Law of Moses Versus the Law of the Spirit – Part 17, New Wine in New Bottles

[Study Updated and Aired March 17, 2024]

Those who are “bewitched” by the “works of the law” of Moses will tell you that since it was God who gave Moses the law, therefore “the law of the spirit” (Rom 8:2), also called “the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2), must be the same as the “law of Moses” (Luk 24:44).

Yes, Mr. Convery (who was quoted in our last study), “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, today and forever”, but if you truly believe as you stated that “[Christ] is not changing it” (the law of Moses), then I can only conclude that your eyes are blinded to the virtual “reformation” (Heb 9:10) revealed by Christ in Matthew 5.

Matthew 5 is a new wine in a new bottle. Matthew 5-7 is a new garment made of new cloth. It is not compatible with the old covenant, and attempting to make it so will only “break the bottles…spill the wine” and “make the rent worse.”

Mat 9:16  No man putteth a piece of new cloth [Christ’s reformed doctrine] unto an old garment [the old covenant law of Moses], for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
Mat 9:17  Neither do men put new wine [Christ’s “new covenant, not according to the covenant [He] made with [ancient Israel] (Jer 31:32)] into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved [The law of Moses continues to bring us to Christ, then “we are no longer under a schoolmaster (Gal 3:24)].

Yes, indeed, “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, today, and forever”(Heb 13:8), but that Truth in no way suggests that His plan does not have different phases which are leading up to its accomplished goal. The flood of Noah was not an afterthought requiring the Lord to recalculate and reformulate another plan. That flood was designed by the Lord from “before the world began” (2Ti 1:9, Tit 1:2). It was designed as preordained to signify our baptism in the spirit:

1Pe 3:20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
1Pe 3:21  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 13:8 does not imply that “the old man… the first man Adam” (Eph 4:22; 1Co 15:44-49), is the same as “the new man” (Eph 4:24). Neither does “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever” even remotely deny that the Old Covenant “is abolished” (2Co 3:13) and “is done away in Christ” (2Co 3:14) when the new covenant comes on the scene. “We were called in Christ before the world began”, and the flood of Noah simply signifies the death of our old man to the law of Moses so we can now be married to Christ:

Rom 7:1  Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
Rom 7:2  For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead [Christ died to His flesh and to the law of Moses], she is loosed from the law of her husband.
Rom 7:3  So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

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 [after the flesh].
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away [Especially “the old covenant”]; behold, all things [including the law] are become new.

Heb 8:13  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

You are right, “there is no other way”, but that singular ‘way’ is Matthew 5, not Exodus 20 or any other part of the “things written in the book of the law.”

You are also right, “If you do not follow Him as He just described in 1 John, then you are not led by the Spirit of God.”

1Jo 3:24  And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

“His commandments” are not the commandments of Moses. If they were, then Christ disobeyed Moses’ commandments when He changed the law of Moses, including two of the ten commandments, in Matthew 5. “His commandments” here in 1 John, however, have nothing to do with the ten commandments or the old covenant “letter”, which are one and the same (Deu 4:13) and which are called “the ministration of death” (2Co 3:7). The commandments referred to in 1 John are revealed in the gospels, in Matthew 5-7. They are certainly nowhere to be found in the law of Moses, the old covenant.

Act 13:39  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

As mentioned earlier, it was this same Apostle John who calls the holy days “feasts of the Jews”:

Joh 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem .

Joh 6:4 And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

Joh 7:2 Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.

It is manifestly obvious that John had the “feasts of the Jews” and holy days of the law of Moses and the weekly sabbath in mind when he penned the gospel of John. In all my years in a church which observed the weekly sabbath and all the annual holy days, I never once heard a single minister, not one student nor even one church member use John’s terminology, “a feast of the Jews” for these days. To us, at that time of my life, these were “God’s Holy Days” and “God’s festivals”. We took pride in the fact that we kept “God’s holy days” and we did not keep pagan holidays. Yet Colossians tells us holy days were “a [mere] shadow of things to come” (Col 2:16 and 17), in the same way that physical blood offerings were a shadow and type of the sacrifice of Christ.

Hebrews 10 tells us the entire law was but “a shadow of good things to come” and that the Lord is taking away that first ‘shadow’ “that He may establish the second” the reality, the body casting that shadow (Heb 10:1-9).

Heb 10:1  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 10:2  For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Heb 10:3  But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Heb 10:4  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
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:
Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Heb 10:7  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Heb 10:8  Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
Heb 10:9  Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first [covenant], that he may establish the second [covenant].

