“Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth:
much more the wicked and the sinner” Part III

(Pro 11:24-31)

Lord willing we will be about our Father’s business in this life, as Christ was (Jas 4:12-15, Luk 2:49, 1Jn 4:17), and it is in this labour of love that God makes possible through Him (Php 2:12-15), that we will be “recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner” of (Pro 11:31).

By God’s grace we overcome “the wicked and the sinner” within ourselves via the process of judgement [3] that is upon our “earth”, the church (Jer 22:29). It is that cleansing process throughout our entire life which makes it possible for the elect to inherit the earth (Mat 5:5), as we become zealous for the things of God, seeking His kingdom first and his righteousness so that all these things can be added unto us of (Mat 6:33). The city we are seeking in this section of James (Jas 4:13), where we will be ‘one year buying and selling and getting gain’, represents the city, the church, Jerusalem above (Gal 4:26), which we will find if we seek for her with all our hearts (Mat 6:33, Jas 4:12-15, Jer 29:11-14)

Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jer 29:12  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.(Mat 6:33)
Jer 29:14  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

The liberality we have in Christ (Gal 5:13), and the abundant life that God gives us through him, are being considered in these last few verses we’re looking at today (Pro 11:24-31), and encourage us to trust that we are His workmanship that was ordained to be so from the foundation of the world (Eph 2:8-10).

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Pro 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

This opening two-sided proverb shows two ways of life, one that will bring great increase in our lives and the other that will lead to poverty. The subject at hand is spiritual prosperity verses spiritual poverty, which must both be experienced in the lives of believers whose productivity and spiritual increase are a gift of God (Rom 8:14-16) that will tend to the needs of the body of Christ and all men that the Lord calls us to serve in this life as we have opportunity (1Co 3:6-7, Gal 6:10).

Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

These verses which we read in (2Co 9:1-15) also demonstrate this principle in the church (“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty”).

2Co 9:2 For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. [“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth”]
2Co 9:3 Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
2Co 9:4 Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.
2Co 9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.
2Co 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. [“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty”]
2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
2Co 9:9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
2Co 9:10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
2Co 9:11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
2Co 9:12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; [Heb 13:15]
2Co 9:13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
2Co 9:14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
2Co 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.[Php 1:19]

Php 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

In the story with Ananias and Sapphira, we learn that when we withhold “the price of the land”, we are withholding our life [the land] in Christ from one another, and that will lead to spiritual poverty as was the case with this couple (Act 5:1-6).

Act 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Act 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Act 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Act 5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Act 5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

This is the ultimate example of “and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty” leading to physical and spiritual death in this instance. Ananias and Sapphira were sacrificed for the elect’s sake, and remind us to fear God, and not withhold “the price of the land”, which represents our bodies. We are commanded to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, the tithe representing our whole life (Act 5:5, Luk 12:5, Mal 3:8-12).

Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Mal 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

Pro 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

God will provide for those who He has given to seek the kingdom of God first (Mat 6:33) and His righteousness and this is how “The liberal soul shall be made fat”, as He adds all things that we need in this life, supplying our every need through Christ (Php 4:19).

As those needs are met by the Lord as a result of our seeking the kingdom of God first, we will learn the way of life God has called us unto, and we will be richly rewarded for putting others first, both physically and spiritually as we bring our whole life into the temple that belongs to God, and Christ (1Co 6:20, Gal 3:13, Heb 10:29, Rev 12:11), and to each other (Gen 4:9).

1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body [Eph 5:30], and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

The second part of this verse, “he that watereth shall be watered also himself”, reminds us that we’ve been called unto a way of life where we can believe that God will give us increase in our lives when we look not just to our own needs, but to the needs of others as well, “he that watereth shall be watered also himself”(1Co 3:6-8, Php 2:4-8).

1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1Co 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1Co 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.(Heb 5:8)

Pro 11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.

Going back to the example of Ananias and Sapphira, it is clear that Satan was used of God to bring them to withhold or keep back a part of the land, and that is exactly what the devil is always trying to do with God’s little flock as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, by telling us that we don’t need to wholeheartedly obey God and keep His commandments (1Pe 5:7-8, Gen 3:1-5).

