Table of Contents
Section 1 – God’s reaction to His creation
- God’s opinion on His creative works
- Creation Day 1 – light
- Creation Day 2 – expanse (sky)
- Creation Day 3 – dry ground and sea
- Creation Day 4 – sun, moon & stars
- Creation Day 5 – sea creatures & birds
- Creation Day 6 – animals & mankind
- Creation Day 7 – rest, blessed and made holy
- God’s favourable opinion – Scriptures
- God’s opinion matters
- God grieved when Adam & Eve failed
- God’s plan for recreation in Christ Jesus
Section 2 – God’s opinion of me
- God’s opinion of us linked with His opinion of His Son
- List of Scriptures reflecting God’s opinion of me
- The rest of God
- The physical importance of the 7th day of rest
- Jesus is our Sabbath rest – Question & Answer from a website
God’s reaction to His creation
Creation culminated in two amazing things – “God’s opinion of His creation” and “the rest of God”
GOD’S OPINION ON HIS CREATIVE WORKS
Here is a brief account of the creation and God’s reaction to His creative work:
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Gen 1:2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
- Creation Day 1 - God created light and separated the light from the darkness, calling light "day" and darkness "night."
Gen 1:3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
Gen 1:4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
- Creation Day 2 - God created an expanse to separate the waters and called it "sky."
Gen 1:6 Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
Gen 1:7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
Gen 1:8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
- Creation Day 3 - God created the dry ground and gathered the waters, calling the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters "seas." On day three, God also created vegetation - plants and trees in great diversity (many “kinds”) to be self-sustaining and with the ability to reproduce God declares that all this is good.
Gen 1:9 Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.
Gen 1:10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:11 Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"; and it was so.
Gen 1:12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
- Creation Day 4 - God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern and separate the day and the night. The sun is the primary source of light while the moon reflects the light of the sun. These would also serve as signs to mark seasons, days, and years. This work is also declared to be good by God.
Gen 1:14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;
Gen 1:15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.
Gen 1:16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
Gen 1:17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
Gen 1:18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
- Creation Day 5 - God created every living creature of the seas and every winged bird, blessing them to multiply and fill the waters and the sky with life. All of these creatures were created with the ability to perpetuate their species by reproduction. God declares this work good
Gen 1:20 Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens."
Gen 1:21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
Gen 1:23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
- Creation Day 6 - God created the animals to fill the earth. On day six, God also created man and woman (Adam and Eve) in his own image to commune with him. He blessed them and gave them every creature and the whole earth to rule over, care for, and cultivate. God declares this work good. (It was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely).
Gen 1:24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was so.
Gen 1:25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
Gen 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Gen 1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Gen 1:29 Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
Gen 1:30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so.
Gen 1:31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
- Creation Day 7 - God had finished his work of creation and so he rested on the seventh day, blessing it and making it holy.
Gen 2:1 THUS THE heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. [Heb. 4:9, 10.]
Gen 2:3 And God blessed (spoke good of) the seventh day, set it apart as His own, and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all His work which He had created and done. [Exod. 20:11.] (AMP)
God’s favourable opinion – Scriptures
Gen 1:10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.
[Amplified Bible: And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant, fitting and admirable) and He approved it completely]
God’s opinion matters
God had a favourable opinion of His own creation.
Whatever God creates or does – His opinion about it is of paramount importance, because when God approves of something it is backed by His omnipotence and the totality of His being and essence.
It is equally important to understand, to believe and to unconditionally accept and confess God’s opinion about us – it is a matter of life and death. (Confess means: to say exactly what God says about something or someone, i.e. “to agree with God on the subject)
After the fall of Adam and Eve God grieved in His heart about the wickedness of man and He was sorry that He had made man
Gen 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
God’s plan for “recreation”
But a loving and merciful God has already designed a unique plan to rescue His creation – He will recreate man, but this time man will be born and recreated from above in Christ, a life giving Spirit.
Eph 2:10 For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), RECREATED in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].(AMP)
This recreation of man is the practical implementation of God’s eternal plan of salvation that was already in place in Christ Jesus long before the foundation of the world, i.e. before the earth was created. God chose His Son, Jesus Christ and chose and predestined us in His Son. (Recorded in Ephesians 13-5)
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Eph 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
Eph 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
The result of this awesome work of Christ in us is that God has an extremely favourable opinion of us. If we are unable to grasp the reality and the depth of His opinion of us we would never be able to walk in victory.
God’s opinion of me
God’s opinion of us is in direct relation to His opinion of His Son, Jesus Christ
Mat 12:18 Behold, My Servant Whom I have chosen, My Beloved in and with Whom My soul is well pleased and has found its delight. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim and show forth justice to the nations.
Mar 1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Mar 1:10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
Mar 1:11 and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
Mar 9:2 Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;
Mar 9:3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
Mar 9:7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!"
2Pe 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
2Pe 1:17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"—
Jesus is God’s answer to this world
1Co 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,
1Co 1:24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
Col 1:19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
Col 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
Col 2:10 and in Him you have been made complete,
Eph 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
Eph 3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
Eph 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
Eph 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
Eph 3:18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
Eph 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
What is God saying about me as a result of His recreation work in me through Jesus Christ?
Below is a list of all the relevant Scriptures
Matthew 3:11 – I am baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His Holy Spirit fire is constantly purging, purifying and refining me from all chaff in my life
Matthew 4:4 – I live life by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God
Matthew 5:13 - I am the salt of the earth.
Matthew 5:14 - I am the light of the world.