Yes, indeed, “If you do not follow Him as just described in 1 John, then you are not led by the Spirit”.

1Jn 2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

What are “His commandments”? What was His “walk”? Did Christ’s commandments agree with Moses’ law “which you have heard said by them of old time?” (Mat 5:21, 27, 33) Was Christ’s ‘walk’ in accord with the law of Moses? It is true that there is some agreement between the old and new covenants. Five of the ten commandments are reiterated in:

Rom 13:8  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Rom 13:10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Paul’s emphasis here agrees with everything else he has to say about how the law of Moses is being replaced by the law of love, also known as the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which he made clear earlier in this same epistle to the Romans:

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 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [the law of the spirit] hath made me free from the law of sin and death [“the law for the lawless” (1Ti 1:9)].
Rom 8:3  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:

“THE WORDS THAT I SPEAK UNTO YOU, THEY ARE SPIRIT and they are life” (Joh 6:63). These words were penned by the same apostle who wrote 1 John. It is the words of Christ which give life and which will judge us (Joh 12:48).

You are right, Mr. Convery, when you say; “in 1Jn 2:3-6, we read a very sobering measuring stick as to the degree we are led by the Spirit of God.”

1Jn 2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

What so many fail to realize is that “His commandments… His Word”, the words of Christ are not the law of Moses. The “His commandments” of 1 John 2:3-6 are contrasted by Christ Himself with the law of Moses in Matthew 5. Christ’s words are our “measuring stick” of spiritual maturity, not the law which is “not for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient” (1Ti 1:9). “Turn the other cheek also” does not agree with “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”:

Mat 5:38  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
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.

“The words that I have spoken… they are spirit and they are life” (Joh 6:63), are not the words of the old covenant. The Old Covenant was only “until John [the Baptist]”:

Joh 1:17  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

If indeed “grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ”, then what is the law of Moses? It is what it is called… “The law of sin and death” and those who persist in being under that law “shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman” (Gal 4:30).

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [the law of the spirit] hath made me free from the law of sin and death [“the law for the lawless” (1Ti 1:9)].
Rom 8:3  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:

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

Phrase #6 – Ready to Vanish Away – Heb 8:13

Heb 8:13 In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

To Paul, as it should be to us, God’s word is reality. As far as Paul was concerned, the old covenant had been “vanishing away” from the time of Jeremiah. “…Your burnt offerings are not acceptable nor your sacrifices sweet unto me” (Jer 6:20).

Jer 31:31-32 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers…”

As Christ pointed out, we don’t put new wine in old bottles (Mat 9:17). The ‘new wine’ does “not accord” with the ‘old bottles,’ and the New Covenant is “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers.” That is a chief element of the revelation of the new covenant. The new does not “accord” with the old. “No man putteth a piece of new cloth into an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse” (Mat 9:16).

There have always been, and still are today, plenty of ‘worn out’ garments around. If we attempt to repair our carnal old fleshly bodies with the ten commandments, we will only make sin appear more sinful. Our righteousness must “exceed” that of Job, the rich young ruler and Paul before his conversion (Mat 5:20).

Jer 31:33 But this is 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…’

The new law is written in our inward parts, but the “old is ready to vanish away”:

Heb 8:13  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

The holy spirit, through the pen of the apostles, is telling us that the law of Moses is “waxing old and is ready to vanish away.” The Greek here for the English words ‘vanish away’ is not katargeo for once. It is aphanismos, Strong’s G854. This is the only place this form of this word is used in scripture. However, it is taken from aphanizo, Strong’s G853 which appears five times in the New Testament: Mat 6:16, Mat 6:19, Mat 6:20, Act 13:41, Jas 4:14.

Act 13:41 Behold you despisers, and wonder, and perish…” (aphanizo G853).

Jas 4:14 …What is your life? It is even as a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and vanisheth away” (aphanizo G853).

“Aphanismos” may not be “katargeo“, but they do seem to have a lot in common. There is very little difference between “done away”, (Katargeo) and “vanish away” (aphanizo).

Phrase #7 – “Under the Law”

The phrase ‘under the law’ appears in seven separate areas of scripture. When two connected verses contain the phrase, we consider it as a single section of scripture, even though the phrase appears as many as three times in a single verse.

We will demonstrate with these seven sections that in God’s eyes obedience to the law of Moses is the spiritual equivalent of being “under sin.” The reason given is “because by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). In other words, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Paul is telling us that the law is the antitype of the law of Moses.  The tree placed by God in the middle of the garden of Eden, of which man must eat before he can partake of the source of life, signifies “the law of sin and death” of which all men must partake before they can go through the fiery sword which ‘keeps the way of the tree of life’.

