The Kingdom of God Now

18/12/2023

Dulce Tan Hara

👉 ..."THE TRUTH IS IN JESUS" [Ephesians 4:21].
🤔I have noticed in my dealing with people that when it comes to things that are important to them they go to someone who has information for the help they need.
🤔If they have car trouble they go to a mechanic.
🤔If they have financial needs they go to a bank.
🤔If for legal problems they seek out a lawyer.
🤔YET when it comes to a person's relationship with GOD & the truths contained in the Bible, i have yet to meet a person who is not an authority.
Everyone you meet knows HOW to be saved they know WHAT it takes to go to heaven & they know WHO gets to go. They know HOW "to live right" & know who is a hypocrite. 😱Oh how quick they will tell you what they "think" & tell you "i believe" & they feel they must give you their opinion about the Bible, about God, about Christ, about Sin & how a sinner is saved.
🗣️When GOD calls a man to preach, HE teaches him the gospel of Grace, makes him a student of the Holy Scriptures, & gives him knowledge, wisdom & understanding of the ways of God & sinful man.
☝️But do men seek out someone who can deal with their souls from the Bible❓
😱 NO! They will seek out help on the things that are temporal & of no eternal consequence 😱but when it comes to their souls they feel they are as much an authority as anyone else. They are too proud; they love themselves too much to see their need of guidance.
They aren't like the Ethiopian who when asked "Understand what you are reading?" His reply, "How can i EXCEPT some man guide me?" [Acts 8:30-31].
They don't know that THE TRUTH is a revelation☝️and UNLESS God gives men eyes to see, they are so blind they can't even see that they are blind [Jn.9:39-40].
IF men won't seek truth - - i will.
IF men feel that they know all they need to know about God & how HE saves sinners, & are confident that they "will go to heaven when they die" then so be it.
☝️As for me, i will by God's grace seek the
📖 "excellency of the Knowledge of Christ Jesus my LORD; that i may win Christ & be found IN HIM; not having my own righteousness, BUT the righteousness of God which is through FAITH in Christ" [Phil.3:9].
Let men claim to know what they will, i want to know Christ, i want to
📖 "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God IN CHRIST JESUS" [Phil.3:8].
☺️May GOD teach me & you the "TRUTH" as it is in Christ Jesus [Ephesians 4:21].

11/12/2023

Dulce Tan Hara

👉[Romans 15:13]
🤔Is there any joy & peace for us as the children of God in the world❓There are moments of joy & moments of peace in this world,☝️but the reality of earthly joy & peace is this - - - THEY WILL NOT LAST. They are only for a moment.☝️BUT the joy & peace that comes in believing through the power of the Holy Ghost is that which comes from a true saving view of Jesus Christ & Him crucified. This is joy & peace that will last forever & even as Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, today, & forever". While on this earth, it is most difficult for any of us to know that such joy & peace really exist. That is why it can only be known in believing. So we who are saved by God's grace IN CHRIST walk by faith, believing God's testimony of Christ, not by sight.
Even as sinners saved by grace & true believers, while in this world we are subject to much trouble, pain & sorrow. Unlike the false preachers of the false "health & wealth gospel", our LORD Jesus was honest with us. HE SAID, "in the world you shall have tribulation"
[Jn.16:33].
🤔 Where then is joy & peace of which HE speaks❓It is not in the experience of the flesh & in this world. IT IS "IN BELIEVING", & this believing is NOT merely believe something or anything. It is NOT wishful thinking, or even the "power of positive thinking".☝️It is, by the grace & power of God, believing God's Word beginning with His Word of salvation by HIS grace in & by the LORD Jesus Christ❗When Christ told HIS disciples of the trouble they would have in this world, HE concluded with this - -
📖 "but be of good cheer, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD".
☝️Our hope & joy is NOT in our power or ability to win the victory over sin (the flesh), Satan, or the world.
☝️Our hope & joy is Christ's power & ability - -
📖 "for I know whom i have believed, & am persuaded that HE is able to keep that which i have committed unto Him against that day"
[2Tim.1:12].
These words of inspiration encourage my weary heart. The gospel of God IN CHRIST is so designed to give God all the glory for the salvation of sinners.☝️But thank God, it is also designed to give to broken, sinful & weary sinners joy & peace through the gospel [Romans 5:1].
🤔Notice this also, it is "joy & peace in believing", NOT working, NOT sacraments, NOT ceremony & the traditions of men,☝️but by simple faith in the LORD Jesus Christ, that we may abound in hope [Hebrews 11:6].
The LORD Jesus Christ is the whole believer's hope before GOD & men. This is constantly brought into our heart & thoughts through the power of the Holy Spirit, who shall take the things of Christ & reveal them unto us,
📖 "Howbeit when HE, the Spirit of truth, is come, HE will guide you into all truth: for HE shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever HE shall hear, that shall HE speak: & HE will shew you things to come. HE shall glorify Me: for HE shall receive of mine, & shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that HE shall take of mine, & shall shew it unto you" [Jn.16:13-15].