1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman [the church], Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Thanks be to God we’ve been given to be more than conquerors through Christ (Rom 8:37) who tells us that yes, the devil will try to sift us like wheat, but Christ has prayed for us so that we will not fail in God’s service (Luk 22:31-32).

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

It is His blessing, His unction upon our heads, that gives us the mind of Christ that blesses the body of Christ as we freely receive His corn, and give it (Mat 10:8) to those who God causes to have a hunger and thirst for it, “but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.” (Mat 5:6, Mat 24:45-46).

Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Pro 11:27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6, Mal 3:10), “He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour”, and if we do not cleave to God and we do not resist the devil (Jas 4:7-10) our natural fleshly tendency will be to “seeketh mischief”, and the devil will be used of God to see to it that “it shall come unto him”.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Pro 11:28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

This proverb, “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall”, reminds us of (Rev 3:17) which reads, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”. The only way to become “the righteous shall flourish as a branch” is then explained in the next verse (Rev 3:18), which describes the pruning process which we must go through in order to “flourish as a branch”(Joh 15:2-4).

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Pro 11:29 He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

We’ve all troubled our own house and inherited the wind like the Corinthian fornicator, however if God is working with us, that experience of evil and the buffeting process of Satan will be used to chasten and scourge us and bring us back. We need to realize that we are the fool at first who was made this way so that we could one day be a “servant to the wise of heart”, who represents Christ and his Christ and those prodigal sons that God mercifully drags to His son to be presented as a living sacrifice (Luk 15:17-21, Joh 6:44, Rom 12:1).

Luk 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind”
Luk 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. [the fool being acknowledge who is now blessed to be “servant to the wise of heart”]
Luk 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Luk 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Pro 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Our fruit in this life is dependent upon our being connected to the “tree of life” (Joh 15:4-14) and abiding in that relationship so that we will be able to save ourselves and those who hear us (1Ti 4:16).

Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Joh 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Joh 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Joh 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

1Ti 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
1Ti 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
1Ti 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Pro 11:31 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

Our last verse is what the majority of all these proverbs in chapter eleven have been pointing to, and that is the simple fact that by abiding in Christ’s truth and continuing in it “the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner” (Joh 8:31-32, 1Jn 2:24-25)

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 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
1Jn 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

Acts 27:1-22 Except These Abide in the Ship ye Cannot be Saved

[Study Aired October 15, 2023]

Act 27:1  And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band.
Act 27:2  And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.

The phrase “certain other prisoners” could have included others who had also appealed to Caesar. Aristarchus and Luke, “Paul’s companions in travel”, are with Paul on this voyage. Paul calls Aristarchus “my fellow prisoner” in his epistle to the Colossians, indicating that Aristarchus had also been arrested and had also appealed to Caesar. Luke could simply be a paying passenger who was led to stay with Paul as he endured his imprisonment. At any rate, both Aristarchus and Luke are with Paul on this voyage to Rome.

Here is the verse in Colossians, which is one of Paul’s prison epistles, where we are informed that Aristarchus was indeed a “fellowprisoner”:

Col 4:10  Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)

Aristarchus is first brought before us in Acts 19 where Paul is in Ephesus, the city where Demetrius, a silversmith fearing the loss of his income, set the whole city into an uproar against Paul shouting, “great is Diana of the Ephesians.”

Act 19:28  And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Act 19:29  And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

We are not given any details about Aristarchus, but this 27^th chapter of Acts is well over two years after that uproar in Ephesus, because we are told that by the time Paul left Caesarea for Rome, he had been a Roman prisoner in Caesarea for over two years. The events at Ephesus took place several weeks before Paul was apprehended by Lysias the Roman captain in Jerusalem, and Aristarchus is still faithfully by the side of the apostle Paul.

Act 24:27  But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.

Now Aristarchus is once again “Paul’s companion in travel” as a “fellowprisoner” on this voyage to Rome. Luke is still using the pronoun ‘we’, so we know that there are at least two men of the church who are traveling with Paul on this journey to Rome to appear before Caesar Augustus.

Act 27:3  And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself.

This tells us that Julius, the centurion, knew Paul well enough to know he would not attempt an escape. It is still amazing, because had Julius lost a prisoner under his charge, he would have had to forfeit his own life, as was the case for the guards watching over Peter:

Act 12:19  And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.