Yes, it was God who had told them not to eat of this tree, but the goal and purpose in creating Adam and Eve was to: “bring many sons unto glory” (Heb 2:10). Since Christ was “slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8), it follows that God knew that Adam had to sin in order to need a Savior. “I had not known sin but by the law” (Rom 7:7). “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 2:14). Now “the tree of life” is not “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” The fruit of one is life, and the fruit of the other is death. “For this cause he is the mediator of the new testament [covenant] that BY MEANS OF DEATH, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance”. This is why Paul refers to the law of Moses as “the law of sin and death.”

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [the law of the spirit] hath made me free from the law of sin and death [“the law for the lawless” (1Ti 1:9)].
Rom 8:3  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:

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

There it is: “…transgressions…were under the first covenant”. Sin no longer dominates us because we “are not under the law, but under grace”:

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom 3:19). Again it’s the ten commandments that make “all the world…guilty before God”. What does Paul mean by this next verse? “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).

What he means, as we have said before, is that life can no more come through the law (the knowledge of sin and therefore of righteousness also – Rom 7:7) than it can come through the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Bringing life is not the function of this tree  which signifies the law of Moses including the ten commandments. The function of the law of Moses is to bring man to the point that he sees his need for a Savior. It accomplishes this by revealing our earthy, naked, sinful dying condition we have from creation. Christ was slain “from the foundation of the world”, before Adam and Eve even sinned. Man was created flesh and blood, and naked. ‘Nakedness’ signifies being sinful from the Potter’s hand” :

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay [Aam] was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Being made of clay means Adam would have died if he had never eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: “Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth CORRUPTION inherit incorruption” (1Co 15:50). Adam simply needed to come to see his sad dying, corruptible composition and condition.

Now notice this next verse carefully: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: (and why not?) For ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom 6:14). If there is a scripture anywhere in God’s word which demonstrates that there are two laws in view whenever Paul talks about “the law”, this is that scripture.

Our carnal minded reasoning is: “if we keep the law, then we are not dominated by sin, sin has no dominion over us.” Paul says “…sin shall not have dominion over you for [because] you are NOT under the law.” If you are under the law, you are a sinner of the worst self-righteous sort, such as Job, the rich young ruler, and Saul of Tarsus.

There are those who will tell you that ‘under the law’ simply means ‘under the curse of the law’ which they interpret to mean the curse of death.

Those who follow this doctrine completely miss Paul’s point that the law of Moses “is not of faith” (Gal 3:12) and is itself, along with the ten commandments, “the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2), “the ministration of death written and engraven in stones” causing Moses’ face to shine (2Co 3:7).

I am well aware that one cannot force a blind man to see. However, if you have been given “eyes to see” and you have read Matthew 5, then you will see that the ten commandments and “the whole law” have all lost their glory “by reason of that which excels” (2Co 3:10). You will further see that to cling to them and the entire Torah is to be embracing death itself: “Therefore by the deeds [Greek: ergon Strong’s G2041; doing, works] of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

The knowledge of sin saves no one, and the law, the ten commandments, are the knowledge of sin (Rom 7:7).

Those who cling to Torah and the ten commandments will quote Gal 3:12; “…The man that doeth them shall live in them.” This seems to be the only part of this verse they see. They jump on the word “live” and give it a positive connotation and deride detractors for being against living by the law of Moses. God has simply not given them eyes to see the first part of this verse: “The law is NOT of faith…”

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

With that reasoning, one could take “…she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth”, (1Ti 5:6) and give the word “liveth” a positive connotation and completely miss the point. Paul’s point is that “the law is not of faith”. To live by the law, “the deeds of the law” (Heb 11:6), will have the same effect as “living in pleasure.” You will be “dead while you live” because “the law is not of faith.” Now the most casual student of the scripture is aware that “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” (Heb 11:6).

Paul’s point, which it seems the whole of Christendom has missed, is that Torah, the law (yes, including the ten commandments) IS itself the curse. It gives us the knowledge of sin (Rom 7:7) and of righteousness (Psa 119:172). It makes us feel righteous, and that becomes “mine own righteousness which is of the law”:

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:

Our ‘idol of the heart’ (Eze 14:3-7) tells us, “God’s commandments could not possibly produce death; after all they are of God, and God would never give us anything that would bring forth death.” The laws God gave Moses seem “pleasant to the sight and good for food” and they are placed right there in the midst of the garden of God’s word, put there by God himself who would never put anything poison to our spiritual well being right in front of us and make it appear so good and good for us. God would never do that. Yet The Truth is: “And out of the ground made the Lord to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food…the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” :

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

Life Comes Through Death

Is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil good for food? That is what Genesis 2:9 says.

