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The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – Part 1

[Study Aired March 13, 2023]

Introduction

When God burst on the scene to deliver His people Israel (type of His elect) out of Egyptian captivity, He introduced Himself as follows in the following encounter with Moses:

Exo 3:6  And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Exo 3:15  God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
Exo 3:16  Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,

In telling Moses that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He is showing us that through His dealings with these three people, He is unveiling to us what His eternal purpose is, how His eternal purpose is being fulfilled and how He deals with the people that He chooses to accomplish His purpose. In this encounter with Moses, He also introduced Himself to Moses that “I AM WHO I AM”. This means that He is the self-existing one and is beyond comprehension.  However, we can know His purpose and His ways through His dealings with our fathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. What we need to understand is that the patriarchs were three and the number three spiritually means the process of spiritual maturity through judgment. So, what we are going to learn about God introducing Himself as the God of our fathers is to show how He takes us from the pit of darkness to become spiritually mature sons through His judgment to accomplish His purpose.

If we add together all the different aspects of the experiences of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob including Joseph, who was technically part of Jacob, we see a clear picture of the complete experience of the elect and our understanding of God’s eternal purpose and how His eternal purpose is being fulfilled through His elect.

Exo 3:14  God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 

Isa 51:1  “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 
Isa 51:2  Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.

The question is why did God introduced himself as the God of our Fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and not anyone else? It is because from the time of creation to the time of Abraham, nobody had been given the task of changing his circumstance to pursue God’s agenda of going through a land to be possessed by his future generation except Abraham. That takes a lot of faith since at that time, it was humanly impossible for Abraham to have a child!! This task given to our father Abraham was subsequently transferred to Isaac and then Jacob and it unveils God’s plan of salvation for the elect first and then the whole of mankind. God in His wisdom had caused Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to live their lives on earth in such a way as to demonstrate to us how those who will come later to believe in Him will come to know Him, understand His purpose for His creation and how He deals with His elect to fulfill His purpose. What we need to note is that while we walk here on this earth, it is impossible to fully know who God is because here on earth, we only see in part and when we become perfect (when we see him as He is), then we can know Him fully.

1Co 13:9  For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
1Co 13:10  but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

1Co 13:12  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

I remember several years ago when the Spirit of the Lord was moving me in my quest to search the scriptures to know Him, some of my friends in the churches of this world told me that since we cannot know Him so much while we are here on earth, the little scriptures that we know should suffice in our Christian walk and so we should devote ourselves to prayer and obedience. The fact is if you do not know somebody well, how can you know what He likes or dislike? It is impossible to be obedient to someone you do not know well. They quoted this verse of scripture to support their claim:

Deu 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. 

They said that since the secret things belong to God, we should not worry ourselves when we do not understand certain aspects of the scriptures. They were not given eyes to see that the secret things here are those things about God which have not been written. This is because no books can even contain all that Jesus did. We are therefore admonished in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians to not go beyond what is written.

Joh 21:25  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

The verse in Deuteronomy 29:29 therefore has become a stumbling block for many as they give up their quest to know God, forgetting that the same verse in Deuteronomy 29:29 says that the things which are revealed belong to us. The things which are revealed pertain to the Word of God that we have in our homes. They also forget Paul’s admonition to Timothy to study to show himself approved, a workman who need not be ashamed but rightly dividing the word.  Some even quote that knowledge brings about pride (1Co 8:1) and therefore as a result, there is no such desire to seek Him and know Him!! We have therefore thrown away knowledge and as the scriptures say, “for lack of knowledge my people perish”!!

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

1Co 8:1  Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. 

As we are aware, our relationship with God is governed by knowledge just as our relationship with our family and friends are. Relationships are deepened through knowledge.

God, in His quest to establish a relationship with the Israelites in bondage in Egypt, needed to introduce Himself to the Israelites in a powerful way to convince the Israelites and even the messenger Moses to follow Him. Introducing Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is therefore very significant. As we explore God’s relationship with these patriarchs, we will get to know Him and how He relates to us.  We must remember that for us His elect, we are supposed to know His ways and His acts but for the others, they are destined to only know His acts!!

Psa 103:7  He made known his ways unto Moses (a type of His elect), his acts unto the children of Israel. 

In introducing Himself as the God of Abraham, our Lord Jesus Christ was showing us how He picks us from the miry clay and starts the process of cleaning us up to reflect His image and to give us the hope of salvation. The God of Isaac reveals to us that it is the Lord who does all the work within us, as we rest in Him. Isaac was privileged to have all the wealth amassed by his father Abraham. Even when he needed a wife, it was his father who worked through Eliezer to bring him a virtuous woman, Rebecca. All that Isaac did was to wait for the bride to come to him. The God of Jacob shows us how the Lord seeks an occasion to judge us by causing us to go astray and that through our judgement, we learn righteousness. The story of Jacob therefore highlights his deception as he deceived his father, Isaac, to receive Esau’s blessing and as a result, went through bitter suffering. Through this suffering, he learned righteousness and became spiritually mature such that He was able to inherit the promise – the rulership of the elect under his son Joseph who is technically considered as part of Jacob’s experience.

The Lord introducing Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was therefore a complete revelation of who Christ is, His work and purpose. The Book of Revelation is therefore a summary of the Lord’s introduction of Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It sums up who Christ is, our suffering which leads to righteousness, our reward, and the salvation of the world. In fact, every aspect of the Bible is a revelation of Christ, and most are circumstance specific. That is, we get to know certain aspects of Christ in these circumstances. For example, the transfiguration of Christ tells us about the fact that after our life here on earth (6 days), we shall be changed just like Christ was at the Mount of transfiguration. Our transformation begins as the law serves as our schoolmaster until faith comes (the appearance of Moses). This is followed by our need to repent (the appearance of Elijah) and then Christ comes into our lives to transform us.

Mat 17:1  And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart:
Mat 17:2  and he was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as the light.
Mat 17:3  And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. 
Mat 17:4  And Peter answered, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, I will make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
Mat 17:5  While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Mat 17:6  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
Mat 17:7  And Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
Mat 17:8  And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, save Jesus only.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 

Mat 3:1  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 
Mat 3:2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 
Mat 3:3  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

With all these in mind, let us begin by plowing through the life of Abraham to know what our Lord Jesus Christ means when He says that He is the God of Abraham.