Matthew 5:17 – I am totally released from the Law of Moses, because Christ fulfilled it
Matthew 16:16 – I have the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God
Matthew 16:19 – I have the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever is bound in heaven, I can bind on earth and whatever is loosed in heaven, I can loose on earth (also Matthew 18:18)
Matthew 28:19 – Christ is with me always (also Matthew 1:23 Jesus is called “Immanuel – God with us)
Mark 16:17-18 - I have received the power of the Holy Spirit to lay hands on the sick and see them recover, to cast out demons, to speak with new tongues. I have power over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm me (Also Luke 10:17-19).
Luke 6:38 – In my giving it is given to me. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, men give into my bosom.
Luke 12:32 – I am a recipient of the kingdom out of the good pleasure of my Father
Luke 17:21 – The kingdom of God is within me
John 1:4 – In Christ is life and the life is my light
John 1:12 - I am a child of God (part of His family). (Also Romans 8:16 and 1 John 3:1-2)
John 1:29 – My sins are completely taken away by the Lamb of God
John 3:3, 5 – I am born again of water and Spirit into the kingdom of God
John 4:14 – The Holy Spirit within me is a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life
John 6:63 – I received the Holy Spirit who gives life to me
John 6:47 - I have eternal life (life without limitations)
John 7:37 – Out of my innermost being flows rivers of Holy Spirit waters
John 10:10 – I live in the life and abundance that Jesus came to give us
John 10:28 - I am protected
John 12:36 – I am a son of the Light
John 14:3 – Jesus prepared a place for me (I am seated with Him at the right hand of the Father)
John 14:13 – My prayers (claims and demands) receive the personal attention of Jesus – He will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son
John 14:17 – The Holy Spirit of truth permanently abides WITH me and is IN me
John 14:26 - The Holy Spirit (the Comforter, Counsellor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby) is my Teacher teaching me all things concerning Christ and His Father
John 14:27 – I received the peace of Christ and my heart is not troubled or afraid
John 16:10 – I am constantly reminded by the Holy Spirit that I am the righteousness of God in Christ (the Holy Spirit is not accusing or condemning me)
John 16:13 – The Holy Spirit is constantly guiding me in all truth - I am not in the dark concerning the future, because He is also declaring to me the things to come
John 16:14 – The Holy Spirit is constantly glorifying Christ in me by taking of what is His and reveals (transmits) it to me
John 15:1, 5 – Jesus is the true Vine and I, as a branch am part of His life.
John 15:15 - I am Jesus’ friend.
John 15:16 - I am chosen and appointed by Jesus to bear fruit (Genesis 1:28 Be fruitful...). Lasting fruit will result in whatever I ask the Father in the Name of Jesus will be given to me
John 17:20-23 - I am prayed for by Jesus Christ
John 17:20-23 - I am united with other believers
John 20:22-23 – I have the capacity to receive and contain the Holy Spirit and to preach forgiveness of sins
Acts 1:8 – I received power (ability, efficiency, and might) because of the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:8 - I am a personal witness of Christ
Acts 2:17 – The prophetic abilities in me have been restored at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:17 – Through the Holy Spirit I understand fully the inherent plan of God for my life and I flow in it
Acts 17:28 – In Him, I live and move and have my being (exist). I am His offspring
Romans 1:7 - I am greatly loved by God and I am called a saint (also Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12 and 1 Thessalonians 1:4).
Romans 2:29 – I am a true Jew inwardly because I am circumcised in my heart by the Holy Spirit and my praise is from God
Romans 3:23-24 and Romans 5:1 - I have been justified freely by His grace (completely forgiven and made righteous).
Romans 4:7-8 – I am blessed because my lawless deeds have been forgiven and the Lord will not take my sin into account
Romans 4:25 – He (Jesus) was delivered over because of my transgressions and raised because of my justification
Romans 5:1 – I have been justified by faith and have peace with God
Romans 5:5 – The love of God has been poured out into my heart by the Holy Spirit
Romans 5:9 – Having been justified by the blood of Jesus, I shall be saved from the wrath of God
Romans 5:10 – Having been reconciled with God through the death of His Son, I shall be saved by His life
Romans 5:17 - I have received the gift of righteousness and reign in this life by Jesus Christ
Romans 6:1-9 – I, who have been baptized into Christ Jesus (not water baptism but a baptism by the Holy Spirit into Christ), have been baptized into His death. I became united with Christ in the likeness of His death, and also united in the likeness of His resurrection and now live with Him. My old self was crucified with Him, in order that my body of sin might be done away with. I am no longer a slave to sin - I am freed from sin - so that I might walk in newness of life (also Romans 7:6)
Romans 6:11 – Because I have died to sin, I am now a spirit being alive to God (also 1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Romans 6:13 – I am an instrument of righteousness to God
Romans 6:14 – Sin has no dominion over me, for I am not under the Law but under grace
Romans 6:18 - I am a slave of righteousness.
Romans 6:22 - I am enslaved to God with the benefits of sanctification and eternal life
Romans 6:23 – I received the free gift of God in Jesus Christ my Lord – eternal life
Romans 7:1, 6 – I have been delivered from the Law
Romans 7:4 - I died to the Law through the body of Christ, and I am joined (married) to Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead, in order that I might bear fruit for God.
Romans 8:1 - I am free forever from condemnation.
Romans 8:1&9 – I am in the Spirit and I walk according to the Spirit
Romans 8:2 - I am free from the law of sin and death (also John 8:32)
Romans 8:10 – My spirit is alive because of righteousness
Romans 8:11 – The Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells in me and is giving life to my mortal body
Romans 8:14, 15 – I have received the Spirit of adoption as a son and I have this unique relationship with God where I cry out “Abba Father” (also Galatians 3:26 and 4:6)
Romans 8:16 – The Holy Spirit Himself testifies that I am a child of God
Romans 8:17 - I am an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ sharing His inheritance with Him.
Romans 8:17-18 – I suffered with Christ (I was crucified with Him) and now I am also glorified with Him (exalted to a place of dignity in Him). His glory is now revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!
