Weekly Bible Study – December 5, 2016

The Doctrine of Imputations. Part 3.
Resurrection Day.

IF YOU’RE NEW
PLEASE READ FIRST

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up and it will take you to the online bible. On older computers some word definition or message hover popups may not work unless you are using an up-to-date Firefox browser – some of the latest versions of other popular browsers that require Windows 10 work well also. If you don’t have Firefox on your XP, Vista, Win 7, Win 8.1 or other operating system, that’s OK, try left clicking the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings

STUDY TITLE:

The Doctrine of Imputations. Part 3.
Resurrection Day.

Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
Old Sin Nature = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine [Bible Truth]
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotes and references are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible. However, a few may be corrected translations developed from the exegetical study of the original languages.

The Doctrine of Imputations. Part 3.
Resurrection Day.

As many of you know, we call what the majority call Easter, we call Resurrection Sunday. Now, you might wonder why we don’t refer to it as Easter. Well, once again the big problem is ignorance. Just like we noted last Sunday the true means of Palm Sunday, I thought it would appropriate this morning to begin with the origin of Easter and why I much rather call it Resurrection Sunday.

We begin with a little background on the word we call Easter. Actually, like most religious holydays (holidays), has a pagan origin. Easter is no different. The word translated Easter comes from the pagan goddess Eastre, which actually refers to a demon idol, Psa 96:5. In the Eastern pagan spring festivals the goddess Eastre was related to resurrection and fertility of life. These customs have taken a variety of forms in our day and age such as eggs, which were formerly forbidden to be eaten during Lent by the Roman Catholic Church (who else?), but became prominent symbols of new life and resurrection.

The hare, or the rabbit was a symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt, a symbol that was kept later in Europe, is not found in North America. Its place is taken by the Easter rabbit, the symbol of fertility accredited with laying eggs in nests prepared for it at Easter and with hiding them away for children to find. I hope you realize that rabbits or bunnies do lay eggs, they lay chocolate but not eggs!

The English word Easter comes from Eastre, a goddess to whom sacrifice was offered in April, so the name was transferred to the April Passover feast. While many of the orthodox Jews are celebrating the Jewish Passover, because they dont believe 1Co 5:7 that Christ is our Passover, Christians of picked up this pagan holiday and named in Easter, the word Easter is never used in the Bible (except -RSV).

The Jewish Christians in the early church continued to celebrate the Passover, regarding Christ as the true paschal lamb, and this naturally passed over into a commemoration of the death and resurrection of our Lord, or an Easter feast. What we celebrate is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore, for that reason we call it Resurrection Sunday

So much for the origin of Easter, it is not our subject, however our subject of the doctrine of Imputations does deal the resurrection body. Let’s pick up this morning with our seventh point in the doctrine, and seven being the finished work number will be our final in our doctrine.

Point 1. Definition

Point 2. The three factors in imputation – the source, the nature, the recipient.

Point 3. The Working Equations of the Plan of God.

Point 4. Imputation as it relates to Selection and Election.

Point 5. Imputations and Virgin Pregnancy and the virgin Birth.

Point 6. The Relationship of Imputations to the Spiritual Growth of the Believer.

Under this point we noted how understanding the imputation of Adams origin sin and the trends passed from our parents, both father and mother, that we can still have victory through our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Which is why after the apostle defined our problem with our OSN, he reveled the way of victory when he said:

Rom 7:24-25, I am a miserable person! Who will rescue me from the body of this death [old sin nature]? Thanks be to God or grace belongs to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, on the one hand, with my mind I am myself am serving the law of God; but on the other hand, with my flesh [old sin nature controlling the soul], I am serving the law of the sin nature.

God in his grace knows we have inherent flaws, environmental flaws, in addition to the sins we accumulate. And then remember, in the original language of scripture there is no chapter break, so Rom 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (And if you have the thundering version of a KJs Bible cross out the phrase that is in it that says who walk after the spirit and not the flesh).

IT AINT THERE!

What is there is just what the NAS says: Rom 8:1-2, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

And so we know come to our final point in the doctrine of imputations which deals with the Last imputation for the believer which takes place when he or she has a resurrection body. For it is a real imputation because the resurrection body is the home or the target for divine blessings for all of eternity.

Point 7. The Imputations of Divine Blessings to the Resurrection body.
Remember if you are victorious over the OSN controlling you soul, you will be blessed in time. However those blessings in time are simply a down payment for the blessings you will receive in eternity in your resurrection body! For remember 1Co 2:9, but just as it is written, Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.

And so it begins with understanding the principles concerning the resurrection of the believer. First of all, there are two returns from the dead:

1. There is what is known as resuscitation which means a person returns from the dead in the same a body of corruption they died in and they eventually die again. For example, Lazarus beginning in John 11:38-44, when the Lord heard that His Lazarus had died and that His followers still were questioning the fact that He was God, we read Jesus therefore again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, Remove the stone. Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days. Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God? And so they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou heardest Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me. And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, Unbind him, and let him go.

This was the body of corruption which been the house for Lazarus when he was alive on earth. Lazarus had been underneath the ground in the compartment of Hades called Paradise where all the Old Testament saints were at this time. However, once Jesus said Lazarus come forth his human spirit and soul were reunited with his earthly body of corruption. I think the only one who was a little bit discouraged was probably Lazarus himself because he was having a ball in Paradise. However, for the glory of God Lazarus came back from the dead, he wasn’t raised from the dead he was what is known as resuscitated from the dead. Which means he was restored back to his human body and would have die physically all over again. And because of this we read in John 11:45, Many therefore of the Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what He had done, believed in Him. This was a resuscitation from the dead. Lazarus came forth and died physically from the dead. Paul in 2Co 12 was resuscitated from the dead in.