09/12/2023

05/12/2023

Peter A Lucas
·
Catholicism is far from Christian; it is pagan religion.
This is the rotting head of St. Catherine of Siena. Catholics venerate (worship) her and her rotting decapitated head.
Saint Catherine of Siena said:
“Even if the Pope were Satan incarnate, we ought not to raise up our heads against him, but calmly lie down to rest on his bosom. He who rebels against our Father is condemned to death, for that which we do to him we do to Christ: we honor Christ if we honor the Pope; we dishonor Christ if we dishonor the Pope. I know very well that many defend themselves by boasting: ‘They are so corrupt, and work all manner of evil!’ But God has commanded that, even if the priests, the pastors, and Christ-on-earth were incarnate devils, we be obedient and subject to them, not for their sakes, but for the sake of God, and out of obedience to Him.” – St. Catherine of Siena, SCS, p. 201-202, p. 222, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 5: “The Book of Obedience”, Chapter 1: “There is No Salvation Without Personal Submission to the Pope”).
This perverted demonic woman also claimed to have married Christ, and the mystical ring that he betrothed her with, that only she could see…was his fo****in!
Yes, she claimed Jesus placed his fo****in in her finger as her wedding ring!!!
Carrie Donnelly

05/12/2023

Linda Schaefer
·
Charismatics and the Authority of Experience
“The results of that charismatic takeover have been devastating. In recent history, no other movement has done more to damage the cause of the gospel, to distort the truth, and to smother the articulation of sound doctrine.
Charismatic theology has turned the evangelical church into a cesspool of error and a breeding ground for false teachers. It has warped genuine worship through unbridled emotionalism, polluted prayer with private gibberish, contaminated true spirituality with unbiblical mysticism, and corrupted faith by turning it into a creative force for speaking worldly desires into existence.
By elevating the authority of experience over the authority of Scripture, the Charismatic Movement has destroyed the church’s immune system—uncritically granting free access to every imaginable form of heretical teaching and practice.”
—John F. MacArthur
Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship
---------------------
I highly recommend this book by Pastor John Macarthur.

02/12/2023

Dulce Tan Hara
·
🟠 SAVING FAITH is a mysterious & wonderful thing, & also very rare. While it is true that all religious folks have some kind of faith, & some of them have much faith or great faith,☝️Yet there are very few who have saving faith.
🤔The one who has this precious, saving faith knows that his faith is a gift of God and that it came to him through the hearing of God's Word. He knows that his faith is sustained by the power of God & would wither & die APART from that Divine power & grace [1 Pet.1:5].
🟠 SAVING FAITH does not lead a man to be always looking back to a time in history when he believed,☝️BUT causes him to be concerned with Christ at the present.
📌SAVING FAITH never causes a man to look to his faith,☝️BUT to God, to Christ, the origin & object of his faith, thus he doesn't glory in self☝️BUT in the LORD Jesus Christ.
📌 SAVING FAITH never causes a man to look to his attainments & experiences as a ground or basis of his safety & assurance,☝️BUT to Jesus Christ & HIM crucified & nothing else.
🟠 SAVING FAITH will cause a man to be obedient & submissive to the LORD,☝️BUT will never lead that man to look to his obedience & submission as any part of that righteousness wherein he is accepted of God.
🟠 SAVING FAITH, as a friend & protector of our souls, stands up against that natural self-righteousness which we have & rebukes that hypocrite which dwells within each of us.
🟠 SAVING FAITH will never lead a man to measure & compare himself with other sinners,☝️BUT with the Savior of sinners, so that he may understand what the apostle Paul meant when he said,
📖 "I am the chief of sinners".
🟠 SAVING FAITH will lead a man to say,
📖 "All of my righteousness are as filthy rags, but i am complete in HIM".
🟠 SAVING FAITH will bring a man to say
📖 "i abhor myself, BUT my Savior & LORD is altogether lovely".
🤔 DO YOU HAVE SAVING FAITH❓

