“God divided the light from the darkness”

(Pro 28:12-16)

[Study Aired April 30, 2026]

Many of the proverbs in God’s word have contrasting light and dark statements that act like contrasting colours in the natural world. The natural things do reveal spiritual truths as we read in (Rom 1:20). One can find webpages with examples of contrasting colours at work. For example, the effect of orange appearing more orange, and blue more vibrantly blue when they are set beside each other.

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

Complementary colors – Wikipedia

The same principle is true with many of the proverbs that relay the positive and negative example of some particular subject in scripture to make both sides of the coin brighter in our heavens. God works continually through contrast that are both the same to him as we go from glory to glory (2Co 3:18) at the hand of the Master Potter who is dragging us to Christ (Joh 6:44), working out this process within us both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure (Isa 45:7 , Psa 139:12 , Php 2:12-13). God does not do the evil, but he does facilitate such an evil experience at the hands of those who are being humbled in this life, which in time will be everyone (Eph 1:11 , Ecc 1:13).

Ecc 1:11 There is no remembrance of former generations, And also for those who shall come after us, A remembrance of them shall not continue With those who shall come afterward.”
Ecc 1:12 I myself, the Assembler, came to be king over Israel in Jerusalem.”
Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens:it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

The old man and the new man within us are needful for the workmanship of His hands to be brought to see more clearly through this contrast that we are guilty of all, and chief of sinners, or as David was inspired to say, just as Saul of Tarsus did in their own words “you [Tony] are the man” (2Sa 12:7 , 1Ti 1:15). The only thing that is acceptable to God in us is Christ (Eph 1:6) who is the new creation (2Co 5:17).

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

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

Christ is being formed within His body the church today (Col 1:24), and that’s why Paul was rejoicing because he was blessed to endure all that suffering he was going through in his day with the people of God, via the much tribulation (2Co 11:23-30), that must be a part of our lives if we are going to be in that blessed and holy first resurrection (Act 14:22 , Php 1:29 , 2Ti 2:12).

Pro 28:12  When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

Pro 28:12 When the righteous are glad there is great felicity everywhere, Yet when the wicked rise humanity must lie low.”[CLV]

Pro 28:12  When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves. [ASV]

Christ is our righteousness and if we are granted to endure to the end of this life to be those saviours that come up on Mount Zion (Oba 1:21) there will be great rejoicing from the saints at that time. In (Job 38:4-7) we read a typical statement of the great rejoicing of the morning stars that sang together. What they were rejoicing over is found in the context of the words which are typical of the body of Christ who are also measured and supported upon “the corner stone thereof” which represents Christ (Eph 2:20 , 1Pe 2:6). Again Paul was rejoicing as we rejoice knowing that Christ is being formed within the church (Col 1:24).

Job 38:4  Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Job 38:5  Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Job 38:6  Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
Job 38:7  When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you,(Heb 11:26) and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

The wicked have risen in the lives of God’s elect and are being destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming within (2Th 2:2-8). Now we are hidden in the Lord, being judged first (1Pe 4:17), as God’s workmanship that is hidden from the world (1Co 2:7 , 1Pe 3:4).

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1Pe 3:4  But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Outwardly evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse at the end of this age (2Ti 3:13) and that is also a typical statement that Christ made reminding us that the outward wars and rumours of wars and breakdown of society (Mar 13:7 , 2Ti 3:1-9) are types and shadows of what has come to be realized is within us and needs to be destroyed by Christ. This is the first and perhaps most obvious contrasting proverb we’re looking at, where we learn that it is within us that light will come out of darkness as the Lord mercifully judges us and leads us unto repentance in this age (Tit 2:12-13 , Heb 12:6). This concept stems back to our title where the first use of the word light and darkness are used in the bible in (Gen 1:4), revealing the means by which God would work with His workmanship until the very end when He is all in all, and there is no more darkness (1Co 12:6 , 1Co 15:28 , Eph 1:23)

1Co 12:6  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

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

Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

What must be destroyed by the brightness of His coming into our heavens:

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2Ti 3:8  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
2Ti 3:9  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

Pro 28:13  He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Covering our sins is the same as despising God’s goodness that leads us unto repentance “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper” (Rom 2:4). We will not prosper spiritually with such a hardened heart, and therefore this section of the proverb is contrasted with the miracle that must occur in our lives as God give the increase by softening our hearts and making them contrite and broken (Isa 66:2 , Psa 51:17). It it with that heart alone that we can confess our faults from our heart and be shown mercy from our heavenly Father “but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy“. Again we see contrast here that is simply showing God’s elect that no one comes out of Egypt which typifies the bondage of sin except by the strong hand of our Lord, the fit man who takes us through our wilderness experience of evil (Joh 8:32-36 , Lev 16:21).

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

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

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

“but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy“

Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Pro 28:14  Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

If we are as He is in this life (1Jn 4:17) then we are going to be blessed to have this Godly fear working within us so that we may be heard, in that we fear God as Christ did in the days of his flesh (Heb 5:7 , Eph 5:30).

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.

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

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

If we don’t continue to hear him (Joh 8:31 , Mat 24:13) are hearts will be hardened, and this is the litmus test as to who it is that has God’s spirit within them or not (1Jn 4:3-6).

1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Without Christ’s spirit working within us it is impossible to not have our hearts hardened as the love of many will wax cold because of iniquity abounding at the end of this age (Mat 24:12-13), due to the fact that God is not saving everyone in this age but a few who have been blessed to have their eyes and ears opened, and kept open, in order to hear Christ’s parables that reveal the kingdom of God within us (Mat 22:14 , Luk 17:21). The obvious contrast here is that you will either be given a heart that fears God until the end of this age, or  you won’t, saying my Lord delays his coming (Mat 24:48-50)!

Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Pro 28:15  As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.

There is no direct contrast with this proverb that is simply showing us in type and shadow how wicked Satan is, who is likened unto “a roaring lion” or a “ranging bear“. The “wicked ruler” is the god of this world (2Co 4:3-4) who has kept the world in spiritual poverty from the garden of Eden “a wicked ruler over the poor people“.

2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

He is like a “roaring lion” that wanders around, roaming, and searching and seeking who can destroy, all according to the counsel of God’s own will (Eph 1:11). He is likened unto a “roaring lion” seeking whom he may destroy (1Pe 5:6-8), which is why we must always be on our guard, ever vigilant (2Co 2:10-11). The positive use of a lion is the Lion of the tribe of Judah who is destroying all the false doctrines within us, giving us victory over the lies of the devil. The positive use of a bear in scripture is also in connection with the destruction of false doctrines that are in this story being likened unto children that were destroyed by a bear (2Ki 2:24)

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

2Co 2:10  To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; [“Humble yourselves“]
2Co 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2Ki 2:24  And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

Pro 28:16  The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.

When we are wanting and lacking in understanding we can feel oppressed and be oppressive due to the lack of good judgment, wisdom, and insight, that are all qualities that God is forming within the body of Christ. “The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor“.(1Co 10:11 , 1Ki 12:1-14).

1Ki 12:8  But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
1Ki 12:9  And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
1Ki 12:10  And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.
1Ki 12:11  And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
1Ki 12:12  So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
1Ki 12:13  And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;
1Ki 12:14  And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:18). Solomon in the positive view of his life typifies Christ, and his son and those who He put in charge are a good example of someone lacking understanding, reflecting this covetous me first attitude that has been dominating so many rulers throughout the ages “but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days “.

Next week will continue to look at how God is dividing the light from darkness within us, and how this process is being revealed in His word, and in particular via the proverbs we are studying.

Audio Download Part 1 [Study Aired September 30, 2025]

Audio Download Part 2 [Study Aired October 7, 2025]

Audio Download Part 3 [Study Aired October 14, 2025]

Introduction 

In the closing verses of Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul sets before us one of the deepest paradoxes of Christian life: the dual calling to serve both as an ambassador and as a soldier for Christ. From his prison cell, Paul writes: “For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:20). This striking declaration immediately follows his description of the believer’s spiritual armor, making clear that diplomacy in ministry and conflict in spiritual warfare are not separate callings but inseparably bound together in the life of every disciple.

Through Paul’s Spirit-inspired words, we are presented with two roles that appear contradictory yet are divinely united in purpose. An ambassador represents peace, reconciliation, and the ministry of mediation. A soldier, by contrast, embodies warfare, conflict, and victory over hostile forces. Yet in God’s design these roles do not cancel one another; they complement and strengthen each other. We are called to be ambassadors of the Prince of Peace, while at the same time standing as soldiers in the army of the Lord of Hosts.

This twofold calling is grounded in Christ Himself, who came as both the suffering Servant and the conquering King. As Scripture testifies: “He came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh” (Ephesians 2:17, ESV). Yet the same Lord also declared: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). The sword He spoke of was not an earthly weapon of steel, but the sharp division wrought when His light and truth pierce through the darkness of sin and error.

Grasping our dual identity as both ambassadors and soldiers is vital for faithful Christian living. Too often believers lean heavily to one side while neglecting the other. Some become so consumed with spiritual warfare that they lose sight of their diplomatic mission of reconciliation. Others, in seeking only peace, overlook the reality of the ongoing battles against spiritual forces of darkness. Scripture summons us to hold both callings together, maintaining the sacred balance that makes our testimony both powerful in conflict and compelling in peace.

The context of Paul’s words gives them greater weight. He writes of being an ambassador while bound in chains, proving that our standing before God is not lessened by earthly circumstances. He speaks of boldness even while restrained, revealing that true authority is spiritual and not confined by physical limitations. From this we learn that both our ambassadorship and our soldiership operate first and foremost in the unseen realm, even as they find expression in the visible details of our daily lives.

As we examine these complementary callings, Scripture will unfold the character of our ambassadorship, the nature of our warfare, and the harmony between the two in advancing the kingdom of God. The Old Testament foreshadows these roles, the New Testament brings them into clear light, and together they direct our gaze toward the final fulfillment when Christ Himself shall appear—both as the Prince of Peace to His redeemed and as the King of Kings who conquers every foe.

The Ambassador’s Commission: Representing Heaven on Earth

Paul directly names believers as ambassadors in his second letter to the Corinthians: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). The Greek word presbeuō (G4243) means “to be older” or “to act as an ambassador” and carries the sense of one vested with dignity and authority. In the ancient world, such representatives spoke with the full power of the government that sent them, their words bearing the same weight as those of the sovereign himself.

The weight of this ambassadorial role cannot be overstated. In the ancient world, ambassadors carried immense authority. They did not speak on their own initiative but delivered the words of their sovereign with binding force. They could negotiate treaties, declare terms of peace or war, and represent the will of their nation in foreign courts. To insult or strike an ambassador was to insult or declare hostility against the very nation he represented.

Scripture shows that our ambassadorship rests firmly upon God’s eternal purpose of reconciliation. Paul explains the foundation of this commission: “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18–19). Through Christ, we who were estranged are restored, and now we carry the same ministry of reconciliation to others.

The ministry of reconciliation is the heart of our diplomatic mission. The term katallagē (G2643), translated “reconciliation,” means “exchange” or “restoration to favor.” It signifies that hostility has been exchanged for friendship, enmity for peace. Through Christ, God has reconciled us to Himself and entrusted us with the charge of extending this reconciliation to others.

This calling has its prototype in the Old Testament, where God sent prophets as His representatives both to Israel and to surrounding nations. Jonah illustrates this most clearly: “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). Jonah was sent not as a destroyer, but as a herald of warning and opportunity. The forty days of grace reveal the heart of our merciful God, who “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The number forty in Scripture often signifies testing or trial. Just as forty days of rain brought judgment and purification in the days of Noah (Genesis 7:17), and Israel was tried forty years in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:2), so Nineveh was given forty days of trial—an appointed season to prove whether they would harden their hearts or repent and live.

When the Ninevites turned in true repentance, “God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not” (Jonah 3:10). This response reveals a sacred principle: our heavenly Father’s desire is always reconciliation, though His holiness is never compromised. The pattern seen in Jonah foreshadows the greater ministry we now carry as believers, for we are indeed “ambassadors for Christ.” The message remains consistent across both covenants—repent and live, or persist in rebellion and face judgment—yet always with God’s mercy extended toward those who will receive it.

The Authority and Duty of Spiritual Ambassadors

As ambassadors of Christ, we bear heavenly authority that rises above earthly rank or qualification. Jesus declared: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:18–19). This Great Commission is the foundation of our credentials. We go forth not in our own power, but in the authority of the One who has triumphed over death and the grave.

An ambassador’s authority is inseparable from the sovereign he represents. Our effectiveness as Christ’s ambassadors does not rest on natural skill or human standing, but on closeness with Him. Jesus affirmed this truth: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12). It is through union with Him that heavenly authority flows.

