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Isa 63:7-14 In All Their Affliction He Was Afflicted

[Study Aired August 2, 2020]

Isa 63:7  I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
Isa 63:8  For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
Isa 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Isa 63:10  But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
Isa 63:11  Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
Isa 63:12  That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
Isa 63:13  That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
Isa 63:14  As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.

The first three verses of our study today remind us of this same message in the New Testament:

Isa 63:7  I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
Isa 63:8  For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
Isa 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

The Lord was afflicted with Israel’s afflictions, and this is what we are told about our Lord in the New Testament:

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 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.

Because our Lord divested Himself of the glory He had with His Father before the world was and took on “the seed of Abraham”, which is also the seed of Adam, He can identify with us and with all the struggles of being in a body of sinful flesh and blood, even though He never once caved in to the pulls of His own sinful flesh:

Php 2:5  Indeed have this way to think in you, that also was in Christ Jesus,
Php 2:6  who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God something to seize and hold.
Php 2:7  But he emptied himself, having taken a form of a bondman, having become in a likeness of men.
Php 2:8  And having been found in a form like a man, he lowered himself, having become obedient until death, even of death from a cross.
Php 2:9  Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name above every name,
Php 2:10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of the heavenly, and the earthly, and the sub-earthly,
Php 2:11  and that every tongue should acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ACV)

2Co 5:21  Him who knew not sin he has made sin for us, that we might become God’s righteousness in him. (Darby)

It is by the Lord’s design that He has high hopes for us even as He knows that of ourselves we can do nothing. So, we are told:

Isa 63:8  For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.

Indeed, as humble children we first come to our Lord with little or no knowledge of the trials ahead. Like Queen Esther, we become the Lord’s wife before our trials begin to come upon us. What is also like Queen Esther is that we are the apple of the king’s eye, and our deliverance is sure and secure even as we struggle to believe He will hold out His scepter and spare our life.

Est 4:15  Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
Est 4:16  Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Est 4:17  So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

We, too, come boldly before the throne of grace in a manner “which is not according to the law” of Moses.

Est 5:1  Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
Est 5:2  And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.
Est 5:3  Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.

Our high priest identifies with us in our struggles, and He actually suffers with us:

Isa 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

We are not just naturally capable of seeing past our circumstances, and at the time of being betrayed by our own brothers, our own family and our own friends… at the time of seeing the armies of Egypt on one side and the deep Red Sea on the other side… at the time of facing the fiery furnace and the lion’s den, our faith is put through fiery trials, and we will stumble and fall “seven times” before we overcome our fears and our weaknesses of every sort. “The way of the Tree of Life” is securely guarded by a cherub wielding a fiery sword. The only way to the Tree of Life is through the fiery sword which guards the way of the Tree of Life, and it takes patience to go through that fiery sword, which ‘fiery sword’ is “the things written therein” (Rev 1:3).

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8  Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Jas 5:9  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Jas 5:10  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Jas 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

However, we all like sheep first go astray and must all be the prodigal son before we come into His presence to stay and never again go astray:

Isa 63:10  But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

The prodigal son “rebelled and vexed his [Father’s] holy spirit” and “coming to himself” came only through being brought “to [his] wits’ end” through the seven golden vials of the Lord’s wrath being poured out upon that prodigal son, whom we all are at our own appointed time:

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.

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

Luk 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:19  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
Luk 15:20  And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Luk 15:21  And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Luk 15:22  But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

Stumbling and falling seven times requires “seven vials” which “fill up the wrath of God” against all our sins and failings:

Rev 15:5  And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
Rev 15:6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Both the Old and New Testaments verify that the Lord will not forsake those He knows to be His:

Isa 41:13  For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Isa 42:6  I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
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?
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.
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.

The Lord never really forgets His elect, though it appears to our flesh that He does, and with our Lord we cry out:

Psa 22:1  To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Withdrawing His presence from us for a “small moment” in which He pours out His wrath upon the kingdom and throne of our rebellious, carnal-minded old man is, in the end, the best thing that will ever happen to anyone in this age. Oh yes, it seems like an eternity while it is taking place, but the glory that will be revealed in us will make it all far more than worth-while:

Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
Isa 54:9  For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. [You “shall not be hurt of the second death”]

Our Lord was judged in this age. Consequently, He came up in “the resurrection to life”, and He was given a crown of life and a kingdom which was prepared for Himself and His few elect from the foundation of the world:

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

In this age the scriptures are addressed only to those with whom the Lord is working to give His kingdom and His glory. These words are not addressed to “the goats on [His] left… hand”. Yes, we are all rebellious ‘goats’ before we surrender our heart, the Lord’s throne, to Himself. Nevertheless, before we will understand His doctrine, He must bring us to become as little children and as lambs who realize we were deceived into thinking we are the Lord’s sheep, when in reality we were being devoured by ravening wolves, and we didn’t even know it.

Mat 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Joh 7:17  If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

We must be brought to see that we need a shepherd to save us from all the ravening wolves just looking for the opportunity to destroy us and to rob us of our lives. It is few indeed in this age who are granted to see with spiritual eyes that the ‘light’ in them was really deep darkness, and it is few indeed in this age who will be given a “place for repentance… [in] this present time”:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

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;
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

A “place for repentance” is a place which is written in our book before the world began. If that experience in not written in our book before the world began, then we will “[find] no place for repentance” in this present age… “this present time” (Rom 8:18):

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

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;

The story of Joseph, the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin and the parable of the prodigal son all serve to demonstrate that going into Egypt and being lost in sin must precede coming out of Egypt and coming out of Babylon for all of the Lord’s people, for all of His elect. That is where they all are before He drags them out “by a mighty hand”:

Deu 4:34  Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

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.

Knowing that all this deception and suffering is an integral part of the Lord’s plan, for all whom He calls in “this present time”, brings us to our next verse in today’s study:

Isa 63:11  Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?

The Lord is again asking questions which He Himself then immediately answers:

Isa 63:12  That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
Isa 63:13  That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
Isa 63:14  As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.

It was the Lord who “led them by the right hand of Moses with His [The Lord’s] glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name.”

Moses did not part the Red Sea and destroy the Egyptian army while simultaneously delivering His people. It was not Moses who caused the earth to open and swallow apostate Korah and company. Moses typifies what we are. Moses was just a tool in the Lord’s hand. It was the Lord who “led [Israel] through the deep”, through the Red Sea. “The spirit of the Lord caused [Israel] to rest” while they were all led by the Lord… No, they were dragged by the Lord deep down into the waters of the Red Sea. It is all being done by “the spirit of the Lord”, and it was all ordained “before the world began”.

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;

The passing of Israel through the Red Sea typifies our crucifixion with Christ who also entered into His rest upon the cross. Death is commonly called ‘sleep’ in scripture. When Christ told His disciples that Lazarus was ‘asleep’ this is what they naturally thought:

Joh 11:12  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

We are to “reckon [ourselves] dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord”. That is what it means to be a beast being “led through the deep”:

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
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.