31/08/2022

THE KINGDOM OF GOD NOW
Christ’s Reign
The Kingdom of God is described as the rule of God through our Lord Jesus Christ over all things. The purpose of this reign on earth is to defeat God’s enemies such as Satan, sin, and death, and this implies the destruction of those associated with them.
1 Cor. 15:22 ---- Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 1 Cor. 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. This victory is accomplished in at least two stages, (The first coming of Christ, and at the second coming of our Lord).
1 Thess. 4 &5 supports the view that the ominous wrath of God upon wicked men follows the rapture; that the rapture, the second coming, and the resurrection are essentially the same event.
The Kingdom comes in two stages: (1) at our Lord’s first coming and (2) at our
Lord’s second coming; a sort of first fruits v. the full harvest; a deposit of kingdom blessings, and the full inheritance at His Parousia (appearing).
Satan’s defeat also occurs in two stages; at Christ’s first coming, and at His Parousia. Nowhere in the New Testament can we find a concept of the whole concept of a millennial reign. Sadly Rev. 20: 1-3 is misinterpreted by many (basing their concept on this single passage, blind to the symbolism involved).
Christ is the first fruits of the Age to Come. In Christ’s resurrection we see the resurrected Son as the first fruits of a harvest to come ---- Christian Assurance:
“Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). Philippians 3:10 and Ephesians 2:5: these verses speaks of a spiritual resurrection, realized eschatology First, death was defeated legally at Jesus’s resurrection. Secondly, death will be defeated corporally at Christ’s Parousia. Then comes the end (1 Corinthians 15:24; Revelation 20:10, 14).
Since death comes because of sin, sin must be defeated.
Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Not only is sin’s penalty paid, but its power is broken. Sin is shattered by virtue of the believer’s “justification,” “regeneration,” and “identification.” When a man believes, God counts the man righteous and treats him as such (justification). Once justified, the sinner is regenerated by the Spirit of God (born again); and, simultaneously baptized (transferred judicially or placed) into the victorious Kindom of Christ
(Romans 4, 5-6) ---- the judicial nature of the cross and one’s change in status the sinner is then empowered to “say NO to sin” and “to keep God’s law” (Romans 6:11-14; 8:4).
Satan is Defeated
Is Satan bound? Yes with respect to those in Christ. Satan’s defeat is accomplished in two stages: 1) at the cross and 2) at our Lord’s Parousia. Judicially, Jesus “cast out” Satan at the cross; Satan experienced his judicial defeat at the cross, and will be sentenced at the Parousia of Christ. Our Lord Christ broke the power of Satan over the elect ---- over “God’s children”.
John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out (ekballo). Revelation 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound (edasen) him a thousand years.
Hebrews 2:14 For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy (katergeo) him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Therefore, men and women may experience the blessings of the Kingdom of God now in this present evil age, deliverance from sin, Satan, and the fear of death. While we do not enjoy the fullness of kingdom blessings, we do enjoy the first fruits of power, eternal life, and redemption.
The Kingdom of God has entered history and men have “have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come” (Hebrews 6:2-5).
The Kingdom is more than a promise. The Kingdom of God is here NOW delivering men from the powers of darkness and the power of evil.
Galatians 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:
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age.
There is an overlap of the Age to Come with This Age.
Definition of the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is the dynamic invasion of the rule of God into human history through the redemptive reign of Christ, the purpose of which is to deliver men and women out from under the tyranny of Satan, sin, and death and to bring them under the blessings of God’s reign. It involves two great moments: fulfillment within history, and consummation at the end of history.
Since the Kingdom of God is about the rule of God, why aren’t more preachers preaching the Rule of God and the need of men to surrender to His law-order?

20/08/2022

COMING TO GOD IS PERFORMED BY A PERSON JUST AS HE IS.
"And he arose, and came to his father."—Luke 15:20.