Romans 8:19-22 – I am a revealed son of God for the purpose of setting His creation free from the futility and the bondage of corruption to which it was subjected to and to take creation into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Romans 8:26-27 - The Holy Spirit helps in my weaknesses, making intercession for me according to the will of God
Romans 8:28 - I am assured all things work together for good for me
Romans 8:29-30 – I am foreknown by God, predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. I am called, justified and glorified by God
Romans 8:31-32 – God is for me – who can be against me. Jesus was delivered up for me and with Him I am given all things freely.
Romans 8:33 - I am His elect, because of justification and nobody can bring a charge against me (also Colossians 3:12).
Romans 8:34 – Christ makes intercession for me continually. He pleads my cause; He aids and assists me; He presents my interests before the mercy-seat in the heavens. (Also Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them). According to 1 John 2:1, I have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous
Romans 8:35, 38-39 – Nothing can separate me from the love of God
Romans 8:37 - I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loves me
Romans 10:8 - The Word (Rhema) is near me, in my mouth and in my heart -- that is, the word of faith which I am preaching,
Romans 10:9 - I confess with my mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead; therefore I am saved in any situation
Romans 10:11 – I will never be put to shame or be disappointed because I believe on Him
Romans 12:5 – Together with all the many believers worldwide, we are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
Romans 12:6-8 – By the grace of God I have been born with the following seven gifts (abilities, traits) and I can maximize them through the Holy Spirit
- Prophetic ability (activity or functioning)
- The ability to serve (minister)
- Teaching abilities
- The ability to exhort
- The ability to give and share with liberality
- The ability to lead with diligence
- The ability to show mercy with cheerfulness
I Corinthians 1:8-9 - I am blameless and in fellowship with Jesus Christ, God’s Son
1 Corinthians 1:30 - By God’s doing I have been put into Christ who became for me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 – The Holy Spirit reveals to me the things that God has prepared for me - things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man
1 Corinthians 2:12 - I have received the Spirit of God into my life that I might know the things freely given to me by God.
1 Corinthians 2:16 - I have been given the mind of Christ (also Philippians 2:5)
1 Corinthians 3:16 – As part of the church of God, I am the temple of God where God’s Spirit has His permanent dwelling
1 Corinthians 3:9 – I am God’s co-worker (also 2 Corinthians 6:1)
1 Corinthians 3:23 – I belong to Christ
1 Corinthians 6:2-3 – I, as a saint will judge the World and angels
1Corinthians 6:11 – I am washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
1Corinthians 6:14 - God has raised the Lord and is also raising me up through His power
1Corinthians 6:15 – My body is a member of Christ
1 Corinthians 6:17 - I am joined to the Lord and am one spirit with Him.
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 - I have been bought with a price. I belong to God.
1 Corinthians 6:19 – my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; I am not my own
1 Corinthians 7:22-23 - I am bought with a price and am Christ's slave
1Corinthians 8:3 – I am known by God
1Corinthians 8:6 – I exist through my Lord, Jesus Christ by who all things are and I exist for God, the Father, from whom all things are
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 – I am a channel for all nine manifestations of the Spirit
1Corinthians 12:13 – I was baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit and I am drinking of the Spirit.
1Corinthians 12:18 - God has placed me as a member in the body just as He desired
1 Corinthians 12:27 - I am a member of Christ’s body (also Ephesians 5:30)
1Corinthians 15:45, 49 – I received life from the last Adam, Jesus Christ who is a life-giving spirit, and I bear the image of the heavenly
1 Corinthians 15:57 - I am victorious through my Lord Jesus Christ
1Corinthians 15:58 – I am steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that my toil is not in vain in the Lord.
2 Corinthians 1:4 – God comforts me in all my affliction so that I will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction
2 Corinthians 1:20 - How many soever are God's promises, in Christ is the answer, “YES” to the question, “Will they be fulfilled?”
2 Corinthians 1:21 - I have been established and anointed by God in Christ
2 Corinthians 1:22 – God has also appropriated and acknowledged me as His by putting His seal upon me, and I have been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge (the security deposit and guarantee of the fulfilment of His promise)
2 Corinthians 2:14-16 - God always leads me in triumph in Christ, and manifests through me the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. I am a fragrance of Christ from life to life
2 Corinthians 3:6 – I am a minister of the new covenant (of the Spirit)
2 Corinthians 3:18 – While I behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, I am transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 4:4 - I am a believer, and the light of the Gospel shines in my mind
2 Corinthians 4:6-7 - God is the One who has shined in my heart to give the Light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Christ. I have this treasure (the divine Light of the Gospel) in an earthen vessel so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from me.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 - Though my outer man is decaying, yet my inner man is being renewed day by day, and I know that momentary, light affliction is producing for me an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.
2 Corinthians 5:5 - God prepared me for eternity and gave me the Spirit as a guarantee
2 Corinthians 5:7 – I walk by faith and not by sight
2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 - since I have died, I no longer live for myself, but for Him (Christ) – I am driven by the love of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 - I am a new creation (new person), old things have passed away, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:18, 19 - I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:20 - I am an ambassador for Christ
2 Corinthians 5:21 - I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ
2 Corinthians 6:16 - He is our God and we are His people
2 Corinthians 6:18 - He is our Father and we are His sons/daughters
2 Corinthians 8:9 – Christ became poor so that I could become rich
2 Corinthians 9:10 - When I minister in giving to needy saints, God will supply and multiply my seed for sowing and increase the harvest of my righteousness
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 – The weapons of my warfare are mighty in God for the destruction of fortresses; to destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:2 – By the grace of God I am espoused (betrothed) to one Husband (Jesus Christ) and I am presented to Him as a pure virgin (undefiled by the Law and sin)
Galatians 1:4 – I am rescued from this present evil age because Jesus gave Himself for my
Galatians 1:12 – I received this gospel of grace through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 2:16 – I am not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus
Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and I live my life by faith in the Son of God (The life I am living is Christ’s life)
Galatians 3:13 - I am redeemed from the curse of the Law
Galatians 3:14 – I have received the blessing of Abraham and the promised Holy Spirit
Galatians 3:26, 28 - I am a son of God and one in Christ.