We are all aware that our calling is to be the “living sacrifice… the scapegoat” to bear with Christ the sins of mankind.

Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Lev 16:9  And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Lev 16:20  And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:
Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the [scape]goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
Lev 16:22  And the [scape]goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

“The Lord’s lot fell… upon… the goat… which [was] for the Lord, and the other lot [was] for the scapegoat.” The sacrifice of “the Lord’s… goat” signifies the life and death by crucifixion of our Lord Himself, and the “living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1) which we are clearly told “shall [also] bear upon all the iniquities of “the camp of Israel” is the scapegoat. What these Old Testament types are very clearly telling us is that it takes both goats, both Christ and “His Christ”, to “bear… all their iniquities…”

We will now examine the scriptures which plainly teach that we are “a living sacrifice”; that we “are crucified with Christ” while we yet live, and that our afflictions, as the afflictions of Christ were, are also “for His body’s sake which is the church”. The scriptures all teach that this scapegoat is just as much a part of the “atonement” as “the Lord’s goat”. The scriptures teach that we, as this scapegoat, are the living sacrifice who must “fill up in our bodies that which is [yet] lacking in the afflictions of the Christ”, and we are even told that we are to do so “for His body’s sake which is the church”:

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.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Even while in Babylon we all heard and believed we were to “present our bodies a living sacrifice to God.” We believed that this was “our reasonable service”, considering the great sacrifice Christ has made for us. However, who among us thought, or were ever taught while in Babylon, that “many members in one body” (Rom 12:4) had anything at all to do with “filling up what was behind of the afflictions of Christ”?

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:
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

Who among us was ever taught while in Babylon that there was anything “behind of the afflictions of Christ”???

About 25 years ago in Melbourne, Florida, I asked an 80-year-old minister, with two others of the leading ministers of his denomination, one on either side of him, what Colossians 1:24 meant to him. I am to this very day amazed at his unhesitating, forthright answer. He looked me in the eye and said, “If you can explain that verse, you will be doing more than anyone in this room can do.” That was at the very end of an extended, very animated discussion about the function of grace in the work of God with mankind. That particular denomination believed, as do many other denominations of men, that Christ’s death upon the cross was in and of itself sufficient to finish the work of God with mankind. That denomination taught that Christ’s sacrifice paid the price for our sins and for the sins of all men, past, present and future, and that His grace covers our sins once and for all. That doctrine is known as “the doctrine of substitutionary atonement”, and it will, in the end, be recognized as one of the most damnable doctrines ever concocted from the depths of the “abussos” of the carnal minds of mankind.

There are many and varied applications of this damnable doctrine. Most denominations apply it only to the few who they say will be saved, but not just by ‘the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ’. In the most basic way they boldly teach that their salvation comes by choosing of their own free will to accept Christ’s so-called substitutionary sacrifice for their sins. The doctrine which teaches that God gave mankind a will which is free of Him and His will for each of us is another damnable false doctrine, which is widely believed and accepted by most denominations of men. But I digress.

Getting back to the false doctrine of ‘the substitutionary death and atonement of Christ’, that damnable doctrine teaches that there is nothing at all which is “behind of the afflictions of Christ”, and without actually saying so, it is implied that you really don’t need to “present your body a living sacrifice unto God” at all. After all, so they reason, Christ did all that messy stuff for you so you do not need to die at all. I quote, “He died in your stead so that you do not need to die.” This insidious doctrine subtly denies any need to “suffer with Christ…[be] crucified with [Christ or] die daily” with Christ.

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.

Yes, indeed, Paul taught that, “Christ… gave Himself for me.” For what reason and to what end did Christ ‘give Himself for us’? Did Christ give Himself for us so we would not have to die? Did His death substitute for our death? Absolutely not! Christ died for us so we also can “die daily [and be] crucified… daily… with Christ”. That is not the doctrine of “the substitutionary death of Christ”!

Two major Truths are completely hidden from all the churches of Babylon. One is the function of grace, which chastens us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live Godly lives in this age:

Tit 2:11  For the saving grace of God has appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  disciplining us, so that, having denied irreverence and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and piously in the present age. (ACV)

Tit 2:11  For the favour of God, bringing salvation for all men, hath shone forth,
Tit 2:12  Putting us under discipline—in order that,—denying ourselves of ungodliness and worldly covetings, in a soberminded and righteous and godly manner, we should live, in the present age,

The King James reads:

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;

The Greek word translated “teaching” in verse 12 is ‘paideuo’, and this is how this word is variously translated in the New Testament:

G3811
παιδεύω
paideuō
Total KJV Occurrences: 13
chastened, 3
1Co_11:32, 2Co_6:9, Heb_12:10

chasteneth, 2
Heb_12:6-7 (2)

chastise, 2
Luk_23:16, Luk_23:22

chasten, 1
Rev_3:19

instructing, 1
2Ti_2:25

learn, 1
1Ti_1:20

learned, 1
Act_7:22

taught, 1
Act_22:3

teaching, 1
Tit_2:12

Of the 13 times this word appears in the New Testament, it is translated into some form of the English word ‘chasten’ eight times. Chastening is the very function of grace. Anything less turns the grace of God into lasciviousness.

Jud 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Knowing the true function of grace and not just the definition, which is ‘favor’, should give us a much better understanding of what Paul meant when he told us:

Rom 5:20  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace [God’s chastening hand] did much more abound:

If the Lord loves us, He will chasten us. It so happens that the Greek word translated as ‘chasteneth’ in…

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?

… is the Greek word ‘paideuo’, and it is “by [God’s chastening] grace through faith [we] are saved, and that not of our [own free will], it is the gift of God”:

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

The proper understanding of the function of grace is the exact opposite of the insidious, false doctrine of a “substitutionary atonement”.

Accepting Christ’s ‘substitutionary’ death through our own free will is nothing less than self-righteousness and the enshrinement and worship of our own will over God’s will for us. Nevertheless, lies are lies, and Truth is Truth, and Truth is totally unaffected by lies. The Truth remains the Truth whether anyone believes it or not.

You and I, if Christ is living His life within us, are Christ’s Christ. It matters not who believes that to be true. We are indeed Christ’s scapegoat who will be rejected of all men, just as He was because:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Exactly what did our heavenly Father send Christ to do and to accomplish?

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.

That is what “even so send I you” means. Those words right out of the mouth of our Lord Himself prove that we are indeed the scapegoat who is as much a part of the atonement for the sins of the people as is the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell. One last confirming verse for this doctrine that we “fill up what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ for His body’s sake, which is the church” is:

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.

Christ was sent by His Father to save the world. We are sent by Christ to save the world by “presenting [our] bodies a living sacrifice… for His body’s sake, which is the church, [by] filling up in our bodies the afflictions of Christ for His body’s sake, which is the church, by bearing the sins of the world along with our head, Christ.

Lev 16:22  And the [scape]goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

The only “land not inhabited” is the grave, the land of death, where we with our Lord give our lives “for His body’s sake, which is the church”.

