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Introduction

What did Christ mean when He told the Adversary that man was not to live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God?

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

What is the Word of God and how do we go about “keeping every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God?” God Himself has established that the scriptures are called, in the scriptures, “the Word”.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2Ti 3:16  All scripture [ is] given by inspiration of God, and [ is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

One of those “profitable doctrines” of the Word of God is the doctrine which teaches that “all things are of God… He makes peace and creates evil.” He even “makes wicked men for the day of evil.” “Without Him was not any thing made that was made.”
That the “Word of God… made all things” is very clear. It was the Word that said “Let there be light”, and it was the Word that “called light out of darkness”. But what is so seldom recognized is that it was also the Word that made darkness and created evil and even made the wicked for the day of evil.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all [ things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Some have argued that the word for evil in that verse should really be translated ‘calamity’. But this argument doesn’t work because the word ‘evil’ in that verse is the same word that is translated “evil” where we are told in Gen 2 the Lord made the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to grow out of the ground. It is not called the tree of the knowledge of good and calamity.
So it should be clear that “the way, the Truth and the life” all come “out of the ground… out of darkness” by way of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil

Can we deny that “everything.. [ that God created] was very good” including the subtle serpent and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

So “the word of God… the word of Truth” tells us that “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” is a “very good… tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. If we  have come to accept the sovereignty of God as the Creator of all things, we will have no problem accepting these clear verses of scripture which proclaim that God makes wicked men for the day of evil or that it is He who creates evil. But what is hard for many of us to understand is how it is that the words like “create evil… even the wicked” are to be kept in our lives. It is the purpose of this study to demonstrate how that statement is to be understood and kept.

Our first question

Before we biblically demonstrate how “man… lives by every word of God”, we need to ask, “Is this a literal statement?” Is Christ teaching us something that is written in words which man’s wisdom teaches and which can be understood by the natural man? We know that this is never the case in scripture.

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching [ was] not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [ even] the hidden [ wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [ it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Those words are just as true today as they ever were. If “the princes of this world knew… the wisdom of God” they would not reject His doctrine, and those who bring that doctrine, as they are doing.
How was Paul’s speech and preaching “in demonstration of the spirit and the power of God?” The answer is that Paul’s words and preaching were hidden within the scriptures at that time, just as they are to this very day. Anyone who “searched the scriptures daily to see whether this things are so”, who was given eyes to see, would know that Paul had demonstrated his gospel with the already written spiritual “word of God”. That is meant by ‘speaking… in demonstration of the spirit and power of God’. Here is how Christ Himself expresses what He means by the phrase “the power of God”:

Mat 22:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

If we are not familiar with the Word, then we cannot speak with “the power of God.” That is what we too, must do. We must demonstrate that every word we speak is spoken with the spirit and power of the word of God. We must never simply say ‘Well, I feel like this is what that means…” So we will demonstrate with the scriptures what our Lord meant by “Man must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”  
When we finish doing so it will be obvious that this statement, like every word of our Lord, is not to be taken literally, but is to be understood as a spiritual statement which acknowledges that the words “darkness, evil, wicked, the first man Adam” and “of your father the devil” have all “proceeded out of the mouth of God” and must therefore somehow be lived by mankind. This is not turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, as we have been falsely accused of doing. It is rather an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God, and an acknowledgment that the revelation of Jesus Christ of necessity includes both the first man Adam and the last man Adam, and it includes all that is within both of those men. That is the very meaning of “keeping every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Not literally but spiritually

That this is not a literal statement is clear because Christ plainly tells us “the words I speak to you are spirit”. What that means is demonstrated in that same chapter of John by our Lord telling us that “we must eat His flesh and drink His blood”.

Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

We do not literally eat Christ’s flesh nor do we literally drink His blood. But we do both eat His flesh and drink His blood spiritually when we live by His every word, simply because He is that word, and that Word includes words like “There is none good but one, that is God.” These are words which we must live, because you and I and all flesh  are “not good” because we are “marred in the hand of the Potter” (Jer 18:4).

Mat 19:16  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [ there is] none good but one, [ that is], God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

It is in that same spiritual manner we “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Even such heinous crimes as idolatry, murder and adultery have proceeded out of the mouth of God, are written in His Word and will be lived by all men when they are understood in their spiritual sense as “words of spirit” which are all part of “the law of sin and death” which operates “by nature” within all flesh (Eph 2:3). That is the primary application of how we live by every word of God.

The progression of Christ’s temptation

Notice the progression of our Lord’s temptation.

