Archives: The 4 Corners Worship Center

Who Are The Nephilim?

2011-06-02T06:55:00.000-07:00

Genesis 6:1-4

1When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years." 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

It is my belief that the error regarding the nephilim and the sons of God begins with a misreading of this passage.The nephilim and the sons of God are two different groups, and not only that, neither the nephilim, nor the sons of God are spirit beings, i.e. angels, demons..

Verses 1-3 deal with the daughters of men and the sons of God. Verse four deals with the nephilim. The word nephilim in the Hebrew is translated as giants, i.e. a bully or tyrant. The words nephillim and giants are used interchangeably in different translations. The Scripture reveals that these nephilim were of larger than average size, giants.

This verse says that the nephilim lived on the earth at the same time, and even beyond the time, that the sons of God began to marry and procreate with the daughters of men. It then concludes with this:

“These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”

The nephilim were men, not half human, half angel.

So who are the sons of God?

Genesis chapter four relates the story of Adam’s first two sons Cain and Abel, with which we are very familiar. After Cain murders Abel, God banishes him from his current dwelling place and Cain settles in the land of Nod, i.e. the land of wandering. 4:16

Cain begins a family, and a people group is established through him.

Chapter 4 ends with Adam and Eve conceiving a third son, Seth.

Seth later has a son of his own, Enosh.

Genesis 4:

“25And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, "God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him." 26To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.”

Note carefully, only after Seth was born did people begin to call on the name of the Lord.

Genesis five is a listing of Adam‘s descendants through Seth.

Genesis 5:1-5

1This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. 3When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. 5Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

Adam made from the earth in the image and likeness of God, conceived a son in his own likeness through Eve. Chapter five finishes with:

“28When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29and called his name Noah, saying, "Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands." 30Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

32After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”

Now go forward all the way to Luke’s gospel, and the listing of the lineage of Jesus through Joseph, His “step-father”

The genealogy ends with this:

Luke 3:

the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

So based on the facts that;

Adam is called the son of God;
That after he fathered Seth who fathered Enos, then men began to call on the Lord’s name,
That the lineage of the Messiah came through Seth……………

I believe that the sons of God of Genesis 6:2 are all who are of the lineage of Adam, though Seth. They intermarried with the daughters of men, such as Cain’s descendants from Genesis 4.

We can see also, that up to the days of Noah and the flood. It was common for men to live an extremely long time. However, God announces in Genesis 6:3 that He is about to shorten mankind’s life span. This is a consequence of how bad things had gotten. Genesis 6:5-8

It is quite possible that before the flood, not only did men live incredibly long lives, but they (Adam and his direct descendants) may have been of extraordinary size also.

So, the nephilim were roaming the earth, as the sons of God were intermarrying with the daughters of men, not with their own kind. (God later prohibited Israel from intermarrying with unbelievers. Exodus 34:15-16)

Let’s look at the story of the flood very carefully.

The remainder of Genesis 6, as well as chapters 7-8-9, tell the story of the building of the ark and the ensuing flood. Only Noah and his wife, along with his three sons and their wives, survived from all of mankind. This would then mean then the descendants of Cain, and all of the peoples born from the intermarriage perished in the flood. Did the nephilim perish in the flood also?

Recall the story of Moses sending the spies into the promised land. Only Joshua and Caleb brought a favorable report, the rest were negative;

Numbers 13:

32So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, "The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them."

Because of this Israel spent forty years wandering in the wilderness until that whole generation died off. Only Joshua and Caleb lived to enter and inherit their portion of the land.

Joshua led Israel into the land, and through the many battles fought to take possession of it.

Joshua 11:

21And Joshua came at that time and cut off⁽ the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. 22There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain.

23So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war

Joshua completed the conquest by driving the Anakim, and the descendants of Anak, i.e. the nephilim, from the land, except for some who remained in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.

Now we move ahead once more to the time of Saul and the rise of David:

1 Sam 17:

1Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.

3And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

Goliath was a “giant”. He stood over nine feet tall. More importantly he was from Gath, one of the regions where the nephilim managed to remain after Joshua defeated them. Goliath was descended from the nephilim.

How then did the nephilim survive the flood ?

Genesis 10:

6The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 7The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD." 10The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and 12Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13 Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.

The Philistines are descendants of Ham, Noah’s son. The nephilim continued on, through the lineage of Ham.

What is the point of all this? Just to say that the teachings that the sons of God were angels or fallen angels, and that they were either the same as the nephilim, or that the nephilim were the offspring of the union between mortals and spirit beings/angels, are not scripturally based.

Jesus answered the Pharisees in Matthew 22:23-33 with this statement :

30For in the resurrection they(men and women) neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

So the angels in heaven neither marry nor are given in marriage, or Jesus doesn’t know what He is talking about.

If fallen angels, who are created spirit beings, were able to impregnate human females, then the conception of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit would not be a unique act. In fact they would seem to possess the same power as the Holy Spirit. Obviously men and women are able to conceive children, but we are created to procreate. That is a function given to us by our creator.

There is no evidence that angels were ever given this function as created beings. There is no evidence that angels actually possess a body such as ours.

Since human flesh is the only flesh that God will raise again incorruptible, and apparently angels don’t die, then there is no similarity at all between angels and men that would make them physically compatible to have intercourse.

Remember that Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is the creator of life. Angels are like us only in that God created them. They are immaterial beings, and we are not.

Luke 1:

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

34 And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"

35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The Spirit of God overshadows or hovers over as it “creates” something from nothing.

I don’t believe that angels, whether they be fallen or not, have the ability to reproduce through a union with a human agent. The idea that the “sons of God” are fallen angels is mere conjecture. If the sons of God are angels, and they were able to be seen and touched by men, then it would be so today. It would seem that the alleged danger of angels mating with humanity is just as possible today as it allegedly was millennia ago. The angels who delivered God’s messages to men throughout scripture were visible to man, by God’s discretion only, and always “appeared” as men. It would seem that is the preferred way for heaven to enter earth and communicate with men. There are too many scriptures to reference which would back this up.

There is one last point to be made.

Many use the argument that Jude in his letter, says that the angels participated in sexual immorality, i.e. going after “strange, or other flesh” just like the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah.

That is also a misreading of the passage.

Jude 1:

6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—

7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

“The angels who did not stay within their own position of authority.”

If one is not willing to stay in the position of authority, it is generally because one desires greater authority that one has not been given. No one leaving a position of authority leaves it for a lesser position. Satan, and his followers, desired to be elevated; they did not desire the daughters of men.

This brings up an interesting point;

If Satan is a fallen angel, and the sons of God of Genesis 6 are fallen angels, which would include Satan, and they are procreating with human females, then how many spawn of Satan have inhabited or are inhabiting the earth?

Jesus told the people that they are of their father the devil, the father of lies, and the truth does not dwell in them. So Satan’s seed are those who do not love the Truth.

John 8:

38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

39 They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,

40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.

41 You are doing the works your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father--even God."

42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.

43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

…………… back to Jude)

Therefore Jude is speaking of rebellion re: the angels. They left their proper dwelling. They suffer the eternal consequences of their actions.

Sodom and Gomorrah are guilty of the same transgression, that is, leaving their position of authority and responsibility re: sex and procreation. They left what is proper for the improper, the unnatural. This is what Paul is addressing in Romans 1: 18-32. There is an attempt to usurp God’s established order. This is why homosexuality is specifically pointed to by Paul. Men were to be fruitful and multiply. Homosexuality will never be able to fulfill that divine mandate. Obedience is worship, and Paul is stating emphatically that those who desire to leave their divinely appointed “positions” of authority are not worshiping God, but are worshiping the creation, which includes “man worship”. They are handed over to their disobedience, their rebellion.

The rebellious angels and the populations of Sodom and Gomorrah are being compared not in the specific circumstances of their wrongdoing, but in the fact they are both being held up as examples of the eternal consequences which accompany rebellion against God.

My conclusion is that Jude is not saying the angels engaged in sexual relations with humans and produced the nephillim. Jude’s entire letter is speaking of those who are disrupting the church with their anti-Christ theologies and activities. He is speaking of the rebellious.

I believe that even today we see that the dna of the nephillim survives. There are indigenous peoples in the African nations, for example, who are beyond what we call normal height, and the Book of World Records along with the NBA have several examples of those of abnormally large stature.

The world bears the evidence of the fall, and what was lost, everywhere one looks.

Soli Deo Gloria

The Fire/The Judgment

2010-12-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 66:

15 "For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

16 For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.

Hebrews 9:

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Simply put, God’s fire is judgment. It is judgment for the unbeliever, and it is

judgment for the saints.

God be praised that both the purpose and the consequence of that judgment by fire

are as different as night and day regarding its’ implementation in the lives

of the unbeliever, as well as the saint.

The use of the word fire, in specific context, determines its’ meaning to God’s people.

The Saints

1Peter4:

17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Hebrews 12:

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

John 15:

1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

1Cor 3:

11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw--

13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.

15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Malachi 3:

2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.

3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.

4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

6 "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

What should be clear is that God’s discipline toward His disobedient children displays His great love for them. Those who are not His children, the illegitimate, i.e. the pretenders, are not judged by the Father’s loving disciplinary judgment. Peter proclaims the fact that judgment always begins in the house of God. He tells us further on in his letter that we are that house. 1 Peter 2:5

If judgment begins with us, then how will it be for those of us who are not obedient to the Gospel? That question applies to the church.

Jesus tells us that the father prunes the fruitful branches in Christ, the vine. And cuts off and burns the unfruitful branches in Christ. Both are branches in Christ, therefore John 15 is not speaking of eternal damnation, but rather the Lord uses the metaphor of burning unfruitful branches to speak of the discipline of judgment in a believer’s life.

(Let us not forget, Paul reveals in Romans 11:23 that God can graft any branch that has been cut off, back into Christ)

Paul in 1 Cor 3 writes of the judgment on the work of the saints concerning their use of proper building materials. Only the right material will withstand the fire which will reveal the quality of their work. Many, if not all, will suffer some loss in that day, but will be saved through the fire.

In this passage Paul is stating that the builders he is speaking of are building on the true foundation, that is Jesus Christ, so there is no question that this refers to believers.

In contrast we see Jesus referring to true and false foundations in Matthew 7:24-27, a different matter entirely. The materials used in both houses seem to be of quality, it is the foundation that they are built on that reveals their ability to weather the storms. Therefore many will come in his name, saying all the right words, doing all the right things, and will not be doing the will of the father, i.e. not building on the true foundation, Christ Jesus. (Matthew16:15-19)

Matthew 7:

21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'

23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

The prophecy of Malachi is directed to the Levites, the temple priests. Thus in copy and shadow it speaks to God’s kingdom of priests who attend His living temple. He is the refiner’s fire which purifies and refines us, as silver and gold are refined. He is the fuller’s soap that cleanses. Then our offerings are acceptable to the Lord. Then our sacrifice is wrought in righteousness. (Eph 5:25-27;Romans 12:1)

Then when He appears in judgment toward us, His fire consumes all that is not of Him, all that is evil and impure, but the sons of Jacob are not consumed, since they have already been through the fire. Malachi 4 prophesies of the Lord’s return. Only those who have already been through the refining fire of judgment will endure and stand in that day. More on that further on.

Hebrews 10:

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

So for the saints, there is not the loss of salvation, but rather the loss of the impurities, and all that is not of God in our lives.

The Unbelievers/The Condemned (John 3:18)

1Peter4:

18 And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

Matthew 3:

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

:9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Malachi 4:

1 "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

Mal 4:2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Mal 4:3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.

Rev 20:

7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison

8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.

9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,

10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

There is judgment by fire for the unbeliever at the return of Christ. The intensity of the fire of the Lord’s coming will turn them into ash; ash which Malachi says we will tread upon. He is coming to judge in power. John the Baptist in Matthew 3 is speaking both of, and to,the saints and the unbelievers. Note that he says the axe is already laid at the root of trees. Christ's initial advent into creation brings judgment.

Rev 11:

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."

16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,

17 saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth."

To put it bluntly, the fire of judgment for the unregenerate never ends (the lake of fire). This is so since they have never suffered through the judgment leading to salvation in this life. For them, the fire is never ending, as their impurities are never ending, and their salvation never comes.

Job 22:

4 Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you and enters into judgment with you?

5 Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities.