With authority comes solemn duty. Ambassadors are charged to faithfully reflect their sovereign’s character, message, and intent. Paul grasped this when he wrote: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Though we are fragile vessels of clay, the treasure of God’s glory and word has been placed within us.

The message of an ambassador is not self-made but received directly from the sovereign. Isaiah expressed this with clarity: “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” (Isaiah 50:4). Our speech must be God’s speech, our message His message, and our heart aligned with His heart.

Peter gives clear guidance on the exercise of this authority: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). As Christ’s ambassadors, we are not to voice our own opinions or philosophies but to declare the very oracles of God.

The Old Testament abounds with types of ambassadorial authority. When Moses appeared before Pharaoh, he bore God’s absolute authority, declaring: “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go” (Exodus 5:1). His authority did not rest in eloquence—he himself confessed to being “slow of speech” (Exodus 4:10)—but in the commission of the Almighty. Likewise, Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal under heaven’s authority, and fire fell from the Lord: “Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench” (1 Kings 18:38).

The Eternal Perspective of Ambassadorship

To rightly understand our role as ambassadors, we must view it from an eternal perspective. Paul reminds us: “Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). The word politeuma (G4175) refers to citizenship or commonwealth. Thus, we are citizens of heaven, temporarily assigned to earth as diplomatic representatives of our eternal homeland.

Heavenly citizenship shapes how we respond to earthly conditions. Peter exhorts: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11). Ambassadors do not conform to the culture of their station; they uphold the laws and values of their homeland. In the same way, we are called to embody the standards of heaven, even while living in a foreign land.

Other Old Testament examples gives us vivid pictures of ambassadorial calling. Abraham was summoned to leave his country and kindred to serve as God’s representative in a foreign land. The promise he received unveils the eternal scope of this mission: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2–3). The Abrahamic covenant foreshadows our role as ambassadors through whom God’s blessing is extended to the nations.

Daniel stands as a model of ambassadorial character during his exile in Babylon. Though serving in a foreign court, he held fast to his loyalty to God and maintained a distinctly Hebrew identity. When pressed with conflicting loyalties, he chose obedience to God at any cost. His integrity and wisdom gained the respect of earthly rulers, while his steadfast faith revealed the surpassing wisdom of heaven. His prophetic ministry also shows the eternal scope of ambassadorship: he spoke not only to immediate issues but also of God’s kingdom that will one day prevail over all earthly powers: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).

The Soldier’s Warfare: Fighting Battles Not of This World

The Nature of Spiritual Warfare

Though we serve as ambassadors of peace, we are also enlisted as soldiers in a battle that rises above the physical realm. Paul describes this conflict plainly: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3–5).

The word translated “war” is strateuomai (G4754), meaning “to serve as a soldier” or “to engage in military service.” Paul uses military language with purpose: we are truly soldiers, but our battlefield is spiritual, not earthly. The “strongholds” we tear down are not stone fortresses but entrenched systems of deception, pride, and rebellion that exalt themselves against God.

Our adversary is clearly identified: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Here Paul outlines a hierarchy of spiritual powers opposed to God’s kingdom. Knowing the true enemy guards us from wasting effort on fleshly conflicts or resorting to the wrong weapons.

The word “wrestle” (palē, G3823) speaks of close, hand-to-hand struggle rather than distant combat. This tells us that spiritual warfare is not occasional or abstract but personal and ongoing. We are engaged in continual close-quarters conflict with forces bent on undermining our faith, weakening our witness, and resisting God’s work in and through us.

The battlefield centers in the mind and heart. Paul speaks of “casting down imaginations” (logismos, G3053)—reasonings, arguments, and thoughts that oppose sacred truth. Satan’s chief weapon is deception, just as Jesus revealed: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

The Old Testament gives vivid examples of spiritual warfare. David’s victory over Goliath shows how God’s servants overcome seemingly invincible foes. David proclaimed: “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand” (1 Samuel 17:45–46). The victory was secured not by greater weapons, but by faith in the name and power of God.

The Arsenal of Spiritual Weapons

God has equipped His people with weapons perfectly suited for spiritual warfare, each designed to counter the enemy’s schemes. Paul outlines this arsenal in Ephesians 6:13–17: “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

The belt of truth holds the entire armor together, teaching us that truth is foundational to victory. Jesus declared: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). This truth is not limited to intellectual knowledge but is embodied in Christ Himself, who said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

The breastplate of righteousness shields the heart, the very core of life. This righteousness is both positional—our standing in Christ—and practical—our daily walk in obedience. Isaiah foretold of Messiah: “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins” (Isaiah 11:4–5). Our strength in warfare rests in union with Him who is our righteousness.

The shoes of the gospel of peace give us a firm footing. The word hetoimasia (G2091) speaks of readiness and stability. Our ability to stand fast in battle and advance the kingdom rests upon being grounded in the gospel, which establishes peace between God and man. Isaiah foretold this sure foundation: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7).

The shield of faith extinguishes all the fiery darts of the wicked one. These darts (belos, G956) were flaming arrows, dipped in combustible pitch to ignite destruction. Likewise, Satan launches sudden, burning assaults—thoughts, doubts, fears, temptations—intended to inflame the heart. Faith becomes our shield, resting in God’s unchanging character and His sure promises despite every circumstance.

The helmet of salvation guards the mind, which is the chief battlefield. Salvation is not only a past event but an active, present reality that shapes our thinking. Paul writes: “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” (Romans 12:2). Isaiah also saw this covering: “He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head” (Isaiah 59:17).

The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is the believer’s chief offensive weapon. Jesus Himself wielded it in the wilderness, answering each temptation with “It is written” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). Scripture describes this weapon as “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). With this sword we guard against deception and advance the truth into enemy-held ground.

Prayer: The Communication System of Warfare

Paul concludes his description of the believer’s armor with the essential element of prayer: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). Prayer is not simply one weapon among others; it is the very communication system that directs and coordinates every part of our warfare.

The command to pray “always” points to unbroken communication with our heavenly Commander. This does not mean we are perpetually bowed in posture, but that we cultivate a continual spirit of dependence and communion with God. On the battlefield, constant direction and intelligence from headquarters are essential. Paul expressed it simply: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Paul’s phrase “all prayer and supplication” speaks of variety in prayer. The word proseuchē (G4335) denotes general prayer, while deēsis (G1162) refers to specific petitions. Our communion with God is to include worship, confession, thanksgiving, intercession, and requests—each exercised as the Spirit leads and circumstances demand.

To pray “in the Spirit” is to pray in alignment with God’s will and by the Spirit’s enabling. Paul writes: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). The Spirit both shapes our prayers and ensures their power.

Paul’s call to perseverance highlights the ongoing nature of spiritual conflict. Victories are not always immediate, and the adversary seeks to dishearten us with delays or apparent defeats. Jesus underscored persistence in prayer with the parable of the persistent widow: “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).

Daniel’s persistence in prayer illustrates this truth with striking clarity. Though he received no answer at first, he continued fasting and seeking God for twenty-one days. At last Gabriel appeared, declaring: “Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me” (Daniel 10:12–13). This account shows that delays in prayer may stem from warfare in the unseen realm, underscoring the need for steadfast intercession.

The Unity of Our Dual Calling

The wisdom of God’s design is revealed when we see how ambassadorship and soldiership function together, not in conflict but in harmony. Both roles demand courage, though expressed in distinct ways. The ambassador shows courage by boldly declaring truth before hostile listeners, while the soldier demonstrates courage by holding firm against relentless spiritual opposition.

Paul’s ministry demonstrates this integration. As an ambassador, he reasoned with the philosophers of Athens, presenting the gospel with clarity, wisdom, and cultural understanding (Acts 17:17–34).

Luke records the encounter in full:

“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” (Acts 17:17–34)

As a soldier, Philip’s ministry in Samaria directly confronted demonic powers through spiritual warfare. The result was deliverance, healing, and joy throughout the city (Acts 8:4–8).

Luke records:

“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.” (Acts 8:4–8).

The work of the ambassador often provokes the need for the soldier’s warfare. When we faithfully represent Christ, the world system and demonic powers inevitably rise in opposition. Jesus warned: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, 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” (John 15:18–19).

Conversely, victories won by the soldier open doors for the ambassador’s message. When Paul and Silas prayed and praised God at midnight, their chains fell off, the prison doors were opened, and the jailer was converted (Acts 16:25–34).

Luke describes:

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” (Acts 16:25–34)

Both ambassador and soldier alike must submit wholly to Christ’s authority. Ambassadors must represent His message without compromise, and soldiers must obey His commands without alteration. In both roles, the guiding principle remains: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

The Strategic Integration in Ministry

True Christian ministry requires the deliberate integration of both ambassadorial and soldierly functions. When we meet those bound by sin or deception, we must first wage warfare against the unseen forces that hold them captive, and then, as ambassadors, extend the gospel of reconciliation to set them free.

Jesus Himself modeled this integration throughout His ministry. As a soldier, He cast out demons; as an ambassador, He proclaimed the kingdom of God. In the synagogue at Capernaum, He first rebuked an unclean spirit and then taught with authority, so that the people marveled at both His power over evil and His proclamation of truth (Luke 4:31–37).

Luke records the scene:

“And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.” (Luke 4:31–37)

The Old Testament also gives striking types of this integration. Joshua stood both as commander of Israel’s armies and as mediator of God’s covenant. He led them in battle and later summoned them to renew their covenant loyalty. His farewell address recounted God’s victories and called the people to choose whom they would serve (Joshua 24:1–18).

Scripture records:

“And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea. And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season. And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand. And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat. Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.” (Joshua 24:1–18).

David, too, embodied both callings. Though a warrior, he showed ambassadorial restraint when he spared Saul’s life, declaring: “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD” (1 Samuel 24:6). In that moment, David stood as both soldier, fully able to strike, and ambassador, appealing instead to God’s justice and reconciliation. Later, as king and psalmist, he gave voice to God’s purposes for the nations in words fulfilled ultimately in Christ:

Psalm 2 declares:

“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” (Psalm 2).

The Balance of Grace and Truth

Our dual calling demands that we maintain the biblical balance of grace and truth. John testifies of Christ: “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). We likewise must display both qualities in our ambassadorial and soldierly roles. This harmony reflects the very nature of God, as revealed to Moses: “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). Grace without truth collapses into compromise, while truth without grace hardens into severity.

As ambassadors, we extend God’s invitation of reconciliation with grace, remembering that “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance” (Romans 2:4). We are called to approach the lost with compassion, discerning that they are captives of deception rather than personal enemies. Paul instructed: “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:24–25).

Yet as soldiers, we must hold fast to truth without compromise. There is no room to negotiate with evil or make peace with sin. Jesus showed gentleness to sinners yet remained unwavering in His opposition to sin itself. He welcomed tax collectors and outcasts but condemned the hypocrisy that hindered people from God. Our battle is not against men and women themselves, but against sin, Satan and his demons, the carnal mind, and the lies that enslave.

This balance shines in Christ’s encounter with the woman taken in adultery (John 8:1–11). He extended grace by refusing to condemn her, yet upheld truth by saying, “Go, and sin no more.” In one moment He silenced her accusers with divine wisdom and offered the woman both pardon and the call to transformation.

John explains the progression of God’s revelation: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). The law unveiled God’s holy standard and humanity’s nature; Christ brought both the grace that forgives and the truth that transforms. As His ambassadors and soldiers, we must mirror both realities—extending forgiveness through the gospel and at the same time calling all to true repentance and transformation.

Practical Applications for Daily Living

Walking in Ambassadorial Authority

Understanding our ambassadorial calling should reshape how we engage in daily life and ministry. We no longer represent ourselves but the King of Kings, and therefore our words, attitudes, and actions bear eternal weight. Every conversation becomes an opportunity to serve as a channel of heaven’s diplomacy.

Living as ambassadors begins with cultivating the character that reflects our Sovereign. Paul describes it: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22–23). These fruits give credibility to our witness and beauty to our message.

We must also grow in our ability to present God’s message clearly and persuasively. Peter commands: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). The word apologia (G627) signifies a reasoned defense, like a legal argument. We should be ready to explain the gospel intelligently and convincingly.

Ambassadorial authority is exercised not only through proclamation but also through intercession. Moses exemplified both. He declared God’s word before Pharaoh: “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go” (Exodus 5:1). He warned of judgment: “Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood” (Exodus 7:17). Yet he also interceded on Pharaoh’s behalf: “And Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh” (Exodus 8:12). Again he promised: “I will intreat the LORD for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, tomorrow” (Exodus 8:29). True ambassadors both deliver the sovereign’s word and plead for mercy, always hoping for repentance.