The second major Truth which is not understood by the churches of Babylon is the function of judgment. Once again, the Lord has used the definition of this word ‘judgment’ to blind our eyes from the function of that word in our lives.

‘Judgment’ is not simply the statement or pronouncement of guilt or innocence. Rather, as with the word ‘grace’, ‘judgment’ is also a process we must endure if we are to enter into “the house of God… His temple, which we are”:

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 [including our own old man] defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house [the temple] of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

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

Why must the seven plagues of the wrath of God be fulfilled before any man can enter into the Lord’s temple? The answer to that question is what reveals the function of judgment:

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.

“When [the Lord’s] judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness”, and that is the function of judgment. Judgment is not merely the pronouncement of guilt or innocence. Judgment is the process of “learning righteousness”. Hence all judgment is a work of chastening (Greek: ‘paideuo’) grace, with the view of ‘learning righteousness”:

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

All judgment, both the judgment which is now on the house of the Lord as well as the judgment of the great white throne judgment, all of the Lord’s judgments are the Lord’s chastening hand to teach mankind righteousness.

It is with the loving chastening hand of the Lord that we are all led “through the deep… baptized into His death… led [dragged] by a fit man unto a land not inhabited… the valley of the shadow of death”:

Lev 16:22  And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

Psa 23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth [drags] me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy [chastening] rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psa 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psa 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy [bringing me to my wits’ end (Psa 107: 27)] shall follow me all the days of my life: and [after being judged] I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Yes, we must die, or more accurately stated, we must “reckon ourselves as dead [and we must be] dying daily” before we will even begin to be judged in “this present time”:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Being with us as He leads our beast through the judgment of the valley of the death of our old man is the very meaning of our concluding verses of this study:

Isa 63:13  That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
Isa 63:14  As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead [drag, Joh 6:44] thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [G1670: ‘hekuo’, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

G1670
ἑλκύω, ἕλκω
helkuō    helkō
hel-koo’-o, hel’-ko
Probably akin to G138; to drag (literally or figuratively): – draw. Compare G1667.
Total KJV occurrences: 8

That is our study for today. In our next study we will learn just how involved the Lord’s chastening rod and staff are in our walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

Here are the verses for our next study:

Isa 63:15  Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
Isa 63:16  Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
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.
Isa 63:18  The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.
Isa 63:19  We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.

Isaiah 29:17-24 They That Erred in Spirit Shall Come to Understanding - Discussion

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Isa 29:17-24 - They That Erred In Spirit Shall Come To Understanding

Isa 29:17  Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?
Isa 29:18  And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
Isa 29:19  The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 29:20  For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:
Isa 29:21  That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.
Isa 29:22  Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.
Isa 29:23  But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.
Isa 29:24  They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

Let's remember where we left off our last study with this verse:

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?

In this study we will see clearly what Paul means by these words:

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.

The things of the spirit bring life, while the things of the flesh bring nothing but death and destruction. Our judgment by the Lord is not designed to bring us into eternal torment. Turning God's judgments upside down with such a heinous doctrine does not change the purpose for His judgments in our lives.

Here, once again, is the true purpose for which all of God's judgments take place:

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.

This verse agrees with the New Testament and Christ's doctrine concerning the purpose for the Lord's judgments:

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

And to what is "the world... condemned?"

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. [the "chastening" judgment, of the world].

"Learning righteousness" through judgment is a far cry from the 'eternal torment' false doctrine which "turns" the truth of Isa 26:9 "upside down" and backward. Nevertheless, in the Lord's time and on His schedule, "they that [have] erred in spirit shall come to understanding... when [the Lord's] judgments are in the earth."

We continue now with our study of this "marvellous work and a wonder... among [the Lord's] people":

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.

The Lord is at this very moment "proceeding to do" what He calls a marvelous work and a wonder in spite of all the efforts of  "[our] wise men [to] turn things upside down", as we read in our opening of this study.​

Potters make and fashion pots of various shapes for various uses and purposes. Pots do not make and fashion themselves for their own purposes. The fulfilling of the Lord's purpose does not depend on us or on our understanding of what He is doing or our own will. He operates "all things after the counsel of His own will".

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:

This 29th chapter of Isaiah is a foundational part of Christ's much hated "replacement theology" doctrine with which He began His ministry in His first recorded sermon:

Luk 4:24  And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Luk 4:25  But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luk 4:26  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a [Gentile] woman that was a widow.
Luk 4:27  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the [Gentile] Syrian.
Luk 4:28  And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

This doctrine of our Lord does not depend upon our opinion. It matters not at all what we think of this very Biblical and true doctrine. As He told the Gentile Samaritan woman at the well:

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23  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.

If "salvation is of the [physical] Jews" then the worshiping of God would remain in physical Jerusalem. However, Christ reveals exactly what He actually meant when making this statement to this Gentile woman. Here is how He expounds upon that statement:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

"He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly... but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly... and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit" is what is today so disdainfully called "replacement theology". It is still true that "salvation is of the Jews", but now Christ informs us that outward pedigree no longer meets His new standard for what constitutes a 'Jew'. The new standard is the spiritual Jew and now, "he is NOT a Jew which is one outwardly... but he IS a Jew which is one inwardly... in the spirit." However, mankind refuses to relinquish his flesh. Like Abraham we all cry out in anguish:

Gen 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

But Ishmael is "the son of the bondwoman" who now, through Christ's replacement theology, spiritually corresponds to "Jerusalem that now is and is in bondage with her children."

Read it with your own eyes!

Gal 4:21  Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these [two women] are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

"Jerusalem which now is" corresponds to "the bondwoman" and her son "who was born after the flesh". That again is 'replacement theology', and it is integral to the true "gospel of the kingdom of God [which is now] within [us]". Christ calls it "the New Testament in my blood":

Mar 14:24  And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

With the mind of Christ we can now believe and appreciate the fact:

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

There are two doctrines of Christ in this 50th verse of 1 Corinthians, and both are rejected by mankind. The first is the doctrine of the destruction of all flesh, and the second is that the things of the spirit, things like, "He is NOT a Jew which is one outwardly... But he IS a Jew which is one inwardly" have replaced "the things of the flesh" as it regards what constitutes "the kingdom of God".

Christ confirms all of this with His doctrine of 'replacement theology', which as we have seen, was the message of His very first recorded sermon, and here He explains it again to the Samaritan woman:

Joh 4:23  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.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Paul establishes this doctrine of Christ in Romans 9, and he confesses that this doctrine gives his own flesh "great heaviness and continual sorrow in [his] heart... for [his] brothers, [his] kinsmen according to the flesh."