Julius is the centurion who was charged with ensuring that all these prisoners be delivered to Augustus at Rome. We are not told the exact number of prisoners, but in verse 37 of this chapter we are told that the exact number of people on the ship at the time of its destruction at sea was two hundred and seventy-six:

Act 27:37  And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.

Once again, the Lord makes even Paul’s enemies to be at peace with him, and Julius allows Paul the liberty of going to his friends in Sidon “to refresh himself”. What incredible favor the Lord shows us even as we serve Him in bonds!

Act 27:4  And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.

The Greek word translated as ‘we sailed under’ here in verse 4 is ‘hupopleo’ and it is defined as to sail “to the lee of” by Thayer, and “to sail under the lee of” by Strong. All we are being told is that they had to go in the direction the wind was blowing, and that happened to take them north of Cyprus along the coasts of Cilicia and Pamphylia instead of the much more direct route to Asia, which would have been sailing south of Cyprus.

In the Hebrew scriptures, the Hebrew word for ‘the wind’ is ‘ruach’ (H7307). It is the exact same word which is translated as ‘spirit’. Here is a verse which describes what the spirit of the Lord is doing with Paul and all those in the ship with him:

Isa 17:13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind [H7307: ruach; wind or spirit], and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

The Lord uses the wind as He uses His spirit to work all things after the counsel of His own will:

Isa 19:11  Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
Isa 19:12  Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
Isa 19:13  The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.
Isa 19:14  The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit [H7307: ruach] in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

Jer 51:1  Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind [H7307: ruach; wind or spirit];

The Lord used “a lying ruach”, a lying spirit”, to persuade King Ahab to go up to Ramothgilead to die there:

1Ki 22:19  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven [good and evil] standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
1Ki 22:20  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit [H7307: ruach], and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit [ruach] in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit [ruach] in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

It is nothing less than a spirit from the Lord which is driving these two ships all around in the Mediterranean Sea working every detail of this voyage “after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).

Act 27:5  And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.
Act 27:6  And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein.
Act 27:7  And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone;
Act 27:8  And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
Act 27:9  Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,
Act 27:10  And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

Paul is speaking for the Lord, and “the Lord hath spoken evil concerning” (1Kg 22:23) this journey, but the ship’s captain and owner persuaded Julius the centurion to try to make it to the next port instead of listening to the words of the Lord via His servant Paul.

Everyone knew that bad weather sets in on the Mediterranean Sea after “the fast”. ‘The fast’ refers to the day of Atonement when all law-abiding Jews fast as commanded in the law of Moses:

Lev 23:26  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:27  Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Lev 23:28  And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.
Lev 23:29  For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.

“Afflict your soul” means to fast and deny oneself any food from sunset to sunset on “the day of atonement.”

Act 27:11  Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.

This centurion, Julius, typifies each of us when we place the words of men of this world, be it scholars like Noah Webster or James Strong or the words of any other ‘man’ or any minister, above the words of Christ. Paul is a proven and faithful servant of Jesus Christ. Julius, being a centurion with a hundred soldiers under his command was without a doubt one of “the principal men of the city” who was present when Paul was permitted to speak for himself before the Roman governor, Festus, and King Agrippa and Bernice “and all the principal men of the city” of Caesarea (Act 25:23). This centurion, Julius, knows Paul’s story of meeting the risen Christ.

He was also aware of Paul’s statement to King Agrippa that “this thing was not done in a corner.” Julius the centurion knows that when Paul said, “this thing was not done in a corner”, Paul is referring to the death and resurrection of Christ, and all the undeniable miracles which followed that miraculous event. The miraculous delivery from prison of the twelve disciples and the miraculous delivery from Herod’s prison by Peter were not done in a corner. The death of Agrippa’s father who was eaten with worms shortly after killing the apostle James and intending to do the same to Peter was well known throughout the Jewish world because it all happened in and around the Passover, when Jews from all around the world were at Jerusalem for the Passover:

Act 12:1  Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
Act 12:2  And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Act 12:3  And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
Act 12:4  And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter [G3957: pascha; Passover] to bring him forth to the people.
Act 12:5  Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

There is every reason for Julius to listen to Paul, but he is persuaded by the captain and owner of the ship to ignore Paul and attempt to make it to Phenice, the next and better port on the eastern end of the island of Crete.