The life of an ambassador should mirror citizenship in a higher kingdom. The prophets modeled this when sent to foreign nations as God’s messengers. In the same way, our distinct lives—marked by integrity, purity, and love—become visible testimonies of our heavenly homeland, while our words carry the authority of our Sovereign.

Engaging in Effective Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual warfare is not optional for the believer—it is an unavoidable reality of following God in an unrighteous world. Yet our warfare must be waged according to Scripture, not human emotion or strategy. The foundation of victory lies in knowing our position in Christ and walking in the authority He has entrusted to us.

Daily warfare begins with deliberately putting on the whole armor of God. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). This is not a single act but a continual practice—choosing truth over deception, righteousness over compromise, and faith over fear. Paul stressed this when he wrote: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14). Each piece of armor represents a conscious decision to align our minds and hearts with God’s character and promises. Thus he also urges: “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23), and again: “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” (Romans 12:2).

Practical warfare involves continual examination of our thoughts. Paul commands us to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This discipline requires us to measure our thoughts against Scripture and reject every pattern that contradicts God’s truth. When Satan whispers doubt, fear, or condemnation, we must swiftly counter with the sure promises of God’s Word.

Prayer stands as the believer’s chief weapon in warfare. Paul writes: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). James affirms: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). This includes not only personal prayer but also united intercession with other believers. Jesus promised: “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19–20). The early church lived this reality when they prayed for Peter’s release: “Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him” (Acts 12:5). God answered as an angel appeared: “And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands” (Acts 12:7). When Peter arrived at the prayer meeting, “they were astonished” (Acts 12:16)—a testimony to the power of united prayer.

We must also grow in discernment of the enemy’s strategies. Jesus warned: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Satan seeks to strike through circumstances, relationships, or subtle thoughts meant to discourage, deceive, or divide. The more clearly we recognize his schemes, the more effectively we can resist and counter them. James exhorts: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Spiritual warfare is not only defensive but also offensive. We advance the kingdom by proclaiming truth with boldness, demonstrating God’s power through prayer, and establishing strongholds of righteousness wherever He has placed us. Every soul won to Christ is territory reclaimed from the dominion of darkness and transferred into the everlasting kingdom of God.

Living with Eternal Perspective

Both our ambassadorial and soldierly callings demand that we keep an eternal perspective, one that rises above temporary trials. Paul reminds us: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17–18).

Such an eternal perspective transforms how we direct our time, energy, and resources. As ambassadors, we labor for things that advance God’s kingdom rather than building temporary success. As soldiers, we engage in battles that hold eternal weight, not petty struggles of the moment. Paul reminds us: “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4). Jesus likewise set the priority: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

To live with eternal perspective is to recognize that present struggles are temporary, but victory in Christ is everlasting. Paul triumphantly writes: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). This assurance enables us to endure hardship with joy, knowing that “your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Eternal perspective also means remembering that we are part of a vast story stretching from eternity past to eternity future. Our individual roles as ambassadors and soldiers are woven into God’s grand design to display His wisdom to the heavenly realms: “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (Ephesians 3:10). This truth gives weight and dignity even to the smallest act of obedience or service.

Finally, an eternal perspective points us to our ultimate destiny. John’s vision in Revelation portrays the church both as Christ’s bride (ambassadorial role) and as His heavenly army (soldier role): “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (Revelation 19:11–14). Even now we are being prepared for eternal service where both callings will merge in perfect harmony. The more faithfully we grow in these roles today, the more fruitful we shall be in that everlasting ministry.

Conclusion: The Crown of Our Calling

As we conclude our study of the dual calling to be both ambassadors and soldiers for Christ, we see that these roles find their perfection in Him who embodies both. Jesus came as the Prince of Peace, reconciling God and man, yet He also came as the Lion of Judah, conquering sin, death, and hell through His cross and resurrection.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” (Revelation 5:5)

The life of Paul shows the seamless union of these callings. From prison he wrote of being an “ambassador in bonds” (Ephesians 6:20), revealing that earthly chains cannot diminish spiritual authority. He testified that his captivity actually advanced the gospel: “But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:12–14). What seemed a defeat for the soldier became a triumph for the ambassador.

Paul’s example shows us that effectiveness in both roles does not depend on favorable circumstances but on faithful obedience. Whether in persecution or prosperity, adversity or opportunity, our charge remains unchanged: to represent Christ’s message as ambassadors and to resist the powers of darkness as soldiers of His kingdom. As he declared elsewhere: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 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” (Romans 8:38–39).

The eternal weight of our dual calling cannot be overstated. Every soul reconciled as the fruit of ambassadorship is a life transferred from darkness to light. Every victory won through spiritual warfare weakens the enemy’s grip and strengthens the advance of God’s kingdom. We are participants in the great conflict between good and evil, light and darkness, truth and deception.

Our comfort is this: the outcome of the war has already been decided. Christ’s victory at Calvary sealed Satan’s defeat, though the final manifestation awaits His return. Until that day, we serve as both ambassadors and soldiers—representing our triumphant King and enforcing His victory in enemy-occupied ground.

Peter reminds us of our identity: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Here both roles appear—ambassadors who declare His praises and soldiers set apart to serve His holy purposes.

The blending of these callings prepares us for eternity, where we will reign with Christ as both His beloved bride and His victorious army. Every faithful act of ambassadorship, every courageous stand in battle, shapes us for the glory yet to come.

As we face the challenges and opportunities ahead, let us embrace both aspects of our calling with renewed dedication. May we represent our heavenly homeland with dignity and grace while standing firm against every attack of the enemy. May our lives demonstrate the perfect balance of truth and grace, courage and compassion, that marks those who serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The crown of our calling awaits those who faithfully fulfill both roles until Christ returns. Paul could say at the end of his life: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

May this same testimony be ours as we serve faithfully as ambassadors and soldiers for Christ, advancing His kingdom through diplomatic ministry and spiritual warfare until that day when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11). In that day, the ambassador’s mission will be complete, the soldier’s warfare finished, and we shall reign with Him forever in the kingdom that has no end.

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:50–55).

Pro 16:1-10 “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy”

(Aired on July 17, 2025)

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Pro 16:2  All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
Pro 16:3  Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Pro 16:5  Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
Pro 16:6  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Pro 16:8  Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
Pro 16:9  A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
Pro 16:10  A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.

God is working a desire in the hearts of His children to be pleasing in our Lord’s sight (Heb 13:20-21) who is “full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy”, and the road toward the completion of God’s workmanship is being accomplished through His judgement upon us (Heb 12:6, 1Pe 4:17) as Christ works in us both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure (Php 2:12-13, Col 1:24). Giving the kingdom of God to us in earnest is God’s good pleasure to do today through Christ, as we are raised in heavenly places (Luk 12:32, Eph 2:6).

Heb 13:20  Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Heb 13:21  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

In this chapter of proverbs there is a lot of instruction on how the Lord is working in the lives of His children to develop within us this gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger and of great mercy, mind, that is the very nature of our Father in heaven and Jesus Christ.

This is eternal life, “that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”(Joh 17:3).

When we know someone we understand them and we perceive that they know us, or rather in the case of our Father and Christ, we are known of them as a result of having their life within us (Gal 4:9, Joh 14:20).

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

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

What replaces the weak and beggarly elements within our hearts and minds is accomplished through a life that is being matured through ordained works that we are admonished to be careful to patiently keep in God’s service (Tit 3:8). The works of faith that God accomplishes in us through Christ create a foundation that stands up against the iniquity that will abound at the end of this age and produce nothing but dead works that don’t acknowledge God’s complete sovereignty over all things (Heb 6:1, 1Ti 6:19).

Tit 3:8  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God (Joh 6:28-29) might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God (Heb 6:1-3, Joh 8:31-32, Joh 8:36-37,  Jas 2:19)

1Ti 6:19  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come (These verses Mat 24:8-12, 2Ti 3:1-4, describe the time to come and has already come for those who are dead in their graves, awaiting the first resurrection), that they may lay hold on eternal life. [through patient continuance in well doing Luk 21:19, Heb 10:36-38, Rom 2:6-7, Luk 8:15].

Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls.

Heb 10:36  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Heb 10:37  For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Heb 10:38  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Rom 2:7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

Luk 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

The preparation of the heart of God’s children is what is first and foremost in the mind of the Creator who is preparing our hearts so that we can worship Him in spirit and in truth (Joh 4:23-24). That right relationship is something that only God can form within us through Christ, and we rejoice in knowing that what He seeks out by the counsel of His will, He will find (Isa 14:27, Job 23:13, Rom 5:10).

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

What part of this proverb leaves room for us to say that we have free will? It takes a miracle from God to have our eyes open and see this straightforward statement from Him that tells us that all things are being worked according to the counsel God’s own will, both to will and to do. “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue” (Eph 1:11-12, Php 2:12-13), is what He has determined to do in the lives of His creation, “and who can turn him?”

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

Pro 16:2  All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

Our sins are being purged and cleansed by God, and many of them are hidden, and some are overt, which we express with the saying, sins of omission and sins of commission (Psa 19:12). Some men’s sins (Lord willing us today if we are being judged and dragged to Christ 1Pe 4:17,  Joh 6:44, Heb 12:6) “are open beforehand [commission], going before to judgment; and some men they follow after” (1Ti 5:24). This sinful flesh is a means to an end and as the carnality is burnt out of us (Tit 2:12-13), then the good works become manifest, “Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid”(1Ti 5:25).

Psa 19:12  Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Psa 19:13  Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous (Rom 11:20) sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.[self-righteousness Php 3:9]

1Ti 5:24  Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
1Ti 5:25  Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.

If we judge ourselves in this age, it is because the LORD is working that work within us and “weigheth the spirits” within us today. God’s judgements in our lives bring us to see ourselves for what we really are, leading us to repentance (Rom 2:24), and that is the only way we can receive a reward: from that ground of a broken and contrite heart that is being saved in this life and learning of His righteousness as a result of His judgements in our earth (Isa 26:9), otherwise our judgement will be in the great white throne judgement (1Co 3:14-15).

Pro 16:3  Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

We commit not just our good works unto the LORD, but we also confess our faults and go humbly before our advocate in time of need and in doing so our “thoughts shall be established” (1Jn 2:1, 1Pe 5:6-9).

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Committing our good works to the LORD requires much tribulation in this life (Act 14:22), that we must go through in order to be those who first trust in Him (Eph 1:12, 2Co 1:9).

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

2Co 1:9  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

Our flesh naturally wants to supersede God’s will and not trust him or commit our ways to him (Pro 14:12, Pro 3:5-9), and to whatever degree we are yet conformed to this world, (1Jn 2:16), the Lord is in the process of daily burning those things out of our life little and by little (Tit 2:12-13, Exo 23:30) as we look to the Lord (these are the thoughts that God is establishing within the body of Christ Heb 12:1-2, Rom 12:1-2).

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

Sin, and the sinful flesh that we are in is a means to an end that God created for himself, so that all of His creation would be in a position of needing to be redeemed of God. The initial day of evil for Adam and Eve was the day that they were created [omission, hidden sins] in marred vessels of clay (Jer 18:4-6, Rom 9:1-3), and their inability to rightly divide God’s word when tempted of the devil was the predestined failure and overt sin of commission that all flesh must experience, the “the wicked for the day of evil”. The judgement of this marred vessel is the one event that is common to all men, and each man will be judged in the order God has ordained within His plan of the salvation of all men. The master Potter has devised a means to save all this banished wicked flesh, that is as spilt water, through those who will be the first to be redeemed by the precious blood of Christ (2Sa 14:14, Oba 1:21).

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.
Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

Pro 16:5  Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

Pro 16:5 An abhorrence to Yahweh is everyone haughty of heart; A hand upon hand, he shall not be held innocent.”(CLV)
Pro 16:5 Every one proud in heart is an abomination to Jehovah. Though they unite they will all be punished.(NSB)

The ecumenical world of religion that all of God’s elect have come out of, is represented by this ‘hand in hand’, proud spirit that takes God’s silver and gold and wraps it around the idol of our hearts, which actions are “an abomination to the LORD”. This wrapping around our hearts at that time in Babylon is inevitable and leaves us unknowingly with no stay of bread or water (Isa 3:1, Luk 8:18).

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

Luk 8:18  Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

Pro 16:6  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

It is God’s mercy and truth that purges the iniquity (Heb 9:22, 1Pe 1:18-19) in our lives if He is working with us in this age, otherwise we will have no fear of God resulting in our inability to “depart from evil”.

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; [wrapped around the idol of our hearts]
1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Only Christ can bring us to that point where we are not a foolish virgin leaning unto our own understanding, not departing from evil, which is what we do when our confidence is in our own flesh (Eph 1:12, 2Co 1:9) and not trusting in the living God (Php 3:3, 1Ti 4:10).

