Good Works – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:59:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cropped-headerlogo-32x32.png Good Works – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com 32 32 The Two Works of Scripture, Part 1: Dead Works of the Old Man https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-two-works-of-scripture-part-1-dead-works-of-the-old-man/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-two-works-of-scripture-part-1-dead-works-of-the-old-man Tue, 28 Apr 2026 22:46:50 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=36014 Audio Download

The Two Works of Scripture, Part 1: Dead Works of the Old Man

[Study Aired April 28, 2026]

Introduction: The Apostolic Pattern and Its Witnesses

The doctrine of works stands at the center of Scripture’s testimony concerning God’s purpose — the redemption of the naturally captive creature, not from a lost perfection, but from the designed bondage of the natural order (Rom 8:20) — into the liberty of the life of the Spirit through the ransom of Christ. Few subjects have been more bitterly contested, more frequently distorted, or more desperately misunderstood. At first glance the sacred page appears to speak out of both sides of its mouth—commanding works while condemning them, judging by works while saving apart from them, declaring faith without works dead while declaring works of the law incapable of justifying. These apparent tensions are not contradictions to be resolved by choosing sides. They are differentiations to be discerned by the governing principle that orders all of God’s purpose: Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual (1 Co 15:46).

This article, the first of three parts, establishes the foundation of the doctrine by examining the nature of works under the old man—what Scripture terms “dead works.” Part 2 will treat the work of God (believing) and the spiritual reality of works wrought in God through the indwelling Spirit. Part 3 will address the judgment of works and the final vindication of the natural-first, spiritual-second pattern.

Before turning to the text, a word about the pattern itself. What follows is not a suggestive inference drawn from isolated verses — it is an apostolic doctrine, confirmed in the mouth of multiple witnesses across the New Testament. Paul contrasts works of the flesh with fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:19-23). The writer to the Hebrews contrasts dead works with serving the living God (Heb 9:14). Paul contrasts works of the law with the righteousness of faith (Rom 3:28; 4:4-5; Gal 2:16). Christ contrasts the multitude’s striving to work the works of God with the single work of believing (John 6:28-29). Paul contrasts man’s labor to establish righteousness with God’s own working within the believer (Phil 2:12-13). Where two or three witnesses establish a word (2Co 13:1), five apostolic witnesses establish a doctrine.

The pattern itself is one of apostolic contrast — the natural against the spiritual, the first against the second, the earthy against the heavenly. Paul does not merely demonstrate this contrast; he states it as the governing principle of all God’s purpose: Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual (1Co 15:46). The first man Adam was made a living soul; the Last Adam was made a quickening spirit (vs 45). The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven (vs 47). Every doctrine of works in Scripture moves on this line. The works of the first Adam and his posterity are the works of the natural — carnal and dead. The works wrought by the Last Adam in His people are the works of the spiritual — heavenly and living.

With this apostolic pattern in view, we turn to the Hebrew testimony of Scripture, where the terminology of works was first laid down.

The Hebrew Foundation: Ma’aseh, Pa’al, and ‘Avodah

The Old Testament employs three primary terms for what later Scripture will develop into the doctrine of works. Each contributes to the picture of the natural order, and each anticipates the resolution that belongs to the spiritual.

The most frequent is ma’aseh (Strong’s H4639), occurring over two hundred times. The word denotes a made thing, a deed, a work, an action. It is first used of God’s own works: And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made (Gen 2:2). It describes the heavens as the work of thy fingers (Psa 8:3). The same word is applied to man’s works — Cain’s offering, Noah’s ark, Bezaleel’s labor on the tabernacle. Critically, ma’aseh is the word used for idolatry: the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell (Deut 4:28). Man’s works take the form of man’s gods, and man’s gods are as lifeless as man’s works. The lifelessness of the idol testifies to the lifelessness of the labor that produced it.

The second term is pa’al (Strong’s H6467, with verb H6466), “to do, to work, to make.” It carries a more personal, agential weight than ma’aseh. David prays, Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours; give them after the work of their hands (Psa 28:4). It describes the wicked who work iniquity (Psa 6:8; Psa 14:4), and the righteous whose work God remembers (Ruth 2:12). Isaiah indicts Israel for disregarding the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands (Isa 5:12). The human pa’al is the subject of God’s evaluation throughout the prophets; God’s own pa’al is the subject of human neglect.

The third term is ‘avodah (Strong’s H5656), “service, labor, bondage.” It carries the connotation of servile toil. It is first used of Israel’s hard bondage in Egypt: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour (Exo 1:14). The same word is later applied to the service of the tabernacle (Exo 35:24; 38:21) — cleansed and consecrated labor, yet still belonging to the natural order. God’s appropriation of ‘avodah from Egyptian bondage to tabernacle service is itself instructive: labor is redirected but not yet transformed; the servant serves a new Master but still serves in the flesh. The tabernacle ‘avodah was external worship by external men — a natural anticipation of the spiritual reality, pointing forward to that indwelling temple the believer has become (1Co 6:19).

The bondage that ‘avodah describes is also the bondage from which God redeems. The primary Hebrew terms for redemption — ga’al (H1350) and padah (H6299) — do not describe the recovery of a prior perfection. Ga’al is the right and obligation of the kinsman to buy back what poverty or captivity has forfeited, moving the redeemed not backward but forward into new standing (Ruth 4:4-10; Isa 43:14). Padah is ransom-release — the payment of a price that frees the captive from the condition holding them (Deut 7:8; Exo 13:13-15). Neither term presupposes a fall. Both presuppose designed captivity awaiting a Deliverer. The ‘avodah of Egypt was not an accident to be corrected; it was the natural order crying out for the ga’al of God — a cry answered first in Moses and finally and fully in Christ, who gave His life a ransom for many (Matt 20:28).

Two Old Testament passages deserve special notice as foreshadowings of the spiritual reality to come. Isaiah 26:12 prays, LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. Here the prophet sees what Paul will later expound in Philippians 2:13 — that the acceptable works of God’s people are works God Himself has wrought in them. Psalm 90:17 confirms the same anticipation: And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. The man of God does not boast that his hands have established a work; he pleads that God will establish it. Even in the Old Testament the confession is already forming: Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it (Psa 127:1). The Hebrew foundation announces the problem; the Greek New Testament declares the resolution.

Dead Works: What Scripture Means by the Term

When the writer to the Hebrews coins the phrase “dead works” he is not speaking exclusively of acts of sin. He is naming a whole category of human activity—the full body of labor performed by the old man, whether openly wicked or outwardly pious. The phrase appears twice, each time identifying the believer’s deliverance from such works as foundational to the gospel: Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God (Heb 6:1). And more pointedly: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb 9:14).

The Greek term rendered “dead” is nekros (Strong’s G3498)—the same word used for physical corpses, for the spiritually unregenerate, and for faith without works. This term does not refer merely to the cessation of life; it signifies lifelessness as pervasive character, a quality belonging to the thing itself. A dead body is not a living body that has stopped working; it is a different kind of thing, belonging to a different category. So with dead works. They are not merely ineffective works that need greater effort; they are a different kind of works, produced by a different source, belonging to a different order of being.

The same nekros terminology converges across three New Testament books to confirm this reality. Paul declares to the Ephesians that they were dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1), describing the old man’s condition before the Spirit’s quickening. James declares that faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (James 2:17), and again, faith without works is dead (James 2:26). The Hebrews passages already seen apply the same adjective to works themselves. Dead man, dead faith, dead works — all three share one source: the Adamic nature in which the quickening spirit has not yet come. The natural order cannot produce what belongs to the spiritual, for the Last Adam has not yet wrought His work within. The convergence across Hebrews, James, and Ephesians establishes the category with the full weight of apostolic testimony.

It is crucial to see that dead works include far more than moral evil. They include religious works performed without the indwelling Spirit. Our Lord Himself warned: Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matt 7:22-23). Prophesying in Christ’s name, casting out devils in Christ’s name, performing wonderful works in Christ’s name—religious works of the most impressive kind, invoking the name of the Son of God—and yet classified as iniquity, the work of those whom Christ never knew. The name on the label does not change the substance within. Works wrought by the old man in the flesh remain dead works, even when performed under Christian vocabulary. Sincerity of invocation does not sanctify the source; only the indwelling Worker does. We will return to this passage in Part 3; here it suffices to establish that the category “dead works” is larger than sinful works too narrowly understood.

Works of the Flesh

Paul’s catalog in Galatians 5 names the works of the flesh with unmistakable specificity: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like (Gal 5:19-21). The catalog is deliberately mixed. It includes gross immorality (adultery, drunkenness, murder), occult religion (idolatry, witchcraft), and the internal works of pride and division (emulations, variance, heresies). The scope is the flesh as a whole — the natural Adamic nature in all its expressions, whether externally vile or internally respectable.

Observe how Paul concludes the catalog: they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal 5:21). The works of the flesh do not merely fail to earn the kingdom; they bar it. But notice the contrast that follows: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Gal 5:22-23). The works of the flesh stand over against the fruit of the Spirit — and Paul does not say “works of the flesh / works of the Spirit.” He changes the word, and the change is deliberate.

The Greek word behind “works” is erga (G2041) — deeds, actions, labor produced by an agent through his own exertion. The Greek word behind “fruit” is karpos (G2590) — produce that grows organically from a living source. These are not synonyms. Erga describes what a man does; karpos describes what a living thing bears because of what it is. Paul’s choice to use karpos rather than a second erga is itself the apostolic testimony to the natural/spiritual distinction. What the old man produces belongs to one category; what the Spirit bears through the yielded believer belongs to another entirely. Old-man activity is mechanical production — the output of a laboring agent. New-man activity is organic bearing — the increase of an indwelling life. The Lord stated the principle directly: As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (John 15:4). The branch does not labor to bear fruit; it bears fruit because it is alive in the vine. So with the fruit of the Spirit — it is not produced by effort but borne by union. The vocabulary shift from erga to karpos is not incidental. It is Paul’s own word for the difference between the natural and the spiritual.

Works of the Law

Of all the categories of works belonging to the natural order, the most deceptive is that which Paul names “the works of the law.” These are not evil works. They are commanded works — ordinances given by God through Moses, constituting the external shadow of what Christ would fulfill. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20). Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ (Gal 2:16). Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Gal 3:2).

The Greek phrase Paul uses throughout these passages is erga nomou (G2041 + G3551) — works of the law. The noun nomos (G3551) in Paul’s letters describes a binding legal system that makes external demands and pronounces legal verdicts. Erga (G2041) is the same word for labor and deed already established as the natural man’s mode of production. The compound therefore describes precisely what the natural order does: it labors externally to satisfy the demands of an external code. The law is outside the man; his works are produced outside the man; and the verdict the law returns is that no such external labor can reach what the law actually requires — a righteousness that must come from within. This is not a flaw in the law. It is the law’s design — to demonstrate by its own inexorable demands that the old man cannot satisfy them — and that what the law requires, only God Himself can supply.

Some interpreters have argued that Paul’s “works of the law” refers narrowly to the ceremonial boundary markers that distinguished Jew from Gentile — circumcision, dietary laws, Sabbaths and feast days — rather than law-keeping in general. There is a measure of truth to this observation: the conflict in Galatia revolved precisely around Judaizers who imposed circumcision and feast observance on Gentile believers, and the controversies of Paul’s ministry often turned on these ceremonial markers. The narrow reading cannot contain the whole force of Paul’s argument. Galatians 3:10 quotes Deuteronomy 27:26: Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. The scope is the whole law, not merely its ceremonial portion. Romans 2:21-23 rebukes Jews for violating not ceremonial statutes but the plain moral commandments — stealing, adultery, sacrilege. Romans 3:19-20 concludes that by the law is the knowledge of sin — a principle that applies to the law’s moral function no less than its ceremonial function.

The erga nomou that cannot justify therefore include the law’s moral, ceremonial, and civil demands alike, precisely because the old man cannot produce the righteousness the law requires in any of its dimensions. The narrower reading captures the point of controversy; the broader reading captures the principle at stake. Both together give the full picture: the Judaizers pressed the ceremonial markers because they were the visible line dividing Jew from Gentile, but the principle Paul articulates applies universally to every work performed by the old man under any dimension of law.

The works of the law are the works of the natural order in their purest form. They are ordained of God, commanded by God, imposed upon the covenant people by God Himself, and yet they cannot accomplish the thing they point toward. This is because they were never designed to. They were designed as shadow, to testify that the substance must come. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God (Heb 7:19). For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect (Heb 10:1). The very inadequacy of the law’s works was the testimony; the ceaseless repetition of the sacrifices was the confession that a greater Worker must come.

Romans 7: The Old Man’s Crisis Laid Bare

No passage in all of Scripture so intimately depicts the futility of the old man’s attempt to produce righteousness as Romans 7. The apostle writes as one embodying the experience: For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I (Rom 7:14-15). And more pointedly: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not (Rom 7:18).

This is the Adamic condition placed under a microscope. The law commands; the man consents; the flesh cannot perform. The will is present; the power is absent. I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members (Rom 7:23). The cry that breaks forth from the crisis is not “Let me try harder” but O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom 7:24). The answer, when it comes, does not deliver by improved effort but by the replacement of the laboring agent: I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 7:25), and in the next breath, For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Rom 8:3).

Romans 7 is therefore the hinge between the natural and the spiritual in personal experience. It is where the old man reaches the end of his striving and confesses that a different kind of Worker must come. The chapter is the personal testimony to what the apostolic epistles declare as doctrine. Paul’s confession strips away every illusion about what the natural man can produce — not because the flesh has failed, but because the flesh was never the appointed vessel for this work. The old man’s crisis reaches its conclusion here; the next chapter opens with no condemnation and proceeds to the full unfolding of life in the Spirit.

Much debate has centered on whether Paul speaks here as regenerate or unregenerate — but the witness of Scripture itself dissolves that question. The crisis of Romans 7 is not a narrative of fall and recovery; it is the disclosure of what the first Adam always was. Created a living soul, subject to vanity by God’s own purpose, never yet a quickening spirit — the old man’s incapacity is the very testimony that a Last Adam must come. The natural order was designed to fail as the basis of standing precisely in order that the spiritual might be received as a gift. Creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope (Rom 8:20). The hope was the spiritual all along.

Dead Works and the Living Worker to Come

In this first part we have laid the foundation. The Hebrew testimony shows that works are as ancient as creation and as varied as humankind, but that even the saints of old knew their works required God’s establishment. The New Testament declares that works performed by the natural man belong to a category Scripture names “dead works” — a category that includes moral evil, religious activity, and even ordinances commanded by God when performed by the old man in his own strength. The dead-works terminology converges across Hebrews, James, and Ephesians to confirm the doctrine with the full weight of apostolic testimony. The works of the flesh bar the kingdom; the works of the law cannot justify; and the crisis of Romans 7 discloses that the old man cannot perform the good he wills.

