The Abolishment Of Death
Reading today from the second epistle of Paul the apostle to Timothy, chapter one, beginning at the first verse.
II Timothy 1:1-11: Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day" Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy" When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice" and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear" but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God" Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
A great, wonderful statement is made here in verse ten. Paul said, “Christ Jesus hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” It’s no wonder the Lord said, “My Words are Spirit and they are life.” He has brought life to light, and light here means understanding" having your understanding enlightened that you may be able to comprehend with all saints the height, depth, width and length of this great, wonderful thing of God. Though these things were given to us in Christ Jesus before the world ever was, yet they were not brought to light to those that were under the law until the seed came to whom the promise was made, even the Lord Jesus Christ. But when the seed came, the Bible says that in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, made under the law, made of a woman, to gather all things in heaven and earth into the body of His Son. That is, God Himself, as a great, eternal Spirit, should rule through that blood, through that heart, through that bodily figure or image and be the Lord and King over all His heritage.
God does nothing today without the body of the Lord Jesus. He does everything through the body of the Lord Jesus, and unless He comes to you through the blood, then you could not exist. As a matter of fact, He has taken away the sins of the world because His blood is on the seat of atonement. The Bible says that we have redemption through His blood. The blood of bulls and goats could not make the comer thereunto perfect, for year after year they brought sin to God’s remembrance. But Jesus, coming as a human sacrifice (on the man or beast side which fell from the garden), and coming down through the lineage of man, coming down as a Lamb without spot, without wrinkle, without blemish: here we see the evening time sacrifice of that great altar that was erected in the days of Moses, the one that they could not allow the fire to cease from.
So then, we see God, the great consuming fire, as He falls upon the sacrifice in the late evening time of light. This great, brazen altar of Calvary, as we look back toward the brazen serpent, and see the identity of what’s taking place here. We see the Lamb that is spotless, that of the evening time, as the Pesach offering or the lamb offering. Even as it was in the days of Jesus, there was the time when that lamb had to be set out so many days, perhaps four days, for people to come by and see that it was a lamb without spot, a lamb without blemish. Here is Jesus, being a type and a shadow of the coming lamb, sitting there in those courts to this amount of days, that people might quiz Him and people might say things to Him, and people might test Him to see if they could find fault with Him or cross Him up in any of His words or doctrine. They found no fault. Even as it was said by Pilate, “I find no fault in this just man.” He found no fault. There is no fault in this just man.
We find this Lamb, this perfect one without spot, without wrinkle, without blemish. Not even the bones of the body could not be broken. Had they been broken, He could not have been the Pesach lamb. In the Old Testament, it was stated in prophetical utterance, “Not a bone of His body shall be broken.” His countenance was marred more than any man. He was bruised for our transgressions, and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. The evening time Lamb was upon the big, brazen altar, taking away the sins of the world, once for all, with the blood that’s on the seat of atonement through redemption.
Now we have this grace. We find that even the world exists today because the blood is on the seat of atonement as grace, for a dispensational grace period. So we see, beloved friend, that this wonderful thing has taken place. He hath taken away sin. He came to abolish sin, to take away sin. He hath abolished sin within His flesh. The prophetical utterance of the Old Testament, in the book of Daniel, says that Messiah shall come, and He shall make an end of sin. By one offering, even the perfect body, He took away sin once and for all. In the Old Testament, sin could not be taken away in that the sin offerings brought to God’s remembrance death, sin, and corruption. Periodically, once a year, it was brought to His remembrance as the high priest made this offering.
The Lord Jesus, not being a priest ordained of man but of God, came once and for all, and took away sin. He did away with sin by His own body, and entered into the holy of holies once and for all to officiate, to make intercession for you and I as the Lamb of God. John said, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.” He’s here now. Jesus said at the supper, “Eat My flesh, drink My blood, for if you do not, you’ll have no life in you.” And remember, at the Exodus from Egypt, when they got ready to go out of Egypt, it was told them that they should take the blood of the lamb, this lamb without spot, wrinkle or blemish, and should put the blood over the door post. They should smite the two sides of the door. They were to have this as a blood covering. and at the midnight cry, when the death angel began to move, everyone would be spared, unless he should come and smite the firstborn.
Your first birth is of Adam. You’re born in Adam unto death unless the blood is applied unto redemption. Remember the virgins at the midnight cry that Jesus spoke of. There’s coming a time when gross darkness shall cover the people in the end time. The death angel will begin to strike, and the firstborn will be smitten, as to those born of Adam. In Adam, all die unless you’re born again, unless you’re born again of His Spirit. He said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.” You cannot see the kingdom of heaven unless you are born again. The Spirit of Christ must enter into you. The law and the prophets until John, since that time the kingdom of God has been preached and men have pressed their way into it. It’s Christ in you, the hope of glory, in that He alone was made heir to the glory of God. He appeared in that glory between Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration. It’s Christ in you. He is heir to the glory of God.
He hath taken away the sins of the world. Jesus has come! Good tidings, great joy! The angel appeared on the hillside saying, “Peace on earth, good will toward man.” That is, God hath taken away your sins and your corruptions, and what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, so we that believe on Jesus Christ and through His name, might receive the remission of sin, even unto this day we’re living in. So we see the beauty of what God has done. They under the law could not be made perfect without us. They all died in the faith, not having received the promise, but today, they can be made perfect. Even as He entered into the heart of the earth to make them perfect, so has He entered into your heart to make you perfect in Christ Jesus.
By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.
Founder and first President of Jesus Christ’s Eternal Kingdom of Abundant Life, Inc.
Holiness Unto The Lord