Mat 4:1  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Mat 4:2  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

If Christ tells us that when we pray we are to ask our heavenly Father “lead us not into temptation”, then why is “the spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil?

Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Those who deny that we are to “live by every word of God” are at a loss to understand situations like this throughout the Word of God. This is part of the so- called “Lord’s prayer”, and it seems to them to be a contradiction within Christ’s own doctrine. They will tell you that if Christ tells us to pray “lead us not into temptation”, then He certainly is not going to lead us into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. But isn’t that exactly what God did to Abraham regarding the offering up of Isaac? Isn’t that exactly what God did to Israel when He led them out of Egypt and into the wilderness to be proved and tempted, and isn’t that exactly what the spirit did with Christ here in Mat 4:1?

Gen 22:1  And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt [ Hebrew – nasah, try] Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, [ here] I [ am].
Gen 22:2  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [ son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Deu 6:16  Ye shall not tempt [ nasah]  the LORD your God, as ye tempted [ nasah] him in Massah.
Deu 8:2  And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, [ and] to prove [ Hebrew – nasah, tempt or try] thee, to know what [ was] in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
Deu 8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every [ word] that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Does God lead us into trials and tests? There is obviously only one answer, and that answer is the fourth verse of Mat 4 and the third verse of Deu 8, which we just read. Anything we are told not to do are “words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God,” and as such they are nothing less than “laws for the lawless” and a prophecy of what is within us.

1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

On the other hand, anything we are instructed to request, like “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” is simply an admission of what we are and what we will do. They are words which  have proceeded out of the mouth of God and are therefore simply an admission of our marred condition at the hand of the Potter Himself. You and I need to acknowledge that “there is none righteous, no not one”. If Christ tells us that He is not good, then how true is that of us?

Mat 19:17  And he [ Christ] said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Rom 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

The Adversary had no idea what “live by every word” really meant so he takes Christ’s words literally and quotes scripture to Christ. He actually believes that he can somehow use Christ’s own words against Him.

Mat 4:5  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Mat 4:6  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Christ had just told the Devil “man… shall live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” but neither the Devil nor any of His carnal children understand the principle of ” the sum of thy word is Truth.”

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.

But Christ was well aware of that principle, because it was He who had established it. So He uses “the sum of His word” and responds to the Adversary.

Mat 4:7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.[Deu 6:16]
Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Is there any man in all of Adam’s story, who has not fallen down and worshiped the Devil? The answer to that question is “no, not one” other than our Lord, who preexisted with His Father, emptied Himself of His divinity to be “made of a woman, made under the law, made sin”. Even we who are His body, have “fallen down and worshiped the Dragon” when we were all “the children of disobedience” (Eph 2:2-3; Col 3:6-7; Rev 13:4). But while the temptation was so great that angels came and ministered to Him, it was nevertheless predestined that our Lord, as our head and as the head of His body, would never fall down and worship the Adversary.

Mat 4:10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Mat 4:11  Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Thank God that these are also words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God, which we must live and keep.

A few examples of how we live by every word of God

1) We have all bowed down to other gods

Perhaps there are none of us who have bowed ourselves down before a literal idol, but it absolutely certain that we have all bowed down to the idols of hearts as they were received in our hearts through our associations with the great harlot that rides on all the kings of this earth. Here is what we have all done even as we claimed the name of our Lord and have come to His word for guidance.

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [ then] are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? [ even] because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

We have all bowed down to the idols and gods of our own making and of our own hearts. We have all lived by those words.

2) We have all taken the Lord’s name in vain.

What is our Lord’s name?

Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Joh 15:21  But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

This is obviously not speaking of Christ’s literal name. It is speaking of how we have all taken God’s name in vain by ignoring his words and nullifying His doctrine while claiming His name.

Rom 2:24  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
1Ti 6:1  Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.
Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Rev 16 occurs prior to the revelation and judgment of the great harlot in Rev 17 and 18. That is a very significant fact because we all blaspheme the name of God as His plagues are poured out upon us, before we even know that we are in Babylon. So Rev 16 and the time of the the beginning of the pouring out of God’s seven plagues, is that time of our lives when we are still clinging to the doctrines of Babylon. This is the time that we “blaspheme the name of God among the heathen, and endure the suffering of these seven plagues, and we take our Lord’s name in vain. This is not speaking of screaming out expletives, because we are “being hardened for destruction.” This is speaking of blaspheming the name of God and His doctrine, while thinking we are doing God a service, as we “call Him Lord, Lord, and oppose His doctrine, His body, and deny that we are to “live by every word that proceeds out of His mouth.”

