Voice of God

Aug

2010

The Prostitute Will Enter First

“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. ‘Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus *said to them, ‘Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.’” (Mat 21:28-31 NASB)

Journal,

In this entry I want to follow two closely related tracks. One will concern itself with those who have a self-righteous religious attitude. The other track will address the Church that Jesus established, that is, the church made up of prostitutes and tax collectors. The tracks will run together.

To appreciate what Jesus had to say about prostitutes and tax collectors entering the kingdom of God before the religious authorities of that hour, we need a bit of background. The day prior, Jesus ran the money changers out of the temple area. When He returned to the temple the following day, He was confronted by the authorities:

“…the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.'” (Mat 21:23-24 NASB)

When Jesus asked them if the baptism of John was from heaven or from men, it caught

them completely off guard. They were unable to respond. The crowds saw John as a prophet, and were being drawn to Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. They were calling Him, ‘Son of David.’ (This term had regard to the promised Messiah.)

The religious leaders refused to answer. Thereby Jesus refused to tell them where His authority came from. It is at this point that the Lord gives the parable of the two sons.

It is how Jesus ends this parable that is so interesting. He simply says that the prostitutes and tax collectors would enter the kingdom of God, ahead of these Jewish leaders?

Think about it. The Lord was in the temple complex speaking to the recognized leaders of world Judaism. Included in this group would be those who would have Him crucified.

Yes, you guessed it. Religion crucified Jesus.

The gospel of the prostitute

But why did Jesus draw attention to prostitutes and tax collectors? After all they were considered the very dregs of Jewish society, the very worst of sinners. For one reason they were utterly detested especially by the Pharisees. And so you have the dregs of society versus the high and mighty. You have those who know they are sinners, and you have the religious bigots, the very epitome of the self righteous, those who look down their noses at everyone not of their sort.

Yet it is in the prostitutes and tax collectors that we see the true gospel story.

Strangely enough the verity of ‘the prostitutes entering first’ can be seen of a sorts in Biblical form. In the very genealogy of Jesus Christ, only four women are recorded. Three of the four women were non-Hebrew in ancestry; Tamar the Canaanite, Rahab the Canaanite, and Ruth the Moabite. Two had prostitution written in their lives, Tamar and Rahab. One was an adulteress, Bathsheba. (Bathsheba was the only Hebrew of the four. She was from the tribe of Judah.)

All four of these women were in the direct lineage of Jesus Christ. Does that tell us anything at all? Why were these the only women recorded? Perhaps it is because in these women we see the very heart of the gospel story and of God’s love for all of humanity.

Here is a brief rundown.

Tamar dressed herself as a temple prostitute in order to deceive Judah. Through Judah would come King David, and thus Messiah. (Story in Genesis 38)

Rahab was a ‘harlot.’ [Hebrew is ‘zanah’ which means to be a harlot or to commit fornication.] The two spies were to sent spy out Jericho. Rahab protected them. She believed in the Lord God of Israel. (Story in Joshua 2)

Ruth’s story is one of the most beautiful in all the Bible. She was a Moabitess. Once again we have a non-Israelite woman preserving the seed of Messiah. (See the book of Ruth.)

Finally we have Bathsheba. She was married to Uriah the Hittite. David paid dearly for his sin of adultry with Bathsheba. And yet this is another of the four women who are written into the genealogy of Jesus.

It is important to understand that this is not an issue of lifting up immoral sexual behavior. If we knew the times well enough, we would know how much the women were at the mercy of the men. A woman was born under complete control of the father. This went to the husband. And as a rule, she received no inheritance from her dead husband. It passed to the sons. The sons were to care for the mother. If she did not have sons, her situation was not good. The sons were the social security system of the time. (There are variations on this, so I’m not being technical.)

Now back to the prostitutes entering the kingdom of God first. What is Jesus speaking to with the story of the two sons. One thing it tells us is that religion in itself can become the very destroyer of faith. Sometimes we exalt our religion to the extent that we’ve become ‘religion worshipers.’ This is what had happened in Israel’s religious establishment.

We say stone her! What do you say?

We see religious blindness in the gospel story of Jesus. When the men wanted to stone a woman caught in adultery, Jesus diverted the attention of the men to their own sins. He spoke nothing but kindness to the frightened woman. Jesus said two things to her that we must never forget. First, He did not allow her to remain under the bondage of condemnation. And secondly, Jesus simply told her to free herself from the sin that she was involved in. He Himself would be her freedom.

The woman at the well is another classic example. This lady had been married five times and was then living with a guy. How did Jesus handle her? He began by helping her process her life. He spoke to her heart. He awakened something in her. Jesus Himself would be her answer.

But notice that the woman has a final argument. It had to do with religion. She said,

“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

There it is. See how our religion can get in the way. All she knew was religion. She had a pain in her heart and couldn’t do anything about it. The Lord took it out of the hands of religion. He said,

“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”

He goes one to say,

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Now we know the primary reason the temple authorities hated Jesus. He was dismantling their power over the people.

Jesus was telling the lady at the well that there wasn’t going to be any more special mountains she needed to go to. There will be no anointed places you need to seek out. There will be no great religious figures you will need to bless you. True worship will be a matter of the heart. It will be as personal as a kiss. (The Greek for worship, proskuneo, literally means ‘to kiss.’ It is a very intimate word. True worship is deeply personal.)

Paul later expounded on this, in saying,

“Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.” (Phil3:2,3)

This brings us full circle back to the high priests, the elders, the prostitutes, and the tax collectors. We need to stop looking at the religions of the world for answers. This includes all the hype you see on the television tube. Jesus is present with every one of His people. He is in their hearts. He is in their mouths. He is in their lives. You see, religion stopped at the cross. It was nailed there in the body of Christ.

What does all this mean? It means the door to heaven has been flung open. The curtain has been ripped. No one can ever again stand between you and the Lord God. There is no prophet that you need to go to. Just listen with your heart. Jesus said,

“I have other sheep also, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one Shepherd.”

Does this do away with the Church? May it never be. It establishes God’s true Church. The Church has never been a building. Christ Himself builds His Church, and He flocks His people as He wills. We just need to find out where we need to be.

Jesus dismantled religion

Did the Lord not say,

“Heaven is my throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me?” (Isa66:1)

Well, God did build a house to contain His glory. He built it out of fallen humanity. The apostle said it well enough;

“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts (this is the glory shining) to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face [exact presence] of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels…” (2Co4:6,7)

The flock of God

So, whence went religion? If the glory is shining in our hearts, why would we need an outward system of symbols and rituals, with vestments and forms, to tell us what God is like? Well, we don’t need any of that. The Messiah of God said,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (Jn10:27,28)

Now another question – What need do we have for flocking together as a Church?

The need is great. God has ordained that each of His people be assigned to a particular flock for their care and safety.

There are hundreds of thousands of gospel believing churches with the same hundreds of thousands of godly pastors who care deeply for their flock. We just need to look to the Lord to place us in our proper flock.

It should go without saying that we aren’t in heaven yet. Nor are we secured from the presence of evil. And so God has decreed that He will meet with every flock, regardless of how tiny it may be, and in these flockings, He will make Himself known in special ways. (This does not preclude the fact that we have the glory in our hearts.)

There is another reason for God flocking His people. The young lambs need a place of security so they can grow properly, and be taught the ways of the Lord, and not have to worry about harassment by wolves. Mature believers are a safe guard against spoilers of the flock.

Paul warned us about them. Wolves are sly. They often try to enter the flocks disguised as sheep. But you can recognize them after a bit. They emit an order that is unpleasant to the sheep. Besides that, wolves are really stuck on themselves. They can’t hide it. On the other hand, sheep are humble creatures and non-threatening.

But even here we need caution. Systems of worship are not necessarily wrong. Neither are they necessarily right. The problem is that God does not deal with us according to our systems of worship. He deals with us one on one on one. He deals with us family by family. He deals with us flock by flock.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that you don’t have to worry about which system is right. None of them are right. The question is whether we are right with the Lord.

I have been a pastor for a long time. My greatest joy is to look at those who have been made part of God’s church. All I can say is…

“Thank you Lord, for every prostitute and every tax collecter. Thank you for all these beautiful people. They were once sickened in sin, but you have glorified Yourself in them. Thank you Jesus.”

