Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left (Exod 14:21-22).

This was what happened when the people of Israel were reborn by going through water. The "strong east wind" was the Holy Spirit—the power of new creation. It was the spirit of God who was hovering over the waters, the deep, and his power was released when God said, "Let there be light." The same Holy Spirit was with the people of Israel, and he guided them as they traveled in the wilderness, which was a proof that they were heirs of God. And it was this spirit who led those of the second generation into the Promised Land.

Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. ... So the people crossed over opposite Jericho (Joshua 3:15-16).

These people were also reborn by going through water, and became heirs of God. The Holy Spirit was a seal and a deposit guaranteeing their inheritance. This role of God's spirit is well illustrated in the story of Elijah and Elisha. Elisha succeeded Elijah by receiving the same spirit that Elijah had. Interestingly, they too crossed the Jordan with the water divided.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied (2 Kgs 2:9).

"A double portion" meant the inheritance that a firstborn son received from his father. So, Elisha inherited the spirit that rested on Elijah by seeing him taken up to heaven. Note how Elisha shouted that time: "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel." These chariots and horsemen had followed him since then. All this was to reestablish the nation of Israel that completely failed to keep their covenant with God. It meant to be a renewal of the covenant. So, as Joshua did, Elisha crossed the Jordan from east to west, and reentered the Promised Land with the water also divided. The spirit he received was the only hope guaranteeing the succession of the inheritance promised to the people of Israel who had failed to be God's heirs by breaking the covenant as Naomi was for the field of Elimelech. In fact, this spirit was never taken away from Israel, even during the time of the Babylonian captivity. God spoke through Haggai to the people who had returned to Jerusalem, saying:

This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear (Hag 2:5).

The same spirit remains among those who have become God's heirs in Christ today. As Joshua received the spirit that Moses had and as Elisha received the spirit that Elijah had, Jesus' disciples received the Holy Spirit that Jesus had so that they would go and lay hold of God's kingdom.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight (Acts 1:8-9).

We, as believers in Christ and heirs of God, have an important role in this church age when the rest of the people in the world, even the chosen ones of Israel are failing to be such.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory. (Eph 1:13-14).

Since the beginning of creation, the Holy Spirit has been always a backstage being whose work was not recognized or praised at all.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light (Gen 1:2-3).

The Holy Spirit himself was the power to produce light, but he was not the light itself. He was the living water that watered the Garden of Eden, and caused everything that had life to grow and produce fruit, and was the breath of life that made Adam a living being, but he himself was not the life. Adam, when he sinned, was driven out of the garden, and went to live in the wilderness far from the source of the living water—spiritual death and separation from the Holy Spirit.

The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them (Isa 41:17).

Yet, the people of Israel came to learn that their God was the source of water when they saw a rock split and water gushing out of it. God created them, and his spirit was again living and working among them, which was the proof that they were heirs of God. This truth about the role of the Holy Spirit is the theme in the book of Ruth. Elimelech with his wife and two sons went to live in the land of Moab because of a famine, which signified the spiritual condition of Israel during the period of Judges: they began to worship idols following the way of the Canaanites whom they had not driven out. The death of Elimelech and that of his two sons were a prophecy that the people and their kingdom, which would be divided into two, would come to an end. Naomi was left behind alone with the converted gentile widow of one of her two sons. What became at stake was the land of Elimelech—the inheritance which was now lost into the hand of a stranger. In their time, a land which was abandoned for as long as ten years could not be returned to the original owner: what made worse in the case of Naomi's family was that no heirs had survived. The last thread of hope was the existence of Naomi. Boaz, who had been mysteriously guided by Naomi, said to the kinsman-redeemer, Mr. so and so:

Concerning the land of our brother, of Elimelech, Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is the price for it, and here I say, speaking to your ears, "Buy in front of the seated ones and the elders of my people." If you redeem, redeem, but if you wish not to, tell me so, so that I will know: because you are the only one who can redeem, and I am after you (Ruth 4:3-4, Translation mine).