“The tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil… [are] good for food”.

Doesn’t the tree of the knowledge of good and evil produce death? Of course, it does: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse [of death]: for it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in ALL things that are written in the book of the law [Torah] to do them” (Gal 3:10). This verse precedes the one quoted above and used in defense of keeping the law: “the man that doeth them shall live in them” (vs 12). Peter says concerning the law it is “a yoke…which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear” (Act 15:10).

Heb 2:15 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 hath the power of death, that is the devil.”

Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh THROUGH DEATH, to present you holy, and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight.

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 [out of or through]DEATH…

There are three scriptures explaining why the tree of the knowledge of good and evil serves as food in the middle of the garden of Eden and why the ten commandments, “the ministration of death written and engraven in stones” (2Co 3:7) are placed right in the middle of God’s word.

1. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption” (1Co 15:50).
2. “For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col 3:3). If flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, then it stands to reason that life comes only THROUGH DEATH; the death of the flesh: “For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
3. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (Joh 12:24).

While this last scripture concerns dying to the flesh, it serves to demonstrate the creator’s modus operandi: “As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ once was offered to bear the sins of many…” (Heb 9:27, 28).

These two scriptures, John 12:24 and Hebrews 9:27,28, reveal much of the mind of God on the subject of death. Being under the law and therefore being subject to death, are all an integral part of God’s plan. Before God ever created Adam, He had a plan of salvation for Adam and all his children.

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Appearance and Composition of Sin and Death

Adam’s need for a Savior is revealed from the beginning in the description of his appearance and his composition. He was composed of dust, the very thing we are told furnishes nourishment for the Adversary who is represented here by the serpent (Gen 3:14). Another clue to Adam’s predestinated fate is that he was CREATED naked. Adam came into this world just as every person ever descended from him…NAKED. As surely as dust represents flesh, nakedness depicts the sinful nature inherent in being made of dust: “The first man [Adam in each of us] is of the earth, earthy: the second man [in each of us] is the Lord from heaven” (1Co 15:47).

All by Nature the Children of Wrath

“And so it is written the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (1Co 15:45). Those who teach that the statement “the man that doeth them (the works of the law) shall live in them”(Gal 3:12) is a positive statement, will miss the fact that the “living soul” here is contrasted with the quickening (life giving) spirit. Any “living soul” is also a dying soul… “the soul that sinneth it shall die” (Eze 18:4,20). Also, anyone living in the “deeds of the law” is “not of faith” (Gal 3:12). Being “not of faith” is not a positive position to be in with God.

Adam was “not of faith” because he followed his wife who believed the serpent rather than God. Having believed the serpent, Eve, typifying the deceived church of God, ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, just as some churches today teach that the ten commandments are the same as the sermon on the mount. “And Adam was not deceived” (1Ti 2:14) but was so attached to his wife [his church] instead of his maker that he followed her instead of God.

How many sons of God see the contradictions between scripture and church doctrines but cannot face the thought of possibly losing all their friends and their family to remain true to the commandments of God “thou shalt not eat” of “the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil”?

As God had predestinated, both Adam (the “son of God” Luk 3:38) and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They could not be given life having eaten of this tree because “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).

Adam was not deceived. He did not want to disobey God, but he was persuaded by his wife. Any student of scripture knows that women typify the church whether faithful or “fallen.” The moment they both ate of this tree, they became aware of a truth that had been the truth before they became aware of it. “They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Gen 2:25). This is virtually the same condition describing the “lukewarm” Laodicean church in the book of Revelation: “Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue you out of my mouth. Because you sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods and have need of nothing; AND KNOW NOT THAT THOU ART wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and NAKED” (Rev 3:16,17).

So it was with Adam and Eve. They had the whole world to themselves. They were communing with God, and He had given them this beautiful garden signifying His word. Not being aware that they are inherently sinful by their earthy composition and their naked condition, like all their descendants, they partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and “all the world” henceforth becomes guilty before God” (Rom 3:19):

“And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen 3:6).

The word of God does not say Eve ‘thought’ the tree was good for food; it says “the tree was good for food… pleasant to the eyes…to be desired to make one wise.”