The fact that Julius allowed Paul to visit his friends in Sidon demonstrates how well he knew Paul, and how much he trusted Paul’s judgment. Nevertheless, he is a man of this world, and he listened to and “believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul” (vs 11). It is all by God’s design “for our admonition.”

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

If the “them” of 1 Corinthians 1:11 refers to the people of the Old Testament, how much more do the people of the New Testament signify each of us, as indeed the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

2Co 3:2  Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
2Co 3:3  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

The apostle Paul, who speaks for Christ and who is always rejected of this world and in this age, signifies us as we witness for Christ and against the present evil world. Just as Christ and His words were rejected, so we must expect to be rejected by this world in this age:

Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Act 27:12  And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west.

To tell the truth, the port of Fair Haven “was not commodious to winter in.” Nevertheless, the Lord, through the apostle Paul, admonished Julius to stay put. The Lord knew that Julius and the captain and owner of the ship would want to sail to Phenice on the east end of the island of Crete. The Lord always gives us a good excuse for disobeying His commandments, just as He gave Eve a reason to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 3:4-5), and just as He gave “the man of God” a reason to disobey Him when another prophet lied to the man of God and told him that the Lord had told the lying prophet that the man of God should come to his house for dinner. The Lord always provides Himself an occasion to judge our rebellious and sinful flesh.

1Ki 13:18  He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

This ‘man of God’ was set up by God to succumb to the severe hunger and thirst he was enduring, and it was all done to admonish us against giving in to our own weaknesses (1Co 10:11, 1Pe 1:9-12):

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Now the Lord has lured Julius and the captain of the ship back into the sea, and the worst is yet to come:

Act 27:13  And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.

“Their purpose” was to make it to Phenice on the west end of the island of Crete. Their purpose had no regard for the warning they were given from the Lord through the apostle Paul. The Lord who warned Paul of the impending disaster, which was to destroy this ship, knew just what to do to lure Julius, the centurion and ‘the master and owner of the ship’ to attempt to make it to Phenice. He gave them a “a south wind [which] blew softly” just long enough to get them out of the “Fair Haven” harbor and out to sea. However, as soon at that soft south wind had them out at sea, things began to change for the worse very quickly:

Act 27:14  But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.
Act 27:15  And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.

“We let her drive” is just another way of saying ‘We completely lost control of the ship which was being driven of the winds beyond any ability of the crew to direct it.”

Act 27:16  And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat:

“The boat” means the lifeboat which is contrasted with ‘the ship’ to which ‘the boat’ was attached. All larger ships have lifeboats which hang off the sides of the ships in calm seas and are brought on board in very bad weather to keep them from being lost in the storm. The lesson for us is that our works, which the Lord causes us to undertake as we fight against the storms He places in our lives, cause us to sweat, and it is all in vain because our works cannot save us when the Lord Himself is against us:

Mic 6:14  Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.
Mic 6:15  Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.

This stormy voyage to Rome in this ship signifies how the spirit of God deals with us all. Our lives are driven by His will for us, and we are just as helpless to resist His will as this ship and its crew were helpless to resist the winds of this storm.

Nevertheless, we work hard to save ourselves:

Act 27:17  Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.

“Strake sail” means they let the sail down to keep the ship as stable as possible under the stormy winds they were facing. This whole story is written for our admonition. It is telling us that Christ is working with us while we are in this ship, and that being in this ship we are “in Him”, and He is our only hope. Taking down the sails signifies that we are beginning to submit to His guidance in our own stormy lives. There is more for us to learn about the work of the Lord in our lives as this story progresses:

Act 27:18  And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

“Being exceedingly tossed with the tempest” is just another way of telling us what Paul and Barnabas told all the churches they had raised up on their first journey:

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

“Much tribulation” refers to great physical and spiritual trial in this physical life, affecting and producing wars in the spiritual heavens of our hearts and our minds. Here is how Peter makes this same admonition to all who are given to accept and rejoice in it:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

“On their part he is evil spoken of” refers to the carnal mind within each of us. The carnal mind within us blasphemes the name of the Lord when He sends fiery trials into our lives:

Rev 16:8  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
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 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

Revelation 16 is speaking of you and me:

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God [the “fiery trials” of chapter 16], and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled [the “fiery trials” of chapter 16].