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

That is what we have all done, and that is how we have lived by those words.

3) We have all dishonored our parents

If we have bowed down to other gods and we have taken the Lord’s name in vain, then we have certainly dishonored our own spiritual parents.

4) We have all been complicit in the murder of our own brothers and our own Lord

Who afflicted Christ? Who persecuted our Lord? Who has hated “our Lord and His Christ?”

Zec 13:6  And [ one] shall say unto him, What [ are] these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, [ Those] with which I was wounded [ in] the house of my friends.

Christ told Eve that her seed would bruise the head of the serpent’s seed, and the serpent’s seed would bruise the heel of the woman’s seed.

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [ art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

How were those words concerning enmity between the woman and her seed and the seed of the serpent lived out in scripture? They were lived out by the death of Abel at the hand of Cain, and by the death and persecution of all who are mistreated by those who claim to love Christ and His Father while they serve their father the devil. It was lived out when Judah mistreated and wanted to burn his daughter- in- law, Tamar. It was lived out by King Saul who attempted to slay David, and it was lived out when the Gentiles and all the people of Israel crucified our Lord.
What has any of those stories to do with you and me “living by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God?” It has everything in the world to do with us because all of these Biblical stories are words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God. Do we suppose that Cain was a murderer of his own brother, or do we suppose that it was hypocritical of Judah to want to burn the woman he himself had impregnated? Do we see how murderous King Saul acted toward David or how evil those men were who denied and slew their own Savior?  The Truth is that we have all read God’s word with that very frame of mind. It was nothing more than a history lesson to us. We have all asked ourselves “How could Cain kill his brother Abel? How could Judah so mistreat his daughter- in- law? How could King Saul have been so hateful to David? How could the people who had just been healed of leprosy, of being deaf, dumb, lame and blind, the very people who had eaten Christ’s supernaturally produced loaves and fishes want to kill him?” Now we must come to see and to acknowledge that all of these people are typical of each of us, and they are not “sinners above” us, and that “except we repent” of seeing these things only in others and not in ourselves “we shall all likewise perish.”
What we must come to see is that the statement, “Thou art the man” is true not solely in the story of King David, but that it is also true of each of us in every story in scripture. That is how King David lived by the words of Nathan’s parable, and that is how you and I will live by every word that “proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Christ made this point crystal clear with these words:

Luk 13:1  There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luk 13:2  And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Luk 13:3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4  Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Is the villain of any story in scripture a “sinner above all…? I tell you nay, but except (we all) repent (we) will all likewise perish,” because we must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
As another example of this all inclusive, “one event to all men” (Ecc 9:2) principle, let us pose this question:

Who do the scriptures declare as the murderers of Christ?

Here is who we are told caused the death of our Lord.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,

In scriptural terms there are only two groups of mankind on this whole earth: “the Gentiles, and the people of Israel.” Those two groups are inclusive of the whole world. It is every man who has ever lived. It is mankind who necessitated and precipitated the death of our Lord by God’s design. There is not one person who has ever lived who is not guilty of the blood of Christ. This is the very same mankind who “shall… live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”. That is who killed Jesus Christ. Why have we all been guilty? Was it by our own choice? No, of course not. Here is why you and I and all of mankind have persecuted and killed our own Savior and lived by the words of Act 4:26-27.

Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

It is by God’s own hand and His own counsel that Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, all of mankind, have gathered us together to murder our own Savior by believing all the lies of Babylon, the mother of harlots, who has dominated and “sat upon” the scarlet colored beast within us for many long years.

Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

There are many heinous crimes mentioned in scripture beginning with Cain’s murder of his brother, Abel. Cain was “of his father the devil” in type, and Abel was “the seed of the woman” in type. Now I do not know of a single one of us who has personally and literally murdered his own brother. But we are one and all that “scarlet colored beast”, and we are one and all murderers of our brothers.  Do we not therefore live by every word of that story of King David wanting to kill the man who was far less guilty than he himself was? The Biblical answer is that yes, we are all murderers, and here is why that is so.

1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

That is how we are Cain and every other murderer in scripture. We have all hated our brothers, and we will all live by every one of those words which have proceeded out of God’s mouth. The devil is the father of us all at our own appointed time, and the natural man within us is quick to judge his brother as somehow less than himself and worthy of death.
Christ related this same story in these words.