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

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

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

We see that enemy in the mirror every morning, and God is encouraging us with this proverb that we can be more than conquerors through Christ over this inward enemy of the cross, by dying daily and by being granted to be cursed to hang on the tree through the power of God’ holy spirit (Gal 3:13), that keeps us on that cross where we find life through death (Gal 2:20).

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

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.(Joh 12:24)

We can only save ourselves from this untoward generation by being on the cross with Christ, acknowledging that we are the first generation to come to see that we are guilty of all (Mat 24:34), learning that our victory over sin comes by being bound to the altar which is the cross (Mat 27:40, Mar 15:30, Psa 118:27), this is what brings us peace that passes all understanding “he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him”.

Mat 27:40  And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Mar 15:30  Save thyself, and come down from the cross

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

Pro 16:8  Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.

Whether we have a little or a lot, if Christ is not in the center of our life, we have nothing, even if we gain all the riches of this world (Mar 8:35-38, Mat 25:29).

Mar 8:35  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
Mar 8:36  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Mat 25:29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

Great revenues is what this world is all about, and yet God’s elect are the wealthiest people on this planet unbeknown to the world. We are that wealthy because we acknowledge that Christ must be in the center of our lives accomplishing our Father’s will for us at all times (Jas 2:5, Heb 13:5, Rom 8:28). We have peace that passes all understanding in this life as a result of God’s judgements upon us in His house (Psa 84:10-11)

Jas 2:5  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

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

Psa 84:10  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psa 84:11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

What some may see as ‘little’ God calls ‘precious and abundant’ in his sight, as we are dragged to His son (Joh 6:44) and present our widow’s mite that represents our weak unprofitable flesh, that by God’s grace becomes a living sacrifice with Christ’s spirit that has power to go without the camp with our Lord, as an acceptable living precious sacrifice through Christ (Heb 13:13, Psa 116:15).

Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Psa 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Pro 16:9  A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

It is not in the heart of man to direct his steps, and the way that seems right to our flesh will lead to death (Pro 14:12). The LORD is the one who directs our steps out of the darkness and into the light of a right relationship with Him as His bride symbolized by Christ’s relationship with the carnal nation of Israel (Leah) to then have a relationship with the Israel of God (Gal 6:16), typified by (Rachel)(Gen 29:16-29).

Gal 6:16  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Pro 16:10  A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.

If we are blessed to not be offended in Christ (Mat 11:6) our mouths will not transgress in judgment, because it will be the judgement of Christ working within us, both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure, which is to give us the kingdom of God.

Mat 11:6  And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

A ‘divine sentence’ can only come about by our lips being burnt with hot coals (Isa 6:6-7) that symbolize the word of God, and Peter who thought he had a divine sentence on his lips said this to Christ, “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended”(Mat 26:33) .

Isa 6:6  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
Isa 6:7  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Christ’s answer to Peter represents the hot coals that in time were going to deeply burn Peter’s then self-righteous lips that represent all of us in our appointed time, “Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.”(Mat 26:34)

These actions of Christ toward Peter demonstrate what it means when we read, “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy”, and as was the case with Peter it is our own iniquities, our own self-righteousness that so often corrects us, to then bring us to see our gracious LORD, who is full of compassion, slow to anger, and a very merciful Father who is ready to forgive all our sins and transgressions if we will only be granted to confess our iniquities to him (1Jn 2:1-2).

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

Rev 19:11-16  The Meaning of an “Opened Heaven”

[Study Aired June 6, 2025]

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Introduction

Knowing what heaven is and where heaven is located is essential to understanding all prophecy. There is no way to know God or His Son if you do not know where these two dwell. How well would I know any of you if I didn’t even know where you lived? I know many hundreds of people by name through emails, but those I really know are those who feel comfortable telling me where they live, and these are those who want to get to know me by more than just a vocalized name. I’ve had literally dozens of people who have come to my house over the years, and I have been to many of their homes, simply because we wanted to get to know each other better.

We know where our Father dwells. We have gone to great lengths to demonstrate that God dwells in the heavens:

Psa 2:1  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, [saying],
Psa 2:3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Psa 103:19  The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Psa 115:3  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

We have also demonstrated that the true heavens are within God’s own people and that He dwells on His throne within His people in what the scriptures call “the heavens themselves.”

Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us].
Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

“… By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place…” Christ never once entered the physical holy place in the temple while He was on this earth, because He was not a physical priest. However, it was revealed to Christ that He was both a king and a priest and that His kingdom and His priesthood were not of this world, or this age, but these things are all “within you.”

Joh 18:33  Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
Joh 18:34  Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?
Joh 18:35  Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
Joh 18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Joh 18:37  Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

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.

Christ knew that He, just like you and I, was not just on this earth, but while He was on this earth, He was also, at the very same time, “in heaven.”

Joh 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Now here is how our heavenly Father reveals such wonderful, heavenly Truths to us.

Luk 3:21  Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
Luk 3:22  And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

“The heaven was opened” tells us that it was at this point that it was revealed to Christ that His ministry was to begin. This revelation, this ‘opened heavens’, this exponential increase in spiritual understanding, was given to Christ just before He was “driven of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil.” Of course, His mother had told him about the circumstances of His birth, but an “opened heaven” was required before Christ could be tempted by the Devil and before He could begin His earthly ministry. We, too, require an opened heavens before we will be granted the exponential growth in the understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of God (Mat 13:9-15).

An opened heaven was needed to convince Peter that the gospel was going to the Gentiles.

Act 10:11  And [Peter] saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
Act 10:12  Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Act 10:13  And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

Only after Peter saw heaven opened was he then given to understand that the gospel was going to the hitherto unclean Gentiles.

The revelation of Jesus Christ also comes to any of us only through “a door being opened in heaven.”

Rev 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door [was] opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
Rev 4:2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Rev 4:3  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

So it is through “a door [being] opened in heaven” that we are given this entire “revelation of Jesus Christ”,  including “they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

It is through a “heaven [which is] opened, that we see come to be “in the spirit” and able to see beyond where we are in these vessels of clay and to see that first resurrection, the “marriage supper of the Lamb”, and we are permitted to see what takes place “in heaven” after that “blessed and holy” event. “These are the true sayings of God.”

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opene, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

This is Christ sitting on a powerful “white horse”, coming to conquer all that is within His kingdom, which is within us. This was announced at the opening of the very first seal:

Rev 6:1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

He is “called Faithful and True”, but why is this so?

Joh 15:9  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love [1Jn 5:2-3].

Christ was obedient to His Father to the end. That is how He “abode in His Father’s love” to the end. That is how He could Truthfully make this statement:

Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father?

Those who “have known Christ, have known the Father also.” Here is Philip admitting that he does not yet know either Christ or His Father. It is so very typical of babies to tell the Truth and not even realize that they have done so.

When we state emphatically, “No one can know that what he believes is the Truth” what we are saying is that we do not believe it is possible to really be sure that we “know the Truth”, which is Christ. If that is true and from our heart, then we will be “judged out of our own mouths [as a] wicked and slothful servant” who says, “It is impossible to know that we know the Truth.” (Christ IS the Truth, Joh 14:6)

Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, [Thou] wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

Luk 19:22  And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, [thou] wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

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

Christ is “faithful and true” and in righteousness He is judging us and making “war” against all these false and lying spirits within us.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Just stand with Christ, and you will know what those words mean. It is considered complete fanaticism to teach that we should even strive to “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”, much less to teach that “every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an accounting thereof”, but Christ’s Words stand true:

Mat 12:35  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Mat 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

There is a spirit which teaches that fighting and seeking revenge is an ungodly trait, and that certainly is true when we seek outward physical revenge against our physical enemies. It is true when vengeance is sought on our schedule for the satisfying of our flesh. Nevertheless, our God is a just God, and He Himself makes no bones about the fact that there is “a day of vengeance”, and that “vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
Isa 63:4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
Isa 63:5  And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that [there was] none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
Isa 63:6  And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

Jer 46:10  For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. [“Babylon the great the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth”]

These words are all a part of this revelation of Jesus Christ within you and within me. It is Christ who treads out the winepress of His wrath.

Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Today is judgment day for those who are now being judged, and it is our words which will either justify or condemn us. If the words from our hearts are the words of Christ who has told us “man… shall live by every word that proceeds forth out of the mouth of God”, then we will be judged now, and He will tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” now and in this life. If we say we will not do so, then we will be judged out of our own mouths, and we will endure those words at a later judgment. If we are given to agree with our Lord, then this is what will be done in our lives while yet in these vessels of clay:

Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

Christ’s eyes, His Words, His messengers, His ministers and His walk are all “as a flame of fire, because everything about our Lord is going to serve to purify our lives.

Psa 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

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

Act 7:30  And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

Heb 1:7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

Rev 1:14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Christ’s “vesture is dipped in blood” while “the armies which were in heaven” are “clothed in fine linen, white and clean”. What is the difference? What are we being told?

Once again “the dream is one” and the “vesture dipped in blood”, and the “fine linen, white and clean” are one and the same thing.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Who shed “the blood of the Lamb”, and how do we come to “wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb”?

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Until the words of Christ are in our mouths, and as long as the doctrines of the great whore are in our hearts and mouths, we abide under the wrath of God, and are subject to the work of the “sharp sword” with which Christ will “rule the nations with a rod of iron”.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

It is in this position that Christ, in our lives, “treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” These are the very words of the seventh vial of God’s wrath upon Babylon in our lives.

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

So how does His vesture come to be “dipped in blood”? We were just informed how that was done.

Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

“Their blood” means your blood and my blood. It is we who have shed “the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth” while we were the slaves of that great whore, Babylon the great. In shedding their blood we have all shed the blood of Christ Himself.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

Rev 16:6  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

We “have not yet resisted unto blood”, and yet all of God’s elect are said to be “lying dead in the streets of that great city where our Lord was crucified.” So what is “the blood of the saints and prophets” which “stains all the raiment” of our Lord?

Heb 12:4  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Is it not “the sharp sword that goes out of His mouth” which causes this blood to flow? Is it not with this sword that He “smites the nations and rules them with a rod of iron? Is it not with this same sharp sword that “he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God?” Let’s read it again:

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

What is this sharp sword?

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Here is this same verse according to The Bible in Basic English.

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living and full of power, and is sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through and making a division even of the soul and the spirit, the bones and the muscles, and quick to see the thoughts and purposes of the heart. (BBE)

It is our sins and our rejection of this living and powerful word which causes us to be guilty of the blood of Christ and of all the saints and prophets. In the same manner, it is the rejection of our false doctrines, which gives the Word of God its sharpness and its ability to bring life to those whose blood it sheds, by ‘casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ’ and to His sharp two-edged sword Words.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

If “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” and they “keep us in readiness to revenge all disobedience, when our obedience is fulfilled”, it follows that the blood that flows to the horses’ bridles is the result of the work of the weapons of our warfare, and is nothing less than the destruction of all the lies of Babylon. The length, depth and height of this blood, which is tread out by our Lord, is but a measure of the number of false doctrines with which this great whore rules over our lives.

Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

“The vine of the earth” is filled with the doctrines of Babylon. Remember it is Christ and His Christ who tread this winepress. Here is how He does this:

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

All the nations are “as the small dust of the balance” to our Lord and Christ, and His Words of Truth are far more powerful than all the lies of Babylon. That is why Christ is said to have come “on a white horse, conquering and to conquer”, and that is why His name is said to be “on His vesture and on His thigh” and that is why He is called “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”

Isa 40:15  Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

In our next study, if the Lord wills, we will learn what is “the supper of the great God”, and we will discover why ‘the fowls that fly in the midst of the heaven are called together unto that supper’.

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great.
Rev 19:19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

The power believers have been given

Posted September 14, 2014

In the first part of this series, we focused on the important aspect of the “house of prayer” being the temple of God and those in whom the Spirit dwells.

While we have all learned many ways to pray in our Christian lives, there are specific guidelines to how we are to look at and apply prayer in our lives as “disciples indeed”.

Yes, we are to be disciples “in deed.” (Truly)

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

“Worship in the Lord’s house”

Jer 26:2  Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:

Today we are going to focus on the ‘words commanded’ and spoken concerning how we handle prayer and how we worship in Spirit and Truth concerning prayer in our daily lives.

In this second part of the series, we are going to look at scriptural witnesses and scriptural instructions on how to worship the Father through our prayer.

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.

“Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship” The contrast being made today will be between “you know not what you worship” versus “we know what we worship”.

The focus on Part 1 was on those who are of the house of prayer, but that group was being contrasted with another group.

When I say “group”, the true spiritual contrast is being made between the natural and the spiritual, the old and new man, the first Adam versus the second Adam.

The house of prayer is compared against a den of thieves.

Mat 21:13  And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den^G4693 of thieves.