We are one and all blasphemers of God before we repent of our God-will-burn-sinners-in-hell-for-all-eternity blasphemy. We repent of our blaspheming only when the seventh vial is poured out upon us and Babylon the Great and all her lies within us begin to be destroyed, revealed for what they are. When we see how badly we presented the Lord to this world, that is when the man of sin begins to be destroyed by the brightness of the Truth as it begins to come into our lives and destroy the man of sin within us:

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

2^nd Thessalonians 2:8 is a condensed version of these words about the fruit of experiencing the pouring out of the seventh vial in our lives:

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

We all “blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail.” What does that mean? The religious world of Babylon wants us to believe that the Old Testament has nothing for us. That is what I was taught when I was submerged in Babylonian doctrine. The adversary knows that the proper meaning of all the signs and symbols of the New Testament are revealed only in the Old Testament, so of course the Great Whore churches of this world do not want us to understand the function of hail in scripture. That function is revealed only in the Old Testament:

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Hail is formed by the winds up in the heavens, and it comes down to us out of heaven. It is this product of the winds of heaven which “sweep[s] away of the refuge of lies.” It is the Lord’s ‘wind’ which creates the storms of life which bring us all to our “wits’ end” and drag us to repent of believing all those lies. That is what the scriptures teach from Genesis to Revelation. It is a loving heavenly Father who raises up all the storms in our lives. The storms and trials of our lives are “His wonderful works to the children of men” which bring us to repentance:

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Psa 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
Psa 107:23  They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:32  Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

That is the lesson of this stormy trip to Rome. From the very beginning, the wind, signifying the spirit of the Lord, decided where the ships Paul sailed would go. The first one wanted to go straight to “the coasts of Asia” by sailing south of Cyprus, but the winds took them north of Cyprus and eventually to Myra in the province of Lysia.

Look at the verses which tell us how the wind dictated where the ship would go:

Act 27:2  We set sail on a ship from the city of Adramyttium. The ship was going to stop at ports on the coast of the province of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from the city of Thessalonica, went with us. (GW)

Act 27:4  Leaving Sidon, we sailed on the northern side of the island of Cyprus because we were traveling against the wind.
Act 27:5  We sailed along the coast of the provinces of Cilicia and Pamphylia and arrived at the city of Myra in the province of Lycia.
Act 27:6  In Myra the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was on its way to Italy and put us on it. (GW)

Julius, the centurion, “put us on… a ship… to Italy”, but they were still “traveling against the wind.”

Act 27:7  We were sailing slowly for a number of days. Our difficulties began along the coast of the city of Cnidus because the wind would not let us go further [westward]. So at Cape Salmone, we started to sail for the south side of the island of Crete. (GW)

When Luke writes that “the wind would not let us go further” he is telling us that the wind would not let the ship go directly west to Italy. Instead, the wind drove the ship south to Salmone, a city on the eastern most tip of the island of Crete. From there the wind forced them to sail on the southern side of the island to the port of Fair Haven.

Act 27:8  We had difficulty sailing along the shore of Crete. We finally came to a port called Fair Harbors. The port was near the city of Lasea.
Act 27:9  We had lost so much time that the day of fasting had already past. Sailing was now dangerous, so Paul advised them,
Act 27:10  “Men, we’re going to face a disaster and heavy losses on this voyage. This disaster will cause damage to the cargo and the ship, and it will affect our lives.”
Act 27:11  However, the officer was persuaded by what the pilot and the owner of the ship said and not by the revelation Paul had been given

The Lord “knows our frame”, and He gives us hope when we have no hope, and He delivers us when we cannot see a way to be delivered.

Act 27:19  And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.

The third day signifies the process of the judgment of our old man and the beginning of the birth of our new man. It is at this point that we are more than willing to “cast out with our own hands” everything we would have used to save ourselves, and we place ourselves at the Lord’s direction and at His mercy.

Act 27:20  And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

Exactly what King David said would happen to everyone occurs to each one who aspires to truly come to know the Lord:

Psa 107:25  For [the Lord] commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

Act 27:21  But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.

‘Long abstinence’ refers to abstinence from food which is exactly what happens to us when we are being judged for our transgressions against our Lord. This is exactly what King David says will happen to us right here in this same 107^th chapter of Psalms:

Psa 107:17  Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
Psa 107:18  Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.