The law, in fulfilling its function as a schoolmaster, nourishes us much like the umbilical cord nourishes an unborn infant until the time of its birth. At that point the umbilical binding must be cut, and the infant must receive a more mature nourishment. If that cord of the law of Moses is not cut and the infant does not begin partaking of the more developed nourishment of the “milk of the words” of Christ, he will die. “As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1Pe 2:2).

A later iteration of that lesson is that if we remain on the milk of the Word, we will never become mature adults and will die of spiritual malnutrition:

Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

At the Jerusalem conference in Acts 15, it was Peter who called the law a “yoke… which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear” (Act 15:10). Paul is not referring to Torah or the law of Moses when he mentions the “sincere milk of the word.” He is rather speaking of “the words that I have spoken”: “He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words [as opposed to Torah] hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). “The sincere milk” is for “newborn babes… in Christ”. That ‘milk’ is “Christ and Him crucified” 1Co 2:2; 3:1 and 2). While milk is the best food in the world for ‘babes in Christ’, it is not the best food for a more spiritually mature person. “Howbeit we speak wisdom [not just ‘Christ and Him crucified’] among them that are perfect [mature]” (1Co 2:6).

On the other hand, the law, Torah, is “a tree to be desired to make one wise” (Gen 3:6). What does that mean? How does the law which “had no glory” (2Co 3:10) make one wise? “Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should AFTERWARDS be revealed” (Gal 3:23).

So Paul tells Timothy: “…From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures [Torah, the old covenant] which are able to make thee wise unto salvation [“the law…brings us unto Christ – Gal 3:24] through [the new covenant] faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2Ti 3:15).

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 is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The law of Moses is the law of God only in the sense that the first Adam is “the son of God” (Luk 3:38) and God is “the Father of spirits [good and evil]”:

Luk 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

The law of Moses testifies of and typifies the true law of God just as Adam “in the image of God” testifies of and typifies the true “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Col 1:15). The true “express image of His person” (Heb 1:3) is someone the first Adam must ‘put on’. “Put on the NEW man, which is renewed in knowledge [a new man with a new covenant] AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM [Christ] who created him [the first Adam]” (Col 3:10).

We were born the typical image. We must “put on” the true image.

Did Adam Fall?

What is the function of the Old Testament scriptures. They make us aware of our inherent nakedness: “Behold, I was shapen [of the dust of the ground] in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psa 51:5). The purpose of being “shapen in iniquity” (being made under the law) is to justify the judgment of God. Adam did not “fall”; he simply became aware of how low he already was – “of the earth, earthy”, “of the dust of the ground”, “naked”. This was no accident. It was all by Divine design. Adam eating of the tree was “of the Lord [because] He sought an occasion against [the flesh – Adam] for at that time, [the flesh] had dominion over [Adam]:

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.

When the flesh dominates, God “seeks an occasion against [it]. “The Lamb [was] slain from the foundation of the world” in preparation and anticipation of Adam’s sin (Rev 13:8).

We have no reason to suppose that David, who was the youngest of his brothers, was born of an adulterous mother. We are told specifically he was the son of Jesse. David is in no way slandering his mother when he says “I was shapen in iniquity”. He is rather acknowledging the earthy composition and naked condition of ALL who are born in Adam:

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

We are all born in need of the law, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to make sin (our nakedness) appear sinful to us. The tree itself is not evil; it is “good for food”, but its fruit is the KNOWLEDGE of …evil.” “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” “Was that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might appear exceeding sinful” (Rom 7:13): “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew they were naked” (Gen 3:7).

David explains in the preceding verse why we are “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin.” See what he reveals to us in Psalm 51:3,4: “I acknowledge my transgression: and my sin is ever before me…that thou (God) mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear [of unrighteousness] when thou judgest.” David understood God’s purpose in creating evil; “that thou [God] mightest… be clear [of evil] when thou judgest.” David knew what judgment was all about. He knew that the day of judgment is the day when the Almighty and All Powerful God would chasten and discipline and save even the most wicked person in the universe. The “condemnation of the world” is but another less desirable “judgment” or “chastening.”

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

Once again, JUDGMENT IS CHASTENING.

Rom 6:16  What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey; his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.

This verse drives home the point Paul is making that sin is no longer defined by the inadequate idea of the law which leads us to believe that as long as you make a good outward show of righteousness, you are therefore righteous. Simply not killing your brother is no longer sufficient; simply restraining oneself from adultery is no longer tolerable to please God; simply not stealing is not acceptable behavior.