I ask everyone reading this if “ye” is you? Have you made the house of prayer a den of thieves? Before you answer that, let us examine the thieves who live in a den versus a house.

G4693
spēlaion
Total KJV Occurrences: 6

den, 3
Mat_21:13, Mar_11:17, Luk_19:46

dens, 2
Heb_11:38, Rev_6:15

cave, 1
Joh_11:38

Here are a couple of examples of where this word ‘den’ appears in the New Testament:

Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy: ) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

The first example is of those who receive a good report through faith, but they don’t receive the promise. Yet, we know there is only One Faith. The promise we are given concerning Faith is to partakers of the “One Faith”. We’ll get to that in a little while.

The second example is of those who ‘tell the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Jesus Christ.’

So, what separates the thieves who are a den of thieves from those who are the house of prayer as “receiving the promise”?

Luk 24:45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Luk 24:46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luk 24:47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48  And ye are witnesses of these things.
Luk 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Act 2:32  This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33  Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Act 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

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

Through the Spirit, I will attempt to connect what worship, Truth, Spirit and prayer have to do with one another.

We just read that those who worship God, who is Spirit, must do so in Spirit and in Truth. Therefore, we must know and understand what this means. Otherwise, how can we ever presume to be praying properly so that we are heard by God?

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Joh 6:64  But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Joh 6:65  And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

So, the Words spoken by Jesus are Spirit and Life. It is also true that Jesus is Truth.

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

How does someone come to Jesus?

“No man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father….” And “no man cometh to the Father but by Jesus Christ.”

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,” says Jesus.

It is not speaking above what is written to combine all of these verses to conclude the spiritual Truth that the Words which Jesus speaks are Spirit and Life, Words which speak the Truth and are the Way to the Father.

As a matter of Truth, Jesus says this to His disciples, after explaining the spiritual Truth of Him being the Way, Truth and Life:

Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Joh 14:11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Joh 14:13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

After explaining the Spirit behind seeing the Father, and who Jesus is in this process, He tells His disciples (indeed) to keep His commandments.

Now that the stage has been set, let us look toward His words as they pertain to being a house of prayer versus a den of thieves.

Joh 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

Mat 6:16  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:22  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

What do thieves do? They break through and steal treasures. However, the treasure we have “laid up” is heavenly.

Why would Jesus mention this in connection to fasting? When we are fasting for the appearance of “giving of ourselves to the Lord” and to be seen of men to be fasting, our reward is EARTHLY. It is for the FLESH in others to see it and think of how “godly” we are, and it is for our flesh and carnal mind to believe we are “doing the works of God”.

When you connect this idea with prayer (fasting and prayer go hand and hand) when telling someone we are “praying for them” or we are “keeping them in prayer” and we are not doing it as if it were we ourselves in this situation needing prayer. We are doing it to give the appearance of true prayer, knowingly or unknowingly.

Those that have come before the true Jesus Christ are those that are thieves. They come through to steal our reward, because by giving us their doctrines, their ways of praying, their examples of how to fast, we have to realize that our home with them is in a cave or den.

It is not the house of prayer we belong to in this situation.

Why am I mentioning fasting and prayer together?

Psa 35:11  False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
Psa 35:12  They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
Psa 35:13  But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
Psa 35:14  I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
Psa 35:15  But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:

Dan 9:3  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, WITH fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Dan 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

Mat 17:19  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mat 17:21  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

How then is our fast (Jesus and His mind concerning fasting) directly coupled with our prayer?

Isa 58:4  Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and THAT YE break every yoke?

Said in the CEV translation:

Isa 58:4  You even get angry and ready to fight. No wonder God won’t listen to your prayers!
Isa 58:5  Do you think the LORD wants you to give up eating and to act as humble as a bent-over bush? Or to dress in sackcloth and sit in ashes? Is this really what he wants on a day of worship?
Isa 58:6  I’ll tell you what it really means to worship the LORD. Remove the chains of prisoners who are chained unjustly. Free those who are abused!

What the prayers of the “house of prayer” are coupled with is the POWER we have been given to free those who are bound to wickedness, take away heavy burdens, to let those who are oppressed go free from their oppressors and to break every yoke weighing someone down.

What do we do these things with? We do it with the Word of God! We couple the Word of God with prayer!

In not so many words, we comfort those in need of prayer with the Word of God, with the Shepherd in us, by speaking to them in a voice they understand (His voice), and we let them know we are petitioning the Father on their behalf in BELIEF that “His will be done”.

“Disciples Indeed”

How do we do this? How do we act on what Jesus tells us to do with prayer? Will His example give us any direction?

Joh 11:35  Jesus wept.
Joh 11:36  Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
Joh 11:37  And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
Joh 11:38  Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave^G4693, and a stone lay upon it.
Joh 11:39  Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Joh 11:40  Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Joh 11:41  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 11:43  And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Joh 11:44  And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Have you ever asked yourself how it is Jesus was heard of the Father? It is obvious that Jesus prayed to the Father in secret, but then thanked the Father openly for being heard.

What was Jesus’ prayer coupled with? “Take away the stone…loose him and let him go”. If you would believe, you would see the glory of God.

Before I am misquoted or misunderstood, am I saying that if a person simply believes something when praying for it then that belief will be granted to them?

No, I am not saying that at all.

True Faith only comes from one place, Jesus – the Word of God – and that is why it is so important for the eye to be single.

Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:22  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Eph 4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

In a previous study, I spoke about grace heavily as it pertains to God working His awesome hands in our lives.

In particular, I compared the Sea of Galilee being north of the dead sea to the spiritual concept that if we have the waters of the Jordan flowing through the Sea of Galilee from north to south, the Sea of Galilee is flowing with life.

The sea of Galilee is where Jesus called disciples to follow Him (Mat 4:17-20). It is where He healed people of various afflictions (Mat 7:31-37) including deafness and dumbness, cast out unclean spirits (Mar 1:23-27), and performed many more miracles including feeding the masses with five loaves of bread and two SMALL fishes.

In Mark 1:35, after having done many miracles, Jesus showed us the importance of prayer.

Mar 1:34  And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
Mar 1:35  And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

I mentioned the Sea of Galilee to point out that it has an inlet and an outlet for the Jordan River waters which flow through it.

However, when the Jordan River exits out of the south of the Sea of Galilee, those waters travel for a distance south and empty into the Dead Sea which has no outlet.

If we are given anything of the Lord whether it be One faith, One baptism, One Spirit, One calling, our One Lord, One Hope, or One God and Father of All, and we do not have an outlet for it, we will be as the Dead Sea.

We become stagnant and lifeless, and nothing flows out of us. How can we be the “house of prayer” and not a “den of thieves” if this is true of us?

How this applies to prayer is that the Lord places a “dead Lazarus”, who someone cares about, in front of us. He places a “deaf and dumb” person in front of us to say “Ephphatha, that is, Be opened,” so that they are healed and raised from the dead.

If we are among the dead, as typified in the Dead Sea, how then can we so these things? However, if “Christ be in you”, you can do ALL THINGS through Him who strengthens you.

Prayer is our realizing that we are ALWAYS HEARD.

How do we know this to be true?

Joh 11:42  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Pro 8:32  Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
Pro 8:33  Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
Pro 8:34  Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
Pro 8:35  For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.

Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

There it is! When we are dragged to the Father, through Jesus and the Words of God, we are to DO THE Words! When we do them, we are building our house (the house of prayer) on a foundation which cannot be shaken.

When we are given to come to the Lord to hear His sayings, we can be confident that we are being heard by the Father when we pray to Him.

Our confidence comes in knowing that we answer all things according to the SAME EXAMPLE Jesus gave us and lived by.

“I came to do the works of my Father …. Thy will be done.”

If you have any doubt that the Father hears our prayers always, then weigh your prayers against the way in which Jesus taught us to pray. Here is where we have been given power.

Mat 6:5  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mat 6:8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Have Faith. Our Father knows what things we ALL NEED before we EVER ASK HIM for them. We are presented with a tremendous power to be able to PRAY for ourselves and others, and when we pray, we pray in Spirit and Truth when our prayer is “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

This is True Worship. We acknowledge that all things are being worked after the counsel of His own will.

In the next study, I am hoping that the Lord will bless me to speak about how or why we are, or are not, to pray for the world, how we are to pray or not for the “earth, earth, earth” and how we are to practically “pray without ceasing”.

[Next study in this series is here.]

[Study Aired May 7, 2024]

Rom 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 
Rom 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 
Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. 
Rom 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Rom 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
Rom 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. 
Rom 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 
Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

In our last study we saw that true love fulfills the law of Moses and the law of the spirit. True love is walking in truth and after the commandments. In order to do this we must pay the ultimate sacrifice and lay down our lives and die daily as Christ laid down His life for us.

2Jn 1:4-11 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.  And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Joh 10:14-18 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 

Joh 15:8-14 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

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

This study will cover judgment of the body of Christ. What is judgment, and what is being judged in these verses?

Rom 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 
Rom 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

Paul qualifies judgment in the above verses. He tells us that the strong in faith are to receive the weak, meaning do not despise where they are in their walk toward the kingdom of God. The weak in faith are not mature enough to begin to judge those strong in faith. The weak need time do grow under the tutelage of their elders. The strong in faith must have patience and the willingness to teach those that are weak in the faith.

1Ti 5:1-2 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity. 

1Pe 5:1-7 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 

This verse emphasizes the idea that each of us ultimately will give an account to God, our master, rather than being judged of others. The phrase “another man’s servant” implies that each of us belong to God. Therefore, we are to be patient with others, especially the younger, as it will take time for them to mature because their standing before God is ultimately His prerogative. God, being all-powerful, is capable of upholding His servants and enabling them to stand firm in their faith.

Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

“The Way” of Christ is a fine line. We are not to have dominion of another’s faith. Yet we must speak the truth in all matters. Everyone is in a different part of their walk, and we all must take that into consideration. The elders are in the body to serve the younger. Our goal as a body is to serve God. This is a lifelong process, and we all are tasked with laying our lives down for each other.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 

1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Rom 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Rom 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. 
Rom 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

This means that our lives are connected to others. What we do or don’t do affects everyone around us. We’re not just living for ourselves; we’re part of a bigger picture. Whether we’re alive or dead, we belong to God. Our purpose is to live in a way that honors Him, no matter what happens to us. Jesus died and came back to life to be in charge of everything, including those who have died and those who are still alive. His resurrection shows His power over life and death, making Him the ultimate authority and example for us.

In simpler terms, these verses teach us that our lives are connected to others, and our main purpose is to live for God’s honor. They also remind us that Jesus is in control of everything, even life and death.

Rom 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

These verses emphasize the importance of refraining from judgment and condemnation of others, as we are all ultimately going to give an account to God for our actions and attitudes. They highlight the universal truth that every individual will stand before God’s judgment, where all will acknowledge His sovereignty. Therefore, instead of focusing on criticizing others, we should be mindful of our own conduct and readiness to give an account to God.

Here are the questions I asked earlier: What is judgement, and what is being judged in these verses?

1Co 11:28-32 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Heb 12:5-10 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

There is a proper order for those who can pass judgment. The strong in faith are able to judge all things. The weak in faith are not able to correctly judge until they have their senses exercised. We are all being judged by God here and now if we are Christ’s. Judgment begins at the house of God.

1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 

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? 

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/mal-16-14-wherein-have-we-despised-thy-name/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mal-16-14-wherein-have-we-despised-thy-name Thu, 21 Dec 2023 22:48:51 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=28929 Audio Download

Mal 1:6-14  Wherein have we despised thy name? Wherein have we polluted thee?

[Study Aired December 21, 2023]

Mal 1:6  A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? 
Mal 1:7  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. 
Mal 1:8  And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 1:9  And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 1:10  Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. 
Mal 1:11  For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 1:12  But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. 
Mal 1:13  Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD. 
Mal 1:14  But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen. 

This section of Malachi is a type and shadow event that represents the yet carnal mind of a Christian that can’t as yet whole-heartedly present their bodies a living^G2198 sacrifice that is acceptable unto Him through Christ, at least not in whole, which is what God requires, the whole of our life continuing in the truth, represented by the whole tithe being brought into the temple of God. The nation of Judah was going through the motions but their devotion to God was lacking and being exposed by the wanting display of blind, lame, and torn animals that were being offered for sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2, Eph 1:6, Mal 3:10). 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living^G2198 sacrifice, holy [process Joh 17:17], acceptable unto God (Eph 1:6), 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 (Eph 1:6), and perfect, will of God.

Christ is the only sacrifice that is able to be presented to God as faultless, and therefore we conclude that we are accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6), as a living sacrifice, and through Him alone do we gain access to our heavenly Father and the blessed relationship of knowing Him and his son which is what eternal life is (Joh 17:3).

