Freedom and Paul, part 2

I originally thought this would be mostly about deliverance, but there was so much more.

Bond or free

1 Cor 7:21  Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.

1 Cor 7:22  For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.

1 Cor 9:1  Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?

1 Cor 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Eph 6:8  Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Col 3:11  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

In all of these verses Paul refers to a status common in their day, bond or free. That is, the slave and the free man. There are three points of emphasis:

(1) The Gospel is open to all

(2) All believers are equal members of the body of Christ. Ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

(3) 1 Corinthians 7 has a very interesting and little spoken of principle

20  Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.

21  Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.

22  For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.

23  Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

24  Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

The passage speaks of the servant and the free man, but the context includes marriage and celibacy (getting and staying married, and virgins). The principle is, Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. You can make a change, but don’t rush into anything.  This does not refer to sinful behavior, which we are to forsake, but to position and status. Don’t leave your wife, don’t quit your job just because you are now a believer. He discusses the possibilities of this happening and how to go about it in this chapter.

Ye are bought with a price

We used to sing a little song:

I'm not my own, I belong to Jesus

He purchased me, I'm all his

Bought with a price, the blood of Jesus

I’m not my own, I’m his

Amen!

Liberty

Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

This is the resurrection of the body. I love it, glorious liberty! The Christian life and hope is not all about here and now. We are waiting for the coming of Christ and the resurrection of our bodies! See I Can’t Wait To See Jesus at the end.

Deliver

Rom 7:6  But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Free from the law—oh, happy condition!

Jesus hath bled, and there is remission;

Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,

Christ hath redeemed us once for all.

Once for all—oh, sinner, receive it;

Once for all—oh, doubter, believe it;

Cling to the cross, the burden will fall,

Christ hath redeemed us once for all.       (P.P. Bliss)

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

See Romans 8

Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Jesus is a full time deliverer!

These final three are powerful statements:

Gal 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

1 Th 1:10  And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

This is the work of The Deliverer. Amen! It would do us well to study each of these deliverances: what they involve and how they apply to us. Again I say, Amen!

I Can’t Wait To See Jesus

I can't wait to see Jesus
In His glory as he bursts from the sky
I can't wait to be held in his arms,
and see the glimmer in his eye
Tell me how it's gonna be,
read it from the Bible again
I can't wait to see Jesus,
'cause Jesus is coming again

I can't wait to hear trumpets
'cause I know what they mean when they sound
I can't wait to cast off my burdens,
and feel my feet leave the ground
Tell me how it's gonna be,
read it from the Bible again
I can't wait to see Jesus,
'cause Jesus is coming again

I can't wait to see heaven
and to walk those streets of gold
I can't wait to check into my mansion,
and get my sleeping bag unrolled
Tell me how it's gonna be,
read it from the Bible again
I can't wait to see Jesus,
'cause Jesus is coming again

Oh, Jesus is coming again
Oh, Jesus is coming again

Jesus is coming again!

(Pat Terry, 1973)