Here it is. Here is Paul preaching and teaching "replacement theology". "The things of the spirit" have now, in Christ, replaced all things which are "according to the flesh", including what now constitutes being a Jew, what and where Jerusalem  is and what now constitutes being "the circumcision...of Israel":

Rom 9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Rom 9:4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 9:6  Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7  Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Rom 9:9  For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
Rom 9:10  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (We will discuss who are the children of Isaac a little later.)
Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
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 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
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?
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 9:22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24  Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
Rom 9:25  As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
Rom 9:26  And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

"I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved" is "replacement theology", and that is the doctrine of Christ Himself! For that very reason Isaiah tells us:

Isa 29:17  Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?
Isa 29:18  And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
Isa 29:19  The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Lebanon is a Gentile nation whose capital was Tyre, whose sister city was Sidon. These verses prophesying of "the deaf hear[ing] the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind... see[ing] out of obscurity and out of darkness" are a prophecy which is addressed to the Gentile nation of Lebanon, and therefore to all Gentiles to whom the Lord reveals Himself and His plans for all mankind.

In His very first recorded sermon, Christ was rejected of His own people because He was teaching replacement theology. In doing so Christ referred to this very message here in Isaiah concerning giving sight to the blind and the poor among men rejoicing in Him. What Christ read that day was from Isaiah 61, but He explained that Isaiah 61 was also referring to His doctrine of replacement theology, and when He had explained the meaning of the verses He had read He received at that time the same reception which that doctrine, which is His own doctrine receives until this very day:

Let's watch once again what happened then, and compare it to what happens today when we simply agree with Christ:

Luk 4:14  And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
Luk 4:15  And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
Luk 4:16  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Luk 4:17  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Before we continue to see what happened when Christ informed His own people that they were about to be replaced as God's anointed chosen people, let's look at the place in Isaiah from which Christ quoted these verses:

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

There were no chapters and verses in Christ's day, but He left off reading in the middle of what is today Isa 61:2, and then He explained His doctrine of replacement theology:

Luk 4:20  And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Luk 4:22  And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
Luk 4:23  And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
Luk 4:24  And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Luk 4:25  But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias [Elijah], when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luk 4:26  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a [Gentile] woman that was a widow.
Luk 4:27  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus [Elisha] the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the [Gentile] Syrian.
Luk 4:28  And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Luk 4:29  And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
Luk 4:30  But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

How is this doctrine of Christ received today? Nothing has changed. Even those who profess to believe that Christ is a reformer, insist that there is still a physical Jew and a physical elect.

This is now what Christ thinks of all who reject His doctrine of replacement theology and of those who think of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob only "according to the flesh":

Isa 29:20  For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:
Isa 29:21  That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.

As we have just seen, Christ is the perfect Biblical example of a victim of "the terrible one... and the scorner... and all that watch for iniquity... that make a man an offender for a word and lay a snare for Him that reproves in the gate and turn aside the just for a thing of nought." But we also have another example of how the established religion of Christ's day treated Him at that time and how the established religions of this world treat Him and those who are His until this very day:

Luk 20:20  And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.
Luk 20:21  And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly:
Luk 20:22  Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?

The Jews hated the Romans far more than Christ. Christ loved everyone including His own people and the Romans. In these verses the established religious leaders feign respect for Christ in an effort to accuse Him of being an insurgent against Rome. These same religious leaders, who rebelled against Rome a short forty years later, are feigning faithfulness to Rome "that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor."

Like our Lord, our adversary is also 'the same yesterday, today, and for the age'.

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

The great harlot, and the beast on which she sits are still seeking to "make a man an offender for a word... laying a snare for him that reproves in the gate and [are] turn[ing] aside the just for a thing of nought".

Isa 29:22  Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.

As we have seen, the things of the flesh have been replaced by the things of the spirit, and this principle extends to whom is now the True 'father of all them that believe'. 'Abraham' now simply typifies Christ, "the [true] everlasting Father...of all them that believe" (Isa 9:6), and it is for that reason Abraham is called 'the father of the faithful':

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 4:11  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

What we can easily overlook is the reason we are given for why Abraham typifies "the father of all them that believe." Abraham is called "the father of all them that believe" because he was given "the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had being uncircumcised." Yes, the point the holy spirit is making is that even circumcision was nothing more than an outward type of "the putting off... of the flesh" and in reality did nothing to accomplish that end. The only 'circumcision' which is accepted by our Lord, and which does accomplish that end, is "circumcision [which] is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter."

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Col 2:11  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

The Lord Himself has blinded the eyes of this world to the words 'not' and 'neither' in Romans 2:28. The only 'circumcision' which "puts off the body of the sins of the flesh" is that which is accomplished "by the circumcision of Christ" which brings His own mind into our hearts and minds, destroying and replacing the rebellious, carnal mind of our old man.

Christ Himself told the Pharisees that the kingdom of God is no longer the outward nation of Israel, but His kingdom is now "within... all who believe".

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.

The carnal mind simply cannot accept the depth of that Truth. So we are told that Christ has two kingdoms, a spiritual and a physical kingdom. We are also told that Christ has two elect, a spiritual elect and a physical elect. But those who teach such heresy fail to remember what we read earlier in this study when Jesus told the woman at the well that neither in Samaria nor at Jerusalem would anyone worship the Father, "but... the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him." He went on to make it clear that if anyone wanted to worship the Father "they that worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in Truth."

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23  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.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Joh 4:25  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
Joh 4:26  Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Let's put these words of Christ together with the words Christ inspired the apostle Paul to write:

When Christ teaches us that "the hour... now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth... [not] in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem... for the Father seeks such to worship Him..." He us teaching that hated doctrine of 'replacement theology', and lest anyone fails to understand His point, the Lord repeats this doctrine in no uncertain terms in:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth [Greek: politeia - citizenship] of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye [Gentile Ephesians] who sometimes were far off are made nigh [to the commonwealth of Israel], by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

"Of both one... of twain one new man... that He might reconcile both unto God in one body." There is no room in those words for two separate elect Jews, elect Israelites, elect Jerusalems, or two separate elect of God. "He is NOT a Jew which is one outwardly... but he IS a Jew which is one inwardly" (Rom 2:28-29), is "replacement theology, and it is to be found throughout the entire New Testament, in Christ's own words and in the words of His apostles, and it is found here in Isaiah, and in the other prophets.

In the previous chapter of Ephesians we are told 'the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.' This is all addressed to the Gentile Christians of Ephesus "for our sakes":

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:

The Lord "chose us in Him before the foundation of the world", and the Greek word translated 'chosen' is the same Greek word which is translated as 'elect'. It is the Greek word 'eklectos', and Paul again is emphasizing the fact that Christ is not divided:

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.

As we have seen, Christ's first recorded sermon prophesied of the replacing of God's typical chosen "outward... Jew" by "all them that believe... yet being uncircumcised... aliens from the commonwealth of Israel."

This is all a very hard pill for our flesh to swallow. Our flesh clings to the physical Jew, the physical Israelite, physical Jerusalem and a physical elect of God who Christ tells us are now "the son of the bondwoman... Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children" to the law of Moses... for the lawless (1Ti 1:12).