The apparent contradictions with which we began — Scripture commanding works while condemning them, judging by works while saving apart from them — are not contradictions at all. They are the two orders speaking in their own voices. The natural order produces what the natural order produces, and Scripture names it plainly: dead works. The spiritual order produces what only the indwelling Spirit can bear, and Scripture names that plainly too: fruit. The interpretive key is not a choice between the passages that command and the passages that condemn — it is the recognition that they are addressed to two different men.

The very inadequacy of the natural order testifies that the spiritual must come. The dead works of the old man cry out for a living Worker. In Part 2 we turn to that Worker — to the question Christ answered in John 6, to the Abrahamic pattern of faith accounted for righteousness, to the rest of Hebrews 4 where the believer ceases from his own works as God did from His, and to the works that are wrought in God through the indwelling Spirit.

Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual (1 Cor 15:46).

]]> The Book of Kings – 1Ki 2:34-46 Only Rebel not ye Against the Lord https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-book-of-kings-1ki-234-46-only-rebel-not-ye-against-the-lord/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-book-of-kings-1ki-234-46-only-rebel-not-ye-against-the-lord Fri, 06 Aug 2021 19:32:17 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=24074

1Ki 2:34-46 “Only Rebel not ye Against the LORD, Neither fear ye the People of the Land”

[Study Aired August 5, 2021]

1Ki 2:34  So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 
1Ki 2:35  And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar. 
1Ki 2:36  And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. 
1Ki 2:37  For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. 
1Ki 2:38  And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. 
1Ki 2:39  And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. 
1Ki 2:40  And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. 
1Ki 2:41  And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. 
1Ki 2:42  And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good. 
1Ki 2:43  Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with? 
1Ki 2:44  The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head; 
1Ki 2:45  And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. 
1Ki 2:46  So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. 

In this section of Kings we will be reminded of how our former father and mother, who represent Satan and the Babylonian churches of this world (our former mother out of whom we come – Rev 18:4), do not comprehend how the Lord is seeking “an occasion against the Philistines” in our life (Jdg 14:4).

Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

The heart that God rules over in humanity is corrupt and against Him (Jer 17:9), and yet that corruption cannot prevent God from doing exactly what He has ordained from the foundation of the world, typified by the creation week (Gen 1:1-31) because He is sovereign over all things, the light and the dark, the making of peace and the creating of evil (Isa 45:7).

Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

In this section of Kings we will see how it is within a body that operates under laws He has ordained (Jas 4:12) that God is doing exactly what He wants according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). It is for our sakes He is doing these things as he teaches His children, who have His holy spirit, what those stories of old are telling us about ourselves and the salvational process we are blessed to be a part of in this age. That process is understood by comparing spiritual things with spiritual using the physical events which are understood by those who are blessed to be given eyes to see and ears to hear (1Co 2:13, Rev 1:3).

Jas 4:12  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? 

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:  

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

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. 

The progression of the destruction of the enemies of King David and the manner in which vengeance (which is of the Lord) is executed (Rom 12:19-20), is all written for our sakes upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1Co 10:11).

Rom 12:19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 
Rom 12:20  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

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.

“For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel” is written to remind us that there is an appointed time when the Philistines have dominion over Israel within us and that it will be little and by little that this dominion will be taken away as the Lord gives us increase (Exo 23:29-30).

Exo 23:29  I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 
Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

The three principle beasts we have been reading about in these first couple of chapters of Kings, which were driven out and destroyed in Solomon’s time, are types of what is in us (Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei) revealing in type and shadow how God’s kingdom is going to be established in the elects’ life:  “the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon” and in so doing “the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever” through the destruction of those beasts or giants that will be bread for us (Num 14:9).

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.

1Ki 2:34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 

Our first verse tells us that ‘Jehovah has built’ (BenaiahH1141) because ‘Jehovah knows’ (JehoiadaH3077), and what he knows, as was discussed in our introduction, is all things. Nothing is hidden from him with whom we have to do (Heb 4:13). It is a sovereign all-knowing God who sent “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada” up to fall upon Joab to slay him, just as God’s elect are being sent today to aid each other in the destruction of our old man within and will be sent to do the same thing to all of humanity, starting with the judgement that is upon each of us that slays our old man day after day as we die daily (1Co 15:31). That witness will be used of God, and our labour is primarily for each other in the Lord (Gal 6:10), but it is also an unfolding witness that in time will show that our labours were not in vain (1Co 15:58) in the day that the rest of the world’s visitation will occur if we are given to glorify God today by living lives which are obedient and not corrupt (Joh 20:21, 1Pe 4:17, 1Pe 2:12, Php 2:14-15).

Heb 4:13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Finally, Joab was “buried in his own house in the wilderness” revealing that he was a type of our old man, our flesh and blood that cannot inherit the kingdom of God and must die in his “own house” in the field, or the wilderness, which is the world (1Co 15:50). His “own house” is symbolic of our own righteousness which is being destroyed in the household of God, or the woman who fled “into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days” (Rev 12:6). It’s that feeding that gives us the ability to put off our flesh, our own house, so we can live and die unto the Lord (Rom 14:8).

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 

Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Rom 14:8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. 

1Ki 2:35 And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar. 

After Joab’s death “the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host” which is a shadow of what happens to us when we decrease and Christ increases in us (Joh 3:30). Being in the king’s room is typical of being raised in heavenly places (Eph 2:6) where we are being worked with as His workmanship (Eph 2:10) that is being built up by God “Benaiah H1141” “Jehovah has built or Yahweh has built up” so that we can know the Lord, or rather be known of him “JehoiadaH3077” “Jehovah knows” (Gal 4:9, Joh 17:3).

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. 

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 

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

Prior to being told that we are God’s workmanship in Ephesians 2:10, we are reminded that “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:8-9). The name “Zadok” represents the righteousness of Christ that will rule over the once faithful to the king David “Abiathar” who would later be found supporting the rebellious actions of Adonijah. Abiathar’s heresy was manifest, and Zadok’s life typifies those who are approved or accepted in the beloved which was made known at the expense of Abiathar (Eph 1:6, 1Co 11:19).

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 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

1Ki 2:36  And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.

This is the section of our study where it becomes very apparent for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear (Mat 13:16) that God was seeking an occasion against “Shimei” who was told to do one thing but was caused to err in such a way it cost him his life (Isa 63:17, Rom 9:15-16, Rom 9:20, Rom 11:22).

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. 

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 

Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: [Rom 2:4] otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Our story starts with Solomon commanding Shimei to go, “Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.” This  is the same as Christ telling the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until the holy spirit comes (Luk 24:49). Shimei was told “go not forth thence any whither “which is symbolic of abiding in the word of God (Joh 8:32) where the Lord alone can “build thee an house in Jerusalem“, Jerusalem above the mother of us all (Gal 4:26). Shimei rebels against the commandment of the king because he is a type of Lot’s wife who looks back, or a type of Demas, Crescens and Titus who loved this present world (2Ti 4:10, 1Jn 2:15).

1Ki 2:37 For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. 

It was inevitable that Shemei was going to rebel and that was for our sakes to remind us that unless the Lord builds the spiritual house for us in Jerusalem above, we like Shemei will pass “over the brook KidronH6939” a place of spiritual darkness that is represented in the old covenant as a cloud of darkness that separated the Egyptians from the Israelites (Exo 14:19-20, Mat 6:23, Luk 11:35)

– BDB Definition: Kidron = dark

a stream east of Jerusalem

– Strong’s: From H6937; dusky place;
Kidron a brook near Jerusalem: – Kidron. 

Exo 14:19  And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: 
Exo 14:20  And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night [2Co 6:17].

Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 

Luk 11:35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

Israel being given “a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night” is symbolic language telling us that God will make spiritual provision for those who are being dragged to Christ in this age (Joh 6:44). Whether it is through the experience of evil, represented by the night, or our walk during the day that has twelve hours, when we are able to labour while it is day (Joh 11:9, Joh 9:4), the Lord will be in the midst  of these lights for our good “to give them light; to go by day and night” being the One who formed the light and creates darkness that light comes out of. He is the One who makes the peace that passes all understanding in our heavens and creates evil that is all for our sakes for the fashioning of the new man in Christ as our flesh is humbled through this life of much tribulation (Exo 13:21-22, Joh 8:12, Isa 45:7).

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Exo 13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 
Exo 13:22  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. 

Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

The severity and goodness of God (Rom 11:22, Rom 2:4) is shown in this separation of light and darkness highlighted with these two principal parties involved in this story –  the Israelites and the Egyptian armies that were pursuing them. The Israelites will completely fall seven times as a type of the elect coming out of Babylon being completely convinced (7) that we are chief of sinners and yet able to overcome through Christ (Pro 24:16), whereas the flesh that cannot inherit the kingdom, both our carnal thoughts, the sin in our members from which Christ has to free us (Joh 8:36), as well as those who were not ordained to be set free from the bondage of sin in this life. The sin in their members is described as “all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice” (Num 14:22-23). 

Num 14:22  Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; 
Num 14:23  Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: 

In Numbers 14:22-23 we read, in type and shadow, of those who tasted of the heavenly things of God and partook of His wonderful works found in Hebrews 6:4-6, and yet God hardened their hearts and said, “Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it” (Isa 63:17). Knowing God is sovereign helps us see the mercy that is unfolding in the severity and goodness He causes as we learn to trust (Eph 1:12) that it is all for a good purpose in the end that God will use to show mercy to all mankind in time (Rom 11:25, Rom 11:31-32).

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 

In Romans 10:1-4 Paul expresses his desire for Israel to be saved, and at the time, he knew that this would only be possible through Christ who is “the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth”. This reminds us of how Christ loved the rich young ruler but knew that he could not at this time follow Him. Christ’s example shows us how we are to show love to the unbelieving by being about our Father’s business of preaching the kingdom of God even as we obey this commandment:  “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” Christ witnessed to the rich young ruler, and that was enough. In other words, we are commanded to do good to all men especially to the household of faith, but not entangling ourselves with the affairs of this world as a good soldier for Christ (2Ti 2:3-4). Christ knew the Father had to drag the rich young ruler unto Him and waited on God to do that. To do anything other than that would have been entangling himself in a spiritual battle in which God tells us not to engage (Mat 19:21-26, Mar 10:21).

2Ti 2:3  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 
2Ti 2:4  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 

“The blood shall be upon thine own head” is the result of Shimei not having power to resist sin unto the shedding of blood. His Adamic nature was unable to resist sin unto the shedding of blood as Christ did on the cross, and so the blood of other men whom he killed was “upon thine own head” and not the blood of Christ which would symbolize the power that God gives us to overcome and repent of the spirit of hating our brother without a cause (Heb 12:4, 1Pe 1:19, Mat 5:22). Shimei can’t stop his flesh from going where he feels is more important than the commandment of the king, a witness of what our old man does independent of and against Christ. If Christ is our head, then we are more than conquerors through Him as we are led by His spirit (Rom 8:14-16).

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father [Heb 5:7, Mal 3:16, 1Jn 4:17]. 
Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 

Mal 3:16  Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

1Ki 2:38  And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. 

Many are called to dwell “in Jerusalem” for “many days“, and while we are there we have the best of intentions saying “The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do” but God is showing us that Shimei is presumptuous (Psa 19:13) to say “so will thy servant do” as opposed to saying these words when we go to build a house in Jerusalem or a city such as that (Jas 4:13-15).

Psa 19:13  Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression (Php 3:9). 

Jas 4:13  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 
Jas 4:15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

1Ki 2:39  And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. 

Shimei was unwilling to lose “two of the servants” which witnesses to  that part of us that would go back into the world (two servants) except the Lord give us the power through Christ to forget what is behind us and reach forth unto those things which are before (Php 3:12-15). Unlike ‘just Lot’ (2Pe 2:7), Shimei could not resist going after his servants who are a type of helpmeet for him as Lot’s wife would have been for him. He simply cannot resist the urge to run “away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath” and is unwilling to give up everything for the kingdom’s sake in type and shadow (Luk 17:32, Mat 19:29).

Luk 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife.

2Pe 2:7  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked;

Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 

By going toward Gath, like crossing the brook of Kidron, there is only going to be blackness and no light perceived at this place of the “winepress”. The word AchishH397 means “I will blacken”and so the winepress that the word GathH1661 means is the negative example of a winepress, being the winepress of Babylon that darkens the hearts and minds of those who partake of it and seek it out as Shimei did in type and shadow (Rev 18:3).

– Definition: Achish = I will blacken (or terrify) or only a man 

Philistine king of Gath 

– Definition: Gath = winepress

One of the five royal or chief cities of the Philistines and the native city of Goliath 

Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 

1Ki 2:40  And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. 

These actions of Shimei are diametrically opposed to those of Christ, who went into Jerusalem on the foal of an ass saddled with the faith of God and with a lowly spirit (Zec 9:9), that made it possible for this triumphant entry to manifest for Sion’s sake, the elect’s sake (Joh 12:14-15 , Oba 1:21).

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: [Joh 6:44] he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 

Joh 12:14  And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, 
Joh 12:15  Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt. 

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Every word is significant in this sentence: “Shimei arose” meaning his flesh rose up, and “saddled his ass” meaning he was not putting his burdens on Christ (1Pe 5:7) as we should, but was rather seeking “his servants” meaning his own power, that which belonged to him; as opposed to being obedient unto the king by not leaving his first estate and continuing on in seeking the kingdom of God first and His righteousness (Jud 1:6, Mat 6:33). His flesh like all flesh is persistent and sought out the idol of his heart (his two servants that represent Shimei’s own strength) and brought it back to Jerusalem, feeling very justified in his actions like king Saul (1Sa 15:9, 1Sa 15:13-14, 1Sa 15:22).

1Sa 15:9  But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 

1Sa 15:13  And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 
1Sa 15:14  And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 

1Ki 2:41  And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. 
1Ki 2:42  And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.

This is the section of our study that truly highlights how God is showing us how rebellious our hearts are against the king’s commandments:  “Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die?” and how it is only by grace through faith (Eph 2:8) that we can receive the gift from God of being more than conquerors through Christ. 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God

All Shimei had to do is “Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land“, but just so we are perfectly clear that none of us can do the right thing unless the Lord gives us the power to do so, Solomon goes on to say how clear his instructions were to him and reminds Shimei of his absolute compliance and well-intentioned heart: “on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.”  This is just as Cain did with the instruction from the Lord to do good. He also could not obey the commands of the Lord as Abel was granted to, who is a type of the elect who have God’s power given to them to overcome. We are becoming that blood offering or burnt offering as we become living sacrifices unto God (Rom 12:1) as opposed to first operating in our own righteousnesses (Isa 64:6, Eze 33:13), symbolized by the offering of the field (the world) that Cain offered and was not accepted because it was not upon a burnt offering (Gen 4:4-5), just like king Saul sparing Agag and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings and lambs (1Sa 15:3, 1Sa 15:9), and just like Shimei “gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again” in the verses we are reading tonight. It is a sound pattern that tells us who we are until we are not, by the grace of God (1Ch 28:19-20, Eze 43:9-11, Dan 9:18,  1Ti 1:14-16).