Well, I must not leave this entry without a song. Here is the story of the believer’s faith in Jesus Christ. Please take time to listen. The Lord wants to speak to your heart. It is titled, ‘Through It All.’ (By the Booth Brothers)

Much love in Jesus,
Buddy

Aug

2010

Under the Shelter of His Wings…

“May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” Ruth 2:12 nasb – (Boaz to Ruth)

Readers,

Before I venture into the subject, ‘The Shelter of His Wings,‘ for those interested, here is a list of my top journal entries that are presently receiving the largest number of readers:

“Speaking in Other Languages” – http://buddymartin.net/blog/2009/12/speaking-in-other-languages/

“Walking Down Memory Lane” – http://buddymartin.net/blog/2010/08/walking-down-memory-lane-gods-faithfulness/

“Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment” – http://buddymartin.net/blog/2009/11/mercy-triumphs-over-judgment/

“Passing Through the Valley of Baca” – http://buddymartin.net/blog/2010/01/passing-through-the-valley-of-baca/

And now…

Under The Shelter of His Wings

There was a lady who suffered greatly from a female disorder. Hearing about Jesus, she said to herself, “If I only touch His garment¹, I will get well.” (Mt9:21) We don’t often catch what she was really saying. The part of His garment she wanted to touch was the fringe (tassel) of His cloak. (¹The Luke account has krispedon for garment, which literally means ‘fringe’ or ‘tassel.’)

The ancient Jews had a tradition concerning the fringe of the cloak that had to do with God’s Messiah, and of His healing presence. The background for this came from God’s commandment to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.”(Num15:38)

The cord of blue was said to represent the throne of glory, or the heavenly life. Over time these tassels took on the term ‘wings.’ Keep this in mind and you’ll have a bit more insight into those Scriptures that speak of God’s wings and why the lady wanted to touch the garment (tassels) of Jesus.

Listen:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty … He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge.” (Ps91:1,4)

And,

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” (Mal4:2)

Then we hear Jesus say,

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” (Mt23:37)

The language that Jesus uses here speaks to who He really is. The Lord God in the person of His Messiah, walked the land of Israel. The leadership refused Him. Isaiah speaks of Jesus as God Himself:

“Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news [the gospel], lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, [message of the apostles]; lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Here is your God.'” (Isa40:9)

Take time to read this larger prophecy. I’ll break it down by portions for emphasis:

“Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

“He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; thechastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.

“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.

“By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?” (Isa 53:1-8 NASB)

But there were those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

This is why the peoples crowded around Jesus, hoping just to touch the fringes of His garment. Notice how deeply felt this belief was concerning the garment of Messiah.

“Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.” (Mar6:56)

Keep in mind that to the people the blue fringe represented the throne of glory and the heavenly life. The heavenly life was walking among them. They were taught that the Messiah would bring with Him the very life of God.

But a question remains —

Does this idea of the wings of God have any relationship to the sacred Scriptures themselves? Can the heavenly life be found in the Bible? …

Paul said that the Scriptures carry in them the very breath of God. The Bible comes to us from the throne of glory. Therefore it can be said that when we believe the message of God’s Messiah that flows through the Scriptures, that in our believing we actually come under the shelter of His wings.

However, it is important to understand that it isn’t simply the Bible in itself that causes miracles and gives us the answers that we need. It is the heavenly voice that speaks to us from the Scriptures. Make this distinction and you have the true essence of why we love the book of heaven so deeply, and why we can say that the Bible is imbued with the life of Jesus.

Once again let’s hear the prophet…

Is it any wonder why the book of Isaiah is spoken of as the fifth gospel. When Jesus opens the scroll of Isaiah, He begins to read,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Cf. Luke 4:16-22)

What happens next? The people are astonished at what they are hearing. They were wondering at the gracious words that were flowing from His lips. What made the difference in this case? It was Jesus speaking from the Scriptures. The people were hearing a living voice speaking from the book of heaven. It is the voice of heaven that makes the Bible the book of heaven.

Once again listen to the prophet:

“On that day the [spiritually] deaf will hear words of a book [gospel], and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 29:18-19 NASB)

The apostolic writer said that the entire Bible wraps around Jesus as a scroll.

Jesus said to the Jewish leaders,

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” (Jn5:39)

And again,

“Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offerings You have not desired and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure’ … Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (in the scroll [or volume] of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.’” (Heb10:5-7)

The term for ’scroll’ is a reference to the total volume of the book and to the spindle around which the scroll wraps itself. The picture being presented is Jesus as the spindle around which the entire Bible wraps itself.

The blue thread of heaven…

Now back to the lady with the issue of blood. She had been taught that the blue thread in the fringe (tassel) represented the throne of glory and the heavenly life. She saw Jesus as that heavenly life that comes from the throne of God. It was her faith in Jesus as the heavenly life that brought her healing.

It takes awhile for the child of God to understand the principle of how God speaks to us. This is why it is so important for the believer to be in the congregation of God’s holy people. As the man of God speaks from the Scriptures, we began to hear the Lord speaking to our own hearts. It isn’t the man of God who is speaking to us. It is the Lord speaking from the book of heaven. This is what Jesus is speaking of when He said,

“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Mt18:20 – He is present in His Word.)

Is the Bible a living book to you or do you just use it to argue doctrine? Everything rests upon how you view the Scriptures.

These are the hard questions — But there is an issue involved. Do you really know the Lord, or do you simply know some form of religion? What think ye? Is the Bible the book of heaven?

Think about it.

Here is your song by Carmen. (Tell Me the Story of Jesus, I Surrender All, What A Friend We Have in Jesus.)

I love you with the love of Jesus,.

Buddy

Jul

2010

The Divine Rights of Access…

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16 NASB)

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Readers,

It is quite interesting how the religious man attempts to rebuild what God has torn down. Old Testament Judaism with its temple sacrifices and mediatorial priesthood had served a purpose. That purpose ended with the cross. It was replaced by a much greater covenant, the covenant of Christ.

The covenant of Christ is about personal freedom and direct access to the throne of God. It is about our heavenly life in Christ. It is about the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The covenant of Christ is about a new creation where all the former things pass away.

In the new covenant, everything is new. The covenant of Christ is not the covenant of the Law, renovated, revived, reformed, refurbished, or ‘re’ anything. The covenant of Law was made for an earthy people. The covenant of Christ is for a heavenly people.

Listen to what the writer says in his letter to the Hebrews:

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22

For some background on this we need to reach back to the time of Adam.

The Undefiled Conscience

When God created Adam, he was created with no sense of guilt, no consciousness of sin, or of worthlessness, or even of inferiority. Adam was adorned with glory. He was made in the very image and likeness of God. It never once entered Adam’s mind to question his right to the awesome presence of God.

Even the angels knew that Adam was different from them. Actually Adam is the only person in the Bible, aside from Jesus Christ, to ever be called ‘the son of God.’

We see this in Luke as he relates the genealogy of Jesus;

“… the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” (Luk 3:38 NASB)

Of course we know the story. Adam rejected God’s Word and God’s will for himself. From that moment Adam became conscious of the nature of sin. And now the Adam race could only approach the Lord in measured ways.

Such a fall — From glory to earthliness. Adam and Eve lost their glory and found themselves in a culture of sin and death.

The apostle said it well enough;

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Where then is the victory

The judgment of condemnation was removed in Christ. Every person who comes to Jesus, enters the wonderment of a totally new covenant. In this new covenant there is an act of creation. Being born again means to be born from heaven. Believers are now heavenly citizens, actual sons and daughters of God. Yes, we are heavenly citizens in earthly bodies. That will change in due course.

Let’s look more closely at what Hebrews 10:19-22 has to say.

“We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.”

The covenant of Law provided limited access to God. Only priests were permitted to enter the holy place, and only the high priest could enter the holiest of holies once a year. Thus the priests became mediators between the people and God. In the new covenant there is only one mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lose this truth and you place yourself under the bondage of another man made religious system.