We know that God sees the heart and does not look on the outward appearance of a man (1Sa 16:7, Psa 51:17), and so it has nothing to do with the amount of animal sacrifices that were being brought in, but rather at the heart of the matter was whether those sacrifices were connected with a whole-hearted, humble, contrite and sacrificial heart (Mar 12:43, Mar 12:29-33). As we will see they were not with the nation of Judah, and God’s correction upon them typifies our Father’s correction on the body of Christ who are being judged in this age, and overcoming “by little and little” by the grace through faith process we’ve been called unto (Deu 7:22, Eph 2:8) so that we can mature to the point of going without the camp with Christ to offer the best sacrifice possible through Him (Heb 13:13, Php 2:12-13) [“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse“] .

Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 

Once we know to do good and God opens our eyes to the truth, we then need His strength and power to follow through with the conviction of what it is that He is showing us about ourselves so that we can change (Jas 4:17). This is the process that is being discussed in this section of Malachi and how God is able to start and finish that work in us through Christ, of going from thinking we are without spot (Rev 3:17) to coming to be washed by the blood of the lamb who takes away the sins of the world within us (Joh 3:16, 1Jn 2:16), the wretchedness that this sinful flesh is that must decrease, die daily, and be kept under as Christ increases in us (Heb 12:1-4, Rom 7:23-25). The purity of our life and ability to remain that way is only possible through Christ, and the greater our apprehension of who Christ is the better, as it is Christ alone who God can give us the spiritual increase through, so that we are becoming a sacrifice that is more and more pleasing unto our Father in heaven (1Co 3:6-7).

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

God demonstrates through very telling questions in the verses that we will look at in this section of Malachi that He knows the deceitfulness of our hearts (Jer 17:9) and how apparent it is that we understand how to honor those we see in the earth, our fathers, the servant his master, which is not wrong when we are giving honor to where honor is due (Rom 13:7-8). However, this proper honoring, of giving “tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour”, was spoken by those in Malachi’s time who were not showing the proper reverence to God himself  (1Co 3:21-22, 2Co 10:12). Without that Godly perspective of seeing God as being sovereign over all of mankind and working all things according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11), we are brought to a place where our sacrifices, which all belong to God and come from God, become lame and disingenuous, which is what we naturally do when we are not mature enough in Christ to do otherwise (Act 10:34-35, 1Jn 4:17, 1Jn 5:2-3, 1Co 14:37).

The lame sacrifices that are offered represent our own life that is brought to God believing in Him but not yet able to see our own blindness and need to continue in the truth that will, in time, purify the living sacrifice that we have been called to be, through our Lord and Savior (Joh 8:31-33, Joh 17:17, Joh 6:67-68).

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

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

Joh 6:67  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?.
Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Through Christ we can grow to become fearless to what men can do to us in this life (Rom 8:26-38), and live out the rest of our days fulfilling the will of God. He makes a way for us where there appears to be none as we “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” and promises to not try us beyond the measure that we can endure making a way to escape and bear the trial (1Co 10:13). This should encourage us to fight a good fight of faith as we remember that the Lord is at hand to be our helper and will never leave or forsake us in this spiritual battle we are in (Luk 12:4-5, 1Pe 4:1-2, Php 3:14, Php 2:12-13, Eph 6:12, Heb 7:26, Eph 1:18-23, Rom 8:38).

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

[This is the mindset that God tells us to lay hold of (1Pe 4:1-2) and to not see it as a strange thing; that this preparation of heart and the accompanying fiery trials is something to be expected and needed when presenting our bodies a living sacrifice in His service that must suffer in this life if we are going to rule with Him (1Pe 4:12, 2Ti 2:12)]

Be encouraged – The battle is the Lords

1Sa 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. 

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling [Col 1:27], and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 
Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. 

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.

—————————————-

Mal 1:6  A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? 

We don’t think we despise God’s name in Babylon, “Wherein have we despised thy name?“, but what we’re learning in this first verse of our study is that we do despise God’s name when we eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel (Isa 4:1), meaning we say ‘Lord, Lord’, thinking this will take away our reproach, but don’t do the things that He commands us (Luk 6:46).

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

If we do what is commanded of us, we demonstrate by our actions that we are a son that honours his father and a servant who honours his master (Luk 6:47-48).

Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them [Rom 2:13], I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep [1Ti 6:12], and laid the foundation on a rock [Mat 16:18]: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

Mal 1:7  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible^H959. 

contemptible H959  bâzâh baw-zaw’

A primitive root; to disesteem: – despise, disdain, contemn (-ptible), + think to scorn, vile person.  Total KJV occurrences: 42

The bread is polluted because it is God’s word that is wrapped around the idol of our own hearts. Just as we don’t know how we have despised God’s name in (Mal 1:6), we also don’t know until we are corrected how we have offered polluted bread upon God’s altar. The “altar” spoken about in this verse is the cross (Mal 1:7), where we first demonstrate a zealous desire to please God, and to know Christ and him crucified (1Co 2:2), but without Christ giving us the power to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling as we live by the faith of the son of God, which is a gift of God (Gal 2:20, Eph 2:8), we will just naturally offer bread that is polluted with our own carnal hearts and minds, that don’t yet understand that we have to fill up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ for his body’s sake the church (Gal 5:16-18, Joh 6:63).

Our disdain of God’s altar is reflected in our inability to keep God’s commandments that require that we give our whole life to Him as we go from the letter that kills to living out a sacrificial life in the spirit (2Co 3:6) that loves our enemies and does good unto all men especially unto the household of faith (Luk 6:27-28, Gal 6:10). Again, if not for Christ we would have no hope in these wretched marred vessels of clay, and so we thank God that He makes a way [Rom 5:5 that empowers us (Rev 11:3, Joh 13:35) to be obedient (Heb 5:8) to God’s commands (1Jn 5:2-3)] through the Way, the Truth and the Life who is our hope of glory (obedience) within (Mar 8:35, Col 1:27). 

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 

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

Luk 6:27  But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luk 6:28  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Luk 6:29  And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
Luk 6:30  Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

Mal 1:8  And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 1:9  And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 1:10  Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. 

Mal 1:10 Who, moreover, is among you that shall lock the doors so you shall not light up My altar gratuitously? I have no delight in you, says Yahweh of hosts, and an approach present I will not accept from your hand.” (CLV)

Offering such offerings to God that are blind, lame and sick, reveal the spiritual condition of the person giving the offering that is blind, lame, and sick, and more than that there is a delusional spirit at play here as well, which says, “And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means“, to which God asks after seeing this neither cold not zealous Laodicean spirit of service in full force (Rev 3:14-16), “will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.”  The answer is clear, “I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand“. 

The CLV version of verse 10 explains these actions are paramount to withholding the offering, “Who, moreover, is among you that shall lock the doors so you shall not light up My altar gratuitously?“, to which God says He will not accept these offerings that are done so haphazardly, demonstrating the lack of respect to God and the defiled condition of the one giving (1Co 11:17-22). It is not a positive example of a kindled fire that Christ will work in the body of Christ (Luk 12:49-50), but rather an admonition to be whole-hearted in our service, to not neglect so great a salvation by stirring up the spirit of God within (Heb 2:3). 

1Co 11:17  Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 
1Co 11:18  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 
1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 
1Co 11:20  When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. 
1Co 11:21  For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 
1Co 11:22  What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

Luk 12:49  I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50  But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 

Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

Mal 1:11  For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 1:12  But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.

God reminds us with this verse 11 that when Christ is in us, He will be “great among the Gentiles” (Col 1:27) “from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles“, and He goes on to say that all of this profaning and polluting of the table of the LORD is going to come to an end. The good news and hope we are given is certain, which is that ‘one Day’ when “in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts“. The world will one day learn righteousness when His judgments are in the earth as God’s elect are learning now (Isa 26:9), and no longer will “the fruit thereof, even his meat, is [be] contemptible” (Zec 14:7-9).

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

Zec 14:7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zec 14:8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. 
Zec 14:9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 

Mal 1:13  Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.

This next verse demonstrates what is at the heart of the problem as to why these lame, sick and torn offering are not going to be accepted of the LORD, “Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness^{H4972 H8513} is it! and ye have snuffed at^H5301 it“. It happens because of the lack of zeal and diligence that God has to give us to keep under ourselves in His service (1Co 9:27). That is what the weariness^{H4972 H8513} and the snuffed at^H5301 words represent, which is the spirit of the slothful servant spoken of by Christ in (Mat 25:26). 

Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

From our earthly perspective we say ‘Lord why are you causing these people to err'(Isa 63:17,  Rom 9:18-20), why must the offerings become less and less throughout the period known as the thousand year reign of the saints? The answer is always the same: so that the world can learn that only Christ can be Christ and if he has determined that you will be a peculiar and zealous people that bring forth much fruit in this life and endure until the end, then this is what will happen (Tit 2:14-15, 1Pe 2:9-10) as He shows mercy to us in that regard “as a man spareth his own son that serveth him”(Rom 9:18, Rom 11:31-33, Mal 3:17). 

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 
Tit 2:15  These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. 

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 
1Pe 2:10  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 

Mal 3:17  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

These words that we read about regarding how the nation was not bringing in the whole tithe, or properly sacrificing unto God, was written for our admonition to inspire us to move with fear, knowing that only God can make the difference in our service toward Him, and so, Lord willing, we will cry out and be heard in that we feared him (Eph 2:10, Php 2:12-13, Heb 5:7)

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. 

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

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

Mal 1:14  But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen. 

When we are deceived we are cursed, and only God can take away that spiritual blindness so that we stop serving him half-heartedly and with grumbling (Php 2:2-4), which is another way of sacrificing  “a corrupt thing” unto the LORD. 

Php 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 
Php 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 
Php 2:4  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

When we withhold the male in the flock and replace that more valued animal that can produce the seed for more offspring and then offer to the LORD a corrupt thing, a lesser valued offering, it is akin to withholding the price of the land that Ananias and Saphira did (Act 5:1-11), and God will exact his judgement on our old man for doing this. Ananias and Saphira represent our carnal first nature that must be destroyed being deceived in not knowing how “dreadful among the heathen” God is. 

“I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen” is something we have to ask the LORD to keep at the forefront of our minds so that we are motivated by His commands, and not moving through this life because of fear of what men can do to our flesh, but rather being subject to one another as unto Christ and glorifying God with every situation that He is orchestrating for our growth in Him.

It takes time and much tribulation for us to get comfortable in the fire of God’s word (Act 14:22), but God promises, with our minds set on that goal of becoming more and more like Christ, that we will obtain those true riches of having His mind developed within us in this life (Luk 12:5, Eph 5:21, 1Pe 2:12, 1Pe 2:18-20). 

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

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

1Pe 2:12  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 

1Pe 2:18  Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 
1Pe 2:19  For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 
1Pe 2:20  For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 
1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 
1Pe 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

The Book of Romans, Part 22 – We Must Worship in Spirit and in Truth

[Study Aired December 19, 2023]

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. 
Rom 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 
Rom 9:28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
Rom 9:29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
Rom 9:30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 
Rom 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 
Rom 9:32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

As we continue reviewing the book of Romans, Paul’s thoughts explain the deeper meaning of God’s sovereignty. In our last study, we reviewed the beginning of Romans 9, witnessing Paul’s fervent concern for the salvation of his fellow Israelites. We have the same concern for our “fellow kinsmen of the flesh” hoping they would see the things of the spirit as we do. Paul uses events from the past to show how God has always had a plan and how the people He chooses are part of His plan of salvation. As we progress to Romans 9:14-33, we will see further revelations from Paul that will describe the sovereignty of God.

Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

In Romans 9:10-13, Paul unfolded the story of Jacob and Esau, the twin sons born to Isaac and Rebecca. He emphasized that before the twins had a chance to do anything good or bad, God’s purpose in choosing was evident. The selection between Jacob and Esau was not contingent on their actions but on God’s sovereign will. Quoting from Malachi 1:2-3, Paul asserts, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated”, underscoring God’s prerogative in making decisions and illustrating the concept of election. Jacob and Esau are types and shadows of the elect and the rest of mankind. Mankind (Esau) will be saved, but with the order God has chosen, the elect (Jacob) will experience salvation first.

Transitioning to Romans 9:14, Paul anticipates potential objections to the idea of God’s sovereignty in His decisions, asking, “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?” This question serves as a prelude to Paul’s further examination of God’s actions and justice within the framework of His sovereign decisions. God’s actions are not determined by notions of fairness or unfairness as we might understand them. Instead, Paul is prompting a reflection on the nature of God’s justice, which transcends man’s standards and operates within the realm of His wisdom and purpose. We must recognize the limitations of man’s understanding when grappling with the ways of a sovereign and righteous God. 