Rev 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

So let us thank God for His judgment and discipline in our lives. He not only makes us fit to be co-workers with Him in his kingdom now (Php4:3), not only makes us a fit temple for Him to dwell in (Eph 2:19-22), but makes us fit to dwell with Him in eternity. (Rev 21:3)

Hebrews 12:

28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

29 for our God is a consuming fire.

FREE INDEED!

2010-08-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Jude 1: 3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

The faith we received is complete. It has been delivered to the saints once for all, and for all time. It is the gift of God and comes by hearing the word of God, through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Eph 2:8-9; Romans 10:17;John 16:13-15

John 19:
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Hebrews 10:
8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
9 then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Christ drank the bitter cup of God’s wrath on our behalf, so that we might drink the sweet wine of the new covenant. That wine, which represents His shed blood, is the last sacrifice. This means that the ceremonial laws of the old covenant find their end in Christ, as the offering of bulls, goats and lambs all find their fulfillment in Christ’s atoning death. Since without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin, and the gentiles were always a part of this covenant, then Christ’s death also fulfills the requirements of the Mosaic system for the salvation of the gentiles. This system was given, (for a time), to the Hebrews (Jews) to be kept as a copy and shadow, i.e. a testimony to the world, for all the elect, Jew or gentile. All is fulfilled in Christ. Truly it is finished.

Luke 22:20; Romans 3:1-2 and 29; Genesis 12:1-3; Romans 4:9-14; Romans 9:22-24; Eph 2:11-22; Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 10:1-7

Php 2:
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Hebrews 10: 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Because it is finished, and “the faith” has been delivered once for all to the saints through Christ’s atonement and imputed righteousness, we may now work out ‘from us’ the completeness of what God works ‘into us’. We can never be more saved today than we were yesterday, or will be tomorrow. The saints (sanctified ones) are forever perfected in Christ right now, and ever will be. Therefore our sanctification is not the process of being perfected, (else Christ’s sacrifice is insufficient), it is the evidence (working out), of our perfection in Him.

Gal 5:
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.
11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The neo-legalists and judaizers of today preach a process of sanctification by works. Jesus plus a deliverance ceremony; Jesus plus acts of penance (not to be confused with true repentance),Jesus plus holiness teachings; Jesus plus the Mosaic laws. If one enters this religious system of the neo-circumcision, then one is bound by its rules, and falls into working out their own salvation and sanctification. The same goes with men trying to enforce the Law of God on the earth. His predestined wrath is for the lawbreaker. His predestined mercy is for all who are in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Please do not accuse me of preaching antinomian heresy, although that would place me in the same place as Paul, (not a bad place to be).

The leaven which leavens the whole lump is legalism. Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, i.e. all those who search the scriptures and never see Christ and the freedom he has given us. If The Word of God, i.e. the scriptures abide in us, then we know the testimony of the Father re: the Son is true and we come to Him, seeking life.

Those led by the Spirit no longer live under the Law, and most especially under a man made religious system.

Matthew 16:11-12;John 5:37-40; John 6:44-45, 63, and 68-69: Romans 7;Romans 8:1-10;Colossians 2:6-23; Romans 6:1-2

Walk in obedience to the Word of God. The Spirit’s walk is never a journey of legalism. 1 Sam 15:22

Gal 5:
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

John 8:
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
..................................................................................
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Amen and Amen!

Dominion: Part 2

2010-04-22T09:13:00.001-07:00

Before we go any further on the subject of dominion, a review of some facts discussed in Part 1 of this study is in order:

1. Dominion was given by God to men, as man and woman. (Genesis 1:26-30)
2. This dominion did not include dominion over one another. This later came about as the result of Adam's fall in Eden and specifically speaks to the relationship of the man and woman; "he shall rule over you" (Gen 3:16)
3. The temptation and fall of man is predicated upon man's desire to be AS God, and not submit as creature to creator, in obedience to God's original decree of dominion given to them.
4. Satan, the serpent, was neither given dominion, nor did he take it from men.
5. Though man still has dominion, it is corrupted, as man must labor to sustain life, and will die anyway to return to earth. The creation is subjected to futility waiting for the appearance of the sons of God in order to be released. Sin and death have entered into creation. Both man, formed from the earth, and the earth itself are cursed, as they are essentially one and the same
6. Christ comes as the last Adam, once and for all, putting to death the sinful, corrupted flesh of man (the sin nature, the first Adam) at the cross, and granting forgiveness of sins for all the elect, i.e. all who will believe in Him and His finished work. He was seen to be the last Adam, i.e. the life giving Spirit, the first fruits of the new creation, upon resurrecting from the dead, proving that He is the son of God. ( 1 Cor 15; Romans 1:1-4)
7. Christ will literally return to rule and reign on the earth, and the saints will rule and reign with Him. (Rev 5:9-14)
8. All in Christ, though looking forward to His return, must walk in obedience, here and now, to the original mandate, to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. (Matthew 28:18-20)
This is NOT accomplished by the enforcement of Mosaic law through the kingdoms of fallen man, which are Babylon, but by the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, through which comes salvation given by grace through faith, to all who are foreknown by Him, from before the foundation of the world.

Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."
(Note that kingdom is singular both times it is used here.)

True Godly dominion is restored in Christ alone.

Galatians 3:
26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

Abraham was called out of Babylon as the "model" of all who are elect. He heard the word, believed what he heard, and that belief was accounted to him as righteousness. This was the beginning of God's plan to establish a "new creation".
Abraham was called out of the dispersion/confusion which came about due to man's actions at Babel, where once again humankind desired to rule as God.
Paul puts Abraham, the covenant given to him, his offspring, and the saints existence in Christ, in harmony. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. The unity found in Christ brings us back to the original dominion given at creation.
All who participate in this unity are children of Abraham. They come out of the corrupt dominion of men and into the Kingdom of God. Abraham was not looking for an earthly domain. He was looking for a city built by God (the New Jerusalem) and not by men (Babel). The Lord will bring that city, His bride, to the new earth, the place He has prepared for her. (Rev 21:1-4)
Paul is adamant throughout Galatians; the new creation does not come by the Law, nor through religious practice, but through God's call.

Galatians 6:15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

It is necessary to look at Christ and His life, death and resurrection to discern the restoration of God's mandate to man.
First and foremost, the fallen Adamic nature had to be dealt with:

John 12:
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

John 14:
30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,
31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

John 16:
8 And when he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Just prior to His crucifixion, Jesus reveals the divine plan.
The question is; who is the ruler of this world?
Going back to the fact that dominion was given to Adam, and was never rescinded; the ruler of THIS world is fallen man, those who are in the first Adam. The ruler of the new creation is Christ, i.e. the last Adam, and all who are in Christ shall rule and reign with Him.
In all three of these passages, the Lord is speaking about His impending crucifixion and death.
He came in the likeness of sinful flesh, (flesh meaning man).
None of the above scripture is speaking of Satan as ruler or prince of this world.
The ruler of this world is judged and cast out, that is put to death. How? When He is lifted up, He will draw all people to Himself. This speaks of the judgment of all of mankind, Christ crucified. (1 Cor 2:2)
Only those who look upon Him and believe will be saved. (John 3:14-21; Numbers 21:8-9)
The ruler of this world is coming, and Jesus goes straight into the “ambush”, for the old creation has nothing on the new. (Acts4:24-28)
The Holy Spirit convicts the world (post-crucifixion) of judgment, because the ruler of this world (man) has been judged.

I believe the same is applied to Paul and his letter to Corinth:

2Cor4: 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Who is the "god of this world" but the one who desires to be God... man himself. Men are blind to the truth that Christ is both God, and the new man, and salvation comes no other way.
Nowhere in scripture can we find Satan attempting to usurp the throne. That has always been man's desire since Eve ate the fruit. Satan is subject to God’s will also. (Job 1: 6-12)
I believe that Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 are among the most abused passages in scripture. They speak of men not the devil. The statue spoken of in Daniel 2 represents the kingdom of man, with the King of Babylon (Babel) always to be the head. The feet of iron and clay show the weak footing that this kingdom stands upon. It is the “heavenly rock: which destroys the statue by striking the feet first, and becomes a great mountain filling the earth with God's glory.
Satan is not a god at all. The “satanic church” began essentially as a strawman, constructed by the Roman Catholic church of the dark ages and medieval times, in an attempt to justify its' dogmas and practices, indeed its’ very existence.
Satan was created to be Satan, the father of all lies, and the accuser of the brothers.
Christ did not come in the likeness of fallen angels. Their judgment was already assured. (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6)

Christ As Last Adam; The New Creation
God has always possessed the knowledge of good and evil, yet He was, is, and always will be, perfect in all His ways.
The One incapable of sin had to take on flesh in order restore the proper order.

Romans 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

The knowledge of good and evil brings death to all, but the Lord who already has that knowledge.

2Corithians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God's holiness is that separation of Himself from all that is evil and sinful, and nowhere is that difference more apparent than when He hung as the cursed one upon the cross, yet still without blemish in any way. Glory to God, that though He became accursed, He did not return to dust as the first Adam did. (Genesis 3:17; Acts2:22-32 and 13: 32-39)

Psalm 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Through the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil a type of wisdom was gained. The fruit looked good, was good to taste, and provided a wisdom that spelled death for mankind. Such knowledge is meant for God alone.

The tree of life also produced wisdom as fruit.

Proverbs 3:
13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,
14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.
19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by
20 by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

The fruit of the forbidden tree brings death to those who will not acknowledge God, but worship man.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

The wisdom that brings life begins with acknowledging in worship who the creator is.

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

The reverential fear of the Lord is simply acknowledging God as creator and the one who holds all dominion. In granting dominion, He proves all dominion is His. All authority is given to Christ in order that we may establish his kingdom in the earth. It is a kingdom which does not originate in this world, nor does it function as the world does.
Dominion is given not taken. The “promised land” was given to the Hebrews who were to go in and occupy not "take it for God". All is His. All who wish to “seize” dominion prove that they are not of Christ. That is man’s way, not God’s.

Joshua 18:3 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, "How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?

Dominion is established only through the gospel of grace, all else is man's works; that is…. hubris.

Jude 1:
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria

Dominion: Part 1

2010-04-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Genesis 1:

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.

When God created man, male and female, that is after He had made woman out of man, He gave them dominion. Man was made in His image and likeness. Man is not God, but he was given a dominion which displays the glory of God.

In this first passage from Genesis we see that man was given dominion only after the circumstances described in Genesis 2:21-25 occurred. (this directly corresponds to Gen 1:27). God has a will and a purpose, and He intentionally planned the chronology of the events.

Man was given dominion only over the animals, be they birds, fish, reptiles, over every living thing. However, man was not given dominion over man, i.e. in this narrative, woman. The reason being that man was made in God’s image and likeness and in order to accurately portray God’s perfection, man who does not rule over God, must not rule over what is made in God’s image.

Only God holds dominion over men. Indeed He holds dominion over all He created, which is proven by the His giving limited dominion to the first man and woman, made in “His image and likeness” .

They were not God. They are part of creation, the creature not the creator. We can never create ad God does, that is calling something into being where nothing has previously existed. We procreate. We work with what we have been given, be it the sexual union to fill the earth, or the work of our minds and hands to subdue it. Because of all these things, subsequent events would have a catastrophic effect on the entirety of creation.

The Fall

Genesis 3:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"

2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

The enticement offered by the serpent was half lie, half truth.

The lie being that they would not know death after consuming the fruit. The truth being that they would be like God, in knowing good and evil. (Gen 2:16-17; 3:22-23)

Genesis 3:

14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

16 To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."

17 And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

What is evident here is that man never lost the dominion and mandate that God had given prior to the Fall. The serpent never took dominion from man. In fact, the prophetic judgment of God is that enmity would exist between the woman’s offspring and the serpent’s, and that her offspring would crush the serpent’s head, but at a cost.

This of course points to God in man, the incarnate Christ entering creation to live, die, and rise, for all the saints.

The serpent is told that he will crawl on his belly, eat dust, and that a man will rule over him, crush his head. That is hardly taking or being given dominion.

The woman is told that she and her descendants would produce the Messiah, but that the very act of reproduction would come at the cost of pain and travail. Another consequence of her being seduced by the serpent is that her husband would now “rule over her”. Because of the rebellion of Adam and Eve, wives would submit to their husbands. Remember that dominion over each other was not a part of the original mandate.

Later the apostle Paul would write:

1Timothy 2:

11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.

