Rom 6:4 (Reason for Resurrection)

I like the way that C. Lincoln comments about baptism, because he makes it the most clear. He says, “Paul has established that all who are baptized into Christ (not in water) are baptized into His death. In the mind of God, the believing sinner has been rendered just as dead as Jesus was on the Cross but has not had to physically die. Paul shared this very thought with the Galatians by writing, ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20).”

I began explaining yesterday about the Perfection of Christ, which is essential to understanding what the resurrection is all about, and how it relates to the receiving believer. I left off with reminding the reader of how His birth was perfect, and His walk, so also was His ministry and life perfect. (I laugh when I think of what a SHOCK it must have been to Mary as a mother when the next child she had was born, because THAT child had a sin nature, which Christ did not…like, WOW, this kid is REALLY BAD!!! That is what I picture. LOL)

Now we also know that at Calvary, Jesus was the perfect Sin Offering. I discussed Levitacal law, minimally, now…I think the next mention should be of Christ’s Righteousness. There needs to be a least some acute understanding about how the Righteousness of Christ might be imputed, “put into us,” as we receive Him by faith, or the reader will not fully grasp the concept of why there had to be a resurrection

What I haven’t covered, but am sure the Lord will soon have me go back to and study in detail, is Romans 1-3. These are the chapters where Paul takes the time to in detail explain our need for Righteousness, which we desperately lack.

Jesus said that He came to FULFILL the law. We all know about the ten commandments, but there are few that truly realize that there was absolutely NO WAY that we could DO them. We have no capacity within ourselves to DO RIGHT, at all, not even on our best possible day. EVER! Ever. I mean, EVER, AT ALL! I cannot stress enough how UNrighteous we actually are. We, as humans don’t want to accept that. Because we are righteous in our own eyes, and the bible says that those that are righteous in their own eyes are evil.

Don’t believe me? Go through one day in your life, and try to do all 10 of the commandments! Look at your life and see if you have kept even 5 of them, maybe even 1! We think that we are ok if we have never killed or stolen, but the truth is, that if we have offended in even one part of the law (which we all have), we are guilty of not keeping THEM ALL. And the penalty for breaking the law is death! But, that is what Christ was saying when He told them that He came to fulfill the law, He meant…”I have kept the law in every way, because you could NOT.”

Bare with me folks, the reason that I explain this, is because there are still some Christians that whole-heartedly believe that they are “good people” and what they need to know is that they deceive themselves, because the bible says that there is none righteous, no not one. Jesus said that there is none good but God, not one! The sooner that we realize this and can accept that there is NO WAY we will be able to do anything that will please God, the better off we are. We will be freed to know that that is why Christ came.

We MUST fully understand and grasp this, or we can’t fully receive what Christ has done and begin to comprehend His ascension and the reason WHY He ascended.

SO, what is the reason WHY He ascended? I actually just told you just three paragraphs up when I told you what the penalty for breaking the law was. The penalty is death. Did Christ ever break the law? No, not even in one point. In all points He kept it. So, He rose again because the grave could not hold Him, legally, He could not STAY dead, because He was PERFECT. He was perfect because He was God and God cannot die. Does that make sense? (I personally had never given it much thought and just thought it was because He was fulfilling scripture, I thought that was it.)

***some of this may bore some people, because they already know this stuff, but for goofball dorks like me, it takes really getting down and digging in the Word for myself to gain true understanding enough so that I could share it with others…I can’t do that just by hearing it alone. What I urge anyone to do if they are reading these writings, sit down in your Word and search it out for yourselves. The bible says to study to show yourself approved unto GOD, (not man, not anyone but HIM), and what He sees in secret, He rewards people openly for.) We should always seek to know Jesus and His Words for ourselves. ☺

Rom 6:4 (Baptism/Death)

Rom 6:3 (Continuation)-Death

“Therefore we are buried with Him in baptism into death…”

I found some more stuff as I was studying tonight that I just couldn’t get away from sharing.

(I’m gonna put a plug in here for those of you that REALLY love the Word and want to gain more understanding on what the Word of God really says…I talk about it a lot, but I’m going to say it again because it has helped me sooooo much. If you can afford to spend persay $40 at a time, here and there, buy online a Jimmy Swaggart Bible Commentary! The only one that we have right now is the book of Romans and I am SO VERY thankful for it. He explains things in a way that really help it to make much more sense to me and others I know that have used them. Excellent study tools!)

ok, anyhoo, this explanation opened up for my in mind what actually happened throught Christ’s death. (I’ve heard the death, burial, and resurrection taught on, but never explained to THIS EXTENT). Bro Swaggart says, “Whenever the sinner has FAITH in what Christ did at Calvary, in effect, the Father places that sinner IN CHRIST at the time of the Death of the Son of God, and in the Mind of God when Jesus paid the price, it was the same as the sinner paying the price, although in fact, it was no way for him to pay such except through Christ.”

