The word Rapture, as used in Christian doctrine, is the word used to describe the removal of the Church from earth to Heaven. This event will usher in the seven year Tribulation period foretold by the Prophet Daniel. According to the Bible, Jesus will one day soon leave His position at the right hand of the Father and come to the clouds above the earth. He will bring with Him the spirits of the people who are now dwelling in Heaven. At this point the bodies of all those spirits that Jesus brings with Him in the clouds, will rise up from the earth to be reunited with their spirits. Some of the bodies will still be in the graves, some of the bodies will have returned to dust, some will have been burned, some will have been torn apart and scattered over the earth. Regardless of the condition of the dead bodies they will be brought back together and quickly changed from a mortal, corruptible body to an immortal, incorruptible body as they rise up to be rejoined with their spirits.
Then immediately following this, every Christian on the earth will be instantly taken up into the clouds to be with Jesus and those saints who now have their spirits clothed in their new immortal, incorruptible bodies. As the Christians go up to the clouds to meet Jesus, they too, will have their bodies changed from mortal, corruptible bodies to immortal, incorruptible bodies. From there the saints will be taken to Heaven to stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and then prepare for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15 (King James Version)
Surprisingly, there are some well-meaning Christians who believe that the Rapture is a myth. On the other hand there are a great many Christians who not only believe in the Rapture but who are also anxiously waiting for the coming of the Lord in the clouds. Here is what the Bible has to say about the “catching away of the saints”, commonly referred to as the Rapture:
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (King James Version)
This passage of scripture is addressed to the Church. Paul is telling the Christians at Thessalonica that the day is coming when the Lord will leave the throne room of Heaven and come down to the clouds above the earth to receive into His eternal presence the living and the dead who have trusted their salvation to Jesus the Messiah. This event will be preceeded by a heavenly shout from the archangel and a blast on the trumpet of God. We are not told what words the archangel will shout nor what the trumpet sound will be. My own thought is that these two events are strikingly reminiscent of what takes place when soldiers charge into battle; the unit bugler plays the battle cry and the Captain yells “Charge!” as the soldiers rise up from their defensive position and charge into the thick of the battle.
In this event it is the Captain of the Host who is charging into the enemy’s territory to deliver His countrymen from the hand of the enemy. The Captain of the Host is Jesus. The enemy’s territory is this world. His countrymen are those, living and dead, who have put their faith for salvation in Jesus the Messiah.
The picture of the Rapture here is very clear to me. I really wonder how anyone can read these verses and still say the living and the dead will not be caught up in the clouds to meet Jesus. There are some Christians who deny this will happen and claim that the Church will go through the Great Tribulation. However, when read in context, it is plain to see that the Church will not be on earth during the Great Tribulation. The “rest of the story” reveals that the Church will not be on earth when God pours out His wrath:
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. 1 Thessalonians 5 (King James Version)
There are three things in this passage that I want to point out. First, this is a continuation of the the first passage we looked at and therefore is talking about the same thing: the catching away of the living and dead who have put their faith in Jesus. Second, notice how Paul distinguishes between the Church and the world with the use of the words “us” and “them.” Third, notice that Paul says God has not appointed us (the Church) to suffer God’s wrath (as it is poured out during the Great Tribulation). Instead of being left on earth during the Great Tribulation and receiving God’s wrath we are going to be delivered from God’s wrath - “appointed us to obtain salvation.” The word “salvation” literally means to be delivered from something. In this case it means to be delivered from the Great Tribulation by means of the Rapture.
Now I want to speak to those who insist that the Rapture of the Church will not happen because the word Rapture is not found in the Bible. I agree, the word Rapture is not found in our English Bibles. There is no need to go into a discussion on the Latin word that is translated into the English word Raputre found in Latin versions of the Bible that refer to this catching away of the Church. The word Rapture is not used in my English translations of the Bible. But, being “caught up in the clouds with the Lord” is found in my Bible and that settles it for me.
