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Let us look comprehensively at Ephesians 2:8-18 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." {What is the gift of God? Let the Word (Christ) explain His own terminology: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23); thus, by simply adding the two verses together, the 'gift of God' is salvation/eternal-life through faith/trust in the Person of Christ Jesus, "in [Whom] there is no sin--"And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him (1 John 3:5-6). Yes: for "now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life" (Romans 6:22). "And EVERYONE WHO HAS THIS HOPE IN HIM purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:3); for the blessing or the "promise" (Acts 1:4-5, 2:33&38-39, 5:32; Hebrews 10:36-37) is to "the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8); therefore "pursue holiness, without which NO ONE will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14); for "what communion has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14), and "can two walk together unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3); for "in [Christ is] life, and the life [is] the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, [but] the darkness [cannot] comprehend it" (John 1:4-5); thus the "Will of Him Who sent [Christ] is "that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life" (John 6:40).} "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Therefore remember that you"--{"if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you" (Romans 8:9)}--", once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one"--'both' being that of the 'Uncircumcized' and that of the 'Circumcised', that of the Gentile and that of the Jew, {"for all are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28)}--", and [He] has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh THE ENMITY, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, THEREBY PUTTING TO DEATH THE ENMITY. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off (the Gentile) and to those who were near (the Jew)"--{Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes (Psalm 119:155}--"For through Him we both"--Jew and Gentile--"have access by one Spirit to the Father" (Ephesians 2:8-18). "And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29). "Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14), "who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:1), because if you "Walk in the Spirit, you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Thus, "IF you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law"--for the Law will stand, as Jesus has said, every 'jot and tittle' of it, until heaven and earth pass away, in condemnation of everyone who is not found in Christ, and who therefore have not the Spirit of Christ, but who live according to the flesh, which the Letter of the Law has full Authority over (see Romans 7:1-6 & Colossians 2:11-23).
"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, LEWDNESS, idolatry, sorcery, HATRED, CONTENTIONS, jealousies, OUTBURSTS OF WRATH, selfish ambitions, DISSENSIONS, HERESIES, envy, murders, DRUNKENESS, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:18-21)." {Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, [Jesus] answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21): the kingdom of God is His Will being done on earth, beginning now in the hearts and lives of those who love Him, as it is in heaven (see Matthew 6:10 in the Lord's Prayer; Revelation 12:10); the kingdom of God is granted with the granting of the Holy Spirit. Yes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The Gift given in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) to those who "mourn" because they "hunger and thirst for righteousness" in a wicked world, who are therefore "poor in spirit", being "persecuted for righteousness' sake", and who are thus "meek", "merciful", "pure in heart", and "peacemakers"--the Gift that shall single-handedly "fill" and "comfort" them, and cause them to "see God" and become "sons of God" is the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, our Overcomer, our Peace.}
Thus, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, KINDNESS, goodness, faithfulness, GENTLESNESS, SELF-CONTROL. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s HAVE crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:22-24; 1 Peter 4:1-3).
Thus, "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:11).
"Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us" (1 John 3:24).
"And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment" (1 John 3:23). And when did He give us this commandment? The Jews--"who know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident [of being] a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law' (Romans 2:18-20)--they knew, as do we, when they tested Christ in Luke 10:25-28: "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3:18-22).
"Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge [Jews] who, even with [their] written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, IN THE SPIRIT, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God" (Romans 2:26-29; Deuteronomy 10:16).
Dear brothers and sisters, I will leave you with the Words of Christ in Matthew 25:31-46 - “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand"--yes, those who are on the side of the "RIGHT HAND" of God, Who is Christ (Isaiah 41:10)--, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
For "whoever sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (1 John 3:17).
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