Knowing God Through Abraham

Abraham’s Calling – Leaving Egypt (the world)

Gen 11:27  Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
Gen 11:28  And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
Gen 11:29  And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
Gen 11:30  But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Gen 11:31  And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 
Gen 11:32  And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Abraham was steep in idolatry before God called Him to fulfil His purpose. His background was so dark that God had to appear to him twice. He was worshipping other gods in Chaldees when God approached him. Abraham was not the originator of the call. This shows that it is therefore not of him that wills or runs but of God that shows mercy.  It was God who took the initiative.

Jos 24:2  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.

Act 7:2  And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
Act 7:3  And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. 
Act 7:4  Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. 
Act 7:5  And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

We can easily identify with Abraham. When God called us, we were also in thick darkness with no hope for us. However, God who is rich in mercy came to us to begin our spiritual journey. Even though we did not respond to His call immediately just like Abraham, He was always with us just as His spirit moved over the waters covering the earth at the beginning of creation when the earth was without form and void.

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The number two means a witness. So, God always leaves a witness when He comes to visit us. The first time was in Ur of the Chaldees. In Acts 7:2, it states that the God of glory appeared to Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran. Abraham did not respond to this call wholly. However, his father was the key influence in moving Abraham from Mesopotamia to Haran, just short of the Promised Land (Gen 11:31). This is to show us that at the beginning of our walk, our own fleshly zeal (denoted by Abraham’s father Terah) carry us to a certain point in fulfillment of God’s purpose but it is not able to carry us far into the spiritual reality of Christ. That is what the scripture means by the following verse in Isaiah 61:5.

Isa 61:5  And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

The fact that the God of Glory visited Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldees is significant as Chaldees refers to Babylon. Thus, we are to leave Babylon which represents the physical churches of this world if we are to respond to God’s call.

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. 

When Abraham’s father died, then God appeared a second time to him in Haran (Gen 12:1-5). When we are dominated by the flesh, God uses our flesh to further His course and it is only when we start the process of daily dying to the flesh (represented by Terah’s death) that we can respond to God’s call in a positive way by moving to the Promised Land which signify the beginning of our dominance over the flesh.

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

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2  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:
Gen 12:3  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.
Gen 12:4  So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Gen 12:5  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 

Leaving his country and kindred to follow God speaks of us leaving Egypt, that is, the world to pursue God’s agenda.  The country and kindred that Abraham left signify the fact that God wants us to leave the world and the flesh behind (the flesh must die) in our walk with Him. Unfortunately, we all start our walk with Christ as carnal as depicted by Abraham leaving Haran with Lot.

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 

God’s Promises to Abraham – Being an instrument to save the world

The promise God made when He came to Abraham the second time is that He will make of Abraham a great nation and will bless Him and that through Abraham all the families of the earth will be blessed. This was God’s purpose when He called Abraham.

Gen 12:2  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:
Gen 12:3  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.

This promise by God is to motivate and strengthen Abraham and the elect that will come later to accept God’s calling. The promises are of three-fold:  First, to make out of Abraham a great nation; Second, to bless Abraham and thirdly, to make Abraham a blessing to all the families of the earth. The great nation to come out of Abraham is the Kingdom of God which is now within His elect but will be manifest at the fullness of time. God’s promise of a blessing to Abraham is explained by Paul as being the promise of the Spirit. In Galatians 3:14, it is stated that the blessing of Abraham is that we His elect will receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith. Making Abraham a blessing to all the families of the earth is another way of saying that through the elect (Abraham) all humanity will be saved.

Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

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. 

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

Now let’s focus a bit on the blessings promised to Abraham our father and to us. Blessings can be physical or spiritual. Physical blessing relates to provision, benefit, protection, etc. In the Old Testament, the blessings that the men of God received are all physical. To be blessed physically is for our existence and as the Bible says, to exist only is vanity of vanities. Are we in this life to make a living for ourselves? Oh no!! It is in the New Testament that we are given spiritual blessings which relates to the fulfillment of God’s purpose. We need both the physical and the spiritual blessings to exist to accomplish God’s purpose. Spiritual blessings relate to being called and chosen to become holy and without blame before Him while we live here on earth as indicated by Paul. In addition to our physical blessing, we need God’s grace (spiritual blessing) to be able to accomplish God’s purpose. Grace means God Himself coming to us as revealed in John 1:17 to chastise us to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. So, we need both physical and spiritual blessing (grace) to be able to accomplish God’s purpose.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

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

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Joh 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

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

The Departure of Lot – Doing Away with the Flesh

Gen 13:1  And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
Gen 13:2  And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 
Gen 13:3  And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
Gen 13:4  Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
Gen 13:5  And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 
Gen 13:6  And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
Gen 13:7  And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 

As indicated earlier, Lot going with Abraham to the promised land means that we start our walk with Christ as carnal or fleshy. Over time, Abraham grew rich in cattle, silver and gold as he journeyed to Bethel which means the house of God. Becoming rich in silver and gold is to make us aware that Abraham was growing in the truth of the knowledge of God and was also physically blessed (rich in cattle). In other words, his eyes were being opened and his ears were hearing the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. On the other hand, Lot, representing the flesh, is also growing in flocks, herds and tents. What this means is that the flesh was being strengthened. In other words, the flesh’s resistance to the things of the spirit is increasing within us as our eyes begin to see and our ears hear. Definitely, we cannot have two masters within us – one must be subdued. This conflict between Abraham’s herdsmen and that of Lot is all part of the work of the Lord to get rid of the flesh which in this case is Lot and his herdsmen. This is how the Bible describes this conflict:

Mat 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Since we are led by the Spirit, the flesh will be dealt with through our fiery trials which comes as a result of the word we have received. The exit of Lot from the company of Abraham signifies the dying of the old man and the birth of the new man after the image of Christ. The conflict between Abraham’s herdsmen and that of Lot signifies our fiery trials.

Gen 13:11  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 
Gen 13:12  Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Abraham’s Seed and the Land – The means of achieving God’s purpose.

Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Gen 15:2  And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Gen 15:3  And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 
Gen 15:4  And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 
Gen 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Gen 15:6  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

As already stated, God’s purpose as revealed in His encounter with Abraham is to have a people who express Him and through them all the families of the earth will be blessed. However, to fulfill this eternal purpose, there are two things that are needed – the seed (a son to be borne by Abraham) and the land. The seed here physically represents Isaac. However, spiritually, Isaac represents Jesus whose coming is to cause a people to express God’s image and His dominion. This people (a great nation) will later become a blessing to all the nations of the earth. Unfortunately, Abraham did not have a seed and so he counted on Eliezer as the seed. However, nothing that we have is useful for fulfilling God’s purpose.  God promised Abraham that He will work it out through him. In our walk with God, nothing that we have, or we can do (in bringing forth Ishmael) is useful for fulfilling God’s purpose. Just like Abraham, God has promised to work it out in us and bring forth the seed, which is the new man in us, borne after the image of Christ.

