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Life Around "The Fire"
Life Around "The Fire"
When Jesus Said "It Is Finished": Understanding the Power of Tetelestai
What exactly did Jesus mean when He declared "It is finished" from the cross? This powerful statement—Tetelestai in Greek—wasn't merely announcing the end of His suffering, but proclaiming the complete fulfillment of His redemptive mission and the establishment of a revolutionary new covenant.
Explore how Jesus, though fully God, chose to experience human life completely dependent on the Holy Spirit, modeling for us the supernatural self-control that's available to every believer. Even in the midst of excruciating torture and mockery, Christ maintained perfect control of His thoughts and words—not through His divine nature, but through the same Holy Spirit power available to us today.
The declaration "Tetelestai" carried significant meaning in its historical context. Used in ancient times to mark business documents as "paid in full," Jesus was announcing that our debt of sin had been completely satisfied—past, present, and future. This wasn't a partial payment or temporary covering, but the complete annihilation of sin's power and penalty in the lives of those who believe.
This transformative truth establishes the foundation for a completely new way of living. Unlike the old covenant based on external laws, the new covenant writes God's law on our hearts, replacing our stony hearts with hearts of flesh. This isn't about trying harder to follow religious rules but experiencing an internal transformation where God's own life empowers us from within.
Are you still trying to please God through your own efforts, or have you embraced the empowering presence of His Spirit? The difference between religion and relationship with Christ is like night and day—one demands continuous striving with uncertain results, while the other offers secure salvation and supernatural empowerment to live as Jesus lived.
To connect with us and continue this conversation, reach out at lifearoundthefire@gmail.com or visit lifearoundthefire on the web. Experience the freedom of knowing your debt is paid in full!
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
we've looked at the fact that, even though Jesus was God in the flesh, by an act of his free will as a human, he set aside his deity and chose to experience life completely like one of us.
Speaker 1:Get this, his dependency upon the spirit of his father to experience and model for all of us how to manage and use the keys of the kingdom of God and how to live naturally, perfectly and supernaturally, is one of the chief reasons why he came. And one of these keys right, one of these keys of the kingdom, is in how we manage what we think about and what comes out of our mouth, right, what our thought life is like and what comes out of our mouth. They're tied together as really one key, because out of the abundance of the heart right, out of the abundance of what we think about and what's inside of us, we speak. The mouth speaks Out of the abundance of the speak, the mouth speaks Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And so Jesus came to model that, and he modeled it in the face of great success, but also in the really in the midst of some of the most wild criticisms. He was even accused at one point of being demon-possessed or demonized God in the flesh was accused of being demonized by none other than religious people, people that really should have, or at least could have, known better. But because they were being shown the way versus them showing the way, they were jealous and could not tolerate the fact that someone that really didn't fit their description, the one who is called upon before creation, to be manifest in the flesh as the Messiah. And he demonstrated absolute control of his thought, life and the words that came out of his mouth in the face of all those things success and criticism.
Speaker 1:But one of the greatest demonstrations of his having self-control, empowered by none other than Holy Spirit, was when he was nailed to the cross, actually leading up to it, but culminating in his being crucified, tortured on a cross, a wooden torturing device perfected by the Romans. And while he hung on that cross, he said seven significant things. We've been looking at them, and the first thing he said was Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Imagine you are in excruciating pain and you are surrounded by people that are mocking you and you have it within you to say forgive them. That's a supernatural act of and by itself, and he modeled that for us so that we could have access to the same thing that he had access to in his complete dependency upon the Father, and that is a relationship with Holy Spirit. We can have that interaction with God so that we can have his life within us, giving us the ability to have a new thought life and different things that come out of our mouth, versus some of the things that have come into our minds and come out of our mouths.