The Veil of Separation

The veil in the tabernacle spoke of man’s separation from God. Yet behind the veil was another picture. The mercy seat had two cherubim gazing intently at the center of the lid of the ark of the covenant. This was a picture of the angels in wonderment over the work of the cross.

What happened when Jesus yielded up His spirit on the cross? It says,

“And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:38)

This could only mean one thing. The Adam sin was accounted for. The veil of separation was removed by Jesus Christ.

Listen to Paul:

“So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.” (1Co 15:45-47 NASB)

Did you catch it? The first Adam was made from the earth. The last Adam came from heaven and took to Himself a human body. Jesus Christ took the sin of all humanity upon himself. What is left now is for the world to be reconciled to God.

Condemnation has been removed. Our first estate is returned. We can now walk with God with no sense of guilt, of worthlessness, or of condemnation. We have divine rights to the very presence of our heavenly Father. The apostle said,

“There is therefore now no condemnation (katakrima means a sentence of judgment) for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom8:1,2)

The Romans 8:1 Scripture is emphatic in the Greek. The emphasis is clear; ‘There is not now, nor can there ever be a damnatory sentence against anyone who is in Christ Jesus.’ Why? Because of the law of the cross; ‘For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

Does this mean we have carte blanche to live sinful lives? Far from it. Sin always carries consequences. What it means is that sin is no longer our master.

In addition to our full and completed salvation in Jesus Christ, we are given spiritual expressions and attributes that help us to deal with issues of sin. (A teaching in itself.)

Full Assurance of Faith

Back to our Hebrew Scriptures. What did the writer say? Follow closely —

“Brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.”

The word confidence is a strong word. Parresia speaks of unrestrained freedom to speak openly and directly and boldly with our God. Here we have a hint of Adam in the beginning. Adam could speak with confidence. He was not ashamed of who he was. He was God’s son.

How did we gain this direct access to God?

“By the blood of Jesus.”

How are we to approach God?

“In full assurance of faith.”

Under what conditions do we approach God? It says,

“Having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

This point is stressed throughout the letter of Hebrews. In quoting from the prophet Jeremiah, we hear,

“And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Heb8:11,12)

How does this relate to our personal walk with the Lord.

God removed the haziness of religion to give man the full Light of His Son. People who keep reaching back into the Law of Moses are disinheriting themselves from the liberty and glory of being a very child of God.

Paul said to the Galatian believers,

“Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:6,7)

Too many Christians remained stifled in their spiritual life because they know so little about their true life in Christ. Don’t think of other people as special mediators between you and God. This includes both priest, prophet, and pastor. You have one mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, we should love and respect those who teach us properly in the ways of the Lord. But never to the extent that they alone can hear from the Lord. God is your Father. You have a personal invitation to meet Him at the throne of grace any time you wish.

And so we hear this warning early on in the book of Hebrews:

“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.” (Heb 2:1 NASB)

Have you ever seriously thought on the following Scripture?

“So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.” (1Co 3:21-23 NASB)

How about this one:

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

Here is your song. ‘In Christ Alone’

Always your friend in Christ,

Buddy

Jul

2010

The voice of the blood…

“And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'”

(Rev 19:16 NASB)

Readers,

David often spoke of the Lord as his God and as his King. He also identified the coming Messiah in terms of a King, and also as Lord and God.

Consider just a few statements from David:

“Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (Psa 2:12 NASB) — This Psalm is quoted from by the apostles in Acts 4, with regard to Jesus as the anointed King. —

“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’ The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies.'” (Psa 110:1-2 NASB) — Quoted by Peter with a view to Jesus being exalted to the Father as King —

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows.” (Psa 45:5-7 NASB) — Quoted in the book of Hebrews with regard to the exaltation of Jesus. —

“Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.” (Psa 24:8-10 NASB) — With a view to the second coming of Jesus as the King of glory —

A King is exactly who Jesus is

While we readily acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we must always keep before us that He is a King and has a kingdom. A King is exactly what Jesus is. And in order for a king to rule, he must have a kingdom.

The term kingdom (basileia) in Greek speaks of sovereignty, or power. In an abstract sense it refers to the power exercised by a king. So the kingdom of God refers to God’s direct ruling power. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of great power.

Now we turn to Jesus. Follow carefully the conversation between Pilate and Jesus. In questioning Jesus, Pilate becomes frustrated. His wife had had a dream about Jesus and warned Pilate not to do Him any harm.

Pilate says,

“Are you the King of the Jews?”

Some think that Pilate asked this in jest. I don’t believe this is the case. Pilate is too disturbed to be joking around.

The Lord responds,

“Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”

Pilate is confused. He responds,

“I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”

It is here that Jesus begins to explain His kingdom. Listen carefully;

“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

Jesus says His kingdom is not an arrangement or an adornment to be seen with the eyes. It is not a worldly kingdom.

Then the Lord adds,

‘My kingdom is not of this realm.’

The word ‘enteuthen’ (realm) means His kingdom is not from here, or, on this side.

Pilate responds,

“So You are a king?”

What Jesus says next puts His kingdom rule into its spiritual essence.

“You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (Cf. John 18:33-37)

A kingdom not of this world

Now we come to the crux of the matter. If the kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this world, then His subjects must not be of this world.

The Lord points out that only His subjects are able to hear His voice.

And the Lord says His kingdom is all about truth.

Now we have all the elements that describe the Lord’s kingdom.

(1) His kingdom is not of this world.

(2) His subjects are not of this world.

(3) Only His subjects hear His voice.

(4) His subjects do not fight. (Not in the sense of worldly kingdoms. Their weaponry is not of the flesh.)

(5) His kingdom is about Truth.

What does this tell us up front? It tells us that the kingdom of Jesus Christ cannot be put in religious terms. Religion is what man does. Relationship and reality is what God does for us in Christ.

Hence the dilemma —

If His kingdom is not of this world, and His subjects are not of this world, and only His subjects can hear His voice, and His kingdom is about Truth, and His subjects do not fight, how can we ever expect to recognize His kingdom? How can anyone find it? How can anyone enter into it?

Every born again person knows the answer to this or they would not be born again. The only way to enter into what Paul calls ‘the kingdom of His Beloved Son,’ is to have a personal invitation from the King. And the only way to be born again is to take to yourself Jesus Christ as your own Lord and Savior and King.

Thus we have the gospel message. Many people are not aware of just how powerful the gospel really is. The gospel is an official message from God’s heavenly kingdom and in the gospel is a personal invitation from the King to His kingdom. The gospel carries in it the voice of the King.

I Have a Message from the King

We were on our way to a village in Honduras near the border of Guatemala. As we were nearing the village, I asked the Lord what He wanted me especially say to the people. He placed on my heart to begin my message by saying, ‘I come to you as an ambassador of the kingdom of God, and I have a message for you from the King.’ That was the first thing that came out of my mouth. A stillness settled over the crowded building. I began sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then it happened – An old Indian stood up and began to make his way towards me. Once again I stood amazed at the power of the gospel. The old Indian heard the voice of the King. He was making his way to accept God’s invitation to enter the kingdom of His beloved Son. He was ready to give his heart to Jesus.

This brings us to the blood of the King

To enter into the kingdom of the beloved Son, you must have an invitation. This is the job of the servant of God and of the Holy Spirit. The invitation is sent through God’s servants in the gospel message.

Jesus said,

“And He [the Holy Spirit], when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” (Joh 16:8 NASB)

In the gospel comes God’s invitation to the kingdom of His beloved Son. And here comes the issue of the blood. The blood speaks to the throne of God. First, as a person turns from their former master Satan, and thus receives Jesus Christ as Lord, and Savior, and King, something marvelous takes place in their heart.

Listen very carefully to Peter:

“…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1Pe 1:2-5 NASB)

Every statement that Peter makes is without measure. Let me paraphrase just a bit —

Our salvation is in accordance with God’s divine plan and foreknowledge. The Holy Spirit separates us apart to Jesus. The moment we gazed upon Jesus with our heart, the moment we hear Him calling to us, the moment we respond and acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, Savior, and King, at that very moment the Holy Spirit takes of the divine blood of Jesus, sprinkles it on our heart, and we through this sprinkling become born-from-above people who are not of this world. We become the born-of-the-blood children of God, blood bought, blood sprinkled, blood sealed, and forever under the presence of the blood of the King. This is why Peter said that we are of a royal priestly. (Kingly priests are a family of royalty.) Paul said that the one joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.