This desperation is essential to bring us to repentance, and once we acknowledge our transgressions and repent then this happens:

Psa 107:19  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.

Only “when all hope that we should be saved [is] taken away” can the Lord come to our rescue with words of hope for the hopeless:

Psa 107:20  He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

“His Word” is Christ:

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Christ is “the beginning” because He was “in the beginning” (Rev 3:17). “The Word of God” brings us great hope, and “we are saved by hope.”

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Paul, who everyone knew had advised that they stay in the Fair Haven harbor, was a proven prophet, and was now extending words of hope to everyone on this ship:

Act 27:22  And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.

Next week we will learn why the ship had to be destroyed, and why Paul is so confident. We will learn that we, too, must ‘abide in the ship’ if we want to be saved and to be disciples indeed:

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue [G3306: meno; abide] in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Joh 8:31  Therefore, Jesus began saying to the Jews who had trusted and were now believing by Him [or in Him], “If you should remain [dwell, abide] within My word [My message; My communication; My expressed thought; My Idea], you folks are truly [really, genuinely] My disciples.

What we will see in our next study is that we must ‘remain’ and ‘abide’ in Christ if we hope to be saved.

[Study Aired November 30, 2021]

Joh 14:1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 
Joh 14:2  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 
Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 
Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 
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. 
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 
Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 
Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 
Joh 14:11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 
Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 
Joh 14:13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 
Joh 14:14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 
Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 
Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 
Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 
Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 
Joh 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 
Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 
Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 
Joh 14:22  Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 
Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 
Joh 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 
Joh 14:25  These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 
Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 
Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 
Joh 14:28  Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 
Joh 14:29  And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 
Joh 14:30  Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 
Joh 14:31  But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. 

Our last study ended with Christ telling the disciples they would deny him. The disciples all said they would never deny Christ. He then had them prepare themselves for upcoming events.

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. 

Luk 22:35  And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 
Luk 22:36  Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 
Luk 22:37  For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. 
Luk 22:38  And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

In this study Christ comforts the disciples, describing what must be done to prepare for the next stage in their journey into the kingdom of God.

Joh 14:1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 

This is a great comfort if we understand what Christ is saying. Here is the explanation.

1Jn 5:9-13 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Christ is telling us that the life of the Father is in Him, and He is preparing us to have this same life within us.

Joh 14:2  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 
Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Christ tells the disciples he must go away in order to prepare a place in the Father’s house. What does this mean to “prepare a place (mansion) for you”?

G3438 “Mansion” appears only twice in the New Testament.

Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: (G3438) if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (G3438) with him.

G3438
μονή
monē
mon-ay’
From G3306; a staying, that is, residence (the act or the place): – abode, mansion.

G3306
μένω
menō
men’-o
A primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own.

The preparation of the “mansion” is the preparation of God’s dwelling place and a way of life given to us to act out. At this stage in our walk, we cannot understand this saying as Thomas and Phillip demonstrate.

Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 
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. 
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Thomas is thinking carnally and cannot know where Christ is going. We all think Christ and the Father are dwelling “out there” somewhere in the heavens. We all desire to see Christ and the Father with our physical eyes, but that is not what he is explaining to the disciples.

Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 
Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 
Joh 14:11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 

Once again, here is the definition of mansion.

G3438
μονή
monē
mon-ay’
From G3306; a staying, that is, residence (the act or the place): – abode, mansion.

Christ says he is going away to prepare a “place” and now he adds to that “work” being done in him.

Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 
Joh 14:13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 
Joh 14:14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 

“Greater works than these shall he (we) do.” The believer will do greater works than Christ? How is this possible? Are we able to turn water into wine? Are we able to heal the sick, blind, dumb and lame? Can we bring people back from the dead? If we are not able to do these things, then how can Christ say we will do greater works than him?

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 
Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 
Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 
Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

The “Spirit of truth” will come to us and cause us to do these things that are greater. There is a qualifier mentioned before this can take place and it is repeated in the following verses.

Joh 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 
Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 
Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

For us to see Christ and the Father we must keep his commandments and love him. This is the “act” of G3438.

G3438
μονή
monē
mon-ay’
From G3306; a staying, that is, residence (the act or the place): – abode, mansion.

This act is not our act, of course. It is the Father working in us through Christ.

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 

The disciples continue to ask how these things are going to happen.