Christ came in His Father's name and brought us a "new covenant". His time in the flesh was part of "the time of reformation":

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

He even openly proclaimed that He had done that "which was not lawful for Him... neither for them that were with Him, but for the priests only." Christ claimed that He, like the priests, could "profane the sabbath" and be "guiltless", even though Christ was not of the tribe of Levi. The only justification He gave for doing so was "...in this place is one greater than the temple, [and] the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day".

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Did Christ actually "profane the sabbath"? Here is what the holy spirit tells us:

Joh 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto [on the sabbath], and I work.
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

It is Christ who is the true "father of all who believe", and it is He who is 'redeeming Abraham, and it is His house who will not be ashamed' (Isa 29:22).

Instead:

Isa 29:23  But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.
Isa 29:24  They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

Those who disdain and despise Christ telling His own physical kin, that the kingdom of heaven would be taken from them and given to a nation bring forth fruits of that kingdom are indeed "erring in spirit".

Mat 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
Mat 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

This is all about the despised Truth of the replacing of the things of the flesh with the things of the spirit. But it is also all about the salvation of all men through those "who first trusted in Christ". It is we "who first trusted in Christ" who have been chosen to "judge the world [and to] judge angels".

"They that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine... when your judgments are in the earth." That is truly 'good news' even though it is at the expense of the flesh.

Joh 3:30 He [the new spiritual man] must increase, but I [the old carnal minded man] must decrease.

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.

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?

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us [inward spiritual, Jews] 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.

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.

Next week, Lord willing, we will begin our study of Isaiah 30, where we will learn that we have all preferred the smooth lies of the flesh over the fiery judgments against our physical flesh and its replacement by the new man of the spirit:

Isa 30:1  Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
Isa 30:2  That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
Isa 30:3  Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
Isa 30:4  For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
Isa 30:5  They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
Isa 30:6  The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
Isa 30:7  For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
Isa 30:8  Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
Isa 30:11  Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

The foundational theme of sonship in Genesis helps us to appreciate and understand the deep spiritual privileges God bestows on those to whom He gives undeservedly this highest honour. Spiritual sonship is by invitation from the Father only to be conformed to the spiritual image of Jesus Christ, whom was given preeminence or headship in this regard (1Ch 29:18; Joh 6:44; Col 1:18). These sons of God, who are the house of God in His firstborn Jesus Christ, are progressively given possession and control of their own “vessel” with all its lusts and pride in this carnal age, even as they will also judge others in the lake of fire in the spiritual age to come (Gen 22:17; Exo 23:29-30; 1Jn 2:16; Rev 20:11-15):

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

1Th 4:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
1Th 4:5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God.

1Co 6:2 Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

To be “under grace” is a very favourable position because this is how dominion and judgement are first given to the sons of God when they are chastened of the Lord to abhor and deny these inherent worldly lusts to be able to enter the temple of God (Gen 1:27-28; 1Pe 4:17; Psa 51:1-5; Isa 33:14-15; 1Co 11:32; Rev 15:8):

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

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [Greek: “paideuō” = disciplining], 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?
Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Judgment is the godly appointed process which brings the death eon to a conclusion with much tribulation and trials (Act 14:22; 1Pe 4:12):

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.

Through this judgment our own darkest evils are revealed to us, and through repentance from this evil we learn the righteousness of God. Without this judgment no one will see God or experience His life or light (Ecc 12:14; 1Co 4:5):

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.

Spiritual sonship starts and ends with Jesus Christ, who is given to the other sons of God as the Equipper and Enabler of righteous sonship – holy and blameless (Eph 1:17-23):

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son [Greek: “uihos” (ABP+)] is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God [Greek: “theos” (ABP+], The everlasting [Greek: “aion” (ABP+)] Father, The Prince of Peace.

Psa 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children [Greek: “uihos” (ABP+)] of the most High.

Joh 10:35 If he called them gods [Greek: “theos”], unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken.

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 [Greek: “uihothesia” from “tithēmi” which is a ‘prolonged form’ of “theō” or “theos”] by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

Jesus Christ was indeed given this dominion and power over all earth and heaven by the spirit of the Father, even while living in His body of flesh (Gen 1:1; 1Co 2:15-16; Col 1:15-19; Heb 2:9-10; Rev 1:8):

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them [His disciples], saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

This position of authority is impossible for the natural mind to grasp or appreciate as it seems that these sons of God claim equality with the throne or rulership of God, the Father, which is not the case. The sons of God, however, know that their election and the process involved are all the Lord’s doing from start to finish. “He that is spiritual…[the gods or lords to whom the Word of God is revealed]…is judged of no man” and ideas of guilt or blame from the accusers do not affect the sons of God:

1Co 8:5 For though there be that are called gods whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
1Co 8:6 But to us [those in the godly “uihothesia”], there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

What Christ experienced in His earthly walk as the Son of God will be the experience of all sons of God in this age because as He is in this world, so are His brethren in this world (Heb 2:11-18)

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.

All sons of God will be forsaken and judged as the wrath of God has been revealed from heaven on all ungodliness of flesh, even Jesus in His time in sinful and unrighteous flesh (Psa 51:5; Rom 8:20; 2Co 5:21):

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

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

Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [the number nine is the number of judgement on flesh]

Through the generational line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, this theme of sonship is developed as a type of our own growth in the knowledge and confirmation of this enormous privilege and the important task that goes with this election (1Pe 1:10). Abraham is the type of what the faith of Christ achieves to establish a vital part of the solid foundation in the sons of God on which all “good works” are built (Rom 4:3; Rom 4:12; Gal 2:16; Php 3:9; Gal 3:9; Heb 6:1-2; 2Th 1:3; 2Pe 3:18):

Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
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.

The fatherhood of Abraham in that sense typifies also this fatherhood of Christ in us (Rom 4:16; Gal 3:6-7; Gal 3:29). Isaac, the chosen son of Abraham, is the shadow of how this sonship develops through his experiences to eventually be in a position to also be a father to Jacob. Isaac had to endure his own trials and tribulations showing us what the giving of an account to God is about in relation to sonship (1Pe 4:1-14). Every son of God must carry his own cross and die to self – personally (1Co 12:12; Eph 1:22-23; Eph 4:15-16):

Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Gal 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

There is indeed one event for all (“it is appointed…once to die”), but we all experience this death process with its judgement quite uniquely (Ecc 9:2). The false doctrine of a substitutionary death of Jesus is exposed by the scriptures because Jesus, our spiritual Father, bore the death penalty of His own flesh as we must bear our own iniquity, even as He died first “for us” in order to assist us in doing the same (1Co 15:3-4; Heb 2:16-18):

Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10 Who died for [Greek: “huper” = over / above / ahead of] us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

Nothing we have is ours – it is all gifts from God, but He requires a personal account from us as we fear Him to do carefully what He compels us to do, like Simon had to do as a symbol of how we bear our own cross – the cross which also belongs to Christ:

Mat 27:32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

As sons of God, we must take personal stewardship of what God has promised by also applying all His commandments to ourselves to the benefit of others, especially those in the Christ (1Pe 4:10). This can only be achieved through the Christ. All sons of God will grow into fatherhood and as spiritual fathers will provide for our spiritual relatives in Christ and also for others later (1Ti 1:1-3; Tit 1:4; 1Co 3:6-9):

1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

To give an account to God is to know that God works all our thoughts and actions, and we also work out His work in our lives with all diligence, God willing (Psa 139:1-5; Php 2:12-13). In the process we also encounter disorderliness when there is a spirit of lasciviousness to only want to receive the benefits of sonship without work being done. This brings to mind the thousand year rule when those on the earth who has not experienced spirit life, revel in the provisions the sons of God supply, but is in need of constant correction from the rod of iron (Isa 2:2-4; Rev 20:1-3):

2Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
2Th 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
2Th 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

Isaac had to experience his own “account”, and like his father Abraham he was also tested. One of these trials was the drought he also experienced in Canaan, among others. But unlike Abraham, God instructed Isaac not to go down to Egypt:

Gen 26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
Gen 26:2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.