12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve;

14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Adam was given rule over his wife, as he had listened to her and ate the fruit. (she had assumed rule over him)

Adam and had been told to subdue the earth, however the earth was now cursed because of his sin, and from that point on would not be co-operative with his efforts. He would be required to sweat to provide for his family, only to return to the cursed ground after death. Adam being made from the earth is cursed as the earth is.

Romans 8:

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope

21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Truly creation longs for the “sons of God” to be have Godly dominion once again. This only comes through Christ, the last Adam. He alone accomplishes the work of restoring the original dominion given to man.

His followers will fill the earth, subdue it and reign upon it with Him, after he returns as King, Lord, and Adam, the new creation.

I am not preaching “theonomics” or dominion theology here. This has nothing to do with restoring the Mosaic Law, or taking over the current governments to rule under that Law. Recall that in the original creation man did not have dominion over man. Also recall that the only command given by God was to NOT EAT from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

There was no law, nor system of government until after the fall and predominantly after the dispersion at Babel. It has always been an issue of life vs death. Even Moses knew that the Law will only take us as far as the Jordan Joshua (Yeshua) must take us into the land. Deut 30:9-20; Deut 18:15

Therefore:

Matthew 20:

25 But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,

28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Unregenerate man is forever cursed to be a god unto himself. The consequences of eating the forbidden fruit is that like God, he knows good and evil, but unlike God, he is part of creation, and is not the creator. Man had attempted to take dominion that was never given to him. So we see the world’s history filled with man’s attempts to rule through, military power, economic enslavement, even through the enforcement of racial. cultural, and religious superiority. Man seeks to ascend to the throne of God. This is Babylon, the kingdom of men. Genesis 11:1-9; Ezekiel 28:2; Isaiah 14:13-14

Again Paul would write:

Romans 1:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Man worships images of himself, and all the creatures over which he was told to have dominion, i.e. birds animals, and creeping things etc. Man is now bondage to the very things over which he was to rule. There is no difference between dictators or environmental terrorists. Neither care about humanity that was once created in God’s image and likeness, nor those who are now re-created in Christ as God’s image and likeness.

Colossians 1:

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.

17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Christ is not only the last Adam, He is God in the flesh. He not only reigns with a ”rod of iron” (Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15) ; He will also give the saints, that is, His body, authority and dominion to rule and reign.

Revelation 2:

26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,

27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

28 And I will give him the morning star.

Revelation 5:

9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."

This will not be seen in its’ fullness until He first returns. The restoration of man is

accomplished only through Him.

In my next post I would like to look at how this dominion is restored in Christ at the cross, and the role of Satan in all of this.

Soli Deo Gloria

Joseph; God's Will Is Never A Pipe Dream

2010-04-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

Genesis37: 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.

Genesis 37:
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.
19 They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer.

Genesis45: 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

Genesis 50:
18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants."
19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

The term pipe dream originates from the days of the opium den during the late 1800's. It seems that smoking the drug induced some rather incredible imaginings. Opium was used quite a bit by writers of that day among many others. Today the use of the term speaks of a plan or goal which is in essence beyond actual achievement. It is beyond the power of the "dreamer" to bring it to reality. Thus it will always remain a dream.

Praise the Lord this is not so with the plan of God.
There re many in the narrative of scripture that have had true God-given, i.e. prophetic dreams;
Jacob, Joseph the husband of Mary, even Pilate's wife was given a warning in her dream.
Probably the most well known passages re: a dream would be that of Joseph, the son of Jacob.
Genesis 37 gives us the foundation of Joseph's story.
The dream given to Joseph by the Lord was in reality, a revelation of the way God would fulfill the covenant-promise he had given to Abraham. (Gen12:6-9; 15:1-16)

The story is a very familiar one, and like Noah's ark and the Exodus, has become so familiar even to the unbelieving world, that it also loses it's significance to the church.
Joseph has two dreams which essentially mean the same thing. His brothers, and even his father will submit to him.
Now I have heard some say that had Joseph not said anything to his brothers who already had little love for him, the bad circumstances which were to come upon him need not have happened. Not so in the plan of God as Joseph and all of his actions were foreknown by the Lord. God used the "negative" circumstances to carry His plan to its' conclusion.
So Joseph endures being thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, thrown into prison, seemingly left to live his life out in obscurity and confinement.
However the scriptures also tells us that Joseph was successful even in those circumstances, as God caused him to have success in the circumstances. 9Gen 39:2-6; 39:20-23)
It is important to note that in both Potiphar's house and in the prison, Joseph was in essence second in command.
Now Joseph was no only given dreams from the Lord, h was also given the gift of interpreting the dreams of others. Because he had correctly interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's cup-bearer and baker, both whom were briefly imprisoned with Joseph, he was to be set free 2 years later when his ability to interpret would become known to Pharaoh.
Joseph, at 30 years of age, by interpreting Pharaoh's dream revealing 7 years of plenty and 7 years of drought was given honor and authority as "second in command" in all of Egypt.(Gen 41:39-46)
The drought lead to Jacob sending his sons to Egypt for grain and there they encountered their younger brother who recognized them, but was not yet recognized by them. They entered into his presence and bowed. Then comes some of the most profound words in the scripture:

Gen 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them.........."

From this point one Joseph began actively co-working with the Lord to bring about God's will for the establishment of a nation to be born from captivity. Joseph used his wiles to bring all of his brothers and father's household to Egypt. The rest, as they say, is history. From this incredible beginning would come
the "son of God". (Exodus 4:22-23;Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15) and the Exodus of the regenerate.

What does this mean to the saints today?

Romans 8:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Isaiah45: 7 I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.

Everything that had happened to Joseph up to the point of his brothers coming to Egypt for grain were out of his control. All these things were done "to him" even the Lord giving him the dreams and the gift of interpretation. Nowhere does it say that Joseph wanted this, or actively participated in causing these things.

Therefore the Lord who is the source of both, light and darkness, well-being and calamity, did all these things. So Paul correctly tells the saints that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, i.e. those who are called according to His purpose.
Joseph loved God, and showed it by acting with integrity no matter where he found himself, and he was most definitely called to God's higher purpose.
After his brothers came to him in submission, Joseph remembered the dream God had given him, and began proactively participating in its' fulfillment
He got beyond himself and began to see the big picture. It wasn't about his destiny to become an important man in the government of a world power,it was about God's purposes in bringing him to such a place.
Oh that the saints of God would get hold of this vision.
We are no different than Joseph or Paul or any of the other saints They endured there own set of circumstances and so do we. We are not exempt. Even Christ endured the circumstances for the higher call. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Ephesians 1:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

There is a purpose and plan; a higher calling beyond ourselves to which the Lord has called us to.
Whatever we go through; wherever we are, God has willed it to be so.

Well did Jeremiah encourage the exiles:

Jeremiah 29:
4 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.
6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.
7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,
9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD.
10 "For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

The plans for welfare, a future and hope, included being sent into exile.
Greater encouragement can be found in the fact the Joseph's story didn't end with his family settling in Egypt We would have them all live happily ever after.

However:

Genesis 50:
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own.
24 And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."
25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here."
26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus 13:
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here."

Joshua24: 32 As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

Even in death Joseph's story reveals God's ways and thoughts, which are higher than man's.
Joseph had reached a point in his walk where he saw this. He had been given great revelation.

Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

It's all about Him. He does it all, or it never gets done. He saves, or no one is saved.
He gives the dreams and visions and makes them come to pass.
Truly outside of Christ all of our dreams are pipe dreams. God's will always reaches its' fulfillment.

Isaiah 55:10 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Jars Of Clay

2010-04-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Romans 9:20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"
21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

Isaiah 29:16 You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

2Ti 2:20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

All of the above passages speak of the same thing. The fact that we are formed of the clay of the earth, i.e. Adam, and fashioned by the hand of the Lord into useful vessels. The scripture writers use the picture of the potter and clay vessel as a metaphor.
Of course we know that the master potter is the Lord almighty, the creator, the one who fashions us. We also know that this speaks not only of our physical bodies, but also of our calling into His purpose.
However there is one problem, our interpretation of the process.
A lump of clay is thrown on the wheel and formed into a vessel, put into the fire of the kiln to harden and then sometimes painted with decorative artwork, depending on the purpose it has been created for.
If there is a flaw, or something goes wrong anywhere in the process, the vessel is destroyed and work begins on a completely new one.
God as the master potter has formed vessels for many uses; some for honorable uses some for dishonorable; some for mercy, some for wrath. The point here is, they are finished vessels. They are what they are. They are perfect in their purpose. He makes no mistakes.
We interpret these passages as speaking to OUR spiritual growth and maturing. It is all about what we desire to be made into.
Isaiah and Paul answer such a notion in firm manner; who are you to tell the master you don't like how it has been done? This is not a process anymore. We are finished vessels. We are made for mercy or we are not. We have a place of honor in the work, or labor in obscurity until He honors us.

1Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

We should rejoice that we are vessels made for mercy.

Luke 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

I am not saying that there is no growth, that we do not learn and mature. What I am saying is that what we will be has already been determined by Him. This is the revelation of the potter to the clay; you are what I have made you to be.
Woe to a church that is inwardly focused, for even when we admit He is the potter, all the time we are really looking to be made into what we would term to be, a more desirable vessel.
This is truly what may be termed, false humility. It is pride in beggar's rags.
He requires obedience not sacrifice, i.e. religious pretense.
This is not about our "spiritual journey", or our destiny. It is about the one whose workmanship we are.
Truly it is written:

James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

God gives grace to the truly humble.
A truly humble man is not one who thinks less of himself; the truly humble never think of themselves at all. God does it all, and gets all the credit.
We are all crafted and gifted according to His perfect wisdom and will, and all glory to the potter!

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Soli Deo Gloria

Jonah The Epilogue: Repentance

2010-02-11T17:21:00.000-08:00

This will be a final post re: the 3 part series I published awhile back on the Book of Jonah

I will start with a quote from a blog post written by Brad Nelson, who is on staff at Rob Bell’s Mars Hill Church. I will not provide a link to Mars Hill. You can Google it if you wish.

You may read Nelson’s post in its entirety here.

Here is the quote:

“God’s compassion in the story of Jonah is not random. It’s aroused by the repentance of the sailors and the Ninevites. It triggers something in God that he can’t resist. “Repentance has an explosive impact upon God; God is highly sensitive to repentance. He responds vigorously to repentance even at the slightest hint of it, even if a person has committed terrible sins” (Meet the Rabbis by Brad Young, Hendrickson Publishers, 2007). There is a Jewish tale about the power of repentance in which King Manasseh, one of the most wicked kings in Judah’s history, repented and sought God’s favor. According to the tale, the ministering angels in heaven were so outraged at Manasseh’s sin that they blocked his prayer from entering God’s heavenly court. But God ripped a hole in his own throne to make a way for Manasseh’s prayer to reach him (Meet the Rabbis by Brad Young, Hendrickson Publishers, 2007). God is just waiting for us to return to him.”

I will say that his “exegesis” leaves much to be desired. He uses the midrash and mythology of Judaism to interpret scripture.

The fact of the matter is that God neither men nor angels can hinder or help God. God is not manipulated. God is not waiting on anyone.

To understand the meaning of true repentance we must go to the Word, i.e .the Bible.

The words translated as repent in both the Hebrew and the Greek are:

שׁוּב shûb (shoob)

A primitive root; to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively

Μετανοέω

metanoeō

To think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider ; repent

What is evident is that repentance is not merely saying “I’m sorry” or feeling sorrow. In fact grief and sorrow over one’s action can be seen as a predecessor to repentance, while apology is part of the fruit or action which repentance produces.

2Cor 7:

9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Philippians 2:

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Repentance scripturally defined, is a change of mind and heart, a complete turn around in the way one thinks, which leads to a rejection of one’s previous intentions and actions, and coming around to a new line of thought and deed. In the case of the believer it is defined this way:

Isaiah 55: 6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

When a man repents, he is turning to God’s ways and thoughts and away from his own. It is acknowledgement that the minds and means of mankind are non-productive and futile in terms of a relationship with the Father. When we reject our idea of how salvation is worked out, we then demonstrate the transformation which is the evidence of a renewed mind. This is then demonstrated in our obedient working out of what God has worked in.

Many love to quote verses 8-9 of Isaiah 55 outside of the context of verses 6 and 7. God wants us to know how He thinks and acts. In this post-modern and liberal theological climate, mystery and mysticism, i.e. confusion, rule the day.