I like that explanation, because I never thought about it this way. I know that I could have never bled and died on the Cross, I understood that part, I think anyone could. The part I didn’t grasp so strongly was that this was a debt higher than I could pay. It’s as though I owe the bank $900 trillian dollars, and that is the price of my wrongdoing. There is NO WAY that I can EVER pay that! Not even in a lifetime could I amass that kind of money, let alone to pay that kind of debt. And it’s as though a man walked into the bank, payed the debt in cash and came out and gave me the receipt for the transaction that I didn’t make, and said, “I payed it, you owe them nothing.” There is no way I could pay the debt, no way I can pay the man back for doing the favor for me…and although $900 trillian is a huge sum of money, that is NOTHING compared to the debt we owe God for our sin. Nothing!

The thing that we neglect to realize, is that God demands perfection, which we could never achieve ourselves. Only Christ could do this for us. There is nothing we can add to the Cross of Christ, and nothing that we can take away from it. Everything that we receive in life (if we are walking with God), is through the Cross of Christ and faith in what He did for us. I’ve heard many say that it is in your tithing, or prayer time, intercession, fastings, church attendence, it’s not even in the fact that you received the baptism of the Holy Ghost…the power is not in that without the Cross. It is ALL made possible through what Jesus did at Calvary.

C. Lincoln states it like this: “The entire purpose of Calvary was for Jesus to take the place of sinners, die in the place of sinners, be buried in the place of sinners, and through simple faith in His sacrificial offering award mankind with all of the benefits of children of God. It must always be remembered that Jesus did all that He did for US and not at all for Himself. Heaven did not need Calvary. God did not need Calvary. It was fallen man who needed Calvary.”

Rom 6:4 (Baptism)

we'll start with the first part of this verse: "Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death."

BAPTISM

I love to read J. Swaggart's Commentary on these because he goes into such detail to explain these things to you. a lot of what i am going to share are just paraphrases of what he has written, others, what the Lord has shown me through these studies as well, along with other Commentators. :)

Now, this scripture speaks about how baptism, whether in water or into Christ is a type of death. So if it is baptism in water, the believing sinner must be totally immersed into water. Total submersion is crucial. (allow me to explain why). Many might believe that being baptized into water and into Christ are one and the same, and they are not. Water baptism is an outward expression to God, what the believer is wanting God to do in their heart, if He will baptize them into Christ. Here is an example to better help the reader to understand:

a wedding ring is a symbol for marriage and a reminder to the people engaged in this legally binding ceremony or act, that they are dedicated to one another, that they have made a vow for a lifetime to only that other person. the wedding ring is not the marriage in a sense, it is just a symbol for the marriage. likewise is water baptism between the believer and the Lord. it is a reminder to the believer, and an outward adorning, but the actual relationship with Christ occurs upon baptism into Him...the Only One that can save us. Hence the name in the verse from Is 7:14 "Immanuel," it means "God is with Us", and Jesus means "Jehovah Saves."

Many people think that Christ possibly looked like Mary, but not Joseph...because Joseph was the step father. the truth is, Jesus looked like neither of them. It is a scientific fact that the blood of the mother never ever touches that child's blood, meaning, their blood never mingles. the blood is always determined by the Father...Christ's blood line was from God the Holy Ghost, not man. Mary only served as an incubator for the Holy Thing to be born. (isn't that eye-opening?)

Jesus had to be born of a Virgin in order to save humanity and be the Perfect Sacrifice at Calvary, for that alone was all God would accept. That is why in the Old Testament, the Levites would offer up a lamb, spotless and blameless to God. but those lambs only covered sin, they did not take sin away. it was a typology of Christ, the Virgin birth is how he is spotless and blameless from sin. That is why John the Baptist called Jesus the "Lamb of God, who takes AWAY the sin of the world." (YEAH!!!)

2 Cor 12:9

So i've been studying this scripture in length the past few days...i've really just been chewing on it and my findings. i haven't had quite the opportunity to write about it though, which is what usually helps me process the information and retain it all better. Here goes:

I don't know really what i have written on my findings so far, so i will start where i feel it's necessary i guess.