The second requirement for fulfilling God’s purpose is the land. The land is a place for God’s people to live in, a place where God’s enemies would be defeated, a place where God will have a habitation and a place where God will build His kingdom. Looking at it from one perspective, the land is our body. In another perspective, the land represents Christ. As the scriptures say, in Him we live, move, and have our being. It is in Christ that we can defeat our enemies and can build the kingdom.

Act 17:28  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. 

Every kingdom has a territorial domain and in the case of the elect, our bodies (hearts and minds) are supposed to be the dwelling place of Christ or His throne where His kingdom dwells. Christ has to come and establish His kingdom within us first before the kingdom becomes visible later in another age. Unfortunately, the beast is already occupying the throne of Christ within us when we were borne. This is the same with Abraham. When he went to Canaan, the land was fully occupied by Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, etc. That’s why David said the following:

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

Since we cannot on our own defeat the beast within us, it is imperative that Christ must come first so that in Him we can drive away the beast or the flesh to establish His kingdom. That’s why it was extremely important for Abraham to have a seed (Christ) first. Without a seed, Abraham can only be a stranger in the land since he does not have what it takes to drive away the Canaanites occupying the land. That is why Abraham’s call was just to go through the land as a stranger. The good news is that Christ had assured us through His covenant with Abraham that we shall possess the Land. That is, we shall possess our bodies for Christ to establish His kingdom within us.

Gen 15:18  In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 
Gen 15:19  The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
Gen 15:20  And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
Gen 15:21  And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

It took a long time for Abraham to have a seed and for the seed to multiply enough to be able to possess the land – more than four hundred years. In other words, it took a long time for Isaac to be born and for the twelve sons of Jacob to multiply enough to leave Egypt and to possess the land.

Gen 15:13  And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Gen 15:14  And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

This shows the Lord’s patience in dealing with us before we are capable of dealing with the beast to establish the Lord’s kingdom within. We, His elect, must also learn to be patient in dealing with the Lord, our brothers and sisters in Christ, our family and the people of the world.

Heb 10:35  Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
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.
Heb 10:39  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Next week, we shall continue with the God of Abraham, God willing.

May the Lord be merciful to us as Christ increases within us to establish His kingdom!! Amen!!

]]> Awesome Hands – part 169: “The power of the I am” https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/awesome-hands-part-169-the-power-of-the-i-am/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=awesome-hands-part-169-the-power-of-the-i-am Wed, 12 Aug 2020 22:38:47 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=21304 Download Study

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Awesome Hands – Part 169

“The Power of the I Am”

August 12, 2020

The last time I gave a study, we were in Joshua 9. When we resume this series fully, we will pick up from where I left off, but today I wanted to talk about a topic I believe will be helpful to everyone in the body of Christ because it is so helpful to me to being able to re-center myself on what is important in this life we have been given to live.

The Lord inspires us all in different ways so that we continually move down the path He has planned for us, which ultimately fulfills whatever it is we are needed to do for the kingdom of God and for His will.

For this study today, I was inspired to listen to a Ted talk once which allowed me to incorporate what I heard in this talk with what I know to be true in the bible concerning biblical truths. For those that may not be aware of Ted talks, these are presentations made by people who are inspiring, inspirational, content experts, etc, on whatever topics are being presented.

So, this study is somewhat of a co-opting of that talk by merging the thoughts I had from it with what is biblically true and accurate as it pertains to God being in control of all things.

Think of it as being a musician and hearing a song, taking the music from that song, changing the words to the song, and then releasing that for others to hear. The Lord inspires us all in different ways, but we know it is all being done for the elect of God.

We start this study today with this biblical admonition:

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

You all know my recent history with needing to complete my college education as part of what the Lord has inspired me to do with that part of my life. Since I am now coming back to studies from that frazzled schedule, I thought this study could bridge that time and the time moving forward in presenting studies.

At first glance, it may seem like this could be a distraction from doing things that are more focused on “staying in the Word” or “doing things for the body”, but I wanted to take this time and study to show what our minds should be when we encounter what we need to take action on in regards to what the Lord has inspired or caused in our lives.

When I set out to finish my college education, I decided to pursue finishing my bachelor’s degree. I kept being prodded (which is the best way to describe it) with things I was seeing or hearing in my life. Work situations, conversations, radio commercials and a slew of other things kept coming up that finally led me into making a phone call to see what steps needed to be taken in order to achieve this mountainous goal.

As with all decisions of this nature, one must count the cost, and in this case it was figurative and literal.

Luk 14:28  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Luk 14:29  Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Luk 14:30  Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Luk 14:31  Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
Luk 14:33  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

The last verse mentioned here is really the focus or topic of what preceded it. Any of us that do not forsake ALL THAT WE HAVE cannot be the Lord’s disciple.

When I used to look at this verse, I saw the situation of not choosing anything over being a Lord’s disciple. While this is partly accurate, it simply is NOT the full picture. It is not full clarity on what is being said. In order to grasp the fullness of this statement, we must have clarity.

When we analyze what it is we have, what do we have? Knowing what we know about the complete sovereignty of the Lord, what is it WE have?

The Truth is that we have NOTHING that was not already given to us by the Lord. He giveth and He taketh away, and I promise you that the Lord knows what it is He is asking us to FORSAKE.

When I say that we need full clarity on what is being said above, the first thing to understand is that we are being told to choose wisely how we decide to PROCEED with whatever we are proceeding with.

In this example, count the cost of what it takes to FULLY build a tower. It isn’t just the foundation we need to consider. It is the labor, excavation, parts, foundation, walls, roof, man-power, tools and times to complete the project.

Likewise, if I am a general and need to fight an opposing army, I need to consider a whole slew of things to know if I can be successful in battle. I must consider morale, strength, numbers of soldiers, types of armaments, terrain, weather, etc., before I can make a full decision on what needs to be done and what can be done.

These bible verses and examples in Luke were preceded with this sentiment:

Luk 14:25  And there went great MULTITUDES with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
Luk 14:26  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:26  ESV “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why is Jesus teaching hate? Why is Jesus teaching us to hate our very family, which we did not choose, or else we cannot be His disciple? Maybe it is something else altogether that we are being told?