Galatians 3:29 – I am Abraham’s seed and an heir according to the promise
Galatians 4:5-6 - I have been redeemed from the Law and have received the adoption as a son. Because I am a son God sent the Spirit of His Son into my heart, crying “Abba Father”
Galatians 4:7 – Because I am a son, I am an heir of God through Christ
Galatians 4:19 – Christ is formed in me
Galatians 5:1 – Christ has made us free from the yoke of bondage – the Law
Galatians 5:22-23 – The fruit of the Spirit is brought forth in and through me
Galatians 5:16, 18 & 25 – I live and walk and am led by the Spirit
Galatians 6:15 – I am a new creative act
Ephesians 1:1 - I am faithful, loyal and steadfast in Christ Jesus
Ephesians 1:1 - I am a saint. (Also 1 Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:1 and Colossians 1:2)
Ephesians 1:3 - I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing.
Ephesians 1:4 - I have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and I am holy and without blame before Him (also 1 Peter 1:16)
Ephesians 1:5 - I was predestined (determined by God) to be adopted as a son.
Ephesians 1:6 – By the glory of His grace, I was made accepted in the Beloved (Jesus Christ)
Ephesians 1:7 - I am in Him (also 1 Corinthians 1:30)
Ephesians 1:7, 8 - I have been redeemed, forgiven, and am a recipient of His lavish grace without restriction (also Colossians 1:14). I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood
Ephesians 1:8 – I have wisdom and understanding (practical insight and prudence) of the generosity of His grace
Ephesians 1:9 – God made known to me the mystery of His will – the plan that He purposed in Christ in accordance with His good pleasure
Ephesians 1:11 – I have been predestined (foreordained) to obtain an inheritance in Christ and God is working out everything in my life in agreement with the counsel and design of His will
Ephesians 1:12 – I have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of His glory
Ephesians 1:13 - I am sealed with the promised Holy Spirit
Ephesians 1:13, 14 - I have been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge (a deposit/down payment) guaranteeing His ongoing working in me to bring me to the full knowledge and measure of Christ.
Ephesians 1:17-19 - I have received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened and I know:
- The hope of His calling
- The riches of the glory of His inheritance in me, and
- The exceeding greatness of His power towards me
Ephesians 2:4 – God, in Christ Jesus poured out the richness of His mercy in my life and demonstrated to me the greatness of His love with which He loved me
Ephesians 2:5 – I was dead in my trespasses and sins, have been made alive together with Christ (in fellowship and in union with Christ)
Ephesians 2:6 - I have been raised up with Christ (also Colossians 2:12)
Ephesians 2:6 - I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (According to Ephesians 1:21 I was placed in Christ, who is far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come)
Ephesians 2:7 - He made us alive, raised us and seated us in Christ that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable riches of His free grace toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8 - By grace (a gift of God) I have been saved through faith; not of myself and not as a result of works
Ephesians 2:10 - I am God’s workmanship (handiwork) created in Christ to do the work He planned beforehand that I should do.
Ephesians 2:13 - I have been brought near to God through Christ’s blood
Ephesians 2:14 – He is my peace
Ephesians 2:16 – I am reconciled together with Israel in one body to God through the cross
Ephesians 2:18 - I have direct access to God through the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19 - I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God’s people in His family - a member of God’s household
Ephesians 2:20 – My life is securely built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone
Ephesians 2:21-22 – In Christ, this whole building of believers is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord and a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. I am part of that
Ephesians 3:1 and 4:1 - I am a prisoner of Christ.
Ephesians 3:6 – The mystery of Christ has now been revealed to me – I am a fellow heir and fellow member of the body, and a fellow partaker of the promise in Christ Jesus
Ephesians 3:7 - God’s power works through me
Ephesians 3:10 – I am part of the church through which God is making known His manifold wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places
Ephesians 3:12 - I may approach God with boldness, freedom, and confidence
Ephesians 3:16 – I am strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man according to the riches of His glory
Ephesians 3:17 – Christ dwells in my heart through faith
Ephesians 3:17 – I am rooted and grounded in love
Ephesians 3:18 – I am able to comprehend with the saints the width, length, depth and height of God
Ephesians 3:19 – I know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge
Ephesians 3:19 - I am filled with the fullness of God
Ephesians 3:20 – the power that works in me (the power of understanding Christ and His fullness) triggers God to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think
Ephesians 3:21 - I can bring glory to God
Ephesians 4:1 - I have been called
Ephesians 4:12 – I am equipped for the work of ministry (service)
Ephesians 4:13 – I am coming to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Ephesians 4:14, 15 – I am no longer a child, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, but I speak the truth in love and I am growing up in all aspects into Him who is the head, Christ
Ephesians 4:23 – I am renewed in the spirit of my mind
Ephesians 4:24 – I have put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:30 – I am sealed by the Holy Spirit of God.