Deut 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

God has given us His revelation in scripture, therefore He wants us to hear/read it, understand it, and do it. He wants us to submit our minds to Christ in His service. This is the warfare of 2 Cor 10:4-5. This is the essence of the great Shema of Deut 6:4-25,”hear Oh Israel”. The word hear, i.e. shema, literally means to not merely hear with the ear, but to comprehend and do.

We diminish repentance to a mere mea culpa when we sin, when it entails so much more. Repentance is the daily walk of the regenerate saints of God. No one can repent without first being regenerate. Repentance does not save us. It is a work that those already foreknown by the Father, do. Romans 8:29-30

So then the people of Nineveh did not “move God”. They did not surprise Him by turning to Him. They were moved by God, who is Lord over all circumstances, to repent, and acted in accordance to what God already had foreknown.

Jonah understood this:

Jonah 4:2 And he prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Repentance is like prayer. When one knows, speaks and obeys God’s sovereign will, God acts according to that will and plan, which He purposed from before creation.

He is not making it up as He goes along and we are never allowed to make it up. Matthew 6:9-10; 1 John 5:14-15

The Ninevites were doing what God wanted them to do. If God wills that Nineveh should repent, then they will and He will relent. This is why Jonah was upset He knew that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, and if the Assyrians had ears to hear, they would believe to repentance, and God would stay His hand. Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.

So we have sorrow for our transgressions, that is for our disobedience, and we not only feel grief over those transgressions, we also alter our thinking and direction. Regenerate men, the church, His body, of which he is the head, have the mind of Christ.

1Cor 2:16 "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

Now we come to the issue of God who seems to change His mind based on the actions and pleadings of His people.

Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

When men repent they turn to God’s way of thinking. If God repents, whose way of thinking does He turn to? There is no one greater than He. Hebrews 6:13

Therefore “God’s repentance” can be defined as doing what he already intended to do.

No one can influence him and change His mind. Such teaching is rooted in open theism which is outright heresy.

Nelson’s interpretations, and the rabbinical teachings that he alludes to, which assert that God just “can’t resist” anyone who repents is dead wrong. It puts man in the driver’s seat, and God as the unwitting passenger. On day it will be seen that “free will” as it is taught in today’s evangelical world, is the loftiest of thoughts which exalts itself against God.The only thing that Nelson and the neo-rabbis are correct in is the statement that “God’s compassion is not random.”

Let us repent, for His kingdom is at hand.

Sola scriptura

Soli Deo Gloria

His Presence; His Name

2010-01-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

Matthew 18:
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

The Lord, in the passage that precedes the above scripture, was speaking about being reconciled to your brother, should he offend you, and how such reconciliation was to be accomplished. On the other side of this, He addressed what must be done if your brother would not be reconciled and admit to the offense. The context of all of this the "church" and how it functions “governmentally.”

In this, the conclusion of His teaching, Jesus is saying several things in these two sentences
1. Two must do the asking. This isn't a solo work.
2. They must be in agreement as to what they are asking for.
3. God must be in agreement as to what is being asked, which gives primary emphasis on the name of Jesus, and the will of the Father which that name contains.
4. For where two or three (or more, can be assumed from that) are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is literally there, that is the body of Christ is present. Two or more would then be defined as not only the church, but also as His Body which is the manifest presence of God. John 10:30; John 14:9-10

Col 1:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Eph 1:
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Eph 2:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father, is the express image of the Father in creation. They are one and the same. The church is placed in Christ and seated with Him at the right hand. The church is His literal body. The church is made of the living stones, and is the living temple, i.e. the spiritual house of a living God. Ephesians 2:18-22

The work of the church takes place within that living temple.

1Peter 2:
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Peter is not talking about Sunday morning church service. Wherever the church dwells, Christ dwells, and whatever the church is doing Christ is doing, and so is the Father doing. Thus the presence of the Father is manifest. John 5:19-20; John 14:12

The often misunderstood and overlooked revelation to all of this is contained in this phrase; "in my name"
If we are gathered in His name, then He is there in our midst, meaning that God's presence is not only manifest without, it is manifest within.
The name of Jesus the Christ the Son of the living God is vital to every area of what we do as the church.

In prayer:

John 14:
12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 16:
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
25 "I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.
26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;
27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God

1John 5:
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

God loves us because we love His Son. He answers our prayers only if they are offered in the Name of His Son, i.e. according to the will of the Father. He does this because he loves His obedient Son. It is all about Jesus. The Son shows His love in through obedience to the will of the Father, and the father shows His love through the honoring of all that is asked for and accomplished in the name of Jesus
James speaks a harshly to the church which seeks its’ own ends:

James 4:
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?

The church that seeks it's own desires "in the name of Jesus" displays friendship with the world, i.e. the world's systems and methods, and enmity toward God.It also dishonors His name. The Father does not acknowledge such prayer

God yearns jealously over the Spirit which dwells in us for good reason:

John 14:
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you

Even the Holy Spirit is sent in the name of His Son.

John 15:
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Jesus chooses and appoints. Those whom He has chosen, will produce eternal fruit. This fruit is the evidence in our lives that we are His chosen and are abiding in Him. Thus whatever we ask in His name the Father does, as He loves His Son, who has chosen us, the abiding ones.

Just as the Levitical priests carried the Ark, the presence of God, as they traveled through the wilderness and that very presence was seen in fire and cloud, so we today carry the presence of God but in a much better way. We are a kingdom of priests under the great high priest of the new order. Hebrews 7:11
We are in Christ and Christ is in us. He and the Father are one. All who gather, ask, and bear fruit, in His name, carry the manifest presence of God wherever we go. The manifest presence of God, His will, love and favor is contained in the name of Jesus.

John 6:
29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
30 So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

Recently I came across an internet forum that was recruiting folks to seek God's manifest presence for their churches.Dear saints we carry the manifest presence of God wherever we go. We must not be seekers of signs and wonders. The church is made up of believers. Signs and wonders come after us.
Seeking for what has already been given is a serious issue.
The church neglects the real work, as we are busy creating our own "busy-work".

Philippians 2:
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Free Will

2009-12-30T14:51:00.000-08:00

Genesis 3:
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"
2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Did Eve eat of the tree of her own "free" will, or dd the "devil make her do it"
If the serpent made her do it, then her will was controlled by the serpent. This mindset is the foundation of virtually all deliverance ministry. Unfortunately these ministries also teach that man freely chooses God, and His salvation, of his own will. So we have at best a partially free will. Man freely chooses or declines God's offer of salvation out of his own will power, but is controlled by the devil.
Following that line of argument, we can conclude that man's will which can be overridden by Satan, is still able to override the will of God. This then makes God's will submissive not only to man, but also to the devil.
The same ones who promote this teaching also support the interpretation, according to a flawed interpretation of 2 Peter 3:9, that is is God's will that everyone should be saved.
This is the "catch 22" of all free will philosophy.

Paul wrote in Romans 9:

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."
8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
9 For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son."
10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls--
12 she was told, "The older will serve the younger."
13 As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!
15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?"
20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"
21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory--
24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

This passage first of all, proves that Israel is jew and gentile, and always has been so. Israel is not separate from the church, Israel is the church.
Just as important, verse 11 reveals the fact that God's sovereign process of election,which is not based on the criteria of our actions good or bad, but based on His sovereign will and foreknowledge, has also been so from before creation. Jacob was chosen over Esau, in an act of His sovereign will, so that God's purpose of election MIGHT CONTINUE. In other words, this was not the first demonstration of God's willful election on this earth. (take Abel, Enoch or Noah, as examples)
Paul then presents the heart of this revelation; All vessels are God's; some appointed to mercy and some appointed to wrath, and we have nothing to say in the matter..Since Paul is writing to the post- ascension church in Rome, we can safely conclude that this truth applies to all of mankind, past present and future. Remember that this is a letter, and all of this is based on the foundation which was laid out in the beginning of the letter in chapters 1,2, and 3.

The rhetorical question is presented: 19 You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?"
The answer (which is implicit in the question) is; NO ONE.
Now if 2 Peter 3:9 says that it is God's will that all men be saved ,then based on Paul's point here, all men would come to saving faith and salvation would be universal. As Paul said no one can resist the will of God. The issue is the translation from the Greek. Both the word "boulēma" used by Paul, and the word "boulomai" used by Peter, are obviously related. In Peter's usage the word is better translated as wishing or desiring, (that all come to repentance). In Paul's context he is talking about the will of God that is set in stone. (see Job 42:1-2)
Peter is also addressing this specifically to the readers of his letter, and it is about them not all of mankind.

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God's will is that all the elect come to repentance. It must be recognized that repentance is not an action by which a man obtains salvation, it is the action of one who is saved already.
Peter is giving encouragement to those who are being beset by mockers who attack the saints for their belief in the Lord's imminent return, (verse 4)
The Lord is sanctifying his elect.(Hebrews 10:14)

Needless to say, not all will come to belief, as not all are elect.

Looking back at Adam and Eve and their choice to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree, the letter to the church in Rome needs to be studied one more time:

Romans 3:
10 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one......"

Romans 1:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.............

Both of these passages continue on in their point.(in Romans 3 Paul is actually quoting from Isaiah and the Psalms)
The gist is however that man in the flesh can only serve the flesh.
Romans 7 is the great revelation of the believer's battle to overcome the flesh and find freedom for his will which is trapped in a body of death. The victory, which is revealed in chapter 8, is to be found only in Christ. At His return we will have incorruptible bodies and will be completely free able to do the good that we will to do. (1 Cor 15:49-50) This makes Peter's point in the passage cited from his second letter, even more salient.

Eve chose to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because it was ......

"good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate,"

The fruit appealed to the flesh. It not only satisfied physical hunger and taste, it satisfied the desire to advance oneself in life. In this case to be godlike.
Eve was not able to overcome the flesh by strength of her will. She knew what God commanded re: what could, and could not be eaten, and quoted it to the serpent verbatim. However she was unable to do the good which she knew to do. This reinforces Paul's point in Romans 7.
It does not stop with Eve as we well know.

"and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."

Paul writes in Romans 1:

32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Eve encouraged Adam to eat, He ate for the same reasons which she did, but more so he could not refuse his wife's offer.

Neither Adam nor Eve possessed a free will. They both succumbed to the flesh and its desires. God created the serpent, and Adam named it. (Genesis 2:19-20) The whole scenario was predestined by God. They were destined to fall. They made the only choice the natural, unregenerate man could make Satan did not make them do it. He could only entice through the lie. Their "choice" was birthed from fleshly bondage.

Glory to God that the undoing of all that had been wrought was also foreknown.

Acts 4:
24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, "'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'--
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

John 1:
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
13 who WERE born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 3:3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

We receive Him and the right to be called His children only if we are born again by His will.
Thank the Lord for all who are born again by that sovereign will and power of His Spirit. He did not leave the choice up to you and me. Had he done so, we would have never chosen Him.

Romans 7:
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Soli Deo Gloria

Soteriological Cogitations #2

2009-12-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

The Foundations Of Grace

Genesis 6:
5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. 9These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

The story of Noah and the ark is one that is well known. It is so well known that there are those who do not hold to belief in God, or His Word that are familiar with many aspects of it. It holds a certain fascination, and has been depicted in film, song, cartoons etc.; even in a television commercial. (Remember the buckle up/carpool advertisement of some years ago)Sadly the actual revelation and truth of the story are glossed over, more so in a church which should have understanding of this The premise of the flood, and its’ consequences reveal man’s depravity, and God’s incredible, and irresistible grace.