This drought is also the opportunity God uses to transfer the promises which He made to Abraham directly to Isaac:

Gen 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
Gen 26:4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

The promise of an offspring through which all the nations of the whole earth will be blessed, brings the theme of sonship and stewardship to the close attention of Isaac. For him to fulfil his part required that he must diligently listen to and obey what God commanded for the benefit of the offspring who would come after him. Isaac listened to God and did not go to Egypt, but rather dwelled in the land of the Philistines. Here in the city of Gerar another test is given to Isaac that was also witnessed in the life of Abraham:

Gen 26:6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
Gen 26:7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

Isaac’s own heart is now exposed as he displayed the same selfish or self-centred spirit which was in his father as exposed twice in Abraham’s life – once in Egypt and once in Gerar (Gen 12:11-20; Gen 20:1-18). Isaac, like his father, lied about his marital relationship to his wife in order to save his life. Now Isaac needed judgment just like his father was judged for this same act. In our spiritual immaturity we firstly cannot see that focussing on our own needs is not beneficial to our brethren in God’s church. But as always, God’s mercy will bring rebuke on us in order to bring repentance to us, even with great humiliation:

Gen 26:8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
Gen 26:9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
Gen 26:10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
Gen 26:11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

Sonship is a special favour God bestows on a few despite their own weaknesses. It is when we can see our weaknesses and are humbled by them, that we will be able to experience the strength of God and his overcoming spirit in us. Sons of God are called and are destined to overcome! We learn through our infirmities and failures how to “take pleasure” in them which is never to glorify our weaknesses or sin. The sons of God “take pleasure…for Christ’s sake” as the apostle Paul also found this mystery few can appreciate:

2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

It is this blessing of the Lord which comes through persecutions and humiliation that the sons of God are spiritually enriched without the sorrow of being ensnared by physical things (1Ti 6:6-11):

Pro 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

This is what Isaac also experienced and this blessing always bring envy from those who cannot see how the sons of God can rejoice when they are rejected and despised, having nothing in and of themselves:

Gen 26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
Gen 26:13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
Gen 26:14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

The sons of God know the trappings of physical blessings. Those living on the earth who have not been given spirit life or insight during the thousand-year rule of the elect, will think they are living a kind of heaven on earth, even as they are ruled with a rod of iron and enjoy the teachings of the Christ, but in their hearts envy the sons of God (Isa 2:2-4; Rev 2:26-27; Rev 12:5). These religious Philistines cannot appreciate true spiritual blessings as they stopped the wells which produced the waters of life, and they continued filling them with earth in the days of Isaac. This is when we focus our attention on the physical applications of God’s spiritual words (1Co 2:13). Yet God still brings deeper spiritual revelations to His sons despite all the diligent efforts of the opposition:

Gen 26:15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.
Gen 26:16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
Gen 26:17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
Gen 26:18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
Gen 26:19 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

Even when the opposition stakes claims to the efforts of God’s sons, God’s sons will just move on in humility and always agree quickly with their adversaries (Mat 5:25). But through the continual outward fleshly strife and inward battles of carnality, God provides a special place and great peace amidst all the turmoil (Joh 14:27; Joh 16:33; Php 4:6-7; Col 3:15):

Gen 26:20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
Gen 26:21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
Gen 26:22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

The Lord will always be with His sons to show Himself mighty in battle, even as the sons of God must experience their nights of darkness and distress to see that nothing can actually separate them from the Father’s love (Mat 26:36-46; Rom 8:35-39). Although it seems to the flesh that God is far away and has forsaken us, God is spirit and will always be there to confirm and comfort:

Gen 26:23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.
Gen 26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.
Gen 26:25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

But the enemies will not stop or cease their attacks, even when they realize the position of the sons of God is secure in Him. The king and the chief captain of his army of the Philistines, which represents our own flesh and its will, do follow us and will always claim innocence, but the sons of God know that all these fleshly authorities are God’s institutions and instruments in His hand to bring forth only what He purposed through them (Dan 4:25; Rom 13:1-5; 1Ti 2:1-2). The sons of God pursue peace with all men as that is how we find time to dig deeper and find God’s precious spiritual waters of life:

Gen 26:26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
Gen 26:27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
Gen 26:28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
Gen 26:29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.
Gen 26:30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
Gen 26:31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
Gen 26:32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.

—————————————————————————————
Detailed studies and emails relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:

Make Your Calling and Election Sure – Part 2
The Biblical Overview of The Plan of God – Part 10
Was Christ’s Death Substitutionary?
Abraham and Isaac Denying Their Wives”
The Biblical Overview of God – Part 9

Video Links

Job 15:14-27 The Heavens Are Not Clean In His Sight

Job 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
Job 15:15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
Job 15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
Job 15:17 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;
Job 15:18 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:
Job 15:19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.
Job 15:20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
Job 15:21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
Job 15:22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
Job 15:23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
Job 15:24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
Job 15:25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
Job 15:26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:
Job 15:27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

In today’s study we continue to see ourselves as Eliphaz who for the second time is quick to condemn those who are suffering as “sinners above all who are in Jerusalem”. That is how Christ describes for us this spirit of Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. Here is the spirit that is in each of us by nature:

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

Those words are directed to you and to me while we are under the bondage of the spirit of Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. These men typify all men who look down on those who they perceive to be less righteous than themselves. According to the dictates of many who are still in Babylon, all who are not being physically blessed are sinning against God and are responsible for their own trials.
If it is true that God himself makes us all wicked men for our own day of evil, then we have no right to look down on anyone, and the Truth is:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

If it is true that you and I are not responsible for our own sins, then we have no cause to hold each other responsible for any of our misdeeds, and that is exactly what the scriptures teach:

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.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 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.

If there is a God- ordained and sustained “law of sin” working in our members, then none of us is responsible for our own actions. This in no way denies that we will give an accounting of our wicked and sinful actions in these vessels of clay, but it does say that we are not responsible for our own sins, and therefore we have no reason to look down on what God has done in the lives of any other of His children.
There are ‘four’ men here because the number ‘four’ is the Biblical symbol for the whole of either heaven or earth:

Mar 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

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.