1Ch 28:19  All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. 
1Ch 28:20  And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

Eze 43:9  Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. 
Eze 43:10  Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. 
Eze 43:11  And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. 

Dan 9:18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
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. 
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 

1Ki 2:43  Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with? 
1Ki 2:44  The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head; 

The question posed to Shimei: “Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?” of verse 43 is answered in verse 44 with Solomon’s words:  “Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head“. 

Solomon is putting this mirror in front of Shimei’s face by saying these words, as the Lord does for us when we read, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death.” We know that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer 17:9-10), and the only one who can really know it and give us the ability to keep “the oath of the LORD” and “the commandment that I have charged thee with” is Christ in us, our hope of glory who gives us power to rule over sin that is constantly at the gate of our heart (Col 1:27, Gen 4:7).

Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 
Jer 17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 

It is because of all the wickedness we did to Christ (Mat 25:40, Mat 25:45), typified in the part of scripture: “that thou didst to David my father“, and through God’s chastening and scourging typified in the following part of that verse: “therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head“, that we come to see that we ‘are the man’ and must reap what we sow (2Sa 12:7, Gal 6:7).

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 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 

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; 

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 

1Ki 2:45  And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.
1Ki 2:46  So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. 

Our last two hope-filled verses tell us that in the end it will all work out for all of humanity because God will bless His creation and save everyone (1Co 15:22, 1Ti 4:10, 1Jn 2:2), so “the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever“.

In order for that kingdom to be established within us today in earnest, Christ must command “BenaiahH1141 the son of JehoiadaH3077” to come out and fall upon our old man “that he died“. It is in that destruction of our old man that the new man is being birthed (Joh 12:24-25, Psa 127:1). God knows [“Jehoiada”H3077] how to start and finish this process within in all people (Heb 12:2).

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house [“Jah has built“], they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 

The root of the word ‘Jehovah knows’, or ‘Jehovah-known’ makes this verse in the new covenant very bright for us as we consider that we are known of God as His workmanship that He is building up (Gal 4:9, Eph 2:10):

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 

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. 

The good news, therefore, is that this is going to happen, and we will, through the power of God’s holy spirit, see “the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever” as we go forward in faith being accepted in the beloved, and even though “sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him“.

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

]]> The Book of Hebrews – Heb 11:1-3, Part 1 – “Through Faith We Understand that the Worlds were Framed by the Word of God” https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-book-of-hebrews-heb-111-3-part-1-through-faith-we-understand-that-the-worlds-were-framed-by-the-word-of-god/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-book-of-hebrews-heb-111-3-part-1-through-faith-we-understand-that-the-worlds-were-framed-by-the-word-of-god Thu, 11 Feb 2021 23:15:34 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=22071 https://www.dropbox.com/s/y7v7bljn1ykjf3r/Tony-Heb-11_1-3.mp3?raw=1

Heb 11:1-3, Part 1 – “Through Faith We Understand that the Worlds were Framed by the Word of God”

[Study Aired February 11, 2021]

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 
Heb 11:2  For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

The purpose for faith which is a gift from God (Eph 2:8) is explained for us in this eleventh chapter of Hebrews where many were granted this supernatural gift of faith, which “is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

As we go through the myriad of examples in the old covenant of those who were granted faith, these stories will only benefit us if we understand that these “good report[s] through faith” were all documented for the elect’s sake (2Co 4:15), for those who have been called to receive the promise of eternal life (Heb 11:39). What all others received or obtained was “a good report through faith, [but] received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

It takes God’s gift of faith for us to understand and believe “that they without us” who “should not be made perfect” were living these events of their lives for us (1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11), revealing how “the worlds were framed by the word of God”, through these typical events that would be experienced inwardly by God’s elect who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear (Mat 13:16-17) being “made perfect” by God’s holy spirit which cleanses our heavens inwardly (Rom 8:9, Heb 9:23-24).

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.

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.

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true [Heb 11:1-40]; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us [The better sacrifices are being accomplished through Christ in us, our hope of glory, in the presence of God (Col 1:27, Eph 2:6)].

This process of being “made perfect” is revealed through these type and shadow events found throughout God’s word (1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11) that God orchestrated or framed for our sakes in every part of His creation, both physically and spiritually (Rom 1:20), so that God’s elect would understand today, in this dispensation of grace (Eph 3:2-4, Col 1:27).  This process shows how “things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”, and how this applies to the new creation we have become within, that is being formed or fashioned or framed, “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Eph 3:2  If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Eph 3:3  How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Eph 3:4  Whereby, when ye read [Heb 11:1-40], ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

God rewards or gives to those who diligently seek him.  That seeking or searching is not possible without the faith God grants us to be able to do so (Heb 11:6). Speaking of the prophets of old, God tells us “of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you” (2Co 5:17, Eph 2:8-10, 1Pe 1:10).

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. [All those old covenant stories now have a new inward meaning to those who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear the message.]

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 [Col 1:24] unto good works [Jas 2:14-26], which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The type and shadow event found in James 2:20-22 explains how Christ, who is typified by Abraham, gives us the power to offer up our life, typified by Isaac (Rom 9:7-8), on the altar which is the cross. The cross is the means by which Christ is made known among the gentiles within me and outwardly (Gal 2:20, Col 1:27). This same parable can be seen as Abraham representing God the Father and Christ being represented by Isaac!

Jas 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Jas 2:21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Jas 2:22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

Now we get into the ‘nitty gritty’ of this subject of faith, learning in James 2:14-26 that faith is not the ‘be all to end all’ condition that God is working with to perfect us, otherwise faith would have been enough in the old covenant where people lived and moved and had their being in Christ, “of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you” (Act 17:28, Eph 1:11).

It takes that faith to overcome the world (1Jn 5:4) accompanied with God’s love within us that is matured through grace (Heb 12:6-7) in order for us to not only be living and moving and having our being in Christ, but to also have a life that is being led of the spirit of God (Rom 8:14-16). God’s purpose for the elect is learned in this age as a result of the obedience which His grace teaches us (Rom 8:28, Tit 2:11-12).

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things [2Co 5:17] work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Faith must be accompanied with works of love (Gal 5:6, Rom 5:5, 1Co 13:1-3), otherwise that faith is considered dead faith to God (Jas 2:17). It is ‘dead’ in the sense that it does not produce acts of kindness or service (Joh 13:35) from a converted heart which is obedient to the commands of God (Joh 14:15), which declare that we are to lay down our lives for one another (Joh 13:35, Joh 15:13, Rom 8:14-16). These three abide (1Co 13:12-13) to reveal a process that works together to complete or bring us unto spiritual perfection; three representing “the process of spiritual completion”.

Gal 5:6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

1Co 13:1  Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
1Co 13:2  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Jas 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Co 13:13  And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

It took great faith for David to slay Goliath, and therefore should we go out and kill all our enemies? Of course not. We love our enemies as we are commanded and compelled to do through Christ (Mat 5:43-48).  David’s type and shadow example was written for those who would come to see the greatest enemy we have is within us and that those giants in our land cannot be destroyed unless the Lord abides within us (1Sa 17:45-46) as our hope of glory (2Sa 12:7, Col 1:27, 2Sa 12:10).

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect [1Co 13:13].

It takes this greatest gift of God, His love shed abroad in our hearts working with the faith of Christ, to bring us beyond the verses of Hebrews 6:1-2), which are “when I was a child” and “spake as a child” and “understood as a child” and “thought as a child. However, “when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1Co 13:9-11) by His love, meaning God permitted this by causing us to go beyond this doctrine of dead faith that was not accompanied with His love. That love waxes cold unless the Lord delivers us by permitting that increase in our heavens (Heb 6:1, 1Co 3:6).

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

1Co 13:9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Co 13:10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
1Co 13:11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God [Jas 2:17-20, Tit 3:14],

Jas 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Jas 2:18  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Jas 2:19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Jas 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Tit 3:14  And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
Tit 3:15  All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

Through faith, now we can ask our Father to help us see, help us in our unbelief (Mar 9:23-25) so that we can truly see how it is “through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

Mar 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mar 9:25  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

As we will see in the coming studies on this subject of faith,  there are many examples of “the substance of things hoped for” and people being convinced in their hearts so much so that they could say that “the substance of things hoped for” was such a great hope welling up in them that it could be considered “the evidence of things not seen“. We use the expression “the proof is in the (physical) pudding”. In this case the pudding is “the substance of things hoped for“.

If there is one common thread that we can see in every example given to us in this chapter of Hebrews 11, it is the unwavering presence of faith that made it possible for all of these people to have “died in faith”. In order to keep “seeking a country”, God provided the  gift of faith they needed in order to remain convinced or persuaded that there was more to life than just this life, and what that faith accomplished was this: “these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Heb 11:13).

If we don’t have the gift of faith (1Jn 5:4, Eph 2:8, Rom 3:27), we won’t die daily in faith as was typified by those whose hope was so strong that it was said they, “Were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” That was their outward version of overcoming the world, and it was all done for our sakes (2Co 4:15) so we could be reassured that we can overcome the world of sin within us through Jesus Christ, our hope of glory (1Jn 2:16, Col 1:27, Rom 5:10).

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Rom 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life (Col 1:27).

There is no doubt that these were very special people in God’s plan who were living out these lives of faith for our sakes, “not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off“, and yet “were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” who were ready to give everything up for this steadfast hope God had given them.

This should all sound familiar to those who have the earnest of that inheritance within them (Eph 1:14, Rom 8:9) and are presently seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness, which is within us (Mat 6:33, Luk 17:21). God’s holy spirit is being given to very few in this age.  This little flock, or remnant as we’re referred to (Mat 22:14, Luk 12:32, Rom 11:5), was being typified by these few “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” who did not have the righteousness of Christ within them, which is the only way that we can inherit eternal life (Rom 8:9) as opposed to just looking “for a city which hath foundations (Eph 1:4, Rev 14:1, Mat 16:18), whose builder and maker is God”. The “prophets and kings” of old were compelled by God’s holy spirit to do what is written in this verse (Heb 11:13) for our sakes (2Co 4:15), but did not have the mind of Christ as God’s elect do and therefore could not “see those things which ye see” (Luk 10:22-24, 1Co 2:16). God has blessed us to be the foundation of His government for which the “prophets and kings” of old were looking.

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Heb 11:2  For by it the elders obtained a good report.

The good report they obtained was simply being able to say throughout their life that they were looking “for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” and that they could see the promises “afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”  The “good report” was the plainly stated declaration that “they seek a country” whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:9-10), not that they had found a country and had the kingdom of God dwelling within them as Christ confessed of himself (Luk 17:20-21).

Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

New Jerusalem is that city the ancients were seeking, and that city for us today is “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” God is the builder who is establishing us through Christ as He lays a foundation of works in our lives, preparing us to be that bride who will receive humanity into this new country which is “the joy of thy lord” (Heb 10:5, Rev 19:7, Rev 21:2, Mat 25:23).

Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Mat 25:23  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 

The natural precedes the spiritual (1Co 15:46) and in doing so God gives us something physical so we can compare spiritual with spiritual, in order to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (1Co 2:13, 2Pe 3:18). Even with all the proof in creation that explains how “his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” works via the relationship of a husband and wife (God the Father is the head of Christ – Christ is the head of the man – and the man is the head of the woman – Rom 1:20), we are in fact still with excuse when there is a veil over our eyes that has to be lifted by God who drags us to Christ (Joh 6:44) so that veil of blindness can be torn away through Him giving us eyes to see the order in the body of Christ, which hierarchy is typified by how “the worlds were framed by the word of God” and are being framed within us today (2Co 3:14, 1Ti 1:13, Joh 6:44, Mat 16:18).

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

God created “the word of God” (Joh 1:1-3, Rev 3:14) by whom all things were physically created and sustained (Col 1:16), so that at an appointed time Christ would come into the world of man to begin the new creation (Eph 1:10-11, 2Co 5:17) within us that was all typified by those physical things He created and sustained. Now “he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” It will only be “through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear“. We are with excuse until our eyes and ears are blessed to be open by God and learn how he does all things decently and in order both physically and spiritually (Mat 13:16, 1Co 14:40, 1Co 15:23).

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.

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Psa 139:14  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfullyH6395 made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

1Co 14:40  Let all things be done decently and in order.

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

How blessed we are to have eyes that see and ears that hear God’s great plan, and to understand that it is “through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”.

Next week, Lord willing, we will start to look at some of those type-and-shadow events of faith that typify the workmanship taking place within God’s children today (Eph 2:10). We indeed need patience and faith “unto the coming of the Lord”, and so we ask of our Father for that very same faith Christ prayed that Peter would receive (Luk 22:32, 1Jn 5:4) in order to overcome the world within him, reflecting the mind of Christ and our Father who “hath long patience for it [salvation], until he receive the early and latter rain” (Jas 5:7).

As we near the end of this age, evil men will wax worse and worse (2Ti 3:12-13, 2Ti 3:1-5), and our trials will increase in order to purify our faith and deepen our patience as we become as our Father who is perfect, loving our enemies and being blessed to endure until the end doing so (Mat 5:45-48). This perfection God is forming within His kind of first fruits is the first step in bringing in the rest of His creation through that fitly framed body of Christ who will be used by God to bring in the ‘all in all’ through Jesus Christ our head (1Co 15:28).

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

]]> The Book of Hebrews – Heb 10:19-29 “Looking for the Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto Eternal Life” – Part 3 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-book-of-hebrews-heb-1019-29-looking-for-the-mercy-of-our-lord-jesus-christ-unto-eternal-life-part-3/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-book-of-hebrews-heb-1019-29-looking-for-the-mercy-of-our-lord-jesus-christ-unto-eternal-life-part-3 Thu, 21 Jan 2021 21:38:56 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=21980 https://www.dropbox.com/s/j5qewepkxa65dpc/Tony%20Heb-10_19-29.mp3?raw=1

Heb 10:19-29 “Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” – Part 3

[Study Aired January 21, 2021]

Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Heb 10:26  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
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?

This section of Hebrews 10 can be summarized with this section of God’s word in Romans 6:10-11 which states, “For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In other words, it is through Christ alone that we can with “boldness…enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus”.

The fruit which God is working in the lives of those who have been called and chosen to live “by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20-21) is unfolding at the altar of God where God’s workmanship is bound to that altar (Rom 12:1, Psa 118:27). We are learning to trust Him as we put off our flesh and learn of His power and might which works within each member, each joint, that God uses to “maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph 1:12-14, Eph 4:16). If Christ is living in us, we will be learning to trust in him, and we will together be “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”(Jud 1:20-21, Jer 29:13).