Maybe there is a secret message contained here for those that have eyes to see and ears to hear what He is saying to His bride? Yep, that is what is actually happening.

Luk 14:34  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
Luk 14:35  It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Why would Jesus go from telling us to count the cost to talking about salt that has lost its savour? Indeed, if salt loses its flavor what can flavor salt? It becomes USELESS for its purpose, and that is the crux of these verses and this study.

The Lord wants us to drop the “we” and “me” that makes us up, and join the mind of the “I am”. More on that point later.

What is being talked about here is processing the information in front of us and making an educated decision on how to proceed based on our biblical training. Contrary to popular belief, the bible does not cover all topics we deal with in our lives. Some topics are directly covered, but most biblical things are talked about to TRAIN us on HOW TO THINK spiritually.

In the bible the Lord is giving us instructions on how to be. We are being given directions on how to live. We are given directions on how to proceed in life, but if we are blinded by the things that we call “we” or “me” we can not SEE what all the moving parts of a situation are in order to make a decision about what to do.

If we are blinded by “me” or “we”, then we cannot possibly consider all of the variables to any complex issue so that we can make proper and informed decisions.

Is not this what Jesus is talking about?

“And whosoever doth not bear HIS CROSS, and COME AFTER ME, cannot be my disciple”, are two very powerful directions and directives, and they contain so much instruction because they are so simple. Who would have thought that Jesus follows the K.I.S.S method? (Keep it simple stupid)

Awhile ago, one of the disciples had a request for Jesus that went something like this:

Mat 8:21  And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Mat 8:22  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Jesus just told this person to simple FOLLOW Him, and this disciple would be among the living. The disciple didn’t simply ask Jesus permission to bury his father.

The disciple asked Jesus to SUFFER HIM FIRST to put something BEFORE following Christ. Jesus says FOLLOW, but this disciple said I want to be BEFORE YOU. I want to go do something important to me first, I want to get my ducks in a row, I want to make sure I have everything covered, and THEN I will follow you.

However, Jesus tells us to have a different mindset than this disciple. Our mindset is to be that whatever cross we have been given in our lives, we must BEAR it AND follow Jesus. We cannot put it BEFORE Jesus. We cannot LEAD Jesus to the cross, we must follow Him to the cross while BEARING the cross He has given us. We certainly cannot use is as an excuse to NOT follow Jesus in the way He says to follow Him. He GAVE us that CROSS and He knows what that BURDEN is all about!

So, let’s talk about this a bit practically now. I started this study mentioning the decision to go back to school. Other than my own aspirations to finish something I had started, I had felt like I was being prodded to go back to school.

My own aspirations were to finish schooling because when I made my first attempts I was doing fine, and then my younger brother was shot and killed when I was 20 and he was 16.

I was in school, having been really poor, to help myself and my 2 brothers out of poverty, and then the death of my brother happened and that threw a big wrench in my plans.

However, that didn’t take away the desire to finish eventually. For a long time, I simply didn’t think it would happen, but then one day I heard yet another radio advertisement about returning to school, and I made a phone call.

I have learned a long while back that we need to do a lot more listening than we do talking. This is even more true when it comes to spiritual ears. When we are being given some sort of spiritual guidance on things we are going through in our lives, we need to be paying attention to those signs.

In other words, we need to be aware of the times we are in. We may not be given that flaming bush example that Moses was given, but if we are still and silent mentally, then we can be listening for the instructions that Lord is giving us.

Once I decided to go back to school, I finished my bachelors in network administration, but given the situation I found my family in, it looked like a masters could be achieved too. This was an unexpected development, but it felt right to move forward. Now I sit here with both degrees, and there is simply only ONE reason why.

The Lord had predestinated that it happen this way. I simply bore the cross He has given me to bare in this part of my walk BEHIND Him as I follow Him, but there are MANY details that make up this experience and what it took to get here.

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
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.

We are accepted in the beloved. We are the body of Christ. We have obtained an inheritance because we have been predestinated according to His purpose and His will.

Therefore, the rest of this study is going to help us all bring into focus what it means to follow the Lord while bearing the cross He has given each of us individually.

Whenever we have decisions to make in our lives, or aspirations to decide on doing or not, we must ask ourselves what the goals and reasons are behind those things.

“Big” decisions we make are rarely the large decisions we tackle like deciding to go to college or back to college. Rather, we all make decisions everyday about everything that is happening that day and in the near future. How then do we count the cost in all things we do while also bearing our cross as we do it?

After all, we are not just simply doing things to do them, no matter what those “things” are, right?

There are things the Lord has placed in our lives that keep us from moving forward in the way we would like to move forward, or on the other side of the coin, that help us move forward depending on what the will of God is.

Recognizing these differences is “recognizing the times”, or in other words, recognizing the visitation of the Lord in your very presence.

First, we must recognize the hindrances that our lives are made up of. Those hindrances have been placed in your life by the Lord to not only hinder you but to get you to THINK. These things are put in your life to GUIDE you, but they certainly are not always pleasant.

We are the children of the Lord, therefore He is teaching us and training us up in the WAY we must go. Remember, He is the Way, Truth and Life.

Pro 22:6  Train upH2614 a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
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“Train up” literally means to dedicate or dedicated. Dedicate a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Here are some references and various examples of how the Lord would have us live our lives by recognizing how to participate in spiritual warfare in our heavens.

  • Our flesh will hinder us by always appealing to us to do the opposite of what is spiritual. Our “flesh” is most often times focused on its senses.
    1. Touch, taste, smell, hearing and seeing are things that pull at our flesh.

If we have something pulling at our flesh, it will most often distract us from what our goals are in our lives.

  • Refusal to acknowledge the situation we are in versus one we prefer to be in.
    1. Maybe the Lord has placed someone in our lives that we don’t like. This could be a family member, peer at work, etc. We just want to be away from them, but the Lord has placed them in our lives for “some” reason.
    2. Maybe we don’t want to drive in the rain, but we must drive in the rain to get to work. Maybe you like to drive faster, but the darn traffic is so backed up.
  • Non-motivation. This can take many forms including depression.
    1. Maybe we are just always tired because we stay up too late.
    2. Maybe we find it hard to make efforts towards anything productive.
    3. Lasciviousness.
    4. Simple laziness.

We have to find ways to get out of these holes we find ourselves in. These solutions or ways vary, but they are things that do have various solutions. Sometimes we have to lean on others for support in these areas. Above all, we must pray and never lose faith that the Lord is in control.