In closing I want to point out what I believe to be a false teaching about the Rapture. I know some Christians who say that not every Christian will be taken up in the Rapture. They believe in a “partial Rapture” where only those “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13) will be taken out of this world at the Rapture. They believe that those Christians who are not “looking” for the Rapture or those Christians in a backslidden state will be left behind to go through the Great Tribulation. I have to admit that those I know who think this way are much like the self-righteous Pharisee in this story:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18 (King James Version)
In 1 Thessalonians where Paul is explaining the Rapture he did not say only some Christians will be caught to to be with Jesus. Instead he said “the dead in Christ” and “we which are alive” (this means the entire Church) will be Raptured out of this world. Will all living people who call themselves Christians be taken out of the world at the Rapture of the Church? No, only those who have been born again. The word “Church” as used in the Bible is from the Greek word “Ekklesia”, which means “the people who are called out.” A place where Christians gather is called a church. But the “Church” that Jesus came to establish is the body of “called out ones”, those born again, all over the world.
Just going to a church does not mean someone is a part of the Biblical “Church” - the called out ones. The world’s church rolls are full of the names of men and women who have never called upon Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour - they have never trusted in the shed blood of Jesus on the cross of Calvary to save them. Just having one’s name on a church membership roll will not guarantee a free ride to Heaven in the Rapture. Like Nicodemus (John3), everyone who is old enough to be conscious of their sin must be born again. If not they will be left behind at the Rapture.
The next, and by the way, the last, great event for the Church is the Rapture. When will the Rapture occur? The truth is that only the Lord knows when the Rapture will occur. We can know from the signs of the times we are living in that the time of the Rapture is near. But just how near no one really knows. As Christians, we are to be looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. The Rapture is more than a fact. It is a Biblical truth.
I fully intended to write a blog about the Rapture this week. But in my preparation I came across a verse of scripture that must be presented as an addition to the article “Once Saved, Always Saved?”. The verse is found in I John :
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. I John 3:9
To fully appreciate this verse we must first focus on the words “he cannot sin.” Do you grasp what John is saying here? John is saying that “whosoever” is born again (saved) CANNOT sin. There is no different-from-everyday-use theological definition for “cannot.” The Biblical use of this word is the same as we use it today. So how can this be? A few verses back in I John 1:8 it plainly says that if we say we have no sin we are lying. The answer to this dilemma is in determining just who the “whosoever” is.
According to the Bible (I Thessalonians 5:23) we are made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. We are a spirit, we have a soul (our mind, will, intellect, emotions), and we live in a body. When we are saved it is our spirit, not our soul or body that is born again. It is only our spirit that is recreated and becomes a “new creation in Christ Jesus.”
Let’s take each part of our human trinity and apply it to I John 3:9 and see if we can determine who is the “whosoever.” To do this we need only to use the phrase “His seed remaineth in him” - that is, God’s seed enters and remains in him. The best example we have of God’s seed entering and remaining in anyone is Jesus. God’s seed entered into Jesus, at the moment of conception, and remained in Jesus.
Jesus was born and walked on the earth as a human being. As a human being He had a spirit, a soul, and a body - just like you and I. So we ask these questions:
Question: Did Jesus sin with His body?
Answer: No
Question: Did Jesus sin with His soul?
Answer: No
Question: Did Jesus sin with His spirit?
Answer: No
So far, so good. Now let’s ask ourselves the same questions:
Question: Do I sin with my body?
Answer: Yes
Question: Do I sin with my soul (mind, will, emotions, intellect)?
Answer: Yes
Question: Do I sin with my spirit?
Answer: I don’t know. I don’t think so. While the New Testament is full of admonititions against and examples of sinning with my body, my will, emotions, etc there is nothing said about sinning with my born-again spirit.
Could it possibly be that the reason the Bible is silent on sins of the born-again spirit is because it CANNOT sin? I remind you again that John, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said “whosoever” is born of God CANNOT sin. Could it be that the “born-again spirit” is the “whosoever” John is talking about? We know he is not talking about people as a whole. Everybody sins - the Bible says so. But everybody is made up of three parts - spirit, soul, and body - and the Bible assigns sin to only two of the three parts.
