Author: uucoc

In this Bible Study we found that there is a law within us that frees us! To see just how this works, we thought it best to present an excerpt from a very helpful book: The Jubilee, by Witness Lee.

You can read the whole book for free here:
The Jubilee, by Living Stream Ministry

Also, read the PDF of all the verses for this Bible study: The Jubilee 05

Excerpt from The Jubilee, chapter 3:

Our possession is God. We cannot renounce God, saying that we want freedom instead of God,  because without God there is no freedom. Our possession is God, and our freedom comes from our enjoyment of God. When we have our possession and enjoy our possession, the result is that we have freedom.
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Announcing the gospel to the poor [in Luke 4] does not refer to preaching the gospel to those who are poor in material things. Otherwise, millionaires, bankers, and presidents would not need the gospel, since they are not poor in material things. The accurate meaning here is that all men, whether rich or poor, honored or despised, need the gospel, and they need to gain God.
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Moreover, Luke 4:18 says, “To proclaim release to the captives.” America today is the freest country; no one can wrongly capture anyone here. In reality, however, nearly everyone is a captive. The leaders have been captured, and the people have also been captured. Who captured them? According to Acts 26:18, the Lord told Saul of Tarsus that He would send him to the Gentiles “to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God.” Strictly speaking, we have all been captured by Satan.
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Now we must go further to see what sin is. The common definition is that rape, robbery, sorcery, and fornication are sin. Likewise, extravagant eating, drunkenness, sexual indulgence, and gambling are also sin. Similarly, murder and arson are sin; not honoring one’s father and mother is sin; stealing and looting are sin; lying and cheating are sin; and cursing and hating are sin. However, in the intrinsic sense, these are not the real sin. Sin is something intrinsic in man’s being; murder and arson are merely the outward, sinful acts that are carried out and manifested. They may be regarded as the results of sin, but they are not sin itself. What, then, is sin?
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In actuality, sin is just Satan. Romans 7 says that sin can dwell in us (v. 20). Normally we say that a table is placed in a house; no one would say that a table dwells in a house. Only living persons can dwell in a house. The fact that sin dwells in us proves that sin is in us as a living person. Romans 7 also says that the sin that dwells in us has killed us (v. 11). A table cannot kill, but sin kills. Before sin kills a person, it oppresses him, forcing him to do what he does not want to do. Sin is a “gangster” who coerces people to do what they do not desire to do. Paul said that he did not want to covet, but the sin that dwelt in him made him unable to control himself. He said that to will to do good was present with him, but to work out the good was not, because someone who was stronger than he was dwelt in him. This one not only overcame him but also killed him. In this way the Bible reveals that sin is Satan.
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If we want to be free, if we do not want to commit sin, then we must obtain the Son of God and enjoy Him. The Son of God today is the life-giving Spirit. This life-giving Spirit is the Spirit of life, who is in us as the law of the Spirit of life.
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The law of the Spirit of life releases us from the law of sin. We enjoy the freedom of the jubilee not only at the moment we believe in the Lord, but beginning from that day we should enjoy this freedom all our life and for eternity. This freedom comes from our enjoyment of God. He has become our possession for our enjoyment, and when we enjoy Him, we obtain freedom. This is how we have the real freedom and are no longer in bondage. However, if we do not enjoy God sufficiently, we will still be in bondage in many things.

Thank you to Kevin for providing us this wonderful note concerning the jubilee. It is so appropriate for this Bible Study!..

The parable of the prodigal son in the gospel of Luke is an excellent illustration of the jubilee. Man is the vessel of God, and God is the possession and enjoyment of man. The prodigal son selling all his possessions and even himself is like man losing God as his possession and man selling himself to slavery. However, one day the prodigal son returned to his possessions and to his father’s house; that was a jubilee! Today, WE have Christ as OUR real jubilee! He is the one who set us free from our poverty, captivity, blindness and oppression.

“If therefore the son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

When we repent and return to God like the prodigal son, God in Christ becomes the fattened calf for our enjoyment. We can enjoy God as our possession from now unto eternity. When we gain and experience Christ, we are living in the jubilee. Hallelujah! We are living a life full of enjoying the Lord, a life full of joy and praise!

Read all the verses for this Bible Study! Download the PDF here: The Jubilee 04

 

Rejoicing is a central theme of the jubilee. There is always much rejoicing in our Bible Studies. Rather than boring, academic exercises, our Bible Studies are filled with singing, and our singing is filled with rejoicing!

Isaiah 12:3-6 says:
Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing / From the springs of salvation, And you will say in that day, / Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name! / Make His deeds known among the peoples; / Remind them that His name is exalted. Sing psalms to Jehovah, for He has done something majestic! / Let it be made known in all the earth! Cry out and give a ringing shout, O inhabitant of Zion, / For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Read all the verses from this Bible Study here: The Jubilee 03

Not only do we know that Christ is the reality of the Jubilee; we are also learning to apply this wonderful one in every situation!

As the Jubilee, Christ truly satisfies us when we…

• Contact Him in prayer
• Call upon His name
• Sing to Him

Philippians 4:6-7 also stood out to us during the Bible study:

In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus

Read all the verses we prepared for this Bible Study: The Jubilee 02

 

 

It was another wonderful Bible Study. We spent half the time singing with grace to the Lord! You know, by singing, we can enjoy God and also get filled up with truth! The other half of the time we got into the Jubilee mentioned in Leviticus. We saw that the year of Jubilee is actually Christ Himself! Furthermore, the word Jubilee means… Happy – Year !!!

Read all the verses we read in the Bible Study here: The Jubilee 01

Join us for more Jubilee, Wednesdays at 6pm – Union 311.