Names of God - Zao Theos- The Living God

 

ZAO THEOS

(pronounced zah'-o theh-os')

LIVING GOD

2 Corinthians 6:16

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of The Living God; as God said, “I will make My dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." 

    This verse is a reminder to the born-again believer to not be unequally yoked with a non-believer. That Christ-followers cannot, nor should not want to, mingle what we believe with what other religions believe. 

    Chrislam is a pagan religion, as it is impossible to be a faithful and obedient Christian when one has aligned itself with a non-Christian religion and unbiblical belief system. Christian Nationalism is also a comingling of two ideological platforms where it becomes neither. 

    Christianity begins in the heart of a person. Here in our hearts is where we believe that Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, is Lord. It is through the power of God's Holy Spirit that God's Holy Son takes up residence within us. It is after we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord that The Holy Spirit immediately begins to change us inwardly, transforming us from unrighteous sinners into righteous saints. Christianity puts Christ first, above all else. Even above national pride and promotion.

    Nationalism on the other hand begins in the mind. It promotes the nation's values and strengths above all others, even religion and Christianity. Britannica defines nationalism as "an ideology (social and political philosophy that hopes to describe the world and make changes to it) based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests." Knowing that Christianity is an individual interest, the faithful born-again believer chooses to put Christ first, while the faithful nationalist puts his country first. 

    We are the temple, the dwellingplace, the residence, of  The Living God. No other god can be defined in this manner. All other gods were created by mankind in rebellion to The Living God and will end in eternal death for their followers. The Living God died for His people, conquered death, conquered hell and conquered the grave by walking out of it, giving all of His followers eternal life through Jesus Christ His Son. No other god has done that. Nor will they ever, for they do not exist, except in the imaginations of mankind. 

    When we become Christians, not only do we become God's dwellingplace, but we become His servants. Not in a mean sort of way, but in humility and loving sacrifice, placing God's needs above our own. We choose to serve The God Who Loves Us With An Everlasting Love. We opt-in to dedicate our lives to His service: doing what He wants us to do, going where He wants to go, saying what He wants us to say. 

    We choose to love The Living God with all of our hearts, our souls, our strength. We choose to worship The Living God, just as His prophets and His disciples have before us, for this Eternal God alone is worthy of our praise. Let us enter now into His Eternal presence and surrender our hearts and our lives to Him, that The Living God may seal us into His covenant Word. Let us lift our hands and raise our voices in praise and worship!

HE LIVES  - Acapella choir rendition 

     

   

God Dwells Within The Believer By Faith

 

2 CORINTHIANS 6:16

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them, and will walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people."

Dwell: inhabit one's personal dwelling/residence, indwelling, dwell within, settled in

Exodus 25:8 "And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them."

Leviticus 26:12: "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people."

Jeremiah 31:1 ""At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people."

Ezekiel 37:27 "My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people."

John 14:23 "Jesus replied, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."

1 Corinthians 3:16 "Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?"

Romans 6:16 "Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?" 

Romans 8:9 "You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." 

God lives in us through our faith in Him by the power of His Holy Spirit. It happens when we believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord. We cannot clean out our hearts by ourselves and make ourselves presentable to God, nor can we expect to remain in His presence for all eternity if sin is present in us. For God is holy and His holiness demands a holy people, a holy sanctuary, a holy temple, a holy dwellingplace.

So, when we believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord, God moves in, Christ moves in, the Holy Spirit moves in. This is God's promise to us. In John 17:20, 21 Jesus prayed for us: "I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me."

That the world may believe that God has sent His Christ (Anointed One, Messiah), JESUS, "Yahweh Saves" "Yahweh Is Salvation" to be the Savior of all mankind. Me. You. That guy that just pulled out in front of you. The cashier who's having a bad day and takes it out on you. Your grouchy next door neighbors. Your parents, siblings, children, cousins, etc. All mankind is predestined (Ephesians 1:4-6 "For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.") for salvation through Jesus Christ, but not all will be saved. Why? Because it has to be our choice. We have to make a decision now whether or not we will believe God's plan of salvation or dismiss it as folly. This decision has to be made while we have breath in our bodies and the ability to make a conscious decision to believe. After death it is too late. 

When we believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord, God enters our heart through the power of His Holy Spirit. This is a beautiful even that is only possible by faith. When we believe, God places a measure of faith within us, which allows Him to enter the door of our heart (Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone should hear My voice and open the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.") and begin to clean up the sins that have taken root in our hearts. 

God is a gentle God: He waits to be asked by us before moving in and before moving on our behalf. Yes, His holiness demands a holy people, therefore He makes us holy when He makes sin leave: He washes us in the blood of His Lamb Jesus Christ (Revelation 5:9 "And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.") 

Do you believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord? To day is the day to make that decision.