The divine purposes of God are often hidden from mankind, not only because His thoughts and His ways are far higher than ours, but also because our ability to understand is often limited to our own natural experiences in life. We are however able to gain meaningful insights into His purposes and plans by identifying those areas that the Bible reveals are Sacred, Holy, and Precious to God.
This teaching will identify 3 things that God considers very special within the world, so special that His divine purposes and plans are centered around them.
Scripture Reference
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
(Genesis 1:26-28)
3 Things That Are Sacred To God
1. Life
All Life comes from God.
God alone has the ability to create Life and to give the gift of Life to those whom He chooses. Life is Sacred because it comes from God.
2. Marriage
Marriage is God's foundation for Family Life.
God chose Marriage as the way for those to whom He had given life, to fill the earth and subdue it. Marriage is Sacred because God instituted it for mankind.
3. The Church
The Church is the vessel chosen by God to bring the knowledge of salvation to mankind.
Every believer in Jesus Christ has a part to play in sharing the Gospel and living their life in God's service. The Church is Sacred because together it's members are the Body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the Head.
1. Life
The Sanctity of Life
The phrase sanctity of life refers to the idea that every human life is sacred, holy, and precious. The sanctity of life is inherent (in-built) because man can never create life without God. Therefore, man has no authority to destroy life.
In religion and ethics, the inviolability (Never to be violated) or sanctity of life, is a principle of implied protection regarding aspects of living being that are said to be holy, sacred, or otherwise of such value that they are not to be violated.
The Sanctity of Life also means the extent to which human life is considered precious in the sight of God, our Creator. The Bible teaches that man was made as part of God's creation and incredibly also made in God's image. Therefore, human life should be valued and considered as sacred and God-given.
Life's Value
Life, to some it has little value, and is treated like just another commodity like gold or silver. To these people Life is to be used and traded for whatever dollar value we can get for it. Many of the worst crimes that man commits against his fellow man/woman are based upon a lack of respect for the value of human life.
However for others, it is precious and of incalculable value and worthy of protection at all costs. This teaching will look at how God made human life and it's value in His eyes according to the revelation found in the Bible.
God Knows Our Name
(Exodus 33:17) So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
(John 10:3) To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
(Luke 10:20) Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
When God knows my name, it means that I matter to Him. It means He cares about me. It means that what I do and who I am is important to Him. Even within our vast and enormous universe filled with billions of people, I matter to Him because He knows my name. God's children have their names written in heaven, in the Book of Life, and by God's grace have qualified as those who will enjoy eternity with Him.
Born into the World
(John 16:21) A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
All of us when we are born into the world, have arrived with the incredible potential that only human beings has been given by God.
The wonderful joy experienced by parents is life changing for many, as they transition from a married couple and become a family.
God gave men and women together the ability to bring another human being into the world, and the responsibility and honour to raise them.
(Genesis 2:7) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
(Jeremiah 1:5) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
(Psalm 139:13-16)
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me,
Guardian Angels
(Matthew 18:10) “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven
Angels are powerful servants of God that operate in the heavenly realm to fulfil the Will of God. Some of these Angels are assigned as a form of Body Guard that watches over your life and fights demonic forces to help bring you into God's will and purpose for your life.
Glory and Dominion
(Psalm 8:4-6) What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet
When Adam was originally made by God, he was placed in the Garden of Eden and began being trained up by God to run the world. God gave Adam the rulership of this world, which he was called to achieve through being in wonderful daily communion with our Heavenly Father.
Unfortunately when Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan in the Garden, they lost their dominion and Satan usurping it, became the 'Ruler of this World' (John 14:30)
God gave Adam the rulership of this world, which he was called to achieve through being in wonderful daily communion with our Heavenly Father.
The Uniqueness of Every Person
Unique means : being the only one of its kind
There is no one else like you, you are the only one of your kind. God made each of us unique, distinctive and individual. We all have different personalities, different looks, different strengths and weaknesses, all these things play a part in making up who we are as an individual.
We were made by God and given a divine purpose in life, a purpose that He has called us to fulfil as we commune daily with Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
Below are just a few of the many things that make us unique.
Our Fingerprints
Your fingerprints are unique. That means that no one else in the world has the exact same set of ridges and lines that you have on your fingers. Not even identical twins have the same fingerprints. Their uniqueness and lasting quality make fingerprints one of the best ways to identify a person.
Our DNA
The DNA of every human being is different, even the possibility of identical twins having the same DNA is incredibly remote.
Our Voice
The sound of each individual's voice is entirely unique not only because of the actual shape and size of an individual's vocal cords but also due to the size and shape of the rest of that person's body, especially the vocal tract, and the manner in which the speech sounds are
habitually formed and articulated.