Joh 14:22  Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 
Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (G3438) with him. 
Joh 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

Once again Christ explains it is the Father doing the work through him to make known the “the way, the truth and the life” where we will make an abode with them.

Joh 14:25  These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 
Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 
Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 
Joh 14:28  Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 
Joh 14:29  And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 
Joh 14:30  Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 
Joh 14:31  But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. 

“The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

The Comforter, which is the spirit of the Father that has made an “abode” (mansion) in Christ, is now being promised to “abide” in us. For this to happen in us, we must “keep his commandments”, “love him and the Father”, and “keep his sayings”. So here are the questions asked earlier in our study.

The believer will do greater works than Christ? How is this possible? Are we able to turn water into wine? Are we able to heal the sick, blind, dumb and lame? Can we bring people back from the dead? If we are not able to do these things, then how can Christ say we will do greater works than him?

The “greater works” Christ tells us we will do are not the physical miracles he did during his ministry. The “greater works” are spiritual, and they are greater than any physical work that can be done. In order to do these works, we must love and do the sayings that the Father has given to Christ to give to us. The Lord’s supper which the disciples just experienced, the eating of Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood, give us the ability to do these “greater works”. John chapter 6 explains why.

Joh 6:48-65 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 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. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

We are given the ability to heal the sick, cause the blind to see, give hearing to the deaf, have the lame walk, and give life to the dead because we are given the spirit of the Father by Christ. He is preparing our mansions and causing us to abide with them.

Ecc 4:1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

Lam 1:8-17 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward. Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation. All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile. Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up. The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress. For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed. Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them.

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 
Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 
Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 
Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Psa 119:65 TETH. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word.
Psa 119:66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.
Psa 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
Psa 119:68 Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
Psa 119:69 The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
Psa 119:70 Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.
Psa 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
Psa 119:72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

Psa 119:73 JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
Psa 119:74 They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.
Psa 119:75 I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
Psa 119:76 Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.
Psa 119:77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.
Psa 119:78 Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
Psa 119:79 Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies.
Psa 119:80 Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.

The last two letters we looked at were “zain” and “cheth” which, along with their accompanying verses, demonstrated how God causes His sanctuary where He abides (cheth – Joh 14:20) to be afflicted (Heb 12:6) and then quickened by His word which He sends to heal us (Act 14:22, Psa 107:20). The eighth is of the seven, and the new man cannot be formed without the complete experience of putting off our flesh, which is impossible without the word of God abiding richly within us.

Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

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.

Col 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 

Col 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. 

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 

The idea of breaking and mending the church so we can have a closer relationship with our Father and Christ is an ongoing theme in the bible reminding us that His strength is made perfect through our weak flesh which learns obedience by the things we suffer (2Co 12:9-10). The intention of these inspired words of Paul “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me ” have the same intent in Psalm 107:31 which reads “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!”. This verse is centered around a great tempest described at sea where God makes a way where there seems to be none (Isa 43:16) by bringing us to our wits’ end, causing us to trust in Him (by faith and through faith Heb_11:1-40) Who is our desired haven and Who identifies with our suffering in the flesh (8) (Rom 10:17, Mat 13:16, Eph 1:12, Psa 107:30, Heb 5:7-8).

The physical communion that occurred during Christ’s ministry in these verses (Mat 14:19-21, Mat 15:32-38) is a living parable that represents the breaking of bread which must occur in our lives (Heb 10:25) in order to be nourished or quickened by grace through faith (1Co 10:16, Eph 2:8, Joh 6:35, Joh 6:63). God’s power abides in us because we have been granted to sit at the feet of our Lord and break bread, and that thought was only symbolically being fulfilled in these verses: (“about five thousand men” Mat 14:19-21; “four thousand men, beside women and children” Mat 15:32-38). 