Speaker 1:Second thing he said was I tell you the truth today you'll be with me in paradise. He said that to another person who was being crucified next to him, who was a common thief, who looked at him and said please remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he looked at him and said please remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he looked at him and he said today you'll be with me in paradise. He could have said anything to that man. He could have said mind your own business. I'm trying to focus in on just not going crazy, but he looked into the man's heart and saw the faith that he was placing in him while he was hanging on the cross. While this man was hanging on the cross, talk about a deathbed confession. There's a classic example right there.
Speaker 1:Third thing he said he said to his mother and to one of his disciples, john, he said dear woman, behold your son. He's referring to John. He said to John John, behold your mother, behold your mother. He had within him to not only see to the needs of a woman and a man, needs of a woman and a man, but also to establish the basis for an entirely new order of family living the family of God, hallelujah. Fourth thing he said was my god, my god, why have you forsaken me? He fully identified with the lostness of mankind, the condition that you and I were born in. He had never experienced up until that point in time, and it felt like being forsaken. That connection was lost. What is it like to be found? It causes even the angels of heaven to rejoice when one sinner repents, because that transformation that takes place is so profound and the joy that takes place is absolutely indescribable.
Speaker 1:Fifth thing he said was I thirst, and it was more than being thirsty. He was thirsty for the redemption of mankind and he was thirsty to bring this thing all the way home, and it was that point in time in which all of the sins of mankind were laid upon him and the wrath of God was released upon him. He took what was our destiny and interceded on our behalf, intercepted it so that we could have a completely new destiny. And that would be his destiny A resurrected life, a resurrection life. A resurrection life, a new way of living. And the next thing he said was it is finished. And the last thing he said was Father, into your hands. I commend my spirit, but today we're going to be looking at it is finished. In Greek it's pronounced Tetelestai, tetelestai, tetelestai, tetelestai, tetelestai. That means it is finished or paid in full.
Speaker 1:Jesus, at that point in time, had completed his mission. Ha ha ha. What mission was that? The redemption of all mankind. To those who would believe in him, to all who would call upon his name. They would be saved. All of mankind, all the people who had lived, all the people that were alive and all the people that would be born, and all the sins that they had committed, all the sins they were committing and all the sins they would commit would be annihilated, not just covered over, but washed away Because of the price paid by virtue of his blood. It took blood. It took the blood of a man, of an innocent man, to stop the wrath of God. It was enough. It was paid in full. The banknote was covered. Our debt was paid in full. We have no debt. We you and I have no debt. Every sin that you have committed, every sin that you are committing and every sin that you will commit has been forgiven, and every sin that you will commit has been forgiven. You have been saved, kept and secure all the way home. Hallelujah.
Speaker 1:It starts by believing, but one of the signs of belief is following. It's not just enough to say well, of course I have an intellectual understanding of this. That's mental assent. True belief is true devotion, giving over yourself completely. You have no other hope. You don't have hope within yourself, you don't have hope within anybody else. You only have hope in Jesus. Your only hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness, not your own, not someone else's, but the blood and the righteousness of Jesus. That is faith. And then saying I give you my all. That's the least I can do. You've given me your all. I willingly, gladly, give you my all and following you, I will follow you. I'm following in your footsteps, and when we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We will not sin because he did not sin. We will keep the law because he kept the law. When we follow in his footsteps, we don't have to try to be good, we just follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Speaker 1:But amazing, the fact that he had the ability, with all of that pain, with the train wreck of a trial that he went through, the torture and the beatings leading up to the crucifixion, all on our behalf, would cause anyone's mind to go more than tilt. It would shut down, shock would set in and there would be no real coherent response. Or if there would be, it would be some sort of babble or maybe even some cursing On my behalf or in my instance. I should say in my instance, it would probably be cursing. I used to have a foul mouth, man. Every other word was a bomb that I dropped, and that was just normal. That was just a normal way of living for me A foul mouth. And then I experienced the reality of redemption. I experienced being born again. I placed my faith in Jesus and gave him my life, and he gave me his life in a new covenant.