Luk 18:10  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men [ are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

Those “two men” are what all the stories in all scripture are all about. These two men are both within us all, simply because we must all live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Those two men are nothing more or less than the first and the last Adam within us all. The first Adam within us is this Pharisee who does not believe that the words “extortioner, unjust, or adulterer or wrath of God” have any personal application to him. But those words actually have a personal application to us all, and we must all be that self- righteous Pharisee before we can become that repentant publican who recognizes and confesses that even this self- righteous Pharisee is within himself.

Luk 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [ his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [ rather] than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
1Co 15:47  The first man [ is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [ is] the Lord from heaven.

Here are words by which we must live as that Pharisee who is nothing less than the first man Adam:

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Those are words which proceed straight out of the mouth of God, as do these words also:

Jer 25:12  And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, [ that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.
Jer 25:13  And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, [ even] all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.
Jer 25:14  For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.
Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:
Jer 25:18 [ To wit], Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as [ it is] this day;
Jer 25:19  Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;

Who is “that land?” Who sends that sword?  That sword which is sent to “that land” and to all nations is Christ Himself in the form of every one of these very words which are proceeding out of  His mouth and destroying “that land”, which is our old man?

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes [ shall be] they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Now notice what we are told about this sword. Remember, these are words which are proceeding out of the mouth of God.

Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
Jer 25:30  Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread [ the grapes], against all the inhabitants of the earth.
Jer 25:31  A noise shall come [ even] to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them [ that are] wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.

“All My words… all that is written in this book… all the nations… all his people.” Who does that exempt from the cup of God’s wrath? Christ’s parable of the Pharisee and the publican is this same message of Jer 25 in the language of the New Testament. The events concerning the Galileans who were slain by Pilate and the people of Jerusalem upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, are all telling us that these men were not sinners above us, and that no man is a sinner above us, and we will likewise perish if we do not repent of what we are.

A few Biblical Examples of this self- righteous Pharisee who is within us

Joseph’s brothers considered themselves to be above the “sins of other men”. Despite the fact that they had sold their own brother for twenty pieces of silver, they were all in their own eyes, honorable men who would never steal the cup of the man who had sold them the grain.

Gen 44:4  [ And] when they were gone out of the city, [ and] not [ yet] far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?
Gen 44:5  [ Is] not this [ it] in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
Gen 44:6  And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.
Gen 44:7  And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:
Gen 44:8  Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold?
Gen 44:9  With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen.

King David considered Himself to be above the sin of a rich man stealing a lamb from a poor man. Notice how similar to Joseph’s brothers is King David’s reaction to Nathan’s parable about the rich man taking the poor man’s sheep to feed his guests.

2Sa 12:1  And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2Sa 12:2  The rich [ man] had exceeding many flocks and herds:
2Sa 12:3  But the poor [ man] had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
2Sa 12:4  And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
2Sa 12:5  And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, [ As] the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this [ thing] shall surely die:
2Sa 12:6  And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
2Sa 12:7  And Nathan said to David, Thou [ art] the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

Christ’s apostles all considered themselves to be incapable of denying their Lord.

Mat 26:31  Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
Mat 26:32  But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
Mat 26:33  Peter answered and said unto him, Though all [ men] shall be offended because of thee, [ yet] will I never be offended.
Mat 26:34  Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Mat 26:35  Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

These three events typify the events of our own lives. These three events are all us. We have all sold our brother into slavery and felt righteous while doing so. We have all committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband Uriah. We have all denied our Lord and left Him to His own fate. Yet we think that “we are not as other men”. We actually think that we are above the need of being ‘forsaken of God for a small moment’ and of drinking from ‘the cup of the wrath of God’ as our Lord Himself experienced. Peter made that very clear to our Lord.

Mat 16:21  From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Mat 16:22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

What Peter was telling Christ was that Mat 4:4, Rev 1:3 and Rev 22:7, “this shall not be unto thee”. But what did Christ tell Peter?

Mat 16:23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. [ smooth things, deceits].
Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [ man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

We think that the promises to “keep us from the hour of temptation” are somehow different from being promised that not a hair on our head will perish while being told in the same breath that “some of us they shall put to death”.

Luk 21:16  And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and [ some] of you shall they cause to be put to death.
Luk 21:17  And ye shall be hated of all [ men] for my name’s sake.
Luk 21:18  But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
Rev 3:10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

It is obvious to the man who is given eyes to see, that the hair that will not perish, the wrath to which we are not appointed and the life that will never die, are one and all a reference to our life being hid with God in Christ, here and now, as opposed to the salvation appointed to all men through the “everlasting flames” of the lake of fire. We might just as well start claiming that if we are alive and believe on Christ right now, then we will never physically die – note my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek, as of course we DO physically die.