Ephesians 4:32 - I can forgive others and be kind and compassionate to them
Ephesians 5:2 - Christ loved me and gave Himself up for me
Ephesians 5:8, 9 – I was in darkness, but now I am light in the Lord, and the fruit of the Spirit (or Light) flowing through me is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth
Ephesians 5:18 – I am constantly filled with the Spirit and speak the word
Ephesians 5:25-27 – I am part of the church whom Christ loved and gave Himself for. He sanctified and cleansed the church with the washing of water by the word, and He presents her to Himself a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:29, 30 – Being a member of His body (and as such part of the His church), I am nourished and cherished by Christ (the Head of the body and of the church)
Ephesians 6:10 - I am strong in the Lord and have His power
Ephesians 6:13-17 – I am clothed with the armour of God and stand firm in the day of evil
- Truth
- Righteousness
- Preparation of the gospel of peace
- Faith
- Salvation
- Word of God
- Prayer
Ephesians 6:16 - I quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one with my shield of faith
Ephesians 6:18 – I am able to pray in the Spirit
Philippians 1:6 - I am confident that God will complete (perfect) the work He has begun in me
Philippians 1:11 – I am filled with the fruits of righteousness to the glory and praise of God
Philippians 2:5 - I have the mind (attitude) of Christ (the attitude of a servant)
Philippians 2:12, 13 – God works in me (to bring the finished work of His Son to fruition in my life) both to will and to do for His good pleasure
Philippians 2:14, 15 – I heed to the call of doing all things without grumbling or disputing and thereby prove myself to be blameless and innocent, a child of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom I appear as a brilliant bright light in the world. My brilliance is similar to the brilliance of the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21:10-11
Philippians 3:14 - I am persevering, pressing on toward the goal to win the prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling me
Philippians 3:20 - I am a citizen of heaven
Philippians 4:6, 7 - My heart and mind is guarded by the peace of God that passes all understanding – I am anxious for nothing
Philippians 4:13 - I am not helpless, because I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me
Philippians 4:19 - I have no lack for my God supplies all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
Colossians 1:9 - I am filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
Colossians 1:10 – I am fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God
Colossians 1:11 - I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power
Colossians 1:12 - I am qualified to share in His inheritance
Colossians 1:13 - I have been delivered (rescued) from the domain of darkness (Satan’s rule) and transferred to the kingdom of Christ
Colossians 1:14 - I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins (the debt against me has been cancelled) (also Colossians 2:13, 14)
Colossians 1:21 – I am reconciled with God
Colossians 1:22 – I am presented holy, blameless and without reproach
Colossians 1:27 - Christ Himself is in me – the hope of realising the glory
Colossians 2:2, 3 - All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ and I have access to all this wealth through the full assurance of understanding of the true knowledge of God’s mystery (i.e. Christ Himself)
Colossians 2:7 - I am firmly rooted, built up, and established in my faith and overflowing with gratitude
Colossians 2:10 - I am complete in Him who is the Head of all principality and power and in whom Him dwells all the fullness of Deity in bodily form
Colossians 2:11 - I have been spiritually circumcised (my old, unregenerate nature has been removed).
Colossians 2:12 - I have been buried and raised with Christ
Colossians 2:13 – I have been made alive together with Christ having been forgiven of all my trespasses (transgressions)
Colossians 2:14 – The handwriting of acquirements that was against me (the Law) was completely wiped out and taken out of the way
Colossians 2:15 - Christ has disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public display of them, and now I am no longer subject to public opinion of how I should live
Colossians 2:20 – I have died with Christ from the basic principles of the world – “touch not”, taste not”, “handle not”
Colossians 3:1-4 - I have been raised up with Christ. I died with Christ. My life is now hidden with Christ in God. Christ is now my life.
Colossians 3:4 - I am an expression of Christ and of His life. I am revealed with Him.
Colossians 3:5 - The members of my earthly body are dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry, because of Christ now living inside of me
Colossians 3:9, 10 - I have put off the old man (the old man died with Christ on the cross and was buried with Him) and have put on the new man (I was raised up with Christ to walk in the newness of life), which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him Who created me
Colossians 3:12 - I am chosen of God, holy, and dearly loved.
Colossians 3:12-16 – I am filled with tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, forgiveness, love and peace and the word of God dwells richly in me in all wisdom
1 Thessalonians 1:4 - I am chosen and dearly loved by God.
1Thessalonians 1:10 – Jesus rescued me from the wrath of God
1Thessalonians 2:12 - God called me into His own kingdom and glory
1 Thessalonians 5:5 - I am a son of light and of day and not of darkness and of night
1Thessalonians 5:8 – I am clothed with the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Thessalonians 5:9 – I am destined by God not for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ
1Thessalonians 5:10 – Christ died for me so that I will live together with Him
2 Thessalonians 2:13 – I am the beloved of the Lord because God has chosen me from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:14 – I was called through the gospel that I may share the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
2 Thessalonians 2:16 - I am loved by my Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God my Father, who gave me everlasting consolation and encouragement and well-founded hope through grace
2 Thessalonians 3:3 – The Lord, who is faithful will establish me and guard me from the evil one
2 Thessalonians 3:5 – The Lord will direct my heart into the love of God and into the patience of Christ
1Timothy 2:5, 6 – Jesus Christ, as the mediator between God and men gave Himself as a ransom for me
2 Timothy 1:7 - I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline 2 Timothy 1:9, 10 - I have been saved and called (set apart), not according to my works, but according to God’s own purpose and grace which was granted me in Christ Jesus before time began. This has been made real through the appearing of Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel
2 Timothy 1:14 - The Holy Spirit who dwells in me (makes His home in me)
2 Timothy 2:19 - The firm, solid, sure and unshaken foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His" (He has a relationship with His people)
2 Timothy 2:21 – I live a life of separation unto God (cleansing and keeping myself from defiled things) therefore I am a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:17 – I am born of God and I am complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Titus 2:14 – I am redeemed from every lawless deed and I am purified for Him. I am special to Him and zealous for good works
Titus 3:5, 6 - I am saved according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour
Titus 3:7 – I have been justified by His grace and now I am an heir of eternal life
Hebrews 1:3 – I am purified of my sins by Christ Himself
Hebrews 1:14 – The angels are sent forth as ministering agents to minister for me
Hebrews 2:7-8 – I have been a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honour. I have been set over the works of His hands and all things have been put in subjection under my feet
Hebrews 2:11 - because I am sanctified and one with the Sanctifier (Christ), He is not ashamed to call me brother.