Paul explains that he is caught up into the third heaven and shown things that he cannot share, visions and revelations that are awesome. (paraphrasing here), then he states that he was struggling with a "thorn in the flesh" (no one really knows WHAT the thorn is, although many speculate that it is something to do with his eyes, or something that was embarrassing in appearence...possibly hindering him while preaching), but we don't know because the bible doesn't give us that information.

Then he says that he besought the Lord about it 3 times. and the third time, the Lord answered with, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

so, i think i remember talking about the meanings of grace and sufficient, so let me move onto the next portion of scripture. the statement, "for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Let the reader understand that God has no need for us to BE weak to show His power, furthermore, our weakness is completely visible to the Lord. WE are the ones that don't realize how vulnerable, naked and weak we really are. the Word says, "all flesh is grass." meaning, if it gets too hot, if there's no rain, sunshine, well, we are completely dependent upon the Lord for all things. but the reason that our weakness is made manifest through struggles, is so that God can make Himself known unto us and others.

What this is really saying here is that for those who serve the Lord and are dependent upon Him with their whole lives, He makes them strong through circumstances that people without Him cannot bear. so, they seem strong, but it is because of Him. (PS 88:7 & JN 17:15).

Now, this is the part i have been desiring desperately to get to: "Most gladly therefore will i rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Now, one could ask why he would want to glory in what he struggles with? he answers this in the next part of the scripture: (this is the best part of it all and was such a lovely surprise when i found this, and not just one commentator said this, but 3 different ones),

"that the power of Christ may rest upon me" -- the "3 guys" referernced this scripture, which i thought was excellent:

2 Cor 13:4 "For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you."

it pretty much says it all right there actually, but i will explain for the sake of those that are not under the teaching of the Message of the Cross, which is standard Pauline Doctrine. what this means is this:

Christ was all powerful, put better than that, He was DIETY, and yet He laid down his expression of diety without ever losing possession of His diety. Meaning, He had the power on the cross to call down billions of angels to take charge and bare Him up out of the circumstance that He was in, but He didn't. The Word says that He was smitten, spat upon, mocked...and yet He was dumb (he opened not His mouth to revile them, nor to defend Himself).

This is something that we could NEVER do for ourselves, but it is pleasing in the sight of the Lord. So, when He was crucified, He did the right thing, which we cannot do...and He was ALL POWERFUL, but became weak in order to bestow that strength to us in times of weakness. (man, i can just speak latin when i realize the revelation in this scripture, amazing!)

What does this have to do with Paul? i'll tell you what it has to do with Paul, and every believer with the correct object of faith (Christ and what He did at the Cross of Calvary): This means that no matter what happens to us, no matter how horrible, no matter what the struggle, pain, difficulties, we will come out victorious through Christ Jesus. We may think that our problem is the bill that we can't pay, or the job lost, or the wayward child...all of which are valid struggles...but, sin has been our biggest problem ever! and He overcame it!

So then, the last part of this verse says, "....the power of Christ...may rest upon me."

This word, REST in the greek means, tabernacle, dwell upon, to come and live in like a house or home. it means that He is WITH US THROUGH IT ALL.

When we were baptized into Christ (not water) but Christ, we died with Him. baptism in water is a typology of death. when you go under water, you can't breath. neither does a baby in the womb. that is why He says you must be born again. He means, baptized into HIM, (again, not water...there is not power in the water, there is the POWERFUL ONE, Christ Jesus). So...there would be nothing awesome about dying with Him, if He wasn't risen again in the newness of life. He is NEW LIFE, but He had to do all of that, for us to receive it. By one man came death (ADAM--the "original sin"), and life came by one man, (Jesus Christ.) So, for His power to rest upon me...for Him to dwell in me, means that through faith in Him, I am NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER alone again...and i am forgiven of my trespasses.

How awesome is that, huh? yeah, i know...that is why i am called The Word Geek. :)

Study Need

i grew to realize the need for this blog when i began to study, as i normally do...i take notes and learn things, and write them down on some random paper in some random folder or notebook that always misplaced or thrown away. i decided that the things that i am beginning to study right now, i a may desire to look back to down the road....that is why i am doing the Word Geek. :)

Rom 6:3

i'm really growing to love Jimmy Swaggert's Bible Commentaries! He goes into some in depth and lengthy explainations of scripture and creates word pictures with words that really bring out the understanding of scripture. most bible commentators don't expound like Brother Swaggert does. i like these way better than his expositor's bible. I shared a nugget, as i read his commentary and it really brought something to life for me as i read it.