What does the blood of the King speak over us? It speaks mercy and grace. You may be concerned with the idea of the blood of Jesus speaking. Listen:

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” (Heb 12:22-24 NASB)

Abel’s blood cried our for vengeance against his brother Cain. The blood of Jesus speaks from the finished work of the cross. It speaks of mercy and truth and grace and forgiveness and love and acceptance.

This is why we sing,

‘What can take away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.’

A invitation of life.

The world has a standing invitation.

John says,

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:11,12)

The word ‘receive’ in Greek, is ‘paralambano.’ It means to take someone to yourself or to your heart. We get the idea from the wedding vow, where the minister says, “Do you, Bill, take Susan to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, etc.”

The minister is asking Bill if he will take Susan to his heart and life in holy union. This is what receiving Jesus means. It is a thing of the heart. It is a thing of union. It does require a confession of faith. It has to be stated. This is why the early Christians were known as, ‘The people of the great confession.’

It is important to understand what John says about believing. Our salvation is not based on some emotional experience. It is based on an open declaration of faith in Jesus Christ. Believing in the Bible is something you do with your heart and nut just with your mind.

John says,

“Even to those who believe in His name.”

The Greek word for believe, that is, ‘pisteuo’, means to put faith in a person, to rely on, to trust in, to adhere to. (It is the Greek word that we get our English word ‘glue’.) To believe in His name means to accept who Jesus really is, that is, to believe in the full message of the gospel, and in His authority. We actually believe into life.

What happens when a person takes to themself Jesus Christ? They are born into the kingdom of God’s Son. Paul says a kingdom transfer takes place;

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” (Col 1:13)

What about the truth part and the voice part?

Well, I’ve covered this quite a bit. The gospel is a message from heaven. It carries all the authority and power that is needed to cause a person to be born again. This is why Paul said,

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
(Word, or rhema, speaks of a living voice.)

The word ‘Truth’ in Greek, speaks of the reality that is behind an appearance. To realize truth is to become fully cognizant of the Person and Presence of Jesus Christ. Jesus said,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.”

When a person is born from above, that birth brings a new spiritual reality into their life. The realness does not go away. It will be there from day, to day, to day.

His voice also speaks of the Lord’s Kingly ministry. The issue of Jesus being our King is very real to a believer. And hearing His voice is also very real. Jesus explained it this way;

“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”

And again,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (Cf. John 10)

Where do we go from here?

How about a song. I always love to finish each of my entries with a special song.

Much love,

Buddy

Jul

2010

The Doctrine of New Covenant Life…

“John testified about Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, “He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.”’ For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” (Joh 1:15-17 NASB)

Readers,

One issue that continues to bother me to this day is when I see so many of God’s people trying to live new covenant Christianity on an old covenant level. This concern especially includes placing faith in so-called modern day prophets. Hopefully I can provide some insight into this issue.

Before I deal directly with the prophecy issue, let me direct attention to the one matter that is crucial to new covenant understanding. It has to do with who Jesus really is and how this applies to Gods new creation. There has never been a covenant like the new covenant. We need to know why.

Paul said that in Christ,

“All the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” (Col2:9)

This expression simply means that Jesus is fully God. The word for fullness is the Greek term ‘pleroma.’ [play’-ro- mah]. It speaks of the fullest measure. Therefore in Christ is the absolute fullest measure of all that God is. Theologians refer to this fullness as, ‘the plenitude of the divine perfections’.

Sure it is a mystery to be understood with the heart but not always fully with the mind. So, while Jesus was and is fully man, He also was and is fully God. To know what God is exactly like, we look to Jesus. Hebrews 1:3, says,

“He [Jesus] is the radiance of His [the Father’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature.”

Now let’s see how this affects new covenant believers. Listen again to John the Baptist:

“This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank that I, for He existed before me.’”

Then the apostle John adds,

“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” (Cf. Jn1:14-18.)

Did you catch it?

The apostle said of His ‘pleroma‘ we have all received.

John is not saying that each of us is a little Jesus. Nor is he saying that we have become gods. John is saying that the full measure of Christ’s Spirit, that is, the full measure of the finished work of the cross now belongs to, and abides in every believer. It is because of this full measure of the cross that grace continues to follow grace in our lives.

The point is that no believer gets just a bit of Jesus and then goes on to another experience to receive a fuller measure. Every believer receives the full measure of the Spirit of Christ the moment of their birth from above. Failure to understand this is the platform for all kinds of ‘never-quite-arriving’ doctrines.

No believer in the new covenant is told to measure up to Christ. We have already received the full measure. We have the ‘plenitude of the divine perfections’ placed on our account. What is left is for believers is to grow up in the wisdom and knowledge Jesus Christ.

Paul said that in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this is what growing up in Christ speaks to. No believer can get more of Jesus that we already have. We have His fullness. Paul said we are to grow up in all aspects into Him. (Cf. Eph4:15)

Someone may ask, “Does this mean that we can do all the things that Jesus did?” The answer is, “Only if you learn to live the way Jesus lived.”

However, that misses the point in what I wish to get across in this journal entry. I realize how easy it would be to twist this out of shape.

So, the next question is simple…

Do you hold the testimony of Jesus—

All of God’s children share in the same full measure of Christ in their lives. There is nothing left over that we must later receive. It is this understanding that becomes the underpinning for a fruitful new covenant walk. And it is this understanding that keeps believers from needing to find a prophet to give them a word from the Lord. (Such as was the case in the former testament.)

In the new covenant there are no prophets of the same order as of the former covenant prophets. The need for that kind of prophet no longer exists. Christ is now resident in the lives of all His people.

Today the heavenly Father speaks to each of His children in His Son. This does not mean that the Lord cannot address us through the speaking of others. He does that often. Yet all of God’s born-from-above children have the same indwelling spirit of Jesus in their hearts. This indwelling even includes a life-flow in our speaking.

There is one Scripture that expressly defines the heart or the very essence of prophecy in the new covenant. When the angel told John not to fall down before him, he told him why;

“Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Jn19:10)

The Greek for testimony is ‘marturia‘ [mar-too-ree’-ah] This word means ‘the evidence given.’ The evidence given is in the heart and in the speaking of all true believers. Paul said that the Spirit testifies to our own spirit that we are children of God. John said that we have the testimony in us. Thus when we are speaking for and about Jesus, our very speaking carries in it the spirit of prophecy.

So do you hold the testimony of Jesus? Jesus describes this idea of the flowing forth of new covenant prophecy:

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” (Or, ‘From his innermost being will flow the spiritual and living testimony of Jesus Himself.’) Cf. Jn7:38,39)

The fact again is that the Holy Spirit enters the heart of the believing person as the spirit of the resurrected, ascended, and glorified Jesus. Thus the finished work of the cross becomes a present reality in our hearts. Our salvation is complete.

Out of the shadow into the Light…

Paul says that we have already been raised up and seated together in Christ in the heavenly places. You cannot get more saved than that.

Which brings us back to the issue of new covenant prophecy — The book of Hebrews begins with,

“God, after that He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He made the world.”

Notice that the Old Testament prophetic ministry is a thing of the past. It is no longer required. We have passed out of the shadow of God into the very reality of a direct experience with the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. We can now hear Jesus for ourselves.

The redemption revelation in the Old Testament came in bits and pieces, by way of the prophets. What they had in part, we now have in fullest measure. The Father no longer speaks to us by way of the Old Testament prophet. He speaks to all His children in and through His Son. Thus we hear Jesus say to unbelievers,

“But you do not believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish.” (Jn10:26-28)

We need to press it a bit further. Paul said in the latter times many would depart from the faith [a full faith one-on-one relationship with Jesus], giving attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of devils. Peter adds,

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies … in their greed they will exploit you with false words…”

This begs a question —

Why would any believer need to depend on someone else for a prophetic word from the Lord, when we all know the Lord Jesus Christ in a personal way? It isn’t that God can’t speak to us through someone else. But if this is what our life is centered on, we are missing the very heart of a new covenant walk.