Note that unlike the case of Abraham who purchased a piece of land with 400 shekels of silver from the Hittites, no money was involved in this transaction (Acts 8:18). The price was Naomi herself: whoever adopted her as his mother would get the land. This is exactly the role of the Holy Spirit as "a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance." Thus, John, representing the church, received and took the mother of Jesus into his home as his own mother.

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home (John 19:26-27).

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—... (John 14:6).

This "another Counselor" is one of the three beings of the Trinity, and is usually called "the Holy Spirit" in the New Testament. According to Jesus' words above, this being was to be given to the disciples by the Father. Admittedly, at that point, this being was not yet given to them who had already believed that Jesus was the Messiah. This promise of giving the Holy Spirit to his disciples was a part of the "share" that Jesus mentioned when he washed the feet of his disciples: he said to Peter, "Unless I wash you, you have no part (share) with me." This share is what God's heirs are entitled to receive. Note that their whole body must be washed first, and their feet must be washed constantly in order for them to take part in this sharing according to Jesus.

... —the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you (v. 17)

This "another Counselor" is now called "the Spirit of truth" because he is the one who testifies about Jesus who is "the truth." This truth is the spiritual reality to which all believers are brought into: they have been united with Christ in his death and resurrection. In contrast to that, the reality of this world is not run by this truth, but in fact run by the spirit of falsehood (1 John 4:6, John 8:44). And this is the reason why "the world cannot accept him," and "it neither sees him nor knows him." But for those who have become heirs of God, he lives, remains, and is with them forever because they have been adopted into the family of the Trinity. In the same way, Jesus, as a human, was adopted into this family and received the Holy Spirit when he was baptized:

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased (Luke 3:21-22)."

Interestingly, the work of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Jesus is figuratively illustrated through the presence of Jesus' mother in the gospel of John. The miracle of turning water into wine in chapter 2 is depicted as the first sign in Jesus' ministry, in which his mother played an indispensable role as a mediator between Jesus and the people who did not yet know much about their redeemer: she said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Obviously, the water changed into wine is linked with the blood and water that gushed out of his body at the crucifixion. It was not a coincidence that this sign took place at the wedding where Jesus, his disciples and mother were present—Christ being the bridegroom and the church the bride. The mother was the backstage coordinator and hidden organizer—the Holy Spirit, whose role exactly corresponds to that of Naomi in the story of Ruth.

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home (John 19:26-27).

As Jesus' mother who had lived with him up to this point departed from him, she became the mother of John, and John was adopted as her son. This shows the kind of relationship that the church has with the Holy Spirit. In the others, the Holy Spirit has been given to the church as the proof that the church is the assembly of the adopted children of God—the deposit that guarantees their inheritance. And again, this corresponds to the presence of Naomi who functioned as the last link and hope that ensured that the land of her former husband could be redeemed and given to her son-in-law (adopted son) and his descendants. The church ought to honor the person of the Holy Spirit more.

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased (Luke 3:21-22)."

Here, we see all the three divine beings present in this short passage. As Jesus, in whom was living the Son God as his spirit, came out of the water, and was praying, the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, and the voice of the Father God came from heaven speaking to Jesus: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." This occurred as the fulfillment of the following scripture in the Old Testament:

I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession (Ps 2:7-8).

At this point, Jesus (more particularly, his soul) was adopted into the family of the Trinity as a son because he, too, was a human. As a son, he also became an heir, and "the nations" were given to him as his "inheritance." So, like Joshua, he went out to lay hold of his "possession" to "the ends of the earth." It was how his ministry began, and we, as sons of God, co-heirs with Christ, are part of the extension of the same ministry sharing in his sufferings. It is interesting to note that right after Jesus had been adopted as such, Satan came to tempt him concerning his sonship.

The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." ... "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. ... "All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me (Mat 4:3-9)."

Satan tried to lead him to a wrong way of seeking the possession because he knew that Jesus came to take back what had been lost in man's inheritance as a result of the Fall. Yet, Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan!"