Isa 55:8-11 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Paul once again uses Old Testament stories to make his point.

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. 

Paul is mentioning the fact that God’s plan will be followed no matter what men wish or hope to take place. We cannot dictate our way of life, and just as God caused Pharaoh to be the enemy of Israel, He is causing us to “come out of her my people.” God chose Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, and God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to foreshadow our journey out of “Christianity.” God’s mercy will eventually come to all mankind.

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.

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

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

Continuing with our verses.

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. 

In Romans 9:19-26, Paul addresses a potential objection concerning God’s sovereignty. Faced with the question of why God still finds fault and who can resist His will, Paul uses the story of a potter molding the clay to underscore God’s supreme authority in shaping vessels according to His purpose. Rebuking man’s presumption in questioning God’s designs, Paul emphasizes the limitations of mankind’s understanding in the face of God’s sovereignty. He speaks of the concept of God enduring vessels fitted for destruction, having them to fulfill their appointed roles in demonstrating His justice, while simultaneously revealing the richness of His glory in vessels of mercy. Paul concludes by highlighting the inclusiveness of God’s call, extending beyond the boundaries of the Jews’ heritage, “my kinsmen in the flesh”, to embrace the Gentiles, as prophesied in Hosea. This passage highlights both His justice and His mercy in the unfolding of His plan of salvation.

Isaiah 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?

Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

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

Exodus 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

Hosea 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Moving forward from the discussion of Romans 9:19-26, where Paul confirms God’s control, we come to the next verses.

Rom 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 
Rom 9:28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
Rom 9:29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

In these verses, Paul continues explaining God’s plan, showing that it goes beyond “my kinsmen of the flesh.” As we read the above verses quoted from Isaiah, we see Paul illustrating how vast God’s mercy is and how He keeps His promises.

The remnant being saved are not the children of the flesh. The remnant are those who worship God in spirit and in truth.

Joh 4:19-24 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Jesus states “salvation is of the Jews.” Is he speaking of “his kinsmen of the flesh?” Yes, but only in type and shadow. Everything is changing from the flesh to the spirit. The flesh is no more able to please God through works than a withering plant can survive in arid soil without water. It is demanded that God be worshiped in “spirit and in truth.”

Rom 9:30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 
Rom 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 
Rom 9:32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Romans 9:30-33 marks a pivotal moment in Paul’s discourse on salvation and righteousness. The passage begins by highlighting a significant shift in perspective – the Gentiles, who did not actively pursue righteousness, have attained it through faith. Meanwhile, Israel, who diligently sought after the law of righteousness, did not attain it because they sought it by works rather than by faith. This underscores a central theme in Paul’s teachings – salvation is not achieved through works or adherence to the law but is a result of faith in Christ.

Supporting this perspective, Paul draws on the prophetic words of Isaiah. In Romans 9:32-3, he quotes Isaiah 28:16 and Isaiah 8:14 to emphasize the stumbling stone and rock of offense which is Christ. The stumbling block signifies the challenge “the many called” face in accepting Christ as the cornerstone of salvation. The pursuit of righteousness through works became an obstacle, causing them to stumble over the simplicity of faith in Christ.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation<: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Isaiah 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Romans 9:30-33 emphasizes the critical importance of faith in Christ for both Jews and Gentiles. It underscores the danger of relying on works for righteousness and points to Christ as the cornerstone, highlighting the stumbling block that hindered “the many called” from recognizing Him as the path to salvation.

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

1Co 10:1-11 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

The true Israel of God are those worshipping God in spirit and in truth.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Conscience – A Good Conscience, Part 8

[Study Aired December 2, 2023]

A Good or Evil Conscience can be attributed to a ‘million’ scriptural applications. This study addresses only a few applicable cases the Lord provided to highlight a “good conscience”.

Repetitiously, the many nuances of an evil conscience all revert back to the Lord, creating an inescapable consciousness in Adam through the very first negative law (freely eating from every other tree being positive without encumbrances). Equally incessant, we can’t know and discuss a good conscience without seeing in light the blackness of an evil conscience by us breaching the Lord’s commandments. 

Exo 14:19  And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Exo 14:20  And it [the light and the darkness are one and the same to us while in Egypt, Babylon and Old Jerusalem] came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. 

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Adam and Eve, upon being told not to eat of the tree, were immediately encumbered with the brand-new and titillating emotion of temptation. Upon eating the forbidden fruit and hearing the Lord calling for them, they remembered their Lord’s command, “Thou shalt not eat of it” and were stricken by the devastating spiritual disturbance of an evil conscience. The Greek philosopher Sophocles (Sof-o-kies) adds strength to that reality with this quote:

“There is no witness so terrible and no accuser so powerful as conscience which dwells within us”. – Sophocles.

One of the greatest enslavements of mankind and to his irritated conscience is women’s rulership over men, particularly a husband, even if he isn’t righteous (Isa 3:12). Around and around goes the deadly loop enslaving mankind with every shade of an evil conscience, and not being able to pinpoint its troublesome origin that is female/Ashtoreth rulership classically accomplished by Solomon with 1,000 wives.

1Ki 11:5  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth [ash-to’reth – 1. the principal female deity of the Phoenicians worshipped in war and fertility a. also ‘Ishtar’ of Assyria and ‘Astarte’ by the Greeks and Romans], the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites [all directly symbolic of Babylonian Christianity and their 40,000+ denominations].

Intrinsically etched in a male’s heart without understanding, men silently loathe any female exercising righteous or unrighteous authority over masculinity, regardless of environmentally (in the home/school/sports/war) acquired emasculation. Inherently, even grade school boys subconsciously feel irritated (bitter) by that unidentified enslavement to girls’ mostly unconscious emasculating jubilance (conversely, the daughters of music and everything about a young woman is highly attractive to males and dedicated to his lust to both party’s intrigue of turbulent emotions of love and hate).

Incidentally, Sophocles muses upon another highly pertinent and no doubt unwitting equation to the Church in the Wilderness, made up of more culpable men than women since they become abdicated leaders in marriage and the Church under a different Jesus. The disquieting and inescapable truth, possibly unwittingly, yet unerringly resonates with scripture:

“The oaths of a woman I inscribe on water” – Sophocles. (Eccl 7:28; Jer 3:11-18; Hos 4:16). [end]

Our lovely women folk of the Body of Christ, inclusive of their male counterparts, are at peace with their former feminine fluidity, manipulating scriptural facts that, with deceitful kisses, hide the spirit and intent of their hearts (Pro 27:4-6). They, becoming the Bride of Christ, are continuing to practice the delight of listening to their Husband’s every word and look back with head-shaking fascination at their former conniving ways, having vainly manipulated the word of God to support their illusory righteousness. Indeed, her oaths to Jehovah while in the Wilderness were ‘inscribed on water’; her sisters remaining in Babylon still inscribe their oaths in watery baptisms and equal espousal fluidity (Isa 1:21; Zep 3:1-3).

Ecc 7:26  And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands [deceitful superficial kisses – inscribed on water]: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

(Note: Just as a wife’s deceitful kisses ‘inscribed on water’ fall symbolically to the ground and cannot be collected since they lead nowhere, so, too, is a husband (the collective church) who only wants sensual intimacy without the fruit of deep spiritual connection ~ in part, typified by Onan in Genesis 38:9 spilling his seed upon the ground).

Temptation comes with irksome contempt for the authority oppressing our inherent feminine (church’s) autonomy. Our feminine indignity goads us to automatically question and reject a husband or any male’s authority since we, sitting as god in the Temple of God, feel indignant by disempowerment by his authority over our imagined self-will. 

Subsequently, even if the authority is understood as correct, every undertone of an evil conscience powerfully resists acknowledging a sin. Upon being humiliated for our wrongdoing, our nature is first to hide spiritually by accusing some other party, thus excusing ourselves of error (Rom 2:15). Though underwritten by Christ, it is a true adage that “the Devil made me do it”, particularly since, and ironically, we didn’t hear the still small voice of the (ironic) trumpet blast telling us otherwise and thus resisting the Serpent for Christ’s assured intervention.

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God 

A primary way we become adulterers and adulteresses is with a convicting evil conscience that refuses the still, small voice prompting us to submit to the Lord’s war on our enemy. Subsequently, by siding with the world, we immediately become an enemy of God. We cannot serve two masters (Mat 6:24).

Jas 4:5  Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 

Mat 26:40  And He came to the disciples and found them asleep. And He said to Peter [That ‘little rock’, the Body of Christ], What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?
Mat 26:41  Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

We make a mockery of our Lord’s powerful spirit when our temporary good conscience is overpowered by an evil conscience upon hearing the trumpet blast and don’t call on His name to fight our imminent war. This is when our Husband becomes a jealous God when we trust in the little whore we are with our oaths written on water and her fanciful authority over her Husband. “I will not have a [righteous] man ruling over me!” is our indignant subconscious response, and the vanity of our strength to resist the Devil evaporates. Consequently, our Lord’s highly aroused spirit to see our bright feminine response is dismally subdued, and him envious of our adulteries when he is not first enquired.

Mat 21:19  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only [a show-pony; a beautiful woman by all accounts promising a husband’s delights], and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee [those Jews who say that they are Jews, and are not; Christian Babylon] henceforward for ever And presently the fig tree withered away.
Mat 21:20  And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
Mat 21:21  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree [to our enemies within], but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 
Mat 21:22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

However, our Lord is incredibly gracious and intimate with our weak frame and has a way for our escape should we humble ourselves. It all results in attaining the glorious peace of a “good conscience” by delighting our Husband with our God-given beauty and fruit of seeking his kisses.

Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. 
Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Every man despises being instructed or corrected by a female (or junior male) of any age without her (him) first showing genuine honor and respect. Eve was the first to challenge that authority, and typically, Adam, not wishing to offend his wife and have her frustrate marital dues, meekly complied. However, any female with an authentic introductory reverencing and honoring a male before her petition, as classically typified by Esther, immediately composes him with the deepest delight to indulge her and is compelled with a righteous conscience to do his utmost to comply with that female’s request. All the righteous women in scripture knew that immutable sovereignty; it is the very power modern feminists crave yet remain blind by Eve’s curse since Eden.

1Pe 3:7  Likewise, husbands, live together according to knowledge, giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel, the female, as truly being co-heirs together of the grace of life, not cutting off your prayers.

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit [able to emphatically know your dealings are of a good conscience ~ at one in Him], which are God’s.

A woman delightedly following in her Lord’s order of headship effectively “has her cake and eats it too,” and the adage is summed up scripturally with ‘all things being hers’ (1Co 2:19). Esther, having an exceptionally good conscience and an unfeigned heart, typifies the Bride of Christ. She indelibly knew her exceptionally good conscience of honor and respect for her King which enabled her to boldly risk death by standing unannounced before him in the court to seek her Lord’s benevolence. Only a righteous person holding a countersigned good conscience is bold enough to come before the throne of God, knowing that they are appropriately dressed for presentation.

Mat 22:11  And when the king [Christ] came in to see the guests [prior to the wedding, the Elect with some remaining ‘tares’], he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness [the Lake of Fire]; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Est 2:17  And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour [effectively ‘chosen’] in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

In the following verse, Timothy was warning against false teachers, yet it can be easily applied to many applications, inclusive of Esther’s “good conscience” for Mordecai’s intercession.

1Ti 1:5  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned [unfeigned, undisguised, sincere. 1. To take up another’s statement {Mordecai’s, in this instance} in reference to what one has decided for oneself]. 

Of course, any husband is easily ravished by such a respectful wife (or any woman righteously) as is our Lord for His Wife who touches Him with “faith unfeigned” as seen in the above verse. Such respect dramatically amplifies her enchantment of his heart, sensually highly arousing to men and correspondingly spiritually to God and the Christs.

1Co 11:3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 

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 [H8275 – Dart, spear. H7626 – Rod {Tribe/tribes 138 times}, staff, branch, offshoot. 
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.

Est 2:17  And the king [Christ] loved Esther [Christ’s wife] above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the [symbolic – ] virgins [deluded Babylonian Christianity]; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 

Vashti personifies our former selves from Mt. Sinai when we refuse to come to the Lord’s table and then humiliate him for his adoration of us before the world. If we continue our haughty self-elevation, he dumps us for a more humble and beautiful woman that the world will stand in awe.

Zec 2:7  Deliver thyself, O Zion [“come out of her {Babylon}, my people], that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. 
Zec 2:8  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled [plundered] you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

The Elect of God who rule with him in the One-Thousand Year reign are given a type of half the kingdom in downpayment before being given in Christ the entirety of humanity in the Resurrection to Judgment. Our Lord has glorified His Bride by giving her the greatest honor in the universe to intimately know him, to touch Him, our Sceptre’s very head whose kisses are better than wine. Together as Husband and Wife, they have seeded the world to be spiritually born again. In perfect unity of mind, body and spirit, they will rule their ‘children’, the nations, with a rod of iron and ultimately judge those same nations since Adam with that “sceptre” – H7626 to bring them into the fullness of spiritual maturity through the Lake of Fire.