Judgement When A Life Is Taken
(Genesis 4:3-5) And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell
(Genesis 4:8) Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him
(Genesis 4:10-12) And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”
(Genesis 9:5-6) Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man
God is a God of Justice and as such He rewards those who obey Him and punishes those who commit evil. The reckoning for killing a man is severe because he is not just another creature but the one that was made in God's own image. God commanded that if someone murders a man that their own life is forfeit, so that this evil could be taken away from society.
You Shall Not Kill is one of the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20)
God is a God of Justice and as such He rewards those who obey Him and punishes those who commit evil.
The Cost of Redeeming Our Life
(John 3:16) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
(John 1:4) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men
God placed such a value on human life that He sent His Son to Redeem us by sacrificing His own life and paying the price for our sins against God. The cost that God was willing to pay for our Redemption (To Bring Us Back To God) is an accurate reflection of how precious each life is in His sight, and how much we are loved.
The cost that God was willing to pay for our Redemption (To Bring Us Back To God) is an accurate reflection of how precious each life is in His sight, and how much we are loved.
2. Marriage
Scripture Reference
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh
(Genesis 2:21-24)
The Sanctity of Marriage
What does it mean that marriage is sacred? Holy Matrimony is another name for sacramental or sacred marriage.
Marriage is a divine institution that can never be broken, even if the husband or wife legally divorces in the civil courts; as long as they are both alive, the Church considers them bound together by God. Marriage is sacred because it's instituted in the Word of God and God made it clear that marriage should always be honoured and treated with respect.
Why?
Because the institution of marriage of man here on earth is a precursor (forerunner) to the heavenly fulfillment that Christian believers will experience with the divine union of Christ and the Church.
The Treachery of Divorce In God's Eyes
(Malachi 2:13-16) And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, With weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. “For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously.
3 Reasons Why God Hates Divorce
Divorce breaks a vow made before God
Divorce breaks a Covenant you made with your Husband/Wife
Divorce destroys the Godly family life of children
1. Divorce breaks a Vow made before God
"You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands."
When a couple stands before a minister and promises to stay together for a lifetime, to give themselves only to their partner until death do they part, God is listening. Even if couples don't get married in a church or before a Christian minister, they are still entering into the God ordained state of marriage.
The terrible suffering that divorce visits upon men and women in society is staggering. The experience for many makes it nearly impossible to ever really trust anyone again, as they are scarred emotionally and mentally as well as torn spiritually. The prayers of divorced people may well be hindered until they come before God in humility and allow Him to deal with them, and the reasons why they broke their vow before Him.
Thankfully, Jesus came into the world to set the captives free, and that includes setting us free from emotional and mental scars that we have sustained. If we come before Him in humility and repentance we are able to access His mercy and the restoration we long for in life.
2. Divorce breaks the Covenant you made with your Husband/Wife
"Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant."
Marriage is not merely an agreement between a husband and wife, it is a covenant, a solemn vow or promise that lasts a lifetime. In a marriage covenant all that each party has belongs to both, because they are no longer two people, but one married couple. Their bodies are no longer their own, but are given to each other in service of their marriage.
God is a covenant keeping God, He never lies and always does what He has promised, He is a Holy and Just God, and for this reason He expects those created in His image to be and do the same. Divorce in God's sight is an act of treachery, of betrayal and disloyalty. It is a violent act in the midst of what is designed to be the blessed and peaceful institution of marriage.
Divorce in God's sight is an act of treachery, of betrayal and disloyalty.
3. Divorce destroys the Godly Family Life of Children
"But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring."
God gave man the institution of marriage as a way to structure and empower family life to encourage stability and clarify His approval of human relationships. As God's blessing flows over the union between a husband and wife, there overflows an even greater blessing that comes upon the children, that they may grow up in the experience, the love, and the training of the Lord.
God seeks godly offspring from every marriage, but divorce visits emotional and mental violence upon the children of that marriage, making their lives far harder than they would have been if the couple had stayed married and created the loving lifestyle that God had intended for them.
Jesus Teaching on Marriage and Divorce
(Mark 10:2-5) The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
We are warned multiple times in scripture against the spiritual danger of hardening our hearts against the work of God's Word and His Holy Spirit in our lives. Yet the hardening of hearts has continued even within God's church today, with many modern church-goers living independent or even rebellious lifestyles, where they no longer seek to follow God's ways in the area of the marriage covenant.
(Hebrews 3:8,15)
God has given us free will to choose, but we are not free from the consequences of those choices.