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Jud 1:20  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Jud 1:21  Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

There is a strong emphasis in these verses we’re looking at (Heb 10:19-29) that speak of where the boldness we need to serve the living God comes from (Heb 4:16, Eph 6:19, Col 4:3-6) “in the house of God”, and how it is formed through holding “fast the profession of our faith without wavering”(Joh 8:31-32).

Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Eph 6:19  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Eph 6:20  For which I am an ambassador in bonds [Psa 118:27]: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Col 4:3  Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
Col 4:4  That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
Col 4:5  Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Col 4:6  Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering” (Heb 10:23)] then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

None of us are exempt from doing our part that brings us into this “new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh“(Heb 10:20) because we are his flesh and bones (Eph 5:30), and so the urgent plea goes out in verses 24 and 25 to “let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some”.

Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

As well, the new and living way will be of no consequence if we don’t consider ourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ, and so we’re reminded that when we do come together, it is to partake of this new and living way in each other that is the communion we have with the body and blood of Christ (1Co 10:16). It is “in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God” unfolding within us, that we can do the same thing with Christ in us as our hope of glory has done before us (Rom 6:10-12, 1Jn 4:17).

1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

Rom 6:10  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

It is in God’s holy house that we are where we don’t forsake our assembling in Him and where His workmanship is being accomplished (Eph 2:10). It is because of the Godly fear we are given that we can overcome and work together, moving with fear to the saving of our house (Heb 11:7), the house of God that we don’t forsake (Heb 10:25) as a many membered body that Christ is building (Psa 127:1, Psa 133:1).

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.

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh <but in vain.

Psa 133:1  A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

God’s elect will be instrumental in helping each other endure to the end as we bear each other’s burdens (Gal 6:2) and wash each other’s feet (Joh 13:14), and in so doing fulfill the “law of Christ” in our members who are witnessing to the world that we are His disciples indeed. He has separated us for the world’s sake and for each other today, giving us that extra oil for our lamps (Mat 25:7-9) because we have been blessed to receive the counsel from his word that tells us 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”, the very thing we need in order to have that extra oil to help us endure to the end in order to be saved (Rom 12:1, Rev 3:18, Rom 11:15-20, Mat 24:13). God is in the process of burning out any highmindedness (Rom 11:20, Luk 17:10) that when overcome, gives us to see clearly that we are who we are in God’s master plan only because of the root, Jesus Christ, Who is holding us up and delivering us from ourselves for the sake of the rest of His creation (Oba 1:21). Knowing these things is what we look to and remind ourselves of, being established in these present truths as we keep “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”.

Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

The new and living way gives us power to enter “into the holiest” and that is done by the “blood of Jesus“. We have read what is in the holiest also called the “Holiest of all” (Heb 9:4). In order for us to be there, we must enter in “by the blood of Jesus“. It takes the blood of Jesus which represents His words, His spirit within us (Rom 9:8, 2Ti 1:7), as it cleanses our conscience to be able to boldly continue to come before God without wavering (Heb 4:16, Heb 3:13-14, Rom 4:18-20).

The “holiest” as we’ve seen is referring to that section in the tabernacle called “the Holiest of all”, and it is there that the “cherubims of glory”, who represent the elect who have gone onto perfection and are accompanied with “the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant” reside (Heb 9:4). We reside there today in earnest, being raised together into that holiest of places (Eph 2:6), as we go through a lifetime of judgment so we can be made ready to do the work of God, which work involves going out and healing the world with His judgments in the earth (Isa 26:9), His words, that are all represented by those purified items in “the Holiest of all”. All of this judgment is now currently upon the house of God, and the present suffering this judgment brings upon us is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed when we go onto perfection on the third day (Rom 8:18).

Christ and His words as our hope of glory within (Col 1:27) is the “new and living way” (Joh 14:6) which Christ, by the power of God’s holy spirit, “consecratedG1457 for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” That was true for Christ’s flesh that was dedicated for the sins of the world (Heb 9:18), and as he is so are we (1Jn 4:17), being judged in our flesh, and filling up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ for His body’s sake “which is the church” (Col 1:24, Eph 5:30).

Heb 9:18  Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicatedG1457 without blood.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

The very first chapter of Hebrews explains how great “an high priest over the house of God” our Father has given us (Heb 1:1-7), so we can “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” seeing it is the faith of Christ that makes this possible (Rom 3:27, Gal 2:20, Luk 22:32).

Heb 1:1  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Heb 1:4  Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Heb 1:5  For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
Heb 1:6  And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Heb 1:7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

Rom 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me [1Jn 4:17]: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee [1Jn 4:17, 1Jn 5:4], that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

When we draw near, we can be assured that our advocate (1Jn 2:1-2) will sprinkle our hearts from an evil conscience with blood on the altar (Heb 9:21) which represents His word that washes us, “our bodies washed with pure water” (Eph 5:25-27).

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Heb 9:21  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

It doesn’t say “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering” because we are faithful. No! What it does say is that it is because “he is faithful that promised“. Christ is the faithful author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2-3) to whom we look, to whom we hold fast and wrestle with through the night not letting any man take our crown (Gen 32:24-26, Rev 3:11-12).

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:3  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Gen 32:24  And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Gen 32:25  And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
Gen 32:26  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon himmy new name.

This section of scripture is talking about running the race with the confidence that God has called us to have in Christ to know that we can win with him as the author and finisher of our faith (Php 1:6). Then the scriptures go on to show us that we are not winning this race for ourselves or to our own glory, but we are running to obtain an incorruptible crown together. God says the way we are to run this race is to wash each other’s feet (Joh 13:14), being each other’s servant (Mat 20:25-28), or said another way, “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” as Christ did and does for us.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Joh 13:14  If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

Mat 20:25  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
Mat 20:26  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Mat 20:27  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Mat 20:28  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

We’re not all given the privilege to be assembled together often, but if we can, we should, and for those who can’t physically come together, we are gifted in this age with internet and email, phones and texts, Zoom recordings and yes, even ‘snail mail’. We pray for each other always with a love that binds us right ‘here’ in spirit (Col 2:5, 1Co 5:3).

Col 2:5  For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
Col 2:6  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Col 2:7  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

To not forsake the “assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is” is a matter of where our hearts are, so when we come together we are told that it should be for the express purpose of “exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching“.

I’m writing these notes while listening in on the fellowship call with Gale beside me, and I keep hearing that spirit of exhorting and carrying and provoking unto love and good works which is our reasonable service, and a witness of Christ’s discipleship being formed within us (Rom 12:1, Heb 10:25, Joh 13:35) as we come together with a psalm, a doctrine, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation, unto the edifying of itself in love (1Co 14:26, Eph 4:16).

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

1Co 14:26  How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Heb 10:26  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28  He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
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?

We are a living sacrifice in Christ for each other, but if we forsake one another in spirit and do not partake of that living sacrifice we receive in the communion God has given us, that would be an example of sinning “wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth“.

There “remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” if we have lost that desire to be with our body which is a living sacrifice, so we need to keep provoking one another to love and good works as we keep coming together often and so much the more as we see the day approaching (Heb 10:25, Mal 3:16).

Christ does not pull any punches but simply tells us that if we forsake the assembling of ourselves and exhorting each other when we come together or from a distance, “a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” awaits us. The adversary needs to be destroyed now, and he needs to fall from our heavens like lightning now. If our names are written in heaven and we are Jesus Christ’s body that is precisely what is going to happen (Luk 10:18-20).

Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luk 10:20  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Coming together and caring for one another with much exhortation (Act 20:2, 1Co 14:3, 1Ti 4:13, Heb 13:22) testifies to the fact that we are His witnesses, and so the very fitting verses that end this section of our study declare what the two witnesses in Revelation 11 show us in type and shadow (Rev 11:3-6, Rev 11:11-13).

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev 11:6  These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

Rev 11:11  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Rev 11:12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
Rev 11:13  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Those who “despised Moses’ law” typify those who forsake the assembling of the brethren in this manner, not buying that oil needed to trim the lamp, not stirring each other up putting each other in remembrance to continue to be established in the present truth (2Pe 1:1-14), and they “died without mercy under two or three witnesses“, physically, which typifies the second death they will experience, the much sorer judgement to condemnation that will occur in the lake of fire to those who are not judged in this life.

2Pe 1:8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
2Pe 1:11  For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:12  Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
2Pe 1:13  Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;

Let us as therefore as the body of Christ continue to look “for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life“.

Jud 1:21  Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

]]> The Book of Hebrews – Heb 2:4-9 “We Ought to Give the More Earnest Heed” – Part 2 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-book-of-hebrews-heb-24-9-we-ought-to-give-the-more-earnest-heed-part-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-book-of-hebrews-heb-24-9-we-ought-to-give-the-more-earnest-heed-part-2 Sat, 06 Jun 2020 02:00:45 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=20921 Heb 2:4-9 “We Ought to Give the More Earnest Heed” – Part 2
[Study Aired June 4, 2020}

Heb 2:4  God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? 
Heb 2:5  For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. 
Heb 2:6  But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 
Heb 2:7  Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
Heb 2:8  Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 
Heb 2:9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

God is bearing witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles (1Co 12:4-27) and gifts of the Holy Ghost (1Pe 4:10-13, Rev 19:7), “according to his own will“, according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11), giving those gifts to those who were predestined to overcome in this age.

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

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.

That overcoming in the life of the elect needed to be preceded  by Jesus who “by the grace of God should taste death for every man”, and now we are tasting death as He did (1Jn 4:17). We are “fill[ing] up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church” as we die daily together as the many-membered one body of Christ (Col 1:24). We are raised in earnest together today (Eph 2:6) and will be raised to the fullness of that glory as Christ was in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye (1Th 4:16-17).

It is because God is mindful of His elect today, the apple of His eye toward whom He is being rich in mercy today, for his great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, that we can be quickened together with Christ (Rom 5:5; by grace ye are saved – Eph 2:5, 8) as He has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:4-6).

These divers “gifts…administrations” and “operations” from God spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:4-10 are miraculous, and they detail for us how the manifold wisdom of God is made manifest and known through the church (Eph 3:10). These divers “gifts…administrations” and “operations” from God are given so we can learn to “give the more earnest heed” in this life as we ought!

1Co 12:4  Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
1Co 12:5  And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. [2Co 3:17, Jas 1:17]
1Co 12:6  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
1Co 12:7  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
1Co 12:8  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
1Co 12:9  To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
1Co 12:10  To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
1Co 12:11  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will [Eph 1:11].

1Co 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ [the Christ].
1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1Co 12:14  For the body is not one member, but many.
1Co 12:15  If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:16  And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:17  If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
1Co 12:18  But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
1Co 12:19  And if they were all one member, where were the body?
1Co 12:20  But now are they many members, yet but one body.
1Co 12:21  And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
1Co 12:22  Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
1Co 12:23  And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
1Co 12:24  For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:
1Co 12:25  That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
1Co 12:26  And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
1Co 12:27  Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

1Pe 4:10  As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God [Eph 3:10].
1Pe 4:11  If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen [“give honour to him“].
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.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

The context of rejoicing spoken of in 1 Peter 4:13 is this: “inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings” because it takes that communion of the body and blood of Christ (1Co 10:16), that trying of our faith, that suffering, along with all the gifts given being of the selfsame spirit to make us a unified and healthy body of Christ “from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph 4:16).

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

We can overcome when God gives us the power to do so (Zec 4:6, 1Co 3:6), as we’re strengthened to continue to endure the suffering, the persecutions and the false accusations (Mat 5:11-13) we are experiencing with the people of God through a process more valuable than all the riches of this world (Heb 11:26-27, Php 3:8-9). With minds that are armed with the suffering of Christ (1Pe 4:1-2), and knowing there is nothing that can separate us from His love, and that there is nothing to be compared to what God has set before those who love him in this age (Rom 8:35-39, 1Co 2:9), we have every reason to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, trusting that God will finish what He has started in us through Christ as we look to the joy that has been set before us (Heb 12:1-2) so that we don’t grow weary in well doing. In due season, as God’s kind of first fruits who have their season, we will reap if we faint not (Php 1:6, Gal 6:9).Where no vision is, people perish, and so it is by looking to Christ in all things we will gain that vision so we don’t grow weary in well doing, and don’t forsake the assembling of ourselves together where God provides that vision through the body of Christ (Pro 29:18).

Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Mat 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, [Mat 19:27  Christ’s answer to Peter (Mat 19:28-30) is predicated on being “found in him, not having mine own righteousness” of Phillipians 3:9].
Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward [Mat 19:28-30].
Heb 11:27  By faith [1Jn 5:4] he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; [Col 1:24]
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men [“which is of the law” (Php 3:9], but to the will of God [“which is through the faith of Christ” (Php 3:9)].

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [No, these things actually approve us in the Lord and make it possible for His power to rest upon us. (2Co 12:9, Jas 4:6)]
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. [These are the very things God uses to bring about the dying daily, killed all the day long process “tribulation,  distress, persecution, famine,  nakedness,  peril, and sword”]
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
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.

Last week we looked at how, “We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” This week we will focus on how that will be made possible through Jesus Christ and His body which is a living sacrifice for the very purpose of taking care of one another as we bear each other’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, “till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Heb 2:4  God also bearing them witnessG4901, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? 

This word “bearing them witness G4901″ is accompanied with “both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will” that is being accomplished through the church, through the witness of Christ in his body which is the church.

Luk 24:48  And ye are witnesses of these things.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

The manifold knowledge which produces faith for the hearer (Eph 3:10, Rom 10:17) is then tried in the fire as God gives this increase that matures His children (1Pe 1:7), the bride of Christ, through a process that the many joints are experiencing together and contributing together (1Pe 4:12-13, 1Co 12:26, Eph 4:16), as we grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ (Eph 2:8-9, 2Pe 3:18). As we grow we are bearing one another’s burdens through this communion of the body and blood of Christ with the saints of God (1Co 10:16).

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 [happened unto you alone]:
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.

1Co 12:26  And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

G4901 sunepimartureō soon-ep-ee-mar-too-reh’-o
From G4862 and G1957; to testify further jointly, that is, unite in adding evidence: – also bear witness.

G4862 sun soon
A primary preposition denoting union; with or together (but much closer than G3326 or G3844), that is, by association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc.: – beside, with. In compounds it has similar applications, including completeness.

G1957 epimartureō ep-ee-mar-too-reh’-o
From G1909 and G3140; to attest further, that is, corroborate: – testify.

Heb 2:5  For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. 
Heb 2:6  But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 

The world to come is not put in subjection to the angels that minister (Heb 1:14) to those who are subject to one another as unto Christ (Eph 5:21). That blessing is first reserved for Christ and His Christ (1Co 15:23, 1Co 15:27-28). Christ was that first angel who was subject unto His Father in all things, and now we are learning through our high priest to be subject unto Christ and his body in all things, and that is being accomplished through the grace and faith that is ministered with the aforementioned, “signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost.”

