Repentance

(Genesis 2: 21-23) 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."

Eve was formed out of a rib of Adam; therefore, Eve was the constituent of Adam.

(1 Corithians 15:45-48) So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” [f]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.

Our Lord Jesus Christ (the Second Adam) and the Church

(Matthew 16:17-18) 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, [b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it

(1 Corinthians 12:27) Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians Church Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it

God brought forth the Church out of the death and resurrection of Christ. This means that what comes out of Christ can be Church. Anything that is not of Christ Jesus is not the Church only that which is out of Christ can be of any value and spiritual use in the Church. God never uses the old creation to construct the new creation. Neither does God use that which of Man to construct that which of God. He can never use freshly things to produce something spiritual (John 3:6) “that which of born of the flesh is fresh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”

The early Church grew and exhibited the life of Christ in word and indeed (Act 2:36-46). They were in 1 accord first with the Holy Spirit hence it’s easier to work collectively in 1 accord according to the leading of the Spirit of Christ.

Jesus made a clear declaration about the freshly knowledge and the divine spiritual revelation with Peter in the book of (Matthew 16:13-20). The law of the Spirit of life in Christ made them free (Romans 8:2). Apostle Paul once declared to the Corinthian’s Church in the book of (1 Cor 2:1-5) “And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power.

This is complete opposite to what is going on in the Church of God at our presence age, may the Lord have mercy on His Church.

However, by the leading of His Spirit we are to pray for the spirit of repentance to come upon the Church of God.

Repent derives from two Greek words meaning “to change one’s mind or to turn away from”. It’s more than just feeling bad; repentance requires a change of attitude turning from trusting self to trusting Christ.

(2 Cor 7:10) Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

We shall examine 2 case studies:

(Gen 42: 18-24)  On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die." This they proceeded to do. 21They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come on us." 22Reuben replied, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood." 23 They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter. 24 He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

Their behavior at this stage was such a regression attitude and they were blaming each-other. Which bought no solution or answer to the problem at hand. We are behaving similarly to Joseph’s brother and that is not a true repentance behaviour, but when we read further to (44:18-34)  18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ 22 And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ 23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. 25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ 26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’30 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, 31 sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. 32 Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’ 33 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”

When Judah interceded for Benjamin since sincere heart of repentance Gen 45:1 says Joseph could not retrained himself further. That is what will happen to the church of God if we truly repent through the godly sorrow. For Jacob’s sons, it was the severe famine that lead them to their repentance.

Second case study: for Peter it was when he denies Jesus 3 times from the book of (Luke 22:54-62 54) Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”“Man, I am not!” Peter replied. 59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” 60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Following the arrest of Jesus, Peter denies knowing him 3 times, but after the third denial, heard the rooster crow and recalled the prediction as Jesus turned to look at him. Peter then began to cry bitterly. This final incident is known as the godly repentance of Peter.

Apostle Peter declared in the book of Act the process to be saved as: Repentance/Forgiveness and the Gift of the Spirit (Act 2:38)

Hence, our Prayer focus is mainly for the spirit of godly repentance to come upon the church of God that we might please him in all our ways and the Church of God to fulfil the purposes in Jesus mighty name Amen!

• Lord I commit my heart to the Holy Spirit, cause every stony heart to melt away.
• Lord please organize the situation of my life so that it will bring such a deep godly sorrow into my heart and lead to my repentance.
• Lord help me to enter into Christ fullest of life (John 10:10).
• Lord by the power of your Spirit help me to grow into Christ full-stature (Eph 4:13).