The wretched prodigal's appearance was far from presentable yet, just as he was, he came to his father. The sooner a person comes to God the better, for the radical sin of all is being away from God. The very same pride which leads men away from God may be seen in their notion that they can improve themselves while still they refuse to return to Him. The essence of sin is being far off from God, and whatever they do, so long as that distance remains, nothing done avails. Setting matters right lies in arising and returning to Him from Whom they have departed.
The prodigal was bound to go home just as he was, for there was nothing that he could do. He was reduced to such extremities that he could not do anything about his condition ---- the soul of every person is in that condition. Earthly riches and other comfort zones blind people from this fact. It is the soul that matters for it lives forever while flesh will not last a mere 100 years.
A sinner (that is everyone) is so spiritually reduced that he cannot do anything but go to God as a beggar, he is bankrupt. He is so lost that he cannot even repent or believe apart from God, she is for ever undone unless the Lord shall intervene. It is our wisdom to go to God for everything.
Isaiah 55 ----

It is the Holy Spirit who moves us to return to God,
"God be merciful to me a sinner." ---- even unspoken the Lord can hear the cry of the heart. In Jesus Christ God has already come a long way to meet the sinner. The turning-point of a person’s life is when she turns to God ---- getting to God in Christ, giving all up, and by faith resting in the mercy of God.

Repentance is the first step towards salvation
Mark 1: 14-15 ----
Acts 2:
Acts 20:

A NEW LIFE
The act of returning to the father resulted in a new life for the prodigal; from riotous living to doing the will of his father. This the test for genuine conversion, a professing Christian living in uncleanness is a stranger to God ---- if you have friendship with God you will have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. The cults that claim Christianity are popular primarily because people can be comfortable there in their sins. They throng to them in their millions.
The truly repentant sinner goes to God on his own account, she sees through the false religion of the beast (Rev. 13) ---- the catholic priesthood, the charismatic apostle, prophet etc and the host of other cults ---- she has access with boldness to the mercy-seat.
He never boasts of what he has, for he has nothing but what his father gives him; and is far better off than ever he was in his spendthrift days, yet he is as unassuming as a little child. He lives upon the bounty of his God from day to day.
He loves his father Who forgave freely and forgave all, Who said, "Bring forth the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet."

"I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."

God receives poor sinners now. The worst thing to be dreaded is "I will think of it."
Go to God in Christ Jesus prodigal for He is the Bread of Life you need in your misery. In your spiritual rags go home to God ---- our Lord Jesus Christ extends His arms saying “Come.”
Salvation begins with the resolution "I will arise and go to my father." Pride leads to condemnation ---- submit to the will of the Father who loved us and gave himself for us in the person of his own dear Son.

"I have blotted out thy sins like a cloud, and like a thick cloud thy transgressions." "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

