudio.com

Feel free to download the file and make DVD's for your use in evangelism.

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.
Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:
http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/

Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

Filled for a Working Fellowship

The filling of the Spirit of God is what brings the believer into a supernaturally enabled partnership with God (“fellowship”) in “the work of the ministry.” This supernaturally enabled partnership in “the work of the ministry” is energized by the Spirit of God as the believer obeys the five commandments necessary to a right relationship with the Holy Spirit and unity with the Godhead.

1. Be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18)

2. Grieve not the Spirit (Eph. 4:30)

3. Quench not the Spirit (I Thess. 5:19)

4. Walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16 & 25)

5. Be transformed/transfigured (Rom. 12:2)

These five commandments must be obeyed in order for God to generate or create a supernaturally enabled partnership with the believer in “the work of the ministry.” Being filled with the Spirit must be connected to walking in the Spirit. Filling is never static or without spiritual life. If there is no spiritual movement (“walk”), there was no filling either. What God fills, God moves! Spiritual people “obey from the heart” and begin DOING!

God does not leave us guessing as to how these five commandments regarding the believer’s relationship with the Holy Spirit are to be fulfilled. In other words, He has not told us to do something that He has not told us how to do it. The how is defined in detail in Romans chapter 6:1 through chapter 8:28 (as well as a number of other Scriptures). Lewis Sperry Chafer[1] gives us an important point of focus regarding this instruction:

“ . . . [R]especting the negative aspect of the spiritual life, it may be restated that each of the three foes – the world, the flesh, and the devil – can outmatch all human ability and the victory over them is gained only by the superior power of the Holy Spirit; and this success, if it is to become a reality in daily life, calls for a peculiar and altogether different plan or principle of living. The change from self-sufficiency to dependence upon the Holy Spirit is a comprehensive one; yet at no time, even when believers are fully enabled, does the Spirit of God work outside the functions of the human will, nor is a consciousness experienced that another than one’s own self is acting or determining. The spiritual life does not consist in the withdrawal of self, of initiative, or of the consciousness of responsibility. ‘It is God,’ the Apostle declares, ‘which worketh in you both to will [with your own will] and do [with your own doing] of his good pleasure’ (Phil. 2:13).”

Simply stated, the reckoning and yielding that Paul refers to in Romans 6:11-13 are not intended to bring the believer into a passive relationship with the Holy Spirit, but rather an active, cooperative partnership of two wills and two natures, the Divine and the human, in a both union and unity that will bring forth fruit to glorify God through a supernaturally enabled “work of the ministry.” The believer is filled with the Spirit to supernaturally energize a working partnership that the Word of God refers to as “fellowship.” Take “the work of the ministry” out of “fellowship” and you have destroyed the purpose of God’s supernatural enabling/filling. That is the context of God’s instructions that transition through Romans 6:1 to Romans 8:28.

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin{through the filling of the Spirit}, ye became the servants of righteousness {living, doing, walking in the Spirit’s supernatural enabling}.” (Romans 6:1-18; underlining and bolding added).

The words “obeyed from the heart” in Romans. 6:17 give us a simple statement of a new reality made possible through yielding to the indwelling Holy Spirit of God and the conditions necessary to supernatural enabling. It is not enough to involve our physical bodies in an external form of obedience. There MUST BE a complete involvement of our beings spiritually, emotionally, and physically in this obedience. This answers the questions of Romans 6:1-3. The essence of the questions is this; since the salvation of our souls from eternal separation from God is not dependent in any way on how we live, does that mean God does not care how we live? Are we free to live any way we want to live? The answer is simply, “God forbid.”

14 For the love of Christ constraineth us {holds us together or compels us to unity in purpose}; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (II Corinthians 5:14-15).

The No answer to the questions of Romans 6:1-3 is expanded on through chapter eight to include, not only the No answer, but the how to answer. This how to answer involves God’s instructions for practical sanctification (separation from the world and from serving our sin natures and in our separation unto God and serving Him). God did not save us and make us part of the New Creation in Christ Jesus only to leave us powerless over our carnal natures. Grace is the supernatural enabling of God available to the believer to bring this “under the sun” existence to live within the New Creation.