Genesis 6

First and foremost man is wicked. The thoughts and intents of the hearts of man are evil. I use the present tense here, as nothing has changed since Noah’s day in terms of the unregenerate. Total depravity manifests in man’s fallen state. God sees it all. Nothing is hidden from Him.
This portion of scripture is NOT saying that God was unaware of this, evidenced by His creation becoming a grievous thing to Him.
Those who promote “open theism” say this passage proves that God is not prescient, i.e. completely omniscient, but that is not the case at all. A good example would be a military leader who has to send an army into battle, knowing full well that many will be killed. Yet in that foreknowledge, he sends them in, and it is a grievous thing.
As Robert E Lee is reported to have said, and I paraphrase; to be a good soldier you must love the army, and to be a good general you must also order the death of the thing you love.The all knowing
God is a greater and more perfect example than this. He foreknows the names of all who will fall, and all who will live.God’s nature requires the destruction of all that He has made.
Wicked men, and a creation that is tainted by rebellion and sin, cannot stand in the sight of a holy and righteous God. However one man, Noah, finds favor, i.e. grace in God’s eyes.
Let us please have understanding here. Noah is not being portrayed as being perfect. He did not find God’s favor in his own efforts. It is bestowed favor, that is, grace.
The Hebrew word “found” ( מצא ;mâtsâ' ;maw-tsaw') denotes an acquiring such as gift is acquired, something that comes to you.
Noah was a sinner, as all men are sinners and fall short in every way. (Romans 3:9-18)
Noah’s being called righteous and blameless, just as we are found to be righteous and blameless, does not speak of sinless perfection. This can only be accomplished by sovereign grace, through the atoning death of Christ.
Noah was foreknown from before the foundation of the world, just as Jesus is the Lamb foreknown from before the foundation of the world. This is God’s will concerning salvation.
(1 Peter 1:20-21; Eph 1:4; Phillipians 1: 10 and 2:15;Colossians 1:22;1 Thess 3:11-13 and 5:23;Jude 1:24; 1 John 1:8-10)
We are even shown one of Noah’s weaknesses depicted later in Genesis 9:20-21
It can then be rightfully concluded that God’s choosing of Noah and his household, as well as all the remnant of creation that was saved in the ark, received unmerited favor. Grace!

The Hebrew for favor, (חן ;chên ;khane) is defined as grace, graciousness, being favored. It is taken from the same root that gives us the names Hannah and John/Jochannan; Hannah meaning the favored one and John denoting the “I Am” who bestows favor. This is an interesting word study in and of itself.Needless to say Noah was not righteous of his own accord. God chose him, and he discovered the grace of God in being chosen. This is the nature of true revelation.

Matthew 16:
17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

James 1: 17 EVERY good gift and EVERY perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Paul received such revelation from Christ Himself. (Galatians 1:11-12)

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Noah. Peter, James, Paul, all received the knowledge of saving grace. Favor, calling, election, all speak of that which comes from outside of ourselves.As we continue on in Genesis 6, the original point is driven home;

Genesis 6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”

The Lord then gives detailed instruction re: the construction of the ark, and all that would be brought aboard be it man, animal, or foodstuff. The rest of the story is well known. The rains came, and the earth was flooded resulting in the destruction of the rest of mankind, all animals, and plant life. The earth was wiped clean.
God’s grace is demonstrated in the preserving of a remnant that represents the whole. This is what the tithe speaks of; the tenth is a representation of the entire. This is why the resurrected Christ is the first-fruits of all who are in Him ( 1 Cor 15:20-23), the saints are a type of first-fruits of creation (James 1:18; Rev 5:9-10;Rev 7:9-10), and true biblical Israel,i.e. the elect is the remnant of both jew and gentile, ( Romans 9:11-13;11:1-11; 11:25-27; Acts 15:13-21; Amos 9:9-12; Eph 2: 11-22)
After the rain and flood waters subside, the Lord makes a covenant with Noah, who is symbolically, the federal head of the new creation.
Genesis 9: 1-7 is a virtual repeat of the instructions given to Adam. (Genesis 1: 27-31)
The Lord then makes known His covenant to Noah and his sons.

Genesis 9:9 "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of 12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." 17 God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

What we call a rainbow, is a sign that never again will all mankind be destroyed by flood. However that does not mean that all mankind and creation will be spared destruction in any other form:

2Peter 3:5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

The everlasting covenant given to Noah, speaks only of destruction by water.
This brings understanding to the prophetic declaration of Christ in speaking of His return.

Matthew 24:
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

One will be taken and one remain. After all was said and done, Noah and those aboard the ark remained. Corrupted creation including the rest of mankind was swept away, that is, taken.The unregenerate are unaware of their fate.Those who are called to “board the ark” are those who have been baptized, into His death, and united with Him in His resurrection. They are those who have been saved by grace, through faith, created in Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit, for the works which glorify God. This is the favor we “find” in the eyes of the Lord. Grace testifies that it is all His doing.

Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Our salvation finds completeness in His return.

Matthew 24:
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The warning to be ready is given only to the elect. What if Noah had been found to be disobedient and tarried in building the ark?
There will be those that are His, like the 5 foolish virgins and the slothful servant, who will find themselves unprepared for His coming.

2Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Obedience to the call which comes by election is the testimony of its authenticity. He desires the obedience which walks in the works prepared beforehand, not sacrifice which speaks of OUR good intentions and works. Sovereign grace carries the responsibility of obedience. It requires not only hearing, but doing.

James 1:25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

May we like Noah be blessed in our doing.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Soteriological Cogitations #1

2009-12-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

2 Cor 2:
14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

2Cor 4:
1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

Paul alludes here to the roman custom of triumphal procession. Part of the ceremony and pomp involved in welcoming a conquering hero was, the burning of incense and the tossing of flowers, hence Paul's use of "aroma" as a way of describing the effect of the Gospel message.Christ leads the procession as the "conquering ruler" and we the apostolic church, intercessors and prophets, evangelist, shepherds and teachers spread the fragrance of the Gospel and the person of Christ everywhere.For those who are under the rule of the conqueror it is a time of joy and pageantry. Sadly for those who are the wrong side of the battle it brings death.

Rev 19:
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great." 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

The Gospel is the fragrance of life to those who are alive, i.e. the regenerate.It is the aroma of death to those who are dead in their sins, therefore they hide from it John 3:1-21
It is a veiled message to the dying. They refuse to see and hear.

Mark 4:
11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven."

Acts 28:
24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: "The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: 26 "'Go to this people, and say, You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. 27 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their 28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen."

The sovereign and unconditional election of God is the only "way" to salvation and eternal life ,i.e. the new creation. This election is summed up in Christ who is the Truth and the Way. The religious of the day twisted scripture and taught a form of salvation by works.
Matthew 23;John 5:19-47;Eph 2:8-10

However there is Christ alone, by grace, through faith alone, preached through the Word alone, for the glory of God alone.

John 5:
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

John 10:
25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of 30 I and the Father are one."

This is the Gospel Paul preached. The smell of death to the dead,(no wonder they run from it), and the aroma of life to the living. Only those born again by the Holy Spirit hear the Word that brings faith. The unconditional election of God is not based on man's goodness or choosing, and most certainly not withheld because of our sins. Where has the church gone off track in evangelizing? Christ did not save by having coffee with the sinner, but by dying for them. May the church lift up Christ crucified and may the Father draw those who are being saved, to the Messiah. Acts 2:42-47

"I may be called Antinomian or Calvinist for preaching a limited atonement; but I had rather believe a limited atonement that is efficacious for all men for whom it was intended, than a universal atonement that is not efficacious for anybody, except the will of man be joined with it."
Charles Spurgeon

The Rich Young Man And God’s Plan Of Salvation

2009-11-12T15:34:00.000-08:00

Matthew 19:
13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away. 16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" 21Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Let us begin with the account of the same incident in Luke.

Luke 18:
15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." 18 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" 21 And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

And Mark:

Mark 10:
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. 17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20 And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth. 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

All three versions of this encounter establish agreement as to the context of the episode. Jesus was blessing children that had been brought to Him. Luke says some were infants. So we can assume that these are small children, infants to toddlers perhaps a little older. The disciples rebuked those who had brought the children to the Lord. Compare this to the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:22-28. Like us it seems the disciples were slow to learn.

Jesus’ response re: the children was to the point; don’t hinder them from approaching Him, since this is how one enters the Kingdom of Heaven. We approach the Lord as His children would; in absolute confidence and faith, knowing that He is our Father; which is how any child would approach his/her loving father. A true and loving father requires no good deed in order for his children to come to him, as even when the child errs and disobeys, he or she can still approach their father to receive his love, which is also demonstrated in correction.(Hebrews 12:5-11) The love of the Lord is not earned.
This does not mean the Kingdom belongs to the childish. Jesus is talking about faith, innocence, and God’s election. This is much the same as Paul’s statement that the Lord chose the foolish things of the world in order to confound the wisdom of men. Unfortunately the church tends to think that in both instances we are given permission to act childishly, immaturely and foolishly. All such behavior dishonors God.
Now comes the wealthy young man, who seizes this opportunity to question Jesus.

“What good work must I do to inherit eternal life, i.e. a place in the Kingdom?”

Jesus’ response is interesting. He does not begin with a list of good works, but asks a question in return.

“And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”

Why call Him good indeed? If only God alone is good, (and that is a true statement), then one who calls Jesus good, must also be acknowledging that He is God. I believe that the Lord was asking Him, are you acknowledging that I am God; that the Father is in me, and I in the Father? (John 14:6-11)
Then Jesus basically tells him, you know the Law, keep it. It is curious that the young man asks Jesus in Matthew’s account, “which ones?”
You would think that the answer would be; How about all of them? However, the Lord gives Him a list of commandments from the ten listed in Exodus 20 as well as Lev 19:18, love your neighbor as yourself. The response from this man is he has kept those from his youth. I have no doubt that this man may have tried to keep these commandments faithfully as he said, but I also have no doubt that he had broken other commandments. Aside from that, we know from Paul’s letter to the Romans (chapters 2-8) that the Law was given to make us aware of the wrong we were already doing, The Law has never saved anyone simply because we are unable to keep it.
This brings the dialogue to it’s climax.

The Lord looks upon this young, wealthy, “righteous” man with compassion, as he delivers the ultimate blow;

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

Upon hearing this the young man turned and left; totally disheartened, sad, sorrowful. There is no question that this person was completely sincere in his quest for eternal life, he was not ready to hear that he could not save himself out of his own righteousness. For if salvation comes by grace through faith, not of works, and even the faith to hear and believe is a gift from God, as the scripture says is so; then even selling all that he had and giving the proceeds to the poor would not save this man. He couldn't even bring himself to do this, let alone begin to follow Christ. Good works performed in the following of Jesus, come after one is “saved” (Eph 2:8-10)

We will continue on in Matthew to the conclusion of this study.

Matthew 19:
23And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" 26But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Here the Lord is not saying that a rich man will be able to enter in, but it will be tough work ahead, since we know that no none is saved by works, no matter how noble the efforts. He is saying it is difficult for a rich man to hear the message, believe and act upon it, as worldly wealth is an obstacle to entering the “heavenly economy” of God’s Kingdom, i,e, giving up the worldly treasure, for the sake of the true treasure in heaven.

Matthew 6:
19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I will not address the cultural context and meaning of the camel and the “eye of the needle” here, as the Lord’s point is simply that it is impossible for a rich man to enter God’s Kingdom based on his wealth, position, or self-righteousness.

The bewildered cry of those following Him drips with despair: "Who then can be saved?" If someone who is wealth,schooling, and even a form of righteousness cannot be saved, then what chance does the ordinary folk, the poor have? Praise God for the answer;

26But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Compare this to:

Romans 7:
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Romans 8:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Only God can save men, through the incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension of His Son.

Matthew 19:
27Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?"

What Peter is saying here is that he and the other disciples have done what the Lord asked the young man to do. They gave up their very lives, all that they had, even their families, to follow Him. So what is their reward in the Kingdom? They may not have had as much to forsake as the rich man, but they gave it all. The question is, why did they forsake everything to follow Christ? How were they able to do this? The answer is simple; because HE called them and they responded to His call, His voice. (Matthew 4:19; Mark1:17;Luke 5:27)

Matthew16:
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

It matters not whether we are rich, poor, or middle class. We are to forsake all to follow Christ. Just as Abraham left the land of his father and the life he knew, because he heard the voice of the Lord, so do all who are called, and believe by faith, i.e. the elect.(Genesis 12: 1-6; Genesis 15:5-6)

Romans 4: 1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."

John 10: 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Romans 10: 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Therefore all who are called to faith, are able through the power of the Spirit, to obey the commandments of God, and follow Christ.

Romans 8:
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

The conclusion of the matter is this:

Matthew19:
28Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

The reward for the apostles will be the authority to sit in judgment over God’s people. This is not speaking of judgment as condemnation. This is ruling and reigning in the Kingdom of God. It is the administering of the Lord’s justice, equity and peace, that is ,the “shalom” of God
For ALL who have forsaken everything to follow Him, i.e.those who are called, there will be a reward and an inheritance also. These are all who walked with the Lord and the apostles on earth, and all who come to faith based on the word of the apostles. (John 17:19-21)
The exalted will be humbled, and the humble will be exalted. Well did James warn the church:

James 2:
1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Is this not what the Lord told the wealthy man to do? Though he claimed to have done this, the truth was shown in that he could not sell all that he had and give it to the poor.