What is becoming clear is that Job is not the only person in this group of four men who is “full of confusion”.

Job 10:15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;

Apparently Eliphaz is just as confused as Job. Here is what he said during his first discourse with Job:

Job 4:7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
Job 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

The implication was that Job’s own sins were responsible for the suffering Job was enduring. But now Eliphaz, while still intent upon condemning Job for his sins, confesses that mankind in general is neither ‘clean’ nor ‘righteous’.

Job 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

Eliphaz was certainly “born of a woman” but as is always the case with us all while we are in Babylon, he makes so many truthful statements concerning what constitutes mankind and the state of all who are “born of woman”, but we always think our truthful statements apply to others instead of ourselves. The scriptures agree with Eliphaz, but as only mankind is capable of doing, Eliphaz states the Truth, but then he applies it to anyone and everyone but himself. Nevertheless the scriptures teach that this is a universal Truth.

Psa 14:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psa 53:1 To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
Psa 53:2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
Psa 53:3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

That is God’s assessment of all flesh. Three times we are told without reservation “there is none that doeth good, no, not one”. That is why we are also told:

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

Job 15:15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.

Without the work of the spirit of God in the fleshly body of His Son, there would be no hope for anyone who has ever been in a body of “sinful flesh… and blood”.

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:

We have demonstrated many times that the flesh of Christ was just as much “in the likeness of sinful flesh” as your flesh or my flesh, and that it was the supernatural power of the spirit of His Father which restrained Him from sinning while in that body of “sinful flesh”. Christ’s flesh of itself could not resist sinning any more than our flesh can. Christ Himself tells us this is so:

Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

God put no trust in Christ’s flesh, but instead He gave Christ His spirit without measure to assure us that we would have a spotless sacrifice for our sins.

Joh 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

So “man born of woman” is neither clean nor righteous. This is the condition of all flesh and of all “men born of woman”:

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

Our heavenly Father never depended on the flesh of Christ to redeem mankind. He used that flesh, but He was depending only upon Himself, His own spirit within a body of sinful flesh, the flesh of our Savior, to live a spotless life and then to die for our sins.
Here it all is out of Christ’s own mouth:

Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

“There is none good but… God… I can of mine own self do nothing…” So was Christ perfected while in a body of “sinful flesh”? Is it possible to be perfected while in a body of flesh? Let’s let Christ Himself answer that question:

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

No, not even Christ was perfected until “the third day”, the day of resurrection. So Eliphaz has made a profound statement – “Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.” Yet he cannot see that his own words apply to himself as well as all other men. This is a simple and basic spiritual truth.
But “the things of the spirit” are hidden and veiled by the flesh, even by the flesh of Christ:

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

So with the death and resurrection of our Savior we are finally given to know that the physical realm is more than just a history lesson. We are now granted to understand that the physical heavens are nothing more than a type and a shadow of the spiritual heavens of the scriptures, which are located within each of us. It is into that inward heaven that our Lord has entered and is even now in the process of cleansing and purifying:

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [ the blood of bulls and goats]; 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 [ our hearts and minds], now to appear in the presence of God for us:

So if Christ says of Himself that “there is none good but… God”, and He tells us plainly that He will not be perfected until “the third day”, how true then must be these words of Eliphaz:

Job 15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

Is this true? Is mankind really abominable and filthy? Are you and I by nature ‘abominable and filthy’? What do the scriptures teach? I will repeat:

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

And to that I will add:

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.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 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 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

So yes, it is true, mankind is abominable and filthy [ and he] drinketh iniquity like water”, and without a sacrifice for his sins mankind would be doomed to destruction.

Job 15:17 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;

Each man wants his words to be heard. He wants to declare the things he has seen. Job has told his three friends what he thinks of their observations and their admonitions, and he too, wants them to hear his words:

Job 13:1 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.
Job 13:2 What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.
Job 13:3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
Job 13:4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.
Job 13:5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.
Job 13:6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.

What is missing in the “pleading of [ the] lips” of both Job and his detractors is the truth of these verses of scripture:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
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.

God simply has not yet revealed to these men, who are types of us while we are in the Babylonian Christian world, that He has deliberately “made us… marred in the hand of the Potter” for the purpose of building within these clay vessels a spiritual temple for His dwelling place, and that when that temple is built, then these clay vessels must be dispensed with and destroyed. Here is how Christ expresses this process:

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that y e 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.

We have all “defiled the temple of God”, and we must all “lose [ our] life” in order to find it. Until that Truth is revealed to us, like Eliphaz we judge our brothers as if God’s judgment were something we can and should somehow avoid. That is what Eliphaz means when he tells Job:

Job 15:18 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:
Job 15:19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.

What Eliphaz is telling Job, is what Babylon tells us all. Eliphaz sees physical blessings as proof of God’s approval of the way we are conducting our lives, and physical trials are proof only of how displeased God is of how we are conducting our lives. He is telling Job that wise men have always taught this doctrine, and have always passed this wisdom on to their children.
“Unto whom alone the earth was given and no stranger passed among them” must apply physically to Noah and his sons, and therefore it must spiritually apply to all the descendants of Noah, who still hold to that doctrine:

Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, [ which knows no strangers] the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Eliphaz, as the type of the church which is still in the world, does not like the gospel of Christ which teaches the necessity of losing our lives before we can hope to find life. The spirit of Eliphaz loves the false doctrine of a substitutionary death which eliminates the necessity of being “crucified with Christ”, and “fill[ ing] up in my body that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ”.

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.
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:

Eliphaz was the original ‘prosperity evangelist’. He was, as we all are at first, devoid of understanding the need for “dying daily” (1Co 15:31). All trials of our faith are proof positive to the Eliphaz within us of a man who is a sinner above all in Jerusalem, rather than proof that all in Jerusalem are sinners who must be judged.

Job 15:20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
Job 15:21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
Job 15:22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

This is a very seductive message which “the first man Adam” finds very appealing. After all who wants to endure the words of those three verses? Who wants to be “hated of all men… lose [ his] life… [ have his] enemies… be they of his own household”, etc.? Eliphaz sees Job’s judgment as something he does not need because of his own righteousness. So he continues to describe Job’s position to him.
Because of spiritual immaturity, with which we all struggle as spiritually “carnal… babes in Christ”, Eliphaz, is incapable of understanding that the troubling of “an evil spirit from God” precedes the judgment of all men just as surely as King Saul preceded King David, and as surely as the first man Adam precedes the last Adam.
Why did King David lust after Bathsheba? He did so for the same reason Joseph’s brothers sold him into Egypt and for the same reason there is “evil in the city”.