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him (v. 11).

Keep in mind always that as we are co-heirs with Christ, we have what he had. If Satan obeyed Jesus, he also obeys us. If the angels came and attended him, they also come and attend us.

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Heb 1:14)?

The ministering of angels is an important part of the spiritual blessings given to all of us who are heirs of God. In fact, the words, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased," were not only spoken to Jesus, but also are spoken to all co-heirs with Christ in the same way today. When Jesus went to John to be baptized by him, John first tried to deter him by saying, "I need to be baptized by you." But Jesus replied:

Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness (3:15).

Note the word, "us," which included John and the rest of the people who came to be baptized by him. Jesus, as a human, took the same step as the rest of the people needed to take, and was adopted into the family of the Trinity. If the baptism Jesus received was a proper step for him and everyone to take to fulfill righteousness, then the event that took place after he came out of the water—the adoption into God's family of the Trinity with the words saying, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased"—must have been also a part of the proper step for every co-heir with him.

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab (Ruth 1:1).

The book of Ruth is one of the rare books in the Bible in which women are the main characters. The story itself is short, and is about two women, a widowed mother (Naomi) and her Moabite daughter-in-law (Ruth), who returned to Bethlehem after they had emigrated to the land of Moab because of famine. It tells how they survived and how their life was restored through their kinsman-redeemer, Boaz, who married Ruth, and in whose genealogy later came David. When they had not yet returned to Bethlehem, Naomi told her two daughters-in-law to return to their own mothers and remarry, but Ruth insisted on going with Naomi, and said:

Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her (v. 16).

This confession of hers functioned in the same way as that of Rahab who were saved from destruction by her faith in the God of Israel. Both were gentile, yet were made heirs of God by faith just as we were adopted as God's children and heirs by our faith in Christ.

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her (v. 18).

It was at the time of barley harvest, just before the celebration of the Passover, when they arrived Bethlehem. Ruth went out for gleaning in the fields, and it so happened that she went to the field belonging to Boaz, who was one of Naomi's kinsman-redeemers. Ruth, without knowing it, asked the foreman of the workers to let her glean among the sheaves, which was not normally allowed. The foreman told her to wait till he would ask Boaz about it. So she waited for the arrival of Boaz, and finally:

Just then (lit. Behold!) Boaz arrived from Bethlehem (meaning 'house of bread') and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!" "The LORD bless you!" they called back (2:4).

The writer makes a big deal out of the entry of Boaz into the story as if Boaz came as a savior for these two women who were struggling to get their bread. One of the characteristics of the book of Ruth is that the story contains some expressions and descriptions that seem to allude to something deeper and more spiritual, or some kind of events in the future as prophecies. The above description of the greetings between Boaz and his harvesters is one of them. It somewhat reminds us of the entry of Jesus to Jerusalem. Boaz said to Ruth:

My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled (vv. 8-9).

You can see how Boaz allowed Ruth to work gleaning together with the servant girls of his own, and even allowed her to drink water freely from the jars prepared for his workers. At the time of a meal, he let her sit among his own servants and eat the same food that they ate. He even took some roasted grain and handed it to her. She ate all she wanted, and had some leftover, which she took home and gave to Naomi. Definitely, Boaz treated Ruth in a very special way. This is how God thinks about us, and takes care of us, who were once alienated from him and his blessings, but were adopted into his family to be his children and heirs.

"Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say." So she sent them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window (Josh 2:21).

Here, the expression, "the scarlet cord," occurs for the second time in this story. Earlier in v. 18, it was "tiqvath hut ha-sshani hazeh," and here, it is simply, "tiqvath ha-sshani"—somewhat shorten or abbreviated from the earlier one. Note, however, the word "tiqvath," which means both "cord" and "hope" is still used (this word for the meaning of "cord" occurs only twice in the Bible). The theological implication behind it is significant. This cord meant hope not only for the salvation of Rahab and her family from the destruction that was about to happen, but also for the salvation of the whole humanity. Rahab continued to live among the Israelites in the land, and later was married to Salmon from the tribe of Judah, and bore Boaz. Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth, a Moabite woman, Obed the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David, and Jesus Christ came as a descendant of David (Mat 1:4ff.). Rahab, as well as Ruth, represents the Gentiles who came to be blessed and used as God's heirs.

