<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 10;17&amp;18<div><br></div><div><b>17. &nbsp;And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do the inherit eternal life?”</b></div><div><b>18. &nbsp;And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? &nbsp;No one is good but God alone.</b></div><div><br></div><div>The question, the man kneeling before Jesus asks,&nbsp;presumes that eternal life is a reward for deeds done in the flesh. &nbsp;Eternal life is not a reward for being a moral person, or obtained by&nbsp;achieving some level of holiness of life, or the result of stoicism,&nbsp;self-depravation, or aestheticism. &nbsp;Eternal life is not a thing to be given to us by God&nbsp;at the end of our earthly lives.</div><div><br></div><div>Eternal life is the&nbsp;possession and condition&nbsp;of every baptized Believer.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Jesus said, <i>“And this is eternal life, that they <u>know</u>&nbsp;Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” &nbsp;</i>(John 17;3)</div><div><br></div><div>’Knowing God the Father&nbsp;and Jesus Christ the Son,’&nbsp;is the divine work of God the Holy Spirit working through the Word,&nbsp;in our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits. &nbsp;This kind of ‘knowing’ is less intellectual or informational,&nbsp;than it is experiential and&nbsp;divinely intimate;&nbsp;<span>as in,&nbsp;</span><i>“Adam ‘knew’ Eve&nbsp;his wife, and she conceived and bore…”. </i><span>(Genesis 4;1)</span></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>Eternal life is the result of becoming One with God. &nbsp;Just as in marriage, the two become one.<i>&nbsp; </i>Christ is our Bridegroom and we, the Church of all true Believers, are His Bride. &nbsp;Jesus took on human flesh, so&nbsp;that He could be joined to us by the Holy Spirit, who gives&nbsp;the gifts of repentance and faith into us through God’s Word.</div><div><br></div><div>Eternal life is the fruit of being baptized <b>into Christ.</b>&nbsp; (Romans 6). Eternal life is the new life we now live to the glory of God, in love and thanksgiving for His mercy to us in Christ.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Eternal life is newness of life, lived by faith,&nbsp;now in this earthly time and space. &nbsp;It is the Life&nbsp;of Christ we now live&nbsp;in communion, with and <u>in</u>&nbsp;Jesus. &nbsp;It is not something Christians&nbsp;of&nbsp;ourselves,&nbsp;by human good intentions,&nbsp;do out of our&nbsp;love for Jesus. &nbsp;&nbsp;It is an entirely new spiritual existence, joined into Christ, whereby we are given the Mind of Christ;&nbsp;&nbsp;the will to do the Father’s&nbsp;will even unto death. &nbsp;(see,&nbsp;Philippians 2;5-11) <u>AND</u>&nbsp;it is the doing (imperfectly) with these earthly bodies&nbsp;the will of the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit&nbsp;which God has given us. (see, Philippians 2;13)</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Eternal life <b>is inherited</b>. &nbsp;It is the birthright of every born-anew child of God. &nbsp;Eternal life is given to&nbsp;us in baptism,&nbsp;because of <u>who we are,</u>&nbsp;(dear children of God) <b><u>n</u></b><u>ot what we do!</u>&nbsp; &nbsp;<i>“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and </i><u>this is not your own doing</u><i>, it is </i><u>the gift of God</u><span>&nbsp;—</span>&nbsp;<i>not because of works, lest any man should boast. &nbsp;For we are His workmanship, <u>created <b>in </b>Christ Jesus for good works</u>, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” &nbsp;</i>(Ephesians 2;8-10)<u></u></div><div><br></div><div>This man kneeling before Jesus, asked a foolish question.</div><div><br></div><div>Jesus’ question back to him, is a call for the man to think about his own words. &nbsp;Calling&nbsp;Jesus, <i>“Good Teacher”,</i>&nbsp;is calling Jesus ‘God’ <i>“For no one is good but God alone.”</i>&nbsp; “If we&nbsp;truly believe that Jesus <u>is truly good,</u>&nbsp;then we are&nbsp;actually&nbsp;declaring&nbsp;Jesus to be&nbsp;God Himself, robed in human&nbsp;flesh,&nbsp;come into this world and to us, to become One with us. &nbsp;He by His joining Himself to us in baptism is&nbsp;making us also truly good, and giving us eternal life <u>i</u><u>n, a</u><u>nd with,&nbsp;Him,</u>&nbsp;just&nbsp;as a Bridegroom and a Bride become no longer two, but One new creation of God. (see, Ephesians 5;31&amp;32)<i></i></div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, we praise you for Your&nbsp;patience with us, as we struggle to understand and by faith truly&nbsp;partake of Your divine nature. &nbsp;Bless us by faith to ‘bring forth’ what You have created in us, the new man. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word of God. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Mark 10;17&18
17.  And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do the inherit eternal life?”18.  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone.
The question, the man kneeling before Jesus asks, presumes that eternal life is a reward for deeds done in the flesh.  Eternal life is not a reward for being a moral person, or obtained by achieving some level of holiness of life, or the result of stoicism, self-depravation, or aestheticism.  Eternal life is not a thing to be given to us by God at the end of our earthly lives.
Eternal life is the possession and condition of every baptized Believer. 
Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.”  (John 17;3)
’Knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son,’ is the divine work of God the Holy Spirit working through the Word, in our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits.  This kind of ‘knowing’ is less intellectual or informational, than it is experiential and divinely intimate; as in, “Adam ‘knew’ Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore…”. (Genesis 4;1)
Eternal life is the result of becoming One with God.  Just as in marriage, the two become one.  Christ is our Bridegroom and we, the Church of all true Believers, are His Bride.  Jesus took on human flesh, so that He could be joined to us by the Holy Spirit, who gives the gifts of repentance and faith into us through God’s Word.
Eternal life is the fruit of being baptized into Christ.  (Romans 6). Eternal life is the new life we now live to the glory of God, in love and thanksgiving for His mercy to us in Christ. 
Eternal life is newness of life, lived by faith, now in this earthly time and space.  It is the Life of Christ we now live in communion, with and in Jesus.  It is not something Christians of ourselves, by human good intentions, do out of our love for Jesus.   It is an entirely new spiritual existence, joined into Christ, whereby we are given the Mind of Christ;  the will to do the Father’s will even unto death.  (see, Philippians 2;5-11) AND it is the doing (imperfectly) with these earthly bodies the will of the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit which God has given us. (see, Philippians 2;13)

Eternal life is inherited.  It is the birthright of every born-anew child of God.  Eternal life is given to us in baptism, because of who we are, (dear children of God) not what we do!   “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God — not because of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  (Ephesians 2;8-10)
This man kneeling before Jesus, asked a foolish question.
Jesus’ question back to him, is a call for the man to think about his own words.  Calling Jesus, “Good Teacher”, is calling Jesus ‘God’ “For no one is good but God alone.”  “If we truly believe that Jesus is truly good, then we are actually declaring Jesus to be God Himself, robed in human flesh, come into this world and to us, to become One with us.  He by His joining Himself to us in baptism is making us also truly good, and giving us eternal life in, and with, Him, just as a Bridegroom and a Bride become no longer two, but One new creation of God. (see, Ephesians 5;31&32)
Prayer:  Merciful Father, we praise you for Your patience with us, as we struggle to understand and by faith truly partake of Your divine nature.  Bless us by faith to ‘bring forth’ what You have created in us, the new man.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word of God.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”






Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