ROM 6:3 "KNOW YE NOT, THAT SO MANY OF US WERE BAPTIZED INTO JESUS CHRIST WERE BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH?"

J.S. explains the greek words for baptism in this scripture and the differences:
He is clear to state that this baptism is NOT about being baptized in water, which will not save someone...because immersion in water alone is a work that man can do without the help and assistance of God. But rather, the baptism into Christ and his death for us on the cross.

baptizo: is the dip
rantizo: is to sprinkle, which refers to the action of the Levitical priests dipping their finger in the blood of the sacrificed lamb and sprinkling it on the altar...a typology of Christ's blood splattering on the whipping post at Calvary.

the part that i found so tasty, was this:

he says, "All of it refers to the placing of a person or thing into a new environment or into union with something else so as to alter its condition or its relationship to its previous environment or condition."

See, when we come to Christ and are baptized into Jesus (not water), there should be a miraculous change in our lives. we shouldn't desire to do the sinful acts that we once did. thre should be a change in us that is noticable to all that have formally known us. and that is what he is referring to by this example here. he is saying that a new believer is like a finger (symbolizing us, as humans), dipped into the blood of Christ (which is perfection, or putting on Christ), and when the finger is removed from the bowl of blood, it takes on a whole new look. it has become something else. that is how our relationship with Christ is. we should become something that looks like Him, not just on the outside, but most importantly on the inside.

this transformation will take time and most of the changes will actually be progressive as the believer moves on and grows WITH Christ, but this should in fact be the effect of this new-born experience in our lives.

Rom 6:3 (Still)

I was reading some commentaries this morning on this scripture and came across something that really opened something up for me. my husband and i came out of a church that taught on the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and we are believers in that too. but, my ex-pastor used to use this scripture to prove that people were to be baptized in water and in spirit. (which is correct in a sense, but the particular scripture that he makes reference to here, this is not actually what the writer was saying when he mentioned Moses and the Israelites.)

In 1 Cor 10:2, it says: they (the Israelites)"were baptized into the cloud and the sea."

I've heard pastors explain that the mentioning of the baptism in the cloud was "in the Holy Ghost" and "in the sea" was indicative of being baptized into water, and that teaching is incorrect. The Lord showed me that this morning. What the writer is saying here, is that Israel was baptized into their leader, Moses and the law given by Moses.

Before God can free us and save us, we must first Repent. In order to repent, we must first see what we are. What we are, is not Christ. We are not Perfect, Righteous, Worthy of Glory, or Praise, or even Honor. But Jesus Christ is. What WE are before Christ, is a fallen creation. What He is, is our substitute. For my failure, i am replaced with Perfection. For my sin, i am made Righteous by the Only Righteous One's Blood. So...when Judgement Day comes, what will Christ present to the Father? Me? Nope...He will present His blood for my Atonement and Covering, giving me access to God thereby.

When i read Barne's Notes, he stated: that Christ's death was "to expiate sin; to free men from its power; to make them pure."

Matthew Henry says that "baptism teaches the necessity of dying to sin, and being as it were buried from all ungodly & unholy pursuits, and of rising to walk with God in the newness of life."

I'm going to chew on some of this, i may write something more on this later. in the meantime, i am moving onto verse 4.

Rom 6:2 (Identifying the Sin Nature)

I thought yesterday that i would move on from verse 3 to verse 4, and as i studied, the Lord pulled me back to verse 2..which i had not studied. i am finding that we really need to take all of the verses into context when studying, because it is line upon line, precept upon precept.

This is going to be a long blog, so i think i will break them up, because i have a lot to share that i learned here. i began reading again in Bro Swaggart's commentary on Romans.

first, it is important to recognize the difference between sin and the sin nature. sin is plural, the acts of sin. the sin nature is singular, we all have just one nature that we are born with, and it is the Sin Nature. This nature is the one that compells us to commit acts of sin against God and man, mainly and always the One it offends most importantly, is God. When one sins, meaning, commits acts of sin, such as lust, adultery, ect...it is a direct result of the Sin Nature. we are all born with this disease. the infection of our heart is that it is decieitful and desperately wicked...so don't listen to it! it will deceive you.