16/08/2022

God’s Free Gift of Righteousness
Romans 3:21–26
Verse 23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” ---- gives the universal need of every human being ---- verse 24 gives the all-sufficient remedy for that need. They tell us our true condition as human beings. And they tell us what God has done to save those who put their trust in his Son, Jesus.
If the truth of these two verses becomes the foundation of your life — you will be unshakable in a hundred crises. If these verses become the sun in the solar system of your life, all your planets will orbit in harmony around the will of God.
These are truths that are so foundational and so central that you should memorize them, meditate on them, bind them to your mind and heart with chains ---- the way a drowning man takes hold of his rescuer’s arm.. Many professing Christians are very weak, and amble through their days like unbelievers, because they don’t hold on to Biblical Truth.
All of us have sinned; we are falling short of God’s glory, we are lacking the glory of God. In describing those who “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18), Paul says in Romans 1:23, “[they] exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image.” And Romans 1:28 says, “They disapproved of having God in their knowledge.” Sin is essentially rejection of God and his glory as the supreme value of our lives. Sin considers God and his glory, and instead of loving God’s glory and treasuring God’s glory, sin exchanges God’s glory for something else.
Sin has to do with God, mainly, it is dishonouring God ---- belittling His glory ---- not trusting him, not treasuring him and not wanting him as the foundation, centre and hub of our lives.
God created the universe to display his glory (Isaiah 43:7). The reason we exist and everything else exists is to display the greatness of the perfections of God. The universe is all about God. The reason there is so much dysfunction and misery in the world is because the world is in rebellion against the purpose of the world. It shouldn’t surprise us that, if the world was designed by God to display his glory, and the human race is intent on glorifying everything but God, there would be great upheaval and malfunction and misery in the world.
We have loved other things more. And so we have treated God and His glory with contempt. The massive problem for every one of us is how to get right with God, and be saved from the consequences of this condition of sin. How shall we ever be accepted in eternity by God when all of us have scorned his infinite worth.
The answer is given in verse 24. What is so great about this verse is that it is all about what God has done to save us, not what we do to save ourselves. Verse 21, “But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested.” Verse 24 “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” It’s all about what God has done to save us and how he did it.
Consider the four descriptions “being justified. . . .”, “as a gift. . . .”, “by his grace. . . .”, “through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
“Being Justified”
The verb is passive: We are not doing this; it is being done to us. Justifying is something that God does. It is finally and decisively the act of God the Father.
Second, notice that in the word “justified” or “just” is essentially the same as “righteous.” In the original language (Greek) “justified” (dikaioumenoi) and “righteousness” (dikaiosune) have the same root (dikai). Justification is the act of God, once for all declaring us just and righteous in his sight ---- the righteousness of God comes to us not as condemnation, but as justification. It comes not as a burden, but as a gift.
The opposite of justify is condemn. When you condemn someone you declare their guilt and assign them their punishment. You don’t make them guilty. And when you justify someone you declare their innocence and assign them their freedom.
So justifying is not making someone just but declaring someone just. In Luke 7:29 “When they heard this all the people and the tax collectors justified God [same word as Romans 3:24] ----.” God is justified by men. It means he is declared to be just.
So in justification God declares us righteous. When verse 22 says that “God’s righteousness is through faith for all who believe,” it means that justification is not in us, but for us. It is not a change of our nature or state, but a change of our standing before him. It is not the same as sanctification, which is done in us, and does change our character. Sanctification is the work of the Spirit of God gradually changing us into the image of his Son.
Space is limiting ---- so we leave here.

05/08/2022

SALVATION IS ALTOGETHER THE GIFT OF GOD.
"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift."—2 Corinthians 9:15.

Salvation is wholly of grace: not of works nor of wages, but it is the gift of God's great bounty to undeserving men. On the contrary, there is no salvation for the self-righteous, the pharisee ---- the word "grace" means "free favour". Salvation comes to us through the Lord Jesus. The essence of salvation is the gift of God's Only-begotten Son who died for us, that we might live through him. God gave Christ as an act of divine love; God gave Him up to die on a cruel and bloody tree, as a sacrifice for sin ---- we deserve to die. The more you look that thought in the face, the more you will reject the idea that, by any possible sorrow, or by any possible labour, or by any possible promise, a man could put himself into the position of deserving to have Christ to die for him. Christ is to come to save sinners, as a free gift of God.
There are many who cling to the notion of man's works as a ground of salvation, yet men are saved by faith, and not by works.
"The just shall live by faith;" "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace." "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt: but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Faith never takes any of the glory to itself. Faith receives as a beggar receives alms, we put faith in God who gives the unspeakable gift; therefore do we glory, not in our faith, but in the salvation which God bestows. Faith is appointed as the porter to open the gate of salvation, because that gate turns upon the hinges of free grace.
We cannot be saved by the merit of our own works, because holy works are themselves a gift, the work of the grace of God. If you have faith, joy and hope, it is because God gave them to you ---- sown there by the Hand of love. If you have lived a godly life and have been a diligent servant of God, it was by the grace of God.