Don’t be misled by the use of the personal word “whosoever.” Our spirit is referred to in the Bible as having personality (example: “spirit man”). I fully believe that the born-again spirit will not and cannot sin. The body can sin. The soul can sin. But the born-again spirit cannot sin. And just how can this be? Simple, the “seed of God” remains in the born-again spirit. How much sin is there in Heaven in the presence of God? None? Then I submit to you that in the born-again spirit, where the seed of God is, there is also no sin.
So, you might ask, what has all this got to do with “Once Saved, Always Saved”? Just this, if the “seed of God” remains (stays, never leaves, never departs, as in “I will never leave you or forsake you”) in the born-again spirit, that born-again spirit will never die, will never be “lost.” After all let us not forget that it is sin and sin alone that separates us from God. God, by His presence in our born-again spirit, guarantees that our born-again spirit cannot and therefore will not sin. Since it is only the spirit that is saved and since it cannot sin then we cannot lose our salvation.
In closing I want to say that there are those who, after reading what John said, will still deny God’s ability to keep us saved. But as for me and my house we can say, like the Apostle Paul, “I know whom I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”
It almost never fails. Usually when I am talking with another Christian, and the subject of my Baptist background comes up, the first question I am asked is “Do you believe in ‘once saved, always saved’?” Obviously, to many, the distinguishing characteristic of a Baptist is not the insistence on water baptism (hence the name “Baptist”) but rather the doctrine of eternal security.
Is it really true, as most Baptists believe, that our salvation is eternal and can not be lost? Or is it true, as many Christians believe, that our salvation is so fragile that it can be lost at any moment? The Church is divided on the question of staying saved. Many prominent preachers and teachers today say that a Christian can eternally lose his or her salvation. Whole denominations believe and teach that your salvation is based, not on Jesus’ work on the Cross, but rather on your ability to keep yourself saved.
I do believe that my salvation is guaranteed regardless of my sin. I believe this because that is what the Bible says. I am aware of the several passages in the Bible that seem to indicate one can lose his salvation. The problem with these passages is that they seem to say that my salvation can be lost if I commit a certain sin – they do not actually say I can lose my salvation. On the other hand there are many passages that actually say my salvation is eternally guaranteed.
So, what is one to believe? Do we believe those who say that keeping our salvation is based on our works or do we believe the Bible? I choose to believe the Word of God and here is why:
1. The definition of the words “Eternal” and “Everlasting”
2. My salvation is not based on my works.
3. The sovereignty of God.
The Definition of the words “Eternal” and “Everlasting”
According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon the words “eternal” and “everlasting” are defined as :
166 aiwniov aionios ahee-o’-nee-os
from 165; TDNT-1:208,31; adj
AV-eternal 42, everlasting 25, the world began + 5550 2, since the world began + 5550 1, for ever 1; 71
1. without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be
2. without beginning
3. without end, never to cease, everlasting
The Bible always uses the word “eternal” or the word “everlasting” when referring to salvation. Note the following verses:
Mt 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mr 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Mt 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Ro 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
See Also:
# Matthew 18:8 19:16,29 25:46
# Mark 10:17,30
# Luke 10:25 18:18,30
# John 3:36 4:14,36 5:24,39 6:27,40,47,47,54,68 10:28 12:25,50 17:2
# Acts 13:46,48
# Romans 2:7 5:21 6:22,23
# 2 Corinthians 5:1
# Galatians 6:8
# 1Timothy 1:16 6:12,19
# Titus 1:2 3:7
# Hebrews 5:9
# 1John 1:2 2:25 5:11,13,20
Note again the three-fold definition of the words eternal and everlasting. The first is “without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be.” How can it be that my salvation has always been? After all, I have a birth day – a beginning. From scripture we see that it has always been God’s plan for us to live eternally. Mankind was created to live forever. God promised eternal life to mankind even before He created man:
2Ti 1:9 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 ,
Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Remember also that, according to Genesis 1:26-27, we were created in the image and likeness of God. God is eternal. Since we were created in His image and likeness we were meant to have eternal life just as He does. There was never a time in God’s economy when eternity was not. As such we can understand our salvation to be “without beginning and without end.”