As we already learned, the color of "scarlet" in the expression of "the scarlet chord" points to the blood of Jesus, through which we have now redemption in Christ. Let us explore briefly how this blood came to redeem us. First, take a look at the following scriptures:

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Eph 1:7).

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb 9:22).

The first point in the meaning of the blood of Jesus is that it has redeemed us from our sins. It was not easy, at all, for God to forgive our sins because he is the God of righteousness. The Bible further explains that this redemption came in two aspects: in paying the ransom for our life and in easing of God's wrath upon us. By sinning, we offered ourselves to Satan to be his slaves, but God bought us back by paying the price so that we would be his children again (1 Cor 6:20, Mat 27:6, etc.). At the same time, God saved us from his wrath by pouring it upon his own Son. In this way, he has demonstrated both his love and his righteousness: he loved us by forgiving our sins, yet maintained his righteousness by punishing his own Son through his anger.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him (Rom 5:9)!

Being "justified" means being made righteous. Those who have received the forgiveness of sins, they were made righteous before God. This is the second point in the meaning of Jesus' blood. The unrighteous cannot find favor in the sight of God who is righteous, hence they are the object of his wrath. But if you are righteous, you are an object of God's favor, love and blessings. And this leads us to the third point.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ... since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water (Heb 10:22).

We have boldness to enter into his presence through the blood of Jesus. This truth serves as the foundation for all the blessings we receive from God as his heirs. Without this boldness, we would not seek God by worshiping him, nor ask him to do anything in prayers—the spiritual numbness before God due to the effect of the sense of guilt, which lingers somewhere deep inside of our soul. Through the blood of Jesus, however, we have boldness—the spiritual keenness on the presence of God, which drives us to go out and lay hold of God's blessings.

When we enter the land, you will tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you will bring your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house (Josh 2:18).

These two things were what Rahab was to do before the Israelites would come to destroy Jericho: to tie "this scarlet cord" in the same window as she let these spies down, and to gather all those who belonged to her into her house. Here, the phrase, "this scarlet cord," draws our special interest. The phrase in Hebrew is, tiqvath hut ha-sshani hazeh, and it probably means, "the thread/cloth of this scarlet string/cord." Since we do not know exactly how tiqvah is different from hut in the meaning, these two words are together translated as "cord" in NIV. The word that gives the meaning of "scarlet" is shani, and it was the color of the matter produced by insects called coccus ilicis: the dried bodies of the females of this insect was widely used for coloring matter. The worm of this kind of insect is called tola'ath in Hebrew, and this word, together with shani, appears in the instruction for the purification of a healed leper in Leviticus:

He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn (sheni hattola'ath) and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.

The phrase, sheni hattola'ath, indicates that this yarn must be colored by the coloring matter produced by the kind of insect mentioned above, and the yarn is used to bind the wood and the branches of the hyssop together. Then, the priest is to dip the whole thing into mixture of living water and the blood of a killed bird. This is obviously the picture of Jesus being crucified on the cross. We have also the following prophecy.

But I am a worm (tola'ath) and not a man,

Scorned by men and despised by the people (Ps 22:6).

The word for "a worm" is tola'ath, and as explained above, this worm is used to produce the color of blood. Christ is depicted as a blood-producing worm.

Another thing that needs to be explained is the use of the word, tiquvah. In the aforementioned phrase, "this scarlet cord," it means some kind of cord, thread, or cloth. But the same word with the same pronunciation also means "hope." Apparently, the word is used in double meanings. This cord was the hope by which Rahab and all who belonged to her were saved. Note that the pronoun "this (hazeh)" is attached to the phrase, and it implies that the same cord was used to let the two spies down. They were also saved by this "hope." For us who are in Christ, this hope is Christ himself, and his blood by which we have the forgiveness of our sins.

