Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
What is the first death and the first resurrection?
The apostle Paul speaks of the first death and the first resurrection in Romans 6 ...
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into HIS death? 4 Therefore we are buried with HIM by baptism into death:that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
When we were born again, we died to the flesh and we died to sin ... (the first death)
When we were raised from the death of this world, we experienced "the first resurrection".
When I was 15, I went forward at church and was baptized in water, but I was not born again. My life did not change at all. I had no idea I was still a sinner at the time. Since I had been baptized in water at church I thought I was a Christian.
When I was 37 years old, I was reading a book about sin and God spoke to me by HIS Spirit and said, "Joan ... You know all these mistakes you've been making all these years? Those weren't mistakes. Those were sins."
I gasped, "Sins?" ...I had no idea those were sins. I thought they were mistakes.
At that second, my life was changed completely.
After that, I was enroute to Albuquerque, NM, USA, and as the plane landed, I heard, "Be baptized."
My cousin, Church of Christ member, met me at the plane. I told her, "Jeanne ... If you can arrange it I will be baptized this afternoon before I return to Dallas."
She was really shocked and said, "But you've been baptized."
I replied, "Yes, but I was not born again. Now I am born again."
Though she didn't understand, she did set it up for me to be baptized that afternoon.
When the minister lowered me into the water, the Holy Spirit said to me, "This is like being buried with Christ."
When I came out of the water, the Holy Spirit said, "This is like being raised with Christ."
This is also what Paul told us in Romans 6 ...
We die with Christ and are buried with Christ when God reveals HIMSELF to us. Baptism is like being buried with Christ ... thus we die ... the old person we once were is now dead ... And we are raised a new person who serves God.
This is the first death and the first resurrection.
And as dead people no longer serve sin, now we, too, die to sin and we live by faith, resurrected in Christ.
Romans 6 ... 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with HIM, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
When we are born again, we are no longer as we once were. We die to the old man. Therefore the body of sin is destroyed so now we, the new creature in Christ can serve God instead of serving our sin. Thus we are dead to sin and resurrected to Christ so now we can live to HIM.
Romans 6 ... 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
(We live with Christ now ... We are created a new creature in Christ. We are resurrected from the dead people of this world and are now alive to God ... now!)
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once:but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you:for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
(Now we have moved into a life of grace ... We now live by faith in God who raised Christ and us from the dead ...)
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh:for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Those of us who are born again want to serve God. We no longer want to serve our flesh as we once did. The person we once were is now dead, crucified with Christ. Now there is a new person with new desires.
In the book of Revelation, John writes:
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Revelation 20
We take part in "the first death and the first resurrection" when we are born again.
The "second death" has no power over us.
We have in fact entered into eternal life when we were born again ...