Hebrews 2:17 – Christ is my merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, who made propitiation for my sins
Hebrews 2:18 - Since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to my aid when I am tempted.
Hebrews 3:1 - I am a holy brother, partaker of a heavenly calling and Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of my confession
Hebrews 3:6 – I am part of Christ’s house (His dwelling place)
Hebrews 3:14 – I am a partaker of Christ
Hebrews 4:9 – I am in the rest of God… I share in His life.
Hebrews 4:13 – Nothing is hidden from His sight, but all things are open and lay bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do (the Word – Logos).God is watching over His word to perform it. Nothing in my life escapes His attention
Hebrews 4:14 – I have a great High Priest who sympathises with my weaknesses
Hebrews 4:16 - I have a right to come boldly before the throne of God (the throne of grace) to find mercy and grace in time of need.
Hebrews 6:4, 5 – I have been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift (Jesus Christ) and I have been made a partaker of the Holy Spirit. I have also tasted how good the Word of God is and the mighty powers of the age and world to come,
Hebrews 6:10 – God remembers my labour of love
Hebrews 6:13, 14 – God’s oath swearing to Abraham applies to me: “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you”
Hebrews 6:17, 18 – God desired to show to me (as an heir of the promise) the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by these two unchangeable things (the promise and the oath swearing) I have taken refuge and have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before me. I rest in the sure certainty that it is impossible for God to lie.
Hebrews 6:19, 20 - I have God’s promise and His oath as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul that reaches and enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for me, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:16-19 – Jesus became High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek by the power of an indestructible life. By this He ushered in a better hope through which I draw near to God, setting aside the law which made nothing perfect because of its weakness and uselessness
Hebrews 8:10 – Under the new covenant (which was ratified in Christ), the laws of God are put in my mind and are written in my heart. God is our God and we are His people (also Hebrews 10:16)
Hebrews 8:12 – God is merciful to my unrighteousness and He remembers my sins and lawless deeds no more (also Hebrews 10:17)
Hebrews 9:11, 12 - Christ through His own blood entered the holy place once for all, and obtained eternal redemption for me
Hebrews 9:14, 15 – The blood of Christ cleanses my conscience from dead works to serve the living God and to receive the promise of the eternal inheritance
Hebrews 9:24 - Christ now appears in the presence of God on my behalf
Hebrews 9:26 – Christ has been manifested to put away and abolish my sin by the sacrifice of Himself
Hebrews 9:28 – Christ was offered once to bear my sins
Hebrews 10:10 – I have been sanctified by the offering of the body of Christ
Hebrews 10:19 – I have boldness and confidence to enter the Holiest of Holies by the blood of Jesus
Hebrews 12:2 – Jesus is the author and the finisher of faith
Hebrews 12:22-24 – I no longer live life by the Law, but I have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of Jesus
Hebrews 12:28 – I have received a kingdom which cannot be shaken
Hebrews 12:29 – Our God is a consuming fire
Hebrews 13:5, 6 - I am not alone - He will never leave me nor forsake me. The Lord is my helper
Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever
Hebrews 13:20-21 – Christ is, through the blood of the everlasting covenant making me complete in every good work to do His will and working in me what is well pleasing in His sight
James 1:18 – I was brought forth by the word of truth that I might be a kind of first fruit of His creation
James 1:22 & 25 - I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions
James 4:7 - I am submitted to God and the devil flees from me because I resist him in the Name of Jesus
James 5:16 – I am the righteousness of God and therefore my prayers makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]
1 Peter 1:3 – He has begotten me again to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance
1 Peter 1:19 – I have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ
I Peter 1:23 - I am God’s child for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, which lives and abides forever
1 Peter 2:5 - I am one of God’s living stones and am being built up (in Christ) as a spiritual house, for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:9, 10 - I am a part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession to proclaim His excellencies.
1 Peter 2:11 - I am an alien and stranger to this world that I temporarily live in.
I Peter 2:24 – Christ Himself bore my sins in His body on the cross, so that I might die to sin and live to righteousness. I am healed by His stripes
1 Peter 2:25 – Christ is the Shepherd and Guardian of my soul
1 Peter 3:9 – I inherit (take possession of) blessings, because I do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but give a blessing instead
1 Peter 3:18 - Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring me to God
1 Peter 5:1 – I am a partaker of the glory that is to be revealed
1 Peter 5:7 – I cast all my anxieties upon Him because He cares for me
1 Peter 5:8 - I am an enemy of the devil
1 Peter 5:10 - The God of all grace called me to His eternal glory in Christ. He will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthens and establish me.