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb 9:22).

If there were no forgiveness, there would be no righteousness. If there were no righteousness, we would not be heirs of God. If we were not heirs of God, there would be no blessings upon us, and we would be still under curses, and when we die, we would be sent to hell—no hope at all.

I led them with cords of human kindness (lit. I pulled them with the ropes of human),

with ties of love;

I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them (Hos 11:4).

The "cords (ropes) of human (adam)" are the ropes that are red (adom), and they are the ropes of Jesus' blood (dam), "ties of love." It was with this kind of rope that two spies escaped from Jericho, and with the same rope, Rahab and all those who belonged to her were saved. And with the same scarlet rope of hope, we who are now in Christ, were saved.

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, … Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, … Jesse the father of King David (Mat 1:1-5).

Genealogies in the Bible are not given simply to show who the ancestors of the Jews were, but to show how the inheritance originated from God had been given to certain individuals, and then, handed down to a certain group of their descendants, and so on. In other words, the significance of genealogies lies in the passing of God's inheritance in the history of humankind. The reason that the above genealogy in Matthew begins with Abraham is that the original inheritance given to Adam at the creation was lost as a result of sin, but came to be renewed at the time of Abraham with the covenant God made with him promising that a nation of God's heirs would be built, and eventually the other peoples on earth would join them as well. As you know, this promise has come to be fulfilled in Christ: the Gentiles can be heirs of God by faith. And as if to show and prove this truth, Matthew lists the name Rahab in the genealogy above. She was a Canaanite woman, a prostitute.

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there (Josh 2:1).

The Israel army marched around Jericho with the ark of the covenant carried by priests. Following the long blast of the seven shofaroth, the army shouted a big war cry, and at that time, the walls of Jericho fell down flat where they were. The city and everything in it was totally devoted to God, and Joshua pronounced a curse upon it saying:

Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates (6:26).

Rahab, a prostitute, who was living in such a city, was saved from this curse and chosen as an heir of God, and out of her descendants came Jesus Christ.

Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, … But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day (vv. 24-25).

The statement, "she lives among the Israelites to this day," indicates that she was accepted as an Israelite woman. In fact, according to the genealogy in Matthew, she married Salmon, who was from the tribe of Judah, and bore a son, Boaz, who also married a Gentile woman, Ruth. At the time of the writing of the book of Joshua, she was still alive, and probably lived in Bethlehem. Note how she confessed to the two spies about the God of Israel:

I know that the LORD has given this land to you … We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, … for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below (2:9-11).

It was because of this faith and the confession she made that she, her family, and all who belonged to her were saved from the destruction of Jericho, and counted among the chosen people, the heirs of God.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Tim 6:12).

If the promise that we will be heirs of God is fulfilled by faith, then, the promise that we will be blessed with various blessing we are entitled to as heirs of God is also fulfilled by faith. Therefore, the fight we fight in order to receive God's blessings takes place in the area of our faith. The reason that this is a fight is because everywhere in this world, we see the work of destruction, but instead, we want to see the work of creation in our life. This friction between the work of destruction and that of creation results in ongoing fights we fight as long as we live on earth. The above scripture encourages us to "fight the good fight of the faith" we have in Christ. It is good to fight, and every fight we fight is a good fight because we are more than conquerors as long as we fight correctly according to God's word.

Let us see a few examples of how we are to fight in order to take possession of what is promised. See, for instance, the following words:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Mat 6:33).

It is crucial to know that the way we work to live today has come as a result of our sin. God did not create our world this way at the beginning. So, what God did by making us his heirs again through his redemption in Christ was to bring us back to the original state, in which all the spiritual and physical needs were met by our "heavenly Father," so that we would fully concentrate on seeking his kingdom and his righteousness first. And we know that it takes faith to do so believing that our Father will meet all our needs. Surely, it is a fight of faith, and the above scripture teaches us the correctly way to fight this fight.