In reality, all these “cleavings” to the ten commandments and all the works of the law, were never sufficient to please God to begin with. “The law is not of faith”, and without faith it is impossible to please God. Keeping the old law is the equivalent of Adam obeying God’s command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He would no doubt have thought something like this: ‘I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that [I am] wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked’ (Rev 3:17).

Mat 20:1-16 Laborers in the Vineyard

[Study Aired January 26, 2021]

Mat 20:1-16 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire  labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the  labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in  the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the  vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went  their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and  did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found  others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all  the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us.  He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever  is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord  of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And  when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise  received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he  answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong:  didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. 

What is this parable showing us about the kingdom of heaven?

Notice there are five different times the laborers were hired. What do the five  different times the laborers were hired represent? Here is a link to Mike’s  study on the number five:
Significance of the Number Five. In that study it is shown the number five represents grace through faith. Examples such as the measurements of the temple, the measurements of the cherubims, the implements of the temple all are associated with the  number five.

Another set of five I noticed while researching for this study are the five major covenants mentioned throughout the scriptures which are the Noahic, the Abrahamic, the Mosaic, the Davidic and the New. These covenants are tied to our parable represented by the five different times the householder went  out to hire laborers.

The Noahic Covenant “The Flood of many waters”

Gen 6:17-22 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. 

The Abrahamic Covenant “Circumcision of the flesh”

Gen 17:1-10 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the  Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee  exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 

The Mosaic Covenant “Freedom from Bondage”

Exo 6:1-8 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his  land. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto  Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.

The Davidic Covenant “The house building”

1Ch 17:11-15 And it shall come to pass, when thy [David’s] days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. 

The New Covenant “The Law is put inwardly, written in their hearts”

Jer 31:31-34 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 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. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. 

These covenants are all part of the process of the old man becoming the  new man by grace through faith.

Eph 2:1-10 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of  disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in  mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For 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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man that is a householder.” Who is this “man that is a householder”?

G3617 
οἰκοδεσπότης
oikodespotēs
oy-kod-es-pot’-ace 
From G3624 and G1203; the head of a family: – goodman (of the  house), householder, master of the house. 

Householder means head of the family. Who is the head of our family? God is literally the householder, and the Christ is the steward.

1Co 11:2-3 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 

This parable taken inwardly shows us that Christ is the householder, and the elect are the stewards.

Col 1:15-18 Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 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: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head [householder, master] of the body, the church [the elect]: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

This process starts with the householder hiring the laborers. The householder is hiring laborers to work his vineyard. The vineyard in this  parable is the house of Israel which represents the world.

Isa 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked  for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but  behold a cry. 

Jer 22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

There are five groups of laborers hired throughout the day. They are described as the first and the last. The first four groups represent the called and chosen. The last group represents those who endure until the end.

Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. 

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb  shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings:  and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 

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.

Here is the attitude of the first group even though they receive what was promised – a day’s wage.

Mat 20:10-12 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 

What more can you receive than a day’s wage for a day’s work? The last received the day’s wage first, representing receiving the “crown of Life”.  Everyone receives “Life” but only in the proper order, and only the first group receives the “crown of Life”.

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

Rev 2:10-11 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:  behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may  be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Today, the teachings of the Christian world dictate doing something in the flesh will secure life. It is either practicing the old covenants, physical baptism, tithing, communion, or some form of good works that saves you.  On the other hand, Christ tells us that only being born again of the spirit and worshipping in spirit and truth will give us life.

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

Joh 4:22-24 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we  worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

“As He is so are we”

September 6, 2020

News alert! You are sin and were made in sin!?!

Psa 51:5 KJV  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Rom 7:25 KJV  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Rom 8:3 KJV  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:

Do you doubt this?

Well, here we are in our sin, so what do we do with our time? For this moment, we participate in fellowship that might get us thinking a little more about our Lord and His Kingdom.

Other times, we might just be living in our lives, in the world not of the world, while adhering to the principles of the things we learn to be like in the bible.

For example, we are learning to be as He is IN THIS WORLD.

As He is ….. ========== > AS HE IS ………so are we  … in THIS WORLD.

Said another way, and combined as Husband and wife, the Head and the body.

The H stands alone. He is the Head and the H of the body. He is the Head and we are the ead, we are the body. That is why I capitalize the H in He and Head.

He, Jesus, was the bridge of the Father to making everything through Jesus Christ, and now we have everything else in creation. Likewise, Jesus’ inheritance, is to the world, what Jesus was to the world. We are a gift given to now spread Jesus Christ.

But, that doesn’t always show itself up the in the ways you might be thinking.