It is God who works all good works in us. Could you work out your salvation with fear and trembling if God did not first work in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure? How can that, then, claim a reward, which is, in itself, the gift of God?
Salvation is clearly said to be "not of works, lest any man should boast"; and that even the good works of believers are the fruit of a renewed life; for "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Further, if salvation were not a free gift, how else could a sinner get it? Some fancy that they are the best people in the world ---- without any truth in it. But I will say nothing about you. A Christian stands exactly where she stood when she first came to Christ, a poor sinner and nothing at all.
She may have been abundant in service and constant in prayer, yet she has nothing but that she has received from God.
Look at the privileges which come through salvation! They cannot be bought, they cannot be earned. They must be a free gift; they are so many and so glorious as to be altogether outside our reach. We cannot by our efforts compass any salvation
Here comes, first, "the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." He that believes in Christ has no sin. His sin is blotted out, he is unto God as though he had never sinned; such mercy must be a gift.
Next, everyone that believes in Christ is justified, and looked upon by God as being perfectly righteous. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and he is "accepted in the Beloved." By this he becomes not only innocent, that is pardoned, but he becomes praiseworthy before God. This is justification. Such a blessing must be the gift of infinite bounty.
Furthermore, beloved, remember that "now we are the sons of God." --- we come to Him as children come to a father, with loving confidence. "If children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ." Could anyone ever deserve all that:? Could such an inheritance have come to you through any merits of your own? No, it must be a gift.
Further than that, we are now made one with Christ. Go tell everywhere this wonder which God has wrought for his people! It is not to be understood; it is an abyss too deep for a finite mind to sound. Every believer is truly united to Christ: "For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones."
Listen yet again. In consequence of our union with Christ, God the Holy Spirit dwells in every believer. Our bodies are His temple. God dwells in us, and we dwell in God.
Can we deserve that? Even a perfect keeping of the law would not have brought to men the abiding of the Holy Ghost in them. It is a blessing that rises higher that the law could ever reach, even if it had been kept.
Let me say, furthermore, PEACE, a blessed peace ---- that divine peace must surely be the gift of God. It is the work of his Holy Spirit, and must be his free gift.
There is still more ---- Heaven itself. See the souls of true Christians there, Hark to their hallelujahs. Behold their endless, measureless delight. "We have washed our robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb;" "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us; but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's sake."
From first to last, then, we see that salvation is all the gift of God ---- we are debtors indeed to the mercy of God ---- it is all of grace from first to last.
What shame, what blasphemy for some to say God demands tithes and sacrifices ---- turning the House of God into a den of robbers and thieves.

30/07/2022

THE PRINCE OF LIFE
“And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.” ---- Acts 3:15
The word Prince is translated “author” where He is called “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb 12:2), and “captain” where He is called “the captain of our salvation,” (Heb 2:10).

Christ is the Creator of all things, and especially of life ---- “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life.”
All life proceed from Him (the emphasis is on spiritual Life) ---- by whom all things consist. He is the quickening Spirit, and by union with Him we live unto God. When we come to deal with men for their salvation, we are powerless, since it remains the sole prerogative of the Son of God to give life to a dead soul. To Him is given power over all flesh, that He may give eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him. “He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life” (1John 5:12), He is “the Prince of life.” ---- the one and only. They “killed the Prince of life.”
In Him is life superlatively and supremely. Of Him John said, “The life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.” He bears the name of “The Life” ---- “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He says of Himself, “I am he that lives ---- a living God who is a living Saviour. The Self-existent and eternal giver of life. “As the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26).
He says of His own life, “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” He is Prince, we are only subjects, living our appointed time. “I know that my Redeemer lives” “The Lord is risen indeed.” If JEHOVAH Jesus lives, His cause can never die, and our acceptance before God can never fail. The great Redeemer lives emphatically and eternally.
He is “the Prince of life” because He won it for us right gloriously. We had forfeited life, and had come under the sentence, “Thou shalt surely die.” We fell under bo***ge to our adversary, the devil, who had the power of death, as a result of our sin and the curse of the Law. By His patient suffering and painful death He won for us the right to live forever. His endurance of the death penalty blotted out the writ of judgment which had been issued against us. He bruised the serpent’s head.
He was both Victim and Victor, handing us the pardon and justification, our eternal life is secured. As by the first Adam came death, so by the second Adam life has been bestowed. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” for the condemnation has been placed upon Him, the Prince of life “who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel”!
As He called Lazarus, and made him live, so can He quicken the corrupt sinner. None have ever trusted Him without receiving life, though their case seemed desperate. They that are in the grave, due to sin, and hear the voice of the Son of God, shall live. They live that believe ---- everlasting life which He compares to water springing up within a well. The prophecy over dry bones in the valley still stands. This is the day of salvation, our Lord is still working spiritual resurrections. He says, “He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Believe you this?” The day will come when our Lord will cause the resurrection of all the dead. When He shall come in the glory of the Father,
You can be quickened from the death wherein you lay dead in trespasses and sins, for He says “I am the resurrection and the life.” Look to Jesus and live.