Zec 2:9  For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them [the nations since Adam], and they shall be a spoil to their servants [The mighty men and rulers and servants will be of one servitude without dominion above the other, for all their pomposity will be soundly ground to powder]: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.
Zec 2:10  Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion [Bride of Christ]: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. 

Since the Elect of God represents the Daughter of Ziopon, our Lord is already dwelling in her midst, she being His first fruits of the Kingdom within, the very Temple in which He dwells.

Zec 2:11  And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day [following the Lake of Fire, on the Eighth Day], and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. 
Zec 2:12  And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Zec 2:13  Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

Utterly oblivious to the Zionists of today, the Jews who say that they are spiritual Jews and are not, Christ is right this very moment in that “Jerusalem again” spiritually, in His Elect. The physical Jerusalem today is becoming a focus of intense fighting and possibly the grand finalé leading to the outward return of Christ. 

As was Esther’s good conscience to approach the King, expecting his like good conscience to delightedly receive her, authentic honor and respect for the evil rulers over us always calm their corruptness for a more favorable outcome ~ it is foolish to amplify an already unscrupulous ruler’s contempt for us by standing on our watery feminine instability as did Vashti. Harkening back to the quote, “The oaths of a woman I inscribe on water” – Sophocles (Gen 49:4 – when we go a whoring) should profoundly cause our conscience to know that we are standing before the King on heaving water, as did Peter trying with a weak conscience walking on water rather than later, in fire, to and in Jesus.

Jas 1:6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 

Eze 28:14  Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God [Old Jerusalem now New Jerusalem above]; thou hast [Pefect Tense] walked up and down in the midst of the stones [among our brothers and sisters who are gladly overcome] of fire.

A good conscience is endorsed first by God-given wisdom to foresee a potential evil and mitigate its expected effect, as did Paul’s address of Festus, attorney of Judea. Paul would have had to speak with a good conscience of authenticity to appease through respect for Festus’s seat of authority. Paul’s life was on the line, and both Paul and Festus knew that this was not a time for any perception of sarcasm towards Festus’s distinction.

Act 26:25  But he [Paul] said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. 
Act 26:26  For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. 

Paul is one of the Elect of God, and being of perfectly “good conscience”, he didn’t have to try not to inflect contempt for Festus’ authority in calling him “most noble Festus”; ‘[who] knoweth of these things not hidden from him’, though, and by today’s standards, could sound caustic. As such, and from a slightly earlier account before Ananias, the high priest, Paul was able to say,

Act 23:1  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

Paul went on to say how in “good conscience”, he held the Laws of the Jews nearly perfectly, even to the point of satisfyingly killing Christians and ALL in “good conscience”!

One of the most outstanding forms of living in “good conscience” is one’s faith in a particular creed, as was typified by Paul regarding killing Christians, believing in circumcision and the Sabbath before the glorious earthquake of spiritual understanding.

Rom 14:13  Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way…

… rather, we gently correct a brother from the scriptures. If he takes some time to see the truth, so be it, as long as he doesn’t coerce his brethren to follow his deluded beliefs and thus cause them to stumble, as the Body of Christ was destined to experience on a number of occasions for their spiritual growth. Both parties are subsequently operating with a good conscience.

Rom 14:14  I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
Rom 14:15  But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably [and expect a disquieted conscience]. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. 
Rom 14:16  Let not then your good [conscience] be evil spoken of: 
Rom 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost [from a good conscience]. 
Rom 14:18  For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men [all abiding in good conscience]. 
Rom 14:19  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 
Rom 14:20  For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure [when not offending Christ’s commandments]; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence [for the thing he deems an offence].
Rom 14:21  It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 
Rom 14:22  Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth [since he is living with a good conscience]. 
Rom 14:23  And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith [since his conscience should be condemning him]: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 

There are possibly millions of quotes since Adam referenced a “good conscience”. The Bible has only six where the two words are coupled. The first of which is Paul we saw earlier following his arrest in the Temple. Paul, having been dramatically struck down on the road to Damascus, directly spoke with and was questioned by the Lord, remained in ‘good conscience’, having devoutly killed Christians in good conscience by his commitment to the Laws of Moses. Paul had one of the most dynamic shifts in conscience ever recorded for the sake of the Elect ~ truly a tumultuous about-face all the way past believing in circumcision. Paul typifies most experiences of the Christs and their personal earth-engulfing flood that changes into the fiery word of God.

2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts [having taken into their hearts every nuance of an evil conscience to profoundly condemn them, and hence…],
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 
2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 
2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 
2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the SAME [Caps, Grant] WORD are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

In glorious irony, of course, we know that we have been the man of perdition being given to learn by those same watery Laws how to live in good conscience in them by fire that purifies our consciences.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you? 
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 
1Co 3:18  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool [in good conscience], that he may be wise [in good conscience]. 
1Co 3:19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 
1Co 3:20  And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. 
1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 
1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. 

From those verses springs the remaining five verses where the two words for the term “good conscience” are spoken in scriptures.

1Ti 1:5  Now the end of the commandment [and all that this study speaks] is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 

1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 
1Ti 1:20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. 

Heb 13:18  Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

1Pe 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 
1Pe 3:16  Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. 
1Pe 3:17  For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. 
1Pe 3:18  For Christ also once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, indeed being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit; 
1Pe 3:19  in which also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 
1Pe 3:20  to disobeying ones, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared (in which a few, that is, eight souls were saved through water); 
1Pe 3:21  which figure now also saves us, baptism; not a putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ; 
1Pe 3:22  who is at the right hand of God, having gone into Heaven, where the angels [first the Elect of God giving up their perdition-ability, and then the world] and authorities and powers are being subjected to Him.

I pray that we all see the day and night of our consciences and always swiftly seek our Lord to live in His eternal conscience that only knows good.

The Book of Romans, Part 20 – God’s Love

[Study Aired November 28, 2023]

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 anything 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. 

In our last study of Romans 8:19-30, the focal point was the transformation from suffering, which is orchestrated by God, to glorification.  The study emphasized the truth that the hardships experienced as believers are not aimless; rather, they are integral components of God’s plan of salvation. The redemptive narrative unfolds as God, in His great wisdom, transforms the groans of creation and the trials of His children into instruments of glory. 

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

Romans 8:28 serves as a beacon, assuring that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose, showcasing the transformation of suffering into glory. As believers, we find encouragement in knowing that our present struggles, intricately woven into God’s grand plan, are not in vain but rather a pivotal part leading to the manifestation of His glory within us, becoming a source of hope that anchors our faith amid life’s challenges.

 In Romans 8:31-39, we continue the journey through the writings of the Apostle Paul that resonate with a triumphant declaration of God’s unwavering love and the unshakable security found in our relationship with Him. These verses represent a peak of certainty and confidence, urging us to think about how deeply God cares for us and the unwavering connection He forms with His children. As we explore this passage, we’ll discover a divine proclamation that transcends the challenges of life, offering a greater understanding of the inseparable connection between God’s love and our ultimate triumph over any adversary. 

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 anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.

Within the verses of Romans 8:31-33, a resounding declaration of God’s unwavering love and the triumphant victory secured through Christ’s sacrifice echoes. The opening statement in verse 31 boldly asserts the unquestionable nature of God’s support for believers. This affirmation transcends words, representing a profound truth anchored in the unchanging character of God. The reassurance is clear: if God is for us, no force can stand against us.

In verses 32-33, the focus shifts to the immeasurable gift of Christ’s sacrifice. He did not withhold His own Son but delivered Him up for the redemption of mankind. The imagery emphasizes the completeness and effectiveness of Christ’s atonement, leading to a triumphant victory over sin and death.

These verses show a love so profound that God willingly sacrificed the most precious, His Son, for our sake. The rhetorical question in verse 33 underscores the divine justification of the elect, highlighting that no accusation or charge can stand against those who are in Christ.

Psalm 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

In the above  verses, we find encouragement in the thoroughness of God’s plan for our redemption. The profound love revealed through Christ’s sacrifice ensures an unwavering victory, providing us with a justification that exceeds any worldly accusation. These truths serve as foundational pillars, instilling in us enduring confidence in God’s unwavering love and the triumphant sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.

When we look closely at Romans 8:34, a deep revelation comes to light. The verse declares:

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.

This declaration corresponds with Old Testament types and shadow. In the Old Testament, the sacrificial system symbolized the temporary covering of sins, foreshadowing the ultimate atonement accomplished by Christ’s death. Leviticus 16:11-14 provides a glimpse of this typology, depicting the high priest’s actions on the Day of Atonement.

Leviticus 16:11-14 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

Transitioning to the New Testament, the book of Hebrews illuminates the fulfillment of this Old Testament shadow in Christ’s continuing work. Hebrews 9:24-28 draws a parallel between the earthly sanctuary and Christ’s heavenly ministry, highlighting the once-and-for-all sacrifice that negates condemnation for believers.

Hebrews 9:24-28 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world (kosmos): but now once in the end of the world (aion) hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So, Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

These verses together unveil a comprehensive narrative of Christ’s plan of salvation, bridging the Old and New Testaments to illustrate the truth declared in Romans 8:34. The truth declared is the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrificial system through Christ’s atonement. This signifies that as believers we are justified and free from condemnation through the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus, as detailed in Hebrews 9:24-28. Christ has set the example for us to follow.

Rom 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

1Jn 2:1-6 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

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.

In Romans 8:35-37, Paul poses a series of rhetorical questions to emphasize the unbreakable nature of the bond between believers and the love of Christ. He presents a comprehensive list of adversities, ranging from tribulation and distress to persecution by the sword. Through this list, Paul paints a vivid picture of the challenges that believers will encounter. The implied answer to each question is a resounding “no,” suggesting that none of these hardships has the power to separate us from the enduring love of God in Christ.

Paul draws on a broader perspective of mankind’s suffering, acknowledging that believers will face a spectrum of trials. By employing the imagery of being “killed all day long” and “accounted as sheep for the slaughter,” Paul references the shared experience of enduring challenges, quoting Old Testament themes. Yet, amidst these adversities, he proclaims believers as “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” This triumphant declaration reinforces the idea that, in Christ, believers not only endure hardships but emerge victorious over them, guided and empowered by the unwavering love of God.

Psalm 44:22 Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

The verse from Psalm 44:22 supports the idea of enduring suffering for God’s sake. Romans 8:37 then strongly confirms Paul’s message that, with the strength of Christ’s love, the elect rise above and conquer the many challenges they encounter.

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.

In these verses, Paul expresses his unwavering conviction that nothing—be it death, life, angels, rulers, present circumstances, future uncertainties, height, depth, or any other element of creation—can sever the bond between believers and God’s love in Christ Jesus. This list serves as a powerful reminder that, according to Paul’s persuasion, there exists an inseparable connection between believers and the unfailing love of God.

Psalm 139:8-10 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Ephesians 1:21-22 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.

Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

In this study of Romans 8:31-39, we examined the Apostle Paul’s powerful message about God’s unwavering love and the unshakeable security it brings to us as believers. We looked back at our previous study of Romans 8:19-30, where we learned how God transforms suffering to glory.

Romans 8:31-39 prepares us to think about the vastness of God’s love and the unbreakable connection between believers and God. In verses 31-33, Paul boldly declared God’s unwavering love and the victory won through Christ’s sacrifice. The Old and New Testaments vividly illustrate God’s boundless love and the completeness of Christ’s sacrifice.

Romans 8:34, uncovered the profound revelation of Christ as the ultimate high priest. By connecting Old Testament types and shadows with New Testament fulfillment, we gained insight into the depth of Christ’s plan of salvation for everyone the Father has given him.

Joh 6:35-40 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

In Romans 8:35-37, Paul utilizes rhetorical questions to depict the challenges that we will encounter. Other supporting verses, notably Isaiah 53:7, underscore the theme of enduring suffering for God’s sake, affirming that believers triumph through the love of Christ.

Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Finally, in Romans 8:38-39, Paul assured us that nothing could separate us from God’s love. The verses from Psalms, Isaiah, Ephesians, and Colossians highlighted the all-encompassing nature of God’s love, prevailing over every aspect of our lives.

In conclusion, our study of Romans 8:31-39 reveals a profound understanding of the mankind’s, firstly the elect’s, secure position in God’s unwavering love. This message echoes with the assurance that present trials or future uncertainties cannot separate us from the enduring love of God in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 91:14-16 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

John 10:28-29 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.