RayPrinzing
HIS LIFE, MY RANSOM
By Ray Prinzing
“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for man.” (Matt. 20: 28)
We are redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (Peter 1:19). It is also written, “for the life of the flesh is in the blood…” (Lev. 17:11). It was HIS LIFE which was poured out for us, and it is age-abiding, sufficient for our needs this very day.
An example of being a ransom is found in Acts 7:35, where we read, “This Moses whom they refused say, Who made thee a ruler and judge? The same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer.” The word “deliverer” is the same Greek word in this case which is translated RANSOM.
How was Moses a ransom for Israel in Egypt? Did Moses pay a price to Egypt for Israel’s redemption? Did he promise anything in return for allowing Israel to leave? No! Moses paid Egypt exactly nothing. It was his own life which he poured out for Israel, it was the freely giving of his life for Israel which led them up out of Egypt, as God through Moses made a way.
When Jesus Christ became our ransom, He didn’t have to take an offering to God, and say, “Here, God, is a price for the people.” Nor, did He go to the Devil, and say, Here, Devil, is a ransom-price, now you let creation go.” Never! He poured out His life and freely gave it to the people. We are the ones who are receiving the ransom, and receiving of His life, we are able to get up and leave the filth of the old world behind, and walk in the higher realms of His life.
In the natural, we pay the kidnapper the ransom money, but God does it the other way around, He gives of His life to us who are in bondage, and then we have the resources, the strength to arise and return to Father’s house. We cannot do it on our own, we are weak and helpless but when He gives of His life, and fills us with His strength, then THROUGH HIM we are able to return.
A ransom He came for me, His life He freely gave,
Poured out, and yes, effective, too, triumphant o’er the grave.
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IGNORANCE FEARS THE TRUTH AND LOVE
by Ray Prinzing
Ignorance, not only of natural causes and effects, but also of a heart revelation of truth, is keeping fear alive today. How we need a constant unfolding of the truth. In times past when God gave a fresh revelation people would leap up in boldness to take their stand, but in time fear took over, why? Because they didn't keep up with progressive revelation. God's purpose is not stagnated. He is ever moving forward and revealing His purpose as He goes. Truth is progressive, it is not subjective, but it is objective. You must not subject truth to creeds and dogmas, nor can you, since truth is objective and ever pointing us toward Christ and His fulness. We must not take a certain truth and just build a fence around it and stay there, it shall soon become a bondage to us - but we need to go daily forward from faith to faith till the goal is reached.
Since truth is progressive, then the price for having it is also progressive. Many think that by paying the price to receive one fragment of truth that entitles them to all of it, but not so - a progressive revelation has a progressive price to be paid and ultimately a completed price for we become fully "all His".
There has been that in each of us that has feared the love of God. We have been afraid to contemplate its great conquering power. Preachers are afraid to give out a full love message so instead they preach mostly negatively, condemnation and unbelief. Always what we are not to believe, for we don't believe this or that and the church doesn't stand for this or that. But if we could ever be fully immersed with God's love there is no limit to what could be accomplished. You can't go too far in - there is no fearful "deep end" in the love of God, for love is unlimited and therefore will always triumph. "CHARITY NEVER FAILETH." (1 Corinthians 13:8).
Yes, man has feared the love of God. There has been that in each of us which has shrunk from its cleansing. There is that in us which has shrunk from God's ultimates. We didn't dare ponder what the scope covers concerning His plan of the ages, or even to begin to acknowledge that He has a plan. But, blessed hour, now HE is unfolding these things and we are beginning to grasp what some of these ultimates really are.
Man has allowed a theology to usurp the truth, and so has been afraid, teaching that the pathway is so dark and fearful, a great falling away - just pray for me, that I'll hold out to the end (end of what?). Living under such a theology and atmosphere only yields more gloom and condemnation and frustration, till the only hope for some was in a false idea of an escape-rapture to a beautiful Isle of Somewhere, where they would be able to cry out "At last, at last I'm home." But man has no overcoming victory under such a negative viewpoint. One only conquers in the realm of POSITIVE, in LOVE; for love is a positive realm, and when we move into the love-realm we begin to overcome, for "charity is the bond of perfectness [completeness]" (Colossians 3:14).
Move into the love-realm and you can go beyond "talk" of overcoming self, and actually begin to manifest a triumphant life. Even our constant "thoughts" on the overcoming of self are negative. But, thank the Lord, one of these days He is going to release us from such limitations of the negative realm into the gloriously expanding realms of the positive, pure and full, love of God. The bursting forth of pure light will immediately dispell all the shadows of darkness within us.
We have moved so long in the shadows, types, allegory and parable realm. But remember, a shadow has one of two fates; either it will be swallowed up with total darkness, or else it will be dispelled completely by light. The warning is that when God begins to give us added light and we refuse to walk in it, then by such refusal we will not only remain in the type and shadow realm, but God will allow our limited light to be turned into darkness, and how great is that darkness.
Yet if we would allow God to lead us on by His Spirit till we come out of the allegories and parables, with all their fleshly ceremonies, and on into the bright, glorious reality of His truth and light, then we will taste of the positiveness and unlimited potentiality of the power of the LOVE OF GOD. God wants us to now come into the place where HIS love can operate in us.
Excerpts from EXTENDED CHARITY or (WHEN LOVE PROJECTS)