They will all know Me.

Is Jesus not your personal Lord and Savior? Listen to how the prophet Jeremiah describes the new covenant that was to come. (Note the terms in bold):

“’Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD.

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will put My law [instructions] within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.’” (Jer 31:31-34 NASB)

Now hear it from Ezekiel:

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh [tenderness]. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes … so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” (Cf. Ezek36:25-28)

None of what I have shared precludes the gatherings of God’s people into flocks. The gathering of flocks is first of all a gathering to Jesus. He is always in the midst of the gatherings of His flocks. Actually the Lord has ordained the flocking of His people for the purpose of their own growth, fellowship, and protection.

God spoke through the prophet saying,

“Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.”(Jer 3:15 NASB)

This may sting a bit, but it needs to be said. Those who continually seek out a prophet to give them ‘a word from the Lord’ are still trying to live in the new covenant on an old covenant level. They continue to look for modern day prophets who can go behind the veil and bring to them a word from God. How sad. How little to they realize that they are ignoring their own spiritual heritage from God.

This in itself is not my only concern. My greater concern is with those believers who ‘love it that way.’

Jeremiah gave a warning about this:

“An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?” (Jer 5:30-31 NASB)

Does what Jeremiah warned have any relevance today? Yes. I could share a number of Scriptures. But here is a simple example —

Some time back a person shared with me what took place at an apostle-prophet meeting. The prophets made four or five lines so all the people could get their personal word from the Lord. This person made it their business to go through all five lines. As I listened, I thought, ‘When are you ever going to grow up?’ (Of course the prophecies are always generic. They only become personal when the receiver reads their own thoughts into them.)

What about proper ministry…

Does any of this do away with offices of ministry? Not in the least. The offices of ministry are placed by God, and serve a unique purpose for God’s people. The primary duty of a God-called minister is to help equip the saints for the work of service in God’s kingdom. Paul says,

‘Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature that belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (Cf. Eph4:11-13)

The unity of the faith and to a mature man in Christ relates to all believers realizing their own uniqueness in the family of God. It speaks to every believer coming to the place of being able to allow the life-flow of Jesus. The goal is for each believer to become a conduit of heaven.

But this also calls for a caution. Even when a believer feels he or she has reached a high level of spiritual maturity, no believer should take to himself the idea of being superior to other believers. Even when Paul was forced to defend his apostleship, he carefully spoke to this;

“For if I wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.” (2Co12:6)

Did you catch it? Paul knew that the Lord’s purpose for all believers was for their growth in spirituality, and that every believer was uniquely a child of God. And while he indeed had the calling and the authority of an apostle, Paul also knew that his role was not to call attention to himself, but to call attention to the Lord Jesus. It is in this sense that Paul wanted the people to see the gospel in him, but not to see him as someone special above themselves.

The apostle said,

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves as to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2Co3:5,6)

So, dear believer, we are all to become God’s love letters to a dying world. We are not simply to preach the gospel. We are to become the gospel.

And please listen to me — Stop trying to live your Christian walk on an Old Testament level.

How about it? Take time to listen again to one of my favorite songs by my favorite group, the Isaacs, entitled, ‘Stand Still.

Always in love with Jesus.

Buddy

Jul

2010

Faith in God’s Word…

“…it is impossible for God to lie … This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil…” (Heb 6:18-19 NASB)

Journal,

One of the greatest changes in my walk with the Lord can be traced to a decision I made in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1971. Without going into detail as to why I made this decision, it is enough to say that a decision needed to be made.

I decided that if the Scriptures were absolutely true then no person or institution had the right to make them mean something that they don’t mean. From that moment on I would take God’s Word fully as my guide. I made a covenant with my heart to find out for myself what God’s Word had to say about whatever, and that I would do my best with God’s help to order my life accordingly. It was that decision that put me on the high ground of a faith journey far beyond anything I had ever known. That was almost forty years ago. And yes, I can truly say with David,

“For it is You who blesses the Righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12)

It is amazing how a quality decision concerning God’s Word can absolutely revolutionize a person’s life. From the moment of that decision I found myself entering into a new spiritual domain of adventures and vistas. I also discovered what it meant to have an Abraham-type walk with the Lord. (One-on-one; wholly separated and consecrated to the Lord.)

Yes, I had found the key to life. Jesus said that many will not find it. But it really isn’t that hard to discover. The issue is in application. The key involves the full Lordship of Jesus and in learning to live from the mouth of God.

This was the great lesson behind Israel’s wilderness wanderings. All their trials had a single focus. It is this same focus that God has been trying to teach His people in ages gone by.

Listen carefully and see if you can pick up on the key of life:

“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.” (Deu 8:3 NASB)

Are you ready to understand? That is what I want to talk about in this journal entry.

So let’s began with...

Instructions from God

The one thing Satan must do to disrupt a Christian’s life is to cast doubt on God’s Word. This is ‘bottom-line’ spiritual warfare. You will find it in play in the garden of Eden. Notice the issue that Satan challenged Eve on —

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden”‘?” (Gen 3:1 NASB)

Did you catch it? Has God said?

Satan begins by putting a twist on God’s Word. His goal is to undermine the truth of God. He does this by twisting and turning, by adding to and by taking away, by distorting and by making crooked the straight ways of the Lord.

This is Satan’s primary footing for deception. Satan is called in the Scriptures both a liar and a deceiver. Eve was deceived!

Satan is the source behind sorcery. Sorcery is spiritual rebellion against God by the use of occultic forces. Sorcerers are spiritualists or mediums who work under the false anointing of demons. This very much includes the false prophet. Little do some realize that sorcery includes astrology and other forms of fortune telling, or anything else that seeks to govern our lives aside from faithfully trusting in Jesus Christ.

Sorcery is about control. It is strongly linked to prideful flesh. Paul brings this out when Elymas the magician tries to turn a governing official away from the message of the gospel.

Notice:

“But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, ‘You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?'” (Act 13:9-10 NASB)

When Jesus was confronted by Satan in the wilderness what was the battle about?

“Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down…

“…for it is written, “He will command His angels concerning You; and “on their hands they will bear You up, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.”‘” (Mat 4:5-6 NASB)

Satan sets about with manipulation of God’s Word. He is doing much the same as he did with Eve; take things into your own hands rather than listen to the heavenly Father. How often have we fallen for this trick.

However, there is a distinct difference. With Eve there was no written Words. Just the direct instructions from the Lord. Over time the Lord gave us His written Word as an added protection in our walk of faith. It is also in the written Word that we become better acquainted with the Shepherd’s voice. Christian maturity has much to do with learning to hear from God for yourself.

The point is that God has given us words to live by. Join the book to Jesus and you have the keys to living a victorious Christian life. We find this in Paul’s instructions to Timothy:

“…and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2Ti 3:15-17 NASB)

And this brings us to a closer look at…

Distinctions on the Bible

The Bible is a book of redemption but it is also a living book. Genesis actually answers all the fundamental questions concerning God and man. It opens with, “In the beginning [absolute beginning of created things] God created the heavens and the earth.”

The Hebrew word for create is bara. It is never used in any way other than with divine activity. Genesis tells us about God, about the origin of universe, about the creation of man, and the origin of soul. It introduces the issue of sin, and gives us the promise of salvation.

It sets forth the out-calling of Israel and tells of the Messiah who will be the Savior of all mankind. Genesis is the source book from which all the Scriptures flow.

What about Revelations? This book completes God’s holy writ. If you take away Genesis you lose all explanation of heaven, the first earth, the first Adam and the fall. Take away Revelations you lose the completed truth, which is the new heaven, the new earth, man redeemed, and the last Adam.

This is why the book of Revelations concludes with,

“And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”

The Bible is a living book. It is the only book on this planet that can prove it is from God. It is the only book that records history before it happens. It is the only book that sets forth thousands of prophecies and allows man to see those prophecies fulfilled. It names nations that will rise and fall. It proves its origin in the millions of lives that are radically changed.