Heb 1:14  Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Eph 5:21  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

We are as Christ (1Jn 4:17) and blessed and honoured and highly favored to receive these gifts today, the “signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost” that create the unity in the body of Christ and demonstrate who that manchild of God is (Mat 2:11). When God is mindful of man, He is mindful through the mind of Christ from whence comes every good and perfect gift from above “and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas 1:17). The gifts given to the child of Matthew 2:11 were under the care of Mary and Joseph and represent the spiritual life this child of God is going to one day be able to give to the body of Christ, the “signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost.” It is those three gifts of “gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” that represent the process of judgment upon our old man and remind us why Mary, who represents the church, was so highly favored to have borne this savior for our sakes and to have been pierced in her heart, as we all are being, so that “the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” through the church of which Mary is a type that must be judged in this age (Luk 2:35, 1Pe 4:17).

When we are visited of God (“that thou visitest him“), we are being judged of Him (Luk 19:42) and healed by His word that is likened unto living waters (Joh 7:37). Visited of God in this age means being first to be dragged to Christ by the Father (Joh 6:44) and given this thirst for the living waters that spiritually quench us in this age (Joh 6:55), to the end that we can be sent forth as Christ was to bring those same living waters to a world that has no stay of bread or water in it (Joh 20:21, Isa 3:1).

Heb 2:7  Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 
Heb 2:8  Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
Heb 2:9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

This section of Hebrews explains to us how God made His strength perfect through Christ in a weak body of carnal flesh that was subject to all the same pulls of the flesh that you and I are (Heb 4:15-16).

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Before Christ was crowned “with glory and honour“, before He “didst set him over the works of thy hands” in the fullness of that event, which is an unfolding event, Christ, by God’s decree, was made “a little lower than the angels” for our sakes so He could identify with our lowly position in this same corruptible ‘dying you shall die’ flesh (Gen 2:17 LITV).

Ultimately God tells us in these verses of Hebrews 2:7-9 that there is a process through which Christ and His body have to experience in order to see all things brought into subjection onto him, and unto us (1Jn 4:17). Christ is establishing that reality through the church, through the “gifts” “administrations” and “operations” spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:4-27 so that “the works of thy hands” God the Father has given Christ to rule over as His workmanship can one day be brought into subjection to God who will be “all in all”:  “But now we see not yet all things put under him” (1Co 15:28).

Again in verse nine it is repeated — “we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death” — to demonstrate this important point that witnesses to us all who Christ is for us today, and how Christ is doing this work within us both to will and to do of our Father’s good pleasure (Php 2:13), just as it was God’s good pleasure to do the works he did in Christ’s life when he was on the earth (Luk 12:32, Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5). The witness is simply this: that with Christ in us as our hope of glory, we can die daily and taste death for every man as Christ himself did (1Co 15:31).

We are God’s workmanship (Eph 2:10), and it is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom of God (Luk 12:32) both in the age to come as well as now in earnest, where we have this treasure in earthen vessels (2Co 4:7) even as we are saved by that hope of glory within us (Col 1:27, Rom 8:24) which bears witness within us (Rom 8:16) that God can and will finish what He has started in each and every one of us who was predestined to be His workmanship in this age (Php 1:6), all to the glory of our Great God as He accomplishes these things and gives the increase via the “gifts” “administrations” and “operations” of 1 Corinthians 12:4-27 through the church (Eph 3:10).

If we are granted to “taste death for every man” as Christ did by dying daily in this age, it will be by the gift of faith God gives us so we can believe. Through the strength of Christ, who is the author and finisher of that faith, we can endure until the end all the suffering that is also on behalf of this blessed and holy relationship we have with our Father, Jesus Christ and His body.

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Next week we will look at these next few verses of this rich section of Hebrews which looks more closely at the captain of our salvation who was made perfect through suffering and how He overcame the devil who had the power of death and is doing the same thing for us today as the body of Christ.

Heb 2:10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Heb 2:12  Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

]]> Studies in Psalms – Psa 138:1-8 “For we are His Workmanship, Created in Christ Jesus unto Good Works” https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/studies-in-psalms-psa-1381-8-for-we-are-his-workmanship-created-in-christ-jesus-unto-good-works/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=studies-in-psalms-psa-1381-8-for-we-are-his-workmanship-created-in-christ-jesus-unto-good-works Thu, 21 Nov 2019 22:11:24 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=19815 Psa 138:1-8 “For we are His Workmanship, Created in Christ Jesus unto Good Works”
[Study Aired November 21, 2019]

Psa 138:1  A Psalm of David. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. 
Psa 138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. 
Psa 138:3  In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. 
Psa 138:4  All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. 
Psa 138:5  Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD. 
Psa 138:6  Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. 
Psa 138:7  Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. 
Psa 138:8  The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. 

This section of scripture, a letter written to the Philippians from Paul (Php 1:1-30), helps bring to life the words of this particular Psalm, as it reminds us how blessed we are to “let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ” spoken of in Phillipians 1:17.

God is preparing the bride of Christ at the end of this age (Rev 19:7) as He did in the days of “Paul and Timotheus” who were servants of Jesus Christ who had come to Philippi to acknowledge “all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons”. In like manner, David was rejoicing in the strength God was providing for him and prophesied what would happen inwardly to the elect of God who are blessed today to hear the voice of the true Shepherd stated this way in this Psalm: “All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth” (Mat 13:16, 1Jn 4:6).

Php 1:1  Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Php 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

We see the array of help God provided for the body of Christ in those opening words just read in Philippians 1:1 and how it would be by favor shown to the church, along with the peace and every good and perfect gift that comes from above from our Father of lights (Jas 1:17), that the ‘many members’ of Christ’s body are used to minister to each other. God will continue to bring us into remembrance of each other for the sake of Christ, making prayers and requests for one other with joy as He moves the circumstances of our lives with that “one spirit” and one mind which is “striving together for the faith of the gospel”. That is what God is doing with His workmanship which is being created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Eph 2:10, Eph 1:4).

Our fellowship is “in the gospel from the first day until now”, and we are called to be “confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Php 1:6). That in itself is reason enough to “praise thee with my whole heart” as we learn how He makes His strength perfect in weakness (2Co 12:9).

This psalm begins with high praise and worship toward God “for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” and the correlation of His strength being made perfect through our weakness is immediately made at the beginning of the Psalm where these words are uttered: “In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.” It is that strength God gives us which makes it possible for His word to be magnified within us, above all our earthly concerns, giving us peace that passes all understanding (Php 4:7).

God’s workmanship, His children, are called to have a conscience that is not condemned in itself:  “in nothing terrified by your adversaries” (Php 1:28), within or without (1Jn 2:1, 1Jn 4:4, 1Jn 4:18), but rather we are given the mind of Christ which is a mind of power, love and soundness (2Ti 1:7) that causes us to “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel” as we “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Php 3:14). These verses speak about the workmanship or circumstances God is in the process of building through Christ (Php 1:7-19), and the fruit of that workmanship is described in Philippians 2:1-7.

Php 1:7  Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart [Mat 6:21]; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
Php 1:8  For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. [more in regard to what God’s workmanship looks like (Php 2:1-7)]
Php 1:9  And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; [growing beyond just partaking of herbs or just being nourished on the milk of the word receiving strong meat in time being able to rightly divide and judge a matter (Heb 6:1, Mat 23:23, Heb 5:14)]
Php 1:10  That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; [Rev 20:6]
Php 1:11  Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. [1Pe 2:9, Jas 1:18]
Php 1:12  But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
Php 1:13  So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
Php 1:14  And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Php 1:15  Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
Php 1:16  The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
Php 1:17  But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
Php 1:18  What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
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,

Php 2:1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Php 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Php 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
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:

The workmanship of God is accomplished by our giving an accounting of our sins, acknowledging as first fruits that “he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”. God’s love is perfected by keeping His word and abiding in it through this life, and we are being sanctified in this age “for his name’s sake” (Joh 17:17, 1Jn 2:3-12). John concludes in 1 John 2:12 as he started in that same chapter: “And he is the propitiation for our sins” which is “for his name’s sake“.

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them [those who first hear the word of God and give an accounting] through thy truth: thy word is truth.

1Jn 2:12  I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Psa 138:1  A Psalm of David. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. 
Psa 138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. 

A good example of these verses being fulfilled in the new covenant is with Paul on Mars Hill where he met the Athenians who had itching ears and needed to hear some new thing all the time (2Ti 3:7, 2Ti 4:3, Act 17:21-27).

2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2Ti 4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

Act 17:21  (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
Act 17:22  Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
Act 17:23  For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. [“before the gods will I sing praise unto thee“]
Act 17:24  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25  Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Act 17:26  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Act 17:27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

To stop being an AthenianG117  G116 we must acknowledge all these devotions, or idols of our hearts, we set up from Babylon, who like Athena, the “Goddess of wisdom”, reflects our first position in the flesh of being ever searching and never coming to the knowledge of the truth.

When we do “praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee” and “worship toward thy holy temple [1Co 3:16], and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name“, it is only because God has been dragging us out of Babylon (2Co 6:17, Joh 6:44) to worship the one true God in spirit and truth (Joh 4:24), or “THE UNKNOWN GOD” whom we witness to a world that does not yet know Him and are hid in (Col 3:3, Col 1:27).

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Psa 138:3  In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. 
Psa 138:4  All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. 
Psa 138:5  Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD. 

The “day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul” is the day when God brings me to my wits’ end and I come to acknowledge my blindness and need for him to continually deliver me from myself  (Psa 107:2-8).

Psa 107:2  Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Psa 107:3  And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
Psa 107:4  They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. [no AthenianG117  G116 city founded on the wisdom of men]
Psa 107:5  Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Psa 107:6  Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:7  And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
Psa 107:8  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! [Luk 15:17-23]

That is the time when “All the kings of the earth [within me] shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth” [1Jn 4:6, Mat 13:16].

It is because of those wonderful works unto the children of men that we “give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psa 107:1), expressed this way in verse five: “Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD“.

Psa 138:6  Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. 
Psa 138:7  Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. 
Psa 138:8  The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. 

These last three verses of Psalm 138 are filled with hope, describing the grandeur and power of our great Father in heaven with these words: “Though the LORD be high“, reassuring us that regardless of His mighty authority or sovereign hand over all aspects of His workmanship (Eph 1:11), yet “hath he respect unto the lowly” and being a just God “the proud he knoweth afar off” meaning He knows our sinful state and will deliver us from it (Luk 2:12, Zec 9:9, Php 2:6-10, Mat 23:12, 1Jn 4:17, Psa 51:1-3, Isa 1:18, Psa 103:12).

Luk 2:12  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. [As he is, so are we in that lowly state.]

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

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.
Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Mat 23:12  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

We “walk in the midst of trouble” by virtue of the fact that we are in the flesh (Job 14:1), and yet our hope is that “thou wilt revive me [Joh 6:63, 1Co 15:31]: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies [within and without Mat 10:16, 2Co 13:5, Jas 1:23], and thy right hand shall save me [Eph 2:6, Mar 16:18-19, Col 1:27]”.

Job 14:1  Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

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.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

2Co 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Jas 1:23  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Mar 16:18  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Mar 16:19  So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

The last verse of our study tonight (Psa 138:8) gives us the greatest reason to rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice (Php 4:4) because: “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me” on the third day (Luk 13:32) and His mercy will prevail: “thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever” (Rom 11:11, Rom 11:16, Rom 11:18-20, Rom 11:30-31).

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

Rom 11:11  I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Rom 11:16  For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

Rom 11:18  Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19  Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear.

The workmanship of His hands which is now bound to the altar [Psa 118:27] will be accomplished, and he will “forsake not the works of thine own hands” [Mar 10:39, Isa 49:15, Php 1:6] , not for our sakes but for his name’s sake [1Jn 2:12].

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. [Gen 22:9, Heb 13:3]

Gen 22:9  And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Heb 13:3  Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them [Col 1:24]; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body [Rom 12:5].

Mar 10:39  And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

Isa 49:15  Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you [Eph 2:10] will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

1Jn 2:12  I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.

]]> Studies in Psalms – Isa 123:1-4 “Keep Back thy Servant Also From Presumptuous Sins” https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/studies-in-psalms-isa-1231-4-keep-back-thy-servant-also-from-presumptuous-sins/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=studies-in-psalms-isa-1231-4-keep-back-thy-servant-also-from-presumptuous-sins Sun, 14 Jul 2019 01:13:05 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=19064 Psa 123:1-4 “Keep Back Thy Servant also from Presumptuous Sins”

Psa 123:1  A Song of degrees. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
Psa 123:2  Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us. 
Psa 123:3  Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. (despised, shamed) H937
Psa 123:4  Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud. 

H937  From H936; disrespect: – contempt (-uously), despised, shamed.

The body of Christ will overcome the feelings of contempt we feel from the world by lifting “up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help”. Our recent study with Psalm 121 really has the hope-filled message we need to contemplate as it explains how we can deal “with the contempt of the proud”.

Psa 121:1  A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 
Psa 121:2  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 
Psa 121:3  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 
Psa 121:4  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 
Psa 121:5  The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. 
Psa 121:6  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 
Psa 121:7  The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 
Psa 121:8  The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. 

We must look diligently and ask ourselves daily ‘do I have this contempt in my heart toward others, toward my enemies, (Mat 5:23-24)? Do I have a presumptuous spirit that is going to lead to a root of bitterness (Eph 4:29-32, Heb 12:15)?’ Or has God granted us to see that we are not of the number (2Co 10:12-17) and rather than compare ourselves amongst ourselves we understand the blessing that is our to examine our own hearts and minds as we die daily and are judged of the Lord (Rom 2:4). I pray we are blessed and granted to see that when we lift our eyes to the Lord “from whence cometh my help”, and when we “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens” “as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters” or “as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress”, it is because the Lord has opened our eyes to see that we are being told in type and shadow how we are to be subject unto one another as unto Christ who we are dragged to in each other (1Pe 5:5-9, Joh 6:44). If we are granted to have “our eyes wait upon the LORD our God” within each other, then that is the exercise of degrees that will create the conditions for the Lord to “have mercy upon us” — a mercy that we need to show toward each other for “we are exceedingly filled with contempt (despised, shamed) H937” by the world around us and need to comfort one another to be able to endure until the end of this age.

Mat 5:23  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 
Mat 5:24  Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 

Eph 4:29  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 
Eph 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 
Eph 4:31  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 
Eph 4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. 

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

2Co 10:12  For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 
2Co 10:13  But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. 
2Co 10:14  For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: 
2Co 10:15  Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, 
2Co 10:16  To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand. 
2Co 10:17  But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

1Pe 5:5  Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 
1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 
1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. </span
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 
1Pe 5:9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. 