Speaker 1:A new covenant Because when he said it was finished or it is finished, it was also the fact that it was the end of the old covenant, the law. Having to try to live the law on your own power would only point to the fact that you couldn't, and Jesus said that no longer is something that you have to live underneath. You now have a new covenant and it's in my blood A new relationship. There we go that's the word relationship. A relationship with God, not a religion with God, not a have to, a get to, not a have to a get to, not a try to, but being empowered to. Big difference.
Speaker 1:When we're empowered, we have another source within us. It's the very source of god. God life, the very life of god, the very nature of god, dwells within those who believe in Jesus. It's imparted to us, it's part of the new covenant. He puts his law in our hearts. It's no longer on tablets of stone, which signified the condition of man's heart by the way stony, which signified the condition of man's heart by the way stony, but when we experience relationship by virtue of placing our trust, our faith in Jesus, he gives to us a heart of flesh, a heart that's soft, a heart that's moldable, a different heart, a different. We are born again with a spirit that's alive, not in sin and death, but of life, newness of life, eternal life. And when Jesus said it's finished, it is finished, it was a fulfillment of all prophecy. All prophecy, what? There's? Three, four hundred prophecies about Jesus.
Speaker 1:The odds of it being anyone else are just. There are no odds. It's. We talked about it in the previous podcast. It's an absurd one to the 17th power 17 zeros behind a one. It would take you. You couldn't count to that number in a lifetime or lifetimes. It's one of those almost never-ending numbers because there are no odds that someone else would be able to do what Jesus did. There is no other way. There aren't many ways into relationship with God. Now there are people that will say there are, but just point blank, period.
Speaker 1:It's a lie, it's a deception, it's a diversion, it's a doctrine of demons. It's not the truth. Jesus plus is wrong or Jesus minus is wrong. It's Jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus. How I love him, how I need him over and over. Jesus, jesus, precious Jesus, oh for faith to trust and love you more, amen, amen. And so he said it is finished and that means that your salvation is secure.
Speaker 1:He didn't just do a partial job and he just he didn't say it's finished, meaning it's over. Oh, cruel life, a cruel world. It's over, finally it's over, it's over, finally it's over, it's finished. That wasn't what he said. He said the job's done, mission accomplished, new covenant Nuke that's a big deal. That's a huge deal. That's a huge deal. Either he was Lord or he was a lunatic or a liar. But he certainly was no lunatic and he certainly wasn't a liar. That means he is Lord and he's not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all. Lord means one who is in charge.
Speaker 1:Being in charge of my life is not a cop-out, it's an empowerment. He charges my life with his life. He is inside, charging my life, in charge, inwardly charged by him, by no other, by his spirit. There is no other gods before me. It's God. In me, the hope of glory, it's Christ. In me, the hope of glory, it's Jesus. In me, the hope of glory, it's Holy Spirit. In me, the hope of glory, it's God, the Father. In me, the hope of glory, god is supercharged my life. He's in charge and because of that I'm now able to do things that I wasn't able to do before, underneath my own power and when I was in charge, when I was inwardly charged by myself. My nature inwardly charging me was sin and death. Now it's eternal life. I'm inwardly charged with the eternal life of God. Ha, talk about a difference and it's complete.
Speaker 1:I remember working with my dad years ago and he was a carpenter and we would go do different jobs and my dad was meticulous, was meticulous, and his work really showed that he was good. He was actually a master at what he did, and so we get done at the job. And he looked around and examine things and talked it over with the owner. I'd shake hands. Everything was good. I was his helper. So I'd say, okay, well, is it finished? He goes, it ain't finished yet.
Speaker 1:And so we would clean up our mess that was made while we were working and I'd say, okay, well, are we done? He goes not done yet. He was nice about it, but he was teaching me something, and so I was like and so we'd pack our stuff up and get the truck ready to go and I'd say, okay, we're done now and he goes no, we're not done, we haven't put the tools away. I said, oh, okay, we got home, we put the tools away. I said, are we done? We got home, we put the tools away. I said are we done? Yet he goes nope, I got to get a call from the owner and make sure everything was good. And so, because he'd asked the owner to check things out and then call him and make sure everything was good after he left, and the owner would call and say, yeah, arby, my dad's name was Arby, yeah, arby, everything looks great. And then my dad would say it's finished. He did it to please the owner. It to please the owner. Jesus did what he did to please the Father. What he did pleased the Father. He was obedient to the end.