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:15-23).

There is a critical phrase in John 14:20 to the realization of the potential to the practicality of presently living as part of the New Creation of the Lordship of Christ that is in every believer. We are positionally set apart from the world “in Christ” (the baptism of the Holy Spirit and regeneration). That is what Christ refers to in John 14:20 by the words “ye in me.” However the critical key to the realization of our spiritual potential “in Christ” is revealed by the words “I in you.” “Ye in me” refers to the New Creation “in Christ.” “I in you” refers to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God Who desires to enable the believer to live as New Creatures. This is what the phrase “under grace” means in Romans 6:14.

In the Old Covenant, a believer was “under the Law.” That means during the dispensation of the Mosaic Law, the believer was under the administration (control) of the Law. In the New Covenant (the dispensation of the Church Age), the believer is under the administration (control) of grace. That means the intent of God in this new dispensation and New Covenant is to bring the believer to voluntarily yield his will to the indwelling Holy Spirit Who will empower that believer to live a life of righteousness that God can bless with the supernatural production of “much fruit” (John 15:8).

This teaching on practical sanctification is intent to present the means by which the believer can overcome the desires of his own corrupted sin nature of the old and cursed first creation. God’s purpose in indwelling the believer is that the believer’s fallen sin nature “shall not have dominion over” him (Romans 6:14). The words “have dominion over” are from the Greek word kurieuo (ko-ree-yoo'-o). It is a derivative of the Greek word that we get the word Lord from. It means to exercise lordship over someone. The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling is to provide a means to get victory over the dominating lordship of our carnal, fallen, and corrupt sin nature and bring our lives practically into the ongoing New Creation.

Again, the means God has provided for us to escape the domination of our sin natures is the indwelling Person of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling Holy Spirit is what Christ was referring to by the word “Comforter” in John 14:16. The word “Comforter” is from the Greek word parakletos (par-ak'-lay-tos). It refers to a person summoned to join another in a partnership venture. The idea is joining the strengths of two to function as one. In this case it is the union of the power of the Creator in union with the power of the yielded believer. Therefore, this yielding is not passive, but active (participatory). The realization of the potential that lies in the Lordship of Christ lies in the union of two wills. The will of the believer must be yielded to, and become one with, the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 6:11-13).

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Ephesians 4:1-7).

This hypostatic unity of two wills (the believer’s will with God’s will) is what the Word of God refers to as “fellowship” and what Ephesians 4:3 refers to as ‘the unity of the Spirit.” It is also what Christ refers to in John 14:16 and John 15:4-7 by the word “abide.” “Abide” is from the Greek word meno (men'-o) and means to remain or to continue in a place or position. I believe the place or position that a believer is commanded to “abide” in is fellowship with God. Notice the number of times the word “abide” is used in John 15:4-7 and how it directly relates to bearing fruit for Christ.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:4-7).

The work of the believer in maintaining his fellowship with God is to maintain a submissive and broken will to God’s will. In doing so, that believer will “abide in” Christ. The words “fellowship” and “abide” are synonyms in the practical application of the doctrine of grace regarding the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the body of the believer and the filling of the Spirit. The word “fellowship” is from the Greek word koinonia (koy-nohn-ee'-ah) and refers to a joint participation between the yielded believer and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Notice the number of times the word “fellowship” is used in I John 1:3-7 as it relates to how a believer restores the relationship (abiding partnership or “unity of the Spirit”) that is broken by sin.

3 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. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:3-7).

Relationship is another key word to the realization of the potential of the Lordship of Christ in our lives. The words “under grace” (Romans 6:14-15) bring the believer into a new relationship with God within the New Creation and frees him from an old relationship (“under Law;” Romans 7:1-4). The matter of maintaining that new relationship with God “under grace” is the subject of the rest of Romans 6:16-23.