The title of our study “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous  sins” can be accomplished in the body of Christ by being granted to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, knowing we are in the faith (1Co 11:28-29), and beseeching God to help us continue in our quest of “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God“.

1Co 11:28  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 
1Co 11:29  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ is the old saying, and when we continue to know Christ after the flesh in the wrong way so that our relationship with Him does not mature (Joh 6:35), then that bread of life we have will breed worms as the type and shadow story in Exodus reminds us it will do if we are not discerning of our relationship with each other in Christ. That is one of the great lessons from this story in Exodus (Exo 16:17-21, Heb 6:1-3).

Breeding contempt through that familiar spirit results in a presumptuous spirit that takes God’s direction and commandments, and turns it into a lawless relationship (1Co 11:18-33). We become part of the number, comparing ourselves with ourselves and losing sight of the one whose eyes we are to continually be turning to and looking for in each other. When we are only familiar with Christ after the flesh and not seeking for him with all our hearts in the spirit we will demonstrate a divisive spirit of that yet carnal mind that we must overcome through Christ (Psa 121:1, 2Co 5:16, 1Co 3:3).

These verses which use the phrase “after the flesh” drive this point home that our walk must be in the spirit as we worship our Father, who is spirit, in spirit and in truth (Joh 4:24).

Joh 8:15  Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 

Rom 8:12  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 
Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 

1Co 10:18  Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 

2Co 11:18  Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. 

Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 

Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 

2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 

A presumptuous spirit is born out of a contemptuous and proud heart, and results in our accusing the brethren or judging a matter before its time, and with such a heart we will experience the opposite of  Psalm 121:6 which says “The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night”. So it is extremely important we overcome this spirit and beseech the Lord to, “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.” Not taking Christ or any part of his body for granted, and keeping the body healthy with the crook that works to shepherd and to protect God’s little flock from false doctrine, heresies, and high mindedness is the means to the end that God gives us to overcome that sin of presumptuousness throughout this life (Rom 11:20).

Psa 123:1 A Song of degrees. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

Once again it is a “song of degrees” defining the process of judgment we must endure in order to mature in Christ and be kept from presumptuous sin.

Lifting up our eyes is the type and shadow event discussed when “Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel” of Genesis 24:64.

Gen 24:64  And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

We light off our gentile camel in our hearts and minds when we are granted to see Christ and be dragged toward him (Joh 6:44), both events being typified with Rebekah and Isaac in this love story!

Christ dwells “in the heavens” where we are to set our affections (Col 3:2-3).

Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 
Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 

Before we lift up our eyes, however, we must be humbled in the earth as Ruth was (Rth 2:10-12), who typifies the elect who are blessed to “glean even among the sheaves”(Rth 2:15, Gen 37:7)

Rth 2:10  Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? [1Pe 2:9]
Rth 2:11  And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. 
Rth 2:12  The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. 

Rth 2:15  And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: 

Gen 37:7  For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

Psa 123:2  Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.

Again we see a beautiful parallel in the story of Ruth and Boaz of how “the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters“. When we labour in the site of our Lord for the meat that does not perish, when we wait upon him, our reward will always be certain, as we find grace in his sight.

Rth 2:2  And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. 

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.
Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 

Psa 123:3  Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

God’s mercy is then found and expressed to His elect bride after we labor in the field. We are told with these words of Boaz that the field to which we are called is being sanctified (Joh 17:17) and is set apart for those who have been ordained from the foundation of the world to hold fast (Eph 1:1-12) and work in this field (Rth 2:5-9).

Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 
Eph 1:2  Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 
Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 
Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 
Eph 1:8  Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 
Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 

Rth 2:4  And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem [house of bread], and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. 
Rth 2:5  Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? 
Rth 2:6  And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: 
Rth 2:7  And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves [Psa 27:4, Psa 84:10]: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. 
Rth 2:8  Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide (Joh 8:31-32) here fast by my maidens: [“and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress” God’s hand or Boaz’s mistress is where we want to “abide here fast“]
Rth 2:9  Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

Psa 37:16  A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. 

Psa 63:3  Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 

Psa 69:31  This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. 

Psa 84:10  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 

Psa 118:8  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 
Psa 118:9  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. 

Psa 119:72  The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. 

“Neither go from hence, but abide here fast [hold fast] by my maidens” (Rth 2:8)

1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 

2Ti 1:13  Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 

Heb 3:6  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. 

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 

Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 

Rev 2:25  But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. 

Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 

God will “have mercy upon us” His elect whom he knows are “exceedingly filled with contempt“, despised and rejected of the world as Christ was (Isa 53:3, Act 8:32, Rom 8:36, Gal 4:14). We gather in the corn as we labor in the word in the field, not being of the world but in it (Joh 17:16, 1Jn 2:15), and must through much tribulation and overcoming lay up store for those who will one day be brought to see and appreciate what we have been blessed and granted to “fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church” as we come out of the world through Christ’s power working in us (Heb 12:6, Eph 6:4, Col 1:24).

Isa 53:3  He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.

Act 8:32  Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth:

Rom 8:36  Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Eph 6:4  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord. 

Col 1:24  Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church; 

Psa 123:4  Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

If our names are written in heaven (Luk 10:20, Mat 10:22, Mat 5:10-11), then our souls are going to be experiencing the scoffing or scorning of the unbelieving who have not been given eyes to see or ears to hear in this age and say “Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2Pe 3:4-6). This attitude is the contemptuous spirit of the proud we discussed earlier. It is the spirit “of those that are at ease” (Rev 3:15-17, Rev 3:18), and it is this spirit that must be combatted by being about our Father’s business (Luk 2:49) that is carried about in our heavens as we overcome by laboring in the word in the field [striving to keep our eyes on Christ], so that we have enough to sustain us to be able to endure until the end (Mat 24:48, Mat 24:46, Mat 24:13).

Luk 10:20  Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. 

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. 

Mat 5:10  Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 
Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you. 

2Pe 3:4  and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 
2Pe 3:5  For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; 
2Pe 3:6  by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 

Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 
Rev 3:16  So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. 
Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.

Mat 24:48  But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord tarrieth; 
Mat 24:49  and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken; 
Mat 24:50  the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, 
Mat 24:51  and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 

Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 

]]> Studies in Psalms – Psa 112:6-10 “For by Grace are ye Saved Through Faith…” Part 2 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/studies-in-psalms-psa-1126-10-for-by-grace-are-ye-saved-through-faith-part-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=studies-in-psalms-psa-1126-10-for-by-grace-are-ye-saved-through-faith-part-2 Sat, 08 Dec 2018 21:31:28 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=17739 Psalm 112: 6-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” – Part 2

Psa 112:6  Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 
Psa 112:7  He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. 
Psa 112:8  His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. 
Psa 112:9  He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. 
Psa 112:10  The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. 

This week’s study points to how God’s elect will not be moved for everH5769: and shall be in everlastingH5769 remembrance as a result of being His workmanship in this age, who are being saved by the gift of grace through faith.

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. 

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

H5769  ‛ôlâm  ‛ôlâm   o-lawm’, o-lawm’

From H5956; properly concealed, that is, the vanishing point; generally time out of mind (past or future), that is, (practically) eternity; frequentative adverbially (especially with prepositional prefix) always: – always (-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, [n-]) ever (-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end). Compare H5331, H5703.

“‘Olawm,’ like ‘aion’ is a period of time with a beginning and an end. It may be very long or it may be very short, but in any case, it has nothing to do with eternity” (excerpt from:  http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-better-resurrection/)

God is preparing the hearts of His people to be able to heed the admonitions He gives us, and makes it possible for us to be more than conquerors through Christ (Rom 8:37). We “will not be moved for everH5769: and shall be in everlastingH5769 remembrance” is another way of saying that God’s elect will be recipients of the first commandment with promise (a parable) mentioned in Ephesians 6:2-3. The first commandment with promise applies to the kind of first fruits to which we are likened in James 1:18, and these following three verses remind us that God does not forget the rest of His creation but has a specific order in which all men will be saved.

Eph 6:2  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 
Eph 6:3  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. [the promise is not eternity but to “live long on the earth” during that ‘aion’ in which we will rule and reign under Christ (Rev 20:6)]

Luk 16:25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 

Luk 15:31  And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 
Luk 15:32  It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. 

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

We gain our life by losing it, and we lose it when the hedge is taken down and we are crushed under the stone and judged, being brought to see the true nature of our heart which is typified in the story of the prodigal son (Mat 21:44). The other son in the story of the prodigal represents that period when we are hedged up and are confident in our relationship with our Father, not knowing yet what is within us. The older son also represents those who are held back, and “all that I have is thine” is stated because we are rich and increased with goods and don’t see the need for that part of us to be tried in the fire or to go through the trial of our faith (Rev 3:17). Christ could have just as easily been speaking to the older son in the story of the prodigal when He said these words “But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things [“and all that I have is thine”, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented”.

Luk 16:25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

Luk 15:31  And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 
Luk 15:32  It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. 

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 

When we read therefore “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD” and “His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies” as well as “He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor“, we can understand that this is all only possible because of our hope of glory within, which gives us great reason to rejoice in Him always as we learn of His faithfulness to be with us through the much tribulation of this life which enables us to enter into the kingdom.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: 

Php 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

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. 

We will be able to eventually heed all the admonitions which God instructs us to receive, and again only because Christ is the one who is making it possible, accomplishing this miracle of overcoming little and by little (Deu 7:22) so that “his horn [power] shall be exalted with honour” within us, by destroying the wicked within us, as it is stated in the last verse, “he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.“

Overcoming the heaviness and sorrow of this life can only come about by the destruction of that man of sin within us through Christ (2Th 2:8, 1Jn 4:4, 1Jn 2:16), and this is being accomplished through fervent love and forgiveness. God has called and chosen us to be ready to demonstrate that love and care for each other in the most trying circumstances, as we are learning. He is preparing our hearts today to accomplish what will just naturally cause the love of many to wax cold at the end of the age even while his ‘disciples indeed’ shall be known by the love that they have to one another; love that is formed by being blessed to continue in His word.

1Pe 4:8  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Eph 4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. 

Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

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.

The modus operandi of Satan never changes – to try to rule over God’s elect as these verses demonstrate (Gen 6:7, Mat 24:24, Mat 10:16), but neither does God’s promise that we will be more than conquerors through Christ, so at the end of the day we will drink the cup (Mat 20:23) which God gives us and learn that all His promises toward us are true and are able to be accomplished by Christ giving us the power to overcome and fulfill them (Mat 10:16-22). There truly is no condemnation in the Lord even as we go through this process of overcoming the wicked one in the most difficult of circumstances (Rom 8:1-2, 2Co 3:17).

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. [we don’t naturally do well and the reason we are accepted and able to do well is because “he has made us accepted in the beloved” who is doing the work within us and giving us the power to overcome little and by little  (Eph 1:6, Rom 15:7)]

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 
Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 

Rom 15:7  Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

We receive each other in the Lord and follow each other as we follow Christ (1Co_11:1) to the end that we can be overcomers together of those events which God puts us up against to mature us as His children. Like the butterfly in the chrysalis that needs the struggle to break out of the cocoon otherwise it would not be able to fly and would remain grounded, but thanks be to God we can endure all things through Christ as we put off this flesh and learn of His righteousness through these struggles (Php 4:13, Mat 24:13).

Here are some of the struggles, the “much tribulation” (Act 14:22) with which God has blessed us and tells us that through Christ and His body we will be able to overcome:

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 
Mat 10:17  But beware of men [false Christs and false prophets who show these great signs and wonders]: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 
Mat 10:19  But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 
Mat 10:20  For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. [where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty]
Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [Joh_6:63 , Joh_14:23]

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 

Here is a list of events which Christ prophesied would cause both the love of many to “wax cold” while at the same time witnessing the power of God working in the very small remnant since Pentecost who our Father has promised will be more than conquerors through Christ (Rom 8:37, Luk 12:32). God’s elect acknowledge that all of these words in Matthew 24:24-51 apply inwardly in their appointed time in each of their lives, but also understand that there is a culmination of these events and an outward fulfillment which must manifest to show us who He predestined from the foundation of the world to be in that blessed and holy first resurrection (Zec 4:6, Mat 24:13, Php 4:13, Rev 20:6).

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 
Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before. 
Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 
Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (2Th 2:8, Luk 17:20-21, Joh 7:24).
Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 
Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 
Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. [inward application and dispensation outward fulfillment to happen as well]
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 
Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 
Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 
Mat 24:37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
Mat 24:38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 
Mat 24:39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
Mat 24:40  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 
Mat 24:41  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 
Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 
Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up (2Pe 1:5-8).
Mat 24:44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 
Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made [God had determined from the foundation of the world that we would be more than conquerers through Christ doing these works that He ordained “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. 
Mat 24:47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 
Mat 24:48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 
Mat 24:50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 
Mat 24:51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

It is “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God“, and it will be by that grace and faith of our Father that God’s elect will not say “My lord delayeth his coming” but will rather endure until the end and go through the seven (meaning ‘complete’) symbolic falls which we can and must endure in order to go unto perfection on the third day.

Pro 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. 

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. 

Psa 112:6  Surely he shall not be moved for everH5769: the righteous shall be in everlastingH5769 remembranceH2143. 

God will show the world, through the church, what it takes to form the body of Christ that “shall not be moved for ever“. 

CLV: Truly he shall not slip for the eon; The righteous one shall become an eonian remembrance.

Rotherham: Surely, unto times age-abiding, shall he not be shaken, In remembrance, age-abiding, shall the righteous one remain; 

YLT: For–to the age he is not moved; For a memorial age-during is the righteous.  

We are his workmanship, and we are becoming like our Father who does not change, and it is because we will eventually not change or “shall be in everlasting remembranceH2143” that others will learn and discern what God says is His righteousness within us, as opposed to what flesh defines as righteousness.

Mal 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. 

Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. 

Exo 3:15  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorialH2143 unto all generations.

Psa 135:13  Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and thy memorialH2143, O LORD, throughout all generations. 

Psa 6:5  For in death there is no remembranceH2143 of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? 

Psa 30:4  Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembranceH2143 of his holiness. 

Psa 97:12  Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembranceH2143 of his holiness. 

Psa 112:7  He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. 

We live in an age of “evil tidings” where men’s hearts are not fixed [Traitors, heady, highminded] or able to trust in the LORD as prophesied in the book of Timothy.

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 
2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 
2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 
2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 
2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (Mat 24:40-41).
2Ti 3:8  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses [the spirit of this age to come up against Christ and His Christ], so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith (Rom 10:17, Mat 15:7-8, Php 1:29, Joh 6:29, Joh 8:31, Jas 2:19).
2Ti 3:9  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. 
2Ti 3:10  But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 
2Ti 3:11  Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. [Because it was appointed to Paul not only to believe, just as it is with all of us, but also to suffer and to be delivered by “the Lord” (Php 1:29)].
2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 
2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 
2Ti 3:14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned (Joh 8:35-36, Joh 8:31-32) and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 
2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 
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. (which refers back to our fist verse tonight and is the reason we are not afraid of these evil tidings: Psa 112:6  Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance).