Now that we have established that the sin nature is our problem, we need to understand further what it does and how we are effected by it. Death means separation. Physical sin is the separation of a person from their body. Spiritual death is the separation of a person from God.

When a sinner accepts Christ, there is a cleavage that is created between the person and his evil nature. *God uses a surgical knife to cut the believing sinner loose from his evil nature. This is through Jesus Christ and His Death on the Cross the moment that Faith is placed in Jesus Christ.

1 Jn 1:8 tells us the evil nature remains (until we physically die). this verse of scripture could be read: "if we say that sin (the Sin Nature), we are constantly having, we are deceiving ourselves (nobody else), and the Truth is not in us." John is talking about the nature of sin, not a particular act of sin.

Rom 6:2 (Separation of the Sin Nature from Believer)

{Just a footnote: What the veil is and symbolizes in the temple and the heart of a Believer}
*In the Tabernacle and Temple of God, the veil was a temporary curtain that was hung to separate man from the presence of God (in the Holy of Holies). This was the place where the presence of God would come down and abode with the High Priest.

In effect, the Veil is a type of man being evicted from the Garden of Eden at the Fall of man from God's Perfection that he was intended to begin and grow in. Since God cannot be around sin, man was separated from the presence of Almighty God, thus the need for the veil in the temple from the "Holy of Holies," where the presence of God would descend and abode there on top of the Mercy Seat.

*When Christ died on the Cross, the scripture says that the veil of the temple was rent, (therefore giving access to us as Believers to the presence of God, which no man had beforehand). The Word says that the veil of his flesh was rent (He is again, talking about when Christ was smitten, and pierced on the Cross...His body was the "Temple or Tabernacle of God.") All because of what Christ has done for us on the Cross.} The reason that the Veil was now rent in the temple, (again, this is a type and indication physically of what has happened spiritually for mankind), we are not given access by Jesus (Our Perfect High Priest), who was the only One Holy to walk the face of the planet earth and be presented to God as the Perfect Sacrifice for sin.

ok, having said that:

One of my fav commentators says that when the Believer receives Christ into their heart, there is a circumcision of the heart that takes place. the heart of man is separated from the sin nature, ad Jesus Christ is placed on the throne of the Believer's heart instead.

He gives an illustration of a floor lamp connected to a wall outlet. if you cut the connection between the sinner and the evil nature, he ceases to function as a sinner.

The change is this: after conversion, the believer has the desire to live unto God, not to sin. before conversion, the sinner was a compulsive sinner. Before Salvation, the evil nature had absolute dominion over the sinner. Since Salvation, we now have absolute dominion over it.

Here is a KEY: ***WE MUST BELIEVE THIS, CONDUCTING OURSELVES AS A CHILD OF GOD.*** Just as a Believer has the power over a tv, to turn it off when there is something being shown that is not suitable for a Believer to watch, so does this Believer have the power over the sin nature.

Another KEY here is to: Identify the Sin Nature when failure and sin are taking place,
and to pray about it...bringing it to the One that can do something about it (because we can do nothing apart from Christ's help), and allow the Holy Spirit to work in those areas to change us progressively. That is part of the sanctification process, (which we will not get into yet, but at some other time).

Doing it ourselves will always result in ultimate and total failure and greater iniquity will be the outcome. WORKS PRODUCE FAILURE, and failure is a result of man's attempt to cover up his sin.

John Gill had some interesting nuggets to share on this topic as well:

He defined death as: "there is death for sin, a death in sin, and a death to sin. to be dead TO sin means: that they are both justified and sanctified.

*justified persons are dead to sin; discharged from it, Not to have condemnation & death imputed (put in) to them. it is (sin) crucified, abolished, and made an end of by Christ.

*sanctified persons are dead to sin; sin is not made their business, not the course of their life, is no longer pleasurable to them-but loathed & abominable-it is looked at as an ENEMY."

this was my favorite thing that he said about the sin nature being in us, but we are cut off from it. he says, "though sin may live in them, they do not live in sin anymore." So brilliantly spoken!

Matt 16:24 Come, Deny, Take, Follow

I felt as thought the Holy Spirit was leading me to study something different this morning. Although, upon studying this scripture, i feel somewhat naked without the use of my J. Swaggart commentary, (we only have Romans right now)...he seems to expound upon the scripture in such a way, that it brings actual word pictures to mind. Anyhow, here are some things that i found as i searched this out.

