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SPIRITUAL GAME
Herbert W. Armstrong had an expression he used as a youth, ^What does that have to do with the price of putty?^ As a youth I remember that my father also had an expression, ^You bet your life^ and he sounded like he meant it. You have probably heard the expression ^The game of life.^ It is a game, they claim, everybody plays, like it or not.
I do not mean to slight Herbert Armstrong. Thanks to him I learned a great deal about the Bible, how to understand it and how to study it. I can't say that I learned any such thing from my father.
As children we play, we do things to entertain ourselves, to develop skills and to learn. As we get older and more mature we to things with a purpose, we adopt habits, we develop hobies, we train for and acquire jobs and practise careers. We work.
During our life time we play all sorts of games: board games, card games, field games, buying and selling games, business games, law, politics, war and love games. The Olympics, gambling, you can probably think of others.
Paul speaks of games, note boxing (1 Cor. 9:26)(2 Tim 4:7) and racing (1 Cor. 9:24). He also mentions winning. And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. (2 Tim 2:5).
God plays a game too. A very serious game. More properly described as a work. A life and death work. To us it is called religion. Religion has its rules and regulations. They are called laws, ordinances and commandments. Sin is the transgression of the law. The wages of sin is death. The test is to overcome sin, to strive for righteousness.
Jesus and Satan played a spiritual game over us. We were the stake, the prize.
Jesus won us by prevailing over sin during His lifetime and by dying for the remission of our sins. Satan lost.
Jesus paid the price (1 Cor. 6:20), He bought us. (2 Peter 2:1) He paid the price to God the Father, the Almighty, the Most High, the Sovereign Ruler. For my closing verse I would like you to turn to John 14:28 ... the Father is greater than I.
2007 Jacques Gauvin
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