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

To take Rev 3:10 as a promise of not having to keep Rev 1: 3, “the things that are written in the words of this prophecy”, is to ignore the truth that the enduring of the wrath of God on our own unrighteousness and ungodliness is the very definition of “the word of my patience”:

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [ his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here [ are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

It is good for us that we have been afflicted with the wrath of God, yet we all think that the phrase “we are not appointed to wrath” in 1Th 5:9 somehow nullifies Jer 25.

Psa 119:71  [ It is] good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

The ‘wrath’ of this verse is contrasted with salvation, which salvation is common to all who are in Adam (1Co 15:22). So the wrath of this verse is not speaking only of God’s elect, but of all who will one day “obtain salvation… whether we wake or sleep, whether we are children of the night or children of the day.” In other words, 1Th 5:9 does not mean that we do not live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. “The things written therein” (Rev 1:3) includes the seven last plagues of Rev 15-16. It has all proceeded out of the mouth of God, and it must therefore be lived by all of mankind. Here is what we will all do. Here is part of the “one event” that we will all endure as we live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, [ because they misunderstood 1Th 5:9} then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

We are the temple of God if indeed God dwells in us. But we will not enter into that temple or into His rest until the seven plagues of the seven angels have been poured out in our life and we have keep these words which are written in this prophecy.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Anyone who thinks that 1Th 5:9 or Rev 3:10 means that we do not keep “the patience of the saints”, will not be “able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels” are fulfilled in the lives of each and every one of us. Any and all people who deny that these words of Rev 15 – 16 have any personal application for us, “are a rebellious people who say to the seers, see not, and to the prophets, Prophecy not unto us right things [ like “keep the things written therein,” Rev 1:3] speak unto us smooth things, prophecy deceits,” [ deceits like 1Th 5:9 means Rev 15 and 16 are not written therein for us to keep].

Isa 30:9  That this [ is] a rebellious people, lying children, children [ that] will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

Every word is kept through Christ and through His Christ

In time all of mankind will live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and it is through Him and His body that these words are fulfilled. There is no other way to accomplish the fulfilling of every word for the simple reason that Christ is “the first and the last”.
Here is one section of scripture which tells us how we, through Christ, live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Rom 4:22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Rom 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
Rom 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for [ Greek – dia, through] our offences, and was raised again for [ Greek – dia, through] our justification.

How is it possible that Christ “was raised again through our justification”? Christ alone can explain that, and this is His explanation of how that is possible.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [ it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [ it] unto me.

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
Mat 18:5  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Joh 13:20  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

So if I come to you and tell you that ‘if you are in Christ, then you are Jesus of Nazareth, through whose justification Christ was raised again’ am I a liar? Who was it who made that statement? Was it not Christ Himself? But that is the last Adam, the ending Adam. How is it that Christ is also the first Adam, the beginning Adam, as we read in that book which reveals Him?

Rev 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [ it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Rom 5:14  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure [ Greek, tupos, type] of him that was to come.

Conclusion

There it is; Adam is a type of Christ. What does it all mean for us? How is it that we “shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God?” We live every story in the Bible in the very same way in which Adam is a type of Christ. We live every word of God by acknowledging that we have done far worse than stealing a silver cup as in the accusation of Joseph’s brothers. We have done far worse than stealing our neighbor’s lamb as in the case of King David, and we have done far more than merely deny our Lord, as was the case with the disciples of Christ. We live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, by realizing that it was through our offenses and not the offenses of the Jews and Romans, that Christ was offered up.
We live by every word of God when we neither add to nor take away our part out of any of the sayings of God’s Word, and we acknowledge that we have defiled the temple of God and we have been blind, and we have crucified our Lord, and we are fools for His sake, and “all things, things present and things to come,” without exception, are ours.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [ that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which [ temple] ye are.
1Co 3:18  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
1Co 3:19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
1Co 3:20  And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ [ is] God’s.

We live by every word when we acknowledge that there is but one event to the righteous and to the wicked, and we are raptured out of nothing, and the “way of escape” is not to take away any part of the sayings of the prophecy of this book, but to go through the flood, through the prisons of Egypt, through the Red Sea, through the lion’s den, through the fiery furnace, through the seven plagues of the seven angels and even through the cross. We do all of that by keeping the things written therein… keeping the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [ is] at hand.

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed [ is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

If we think that any chapter of God’s Word is not personally applicable, including Rev 16, then we are faced with this solemn warning:

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [ from] the things which are written in this book.

We live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God when we see ourselves, and not others, as “chief of sinners.”

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

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