  • Being unsettled in your resolve or mind.
    1. Worrying about the future.
    2. Focusing too much on the past when nothing can change it.
    3. Judging future outcomes based on past results

These stop us from have clarity of mind and cloudy our judgments.

  • Mindset of a skeptic. This can lead to in-decisiveness.
    1. Can I do this?
    2. Is this the right decision?
    3. What If’s?
    4. What will others think?
    5. What will others say?

How to we wage war against the things mentioned above if it is the Lord Himself that has placed in them in our lives?

First, we must realize that this is for TRAINING. We are being SCHOOLED right now. This is why I am using my recent educational experience as the backbone of this study. We are being trained as school children in the kingdom of God, and the best teacher is experience.

Therefore, the Lord is giving us experiences so we can become experts in dealing with them and then teaching others how to move on towards perfection in their spiritual lives. This is all a process, and while we never gain perfection in this life, we are moving towards it day by day.

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

The Lord will not put more on us than we can bear.

1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

We need to do things ahead of time that will help us when the time comes that we need them. This is all of course with the sole focus that the Lord is in control.

However, as a practical example, and that is all this is right now, I have a bill to pay. I know that bill is coming. I get up every day and go to work because I need to earn money to pay that bill.

I achieve this by first planning to pay the bill. In the planning, I get a job, and then I execute the process of keeping that job. In none of this example, did I deny the Lord or His sovereignty.

I simply acknowledged it by doing the things ahead of time that needed to be done to pay my bill.

I also didn’t cross a bridge until a bridge was presented to me. I didn’t make up scenarios to then debate on how to deal with them. I simply planned to pay my bill and acted according to what the Lord was doing on my life to allow me to execute that plan.

Obviously, the Lord could take my job away and I couldn’t pay my bills, but I PLANNED to pay my bill and that is where my focus was. If my job is gone, I am back to step one of finding a job, but my GOAL is always the same … pay the bill.

The steps to deal with all of the decisions in our lives tend to be the same whether or not the decision is a “big” decision or a small decision from our perspective.

Mat 16:1  The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
Mat 16:2  He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
Mat 16:3  And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Mat 16:4  A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

Recognize the times. Recognize what state of mind you find yourself in and evaluate if you have the mind of Christ or if you are focused on “me” or “we”.

Accept the situation you are in and determine how you can better that situation if that is the goal. We cannot change the things the Lord has ordained in our lives, but we can decide on how to act and react to those things. The Lord tells us He gives us His mind, and I believe Him, so let us reflect that mind when acting and reacting.

Investigate the “whys” and “hows” of what is happening. Investigate your spiritual state of mind, and ask questions of why you reacted the way you did, how were you thinking when something happened? What are the consequences of reaping what I sow if I remain in that state of mind?

We all know the Lord is the author of all things. Therefore, we can and must pray to Him for guidance on how to proceed, but we can also take actions to see if the Lord blesses us on what we need to do.

I titled this study “The Power of the I Am” because I wanted to bring to focus the power we possess when we have a direct connection to the Head of all creation. We have been FAVORED, not because of anything we have done or said, but because it pleased the Lord to do so, to be the body of Christ.

Therefore, the Lord will guide and direct us if we simply take “we” and “me” out of the equation and focus on the “I am” of who we are. I am not my flesh. I am not my carnal mind. I am not my current emotional state. I can see these things about myself, but they are not who I am. I am a part of the “I AM”. In very nature of claiming it, you cannot even separate that FACT that you have to say who you are.

I am a part of I AM. Let that sink in for a minute.

Joh 10:34  Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
Joh 10:35  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

We are connected with the One who sends us all of our training. Our training is a collection of all of our life experiences and situations, both past, present and future. However, that is a collection of these things for ALL of the body of Christ, and we are all meant to be in this together.

Therefore, I hope this study will help us all focus on whatever it is that hinders us and then allow us to all better handle the things the Lord puts us through. I am hoping some of the steps mentioned here will help us all identify things better so that we can deal with them better.

I have used these methods myself, and having a process in place to deal with things is much easier and better than doing things in the dark.

]]> Is Christ the Yahweh of the Old Testament? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/is-christ-the-yahweh-of-the-old-testament/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-christ-the-yahweh-of-the-old-testament Tue, 01 Sep 2015 17:35:25 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=10094

Mike,

Please note that I have listened to both videos which include my responses to both. I just wanted to share it with you. Here are the two videos in the order that I recently listened to them. I understand what he is trying to say, and I strongly disagree with much of what he is saying. Please listen to both of his videos.

Thanks,

B____

Hi B____

Thanks for sharing this with me. I listened to both videos, and it is obvious that this man’s idol of his heart (Eze 14:1-9) is the doctrine that Jesus did not exist before coming to this earth as the seed of David. I have encountered this doctrine in a Concordant minister, who broke with the Concordant teaching to teach this false doctrine.

Regardless of how many times I would show that Concordant minister the scriptures where Christ says “before Abraham was, I am”, that Concordant minister, just like the man making these videos, would always say it was all just in God’s mind. Christ, he would always affirm, did not really exist before coming in the flesh. He was just in God’s mind before that time.

God does in fact know us all before we were born:

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

Does the fact that God knows us all before we are born mean that Christ did not preexist? Absolutely not, because if foreknowledge was all that is involved then there would be no exceptions, and Christ would be just as us and this man’s false doctrine would be true. The only thing wrong with that doctrine is that there is one exception to the fact that no one in the flesh knew God before being created in a clay vessel, a body of flesh and blood, and that one exception is Christ:

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.