According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon “eternal” and “everlasting” also means “never to cease.” There is no question as to the meaning of “never to cease”. The meaning is quite clear; no, nada, nien, nyet – never to end.
The Bible is very clear. Eternal or everlasting life can not be lost because of an act of sin or for any other reason.
My salvation is not based on my works.
There are two things that must be in play in order for anyone to be saved. The first thing is grace. Grace is defined as God’s unmerited favor and acceptance. Also required for anyone to be saved is faith. Faith can be defined as believing and acting on the Word of God so that the promises in God’s Word become reality.
Ephesians 2:8 explains how we are saved:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9 tells us that our salvation is not based on our works:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Salvation is obtained and guaranteed once and for all the moment we, in faith, call upon Jesus to save us. At the moment of salvation our spirit is recreated and becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus. As such our new spirit can not sin. However the other two-thirds of us, our soul and our body, have not been saved and therefore are subject to sin:
Ga 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 tells us that if we are led by our born-again recreated spirit we do not sin (fulfil the lusts of the flesh). The soul (mind, will, emotions, intellect) and the body have not been redeemed and do still sin. That is why the Bible tells us that Jesus is now sitting at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us:
Ro 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
So,what happens when I sin? Do I lose my salvation, as some teach? No, Isaiah tells us what happens when the child of God sins:
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
This Old Testament principle tells us that sin hinders our relationship with a holy God. But under the New Covenant we have a way of restoring the relationship:
1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I want to make it clear that as Christians it is our spirit that has been saved, not our soul(mind) or our body. When we sin with our mind or with our body we hinder our relationship with God. To restore that relationship and fellowship we have to do what 1 John 1:9 says; we have to confess our sins to God and He will forgive us and restore the relationship.
Some have mistakingly taken James 2:17-26 to teach that a person’s works are required to receive or maintain their salvation. The point of this passage is that faith produces works – not that works result in salvation or that works are required to maintain one’s salvation.
There is no work that one can do to bring about his or her salvation. Consequently there is no work that one can do to keep his or her salvation. Ephesians 2:8 plainly says that salvation is a GIFT from God. God is the creator of the gift, the giver of the gift, and the keeper of the gift.
I could not save myself and I can not keep myself saved. Anyone who thinks their salvation depends on their works has not understood Acts 4:12 :
Ac 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines “salvation” to mean “deliverance and preservation.” Acts 4:12 clearly shows that it is Jesus, and Jesus alone, who saves us and then keeps us saved. The phrase “none other name under heaven” means that Jesus is the only one, not me – not you, that can save and keep us saved.
The Sovereignty of God
Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:8-13 speaks of the new covenant that God will make with the House of Israel. Hebrews 9:15 explains that this is the same New Covenant God has made with the Church.
It is interesting to note that in this covenant that we, as Christians, live under it is stated that “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Note the words “will” and “shall.” God did not say “perhaps” or “maybe.” He said He will be a God to us and we shall be His people. I take this to mean exactly what it says; that under the New Covenant God will keep me eternally regardless of any sin I may commit. If God will be my God and I shall be His child then my salvation is eternally secure.
Note in Hebrews 8:9 that our New Covenant is “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.” The Old Covenant was based on the keeping of the law. As such those under the Old Covenant had to rely on their own ability to overcome their weaknesses in order to keep themselves in a right relationship with God. The keeping of this New Covenant that we are under does not depend on the weakness of man, but rather the sovereignty of God - “I will be to them a God and they shall be to Me a people.” This is indeed a New and Better Covenant.
1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1Co 7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
The three verses above make it abundantly clear that we belong to God. Does God make mistakes with His property? Do we read in the Bible where God has ever lost anything under His control? Do you think that God can lose you after He has saved you? I think not.
Salvation is of the Lord (Jonas 2:9). If it were of man then man could lose it. Salvation comes only from a sovereign God and therefore man can not lose it.
The prayer from Matthew 6:9-13, commonly referred to as the Lord’s Prayer, is quoted millions of times every day around the world by many who never stop to think about the words they are speaking.