Psa 112:8  His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. 

The story of king David slaying Goliath is introduced right after the story of Saul worshipping God after his flesh in his own strength, with sacrifices in the flesh rather than spiritual obedience (1Sa 15:7-24). A contrast is being drawn for us between these two stories so that we see the difference between operating in our ‘religious flesh’ as opposed to being saved by the hand of the Lord and not of works, lest any man should boast. There were still works being produced in the life of king David, but they were acknowledged as the work of the Lord and were done to His glory alone [five smooth stones = grace and faith (1Sa 17:40)], as opposed to Saul’s disobedience to the commands of the Lord that said to slay them all (Eph 2:8-9, 1Sa 15:3-23)

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. 

1Sa 15:3  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 

David’s heart was established to do the work which God had set before him (1Sa 17:34-36) and the giant Goliath was symbolic bread for David that provoked the whole camp of Israel unto battle (1Sa 17:52), an event and battle that is synonymous with provoking one another unto love and good works (Num 14:9, Heb 10:24-25, 1Co 10:16)

1Sa 17:34  And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 
1Sa 17:35  And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 
1Sa 17:36  Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 

1Sa 17:52  And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 

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. 

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 
Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 

We shall eventually “not be afraid” because Christ cannot deny himself [his body the church (Col 1:24)], and we will finish this work of faith that must be contrasted with our weak flesh that naturally denies Christ and is afraid until we are given the power to overcome (Mat 26:34). We are spoken of as the generation which has no confidence in the flesh (2Ti 2:13, Php 1:6, Php 3:3) and are blessed to know that the flesh will be put off as God gives the increase and, “he see his desire upon his enemies“, the flesh that is against the spirit (Gal 5:17).

Psa 112:9  He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. 

God dispersesH6340 bountifully through the church and gives liberally to those whose hearts He has soften and made to hunger and thirst for righteousness. We are humbled under His mighty hand and caused to be contrite so God can write His laws on our hearts. The world is being witnessed to through the church, through the two witnesses that “his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn [power] shall be exalted with honour“.

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 

2Co 2:14  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 

Mat 5:6  Blessed [we are blessed of the Lord to have these changed hearts]are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. [Eph_2:6]

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  [Eph_2:6]

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. [including our desire to “hunger and thirst after righteousness”]

Jer 31:33  But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 

Psa 112:10  The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. 

This last verse would make no sense if we attributed the “wicked” and those who “be grieved” or “gnash with his teeth” or “melt away” to anyone else but ourselves! We are ‘the man’ as David confessed to Nathan, and what we are being told from cover to cover throughout scripture is that “the desire of the wicked shall perish”. That desire is within each and everyone who has ever drawn breath, and is conquered by God alone giving us dominion over sin via the holy spirit.

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;  

Psa 37:18  The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 
Psa 37:19  They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 
Psa 37:20  But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. 
Psa 37:21  The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. 
Psa 37:22  For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 
Psa 37:23  The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 
Psa 37:24  Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. 

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

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Isaiah 29:1-8 "I Will Distress Ariel, and There Shall Be Heaviness and Sorrow" - Discussion

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Isaiah 29:1-8 "I Will Distress Ariel, and There Shall Be Heaviness and Sorrow"

Isa 29:1  Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
Isa 29:2  Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.
Isa 29:3  And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.
Isa 29:4  And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
Isa 29:5  Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.
Isa 29:6  Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
Isa 29:7  And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.
Isa 29:8  It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

We continue our study of these words which have proceeded out of the mouth of God and by which we therefore must live (Mat 4:4).

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.

Christ quoted these words from:

Deu 8:1  All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.
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 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.

Matthew 4:4, quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3, cannot be overemphasized. The word that proceeds out of the mouth of God declares the rebellious sinfulness and the weakness of all flesh, and then the scriptures give us the judgments of the Lord which burn up our sinful works. It is an experience which is common to "every man" who has ever drawn breath:

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.

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

"You are the temple of God" and "every man's work... shall [be] tried [by] fire" demonstrating "what sort it is". There are no exceptions to the judgment of our works by the fiery words of God, but there is an order in which that judgment is taking place in "every man", and this is that order:

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 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

If "judgment must begin at the house of God", then judgment must continue upon the ungodly and sinner at a later date, which 'date' we are told is "the great white throne... judgment": These verses refer to that very event:

Eze 16:53  When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:
Eze 16:54  That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
Eze 16:55  When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Christ has "His Christ" who will "reign with [Him]" during the millennium, and who are then given to judge "the rest of the dead" in the "lake of fire" which begins at "the great white throne... judgment... when the thousand years are expired":

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Peter informs us that God has made Christ "both Lord and Christ".

Act 2:36  Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Christ had already told us that He was sending us "as [His] Father had sent [Him]" and that He was giving us a kingdom as His Father had given Him a kingdom:

Joh 20:21  Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.

Luk 22:29  And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Christ's Father sent Him "that the world through [Him] might be saved":

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Christ is sending His church for the exact same purpose, that "by the church... might be known...[Joh 17:3] the manifold wisdom of God":

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

"Gog and Magog" are the symbols for "the world... the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth... and fire [comes] down from God out of heaven and devours... the nations in the four quarters of the earth." This event is telling us that all flesh comes to an end at that moment in time. Immediately after telling us clearly "the nations in the four quarters of the earth" are destroyed by "fire... from God out of heaven", this is the next event we are told will then take place:

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The judgment which is even now on the house of God produces "the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God... and they live and reign with Christ a thousand years".

Ruling the kingdoms of this world during the thousand years is part of what sets "the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb" apart from all the rest of mankind. Truly "blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection..." Those who take part in that blessed and holy first resurrection are symbolized by the foundational [link here] number 12 in its multiple of 144,000:

Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The second death has no power on those who were part of the first death and the first resurrection at the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ, for the very reason that they were "the beginning of [the] judgment [which is even now upon] the house of God." God's judgments begin first with His own house, with "Ariel... the city where David dwelst" (1Pe 4:17).

Which brings us to the judgment of "the city of David" in the first verses of our study here in:

Isa 29:1  Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
Isa 29:2  Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.

"Add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. Yet I will distress Ariel and there shall be heaviness and sorrow" is the same as saying:

2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

The sacrifices continue to be offered and nothing seems to change. Both earthquakes and volcanoes are the result of pressure building up in the earth over many years. That great pressure is not visible to the eyes of the natural man, but the spiritual man sees that pressure building and weeps and mourns for the abominations which are causing that pressure to build up in the 'earth' as we do exactly what we were told not to do, and as we rebel against our own Maker:

Jer 12:8  Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.

Our lives "cry out against" our own Master for many years, even as we justify our sins and rebellions by the sacrifices we make to Him. "Let them kill sacrifices. Yet I will distress Ariel" is restated in 2 Peter in this way:

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

"The invisible things of God are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made" (Rom 1:20), and the day of the Lord is described in these words:

Isa 29:6  Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

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.

Volcanoes and earthquakes are the result of tremendous pressure built up over many years until it reaches a breaking point, and that pressure is released in a most destructive manner upon the earth. That is what our rebellious hearts and minds have done for years inwardly, and that is what this world is doing at this very moment outwardly and dispensationally.

Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
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?
Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

It takes an earthquake on our earth, and war in our heavens to crush our rebellious old man and drag him to Christ. The words have gone out of the mouth of God and they will not be changed:

Isa 45:23  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Isa 48:3  I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

The name 'Ariel' means:

H740
אֲרִיאֵל
'ărı̂y'êl
ar-ee-ale'
The same as H739; Ariel, a symbolical name for Jerusalem, also the name of an Israelite: - Ariel.

H740 is "the same as 739, which means:

H739
אֲרִאֵל    אֲרִיאֵל
'ărı̂y'êl    'ări'êl
ar-ee-ale', ar-ee-ale'
From H738 and H410; lion of God, that is, heroic: - lionlike men.

Here is a verse with this word which typifies all the other entries:

2Sa 23:20  And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike [Hebrew: ariel] men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion [Hebrew: ariel] in the midst of a pit in time of snow:

It is interesting and instructive that the holy spirit also translates this same word as 'altar' in:

Eze 43:15  So the altar [Hebrew: harel - mount of God] shall be four cubits; and from the altar [Hebrew: ariel] and upward shall be four horns.
Eze 43:16  And the altar [Hebrew: ariel] shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.

"Ariel" is the altar of God and as such 'Ariel' typifies us. We are "the heavenly things themselves" (Heb 9:23), including the heavenly 'altar' which must be "purified with better things than [the blood of calves and goats]" (Heb 9:23-24). The altar is where the life of the sacrifice is given to God. Therefore the altar signifies the cross where the sacrifice is given to God. The altar is the cross!

Twelve is the number of foundations. We are, in Christ, that foundation, that altar which is "twelve cubit's... foursquare". The offering is said to be "bound to the altar" so there is no escaping from our calling.

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Ezekiel 43 is a chapter about the Lord's temple, "which temple [we] are", and those who are given eyes that see know this chapter is a description of the Lord's elect, His dwelling place, because this is what we are told:

Eze 43:1  Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
Eze 43:2  And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
Eze 43:3  And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city [Ezekiel 9]: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
Eze 43:4  And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
Eze 43:5  So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
Eze 43:6  And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.
Eze 43:7  And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.

The altar before this temple is twelve cubits by twelve cubits. Twelve is the foundational number of the house of God (Rev 21:16). This twelve by twelve altar is Christ and those who are "crucifed with Christ" (Gal 2:20). The true meaning of the house and altar are the Lord's firstfruit elect, who, with Christ, are the altar of God where all His sacrifices are offered. Notice closely this incredible revelation about what constitutes the true temple and house of God:

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.

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

That is the true "temple of God" of which the physical temple in Jerusalem was but a "pattern of the things in the [true] heavens":

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

"The heaven itself", of which the physical temple was but a 'holy place made with hands... [a] figure of the true" temple in the true heavens, which 'true... temple' and which 'true... heavens' are the hearts and minds of His true followers who "do the things [He] says" (Luk 6:46).

The house and altar are both Christ and His Christ. In Him we are "bound to the altar with cords".

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Truly our salvation is secure if He 'binds us to the altar" for "who can resist Him":

2Ch 20:6  And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

"None is able to withstand" either God's mercy or a heart which He hardens. It is much easier to drag us to the altar if we are first tied up and dragged there by the Father Himself:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [Greek: helkuo - drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45  It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Joh 6:46  Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.

While we are yet in Babylon, the Lord already knows who are and who are not His elect. His elect are those who come out of Babylon. When we read:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

We are not being told that God's firstfruit elect never had the mark of the beast any more than Christ meant that those who believe on Him in this life will never physically die:

Joh 11:23  Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Joh 11:24  Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
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?

"Shall never die", but when? Since Lazarus and all of Christ's apostles have died and are awaiting the resurrection at this very moment, it is manifested that "shall never die" refers to resurrected life. Christ Himself died after speaking those words, but He was resurrected never to die again. Those who will be given to judge this world during the thousand-year reign of Christ are those who "had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands" after they repent of having done so earlier while in Babylon. That is what all in Babylon do, and that includes "all men small and great, rich and poor, free and bond":

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

But after God's elect are called out of Babylon, it can then be said that all such as "endure to the end" are they: "which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."

Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

But we do not simply volunteer to come out of Babylon. It takes an earthquake in our lives, the likes of which has never before shaken us, to drag us out of a harlot system which has deceived the whole world. Those who "come out of her" do so only because the Lord drags them out and to Himself:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [Greek: drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

This is how Christ goes about dragging us to Himself:

Isa 29:3  And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.
Isa 29:4  And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

Jeremiah tells us the same thing about how the Lord deals with us if we are His Jerusalem, His people.

Jer 25:8  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,
Jer 25:9  Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Jer 25:10  Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.
Jer 25:11  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

These words are primarily written to the Lord's firstfruits, His elect. These words have proceeded out of the mouth of God, and as our brother Dave Rogers once told me:

Brother Dave was simply paraphrasing this verse of scripture:

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.

Symbolic 'Babylon' rules over all of us for a symbolic "seventy years", the complete time needed to let our own wickedness correct us:

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
Jer 2:20  For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

Jer 30:11  For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

In Jeremiah 25 the Lord calls "the families of the north... Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, My servant" because that is exactly what they are, and judgment is said to come out of north:

Eze 9:1  He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
Eze 9:2  And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
Eze 9:3  And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
Eze 9:4  And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
Eze 9:5  And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
Eze 9:6  Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
Eze 9:7  And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
Eze 9:8  And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?

It is as natural as breathing to put all this judgment off on someone else and to think of ourselves as those who have the mark of God. Indeed, we will have the Lord's mark, but it will be so only after we first repent of our sins and acknowledge that it is we who have been void of His mark for so many long miserable years. The Lord's modus operandi is always to first bring us to see our sins and to bring us "to our wits' end" before He will bring us "to our desired haven":

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

There is the Lord's modus operandi.  Five times in this chapter we are told to thank the Lord for our trials which He brings upon us for our good:

Psa 107:1  O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psa 107:8  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psa 107:15  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psa 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

I get the impression from how often the Lord repeats this admonition for our need of a spirit of gratitude for the fiery trials he gives us for His wonderful works of judgment upon our sins are a very important part of our experience in His service.

This is what we are to rejoice about; this is taking place within us while we are being judged in this age:

Isa 29:5  Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.
Isa 29:6  Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
Isa 29:7  And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.
Isa 29:8  It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

We 'will be visited by the Lord with thunder and with earthquake, and a great noise, with storm, and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.' The Lord's judgment is swift and severe, but it changes us, and we "learn righteousness" just as we were told earlier in chapters twenty-six and twenty-eight:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Isa 28:18  And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
Isa 28:19  From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Isa 28:20  For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
Isa 28:21  For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
Isa 28:22  Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

"Be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong" is just another way of saying, "Do not think these words just apply to someone else."

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.
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

When we do that, and we all have thought that the Lord's judgments are for some wicked person other than ourselves, we are denying there is one event to all (Ecc 9:2), and we are denying that all mankind must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Mat 4:4). When we think in that way we are in effect declaring that "the sayings of the prophecy of this book" are not for us, but are rather for the rebellious and blasphemers who fail to benefit from God's judgments. When we say such things, we are denying that our flesh is just such a man, and we are saying that the sayings of the prophecy of this book are not addressed to us:

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.

