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My Soul, Protected By the Truth
(Jn17:11-21)
God is holy (Is43:3).
His essence is holy and
He protects the souls whom He sanctifies by His word.
Faith is longing to keep my soul sanctified and
The life of this faith is setting oneself apart from the world by the truth.
To be holy means to be set apart, to be separated from the state of being mixed (Ge1:2).
Accordingly, the history of the Bible illustrates God's work of separation:
Light from darkness, good from evil, the Israelites from gentiles,
Yeshua from the devil, saints from the world.
In the last day, those who belong to the devil will enter the fire of hell (Mt25:41; Jn12:31),
While those who belong to Yeshua Christ will enter the kingdom of heaven (Jn17:24).
The ancestor of mankind, Adam, was deceived by the devil and
Ate the forbidden fruit (Ge2:17, 3:4-6), for which
All men came to being ruled and tempted by the prince of the world, the god of this world (2Co4:4).
While the world was judged by the flood, Noah and his family were protected for
They lived a life set apart from the people in the world;
While the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were condemned by the brimstone fire,
Lot was rescued for he was a righteous man separated from those around him (2Pe2:5-9).
Since God set them apart and called them "my people,"
The Israelites were brought out of the gentiles (Ex3:7-8), and
Through circumcision, the Law, the feasts, the sabbath, the sanctuary etc
They lived a life set apart and were hated by others for it.
Nevertheless, the sanctuary where the altar of burnt sacrifice and the water basin and
The name Jehovah were protected their consciousness of separation.
Yeshua said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days" (Jn2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would sanctify Himself (Jn17:19) and
By the name Yeshua and the truth He would protect souls.
Accordingly, He overcame the temptation of the prince of the world to eat bread first (Mt4:3) and
The temptation of the people to become their king (Jn6:15).
As He died, He said, "It is finished" (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) To the end kept His soul holy by the word and commended it to the Father (Jn10:18);
2) Judged the prince of the world, the devil (Jn12:31); and
3) Redeemed the sins of all men and sprinkled His blood on the world to make them holy
(Mt20:28; He10:10).
He was raised from the dead and proved His holiness (Ac3:15), and
Entered the heavenly sanctuary which He sanctified with His own blood (He9:11-12).
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (Jn14:17) gathers in the name Yeshua
To protect the souls born in the word of the truth (Jas1:18)
Into the church, the pillar and the foundation of the truth (1Ti3:15).
The Christian is he who has
Buried his old earthly, unspiritual and demonic self (Jas3:15)
Through baptism in the name Yeshua (Jn17:12; Ac2:38; Rm6:4).
Therefore, even if hated by the world he chooses to be isolated (Jn17:14) and
Does not have fellowship with the unbelieving world, unbelievers, and the evil ones (Ps1:1; 1Jn4:5).
Instead, through worship, prayer and speaking only the Father's and Yeshua's word
He protects his soul by the truth (Jn17:17) and
The church from the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans (Rev2:12-16) for
He longs to be found blameless and set apart by rapture in the last day (Eph5:26-27; 1Th5:23).
O Lord,
Never let teachings of secularism, materialism or mysticism invade our church!
Never let our members envy the wicked (Pr24:1)!
Let them protect their souls only by the name Yeshua, the truth. Amen.