Here we have Christ’s own testimony that He and He alone had “come down from heaven” to be placed into this death realm to die for the sins of the world. That is what His Father sent Him down here to do, as Christ explains just four verses later:

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

Those words apply to no other human who has ever or will ever live, simply because no other human preexisted even though God did indeed know us all “in His mind” (Psa 139:16 ASV)

This is why we are told that Christ had to “empty Himself” of His spirit body to come down and dwell with and experience death with us:

Php 2:6  who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God something to seize and hold. 
Php 2:7  But he emptied himself, having taken a form of a bondman, having become in a likeness of men.  (ACV)

Christ went to great lengths to tell us that He, and He alone, preexisted. Here are but a couple of very clear examples, which we will mention again later in this discussion:

Joh 6:62  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

The maker of these videos will not admit that there is “one God the Father” and besides this “one God the Father” there is also Christ His “Son”, which “Son” is also called “the mighty God”:

Isa 9:6  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, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

These are all titles bestowed upon Christ by His Father. But none of these titles, which are given to Christ as He relates to us on this earth, mean that the Father has forfeited the power of His throne as “the one God, the Father”. This is all revealed to us in type in the story of Joseph being given power over all of Egypt, Egypt being the Biblical type of this world:

Gen 41:39  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: 
Gen 41:40  Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. 
Gen 41:41  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 

The “one God, the Father” has set Christ “over all the [world]”, and “only in the throne” is He greater than Christ “for it pleased the Father [that] in all things [Christ] should be given the preeminence”:

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 
Col 1:17  And he [Christ] is before all things, and by him [Christ] all things consist. 
Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 
Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 

“Of… one God, the Father… by… one Lord Jesus Christ”. That is how the “one God the Father” wants us to see Him as He relates to His preexistent Son “by whom all things consist”. It is all so simply because “it pleased the Father that in [Christ] should all fulness dwell”.

This doctrine of Christ which teaches He is God is taken out of Psalm 82:6, and it was Jesus’ own defense for calling Himself the son of God:

Psa 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

Joh 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Joh 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
Joh 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
Joh 10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world,Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

In every case in the New Testament where the word ‘god’ appears, whether it is capitalized or not, it is the Greek word ‘theos’, as the maker of these videos tells us. So the simple question is: will we agree with Christ that “[we] are gods, and will we agree with Christ that Jesus is God, as our Lord here declares?”

While we agree that Christ is not the ultimate God, the “one God, the Father” of 1Corinthians 6:8, we cannot agree with this man that the word ‘God’ is not applicable to Christ, and we certainly cannot agree with this man that Christ was not the Yahweh, the ‘I am’, of the Old Testament. This man makes the same mistake of turning the words ‘I Am’ into “the self-existing one”. Yahweh does not mean ‘self-existing’. Yahweh means ‘I Am’, and ‘I Am’ does not mean ‘I always have been’. Attempting to make ‘I Am’ into ‘I am self-existent’ is a straw tiger this man has bought into so he can deny that Christ preexisted. Preexistence is not self-existence, as he wants to make it appear.

I found it incredible that the man in these videos actually quoted Colossians 1 and again dismisses it all as being in God’s mind:

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: [in God’s mind???]
Col 1:16 For by him [in God’s mind???] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were [in God’s mind???] created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is [in God’s mind???] before all things, and by him [in God’s mind???] all things consist.

I will give you two sections of scripture I did not hear him mention:

Php 2:6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God something to seize and hold.
Php 2:7 But he emptied himself, having taken a form of a bondman, having become in a likeness of men.
Php 2:8 And having been found in a form like a man, he lowered himself, having become obedient until death, even of death from a cross. (ACV)

KJV says “made Himself of no reputation”, but all the literal translations, and even the ACV gets it right. Christ “emptied Himself” of His body of spirit, and He “lowered Himself” to come into this death realm.

Another section of scripture He did not mention was:

Joh 17:5  And now, Father, glorify thou me with thyself with the glory that I had with thee before the world was. [What? Only in God’s mind??? That is what this man will probably say.]

If Christ is not Yahweh, why then did He tells us:

Joh 5:37  And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. 

Jacob saw and heard and wrestled all night with Yahweh:

Gen 32:30  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 

Moses spoke with Yahweh many times, and he, along with seventy of the elders of Israel, saw Yahweh’s shape:

Exo 24:1  And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD [Yahweh], thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. 

Exo 24:9  Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 
Exo 24:10  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

Several other people also saw and spoke with Yahweh, and here in the New Testament Christ tells us no man ever heard the voice of or ever saw the shape of the Father. The only thing we can draw from that is that Christ Himself was the Yahweh, the LORD of the Old Testament.

If Christ did not preexist, then why is He telling us He “came down from heaven” and that His disciples will see him “ascend… where He was before”?

Joh 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
Joh 6:59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
Joh 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
Joh 6:61 When Jesus knew in himselfnbsp;that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
Joh 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

I heard none of this on either of those videos. I feel certain that I am preaching to the choir, but it doesn’t hurt to have these things repeated.

Let me know what you think.

Your fellow soldier who wants desperately to know God and Jesus Christ who the one God, the Father has sent:

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 
Joh 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 
Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 

Mike

]]> Job 15:1-12- “Have You Heard the Secret of God?” https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/job_15_1_12/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=job_15_1_12 Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:52:46 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=3136 Audio Links

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Study Aired April 1, 2012

Job 15:1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
Job 15:2 Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
Job 15:3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?
Job 15:4 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.
Job 15:5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
Job 15:6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.
Job 15:7 Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?
Job 15:8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
Job 15:9 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?
Job 15:10 With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.
Job 15:11 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?
Job 15:12 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,
Job 15:13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?
Introduction

Eliphaz asks Job, “Have you heard the secret of God?” The Jews sought to stone Christ because Christ said that God was His Father’s Son. There is nothing that will make you more hated by more people than for you or me to say that we know God and we know the voice of the True shepherd and we know the Truth. Is it really possible to know the Truth, the voice of the True Shepherd, and thereby know God?
According to the mother of the orthodox Christian world, Pharisaical Judaism, and according to the orthodox Christian world, it is not possible to know that you know the Truth. But what do the scriptures themselves teach us concerning this question “Do you know the secret of God?”
Here are Christ’s own words in answer to this question:

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 8:55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

In his first epistle, the apostle John is not shy about telling us that he too, knew the Truth and was able to ‘try the spirits’ to see whether they were of God and His Truth:

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

All who have the spirit of Christ within them will automatically “try the spirits to see whether they are of God” because all who have the spirit of Christ living within them will know His ‘voice’, His words, and will have no problem “knowing the spirit of truth and the spirit of error”. Such confidence they have that they will have no hesitation saying with the apostle John:

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.

Christ and His words are the standard for what is and what is not 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.

Christ did not say, ‘I know the Truth.” He said “I AM… the truth”. Now if you and I claim that we know Christ, then we are saying we “know the Truth” and have been set free by that Truth, which is Christ within us. If we deny that we know the Truth, or if we say with the whole world that it is impossible to know the Truth, we will be denying Christ and saying with Peter “I know not the man”.

Mat 26:74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

Like Peter, we all live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. At our own appointed time, we all deny our Lord. By condemning God, Job in type, is denying Christ, even though he has never heard of Jesus Christ. What is the automatic result of denying Christ?