Note the following:

“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'” (Isa 46:9-10 NASB)

Also,

“He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” (Eph 1:9-11 NASB)

The most wonderful thing about the Bible is that it tells it just like it is. It doesn’t brag on human flesh. It tells of a great fall. It tells of a great love. It tells of a great Savior.

But the Bible is especially a living book. You will literally find God speaking to you from the pages of the Bible.

Consider this prophecy that concerns Jesus and those being called out of darkness:

“On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 29:18-19 NASB)

So, what do we have left? It all has to do with…

The Believing

The most important thing a person can do in life is to take the message of the Bible to heart. There are many voices clamoring for our faith. The voice we must listen to is the same voice that dictated what was to be placed in the written Word. Paul tells us to learn to never exceed what is written.

If we believe wrong, we will receive for the wrong of our beliefs. Destruction always begins where the Word of God is rejected. The prophet said,

“For when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” [Isa26:9]

What we are to believe has been clearly defined in God’s written Word. Interestingly enough, the written Word can be likened to a path that leads to God’s living Word, which is Jesus Christ Himself.

Just some things to think about. Here is a song that will speak to the deep of your heart. Take time to listen to ‘Glorious Impossible.’

In love with Jesus,

Buddy

Nov

2009

Jesus, the wonder and mystery of the Bible…

Journal,

“OPEN MY EYES, THAT I MAY BEHOLD WONDERFUL THINGS FROM YOUR LAW.” (Psalm 119:18 NASB)

Keep in mind that the focus in these sessions centers on learning to walk with God. In our first session we talked about JESUS as the WORD of GOD. In this session we will pick up with that same thought. It is important to understand why the apostolic writer tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus. He explains by saying that JESUS is the author and the perfecter of our faith. He12:2

Another way of saying ‘author and perfecter,’ is, ‘the beginning and the end.’ The expression, ‘fixing our eyes,’ in the Greek literally means to look away from everything that distracts. Fixing our eyes on JESUS is the premier principle of a walk of faith.

There is no question that CHRIST JESUS is the great wonder and mystery of the Bible. In one place His name is actually called, ‘Wonderful Counselor.’

In this study we want to take a deeper look into this intriguing mystery of GOD’S MESSIAH, or the Man that every believer can easily call, ‘Wonderful’. Let’s pick up where we left off in our last session.

I – Jesus: The Word of God

1. When JESUS rebuked the winds and the sea and they became calm, the disciples were amazed. They said, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matt8:27)

What great lesson does ‘Jesus calming the sea’ teach us about Jesus, and/or about our walk with God?

2. All that JESUS did was in one way or another to fulfill prophecy. On calming the seas, it says in Psalm 107:28,29, “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed.”

Why is it so important to tie Jesus in with Old Testament prophecy?

3. The Bible is story of GOD’S MESSIAH. Consider these Scriptures taken from the book of Matthew: MATT. 1:21-23; 2:14,15; 2:22,23; 4:13-16; 8:16,17; 13:34,35; 21:2-5; 26:53,54,56.

II – Jesus: The Form of God

1. That the MESSIAH would also be GOD was written beforehand. So we read, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace…” (Isa 9:6) – Eternal Father can literally be translated as ‘Father of eternity.’

2. How can JESUS be the Almighty GOD in the earth, while the highest heavens cannot contain GOD? The issue is that GOD does not exist in time and space. GOD is one Being, yet He manifests Himself in more than one way. This has always been a mystery to be understood with the heart and not the head. Cf. Zech12:10; Hosea 5:15; 6:1-3.

This is where Hebraic thought form is so important to Christians. Christianity is not a western religion. The Bible we use is a Hebrew document. The apostles were Hebrew men. The language of the Bible is Hebraic from start to finish.

3. The ancients taught a mystery in GOD that could only be expressed as GOD coming forth from GOD. This coming forth from GOD was called ‘The Word of GOD,’ ‘the Image of GOD’, ‘the Form of GOD’, ‘the Glory’, ‘the Word of the LORD,’ ‘the Wisdom,’ ‘the Son,’ or, ‘the Light of GOD.’ Each of these expressions has a counterpart in the New Testament.

Consider just a few of them.

a. Form of GOD: New Testament – Phil2:6. Compare Numbers 12:6-8; Lev16:2

b. Glory of GOD: New Testament – 1Co2:6-8; John 1:14. Compare Eze11:22,23.

(The Jews have a tradition that says the Glory of God rested on the Mount of Olives and wept. Is there any counterpart to this in the New Testament.

c. Wisdom of GOD: New Testament – 1Co1:30; 2:7; Mt11:19; 13:43. Compare: Pro8:1-8

d. Son of GOd – Compare Psalm2:12; Pro30:2-4

So, was Christ pre-existent? Cf. Micah 5:2; John 17:1-5; Heb. 1:8-12; 11:24-27.

Did God’s people have experiences with Christ in the Old Testament? Genesis 32:24-29; Judges 13:18.

III – Jesus: The Redeemer

1. Job said, “As for me, I know my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes shall see and not another. My heart faints within me.” (Job 19:25-27)

Notice Job called his Redeemer, GOD. This is one of the clearest testimonies to the faith of GOD’S ancient people. Job must have had a revelation of who the Redeemer would really be. How did GOD redeem us?

2. The wonder of the incarnation. The blood that ran through JESUS’ veins was GOD’S blood. (Cf. Acts 20:28.) Notice how the book of Revelation closes with a picture of the heavenly throne. It says, “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Notice there is only one throne.)

3. The ancient faith of GOD’S people rested on a promise made in the garden. One day a SON would be born to the human family. This SON would break Satan’s power. They believed that this SON would be divine. (Thus the afore testimony of Job.)

Paul said that had the rulers understood GOD’S wisdom, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1Co2:7,8) John said JESUS was the WORD of GOD manifest in human form. Both the Greeks and the Hebrews had a concept of GOD’S activity in the earth and in creation. Greeks used the term ‘LOGOS.’ The Hebrews used the term ‘MEMRA.’

4. Ancient Jewish sages saw the MESSIAH in all the Scriptures. The ‘wind’ on the surface of the deep in creation was the SPIRIT of MESSIAH.

They also said that the ‘Light’ that was manifest at creation was the life of MESSIAH, that is, the wisdom men were to walk in. Because of sin this LIGHT became hidden. It was taught that the light would come back with MESSIAH. JESUS said, “I am the light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

5. How does this light manifest for believers? Paul said, “For God who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels…” (2Co4:6,7)

When a person becomes a true believer, there is a work of the Spirit in opening that person’s spiritual eyes. Every true believer has the capacity to walk in the light of JESUS. The born-from-above believer is given ‘sight’ by which he or she sees beyond the boundaries of the natural. This is why Paul said, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Co4:18)

6. When JESUS walked on the waters, we hear Him saying to the frightened disciples, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” (Matt14:25-26)

What was the purpose behind JESUS walking on the waters? This was again to reveal to His disciples who He really was. Job 9:8, says, “[God] alone stretches out the heavens and tramples down the waves of the sea.” It says that when He got in their boat, “And those who were in the boat worshipped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son.” (Matt14:33)

So, what do you think about the man called ‘Wonderful’?

David said, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” (Psalm 119:18 NASB)

'And Let all the angels of God worship Him.'

In another place, David said, “Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.” (Ps63:2)

Who was it that David saw? I believe David saw the Lord Jesus before He took on the form of man. David actually called the preincarnate Jesus, his Lord.

Sound strange? The religious leaders in Israel said that the Messiah would be the Son of David, that is, He would be of the lineage of David. But Jesus brought something to their attention that caught them off guard.

Listen:

[Jesus] “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?

[Religious leaders] “The son of David.”

[Jesus] “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’, saying, ‘The Lord [Yahweh] said to my Lord [Adoni], ‘Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet ‘ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”

Did you catch it? David called the preincarnate Christ Jesus, his Lord. Adoni (or Adonay) literally means ‘my Lord.’ Adonay is a masculine noun that speaks exclusively of God. It is used when directing attention to the supreme authority and power of God.

On the day of Pentecost, which by the way was both the birthday of the new covenant church, and the coronation day of Jesus, that is, the day He received His kingdom in its present form, Peter took note of Psalm 110:1, and said this was the Father speaking to the Son.

