30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
02 Acts 14 08-20 THE MINISTRY AT LYSTRA 57 Acts 14 20 Moved from death to life
📖 Acts 14:08-20
2/57 – Wed, 17 Dec 2025 – *Moved from death to life*- _Acts 14:08-20_ – THE MINISTRY AT LYSTRA – _Ephesians 02:04-05_
_Acts 14:20 However, when the disciples gathered around him, *he rose up and went into the city*. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe._
Paul was cast out of the city as dead, but as the disciples gathered around him, he rose and went into the city. We have seen in a previous episode that the Christian life is about dying with Christ. What we see here is that Paul rose from a condition of death. (The people of Lystra supposed Paul to have died).
*The work of Jesus is bringing people from death to life.* _John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, *he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life*._
This is the Good News. We are living in a state of death because of sin. It is from this state of death that we are brought into fullness of life, and this life is in Christ. _Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but *the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord*._
The consequence of sin is death. We have understood that death is alienation from God. God is the source of life. _I John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (12) He who has the Son has life; *he who does not have the Son of God does not have life*._
All of us have sinned, and we have lost life. _Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,_ Thus all of us are living in a state of death from which we had no hope to come back to life. _Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and *thus death spread to all men, because all sinned*—_
It is from this state of death that God has brought us to life because of His love for us. _Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us._
Yes, God loves us, but our sins had to be settled before Him. God is righteous. *God had to forgive us our sins for His love to reach us and move us from death to life.* _Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, *having forgiven you all trespasses*,_
*God’s forgiveness could only be applied to us because our sin was paid for by Jesus, in whom there was no sin.* _I John 3:5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and *in Him there is no sin*._ / _II Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him._
*Jesus bore our sin on His sinless body on the cross.* _I Peter 2:24 *who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree*, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed._
*When sin came upon Jesus on the cross, Jesus died.* He was alienated from the Father just as we are alienated from God because of our sin. _Matthew 27:45-46 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. (46) And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"_ Our death, which is separation from God, was taken by Jesus. Jesus could not call God as ‘Father’.
Yes, Jesus died physically, too, on the cross. _Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "*Father*, 'INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.' " Having said this, *He breathed His last*._ Before Jesus died physically, He was reunited with the Father, for He called God, “Father”, which He could not do when the sin of man came on Him.
Jesus has done all that is needed for man to come back from death to life, but *Each of us must personally receive and appropriate this work of Jesus. (His death, burial and resurrection) by faith, to cross over from death to life*. _Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): (9) that *if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved*. (10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation._
This salvation is by the grace of God; we cannot achieve salvation by good deeds. _Ephesians 2:4-5 But *God, who is rich in mercy*, because of His great love with which He loved us, (5) even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ *(by grace you have been saved)*,_ / _Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (9) *not of works, lest anyone should boast*._
```It is by God’s gift of Jesus that we have salvation, and we move from death to life.```