1 Peter 1:23

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

 Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live (Deu. 8:3). Quoted in Mat. 4:4 and Luk. 4:4, being the Lord's first ministerial utterance in the days of His flesh. The words preface this, It standeth written. To live and to live continuously in the future, man must be begotten by the incorruptible seed, the Word, which will most surely result in the rebirth or resurrection from the dead.

We might understand it a bit better if we consider the begetting of our Lord, Who was begotten, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13). And He was without sin. So the Spirit begetting of a man is a miraculous work and results in resurrection; all a new creation.

In John 3:1-2 Nicodemus comes by night to ask The Lord Jesus spiritual questions. Jesus Christ begins to answer in John 3:3. In John 3:5, the Lord makes it plain to Nicodemus that a man must be begotten of Spiritual Water, which is the Word of God (Eph 5:26) if he is to enter into The Kingdom of God. And in the next verse, John 3:6, he makes a comparison, showing that anything that is begotten of the flesh brings forth flesh (no evolution here), and that which is begotten of the Spirit brings forth a spiritual body in The Resurrection. In John 3:8, we are to understand that the pneuma, the Spirit (not wind), resides in those who are begotten, leading them where He wills and speaking through them as He wills. This is a great lesson for us yet today.

Note the usage of begotten in John 3:16 and John 3:18. He was God's Son because of a unique begetting.

In 1 Cor. 4:15, Paul reminds them that in Christ Jesus, he had begotten them through The Gospel. This is a slightly different angle on the usage of the word begotten, but it helps with the study of the word.

It is too bad that the translation of Gal. 4:23 has obscured the real truth. But he of the bondwoman was begotten 'after the flesh;' but he of the free woman (was begotten) 'by promise.' Think about this. In Gal. 4:24, the word 'gendereth' is still in the Greek, the word for beget. Also, in Gal. 4:29, we have the word born twice, but it is really beget or begotten. Notice the conclusion at the end of the verse. Professing Christians, but not begotten of the Spirit, are persecuting those who are begotten of the Spirit. 'Twas ever so.

Note another use of beget in 2 Tim. 2:23, But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender (beget) strifes. You may think of some similar passages in which this idea prevails.

1 Pet. 1:3 tells us a profound truth. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." This again echoes Deu. 8:3 and other passages mentioned. It is too bad that after using the word correctly, the translators changed it in 1 Pet. 1:23. There it should read, "Being begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, Which liveth and abideth forever."

So we are led to understand that this begetting is everlasting life; the alternative - perish.

Romans 5:8

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The question we have to face is which of these is the answer to the problem of sin. Does sin have to be expiated in hell, or was it taken care of on Calvary? There is a wide difference of opinion.

"Christ died for the ungodly." Rom. 5:6. It does not say that He died for the godly. It does not say that He died for the saints. All who do not believe are ungodly, without God. All such are alienated from the life that is in God. Christ died for all these. We find no exception, and no one is too wicked to be excluded.

"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Tim. 1:15. These two Scriptures are on each side of The Dispensational Boundary. But they teach a common Truth. Christ died for sinners. Now this includes the ungodly, for they are sinners. But it includes more than that. The argument in Romans is that all have sinned, both Jewish and Gentile believers, and come short of The Glory of God. So every man is classed as a sinner, whether he be a believer or unbeliever. Christ then died for all.

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. Here is a sweeping statement. All men have been concluded under sin. Now here we find that the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. That means everybody. No exceptions are mentioned anywhere. That would leave no one who would have to go to an imaginary hell and suffer endless torments and torture for his sins. They have been taken away. There is none left for him to face.

"God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." 2 Cor. 5:19. The world here covers just as much territory as it does in John 3:16 or John 1:29. It means everybody and nowhere does the Word of God admit of an exception to this. The blood of the Lamb of God has taken away sin. It has been taken away by virtue of the fact that it is not imputed to anybody. Every person that has lived has come under this provision. It was foreshadowed in the sacrifice made in Gen. 3:21. Those who would follow in the way of Cain do away with the blood sacrifice, get their salvation by works, and relegate the rest to a hell of their imagination to serve out their endless term of misery for their sins. This denies that Christ was the Lamb of God. This denies that He died for the ungodly. This denies that He died for sinners. But remember this; reconciliation does not give life. It only prepares all mankind to receive life if they care for it and desire it. All are on the same level. There is nothing between them except their own willfulness and rejection of The Life offered.