..."if any man will come after me"-
J. Gill stated that this means to be a follower of Christ and mentioned that often the Master will go before. He also said that this was a call to anyone: "poor or rich, learned or unlearned, young or old, male or female," to anyone that has the desire and inclination in their hearts to do so. in other words, this was not a statement made to a select and respected few, as God is not a respecter of persons.

..."let him deny himself"-
i read a lot of comments on this by theologians, and i tend to disagree with some of the statements, but others were right on key. some of them spoke about denying ourselves as, denial of self through simply just not doing things that are sinful or ungodly, (without making mention of the fact that we don't have the power within ourselves to do so...but we have to look to Christ for this power.) However, many made statements aligning with my former proclaimation and agreed...some of their comments were as follows:

J.Gill: "let him deny righteous self, (self righteousness), renounce all works of righteousness (because our righteousness is as filthy rags unto the Lord), to drop all expectations of an earthly kingdom when in competition with Christ." i thought this to be a rather brash and yet crucial statement made. he shown the light on a hidden problem within us all. "when in competition with Christ"...and i realized that there is one that will sit on the throne of our hearts throughout the day, either self, or Christ. if self is throned today, then Christ is not...because there cannot be two masters served in the same house, we will love the one and hate the other. part of denying self, is realizing that we don't want to compete against Christ, the Almighty God...rather, we want to surrender all to Him wholly every moment of every day.

"take up his cross"-
Gill says to "cheerfully receive, patiently bear, every affliction and evil, quietly submit, with entire resignation to the will of God." again, what a profound statement! to resign to the will of God. most of us think of resigning from a current job, when in actuality, when we lay down ourselves and take up Christ...he is our new job, profession, master, boss. so, to resign to the will of God is to quit my old job of serving me and doing what i want to do, and follow a New and Living Way.

here is an word picture that the Lord just gave me: if i worked at Sterling Bank for 5 years, i learned everything that there is to know about being a teller, (at that time), for a bank. When i quit that job to be a homemaker, those abilities and skills that i had there, (some of them could quite possibly be used in different ways,) but THAT profession and what it took to effectively and correctly perform THAT occupation, is not the requirement for being a wife and mom full time. i have different skills i had to learn. different things to be mindful of. my boss is a different one, and He requires more of me than my branch manager did at Sterling Bank. it is the same when we leave ourselves to work for Christ. we have a different uniform that we wear, there are different job requirements, and a new way of life.

Another Commentary book (KJ Bible Comm.) i picked up stated that we should not build our own cross. this means that we are not to "self-inflict" in thinking that because we fast, deny ourselves water, or sugar in our coffee, we are actually "taking up our cross," but rather to allow God to have His way and work in every challenge that we face in our lives. we should through every obsticle in the road, allow God to receive the Glory and let His Power be made known through it all.

i've heard Brother Swaggart say it this way: Self-denial is to deny our own self wants, inabitions, gratifications, will, ability, strength, and understanding. (that's not word for word), but what he is saying is that we must realize that we have no power, but Christ does. we have no ability, except Christ give it to us. we have no method, except the Holy Spirit reveal it to us. If we gain Glory or credit for overcoming or achievement in our lives, we are thieves and robbers. Every good gift comes from ABOVE and there is none good, no, not one...but God.

"and follow me"-
is pretty self explanitory, although many people of commented that this is to behave oneself like Christ, bearing His fruits and mannerisms. i go back to this scripture, Christ is talking about how He is the Vine and we are the branches. He states that we cannot bear fruit, except we abide in the Tree, and then He says a bold and yet necessary statement for man to hear and maintain, "For Without Me, you can do NO THING." we can do not one thing without the help of our Maker.

"My Grace is Sufficient" continued...

i am still studying about these scriptures: 2 Cor 12:9-10

as i began to study yesterday, i found that grace means: (#5485) lovingkindness, favor, good will.

and sufficient means: (#714) to be possessed of unfailing strength, to suffice, to be enough, contented, satisfied.

so, in fact, verse 9 can be read: "My lovingkindness is enough unfailing strength for you." makes more sense to me like that. 

But Paul is referring to receiving some awesome revelation from the Lord and then receiving a "thorn in the flesh," that satan's friends have sent to "buffet" him, but that he gloried in his infirmities because God's strength is made perfect in weakness.

He said a MOUTHFUL here! 

There are some commentaries that i am reading on these. one i call "the 3 guys" said:

"the Lord--Christ. escape from the cross is not to be sought even indirectly from satan (Lu 4:7)...in other words, we are not to ask satan to spare us in the midst of these trials.