The Algebra of Being

“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14:11)

All in heaven and on earth are created in Christ, through him and for him, and in him all hold together (Colossians 1:16-17).

“Christ is all and in all.” (Colossians 3:11)

No Being Outside of Jesus Christ

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

Our Rightness With God

Christ is the reconciliation of God and humankind — God’s faithfulness to us and our faithfulness to God.

“God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

We are made righteous, not by impartation or by imputation, but by Incarnation. Christ has taken upon himself our substance and made it his own — and that union is our reconciliation with God.

For Whom Nothing is Mystery

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)

The Father Has Sent the Son to Be the Savior

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14)

The Only God the Gospel Knows

Christ is the Image of the Invisible God, in Whom all the Fullness of Divinity dwells in bodily form, and in Whom we are made complete and become partakers of the Divine Nature. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us. (Colossians 1:18; 2:9-10, 2 Peter 2:4; 2 Corinthians 5:19)

The Incarnation is Humankind Born Again

Regeneration, being “born again,” is not an individual decision but is Christ’s union with humankind. It is through the Incarnation that all are chosen in Him.

“For God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4)

Bringing Salvation to All

“For the grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation to all people.”
(Titus 2:11)

The grace of God has “appeared,” been made visible (*epiphane*) in Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, in whom all the fullness of God dwells in bodily form. This is the Incarnation, by which Christ has united divinity with humanity, God with humankind. Through Christ, God has reconciled all in heaven and on earth to Himself, having made peace by the blood of the Cross.

The Heart Coming Alive With Christ

 

The Death and Regeneration of Human Being

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)

If We Do Not Understand the Incarnation

The Incarnation is integral to the Cross and the Resurrection.

“Consequently, just as one trespass [Adam’s] resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act [Christ’s] resulted in justification and life for all people.” (Romans 5:18)

“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

Death Has Been Swallowed Up In Victory

The Gates of Hell have been destroyed.
The Strong Man has been bound.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)

Jesus is What Happened to the Cross

 

The Moment Awaiting Our “Let It Be”

 

Only What God Wills

God does not will that any perish but that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Evil is But the Lack of the Good