What, you may ask, is wrong with repeating this prayer without thinking about the words of the prayer? Simply put, Jesus said in verse 7 that Christians are not to use “vain repetitions” when they pray. This prayer was not meant to be prayed “x” number of times as part of an act of repentance . A careful examination of this prayer reveals a powerful act of worship and an expression of the covenant that we have with our Heavenly Father.
One of the first things we notice about this prayer is that it is meant to be a “daily” prayer. Verse 11 begins with “Give us this day.” In verse 34 of the same discourse Jesus makes it clear that our focus is to be on “today” and not tomorrow:
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Is it possible to repeat the same prayer every day and really mean it? As a Baptist preacher I think it is possible to repeat the same prayer and really mean it. Growing up I was taught that to repeat a prayer was “vain repetition” and was not something a Baptist should do. But I have discovered that it is not vain or empty repetition to pray the way that Jesus commands us to pray.
Another thing we notice about this prayer is that it begins and ends with a confession of the holiness and sovereignty of God. How often do we, in our day-to-day praying, make such confessions? It is evident to me that the Church today is living in the “Laodicean Church Age” and believes that it “has need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17), including humility before a holy God.
The Prayer
Verse 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
This is an acknowledgement of our covenant relationship with a holy God. Only a child of God can call him Father. His name is sacred.
Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines “Father” as “he who begets a child.” Although we were born into this world with a biological father we were, none the less, illegitimate spiritual beings. It is only after we are born again that we have a spiritual Father. After all, saved or lost, we are spiritual beings in a fleshly body.
When we are saved (born from above) we become a “new creation” in Christ Jesus and an heir and joint heir with Him. (SCRIPTURE) Once we are born again we have a new Father – not an earthly father, but now a Heavenly Father. This Father is the owner of all and has covenanted with us to make us heirs of everything He owns. We belong to Him and He belongs to us. As such we can say “Our Father which art in Heaven.”
Verse 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
The “kingdom of God” is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible. The kingdom of God is much more than just a place or property. Literally, the “kingdom” refers to God’s way of doing things – the way He operates, how He rules and reigns. So to pray “Thy kingdom come” is to say that we want God’s way of doing things to replace man’s way of doing things here on earth. To further understand this concept, look again at the many parables of Jesus that begin with “the kingdom of God is like…” In all of these “kingdom” parables Jesus contrasts God’s way of doing things to man’s way of doing things.
The second sentence in verse 10 explains how the first sentence will be accomplished. When God’s way of doing things replaces man’s way of doing things then, and only then, will God’s will be done on earth just as it is in heaven.
I wonder how many people realize when they pray verse 10 that there is no sickness in heaven. Neither is there death, nor sorrow, nor pain, nor abortions, nor divorces, nor atheists, nor any other abomination that mankind can produce.
The reason God’s will is not now done on earth is that God gave us a free will. No where in the Bible does God ever say He will remove our free will. He will, however, eventually remove all who oppose His will.
Verse 11 Give us this day our daily bread.
As Father he is our provider. In fact, one of the names of God is Jehovah Jireh which means “the Lord will provide.” In this same discourse in verses 31-33 Jesus tells us that if we seek first the kingdom of God all of our needs, including our daily bread, will be provided. In verses 25 and 26 Jesus assures us that our Heavenly Father knows our needs and, just as He feeds the sparrows, He will much more feed us.
Jesus is saying that we are to ask and expect our Father to provide our daily bread.
Verse 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
The reason for praying this is explained in verses 14 and 15 where Jesus explains God’s thoughts on forgiveness. If we do not forgive others neither will God forgive us. That is simple and to the point.
Verse 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen
To understand “And lead us not into temptation” we must read the next few words: “but deliver us from evil.” Actually it is “the evil one” who is meant here. The prayer here is that if God will deliver us out of the snare of the devil we will be less prone to succumb to temptation.
The prayer ends with a confession and proclamation of the eternal sovereignty, majesty, and the supremacy of God.
Without a doubt, this prayer is much more than just a repetitious religious exercise to satisfy man’s redemption scheme.