1John3: 8 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

The modern western church is enamored with wealth, talents, position, and celebrity. This is not the Kingdom of God. The “sum” of the parts is this; The story of the rich young man is not the defining of a “social gospel” as some would suggest. It is the revealing of God's salvation. Salvation lies solely in the unconditional election and call of a sovereign God. There is nothing else. What is impossible with men, is only possible with God.

Romans 9:16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Blood of Christ/The Face of God/The Light Of His Face

2009-10-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

Rev5:
9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."

A question was recently presented to me re in regards to the efficacy of the blood of Jesus, and the issue of God’s looking upon us or not. i.e. His countenance turned toward us, or turned away from us. The immensity of this subject soon became apparent as I began to study it.I would like to first start with this quote from Dr. John Piper:

“Beware of the pleasant view of God that He is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept cost the agony of Calvary. Forgiveness cost God the cross of Jesus before He could forgive sin, and remain a holy God. The revelation of God is that He cannot forgive, because it would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God by the atonement of Jesus’ shed blood.”
John Piper (From: God is the Gospel)

In conjunction with this quote we have this rather alarming passage where Joshua speaks to the people. He had just declared “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord” and the people responded that they would also serve the Lord. This is Joshua’s response to their declaration;

Joshua 24:
19 But Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins."

What he said here is true. No one is able to serve the Lord, that is of their own power and will. God is holy and jealous. If they err in their service He will not forgive their sins nor their transgressions. This supports the quote from Piper. God is perfection and His perfection is the standard in all things. Now thanks be to God for giving us Jesus Christ, His Son, who is the Lamb that was slain and who is foreknown from before the foundation of the world. God foreknew the need for the shed blood of the lamb before He even began to create this universe.

1Peter 1:
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot, 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

The righteous wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and only those who do so can enter the New Jerusalem. The blood washes clean, it doesn’t even leave a “bloodstain”. The robes of the righteous are made white when washed in His blood. This is an important point.

Rev 7:
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" 14 I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Rev 22:
14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

A blood-washed garment is a requirement for entering the New Jerusalem.

Matthew 22:
11 "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14 For many are called, but few are chosen."

I will leave this for a moment and go to the issue of God’s face, looking, or not looking, upon us. Here are 3 passages among many that deal with this:

Ezekiel 7:
22 I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it.

Ezekiel was giving this word from God to Israel.

Psalm 27:
9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!

Here David is asking the Lord not to hide His face from Him, this actually is preceded by his declaration in verse 8;

8 You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, LORD, do I seek."

So David is seeking God’s face, but he also is aware that if God chooses to hide His face from us, all such seeking is in vain. Ezekiel’s prophecy shows us that God did turn His face away from them, and He had done this not just once, but several times as they were always lapsing into the sin of idolatry. There was a constant cycle of obedience and disobedience throughout the history of Israel. God was constantly turning His face from them, but promising to turn back to them if they would repent. Repentance under the Mosaic Covenant required man to turn back to God but also required God to turn His face back towards men. There had to be a permanent solution to this. David foresaw this;

Psalm 51:
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

An amazing revelation was given to David which led to this prayer; that God could hide His face from David’s sins, but not hide His face from David. All of his iniquities were to be blotted out, i.e. as if they never existed. God cannot tolerate sin in any way. However a way had to be made for Him to “look upon” the sinner. How was this made possible?

Hebrews 9:
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 10:
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

God gave the Law at Sinai to Moses along with the directions concerning the appropriate blood sacrifices for the covering of their sins. This blood sacrifice covered sins, but did not “remove” them.The sacrifices had to be offered in a yearly cycle. This was God's grace to those who lived under the Mosaic Covenant.

Hebrews 11:
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

As Paul would later write:

Romans 7:
10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

The Law and the ceremonial ordinances point the way to the fulfillment of all things in Christ, which would include the need for the shedding of blood. Even the Passover account, which has men applying the blood to their homes, and the destroyer passing over every house where God sees the blood, points forward to Christ as fulfillment.( Exodus 12:13)

Matthew 5:
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

God had a better way which was to come:

Hebrews 9:
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

By the shedding of His blood as the Lamb who is the final sacrifice, Christ fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law.

Hebrews10:
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds," 17 then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Christ entered into the holy of holies in heaven itself as the great, and last high priest, with His own blood, as the great, and last, sacrifice. He then sat down at the Father’s right hand awaiting the day when He will return.

Ephesians 1:
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Christ is head over His Body, the church, which of course would be us and all who are His. This is taken literally. We are His actual body, but here is even more:

Ephesians 2:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Because we are His body, we are seated with Him right now in heavenly places.So now the Father can look upon me and not see my iniquities, He sees His Son in whom we are placed. Our transgressions and iniquities are washed clean in the blood, which He himself brought into the holy of holies. They are gone forever. We are perfected for all time and there no longer remains any sacrifice necessary for the forgiveness of sins. The blood washes white as snow.

Isaiah 1:
18 "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

I believe that the blood-washed robes are made from lamb’s wool. The scarlet garment has become white as snow. The blood washes away the stain of sin revealing the robe of wool. (Rev 7:14)

Romans 8:
29For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

The Father now looks upon His obedient Son, who is also High Priest, and King of kings,He doesn’t even see the blood, as He did on the doorposts at Passover.That blood was applied by men. Christ as High Priest sprinkles His own blood.His sacrifice is done once, for all time. I had referenced Revelation 7 earlier which says; "They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”Our robes are washed WHITE, by the blood. Even the blood is not visible. It doesn’t just cover, it “takes away” the stain of sin, and leaves no stain of its’ own.

John 1:
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

We are in Christ. He sees all of His sons and daughters in and through His Son.

Psalm 80:
3 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! (Also verses 7 and 19)

God’s face shines upon, i.e. illuminates whatever He looks upon.

1John1:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

We who are restored in this manner, (that is, those who walk in the light), are walking before the face of God. That place is where we confess our sins and the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood is evident. All sins are forgiven and washed away.They do not exist, as nothing unrighteous or impure can exist in His sight/light.

Eph 5:
13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

Christ is the light of God’s face. There was a time when The Father could not look upon us, who were once dead in our sins. This also meant that we were not able look upon Him.

John 14:
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Now the Father looks upon us through His Son and we look upon the Father in the same manner.The light of God's face,i.e. Christ the light, is now the eternal propitiation.

1John 2:
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Hebrews 7:
25Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." (Hebrews 10:17 and Jeremiah 31:34)

The blood of Christ is so effective in its’ work that the Father no longer remembers our sins.

Psalm89:
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, 16 who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted.

The shed blood of the Lamb of God is the way by which God will forever look upon us and we upon Him.

Psalm67:
1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm; A Song; May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah!

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Relevancy Of The Gospel

2009-10-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

The message and its’ messenger defined:

Romans 1:
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

The relevancy of the message:

2 Cor 2:
14But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

The triumphal procession was a more or less a "parade", a roman custom of great pomp in which a conquering general, or leader would be honored. The procession would consist of the conquering army, musicians, booty and prisoners captured in battle. There would be flower and incense bearers as part of the pageantry, hence Paul's allusion to the "aroma" There is also the comparison of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem in which palm branches heralded His entry.
However the jews proved to be as fickle as the Romans and their "that was yesterday, what have you done for me today" attitude, for just a scant week later, they were calling for His crucifixion. Paul is also using this metaphor to show that there is an army of God being lead by the true conqueror, the King of kings, and those who are being lead by Him are the incense and flower bearers of the good news. Unfortunately for those on the wrong side of the "war", the aroma which announces this coming procession signifies the entry of death and defeat, while to those who hail the Lord, it is the aroma of life. Verse 17 is a sobering thought. How many "peddlers" are out there bearing artificial flowers and incense of their own making? (Exodus 30:34-38)

Later in this letter, Paul goes back to this example of the Gospel as bringing both death and life:

2 Cor 4:
1Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The peddlers of God's word, utilize under-handed, cunning, and disgraceful methods, and tamper with, i.e. manipulate, the scriptures. They bring the message of “easy believism”, e.g. say the prayer and you are saved. Here Paul is using the metaphor of the "veil" (which refers to the veil Moses had to wear to shield the people from the "temporary" glory).

2Cor 3:
12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

Only Christ removes the veil which darkens men’s hearts. We see that just as the aroma of the Gospel is the stench of death to some, so it is also veiled to them, i.e. those who are dying. Their minds are blinded. The term “god of this world” is more accurately translated “god of this age” This is not necessarily a reference to Satan. Satan has never sent anyone to damnation.
John 3:16-21 makes it clear;

John 3:
16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

It is man’s refusal to believe which condemns him. This unbelief stems from the fact that men love darkness more than the light, as they do not wish to have their sinful deeds exposed. This brings a clarity to John’s words in his first letter:

1John 1:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

All men sin, even the saints. The difference is the saints, who walk in the light, do not run from having their deeds exposed. Only they confess and repent. Only their sins are forgiven. Those who are born again, that is, those who turn to Christ, are those to whom the veil has been lifted. It is evident that the veil is not lifted for those who are dying, so the Gospel is not “relevant” to all men. If it indeed it is, then all men would believe as the Lord would have lifted the veil from before them. It is only relevant to those whose names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from before the foundation of the world. i.e. the regenerate, the living.

Matthew 22:
32b ................................ He is not God of the dead, but of the living."

Soli Deo Gloria!

Power In The Blood

2009-10-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

Heb 12:
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Gen 4:
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

Rev 6:
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
10 They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Psalm 116:
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Lev 17:
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

All life and death are in the hands of a sovereign God; the death of His saints especially so. Only the spilt blood of mankind cries out from the earth. Abel's blood cried out to God for justice. The blood of all who die for Christ and His Gospel will be avenged. Remarkably God requires patience from these that have died in His service, as the “promise” is there are more yet to die before He comes to avenge them all.Jesus' blood "speaks" a better word, as He was the Lamb without blemish; completely sinless, and innocent, i.e. guilt-free. All who are in Him are declared not guilty. Therefore His blood, shed for all who are His, speaks for justice on their behalf.
The blood of Christ speaks of the new covenant, the fulfillment of Lev 17:11. He is the last Adam, last lamb to be sacrificed, and the last high priest to perform the sacrifice.

Luke 22:
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Heb 9:
19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you."
21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,
26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Heb 10:
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
17 then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

The issue of the shedding of blood is of high importance. So much so that God judges all who shed and profane it.

Luke 22:
21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
22 For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!"

Jesus was predestined to come and die. (Acts 4:26-28;John 10:17-18). However God’ is a God of justice, and His justice is a pure justice. Judas was predestined to betray Christ, but God still must exact the penalty for the betrayal of innocent blood. (Acts 1:16-20)
The 30 pieces of silver, which Judas received as payment for his part in the “conspiracy”, was called “blood money”. (Matthew 27:3-10)

We also have this:

Matthew 27:
21 The governor again said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."
22 Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!"
23 And he said, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!"
24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves."
25 And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!"
26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Pilate understood the gravity of the shedding of innocent blood. However his hand washing ritual did not exonerate him in this. The jews, on the other hand, were not concerned with such” trivialities”. They asked for it.

Finally we have this warning to the saints:

Heb 10:
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, (see verse 18)
27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people."
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

There are no exemptions from judgment, for those who spill, betray and profane the blood of Christ. Incredibly this blood is the very thing that washes us clean from iniquity, even the iniquities of spilling, betraying, and profaning that very blood.

1John 1:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is nothing beyond the body and blood of Christ in terms of our salvation. All who are His, all whom He died for, appeal for mercy only through His sacrifice, which is the last sacrifice ever to be required.

Only the elect cry out to the Lord for justice on their behalf. Only they cry out for His return. There is power in the blood indeed!

