By Wendell Tenison
The Word of God Cleanses and Saves:
It has already been established in the previous sections of this series that the words of God and Christ are their breath. This being true, spiritually speaking, the words of Christ are the spiritual oxygen of life. Since oxygen is the staff of life whether spiritual or literal, the words of Jesus purified or made clean his disciples.
Luke 22:20 "Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."
Now the picture becomes quite clear, because the words of Christ or his new testament are in his blood where the cleansing takes place. The procedure is the same in our physical bodies how that when we breath in the breath of life (oxygen), it goes immediately into our bloodstream and then carried to all parts of the body for the renewing of life. Not only that, but the blood also carries the waste and corruption from our body parts. The same is identical to the blood of Christ which also removes the corruption (sin) and expels it from our spiritual bodies. The major difference between the two is that the spiritual inner man continues to grow and prosper on a daily basis, whereas, the physical body is always leaning back toward the earth.
2 Cor 4:16 "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."
1 Cor 6:11 "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
Rev 1:5 "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"
Rev 7:14 "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
These verses further confirm that we are washed by the blood of the Lamb.
Eph 5:25-26 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;.....That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,"
1 Pet 3:20-21 "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water......The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:"
To briefly sum it up, the word of God, the washing of water (baptism) and the blood of Christ equals salvation and sanctification.
1 Cor 15:1-2 "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;.....By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain."
The gospel of God (Christ) is the power of God unto salvation, because within it is light and life. There is only one verse in the new testament that specifically tells us how we are called unto this salvation.
2 Th 2:14 "Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The gospel of Paul is 100% the gospel of Christ and there is no other way according to the scripture.
2 Th 2:10 "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
The truth, gospel and the word are all synonymous terms.
Heb 5:8-9 "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;.....And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
Obedience is the results of carrying out the verbal or written command of another or others. The suffering of Jesus was the catalyst for his obedience to the Father. In other words, what his Father told him to do he did it. How do we know this?
John 17:4 "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."
The point of this is that if Jesus obeyed his Father's word, how much more are we required to obey his word? To ask the question is to answer it.
2 Th 1:7-9 "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,.....In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:.....Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;"
This is the reason why we had better obey the gospel of our Lord without any reservations. Obedience is a dirty word among many who claim to be religious.