“Under Law” the believer’s sin nature was in constant servitude to the Law of commandments because it simply brought the believer’s attention upon what sin is. Since the believer is a sinner by nature, the believer’s focus was constantly on the struggle to overcome his own carnal desires. The Law was powerless to do anything for the believer, but condemn him. The Law could not redeem the believer. Neither could the Law empower the believer to obey.

Romans chapter six is still dealing with the issue of abounding grace (Romans 5:15-21). Does God’s abounding grace free us to live a life of selfish pursuits? Salvation goes beyond the saving of our soul. It is God’s purpose and desire to save our lives from being wasted upon the ruins of the cursed first creation. God wants to use our lives to bring “many sons unto glory” (Hebrews 2:10). That is the purpose behind the teaching of the doctrine of sanctification in Romans 6:1-8:39. God wants to teach us what we need to do in order to fully realize the potential of a fruitful life in the New Creation under the Lordship of Jesus Christ as the believer cooperatively yields his life to the indwelling Holy Spirit and practically brings his life “under grace.”

The word “also” of Romans 6:11 connects the practical aspects of the believers carnal desires of this life with the death of Christ (Romans 6:6). These two verses (Romans 6:11 and 6:6) are now connected by Romans 6:14. It is through the practical application of the spiritual realities of these two verses that the “dominion” (lordship) of the sin nature over the life of the believer is removed and the “dominion” of Christ (Lordship”) in the New Creation is established.

The word “yield” (Romans 6:13, 16 and 19) refers to a choice of lordship. If a person chooses the lordship of the Law, he chooses the “dominion” of the sin nature. If a person chooses to be led around by his emotions and carnal desires, he again chooses the lordship of the sin nature. Only when the believer chooses to yield “dominion” of his life (his will) to the “dominion” of the indwelling Holy Spirit will he begin to realize the full potential of the power of God in his life and practically bring his life into the New Creation.

We automatically become the “servants” of our choices (Romans 6:16). When the believer chooses to serve the desires of his carnal nature, he forfeits the power (not the presence) of the indwelling Holy Spirit in his life. Even though he is still positionally sanctified and his soul is eternally anchored in heaven “in Christ” (the New Creation), he moves his life back into the realm of “death” (the old cursed creation) where he is spiritually powerless and helpless. The realm of “death” is the realm of the Adamic curse (Romans 5:12). The realm of “death” is the realm of darkness and broken fellowship with God. The realm of “life” is the realm of “light” and the power of restored fellowship and restored dominion over angels (even the fallen ones).

When we choose to “yield” our will to the indwelling Holy Spirit, we choose a life of supernaturally enabled obedience to God’s will. When we choose a Holy Spirit empowered life of obedience to God’s will, we choose a life of obedience “unto righteousness;” that life of “righteousness” is a life that lives itself in the “light” of God’s fellowship and blessing (I John 1:7). The simple truth of Romans 6:16 is that you choose your master (Lord) and in that choice you choose to live either in the realm of death, darkness and the curse (the cursed original creation) or in the realm of life, light and God’s blessings (the New Creation).

The impact of living your new Spirit filled Christ-life will have on this world is simply a matter of choice. To understand what it means to be “under grace” is to understand the potential that lies in the matter of that choice. To say that “under grace” means to be able to live your life any way you want is a complete misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the God’s intent. “Under grace” means to live your life under the potential outpouring of God’s blessings through your Christian service and what the influence your new life can be once you learn to habitually yield your will to God’s will. The realization of this potential of your new life “in Christ” is simply a matter of choosing to completely yield the control of your life to the Lordship of Christ. Sadly, this is a level of commitment very few believers are willing to give to the Lord. Their profession of faith in Who Jesus is does not equivocate with a corresponding level of practice. Their lives become a shameful contradiction against what they profess to believe that in fact denies that profession.

“18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? 19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. 20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. 21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; 22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. 23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? 26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:18-26).

[1] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Volume VI, Dallas Seminary Press, Dallas Texas, Thirteenth Printing, June 1976, page 195

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Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.