Speaker 1:When was the last time you could say that you actually finished something that you started? I'm even talking about your church life, for those of you that are churchgoers, meaning you're part of a fellowship of believers. When was the last time that you were sent from a place because your assignment there was finished and you were sent out with joy? Or did you just leave, kind of like you just left the tools? Or he left the mess, or he didn't put the tools away, or he didn't know if the job was really done yet or not. He just said well, I'm out of here. He just said, well, I'm out of here. Or in your own work life, where you really completed a task, that it's you know. You can say the owner looks at you and says man, great job, sorry to see you go, but I gotta go. You get what I'm saying. It is finished.
Speaker 1:There's something that Jesus modeled that we need to really grasp, and that is we're designed to worship God, we're designed to please the Father. That's what we're literally, that's our creative design, and when we're not functioning like that, things are out of balance. When we are worshiping God and we're pleasing God, our life is in tune and you know what you can tell. You can tell by the peace of God that is in you. You can tell by the righteousness of God that's in you. You can tell by the righteousness of God that's in you. You can tell by the joy of the Lord that's in you, because that is the King of God Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:When we're pleasing to God, when we're following in the footsteps of Jesus. In the footsteps of Jesus, not because we have to, but because we are empowered to. He is in charge, we're being inwardly charged to follow him, being filled with Holy Spirit to the point of overflowing, to be baptized in him and then continually being filled. Be ye being filled, be ye being filled, be continually filled, be overflowing with Holy Spirit. If you notice I say Holy Spirit it's because he is that he is Holy Spirit. You can say the Holy Spirit, but it'd be like saying the Jesus, or you know what I'm saying Abba, father, the Father.
Speaker 1:Sometimes it's a little more intimate, it's a little caveat when we're empowered, it makes all the difference in the world than trying hard, because trying hard didn't get us anywhere previously. In fact, that's why, most of the time, we can say you know, I just kind of quit before I could say it is finished. Jesus said it is finished because he was empowered to say it is finished. He stayed empowered. He is teaching us how to stay empowered and that is to stay in step with our Father by following the leading and guiding of Holy Spirit. He is our teacher, he is our guide.
Speaker 1:Jesus said that when he ascended to the Father, he was going to send to us another just like him, and he was going to reveal to us everything about Jesus and more concerning the kingdom of God, because we're called into a kingdom, we're called as citizens, we're called to have a place and a purpose. We are kings and priests unto our God. We are a body. We are a body, we're a bride, we're ambassadors, we have a holy calling upon our lives. It's not a small thing, but we can't do it on our own because when we try, we develop these systems and they become abusive systems with a bunch of titles but no real authority. And authority comes from receiving authority, and we receive authority when we are under the lordship of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Hallelujah, it is finished, let's free. Father, you are so good and you are worthy of all our praise, and I thank you for what you're doing. I thank you for where you're doing it, why you're doing it, how you're doing it, thank you for doing it're doing. I thank you for where you're doing it, why you're doing it, how you're doing it, thank you for doing it to us and through us. And we stand here in the very name of Jesus and Holy Spirit. We submit ourselves to your leadership and your guidance and we ask that you would continue to mature us so that we can be fully like Jesus and Lord.
Speaker 1:We look for your return and we say Maranatha, lord, come quickly. The Spirit and the Bride say come, come, lord Jesus, and in your name, we pray these things and we say amen, amen, amen, amen. Alright, folks, I love you. If you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to drop us a line at lifearoundthefire at gmailcom, or type in lifearoundthefire and look us up on the web. We would love to hear from you. In the meantime, god bless you. Adios amigos.