As was stated before in a previous Bible study, the natural laws we know of are not the only laws that govern our world, for there are also spiritual laws, which have the preeminence over laws of physics. The Bible gives us several examples of spiritual laws, so we may understand clearly what is being spoken of, for our concepts, thoughts, ideas, and potential, should never be limited to science as we know it.
The laws God gave us on Mount Sinai are spiritual in nature, yet they are superior to the laws of physics, which are under their jurisdiction, and the violation of them will produce natural results in the natural world.
There are also spiritual laws that are evil, and which are engaged through disobedience, triggering chain reactions, and collateral damage that can affect the lives of others, who had nothing to do with the sin committed. This understanding must be introduced to our knowledge of science, so that it would not be off-balanced, as it currently is. Let’s read:
Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Romans 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Romans 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not,
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
Several examples of this chain reaction between the spiritual and the physical are given in the scriptures, even though some people will experience difficulty understanding their correlation. For instance, the shedding of innocent blood across the land, causes the earth to produce less, and inferior fruit. When tithes and offerings are used for any other purpose than that which God designated, the rainy season is disturbed. These are the natural results of the law of sin, which is engaged whenever we disobey.
And this cause, and effect cycle takes place in most instances without God doing anything per-se. God is often credited with evil acts, just because He didn’t intervene to reverse these cycles, hence the reason why a hurricane is described as an “Act of God” for insurance purposes, when in truth and in fact, this is hardly ever the case. On the contrary, God often seeks to lessen the collateral damage of our sinful activities, for were it not for His intervention in our behalf for His purposes of mercy, the entire human race would have been long consumed, as a natural result of our sins. Let’s read:
Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.
Genesis 4:9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
Numbers 35:33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
Matthew 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
This last passage brings us to the law of inertia, and the resurrection, for the law of inertia, is subdued, and brought into subjection by the law of The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Isaac Newton’s law of inertia, states that, unless acted upon by an external force, an object at rest remains at rest. This is all well and good for us mortals, but the Bible does not limit the power of Christ to any of our known laws of physics, because He is the law-giver, and the law Maker, all in One.
The Bible teaches us that there’s nothing impossible with God, and since Christ was involved in creation of all things, animate and inanimate, all the laws of physics and nature are subject to His jurisdiction, as well as His disposal. A truth of grave importance is therefore stated in the Bible concerning Christ, and also by the servant of the Lord, being exemplified in the resurrection of Christ from the grave. Let’s read:
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God,
7 Made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands.
[E.G.W Bible commentary Vol 7 pp 904] The Son of God came voluntarily to accomplish the work of atonement. There was no obligatory yoke upon Him; for He was independent and above all law. The angels, as God's intelligent messengers, were under the yoke of obligation. Christ alone was free from the claims of the law to undertake the redemption of the sinful race. He had power to lay down His life and to take it up again.
Isaac Newton’s law of inertia, states that, unless acted upon by an external force, an object at rest remains at rest. However, Christ did not need any external force to act upon Him, in order for Him to come forth from the grave, for He came forth by the divinity that He had within Himself. The scriptures teach us that human nature, and divine nature were blended in the person of Christ, yet the two natures remained distinct, with His power of divinity being made subject to The Father’s will. In other words, in His life here on earth, He did not use omnipotence unless The Father said so. Let’s read:
John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
1st John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
John 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Matthew 28:1 In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
[Desire of Ages. pp 785] When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at Christ's tomb, saying, Thy Father calls Thee, the Savior came forth from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Now was proved the truth of His words, “I lay down My life, that I might take it again.... I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 10:17, 18; 2:19.
Over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Christ had proclaimed in triumph, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” These words could be spoken only by the Deity. All created beings live by the will and power of God. They are dependent recipients of the life of God. From the highest seraph to the humblest animate being, all are replenished from the Source of life. Only He who is one with God could say, I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again. In His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the bonds of death.
[Selected messages book 1 pp 297] The life of Christ was unborrowed. No one can take this life from Him. “I lay it down of myself” (John 10:18), He said. In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ. He cannot earn it; it is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as his personal Savior.
[Flb pp 51] He who had said, “I lay down my life, that I might take it again,” came forth from the grave to life that was in Himself. Humanity died: divinity did not die. In His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the bonds of death. He declares that He has life in Himself to quicken whom He will....
This truth is of critical importance to the Christian, for it is the one and only pillar upon which our hope of eternal life is centered. As was stated in previous passages, the dual nature, the Divine and human, is what Christ was comprised of, and thus, any person desiring to have eternal life, must also have that dual nature residing within their persons, because it is through that blend that the resurrection to life will take place.
Divinity cannot die, and if a Christian truly has Christ dwelling within, like Christ, the body may die, but the divine nature, given us as a gift, remains alive and intact. That is why Christ referred to death as a sleep, to those who believe, and concrete evidence is given in the scriptures to demonstrate this sacred truth. Let’s read:
1st Corinthians 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
2nd Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2nd Kings 13:20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
[Maranatha pp 302] Christ became one flesh with us, in order that we might become one spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave, not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ, but because, through faith, His life has become ours.
Which brings us to the important question: How may each of us become partakers of Christ’s divine nature, thus enabling us to defy the law of inertia? The answer to this question is to be found in our willingness to hear, and obey the voice of God, in the written and spoken word. When Christ came forth from the grave, He did so in obedience to the Father’s will, and so it will be with all who will be raised from the dead to immortality. Let’s read:
John 5: 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life.
John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord.
But if we are not in the habit of obeying God’s voice whilst we are alive, it’s highly unlikely that we will obey His voice when we are dead, for hearing, and obeying must be practiced whilst living, for this is what makes all the difference. As was stated before, the dual nature must exist in our person, for the resurrection of life to occur. Thus, any Christian, or any individual who erroneously believes that the teaching of the Bible, including the commandments are irrelevant, will retain only human nature and in consequence, will die forever.
Thus, we close with two appeals, from the Most High God, entreating us to look to Jesus and live, being obedient to His voice, through the power of The Holy Spirit. Let’s read:
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word.
God bless!