2 Peter 1:3 – His divine power has given me all things that pertain to life and godliness
2 Peter 1:3 - God called me by His own glory and excellence
2 Peter 1: 3-4 - I have been given exceedingly great and precious promises by God by which I am a partaker of the divine nature (God’s nature)
2 Peter 1:10 – I have been called (divinely invited by God to partake of all the privileges of the gospel) and elected (chosen) by God (elected means: by my acceptance of the invitation I am placed in Christ who is the elected, or chosen One)
2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is longsuffering (patient) towards us
1 John 1:1-3 – The life (eternal life) of the Word of Life (Jesus Christ), which was with the Father and was manifested to me resulted in a unique fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ
1 John 1:7 – The blood of Jesus is constantly cleansing us from all sin
1 John 2:1-2 – Jesus Christ, the Righteous is my Advocate with the Father and the propitiation for my sins
1 John 2:20 – I have an anointing of the Holy One and I know all things
1 John 2:25 – I am a recipient of the promise which He Himself made to me: eternal life
1 John 2:27 - The anointing which I received from Him abides in me, and I have no need for anyone to teach me, but His anointing teaches me about all things
1 John 2:29 – I am born from Him and practise righteousness (I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus)
1 John 3:1 - I am a child of God because of the great love of the Father
1 John 3:2 - As Christ is revealing Himself to me (His Person and His finished work) I become more and more like Him (Also John 4:17)
1 John 3:8 - The Son of God destroyed the works of the devil in my life
1 John 3:9 – I am born of God and because His seed abides in me I do not practice sin. I (my spirit man who is born from God) cannot sin
1 John 3:14 – I have passed out of death into life
1 John 3:21, 22 - I have confidence before God because my heart does not condemn me (no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus), whatever I ask I receive from Him
1 John 3:24 – He gave the Spirit to me in confirmation that He abides in me (also 1 John 4:13)
I John 4:4 - I am overcoming the antichrist, for I have the Greater One living in me; greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world
1 John 4:8, 9 - God is love and the love of God was manifested in me, in that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that I might live through Him
1 John 4:10 - God loved me and sent His Son to be the propitiation for my sins
1 John 4:12 - God abides in me, and His love is perfected in me (also 1 John 4:16)
1 John 4:17 – I am like Jesus (as He is, so also are we in this world)
1 John 4:18 – I have no fear because His perfect love drives out all fear
1 John 4:19 – I have the capacity to love God because He first loved me
I John 5:4 - I overcome the world because I am born of God
1 John 5:11 – God has given us eternal life – the life in His Son
1 John 5:14 – We have confidence in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us
1 John 5:18 - I am born of God; the evil one (the devil) cannot touch me – I am safe
Jude 1:20 - I build myself up on my most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit
Revelation 1:5, 6 – Jesus Christ loved me and washed me from my sins in His own blood, and made me a king and a priest to His God and Father
Revelation 5:9-10 – I have been redeemed to God by the blood of Jesus. He (Jesus) made me a king and a priest to reign on the earth
Revelation 8:4 – My prayers together with the smoke of the incense ascend before God
Revelation 12:11 - I overcome the accuser of the brethren (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony
Revelation 19:10 – The prophetic working in and through me originates from the testimony of the Jesus (I live out of His fullness)
Revelation 21:3 – God now tabernacles with us (John 1:14 the Word became flesh and tabernacle among us). He dwells with us; we are His people and He is our God who is always with us (also Revelation 21:7)
Revelation 21:3 – Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End and I drink of the water of life freely
Revelation 22:3 – There is no curse whatsoever on my life (and that includes bloodline curses)
I am also quoting a few relevant Scriptures from the Old Testament
Psalm 23 & 100 - I am a sheep of His pasture. The Lord is my Shepherd therefore, I have no lack
Isaiah 54:14 - I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me
Deuteronomy 28:13 - I am the head and not the tail; I am above only and not beneath (as a matter of fact – all the blessings recorded in Deuteronomy 28:1-13 are applicable to me. Christ redeemed me from the curse of the Law – the blessings still stand)
Psalm 66:8 - I am called of God to be the voice of His praise
God created rest
THE REST OF GOD
Creation Day 7 - God had finished his work of creation and so he rested on the seventh day, blessing it and making it holy. God rested. This in no way indicates He was weary from His creative efforts but denotes that the creation is complete. Further, God is establishing a pattern of one day in seven to rest.
Gen 1:31 And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. [Heb. 4:9, 10.]
Gen 2:3 And God blessed (spoke good of) the seventh day, set it apart as His own, and hallowed it because on it God rested from all His work which He had created and done. [Exod. 20:11.] (AMP)
On the seventh day, God finished his work of creation, rested, blessed the seventh day and sanctified it
To finish a work, in Hebrew context, is to cease from it, to have done with it, because everything was already finished.
God rested indicating that His work was accomplished and brought to perfection. He did not rest from weariness, but from the completion of his task. God is refreshed, not by recuperating his strength, but by the satisfaction of having before him a finished work which He was celebrating.
Isa 40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it as holy and special. The Sabbath rest of God started on this day and continues to the present hour
This was a joyful celebration of God's completion of his creation.
Thus at the centre of the Sabbath is joy, refreshment and celebrating, arising from remembrance of God's goodness as Creator, and as the Deliverer from bondage.
Originally the Sabbath was a memorial and celebration of creation. It, however, culminated in Jesus Christ, who accomplished a work vastly greater than that of creation - the work of redemption. My Sabbath rest (rest is in effect an activity of the Holy Spirit) is a perpetual memorial and celebration of Christ and His finished work.
The importance of the seventh day of rest in our physical lives is emphasised by the following finding:
Mental performance is found to decrease during the course of the week and lack of rest leads to increased stress on the body and tearing down of tissue. This was exemplified during the French Revolution starting in 1792. As an effort to undermine the Christian calendar, a new decimal calendar with ten day work weeks and three week months were instituted and continued for thirteen years. One of the major consequences was an increase in illness for people and the death of the workhorses.
Jesus is our Sabbath Rest?
I found the following very insightful article on “How is Jesus our Sabbath Rest?” on the website: http://www.gotquestions.org and am quoting it with their permission as per their copyright policy:
Copyright Policy: While all of the material on the GotQuestions.org website is under copyright protection, the only purpose of our copyright is to make sure people copy it right. As long as you always clearly reference and/or link to www.gotquestions.org as the source of the material, you have our permission to copy, print, and distribute our material.
Question: "How is Jesus our Sabbath Rest?"