Gen 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

If it seems sinful to us for God to ‘make wicked men for their day of evil’ (Pro 16:4), ‘create evil’ (Isa 45:7), ‘make us to err from His ways’, and send evil spirits to make this all happen (1Sa 16:14-15), then we are still both Job and Eliphaz, contending with, reproving, and condemning God for His ways. We all do that in our own time:

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?
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?

But we are all blinded to those words while we tell these words to others who we see as less honorable than ourselves.

Job 15:23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

Here is the New Testament way of expressing the point Eliphaz is imputing to Job because of his sins:

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

Job 15:24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

Job himself had already told us that the thing he had feared was exactly what had happened to him.

Job 3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

While the love of God which our Savior taught was unheard of in the Old Testament, the effects of not knowing that love were well known by Job as the type of us before we know what is the love of God:

1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Once again, Eliphaz does not know that mankind must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Mat 4:4). He does not know or believe that “all things, the world, life, death, things present, and things to come are all ours (1Co 3:21-22), and it had not yet been revealed that the time is at hand to keep the things written in the words of this prophecy (Rev 1:3 and 22:7). So he condemns Job for the things that must necessarily be within his own sinful flesh:

Job 15:25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
Job 15:26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:
Job 15:27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

Eliphaz, being at ease in this life, thinks of himself being above ever contending with, reproving, or condemning his Creator. He thinks that Job’s former prosperity had caused Job to forget his God, and to have “strengthened himself against God”. God Himself tells us that this is exactly what we all do under such circumstances. Moses told Israel that is what they would do, and Jeremiah told them that was what they did. Remember you and I are Israel.

Deu 32:15 But Jeshurun [ a name for Israel] waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

Jer 5:7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
Jer 5:8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.
Jer 5:9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

In our own way we all live out every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Those who are given to do so will rejoice in knowing what is the secret of God which He has revealed to only very few.
Next week, Lord willing, we will see the rest of Eliphaz’s accusations against his friend, Job.

Job 15:28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.
Job 15:29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.
Job 15:30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
Job 15:31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.
Job 15:32 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
Job 15:33 He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.
Job 15:34 For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.
Job 15:35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

M_______ wrote:

Hi Mike,
I read your letter on the above subject. I find it right on target. Because we would have to ask, why do we still die if Christ died in our place? It looks as if Rom. 5:12 states that we must also die for our own sins. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” But I do have a question. Abraham taking Isaac to the altar was a type of the Father slaying Christ. But then Isaac’s type seems to change to type us by allowing the ram to be sacrificed for him. This would seem to teach a substitutionary death. Can you please comment? I can see that the NT does not support the idea with a different understanding of the phrase “for us.” Thanks again. M_____

Hi M____,
Thank you for your question.
You are right about Rom 5:12

Rom 5:12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Adam was simply the channel by which death was introduced for sin. We do not die for Adam’s sin. We die because of sin in our lives and in our sinful flesh. Babies who die in their cribs, never having consciously sinned, are still unable to inherit the kingdom of God. Even they must be resurrected and experience a time of proving and cleansing of their sinful carnal mind, before they will enter into the All in all.
Look at the very next verse there in Rom 5:

Rom 5:13  (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

O. K. “Sin is not imputed where there is no law.” What does that mean? Does it mean that since that baby which died in its crib never consciously sinned, that therefore that child can enter into the kingdom of God? Absolutely not! Look at the next verse:

Rom 5:14  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Why does death reign where “sin is not imputed?” The answer for those who can receive it, is that Adam and we in Adam, was created of corruptible dust, and sinfully naked while he was yet in the Potter’s hand, before  he ever drew his first breath.

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.

What does “marred in the hand of the Potter” mean? Here is what that means:

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

So if you think that ‘flesh’ in and of itself is not sin, then you are calling the Holy Spirit a liar: ” I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
It is not a very smart thing to deny that flesh is “shapen… and conceived in sin.”  Yet the entire “historical orthodox Christian church” does just that when they deny that Christ was “made sin” by coming in “sinful flesh.” 

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him [ to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The words ‘to be’ are bracketed by the publishers to tell us that those words were not in the Greek. Yet all who deny the Truth of Psa. 51:5 insist that Christ was not made sin. Nevertheless the Greek reads:

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Christ was not “made sin” by being nailed to the cross. He was “made sin” by being “made of a woman.”

Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Both of those statements 1) made of a woman and 2) made under the law, equate in Biblical terms to being made sin:
1) Made of a woman = Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
2) Made under the law = 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 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 is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

“After faith… of Jesus Christ is come, we are no longer under… the law… our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.” But “before faith came… the scripture… concluded all under sin… we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. “
That is how Christ came into this world. He came just like His creation; “shapen in iniquity, conceived in sin… made of a woman, made under the law.”
And yet He never sinned even though He was “made sin.”

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

All denials of the carnal mind of man to the contrary, Christ discriminates between “being sin” and committing sin as a ‘trespass.’ That is why God gave Moses both a ‘sin offering’ for the fact that we are “conceived in sin,” and a ‘trespass offering,’ for what we do in our “body of sin.”

Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Paul agrees with David and Jeremiah that the body of flesh itself is sin “in conception… shapen in iniquity… in the Potter’s hand… the body of sin… made sin.”
What Christ accomplished was not to die for us so that we do not have to die. Even Isaac died in a figure:

Heb 11:17  By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [ son],
Heb 11:18  Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Heb 11:19  Accounting that God [ was] able to raise [ him] up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

The ram was not put there to teach substitutionary death. “Isaac… died in a figure.” He didn’t ‘avoid death in a figure,’ he ‘died in a figure.’ The ram is Christ, whose  resurrection from the dead gives us life:

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.

It may seem like a matter of semantics, but if Christ had not been brought back from death, we would have no salvation, because we, too, must be brought back from death. That is why Christ was “made sin for us.” Coming in flesh was coming in death:

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?

Sin and death are inseparable. When Christ entered His mother’s womb, at that moment He had stepped into the realm of death. His flesh and blood like our “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”

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

Do you think these words apply to our flesh and blood but not to Christ’s flesh and blood? Here is the Truth of that matter:

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.

Death is instantaneous and “the dead know not anything.” They are totally unaware of the passing of time. Adam will be raised completely unaware that he has been dead for over 6,000 years. And when Paul says “we shall not all die…” he is not saying that ‘flesh and blood can inherit the kingdom of God.’ What he is saying is that the change will be instantaneous for those elect who are still alive at the time of the return of Christ to take the reins of the governments of this earth. They will not experience being “asleep in Christ.” Paul says it all in the same breath:

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

So the flesh must be relinquished by all. We are all to be brought back from death even though the few who are standing when Christ returns will have that experience of coming back from death “in the twinkling of an eye.” Christ did not die in our place. He died “for us” so that we too, like Him, could be brought back from among the dead.

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.

“The day of judgment,” I think you know, is not just future; it is even now upon the house of God:

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?

Christ died for us so that He could be resurrected, and so that we, too, could be resurrected with Him.

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.

Except we die we cannot bring forth fruit:

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.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that l i ke as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

I hope this has answered your question.
Mike