Yes indeed…

Jesus is the great wonder and mystery of the Bible…

In one place His name is actually called, ‘Wonderful Counselor.’

"To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times; behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice." Ps68:33

Jesus rebuked the winds and the waves they became calm. The disciples said, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matt8:27)

What kind of man is Jesus indeed. Everything that Jesus did during His life on earth pretty much told us what kind of Man He was and is. Psalm 107:28,29, says, “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed.”

That the Messiah would also be God, was written beforehand by Moses and the prophets. Isaiah wrote, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace…” (Isa 9:6) (Eternal Father can also be translated as ‘Father of eternity.’)

So a question remains. How can Jesus be the Almighty God in the earth, when the highest heavens and all of eternity cannot contain God? And if Jesus is the Almighty God, why did He speak of the Father being in heaven?

This is where Hebraic thought form is so important to Christians.

Christianity is not a western religion.

The Bible we use is a Hebrew document. The apostles were Hebrew men. The language of the Bible is Hebraic from start to finish. And unless we have some concept of the Hebrew thought form of the Bible, we are going to come short of some of the most beautiful truths to be realized.

The ancients taught that there was a mystery in God that could only be expressed as God coming forth from God. This coming forth from God was called ‘The Word of God,’ ‘the Image of God’, ‘the Form of God’, ‘the Glory’, ‘the Word of the Lord,’ ‘the Wisdom,’ ‘the Son,’ and, ‘the Light of God.’ Each of these expressions has a counterpart in the New Testament if we know where to find them.

Consider just a few (You may want to get your Bible for a look see):

Form of GOD: New Testament – Phil2:6. Compare Numbers 12:6-8; Lev16:2
Glory of GOD: New Testament – 1Co2:6-8; John 1:14. Compare Eze11:22,23.

(The ancients had a legend that said when the Glory of God left Solomon’s temple, it rested on the Mount of Olives and wept for three years. Based on Ezekiel 11:22,23. Is there any counterpart to this idea of God weeping in the New Testament. Think about it.)

Wisdom of GOD: New Testament – 1Co1:30; 2:7; Mt11:19; 13:43. Compare: Pro8:1-8
Son of GOd – Compare Psalm2:12; Pro30:2-4

So, was Christ pre-existent with the Father?

Micah 5:2 says, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathat, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son..." (Jn 3:16)

Then we have John 17:4,5: “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

How about this statement that Jesus made to His disciples: “What then if you see the Son of Man ascended to where He was before?” (Jn6:62)

Did God’s people have experiences with Christ in the Old Testament?

Job said, “As for me, I know my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes shall see and not another. My heart faints within me.” (Job 19:25-27)

Notice Job called his Redeemer, God. This is one of the clearest testimonies to the faith of God’s ancient people. Job must have had a revelation of who the Redeemer would really be.

The blood that ran through the veins of Jesus was God’s blood. Then notice how the book of Revelation closes with a picture of the heavenly throne. It says, “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

Notice there is only one throne, but it is called the throne of God and of the Lamb. Somehow God is the Lamb, and the Lamb is God. And yet in this one Scripture we see three aspects of the eternal God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the ‘water of life,’ which speaks of the presence of God Himself.

The ancient faith of God’s people rested on a promise made in the garden. One day a Son would be born to the human family. This Son would break Satan’s power. They believed that this Son would be divine. (Thus the afore testimony of Job.)

Paul said that had the rulers understood God’s wisdom, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. John said Jesus is the Word of God manifest in human form. Both the Greeks and the Hebrews had a concept of God’s activity in the earth and in creation. The Greeks used the term ‘Logos.’ The Hebrews used the term ‘Memra.’

The wind on the surface of the deep…

The Jewish sages saw the Messiah in all the Scriptures. The ‘wind’ on the surface of the deep in creation was the Spirit of Messiah. They also said that the ‘Light’ that was manifest at creation was the life of Messiah, but that this Light became hidden because of the sin of Adam. The Light would only be found again when Messiah came.

Any Hebrew person would have understood what Jesus meant, when He said, “I am the light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

How does this light manifest for believers? Paul said, “For God who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels…” (2Co4:6,7)

Every true believer has the capacity to walk in the light of Jesus, by learning to fix his eyes on Jesus. This is why Paul said, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Co4:18)

When Jesus walked on the waters, we hear Him saying to the frightened disciples, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” (Matt14:25-26)

What was the purpose behind Jesus walking on the waters? Job 9:8, says, “[God] alone stretches out the heavens and tramples down the waves of the sea.”

When Jesus got into the boat, it says, “And those who were in the boat worshipped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son.” (Matt14:33)

So, what do you think about this wonder and mystery of the Bible. While you are think about it, listen to this song:

Yes indeed, Jesus is a great Savior,

Buddy

Nov

2009

Psssst – Have you heard…

Journal Readers,

Have you heard the story of a marvelous book that actually speaks for itself. I mean it literally has a voice. No? Well there is such a book. The Bible talks about it. Listen:

“On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 29:18,19)

Did you catch it? There is a book that has a voice that can be heard. The book has a message to tell. The book can even sing. But not everyone can hear the voice of that book or the songs that it sings. It is only those to whom it is intended. Are you interested? Let me talk with you about the book that talks and sings.

In the study to follow I would encourage my readers to use your Bible to check the references that I’ll provide. They will speak to your heart.

*********************

THE BIBLE AS GOD’S WORD

By Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin

“Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.” Psalm 119:89 NASB

The last book of the Bible ends with a warning, which says, “And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” [Rev22:19] Does this warning simply apply to the book of Revelations, or is it a warning concerning the whole of the Bible? It is safe to assume that the warning applies to all the Scriptures, since the Bible is one book, and has one underlying message of redemption. The book of Revelations simply completes the written record of God’s redemption.

We find a similar warning in Proverbs 30:5,6, where it says, “Every Word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His Words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.” There are numerous other references to the purity of God’s written word. In fact the apostle Paul tells us to never exceed what is written. God has given the Bible as a safeguard for the faith of His peoples.

Why is the Bible so important to a believer? After all, Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, did not have a Bible, and they all walked with God. Let’s find out how the Bible relates to learning to walk with God. In this teaching we want to take a deeper look at this book we call the Bible.

I – The Canon of Scripture

1. First we need to understand what the word ‘canon’ means. Canon comes from the Greek word kanon (kan-ohn’) which means a rule of measure. Metaphorically it speaks of any rule, standard, principle, or law that is used for investigation, judging, living, and acting. The canon of Scriptures is the Bible in its completed form. Nothing is to be added to it. Nothing is to be taken away from it. (Psalm 119:89)

2. The Old Testament canon begins with the writings of Moses and concludes with the book of Malachi. (The Bible was written over a period of about 1600 years.) The Protestant Bible as a rule accepts the Hebrew canon. (The Catholic Bible adds the apocrypha. These 13 books were written after Malachi. They were never accepted in the Hebrew canon.) Why should we accept the Hebrew Scriptures? Because it was to the Jewish prophets alone that God committed the written oracles. Cf. John 4:20-22; Rom. 3:1-4; Rom. 9:3-5.

3. The formation of the NT canon was not a conciliar decision [Set in place by church council.] The apostolic writings were treasures of the churches. They came together in the providence of God. Over a short period of time, the New Testament received its fixed form with the twenty-seven books we now have. There are sixty-six books that make up the entire Bible. Revelations completes the canon of Scripture. (Rev. 22:16-21)

4. The test of the New Testament books to be included in the canon of Scriptures included three things: (1) Did it have Apostolic authority? Was it written by an apostle or by a close companion. (2) Did it have the witness of the Holy Spirit? Does it carry the testimony of truth that flows through the entire Bible. (3) Was it in use by the Christian church from earliest times? Was it beloved by the earliest Christians. (Eph. 2:19-21)

II – Things to Understand about the Bible

1. Modern language translations are important. Any living language is constantly changing. Older translations may not clearly convey what is being said in the language of modern readers. This is why, though the King James Version has its own beauty, it is not able to speak with clarity to our modern generation. It was written in Elizabethan English.