That concludes our study of the Lord's judgments upon the house of God for today. Next week, Lord willing, we will continue to see ourselves as the Lord sees us:

Isa 29:9  Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
Isa 29:10  For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
Isa 29:11  And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
Isa 29:12  And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
Isa 29:13  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Isa 29:14  Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Isa 29:15  Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Isa 29:16  Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

]]> Prophecy of Isaiah – Isa 26:1-11 When Your Judgments are in the Earth, the Inhabitants of the World Will Learn Righteousness https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/prophecy-of-isaiah-isa-261-11-when-your-judgments-are-in-the-earth-the-inhabitants-of-the-world-will-learn-righteousness/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=prophecy-of-isaiah-isa-261-11-when-your-judgments-are-in-the-earth-the-inhabitants-of-the-world-will-learn-righteousness Sat, 23 Jun 2018 15:03:24 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=16601
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Isa 26:1-11 When Your Judgments are in the Earth, the Inhabitants of the World Will Learn Righteousness - Discussion

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Isa 26:1-11 When Your Judgments Are In The Earth, The Inhabitants of The World Will Learn Righteousness

Isa 26:1  In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
Isa 26:2  Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
Isa 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isa 26:4  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Isa 26:5  For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
Isa 26:6  The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
Isa 26:7  The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Isa 26:10  Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
Isa 26:11  LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

We have demonstrated that the phrase "that day" in this prophecy of Isaiah almost always refers to the day in which "judgment... begins at the house of God" which 'house and kingdom' is "within [us]" (Luk 17:20-21 and 1Pe 4:17).

Verses 8-9 of this chapter give us the purpose and the certain fruit of all of the Lord's judgments:  "...When your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness".

I have quoted verses 8 and 9 of this chapter many times already, as we have been discussing this prophecy of Isaiah. The reason I have quoted these verses so many times is that they state so clearly what the purpose is of, and what is the fruit of, the Lord's judgments:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

I am jumping the gun to make the point that this is such wonderful news, and it shows us that the Lord's judgments should be something we greatly desire for the good of all men of all time, instead of the dreaded "day of judgment" in which we have all been told so many will forever be lost in an endless, eternal state of unimaginable misery, known as "the fires of hell, [or] the lake of fire".

Let's begin with our first two verses which encourage us to be grateful for the calling we have been given:

Isa 26:1  In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
Isa 26:2  Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

"We have a strong city" simply because we are a strong city. We are "New Jerusalem... a bride adorned for her Husband":

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

This is what must happen "in that day", the day of the judgment which "is now on the house of God" (1Pe 4:17):

Isa 2:11  The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

Isa 2:17  And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day

Isa 2:20  In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

That is what takes place when we see the phrase "that day", and we are told, "In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in."

"Salvation will be appointed for walls and bulwarks... in that day." That sounds like a very positive day indeed, a day to be greatly desired and for which we should have the utmost gratitude.

In the "day of judgment" we will be made to know who we are and what the Lord is doing within us, and as we endure the fiery trials of that judgment we are admonished to always, and in all circumstances, place our trust in Him and in His love for us as His own special people:

We are assured that "in that day" of the Lord's judgments:

Isa 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isa 26:4  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

Trust is faith in the righteousness of the Lord's judgments, and "without faith it is impossible to please God":

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.

This is what, in contrast, we are told of the law of Moses in which we all just naturally trust when we are first called into the Lord's service as "carnal babes in Christ" (1Co 3:1-4):

Gal 3:12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Gal 3:22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23  But before faith ["of Jesus Christ"] came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith ["of Jesus Christ"] is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Here in Isaiah 23:3-4 we have an Old Testament witness to the coming "law of faith":

Rom 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Because:

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.

There is no denying that the last half of Gal 3:12 is presented in a positive light in the verse from where it is quoted in Ezekiel:

Eze 20:21  Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

Anyone who points out that "even he shall live in them" is contrasted with those who "kept [not] My judgments" for the purpose of teaching that we must still keep the sabbath and the holy days and the laws concerning clean and unclean meats, etc., is missing the point which the holy spirit is making, which point is that "the law is not of faith". Such a perverted tactic could easily use Samuel's condemnation of King Saul for not killing Agag, the Amalekite king to justify murder under the right circumstances.

Isa 26:3  "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" means we now know that our faith is not our faith at all. Rather, we now know that our "trust" is that our faith is "the faith of Jesus Christ", and that nothing depends upon us or our own faith or our own righteousness.

If indeed "the law of the spirit" is the same as "the law of Moses", then the doctrine of Christ would still be "an eye for an eye" and the doctrine of Christ would still be "leave nothing alive that breathes":

Exo 21:24  Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25  Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

In the Old Testament, Christ gave Israel "a carnal commandment" because He was working with a carnal nation. He is now dealing with a spiritual nation in the New Testament. A spiritual nation requires a New Covenant, which entails "the law of faith [and] a change also of the law" from "a carnal commandment" to "the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus" who overcame evil by "not resisting evil", and He conquered death "through death":

Mat 5:39  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Heb 7:16  Who [Christ our high priest] is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.

Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

The first 14 verses of the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy enumerate the blessings of being obedient to the Lord's commandments. The remaining 54 verses, almost a 4 to 1 ratio, all concern themselves with the curses that will come upon us if we stubbornly continue to disobey the Lord's commandments.

I mention the ratio of curses to blessings for the purpose of emphasizing how the holy spirit want us to include His judgments as an integral part of His work of the salvation He is bringing to all men of all ages.

Here are just a few of those 54 verses, symbolizing the spiritual fire of Paul's statement of salvation for all "yet so as by fire" (1Co 3:13-15):

Deu 28:15  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Deu 28:16  Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
Deu 28:17  Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Deu 28:18  Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Deu 28:19  Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
Deu 28:20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Some very few did a fair job of keeping the laws of being obedient to the Lord's commandments. We are told Job was a good man who "feared God and eschewed evil".

Job 1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Israel boasted:

Deu 6:25  And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

The rich young ruler kept the law "from [his] youth up", and the apostle Paul was "according to the righteousness which is in the law, blameless":

Luk 18:18  And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Luk 18:20  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Luk 18:21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

Php 3:4  Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But the commandments given men before Christ were "carnal commandments" which could produce nothing more than self-righteousness, at best. Job was rebuked for his self-righteousness:

Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

The rich young ruler's keeping of the law from his youth up was just as unimpressive to the Lord as Job's self-righteousness:

Luk 18:22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

What applied to Job and to the rich young ruler also applied to Israel and to the apostle Paul. Israel's efforts to "follow after the law of righteousnes" was not of faith, nor was Paul's 'blamelessness... in the righteousness which was in the law':

Rom 9:31  But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Rom 9:32  Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Rom 9:33  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

Any attempt to claim credit for anything - good or evil - "is not of faith", and our Lord is bent on seeing to it that "no flesh [will ever] glory in His presence".

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

There it is! The scriptures teach that we cannot even take credit for our own sins. Even my sins 'are no more mine, but sin that dwells in me'. That brings us to our next verse, which has confirmed those words of Romans 7:

Isa 26:5  For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
Isa 26:6  The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

Paul doesn't even take credit for the sin in his life. Then he tells us that God has not chosen many wise after the flesh, not many mighty and not many noble. Instead, most of those whom He has chosen are the foolish of this world for the very purpose of confounding the wise of this world. He has chosen the weak of the world to confound the mighty, and the base and despised are those whom God has chosen, and yes, even things that yet are not, to bring to nothing the things which already are. These are those who are called of God to bring down them who dwell on high in this age. It will be the feet of the poor and needy of this age who will bring the high and lofty to the ground, even to the dust.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

"The poor... and... needy" of this age who are granted to acknowledge that they are 'made wise, and righteous, and are sanctified, and redeemed [only] in the Lord' and not of themselves, are 'the Lord's Christ'. The Lord's Christ are not just naturally just [or] upright. The Lord's Christ are those who have been humbled by the Lord's chastening grace and His fiery judgments, of which fiery judgments we are told:

Isa 26:7  The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Who has ever said "in the way of your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for you"? Are you waiting for the Lord "in the way of [His] judgments"? The fact is that all men are waiting in the way of His judgments. Most simply are not aware of that fact.

Most of the ministers of the churches of the Babylonian harlot Christian system speak of "judgment day" as if it is a future end-of-the-world event at which most of the Lord's creatures will be cast into a literal lake of literal fire, to be tormented there in excruciating pain for all eternity with no hope of being reformed or forgiven of their sins. That message is the exact opposite of the message of these three verses of this chapter of Isaiah. The holy spirit tells us, "in the way of your judgments... have we waited for thee... I have desired you in the night, yes, with my spirit within me I will seek you early because when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."

Where is the doctrine of eternal torment to be found anywhere in this Biblical doctrine which is clearly telling us that God's judgments cause the inhabitants of the world to learn righteousness? What does the New Testament teach is the Lord's purpose for His judgments? Will the New Testament accord with these words here in Isaiah 26? The answer, of course, is yes, indeed it does.

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Paul uses the pronoun 'we' when he says, "that we should not be condemned with the world." He is including himself in those who are now being judged, and this is what he says of judgment:

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

"Every man" will be judged and "every man... shall be saved... by fire." So what does Paul mean by "When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world"? To what exactly is the world condemned? Peter's first epistle helps us to see more clearly what Paul is saying in 1Co 11:32 when Peter tells us:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

There is our answer. "The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God." Judgment does not 'end at the house of God', as the Babylonian harlot churches teach. In this temporal life God's chastening judgment simply "begins at the house of God".

How many "altar calls" have threatened, "If you leave this building today unconverted, and if you happen to die in an automobile accident, you will spend all eternity without end in the unending, relentless, tormenting fires of hell?" Then they quote:

2Co 6:2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

The deceived minister then emphasizes the words "the day of salvation" and "now is the accepted time" as if this life is the one and only time in which salvation will ever be offered to mankind. They totally ignore the words "a time accepted". Paul is quoting this verse of Isaiah:

Isa 49:8  Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

According to Strong's Concordance the translators have added the article to make it appear as if this life is the only "day of salvation", when in reality that simply is not true. Here is 2Co 6:2 with Strong's numbers. Note there are two words in the first case, and there are three words in the second instance, for one number. In both instances the word 'the' appears to be added by the translators:

2Co 6:2  (ForG1063 he saith,G3004 I have heardG1873 theeG4675 in a timeG2540 accepted,G1184 andG2532 inG1722 the dayG2250of salvationG4991 have I succouredG997 thee:G4671 behold,G2400 nowG3568 is the acceptedG2144 time;G2540 behold,G2400 nowG3568 is the dayG2250 of salvationG4991.)

While it is true that we ought not settle for coming to know the Father and His Son in a later "day of salvation", it is not true that the scriptures teach that this temporal realm is the only day of salvation. If that were true, then everyone who lived before Christ came and died for our sins, 'the only name under heaven whereby men must be saved', is lost and can never be saved:

Act 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The Truth is that neither Christ nor Peter nor Paul ever once taught that this temporal life is the only 'day of salvation'. The exact opposite is true. Christ tells us He will "draw all men" to [Himself]:

Joh 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw [Greek: drag] all men unto me.

Peter's doctrine was the same as his Master's doctrine:

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Paul also confirms the doctrine of Christ over and over:

1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's ["firstfruits"] at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

Do the words "Who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe" in any way infer that Christ is the Savior exclusively of those who believe in this temporal age? Of course not! It sounds much more like "as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive... each in his own order... even so as by fire."

1Co 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The apostle John is on the exact same page as the apostles Peter and Paul:

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Biblical fact is that there is judgment. and there is hope of life beyond the grave, and that is the answer to what Paul meant by "we should not be condemned with the world". The world will be judged and will learn righteousness in a later judgment.

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. ["...he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire" - 1Co 3:15]

This is the "condemned with the world" of:

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [to the great white throne judgment] with the world.

That is also the answer to Peter's rhetorical questions, "If [judgment] first begin at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God, and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" The answer is: "every man's works will be tried... by fire... [and] every man... shall be saved... yet so as by fire" through the greatest work of grace mentioned in scripture, which is the work of the fire of "the lake of fire" where death will be destroyed.

So the "fire" of the Lord's word is what saves us. We are all "saved... by fire" because just a few verses earlier Peter tells us that we, too, are right now being tried and judged by "fiery trials", and Isaiah tells us that it is God's Words in our mouths which constitute the 'fire' of "the lake of fire":

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

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.

This is the message which is missing in the doctrine of many who only see the verses of scripture assuring us that God "will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth [that] God is love, [and that He] is the savior of all men, specially of those that believe" without realizing that salvation is a process which involves being judged.

1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 4:9  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
1Ti 4:11  These things command and teach.

Being judged in this age does not save us from eternal torment, because there never was any such thing.

What we are being saved from is sin and death:

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What being judged in this age accomplishes is that we are given the special privilege of being the firstfruits of the Lord's sacrifice for the sins of all men. The inspired word "firstfruits" requires that there must also be a later harvest. As "firstfruits unto God and the Lamb" we are also promised to be given the honor of judging this world, and we are granted to rule with Christ during the thousand-year reign of Christ. We are also given the distinction of later being the fire of "the lake of fire" because we have the words of Christ in our mouths. There in the lake of fire is where we will also "judge angels" in the outward sense.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

None of these promises are given to our "old man". That man was made "marred in the hand of the Potter" for the specified purpose of "dying daily" and being destroyed after being brought to repentance.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Joh 3:30  He ["Christ in me"] must increase, but I ["the old man"] must decrease.

Our "old man", composed of "sinful... flesh and blood, cannot inherit the kingdom of God". It is our old man who must decrease as Christ in us increases. He must die daily within us because that old man, of himself, "will not learn righteousness", and he will be devoured by the fire of the enemies of the Lord's words:

Isa 26:10  Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
Isa 26:11  LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

"They will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them" is not a contradiction in terms. It is just the Old Testament way of saying:

1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

These verses simply confirm this verse of Proverbs:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

"The wicked for the day of evil" is "the vessel of clay", which, by design, was "marred in the hand of The Potter". "The wicked... marred... vessel of clay" is an integral part of the work the Lord is working. Like the scaffolding which must be placed around a home under construction, after our old man has served his purpose in the formation of the new man, that ugly scaffolding must be taken down and never again be put up, because the house has now been completed.

This process is revealed to us in many ways throughout scripture, but as Joseph told Pharaoh, "the dream is one", and so it is with the way King David portrays this same process:

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.
Psa 107:19  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:20  He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
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.

As the apostle admonishes us:

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.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will finsh this 26th chapter of Isaiah. We will acknowlege the hold which the man of sin held upon us for so long. Then, and only then, will we "pour out our prayer" to the only God who can deliver us out of our distresses. We will also see that the goal of destroying death will be accomplished when we are told: "the earth shall cast out the dead."

Isa 26:12  LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
Isa 26:13  O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
Isa 26:14  They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
Isa 26:15  Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
Isa 26:16  LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
Isa 26:17  Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.
Isa 26:18  We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
Isa 26:19  Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
Isa 26:20  Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
Isa 26:21  For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

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