"In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Eph 1:7. "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Col. 1:14. Again, we are on this side of the dispensational frontier. Redemption is not dispensational but entirely doctrinal. To say that anyone would have to suffer for his sins is only to deny this redemption.

"Jesus, our Lord ...was raised again for our justification." Rom. 4:24-25. The work is finished. Every sin is taken care of. Therefore He was Resurrected.

Ephesians 3:18

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

In this verse, we find Love that has breadth, length, depth, and height, and we immediately notice this Love is four-dimensional, not three like everything in our world. This is Heavenly Love, for it says in Greek that we may experientially know This Love which passes experiential knowledge (Eph. 3:19). We can plumb the depth of This Love where He Loved us when we were dead in trespasses and sin. We are made to experience and comprehend the height to which The Love of God has exalted us as adopted sons in The Dispensation of The Mystery.

Look at Ephesians 2:1-7. Note in the first verse the words in italics. It is not necessary to drop down five verses to find a verb to take care of the ellipsis (a word or phrase left out). It is found in the preceding verse and right at hand (Eph. 1:23). According to the structure, this subject began with the prayer in Eph. 1:15-23. So all of chapter one from verse 15 leads up to this expression, And you. The note in the Companion Bible suggests Even you.

So Eph. 2:1 here means, Even you hath He filled with all this fulness, even you who were dead by trespasses and sins. What a contrast between the then and now! The depth to which we all at one time had fallen being dead in trespasses and sins. This speaks of the natural man and his inheritance from Adam, aided and abetted by the world, the flesh, and the devil. There is only one reason for this great change, and it is in Eph. 2:5, God's Grace.

Note the three things that work together against the natural man; the course of this world, the prince of the power of the air (Satan), and the lusts of our flesh. In Rom. 1:18-32, where three times it is said that God gave them up or gave them over because of their own willfulness; they suppressed the truth in unrighteousness, they did not glorify God, were unthankful, imagined things, worshiped images, and the like, even as today.

In verse one, Paul says you, but in verse 5, he includes himself with those who had been dead. Paul had been at one time a great religionist, and he was at the top of being lawful, for he was a Pharisee. He had zealously taken sides in the Jews religion, but now in Christ, he finally realized his own fallen state, dead in trespasses and sins.

We have pointed out the depth of His Love for us when we were dead in trespasses and sins. But look at the height; made us sit together in Heavenly Places in Christ Jesus. And we are told that He is Far above all power and authority. The ones who were in the depths of trespasses and sins at one time are now seated with Christ in Heavenly Places, Far above all.

In Eph. 2:7, we have part of the length mentioned, for it is in The Ages to come that we will experience further kindness. The other extreme of the length goes back to before the overthrow of the world. See Eph. 1:4, for here we are chosen in Christ before the overthrow of the world to live in the ages to come in Heavenly Places.

In view of all these blessings, we who once were dead in trespasses and sins are now asked to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called (Eph. 4:1).

Note the words "But God" in Eph. 2:4. This is like Selah. Please take note, is what it means. Notice that God loved us while we were yet dead in sins. His mercy could only be manifested because of the blood of Christ. Only in Christ can we be in The Heavenlies.

And all this is because of the breadth or width, which is like as far as the east is from the west, or endless like His Love, Mercy, and Grace.

Deuteronomy 8:3

Man Doth not live by bread only, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord (Jehovah) doth man live.

The context tells us that the manna was given in the wilderness in order that Israel might learn the lesson above. The lesson is that man by himself is nothing, that all his religion and his works, that all his wisdom and inventions can go no farther than the grave. So the man who eats bread and never takes thought of his Creator does not continue to live. Length of days cannot be his hope. He returns to the dust from which he came.

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