We know that because he tells us in 2Co 11:25, compared with 2Co 12:2-4. Whatever happened he did seem to leave his earthly body and was brought back or resuscitated from the dead. Two boys in the Old Testament were resuscitated from the dead by Elijah. Elijah and Moses during the Tribulation will be resuscitated from the dead. So gain there are two returns from the dead.

First of all, there is what is known as resuscitation which means a person returns from the dead in the same a body of corruption they died in and they eventually die again.

Secondly, then there is resurrection which means a person returns from the dead in a body of incorruption and never dies again.

The body of incorruption is the same body that was corrupted the first time but now the power or the omnipotence of God re-creates it brand new—never to be corrupted again. Therefore resurrection is rising again from the dead in a human body, and never again being subject to death. Resurrection is the body a person will live in for all of eternity. Resurrection is one of the basic doctrines all believers must understand for spiritual growth, Heb 6:1 2. Anyone who dies during the Church Age has an interim body in heaven until the resurrection of the Church at the Rapture. The interim body is described for us in 2Co 5:1-8.

2Co 5:1-8, For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord for we walk by faith, not by sight we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

Now, once we change over from the physical body to the interim body then finally to the resurrection body then notice what happens next in 2Co 5:10.

2Co 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

This is the beginning of the final imputations to the believer, the imputation of divine blessings given to the believer in his resurrection body. We will have a resurrection body like Christs, but not all resurrection bodies will look alike. There are different types of resurrection bodies depending on your success or failure in the Christian life and your attitude toward doctrine. And that’s because some will be clothed with the uniform of glory and some will not.

Rev 3:5, To the winner, he shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his title from the book of life, and I will acknowledge his name before My Father, and before His angels.

Rev 3:18, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and {that} the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.

Rev 19:8, And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright {and} clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Resurrection is a New Testament doctrine. While it is mentioned in the Old Testament, it did not occur historically until the Christocentric dispensations: The great power experiment of Hypostatic Union and the great power experiment of the Church-age. The great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union terminated with the resurrection, ascension, and session of the humanity of Christ. The great power experiment of the Church Age will terminate in the resurrection or Rapture of the Church.

And so the final imputation takes place sometime after physical death or the rapture or the exit resurrection of the church. Remember, that while the believer has control over his life in the execution of the Pre-designed Plan of God through consistent positive volition toward doctrine and through the use of his portfolio of invisible assets. He has no control over the manner or time of his physical death. He cannot prolong his life or cut it short (except, of course, by suicide, which is the sign of a loser believer). Neither does he have any control over the manner of time of the resurrection. The death of the believer is always a matter of the wisdom, integrity and sovereignty of God. You might want to remember these verses when someone dies and you don’t understand why!

Psa 68:20, God is to us a God of deliverances; And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.

Isa 57:1, The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart; And devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil,

The death of the believer is always Gods victory and those who are raised from the dead are His trophies. The type of believer makes no difference; because all go to Heaven. The believer’s death means he is absent from the body, face to face with the Lord, in a place of no more sorrow, no more tears, no more pain, no more death, and the Lords timing is perfect neither too soon and never too late. Death always comes at the exact right time.

Every generation of believers in the Old Testament died a physical death but none of them have experienced resurrection up till this day. The Old Testament saints will be raised from the dead but that takes place seven years after we, the Church-age believers are raised at the rapture also known as Exit Resurrection of the Church. Moses had a dramatic death, climbing the mountain and the Lord taking him home from there. Elijah had a ride to heaven in a special conveyance. But there was no resurrection in the Old Testament.

There could not be a resurrection in the Old Testament, for the first resurrection in history was that of Jesus Christ at the end of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union. God is perfect; His wisdom is perfect. God is perfect; His decisions are perfect. And God decides the time and manner of the death of each of us. Job said when he heard of the death of his children in a terrible storm: Job 1:21 The Lord gave; the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.


Rom 8:38 39, For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

So death does not separate us from God.

Psa 116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

Phil 1:20-21 On the basis of my intense concentration and confident expectation [a personal sense of destiny] that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but with all confidence, Christ shall even now [in time] as always [in eternity] be glorified in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, living is Christ, likewise dying is profit

When it comes to the believer being blessed in his resurrection body, he will receive something which now follows at the Judgement Seat of Christ. First of all, the judgment seat of Christ is the time of the seventh imputation from the justice of God. First of all, some of these imputations that take place in you resurrection body are classified as crowns. There are at least five categories of crowns for believers in the word of God.

The first four are available to all believers; the last one is available to those who have the spiritual gift of pastor teacher only.

1) The crown of righteousness.

2) The crown of life.

3) The incorruptible crown.

4) The crown of rejoicing.

5) The crown of glory.

Some will have the crown of righteousness for loving His appearing which means that they were totally occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ and produced a lot of divine good, 2Ti 4:8. This is especially true of believers who are in a single status. As the apostle said concerning the subject of dating and marriage in 1Co 7:32-35, But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is seemly, and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.

Some will have the crown of life for enduring trials, heartaches, disasters and coming out glorifying the Lord.

Jam 1:12, Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.


Rev 2:10, Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Some will have the incorruptible crown for mastering their OSN; 1Co 9:24-27.

1Co 9:24-27, Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

Some will have the Crown of rejoicing for being soul winners, 1Th 2:19, For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?

Dan 12:3, And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Prov 11:30, The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.

Some pastors will have the Cown of glory for being willing to feed the flock of God, 1Pe 5:1-4, I Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Therefore, there is the warning regarding Crowns, Rev 3:11, Hang on to what you have, so that no one takes away your crown.

2Jo 1:8, Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.