In today’s study we will look at the ninth and tenth letters of the Hebrew alphabet “teth” and “jod” and see how they correlate with their verses which explain for us how God uses His judgments in our earth to learn righteousness (Isa 26:9). That righteousness God gives us through Christ (Rev 19:8) is manifested through the church who are being judged today and learning to trust God in our flesh which is being given dominion over sin in this age so we can be one with our Father and Christ. The “jod” in the positive sense of the number 10 represents a right relationship with Christ in the flesh that cannot be obtained unless we go through the symbolic pillars in the temple which are comprised of four and five pillars that lead us to our one high priest, Jesus Christ, who is in the holiest place where we “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (2Ch 3:1, Exo 26:30, Exo 26:34-37, Rev 3:12, Heb 4:16). Coming to God through Christ is an ongoing event in the life of God’s children (Joh 6:44, Eph 3:10, Eph 2:18) as we learn how to “behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1Ti 3:15), and it is through every joint God supplies that we can be one bread and one spirit that make up “the pillar and ground of truth” (Eph 4:16, 1Co 10:17, Rom 12:5). The four and five pillars spoken of that are in the temple of God parallel and correlate with the approximate four and five thousand people that Christ fed in these verses – Mat 14:19-21, Mat 15:32-38.

The masses in Christ’s day were not being judged, just like today, because there was no spiritual stay of bread or water being given (Isa 3:1). They were being physically fed and physically healed, demonstrating what God’s elect will do for the rest of humanity during the time we reign with Christ on earth, and then, when the greater works than these are accomplished through Christ’s body, we will bring life to all of humanity through the death of the old man in the lake of fire by spiritually feeding (Joh 14:12) all those who will then be dragged to Christ in us (Joh 6:44). Those greater works Christ talked about in John 14:12 are not just appointed for those to whom we will minister in the lake of fire by sending His word to heal them, but especially unto the household of faith today who are being saved by the breaking of bread, the communion we share together in Christ today (Gal 6:10, 1Co 10:16).

Knowing who we are (1Co 3:16) and understanding that a shared judgment (9) is upon the body of Christ today in the flesh (1Pe 4:17, 1Pe 4:12, 1Co 12:26), which is feeding us spiritual bread (Num 14:9) is only part of the story. We are also being given to lay up store for the ages to come and to witness the strength of Christ, the power of God, who makes it possible for us to be more than conquerors through Christ, symbolized by the clusters of grapes Joshua and Caleb brought back from the land they spied out and declared that “we are well able to overcome it“.

Num 14:9  Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. 

Num 13:23  And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

Num 13:30  And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 

Psa 119:65 TETH. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word.

Everything is “according unto thy word” seeing “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (Joh 1:1-3), and God deals “well with thy servant” when we are given to believe that He has the words of eternal life. We become convinced that nothing can separate us from His love because of God’s spirit within us (Rom 8:38-39, Rom 8:9), and soon we realize there is nowhere else to go when God takes away our blinded eyes, where initially “the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (Joh 6:68, Joh 6:29, Joh 8:31, Psa 119:160, Joh 1:5). John the baptist typifies our flesh which bears witness of Christ when we know Him in the flesh. However, John was pointing to Christ and His Christ in the wilderness, those who have Christ abiding in them in the flesh (Col 1:27). “The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe”. Like John we must ‘lose our first head’ in order to be a true witness, and the least of us who have Christ as our head is greater than John because of our new head, Jesus Christ, who is being witnessed to the world today as our hope of glory within (Col 1:27). We are pointing to Christ within and John was pointing to Christ without (Luk 7:28, Col 1:18, Rom 8:9).

When God deals with us (“Thou hast dealt well with thy servant“) it is another way of saying He sanctifies us with His word (Joh 17:17), and it is through the sanctification process that we come to know God and His Son Jesus Christ, which knowledge is eternal life (Joh 17:3).

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 

Psa 119:66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.

The context in these verses in James which talk about the symbolic twelve tribes of Israel, who represent God’s elect, gives us some foundational (12) ideas as to what must occur in our lives in order to be that solid foundation God is building, and of whom He says it is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luk 12:32). We are brought to our wits’ end through much tribulation (Act 14:22) for the express purpose of learning “good judgment and knowledge” which is expounded upon in James 1:1-6. Without the “divers temptations”, without the “trying of your faith” that “worketh patience”, we would not be able to come to the point “that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing”. However, if we’re granted to believe and continue in that belief, which will be tried (1Pe 1:7), it will, in time, after you have suffered for a while “make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you“.

Jas 1:1  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. [Deu 4:27, Mat 26:31, Luk 12:32]
Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 
Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 
Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 
Jas 1:5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 
Jas 1:6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 

1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.[wanting nothing]

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. [Rev 3:11]

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 
1Pe 5:11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.