Mat 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

When we say we do not and we cannot know the Truth, we are admitting that we do not know Christ or His Father and that we do not therefore have life eternal:

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

Such an ambivalent, fearful spirit will always lead us all in time to the ‘fire’ which will burn that timidity out of us. Peter, as a type of us all, felt those flames burning up the “wood, hay, and stubble” that was still in him the night he said he did not know the Man who told us “I am the… Truth”. Here is where saying we do not know the Truth will lead us all:

Mat 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Christ, who is the Truth, has promised this to all who would be His disciple and who would walk in His steps :

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

Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19 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.
Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

Nothing will bring persecution and hatred upon a disciple of Christ quicker than for that disciple to affirm that he knows God and His Son, that he knows the secret of God, and that he is able to try the spirits to see whether they are of God and whether their words are the words of the true shepherd. Here is why they do so. The reason why is right here in the very next verse:

Joh 15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

Those who “know not” God will always tell you that you cannot know God or the Truth of His Word. This is made so clear as we see how both Job and his friends confess that they do not know the secret of God. The thought that one might think he knows more than any of the others will bring the wrath of all down upon the one who thinks he knows the truth or “the secret of God”. Bildad speaks for them all when he says:

Job 8:9 (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)

This 15th chapter is the second time we have heard from Eliphaz. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar have all had their turn attempting to show Job that he is a sinner who is obviously a worse sinner then they are. After all, it is Job who is suffering, and it is reasoned that God afflicts only sinners.
Even the disciples of Christ were of that same judgmental spirit.

Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

The disciples of Christ, are also types of us while we believe the doctrines of Babylon, because Babylon teaches us that mankind responsible for his own sins.
So both Job and his ‘friends’ who think so little of him are types of us as we compare ourselves among ourselves in the wilderness of Babylon.

2Co 10:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

“Comparing ourselves among ourselves is not wise”, and yet that is exactly what we find ourselves doing through the types and shadows of Job and his friends. Instead of asking, “What is ideal according to scripture”, Job and his friends keep telling each other “I’m just as well informed or more so than you”. There is absolutely no edification for either side in such childish comparisons, nevertheless, this is who we are while we are dividing Christ and comparing ourselves among ourselves as Babylonian denominations of men do.
Look at how childish we appear:

Eliphaz:
Job 4:6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
Job 4:7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
Job 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. [ Job]

Bildad:
Job 8:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
Job 8:2 How long wilt thou speak these things? [ Job] and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?
Zophar:
Job 11:1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Job 11:2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should [ Job] a man full of talk be justified?
Job 11:3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
Job 11:4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
Job 11:5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;

What is Job’s answer to these three men?

Job 12:2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
Job 12:3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

That 12th chapter is what we say to those who dare accuse us, when we know we are very righteous, Babylonians who have done “many wonderful works…”

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

This is the second time Eliphaz tries to convince Job and all of us, that misfortune falls only upon those who commit particularly egregious sins. His target is Job of course. Eliphaz, who is showing us more about ourselves in this situation, is much more direct and aggressive in his attack upon Job’s assumed sins in this second time around. With absolutely no evidence of any particular wrongdoing on Job’s part, this is what Eliphaz has to say to ‘comfort’ his friend Job:

Job 15:1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
Job 15:2 Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
Job 15:3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?
Job 15:4 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.

Eliphaz does not call Job’s words in his own defense ‘lies’. What he does call them is “vain knowledge”. It is interesting that the Hebrew word translated ‘vain’ is ‘ruach’. This word appears 378 times in 348 verses. Of those 378 entries it is most commonly translated as ‘spirit’. It is so translated in the King Jas 227 times, according to e- sword’s King James Concordance.
The next most common translation is the English word ‘breath’, 27 times, and the word ‘winds’ 11 times, ‘mind’ 6 times, ‘side’ 5 times, ‘spirits’ 5 times, ‘blast’ 4 times, and ‘vain’ only two times. It is translated as ‘air, anger, cool, courage, quarters, sides, spiritual, tempest, whirlwind, [ and] windy’ all one time each.
Job, in the spirit of Babylon he portrays in us, throws this very thought back at Eliphaz in the next chapter:

Job 16:3 Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?

In that one sense, it becomes clear that none of these men nor Job at this point have any use for spiritual words. Notice how this Hebrew word ‘ruach’ is used in these verses of Ezekiel 11:

Eze 11:1 Moreover the spirit [ Hebrew – ruach] lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD’S house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
Eze 11:2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
Eze 11:3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
Eze 11:4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
Eze 11:5 And the Spirit [ Hebrew – ruach] of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind [ Hebrew – ruach], every one of them.

How does God “know the things that come into your mind” and mine and the minds of all men of all time? Here is how God does that:

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

Our very thoughts are given to us “from the Lord”, via the ‘ruach’ the Lords sends upon us. For example:

1Sa 18:10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand.
1Sa 18:11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.

Why did King Saul seek to kill David?

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Pro 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

The hearts of Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, are also “in the hand of the Lord”. All these men are the types and shadows of how our own lives are “in the hand of the Lord”, and are being ‘worked’ by Christ Himself “after the counsel of His own will”.
So it is the Lord who through an evil spirit which has no compassion for Job’s wretched condition, takes Job’s humiliation as an opportunity to castigate him with these words…:

Job 15:4 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.

… and it is true. We cannot pray to God while we are in the process of ‘contending with, reproving and condemning’ our own Creator.

Job 15:5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
Job 15:6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.

There are many things in life which are true, but not every truth must be uttered before the whole world at all times. When we see our brothers and sisters in Christ in severe straits, or our brothers and sisters who are not in Christ who are suffering severely, the best thing you and I can do at that moment is to simply commiserate with them as we would have them do with us under such circumstances.
God Himself agrees with Eliphaz. His own words condemn him. Job is all of us:

Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Neither Eliphaz nor we are God, and even if our suffering friends are condemning their Creator, it is not necessarily our place to condemn our suffering friends. There is a time to ‘place our hands upon our mouths’ and simply commiserate with our suffering friends. It is words which are “fitly spoken” which are “as apples of God in pictures of silver”.

Pro 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

Nothing is more harmful than the truth when it is being abused and misused by all of us at our own appointed time. If Peter’s sword represents the word of God, just look at how he was abusing that ‘word’:

Joh 18:10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
Joh 18:11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Peter, too, typifies us all while we know of Christ but do not yet truly know the fellowship of His sufferings.

Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

While we are following Christ and are “yet carnal” (1Co 3:1-4), we all tend to cut off ears with the sword of Christ’s word. That is who we are as Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.
Eliphaz continues his assault on poor suffering Job:

Job 15:7 Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?
Job 15:8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
Job 15:9 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?
Job 15:10 With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.

So now we can add these barbs by Eliphaz to our list of carnal comparisons of men with men. Let’s notice now how important it is to all of us that no one else knows more than we know. Let’s look again at just how childish we all are at this stage of our walk:

Eliphaz:
Job 4:6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
Job 4:7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
Job 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. [ Job]

Bildad:
Job 8:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
Job 8:2 How long wilt thou speak these things? [ Job] and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?
Zophar:
Job 11:1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Job 11:2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk [ Job] be justified?
Job 11:3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
Job 11:4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
Job 11:5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;

Job’s answer to these three men is of the same self righteous spirit which keeps them from acting out of love for and commiserating with suffering Job. He tells them sarcastically:

Job 12:2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
Job 12:3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
Job 13:1 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.
Job 13:2 What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.

This is the childish fruit of the doctrine of ‘free moral agency’ hidden within a watered down confession of God’s sovereignty, which really does nothing less than deny that God is sovereign over the evils of our ‘free moral agency’. Remember Job and his friends are us as we “look behind us” to see the voice which is revealing all of this to us.

Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

The very thought of someone knowing more than we know is an affront to our self righteous pride:

Job 15:8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
Job 15:9 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?
Job 15:10 With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.

Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar loath the very idea that Job might think that he knows more about God than they know. Job had been more highly regarded than they before his destruction:

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Job 1:2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
Job 1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Job feels the same toward them. What this reveals about us all is that if you or I say we know God and His son, or that we know Christ’s voice and His thought processes, then “Ye shall/ br />

Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

This world does not know God. They will tell you straight faced that you cannot know the Truth, and if you say you can and that you do then the world and its leaders will want you dead.
So have we “heard the secret of God”? Has that secret been revealed to you and me, but hidden from the multitudes who claim to be believers in Christ? What is the truth concerning this question posed by Eliphaz?

Job 15:8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?

What do the scriptures teach us concerning this question?

Mat 13:9 Who hath [ been given, verse 16] ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Rom 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
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:
1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

But Bildad, as the world within us, tells us that we know nothing and cannot know the truth:

Job 8:9 (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)

Eliphaz agrees telling Job that there are those with them who are older than Job’s father:

Job 15:9 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?
Job 15:10 With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.

But length of days does not equate to spiritual wisdom or having the mind of God. The scriptures actually tell us that God has revealed his secret to babes, and has kept it hidden from the wise of this world.

Mat 21:16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and suckling s thou hast perfected praise?

Contrary to how Eliphaz thinks, this is what the scriptures teach about those who seem to be so prominent in this world:

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:
1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

That is what the scriptures reveal concerning what is given to God’s elect in answer to Eliphaz’s question:

Job 15:8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?

So the answer to Eliphaz is Yes, we have “heard the secret of God”, and while we have not “restrained wisdom to ourselves… we [ do] speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory“.

Job 15:11 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?
Job 15:12 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,
Job 15:13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?

“Are the consolations of God small with thee?” Eliphaz apparently thinks that his words, and the words of Bildad and Zophar, falsely accusing Job of imagined sins, is God’s words of consolation for Job. Yes, it is true that Job is just as carnal at this point as any of his “miserable comforters”. but this whole discourse has served to demonstrate that mankind, you and I, resent anyone who has been given favor by God to know “any secret thing.”
It was Able’s good standing with God that cost him his life, and the same murderous spirit was barely restrained by twenty pieces of silver, to sell Joseph instead of killing him, simply because his father loved him more than any of his other children:

Gen 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

“When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him”.
That is the spirit that is being displayed in all of these men, including Job, himself, who insists that he is as knowledgeable and anyone, and is inferior in knowledge to no one, even as he condemns his Maker. This is the spirit that was in the Jews and the Pharisees in Christ’s day, and this is the spirit with which God’s elect always have and always will be living if ever they dare to proclaim that they “know the Truth”:

Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Joh 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Joh 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Conclusion

So there is a reason why Christ has fairly warned all who will follow Him:

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

It is the claim of simply knowing Christ and His Father, of knowing what is and what is not Truth, that will cause this world to want to stone us:

Joh 10:23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.
Joh 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Joh 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will hear a little more of Eliphaz as he “comforts” his friend, Job.

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

]]> Abraham Rejoice to See Christ’s Day? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/abraham-rejoice-to-see-christs-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=abraham-rejoice-to-see-christs-day Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:33:06 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=1217

Hi M____,

Thank you for your question. You ask how Abraham could rejoice to see Christ’s day when Abraham is dead in the grave?

The first thing to notice is that Christ did not say ‘Abraham is rejoicing’. He said, “Abraham rejoiced to see my day.” Notice also that Christ said this right after saying, “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.”

Joh 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
Joh 8:52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
Joh 8:53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
Joh 8:54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
Joh 8:55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Joh 8:57  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Joh 8:58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Joh 8:59  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

“I Am” is the name of the God of the Old Testament. Christ is I Am, and therefore He knew Abraham intimately. He knew Abraham would rejoice to see what He would do when He came in the flesh.

Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Now you and I could do what these “Jews which believed on Christ” (vs 30-31) did and call Christ a liar for saying that He is ‘I Am’ and that anyone who kept His saying would never see death. After all, Christ Himself died, and all of His apostles are dead. Nevertheless, just as Abraham saw Christ’s day and rejoiced in it, in the same spiritual manner, those who keep Christ’s sayings will never see death for this reason.

Luk 20:37  Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Luk 20:38  For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

That is why physical ‘death’ is referred to as sleep throughout the New Testament.

Joh 11:11  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

So yes, Abraham is physically dead, but he is alive to God, and just as Jesus rejoiced to see what He would be doing in His apostles and in all of His saints down through the generations. What He is now doing in you and in me, long before you and I were born, so too, in that same manner of faith, Abraham rejoiced to know that Christ would come to save all men and to make His seed “as the sand of the sea”.

Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

As Heb 11 also points out, Abraham died having the faith that someday he would see Christ.

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

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

Heb 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

I hope this all helps you to see how Abraham, “the father of the faithful”, was able to “see Christ’s day and rejoice in it” while he was yet alive, long before Christ came into this world. I hope it also helps you to see that Christ was the God of the Old Testament, and knew Abraham much better than Abraham knew himself.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

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