Monday – August 15, 2016
We are back to Monday oh so quickly. Greeting in the name of the one we have chosen as our Lord, Jesus. We increase in the Kingdom of God in all spheres (spirit, soul, and body) by Knowledge of God.
2 Peter 1:2 (KJV)
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
Grace and peace are not automatically multiplied in our lives because we have a collection of facts in our mind and brain. Grace and peace are multiplied through this knowledge the same way everything else moves in the Kingdom of God. The Hand of God moves only in response to faith, motivated or fueled by love, with our focus on the hope set before us which is in Christ Jesus as led of the Holy Spirit. One way or another those four will be at work in every situation the Lord gives us to exercise our authority and His power. Okay, now back to Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:1-2 (KJV)
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today let’s move from verse one into verse two, for those that missed my discussions of verse one just go back into your e-mails and retrieve them or e-mail me to receive again. By the end of the year this ministry is going to have a mechanism in place whereby our readers can access any issue at will. Let us start our Word meal with the first phrase “Grace be to you”. First let me point out something I have not mentioned in quite some time. In the King James Version of the Bible words that are in italics are added by the translators and not supported by the oldest source documents (transcripts). These words are added by the translators to improve flow or clarity so we should always read a given verse or passage with and without the word. In this case the word “be” was added and is not detrimental to the context or point Paul is making. In fact the use of the word “be” is actually quite illuminating in the light of God’s Words at creation. Let’s look at the KJV of Genesis 1:3.
Genesis 1:3 (KJV)
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Now, let’s look at the literal rendering of this verse.
Genesis 1:3 (YLT)
3 and God saith, `Let light be;’ and light is.
Notice in the KJV there is an implication if not the outright statement of a future event. It is like God is saying, light does not now exist, and I want light, so I will command it to be at a point future. From the KJV we see that there was no light, there was a command for light to occur, and then there was light but is that what really happened? God is a Spirit creating or making a physical realm for Adam and all who would follow. Everything that exists in this physical realm came from the spiritual realm, it did not come out of nothing, and it came out of the substance of the spiritual realm. The substance of light in the spirit realm already existed and God spoke (words are spirit) that into the physical realm and instantly light existed or ‘is’ in the physical realm with physical properties. Words which are spirit are the bridge between the spiritual reality and the physical reality. Words can bring life or death both of which manifest in the physical aspect of our lives from the spiritual. Bottom line, God is timeless and so are we. The answer or fulfillment of our words already exists in the spirit realm but our words are required to bring it into the physical realm (kingdom, dominion, land, territory, jurisdiction, area, sphere, space, and domain).
So when the Apostle Paul says “Grace be to you”, he is requisitioning something or in this case someone, the Holy Spirit, who is present but unseen and never appreciated by the physical senses. Paul is decreeing that the work of Grace to be multiplied in the lives of these saints and faithful ones in Christ Jesus. Grace is the person of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word translated to English as grace is also translated as favor. We must never forget that the favor and graciousness we experience in life are from a person, the Holy Spirit, by the will of God. Jesus, the Christ, paid the price of salvation. We heard the good news and received Him as Lord. Instantly, the quickening Spirit, brought the gift of God into full effect.
Ephesians 2:8 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
By Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