Answer: The key to understanding how Jesus is our Sabbath rest is the Hebrew word sabat, which means "to rest or stop or cease from work." The origin of the Sabbath goes back to Creation. After creating the heavens and the earth in six days, God "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made" (Genesis 2:2). This doesn’t mean that God was tired and needed a rest. We know that God is omnipotent, literally "all-powerful." He has all the power in the universe, He never tires, and His most arduous expenditure of energy does not diminish His power one bit. So, what does it mean that God rested on the seventh day? Simply that He stopped what He was doing. He ceased from His labours. This is important in understanding the establishment of the Sabbath day and the role of Christ as our Sabbath rest.
God used the example of His resting on the seventh day of Creation to establish the principle of the Sabbath day rest for His people. In Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15, God gave the Israelites the fourth of His Ten Commandments. They were to "remember" the Sabbath day and "keep it holy." One day out of every seven, they were to rest from their labours and give the same day of rest to their servants and animals. This was not just a physical rest, but a cessation of labouring. Whatever work they were engaged in was to stop for a full day each week. (Please read our other articles on the Sabbath day, Saturday vs. Sunday and Sabbath keeping to explore this issue further.) The Sabbath day was established so the people would rest from their labours, only to begin again after a one-day rest.
The various elements of the Sabbath symbolized the coming of the Messiah, who would provide a permanent rest for His people. Once again the example of resting from our labours comes into play. With the establishment of the Old Testament Law, the Jews were constantly "labouring" to make themselves acceptable to God. Their labours included trying to obey a myriad of do’s and don’ts of the ceremonial law, the Temple law, the civil law, etc. Of course, they couldn’t possibly keep all those laws, so God provided an array of sin offerings and sacrifices so they could come to Him for forgiveness and restore fellowship with Him, but only temporarily. Just as they began their physical labours after a one-day rest, so, too, did they have to continue to offer sacrifices. Hebrews 10:1 tells us that the law "can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." But these sacrifices were offered in anticipation of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross, who "after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right of God" (Hebrews 10:12). Just as He rested after performing the ultimate sacrifice, He sat down and rested—ceased from His labour of atonement because there was nothing more to be done, ever. Because of what He did, we no longer have to "labour" in law-keeping in order to be justified in the sight of God. Jesus was sent so that we might rest in God and in what He has provided.
Another element of the Sabbath day rest which God instituted as a foreshadowing of our complete rest in Christ is that He blessed it, sanctified it, and made it holy. Here again, we see the symbol of Christ as our Sabbath rest—the holy, perfect Son of God who sanctifies and makes holy all who believe in Him. God sanctified Christ, just as He sanctified the Sabbath day, and sent Him into the world (John 10:36) to be our sacrifice for sin. In Him, we find complete rest from the labours of our self-effort, because He alone is holy and righteous. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can now cease from our spiritual labours and rest in Him, not just one day a week, but always.
Jesus can be our Sabbath rest in part because He is "Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). As God incarnate, He decides the true meaning of the Sabbath because He created it, and He is our Sabbath rest in the flesh. When the Pharisees criticized Him for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus reminded them that even they, sinful as they were, would not hesitate to pull a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath. Because He came to seek and save His sheep who would hear His voice (John 10:3,27) and enter into the Sabbath rest He provided by paying for their sins, He could break the Sabbath rules. He told the Pharisees that people are more important than sheep and the salvation He provided was more important than rules. By saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27), Jesus was restating the principle that the Sabbath rest was instituted to relieve man of his labours, just as He came to relieve us of our attempting to achieve salvation by our works. We no longer rest for only one day, but forever cease our labouring to attain God’s favour. Jesus is our rest from works now, just as He is the door to heaven, where we will rest in Him forever.
Hebrews 4 is the definitive passage regarding Jesus as our Sabbath rest. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts his readers to "enter in" to the Sabbath rest provided by Christ. After three chapters of telling them that Jesus is superior to the angels and that He is our Apostle and High Priest, he pleads with them to not harden their hearts against Him, as their fathers hardened their hearts against Jehovah in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief, God denied that generation access to the holy land, saying, "They shall not enter into My rest" (Hebrews 3:11). In the same way, the writer to the Hebrews begs them—and us—not to make the same mistake by rejecting God’s Sabbath rest in Jesus Christ. "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience" (Hebrews 4:9-11).
There is no other Sabbath rest besides Jesus. He alone satisfies the requirements of the Law, and He alone provides the sacrifice that atones for sin. He is God’s plan for us to cease from the labour of our own works. We dare not reject this one-and-only Way of salvation (John 14:6). God’s reaction to those who choose to reject His plan is seen in Numbers 15. A man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, in spite of God’s plain commandment to cease from all labour on the Sabbath. This transgression was a known and willful sin, done with unblushing boldness in broad daylight, in open defiance of the divine authority. "And Jehovah said to Moses, ‘The man shall surely be put to death’" (v. 35). So it will be to all who reject God’s provision for our Sabbath rest in Christ. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3).
(While he is not the author of every article on GotQuestions.org, for citation purposes, you may reference our CEO, S. Michael Houdmann)
Scriptures quoted in the above article:
Gen 2:2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Exo 20:8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 "Six days you shall labour and do all your work,
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
Exo 20:11 "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
Deu 5:12 'Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
Deu 5:13 'Six days you shall labour and do all your work,
Deu 5:14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
Deu 5:15 'You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
Heb 10:1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.
Heb 10:12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,
Joh 10:36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, '
2Co 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Mat 12:8 "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Joh 10:3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Joh 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
Mar 2:27 Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Heb 3:11 AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, 'THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.'"
Heb 4:9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
Heb 4:10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
Heb 4:11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.
Joh 14:6 Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Heb 2:3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
Compiled by: Deon Gerber
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