In our study today, we are going to cover the second book in Judges.

We are going to attempt, once again in this study and the others like it, to connect our flesh with the spiritual message given in the study, so that the new man in us can learn to cope with the old man that we are.

While living in this flesh, we must contend with it. Our spiritual mind is battling the mind of that old serpent, the serpent which preys on … and EATS dust, for that is his lot.

Gen 3:14 KJV  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

That old serpent, goes too and fro, seeking whom he may devour…. slithering along on the earth…. seeing what flesh he can temp into becoming his dinner.

More on that later.

In this second book of Judges, we find ourselves serving others gods again, even after being told my Joshua that we cannot serve the Lord…. because we serve other gods. Yet, whatever we are doing, we refuse to acknowledge who it is that we are.

Jdg 2:1 KJV  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
Jdg 2:2 KJV  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
Jdg 2:3 KJV  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
Jdg 2:4 KJV  And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
Jdg 2:5 KJV  And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.

What did we just witness? What we just witnessed is what everyone one of us, down to the last person, do to the Lord even after He redeems us while we were slaves in Egypt.

I mentioned that the old serpent is roaming too and fro seeking whom he may devour, but notice where it is that he is doing this.

Jer 22:29 KJV  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

Job 1:6 KJV  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7 KJV  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Job 1:8 KJV  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9 KJV  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

Does anyone find it interesting that the Lord tells us not to tempt Him, but you find satan border line tempting the Lord of Job’s fear of the Lord not being real….by saying “Does Job fear you for no reason at all, what has Job ever had to fear you for?” … in my own words

That old serpent does this while “going to and fro in the earth…walking up and down in it.

You heard it here first, satan is near unto you … seeking you day and night.

The snares that early Israel had to endure are the same snares we have to endure today.

Jdg 2:2 KJV  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
Jdg 2:3 KJV  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

That is why we weep/wept, because this walk can get pretty hard depending on your perspective and individual trials.

“gods” are a snare unto us… snares are anchored somewhere… and in this case, we are snared to the earth, earth, earth.

Have you ever noticed that that majority of “other gods” are “earthen” bound gods. They have something to do with our flesh. Fertility, health, wealth, crops, cattle, etc. We very much want to succeed in the flesh, as well as in the spirit. That is the law working in us every single day.

We want to feed our belly… the same belly that is crawled on when that oil serpent feeds on the dust that we are.

However, even the “sky” gods, are really like gods for sunshine, rain, etc. Physical weather related. Regardless of all of that, we have the One True God, but we don’t always focus on Him our His mind.

We tend to focus on the other because it screams the loudest, and the squeaky wheel gets the oil until the Lord forcibly steps back in .

The devil tempts God, and satan gets his mandate. A mandate satan the serpent cannot break.

Job 1:10 KJV  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11 KJV  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 KJV  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

So, that old serpent is given a job to do but he is still a hired pit bull, completely in the control of the Lord.

Jdg 2:6 KJV  And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
Jdg 2:7 KJV  And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
Jdg 2:8 KJV  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
Jdg 2:9 KJV  And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
Jdg 2:10 KJV  And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

Peace was known while Joshua, and the elders that outlived Joshua ruled, but as soon as they died (there is a type and shadow here, I know you can almost “see” it), Israel turns their back on serving the Lord.

Jdg 2:11 KJV  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
Jdg 2:12 KJV  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
Jdg 2:13 KJV  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
Jdg 2:14 KJV  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
Jdg 2:15 KJV  Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

Now, we have Israel with the very hand of the Lord raised against His own people because they are not serving Him.

If you are only seeing physical Israel in this, then you are missing it. This is us.

Whenever we are serving other gods, we are going to be having the hand of the Lord against our flesh.

And if that is too heavy of a topic for some of you, let me introduce a new section to my studies called, “Stupid Jesus Jokes”.

Actually, I just made that up, but I do have a funny little joke I think to myself sometimes which would fall under this category.

I have always wondered why we don’t see too many miracles workers, much like social workers, but not to be confused with them, going around doing miracles we can see?

Then I thought to myself, what would be the qualifications for such a gig? I assume you’d have to be like super holy or something, and I already fail that.

Why do I fail at that? Cats. Yep, cats.

If it were left up to my “free will” I would fail the Jesus test right away because cats. I couldn’t be like Jesus left to my own devices, but for the glory of God go I into the world, because He is my Head with His mind in it.