LET THE ELECT CRY OUT

FROM EVERY NATION TRIBE AND TONGUE
OUT OF THE TRIBULATION, THEY WILL COME
ROBES WASHED WHITE IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB
BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD THEY STAND
SERVING NIGHT AND DAY IN THE TEMPLE
IN THE SHELTER OF HIS PRESENCE
THEY WILL HUNGER AND THIRST NO MORE
AND HE WILL WIPE EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES

OUT OF THE DEPTHS
WE CRY OUT TO YOU
HEAR OUR VOICE, HEAR OUR PRAYER
LET YOUR EARS HEAR THE SOUND OF OUR PLEAS
FOR MERCY AND REDEMPTION
MY SOUL WAITS ON THE LORD
IT IS IN HIM I HAVE HOPE
MORE THAN THE WATCHMEN WAIT FOR THE MORN
MY SOUL WAITS ON THE LORD

LET THE ELECT CRY OUT
NIGHT AND DAY FOR JUSTICE
LET THE ELECT CRY OUT
LORD DO NOT DELAY

HOW LONG LORD
WILL YOU WAIT TO AVENGE US
WHEN HE COMES
WE PRAY THAT HE WILL FIND FAITH

AMEN EVEN SO COME LORD JESUS
AND DO NOT DELAY

WORDS AND MUSIC BY CHRIS PAJAK
COPYRIGHT 2004 ROCK WITH WINGS/LATREUO MUSIC

Luke 18: 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
Rev 22: 20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria

(To hear the song Let The Elect Cry Out go to: http://www.myspace.com/rockwithwingsworship)

The Unity of the Body: Unity In Word And Truth

2009-08-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

"IN ESSENTIALS UNITY, IN NON-ESSENTIALS LIBERTY, IN ALL THINGS CHARITY”

Here is a slogan which seems to have been hanging around the church for more than a few centuries. It has been attributed to various and prominent figures in church history from Augustine to Wesley, and is even found in the first papal encyclical of John XXXIII. Recent scholarship attributes it to Rupertus Meldinius, a relatively unknown 16th century Lutheran theologian.

Regardless of who actually coined this phrase, the fact remains that at it's premise, it is pure poppycock. In order for it to work, there must be at least two opposing points of view which would seem to pretty much ruin any prospects of unity. The main questions being; what things are essential and/or non-essential in any given debate? Who decides what is or is not essential?

In order for the church to discern what is or is not essential, there must be unity in the interpretation of scripture. This alone blows the "unity" of the visible church out of the water, as the visible church goes to great length to show that there is no unified interpretation of the scripture. This "unity" is a self defeating proposition.

The visible church seeks to portray unity in the same way the world does, i.e. agree to disagree., celebrate diversity, etc. The reality is that neither of these noble and lofty concepts can be found in scripture. They are not even hinted at. As a matter of fact, where do we find support for the argument that there are ANY doctrines and/or teachings found in scripture which are non-essential?

2Timothy 3: 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Gal 3: 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

Col 3: 10 and (you) have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

We are told to have the mind of Christ, to be of one mind, to be of the same mind. How is that accomplished? First of all we are united with Christ, and with each other through Him. This is the work of the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. We are incapable of creating such a unity.

Eph 2: 18 For through him we both (jew and gentile) have access in one Spirit to the Father.

1 Cor 12:
13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

1Cor 6: 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

From all of the scripture cited above, it should be apparent that the Body of Christ is the place where diversity no longer exists. It is HIS body, therefore the unity that is shown is manifested only in the person of Jesus Christ. When looked upon, the entirety of Christ is seen, not His Lutheran hands and Baptist legs demonstrating "unity in diversity", When we attempt to " do" unity and tout our brotherhood, we are glorifying man and not God.

The story of Babel in Genesis 11, is the story of a "unified" human race desiring to exalt itself by making a name for itself. Men had one language and one purpose. Diversity was the consequence of God's judgment, which He accomplished by confusing of their common language into many tongues. This confusion of language has forever thwarted man's efforts to come together peaceably, as true peace is found only in the Prince of Peace.The attempts by men today to unite in that confusion, and "celebrate their differences" is a deliberate spitting in the face of God. In the world we have the United Nations. In the church we have ecumenism, and slogans like the one which is quoted at the beginning of this post.

We see that all true unity comes from God and is found only in His Son. This unity is a reconciling in Christ of creator to creation, and of creation to creation. We become sons of God, and brothers to one another. This found only in the new creation.

2Cor5:
16From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Romans8: 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

The Body of Christ grows up, and matures in, the unity into which it has been placed:

Eph 4:
1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."
9( In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

There is only one Body, one Spirit, one hope ,one Lord, one faith one baptism, one God and one Father of all, who is over and through all. This is in perfect agreement with the scriptures which were brought out at the beginning of this post, that is, we are baptized into His Body by one Spirit, through whom we also have access to the one Father, thus joining us in and to Christ, as one Spirit.

The apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers are members of the Body, empowered in their respective calling to ministry and given as gifts to the Body to build it up to a full maturing into the one man. The mature body is seen in the manifestation of the one man, Jesus Christ. The believer's maturity is a corporate maturity which exists in the individual, Jesus.

In this corporate maturing the individual saints also mature with this result:

14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

How is this put into practice? By SPEAKING THE TRUTH in love. Jesus is the Truth and His Word is Truth. Therefore we speak Christ, teach His word and doctrine, exhort, correct, rebuke. Is this not what Paul said to Timothy about ALL scripture? When this is happening, then the Body grows into the head and all the joints and parts began working properly and in love.

The current ecumenical move stresses speaking in love at the cost of speaking the Truth. How we need the five-fold ministries today especially the prophets. The church is sorely lacking those who will take the sword of the Spirit and wield it. I am not referring to what is commonly called prophecy by most of christianity, which is more akin to an ESP/mindreader Vegas act.

If we cannot be unified in the understanding of God's Word, then none of these "five-fold" gifts can function as they should, and the Body would never grow together.

John 5: 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

John1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us................................

Jesus is the living Word made flesh, revealed in the living spoken/written Word.

1Timothy 6:
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,
4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,
5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

This speaks even louder today. Sadly the ones accused of craving controversy are the ones desiring to see that the Truth is preached and that the strongholds of the post-modern church be torn down. It is the bringing in of false teaching which creates friction. It is those who refuse to read scripture literally who quarrel about words, and cultural/historical context, etc.

1Peter 3: 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

Also sad to say that this is interpreted agree to disagree. There cannot be a unity of mind unless all agree on doctrinal Truth. The apostles, even the Lord, spoke dogmatically and literally. Therefore our unity is found in agreement with them.

1Cor 1:
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

Again there is no "agree to disagree" found here. Paul is asking for unity in all things. Jude puts it another way:

Jude 1:
1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
2May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

The phrase to "contend for" in the Greek is; epagōnizomai.

You might notice the word from which we get "agony" set right in the middle of the word. We are to struggle,that is agonize for the faith. We contend for the Truth in unity. This hardly portrays the watered-down christianity that is being presented today. The church of the first 3 centuries should be insulted. They struggled and died foir the faith. We hardly whimper whenever the latest abomination rolls in.

Acts 13:
13Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, 14but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

Acts 15:
36And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." 37Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

This type of contention would never be "tolerated" in today's visible church. The work of the Kingdom did not suffer loss because of this division. The sovereign, omnipotent,and omniscient God worked His will through it. The church thrived.

We must have unity in orthodoxy. The scriptures are more than a history book,and more than a story book. They transcend time and culture. They come from God Himself, and were not meant to be limited by a particular place and cultural setting. Coversely they do not have a different meaning something different in each ensuing era. They are written by divine fiat (not an arbitraray fiat), and are understood through divine interpretation.

Sola Scriptura

One Bad Apple Can Spoil The Barrel

2009-08-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Matthew 7:
13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
Build Your House on the Rock 24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

The above passage is without a doubt one of the most abused and misrepresented in all of Scripture. So let us without further ado, look at this in a verse by verse manner.

Verses 13 and 14 speak of two gates. The gate that opens to destruction is wide and easy to enter, and many enter into destruction through it.
The gate that opens into Life is narrow and the way through is hard. In addition Jesus tells us that it is difficult to even find this gate. Only those who know the voice of the Shepherd, i.e. those who are already His, hear His voice and enter in. (no one seeks for God, Romans 3:10-18)
This leads us to the obvious conclusion that the first gate, which leads to destruction, is also extremely easy to find since many enter it. Those who do are not "God-seekers".
Jesus who is the Truth, and therefore telling the Truth, is the Gate, the Way and the Life.
John 10:7 and John 14:6
This is the foundation set for what He says next.

In verses 15-20, the Lord speaks of false prophets and the distinctions which make them false prophets:

They are "ravenous" wolves which come disguised as sheep.

Acts 20:
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

They are ravenous as they desire to draw away the disciples after them.
They are the ones who do not enter by the gate. They do not know the voice of the Shepherd, and He does not know them. John 10:14

They "jump the fence" to steal away the flock. Some of these seem to be part of the flock, but in reality are not. They are wolves that have have already infiltrated the flock, and soon leave after creating havoc.
Their goal being to draw as many of the flock away unto themselves as possible.

1John 2:
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

It must be plain that they are not of us. Jesus said they will be recognized by their fruits. They will be recognized today, not at the end when the Lord returns. In fact He tells them in verse 23 "I never recognized you", which will occur upon His actual return.

Thus the real meaning of this statement in 1John 4:4;

"for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

is made clear.

This verse, when read in its' immediate context, is speaking of those, like us who have the Spirit of Christ and those who have gone into the world, who are of the spirit of anti-christ. They deny Jesus has come in the flesh. How? By constantly recreating Him into our image and likeness, the sin of the golden calf. The incarnation has been accomplished, we do not preach the re-incarnation, which is essentially being preached in the doctrines of open theism, among other false teachings.

As for their fruits, grapes are not gathered from a thorn bush, nor figs from thistles. What the Lord is saying literally is, they truly are thorn bushes and thistles. They do not produce grapes nor figs. All fruit bearing vegetation produces fruit fit for consumption, or fruit unfit for consumption. The unfit fruit can even be poisonous. Sometimes distinguishing between the good and the bad is extremely difficult.
Men have learned to recognize good fruit from the bad in the natural. So those that are truly His, will learn to recognize good from bad.

Hebrews 5:
14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

The fruits of the false prophets, the wolves, the thorn bushes, are known by saints.
They are unhealthy, diseased trees. A diseased tree cannot bear good fruit and must be cut down and burned.

Matthew 3:
10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 15:
13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.

Both Jesus and John the Baptist were speaking to, and about, the pharisees. Contrary to popular teaching, the sin of the pharisees was not "legalism", (in fact the common accusation that is thrown out today toward anyone who adheres to sola scriptura, is that they are phariseees and therefore "legalistic"). The fact is the pharisees did not adhgere to what we call sola scriptura.
They denied Jesus was God come in the flesh. That is, they did not believe what the Word of God spoke. John 5:37-47
This is the common error of today's "church" They do not like the way God presents Himself in His Word, therefore they preach a different gospel, and a different Jesus, who is the Word in the flesh. So who are the actual pharisees today? Those who know neither the Scriptures nor the power of the Author.

Gal 1:
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--
7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

2Cor 11:
3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
5 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.

The super apostles are the ravenous wolves and the producers of bad fruit. Who are the super apostles? Turn on christian TV or enter a christian bookstore. The gate is wide, readily found, and they are leading men through it.

Verses 21-23 present an astounding conclusion. Even though the fruit of bad tree is recognized by the saints, the bad trees do not realize that they are ...... "bad trees".
They will say to the Lord in that Day, didn't we prophesy, heal, teach, etc etc in your name?
Jesus will say, "I never knew you", i.e. I give you no public recognition.
Deception is an easy pathway indeed.

Matthew 24:
4 And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray.
5 For many will come in my (Jesus') name, saying, 'I (Jesus) am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.

Only those who do the Father's will will enter in. Since this is so, then only those who are truly in Christ, who is the narrow gate, and who does only the will of His Father, enter the Kingdom of heaven. The narrow way is the will of the Father. It is not easy to find, as it is only found through Christ. It must be revealed.

Luke 10:
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

John 6:
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
45 It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me--

So the Lord sends them away and calls them workers of lawlessness or iniquity.
In the Greek the word is:

ἀνομία (anomia)

It means a transgression, a violation of the law, an illegality. We must remember that what Jesus is speaking in these last few words of his "sermon on the mount" tie in with what He spoke from the start of this discourse. Matthew 5-6-7
The purveyors of bad fruit are "lawbreakers"

Matthew 5:
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Licentiousness is not grace. Licentiousness is one of the bad fruit.

The conclusion of all that Jesus spoke is this;
All who hear His words and do them are building on solid rock, and their building will stand no matter what storms come.