(Mark 10:6-9) But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
One Flesh
Jesus reiterates the scriptural teachings from Genesis stating that once a man and women are joined together through marriage they are no longer considered as two individuals, but now as one married couple.
The physical act of consummating a marriage also has a spiritual reality attached to it. When two physical bodies are joined together, a spiritual union also takes place.
What God has Joined together
The Covenant of Marriage is not merely a business contract that you can choose to break and pay any penalties incurred. It is a solemn vow made before Almighty God, your partner, and everyone present that you will be faithful to each other until death parts you. God blesses the act of marriage because He instituted it, and requires both parties to be faithful and caring to each other throughout life.
Let Not Man Separate
Man's free will is always exercised in the commission of sinful acts and no offence is more devastating upon family life than the act of divorce. However it may seem justifiable, the reality remains that children need both parents together to grow up and become all that God desires for them.
Your Marriage is worth fighting for, let not man separate what God has joined together.
3. The Church
Scripture Reference
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
(Ephesians 5:25-27)
The Sanctity of The Church
(Matthew 16:16-18) Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
The revelation that the Apostle Peter received, that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), and the Son of God is one of the greatest Biblical foundations of God's Church.
Christ's death, burial, and resurrection are the outworking of His role as the Christ and indeed are also the main elements of the gospel (good news) that the Church is commanded to preach in all the world.
The membership of the early church was made up of those who had been with Jesus during His 3 years of earthly ministry. These were those who had witnessed His death, burial, and resurrection, and soon after they were joined by those also who believed the message that they spoke. Church membership was not merely a role with names on it, but made up of many individual lives that had been transformed by the mercy and power of God.
The entire membership of the early church was made up of disciples who had gone through the 4 stages of Biblical Salvation.
Repentance toward God
Belief in Jesus Christ
Baptized (Water)
Received the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:36-38) “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” ( They believed Peter's message) Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
What does the Greek word 'Church' mean?
The word translated "church" in the English Bible is 'ekklesia'. This word is the Greek word kaleo (to call), with the prefix ek (out). Thus, the word means "the called-out ones."
However, the English word "church" does not come from 'ekklesia' but from the word 'kuriakon', which means "dedicated to the Lord."
Therefore the members of Christ's Church are "those called out" of the world, and "dedicated to the Lord"
The Body of Christ
The church is the "called out ones" whom God has chosen to finish the earthly work of Jesus Christ. Having yielded their lives to Christ, they are supernaturally empowered with the Holy Spirit to go forth in His name and power, preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Each person saved has a role to play in the church, everyone receives gifts of the Holy Spirit for service within the church and outreach into the community. All the church members were later also identified through the Apostle Paul as individual members of Christ's Body of whom Jesus Christ is the Head.
After Jesus' ascension into heaven, God sent the Holy Spirit into the world to enable an ongoing multiplication of Christ's earthly ministry outworked through the church.
(Matthew 28:18-20) And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen
(1 Corinthians 12:11) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills
(1 Corinthians 12:27) Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually
The Great Mystery of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
(Ephesians 5:32) This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
(John 1:29) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
(Revelation 19:7-9) Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.
Quotation From Acclaimed Biblical Scholar David Pawson :
"The whole story of the Bible can be summed up in the statement:" -
"God the Father was looking for a Bride for His Son"
The Bible reveals that God's desire will ultimately be fulfilled in the spiritual union of Christ and His Bride (the Church) at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Heaven will be filled with people who love Jesus with all their heart, all their mind, all their soul and all their strength. Only that type of loving devotion and adoration is worthy for the Saviour of the world, who died for us, that we might live eternally through and in Him.
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but are like angels of God in heaven
(Matthew 22:30)
God Bless
John Nolan
DadsUni
Now also available as an Audiobook on our YouTube Channel
sanctity
/ˈsaŋ(k)tɪti/ noun 1. the state or quality of being holy, sacred, or saintly. "the site of the tomb was a place of sanctity for the ancient Egyptians" Similar: holiness, godliness, sacredness, blessedness, saintliness, sanctitude, spirituality, piety, piousness, devoutness, devotion, righteousness, goodness, virtue, virtuousness, purity
Opposite:
wickedness
2. ultimate importance and inviolability. "the sanctity of human life" Similar: sacrosanctity, ultimate importance, inviolability, paramountcy
paramountcy
/ˈparəmaʊntsi/
noun
noun: paramountcy; plural noun: paramountcies
1. the state or fact of being of greater importance than anything else. "he must stress the paramountcy of diplomacy and dialogue"
2. supreme power or authority. "the paramountcy of our Parliament"