“Jesus’ death was not accidental. It was a deliberate plan of God to subject His only Son to a gruesome death so that mankind could be saved and receive the promised eternal inheritance. It was God who gave Him up; if the Rock (God) had not given Him up, there was no way Jesus could have been crucified.”
The above assertion was made by The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye on April 12, 2020, during a televised Resurrection Sunday service on Pent TV and Atinka TV to climax the 2020 Easter Convention.
Speaking on the topic: “Living A Victorious Christian Life,” Apostle Eric Nyamekye said that, as Christians, the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified cannot be overemphasised.
“The fact that Jesus died must be stressed in the presentation of the Gospel. It should be stressed in our teachings and sermons; it should be emphasised to our children for them to understand and internalise this truth. All should be persuaded beyond every reasonable doubt that Jesus died,” he noted.
Reading Acts 2:22-24 and Isaiah 53:9-11 to support his assertion, the Chairman indicated that Jesus Christ truly died and that God had foreknowledge that He would be killed. He, however, added that Jesus was raised from the dead because death could not keep hold of Him.
According to him, it was necessary for Jesus to die in order to cleanse the conscience of human beings of sin and restore their relationship with God (Hebrews 9:11-17).
He explained that: “The sacrifice that was being offered in the Old Testament could not cleanse the conscience of the people, hence it was done repeatedly. Therefore, Jesus died to obtain eternal redemption for mankind; to break us free from sin and enable us to serve the living God.”
The Chairman indicated that Christ is the mediator of a new covenant to replace the old covenant because He has sealed it with His blood, adding that “Jesus died to set us free from the sins committed from the first covenant.”
Another reason why Jesus had to die, Apostle Nyamkye also revealed, was to validate the promised eternal inheritance that has been made available to all those who believe in Him.
“A will is in force only when the one who made it dies, it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. Therefore, Jesus had to die so that those who believe will receive the eternal inheritance that has been promised to all believers,” he noted.
Touching on what the promised eternal inheritance is, Apostle Nyamekye quoted John 14:16-17, John 16:7-15, Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4-8, among other scripture references, to point out that the Holy Spirit is the gift of God whom Jesus promised to believers before He ascended to heaven.
He, however, noted that the Holy Spirit is not the promised inheritance, rather, He is a seal given to believers as a deposit for what has been promised to them (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Acts 2:32-33, 39 and Ephesians 1:13-14).
“The promised eternal Spirit we have received is a seal that we are children of God, adopted by God, sons and daughters of God; and He (the Spirit) is our guarantee for the promised inheritance we will receive,” he explained.
He said that the Holy Spirit is, therefore, a guarantor assuring believers of the eternal redemption and the promised eternal inheritance.
Referring to Hebrews 1:1-2 and 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, Apostle Nyamekye explained that after His resurrection, Jesus Christ was highly exalted by God and appointed heir of all things. He, therefore, revealed that since Jesus is the firstborn of all those who will be resurrected., it also implied that, as joint-heirs with Christ, believers who are resurrected on the Day of the Lord (Second Coming of Christ) would also inherit all things, and this is “the promised eternal inheritance.”
“What this means is that, when we are resurrected, as joint-heirs and children of God, we will be given charge of all things, and we shall rule together with our big brother Jesus. All things will be ours!” he stated.
Apostle Eric Nyamekye said that Jesus was able to endure the suffering that was set before Him because He possessed the Spirit of God (eternal life) and was anointed with the eternal Holy Spirit.
He, therefore, stressed that eternal life and the eternal Holy Spirit are the two requirements needed by the Christian to live a victorious Christian life.
The Chairman, however, added that, for Christians to be able to endure the pain of the cross, they must also have the mindset of Christ. He said that although Christ foreknew the suffering He was going to be subjected to, He focused on the joy ahead and endured the suffering.
“For the sake of what was promised, He emptied Himself and endured the cross. He focused on the joy that was ahead of Him and was able to endure suffering. As a result, God has highly exalted Him. So, in order to live a victorious Christian life and be able to go through suffering and inherit all things, we must have the mindset of Christ. Living a victorious life is a matter of mindset,” he said.
He said that Christians have been given the two most important requirements they need to live a victorious Christian life – the eternal life (Spirit of God) and the eternal Holy Spirit (baptism of the Holy Spirit), but what they ought to do is to crucify the old nature and endure the cross.
He, however, cautioned that: “The opposition of the Christian is in himself. What hinders Christians from living a victorious life is in ourselves, not the devil. It is only because we do not want to endure suffering. Within us is our flesh and spirit warring against each other. We must, therefore, die to self and live the spirit of God in the flesh. We must crucify our old nature with Jesus so that we can be part of the resurrection.”
Apostle Eric Nyamekye advised Christians not to be preoccupied with acquiring wealth, food, fame and other earthly gains, but to be prepared to endure suffering in Christ in anticipation of the great eternal inheritance stored for them.
“It is, therefore, not enough to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus; we must live a victorious Christian life. God is looking for a certain kind of men and women who will not save their skins; people who will possess their spheres, people who will empty themselves and endure the cross. Men and women whose overriding passion is Jesus Christ,” he said.
The recently-held Easter celebrations, which was under the theme: “Jesus Christ Died That I Might Live” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10), was held from Thursday, April 9 to Sunday, April 12, 2020.
PENTECOST NEWS