If I had Jesus miracle powers, they would be revoked on day one or upon meeting the first cat I didn’t like. Why? Because poof, that’s why. I’d get my first round of cat-itude, and poof, no longer here. Poof into a floating hairball, then my Jesus miracle powers would be revoked and I think humanity would have been doomed. Cats can be cool once you figure out their personalities, which takes some deep medication or meditation sometimes, but once you get on the good side of a cat you might be okay.

But yeah, cats would end my Jesus powers because my fleshly carnal minded self would poof a cat because I can’t stand their cat-itudes, and because I think that would be a sin somehow, and you laughed at some of that joke too, making you a partaker of my sin, you now are proven to be a sinner.

Boom.

All because of a cat.

But seriously, our thoughts can at times become rampant, and we must get them back into submission and obedience to Jesus Christ. This isn’t some super holy test you have to undertake, but it is simply a mindset we must possess, so that we can counter the darts and wiles of the devil – which are spiritual in nature – taking place in the heavens.

We do this by judging our thoughts against biblical measurements (the Word of God), and then seeing what happens with that.

Jdg 2:16 KJV  Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
Jdg 2:17 KJV  And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.
Jdg 2:18 KJV  And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
Jdg 2:19 KJV  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
Jdg 2:20 KJV  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;
Jdg 2:21 KJV  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
Jdg 2:22 KJV  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
Jdg 2:23 KJV  Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

The Lord is always giving us trials in our flesh, but of which are spiritual in nature. That is one way we are in the world, but not of it. Our mindset is on heavenly things, where the war is at, but we still must contend with whatever the Lord has us contending with while in this flesh.

We are always being tempted to give in to all that is in the world, (lust of the flesh and eyes and the pride of life).

I will give some examples so that isn’t just such a blanket statement.

In the bible, the Lord is always changing the names of His people. Abram and Abraham, Sarai and Sarah, Jacob and Israel, etc.

All my life, I have been known as Stevie to my family. To most others I am known as Steve. Some people call me by my name Steven. Some people known me from before, some people know me from recent history, but in all of this God has me realizing more and more that He just has been in this like as a bridge to Him.

I am being trained as bridge to Him. Jesus Is, was and will be a bridge to God the Father, but also, Jesus is Jesus the Christ. We are the Christ of the Christ!

We are a part of this process.

Therefore, people from my past are bridged to people of my future, but mainly to God who is all in all in the future.

See, I am the blind man who is the bridge to Jesus. Jesus uses me as a bridge to other people because they can see themselves in me, and if I am me (and they can see themselves in my a little bit) then they can see Jesus COME out of ME, thereby infected them with Jesus during social distancing…. Thank you very much.

My testimony in me, of who I use to be, can be verified by others, and then I find Jesus I get healed, because Jesus finds me one day with a gaping hole ion my face to be filled.

Jesus bends down and grabs some earth, and instead of ingesting it, Jesus SPITS on it, giving it LIFE via the water from His mouth, and He places that lump of life into my dead and blind sockets of darkness.

I can now see, and as I live my life, I live in such a way as to try to bring others to the truths of the gospel as easily and as painless as possible, depending on what the Lord’s plans are.

I get to live my life now as the chosen elect, hopefully being given the gift of FAITH, given that gift UNTO TO THE END, so that I can have it around the throne when I need to be called, chosen and faithful.

We are called to live in this flesh, with the knowledge we have, by contending with whatever the Lord challenges us with in flesh as a PAYMENT for being given this understanding now. Our payment is LIPS of THANKSGIVING while serving the Lord in sincerity and Truth.

However, that is only a portion of our calling as well, because there are people who will rise up spiritually after us, whether in this life or not, who will need guidance.

Let me paint a picture for you. For MANY MANY years, most humans have not know the secrets of the Kingdomg of God nor the fact that when they physically die the next stop is not heaven or hell.

Most Christians are going to rise to a very different situation than what they were planning. We will be there as spiritual stewardesses guiding people to their proper destinations while having the power of God ourselves.

I say this to say that just like in Judges, our flesh … which we are, is always being pulled at. The carnal mind is a tool used against our flesh to temp our flesh to give into sin.

At the same time, as Paul says, we have a law in our members (flesh) that battles the law of his mind that is in him.

Rom 7:22 KJV  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 KJV  But 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 7:24 KJV  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 KJV  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

So, then in the mind I MYSELF SERVE THE LAW OF GOD. In my mind of the inward man, I serve the law of God. However, there is an opposite to the inward man, That man also has a mind that we must not serve, or we will be serving other gods just like the Israelites did when the elders and Joshua died. We do not want to go back to old ways and the old ways of the old man.