2. There is a difference between letterism and literalism. The letter without a proper revelation of the spiritual truth behind it genders to bondage. God’s people should seek the literal meanings in the Scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to transform literal truths into spiritual realities. (2 Co. 3:5,6, 12-18)

3. In the new covenant the Lord places in every believer the same Holy Spirit who breathed forth the Scriptures. Truth can be tested. (See John 16:13-15) Any teaching that is man-centered and does not agree with sound doctrine that conforms to godliness, or any teaching that does not lift up Jesus Christ is not to be accepted as Biblical.

4. As for Biblical teaching, the purpose of pastoral teaching is not to take the place of a believer’s direct access to truth. The primary calling of a pastor is overseeing those who are allotted to his care. His overseeing ministry is for the safety of the flock. His primary gift is that of teaching. Yet the Lord gives true believers a safeguard against false teaching. (The anointing.) Cf. 1 John 2:19-21, 27.

III – God’s Word: the Message

1. The term Word of God carries another meaning. It especially speaks of God’s message of the gospel. The message of redemption is the underlying theme of the Bible. Today we know it as ‘the Word of the Cross.’ (Acts 17:13; Rom. 1:16; 2 Co 2:17; 1 Thess 2:13; Heb 4:12; Gal 1:6-9)

2. The Bible is God’s written record of His redemptive plan in Christ. But it was also written to provide a guide for moral character. Therefore, the Bible is exclusively God’s Word to man. Paul said, “I would not have come to know sin except through the Law.” (MATT. 15:6; 2 TIM. 3:16)

3. The Greek term for inspired means to ‘out breath.’ The Scriptures came from God’s mouth. They come to us in their form completed through the apostles. Thus the Bible carries a living testimony to God’s truth. This is why Paul says that we are never to exceed what is written. [1Co4:6] The Bible as the written Word of God was given to guide God’s people in the way of salvation and in the paths of righteousness. (Psalm 19:7-14) The single greatest witness that our faith is correct, is if we are living by the testimony of the Scriptures.

4. Believers should seek to live according to revealed truths of the Scriptures, keeping in mind that the Bible is a progressive revelation. It finds its completion in the message of the cross. (Luke 24:44-47; 1 Co 15:1-5) With this in mind, the Holy Spirit never speaks to any believer in a way as to contradict God’s written record. (Isa 8:20; Matt 5:17,18; Acts 1:16; 1 Co 4:6; Rom 15:4)

IV – Jesus: The Word of God

The term ‘Word of God’ carries in it something else that is especially crucial to the life of a believer. The term ‘Word of God’ refers to the communication of God. Since God is a Person, obviously He needs to communicate. Therefore, He speaks. (Gen 1:1-3; Psalm 33:6,9; Heb 11:3)

All God’s born-again children know the communication of God. This is why songs like the Garden song are dear to the child of God. It says, in part, “I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses.” It goes on to say, “He speaks, and the sound of His voice, is so sweet that the birds hush their singing.” This song carries the heart of what the Word of God means. The Word of God is God speaking into our hearts. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” [John 10:27]

1. In the new covenant, Jesus is expressly called “the Word of God.” He is God’s Word fully incarnate or personified in human flesh. This seems mysterious enough, but when we receive into our hearts Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He enters our heart as the living Word of God. Thus all our communication with God is found in Jesus Christ and takes place in our hearts. (John 1:1-3,14; 2Co 4:5-7; Rev 19:11-13)

2. To be born again, is to be born of God’s Word. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing (Speaking of His flesh at that time.); the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” [John 6:53] Cf. 1Peter 1:22-25.

3. The source of our faith is God speaking to us in Christ. (Rom 10:17 – The Greek word ‘Rhema’, means ‘that which is uttered by a living voice’.)

4. This brings us back to the Old Testament prophet and, in turn, to the Scriptures, and to the new covenant in Christ. Because Adam rejected the truth of God, he lost his ability to enjoy direct communication with God on a true spiritual level. Very few people had direct communication from God. These few peoples were generally known as prophets. The prophets came to serve as God’s mouthpiece. If you needed to hear from God, you went to, or, in the case of a King, sent for the prophet. (1 Sam 9:27; 1 Kings 12:22; 1 Chron 17:3; Luke 3:2)

5. This particular role of the prophet being God’s mouthpiece to His people diminished with the coming of Jesus, and under the New Covenant. See Heb 1:1,2. Also cf. Heb 8:10-13. There was an overlap of the prophetic ministry during the transition of covenants, but today there is no need for a prophet of the Old Testament level.

6. Jesus described the new covenant believer in prophetic terms: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:38 Living water is a symbol for God’s living Word and God’s life.

Conclusion: So, why is the Bible so important to believers?

THE BIBLE AS GOD’S LIVING VOICE

“Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.” Psalm 119:89 NASB

The last book of the Bible ends with a warning, which says, “And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” [Rev22:19]

It is safe to assume that this warning applies to all the Scriptures, since the Bible is one book, and since the Bible has only one underlying message of redemption. But the Bible will only speak to those who truly want to hear its message.

We find a similar warning in Proverbs 30:5,6, where it says, “Every Word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His Words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.”

Why is the Bible so important to a believer? After all, Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, did not have a Bible, and they all walked with God. Let’s take a deeper look at this book we call the Bible. The book that has a message to tell. The book that speaks and sings to all of God’s children is a living book.

The term Word of God carries a special meaning. It especially speaks of God’s message of the gospel. The message of redemption is the underlying theme of the Bible. Today we know it as ‘the Word of the Cross.’ (Acts 17:13; Rom. 1:16; 2 Co 2:17; 1 Thess 2:13; Heb 4:12; Gal 1:6-9)

The Bible is God’s written record of His redemptive plan in Christ. But it was also written to provide a guide for moral character. Therefore, the Bible is exclusively God’s Word to man. Paul said, “I would not have come to know sin except through the Law.” (Matt 15:6; 2 Tim. 3:16)

The Greek term for inspired means to ‘out breath.’ The Scriptures came from God’s mouth. They come to us in their form completed through the apostles. Thus the Bible carries a living testimony to God’s truth. This is why Paul says that we are never to exceed what is written. [1Co4:6]

The Bible as the written Word of God was given to guide God’s people in the way of salvation and in the paths of righteousness. (Psalm 19:7-14) The single greatest witness that our faith is correct, is if we are living by the testimony of the Scriptures.

Now let’s talk about the voice that sings..

All God’s born-again children know the communication of God. This is why songs like the Garden song are dear to the child of God. It says, in part, “I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses.” It goes on to say, “He speaks, and the sound of His voice, is so sweet that the birds hush their singing.” This song carries the heart of what the Word of God means. The Word of God is God speaking into our hearts. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” [John 10:27]

In the new covenant, Jesus is expressly called “the Word of God.” He is God’s Word fully incarnate or personified in human flesh. This seems mysterious enough, but when we receive into our hearts Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He enters our heart as the living Word of God. Thus all our communication with God is found in Jesus Christ and takes place in our hearts. (John 1:1-3,14; 2Co 4:5-7; Rev 19:11-13)

To be born again, is to be born of God’s Word. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing (Speaking of His flesh at that time.); the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” [John 6:53] Cf. 1Peter 1:22-25.

The source of our faith is God speaking to us in Christ. (Rom 10:17 – The Greek word ‘Rhema’, means ‘that which is uttered by a living voice’.)

And for the singing? Listen carefully –

saying, “I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE.” And again, “I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM.” And again, “BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME.” (Heb 2:12-13)

There is much more to Jesus singing over us. He will even give us songs to sing. Is it any wonder that believers fall in love with God’s holy book. In it we hear the voice of our Shepherd.

With that in mind, take time to listen to the Garden Song:

Well, have you heard the words of a book. You can you know. The apostle said it well enough, when he said, “And it shall come to past that whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Blessings,

Buddy

Voice of God

The Prostitute Will Enter First

Under the Shelter of His Wings…

The Divine Rights of Access…

The voice of the blood…

The Doctrine of New Covenant Life…

Faith in God’s Word…

Jesus, the wonder and mystery of the Bible…

Psssst – Have you heard…

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