Those who hear His words, and do not do them, are building on sand and their building
will suffer complete and utter destruction, i.e. "away from me, I never knew you". Those words are hanging over the wide gate.
Those who do the words of Jesus, do the will of the Father, and have entered in through the narrow gate.

Matthew 12:
50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

John 6:
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

All who do the will of the Father prove that they and Jesus are born of the same father. They are family.

John 15:
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Proverbs 14:
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

We will al be known by our fruit.
Soli Deo Gloria

Christ Crucified And The Serpent In The Wilderness

2009-07-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

This is a combining of a previous post on this site, and some new thoughts which I believe fall right in line with the study in Hebrews 7-8-9 and 10.

John 3:
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

John 8:
23 He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."25 So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him."27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.28 So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him."30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."　

John 12:
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.34 So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"35 So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

Numbers 21:
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way.5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food."6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.7 And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.8 And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Romans7: 9 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

Romans 6:
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2Kings 18:
1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).5 He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.6 For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses.

2Cor 5:
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Repentance: Looking Upon/To Him

Heb 12:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

There are several aspects to the death of Jesus that must be looked at:

He must be lifted up.

Jesus said this. John 12:33 says that He was indicating the manner of death that He would suffer, i.e. crucifixion.
Through this "lifting up" three things are accomplished:

HE will draw all people to himself.

This drawing is for the purpose of all men to see the crucified Messiah, and to accept or reject, both Him and His atoning work.

He came to His own, and by His own was not received.

The Jews to whom He was speaking to in John 8, would know that He is the one who came from the Father, and speaks the words of the Father. This also is done so that the house of Israel can accept or reject their Messiah.
However a remnant, (Romans 9-10-11) will come to belief.

Zechariah 12:
10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Acts 2:
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
His being crucified is the exact same thing as Moses lifting up the bronze serpent.
This must be done so that that whoever believes in (looks upon) Him, be they Jew or gentile, will have eternal life. This third element re: the bronze serpent, is the element of salvation.

Looking Upon = Belief

Isaiah 45:
22 "Turn to (look unto) me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

It is amazing that in regards to the bronze serpent, the requirement to be saved from the deadly bite of the attacking serpents was to look upon the image of the serpent. In other words, they had to look at the image of the very thing that was killing them, in order to be saved.
In light of this, how deep is the meaning of the Lord's words in the above referenced verses from John's gospel? Ch 8:28

The clincher is, that centuries later the bronze serpent was still in possession of the nation of Israel, and King Hezekiah had to destroy it along with the Asherah, the high places and pillars etc, as even the serpent's image had become an idol to which the people brought offerings.
What does this say about the Roman Catholic crucifix, and the daily ritual of "re-sacrificing" the Lord? I am using this as the most extreme example, but it is evident this idolatry goes on today through out the “visible church”, and in the first century church, as Paul spoke in reference to the issue.

2 Cor 5:16 tells us that we are not to regard ourselves , our brothers, and especially the Lord Himself, according to the flesh. The idolatry which was focused upon the bronze serpent, Nehushtan, is the practice of “regarding Christ according to the flesh”. His death is once for all time.
“It is accomplished”, were among His final words. We do not offer the Lord anew, as He is now resurrected, ascended, and seated in heavenly places. There will be more to say about the “regarding according to the flesh”.

Assurance And The Idolatry of Nehushtan

Heb 6:
4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Heb 10:
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
17 then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

The worship of the bronze serpent, is a denial of the finished, and atoning work of the Lord.
He is the crucified Christ to the unbelieving world.
To us who believe, He is Christ, King, High Priest, and Intercessor, and is seated at the Father’s right hand and is Head over His body, the church. Acts 2:36; Rev 19:16; Eph 1:16-23
He was dead and now He lives forever.

Heb 7:
25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Paul gives us the revelation of the "mystery" of His death on the cross.The simple fact is that He died for all, so all have died in Him. (This does not say that all receive salvation)
This is also a literal statement.
All mankind has been injected with the venom. Only those who come to belief are healed from the effect of the bite.
We have seen that Paul in Romans 6, tells us that the wages of sin is death.
However, those who believe, i.e. have looked upon the Nehushtan/Christ-crucified, and have received eternal life. Now the life they live, they live unto God and not to themselves. They no longer have to “look upon” the crucified Christ.

Gal 2:
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

2 Cor5:
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

So Hebrews 6: 4-6 and Hebrews 10: 10-18 are to be understood in this context;
A truly regenerate, i.e. born again saint, cannot lose his salvation. I do not “plead the blood”, if indeed, I am cleansed by the blood.

1John 1:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1John 2:
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

The terms “pleading the blood”, and “covered by the blood” are not found in the scripture. We are cleansed by the blood. The issue is walking in the light, as the light is God.
1 John was written to expose the spirit of anti-christ,which denies God in Christ at the crucifixion. They effectively stripped His death of any of its’ power, as these anti-christ gnostics came up with bizarre stories that Jesus’ divinity left Him at the cross, Jesus did not have a literal body of flesh etc ,etc.
Virtually all the content of John’s letter is directed at proving those who are of Christ and those who are anti-christ, and how the differences between the two manifest in practice.
So when John writes of those who walk in the light versus those in darkness, he is not saying the children of the light might walk in darkness upon occasion. He is saying that those who walk in darkness cannot claim fellowship with God at all. They are liars and are anti-christ.

John 3:
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

Those who do walk in the light, have fellowship with Him, and the blood of Christ has cleanses them from all sin. It is possible for those in the light to sin. However they are walking in the light of forgiveness.
All that needs be done, is for them to confess their sin. Only those who are born again will confess their sins. Only they walk in the light.
Walking in darkness is never something the believer does. Those who walk in darkness are unregenerate!

1John 2:
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Confession is an act of obedience, and is the fruit of repentance. Repentance is a” looking unto” a “turning away” from the sin that so easily besets us, and looking upon the crucified Christ.
So for those who have already set their eyes upon Him, repentance is something that is lived out daily. When they do sin, confession is the acknowledgment that the atoning work of Christ has been viewed and received. Thus repentance is one of the works that are shown to be “carried out in God”.

Heb 12:
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

He endured, past tense.
So we look unto Jesus who is seated at God’s right hand.
I am not looking at the Nehushtan, and bringing my offerings to it.
I am looking at the exalted and enthroned high priest of God.
The entrance into the light is through the cross.
Once there, we do not go back to the “dark side” of Calvary.

This leads us back to Paul’s statement that we no longer regard Christ according to the flesh. John’s battle was against those who preached that Jesus did not come in the flesh. On the surface that would look as if Paul was teaching error. However. I believe that the previous scripture, and accompanying study, show us that Paul is speaking of flesh in terms of the body of sin that was put to death on the cross. Christ, the firstfruits from the dead, now lives in a glorified and incorruptible body, as all who believe will one day do. Regarding Christ according to the body of sin,i.e. flesh, is Nehushtan.
Adoring a crucifix, the Passion, even holiness teachings, ascetism, monasticism etc. are idolatry.
They make an idol out of that which saves; “they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

Even the act of confession is a post - crucifixion work. I confess my sins as
I have already entered into His forgiveness.

The writer of Hebrews is telling us once you have seen and believed,
there is no going back. One cannot be restored again to repentance because
one has been restored once for all. The sacrifice has been given once for all.
The worship of Nehushtan is not allowed.
So they become like a field of weeds and thistles whose end is to be burned.
This is not the lake of fire, but it is a fiery judgment. The fire saves the field and
makes it useful for planting again.
They are those who are His branches, but have not been abiding.
Hebrews 6:8; John 15:6

As I had just stated, we cannot go back to the dark/Egyptian side of the cross.
Every attempt to do so by Israel ended up in death. Jeremiah 42:13-17

Heb 10:
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Heb 12:
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
29 for our God is a consuming fire.

The Working Of The Cure

Now the people of Israel admitted that they had sinned against the Lord, once they had been bitten and began to die. The fiery serpents were sent by God to afflict Israel, and their bite was fatal. These serpents represent sin and its’ due recompense, i.e. death.
Romans 7 shows that the issue is not just the forgiveness of sins, past, present, and future; it is the sin nature, sin itself which is the root. Therefore 2 Cor 5:21 gives us this most astounding revelation; God made the One who knew no sin, to be sin.
So we now look upon the image of the very thing that is killing us, and we are saved. Sin itself, and its death-hold over us, is vanquished, because of His dying, and our participation in that dying.
The crucified Jesus must be lifted up, in order that the elect may enter the reconciliation of Creator to creation.
All who were bitten in the wilderness should have died, but those who looked upon the serpent of bronze were those that were dead men, and yet they lived.

Just for a moment, let’s look at the serpent in the garden

Genesis 2: 7 tells us that God made man, Adam, from the dust of the ground.
The narrative continues with God creating all living creatures and Adam naming them. We then have the Lord putting Adam to sleep and removing one of his ribs, which was then formed into woman, Eve, Adam’s wife.
Genesis 3 begins with the serpent, whom God had created, and Adam had named, deceiving Eve through the injection of this toxic venom:

“has God indeed said?”

The outcome is a well known one. Adam also falls into the deception, and sin and death have now entered the world.
God’s judgment is swift. It is also a prophetic judgment.

Gen 3:
14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

The serpent would eat dust all his days. Man was formed from dust, and did not become a living soul until God breathed into him.
The serpents in the wilderness were functioning under the curse and judgment decreed by God. Their goal is to eat dust, i.e. through their bite bring death.
All who looked upon the bronze serpent lived, though they were bitten. Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh so that when he was “lifted up”, that is, was crucified, He like the bronze serpent would be the physical embodiment of the very thing that is killing mankind. By coming in the likeness of sinful flesh, and going to the cross, He has put to death sin in the flesh, so that all who look upon Him are born again, through the receiving of God’s breath, eternal life. Jesus’ death was the “bruising of His heel”
His resurrection was the crushing of the serpent’s head.

John 11:
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

We are no longer men of dust. The men of dust are food for the serpent. The men of dust are dead men. They have not been given the life-breath of God, which is His Holy Spirit.

1Cor 15:
47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

One more thought concerning this.
The venom was injected through Eve who was taken from Adam’s side. So the attack was directed at the very heart of the man.
In John’s account of the crucifixion, we have this incident:

John 19:
34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.
35 He who saw it has borne witness--his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth--that you also may believe.

What is usually the first thing that one does, when someone is snake-bit?
The affected area is lanced open, and the venom is withdrawn. The water and the blood are the cleansing evidence that the venom has been purged from the body.
This is why even in Moses’ day all who looked upon the bronze serpent lived. Christ is literally present through out all the scripture.

1John 5:
5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 This is he who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
7 For there are three that testify:
8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

All who believe have eternal life.
We are immune to the “venom of the lie”. Even though we are currently residing in bodies of dust, we will one day be given the body from heaven.
We are no longer prey for the serpent. We will not die, even if bitten.

Luke 10:
19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

How Then Do We Lift Jesus Up?

1Cor 2:
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

It is not by clever evangelistic methods, i.e. tricks or manipulation, or theologies. We simply preach Christ, and Him crucified.

1Cor 11:
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

It is not proclaimed in images, or ceremonies. Every time we meet and partake of the Lord's table we are proclaiming His death, until He returns. Not only are we proclaiming His death, we are proclaiming our participation in that death also. We are united with Him in His death, and resurrection. Romans 6:3-7

We are His literal Body.

The bread symbolizes our participation as members of His body, and the cup symbolizes our participation in the new/renewed covenant of His blood. The bread and wine do not become the literal body and blood, as we are the literal body which is sustained by the blood/covenant.I pray that the church would come to understand that the preaching of the "once for all" sacrifice of the crucified Messiah, through the partaking of the Lord's table, is the most powerful evangelistic message ever to be presented. It is the implicit revelation of Isaiah 53.Whenever we meet, we do this remembering Him, and the last sacrifice men would ever need re: atonement and eternal life. We celebrate and proclaim His death. We do not re-create it.

1Cor 10:
9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents
10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

Do not put Christ to the test by crucifying Him again and again and holding Him up to contempt.
Christ and His atoning death and resurrection are a once for all, and once for all time work. The idolatry of Nehushtan are the new teachings infiltrating the church, which question the sufficiency of Christ and His atoning work, the sovreignty of God and the authority of His Word.
These teachings are the venom of Nehushtan;
Has God indeed said?

Lord raise up Hezekiahs who will destroy all the idols of the land that are worshipped in your house.

Soli deo Gloria!