There is another kind of fight we all fight in this world. The Bible says, "by his wounds you have been healed (1 Pet 2:24, Isa 53:5)." Sickness is the work of destruction upon our physical bodies, which also came as a result of our sin. Yet, in Christ, just as we have been redeemed from our sins, we have also been set free from all sickness and diseases. It is important, however, to know that no blessings fall on us automatically: we need to take possession of them by faith. So, to struggle to get healed and stay healthy is another type of fight we fight. Jesus said to a paralytic at one time, "Get up, take your mat and go home." He did not pray, but commanded the paralytic to get up, take his mat and go home. This paralytic had neither got up, taken his mat, nor gone home walking on his feet for some time, but as he tried, and began to do what he was commanded believing that he could do so, the miracle happened to him. It was a fight of faith that he fought correctly according to Jesus' word, and he was healed.

In the book of Joshua, we read the story of the people of Israel crossing the Jordan to enter the Promised Land. God commanded the priests:

When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river (Josh 3:8).

And the book goes on to say:

Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, … while the water … was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho (vv. 16-16).

This happened because Joshua, the priests and the people—all of them—faithfully obeyed God and did what he told them to do. It should be compared with the story of the spies sent to the Promised Land in Numbers 13-14. The people who heard the reports of the spies, grumbled, wailed and wished that they had been in Egypt. The difference is big and obvious, and it is exactly this difference that brings the difference between those who actually receive the blessings promised to God's heirs and those who do not.

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it (Mat 11:12).

We learned last time that we as heirs of God must go and forcefully lay hold of the kingdom of God together with all kinds of blessings associated with this inheritance. Although the kingdom of God exists in our world, it does not exist physically. Where the will of God is carried out through the name of Jesus, there is the kingdom of God. So, then, the questions we ask are: what kind of battle are we to fight, and what kind of force do we need to have in order to lay hold of our inheritance?

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Tim 6:12).

Since the kingdom of God is a spiritual kind of kingdom, the battle we fight takes place in the spiritual realm. This scripture encourages us to "fight a good fight of faith." Faith substantializes what is hoped for and not seen, making the spiritual realities of God's word real in our physical world. So, our task as fighters of faith is to make the spiritual realities promised concerning the kingdom of God real in this physical world following the example of Abraham. The word "good (kalos)" can mean good in a legal sense—"right" or "correct." Players in a sports-related game must fight according to the rules set for the game, otherwise they will be disqualified. In the same way, we need to fight this fight correctly by following the rules set in the Bible, if we want to win. In fact, the Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors, and we do not fight wondering whether we will win or not. Every fight we fight is always a "good" fight because we are already winners.

The word "fight" naturally comes to be associated with negative feelings in our mind. We instinctively try to avoid any involvement in a fighting situation where some extra efforts, energy, and even sacrifices are demanded. We remember the story of Num 13-14: the people of Israel refused to go into the Promised Land because of their fear and unbelief, and it provoked the anger of God. Not knowing that the fight they were to fight was a "good" fight, they were defeated in the battle of faith by not fighting, and failed to take possession of what was promised to them. It is a "good" thing to fight, and God even trains his children, as he did to Abraham, to make them good fighters. Thus, a refusal to fight this fight is considered a rebellion against God as seen in the story of Num 13-14, and is as bad as making a golden calf as in Exod 32.

More importantly, God expects his heirs to go and fight for the sake of others who have not yet received what is promised to them. God said to Joshua after Moses died:

No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; …. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them (Josh 1:5-6).

The task given to Joshua was not for his own possession, but for the inheritance that the whole assembly of Israel were to receive. This applies now to every worker of God, who has received the Spirit of God and become his heir in Christ. Moreover, note the way God commanded those two and a half tribes (the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh) who had already received their lands in Transjordan to cross the Jordan ahead of the other tribes and help them take possession of the land.

… all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, … east of the Jordan toward the sunrise (vv. 14-15).

This is exactly what God expects you to do as his heir while you are here on earth.